Colt Lightning rifle, factory cutaway
Official wording
Colt, Lightning rifle, original cutaway demonstrator produced by Colt.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “produced by Colt”
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1884–1904.
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
United StatesBasis: no citation - Manufacturer
- Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co.Basis: the ATF wording
- Type
- RifleBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- OtherBasis: no citation
- Caliber
- Not statedBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1884–1904production; ATF states no dateBasis: estimate ¹
- Service
- Commercial
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section III · PDF p. 23 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Colt Lightning rifle” ↗, years (estimate: range of the base model): infobox production date 1884–1904
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Colt- Lightning .22 Rifle.jpg” by Hmaag, CC BY-SA 3.0. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “Colt Lightning rifle”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Colt Lightning Carbine or Colt Lightning Rifle was a slide-action (pump-action) rifle manufactured by Colt from 1884 until 1904 and was originally chambered in .44-40 caliber. Colt eventually made the Lightning Rifle in three different frame sizes, to accommodate a wide range of cartridges, from .22 Short caliber and .38-40 to .50-95 Express. Its profile resembles the pump-action rimfire rifles made by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and Remington Arms. The Lightning saw use as a sporting arm in America and was adopted for use by the San Francisco Police Department, but was never as popular or as reliable as the various lever-action rifles of its day. It is however reported to have been used by American forces in the Spanish-American War, most likely as privately purchased weapons.