Sheriff Jim Wilson

A Single-Action Classic

Posted on 17 April 2012

One of my favorite handguns of all time is the original Ruger Blackhawk, in .44 Magnum. This is the Ruger single action that has come to be called the .44 Flat Top. This is a tough, accurate revolver with a butter smooth action. In short, it’s just about the perfect sixgun for the outdoorsman. Ruger began making the .44 Blackhawk in 1956 and discontinued it about 1962, when their beefier Super Blackhawk was ready for delivery. The gun gets it’s Flat Top nickname from the flat top-frame configuration that was adorned with an all-steel Micro adjustable rear sight. The most common barrel length was 6 1/2-inches, as seen in the photo above, but Ruger also produced some of the Flat Tops with a 7 1/2-inch barrel, and even fewer with a 10-inch barrel. The shape of the grip frame, like the early Blackhawk .357, was very similar to that found on the Colt Peacemaker. Altogether, it was just an excellent revolver.

Skeeter Skelton is at fault for my love affair with the Flat Top Ruger .44. He had one with the 7 1/2-inch barrel and it was his favorite woods gun. I couldn’t wait to read one of his articles that involved some adventure with this neat sixgun. And, naturally, I got my hands on one as quickly as I could. The gun used to illustrate this article is one that I got from my friend, and premier pistolsmith, John Gallagher some years ago

The old Ruger Flat Top .44 will handle any reasonable .44 Magnum load. The single-action grip shape allows the gun to roll in the hand and, thereby, dissipate some of the felt recoil. It is a very comfortable gun to shoot, even with the heavy hunting loads that I sometimes use. My Flat Tops, I have several, have accounted for quite a few deer, javalina, feral hogs, turkey, and a variety of exotic game, over the years.

An indication of the popularity of the Ruger Flat Top is the fact that the company has brought the guns back out in recent years. They are currently available in .357 Magnum, .44 Special, and .45 Colt, all built on the smaller .357 frame and incorporating the New Model action. I don’t know if they’ll ever bring the gun back out in .44 Magnum, but you can bet I’d be a customer.

The original .44 Magnum Flat Top is a classic Ruger revolver. I can’t imagine keeping house without one.

Posted in Guns, Hunting, Revolvers | Tagged .357 magnum, .44 magnum, handgun hunting, revolvers, ruger, single action, skeeter skelton | 1 Comment

A Lawman’s Carbine

Posted on 10 April 2012

I have a little confession to make. I’ve never been a big fan of AR rifles. Now—wait a minute— I’m not knocking them and think everybody that wants one should own one. I’m just saying they never have really suited me. You see, I grew up shooting rifles that had wooden stocks and, quite frankly, most of them had levers, too.

Along in the early 70′s, I picked up a Marlin 1894 carbine, in .44 Magnum. We shortened the barrel and added a receiver sight to it. This became my companion on drug raids, stake outs, and felony apprehension assignments. It was a nice gun, but something was missing.

All of that was corrected in the early 80′s, when I had a chance to buy a Browning Model 92 carbine, also in .44 Magnum. The Browning was nearly an exact knock off of the Winchester Model 1892 carbine and I like the trim, less bulky feel of it.

My friend, gunsmith Ed Collett, shortened the barrel to 16 inches, so that it would be easier to manage in a car. Even then, the Mod. 92 still held nine rounds. And, when those nine rounds were 240 gr hollowpoints running at about 1500fps, I figured that was adequate for just about any job. Ed also removed the rear sight and installed a Williams Foolproof receiver sight in its place. The whole thing was exactly what I had expected it to be, short, powerful, and accurate.

My .44 carbine was my constant companion during the years that I was Chief Deputy and later Sheriff of Crockett County, Texas. Crockett County being somewhat of a gun culture, nobody thought twice about the sheriff pulling a lever-action carbine out of his car when things started to get dicey. Hell, what would you expect a Texas sheriff to be carrying?

The last time that I fired my .44 carbine for serious purposes was not long before I retired. A punk out of San Antonio stole a Mercedes and was running west on I-10. We chased him up one road and down another until I got tired and figured that we were fixing to see a bad wreck in the very near future. I can tell you that five or six 240 gr hollowpoints will do some amazing things to the front end of a Mercedes. It did, in fact, obtain the thief’s immediate voluntary compliance.

So I’m all for people owning and shooting AR’s. Heck, selectors and suppressors are okay with me, too. But I believe I’ll just stick with this old .44 carbine. We seem to suit each other.

Posted in Guns, Peace Officers, Rifles | Tagged .44 magnum, browning model 92, carbine, gunsmithing, lever action, texas | 13 Comments

Bad Day at Blazer’s Mill

Posted on 5 April 2012

April 4, 1878—134 years ago, yesterday, a lone rider rode his mule along the Rio Tularosa, between Lincoln and Mesilla, in New Mexico Territory. The man was Andrew L. “Buckshot” Roberts and he was bent on leaving the area. The Lincoln County War had just broken out with the death, 3 days before, of John Tunstall. Roberts had been working for the other side, though it is not certain that he had anything to do with murdering Tunstall. At any rate, Roberts was leaving while the getting was good. Almost.

Riding up to Blazer’s Mill, Roberts discovered, too late, that a group of Tunstall supporters were taking their lunch at this popular stop on the trail. About a dozen Regulators, as they were called, were at the mill and had already spotted Roberts’ approach. The Regulators were headed by Dick Brewer and included such New Mexico gunmen as Charlie Bowdre, George & Frank Coe, and Henry McCarty, better known as Billy the Kid.

Not showing the white feather, Buckshot swung off his mule and shucked his Winchester as he did. Frank Coe, who had been on friendly terms with Roberts, came out to talk to Buckshot and try to get him to surrender to this questionable posse. The two men sat on the steps of one of the buildings and talked, but the talk was useless.

Tiring of the wait, Dick Brewer told some of the Regulators to go and take Roberts by force. As they came up, Roberts threw up his rifle and he and Charlie Bowdre fired at the same time. Roberts took a slug in the gut and his own bullet hit the buckle of Bowdre’s gun belt, knocking the wind out of the gunman but doing no other damage.

In a hail of bullets, Buckshot Roberts backed into a building that served as the mill’s office. Throwing down at rolled-up mattress in the doorway, Roberts picked up a .50-70 Springfield rifle to replace his empty Winchester. Gut shot and hurting, Roberts lay down behind the mattress, prepared to give as well as he got.

With bullets flying all about, Roberts noticed the gang leader, Dick Brewer, run and hide behind a nearby pile of logs. As Brewer raised up to shoot, Roberts took the top of his head off with the Springfield rifle. Mr. Brewer was what we call DRT (dead rat there!).

The death of their leader took all of the starch out of the Regulators. Nursing their various wounds, they rode off to find easier people to “arrest.” Roberts lingered for a short time before passing. He was buried at the mill site right next to Dick Brewer, on the banks of the Rio Tularosa—134 years ago, yesterday.