Paco Kelly's Leverguns.com

Walt

It's funny how the experts think that resolving one problem by imtroducing another is the answer. The experts and the tree huggers have seen fit to re-introduce Mexican Gray Wolves in this area. The ranchers are sure unhappy with that turn of affairs. The government is promising to compensate them f...

Walt

You have some stunningly beautiful guns there, Harold.

Thanks for the pictures!

Walt

Amy and I drove down to the Ft Worth area and visited our son and his family over last weekend. They have a 6 week old and a 2 year old and as almost expected, I came home with the crud.

Hey, I don't know if anyone wants to see someone else's grandkids....so here you go!

Walt

We have prarie dogs by the hundreds of thousands around NM. Some of their towns go on for miles. They are very social little animals and afflictions like the plague can decimate a town in very short order. I am wondering whether something like the plague or other highly communicable condition could ...

Walt

Years ago I bought a Bisley in .45 Colt and later another in .44 mag. The barrel length on both was 7.5" and no other barrel lengths were available so I took them to a gunsmith who cut them off to 5.5". I really enjoy the Bisley grip frames and in fact subsequently bought two medium-frame ...

Walt

Jay, I had never heard of fiddleheads until you mentioned them a couple of years ago. Arid parts of the country like NM certainly don't have any.

Walt

In .41 mag I have a couple of loads I use regularly, both with the RCBS 210gr SWC. The lighter load is 19gr of 4227 at around 1200fps and the other is 17.5gr of Accurate #9 at a bit over 1300fps. My Smiths are a 3" 657 and a 4" 657 and also a 6" no-dash model 57. I also have several R...

Walt

My wife and I drove down to the Ft Worth area to visit our son and his family. We have a brand new granddaughter, born April 1st whom we wanted to meet. Our daughter and her oldest daughter drove down from Oklahoma City to spend Mother's Day with us as well. A fine little reunion, I must say.

Walt

Back in the 80s I used to compete in 100 yard metallic silhouette, shooting my old K-38 with 5 gr of Unique behind 158 gr SWC machine cast bullets. I had to hit the 100 yard rams pretty high to knock them over. Slow-moving load but accurate in my gun.

Walt

The only venomous snakes in this part of the country are rattlesnakes and I leave them alone unless they're close to the house which has happened once in the last 30 years.

Walt

I put a Sargent seat on mine years ago. I don't think it's a whole lot better than the original.

Walt

Very nice, OW! I'm glad you had a chance to get out and do some riding. That first ride after months of winter is something special.

Thanks for the picture.

Walt

Oh, I forgot about this; before I traded off the 7 1/2" .44 Spl New Frontier I had found another New Frontier in .44 Spl but this one was apparently sent back to Colt to have the barrel shortened to 5 1/2". It has the Colt Firearms stamping on the top of the barrel as well as another one o...

Walt

If I remember correctly, mine has a somewhat oversized chamber as well. I will shoot it tomorrow and check out the brass. I bought one of the Redding two-carbide-ring sizing dies a few years ago which smooths out the fired brass nicely.

Walt

Samsi, my normal .45 Colt loads are 250 gr commercially cast RNFPs over 6.2 gr of Titegroup and also 7.5 gr of WW231. Both are wonderfully accurate loads, pleasant and economical to shoot. The standard deviations of the Titegroup loads in particular are incredibly small.

Walt

Dave, I have a JM Marlin Cowboy in .45 Colt as well and it's one of my favorite lever guns. It is uncanny how well I can hit with it. I put a Skinner peep sight on it as I've done on my other Marlins. It is the 24" which is a bit longer than I'd like. If I can find one of the 20" guns with...

Walt

I only have one Old Model, a SBH. On all my New Model Blackhawks, about the only action that may be a tiny bit different than the Old Model is when the hammer is drawn to the rear. They get better all the time. A lot of polishing has gone into them.

Walt

My first batch of Unique in the 1970s was in a metal snap-cap can like the Red Dot can below.

Walt

Vall, the most recent Handloader magazine features an article on a 6" model 25-5. Makes my mouth water....it's a beauty.

I have a 6" model 25-15, the Classsic model with a thin barrel. I'd sure prefer the heavy barrel version.

Walt

That was probably 6 or 7 years ago. Both of those guns shot way to the left. I took the Colt to a gunsmith and asked him to turn the barrel a bit so I could center the rear sight but he didn't want to do that because he thought he might scratch the barrel. In the meantime I had bought a barrel vise ...

Walt

Beautiful, veeman!
Thanks for the picture. Very nice...

Walt

On a trip to Bass Pro Shops several years ago in search of loading components, I found a Freedom Arms m97 in .45 Colt in their used gun section. I just had to have it so I traded a Thunder Ranch .44 spl and a Colt New Frontier .44 spl with a 7 1/2" barrel for it. They may have gotten the better...

Walt

Despite Taffin's definition of a "Perfect Packin Pistol", he mentioned that his favorite hunting handgun was a 7 1/2" Colt New Frontier in .45 Colt. Ross Seyfried, on the other hand, wrote that his choice of hunting handguns had to have no longer than 6" barrels, with 5 1/2"...

Walt

I'm glad he's on his way to recovery, Scott. You can't keep a good man down.....he'll be fine.

Walt

That's a beautiful gun and a generous price but I have one just like it that I cherish.

Walt

I think 5 1/2" barrels offer the best compromise between portability and velocity. Also, I wobble a lot in my old age and the longer barrels seem to amplify that. Most of my handguns have barrel lengths shorter than 7 1/2".

Walt

The joints at the base of my thumbs are in terrible shape so I don't shoot my Smiths much any more due to the hump at the top of the grip frame hitting my lower thumb in recoil. However, I do love my Smiths and I have both a model 24-3 and a 624. They're fine guns. A couple of my single action favor...

Walt

I went for a ride on my BMW today. I left home at 7:00 this morning and returned at 11:45. I rode a loop through the beautiful Jemez Mountains to an elevation of about 9,000' and then returned through Los Alamos and Santa Fe. I'm proud of the old bike; got 55.7 mpg and it ran great. I'm still cold....

Walt

You can certainly take pride in doing a job like that yourself. Nice work, Pat!

Isn't it nice to have a "new" favorite gun?

Walt

Beautiful work!

Thanks for the wonderful pictures, Jim. I know they mean a lot to you. Bless you, my friend.

Walt

Thanks, Fred!

I lived in San Diego for about 6 months in '76 and then in Escondido for about a year thereafter. I was a member of the Lake Wohlford Gun Club during my time in Escondido and really enjoyed that.

Walt

A while back I saw that some of Mama Twyla's beautiful scrimshaw work is displayed in Taffin's "Book of the .44".

Walt

The German word, "gesichert" means secured or "safe".

Walt

You did good, Vall!
Beautiful pictures
You're gonna need to add another couple of rooms to your house to make room for your beautiful old guns.

Walt

Those are beautiful, veeman!
Thanks for the pictures.

Walt

Well, that looks delicious, Fred. I searched all over my inbox, even my spam folder and I still haven't located my invitation.

Walt

Yeah, the south end of those oxen will give you a fair wind!

Walt

On the several crescent stocks I have, I found some dense, firm foam, cut the front portion to the profile of the crescent, kept the rear portion flat and put an attractive lace-on butt pad over it. Changes the entire character of the rifle.

Walt

Slower and heavier bullets stay in the barrel longer during recoil and thus will generally shoot higher.

Walt

I had a mentor of sorts, a friend who was a few years older than me who owned a lot of guns, particularly shotguns. His parents had been moderately wealthy, owning several motels along highway 66 in Grants and Gallup, NM. He was an outstanding skeet shooter, winning state championships in '69 and '7...

Walt

Back when I got my first SBH I switched between the original grips, Hogues, Herretts, Uncle Mikes, Pachmyers and then went back to the original dark walnuts. I've stuck with them ever since. Also, I can shoot better with the old "plowhandle" grip frame guns than with my Bisley-frame .44 mag.

Walt

When do you estimate you'll be riding your bikes again? I can't wait to get up into the mountains again. I called the Forest Service last week and was told that all their gates are now open. It's time.

Walt

Beautiful blades and very nice work, Vall. You're a master of many things. I have a number of Damascus knives but I have bought them all instead of contributing my own labor.
Thanks for the pictures.

Walt

Thanks for the pictures, Jim.

Walt

John, I'm amazed you weren't overrun by squirrels since you didn't take a gun.

Walt

My wife and I sometimes go to an 1880s era saloon in Cerrillos NM that has outstanding food. Their restroom sign is more blunt; WASH YOUR F***ING HANDS! No asterisks on their sign, though.

Walt

Happy birthday, Jim!

Like Will said, take a few shots today.

Walt

I spent my entire career employed by an industrial sales company. During the mid 80s I was a manager (a miserable job) and I had salespeople working in various parts of Texas and New Mexico whom I visited on a more or less regular basis. During that time I flew an estimated 550 flights on Southwest ...

Walt

Fantastic machines indeed and I take great deal of pride in them. They are in a class of their own.

Walt

There recently was discussion about "soul-less" guns, the ARs in particular. I have a couple of 7 1/2" Freedom Arms model 83s, a .454 and a .44 mag. I regard them as outstanding tools but they are pretty soul-less. My 5 1/2" model 97 is much better in that category but not as sou...

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