This Rifled Barrel, Pellet-Firing Peacemaker is your Huckleberry!
Since 1873 there have been many variations of the legendary Colt Peacemaker but never a cartridge loading CO2 BB or pellet model until Colt and Umarex teamed up last year to build an authentic, Colt branded, .177 caliber Peacemaker. The Umarex Colt 1873 Single Action Army is accurate in virtually every detail, right down to the SEPT. 18. 1871 JUL2.72JAN.19.75 patent dates stamped on the left side of frame and the Rampant Colt emblem.
The first time I saw the Umarex Colt 1873 Single Action Army I was not only amazed at the engineering that had gone into making this all-metal six-shooter, but how well all of the famous Colt features had been duplicated including an authentic-style, ejector housing, hammer spur, trigger guard, and grip contour. It’s as close to the real deal in appearances as you can get without loading .45 Colt cartridges.
For those of us who grew up in the golden age of the television western this is the best thing to come along since those wonderful old Mattel “Fanner 50 Shootn’ Shell” SAA cartridge loading cap pistols of the 1950s. Only this one shoots .177 caliber BBs or 4.5mm lead pellets. Powered by a 12 gram CO2 cartridge, instead of a spring-loaded plastic bullet powered by a Greenie Stick-em cap, the Umarex Colt 1873 Single Action Army is a page right out of the past, only better!
The Details
With an overall length of 11 inches and weighing 33 ounces, it’s 4-ounces lighter than a .45 Caliber 5-1/2 inch barrel length Colt Peacemaker, but the Umarex Colt 1873 Single Action Army has the same looks, except for the addition of a manual safety discretely hidden under the fame and just forward of the triggerguard. It blocks the action from working when set; in the fire position a red dot appears on the safety switch. It’s barely noticeable unless you turn the gun over. The nickel pellet-firing version is a dandy of a gun that will open up whole new avenues for Cowboy Action Shooters to practice quick draw and shooting from the hip, pistol handling and target shooting at close range, and all without the expense or cleanup of black powder or smokeless powder .45 Colt (or other caliber) rounds or wax bullets.
The airgun’s rebounding hammer feels different, it’s lighter because there is no actual Colt-style mainspring needed, and the hammer sits slightly back from the frame at rest. Instead of four clicks when the hammer is drawn back, you only get two. But cocking the gun is still the same, solidly rotating the cylinder to the next chamber.
The 12 gram CO2 capsule is stored inside the grip fame and powers the 4.5mm pellets downrange at an average of 410 feet per second. To load the CO2, just remove the left grip panel, insert the cartridge and tighten the seating screw using the hex-head tool built into the bottom of the grip. Snap the panel back in place and the gun is ready to load and fire.
Unlike some of the BB cartridges in use, the Umarex Colt 1873 Single Action Army loads the BB or pellet into the base of the cartridge, where the primer would usually go on a real .45 Colt round. The brass BB and silver pellet cartridges are pretty authentic looking, though not .45 Colt in size, more like a .32-20 Winchester round, which Single Actions were chambered for beginning in 1884. The best part is the airguns fit into any SAA holster.
This new nickel finished Colt SAA pellet model comes fitted with special black panel grips and a Colt Peacemaker Rampant Colt inset emblem. In all respects other than what comes out of the recessed .45 Colt muzzle, the pellet model looks identical to the earlier .177 caliber BB models, which is to say very much like a nickel plated c.1892 smokeless powder frame Colt Single Action Army revolver.
The 1892 smokeless powder frame introduced the transverse cylinder latch under the barrel to release the cylinder pin for disassembly. This is a non-working feature on the airgun but by removing a center screw in the latch, the cylinder pin can be removed and the cylinder rolled out of the frame, just like the real guns of the Old West.
Skinning the No-smoke Wagon
Back in the day, holsters were a matter of choice or more often what was available at the gun shop or local saddlery. To test the new pellet model Umarex Colt Peacemaker I dropped it into a one-off copy of a famous fringed holster pictured in the book Packing Iron. The copy of the holster was handmade by Javier Garcia of .45Maker (801-628-7219). Although it is for a 7-1/2 inch barrel length, a 5-1/2 inch Colt Single Action sits just fine. For the test I set up a silhouette target at the SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) pistol distance of 10 yards and fired Duelist style, which is old fashioned one-handed shooting. A CO2 pellet gun with a rifled barrel is definitely accurate out to 10 yards and even beyond, as the traditional 10 meter shooting distance for pellet guns is 33 feet. I also decided to kick a few tin cans around at 10 yards and set them up on top of an old whiskey barrel.
Ammo choice was RWS Meisterkugeln, a traditional 4.5mm wad cutter target grade pellet. Since this is a six-shooter, you shoot your six and then have to reload; so purchasing at least a dozen extra cartridges is a good idea for faster reloading. Pellet cartridges run around $10 for a set of six, and if you buy a holster and gunbelt the bullet loops should be for .38 caliber shells (not .45 Colt) so the pellet cartridges will fit.
Taking my best gunfighter stance I did a quick draw for the first six shots just to see where I was hitting on the silhouette target and put six shots into the center of the target. Going to aimed shots, six rounds grouped in the 10 and X rings at 1.75 inches. I repeated this a few more times with average six round groups measuring under 2-inches. Then I went gunning for tin cans, knocking them down in order and kicking them around like an old western movie.
With either the stanadrd nickle finished pellet model or the limited edition “Duke” pellet models you can practice drawing, re-holstering, and a little fancy gun handing, especially if you get an authentic “Duke” gun rig like the one John Bianchi made for John Wayne. There are two versions of the special edition John Wayne “Duke” pellet model available, one with the weathered finish just like the single action Colts Wayne preferred to carry in so many of his films, or a bright nickle version. The Limited Edition of 500 guns also features wood-grained grips with inlaid John Wayne “Duke” medallions. Just close your eyes and it’s the 1950s all over again!
I’m planning to get the Schofield, Remington, and Come clones eventually. I’m debating between the BB and pellet Colts. The difference in ammo cost is minor, my main interests are in accuracy and loading. From the ASG article, I would choose the BB version because the shells after so much easier to load. If BB/pellet both load the same, then I’ll probably get the pellet version.
The later ASG pellet shells load from the back just like the BB shells.