Just had to share a stunning score! Original MK-IV Frontier Carbine 1855 Colt Revolving Rifle dated 1866. longer frame .44 B.P and has the longer cylinders that can hold 55 gr powder charges instead of the standard 45 gr! RIfle came with 4 extra cylinders, all the tools and "Kit" as originally included when purchased, and 5 different bullet molds covering all the original bullet designs that were used in .44 B.P! I paid too much for it, but these are unobtainium now days, and so worth it for a shooter grade collector! Condition is a solid 7! Will do a range report on this one very soon, I cant wait to see how it runs!
Local! I am currently in Colorado and stopped in a shop I normally visit once a years or so, and he had just taken it in and hadn't put it out yet. the owner knows I'm into these Colts, and brought it out for me to look over! On seeing it was a shooter, I had to have it!
@Ura-Ki So, what does a piece like that cost? I certainly don't need any more hobbies but have always held an interest in old firearms but know nothing about them...
@Bandit99 So very much depends on condition, but those beasts can run into 5 figures easily. I (for one) do not want to know what @Ura-Ki paid for it, 'cause my jealousy would know no bounds and I'd have to take some kind of revenge on something. (Now, where IS that feral cat ---?)
@ghrit LOL!!! Yes, I certainly understand. I have always had this fascination with firearms ever since I was a child. The fact of how much engineering from numerous disciplines went into them is astounding, truly mind boggling. And, then just to make the tools to make the firearms to achieve the form, fit, and finish...truly boggles the mind. I think firearms are testimony to mankind's achievements, his advancement in technology and science. Anyway... I have always wanted a pair of dueling pistols. LOL! Boy-oh-boy if I ever win the lottery my house would have an armory! LOL!!
These in shooter condition can range from $1400 ( the cheapest I have seen) to $50,000 and up for exhibition grade. I picked up this one for $3800 with every thing, the cylinders fetch $500 or more each! The original Colt manufactured Molds can get $1000 or more! So, I didn't argue one nano second on the price! LOL This makes rifle #7 for me, with three being replicas. I have a real affinity for these Colt's, I am drawn to any thing Col. Colt made and these are superb. the Craftsman ship and quality defined Colt Firearms, and set the standards many others tried to achieve, and failed! To me, these are the finest Colt Firearms ever made, and you can really see and feel the sole of the craftsmen and Col. Colt him self in these. The Hand Fitting, and the machining flow together flawlessly, and the rifle looks and feels organic, almost alive! The irony is that there were 50k plus MK-1 and Mk-2's made for the ARMY, and only a small number of those remain with us. The higher end Civilian Rifles which numbered 42K for the MK-3 and 34K for the MK-4's are far more available! I have yet to find a MK-1 or -2 available for any thing resembling affordable and in shooting condition, nor have I ever found a Root Carbine or a shotgun! I would gladly add any of these to my collection, but they are Very, VERY rare! Rarest of all are the Cav. Muskets with Bayonets, only a small handful were ever produced, and these can fetch over 100k in serviceable condition, and the one My Grand dad found ( non shooter) is still worth a fortune! It's in poor condition with heavy pitting and rust, and the wood is rotted in places, but it's still a Colt, you can still read the script faintly, so it hangs over the fireplace at the ranch in a place of honor. I have often thought to expend some serious effort and restore it to shooting condition, and I still may, but for now, I enjoy it as is! Some folks collect Art, some collect Cars, some collect Jewelry, I collect Colt RIfles!!!
I have 2 Colts. Nothing as kewl as your though. A Colt Buttline 22 LR. My rabbit/squirrel getter A Colt King Cobra 357 SS Enhanced 8 inch
It's kind of funny to me, but people always ask me what kind of power one of these is capable of. I think folks forget that these "old" B.P. arms were VERY powerful and quite capable of doing the job they were made for. I think a lot of folks don't understand B.P. arms and some how think they were less effective or some how archaic, nothing could be more wrong! This Rifle Starts out at about Top End .44 Mag, and runs up pretty close to the .444 Marlin in speeds and energy, Nothing to sneeze at and certainly more powerful then most could imagine! This was Black Powder at it's finest, at the apex of it's performance capabilities in what was still essentially a Muzzle Loader! I have used a twin to this rifle, ( a very fine replica) to take Deer and an Elk at what most would consider "Modern Rifle" ranges, and the performance was most satisfactory!
How do you see if you hit. the animal, at modern Rifle ranges, with BP as. propellant, unless after the shot, you truck 35 yards perpendiculr to the line of Flight...
An amazing find! Congratulations, Sir! I am envious and happy, primarily because I didn't have to buy it and that you shared it here so that we could all drool a little over your good fortune. Well Done!!
LOL! It's pretty easy, Right after the BANG, you hear the solid Wack of that big 235 Gr bullet hit the animal, and he tips over sideways making a last grunt before expiring, just as the smoke finally clears!
Hey, That smoke once saved my bacon from a charging boar hog, He could not see me thru the smoke when he ran at the sound!
A very nice score . I might point out that the caution when firing is the flash between the cylinder and barrel can be serious . If it were me ,I'd wear a heavy leather sleeve on the arm exposed to the flash , Secondly an more importantly on old guns and some new ones the clocking and alignment if not right at the point of hammer fall can have spitting lead as well as gun powder blast between barrel and cylinder . I have experienced this, is why I am telling you. Being an old gun, I would remain cautious about my charges , it is old work hardened steel . I have some old guns that are so well worn shells are sloppy in the chamber ,not worth the risk of attempting to shoot . BP guns we have no gage to observe such changes . Another caution is porosity in the steel between chambers, in which case will cause chain fire . You may already know all this but others reading with out such experience may not.