{
  "apiVersion": 1,
  "kind": "work-order",
  "purpose": "Taking the firearm apart for a job such as refinishing, and putting it back together to specification.",
  "firearm": {
    "slug": "colt-saa",
    "name": "Colt Single Action Army",
    "manufacturer": {
      "id": "colt",
      "name": "Colt's Manufacturing Company"
    },
    "category": "revolver",
    "action": "single-action-revolver",
    "calibers": [
      ".45 Colt",
      ".357 Magnum",
      ".44-40 Winchester",
      ".38-40"
    ],
    "alsoKnownAs": [
      "Peacemaker",
      "Colt SAA",
      "Model P"
    ],
    "coversAlso": [
      "Colt SAA 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generation",
      "Uberti, Pietta, and other SAA-pattern reproductions (but confirm whether yours has a transfer bar)"
    ],
    "page": "firearms/colt-saa.html",
    "bundle": "api/v1/firearms/colt-saa.json",
    "lastUpdated": "2026-10-29"
  },
  "notices": [
    "This work order is written for the Colt Single Action Army. It is reported to cover Colt SAA 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Generation; Uberti, Pietta, and other SAA-pattern reproductions (but confirm whether yours has a transfer bar) — if the firearm on the bench is one of those, check the torque notes: values do not always carry over.",
    "No torque values are recorded for this firearm. Get them from the manufacturer or a gunsmith; do not estimate."
  ],
  "disclaimer": {
    "headline": "Read this before you use anything here.",
    "points": [
      "This is a guide, not an authority. Entries are compiled from manufacturer manuals, technical manuals, published references, and community knowledge. Some of it comes from sources that are not authoritative, and some of it may simply be wrong.",
      "Always consult the manufacturer's manual for your specific firearm and serial-number range. Manufacturers change designs mid-production without renaming the model. The manual that shipped with your firearm outranks anything on this site.",
      "Consult a licensed gunsmith for anything beyond routine field stripping and cleaning, for any firearm you are unsure about, and for any procedure marked as gunsmith-recommended here.",
      "Treat every firearm as loaded. Verify it is unloaded, with the magazine removed and the chamber physically and visually checked, before any procedure in this database. Point it in a safe direction the entire time.",
      "Disassembly can damage a firearm or injure you. Springs are under tension, parts can launch, and reassembling a firearm incorrectly can make it unsafe to fire in a way that is not obvious from the outside. If a reassembled firearm does not pass a function check, stop and see a gunsmith.",
      "Torque values are shown in two groups. Values from the manufacturer or the issuing military are shown as such, with the document they came from. Values reported by anyone else — parts makers, gunsmithing publishers, articles, forums — are shown separately with who said them, how reliable that source is, and their exact words. Those are not specifications. Confirm any torque value with the manufacturer or a licensed gunsmith before relying on it.",
      "Nothing here is legal advice. Firearms law varies by country, state, and city, and some modifications or configurations are regulated or prohibited. You are responsible for knowing and following the law where you are.",
      "No warranty of any kind. Contributors and maintainers accept no liability for damage, injury, or loss arising from use of this material."
    ],
    "page": "disclaimer.html",
    "legal": {
      "summary": "Legal notice: this material is third-party information compiled from sources of varying reliability and is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not gunsmithing, technical, safety or legal advice, it is not verified or endorsed by any manufacturer, and it must not be taken as fact. Any work on a firearm beyond the routine field stripping described in its own owner's manual should be performed only by a licensed and insured gunsmith. You use this material entirely at your own risk. Fundamental Build LLC and the project's contributors make no warranty of any kind and accept no liability for death, injury, damage or loss arising from its use. Full terms: LEGAL.md.",
      "page": "legal.html",
      "notice": "https://github.com/Fundamental-build-LLC/Pew-Takedown/blob/main/LEGAL.md"
    }
  },
  "sourcing": {
    "confidence": "high",
    "verification": "manufacturer-manual-verified"
  },
  "manufacturerDisassembly": {
    "status": "published",
    "limit": null,
    "statement": "Colt publishes stripping for cleaning as cylinder removal only, and says not to strip the revolver further than that. Its manual also advises that a collector's revolver should not be stripped at all, only wiped externally.",
    "source": {
      "title": "Colt Single Action Army Revolver Instruction Manual",
      "publisher": "Colt's Manufacturing Company",
      "reliability": "primary",
      "url": "https://www.colt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/singleactionarmyrevolver.pdf",
      "page": null,
      "pdfPage": null,
      "pageUrl": null,
      "quote": null
    }
  },
  "recalls": [],
  "shopTier": {
    "tier": 2,
    "group": "revolver",
    "rating": "Pew-Takedown editorial rating (1 easy – 3 hardest), not the manufacturer's",
    "reason": "Single-action frame-screw strip of about 67 pieces with flat springs (mainspring, two-leg trigger/bolt spring) and a hand with its own leaf spring; no lever system as on the Colt DAs, but bolt and hand timing interact and owners warn it is no job for a novice. Hardest single action here, still moderate within revolvers.",
    "confidence": "medium",
    "partCount": {
      "value": 56,
      "kind": "line-items",
      "covers": "Colt’s single list for SAA, Sheriff’s/Storekeeper’s and New Frontier (56 line items); adjustable rear sight parts are New Frontier only",
      "basis": "manufacturer-parts-list",
      "source": {
        "title": "Colt Single Action Army Revolver Instruction Manual",
        "publisher": "Colt's Manufacturing Company",
        "reliability": "primary",
        "url": "https://www.colt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/singleactionarmyrevolver.pdf",
        "page": "40–41",
        "pdfPage": null,
        "pageUrl": null,
        "quote": "57 Washer No. 8"
      }
    },
    "painPoints": [
      {
        "issue": "Hand timing and bolt timing interact with trigger pull, and correcting them is an armorer job (hand stretching, heat treat).",
        "during": "reassembly",
        "source": {
          "title": "AGI Armorer’s Course for Colt Single Action Revolvers",
          "publisher": "American Gunsmithing Institute",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://www.americangunsmith.com/product/colt-single-action-revolvers/",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "In what order (trigger pull, hand timing, and bolt timing) should you make your corrections"
        }
      }
    ],
    "minutes": {
      "strip": 30,
      "rebuild": 50,
      "basis": "estimated",
      "note": "Estimated for an experienced single-action tech: grips, backstrap, trigger guard, mainspring, trigger/bolt spring, trigger, bolt, hammer and hand, gate and catch, ejector, base pin. Rebuild longer for the trigger/bolt spring legs, the hand and its leaf spring, and the bolt/hand timing check.",
      "source": null
    },
    "stripScope": [
      {
        "assembly": "Cylinder and ejector",
        "removes": [
          "base pin (catch or front screw), cylinder out to the right",
          "ejector tube screw, ejector tube, rod, head and spring"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "fitted hollow-ground screwdrivers"
        ]
      },
      {
        "assembly": "Grip frame",
        "removes": [
          "stock screw and stocks",
          "backstrap screws and backstrap",
          "mainspring screw and mainspring",
          "trigger guard screws and trigger guard"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "fitted hollow-ground screwdrivers"
        ]
      },
      {
        "assembly": "Lockwork",
        "removes": [
          "sear and bolt spring and screw",
          "trigger and screw",
          "bolt and screw",
          "hammer screw, hammer with hand and hand spring, hammer roll",
          "gate catch spring, catch and screw; gate"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "fitted hollow-ground screwdrivers"
        ]
      },
      {
        "assembly": "Frame",
        "removes": [
          "recoil plate and firing pin left in place unless required",
          "New Frontier rear sight leaf, detent balls and springs"
        ],
        "tools": [
          "pin punch"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "hardware": {
      "pins": 10,
      "springs": 11,
      "detents": 4,
      "basis": "counted from the manufacturer's parts list (one per key number unless a quantity is given)"
    },
    "specialTools": [
      {
        "tool": "Fitted hollow-ground screwdriver set (SAA screw sizes)",
        "usedFor": "All frame, backstrap and lockwork screws; SAA screws burr easily"
      },
      {
        "tool": "Base pin puller (if the base pin is stuck)",
        "usedFor": "Drawing a fouled base pin straight forward"
      }
    ],
    "fitOnRebuild": [
      {
        "check": "Hand timing and bolt timing (bolt drops into the lead, locks before full cock)",
        "why": "Hand, bolt and hammer cam interact; AGI teaches the order of corrections.",
        "source": {
          "title": "AGI Armorer’s Course for Colt Single Action Revolvers",
          "publisher": "American Gunsmithing Institute",
          "reliability": "secondary",
          "url": "https://www.americangunsmith.com/product/colt-single-action-revolvers/",
          "page": null,
          "pdfPage": null,
          "pageUrl": null,
          "quote": "In what order (trigger pull, hand timing, and bolt timing) should you make your corrections"
        }
      },
      {
        "check": "Trigger/bolt spring legs bear on the trigger and bolt correctly; trigger pull and half-cock/safety notch work",
        "why": "Flat two-leg spring; Colt warns about the safety notch.",
        "source": null
      },
      {
        "check": "Cylinder rotates freely with the base pin fully home",
        "why": "Entry reassembly failure: base pin not fully home or cylinder not seated.",
        "source": null
      }
    ],
    "assessed": "2026-10-29"
  },
  "videos": [],
  "configurations": [],
  "tools": [],
  "phases": [
    {
      "id": "clear",
      "title": "Clear and make safe",
      "steps": [
        {
          "n": 1,
          "instruction": "Point the muzzle in a safe direction and keep your finger off the trigger."
        },
        {
          "n": 2,
          "instruction": "Draw the hammer back to the half-cock position."
        },
        {
          "n": 3,
          "instruction": "Open the loading gate."
        },
        {
          "n": 4,
          "instruction": "Rotate the cylinder and ensure all six chambers are empty.",
          "warning": "Every chamber, individually, by eye. Colt's caution is to ensure the revolver is not loaded before stripping and cleaning."
        },
        {
          "n": 5,
          "instruction": "Eject any cases by aligning each chamber with the gate and pushing the ejector rod rearward."
        },
        {
          "n": 6,
          "instruction": "Remove all live ammunition from the work area."
        }
      ],
      "videos": []
    },
    {
      "id": "disassemble",
      "title": "Disassemble",
      "videos": [],
      "procedures": [
        {
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "title": "Stripping for Cleaning — Cylinder Removal",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "configuration": false,
          "steps": [
            {
              "n": 1,
              "instruction": "Complete the Clear and Make Safe procedure, with the hammer at half-cock and the loading gate open."
            },
            {
              "n": 2,
              "instruction": "Depress the base pin retaining catch, located on the left side of the frame in front of the cylinder.",
              "warning": "Blackpowder-frame revolvers have a base pin retaining screw in front of the frame instead, and it must be removed before the base pin will come out."
            },
            {
              "n": 3,
              "instruction": "Keeping the retaining catch depressed, pull the base pin forward and remove it from the revolver, then release the catch.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Base pin"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 4,
              "instruction": "Carefully remove the cylinder to the right of the frame.",
              "warning": "Avoid contact between the ratchet and the loading gate as the cylinder comes out. That contact is what damages both.",
              "partsFreed": [
                "Cylinder"
              ]
            },
            {
              "n": 5,
              "instruction": "Clean the chambers, bore, cylinder face and forcing cone.",
              "tip": "Colt warns against contact between cleaning rod and muzzle, and against striking the rear frame of the revolver — burring the metal around the firing pin hole leads to firing failures."
            },
            {
              "n": 6,
              "instruction": "Stop here.",
              "warning": "Colt's instruction is explicit: do not strip your revolver further than removing the cylinder. Further maintenance goes back to Colt or a competent gunsmith."
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "refinish",
      "title": "Refinish",
      "components": [
        {
          "name": "Base pin",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 3
        },
        {
          "name": "Cylinder",
          "procedure": "field-strip",
          "level": "field-strip",
          "step": 4
        }
      ],
      "manufacturerPartsList": {
        "parts": 56,
        "scope": "Section 6 Parts Illustration and List (1993 manual): one list for the SAA, Sheriff's/Storekeeper's and New Frontier; adjustable rear-sight parts are New Frontier-only (figure inset). Only list in the manual."
      },
      "partsDiagrams": [],
      "materials": [
        {
          "component": "Barrel",
          "material": null,
          "finish": "blued",
          "appliesTo": "Single Action Army, 5.5in, SKU P1850 (same text for 7.5in P1870)",
          "note": null,
          "source": {
            "title": "Single Action Army — Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (product page)",
            "publisher": "Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC",
            "reliability": "primary",
            "url": "https://www.colt.com/series/single-action-army/",
            "page": null,
            "pdfPage": null,
            "pageUrl": null,
            "quote": "This SAA features a blued barrel and cylinder, and color case hardened frame."
          }
        },
        {
          "component": "Cylinder",
          "material": null,
          "finish": "blued",
          "appliesTo": "Single Action Army, 5.5in, SKU P1850 (same text for 7.5in P1870)",
          "note": null,
          "source": {
            "title": "Single Action Army — Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (product page)",
            "publisher": "Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC",
            "reliability": "primary",
            "url": "https://www.colt.com/series/single-action-army/",
            "page": null,
            "pdfPage": null,
            "pageUrl": null,
            "quote": "This SAA features a blued barrel and cylinder, and color case hardened frame."
          }
        },
        {
          "component": "Frame",
          "material": null,
          "finish": "color case hardened",
          "appliesTo": "Single Action Army, 5.5in, SKU P1850 (same text for 7.5in P1870)",
          "note": null,
          "source": {
            "title": "Single Action Army — Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (product page)",
            "publisher": "Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC",
            "reliability": "primary",
            "url": "https://www.colt.com/series/single-action-army/",
            "page": null,
            "pdfPage": null,
            "pageUrl": null,
            "quote": "This SAA features a blued barrel and cylinder, and color case hardened frame."
          }
        }
      ],
      "note": "The components the procedures above separate. Coating, masking and cure are outside this database; follow your coating system's instructions. A part the manufacturer marks \"factory fit\" should not be swapped or reworked."
    },
    {
      "id": "reassemble",
      "title": "Reassemble",
      "videos": [],
      "procedures": [
        {
          "procedure": "reassembly",
          "title": "Assembling After Cleaning",
          "configuration": false,
          "steps": [
            {
              "n": 1,
              "instruction": "With the hammer at half-cock, carefully install the cylinder by rolling it into the frame from the right side.",
              "warning": "From the right, the same way it came out, keeping the ratchet clear of the loading gate."
            },
            {
              "n": 2,
              "instruction": "Install and secure the base pin.",
              "tip": "On a blackpowder frame, refit the base pin retaining screw."
            },
            {
              "n": 3,
              "instruction": "Check that the cylinder rotates freely.",
              "warning": "If it does not turn freely, stop and find out why before going further."
            },
            {
              "n": 4,
              "instruction": "Lower the hammer to the safety position.",
              "tip": "Thumb on the spur, finger off the trigger: draw back about a quarter inch, and at the click ease the hammer slightly forward until the safety notch engages."
            },
            {
              "n": 5,
              "instruction": "Close the loading gate and perform the function check."
            }
          ],
          "instruction": null
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "torque",
      "title": "Torque",
      "coverage": "none-recorded",
      "manufacturer": [],
      "reported": [],
      "notes": null
    },
    {
      "id": "function-check",
      "title": "Function check",
      "checks": [
        "Verify every chamber is empty before each check.",
        "Cock the hammer slowly and listen for the traditional four clicks.",
        "Confirm the cylinder indexes and locks at each chamber before full cock.",
        "With the hammer at full cock, confirm the cylinder is locked with minimal play.",
        "Press the trigger and confirm a clean hammer fall.",
        "Confirm the half-cock notch holds the hammer and allows the cylinder to rotate freely.",
        "Confirm the base pin is fully seated and its screw is tight.",
        "Remember: load five, rest the hammer on the empty chamber."
      ],
      "videos": []
    }
  ],
  "troubleshooting": [
    {
      "symptom": "The base pin will not pull forward out of the frame.",
      "cause": "The base pin retaining catch is not held depressed, or this is a blackpowder-frame revolver whose base pin retaining screw is still fitted.",
      "fix": "Hold the catch on the left side of the frame depressed while pulling the pin. If the revolver has a screw in front of the frame instead, remove that screw first.",
      "damageRisk": "Pulling against the catch or an unremoved screw bends the catch and scores the pin."
    },
    {
      "symptom": "The cylinder will not come out, or catches on the way.",
      "cause": "It is being brought out past the loading gate and the ratchet is fouling it.",
      "fix": "Take the cylinder out to the right of the frame, easing it clear so the ratchet never touches the loading gate.",
      "damageRisk": "Colt calls this contact out specifically. It damages the ratchet and the gate."
    },
    {
      "symptom": "The cylinder is back in but will not rotate freely.",
      "cause": "The base pin is not fully home, or the cylinder is not correctly seated with the hammer at half-cock.",
      "fix": "Bring the hammer to half-cock, reseat the cylinder from the right, push the base pin fully home and secure it, then check rotation again before closing the gate.",
      "damageRisk": "Firing with the cylinder not free to index is dangerous."
    },
    {
      "symptom": "The hammer will not settle into the safety notch.",
      "cause": "It is being taken to the safety position directly from half-cock or full cock without releasing the trigger completely.",
      "fix": "Release the trigger fully first. Then with the thumb on the spur and the finger off the trigger, draw the hammer back about a quarter inch and ease it forward at the click.",
      "damageRisk": "Colt warns the safety notch may not engage correctly otherwise — on a revolver with no transfer bar, that is the difference between safe and not."
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "n": 1,
      "id": "colt-saa-manual",
      "title": "Colt Single Action Army Revolver Instruction Manual",
      "publisher": "Colt's Manufacturing Company",
      "reliability": "primary",
      "url": "https://www.colt.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/singleactionarmyrevolver.pdf",
      "accessed": "2026-09-15"
    },
    {
      "n": 2,
      "id": null,
      "title": "A Study of the Colt Single Action Army Revolver",
      "publisher": null,
      "reliability": "secondary",
      "url": null,
      "accessed": null
    },
    {
      "n": 3,
      "id": "colt-specs-e6b713",
      "title": "Single Action Army — Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC (product page)",
      "publisher": "Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC",
      "reliability": "primary",
      "url": "https://www.colt.com/series/single-action-army/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-03"
    },
    {
      "n": 4,
      "id": "tier-eedc2ce3",
      "title": "AGI Armorer’s Course for Colt Single Action Revolvers",
      "publisher": "American Gunsmithing Institute",
      "reliability": "secondary",
      "url": "https://www.americangunsmith.com/product/colt-single-action-revolvers/",
      "accessed": "2026-10-29"
    }
  ]
}