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Although Texas was receiving its share of heavy rain elsewhere, not a drop was falling anywhere near the Bagget Ranch. It was a scorcher. My friend Penn Baggett, operator and proprietor of the outfit, was getting concerned over the droughtlike conditions. Though Penn refers to his place as West Texas, it's actually on the western side of the Hill Country. It's an ideal spot for deer, turkey and goats and not a bad place for cattle--at least during years when a rainstorm or two happens by. But it's always an ideal spot for shooters.

Penn is one of the most knowledgeable people I know concerning ballistics and such. I frequent his ranch not only to enjoy his and his family's company but also to glean gun knowledge. It was during one of these recent visits that I discovered one of the most unique little handguns I'd ever seen. Baggett has a propensity for finding, borrowing and storing inimitable firearms, and this one was one of the most interesting I'd seen there yet. When I unzipped the pistol rug and handled the little gem, I couldn't help but smile.

The fascinating little piece was built by my friend and master gunsmith, John Gallagher (Dept. GA, 3923 Bird Farm Rd., Jasper, AL 35503; 888/526-6162). John had painstakingly put the gun together for writer Gary Sitton, who had come up with the idea in the first place. The gun was a handy little Ruger but not like any other. It was a small-framed single action with a case-hardened frame. And it was in .41 Special.

I've seen a number of handguns that John has built, most of them bigbores. In fact, I'm currently experimenting with one of his Ruger single actions chambered for the massive .445 Super Mag, which is basically a lengthened .44 Magnum set in a .357 Maximum frame. John also loves tinkering with the .475 and .500 Linebaugh, both big bruisers. But this little .41 represented a different concept for John.

He began with a Ruger Single-Six .22, stripping it down to the frame. The conversion from rimfire to centerfire was a tedious one, requiring all of John's skills. He had to hand-file and fit several areas around the frame, including careful furrowing of the area under the loading gate in order to accommodate the larger-diameter cartridge. An old three-screw model was utilized since the required tolerances could not be achieved on the new-model Rugers. John also had to build several of the internal parts to fit the conversion, including the hand.

When the mechanical end of the frame was completed, John then went to work with his file and beveled the top edges of the frame for effect, then dovetailed a notch for the fixed rear sight, which he also made by hand. The rear sight was set just forward of the rear of the cylinder, giving the revolver a distinctive appearance. John then did a beautiful job of case-hardening the frame, resulting in a fine finish and colors reminiscent of Doug Turnbull's work.

John then tackled the barrel and cylinder, making both by hand. He began with stock steel and fashioned the cylinder, chambering it as an unfluted five-shot. The forward end of the cylinder was meticulously beveled. John used a Douglas barrel, cut it to four inches, then masterfully crowned the bore. He then fit a half-moon front sight to it with serrations on the inside to cut glare. The barrel has but a single stamp, ".41 Special," on the left side.

Finally, he fashioned a set of grips for the little revolver. Few people familiar with John's work also know that he's an excellent stock builder, as the grips on the .41 Special prove. Made of fancy figured walnut, the grips fit the gun perfectly and feel good in the hand. They're the perfect crowning touch to one deluxe little handgun.

If the gun has any setback, it's the obvious fact that factory ammunition is nonexistent. To load for it, .41 Magnum cases are trimmed back to the same length as .44 Specials--1.160 inches. John recommends about seven grains of Unique behind a .41-caliber, 200-grain cast bullet, which produces about 800 fps. John doesn't advocate much more pressure than the seven grains of Unique produces. He says that the gun will handle regular shooting with that load but cautions against excessive use.

John has produced just a handful of the .41 Specials, including one for gunwriter John Taffin. He says that they're just too hard to build because of their small size, adding that he'd much rather work on the bigger guns.

Penn and I concluded that we should pool our powers of persuasion to work on John to build at least a couple more .41 Specials. If word ever gets out about them, John just might be building them forever.