Curious Relics #140: No Records – Remington Model 1875 Part III

By Sam.S • Published September 2, 2026

Welcome, if you are a newcomer to this fun bi-weekly segment of AllOutdoor.com! The last two times around I covered the history and the variations of the Remington Model 1875. This time we are getting into dating, specifications, and the aftermarket situation, and I have been warning you for two articles now that the dating part is rough. It is rougher than I made it sound. Let’s dive right into the Remington Model 1875!

Recent Curious Relics Coverage:

Welcome to our recurring series of “Curious Relics.” Here, we want to share all of our experiences, knowledge, misadventures, and passion for older firearms that one might categorize as a Curio & Relic – any firearm that is at least 50 years old according to the ATF. Hopefully along the way you can garner a greater appreciation for older firearms like we do, and simultaneously you can teach us things as well through sharing your own expertise and thoughts in the Comments. Understanding the firearms of old, their importance, and their development which lead to many of the arms we now cherish today is incredibly fascinating and we hope you enjoy what we have to share, too!

Dating: The Remington Model 1875

I am going to give you the bad news right at the top. You cannot date a Remington Model 1875 by its serial number. Not roughly, not approximately, not at all.

Here is why. Remington started production numbering at 1 and ran up to somewhere around 16,000. Then they stopped. The country still had not shaken off the economic depression that followed the Civil War, sales were slow, and finished revolvers were stacking up in the storage rooms faster than they were going out the door. When production picked back up, Remington started the count over at 1. I see sources mention they did this several times across the twelve-year run. So there are two and three digit numbers scattered all through the production of this gun, on revolvers built years apart, and no way to tell from the number alone which one you are holding (so duplicate low serials are normal here, not a red flag).

Remington Model 1875

There are no factory ledgers for these. There is no archive letter service. Nobody is going to look your gun up, unfortunately.

So what do you actually do? You date it by its features, and you accept that you are bracketing a period rather than landing on a year. The caliber marking is the most useful thing on the gun, because Remington kept moving it. Earliest revolvers have no caliber marking at all, since there was only the one chambering and nobody needed telling. When the marks show up, they land on the left grip panel first, then migrate to the left frame flat ahead of the cylinder, then finally to the left rear of the trigger guard bow. That last location was in use by 1883, which we know because that is when the Interior Department ordered the Indian Police guns.

Remington Model 1875

“Indian Police Attributed Remington Model 1875 Revolver.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/4096/171/indian-police-attributed-remington-model-1875-revolver. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Front sights help narrow it further. Early guns wear a pinched blade threaded into the barrel and later ones a plain blade. The frame caliber marking was in use right up until the blade sight came along, so those two features together tell you more than either one alone.

Remington Model 1875

Then there are the small parts. Three hammer types and three firing pins across the run, with the first change landing around the 12,000 serial mark during the Egyptian deliveries. Worth knowing that the very earliest hammers have no safety notch whatsoever.

“Egyptian Remington Model 1875 Single Action Army Revolver.” Rock Island Auction, www.rockislandauction.com/detail/1049/1024/egyptian-remington-model-1875-single-action-army-revolver. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

Speaking of matching numbers, the earliest revolvers are numbered nearly everywhere. Ware owns serial 36 and the number appears on the frame, barrel, ejector housing, trigger guard, hammer, rear of the cylinder, loading gate, and even the flat of the ejector rod. That is hand fitting, plain and simple. As the machining got better Remington quit bothering, and later guns carry numbers on just the frame, trigger guard, and loading gate.

Now the part that ruins everything I just told you. Remington did not throw out old parts. They kept installing them until the bin was empty, and they did that for the whole production run. So a later revolver wearing an early hammer is not a puzzle, it is Tuesday at Ilion. Everything above is a rough sequence and not a calendar.

Remington Model 1875

All that being said, if you want to get serious about one of these, the Remington Society of America is where I would point you. Their journal is where Mr. Don Ware’s research lives, and it is the single most thorough body of work on these revolvers anywhere…which is a little sad, considering all I could find was an article from 2004.

Specifications: The Remington Model 1875

Before the list, a word on how these actually work, because if you grew up on Colts there are a couple of surprises.

It is a single action, so the hammer gets cocked manually for every shot. Loading happens through a gate on the right side of the frame. Put the hammer at half cock, flip the gate open, and the cylinder turns freely so you can feed it one round at a time. Empties come out the same way with the ejector rod under the barrel, and the button for it sits on the right side rather than the left like you might expect. Where the Remington parts company with the Colt is the cylinder. Release the catch on the base pin, pull the pin straight out the front, and the cylinder drops right into your hand. No tools.

Remington Model 1875

If you have only handled modern single actions that probably sounds like nothing, because every Colt and every clone on the shelf today has a spring-loaded cross latch you push with your thumb. It was not always that way. The 1873 Colt held its base pin with a screw angling in from the front of the frame, and pulling the cylinder meant going and finding a screwdriver first. Colt did not begin phasing in the push-button cross latch until around 1892 and did not make it standard until 1896. Remington had a tool-free base pin in 1875, better than twenty years ahead of Hartford. That is exactly the advantage the 1876 Exhibition report singled out, and it is the best thing about this gun (it is not close, either).

“The Colt Single Action Army Model 1873.” Gun Tests, www.gun-tests.com/handguns/the-colt-single-action-army-model-1873/. Accessed 1 Sept. 2026.

Now here is the funny part. The Uberti does not use the Remington system. Uberti fitted the Colt-style cross latch instead, so the one place the original flat out beat the Peacemaker is the one place the replica hands it right back.

Remington Model 1875

Years Produced: 1875 to roughly 1889
Number Manufactured: Roughly 25,000 to 30,000, though Ware believes that figure is low by five to ten thousand
Chambering: .44 Remington Centerfire, .44-40 WCF, .45 Government (.45 Colt)
Standard Barrel Length: 7.5 inches, with a very rare 5.75 inch late in production
Overall Length: Roughly 13.5 inches
Weight: Roughly 2.75 pounds
Action: Single Action
Capacity: 6-round fluted cylinder
Front Sight: Pinched blade threaded into the barrel early, plain blade later
Rear Sight: Milled groove in the top strap
Grip: Two-piece walnut
Finish: Blued with case-hardened hammer and loading gate, or full nickel
MSRP In 1878: $18.00 blued and $18.75 nickel (about $600 and $625 in 2026, and take that conversion loosely since pre-1913 numbers are reconstructed rather than recorded)

Since a Uberti is standing in as my hands-on gun for this series, here is that one separately.

Model: Uberti 1875 Single-Action Army Outlaw “Frank,” item 356713
MSRP: $1,149
Chambering: .45 Colt
Barrel Length: 7.5 inches
Overall Length: 13.6 inches
Weight: 2.8 pounds
Capacity: 6-shot fluted cylinder
Finish: Nickel-plated steel with polished nickel barrel
Grip: Simulated ivory
Rifling: 6 grooves, 1:16 right hand twist

For context, the standard 1875 Army Outlaw runs $749 in either nickel or case-hardened, and the shorter 5.5 inch Frontier is $699. So the Frank carries about a four hundred dollar premium for the fancy grips, lanyard ring, and the name on the box. Worth it or not is your call, but you should know what the difference actually buys you. And for anyone who went looking for the 1890 Police after last article, I could not find it in Uberti’s current lineup. It may be gone; it may be back next year, so do not take my word as final on that one.These things eb and flow with these folks. Likely more worthwhile to leave people wanting and come back when they feel they need it again (think like the Starr revolvers or LeMats making their way back)

Remington Model 1875

Aftermarket Parts & Accessories: The Remington Model 1875

For an original, things are thin but not hopeless. Numrich carries a dedicated section for the 1875 Single Action Revolver, which is more than a lot of guns this old get BUT…it’s dead. There is nothing there.

Triple K does grips and buttplates for obsolete models and the 1875 is on their list. River Junction Trade Co makes reproduction grips and holsters for both the 1875 and the 1890. The Remington Society keeps a service and parts page listing vendors by model, and that is the fastest way to find somebody who actually stocks what you need. eBay is eBay (the old backup plan). Save your search and wait.

Remington Model 1875

Beyond those, you are into original parts pulled from other guns, which is a shrinking pool. There were maybe thirty thousand of these built in the first place, and that was a century and a half ago. Take care of what you have.

The Uberti side of the fence is a much happier place. One thing to be careful about, though. Taylor’s & Co says outright that their parts are not guaranteed to fit older Uberti guns, and none of this stuff fits an original Remington. Different gun, different dimensions, different century. Do not go ordering Uberti parts for a real 1875 and expect them to drop in.

End of Part III: The Remington Model 1875

Well folks, that is the paperwork out of the way. Dating these is honestly one of the more frustrating things I have run into doing this series, and I do not love telling you that the best answer is a shrug and a rough decade. But it is the truth, and I would rather hand you that than a made-up chart. Next time is the fun part. Range day with the Frank, and some final thoughts to close out the series. See you then.

Remington Model 1875

A big thank you to the folks at Uberti for sending out the Frank for this series. Being able to put hands on a Remington 1875 pattern revolver and actually shoot the thing makes a world of difference when you are trying to write about one, and I appreciate it.

This installment is part of the Curious Relics series – an ongoing archive of historical firearms documentation. Browse the full series here.

Remington Model 1875

In closing, I hope our Curious Relics segment informed as well as entertained. This all was written in hopes of continued firearm appreciation and preservation. We did not just realize how guns were supposed to look and function. It was a long and tedious process that has shaped the world we live in. If you have a question or you are sitting on information that could sharpen up an article like this one, you can find me through my Linktree. Until next time!

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