The SIXGUNNER

American Handgunner, March, 2000 by John Taffin

CUSTOM ACCESSORIES AND ADD-ONS FOR RUGER SINGLE-ACTIONS FROM THE GUNSMITHING MECCA OF BROWNELLS

There is no doubt about the popularity of such firearms as the Colt Government Model of 1911 and its many versions. Dozens of businesses owe their existence to either the performance of custom work on these fine firearms or the supplying of add-on parts for the shooting public to use. A look at Brownells' catalog reveals several dozen pages of everything imaginable for 1911s, double-action revolvers and several other semi-autos.

However, in the past couple of years there has been a significant addition to Brownells, as is especially apparent in their latest catalog. Cowboy shooting has turned the spotlight on single-action sixguns as never before-- even in the peak of "fast draw' in the 1950s and '60s. As a reflection of this, Brownells now carries virtually every conceivable factory part, except frames, for Colt SAAs, Ruger Vaqueros and Blackhawks, and the Italian replicas. You can even find parts that are no longer offered for the Colt such as factory .44 Special barrels.

Handy Accessories

In addition to factory parts, Brownells carries several add-ons for single-actions such as custom barrels, steel ejector rod housings for Rugers, special Colt-style bolt and main springs, Belt Mountain's replacement base pins, and a special stoning kit put together by Eddie Janis of Peacemaker Specialists for smoothing out the rough spots found on most single-actions, especially in the slot where the hand rides, I have successfully used this kit to clean up and smooth out several Italian replicas.

I first applied a leather washer between the mainspring and the frame of a Colt when involved in fast draw in the late '50s. This serves to lighten the trigger pull and mainspring tension as well as providing longer life for the mainspring. Now Brownells is offering the same idea in a better fashion using neoprene rubber Colt Hammer Spring Spacers. These are already the right shape and are useful for adjusting the main spring tension by simply tightening or loosening the mainspring screw.

Fixed-sighted sixguns, be they Ruger, Colt or replica, do not always shoot to point-of-aim. To correct a windage error, it is necessary to turn the barrel into the frame if the sixgun shoots to the left or loosen it if bullets are printing to the right. This requires the use of a sturdy bench vise and two blocks, usually of hard oak. The blocks are clamped together and a slightly under-barrel-sized hole is drilled down the middle.

Once the sixgun barrel, without the ejector rod, is securely clamped in the vise, we need something with which to turn the frame. The answer from Brownells is their Single Action Revolver Action Wrench with heads made for either the Colt or Ruger Blackhawk and Vaquero. The aluminum heads are designed to completely eliminate any possibility of springing the frame while turning it.

Qualite Products

Qualite Pistol & Revolver offers several parts for single-action sixgunsmiths that are found in Brownells catalog. Ruger Vaqueros come with steel grip frames, however, blued Single-Sixes since 1953 and Blackhawks since 1955 have come equipped with aluminum grip frames.

In the past, many of us addressed this problem by using stainless steel grip frames from Ruger Old Armies to dress up a Blackhawk.

Qualite is now addressing the problem in a big way by producing Ruger Blackhawk grip frames of both brass and stainless steel. Not only do they dress up a Ruger, but also they add a little more weight in the hand and aid in giving it the more natural balance found in the Colt SAA.

Both grip frames are available for Old Model and New Model Rugers. They are not the same as the Old Model grip frame, which has a small hole for the trigger return spring plunger while the New Model is cut for the larger spring that rides on top of the New Model trigger.

Add two other Qualite parts-- a steel ejector rod housing and a new ejector rod with a crescent shaped head-- and one is very close to the perfect single action sixgun.

Vaquero Add-Ons

Ruger Vaqueros are larger and heavier than Colts, but they customize very easily. One of the more popular avenues has been the bird's head shaping of the grip frame mated up with shortening of the barrel and ejector rod housing to less than the smallest 4 5/8" length offered by Ruger.

To aid in this type of project, Qualite offers custom bird's head grip frames complete with Hogue black or white micarta panels. These are also found in Brownells' catalog, made for either the Old or New Model and come in either brass or stainless steel.

Single-action sixguns may never rival the 1911 when it comes to custom gunsmithing and available add-on parts, but thanks to Brownells, we are making headway.