Message from Ashley Emerson


Howdy,

My name is Ashley Emerson and I have been handed the opportunity to carry the torch forward for Garrett Cartridges. Rest assured that the Garrett line will remain intact and the current loads will be hand built exactly as Randy Garrett has done in the past. This means bullets hand cast out of Hammerhead molds that Randy designed using a specific alloy that has been proven to provide extremely tough and ductile as well as very hard Hammerhead bullets. These loads will use Randy Garrett's load data and just as important, his techniques.

The company has been moved to Weatherford, Texas and will be operated as "Garrett Cartridges of Texas". Luckily for the customers my wife Deanna (who's several years in the firearms industry includes management at Cheaper Than Dirt and running a mail-order store for Cold Steel Knives), will be handling the books, orders, shipping and receiving etc. You will be in good hands in that respect as I am not in anyway a computer oriented person and day to day office work makes me want to eat a shotgun.

I am however a gun guy with interests across the spectrum but my core love is of fine revolvers and fast handling leverguns. For years I have worked on the design and development of gun sights. Many of you may have used or seen my designs as produced by MMC, Ashley Outdoors and XS Sights. In addition I have worked in the firearm industry as a consultant and as a reluctant writer. (Somewhere on the site you can find an article called "Make Mine a .44", that I wrote for G&A some years ago about long cylinder .44 mag loads.)

The intention is for me to post articles short and long about many related topics. Things like custom revolver details, discussions of penetration, sights, hunting techniques, places to go for relevant gunsmithing parts and how-to tidbits.

Another thing I intend to post is actual velocities from a variety of guns. Randy has assigned velocity values for all of his loads and I intend to stick with his loads and his assigned velocities to avoid confusion. I am additionally, somewhere on the site going to start listing chronograph info from specific guns, as many as I have at hand and with much detailed info. Things such as factory or custom chambers (and if custom, by who), throat sizes (factory or not), barrel length, cylinder gap, which chrono, approx. temp., and so on. If it might have some bearing on velocity or is interesting to me I'll try to include it. The showing of actual velocities from a variety of guns both factory and custom is something my good friend Tim Sundles does over at Buffalo Bore, and has been doing for some time. It has merit and shows just how much variation there is from gun to gun. If any customers want to send like information about their chrono results and don't mind their name being listed with it I would be inclined to include it to broaden the spectrum. Keep an eye out for the beginning of this stuff.

I am hoping that some number of enthusiastic customers and like minded folk can get together at my North Texas Hog Hunting lease (and extensive range) for some serious shooting and campfire discussions. This possible annual get together would be at no charge except for bringing food and firewood. I am also open for one on one or small group get together's for the purpose of imparting knowledge and skills on everything from safety and firearms handling etiquette to all types of shooting and hunting skills for beginners young and old to professional gunmen. Daily rates are at this point open and the best part will be if you don't think you learned anything useful it will be free.

As a small ammunition manufacture I do not intend to try to be everything to everybody and bring out dozens of new loads to cover all types of shooting. To this end, and as far as ammo manufacturing for Garrett Cartridges of Texas is concerned we will stay focused on the heavy belt gun and .45-70. I do intend in short order to add .454 Casull and .45 Colt Hammerhead loads to the line. Right now I am looking at bringing out a .45 bullet that is the equivalent to the current gas checked .44 caliber .330 Hammerhead. I believe this will end up weighing in the 360-365 range and in .454 I would intend on two loads. One would clock around 1500fps and the other around 1250fps. In the .45 Colt I would like to load a similar load for Redhawk's and other tough long cylinder guns at about 1250fps. Additionally I would like an optimized Hammerhead load for the .45 Colt Blackhawk, which might need to be a lighter bullet.

The above is my basic vision for Garrett Cartridges of Texas. As I write this, (10/20/ 2012), I need to get back out in the shop and finish building my new casting bench. It will take us a few weeks to get into full swing but in only a week or two you should be able to place orders and get immediate shipment. When I picked up all that was Garrett Cartridge there was some of every load in stock and over a several day period Randy and I loaded some of what he was real low on. All ammo shipped from Texas will have a new G.C. of Texas label. If the ammo is from the inventory I received from Randy then it will have the new label over the original. (New - additionally I want to put a label on the end of all boxes and the top of the .45-70 boxes so when they are on my shelf or in an ammo crate with other ammo I don't have to get it out to see what it is. I hope it will make your life better too.) Like Randy I will not be too available by phone and unlike Randy I am not a tech guy or a typist by any stretch of the imagination. I don't text or e-mail and when I do type it is with the tip of my right hand trigger finger. When I die you can bet I have tripped a trigger more times with that finger than I have pushed a button on some throw away electrical device. So if you email a question the answer will be short and probably run thru Deanna, (Deanna is an old Indian word that means "Keeper of one who does not play well with others"). If you need a detailed answer or opinion you may need to leave a phone number and when its okay to call. I will try to get back to you a.s.a.p.

Have gun, will travel.

- Ashley Emerson