RiverRider
New member
Some threads here have me recalling the good ol' bad ol' days, and I feel like telling a story..
About twelve years ago, I went on a combination tequila guzzling-camping-javelina hunting trip with a few buddies near Marfa, Texas. Our host, whose cousin allegedly owned the property we were treading upon, had recently won in a raffle a very nice S&W Model 19, which he generously allowed me to carry in its still unfired condition on the day of the hunt.
To make a long and very tearful story short, I lost his new and unfired Model 19 somewhere in all those hills that look exactly alike. Excuse me while I chew another Tums...
Years later, I was cruising the gunshops and ran across a like-new Ruger New Model Blackhawk in .41 Mag for just $200! I snapped it up without thinking twice.
I took my new .41 home and promptly began to deal with that awful factory trigger. Anyone who has undertaken this task knows what grueling work it is and how gawdawful thirsty it can make a guy. After several hours of working on the hammer and sear, and several thirst-quenching Coronas, I was satisfied with the trigger pull and put the new Blackhawk away. But, after a couple MORE Coronas, I came to the realization that I could do better with that trigger. Several more cycles of disassembly/stoning/reassembly passed, and sure enough, I ended up with a revolver that would not even stay cocked.
Disgusted with the whole thing and myself, I decided to buy a new hammer, and in the meantime file a new notch in the hammer so the thing could at least be fired. So, I whipped out a needle file and very unceremoniously filed a new notch in the hammer. I reassembled the revolver to verify that it would function safely, and what I found was truly amazing.
I had a P-E-R-F-E-C-T trigger pull. The hand still rotated the cylinder properly, and the trigger broke like an icecicle without any perceptible creep. I have yet to match that with any two-screw Ruger at any time.
A funny thing happened right after that...my buddy whose new Model 19 I had lost five years before looked me up. He was in town for a while. The talk drifted to shooting and guns somehow, and he mentioned to me that he had a hankering for a nice .41 Magnum, preferably a single action.
I told him to drop by and see me, and he could pick up his new shootin' iron.
About twelve years ago, I went on a combination tequila guzzling-camping-javelina hunting trip with a few buddies near Marfa, Texas. Our host, whose cousin allegedly owned the property we were treading upon, had recently won in a raffle a very nice S&W Model 19, which he generously allowed me to carry in its still unfired condition on the day of the hunt.
To make a long and very tearful story short, I lost his new and unfired Model 19 somewhere in all those hills that look exactly alike. Excuse me while I chew another Tums...
Years later, I was cruising the gunshops and ran across a like-new Ruger New Model Blackhawk in .41 Mag for just $200! I snapped it up without thinking twice.
I took my new .41 home and promptly began to deal with that awful factory trigger. Anyone who has undertaken this task knows what grueling work it is and how gawdawful thirsty it can make a guy. After several hours of working on the hammer and sear, and several thirst-quenching Coronas, I was satisfied with the trigger pull and put the new Blackhawk away. But, after a couple MORE Coronas, I came to the realization that I could do better with that trigger. Several more cycles of disassembly/stoning/reassembly passed, and sure enough, I ended up with a revolver that would not even stay cocked.
Disgusted with the whole thing and myself, I decided to buy a new hammer, and in the meantime file a new notch in the hammer so the thing could at least be fired. So, I whipped out a needle file and very unceremoniously filed a new notch in the hammer. I reassembled the revolver to verify that it would function safely, and what I found was truly amazing.
I had a P-E-R-F-E-C-T trigger pull. The hand still rotated the cylinder properly, and the trigger broke like an icecicle without any perceptible creep. I have yet to match that with any two-screw Ruger at any time.
A funny thing happened right after that...my buddy whose new Model 19 I had lost five years before looked me up. He was in town for a while. The talk drifted to shooting and guns somehow, and he mentioned to me that he had a hankering for a nice .41 Magnum, preferably a single action.
I told him to drop by and see me, and he could pick up his new shootin' iron.