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.

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.

Before starting an article, experienced writers first decide who their audience is. If I were writing this piece for a print magazine I would probably spend a good deal of time explaining why lever-action rifles are worth considering for personal defense. And then I would spend a good deal of time telling about all of the various makes and models that are available to today’s shooters.

As time went by, I moved down into Southwest Texas and took a job as Chief Deputy for a sheriff’s office smack dab in the middle of big ranch country. And that’s when two important things happened. The first was that my district judge really wanted my Marlin .44. The second was that I discovered the Browning B-92 carbine.