http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/RSS.ashxGUNS Magazine July 2009 PagesThu, 07 May 2009 19:31:43 +0200http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=1http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=1WIN! SPECIAL! Enter To NAA .22 LR/.22 MAGNuM! $4.95 $4.95 OUTSIDE OUTSIDE U.S. U.S. $7.95 $7.95 JULY 2009 GUNS OF RUGER FLATTOP .44 SPECIAL GL oC k WOLVERINE RETURNS pg20 OLYMPIC ARMS .22 LR pg28 TEXAS RANGER SHARPS CIMARRON’S .50-70 • LOADING THE .25s • BLACKHORN 209 POWDER • QUANTITY WITH QUALITY www.gunsmagazine.com HANDLOADING SPECIAL DISPLAY UNTIL JUNE 22, 2009 pg14 35 .4 0S &W pg8 GLOCK •• SA XDM •• S&W .40 S&W •• 9mm •• .45 ACP USPSA BIG-BORE ARs TAME THE BEAST!2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=2http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=2Big Gun . Small Price The 1911 That Makes You an Expert Shot GI Expert™ Product Code: GI45 Para’s NEW GI EXPERT delivers: • • • • • • • • Expert Firepower – two 8-round .45 ACP magazines. Expert Sight Picture – 3 white-dot sights that you can see. Expert Accuracy – premium stainless steel barrel and full metal bushing. Expert Trigger – to make you the best shot you can be with a clean, crisp break. Expert Hammer – skeletonized spur for faster lock time and to prevent hammer bite. Expert Reliability – the best service, Para’s Gold Medallion Lifetime Service Policy. Expert Price – Introductory $599 (Suggested Retail). Dealer prices may be lower. To Shoot Like an Expert. See your Para dealer today, or call Para at (954) 202-4440. Charlotte, NC www.para-usa.com/guns2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=3http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=3New! Cleaning Kits for Hunters in RealTree® and Mossy Oak® ® Extra Brushes & Optics Care for Hunters! OTIS TECHNOLOGY, INC. The Otis Technology Breech-to-Muzzle Cleaning System is widely regarded by experts as the most advanced gun cleaning system in the world! The New HARDCORE HUNTERTM kit includes all the gear from the best selling Tactical kits with extra gear for Hunters! Now available in Mossy Oak® and Real Tree® camo belt cases. Otis makes a Gun Cleaning Kit for every small arm in existence today. as it has for more than 2 decades! No matter what you hunt with, OTIS makes a kit to clean it. For more info, see these kits at your local dealer or at www.otisgun.com Otis Technology, Inc. 6987 Laura St. Lyons Falls, NY 13368 (800) OTIS-GUN (315) 348-4332 FAX WWW.OTISGUN.COM ©Pyramont GMC 20082009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=4http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=4Vol. 56, Number 7, 645th Issue 6 8 MODULAR MAGIC SIG’s P250 .45 ACP STORY: Massad Ayoob PHOTOS: Chuck Pittman JULY 2009 CROSSFIRE Letters to the Editor UP ON ARs GLEN ZEDIKER MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINO JOHN BARSNESS MASSAD AYOOB CLINT SMITH 8 ON THE COVER 12 MONTANA MUSINGS 14 HANDLOADING 16 HANDGUNS 18 RANGING SHOTS™ 20 RIMFIRES Taming the Big Bore ARs. COLUMNS HOLT BODINSON DAVE ANDERSON 18 24 RIFLEMAN GUNS Magazine (ISSN 1044-6257) is published monthly by Publishers’ Development Corporation, 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Diego, CA and at additional mailing offices. SUBSCRIPTIONS: One year (12) issues $24.95. Single monthly copies, $4.95. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Eight weeks notice required on all changes. Send old address as well as new. SUBSCRIPTION PROBLEMS: For immediate action write GUNS Magazine, Attention: Circulation Dept., 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128 or call (858) 605-0250. CONTRIBUTORS submitting manuscripts, photographs or drawings do so at their own risk. Material cannot be returned unless accompanied by sufficient postage. PAYMENT will be made at rates current at time of publication and will cover reproduction in any or all GUNS Magazine editions. ADVERTISING RATES furnished on request. Reproduction or use of any portion of this magazine in any manner, without written permission is prohibited. All rights reserved. Title to this publication passes to subscriber only on delivery to his address. The opinions and recommendations expressed by individual authors within this magazine are not necessarily those of Publishers’ Development Corporation. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GUNS Magazine®, ATTN: Circulation Dept., 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128. Copyright © 2009 by Publishers’ Development Corporation. 62 VIEWS, NEWS & REVIEWS RIGHTS WATCH: DAVID CODREA 70 A GUNS MEDLEY Be Prepared . Physically. JOHN SHEEHAN JOHN CONNOR JOHN TAffIN 78 ODD ANGRY SHOT 82 CAMPFIRE TALES 28 SURPLUS LOCKER™ HOLT BODINSON Practice shooting from the other eye. 32 DEPARTMENTS 31 34 OUT OF THE BOX™ •WAXBORECASTINGpg31 •BLACKHORN209pg32 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS JEff JOHN 68 QUARTERMASTER FEATuRINGGuNSALLSTARS! THISMONTH: • CLINT SMITH • JOHN TAffIN 72 GUNS CLASSIFIEDS 74 NEW PRODUCTS JEff MOREY 28 Blackhorn 209 — A smokeless substitute for black powder. 76 GUN OF THE MONTH NAAEARL.22Magnum 80 ADVERTISER INDEX The Cimarron McNelly Sharps 4 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=5http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=546 PHOTO: JOSEPH R. NOVELOZO AN AMERICAN FIRST THE BIRTH Of THE SPORTERIZED MILITARY RIfLE 36 40 46 52 56 AN ENDURING CARTRIDGE The historical 9x19mm. MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINO EVERYMAN’S GAME (AND EVERY WOMAN’S) DAVE ANDERSON USPSA Production Division. AN AMERICAN FIRST JEFF JOHN The birth of the sporterized military rifle. 56 VICTORY AT LAST! JOHN TAFFIN Ruger’s .44 Special Flattop. 40 36 QUARTER BORE HEAVEN JOHN BARSNESS Reloading The Accurate .25s. WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 52009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=6http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=6CROSSFIRE GUNS MAGAZINE MAY 2009 THE FINEST IN THE FIREARMS FIELD SINCE 1955 LETTERS TO GUNS BOARD OF DIRECTORS thomas von rosen, ceo; thomas hollander, randy molde, marjorie young PUBLISHER roy huntington editor jeFF john MaNaGiNG editorial aSSiStaNt stephanie jarrell editorial aSSiStaNt Kerin van hoosear art director joseph r. novelozo prodUctioN MaNaGer linda peterson advertiSiNG SaleS director anita carson advertiSiNG accoUNt MaNaGer jeFF morey advertiSiNG accoUNt execUtiveS steve evatt, delano amaguin, scott mcgregor proMotioNS director randy moldé WebSite MaNaGer lorinda massey proMotioNS coordiNator elizabeth o’neill coNtribUtiNG editorS john taFFin, holt bodinson, dave anderson, clint smith, massad ayoob, miKe “duKe” venturino field editorS sam Fadala, david codrea, john morrison, glen zediKer, john sheehan, jacob gottFredson, miKe cumpston, john barsness, dave douglas Staff pHotoGrapHer joseph r. novelozo GUNS Magazine® welcomes letters to the editor. We reserve the right to edit all published letters for clarity and length. Due to the volume of mail, we are unable to individually answer your letters or e-mail. In sending a letter to GUNS Magazine, you agree to provide Publisher’s Development Corp. such copyright as is required for publishing and redistributing the contents of your letter in any format. Send your letters to Crossfire, GUNS Magazine, 12345 World Trade Dr., San Diego, CA 92128; www.gunsmagazine.com; e-mail: ed@gunsmagazine.com No Zebra Zone Shame on the “broad” who shot the zebra (poacher!) Duh! Maybe I’ll go shoot a horse down the valley! Same thing right? Hunt to harvest and feed your family. So how were those ZeeBurgers on the grill? — like cat food? I have 8 months left on this trial then going to NRA and the American Rifleman publication, but I’ll be sure to give you a chance between now and then. I’m human. C. Joseph Chapman Boiling Springs, Penn. You obviously didn’t read the article. The South Africans hunt game animals to be sold in the markets over there, much as we Americans did up to turn of the 20th century. They’ve discovered they can get hunters worldwide to pay them for the privilege of shooting game meat for South Africa’s food markets, wisely making a living on both ends. — Editor I doubt you would be comforted by the fact zebra meat is eaten by humans in Africa, just as horsemeat is eaten in France. In fact zebra-burgers are pretty darn good! — John Barsness and the helmet: I want to respond to the folks who have tried to take the fun out of shooting. Even for those of us who own firearms for self-defense, shooting should not be something to look at as just a task we have to do to stay proficient. If it becomes something we dread doing, we probably won’t practice. I for one, would go shooting with Mike Venturino anytime he asked; anyone with that goofy a grin has got to be a hoot to be with. Just don’t ask me to dress like him! We can’t control the opposition, the press or the politicians; they will twist and alter anything they need to further their cause. Years ago my daughter indirectly paid me a great compliment. When someone asked her about her Dad, she replied, “What you see is what you get”. We are who we are! And to the guy who bad-mouthed MV about his size, on a hot summer day I would be delighted to use Mike as shade. John Walker Gladstone, Oregon fMG pUblicatioNS advertiSiNG SaleS director anita carson editor: roy MAGAZINE huntington advertiSiNG: delano amaguin americancopmagazine.com editor: roy huntington advertiSiNG: steve evatt americanhandgunner.com pUbliSHer aNd editor: russ thurman advertiSiNG: anita carson shootingindustry.com SpECIAL EdITIONS editor: sammy reese advertiSiNG: scott mcgregor Fmgpublications.com M1 Carbine Lore I carried the M1 carbine when I was in the Navy (1959-1962) and it is a great little gun. I liked it so much I purchased a few (Winchester, Quality Hardware and a shooter). If you’re going to purchase one, do your homework. I recommend you purc2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=7http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=7RELIABILITY. FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME. TM P229 SAS ® TM NEW GEN 2 FEATURES: DA/SA SRT™ Short Reset Trigger System SIGLITE® Night Sights 9mm, .357SIG or .40S&W calibers Choice of black Nitron® or natural stainless slides Durable, ergonomic, polymer grip RELIABILITY. FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME. | www.sigsauer.com ® Learn more about SIG SAUER AcademyTM Training and Armorer Certification at www.sigsaueracademy.com 18 Industrial Drive, Exeter, NH 03833 (603) 772-2302 An ISO 9001: 2000 Certified Company, Manufacturing in Exeter, New Hampshire2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=8http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=8UPONARS • GLEN ZEDIKER • biG GUNS Taming the beasts. nce there was one. Then another. And now they’re all over O the daggone place. I’m talking about what I think are best called “big-chassis” rifles, the AR-10, SR-25 platform guns. They have become, without a doubt, more popular than ever and, as suggested, availability and configuration options are a leading reason why. With popularity or competition (related), prices have also lowered on many and that’s a huge incentive for some to try a big gun. This next little bit will give a few ideas to help the proud owner of a big gun grin a little wider. The whole idea sounds just right. If the AR-15 gets hacked on because of its diminutive cartridges, well, we can fix that in a hurry with anything from the .308 Winchester family. Want more power? Easy. A bigger bolt face and more room in the receiver makes it possible. There’s the rub. The bigger bolt face and more room in the receiver makes for a honking lot of reciprocating mass fueled by a likewise honking amount of propellant gases. Not everyone likes them. I’m in that group. Compared to AR-15s, which are known far and wide for their owner-side friendliness, big-chassis rifles are hardhitting firearms, both downrange and internally. Most factory-built big-chassis rifles use an AR-15 gas system configuration, and that’s one root of its problems. Gas port pressure, not chamber pressure, is the concern. The ultimate fix is relocating the gas port ahead toward the muzzle. This reduces port pressure and likewise reduces the amount of pressure entering the system. Without this modification, a big-chassis rifle can succumb to the same function problems befalling carbines. It’s frequently referred to as “over-function” and, while maybe not perfectly accurate, is closely descriptive of the symptom. I prefer to call it what it really is and that is too daggone much gas. The bolt unlocks too quickly and rearward carrier velocity after opening is too high. The case may still be swelled up against the chamber wall and resist extraction. Thebigrifleshaven’tturnedNRAHighPower Riflecompetitionupsidedownlikesomehad hoped. Problemis,theydon’ttendtogroup aswellaseitherAR-15sorbolt-guns,andthey breakalot.Buildingatrulyviablecompetition gunonthisplatformrequiresaconsiderable amountofmoreworkcomparedtoitslittle brother.Glenhadthisonebuiltontheverynice dPMScomponentsetchamberedin6XCand itisfarandawaythebesthe’syetseen.This cartridgeisanevolution,aradicalevolution, ofa.250Savageparent,sohasconsiderably lesspropellantcapacitythana.308-sizedcase, butstilldeliversequivalentvelocity.Withthat muchlesspropellantgas,andmuchmoreroom inthemagazineboxforbulletseatingflexibility, downrangeandon-targetperformanceare bothsuperb.Reducinginherentaccuracy detrimentsrequiredagooddealofmachineworkmodificationstoactioncomponents,most notablytheboltandcarrierassemblyandbarrel extension.Itwasaveryexpensiveproject. Too Much Pressure Smaller calibers compound port pressure problems due both to diminished bore volume and also to the generally slower-burning propellants behind most smaller-caliber .308 derivatives. Slowerburning propellants produce their peak pressures farther down the barrel, nearer the gas port. On top of it, most big-chassis rifles are going to have 24" 8 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=9http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=9Whoa.That’sabigpieceofmetal.Thebigchassiscarrierisnearlytwicetheweightofan AR-15carrier.Notoftenconsidered,butnow Ihopeyouwill,istriggerfunctionwithabigchassisgun.NotallaftermarketAR-15triggers willholduptothisrifle.Thereciprocatingcarrier canliterallyshockthemintomalfunctionsand, attheleast,operationalchanges.Ofthe2-stage competitiontriggers,theKnight’sandGiessele arethebestchoices.JPEnt.makesasinglestagespecificallyforthisrifle. REFLECT WHO YOU ARE Rock river Arms / NM A4 20" air gauged heavy match stainless steel 1:8 twist barrel / RRA two stage match trigger / free float thermo mold handguard / nm carry handle LE Home Hunt Delay Delaying bolt unlocking, again, is the goal, and other means to attain it include increased carrier weight via aftermarket inserts, a stouter buffer spring, and incorporating some means for bleed-off in the gas system. It’s not that difficult to install an adjustable gas tube or gas manifold and these are effective. Each provides a means to limit the volume of gas going into the gas tube. Increasing carrier weight, which is a trick commonly done for competitionuse AR-15s, has two edges in a big gun. It will delay unlocking but then increases the influence of the forward hit. The stout buffer spring, I think, is about mandatory. The bolt carrier assembly on most bigchassis rifles weighs around 20 ounces, or nearly double that of an AR-15. It’s noticeable. The bolt carrier coming back home is quite a shock. Polishing the extractor so it slides more easily over the cartridge rim helps reduce the frequent WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM Target reflect who you are at www.rockriverarms.com George Tichbourne KNIFEMAKER SHEFFIELD STYLE BOWIE http://www.tichbourneknives.com (905) 670-0200 7035 Maxwell Rd. #5, Mississauga, Ontario L5S 1R5 CANADA 9 20" air gauged heavy match stainless steel 1:8 twist barrel / RRA two stage match trigger / free float thermo mold handguard / nm carry handle Rock river Arms / NM A4 barrels which, by itself, increases gas pressure inside the bore. To give an idea of just how much extra pressure there can be, it’s routinestandard when building a custom AR-15 Match Rifle to move the gas port ahead 1". That’s for a .223 Remington and a 24" to 26" barrel. Now, the routine change for a custom big chassis gun chambered in, say, .260 Remington, is 4" farther ahead. There’s that much difference. There’s that much pressure. The most easily or readily effective way to tame its function is through propellant selection. The handloader should choose a propellant on the fasterburning end of suitability. Know your factory ammo! Mil-spec rounds most often have a more suitable port pressure peak than many hunting-use factory loads. This is even more an issue with the .260 Remington and .243 Winchester since both these rounds respond so well to relatively slow-burning propellants.2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=10http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=10Ifyou’reahandloaderandshooting.308 Winchester,replicatingLakeCityMatch ammunitionwillresultinsimilarportpressure characteristicstheequallysensitiveM-14 andM1Ariflesrequire.There’saprimeron loadingfortheseriflesonGlen’sWebsiteand hestronglyrecommendsfollowingitstepby stepifyou’reabig-chassisrifleowner.And stayawayfromheavybullets.Glensays175 grainsisplenty.Here’ssomethingelsetothink about.Thisisaroundchamberedandthen extracted.Thefloatingfiringpintapsonthe primerandleavesadimple.Thecombination ofaheavierfiringpinandheaviercarriersets upalltheelementsfora“slam-fire”orout-ofbatterydischarge.Itcanandhashappened. Mil-specprimersaretougherskinnedthan manycommercialprimers(CCImakes’em).Glen recommendsamatch-gradeprimer(CCIBR2)on M1Aandbig-chassisARsforaccuracy. experience of the case shoulder taking a hit upon chambering. Compounding this problem is the tendency for many to install the D-ring inserts to increase spring pressure in the extractor. A good chamber polish also works wonders for extraction ease. Bolt stop breakage has plagued this rifle configuration. The stops break because they get hit so hard by the extraheavy bolt carrier assembly. Reducing bolt stop overrun, which is the amount the bolt face is able to clear beyond the stop, is the only solution I know. Get it to about a nickel’s width and that should be adequate. It’s most easily reduced using adhesive-backed phenolic pads intended to cushion buffer impact. eGW iNc. 48 belMoNt ave., QUakertoWN pa 18951 (215) 538-1012, WWW.eGW-GUNS.coM broWNellS 200 SoUtH froNt St., MoNtezUMa ia 50171 (800) 741-0015, WWW.broWNellS.coM “One Masterpiece at a time” 1595 Carr St. Lakewood, CO 80214 Phone: 303-888-4904 Fax: 303-232-7318 www.volkmanncustom.com SUperior SHootiNG SySteMS iNc. 800 N. 2Nd St., caNadiaN tx 79014 (806) 323-9488, WWW. SUperiorSHootiNGSySteMS.coM GleN zediker zediker pUbliSHiNG p.o. box 1497, oxford MS 38655 (662) 473-6107, WWW.zediker.coM 10 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=11http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=112009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=12http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=12MONTANA MUSINGS • MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINO • PHOTOS: YVONNE VENTURINO tHe HappieSt place oN eartH My Shooting House. such a shack I didn’t even want to show photos of it in my articles. In the natural state of affairs, parents will precede their children in death. My father went way too early in 1979 at age 61. My mother followed 20 years later. After all expenses and bills were paid my sister and I were left with a small sum of money to split. It was about as much as a good down payment on a new 4x4 or would have served to buy two or three high-quality guns. I did neither. I built my shooting house and I wanted it nice — not a shack. Talking it over with one of my oldest friends, coincidentally a contractor, we came up with this idea. It wouldn’t make much sense to put the building on a foundation because as surely as my mother followed my father in death, someday I will follow them both. Some buyer years from now might not care about a shooting house or rifle range. Therefore, my contractor poured concrete pillars deep into the ground and then bolted the building to them. Someday, if it must be moved, the bolts can be sawed off and the building is then free from its anchor to be moved where desired. As far as the shooting house itself, it ended up being a rather odd 14x14 feet square. That was because of the lay of the land and the road on out to my targets needed to pass it. Three walls have large windows for light, with the fourth only facing the hillside left solid. On the shooting side, I had two large raising windows installed. One is for rifle shooting from benchrest or for handguns when they are fired from a sandbag rest. The benchrest itself is lag-bolted into the wall so it is supersturdy. The other window houses a permanently mounted Ransom Pistol Machine Rest. Likewise it is mounted solidly to the frame of the house. If I want to practice offhand shooting, I can open the door and shoot out of it. On the outside, the siding is nomaintenance aluminum siding because I would much rather spend my time handloading and shooting than Rocksolidbench,heat,ammoandatarget (above).Whatmoredoesashootinghobbyist need?Notealltheshelvesinthebackground. duke’sshootinghouse(below)hasan anenometerontheroofforreadingwindspeed andachronographmountingstandinfront. f late a few readers have O written asking about my shooting house seen in a few issues. Despite often being in a less than tidy state, it is one of my favorite places on this Earth to be, and along with my property here in Montana, is one of my many dreams come true. Naturally the property came first, and was acquired back in the mid-1980s before Montana became an “in” place. I couldn’t afford enough land in those days to put in a 300-yard rifle range, but when the real estate agent was showing us prospective places in 1986 this one looked perfect. There is a valley almost centered in the property with various hills and banks at the proper spots to serve as 100- and 300-yard berms. At 25 and 200 yards there wasn’t, so I had them built at those distances. Anyway, back to the shooting house. This area of Montana is seldom windless, especially in winter. Even what we consider calm days still have some air movement, so shooting out of doors in the winter even on sunny days is a strain due to wind chill. In 1988 I hired a friend to build a pole shed. It more or less kept the wind off but was 12 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=13http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=13“America’s Choice in Recoil Reduction, Tools and Accessories” Taming Tough T/C Recoil. Upgrade the comfort, style and performance of any T/C handgun with Pachmayr’s popular, no-gunsmithing grips & forends. Pachmayr A Lyman Brand ® umand agn re M c e g En ohere’s r o nc t kickin trol. T set. &E es con m h e g r o e tou le and Magnu c n l y h t E e t at s ecia Tamet gre n a sp g eve ender recoil Contp 2 G roven ailable ! v New chmayr ’s a is a m Now, P ement systest handgun. g e a w n e a m ’s n for T/C The Original Contender Pioneered and perfected by Pachmayr, this grip & forend set a new standard for great looks and superior recoil control. • Sling Swivel Studs Included • Recoil Reducing Internal Chambers • Fast, Easy, No-Gunsmith Installation Call 800-22-LYMAN or www.lymanproducts.com painting. We did have to jury-rig some curved sections of plastic drainpipe on the corners because our array of aging horses found those edges a perfect place for rubbing their big butts. Those horses have the mistaken idea my rifle range is also their pasture. Also on the outside, I had my contractor drive two large pieces of angle iron deep into the ground with the bucket of his backhoe. Another length of angle iron serves as a steel cross member so that chronograph screens can be affixed my means of a car window scope mount. That way the screens can be raised or lowered to match my 100-, 200-, and 300-yard rifle targets, or they can be moved over in front of the pistol machine rest when it is lined up on the 25-yard target. There is even an anenometer mounted atop the roof so I can keep track of the wind speeds. The inside walls of my shooting house are just raw plywood. There didn’t seem to be any need to finish it because I knew in a short time they would be covered with “stuff.” They were. Bragging targets, accessories, and whatnot are hanging around. What I did want built in there, however, were shelves. Lots of shelves: shelves for ammo boxes, shelves for targets, shelves for just “stuff.” And since Montana has WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM Lyman® 475 Smith St., Middletown, CT 06457 Dept 2055 a lot more cold weather than hot, I had propane heat installed. It is left on all the time once freezing cold sets in, but since the contractor did a superb job of insulating the house the propane bills are not objectionable. As finished and in use now for a decade, everything I need to shoot is kept there. Chronographs, screens, extra batteries, staplers, staples, targets, cleaning rods, jags and brushes, solvents, spotting scope, and factory ammo is all there. All ready for me Arocksolidbenchusedisinduke’sshooting house.Thetargetwayupthehillinthedistance isat200yards. when I show up from the house, only a couple hundred yards away. I bring the guns and handloads, staple up targets at the distance needed, hang my coat on a peg and get to work. Sometimes when it is too windy to shoot or all the shooting is done, I will just sit in my shooting house, contemplating life and feeling satisfied and happy it is there. 132009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=14http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=14HANDLOADING • JOHN BARSNESS • lotS of rifle roUNdS With accuracy. his is the time of year T when many shooters load a lot of rifle ammunition, in preparation for lots of shooting over the summer. While some of these shooters aren’t all that interested in top accuracy, others are. Progressive presses can crank out a lot of ammo, but often they’re not as capable of making super-accurate rifle ammunition as a nonprogressive press. So a lot of shooters still sit there and load every round, one at a time, on a standard loading press. I don’t mind this at all when loading, say, 50 rounds for a big game rifle, but the process becomes quite tedious when loading 500 rounds for a prairie dog shoot. So how do we load a bunch of ammunition and still make it accurate? By eliminating as many unnecessary steps as possible. Yeah, we’ve been taught since we were handloading punks to clean primer pockets every time, but obviously that’s not done on progressive presses, and the ammo still goes bang every time. The truth is it’s only necessary to clean primer pockets every few shots. The legs of the 3-legged anvil of a Boxer primer rest just inside the walls of the primer pocket, and must firmly contact the bottom of the pocket for sure ignition. Now, look at the primer pocket of a fired case. The vast bulk of the fouling is in the center of the pocket, around the flash hole, not around the outside. This is why we can get away with not cleaning the primer pocket for several firings: The legs of the anvil rest outside the fouled area. So don’t clean primer pockets. (Don’t believe me? Load 10 rounds each of the same load, with everything the same except don’t clean the pockets with one batch. Shoot them at a target and see if you can tell any real difference.) Another real time-consumer is lubing and de-lubing cases, the reason almost 14 all handgun shooters use carbide dies. However, most rifle shooters usually don’t load straight-walled cases (the exception being Mike Venturino), so we have to make do with steel dies. The obvious solution here is to necksize only, but a typical die featuring an expander ball can pull the neck out of alignment with the case body, a basic cause of inaccuracy. Ifyoucanavoidusingtheexpanderball,better accuracyisoftentheresult.Casetrimming (below)isoneofthemosttime-consuming choresinhandloading.Casetrimmingcanbe eliminatedoritsfrequencygreatlyreducedby eitherchoiceofcaliberortechnique. Redding S Dies Instead, use a die without an expander ball. The only reason the expander ball exists is inconsistent case-neck thickness between different brands of brass. If we use the same brass all the time, the neck can be sized down without having to be expanded again. For neck-sizing the easiest solution is a bushing die, with a bushing of the correct inside diameter for the particular cases we’re using. I normally use Redding “S” (bushing) dies, but there’s more than one brand of bushing die. Obviously neck-sizing isn’t a solution for most autoloading rifles, but for boltaction and falling-block single-shots it works just fine. The exception is when you’re loading for more than one rifle with the same chambering, because they almost never have exactly the same size chamber. The solution is to segregate the brass. My wife Eileen and I each have a bolt-action .223, and I keep the brass for each in labeled, gallon-size plastic bags. Believe me, this is a lot easier than fulllength sizing 1,000 rounds. Some cases can be partial-sized without any lube, especially cases with noticeable body taper like the .22 Hornet or .22-250. This is accomplished with a standard full-length die, but with a 7/8" steel washer inserted between the die and the press. Some reloading catalogs carry these, but they can also be found at hardware stores. The ones I have are WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=15http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=15Withtaperedcartridges,a7/8"washerbetween thesizingdieandthepresscaneliminatethe needtolubecases. 1/8" thick, so when inserted between die and press the die doesn’t size the bottom 1/8" of the neck. This helps center the case in the chamber. Neck-sizing or partial sizing also tends to reduce or even eliminate case stretching, because the cases fit the chamber more snugly, and also aren’t squeezed down during resizing. No Trimming This greatly reduces the need for case trimming, the biggest single time-waster in rifle reloading, the reason many highvolume shooters prefer “improved” cases, such as the K-Hornet or .223 Ackley Improved. The sharp shoulders just about eliminate case stretching — unless, of course, you’re the type who just has to load ’em up hot. Believe me, loading to slightly lower pressures will never cause you to miss, and saves lots of time at the loading bench. While some modern handloaders use electronic powder measures, the oldfashioned manual measure is still faster. Luckily, these days there’s also a bunch of clean-burning, small-grained powders that meter easily and accurately in any size case. Use them. There’s one for every purpose these days. Finally, do a little time-and-motion study on your actions at the loading bench. It took me a while to realize how much time I was wasting because of where my loading block, loose bullets and cartridge box were placed during bullet seating. Now they’re in a rough semi-circle on the left side of my press, where they can be easily reached without my hand knocking anything over. I also started dumping bullets into a shallower tray, rather than leaving them in the box where I have to reach way down inside to grab one. It’s gotten to the point where I can load 500 rounds of .22 Hornets in a couple of hours. No, this isn’t as fast as a progressive press, but it isn’t slow, either. reddiNG reloadiNG eQUipMeNt 1089 Starr road, cortlaNd, Ny 13045 (607) 753-3331 WWW.reddiNG-reloadiNG.coM “A well armed citizen, being necessary to the security of a free State, the Right of the People to keep and bear Cool Arms should be indulged.” WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 152009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=16http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=16HANDGUNS • MASSAD AYOOB • A less-expensive alternative to custom revolver stocks. irca 1932, Smith & Wesson C introduced the grip adapter to fill the area between the back Grip adapterS of a revolver’s triggerguard, and the front strap of a double-action revolver. Designed for use with the “service” stocks, serious shooters instantly recognized its advantage. General George S. Patton ordered one on his trademark .357, and J. Edgar Hoover is believed to have had one, too. AnauthenticmodernversionoforiginalS&W gripadapter,ona5-screwpre-Model27.357. least three important respects. First, of Without it, if the shooter let the course, they were produced to fit a wide middle finger go all the way up the variety of double action revolvers, and frame, the trigger finger had to reach not just Smiths. Second, they required down at a sometimes uncomfortable no modification of the stocks, because angle to take purchase on the trigger twin metal flanges slid onto the frame and, with the fingers grasping lower, at the front, and were held in place by there was no contact between the middle the pressure of the grip panels. Third, finger and the bottom of the frame while the original S&W adapter only behind the triggerguard. Either way, the filled the space between triggerguard gun could shift in the hand upon recoil. and grip frame, the later adapters also This became glaringly apparent when added material at the front of the grip S&W introduced the hard-kicking .357 frame, tapering downward, to give the Magnum in 1935. hand more to hang onto. Looking at pictures of these as a kid, The Mershon and Pachmayr I wondered what held the presented a straight frontal it in place. Much later I surface to the hand. Some found learned this original grip the edges a bit sharp, sharp adapter took the form of enough to be irritating when plates the size of the grip the gun was grasped firmly in frame, secured invisibly a long shooting session. Many under the stocks. Since enthusiasts found the Tyler-T these plates pushed the more ergonomic. The Tyler’s top edge of standard frontal edges were much more S&W Magna stocks rounded. They also had a flange out away from the creating a fingergroove between frame, the insides of middle finger and ring finger of each walnut panel were the shooting hand, putting the shaved down to “adapt TheS&Wadaptertookthe “T” in Tyler-T. to the adapter.” Late in formofplatescoveringthe Over the years I found the 1935 S&W introduced entiregrip-frame,inturn Tylers put my hand in a slightly the “Magna” grip, concealedbystockpanels. different position than the largely the same as those Pachmayr. On some revolvers, sold until recently on larger frame guns but not others, Tylers would cause the reducing the demand for grip adapters. middle knuckle of my middle finger to S&W discontinued theirs sometime take a painful rap from the triggerguard around 1941. with hard-kicking rounds. Preference Before long, other companies had seems to have been highly subjective, figured out easier and cheaper ways to based largely on the size and shape of make grip adapters. Mershon and then the shooter’s fingers. Pachmayrs and Pachmayr produced them in plastic, and Tylers were kinda like boxer shorts and later, Tyler-T came made one of metal. jockey shorts: if you liked one, you’d All three differed from the S&W in at like the other less. 16 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=17http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=17Deformance_4.625x7.5Ad:Layout 1 11/26/08 11:04 AM Page 1 Grip adapters’ heyday of popularity was in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s. One fan, Chic Gaylord, was the pioneering concealment holster designer and quickdraw artist of that period. He was partial to the Tyler-T product. They were once a staple accessory in gun shops, but the rise of affordable “custom” stocks and the massive switch to the autoloading pistol have made grip adapters hard to find these days. Numrich Gun Parts still has the Pachmayrs in stock for some models, at only $7.45 plus shipping. The Tyler-T is still produced by Tyler Manufacturing. Available for a wide variety of double action revolvers, they go for $24 in brushed aluminum, $25 black, $27 polished, and $33 in bronze hue, plus shipping. Even the unique old S&W adapter is back. Explains Dave Ballantyne, a board member of the S&W Collectors Association (SWCA), “I am a collector of pre-war S&Ws. Specifically, I collect early .357 or “Registered” Magnums. I became concerned at the price the original grip adapters were fetching on E-bay after they crossed the $1,000 barrier.” Ballantyne got together with gunsmith and collector Jerry Rodgers, and the result is a modern, authentic copy. Properly marked to reduce chances “counterfeiting” as originals, they come with a soft, comfortable layer of rubber on the part contacting your middle finger. These babies aren’t cheap, because there’s a lot of machining involved. If you’re an SWCA member you can get them for $100, and if you’re not, price is $150, a fair deal, since membership dues are $50 anyway, and SWCA is certainly worth joining. If your particular S&W (N-frame only) is post-WWII, the adapter may need to be cut and worked a little to mate the frame and pins, and in any case the inside of your wooden stocks will have to be shaved. Order information (by e-mail only) is available from merlindrb@ca.com. If custom stocks are too bulky and bulgy for you, or if “rubber” grips just aren’t comfortable or pleasing, a simple grip adapter might be the answer. It gives most shooters a more solid hold, but doesn’t increase the revolver’s dimensions adversely impacting concealability. Whaddaya know? It may be true when folks say “what was old is new again.” NUMricH GUN partS corp. 226 WilliaMS laNe, WeSt HUrley, Ny 12491 (845) 679-4867, WWW.GUNpartScorp.coM tyler MfG. p.o. box 94845, oklaHoMa city, ok 73143 (800) 654-8415, WWW.t-GripS.coM Performance. Deformance. When performance counts, count on Barnes! The Tipped TSX™ expands instantly on contact, even on thin-skinned game. Deadly on whitetail deer, but won’t break up on heavy bones of the largest, toughest game. Pass-through penetration for massive damage and loss of blood. Conventional bullets deform, becoming blunt blobs of lead that penetrate poorly and can disintegrate on game. • Higher B.C. • Proven accuracy • 100% lead-free • Rapid expansion • Complete penetration • Full weight retention • Available in factory loads ™ The Barnes Tipped TSX ™ – Accept No Imitations. Triple-Shock is a registered trademark of Alliant Techsystems Inc. www.barnesbullets.com • 1-800-574-9200 Contact Barnes Bullets for a free catalog. Mention this magazine ad and get a free Barnes Bullets decal! WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 172009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=18http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=18RANGING SHOTS • CLINT SMITH • Practice shooting from the other eye as well as the other hand. n a recent article, one of our writers addressed the use of the I eyes in regards to shooting with both eyes open and he advised we all should. An interested reader then inquired as to whether or otHer eyeS not he should shoot off the weak shoulder with his strong eye or weak eyed or crossover. Having dealt with this on a regular basis, I thought to give some insight into what we find works and the whys, as in why we care, why we should train to the task and why it might make a difference. Although it sounds a bit edgy, have play on words. you ever been in a bar or the like and I use opposite side terminology so as seen somebody sucker punched? As to not add any negative connotation in in our about-to-be-thumped dude was my mindset denoting my left hand or side looking in one place and someone from might not hold up its end of the deal in a another direction zaps him? The use fight. This is mostly resolved by practice of both eyes open helps eliminate the prior to the fight, and I strongly prefer proverbial tactical sucker punch. Simply not to “improvise, adapt and overcome” close one eye and see and would prefer people what part of the room or address and train to the your environment you potential problem before lose visual contact with. the fight starts. I am not The simple equation too bright, but I believe is two eyes open allows the ability to acquire new for more information skills in the middle of to be gathered by the an ongoing fight will be eyes — and remember limited at best. So I train this isn’t always for up the opposite side now direct movement. The so if I ever need the skill peripheral visual is one I have it before the fight of the few places where begins. true instincts are at play This is actually not a with guns, shooting big deal, as many people and fighting as the are right handed and peripheral vision picks have a left master eye up movement to which or vice versa. Probably the shooter can shift his Riflesopenupawholenewcan the biggest eye problem ofwormsifyouhavetoswitchto eyes directly to confirm could evolve around a potential threats and apply theleftshoulderlefteye.Inthis new shooter who might be scenario,itissometimesbest sighted fire according to cross dominant and often need. Contrary to some touseyourrighthandfortrigger sees two or more images. manipulation. beliefs, we can’t shoot This is most common in instinctively, but we can handguns. In the use of in fact use instincts in the form of this a handgun, the new shooter may need “hunter’s eye” which catches or gathers to feather or shut down an eye until movement if you will. You can then he acquires more skill or simply more address it as needed. exposure to shooting in general with the The aforementioned reader inquiry idea in mind he ultimately will shoot used the terminology weak side, weak with both eyes open. eye and weak shoulder. Without being So subjects here to be addressed contrary or judgmental, I do not use the while shooting on the range could be term weak and prefer opposite or other. these options. This could just be a play on words, but Strong hand, strong eye. then many life issues evolve around a Strong hand, opposite eye. WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 2009 Themostcommonscenario(above)isthe mostnormal—righthanded,righteyeuse. dittoforlefties(below).Notunusual,butmore uncommonistheuseoftherighthandwith thelefteye.It’seasytodowithahandgunand shouldbepracticed.Havetosquinttoseefrom theoppositeeye?doit. 182009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=19http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=19Opposite hand, strong eye. Opposite hand, opposite eye. All of the above using only one eye. All of the above, both eyes open. Rifles This is a different can of worms than the handgun. If I hold the long gun right handed, right shouldered my left eye would not be allowed visual access because the stock gets in the way. In a case where the strong eye gets damaged or there has very poor eyesight, the issue actually affects long guns more dramatically than handguns as the only way of solving it is to switch shoulders which means switching hands and so on. This approach, in all candor, is more for sport shooting or hunting and yet the fix requires the shooter to train up to the switch-sides-gig and the manipulations that go along with it. This crossover concept can and should be addressed for tactical applications because of the potential for injuries while fighting and yet should be addressed if for no other reason than the shooter can or could get access to a threat in what would be and otherwise impossible shot. KNOW MORE. The Scenario For example: I have a target hard to the right at a lower angle in a built up area and I need to mount the rifle left shouldered to simply get the muzzle parallel to the building I am in so as to get the sight on target. User beware issues here are to shoot these shots and positions in training prior to use to eliminate or make you aware of where your eye and head are in relationship to the ocular lens in a scoped rifle so as to not get a scope-eye cut. During training I simply blend everything I can think of that could go wrong and address it. As examples a left eye, left shoulder mount while pressing the trigger with the right-hand finger or the reverse. All of this training should include training without corrective lenses if you wear them but be sure to wear clear eye protection any time you shoot. Here you are limited by only your imagination and willingness to work and acquire new skills and of course you should shoot all of these options with one eye, the other eye and then both eyes open to see what will work for you. Shooting with both eyes open is not a new concept, yet I address it in every class I teach. The smart option is to shoot with both eyes open but not everyone can do it. A good way to approach it is to try all of the alternative methods now before you might need or want one. I think the line was, “A man’s gotta know his limitations” and I agree for both the boys and the girls. Let us find out now what works before we need to make it happen downrange for real. WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM Shooting for 50 years? Gun Talk TV will make you better. Never picked up a gun? Gun Talk TV will get you started. The top shooters and instructors are on Gun Talk TV to train you! Watch hundreds of free ONLINE instructional videos at: www.guntalk.tv 192009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=20http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=20RIMFIRES • HOLT BODINSON • Space GUN redUx Return of the Whitney Wolverine. pening your mailbox in March, 1958, you would have been O greeted with the cover of GUNS magazine illustrating the most futuristic looking handgun on the market, the Whitney Wolverine. The Wolverine appeared to many of us to be across between the exotic Luger and our cherished Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers atomic pistols. The impression it left on me has lingered for 50 years. No sooner did the Wolverine arrive on the market than it disappeared from the market — the victim of a devastating marketing contract. Now, thanks to the persistence of Bob Schuetz, CEO of Olympic Arms, the Whitney Wolverine has returned. It still gives the impression of being the most rakish, space-age, .22 sporting handgun on the market plus, as I learned, it handles as well as it looks and is a lot of fun to shoot. The original Wolverine design was the brainchild of a gifted arms designer, Robert L. Hillberg. Over his career, Hillberg worked designing military armaments and sporting guns and was associated with Colt, Pratt & Whitney, Bell Aircraft, Republic Aviation, and High Standard before launching Whitney Firearms, Inc. in 1955. Some of his more familiar sporting designs include the Browning BPS shotgun, the Wildey gas-operated pistol and the first semiautomatic, short stroke, gas shotgun to use a coaxial gas piston around the magazine tube, a revolutionary design marketed by Sears, Roebuck and Co. as the J.C. Higgins Model 60. The Wolverine design had been rolling around in Hillberg’s mind for years. As an arms designer in the 1950s, he was frustrated by the state of the firearms industry. He felt it was in a rut. It wasn’t incorporating modern styling into its products, and it was bogged ThefuturisticlinesoftheWolverineareas down with outdated manufacturing captivatingtodayastheywere50yearsago. processes. As the head of Research and to manufacture interchangeable parts. Development at High Standard in the With the Wolverine, Hillberg early 1950s, he developed a close working achieved what he had been striving relationship with the Bellmore-Johnson for — a modern looking sport pistol Tool Co., a subcontractor manufactured using High Standard was using the latest materials and at the time to make the processes. Its styling T-152 tank machinegun was radically modern, under a contract with the quite unlike any other Springfield Armory. handgun on the market. Joining BellmoreIt fit the hand like a Johnson in 1954 as its chief glove and pointed like engineer, Hillberg was a laser. In fact, the only not only to take the T-152 design feature Hillberg contract with him but was admitted borrowing able to convince the officers from an existing of Bellmore-Johnson to set handgun was the round, up a subsidiary company checkered, cocking ears to manufacture a line of from the Luger’s toggle modern sporting arms. The TheoriginalWhitneyWolverine joint action. eventual name of the new gracedthecoverofthe1958issue The heart of the company was Whitney ofGUNS. original Wolverine was Firearms, Inc. of New an aluminum frame cast Haven, Connecticut, named in honor as one piece by Alcoa. By casting the of Eli Whitney of New Haven, who had frame, Hillberg was able to achieve an revolutionized firearms production in overall style and lines too prohibitive to 1798 by using patterns, jigs and fixtures machine Assembled into the shell of the frame were two sub-assemblies —the barreled action secured to the frame with a futuristic looking barrel nut and the fire control system. There were only three screws used in the gun, two for the grip panels and one for the sideplate, otherwise the Wolverine was designed and assembled so one part held another part in place, much like the Mauser Broomhandle. Aniceshootingstillfuturistic-lookingpistol, Extensive use was made of extrusions thelonglostWhitneyWolverine1950s-era for parts like the barrel nut and trigger. pistolisbein2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=21http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=21SUREFIRE TRAINING FACILITY, GILLETTE, WYOMING AUGUST 21, 22 & 23 finished. Most parts were subcontracted. The barrels, for example, came from High Standard or the Wilson Company. The end product was a blowbackoperated, semi-automatic with a shrouded external hammer, a 10-shot magazine and magazine disconnector system. The only desirable feature missing was a bolt hold-open device. As inspired as the engineering and production of the Wolverine were, the weak link was to become marketing. The company signed an exclusive worldwide distribution contract with the well known company, J.L. Galef & Son. Under the terms of the contract, Galef was to move 10,000 Wolverines a year at a wholesale price of $16.53 and a retail price of $39.95. Full production of the Wolverine began in January, 1956. The company realized immediately it was losing money at a price of $16.53 but couldn’t renegotiate the price within a month or two of signing the marketing agreement. While Galef ran ads in the only national gun magazines at the time, GUNS and the American Rifleman, Galef failed to sell enough guns a month nor would it release Whitney from the “exclusive” terms of the marketing contract. The owners had no choice but to sell the assets of the company by mid-1957. The new company, set up as the Whitney Firearms Co. of Hartford, Ct., was soon sued by Galef for breach of contract, and it, too, failed over time. Total production of the Wolverine between the two companies amounted to only 13,371. Originals are a rare bird indeed, but have heart, Olympic Arms, the notable maker of precision AR-15s, has brought the stylish Wolverine back to life. The new Olympic Wolverine features a modern polymer frame rather than aluminum with enhancements WHitNey WolveriNe Maker: olyMpic arMS, iNc. 624 old pacific HWy Se olyMpia, Wa 98513 (800) 228-3471, WWW.olyarMS.coM MecHaNiSM: Blowback, semiauto caliber: .22 LR capacity: 10 overall leNGtH: 9" barrel leNGtH: 4.6" SiGHtS: Blade front, adjustable rear WeiGHt: 19 ounces fiNiSH: Matte black GripS: Black polymer (wood available) retail: $291.20 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 2009 INTERNATIONAL TACTICAL RIFLEMAN (ITRC) CHAMPIONSHIPS REGISTER TODAY WWW.SUREFIRE.COM/ITRC ENROLLMENT IS LIMITED $600 fee for each two-person team Open-range rifle & carbine course up to 1000 yards. Fast action CQB carbine and handgun shooting. THE Open to military personnel, law enforcement, and qualified civilians with no criminal history PRIZES VALUED AT $40,000 212009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=22http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=22TheWolverinedesignfeaturesashrouded externalhammerratherthanastriker.Olympic Arms’safetyblocksthesearanddisconnects thetriggerfromthefiringmechanism. like a ventilated rib and better safety mechanism. Depending on whether it is wearing plastic or wood grip panels, the weight of the new model empty is only 17 to 19 ounces, yet the design of the frame hugs your hand and makes the Wolverine a natural pointer with an almost neutral balance. The doublestage trigger on the unit I tested was outstanding, breaking at 3 pounds, 10 ounces. It felt even lighter. High Speed Ammo The Wolverine is designed around high-speed ammunition, and true to the recommendations in the exceptionally clear owner’s manual, Winchester Super X was a sterling performer, turning in 1-1/2" to 1-3/4" 10-shot groups at 25 yards. The Wolverine barrel is 4.6" long yielding a sight radius of 5-1/4". The sight picture is bold and well defined. The rear, polymer sight is adjustable for windage. Elevation was smack on at 25 yards. The 10-shot magazine functioned without a hitch. The Olympic Armssupplied takedown tool doubles as a tool to depress the follower as you load. The one catch to the magazine is it must be fully seated in the grip with the magazine catch latched. It’s an easy slip up on that one, and, no, there’s still no hold-open device in play. In short, the lines, handling and shooting qualities of Olympic Arms’ new Whitney Wolverine are as captivating today as they were 50-years ago. Hopefully, this time, in a new century, the Wolverine’s time has finally come. Want to read the original 1958 cover story? Go to www.gunsmagazine. com and click on Web Blast to view the original story. THEWHITNEyWOLvERINE by aNtoNio J. taGlieNti, Hardcover,159 paGeS, © 2008. $37.99, froM MoWbray pUbliSHiNG, 54 eaSt ScHool Street, WooNSocket, ri 02895, (800) 999-4697, WWW. MaNatarMSbookS.coM 22 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=23http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=23SWAT. Special Forces. And the covert operators who work in a dark world most of us can’t even understand. They’re the kinds of professionals who demand total reliability and performance from their firearms. For them, their guns could literally be the difference between life and death. That’s why so many knowledgeable law enforcement tactical units and military special ops teams choose custom firearms from Les Baer Custom. Les Baer designs firearms for the the guardians of our freedom and safety who need their firearms to perform to perfection, with consistent accuracy and flawless function. Like the specially designed Police Special AR rifle pictured here. It’s a 16” workhorse that does everything a cop wants a rifle to do and does it extremely well. Or any of the thirty-plus models of Les Baer Custom 1911 pistols. Premier II Super Tac Les Baer Custom firearms. Police Special AR Rifle Real guns for the real heroes who don’t do this for fun. www.lesbaer.com 1804 Iowa Drive – LeClaire, Iowa 52753 Ph: 563-289-2126 | Fx: 563-289-2132 Email: info@lesbaer.com Office Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Central Time2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=24http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=24RIFLEMAN • DAVE ANDERSON • optic oddballS Some were good ideas, others weren’t. iflescopes have been around R for a long time, even used during the Civil War. Scope adjustments. We can with internal speculate about the reasons adjustments almost why, though it no longer exclusively. Most matters. of the problems I The last stand of encountered were external adjustments came back in the ’60s from Bausch & Lomb and ’70s with in the early 1960s. B&L cheap scopes (both was a highly respected fixed and variable, name, made an excellent incidentally). It’s product and promoted its been a long time advantages with a major since I had a scope advertising campaign. fail. Nonetheless of All to no avail. Shooters the three legs of the wanted simple mounts, and shooting equipment they wanted the complexity tripod — rifle, out of sight where they ammunition, and wouldn’t have to look at it scope — the scope or think about it. remains the leg “Tv”shapedeyepieceshada Looking back, I wonder briefvogueinthe1970s.Claimed most likely to fail. if the market made the advantageswerelowerprofilefor Suppose the right choice. I’ve used scabbarduseandwiderfieldfor market had gone the scopes on my rifles almost runningshots.Thewideeyepiece other way 50 years exclusively for going sometimespreventedlowmountingon ago. With external on 45 years. Of the few bolt-actionrifles. adjustments, the scope problems I’ve had scope body could virtually every one involved the internal be all in one piece, with no openings adjustment system. for adjustment turrets. The only sealing The most common problem was needed would be to seal the lens with reticle adjustments, such as elements. The reticle could be etched on crosshairs which didn’t move as they glass so it couldn’t break or shift. were supposed to (or sometimes didn’t That would be a tough scope. I recall move at all), or variable scopes which ads in which B&L removed their scopes changed zero as power was changed. from rifles, used the scope to drive nails In order to have reticle adjustment through a board, then reattached the while keeping the crosshair intersection scope with no loss of original zero. centered instead of off in a corner, there Instead of scope rings, a mounting is a reticle cell inside the main scope rail could be incorporated in the scope tube. The elevation and windage screws body (as is done with some Swarovski push the reticle cell in one direction, models). While we’re at it we could springs push it the other direction. The have more rifles with integral receiver adjustment turrets require openings bases (e.g. CZ, Ruger and Sako) instead in the main tube which must then be of relying on those tiny 6-48 screws sealed against moisture. originally intended for attaching iron Variable scopes complicate things receiver sights. further. Most variables have the reticle What about those external adjustment in the second focal plane to keep the mounts? The B&L system certainly was crosshairs from being magnified as no thing of beauty. But if the demand had power is increased. As a result point of been there, no doubt the same brilliant impact can change as power changes. engineers could have designed mounts Ingenious design and good accurate, compact and attractive. workmanship have overcome most Well, it’s water under the bridge of the inherent problems of internal now. I doubt any company is going to adjustments. I use variable scopes take the financial risk of reintroducing WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 2009 popularity really took off during the economic boom following WWII. Scopes have improved in many ways over the years. There have been a few ideas along the way, which for various reasons never caught on. During the post WWII era when scopes began really catching on, there was considerable debate on the merits of external versus internal adjustments. During the 1950s, some companies offered a choice. You could have a simple scope and complex mount, or a complex sco2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=25http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=25The NEW Hornady GMX™ (Gilding Metal eXpanding) bullet offers the best choice for a high-performance monolithic solid that delivers devastating terminal performance over a wide range of velocities. GMX bullets are designed to expand up to 1.5 times their original diameter and retain over 95% of their original weight. An aggressive boattail and double cannelure design combine to reduce both bearing surface and drag to achieve the very highest ballistic coefficients in their class. Unlike pure copper jacketed or all copper bullets, the GMX is constructed entirely of gilding metal, the same alloy used to make Hornady bullet jackets for decades. The GMX shoots cleaner than pure copper bullets, fouls less and delivers superior terminal performance. Impact Velocity: 3400 fps 2700 fps 2000 fps 30 cal. 150 gr. GMX™ PO Box 1848 Grand Island, NE 68802 308-382-1390 hornady.com2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=26http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=26external adjustments. And maybe we don’t need it. But for a really tough system I think a simple scope with adjustable mounts is the way to go. In the early-mid ’70s Redfield introduced its Accu-Range reticle. Two crosswires near the top of the field could be adjusted (by varying the scope power) to bracket an 18" object (e.g. the chest span of a “typical” deer). The system worked, provided you had a patient 18" target and a support to keep the scope steady. I have one in a 6-18X Redfield. I don’t recall it ever helped me make a shot, but one time it did keep me from fooling myself into Aselectionofhandycarbinesincludes(lefttoright),Winchester thinking a pronghorn was 94.30-30,Mannlicher-Schoenauer6.5x54,Remington600.308, in range. SteyrScout.308,RugerFrontier.308.SteyrandRugergive Reticles can still be used shootertheoptionofusingaforward-mountedScoutscope to estimate range provided (Leupoldsinthiscase). you are familiar with the reticle and know what you’re doing. Current laser rangefinders rings. are so much superior there’s no Nonetheless I rather like compact comparison. scopes and have several on rimfire rifles, where they look right and perform “TV” Eyepieces satisfactorily. For most big game hunting This is one I don’t miss. TV-shaped standard size scopes suit me better. Long eye-relief scopes, designed eyepieces were promoted as being superior to round eyepieces for running to be mounted ahead of the receiver, shots. The concept was mildly popular are not new ideas. Redfield offered the M-294 scope intended for Winchester 94 for a few years before fading away. With conventional (i.e. 90-degree rifles in the early 1960s. (It’s interesting bolt lift) bolt action rifles the scopes had how many innovative ideas came from to be mounted fairly high so the wider Redfield in the ’60s and ’70s.) eyepiece wouldn’t interfere with bolt The Scout operation. I’ve never owned one of these scopes. Those I’ve seen in use and at The late Jeff Cooper promoted such gun shows were often mounted on lever, scopes for all-around use on his “scout pump or semiautomatic rifles. rifle” project and forward-mounted For running shots, the key elements scopes got dubbed “scout scopes”. I’ve found are a scope with non-critical Without Cooper’s enthusiastic and eye relief, a rifle stocked to fit the articulate support, what interest there shooter, and plenty of practice to get was in scout scopes seems to have familiar with both. dropped off. I regret this as I rather like the Compacts concept for some purposes. For a time A few years ago, compact scopes I had two Steyr Scout rifles, one with were being promoted as ideal for light, conventionally mounted scope and compact rifles. These scopes had the the other with a Leupold scout scope. usual 1" scope tube but smaller objectives Comparing them side by side with the and oculars, shorter overall length and use of a shot timer, the scout scope had lighter weight. a definite speed advantage at short to With scopes everything is a tradeoff. moderate ranges. You can have most anything you want For ranges past 200 yards I like more in a scope provided you are willing to power. I see scout scopes as more special pay the price. The tradeoff I found with purpose than all around scopes. For compact scopes was more critical eye hunting in heavy cover at modest ranges relief and an image less bright and sharp. there is nothing better, and the scout scope With the short main tube there were is certainly adequate at longer ranges. sometimes problems in mounting the I’m glad to see Burris and Leupold still scope, sometimes requiring extension have scout scopes in their line. 26 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=27http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=272009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=28http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=28™ • HOLT BODINSON • tHe McNelly SHarpS Cimarron’s Model 1859 .50-70 Texas Rangers classic. magine yourself as the Chief of Ordnance at the end of the Civil I War. You know the muzzleloader is obsolete. The Federal Cavalry has proved that already while employing 19 different breech-loading arms, including advanced repeaters like the Henry and Spencer. Yet, the cartridges fired by those early breechloaders were woefully lacking in power when compared to heavily charged muskets. Meanwhile you’re sitting on a stockpile of over a million perfectly functional muzzleloading muskets and breechloading, percussion carbines and rifles. The Federal Treasury is broke. The military needs breechloading firearms, and they need them now. What do you do? The least expensive and most immediate solution is the conversion of your Civil War models into breechloaders chambered for a primed, metallic cartridge, and that’s what was done. Historically, two conversion models 1859 McNelly SHarpS Maker: arMi Sport via MilaNo 2, 25020 azzaNo Mella (bS), italy WWW.arMiSport.coM iMporter: ciMarroN firearMS 105 WiNdiNG oak rd. frederickSbUrG, texaS 78624 (830) 997-9090 WWW.ciMarroN-firearMS.coM actioN: Falling block caliber: .50-70 (tested), .45-70 capacity: 1 overall leNGtH: 38-3/4" barrel leNGtH: 22" SiGHtS: Lawrence 100-800 yard ladder rear. Fixed blade front. WeiGHt: 7-3/4 pounds fiNiSH: Blue and color casehardened Stock: Walnut, oil finished price: $1,168 stand out — the Allin “Trapdoor” conversion of the Springfield 58-caliber musket and the centerfire conversion of the breechloading percussion Sharps carbine and rifle. What the Ordnance Department didn’t convert was sold off to the commercial trade, making the years just following the end of the war one of the greatest military surplus arms markets the country will ever experience. With Western expansion ongoing, it was a fortuitous development. The early Western settlers, more often than not, carried a variety of Civil War milsurps. Conversions At the end of the war, the War Department had approximately 50,000 Sharps percussion models on hand. As early as 1861, Sharps had supplied the Bureau of Ordnance with a sample of a 56-caliber rimfire conversion, but it was not until 1867 that a formal contract was signed, calling for the conversion of 1,000 percussion models a month to the newly adopted .50-70 centerfire cartridge. From 1868-69, approximately 32,184 percussion models, primarily carbines, were converted under the contract. Thefolded,shortrange,rearsightcanbe challengingforplainpaperpunching(above). TheSharpsCarbines(below)wereshort,light, handyandhardhittingin.50-70Gov’t. The supervision for the conversion process was given to the Springfield Armory. The conversion from percussion-to-cartridge consisted largely of removing the percussion primer parts, replacing the breechblock, adding a firing pin and extractor, and sleeving the chamber to .50-70. It took the Springfield Commandant to identify a serious underlying problem and that was the varying bore 28 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=29http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=29diameters of the percussion models. He insisted that any bores over .5225" in diameter be relined. Richard Lawrence at Sharps reported that almost 2/3s of the percussion models delivered to the factory in open boxcars exceeded that tolerance, so the oversize barrels were removed at Sharps and delivered to the Springfield Armory for relining. Relined Barrels As a point of identification, Sharps relined at Springfield sport the standard 3-groove .50-70 barrel adopted by Springfield while unlined Sharps barrels still carry the original Sharps 6-groove barrel as does the new Cimarron carbine. The end of the federal contract did not end the percussion conversion program that had financially saved the Sharps Company following the war. At least another 9,000 Sharps were converted at the factory for firearm dealers who had bought up milsurp stores, plus it is estimated another 1,000 or so were converted by small companies and private gunsmiths. Mountedordismounted,thecavalryman(above) couldattachandcarryhiscarbinefromhis shoulderstrap.The“hump”ofLawrence’s patentedpercussionprimingsystem(below)is retainedintheMcNellySharpsclone. Rangers Adoption While the .50-70 Sharps cavalry carbine staked out its reputation during the early Indian wars, it is the story of a batch of 36 carbines in the hands of a select group of Texas Rangers I find most intriguing. Thanks to Cimarron There’ssomethingimpressiveaboutaBig .50Sharps(above).usingreadilyavailable components,the.50-70cartridge(below)is easytohandloadandexceedinglyaccurate. Firearms’ accurate recreation of the McNelly Sharps .50-70 carbine we can capture just a glimpse of that period in southwest history. The Nueces Strip is that portion of south Texas bounded by the Nueces River and Corpus Christi on the north, the Rio Grande River and Brownsville on the south and extends northwestwardly along the Mexican border to Laredo. The familiar King Ranch would be about in the heart of the Strip. After the war, the region was plagued by cross-border and domestic raiders, murderers, rapists and cattle rustlers. Following Reconstruction, the Texas Legislature in 1875 assigned a small group of Texas Rangers under the command of Captain Leander McNelly, an experienced guerilla fighter, to “clean up the Strip.” The history of McNelly’s short, colorful, take no prisoners, campaign appears in the book, Taming the Nueces Strip, dictated by one of McNelly’s Rangers, George Durham. According to Durham, McNelly and his Rangers first assembled in Corpus Christi to gather provisions, and the conversation between storeowner, Sol Lichtenstein, and McNelly about firearms flows as follows: “Now about rifles,” Sol said, “you’re in plumb luck, Captain. We got … all the latest model repeaters — Henrys, Spencers, Winchesters.” “How about Sharps?” the Captain asked. “Sharps? Sure we always carry a small stock for the buffalo hunters. Maybe, 30 or so.” “I want them,” the Captain said. “Sharps, Captain? I thought you were going man hunting — not buffalo. Those 29 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=30http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=30TheMcNellySharpssportsthecorrect,flipup rearsightwithanelevatorgraduatedto800 yards. heavy, single-shot Sharps — whew! When you hit a buffalo, he’s yours. If you miss, you can reload. If you miss a man —” “I don’t want men who miss,” the Captain replied. A bit puzzled at first about the Captain’s choice of weapons, the Rangers quickly learn to appreciate their “McNelly Sharps.” Their .50-70s both outranged and out-penetrated the rifles of their opposition and dropped a horse as quickly as a man. Taming the Nueces Strip is a treasure trove of anecdotes about the .50-70 Sharps’ effectiveness in combat, including its capability to make a “double” now and then. Cimarron Firearms recreation of the “McNelly Sharps” is sensational. It’s a handsome-looking carbine with the highpolished blue of its 22" barrel offset by the mottled, color case hardening on the action, lock and buttplate. The attention to historical detail and the overall workmanship are impeccable. The action and lock carry Sharps patent dates. The hump of the Lawrence patented percussion primer system is present. Most importantly, the top of the barrel carries the distinctive McNelly Sharps “T star S” brand, combining the first and last letters of Texas with the Lone Star — a fitting Texas Ranger designation and historically correct for the 36 Sharps carbines that tamed the Nueces Strip. As reflected in all of its firearms product lines, Cimarron works with great purpose and diligence to set a uniquely high standard for historical accuracy and craftsmanship in the industry. Velocities of both loads fall within the 1,200 to 1,300 fps window which is exactly where I want to be with the .50-70. Recoil, of a .50-70, by the way, is relatively mild. I do find the coarse, short sight picture of the carbine a challenge for group shooting, although the point of impact of the Cimarron is dead centered. Fortunately, the tang is drilled and tapped for a sporting tang sight, and that’s the way I would outfit the little gun for serious hunting or target shooting. Fashioning their metallic conversion of the Civil War 1859 Percussion Sharps carbine after the most storied example, Cimarron Firearms has placed history in our hands. The notable McNelly Sharps is a neat addition to any collection while Taming the Nueces Strip is an actionpacked read not to be missed. SHARpS FIREARmS by fraNk SellerS, Hardcover, 358 paGeS, ©2003, (oUt of priNt). iSbN-13: 978-0960812202 TAMINGTHENuECESSTRIP by GeorGe dUrHaM, Softcover, 178 paGeS, ©2000, UNiverSity of texaS preSS, p.o. box 7819, aUStiN, tx 78713 (readily foUNd at aMazoN.coM) This Sharps Shoots! With a load built around Lyman’s 535-grain bullet, cast with a 20:1 temper, or Hornady’s pre-formed 385-grain Great Plains bullet, Starline brass, 55 grains of Blackhorn powder or a cleanburning, duplex load of 7-grain of IMR 4759 plus 52-grain of Swiss 1-1/2 Fg black powder and Federal 215 magnum primers, my typical 3-shot groups at 50 yards range from 1-1/4" to 2-3/4". WHITNEY WOLVERINE 624 Old Pacifc Hwy. SE Olympia, WA 98513 1-800-228-3471 toll free 1-360-491-3447 fax www.olyarms.com Price Starting At $294.00 MSRP The first 40 Dealers to place an order for a Whitney Wolverine, will receive a copy of Antonio J. Taglienti’s book, “The Whitney Wolverine”, a very well written history of this classic pistol from design to production and beyond. Fifty-three years after its introduction, the Whitney Wolverine is still ahead of its time. 30 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=31http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=31• HOLT BODINSON • caSt it Don’t slug it. etermining bore D measurements by ramming a lead slug down the tube may be a classic method, but I’ll bet there have been quite a few bores damaged by such a routine. Taking a casting of either the bore or chamber is both easier and safer. large supermarket, and one box of it will last you a lifetime. Paraffin wax is tough stuff. It’s pretty hard when it’s removed from a bore or chamber, and it stands up nicely to being miked and measured. What I like about it most is that it’s just as easy to work with as Cerrosafe, but it never hangs up like Cerrosafe. The secret to producing a quality casting with melted wax or Cerrosafe is to pre-heat the barrel or chamber area well before you pour. If you don’t warm the metal first, the wax or Cerrosafe will solidify as soon as it contacts the cold metal. The result is a miserable looking, useless casting. To apply heat, I use a common heat gun (also used to melt the casting material) held in one of Lyman’s cast iron casting ladles. I like to heat the metal just enough so it is uncomfortable to the touch. You may have to experiment a bit. Before pouring, you’ll need to plug the bore or chamber throat. I use a tight fitting patch or even one of Outers Boreblast foam cleaning wads if the bore is .30-caliber or smaller. Let the wax set up a few minutes and then just push the completed casting out with a cleaning rod and take your measurements. Just don’t do it in your wife’s kitchen. Women really hate to discover paraffin wax splashed all over their kitchen floors. Yes, casting can get messy at times. Old gunsmithing books often refer to using melted sulfur to make a casting. Sulfur, however, is not an easy element to work with plus it stinks and is corrosive. Most of the current instruction manuals now recommend Cerrosafe, a readily available casting alloy that melts between 158 and 190 degrees F. I’ve used it many times, melting it in a Lyman casting ladle with a heat gun. The benefit of Cerrosafe is it shrinks for the first 30 minutes of cooling, aiding its removal, and then returns to exact bore or chamber size at the end of an hour. The only problems I’ve experienced with Cerrosafe have occurred when taking castings of rough bores and rough chambers. In spite of its initial shrinkage, it can be a bear to get out if the alloy has penetrated a rough surface. What I use now is good, old, household, paraffin wax. The stuff your granny used to can vegetables and fruit with. It’s generally still available in every Allyouneedtomakea boreorchambercasting ishouseholdparaffinwax, aheatgunandapouring ladle.Waxcastingisalot easierthanpoundinga leadslugdownthebore. WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 312009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=32http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=32• JEFF JOHN • blackHorN 209 poWder A smokeless substitute for black powder. olt Bodinson wrote about the H new smokeless substitute for muzzleloaders awhile back and I recently tested it in a few cartridge guns. The benefit of the powder is — within limitations — it is loaded almost bulk-for-bulk with FFg black powder. In cartridge arms the new powder requires magnum primers and a decent crimp to ensure ignition and given same, the results are quite pleasing with a few peculiarities to keep life interesting. TheSharpsBorchardtdeliveredtwodecent groupsinthelimited20-roundtest.Thefirst groupdeliveredaflyerforthefirstshot, suggestingBlackhornlikestoshootfroma fouledboreinmyguns. For one, Blackhorn 209 weighs much less than black powder. It does not need to fill the case, and in some calibers, modest compression is achievable within black powder pressure limits. Perhaps more importantly, it is useable in pistol calibers as well as rifle calibers and the firm offers data starting with the .32 H&R Magnum up through the .45-120 and .50-90 Sharps. I chose to test the .44-40, .45-70 and .45-90. Talking with the engineers at Western Powders, the manufacturer, I learned they achieved best results with bullets bUllet cast relatively hard, such as Lyman No. 2 alloy and with lubes designed for smokeless powders. I normally cast my bullets relatively soft and my lubrisizer is stuffed with black powder lube, so I ordered bullets. Clint Smith awhile back recommended Montana Bullet Works, so I contacted them for a suitable quantity of .459" projectiles. The 200-grain .44-40 lead flatnoses were on hand and cast by a now defunct caster. The first MBW bullet was a 500-grainer cast in an RCBS mold, a bullet I’ve found to be very accurate with GroUp Size (iNcHeS) (braNd, bUllet WeiGHt, type) .45-70 HaNdloaded aMMo perforMaNce poWder cHarGe velocity (braNd) (GraiNS WeiGHt) (fpS) (braNd, bUllet WeiGHt, type) MbW 500 rcbS Blackhorn 209 30.5 1,080 1-5/8 Notes: Group size is the product of 5 shots at 100 yards. Chronograph screens set 6' from muzzle. Winchester Large Rifle Magnum primers used in Winchester brass. MBW: Montana Bullet Works .45-90 HaNdloaded aMMo perforMaNce bUllet poWder cHarGe velocity GroUp Size (braNd) (GraiNS WeiGHt) (fpS) (iNcHeS) (braNd, bUllet WeiGHt, type) MbW 540 Nei Blackhorn 209 39.8 1,306 1-7/8 Notes: Group size is the product of 4 shots at 100 yards. Chronograph screens set 6' from muzzle. Winchester Large Rifle Magnum primers used in redrawn Remington brass. MBW: Montana Bullet Works .44-40 HaNdloaded aMMo perforMaNce bUllet poWder cHarGe velocity GroUp Size (braNd) (GraiNS WeiGHt) (fpS) (iNcHeS) 200 lfN Blackhorn 209 20 743 3 Notes: Group size the product of 5 shots at 25 yards. Chronograph screens set 6' from muzzle. Winchester Large Pistol primers used in Black Hills brass. black powder in my .45-70 Sharps 1878 Mid-Range Target Rifle. The other was a 540-grain bullet from an NEI mold, chosen for the .45-90 because the sights of my Gove Rolling Block rifle were filed in for the same weight and similar profile. Winchester Large Rifle Magnum primers were used for ignition. The Blackhorn 209 powder itself is comprised of short hollow tubes and gives off the aroma of normal smokeless powder. It metered beautifully in a Lyman 55 measure, but just 20 rounds of .45-90 and the hopper was well depleted. The throw difference between a full hopper and one 3/4 empty was 2/10-grain lighter. Not bad, but it would be prudent to keep an eye on the hopper. Data from Blackhorn showed a 500-grain bullet over 27 grains of 209 powder delivered 1,050 fps at 18,065 psi, while the maximum charge of 32.9 grains (compressed) delivered 1,198 fps at 22,085 psi. The firm didn’t recommend using such a load in the Trapdoor Springfield, so I loaded 30.5 grains of powder for “Old Reliable.” The results with the .45-70 were pleasant recoil and very good accuracy. After firing five shots over the chronograph first (I learned tha2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=33http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=33Rifleloadswereassembledin.45-70and.45-90witha500-grain RCBSand540-grainNEI,bothcastbyMontanaBulletWorks. WinchesterLargeRifleMagnumprimerswereusedforignition. should, mind you). The barrel did clean up satisfactorily with wet patches. On firing the first round for “score,” I found the first shot went wide and the next four gave me a nice little 1-3/8" 100-yard group with a total for the five shots 2-1/8". The second group was 1-5/8" with three shots in a 3/8" and two more in 1/2" just an inch left. There was no wind, so I blame how I cheeked the rifle between shots. I find I have to place my face in exactly the same spot for each shot with the Sharps to shoot groups to the same place. I followed the same procedure with the .45-90 and, boy did its first shot go high! The Rolling Block only has a buckhorn rear sight, so I never expect gilt-edged accuracy, but the next four went into a neat little 1-7/8" group at 100 yards with three of those into 1-1/2". At 1,306 fps, recoil was stouter than with black powder and the groups shot a little lower. I moved the buckhorn sight three steps up the elevator for the next group. Expecting a nice tight little cluster, I saw instead a group about 1-1/2" wide and a little over 4" vertical. (Note to self: The sight elevator resets a step for each shot fired.) I tested the .44-40 in a 5" S&W 544, a gun delivering decent if never stellar accuracy. It has a rather tight barrel/ cylinder gap and I chose this revolver to see if fouling would be a problem. It wasn’t, and the best 5-shot group was 3" with three shots in an inch at 25 yards. Fouling never became a problem and the average velocity was 743 fps. Standard deviation was only 16 fps, showing consistency. As a control, I fired Black Hills .44-40 Cowboy ammo over the screens and it delivered 687 fps. All in all, I’m very impressed with the powder and foresee much pleasurable shooting with it. It doesn’t give off the volume of white smoke as does black powder, but it gives off some and the recoil impulse is similar. Best of all, I don’t have to come home and clean the brass the same day, a necessary chore with black. I still clean the guns, though. Just a habit. WeSterN poWderS, iNc (raMSHot, accUrate arMS) p.o. box 158 , MileS city, Mt 59301 (406) 234-0422, WWW.blackHorN209.coM MoNtaNa bUllet WorkS 7730 HeSper road, billiNGS, Mt 59106 (406) 655-8163 WWW.MoNtaNabUlletWorkS.coM WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 332009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=34http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=34• Jeff John • I’ve got a Winchester Model 70, made in 1946. As is the case with yours (January 2008 Medley), there’s two tapped and threaded holes in the fronttop of the receiver and two additional ones on the rear left side of the receiver. Lyman recommends using a newer 57WJS sight, but there’s one on eBay right now that is the 48F, which is what I believe you used on your restoration. Did the 48F curve to fit your Model 70’s receiver well? The 48F is for the Winchester 52, not the 70. You want the 48 WJS sight for the Model 70, according to the book Old Gunsights & Rifle Scopes by Nick Stroebel (Gun Digest Books, Q: Lyman 48 Receiver Sight Theearlier1stand2ndModelLyman48bases (left)measure1.0625"x1.250"vs.the3rd Modelsightbase(right)1.0625"x1".The3rd ModelLyman48wasmadefrom1947to1974. Assemblynumbers,stampedinsidethebase underneaththeslideandinsidetheslide, shouldmatch.Themodelofsight(48)andthe codeforthefirearm(SforSpringfield,WJS forWinchesterModel70,forexample)isalso stampedonthebodyofthesightbaseandthe lettercodeisstampedontheinsideoftheslide. A: 700 East State Street, Iola, WI 54990, 715/445-2214, www.gundigestbooks. com). The one on my Model 70 is the 3rd Model 48 WJS. If your gun is in pristine condition, make sure you look for the 3rd Model sight, which came out in 1947, as the earlier ones require stock wood be removed for the base. The3rdModelLyman48shownontheWinchesterModel70(top)canbefittedwithoutremoving stockwood,unlikeearlier1stand2ndModelsightswhichgenerallyrequireconsiderablestock surgery,asshownonthisSpringfieldM1903. QuestionsandAnswers Due to the volume of mail received, GUNS cannot offer a personal reply. Please e-mail your question to ed@gunsmagazine.com or snail mail to: GUNS Q&A, 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128 34 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=35http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=352009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=36http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=36odern 9mm pistols I could give a flip about. But, in the last 18 months I’ve bought six guns chambered for 9mm Luger. All are historical ones. A great many people think of the 9mm Luger as being a modern phenomenon. It is not. The cartridge is over 100-years old. We Americans love to laud one of our cartridges and firearms so chambered when it becomes a historical icon. That’s not criticism. I’m the same way. There was a big fuss when the .45 Colt, .44-40 and .45-70 turned 100 in 1973. There were some things written when the .44 Special hit 100 in 2008, and I personally was chomping at the bit to write about the .30-06 back in 2006. Nobody noticed when the 9x19mm aka 9mm Luger aka 9mm Parabellum hit the century mark. It was first introduced as far back as 1902 as a chambering for the Luger pistol, which was never actually made in a “Luger factory.” It was a pistol design from the brain of Georg Luger and was made in many different factories. Writings left by German soldiers seldom call the pistol a Luger. They refer to it as their P08 — a short way of saying Pistole Model 1908. That’s when their army adopted it. Their navy actually latched onto the longer barreled version of the Luger a couple years sooner. Because so many of those P08 pistols were brought home by “doughboys” M Mike “Duke” Venturino Photos: Yvonne Venturino after World War I, our ammunition companies started producing factory loads for them. So there wouldn’t be confusion they were labeled 9mm Luger because that was the most prevalent type of handgun around in which such loads were shot. The Germans and most likely other European nations as well, actually called it the 9mm Parabellum, a Latin word meaning “for war.” Being 9mm means the Parabellum cartridge takes a nominal .355" bullet and being 9x19mm means its case is nominally .754" long. There have been shorter 9mm cartridges. The .380 Auto aka 9mm Kurz has a case only .68" long. There have also been many longer 9mm cartridges. The 9mm Winchester Magnum, a totally off the wall idea such as ammo companies are prone to come up with at times, uses a case 1.16" long, the same length as .38 and .44 Specials. The 9mm Parabellum is a rimless case as are most 9mms meant for autoloading pistols but there have also been semirimmed 9mms (.38 Colt Auto and .38 Colt Super) and fully rimmed ones such as the 9mm Federal meant for revolvers. Just because most 9mms are nominally meant for .355" bullets also doesn’t mean all 9mms use such. The Soviet’s 9mm Makarov takes .364" bullets. And when handloading lead alloy bullets I personally stay completely away from that .355" size much preferring .356" or even .357" as my sizing diameter. We’ll These three historic 9mm handguns were some of the many different types issued to the German Wehrmacht during World War II. The P38 (bottom) was the standard and replaced the Luger (top). The Browning FN P35 (middle) was made at FN after Belgium was conquered. 36 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=37http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=37This 1941-vintage German MP40 9mm got Duke started with historical 9mms. To the left is a 1938 vintage German Luger or, more correctly, a German P08. talk more about lead alloy 9mm bullets later. If the 9x19mm had only served the Germans as their handgun cartridge for WWI it wouldn’t be such a big deal today. Heck, if it had only served Germany as their handgun cartridge in WWI and their handgun and submachine gun cartridge in WWII, it still wouldn’t be such a big deal today. It would be more like what I like to call a “historical curiosity.” But it didn’t. Other countries saw it was a very good idea and also adopted it. In WWII Canada used it as a handgun cartridge and the Brits opted for it as a submachine gun round. Generally speaking, military loadings have ranged from 115- to 124-grain bullets at from 1,025 to 1,200 fps. Most self-defense handgun experts consider that about minimum for protection with a pistol and only then if modern expanding type bullets are used. However, military organizations are not nearly so worried about “1-shot stops.” They’re pretty pleased with wounding an enemy so that several other enemy troops are tied up taking care of the wounded. The 9x19mm serves very well for such a purpose. What makes the 9x19mm/9mm Luger/9mm Parabellum so noteworthy from a historical standpoint is it is one of the world’s most used handgun (and submachine gun) cartridges if not indeed the very most popular one. Even the United States military adopted it circa 1985, to the chagrin of many, because the rest of NATO already had it and they all weren’t about to switch over to the .45 ACP. The American military then WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM Duke shooting his MP40 on his home range. Have you ever seen a gun’riter so happy? 372009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=38http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=38Duke’s Canadian-made Inglis made Hi Power 9mm delivered a 3-1/4" group at 25 yards using the FMJ handload. The FN Hi Power 9mm delivered a decent 2-3/4" group at 25 yards using Duke’s FMJ handload. The P38 shot this slightly low yet decent 3-1/4" group at 25 yards using the FMJ handload. The Mauser-built P08 Luger delivered this decent 2" group at 25 yards using the FMJ handload. adopted the Italian Beretta, although the actual handguns are made over here. As best I can determine the first American made 9x19mm pistol was the Colt Model 1911 in the Commander configuration which was introduced about 1951. And I believe Smith & Wesson brought out their Model 39 about 1954. An interesting fact is for a couple of decades Colt resisted the European 9mm in favor of their own .38 Super. And they had a weaker .38 Colt Auto as far back as 1902. The 1929 introduced Super version was just a hotter loading of the older one; featuring a 130-grain bullet at about 1,300 fps instead of about 1,100 fps as given by the old load. Neither of Colt’s .38 pistol cartridges set any sales figures. Although I bought a Smith & Wesson Model 39 9mm in 1977 and have had a Taurus PT99 here for over 20 years, it is true for most of my gun’riting career I’ve avoided the cartridge. That was because in my former work climate in the late 1980s editors were going wild over the 9mm. The magazine I worked for then put one on the cover nearly every issue, and its editor actually sent out a decree he wanted at least one 9mm story every month. Naturally, I bogged my head just like one of those rodeo broncs and avoided the caliber as much as I could without getting fired. All that has changed. I am a 9x19mm/Luger/Parabellum fan now. An ardent one! What changed? I began putting together a collection of WWII firearms. Then in late 2007 I decided to add submachine guns starting with a 1941-vintage German MP40. Right after I submitted the Federal paperwork needed to possess a full-auto firearm I was at a gun show and spotted a nice Luger. I thought it would be a good companion piece to my soon-to-be MP40. Also I might add that I knew virtually nothing about Lugers but, because I knew and liked the fellow selling, it I bought it. I’m glad I did. It turned out to have been made in 1938 and carries the code of S/42. “Code” you say? For military weapons prior to and during WWII the Germans did not put manufacturers’ Many people think of the 9mm Luger cartridge as “modern.” It was actually developed in the first years of the 1900s along with the .38 Auto (middle) and the .45 Auto (right). The 9x19mm cartridge was named 9mm Parabellum in Europe. American ammunition manufacturers gave it the name 9mm Luger. names on their firearms. They used codes with S/42 meaning my Luger was made by Mauser. According to the book Standard Catalog Of Luger by Aarron Davis, Mauser made almost one million Luger pistols or about 38 percent of total production. Anyway, my new Luger was pretty nice, albeit not pristine. It has obviously been carried in a holster and even had a couple of very tiny spots of pitting. That pleased me because I’m one of those odd ducks who would rather have a historical firearm that saw use instead of one unissued. Hi Power Although surely other 9mm pistols came along beforehand, the next one I think garnered a significant historical aura was John M. Browning’s last design. It was initially produced at the Fabrique Nationale (FN) factory in Belgium and named the P35. Somewhere along the line it also got the name of Hi Power, and seems to me to have been the instigator of this high-capacity magazine craze. It could carry 13 rounds at a time when most other 9mm pistols held about eight. The FN P35 had been only around a few years when the German Blitzkrieg overran Belgium. Logically, they told the FN factory to go right on making firearms, which they then issued to their desperately needy Wehrmacht. The only change made in those firearms was the Nazi markings stamped on them2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=39http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=39alike but different. The Nazi marked one is blued but exhibits the poorer finish they received as the war dragged on. Its rear sight is a simple fixed blade dovetailed into the slide. The Canadian P35/HiPower has a Parkerized type finish and a tangent rear sight that can be elevated to 500 yards. I’m glad I bought both. Another? But, before the Hi-Powers I latched onto yet another WWII 9mm — the famous P38, which meant to Germans Pistole 1938. They adopted it on the eve of WWII to replace the Luger, although manufacture of P08s continued until at least 1942. The P38 was designed by the famous Walther Company but made by at least three manufacturers during WWII. Mine carries the code byf43, meaning Mauser made it in 1943. Like the Luger before it, the P38 has an 8-round magazine but a 5" barrel instead of the 4" of the Wehrmacht’s P08. Also, an innovation in 1938, it was the first full-size, military handgun capable of a double-action first shot. My P38 shows a bit of holster wear but is otherwise perfect condition, and to my great joy shoots to its sights for windage and perhaps just a tiny bit low at 25 yards. I’m really glad I bought it too! While this 9mm pistol buying was ongoing I was experiencing what my friends described as “Duke’s Descent Into Submachine Gun Madness.” That was because I sold off over 50 little used guns and bought six WWII and Korean War vintage submachine guns. I’ve already written about a few of them in these pages but haven’t mentioned much about my 9mms. Of course the first was the MP40, and it got me going on the entire genre. The MP40 has no wood involved, a folding stock, and 32-round stick magazine. As is usual for them, the British entered a war ill prepared and were desperate for firearms. First they bought hundreds of thousands of American made Thompson submachine guns. In 1940 the Thompson cost the US Government $209 each. Duke’s FN-made P35 Hi Power 9mm, made circa 1944, would have been issued with this type of holster also carrying a spare magazine. that anyway). What I do know is the Brit Mk II was a pleasant surprise. It only weighs six pounds and to the best of my knowledge the next lightest WWII submachine gun was the American M3 “grease gun” at about 2-1/2 pounds more. While the Sten Mk II doesn’t have a folding stock, its stock can easily be dismounted and remounted. That means it was easy to pack up and ship via parachute to various resistance organizations in Europe who were also fighting the Nazis. Duke’s 9mm Shooting My 9mm shooting is simple. I set up a Dillon Square Deal B press for one powder charge but use several different bullets and any brand of cartridge case and primer I can scrounge. The powder charge is 4.3 grains of Hodgdon’s HP38 pistol powder. The bullets are 115- and 124-grain FMJs from any manufacturer. I’ve been using Hornady and Sierra predominantly. Being a cast bullet shooter I’ve also poured my own from linotype alloy in RCBS mould 9mm-124RN, a gaschecked, 124-grain roundnose bullet that shoots nicely from my pistols when sized .356". Since fitting gas checks is a time consuming process not too many of my own homemade cast bullets get fired through the full autos, although they function just fine. (I tried them just to see.) What the subguns get fed are Oregon Trail’s 124-grain plain base, roundnose bullets, with a Brinell Hardness Number (BHN) of 24 while linotype’s is nominally 22. The submachine guns seem to love them and roar through the cast bullet loads with nary a hitch. And that’s my take on the historical 9mm. For someone who grew up on big-bore revolvers, it may seem ironic, but in the past year I’ve handloaded and fired more 9mm rounds than anything else. In doing so I’ve come to appreciate the 9x19mm/9mm Luger/9mm Parabellum’s history. It may not be an impressive manstopper, but it sure has been around a long, long time. The P38 9mm, made in 1943 at the Mauser factory for the Germany Army, was the first of the big-bore double-action autos featuri2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=40http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=401 (And EvEry womAn’s) 2 EvEryman’s GamE DAVE ANDErSON PHOTOS: CHUCK PITTMAN UsPsa Production Division nly a small percentage of shooting enthusiasts O ever try competitive shooting. Should you try it? Competition is fun, it can teach several 3 valuable shooting lessons, and it doesn’t have to be expensive. I’ve been a life member of the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) for many years. USPSA is the USA’s representative of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC), both great organizations. When I shot my first IPSC match about 1980, practical shooting competition was primarily a handgun sport. Handgun competition still predominates, but “3-gun” matches are rapidly increasing in popularity. 1) Mike Hughes, Production division Grand Master, engaging multiple targets at high speed with his Glock 9mm. Note three empty cases above his pistol. 2) Randi Rogers, 2008 USPSA ladies Production division national champion shoots a near-stock Glock 34 9mm. The only change from stock is the sights. These are designed by Dave Sevigny and made by Warren. 3) Jessie Abbate is the 2008 USPSA Ladies Limited Division national champion. Her Glock 24 .40 S&W, with 6" barrel, has only a few custom touches such as an ICE mag well, Warren sights and a match barrel. Why should you join USPSA? You will learn to handle a firearm safely and competently. USPSA isn’t concerned whether you become a Grand Master, or just shoot a couple of club matches a year with your buddies. But they care very much about firearm safety. The splendid safety record of practical shooting competition didn’t just happen. USPSA long ago developed rules and procedures to ensure the safety of spectators, match officials and competitors. Rules are strictly enforced. G35 (G34) Safety skills such as Maker: Glock Inc. muzzle control become 6000 HIGHlands Parkway ingrained habits under sMyrna, Ga 30082 the watchful eyes of (770) 432-1202, www.Glock.coM officials, instructors actIon tyPe: Locked breech, and fellow competitors. semiauto On a public range I can calIber: .40 S&W, (9mm) watch a shooter for a caPacIty: 15, (17) couple of minutes and barrel lenGtH: 5.32" have a good idea if he overall lenGtH: 8.15" is a competitor just by how loads, holsters, and weIGHt: 24.5 ounces, unloads his pistol. (22.92 ounces) My first lessons in FInIsH: Tenifer firearm safety were sIGHts: Fixed 3-Dot from my dad and my GrIPs: Polymer, integral grandfather. Dad had PrIce: $679 been the best shot in WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 2009 402009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=41http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=41M625 his unit of army recruits during WWII. Grandfather Maker: s&w 2100 roosevelt avenue was a firearm instructor sPrInGFIeld, Ma 01104 for the last year of WWI, (800) 331-0852 after being twice wounded www.sMItH-wesson.coM in action and certified as actIon tyPe: Double medically unfit for further action revolver combat duty. Believe calIber: .45 ACP me, they enforced high caPacIty: 6 standards. I’m sure neither barrel lenGtH: 5-1/4" ever heard the expression overall lenGtH: 10-1/8" “zero tolerance,” but they weIGHt: 42 ounces didn’t need to. I’m from a generation FInIsH: Stainless steel preceding mandatory sIGHts: Fully adjustable hunter safety, so it was GrIPs: Hogue rubber quite a few years before I PrIce: $1,365 decided to take the training and get my certificate. Among the people I truly respect and admire are the thousands of volunteer hunter and firearm safety instructors who give their time to train the next generation of safe hunters. Bless them all. Practical shooting competition doesn’t replace this solid basic grounding. It provides the opportunity to drill in safe gunhandling skills to the point they become second nature. It’s the difference between driving with an instructor and actually driving for a few years. When shooting a match you are watched every second by a trained and observant range officer (RO). IPSC-trained ROs in my experience are outstanding. They are not out to embarrass or humiliate anyone — they want you to have every opportunity to turn in your best performance. At the same time they are inflexible when it comes to safety. Any unsafe gunhandling, such as pointing the muzzle in a direction deemed unsafe, results in immediate disqualification. Good habits stick with you, and they get noticed. On a recent African hunting trip, when returning to the truck from a stalk, after checking to see there was no cartridge in the chamber of my rifle I would always have the tracker or professional hunter (PH) check as well before sliding the rifle back in its scabbard. After a few days the PH commented that of the hundreds of clients he had guided this was only the second time he had seen that done. He appreciated it very much. He also commented that if he saw any muzzle control laxness during the initial “check your sights” session, he wouldn’t let the client carry the rifle while stalking. It would be carried by the PH or tracker, or else the hunting would be done from a blind. Competition, and the practice hours necessary to compete well, make you a better shooter. Spare me the sneers about how USPSA just isn’t tactical. Shooting skill is not a tactic, though it can be a component of tactics. Tactics are important, but so are shooting skills. Learn to get the gun out of the holster (and back in the holster) without accidentally shooting yourself. Learn to hit the target on demand. Learn to reload smoothly. Learn discipline. A top instructor once told me most shooters do not have the discipline to shoot 10 straight A-zone hits on demand. I asked at what distance and he replied. “at any distance.” If you want to become a good shot you first have to learn what good is. I suspect the majority of shooters have never seen really good shooting. Some have unrealistic movie/TV expectations of shooting guns out of hands at a 100 yards from 1) Competing at the 2008 USPSA nationals in Revolver division, Ricardo Lopez reloads his S&W 625 in .45 ACP using full-moon clips. 2) The S&W 625 revolver in .45 ACP is popular for revolver competition as it is accurate, reliable, and can be reloaded quickly using moon clips. Lopez wears a CR Speed Holster by Rescomp Handgun Technologies, www.rescomp.co.za. WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 1 2 412009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=42http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=42(And EvEry womAn’s) UsPsa Production Division EvEryman’s GamE 42 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=43http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=43WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 432009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=44http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=44XdM Maker: Hs Produkt d.o.o. M. boGovIca 7, 47000 karlovac, croatIa IMPorter: sPrInGFIeld arMory 420 west MaIn street Geneseo, Il 61254 (309) 944-5631 www.sPrInGFIeld-arMory.coM actIon tyPe: Locked breech semiauto calIber: .40 S&W, 9mm caPacIty: 16+1, 19+1 (9mm) barrel lenGtH: 4.5" overall lenGtH: 7.5" weIGHt: 32 ounces FInIsH: Stainless slide, polymer frame sIGHts: Fixed 3-dot GrIPs: Polymer, interchangeable backstraps PrIce: $749 the hip. Others think because they once shot at a rock a long way off and raised dust darn close they must be world class. At matches they keep track of time and hits, and they write it all down. They post the scores and you see how you compare. Some people don’t want to know. They would rather kid themselves. It always astonishes me how generous shooters are with their hardwon knowledge. Most will gladly share information with anyone who genuinely wants to learn. Just don’t ply them with questions while they are getting ready to shoot a stage. Best Shots There are a lot of good shooters around these days. It used to be southern California had most of the top shooters, and it still has plenty. Arizona is another hotbed of talent. Several of the very best can be found at Fort Benning, Georgia, with the Army Marksmanship Unit. But in almost any part of the country there are Master and Grand Master level shooters to watch and emulate. That leads to another benefit of USPSA competition, the opportunity to compete alongside the very best. You can be a darn good golfer and never have the slightest chance of teeing it up with Phil Mickelson. But you don’t have to be a great shooter, just a safe shooter, to compete in the same match as the greats like Max Michel, Travis Tomasie and Chris Tilley. A cynic might say these guys aren’t at the same level as celebrity athletes. Wrong. They don’t make as much money, and they aren’t household names, because the shooting sports just don’t have the national audience of golf or tennis. But the top shooters are absolutely world-class athletes. Their level of skill, mental discipline, and competitive drive are incredible. It never hurts to hang out with the best. Past national champion Kippi Leatham (above) reloads her Springfield Armory Limited division pistol during a stage at the 2008 USPSA nationals. Her pistol is a 1911 style. The Springfield XD is gaining a following in Production division. The Springfield Armory XDM in either 9mm or .40 S&W is also a good choice for the beginning USPSA Production Division shooter. Proving Ground The competition arena is a tough proving ground. Any weaknesses in equipment becomes evident in short order. USPSA shooters want good equipment and they know where to find it. Members will help you find a gunsmith to clean up the trigger on your pistol, or install fiber optic sights you can actually see, or advise on extra magazines, holsters, shooting glasses, earmuffs, magazine carriers, bullets and primers. You’ll get good advice on selecting a reloading machine, maybe a chance to join in bulk purchases of reloading supplies at discounted prices. When I started competing in 1980 I could still be competitive, and even win occasionally, with a box-stock Colt 44 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=45http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=45Gold Cup .45. That was about the time when innovative (and usually expensive) concepts began being introduced. A fullhouse gun was already an expensive item, what with match barrels and accuracy jobs, slide/frame fitting, sights, trigger work, extended this and that, frame checkering, Then came barrel weights, expansion chamber compensators, multiple chamber compensators, the .38 Super cartridge, and finally the biggies, optical sights and high-capacity frames. During this era all guns competed on an equal footing. If you were serious about winning it became a case of spending a couple of thousand every year or so just to keep up. There’s no doubt the expense kept many shooters from trying the sport. Production Division Limited division was an important step, though a full-house, custom Limited pistol is still not an item purchased lightly. One of the best things USPSA ever did USPSA Production Division The Pact timer, often an unsung hero, is one of the workhorses of competition shooters across the spectrum of the shooting sports. In Delay Mode, it can be used by an individual. The timer displays the number of shots and time between shots, from first to last. In Review Mode, it shows incremental times from the first to the last shot fired. Better still, at a retail of $129.95, it is an affordable way to help you fine tune your skills. (From the USPSA Rulebook) Handguns can be revolvers or autopistols, standard production models with at least 2,000 units produced. Minimum caliber is 9x19/.38 caliber and minimum power factor (weight x velocity divided by 1,000) is 125. Maximum of 10 rounds loaded in the magazine after the start signal. Standard notch-and-post iron sights, no optical or electronic sights allowed. No barrel porting or compensators allowed. Holsters must be suitable for everyday use. Only minimal after-purchase work allowed, such as sights, polishing and fitting, grips if of factory style. No modifications intended to reduce recoil (weights, for example). No magwell attachments or external flaring of the mag well. No single-action only handguns (1911 style, for example). IMPortant GuIdelInes was to introduce Production division. More than anything, Production division leveled the playing field. Production division is an arena for most of the splendid service pistols coming along in the last couple of decades. If you are interested enough in firearms to be reading this magazine, there’s a good chance you already own a suitable pistol. If you’re a law enforcement officer you can probably compete with the equipment you wear on duty. Don’t know what to buy? Join a USPSA-affiliated club and you will likely find shooters with all the popular models. You’ll get to see, and maybe shoot, more models than you dreamed even existed. Agree to provide the ammunition (or let them use your gun in exchange) and most will let you take their gun around the track for a lap or two. Beretta, Glock, SIG SAUER, S&W, Springfield XD, Taurus — try them all and find the one that feels just right. The intent of Production Division is to promote the use of standard production handguns such as those often chosen for police duty and personal defense, and to prevent the “equipment race” which developed in the 1980s and 1990s. The 9x19 cartridge is popular due to its light recoil, though with the 10-round magazine limit there is no “high cap” advantage. A .40 or .45 could be loaded to meet the 125 power factor and would have comparable recoil, and might even gain a point or two on occasion by cutting a higher scoring line. Find a local USPSA club and check it out. Maybe you’ll find lifelong friends and an engrossing sport. Maybe you’ll decide just to practice and learn and not even compete. Either way you’ll find it worth the time and effort. usPsa P.o. boX 811, sedro-woolley, wa 98284 (360) 855-2245, www.usPsa.coM Pact P.o. boX 535025, Grand PraIrIe, tX 75053 (800) 722-8462, www.Pact.coM 45 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=46http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=46The Cimarron Spencer was a dandy platform for Hawkenstyle sporting rifle in 56-46 Spencer. Just after the Civil War, a Western-bound traveler might have picked up one of these rifles in Saint Louis, Missouri, from J.P. Gemmer, who bought out Sam Hawken. Our traveler might also have packed a Colt 1860 Army in a Slim Jim style holster and belt (here from Kirkpatrick Leather) and a knife like this one from Matt Lesniewski. Cartridge belts weren’t invented yet, so our traveler might have packed his ammo in a belt pouch or possible’s bag. LEAD PHOTO: JOSEPH R. NOVELOZO A new era was born at the close of the American Civil War. For the first time in history, the American gunsmith, long accustomed to building rifles from scratch using few store-bought parts, was presented with a huge cornucopia of widely different arms using technologies forged for war he could shape into arms more suitable for harvesting game as well as defense. The sporterized military rifle was born. Unlike previous wars, the great variety of small arms were not turned into government arsenals for rehabilitation and re-issue. There were just too dadblamed many different models shooting exotic ammo alongside the conventional muzzleloaders. The various ammunition systems tried all proved wanting save one — the metallic cartridge. The firearms thriving in this new era were ones easily adaptable to the new metallic cartridge with the pendulum eventually swinging to the centerfire reloadable cartridge, which quickly overshadowed the rimfire. The Civil War’s Sharps, Henry, Remington and Ballard all grew in form and wrote their own chapters in the expansion of the West as centerfires. The war’s most spectacular rimfire repeating rifle — the STOrY & PHOTOS: JEFF JOHN Spencer — wrote a brief, but memorable chapter before fading into history. The Spencer acquired a well-deserved reputation for strength, reliability, accuracy, dependability and rate of fire during the Civil War. Newspapers carried stirring accounts of Confederate soldiers retreating in a hail of Spencer gunfire believing they were up against a force seven times larger than it really was. The Union soldier could fire his seven shots and reload from cover while Johnny Reb had to stand and load his musket using tactics developed before the birth of this country and the battlefield evolved forever. Now, the fight could be taken to the enemy in all conditions. The Spencer didn’t misfire in rain nor did its ammunition decay in the cartridge box during a long march 46 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=47http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=47miliTary rifle. or spoil in a river crossing as did paper ammunition. The Spencer proved its worth again in the Indian Wars, most notably against Roman Nose and the Cheyenne Dog Soldiers at Beecher’s Island where 51 US Cavalry held off 600 Cheyenne, Sioux and Arapaho Indians in 1868. Despite such success, the Army surplused off the Spencer in favor of a single-shot rifle. Because of this legacy, the Spencer repeater became one of the first — and I believe the first — military rifle to see extensive customization at the hands of gunsmiths. From here on, every nation’s service rifles were fair game for civilian improvement. You can argue the vast surplus of arms captured from Napoleon after Waterloo were the first sporterized military rifles, but such WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM The magazine is loaded by removing the buttstock mag tube and dropping in seven rounds, a quantum leap in Civil War firepower, an idea embraced by post war civilians. The birTh of The sporTerized 472009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=48http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=48Spencer rifles take down easily for cleaning with the removal of the lever pivot screw. Then, the whole breechblock can be pulled down and out of the receiver. “Trade Muskets” involved little more than sawing off the barrel. Plenty of Civil War Springfields were customized by boring the barrel smooth for shot, and this was “sporterizing” in the most basic sense. Most Spencer conversions, though, often called “Buffalo Spencers” by collectors, centered around re-barreling Spencers (selling for about $20 surplus in 1869) with a heavy octagon barrel for the 56-50 or the flatter shooting 56-46 round. New Spencer Sporting Rifles cost $45 at this time (as did new Winchesters), while a Remington-made cast steel barrel “made to order” could be purchased for $5 from the Great Western Gun Works 1871 catalog. A “good iron barrel, all regular sizes” cost $1.85. Gunsmiths definitely had an incentive and while the barrels cataloged are ostensibly for muzzleloaders, it’s not inconceivable a barrel for a Spencer could be ordered. Shackles Few shops tackled making a new buttstock because of the complexities of v ne of the parameters of this redesign O of the 56-46 cartridge was the desire to form the 56-50 Starline cases in one pass through the sizing die without the need for neck reaming or trimming. Dave Kiff of Pacific Tool and Gauge made the reamer on John King’s drawings. After lubing the Starline brass with Imperial Sizing Die Wax (now owned by Redding), the cases were formed in one pass through the RCBS sizing dies with minimal effort. My initial thoughts were a hunting load with a 300-grain jacketed .451" bullet RCBS made the dies to size the Starline Brass down in one pass and at 1,100 to 1,250 they work perfectly. Few trays handle the wide 56-50 brass, but these fps. King and I chose from Huntingon Dies do. Jacketed bullets were 300-grain .451" from .451" pistol bullets Speer and cast bullets were standard .45 Colt bullets seated out. An rather than .458" original copper-cased 56-46 Spencer round is shown for comparison. rifle bullets because the short, stubby case won’t handle bullets heavier than the cannelure and get reliable function at 300 to 325 grains anyway, and pistol a length of 1.560". Sometimes the first bullets of many weights and profiles round out of the magazine would be a exist below that while there are virtually little balky, but for the most part it runs no .458" bullets weighing less than 300 fine. Let the bullet wander out just .005" grains. The trouble is, most of the pistol and it stops running entirely. Run the bullets both cast and jacketed leave little bullet out to 1.610" and it starts running leeway in seating depth and cartridge again, but is beyond the crimp. overall length is critical in a Spencer’s functioning. The Speer 300-grain Plated Flatnose looked promising as a jacketed bullet for hunting. I was just able to crimp it in If the overall length wasn’t set right, soft cast bullets under full magazine spring tension would jam and the breechblock would scrape a chunk of lead off the bullet’s nose. Traditional Keith-style semi-wadcutters wouldn’t feed a lick. This gun likes what it likes and feeding is problematic otherwise. M.L. McPherson, a specialist in lever action rifles and wildcat cartridges, worked up some of the initial loads using NECO’s QuickLoads. Keeping the pressure down to 15,000 psi, initial loads using RL-7 and Blue Dot looked the most promising for the high performance loads and good ol’ reliable Unique proved ideal for plinking loads. My initial “fun load” of 8 grains of Unique under a 250-grain .45 Colt bullet was accurate and pleasant but did not obturate the case enough to seal the chamber. Some gas blowback occurred (wear safety glasses always when shooting). 48 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=49http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=49one, I figured Gemmer wouldn’t have browned any parts if the case hardening was sound, so I left the hammer, trigger ’ve wanted a Gemmer Spencer after these guns, the otherwise decent wood of plate and lever with their case hardening owning an original 56-46 “Buffalo my Italian copy was ill fitted and actually intact. I doubt Gemmer would’ve heat or Spencer” (which looked like it was made broken inside. nitre blued any parts, but I love the look by a blacksmith and chambered with a King made the pattern for the Gemmer of highly polished nitre blue parts against drill bit), but original Gemmers cost in on my Italian stock and welded the center the flat brown finish, so my breechblock, the low five figures when found for sale of the military Spencer buttplate with all screws and keys were all nitre blued. at all. Also, as the cost of original military the magazine tube retaining hardware The brown finish is basically the old Spencers climbed, the cost of busting one to a Hawken crescent buttplate from Zischang formula as made by my friend up became prohibitive and Roger Renner. It is also only black powder should available from Track of ever be fired in originals. the Wolf. The metal was Then the Italian Spencers polished to a 220-grit came along. Since some finish, ensuring no deep Gemmers were made scratches were present utilizing the military butt, (they’ll etch deeper as I had an option if no stock the acid works). Then carver would take on the job. I simply wiped on the I’ll stop short of saying they chemical and let the gun all lit their hair on fire and ran rust. It took about a week off into the night screaming to achieve the dark brown at the prospect of carving a Jeff prefers Phil Pilkington’s method of “sanding in” to finish the wood. Said applying chemical in the Spencer stock. morning and evening. method uses the sanding dust from whiskering the wood to fill the pores and gives It so happened one of the wood a true hand-rubbed finish. Permalyn seals the action inlet from moisture. I did not card between John King’s better customers A look inside the action mortise shows some of the complexity stockmakers face. applications and let the wanted a Spencer Sporting rust slowly build for a Model built around his original coarse brown finish. All action. King opined how impossible the Track of the Wolf. King installed a 28" of the case hardening must be removed stock was to carve because of all the Green Mountain .452" barrel, 1" across for the acid to work (I learned that the parts needing to come together exactly. the breech and .865" at the muzzle, hard way). After I was satisfied with the I pointed out the originals were mass- chambered with a reamer ground by color, I washed the gun in hot water with produced during a war most likely on Dave Kiff of Pacific Tool and Gauge. a little baking soda and wiped it down waterwheel driven equipment. And every The fore-end has the twin keys favored with Rig. Oil is necessary, but don’t use a original we’ve encountered was perfectly by Hawken and Dowels on Demand corrosion fighter. They’ll try and remove fitted. provided a wiping rod of Orange Osage, the rust you’ve just spent so much time That was enough. King sat down with which gives a colorful accent to the front creating. the original Spencer and my “Spencerini” of the gun. Sights, entry pipe and steel I finished the interior of the stock’s as he dubbed it, and figured out how rod tip were from Track of the Wolf. inletting with Permalyn and gave the they were made. It helped to look at the In preparing to do the final finish, I exterior a hand rubbed oil finish with Spencerini and see how not to make a tried to think like Gemmer might have, Pilkington’s Golden Brown stock finish, Spencer stock. For all the good work on while adding my own accents. For both available from Brownells. I getting everything to fit together right — namely the lock, sling bar, triggerplate, magazine tube and buttplate all have to line up exactly. O2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=50http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=50Feeding and ejection requires rhythm in the manipulation of the action. Even worked smoothly, the ejected cartridge often as not falls to the right and fouls the hammer. Helping to clear the spent case, the next round in line will push the cartridge guide up and pop the empty clear. The rear sight is a 5-step Hawken style from Track of the Wolf. Meant to be browned, it takes several hours to polish out for nitre blue, but the contrast with the brown finish is striking. PHOTO: JOHN KING The plinking load of regular 250-grain cast bullet fired at 50' in the indoor range proved pleasant and accurate. The hunting load of a 300-grain Speer bullet (below) delivered game-getting accuracy like this at 100 yards. This was the final group fired after filing down the front sight and working up the load. The Spencer offers a huge canvas for the engraver and originals are quite spendy. John King built this 56-46 using an original Spencer. Engraving was by Mike Gouse. softer than the transfer plate — which has been case hardened — and the pin itself has a straight shot into the primer. A spring retracts the firing pin, but it is not a rebounding pin and the Spencer should never be carried with a round in the chamber and the hammer down. Had the wood been inletted better around the action parts, I might not have gone the extra mile for a new stock. Gemmer also reworked just the front half of the gun if the customer didn’t have deep pockets. Another plus, the Italians use a modified version of the post-war Lane extractor rather than the long knife-blade extractor of the original Spencer. The Lane extractor, somewhat FurtHer readInG SPENCER REPEATING FIREARMS by roy M. Marcot, Hardcover, ©1995, 319 PaGes, well Illustrated, rowe books, ny, Isbn13: 9781884849145 50 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=51http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=51brownells 200 soutH Front street MontezuMa, Iowa 50171 (641) 623-4000, www.brownells.coM dowels on deMand 45 cHurcH ct. se MedIcIne Hat, alberta canada t1b 3y4 (403) 526-9605, www.dowelsondeMand.coM Green MountaIn barrels 153 west MaIn street conway, nH 03818 (603) 447-1095, www.GMrIFlebarrel.coM kIrkPatrIck leatHer co. P.o. boX 677 laredo, tX 78042 (800) 451-9394 www.kIrkPatrIckleatHer.coM Gouse Freelance arMs enGravInG 708 adIrondac avenue HaMIlton, Mt 59840 (406) 363-0254, www.Mtart.coM Ml knIves (Matt lesnIewskI) 2 evelyn st. aMsterdaM, ny 12010 (518) 843-7216, www.MlknIves.coM Mt. baldy bullet coMPany P.o. boX 835 cody, wyoMInG 82414 (307) 754-5255, www.Mtbaldybullets.coM PacIFIc tool and GauGe P.o. boX 2549 wHIte cIty, oreGon 97503 (541) 826-5808 www.PacIFIctoolandGauGe.coM rcbs 605 oro daM blvd orovIlle, ca 95965 (800) 553-5000, www.rcbs.coM sPeer 229 snake rIver avenue lewIston, Id 83501 (800) 627-3640, www.sPeer-bullets.coM starlIne brass 1300 west Henry sedalIa, Mo 65301 (660) 827-6640, www.starlInebrass.coM track oF tHe wolF 18308 JoPlIn street n. w. elk rIver, Mn 55330 (763) 633-2500, www.trackoFtHewolF.coM traIl creek trade coMPany, llc 10902 st. cHarles rock road st. ann, Mo 63074 (314) 739-3099 www.traIlcreektrade.coM Jeff’s Gemmer Spencer (above) has styling cues based on the storied Hawken rifle. Few gunsmiths then or now were willing to tackle the restocking of the Spencer. This Hawken Spencer (below) is an original built by J.P. Gemmer and is in excellent shape. The 56-52 caliber and straight taper barrel makes for an extremely heavy arm. Note the all-iron furniture. Photo: Lucretia T. Reeves, Trail Creek Trade (brand, bullet weIGHt, tyPe) bullet 56-46 sPencer Handloaded aMMo PerForMance Powder cHarGe velocIty GrouP sIze enerGy (brand) (GraIns weIGHt) (FPs) (IncHes) (Ft-lbs) sPeer 300 Plated Fn RL7 24.5 1,264 2-1/2 1,064 sPeer 300 Plated Fn Blue Dot* 12.5 1,090 2-3/4 791 Mt. baldy cast 250 Unique** 8 1,011 1*** 567 Notes: Groups the product of 5 shots at 100 yards. Chronograph screens set at 6' from muzzle. CCI 200 primers used. *Denotes CCI 300 primers.**Denotes Winchester Large Pistol primers, Mt. Baldy Bullets cast 20:1, SPG lubed. *** Accuracy at 50', indoor range. All loads in reformed Starline 56-50 brass. complicated, was simplified by the Italians and works very nicely. This type extractor leaves plenty of chamber wall, unlike the original M1860, and my goal of performance like a hot .45 Colt with smokeless powder was achieved. The Cartridge Reborn Cartridge nomenclature was an entirely new field, so cartridges were often named after their nominal bore size. The first Spencer cartridge was simply called the No. 56. As the round was necked down and the bore size reduced, another number was added after the 56, thus we have 56-52, 56-50 and 56-46, as the Spencer underwent experimentation at Springfield Armory. The Armory found a 300- or 320-grain 45-caliber bullet offered superior trajectory and penetration over the original 425-grain 56-caliber or the newly designed 350-grain 50-caliber. Original 56-46 ammo delivered the outside lubricated lead 300-grain .45" bullet at around 1,100 fps delivering 800 ft-lbs of energy. Alas, the generals WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM in charge couldn’t conceive of a military bullet smaller than 50 caliber and 56-46 concept was scrapped — except by Spencer. It became the standard cartridge for the firm’s sporting rifles. Though limitations in the Spencer ammo’s payload and power-to-weight proved insurmountable with black powder, modern smokeless powders improve the Spencer’s performance enough to warrant another look. With performance equal to many hot handgun cartridges along with modern expanding bullets, a 56-46 Spencer gives the hunter a unique hard-hitting game getter. Should you be intimidated by the high initial cost of the full-blown Gemmer, remember, period gunsmiths did a wide variety of front-end only conversions and your only limit is your imagination. The Buffalo Spe2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=52http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=52iamond Dot and I have reached the time of our lives when we no longer exchange gifts for any special holidays including Christmas. We have kids and grandkids to take care of and we can get just about anything we want anytime. However, I did get a very special Christmas present this past year although it arrived shortly after Christmas. Just before the 2009 SHOT Show Jason Cloessner of Lipsey’s let me know they would be offering a special run of Rugers. In itself this is not unusual as Lipsey’s is a distributor and offered many special editions from several manufacturers over the years. But this one was special — make that really Special. Jason had called to thank me for doing everything I could to keep the .44 Special alive and more importantly, to let me know one of my very special Special dreams have come true and Ruger through Lipsey’s would be producing and offering 2,000 .44 Special Flattop Blackhawks in 2009. The .44 Special has been a sixgun connoisseur’s cartridge for over a century, even though some sixgunners today still say, “why a .44 Special when the .44 Magnum is available?” Only those whose heart is in tune really understand. From the late 1920s until 1956 Elmer Keith was the main proponent of the .44 Special sixgun and several of his, both Colts and Smith & Wessons, are on display at the Elmer Keith Museum within the Boise, Idaho, Cabela’s. With the arrival of the .44 Magnum Keith’s .44 Specials were retired, however Skeeter Skelton reacted just the opposite way. He tried the .44 Magnum, deemed it too much for anything except hunting big game, and returned to the .44 Special as an everyday working cartridge/sixgun combination. Skeeter was called Home in 1988 and I have done my best to carry the torch for the .44 Special ever since. In a May 1979 article, Skeeter was able to declare “Victory D John Taffin John has been waiting pert near forever for a factory .44 Special from Ruger. Now he has two — a 4-5/8" and a 5-1/2" version. At Last” as he was able to convince Colt to return the .44 Special Single Action Army to production. I can say the same thing now about the latest Ruger. The Colt .44 Special had only been out of production for a few years. The .44 Special Ruger was promised nearly 60 years ago! Let’s back up and see how we finally got where we are today with a genuine, factory produced Ruger .44 Special Flattop Blackhawk. Mention the American firearms designer geniuses and the names which come automatically to mind are Sam Colt, John Browning and Bill Ruger. We can all argue forever who was the best, but a couple things stand out about Bill Ruger. Colt’s first effort resulted in bankruptcy, and Browning sold many of his patents to Winchester for much less than they were worth. On the other hand, Bill Ruger and his partner Alexander Sturm started with $50,000 in capital after WWII and Ruger never had to borrow money. In addition to this, Bill Ruger had an Being the impatient sort, Taffin had custom Ruger .44 Specials built long before the special run was announced. The custom .44 Specials on the left were built by Ben Forkin (top) and David Clements. 52 The Ruger .44 Special Blackhawk is being offered through Lipsey’s with both a 4-5/8" and 5-1/2" barrel. WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=53http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=53Ruger Blackhawk Sixgun Evolution at work (from left to right) are the .357 Magnum, 1955, .44 Magnum, 1956, 50th Anniversary .44 Magnum, 2006 and .44 Special Blackhawk, 2009. uncanny sense of what the shooting public wanted. First in .44 Magnum’s arrival in late December 1955. 1949 he was able to produce a .22 semi-automatic pistol at a The .44 Magnum sixgun and cartridge combination price much lower than either Colt or High Standard without was produced, basically in secret, by Smith & Wesson and losing anything in reliability and accuracy. Remington. There are many stories about how Bill Ruger Then in 1953 he revived a dead design, the single-action found out about the new cartridge, but find out he did and revolver, which “everyone” knew was dead and did it with immediately converted three of his .357 Magnum Blackhawks particular genius. He saw the demand for the return of a single to .44 Magnum. At the NRA Show in 1956 Ruger displayed action sixgun being created by the three “.44 Magnum” Blackhawks in new Model FlattoP blackHawk showing of old Western movies on barrel lengths of 4-5/8", 5-1/2", and the new medium of television. The 7-1/2". Keith told them the cylinder Maker: sturM, ruGer Colt Single Action, which ended was too short to accept his loads 200 ruGer road, Prescott, az 86301 www.ruGer.coM production prior to WWII, was and the frame was too small for the dIstrIbutor: lIPsey’s bringing collector prices and was also pressure of the .44 Magnum. He did P.o. boX 83280, baton rouGe, la 70884 expensive to shoot. Ruger slightly tell Bill Ruger he would like the www.lIPseys.coM downsized the traditional Single short-barrel version to use as a .44 actIon tyPe: Single action Action Army, chambered it in .22 so Special. calIber: .44 Special anyone could afford to shoot it, and Bill told him to pick it up at the caPacIty: 6 maintained the full-sized Colt grip end of the show, however it got on his new .22 Single-Six. This little packed up too quickly for this to barrel lenGtH: 4-5/8"; 5-1/2" sixgun would have an effect on the overall lenGtH: 9-7/8"; 10-3/4" happen, and subsequently Keith was firearms industry no one could have proved correct as Ruger decided to weIGHt: 2 pounds, 9 ounces; predicted. Since 1836, the standard do more testing and one of those first 2 pounds, 10-1/2 ounces Colt design has not changed. All its .44 Magnum Blackhawks blew with FInIsH: Blue springs are flat, while Ruger utilized a proof load. Ruger went back to sIGHts: Micro adjustable rear, ramp front coil springs in his new sixgun the drawing board and, as Keith had GrIPs: Black Eagle checkered rubber. resulting in a virtually unbreakable suggested, increased the size of the PrIce: $579 design. frame and cylinder. In the process the In 1955 Ruger went to a fullidea of a .44 Special on the original sized single action with his .357 Blackhawk. Basically the .357 Magnum Blackhawk died and, when Ruger brought out same size as a Colt Single Action, the Blackhawk utilized the a .45 Colt Blackhawk in 1970, the .44 Magnum frame was coil spring action of the Single-Six along with a flattopped used. frame with a fully adjustable Micro rear sight matched up with After 1956, Keith was no longer concerned with the .44 a ramp front sight on a 4-5/8" barrel. The .357 Blackhawk Special, however, Skeeter Skelton still wanted a .44 Special immediately became popular with outdoorsman and Elmer Ruger Blackhawk and decided to do something about it. In Keith reported Ruger’s plan to soon offer it in .44 Special and 1972 he had Bill Sconce of Miniature Machine convert a Ruger .45 Colt. As often happens something derailed “soon” — the .357 Magnum Old Model to .44 Special by re-chambering the WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM RUGER’S .44 SPECIAL FLATTOP 532009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=54http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=54cylinder and using a Ruger .44 Magnum barrel. At that time, New Vaquero. The Vaquero, which arrived in the early 1990s Skeeter did not mention the gunsmith in his article as they built on the .44 Magnum frame, was dropped and replaced by both knew what would happen and Sconce was too busy to do the new version with two major changes. The New Vaquero is these conversions. smaller and basically the same size as a Colt Single Action and Skeeter’s crystal ball has been proven right as many it also reverted back to the original XR3 grip frame. custom gunsmiths have been kept quite busy doing .44 Special Thanks to the sixgun vision of Lipsey’s, can you say conversions on Ruger .357 Blackhawks using both the Flattop Hallelujah!? Poised as I am ready to pass milepost marker 70 as produced from 1955 to 1962 and the Old Model from 1962 as I travel the vehicle of life, not too many things still excite to 1972. With the arrival of the New Model Blackhawks in me. However, I must admit I had a tough time sleeping the 1972, .357s were built on the night before I was scheduled larger .44 frame and converting to shoot the Lipsey’s .44 them to .44 Special would Specials for the first time. result in a larger and heavier Except for the larger holes in .44 Magnum-sized Special. the cylinder and barrel and In 2005 Ruger brought out the “44 SPECIAL” marking the 50th Anniversary Model on the left side of the frame, of the .357 Blackhawk. Since these sixguns look exactly the .357 has been on the larger like the 50th Anniversary frame since 1972 it would .357 Magnum Blackhawks. have been quite easy for Ruger However, the anticipation simply to use this for the of actually shooting factoryspecial occasion. I’m certainly produced Ruger .44 Specials glad they didn’t. Instead Ruger made it quite difficult for me went retro and the Anniversary to actually shut down and go Model, although built with the to sleep. New Model transfer bar action, Obviously Ruger spent is otherwise a dead ringer for These .44 Special Blackhawk are definitely candidates for the title of extra time on these Special the original .357 Blackhawk. It Perfect Packin’ Pistol. The leather is by El Paso Saddlery stamped in the sixguns. They are well is not only the same size as the fish scale pattern. finished and fitted and, unlike 1955 Blackhawk, Ruger also the original Blackhawk of went back to the original Colt 1955, this version has a steel Single Action grip frame, known as the XR3 frame, which grip frame making it an all blued steel revolver. Two versions had been lost with the “improved” XR3-RED grip frame with are offered, a 4-5/8" and a 5-1/2". As I talked to Jason at the change to the Old Model Blackhawk in 1962. Lipsey’s I asked about a 7-1/2" run also. (Some folks are The XR3-RED was slightly enlarged to provide more never satisfied and I would like to see stainless steel versions room between the back of the triggerguard and the frontstrap. as well.) He shared there would be a possibility if the first For me, all this did was give the back of the triggerguard a batch sells well. I don’t think there’s any doubt but that they running start to wrap my knuckle. I have spent considerable will sell very well. time, energy and money to retrofit Old Model Rugers with I ordered up both versions for testing and looking at the the original XR3 grip frame. In 2004 Ruger introduced the shooting results I’m certainly glad I did. I normally would have gone with the 4-5/8" version, .44 sPecIal Factory aMMo PerForMance however, the 5-1/2" .44 Special has proven to be one most accurate .44s I load velocIty GrouP sIze (4-5/8") velocIty GrouP sIze (5-1/2") (brand, bullet weIGHt, tyPe) (FPs) (IncHes) (FPs) (IncHes) have ever fired. In measuring the two before shooting I found the shorter barrel black HIlls 210 rnFP 674 1-1/2 702 1-1/4 version had a trigger pull of 4-3/8 pounds buFFalo bore 255 kt 985 1 1,005 3/4 while the longer came in at 3-5/8 pounds. buFFalo bore 255 lbt 955 2-1/4 972 1 I to2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=55http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=552009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=56http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=56B igger rifle cartridges tend to be less accurate than smaller rifle cartridges. This tendency was first publicized by the late Warren Page, longtime shooting columnist at Field & Stream magazine. Page published an article in the 1968 Gun Digest called “The Bigger The Cartridge ….” about some interesting statistics from the production of Remington’s semi-custom 40X rifles. These accurate rifles were all built the same way, with the same barrels, stocks, bedding system, etc., then test-shot before being shipped. Despite all that care, 40Xs chambered for the .222 Remington consistently outshot rifles chambered for the .22-250, .308s out-shot .30-06s, and .30-06s out-shot .300 Winchester Magnums. In general this rule holds true — except, perhaps, for .25-caliber cartridges. The .250-3000 Savage has been acclaimed as a super-accurate round since its beginnings shortly before World War I, when a young Army lieutenant named Townsend Whelen tested a preproduction rifle. I have owned a bunch of .250s, ranging from old Savage 99s to several modern bolt actions. All shot well, and some shot fantastically — but not any better than the several .257 Weatherby Magnums I’ve fooled with. One of my two present .257 “Roys” is a factory Vanguard Sporter that will put three shots into half a minute of angle all the way out to 400 yards. I also just started working with a New Ultra Light Arms Model 28 weighing 6-3/4 pounds with a 3.5-10x40 Leupold. Its very first 3-shot group at 100 yards measured exactly 1/2". The powder capacity of the .257 Weatherby is almost twice that of John Barsness This big Montana whitetail was taken on Thanksgiving Day by Eileen Clarke, using a New Ultra Light Arms Model 24 .257 Roberts and a 100-grain Barnes Triple-Shock X-Bullet. 56 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=57http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=57At .250 Savage muzzle velocities you don’t need a premium 100-grain bullet for deer hunting. This big Montana mule deer doe was taken with a Winchester Model 70 Compact Carbine and a 100-grain Speer HotCor loaded to 2,800 fps. The deer dropped where it was hit. Reloading the .250 Savage, but none of my .250s shot any better than these two .257 Weatherbys. Other .25s have been just as accurate. The first big game rifle averaging three shots in 1/2" or so at 100 yards in my hands was not a modern syntheticstocked, pillar-bedded, “blueprinted” super-rifle, but the Remington 722 .257 Roberts my paternal grandmother used on pronghorn and deer in central Montana. And it would perform this WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM The accuRaTe miracle with 100-grain Nosler Partitions, supposedly not the most accurate bullet in the bunch. .25s Fine No. 1 The .25-06 isn’t any slouch. My latest rifle in this chambering is from a special run of Ruger No. 1s offered by Lipsey’s, a distribution company that makes an annual habit of special Rugers. This particular rifle has a stock of very nice Circassian walnut and a slim 24" barrel. Now, Ruger No. 1s are not known as target rifles, but the first two handloads I tried, using Barnes Triple Shocks and Nosler Partitions, grouped three shots under 3/4" at 100 yards. Then there is my .25-35, a Model 1894 Winchester made in 1898. This rifle is well-used but not abused, and even has the factory original sights on its 26" octagon barrel, a 3-leaf rear and a combination Beach front sight with an ivory bead and a globe pin. Despite light 572009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=58http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=58This pair of .257 Weatherby Magnums (above) both regularly shoot 1/2" 3-shot groups at 100 yards. On top is a Weatherby Vanguard Sporter, on bottom a New Ultra Light Arms Model 28. Kimber’s new Model 84M in .257 Roberts (below) is one of the finest rifles ever chambered for the old “Bob,” and with scope weighs around seven pounds. Handloaded aMMo PerForMance bullet Powder cHarGe velocIty (brand, weIGHt, tyPe) (brand) (GraIns weIGHt) (FPs) .25-06 reMInGton (ruGer no.1 wItH 24" barrel) barnes 100 tsX berGer 115 vld nosler 120 PartItIon GrouP sIze (IncHes) .56 .66 .72 H4350 52.0 3,316 Magnum 60.0 3,192 Magnum 59.0 3,178 .257 weatHerby MaGnuM (wby. vanGuard and new ultra lIGHt arMs M28, 24" bbls.) Magnum Magnum H1000 Magnum RL-25 Magnum Magnum IMR7828 75.0 75.0 74.0 75.0 72.0 75.0 69.0 67.0 3,420 3,409 3,376 3,510 3,276 3,515 3,315 3,290 pitting in the bore, it will group three shots in a little over an inch at 100 yards, even with my 50-something eyes behind the open sights. I have puzzled for a while about why all the .25s tend to be so accurate, and decided that, aside from light recoil, they also have more steel around the bore than rifles in larger calibers. This makes even “sporter” weight barrels stiffer, and thus more accurate. Now, it could be argued we don’t really need super-fine accuracy for the slaying of deer. That’s true. But .25s have never been just deer rifles. Even in the early years of the 20th century, when Elmer Keith lay down in the snow behind the Montana capital building in Helena and started whacking away at a coyote with his .25-35 (he eventually connected at around 600 yards), people were using .25s as dual-purpose deer/ varmint rifles. None of the .25s are exactly right for all-day shooting of smaller varmints like prairie dogs. The smaller .25s don’t shoot as flat as the 17- or 22-caliber rounds, while the bigger .25s kick too much, and cost too much in powder, bullets and burned-out barrels. But on bigger varmints, whether chucks or coyotes, the .25s work as well as any cartridges made. In fact, the .257 Roberts was originally developed by Ned Roberts as a woodchuck rifle. The .257 Weatherby is perhaps the ultimate long-range varmint rifle. My friends Marty and Casey Tillard, a father-son ranching team in Wyoming, are essentially professional coyote hunters — as well as rifle loonies. They tried about everything on coyotes before settling on the .257 Weatherby because it shoots really flat, really far, and really accurately. There are a pile of good varmint bullets in .25, but the two I prefer are the 75-grain Hornady V-Max and 85-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip. The V-Max is more explosive, so works better on smaller varmints, and in the smaller .25s. The Ballistic Tip also expands readily, but the jacket’s heavy base keeps penetrating on coyotes. Both shoot flatter and expand more reliably at longer ranges than any softpoint or hollowpoint bullet. Big Game Some he-man hunters claim the .25s aren’t really enough for big game, but my wife Eileen and I have killed dozens of big game animals out to 400+ yards with the .250 Savage, .257 Roberts, .25-06 Remington and .257 Weatherby. In fact my longest shot ever on a pronghorn was made at 430 yards with my grandmother’s old 722, and my second-longest pronghorn shot was made at 401 yards with a .257 Weatherby. (Here it probably should Hornady 100 sP Hornady 100 sP nosler 110 accubond barnes 100 tsX nosler 115 PartItIon nosler 100 PartItIon nosler 120 PartItIon nosler 120 PartItIon 58 .56 (Wby.) .50 (NULA) .98 (NULA) .59 (Wby.) .67 (NULA) .75 (NULA) .93 (Wby.) .75 (NULA) WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=59http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=59be noted I’ve never shot at a pronghorn beyond 430 yards. It is quite possible to hit them beyond 500 yards, but for me much of the fun in pronghorn hunting is the stalk, not the shot, the reason I’ve taken far more “goats” at under 200 yards than over 300.) Eileen and I have also taken several big whitetails and mule deer with the various .25s, all of those also 1-shot kills. If the .25s are inadequate for deer, we haven’t seen it, and neither have the deer. Advantage Supposedly one advantage the .25s have over the .243 is bullets weighing up to 120 grains, rather than the 105 or so maximum in the 6mms. I’m not so sure. The big advantage of heavier bullets would be in penetration, and the 100-grain Nosler Partition and Barnes Triple-Shock X-Bullet provide plenty of penetration. One of the most spectacular examples occurred on a pronghorn hunt in central Montana, within an hour of my grandparents’ old homestead. Eileen and I found a nice buck trailing a herd of does. She had already filled her tag, so I went prone and used the scope’s reticle to estimate the range at 300 yards. The big buck was pushing the herd away from a smaller buck, which also had designs on the does. When the big buck stopped, I held behind his shoulder and shot. When the .257 Roberts came down out of recoil, the buck was also down. “All right!” I said. Eileen said, “you shot him in the butt.” “Nah, I couldn’t have.” But she was right. In the nanosecond after I pulled the trigger, the buck had whirled to face the smaller buck. The 100-grain Partition struck him in the right hip, then traveled the length of the buck before stopping in the left shoulder. He was just as dead as if shot broadside, and luckily the tough little bullet hadn’t shot up much of the fine meat. Even the .25-35 does fine with 100-grain spitzers, loaded to about 2,500 fps. Of course we shouldn’t use such a load in tubular magazines (though they’ll work fine even there when only “two-loaded,” one in the magazine and one in the chamber). However, not all .25-35s are tube-magazine lever rifles. My friend Janene Caywood hunts with her late father’s Savage 99 .25-35 using handloads with 100-grain Partitions, and has taken a lot of antelope and deer with the combination. A 115-grain Nosler Partition at more than 3,000 fps is plenty for open-country mule deer from the .25-06. Eileen Clarke took this New Zealand feral goat with a New Ultra Light Arms Model 24 in .257 Roberts and a 115-grain Berger VLD handloaded to 2,900 fps. Newton’s Baby The .250 Savage is the only real problem .25 to handload. It’s not the cartridge’s fault, but the 1:14" rifling twist in older .250s designed around the original 87-grain factory load. This bullet WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 59 592009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=60http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=60weight was chosen by the Savage firm over the protests of Charles Newton, the .250’s designer. Newton had a 100-grain bullet in mind, but with the powders of the day (and even today) it was much easier to get 3,000 fps with an 87-grain bullet and, in 1912, the marketing possibilities of 3,000 were too much to pass up. So the cartridge was introduced as the .250-3000, the first commercial cartridge to achieve that speed, with a 1:14" rifling twist, just fast enough to stabilize 87- to 100-grain spitzers. Eventually the 100-grain bullet became standard, and is the only factory load made today. While 1:14" barrels work fine with shorter 100-grain spitzers, such as those made by Sierra, Speer and Hornady, they can be marginal with longer 100-grain bullets such as either the Nosler Partition or Ballistic Tip, plus the Barnes TSX. Some older rifles won’t even stabilize the shorter 100s. Among the several Savage 99s I’ve owned in .250, one was a takedown I discovered (after much agony) actually had a 1:15" twist. The longest bullet that rifle shot accurately was the 87-grain Speer, the shortest 87-grain spitzer made. The 99 Many Savage 99 purists look at 99s made after 1960 in the same way pre-’64 Winchester Model 70 users look at post-’64 Model 70s. The lone exception is the straight-gripped 99A in .250 — because it has a 1:10" twist barrel. I am on my third 99A, mostly because somebody has always offered me more money than I paid for my last one. Ultimately, however, the barrel’s twist doesn’t really matter, because the .250 Savage is at its best with 100-grain bullets loaded to 2,800 fps or so, just as Charles Newton intended. At that muzzle velocity, “non-premium” bullets work just fine. There’s no reason to try to make the .250 into something it isn’t — and I speak from personal experience. If you want more zip from a .25, buy a bigger one in the first place. With the rest of the .25s, the real advantage of 110- to 120-grain bullets is resistance to wind-drift, a frequent problem on the Western plains. Here, a really high ballistic coefficient spitzer drifts noticeably less than any 100-grain bullet, and trajectory is just about as flat to 500 yards. These heavier bullets also might be the best choice if you want to use a .25 on game bigger than deer — though I have known several hunters who’ve taken black bear and elk with various .25s and 100-grain bullets. These men and women are all good hunters and good shots who know the major “secret” of killing power is putting the bullet in the right place, an easy thing to do with any of the .25s. The old .25-35 in the Model 1894 Winchester (top photo) is still a very effective deer cartridge within 200 yards, and very accurate too. This Savage Model 99A from the 1970’s has a 1:10" rifling twist, so will stabilize just about any modern 25-caliber bullet. Handloaded aMMo PerForMance .25-35 wcF (wIncHester 1894, 26" barrel) bullet Powder cHarGe velocIty GrouP sIze (brand, weIGHt, tyPe) (brand) (GraIns weIGHt) (FPs) (IncHes) sPeer 75 Fn VV120 25.5 2,808 1.31 Hornady 100 sP Varget 26.0 2,434 1.08 Hornady 117 rn Big Game 30.0 2,150 1.37 .250-3000 savaGe (varIous rIFles) Hornady 75 v-MaX RL-15 38.0 3,107 .65 (22" bbl.) nosler 85 ball. tIP IMR4895 35.0 2,934 .94 (20") sPeer 87 Hot cor RL-15 37.5 3,015 1.75 (24") sPeer 100 Hot-cor IMR4895 33.0 2,771 1.28 (20") Hornady 100 sP RL-15 33.0 2,766 .94 (22") Hornady 100 sP Big Game 36.0 2,866 .89 (20") Hornady 100 sP Varget 35.0 2,803 .95 (20") nosler 115 PartItIon H4831 40.0 2,655 1.34 (22") Hornady 117 rn Big Game 33.0 2,595 2.00 (20") .257 roberts (varIous rIFles) sIerra 75 HP IMR4350 46.0 3,495 .56 (24") Hornady 100 sP IMR4350 47.0 3,082 1.02 (24") barnes 100 tsX Hunter 47.0 3,153 .67 (24") berGer 115 vld Big Game 41.0 2,878 .88 (24") nosler 115 PartItIon H4350 44.0 2,925 .75 (22") nosler 115 PartItIon H4350 44.0 3,052 1.31 (24") nosler 120 PartItIon Magnum 50.0 2,890 .66 (24") 60 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=61http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=61SPECIAL WEAPONS For a single, precise shot to resolve a situation, it has to be fired from a special weapon. Enter the Savage LE Series. Special weapons. Exceptional accuracy. savagearms.com .223 55 GRAIN BDC DIAL THE EASIEST WAY TO ACCURIZE YOUR AR INTRODUCING THE NEW MARK AR™ SERIES FROM LEUPOLD. Available in 3-9x40mm or 1.5-4x20mm models with multiple reticle options, each with laser-engraved 55-grain .223 BDC dials, starting at $279 msrp. Other BDC dials available through the Leupold Custom Shop. WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 612009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=62http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=62INTERNATIONAL VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS RIGHTS WATCH • DAVID CODREA • Products For The Precision Shooter Holder SHowS Hand Too Soon bama to seek new assault weapons ban,” declared “O the ABC News headline. among drug cartels along the border.” “Some recent Mexican army and police confrontations with drug cartels have resembled small-unit combat, with cartels employing automatic weapons and grenades,” the report continued, quoting a recent State Department travel warning. Curiously, just what in blazes full autos and grenades have to do with banning semi-automatics was not asked. This is, after all, ABC News. Still, Holder’s disclosures were not left unchallenged, and by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of all people. “Pelosi throws cold water on weapons ban,” read the next day’s headline from The Hill. “On that score, I think we need to enforce the laws we have right now,” she said. Seemingly forgotten is Pelosi’s opposition to expiration of the old ban and support for “intelligent legislation to handle guns,” both matters of public record. But also quick to decry the move was the Americans Hunters and Shooters Association’s Ray Schoenke (See “Beware of Moles,” Jan. 2006). “This type of legislation will only disillusion the millions of law-abiding gun owners who voted for Barack Obama, believing that he did indeed support their right to own firearms,” he wrote in an open letter to Holder. This, of course, doesn’t square with Schoenke’s prior assertion, reported by The Columbus Dispatch in 2006, that “No one needs an assault weapon. We’re being manipulated. A ban attempt is coming. It’s just a question of when, not if. Holder simply played his cards too soon. Visit David Codrea’s online journal The War on Guns at waronguns.blogspot.com. Our catalog is loaded with the highest quality products for precision shooters. We specialize in reloading equipment, cleaning and maintenance tools, shooting rests, and gunsmithing accessories. Call or e-mail our technical staff for friendly, knowledgeable customer service. Free Full Color Catalog support@sinclairintl.com 800-717-8211 www.sinclairintl.com GUNS 2009.indd 1 2/11/09 3:26:55 PM www. 62 The source of this ominous information was Attorney General Eric Holder. “As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons,” he elaborated. Campaign followers will also recall Obama promised, per The Wall Street Journal Washington Wire, “If you’ve got a gun in your house, I’m not taking it. Even if I want to take them away, I don’t have the votes in Congress. This can’t be the reason not to vote for me. Can everyone hear me in the back? I see a couple of sportsmen back there. I’m not going to take away your guns.” “I know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne,” he’d been quoted in an earlier ABC report. Some of us were not surprised, pointing out language from his campaign’s “Urban Policy,” which has since been transferred to the White House Web site. “Obama and Biden … also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent,” we were promised. Banning an entire classification of firearms owned by millions of Americans? That’s “just a few gunrelated changes”? Besides, how does a blanket ban that affects us all distinguish between what works in Chicago and Cheyenne (assuming gun control “works” in Chi-Town)? And what compelling reasons are given for renewing the ban? Again, per ABC: “Holder said … it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=63http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=632009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=64http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=64Clearing THe Tangi Valley arm attempt to strike fear into the local population, officials said. C oalition forces cleared one of its most troubled insurgent hotspots during a 3-day operation wrapping up last March. Hundreds of troops went deep into the Tangi, a valley of narrow roads and steep cliffs along the Logar River through the southeastern part of Wardak province opening into Logar province. The area had seen few coalition forces after a small US military team was brutally attacked and four killed there last summer. Shortly after the first few Soldiers with the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team arrived in February, they sent a little larger than platoon-sized team into the valley. The troops were blasted by roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and rifle fire. Remarkably, no one on the patrol was killed. But, only days afterward, two local boys who had talked with coalition leadership during the mission were dragged from their homes and killed. It was a strong- Lt. Col. Kimo Gallahue, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment commander, talks to the Afghan National Army brigade commander during clearing operations in the Tangi Valley in Afghanistan’s Wardak province, March 7, 2009. Forces pushed deep into the valley, which has long been an insurgent hot spot. Photo: Fred W. Baker III Lt. Col. Kimo Gallahue, battalion commander for the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, runs coalition efforts in Wardak. He is a tall, sturdy Army Ranger, a combat veteran and well-versed on the threat here. He had talked to the boys on that first trip. “That type of action is murderous. It’s meant for intimidation of the population. So you can see why, when given the alternative of security and better governance, the people want it,” Gallahue said. The Tangi Valley is a fertile breadbasket. Snow and rain runs off the mountains into a valley of apple and pomegranate orchards. Just off of Highway 1, south of Kabul, the valley boasts one of the few paved roads in the region. But, the narrow road and high ridges make it ideal for an insurgent defense. Once entering the valley, there is nowhere to go except deeper in along its winding road flanked by small villages jutting from the hillsides. Vehicles traveling the road are easy targets, and roadside bombs are routinely buried along the 15-kilometer route military officials dubbed “IED Alley.” For three days, Soldiers cleared the route, walking the road and through the villages and fields. It was slow, tedious work as, step by step, anything found suspicious was cleared. Two companies of Afghan National Army soldiers, partnered with their French mentors, moved side by side with US forces. Afghan National Police led the searches of suspects’ homes. “It’s nerve-wracking. You have a lot of things going on at one time,” said Staff Sgt. Erik Bonnett, who was on his fourth deployment2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=65http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=65to Afghanistan and leading the dismounted clearing operations for the 2-87th. “The worst part about it was the physical part. Being up this high with all the gear we wear, it starts to get to you.” The valley sits just under 8,000' above sea level. alert for their biggest threat — small-arms fire or rocket-propelled grenades launched from the nearby rooftops or ridgelines. An Apache gunship provides air support for coalition clearing operations in a village in the Tangi Valley in Afghanistan’s Wardak province, March 7, 2009. The operation was a massive show of military muscle new to the area with the recent deployment of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team. Photo: Fred W. Baker III Lt. Col. Kimo Gallahue and Command Sgt. Maj. Andy Spano, with the 10th Mountain Division’s, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, watch clearing operations in the Tangi Valley in Afghanistan’s Wardak province, March 7, 2009. The battalion pushed to clear the area that has seen few coalition forces in the past year. Photo: Fred W. Baker III Sgt Bonnett’s troops were looking for “snail trails” — markings on the ground where wires run. They also looked for fresh tracks or areas where no grass was growing because of digging. They were always on Three bombs were found along the route. It took Soldiers nearly a half day to dig out a large propane tank, believed to be filled with explosive, from underneath the road. Once the tank was uncovered, a second wire was found leading from it to where officials believe a second bomb was buried deeper. Rather than take any more time to unearth the second device, officials chose to explode it place and repair the road. There were not any direct attacks on the forces this time, which military officials said was a promising sign. Forces stopped in each village to talk to the people. Gallahue and others said on this trip the villagers were more receptive. Some waved at the convoys, and others milled about. In February, they mostly hid in their homes. Gallahue was optimistic when he spotted an old man walking down the road. “That’s a good sign,” he said. If people are out, then the likelihood of an attack is less, he explained. Most know when the enemy fighters plan to strike. The commander said, for the most part, the people in the Tangi are tired of the fighting. “There is a certain amount of war-weariness in the population, and they’re ready for security,” he said. “Gallahue called the fight here a “true counterinsurgency,” and said it could not have been accomplished with the few troops here before. Effective counterinsurgencies are people-intensive, he said. — Fred W. Baker III, American Forces Press Service2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=66http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=662009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=67http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=67inSurgenT CaCHeS deSTroyed Private Brendan Bottalico, manning the F89 machine gun provides cover as members of his platoon move out to check ruins suspected of containing insurgent weapons caches, during Operation Tura Ghar in the Baluchi Valley, southern Afghanistan. An Afghan camel train (below) passes an Australian patrol during an operation searching for insurgent weapons caches in the Baluchi Valley, Oruzgan Province. Photos: ADoD. “Aussie” Austin an engineer who specialises in explosive ordnance, carefully checks an insurgent weapons cache discovered in the Baluchi Valley, southern Afghanistan. Photo: ADoD he 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force is successfully identifying and removing insurgent caches throughout its area of operations in the Baluchi Valley, southern Afghanistan. One such discovery was as the result of a patrol conducted by members of Combat Team Tusk, supported by Engineers from the 1st Field Squadron. The patrol searched a number of abandoned buildings, discovering a significant collection of ordnance, which was later destroyed by the engineers. The discovery and removal of such caches takes dangerous weapons out of the hands of the insurgents, denying them the opportunity to use the weapons against coalition and Afghan forces and also removing a dangerous threat to the local national population. — Courtesy AdoD T O N L Y $2 4 .9 5 Tales and Twists Of The Old West This book brings to life the history, spirit, character and contradictions of the Old West, while recounting the dramatic history of its legendary firearms. The spectacular photographs, frontier, tintypes and inspiring text powerfully describe the period of rapid arms development and culture change occurring between 1866-1916 and the undying Western dream. Hardback 200 color photos and drawing. 267 pages. Regular price $46.95 $39.95 (outside U.S.) by Jesse L. Hardin ON SALE $24.95 Shipping included. Allow 2 to 4 weeks for delivery To order call or visit us online at: www.gunsmagazine.com 800-628-9818 gunS MagaZine online! www.gunsmagazine.com 67 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=68http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=68JaVelin Clint Smith uch of the firearms industry and the marketing thereof today leans toward the “tactical” application of firearms. You only need to have seen how the law enforcement and tactical side of the Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show has grown over the last five years to see the tidal wave of “tactical” gear manufacturers and new products introduced on a daily basis. Many of us have been stunned by the dunking we’ve all had to take in the ocean of black “tactical” gear. In just the arena of lights and illumination tools there has been an absolute quantum leap in technology and the number of good quality products presented to the marketplace. American Technologies Network is one of these serious manufacturers who introduced a line of illumination systems under the moniker of Javelin. The Javelin flashlight series comes in at least four variations those being J169, J125, J68 and the JLD-6N with each one having a different size and purpose. M well finished in a flat black coating. The J125 produces 125 lumens of light while using a halogen lamp powered by two CR123A Lithium batteries. The locking mechanism for the light-to-rail attachment allows the light to be placed, then hand tightened and is then slotted to really tighten the light down — which is the way to do it in my opinion. The Javelin is a piece of hard use gear capable of holding up to the “tactical” world it was designed for. aMeriCan TeCHnologieS neTwork 1341 San MaTeo aVenue SouTH San FranCiSCo, Ca 94080 (800) 910-2862www.aTnCorp.CoM version returns the convenience of being able to take it right to the reloading bench and having it stay open to the information desired. lyMan reloading Handbook 49TH ediTion John Taffin yman has been an important name for shooters for well over 100 years. My connection with Lyman goes back more than 50 years when I loaded my first ammunition using the No. 310 Tong Tool. I soon added single-cavity molds for the .45 Colt and .38 Special. I soon added a reloading press and my first was the Lyman All American. Lyman has been a definite part of my shooting life especially with reloading dies and bullet molds. Lyman was not only the first company to offer Elmer Keith bullets, but also the Ray Thompson Gas Check bullets in the 1950s. My oldest Lyman Reloading Handbook was the No. 32 published in 1936. I first purchased Lyman Handbook No. 40 in 1955. I have all of the subsequent manuals, which brings us up to the latest, which is the 49th edition. The early manuals were relatively small in size and spiral-bound which allowed them to stay open easily on the loading bench. About four editions back Lyman went to a large soft cover format and we lost the convenience of the stay open manual. With this 49th Edition Lyman gives reloaders two choices, a softcover and a hardbound version. Anytime I have a choice I will always choose a hardcover over a softcover mainly for looks and duration, however with this latest Lyman Handbook the hardcover L More than 50 years have elapsed between John’s first Lyman Reloading Handbook and the newest edition. The ATN J125 Weapon Light delivers 125 lumens of white light via a pressure pad activation switch. The 1913 rail mount can be tool tightened for a more secure mounting. The J125 model I tested for this piece was set up as a weapons mounted light system capable of being mounted on a 1913 rail and having a wired pressure pad activation system. The light body is constructed using 6061 aluminum very 68 Lyman does not sell bullets or powders so their manual covers reloading information for many powders and several brands of jacketed bullets. They do, of course, offer a large line of bullet molds so their bullet designs are also included in the reloading tables. In addition to all the excellent reloading data the 49th edition also covers getting started in reloading, the basics of reloading, components including descriptions and uses for all available powders. In addition to reloading information for bo2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=69http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=692009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=70http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=70A GUNS MEDLEY • JOHN SHEEHAN • be prepared Physically. aramba! … huff, puff, “C wheez! mi amigo, huff, huff, puff. Un momento por favor! … Yo es muy consado! … ¿quantos metres nosotros walk?” “Antonio — my compadre. Yo no se? El trucke es alli! A 100 metres?¿ 150 metres maximo?” Yes, that’s right. For those of you who “no comprende Espanol,” we had marched the entire length of a football field and poor Antonio, one of my Spanish clients, was completely out of gas and wheezing loud enough to permanently damage the hearing of every elephant within a 5-mile radius. Even though my full figured Spanish friend was at least 60 pounds overweight and chain smoking five packs of cigarettes a day, I was still shocked the poor guy was nearing cardiac arrest after casually strolling 100 yards. There we were on day one of a 14-day lion, buff and plains game hunt and five minutes into the first morning my mind was already racing ahead, rethinking the entire approach to the hunt. We were going to have to build ground blinds or machans and hope we could ambush the majority of the big ticket game on his hunt quota. the beginning because your body will tell you when enough is enough. The key to success is discipline and keeping your goal in focus. I used to recommend the following motivational technique to my client’s exercise program. The Plan Cut up a hunting magazine or two or download and print some photos from the Internet. Assemble a small collection of photos of the game highest on the list of your pending dream hunt. Pocket size photos work best. Now go down to the nearest Kinko’s and have the pictures laminated. Now stick them someplace where you will see them regularly — like on the door of the fridge. Every time you go down to the kitchen in the middle of the night for that bowl of ice cream, reach for the photo of the Cape buffalo with the P-Oed wild look in his eye instead of the door handle to the refrigerator. Now look closely, contemplate how important the hunt is to you, then put the photo back under the magnet and go back to bed sans the ice cream. Time for your morning or afternoon walk? Pluck the laminated photo(s) off the front of the old ice box and put them in the pocket of your sweats. Now hit the road. About the time you think you can’t walk or jog another step, pull out the sweat covered, laminated photo and look at the big yellow eyes on that cat. Check out the gnarly scared, thick Every Safari, every hunt for that matter, will always prove to be more enjoyable if you are physically prepared. A close friend and life-long hunting partner of mine, Mark Henze (above), prepares for long walk following fresh buffalo spoor. My old buddy Antonio, shown here (below) in the old camp at Matetsi Unit 5, along with part of his hunting party and John. This is one of the rare occasions in camp he wasn’t smoking a cigarette, which of course is a “Bozo No-No” in the bush! Big $$ Think about it people. Our wheezing friend, who was and is a wonderful gentleman, was about to spend somewhere north of $25,000 to $30,000 on a big-ticket African Safari and he had not spent a fraction of one second to physically prepare himself for the hunt. Not only had Antonio not come prepared to walk even medium distances, more importantly he had extremely limited his chances of having a successful hunt. If you are embarking on the hunt of a lifetime, why not do everything in your power to enhance your chances for success? No matter how out of shape you are, check with your doctor first and then with a clean bill of health, start on a program months in advance of your hunt — just be sure to start slowly. You’ll know how much is too much in 70 bosses on that Cape buffalo bull or the lo-o-o-o-ong cork screw horns of that Greater Southern Kudu. Now put the photos back in your pocket and walk that extra half mile in honor of all of the Antonio’s out there. Their lack of preparedness allowed that record bull to add another 5" in width and another 3" to the bea2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=71http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=712009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=72http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=72JULY 2009 Classified ads $2.00 per-word insertion. ($1.50 per-word insertion for 3 or more) including name, address and phone number (20 word minimum). Minimum charge $40.00. BOLD WORDS add $1.00 per word. Copy and rerun orders must be accompanied by PAYMENT IN ADVANCE. NO AGENCY OR CASH DISCOUNTS ON LISTING OR DISPLAY CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING. All ads must be received with advance payment BY NO LATER THAN THE 1st OF each month. EXAMPLE: Closing for DEC. 2008 issue (on sale NOV. 5th) is SEPT 1st, 2008. Ads received after closing will appear in the following issue. Please type or print clearly. NO PROOFS WILL BE FURNISHED. Include name, address, post office, city, state and zip code as counted words. Abbreviations count as one word each. Mail to GUNS MAGAZINE CLASSIFIEDS, 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, California 92128. NOTE: WE NOW HAVE DISPLAY CLASSIFIEDS IN BOTH GUNS MAGAZINE AND AMERICAN HANDGUNNER. ASK FOR OUR NEW RATE CARD. (858) 605-0235. ACCESSORIES AMMUNITION APPAREL AUCTIONS/SHOWS BOOKS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES COLLECTORS EMBLEMS & INSIGNIA FIREWORKS FOR SALE GUN PARTS GUNS FOR SALE GUNSMITHING www.gunSMagaZine.CoM online Video! GUNSMITHING INSTRUCTION AT PCC. Two-year hands-on program; excellent facilities; financial aid available; VA approved. Piedmont Community College, P.O. Box 1197, Roxboro, NC 27573; phone (336) 599-1181; www.piedmontcc.edu INSTRUCTION KNIVES & SWORDS LEATHERCRAFT MILITARIA MILITARY SURPLUS MISCELLANEOUS OPTICS POLICE EQUIPMENT 72 Visit GUNS Magazin e online page for streamin g video and more fo r gun tests, reviews and extended stor ies of your favorite articles from past and current issues . WEB BLAST WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=73http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=732009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=74http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=74NEW PRODUCTS PRODUCTS BY: BY: JEff JEff MOREY MOREY NEW nEW BoLT AcTion RiFLES From NIGHtHaWK Nighthawk Custom has two new lines of custom rifles. One line is dedicated to the long-range tactical enthusiast and law enforcement professional, while the other will appeal to hunters who appreciate a fine precision-made custom rifle. The tactical rifles come with a choice of bolt-on or integral rail, both with 20 MOA for serious long-range shooting. (40 MOA available upon request) A variety of calibers, including the venerable .338 Lapua, are available. Tactical stock choice is Manner’s Composite due to strength and rigidity (65 percent fiberglass/ 35 percent carbon fiber). Triggers and Safeties are Jewel Precision. Broughton barrels with canted-land rifling are proprietary, and carry the 5c trademark, which signifies the steel has been hand-lapped. Options include: muzzlebrakes, suppressors, barrel fluting and camouflage finishes in woodland, desert or various digital patterns. Complete rifle/scope packages are available using Nightforce or Leupold scopes. LE Agency pricing is also available upon request. The Hunting Rifles feature Broughton’s 3- or 4-contour barrels, but other contours are available by special order. Barrel length can be specified by the customer. All barrels have the same consistent quality as the tactical barrels. Manner’s Composite lightweight hunting stocks are available upon request. Jewell Precision Triggers and Safeties equip every Nighthawk Custom Rifle. A wide variety of calibers are available. Finish is accomplished in-house and choices abound. Contact: Nighthawk Custom, 1306 W. Trimble, Berryville, Arkansas 72616, (877) 268-4867, www.nighthawkcustom.com, E-mail: info@nighthawkcustom.com. ThE RoTARy DiopTER SighT SySTEm From SIG Sauer Optimized for the SIG 556 rifle, this new sight system provides four site stations for accurate engagement at varying distances including CQB, 100m, 200m, and 300m, all with toolless windage and elevation adjustment. Designed to work in conjunction with the hooded front sight, the Rotary Diopter Sight System attaches to the receiver’s M1913 rail. Made of durable steel construction, this system retrofits all existing SIG 556 rifles. The front and rear sight co-witness with the SIG SAUER Mini Red Dot Sight and are optimized for M855 and M193 ammunition. The Rotary Diopter Sight System features .5 MOA (1/2") click adjustments and 34" of windage and 25" of elevation adjustment range at 100m. Contact: SIG SAUER, Inc., 18 Industrial Drive, Exeter, NH 03833-4557, (603) 772-2302, Fax: (603) 772-4795, www.sigsauer.com, E-mail: siginfo@ sigsauer.com. ThE UniTED KingDom SpEciAL FoRcES KniFE From BLaCKHaWK! The patent pending UK-SFK or United Kingdom Special Forces Knife was designed specifically for Britain’s elite Special Forces. Based upon stringent specifications, the BLACKHAWK! design team drew from the groundbreaking works of Col. Rex Applegate, W.E. Fairbairn, and Brent Beshara to create the ultimate combat dagger. The UK-SFK’s broad, symmetrical blade is precision ground from premium D-2 tool steel for an exceptional combination of edge geometry, point strength, and penetration. Its integral crossguard and distinctive full-tang handle design are borrowed from Brent Beshara’s XSF-1 dagger for outstanding strength and ergonomics. The UK-SFK comes complete with an injectionmolded nylon sheath specially designed to support vertical and horizontal wear on MOLLE gear and attachment to BLACKHAWK!’s drop-leg holster platforms. Blade length is 6.22", Overall length is 11.38". And, the blade finish can be either black epoxy coat or brushed satin. Contact: BLACKHAWK!, 6160 Commander Parkway, Norfolk, VA 23502, (800) 694-5263, Fax: (757) 436-3088, www.blackhawk.com, E-mail: cs@blackhawk.com. 74 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 20092009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=75http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=75For more New Products visit us online at www.gunsmagazine.com ThE SpEciAL FoRcES cARRy From ed BroWN ProduCtS Built for pure performance and extreme use, the new Special Forces pistol from Ed Brown has everything you need for serious performance. All the engineering, precision manufacturing, and hand-fitting the Brown family is famous for is included. A unique and highly durable Chainlink pattern provides a secure grip for severe applications. Features of this splendid pistol include a 4.25" Commander model slide and a single-stack commander Bobtail frame. The traditional John Browning design has been innovatively modified for concealed carry without effecting reliability or accuracy. With an unloaded magazine inserted, the Special Forces Carry weighs approximately 35 ounces. For the ultimate in durability, secure grip, and extreme use, an exclusive Chainlink treatment has been effected on the forestrap and Bobtail housing. This stalwart beauty also features fixed dovetail 3-dot night sights with high visibility outlines. Contact: Ed Brown Products, Inc., 43825 Muldrow Trail, P.O. Box 492, Perry, MO 63462, (573) 565-3261, Fax: (573) 565-2791, www.edbrown.com. SLip-on TAcTicAL gRip gLovES From PaCHmayr Pachmayr, a Lyman brand and the leader in recoil technology and control – has introduced new “Stretch-to-fit” Tactical Grip Gloves. These Stretch-on Grips are custom molded, for each top-selling pistol model, using flexible, ultra-soft rubber technology. This makes them ideal for the popular polymer frame handguns which have no replacement grips available. Pachmayr Decelerator material delivers proven recoil reduction and enhanced control that no other slip-on can match. These grips have the right shape and flexibility to make installation “a snap”. The distinctive ventilated side panels and contoured fingergrooves facilitate instinctive gun orientation and improved control. Individual, unique grips have been custom-designed to fit the following models: Beretta: 92 FS, M9, CZ: 75/85, Glock: 17, 20, 21, 22, 31, 34, 35, 37, S&W: Sigma, SIG: 220, 226, 228 and 229. Contact: Lyman Products Corp., 475 Smith St., Middletown CT 06457, (800) 225-9626, Fax: (860) 632-1699, www.pachmayr.com. ThE 50-cALiBER “mAnSToppER” From NortHWeSt CuStom ProjeCtILe Based on an 18th English century design, this bullet, also known as the MS-350, is constructed for spectacular expansion at modest velocities. The bullet features a straight wall profile with a tapered hex-shaped tapered hollow cavity with center post. This is the perfect bullet for reduced or even full house loads in the massive .500 revolvers. For the rifled barrel 12-gauge enthusiast, this uniquely designed bullet can also be suited up in a sabot cup with short to mid-range defense purposes in mind. Contact: Northwest Custom Projectile, P.O. Box 0127, Butte, MT 59703, (406) 723-8683, www.customprojectile.com, E-mail: info@customprojectile.com. WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 75 TWo nEW monopoDS From StoNey PoINt Stoney Point’s tradition for innovative shooting rest designs continues with these two new monopods – the new 4-in-1 Monopod and BigFoot Monopod. Both are designed to bring more stability and versatility for hunters, hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. This year, Stoney Point has upgraded the monopods with a new generation shaft made of lightweight aluminum alloy tubes. New ergonomic, dualdensity handle and graphics give the monopods a distinctive look. The 4-in-1 Monopod can be configured to serve as a hiking staff, gun rest, binocular rest and spotting scope/ camera mount. This Monopod can be adjusted from 25" to 62". The BigFoot Monopod offers the increased stability of a bipod in a monopod design. It comes with a BigFoot Basket that provides unmatched stability, particularly for tree stand and ground blind hunters. It adjusts from 25" to 36". Contact: Bushnell Outdoor Products, 9200 Cody, Overland Park, KS 66214-1734, (800) 423-3537, Fax: (913) 752-3550, www.stoneypoint.com.2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=76http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=76orth American Arms, most famous for their neat little mini revolvers, now has a “belt size” mini revolver affectionately named “The Earl,” after the NAA gunsmith who originally designed it. The Earl looks like a mid-19th century Remington cap-and-ball revolver, but the loading lever actually operates the cylinder pin to remove the cylinder for reloading. This month’s little giveaway gun has two 5-shot cylinders, one in potent .22 Magnum and the other in .22 Long Rifle. Just one of you lucky readers will soon own The Earl, which also has the upgraded grip option, belt holster and a special serial To enTer ConTeST: use your own postcard (no envelopes, please) Follow sample card to right. Mail postcard to: GUNS Magazine, goM July P.O. BOX 502795, San Diego, CA 92150-2795. Entries must be received before auguST 1, 2009. Limit one entry per household. QueSTion oF THe MonTH: I would like to see more articles on: (a) Cowboy Shooting (d) rimfire rifles (b) Historical Firearms (e) Handloading (C) Holsters and Carry options N naa earl and HolSTer number — GUNS 09. You can’t win if you don’t enter, so send those postcards in pronto, pardner. THe earl Maker: norTH aMeriCan arMS 2150 SouTH 950 eaST, proVo uTaH 84606 (801) 374-9990, www.naaMiniS.CoM aCTion Type: Single Action Revolver Caliber: .22 Mag, .22 LR CapaCiTy: 5 barrel lengTH: 4" oVerall lengTH: 7-3/4" weigHT: 8.6 ounces FiniSH: Stainless steel SigHTS: Fixed gripS: Custom rosewood Value: $424 Value oF paCkage: $541.99 PHOTOS: JOSEPH R. NOVELOZO Name Address City, State, Zip Email Address CirCle anSwer(S) To QueSTion oF THe MonTH: (a) (b) (C) (d) (e) iF i win, SHip My priZe THrougH: FFL Dealer Address City, State, Zip Phone # ( ) Store Hours: ___________ ___a.m. thru ______________p.m. Attention Deployed Military: USE STATESIDE ADDRESS! This contest is open to individuals who are residents of the United States and its territories only. Agents and employees of Publishers Development Corporation and their families are excluded from entering. Contest void where prohibited or restricted by law. Winners must meet all local laws and regulations. Taxes and compliance with firearms regulations will be the responsibility of the winners. Winners will be notified by CERTIFIED MAIL on official letterhead. ATTENTION DEPLOYED MILITARY: USE STATESIDE ADDRESS! No purchase necessary to enter. 76 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 2009 SAMPLE ONLY2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=77http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=77Need more? You’ll also feel protected with Kimber’s new “Guardian Angel” less-lethal OC response tool. The Guardian Angel PepperBlaster will not depressurize, since the patented propulsion system out-performs common pressurized canisters. With two shots available within one second, the 13' range and high speed of the 10-percent OC and 2.4-percent capsaicinoids assures penetration around glasses, into pores and membranes, causing temporary blindness, gagging and pain. KIMBER, 1 Lawton Street, Yonkers, NY 10705 (800) 880-2418, www.life-act.com www.kimberamerica.com WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 772009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=78http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=78ODD ANGRY SHOT • JOHN CONNOR • SHrap & FragS* Keep your helmet close. f universities offered degrees I in some subjects I’ve done advanced studies in, I figure I the arms dealer would be passed out and subliminal smear over people who deal people asked if they had seen him. Then in arms …. soldiers would commence door-to-door The exercise was rather quietly searches. cancelled. It’s still too soon for that A Guard spokesman explained scenario, I guess — but watch for it… troops would only knock on the doors of Whack! homes where residents were voluntary Across The Pond participants. A town meeting would be held before the drill to seek volunteers. A recently discharged British soldier, “Portions of the town” the spokesman bearing high evaluations and honorable said, “will be road-blocked and more in- combat service in Iraq, applied for an depth searches of homes and vehicles appointment to the Manchester Police. will be conducted …” As soldiers Craig Briggs, 22, said he had wanted to watch, he said, people would be a policeman all his life. A police be asked to “… open doors official urged him to join the and cupboards.” Army and get some experience A Blackhawk first. helicopter would He got the experience be employed for — and a tattoo on his overhead command right forearm. It reads and control, and to “ENGLAND” in inch-high simulate medevacs. Gothic letters. Craig was Finally, the spokesman notified he was disqualified said, the exercise for police service because his would “Culminate in tattoo could be “offensive” or the apprehension of the “intimidating” to “people who suspected arms dealer.” aren’t of English origin.” He From Connor’s personal There was no mention collection, a “whack” on didn’t have to be told which in the article of what the left of the quarter, a people it might offend. Zing! manner of hypothetical “zing” on the right, plus In Scotland, the Tayside arms were being dealt a whack and a zing of the Police announced their new to whom, or, absent a paper variety. phone number to the public qualifying declared “state with a printed card to be of emergency,” by what displayed in store windows. authority American troops would, in It featured Rebel, a cute black puppy any real incident, patrol a city’s streets slated for K-9 training at maturity. and conduct house-to-house searches Rebel was shown sitting in a police hat. for what sort of “arms dealer.” TPD folks thought it was just an eyeI wonder what the response might catching attention-getter. Of course, be of people who “don’t get the word” it sparked furious response from the on such an exercise, seeing military Muslim community. Didn’t they know roadblocks and troops knocking on doors dogs are ritually unclean and offensive while a Blackhawk circles overhead …. to Muslims? To me, folks, this is so wrong on so The cards were pulled and destroyed, many levels … I’ll leave it to you to and profuse apologies made. Scots will identify and consider them. If I were just have to get over their silly affection of a suspicious mind, I might think this for dogs … Zing! is a model “conditioning” exercise; The Archbishop of Canterbury conditioning both citizens and troops — head of the Church of England to having armed soldiers patrolling in — stunned his flock with a speech military vehicles, going door to door, suggesting Sharia law courts be enjoying the unquestioning support of legitimized for Muslims in Britain. the citizenry, searching for — firearms? Zing! Then, while England’s Christians And by all means, let’s deliver a were still reeling, Lord Phillips, the WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 2009 could easily pick up a handful of PhDs. One might be “Manual Excavation in Varied Soils.” I’ve dug fighting holes, “ranger graves,” cat-holes, slit trenches and supply caches in just about every kinda dirt, mud, permafrost, rocks, sand and loam imaginable. It’s more than just digging, y’know. There’s a lot of math and psychology involved. Did you know the speed of excavat2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=79http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=79Lord Chief Justice, admitted that five Sharia courts were already quietly but officially operating in Britain, handling civil cases for Muslims.Whack! Meantime, a national police alert was circulated, saying possible Al Qaeda operatives or their agents are busily buying up retired and surplus ambulances and emergency services vehicles. The notice was for information, not action. It would be discriminatory to question a buyer’s motives … Gee; I can’t think of any evil use these vehicles might be put to, can you? Zing! More Good News! So you think your leaking kitchen faucet is bad? Al Qaeda recently had a leakage problem worse than yours. It involved a leaky canister containing plague at their formerly secret bioterror weapons lab hidden in caves east of Algeria’s capital. Intercepted frantic radio messages revealed 40 Al Qaeda members were killed and the facility abandoned. They haven’t got this plague-bomb technology down pat yet — just wait. Whack! Good news from Iran! Osama bin Laden’s third-eldest son and heir apparent, Saad, 27, had been “detained” there since the 9-11 attacks he helped organize. Iran had been pressured to surrender him to the UN. Instead they You’ll be seein’ ’em soon on Al Jazeera TV, but I’ll bet you won’t hear a thing from our in January they have re-authorized crucifixion as an optional punishment for crimes like heresy, seditious behavior, being a Jew, and tickin’ off the wrong imam. You’ll be seein’ ’em soon on Al Jazeera TV, but I’ll bet you won’t hear a thing from our lamestream media. Whack! News From Iran They have successfully tested a surface-to-surface missile capable of delivering nuclear warheads to Israel and US bases around the Gulf. Iranian spokes-maniacs assured journalists they would only launch on Israeli and US targets — plus strikes to close the Strait of Hormuz, which carries 40 percent of the world’s oil — if attacked, or severely irritated. At the same time, the US Joint Chiefs stated they believe Iran now has enough nuclear material to make at least one bomb. The question is, who’s gonna glow first? Ain’t that comforting news? Zing! There’s more, but I gotta check the mailbox. My Stimulus Bucks should be here any day now! *Shrap & Frags: slang for shrapnel: shards and splinters from artillery rounds and bombs, and fragments: from antipersonnel novelties including hand grenades, booby traps and related goodies. lamestream media. Whack! put him under “mansion arrest,” which is like “house arrest” in sumptuous quarters with 5-star catering and a staff of servants and assistants. He kept on operating for his daddy, of course. You’ll be thrilled to know he’s been released, and is probably in Pakistan now. Zing! The leaders of Hamas — folks with whom our government may soon be holding friendly chats — announced WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 792009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=80http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=80ADVERTISER PAGE ADVERTISER PAGE JULY 2009 ADVERTISER’S INDEX The companies listed have featured advertisements in this issue. Look to them first when you are ready to make a purchase. ADVERTISER PAGE American COP Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . 73 American Handgunner Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Les Baer Custom Inc. . . . . . . 23 Barnes Bullets Inc. . . . . . . . . 17 Conetrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 CorBon/Glaser. . . . . . . . . . . . 15 DeSantis Holster . . . . . . . 21, 55 Diamond Machining Technology. . . . 10 Enemies Foreign & Domestic . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 FMG Special Editions . . . . . . 80 GUNS Magazine Subscription . . . . . . . . . . . 66 GunTalk TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Hornady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Jantz Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Kirkpatrick Leather Company. . . . . . . . 81 Hornady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Law Concealment Systems Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Leupold & Stevens Tactical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Mag-na-port International Inc. . . . . . . . . 17 Magnum Research Inc. . . . . . C4 MTM Molded Products Co. . . . . . 33 Olympic Arms Inc. . . . . . . . . 30 OneStopKnifeShop.com . . . . 22 Otis Technology Inc. . . . . . . . . 3 Pachmayr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Para USA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C2 PrOlix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 ProMag Industries . . . . . . . . 29 Rock River Arms. . . . . . . . . . . 9 S & K ScopeMounts . . . . . . . 22 Savage Arms. . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 SIG SAUER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Sinclair International . . . . . . . 62 Springfield Armory . . . . . . . . . 11, 26, 27 STI International Inc. . . . . . . 15 SureFire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Tactical Rifle . . . . . . . . . . 22, 81 Taurus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C3 Thunder Ranch Training DVDs . . . . . . . . . . 69 Tichbourne Knives . . . . . . . . . 9 USA Shooting . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Volkmann Custom Inc. . . . . . 10 Walther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64-65 Zanotti Armor Safes . . . . . . . 62 Order Your Copy While Supplies Last! ONLY $9.95 (outside U.S. $17.95) Order at www.americanhandgunner.com 888.732.2299 Mon-Fri 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. PST Call Toll-Free A LOOK INSIDE: • Improvised Weapons for Self Defense • Using Cover Properly • Non-Lethal Protection • Common-Sense Concealed Carry • Gunsite Basics • Plus Much More P.O. Box 502610 • San Diego, CA 92150-2610 80 AH_1/2HZ_PersDef09.indd 1 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 2009 3/13/09 8:38:01 AM2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=81http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=81continued from page 82 Firearm in Personal Protection. This little book is filled with no-nonsense information concerning carrying a handgun. You can go to the Internet and find all sorts of bravado, bragging and macho-ism concerning the carrying of handguns and using one in self defense. It’s all nonsense. Mas presents the reality of carrying a firearm. Most folks believe the first rule of a gunfight is to have a gun. That is not correct! Both Mas Ayoob and another of our staff writers, Clint Smith, would be the first to tell you Gunfighting Rule No. 1 is if there is any way possible to avoid a gunfight, do it. Anyone carrying a firearm for self defense who doesn’t adhere to this rule needs to re-think the whole aspect of carrying. Clint Smith founded Thunder Ranch outside of Kerrville, Texas, and a few years ago moved his operation to Oregon. Clint’s first book will be out shortly, perhaps by the time you read this, however the publishers of this magazine offer a series of DVDs under the Thunder Ranch Training Series. Currently there are six 2-disk sets available. There are certainly many fine teachers out there, however Clint Smith has to be ranked right at the top. He is witty, practical and provides a no-nonsense, commonsense approach. All of Clint’s teaching in the Thunder Ranch Training Series addresses mental preparation and proper technique, and also provides shooting demonstrations. One of the Clint’s most commonsense approaches is found in Defensive Firearms/Defend Yourself With The Gun At Hand which is based on the proposition of being able to defend yourself with whatever gun is available. Everyone doesn’t have a 1911 or pocket pistol, but the standard hunting rifle or shotgun can be quite effective in selfdefense and Clint provides information on how to do this. Other Thunder Ranch DVDs include Defensive Handgun, Defensive Revolver, Defensive Shotgun, Urban Rifle, and Defensive Tactics. All are subtitled Logical Solutions for the Real World. All of these exceptionally good instructional DVDs can be ordered at www.gunsmagazine.com. FOREIGN The Greater Depression and Civil War 2 The learning should never stop. Here are teachings from our staff writers (from left to right) Clint Smith, John Hisself, Mike Venturino and Mas Ayoob. CAMPFIRE TALES ENEMIES and traitors of the 19th century. His books provide lessons in history and use of these great old firearms, as well as reloading each particular caliber of sixgun, single-shot rifle, and levergun with black powder. The Venturino Quartet includes Shooting Colt Single Actions In All Styles, Calibers & Generations and Shooting Sixguns of The Old West, which is a sequel to the first book presenting the rest of the frontier sixguns available. Shooting Lever Guns of the Old West covers the use and loading for all the great Winchester and Marlin leverguns and, finally, Shooting Buffalo Rifles of the Old West addresses the use and loading of the grand single-shot rifles of the frontier. The third novel of the Enemies trilogy MATTHEW BRACKEN Author of Enemies Foreign And Domestic, and Domestic Enemies: The Reconquista Signed books for $20 each, S&H incl. Specify titles ordered. Steelcutter Publishing P.O. Box 65673 Orange Park FL 32065 To read 100 pages of each book and for more ordering options, go to www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com John Hisself I’ve been a teacher all my adult life, first in the classroom and then with my writings. I’ve tried to play the teacher in all of my five books. Two of these, Big Bore Sixguns and Big Bore Handguns cover the history and use of sixguns, semi-automatics, and single-shot pistols from .357 Magnum up, while Action Shooting Cowboy Style mainly looks at sixguns and leverguns from the frontier period in the same manner. All three of these are now out of print, however they can usually be located at www. abebooks.com. My latest books are Single Action Sixguns in which I have tried to cover everything from the Colt Paterson of 1836 to the grea2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=82http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=82THe learning neVer STopS Part IV: Today’s Teachers n our last session on the Old Masters it was, of course, necessary I to leave out many excellent books due to space constraints. One of those not mentioned is Pioneering Handgun Hunting written in 1965 by Al Goerg. Goerg truly was a pioneer of handgun hunting and his self-published book provided a lot of the inspiration for me. This book is not easy to find and will be quite pricey, however I believe it is worth the search and the dollars. Goerg was killed in a bush plane crash in Alaska on one of his hunting trips. There are several handgun-hunting .375 JDJ. The latter is now offered as books available by Today’s Teachers. a standard chambering by Thompson/ Major George Nonte, one of the Old Center. Anything these two men say Masters, co-authored the book, Handgun about handgun hunting is definitely Self Defense Hunting in 1975 with Lee Jurras. Friend worth listening to. Lee is still around, quite active, and also Three 21st-century handgun-hunting Hundreds of thousands of times one of the pioneer handgun hunters. books have also been authored by every year honest law-abiding citizens He also basically single-handedly personal friends. Mark Hampton has use firearms for self protection and/or revolutionized ammunition with his hunted all over the world and shares crime prevention. Jeff Cooper founded SuperVel line and was the founder of his personal experiences in Handgun Gunsite to provide proper training and the Outstanding American Handgunner Hunting published in 2002. Mark is a big was one of the first recognized legitimate Awards Foundation. He is worth fan of the scoped single-shot pistol and teachers of the art of pistolcraft and the listening to. has much to share about its use. From use of firearms for self-defense. There Another book on handgun hunting 2003 we have Clair Rees’s The Ultimate are several schools today with many going back to 1990 is Hunting For Guide to Handgun Hunting covering the teachers and we have two of the best Handgunners authored by on the staff of GUNS and two of the top handgunners American Handgunner. of this or any other time, Massad Ayoob is probably and two men who are the most prolific gun writer also personal friends, when it comes to using a Larry Kelly founder of handgun for self-defense. For MagNaPort and J.D. Jones teaching others he founded of SSK Industries. Larry the Lethal Force Institute, initiated the Stalker series writes for our magazines, and of hunting revolvers built is also the author of many on Ruger and Smith & annual publications on semiWesson .44 Magnums and automatic pistols especially. the Freedom Arms .454 One of the most important Casull while J.D. offers a books, at least in my opinion, long list of hunting calibers ever written for those who chambered in custom T/C would carry a firearm for barrels including many self defense is Massad’s In of his JDJ line of wildcat Al Goerg’s was the first book on handgun hunting (bottom) and has been The Gravest Extreme which cartridges. My two favorites followed by five more by the likes of Clair Rees, Maj. George Nonte & Lee is subtitled The Role of the are the 6.5 JDJ and the Jurras and Gary Reeder. continued on page 81 82 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • JULY 2009 hunting of large and small game. I’ll just bet Clair did not personally select “ultimate” to be included in the title. I always wonder about publishers using such words as ultimate and complete. The latter choice is especially amusing when the Complete Guide To … is so incomplete a new one comes out every year! The latest book for handgun hunters is Handgun Hunting and Hunting Handguns by Gary Reeder of Reeder Custom Guns. Gary, who offers a long list of custom GNR cartridges in both T/C barrels and Ruger revolvers, also has extensive hunting experience around the world using his custom hunting handguns resulting in much interesting and useful information to share in his book.2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=83http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=83This is no ordinary old 1911—it’s a newly engineered 21st century hot-rod designed to outperform customized .45s in accuracy, handling and reliability. And thanks to advanced metallurgy and innovative manufacturing methods, it does so at just one-third the price. Starting with our own forged—not cast—ordnance grade steel frames, slides and barrels, we machine each and every component to tolerance levels that surpass even today’s industry standards. Our skilled pistol smiths handfit and tune each gun with the nineteen custom features shown below, using quality parts that are built 100% in our own state-of-the-art factory. Then they mark the slide, barrel and frame with matching serial numbers. The new Taurus 1911. A modern classic that looks and shoots like a million bucks—but priced at just $699. Typical cost charged by gunsmiths for custom features standard on a Taurus— Full-length guide rod & reverse plug Heinie Straight Eight Sights Serrated slide rear and front Checkered 30-lpi trigger guard Checkered 30-lpi mainspring housing Checkered 30-lpi frontstrap Ambidextrous safety Beavertail grip safety with memory pad Target hammer Skeleton serrated trigger Trigger job Custom fit barrel (with gauged bushing) Custom slide-to-frame fit Polished feedramp and barrel throat Lowered and flared ejection port Custom internal extractor Extended mag release button Beveled mag well Second 8-round magazine Sub total Base mil-spec 1911 TOTAL $ 35 $ 150 $ 100 $ 50 $ 60 $ 150 $ 125 $ 120 $ 60 $ 100 $ 100 $ 100 $ 100 $ 50 $ 60 $ 75 $ 35 $ 100 $ 30 $1600 $ 500 $2100 World’s Foremost Pistol MakerTM www.TAURUSUSA.com FREE one-year NRA membership with the purchase of any new Taurus firearm.2009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=84http://fmgpublications.ipaperus.com/FMGPublications/GUNS/GUNS0709/?Page=842009-05-07T19:31:43+02:00