The Colt legacy began in 1830, when Samuel Colt carved a wooden prototype of a handgun having a revolving cylinder with chambers to hold bullets. At the age of 16, Colt had invented the revolver. Colt’s first business enterprise failed, yet the Texas Rangers were said to bring him back into manufacturing, as they preferred the efficiency of the Colt Paterson, later named the Walker Colt. In 1851, Colt started the Colt Paten Firearms Manufacturing Company that was mass producing revolvers at 150 per day.

When the Civil War broke out, Samuel Colt found himself supplying to both sides; in 1861, he took a stand, and stopped selling to the Confederate Army. After Colt’s death in 1862, his wife Elizabeth took over, and lead the company to develop the first revolver with metal cartridges, named the “Peacemaker”, better known as the SAA (Single Action Army).