You don't see these everyday . . .

$450 for an 1878 D.A. in shootable condition, with that much original blue left on it? Man, I hate you. By 'hate', I mean 'I'm seriously jealous of.' The least I've paid for an 1878 was $800 for a gun which had been reblued (very nicely reblued, but still reblued.) I'd take pictures of it, if I didn't currently have it completely disassembled to replace the hand (it had been shot with smokeless. The previous owner hadn't cleaned the gun when they'd sold it to the shop I got it from, and the residue didn't smell like any leavings from any BP/BP substitute I've ever shot. Nothing wrong with the gun, apart from a worn cylinder bushing, and a chip battered off the old hand that gave the gun a mild case of throw-by. Yes, the design is quite a bit sturdier than people give it credit for. About 5000 late-manufacture Model 1878s did sport Colt's smokeless powder proofmark.) I've got a couple other 1878s, though. Both in shootable, collectible condition. And both I paid way more than $450 for.

Jim Watson said:

The 1878's cylinder is not only indexed by the hand, but aligned by it, too. There is no separate cylinder bolt. There is a little widget to keep the cylinder from turning backwards as the hand retracts when the trigger is released. But in firing mode, the hand does all the work.

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Depends on the 1878. The older ones had a little widget on the back face of the frame which was actuated with a clockwork spring. The newer ones had a round stop machined into the reloading gate, which fit into the teeth of the star, and relied on pressure from the loading gate spring to keep the cylinder from turning backwards. But, yes, the hand does all the work on the 1878. Still produces a very solid lockup. My 1878s lock up tighter than any non-Colt revolver made 100 years later that I've handled.

EDIT:

They also shoot very nicely too.

One of the stories featured a guy with a Colt DA--whether it was called a Lightning I do not remember, but i've associated that name with it in memory.

The story line included discussion of the advantage of double action, countered by Silvertip's discussion of the fragility of the mechanism and the comparatively greater reliability if the SAA.

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The Model 1877, which got the marketing monikers of "Lightning" and "Thunderer," has been described by many as having among the worst double-action mechanisms ever devised. They had lots of small, thin springs that tended to break with usage and an overcomplicated action stuffed into a relatively tiny frame. In the first decade of the 20th, Colt pasted warning labels on the boxes of new 1877s which insisted that they had to be fired with black powder only. Colt still sold ~160,000 of them. Something about the ergonomics being ideal for those without the reach needed to work the 1878's trigger, or the dexterity to work the SAA with any speed.

The 1878 had a much different action operating inside a cavernous frame. Restoring an 1878 to shooting condition is within the capability of a casual gunsmith. Reviving an 1877 suffering from "Lightningitis," not so much so.

I'll take it. Cant believe your selling that for 450.

SOLD

I can tell you while the Thunderer and Lightning models had notoriously weak and breakage prone actions, he 1878 was considered strong and (fairly) durable. So much so that they were the favorite gun of the Alaskan and Yukon Gold rushers and had a good rep up there for a long time.

Do you shoot your 1878's? I have never shot the 1878 that was passed down to me, but Dad remembers shooting it with my Granddad in the 50's. I have always wanted to load some "light" loads and give her a whirl. With this new addition to the collection, I'm pretty much resolved to shoot these old Colts. The 1878 was the ONLY shooter in my collection that I didn't shoot. I think it's high time I corrected that.

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Yes, I do shoot my 1878s. There are a few caveats to shooting them, though. The main one is that they're black-powder only propositions. Yes, the design is much sturdier than an 1877, but the hand of an 1878 sees a lot of stress as-is, and presently costs $99 to replace. And the cylinder walls, just like those of a SAA, are paper-thin.

Use a 250 to 255 grain cast lead bullet lubed with a good BP lube atop a case filled (35 to 37 grains by volume) with Pyrodex P black powder substitute, FFFg black powder, (or 30 grains of Triple Seven by volume,) touched off by a good large magnum pistol primer.(*) Out of my 5.5" 1878 and my Uberti Colt SAA clone, it produces healthy recoil, an honest 940 ft/sec velocity, a huge cloud of smoke, and nice groups. For lighter loads, one could go with 28 grains(*) of powder, enough filler to completely fill the case, and the same bullet, or a .45 Schofield case (Starline sells them) filled with black powder.

The other caveat is that the 1878 was made in the days when primers were rock-hard and insensitive. In fact, many complaints about the reliability of double-action revolvers centered around the fact that their mainsprings weren't strong enough reliably detonate the primers of the day. Modern primers, however, are both thin, and sensitive. In fact, the 1878's mainspring driving that ice-pick of a firing pin will sometimes pierce modern primers. It also gives the 1878 a well-deserved reputation for having something of a white-knuckle double-action trigger pull.

(* - Standard handloading disclaimer. Use published loading data where possible. Loads discussed are safe for my guns, using my reloading practices. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!)