By Lars Dalseide
Fairfax, Virginia – -(Ammoland.com)- Colt’s 1873 Single Action is one of the most iconic firearms of the American West. Solid, reliable, classic.
While most have eew-ed and aah-ed over the singular simplicity of the revolver, few have bothered to worry or wonder what makes it work. But if you were running the general store back in the day, you’d wonder quite a bit. That’s why they came up with cutaways display guns.
“You’ll see this done on almost any gun from the 1850s up to through the 1940s,” said National Firearms Museum Senior Curator Philip Schreier. “That way the salesman could show a proprietor why his gun was better than the competition’s.”
1873 Colt Single Action Revolver Cutaway
It started off just the same as any other gun. A little forging here, a little smithing there, and the next thing you know there’s a revolver sitting in front of you. That’s when the work begins.
“Just as much craftsmanship went into cutting the windows as went into making the gun,” Schreier explained. “One slip and you have to start all over again.”
This particular cutaway is a Colt Single Army reproduction from Val Forgett’s Navy Arms. Now some may say that Val desecrated the memory of the gun by make the homage a cutaway … they would be wrong. In fact, Val increased the value considerably.
“There are premiums attached to all cutaways,” said Schreier. “Not only are they difficult to find, which increases their value, but legally they are considered non-functional firearms. That means a collector living in Washington, DC or New York City can proudly display a cutaway without fear of prosecution.”
To get the rest of the story on the Colt Cutaway, check out Phil and the boys around 6:40 this afternoon during NRANews’ Curator’s Corner segment on above.
Visit the National Firearms Museum most any day, for FREE. For more info go to www.nramuseum.com
About Lars Dalseide
Lars has been with the National Rifle Association for 8 years. Starting in the program side of the association’s Media Relations department, he worked on productions from Discovery Channel, History Channel, and Outdoor Channel while writing for American Rifleman, American Hunter, and NRAblog. Now as a Media Liaison and spokesman for NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, he follows firearm-related policies and legislation for almost 20 states. nraila.org