A Rare M1863 Single Action Starr Army 'Long Barrel' Revolver of the Civil War

Single action 1863 model, with all six serial numbers are matching, with W M inspector's stamps on the cylinder and M on the barrel, Starr Arms Company New York on one side of the frame, and Star patent of 1856 on the other side. The one piece grip had three deliberate small cuts near the butt, and it is usually assumed, and likely correctly, that these cut marks were representing ‘kills’ by an owner. But there is no way of knowing if these were applied during or immediately after the war. An incredibly impressive, big and powerful .44 cal revolver of the Civil War and early Wild West. Alongside the Colt Dragoon this was the biggest pistol of the Civil War, and it has amazing presence with its 8 inch barrel.

This is a fine Civil War revolver bearing the serial number of indicating production in mid 1864. This revolver was part of a 25,000 contract issued by the Union Army in October 1863 for delivery over 12 months beginning with serial number 23,000.

This model featured a "single action" trigger meaning each shot required the hammer to be set in the cocked position manually unlike the Starr Model of 1858 that was a "double action" weapon.

The Model of 1863 also differed in barrel length being 8" as opposed to the 6" issue of the Model 1858. Each revolver carried six cartridges in the chambers. Our example, very rarely has the matching, cylinder serial numbered, and the other 5 all major parts. Most revolvers during the civil war were often disassembled for servicing by the regiment's company armourer, and little care was made to ensure all the guns original part numbers matched. this was obviously not the case with this big revolver.

Starr was the third largest producer of revolvers for the Union behind Colt and Remington. Although the third largest production during the war its number that were produced were very small compared to, say, it’s Colt rival, which explains its relative rarity, especially so in the UK.
During the war the M-1863 Starr was issued to a number of US cavalry regiments, including the 1st Colorado Cavalry, the 6th & 7th Michigan Cavalry and the 11th New York Cavalry, just to name a few. While Starr double action revolver production started in 1858 they did not start production of the single action until 1863 finishing in 1865. Total Model 1863 S.A. production was approximately 25,000 revolvers making them rare finds today. The Model 1863 Single Action .44 calibre percussion Army Revolver was the third of the Starr revolvers produced for the military. Between September, 1863 and December 22, 1864, the Starr Arms Company delivered 25,002 Model 1863 Army revolvers to the Ordnance Department. The government's cost for this arm was $12.00 each. These arms and components were produced in Starr's plants in Yonkers, Binghamton and Moorisania. The grips on this gun are very good. The big long barrel Starr Army Revolver is the pistol that was chosen by the hero in Clint Eastwood's Academy Award winning movie 'The Unforgiven' [played by Clint Eastwood], and the pistol was in fact featured as the main promotional part of the film in the 'Unforgiven' poster, see picture of the Starr Revolver, in the poster, in our gallery [copyright Warner Bros]. Single-action Army model of 1863 in .44 chambering with production numbers reaching 3,000, 21,454 and 23,000 respectively.
Design of the pistol fell to Ebanezar (Eban) Townsend Starr and all of the guns were manufactured out of the Starr Arms Company facility of Binghampton and Yonkers, New York for Federal service. The guns relied on a percussion cap system of operation with each chamber of the six-round cylinder loaded with a charge and a ball. Percussion caps were set upon the awaiting nipples found at each chamber. The hammer then fell on these caps to produce the needed ignition of the propellant charge within each chamber, the resultant forces propelling the ball out of the barrel.Externally, the revolver was of a conventional design arrangement. The handle was ergonomically curved for a good fit in the hand while being covered in useful grips. A solid frame was featured around the rotating six-shot cylinder which offered strength that open-frame revolvers of the period generall lacked. The hammer protruded from the rear of the frame within reach of the shooting hand's thumb for actuation as necessary. A loading arm was positioned under the barrel to help ram the contents of the chambers to the rear (and thus closer to the percussion cap's port). The barrel sat over this arm in the usual way, the ball projectiles guided into it by way of a proper seal from the cylinder's front face to the barrel's rear end. All in all, a traditional revolver arrangement that was proven to work. Sighting was by way of iron fittings over the top of the gun. Good spring action for age, slight rotation hesitation and usual signs of combat use age appropriate wear as to be expected. Single thin crack on one side of the grip. As with all our antique guns no licence is required as they are all unrestricted antique collectables.

Code: 24323