Description
The Traditions 1873 357 Magnum 3.5 in barrel is the shortest 1873 Traditions builds, and it follows a real historical pattern rather than a marketing one. Shopkeepers and lawmen who wanted a single action that disappeared under a coat had barrels cut down and the ejector housing removed, and those guns became known as sheriff or shopkeeper models. This one arrives that way from the factory, with a color case hardened frame, blued barrel and cylinder, and walnut grips.
Traditions 1873 357 Magnum 3.5 in. Barrel and Carry
Three and a half inches changes how an 1873 behaves. The revolver loses several ounces out front, the balance moves back into the hand, and the whole gun shortens enough to ride under a jacket or in a cross draw holster without printing. What it gives up is sight radius and some velocity, and with 357 Magnum in a barrel this short the muzzle blast is noticeably sharper than from a 5.5 inch gun.
The 357 chambering earns its place here for the same reason it does elsewhere in the line: the cylinder also accepts 38 Special. A short barrelled single action fed mild 38s is a genuinely pleasant thing to shoot, and the magnum option stays available for when the revolver has a job to do rather than a target to punch.
Finish, Action and Loading
Color case hardening is a heat treatment, not a coating applied over finished steel. The frame is packed in a carbon rich medium and brought up to temperature, and the mottled blues, straws and greys are the visible record of carbon migrating into the surface. The frame emerges harder than it went in, which is why the process was used on working tools long before it was admired, and no two frames come out matching.
The action is single action throughout. The hammer is thumbed to full cock for each shot, rotating the cylinder and setting the sear, after which the trigger only releases the hammer. Traditions fits a transfer bar that rises between hammer and firing pin solely when the trigger is deliberately pressed. An original 1873 rests its firing pin on the primer of a chambered round, which is why the historical rule was five loaded and the hammer down on an empty chamber. This revolver carries six.
Loading follows the original method. Bring the hammer to half cock, open the loading gate on the right side, and the cylinder turns freely to accept rounds one at a time.
Specifications
- Model: Frontier Series 1873 Single Action
- Manufacturer part number: SAT73-005
- Caliber: 357 Magnum, also accepts 38 Special
- Capacity: 6 rounds
- Barrel: 3.5 in.
- Action: Single action
- Frame: Steel, color case hardened
- Barrel and cylinder finish: Blued
- Grips: Walnut
- Safety: Transfer bar safety system
- Sights: Fixed, traditional 1873 pattern
- UPC: 040589022734
Why Buyers Choose the Traditions 1873 357 Magnum 3.5 in. Revolver
Short barrelled single actions have a following out of proportion to how many get made. They handle differently from a full length gun, they carry far more easily, and they carry a distinct piece of frontier history with them. Most makers either do not offer one or charge a premium for the configuration. Getting it at this price, with a transfer bar and a magnum chambering that also shoots cheap 38 Special, is unusual.
The transfer bar matters especially on a revolver meant to be carried rather than shot from a bench. A gun worn all day gets bumped, and the safety mechanism means the cylinder can be filled instead of run one light.
Who Should Buy It
The Traditions 1873 357 Magnum 3.5 in. model suits the shooter who wants a single action they will actually carry, the cowboy action competitor drawn to the shopkeeper look, and the collector filling out a Frontier series set with the hardest length to find. Anyone whose main plan is long strings of full power magnums will be happier with the 5.5 inch version.
Learn more from Traditions, or browse the rest of our firearms selection.
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