bone orchard .45 lc review american rifleman
DESCRIPTION
ÂTRANSCRIPT
Review: Taylor's & Co. 1873 Cattleman Gunfighterby B. Gil Horman - Monday, March 09, 2015
I've enjoyed shooting single-action revolvers for some time now. But the models
I've worked with and purchased have been of the modern variety, like the Ruger
Super Blackhawk and the Freedom Arms Model 97. I've thought about getting
involved in cowboy action shooting events several times. But with so many
Page 1 of 8American Rifleman | Review: Taylor's & Co. 1873 Cattleman Gunfighter
3/16/2015http://americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/3/9/review-taylors-co-1873-cattleman-gunfighter/
firearm-related hobbies already in play, I have yet to allocate the time and
money needed to give it a
try.
Not too long ago I caught up with the folks from Taylor's & Co. during the SHOT
Show Media Day at the Range. This company specializes in providing a wide
variety of firearms and support gear for those who enjoy period and Old West
shooting events. Their offerings range from Civil War re-enactment items all the
way to guns and holsters for the Wild Bunch division of the Single Action
Shooting Society (SASS).
While looking over the various products on display that day, a team member
decked out in a dapper Western period costume handed me a Cattleman revolver
chambered in .45 Colt. He explained that this particular wheel gun had been
tuned at the factory for an extra smooth action and light trigger pull. In the
short time I had at the range to look over and work with the Cattleman, I was
convinced a longer range test was in order.
The Taylor's &Co. Cattleman revolvers are based on one of the most famous
firearms ever developed: the 1873 Colt Single Action Army. Also known as the
SAA, Model P, Peacemaker and M1873, it was the sidearm that won the U.S.
service revolver trials of 1872. This reliable and accurate 6-shot remained in
service until 1892, sporting barrels ranging from 7.5" to under 4" in length. Some
were quite plain while others were embellished with detailed engraving and
Page 2 of 8American Rifleman | Review: Taylor's & Co. 1873 Cattleman Gunfighter
3/16/2015http://americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/3/9/review-taylors-co-1873-cattleman-gunfighter/
fancy grip panels. The 1873 revolver was originally chambered for the .45 Long
Colt cartridge, but it would eventually be chambered for several more including
the .32-20 Win., .41 Colt and .44-40 Win.
Taylor's offers several models of the 1873 Cattleman which are manufactured in
Italy by Uberti, a well-known Italian gun manufacturing company that is now
owned and operated by Beretta Holding. For this review, I selected the
Gunfighter model chambered in .45 Colt. Fitted with a 5.5" barrel and plain,
smooth hardwood grip panels, the Gunfighter has a slightly longer Army-sized
grip frame which provides more room for the little finger of the shooting hand.
Blued steel is used to form the barrel, cylinder, ejector housing, trigger, trigger
guard and the grip frame. The forged frame, loading gate and hammer all sport a
case-hardened finish. The cylinder bears Italian proof marks and the last four
digits of the serial number.
The Gunfighter's sights consist of a fixed front blade paired with a grooved rear
sight notch. The loading gate is located on the right side of the frame, as would
be expected. The spring loaded ejector rod head swings out away from the barrel
as it is pressed to eject spent cartridge cases. The grooved cylinder pin is held in
place by a spring loaded retainer pin. The rounded trigger guard is part of the
single piece grip frame and houses a narrow steel bow trigger.
The firing pin is mounted to the hammer which has a lightly checked spur for
improved cocking. As a single-action revolver, the hammer must be fully cocked
for each shot fired. It should be noted here that the hammer has three positions,
each of which is accompanied by a distinctive “click” as the hammer moves
through its arch of travel. The first click is the safe position. Thanks to a modern
hammer safety, not found on the original 1873 model, the Cattleman revolvers
can be carried with all six chambers loaded when the hammer is in this first
position. The second click frees the cylinder to rotate clockwise for loading. The
third click is fully cocked. With the hammer in this position the revolver is ready
to fire.
Page 3 of 8American Rifleman | Review: Taylor's & Co. 1873 Cattleman Gunfighter
3/16/2015http://americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/3/9/review-taylors-co-1873-cattleman-gunfighter/
One option that's available for all Cattleman revolvers ordered through Taylor's
is an in-house Deluxe Tuned Action service. This involves a spring change and
polishing of internal parts to provide an extra smooth action and light trigger
pull. The company says this service should give the revolvers about a 3-pound
trigger pull. Whether by accident or by design, the Gunfighter I received
demonstrated a 1-lb. 10-oz. trigger pull according to a Lyman's digital trigger
gauge, making it the lightest trigger I've worked with on any gun so
far.
But no Old West wheel gun is truly complete without a high quality rig to ride in,
so Taylor's included some leather to test, a right-handed Laredoan Rig. The 2.75"
wide vegetable-tanned leather belt is suede-lined and features 24 hand-molded
cartridge loops. The ridge holster is fitted with a leather leg lace and hammer tie
down loop. Designed to emulate the fancy rigs worn by actors in Hollywood
Westerns, the belt and holster are decorated with six engraved silver-plated
conchs. Each conch is held in place with a sturdy Chicago screw, as is the simple
belt buckle. Available in a black, brown or tan (shown), the Laredoan was
comfortable to wear and rugged enough for years of use.
Page 4 of 8American Rifleman | Review: Taylor's & Co. 1873 Cattleman Gunfighter
3/16/2015http://americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/3/9/review-taylors-co-1873-cattleman-gunfighter/
The Gunfighter had a top-notch level of fit and finish. The 5.5” barrel and steel
grip frame gave the revolver a nice balance. As a shooter who is accustomed to
pressing handgun triggers in the 5 to 12-lb. range, it took the better part of a box
of ammo to get used to the light, almost delicate, 1-lb. 10-oz. trigger pull. But once
I had the hang of it, I was hooked. Each turn of the cylinder during reloading
provided an audible click indicating proper alignment with ejector rod. Spent
brass ejected easily or simply fell free of the cylinder. In other words, it was fun
and easy to work with.
After burning up plenty of ammo while whistling the theme song from The
Good, The Bad and The Ugly during informal testing, the Gunfighter was bench
rested for formal accuracy testing using five 5-shot groups fired at 25 yards.
Despite the rudimentary nature of the fixed sights, the revolver proved to be
accurate. The excellent trigger and the use of moderate recoil ammunition also
contributed to the tight groups.
The Bone Orchard 200-gr. lead flat point .45 Colt load is made by a small
ammunition company in Pennsylvania for cowboy action shooting. It's one of
the loads available through Taylor's & Co. This round produced a best single
group of 2.42" with an average of 2.70". Another good factory load for cowboy
shooting is Winchester's 250-gr. lead flat point which produced a best single
group of 2.55" and an average of 2.83". But I was curious to know how this old-
fashioned revolver would behave with modern defensive ammunition, so the
Gunfighter was filled with DoubleTap cartridges topped with 160-gr. Barnes Tac-
XP all-copper hollow points. This load produced the tightest accuracy of the test
set with a best single group of 2.10" and an average of 2.34".
Shooting the Taylor's & Co. factory tuned 1873 Cattleman Gunfighter was one of
the most enjoyable shooting experiences I've had so far this year. Up until now, I
thought the primary draw of cowboy action shooting was the pageantry and
theatrics of the events. Buy after running this revolver, it's clear that the guns
Page 5 of 8American Rifleman | Review: Taylor's & Co. 1873 Cattleman Gunfighter
3/16/2015http://americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/3/9/review-taylors-co-1873-cattleman-gunfighter/
can be just as much fun as the competitions. If the Gunfighter model is not quite
your speed, Taylor's offers the Cattleman revolver in several configurations that
are eligible for a factory action tune-up.
Technical Specifications
Distributor: Taylor's & Co.
Manufacturer: Uberti
Model: Cattleman Model 1873 Gunfighter
Action: Single-Action Revolver
Caliber: .45 Colt
Finish: Blued Steel with Case Hardened Forged Frame
Grip: Army Size Smooth Walnut
Sights: Blade Front, Notch Rear
Barrel Length: 5.50”
Overall Length: 11”
Weight: 36.8 ozs.
Capacity: Six Rounds
Rifle Grooves: Six
Accessories: Owner's Manual
MSRP: $518 (Standard Action), $643 (Deluxe Tuned Action)
IN THIS ARTICLE
B. GIL HORMAN SINGLE ACTION REVOLVER SAA SINGLE ACTION ARMY
REPLICA SAA UBERTI TAYLOR'S & CO. COWBOY ACTION SHOOTING REVOLVER
Page 6 of 8American Rifleman | Review: Taylor's & Co. 1873 Cattleman Gunfighter
3/16/2015http://americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/3/9/review-taylors-co-1873-cattleman-gunfighter/
Page 7 of 8American Rifleman | Review: Taylor's & Co. 1873 Cattleman Gunfighter
3/16/2015http://americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/3/9/review-taylors-co-1873-cattleman-gunfighter/
Privacy Policy • Contact Us • Warnings • FAQs • © 2015 National Rifle Association of America
Page 8 of 8American Rifleman | Review: Taylor's & Co. 1873 Cattleman Gunfighter
3/16/2015http://americanrifleman.org/articles/2015/3/9/review-taylors-co-1873-cattleman-gunfighter/