From the Hip

Lipsey’s, LLC and Ruger have teamed up to offer a very special edition Ruger New Model Blackhawk chambered in 45 Colt with a convertible 45 ACP cylinder. The gun will celebrate the many contributions and influence that gun writer John Taffin has brought to the firearms industry. The initial production run will be in stainless steel, with a blue version offered at a later date. Production will begin before the end of 2024 or early 2025.

John Taffin enjoyed a writing career that began in the 1960s, but it was not until the early 1980s that he became mainstream with regular contributions to Guns and American Handgunner magazines. In addition to many feature articles, he wrote popular columns such as The Sixgunner, Handloader, Campfire Tales and Taffin Tests. His knowledge of firearms history and insight as a shooter, handloader and hunter have truly set him apart in a crowded field.

Furthermore, beginning in 1997, Taffin authored his first book, Big Bore Sixguns. Remarkably, he has now authored a total of 10 books, mostly based on handguns. While most are out of print, Wolfe Publishing is currently offering high quality, made in the USA, full-color books, including John Taffin’s Book of the .44 Caliber, John Taffin’s Book of the .45 Caliber, John Taffin’s Book of Double-Action Sixguns and John Taffin’s Book of Small-Bore Sixguns, Semiautomatics and Single-Shots (WolfeOutdoorSports.com).  

On a more personal note, it has been nearly 45 years since I first became acquainted with John Taffin when he was working as a math teacher in a Boise, Idaho, middle school. As we discussed guns, cast bullets and handloading, it quickly became clear to each other that we were not casual sixgunners! We could each quote bullet mould numbers, powder charges and velocities as accurately and easily as our own names. We each discussed our love of big-bore sixgun cartridges and our special fondness for the 44 Special. I showed him my King custom Colt SAA with one-piece ivory stocks and a Smith & Wesson Model 1950 Target and considered myself lucky to own them. A couple of weeks later, John showed up with a hard case stuffed full of thirteen Colt, Smith & Wesson, and Great Western sixguns, all chambered in 44 Special. I had never seen so many in one spot!

Our friendship grew steadily, and not long after that, John became a regular writer for FMG magazines. We often hunted together, but sometimes we would just pack a lunch, put a couple of dozen sixguns and a large quantity of ammunition in the back of my old ranch pickup and head for the mountains just to spend the day shooting.

There are a couple of notable events that included a mutual friend by the name of John Linebaugh from Cody, Wyoming. We had each been corresponding with Linebaugh for three or four years and had been testing his custom-built Seville Single Actions converted to 45 Colt with oversized, special heat-treated cylinders, tight chambers, minimum spec throats, tight barrel/cylinder gap, etc., and had been impressed with accuracy, precision and power potential of his guns.

During a visit with John Linebaugh, he handed John and me a 348 Winchester case that had been cut down to 1.4 inches and a freshly cut steel “bullet” inserted (a dummy round) and sought our opinions. We discussed building a gun on the Ruger New Model Blackhawk Bisley (just recently introduced), and we all agreed that it would be a great idea if it could be housed in a practical-sized sixgun (actually a five-shooter, but you know what I mean). This was the beginning of the 500 Linebaugh, followed by the 475 Linebaugh three years later.

Taffin was inspired and he soon sent out a query letter to close friends who were serious handgunners about a hypothetical gathering wherein you could only bring two handguns, and each of us would choose to perform a variety of unknown shooting tasks. After the responses (John’s own response included a Colt New Frontier 44 Special with a 7 1⁄2-inch barrel and a Smith & Wesson Model 27 357 Magnum with an 8 3⁄8-inch barrel), we decided to make the event a real thing in western Wyoming. The event was held in June, 1986, and was hosted by Freedom Arms. It ultimately became “The Shootist Holiday.” Over the next few years, it became an influential organization, with Taffin serving as Chairman for many years.  

One of Taffin’s most famous quests began when he started “the search” for the “Perfect Packin’ Pistol” (PPP), with the idea sprouting during the Linebaugh trip. To quote Taffin, “Basically, a Perfect Packin’ Pistol is a handgun, either sixgun or semi-auto with an easy-handling barrel length between 4 to 5 1⁄2 inches chambered in a cartridge capable of handling anything you may run into. It’s packable, portable and potent. It may be chambered in anything from 22 LR up to 500 Wyoming Express. While the former may work well in several parts of the country, the latter would certainly be most desirable in Alaska, where you’d encounter something able to bite, claw or stomp.”

Taffin formally retired in early 2024 at the age of 85 after having a couple of health issues that he needed to focus on. I am happy to report that he is doing well, but at his age recovery will take time.

During the summer of 2024, I received a call from Jason Cloessner at Lipsey’s. We discussed ideas for a special run of the PPP. Projects like this often take years to plan and get into production, so we wanted to select a gun that would be truly special, had not been offered previously and could be in production in just a few months. This project would be a total surprise to John. We selected the Ruger medium frame (A.K.A. 357 frame) New Model Blackhawk flat-top Bisley chambered in 45 Colt with a convertible 45 ACP cylinder. Barrel lengths would include 45⁄8 inches and 51⁄2 inches. The serial numbers would begin with JT-0001, with the first gun already presented to John Taffin, while gun JT-0002 was presented to this writer and JT-0003 will be used for promotional purposes at Lipsey’s. The above guns are the only pre-production guns, while full production is scheduled for late December 2024 or early 2025.  

John is probably most recognized for his work with big-bore sixguns, making the Ruger New Model Blackhawk 45 Bisley built on the medium frame an outstanding choice as the PPP. The smaller frame reduces weight and size, improves balance, and the axis of the bore is lower than the larger-frame Blackhawks. The cylinder and frame are still large enough to handle potent handloads for big-game hunters or anyone needing a powerful sixgun with the 45 ACP cylinder adding versatility. Incidentally, the Bisley grip frame was influenced by the famous Keith No. 5 Colt SAA and is incredibly comfortable for handling recoil, offers a natural feel and is easy to shoot well. The flat-top style frame is handsome and houses the micro-rear sight just like the classic 1955 vintage Ruger Blackhawk 357 sixguns.

When fitted with the 45 Colt cylinder, the PPP is capable of handling greater pressures than SAAMI specifications, which are limited to 14,000 psi. Although the strength is there to go to even higher pressures, I heartily suggest handloads that generate 23,000 psi, which is the same pressure level as the 45 ACP +P (with Ruger recommending +P 45 ACP loads for this sixgun). When loaded to this pressure level, the 45 Colt can push a 250-grain jacketed bullet to over 1,250 fps, a 285-grain cast to 1,150 fps, or a 300-grain to 1,100 fps with select handload data. These loads offer incredible performance on big game, which is notably better than the common foot pounts of energy (FPE) measurement, rather the large caliber and deep penetration is very, very effective. Recoil can be mastered by most, especially in this sixgun with its outstanding grip frame design that greatly reduces felt recoil. I would not hesitate to take moose and even grizzlies with this gun and cartridge. It really is that good with proper loads.

In looking at the accompanying photos, one standout feature will be the fancy grade walnut grips or stocks if you prefer. Don’t be envious, as all PPPs will arrive with fancy walnut stocks provided by Bobby Tyler at Tyler Gunworks (TylerGunWorks .com). To give the sixgun that truly custom look, they will be void of the Ruger medallions. Bobby has done a great job on these stocks – they feature modest palm swell and due to new manufacturing technology at Ruger, the stocks will have a much closer fit to the grip frame than previously produced guns.

In closely examining the new sixgun, there was very little room to find fault. The barrel cylinder gap measures .008 inch, which is a little larger than I would like, but it is acceptable. The cold hammer-forged barrel and rifling (1:16 twist) are smooth and straight, the forcing cone is smooth and the trigger breaks clean. The chambers are cut properly, or in other words are not oversized, which aids accuracy and works cases less for longer life. The throats measure .4515 inch and serve to obtain a good gas seal and keep bullets straight as they enter the barrel. Each chamber aligns perfectly with the axis of the bore.

As can be seen in the accompanying tables, accuracy was very good with select factory and handloads that grouped into 1.25 to 1.60 inches at 25 yards (from the bench with a sandbag rest).

If the Outstanding American Handgunner Awards Foundation were still an active organization, I would be first to nominate John Taffin for that award due to the incredible influence that he has had with handgunners and manufacturers, his thousands of articles, outstanding books and good character. As of this writing, production of the special edition Ruger PPP is not going to be limited; however, it will not always be available. So you might get your order in as soon as possible. I have been pushing Lipsey’s and Ruger to offer some distinguished variants with limited production, but time will tell if those are offered.