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Little Bighorn battlefield relic- Colt SAA #7047 Login/Join 
Peace through
superior firepower
Picture of parabellum
posted
Scrolling through the youtube comments, there's nothing but outrage and sanctimony that the owner of this pistol removed a chunk of rust to confirm the frame serial number. They seem to forget that the pistol, after being found on the battlefield in 1933, was lost for decades until he identified it. We are looking at the pistol only because of this "irresponsible" guy.

People just love to latch onto things to be indignant about. What the man did was minimal and served to further confirm the nature of the relic.

Why was this pistol left on the field by the Indians? I'm guessing the grip frame was stepped on by a pony. The Indians were not going to take a broken pistol when there were so many pistols and rifles in working order they could pick up. It's not as if they could take it to their gunsmithing shop and have the armorer order replacement parts.

At any rate, I'll leave all the huffing and puffing to the half-assed museum curators on youtube who didn't find this lost pistol.

 
Posts: 107241 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
semi-reformed sailor
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Very cool.



"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein

“You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020

“A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker
 
Posts: 11239 | Location: Temple, Texas! | Registered: October 07, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Regardless of condition or the actions of the owner, an amazing piece of history.


End of Earth: 2 Miles
Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles
 
Posts: 15999 | Location: Marquette MI | Registered: July 08, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Partial dichotomy
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Fascinating! But that cameraman needs some training. Big Grin




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Posts: 38587 | Location: SC Lowcountry/Cape Cod | Registered: November 22, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
superior firepower
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Yes, shit camera work. Kinda frustrating towards the end.
 
Posts: 107241 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Low Speed, High Drag
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I wonder how many other firearms from that battle are still around and in what condition




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Posts: 10353 | Location: Santa Rosa County | Registered: March 06, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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The 7th Cav. was documented as being issued about 300 SAAs prior to Little Big Horn. How many are in existence is anyone's guess and I would not be surprised that a few are in the hands of Indian families.
I would say a "Custer Colt" is the holy grail for collectors of martial Colt SAAs.


End of Earth: 2 Miles
Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles
 
Posts: 15999 | Location: Marquette MI | Registered: July 08, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Parrot Head
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The find itself is amazing, moreso because of the documentation to go with it.

The process he chose, yeah, not so much. Crime labs are interested in developing leads to solve crimes, not in restoration or conservation, and may use destructive processes to evaluate evidence.

That gun is beyond all hope of restoration, so it would've been better to take the conservation approach involving rust conversion. The method he chose will actually promote further deterioration, unless he takes additional steps to prevent it.

Having said that, he bought and owns the relic, and I'm not going to waste any effort condemning him or lose any sleep over it.

If he was going to go the trouble of sharing the story of this interesting relic and showing the process he used, it would've been nice to use a more professional video/ audio set up and pushing for a more informative and quality presentation... but I still appreciate learning about this.
 
Posts: 7324 | Location: the Centennial state | Registered: August 21, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
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https://holabirdamericana.live...5-REVOLVER_i24628319

Sold for 33K in May, 2016. Since the video in my first post is dated December, 2016, and the narrator says he bought the pistol "five years ago at the Louisville Show of Shows" I guess that video as it exists now on youtube is a re-upload by someone else.

So, he knocked off a chunk of rust and the pistol sold for 33K. I notice, though, in the auction link, there is no mention of the owner performing the action we see in the video.




Yes, oh my. Just look at all the damage he did to this pistol.



The cylinder contains neither live cartridges or spent cases. You can see how the triggerguard strap is bent. I think the pistol was stepped on by an Indian pony while it was laying on its left side on the ground, then picked up and checked to see if it had any live rounds in it, which would be the only useful thing to the Indians.
 
Posts: 107241 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
semi-reformed sailor
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Would be nice to see it conserved. It looks like in the pics that is has not been converted yet. All it takes is boiling it a few times..



"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” Robert A. Heinlein

“You may beat me, but you will never win.” sigmonkey-2020

“A single round of buckshot to the torso almost always results in an immediate change of behavior.” Chris Baker
 
Posts: 11239 | Location: Temple, Texas! | Registered: October 07, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Assuming it was rusted solid in the condition it was dropped, the hammer is in the half cock or loading notch, which could indicate it was in the process of being reloaded when dropped.
 
Posts: 2465 | Location: WI | Registered: December 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Peace through
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quote:
Originally posted by bigwagon:
Assuming it was rusted solid in the condition it was dropped, the hammer is in the half cock or loading notch, which could indicate it was in the process of being reloaded when dropped.
The mainspring is gone. The hammer will move freely without the mainspring (though, of course, not now). The idea that the pistol was taken out of the hands or dropped by the trooper at the moment he had expended cartridge cases and was about to reload it is the stuff of fantasies. The Indians removed all functional firearms and all ammunition from the battlefield. Likely, the cylinder was emptied by the Indian who picked it up after the battle.
 
Posts: 107241 | Registered: January 20, 2000Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by parabellum:
quote:
Originally posted by bigwagon:
Assuming it was rusted solid in the condition it was dropped, the hammer is in the half cock or loading notch, which could indicate it was in the process of being reloaded when dropped.
The mainspring is gone. The hammer will move freely without the mainspring (though, of course, not now).

Not exactly true. With the mainspring removed, the trigger spring will still hold the trigger against the hammer notches. It will fall back to the safety notch first, then half cock, etc. under some resistance from the trigger spring. Regardless of who or how, the gun obviously was unloaded by someone since it apparently contains neither neither live or fired rounds.
 
Posts: 2465 | Location: WI | Registered: December 29, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I saw a documentary a while back where researchers mapped out the battle by recovering spent cartridge cases. Fascinating stuff that pretty much debunked the "Last Stand" narrative. When I worked at a gun shop some years ago, an SAA came in the door that was early 1900s made. I asked my boss, a guy who was well versed in SAAs, why there were no more of them in existence. He said it was a combination of factors:
Metallurgy of the time was particularly susceptible to corrosion.
The corrosive nature of Black powder.
Lack of care and carry / use under harsh conditions.
Then guns were considered tools and as such there was no interest or desire to preserve them.
Too bad more of them arent around!


End of Earth: 2 Miles
Upper Peninsula: 4 Miles
 
Posts: 15999 | Location: Marquette MI | Registered: July 08, 2014Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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Assuming this guy bought the revolver in, say, 2005 or so, it had been missing but in somebody's collection for 70 or so years, longer than it was lost on the battle field. I have to bet that the seller in 2005 or so had no real idea of the history of the piece.

Somebody may have told him the family lore about how they snagged a pistol from Little Big Horn, and he didn't believe it. You have to be careful with tall tales told by Gramps... they have a nasty habit of having some truth in them.


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Posts: 2064 | Location: The Sticks in Wisconsin. | Registered: September 30, 2012Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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W0W-thanks for posting this.


Don't. drink & drive, don't even putt.


 
Posts: 1629 | Location:  | Registered: March 28, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Oh stewardess,
I speak jive.
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Fascinating story and history.
 
Posts: 25613 | Registered: March 12, 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I visited the Battlefield earlier this year. Definitely an experience. There is a walking or driving loop with markers and things to read, and photographs from the era to compare with landmarks that are still visible today. There are markers where bodies were recovered as well. Highly recommended if you enjoy history of that sort.





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___

Kill every last one of these goddamned animals. We need a president with balls. We need leadership. We should be carpet bombing these barbarians wherever we find them, and we should be looking for them 24/7. We have to unleash Hell upon them. They understand nothing but death, so death is what we should bring them, wholesale.... Para

I left "practical" behind many years ago. It was covered with my first Glock 19. (Fredward)
 
Posts: 2490 | Location: Kentucky | Registered: July 09, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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quote:
Originally posted by hjs157:
quote:
Originally posted by YooperSigs:
I saw a documentary a while back where researchers mapped out the battle by recovering spent cartridge cases.


As I recall, unusually arid conditions in Montana led to soil erosion which unearthed many artifacts. From the position and array of recovered cartridge casings, it was determined the Indians were much better armed than historians previously believed.


When we visited there a couple of years ago, the tour guide told us that there was a fire a number of years back caused by a careless visitor. While an unfortunate event, the fire burned off all the prairie grass, and after it was over they discovered a large number of artifacts that had previously been lost in the grass and soil.

One of the most remarkable things about Little Bighorn is how they have arranged the markers as close as they could tell to the actual locations where the men fell. As a visitor, this gives a great perspective on how the battle played out and where significant skirmishes occurred. I've never been to another battlefield that was laid out quite like that, and I have to say that it makes it somehow more personal as you walk through the place and can actually see where men died fighting all around you. It's a very somber and reverent place.

As to the revolver from the OP, that's an incredible find and an incredible piece of history. While I believe such artifacts should be treated with respect, sometimes it's necessary to do things to verify their authenticity in order to ensure that they can be preserved for future generations. It's not like the gun is still in the actual condition that it was when it was dropped...the elements have seen to that.
 
Posts: 8398 | Location: In the Cornfields | Registered: May 25, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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I spent a summer working at the hospital on the Crow rez which is a couple hundred yards from the battlefield itself.

I've walked as much of that (battlefield) area as anyone has, at times with Crow guides, and have come to the conclusion that Custer was an idiot. He got lucky a few times during the Civil War and thought that he was a genius. Nope...he got lucky...until he didn't.

The history of this pistol is fascinating. To think that it was there...that day...and that now, 145 years later, someone is holding it...wow.

That kind of stuff just turns my crank.


________________________________________________________
"Great danger lies in the notion that we can reason with evil." Doug Patton.
 
Posts: 19975 | Location: Montana | Registered: November 01, 2010Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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