My dream come true - I bought a Colt "RAINMAKER"

buckstix

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My dream come true - I bought a Colt "RAINMAKER"

I am 75 years old and have been collecting Colt revolvers for almost 55 years. I heard about Rainmakers and have been wanting to own one, only in my dreams. Most people have never heard of a Colt Rainmaker. Many know of Colt Lightning revolvers in 38 cal, and Colt Thunderers in 41 caliber, but few know that Colt made an 1877 double action revolver in 32 caliber - called a Rainmaker. Of the two that I had seen over the years, they were poorly refinished and had most of their markings buffed away.

Well, last week my dream came true. Here it is. Mechanically its very good, in original condition, but some of the original Nickel finish on the frame has been lost. This condition made it affordable. A Google search will show that high condition rainmakers have sold for $32,000 and $35,000.

Finally, after searching for 55 years, I acquired this one and look forward to the experience of shooting a ghost of a revolver.

According to AI ... " ... While Colt produced over 166,000 Model 1877 double action revolvers between 1877 and 1909, the "Rainmaker" was a major commercial flop and was discontinued early on. Only about 200 Rainmakers were ever manufactured, making it one of the ultimate "unicorns" for firearms collectors....."

http://www.buckstix.com/buckpics/COLT-32-000.jpg


COLT-32-000.jpg
 
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Wow, amazing find, factory nickel also!
 
32 long colt

Ahh that is the main reason it was a flop - 32/20 & it would have sold a heap I bet ?

Well done on finding one & posting about it, I hadn’t heard of the .32 Rainmaker very cool line of Colts, I have had both the others Lighting & Thunderers but was afraid of them breaking small unobtainable parts & being almost unfixable by a laymen ?
 
I think the rarity of those makes them cooler than my 38. I'm curious if your trigger is as heavy as mine is or if mine has some internal problem exacerbating the heavy trigger pull. It's not an easy pistol to shoot with anything approaching accuracy. These are my single and double action pull weights
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I think the rarity of those makes them cooler than my 38. I'm curious if your trigger is as heavy as mine is or if mine has some internal problem exacerbating the heavy trigger pull. It's not an easy pistol to shoot with anything approaching accuracy. These are my single and double action pull weights
Hello, the small screw at the lower front of the grip adjusts the weight of the trigger pull. Most 1877s (especially the early ones) left the factory with heavy trigger pulls because the early ammo required very heavy primer hits. I load my 1877 cartridges with pistol primers and adjust the trigger pull to be very light, just enough to prevent miss-fires.
 
That is great information thank you
Hello, the small screw at the lower front of the grip adjusts the weight of the trigger pull. Most 1877s (especially the early ones) left the factory with heavy trigger pulls because the early ammo required very heavy primer hits. I load my 1877 cartridges with pistol primers and adjust the trigger pull to be very light, just enough to prevent miss-fires.
 
Congratulations!


I never knew they existed.
 

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