In the 19th century, the world of firearms was booming. Most designs were based on muzzle-loading guns, which meant that the person who was going to shoot had to load the powder, bullet and fuse into the barrel before firing. But in 1836, a young inventor named Samuel Colt changed all that with his innovative revolver design.
During a voyage on the steamship "Corvo" across the Atlantic Ocean, he came up with the idea of a revolver with a rotating barrel that would allow a shooter to fire several shots without having to reload.
The Colt Single Action Army, also known as the Colt 45 and Colt Peacemaker, is a single-action, six-barrel revolver that was very popular in the American Old West in the late 19th century. It has a caliber of 11,43mm and has a range of 50m
The Colt company was the originator of this revolutionary weapon for its time, initially designed for the United States Army, which adopted it in 1873 as a service weapon. The Peacemaker replaced the Colt 1860 and remained an official Army weapon until 1892, when it was replaced by the Colt double-action revolver.
The Peacemaker's popularity was not limited to the military. Within a few years, many US citizens owned one of the thousands made by Colt. This revolver also played an important role in the conquest of the West. In this respect, the fact that it used the same calibre ammunition as the Winchester M1873 rifle helped to popularise it as a short gun.
The pistol has two safety catches, one on the grip which prevents the trigger from being operated unless the weapon is firmly secured and another on the frame, within thumb reach, which, when raised, prevents the slide from recoiling and the hammer from falling. It has a single-row 7-round magazine and a single-action firing mechanism.
In 1926 a new version called the Colt M1911A1 was produced, with an improved grip line, which replaced the original and has been in production ever since.