Every culture has a story that warns travelers off empty roads after dark. In Mexico, one of the oldest rides a black horse.
SK Guns, the St. Augustine, Florida, outfit behind last month’s Pancho Villa 1911 and other fine guns, launched a new Folklore Series on Sept. 18 with the Charro Negro, a full-size Colt Government Model chambered in .38 Super. While its La Revolución series draws on Mexican history, this one draws on the campfire. Production is capped at 200 pistols, each with an engraved edition number. Pre-orders are open at $3,000, and deliveries are expected early in 2027.
If you didn’t grow up with the legend, here’s the short version. The Charro Negro appears at night on rural trails and isolated crossroads, dressed head to toe in a black charro suit trimmed with silver and mounted on a horse to match. He’s well-mannered and plainly rich, and he always has something to offer a lone traveler. Sometimes it’s directions. Sometimes it’s gold. Accepting is the mistake. In some tellings, he’s Death in a good suit. In others, he was once a man who bargained his soul for a fortune, tried to back out of the deal and now rides forever looking for someone who will make the same trade.
SK Guns tells that story panel by panel in selective 24-karat gold and .999 silver. A gold horseshoe sits on the rear of the slide’s left side, and a cathedral, a money bag and a human skull run forward along the flat. Poppy scrollwork ties it all together, a flower connected in Mexican tradition to death, resilience and folk healing. On the right side, a raven, long read as a bad omen in Mexican folklore, keeps watch while the Charro Negro stands in full charro dress, reins in hand, beneath a full moon at midnight. Across the top of the slide, he rides a deserted road looking for his next traveler. The rear of the slide shows a graveyard for the ones who already said yes.
Underneath the artwork is a highly polished Colt Royal Blue finish on the frame, slide, barrel and hardware, with 24-karat gold on the controls and select parts, from the hammer and thumb safety to the grip screws. The grips are presentation-grade, black-cloud pearl Kirinite inset with a black hematite Rampant Colt medallion.
“Bringing the legend of the Charro Negro to life on the Colt 1911 was about more than just engraving a firearm; it was about honoring generations of Mexican storytelling,” said Simon Khiabani, owner and founder of SK Guns. “The Black Horseman represents a captivating blend of elegance, mystery and moral tradition.”
As with most of SK Guns’ numbered runs, collectors who want a low number or any number at all will want to move early. Pre-orders are available at skguns.com.
