Colt Cowboy Single Action Army .45 Colt

The Colt Cowboy is one of the shortest chapters in Single Action Army history, and that's exactly why this one is worth a second look. Colt built the Cowboy from 1998 to 2003 as a more affordable working man's SAA, a gun aimed squarely at the Cowboy Action shooting crowd who wanted the Colt name without the custom-shop price. It used a transfer-bar safety and a slightly simplified production approach, but it kept the look and feel that made the Peacemaker famous. Fewer than five years of production means these don't turn up often, and a cased example with its paperwork intact is harder still to find.

The frame wears genuine color case-hardening, that swirling mix of blue, gold, and brown that no two guns share. Against it, the barrel and cylinder carry a deep blue that runs dark and even. The barrel is roll-marked COLT COWBOY 45 COLT on the left side, and the underside carries the COLT'S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD CT. U.S.A. address. The hammer is left in the white, a clean contrast against the cased frame. Grips are black checkered composite with the rampant colt medallion set into each panel.

The 4.75 inch barrel is the classic Civilian length, balanced and quick to the hand. The single action mechanism cycles the way Colt buyers expect, and the bore is bright with strong rifling. Case colors remain vivid across the frame with only light handling marks.

It comes in the blue Colt plastic case with the Cowboy instruction manual, product registration card, and cylinder rod. For a collector chasing the full run of Colt single actions, the Cowboy fills a slot that closed for good in 2003. Get one while the cased, complete examples are still out there.