How common was the model 3 on the frontier?

[Doug.38PR]

As to 'The History Channel' - most of what's shown is for entertainment purposes and often bears little resemblance to actual, verifiable historical fact.

Keep this in mind when viewing same.

Scouts Out!

Such as?  (When it comes to History, they usually have a Marxist political agenda, so I don't entirely trust them either but that has nothing to do with this). 

[Cole Younger]

A lot of the events of the old west came about before the Single Action Army arrived on the scene or on the scene in significant numbers.  For instance, at the 2nd Battle of Adobe Walls, one wonders if there were any SAA's present...maybe.  Certainly the early Smith and Wesson SA's played a significant role as did the Conversion guns already mentioned and of course, the percussion revolvers, many brought home and then west from the War Between the States. 

As to the original question, John Wesley Hardin is documented to have killed the Sheriff of Comanche County, Texas with a 1st Model Russian (2nd model American in .44 Russian).  Some believe Wyatt Earp was armed with a #3 Smith and Wesson Single Action at the OK Corral fight.  Most say a 2nd or 3rd model Russian. 

[Mean Bob Mean]

I'd always heard that "it didn't catch on as well as the SAA because parts were too hard to come by and gunsmiths didn't understand them as well". (I'm talking about with civilians not the army)

Military weapons and calibers always outlived civilian models--because they were dumped cheap and parts were abundant (e.g., .45-70).  However, I have read that it was many years post production before colt SAAs started to filter down to civilians in appreciable numbers.  This means that the majority of weapons in the first years of Colt SAA manufacture on the range were either cap and ball, conversions, or other makes.  Break top revolvers of various manufacture were common, pocket pistols and large frame revolvers.  The Colt SAA is a legend due to Hollywood (and it is a fine weapon) and military use.  Its availability (and the fact it chambered a universal blank for shooting scenes) made it most suitable for movies, as I recall but others here likely know much more about it than I do. 

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[Tuolumne Lawman]

With those figures, 132,695 large frame top break Smith and Wesson's stayed in the US, and most of those were probably west of the Mississippi.  I'd say they were very popular...

Anyone know how many Colt 1873 SAA were produced before 1900ish? IIRC< it was around 150,000. Another under rated revolver on the Frontier were the cartridge conversions of Colt, Remington, and others.  If truth be told, and I remember from the McDowel Book, there were probably 150,000 conversions.  That would make the 1873 about one in every three pistols on the frontier.

I have two .44-40 SAA clones (a Thunderer 4 3/4" and a nickel 4 3/4"), two 1871 Open Tops, and one 1870 Russian top break.

[Galloway]

150,000 conversions? How does he arrive at that number? IIRC there were around 30,000 from colt who made the majority and most of them were on the pocket frame.

[Tuolumne Lawman]

That was a figure I tripped across some years ago (when I was writing an article) that someone estimated.  It included Colt Remington factory conversions of all calibers, etc. (large and small caliber conversions), as well as private conversions of everything including Walkers, Dragoons, long cylinder 1860s and 1851/61, and even more obscure weapons.  He likened the numbers to S&W top breaks, IIRC.

I have no facts to base it on, just that random printed article I had tripped across.  I would not think, though, that 100,000 would be out of the ball park when you consider all of the above.  Remington conversions in all sizes were VERY common.