Revolver 1873 SAA Color Case Hardened 4.75" Barrel .44 WCF / 44-40 Walnut Grips Pietta Pre War model
This Pietta 44-40 has a .429 bore. The cylinder will chamber thick brass like Star line with .430 bullets.
A beautiful reproduction of the famous Model 1873 Frontier Single Action revolver, this six-shooter is made from top quality steel and features a walnut grip. This standard model has a color case hardened steel frame with a blued steel cylinder and 4.75" barrel.
Colt realizing the popularity of the Winchester 1873 rifles chambered in .44 WCF and realizing that their .45 colt cartridge was nearly the same length as the Winchester rifle cartridge decided to build a Frontier model of their famous 1873 SAA revolver in the .44 WCF caliber but did not want to advertise Winchesters name on their guns so simply renamed the cartage as the 44-40. This became extremely popular with western settlers as now they only needed to carry one caliber for both their rifle and revolvers. The .44 WCF / 44-40 remains a popular caliber 140 years later and is very popular with Cowboy action shooting.
One of the most typical figures of the old West is perhaps that of the Sheriff, armed with his gun and his star. And that beloved and feared, hated and respected gun, was an authentic milestone in the American history, tied up as it is to the life and to the myth of legendary characters: Buffalo Bill, Billy the Kid, Wild Bill Hickok, the Dalton brothers, Theodore Roosevelt, Captain Jack Crawford. That gun IS the Single Action Army, at once nicknamed “Peacemaker“ for its sure pacifying effect. The project, introduced in 1872, brought forth to face the demand of the American Ordnance Dept. for a new big caliber revolver destined to equip the cavalry, is to a large extent ascribable to a skilled technician named William Mason.
Manufactured in Italy by the famous gum maker Pietta and imported by Century International Arms.
We recommend Hornady Cowboy reloading dies model 546543. These dies are designed for .429 -.430 bullets and are an excellent choice for hand loading ammunition for this gun.
New production in box. Made by the Italian company Pietta with warranty service provided in the USA by Century Arms in Vermont.
In my opinion these Pietta revolvers are on par with the current production Uberti 1873 guns With the main difference of having a transfer bar safety on the Pietta which allows you to carry the gun safely with all 6 chambers loaded. The Uberti guns are excellent guns too but they have the firing pin mounted in the hammer and it is commonly not recommended to carry them with all 6 chambers loaded because the firing pin rest on a live round and can discharge if dropped. This Pietta has an extra safety which requires the trigger to be pulled fully before the transfer bar can allow the firing pin to move.
SPECIFICATIONS : Mfg Item Num: HG3243TBN
Type: Revolver
Action: Single
Caliber: 44-40 Winchester / .44 WCF
Barrel Length: 4.8"
Capacity: 6
Hammer Style: Spurred
Transfer bar safety so can be carried with all 6 chambers loaded
Grips: Oil finished Walnut
Sights: Blade Front
Weight: 40.8 oz
Frame Description: Case Hardened
Cylinder Finish: Blued
Barrel Finish: Blued
Oal: 10.25"
The information below comes from our Gun Caliber Dictionary and is for
general reference only. It does not describe the specifications of this
particular item.
The 44-40 Winchester (44 WCF) was introduced by Winchester in 1873 in their Model 1873 lever action. The '73, "the gun that won the West," was the first truly successful repeater, and its 44-40 cartridge was quickly adopted by other manufacturers, including both Colt and Smith & Wesson in revolvers. Using a .427-inch bullet, the standard load features a 200-grain bullet at about 1100 feet per second, producing 588 foot-pounds of energy. This is not a lot of power, but the 44-40 was probaby the most popular sporting cartridge of the 19th Century, accounting for untold amounts of game. It remained the most popular chambering in the 1892 Winchester, and was a common chambering in both rifles and handguns at least through the 1940s. The growth in Cowboy Action shooting has revived it; the 44-40 has less recoil than the 45 Colt, and serves as a common chambering for rifles and revolvers. Ammo is readily available and it is chambered to numerous reissues and reproductions.
—
Craig Boddington
