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by Fermin Garza In 1929, Elmer Keith wrote of a sixgun he called No. 5—a Colt SAA transformed into a state-of-the-art revolver. He also called it The Last Word. It stands even today among the finest in existence. In 1955, Keith wrote “Sixguns.” This is a must-read for students of the sixgun. The preface states Keith’s book was “scented with the pungence of sage brush campfires, cold for more than half a century.” I wanted to build my No. 5 to honor Elmer Keith. So I sought out the finest craftsman and challenged him to build, from scratch, the finest sixgun in the land—a sixgun to last a lifetime, to answer any call, and to prove that even decades after the time of Elmer Keith, the old-world craftsmanship and the Keith legacy still live on.

by Jim Wilson George Brakefield was a Texas Ranger in North Texas when I was working as a police detective. He was a gun guy and an all-around good guy, so we spent a lot of time together, working cases, arresting bad guys, and talking guns. This is one of the stories that he told me about his early days in the Texas Rangers. In the early 70s, George was assigned to the Fort Worth area. Now, in those days, Fort Worth was still one of the headquarters for the Dixie Mafia and Benny Binion’s gambling empire. In short, there were some mighty rough old characters around Fort Worth and a lawman sure earned his paycheck just keeping up with them.

by Shane Jahn There are certain guns we associate with gun writers. Of course, Elmer Keith and the Smith & Wesson Model 29 are synonymous. Skeeter Skelton fans will quickly recognize his 7.5-inch Ruger Flattop and 5-inch S&W Model 27 as being as trademark as his mustache and silver belly Stetson. Legendary Border Patrolman Bill Jordan helped invent his iconic handgun, the S&W Combat Magnum. And the list goes on. We could sit here all day deliberating on guns and loads that are tied uniquely to writers we admire. With the upcoming release of the John Wootters book we are honored to bring to you all, I got to thinking about a rifle I always associated to him. There are a few models that will come to the minds of devout Wootters fans. First would be his trusted Sako Forester with the Mannlicher stock. This rifle is perhaps as famous as his camouflaged hat and was certainly one of his favorites. Some can spot his Balickie-stocked 280 Remington from a mile away, along with his Mannlicher-stocked Winchester Model 88 lever gun. Another is the famed SS1 custom Ruger Blackhawk. The gun was built for his friend Skeeter Skelton, but Skeeter passed before its completion. Jim Wilson said that most of the time he was around John Wootters, SS1 was on his hip. I’ve held, admired, and shot this fine single action. I see why he favored it.