Traditions 1873 Bill Tilghman 45 Colt – Superb 4.75 in. Revolver

Description

The Traditions 1873 Bill Tilghman 45 Colt is Traditions’ tribute to one of the last great frontier lawmen. Bill Tilghman policed Dodge City alongside Wyatt Earp, later served as a US Deputy Marshal in Oklahoma Territory, and was still wearing a badge when he was killed in 1924 at the age of seventy. This model dresses the standard 1873 in engraving and white grips to mark him.

Traditions 1873 Bill Tilghman 45 Colt Engraving and Grips

What separates this from a standard Frontier 1873 is decoration rather than mechanics. Scroll engraving runs across the barrel, frame and cylinder, breaking up the surfaces so the color case hardening reads against the cut lines rather than sitting flat. White grips replace the usual walnut, giving the same ivory suggestion as the nickel models but paired here with the mottled case colors instead of polished plating. The contrast is the whole point of the gun.

The mechanical package underneath is unchanged, which is deliberate. This is a shooter dressed for occasion, not a fragile display piece, so the 4.75 inch barrel, six shot cylinder and 45 Colt chambering all match the standard gunfighter length model. It can be carried and fired exactly like any other revolver in the line.

Finish, Action and Loading

Color case hardening is a heat treatment rather than a coating. The frame is packed in a carbon rich medium and heated, and the blues, straws and greys that emerge are the record of carbon migrating into the surface of the steel. It leaves the frame harder than it began, and every frame comes out with a pattern belonging only to it, which on an engraved gun makes each one visibly individual.

The action is single action in the strict sense. The hammer must be thumbed to full cock for each shot, which rotates the cylinder and sets the sear, leaving the trigger to release the hammer and nothing more. 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 old rule was to load five and rest the hammer on an empty chamber. This revolver carries six.

Loading follows the original sequence. Bring the hammer to half cock, swing open the loading gate on the right side, and the cylinder turns freely to accept cartridges one at a time. The ejector rod under the barrel clears empties through the same gate.

Specifications

• Model: Frontier Series 1873 Single Action, Bill Tilghman
• Manufacturer part number: SAT73-110BTM
• Caliber: 45 Colt
• Capacity: 6 rounds
• Barrel: 4.75 in.
• Action: Single action
• Frame: Steel, color case hardened
• Finish detail: Scroll engraved barrel, frame and cylinder
• Grips: White
• Safety: Transfer bar safety system
• Sights: Fixed, traditional 1873 pattern
• UPC: 040589024202

Why Buyers Choose the Traditions 1873 Bill Tilghman 45 Colt

Engraved single actions usually start well above this price, and most of what sits below it is either laser etched or applied as a decal over a coating. Getting cut engraving across the major surfaces on a working revolver, with a transfer bar behind it, is unusual at this level. Buyers get the presentation look without a custom shop invoice or a gun too precious to shoot.

The Tilghman connection also gives the model something the plain versions lack. Frontier lawmen are usually reduced to Earp and Hickok, and a revolver named for the marshal who outlasted nearly all of them carries a story most people at a range will not have heard.

Who Should Buy It

The Traditions 1873 Bill Tilghman 45 Colt suits the collector building a set around frontier history, the cowboy action competitor who wants a gun with presence on the line, and the buyer who wants engraving and white grips without moving into custom pricing. It also makes a strong presentation or milestone gift, since it looks the part while remaining a fully functional shooter.

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

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