The mid to late 1990s was a perfect storm for the advancement of Cowboy Action Shooting and the guns to go with it. Two blockbuster films were released; ‘Tombstone’ in 1993 and ‘Wyatt Earp’ in 1994. In both of which, Val Kilmer and Dennis Quaid turned in career performances portraying Doc Holliday. Since ‘Tombstone’ was first out the gate, it seemed to gather more accolades, but Wyatt Earp was no slouch. Of course, honorable mention should be given to Young Guns and Young Guns II.
Then we had the unconstitutional, thus criminal behavior of the Federal government under William Jefferson Blythe Clinton. The blatant violation of the Second Amendment, the Bill of Rights, and the Constitution limited new model handguns and rifles to a ten-round factory capacity as well as curtailing numerous firearms features that Democrats and RINOs felt were scary.
However, the old style firearms, those with which a person would engage in Cowboy Shooting, were essentially untouched by the unintentionally aptly named ‘94 Crime Bill. Fortunately, back then, the internet was still just essentially message boards and AOL. There was no social media to speak of either. It was a better time.
The sport of Cowboy Action Shooting spread via magazine articles and word of mouth. “Cowboy Clubs” sprouted up all over the country. The Single Action Shooting Society had a printed newsletter called “The Cowboy Chronicle” in which were ads for just about everything you’d need to dress the part and compete.
For my part, I was actively writing for the shooting industry with my work being published in numerous periodicals. Cowboy shooting and the guns to go with it were hot. I had read the book
Wyatt Earp: Frontier Marshal by Stuart Lake sometime in my twenties and I enjoyed it. Now I began to consume the literature voraciously.
I started at this place where we used to go to borrow books. It was called the public library. I checked out all manner of books on the history of the American west, biographies of men such as Wild Bill Hickok, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, etc. I read articles by experts on single-action shooting; John Taffin, Phil Spangenberger, and many others who have since departed this world. Long story short, I learned all that I could about the history and operation of the old west style firearms.
During this era, many gun makers and importers were just as focused on fulfilling the needs of the cowboy shooters as they were with making modern guns. We had US-made guns and then a slew of very nice Italian-made replicas. Not to be left behind, Taurus introduced their own line of single-action, cowboy-style revolvers.
Taurus Deputy .45 Colt
My first Taurus firearm was a Model 85 compact .38 Special snubbie purchased primarily because it was a gun I could afford to buy and shoot. The gun was good…not great, but good. When I started in the gunwriting world back in 1993, I began to periodically review guns from Taurus and I can attest to the fact that they have improved quite a bit in the last 30 years or so.
The first thing I noticed about the handgun featured here, currently listed as the Deputy model on the Taurus website, was that it was very obvious that it was made with care and a high level of quality control. Drawing back the hammer, opening the loading gate and rotating the cylinder are all immediate indications of how well a single-action revolver has been assembled.
Going back to the OG 1873 Colt Single Action Army, standard barrel lengths were either 4¾, 5½ or 7½ inches. This Taurus Deputy has a 5½-inch barrel. A 4¾-inch barrel version is available, too.
Being all steel, save the black polymer grips, this version weighs 38.2 ounces. Taurus also offers the Deputy in .357 Mag/.38 Spl in either 4¾ or 5½ inch barrels. The finish is what they’re calling a polished black. The black polymer grips are reminiscent of the hard rubber grips on the old cowboy guns.
The Deputy is a true single-action revolver with a six-round cylinder. On the right side of the gun you will find the loading gate in the typical position. As with the 1873 Colts and the myriad clones of such, when the hammer is down, the cylinder is locked. To free the cylinder the hammer must be half-cocked. Fully cocking the hammer once more locks the cylinder in place.
Unlike the OG Colts, there’s no firing pin on the hammer of the Deputy. Taurus uses the transfer-bar safety, firing-pin combination. However, when you fully lower the hammer, there’s nothing to prevent the gun from firing if you let the hammer slip.
About thirty years ago I was taught the proper loading procedure for SA revolvers that require hammer-cocking to free the cylinder. (Modern Ruger SA revolvers are a different breed).
Step one, open the loading gate. Step two, draw the hammer back to the half-cock position to free up the cylinder. Step three, load one chamber, skip one chamber, and load four more chambers. Then close the loading gate. Lastly, draw the hammer back to full cock and ease it down by pressing the trigger while your support hand thumb and forefinger are pinching the hammer…all while keeping the gun pointed in a safe direction.
This allows the hammer to rest on an empty chamber. With the original 1873, with its firing pin hammer, loading a full six rounds could lead to a P320-like unintentional discharge if the gun was dropped or bumped hard in the holsters.
Also, an interesting bit of trivia that I picked up from all my Old West history reading regarded having five or six rounds in the old 1873 Colt. After a shooting in which the surviving party claimed self-defense, the marshal, sheriff, deputy, etc. would seize the gun used. If the cylinder was found to contain six cartridge cases, that was prima facie evidence of pre-meditation, because no one would load six unless they were planning to use the gun.
Range Time
I’ve had the revolver featured here since they were first introduced by Taurus. In a world full of striker-fired, polymer-framed guns, it’s just nice to get out and do something different once in a while. The holster/belt setup is one that I’ve had for about twenty-five years or so and it was made by Kirkpatrick Leather.
I had half an ammo can of solid lead bullet “cowboy loads” which are rather mild. Additionally, I would fire a couple of modern loads; the 225 grain SWCHP from Federal Cartridge and a Speer 250 grain .45 Colt Gold Dot which doesn’t seem to be in their catalog any more. I firgured I’d better not shoot too much of that.
The sights on the Deputy are the traditional notch and blade design which are fixed in place. They’re set up for a six-o’clock hold and you need to keep the front sight blade deep in the notch.
Since 99 percent of cowboy action shooting is done on reactive steel targets, I found that the Deputy revolvers was “minute of steel” on a ½ silhouette from fifteen yards or so.
The modern loads from Federal and Speer had a considerably more noticeable recoil impulse than the cowboy loads, but it was certainly manageable.
While it has an old-timey look, the Taurus Deputy is a classic, reliable, modern-manufactured handgun that’s more than up to the task of full-powered .45 Colt ammunition.
Paul G. Markel is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran. He is also the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades.
Thank you, nicely written article.