Colt Single Action Army Factory Class C Engraved

Factory engraving on a Single Action Army always raises the stakes, and this one carries the paperwork to prove every cut was done in Hartford. The accompanying Colt Archive letter, signed by historian Beverly Jean Haynes, lists it as a genuine factory job done to Class C standard scroll, shipped April 10, 1981 to Interstate Distributing Company in Little Rock, Arkansas under Custom Shop order number 1152. Only three guns of the same type went out in that shipment. That is the kind of detail that separates a documented Colt from a story.

The scroll runs deep across nearly every surface. Frame, barrel, cylinder, ejector housing, and the long 7.5 inch barrel all carry flowing acanthus work with punch-dot shading, and the bright nickel underneath makes each line jump. Look at the barrel address and you can read COLT'S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD, CT. U.S.A. cut clean between bands of engraving. The rampant colt sits proud on the left side of the frame, and the patent dates are stamped sharp ahead of the cylinder.

Chambered in .45 Colt, it wears smooth walnut grips with a nice straight grain that plays warm against all that shine. The hammer and trigger keep their fire-blue contrast, and the four click cock works exactly as it should. The 7.5 inch barrel is the long cavalry profile, the one that started the legend back in 1873.

It comes cased in the burgundy Colt presentation box with the gold Colts Patent Repeating Pistols lid, the archive letter tucked alongside. For the collector who wants factory engraving backed by real documentation, this checks the boxes that matter most. The letter, the scroll, the nickel, and the long barrel all line up.