Page 161 - 4090-BOOK2

159
LOT 1192
Excellent Documented
Texas Shipped Colt Second
Generation Single Action Army Revolver
Owned by Texas Ranger R.G. “Shadow”
Goss with Original Black Box and Factory
Letter - Serial no. 35333SA, 45 Long Colt cal., 4
3/4 inch round bbl., blue/casehardened finish,
plastic grips. This revolver is accompanied by
documentation indicating that this revolver was
owned by Texas Ranger Robert G. “Shadow” Goss
(1898-1978), a contemporary of Frank Hamer and
well-known Ranger in his own right. This provenance
is detailed in a Clark Custom Guns, Inc. letter from 1987
and an affidavit from Goss’s nephew Harry F. Goss from
the same year. The former incorrectly lists him as active until
1980. Additional letter from James E. Clark of Clark Custom
Guns, Inc. discuss him purchasing additional guns from
Goss’s collection. He was a friend of the lawman and was
interviewed about Goss’s career and gun collection and also
wrote the article “The Last Word” in Shooting Times Handgun
Quarterly” (photocopy included) in which he states that a Single
Action Army with short barrel was Goss’s favorite type for quick
draw shooting. Records relating to Goss’s long career as a lawman
are also included listing him as a private in 1935 in Company A in
Kilgore and then starting in 1939 in Lufkin. His obituary indicates he was
a Texas Ranger for forty years starting in 1924. He is recorded in the Texas
Ranger Hall of Fame which notes he joined the Rangers on June 23, 1924,
and mostly worked in and around the Texas oil fields and served in Companies
A and B. He was also Chief of Police in Kilgore, Texas, in the 1930s and later worked
with the Texas Wildlife and Fisheries Department. He was fond of the classic Colt Single Action Army and owned several
and shot competitively. Before his career as a lawman, he served in WWI as machine gunner in France. The included factory letter confirms the revolver as chambered for .45 Long Colt and having a 4 3/4 inch barrel with blue finish (grips not listed) when shipped alone to Harris Sporting Goods in Longview, Texas, on December 15, 1961. As noted in his book “The Post-War Colt Single Action Army Revolver 1955-1975,” Author Don Wilkerson notes that of all the .45 Long Colt chambered Second Generation Single Action Army revolvers, only 5,352 were manufactured
with blue/casehardened finishes and 4 3/4 inch barrels, making it the fourth least common variation for the caliber. Assembly number
“503” is found on the loading gate. Matching serial numbers are on the frame, trigger guard, backstrap, and the last three digits
on the cylinder front face and inside of both grip panels. Includes original Colt black box, cleaning rod, and manual.
CONDITION: Excellent overall, retaining 99% plus original blue and casehardened finishes with minimal handling evidence
and crisp grip checkering. The box is fine. Mechanically excellent. Revolvers owned by Texas Rangers are very desirable and
highly sought after by collectors.
Provenance: The Texas Ranger Robert G. Gross Collection; Clark Custom Guns Inc.;
The Tommy Rholes Collection; Property of a Gentleman.
Estimate: 6,500 - 9,500