In House Shipping:
Make: Colt
Model: Lightning Magazine Rifle, Medium Frame Carbine
Serial Number: 89428
Year of Manufacture: 1902
Caliber: .44 W.C.F. (.44-40 Winchester)
Action Type: Slide / Pump Action, Full Length Tube Magazine Fed Rifle
Barrel Length: 26”, Octagon
Sights / Optics: The front sight is a silver blade set between a base dovetailed to the barrel. The rear sight is a semi-buckhorn u-notch elevator sight dovetailed to the barrel. The tang is drilled, tapped, and filled for a tang sight (not included).
Stock Configuration & Condition: The stocks are walnut with a two-piece smooth slide handle with border cuts, straight grip, straight comb and steel carbine buttplate. The stocks have some scattered nicks, dings, scuffs, scratches, and compressions. The LOP measures 13 3/8” from the front of the trigger to the back of the buttplate. The plate has gone to a medium to dark patina from the heel over the face to the toe. There are no chips or cracks. Overall, the stocks are in Excellent condition.
Type of Finish: Blued, Case colored hammer
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion. In this writer’s opinion the bore rates 10/10.
Overall Condition: This rifle retains about 95% of its metal finish. The balance of the finish shows little to no operation wear. The bluing is strong throughout the rifle. There is some minor thinning on the leading edges. The screw heads are sharp. The markings are clear with excellent detail in the rampant colt. There are some intermittent spots of oxidation, some corrosion at the rear of the receiver and on the rear sight. Both edges along the top of the octagonal barrel have some minor erosion that is concentrated at the barrel stamp. Overall, this rifle is in Excellent condition.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. We have not fired this rifle. As with all previously owned firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: None.
Our Assessment: Around the 1880s, Colt was looking to diversify but both Remington and Winchester had the rifle market sewn up. Besides their lever-actions, there were also new slide action rifles: the user pumped a moving arm set under the barrel and around a tubular magazine, kicking out a spent round and loading a new one with every “stroke”. Colt concentrated on this design concept and in 1884 introduced a gun with a short slide action that was so slick and so fast; they dubbed it the “Lightning”. The advertising said it all: “Nothing was faster than lightning”. Dr. William H. Elliot, a dentist by trade, designed the gun. Half hobby, half side job, Elliot liked to tinker with things and over the course of his life came up with at least 130 inventions. Since he lived in Ilion, New York, he often walked down to neighboring Remington and showed them the interesting things he was working on and when Remington didn’t bite on his new rifle design, he sent a letter to Colt, who loved it. The handy rifle’s tubular magazine could hold as many as 16 rounds, depending on caliber, which made it very attractive. It came in three varieties: small, medium, and large. Each of these guns had the same set up, with a deep-blued finish, case hardened hammer, American walnut stock and fore-end, and open rear and front sights. They were light, going 6.5-pounds or so. The medium frame guns, chambered for .32-20, .38-40 and .44-40 Winchester calibers, marketed as 32, 38 and 44 CLMR (Colt Lightning Magazine Rifle), were the most popular, using some of the same cartridges as Colt’s Single Action Army and with ammunition already being produced for Winchester’s rifles. Ultimately, the rifle was discontinued as Winchester and Colt came to the agreement that Winchester would produce rifles, Colt would produce handguns, and nobody needed to make the market competition get ugly. This example is an 1890 production medium frame chambered for .44-40. It is in beautiful shape with most of its finish remaining and retains a bore almost more mint than time would allow, 123 years to be exact. This will make for a superb example of the Colt Lightning and would be an excellent addition to any safe in America.