Phelps Heritage I Revolver

Can you say “HAND CANNON” boys & girls?  The Phelps Heritage I revolver in 45-70 fits the description pretty well.  Having plenty of experience with .357 Magnum, .44 Remington Magnum revolvers, and even the Thompson Contender chambered in heavy rifle calibers, we are no strangers to handguns that put out plenty of muzzle energy and wrist-pounding recoil.  In fact, every once in a while we like to “man-up” and take a hit or two for the team with full-power and +P cartridges in these beasts.  Getting to shoot the big Phelps was, to say the least, a real blast (pun intended)!

The photo above doesn’t do justice to the size and weight of this massive beast.  Weighing in at 5 ½ lbs. empty, it is as far at the other end of the spectrum from “concealed carry” as we’ve seen; and needs to be to handle the powerful 45-70 Government cartridge, which was common among Buffalo hunters in rifles back in the day. Nothing on the North American Continent can stand up to a well-placed shot with the powerful 45-70 Govt.  DRT is the applicable description here.

Predecessor of the Phelps revolver design was originally manufactured in 1972 by Russell Wilson, who sand casted the bronze frame (cloned from the Colt SAA configuration) in Evansville, IN. Gene Phelps purchased the manufacturing rights for this gun and formed a partnership with Earl Keller to produce a redesigned frame, also using sandcast bronze. After some subsequent manufacturing transitions, Phelps began producing the Heritage I, an example of which is the gun we shot. Phelps production was discontinued in the late 1970’s.

The .45-70 rifle cartridge, also known as .45-70 Government, was developed at the U.S. Army's Springfield Armory for use in the Springfield Model 1873, which is known to collectors as the "Trapdoor Springfield". The new cartridge was a replacement for the stop-gap .50-70 Government cartridge which had been adopted in 1866, one year after the end of the American Civil War. It was originally designed to project a 405 grain bullet (almost twice the weight of a typical modern 45acp projectile) with a lethal range of over 3,000 yards.  To summarize, the 45-70 packs a wallop; with felt recoil to match, which is exacerbated when fired from a handgun. The term “plinking” never comes up in range sessions involving the big Phelps.

The example we tested was from the mid-70’s and is in pristine condition.  Fit ‘n finish on this piece is excellent, with only one minor defect noted: the fit of the tube housing the ejector rod, which turned out to be cosmetic only and would escape the eye of all but the experienced gunsmith.  Function was flawless through the 50-round exercise we gave it.  While not extravagant artwork, the wood grip panels are aesthetically pleasing enough but on the smallish side for such a large gun.  More grip area would have been appreciated but not crucial.

Trigger action on the Heritage is much better than average for revolvers – even some that have gone through gunsmith tuning.  “Very light” and “crisp break point” were descriptions expressed by the shooters in our group. This enabled our testers to achieve better-than-expected accuracy even though the gun was completely unfamiliar and of very unusual size, weight, and caliber.  Enough Buffalo meat to feed a large Cavalry contingent would have been on the table if we’d been shooting at the right venue. As it was, our 8” steel plate danced like a rap star on drugs from shots fired at 25 yards both from a rest and freehand.

Those who enjoy shooting big bore, hefty revolvers or those who appreciate something truly unique in hand guns would enjoy having an example of the Phelps Heritage I as a part of their collection.

Respectfully Submitted
The Bunker Bunch
February, 2015