This Old, Ugly Gun That I Love

[chopinbloc]

This is from an article that I got published on a minor blog.

My uncle gave me this old, ugly gun. It’s a.44 mag single action revolver. It’s beat up. The finish is worn. The plastic grips are shattered and held together with electrical tape. It is truly hideous but I love it.

The revolver was made by Herter’s back during the cold war in “Western Germany”. Presumably, they wanted to make West Germany sound a little more cowboyish (that’s a word now). The right side of the barrel is stamped “Herter’s Single Six”. It appears that they made a whole pile of them and then realized that they wouldn’t be able to sell them in the US with a blatant trademark infringement stamped right on the barrel so they struck out the “Six”.

The rest is here if you're interested.

Please give me some criticism. I'd like to continue writing so I need to know what I can improve.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I dig it!

The pistol and its history to you in the write-up http://www.homedefensegun.net/ugly-gun/ are pretty cool.
I think you should ditch the electrical tape and use baseball bat tape on the grip.

That front sight looks like it might be a wind vane in cross wind shooting.

I have an "ugly" that I completely adore... It's a Charter Arms "Target" (really?) Bulldog .44. So nasty that when people see it they think it's a beat up toy gun.

If this turns into a "mine's uglier than yours" thread, I'll put up pictures but don't wanna engage in hi-jacking just yet.

 

[chopinbloc]

Post away. Ugly gun pics are fun and you've piqued my interest.

 

[Schutzen]

That is a true gem to me. I have a lot of good memories for Herter's. My brother and I grew up about 60 miles south of Waseca, home of Herter's. It was the greatest place for young boys who loved to hunt and fish. I always keep and eye out for Herter's gear, but I have never found a Herter's single action.

 

[230RN]

Pretty good. I haven't heard the term "roscoe" in years, though.

I did wonder who your target audience is, with the description of the operation of the gun. And I thought fine sights were part of precision/target shooting.

Loved the horde of pop cans imagery.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Post away. Ugly gun pics are fun and you've piqued my interest.

Here it is and for once my crappy photographic abilities work in the opposite direction. You'll have to take my word for it that this thing looks waaaay better in the photos than in person. I got it in a trade for an old Scout II soft top back in the 80's and it banged around in various car floors, trunks and motorcycle bags for years. After "Manhunter" came out, I of course kept it loaded with Glasers but these days keep my werewolf bullets in it - Winchester Silver tips.
It's always been around, never fails to function and whaps the beejeepers outa anything it hits which is anything it's aimed at.

Long live ugly... and loved!

 

[tomturkey]

I have a Herter's single action 22 lr. pistol. I bought it for $23 probably around the era of your pistol 44 mag. I waited a number of months for delivery which the told me it would take .I think that they had to get enough orders to get them made in W. Germany.


This is the one that I just mentioned in another thread. A local Sherriff's deputy called asking whether I still had the gun after a gal at a gas station got shot in a robbery by a 22 revolver. That just went to prove that getting a pistol purchase permit in Michigan is simply another word for registry.

 

[ivankerley]

great write up! neat pistol and your choice in bourbon and glassware is impeccable! (i imbibe in the same and have jars as glasses too also have a thing for single actions )
really informative writeup, wonder if you can get grips to fit it?
Gene

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Please give me some criticism. I'd like to continue writing so I need to know what I can improve.

Here's one, starting at the beginning. Your first paragraph should have been your second.

Practicing on an existing piece can be the same as treating it as a draft. Think about initiating your piece with an opening statement setting the tone for the article's particulars. Something general but directly connected to what's coming. Light humor always serves firearms write-ups, just don't get carried away as to distract or diminish the reader's confidence in you.:

Everyone has/knows someone with an ugly gun..... because.... in spite of criticism... humor regarding enduring the shame of this guilty pleasure... unapologetic enjoyment... you know who you are!...
Finished up with something like: "Here's mine, a .44..." to introduce the rest of the article.

The first and the last paragraph are vitally important in bracketing your writing. First says "this is what I'm giving you" and the manner in which it is written supports the reader's decision to spend the time to read it.

The last one is a wrap up/conclusion reinforcing the article's body and severing your connection with the reader cleanly.

Hopefully, when done through content and presentation, the reader makes a point to note your name...

 

[Manny]

I liked the article quite a bit, but found it ended abruptly. A continuation after "A big hole." Such as "A big hole, and old ugly does the job just fine." Or just something to conclude it a bit better. Other than that I liked it quite a bit. It's a nice article you could easily expand a bit more. It had a nice vibe, akin to the flavor of the "One Good Gun" series that I've always loved.

 

[19-3Ben]

Hooray for ugly guns.
This one is in the nightstand as I type this, ready to defend my family should the need ever (G-d forbid) arise.

 

[chopinbloc]

Thank you for the constructive criticism and the pics off your own ugly guns, guys. I agree that I offered little in the way of conclusion. Like Mr. Gump, that's all I have to say about that.

 

[bainter1212]

Hooray for ugly guns.
This one is in the nightstand as I type this, ready to defend my family should the need ever (G-d forbid) arise.

Good god that is an ugly gun.

And yet it is somehow beautiful as well.

Ever been attracted to a girl solely because of her personality? I have (I married her). That is what this gun is.

 

[19-3Ben]

Good god that is an ugly gun.

Haha. I don't want to derail chopinbloc's thread, so I'll just post the link to the separate thread from the end of last year when I bought her. Long story short is that it was an armorer's training gun at Colt, so it has a ton of idiot marks, scratches, finish wear, etc... from being constantly handled, and broken down and reassembled a bagillion times. But I got it for a price I couldn't resist, it's more accurate than I am by a long shot, and will actually load empty cases from the mag. It's just dead nuts reliable like you can't believe.
So it wear night sights and the big ugly Hogue grips, and does defense duty.

I have no sentimental attachment to this gun, the way the OP describes. I really don't have a gun that was passed down to me that I consider precious the way he feels about his. I feel like I'm missing out.

 

[Sav .250]

"Ugly" does not always define the whole pic.

 

[Vodoun da Vinci]

This ugly old pistol was inherited from my Father in Law. Pocket carried by 4 generations of my Wife's kin until it was ugly as sin. Now in my care...



Not much finish left and plenty of dings and scratches but it sparked a love of Colt 1903's in .32 for me. I have three now and there will be others. The target proves it's value as these targets are 6"X10" which means the groups fired point shooting (without sights) at 21' in rapid fire can all be covered with a single hand. Lot's of accuracy and shooting fun to be had from this one yet.

96 years old and ugly but as accurate and functional as any pistol I own. Ugly don't mean nothin'...it's what's inside that matters most.

VooDoo

 

[19-3Ben]

...it's what's inside that matters most.

That's something only us people with ugly guns think!

 

[chopinbloc]

Haha. I don't want to derail chopinbloc's thread

So far as I'm concerned, this is now an ugly gun pic thread. That is a fine shooter you've got there, bainter. I prefer a long gun for home defense so this ugly gun does bedside duty for our family:



Guns that actually get used, as opposed to just sitting in the safe and maybe seeing a gentle range trip once a year, get character. There is something about that well worn look that I really love. This is my EDC Glock 23:

 

[gamestalker]

Ya, there are other inexpensive options to resolve the grips issue, but I know your attachments to an ugly gun, I have one as well. I ended up trying my hand at fashioning some home made wooden grips for that one, and believe it or not, they came out looking rather good after some on going work.

I have since gotten pretty good at making my own grips and rather enjoy doing it. I just made some grips for an old S&W 66-2 out of ironwood, a very dense hard wood from the ironwood tree. Very dark wood that some what resembles black walnut, but is practically indestructible. Look for hardwoods just laying on the ground to work with. Some of the best stuff is large limbs that have either been laying on the ground for years, or has been berried for years. Something about the color and cured state of such hardwoods I think?

GS

 

[Caddo]

No such thing as an Ugly gun, some just have more "Character" than others!

LD

 

[Spats McGee]

To my mind, there's a difference between an "ugly gun" and a "well-loved" (worn) gun. Hi-point comes to mind when I think of the former; almost anything with a good amount of holster wear when I think of the latter.

 

[JTHunter]

Vodoun da Vinci - you might like this.

Both pistols have been inherited from my grandfather. The revolver is a .38, possibly a "Long" but the cylinder no longer locks up and is retired.

The .38 can be seen here in Post #35. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=605603&page=2

The Colt .32 functions well but it appears that the barrel is shot out and the accuracy is lousy. Its serial number is 122xxx and is about 95 y.o.
One picture is here in Post #97 - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=589413&page=4

Sorry for the links but I don't know how to transfer those pictures to this thread.

 

[chopinbloc]

Here you go:

To post an image that is already hosted somewhere, right click on the image and select "Copy image location" (for Firefox, wording is slightly different in IE, Chrome, etc.) then click on the icon that looks like mountains with a sun to the left of the quote icon and paste the link into the box that pops up.

There are ethical considerations to linking to content that is already hosted. This can causes traffic on a site's server without the benefit of ad revenue if it is an ad supported site. There are other considerations too so be thoughtful when you are doing it.

 

[JTHunter]

Thanks chopinbloc!

 

[WoodchuckAssassin]

Ugly = Strong!

Love the pics. I always tend to trust a gun that another has trusted before me...perhaps several others