Great Western Duo tones
I have this Great Western .22, and its just a peach. 5 1/2 inch barrel, blued finish, chrome hammer and grip assembly.
I had an opportunity to speak by phone with the most accomplished collector of Great Westerns. He was a great guy, and very gracious. He wanted to steer me away from the idea that my Great Western had a factory finish though, and said they didn’t mix nickel or chrome finishes with blue. The only finishes should be blue, nickel, chrome, and case hardened / blue.
I since encountered this GW on Gunbroker (I didn’t bid on this).
First of all - nice item that sheds some light on the Great Western packaging and accessories of the time. I have to think thats a factory finished duotone revolver. There is no Great Western factory documentation left, so theres no way of knowing. I imagine there are some oddities out there that were made as factory custom orders, and probably more than a few duotones. I just encountered another one in a picture on a chat board. It looked exactly like mine, but was a .44 special.