Post by Doc Barranti on May 13, 2014 7:16:10 GMT -5
30 plus years ago, I poured over gun magazines trying to determine what my first centerfire revolver cartridge was going to be. I had been reading Skeeter, Elmer and every other writer that wrote about sixguns, and there were many choices in the running. The 357 Magnum, 41 Magnum, 44 Special, 44 Magnum and 45 Colt were all in contention. The platforms for these cartridges included Colt, Dan Wesson, Ruger, and Smith & Wesson revolvers.
The 357 was a classic cartridge that could be loaded up in the overly stout Ruger Blackhawk. The Dan Wesson in any caliber was one of the most accurate production guns. The 41 Magnum, while on the verge of extinction, was a flat-shooting cartridge hot on the heals of its big brother the 44 Magnum. The 44 Special was just truly special, though there were no factory guns at the time. The 44 Magnum was the Elmer's choice, and Skeeter's favorite sixgun was a 7.5" Ruger Flattop in 44 mag, how could I not like that? Then there was the 45 Colt; the King of Cool, the Classic of Classics.
I remember looking in glass gun cases at sixguns of all persuasions in all of my dream calibers. There was an S&W 25-2 in the case, and though I can't recall the price tag, it was out of my reach, but looking back I wish that one had gone home with me. In the same case sat a very lightly used stainless steel Ruger Super Blackhawk. The price tag of $250 was within my price range, so I plunked down the cash and went back home to wait the then required 7 day waiting period.
That gun breathed fire and roared with every pull of the trigger and I loved it! After several years, I sent it to Mag Na Port, where it was cut to a handier length and ported. I made a set of stocks out of Padouk, a reddish colored hardwood that contrasted nicely with the stainless steel, and it remained in that configuration until gunwriter Ross Seyfried got the better of me. I called gunsmith Hamilton Bowen and bought a a takeoff barrel and cylinder chambered in 45 Colt and an aluminum gripframe. I spent several evenings fitting the parts to my Super Blackhawk. For all you Skeeter fans, his story "The Treasure of the Turkey Track" was where I had learned how to fit a barrel. I carefully drawfiled the barrels shoulder until the front sight indexed properly, lining everything up by eye. With my handloads, it shoots to the sights and is a lightweight, powerful sixgun.
As time goes by, interests can change, and what was once cool becomes old news. So it was with the 45 Colt, and my interests in sixguns went back to anything that started with a 44. As with any gun that is traded off or sold, there has been a certain amount of remorse over that old 44. Though I still had the basic gun, it wasn't the same. Then along came my good friend Tank Hoover. He had heard my story of the old 44, had done a little searching, and the next thing I knew, I was doing paperwork at the gunshop on a similar vintage Super Blackhawk. I dug around in my parts boxes and found the stocks I made for the old gun, and they fit right on the new one like they were meant to be there.
Like so many other things in life, I've come full circle back to my first centerfire sixgun, and this one will stay in its original configuration. In the near future, I hope to be able to write of a successful hunt taken with two good friends; Tank Hoover, and 'Hoover's Hammer'.
