There was a time in the not too distant past, when adult and child alike would wait with enthusiasm for the mailman to bring the next installment of their favorite gun magazine.

Publications like Field and Stream, Guns and Ammo, Sports Afield and of course the Shooting Times were the top of the heap, their stories and information of vast importance in a pre-internet world. Readers would pour over each page for the long-range revolver exploits of Elmer Keith or the intercontinental hunting adventures of Jack O’Conner. These men influenced and inspired generations, and whether hunting squirrel or Cape buffalo, the adventure in those pages stoked the flames of ambition for outdoorsmen to get outside, test their hand and make their mark. When speaking of the gun-writing legends, possibly the most influential over the last 60 years is Charles Allan “Skeeter” Skelton.‌

Gun writer Skeeter Skelton's Ruger Blackhawk chambered in .44 Magnum.

Skeeter Skelton

Born amidst the great depression, Skeeter was one of the very last vestiges and voices of the rough and tumble West. As a child of Texas, he learned to love the outdoors and became skilled with firearms at an early age.  He served his country in the United States Marine Corps and in 1949 would start his career wearing a badge.  He would go on to be a key player on the border for various law enforcement agencies including the U.S Border Patrol, the U.S. Customs Service, the DEA and was the sheriff of Deaf Smith County in the Texas panhandle.  These experiences would shape his voice and generate stories for decades to come.

An avid hunter, Skeeter wrote part-time for a variety of outdoor publications. The work eventually allowed him to leave law enforcement and by 1967 he became the handgun editor for The Shooting Times. Skeeter held that position for the next twenty years.‌

Skeeter Skelton at his ranch in Texas.

‌Those outdoorsmen, hunters, and shooters yet to read Skelton’s work, have a true prize waiting for them. Skeeter didn’t simply write gun articles, but painted elegant narratives for his readers with a familiarity that read like campfire tales from a bygone era.

His stories about Dobe Grant introduced readers to a man many would’ve wished as a mentor or friend in their real lives. The Depression-era childhood anecdotes of the Me and Joe series recalled simpler times, and the adventures and mischief of youth. While the humorous questions of fictionalized reader Jug Johnson gave glimpse of a wit that Skelton no doubt carried with him throughout his life. These and stories like If You Could Have Only One still hold fast today and can be discussed time and time again over a glass of Henry McKenna.‌

Gun writer Skeeter Skelton holds his Ruger Blackhawk.

While Skeeter included many guns and calibers in his stories, the 5” Smith & Wesson Model 27 is closely associated with him, as is his custom load for his beloved .44 Special. Developed in part by famed fellow handgunner Elmer Keith, it consisted of 7.5 grains of Unique over a 250 gr. hardcast bullet from the Lyman 429421 mold. It is known affectionately today as the “Skeeter Load.”

But the gun Skeeter Skelton is best known for is his 7 ½-inch Ruger Blackhawk flattop chambered in .44 Magnum. He wrote frequently and endearingly of his many exploits with the gun and was photographed using it more than any other.‌

Elmer Keith's famed Number 5 revolver and George Lawrence Co. 5 1/2 russet leather holster tooled with floral patterns, sold by Rock Island Auction for $253,000 in September 2021.

Skeeter Skelton's Ruger Blackhawk

The Ruger Blackhawk “flattop” was initially offered in 1955 coming in .357 Magnum and the following year in .44 Magnum, the larger of which was offered in three barrel lengths: 6 ½-inch (25,660 made), 7 ½-inch (2,700) and 10-inch (1,500) totaling 29,860 made between 1956-1962.

7 ½-inch was Skeeter’s favorite barrel length in a single-action but finding a Ruger with one and in .44 Mag was no easy task. So when he walked into a Bud Maffet’s gunshop in Clovis, NM in 1960, he was only too glad to fork over all of $50 dollars for the near new flattop.

He liked the Blackhawk because it was lighter than the Super Blackhawk (introduced in 1959), had the Colt style grip, and rounded trigger guard instead of the SBH’s dragoon style. Skelton wasted no time customizing the gun, quickly stripping and polishing the aluminum grip frame and fitting it with his own self-made stocks he pulled from a Ruger .357 Blackhawk he already owned. Notably, said grips are quite slim, as was Skeeter’s preference, and helped tame the sharp recoil of a .44 Magnum.  Though he was best known for the .44 Special “Skeeter Loads,” he shot stout Alliant 2400 magnum loads through this pistol when hunting, having corresponded and consulted with Elmer Keith on the specific load.

He owned multiple .44 Magnum revolvers throughout his life, but this Ruger Blackhawk became Skeeter’s favorite and a trusted hunting companion, taking many animals across the west until his untimely death in 1988.‌

Included with Skeeter Skelton's .44 Magnum Ruger Blackhawk is this tooled leather, early production, Lawrence 120F holster and a matching tooled leather cartridge belt.

Accoutrements and Provenance

The accompanying holster is an early, full floral carved, unlined George Lawrence 120. Lawrence was one of the greatest holster makers of his time, and another carved Lawrence 120 housed Elmer Keith’s famed number 5. This exact holster is still replicated today by some of the finest holster makers ever to stitch cowhide. Skeeter slipped his 120 on a belt he later had made and carved by a good friend.

The gun’s provenance is impeccable. After Skeeter’s death, the gun went to his only son, Bart Skelton, a celebrated Federal Law Enforcement Officer and writer in his own right. Bart wrote for Shooting Illustrated and American Hunter as well as penned his own book, Down on the Border, in 2003. He kept the gun the rest of his life, only selling it prior to his own death in 2022.‌

Skeeter Skelton's son, Bart Skelton learned to shoot with his father's Ruger Blackhawk.

It's bold to say, but this 7 ½-inch Ruger Blackhawk may be the most important and influential Ruger ever made. It helped to usher in the golden era of handgun hunting inspiring generations to try their skill in the field and to explore the grandeur of the Western landscape. Skelton’s favorite hunting companion is now available publicly for the first time in the Rock Island Auction Company’s December 2024 Premier Auction, and it’s just waiting to be admired and to create new stories at the range and in the field.

A working man’s gun that launched a thousand dreams, Skeeter’s stories will always live in our hearts and memories, but his prized sixgun can now live in your collection.‌

Skeeter Skelton in his law enforcement days in Texas.