Bill
Grover was a complicated man. Mechanical genius and artist; gun
maker and promoter; shooter and Shootist;
Saint and sinner; Grover was all these and more.
What Bill Grover was NOT was a savvy
businessman. Showing an ability to tinker with guns from a young
age, it was only natural that Grover establish his own shop, and
the native Kentuckian founded Texas Longhorn Arms (TLA) in Texas in
the early 1980s. TLA never really flourished as its founder dreamed, and
the doors closed for the final time in 1998. Bill Grover passed
away in 2004 after a long illness; I was made a member of the
Shootists in 2004, and had attended the annual Shootists Holiday
for two years previously, but since Grover had been in failing
health for quite some time and was unable to travel to the
Holiday the final few years of his life, I never had the honor
of meeting him. I wish I had; while some vilify Grover, the men
whom I most admire on this earth were close friends of the man
and honor his memory. That's good enough for me, and I hope to
shake Grover's hand someday.
While Grover may
not have been a resounding success as a businessman, his success
as a gun maker remains beyond question; the sixguns of Texas
Longhorn Arms remain some of the most finely-crafted machines
ever created. They are accurate, they are strong, they are
durable, and they are beautiful. Their lines are perfect, as are
their fit & finish. The fact that examples showing many
thousands of rounds fired are still perfectly timed (as
evidenced by the lack of a "drag line" or "turn
ring" on the cylinder), and still lock-up like new sixguns, are testaments to Grover's genius as a gun maker.
The major claim to fame of Bill Grover's
sixguns was their "right-handed" design. Grover
believed that Sam Colt must have been left-handed, and built his
revolvers for left-handed shooters: beginning with Colt's Paterson
in 1836, the "natural" way for a right-handed shooter
to load Colt's percussion revolvers was to switch the gun to the
left hand and apply the percussion caps to the nipples with the
right hand. This "left-handed" design carried over to
metallic cartridge revolvers; all Single-Action Colt revolvers
(and later Single-Action Colt-clone and other Single-Action
designs such as the Rugers) are
best loaded by a right-handed shooter switching the revolver to
the left hand, which supports the revolver and operates the
cylinder while the right hand operates the ejector rod to unload
spent cartridges and reloads the cylinder. It was Grover's
belief that this "left-handed" loading/unloading
process was proof that Colt was a Southpaw, as a
revolver designed for a right-handed shooter would have the
loading gate and ejector rod on the left side of the revolver so
that the gun would naturally remain in the hand of a
right-handed shooter for both loading/unloading and shooting.
Grover designed sixguns for the right-handed shooter; the
loading gate and ejector rod are on the left side of the gun,
and the cylinder rotates "backwards" or counterclockwise.
It makes sense, as I've spent my life switching hands to
load/unload Single-Action revolvers. I will admit, however, that when
a seasoned Single-Action shooter first handles a TLA sixgun, it
is awkward at first; it quickly becomes second nature as the
realization sinks in that Bill Grover was right, and this is how
a sixgun SHOULD be. Of course, all this is lost on my brother
Jeff, who is left-handed; he's ALWAYS had sixguns "his
way".
The above was meant to be a thumbnail
introduction to Bill Grover and Texas Longhorn Arms. For more
in-depth (and more capably-written) information, refer to the
writings of the great John Taffin, who was a close friend of
Grover's and was "there when it happened". In fact,
Taffin's writings in GUNS and AMERICAN HANDGUNNER magazines,
among others, were my introduction to the sixguns of Bill Grover
way back when owning one was nothing more than a dream I knew
I'd never attain. It stands as a testament to the blessings of
God that I now own several Grover sixguns, including at least
one of each model TLA produced, and that I can now call Taffin
my friend and brother Shootist.
Another friend of mine, Stephen Webb, is an
avid collector of all things Grover. Steve's collection of
Grover sixguns and Grover-related objects is astounding, consisting not only of examples of
all the TLA models, but also TLA prototypes that never saw full
production, custom-built Grover sixguns from both the pre-TLA
and post-TLA periods, and an unbelievable quantity of documents,
pictures, parts and personal items of Bill Grover's. Steve is currently working on a book about Bill
Grover and Texas Longhorn Arms, and he hopes to have a rough
manuscript this year. I am eagerly awaiting the fruits of
Steve's labor, and it has been my pleasure to help him in this
regard and to create his web site, www.tlabook.com.
The West Texas Flattop Target was one of the
first models introduced by TLA, along with the South Texas Army (Grover's interpretation of the
classic Single Action Army), and Texas Border Special (with
"bird's head" grip frame). Most often seen in 44
Magnum caliber, the West Texas Flattop Target was also produced
in other calibers such as 45 Colt, 41 Magnum (at least two
examples known to exist), and 32 H&R Magnum (at least one
example known). The West Texas Flattop Target featured an 1860
Colt-style grip frame, most often with fancy one-piece walnut
stocks as on this example, and an adjustable rear sight.
Standard barrel length was 7-1/2" as on this example, but
as TLA sixguns were essentially custom made to order, both
longer-barreled and shorter-barreled examples are known.
As I mentioned above, owning a TLA sixgun had
been a dream of mine for many years, a dream I never thought
would be fulfilled. TLA sixguns are rare; production information
is hard to come by and factory records have been scattered to
the four winds, but estimates are that substantially fewer
than 1000 revolvers were produced, including all models: the
West Texas Flattop Target, South Texas Army, Texas Border Special, and TLA's best-known model,
Grover's Improved Number Five. It is believed that Grover's
Improved Number Five, the last TLA model to be introduced, was
the most plentiful of the TLA models. The remaining models are
extremely rare, and are seldom seen up for sale. Because of
their rarity, and thus their resulting price tags, I thought owning a TLA
sixgun would forever be nothing more than an unattainable dream.
Enter Jim
Taylor. Jim is an expert marksman and hunter, a past
chairman of the Shootists, former Shootist of the Decade (an
honor bestowed upon only one other individual, founder John
Taffin), and a close friend and mentor who
sponsored me into the Shootists. In 2006, Jim made my dream come true
when he offered to sell me his West Texas Flattop Target, chambered
in 45 Colt, at a more-than-reasonable price. Jim, a longtime
Pastor and a true man of God, was looking to raise money for an
African mission trip; he knew that I'd always dreamed of owning
a TLA sixgun, so he sacrificed a very special sixgun for his
friend and for the glory of the Lord.
This sixgun had been presented
to Jim by Bill Grover to use on an African safari, and was one
of the last guns to come out of the TLA factory; it is almost
certainly the final West Texas Flattop Target produced. Jim had Hamilton
Bowen go over the internals, install a Bowen locking base
pin, and tune the action. This sixgun has taken game in Africa, and
has had several thousand full-power rounds put through it, but you'd never
know it by appearance or mechanics: it is still beautiful, and locks-up like a new
sixgun.
Obviously, this is a "cold dead
hands" gun, as it was my first TLA sixgun, and it had
belonged to my dear friend and brother. If Jim outlives me,
he'll see this sixgun again; and knowing Jim, he'll probably
sell it again to
help finance his work for the Lord.
So...thanks to Jim Taylor I'd finally acquired a TLA sixgun. But
the itch wasn't quite scratched, as I still had the burning
desire for a Grover's Improved Number Five someday...
Boge
Quinn
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Hamilton Bowen locking base pin replaces the
original.
Texas Longhorn Arms logo.
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