Main problem with buying 1873 Lever...case color design

I agree about the differences in individual guns. I have two berretta stampedes and they are not even close. I would guess a trip to a stocking dealer is in order. hope it turns out ok.

All case coloring will be different. It's just the way the process works. I collect repros of cap & ball revolvers, both Uberti and Pietta, and every single one is different. In past years Pietta has done a very good job with case coloring, while Uberti has sometimes been not quite as good, though many believe Ubertis are mechanically better.
Recently it seems Uberti has stepped up the quality, but it seems Pietta overall maintains a standard of more colorful case color hardening.
Unless you find a store where you can see the actual gun you will be buying, I'm afraid you're always going to be thwarted if you expect some particular case hardening job, save for pure chance.
Just sayin' .........

If I were you I would pick out a few for sale on gunbroker or find a larger shop that has some in stock and ask them to send you pictures of a few.

Buds gun shop might be a good place to start.

The randomness of case hardening is part of its attraction.

AlexanderA said:

The randomness of case hardening is part of its attraction.

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Quoted for truth.

I understand your trepidation completely. I have the same issue but get around it by driving two hours to Dixie Gun Works and picking through them. I can say that they have tremendously improved their case colors in the last year or so. Any new production rifle should have really nice colors but it's difficult to know when the rifle you're ordering was made without some effort on the part of the seller. Check out the colors on the flat-top I bought last year.




The straight stock is absolutely more common but the pistol grip stock is just as period correct. It tended to come on the deluxe models and that's why you don't see them more often. For me, the pistol grip is more comfortable and makes the rifle look more elegant.

I don't ever buy a gun without handling and inspecting it first. No internet purchase's. Got to get my hands on it.

Buy a beater and send it to Turnbull for the ultimate in CCH

Grayrock said:

Buy a beater and send it to Turnbull for the ultimate in CCH

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Turnbull does impeccable work, but that'll turn a $600 price tag rifle into a rifle you have $3,600 invested in real quick!

When I purchased my Winchester ‘73 Sporting in .45 Colt, I had the same issue but more basic - case hardening or plain jane bluing. I pondered both for quite some time and then settled - purchased the standard bluing. Case hardening is beautiful and the bluing seemed classic/ practical to me, so I went that direction. One very good thing about all of the finishes, they are fun to shoot.

Orion8472 said:

I've asked places like Buds before but they say they don't open the boxes.

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I was under the impression that the FFL needed to physically verify the serial # matched what was on the box for the Official Paperwork. Might not be right...just think my local FFL said that was what he always did but he might have just been very cautious.

color ain't goin' to matter

Howdy

Yes, the colors are random, because that is how they are formed. It depends on how the chemicals, or water in the case of real bone Case Hardening, swirled around as the colors were being formed. That is the nature of the colors of Case Hardening.

When I bought my Uberti '73 a whole bunch of years ago, I found it used in a local shop. Didn't worry too much about the colors because I got a good deal on it used. This one was built in the 1980s, and I have always felt the colors looked kind of 'blotchy'.






Ten years ago when I decided to buy an Uberti 'Iron Frame' Henry, they were on sale at DIxie Gunworks. I saved $200 buying the iron frame instead of the usual brass frame.

I called up an FFL who was a friend and he ordered the Dixie Uberti Henry for me.

He took a couple of photos of it when he opened the box and sent them to me before I came down to pick it up.






Just like real bone Case Hardening, Uberti case colors will fade over time. They can fade from strong chemicals, finger oils, or even just exposure to sunlight. The colors on my Henry have faded over time, probably mostly from ten years of nothing but Black Powder ammunition.






The colors on this Colt Second Generation from 1973 have faded considerably over the 15 or so years I have been shooting it with Black Powder.






This colors on this First Gen Bisley Colt from 1907 have faded considerably, just from the ravages of time and handling. Notice how the colors are still the most brilliant in the protected areas of the frame in front of the cylinder.





So whatever you finally get, be prepared for the colors to fade over time.

Some very nice guns you have there Driftwood! I'm jealous of that Henry .....

Color case hardening was never meant to be a protective finish. It's a byproduct of the hardening process that was used as a decorative touch. It is notoriously fragile compared to bluing. However, if Turnbull does your colors, it gets treated to a lacquer clearcoat so it looks better longer.