Colt M1889 "Navy" Double Action Revolver, .41 Long Colt, SCARCE 3-Inch Barrel​ $4500

Please text anytime 6476871484. Fully functional double action revolver compact in perfect and ready to shoot condition.
No PAL required.
Comes with FRT paperwork.
Reloadable ammo is available but sold separately.

Colt M1889 "Navy" Double Action Revolver, .41 Long Colt, 3-Inch Barrel​.

This model is a marked departure from previous Colt revolver designs, and would be produced in a few variants from 1889 until 1907, with some 330,000 made. Many were sold to the US military. It has a counter-clockwise rotating cylinder with locking slots on the back.

This one is in very fine condition with a scarce 3-inch barrel. It retains about 95% of the blue. Excellent, sharp markings, matching assembly numbers on all parts. Nice nitre-blue on the hammer and trigger. The action is crisp and strong, and the cylinder indexes and locks properly. The bore is very fine and bright, with sharp rifling. The black plastic grips are very fine and undamaged . SN 25826, rated excellent overall.

History & Background

This model is an important milestone in Colt handgun development, as it is the first American revolver with a swing-out cylinder mounted on a crane, a development which would become the standard for modern revolvers to this day. The 1889 cylinder mechanism was already "on the books" as early as 1880, based on designs of Colt engineers William Mason, C.J Ehbets and Horace Lord. It would take almost ten years for Colt executives to give the green light to manufacture this gun, and once it was available, the US government quickly took notice and ordered several thousand for the Navy. Colt adopted the name "New Navy" in honor of this order. The gun has an interesting counter-clockwise cylinder rotation and a locking mechanism which relies entirely on the two-pronged hand. The 1889 model would remain in production for 18 years, with significant improvements in 1892, 94, 95, 96, 1901 and 1903. When it was first introduced in 1889, it met with no competition from the other major makers - Smith & Wesson were still heavily engaged in manufacturing top-break revolvers, and Remington only had their solid frame revolvers with removable cylinders to offer. It would take S&W another ten years before they had a viable alternative to Colt's design.