These Legendary Colt Firearms Shaped US Military History

Guns and Hunting

Published: November 12, 2024 10:10 pm

First introduced in 1873, the Colt .45 Peacemaker is one of the most iconic firearms in American history. Often romanticized as “the gun that won the West”, this famous revolver played a pivotal role in shaping the American frontier as it was utilized by outlaws, cowboys, lawmen, and civilians alike. The gun’s success firmly established the Colt Manufacturing Company in mainstream culture, leading it to become the forefront of firearms innovation for generations. (This is America’s favorite rifle company.)

To identify the most iconic military firearms built by Colt Firearms, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a catalog of Colt Firearms from Military Factory, an online database of military vehicles, aircraft, arms, and more. We ordered these firearms chronologically, from the newest to the oldest. We also included supplemental data from the Military Factory regarding the year entered service, type, firing action, caliber, and feed. We excluded firearms that were experimental or prototypes.

Why We’re Writing About This

The Colt Manufacturing Company built many of the firearms that shaped American history and have been vital to the U.S. military for over 100 years. These guns are deeply embedded into American folklore, frequently showing up in books and movies. In addition, Colt is famous for the quality, durability, and reliability of its firearms.

Here is a look at the iconic guns produced by Colt Firearms over the years.

Canada C20

Year introduced: 2020
Type: Designated marksman rifle
Firing action: Semi-automatic
Caliber & Feed: 7.62x51mm NATO, 20-round detachable box magazine

LE901

LE 901 Adapter block (CC BY-SA 3.0 DEED) by FilmWerks

Year introduced: 2013
Type: Carbine
Firing action: Gas-operated; locking bolt; semi-automatic
Caliber & Feed: .308 Winchester, 30-round detachable box magazine

Navy Mark 12 Special Purpose Rifle (Mk 12 SPR)

Year introduced: 2002
Type: Sniper rifle / designated marksman rifle
Firing action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 20- or 30-round detachable box magazine

M4

Year introduced: 1994
Type: Assault carbine
Firing action: Gas-operated; locking bolt; semi-/full-automatic
Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 20- or 30-round detachable box magazine

M4A1 SOPMOD

Year introduced: 1993
Type: Carbine
Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 30-round detachable box magazine

Anaconda

Year introduced: 1990
Type: Six-shot revolver
Firing action: Double-action; repeating
Caliber & Feed: .44 Special, .44 Magnum, .45 Colt, 6-shot rotating cylinder

M16A4

Year introduced: 1990
Type: Assault rifle
Firing action: Gas-operated; semi-automatic; select fire
Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 30-round detachable box magazine

Diemaco C8

Year introduced: 1988
Type: Assault carbine
Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 30-round detachable box magazine

Diemaco C7

Year introduced: 1984
Type: Designated marksman rifle
Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 30-round detachable box magazine

M16A2

Year introduced: 1983
Type: Assault rifle
Firing action: Gas-operated; semi-automatic; select fire
Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 30-round detachable box magazine

Model 635

Year introduced: 1982
Type: Submachine gun
Firing action: Blowback; closed-bolt
Caliber & Feed: 9x19mm Parabellum, 20- or 32-round detachable box magazine

AAI M203

Year introduced: 1969
Type: Breech-loading under-barrel grenade launcher
Firing action: Single-shot
Caliber & Feed: 40x46mm, Single-shot

CAR-15 Commando (XM177)

Year introduced: 1966
Type: Assault carbine
Firing action: Gas-operated; locking bolt; semi-/full-automatic
Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 20- or 30-round detachable box magazine

M16

Year introduced: 1963
Type: Assault carbine
Firing action: Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Caliber & Feed: 5.56x45mm NATO, 20- or 30-round detachable box magazine

ArmaLite AR-15

European Union army shooting drills in Germany

Year introduced: 1958
Type: Select-fire automatic rifle
Firing action: Rotating bolt, direct impingement system
Caliber & Feed: .223 Remington, 5.56x45mm NATO, .45 ACP, 20-, 30-, 40-, 90- or 100-round magazines

ArmaLite AR-10

AR10 Armalite vue d (CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED) by Le-boulanger

Year introduced: 1958
Type: Battle rifle
Firing action: Gas-operated; rotating bolt
Caliber & Feed: .308 Winchester, 7.62x51mm NATO, 20-round detachable box magazine

Python

Year introduced: 1955
Type: Six-shot revolver
Firing action: Double-action; repeating
Caliber & Feed: .357 Magnum, 6-shot rotating cylinder

Browning .303

Year introduced: 1936
Type: Medium machine gun
Firing action: Recoil-operated; full-automatic, belt-fed
Caliber & Feed: .303 British, Belt-fed (various lengths)

Browning M1918 BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle)

Year introduced: 1918
Type: Light machine gun
Firing action: Gas-operated; open bolt; selective fire
Caliber & Feed: .30-06 Springfield, 20-round detachable box magazine

Browning M1917

Year introduced: 1917
Type: Belt-fed, water-cooled heavy machine gun
Firing action: Recoil-operated; full-automatic, belt-fed
Caliber & Feed: .30-06 Springfield, 250-round fabric belt

Colt Model 1917

Year introduced: 1917
Type: Service revolver
Firing action: Double-action; rotating cylinder
Caliber & Feed: .45 ACP, 6-shot rotating cylinder

Kongsberg M/1914

Police riot used shields and batons to practice outdoors.

Year introduced: 1915
Type: Semi-automatic service pistol
Firing action: Single-action; short recoil-operated
Caliber & Feed: .45 ACP, 7-round detachable box magazine

Colt M1911

Year introduced: 1911
Type: Semi-automatic service pistol
Firing action: Single-action; short recoil-operated
Caliber & Feed: .45 ACP, 7-round detachable box magazine

Hotchkiss Model 1909

Year introduced: 1909
Type: Light machine gun
Firing action: Gas-operated; magazine-/belt-fed
Caliber & Feed: .303 British, .30-06 Springfield, 30-round detachable box magazine

Model 1903 (Pocket Hammerless)

Year introduced: 1903
Type: Semi-automatic pistol
Firing action: Single-action; blowback
Caliber & Feed: .32 ACP, 8-round detachable box magazine

Browning M1895 (Potato Digger)

Year introduced: 1895
Type: Air-cooled, belt-fed machine gun
Firing action: Gas-operated; closed-bolt; lever-actuated
Caliber & Feed: .30-40 Krag; 7x57mm; 6.5x52mm, .30-06 Springfield, 240-round fabric belt

Colt 45 Peacemaker

Year introduced: 1873
Type: Six-shot revolver
Firing action: Single-action; rotating cylinder
Caliber & Feed: .45 Long Colt; .38 Special; .357 Magnum; .44 Special, 6-shot rotating cylinder

Model 1862 Pocket Navy

Year introduced: 1862
Type: Five-shot percussion revolver
Firing action: Single-action
Caliber & Feed: .36 Cap and ball, 5-shot rotating cylinder

Model 1862 Police

Year introduced: 1862
Type: Five-shot percussion revolver
Firing action: Single-action
Caliber & Feed: .36 Cap and ball, 5-shot rotating cylinder

Model 1861 Navy

Year introduced: 1861
Type: Six-shot percussion revolver
Firing action: Single-action
Caliber & Feed: .36 Cap and ball, 6-shot rotating cylinder

Model 1860 New Army

Year introduced: 1860
Type: Six-shot percussion revolver
Firing action: Single-action; repeating; percussion cap
Caliber & Feed: .44 Ball, 6-shot rotating cylinder

Model 1855 (Root Revolver)

Year introduced: 1855
Type: Sing-action six-shot revolver
Firing action: Single-action; rotating cylinder; side hammer
Caliber & Feed: .31 Cap and ball, 6-shot rotating cylinder

Model 1855 Revolving Carbine

Year introduced: 1855
Type: Six-shot service rifle
Firing action: Percussion cap; hammer-actuated; revolving cylinder
Caliber & Feed: .56 Cap and Ball, 5- or 6-shot revolving cylinder

Model 1851 Navy

Year introduced: 1851
Type: Percussion revolver
Firing action: Single-action
Caliber & Feed: .36 Cap and ball, 6-shot rotating cylinder

Model 1849 Pocket Revolver

Year introduced: 1849
Type: Percussion revolver
Firing action: Single-action
Caliber & Feed: .31 Cap and ball, 5- or 6-shot revolving cylinder

Model 1848 Baby Dragoon

Year introduced: 1848
Type: Five-shot percussion revolver
Firing action: Percussion cap; repeat fire
Caliber & Feed: .31 Cap and ball, 5-shot rotating cylinder

Model 1848 Dragoon

Year introduced: 1848
Type: Six-shot percussion revolver
Firing action: Single-action; revolving cylinder
Caliber & Feed: .44 Cap and ball, 6-shot rotating cylinder

Colt Walker

Year introduced: 1847
Type: Six-shot revolver
Firing action: Single-action; rotating cylinder
Caliber & Feed: .44 Cap and ball, 6-shot rotating cylinder

Model 1839

Year introduced: 1839
Type: Revolving carbine / shotgun
Firing action: Single-action; rotating cylinder
Caliber & Feed: .525 (Carbine); 16-gauge (Shotgun), 6-shot rotating cylinder

The Average American Has No Idea How Much Money You Can Make Today ^(Sponsor)

The last few years made people forget how much banks and CD’s can pay. Meanwhile, interest rates have spiked and many can afford to pay you much more, but most are keeping yields low and hoping you won’t notice.

But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying almost 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.

Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 4.00% with a Checking & Savings Account from Sofi. Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.

¹https://www.fdic.gov/national-rates-and-rate-caps

Read more: Guns and Hunting, assault rifle, colt, colt cz group, colt guns, Colt peacemaker, cowboy gun, firearm, military, pistol, western guns

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.