[mtnboomer]

The "Buntline Special" was a firearm carried by a ficticious dime-novel character named Ned Buntline. The author of the Buntline novels (can't recall his name at the moment) was an easterner that was a big fan of Wyatt Earp and Batt Masterson.

The author had Colt build some of these 12" barreled revolvers to his specs, two of which he personally presented to Earp and Masterson. These hog-legs had an engraved brass plate on the grips stating who it was from, what it was and who it was presented to.

The story goes that Earp carried his on his left hip and used it primarily for his favorite tactic of pistol-whipping folks as the long barrel make the gun a perfect club. Masterson, on the other hand, never liked the overly long barrel and soon had it cut back to a standard length.