Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · II · 218

Colt Sheriff's Model Single Action Army

Section II: curio or relic, still subject to the Gun Control Act

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION II · VERBATIM · PDF P. 8 ↗

Colt, Sheriffs Model revolver, cal.’s .44 and .45.

ATF lists cal. .45; this is the .45 Colt cartridge.

What this entry requires

  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1960–1985.

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
United States
Manufacturer
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co.
Type
Pistol
Action
Other
Caliber
.44, .45 Colt
Made
c. 1960–1985production; ATF states no date¹
Service
Commercial
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Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section II · PDF p. 8 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 17 October 2026 (Data-trust review) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. gunvalues.gundigest.com ↗, years: Between 1960 and 1975 about 500 Sheriff's Models made, .45 Colt, 3-inch barrel, no ejector
  2. Wikipedia, “Colt Single Action Army” ↗, name: short ejectorless SAA variant called the "Sheriff's Model"
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
2 changes · see below

Correction history

  1. Data-trust reviewEditorial confidence: Low → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
  2. Data-trust reviewYears: 1961–1986 → 1960–1985. Gun Digest dates the 2nd-generation .45 Sheriff's Model to 1960–1975; the ATF's .44 points to the later 3rd-generation guns (c. 1980), so the end year stays an estimate

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Colt Single Action Army (base model shown for Colt Sheriff's Model Single Action Army)
Shown: a standard-barrel Colt Single Action Army, not the short-barrel Sheriff's Model.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “1956prime2.jpg” by Mike Cumpston, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Colt Single Action Army”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Colt Single Action Army is a single-action revolver. It was designed for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and was adopted as the standard-issued revolver of the U.S. Army from 1873 to 1892.