MAGNUM MAGNUM - Jeffersonian

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THE SIXGunnERJohn Taffin A Bit Of Touchable History Hamilton 5 Bowen’s No. The No. 5 Ruger Old Model with two cylinders in .41 Special and .41 Magnum. The .44 Special Bowen Ruger No. 5 for those who prefer this classic caliber. As so many other things having to do with firearms it began with Elmer Keith. Keith was born in 1899 and during his growing up years quality sixguns as well as components were nowhere near as easy to access as they are today. As a teenager he mostly shot black-powder Colts. Celebrating the Fourth of July in 1925, he blew apart an old Colt .45 using black powder loads. These were not ordinary black-powder loads as he ground the powder granules to a consistency akin to flour looking for all possible muzzle velocity in his old Colt. The top of the chamber as well as the top strap blew and he decided to go with a different cartridge. The .44 Special had arrived in late 1907 but as of 1925 he was yet to see one. This soon changed as he realized the .44 in a Colt Single Action cylinder resulted in more steel around the cartridge case, thus he shifted from the .45 Colt to the .44 S&W Special. This was to have far-reaching effects, which are even felt today. In September 1928 in the American Rifleman Keith wrote of a visit from Harold Croft of Pennsylvania. Croft took the train all the way out to visit Keith at his ranch in Durkee, Ore. He brought with him, as Keith describes it, “a whole suitcase full of custom sixguns.” These were all chambered in .45 Colt, however Keith liked many of the modifications he saw. Each man was affected by the other. Croft had four main sixguns, two built on the Colt Single Action and the other two on the Colt Bisley. All four of these featured special sights, and one, which Croft called his Featherweight No. 3, had a modified grip frame combining the Bisley Colt backstrap with the Single Action triggerguard. Croft went back home and Keith went to work designing the perfect sixgun. The LaST Word In the April 1929 issue of the American Rifleman, Keith unveiled his perfect sixgun, or as he called it “The Last Word.” Taking the best ideas of Harold Croft and combining them with his own, he came up what is now the very famous No. 5 S.A.A. When I was on the board of the Elmer Keith Museum Foundation in the early 1990s, I was privileged to examine all of Elmer Keith’s sixguns including his No. 5, then later to place it in the center of the sixguns section in the Elmer Keith Museum residing inside Cabela’s in Boise, Idaho. I still visit it, along with Keith’s other sixguns, at least once a month. The first two Bowen Ruger No. 5s rest on a copy of Hamilton’s book, The Custom Revolver — a mustread for any revolver fan! Available from Bowen Classic Arms. Below: The .44 Special Bowen Ruger No. 5 and the .41 both proved to shoot around 1". John feels with some more loading groups could easily shrink! The .41 Special Bowen Ruger No. 5. Elegance from the Bowen shop. Taking The Reins About 10 years ago, Hamilton Bowen built his first No. 5s on USFA mainframes with the first two examples being blued everyday working guns with walnut stocks, and the other the very image of Keith’s No. 5 complete with full engraving and carved ivory stocks. Now Bowen is offering the basic idea of the No. 5 on Rugers, both New Models and Old Models, and in a choice of chamberings. Continued on page 82 46 WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM • MARCH/APRIL 2011
The Team Match II is chambered in both .45 ACP & 9mm. Slide & frame are machined from stainless steel to exacting dimensions. Heavy Medal Kimber. The Choice of the USA Shooting Team. Team Match II pistols feature an adjustable sight with positive steel-on-steel clicks for match-winning accuracy, ambidextrous thumb safety & Premium Aluminum Trigger that breaks clean at 4-5 pounds. USA Shooting Team logo grips, 30 lines-per-inch front strap checkering, beavertail grip safety & extended magazine well have a striking appearance and speed operation. www.kimberamerica.com For information on products and dealer locations please send $2 to: Kimber, Dept. 278 One Lawton Street, Yonkers, NY 10705 Information is also available at (800) 880-2418 The Choice of America’s Best. ©2010 Kimber Mfg., Inc. All rights reserved. Kimber names, logos and other trademarks may not be used without permission. Names of other companies, products and services may be the property of their respective owners. Kimber firearms are shipped with an instructional manual and California-approved cable lock. Copy of instruction manual available by request.
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MAGNUM MAGNUM - Jeffersonian

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