Paco Kelly's Leverguns.com

samsi

I've had a half dozen Blackhawks but only one Vaquero, prefer the adjustable sights purely because I like to tinker with loads.

I would like a New Vaquero (or Uberti) in 45 since I've got an unused Threepersons holster for a SAA.

samsi

There was a nice XTR with a Leupold rimfire scope at a shop here, think they were asking $1200. I was tempted but already have a plain vanilla '76 9422M with a K4. Told a coworker about it and he ran down on break and snatched it up the same day. Being an enabler is nearly as good as buying for your...

samsi

I watched the ISS go over a few years back. After thinking that a couple passing satellites may have been it, it was very obvious when it came over - much larger, brighter and lower than all the other clutter. When conditions are right I can see the Starlink launches from Vandenberg but generally fo...

samsi

Had been getting AH since the 80's although my last few renewals had been at their fire sale prices so I wasn't really concerned with a refund.

There's a thread on the Ruger forum where they were discussing it and some guys did get refunds.

samsi

AmBraCol wrote: ↑Sat Jan 10, 2026 9:42 am
Scott Tschirhart wrote: ↑Thu Jan 08, 2026 9:51 pm Here’s something else

https://youtube.com/shorts/Ji7Rtsau4XU? ... 6yLc-gyDOV

There's another one that left big boots to fill...

Yep, in addition to being an amazing shooter he seems to have had quite a sense of humor. A range day with Munden would've been memorable.

samsi

It's mentioned near the end of this Taffin article, guess I should have said that I read it vs heard it -

https://americanhandgunner.com/our-expe ... -gunology/

samsi

We all know that John was a dyed in the wool revolver guy, but I heard that he "discovered" the 1911 towards the end of his life. Does anyone know what he loaded his with? I'm not shopping for a load as much as I'm curious what a guy like John would feed Old Slabsides.

samsi

I use the latest (6th?) Lyman Cast Bullet manual a lot and with Hodgdon powders being the main ones available these days, their online load data is awful handy. I just noticed recently that there's a link on the Hodgdon site where you can request specific data but haven't tried it out for myself. Se...

samsi

When you mentioned 400k miles I guessed it was a Toyota. A friend of mine had a Corolla he got in the 80's that was still going strong when he passed away in 2012. I would still see it around town with some kid driving it until recently.

Glad you're okay.

samsi

Thanks Scott, that'll work. I've got one of the Lipsey's mid-frame 45 Flattops and was thinking that might be a good load for it. I know it's not weak, but being on the smaller frame I didn't want to do something stupid and strain it.

samsi

Thanks Walt. I've heard good things about the Linebaugh 231 load, just haven't gotten around to trying it.

I've also been using a lot of Titegroup for the last year or two because it's been so readily available, but only in 9mm and 38 Spl so far. Time to branch out a bit I guess.

samsi

I agree with Doc, the Rossi in 454 would be the simplest route to getting something that will safely digest your heavy Redhawk load. I'm no expert on 73's but I believe that they withstand 357 and not heavy 45 mainly due to the fact that case head thrust of the 357 is only about 30% of that of the 4...

samsi

I guess I am behind on the times, having not bought any powder in a long time. I still have a fair amount of Unique. Are they not making it, anymore? Unique is supposedly still in production, although limited and with sporadic availability along with all of Alliant's canister powders. Military sale...

samsi

A question for anyone who knows, any idea of the pressure of Linebaugh's 8 gr W231 load? Was looking at it over the weekend but couldn't find any pressure reference. It's over standard, just wondering how much. (Answered my own question on the 7.5 Titegroup load, it was in a Brian Pearce 2011 articl...

samsi

Congrats on the old-school cool .22, I have a thing for the old target 22's and military trainers myself.

samsi

I was 24 or 25 when I got my first 44, but didn't start reloading for another 10 years. The first decade I shot Federal 240 jacketed almost exclusively and I don't think Federal left much performance on the table. When I got my first 45 Colt I remember being underwhelmed with the legendary 18.5/2400...

samsi

I had my 45 Redhawk out on the 31st, shot a bunch of the MO Bullet 325 WFN's over HS6 and H110. I learned 2 things - it needs to be firelapped a bit more, and I need an extra length firing pin from Bowen. It only fires 50% of the time DA with WLP's.

samsi

Agree about Tank, I enjoy the things he writes about but getting through an article isn't usually smooth sailing.

It was said that Elmer would include a line of commas and periods at the bottom of his submissions, to be placed where needed by the editor.

samsi

Although Bob Munden was recognized mainly for his SAA work, he was also known to use the support hand finger on trigger technique with a 1911. There may be some video out there still. One of my shooting partners who was a very large human, and also a powerlifter, could bump fire an entire magazine f...

samsi

I figured out long ago that the media is pretty clueless on most subjects, but didn't know that smarter people than me had named it!

samsi

Dan Combs, here he is a few years further on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kor_e1S41A4

samsi

I've bought them from Republic myself, no complaints and they ship pretty fast.

samsi

I made the same resolution last year, for the same reasons. That flew out the window in February when I fell into an Old Model 44 Flattop, followed shortly after by a OM 6.5" Single Six.

As already mentioned the trick is to stay out of the fun shop. This is the year I'll stick to it...

samsi

Not today but Sunday. Sized, flared and primed 200 .32 H&R cases. Just getting over this year's run-in with the flu and that's all I had the energy for. Hopefully will finish them up with Titegroup and 95 gr RNFPs in the next couple days.

samsi

I don't know, but I've daydreamed on it a bit. I wonder if a two position cartridge stop, configured like the magazine cutoff on an Auto 5 might be part of the puzzle. Sort of a 357 mag/max convertible with the flip of a switch.

samsi

About 15 years back I was getting ready for an elk hunt and when checking the zero on my '06 discovered that the bedding had deteriorated - accuracy was in the toilet. My backup rifle was a 77 MkII in 280 but the only load I had on hand was a deer load with a 139 Interlock at around 3000 fps. I deci...

samsi

Back in the late 70's to early 80's IMI made a 357 (and 44) pump called the Timber Wolf. Never have seen one in real life but those who are lucky enough to have one love them. Seems like there would still be a market for something like that. The Lightning repos are nice, a friend has one and is very...

samsi

Awesome, congratulations Jim!

samsi

Tim is an interesting character. That said, I don't need to encounter any Dogmen out there. When we were kids mom would tell us outlandish lies to keep us from venturing too far into the woods. The main threats were quicksand and the wendigo, sometimes Sasquatch - she must not have known about Dogme...

samsi

It's available on Youtube overdubbed en Espanol as Los Ultimos Hombres Rudos -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bya7U0QIfAw

samsi

I think Jim nailed it. Looks pretty good, and I like both Heston and Coburn. On a side note, James Coburn spent the tail end of his life in Scottsdale and I would see him headed south on Scottsdale Rd just about every day at lunchtime - he drove an old red Mercedes convertible. Was always hunkered d...

samsi

We actually have 2, and I'm sorry to say I've only been in one of them. I stopped by last week and walked out with the 1976 Handloaders Digest and a paperback about the 8th Air Force Big Week during WW2 for the princely sum of $3.

samsi

I'm in the shoot it first camp. I once had two 1917 Enfields, one an Ogden rebuild with a bright and shiny Winchester barrel, the other an all-matching 1918 Eddystone with a dark bore. There wasn't an inch of difference between them at 100 yards. I might try hand lapping with a tight patch and JB Bo...

samsi

There's a series of Ranger Sam Burrack books -

https://www.orderofbooks.com/characters ... m-burrack/

samsi

Best with a levergun was 5 shots in 1 3/8" with a Model 64 Deluxe. Ammo was plain vanilla Remington 170 CoreLokts, shooting off a tool bag on the hood of the truck about 20 years ago. Best with a revolver was 6 in about 7" with a 10 1/2" SBH. No real preparation, I just plopped down a...

samsi

What barrel length was referenced in the load data? Seems that most 45 Colt data is shot from a 7 1/2" barrel.

1800 fps is easily reached in 44 mag with 240 XTPs and H110 from a 20" carbine so I don't see much issue with the speed you're getting from 45 with a 24".

samsi

I've noticed that things are increasingly trending to the ugly while out in the world. On top of that it's the holiday season, which ironically seems to make people much less considerate in public - especially when it comes to driving.

samsi

Back in the day they built .500 Jefferys on Mauser 98's, so a rebated rim can and will work in a CRF action. How successfully Ruger addressed the issue I have no idea, the 450 Hawkeyes appear to be relatively rare.

samsi

I miss those, although I preferred the 240's. I just checked and I have 26 of them left, loaded in magnum brass with HS6. A nice accurate medium load.

Looking forward to the range report.

samsi

LeverGunner wrote: ↑Sun Dec 14, 2025 4:31 pm (Snip)

I've yet to dabble with a 45 Colt. I've been thinking of getting a Blackhawk chambered for it though.

Be careful, they have a way of multiplying!

samsi

Saw one commentator state with great certainty that the pilot "should have landed in the nearby marsh", to which I say, "OK, next it's YOUR turn. You have 16 seconds before you hit the ground... where do ya put 'er down?" Far as I can see, that was a perfect landing. They did a ...

samsi

Probably any shooting is good for training your mind and body. This is true. About 20 years ago there was a fellow at the local range who'd had a stroke and had the typical after effects with one side virtually non-functional. He started shooting 3-4 days a week, first with a .22 and later with a K...

samsi

I would shoot it first then decide.

I've got a 624 with one chatter mark like that just inside the muzzle, it shoots fine.

samsi

Funny, I was mulling over this very subject yesterday and I completely agree. I did some dry fire with a 1911 and thought I'd do the Blackhawk afterwards, then I decided to skip the Blackhawk entirely since I was feeling good about myself and there was no need to ruin it!

samsi

Neat, thanks Jim. I've always had a soft spot for Bart's Long Branch Colt but was short on walking around money when Colt did that run a few years back.

samsi

Ed Harris did a 35-30, no barn-burner loads here though:

https://www.hensleygibbs.com/edharris/a ... ster94.htm

samsi

The father of a long ago coworker was one of the salvage divers at Pearl, he had a room dedicated to any and all memorabilia, trinkets posters and souvenirs to do with Pearl Harbor and December 7th. If asked about the attack he would only reply that it was loud.

samsi

Twelve isn't bad considering that they've all got to be over 100, and it's more than I expected were still around.

The last US veteran of WW1 passed in 2011, so going by that formula we should have WW2 vets among us until 2038 or so.

samsi

Thanks Bill, interesting video. I'd just realized it was Pearl Harbor Day about 30 minutes ago, it doesn't get much mention in the news anymore.

samsi

Bill in Oregon wrote: ↑Sun Dec 07, 2025 8:11 am I haven't seen it either. I'll make sure to fix that however, as I am an admirer of the late Alan Rickman.

Die Hard was the first time I'd seen him in anything, I thought he was German for years afterwards.

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