Unidentified Colt SAA Clone

B

blacksheepone

New member
I got this Colt Clone and can't seem to identify the make of it.
The notches on the cylinder are not where you would normaly find them on a regular SAA and the single action mechanism is quite diiferend too (I have no pictures of that). It has nice genuine stag grips and has the screw retaining the base pin like the 1st generation black powder frame SAA's.
I've been searching the internet for some time now but haven't been able to find anything similar to this one yet...
It's looks very nice and appears to be well made...

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...can't seem to find any clone out there with the cylinder notches in a more backwards position than they should be on an exact saa clone...
Up untill now it's a one of a kind gun...
I hope one day I'll identify it...
Keep on searching .... :cool:
 
To my knowledge there were only a couple of German gunmakers who made decent copies of the Colt SAA, and this just doesn't have that look. Those made by J.P. Sauer & Sohn of Suhl, Germany, were all more robust looking than the actual Colt. Also they had the Christy type firing pin, so far as I know.

Since its not marked, I think it might be a Belgian copy from the WW I era. Since it is the old type black powder frame and bullseye ejector rod head, I suspect it to be older than the 1960's vintage.

Further, what caliber is it? And how is the "single action mechanism" different?

Bob Wright
 
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That looks a awful lot like a New Service cylinder. I have no idea what would be involved in fitting one to a single action, though, since the NS has an extractor on the back and a whole different center pin system.

The butt serial number is the way Colt used to put them on. Are there any barrel markings or other markings?

Jim
 
Hi there. To answer your questions Bob it's chambered in 45 Colt. The mechanism is quite complex... The locking bolt doesn't pivot on the screw but just pops up and down. It's not like the bolt on a regular SAA at all it's just a piece that fits into the hole in the frame and pops up and down no fingers that catch on the cam of the hammer just this. It works like a normal saa though and to load it you put it on half cock which allows the cylinder to move freely.
I could strip the gun and post some pictures of the internals if necessary...
The stag grips look quite old and where made to fit exactly to this particular revolver.
Up untill now it's still a one of a kind....
Yes James K that cylinder works my mind too. It looks to me it was made for this revolver though. Not a new service cylinder put i a SAA....
I've seen this style of cylinder in other vintage Belgian clones though so Bob Wright could be on to something... Found an example on gunauction.com see the link below....
http://www.gunauction.com/buy/12356999
 
The proof or serial stamp on outside of cylinder screams European origins. Might be an early Italian import or still feels German to me.
 
In one pic it looks as if some markings have been dremeled off the cylinder.

It also looks like it was bead blasted at some point. Possibly to remove markings.

The Belgians and Germans tended to load the guns with proofmarks. The Italians less so.

With the cylinder removed are their any marks visible on the cylinder or gun?

From the 50s through the 1970s a lot of imported Colt Clones made their way here.

tipoc
 
Hey Tipoc.
I disassembled it a couple of times and no markings what so ever. There seems to be a marking that was indeed removed from the cylinder but other than that nothing. Except a "45" on the triggerguard and matching serials on the bottom of the frame the trigger guard , backstrap, loading gate and barrel.... (Possible the serials were added later on to make it look like a Colt)
The theory of a Belgian copy seems plausible since I live in Belgium....
No way to be sure untill I find another revolver with the same caracteristics...
 
Since the mechanism is different from that of the "normal" SAA, it is possible that it is a one-off gun, made to prove someone's pet design change. If so, it could use parts from other guns, plus new parts made up to showcase the new mechanism. Costly, of course, but folks have often put a lot of money into some pet project or idea with little or no expectation of actually going into production or making money in the long run.

Jim
 
Hey 45 Dragoon.
I didn't forget you but it's kinda busy at work so I'll post the pictures of the internals this weekend.
Hope that's gonna help figuring out which brand the revolver is....

:)
 
No help yet in identification, but about that bolt ~ what makes it "pop up and down?" What activates it to withdraw it from the cylinder notch and releases it again?

Sure sounds interesting, even more so than identification.

Bob Wright
 
Well,I went back and looked at the pics. and the absence of a cyl. lock notch is interesting. With the approach starting so soon, the bolt must move rather quick ( double action style). Will be intesting to see the "lock up" for the cylinder.

Also, the absence of a bushing in front of the cylinder to prevent binding.


Mike
 
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