Dick "Sixshot" Thompson's
Friendly Loads

If we’re lucky, someone enters our lives, influencing us like no other. Dick “Sixshot” Thompson is one of those people to me. Dire circumstances have a tendency to bring people together, whether the other person knows it or not. During the summer of 2009, my mom was dying of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood. I’d recently learned how to surf the internet and needed some distraction.

I was working our county fair as part of my cop duties, which meant I got to ride my Harley home when we wrapped up the crowd around midnight. Riding home was nice as the cool breeze gave me a chance to cool off. Once home, I’d strip off my uniform shirt, Sam Brown belt, grab a cold beverage and hit the gun forums I’d recently discovered. I kept seeing this guy, ‘Sixshot’, posting about critters he’d shot with a sixgun. One thing led to another, and we started chatting via messages, which eventually led to phone calls.

Dick is a fellow student of Keith, meaning he loves cast bullets, handloads and sixguns. We connected instantly, hitting it off like lost brothers. He lived in the land of Elmer — Idaho — and even visited him a few times in the 70s. I’d never been out west — I was scared to go — scared I wouldn’t want to go back once there.

Mom died the last day of August, and Dick invited me to an elk hunt. Having the “life’s too short, take all the opportunities offered you” attitude, I accepted. My wife thought I was crazy going to Idaho “with a man I met on the internet,” and I admit it sounded a little suspicious, but it was one of the best decisions I ever made. I took a cow elk with a Lyman 454424 Keith slug and made a great friend and mentor for life.

I’ve been to Dick’s three or four times and always have a great time. The first two times we even visited the Elmer Keith Museum at the Boise, Idaho, Cabelas, followed by a visit to John Taffin. We talk regularly on the phone, mostly discussing cast bullets, molds, loads, guns, as well as how his sons and grandsons have done during hunting season. I figured it only fitting to share some of Dick’s favorite handloads, so other sixgunners can benefit from ‘Sixshots’ experience, wisdom, and know-how. I sure have over the years, and many of his favorite loads are also mine.

Dick is the one who got me involved in polymer powder coating of bullets. He’s made them for John Taffin and Mark Hampton to experiment with and write about. Dick learned about powder coating while vacationing in Arizona well over ten years ago.

.32 H&R

Dick doesn’t like hunting with a .22 rimfire; he likes feeling like he’s shooting a gun when hunting, and his .32 H&R Ruger Single-Six is his favorite varmint gun. His pet load uses a home-cast 98-grain RCBS SWC loaded over 3.0 grains of Winchester WST powder sparked by a small pistol primer. Velocity runs around 900 FPS and is powerful enough to penetrate a 4″ birch tree. Dick has killed hundreds (thousands?) of ground squirrels, badgers, and other vermin with this load. One pound of powder is enough for 2,333 rounds of Dick’s load.

Dick’s been a strict handgunner since the mid-seventies, selling off all his rifles. He’s also taught me the fine art of Dutch oven cooking over the years, giving me recipes for sourdough bread, cherry/blueberry cobbler, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls. He’s certainly added flavor to my life and shooting.

Dick Explains…

“Back in the ’60s, when I got my first Ruger .44, I started out with Elmer’s load of 22.0 grains of 2400. This, of course, was the old Hercules 2400, but in a very short time, I dropped it to 21.0 grains, and I’ve stayed with that load since about 1967 or 68. It’s taken deer, both mulie & whitetails, elk, bears & antelope. I can’t remember ever recovering one of those Keith cast bullets, even on elk, although I might have.

“For most of the first 30 years, my cast bullets were just straight WW’s because they were cheap to get, many times they were free.

Later, I started using a blend that was usually 70/30, WW’s and lead, even then my loads from the .45 Colt, .44 Magnum and .41 Magnums would still give me complete pass through on bears, bull elk and my one bull moose.

“I have to confess, my favorite hunting caliber is the .41 Magnum, and the holy grail of cast bullets has always been an almost magical 230-grain Keith from a Saeco mould #411. This bullet, seated over 17.0 grains of 2400, has taken so much game that I lost track years ago.

“This isn’t a maximum load, but sometimes in a person’s life you just hit something that is just spot on, where everything lines up & you know that you’ve nailed it. This load has shot in every .41 Magnum I’ve ever owned, and I’ve owned a lot. One year, I took 11 animals in one year with revolvers, including deer in four different states; 10 of those animals fell to my .41s. I shoot that same load with a 250-grain WFN if I’m really mad at something, like Gemsbok in Africa. Same results; both shoulders are history.”

Dick helped me win an auction on a SAECO #411 mold, and it is every bit as good as he describes. Elmer helped design this mold, and it drops the sexiest 230-grain SWC you’d ever see. Dick also loaned me his LBT mold for 250-grain WFN slugs, and I cast a lifetime supply of those before returning it to him.

Grand ol’ .45 Colt

Of course, Dick uses Elmer’s Lyman 454424 260-grain slug. His ‘go-to’ load includes 18.5 grains of 2400. For LBT style LFN’s he uses 22 grains of Hodgdon H110 for 308-grain and 325-grain bullets.

Another favorite slug is an MP Molds copy of the .45 270 SAA, with small hollow point pins. Loaded over 23 grains of 4227, Dick took zebra, kudu, and nyala with this load, taking out both shoulders with complete penetration.

.357 Jackrabbit Tale

This load is no surprise for any student of Elmer. Dick still has a supply of Hercules 2400, which is a tad slower than today’s Alliant 2400, so he can use Elmer’s loads safely, without having to back off. Dick uses a full 13.5 grains of Hercules 2400, sparked with a standard small pistol primer, loaded in .38 Special cases with a Lyman 358429. Velocity runs around 1,260 FPS, depending on barrel length.

Dick has a shorty, 4 5/8″ three-screw Blackhawk he stocked with beautiful walnut panels. Dick, his son Shane, and grandson Ridge were shooting jackrabbits at a friend’s ranch. They brought an ATV to get around on. On the way home, Ridge wanted to ride on the trailered ATV, and his dad agreed. Shane drove and Dick was riding shotgun, or I should say sixgun. As they traveled down the gravel driveway to go home, they jumped a Jackrabbit, and he was hightailing it straight away.

Dick told Shane to drive as far left on the driveway as possible, and Dick leaned out the window, sixgun in hand. Now understand, there are no houses, people, or roads for miles away. It was a perfectly safe shooting scenario, and I know Dick wouldn’t risk a shot if there was any risk involved.

That said, Dick drew down on the Jack, shot, pinwheeling the rabbit on the first try. Ridge had a grand view of the shot, sitting elevated on the trailered ATV. When Dick heard Ridge’s whoops, he knew he connected. Grandpa reinforced his already legendary status.

Common Sense

If there’s one thing Dick has taught me is there is no need to push loads to maximum pressure all the time. Use what works. Dick also stated one of my favorite sayings. It’s why he loves handguns, saying, “You never master a handgun.” Meaning you must constantly practice, to maintain and hone your handgun shooting skills to remain proficient. Truer words were never spoken. Dick has enriched my life like no other.

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