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is built by F.LLI Pietta in Italy.
Holster by Chisholm’s Trail
Leather, clothing courtesy
of Classic Old West Styles.
18 GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
WINTER 2010
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GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
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EM F GREAT W EST ERN II . 4 5 L C B UN T LINE
The earliest Buntline copies produced model sold by Cimarron with 10-inch barrel),
outside of Colt’s were first manufactured the EMF GWII is built by F.LLI Pietta, and is
by the Great Western Arms Company of that firm’s first Buntline model. It is also the
Los Angeles, California during the 1950s, first since the original Great Western singlewhen, at the time, it appeared that the Colt’s actions of the 1950s to have a 12-inch barrel.
Manufacturing Co. had discontinued the
The new Pietta six shooters have a finely
SAA. Actual production ended in 1940 but tuned action right out of the box. Our proColt’s manufactured a limited number of duction test sample had a glass smooth four
guns from remaining parts shortly after World click hammer pull requiring just 4.9 pounds
War II. The first Great
of effort, and a trigger
Western SAA models
that crisply dropped the
appeared in 1954, and
hammer at 2.3 pounds
remained in producwith less than 1/16th of
tion for almost a decade.
an inch of creep.
In 1956 Colt’s reintroThe finish on the
duced the SAA as the
GWII Buntline is a
2nd Generation model.
highly polished bright
During the 10 years that
dark blue, contrasted by
Great Western produced
a deep color casehardened frame and hamguns the “Frontier Six
Shooter” was offered
mer, and polished dark
with a 12-inch barrel
blue screws. The backPietta uses the cylinder arbor and a
strap and triggerguard
and faux stag grips. Fastdouble notched transverse latch to
forward 45 years, and
are also finished in a
create a safety mechanism. By
the EMF Great Western
high polish dark blue.
depressing the latch and pushing the
II returns as a Buntline cylinder arbor further back, the round- Adding the Ultra Stag
with stag grips. The
grips sets everything off
ed end protrudes through the face of
optional Ultra Stag grips the recoil shield and blocks the ham- handsomely.
add a whopping $225
As anyone who has
mer from fully dropping into battery.
to the $575 base price
tried knows, there is no
of the Buntline. As for looks, you get every easy way to holster a Buntline. For our test
penny’s worth out of the stag grips.
gun Alan and Donna Soellner of Chisholm’s
The Buntline model was introduced in Trail Leather came up with a combination
early 2009 and is already available through design based on the Major John Barden
EMF and retailers. While A. Uberti has been holster and L. P. Hatch drop loop style of
offering Buntline models for almost a decade Pinedale, Wyoming. The Chisholm’s Trail
(with 18-inch barrels and the Wyatt Earp rig has a slight forward cant for a right hand
20 GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
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e
models displayed in the great cabinet was a
very special Single Action Army fitted with
an exceptionally long barrel. It represented
one of several changes made to the SAA
during the 1870s. The model has come to be
known as the “Buntline Special”.
Among Colt models, the Buntline is a
unique, limited edition revolver with its own
history and more than a few tales that have
become intertwined with the folklore of the
American West. It is named after dime novelist Ned Buntline, a pseudonym for newspaperman and playwright Edward Zane Carroll
Judson. Buntline, incidentally, is a nautical
term for a rope at the bottom of a square sail.
Judson had served as
a midshipman and
thought the name was
catchy. Apparently he
was right.
(Above) The finish on the GWII Buntline is a highly polished bright dark blue,
contrasted by a deep color casehardened frame and hammer, and polished
As a newspaper
dark blue screws. The backstrap and triggerguard are also finished in a high
columnist and dime
polish dark blue. Adding the Ultra Stag grips sets everything off handsomely.
novelist Ned Buntline
helped create Buffalo
(Left) The Great Western II brand had become worthy of its 1950’s predecessor.
Bill Cody’s reputation
through books and
10-inch barrel and it was this logical, at least from an historical perspective,
short stories. He even
recorded fact that inspired that if Buntline had made gifts of these guns to
wrote and co-starred
the 10-inch barreled Colt famous lawmen, he would have presented the
in the first play in
SAA carried by Kurt Russell first to the man whose real life deeds gave him
which famed US cavin the film Tombstone, com- the fodder for his earliest dime novels, Buffalo
alry scouts Texas Jack
plete with an engraved silver Bill Cody. But even Buntline never made such
Omohundro and
grip cartouche reading: Wyatt a claim. Colt’s factory records indicate a total
Buffalo Bill Cody appeared in March 1872. Earp Peacemaker From the Grateful People of of 18 long barreled models being built in the
Despite the renown, infamous or oth- Dodge City April 8th 1878. That part, unfor- serial number range 28800 through 28830
erwise of his 400 odd dime novels, Ned tunately, was made up for the film. The real beginning in 1876. Colt’s also produced SAA
Buntline is best remembered for the celeb- Wyatt Earp nevertheless noted in his biogra- models with 10-inch barrels, such as the one
rity he brought Colt’s special 16-inch SAA phy that he had owned such a gun.
owned by Earp, as well as revolvers fitted with
models. These unusual, long-barrel Colts
That the “Buntline Specials” existed has 12-inch barrels. As for the so-called “Buntline
with flat top straps, folding leaf rear sights, never been disputed. The question is who Specials,” Colt’s more or less officially recogand detachable skeleton shoulder stocks, owned them and what, if any connection Ned nized them as such in the mid-20th century
were purportedly presented by Buntline Buntline actually had to them. It would seem when they began building them by that name
as gifts to some of the
in 1957 as part of the 2nd
Specifications
more famous members
Generation Colt SAA
of the Dodge City Peace
line. Since 1976 they have
Commission, includalso been available withing Wyatt Earp, Charlie
in the 3rd Generation
Bassett, Bat Masterson,
series of SAA models.
and Bill Tilghman. None
For more than a century
Caliber: .45 LC • Barrel: 12 inches
of them, however, are
the Buntline Special has
OA Length: 17.5 inches • Weight: 43.2 ounces
known to have carried
remained a legendary
one of these 16-inch
Stock: Walnut (shown w/optional Ultra Stag) • Action: SA
gun, even if the legend
models. In fact, there
isn’t true. As they said
Sights: Notched rear frame channel, front blade integral with barrel
is no actual record that
in The Man Who Shot
Finish: Blued barrel, cylinder, backstrap and
such presentations were
Liberty Valance, “This
triggerguard, color casehardened frame and hammer
ever made. Wyatt Earp
is the West, sir. When
Capacity: 6-shot • Price: $575-800
did, however, own a
the legend becomes
Colt SAA model with a
fact, print the legend.”
B/W AD
EMF Great Western II Buntline
WINTER 2010
In the film Tombstone Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp
(right) used a 10” SAA in the OK Corral shootout.
GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
21
EMF GREAT W EST ERN II . 4 5 L C B UN T LINE
traps of our ProChrono chronograph at an
average of 805 fps (feet per second). The
accuracy with the Black Dawg was particularly good considering the amount of kick
that the Pinnacle black powder produces.
At our standard 10 meter range (33 feet)
the GWII delivered 5 rounds on target with
three overlapping in the X, 1 in the 10 and
a slight flyer in the 9. Overall, from a comparatively close distance the gun is a tack
driver, although point of aim needed to be
compensated by shooting 3-inches under.
The quality of this gun also illustrates the
great strides Pietta has made in producing a
quality Colt SAA style revolver at a price that
most anyone with even a trace of the Old
West coursing through their veins can afford.
Ned Buntline would be amused.
✪
i
Final Notes
For a big gun with a long barrel, the EMF
Great Western II buntline is a fine shooter,
and an accurate reproduction of an his-
To holster the EMF GWII Buntline, Chisholm’s
Trail Leather came up with a combination
design based on the Major John Barden holster
and L. P. Hatch drop loop style of Pinedale,
Wyoming. The Chisholm’s Trail rig has a slight
forward cant for a right hand crossdraw.
Using Goex Black Dawg Pinnacle black powder .45 LC 235gr RNFP
cartridges the best group of 5 rounds measuring 1-inch center-to-center.
Second best group placed 4 rounds measuring 7/8”, and a single flyer.
crossdraw. The well-exposed triggerguard
allows for a much faster draw than one would
expect from a holster filled with a 12-inch
barrel. The leather is 9-10 gauge movie grade
finished in multi-toned shades of brown
to match a cartridge belt copied from the
one famously worn by Billy the Kid. The
Buntline holster is accented with an Indianmade, scalloped edge silver Concho featuring a gold-plated buffalo skull at its center.
Range Test
We did two range tests of the EMF GWII
Buntline, one with .45 Long Colt blanks,
specially prepared by Ten-X for photography purposes, to test the speed of draw and
smoothness of action
before the camera. The
result was a gun that,
with the forward cant
of the Chisholm’s Trail
holster clears the leather
like a gun with a shorter barrel. The smooth
action of the EMF allowed for quick firing.
Taken down range to our test site and
loaded with Goex Black Dawg Pinnacle
Black Powder .45 Long Colt 235-grain RNFP
cartridges (a round that is smoky and hard
hitting) we managed a best grouping from
around 40 feet of 1-inch center-tocenter. The Black Dawg traveling
down a foot of rifled steel cleared the
FOR MORE j
INFORMATION
second notch. With the arbor in this position, the rounded end protrudes through
the face of the recoil shield and blocks the
hammer from fully dropping into battery. It
is a simple and effective way to prevent an
accidental discharge, this side of an empty
chamber. It’s also darn confounding to anyone not familiar with this design.
As Colt copies go, the new EMF GWII
Buntline by Pietta is a fine six shooter right
out of the box with a good fit and finish, smooth action, and better than average
accuracy, though not surprising considering
the barrel is almost half way to the target.
CONTACT:
EMF Company
949-261-6611
emf-company.com
Chisholm’s Trail Leather
678-423-7351
chisholmstrailleather.com
Goex Powder
913-362-9455
goexpowder.com
toric Colt single-action model of the circa
1896 Early Smokeless Powder frame design
with the transverse cylinder latch. Pietta also
uses this latch to create a safety mechanism
which is actuated, after cocking the hammer, by depressing the latch and pushing
the cylinder arbor further back and into a
4/C AD
“The gun is named after NED BUNTLINE, a pseudonym for
newspaperman and playwright Edward Zane Carroll Judson.
Buntline, incidentally, is a NAUTICAL TERM for a rope at the
bottom of a square sail. Judson had served as a midshipman
and thought the name was catchy. Apparently he was RIGHT.”
In this early photo of Buffalo Bill Cody (center) and Texas Jack Omohundro, (right),
the former Cavalry scouts turned stage actors are joined by dime novelist and playwright Edward Zane Carroll Judson, better known by his pen name, Ned Buntline.
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