Colt Single Action Army

Colt Single Action Army Revolver
Second Generation Colt Single Action Army
Type	Revolver
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1873–1892 (Artillery Model – 1902)
Used by	United States
Wars	American Indian Wars, Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War, Mexican Revolution Range wars
Production history
Designer	William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff Richards
Designed	1872
Manufacturer	Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company
Produced	1873–1941, 1956–1974, 1976–present
Specifications
Weight	1,048 g (with 7½" barrel)
Length	11" (279 mm – with 5½" barrel); 12.5" (318 mm – with 7½" barrel)
Cartridge	.45 Colt, .44-40 WCF, .38-40 WCF, .32-20 WCF, .38 Colt and many others, including .22 LR, .38 Special, .357 Magnum and .44 Special
Action	Single-action revolver
Feed system	6-shot Cylinder

American Indian Wars,
Spanish–American War,
Philippine–American War,
Mexican Revolution

The Colt Single Action Army which is also known as the Single Action Army, SAA, Model P, Peacemaker, M1873, and Colt .45 is a single-action revolver with a revolving cylinder holding six metallic cartridges. It was designed for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company – today's Colt's Manufacturing Company – and was adopted as the standard military service revolver until 1892.

The Colt SAA has been offered in over 30 different calibers and various barrel lengths. Its overall appearance has remained consistent since 1873. Colt has discontinued its production twice, but brought it back due to popular demand. The revolver was popular with ranchers, lawmen, and outlaws alike, but as of the early 21st century, models are mostly bought by collectors and re-enactors. Its design has influenced the production of numerous other models from other companies.

The Colt SAA revolver is a famous piece of Americana, known as "The Gun That Won the West".

Bound by the Rollin White patent (#12,648, April 3, 1855) and not wanting to pay a royalty fee to Smith & Wesson, Colt could not begin development of bored-through revolver cylinders for metallic cartridge use until April 4, 1869. For the design, Colt turned to two of its best engineers: William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff Richards who had developed a number of revolvers and black powder conversions for the company. Their effort was designed for the United States government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and adopted as the standard military service revolver. Production began in 1873 with the Single Action Army model 1873, also referred to as the "New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol". The very first production Single Action Army, serial number 1, thought lost for many years after its production, was found in a barn in Nashua, New Hampshire in the early 1900s. It was chambered in .45 Colt, a centerfire design containing charges of up to 40 grains (2.6 g) of fine-grained black powder and a 255-grain (16.5 g) blunt roundnosed bullet. Relative to period cartridges and most later handgun rounds, it was quite powerful in its full loading.