Hands Gun-Buntline Specials

The single-action .45 Colt revolvers and their detachable stocks were real enough, though probably fewer than 30 of them were ever produced, their barrels between 12 and 16 inches long.The 29th Edition Blue Book of Gun Values lists a Buntline Special with 90 percent of the original finish as worth $135,000; add on another $40,000 for one with the original shoulder stock. The Frazier is home to such a Buntline, with 16-inch barrel and an all-metal stock made of nickel-plated brass.

Weight            2.75 lbs

Length             23.5 in

Barrel length    18 in

Cartridge     .   357 Magnum

                .      45 Colt

Action             Single action

Feed system    6-shot cylinder

Sights              angled front sight

                        notched rear sight

“The detachable, skeletal frame stock converts this heavy-barreled pistol into a carbine but does little to improve the weapon’s accuracy,” Williams notes.Detachable shoulder stocks arrived on the American shooting scene circa 1850. According to Richard Rattenbury, curator of history at the National Cowboy Museum, “Colt introduced full wooden stocks, with three variant yoke attachments, with the Dragoon model, followed by the 1851 Navy and 1860 Army.” Yet the shoulder stocks never gained a wide following in military or civilian circles.

Today, some 19th century shoulder stocks are actually worth as much as the handguns they were built to accessorize. Dan Shideler, editor of Standard Catalog of Firearms, recommends a professional verification of authenticity before buying one.“All of these stocks have been copied, with some of the most ingenious aging techniques imaginable, so caveat emptor certainly applies,” he warns.

(Hands Gun-http://www.handgunsmag.com/featured_handguns/HG_buntline_091310/)