Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! In 1985, Colt produced a unique hybrid revolver for distributor Lew Horton: the BOA. Blending the Mark V Trooper’s frame and action with the Python’s full-lug barrel and Royal Blue finish, this .357 Magnum represented a middle ground between Colt’s standard and premium offerings. The entire production run consisted of just 1,200 revolvers, split between 4-inch and 6-inch barrels. Serial numbers ran from BOA1 to BOA1200, with odd numbers designating 4-inch models and even numbers for 6-inch versions. The first 100 pairs were sold as consecutively numbered cased sets, leaving 500 individual guns of each barrel length for separate sale. Despite being conceived as a more affordable Python alternative at $525, the BOA’s extreme rarity has made it the most sought-after of Colt’s “snake guns.” Unlike other limited models, no additional BOAs were ever produced through custom shop orders or parts assembly, making these 1,200 revolvers, with their checkered rosewood grips and Accro-style sights, truly unique in Colt’s history.
“Manufactured in 1985. This is one of only 100 sets of consecutively numbered Boa Revolvers. The set features two Boas (one with 4 inch barrel and one with 6 inch barrel) housed in a hardwood display case with a green velvet interior. The Boa revolver was manufactured by Colt for Lew Horton as a special run of revolvers built with a Python barrel on a Mark V frame. The Boa revolver is one of the rarest Colt revolvers manufactured, with a total of 1,200 produced, making this factory set all the more rare. Includes two Colt “woodgrain” boxes with absent end labels.”
Lot 606: Cased Colt Boa Revolver Set – Rare and Desirable Cased Set of Consecutively Numbered Colt Boa 357 Double Action Revolvers with Boxes. (n.d.). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved December 18, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/85/606/cased-colt-boa-revolver-set.
