Colt 1877 Lightning
Colt's Manufacturing Company · Pistol · Discontinued · 1877
Also known as: Lightning, Colt Model 1877 Lightning, Colt 1877 Double Action
Overview
The Colt 1877 Lightning is a compact six-shot double-action revolver and was Colt's first double-action design, as well as the first commercially successful American-made double-action cartridge revolver. The Lightning name specifically denoted the .38 Long Colt chambering (the .41 Long Colt version being the Thunderer and the .32 the Rainmaker). With its bird's-head grip and frame roughly 20 percent smaller than the Single Action Army, the self-cocking Lightning was favored by lawmen, gamblers and frontier travelers who wanted a concealable, fast-shooting handgun.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 680 g (24.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 230 mm (9.06") |
| Barrel Length | 114 mm (4.49") |
| Height | 122 mm (4.80") |
| Width | 34 mm (1.34") |
| Action Type | Revolving |
| Firing Mechanism | Double Action Single Action |
| Trigger Type | Double Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 6 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Rotary |
| Muzzle Velocity | 235 m/s (771 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 269 J (198 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 25 m (27 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Left Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- .38 Long Colt · primary — also known as .38 LC, .38 Colt
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Gate Loaded Cylinder
- Features: First Colt Double Action Revolver, Birds Head Grip, Gate Loaded, Black Powder Only, Compact Frame
Variants
- Colt Model 1877 Thunderer — Caliber Variant
Service history
Conflicts
- American Old West (Frontier era) (1877-1900)
Production
Estimated total produced: 166,849 · Production years: 1877-1909
Total Model 1877 output across all calibers (.32 Rainmaker, .38 Lightning and .41 Thunderer).
Origin
Country of origin: United States
Designer: William Mason
Discontinued: 1909
Notes
The Model 1877's intricate double-action lockwork was notoriously fragile and prone to spring breakage. Chambered for black powder only; factory boxes warned the gun was not adapted for smokeless powder. Barrel lengths ran from 2 to 3.5 inches without an ejector and 4.5 to 7.5 inches with an ejector.
Background
Billy the Kid is the outlaw most associated with the little Colt Lightning, and John Wesley Hardin and Doc Holliday are also tied to it, giving the fragile double-action an outsized reputation among gunfighters and gamblers who preferred it to the bulky .45 Single Action Army.