View From The Porch: Gratuitous Gun Pr0n #77...

Monday, January 06, 2014

Gratuitous Gun Pr0n #77...

Colt M1878 "Frontier" (or at least most of one), made in 1879.

That Colt? It was for sale.
.

26 comments:

Keads said...: "Was" for sale? Is it following you home?; 3:48 PM, January 06, 2014
TJIC said...: Why is it sitting on a milling machine vise? I wouldn't think you'd be doing work on a historic thing like that...; 3:49 PM, January 06, 2014
LCB said...: Even after you saw it, Tam? :-)

Funny thing how many different kinds of pistols there were in the "old west". Not everyone had a Colt Peacemaker.

One scene I love in "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly" is where the "Ugly" goes in to a gun shop and tears apart 3 or 4 percussion pistols and makes one "good" pistol out of them.; 3:52 PM, January 06, 2014
Antagon said...: Is that Kurt style vise attached to a Tree mill?; 3:52 PM, January 06, 2014
LCB said...: How hard would it be to get ammo for the Frontier? Would have to be black powder, wouldn't it?; 3:53 PM, January 06, 2014
Windy Wilson said...: Dare I ask what all was missing? And what was the asking? Guns in the People's Republic of California sold in the remaining gun stores carry a premium as compared to other states, Sometimes it seems to be about 20%, approximately, and I wonder how consistent that markup is.; 3:54 PM, January 06, 2014
Anonymous said...: Is it following you home?

Gerry; 3:58 PM, January 06, 2014
Tam said...: The mill vise is attached to a 1962 Bridgeport J-head turret mill. Or so I am led to believe.

I just thought it was a Bridgeport mill. :o

(And yes, the gun was for sale, but is not so any longer. :D ); 4:07 PM, January 06, 2014
LCB said...: How hard would it be to get ammo for the Frontier? Would have to be black powder, wouldn't it?

That is...if you decided to shoot it. I'm afraid if I owned it I'd want to shoot it just once. If it doesn't blow up that increases the value, yes?; 4:16 PM, January 06, 2014
Stuart the Viking said...: I have always loved the look of those. I would love to own a modern replica so that I could shoot it without worrying about values etc.

s; 4:32 PM, January 06, 2014
Jim said...: I'm lurking in wait for the first guy who tells you how hard it will be to find an ejector rod.

In +jealous+ wait, that is.; 4:34 PM, January 06, 2014
Matthew said...: If there's one thing improving CAD/CAM would bring in my fantasy future it would be the ability to run off replicas of obsolete firearms in modern steel for the cost of the stock material and not much more.

Shoot a Wild Bunch match with the guns of "The Mummy", or Sherlock Holmes, that sort of thing.; 4:38 PM, January 06, 2014
Critter said...: A Colt you say? I just picked a nice 1917 in an out of the way corner of Lower Alabama this weekend. It was dressed up with some '60's vintage sambar stag grips and needed a little tlc. I'm afraid the pawn broker really didn't appreciate what he had. :); 5:02 PM, January 06, 2014
Baker M. Romeo said...: What's that little screw on the front of the grip for?; 5:03 PM, January 06, 2014
Tam said...: TJIC,

"Why is it sitting on a milling machine vise? I wouldn't think you'd be doing work on a historic thing like that..."

It was a clear surface and looked photogenic. I may try and get it running someday, but that shouldn't require a mill.

Baker,

"What's that little screw on the front of the grip for?"

Mainspting tension/retention.; 5:19 PM, January 06, 2014
The Raving Prophet said...: Can I ask what they were asking for it?

I'm not being nosy, my father has one almost exactly like it in .44-40 and it's downstairs in my safe.

I really haven't begun trying to find info on the thing. Or the Colt 1917 in .45ACP that's right next to it.; 5:24 PM, January 06, 2014
Scott J said...: Hey, I got a new gun too. Got informed today I won an 870 Express Super Magnum in a raffle.

Or I could take cash value.

Or I could trade toward something else.

Not quite enough value there to cover the Thompson Center Dimension I really want. But maybe I can talk SWMBO into a little extra budget :); 6:07 PM, January 06, 2014
Old NFO said...: Nice! Sigh...; 6:44 PM, January 06, 2014
NotClauswitz said...: I love my big old 1909 Colt, it's hoot to shoot!; 8:04 PM, January 06, 2014
NotClauswitz said...: I love my big ol' 1909 Colt, it's a hoot to shoot!; 8:05 PM, January 06, 2014
Gewehr98 said...: I could so see something like that as a hideout gun in The Shootist or similar period western flick!; 8:43 PM, January 06, 2014
Tom the Impaler said...: If you spot a nice Webley and Scott break top in .455 contact me, so I can cry.; 8:53 PM, January 06, 2014
Phil said...: Is that style grip not known as a "Detective Special"? I recall my father having a S&W 32-20 revolver that he claimed went by that name.; 9:34 PM, January 06, 2014
mustanger said...: "I could so see something like that as a hideout gun in The Shootist or similar period western flick!"

8:43 PM, January 06, 2014

I'm thinking this particular piece is a storekeeper's version. Those were either kept handy behind the counter, or used as a pocket/hideout gun. So, yeah, I could see it too.; 10:56 PM, January 06, 2014
Peter said...: Tam, speaking of interesting Colt revolvers, did you see this fascinating Model 1855 revolving rifle with scope?

http://theautry.org/the-colt-revolver-in-the-american-west/on-the-american-frontier?artifact=87.118.131

I had no idea such early rifles could mount a sight like that.; 9:42 AM, January 07, 2014
mustanger said...: Hey Peter,
From what I've heard, some of those early "scopes", especially from the Civil War period, were actually just a "sight tube". They had crosshairs but no glass, so no magnification. The adjustments are in the rings. I heard those were pretty effective... no reason they won't still do the job on that older class of rifles.; 3:48 PM, January 07, 2014