Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · II · 238

Colt Wyatt Earp Buntline Special

Section II: curio or relic, still subject to the Gun Control Act

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION II · VERBATIM · PDF P. 8 ↗

Colt, Wyatt Earp, Buntline Special, cal. .45 (Lawman Series).

ATF lists cal. .45; this is the .45 Colt cartridge.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESYour firearm is this edition: “(Lawman Series)”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1964–1970.

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
United States
Manufacturer
Colt's Patent Fire Arms Mfg. Co.
Type
Pistol³
Action
Other
Caliber
.45 Colt
Made
c. 1964–1970production; ATF states no date¹²
Service
Commercial
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section II · PDF p. 8 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. cdn.rockislandauction.com ↗, years: Wyatt Earp Buntline SAA, .45 Long Colt, 16-1/8" barrel, 1970, one of 500
  2. collectorsfirearms.com ↗, years: Lawman .45 SAA set "includes the 1964 Wyatt Earp Buntline"
  3. cdn.rockislandauction.com ↗, type: Lawman Series Wyatt Earp Commemorative Buntline Single Action Army revolver, 16-1/8" barrel
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
2 changes · see below

Correction history

  1. Data-trust reviewEditorial confidence: Low → Medium. Re-rated after supporting references were added or re-checked.
  2. Data-trust reviewYears: 1964–1971 → 1964–1970. The .45 Lawman Wyatt Earp Buntline is dated 1970 by RIA and 1964 by a dealer set listing; range covers both

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

Colt Buntline (base model shown for Colt Wyatt Earp Buntline Special)
Shown: a long-barrel Buntline-style Single Action, not the Wyatt Earp Lawman Series commemorative.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Buntline.jpg” by Ricce, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “Colt Buntline”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Colt Buntline Special was a long-barreled variant of the Colt Single Action Army revolver, which Stuart N. Lake described in his best-selling but largely fictionalized 1931 biography, Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal. According to Lake, the dime novelist Ned Buntline commissioned the production of five Buntline Specials. Lake described them as extra-long Colt Single Action Army revolvers, with a 12-inch (300 mm)-long barrel, and stated that Buntline presented them to five lawmen in thanks for their help in contributing local color to his western yarns.