There was a resounding call for a deeper dive into the weekend I had with my good buddy Ken Hackathorn, so ever a man of the people, here's a "part two" if you will.
Hack was convinced that I needed to broaden my horizons past the venerable .45 ACP, offering me a smorgasbord of various small arms to try out. These ranged from Beretta Jaguars to 10mm Colt's Single Action Army revolvers- and so much in between.
Ken Hackathorn's hero was a man named Charlie Gillis, a neighbor of his from "back home" in Ohio. Charlie was a WW2 veteran and one of the first examples of a "gun guy" that Hack was exposed to. When Colt rereleased their famous Single Action Army in 1956, Charlie was among the first to seek out and purchase one. He was a "5.5in" guy (referring to his preferred SAA barrel length). Hack told me stories of how he begged Charlie to "go shoot the cowboy gun" as a child until the day Charlie replied with an "okay". Hack's, much like my first experience shooting a real Colt SAA, was nothing short of a damn good time. I was so honored that Hack would have me shoot his hero's gun while I was visiting him, as this gun was effectively leaving it's mark on now a third generation of "gun guy".
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Moving from revolvers back to automatics, I was really pleased to get to try out one of Hack's more "used" guns- his Wilson Combat "Swenson Tribute" Commander. Unfortunately, it was just a 9mm... unfortunate because of how much I loved shooting it. The gun was a one-off built by the old Supergrade shop with a JEM square-guard frame and a "Hackathorn Special" slide.
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Keeping with the theme of automatics for a moment, Hack was INSISTENT that I spend some time on the SIG P210. Now, I "like" the P210, but as with many Euro-Simp guns, I really just wrote it off as, "Well, it's not a 1911, so I don't care". H. O. L. Y. S#*T was I WRONG. While Hack had a plethora of vintage P210s, he was convinced the newer, American ones were "just as good". Having no experience with a vintage one, I can only report that these new P210s... are incredible. Fit and finish are legitimately superb (considering the price point), the trigger was phenomenal, and the shooting experience was a whole lot of brass flying through a laugher-infused atmosphere.
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In the spirit of good, fun competition, Hack proposed that he and I have a shoot a few drills against one another using revolvers. I don't think I need to tell you how that went for me, but I had a good time getting my ass whooped. Two revolvers, a Smith and Wesson Model 27 (3.5in barrel) and a new Colt Python (3in barrel) were presented. We'd shoot the drill then switch guns. While I didn't do very hot with either compared to Hack, the Model 27 was, understandably, much more pleasant to shoot. I also prefer the way a Smith and Wesson trigger pulls through, over the "stacking" of a Colt. One major difference was in the sights. With the red ramped S&W, I tend to shoot a little high, compared to the Wilson Combat bead sight that was affixed to the Python. More than likely, that stems back to my familiarity with automatics.
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With that, gentlemen, I think I will draw "part two" to a close. I will leave you with this epic picture of Hack with his Mini-14, sporting a new Samson folding stock I got him as a "thank you" gift earlier this year. If you'd like a "part three", let me know, I still have plenty of pictures and stories from this trip.
![Image]()
Hack was convinced that I needed to broaden my horizons past the venerable .45 ACP, offering me a smorgasbord of various small arms to try out. These ranged from Beretta Jaguars to 10mm Colt's Single Action Army revolvers- and so much in between.
Ken Hackathorn's hero was a man named Charlie Gillis, a neighbor of his from "back home" in Ohio. Charlie was a WW2 veteran and one of the first examples of a "gun guy" that Hack was exposed to. When Colt rereleased their famous Single Action Army in 1956, Charlie was among the first to seek out and purchase one. He was a "5.5in" guy (referring to his preferred SAA barrel length). Hack told me stories of how he begged Charlie to "go shoot the cowboy gun" as a child until the day Charlie replied with an "okay". Hack's, much like my first experience shooting a real Colt SAA, was nothing short of a damn good time. I was so honored that Hack would have me shoot his hero's gun while I was visiting him, as this gun was effectively leaving it's mark on now a third generation of "gun guy".
Moving from revolvers back to automatics, I was really pleased to get to try out one of Hack's more "used" guns- his Wilson Combat "Swenson Tribute" Commander. Unfortunately, it was just a 9mm... unfortunate because of how much I loved shooting it. The gun was a one-off built by the old Supergrade shop with a JEM square-guard frame and a "Hackathorn Special" slide.
Keeping with the theme of automatics for a moment, Hack was INSISTENT that I spend some time on the SIG P210. Now, I "like" the P210, but as with many Euro-Simp guns, I really just wrote it off as, "Well, it's not a 1911, so I don't care". H. O. L. Y. S#*T was I WRONG. While Hack had a plethora of vintage P210s, he was convinced the newer, American ones were "just as good". Having no experience with a vintage one, I can only report that these new P210s... are incredible. Fit and finish are legitimately superb (considering the price point), the trigger was phenomenal, and the shooting experience was a whole lot of brass flying through a laugher-infused atmosphere.
In the spirit of good, fun competition, Hack proposed that he and I have a shoot a few drills against one another using revolvers. I don't think I need to tell you how that went for me, but I had a good time getting my ass whooped. Two revolvers, a Smith and Wesson Model 27 (3.5in barrel) and a new Colt Python (3in barrel) were presented. We'd shoot the drill then switch guns. While I didn't do very hot with either compared to Hack, the Model 27 was, understandably, much more pleasant to shoot. I also prefer the way a Smith and Wesson trigger pulls through, over the "stacking" of a Colt. One major difference was in the sights. With the red ramped S&W, I tend to shoot a little high, compared to the Wilson Combat bead sight that was affixed to the Python. More than likely, that stems back to my familiarity with automatics.
With that, gentlemen, I think I will draw "part two" to a close. I will leave you with this epic picture of Hack with his Mini-14, sporting a new Samson folding stock I got him as a "thank you" gift earlier this year. If you'd like a "part three", let me know, I still have plenty of pictures and stories from this trip.
