For everyone, the surest way to tell is by serial numbers. It would be difficult for any untrained eye to see the difference existing between the three generations, however an experience sixgunner, believe it or not, is able to feel that difference just by handling and cocking the action. The 3rd Generation run has been an up-and-down affair, coming and then going, a standard production and then a Custom Shop offering, however things have settled down and it is once again not only a standard production item, Colt is also doing a very good job of fitting and finishing. This has also now been changed for the better. This is also true of the top of the frame where it meets the hammer as this was also very square and extending too far back. The first 3rd Generations also suffered a change in the hammer outline resulting in a profile with a very poorly executed flat look, however this has also been changed to give the hammer profile a more rounded and pleasing look. It is unfortunate someone was not in charge of this project who really appreciated and understood the Single Action Army and its mystique. With thousands of 1st Generation sixguns out there being prime candidates for new parts, why in the world would Colt change the hand, cylinder, and especially the barrel threads? A 3rd Generation barrel can be fitted to a 1st or 2nd Generation Single Action, however it is strictly a one time happening as the new barrel is basically being re-threaded as it is installed. The strangest change in moving from 2nd Generation to 3rd Generation was the change in the barrel threads going from 20 threads to the inch to 24 threads to the inch. With the advent of latest generation of Model Ps, shooters have had a choice of the original black powder-style screw in the front of the frame to hold the cylinder pin or a spring loaded catch, a change that occurred long before World War I. Very recently, Colt rethought this change and all currently produced 3rd Generation Single Actions now once again contain a full-length cylinder bushing. The hand design was changed for easier assembly and the cylinder no longer had a full-length bushing but a button bushing at the front end. First was the match up of the hand and the cylinder. Changes occurred, most of which were ill advised. Return it did in 1976 with the 3rd Generation of the Colt Single Action Army. By the 1970's the machinery was once again wearing out and the Colt Single Action was pronounced dead again in 1974, however this time Colt did not say it would never be returned.
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