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Category: Ammo
PTR’s green-stocked GIR .308 rifle is a dead ringer for the Bundeswehr-era G3,
with the addition of a Picatinny 1913 rail. Add low-cost practice options and you’re off to the races!
The ammo shortage is no longer news and has sharply limited most of our ability to practice. Fortunately, this scarcity is not new to the military which has used things like subcaliber conversions for nearly a century. A .22 conversion was one of the first accessories developed for the M1911 and the U.S. military even adopted a floating-chamber .22 conversion for their belt-fed .30 machine guns — both, interestingly, designed by Dave “Carbine” Williams of M1 carbine fame. With its 0.223″ bore, the M16/AR15 was and remains particularly easy to convert. Alas, it’s harder for us who love the .308 as $0.50 a shot was a good price in normal times. But there is hope.
Millions of HK roller-locked G3 .308s (and its predecessor the CETME) were issued across the world and semiauto versions are common in the U.S., largely thanks to South Carolina’s PTR which purchased Portugal’s HK-licensed G3 tooling. They lead the U.S. industry in semiautomatic versions of the iconic .308, including producing receivers on an OEM basis for other makers.
Along with the very affordable Century Arms C308, PTR guns cost far less than original HK rifles such as the HK91, which goes for more than some cars I’ve owned. As many countries have moved to newer rifle designs, spare G3/CETME parts of all kinds have flooded the market, including two of particular interest to us — a rollerless bolt for plastic training ammo and a .22 rimfire unit.
Not a toy, the 9.9-grain plastic bullets still penetrated the
plywood target backer at 100 yards.
Plastic Fantastic
Reportedly available in multiple colors for different applications, I’ve only ever seen the plastic ammo in blue. Basically a one-piece plastic case with a metal casehead, upon firing the powder charge separates the casehead and the bullet, sending the little plastic pill downrange at a blistering 4,000+ fps. Word to the wise: While not appropriate for hunting or self-defense, this is still a bullet and is fully capable of taking a life. Treat it like the lethal projectile it is. While no longer readily available, plastic training ammo was also made in 9mm, for which HK made a dedicated MP5. Sounds like fun, but I’m sure it costs more than my house.
As a safety feature, both the casehead and training bolt face for plastic ammo are slightly smaller in diameter than the usual .308 to keep the unlocked bolt from being able to fire full power ammunition. I fired several hundred rounds of the blue ammo using the training bolt or cycling them by hand in an unmodified C308 and a Ruger Scout rifle. In spite of the smaller casehead, there were no extraction issues.
Basic physics tells us a 9.9-grain bullet has little momentum and will slow quickly, so long-range accuracy with plastic bullets is not a thing. And while the limited recoil is a welcome reprieve, the cartridge’s low power cannot cycle the stock action. The simple solution is to manually cycle the bolt, which gets really old, or purchase the rollerless training bolt/carrier assembly.
Training adaptors for the G3 family make it possible to keep
shooting even in the midst of an ammo drought.
.22 Adapter
Unlike the blue ammo training bolt which removes the locking element of the design, the .22 conversion has a smaller, lighter breechblock mounted in the carrier and powered by its own recoil spring. While the carrier is still used to manually load or unload, it does not reciprocate with recoil, which leads to one of the conversion’s quirks. While it only needs a short length of travel to cycle with .22 ammo, the carrier can still be drawn back the full length required for .308 rounds. When you do this, the carrier modifications required to make the smaller .22 round feed will cause it to get stuck behind the hammer where it will stay until you field strip the gun and fix it.
The wise .22 shooter will get a length of vacuum hose at the local car parts store, slit it and slide 2″ of it on the recoil spring guide rod to act as a stop to keep the carrier from coming back too far. Magazines are likewise a bit of a sore spot. The grey-bodied conversion mags have a separate .22 magazine bolted into place in a positioning block riveted into a steel .308 magazine. The internal .22 mag holds 20 rounds just like the big boy version and is surrounded by a standard .308 magazine spring, a bit of superfluity only serving to retain the magazine baseplate.
Two mags usually come with the conversion, but they are unobtanium if purchased separately and run around $200. Black Dog Machine, however, sells a magwell insert that will take their Uzi magazines: the insert and one mag are $25, while the insert alone goes for $10.
While mine feeds well, the standard or even high velocity .22 LR will not push the bolt back far enough to eject. This likely means hyper velocity ammo will be required, further reducing cost savings.
Don’t let the cheerful color fool you — the plastic “bullet” does better than 4,000 fps!
Cooler but more finicky, the .22 conversion kit includes a rifle barrel insert,
the conversion and a couple of the super-rare magazines.
Installation
For those unfamiliar with the roller lock, both conversions are installed in the same way. After clearing the rifle, push out the two push pins holding the stock in place and slide the stock backwards off the receiver. Since, unlike the AR, the pins are not captive, feel free to stow them in the two holes in the stock provided for this purpose. Pivot the trigger housing downwards at the rear until it can be pulled off of its forward mounting point at the rear of the magazine well. Use the cocking handle to unlock the bolt carrier and remove the carrier from the rear. If installing the .22 conversion, insert the barrel liner into the bore prior to reassembly, which is in reverse order.
Blue plastic ammo and the matching training bolt can be purchased as a package.
Jeremy paid under $300 for the bolt and a thousand rounds and it’s been available
ever since the pandemic started.
The .22 conversion uses a smaller, separately sprung bolt contained
within a full-sized carrier which is used to cock the rifle —
and, if you’re not careful, to overcock it.
Testing
For semi-auto fire, I used the training bolt in a pair of PTR rifles, one a modified 16″ collapsible stock gun and the other a green-stocked GIR, a dead ringer for the Bundeswehr G3. In order to get the best out of the gun, I paired the GIR with Leupold’s VX Freedom AR scope. I mounted it in a pair of 30mm rings sourced from Brownells, mounted to an AR-style riser to get the scope up above the rear sight.
Assuming good magazines are used, the plastic training ammo ran flawlessly although malfunctions basically break the cartridge in half. The light recoil made it a joy to shoot. While there is some change in point of impact, my Scout Rifle with a 200-yard zero put them at point of aim at 100 yards. At this distance, groups tended to open up and when the bullets struck in the plywood target backer, most penetrated. Like I said, not a toy.
Blue ammo has gone in and out of stock through the years but as this is written, it’s still available online — as it has been throughout the pandemic — for under $200 per thousand.
The .22 conversion is somewhat less of a money saver. Running between $500–$600, the G3 .22 conversion comes in a wooden case with dividers to hold two magazines, the bolt, a barrel liner, a manual in German and the ubiquitous plastic cleaning kit.
For the coolness factor, it’s hard to beat the .22 unit. But you’ll pay for it and its ammo needs mean you won’t get the same savings as most rimfire conversions. The same money buys a training bolt and 2,500 rounds of blue ammo. Much as I’m a sucker for a rimfire, if you can only get one, it’s an easy choice.
This Colt Lightning .50-95 wears British proof marks. Collectors today call
it a “cat gun,” because it was likely intended for lion or tiger hunting.
From the advent of metallic cartridge ammunition unto this day, .50 caliber rifles have won the hearts and minds of American riflemen. A remarkable variety of rifles chambering the huge .50 BMG are floating about nowadays. Likewise, there was no shortage of .50 caliber rifles in the Old West.
Builders
They were built by all the premier rifle manufacturers of the time. For example, the famous Sharps “buffalo rifles” of the 1870s were made for three lengths of .50 caliber cartridges. Remington only chambered for one .50. However, their factory turned out 900,000 military and sporting No.1 (rolling blocks) by 1877. A significant portion of them were .50-70s so they were likely only second to the U.S. Government in making .50 caliber rifles. Three different .50 cartridges bore the Winchester name between 1878 and the early 1900s, none of which set great sales records.
The U.S. Government got the .50 caliber ball rolling in 1866 with a conversion of leftover Civil War .58 caliber rifle-muskets to shoot a .50 cartridge of 1¾” case length. Military spec loads for the .50 Gov’t were 450-grain bullets over 70 grains black powder — hence the nickname .50-70. The first .50 Gov’t was the Model 1866. It was followed later by Models 1868 and 1870. They were used all over the west.
Sharps Rifle Company grabbed the government’s idea and literally stretched it. Their rifles also chambered the .50-70 but they also developed a .50 with a 2″ case. It went nowhere and is virtually unknown. The third was a .50 with 2½” case famous today as .50-90 Sharps, although the Sharps factory always loaded it with 100 grains of black powder. Remington had to stick with the .50-1¾” case because the long hammer spurs of their No.1s wouldn’t allow passage of longer cases. Their factory loads came with 400- and 450-grain bullets, both over 70-grain powder charges.
The Murderer’s Row of Old West .50 caliber cartridges. From left:.50
Gov’t (.50-70), Winchester .50-95, Sharps .50-90 (aka .50-100)
and Winchester .50 Express (aka .50-110).
Winchester
Winchester cornered the repeating rifle market early on but had difficulty in coming up with a .50 caliber repeater. In 1878 they gave it a try with their Model 1876. Case length had to be reduced to 1.94″ and bullet weight was only 312 grains. However, the 95-grain powder charge did give it some oomph. In 1887 Winchester gave .50s another try in their strong Model 1886. Using a 2.40″ case, they were able to fit 110 grains of black powder under 300-grain bullets. The round was called logically .50-110 but it seems rifles for it were caliber stamped .50 Ex (Express). Winchester’s .50 Express made it into the smokeless powder era and wasn’t dropped from Winchester’s catalogs until 1919.
There is no lack of bogus information about Old West fifties. For instance, despite original factory records proving no Sharps rifles were ever chambered for a .50 cartridge with 3¼” case, misinformation about such existing still abounds. Actually Winchester did chamber their single shot (aka “Model 1885 High Wall”) for a .50 with 3¼” case for a short while.
Duke shooting a Uberti/Cimarron Model 1876 .50-95 with black powder handloads.
Short Is Better
There is also the fallacy .50s were long-range cartridges. They weren’t; their bullets were short and wide. Long range bullets were longer and of lesser caliber. Fifty caliber rifles were meant to smack large animals hard! Out west there were bison, elk, grizzly and moose, and there were horse-mounted native warriors of all sorts roaming the west. A .50 caliber hit on a warrior’s horse effectively put him out of the fight.
Interestingly, some Winchester Model 1876 .50-95, Model 1886 .50-110 and even Colt Lightning pump action .50-95’s carry British proof stamps. They were imported to Africa and India for hunting lions and tigers. Collectors today call them “cat guns” and they bring premium prices. The .50 caliber oomph factor in a repeating rifle was important to big cat hunters.
No Speed Demon!
Velocities given by Old West .50 calibers are not impressive compared to the .50 BMG at 2,700 fps. The .50 Gov’t gave about 1,250 fps and Winchester’s .50 Express could break 1,500 fps.
Starting in 1981 I became a Big Fifty shooter and handloader with a modern Shiloh Sharps Model 1874 .50-90. Since then, I’ve gained experience with a few dozen Old West .50s and I’ve shot whitetail deer, mule deer, elk and bison with them. We who appreciate those Old West big bore rifles should give thanks to manufacturers like Shiloh and C. Sharps, and importers such as Cimarron Arms, for making available modern replica Big Fifties!
Taffin has long been a shooter of the Super Blackhawk and the 50th
Anniversary Model is no exception. It proved a fine handgun.
That wonderful year was 1959. Ike was in the White House, Hawaii and Alaska became states, and Charlton Heston won Best Actor for Ben Hur, which was also chosen for Best Film. Sports fans watched the Colts beat the Giants for the NFL championship and in the World Series the Dodgers beat the White Sox. Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club went off the air, a young actor by the name of Clint Eastwood arrived as Rowdy Yates in the TV series Rawhide, and for Western fans Saturday night television was ruled by Paladin and Matt Dillon.
It was 6-degrees below zero on a February morning when this then young teenager and an even younger teenager now known as Diamond Dot crossed over the state line in a 1954 Chevy to be married. Yes, 1959 is definitely a year to be remembered.
Taffin has found the 10-1/2″ stainless steel Ruger Super
Blackhawk to be an excellent shooting sixgun.
Both the original .357 and .44 Magnum Blackhawks are now known to collectors as Flat-Tops. In many parts of the country Ruger’s .44 Magnum arrived on dealer shelves even before the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum. A group of us teenagers, I was 17 at the time, used to gather every Saturday afternoon at Boyle’s Gun Shop or Shell’s Gun and Archery Farm to shoot. Both establishments had outdoor ranges and when one is young weather makes no difference, so we shot almost every week. Shell’s received an early 4″ Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum and he rented it out along with six rounds of ammunition. Each one of us shot it in turn. The recoil was awful, however we all lied and said it wasn’t bad; after all, teenagers are supposed to be invincible.
That experience was not easy to forget so when the first Ruger .44 Blackhawk arrived I bought it instead of a Smith. It sold for $96 and I still have it more than a half-century later. It started as a standard 6-1/2″ Blackhawk, was soon cut to an easier carrying 4-5/8″ length, and then returned to the factory for a 7-1/2″ barrel when I needed the shorter length for a custom .44 Special Ruger. When his Esteemed Editorship pinned me to the wall several years back and forced me to pick my one favorite sixgun, it was this old Ruger. It was an easy choice.
Evolution of Ruger’s .44 Magnum includes the Flat-Top,
Super Blackhawk and today’s Hunter Model.
The first time I shot that Ruger Blackhawk I found I had an even bigger and more ferocious tiger by the tail than that .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson. The experts at the time all seemed to think the Ruger would handle recoil better than the Smith as the grip frame was identical to the Colt Single Action Army, known for gently rocking in the hand under recoil. The problem was there was nothing gentle about the .44 Magnum. When I touched off that first round the .44 Ruger Blackhawk rotated more than 90-degrees backwards and the hammer dug a piece of skin out of the back of my hand. I went back to shooting the .44 Special and .45 Colt.
Eventually with more shooting experience I learned to handle both the S&W and Ruger .44 Magnums. However, my experience with the Ruger was apparently quite widespread and Ruger sought to alleviate the problem. The result in 1959 was the Ruger Super Blackhawk, with several changes. To add more weight the barrel was standardized at 7-1/2″ instead of the 6-1/2″, the cylinder was unfluted, and the grip frame was changed from aluminum alloy to a larger one of heavier steel.
To come up with the Super Blackhawk grip frame, Bill Ruger reached way back to the 1847 Colt Walker and Dragoon sixguns. These grip frames are not only longer than the original .44 Blackhawk grip, they also used a square-back triggerguard. Ruger also added a wide, checkered hammer spur and wide, grooved trigger to complete the package which was finished in a high polished bright blue. The original run of Super Blackhawks were packed in wooden boxes and sold for $120. When the boxes were no longer available the price was dropped to $116 at a time when the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum was selling for $140.
Notes: *Ruger 50th Anniversary 7-1/2″ Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum.
** Ruger Old Model 7-1/2″ Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum Groups the
product of 5 Shots at 20 yards. Chronograph screens set at 10′ from
muzzle. CCI 300 primers used in Starline brass.
I purchased my first Ruger Super Blackhawk in 1965 and still have it. I’ve carried it over many miles of Idaho’s sagebrush, foothills, forests and mountains, however I found I preferred the standard .44 Blackhawk with its smaller grip frame and which had been re-barreled to 7-1/2″. The Super Blackhawk was sent off to Larry Kelly at Mag-na-port for total customizing. The barrel was Mag-na-ported and cut back even with the ejector rod housing, the action was totally tuned, and the entire sixgun was finished in M-N-P’s satin nickel.
I have since replaced the Super Blackhawk grip frame with one from a stainless steel Ruger Old Army and also fitted Eagle’s Ultra-ivory grips. Most shooters find the Super Blackhawk grip quite comfortable, but the square back triggerguard raises havoc with my knuckle. This custom Super is now a major candidate for the title of Perfect Packin’ Pistol. I mostly use it with 260-grain Keith bullets over 10.0 grains of Unique or Universal for about 1,150 fps. This is a powerful load yet still kind to the shooter.
The original Ruger Super Blackhawk was only offered as an all blue, 7-1/2″ .44 Magnum. Today this Super Blackhawk is known to collectors as the Old Model or 3-Screw. It did not immediately replace the standard .44 Blackhawk and both were available until 1963. When Ruger switched from the Flat-Top configuration to the Blackhawk now known as the Old Model, 3-Screw with wings on both sides of the rear sight, the standard .44 Blackhawk was dropped from production. New Model Rugers are easily recognized by two things; the three screws on the side of the frame were replaced by two pins and the trigger sits much farther forward in the triggerguard.
Before Ruger introduced the New Model with a long barrel Taffin had this custom
satin nickel Super Blackhawk made by Trapper Gun. The scope is by Bushnell and
the stocks, Herrett’s Single Action Trooper model, solved Taffin’s problem of being
bitten by the square backed triggerguard of the Super Blackhawk.
Ruger offers the stainless steel Hunter Model with both the
Super Blackhawk and Bisley Model grip frame.
Ruger’s New Model added a transfer bar safety allowing single actions to be safely carried hammer down with all chambers loaded under normal conditions. Traditional single action sixguns are loaded and unloaded by placing the hammer on half-cock, opening the loading gate, and rotating the cylinder; with the New Model action there is no half-cock notch on the hammer and simply opening the loading gate allows the cylinder to be rotated while the hammer remains in a down position.
With the coming of the New Model Blackhawks, the Super Blackhawk 7-1/2″ remained standard, however a longer 10-1/2″ barrel was soon offered for hunters and silhouetters. Both of these were all blue but were soon sided by stainless steel versions.
For nearly 30 years no factory produced short-barreled Super Blackhawks were available. This was corrected when the 5-1/2″ barrel length came along in 1987 and finally in 1994 both blued and stainless 4-5/8″ Packin’ Pistols in .44 Magnum were introduced. The shorter barreled versions are not easily recognized as Super Blackhawks as they are fitted with standard grip frames rather than the longer, square-backed Dragoon-style frames of the other Super Blackhawk barrel lengths.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s Diamond Dot and I were both competing in Long Range Silhouetting and, since we did not see sights the same way, I ordered a pair of 10-1/2″ Super Blackhawks so we could both easily keep track of our sight settings. For a secure grip during competition both were also equipped with Pachmayr rubber grips. By the time the Super Blackhawk arrived in stainless, we were no longer competing and I also found I had the most accurate Ruger .44 Magnum I had ever experienced. With its interchangeable post front sight, I found I shot it very well with iron sights and have used it for hunting, taking a record book Aoudad. With its long barrel and black sights I can still shoot this sixgun as well as any I own.
Ruger also offers the Hunter Model Super Blackhawk in stainless steel with a 7-1/2″ heavy ribbed barrel with cutouts to accept Ruger scope rings. It is offered with either the Bisley or Super Blackhawk grip frame with a rounded triggerguard. Without a doubt the Hunter Model Super Blackhawk is the greatest bargain offered today for handgun hunters.
Over the past 50 years I would guess the Ruger Super Blackhawk has been chosen by more handgun hunters and outdoorsmen than any other sixgun. Happy 50th Birthday and Golden Anniversary to Bill Ruger’s grand offering. Unless everything unravels in this country, and it certainly could, I expect 50 years from now these pages will contain the Centennial Salute to the Super Blackhawk.
Taffin made this holster for his Old Model Super Blackhawk decades ago.
It also works perfectly for the Anniversary Model Super Blackhawk.
Super Blackhawks do shoot well! These targets were made with Taffin’s
pair of Super Blackhawks: the 50th Anniversary model (left) and an original.
The Ruger Super Blackhawk of 1959 gained immediate acceptance with shooters and especially handgun hunters. Commemorating that prestigious event of 50 years ago Ruger produced the 50th Anniversary Super Blackhawk for 2009. The Anniversary Model, except for the New Model transfer bar action, is the same basic .44 Magnum of 1959. The barrel length is 7-1/2″, the finish is bright blue, and the grips, instead of the original walnut, are a most attractive Cocobolo complete with a black eagle emblem and beautifully fitted to the frame.
It is obvious Ruger spent extra time on this model not only with fit and finish but also the fact that all cylinder chamber throats are a perfect and uniform .431″, the barrel/cylinder gap is .003″, and the trigger pull is set at 3-3/4 pounds. This Anniversary Model is also embellished with two gold bands around the cylinder as well as “50th ANNIVERSARY SUPER BLACKHAWK 2009” in gold lettering on the top of the barrel. All in all this is one of the nicest, perhaps the best crafted sixgun to ever come from the Ruger factory. Shooting this new Ruger Blackhawk was pure pleasure and also brought back many memories over the past half-century as I ran it alongside my nearly 50-year-old original Super Blackhawk.
Handgun: 50th Anniversary Super Blackhawk
Maker: Sturm Ruger
200 Ruger Road, Prescott, AZ 86301
www.ruger.com
Action Type: Single Action
Caliber: .44 Magnum
Capacity: 6
Barrel Length: 7-1/2″
Overall Length: 13-1/2″
Weight: 48 ounces
Finish: High gloss blue
Sights: Ruger adjustable rear,
ramp front
Grips: Cocobolo
Price: $880
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Why The 45-70 is Still King?
Dave’s first magnum was this Model 19 Smith & Wesson, shown here with its
original classic blue box and wrapping paper but with a pair of Herrett’s stocks.
Warshal’s Sporting Goods was a downtown Seattle landmark, opening for business back in February 1936. It became known throughout the Pacific Northwest as the finest guns, tackle and gear emporium on the map.
Warshal’s was made even more famous in a John Wayne film titled “McQ,” in which The Duke can be seen buying a 9mm Browning Hi-Power and “borrowing” an old Ingram MAC-10 that became one of the main props in the film.
It was there, in the summer of 1973 after having saved up a wad of cash for the purchase of a .357 Magnum revolver, I encountered a handsome, deeply blued Model 19 Smith & Wesson with a pinned 6” barrel and Patridge front sight. I talked to the clerk a bit, and told him, “I’d like to see that .357 Magnum.”
After a brief chat during which we discussed ammunition, holsters and other subjects, I handed over a down payment, told him I’d be back in a few days after the paperwork cleared, and headed home.
I picked up the prize on a Saturday and drove south to Tacoma, where my grandparents were celebrating their 60th anniversary. It came in the classic blue Smith & Wesson box, wrapped in that tan S&W paper with the blue lettering. I still have the box and the paper, but the original sales receipt is gone.
Bluing is still in decent shape and the original wrapping paper is valued
by some collectors. Dave’s revolver is a working gun, not a safe queen.
The following day, I found a place in the woods to get acquainted using a mix of .38 Special semi-wadcutters and 125-grain .357 Magnum ammunition. It was and remains a superb shooter with which I won a couple of matches at a local gun range, shot some game and missed more. I often carried it in a Safariland shoulder holster during the winter and packed it along on my first trip to Alaska in 1977.
Once, on a visit to Tacoma to see an old high-school pal, I showed him the Model 19 and his eyes nearly jumped from his skull.
“That’s the biggest gun I ever saw,” he marveled (I didn’t tell him about the larger N-frame in .41 or .44 Magnum, so as not to leave him further awe-struck). This was the day I stopped at the old Chet Paulson gun shop downtown and bought a set of Herrett’s Shooting Star grips, which fit my hand better than the factory grips.
Another time, there was a bank robbery in one of the small towns my newspaper served. Naturally, I grabbed a camera and a bunch of film and headed for the crime scene. There were sheriff’s deputies searching all the local roads and one sheriff’s lieutenant of my acquaintance asked if he could jump in the passenger seat of my pickup to go check a report of an abandoned car at the end of a brushy road where his cruiser couldn’t navigate.
After a few minutes, I told him nestled in the backpack on the floor under his feet was my handgun. He didn’t skip a beat, told me to get it out and we motored onward to where the car was supposed to have been, only to find nothing. The bad guys got away.
I once allowed the teenage typesetter at the weekly newspaper where I worked to fire a few rounds in a gravel pit and surprisingly she did pretty good!
The Model 19 may seem big, but Dave’s N-Frame Model 57 is even more robust.
During the summer of 1974, the revolver in my backpack was never very far from my grasp. That was the “Year of Ted,” when prolific serial killer Ted Bundy was murdering women in the Seattle area. Months later, human remains of his victims were discovered at two locations in my coverage area.
It was the Model 19 that got me into handloading, first with an old Lee Loader, from which I graduated to a single-stage RCBS press. There would be Saturday afternoons when I would “mass produce” .38 Special target loads with 158-grain semi-wadcutters loaded over 3.5 grains of HP-38. They were wonderfully accurate.
Which brings us around to how a “legend” is born, or at least how a story can take on a life of its own. Late one very gray winter afternoon while stopped on a dirt road south of town with my bride and our first son, a couple of local twerps whom she knew from the local school drove up. I had just set a tin can on a log, paced back about 15 yards and, firing single action, sent the can sailing (it surprised even me).
The 6-incher was joined by a snubby sibling back in the 1980s.
t is also is a classic and a pretty decent shooter.
One of our visitors was quick to declare “lucky shot.” I nodded in the affirmative, then turned and shot the can five more times.
I wasn’t trying to show off — truth be told, a couple of those shots were pure luck — but I later learned those two clowns drove back to town and told everybody what they had witnessed. It was amazing what the story accomplished. The right people suddenly wanted to be buddies and the wrong ones left me, and my young family, alone. I only learned of the unintentional favor those talkative boneheads did for me months later, purely by accident.
My 6” Model 19 has a few mileage scars, but it is still a marvelous shooter. I’ve known people who killed fairly large black bears, at least one mountain lion and plenty of small game with Model 19 revolvers. The .357 Magnum is a great cartridge, and even today, nearly 50 years after I bought my wheelgun, I still find time to churn out handloads. However, nowadays I use a progressive press.
I bought a second Model 19 some years later, with a 2 ½” barrel. It became my primary carry gun for a long time, but the 6-incher has a special place in my heart. I suppose every gun owner has at least one particular rifle, shotgun or handgun he or she favors. This one has shared a lot of time with me. I expect we’ll share a lot more.
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