The Single Action Army Colt's legendary Model P

Guns Magazine, July, 2003 by John Taffin

The original machinery for the 1st Generation was long gone and worn out anyway, so it required all-new machinery to produce the "new" Colt Single Action. The first chamberings were .45 Colt and .38 Special with the .44 Special and .357 Magnum added shortly. It would take less than 20 years for the new machinery to wear out and in 1974 the run of 2nd Generation Single Actions would end. The Colt Single Action was dead again, but not for long.

Two years later, the Colt Single Action resurfaced once again as the 3rd Generation run began. While the 1st and 2nd Generation Colts were nearly identical, several changes to cut costs were instituted with the 3rd Generation Single Actions.

The removable, full-length cylinder bushing was replaced by a press-fit, button collar bushing in the front of the cylinder. The ratchet design on the back of the cylinder and also the shape of the hand that engages the ratchet were both changed to cut down on the time required for hand fitting, and for some strange reason the barrel shank threads were changed from 20- to 24-tpi.

Sampling Current Production

The 3rd Generation Colts have been offered in .45 Colt, .44-40, .384, .44 Special, and .357 Magnum in the three standard barrel lengths as well as Buntline Special and short-barreled Sheriffs Models in some calibers. Finishes are both blue and casehardened and nickel. Currently, Colt offers only 4 1/2 and 5 1/2-inch versions in either finish and chambered in .45 Colt, .44-40, and 357 Magnum. Furnished test guns for this article were a 5 1/2-inch nickel-placed .45 Colt, and a 4 3/4-inch blued and casehardened .357 Magnum.

Both of these current production guns are beautifully finished, tightly fitted with virtually no cylinder end play or side-to-side movement, and both came with trigger pulls in excess of five pounds. For my test firing sessions a thick padded washer cut from leather was placed under the mainspring to lessen both trigger pull and cocking effort.

To ensure a good-shooting sixgun, cylinder throat diameter must be held to the correct tolerances. The .45 SAA test gun came with throats that measured out at .4555 inch. would like to see Colt hold this to no more than .453 inch. I used .454-inch bullets in much of my testing, and with the RCBS No. 45-270, sized to this diameter and weighing in at 281 grains, accuracy was exceptional, although this load shoots about one inch above point of aim. Muzzle velocity is 933 fps, and it would be hard to find a better everyday working load and sixgun combination than this.

A caution is warranted concerning .45 Colt throat diameters. I just watched Larry Crow's video on Customizing the Colt SAA. He acquired a new 4 3/4-inch .45 from Colt for the taping and found the throats to be grossly oversize at .460 inch. Something certainly went wrong with this reamer and the reader is advised to measure chamber throats before buying a .45, as there may be others of the same dimensions out there. If one acquires a Colt with such oversized throats it should be sent back to Colt for cylinder replacement.