Handguns Colt 1851 Navy

C lot Archives? Do you mean Colt archives? If you could provide an address, I would love to contact Colt to see if they could shed any light on this revolver.
They can for $250 and if they don't find anything you don't get your money back.
https://coltarchives.com/
 
C lot Archives? Do you mean Colt archives? If you could provide an address, I would love to contact Colt to see if they could shed any light on this revolver.
I must not proofread my posts. Colt Archives has a phone #. you can call to see if they have(I believe they do) serial # on file for your Colt. If it was shipped south it will have a premium on its value
 
I must not proofread my posts. Colt Archives has a phone #. you can call to see if they have(I believe they do) serial # on file for your Colt. If it was shipped south it will have a premium on its value
Does anyone have the phone number? I can't imagine they will talk to me free of charge, but I'm willing to try. Sending in a written request for info costs $250. OUCH!!
 
$300 cost, not $250.
For some time, you could get a 10 percent discount if you were a member of the Colt Collectors Association (so, $270 instead of $300) but that discount ended some years ago.
I think the Colt Archive department is now completely separated from the Colt Manufacturing Company, which is now owned the Czech company ZČeská zbrojovka Group, or CZG
 
I have a Colt 1860 Army in .44 caliber, it was more accurate with ball than conical bullets. It's too worn to shoot anymore not in good shape, perhaps this is part of the accuracy issue.
 
I thought I would share with the group the gun that I have been fascinated with since I was a little boy, after seeing the 1967 movie "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". Clint Eastwood, and several other characters in the film, used the Colt 1851 Navy. In my humble opinion, this is the most beautiful handgun ever designed. It is elegant and lethal. It is a mixture of beauty and impeccable design. I bought the original Navy shown in the photos a few years ago. It was manufactured in 1861. It is in wonderful condition and I have fired it many times with both balls and conical bullets. It performed flawlessly. This particular gun has the initials KM with the number 63 on the brass back strap. I believe this to be a one time owner's initials from the year 1863. Feel free to weigh in on that one if you like. Any and all comments are welcome. Thanks.

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Wow! That is super cool! What a nice display too!
 
Very nice condition Colt. I might be off base, but I don't believe the KM to be a soldiers initials. What I do believe is the "KM 63" just might very well be a mark of the Prussian Royal Navy, the Königliche Marine. Take a look at Tim Prince's site https://collegehillarsenal.com/Foreign Arms/Scarce-Colt-KM-Marked-Prussian-Naval-Pistol-Flask. Could very well be part of the intercepted shipment of 3000 going to Russia. Could put a whole new history on this Colt's life.
Thank you for the internet link to College Hill Arsenal and its historical summary on the firearm. I agree that the "KM" is very likely what you indicate in your post. In addition, Colt might still have records of their sale to Prussia from that period.

You could spend many hours pointing out the inaccuracies in "spagetti westerns" (and many from Hollywood well). Remember, the movie was produced in Italy, written by non-historians, and was made to entertain, not instruct. And, it was immensely entertaining but that's about as far as I would go.

Many of the early Colt, Remington, and other black powder arms such as the 1851 Navy were later converted to accept fixed brass cartridge ammunition, e.g., the cylinders were re-bored to seat a modern cartridge. But, that didn't come until after the war (except for experimental models).

There is a great deal of material on the evolution of firearms and worth reading. You can download much of it from the internet. I would recommend reading about John Browning's life as one of the early inventors of firearms, and whose patents found their way into Colt and Remington's pockets.
 
I have a Pietta 1860 Colt Army 44... I modded it to allow for the Kirst conversion cylinder, it's a lot of fun to able to switch between cap and ball and metalic cartridges, all black powder of course.
 
Has anyone here a copy of Robert Jordan's book of a couple years ago on the Colt Navy models 1851 and 1861?
He is a fine researcher, as shown by his book on the 1849s, and collected info for years on these Navy models. The book was expensive, and I think now can be purchased new for $225. I have not seen it, but Bob Jordan certainly had access to all the Colt records and his reputation meant other collectors would share info with him.
What does he say about these KM marked Colt Navies?
 
Has anyone here a copy of Robert Jordan's book of a couple years ago on the Colt Navy models 1851 and 1861?
He is a fine researcher, as shown by his book on the 1849s, and collected info for years on these Navy models. The book was expensive, and I think now can be purchased new for $225. I have not seen it, but Bob Jordan certainly had access to all the Colt records and his reputation meant other collectors would share info with him.
What does he say about these KM marked Colt Navies?
I'll have to dig my copy out tomorrow
 
Nathan Swayze's book " '51 Navies" puts the KM's in the 31000- 32000 range. Robert Jordan's book " Colt 1851 and 1861 Navies and Conversions" runs 31500- 37500 serial range. So it would seem either someones "Fantasy Piece" or some other meaning entirely.
 
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