Traditions 1873 44 Magnum 7.5 in. – Superb Case Hardened Revolver

Description

The Traditions 1873 44 Magnum 7.5 in barrel is the cavalry length, the longest of the three the US Army ever adopted, paired here with the heaviest chambering Traditions offers in the 1873 pattern. A color case hardened frame carries the mottled finish of the traditional process, the barrel and unfluted cylinder are deep blued, and walnut grips finish it. A transfer bar safety works behind the period appearance.

Traditions 1873 44 Magnum 7.5 in. Barrel and Cylinder

Seven and a half inches is the length the cavalry carried, and on a 44 Magnum it does more good than it does on the milder chamberings. Magnum powders are slow burning and need barrel to work with, so this is the version that gets closest to the velocity the cartridge is capable of. The extra steel out front also slows the muzzle down considerably, which on a cartridge that recoils like this one is worth as much as the velocity.

The cylinder is unfluted. Traditions leaves the flutes off on the magnum models and keeps the extra steel between the chambers, which is the direct way to handle magnum pressures in an action originally drawn up around black powder. It also gives the gun a heavier, more purposeful profile than the fluted 45 Colt and 357 versions.

Finish, Action and Loading

Color case hardening is a heat treatment rather than an applied finish. The frame is packed in a carbon rich medium and heated, and the blues, straws and greys that appear are the visible record of carbon migrating into the surface. The frame comes out harder than it went in, and no two finish identically.

The action is single action in the strict sense. The hammer is thumbed to full cock for each shot, which rotates the cylinder and sets the sear, leaving the trigger to do nothing but release the hammer. Traditions fits a transfer bar that rises between hammer and firing pin only 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 practice was to load five and leave the hammer down on an empty chamber. This revolver carries six.

Loading is unchanged from the original. 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. The ejector rod under the barrel pushes empties back out through the same gate.

Specifications

• Model: Frontier Series 1873 Single Action
• Manufacturer part number: SAT73-802
• Caliber: 44 Magnum
• Capacity: 6 rounds
• Barrel: 7.5 in.
• Cylinder: Unfluted
• 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: 040589018188

Why Buyers Choose the Traditions 1873 44 Magnum 7.5 in. Revolver

This is the configuration for anyone who intends to actually shoot 44 Magnum out of a single action rather than simply own one. The long barrel and the weight it carries turn a cartridge that is punishing in a short gun into something manageable across a full afternoon, and the longer sight radius makes the fixed sights far more precise at distance than they are on a 4.75 inch model.

Single actions in 44 Magnum are uncommon at this price to begin with, and the ones that exist rarely come in cavalry length with an unfluted cylinder. The transfer bar then removes the last compromise by letting all six chambers be carried loaded, which matters on a gun likely to be worn in the field.

Who Should Buy It

The Traditions 1873 44 Magnum 7.5 in. model suits the hunter who wants a single action with enough cartridge and enough barrel to take game cleanly, the silhouette or long range handgun shooter who needs sight radius, and the collector who wants the cavalry length in the heaviest chambering offered. Anyone whose priority is carrying the gun rather than shooting it at distance should look at the 4.75 or 5.5 inch versions.

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