Colt New Model Army 1901 .38 Long Colt

[varifleman]

Here's my Colt New Model Army of 1901 in .38 Long Colt serial number 199393 made in 1903. It was later reconditioned By Remington-UMC for service in the Great War, thus the two inspector marks RAC (Rinaldo A. Carr who was a civilian employee of the War Department and was the sub-inspector on the revolvers) who initially inspected the pistol and LEB (Leroy E. Briggs who was an Army Captain that inspected revolvers rebuilt and refurbished at Remington-UMC's Bridgeport CT Plant 1898-1917).

 

 

[Brian Keith]

Very nice! Thanks for posting it. Is this about the same size as the M1917 revolvers? Would it fit that same holster? Looks like the barrel is a bit longer.

BKW

[varifleman]

 

 

 

Got this reproduction 1910 holster for this pistol with a 6" barrel.

[thorin6]

Are you sure it's a Model 1901?  Colt and Springfield Armory both rebuilt earlier modes of the New Army, and in 1901 they added the lanyard ring, requiring a hole throught the markings and making it necessary to re-stamp them.  They would also re-serial number them if the markings were too worn, and your pistol looks like it has undergone at least one refinishing as the markings on the barrel show.  There is only one good book on these by Robert Best, it is out of print the last I checked but I have one if you are interested in further investigation.

[everforward]

This revolver and examples like it were featured in Charles Clawson’s big book. This Colt was one of a batch of this model revolver that was refurbished by Remington Arms in 1918 for possible use in WW1 as a limited-standard issue sidearm. All of these refurbished revolvers were inspected at Remington by Leroy E. Briggs, hence the ‘L.E.B.’ cartouche just above the left grip.

 

I had one of these D.A. .38 revolvers that was pre-1898 and it was in new re-done condition.

[everforward]

I see in the OP that the Remington involvement is mentioned.....

[varifleman]

According to serial number production information my serial number 199393 falls within range for 

1903 193000-225799 so I assume it would be a Model 1901 or perhaps a Model 1903 since I don't have a listing of specific serial numbers for Model 1901 vs Model 1903. Thorin6, does the Best book give a serial number range for each model? 

[Scottz63]

Very nice! I love Military marked/inspected guns. Cool

[thorin6]

9 hours ago, varifleman said:

According to serial number production information my serial number 199393 falls within range for 

1903 193000-225799 so I assume it would be a Model 1901 or perhaps a Model 1903 since I don't have a listing of specific serial numbers for Model 1901 vs Model 1903. Thorin6, does the Best book give a serial number range for each model? 

He does, and I'll take a look.  However, I believe the pistol was renumbered so that may muddy the waters.  Once I have a good idea I'll post it.

[kwc271]

Nice revolver!

[relic]

Nice. Should be easy enough to find a lanyard loop for it. 

[varifleman]

10 hours ago, relic said:

Nice. Should be easy enough to find a lanyard loop for it. 

Yes, found a nice one on Ebay:

 

 

[relic]

Perfect!

[varifleman]

Took the revolver out to the range the other day and it performed flawlessly with .38 Long Colt black powder ammo on steel targets at 25 and 50 yards. Here's the shipping info:

 

[Spathologist]

Your butt markings are certainly odd.  The "US Army Model ...." was stamped twice; in the correct position the first time, and far too low the second time.  According to Best, Springfield didn't re-stamp the pistols they refurbished.  Colt did, on some.  He doesn't mention whether Remington-UMC did or not.

 

And, apparently, your pistol was produced early enough in 1903 that it escaped having the military inspector initials and year of acceptance stamped on the left side of the frame.