Colt Single Action Army 3rd Generation Engraved by John Adams Jr.

Look at the backstrap and you'll find the detail that anchors this whole piece. J. Adams Jr. signed it and dated it 6/1/95, a hand engraver whose name carries real weight among collectors of American firearms art. That signature, paired with coverage this complete, is what separates a decorated Colt from one that actually means something.

The revolver underneath is a 3rd Generation Single Action Army chambered in .44-40, the old Frontier cartridge, wearing a 5.5 inch barrel and bright nickel that throws light in every direction. The barrel stamp reads Colt Single Action Army .44-40, and the frame still carries the patent dates and the rampant colt. Adams left almost nothing bare. Dual bands wrap the muzzle and frame, and from there the floral scroll runs the length of the barrel, across the cylinder flutes, over the recoil shield, and onto the loading gate where a single bloom sits cut deep into the steel.

Get in close on the hammer and the frame sides. You'll see starburst rosettes around the screws, fine cross-hatch shading, and leaf work threading along the top strap. The scroll wraps around the original Colt markings rather than fighting them. Even the ejector rod housing and the cylinder pin took the graver.

The grips are the exclamation point. Carved steer heads with long pierced horns, one to each panel, full of the kind of dimension you only get from a skilled hand working dense material. They sit against the nickel and play right into the Western theme the engraving sets up.

It ships in its original blue Colt box with the matching shipping carton. The nickel reads near full with only a few faint handling marks under good light. For a buyer who collects engraved Colts, this is the rare case where the artist, the canvas, and the dress all pull in the same direction.