Howdy folks,
I wasn't sure which thread to introduce myself in so I just decided "What the heck? I'll start my own.
I want to say at the outset that I am very glad to find a forum dedicated to my favorite flavor of firearm, the "wheel gun". I am also glad to see a forum where folks "speak" the way I do. I think that, in some way, there is a way of speaking (and writing) that just seems to go along with revolvers. If you understand what I mean, no explanation is needed,If you don’t, none will help. I am sure if you grew up on the works of Taffin, Keith, Skelton,Jordan....and others you know what I mean.
To fill you all in about me I will give you a bit of background. I am a "westerner" from pioneer stock. I started ny handgunning young and was the owner of my first in 1973. It was not a revolver however but it was a .22 so I could afford to shoot it. I started making my own money that year and started saving up. Within 4 years I had my first centerfire, still not a revolver. I was caught up in the Jeff Cooper way of things so you can probably guess what I bought. About two-and-a-half-years passed and I acquired my first revolver. A 5" S&W 27.
Very soon thereafter a thoughtful friend gave me several hundred rounds of practice ammo of the .38 wadcutter variety that had been deemed "surplus" by the agency he worked for. Along with this came sever hundred more empty cases and his personal instruction time on the proper use of the sixgun. His agency was well known for their training and standards. With all of that I began reloading and my "other" guns started seeing less use. I was one of the first in line for a license to hunt with a pistol when my State adopted its first policy on the matter.
I will save the reader a lot of tedium by jumping past a lot of history and simply go to where I am at now with regards to handguns. I have too many of the "other type" I fear and they are not getting the attention the deserve. I live in the country and have enough property that i can shoot from almost out the front door. Since I have become an avid handloader for big bore revolvers I spend more time with them than anything else. Single actions have moved up in my collection remarkably since I was able to leave "the big city" and return to the country. S&W "N" frames are holding their own as well. I have what I consider a great selection of .357s and my wife developed a taste for that caliber as well and owns a few.
My more notable and interesting big bores include S&W 58 and 629s, A Ruger flat top "anniversary" . 44 mag, flat top .44 special, Blackhawk .41 mag and .45 Colt, and a Beretta"‘Stampede".45 Colt. The .357s cover the S&W line (Sadly the original 27 is no longer in my collection) the Ruger DAs are in there as well as a Colt Python. .38s are in there with the slickest actioned Model 10 and a Colt "Officers model Match".
To further save time, and to leave my self something to talk about in the future, I will just state my basic feelings about revolvers. I love them especially big bores. I would rather spend a day with simple reloading tools "tuning a load" for one of my big bores, that crank out 1,000 rds for one of those "other" guns. There is no handgun as versatile as a big bore revolver with suitable handloads. I know that I am "preaching to the choir" but I just enjoy saying it. I do not know if it makes me sound like a dinosaur or not but I have a particular sore spot towards folks that consider themselves "handgunners" and do not own a revolver and have never learned to shoot a DA revolver or even load a Colt SA. I know of one person who has several thousand dollars tied up in his pistols and has never fired a revolver in his life. what can you say to someone like that?
My favorite revolvers? I would have to say, S&W 58, S&W 65 3", Beretta Stampede, the Ruger .44 special is working it’s way in there,and, curiously, a Ruger Security Six 4" has recently become a favorite 4" in that caliber. It has the smoothest action for a Ruger and I am sure it was never ‘tuned up" and it came with the smooth,Skelton-type grips that are the best factory grips I have ever felt on a DA revolver.
Well there are my "Bona Fides" for being here. I hope this was at least amusing if not a bit entertaining.
I am using two different computers so I have to switch to the old one to upload some pictures. Kinda complicated because I live in west edge of nowhere and and just got this newffangled wireless laptop and such gear and haven't had time to transfer files yet (If I knew how????)
New member saying "Howdy" with a bit of sixgun talk.
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Thanks for posting. Welcome to the forum. We would really like to see this take off, but them dang computers...
I think we can all relate to that.
Ever need any help, let me know. Problems uploading photos? Email them to me and I'll be happy to insert them for you. We like photos. (I'm sure you have browsed the "Big Show") We have almost enough photos from users to add a 5th disk.
And if you are a good story teller, one or two might find their way to the "Branding Crew"
Enjoy--
Al
My first handgun, Colt Scout .22. My second, Colt Python. I have loved revolvers for a long, long time. Welcome. Chris
I see that several of your holsters look homegrown, I too, have made a few and altered a few along the way.
The one in the middle of the first pic was larger and I cut it down but never finished trimming the edges or making it more astheticly pleasing, it serves it's purpose. Chris
Great to have you here. I am relatively new myself, but like you I am a wheel gunner from way back. Carried one for years on the Police Department. I certainly enjoyed all of your pictures of the various revolvers you have in your collection, I guess I suffer from wheel gun envy. Unfortunately through the years, I have had to let many of my guns go for finacial reasons, etc., but at this late stage in life, though money poor, am trying to start over again. I love to reload several calibers, and just recently started into .41 Mag. Seems to be a great caliber, and I am in the middle of creating my own .41 Special loads, having cut down cases to .44 special length..still in the beginning stages, but great fun for sure. Really glad to have you here and look forward to many more posts.
Thanks for the welcome.
I do make my own holsters many times to get "just what I want"
The one with the Beretta Stamped SA is a Ted Blocker Duke rig, the next is a home made one for my S&W "N" frame 4 inchers(I got tired of holsters that twist and flop so I made that out of heavy saddle leather. It's a leathal weapon by itself ) The one with the Ruger .41 is an old George Lawrence carved that I bought when the company closed its doors years ago. Ted Blocker was a Lawrence employee and kept some of their designs and added a bunch of his own, The company is now run by his former apprentice. So it's kin of a third generation "Lawrence".
Watch out for the .41 mag, it's a "spooky" caliber to me. Weird things happen around it. I got into it (further than I expected) by a string of coincidences (I wanted a gun in that caliber but what a tale ensued) I think it is, a great caliber for the handloader
countrygun: perhaps when you have time you could relate that tale about the 41 mag and you? We'd be interested in hearing it. Don't feel bad about sharing with us, we enjoy any and all comments and stories about guns. Chris
The urge for a .41 started in college. A very unusual pistol crossed my path three times in about a year. I saw it in the gunshop of a friend in the "big city" where I went to school. The gun had more "cool" than anything I'd ever seen. It was a S&W 58 that had been sent to Magna-Port for a full action job, hammer reshaped and bobbed a bit, round butted, barrel cut to 3" and of course ported. It had been given a deluxe blue and a beautiful set of rosewood grips. I wanted it and, while being a struggling student, I had stretched the budget before and survived. The thing that stopped me was the fact that I knew it was strictly a handloaders gun and that expense held me back. Apparently the last owner didn't know that because the dealer had a box of full throttle magnums, with 6 rounds fired, to throw in the deal.
A couple of months after it left that shop I spotted it in another shop. This time 18 rounds were gone from the box of ammo. Again I resisted. Months passed and I went to the "big" annual gun show. There was a rifle I was searching for and I found a fine example and bought it. (It is still in my rack today) on the way out my eyes flashed to a table of pistols. Yup, there "she" was again. Trying to be cool and not tip my hand I just noted the price on the tag. I was now sure seeing the gun for sale three times in a year was a sign. I tried to figure out how my budget could be stretched any thinner as I found the nearest branch of my bank. (That is why gunshows always opened on Fridays, and sometimes Thursdays, there were no cash machines back then). When I got back, the wonder gun was gone. I never saw her again. In a fit of jealous rage I purchased a refinished low-collector value, Colt 1917 .45 acp to use as a base for a "substitute" for the one that got away. That became it's own tale.
Fast forward to a couple of years ago. I am living in a location where the nearest "town" is about 12 miles away. There is a "Mom and Pop" type Outdoor/sporting goods/fishing tackle shop, with a guncounter and a fe guns. The next "town" with a whole 2 shops is about 45 miles away. I found myself in the "other town" on business one day and, of course hit the shops. At the first one was a Marlin Lever gun in the .41 mag caliber. It brought back memories but I sighed as I put it back on the rack. It was an older ,"pre-lawyersafety" model. I told the dealer that if I ever found a model 58 I would buy a carbine, but lacking the pistol, it would have to wait. I left,depressed.
I walked in to the next shop. I looked at the rifle rack, nothing to catch my fancy. Then I looked in the pistol case. It took me a few moments to realize what I saw. A small collection of S&W pistols had bee brought in. There lay a S&W 58. I had to see it. It bore the rather crude SAPD stamp on the left of the frame, a sign that it was one of the guns used by the San Antonio Police Department. The holster wear and over all condition matched the police guns in my collection. (I do not "collect" LE firearms, I just find deals on good guns that way) My wallet broke the sound barrier as I whipped out the cash to meet their more than reasonable price. Happy as could be I headed back to shop 1 to secure the carbine. It was already gone. In a town that small what were the chances? I let a couple of bad word slip.
I bought all of the .41 magnum ammo in that town, yes I did, both boxes. On the way home I stopped at the shop in the town closer to home. The owner is also a neighbor and friend. I had the Smith with me and asked him it he had an ammo? He looked at me and grinned, "Sure, one box, but I've got a bag of brass too. You know you really have to reload for that caliber?" I said I was aware of that. "Well good, because a set of dies just came in along with some bullets and stuff. I can make you a good deal on the package if you take what came with it," With that, he reached into the case on the small row of used Ruger single actions that had been there a while and pulled out a new member of the group that I hadn't noticed. The upshot is that I came home that day with two unexpected .41s that day.( they are the ones in the photos) The good news was that my wife, who had endured me telling the story of the one that got away, had tried to find a model 58 for me the year before, for christmas, and about stroked out when she saw the prices, I paid well less for mine than the best "deal" she was able to find on the internet or through the local dealer. Her only comment was "So you had to spend the money you saved on a second one?"
.41 magnums have an eerie mojo to them.
countrygun, that is a great story, thanks for sharing it. I would say that the quest for a 41 was worth it in the end. Chris
I wanted to say that there are some great pictures here, covering guns and leather that looks to my eye as having been employed as they should.
Also, I found myself nodding in recognition at the handgunner without wheelguns type of person. I know of at least three different people who fit into this category. One of them happens to own a wonderful S&W 25 in my favorite caliber-.45 Colt. It never leaves its box, he absolutely refuses to shoot it, and equally refuses to sell it. I guess I don't understand why a guy who only packs and shoots autos, and primarily expensive European autos at that, refuses to send that 25 along to someone who will use it at it was intended.
The second fella probably owns more guns than I can count, and while most of them are bolt action hunting rifles, the handguns are all pistols-auto loaders. Last time I talked to him, he was all fired up about the Springfield XD, and had 2 of them in his vest. He was nice enough to let me peruse them both, and I just couldn't get over how cheap they felt. I didn't tell him what I thought, mostly because I didn't want to burst his bubble, But I really was disappointed in their fit, finish, and quality. I could not understand why someone would gush all over about such pieces of crap.
Finally, the last guy has so many guns even he doesn't know how many he has. He owns a brace of Colt, S&W wheelguns-and wants to sell them all, for very big bucks. He is of a mind that in the realm of handguns, all he needs is a Glock of some type. He figures everything else is fluff. I don't think he knows how many Glocks he owns, but his favorite is the semi-compact 9mm. I tried to tell him why his Glock won't do much in our mountains, but he has already made up his mind. When he looks at a good revolver, he doesn't see the graceful lines, doesn't feel the natural balance, doesn't love that weight. Instead, he has spent years getting used to the lousy grip design of the Glock.
So there you go, CG, three people who think I'm a fool for packin the Single Action! One thing is for sure, if you are a dinosaur, then I am even worse off!
Hey countrygun, I surely loved your story and search for that S&W model 58. I seem to have the same kind of luck. I find something I really want, but the funds will not allow the purchase. I work real hard to either sell a gun that I really do not want to part with, or ammo and parts in order to acquire funds, but by the time I get the money, the gun I wanted is gone. I guess we all go through this from time to time, but the great thing is, something else comes our way farther down the road. Great story and if you are still reloading for the .41 mag, maybe we can share some reloading data. And Mak, I agree with you totally..the revolver is the gun of choice for me for CCW and is what my wife chooses also. And thanks for your story too!!
On reloading for the .41 magnum, "I have a goal in mind that is pretty simple, like with most "+.40s" I want a bullet that is a bit heavier than the factory standard going aound 1050-1200 fps. Not full blown wristwrenching elephant rounds. It is pretty easy to build these kind of loads. I uses a 220 gn KSWC. and around 7 gns of Unique as a start.. I Dial the load for accuracy rather than to get more velocity once I have cracked the 1,000fps barier.
I use the loads that Skeeter Skelton wrote about as a start, and Brian Pearce's stuff in "Handloader" But I have to say, with all proper cautions in place, that there is little information on mid-range loads for the .41. However by doing a bit of juggling one can look at a loading manual and compare the loads for a .44 special and full .44 magnums and figure out what a "Mid level load" for that caliber would be. keeping to that midrange area only gives you a good place, with a dose of common sense, to begin searching for the "right' .41 load, using the same powder etc and similar bullet weights. The difference between the diameter of the .41 and .44 allows interchangability IN MID RANGE LOADS ONLY. Lower velocity "powder puff" loads make me nervous because of different levels fo friction between the two calibers and those loads aren't worth messing with anyway. The full house magnum data should be respected on general principles, but the mid range allows for a lot of flexibility safely. That is one of the big reasons I like big-bores, they don't require full throttle loads to do what I want them to. I am never (With 99% of my loads) anywhere near a high,or low, danger line. I don't like running right up to withing a half grain of primers falling out, our worse, that just ain't my thing.
I have a pic, that unfortunately got a little messsed up in editing, that shows what I got out of my second or third test load for my 58. It frankly shocked the heck out of me. by just changing 1/2 grain It went from an "I guess it will do" load to "WOW" I'm loading all my bullets and cases this afternoon with this load.
Going to try to post a photo form Photobucket using the "IMG" code.
The group was fired in double taps between wind gusts that were shaking the target holder. I would fire a quick two and wait for the wind to subside for a moment then repeat.
http://i648.photobucket.com/albums/uu208/countrygun/IM002747.jpg
Close, but the easiest way is to paste the photobucket URL link like this, click the image button and paste it in the Image Address (URL) with out the image tags, position the cursor where you want it to show, and then "Insert image"
That story (Urge for a 41) would fit nicely in the "Branding Crew" if you don't mind
Al
Sure thing. Put it in there if you like, just correct the, a least two spelling/typing errors (Dropped letters). If you toss in the pics. they are the Pachmeyer gripped with the homemade holster and the Ruger Blackhawk with the carved Lawrence holster.
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