Colt da .41

[JimG]

Any help would be greatly appreciated on this. Long story short, given to me by My passed Uncle who lived in Las Cruces. I don't know why, but I am having a hard time figuring out what this one is. Definitely not my area of expertise. Marked as it says in the title. No other markings except what is in pictures. It has three file or cut marks on the crane, which my Uncle said was from three cattle rustlers killed. Buy the gun, not the story... I know. This was given to me by an old cowboy (Uncle) and that is what he told me. I am not looking to sell, so just any info would be appreciated. I looked up the serial # on Colt's website, and it says among many other possibilities, 1877 Thunderer. That doesn't match up with other pictures I have looked at. What say the experts?35041350423504335044

[Tuna]

I think you have a 1892 New Army & Navy 2 model. It's a civilian model Navy. The serial number should be on the butt. The other numbers like the cylinder release are assembly numbers.

[Cosine26]

For JimG

You have what was introduced as the :
Colt's New Navy Double Action Self-Cocking Revolver
Introduced in 1889. Manufactured from 1889 to 1892
Initially it had no cylinder locking notches on the cylinder but was held lined up by a double projection on the hand that gripped the ratchet on the back of the cylinder. This proved to be unsatisfactory and unreliable. It was upgraded to include a second type of cylinder lock with two notches on the cylinder for the locking bolts. The date of this modification was 1892.
The revised revolver was manufactured from 1892 -1908.
The revolver was introduced in .38 Short and Long Colt caliber. It has been identified as both the Colt New Navy and the Colt New Army. This revolver was procured by the USArmy as the M1892, and was the revolver that replaced the Colt Single Action. Later it was determined that the revolver could be cocked and fired without the cylinder being locked into battery. It was modified in 1895 to include an interlock so that the hammer could not be operated if the cylinder was not locked. The 1892 revolvers were recalled and replaced with the Model 1894 having the interlock. Subsequent models were designated, M1896, M1901, and M1903. All M1892 revolvers were recalled and altered to the M1894 version. This .38 Colt cartridge proved to lack stopping capability, causing the Army to overhaul and issue many of the old Single actions . In 1909 the Army adopted the Colts Model1909 (a version of the Colt New Service Revolver) in caliber .45 Colt model 1909. The rim on this cartridge was enlarged to provide for more positive extraction. The added rim size precluded loading more than three cartridges in the old Single Action though they were essentially the same round. .
In 1905 it was adopted, with a few modification as the Marine Corps Model 1905., which was manufactured from 1905 - 1910.
The 1898 Colt Catalog advertises it as the New Army Double Action Revolver in .38 and .41 Colt calibers. In an ad appearing in the Shooting and Fishing Magazine for August 18, 1904 , it is indicated that the bore has been reduced and that it can now accommodated the .38 S&W Special . The USMC version had the smaller bore.
The action of this revolver is not nearly so robust as the later Colts. In the .38 caliber, the cylinder will accept a .357 S&W Magnum round, and fire it with disastrous results!
I have one of these revolvers and have fired it with .38 S&W Special reduced wadcuttter loads, however you do so at your peril. The original .38 Colt cartridges were external lubricated and depended upon the hollow base expanding so that the bullet will take the rifling. Standard .38 caliber bullets are undersized for the original .38 Colt bore.
Standard bore size for the original revolver was .362 with the later versions (the .38 S&W special) being reduced to .357.
FWIW

[Art]

Cosine 26 is correct.

Does it work?? These guns are notoriously failure prone. If it does work shoot it very sparingly if at all. Colt makes limited runs of inside lube 41 Colt. As cosine 26 says the early cartridges were outside lubricated like a giant .22 rimfire. Colt later went to an inside lube bullet (what you'll get if you find them today) and they have a hollow base that expands to take the rifling like a mini ball. The new cartridges with their modified 200 gr .360 diameter bullets are less accurate than the old versions.

Elmer Keith liked the cartridge be cause he figured a 200 gr. .401 lead bullet was more effective than a 158-200 gr. .357 or .360 lead bullet. Several other revolvers were chambered for this cartridge and were quite serviceable but unfortunately yours is not one of them and if they bust they are usually not considered economically repairable. One of my uncles had one that belonged to his father in law who was quite a character, accountant and sometimes professional gun hand for John Chisum, Texas Ranger, Vigilante leader, cattleman and newspaper publisher. His .41 Model 92 looks good but is completely unusable. It has two notches on the bottom edge of the wood grip.

[JimG]

Thanks Gentlemen,
I appreciate the info. I won't be shooting this one. It has been shot enough already. Still a neat piece of history.
Jim