With Mrs. Wootters’ blessing, we’re bringing selected works of John Wootters together in a new Gun Tales book. Now you can have John Wootters back in your hands—and help make sure his work stays there for the next generation.

This gun was a .45 Colt SAA that was fully scroll engraved. It had a silver finish and a beautiful, cream-colored set of smooth ivory stocks on it. Besides that, the barrel and ejector-rod housing had been shortened to 4 inches and it had a dovetailed front sight.

Of course, I had the 44 Magnum I call “The Hammer” with me. Doc clobbered a fantastic buck at 104 yards with it. Doc Barranti and Nick Rukavina did have 44 Specials. Shane Jahn was carrying a 41. I know...I will do my best to help him. At least it was a very beautiful 41…

Whenever Jim, Shane, and I get together for evening coffee, the conversation often meanders back to how we can make Gun Tales a better place. How can we put our great Gun Tales family members first? How do we make newcomers feel more welcome? How can we get to know everyone better? How can we deliver that same anticipation that you used to have while waiting for the next issue of your favorite gun magazine?

One way we can shoot more for less is by utilizing firearms chambered in 22 LR that are similar to the centerfire guns we are hunting with. A variety of twenty-twos can be had in a multitude of configurations to mimic our big guns. Bolt action rifles, lever actions, pumps, semi-autos, single shots—they are all out there. Same goes for the handgun hunter and that’s what we’re focusing on today.

It may seem laughable to call the venerable 45 ACP a forgotten cartridge, yet in the realm of single action revolvers it remains almost totally eclipsed by the mighty 45 Colt. Tradition and nostalgia play a large part in this, to be sure, and there’s simply no denying that the larger case is capable of much greater performance, especially in the larger-framed guns like the Ruger Blackhawk.

“Beware the man with one gun...he probably knows how to use it.” We’ve all seen and heard that quote all of our lives. And I’d be willing to bet good money that there’s not a single member of the GUN TALES family that falls into that category.

From the time in high school when I discovered Skeeter Skelton’s articles and his admiration for the Smith & Wesson Model 27, I wanted one. The big N-frame chambered in 357 Magnum made sense to me. I think it’s one of the best-looking double action revolvers ever made. Of course, Skeeter’s editorials infused a need for a five-inch gun that still eludes me to this day. I stumbled onto one at a gun show many years ago.

There was a time, back in the olden days, when point shooting was taught in just about every police firearms academy. The only reason that it wasn’t taught in citizen defensive schools was because there were no defensive schools for citizens. All of that changed when Jeff Cooper founded the American Pistol Institute, that we now call Gunsite, in 1976.

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.

One of the things that facilitated this whole concept was the invention of the Hollywood fast-draw holster. I truly don’t know who first came up with the idea, but it appears to me that Arvo Ojala was right there when it happened. The main feature of the concept was that the holster had metal in the area that held the gun’s cylinder.

One of the most overlooked and important cartridges in our collection is one of the smallest and oldest. I’m referring to the 5.7x15mmR that made its debut in 1887. You’ll recognize it by its American name, the .22 Long Rifle (.22 LR). Not to be confused with the .22 Short, .22 Long, and a few others of the .22 genre, the .22 LR is its own man. Along with the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR), it is undoubtedly the most common of the .22 rimfires out there today.

Val Browning entered the brightly lit show floor and strode confidently to his company’s large booth. He was excited to gauge the reactions to a shotgun of his own creation called the Double Automatic. The expo was for salesmen and dealers to learn about new products, and for the firearms companies to connect and fraternize with these buyers who sold their firearms to hunters and shooters.

Damn this National Prohibition anyway! The idea that you can suddenly pass a law and people will just immediately quit drinking booze amazes me. What it’s done is make a whole lot of otherwise lawful people into outlaws, and it’s gotten some awfully good lawmen shot to pieces, too.

For a long time, I ignored the concept of the Bisley grip frame. It didn’t look like the traditional plow handle of the sleek Colt Single Action Army. Nor did it share the similar graceful silhouette of the classic Ruger Flattop, so it couldn’t be as good. Same can be said of the curved lever versions found on some lever action rifles. You don’t know what you don’t know.

It's true! Gun Tales Coffee is real, and there's a very good reason for it...America is built on big moments. The battles. The inventions. The hard decisions made by stubborn people who refused to quit. But America is also built on small moments.

Nostalgic. Uniquely American. Just plain cool. The lever action rifle is an icon of the United States. It stands as a symbol of our western culture. Since 1860, the lever gun has been answering calls from riflemen. It has seen battles against man, tangled with surly bears and defiant Cape buffalo, and accounted for all manner of wild game in the hunting fields.