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Fine Blued Remington Model 1875 Revolver in 44-40

Fine Blued Remington Model 1875 Revolver in 44-40

  • Product Code: FHG-2241-SOLD
  • Availability: Out Of Stock
  • $0.00


This is a FINE condition example of the Remington Model 1875 Single Action Frontier Revolver. This model was the first military sized, large-bore cartridge revolver to be produced by Remington that was not a conversion of one of their earlier percussion models. The gun was a six-shot, single action revolver that competed directly with the Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army. The Remington revolver had a fluted cylinder and was produced in three center fire calibers, .44 Remington, .44 WCF (.44-40) and eventually .45 Colt. The majority of the revolvers produced had 7 ½” barrels, although a few were produced with 5 ¾” barrels and are considered quite very scarce today. The revolvers were produced with both blued and nickel finishes, although nickel appears to have predominated and blued examples are fairly scarce today. Oil finished, two-piece walnut grips were standard, but other options were available on special order. 

 

Remington produced the Model 1875 Revolver from 1875 until 1889, with a total production of between only 25,000 and 30,000 guns. This was a very small number when compared with Colt’s M1873 Single Action Army. In fact, Colt produced roughly four times as many Single Action Army revolvers during the same period as Remington manufactured M1875s, with some 115,000 SAAs leaving Colt’s Hartford plant between 1875 and the end of 1889, and a total of 130,000 being produced between their introduction in 1873 and the end of 1889.

 

Remington entered the big-bore military cartridge handgun market with an initial order for 10,000 M1875s from the Egyptian government. These guns were all chambered for Remington’s new .44 Remington CF cartridge, a short-lived cartridge that was very close to the .44 Colt in dimensions and power but was discontinued in 1895 due to lack of sales. Later Remington M1875s would be produced in the more popular and powerful .44-40 and .45 Colt chamberings. The Egyptian contract guns were inspected like US military arms and carried a small * (asterisk or star) mark on the left side of the barrel, forward of the frame and an R sub-inspectors mark on the cylinder and the frame between the cylinder & the barrel. The left grip was also with either an FR or JWR cartouche. Unfortunately for Remington, the big Egyptian order did not pan out and few, if any, of the guns were actually delivered to the Egyptians. The problems arose over Egypt’s failure to pay large balances due on an earlier Remington Rolling Block military rifle orders. The end result was that the production of the Egyptian contract guns ended prematurely, and the existing guns were apparently sold on the open market to allow Remington to recoup their money. 

 

Despite the overwhelming competition from Colt, Remington did manage to receive a small contract from the US Government in 1883, to deliver 639 nickel plated M1875s to the Department of the Interior for use by the Indian Police. These guns were chambered in the much more popular and common .44-40 (44 WCF) caliber. 

 

Among the luminaries of the old west era who used the Remington M1875 was the infamous outlaw Frank James, who preferred to carry one in .44-40, the same caliber as his Winchester rifle. Was noted to have said that it was important to “not confuse your ammunition in a hot fight”. While the Remington M1875 never achieved the success or sales figures of its Colt rival, it was none the less one of the important cartridge revolvers to see use during the taming of the American West. To this day, its distinctive triangular rib under the barrel brings to mind the Remington percussion military revolvers that it was based upon and makes the gun’s silhouette instantly identifiable in period images.

 

This very nice example of a scarce blued Remington M1875 Single Action “Frontier” Revolver is in FINE condition. The pistol is 100% complete, correct and original in every way. The gun is clearly marked on the top of the round barrel in a single line: 

 

E. REMINGTON & SONS, ILION, N.Y. U.S.A.

 

The left grip panel is also clearly stamped 44.W. This mark indicates that the gun is chambered for the popular .44 Winchester Center Fire caliber (.44-40). Otherwise the gun is unmarked externally. The serial number, really an assembly number, 7 is present on the edge of the left grip frame, underneath the grips. Both of the grips are also pencil numbered 7on their interior surfaces, and the loading gate has this matching number as well. The gun is in extremely crisp condition and retains a nice amount of its original factory blued finish. The pistol retains about 40%+ of its original blued finish, with the usual thinning, wear and loss of a gun that is well over 100 years old and was actually used. The largest areas of bright blue remain in the protected areas, particularly along the junction of the barrel and loading lever web and in the cylinder flutes. Some of the finish loss is due wear along the high-edges and contact point on the barrel as well as the frame. There is also a lightly worn turn ring around the periphery of the cylinder, that passes through the stop slots. The frame also shows some flaked loss. The areas where the finish has thinned and worn have developed a mostly smooth, evenly oxidized plum brown patina. There are also flecks of surface oxidation that are shot through the remaining blue, particularly on the barrel. The metal is mostly smooth, with some scattered patches of minor oxidized roughness, as well as some scattered pinpricking. There is some very light pitting around the muzzle as well. While there is only about 40%+ of the original bright blue present on the gun, the presence of the thinned and dulled blue, mixed with the attractive plum brown patina, make the gun appear to retain even more finish. The is particularly true when the gun is in your hand, under normal lighting and not on a white background with intense photography lights. The cylinder chambers remain mostly bright with some scattered surface oxidation that could be cleaned out. The bore is about FINE condition as well.  It is mostly bright, with strong rifling that shows some wear near the muzzle. The bore shows some scattered pinpricking and some patches of light pitting as well. The hammer retains some strong traces of case coloring, with an attractively mottled tobacco brown patina with hints of blues and purples here and there. The action of the revolver is excellent, and it functions perfectly on all positions. The revolver times, indexes and locks up perfectly and has a very crisp trigger pull. The loading gate functions perfectly and snaps securely into both the open and closed positions. The ejector rod functions smoothly and had very strong spring tension. The cylinder arbor pin is securely retained by the catch at the end of the tapered barrel web but is easily withdrawn by depressing the release. The screws are all in very good condition. Only the grip screw retains any of the original fire blued finish, with the others having a dull bluish gray patina and a couple showing some minor slot wear. The original lanyard ring is in place in the butt of the revolver and the original “pinched” style front sight is in place on the top of the barrel, near the muzzle. The two-piece oil finished grips of the pistol are in FINE condition as well. The grips are solid and show no breaks, chips or repairs. The caliber marking in the left grip remains crisp and clear. The grips do show some minor bumps and dings from handling and use but no significant wear or abuse.

 

Overall this is a really fine looking example of the famous Remington M1875 Single Action “Frontier” Revolver in the scarce and desirable factory blued finish. The revolver is in one of the most desirable of calibers, .44-40 and is very attractive with much of the scarce blued finish remaining. The gun remains crisp and sharp with clear markings and in excellent mechanical condition. If you have been looking for the opportunity to add a really lovely example of one of the most recognizable revolvers of the Old West era to your collection, here is a great opportunity to own a fine revolver that you will be extremely proud to display.


SOLD

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Tags: Fine, Blued, Remington, Model, 1875, Revolver, in, 44-40