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| A soldier walks along Ukrainian armored vehicles blocking a street in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. Russian troops stormed toward Ukraine’s capital Saturday, and street fighting broke out as city officials urged residents to take shelter. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky) (Source) |
Not hearing much about Ukraine in the news in the U.S. (that I’ve noticed, of course I don’t watch hardly any television, and stay away from the “major” news outlets online) but the fighting continues and the first anniversary of the invasion approaches. Lots of balloons and UFOs in the news though. Here’s a new report from our Polish correspondent. (He touches upon the balloons and UFOs as well, not necessarily having anything at all to do with Ukraine, but interesting.)
Ewok report, eve of anniversary episode.
This is your humble correspondent, observing events in Ukraine and elsewhere concerning the biggest war in Europe since 1945.
- The Leopard drama concludes.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64391272
Germans finally gave up under pressure from both US and the likes of Poland and Baltics. Leopard 2s are heading into Ukraine soon, along with token Challenger 2 (14) and Abrams (31) contingents. Supporting them will be at least 88 Leopard 1s (possibly more if either Turkey or Greece will be convinced to part with them).
https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-send-leopard-tanks-ukraine-russia-war-rheinmetall/
The older 1a5 Leopards lack the heavy armor protection but have been modernised to have pretty much same advanced sensors, sights and stabilisation which means that they enjoy both target acquisition and accuracy advantage over most Russian tanks,
The tanks will need to be trained with the new Ukrainian crews, indeed as I write
Poland is already training Ukrainian tankmen.
- Zelensky tours Western Europe:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-64566248
Zelensky, having secured tanks pleads for modern fighters. Apart from look-down shoot-down capability to hunt cruise missiles, those would be possibly able to run gauntlet of Russian air defenses and finish off the damaged Crimea bridge. This together with longer range missiles like ground launched small diameter bomb (also in the newest US delivery list) breaking the railway links on the Azov Sea coast might see Russians supply lines to Crimea critically compromised (Russia is HEAVILY relying on railways for logistics, trucks are in short supply, and needed for the “last miles” from railheads anyway.
- Russian Army gets ready for “Anniversary Offensive”
Eastern front in the Donbas seems to be the place, with elements of 3rd and 144th Motor Rifle Divisions, 90th Tank Division, and 76th Airborne Division spotted in the area.
It seems that after letting the Wagner Group bleed itself dry out of convicts recruited for the war, and weaken somewhat Ukrainians in the process, regular Army is wanting to do finally some combined arms offensive, with time moment chosen to either commemorate anniversary of war, or simply to get things done before March snows melting turn the steppe into sea of mud. And before western MBT arrive , too.
How will they fare, might be indicative of entire war course to come. If Russia one year into the war fails badly at combined arms offensive, this will mean pretty much they are incapable of learning and doomed to fail. If they succeed in major way, clearing rest of the Donbas of Ukrainian troops, Russia can declare victory and ask for peace. If they do some minor gains, but not enough to declare victory, expect more of carnage in the year to come, or maybe into more years to come.
- Balloon d’essai.
This one will possibly impact Ukraine indirectly, as US will have to keep eye open on China and get ready for possible Taiwan war.
My US audience is better than me familiar with the whole saga of Winnie the pooh and USAF bees.
what made me go hhmm, is the follow up:
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/02/11/politics/unidentified-object-alaska-military-latest/index.html
https://www.politico.com/news/2023/02/11/us-jet-canada-unidentified-object-trudeau-00082440
2 separate shootdowns over Alaska and Canada within 48 hours.
This seems to be much more massive operation by the Chinese, not one-off accident.
USAF was definitely told to this time take gloves off and go anti-Kaijiu mode – kill anything that comes from the Pacific and is not confirmed normal civilian flight.
That’s all and I will keep eyes open for the developments in next weeks.
Paweł aka Ewok
WASHINGTON, D.C. -(Ammoland.com)- Newly leaked documents have shown the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has stepped up its zero-tolerance policy against federal firearms licensees (FFLs).
The documents were turned up by Gun Owners of America (GOA) and show that the ATF is targeting FFLs with license revocations. The Biden administration has vowed to target “rogue” FFLs, and it seems like the ATF is capitulating to his demands. An earlier AmmoLand News report shows that revocations increased by 500% last year.
“Joe Biden has weaponized ATF against gun owners and the firearms industry in an attempt to violate the Second Amendment and expand his illegal gun registry,” Aidan Johnston, GOA’ Director of Federal Affairs told AmmoLand. “Rather targeting those who display clear negligence and disregard for the law, ATF now revokes licenses without warning at the discovery of a first mistake by honest gun dealers. When Federal Firearms Licensees are forced out of business, ATF adds their records to its digital gun registry that has nearly a billion gun and gun owner records. GOA is already working with Second Amendment champions like Rep. Michael Cloud on Capitol Hill to address this alarming issue and eliminate this unconstitutional gun registry.”
The documents lay down the new one-strike policy that is being implemented nationwide by the Bureau. The guidelines were sent to Industry Operation Inspectors (IOIs) across the country. These ATF employees are responsible for inspections of FFLs to ensure compliance with the law.
The new policy will see more FFLs lose their license for a litany of violations. Transferring a firearm to someone that is in the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) indices as prohibited will get an FFL revoked. It goes even further. Even if a person passes a NICS check, and the IOI determines that the FFL has reasons to believe that person is prohibited, the IOI can revoke the gun shop’s license and shutter the operation.
The ATF will shut down the gun store if an FFL fails to run a background check or verify an alternate permit. Certain states, like Arizona, allow a concealed carry permit to be used instead of running a NICS check. If an FFL runs a NICS check and it is delayed, the FFL can transfer the firearm legally after three days. If the FFL transfers the gun early, this is reason enough for the FFL to have their license revoked.
Even if the NICS check is approved, if the gun shop transfers the firearm 30 days after the FBI gives the go-ahead, the ATF will put it out of business. The dealer must run a new background check. This policy even applies to pawn redemptions and consignments.
Gun shops also must respond to trace requests within 24 hours or have their FFL revoked by the ATF.
This standard could have devastating effects on tabletop dealers that do not operate the phones every day. When this writer owned a gun shop in Virginia and worked for a Silicon Valley-based company somehow, the ATF got my California number and called for a trace request. Since I spent almost all my time in Virginia, I missed the trace request for three days. If that had happened now, my FFL would have been revoked.
Anything the ATF considers false or misleading on an FFL application would be grounds for revocation. This provision includes withholding information. The document does not provide any additional information about what would be considered misleading.
The final reason for the revocation of an FFL would deny entry to an IOI during business hours. When an FFL application is filled out, applicants must provide business hours even if they only plan to work by appointment. If an IOI shows up during those hours, they must be granted access to the business. This provision also might affect tabletop dealers that do not keep regular hours.
The IOI’s discretion is removed from the document, making revocation the default standard.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
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An Old Rich Guys Sword
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Huzaah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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S&W Equalizer
On January 12, 1983, on a cluttered street in Memphis, Tennessee, an off-duty police officer happened upon a purse snatching. Unable to apprehend the criminal, the officer did, however, recognize the suspect. The cop subsequently drove to the man’s home in the company of two other patrolmen. Finding the house empty the officers actually contacted the suspect but were unable to understand him on the phone. They subsequently gave up, filed a report, and called it a day.
At the time the suspect in the purse snatching was at another house in North Memphis along with thirteen other African American males. These men had spent the day smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. They were all members of a nameless religious cult led by a 49-year-old mental patient named Lindberg Sanders.
Lindbergh Sanders described himself as “Black Jesus,” and his was an odd theology indeed. His Rastafarian rites forbade his acolytes from eating pork, drinking water, or wearing hats. He had informed his followers that the world would end on January 10th, two days prior. When he was proved wrong he found himself in a foul mood.
Amongst a bewildering array of nonsensical practices, Sanders also vehemently denigrated the police as tools of Satan. The relatively benign purse snatching query from police catalyzed Sanders’ toxic milieu. The subsequent conflagration was an epic bloodbath.
Sanders had the original suspect anonymously call the police to his North Memphis house ostensibly to discuss the purse snatching. 34-year-old Vietnam veteran Patrolman Bobby Hester and his partner Ray Schwill answered the call. Once they entered the house the two white police officers realized they were both surrounded and outnumbered.
Hester radioed for backup, and the two officers attempted to extricate themselves. The cultists gained control of Officer Schwill’s gun and shot him in the face with it. Schwill nonetheless made it to the door and safety. Patrolman Hester was taken captive. Several members of the cult fled the house and were eventually apprehended.
The first responding officer immediately attempted to enter the home only to be thrown bodily off the porch. The second went in shooting, exiting the house to reload several times. Despite his efforts, they were nonetheless unable to reach Patrolman Hester.
Memphis Police quickly surrounded the house and began negotiations with Sanders. Sanders and his followers had Officer Hester’s radio and used it to communicate with authorities. Sanders announced his intent to murder Officer Hester live over a Memphis radio station. He stated that he held a gun to the patrolman’s head and that any effort to approach the house would end in the lawman’s death. Neighbors and the escaped cult members all claimed the suspects were heavily armed.
What happened next is disputed. Sanders activated the radio as his followers beat and tortured Patrolman Hester. Hester’s pleas could be heard clearly by officers outside the dwelling. His comrades pressed for permission to attempt a rescue. Concerned about Sanders’ earlier threat and still holding out hope for a peaceful solution, administrators dragged out their discourse with Sanders for some thirty hours. This fateful decision has been second-guessed countless times since.
At 0300 on January 13th everything went quiet. Sanders refused to communicate, and Hester could no longer be heard. Microphones pointed at the house detected, “My daddy is dead. My brother is dead. The devil is dead.” Police administrators finally gave the go-ahead for a dynamic entry.
The Assault
The six-man Memphis TACT team deployed tear gas and flash-bang grenades before storming the house. They carried M16A1 rifles and 12-gauge shotguns. The entire operation took some twenty minutes. The tactical team was met with gunfire in the first room they entered. Patrolman Hester’s body had been placed near the front door in a vain effort at slowing their progress.
In the ensuing firefight, the tactical team fired a total of eighty rounds. Sanders and his remaining followers were killed to a man, all but one shot in the head. The suspects fired a total of twelve rounds from the two .38 revolvers taken from Hester and Schwill. These were the only two firearms recovered at the scene. Crime scene diagrams and photographs depicted the dead cult members lined up on the floor in a bedroom.
The tactical team found Hester handcuffed to a chair and beaten to death. He had been viciously tortured with a variety of implements. At the time of the assault, Hester had been dead between twelve and twenty-four hours.
The Weapons
The tactical team carried selective-fire M16A1 rifles and short-barreled Remington 870 pump-action shotguns. I was seventeen years old and living about an hour south of Memphis at the time of this tragedy. I recall seeing news reports of the event.
As the combat inside the house would inevitably be close range, dark, and pitiless, news reports showed that the SWAT officers had secured powerful D-cell police flashlights to the triangular forends of their weapons with tape. Observers outside the house reported hearing automatic weapons fire during the assault.
The M16A1 is a lightweight and maneuverable assault rifle well suited for combat in close quarters. Nowadays everybody mounts tactical lights on the forends of their weapons. In 1983, however, the use of onboard weapon lights was groundbreaking stuff indeed.
The M16A1 was a product-improved version of the original Stoner-inspired AR15. In 1958 the US military first conducted trials of these small-caliber 5.56mm rifles alongside the heavier .30-caliber M14. Initial reports were overwhelmingly positive.
As a result, in 1963 the first batch of redesignated M16 rifles was shipped to Vietnam for combat trials with South Vietnamese Army units and US Army Special Forces.
Soon thereafter the weapon was updated to include an enclosed birdcage flash suppressor, a forward bolt assist device, and a redesigned buttstock with a rigid sling swivel and storage compartment for a cleaning kit. This improved rifle was designated the M16A1 and soldiered on until replaced by the heavier M16A2 in the 1980s.
The Remington 870 slide action shotgun first saw service in 1950 and has remained in constant production until the present day. More than 11 million copies have been manufactured. The 870 is a bottom-loading, side-ejecting slide-action design that feeds from an under-barrel tubular magazine. Literally countless stock, magazine, and barrel options have made the 870 the most accessorized and customized shotgun ever contrived.
The shotguns used in the Shannon Street assault sported wooden stocks, shortened 12-inch barrels, and accessory ammunition carriers. In competent hands and at close quarters this weapon would offer overwhelming firepower combined with respectable maneuverability.
This operation represented a very early example of the tactical use of onboard weapon lights. The trend has subsequently circled the globe.
The Rest of the Story…
Repercussions from the Shannon Street Massacre, as it has come to be called, resonate even today. The decision to delay the assault in favor of negotiations ultimately sealed Officer Hester’s fate. Nowadays Memphis PD tactical doctrine mandates an assault the moment there is evidence of harm to an officer or citizen.
Lindberg Sanders’ family paints an entirely different picture of the events that led up to the bloody nighttime assault at 2239 Shannon Street. They claim that the initial phone call to the police was intended to clear up a misunderstanding over the purse snatching. They say that things spiraled out of control only after Officer Schwill began goading Lindberg and his followers with a faux black accent, something he was apparently wont to do.
Sanders’ surviving children point out that six of the seven cult members were killed with shots to the head despite possessing only the two captured police weapons among them. This observation combined with the orientation of the bodies at the crime scene led them to claim that the suspects were killed execution-style. The pathology report did state, however, that there were no powder burns on the bodies. This would imply that they were all shot from a modest distance.
Most of the sources I could find referred to the seven dead suspects as victims. Given that they tortured a police officer to death I struggle with that characterization. However, in the final analysis, little of it really matters.
Self-serving politicians, a ghoulish media, and our nation’s affinity for remaining perpetually offended continue to fuel tension between the black community and Law Enforcement. According to those who knew him, Lindberg Sanders hated cops no matter their race, age, or gender. In 1983 eight people lost their lives in the early salvoes of a self-sustaining cycle of hatred and violence that persists today.
Is it or isn’t it? This Armero Especialistas “Alfa” is a Spanish-made clone of the S&W .38 Hand Ejector
In an effort to piggyback off another’s good fortune, companies will inevitably rush in with similar-looking but inferior products. There’s a thriving black market for fake designer handbags and jewelry that seem like identical copies of their fancier counterparts — at least until they fall apart at the seams or stain your skin green. Your child’s room may have a mimic hiding in plain sight: perhaps a well-meaning relative bought your son a robot “Transmorpher” instead of an honest-to-God Transformer, or maybe your daughter owns a generic “Ice Princess” masquerading as Princess Elsa from the Frozen movies.
We often make the mistake of thinking knockoff goods are a modern problem. In fact, one of the most well-known firearm brands still carries an interesting reminder of a time when its counterfeits saturated the market. On the side of every modern-era Smith and Wesson revolver, you’ll find what collectors call the “four line” rollmark. The first line reads: “Made in U.S.A.” The final two read: “Smith & Wesson” followed by “Springfield, Mass.” But somewhat oddly, the second line is Marcas Registradas. It’s a Spanish phrase translating to “Registered Marks.”
To understand how the line came to be, I call your attention to the “Spanish clones” of the old .38 Hand Ejectors — the parents of the venerable “Model 10” revolver S&W still sells today. My clone, technically known as an Armero Especialistas, “Alfa” model, proves to be an especially fascinating chameleon.
The Alfa below a K-Frame S&W. A convincing fake, no?
History Lesson
Around the turn of the 20th century, Smith and Wesson’s flagship K-Frame became big news and big business for the Springfield firm. Innumerable Spanish competitors decided they wanted in on the action and began producing a bewildering variety of blatant copies in an effort to meet demand for the awesome guns — and undercut the existing market.
Naturally, S&W found out about this skullduggery and attempted to put a stop to things. While they had some legal success going after American importers on the grounds they were intentionally attempting to defraud consumers, the sovereign nation of Spain essentially told them to pound sand — they didn’t recognize their American trademarks. S&W did eventually secure patents abroad but only after the knock-offs existed on the international market for several decades. S&W added the Marcas Registradas as a way of saying “Stop copying this design!” in a language its counterfeiters would definitely understand but by then, the damage was done.
So what to make of these guns as a whole? First, let’s start with the reality many of the Spanish copies were downright janky. On the low end, there are several design elements that stick out even to the casual observer as being not right at all. It’s common to find design details appearing to be sketched out from memory. Cylinder releases can be of strange teardrop or circular contours, dimensions can look squashed or stretched and often hammers tend to have unusual shapes.
Hilariously, some rollmarks claim the guns are made in “Sprangfeld, Mus.” Others attempt to vaguely match the iconic S&W “Trade Mark” logo with a blobby, sloppily rollmarked forgery. Often, the substandard finishes have worn completely away in the last hundred years and metallurgy is so questionable firing the guns is generally regarded as a bad idea. There are many, many unconvincing fakes.
The infamous Marcas Registradas, still present in modern-make Smiths.
Internally, the Spanish clones are more Colt than Smith, with a massive
V-spring powering the lockwork — and making for a horrific trigger pull.
Some Aren’t Bad
This “Alfa,” however, is a pretty damn successful copy. Every signature contour of the Smith-pattern revolver is mostly intact here down to the smallest of details. The front sight blade, ejector rod, hammer, cylinder release, grip shape, frame dimensions, screw orientation, sight groove and frame detailing are all basically dead ringers for the real thing — it’s almost insidious, really. The barrel appears to be pinned and the quality of walnut stocks are top notch. Even the machining on places like the cylinder ratchet, hand and lockwork is pretty good, and the bluing looks great for being about a century old!
With all this in mind, it helps to remember Spain has a rich history of firearms production stretching back centuries. Consequently, a lot of gunmakers weren’t exactly banging rocks together when they made these guns. There’s clear craftsmanship here — even some “improvements.” For example, many of the Spanish copies used a single beefy V-Spring — not unlike a Colt — in place of three separate springs on the original S&W design. On paper, this made the design slightly less fragile, and in theory, better-suited to military service. The French government went so far as to order many “Spanish Model 92s,” as they were then known, as fighting handguns during World War I.
This robustness, however, has a clear cost. While just about any S&W revolver has a pedigree of being something you can pick up and shoot quite easily, the trigger on this copy flat-out sucks. The double-action mode is easily on par with the worst revolvers I’ve ever shot: the V-Spring stacks for days at the end of an already-stiff travel. But even more impressive in its awfulness is the single-action trigger, which is just as heavy. Mechanically, one spring is both keeping the hammer under tension and pushing the trigger forward, whereas on legitimate S&Ws these are two separate jobs parted out to separate springs.
The effect is a single-action trigger pull in the vicinity of 11 lbs. Yes, 11 lbs. It’s definitely over the 10-lb. limit of two separate trigger gauges I have laying around so the additional pound represents a conservative estimate. I’ll note I can’t attest to mechanical accuracy of the gun: Given my nagging concerns of the metallurgy of any Spanish clone, even one as seemingly well-built as the Alfa, I’ll likely never shoot it. However, given the horrendous trigger, I doubt I’d be fruitful in obtaining any trustworthy data related to how it groups. Also — I have actual Smith and Wessons more deserving of range time.
Surprising quality details abound on Clayton’s Alfa, like a case-hardened hammer and trigger.
Non-visible machining is decidedly inferior, evidenced by this ugly, rough ejector star.
Brutalized screws can be tell-tale signs of softer steels, as much as “Bubba” gunsmithing.
Pop Quiz
Let me end by asking you this: Had I not told you this was a Spanish clone, would you have been fooled? Admittedly, I overpaid to get the best fake I could.
Some eagle-eyed S&W fanatics would have examined the grip logos and the slight, slight difference in the shape of the trigger guard and immediately suspected something was amiss from your standard five-screw M&P. Would-be sleuths also have the internet now, so it’s easier than ever to pull up side-by-side photo references of a legit gun to compare with the copy.
But say you’re a vaquero in the 1920s who goes into a local gun store looking for one of “those new Smith & Wesson revolvers,” and the guy behind the counter says, “Sure, we have those! And at a cheaper price than you were expecting!” Or, maybe you’re an American shooter who wants one of these nifty double-action revolvers with a swing-out cylinder in .38 special. You know, just like the one you shot at your brother-in-law’s last summer — doesn’t the gun behind the counter look just like what you remember? Long story short, I imagine the tricksters at Armero Especialistas were extremely successful at cutting into Smith & Wesson’s business.
Today, the Spanish copies are little more than a historical curiosity. While I would certainly have no qualms taking a well-worn example of an actual S&W .38 Hand Ejector to the range or conscripting it for self-defense if it were all I had, the Spanish clones are a poor choice for sport or social work. That being said, I think every serious S&W collector should have one or two clones in their collection. They are fantastic conversation pieces, not particularly expensive and hearken back to a profoundly interesting time in the company’s history.
The bottom levergun is the elusive .35 Remington straight-gripped Marlin John captured at a
Labor Day weekend sale; the two pistol-gripped versions were added later.
I would’ve been all of 10 years old when Tex Ritter sang the mournful lyrics: “Oh my buckets got a hole in it; Yes my buckets got a hole in it; Oh my buckets got a hole in it …” And who can forget when Jimmy Durante literally kicked the bucket in It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, World?
Then there was the more modern bucket scene when Tom Selleck as Matthew Quigley made an unbelievably long shot on a bucket way out yonder with his Sharps. Long before any of these buckets happened I was making lists. I didn’t realize at the time these would be called bucket lists.
“I never did get the Jeep and I was still a teenager when a young girl — the future Diamond Dot — changed my plans for living a solitary life.”
Hard Times
Money did not come easy in the late 1940s, at least not in my family and I often collected old newspapers and pop bottles to make a few pennies. Once I got 25 pennies, I would buy one of the outdoor magazines and read about exotic hunts all over the world. My bucket list consisted of a diagram of my future game room as I planned where each trophy would be hung. This changed virtually every day as my dreams expanded. I made so many lists it was a rare animal I could not recognize and plan where it was to be displayed.
From the beginning, mapping of all my dreamt-about trophies, I expanded to all kinds of lists — future guns I would have, the future places I would live and future adventures I would experience. All of these were bucket lists even though I did not know it at the time. Shortly thereafter we moved from the housing project for returning veterans to a real house where I could have my own bedroom. “This is a great place to hang maps of all the places I would soon hunt around the world,” I thought.
I planned to live by myself in some forest area and I remember drawings of myself, levergun in hand, a loyal malamute by my side and a Jeep parked in the background. I never did get the Jeep and I was still a teenager when a young girl — the future Diamond Dot — changed my plans for living a solitary life.
John’s latest items to be crossed off the bucket list are these SIG SAUER
semi automatic pistols chambered in .357 SIG.
On The List
One searched-after firearm on my bucket list was a Marlin levergun — not just any Marlin but a straight-gripped .35 Remington. In my youth, Marlin issued a special Texan lever action with examples in both .30-30 and .35 Remington but I never saw either one except in pictures. In the early 1980s I started looking for a straight-gripped .35 Remington Marlin levergun with a 20″ barrel and had people around the country looking for me. None were to be found.
At the time we owned acreage in the mountains 100 miles north of town we used for camping with the kids. Eventually, we moved a 70-foot mobile home onto the property and covered it with a snow roof. We had electricity and even a well. It was a great place to just rest and recuperate.
We would often pass a small gun shop on the main highway about 15 miles south of our mountain hideaway. Every weekend when we would go up there, the shop would be closed — at least until one Labor Day weekend. As I drove by I noticed it was not only open but had a large sign saying: “20% off everything this weekend only.” I turned around and quickly went back, feeling I would probably never find anything I really wanted.
I walked into the shop, looked at the rifle racks behind the counter and spotted a straight gripped Marlin levergun. I asked the owner about it and his immediate response was: “Oh, you don’t want that thing. It’s not a .30-30, it is one of those .35 Remingtons.”
I tried not to get too excited as he handed me what he thought was a second class Marlin. I continued to remain very calm as I wrote the check. Finally, the straight-gripped .35 Remington, which had been on my bucket list for decades, could now be crossed off.
Another important bucket list item for John was this Custom King Gunsight Company Colt Single Action.
A King Custom
Another gun I have dreamed about for even longer was a custom sixgun by King Gunsight Co. D.W. King was a rifle marksman who was not satisfied with the sights available, so he decided to make his own. This was in the late 1920s and he formed the King Gun Sight Co. He not only provided rifle sights but did a brisk business applying custom sights to sixguns, especially for target shooters. The King Gun Sight Co. could not survive after the death of the founder and disappeared in the early 1950s.
Looking at pictures of his custom work will show his ideas were later incorporated into factory guns. King also did custom work such as cockeyed hammers and wide triggers both set up for a short action. Elmer Keith had his 7-1/2″ .44 Special Colt Single Action worked over by King and this classic sixgun was one I lusted after as a beginning shooter. In addition to ivory stocks Keith had his fitted with a barrel band front sight, a fully adjustable rear sight, and a King short action.
One of my best friends works in the local Cabela’s Gun Library and I have come up with some very cool sixguns over the years by stopping in occasionally. This trip he had a Colt to show me. Checking the serial number I found it was a Colt Single Action manufactured in 1921. It was chambered in .357 Magnum, which did not arrive until 1935, meaning sometime between 1935 and the beginning of WWII it was sent back to Colt to be converted to the then-relatively-new .357 Magnum with a 5-1/2″ barrel — but this was only the beginning!
The gun had also been turned over to the King Gun Sight Company for extensive custom work. Just as with Elmer Keith’s .44 Special, this one had the short action, cockeyed hammer, wide trigger, and a full-length rib which contained the King mirrored front sight and adjustable rear sight. Another bucket list firearm had been found!
Our bucket list, as well as life, can often be like the bucket Tex Ritter sang about. Sometimes our bucket is full and overflowing, sometimes it’s half-full, and sometimes it just has holes in it. My bucket list definitely has holes in it and I will never complete the whole list, however, I have been blessed beyond all measure and when I pass, the bucket list will still not be complete — but I have certainly enjoyed the trip.