THE LIFE AND TIMES OF A CUSTOM

[JimT]

It was born during the year 1985 in the State of Connecticut, USA. It was distinctly American, a revolver made by the Sturm, Ruger & Company in caliber .44 Magnum. It's name was Super Blackhawk but it was not black. It was bright, shiny and made of stainless steel. When it came off the assembly line it was a thing of beauty.

By the time Jack purchased it much of its beauty had faded. It was near 20 years old and had served hard time. There were marks and scars on it's frame. The lockwork was no longer tight. The grip panels were chipped and marred. And the bright shiny surface was not bright nor shiny. However, Jack knew a secret. All the signs of years of hard use were only on the surface. The heart of this metal object was still sound! And Jack knew who could resurrect it.

In the State of Tennessee there lived a man that Jack knew could bring this old, beat-up gun back to life. And not just make it function again, but would be able to make it attractive in its appearance as well as its performance. The man's name was Hamilton Bowen and his company is Bowen Classic Arms.

When Jack talked to Hamilton Bowen about the gun he told him that he wanted the gun to live again, but not as a .44 Magnum. He wanted it brought back as a .41 Magnum. Not only that, he wanted the gun accurized and he ordered special work to be done on it. After they had talked over what was to be done Jack sent the gun to Bowen Classic Arms and they began work on it. It took some time for this was no “rush” job. Everything was done right! A new barrel, a new cylinder, new lockwork to replace the worn originals, tuning the trigger and more. The fitting was tight and smooth. Internally Bowen added some of his own things such as a block that keeps the cylinder bolt from hammering on the frame when the gun is cocked rapidly. Bowen's own designed sights were installed, front and rear. He made the barrel his “ovate rib” design that tapers 3 directions, looking round from one point of view and almost octagonal from another. His own cylinder pin designed not to pound the cylinder latch during heavy recoil became part of the resurrection. The barrel was “Taylor Throated” for extreme accuracy. The pins that go through the hammer and the bolt were slotted on the left side to give the appearance of screws. With the block that Hamilton installed for the cylinder bolt, from the left side the gun appears as a “3 Screw” model. A set of yellowed Micarta stocks by Charles Able were fitted to the gripframe. The gun received an overall high polish externally and it shined again!

When Jack received it after it was done he was more than pleased. He was excited! Here it was, what he had been waiting on. He knew it was going to be one of The Best sixguns that he had ever owned. My wife and I were visiting Jack not too long after he had received the gun back from Bowen Classic Arms. He showed it to me, talked about what he had done, and how he couldn't wait until he got a chance to get to the Range and shoot it and hunt with it.

Alas! It was never to be. Not too long after we were there Jack was diagnosed with cancer and was gone shortly after that. I received the call from Jack's son and I shared his pain and sorrow. He said that his Dad wanted John Taffin and I do perform his funeral. And being his friends we both agreed. John and I met in Jack's hometown and there we were introduced to family and friends who came to say Goodbye to Jack. The funeral was massive with a huge number of people from the community. Just before the Service, John and I paid our respects to Jack at the coffin and while there slipped a couple .41 Magnum cartridges into his pocket.

After the funeral we were at Jack's house visiting with the family. Just before we left for the airport Jack's son came to us and said, “Daddy wanted you to have these.” He handed John a Sadowski-built .38 Target revolver and he handed me the Bowen custom .41 Magnum. We were both speechless.

I had never messed with the .41 Magnum cartridge and had maybe shot 5 or 10 rounds from one in years past. Once I was home I began shooting it on my Range and found it to be The Most consistently accurate revolver that I had ever shot. From a rest at 25 yards groups under 1” center-to-center of 5 shots were common. Many groups were around 3/4” center-to-center with some as small as 5/8”. Sitting on the ground, resting my back against a fence post and holding the gun between my knees, I fired a 5-shot group at 110 yards that measured a bit over 3 1/8” center-to-center. (I miss young eyes!) If I worked on my breathing and trigger control the gun just did not miss. I missed with it at times. But it wasn't the gun's fault. And over the years it became my Number One Hunting Gun.

But … I did not like the Super Blackhawk grip. The big old Dragoon-style grip just did not work for me and I disliked the square backed trigger guard. Some folks love 'em and that's fine. I am not trying to say there is anything wrong with them other than I did not like 'em. So I talked to Milt Morrison of Qualite' Pistol & Revolver and eventually sent him the gun. I had him install a Ruger Bisley hammer, trigger and grip. The Bisley grip worked much better for me than the Super Blackhawk grip. Milt did a great job and added a hammer over-travel stop. Now the gun was even more attractive to me! Not only was it accurate … AND good looking .. it was comfortable for me!

I found it to be a great deer-stopper. Eventually I settled on the 210 gr. XTP bullet over a healthy dose of H110. Running between 1400/1450 fps, I found that sighted to hit just a half inch high or so at 50 yards was really close to dead on at 100 yards. Keeping my shots inside 100 yards I never lost a deer. Over the years I shot coyotes, Whitetail Deer, hogs and Elk with the 210 gr. XTP load. It just works for me. Personal confidence goes a long was toward something working well.

At one point in the life of this sixgun, I was shooting some factory “Seconds” that I had gotten. Firing them from the Bowen Ruger, after a couple cylinders full, I suddenly had one cartridge that I could not get out of the chamber. I had to remove the cylinder from the gun and drive the cartridge out with a brass rod and a small hammer. Looking at the cartridge I could see a long “scratch” or mark on it and I suddenly got a sick feeling. Shining a light into the chamber of the cylinder I discovered one chamber was bulged into the bolt stop notch! Now the .41 cylinder has a wall thickness quite bit more than the .44 Magnum. But the thinnest part of the chamber is the bolt notch. And one of the factory cartridges that I had fired had bulged that bolt notch.

I sent the gun to Gary Reeder and had him make a new cylinder for it. Gary did excellent work and when I got the gun back I ran it through tests for quite a bit and found that it was as accurate as it had ever been! While Gary had the gun in his shop I asked him to replace the factory trigger with his “Set-Back” trigger. His modification kept the trigger back at the rear of the trigger guard where they are supposed to be. I really do not like the Ruger New Model trigger that moves so far backwards and forwards. In heavy recoiling sixguns the trigger coming forward will bite the trigger finger and often take off some flesh when doing so. Especially if the gun is a heavy caliber like the .475 or .500 Linebaugh. The “Set-Back” trigger solves all that. Plus it looks better and to me, feels better!

The finishing touch on the gun was a set of grips by Paul Persinger of El Paso, Texas. The grips are made of Ebony and are hand-checkered 32 lines to the inch. They really set off the stainless look, and they are comfortable to shoot. Paul makes some of the best grips and I have more than a few of them on various guns.

I have now owned, carried and used this custom-built .41 Magnum for what will soon be 30 years! It has done me well and has held up just fine. I find that it is still very accurate and easy to shoot. Even at my age! And I can still see the Bowen-designed sights pretty well with my old eyes. You cannot ask for more than that.

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Javelina 1997

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2004 Opening Day - two doe

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2004 -a few days later

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2014 Cow Elk - 90 yards

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Hog - 3 or 4 feet

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The bulged cylinder

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210 gr. XTP after going through the Cow Elk, stopped just under the hide on the off side.

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NEI 230 gr. FP

[Scott Tschirhart]

A while ago I picked up a three screw conversion that Bowen did on a small (.357) frame old model.

It too is a .41 Magnum. But in petite form.

I haven’t shot it much…..heck I may have shot your more at this point!!!

I have to say that your gun with your lighter load is one of the most comfortable guns to shoot and I absolutely love the way the front sight looks.

Thanks for posting this Jim.

[JimT]

That sounds like a fun gun. I have often thought it would be nice to build a .41 on the old 3-screw .357 ... what an excellent everyday carry piece!

[gamekeeper]

A truly great story Jim and photos to prove it too...

[Scott Tschirhart]

I’ve never really messed with the .41 so I stick with the .44 Special and.45 Colt.

It’s a handful with factory.41 magnum loads.

It would probably be better with a cast bullet at 900-1000 fps.

[JimT]

I’ve never really messed with the .41 so I stick with the .44 Special and.45 Colt.

It’s a handful with factory.41 magnum loads.

It would probably be better with a cast bullet at 900-1000 fps.

Yes. I would agree with that. The 230 gr. NEI bullet would be excellent at 850!

[Walt]

You have written several times about your .41 mag. What a great gun and a wonderful story behind it!

Thanks, Jim and thanks for the pictures. What a jewel!

[Walt]

Scott, if you shoot cast bullets, for an intermediate load with a 210 gr bullet, try 19.0 gr of 4227 for about 1200 fps or 15.5 gr of AA-9 for a little over 1100 fps. Both shoot very well for me. Even at those velocities your Bowen conversion will be a kicker.

[Grizz]

Looking at the cartridge I could see a long “scratch” or mark on it and I suddenly got a sick feeling. Shining a light into the chamber of the cylinder I discovered one chamber was bulged into the bolt stop notch!

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The bulged cylinder

Fine fine story Jim. Did you find a cause for the cylinder bulge? I knew a pistol shooter once that told me the .41 would be a better deer gun than my 44 because it would have better penetration and give up nothing to the 44. I was already commited to the 44 and could not afford extra guns or ammo . . .

[JimT]

Fine fine story Jim. Did you find a cause for the cylinder bulge?

Over-pressure load.

I ran 3 rounds through my 1894 Marlin .41 levergun. The first went 1700 + ... second about same ... 3rd blew the primer which blew the hammer back to half cock and went through chrono at over 1900 fps. I packed the rest of the ammo up and sent it back to the factory with a note about what happened and suggesting they check a little closer.

It was some factory seconds that I was given for free from the factory.

I was glad the primer blew as that relieved some of the pressure and did not damage the rifle.

[GunnyMack]

That's why my Single Six 44 special only get cast bullets and light charges!

That's quite a looker Jim!
My 4&5/8" BH 41 is a handful, when I found the brass grip frame the light bulb went on as I realized that added weight would help with recoil. Really need to get that out more!

[JimT]

Thanks. It came together really well and performs along with looking good. I am happy I can still shoot it fairly well.

[Woodsloafer2]

Great story! Love Hamilton Bowen's work. Years ago after reading his book I had min build me a 41 magnum. It was a duplicate of one in the book in the lightweight gun chapter. Built on a 357 frame with an extra long cylinder, 4 inch barrel, scalloped and his custom rear and front express sights. Also had him do a Redhawk in 45 Colt with a Smith L frame type barrel. My main deer gun this year. Cannot say enough good things about Hamilton and your writing style Jim.