6/4/02

BOOK REVIEW BY MIKE CUMPSTON

Hamilton Bowen founded Bowen Classic Arms in 1980. Two decades later, the firm and its founder are inextricably associated with the finest of the sporting handguns in the definitive era of their evolution. He is devoted to the classic form of the revolver developed to the highest level of functional perfection available through modern technology. His contributions to this ideal have earned the profound respect of his peers in the lofty American Pistolsmith’s Guild. He is a past president of that august establishment and in 1990, was named Pistolsmith of the Year. He continues to contribute his skills to the Best Quality Guild Guns presented each year.

Bowen’s classically configured single and double action Rugers feature prominently in the contemporary shooting press. In that venue, he is best known for revolvers of tremendous power suited for self defense in the wild and hunting of large and dangerous game. He does not confine his talents entirely to the large and powerful. A review of his web site gallery and the Color Plate section of this book quickly reveals a respect for the revolver as a practical tool for the enhancement of quality of life as well as its preservation. He expresses a keenly defined realization of the importance of shooting for pure enjoyment and appreciates that many cartridge-gun combinations with no particular practical niche, presenting pleasant shooting characteristics, are their own excuse for being.

Many of the projects undertaken by Bowen Classic Arms are absent the profit motive done for the pure joy of erecting statelier mansions of knowledge and experience. A direct result of this questing nature is that Bowen’s grasp of revolver lore is both wide and deep. He is uniquely qualified to write the standard reference to the Custom Revolver and, in the present instance has done so in a manner that will stand the test of time and appeal to everyone with more than a passing interest in the revolver as tool and artifact.

The Custom Revolver encompasses a comprehensive exploration of the wide array of enhancements that can be built into the heirs of the essential Colt Army Single Actions and the Hand Ejector Double Action arms. Throughout the volume is intertwined a rich tapestry of history, practical shooting advice, reloading strategy, and a comprehensive revelation of the custom revolver business as it developed and exists today. Bowen writes much like he speaks communicating sometimes, complicated ideas with a colloquial clarity spiked with subdued humor. Sometimes words are not sufficient to create a clear mental image of the process under discussion. This presents no problem as each concept is illustrated with excellently rendered black and white photographs that compliment the text.

It is particularly appropriate that Chapter 1 is a detailed discussion of the defining custom revolver- the Keith Number 5 as conceived by Elmer Keith and executed, in large part by the gunsmith R.F Sedgley. It also details The Keith Revisited- the ornate, Best-Quality rendition of the design created by Bowen himself. Another bellwether revolver is the Number 13, Keith Pattern Ruger Bisley .475 Linebaugh designed and commissioned in the Bowen shop by Ross Seyfried over a decade ago. This revolver features scrimshanded mastodon ivory grips, a lined, Damascus octagonal barrel, English pattern engraving by Jim Nixon and finish provided by Turnbull Restorations. Other intriguing revolvers are the .50 Action Express Redhawk patterned after the Smith and Wesson Model 1917 and an interesting exercise on the K-frame Military and Police chambered for the .25 ACP loaded in moon clips.

In keeping with the comprehensive nature of The Custom Revolver is the discussion of applicable cartridges and their use in specific revolvers. These range from a number of center fire .22 and 25 caliber rounds through the monster .500 Maximum which the author considers way too much of a good thing.

Every page of The Custom Revolver contains some interesting gem of information for the neophyte handgun enthusiast and the seasoned revolverphyle alike. The candidate for a best quality or custom revolver will be able to better understand and define the features he would like on his own project gun and will come away with a deepening knowledge that, adds rather than detracts from the mystique attached to the subject. In this realm, familiarity and knowledge breeds not contempt but greater affinity. The book is equally recommended to the wide audience of revolver enthusiasts who are perfectly satisfied with the products of Smith and Wesson, Ruger and Colt as they come from the factory. The eclectic scope of the work is such that the reader will acquire a greater understanding of the qualities and capabilities of the stock revolvers and appreciate them all the more.

The Custom Revolver is the standard reference, not only of the one of a kind best quality revolver but of the entire field of recreational handguns as well.