The modern Colt black powder revolvers came in three generations.
First Generation:
The early Colt Signature Series guns were first produced in 1971 when Colt began buying Uberti parts from Val Forgett to produce the first run of "2nd Generation" Colt Navy pistols in the Hartford plant. These slightly undersized guns, featuring early square-backed trigger guards and authentic Colt stampings, were made until 1973. From 1974 to 1976 Colt obtained parts from one of its distributors, Lou Imperato, who in turn got them from Uberti. These Colt re-issue guns are known as C Series guns and were finished in a Colt Factory.
Second Generation:
From 1979 to 1982, Lou Imperato made the entire gun in his New Jersey factory as “The Authentic Colt Blackpowder Series.” Using Uberti parts, finished and assembled in the United States with Colt performing final inspection, these guns are known as the F Series.
The Second Generation pistols were discontinued when the bean counters at Colt forced the company to drop the manufacture and sale of the 2nd generation percussion Colts.
Third Generation:
Colt dropping the second gen pistols left Imperato, the sub contractor, in a bind and almost bankrupted his company. As a result, and in order to avoid a lawsuit, Colt eventually let Imperato's renamed Colt Blackpowder Arms Co. produce Colt-licensed Signature Series Colt revolvers from 1994 to 2002. Once again these used Uberti parts with all fitting and finishing done in the US.
