The Downside Of
Shooting Single Actions

Happy New Year, now take some advice from an old guy with something of fondness for single-action sixguns. They have a downside.

Just before the holidays, I spent some time at the range checking velocity differences between some of my .45 Colt handloads and some commercial ammunition loaded for “Cowboy Action” shooting. My pet load of 6.9 grains of HP38 behind a 255-grain Hornady RNL-FP clocked right in there slightly above 825 fps out of my Ruger New Vaquero with its 7 ½-inch barrel and a bit slower out of my 4 5/8-inch model. The top speed over my chronograph was 886.6 fps out of the longer barrel.

Meanwhile, the commercial loads came in around 750-775 fps with the highest speed of 787.8 fps over the screens, with the Chrony set about 30 inches ahead of the muzzle.

I don’t participate in Cowboy Action, but I frequently pack either of the Vaquero revolvers or one of my Ruger Blackhawks in .41 Magnum when I’m off the pavement. Bears may be sleeping for the winter, but in my region, there are mountain lions and they’re hungry 24/7/365. I don’t consider myself part of the menu.

So, now and then, it is prudent to hit the range just to, as one of my elders used to say, “keep my eye in.”

I don’t know about any of you, but whenever I touch one off out of any of those wheelguns, the rear of the trigger guard gives the middle joint of the middle finger of my gun hand a rap, and occasionally, it’s painful. No wonder folks who use single actions more than I do might have developed a small blister or callous on the same finger of their gun hand in the same spot.

What’s Up With That?

Long story short, this is the downside of shooting single-action revolvers. Pachmayr makes a rubber replacement grip for the Ruger Blackhawk which fills in the gap between the rear of the trigger guard and the grip frame to alleviate the problem. I’ve used them, and they’re superb.

However, I’m guilty of sticking with conventional grips, so it’s my choice, and the sore finger is the price paid for some exhilarating shooting.

The same thing has happened occasionally when I shoot a double-action revolver with “magna”-type grip panels. Here, again, during recoil the rear of the trigger guard can deliver a possibly brutal smack to that middle finger.

The upside of single-action revolvers — at least the ones I own — is that they’re reasonably accurate with the handloads I’ve used over the years. And they’re just a lot of fun. The modern single-action revolver really is a finely made firearm, with modern materials and metallurgy, 21st-century technology and construction. My guns all go “Bang!” when the hammer drops, which is all anyone can really expect.

So, what’s a fellow to do about the sore finger? Apply a little ice, rub it with some salve, wear a glove; there are all sorts of things which might provide at least a temporary remedy. Of course, this time of year, one could hang beef at my local gun range. From November through March, I don’t think the sun ever shines directly into the ravine where the range is located. I actually shot a match in there one winter and it was so cold, several guys showed signs of hypothermia.

The finger soreness hasn’t impaired my shooting, as all of my single-actions seem to put ‘em where they need to go. The same dilemma shouldn’t interfere with your shooting, either.

In the weeks ahead, I’m going to be trying out loads in .45 Colt using a different propellant, CFE Pistol, for a little boost in velocity, whether using Hornady’s lead projectile or a 250-grain jacketed XTP. Watch for a report.

Fallout for Fibbing

It was just this time last month that President Joe Biden reneged on his repeated promises not to pardon his son, Hunter, who had been convicted of federal firearms felonies and had pleaded guilty to tax offenses.

Golly, who didn’t see that coming? At least as he heads into the sunset, Joe Biden has remained consistent. He lied about the pardon. Get over it. Telling fibs has been a key ingredient of his political life. Check the number of times he’s been given “Pinocchios” by The Washington Post fact checker Glenn Kessler.

There are several “inside” stories about how and why Joe crawfished. The one which makes the most sense is that he really didn’t have anything to lose after his own party had pushed him aside in July and then lost the presidential election decisively. Donald Trump takes office in about three weeks, and there will be new leadership in the Justice Department. It was time to give his kid an early Christmas present, and he really didn’t owe anyone in the party anything.

But what about the future? Some observers have suggested Hunter’s pardon was a death knell for any further restrictive gun control proposals. Where most people might draw jail time, Hunter danced away.

Possibly the stupidest argument Joe Biden made to justify his decision was that “the Justice Department’s handling of the cases against Hunter Biden was politicized.” Maybe the president hadn’t noticed, but it was his Justice Department handling Hunter’s prosecution, as noted by Fox News.

Here’s an interesting tidbit. According to the Orlando, Florida-based Hornsby Law Firm’s website, “Under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, a person convicted of Felon in Possession of a Firearm would be assigned a base offense level between 12-26, which carries a guideline range of 10-78 months in prison before taking into account any mitigating or aggravating circumstances.”

Adding insult to injury, a recent Rasmussen survey showed public support for Trump has gone up. Fifty-three percent of likely voters have a “favorable impression” of Trump, although 46% view him unfavorably.

According to Rasmussen, public sentiment runs along party lines, with 78% of Democrats disliking Trump while 89% of Republicans viewing him favorably. Fifty-one percent of Independents also favor Trump, which explains the outcome of the Nov. 5 election.

They’re Back!

Like it or not, within the next couple of weeks, in most states, legislatures begin new sessions, and in some of those states, rest assured, anti-gunners will be looking to take down firearms preemption laws.

Case in point: Pennsylvania. Late last year (yeah, this is 2025; 2024 went away a couple of days ago), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld the state’s preemption law by telling the City of Philadelphia and other municipalities they could not adopt stricter gun control laws. Preemption statutes place sole authority for firearms regulations in the hands of state legislatures and are the most important roadblock to anti-gun local governments.

A string of mayors in Seattle have been trying to take down the Evergreen State’s 40-year-old preemption law almost since it took effect. In Colorado, the Democrat-controlled legislature repealed the Centennial State’s preemption statute three years ago. The move hasn’t prevented any violent crimes by allowing cities to adopt their own gun restrictions, though.

According to the Pennsylvania Mirror, 42 states have preemption laws. They provide gun law uniformity. Gun control proponents have never explained what is wrong with that, but they don’t like it because they’re convinced that passing just “one more law” is going to solve the problem of violent crime.

Start paying attention to what your state legislature is up to. The holidays are over, and all of that good cheer went away with whatever was left of your Christmas tree and the shredded gift wrapping.

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