The Texican: STI, maker of premier 1911s now makes the other great single action

Guns Magazine, July, 2008 by John Taffin

STI is now in the single action sixgun business! The Texican was first announced in the fall of 2006 and finally arrived in late fall 2007. The Texican is an all-American sixgun produced in Connecticut with the first run chambered in .45 Colt with a 5-1/2" barrel. Other barrel lengths and the .38 Special will follow next.

Unlike many other revolvers there are no castings in the Texican with all parts either forged or made from bar stock from aerospace specifications steel. All the parts are made by STI's contracted manufacturer in house except the springs. Steel used for frame and cylinder is 4150 Chrome Moly, all the internal parts are EDM'ed, and barrels are made from Green Mountain blanks with a 1:12" twist. The mainframe, loading gate, and hammer are all color case hardened by Doug Turnbull, and STI says the specially designed pawl rides on a fixed pivot and is expected to have three to four times the life expectancy of other traditional pawl springs. I won't live long enough to break one!

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The Texican rates an "A" for fitting and polishing. There is no perceived edge if one runs a finger from the bottom of the cylinder window down the mainframe to the triggerguard. Both parts, mainframe and triggerguard have been carefully polished together. Perfect blending where two parts meet is a sure sign of great caretaking in fitting and finishing. Internals parts are also fitted carefully and the cylinder locks up tightly whether the hammer is in the cocked position or at rest. All flat surfaces are just that--flat with no rounding of edges and no dished out screw holes.

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The Texican also gets an "A" for function. It has either been carefully tuned or the use of EDM technology produces parts which provide a very smooth action. The hammer cocks easily, the cylinder rotates very smoothly, and the trigger pull is a creep free 2-1/4 pounds, which is a little lighter than I prefer. There is no perceptible play either side to side or front to back when the hammer is cocked or at rest.

"A " For Accuracy

Actual shooting also gets the Texican an "A" for Accuracy. The manufacturer did their homework in reducing the many variables involved in getting bullets to make the journey from each of the chambers of the cylinder to the barrel. Some of these variables in producing an accurate revolver include placement and alignment of chamber pilot holes, chambers in relation to pilot holes, the cylinder base-pin hole and the two holes in the frame which accept the base pin, cylinder stop notches, the threaded portion of the frame and threads on the barrel, barrel centered in the frame, the cylinder bolt notches and the cylinder bolt itself and how they mate together, placement of the cylinder bolt in the window in the bottom of the frame, tension on the pawl when the sixgun is at full cock, and the chamber throats.

All of this is exactly why a true custom action tuning on a single action sixgun is quite expensive and also highlights the care necessary to produce a quality single action revolver.

One of the most important tolerances in a sixgun, and especially in a .45 Colt sixgun, is the diameter of the chamber throats. For best accuracy, they must not only be of a uniform size but also the correct size. The Texican gets an "A" on both counts. Using a set of plug gauges I found all six to be perfectly reamed to .452". The base-pin bushing inside diameter measured .252" which matched up perfectly with the base pin diameter of .2515". You need not worry about tolerances on this single action.

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Since the Texican is a traditionally styled single action, there is no transfer bar safety. To load and unload, the hammer is placed on half cock, the loading gate opened, the ejector rod used to expel cases one at a time as the cylinder is rotated, and the cylinder is then rotated again as fresh cartridges are placed one at a time. Being a traditional single action means the Texican is a true sixgun with a capacity of six rounds, however it is to be loaded in the old single action way: Load one, skip one, load four, then bring hammer to full cock and slowly and carefully let it down on the empty chamber. It must be carried with only five rounds and the hammer down on an empty chamber. This is true of all single actions without transfer bars as the firing pin on the hammer must never be let down on a loaded round.

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Every factory load and handload tried produced anything from good to exceptional accuracy. It is definitely winter here in the Northwest so the shooting was done indoors and there is an incredible amount of difference in how I see the sights with indoor lighting compared to natural lighting. The accompanying chart will show just how well the Texican shoots. In my hands with my eyes and with artificial lighting, the Texican shoots 2-1/2" to 3" left for me. This spring I will adjust the sights by turning the barrel and testing it for perfect alignment by shooting in natural light.