Colt 1878 DA Revolver It's a Beast!
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- Опубліковано 27 лип 2024
- In this video we’ll take a look at Colt’s second double action revolver, the Model 1878.
This is the double action version of the single action Army revolver, and it was available in most of the same chamberings as its single action counterpart.
This big revolver was targeted at the military market, but it saw most of its success in the civilian realm.
Mike Beliveau links:
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Website - mikebeliveau.com/ - Спорт
The 1880-90's era double action Webleys (commercial type) pistols I owned had magnificent double action triggers. Colt was just not "there" yet.
Having to either dodge all the good patents for a good double action, or to develop a DA action that THEY could patent probably hindered them as all the good ideas had already been made by their competitors.
@@MandoWookiebodeo chef's kiss
I agree. Military webley's had ok triggers but the wg army is fantastic, crazy light single action with a stupid long but still light double action.
C&Rsenal just did a review on this revolver and Othias had to adjust the tension down because it was piercing primers when set at full tension and Mae had a very hard time shooting the gun but the specimen they had looked perfect.
I wonder what the comparative lengths of the firing pins are. Could Mikes be slightly shorter?
@@gotsloco1810 I believe that the difference is the main spring Mikes has the original and the gun C&Rsenal had is the updated version with the longer trigger and heavier main spring.
I imagine there's also some difference with modern commercial pistol primers, and the military primers of old.
Ich liebe deine reviews.Du erklärst immer die Historie und das macht dich und deinen Kanal so wertvoll.Die technischen Details sind unbezahlbar.Man fühlt sich immer an deiner Seite wenn du auf dem Schießstand bist. …Vielen,vielen Dank dafür.
best regards from Duisburg/Germany
Helmut
"I love shooting history" is the greatest statement in the video. I am glad that you do because many of us immensely enjoy watching you do it. Thank you for sharing yet another enjoyable, entertaining, and informative video.
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it.
Having had the privilege of shooting one of those many decades ago I can attest to why Mike is gritting his teeth every time he pulls the trigger. Recently I came into possession of a Smith & Wesson Sigma and its trigger pull reminded me of that 1878 from years prior. Those light primer strikes in the 1878 were a concern also. Good videos Mike. Please keep them coming.
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
The double action trigger pull of the russian '95 nagant and also that of a dutch revolver intended for indonesian service are also very heavy in my limited experience.
The sigma S&W is useable but is not suitable for accurate rapid fire. At close range I can hit a water moccasin that is still.
@@loquat44-40 The Nagant has a 20 pound DA trigger,you almost have to use two fingers in order to pull it
Some Colt Troopers and Border Patrol models in the 1970s also had horrendously heavy DA triggers - some around 19 pounds. For someone used to Pythons, Diamondbacks, and Detective Specials, not to mention S&Ws, that was a travesty. Not sure why they were so heavy. This was a really informative video.
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
Yes! I had one and it seemed out of character with the earlier Official Police ,Police Positive and Cobra I had.I was so unimpressed ,that I soon traded it.And in the seventies ,I think Smith&Wesson was beginning to dominate the market.Real disappointed with that model.
They were heavy because with the previous springs the gun fired too inconsistently, with many light strikes of the primer occurring.
Loving these videos that feature the early DA revolvers ! More please Mr Bellevue!
If you like Mike's videos on these try C&Rsenal . They have some in-depth stuff and some good history on thier use as well as live fire. Mike does a good job too. Keep up the good work!
Thanks!
@@duelist1954 do the remington rider when ya can 🤩
@@Bucky1836 Will Do.
@@coldandaloof7166 c&rsenal is great but sometimes I don't have 3 hours to watch a video. Mike has the video length down.
Good stuff Mike. Now we need a redux. On the 1911. You did mention it here. Just playing . I do love my .45 i know you do also. Have a Great Week. Joe Security.
Great video, and interesting info regarding how the 45 ACP came about, shame the 1878 has such issues but still a great piece of history, thanks Mike
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
Great Video, Mike, as always. Well you answered a question that has always troubled me. My grandfather carried a Colt double action 45 Colt when he was a cowboy in Nebraska. That would have been around 1910 to 1915. But it had a long trigger and I was told it was known as the Alaskan or Philippine model. So you have confirmed the model and I appreciate that. Unfortunately my older brother just had to have it when dad passed so it is lost to us now. I was able to shoot it many years ago and I think I fired it once in double action and it was tough to pull thru and I was about 16 at the time. Thank you for the info.
Check out C&Rsenal’s video on that revolver. It just came out a week or two ago. Very informative. Have a great day.
So that's what it is. One of my local pawn shops has the 1902 Philippines variant of the 1878. I thought it was goofy looking but also neat.
Good to see you posting another video. Thank you for posting
My pleasure
I'm always wondered about the double actions from this era. It seems weird that a single action gun that loads (and unloads) through a gate could really be considered superior by contemporary shooters. Thanks for all the interesting answers to this question you've been providing.
Good info on this revolver and I had not heard about the reason for the ballistics of the .45 Auto before. That Tranter revolver may or may not have worked well but it definitely is a revolver only it's mother could love.
That's why the .45 Auto cartridge is really cool to me, it's got the hitting power of an old blackpowder army revolver, but without the smoke and fouling, and you can get one which can shoot 15 rounds in the time an old revolver could have fired 6.
If you wanna see a more pretty .577 caliber revolver, by the way, look up the Bland Pryse, it's like the André The Giant of top-break revolvers.
I always love your historical videos, and I learn something more each time. Thanks for producing this!
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Vert good! Thanks for sharing!
Another fantastic video, Mike, thank you very much. As always, I really appreciate the in-depth information and "myth busting" you do.
Thanks Hugh
love your videos and watch all of them
"History is typically NOT soft and comfy !!"
A wealth of info Mike. Thank you again. Like the history as much as the firearms.
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
It's super funny the introduction with all the shooting on the background
Thx for the info Mike.
VERY informative.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I love Thursday's, a good cup of coffee and a episode of Mike ,thanks Mike
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
Another great video, I just saw your awesome Tokarev video, you haven't aged a bit. Clean living 👍
Or good lighting…LOL
Nice, great history with it!!
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
I am thinking of buying one. I always check here first, as your impressions are important in showing what a gun is really like. I love historical guns best, no matter where they are from, but the old west is my favorite era.
that trigger pull lives on in Nagant revolvers and my new SCCY 9mm .. LOL
LOL!
You have the best weekly show on TV right now haha! Im am always excited every week to watch your new episodes; if i could use only two words to describe your channel Mike, it would be “Fun and Worthwhile!”
Thanks!
Would you ever consider doing a video on showing each of your black power long guns? Like your video where you showed all your cap and ball six guns. Really enjoyed that.
@@jonathancollins6252 I'll put it on the list.
Great video!!
Thanks!
That's a big, honkin' gun! I'm chuckling to myself thinking that Colt's best advertisement for their SAA, could be the DA trigger pull & occasional misfiring caps on the '78...
Enjoyed the video
Thanks
Cool thanks for sharing
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I remember seeing that gun used by Wyatt Earp in Tombstone, except his had a Nickel plating.
Very interesting video.
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
The beast has some recoil!
I'll say!
What is not to like about a big bore Colt revolver. I have a M1917 and recently got a hold of a Colt new service in 45LC. The trigger pull is hard but smooth the weight gets you back on target quickly. You are correct these are a great deal of fun to shoot.
Mike, another great video. I think I'll take your advice and pass on a 1878 and look for a Smith and Wesson Frontier model DA in 44-40. I have my eyes on one...Yes I'm going to shoot it!! Thank you again for doing all the hard work in putting these video's together! You helped decide as well!
Nice to see you and C&Rsenal doing some of the same handgun recently, especially of ones very seldom covered/shot in youtube videos. Variety of opinion is good as welll (Mae loved the 1877 but not so much the 1878) so it's been fun learmning about these early DA colts
In that case, I agree with Mae. I also really like the 1877.
I really enjoy your history videos
Thanks!
My grandpa was a shepherd in Laredo Texas in the 1950s and 60s and I remember he always carried a Colt SAA that he got from his father, I remember every time he shot it ( on the back yard and the neighbors used to do the same thing in their homes too ) it was lots of smoke the only thing you could compare it to was a BBQ grill lol
Sounds like INDIANAPOLIS on Saturday night agian. Great video thanks for shareing.
Really interesting thank you.
Thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Haha you had me laughing there a couple times Mike. All the great detail in history is what really makes these videos for me. Really appreciate all the work you put into these vids, I’ve learned a lot from you. My favorite are your 18th century muzzleloaders!
I have a video planned on a new shot bag for civilian flintlock smooth bore guns…probably two or three weeks out.
Sweet! Will look forward to it!
Hey Mike, could you do a video on cleaning these 1878DA revolvers?
I recently got one and have been reluctant to shoot it simply because cleaning the internals seems like a daunting task.
Enjoy your videos, keep’em coming!
Great review! I love seeing vintage arms taken out again with black powder cartridges. I had the pleasure to experience a Colt's 1902 Philippine Model some years ago, using .45 Colt BP cartridges of my own fabrication. The revolver that I shot performed well, and the DA pull was not disconcerting. Aimed, single action fire was good. Cartridges consisted of Ideal #454190 bullets, 35 gr FFg GOEX, and magnum primers. I would be delighted to see an accurate reproduction of this revolver come from Italy!
That long trigger must help. I have never shot a 1902
@@duelist1954 That may very well have been it for me; the DA travel was long, but not difficult.
The double-action .38 revolver would be a good subject for a video I think, aside from not being very powerful, even by blackpowder .38 caliber standards, an impression I get is that it was simply a difficult gun to shoot with any accuracy with the ammunition at the time (apparently the headspacing was poor).
So I imagine a lot of people may have thought they got a good shot on a Moro, but in reality they got a glance or even a miss, and even when they got a clear hit, it didn't exactly hit very hard.
I’ll add it to the list
The 1878 colt is the revolver that my dad use back when he was kind of an oitlaw when his young
Just another day in Dodge City. :)
LOL
The Colt SAA 1873 revolver was never re-issued to the US Army during the Philippine War. The 1902 Colt DA was the pistol that was issued to the troops. Many officers and men chose to use their personal firearms, including the Colt SAA, instead of using the standard 1892 Colt or the newer 1902 Colt revolvers.
"Many of these martial Colts saw additional action in the Spanish-American War and during the Philippine Insurrection, when numerous mothballed SAAs were reconditioned and reissued with their 7.5-inch barrels trimmed to 5.5 inches." www.shootingillustrated.com/content/classics-colt-single-action-army-revolver/
@@duelist1954 That reference in the magazine article is rather vague and non-specific. Colt and the US Armory at Springfield started altering the Colt SAA with the shorter 5.5-inch barrel in 1895, well before the start of the conflicts in Cuba and the Philippines. As a result, SOME soldiers in US Regular Army units and National Guard units were armed with these pistols by the time of the conflicts some years later (Rick Sapp, Standard Catalog of Colt Firearms, 2007). The Colt Model 1902 was specifically designed and issued to replace the M1892 Colt during the height of the conflict in the Philippines. By the time the M1909 Colt revolver was issued, the conflict was nearly over and were not issued in any significant numbers.
Awesome 👌
Good Video
Thanks! I'm glad you liked it.
I love the look of the 4 inch and 5 1/2 inch but ill take what i find im looking for a 44 wcf
I wish you would do more side by side comparisons to let us get a better idea of size, throw it on a scale, etc.
In this case I'd loved to have seen it side by side the Colt SAA and the 1877
Wish I’d a shot counter, to see how much the guys playing soldiers in the next lane wasted !
The problem’s with the early double action is the reason the single action army stayed around. I don’t think that there is a any of good looking firearm than the colt single action army revolver and it for the most part works without malfunction’s
Question: in revolver where is the pressure the highest. The colt 1878 designers seemed to think it was at the rear of cylinder. I always assumed it was apt to be highest at the front of the cylinder where the bullet enters the barrel's forcing cone: fact is I really do not know.
Depends on the type of case the cartridge uses as well. Look at the Forgotten Weapons video about the Colt Elmer Keith blew up trying to magnumize .45 Colt. In that case it was definitely the case base that blew.
@@MandoWookie it was the construction of the original 45 Colt. Balloon head. They didn’t have as much brass in the base of the cartridge. Fluid dynamics tells us the pressure is equal in all directions. If the cartridge is tapered the base base more area for the pressure to act on, so it exerts more force, but the pressure is the same.
@@gunsnwater2668 Was more than just the ballonhead brass of the time, a lot of Keith's early handloading adventures were downright dangerous, the first .45 Colt he blew up was because he had loaded the cartridges with .458 caliber projectiles, a good bit too large for the .452 caliber bore of that poor 1873 revolver, lol.
.44 Special would work out a lot better for him not just because of the modern brass casing, but also because the chambers were left with slightly thicker walls. Sticking to .429 caliber projectiles for a .429 caliber gun was another critical point.
Hey Mike. Good video, as always. I am wondering if you have any load data for the 41 colt? Could you give us a video?
Thought he was gonna use that revolver the way Bugs Bunny did on that one dude who wouldn't stop coughing during the piano recital for a minute.
Great gun,but it sounds like Evil Roy followed you there.
A few years ago a local shop had a nice one, nickel plated, $1,800. I passed on it though I often wonder if I should've bought it.
Of course you should have....LOL
If it's any solace, they're apparently not very fun to shoot by many people's accounts.
@@0neDoomedSpaceMarine Single action isn't bad, double not so nice.
@@3ducs Like a Nagant, then.
A lot of these really old double-actions seems like they're best used in single-action at most times, with double-action making sense if you ever have to draw and point-shoot from the hip or in a struggle or something, where fine precision doesn't matter.
Man, that revolver really has an authorative *"thump"* to it when it fires (at least according to the acoustics of the location and the mic you use). It's how an old big bore blackpowder revolver like this oughta sound in a movie or game.
That’s not an illusion. It is a thumper.
@@duelist1954 It would be nothing else, but things like that don't always come across appropriately on some microphones and in some locations.
My Dad had a 1877 in 41 Colt. We weren't allowed to shoot it because ammo wasn't made for it and he had a limited supply. The S&W Schofield will back spin that is the reason I sold my Uberti copy. Why S&W though that wasn't a problem is a mystery to me.
Fun fact: when the fanatic Moros caused the army to change from .38 to .45, it made no difference; the Moros were still just as hard to put down.
When I was a teenager, 1983/1984, I had a .44/40, but traded it for a new Remington 1100. Regretted doing so.
A bermont-adams converted to cartridges and chopped to a “Fitz Special” sounds like a cool 19th century mugger stopper
I am curious during the 1870s and 1880s what were people using for self defense other than firearms. I'm sure some couldn't afford a gun so they must have used something.
As cool as as influential of guns as those are if I were buying a revolver from that era a Smith would be my pick
Oh nice
Thanks!
Nice
Ahahaha the shooting in the background! As a grown man, I now retreat all those times I fired my sks as fast as I could next to the old bench rest shooters at the range! Ahaha
The American gun companies tried having DA/SA triggers in their revolver setups(Remington and Starr) but the private citizens looked at them funny and gave up except those saw why the Limeys military like using them in hand-to-hand melee scenarios and successfully tried them out. Colt and S & W could have tried a DA/SA trigger based a 2nd modified Beaumount-Adams version of an UK Deane Harding revolver for easier maintenance.
I like your videos
Thanks!
Hey mike do you think that there might be a way to lighten the trigger pull and make it reliably fire. I wonder if the firing pin might be a tad short. Seems like that hammer is falling with some Authority. but I can't tell through the video.
This is one that I wish the Italians would copy. Or at least the external looks, I love the profile.
It is distinctive, that's for sure.
This guy's a national treasure seriously
Awww…LOL
@@duelist1954 lol seriously though love your vids.
The 19th century Double Eagle.
“ Hi..blam...I’m Mike. Today blam blam kapow...we are...boom blam blam....going to..blam bang boom....”.
Guess the ammo shortage is over? Or is that the Kiev gun club?
Ahhahahaha!
Good video Mike.
Fox out.
Sure sounded like it...LOL
Billy the Kid used a Colt Lighting or so I am told.
It was more like "least" than the Beast. Model 1877 is a beauty (and the beast) - if I had to choose between the two models, I'd rather go for a 38 Lightning (not to be confused with Lockheed's P38 Lightning) under any circumstances...
Mike have you ever fired an 1895 Nagant revolver?
No
Doc Holliday carried a Colt Lightning.
Unfortunate gunfire interruption
How many colt SAA do you think found their way into the trenches of the western front?
I have one in 44-40 with a 5 1/2" Barrel.... Mine does fairly well... I rarely have light primer strikes, but does for sure have a God Awful Trigger!....
Hey Mike, will holsters for the SAA fit ok for the 1878?
They do.
I have one in .38 long colt and i really would like to shoot it, but I can never find ammo!
I've always found the "Moro Issue" to be a funny one. Ah .38 won't put 'em down, need a .45...but humans had been fighting highly motivated natives, many doped up on their own concoctions, with even teeny single-shot weapons for years. I find it interesting that the prominence of DA/self-loading repeaters/rapid-fire and the dismal insufficiency of the smaller rounds came about at the same basic time. My theory is simple; you don't drop 100% of the "doped up natives" you don't hit. The soldiers got a gun in hand that could rattle off a box of ammo with ease, and the faster you can shoot, the faster you will shoot. The .38 wasn't insufficient, but when fired as fast as they could, wasn't very accurate. Rounds that spray around a Moro Warrior are less likely to kill him than the ones that hit him dead center. Drugs might make him more motivated, but heart and lungs with holes in them do tend to hinder even the drugged. The mindset simply changes when you know "If I don't hit with this round, I might with the next." whereas with a single-action it's always in your mind to make the rounds in the gun do work because it's slow to reload. I've taught people who can keep a single-action .22 Ruger Bearcat under a fist-sized group at 10 yards. Hand them a Buckmark and somehow their group opens up to "lucky if it stays on a full-size silhouette" at ten yards thanks to "rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat" with very little aiming done in between. Once they figure out they "don't have to fuddle with the gun" for the next round, it becomes volley fire.
The moros would wrap their torso in a certain type of material (i can't remember what it was but imagine the way indians would wrap their body for a cracked or broken rib) that essentially acted as a soft/lightweight body armor. The ballistics on the .38 Colt are very weak. Even the .36 Navy loaded with a full chamber of powder and a round lead ball was a much more effective stopper than the pointed bullets and light charge of the .38 Colt. So, if you combine the piss poor ballistics of the .38 Colt with the tightly wrapped material they used as body armor, and given they were probably shot from at least 25 yards away because you naturally want to stop the enemy before he gets that close to you then yes, the story makes complete sense. Accurate double action shooting with a .38 Colt would have been much easier than with a double action .45, so poor shooting wouldn't be solved by a heavier recoiling cartridge. Even if the body wrap didn't stop the bullet from penetrating, with the loss of velocity from the distance and the material slowing the bullet down further, the moros could easily sustain wounds that would be mortal but wouldn't stop them in the least. And that's without the drugs because adrenaline alone would have helped.
So, at the end of the day that crazy motherf***er coming at you will still be able to chop your head off.
Can the model 1878 be carried with 6 rounds or only 5?
Only 5 safely
So, a double action SAA?
Bastards wit guns....making so much noise! Well, I guess that's what guns do....make noise. Long live liberty! Hey, Poncho, hey Cisco... let's ride!
Guns
"So, this double action revolver is --"
*bang bang pow pow bang pow*
"...its...."
*bang bang pow bang pow*
"....and, ah..."
*bang bang pow ptow pow*
😒
LMAO
Hey, where's the 3/10/22 vid? Is Mike Ok?
I'm fine, but life got in the way last week. Between doing taxes, getting my truck inspected, coordinating an excavating project for my gun club, and dealing with being ripped off by my website developers, I just couldn't get a video out on Thursday. The good news is that I just finished next week's video.
I was wondering too, glad your good
Shame. When i was a kid i would imagine myself in the brendan fraiser movie “the mummy” with a pair of colt model 1878 and a browning A5.
Honestly, I thought it would be a lot more fun to shoot than it turned out.
@@duelist1954 oh i bet. Those 1877’s though. Wow a real gunfighters gun. Quick and sleek. A sports car.
@@burnsboysaresoldiers Yup. I love shooting my 1877.
1:26 Mike coming to you live from Ukraine lol
“….so we’re not gonna have an Alec Baldwin….”😆😆😆😆😆
at 2'30"... the shooting range is locaded on the fire front line in Ukrain?
;)
Could have the Philippine Model been designed two finger pull?
It wasn't designed for that, but, no doubt some people did that.
@@duelist1954 Try the two finger pull? The Filipinos were smaller so it would make sense.
Shofiield sure had a bad run until 1911. Could have been a good run and a lot better than the propriatory .45 colt at the time. There was a reason the .45 colt dissapeared for many years. It would have been a marriage made in heaven if Shoefield got his cartride in the British realm and British officers had bought American rifles to compliment their revolvers++. It may had stayed stronger and even had continental usage today.(continent not disclaimed)
First