H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Those of you have been here a while are aware of my custom made Big Iron pistol. You may also remember that I have a "regular" Buntline Special. But as I was looking things over, I found myself wondering if the Big Iron could also be considered a Buntline since it's got a 10" barrel. For reference, here's a pic that compares the two pistols. Ignore the Sheriff's models. Top gun is a 12" Buntline in .44 Special. Below that is my "Big Iron" .45. The barrel is about 10". I have seen 10" Buntlines, but none of them have the 1860 grips. That's why I never really considered it to be one, until I was doing my inventory and saw the two of them together. In the grand scheme of things, it's really not important, but I was curious to hear what people think. Can the Big Iron be considered a Buntline, even on a technicality, or is it just a unique bit of "it is what it is?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horace Patootie, SASS #35798 Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 I have the Cimarron version of the Wyatt Earp revolver. It is a 10" barrel. Horace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colorado Coffinmaker Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 The only practical "Big Irons" are the Walker (barely practical), The Dragoon (Barely practical), and a 7 1/2 inch barrel 1860 or SAA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeaconKC Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 I would class it as a Buntline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Possum Stu Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 I'd call it a Buntline too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 This'uns a Big Iron, but I wouldn't call it a buntline: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 2 hours ago, Abilene, SASS # 27489 said: This'uns a Big Iron, but I wouldn't call it a buntline: Your hand is obscuring the details. What is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene, SASS # 27489 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 39 minutes ago, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: Your hand is obscuring the details. What is it? Just a generic SAA mocked up by Joey Dillon for a friend of his' Vegas stage show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injun Ryder, SASS #36201L Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 In this day and age, if a gun wants to call itself a Buntline.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 All jokes aside, I always figured that a Buntline was 10" plus barrel. Of course that leaves the area between 7-1/2" and 10" in a nebulous area, but I've actually never seen an SAA in that length range. On the other hand, what is a "Big Iron?" Not just a big revolver. And I always capitalize Big Iron because I am specifically referring the pistol that inspired the Marty Robbins song. I remember the first time I saw it described in Wikipedia, it was described as a Great Western SAA clone in .45 Colt with 1860 grips and a 10" barrel cut down from a Marlin rifle. Over the years, I have learned that it was actually a .44 Magnum. And while I imagined it as an octagon barrel, I have learned that it is actually a round one. Anyway, when I set about making my own, I used an Armi San Marco revolver with Pietta 1860 grips, and barrel from a cut down Rossi 92. And of course, mine's got a stop sign shaped barrel because I thought it was cooler that way. So... What is a Big Iron? SAA type frame, 1860 grips, 10" barrel made from a rifle. .44 (any) or .45 Caliber. At least, that's how I define it, and I take pleasure in knowing that I own one of only 2 in existence. Until that is somebody else decides to create another one of their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nimble Fingers SASS# 25439 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 I am going to be a purist but please no offense meant. I have 3 Buntline Colts, a .44/40 nickel plated one similar to yours, a New Frontier in .44 spcl with a nickel plated barrel and finally a New Frontier in .22 with a Wyatt Earp nickel barrel for my son to match mine. I would not call anything but a 12” barrel SAA a Buntline, as that is how the legend of the 4 pistols being given out by Ned Buntline are described. But that is just me. So I vote no on any pistol with a barrel under 12” being called a Buntline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sixgun Shorty, SASS #35717 Life Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Traditionally. 'Big Iron' was a 7" Colt SAA Over the years, it was interpreted as ANY Colt SAA, particularly if in a Drop loop modern cowboy holster It definitely was not a Buntline 12" of which I have several 2nd gens,, Reason: Buntlines were very rare and only picked up modern day use since the 2nd gen was introduced in 1956 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stump Water Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 Quote The Colt Buntline Special was a long-barreled variant of the Colt Single Action Army revolver, which Stuart N. Lake described in his best-selling but largely fictionalized 1931 biography, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. According to Lake, the dime novelist Ned Buntline commissioned the production of five Buntline Specials. Lake described them as extra-long Colt Single Action Army revolvers, with a 12-inch-long barrel, and stated that Buntline presented them to five lawmen in thanks for their help in contributing local color to his western yarns. Lake attributed the gun to Wyatt Earp, but modern researchers have not found any supporting evidence from secondary sources or in available primary documentation of the gun's existence prior to the publication of Lake's book. After its publication, various Colt revolvers with long (10-inch or 16-inch) barrels were called Colt Buntlines or Buntline Specials. Colt manufactured the pistol among its second-generation revolvers produced after 1956. A number of other manufacturers, such as Uberti, Navy Arms, and Cimarron Arms, have made their own versions of this long-barreled revolver. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colt_Buntline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt. R. Hugh Kidnme Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 On 1/12/2022 at 3:53 PM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said: All jokes aside, I always figured that a Buntline was 10" plus barrel. Of course that leaves the area between 7-1/2" and 10" in a nebulous area, but I've actually never seen an SAA in that length range. On the other hand, what is a "Big Iron?" Not just a big revolver. And I always capitalize Big Iron because I am specifically referring the pistol that inspired the Marty Robbins song. I remember the first time I saw it described in Wikipedia, it was described as a Great Western SAA clone in .45 Colt with 1860 grips and a 10" barrel cut down from a Marlin rifle. Over the years, I have learned that it was actually a .44 Magnum. And while I imagined it as an octagon barrel, I have learned that it is actually a round one. Anyway, when I set about making my own, I used an Armi San Marco revolver with Pietta 1860 grips, and barrel from a cut down Rossi 92. And of course, mine's got a stop sign shaped barrel because I thought it was cooler that way. So... What is a Big Iron? SAA type frame, 1860 grips, 10" barrel made from a rifle. .44 (any) or .45 Caliber. At least, that's how I define it, and I take pleasure in knowing that I own one of only 2 in existence. Until that is somebody else decides to create another one of their own. Anything I can swing and get the ball out over 270 yds is a big iron for me. Don't know about the rest of y'all..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.