A very special Colt Revolver

[fred cook]

Just added this one of a kind to my Colt collection! It is a Colt Thunderer that has been rebuilt into .22 RF by West Coast pistolsmith George Matthews. The revolver was originally built by Colt in 1881 and was re-built by Mr. Matthews in 1953 for personal use. He sleeved the barrel and cylinder, built a new rf firing pin, took the "hump" off the top of the grip to make it look more like a Colt SA and added a custom set of Ivory grips. He also re-case hardened the frame and rust blued the barrel, cylinder and grip frame. So, what we have here is a .22 revolver that is about 10% smaller than a SA that will fire in either single action or double action mode. While the Colt Lightning/Thunderer revolvers were known to be somewhat fragile and likely to get "out of sorts", this one works perfectly. It even made the 1969 issue of the Guns and Ammo annual! Some pictures:

[KFC911]

Wow, what a beautiful piece of history you have added there Fred....I always love the see your Ponies

[HardDrive]

Nice catch!

[fred cook]

one thing. Notice that there is no wear ring on the cylinder. That is because the bolt engages the cylinder from the rear on these guns. The problem with this design is that the cylinder is free to spin unless the trigger is pulled to the rear or if the hammer is cocked as in single action use. Colt used this same basic lock work on their 1889 model with the first swing out cylinder design they made. It has the same problem so Colt "fixed" it when they went to the next lock work design in 1892.

No wear ring on cylinder



Notice the locking slots between the chambers on the rear of the cylinder

[Scott Douglas]

Fred, I love looking at these pics from an ex-machinist's point of view. Very nice looking piece you have there.
If you could, would you please take a picture with the cylinder out looking into the hammer area? I'd like to see the mechanism that engages the locking slots.
Again, thanks for sharing this.

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by Scott Douglas

Fred, I love looking at these pics from an ex-machinist's point of view. Very nice looking piece you have there.
If you could, would you please take a picture with the cylinder out looking into the hammer area? I'd like to see the mechanism that engages the locking slots.
Again, thanks for sharing this.

I think this is what you wanted to see. The cylinder locking pin (bolt) is at the center rear of the photo. Also, notice the replacement recoil plate that has been modified to work with the rimfire firing pin.

[fred cook]

The .41 Long Colt version was called the "Thunderer", the .38 Long Colt version was the "Lightning" and a very, very rare .32 Colt version the "Rainmaker". Need to pick out a "weather" name for this one in .22 caliber. Perhaps something like "Storm"? I'm open for suggestions so let's hear your thoughts on the subject!

[Scott Douglas]

Yes, thanks! Just what I wanted to see.

[fred cook]

Just thought that someone would like to see the difference between a factory stock Colt Lightning and the custom one.

Stock

Custom

The most obvious difference is in the grip frame contours.

[Craig T]

Nice find! Beautiful pistol.

[herr_oberst]

I vote that you call it "stormcloud"

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

I vote that you call it "stormcloud"

I like that! It will definitely go on the possible list!

Thks,

[Hydrocket]

Curious....would a mint "stock" one be more valuable?

[Tobra]

No way, it is a beautiful piece. How many highly skilled hours went into that little pistol?

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by fred cook

I grew up with one that looked identical. A crazy old lady my folks checked in on once in a while, who also ran a kennel, asked my dad to put down some runts and handed him this gun. She was a nutcase, but insisted she needed it to scare away bad guys. My dad took it and gave her a bolt action 20 ga. shotgun in return. That pistol hung on the wall under his 1866 Winchester until they sold that house a few yrs. ago. I need to find out what he did with it. It was a great shooter, but the ammo (.41 IIRC) didn't grow on trees.

[onlycafe]

there has never been the love for the early double actions like there is for the singles.
however, that thunderer of yours is really neat. how does it shoot?

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by onlycafe

there has never been the love for the early double actions like there is for the singles.
however, that thunderer of yours is really neat. how does it shoot?

You are right about the love not being there! Until now, that is. An original Colt Lightning or Thunderer that is in working order and still has some of the original finish (NRA antique good - excellent) will now bring $2-$3k! Wall hangers that no longer work properly usually go for $500 - $1000 or so. Of course the Colt SA guns will bring at least twice that amount! I don't know what my converted revolver is worth on the open market or at a good auction but I would not be surprised if it brought $2500 or more! Maybe lots more! The really important thing about this piece is the provenance. Knowing that it was rebuilt by a well known pistolsmith (George Matthews), when and where and having the Guns and Ammo book with the article probably doubles the value. It has become the centerpiece of my Colt collection!

I haven't had the opportunity to shoot it yet. The previous owner assures me that it works and shoots perfectly. I've got a couple of pieces that need to do some range time so it won't be long before it goes pop!

[fred cook]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I grew up with one that looked identical. A crazy old lady my folks checked in on once in a while, who also ran a kennel, asked my dad to put down some runts and handed him this gun. She was a nutcase, but insisted she needed it to scare away bad guys. My dad took it and gave her a bolt action 20 ga. shotgun in return. That pistol hung on the wall under his 1866 Winchester until they sold that house a few yrs. ago. I need to find out what he did with it. It was a great shooter, but the ammo (.41 IIRC) didn't grow on trees.

That .41 Long Colt revolver would have made a mess of putting down the runts! Not that it would not kill them, but there would be lots of cleaning up to do afterwards! The .41 Long Colt ammo did get very scarce for a while. However, there are several companies that are making it again mostly because of the Cowboy Action Shooting events. It would be worth your time to try to chase that old Colt down! I have an original Colt Lightning (same gun but in .38 Long Colt) that is lot's of fun to shoot.