steel or brass trigger guards?

[shoebox1.1]

i see a lot of brass trigger guards on colts... but some appear to be steel. my buddy just bought a 1861 navy (traditions) and i think its all steel. what was the skinny on the original guns? most brass trigger guards? i know the brass frames were a confederate piece...

 

[Hawg]

Both the 51 and 61 had brass grip frames and trigger guards except for the ones made by London Armory which were iron. The Confederates made some brass framed Colt copies in .36 but the brass framed .44 Navy is a Pietta fantasy gun that never was. There were some .44 Navy prototypes made but they were never available for purchase.

 

[pohill]

Check this out:

 

[shoebox1.1]

cool

 

[Fingers McGee]

Quote Hawg Haggen:

Both the 51 and 61 had brass grip frames and trigger guards except for the ones made by London Armory which were iron. The Confederates made some brass framed Colt copies in .36 but the brass framed .44 Navy is a Pietta fantasy gun that never was. There were some .44 Navy prototypes made but they were never available for purchase.

Well......... not exactly. Brass or plated brass trigger guards were standard until 1854. Somewhere around SN 37000, iron and plated iron trigger guards became available. That included the London Models (Early Londons assembled from Hartford made parts; London-Londons assembled from London made parts; and Hartford Londons assembled in Hartford and shipped to London for sale). Not all London models had iron trigger guards. There were a quantity of iron trigger guard Navies bought by the US Navy (Navy-Navies). Almost all of the other Colt BP revolvers were offered with Brass, Plated, or Blued Mountings. The exception in 1865 was the New Model Pocket Pistol (1849 Pocket Pistol), that was only offered with steel mountings.

 

[Hawg]

I stand corrected on the 51 but everything I can find on the 61 has brass grip frames as standard.

 

[Fingers McGee]

I've got the NRA Library reprint of the 1940 "A History of the Colt Revolver" by Haven & Belden. In it are copies/reprints of old 1860 vintage Colt advertisements. Here's the one for Augist 1865.

Brass, plated or blued mountings were offered at the same price. Don't know how many of each were made. Brass was probably the majority though.

 

[Hawg]

I stand corrected again. It's hell not having any of your reference books and having to rely on memory and internet.

 

[Fingers McGee]

Man can I Identify with that. If I'd have known I was gonna live this long, I'd have taken beter care of myself.

 

[Hawg]

I know the feeling. I've got tons of books still at my moms. Mostly Civil War reference and history books. No place to put them here.