GUNS Magazine Campfire Tales

COLUMNS

FEBRUARY 2009

PREACHER'S PISTOL
Three Special .45s

The Preacher’s pistols, the Duke and the Preacher.

Regular readers know I have more than two or three sixguns and some of these are very special to me such as the Ruger .44 Magnum Flattop I have had for more than 50 years, the ivory-stocked Skeeter Skelton .44 Special built for me by the late Bill Grover, the 10th Anniversary .45 awarded to me by the Shootists in 1995 and, of course, the many sixguns given to me by Diamond Dot over the nearly 50 years we have been together. However, none are more special to me than a trio of .45 Colt Single Actions I call Preacher’s Pistols and you will soon see why.

At first glance it seemed to be a strange Christmas present, a small black-and-white photo beautifully framed with a large border of old barn wood. For more than 60 years one of my heroes has been John Wayne. His Western movies were always entertaining to me as a kid, and I always knew I could take my kids to one of his movies without being embarrassed. Now here was a new picture for my collection, however it was definitely different. For one thing, the Duke was not dressed in Western garb but rather wearing an old floppy fisherman’s hat. That just didn’t seem right! Now John Wayne was no small fellow but in this picture, he was looking up, way up, to one of the few men for which he ever had to do so. In fact, the other man towers over him.

They are shaking hands and there seems to be a small plane in the background. As I looked at the picture I was puzzled as to who the tall man could be until two and two finally added up to four. The tall, clean-shaven man in the uniform of an Alaskan state trooper was our friend Cindi’s late husband Ron Elerick as I had never seen him before. He was assigned to accompany John Wayne as he visited Alaska on a fishing trip. The reason I didn’t recognize Ron was the fact I had always known him with a full beard and long hair, and definitely not in an official uniform. His uniform as I knew him may have been considered official by some — he was always dressed as an outlaw biker.

Ron had a very interesting life. He had served as an Alaskan state trooper as mentioned, for a short while he pastored a church in Alaska, and he also went to Africa as a missionary. With his wife and three young children he lived with, and as the natives did, which meant sleeping on the ground much of the time. It was a good life and he felt he was doing what he needed to and then tragedy struck. His young wife died and there he was left with three very small children who needed a mother.

There was no daycare in Africa so Ron came back to the states to find a wife. The wife he found was a young girl named Cindi who stood about 2' shorter than he did. They spent several years in Africa together as the children grew, had kids of their own, came back to the states and started a new ministry. Ron literally walked where angels feared to tread. He became an evangelist to outlaw bikers and he and Cindi traveled around the country on their Harleys. He was known simply as “Preacher.”

Tragedy continued to be no stranger to Ron and Cindi as their daughter was murdered. It was shortly after this Ron and Cindi moved to my area and we became good friends. I always felt very safe with Ron as he was a huge man nearly 7' tall and close to 400 pounds. Being with him was one of the few times in my life I have felt little. They were living with Ron’s mother and definitely had very few of the world’s goods except their Harleys and a few sixguns. Ron really liked Colt Single Actions and had managed to acquire three .45s. Each time he biked to Montana he would stop in to see Bob Munden and have one of his Colts treated to Munden Magic.

Ron and Cindi probably spent more money traveling on their Harleys, and also giving away to those in need, than they earned. When things got really tight and we heard they were going to have to sell their Colts, Diamond Dot bought them for top dollar with the stipulation they would stay in our safe and be safe until they wanted to buy them back. About six months later Cindi decided she would surprise Ron and buy them back. Of course, she couldn’t afford to pay for them all at once, however we had no problem giving them back to her, and taking payments of any size, at any time. Ron was going to have his Colt Single Actions back.

Tragedy Strikes

Cindi had just made a few payments when tragedy struck again. Ron was sitting in church on a Sunday morning and suddenly was not feeling very well. It was a heart attack and he did not survive the trip to the hospital. Fortunately for Cindi, my wife had gotten Ron into an insurance policy less than a year earlier or she would have been in very dire straits. Even so she decided to sell the Colt Single Action .45s back to us. It should be easy for anyone to imagine how much these Colts mean to me.

Friend is a word we bandy about all too easily. We have many, many acquaintances in our life but very few real friends. I’ve always enjoyed reading Louis L’Amour’s Westerns especially those about the Sacketts. The Sacketts were a very large family, however they paint a perfect portrait of what real friendship is. Anytime a Sackett was in trouble he could send word to any other Sackett and help would be immediately on the way. No explanation, no reason was necessary, only the request to come. Real friendship is like that. Explanations are not necessary. If there is a need, a true friend is there. When it gets down to this the list of real friends becomes very short. Ron Elerick was on my list.

Preacher’s Pistols, as we have said, are all genuine Colts. One is a 4-3/4" 2nd Generation, blued and case-colored. Another a 5-1/2" 3rd Generation with the same finish and number three was also a 5-1/2" 3rd Generation, however it is nickel-plated. All three had been smoothed and tuned by Bob Munden and fitted with custom stocks. Some might think out of respect for Preacher I would use his Pistols just as he did. I think he would want me to always remember him as I shot them while at the same time making them personally mine.

It is easy to imagine how much larger his hands were than mine and thus his taste in single action stocks was also quite different. Each of these single actions had been fitted with Gunfighter-style stocks made of a creamy faux ivory. Personally I do not really care for the stocks with their Gunfighter profile nor do I care for the material. Preacher’s Pistols will always be part of Preacher’s memory, however they have been changed slightly to fit my tastes.

One major change was accomplished on the 5-1/2" nickel-plated .45. Regular readers know of my affinity for 7-1/2" single actions and I just happened to have a 3rd Generation 7-1/2" nickel-plated Colt .45 barrel in my parts box. Ron knew of my preference for the longer barrels and I could almost hear him say “Well done!” as the deed was accomplished. I know he would like my taste in grips also.

The 4-3/4" .45 now wears stag stocks and I know Ron would especially like the grips on the 5-1/2" sixgun, as they are 1-piece maple carved with maple leaves and are stunningly beautiful. Finally, the 7-1/2" nickel-plated .45 now wears black grips. Not just any black grips but 1-piece ebony stocks carved in the fleur-de-lis pattern by Paul Persinger.

There are many high dollar Colts available and offered for sale on a regular basis. Monetarily speaking, these three Colts are just three regular versions of no great value to any other shooter. To me, they are priceless for the simple fact Ron and I are connected every time I shoot Preacher’s Pistol. “Keep the campfire burnin’ and the bacon sizzlin’ Preach; I will see you soon!”

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