Description
The Traditions 1873 Buntline 45 Colt is the long one, and it exists because of a story. Dime novelist Ned Buntline was said to have presented Wyatt Earp and other Dodge City lawmen with special order Colts carrying barrels far longer than anything the factory catalogued. Historians have argued about whether it ever happened, but the name stuck to the pattern, and a 12 inch single action has been called a Buntline ever since.
Traditions 1873 Buntline 45 Colt Barrel and Sight Radius
Twelve inches of barrel does two measurable things. It gives 45 Colt considerably more room to burn powder, which lifts velocity over a 4.75 or 5.5 inch gun, and it stretches the sight radius to something closer to a carbine than a revolver. The practical effect is that the fixed sights become far more precise, because the same angular error at the muzzle translates into a much smaller miss downrange.
The weight out front is the other half of the equation. All that steel makes the muzzle slow to move, which steadies the hold and soaks up recoil, so 45 Colt loads that thump in a short barrelled gun feel mild here. What it costs is portability. This is not a revolver anyone carries casually, and most holsters will not take it, which is exactly why it tends to be bought as a range gun, a display piece or a conversation starter.
Finish, Action and Loading
The frame is color case hardened, a heat treatment rather than an applied finish. Packed in a carbon rich medium and heated, the steel takes on mottled blues, straws and greys as carbon migrates into its surface, and it comes out harder than it went in. No two frames finish the same way. The barrel and cylinder are deep blued, and the grips are walnut.
The action is single action in the strict sense: the hammer is thumbed to full cock for every shot, which rotates the cylinder and sets the sear, and the trigger then does 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 against the primer of a chambered round, which is why the old practice was to load five and lower the hammer on an empty chamber. This one can be carried with all six.
Loading is unchanged from 1873. Half cock the hammer, open the loading gate on the right side, and the cylinder turns freely to accept rounds one at a time. The ejector rod, which on this model is a long one, pushes empties back out the same gate.
Specifications
- Model: Frontier Series 1873 Single Action, Buntline
- Manufacturer part number: SAT73-103
- Caliber: 45 Colt
- Capacity: 6 rounds
- Barrel: 12 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: 040589021201
Why Buyers Choose the Traditions 1873 Buntline 45 Colt
Very few makers offer a 12 inch single action at all, and the ones that do usually price it as a specialty item. It is bought for reasons that have little to do with practicality: the silhouette is unmistakable, the sight radius makes it genuinely the most accurate revolver in the Frontier line, and it anchors a collection in a way a fourth 4.75 inch gun never will.
There is a real shooting argument too. A long barrelled 45 Colt with fixed sights and this much weight is a pleasant, forgiving gun to shoot at distance, and steel targets at ranges most people would not attempt with a revolver come into reach.
Who Should Buy It
The Traditions 1873 Buntline 45 Colt suits the collector who wants the Buntline silhouette, the range shooter chasing the most accuracy a fixed sight single action can give, and the cowboy action competitor with a category that allows it. Anyone looking for a gun to carry should choose one of the shorter barrels instead.
Learn more from Traditions, or browse the rest of our firearms selection.
Every firearm we list ships to your chosen FFL and is transferred there after a background check.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.