An Arizona Ranger with a Big Iron on his Hip

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

Got a fun little something to add to my look from time to time.  You've probably seen the gun before, but not the new thing.

 

 

The pistol of course, is my recreation of the Big Iron pistol that inspired the Marty Robbins song.  I found this place selling these badges, and thought they looked oretty cool.  The quality of the star is rather decent.  According to the Arizona Rangers website, it is about as accurate as a pea shooter, but I still think it's kinda cool looking.   So, the next time I take out the Big Iron, this star will be on my vest.

[Cpt Dan Blodgett, SASS #75655]

Volunteer as a Ranger at EOT and you earn an AZ Ranger Badge

[Possum Stu]

On 10/8/2022 at 6:54 AM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

Got a fun little something to add to my look from time to time.  You've probably seen the gun before, but not the new thing.

 

 

The pistol of course, is my recreation of the Big Iron pistol that inspired the Marty Robbins song.  I found this place selling these badges, and thought they looked oretty cool.  The quality of the star is rather decent.  According to the Arizona Rangers website, it is about as accurate as a pea shooter, but I still think it's kinda cool looking.   So, the next time I take out the Big Iron, this star will be on my vest.

 

I love that revolver, and the badge is a perfect complement to it. Owning/building a "Big Iron" like that with a long octagon barrel is on my bucket list. 

[Chili Pepper Kid, SASS #60463]

That's awesome!

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

10 hours ago, Possum Stu said:

 

I love that revolver, and the badge is a perfect complement to it. Owning/building a "Big Iron" like that with a long octagon barrel is on my bucket list. 

The Wikipedia article that describes the original Big Iron that inspired the song, and this pistol, has changed again.   It now says the barrel is a cut down Winchester one, not a Marlin like it has said for years.   

I have spoken to someone who knows the owner of the original pistol.   It is my dream to photograph mine next to it someday.

Someday...

[Possum Stu]

On 10/11/2022 at 8:43 AM, H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 said:

The Wikipedia article that describes the original Big Iron that inspired the song, and this pistol, has changed again.   It now says the barrel is a cut down Winchester one, not a Marlin like it has said for years.   

I have spoken to someone who knows the owner of the original pistol.   It is my dream to photograph mine next to it someday.

Someday...

 

I'd have that same dream if I were you! 

 

So, what was the process of putting yours together like? How difficult was it to replace the barrel?

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

2 hours ago, Possum Stu said:

 

I'd have that same dream if I were you! 

 

So, what was the process of putting yours together like? How difficult was it to replace the barrel?

 

The pistol itself is an Armi San Marco, and it had a 5-1/2" barrel.  A fairly generic pistol that I got for $250 in my early days of SASS.   I figured it was a good candidate for the project.  The grips are Pietta 1860 grips.   I have a Pietta 1860, and when I tried them on the ASM, they fit like a glove, so got them.   They were just a matter of swapping them out.   However, the wooden grips themselves DID require a little fitting to slide on to the grip frame.

Unlike the original, mine is a .45 Colt, not a .44 Magnum.  When I started the project, the article on Wiki said it was a "cut down rifle" barrel, but did not say cut down from what.   At first, the article said it was a .45, but it changed to .44 Magnum while I was working on my project.   Since the article did not specify, I assumed it was an octagon barrel.  I later learned that this was not the case, and was told that it was a round Marlin barrel.   I didn't really care about that all that much, as I had already found an octagon Rossi 92 barrel in .45 Colt, and I thought it would look cooler anyway.  Getting the barrel fitted was by far the most difficult task.   The first gunsmith I tried said he could not do it, but he knew someone with a lathe who might be able to.   He wanted a couple thousand dollars.  I said no.
 

Second smith I checked with was able to do it for a few hundred bucks, I figured that was okay.  He was not sure if he'd be able to put the ejector back on, but he was.

On a final note, over the years, the most common length I'd heard for the barrel on the original was 10".   Mine is just under that at 9 something.  I recently read that that the original's barrel is 12", so I don't know what to believe anymore.      IF I ever get to see it, I'll finally know.   If I don't, well, I have my own.

And who knows, maybe someday someone will market a replica.   I doubt it, but a man can dream.  

That by the way, is another dream.   I'd love to see an article about the original with many pics, and have it also feature mine as a "replica" made based on the then vague on details Wikipedia article.

I have strange dreams.