The Perfect Colt: Blue steel and Ivory Grips without a flaw

If I've learned nothing else in 16 months working at a gun shop, it's that Colt buyers have got to be the absolute pickiest people on God's green earth.

I learned the hard way if there is any tiny little flaw in a Colt, new or used, even one you have to hold the light just right and squint to see, point it out in the text of a gunbroker auction.

Because if I don't, some picky Colt buyer will send an email or even worse, tie up the phone at the shop for half an hour to ask "Is that a gouge on the bottom of the frame?" and a dozen more questions about things they imagine they see in the photos. (Colt flaws are never tiny scratches or nicks to picky Colt buyers, they are gouges.)

But today I finally listed an absolutely perfect Colt with no flaws. The previous owner kept it in the factory box wrapped in plastic and never even cut the factory wire tie around the hammer, locking the cylinder. So this Colt Single Action Army is unfired and the cylinder is unturned.

It may be the fabled Colt Royal Blue, but the box labels don't say that, so we aren't saying it either. But if that ain't Royal Blue, just how blue can Royal Blue be?

And the label on the box does say "Ivory Grips" so no picky Colt buyer can write to ask "Are the grips real ivory?" But they'll probably ask that anyway. And they'll probably ask "Is that a gouge on the end of the barrel?" Answer: "No, it's a light reflection. I can do a lot with my camera, but I can't stop light from reflecting."