This is the first in a series of three posts about the Colt single-action revolver, its reproductions, and the evolution of passive and active safeties. These posts are not statements about any of the lawsuits, whether criminal or civil, resulting from the shooting that took place on the set of the film Rust during that film’s production. A more comprehensive treatment of this topic was published in Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms.
Due to the recent trial, New Mexico State v Hannah Gutierrez, there has been in increase in interest to better understand the firearm at the center of it all, a reproduction Single Action Army (SAA) revolver, in .45 caliber, made by Italian gunmaker F.LLI Pietta. I have not examined this firearm and do not know exactly what modifications were made specifically for the film, Rust, but the fundamental design of SAA on its own has undergone safety changes since its invention in 1872.
In 1873, Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Company (Colt) released one of the most well-known firearms in American history: the Single Action Army (SAA). The SAA was developed by firearms designers William Mason and Charles Brinkhoff Richards and later patented.[1] It was originally conceived for entry into the United States government trials held in 1872, where the Colt design went head-to-head with its competitor, Smith & Wesson. The Colt SAA prevailed, being adopted by the US military, and soon becoming popular on the civilian market. By 1898, Colt had made and shipped some 182,000 SAA revolvers. Colt produced 357,859 of these between 1873 and 1940.[2] None of these firearms included an additional mechanical safety device, either active or passive, relying on the half-cock and safety notches to provide some measure of safety.[3] It became understood that Colt SAAs should be loaded with five rounds, with the hammer in the full down position on an empty chamber. The Colt SAA remained popular until World War I. Production numbers dropped after the war especially as the design and production of military weapons for World War II took precedence. Production of the revolver ceased in 1940.[4] These revolvers are now considered ‘first generation’ Colt SAA designs. In 1947, Colt briefly revived the single action and assembled the remaining frames they had in stock, but these revolvers were made for presentation or as retirement gifts.[5]
The post-World War II period was marked by a resurgence in Western popular culture. By the 1950s, televisions were becoming more common in the American home and by 1959, eight out of ten most watched shows on TV were Westerns. One of the most commonly depicted handguns in this genre was the Colt Single Action Army. In fact, the SAA was depicted in the first Western film, The Great Train Robbery (1903), and has since been featured in more than 200 films, 30 television series, and 20 video games. This era also saw the birth of the contemporary replica firearms market for a wide range of Western firearms. Many companies, including Navy Arms (est. 1956) and Uberti (1959), strove for utmost historical accuracy in their reproductions. Since Colt had, for the time being, ceased manufacture of single action revolvers, Great Western and Ruger capitalized on the market demand to manufacture derivatives of the Colt SAA, what is referred to as the Colt-Type Single Action. A Colt-Type Single Action refers to a single action revolver with six chambers; a solid, three screw frame design, and a hammer that can be placed in four positions: full down, safety notch, half cock, and full cock.
Ruger introduced their first Colt-type SAA in 1953. In 1955, Colt followed suit with what is now known as the ‘second generation’. For manufacturers both old and new, authenticity in the way of likeness in appearance and function was of prime importance. Companies would often make modifications in terms of strength, reliability, and accuracy, but the fundamental mechanics remained the same, including the firearm’s lack of passive or active safety.
[1][1] Jerry Lee, Standard Catalog of Ruger (Fort Collins: Krause Publications, 2014), p.28
[2] “Single Action Army”, Internet Movie Firearms Database <https://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Single_Action_Army> Accessed March 7, 2024A
[1] The patent is in Mason’s name (Wiliam Mason, Improvement in Revolving Fire-arms, US Patent No US158957A (19 January 1875), available via: <https://patents.google.com/patent/US158957A/en>
[2] Norm Flayderman, Flayderman’s Guide to Antique American Firearms…and their Values, 9th Edition (Iola, Gun Digest Books, 2007), p.100
[3] An active safety is a mechanical device in which the user must manually switch of the safety to fire the gun. A passive safety is a mechanical device that is incorporated in the design of a firearm, which switches off through the natural course of the firing sequence. Note: safeties are mechanical devices which can malfunction and fail.
[4] Mike Venturino, “The First Generation Colt Single Action Army” American Handgunner Exclusive Web Extra
[5] Don Wilkerson, Colt Single Action Revolver Handbook, 1955-1975. (Marceline, MO, Walsworth Publishing Company, 1999), p. IV