Colt Model 1896 US Army 38 Long Colt revolver

[Von der Goltz]

Here for your perusal is my Colt US Army Model of 1896 serial number 141041 made around 1900. Six inch barrel, six shot, 38 Colt caliber double action military issue revolver. Model of US Army 1896 on butt with serial number. It has a mirror bore so I'm looking forward to shooting it. I've ordered the Colt Archive letter so should have delivery information in 4-5 months.

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[wcwhitey]

Sweet!

 

[dredd]

Wow! Nice!!!

 

[J-Bar]

That’s enough to make me a Colt fan.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Very pretty!
Boy, Rinaldo A. Carr sure got busy with his inspectors stamp on that one!
Probably a good idea to lay away a spare set of springs if you can find thrm. I ended up buying strips of spring stock and cutting them myself for mine- 2 were broken when I bought it, lol.
Unfortunately, theres no fix for the cylinder turning the wrong direction.....

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Very nice.

Are you going to cut down 38 Special brass for it?

I see 38 Long Colt brass is back ordered at Starline.

 

[AlexanderA]

Check the trigger pull. The one I had, had an atrociously bad trigger pull.

 

[Agsalaska]

Back in my pawn shop days in Killeen Texas a two digit serial number showed up in one of the stores. It had quite a bit of rust but still functioned perfectly. The gun snob in me, which I have tried my best to destroy, decided to pass on it instead of buying it because of that. I don't remember exactly what it sold for, but it was somewhere in the $1500-$2500 range. And it was gone in a day.

Always wondered how it got there. That town had lots of WWII, Korea, and especially Vietnam bringbacks thanks to Ft Hood. But that gun was out of service LONG before Hood was anything more than a cow pasture. My guess is it somehow hung around the inventories and was sold as surplus locally, probably in the late 40s early 50s.

I regret passing on lots of guns, but that one is near the top of the list.

 

[1KPerDay]

Nice. What’s the difference between this and the New Army and Navy model?

 

[Mk VII]

Mostly the grips.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

I see no lanyard ring-?
TR carried an M1892 Navy salvaged from the Maine.

 

[Von der Goltz]

Very nice.

Are you going to cut down 38 Special brass for it?
I use this Buffalo Arms Attachment 278269.38 Long Colt Black Powder ammo which I already have and which chambers perfectly in the cylinder
I see 38 Long Colt brass is back ordered at Starline.

I used this Buffalo Arms .38 Long Colt Black Powder ammo for my US Army Model 1901 Colt and will use in this one.

 

[Von der Goltz]

I see no lanyard ring-?
TR carried an M1892 Navy salvaged from the Maine.

Yes the US Army Models 1892 and 1896 and US Navy Model 1895 were originally issued without lanyard rings but many were later updated with lanyard rings,

 

[RON in PA]

Congratulations!

Thanks for the excellent photos.

One of the revolvers that led to the Army wanting a .45. Probably fun to shoot with little recoil.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I once had a very similar Colt in .41 LC. Mine had a pitted barrel, sprung crane and timing issues, but still shot to sights once I figured out how to make ammo for it. I donated it to a local museum to fill a hole in their Colt display.

 

[Mk VII]

Here is another, a New Navy this time.

 

[Mk VII]

This one had a lanyard ring added later, and in WW2 it was reamed out to accept the .38 S&W cartridge

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

TR said he shot 2 Spaniards when they reached the crest of Kettle Hill-"one doubled up like a jackrabbit !"

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

TR carried a Smith and Wesson top-break up San Jaun hill. It was 1 of 3 S&W custom chambered for the .38 US Service (.38LC) cartridge, though they would go on to mark many early K-frames as capable of accepting .38 S&W Special and .38 US Service.

 

[1KPerDay]

I once had a very similar Colt in .41 LC. Mine had a pitted barrel, sprung crane and timing issues, but still shot to sights once I figured out how to make ammo for it. I donated it to a local museum to fill a hole in their Colt display.

I have one in .41 with a similar crane. Any tips on making ammo are welcome. I’ve never shot it.

 

[Ed4032]

I got a 1903 model that looks like new.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

I have one in .41 with a similar crane. Any tips on making ammo are welcome. I’ve never shot it.

Finding a set of dies is problem one. New sets are available for around $125, but I found mine by being patient and watching eBay and Gunbroker. (I included my set in the deal when I sold my other .41, a later Colt Army Special model.) https://www.buffaloarms.com/41-long-colt-redding-three-die-red80370.html

You may also need to make a custom shellholder from a .38 Special SH -- I use a Dremel and ball stone to grind the inside edges until the case will fit. The .41 has a tiny rim, so a good fit into the shellholder is important to avoid tearing off rims.

Starline recently made cases, but they are currently backordered. You may want to watch Gunbroker for a bag to turn up. https://www.starlinebrass.com/41-colt-brass/

Easiest bullet to use is the deep hollow-base .386-388" internally lubed bullet. This was designed to work with the longer case of the .41 Long Colt; earlier versions of the .41 Colt with a shorter case length were designed for heeled-bullets, which are another possibility but more involved since crimping isn't done conventionally.

Moulds for these seem to be all backordered right now (or freaking expensive!), but you may turn one up on the used market or find someone selling cast bullets:

https://www.mp-molds.com/product/mp-41lc-hb-200-grain/
https://oldwestbulletmoulds.com/shop/ols/products/41-long-colt-200-grain-hollow-base-388-diameter
https://www.castbulletengineering.com.au/products/miscellaneous-others/product/2984-41-long-colt

I recommend IMR Trail Boss powder -- it has a fast burn rate, which is important to get the bullet base to expand properly.

 

[1KPerDay]

Great info, thanks!

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

And to think those Colts were brand new, state of the art at one time !

 

[Jim Watson]

Flayderman says the Army bought 8000 of these in 1902-1903, of which "at least 7490 known altered at Springfield for mechanical defects."

As I understand it, there was a long series of rolling upgrades with new model years assigned from 1892-1903. Looks like that last go-round was not an improvement.