Engraved Duke Colt CO2 Pellet Revolver, Blued

This gun is all about the engraving, making it a thing of beauty. The display case is also done very nicely. But beauty can be only skin deep....read on.

Sadly, I returned mine because the "blued" finish was flaking off edges and in the cylinder bores to the touch of a silicone cloth or clean patch. I can deal with the labels on the barrel, the medallion on the grip, and the solid color of the grips, but not that finish. IF AND WHEN this gun gets a REAL gun blue finish, I'm there.

If your plan is display only, knock yourself out. But as for me, I'd like a more durable gun blue finish on something I want to handle and shoot.

Great Duke Revolver! A must have for any John Wayne Fan. Beautiful engraving, definitely a show piece.

Nothing

Engraving is fairly well done. There isn't any of that "This is not a toy .......Can result in injury or death" legalize on the revolver.

The medallions on the grips make them cheap looking. Also, the staining of the grips is nowhere near as dark as pictured. They are basically an off-white, with no orange noticeable. I put on a pair of grips from a Colt BB pistol that I stained to look like the grips on John Wayne's Colts and now the revolver looks more realistic.

I normally don't "nit pick" in my reviews, but for $500 I was expecting higher quality. First, the engraved area of the pistol is covered with lacquer (I hope it isn't black paint), presumably to protect it during handling (high grade engraved shotguns have the same treatment). Second, the back strap and bottom of the grip are not lacquered, resulting in a noticeable difference. Third, the back strap above the John Wayne signature had noticeable thinning of the bluing. Lastly, on the bottom of the grip the metal was scratched and devoid of any bluing. Not the quality I expected. I am a huge John Wayne fan and waited 14 months for this pistol so I'm not returning it. I'll blue the grip metal and maybe lacquer it. I have not shot the pistol, but assume it will have the same accuracy as my weathered John Wayne pellet gun.

Beautiful is all I can say. Worth every penny. Not sure if I'll shoot it.

My grips weren't as stained as deep as the guns pictured. Not a turnoff though.

The crown jewel of the John Wayne Collection.

It took 10 months but it was well worth it. The first thing I did was spend about an hour with a magnifying glass and give the engraving a good survey. Deep, consistent, and beautiful. The pistol has been sprayed with a gloss black coating that gives the appearance of the blue/black bluing of the originals as shown by photos I have seen. The engraving coverage is very, very, close to the original as well and I am happy to see the exclusion of any "legalese" on the side plates or barrel. I have a second one on order as well, have to have the set.

I have read some criticism of the John Wayne medallion on the grips and . . . I have to agree, to a point. They are not as bad as I thought and I might get a second set and replace the medallion with a Texas Star but keep the originals.

Some folks I talked with have encouraged me to not fire the pistol as they think it would decrease the value like a collectable firearm. Well, all I can say is it shoots as well as any of my other cartridge loading air pistols.

This is the most beautiful air gun I've ever owned. I've studied still photos, and it looks remarkably like the Great Western sixguns John Wayne packed in "The Shootist." The jeweling on the sides of the hammer is a nice touch.

The gun would look better without the obtrusive John "Duke" Wayne medallion in the grips. It makes it look phony, almost like a toy pistol from 20 years ago.