American Handgunner May/June 1978

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TheTools ofHeyday ofWestern Style Fast Draw is Still Aliveand the Equipment is Most UniqueBy GEORGE E. VIRGINESONEof the natural true American ,handgunner sports has to be FastDraw. This sport is, more or less, a traditionalistevent, in as much as it originatesfrom the concept of two gunfighters facingone another as in the days of the oldWest. Historically speaking this rarelyever happens. It was the Western moviesand later the TV Westerns of the early1950's and 60's that really fostered thisidea.Much has been written on the historyand personalities of fast draw but very littleinformation on the specialized gunsand holsters that have developed from thesport. But to understand the custom gunsand holsters that are now being used, youfirst must be acquainted with the techniquesand phases of fast draw. To comprehendthe need for specialization inequipment here are a few excerpts fromthe fast draw rules and regulations;"Only single action revolvers with .38or larger caliber may be used. The minimumlength of the barrel must be 4'1sinches. The trigger and guard may be cutdown, but not through, the trigger shoemay not extend beyond the trigger guardon the side of use, viewed from the rear ofthe trigger guard only, and cylinder slotsmay be deepened but not cut through.The hammer shall hold on full and halfcock when the gun is reasonably jarred.Factory stock hammers are legal. Custombuilt hammers cannot exceed these specifications;extend no more than half inchabove the frame; half inch out of the rightor left of the frame. All parts must be onor in the gun and working. Sights are optional.The holsters must cover 75% of the cylinderand all of the top of the minimumlength barrel when the gun is positionedfor drawing. The holster must be westerntype and worn on a belt around the waistor him. It must not slant more than 45 degreesfrom a shooting.stance.Ammunition requirements are forblanks with powder only, no foreign materialallowed. The shell casing must be offactory length and make. Nothing biggerthan .45 Colt casings will be allowed. Forwax events, factory made shotgun or pistolprimers only, no powder. No buckshot behindthe wax or the wax bullet cut so it willbreak nil. etc"1 ,As in all gun sports, thy gun is the firstimportant item, secondary is the neces-Gil Guerra demonstrates the UpTwist draw. Gil is a top shooteand the chairman of the W.F.D.A.AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAY/JUNE 1978
An early Ruger .357 Magnum that has been completely customized. Notethe fanning hammer, aluminum barrel bored to .45, shaved trigger guard.sary ammo, perhaps loading equipment,etc. But in fast draw, the holster runs aclose second to the gun.The gun must be a frontier style singleaction type revolver. Back in the earlydays of fast draw the Colt Single Actionwas the most popular; naturally so becauseof its tradition and historical background.When the Colt Company decidedto once again manufacture the old ColtSingle Action in 1955 the only barrellengths available were 5'12 inch and 7'12inch and some of the fast draw boysstarted out with the 5% inch barrel. Becauseof fast draw and its sudden surge ofpopularity, Colt came out once more withthe popular 43/4" barrel and this was widelyacceptable at the time. But just aboutthe same time one of the first authenticcopies of Colt's famed single action wasintroduced by the Great Western Companyof California. In addition to all of thevarious Colt barrel lengths, they also produceda special custom single action justfor fast draw. It had the same traditionaldesign of the Colt, finished in blued andcase hardened with a brass trigger guardand backstrap, and imitation stag grips;all together fine looking handgun. The actionwas custom honed for fast draw andextra deep indexing cuts in the cylinder assuredproper lock no matter how fast thegun was cocked.It was my privilege to test one of theseguns in several contests and exhibitionsand it truly was a fine operating revolver.The price was appealing at the time, itsold for only $89.95 over Colt's Single Actionwhich was then $125.During the early days of fast draw, onedealer, Glauser's Guns of Toledo, Ohio,offered several package deals for theaspiring fast draw enthusiast. One suchdeal, priced at $193.50, offered a GreatWestern .45 single action, a Ojala fastdraw holster & rig, 200.45 caliber emptybrass cases, 100 primers, one Ideal 310Loading Tool, one cleaning kit and freewax and targets. Super and Super Deluxesets were also available.Between the re-issued Colt and the newGreat Western a completely new single actiontype revolver appeared on the market,this was the Ruger Single Action .357Magnum. It became one of the mostpopular single actions available. Therewere no leaf springs, it had all coil springsthroughout, and the price was right at only$87.50. The shooters of fast draw werequick to realize the potential of this brandnew single action Ruger and soon beganto converting and altering it for their purpose.Before going into detail on the extentthat the Ruger was customized, it is necessaryto mention the two techniques employedin drawing a gun from the holster,fast draw style and how as the techniqueprogressed and speed accelerated theneed for a specialized, custom revolverbecame apparent.The original and basic method was simplycalled thumbing. This was accomplishedby first extending the hand aboutfive or six inches forward of the initialpoint of contact with the gun-which inthis case will be the hammer. The hand isbrought back sharply and the hammer iscocked by striking it back with outstretchedthumb before the last three fingerseven touch the grip to make thedraw.In this technique all that was necessaryto put the gun in fast draw shape was tohave the action timed and smooth, lightenedthe hammer spring by filing it thinner,and perhaps deepening the cylindernotches to assure the cylinder would lockand line up every time with the barrel.There is perhaps no other gun sport that isas hard on a gun than fast draw.The second method is fanning, nowcalled "Up-Twist Fanning7'-now themost popular and accepted technique in, ,, ,-.. ,AMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAY/JUNE 1978 , . ' . .fast draw competition. This is consideredthe fastest way to clear leather as witnessedby the fantastic scores accomplishedby the top shooters in fast draw.When bare fractions of hundreds of a secondcan make the difference between winningor losing, one can understand the importanceof doing everything possible,legally and within the rules, to gain thatextra edge.Up twist fanning has replaced thethumbing style, however it also takes agreat deal more practice. In this draw thegun is drawn with the right hand, and thetrigger is depressed as it's drawn. The lefthand is extended across the front of thebody about waist high, with the handopen, palm upward, just forward of theholster. As the gun is drawn the drawinghand turns inward in order to twist thegun sideways and leyel. At the same timethe edge of the left palm strikes the hammerto cock the gun. Contrary to the oldfashioned practice of fanning a single actiontill the chamber is empty, only oneshot is fired at a time in fast draw.With the advent of fanning, the gunsand holsters began to take on a new look.The most popular handgun now beingused in fast draw is the old model Rugersingle action .357, re-built of course. Secondchoice is the Colt Single Action .45with 43/4 inch barrel. There are still a fewGreat Westerns, Dakotas, Hawes gunsbeing used.(Continued on page 56)-- . . . g rby Alfonse. Holster is lined withsheet teflon. Note the deflector.I
Page 1 and 2: OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE OUTSTANDIN
Page 3 and 4: Colt service.Our network of Authori
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Page 7: efurbish an historic Canadian fort.
Page 12 and 13: happening is increased if the firin
Page 14 and 15: For quick andeasy referenceAMERICAN
Page 16 and 17: A MUST FOR THEGUNAND CARTRIDGECOLLE
Page 18 and 19: PoRk. COPTALKCOMBAT STANCES FOR POL
Page 20 and 21: ITA LOOK AT FULL-LENGTH SIZINGBy DA
Page 22 and 23: ANDGUN silhouette shooting has en-
Page 24 and 25: The OMCA Preference for an Outside
Page 26 and 27: Customized OMC below barely showsth
Page 28 and 29: Base for the new grips was made fro
Page 30 and 31: Right hand Auto-Mag grip was madefr
Page 32 and 33: The . r I. .Little Match That Could
Page 34 and 35: '0.shooting positions for each succ
Page 37 and 38: Above: This .45 Commander shows the
Page 39 and 40: My approach to curing end shake isn
Page 41 and 42: or six inch factory tube that you'r
Page 43 and 44: I use about a45' bevel on the outsi
Page 46 and 47: tandai 'd accuracy set up by Swenso
Page 50 and 51: IWhere our readers and writers tell
Page 52 and 53: HI-COMPRESSION22 CAL- PELLET FIRING
Page 54 and 55: An Over-The-CounterCombat Rig that
Page 56 and 57: SPEED SAFETYFOR THE BROWNING HIGH P
Page 58 and 59: IGenuine walnutstocks for allphases
Page 60 and 61: 7 .can be just as damning as a gunt
Page 62 and 63: decided to go all out for this "spe
Page 64 and 65: USE LIKE A MARKING [TOUCH ~ ~ \ L l
Page 66 and 67: (Continued from page 52)ried their
Page 68 and 69: INTRODUCTION TOSILHOUETTE SHOOTING(
Page 70 and 71: '.I .. 8 ' . . . the only magazine
Page 72: and sohot we call itWhen your 22 ha

American Handgunner May/June 1978

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