TLA Improved #5- 4 of a kind

[rbrbrb6]

The last two of these finally arrived last week. The set includes a 45 Colt, 44 Mag, A 41 Mag complete with rare factory display box and my 41 Mag that was a box of unfitted parts that Alan Harton was able to complete. Alan did the ivories on all the guns.

TLA stands for Texas Longhorn Arms and it was started by a man named Bill Grover. He built several different style single actions but the Improved #5 was his tribute and enhancement of Elmer Keith's #5 revolver.

One unique thing about Grover's guns is the fact that the loading gate is on the opposite side of all other single actions. Gill like to say that the loading gate on the right side of a Colt single action proved Samuel Colt was left handed. I doubt it since Sam Colt did not design the Colt Single Action Army. It was designed after he had died.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

Very,Very Nice! They look beautiful and very stout. I had never heard of TLA before. Ivan

 

[CWH44300]

Beautiful six-guns!
True works of art, they must be amazing in the hand.
I would love to spend a few hours on the range with them.
Is that style of base pin latch correctly called a sedgley or griffin and howe?
Thanks for sharing
Chris

 

[mc5aw]

The grips look larger than on standard Colt SAs, almost on par with a Schofield or Russian. Optical illusion?

 

[rbrbrb6]

The base pin latch is typically just called a #5 latch. I believe Sledgley was one of the craftsmen on Elmer Keith's #5 which he designed after looking at 4 lite-weight guns Croft brought out to his ranch in Oregon for the east coast.

The grip frame is also known as the #5 grip frame and the original one consisted of a SAA front strap and a modified Colt bisley backstrap. Ron Powers of Power Custom started making these a few years ago for custom projects. One of the first one's he made for an old model Ruger went to Hamilton Bowen and he installed it on and old model Blackhawk of mine that he had converted to an octagon barrel dual cylinder 41 caliber gun. I envisioned it being a tribute to Elmer Keith but with some different twists.

Here are a few pictures of that #5 version by Hamilton and a close up of the latch mechanism.




Paul Persinger carved the ivory grips based on a picture of one of my Scottish Highland cattle I sent him. One like this.

 

[CWH44300]

Another fine looking gun. You are really rattling my brain. Yes thats it, a #5. These guns must shoot fantastic, have you shot them much? A few more questions,
Did Sedgley work for G+H? Didn't they build the Croft guns.

 

[rbrbrb6]

I do not know if he worked for Griffin & Howe or not. O'Meara was somehow involved in the Croft lite-weight guns as well as Keith's #5. When Elmer wrote up his article introducing his #5 I believe he titled his article "The Last Word". Grover wanted to take advantage of advancements in the revolver world since Keith had his gun built and that is why the different heat treatment, steels, slightly bigger size and the 44 Mag as his basis for the design. One has to remember that when the original #5 was built, Elmer had blown up a couple of 45 Colt single actions and thus he switched to the 44 Special so he could get thicker cylinder wall thickness. He push for a revolver that would handle his higher powered 44 Special loads of 1200 fps with one of his 250 Keith designed bullets was a large part of the impetus of our beloved 44 Mag.

Bill Grover supposedly felt that had the 44 mag been available when Keith did his #5, he would have used the 44 Mag rather than the 44 Special. As far as why he really chose the reverse loading gate and cylinder rotation, I do not know if any one knows. I have a TLA West Texas Flat Top Target in 41 Mag and it too has the reverse loading gate and action.

 

[shawn mccarver]

Very nice. I remember ordering a very small number of the Number 5s directly from Bill Grover when he was still alive. They were for a couple of customers who were both financially able to afford them. It seems like we waited forever. But, they were really nice. The workmanship is excellent. Congratulations on getting these.

 

[rbrbrb6]

Bill Grover was a superb gun maker but a not so stellar businessman. At least that is what I have been told. A friend of mine is writing a book on Grover and his guns and he spent a lot of time with Bills family and friends and it appears his was a life of triumphs and tragedies.

 

[-db-]

Taffin has a great write-up on these in his single action bible. Very nice collection you have.

 

[rbrbrb6]

Thank you gentlemen for the nice comments. Finding TLA's are kind of like finding Registered Magnums in that there just are not that many out there. The factory 41 Mag is one of less than a dozen or so in that caliber and we think the only 41 mag with the display box. while the 41 WT FTT is one of only two that we know of in that caliber.

 

[Tom K]

.... I have a TLA West Texas Flat Top Target in 41 Mag and it too has the reverse loading gate and action.

I see also that the frame has no visible screws or pins, like the "screwless" Colt SAA. Are the internals like a Colt screwless?

 

[rbrbrb6]

Screws come in from other side but holes are blind on the loading gate side.

 

[Fat Frank]

Wow! I like those! But then, a SAA in Blue/CC with ivory grips always ticks all the right boxes for me.

BTW, I thought a TLA was a Three Letter Acronym.