The company manufactured the Model 1890 from 1891 to 1896. Otherwise, the same options as in the Model 1875 were available. Standard grips were hard rubber, with the monogram RM embossed at the top. Besides the standard 7½-inch barrel length, it also came in a 5½-inch length. The Model 1890 was basically the same gun as the Model 1875 with two major differences-the web underneath the ejector housing was eliminated and the barrel marking was changed to REMINGTON ARMS CO., ILION, N.Y. As part of his attempt to revive the company financially, Hartley continued to produce the Model 1875 Single Action Army as the Model 1890. Remington & Sons and renamed it Remington Arms Co. In 1888 Thomas Gray Bennett (son-in-law of Oliver Winchester of Winchester rifle fame) and New York gun dealer Marcellus Hartley (of Hartley and Graham) took control of E. Remington made the gun from 1875 to 1889.Įven Remington’s big six-shooter couldn’t save the family company, though. The barrel marking on all Model 1875s was E. The advertised price hovered at $12.50 for blued guns and $13.50 for plated ones. Any quality of engraving was also available. As with the Colts, nickel, silver or gold plating was optional, as were pearl or ivory grips, plain or carved. Walnut grips and blued finish were standard. The standard barrel length of the Model 1875 was 7½ inches, with a few made in 5¾-inch lengths. The Model 1875 Remington Single Action Army is also readily distinguishable from the Colt Single Action Army by the “web” beneath its ejector housing-a holdover from the days of Remington’s cap-and-ball Army revolver, which had a similar web to strengthen the loading lever. At first glance the Remington appears to be a clone of the Colt, but the Remington’s backstrap and trigger strap are integral with its frame, while those straps are separate components on the Colt. 44-caliber single-action six-gun, now known as the Model 1875, to compete with Smith & Wesson and Colt. Slowed by its financial problems, Remington in 1875 brought out its own solid-frame. 45-caliber Single Action Army Model six-gun in 1873. And Colt began production of its legendary solid-frame. 3 American Model six-gun until 1870 (see “Guns of the West” in the August 2011 Wild West). 41 rimfire, over-and-under two-shot derringer,Īlthough Smith & Wesson’s exclusive patents on cartridge revolvers expired in 1869, it wasn’t able to develop its top-break. So it struggled into the cartridge era sustained by the instant popularity in 1866 of the now-iconic. Financial problems soon plagued the company, even though production of its world-famous single-shot rolling block cartridge rifles was keeping it afloat. But when that wartime volume ended, those overbuilt facilities sat mostly unused. Remington & Sons’ cap-and-ball revolvers became one of Colt’s biggest competitors.Įliphalet died in 1861, so he didn’t see the rapid expansion of the Remington manufacturing facilities created by the huge demand for revolvers during the Civil War. When Sam Colt’s exclusive patents on cap-and-ball revolvers expired in 1857, E. By 1848 he and eldest son Philo were making complete single-shot cap-and-ball rifles, and Eliphalet soon brought his other sons, Sam and Eliphalet III, into the company. But there is one other name that should not be buried in their trail dust-Remington, which had the distinction of being the oldest gun manufacturer of the 19th century.īorn in Suffield, Conn., on October 28, 1793, forge owner Eliphalet Remington II began cranking out quality, handmade barrels for flintlock rifles in 1816. Frank and Jesse James were among the owners of Remingtons.Ĭolt, Winchester and Sharps head the list of gun manufacturers who developed legendary, iconic firearms during the shoot-’em-up period of the Old West.