You Can WIn! Taurus 2".38 special +p! $4.95 $4.95 OuTsiDe OuTsiDe u.s. u.s. $7.95 $7.95 SEPTEMBER SEPTEMBER 2009 2009 HUNTER’S
New! Cleaning Kits for Hunters in RealTree® and Mossy Oak® ® Extra Brushes & Optics Care for Hunters! OTIS TECHNOLOGY, INC. The
Vol. 56, Number 9, 646th Issue 6 8 BIG BORE SURPRISE ArmaLite AR-10 .338 Federal. STORY: Holt Bodinson PHOTOS: Robbie Barrkman
84 PHOTO: JOSEPH R. NOVELOZO GUNS MaGaziNe GUN OF THe MONTH TAURUS mODEL 856 DOUBLE ACTIOIN REVOLVER! 40 44 52 56 62 44 PORTA-P
THE FINEST IN THE FIREARMS FIELD SINCE 1955 CROSSFIRE GUNS MAGAZINE JULY 2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Thomas von Rosen, CEO; Thomas
RUGE RUGER NEW VAQUERO Patented Ruger Reverse Indexing Pawl Allows for Easier Loading and Unloading SINGLE-ACTION ® ® “Old West
RANGING SHOTS • CLINT & HEIDI SMITH • SO YOU WANT A BIGGER GUN? Heidi has the answer! A big rifle in use high in the Oregon mou
ACTUAL SIZE PACK LIGHT. THE LIGHTWEIGHT P238 SUBCOMPACT All metal and under a pound; with the same reliability as a full-size.
RIFLE MAkER: G.A. PRECISION 1141 SWIFT STREET NORTH kANSAS CITY, MO 64116 (816) 221-1844, WWW.GAPRECISION.NET ACTION TYPE: Bolt
Few things stir the soul like the piercing bugle of a big bull elk, the final bell after a market rally or a brand new rifle in
RIFLEMAN • DAVE ANDERSON • CLAPPED IN IRONS Sights, that is. eafing through the Brownells L catalog recently, I was struck by t
I tried these on two Mannlicherstocked rifles, a Ruger 77 International .308 and a CZ-550 in 9.3x62. Windage adjustments are ma
well made and can be easily adjusted for sighting in. I like to keep the small diameter disk in place for range shooting and re
RIMFIRES • HOLT BODINSON • SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ArmaLite’s AR-7. hat rifle model has been produced consistently for the last
blade does have a tendency to become shiny as the barrel is moved in-andout of the storage stock. A match will blacken it in a
HANDGUNS • MASSAD AYOOB • With ammo too scarce for shooting, spend your “gun budget” in other productive ways. he panic buying
the old Second Chance match days with N-frame S&Ws Rick Devoid had worked over. Lots of traditionalist pistol shooters like eve
MONTANA MUSINGS • MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINO • PHOTOS: YVONNE VENTURINO A WEEkEND BLAST Full auto fun. hat a blast I had last W week
and this was the initial exposure to such for many of the fellows there. Having my own I did minimal shooting with them so ever
HANDLOADING • JOHN TAFFIN • LIGHT LOADS WITH IMR’S TRAIL BOSS The Sixgunner’s safe, sane, subdued sixgun shells. s it possible
No, Probably Not. Witness the destructive power of the Taurus Judge 3” MAGNUM. The most overwhelmingly successful revolver in r
IMR TRAIL BOSS HANDLOADED PERFORMANCE .45 COLT HANDLOADED AMMO COLT SAA 7-1/2" BULLET (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) TRAIL BOSS C
than under it. The result can be a squib load and an undetected bullet stuck in the barrel. When the next round is fired the re
UPONARS • GLEN ZEDIKER • CARBINE CONFIGURATION Make the handy AR handier. have been getting a whopping lot of correspondence di
as can come with an oversized bolt-stop release, backed by a standard spring and geometry may not operate as crisply or smoothl
™ • HOLT BODINSON • SURPLUS READING Buy a book or two. don’t know where I first read it or who wrote it, but the advice I has s
SURPLUS LOCKER You won’t be left with a box of parts with Mowbray’s easy-to-follow, step-by-step photographs. of-print, “The En
Publishing or larger firearms book dealers for $39.95. The books published by Collector Grade Publications are well researched
new edition has added bayonets to its pricing data base. Profusely illustrated, this book also serves to clearly identify milsu
• J.B. WOOD • RIMFIRE FUN GUN The Henry .22 Golden Boy A nyone who likes lever-action rifles owes a lot to Benjamin Tyler Henry
GOLDEN BOY MANUFACTURER: HENRY REPEATING ARMS 59 EAST FIRST STREET BAYONNE, Nj 07002 (888) 496-9139 WWW.HENRYREPEATING.COM ACTI
• MIKE CUMPSTON • A VICTORIAN CLASSIC The 1861 New Model Navy Revolver. leek lines, favorable balance and “modern” features mad
generally throw fliers and provide spreads of 4" and more at 25 yards. The 100-grain conicals from the Dixie iron scissors moul
INTERNATIONAL Products For The Precision Shooter 85-GRAIN ROUNDBALL POWDER CHARGE VELOCITY (BRAND) (BY VOLUME*) (FPS) GOEx FFFG
The NEW Hornady GMX™ (Gilding Metal eXpanding) bullet offers the best choice for a high-performance monolithic solid that deliv
Jeff’s .40-70 Ballard Pacific has an RHO telescope mounted. it was made to precisely fit the front and rear dovetails of the 32
hat’s the point of having a takedown rifle? There’s only one W — make it more compact for traveling. Since many hunters today t
Taken down, both lever guns (above) are much easier to transport. The Browning BLR .30-06 was fitted with Leupold 6X scope (bel
The Browning BLR .30-06 takedown has a 22" barrel with iron sights factory supplied. The receiver is drilled and tapped for sco
Model: 386 Night GuardTM DOT TRITIUM FRONT NIGHT SIGHT Smith & Wesson’s new Night GuardTM series revolvers deliver confidence in
ith a history of impressive design innovation, ArmaLite has succeeded in matching their rugged AR-10 platform with Federal’s ve
WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 45
46 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • SEPTEMBER 2009
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ringing out the AR-10 (T) afforded me the opportunity to try Burris Optic’s latest FF30 Tactical 3-9x40mm scope and its useful
yard distances in 100-yard increments based on the trajectory and zeroing range of the cartridge you’re using. If it sounds con
B eing the father of the AR-15/M16, the AR-10 is disassembled and reassembled in much the same way. Always remove the magazine
the forces at play in a big bore semiautomatic, ArmaLite’s match trigger is terrific, and so is the ever-so-handy AR safety swi
Wilson Combat’s I John Taffin 1911 .460 RoWland automatics were simply not as good a choice for t goes all the way back to 1905
combine his two great loves into one handgun. The .460 Rowland cartridge was designed in the early 1990s by Johnny Rowland of t
.460 RowLand FactoRY aMMo PeRFoRMance (PoRted) Load VeLocitY gRoUP Size (BRand, BULLet weight, tYPe) (FPS) (incheS) coRBon 185
Combat Hunter is finished in Armor Tuff with a gray frame mated up with a black slide. Each Combat Hunter is testfired and sigh
The 21sT CenTury hen the Glock 17 took the baton from the faltering hand of the W HK P9/P9S and ran with it, the polymer frame
design team and gets the credit for the result of the 2-year project. The first thing we all noticed is the action is remarkabl
The LCR (above, top) follows the LCP (above, bottom, with Crimson Trace laser sight) into an eagerly awaiting defensive handgun
tops. I wish I could buy into that happy, wishful thinking, but I keep remembering an agent in Miami who emptied his snub witho
LcR MakeR: StURM RUgeR 200 RUgeR Road PReScott, az 86301 www.RUgeR.coM action tYPe: Double-actiononly revolver caLiBeR: .38 Spe
OPENING PHOTO: JOSEPH R. NOVELOZO M eant as a close-range stopper for thin-skinned game, the .50-95 Winchester 1876 Express qui
CIMARRON BRINGS BACk WINCHESTER’S 1876 .50-95. Alaska. For such game, the deeper penetrating .45-75 was superior and one of the
The Cimarron 1876 fed and extracted the big .50-95s 100 percent during the test. The other internal parts, like the links and s
The rear sight could be better. The front sight is a steel Patridge and the rear a typical buckhorn, but the notch in the rear
much less expensively than buying new. My black powder reloads didn’t shoot very well, and I didn’t have time for a lot of expe
The biggest difference between the 1873 and 1876 is the latter has a lower tang forged integrally with the frame, while the ’73
1876 exPReSS MakeR: UBeRti iMPoRteR: ciMaRRon aRMS P.o. Box 906 FRedRickSBURg, tx 78624 (830) 997-9090 www.ciMaRRon-FiReaRMS.co
The concept of “Beauty” is different for different people: A strikingly attractive woman… one of the breathtaking wonders of na
VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS RIGHTS WATCH • DAVID CODREA • A WAlk in the PArk ssistant U.S. Attorney Tony Giorno said the brutality o
72 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • SEPTEMBER 2009
DAy of the SniPer VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS A platoon sergeant in 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Sgt. 1st Class
Suddenly, the target area McGuire desperately wanted appeared. Called the “triangle measurement,” the rebel’s throat down to hi
such as the Cheyenne or Mexican Loop which was so popular in that time period. John Taffin Bachman says he has over 500 hand-cu
A GUNS MEDLEY • JEFF JOHN • neW life Browning’s Single Shot rifle revitalized Winchester. he early 1880s was a tough time for W
such a design would make a delightful hunting rifle. The Browning’s learned their lesson well and later models have shorter, mo
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For more New Products visit us online at www.gunsmagazine.com New Backpack styLe DouBLe riFLe sLiNG From Vero VeLLini It’s ofte
T his stainless steel DA revolver carries six rounds of .38 Special and is rated for +P ammunition. The transfer bar safety mea
856 MAker:tAuruS, BrAZil iMPorter:tAuruS int. 16175 northWeSt 49th AVenue, MiAMi, fl 33014 (305) 624-1115, WWW.tAuruSuSA.coM Ac
ODD ANGRY SHOT • JOHN CONNOR • “intereStinG tiMeS?” Oh, Yeah! n old Chinese proverb says A “May you live in interesting times …
FOREIGN The Greater Depression and Civil War 2 ENEMIES and traitors not “community organizers” with huge, clouded assets. Sudde
ADVERTISER PAGE ADVERTISER PAGE SEPTEMBER 2009 ADVERTISER’S INDEX The companies listed have featured advertisements in this iss
continued from page 90 would never be collector’s items. Try to price one today! Beginning in 1950 Smith & Wesson modernized th
A hAlf century With SixGunS The .45 ACP he year was 1956. Don Larsen pitched the only perfect World T Series game as the Yankee