SHOOTING IRON

THUMB BUSTIN' MUSINGS FROM THE DUKE
Colt Cap & Ball Revolvers
Colt’s Cap & Ball Revolvers

Some of Sam Colt’s early efforts in creating workable revolvers seem like jokes today. Of course, they were loaded with either paper cartridges holding...
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COLT’S SAA 2nd Generation

Colt never envisioned bringing the SAA back post World War II, although some were assembled from parts and sold in the late 1940s. What resurrected the SAA...
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Best of the Best

As a firearms industry dinosaur, I’m sad to have seen the end of double-action revolvers’ golden years. In my time, barrels were actually barrels,...
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Eggshell Skull: the Case...

Situation: A 250-pound bouncer smashes the head of a brain surgery patient into a floor … and it’s deadly force time. Lessons: Expect to have to...
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Wonderful Contraptions

I don’t have much use for adjustable sights on a handgun. Now that’s not the same as saying adjustable handgun sights don’t have much use.
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Coated Bullets

Throughout my handloading career the vast majority of handgun bullets I’ve sent downrange have been cast – mostly by me but a significant minority by...
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Shooting Iron:...

There is much hoopla in the firearms press about the new .30 Super Carry and the handguns being built for it. I don’t own one of the pistols, have never...
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Shooting Iron:...

Not long into my shooting career I realized not all revolvers were equal in terms of closely putting bullets near one another on paper targets. Many years...
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The .44 Ruskie

I’m going to detail why I like the .44 S&W Russian. At least I like it in this one particular revolver.
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Classic Everyday...

In my personal opinion, the most practical Colt SAAs are the Shorties. I have three right now: the “Sheriff’s Model” mentioned above, a .45 with a 3...
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Shooting Iron:...

S&W Model 10 Military & Police .38 Specials are point and shoot, home guns. No more practical, down-to-earth, no-nonsense handgun has ever existed.
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Shooting Iron:...

My love affair with Colt Single Action Army sixguns started in 1968. Like someone separated from a loved one for a long time, I have renewed my acquaintance...
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The Worst...

Anyone who has studied the history of military handguns must wonder how some ordnance officers formed their concepts of ideal handguns.
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Colt’s Most...

As odd as it may seem, some of the Colt SAA’s most popular chamberings have been developed by Winchester; as in Winchester Center Fire or as we know them...
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Creative...

I’m nothing if not impetuous. A few years back I got it in my head a shiny nickel-plated Colt 1911 would suit me, so I bought the first one encountered.
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Frontier Firepower

Firepower of Old West revolvers is one of the most misrepresented historical aspects of that era.
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A Shoulder...

I’ve been searching around for a good method to carry a handgun if I’m not wearing a belt.
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Single-Action...

It’s odd how some things stick in your mind and others fly away as in a stiff wind.
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Generosity or...

Back in the 1970s, during the years I lived in and around Yellowstone National Park, I became friends with a Mississippian named Jim Shumaker.
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Handgun Milestones

Recently a fellow asked me when I became interested in guns. My reply was … I was born with it.
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BBQ Colt

Recently on an Internet website a fellow asked me, “Do you have a barbeque Colt?” I replied, “Um, No, I don’t think so.”
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.44 RUSSIAN,...

It amazes me how many shooters — young and old — talk about their .44 Specials or .44 Magnums without having a clue as to their ancestry.
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A Colt Buntline...

Finding a Colt Buntline from first year production still with its original albeit nearly destroyed box definitely tripped my trigger.
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Slip-Ups And...

With my writing career nearing 50 years (full time since 1981) with over 2,000 printed features and columns I’m bound to have made mistakes.
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Pliers And Files

In the spring of 1984 I was preparing to fly to Southern California to participate in my very first End Of Trail cowboy action match. I had only one misgiving.
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ACCOUTERMENTS

My dictionary says “accouterments” are military accessories. I love the word because to me it seems like a combination of accumulate and collect,
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Reunited

Back in 1973 a friend and I got it in our heads we should take a couple saddle horses and my trusty steed “Duke” as a pack horse and head south.
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A Remington...

Back in the first years of this century a fellow contacted me saying he was putting a replica of the Remington Model 1875 revolver into production and he...
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Almost... A DQ...

Last summer for the first time in my life I thought I might have to use a gun to defend myself.
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Browning and...

A little-known fact among modern handgunners is the Hi-Power was truly international in both manufacture and usage. FN had Hi-Powers in full production for...
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How We Shoot:

The vast majority of handgun shooting competitions nowadays are geared to speed. That’s understandable. It’s fun to do and fun to watch. There’s...
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The “New”...

What did I mean about the “first time?” The .45 Colt’s first term of service was 1873 to 1892. The revolvers had 71/2" barrels and the issue loads as...
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World War 1 Handguns

When Woodrow Wilson’s administration declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, the American military was woefully unprepared. Regarding handguns, American...
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Webley MKV1 .455

The Webley MKVI certainly fits the criteria British ordnance people evidently set for their service revolvers: big, ugly, underpowered and top break. I...
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WWI Handguns

Being as how we’re around the centennial of America’s involvement in World War I, his Editorship Roy gave me the go ahead to cover some combat handguns...
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The U.S. MODEL...

When the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, the standard sidearm for the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps was the Model 1911 .45 Auto. The...
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"Load/Accuracy...

At times readers ask me, “Why doesn’t Handgunner have many load or group charts?” My response is, “Because we think they are next to worthless.”...
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Pick Your Poison

I like bullets. I’m speaking of actual bullets and not loaded ammunition, which the idiots in the news media continually and mistakenly call “bullets.”
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The Odd Couple

One perk of being a gun’riter is there’s a never-ending array of things to write about. While many choose to be on the “cutting edge,” I look...
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Almost Right:...

In regards to handguns, the British often don’t get things right. Well, they usually don’t get things right. Oh, heck, they almost never get things...
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Little Bighorn...

His Editorship, Roy, emailed me concerning a forthcoming auction item he had seen advertised. It is listed as the only completely intact Colt SAA .45...
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Go Fancy —...

My dreams — good or bad — are vivid. Late in 2015 I had to undergo open heart surgery. Still under the effects of anesthesia a night or two after the...
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