A few years ago, I am not sure when exactly, Colt went back to the removable bushing, and many will refer to guns made after the change as Fourth Gen guns. The other way that Fourth Generation gets mentioned is how when the Third Gen started, the cylinder did not have a removable bushing as did the First and Second Generations.
When after a few years they brought it back into full production, I remember one article in Guns and Ammo that referred to the now regular production guns as "fourth generation." It was a term that did not catch on. When the Third Gen started, it was a Custom Shop only gun. Contrary to common misconception, there is NO Fourth Generation, although the term has been bandied about for decades with multiple meanings. Third Generation production started 1976 and continues to this day. This can be an important factor in obtaining them and in being able to search for better prices nationwide.
All Second Generation guns are also C and R, even if they are not over 50 years old. Both were obtained in the last 5 years.Īlso of note is that due to their age, all First Generations are either antiques or Curio and Relic eligible guns. I have one 1st Gen I got for 500 bucks and one 2nd Gen for 700. On the other hand, an ugly, but otherwise in good shooting condition can be had for far less. Pristine examples, genuine US Army surplus, or other rare and/or unusual configurations can run into the 10's of 1000's of dollars.
Prices for First and Second Generation guns are all over the map, depending on condition and configuration. The most common reason I have heard for the suspension of production is that the tooling used to make them was pretty much worn out and no longer usable. As near as I can tell based on what is in my collection, there are very few if any changes to the pistol over this time period. This has allowed me to own and shoot some very nice pistols. Among other things, a lot of "commemorative" SAAs where made in this generation, and for some reason, even unfired ones tend to go for far less money than a generic Second Gen pistol. In 1956 they started making the guns again, and this Second Generation ran until 1974 or 75.
The Second Generation was created in response to the sudden demand for the guns in the wake of the huge popularity of the TV Western. There were other minor cosmetic changes made to the gun over its run, which was from 1873 to 1941 when Colt halted production so they could concentrate on guns for the War. The smokeless frame has the more familiar push button on the side of the frame that requires no tools to operate. The main difference is that the black powder frame has a screw on the underside of the frame that you need a screwdriver to remove to take out the cylinder pin. As such, all black powder frame First Generations should be fired with black powder only, as should the earliest smokeless frames. The smokeless frame was introduced in the late 1890's. Colt did not say that the SAA was okay for use with smokeless powder until 1900. These terms are how they are commonly referred to, and they are technically inaccurate. The price seems to be reasonable based on my limited knowledge but I am concerned that my ignorance may lead to a mistake that I will regret.Īny and all advice will be greatly appreciated.įirst Generation pistols can be, broadly, split into two categories, black powder frame and smokeless powder frame.
On line I found a third generation, 5 1/2" blued and case hardened that looks pretty good from the pictures, that is priced at $1,600 plus shipping. What would be a reasonable price for a solid shooter in the various gens? I understand that price will very a lot depending on condition and countless other variables, I have seen prices form about $1,000 to over $10,000.
What is serial number that I need to be after in order to safely use smokeless rounds? Other than the date they were manufactured what else is different between the 3 generations?Īs a shooter which generation is preferred and why?Īt this point I will only be shooting smokeless powder at cowboy velocities, but I read somewhere that first generation guns before a certain serial number cannot be shot with smokeless. I am not looking for collector guns, I want to actually shoot them and they need to be in 44-40. I know very little about the different generations and was amazed at the wide range of prices. I recently started thinking that I should have a real colt SAA or probably a pair of them.