Back around the air-conditioned comforts of the coffee table, we continued our dissertations on packing guns. We both came to the consensus that the mid-frame Ruger Flattop is surely one of the best, especially when it comes to building a custom gun. I just happened to have along one such custom specimen that we handled and shot during our visit. It furthered our position on the subject, and we can find no reason to change our opinion.

One night on patrol I was the second officer to respond to a strong-arm robbery at a convenience store. The suspect was a large, angry guy waving a baseball bat at a thoroughly intimidated clerk—it was all clearly visible through the glass front of the store. The first officer to arrive was kneeling by her patrol car, stainless Colt 45 1911 out and ready. We’d worked together often, and I knew she was a gutsy cop. I moved up, and baseball-bat-boy dropped his bat and surrender

Just as I got in sight of the house where the dice game was being held...and all the squad cars were parked...I saw the back door open and one of our local characters come running out, clearly making a break for it.

Every serious sixgunner prefers accurate sixguns. I expect sub 2-3 inch groups at 50 yards, handheld. But sometimes a sixgun barrel does not perform its best due to tight spots in the barrel rifling. Sometimes I turn to a custom barrel for best results. However, even custom barrels will sometimes have restrictions in the bore and require firelapping. It should be noted that our custom sixgunsmiths do not manufacture custom barrels, they install them.