DAVID CLEMENTS
I’ve always been a dreamer and it was dreams mostly of sixguns which got me through the days of full-time college matched up with full-time work and a young family to take care. David Clements has fulfilled some of my dreams. I wanted an In Memory Of Skeeter Skelton 5-1/2” .44 Special Colt New Frontier. I sent a 7-1/2” New Frontier .44 Special off to David Clements to be made into the sixgun I wanted. David trimmed the barrel back the proper length, it was then sent off to Nutmeg Sports for a set of buffalo skull carved ivories by Dennis Holland and the Skeeter Skelton .44 Special project was complete. Nutmeg Sports offers some beautifully grained milky ivory deserving of the New Frontier. This was a simple conversion and the first sixgun sent to David. When I wanted a sixgun in memory of Elmer Keith I also turned to David.
For this project David started with a 5-1/2” .44 Special New Frontier barrel and a .357 Old Model Blackhawk. We have already recounted how in the late 1920s, Elmer Keith was visited by Harold Croft, who took the train all away from Pennsylvania to Keith’s little cattle ranch outside Durkee Oregon so he could see firsthand the long-range sixgun shooting Keith had been writing about; as a result of that visit Keith came up with his No. 5 S.A. For my project David constructed his version of the #5 grip frame for use on Rugers. This grip frame was fitted to the converted Ruger, Larry Caudill fitted it with a pair of beautiful walnut grips, the whole package was finished in deep blue with a case hardened frame and hammer resulting in another prime candidate for Perfect Packin’ Pistol.
David also customizes Ruger Vaqueros. Two of these excellent sixguns, a 5-1/2” .44-40 and a 7-1/2” .45 Colt had their barrels cut to 3-7/8”, the heads of the base pins were shortened to allow for ejection of fired cases, both the ejector rods and ejector housings were shortened to match the new barrel lengths, tight cylinder throats were opened up to match the bore diameters, and new front sights were fitted with enough height to allow for filing to match the load chosen to be used for each sixgun. Add walnut stocks by Larry Caudill and stag stocks by Roger Warmuskerken and the packages were complete.
Third Generation Colt New Frontier barrels have the same thread pattern as Ruger Three Screw .357 Magnum Blackhawks, and these barrels are perfectly suited for conversions of Old Model Ruger .357 Blackhawks to .44 Special , .44-40, and .45 Colt. Colt did not make any 4-3/4” .44 Special New Frontiers so barrels in this length are not to be found, however the .44-40 was available as a 4-3/4” New Frontier and barrels, which are rifled to the same specifications as the .44 Special. Add an extra .357 Ruger or 9mm cylinders, and David Clements has everything necessary for building a .44 Special/.44-40 Convertible. David fitted the rare 4-3/4” New Frontier barrel, expertly re-chambered the Ruger cylinders to .44-40 and .44 Special, polished the aluminum grip frame and finished the balance of the sixgun in high polish blue, and then the project was finished by being beautifully stocked in fancy walnut by Larry Caudill. Yes, we have another Perfect Packin’ Pistol.
I’ve always been a dreamer and it was dreams mostly of sixguns which got me through the days of full-time college matched up with full-time work and a young family to take care. David Clements has fulfilled some of my dreams. I wanted an In Memory Of Skeeter Skelton 5-1/2” .44 Special Colt New Frontier. I sent a 7-1/2” New Frontier .44 Special off to David Clements to be made into the sixgun I wanted. David trimmed the barrel back the proper length, it was then sent off to Nutmeg Sports for a set of buffalo skull carved ivories by Dennis Holland and the Skeeter Skelton .44 Special project was complete. Nutmeg Sports offers some beautifully grained milky ivory deserving of the New Frontier. This was a simple conversion and the first sixgun sent to David. When I wanted a sixgun in memory of Elmer Keith I also turned to David.
For this project David started with a 5-1/2” .44 Special New Frontier barrel and a .357 Old Model Blackhawk. We have already recounted how in the late 1920s, Elmer Keith was visited by Harold Croft, who took the train all away from Pennsylvania to Keith’s little cattle ranch outside Durkee Oregon so he could see firsthand the long-range sixgun shooting Keith had been writing about; as a result of that visit Keith came up with his No. 5 S.A. For my project David constructed his version of the #5 grip frame for use on Rugers. This grip frame was fitted to the converted Ruger, Larry Caudill fitted it with a pair of beautiful walnut grips, the whole package was finished in deep blue with a case hardened frame and hammer resulting in another prime candidate for Perfect Packin’ Pistol.
David also customizes Ruger Vaqueros. Two of these excellent sixguns, a 5-1/2” .44-40 and a 7-1/2” .45 Colt had their barrels cut to 3-7/8”, the heads of the base pins were shortened to allow for ejection of fired cases, both the ejector rods and ejector housings were shortened to match the new barrel lengths, tight cylinder throats were opened up to match the bore diameters, and new front sights were fitted with enough height to allow for filing to match the load chosen to be used for each sixgun. Add walnut stocks by Larry Caudill and stag stocks by Roger Warmuskerken and the packages were complete.
Third Generation Colt New Frontier barrels have the same thread pattern as Ruger Three Screw .357 Magnum Blackhawks, and these barrels are perfectly suited for conversions of Old Model Ruger .357 Blackhawks to .44 Special , .44-40, and .45 Colt. Colt did not make any 4-3/4” .44 Special New Frontiers so barrels in this length are not to be found, however the .44-40 was available as a 4-3/4” New Frontier and barrels, which are rifled to the same specifications as the .44 Special. Add an extra .357 Ruger or 9mm cylinders, and David Clements has everything necessary for building a .44 Special/.44-40 Convertible. David fitted the rare 4-3/4” New Frontier barrel, expertly re-chambered the Ruger cylinders to .44-40 and .44 Special, polished the aluminum grip frame and finished the balance of the sixgun in high polish blue, and then the project was finished by being beautifully stocked in fancy walnut by Larry Caudill. Yes, we have another Perfect Packin’ Pistol.
BRIAN COSBY
I first encountered Brian Cosby in the early 1990s when I saw his restoration work on old Colt Single Actions and Winchester leverguns. He was taking old shot out examples, re-lining the barrels, and re-finishing them to factory new condition. I found an old original 44-40 Winchester 1873 at a very modest price and Brian rebuilt the action and re-lined the barrel putting it back into a useful service after a century or more of abuse and neglect.
It is no secret the high regard I hold for the Colt Single Action. In my early days shooting Colts I also experienced broken hand and bolt springs and wished someone would build a Colt with a Ruger action. I was later to learn a properly tuned Colt was totally reliable. Brian “turns” Rugers into Colts. Starting with a .45 Colt Blackhawk he removes the adjustable sights, welds and recontours the top strap into the Colt-style with the result being one of the slickest Rugers imaginable.
When my local gun shop, Shapels went out of business I bought all of their 3rd Generation New Frontier barrels. One of these happen to be a 7-1/2” .44-40. When an Old Model .357 Magnum at a reasonable price came along it was sent off with the barrel to Brian can be made into a Roger New Frontier. Brian re-chambered the cylinder to .44-40, installed the New Frontier barrel, tuned and tightened the action, polished the grip frame, and re-blued the balance of the sixgun. My first choice in converting Old Model .357 Blackhawks is normally .44 Special, however the .44-40 is still an excellent cartridge, and the sixgun from Brian Cosby is an appreciated addition to my battery of working sixguns.
I first encountered Brian Cosby in the early 1990s when I saw his restoration work on old Colt Single Actions and Winchester leverguns. He was taking old shot out examples, re-lining the barrels, and re-finishing them to factory new condition. I found an old original 44-40 Winchester 1873 at a very modest price and Brian rebuilt the action and re-lined the barrel putting it back into a useful service after a century or more of abuse and neglect.
It is no secret the high regard I hold for the Colt Single Action. In my early days shooting Colts I also experienced broken hand and bolt springs and wished someone would build a Colt with a Ruger action. I was later to learn a properly tuned Colt was totally reliable. Brian “turns” Rugers into Colts. Starting with a .45 Colt Blackhawk he removes the adjustable sights, welds and recontours the top strap into the Colt-style with the result being one of the slickest Rugers imaginable.
When my local gun shop, Shapels went out of business I bought all of their 3rd Generation New Frontier barrels. One of these happen to be a 7-1/2” .44-40. When an Old Model .357 Magnum at a reasonable price came along it was sent off with the barrel to Brian can be made into a Roger New Frontier. Brian re-chambered the cylinder to .44-40, installed the New Frontier barrel, tuned and tightened the action, polished the grip frame, and re-blued the balance of the sixgun. My first choice in converting Old Model .357 Blackhawks is normally .44 Special, however the .44-40 is still an excellent cartridge, and the sixgun from Brian Cosby is an appreciated addition to my battery of working sixguns.
BEN FORKIN
Ben started out right by not only graduating from Trinidad but also going to work for Hamilton Bowen. His home state of Montana eventually pulled him out of Bowen Classic Arms and he moved back home and started Forkin Custom Classics. Ben learned from the best and produces some of the best sixguns possible. Pictured we have three custom .44 Special Rugers by Ben Forkin. The first one uses a Ruger .44 Magnum Blackhawk Flat-Top barrel, a Ruger Old Model .357 Blackhawk, and an XR3 grip frame to put together a Perfect Packin’ Pistol. This 5-1/2” sixgun received a Forkin Arms post front sight, Hamilton Bowen rear sight, Belt Mountain #5 base pin, and the mainframe and hammer were case hardened with the balance of the sixgun finished in high polish blue.
The second Forkin .44 Special is basically of the same style however this time he used a 5-1/2” Colt New Frontier .44 Special barrel which was fitted along with a Colt ejector rod housing and ejector. The Colt ejector housing and ejector rod work better with the Colt New Frontier barrel and these parts are available from Brownells. The grip frame has been re-anodized and fitted with beautifully fashioned extra fancy walnut grips by BluMagnum. Both of these 5-1/2” Rugers have, of course, been totally tuned and smoothed with virtually all endshake and cylinder movement removed.
Recently Ruger has given sixgunners two more Colt Single Action Army-sized sixguns which work beautifully for custom conversions to .44 Special or .44-40, .38-40, .41 Special, and even .45 Colt. One is the New Vaquero which is smaller than the original Vaquero and actually the same size as the .357 Magnum Blackhawk of 1955. The latter was also resurrected in 2005 as the 50th Anniversary Model .357 Magnum. Even though it has the New Model lock work, the Anniversary Model is the same size as the original Blackhawk of 1955 and also has the same grip shape and size. Converted to .44 Special and matched up with a 7-1/2” New Frontier barrel we have a .44 Special sixgun which can safely be carried with six rounds.
In the 1980s Ruger introduced the Bisley Model with the grip frame which to my hand is much more comfortable for shooting than the Super Blackhawk. These were only offered with 7-1/2” barrels with a blued finish in .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. Recently the last three were sent off to Ben to be made into Perfect Packin’ Pistols. They were totally tightened and tuned, barrels cut to 5-1/2”, Forkin front sights installed matched up with Bowen rear sights, and all were re-blued with case colored hammers and mainframes. As my hands get older I appreciate the Bisley grip frame more and more and these three big more sixguns have become favorites very quickly.
Ben started out right by not only graduating from Trinidad but also going to work for Hamilton Bowen. His home state of Montana eventually pulled him out of Bowen Classic Arms and he moved back home and started Forkin Custom Classics. Ben learned from the best and produces some of the best sixguns possible. Pictured we have three custom .44 Special Rugers by Ben Forkin. The first one uses a Ruger .44 Magnum Blackhawk Flat-Top barrel, a Ruger Old Model .357 Blackhawk, and an XR3 grip frame to put together a Perfect Packin’ Pistol. This 5-1/2” sixgun received a Forkin Arms post front sight, Hamilton Bowen rear sight, Belt Mountain #5 base pin, and the mainframe and hammer were case hardened with the balance of the sixgun finished in high polish blue.
The second Forkin .44 Special is basically of the same style however this time he used a 5-1/2” Colt New Frontier .44 Special barrel which was fitted along with a Colt ejector rod housing and ejector. The Colt ejector housing and ejector rod work better with the Colt New Frontier barrel and these parts are available from Brownells. The grip frame has been re-anodized and fitted with beautifully fashioned extra fancy walnut grips by BluMagnum. Both of these 5-1/2” Rugers have, of course, been totally tuned and smoothed with virtually all endshake and cylinder movement removed.
Recently Ruger has given sixgunners two more Colt Single Action Army-sized sixguns which work beautifully for custom conversions to .44 Special or .44-40, .38-40, .41 Special, and even .45 Colt. One is the New Vaquero which is smaller than the original Vaquero and actually the same size as the .357 Magnum Blackhawk of 1955. The latter was also resurrected in 2005 as the 50th Anniversary Model .357 Magnum. Even though it has the New Model lock work, the Anniversary Model is the same size as the original Blackhawk of 1955 and also has the same grip shape and size. Converted to .44 Special and matched up with a 7-1/2” New Frontier barrel we have a .44 Special sixgun which can safely be carried with six rounds.
In the 1980s Ruger introduced the Bisley Model with the grip frame which to my hand is much more comfortable for shooting than the Super Blackhawk. These were only offered with 7-1/2” barrels with a blued finish in .357 Magnum, .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, and .45 Colt. Recently the last three were sent off to Ben to be made into Perfect Packin’ Pistols. They were totally tightened and tuned, barrels cut to 5-1/2”, Forkin front sights installed matched up with Bowen rear sights, and all were re-blued with case colored hammers and mainframes. As my hands get older I appreciate the Bisley grip frame more and more and these three big more sixguns have become favorites very quickly.
JOHN GALLAGHER
The first sixgun John ever built for me several years ago was my Big Little Sixgun; an 8-shot .32-20 on a Ruger New Model Blackhawk. The cylinder is a custom built made oversize to completely fill the frame window. It is mated with a slightly tapered 6-1/2” barrel and the front sight is a serrated ramp style paired with a Hamilton Bowen rear sight. The hammer is Super Blackhawk, the creep free trigger pull is set at 3-1/2 pounds, the mainframe is color case hardened, and the balance of the gun is beautifully blued; I have added a pair of stag grips with a black eagle Ruger medallion and the combination is quite attractive. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Gallagher’s Little Big Sixgun shooting a relatively big cartridge from a small frame. Gallagher came up with the idea of making a really little gun to shoot the .41 Special by starting with a Ruger Three-Screw Single-Six. A New Model will not work as the enlarging of the loading port area to accept larger cartridges cuts into the transfer bar safety.
The top of the frame has been “melted” or rounded off on both sides as well as the front, the rear sight in a dovetail is maintained and matched up with slightly sloping and serrated front sight. The steel grip frame is from a Ruger Old Army, the trigger pull is set at 2-1/2 pounds, and the base pin is one of Belt Mountain’s knurled head pins with a locking set screw. This entire little sixgun has been finished in high polished blue, except the top of the frame which is matte blue to reduce glare.
The first sixgun John ever built for me several years ago was my Big Little Sixgun; an 8-shot .32-20 on a Ruger New Model Blackhawk. The cylinder is a custom built made oversize to completely fill the frame window. It is mated with a slightly tapered 6-1/2” barrel and the front sight is a serrated ramp style paired with a Hamilton Bowen rear sight. The hammer is Super Blackhawk, the creep free trigger pull is set at 3-1/2 pounds, the mainframe is color case hardened, and the balance of the gun is beautifully blued; I have added a pair of stag grips with a black eagle Ruger medallion and the combination is quite attractive. At the opposite end of the spectrum is Gallagher’s Little Big Sixgun shooting a relatively big cartridge from a small frame. Gallagher came up with the idea of making a really little gun to shoot the .41 Special by starting with a Ruger Three-Screw Single-Six. A New Model will not work as the enlarging of the loading port area to accept larger cartridges cuts into the transfer bar safety.
The top of the frame has been “melted” or rounded off on both sides as well as the front, the rear sight in a dovetail is maintained and matched up with slightly sloping and serrated front sight. The steel grip frame is from a Ruger Old Army, the trigger pull is set at 2-1/2 pounds, and the base pin is one of Belt Mountain’s knurled head pins with a locking set screw. This entire little sixgun has been finished in high polished blue, except the top of the frame which is matte blue to reduce glare.
We can't leave John Gallagher without examples of my favored .44 Special cartridge and a couple examples of Perfect Packin’ Pistols. These two sixguns are quite similar; they are both chambered in .44 Special and both have 4” barrels. The first Gallagher custom .44 Special started life as an Old Model .357 Blackhawk but Gallagher uses a custom over-sized cylinder to completely fill out the frame window and also allow for a recessed case heads; a very nice special custom touch. The rear sight is a custom Bowen with an extra touch as the top of the frame is serrated on both sides of the sight assembly. The front sight is a ramp style with a serrated blade and the ramp is nicely contoured and blended into the barrel. The hammer is from a Super Blackhawk and both the ejector rod housing and grip frame are steel making this an all steel .44.
The second .44 Special is on a Ruger 50th Anniversary .357 Flat-Top. The grip frame on the 50th Anniversary .357 is the same size and shape as the original which had been changed in 1962. For whatever the reason, the original grip frame feels better and handles recoil much easier for me than the Old Model grip frame. For this .44 sixgun, Gallagher re-chambered the original cylinder, fitted a Bisley Model hammer spur and melted the corners of the rear sight as well as the top strap; and, except for the maintaining of the original width of the frame in front of the trigger guard, the rest of this .44 Special has the same touches as the Old Model version. And like its brother it is also an excellent shooter.
ALAN HARTON
Thanks to one of Alan's customers I was able to test-fire my first Alan Harton sixgun even before it was delivered to the owner. Starting with one of the special edition Ruger Bisley Models, a stainless steel .45 Colt which was distributed by Accusport, Alan replaced the cylinder with a custom five-shot .475 Linebaugh cylinder which fully fills the cylinder frame window and mated this up with a 6” Pac-Nor barrel. To allow maximum case extraction a Ruger stainless steel long ejector housing as found on 10-1/2” Super Blackhawks was used.
The front sight uses a Hamilton Bowen express rifle type sight base to which Harton fitted a front sight blade held in place by a set screw. The original hammer was welded and the notch re-cut to remove all backwards travel when the hammer is cocked, an action block was added internally to limit the movement of parts under recoil, and, of course, everything is set up tightly with minimum tolerances and a cylinder which locks firmly in place. Finally Harton fitted this .475 with Cocobolo grips which are thicker at the top than the factory grips. This helps to distribute recoil over a larger area.
One of Alan Harton’s big sixguns, a five-shot .475 Linebaugh.
After seeing Alan’s work I gave him the ultimate challenge sending him a real beater Old Model .357 Magnum Blackhawk. The action was loose and the finish was basically gone; Alan was up to the challenge in spades and the result is one of most beautiful sixguns I now own. It is, of course, a .44 Special, with a 5-1/2” barrel, adjustable sights, #5-styled grip frame, a #5 locking base pin, case colored frame and hammer, and ivory stocks.
A beat-up sixgun like this Ruger .357 Magnum Old Model can be turned into a customized work of art by any one of several top sixgunsmiths.
To accomplish all this Harton completely stripped the sixgun to its component parts and basically discarded everything except the cylinder and mainframe. The original cylinder was re-chambered to .44 Special and re-fitted to the frame with absolutely no play either front to back or side to side. The octagon barrel was meticulously machined with an integral front sight base and then fitted to the frame so the barrel/cylinder gap is barely discernible; in fact a .002” gauge will not enter the gap. Since this .44 Special was inspired by Keith's No. 5 S.A. it has been fitted with a #5 base pin, consisting of a head with smaller and smaller concentric circles meeting in the middle, and then the base pin latch designed by Elmer Keith and Harold Croft was re-created. Instead of the traditional spring-loaded cross latch, Keith’s design is a solid vertical lever in the front of the frame which makes it impossible for the cylinder pin to move forward under recoil and yet can easily be rotated 90° to remove the base pin.
The grip frame, hammer and trigger have all been replaced with Bisley-style parts with the trigger coming from Dave Clements. The original hammer was used however it was greatly altered. The standard hammer spur was removed and a Bisley style spur expertly welded into place and polished. The grip frame was then trued up to be perfectly square before fitting beautifully creamy milky grips of elephant ivory which fit my hand perfectly. The first five shots resulted in a five-shot, one-inch group; another Perfect Packin’ Pistol.
The grip frame, hammer and trigger have all been replaced with Bisley-style parts with the trigger coming from Dave Clements. The original hammer was used however it was greatly altered. The standard hammer spur was removed and a Bisley style spur expertly welded into place and polished. The grip frame was then trued up to be perfectly square before fitting beautifully creamy milky grips of elephant ivory which fit my hand perfectly. The first five shots resulted in a five-shot, one-inch group; another Perfect Packin’ Pistol.
Alan Harton used a dog of a .357 Blackhawk to create this beautiful 5-1/2” octagon barreled Bisley Model chambered in .44 Special.
