The Colt Lightning, and its older brother the Colt Thunderer, were double action revolvers manufactured from January 1877, to 1909 to a total of 166,849 revolvers. The Colt Single Action Army, one of the most popular revolvers of all time A revolver is a multishot firearm, usually a handgun, in which the rounds are held in a revolving cylinder that rotates to fire them through a single barrel. ...

The distinguishing aspect of the Colt Lightning is that it is double action, meaning that it was capable of "trigger cocking," allowing "Lightning fast" firing. The term double action was originally applied to revolvers. ...

The Colt Lightning was somewhat smeared in reputation on the account that it sometimes malfunctioned, and its parts were not built to last long, unlike its Single Action cousin, the Colt Peacemaker. It may have been that the Colt Lightning was meant for trigger cocking more then thumb cocking, which made the problems in the first place. Colt Single Action Army handgun (Modern Verson) Also known as the Colt Peacemaker or Single Action Army, the Colt Single Action Army handgun is a single action revolver holding 6 rounds of ammunition, that was designed for the US cavalry by Colts Manufacturing Company and adopted in 1875, and...