Horvath Lil Ruger

[CraigC]

Way back in 1990, at the ripe old age of 16, I was already a couple years deep into an American Handgunner subscription and well on my way to becoming the sixgun nut I am today. I was already a fan of folks like Bob Milek, Ross Seyfried, JD Jones, Larry Kelly and others. Chief among those early enablers was John Taffin and that has lasted until this day. I don't recall exactly but I'm sure the article on the "Lil Rugers" built by Andy Horvath had a lot to do with it. No doubt it was what sparked my interest in the .44 Special cartridge and Skeeter's idea of converting the Old Model Blackhawk .357 to chamber it. It was so influential that 10yrs later, when it came time to build my first custom, it was indeed an Old Model conversion on a beater flat-top I'd found in a local blackpowder shop and the work was done by Jim Stroh. It was heavily influenced by one of the sixguns from the article.

Fast forward another 20 plus years and I decided to finally have Horvath build me a Lil Ruger, like my favorite from the article. I had procured a basic "eared" Old Model .357 years earlier, along with a take-off XR3 grip frame. About two years ago, it was boxed up, along with slabs of resin ivory and sent to Horvath. The details were to include a new premium barrel at four inches, polished and roundbutted grip frame, polished blue finish, a custom front sight and color cased hammer and trigger. As usually happens, you end up forgetting about this treasure in the making, so I was surprised to find a hand written letter from Horvath in the mail. The sixgun was finished and he needed only payment. This is what returned. To say that I am ecstatic would be an understatement, it's been a long time coming.

 

[CraigC]

The article.

 

[Kookla]

@CraigC looks fantastic. Are those grips from resin-ivory? I've periodically have bugged you about these They look great- what do you think about them? How do they feel?

 

[1KPerDay]

Wow! Gorgeous. Congrats! Who makes the resin ivory?

 

[Mark_Mark]

Jezzes Chris I love your collections! They got so much substance to them. not just a rich dude flexing cash but Stories!

WHAT was the final bill??? we won’t tell

 

[Mark_Mark]

Custom Question… Why does it take 2 years for these gun to be complete ?

 

[CraigC]

Horvath's grips are fantastic. I gave him no parameters on making them, just provided the material. They're just the right width, perfectly shaped and fitted. They feel great!

Resin ivory comes from Guitar Parts. It's actually pretty cheap as raw material.

Resin-Ivory™ Gun Grip Blanks 1911 and SAA

Imitation ivory for gun grips in 1911 style and single action army revolver style. Resin-Ivory™ is the highest quality imitation ivory we have seen,worked or handled - ever.

guitarpartsandmore.com

Jezzes Chris I love your collections! They got so much substance to them. not just a rich dude flexing cash but Stories!

WHAT was the final bill??? we won’t tell

No rich dude flexing. I've wanted this sixgun since I was in high school. Had the hard chrome Stroh gun built 25yrs ago when I was making $9/hr as a field tech. Final bill was $1650.

Custom Question… Why does it take 2 years for these gun to be complete ?

That's how long the line is in front of you.

 

[Bazoo]

Very nice! Congratulations. Would you be kind enough to post a picture of the rest of the article so that I could read it? I've not read that one before.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Horvath's grips are fantastic. I gave him no parameters on making them, just provided the material. They're just the right width, perfectly shaped and fitted. They feel great!

Resin ivory comes from Guitar Parts. It's actually pretty cheap as raw material.

Resin-Ivory™ Gun Grip Blanks 1911 and SAA

Imitation ivory for gun grips in 1911 style and single action army revolver style. Resin-Ivory™ is the highest quality imitation ivory we have seen,worked or handled - ever.

guitarpartsandmore.com

No rich dude flexing. I've wanted this sixgun since I was in high school. Had the hard chrome Stroh gun built 25yrs ago when I was making $9/hr as a field tech. Final bill was $1650.



That's how long the line is in front of you.

2 year line! Nowonder you forgot about it

 

[CraigC]

2 year line! Nowonder you forgot about it

Two years is pretty typical. Some are longer.

 

[1KPerDay]

Is the XR3 grip different from the grip that comes on the 3-screw .357 Blackhawk? I'm usually not a fan of 2-tone silver/blue revolvers but that one's a looker. I assume the grip frame is polished aluminum or did he clear-coat over it?

I've tried learning about the differences in ruger grips but now I'm even more confused LOL. XR3 old model, XR3 new model, XR3 Red, etc.

RW Grip Frames - XR3 New Model

rwgripframes-com.3dcartstores.com

Which Ruger Grip Panels Fit My Frame? - Texas Grips

RUGER GRIP STYLES “Which Ruger grip panels fit my frame?” There has been much confusion over Ruger grip frames and which model uses which grip panel. The greatest confusion is between the XR3 style frames and the XR3 Red style frames. This can be very confusing, even for those of us in the...

texasgrips.com

 

[1KPerDay]

Two years is pretty typical. Some are longer.

I like that he didn't charge you until the gun was complete. Some custom smiths make you pay up front, don't they?

 

[shoebox1.1]

I’m very impressed. It’s super nice and congrats!!! My buddy has a full build Gemini customs sp101 and the all out guns are a sight to behold!

 

[doubleh]

That is a real work of art. I was a fan of Skelton as well as Taffin. Is Taffin still writing? I quit subscribing to gun magazines years ago, same ol', same ol', over and over mostly and then the tactical craze hit. I just picked up one now and then that had something interesting that I wanted to read, Then Hastings went away and I found them at Walmart until they did away with everything except women's magazines.

You are still somewhat of a kid in my eyes. My oldest grandson is only 6 years younger than you.

 

[RKRCPA]

Awesome looking sixshooter you've got there!

 

[Riomouse911]

2 year line! Nowonder you forgot about it

Ya, that’s quite a wait. The premier shops always have a long turnaround time, and sometimes they even quit taking in guns to work on for a while so the backlog can be reduced.

Beautiful stuff @CraigC, beautiful stuff indeed!!

Stay safe.

 

[Riomouse911]

That is a real work of art. I was a fan of Skelton as well as Taffin. Is Taffin still writing? I quit subscribing to gun magazines years ago, same ol', same ol', over and over mostly and then the tactical craze hit. I just picked up one now and then that had something interesting that I wanted to read, Then Hastings went away and I found them at Walmart until they did away with everything except women's magazines.

You are still somewhat of a kid in my eyes. My oldest grandson is only 6 years younger than you.

John Taffin still churns out a few articles a month, almost always revolver or lever rifle related. (Which is why I always read his stuff .)

Stay safe.

 

[dickydalton]

Does it have the safety conversion?

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

MAN SAKE's ALIVE. THat's tastier than a perfect English muffin toasted with butter and jam! .... Magnificant CraigC.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

That is a real work of art. I was a fan of Skelton as well as Taffin. Is Taffin still writing? I quit subscribing to gun magazines years ago, same ol', same ol', over and over mostly and then the tactical craze hit. I just picked up one now and then that had something interesting that I wanted to read, Then Hastings went away and I found them at Walmart until they did away with everything except women's magazines.

You are still somewhat of a kid in my eyes. My oldest grandson is only 6 years younger than you.

I believe Mr.Taffin recently passed.

Edit: Coulda sworn I read this, but can't find confirmation now. Maybe Im thinking of someone else?

Oh well, anyway that's an amazing Blackhawk Craig, congratulations!

 

[doubleh]

I believe Mr.Taffin recently passed.

If he has the internet knows nothing about it as I just did a search. If he is still kickin' he is a year and a half younger than me.

 

[CraigC]

Yep, Taffin is still at it. He just turned out another book in the last year or two and I think he has more on the way. I sent him a holster a little over a year ago.

Is the XR3 grip different from the grip that comes on the 3-screw .357 Blackhawk? I'm usually not a fan of 2-tone silver/blue revolvers but that one's a looker. I assume the grip frame is polished aluminum or did he clear-coat over it?

I've tried learning about the differences in ruger grips but now I'm even more confused LOL. XR3 old model, XR3 new model, XR3 Red, etc.

RW Grip Frames - XR3 New Model

rwgripframes-com.3dcartstores.com

Which Ruger Grip Panels Fit My Frame? - Texas Grips

RUGER GRIP STYLES “Which Ruger grip panels fit my frame?” There has been much confusion over Ruger grip frames and which model uses which grip panel. The greatest confusion is between the XR3 style frames and the XR3 Red style frames. This can be very confusing, even for those of us in the...

texasgrips.com

The original "flat-top" Blackhawk and Single Six had the aluminum XR3 grip frame. It was a dead ringer for the Colt SAA/Navy pattern. For a lot of folks, myself included, the original flat-top guns are the pinnacle of Ruger single action production and the XR3 has a lot to do with that. The Horvath gun is just polished aluminum.

In 1962, Ruger made changes to the Blackhawks when they eliminated the "flat-top" and added the protective ears around the rear sight. They also enlarged the area behind the triggerguard to allow more room for the knuckles. I can't call it "bigger". Picture it like stretching the banana back towards the shooter. They called it the XR3-RED (redesign). It was standard on all plowhandle guns and transitioned through the NM change. In 2005/6, Ruger introduced the 50th anniversary Blackhawks and the New Vaquero. For this, they introduced a new steel version of the old XR3. It's the grip frame that's been put on every flat-top Blackhawk to date except the Bisley and all New Vaqueros but the birdshead and Bisley models.

I like that he didn't charge you until the gun was complete. Some custom smiths make you pay up front, don't they?

Sometimes you have to send in a deposit but usually not. I think they count the gun as a deposit and depend on being able to sell it off to recover their expenses if you don't pay up.

Does it have the safety conversion?

No sir! I've never sent one in but I think I have a parts kit to convert one back in my stash.

 

[CraigC]

Very nice! Congratulations. Would you be kind enough to post a picture of the rest of the article so that I could read it? I've not read that one before.

Can you read the one above? I'll try and get the rest.

 

[RKRCPA]

Can you read the one above? I'll try and get the rest.

Here's a link to the article on sixguns.com

Horvath's Little Rugers

 

[CraigC]

Here's a link to the article on sixguns.com

Horvath's Little Rugers

Cool! I didn't realize it was on Sixguns.