- Happiness does not consist of stuff. It consists of people you love and who love you.

- Nothing in life is perfect. The most beautiful country in the world has mosquitoes!

- The art of waiting.

- That joy is not connected with circumstances
.
- To be content with what you have.

- To live in the grace of one day at a time.

- That a mango eaten in the shade of a tree on a hot day is more refreshing when shared with a friend.

- That sometimes asking questions is better than giving instructions.

- Even those in poverty are loving, kind, giving and enjoy sharing what they have.

- The rich are not people with a lot of stuff. The rich are people who need the least.

- Patience

- The importance of being WITH someone today! Appreciating them NOW! And communicating that to them in the moment!

- The strength of children.

- The harmony of love despite differences.

- The exterior of a person means little to nothing. It's what they are inside, that is vital.

- The power of community in the Holy Spirit.

11.6×53mmR = .45-70 Government
7.62×63mm = .30-06 Springfield
7.62×51mmR = .30-30 Winchester

Murphy

A 4th Generation .. made with the removable cylinder bushing

The action was stiff ... heavy springs ... the cylinder hand (pawl) was dragging pretty heavily indicating the spring needed tuned. And with the cylinder removed, if the hammer was pulled to full cock and the trigger depressed, the hammer would not drop until the hand was pushed back into the recess, so it was binding on something.

Last week I had enough freedom in my right hand that I felt comfortable to field-strip the sixgun. I did in a cardboard box because I tend to drop things with my right hand, not having good feeling in the forefinger and thumb. And I hate like the dickens to have a part drop on the floor of my shop and disappear the Lord knows where forever!

The pawl .. note the spring

Kuhnhausen says this is one way of three to tune the spring .. which is the method I used.

I installed a wire trigger/bolt spring in place of the flat spring.

I found that the hand was binding on the cut-out where it comes through the recoil plate. If you cocked the gun slowly watching the hand you could see it being pushed to the side.

Using jewelers files and a small grinding stone I removed the protrusion and now the hand works smoothly.

To reduce the power of the hammer spring I put a leather shim under it. It still feels heavy and I may need to replace it later.

My idea is once I start shooting again I will run about 500 rounds or so through it and see how it is after it is broken in a bit. For now the feel of it is more to my liking than it was out of the box.

I don't believe the gun was carried in a holster or shot much. There are no wear marks anyplace on it. That will be taken care of, the Good Lord willing.

And since we don't have a back to the top ability , here is the link back in time to an interesting topic.....

https://sixshootercommunity.com/forum/index.php?mode=thread&id=66388

caught somewheres in the neighbourhood of 37 tiny fishes on flies and micro jigs.....

It really felt good to get my trotters in the cool water !

45 Colt: Best of the Oldtimers

The .45 Colt was the evolutionary product of the transition period from cap & ball handguns to fixed cartridges. The 1860 Colt Army revolver had been converted to cartridges by several methods in order to get around the Rollin White patents held by Smith & Wesson. When that patent expired Colt came out with an interim cartridge gun based on the 1860 Army frame. It was made with a recoil plate, a loading gate, and had an ejector rod on the barrel. They were made in both centerfire and rimfire and were called the Model 1872.

The paper-thin chamber walls in the cylinders would not take much pressure. The cartridge used a "heel" type bullet similar in design to the .22 rimfire bullet. Called a "44 Colt", the actual bullet diameter was .452" - the same diameter as the .45 Colt is today. The .44 Colt cartridge was shorter and smaller than the later .45 Colt, measuring only 1.1" in length. It was loaded with a fairly light charge of black powder and used a pointed bullet.

In 1873 Colt introduced the Single Action Army (also known as the "Model P") along with the .45 Colt cartridge. It was the military caliber for 17 years and like most military calibers that worked well in combat, it became popular with civilians. That it has remained a favorite so long after more "modern" cartridges have been introduced is a testimony to its effectiveness. Now more than 150 years old it is still one of the best. 

The original factory loads were pretty powerful. With an advertised bullet weight of 250 gr. at a velocity of 910 fps, it created over 460 foot pounds of muzzle energy. I once re-created those loadings using original REM-UMC balloon-head cases and 40 gr. of Dupont 3Fg blackpowder. I used the Lyman bullet #454190 which is a faithful reproduction of the original factory bullet except it is not hollow-based like the originals were. In my 7 1/2" Ruger .45 these loads averaged 962 fps and produced a muzzle energy of 532 ft. lbs.! No wimps by any means.

(NOTE: It is possible that the original loading was with 30 gr. of black powder. The cartridges were inside-primed copper cases. Those who invesitgate such things say that the 40 grain loading did not start until the 1880's, introduced by Remington. What has been found of original ammo supports this.)

Original .45 Colt copper case inside-primed

In the 1980s some ammo companies tried to heat up the .45 a bit by going to a light bullet at what used to be normal velocities for this cartridge. Their use of a light bullet defeated the whole purpose of the .45 and my use of them has been less than satisfactory. Most are advertised at 1000 fps or so but in actual use do not exceed or sometimes even equal what you can get with a heavier bullet and a full load of black powder. I shot some dogs and a few coyotes with various loads and was never satisfied with the performance I got. On a coyote some loads would not penetrate completely on a crossways shot. And a coyote is not very thick. 

The so-called "Cowboy" loads today are fun to shoot, and many are supremely accurate. But they are loaded too light to be used seriously. They are "game" loads used for playing games, and should be treated as such. Personally I would not use them for anything serious.

By the way, I do appreciate those who shoot full-power blackpowder loads in the "cowboy" matches. They have a handful. Using real loads is much more realistic than using gallery loads, but as Mr. Keith said, "Every dog has to scratch his own fleas" .. so those who play games are free to do whatever is allowed by the rules of the game.

Introduced so many years ago, the .45 Colt still lives. It outlasted those who tried to replace it. The light Smith & Wesson Schofield load has been re-introduced as a "game" cartridge due to its low noise and light recoil. Until then it had been as dead as the man who designed it.  Poor Major Schofield who designed the pistol used one to kill himself down at old Ft Bowie in the Arizona Territory. The Colt Single Action and the .45 Colt ammo outlasted them all.

LINK

Thank you for the prayers and kind thoughts and sarcastic observations!! I loved 'em all.

Honestly, I don't remember any sarcastic comments. Other places I got questions why an 80 year old guy was driving a fast go kart, like that was something weird. The best though was the Doctor when I was in Rehab. He was interested in my life so we talked about traveling around the world, living in foreign countries. When I checked out of Rehab he said, "I probably shouldn't say this but I hope when I am your age I do something similar."

https://m.youtube.com/@tenkaraangler/videos

Meanwhile I have the requisite "shovels and rakes and other implements of destruction" needed to catch tiny fishes at the ready.....

Yes .. I would like to go to Africa again.