H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Some commentary in other threads has "inspired" me to start this one. Believe it or not, it is possible to obtain a shootable Colt on the used market for less than a thousand dollars. They are rare, and often either ugly, refinished, or both, but they are out there. And I am specifically NOT talking about .22s! I am talking everything from .32-20 to .45 Colt. So with that in mind, here is the "challenge." If you've got a Colt that you got for $999.99 or less, tell us about it! Post a pic! And above all, have fun. (Real Colts only, and no 22s) I'll start the ball rolling. Here is my 2nd Generation in .45 Colt. I got it for $700 about two years ago. Has almost no finish left. According to Colt, it was made in 1971. And this is a 1st Generation .44-40. As you can see, this one was, according to the seller, "badly chromed" and as such cost me $500 earlier this year. I do find the gold hammer and ejector housing curious. I may letter this one. Colt says it was made in 1881. Oh yeah... About 10 years or so ago, I saw a 1st Gen .44 Special that had been reblued with pearl grips at the Hartford Connecticut Cabelas for $700. I am still kicking myself for not buying that one. Anyone else care to share? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Sin Nombre Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Well this might be cheating a little. I bought this first gen from 1927 for $1200. But it came with real pearl grips that I traded for a 100X beaver hat. Hat was worth at least $800, so really I got it for $400. Does that count? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted September 1, 2018 Author Share Posted September 1, 2018 I guess so. As long as this does... This is a 2nd Generation Dragoon, I got it for $600. Even with the cost of the conversion cylinder from Taylors ($280) it's still under that limit. Of course, I recognize that this some disagreement over if the 2nd Gen cap & ball Colts are "real" Colts or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Country Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 Two early first gens that were sent back to Colt in the 50’s for a Nickel and Rebarrel. Paid 2K, but that included shipping which I’m sure cost more than two cents. BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wyatt Earp SASS#1628L Posted September 1, 2018 Share Posted September 1, 2018 I no longer have it, but I purchased an honest to goodness artillery model (with non-matching numbers) in 1991 for $425. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Pat Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 I went in a pawn shop that had a colt army 38 special for $400. I bought it fast. It was a colt single action army in 38 special. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griff Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 A pair of 3rd Gens that I bought new... I paid $325 for the bottom one in 1974. It was stolen in 1982, and the insurance could only find a 7-½" gun to replace it, I wouldn't accept it, and they had it cut to 4-¾" to match the one it was replacing... I paid $475 for the top one in 1994... it was a 7-½" gun that I had cut to 4-¾" to match the bottom. The only personalization I've done is to identify them: Then there are the 2nd gen 1851 I use in Frontiersman... $450 for the "C" series one and $600 for the second, a "D" series. Lastly is a 2nd Gen "Presentation" model I paid $380 for... It was perfect except someone had stripped the finish of the backstrap. It belongs to the better half: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Picked up these two for $1700 in 2009. Both 2nd Gen, the boxed Colt is still unfired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bramble Mountain Buzzard Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 How about this Colt Army Special in 32-20 from 1918 that I got for $175 shipped? Yes, it's a reblue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283 Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Howdy HK I had to search around a bit to find the receipt, but my first Colt was this 2nd Gen made in 1968. Not all the numbers matched on it, and somebody had removed all the blue in an effort to 'antique' it. The dealer, who was very honest, sold it to me for $680. It is still my favorite, it shows up at almost every match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas John Ringo, SASS #10138 Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 All cost $1000.0 or less except for the nickel 4 3/4" .357 ($1250.00 new) next to the Python. I traded a 1st gen SAA that I gave $125.00 for back around 1977 for the Python. The two 7 1/2" .45's with Sambar stag grips I gave $975.00 ea when I 1st started SASS, and the nickel 7 1/2" .45 I gave $725.00 about the same time.(1996ish). The blue 7 1/2" is a Frontier Six Shooter 44-40 (still unfired) that I bought 2 years ago for $1000.00 even. the blue 5 1/2" .357 next to the nickel 4 3/4" gave $900.00 about 6 years ago. Top right is a Lightning nickel mfg 1886 was $500.00 shipped around 3 years ago. Middle Lightning was $600.00 shipped. Left Lightning I trade a knife I made for it. Detective Spl. $400.00. Woodsman Match Target, mfg, 1977 w/wood grips I traded even for with a std. Woodsman . The Woodsman Match Target, mfg 1957, w/plastic grips I bought at Gander Mtn around 2010 for $400.00. The 1860 2nd gen I gave $250.00 new around 20 years ago(still unfired). The bottom 1851 2nd gen was $500.00 3 years ago(still unfired). The upper 1851 2nd gen I bought in 1976 for $125.00. The 3rd Model Dragoon 2nd gen was $600.00 (still unfired). The Gold Cup I think I've got around $400.00 in it, I bought it sometime in the 1980's. The Govt. Model $600.00 in 2006. The lower New Frontier .22 $125.00 new 1975, maybe. The upper New Frontier $500.00 in 2014. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostVaquero Posted September 2, 2018 Share Posted September 2, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Sin Nombre Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 6 hours ago, Texas John Ringo, SASS #10138 said: All cost $1000.0 or less except for the nickel 4 3/4" .357 ($1250.00 new) next to the Python. I traded a 1st gen SAA that I gave $125.00 for back around 1977 for the Python. The two 7 1/2" .45's with Sambar stag grips I gave $975.00 ea when I 1st started SASS, and the nickel 7 1/2" .45 I gave $725.00 about the same time.(1996ish). The blue 7 1/2" is a Frontier Six Shooter 44-40 (still unfired) that I bought 2 years ago for $1000.00 even. the blue 5 1/2" .357 next to the nickel 4 3/4" gave $900.00 about 6 years ago. Top right is a Lightning nickel mfg 1886 was $500.00 shipped around 3 years ago. Middle Lightning was $600.00 shipped. Left Lightning I trade a knife I made for it. Detective Spl. $400.00. Woodsman Match Target, mfg, 1977 w/wood grips I traded even for with a std. Woodsman . The Woodsman Match Target, mfg 1957, w/plastic grips I bought at Gander Mtn around 2010 for $400.00. The 1860 2nd gen I gave $250.00 new around 20 years ago(still unfired). The bottom 1851 2nd gen was $500.00 3 years ago(still unfired). The upper 1851 2nd gen I bought in 1976 for $125.00. The 3rd Model Dragoon 2nd gen was $600.00 (still unfired). The Gold Cup I think I've got around $400.00 in it, I bought it sometime in the 1980's. The Govt. Model $600.00 in 2006. The lower New Frontier .22 $125.00 new 1975, maybe. The upper New Frontier $500.00 in 2014. I think we should be adjusting for inflation haha. That’s a mighty fine collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 1st gen .45 dating to 1876. I took it as partial trade on a boat about fifteen years ago from a man whose father, a deputy sheriff, found it, along with the holster, under the mattress of a dead drifter in a hotel room in Butte around 1931. The front sight is fashioned from a segment of a silver Liberty half-dollar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waxahachie Kid #17017 L Posted September 3, 2018 Share Posted September 3, 2018 I bought my first .45 Colt single action in 1973, after I got out of the military. It cost me $235.00, and it came in a 'stagecoach' box too. Now, a new old stock stagecoach box is going for $275.00 and up. Go figure. In the 1980's I bought two nickel plated, unfired, Colt single actions in .45, for $950.00, at a gun show in Dallas, but they did not have any boxes or papers. I paid around $1,400.00 for my last new Colt I bought, back around 2011 or so. Haven't bought one since they decided the magical minimum cost for them will be over $2,000.00. I will just be content with what I have. My Two Bits. W.K. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Gambler Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 I reckon the one I got as part of my wife's dowry don't make the cut. She's already cost me well over $1k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Coles SASS 1188 Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Here is an .45 SAA manufactured in 1876 that I bought about 4 years ago for $600. It was originally a 7.5 inch but the barrel has been cut to 5 inches. It didn’t have grips and was in pretty rough mechanical shape when I got it. I made the one piece grips and replaced a lot of the mechanicals. I have never shot it because the cylinder is not in great shape. I have been thinking of ordering a factory letter and having it restored back to factory spec. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chili Ron Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Howdy Doc, Just too bad that piece cant talk about what its seen. Restore if you like but I sure like em like that. Best CR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Three Foot Johnson Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Here is an .45 SAA manufactured in 1876 that I bought about 4 years ago for $600. It was originally a 7.5 inch but the barrel has been cut to 5 inches. It didn’t have grips and was in pretty rough mechanical shape when I got it. I made the one piece grips and replaced a lot of the mechanicals. I have never shot it because the cylinder is not in great shape. I have been thinking of ordering a factory letter and having it restored back to factory spec. Ya know, there's a 1 in 11,000 chance that our two revolvers are consecutive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Coles SASS 1188 Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 5 minutes ago, J Bar Binks, #47015 said: Ya know, there's a 1 in 11,000 chance that our two revolvers are consecutive. Yeah, I thought yours looked pretty familiar. I will send you the serial number in a pm to see if we hit the jackpot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Coles SASS 1188 Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 18 minutes ago, Chili Ron said: Howdy Doc, Just too bad that piece cant talk about what its seen. Restore if you like but I sure like em like that. Best CR I like old guns as well, but there comes a point when they either get fixed or continue to decline. This one is on the edge of becoming an object de art, rather than a gun. I like to save guns like this and bring them back to being useful. This one was so inexpensive and buggered that restoration would not be a bad idea. On the other hand, if the factory letter says it’s historic, I am not touching it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Checotah Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 All real Colts from $175 to $900. The Commander I bought new for my 21st birthday $175. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L Posted September 5, 2018 Share Posted September 5, 2018 Can't find a picture right now, but I have a pair of 1860 Army Colt Black Powder revolvers made in the late '70s. Cased set with detachable shoulder stock, flask and bullet mold. Some damn fool took the cavalry commemorative plate off the outside of the box. Gave $400 for the set at a pawn shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Coles SASS 1188 Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 So, to keep this thread going, here is a second generation 1860 Army that I bought for $199. When I got it, the front sight had been buggered by a previous owner. He added a bizarre extension to the front sight and marked up the barrel in the process. I repaired it and replaced the sight. Now you can’t tell it was ever done. The interesting question is what the gun actually is. It is not nickle. The sharp eyed will notice that this gun has a fluted cylinder. It also has absolutely no finish and appears never to have had a finish. Colt did make some 2nd generation stainless guns, but to the best of my research they never made a stainless fluted cylinder 1860. I have heard that colt sold some guns in the white for engraving, but I have not confirmed this. I need to send off for a factory letter. This is a lovely, superbly timed gun that feals like an original. I would love to have it engraved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Gambler Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 That would be a long flute too. I think I read on the colt forum that those were more rare (though that may only apply to peacemakers). Forgive my ignorance, but if the gun had been in the white all these years, wouldn't it be rusted up pretty good? Where was it being kept? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildBillHimself, SASS #5863 Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Colts weren't always so expensive. My first SAA, a used 2nd gen, only cost me $200 back in 1975. It would be worth ten times that today, a pretty good return on my money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 I have more invested in the ivory grips and nickel finish of this 3rd Gen .44spl SAA than in the original purchase price: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Sin Nombre Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 Well if we are including the 2nd gen percussion guns, this pair cost less than $1000 each. The original Winchester from 1887 cost a little bit more than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Chance Morgun Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 On 9/2/2018 at 1:38 PM, Texas John Ringo, SASS #10138 said: Looking at this picture, my 1st thought was "Man, you have a lot of guns!" But noting your location, I'm guessing that is about average for a Texan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Coles SASS 1188 Posted September 6, 2018 Share Posted September 6, 2018 4 hours ago, Ramblin Gambler said: That would be a long flute too. I think I read on the colt forum that those were more rare (though that may only apply to peacemakers). Forgive my ignorance, but if the gun had been in the white all these years, wouldn't it be rusted up pretty good? Where was it being kept? Good question. I have it covered in grease (which you can see as smudges on the gun). It was not rusty when I got it and is very sharp and clean. It does not show any evidence of ever having been shot or handled much. It came from a collection of second generations that were all sold at the same time at my local shop. The other guns were claimed to be as new (and had prices to match) but were slightly beat up from handling and shooting and some showed traces of light rust. As such, they were over priced. This one was a steal because of the front sight issue, which I fixed. By the way, this involved filing and sanding out nicks in the barrel and there was no trace of nickle plating. They call these fluted cylinders on the 1860 , most 1860s don't have any flutes at all. The fluted cylinders were found on the earliest production 1860s and quite a few fluted cylinder 1860s were acquired by the Confederacy before the start of the war. As I said, I need to order a letter for it. If it is a stainless steel gun, that would be great as they are rare and expensive. If it is in the white, that would be even better (and rarer). Either way, I couldn't leave it on the shelf for $199. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bullett Sass 19707 Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 Less than a thousand in all three. Bullett 19707 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zach Taylor,SASS#14359 Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 Back in the late 60's , the Colt catalog price for a SA was $140 which was what I paid for a 43/4 nickel 357, my next one was a nickel 45 for $215 , expensive at the time, shortly after the price jumped to $600 because the SA was to be dropped from the catalog, then because of demand , the 3rd gen came out at around $500.After all that the price just went up and up. Also I had a 22 frontier scout for $65, which I stupidly sold . Know the old saying, HINDSIGHT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levi littleton Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 On 9/1/2018 at 11:44 AM, Redwood Kid said: Hat was worth at least $800, so really I got it for $400. Does that count? no..... what did it cost you to get that one up and running proper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Sin Nombre Posted September 7, 2018 Share Posted September 7, 2018 8 minutes ago, levi littleton said: no..... what did it cost you to that one up and running proper A trip to Jim Martin and a case of Phillipe's mustard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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