Traditions 1873 45 Colt Case Hardened – Superb 4.75 in. Revolver

Description

The Traditions 1873 45 Colt Case Hardened is the configuration most people picture when they picture an 1873. A color case hardened frame throws blues and browns across the steel, the barrel and cylinder are deep blued, walnut grips fill the hand, and the barrel measures the 4.75 inches that earned the original its gunfighter reputation. Underneath the period looks, a transfer bar safety brings the design into the present.

Traditions 1873 45 Colt Case Hardened Finish and Barrel

Color case hardening is not a coating. It is a heat treatment carried out in a carbon rich pack, and the mottled blues, straws and greys are a byproduct of the carbon migrating into the surface of the steel. The process leaves the frame harder than it started, which is why it was used on working guns long before anyone thought it looked good. No two frames come out identical, so the pattern on a given revolver belongs to that revolver alone.

The 4.75 inch barrel is the short one of the three classic lengths, and it is short for a reason. It clears leather faster than the 5.5 or 7.5 inch guns, balances back toward the hand, and keeps the whole revolver compact enough to wear all day at a match or on a trail ride. The tradeoff is a slightly shorter sight radius, which matters less than people expect at the distances these guns are actually used.

Action, Safety and Loading

This is a true single action. The hammer is thumbed to full cock for each shot, which indexes the cylinder and sets the sear, and the trigger then does one job only. That is the source of the light, clean break single action shooters prize, and it is why the platform still anchors cowboy action competition more than a century after it was designed.

The one place Traditions departs from the original is the transfer bar. A period 1873 rests its firing pin on the primer of a chambered round, which is why the old advice was to load five and let the hammer down on an empty chamber. The transfer bar here only rises between hammer and firing pin when the trigger is intentionally pressed, so a dropped revolver or a thumb that slips off the hammer cannot fire it. All six chambers can be loaded and carried.

Loading is unchanged from 1873. Bring the hammer to half cock, open the loading gate on the right side, and the cylinder turns freely for rounds to go in one at a time. The ejector rod under the barrel pushes empties back out the same gate.

Specifications

• Model: Frontier Series 1873 Single Action
• Manufacturer part number: SAT73-002
• Caliber: 45 Colt
• Capacity: 6 rounds
• Barrel: 4.75 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: 040589018096

Why Buyers Choose the Traditions 1873 45 Colt Case Hardened

An original Colt Single Action Army is a collectible now, priced accordingly and rarely fired. Current production Colts cost several times what this does. That leaves room for a revolver that carries the right profile, the right finish and the right trigger, and that an owner can shoot every weekend without treating it as an investment. The transfer bar removes the last practical objection by letting the gun be carried with a full cylinder.

The case hardened and walnut combination is also the version that looks like it belongs in a holster rather than a display case. It hides handling marks better than nickel, the walnut warms up in the hand on a cold morning, and it is the configuration cowboy action shooters most often buy in pairs.

Who Should Buy It

The Traditions 1873 45 Colt Case Hardened suits the SASS competitor assembling a matched pair on a working budget, the shooter who wants an authentic 1873 profile without collector pricing, and the 45 Colt handloader who enjoys mild lead loads that are pleasant to shoot all day. It also makes a sound first single action for anyone who has wanted one since the first Western they watched.

Learn more from Traditions, or browse the rest of our firearms selection.

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