Be still, my heart.
Colts and Winchesters have been a large part of my gun collecting, and in particular, 1892 Winchesters and 1873 (SAA) Colts. Over 150,000 of the Colts were chambered in .45 Long Colt, and 29 other calibers, but there's no record of there ever having been one in .25WCF (25-20)
Winchester Introduced their 1873 lever action the same year that Colt brought their revolver out, initially in .45 Long Colt. Very shortly thereafter, Colt offered the revolver in .44 WCF (44-40) as a complimentary sidearm to the 1873 Winchester, offered in .32WCF (32-20) .38WCF (38-40) and .44WCF. It just made sense that the man on the horse wanted to carry one cartridge. There has long been a "story" that a representative from Colt insulted a representative from Winchester at a dinner, and that Winchester decided never to offer the 1873, and the later 1892, also a pistol chambered rifle, in .45 Long Colt.
The Colt revolver was quite expensive in comparison to other guns of the times, such as Merwin & Hulbert and others, so it was generally the lead wrangler, or trail boss who was lucky enough to have a Winchester and a Colt.
I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to shoot your '92 with the screw in the stock. There's very little recoil to the .25-20.
Is your Colt stamped U.S. on the left side of the frame just behind the patent dates? If so, and has a 7 1/2" barrel, it's refereed to as a Calvary model. If it has a 5 1/2" barrel, it is referred to as an Artillery model, though many Artillery guns were factory modified from Calvary models. The vintage of the Colt is such that if a Martial gun (stamped U.S.) you would be well advised to get a Colt historical letter. (Compared to the PGCA letter, they're expensive) There are many blocks of serial numbers in that era that have huge significance, such as Rough Rider guns (typically $40k and up) Still, the intrinsic value, that your friend thought enough of you to be their bext custodian is more than money.
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09-23-2011, 06:41 PM
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