THE REMINGTON MODEL 1875 SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER
This magnificent piece of armament, issued in 1875 by the famous gunmaker of Ilion, NY, was meant to be a reply to the tremendous success gained by the Colt Single Action Army issued two years earlier.
Like its challenger, this revolver, technically obsolete before it was issued due to its single-action lock and its fixed cylinder, proved to be of an excellent quality, exceptionally powerful and resistant. Unfortunately however, it would never reach the success of the Colt.
Remington came two years too late and the revolver offered no innovations that would make it take over the market.
As a direct successor of the New Model Army percussion revolver, it has its general pattern. The maker even kept the famous web-like contour under the barrel, which has no real function on that model.
Sold under the official name "Model 1875 Single Action Army", 25.000 of these revolvers were produced between 1875 and 1889.
About 10.000 were sold to the Egyptian Government and 1.000 to the Mexican Army. Those received specific Mexican military markings. Due to lack of archives, it has not yet been established wether the Ordonnance Department purchased this revolver for the Army.
On the other hand, the Interior Department purchased 1.300 of them for issue to their agents working in the Indian reservations of the Western states. Those were all nickel plated.
The gun was available in calibres .44 Remington CF, 44/40 WCF and .45 Long Colt (45 Gov). The latter is quite scarce and has a slightly longer cylinder to prevent accidental mounting on a .44 frame. The gun presented here is one of them, as shown by the "45" stamped on the left grip.
The barrel is round over its full length and has a standard length of 7.5 inch. However, a few specimens featuring an original 5.5 inch barrel are known.
Standard finishes were fully blued or nickel-plated. Of course engraved finish and ivory or pearl grips were available on special order.
Marcel
