Revolvers45

Picking a .45 hogleg just got easier because Cabela's Millennium is an inexpensive but excellent product, where Colt's and Ruger guns both have drawbacks.

Not counting variations in barrel length, centerfire calibers or Mason conversions, we added up the number of single actionrevolver models our readers could purchase. The total is 45. Since the gun most models are patterned after, Samuel Colts Single Action Army (S.A.A.), was a .45, that number seems appropriate, if oddly coincidental. Perhaps we missed one or two.

You could mosey in to a Cowboy Action shootout toting any one of those revolvers. Of course, youd also have to participate under an alias and wear appropriate clothing. Getting yourself suitably decked out in the latter could cost more than the shooting iron. But even that hasnt seemed to stunt the growth of these nostalgia...

The Colt Bisley was introduced in May 1894 as a target handgun intended for competition in England. The first name the gun had was the "Special Target Model of 1894." The gun performed so well at the famous Bisley Commons shooting grounds in England over the next year or so that Colt redesignated it the "Bisley Model Target."

The Bisley design altered the grip-to-barrel angle and hand position so that the bore would be lower in the hand, and also at nearly a right angle to the gripping axis. Together with the altered grip came a lower and wider hammer, enabling the shooter to cock the gun without shifting his grip. A third main difference is the wide trigger, curved and brought closer to...

The American West offered cowboys great freedoms. Sure, they had to contend with wild animals, manage an unpredictable relationship with the Indians, and survive the forces of Mother Nature, but for those seeking to live by their own rules and escape persecution, heading west and leaving it all behind was an attractive option. Many cowboys were ex-slaves, escaped or emancipated, such as Nat Love, better known as Deadwood Dick. Others hit the trail to forget one of life's dirty deals, or in the case of many a bad man, to escape prosecution. For those who chose the cowboy life, a sidearm was standard equipment. While a rifle was more reliable for hunting, the revolver answered many other more...

[IMGCAP(1)] How much do you need to spend to get into the Cowboy Action game? Sure, you can spend lots on fancy duds, and that's a big part of that game, but the bottom line for participation is a good set of guns, not the least of which is the revolver. The most common caliber for today's "cowboy" is still the .45 Long Colt, just as it was a century ago with the original riders of the range. Even if you don't anticipate becoming a weekend cowboy and shooting in any of these events, a single-action .45 makes a lot of sense. They're practical outdoor-carry guns, not entirely useless for self-defense or home protection, and they are lots of fun to shoot.

In the June 1999 issue of Gun Tests...