Post by bobs on Dec 20, 2020 17:44:24 GMT
In the December 2020 Newsletter, Andy, under the preface to the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, surmised that The Colt Peacemaker may be ironic, contrary to the perception that Americans do not 'do' irony.
This led to some correspondence between us, and the Newsletter editor, where it was suggested that it may be interesting, on a non-aviation subject for the Forum, rather than the Newsletter. I'm not an expert, just interested, and there are people far more knowledgeable about firearms than I in the land on the Second Amendment, and if you feel inclined it's out there, and even more detail than Wikipedia.
So, Colt's 'Peacemaker' was NEVER it’s name, but came about due to the late 19th Century marketing attempts of a Colt dealer (Benjamin Kitteredge & Co) in Cincinnati in October 1874. In order to counter another dealer’s nickname for the Colt, “The Equalizer”, they coined “The Peacemaker” for the revolver.
"Peacemaker" stuck in the popular idiom.
Both nicknames were invented because of the lawlessness of the West at the time, and that when this revolver was introduced (1873) it utilised a 0.45 solid cartridge instead of a cartridge, or chamber load and separate percussion cap. This was marketed as giving the owner of a Colt 45 an equal or better chance with opponents with the earlier weapons, if not a big advantage, if it came down to a prolonged shoot-out, as the reload time was shorter. Hence the Equalizer or Peacemaker moniker, as it could be viewed by the opponent without one as being at a ‘slight’ disadvantage!
So, probably not ironic at all!
The revolver in question’s proper designation is the Colt Model P, M1873, or more uniformly, the Single Action Army (aka. SAA). (Other nicknames are available.) Generally referred to as the SAA away from the publicly held perception, because the pistol was developed for the US Army and they bought loads of them, with an Artillery Model having a 5½” barrel instead of the Army’s 7½” barrel. This is principally due to having a more useful sized pistol when working with Artillery, as they were more likely to be working at closer ranges if they needed to use a Pistol! Other barrel lengths varied between 3½” (Storekeeper’s model – it lived in a drawer), and the ‘Buntline Special’ (12" or even 16" barrel length) - a publicity stunt.
Having said that, it was generally considered proficient if you could hit the target (person) with the SAA (7½” barrel) at 15 yards! Think of that next time you see the duel on the Main Street on a Hollywood Western! And for that matter, the lethality, if you could never be sure where the result would end up.
As an aside, there was also a version (among many others) called the ‘Frontier’. This wasn’t a 0.45, but a 0.44, and used a Winchester 0.44-40 cartridge. This was popular when ‘out West’ because it used the same cartridge as the ubiquitous Winchester Rifle (think Hollywood again!) and so the ‘cowboy’ needed only a single type of ammunition instead of two. Calibres of 0.22", 0.32" and 0.38" versions were also made, among many others.
Although John Wayne’s revolver (as were many other Western Actors’ revolvers) ostensibly appeared to have a 2000 round capacity, as they never seemed to reload, it was recommended that there were never more than 5 cartridges in the pistol. Loading was to put the first cartridge in, rotate the cylinder past the next chamber, leaving it empty, and then continue loading until you reached the next occupied chamber. This meant that the chamber under the hammer/firing pin was empty when completed. The reason? It was far from unknown that a small blow (however caused) to the hammer when in the fired position would make the pin and cartridge contact and detonate the percussion cap, thus injuring the wearer! Joke of the time was they had toes missing! Even the ‘Safety’ position wasn’t, as it could wear and slip off that step (this was square, the half-cock and full cock positions were notches). Some variants had interlocks to prevent this, but the five round maxim is still common. Worth noting is, that it is possible, note 'possible', to reload as you fire. This involves keeping the gate open and ejecting the spent cartridge as it arrives at the gate, and replacing the cartridge. Not recommended if you were in the OK Corral or facing Cochise, I wouldn't have thought.
It’s had numerous tweaks and alterations and is still in production (having had an on-off life) and is now in it’s 3rd Generation (which, with the interim changes and variations is probably the 123rd generation, or something!).
There was also a Bisley version, modified in the UK with a wider and lower hammer spur together with a more curved grip. This was designed for the shooting competitions at Bisley (UK) over ranges of 20 to 50 yards with short duration targets and only one shot per target allowed. Pancho Villa was an admirer of this model, which used the 'Frontier' cartridge. Villa was believed to have arthritis in his hands and found the Bisley grip more comfortable. Audie Murphy (the Hollywood actor and one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of WW2) injured his hands in WW2 and Gary Cooper gifted him a Bisley because of it's more comfortable grip. Many users have said it was more accurate than the standard SAA, attributed to the shape of the grip, as little else was different in the mechanics.
There's loads more about this subject, lest you fall asleep, and tons of contradictory stuff on the Internet, especially in rifling twist, and the change in cartridges used over time as Geneva Convention rules came in, why the cartridge had to change for the M1911 Automatic pistol, and so on…
Sorry to be tedious – there’s really much more, but this era of revolvers is a bit of a nerdy/geeky interest of mine, and with the UK's laws on firearms, online history is the only way of satisfying the curiosity. (Incidentally, the origin for this interest comes from Vauxhall’s ‘H’ Block in the 60s, which was known as The Armoury because the guys who made and maintained the press tools at the time, especially those on maintenance, passing their time waiting for something to break by making replica firearms, from duelling pistols to Bren Guns! As an apprentice, and being kept busy as an effect of this, I never got very far with such side projects!)
This led to some correspondence between us, and the Newsletter editor, where it was suggested that it may be interesting, on a non-aviation subject for the Forum, rather than the Newsletter. I'm not an expert, just interested, and there are people far more knowledgeable about firearms than I in the land on the Second Amendment, and if you feel inclined it's out there, and even more detail than Wikipedia.
So, Colt's 'Peacemaker' was NEVER it’s name, but came about due to the late 19th Century marketing attempts of a Colt dealer (Benjamin Kitteredge & Co) in Cincinnati in October 1874. In order to counter another dealer’s nickname for the Colt, “The Equalizer”, they coined “The Peacemaker” for the revolver.
"Peacemaker" stuck in the popular idiom.
Both nicknames were invented because of the lawlessness of the West at the time, and that when this revolver was introduced (1873) it utilised a 0.45 solid cartridge instead of a cartridge, or chamber load and separate percussion cap. This was marketed as giving the owner of a Colt 45 an equal or better chance with opponents with the earlier weapons, if not a big advantage, if it came down to a prolonged shoot-out, as the reload time was shorter. Hence the Equalizer or Peacemaker moniker, as it could be viewed by the opponent without one as being at a ‘slight’ disadvantage!
So, probably not ironic at all!
The revolver in question’s proper designation is the Colt Model P, M1873, or more uniformly, the Single Action Army (aka. SAA). (Other nicknames are available.) Generally referred to as the SAA away from the publicly held perception, because the pistol was developed for the US Army and they bought loads of them, with an Artillery Model having a 5½” barrel instead of the Army’s 7½” barrel. This is principally due to having a more useful sized pistol when working with Artillery, as they were more likely to be working at closer ranges if they needed to use a Pistol! Other barrel lengths varied between 3½” (Storekeeper’s model – it lived in a drawer), and the ‘Buntline Special’ (12" or even 16" barrel length) - a publicity stunt.
Having said that, it was generally considered proficient if you could hit the target (person) with the SAA (7½” barrel) at 15 yards! Think of that next time you see the duel on the Main Street on a Hollywood Western! And for that matter, the lethality, if you could never be sure where the result would end up.
As an aside, there was also a version (among many others) called the ‘Frontier’. This wasn’t a 0.45, but a 0.44, and used a Winchester 0.44-40 cartridge. This was popular when ‘out West’ because it used the same cartridge as the ubiquitous Winchester Rifle (think Hollywood again!) and so the ‘cowboy’ needed only a single type of ammunition instead of two. Calibres of 0.22", 0.32" and 0.38" versions were also made, among many others.
Although John Wayne’s revolver (as were many other Western Actors’ revolvers) ostensibly appeared to have a 2000 round capacity, as they never seemed to reload, it was recommended that there were never more than 5 cartridges in the pistol. Loading was to put the first cartridge in, rotate the cylinder past the next chamber, leaving it empty, and then continue loading until you reached the next occupied chamber. This meant that the chamber under the hammer/firing pin was empty when completed. The reason? It was far from unknown that a small blow (however caused) to the hammer when in the fired position would make the pin and cartridge contact and detonate the percussion cap, thus injuring the wearer! Joke of the time was they had toes missing! Even the ‘Safety’ position wasn’t, as it could wear and slip off that step (this was square, the half-cock and full cock positions were notches). Some variants had interlocks to prevent this, but the five round maxim is still common. Worth noting is, that it is possible, note 'possible', to reload as you fire. This involves keeping the gate open and ejecting the spent cartridge as it arrives at the gate, and replacing the cartridge. Not recommended if you were in the OK Corral or facing Cochise, I wouldn't have thought.
It’s had numerous tweaks and alterations and is still in production (having had an on-off life) and is now in it’s 3rd Generation (which, with the interim changes and variations is probably the 123rd generation, or something!).
There was also a Bisley version, modified in the UK with a wider and lower hammer spur together with a more curved grip. This was designed for the shooting competitions at Bisley (UK) over ranges of 20 to 50 yards with short duration targets and only one shot per target allowed. Pancho Villa was an admirer of this model, which used the 'Frontier' cartridge. Villa was believed to have arthritis in his hands and found the Bisley grip more comfortable. Audie Murphy (the Hollywood actor and one of the most decorated American combat soldiers of WW2) injured his hands in WW2 and Gary Cooper gifted him a Bisley because of it's more comfortable grip. Many users have said it was more accurate than the standard SAA, attributed to the shape of the grip, as little else was different in the mechanics.
There's loads more about this subject, lest you fall asleep, and tons of contradictory stuff on the Internet, especially in rifling twist, and the change in cartridges used over time as Geneva Convention rules came in, why the cartridge had to change for the M1911 Automatic pistol, and so on…
Sorry to be tedious – there’s really much more, but this era of revolvers is a bit of a nerdy/geeky interest of mine, and with the UK's laws on firearms, online history is the only way of satisfying the curiosity. (Incidentally, the origin for this interest comes from Vauxhall’s ‘H’ Block in the 60s, which was known as The Armoury because the guys who made and maintained the press tools at the time, especially those on maintenance, passing their time waiting for something to break by making replica firearms, from duelling pistols to Bren Guns! As an apprentice, and being kept busy as an effect of this, I never got very far with such side projects!)
