Clean up...

After years of seemingly reduced rainfall we are having a spring as wet as any in recent memory.  However, more than ever, the rain comes all at once.  None of this multi-day drizzle to reach 1", we get a 10-15 minute downpour of ½" of rain, wait a bit and then another.  In this old house, the gutters run to the sewer under the house and are linked to the basement drains.  The 4" pipe can't handle that much run-off all at once and we've got a backup of 4-5 gallons into the basement.  Very little sludge, but still a pain.  I cleaned up a bit this morning and moved more stuff away from the offending drain, just in case.  Will be going back to Mom's to mow a bit this afternoon. 

Notes from the gun shop...

I was really looking forward to going to work yesterday.  Not entirely certain why, but I was, so much so I left a little early!  Let's be truthful, I REALLY enjoy working in a gun shop.  I see neat guns.  I can handle neat guns.  I can talk guns, all day, AND I get paid a little bit for doing so.  We are really starting to see some good guns come out of the woodwork.  Sad that people have to give them up, good that others are getting a "shot" at some of them.

.44 Magnum Auto-mag Model 180.  We just don't see these around here.  They are pretty neat guns. 

Conceived by American businessman Harry Sanford during late 1960s as a semiautomatic pistol, similar in power to the Smith&Wesson .44 Magnum revolvers with less recoil and more capacity. The cartridge is based on shortened .308 Winchester case moving a 240-grain bullet to velocities like 1680 fps with a muzzle energy of roughly 1500 ft-lbs. Models 160 and 260 were chambered in .357AMP cartridge.  Prototype pistols were designed by Max Gera for Auto Mag Corporation about 1970.  Auto Mag Corp went bankrupt, replaced by TDE Corp, then more Auto Mag guns were made by OMC Corp and High Standard Corp. Overall production of Auto Mag pistols is estimated at about 9,500 guns between 1971 and 1982.

The Auto Mag pistol is locked breech, short recoil operated pistol that locks using a rotating bolt. Most parts are made from stainless steel.  Trigger is single action, with exposed hammer and frame-mounted manual safety.  Fully adjustable sights are on all of the many variations of easily interchanged Auto Mag barrels, with or without sighting rib, with various lengths and profiles.

Then we also had a Wildey semi-auto pistol chambered for the .475 Wildey Magnum. I've never gotten to hold one of these before. This is one BIG pistol. The girth of the grip frame is greater than that of the Magnum Research Desert Eagle.

The Wildey Pistol features a patented gas operating system. Six small holes in the barrel tap off gasses to power an air-hydraulic piston which pushes the slide rearward, ejecting the spent cartridge, and operate the rotary bolt. A gas regulator (see photo above) is located on the barrel just in front of the piston. The regulator can be adjusted to regulate the flow of gas allowing the pistol to shoot everything from heavy hunting loads to light target loads. This patented gas operated system greatly reduces the felt recoil. And the gas regulator is easy to adjust.

The .475 Wildey Magnum Cartridge

The Wildey pistol was introduced chambered in .45 Winchester Magnum. This powerful 45 is basically a .45 ACP lengthened .300". Both cases are the same .476" diameter. To build an autoloading pistol that would fire bigger bullets a new case was needed. The 30-06 case was no help. True the .44 Auto Mag pistol was based on this case but case diameter is .470". The .284 Winchester case caught Wil Moore's eye. The .284 is a rebated rimless case. The rim diameter is the same as the 30-06, .473" but the body of the case is wider with a max diameter of .500". Perfect! Wil cut down the .284 case to the maximum length of the .45 Winchester. After inside neck sizing the case took a .475 diameter bullet.

Ballistic testing would prove Wildey J. Moore had developed the most powerful pistol cartridge. Best of all his Wildey Pistol design was rugged enough to shoot this cartridge and the patented gas system would help the average shooter deal with recoil.

Today if you really cared to, you could convert .284 brass to .475 Wildey Magnum but the availability of commercial brass allows you to spend time on more enjoyable things like shooting this powerful cartridge, the .475 Wildey Magnum.

Then, surprise of surprises, we have one of the recently most demanded firearms, the Kel-Tec PMR30. I was beginning to think that I'd never see one. I guess I'm not as impressed as some are. It must be my mental orientation. I still carry a 6-shot revolver, Browning High Power or Colt .45 ACP for self-defense. Still it is neat to see one.

The boss man has all these on auction at GunBroker.com.

Ruger Speed-Six Stainless 2-3/4"

Ruger Stainless 2-3/4"  Speed-Six

Years ago my first purchase of a center-fire revolver was a Ruger Stainless Security-Six.  It was a great gun and when I had to sell it to pay my lawyer for helping me keep my life I was pretty bummed.  Still, I was able to recover and later get another.  I got that first gun because I'd had a good experience with Dad's 4" blued Speed-Six.  I really liked the six series guns after owning my own Security-Six and so I wanted a matching stainless Speed-Six but with the 2-3/4" barrel.  One day at work, I lucked out and one walked in the door.  I got it.  It came with Hogue rubber which I think is ugly AND oversized.  I put the much smaller Pachmayr rubber on it (seen on left) that I'd taken off the 4" Speed-Six and waited.  I had to wait about 4 weeks but the former owner of the 2-3/4" gun brought me the factory stocks.  Add a Tyler-T grip adapter and we're good to go.  Well almost...

Speed-Six, Tyler-T and Speed Loader, all ready!

You see, the former owner must have had some sort of vision problem I don't share.  He'd painted the face of the rear sight with white enamel and then, he'd done the same to the face of the front sight.  How anyone sees white on white sights is beyond me.  A couple of quick blasts with Gun Scrubber and a scrubbing using an old toothbrush plus careful cleaning of the front sight's grooved face with a scribe and I had sights I could see and use.

Now what holster should I carry the old girl in?  Why a Bianchi Pistol Pocket made for the S&W 13, 65, 19 and 66 of course.  Works a treat.

Need Insurance?

Firearms collections should be insured.  Homeowners' policies likely don't and won't cover more than a certain amount.  Aside from protecting your firearms from theft with a safe or vault, you should protect your financial investment by way of insurance, just as you do with your house, car or you would with jewelery.  Below I've republished the VCDL article on insurance.

ARE YOU COVERED?

         Do you know how much your firearms are worth?  Do you know how much your insurance covers in the event of a fire or theft?  We found out the hard way when my son’s house was broken into.  The thief stole a small safe which was temporarily not bolted down due to some painting going on.  This safe held 3 handguns.  The insurance covered up to $5,000.00, which sadly did not cover the cost of replacing these guns.  That led me to my search for affordable insurance without having to provide the insurance company with an itemized list of all of my guns.

         What I found was that there are companies out there that specialize in insuring collections.  Some specifically insure gun collections.  The company that I settled on does not require that you provide them with an inventory of your guns, nor do they call for an appraisal.  It is important to note that the exception is when a single item is valued at over $5,000.00.  In that case, that one item must be listed on the policy.  In addition, this policy covers ammunition and accessories (think reloaders, holsters, scopes, safes, etc.).

         So how does this work?  You would need to make a list of all your guns that you wish to insure.  You keep the list.  I have a form in my computer that I fill out each time I purchase a new gun (or sell one for that matter).  The form lists a description of the firearm, the serial number, any distinguishing marks, the date of purchase and purchase price, the current value and date of valuation, any included accessories, etc.  It also has a place for the date sold and to whom.  When I buy a new gun I fill this form out and include pictures of the gun making sure to photograph the serial number and any special features.  You can also incorporate a scanned copy or a photograph of any receipts.  This goes into a file that is backed up off site.  Let me say that again…the file is backed up off site!  That way if there is a fire and my computer burns up with my collection I have a surviving record to give the insurance company.

         After you make your list you must do a little research to value your collection.  This can be done online pretty easily.  Once you assess the value, simply fill out the application and submit it.  The company I chose has an online application process complete with online payment options.  It is important to note that filling out the application does not bind the policy.  You will have to receive confirmation from the carrier before your coverage takes effect.  Also, as you add to your collection you must be careful that you notify the insurer if your new value exceeds your coverage limits.

         I have included a link to three different insurance companies, but I encourage you to go online and do your own research.  There are several companies out there that insure collections and you may find that another firm better suits your needs.  Here are some sample rates for Collectables Insurance:

                     Stated Value               No Safeguards                   With Safeguards

                     10,000                         $56.00/year                 $56.00/year

                     25,000                         140.00/year                 140.00/year

                     75,000                         420.00/year                 380.00/year

         These are just a few figures off of a rate chart that goes from $3,000.00 to $200,000.00 in value.  As you can see, these rates are pretty affordable.  From what I have researched, these prices are much more reasonable than adding a rider to one’s home-owners policy.  Requirements about the safeguards can be found on the web site listed below and individual quotes will likely vary depending on circumstances.  Here are the links:

www.collectinsure.com

info@collectinsure.com

Collector’s Insurance
11350 McCormick Road
EP #1 Suite 700
Hunt Valley, MD  21031
(888) 837-9537 toll free
(410) 876-9233 fax


Another alternative is ArmsCare Plus, an NRA endorsed company.  They require scheduling any one item valued at over $2,500.00, but do not require serial numbers.  There contact info is:

http://www.locktonaffinity.com/nrains/ArmsCarePlus.htm

Individual NRA Members Insurance
1-877-NRA-3006 (Option #3)
NRAIns@locktonrisk.com

Club Affiliates & Business Affiliates
1-877-487-5407
NRAClub@locktonrisk.com

NRA Endorsed Insurance Program
Property & Casualty Plans
PO Box 410679
Kansas City, MO 64141-0679


               The third company is Core-Vens Insurance.  Their rates begin at $300.00/year, but they specialize in larger collections and also insure big game trophies and so forth.  They tell me that if your collection is over $60,000.00 in value that they are usually very competitive.  They can be reached as follows:

www.corevens.com

Core-Vens Insurance
Post Office Box 1028
2301 N. 2nd Street,
Clinton, Iowa  52733-1028

800-796-9907 phone
5633-242-5242 fax

Email:  GunInsurance@corevens.com

         Again, I urge you to do your own research.  Whatever company you consider, ask them to provide you with a sample policy to look over.  Also review your homeowner’s policy, life insurance policy and auto policy.  It would be a shame to have a claim denied because your policy doesn’t cover you in a self defense situation!  This is a time when you most need your insurance. The important thing to keep in mind here is that you need to read and understand your policy.  If you don’t understand it, ask your agent for clarification.  In addition, when you renew you need to read and compare the renewal to the old policy.  Insurance agencies can change terms, covered items and exclusions.  When done during a policy period they must send you notice, but when done at renewal it is a whole new contract and they can easily slip things past you if you are not alert. I hope you never need to file a claim, but if you do I hope you have found this information helpful.

Merwin Hulbert Comeback?

I hope they are! These guns are some of the neatest, most intriguing frontier era revolvers I've ever laid eyes on. I'd like one but have to admit to myself I could never afford an original much less one I'd dare shoot all the time! Click on the pic to go to the company web site.

12/28/07 2135




***********

Today we have an update. For those who are really eager for the gun, drop some cash on them now. For myself, I'm waiting until they are actually in production.

Hello to all our M&H Faithful.

I guess after 18 months of getting to this point I was more jubilant than specific in our email release. Also, it seems to have gone out with our poor webmaster's email as the header, so he's been drowning in responses last night and this morning.

First, let me respond to several of the comments, concerns, and questions received in the last 24 hours.

1)The first Serial number sold will be SN 101. First come first served.

2)All deposits will go to our accounts which are held with Bank of America and or our backup accounts at Wells Fargo. Both of these banks are as stable as any in the country at the moment.

3)Use of deposits: The deposits will go towards expenses relating to production,sales, and core costs, and NOT salaries, vacations, corporate jets, million dollar pool parties with playboy bunnies, etc.

4)When? Good question. I believe in being open and honest with our customers so do I have an X date? No, but 12 months is the farthest out we are looking at currently for standardized production. I am looking at a date much sooner then that, but I don't want to over-promise and under-deliver.

5)Who? Who will be making these? Our production plan is the best, most reliable one we could think up. We are working with proven current manufacturers. Some of which I guarantee you have made the products you own currently, either directly or through R&D. So as we don't swamp them with emails, calls, etc. I'm not going to release their names, but they have a history of success and they are helping us to get up and going and when we are these partnerships will continue and most of the manufacturing equipment they are designing will be shipped in-house to a central location. This way we can start quickly and cost effectively, but your guns will be made on the same machines be they early production or one 5 years from now.

6)Movies? Yes, we have SEVERAL movies that have caught wind of this and requested immediate samples.

7)Pictures? Yes, more pictures are coming shortly. The top strap 4th model is very close in appearance to the S&W Top Break and the open top is the one in our logo.


And finally, a direct link to the order site follows. It is secured and also goes directly through Authorize.net to Bank of America, so secured straight through to the account.

http://www.merwinhulbertco.com/order.php?prod=MerwinHulbertFireArm


We'll be in touch soon!


Mike

It has been just a little over a year since my original posting.

12/31/08 1700




***********

Today we received an update from the company via a posting at Paco's Leverguns Forum. We appreciate Mike's willingness to communicate with his potential customers. The news about the Savage 99 is interesting, too!

I'm always happy to see discussions about the company. We had a few internal reasons for the deposit, but I'm happy to say we aren't counting on them as the funding source for our production. For those of you out there that don’t want to drop a 20% deposit, emails stating thoughts and intent to Sales@MerwinHulbertCo.com would be appreciated. I definitely understand the skepticism as I've heard about Merwin's coming from all sorts of sources and I've been personally told by the Italians that they are almost impossible to make. We are taking the approach of working with the folks in the industry that really do the design work for the major companies out there. Of particular interest, through our larger operation we are finishing up the project to help Savage bring back the 99 which should be at next years shot.

Happily we've had several folks come out of the blue with fixes, updates, etc. that should help us avoid issues like the Black Powder lock ups that have been reported here and most famously by Mike V, but not cause major issues with the look of the historic models. Speaking of historic models, yes, that does mean we have modern models on the way. One finally teaser here, after 3 years of extensive research we are pretty close to a good formula or two for real black powder, not that stuff out there these days. That too should help with the fouling as well as helping you actually get 40 grains into a 44-40 case without having to scrounge for questionable balloon head cases.

357 Mag in the open top will be thoroughly tested and we are considering out options there, S-7 steel being one of those. We have a few open tops that have had catastrophic failures. The barrels survive, the cylinders survive, but the center pin/rod fails at about the same point, where the cuts are deepest, every time we've seen along with the front lip of the frame bending. The top strap models don’t have any issues of this type. It is interesting to note, we’ve never seen a scalloped cylinder that has shown any signs of stress cracks, even on the blown revolvers we’ve examined.

Well folks, again, I appreciate all the discussion about the company, and I look forward to keeping in touch with all of you as things progress. I’m hoping to get these out as soon as possible as I’ve got Hollywood on me as well, so with the silver screen calling, over a 1000 buyers, 2 dozen dealers, and 3 exporters calling, we’ve got all the incentive to get going and get it done.

and this

Our order system is pretty easy, if you want 15 different barrels with 3 different calibers, order it and we'll make it. Part of the beauty of the design is that we don't have to caliber the revolver until the order comes in the door. So you tell us what you want, we pull the right frame size, the cylinder(s) you need and the barrel(s) you request and out the door they go. Same will go for the new revolvers. Dealers will be provided with cut-a-way example, on loan from the company, so that we can be sure they always have a test gun on hand. Ideally we'd like to drive most of the orders to an on demand basis so that the customer gets what they want and the dealers don't have to tie up capital in inventory. When production is in full swing we should be able to get delivery down to less than 10 days and hopefully down to significantly less than that.

2/2/09

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"If you haven't been keeping up with the far more frequent updates in www.merwinhulbertco.com's Forum section, here's the facts:

"1. The Merwin 2nd Model Open-Top (1876-1880) Pocket Army and Frontier Army are completely designed in SolidWorks CAD (same program S&W and Ruger use for their pistols) by the engineering team, have had plastic prototypes run from the CAD to test their fit with the original revolvers we laser-scanned and hand-measured, and are being checked over by our West Point-educated Weapons System Engineer of 40 years gunmaking/ammunitionmaking experience. The parts can start running from that CAD at the team of shops (mostly in Montana) in our supply chain across March-May with the revolvers assembled, finished and tested at our riflemaking plant in Wyoming this summer.

"2. The Third Model top-strap double action Merwin Pocket Army & Frontier Army are mostly designed (we standardized on the best Merwin solutions across the models so there's really not a lot of changes) and CAD will wrap up in March so we expect those to be finished guns in the Fall. Not sure when or if we'll make the 4th Model TopStrap, that'll depend on sales and serious requests.

"3. The website is getting a long awaited overhaul including the order form which has driven us nuts even more than it's bothered you. We assumed too much Merwin Hulbert knowledge of customers and gave too many confusing options. It'll be a lot clearer. We're also adding more Merwin history and other useful content as well as making it far easier to update (it was taking 6-12 months for no good reason.)

"4. While we'll be adding video down the road, there's a good intro to Merwins already on www.YouTube.com from the NRA Museum's Curators Corner with longtime collector/auctioneer/Museum Director Jim Supica lucidly explaining and demonstrating the Merwins.

"5. It's taken way longer than folks that have never manufactured anything seem to think it should take (or assume manufacturers fill up a warehouse or two with finished products before trying to sell any, assuming there's a real and ready demand.) In real terms it's gone pretty fast as we're bringing back a proven design made in the hundreds of thousands for roughly 20 years. Which leaves us puzzled at the demand for working prototypes as though this was a new untried design. We are prototyping for assuring measurement errors didn't creep in from the originals (a few did, 2/1,000ths of an inch for fit of the grip panels) but are going straight to final parts from the CAD. We've made some subtle strengthening choices to a few parts but it's all original Merwin designs...the 9 designers or more who came up with this series of big .44 revolvers were very smart guys we're not going to second-guess. Metallurgy and precision are of course better given this era's choices. We make the proof ammunition for many of the large gunmakers as well as some of the biggest rounds in the world for rifles (up through .700 Nitro Express which has a 1,000 grain slug) so we're more obsessive than most about strength and reliability.

"6. Calibers (this has changed between feedback and engineering): .38 Special, .44 Special, .44-40 Winchester, .45 ACP, and we're still debating how to chamber for .45 Long Colt but not allow the smallest version of the .454 Casull to be used (while the top strap would likely be strong enough, we don't want to stress the open-top design with magnum loads since we assume you'll shoot these a lot.)

"7. Barrels have been designed so all of our models can have a set of 3 interchangeable barrels (or just 1 or 2, your choice) at 3.5", 5", and 7" lengths. Those were both historically accurate (well 5.5" is actually more historical for Merwins, but more of you wanted shorter than longer barrels so we went to 5"). You really can change the barrels in a few seconds and without a tool, a feature still basically unknown with only a few semi-automatics like the SIG and Glock offering barrel switches or the long out of production Dan Wesson revolvers. Barrels have been one of the most significant challenges to this since a Merwin barrel isn't just a steel pipe with 5 lands and grooves threaded on one end but part of the whole front of the gun and rifling revolver barrels is a mostly lost art. That's a step we're having revolver barrel rifling experts do (you already probably own some of their pistols) even though we have our own Pratt & Whitney cut rifling and button rifling inhouse
for rifles.

"8. When the new order form on the website goes up in the next few weeks, I urge you to place your orders (we'll honor your place for what you sent in already but want to confirm with the new specifications and your own interest.) Like anything ordered over the web (shipped to the FFL dealer you use), you'll pay by credit card for it, satisfaction is guaranteed (as you know Mastercard and Visa help you on that too) and we're offering a 5 year warranty on parts and workmanship. Service and repair will be available at our factory in Wyoming (but Merwin parts vary so much even within the original series of big .44's that new parts fitting your originals will be more varied than any of us expected, even with all of the parts on the new Merwins coming from original parts.

"9. We've lined up a few dealers that really focus on the CAS market in the U.S. and Europe but we expect that 98% of the Merwins will be sold directly from the website and then shipped to your favorite FFL dealer for whatever transfer fee he charges for that service and in compliance with local and federal laws since these are fully functional modern guns that happen to be 1876-1886 designs unlike say cap and ball revolvers.

"We appreciate your continuing interest and helping us figure out what to make. Let us know if you still want one or two, what you want (from what we're making above, we're past wish lists but those were quite helpful early on.) You'll be seeing these in a lot of magazine and television coverage (far more than we expected early on) but not a lot of ads-this is a small, craftsmanship project of one of our divisions rather than the next major handgun maker in the world roll-out. We expect to sell 1000-2000 of these a year and would rather make them right than often and durable rather than cheap. This confuses a lot of folks but not you. If you're ready for the revolver that most police chose back then as well as the one many of the West's top pistoleers adopted after years of shooting everything else in mortal combat, let us know. "

Al Jones
VP Marketing & Sales
Merwin Hulbert & Co.
al@merwinhulbertco.com
This message was sent by: Merwin, Hulbery & Co., 6209 Mid Rivers Mall Drive, 315, Saint Charles, Missouri 63304

The referenced video: http://www.nationalfirearmsmuseum.org Merwin Hulberts forgotten six-gun of the Old West. Jim Supica, director of the National Firearms Museum, joins John Popp to showcase the Colt Single-Action Army, or the classic six-gun, and similar Remington and Smith & Wesson models. Supica also brings a lesser-known gun from the 1880s that was manufactured by a company called Merwin Hulbert.






2/26/10

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Now another update...

It's been awhile and as the Merwin Hulbert & Co. revolvers go into the later stages of production, with shipping deposited orders starting in November (we solved the barrel-making problems finally, that was a logjam for everything.)

Obviously the economy is quite a bit different from when you placed the order and everyone's circumstances change.

We've also clarified and changed what the initial Merwin line is from the very broad questions on the old order form you responded to. Base pricing though remained in tact as did additional barrels, we've got a lot more finish options worked out, black rubber grips are standard then as now, calibers are .45LC, .45ACP/AutoRim, .44 Special/Russian, .44-40WCF, and .38 Special, barrel lengths are 3.5, 5.5, and 7 inch, and the 4 frame styles are open-top Pocket Army, open-top New Army (sometimes called Frontier, like an 1860 Colt), solid-frame (sometimes called Third Model, it's the slimmer top-strap like a Colt SAA or S&W K-Frame) Pocket Army and New Army. All single action right now, double action versions of the solid-frame will be out in the first half of 2011. We're making 4 revolvers a day so it'll be awhile, and each gets proof-tested, functionality-tested, and accuracy tested before shipping. If you want to upgrade to real elephant ivory grips installed at the factory, that's $395 and no hassle.

We'll be sending you an 8-page catalog on the Merwins that explains what's available and other stuff of interest about them in greater depth than we've gotten onto the website yet.

You can decide what you'd like with what you know now and place an order by mail, fax, e-mail, etc. (and shortly the new website order form will be up) along with payment (unless it's a double action, then just send a deposit.) We've been developing and building these on our money, just like any other made-to-order product, it's not COD. The Merwins are Satisfaction Guaranteed, if not return the gun for a full refund (if it's been used normally, i.e. blowing it up with hot hand-loads or driving over it with a loaded horse trailer, nope, but we can repair it and replace what's damaged. 5 Year Warranty on parts and labor, like I keep saying we're a gunsmith-driven company and focused on making them right before they go out the door to you.

The Merwins are entirely made in the USA, not just assembled, renamed, or reboxed here. These are made literally on the Oregon Trail used by the covered wagons headed to California, Oregon, and Utah. The factory in Glenrock, Wyoming is about a two day ride from Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid's Hole in the Wall hideout..smack dab in the middle of the Real Old West. It's two days ride from Fort Laramie. The cattle drives that inspired "Lonesome Dove" came through here from Texas to Montana. Range wars right through here (SW of the Johnson County War, Tom Horn was a range detective hereabouts.) Fetterman Fight, Wagon Box Fight, Hayfield Fight, Red Cloud's War, that's all hereabouts. You take Old West authenticity differently when it immerses you every day.

We're only considering the orders received with a deposit as dead serious orders (and first in line,) and the orders without a deposit we're considering you telling us what you would buy but not having committed to it, essentially a market survey. We hope you've been checking the Forum section on www.merwinhulbertco.com for updates and look forward to hearing from you at sales@merwinhulbertco.com as we do from so many every day (it's a highlight, not a hassle.)

We look forward to hearing from you, especially after you've had a chance to look at the catalog, and appreciate your continued interest and patience.

23 Sep 2010

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More info...

Dear Merwin, Hulbert & Co Customers, Collectors and Friends,


Before we get into the progress in production, I want to address the change in the leadership of the Merwin, Hulbert & Co project. As some of you may or may not know, I started this odyssey back in 2006. After receiving almost unanimous discouragement from most folks in the manufacturing industry and the experts in the collector world I decided I had hit upon an idea worth following up on, for if one thing is almost certain in the world its if all the insiders and experts think something is a lousy idea, its probably worth its weight in gold. Along the line, Al Jones joined the project and for the last 3 years has been involved in the company and for the last 2 years did a lot of the heavy lifting and communication building. In fact he help setup this service that I'm using to talk to you now. Merwin's return definitely owes a page or two in the history books to Al. Another almost universal truth to go with the one above is that things change and teams change and as many of you may have heard, Al has left the team. I know this is concerning to many, perhaps borderline scary if you've got a full paid order in place, however, I wanted to contact you all to reassure you that Al's departure doesn't effect manufacturing in anyway. Al is a jack of many trades, however he wasn't involved in running the machines, handling the fitting, or engineering, so production is unaffected. I'm going to step back in to direct control over this division I started so hopefully I can fulfill Al's roll without much interruption. As time goes on I'll introduce other members of the team that have been in the background during this time that you can speak with as well.

Now on production, perhaps the biggest mistake we've made to date, and as the CEO I have to step up here and say the biggest mistake I permitted to happen for lack of more definitive intervention was the setting of delivery dates. This was never permitted under company policy. I've been around this industry my whole life and the one thing that gun companies are unilaterally guilty of and perhaps notorious for are unkept delivery dates. How long was Ruger suppose to come out with a 10/17 in 17 HMR? How about the Winchester 94 takedowns? How many times did that not happen? I even have the 2006 Catalog with lovely pictures of that one. Add to it that we are a small "new" player and up pop onerous images of other companies like Dan Wesson that failed multiple times, Wildey who was eaten alive by his own investors a few times, Fletcher-Bidwell Spencers and the list continues. So, I thought I was clear as to why we wouldn't do the same damn thing, yet here we are. The only fix to this that I can see, and I have to say I've been "test marketing" since yesterday in the 50 or so emails I answered directly before getting this system back online is to tell the complete truth of where we are at, what's take up our time and where we are going.

Many of you have already seen pictures of our frames, side plates, trigger guards, hammers, triggers, etc. Yes, we have all of those done. Cylinders are done as well. Barrels forgings are now in as well. Where we are at, at this very second, is the center Cylinder pin/post. In the Merwin this is a fairly significant part as it attaches via threads directly to the frame and holds not only the cylinder, but the barrel as well. Finally, the rim that extracts the cartridges is part of the back side of this pin and through that same shroud the hand that advances the cylinder passes in a vertical slot in the circular ring that contacts the rim of the cartridges. A lot of machining for what on something like a Colt is just a simple pin you could substitute with a nail if you had to. So this would seem fairly simple still, just machine it and thread it and thread the frame and screw them together. However, the issue here is the timing. Like that vertical cut for the hand, if that is off by a tiny amount the hand will bind and wear and the cylinder won't advance properly. Don't forget the cuts under the cylinder or out along the barrels travel area, those have to be oriented as well. Okay, so a simple solution would seem to be to thread it, tighten and mark it, then unscrew, machine and re-attach. Yes, this works, but what if your center pin breaks. We are using a far stronger alloy than the originals, but still this is one area, especially on open tops that we've seen a lot of damage as after all its a long thin post with cuts out of it. with the barrel unlocked its unsupported. Trip midway through an ejection cycle and hit in the right spot and it could bend or break no matter what we make it out of. If we used the process I just described the only option is to have it sent in and have a new part mated to it as the process above only makes a custom part, so no center pin is interchangeable with any other center pin. Don't like the sound of that? Neither do I. I'd much rather know that the center pin on a revolver made today could be replaced by one made 10 years from now. This requires that the threads in the frame start at the same point with in a few thousands and that the same happens on the center pin, with the added difficulty on the pin of all the other cuts having to be timed to the threads. As we have two parts that means the tolerance or "slop" on each part is additive meaning both have to be held to a very tight range or it won't work. Add to this it must be torqued down or "crushed" in so we have to know how much both the pin and/or frame will give with the required torque so it doesn't go out of alignment when we apply the torque. So we've got timing in the threads which is a machining and setup problem, the other machining on the pin having to line up with the other cuts in the frame, the deflection of the metal under torque, etc. So basically this simple process of threading the pin into the frame becomes a complex item in and of itself. Sure we could go the quicker way I first described, but I haven't been pouring everything I have into this and making you fine folks wait for just what works or what is good enough. I think you are all here because you want the best, and I'm here to make the best. Unfortunately, the best takes time, frequently in ways and delays that can't always be predicted.

So in conclusion, I can't give you a firm delivery date. In fact, the next delivery date I want anyone of you to hear is the one on the shipping invoice with tracking number that you'll receive when its sitting on the shipping counter ready to go out to your dealer, or your shop if you are a dealer. What I do plan on doing is using this service that we pay for monthly anyway and actually use it as often as is practical to communicate to you exactly where we are at, what is going on, and what is or isn't done. I apologize to those of you that were given a delivery date as it shouldn't have happened and I hope I've shown can't happen with any accuracy. Once we have all the bugs worked out of the system and are in continual production, then we'll be able to give rough delivery dates followed by certain dates at time of shipping, until then anything I'd say, even with the full picture on my desk here is nothing more than a guess. I'd rather tell you where we are and leave the guessing up to you. I will tell you from here, even having a completed piece doesn't mean we are a go. We have testers who will ring them out for us and I'll be doing that myself. When I have one with about 5,000 rounds through it without fail, then I will announce we are in full production, until then we are in production line testing. This is a bit different then prototyping as prototyping allows you to use any method you wish. Production line testing is what it sounds like, basically you are testing the manufacturing methods with no cheating allowed.

I'll end now by thanking you all for your patience, your enthusiasm, and of course your business. Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to talking to you all again in the near future. I am going on the road to check in with the facilities and suppliers, so if you do write, I'll do my best to get back to you as soon as I can, but I might be delayed a bit over the next week or so. Until then, we'll follow Bat's advice and take our time as quickly as possible in getting these done and ready for you.


Sincerely,


Mike

Michael H Blank
CEO
Merwin, Hulbert & Co., LLC

Recently found on the net, this is the configuration of Merwin & Hulbert I'd like to have...

Carry in State Forests

Ron Jenkins, the Assistant State Forester for Virginia, has confirmed that, barring anything unusual from happening, gun owners can BEGIN legally carrying sidearms in State Forests ON JULY 7, 2011.  The NRA and the Washington Examiner, both of which said that the regulation was effective immediately, have it WRONG.  Please help spread the word on the various chat groups and gun lists so that no one gets into trouble for carrying in Virginia State Forests prematurely!

Another Ruger Alphabet Bearcat...

Newest Bearcat

Once upon a time, ok, about 4 years ago, I managed to glom onto a long desired gun, a Ruger Bearcat.  I thought I was very fortunate to get an old model.  It was only coincidental that it was first year, "alphabet" gun.  They are called "alphabet" guns because Ruger, after producing the first thousand, made the next thousands by numbering them with a letter pre-fix and 001-999, changing the letter as each 3-digit number hit 999.  I know a couple of people who only collect these looking to have examples A-Z as it were.  I thought this one was neat because it is an "M" gun and M is for Madeline, my grand-daughter.  I hope she wants and I have the opportunity to give her this gun. Since I already have a "B" for myself I suppose that I now "need" to find a "K" for my grandson!

The condition is better than my other gun with only some slight bluing wear at the muzzle.  The loading gate spring tension is noticeably less than the earlier Bxxx gun.  However, when I got it it had every appearance of having been stored in a sheep shed.  This is one of those things that I was able to get by virtue of working in a gun shop.  A coworker needed money for another gun and had brought it in hoping to lure in another coworker but I was there first.  I'm glad of it, too!

I've got a nice little Simply Rugged sourdough pancake holster for the Bearcats.  Rob even included the neat inside out straps for it.

Notes from the gun shop...

Yesterday was a good day at the gun shop.  We were pretty busy despite the construction in the street out front (West Beverly Street).  Usually when the weather is good nobody is coming in, they are out doing something else.   When the weather is bad they come in.  But, yesterday was busy all morning, and the later half of the afternoon.  Great day. 

Chris is taking in some neat guns as they surface due to the economy.  Folks need money and are selling "treasures".  We have a refinished (very nicely so) Mauser C96 which should make a good shooter for somebody who's wanted to try these out.  I think it is an OLD re-blue job, the bore is blued as well, but the polisher didn't even break any sharp corners much less buff out any marks.  He also just took in a Heckler & Koch (H&K) G91 (not a CETME or Century Arms) which is a 7.62 NATO/.308 Win chambered firearm.  This one also has the telescopic sight mount.  One seldom sees these on the local market. 

The highlight of the day was that I was able to get a nice first year Ruger Bearcat, albeit without the box, and I'm not into it for much.  More on that later. 

We did have a bit of a puzzle yesterday.  Lewis was working on a S&W M586 on which the hammer would "stick" forward after every double-action trigger pull locking up the action.  Neither he nor I could figure this one out.  He had and tried replacing several parts without effect but exactly what he did I cannot say as I was busy for much of the time he was working on it.  One of the major attractions to working in the shop is that one gets to see such things without having to make a purchase!  I'm going to try to figure this one out...

Chamber Casting on the Cheap by Tim

A friend has an old 1885 Winchester High Wall that was original a 38-55, but someone in the past has relined to a center-fire .22 caliber and the new caliber is not marked anywhere on the rifle. I decided to make a chamber cast to find out what it was.

Ordinarily you would use Cerrosafe, a metallic substance that melts at the temperature of boiling water and is designed for the job of chamber casting. But if you don't have any Cerrosafe, wax can make a cheap substitute if done carefully. In this case I used refined beeswax.

Here you see a picture of the muzzle showing the .22 liner that was epoxied into the barrel:




I started by giving the breech area and bore a good cleaning. Then everything was given a light coat of oil, :




I needed a tight oiled patch placed in the bore just ahead of the chamber. I first closed the breech block, ran a rod down the muzzle to determine overall bore length, then backed the rod out enough to clear the chamber and marked the rod with a piece of tape. The patch was then run in from the muzzle, stopping the rod at the tape mark. I did it this way because it presents a smoother surface for the wax to stop against as opposed to a patch run in from the breech, but I suppose it really doesn't matter much how it gets in there as long as it is there!




Next I used some automotive body caulking to build a dam around the bore breech so as not to get wax into the action:




I used an old metal cigar tube cut at an angle and pinched to form a pouring spout for the melted beeswax. A Vicegrip was used to handle the hot tube:




Here you see the rifle clamped barrel down in a vice with the action tilted slightly uphill to let any wax that overflows go away from the action:




Now the wax has been poured. It will shrink and pull down into the chamber slightly as it is poured, so I keep dribbling in hot wax until it overflows slightly:




While I waited a half hour or so for the beeswax to completely harden, I cleaned up the overflow and removed the caulking from the action area:




Lastly, the cleaning rod was run down the muzzle and the casting pushed out:




Using a caliper to check dimensions, and referring to the book "Cartridges of the World", I determined that the rifle appears to be a R-2 Lovell, a famous old wildcat caliber designed in 1937 and based on the 25-20 Single Shot case. I know a fellow who has a rifle in that caliber, so the next step is to borrow a round from him and see if it fits.

This wax chamber casting method will get you by in a pinch, but having used Cerrosafe in the past, I think it does a much better job, and the cerrosafe casting does not require the delicate handling that a wax casting does. Still, I found out what I needed to know, and it was kind of fun going through the process!

Tim (Shasta)

Smith and Wesson Model 624

S&W M624

A stainless steel version of the S&W Model 24, all 624s are .44 Special. In 1985 Lew Horton, having noted the popularity of the Jovino snub gun conversions of various N-frame guns, contracted with S&W to produce these 3" barreled guns (mine actually measures 2-3/4"). 5000 of these were supposedly made, however, one seldom sees these come on the market. Also, these guns have the N-frame dimension round butt, not the slightly smaller K-frame round butt of the Jovinos. This is important when looking for aftermarket stocks. S&W did make a few of these AFTER the Lew Horton order.

This makes my 5th .44 Special revolver but it is the only double action gun in which I would feel comfortable using the Skeeter load. I think the smaller L-frame 696 should be preserved with a slightly lighter load and it is certainly more pleasant to shoot that way.

I didn't get the box or papers with this gun but it should still hold its value well. I don't yet know whether or not I like the finger groove grips but they are original.

All of the Lew Horton guns had the serial prefix of "AHW" and this gun is an "ALV" which, interestingly enough, isn't listed for date in the 3d edition of the standard catalog. However one can easily see that this gun has no lock or MIM parts and uses the hammer mounted firing pin.

S&W 624 in Galco Holster

There was an issue with incorrect heat treatment of some cylinders for the 624s and there was a recall. After a number of cylinders were replaced, S&W ran out of cylinders and would offer to replace the guns with 629s (if I wanted a 629 I'd have bought a 629 would be my response). The prefix for the guns in this range is "ACH", I think. I'd like to get confirmation. Guns which were repaired were not marked but guns which were correct had their boxes marked with a 3/4" red circle with a "C" in the center of the circle.

I did get to shoot it some a couple of days ago and it did pretty well with the Winchester Silvertip load (which was very mild in recoil) and the "Skeeter Skelton" load of 7.5 gr. Unique under the 250 gr. Keith bullet.  That last was clearly not a pussy cat but the recoil is very manageable and will be even more so with practice.

M624 with new shoes, Skeeter load and Silvertips

After a bit I came upon some different stocks for a round-butt N-frame and thought I'd try them out.  I like these so put them on and put the factory stocks in a safe place to preserve them.

A bit of an addendum... The following information was provided by a very thoughtful reader:

According to Skelton's ST article (10/85), here are the recall SN ranges for the Model 624 recall:
ADXXXX
AEXXXX
AFXXXX
AGXXXX
AHXXXX
ALVXXX (the “V” is not a typo)
N910000 thru N953000

USFA Rodeo

Seller's photo of USFA Rodeo .45 Colt 4-3/4"

Got another new to me gun, a United State Fire Arms Rodeo.  This one has had an "action job" and a Belt Mountain base pin installed.  Yes, another .45 Colt and it fits the El Paso Saddlery and Mernickle holsters. The holster pictured herewith was sold long ago by the previous owner.  However, I don't have to get anything else to put it to use. As of this date the listed MSRP on this gun is $750.00.  USFA has this to say about the Rodeo...

The design of the Original Rodeo® was forged by history. It is handcrafted with our Cowboy Action Matte Blue™ a Special Glare-Reducing Finish. The balance is perfect. Reliability, unquestioned. Experience the benefit of fully machined bar stock parts, properly tempered springs and a hand built action in that first pull of the trigger.

The Original Rodeo’s easy to acquire sight picture is yours as you sight down a wide rear notch and square front blade with our special glare-reducing finish; cowboy shooting in bright sunlight is no problem.

The Original Rodeo® available in .45 Colt or .38 Special, with 4-¾" or 5-½" barrel. “US” hard rubber grips are standard on all base models.

The Original Rodeo® rides into the USFA product line to meet the demand of the SASS enthusiast. The Original Rodeo® is an affordable, Made in U.S.A. entry into the world of cowboy shooting, giving SASS shooters a choice of a 100% American made product instead of the imported clones so often found at the lower end of the price/quality market.

USFA builds guns up to a level of quality unsurpassed by any other maker - foreign or domestic. Using modern manufacturing techniques pioneered here at USFA, the parts we make are 100% American Made.

My first shooting experience with it wasn't so great. Using my current standard revolver load for the .45 Colt of 8.5 gr. Unique under the Keith bullet I didn't seem to get the accuracy I was looking for. Still, it might have been me. It certainly wasn't bullet fit in the chamber throats as a quick check shows them to correctly dimensioned.  This happens sometimes.  I have a bunch of the RCBS 270SA which I will be loading in the next batch.  It might do better.

Lincoln Apostate The Matson Slave Case By Charles R. McKirdy

I'm going to continue this marketing ploy of my cousin Chuck McKirdy (first cousin once removed) and take a moment to promote his book, Lincoln Apostate The Matson Slave Case. It is also available at Amazon.com.

How the "Great emancipator" found himself in court defending a slave owner's claim to human chattels

In 1847, in a small rural courthouse in Coles County, Illinois, Abraham Lincoln represented a Kentucky slave owner named Robert Matson in his attempt to recover a runaway slave woman and her four children. Most Americans, even those with a penchant for the nation's history, have never heard of this court case. This is no coincidence. Lincoln's involvement in the case has troubled and bewildered most students and biographers of the "Great Emancipator." In many assessments, the case inspires rationalizations and distortions; in others, avoidance and denial. These approaches are a disservice to the man and to those who seek to understand him.

In Lincoln Apostate: The Matson Slave Case, lawyer and historian Charles R. McKirdy digs behind the myths and evasions to determine why Lincoln chose to advocate property rights grounded in a system that he claimed to abhor and pursue the continued enslavement of five of its most vulnerable and sympathetic victims. In a careful and readable blend of narrative and analysis, the book finds the answer in the time and place that was Lincoln's Illinois in 1847, in the laws and judicial decisions that provided the legal backdrop against which the drama of the Matson case was played out, and in the man that Lincoln was thirteen years before he became president.

The discussion of Lincoln's decision to represent Matson and the description of the trial itself take nothing at face value. The author examines primary and secondary sources for the ribbon of truth shorn of preconceptions and hollow justifications. Lincoln Apostate scrutinizes Lincoln's motives for choosing as he did and explores the ideals and fears of this very complex man.

Charles R. McKirdy, Poway, California, litigated cases for twenty-five years in the state of Illinois and holds a Ph.D. in history and a law degree from Northwestern University. His work has been published in the American Journal of Legal History, the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, and the Journal of Legal Education.

176 pages (approx.), 6 x 9 inches, bibliography, index

I've received mine and am only about half way through the 1st chapter so a review will have to wait.

Notes from the gun shop...

We had a great day that passed quickly even though we weren't extremely or even fairly busy. Some great folks visited and there were some good and fun conversations.

We did have a fellow bring in a pristine Colt Official Police .22 LR in his search for a holster. He got one in nylon. What was interesting to me is that he brought it in in a .50 caliber ammo can wrapped in an old T-shirt. This was an inheritance from his grandfather that he shot with his grandson. At least it now has a holster (of sorts).

We did do 5 background checks. Only one was held up. We had a native of Kazakstan, now an American citizen, buy his first firearm. While waiting for his background check to clear his boss (also a good customer) showed up. All was well, boss very happy for his man to get his first gun. Said that now he really was an American! Gotta love that attitude.

Nana now wants to go to St. Louis for the next NRA Annual Meeting.

NRA Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh

We have attended our second NRA Annual Meeting, this one being held in Pittsburgh. We stayed at the Sheraton Station Square Hotel. We attended the Freedom Experience, Leadership Forum and spent a lot of time on the exhibition floor.

Travel time to Pittsburgh is about 5 hours from here. I plotted two routes, both through West Virginia and allowing, time permitting, quick stops at friends homes or at Fort Necessity. I've wanted to visit this historic site for many years. This is the first image I ever saw of it. There have been changes since 1932 (of course). We saved that for the return trip on 2 May. Interestingly, the travel time doesn't change much even though the two routes (going and coming) were substantially different.  That was kinda surprising.  We did get to see more of West Virginia.  I like West Virginia as I lived there for about 9 years. 

Of course, I wanted to visit Fort Duquesne or Fort Pitt but Point State Park isn't quite the same. One can visit the Blockhouse and the Fort Pitt Museum.

Of course this took a lot of planning as my wife and I had to coordinate work schedules/time off, make hotel reservations, board the dog, etc...  I thought I was undone at one point because I couldn't find my confirmation sheet for the hotel.  So, I tried to get it on-line, must have used the credit card this one replaced and it wouldn't use that for the second ID.  Called.  The nice young lady couldn't find the reservation at first!  My heart skipped a beat.  All that effort and I knew that my sweet bride wouldn't be at all happy.  She checked the spelling, "AH, there it is, 28 Apr to 1 May", and a confirmation number.  "Thank you, thank you," I said.  That was close...

This year the NRA negotiated the venue with the requirement that CHP holders be able to come and go.  Fortunately Pennsylvania AND West Virginia honor the Virginia CHP.  I felt much better about going to Pittsburgh.  I used my Simply Rugged pocket holster and Smith and Wesson 642 and I don't think anyone ever realized I was carrying. 

The hotel was nice, there were some good restaurants nearby and you could get a nice view of the confluence of the rivers.  Parking was $20 a day which I suppose isn't too bad but I'll never get over paying for parking at a hotel.  Parking is one of those hassles that keeps me out of the cities.

View from Mt. Washington in earlier days...

The weather wasn't forecast to be all that good with showers, partly cloudy and mostly cool, 52-64° highs, days.  Good walking weather I thought if it doesn't rain...   We wanted to take the Monongahela Incline to the top of Mount Washington but didn't have the time.

What we did do is register on Thursday and meet with Clint and Debbie B_____ for a few before leaving for dinner.  Nana was a bit tired from the winding ride up.

Friday, we got up and went on over to arrive about 9:15 (the exhibit opened at 0900) and since nobody was hanging about got caught up in looking at all the exhibits. Shook hands with Phil Spangenberger.   We had covered about half of it in a bit of a rush when we ran into some acquaintances at the Ruger booth.  We were supposed to meet at 10:30 but I don't wear a watch and lost track of the time.  Unfortunately Matt Olivier of the Ruger Collectors' Association had already moved on.  I couldn't find him afterward.  I wonder what's up with that?  As I write this I wonder if there is a reason we haven't met.  Maybe the "fates" are trying to save me money or something...  Anyway, Nana got a photo of our group.

That afternoon we went to the leadership forum and I got to meet and very briefly speak with Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Director.

Grandpa and Wayne LaPierre

Among the speakers was Herman Cain.  I thought it was a powerful speech.  I got to speak with him also, again very briefly, and shake his hand.  10 years older than me, he still has a good grip!  I hate to say, but contrasted with Newt Gingrich's rather dead fish handshake, I like Mr. Cain a bit better.  Many of these speakers have some sort of political aspirations.  Among those was Newt Gingrich with whom Nana was photographed.  She's really proud of this!

I noticed that that some of them talk a better talk in front of the NRA membership than they do "in public". Overall we both enjoyed it though.

On Saturday morning Nana took a break and I went to the exhibits by myself.  Got to look at stuff and talk with some of the exhibitors.

The new President of Ithaca Gun showed me their adjustable stock they are making in lieu of a wood stock which was pretty neat albeit of a synthetic.  He said that if a wooden youth stock was wanted he would just cut a standard to length.  They have a 20 ga. "riot" gun that would be perfect for many small stature people for home defense.

I also went over to the Shiloh Sharps booth and drooled a bit.  Kirk was busy with others so we didn't get to speak. However, I did get a close look at the military rifle and carbine. I would like, someday, to have a .50-70 like Scott T_______'s but we'll just have to wait and see.

I got to see a demonstration, of sorts, and speak with Mike Holm about the Federal Guard Dog ammunition.

---

As I was typing it was announced the Osama Bin Laden has been killed in a US Navy SEAL operation in Pakistan. He was apparently staying with a courier whose home was nearly next door to a major Pakistani military base. Asked to surrender, shot by a SEAL and already buried at sea. This was the result of unrelenting pursuit by the combined American intelligence and military assets. There have been spontaneous celebratory demonstrations of many kinds last night and this morning.

Leonard Boole Van Cott

2LT Leonard Boole Van Cott

Mount Vernon, December 7, 1862

My dear Sir,

I am as one in a dream! I saw our poor Leonard die, and I saw him buried, but yet I cannot realize that I never shall see him again. It seems impossible to give up the idea that I must see him and hear his voice again, and it is only by the sternest and most careful thought that I can full realize that the loss is actual and irremediable. When I look back to last spring and remember the part he took in your celebrations and more lately, the sword presentation, preceded by the game of Ball, the most active and strong of all engaged, how can it be, I ask myself, that he is now silent, speechless and dead! He was a noble boy! Meanness and falsehood were as unknown to his soul as to that of the purest angel! The noblest epitaph that can be placed upon his tombstone is that I never knew him to tell a lie. I relied as implicitly upon his word, as I did upon any declaration of God’s holy word. I always had a different feeling towards him, from that which I felt toward my other children. Not that I am conscious of having loved him more or having been improperly partial towards him, but he always seemed to me, at least for several years, so manly and intelligent, that I felt he was more of a companion, than either of my other boys, although two of them were older than he. But why need I say anything to you about one you knew so well? I thank you for your words of kindness and sympathy, received through the boys. It now only remains that I describe to you his last hours, very briefly, because I know it will be a satisfaction, though a sad and mournful one. On the 25th of November, I received a telegram from the Colonel of the Regiment “Leonard is not so well, and yet cannot get leave to go home. He wants to see you here.” This was the first intimation I had received of his being unwell all his letters prior to that time (the last received on the 22nd) had been written in high health and spirits, and spoke of his great enjoyment of camp life. By some incomprehensible mistake, which I have not yet been able to fathom, this telegram, although sent from “Centreville” was dated “Tenally Town” (possibly Taney Town). Wondering how the regiment could be at the latter place, whis is only about five miles out of Washington, as my last letter had been written from Gainesville, I nevertheless took the first train and went to Tenally Town. I there learned that the regiment had never been there, and from the telegraphic operator, that no such message had been sent from there, I could learn nothing of the whereabouts of the regiment, and thinking that the whole thing might be an error, I returned to New York. On going to my office, however, I found a letter from the Colonel, dated the 22 November, at Centreville, stating that Leonard was somewhat ill—that he was not seriously so—that he had applied for permission for him to go home, and I did not doubt but that he would get it, too—(This letter explains the language of the telegram which I have quoted) I immediately telegraphed, “How is Leonard? And how can I reach you?” and received in reply, “Leonard is very ill—come to Centreville by way of Washington.” I left by the first train and reached Centreville, last Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock I found Leonard very ill, at a stone house, where it was warm and dry, and receiving every attention and care that was possible, under the circumstances. His disease was typhus, and he was delirious nearly all the time. I could not tell certainly that he recognized me before Monday, although I occasionally thought there was a momentary gleam of recognition. The great difficulty was, that his utterance was so thick, on account of his throat, that it was almost impossible to distinguish any of his utterings. But on Monday he recognized me distinctly. I asked him if he knew me He answered Yes Sir. And, as I was moving away from his bed for some purpose, he asked, “Where are you going?” I told him, I should no leave him, but would stay till I took him home. He asked if he could not go home at once. I told him he was not quite strong enough yet. This was the only lucid conversation I had with him, and this I made as short as possible, on account of his extreme debility. But on this day the doctor’s hopes were very strong, and son continued throughout the day and evening. But on Tuesday morning he was much worse, There seemed to be a complication of diphtheria, which was probably the immediate cause of his death. He died about ten o’clock Tuesday morning, very peacefully, but, to all appearances, unconsciously. The doctor, who was really a skillful man, was indefatigable in his exertions, scarcely leaving him by night or by day. We had also the advice of the surgeon of another regiment, and of the Brigade surgeon, who both coincided in the mode of treatment. It was great satisfaction to be there to witness his last respiration and close his eyes, but very sad to think, that with so many friends who loved him, I was the only one present to tend or care for him. The poor boy, during his illness, often tried to sing, and I doubt not was tying to sing some of the songs he had often sung at your happy home. It would have been a great happiness to me, could he have been conscious of the change which was about to take place I know I should have been charged with many commissions of love to Washington for I know he loved it beyond any place under the skies. I could give you many quotations from his journal to show this but one must suffice. “August 18th, Monday” (The last day he was in Washington.) “Up bright and early to be off at half past six. Everybody came down to Mr. Gunn’s to see me off, and such a kissing time as I had I shall probably never experience again. No one has ever gone to war with more happy recollections than I have. Washington seems like a family from which I have torn myself away. Farewell Washington! With you my happiest hours have been spent, hours, which with their happiness can never again be experienced. Farewell Washington! And should heaven spare me, on my return, my steps will be toward it, which should I live a hundred years, will always be fresh in my remembrance. Good by school life, and now to become a soldier"” Leonard left some letters which I deem to sacred to peruse and shall return to the writer But I had less delicacy about those from Mrs. Gunn and Miss Bell Brinsmade and I will trouble you to express my thanks to them for their kind and considerate advice to our poor lost boy. He never made any outward profession of faith in Christ but I sincerely trust, that God, in his mercy had taken him to his mother in heaven. I state to you, that the Colonel’s telegram was my first intelligence of his being, in the slightest degree, unwell. But I have since heard, that it was known to _______________. It had occurred to me, that, as I was unwilling he should go to the war, he might feel unwilling, on that account, to complain to me. Will you let me know how this is, through inquiries of Mrs. Gunn and Miss Brinsmade? I should like to see any letter, or extracts of letters, that you think would interest me.

And now as to this fearful and terrible war! My hatred of its cause is entirely unabated, rather very much increased. But where is it going to end, God only knoweth! I begin to be greatly alarmed on this point. What with bickerings and jealousies between Generals, and those high in authority in civil life, and the well know purposes of northern sympathizers, I begin to fear, somewhat, the result. Did I not believe that God was on our side I should be dismayed. God useth instrumentalities! And the time may not be distant, when you and I, and every lover of his country, will be required to buckle on the sword or shoulder the musket, and, if needs be, die in defence of great principles. I feel ready, today, rather to die, than see the great principles of which we have been fighting, surrender. I beg you to remember me to all friends.

Very truly Yours

W. W. VanCott
F. W. Gunn Esq.

This letter is recounting the Judge's recent death of his son, Lieutenant Leonard Boole Van Cott, due to disease during Leonard's Civil War service, to the Headmaster of "The Gunnery" in Washington, CT.

William, Leonard and Theodore (l-r)

The judge is my Great, Great, Great Grandfather  William Hathaway Van Cott.  The judge had 4 sons (of 6) who survived to adulthood the oldest three of whom served in the Civil War.  Leonard was studying at The Gunnery in Washington, CT when service called and was able to acquire a commission in Company I 119th New York Infantry.  He must have made quite an impression as his headmaster and fellow students presented him with a sword when they sent him off to war.  The sword still exists and I understand it is being presented to The Gunnery today for inclusion in their museum.  That is a good place to both preserve the artifact and to honor our long departed great grand uncle.

Leonard was only 16 (not 18 as reported in official records) when he died.  Like the vast majority of Civil War dead it was disease that took him from his family and cut short a life of great promise.   Prior to attending Mr. Gunn's school he was in the Introductory Class at The Free Academy (later became City College) which was also attended by his brother Theodore.  Apparently he was quite a good student. 

Uncle Leonard's Sword

I have been told that today, 1 May 2011, his sword will return to Mr. Gunn's school to be preserved for posterity.

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I found an interesting site regarding Uncle Leonard, "Letters from Charlie Goodyear".