Colt Buntline Special Factory Engraved Class C

A 12 inch barrel is the first thing your eye follows here, and on a factory engraved Buntline Special it reads less like a sidearm and more like a piece of sculpture stretched across the table. This one shipped from Colt's Custom Shop in October 1984, bound for Cherry's Sporting Goods in Geneseo, Illinois, on Custom Shop order 2649. It went out in a group of three guns of the same type. That detail alone tells you how few of these left Hartford wearing this exact dress.

The accompanying Colt Archive letter does the rest of the talking. It confirms .45 Colt chambering, the full 12 inch barrel, a nickel finish, fleur-de-lis checkered walnut stocks, and Class C standard scroll engraving applied at the factory. The engraver is recorded as not listed, which is typical for production Class C work of the period.

The scrollwork runs the length of the gun. Tight, beaded scroll covers the recoil shield, the frame flats, the loading gate, the backstrap and trigger guard, and travels well down the barrel in flowing panels. Against the bright nickel, the cut lines hold shadow and catch light in equal measure. The cylinder wears its own matched scroll. Barrel address and the September 1871 through January 1875 patent dates read clean through the engraving.

The walnut grips are the standard Colt fleur-de-lis pattern, full and well figured, with the diamond checkering crisp at the center. They sit against a frame that shows the deep polish nickel was meant to have.

For a collector chasing the long-barrel Single Action Army in its dress configuration, the letter is what makes this one worth your attention. It pins down the date, the destination, and the engraving class, and it shows just three guns left together. You are holding a documented Custom Shop Buntline, not a story.