Colt M1878 Colt M1878 The Colt M1878 is a double-action revolver that was manufactured by Colt's Manufacturing Company from 1878 to 1907. It is often referred to as the "Frontier" or the "Double Action Army" revolver. A total of 51,210 Model 1878 revolvers were manufactured from 1878 to 1907, including 4,600 for the US Ordnance Department. These are known as the "Philippine" or "Alaskan" models. Samuel Colt experimented with double-action revolver systems, but he considered them to be unreliable. After Colt's patent expired in 1857, other manufacturers began producing double-action revolvers, but Colt's Manufacturing did not manufacture its own double-action revolver until
Colt M1892 Colt M1892 The M1892 Colt Army & Navy was the first general issue double-action revolver with a swing-out cylinder used by the U.S. military. In 1892 the gun was adopted by the Army in .38 Long Colt caliber, and the revolver was given the appellation New Army and Navy. Initial experience with the gun caused officials to request some improvements. This would be an ongoing condition, resulting in Models 1892, 1894, 1895, 1896, 1901 and 1903, as well as a Model 1905 Marine Corps variant. The revolver featured a counter-clockwise rotating cylinder, which could be opened for loading and ejection