It was a package of modifications, with the cutaway feature already being somewhat commonplace. The cutaway remains, however, the most notable and controversial of the alterations, and has inspired a safer—and surprisingly durable—version of the speed-oriented modification. It may have another name, but I’ve always called it the “Half Fitz.” 

When it comes to shooting, nothing fits the hand, or points more perfectly than single action sixguns. Single actions are safe too, so long as you heed the age-old adage of load one, skip one, load four, cock the hammer, then slowly let it down so the hammer rests on an empty chamber. If your single action has a transfer bar safety, like Ruger New Model Blackhawks, you’re good to go with six rounds. 

As a group, outdoorsmen in general and hunters in specific tend to be decorative in their remembrances of how much fun they had. A hunter’s home decor typically involves pictures, sculptures and especially taxidermy that celebrate past experiences. However, occasionally a well executed shoulder mount of a game animal is no more effective at stimulating a memory than a relatively anonymous artifact such as a rock, or in my case, a spearhead.

His name was Henry McCarty. His favorite alias was William Bonney. We knew him as Billy the Kid. Beyond that, just about everything you knew, or thought you knew, about him is not true or are claims made without supporting facts. Here are a few things to consider about one of the West’s most famous outlaws.

I have little doubt most readers of this post have heard of Charlie Pirtle. He was well known in the revolver competition communities of days gone by, and a winner of who knows how many shooting awards during his time on the U.S. Border Patrol Pistol Team. One of the best man trackers I have had the fortune of ever being around, well known lawman, outstanding Dutch oven cook, dedicated hunter, outdoorsman and true gentleman. In short, Charlie was one of the most influential f

I expect a lot of us can relate to starting our adult lives with meager earnings. The first year or two that my wife, Jill, and I were married we didn’t have a lot of extra money. Jill was going to college, and we had a brand-new baby girl. Her grandmother watched the baby during the day so Jill could drive seventy-four miles each way to attend the University of Texas Pharmacy School in Austin.

His name was Arvo Ojala, pronounced O-Ja-La, with a J. He was known as the fast gun coach of the stars needing help handling sixguns to realistically portray themselves as authentic gunslingers. Believe me, they all needed help. Arvo was considered an excellent teacher, stating he could teach anyone how to fast-draw and handle guns professionally within a two-week span.

John Wesley Hardin was born in Bonham, Texas, in 1853. He grew up during the War of Northern Aggression and the subsequent Reconstruction era. For whatever reason, Texas was not hit very hard by the actual war; not a single major battle was fought in the state. However, Reconstruction hit Texas with both feet...with the boots and spurs still on.

I have been extremely fortunate to have met, and continue to meet, some extraordinary and interesting characters in my life. It will come as no surprise to many of you that a lot of these folks are lawmen. One such man was Sam McKone. That name will ring a bell to devoted readers of No Second Place Winner, authored by famed Border Patrolman Bill Jordan. Pages 105 and 106 of my copy of that compact book on gunfighting tell how Sam’s cool head and expert marksmanship took out a

“There wasn’t no place I couldn’t go with a 22 rifle and a fishing pole.” Y’all remember that old Don Williams tune? I suspect we all look back on our younger years and remember them as a better time. Whether they always were or not doesn’t matter if we choose to remember the best of times. For most of us our youth was certainly less complicated by electronics. No cell phones.

He had ridden southwest out of Marfa, down through Pinto Canyon. Once he hit the river, he headed upstream, through the little village of Candelaria, to a river crossing called Capote. His horse was hobbled back in the brush, and now he sat in the early morning darkness, Winchester across his lap, waiting to kill a man who had once been his best friend.

The title of the 1960s Outdoor Life magazine article was “The Art of Brush Hunting” written by John Wootters.  I started reading and quickly realized it was written about hunting near Sheridan, Texas, a small community twenty-five miles south of where I lived and where I hunted. I committed to memory everything Wootters wrote in that article. I was truly impressed that a writer, obviously from “my part of Texas” had an article in Outdoor Life and was writing about the hunting

On or before October 10, 1918, the Cameron County Sheriff William T. Vann got word that Delgado was going to cross a load of mescal at Los Tomates Bend not far from Brownsville. Vann put together an arrest team made up of a couple of his deputies, two customs officers, Texas Ranger Captain W. W. Taylor, Ranger Sergeant Delbert Timberlake, and Ranger Private Frank Hamer.

Recently, there has been a lot of interest and posts on “Fitz” revolvers on social media. I simply shake my head at the level of pontification and commentary by folks who have absolutely no concept of the reason they existed and what the intent was in their creation. There is a huge disconnect, so I thought I would do a post to explain the historical significance of these guns.

The area where this story took place is some of the most remote country in the American Southwest.  On a Texas map, find the border town of Presidio.  As you look upstream on the Rio Grande, from Presidio, you’ll notice that there’s just a whole of nothing for several hundred miles until you get almost to El Paso.

It’s funny how we associate certain smells or things with memories and people. Having spent a lot of time around my mother’s parents as a child growing up, it’s not surprising I have plenty of fond recollections of them. My granddad and I had a special bond, and we grandkids all called him Pawpaw.

I’m not a gun collector. Oh, I’m sure 'nuff a firearms enthusiast, but I don’t collect in the sense of obtaining an organized representation of specific makes or models of guns. Some folks collect Colt Single Action Army’s, maybe only 1st Generations, maybe all. One guy I know collects old Winchester lever actions and further specializes in the Trapper Models.

I love guns with stories. Tales of firearms that belonged to folks of note, guns used in interesting events, or those that came from fascinating places are intriguing to this writer. They bring a particular firearm to life, even though we all know quite well that they are just mechanical devices, right?

The story goes that author Ned Buntline (real name Edward Zane Carroll Judson Sr.) wanted to express his thanks to some of the Kansas lawmen who had been the inspiration for some of the books that he wrote.

W.L. “Lee” Barler was born in Llano, Texas in 1874. The Terrell County history book says Barler’s father had worked as a lawman, fought outlaws and Indians and served as a Confederate soldier during the Civil War.