Three Foot Johnson

"As the story goes", a policeman was disarmed by a bad guy in a struggle when his revolver popped open and flipped all five rounds out, and this is how S&W fixed it. This was the last of their top breaks and was discontinued by 1920. The s/n on this one puts it near the end of production.

OK, I found two references to the "single post" latch online that seem to confirm this gun's antique status, so no problem shipping direct to you with a copy of your valid driver license or state issued ID. ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Iver Johnson revolver is broken down into 3 designations; 1st Model(1894-1896); 2nd Model(1896-1907=sm.frame;1897-1907=lg.frame); 3rd Model(1908-1941). There are some simple ways to find the year of your firearm. These include a 'single' top post barrel latch on the 1st Model.It is strictly "BLACK POWDER ONLY"...The 2nd Model has a 'double' top post barrel latch.It, too, is a "BLACK POWDER ONLY" revolver.The 1st and 2nd Model's have a single leaf hammer spring. The 3rd Model has a 'double' top post barrel latch, but instead of a leaf spring hammer spring, it has a coil(or wire)hammer spring. This Model was manufactured to use "SMOKELESS POWDER". The 3rd Model will have the patent date of 'NOV.17,08' stamped on the barrel rib. This designation was used on all 3rd Model from 1914-1941. Use a good screw driver(CAREFULLY!) to remove the left side grip panel. Here is where you will begin. There will be a letter code stamped on the frame. For the small frame .32 s&w 5-shot the dates are; A (1909-1915);G(1915-1926)and J(1927-1940).

If you can document and convince me it's a pre-1899 antique, I can ship direct to you.

Five shot .38 S&W, SASS legal pocket pistol. Blued, zero finish, surface corrosion. Although these didn't come out until 1909, they are approved for Pocket Pistol side matches because they are an improved model of an earlier design. Left grip is broken, right is OK. This one doesn't quite lock up when cocked single action, but works fine in double action for a side match pistol. Maybe a new pawl? $250, shipped, and I'll need at least a C&R.

Six shot, .38 S&W, 6" bbl. This gun will shoot, but doesn't quite rotate far enough when shooting single action to lock up - maybe needs a new pawl? Both grips are broken, and the thumb latch needs to be pushed back very slightly for the cylinder to close, like the base pin latch rod is a few thousandths too long. $200, shipped, and I'll need at least a C&R.

5 shot .32 S&W, 4" bbl, SASS legal pocket pistol. Barrel has a nearly imperceptible squib bulge about 1/2" from muzzle, but shoots fine. $150, shipped, and I'll need at least a C&R. This little gem actually dates to 1894 - 1896, and can ship directly to you. If $150, shipped, sounds like too much, does $120 + $30 shipping & insurance sound better?

3" bbl, 5 shot .32 S&W, overall good condition, lockup is good, bore is good, grips are good. SASS legal pocket pistol. $175, shipped, and I'll need at least a C&R.

56-50 Spencer and 44-40 Burgess.

Cock both out of the holster, then alternate, almost always shooting the left gun first.

Johnson... nope, I never wonder. This one kind of spooked me though - Storm King Mountain fire 31 years ago.

My follow-up with my local cardiologist was Monday, and five weeks after the procedure, he says I'm still in normal rhythm, so that's good news. I think I've got copies of all the statements from everybody now - cardiologist, anesthesiologist, hospital, etc. - $100,824.15 so far, and I was in & out the same afternoon.

Mossberg Shockwave. 4+1 3"ers, 5+1 2 3/4"ers or 8+1 mini shells with the snap in adapter. I saw it on sale for $325/$50 shipping a week ago at a place called Shell Case City in New York. I paid $340ish six years ago at the local Murdoch's.

It was 48 degrees out when I got up yesterday morning... I was tempted to turn the heat on, but c'mon, it's friggin' AUGUST fer cryin' out loud.

Math must be workable somehow, but without knowing the groove depth, I'm having trouble picturing it. Wrapping the bullet with thin shim stock, measuring, then subtracting the thickness of the stock isn't all that accurate. I've also heard of folks who will simply rotate the bullet in the jaws of a dial caliper and hope they spin it square to the jaws as they open up. A dial indicator would work well, if you had a lathe or mill, but would take a little time to set up. An archery shaft straightener with a dial indicator could probably be modified to hold and turn the bullet. V-anvil mics are a lot easier and more accurate.

Most, if not all, of the Winchester 1894 commemoratives are C&R, including the Chief Crazy Horse for sale above. They made so many commemoratives, they don't command much of a premium.

With a little practice, getting off 4 shots from a single shot shotgun in 8 seconds is very doable. The Plainsman side match requires a single shot rifle, so arguing a single shot is too slow for Plainsman doesn't even make sense. If you were wanting to shoot Plainsman as a main match category, and the MD allowed it, you would slow the pace down by, what, 20 seconds a stage? Two minutes total. Big whoop.

USFA chambered the .30 Carbine.

After I retired, I was up to ~40 matches a year, but a-fib has had me down so bad the past year, I haven't shot one in eight months now.

I'll take song lyrics that don't make sense for $500. "Sink the Bismarck", Johnny Horton. "On her decks were guns as big as steers and shells as big as trees"...? That makes no sense, BUT these long, vertically inclined spars with block & tackle used to load ships were called steeves, from which the word stevedore comes from - one who works the steeves. Did the lyrics have a typo? Did Johnny misunderstand what was written by songwriter Tillman Franks, or did he just take poetic license and decide "steers" flowed better than "steeves", even if it made no sense?

Lee carbide dies, .522" on the dot with a ten case sample. After I sold my two X-Frames, RCBS dies, brass, bullets, etc., I discovered I still had an H&R Handi Rifle, and 80 pieces of brass, so I bought a set of Lee dies. The carbide ring was slightly out of line and scraped the cases bad on one side. Lee sent me a replacement and it works fine.

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The blued ones are a bit hard to come by. I have four Ruger Birdshead .45 acp's, three came with blued top & back SBH hammers, and one had a full stainless hammer, go figure.

These prices are a bit outdated, but I bought a TTN/Cimarron from Sportsman's Warehouse in 2009 for $399.99, and a second one in 2011 for $389.99, also from SW.

My Fitbit is showing an odd trace today - I don't know what to make of it. The doc said it's likely to be somewhat erratic for a month or two... or even three, and I may need another electric cardioversion on top of the ablation.

I survived the ablation procedure Monday, spent the night at my sister's house, and drove home yesterday. Hard to tell yet, but I think I feel a little better - the cardiologist says the "blanking period" can take up to 2-3 months before everything is healed and my heart "resets". My hearth rhythm has been a little flatter yesterday and today, with high & low spikes not as severe as they have been (52-112 BPM today). Blood pressure has been on the low side (105-110/65ish) but slowly coming back up, and O2 saturation has been a little low (88-90ish). The cardiologist says it's common to have to top ablation off with another electric cardioversion to finish the process, and that it's much more effective after ablation than as a stand alone treatment. I have a follow up evaluation with her in a month and we'll see what she says.