Author: Grumpy
Despite my affection for light, small-gauge upland doubles, TriStar’s 28-gauge Bristol Silver SxS scared me. Too small. Too trim. Too light. And then I shot it. Just right!
Honestly, this doll-size, 5.25-pound side-by-side carries, rises, points and shoots like an extension of my arm, which is just what an upland bird gun is supposed to do. But what a surprise for an entry-level double with a suggested retail of just $1,040.
Well-built, reasonably priced side-by-sides used to be a staple in the USA, but by mid-20th century they’d faded under the onslaught of even less expensive pumps and autoloaders with their high-capacity magazines. By the 1970s, side-by-sides were Great Grandpa’s antiques.
Well, what goes around comes around, and as upland bird hunting became tougher and tougher, participants became devotees, and devotees are always more deeply involved than fair-weather hunters. They make up for a shortage of birds by investing more time and energy in dogs, vests, boots, hats, shells, history and—most of all—shotguns. Life’s too short to hunt with an ugly gun.
But when pretty guns are also pretty expensive, as they usually are, many of us can’t indulge them. This TriStar Bristol Silver solves that. The laser-engraved, nickel-finished steel receiver contrasts with deeply blued, 28-inch barrels and a Grade 2, satin oil-finished Turkish walnut stock with shockingly rich and extensive figure shot with flame reminiscent of tiger stripes. The quality would be surprising on a gun at twice the price. The checkering pattern is rather mundane, but the points are sharp enough for good function and the borders clean with no overruns. Wood to metal fit is impressively tight and slightly proud. A black plastic spacer protects the end grain and a lightly stippled, three-eighth-inch-thick black rubber pad provides minimal recoil absorption, good “stick” to the shoulder, and ground grip when standing the gun.
Mechanically this is a simplified Anson & Deeley-style boxlock with a Deeley-type latch in the fore-end. The gold-plated, single-selective trigger is mechanical, so the second barrel will fire with or without the recoil of the first. Trigger pull was 3 pounds, 12 ounces for each barrel with a fair bit of overtravel. A barrel selector switch slides left-right in the center of the tang safety. Here is the only flaw I discovered in this otherwise proper functioning gun: a catch in the safety. With the barrel selector set for the right barrel, differing thumb pressure on the safety would variably push it off or make it hang up, perhaps on a burr inside the action. With the selector switch set to the left barrel, this rarely happened. My test gun was one of the first off the line, so perhaps this is an early blip, but something to check for when shopping. TriStar has a full five-year warranty on this double-barrel, so any glitches like this would be remedied at no charge.
The Bristol’s monobloc barrels come flared near the muzzle to accommodate screw chokes, five of which ship with the gun: full, improved modified, modified, improved cylinder and skeet. Considerable if subtle rippling can be seen in reflections off the barrels and the center rib, which is not raised. None of this hindered our shooting.
A friend and I indulged a round of clays with slight trepidation. Tyrell had never shot a 28-gauge before. Nor a side-by-side. Nevertheless, he dropped but one target. The old veteran, alas, dropped two. But he blames one on the safety catch distracting his concentration.
Auto-ejectors seemed perfectly timed. Each selectively spit empty hulls smartly over our shoulders. After losing a couple in the snow, I began holding my hand over the breech to catch them. The action was tight, befitting a new gun. A locking bar in the bottom rear of the action well slides forward upon barrel closing to fit into a tapered underlug notch, suggesting this action should shoot tight with use.
Seriously, Tyrell and I were both impressed with the handling characteristics and natural pointing of this little gun. Both barrels are chambered for 2¾-inch shells. We were shooting Winchester AA ¾-ounce No. 7.5 loads spreading some 262 projectiles from skeet and IC chokes. The gun balances at the hinge, so the 28-inch barrels came up quickly and smoothly, yet their length seems to aid follow-through. Should be the perfect action in the grouse woods and quail thickets. I wouldn’t be at all afraid to hire it in the open, often-windy pheasant fields of South Dakota, either.
All told, the TriStar Bristol Silver 28-gauge is a splendid option for anyone wanting to get into shooting a classic looking, classic handling, traditionally effective upland shotgun. And if 28-gauge isn’t your favorite size, look for one in 20-gauge, 12-gauge or .410.
Technical Specifications
• Type: double-barrel, side-by-side shotgun
• Gauge: .410-bore, 28 (tested), 20, 12
• Barrel: 28″; blued, chrome lined; center rib; auto ejectors; interchangeable chokes
• Trigger: single, mechanical; 3-lb., 12-oz. pull weight
• Sights: front brass bead
• Safety: tang mounted w/barrel selector
• Stock: Grade 2 Turkish walnut; satin oil-finish; length of pull 14.5″; drop at heel 2.5″; drop at comb 2″
• Receiver Finish: nickel w/24 karat gold inlay
• Overall Length: 45″
• Weight: 5.24 lbs. (28-gauge)
• Accessories: 5 choke tubes (Full, Imp. Mod., Mod., IC, Skeet)
• MSRP: $1,040–$1,070; tristararms.com
Photos courtesy of Mt. McCoy Auctions
In the annals of frontier-era single-actions, Remington was a little late out of the gate, despite its prominence during the Civil War with its New Model Army cap-and-ball revolver. By the time Remington’s Model 1875 was introduced, the Colt Single Action Army and Smith & Wesson’s No. 3 Schofield were already in the holsters of soldiers and civilians alike.
It wasn’t until late 1874 that the Remington 1875 Improved Army Revolver was introduced, priced at $12.50. A 7½” barrel was standard, although a few 5¾” versions were produced.
Often affixed with a lanyard ring, the 1875 had a more elongated grip-to-frame ratio compared to the Colt SAA, as well as a nonfunctional under-barrel steel web—a holdover design inspired by Remington’s New Model Army percussion revolver. Consequently, the Remington 1875 was not as well-balanced, by comparison, as the Colt Peacemaker. Plus, it was built to such close tolerances that it would often bind up with fouling.
Adding to these shortcomings, an initial order from the Egyptian government for 10,000 Improved Army Revolvers specified chambering in the proprietary-but-obscure .44 Remington Centerfire cartridge.
Around Serial No. 16,000, Remington began chambering its Model 1875 for the more popular .44-40 Win. and—thanks to an order for 1,000 guns from the Mexican government—in .45 Colt (which Remington referred to as “.45 Government,” no doubt causing some consumer confusion).
Remington’s ongoing mismanagement problems and financial difficulties were compounded when it was discovered that Egypt still owed the company several hundred thousand dollars for previously delivered Rolling Block rifles, which resulted in the cancellation of Egypt’s remaining Model 1875 orders. Consequently, in 1886, Remington filed for bankruptcy, which ended production of the Model 1875 after an estimated 30,000 guns had been produced.
In 1888, the company and its assets were sold to an investment group that included Hartley and Graham, one of America’s largest firearm dealers.
In going through the inventory, a number of unsold Model 1875s were discovered, primarily in .44 Remington and .44-40 Win. Rather than sell these as “old stock,” it was decided to transform them into new, slightly augmented single-actions, which included milling away the under-barrel web, rechambering the remaining .44 Remingtons to .44-40 and cutting the 7½” barrels to 5¾”, thus keeping the “E. REMINGTON & SONS ILION, N.Y. U.S.A.” stamping of the Model 1875 barrels.
The Model 1875’s two-piece walnut stocks were also retained. Denoting its shortened barrel, this revamped gun was christened the Remington New Model Pocket Army Revolver, or as it is called by collectors today, the Remington Model 1888.
Priced at $10.50, nickeled or blued and limited to guns found in inventory, it is estimated that fewer than 1,000 Model 1888s were made between 1888 and 1890. Most were apparently sold by Hartley and Graham, as the company’s 1889 catalog is the only known period mention of the Remington New Model Pocket Army Revolver.
Even today, many Remington reference books do not list the Model 1888, which proved to be a transitional gun that briefly bridged the gap between the Remington 1875 and the similarly scarce Model 1890, of which only 2,020 guns were produced from 1890 to 1896 and which had a new “REMINGTON ARMS CO., ILION, N.Y.” barrel stamping, reflecting that company’s reorganization.
The Model 1888’s obscurity no doubt accounts for its sometimes-modest prices, considering its rarity. The gun shown here sports ill-fitted replaced walnut stocks but is otherwise original, with 80 percent of its nickel finish remaining and an intriguing “Lawlis” scratched into the butt. In a 2023 Internet auction, it sold for $2,625.
Gun: New Model Pocket Army Revolver
Manufacturer: E. Remington & Sons
Chambering: .44-40 Win.
Manufactured: c. 1888-1889
Condition: NRA Very Good/Fine (Antique Gun Standards)
Value: $2,500 to $3,500