Recoil plates were standard starting on the Colt SAA. The design was first implemented the year before by S&W at the behest of the Russian inspectors in house at their plant for the Russian Model.
The infamous Colt 44-40 story is misunderstood by many today. It had nothing to do with the gun and everything to do with the primitive ammo of the time in the 1870's. However, recently I had the same thing happen in a modern Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum using factory Win. ammo in that a primer ruptured thereby locking up the gun solid as a rock. I had to beat the cylinder open with a large plastic gunsmithing hammer. Although far less common today due to better manuf. processes & metals, this was far more common in the 19th century when metallic cartridges were in their infancy.