Recent content by Fred Cook

The oldest one is........ an 1871 Springfield Rolling Block rifle in 50-70 chambering. I bought it about 45 years ago at a gun show in Atlanta for about $225. Someone had "cleaned" the finish off the piece which bothered me as the rest of the gun was in very nice condition. After a few years, I...

Colt Lightning 22 Yep, I said 22 long rifle! This is an 1886 vintage Colt Lightning that was rebuilt by gunsmith George Matthews in 1953 to be a personal carry piece. He lined the barrel and cylinder chambers, built a new recoil shield and firing pin, reshaped the grip to resemble a Colt SAA...

Colt Lightning w/Ivory grips....... This is a Colt Lightning originally built in 1886 in 38 Long Colt. Rebuilt in 1953 by gunsmith George Matthews as a .22 RF w/reshaped grip frame and Ivory grips. The Lightning overall is about 10% smaller than a Colt SAA.

George Matthews Apparently George passed away sometime in the mid 90s. The gentleman that I bought the .22 Lightning from bought it from George's widow in 1996. I believe that she and the son were liquidating the shop at that point. The Lightning was sold to a Mr. Bork who kept it until this...

Double 9/Lightning You might be right! I had not made that connection.

George Matthews articles.......... There is also a multi page article about Mr. Matthews in the 1989 issue of the Handguns '89 book edited by Mr. Wiley Clapp. The article has lots of pictures of both Smith and Colt revolvers modified by Mr. Matthews. The last time I looked, there were a couple...

Matthews Colt Here are some pictures of the Matthews Colt Lightning 22. Enjoy!

George Matthews Revolver I recently acquired the Colt Lightning that he rebuilt into a 22 LR with ivory grips. The grip frame has been rebuilt to look more like a Colt SAA grip. This work was done in 1953 with the original gun having been made in 1886. Apparently he built this gun as a personal...