Yes, he did.
Bill Jordan shooting the very first "Combat Magnum"
- Thread starter bigmtnman
- Start date
Yes, he did.
- Joined
- Aug 21, 2005
- Messages
- 8,005
- Reaction score
- 7,074
Left to Right: Ray Chapman, Elden Carl, Thell Reed, Jeff Cooper, and Jack Weaver. The only one of the original Combat Masters missing from this photo is John Plahn.
"The rarest gun in the world ....... I'm the only man who has one like it".
Evidently "muzzle discipline" was a NOT a thing in 1955 !!
I would love to see those stocks in person..... WOW
Me Too!
Larry
Slight thread drift ...
Glad these videos are reaching the intended audience!
I wrote the script and narrated that Skeeter video, and our marketing guy did the production. I told him I wanted to do one on Jordan, among others, and he posted up that You Asked For It link on our channel.
If you're interested in this kind of content, please have a look at our channel -- plenty more coming.
I still have one of his spent wax bullets that used to shoot a ping pong ball l that he drops, draws and shoots before it hit the floor, while doing a show at the Detroit Sportsmans Congress in Shelby Twp Michigan back in 1975 or 76.
Great video, met him he was a gentleman to talk to
What a great post!
He was certainly an impressive and imposing figure.
Either he's about 6'5" or the other guys in that video are REALLY short!
Based on the comment about the size of his hands, I'm guessing the former...
Either he's about 6'5" or the other guys in that video are REALLY short!
Based on the comment about the size of his hands, I'm guessing the former...
Last edited:
I remember reading an article by Jordan about the first time shooting the Combat Magnum. I've always treasured the line about the first shot: "I missed the target. I couldn't understand that, I had a perfect sight picture just before I closed my eyes."
Somewhere in there was a later realization about his having #3 and wondering where #4 was. Long gone as it turned out.
Somewhere in there was a later realization about his having #3 and wondering where #4 was. Long gone as it turned out.
Bill was talking about a Registered Magnum that he fired before WW II, not the Combat Magnum.
That 1st .357 was touted as "the most powerful handgun in the world", back in the 1930s.
The most important distinction being that the Registered Magnum was an N-frame revolver - whereas the COMBAT magnum was the original K-framed 357 magnum.
When I was a young Deputy back in the early 1970's, Bill Jordan wrote a book entitled "No Second Place Winner". It was about about "actual" gun fighting. The premise was, if you didn't win you were dead. It inspired me to be best I could be. I went on for a 32 year career. And now at age 75, I still have a copy of that book, I still carry a gun every day, and his words still ring true. Oh. Bill Jorden is REALLY TALL!
OutAtTheEdge
Member
I bought his book through an ad in some gun magazine back in the 70s. Along with my check, I included a note asking for an autograph. I still have the book.
