- Messages
- 114
- Reactions
- 426
Some time back I happened across a Hawe's Western Marshal .45 Colt/.45 ACP convertible for $275 and snatched it up with the thought of converting it to a Sheriff's Model. I decided to clean it up and refinish it- and discovered it would not take blueing. In fact I couldn't make it rust- if the gun isn't stainless it's so close as to make no difference. The original dark finish- which looked rather paint-like on the side of the frame- was apparently sort of dark laquered finish. I reshaped the frame under the barrel to more closely resemble a Colt and I liked the result so much I didn't immediately make any further modifications.
It was a good shooter and I kept it around for a time, but recently I decided it was time to follow the original plan. I removed the ejector, cut the barrel at 3-3/8" and re-crowned it. I bored out the un-fluted .45ACP cylinder to take .45 Colt because I like the look of an unfluted cylinder. I removed and cut down the original sight then re-mounted it. I also ground off the ejector housing on the frame. I ground a finger-nail nick at the edge of each chamber to make it easier to remove the empties.
Came out quite handsome, I think, and is a handy little gun. Shoots great, though I had an issue with the front sight- the rounded top tends to disappear under some lighting conditions, making me shoot a bit too high. Pretty easy to compensate for once you know it's happening. Most of the time the empties come out easily with the application of a finger-nail, but one chamber is consistently sticky, so some quality-time with the reamer is in order there.
This target was fired at a brisk pace at seven yards-
This one was shot standing/unsupported at twenty-five yards- you can see that aiming error I was talking about in the first two shots; the one off to the right is just plain bad shooting-
Nothing that more practice won't take care of- and this gun is a pleasure to shoot, so that's a tragedy of limited scope!
The rounds I was using had a 200gr. LSWC over 8.0gr. of Unique with a CCI300 Large Pistol Primer. I find this to be a good mid-range load, and out of this gun it made for a pleasant jolt when firing.
I'm really happy with how this gun has come out. I need to put a holster on it- stoked with some 255gr. Kieth bullets this might just be my new woods-walking gun!
It was a good shooter and I kept it around for a time, but recently I decided it was time to follow the original plan. I removed the ejector, cut the barrel at 3-3/8" and re-crowned it. I bored out the un-fluted .45ACP cylinder to take .45 Colt because I like the look of an unfluted cylinder. I removed and cut down the original sight then re-mounted it. I also ground off the ejector housing on the frame. I ground a finger-nail nick at the edge of each chamber to make it easier to remove the empties.
Came out quite handsome, I think, and is a handy little gun. Shoots great, though I had an issue with the front sight- the rounded top tends to disappear under some lighting conditions, making me shoot a bit too high. Pretty easy to compensate for once you know it's happening. Most of the time the empties come out easily with the application of a finger-nail, but one chamber is consistently sticky, so some quality-time with the reamer is in order there.
This target was fired at a brisk pace at seven yards-
This one was shot standing/unsupported at twenty-five yards- you can see that aiming error I was talking about in the first two shots; the one off to the right is just plain bad shooting-
Nothing that more practice won't take care of- and this gun is a pleasure to shoot, so that's a tragedy of limited scope!
The rounds I was using had a 200gr. LSWC over 8.0gr. of Unique with a CCI300 Large Pistol Primer. I find this to be a good mid-range load, and out of this gun it made for a pleasant jolt when firing.
I'm really happy with how this gun has come out. I need to put a holster on it- stoked with some 255gr. Kieth bullets this might just be my new woods-walking gun!
