Single Action Sixguns

338 Pages·2005·41.601 MB·English

by  John Taffin

170 Years of the Guns that Tamed
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ABOUT THE SINGLE ACTION
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AUTHOR the West and Made All Men Equal! NN SIXGUNS
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A Monumental Treatise
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on the Guns That Made
America Great
Single Action Sixguns by XXX
Not since Elmer Keith’s
John Taffi n is an entertaining
Sixguns appeared in 1955 has
yet thoroughly researched look
a book treated the single action
at the guns that have become
revolver so entertainingly and so
synonymous with the American
GGGG meticulously. John Taffi n, famed
West. Beginning with the Colt
gun writer and columnist, has
Paterson percussion revolver of
sifted through hundreds of full-
1836 and ending with today‘s
color photographs and half a
latest models, Taffi n interweaves
century of shooting experience to
a fascinatingly detailed narrative
produce the defi nitive one-volume
with hundreds of brilliant UUU
work on the subject.
photographs to create what is,
From the fi rst primitive
quite simply, the greatest book of
percussion revolver of 1836 to
its type ever written.
today’s latest precision hunting
The author of such well-
and target models, Single Action
regarded books as Action The Peacemaker. The Ol’ Thumb-Buster. The Hawg Laig. NNN
Sixguns spins an intriguing tale
Shooting, Cowboy Style, Big-Bore No fi rearm in the world is more immediately recognizable
beginning with Samuel Colt and
Handguns, and The Gun Digest than the 1873 Colt Single Action Army Revolver. Yet Colt’s
ending with Bill Ruger, John
Book of Cowboy Action Shooting, famed six-shooter was only one of hundreds of models
Linebaugh, and Dick Casull.
John Taffi n is a world-renowned of single action revolvers that fought wars, tamed a wild
Whether the subject is the latest
authority on cowboy guns and continent and brought the long arm of the law to a new SSSS
replicas, custom grips, or pet
gear. Now celebrating 50 years of world. Single Action Six Guns is packed with fascinating
loads for the Schofi eld or Single
shooting single action revolvers facts about all makes and models: Colt, Smith & Wesson,
Action Army, John Taffi n has
— and loving every minute of it Remington, Ruger, Freedom Arms, John Linebaugh,
not only experienced it but has
— John and his wife Diamond Dot United States Fire Arms, and many more...
documented it in plain English
live just over the next ridge in the • Hundreds of full-color photos
and masterful detail.
Great American West they know • Up-to-the-minute reloading data for today’s hottest TT
To paraphrase Elmer Keith’s
and love so well. cowboy action guns AA
appraisal of his own favorite
For the historian, for the FF
custom-built sixgun, John Taffi n’s
collector, for the handgun FF
Single Action Sixguns is truly
enthusiast, Single Action Sixguns ISBN: 0-87349-953-0 $39.99 U.S. II “The Last Word” on the subject.
is a monument to one man’s love ($54.99 CAN) NN
for the (cid:2)guns that have come to 53999
symbolize the American character.
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0 4608100953 2 9 780873499538
S I N G L E A C T I O N
SIXGUNS
John Taffi n
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©2005 John Taf(cid:192) n
Published by

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except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a critical article
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CAUTION: Technical data presented here, particularly technical
data on handloading and on (cid:192) rearms adjustment and alteration,
inevitably re(cid:193) ects individual experience with particular equipment and
components under speci(cid:192) c circumstances the reader cannot duplicate
exactly. Such data presentations therefore should be used for guidance
only and with caution. KP Books accepts no responsibility
for results obtained using these data.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2005929307
ISBN: 0-87349-953-0
Back Cover: Photo courtesy of Uberti,
Benelli USA / Stoeger Industries.
Designed by Elizabeth Krogwold
Edited by Dan Shideler
Printed in Hong Kong
–Dedication–
IN MEMORY OF
RON ELERICK,
THE KILTED PREACHER
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–Foreword–
Th e year 1939 was an auspicious time for the entertainment business
here in the USA. Some of the all-time best movies were released including
Gone With Th e Wind, Stagecoach, Th e Wizard of Oz, and Jesse James. If your idea
of entertainment ran more to shooting sixguns than seeing them shot on fi lm,
May 2,1939, was also an auspicious date in your life, for on this date a Mrs.
Augustin Taffi n of Barberton, Ohio, brought forth a new son, wrapped him
in Hoppe’s uncut swaddling patches, and laid him in a manger disguised as
a rifl e rest. His father named him John August Taffi n after grandfather Jean
Augusta. Little did the Taffi n family realize their world would be turned
upside down as young John’s father was killed less than a year later.
John was a sharp lad who did well in school, ending up with a master’s
degree in mathematics, which he used to teach in the public schools for
over 30 years. (Many a casual young boy became a serious student when he
discovered he had a teacher who shared the love of shooting and hunting. But
I digress.) As a lad John had chosen Th eodore Roosevelt as his idea of a hero,
which gives us an excellent clue as to the character of John Taffi n. Young
John also was exposed to western movies, where he developed the love for the
single action revolvers that are the focus of the book you are about to read.
While John became a mathematics teacher by
trade, you could also make the claim he simultaneously
earned a Ph.D. degree in sixgunology. Th ere is no
one I know with a broader base of knowledge about
single actions in all their nuances than John. From the
Colt cap & ball revolvers to the Colt Single Action
Army, to the Remington 1875 and 1890, to the Great
Western SAA revolvers, to the Ruger line of single
action sixguns, to the ultra-modern Freedom Arms
revolvers, John has tested them all.
As I write these words right after the
Shootists Holiday 2004, I have not read the book
you are holding in your hands. If it is half as good
as John Taffi n’s fi rst three books, it will still be twice as good and twice as
detailed as any book on single action sixguns ever written. Th ese words do
NOT disparage Elmer Keith’s Sixguns written half a century ago, for John’s
experience with single action sixguns now far exceeds that of Elmer Keith,
whom all sixgunners, John included, see as our Patron Saint. Keith was
indeed the inspiration for all of our modern big-bore sixguns. John picked up
the torch and has carried it through four books on the subject, not to mention
hundreds of articles dealing with sixguns almost exclusively.
So my friends, my heart pounds in anticipation of reading the book
you are holding. I have been shooting for 53 years now and John’s books thrill
me every time I pick one up. Th is one will be a doozy too, mark my words.
Terry Murbach
Black Hills, Dakota Territory
June 2004
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–Contents–
Introduction—Single Action: Th e Perfect Sixgun? .........................................6
PART I: THE FIRST SINGLE ACTION SIXGUNS
In Th e Beginning .............................................................................................8
Th e S&W Models #1, #2, and #3 ..................................................................15
Th e Smith & Wesson Schofi eld ....................................................................22
Th e Remington “Top-Straps” ........................................................................27
Th e Colt Cartridge Conversions ....................................................................33
Th e Colt Single Action Army First Generation ............................................38
Th e Colt Bisley Model and Flat-Top Targets .................................................49
PART II: ONE MAN’S INFLUENCE
Th e Single Action Sixguns of Elmer Keith ....................................................54
Th e Texas Longhorn Arms Improved Number Five .....................................63
Th e Texas Longhorn Arms Flat-Top Target and South Texas Army ............69
PART III: THE POST WAR SINGLE ACTIONS
Th e Colt Single Action Army Second Generation ........................................77
Th e Colt Single Action Army Th ird Generation ..........................................84
Th e Colt New Frontier ...................................................................................91
Th e Great Western Single Action ..................................................................96
United States Firearms Single Actions ........................................................104
PART IV: THE MODERNIZATION OF THE SINGLE ACTION SIXGUN
Th e Ruger Single-Six ...................................................................................111
Th e Ruger Flat-Top ......................................................................................118
Th e Ruger Old Model .................................................................................125
Th e Ruger New Model ................................................................................129
Th e Ruger Bisley Model ..............................................................................134
Th e Ruger Vaquero .......................................................................................139
Th e Ruger Hunter Model .............................................................................145
Th e Ruger Old Army ...................................................................................150
Th e Freedom Arms Model 83 ......................................................................155
Th e Freedom Arms Model 97 ......................................................................163
Th e Mini-Guns ............................................................................................170
Th e Maxi-Guns ............................................................................................175
PART V: REPLICA SINGLE ACTION SIXGUNS
Th e Percussion Sixguns ................................................................................189
Th e Single Action Replicas ..........................................................................190
PART VI: CUSTOMIZING SINGLE ACTION SIXGUNS
Peacemaker Specialists .................................................................................195
Customizing Th e Single Action Army .......................................................203
Customizing Th e Old Model Ruger ............................................................211
Customizing Th e New Model Ruger ..........................................................224
Single Action Grips and Grip Frames .........................................................235
PART VII: USING THE SINGLE ACTION SIXGUN
Tips For Handling Single Actions ...............................................................252
Single Actions For Defensive Use? ..............................................................262
Long Range Single Action Sixguns .............................................................271
Single Action Sixguns and Auxiliary Cylinders ..........................................279
Hunting With the Single Action Sixgun ....................................................286
Single Action Sixgun Games .......................................................................293
Perfect Packin’ Pistols Single Action Style ..................................................301
PART VIII: SINGLE ACTION SIXGUN LOADS AND LEATHER
Single Action Sixgun Leather .....................................................................307
Crafting Your Own Single Action Leather .................................................319
Single Action Sixgun Loads ........................................................................325
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n
–Introduction–
o
Pick up a large seashell and hear the ocean; pick up a single
action and hear and feel history. Just holding an old Colt single action
conjures up visions of the Earps and Doc Holliday at the O.K. Corral,
Th eodore Roosevelt in the Dakotas, and Lt. George Patton with Black
i Jack Pershing in Mexico. We can hear bugles in the afternoon, smell
bacon and beans cooking over a campfi re, feel the dust from the hooves
of a thousand cattle, and taste steak and a big slab of apple pie washed
t down with hot coff ee at the Irma Hotel. A sixth sense takes over and
Matt Dillon, Paladin, Rooster Cogburn, all become real.
Look at a single action and see the beauty of the upswept
hammer, the worn walnut stocks, the wear on the metal and bluing
c
from a thousand trips in and out of a holster. See the classic lines any
artist would call perfect. Run fi ngers over the metal, feel the bevels at
the end of the cylinder and ejector rod housing, feel the sharp edges of
the fl utes, and the smooth radius at the top of the back strap where it
meets the hammer. Feast and enjoy.
u
Th e feelings and emotions don’t end with an old Colt. Th at
old Single-Six .22 plays back memories of good friends and Saturday
afternoons; a 1950s Colt .45 and I’m back in the Fast Draw contests
that captured our imagination so well; a Flat-Top Ruger 44 Magnum
brings back those fi rst hunting trips; a Ruger 357 Maximum and I’m
d back shooting silhouettes; a Freedom Arms .454 and Africa returns;
another Freedom Arms, this time a 44 Magnum, and I’m in Texas
sitting in a deer blind waiting for the sun to come up, or slugging
through waist deep snow up an Idaho mountain after a cougar; and
that Texas Longhorn Arms 44 Special and I’m back hunting feral pigs.
Imagination is a wonderful thing, but it takes something to trigger it,
o and nothing is better than a single action.
Th e single action revolver is a throwback. It should have been
replaced in the last quarter of the nineteenth century with the double
action revolver. It wasn’t. Th e dawning of the twentieth century and the
semi-automatics that came with it should have buried the single action
forever. Th ey didn’t. Just when everyone thought the single action was
r
dead and buried and never to be seen again, a miracle happened to save
it. In the late 1940s and early 1950s it was television and the B western
movies creating a demand for the Colt and Ruger single actions. By
the late 1950s, the miracle was Fast Draw, then came Long Range
t Silhouetting, Handgun Hunting, and Cowboy Action Shooting, every
one of which created a demand for quality single actions.
Even if none of these had occurred the single action would have
n survived. It is the coyote of the fi rearms industry: whatever the situation,
it adapts. It just plain works for everything – hiking, hunting, camping,
sixgun games, even self-defense; it is the best canvas ever made for the
fi rearms engraver. Someone as mechanically challenged as I am can take
one apart and put it back together with no parts left over and everything
I
6
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The historical clock is
turned back to the early
1870s with a pair of
Cimarron 44 Colt Open-
Tops with Buff alo Brothers
Mexican Eagle grips and
period-style leather by
Rawhide Walt Ostin.
in the right place. It carries perfectly and easily on the hip, stows easily DISCLAIMER: All loading
and handily under a bedroll beside a campfi re, feels so comfortably at data contained herein should
home in the hand, and shoots where it points. Whether chambered be used with caution. Th e
in .22 rimfi re, the latest 500 Magnum, or anything in between, it is author is responsible only for
dependable, trustworthy, and accurate. Th ere are very few man-made that ammunition he personally
things in this world that can be called perfect; the single action comes assembles for use in his particular
as close as anything else. fi rearms. Because we have no
Th is work should not be approached as an encyclopedia of single control over your loading practices,
actions. It is not; it is a pure and simple love story. In the following pages nor the fi rearms you may choose
I hope to share just a small portion of my nearly life-long love aff air with for the use of such loads, neither
the single action sixgun. the author, editor, publisher, nor
Good Shootin’ and God Bless! manufacturers of components has
John Taffi n any responsibility for the use of
Boise, Idaho any reloading data found in these
pages.
Single Action Sixguns | 7
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–Chapter 1–
IN THE BEGINNING
In the beginning, Sam Colt created the revolver, the single action
sixgun. Perhaps we had better qualify that to say Sam created the fi rst
practical working revolver. Th e story goes that young Colt shipped out
of Boston as a cabin boy and during his spare time watched the ship’s
wheel rotate and be locked into a desired position. Th at set similar wheels
turning in Sam’s mind and he soon whittled a working model out of
wood of what he thought a revolver should be. It wouldn’t surprise me
to fi nd out at the time he thought, “I hope no one ever calls my revolver
a wheelgun.” Well, I can at least imagine so!
In reality, by the time teenage Sam came up with his idea, the
revolver was at least 150 years old as there is a six-shot, fl intlock revolver
in the armory of the Tower of London dating back to the late 1600s.
Sam may not have invented the revolver; however, he made it work, he
made it practical, he made it portable, and he made it aff ordable, and in
doing all this he became known as Th e Man Who Made All Men Equal.
We could also say Sam Colt, more than anyone else, was responsible for
the Age of the Gunfi ghter. Th e fi rst real gunfi ghter’s weapon remains
one of the fi nest handlin’ sixguns ever, the .36-caliber 1851 Colt Navy.
With its easy-packin’ portability, it ushered in the era of the shootist.
However, this was not Colt’s fi rst revolver, that distinction going to the
fi ve-shot, folding-trigger Paterson of 1836.
A decade later, after the bankruptcy of Colt’s company and
the start of war with Mexico, the out-of-production .36 Paterson was
followed by the powerful but cumbersome Walkers and Dragoons.
Hollywood notwithstanding, these big .44s were so heavy they were
not carried in holsters but saddle scabbards. Th e sixgunner had to be
on horseback to have easy access to his sixguns; however the advent of
In the beginning Taffi n started the 1851 Navy brought a sixgun easily capable of being carried readily
with a pair of 7-1/2-inch Colt accessible in a hip holster. Just before the dawn of the Civil War, the
single action .45s carried in a power of the Dragoons and Walkers was combined with the portability
double rig by Ray Howser of of the Navy as the 1860 Army arrived. Not quite as powerful as the
the Pony Express Sport Shop. Dragoons and Walkers of the 1840s, and not quite as small as the 1851
The year is 1957. Navy, it was, however, in .44 caliber, and almost as easy to pack as the
.36 Navy. By this time the revolver stage was solidly set for a long line
of easy to carry, big bore single action sixguns. Colt was not the only
choice as Remington in fact beat the 1860 Colt by two years with the
introduction of their .44 caliber Model 1858. Both of the new .44s
would see extensive service with the Army of the Potomac.
Sam Colt, who died in 1862, did not live to see the dawning of
the era of cartridge-fi ring big-bore single actions. A decade after his
death the planets must have lined up right as 1873 was a banner year
for great fi rearms. Winchester introduced their fi rst center-fi re lever
action, the Model of 1873 chambered in 44 WCF; the single-shot 1873
Trapdoor was introduced in 45-70 Government; and one of the greatest
8 Part 1
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Taffi n’s single action
sixguns from 1957: a
6-1/2-inch Ruger 44
Magnum Blackhawk; a
4-5/8-inch Ruger 357
Magnum Blackhawk;
First and Second
Generation 7-1/2-inch
Colt Single Action
.45s; and a Ray Howser
double fast draw rig.
sixguns ever (I would not argue with anyone who called in 1873, when it became basically the fi ne sixgun still
it the greatest sixgun ever) was also introduced at the existing today. Experts expected it to die with the coming
same time. Th e Colt Single Action Army still exists, of double action sixguns from Colt and Smith & Wesson
having gone through three production generations and in the 1870s and 1880s. It did not. It should have died in
being produced almost continuously except from 1941 1899 with the coming of the Smith & Wesson K-frame
to 1956 and for a short time in the 1970s. It has also double action, as slick-handlin’ a sixgun as one is likely
been copied and modifi ed by some manufacturers and to fi nd. It did not. It should have been buried by the
certainly served to inspire others. In the last half-century advent of the 1907 N-frame big bore sixgun from Smith
single actions patterned after the great Colt Single & Wesson. It did not. By 1911 the 45 ACP-chambered
Action Army have been off ered by such companies as Government Model, a gun designed to give the power
Great Western, Ruger, Seville, Abilene, Freedom Arms, of the 1873 45 Colt in a “modern” gun, should have
Texas Longhorn Arms, Interarms, and United States made everyone forget the single action. Th e single action
Firearms. Foreign manufacturers such as Armi San remained. It is a survivor.
Marco, Pietta, and Uberti have produced Italian replicas Some very famous men who had every opportunity
imported by American Western Arms, Cimarron, EMF, to choose a 1911 or a double action sixgun did otherwise.
Navy Arms, and Taylor’s & Co., while Herter’s, Hawes, In 1916, before heading into Mexico after Pancho Villa,
and EAA have all off ered German-made big bore a young Army Lieutenant picked up a fully-engraved,
sixguns. Even Beretta and Taurus, long known for semi- nickel-plated, ivory-gripped .45 in El Paso. Th is was
automatics and double action revolvers, are now off ering not a 1911 Government Model but a Single Action
traditionally styled single action sixguns. Army. Th at sixgun became famous as it was seen in
Th e fi rst Colt Single Action Army, offi cially known many photographs taken of General Patton in World
as the Model P and aff ectionately as the Peacemaker, War Two. It survives today in the West Point Museum
was off ered in the now equally legendary 45 Colt. Th ose complete with S. D. Myres leather rig and two notches
fi rst single actions were designed at the bequest of the in the grip from the Mexican campaign.
United States military for use by the cavalry and were Th e career of the infamous team of Bonnie and
originally off ered with a Cavalry Model barrel length of Clyde was stopped by former Texas Ranger Frank
7-1/2 inches to duplicate the feel of the 1860 Army they Hamer, whose favorite sixgun was “Old Lucky,” a 45
would replace. Th e other standard barrel lengths soon Colt Single Action Army. Hamer was a real hero, a true
off ered were the 5-1/2-inch Artillery Model and one of “one riot, one Ranger” type of lawman. It was Hamer
the fi nest balanced sixguns, perhaps the fi nest, the 4- who said if he couldn’t get it done with fi ve rounds in
3/4-inch Civilian Model. his 45 Colt he was “guilty of sloppy peace offi cering.” He
Th e practical working single action is almost two got it done.
centuries old, having arrived on the scene in 1836 and Th e single action still survives in this day of many
then being improved in 1847, 1851, 1860, and fi nally superb double action revolvers and semi-automatics. Is
Single Action Sixguns | 9
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