Cowboy

Opening a newly arrived box at my local FFL dealership inspired a couple “Wow!” responses – one of them my own. The 1860 Richards Transition Model Type II nestling therein sports eight glorious inches of gleaming blued steel barrel, a beautifully figured walnut grip, and a very nice color-casehardened frame.

The 1873 Winchester sported a steel receiver along with proper metallurgy in its barrel that allowed the gun to handle the relatively high performance of the .44 WCF round. Various barrel lengths and contours, engraved variations, and rifle, carbine, and musket versions kept things spicy.

On the fun side of things, we got a chance to stop by the Marlin booth, and look at the new additions to the lineup. I, for one, don’t think lever actions get nearly enough love in the modern world. And what I saw at the booth make me want to fix that immediately.

By the time William Barclay “Bat” Masterson received the handsome, nickel plated and hand engraved six-shooter pictured, he was already a legendry lawman, as famous as his friends Wyatt Earp, Charlie Bassett and Bill Tilghman.

More than 140 years after the Colt SAA was invented, Uberti decided it was high time to change the rules and engineered a solution to the historic problem of having to “safely” carry a Single Action with the hammer resting on an empty chamber.