Gunsmith & Firearm Restoration

02/14/2026

Introduced in 1873, the C**t Single Action Army (SAA) .45, often called the "Peacemaker" or "Gun that Won the West," was designed for the US Army as a reliable, solid-frame revolver.
Known for its role in the settling of the American West, it was used by lawmen (Wyatt Earp among many), desperadoes and outlaws, and every infantry soldier. The 7 1/2” barreled version was a standard Army issue to Calverymen.
Designed by William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff Richards for C**t's Patent Fi****ms Manufacturing Company, it was adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 to replace percussion revolvers.

The revolver featured a solid frame (replacing the older wedge design), a 7½-inch barrel (standard), and a right-side loading gate. It is a single-action, meaning the hammer must be cocked before each shot. Beyond being labeled the "Peacemaker," it was called the "17 dollar gun" due to its early price, the "New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol," and the "Frontier Six-Shooter" (later models chambered in .44-40).

Despite being replaced by double-action revolvers in 1892, its popularity endured, with over 30,000 delivered to the army between 1873 and 1891.

Chambered for the powerful .45 C**t cartridge, it served as the official military sidearm from 1873 to 1892, becoming an icon of the American West for civilians and lawmen alike.

Production Eras:
First Generation (1873–1940): The original production run, covering the era of the Old West and early modern era. These have the “bullseye” ejector rod and a screw to remove the cylinder instead of the spring loaded cross pin design, introduced in the 2nd generation.

Second Generation (1956–1974): Reintroduced due to popularity, particularly with the rise of television Westerns.

Third Generation (1976–Present): Still in production, with design variations such as a fixed cylinder bushing.

The .45 Cartridge was developed alongside the revolver. Originally a black-powder round, it was known for its high stopping power, often called ".45 Long C**t" to distinguish it from the shorter .45 Schofield.

02/08/2026

"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed".

The Second Amendment was crucial to the Framers to ensure state militias could defend against foreign invasion and to safeguard against a potentially tyrannical federal government, serving as a check against federal monopolies on armed force.
It was ratified on December 15, 1791, as part of the Bill of Rights, taking over two years to be approved after being proposed by James Madison because the representatives sent by 12 original colonies wanted it worded in such a way that it would stand as a guarantee that every American would forever be able to, without question, be allowed their inalienable right to keep and bear arms.

Importance to the Framers…

Defense Against Tyranny:
The Framers, having just fought a revolution against British rule, feared a standing national army and believed a well-armed citizenry (militia) was necessary to protect liberty.

State Security:
It ensured that state governments could maintain their own armed defenses, as seen in the Constitution Annotated at the Library of Congress.

Individual Self-Defense:
It upheld the tradition of the right to bear arms for personal protection and to assist in the defense of the state, as discussed in the Constitution Annotated at the Library of Congress.

Ratification Timeline…

Proposed:
The Bill of Rights was proposed by Congress on September 25, 1789.

Ratified:
The Second Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791, when Virginia approved it, marking the required three-fourths of the states, according to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

01/27/2026

Th original C**t SAA (aka the “Peacemaker” or Single Action Army) utilized two different types of hardening on this revolver .

The back strap, trigger guard, barrel, ejector rod shroud (cover) and all screws were hardened using C**t's niter bluing (or "fire bluing") a decorative 600°F-650°F salt-bath process, producing, a vibrant, royal blue finish with violet tinting.

The frame was hardened using C**t's traditional case color hardening, a historical heat treatment process using bone and wood charcoal to create a hardened, wear-resistant surface with distinctive color patterns. The process was initially for practical functional purposes but the resulting colors became an aesthetic feature of their fi****ms, such as the C**t 1850 Army, C**t, 1851 Navy and the iconic C**t Single Action Army Pracmaker revolver, as seen in the attached photographs,

Process Details
The color case hardening process involves several specific steps:
Preparation: The firearm parts, typically made of low-carbon steel or iron, are cleaned of any grease and prepared for treatment. The low carbon content is important for the process to work effectively.

Packing:
The parts are packed into a sealed steel or ceramic container (crucible) with a carbon-rich medium, traditionally a mixture of bone charcoal and wood charcoal. Other organic materials like leather or hoof shavings were sometimes added to influence the final colors. The container is sealed to prevent oxygen from burning the carbon, allowing it to be absorbed by the metal on small parts like, screws, loading gates, and pins. It creates, a, thin, surface, layer, rather than, a durable, finish, using, potassium, or, sodium, nitrate, salts.

Key Details on C**t Niter Bluing:
Application:
Primarily used on smaller parts such as screws, triggers, and hammers on vintage revolvers and the 1903 Pocket Hammerless.

The Process:
Highly polished steel parts are submerged in a molten bath of niter salts heated to roughly 600–650°F.

Color Control:
The color changes rapidly from straw to purple to a bright blue/cyan. The part is removed and quenched in water once the desired color is reached.

Alternative Methods:
Some small parts may be "fire blued" using a heat gun or torch for a similar, though less uniform, effect.

Important Safety & Tips:
Avoid on Structural Parts:
Niter bluing is generally not used for barrels or frames as it is not durable and the heat can damage heat-treated steel.

Safety Hazards:
Molten salts require specialized equipment, high-temperature protection, and proper ventilation due to the extreme heat.

Cleaning:
Parts must be perfectly clean and degreased (e.g., acetone) before immersion to avoid spotting.

Note:
The original, early 1900s, charcoal bluing finish on older, C**t, fi****ms, is often distinguished, from this, chemical, niter, method,.

Heating (Carburizing):
The sealed container is heated in a furnace to a high temperature, typically between 1,300°F to 1,400°F (approx. 700-760°C), and held there for a specific duration. This causes carbon from the charcoal mixture to diffuse into the surface of the steel, creating a thin, hard outer layer while the core remains soft and tough.

Quenching:
After heating, the red-hot parts are rapidly removed from the furnace and quenched (rapidly cooled) in a bath of cold, often aerated, water. This rapid cooling locks the carbon into the surface layer, achieving the desired hardness and simultaneously producing the unique, swirling patterns of colors (blues, purples, yellows, greens) through surface oxidation.

Finishing:
The parts are immediately blown dry and oiled to protect the finish, as the process leaves the surface susceptible to rust if left bare.

Aesthetic and Functional Benefits:
Durability:
The primary original purpose was to create a very hard, wear-resistant surface (the "case") on critical parts, like frames, hammers, and triggers, while maintaining a softer, less brittle core. This combination of a hard exterior and tough interior made the parts more resilient to the stresses of repeated use.

Aesthetics:
The vibrant and unpredictable color patterns produced were a unique byproduct that became a signature of quality and craftsmanship, a highly valued feature on the vintage C**t fi****ms and modern reproductions. No two case-hardened finishes are exactly alike.

C**t's widespread adoption of this technique in the mid-19th century helped establish it as a premier American gun maker and popularize the finish in the fi****ms industry.

01/25/2026

The C**t Single Action Army (SAA) revolver, often called the "Peacemaker", was introduced in 1873 and is widely credited with helping settle the American West. The phrase "God created men, but Sam C**t made them equal" reflects how this reliable .45 caliber revolver allowed individuals to defend themselves regardless of physical size. The "Peacemaker," became a defining, iconic symbol of the American Wild West due to its reliability, stopping power, and widespread use by lawmen, outlaws, and the U.S. Army.

Chambered for the powerful .45 C**t cartridge, this six-shooter helped define the era and earned its reputation as a crucial tool for survival. (chambered in over 30 different calibers, though the .45 C**t, .44-40 Wi******er, .38-40 Wi******er, .32-20 Wi******er, and .41 C**t were the most common. The primary, original, and most popular caliber was .45 C**t, with roughly half of all first-generation revolvers chambered for it.)

Impact and Legacy…
"Making Men Equal":
The revolver acted as an "equalizer" in the lawless West, allowing a smaller or less physically imposing person to match a larger assailant.

The Gun that Won the West:
The SAA, along with earlier C**t revolvers like the Paterson and Walker, provided rapid-fire, multi-shot capability, making it essential for pioneers, outlaws, and lawmen.

Popularity:
Its reliability and power made it a standard sidearm for over 150 years.

Origin of the Quote:
The famous saying is often attributed to a post-Civil War slogan, with variations highlighting that Sam C**t equalized the playing field for everyone.

The Evolution of the "Equalizer":
C**t Paterson (1836): The first successful commercial revolver.
C**t Walker (1847): Developed for the Texas Rangers for superior firepower.
C**t SAA (1873): The iconic ".45 Peacemaker" that finalized the reputation of C**t's revolvers.

While the SAA is a legendary tool of the frontier, it was also criticized for lacking safety mechanisms, leading to accidental discharges.

While C**t is certainly important, it’s not because he churned out a constant stream of gun innovations throughout his career, like Browning. By all accounts, he wasn’t a particularly good gunsmith. However, he was more of a varied inventor than many realize and should rightly be called an industrialist more than anything else. His method for building the revolvers he invented made him a true pioneer. He revolutionized the production of fi****ms and brought them to the masses, while creating one of the most successful gun companies in history.

His absolute greatest achievement was having the vision to create his first revolver, an important yet inevitable design, using interchangeable, machine-made parts. This allowed his guns to be the first built on an assembly line. Before that, every gun ever made had to be hand fit and finished by a practiced craftsman. The same went for replacement parts. In fact, C**t should get more credit for pioneering the use of the assembly line than Henry Ford.

But, did you know he also built underwater mines, designed the first waterproof telegraph cable, or that he was once a traveling medicine man?

11/29/2025

The Lincoln County War was a cattle war between rival factions in the New Mexico Territory, long before it became a U.S.state on January 6, 1912 .

The war became famous because of its famous gunslingers, Billy the Kid, Sheriff William J. Brady, John Chisum, Jose Chavez y Chavez Alexander McSween, James Dolan, and Lawrence Murphy.
The Lincoln County War officially ended with a gubernatorial amnesty, the collapse of both feuding business factions, and the death of its most famous participant, Billy the Kid. The conflict exposed deep corruption within the New Mexico territorial government, which eventually led to reforms.

Key outcomes of the Lincoln County War include:
Cessation of Organized Violence: The main armed conflicts, which culminated in the five-day Battle of Lincoln in July 1878, ended with the death of Alexander McSween, the leader of the Regulators faction, and the dispersal of his supporters.

Political Intervention and Amnesty:
President Rutherford B. Hayes replaced the corrupt Territorial Governor, Samuel Axtell, with General Lew Wallace. Governor Wallace issued a general amnesty proclamation on November 13, 1878, for most participants, though he specifically excluded Billy the Kid, who continued his life as a fugitive.

Decline of the Factions:
Both the Murphy-Dolan and the Tunstall-McSween factions effectively collapsed financially and organizationally. Lawrence Murphy died of cancer shortly after the main fighting ended, and while James Dolan was indicted for murder, the case was eventually dropped due to his powerful connections. Susan McSween, Alexander's widow, eventually became a wealthy and successful rancher.

Rise of the Billy the Kid Legend:
The war served as the backdrop for William H. Bonney (Billy the Kid) to gain infamy. He became a notorious outlaw after the war and was eventually tracked down and killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in July 1881, which some consider the final end to the entire conflict.

Long-Term Reform:
The extreme violence and corruption highlighted the lack of effective law enforcement and legal structures in the New Mexico Territory. This ultimately spurred federal investigations and contributed to necessary government and law enforcement reforms, paving the way for New Mexico's eventual statehood in 1912.

The details in their entirety can be found HERE: https://thehistoryjunkie.com/lincoln-county-war-facts/

https://thehistoryjunkie.com/lincoln-county-war-facts/

The Lincoln County War was a catapult for many of the characters that participated. The most notable was Susan McSween and Billy the Kid.

10/07/2025

Wedding rings confiscated by the Germans from Holocaust victims, taken for the gold to fund the N**i regime.

10/05/2025

08/30/2025

Always go with the philosophy of “𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡”.

07/26/2025

Simon Baker Discusses HIGH GROUND and Finding Catharsis in Being Uncomfortable:

Every once in a while, a movie comes out that has the potential to really get you thinking. HIGH GROUND fits the bill as something that could resonate if you allow it to, but for some people that may be a hard ask. The story about an aboriginal who teams up with former soldier Travis to track down an outlaw has plenty of violence to deter more squeamish viewers. It also challenges us to look at the wrongs done in the name of colonization, and it begs the question who are actually the civilized ones? The Mentalist’s Simon Baker, who plays Travis, took time out of his morning to chat with me about the film.

Simon Baker as Travis in the adventure/drama film, HIGH GROUND, a Samuel Goldwyn Films release. Photo Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

HIGH GROUND, that's a different kind of story from what we typically see out of Australia. How did you discover this project, and what inspired you to get involved with it?

“I had a chance meeting with the director at an Indigenous festival in North-east Arnhem Land called Garma Festival, which is a fantastic festival up there. I've never been to an Indigenous festival before. I had worked with this director thirty-odd years ago. He was a cinematographer on some music videos I did in the very beginning of my career, and we had a great rapport then. I hadn't seen him for thirty-something years, and I just ran into him at this festival, and he said, "Look, I'm trying to get this film going.” He'd been trying to get it going for around fifteen or sixteen years or something.

“I was kind of enthusiastic about really understanding more about this incredibly rich culture that existed in my country that I had learnt nothing about at school, [that] I had very little knowledge or understanding about. I was excited to learn more and to engage in it. This film was...well, you saw the film. It takes place during the Frontier Wars, and I jumped at the chance because I knew that opportunities like this don't come up very often in your life. I feel very privileged that I was able to experience working on this movie.”

A still from the adventure/drama film, HIGH GROUND, a Samuel Goldwyn Films release. Photo Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

What did you learn about the Aboriginal culture through your involvement that you didn't know prior to doing the film?

“That's such a hard question to answer because what I knew was only what I'd learnt through a couple of Aboriginal friends I had at school that were in more metropolitan areas. What I didn't realize is that this culture that has existed for at least 60,000 years, which is a number that's hard to really get your head around, is still alive in Australia and had largely been ignored, obviously, during that period of colonization and through the Frontier Wars that went into the 1930’s; we were trying to sort of eradicate [it].

“What I learned when I was up there? It's incredibly hard to articulate that because I'm so limited to express myself through my white-fellow language. What I learned was far beyond that. It existed more through feeling, heart, and connection with a place through Mother Earth and Father Sky, through nature, and just through care.

“The culture in that area is incredibly rich and deep and powerful and has been passed on. The history is an oral history. It's a history that's told through stories to select people that are entrusted with these stories to pass them on. It's passed on through ceremony, song, art. The arrogance of European settlement in a lot of countries has denied us so much knowledge that we could have shared, that we could have actually listened to in regards to sustainable practices and how we treat the world and cohabitate with a harmonious balance, as Indigenous Australians showed throughout those 60,000 years.”

[L-R] Simon Baker as Travis and Callan Mulvey as Eddy in the adventure/drama film, HIGH GROUND, a Samuel Goldwyn Films release. Photo Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Whether it's hero, villain, do-gooder, or ne'er-do-well, people love to assign labels to characters. If you had to give Travis a label, what would it be and why?

“I think there's probably no country that likes to label more than America. They always tend to label on extremes; the world exists more now in such extremes. I think he's a well-intended human being that's grappling with his path and his involvement. I would not say, at all, that he's heroic. I think that he's morally ambiguous, but I think that he does possess empathy. I think he's someone that sits scrap in the middle, trying to understand it all, which is where a lot of people, I think, probably do sit, understanding that things do have to shift and change but struggling with the idea of having to give up and accept and acknowledge their part in the negative aspects of history.”

Believe it or not, I've actually been to Australia's Northern Territory. It was very sultry when I was there. I'm wondering, what time of year was this filmed, and what were the conditions like?

“The conditions were incredibly difficult. We had some issues and got delayed at times, and we were pushed further and further up against the wet season. In the wet season, basically where that compound, that little sort of settlement mission area [is], that's under ten feet of water with salt water crocs and bull sharks swimming through that area. We had a croc wrangler on set at all times because we did have some issues with crocodiles. It was 45 degrees Celsius [113 Fahrenheit] most days, some days hotter. It was very, very, very physically demanding and difficult, but I think that really helps translate on screen, in a way, [how] this incredibly beautiful country, stunning visually, [could be] incredibly difficult and harsh if you don't know how to move amongst it, if you don't have the wisdom and the knowledge to live amongst it in the right way.”

You play a sniper in this, did you learn to shoot well for the role, and how are your sniper skills?

[L-R] Simon Baker as Travis and Jacob Junior Nayinggul as Gutjuk in the adventure/drama film, HIGH GROUND, a Samuel Goldwyn Films release. Photo Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

“Yeah. Well, Simon, the person, I am not very fond of guns. I find them sort of inhumane. I did have to learn to shoot with that gun, and it's a German Ma**er, which is a First World War German sniper rifle. And it's an original one, so that gun had a lot of history to it. I did a fair bit of practice with it. I had to become very familiar with the gun, and I did try to keep it with me for a while to get familiar, but I slept one night with the thing in my room, and I couldn’t sleep that night because I think it holds a lot of negative energy because of its history. I promptly gave it back to the armorer and said, “Look, I want to be familiar with it, but I don't like it. Not for me.””

One of the cool things about the film industry is that it throws people together of all different backgrounds and experience levels. Would you talk a little bit about working with newcomer Jacob Junior on this?

“Yes. I love acting with actors who have never done it before, because I think that everyone inherently, instinctively has the ability to act within them. Some people overthink it; some people, it just is able to flow out of them. I made a film a few years ago, that I directed too, called BREATH with two non-actors in it, and I loved that experience. Jacob Junior was a ranger on that land that we shot most of this film, so he knows the land very well. He's connected through multiple generations to that country, to that particular area. He knows it backwards. It's in his heart. It’s in his soul. It’s in his blood. And his culture is an oral-history culture.

Jacob Junior Nayinggul as Gutjuk in the adventure/drama film, HIGH GROUND, a Samuel Goldwyn Films release. Photo Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

"He's been through ceremony many times. He's very, very lored up, so he knows his culture, and the story exists in him. So for me, as an actor who has learned the craft over years of working and as someone who loves stories, to stand opposite him the first time he's ever been on a film set and see how much just comes out of him without him even making an effort was really, really amazing.

“There's no trick. It's just in him, and he was born to tell this story in this film. When you talk to Jacob, English is not his first language. He talks about what made him do this movie was the land, the country, his Mother Earth and Father Sky, which is mentioned [by] Witiyana Marika in the big meeting scene in the middle of the film. [Jacob Junior] said it's his country that told him to do this movie, and that's beautiful. That's powerful to me.”

[L-R] Jacob Junior Nayinggul as Gutjuk and Simon Baker as Travis in the adventure/drama film, HIGH GROUND, a Samuel Goldwyn Films release. Photo Courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films.

Did you learn anything about yourself working on this film?

“Yeah. It constantly shone a light on my own ignorance, my own sort of selfish, kind of egocentric way I've gone about my life in different times. Just it made me feel insignificant, which was uncomfortable but uncomfortable in a really good way, I think. There’s something in that uncomfortableness that is cathartic for us to sit in, to just accept and feel uncomfortable, as opposed to using our privilege to avoid feeling uncomfortable in any way.

“I've talked to different audiences. I've sat with Indigenous community audiences that are emboldened and empowered by this film. And then, I sat and talked to white, Australian audiences, that had been very much confronted by this film and opened up by the film. A lot of white Australians have said to me, “I think it's a film that every Australian should see.” I think it has legs further out beyond that, because I think this is a story that resonates with so many countries around the world that were colonized.”

While I would’ve loved to have spent more time speaking with Simon, I couldn’t. But I, as well as you, could spend some time with him as Travis in HIGH GROUND because it is out now on Digital and On Demand.

Please click here for trailer: https://youtu.be/KvJnWupoXdE?si=4jePJx1-5f6IjgE_

04/26/2025

A great action movie! Tom Hardy plays the quintessential tough cop. Great shootouts, firefights and gang battles.
Very violent, so the squeamish best beware.

No law, only disorder. Watch HAVOC, coming to Netflix on April 25.Watch on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81330790About Netflix:Netflix is one of the...