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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 ad-ditional 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 andwill 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 isprohibited. 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 notnecessarily those of Publishers’ Development Corporation. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GUNS Magazine®, ATTN: Circulation Dept., 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128. Copyright© 2012 by Publishers’ Development Corporation.

COLUMNS 6 CROSSFIRE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

8 SHOTGUNNERHOLT BODINSON

12 SHOOTER’S EDGEDAVE ANDERSON

SPONSORED BY

18 MONTANA MUSINGS

MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINO

20 HANDLOADINGJOHN BARSNESS

22 HANDGUNSMASSAD AYOOB

24 GUNSMITHING HAMILTON S. BOWEN

60 KNIVESPAT COVERT

62 VIEWS, NEWS & REVIEWS RIGHTS WATCH: DAVID CODREA

78 ODD ANGRY SHOTJOHN CONNOR

82 CAMPFIRE TALESJOHN TAFFIN

FEBRUARY 2013Vol. 59, Number 2, 685th Issue

DEPARTMENTS26 SURPLUS, CLASSIC

AND TACTICAL FIREARMS™ LOVE THOSE BLUNDERBUSSES!

HOLT BODINSON

30 OUT OF THE BOX™ THE KEL-TEC PMR-30

J.B. WOOD

34 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS JEFF JOHN

70 QUARTERMASTER Featuring GUNS All-stars!

THIS MONTH: MASSAD AYOOB

72 GUNS CLASSIFIEDS

72 CUSTOM CORNER

74 NEW PRODUCTS

76 GUN OF THE MONTH

80 ADVERTISER INDEX

8

76KIMBER 84L CLASSICSELECT GRADEAND MORE!

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WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 20134 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 20134



WARNING: FIREARMS ARE DANGEROUS AND IF USED IMPROPERLY MAY CAUSE SERIOUS INJURY OR DEATH. DUE TO THE INHERENT VARIABLES IN THE RELOADING OF AMMUNITION, BE SURE TO VERIFY ANY PUBLISHED LOADS WITH MANUFACTURER’S DATA. PRODUCTS MENTIONED OR ADVERTISED MAY NOT BE LEGAL IN ALL STATES OR JURISDICTIONS. OBEY ALL FIREARMS LAWS. ALWAYS CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL GUNSMITH WHEN MODIFYING ANY FIREARM. BE A SAFE SHOOTER!

FEATURES

36 DOUBLE DUTY

Rock Island Armory’s high-capacity1911-A2 .22 TCM &9mm Luger Convertible.

JOHN TAFFIN

40

WILDCAT TAMED The .280 Ackley Improved

meets the Kimber Classic Select. HOLT BODINSON

48 TO TWIST OR NOT

Reticles vs. turrets. JOHN BARSNESS

54 RETURN OF“LITTLE BIG .50”

The “business length” 1876 rifle. JEFF JOHN

ONLINE FEATUREWWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COMSIG SAUER MK25Best of its kind.SAMMY REESE

40

ON THE COVER

36

54EXCLUSIVEONLINE MANUFACTURERSPRODUCT INDEX:www.gunsmagazine.com/product-index

LITTLE BIG .501876 RIFLE

ROCK ISLANDARMORY 1911

The Kimber 84L .280 Ackley Improvedis shown with a pair of BushnellLegend Ultra HD 8x36 binoculars andSpyderco Wood Knife.

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM 5



Browning played it very close-to-the-chest with the redesign. It wasreally a tightly kept state secret untilthe unveiling this year. I imagine sittingdown with a CAD program and begin-ning to redesign the flagship O/U in theBrowning line was either a challenge or

a moment of trepidation for the designengineer assigned to the task. The endresult is a remarkable transformationof a 40-year-old design.

The most significant change in thenew Citori is a completely new receiverprofile. The Citori was never known

for having a low-profile receiver. Itdoes now. The height of the receiverhas been reduced by 1/8" and the topof the standing breech slimmed downand reduced in profile accordingly.

An 1/8" doesn’t seem like much of achange, but when mated with the slim-mer barrel profile of the new Citori,

it changes the whole dynamic of thegun. Subtle changes to a shotgun canhave dramatic results. Changes likeadding a single layer of moleskin tothe comb or lengthening or reducingthe length of the stock by fractions ofan inch or adding drop or cast-off bybending the stock or adding a venti-lated rib can radically affect the wayin which a gun handles and performsfor its owner.

The result of giving the Citori alower profile is that the Model 725feels lighter and achieves that muchsought after balance and weight

distribution between the hands weoften describe in a shotgun as being“lively.” The shallow frame of the new725 also facilitates that ideal hands-in-line, hand-to-barrel relationship soimportant to accurate and intuitiveshotgunning.

While Browning uses a monob-loc hinge in their Cynergy model toachieve the lowest-profile receiver inthe industry, the Model 725 achievesa lower profile while keeping the full-width hinge pin and tapered lock-ing lug of the original Citori design

justifiably famous for its strength andlongevity. Tapering the locking lugallows the lug to compensate for wear

Holt, Steamer and Browning’s Model725 patiently await opening day.

The Model 725 (above) is defined by its low-pro-file receiver. Even the top line of the standingbreech is more sculptured and streamlined. Theside panels of the sliver-nitride-coated receiver(below) support stylish hunting scenes.

HOLT BODINSON

Browning’s new Model 725 is not your father’s Citori.Introduced in 1972, the Citori is certainly one of theworld’s most successful O/U designs, but like all good

designs, it was time for a facelift. Having aged through a seriesof model changes starting with the Model 325 and advancingthrough Models 425, 525 and 625, the Citori has worn many

faces with many designations and price points, ranging fromplain field-grade hunting models through 4-barrel, Grade VIskeet sets. A Superposed it’s not, but the new Model 725 iscertainly challenging Browning’s oldest and most famousshotgun model. In some respects, it’s even better.

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 20138

THE BROWNING 725

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as it occurs by progressively seatingdeeper in the locking recess, and, ofcourse, a hinge pin is always replace-able. Keep the hinge pin, monoblocrecess, locking lug and fore-end ironproperly lubricated, and the Citoriwill perform perfectly through tens-of-thousands of rounds. It’s a robustdesign and a tough gun.

As remarkable as the new frameprofile of the 725 is, the new “Fire Lite”trigger is fantastic. If I were blind-folded, handed the new Citori andpressed the trigger, I would concludethat I had been handed a Krieghoff orPerazzi match gun. Gone is the olderinertia design that depended uponrecoil to reset. In its place is a mechan-ical trigger, with a release weight of3-1/2 to 4 pounds as measured by myLyman electronic scale. Frankly, I wasso surprised by those weight measure-ments I had to remeasure the triggerwith a Timney mechanical scale and

then even confirm my measurementswith Denny Wilcox, Browning’s Prod-uct Manager. Wilcox confirmed thatthe factory specification is indeed3-1/2 to 4 pounds.

Not only are the triggers sensation-ally light, but also there is a minimumof take-up and overtravel. The newmechanical trigger is simply the finesttrigger I have ever worked with on afield-grade shotgun. “Crisp” is theword! On the sporting grade Model725s, the trigger is setup to be adjust-able for finger-to-trigger length and is

available with three different, canted,trigger shoes—a wide checkered, widesmooth or narrow smooth model.

There is even a new choke tubedesign in the Model 725. Browningintroduced their long Invector-Plustubes years ago. The new tube for theModel 725 is named “Invector-DS,”the “DS” standing for “Double Seal.”It’s a thin-walled, flush-mounted tubein the field grade and an extended,finger-tightening tube in the sporting

grades. The new Invector-DS tubes arel-o-n-g. They’re a full 3/4" longer thanthe current Invector-Plus tubes. Withthe increased length of the new tube,Browning has been able to more grad-ually taper the choke and constrictthe shot resulting in improved, moreconsistent shot patterns and slightlyhigher velocities.

The Invector-DS tube is threadedat the muzzle end and, where thethreads are on the Plus series tube,there is an expanding, brass gas sealthat compresses against the wall of

the barrel as the tube is tightened.“Double Seal” it is with the brassgas seal preventing gas and foulingfrom wedging in between the wallof the tube and the barrel, keepingthe surface of the tube cleaner andmaking choke tube removal mucheasier. The Invector-DS factory tubesare available in 7 degrees of constric-tion from skeet-to-full, and being thinwalled, they maintain the slim, newbarrel profile of the 725.

One of the less visible improve-ments incorporated in Model 725is the Inflex II technology built into

the recoil pad. Inside the pad are aseries of ribs that flex when the shotis fired and actually lower the combslightly away from your face duringrecoil. The combination of a shal-lower-profile receiver and the Inflexpad, work together to reduce barrelflip and moderate felt recoil. It’s adynamic system that works.

If I sound enthusiastic about thisnew Citori, I am. I bought the first oneI saw in Tucson, and Golden Steamerand I are chomping at the bit for theopening of the 2012 quail season.

With the new Model 725 in hand, Ithink this may be a hunting season toremember.

MODEL 725 CITORI

MAKER:BROWNING (BY MIROKU) ONE BROWNING PL.MORGAN, UT 84050

(800) 333-3288 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/BROWNING

Models: Field (tested), Sporting, Adjust-able Sporting, Featherweight (tba),

Action: Over/under, Caliber: 12 gauge,Capacity: 2, Barrel length: 26" or 28"

(Field), 28", 30" or 32" (Sporting), Choke:Invector-DS (7), Overall length: 43-3/4"

with 26" barrel, Weight: 7 pounds, 4ounces, to 7 pounds, 10 ounces, Finish:Silver nitride (receiver), blue (barrels),Sights: front and mid bead, Stocks:

Field: Grade II or III walnut, Sporting:Grade III or IV, Drop-at-comb: 1-5/8"

(field), 1-9/16" (Sporting), Drop-at-heel:

2-1/2" (Field & Sporting), Length-of-pull:14-1/4" (Field), 14-3/4" (Sporting), Price:

$2,469 (Field), $3,139 (Sporting)

The top lever and safety/selector (above) have

been restyled for the new model. With a weight-of-pull of only 3-1/2 to 4 pounds, the mechanicaltrigger (below) is sensational.




I also like to have the support armelbow more or less directly under therifle, so the rifle’s weight is primarilysupported by the muscles of the upperarm rather than by those of the fore-arm and wrist.

Old military manuals often showthe shooting arm elbow elevated aboutto the level of the ear, if not higher.Just how this high-elbow stance orig-inated, or why, I’ve never been ableto ascertain. I like the shooting sideupper arm high enough to create acomfortable shoulder pocket for therifle.

These are just suggestions. I’m notat all dogmatic about minor details ofstance. I like the support arm to beunderneath the gun. One of my shoot-ing buddies holds the support armwell out to the side. To me it doesn’tlook right, but the guy is an outstand-ing shot.

I believe in results rather than

appearance. What you want todevelop is a stance, which is comfort-able for you. If it is comfortable andnatural, it is repeatable. Repeatabilityleads to consistency, and consistencyleads to accuracy.

Now what you may not want tohear: there are no shortcuts. Learningoffhand shooting takes practice andlots of it. On the positive side it doesn’thave to cost much. Dry fire doesn’tcost anything but time. It is a superiortraining method in some ways, sincethere is no recoil to mask (or induce)

bad habits. If dry fire gets boring, a.22 rimfire and some metallic targetsliven up the process considerably.

For each shot, start from a readyposition, i.e. rifle held in both hands,safety engaged, trigger finger outsidetriggerguard. Smoothly bring the rifleto your shoulder and as the sightsroughly index on target release thesafety and place the trigger finger onthe trigger. Refine the sight pictureand smoothly press the trigger to firethe shot.

Mentally call the shot, retaining amental picture of exactly where the

sights were as the shot broke. Oper-ate the action to chamber a freshcartridge, engage the safety, andreturn to the ready position.

Don’t consciously rush any of thesesteps. Keep it smooth, and with manyrepetitions speed will come. What’sgood? If you can hit a 6" target everytime at 100 yards, in a time span of5 seconds from ready position to theshot, you’re a good offhand shooter.Do it in 3 seconds per shot and youare a whole lot better than just good.

You may well hunt a whole life-

time and never fire an offhand shotat game. But it is comforting skill tohave—just in case.

SEE

USONLINE AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM




The move to holdover hash marksand ranging reticle designs has forced

nearly every riflescope manufacturer tocome up with innovative designs thatlend a significant amount of flexibilityto riflescopes. Not to be outdone, Zeissenlisted the genius of two well-knownAmerican innovators, Mickey Fowlerand Gerald Perry. Holdover systemsare certainly not new, and creative waysto approach the opportunity surfaceevery year. Simple is good. On the otherhand, simple does not always solve allthe opportunities you might like to takeadvantage of.

The old Mil-Dot system, for exam-ple, is simple but sometimes a bit

difficult to learn. Some reticles go tothe other extreme, making the image

look like a Venetian blind. Neitheris bad, and some users who practiceoften accomplish phenomenal thingswith them.

For the average shooter, a systemthat accomplishes his needs in a simpleto understand and apply way, whohas not the time to practice weeklyor possibly even monthly, the reticlesystem must work the way he thinks.It has to be intuitive. As an engi-neer, I have seen the rise of sophisti-cated computer software replace theold “by hand” method to accomplishthe mathematics required to solve

problems requiring billions of calcu-lations. Some of them arrive at myoffice with manuals that would intim-

idate Einstein (Well… maybe not).But some are completely intuitive anduse input data the way engineers weretaught to think. The manual often setson the shelf, gathering dust as the usercompletes design after design.

In my humble opinion, the sameshould hold true for shooters. The prog-ress taking us far beyond the old plexreticle is as much a boon for the shooteras computer software is for the engi-neer. Thirty years ago, the engineer hadto make many conservative assump-tions in two dimensions to complete adesign. It would take him months of

calculations. Once done there simplywas not time to look at five or six alter-natives or even one more, searchingfor the best and most economic solu-tion. Today, the same problems arecompleted in three dimensions with-out conservative assumptions and doneso in milliseconds. Alternatives can beexplored and exhausted, looking forthe best and least expensive design, allthe while taking much less time thanthe old methods.

This same technology is now avail-able for designing optics and interior

and exterior ballistics, making it fastand simple for the shooter to obtaindata he can be use in the field. Now the

EASIER

HOLDOVER HITSTHE ZEISS CONQUEST4.5-14X50MM MC RIFLESCOPE.

The Conquest 4.5-14x50mm scope

can be ordered in stainless finish(shown) or matte black.

Zeiss retains the European-style quick diopterfocus (above). The turrets are designed like mosttarget-style dials with 1/4" clicks and an even10-MOA revolutions. A side parallax adjustment(below) is standard with this scope. The dials arereset to zero after sighting in by loosening thescrew shown in the top of the elevation dial. Odd-ly, the dials turn opposite of most scopes. Theyare available in a hunting turret as well.

JACOB GOTTFREDSON

Zeiss’ American Conquest riflescopes represent a goodbargain for varminters, hunters, and competitors.Almost half the price of their European models, but

primarily produced with 1" instead of 30mm main tubes and

1/4" clicks, they retain most of the engineering found in themore expensive Victory series. While the glass producedfor Zeiss’ Conquest and Victory optics are free of arsenicand lead, their proprietary Advanced Optics System (AOS)allows them to cut the glass thinner, thereby reducingweight, and is so far used exclusively in their Victory series.The glass in the Victory series is also designed to slightlyenhance color rendition and clarity over the Conquest. Butthe Victory costs considerably more as well.




shooter need not make mathematicalcalculations in the field, hold over thetarget in space in some empty quadrantof the image, use guess work, or evencarry data cards.

The Zeiss reticles were designed byMickey Fowler. Mickey is a legend-ary pistol shooter, and in his day wonseveral national championships andBianchi titles. But it was his love forhunting coyotes that brought about thesearch for a reticle to meet his needs.Those critters don’t often stand still,nervously running or trotting, stopping,trotting again, giving the hunter onlyseconds each time to range, select thecorrect holdover or dial to range, andfire. Working through several genera-tions of reticles, Mickey hit on reti-cle designs that do the job for coyotesor any hunting situation. Mickey, incollaboration with Zeiss, then workedout the Rapid-Z reticle styles, thickness,etc., exclusively for Zeiss.

I spent several weeks evaluatingthe Conquest 4.5-14x50mm with theRapid-Z 800 and 1,000 reticles. Thescope has great potential in the fieldwith the new reticles, and the glassis excellent. For an antelope, coyote,varmint, or a deer and elk hunter in theRocky Mountains, shots are often past250 yards. The scope has 68" of travelfor dialing the correct comeups for a

long-range shot, but its potential was

realized with the addition of Mickey’sreticle and Perry-System’s software.

The new reticles turn the ZeissConquest and Victory riflescopes andthe Diarange into superb hunting glass.But the innovation does not stop there.With the use of online software fromPerry-Systems’ on the Zeiss website, theshooter can configure the scope’s reti-cle to fit any cartridge’s ballistic path,

optimizing the use of the reticle. Perry-Systems has incorporated the Rapid-Zreticles into their software as well if youprefer more in-depth analysis.

The concept of the reticle is not new.Many manufacturers and designersare using hash marks both below andabove the center crosshair for holdover.But the Zeiss Rapid-Z reticle designlends itself to the way shooters think.For example, horizontal wind bars anddots are positioned to account for mileper hour wind increments. To gain anunderstanding of that, consider the MilDots used by the military. The spot-ter thinks of wind in miles per hourbut then must translate that into thenumber of Mil-Dots required to hit thetarget. Using the Zeiss Rapid-Z reticle,the dots are already positioned for winddrift in miles per hour, not requiring theadditional time for translation.

The same thinking applies to thevertical holdover bars. The reticle is

positioned in the second focal plane.The software allows the shooter todetermine what power on a variablescope best fits his cartridge’s ballis-tic path to match the numbers on thereticle’s vertical crosshair. The reticlesare designed for varmints, big game,and long range. However, the user cansimply use the highest power, and theprogram will tell him what ranges the

The Rapid-Z 600 meets the needs of mosthunters using cartridges normally producingenough energy to down big game at ranges outto 600 yards. Zeiss has suggested cartridgeson their website that are optimized to each ret-icle and for which the reticles were designed.However, any Rapid-Z reticle can be used andoptimized for any cartridge.




hash marks are good for. As a fall back,the reticle is also designed for precisionranging. The ends of the crosshair haveincremental hash marks, the tips ofwhich are further broken down. UnlikeMil Dots and most other hash marksreticles, this gives the shooter the abilityto more precisely determine the rangeto a target, given that he knows some-thing about the target’s size and has asteady rest.

Using the Conquest series of rifle-scopes, the shooter ranges the target,preferably with an adequate range-finder. Knowing which hash mark givesthe correct holdover allows the shooterto make the hit. The reticle makesthis easy because each hash markis numbered. Once the shooter hasdetermined his bullet’s ballistic flightpath, and selected the correct power,the numbers correspond to the range.With the new reticle and the DiarangeIntegrated Rangefinder scope, he now

ranges the animal, transitions to thered dot and fires, never having takenhis eyes off the animal. And he did itall in only seconds. Using the Conquestseries of riflescopes, the shooter rangesthe target with an external rangefinderor the hash marks and then uses thecorrect hash mark for holdover. Thisslows the acquisition for a hit, but a

Conquest scope and an external rangefinder cost considerably less than theDiarange.

If you use the software to opti-mize the power setting, the ballis-tic path will correspond to the hashmark numbers. For example, on theRapid-Z 800 reticle, the numbers are1 through 8, meaning 100 through800 yards. The software tells youwhere to sight in on the main cross-

hair and what power sitting to use sothe bullet’s flight path corresponds tothose yardages or very closely so. Forexample, instead of using the highestpower of 14X, the shooter may set thepower ring on 10X. Alternatively, theshooter can leave the power setting on14, and the software will tell the userwhat each hash mark corresponds

to what range. The hash marks arefurther divided. So, for example, if thetarget is at 525 yards, the smaller hashmark 1/4 between 500 and 600 wouldbe used.

Enter Zeiss’ website and accessthe Rapid Z calculator. Choose yourcartridge, bullet, velocity, etc. Nowwatch what happens when you changethe power setting of the reticle andscope you chose. At some powersetting, the hash marks will be close to100-yard increments that mirror thehash mark numbers 2, 3, 4, etc. But asI pointed out earlier, you can use thefull power and then make a chart thattells you what yardage each hash markrepresents. Alternatively, you can usethe dial to range as well.

The Conquest series of scopes rangefrom 3-9x40mm to a 6.5-20x50mm.The Victory, the Conquest, and theDiarange scopes and binocularscontinue to employ only top-quality

glass, materials, and manufacturing.They are fully multi coated on all airto glass surfaces, waterproof in compli-ance with ISO 9022-8, and come witha lifetime transferable warranty. Thegrinding and coatings on the lensesare still some of the finest in the world.They are among the most aberrationfree lenses money can buy.

CONQUEST 4.5-14X50 MCMAKER: CARL ZEISS OPTICS, LLC

13005 N. KINGSTON AVE.CHESTER, VA 23836

(800) 441-3005 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/ZEISS

Magnification: 4.5-14x50mm, Tubediameter: 1", Eye Relief: 3.8", ElevationAdjustment: 68" at 100 yards, Windage

Adjustment: 45" at 100 yards, ClickAdjustment: 1/4", Parallax: 30 yards to

infinity, Reticle in Image Plane: 2nd,Length: 14.02", Weight: 19.75 ounces,Price: $1,055.54

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Just about everything I wanted outof life, just about every realistic dreamI entertained has come about. Whilestill in my teens I discovered Montana

while on a camping trip from my birth

state of West Virginia and vowed tomake it my lifelong home. It has beenfor nigh on 40 years now.

Horses were pretty rare in the part

of West Virginia where I grew up.

No matter what I was doing if thechance to see one arose I stoppedand watched it. A couple of timesas a youth I actually got to sit atopone. It was scary. Fate saw to it thatby age 20 I was getting paid to rideother peoples’ horses. After severalthousand miles on horseback in the

states of Montana, Wyo. and Idahomy butt polished the seat of my hand-made saddle till it shone. The finesthorse I ever rode was named Duke,wherefrom I gained my nickname.He’s buried here on our property. Ageand health problems put a stop to myriding 20 years ago but we still havefour horses and Yvonne rides a bit.

Speaking of property, whenYvonne and I married in 1978 wewere just a step above the proverbialpoor church mice. Therefore, it wasa source of great satisfaction thatonly 8 years later we had prospered

enough to buy this piece of Montana,the center of which is laid out almostperfectly for a shooting range to 300yards. Along the way I’ve also had avery nice, heated shooting house built.Everything I need is always there athand, from cleaning patches to chro-nographs. Having a private shootingrange was one of the biggest itemsscratched off of my Bucket List.

There was one downside to find-ing this piece of land. We had to movefrom the small Montana town whereanother of my life’s dreams had come

true. That was owning and operat-ing my own movie theater. Growingup in Williamson, W. Va., in the ’50s

NO BUCKET LIST?IT’S EMPTY.

MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINOPHOTOS: YVONNE VENTURINO

Bucket List has become a trendy term since the 2007movie of the same name. For non-movie going read-ers it means things one would like to do before “kick-

ing the bucket” or in plain terms: before dying. RecentlyYvonne was talking about something on her Bucket Listwhen she stopped and looked at me oddly for a minutebefore saying, “You don’t have a Bucket List, do you?”


One item that was high onDuke’s lifelong Bucket Listwas having his own privateshooting range. He does; itgoes out to 300 yards and

he has a heated house toshoot from during thoselong, cold Montana winters.

From a pre-teen it was on Duke’s BucketList to fly in a World War II B-17 bomber(above). He flew on this one in 2007.



and ’60s one of my fondest memoriesis of the Cinderella Theater. Anyway,Yvonne and I ran our small moviehouse for 6 years and I still kid herabout being the best “popcorn girl” Iever had. Even in those days a smalltown movie theater wouldn’t makeanyone rich but it was a most pleasantway of making money.

As a lifelong serious student ofWorld War II history some of my

Bucket List dreams were to fly ina B-17, visit the D-Day beaches inFrance, and stand atop Mount Suri-bachi on Iwo Jima. I’ve done all ofthat. Additionally I’ve visited thearea of Belgium where the Battle ofthe Bulge occurred and walked onthe Guam beach where my uncle,James Virse landed as part of the USMarines’ invasion forces in 1944. (Hewas 18 years old at the time.) At PearlHarbor at different times I’ve stoodon the Arizona Memorial and on thebattleship Missouri where the Japa-nese surrender was signed in 1945.

My Bucket List item as regards acareer was to be a full-time gun’riter,which I’ve been now for over 31 years.Coincidentally with that I’ve been ableto own and shoot an amazing vari-ety of firearms, most of which I onlyfantasized about someday encounter-ing. Dozens and scores of Old Westguns such as virtually every type ofsingle-action Colt revolver, Smith &Wesson Model No. 3s, Winchesterlever guns, Sharps and Remingtonbuffalo rifles and most of the modernreplicas of those historical guns have

resided here at one time or the other.Quite a few still do. I handload ammu-nition for all.

Back at the turn of the century Iattended a local gun show where aftera single pass through it I stopped at afriend’s table and said, “I’ve got all theOld West guns in here already so mymoney is safe.” About then I lookeddown at his table to see a WWII vintageK98k 8mm Mauser. “How much issomething like that?” I asked. What hetold me was a mere fraction of what Iwas used to paying for Old West guns. Ibought it. It’s still here and in the ensu-

ing 12 years another 75 or so WWIIfirearms have joined it. American,British, Russian, German, Japanese:

most of their significant rifles, pistols,carbines and even submachine gunsfrom 1939-1945 are in my vault. Ihandload ammunition for all of themtoo.

My greatest dream was to meet theperfect girl for me. That happened in1977 and I credit her with giving me thesort of life where an empty bucket listis possible. Certainly there will be moreguns bought in the future and perhapseven a tour to the Pacific Battlefields of

Guadalcanal and Tarawa if I can getmy bum knee lined out. Still, as thingsare now, my bucket list is vacant.


It was on Duke’s Bucket List to shoot as many different guns as possible in his lifetime. He has done soto the tune of many hundreds. This photo is just a part of the ones residing in his gun vault currently.Duke is standing in front of one of the invasion beaches used by the USMC when taking the islandof Guam back from the Japanese (below). His uncle landed in the first wave somewhere behind him.



Why doesn’t a round, black bull’s-eye work very well? For one thing,it doesn’t provide a really preciseaiming point, either with a scope oriron sights. You can attempt to quar-ter it with a crosshair reticle, butquartering a circle precisely is diffi-cult, as anybody who’s cut up a pieknows. You can put the tip of a frontsight at the bottom of the circle,but there’s no place to really centerthe sight. Plus, with a black circle

it’s difficult if not impossible to seebullet holes in certain kinds of light.A bull’s-eye with multicolored

rings provides more precision withcrosshairs, but not with a front sight.A square provides even more preci-sion, especially if the middle of thesquare is left white or a paler color,but with a scope’s crosshair we’reactually better off with a squareturned 90 degrees—a diamondwith 90-degree corners and a whitecenter. The corners provide precise

elevation and windage control, sincewe can bisect each corner with thecrosshairs.

Anything other than black canwork for the color, but human visionvaries from individual to individ-ual. Some people have a hard timefocusing on blaze orange, especiallyon a warm day with heat-mirage inthe air, and a lot of commercial rifletargets are printed in blaze orange,perhaps because it’s considered a

“hunter color.”Back in the 1970s, when writersstill used typewriters and I was justgetting a slippery hold on my profes-sion, there was a super-abundance ofused typing paper around my office.The normal method of writing backthen was to rip an unsatisfactoryparagraph from the typewriter andstart over again, and several draftswere usually typed before the finalversion. Between my limited budgetand all this “waste” I started drawing

my own targets with Magic Mark-ers on the back of first drafts andrejected paragraphs. I came to thediamond shape pretty quickly, but ittook a few years to realize that red orblue worked better for the diamondthan pure black. Eventually a coupleof big, dark blue Magic Markersended up in my range bag.

After using a bunch of differ-ent scopes, it also became obviousthat the size of the diamond neededto vary, depending on the scope’smagnification and thickness of the

reticle. Some scopes even had postreticles, and some still do, since somewoods hunters favor them. Post reti-cles could be aimed more preciselyby drawing a square about the sameapparent width of the tip of the postat 100 yards, and the same techniqueworked for front sights, whether onhandguns or rifles.

Even with a traditional bead frontsight and a “6 o’clock” hold a squareprovided a more precise aimingpoint than a circle, since the humaneye can more easily bisect it. Some

shooters, however, put the beadright on what they want to hit. Inthat instance, the traditional black

TARGETS FOR

LOAD TESTINGMAKE SURE THE FEEDBACK FROM

YOUR HANDLOADS IS RIGHT ON.


Multilayer targets leaving a bright ring aroundeach bullet hole are a big help when shoot-ing small-caliber rifles. This target also has adiamond-shaped aiming point, a big help whenaligning crosshairs.

These groups were shot with a pre-WWII Model70 Winchester .30-06 and a 2-1/2X Lyman Alas-kan scope with a post reticle. The squares weredrawn to match the top of the post at 100 yards,and the groups turned out pretty darn well!

A blue diamond with a white center is ideal for crosshair reticles.

JOHN BARSNESS

It doesn’t really do us much good to build a bunch ofprecise handloads for our new rifle or handgun, and thenshoot at targets poorly suited to the scope or sights.

Probably the worst target for testing handload accuracy isthe traditional bull’s-eye, a black circle with scoring rings,

but they still appear at ranges all the time.



bull’s-eye works pretty well, espe-cially if we file the face of the beadflat to provide a consistent aimingpoint, or use a fiber optic bead. A redfiber optic bead looks pretty nifty inthe center of a black circle.

Some iron-sight rifle shooters,however, prefer the traditional ivorybead—these days, unfortunately,usually made of white plastic ratherthan real ivory. The translucence of agenuine ivory bead is able to pick upa little extra light, the reason somebeads are still made from abundantwarthog ivory, but a white bead reallypresents problems when aiming ata white target, no matter what thecolor of the aiming point. The samething can happen on a bright daywith really pale gold beads.

The traditional solution was todarken the bead temporarily withthe smoke from a match. The smokecould then be wiped off after sight-

ing-in. The shadow under a sighthood also darkens a light bead, butnot all front sights come with hoodsanymore, partly because the dark-ened bead is an abomination whenhunting, unless you’re after polarbears. A temporary hood, however,can be made of masking tape, andmany of us carry masking tape inour range bags.

The veteran (and very fine)gunsmith Dennis Olsen suggested anifty target for pale front beads a fewyears ago. Olsen tacks a small, white

paper plate on black paper. It worksvery well!I kept drawing my own targets even

after the 1980s, when switching to acomputer from a typewriter nearlyeliminated the stacks of waste paperthat had been flying from my desk,because I still couldn’t find the rightcommercial targets. Then one day asample pack of various targets camefrom a company named MountainPlains, with a cover letter from theowner. He’d noticed my homemadeblue targets and thought his mightwork just as well. They did, since a

shooter has evidently designed them.There’s even a special version for ironsights. I use Mountain-Plains targetsfor most of my range work anymore,but also occasionally use some of thenew-age targets that show a ring ofbright color around each bullet hole.They’re particularly handy for small-bore rifles, especially .17s!

Many hunters firmly believe moremagnification or finer reticles auto-matically result in smaller groups,perhaps due to the influence ofbenchrest shooting. Bench shooters

do use very high-magnification, finereticle scopes, but that doesn’t neces-sarily mean a 3-9X scope turned

all the way up will result in muchsmaller groups than those shot witha 4X scope.

During the 1990s I started writingquite a bit about hunting optics, andeventually realized why small groupscould be shot even with low-magni-

fication scopes. An average 20/20human eye can resolve (a technicalterm meaning see) about 1" at 100yards. If we use a good 4X scope, wecan resolve about 1/4" (0.250), andwith 9X we can resolve 1/9" (0.111).The difference in resolution, then,between a 4X scope and a 9X scopeis 0.139".

Most big game hunters feel prettygood about shooting 1" groups. Let’ssay our rifle (and the shooter behindit) will average 1" groups with a 4Xscope. The extra resolution of a 9X

scope will shrink a 1" group to about7/8". You’d have to shoot dozens ofgroups to have that measly difference

show up—and unless you’re reallygood at reading wind, it probablywouldn’t anyway.

Also, just because a scope has abigger reticle doesn’t mean it’s notcapable of producing small groups.No, we’re not going to shoot any

benchrest records with a post reticle,but if we use the right target we cansure beat an inch, even with a 2-1/2Xscope.

Birchwood Casey7900 Fuller Rd., Eden Prairie, MN 55344

(952) 937-7933www.gunsmagazine.com/birchwood-casey-

laboratories

Champion Traps & Targets1 ATK Way, Anoka, MN 55303

(800) 635-7656www.gunsmagazine.com/champion-traps-targets

Mountain Plains Industries3720 Otter Pl., Lynchburg, VA 24503

(800) 687-3000www.gunsmagazine.com/precisionplustargets


The Mountain-Plains Victory targetworks excellently with iron sights,whether on handguns or rifles.



Of the undead-related firearmsproducts, Hornady Zombie Maxammo seems to have gotten the mostattention. It’s their Critical Defensebullet, with its plastic tip a sickly greeninstead of the usual color. I’ve lost

count of how many magazine read-ers, followers of my blog (backwood-shome.com/blogs/massadayoob), ormy self-defense advice column in theGATE (Go Ask The Experts) sectionat glocktalk.com, have asked: “If Ishoot someone in self-defense with a

Zombie Max load, will I have a prob-lem in court?”

I remind them the package itselfsays that Zombie Max is not for useagainst human beings. It’s obviouslya “novelty product.” When you need

to show that you are a reasonable andprudent person who acted reasonablyand prudently, equipment that looksas if it was selected by someone whobelieves in supernatural monsters willbe gold to a politically motivated pros-ecutor or a greed motivated plaintiff’s

lawyer who wants to hang you out todry. If the evidence you brought to the

shooting scene can be construed as youseeing the situation as the game andmovie series Resident Evil come to life,I think that’s gonna get in the way ofyour establishing that whole “reasonand prudence” thing. What’s your takeon it? Do we agree that having used thesame maker’s “Critical Defense” brandmight be a whole lot more defensiblewhen the nits start getting picked?

There are psychologists and sociol-ogists who theorize the whole zombiememe only appeals to people who wishto commit mass murder. They suggest

that since the zombie is already dead,it’s OK to shoot these humans enmasse. Personally, I can’t help butnotice that in most iterations, thezombie is slow moving and unarmed.It reminds me of Harris and Klebold,the rabid little dogs who perpetratedthe mass murder at Columbine HighSchool. They were known to set theirelectronic killing games on a modewhere their human targets couldn’tshoot back, as they worked their wayup to murdering helpless people forreal. I, for one, don’t see a good reasonto be associated with that.

I admit it’s subjective, but I person-ally think the only zombie moviesworth watching are the ones with somehumor in them. Fido. Shaun of theDead. Zombieland. One exception— humorless, but with social value—isthe TV show Walking Dead, whichputs some pretty good human dynam-ics into the plotlines, and would be

just as meaningful if it depicted someother sort of post-apocalyptic socialbreakdown.

The new generation of Zombietargets, I’ll also admit, are fun. I have

two favorites. One is the “Darkotics”series, with splatter effect when thebullets strike. The other is the one put

NIGHT OF THE

LIVING ZOM-B-STHE ZOMBIE MEME HAS

RISEN, AND SHAMBLED

INTO THE WORLD OF THE GUN.Zombie Max ammo. It’s a novelty product, forgoodness sake!


Gunwriter and IDPA master ChrisChristian takes a turn at Zombie tar-gets with one of his S&W M&Ps.

MASSAD AYOOB

I

t started in 1968 with George Romero’s classic black& white thriller, Night of the Living Dead . It played on

mankind’s intuitive fear of its own dead, and the themenever went back into the grave. It has now, Heaven help us,shambled into the world of shooting. We now have zombiecartridges, zombie guns, zombie targets and even zombieammo boxes. There are zombie matches, I’m told, thoughbeing culturally deprived apparently, I’ve never shot in one.



out by my friend Kenn Blanchard, anex-lawman and current pastor andauthor of the incisive book, Black

Man With A Gun. Books and targets

alike can be ordered from Kenn.Proceeds from sales of the zombietargets go to his church.

Yeah, I know: What’s the point ofhaving a whole body target in the firstplace, when everybody knows you haveto shoot a zombie in the head? Well, twothings there. If the zombie rules werereal, the logical defense gun should bea Ruger 10/22. You wouldn’t blow yourears out with the constant shooting ofhundreds of ’em, and on head shots itshouldn’t matter that you’re only shoot-ing .22s, right? Alas, reality shows us

that .22 rounds sometimes ricochet offhuman skulls. So, occasionally, do thelarger-caliber hardball handgun roundsmany jokingly say would be good forzombies. Doctors call that thing thecranial vault, after all, and power-ful hollowpoints that bite in and keepgoing straight would be called for onheadshots.

In any case, my theory is the “shootthe zombie in the head” thing is a BStheory. It’s only gonna work on moviezombies. For the real zombies—theones we deal with every day—theonly way to deal with them would be

to shoot off their Bluetooth or put aslug through their smartphone. Eithershould render them helpless….

The zombie meme provides us allwith amusement, in more ways thanone… but I won’t be sad when itfinally slides into its grave and staysthere.

Kenn BlanchardP.O. Box 2

Upper Marlboro, MD 20773(888) 675-0202

www.gunsmagazine.com/kenn-blanchard

Hornady3625 W. Old Potash Hwy, Grand Island, NE 68803

(800) 338-3220www.gunsmagazine.com/hornady

Kenn Blanchard’s zombie targets are fun andprofits go to a good cause. Bluetooth andSmartPhone make zombie targets more realis-tic, says Mas.

FIND OUT MORE AT www.rockriverarms.com

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If ever there were loaded term,it is “restoration.” For most of us,it means returning to new condi-tion, exactly as it was when it left thefactory. In strictest terms, it is alsoan impossible standard. In the yearssince a gun was made, the craftsmenwho made it have shed their mortalcoils. Much of their equipment, mate-rials, processes and formulae went

with them. Consequently, at best, wecan get infinitely close to original butnever 100-percent there. On the otherhand, there is “refinishing” whichis probably best defined as getting atired arm back into respectable condi-tion with respect to function andappearance without regard to authen-ticity. It is often the best goal. A sensi-ble gunsmith will raise a few questions

before agreeing to a restoration proj-ect as there are pitfalls that would do

credit to the average minefield.Should you? Often as not, no. If

your cousin brings in Uncle Willie’sModel 61 Winchester .22 show-ing decades of use in the field andproper care, it is probably best leftalone. Honest, patina is the work ofa happy lifetime in the field and mustbe respected. The costs of a properrestoration with great care taken withrespect to duplicating factory polish,bluing, stock stains and finish, etc.,will considerably exceed the value ofthe gun at this writing. Worse, all traces

of Uncle Willie would disappear.Suppose it is Aunt Bertie’s“Owlhead” top-break .32 revolvermail ordered right out of the 1905Sears catalog for $3.45 and now anabsolute piece of crap with brokenspring, cracked grip, missing parts,half the nickel flaked off and heav-ily pitted from storage in the chickencoop. It might be possible to restoresuch a gun since it was possible tomake it in the first place but it will costthousands of dollars tedious welding,fabricating, filing and fiddling to doso. Then, what do you have? Despite

great sentimental value, it is bestnailed up over the doorjamb next tothe lucky horseshoe.

GOOD INVESTMENT?

Suppose, on the other hand, itwas Great Uncle Willie’s Colt SAAtaken with him to Oklahoma duringthe great land rush. It may be ahellish wreck now with sewer-pipebore, missing front sight, bumper-chroming shop polish and re-blueand plywood grips. But, any Coltwith a visible serial number that

isn’t polished beyond the point ofno return is a good candidate inthe hands of an enterprise such as

TO RESTORE OR NOT

THAT IS THE QUESTION.

Export Target Model S&W Triple Locks(above) are exceedingly rare in any condi-tion. This specimen has much of the originalfinish but is pretty banged up and in need ofsome minor repairs so may be a good can-didate for a maximum-effort restoration. Thislovely old Fraser rifle (below) is just a wee bitworn and misused to ignore and will justifyany effort and expense to heal.

Smith & Wesson New Frontier Target models in.445 Webley are also exceedingly scarce. Sincethis one was stored in a wet rag for decades,etched, pitted, and refinished with indifferentcold blue, it is an ideal candidate for a careful,meticulous restoration.

HAMILTON S. BOWEN

Every gunsmith with two screwdrivers to rub togetheris queried regularly about restoring guns. Often, theguns are family heirlooms with sentimental value

or basket cases that would cost many times their NIB(new-in-box) value to rehabilitate in good style. Manyare perfectly wonderful and desirable guns that are justa little past their prime. Some are extraordinarily rarepieces, which deserve the work.




Turnbull Manufacturing, which cansave most specimens in fine style.Sentimental value aside, even withan investment of several thousanddollars in a serious effort, you haveonly to watch the skyrocketing pricesof these guns to see nicely restoredexamples as bargains next to some

derelict, thoroughly molested origi-nals. In most case, such work canonly add value. It must be said,however, it is well to have a costlypurchase of a costly antique armauthenticated by a knowledgeableexpert since restorations have a habitof becoming increasingly “original”at every change of ownership.

A happy outgrowth of this newappreciation for restored guns isupgraded guns. Again, our friends atTurnbull Manufacturing are among theforemost practitioners. Special-order,

highly finished Winchester rifles, forinstance, are exceeding rare and valu-able. A deluxe, engraved M1876 withmany options turned out by the factoryis probably worth more than a nicehouse in a respectable neighborhood.With a bit of skilled work, it is possi-ble to reproduce such a marvel from aseedy standard model at a tiny fractionof the cost.

There is a special class of gunsthat must be saved at all costs due torarity or intrinsic value. I have a few,one a miniature Fraser falling blockrifle (circa 1885 or 1890) with split

fore-end, scattered external pitting,broken firing pin, relined barrel,foggy scope and beat buttstock withwormy horn buttplate. It is unservice-able, abused and utterly magnificent.Daniel Fraser, one of Scotland’s finestmakers, is thought to have producebetween 400 to 425 of his elegant fall-ing-block rifles, including 50 or so ofthe small ones. This is a favorite rifle,will be buried with me and cost is noobject. I may not skilled enough todo all of the work myself and will bepestering friends who can help but,

someday, this lovely gun will shootagain. Perhaps Mr. Fraser will lookdown upon it with approval.

This S&W Triple Lock retains most of the origi-nal bluing and coloring though touched witha little metal mold. It is best left alone since acostly restoration wouldn’t add to appeal andwould detract from value.




Because the blunderbuss tookmany forms over a period of threecenturies in many countries withdifferent length barrels, bore sizes,barrels of iron or brass and flaredor cannon-turned muzzles, it’s hardto generalize about their design. Thecommon element among all the blun-

derbuss carbines, pistols and swivelguns is their flared or cannon-turnedmuzzles.

We now know that the flared

muzzle did not “spread” the shot.Early makers and consumers mayhave thought so, but the shot columnleaving a uniform diameter borewas not affected by a trombone-likemuzzle if the angle of the bore to themuzzle was acute and most were. Theflared muzzle had two advantages.

The first is psychological. That 2"muzzle of my 10-bore blunderbusspictured here is really imposing if it’spointed in your direction. The second

advantage, referred to in other texts,may have been the greater ease withwhich a coach guard could reloadwith powder and ball as the coachlurched up-and-down-and-sideways.

My personal hunch is that the guardwouldn’t have time to reload andwould turn to his pistols for succes-sive shots, and a further hunch is thatcoach guards would use preloadedcartridges rather than loose powderand ball when stationed on top of acareening stage. Ah, it’s the fog ofhistory again.

The blunderbuss pictured in thearticle is a very typical military andcivilian design of the 18th centurythat is seen again-and-again in booksand monographs on the subject. It’sa 10-bore with a 20" steel barrel that

begins as an octagon and transitionsinto a round profile. The steeplyflared muzzle has a diameter of 2".The overall length of the piece is35", and it weighs 8 pounds. Withits brass furniture and round-facedlock, it’s a snappy looking piece,and it’s the work of contemporarygunmaker, Mike Brooks. With blun-derbuss in hand, it was off to theNMLRA Western National matches.

The course-of-fire for thefirst national blunderbuss matchconsisted of three stages:

1st Stage: five shots with round-ball on the NMLRA 100-yard targetat 20 yards.

As an iconic an arm as ever was, the blunder-buss looked more effective and intimidatingthan it was.

Facing off with an imposing 2" blunderbuss muzzle is a bit nerve racking.




The “coach” is aboutready to depart. AllHolt has to say nowis “Giddy-Up.”

The highwaymendon’t have a chance.

On the primitiverange, you must car-ry all your loadingequipment with you.

Clay pigeons with a

flintlock blunderbusscan be challenging.




2nd Stage: five shots from acareening coach seat at an 8" metalgong at approximately 20 yards.

3rd Stage: five shots at trap-

thrown clay pigeons.The NMLRA 100-yard targetis 12" in diameter with seven scor-ing rings. The 10 ring is 2" in diam-eter and perfect score would be 50points. On the 8" gong/coach shoot,you could use ball, buck shot orshot. The “sound” of a hit wouldgive you 10 points. Each clay pigeonwas worth 10 points. A perfect scorewould be 150.

The match was shot on the primi-tive range where “primitive rules”prevailed. Competitors had to bedressed in period (1750-1840) style

clothing and had to carry all theirequipment on them. For the first(2012) national match, the definitionof a “blunderbuss” was left unde-fined. I think the judges wanted tosee what we shooters would haul outbefore a definitive rule making.

The match was a gas. Because ofthe low humidity in Phoenix andsince we wouldn’t be cleaning ourguns between stages, I chose to shootATK’s Black MZ powder to mini-mize fouling. My load for the round-ball match consisted of 100 grains of

powder, a 1-1/8" overpowder wad, 2Ox-Yoke Wonder Wads, a 0.760" balllubed in mink grease followed by a

final Ox-Yoke wad. Aligning the topof the belled muzzle with the top ofthe black, I was dead-on at 20 yards.

All the balls fell within the black

except two.The next “coach riding” stagewas most creative. Sitting in a buggyseat, you were bounced up-and-down-and-sideways while tryinglay down some shot on the gong.Once you climbed into the seat,you primed your flintlock and thenshouted “Giddy-Up.” I was shooting2 ounces of BBs, and it proved a lotharder than you think to get a “ping”on a heavy-sided gong that the judgecould hear. Fortunately, we could“Whoa” the horse to stop to reloadin our coach seat.

The final stage was a disasterbecause the flimsy trap wouldn’thold the pigeons in position andkept malfunctioning. We shot it forthe fun of it and were told we couldre-shoot it in the afternoon for scorewhen a new trap was to be delivered.

So the blunderbuss lives oninto the 21st century. Long live theblunderbuss!

FURTHER READINGBlunderbusses, D.R. Baxter, Hardcover, 78 pages

©1970, Stackpole Books, OP.The Blunderbuss 1500-1900, James D.

Forman, Softcover, 40 pages, ©1994, MuseumRestoration Service, Historical Arms Series No.32, www.books.joesalter.com

At 20 yards, a smoothbore blunderbuss isvery accurate with a roundball. Holt’s blunder-buss was made by contemporary maker, MikeBrooks. (below)




OUT OF THEBOX™

It is the work of two of the“Masters” at Kel-Tec, George Kell-gren and Chief Design EngineerTobias Obermeit. With these twoon it, it’s not surprising there are

numerous neat little design points.The most important one is a barrelthat is allowed to move, lengthwise,in an amount determined by cartridgecase adhesion.

The .22 WMR has, of course, avery long case. And, there are severaldifferent loads. This results in vary-ing degrees of case expansion, andalso differences in duration, measuredin micro-seconds. In the PMR-30, themoving barrel simply adjusts to thesefactors. It’s a brilliant design.

There is another design point thatis also related to the removal and ejec-tion of that long cartridge case. ThePMR-30 has dual extractors. Theprimary one, on the right side, has theusual sharp-rim-contact beak. The leftone has a rounded end, and its onlyfunction is to keep the case load incontact with the breechface and extrac-tor beak until the instant of ejection.

The external controls are perfectlylocated. The magazine release is atlower rear, and is pushed inward(forward) in operation. The slide staysopen after the last shot, and the releaselatch is at the top of the left grip. The

ambidextrous safety levers are at upperrear. Clicked downward to fire posi-tion, they expose a red signal bar.

The nicely shaped trigger has noannoying vertical ridges. Take-up isminimal, and there is a rear flange thatlimits over-travel. On my pistol, the crisppull averaged 3.6 pounds. Perfect. Thegrip-frame has ample space for even alarge hand, and the shape is excellent.

30-SHOT .22MAGNUM PISTOL

THE KEL-TEC PMR-30.

The front sight (above) can be moved laterally inits dovetail mount, but care is advised and the

use of a sight pusher is called for. The fiber-opticrear sight (below) is non-adjustable.

In polymer-based firearms design, the people at Kel-Tec are Masters. Observe their latest: a pistol in .22Winchester Magnum Rimfire chambering, with a maga-

zine holding 30 rounds. The model designation refers toboth points. “Pistol, Magnum, Rimfire, 30 (rounds).

The Kel-Tec PMR-30 has an ambidextrous frame-mounted safety. Note the rail in front of thetriggerguard for lights or lasers. A red bar show-ing means the safety is in the “Off” position.

The Kel-Tec PMR-30 is a big gun although light inweight at 15.2 ounces unloaded. Even 30 roundsof .22 WMR doesn’t add very much in weight.




jacketed hollowpoints were specificallydesigned for handgun use. I also trieda few rounds of the regular Winchesterrifle load. The pistol worked perfectly

with all of them. Ejection was vigor-ous, the empty cases landing about 15'to the right rear.

Obviously, George and Tobias spent alot of time on this.The sights are also excellent. The

non-adjustable rear sight has orange-red fiber optic dots on each side of thesquare notch. The front sight has asingle dot in bright green. It is laterallyadjustable (dovetail-mounted), but themanual cautions against do-it-yourselfdrifting. Have a gunsmith do it, with asight-mover.

For those who may want to hanga light or laser, the front extension ofthe frame has a generous standardrail. I was pleased to note the well-

written manual refers to that area as“Just forward of the triggerguard” notusing the totally incorrect term “dustcover.” The firing system parts are allhigh-grade steel, and the frame insertis aluminum. The grip-frame, rear slidecover, and magazine are glass-rein-forced nylon.

This gives the PMR-30 an emptyweight of just 15.2 ounces. A full maga-zine would, of course, add just a bit.Even so, it would be a very comfort-able carry for camp or field. Could thispistol also have defense applications?

Yes. The big-bore guys may sneer, butthe .22 WMR is a formidable cartridge.As a Technical Witness, I recently

handled a case in which the doctorsinitially thought the wounded manmight lose a leg.

When I tried out the PMR-30 at

the range, I mostly used the SpeerGold Dot load labeled “Short Barrel,Personal Protection.” These 40-grain

In these test targets, the one on the left was fired offhand at 7 yards with Speer Gold Dot PersonalDefense ammo, and the other fired from casual rest. The PMR-30 comes in a nice hard-polymer case(below), with a spare magazine.




Most of the target work was at 7yards, standing, with a 2-hand hold.Groups were 2" to 2.5", all near thecenter of the 8" black on the ChampionVisiShot targets. With this very light-weight pistol, I noticed a tendency topull very slightly to the left, but this waseasily corrected. One group, fired froma casual rest, was 1.25". This thing is

very accurate.Further out, at around 15 yards, it

consistently nailed “targets of oppor-tunity” such as dirt clods, with spec-tacular effect. We definitely have herea “fun gun,” but also one adaptableto more serious uses. About 20 yearsago, Mr. Kellgren designed another.22 WMR pistol, and P-30 Grendel.With the Kel-Tec PMR-30, he and Mr.Obermeit have brought the concept to“state-of-the-art.”

Champion Traps & Targets1 ATK Way, Anoka, MN 55303

(800) 635-7656www.gunsmagazine.com/champion-traps-targets

PMR-30 MANUFACTURER: KEL-TEC CNC, INC.

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KEL-TEC-CNC-INDUSTRIESCaliber: .22 WMR, Capacity: 30+1,

Weight: 15.2 ounces, Length: 7.12",Height: 5.5", Width: 1.18", Barrel length:

4.25", Sight radius: 6.9", Price: $145

The PMR-30 takes down easily (above). Here itis shown fieldstripped. When the magazine isfully loaded with 30 rounds (below), the top car-tridge is on the left side.

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QUESTIONSAND ANSWERS

Got a burning question to ask the editor? Contact him at: E-mail: [email protected] or postal at: GUNS Q&A,

12345 World Trade Dr., San Diego, CA 92128. Due to the volume of mail received, GUNS cannot offer a personal reply.

TRAINING RIFLE

Q: I have a single-shot bolt-actionMauser .22 LR that looks simi-

lar to ones Duke Venturino writesabout. Why did they make a .22single shot and what was its primaryuse? The serial numbers and placeof manufacture are engraved on thegun but no date. I inherited it frommy uncle who was a tanker Captainfor Standard Oil (ESSO NJ) fromthe late 1930s until the late 1950s.It is very heavy weighing almost10 pounds, and made in Obendorf,Germany.

John ColbertAlbuquerque, N.M.

A: Many countries, Germanyincluded, took current-issue

rifles with worn out barrels andconverted them to .22 Long Rifle fortraining purposes. It allowed recruitswho had never before handled a gunto shoot a full-size, service-weightrifle in the much more benign .22LR. That way, basic firearm manip-ulation, sight alignment and triggercontrol could be learned relatively

inexpensively without intimidationby the recoil and noise of the full-power service round.

VINTAGE SCOPE

Q: I bought used a vintage bolt-action rifle in .222 Remington

in very good condition. It has a side-mount 1-piece base with rings affixingan old 4X power scope with 7/8" tube,and a 7/8" objective.

Does anyone make scopes with alittle more magnification and biggerobjective end in a 7/8" tube? I wouldlike to keep that vintage look butimprove the scope a bit if possible. Doyou know of any manufacturers whomake scopes to fit the bill?

Matthew Gutmann

Warsaw, Va.

A: I fear the 7/8" size scope is obso-lete. The industry has pretty

much settled on the 1" tube for stan-dard scopes for many reasons, not theleast of which is better, brighter glasscan be fitted into the bigger tube.

One thing you might do is look at

a new Leupold or similar fixed 4X or6X scope. Such scopes, with biggerobjectives and oculars were commonin the 1950s, although they’ll havetoday’s styling. The big plus is theoptics and adjustments are so muchsuperior today.

You don’t say what kind of mountsare on the rifle, or what the rifle is, butit may be a Weaver or you may be ableto fit a Weaver sidemount and Weaver1" rings, which were around sinceaway back then too. Weaver catalogsmounts for a lot of the old guns still.With luck, if you have to buy a newmount, you can mount it withoutdrilling any more holes. If it were me,I’d have the holes drilled in the scopemount rather than adding new holesto your receiver. Brownells has the

Weaver sidemounts and rings.And do keep your old 7/8" scope

as a period keepsake for the rifle. It’snice they’ve been kept together all thistime.

Brownells200 S. Front St., Montezuma, IA 50171

(641) 623-4000www.gunsmagazine.com/brownells

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JOHN TAFFIN

F

or the past two decades we haveseen the development of super

big-bore cartridges well above the.44 Magnum in muzzle energy culminat-ing with the .500 S&W Magnum. A half-century ago we were at the opposite endof the spectrum, that is developing, orit may be more correct to say trying todevelop, high-velocity varmint cartridgesfor use in revolvers. Both the .22 Jet andthe .256 Winchester promised much, butdelivered little.

The .256 Winchester was never offered in a revolverbut only in the single-shot Ruger Hawkeye and the

Marlin Levermatic rifle. The .22 Jet was offered ina sixgun but simply did not work in a revolver withfull-power loads. However the 21st century version ofthe high-velocity .22 handgun cartridge is now avail-able as the .22 TCM and this one works. It worksbecause, thanks to gunsmith Frederick Craig, Arms-cor, and Rock Island Armory teaming up, this hotlittle cartridge is chambered in a high-capacity 1911.

Would you believe a 40-grain bullet at 2,050 fps froma 5" barrel? There certainly must be a better adjectivethan “sizzling” to hang on this but I can’t think of one.

THIS .22 WORKS!

The .22 Jet was chambered in the Smith & WessonModel 53 revolver and therein was the problem.Revolver chambers work best with straight walled orslightly tapered cartridges. The Jet was not just bottle-necked it was actually milk-bottle shaped with a .357Magnum case necked down to .22. The problem was setback, that is to say when a cartridge was fired it slammedback against the recoil shield with such force it jammedup the cylinder which could not be rotated to fire the nextcartridge. What works against the revolver works for asemi-automatic. When the .22 TCM cartridge is fired itsrearward motion forces the slide back which ejects thefired cartridge and then comes forward to feed a newcartridge into the chamber. With the .22 TCM cham-

bered in the Rock Island Armory 1911-A2 this worksflawlessly.The Rock Island Armory MicroMag Model 1911-A2

.22 TCM is a standard 1911 with a high-capacity maga-zine listed as holding holding 18 rounds. I say listed asmy fingers got tired after inserting 14 rounds which isplenty for me. However, this is not all this 1911 deliv-ers as it is a most versatile pistol. I have several sixguns

with auxiliary cylinders allowing the use ofmultiple cartridges such as the Ruger Single-Six in .22 LR and .22 Magnum, the ColtNew Frontier in .44 Special and .44-40, andthe Freedom Arms Model 83 chamberedin .454 with extra cylinders in .45 Colt, .45ACP, and .45 Winchester Magnum. All of

these have one thing in common and that isno matter what cartridge is used the barreldiameter remains the same. Not so with theRIA .22 TCM.

The .22 TCM is based on a short-ened and necked down .223 cartridge; thatmakes it the same basic case size as a stan-dard 9mm. Revolvers are not normallyeasy to change barrel wise; semi-automat-ics are. The .22 TCM and the 9mm use thesame magazines and it is only necessaryto change the barrel and recoil spring, aprocess that takes about 1 minute. The .22version uses a 7-pound recoil spring while

the 9mm requires a stiffer 12-pound recoilspring. In either case, with either cartridge,functioning was flawless except for the fact


DOUBL

DUT

With the 9mm barrel, the TCM becomesa high capacity self-defense pistol.These targets were fired with widevariety of 9mm Luger ammo.



the slide would sometimes lock back with the last 9mmround still in the magazine. So basically what we have is ahigh-velocity varmint pistol, which can easily be changedinto a high-capacity self-defense sidearm. High-capacity

9mms are very easy to find, but not on a 1911 pattern.For a long time now I had wanted 9mm on a 1911.Don’t ask me why as there are so many excellent large-capacity polymer framed 9s. I simply wanted one. Origi-nal Colts chambered in 9mm are very hard to find andwhen located are quite pricey as collectors items. Well Iwas recuperating from my life-saving operation in the fallof 2010 Springfield Armory sent me an adjustable sighted1911 chambered in 9mm and I think the fondling of itover several months help me to recuperate as I lookedforward to shooting it in the spring. It was everything Ihad hoped for. Then earlier this year I received a KimberStainless Target II in 9mm giving me two excellent nines.But that’s not all as a couple weeks ago I walked intoBuckhorn Gun and there sat a duotone Armscor 1911 in

the standard 1911 configuration. The more I shoot thisone the better it performs. So is there room for another9mm 1911 at the Taffin Homestead? Absolutely andthere is something quite fascinating about a high-capac-ity 9mm 1911.

A CLOSER LOOK

Let’s take a general look at the Rock Island ArmoryModel 1911-A2 first. Being a target model this TCM hasexcellent fully adjustable Novak-style sights consisting ofa slanted post front sight set in a dovetail matched upwith a fully adjustable rear sight also set in a dovetail.The back of the rear sight is serrated to cut down on glareand both the windage and elevation screws are large and

easy to adjust and also marked clearly for adjustments.This is hardly ever a problem with elevation adjustmentshowever windage can go either way and this one is clearly

marked with clockwise turns moving the groups to theright. The square-notch rear sight matched up with thepost front sight gives a very clear sight picture.

Slide stop and thumb safety are standard 1911. Thehammer is skeletonized and matched up with a light-weight short trigger. The trigger itself is excellent beingcreep free and measuring just slightly over 3 pounds.Rarely do you find such an excellent trigger on a pistol inthis price range. The grip safety is a high riding beaver-tail with a memory bump and the flat mainspring hous-ing is fully checkered. This is a wide-body 1911, which

accepts high-capacity magazines. The slide and barrelare forged and hand fitted at the factory, and the slideis tightly fitted to the frame with cocking serrations on


D U T

D O U B LEROCK ISLAND ARMORY’S HIGH-CAPACITY1911-A2 .22 TCM & 9MM LUGER CONVERTIBLE.

ROCK ISLAND ARMORY’S HIGH-CAPACITY1911-A2 .22 TCM & 9MM LUGER CONVERTIBLE.

John found the one thing the .22TCM delivers besides accuracy isnoise and muzzle flash (above).The TCM becomes a high-capacity,17-shot 9mm (below) by swappingbarrel and recoil spring.



both sides of the rear sight. We find “TCM” on the rightside of the slide while the left side is inscribed “ROCKISLAND ARMORY” and also has the RIA logo. Thetop of the slide, rather than being rounded off, is flat-topped and very eye pleasing.

THE 9

My test pistol arrived in the dead of winter so serioustesting outside was out of the question. With the 9mmbarrel in place I fired the MicroMag Target TCM indoorsextensively and then as the weather began to improve Iwas able to move outdoors. As expected groups shrunkby about 30 percent when shooting in natural light. Iappreciate having an indoor range when the weather isbad however my eyes match up with sights in naturallight much better than the lighting afforded indoors. The9mm version was tested with 17 different factory loadswith excellent results, which are found in the accompa-nying chart. If only offered as a 9mm this pistol wouldstill be desirable. In fact it is definitely a keeper and Iintend to purchase it for my own use. With a 9mm barrel

in place I use it as a hip holster pressing excellent leatherinto play from Davis Leather.

Zach Davis, a local crafter came up with two beauti-fully constructed holsters of exotic leather to carry 1911s.They ride high and close to the body and exquisitely

exhibit the three necessary elements of holster makingwhich are proper design, proper construction, and properleather. Zach gets high marks for all three. The 9mmcarries securely in either one of these custom holsters.

SWITCHING TO .22 Now we switch to the reason this pistol is called aTCM. Gunsmith Fred Craig came up with the ideaof a hot .22 in a standard 1911. Personally I’ve neverunderstood why we don’t have more custom bottle-neckcartridges for use in semi-automatic pistols and especiallyin the larger frame versions chambered in .44 Magnumand .50 Action Express both of which could be easilynecked down to other cartridges. Fred started with thebasic .223 case trimmed to length to fit a 1911 magazineand necked down to .22 caliber. My test ammunitioncarries a 40-grain softpoint bullet with a muzzle velocityof 2,053 fps from the 5" barrel of the TCM.

Handguns are useful for many things. The serious side

is for hunting and self-defense while the fun side is simplythat, fun. Shooting should definitely be fun whether itis plinking, informal competition, are most assuredlytime spent with the family. The .22 TCM is one of the“funnest” cartridges one is likely to find. Recoil is almostnil, however it roars and belches fire. This is definitely acartridge requiring quality ear protection.


MICROMAG TCM TARGETMAKER: ARMSCOR PRECISION INTERNATIONAL

IMPORTER: ARMSCOR USA 150 N. SMART WAY, PAHRUMP, NV 89060

(775) 537-1444WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/ ARMSCOR-PRECISION-INTL

TCM AMMO

FRED CRAIG’S ATOMITRONX (775) 513-3962 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/ATOMITRONX

ACTION TYPE: Single action, semi-auto, CALIBER: .22TCM, 9x19mm, CAPACITY: 18 (.22 TCM), 17 (9mm), BARREL

LENGTH: 5", OVERALL LENGTH: 8.5", WEIGHT: 41 ounces,FINISH: Matte black Parkerized, SIGHTS: Fully adjustable,

GRIPS: Checkered rubber, PRICE: $725

Varmints beware! The .22 TCM deliv-ers a 40-grain bullet at 2,053 fps.

The .22 TCM rides welland close in these hipholsters by Zach Davis.



The TCM started out as a completely custom pistolbuilt in Fred’s shop, however, Fred managed to work outan agreement with the Philippine manufacturer Arms-

cor to turn this into a production pistol. Takedown isstandard 1911 and you simply need to swap the barreland spring to change from one caliber to the other. Twomagazines are supplied and each may be used as a .22TCM or 9mm. Of course, the heavier 115- to 147-grainbullets of the 9mm shoot much higher than the tiny little40-grain .22 TCM bullet, so the adjustable rear sight isabsolutely necessary. I was able to adjust the rear sightso point of aim equaled point of impact with the light-weight .22 bullet, however with the rear sight bottomedout most 9mm loads shot 2" or 3" high which basically isof no consequence in a self-defense pistol.

Groups with the .22 TCM barrel in place ran rightat 1.5" at a distance of 20 yards. A Match Grade barrel

is available at $195 and for use as a hunting pistol onsmall varmints might prove to be a good investment. Ihad hoped to do more varmint hunting with this pistol,however it has been a very strange year to say the least.We never received any moisture until January and theski resort on the mountain I can see from my windowalthough it is 16 miles away opened two months late.However, when the moisture did come it really did comeand we wound up with a great snow season in the higherelevations and plenty of rain here in the Valley. Rain isalways welcome, however it does make it more difficultto get around in normal hunting areas. Everything willdry out eventually. For our little ground squirrels, whichare not much larger than the ordinary chipmunk, opti-cal sights, even a red dot would work for me much better

than the production sights. The problem for me is thesights are too good when shooting the 9mm or on paperwith the .22 TCM to even consider changing them.

While I choose a hip holster for packing the TCM inthe 9mm mode I switch to a different way of carrying the.22 for hunting. I recently received a Tanker-style shoul-der holster from K Bar J Leather Company, which ridesacross the chest very comfortably and also out of the waywhen getting in and out of a pickup. The design, mate-rial, and construction of this most handy holster is excel-lent and I recommend it highly. Straps are adjustablemaking it easy to wear either over or under a coat whereeverything is protected from the weather. In addition tothe Tanker Holster itself there is also a built-in magazine

pouch on the strap. A most excellent rig.The .22 TCM sells for right at $725 and for such aquality-built versatile pistol I would’ve expected a higher

price tag. What about ammunition? Of course it is easyto find 9mm but I can just about guarantee if you walkinto your local gunshop and ask for a box of .22 TCMsyou will get a blank stare. However ammunition is defi-nitely available from Fred Craig and at very reason-able prices. A box of JHP rounds will run $18.50 and

this drops to $12.50 for reloading of fired brass. So farI have managed to retrieve every round fired and theyare all candidates for reloading. Fred says brass is verylong lasting. By the time you read this reloading dies andcomponents should be available so we can roll our own.One final note: The TCM moniker comes from TuasonCraig MicroMag. Martin Tuason is the president ofArmscor and of course, Fred Craig is the designer ofthe cartridge.

Davis LeatherP.O. Box 506, Kuna, ID 83634

(208) 250-6570www.gunsmagazine.com/davis-leather

K Bar J Leather Co.P.O. Box 107, Newell, SD 57760(605) 456-1332

www.gunsmagazine.com/k-bar-j


.22 TCM FACTORY AMMO PERFORMANCE

LOAD VELOCITY GROUP SIZE

(BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (FPS) (INCHES)TCM 40 SP 2,053 1-1/2

NOTES: CHRONOGRAPH SET AT 10' FROM MUZZLE.GROUPS THE PRODUCT OF FIVE SHOTS AT 20 YARDS.

9MM FACTORY AMMO PERFORMANCE LOAD VELOCITY GROUP SIZE

(BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (FPS) (INCHES)AMERICAN EAGLE 124 FMJ 1,144 1-1/2BLACK HILLS 115 FMJ 1,221 1-3/8BLACK HILLS 115 +P JHP 1,332 1-1/4BLACK HILLS 115 JHP EXP 1,301 1-1/2BLACK HILLS 124 JHP 1,237 1-1/2BLACK HILLS 147 JHP 1,000 1-3/8BLACK HILLS 147 FMJ 1,054 1-1/2FEDERAL 124 HI-SHOK JHP 1,144 1-1/4FEDERAL 147 HI-SHOK JHP 1,025 1-3/8HDR 115 TMJ 1,147 1-3/8

HORNADY 147 XTP 989 1-1/2HORNADY 100 FMJ 1,246 1-1/2HORNADY 124 TMJ 1,165 1-3/8HORNADY 124 XTP 1,156 1-1/2SPEER LAWMAN 115 JHP 1,151 1-5/8SPEER LAWMAN 115 TMJ 1,245 1-3/8WINCHESTER 147 JHP 1,016 1-1/2NOTES: CHRONOGRAPH SET AT 10' FROM MUZZLE.GROUPS THE PRODUCT OF FIVE SHOTS AT 20 YARDS.

The .22 TCM carries easily in thisTanker Holster by K Bar J Leather.


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HOLT BODINSONPHOTOS: JOSEPH R. NOVELOZO

It is a marriage made in heaven. When

Kimber recently decided to chamberthe remarkable performing .280 AckleyImproved cartridge in their lightweightModel 84L rifle, designed for the .30-06family of cartridges, they gave us a versa-tile 7mm powerhouse that treads on the7mm Remington Magnum without themagnum’s shove and boom. For mostbig game hunting situations, the Kimber-Ackley combination is hard to beat.

Making its debut in 2010, the Kimber Model 84L,“L” standing for “Long,” is the most petite and scaled-

down production rifle I’ve ever handled. In spite of itsflea weight running from 5 pounds, 10 ounces in thesynthetic stocked Montana model to 6 pounds, 2 ouncesin the Classic Select Grade, the 84L has proved to be anextremely comfortable rifle to shoot, even with the heavi-est of bullets and handloads. The Classic Select Grade,

pictured here, stocked in French walnut with an ebonyfore-end tip, a steel pistol grip cap and a black 1" Pach-mayr Decelerator pad is an elegant, custom-class firearmindeed.

Kimber’s designers are the true minimalists of thefirearms trade. For example, the diameter of the frontring of a Remington Model 700 or a Winchester Model70 runs about 1.355", while Kimber slimmed theirs

down to 1.140". Remington and Winchester bolt diam-eters are approximately 0.693", while Kimber’s measuresonly 0.585". I compared the weight of a standard Model’98 Mauser bolt to that of a Model 84L. The Model ’98bolt weighs in at 16 ounces on my Sunbeam scale. TheKimber bolt weighs only 10 ounces. The Kimber bolt isso dainty it looks like it belongs on a .223 Rem ratherthan on a .30-06. In fact, the overall styling of the boltfor the Model 84L reminds me very much of that of apre-’64 Model 70.

The small, cylindrical Kimber action offers controlled-round feeding, a Mauser-type claw extractor, a fullyadjustable trigger and a 3-position Model 70-type safetyon the bolt shroud. The firing pin is small and light,

resulting in a lock-time just short of phenomenal. The


A) The alloy triggerguard has a trap floorplate, with the release but-ton inside the forward part of the guard. B) The Classic Select GradeKimber is stocked in a handsome piece of French walnut and ends ina 1" Pachmayr Decelerator Pad. C) In this position the Kimber 84L’ssafety is on “Safe” and the bolt is locked closed. A natural movementall the way forward moves the safety to “Fire.” Placing the safety in adetente between the two positions allows the bolt to be opened andthe chamber cleared while still on “Safe.” D) The checkered pistol gripof the French walnut stock is finished off in a steel grip cap.

A

C

DB

THE .280 ACKLEY

IMPROVED

MEETS THE KIMBER

CLASSIC SELECT.

TAMED


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bottom metal, featuring a strad-dle-type floorplate and a through-the-triggerguard release, is cleanand custom looking. In fact, theoverall finish of the metal workapproaches custom quality.

The receiver is mated to a free-floated, pillar-bedded, matchgrade barrel 24" long to extractall the ballistic potential the .280Ackley Improved chambering canoffer in a lightweight sporter, theaction is slick and tight. Its feed-ing from the 5-round magazine ofthe Classic Select Grade is posi-tive as is its ejection cycle which ishandled by a blade ejector oper-ating through a slot offset in thebolt face from the locking lugs.

As a final touch, Kimbersupplies a set of scope bases so perfectly matched to the

contour of the receiver; they give the svelte action theappearance of a square-bridge Mauser.

Offered originally in .30-06, .270 Win and .25-06 Rem,the Kimber 84L is now offered in one of the most efficientwildcats ever designed, the .280 Ackley Improved. Well,it was a wildcat until Nosler recently tamed it commer-cially via SAAMI and now offers an outstanding line ofloaded ammunition and brass for the fine caliber.

P.O. ACKLEY

The idea of taking a factory cartridge and “improv-ing” it by firing it in an “improved” chamber which typi-cally results in a fire-formed case with minimum bodytaper, a much sharper shoulder and increased powder

capacity did not originate with gunsmith and experi-menter, Parker O. Ackley, but Ackley certainly fatheredmore successful “improved” cartridges than any of hiscontemporaries and was a gifted writer about his andother’s wildcat experiments. In fact, Ackley’s Handbooks

for Shooters and Reloaders series is a “must read” if wild-cats are lurking anywhere in your blood.


The efficient .280 AckleyImproved, based on the.280 Remington (right), isa ballistic hotrod, tread-ing soundly on the toesof the 7mm RemingtonMagnum (left). Photo: HoltBodinson.

The Kimber 84L in .280Ackley Improved offersall-around, big-game per-formance without magnumside effects. Photo: HoltBodinson. (Overleaf) TheKimber 84L rests on a pairof Bushnell Legend UltraHD 8x36 binoculars.

A

B

C

A) The nicely sculptured bolt release is at the rear of the receiver onthe left side. The scope bases fit the receiver well and have coarsewindage adjustments in the rear base. B) The bottom of the stock isnicely shaped to match the contour of the floorplate. C) Pressing therelease on the inside of the triggerguard drops the floorplate to emp-ty the magazine. D) The fore-end is nicely checkered and the stockends in an ebony fore-end cap.



Ackley reminds me Harry Pope. Like Pope, Ackleywas a college graduate. He also became a renownedbarrel maker, but most of all, he was an inveterate exper-imenter, an original thinker and a perfectionist. He wasalso honest, admitting freely that many of his wildcatcreations were possible but not practicable.

In his extensive list of improved cases, Ackley focusedon 40-degree shoulders and minimum taper cases.The 40-degree shoulder, originally designed by LeslieKilbourn for the .22 K-Hornet, proved to be especiallyefficient in burning slow powders such as IMR 4350 andmilitary surplus 4831. The minimum taper case assistedin increasing case capacity and minimizing back thruston the bolt. In one of Ackley’s classic experiments, herechambered a Model 94 Winchester in .30-30 AckleyImproved and removed the locking mechanism somerely the lever supported the bolt. Upon firing a round,he found the unlocked bolt did not open and that theminimum-tapered case indeed took the load off the lock-ing system.

The advantage of an “improved” chambering over

other wildcat options is you can still fire standard factoryammunition in it with little or no loss in accuracy. In myyouth, the .257 Roberts Improved by Ackley was therage of the neighborhood, and you had to fire-form yourcases using factory ammunition or handloads stoked infactory brass. Not so with the .280 Ackley Improved.Nosler offers both loaded ammunition and exceptionallyfine brass already full-length sized, trimmed and with thecase mouths and flash holes deburred and chamfered.There’s no finer brass on the market.

THE .280 REMINGTON

I have some fond memories about the standard .280Rem. It was the caliber requested by Mr. .270 himself,

Jack O’Connor, for the last custom rifle ever built for himby Al Biesen. For several years, I shot the .280 in a Hart-barreled, Remington 40-X for 600- and 1,000-yard pronecompetition. With available bullet weights ranging from100 to 175 grains, it’s a more versatile caliber than the.270 Win. In the improved form, it’s even better. Ackleywrote, “It will be quickly noticed that there is little differ-ence between the top velocities for the .280 Improved andthe Magnums, plainly demonstrating that there is littleadvantage in using a belted Magnum case for anythingunder .30 caliber.”

Let’s look at the data, using what I feel is the opti-mum bullet weight for the 7mm which is 140 grains. TheRemington catalog lists the velocity of the standard .280

firing a 140-grain bullet at 3,000 feet per second. Thesame bullet weight in the 7mm Rem Mag is listed at 3,175fps. Nosler’s ammunition catalog lists the muzzle velocityof the .280 Improved with a 140-grain bullet as 3,150 fps,while Nosler’s reloading manual indicates a top veloc-ity of 3,266 fps with 63.0 grains of AA3100—a load stillwithin the pressure standards set for the cartridge bySAAMI.

For testing purposes, I mounted a 4-12x40mmRedfield Revolution scope with its excellent range

compensating “Accu-Range” reticle which offers a setof calibrated aiming points out to 500 yards for all thepopular hunting cartridges when the scope is adjustedto its highest magnification. The Redfield Revolutionline of scopes is entirely built in the Leupold factory inOregon. The optics and mechanics are Leupold quality,and the price of a Redfield Revolution can’t be beat. Thefinal weight of the Kimber with scope and rings installedwas 7 pounds, 7 ounces.


The Redfield scope features conventional caps over the adjustments.The adjustments themselves are clearly marked as to direction andmove point of impact 1/4" per click.

D

MODEL 84L CLASSIC SELECT MAKER: KIMBER AMERICA

2590 MONTANA HIGHWAY 35 KALISPELL, MT 59901

(888) 243-4522WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/KIMBER

ACTION: Bolt, controlled-round feeding, CALIBER: .280 AckleyImproved, CAPACITY: 5, BARREL LENGTH: 24", OVERALL LENGTH:

43-3/4", WEIGHT: 6 pounds, 2 ounces, FINISH: Matte blue, SIGHTS:

None, scope bases supplied, STOCK: French walnut, PRICE: $1,427(Classic Select), $1,359 (Montana)

REDFIELD 4-12X40MM REVOLUTIONMAKER: LEUPOLD

1440 N.W. GREENBRIER PKWY.BEAVERTON, OR 97006

(877) 798-9686 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/LEUPOLD-STEVENS

MAGNIFICATION: 4X to 12X, OBJECTIVE DIAMETER: 40mm, EYE

RELIEF: 4.9" (4X), 3.7" (12X), INTERNAL ADJ. RANGE: 50 MOA eleva-tion & windage, CLICK VALUE: 1/4", TUBE DIAMETER: 1", WEIGHT:

13.1 ounces, OVERALL LENGTH: 12.3", RETICLES: 4-Plex Duplex andAccu-Range, Price: $329.99 (w/Accu-Range reticle)



What’s been interesting now thatI’ve had an opportunity to workwith the Kimber-Ackley-Redfield

combination is how consistent thepublished velocities in the Noslermanual have been when measuredagainst my handloads over a PACTProfessional chronograph, and howaccurate the combinations haveproved to be.

Starting at 3 grains below maxi-mum with handloads assembledaround Nosler brass, Federal 210primers and Nosler Ballistic Tips,I quickly moved up to the manu-al’s maximum with no overt signsof pressure. Three loads illustrate

my point. With any of the Nosler140-grain bullets, the Nosler manualindicates a top charge of 64.0 grainsof RL22 giving 3,265 fps. That hand-load in the Kimber averaged 3,253fps and 7/8" for 3-shot groups at 100yards. The next load from the manualI tested called for 60.0 grains of IMR4831 yielding 3,222 fps. My handloadaveraged 3,218 fps and 3/4". With a120-grain boattail, the manual callsfor 65.0 grains of H4831SC yield-ing 3,331 fps. My handload averaged3,319 fps and 5/8". Indeed, the slow-est and the least accurate load was the

Nosler factory 140-grain AccuBondammunition at 3,127 fps and 1-1/4".

If you’ve been searching for an all-around caliber and rifle combinationthat’s more versatile and powerfulthan the .270 Win without the boomand fuss of a belted magnum, the .280Ackley Improved in a lightweightKimber might prove to be ideal. It’snot magic. It’s simply the marriageof outstanding ballistic performancewith exceptionally fine design.

NoslerP.O. Box 671

Bend, OR 97709(800) 285-3701

www.gunsmagazine.com/nosler


The Kimber 84L bolt (right) is dwarfed by aRemington 700 bolt (left).

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Which works better,reticles or turrets? Itdepends on the applica-tion. I first started using multipoint reticle for varminthunting, and they did extend the sure range. Often,

however, they didn’t work so well on small varmints suchas prairie dogs, because the aiming points on most reti-cles were too far apart to provide real precision whenaiming at something the size of a hot dog bun.

The best prairie dog reticle I’ve ever used was a grid-

type offered in scopes sold by the Ramshot powderpeople, who live in the middle of prime prairie dog coun-try in eastern Montana. On one calm afternoon (notcommon on the high plains) I once used a Ramshot4-16X scope on a heavy-barreled .223 Remington to hitnine of 12 prairie dogs between 550 and 600 yards away.

That scope is still mounted on the samerifle, now mostly used by my wife Eileen,but Ramshot quit the scope businessseveral years ago, apparently becausethey got too busy selling powder.

Also, I suspect there isn’t as muchdemand for really complex reticles fromprairie dog hunters, who found click-

ing the elevation turret worked betteron small targets. A shooter set up nextto a big prairie dog town has plenty oftime to laser a target and click a turret,since prairie dogs aren’t going anywhere,unlike coyotes. Plus a coyote’s chest isseveral inches across, more easily hitwith a multipoint reticle.

Big game animals are even easier.As somebody once noted, on deerall we need to do is hit a volleyball.When shooting a bullet with a highballistic coefficient and a muzzle

velocity over 3,000 fps, a center-of-volleyball holdworks fine out to 250 or even 300 yards with the rifle

sighted-in a couple inches above the crosshairs at100 yards. We don’t even have to consider using oneof the dots or extra crosshairs in a multipoint reti-cle until out around 350 to 400 yards, and somebody

This Wyoming pronghorn wastaken with a 10X Leupold Mark4 scope. There’s no reason not

to use a fixed-power scope forlonger-range shooting, and itsolves the potential problem ofthe reticle changing the pointof impact as the magnifica-tion changes. These days manyscopes have normal-sizedturrets marked in numberedhashmarks (right) for dialing inextra range.


To Twist

Or Not

To Twist

Or NotReticles vs. turrets.Reticles vs. turrets.

Many shooters tape a “cheatsheet” to their scope or rifle stockto remind them how many clicksare required for different ranges.

It’s relatively easy to markelevation turrets in yardag-es, but some manufacturersoffer yardage-marked dialsfor specific loads.



This Wyoming buck (above) was taken at almost 400 yards with a TrijiconAccu-Point scope with a multipoint reticle—using 180-grain factory loads in a.30-06. Even supposedly plodding loads can be used at longer ranges thanksto modern laser rangefinders and scopes. Pronghorn (below) are often shot atlonger ranges. All you have to do is hit an area the size of a volleyball.

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 2013WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 20135050



who practices with a multipoint scope can regularlyhit the volleyball out to 600.

Beyond 600 yards, however, even a volleyball may fallthrough the cracks in a multipoint reticle. Twisting theelevation turret solves the problem, but since only a very

few big game hunters are capable of consistently hittingvolleyballs beyond 600 yards, many stick with reticles.One problem with multipoint reticles is in most vari-

able scopes they’re located in the second focal plane(SFP), behind the magnification-changing machinery.This means the reticle’s actual size relative to the targetchanges when the magnification ring is turned. Probably99 percent of variable scopes sold these days are SFP,and some hunters don’t understand the potential prob-lem, so end up missing when they forget to crank thescope to the magnification matching the bullet’s trajec-tory—and miss.

There are a couple of solutions. Reticle size in a fixed-power scope remains constant, magnification neverchanges, one reason fixed scopes are making something

of a comeback these days, especially for longer-rangehunting. If we’re not going to be shooting at “woods”ranges anyway, there’s no handicap in the smaller field ofview of a 6X scope, or even a 10X.

1ST FOCAL PLANE RETICLES

The other solution is a variable with the reticle inthe first focal plane (FFP), in front of the magnifica-tion-changing machinery. Like the reticle in a fixed-power scope, an FFP multipoint reticle stays the samesize at all magnifications, so will be correct no matterwhat. This sounds like a great deal, but most Ameri-cans don’t like the way an FFP reticle “grows larger”at higher magnifications. It really doesn’t grow, since it

stays the same size, but apparently we can’t grasp theconcept. (FFP reticles also have another slight but realadvantage: The scope can’t shift point of impact when

we turn the magnification ring, as sometimes happensin less expensive SFP variables.)

Many if not most European variables used tofeature FFP reticles, partly because they preventedimpact-shift problems, and partly because most Euro-

pean countries allow hunting during what Ameri-cans usually call “the dark.” Sometimes legal shoot-ing hours run much earlier and later than ours, but insome countries hunting is legal all night long, espe-cially for wild pigs—but lights and night-vision scopesaren’t allowed. A big, bright scope with a FFP reticleallows precise dim-light aiming partly because the reti-cle “grows” along with the image when magnificationis cranked up, allowing a hunter to aim at a wild boaron a moonlit night as easily as an American hunteraims at a whitetail a few minutes after sunset.

European optics companies, however, eventuallyrealized America is the biggest hunting-optics marketin the world, so started making the SFP scopes weprefer. While many still make FFP scopes, they often

don’t always offer them in North America. Fortu-nately, anybody who wants an FFP scope can buyone from Holland Gunsmithing and Shooter’s Supply.Darrel Holland offers both Leupold and Schmidt &Bender scopes fitted with his excellent ART multipointreticle. All the Schmidt & Benders are FFP, while theLeupolds are available in either FFP or SFP. I’ve beenusing an FFP 3.5-10x40 Leupold with the ART reticlefor a number of years, first wringing it out thoroughlyon varmint rifles. It worked really well, and right nowit’s on a new .264 Winchester Magnum.

Of course, many turret-equipped scopes also featuremultipoint reticles. This might be considered the belt-and-suspenders solution to long-range shooting, but

in big game hunting the speed of a multipoint reticlesometimes outweighs the precision of twisting turrets.I’ve taken long-range whitetail and mule deer bucks


Whether you use a reticle or twist the elevation turret, youshould spend some time actually shooting at longer ranges.



with multipoint reticles when there simplywasn’t enough time to twirl a turret—or evenuse a laser rangefinder.

One other virtue of multipoint reticlesis the ability to estimate ranges by compar-ing the spacing of the reticle with the size ofan animal. This may seem unnecessary withtoday’s fine laser rangefinders, but occasion-ally even the best rangefinders don’t workaccurately, either due to flat terrain or brightlight.

RANGE FINDING

About a dozen years ago I hunted Couesdeer in the mountains of Sonora, Mexico.There were lots of bucks, but finding theright one and having him stay where hecould be stalked and shot was tough.Several days into the hunt my guide David(pronounced dah-VEED) and I were sneak-ing down a ridge, planning to sit on the end

of the ridge to glass the big draw below,when we jumped three deer, one a buck withvery obvious antlers. They ran down theridge toward the draw, but started to slowdown after a couple of hundred yards.

“Big buck! Big buck!” David said, not asquietly as he might have. I’d already floppedto my belly and rested the fore-end of therifle on my daypack, and was followingthe buck in the 3-9X Burris scope on myrifle. The scope was equipped with Burris’sBallistic Plex Reticle, and as the buckslowed I compared his chest to the spacebetween the center of the crosshairs and the

first dot below. The buck stopped briefly infront of an ocotillo, and I quickly put thefirst dot on his chest and squeezed off the shot. He

jumped and ran but within a few yards fell hoovesover antlers down a steep slope into the draw. A few

minutes later we found him down there,with a bullet hole within an inch of whereI’d aimed.

That shot, however, wasn’t really longby the standards of some of today’sshooters. If there’s time to precisely laserthe range and twirl the elevation knob,the same degree of precision can beattained beyond 600 yards, partly becausecomputer ballistic programs are nowavailable as an “app” in smartphones. Theelevation, temperature, angle of the shotand other conditions can be easily calledup in the field, and the scope clickedexactly the right amount.

Many shooters, however, prefer to keepthings somewhat simpler. Tactical-stylescopes have hashmarks denoting somefraction of a milliradian or a minute ofangle, and probably most tactical-scopeshooters prefer to use a ballistic program

in the field to tell exactly how many clicksare needed. But quite a few hunting-stylescopes have elevation turrets marked inyards (usually hundreds of yards), so allthe hunter has to do is laser-range theshot and click the range.

Yardage-marked turrets have beenaround for a long time. I have an old2-1/2X Noske scope made in the 1940swith the elevation dial marked in hundredsof yards up to 800, with a tiny nota-tion saying, “.270 150 2760.” It might,however, be difficult to aim at, say, a bullmoose at 800 yards using a low-power

scope with heavy post reticle.In the 1970s Bushnell sold a version ofthe same idea, and I used one of their 6X scopes totake a pronghorn buck. The Bushnell came with asmall selection of dials for general ballistic categories.

Burris’s Ballistic Plexreticle (above) is verysimple, but very effec-tive. Swarovski’s BRXreticle (below) is a“Christmas tree” type,with the extra crosshairsgrowing longer towardthe bottom for help inaiming in wind.

Many coyote hunters like ballistic reticles over turret-adjust-able scopes when a crafty dog hangs up way out there.

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 2013WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • FEBRUARY 20135252



The dial I used with 100-grainloads in my .243 Winchester, forinstance, also supposedly workedwith 130-grain ammo in the.270 Winchester. Obviously suchgeneral parameters only work atranges under 500 yards—maybe.Since we didn’t have laser range-finders the entire proposition wasmoot, and the Bushnell scopesdidn’t last long.

These days several companiessell dials precisely calibrated toa certain bullet’s ballistic coeffi-cient and muzzle velocity. Theywork to longer ranges than genericdials, but obviously can’t be super-precise under different field condi-tions, though they’re usually finefor hitting the volleyball out to500 or 600 yards. Some hunters

(including, on occasion, me) maketheir own yardage dials by attach-ing masking tape or blank mailinglabels on the elevation turret, thenshooting their rifle at various yard-ages and marking the zero pointson the turret. Others tape a yard-age chart to their scope or riflestock, showing how many clicksare required for various ranges. Ifyou hunt mostly in the same area,these work very well.

Doing some actual practiceshooting at longer ranges is abso-

lutely essential. Even today’sextremely sophisticated ballistic programs don’talways match reality precisely, and some ammu-nition shoots very accurately at closer ranges butdoesn’t group so well at several hundred yards. I’veshot ammo that consistently grouped inside 1" at 100yards but scattered shots over 8" or 10" at 400.

Plus, the clicks in elevation turrets don’t alwaysexactly match the scope’s specifications. I test anumber of scopes each year, one of the tests actu-ally measuring how much each click averages. Ifa scope costs $1,000 or more the clicks are almostalways dead nuts, but I’ve tested scopes costingnearly $1,000 with “1/4-inch” clicks averaging 0.3".In the end, however, it doesn’t really matter exactly

how much each click shifts point of impact, as longas the clicks are consistent.

One excellent side effect of the recent turret-click-ing trend is an overall improvement in the repeat-ability of scope adjustments. Before laser rangefind-ers most scope manufacturers built scopes to staysighted-in at one distance, because that’s what hunt-ers wanted. Consequently many adjustments weren’tparticularly accurate or even repeatable.

Back in the 1980s and ’90s I used one particularbrand of scope because they were among the bestoptically back then (and still would be today) alongwith being very tough, able to take heavy recoil alongwith the bumps and bruises of hard hunting. Sighted

them in, however, was like wrestling a greased pig.Often I’d click the adjustments a certain amount,and the next shot would be right in the middle of

the previous group—but the next shot would movethe correct amount, thanks to the recoil of the lastshot. The old trick of tapping the dials with anempty cartridge case sometimes worked and some-times didn’t. Finally I gave up and started using otherbrands.

Today, however, even many $200 scopes have veryrepeatable adjustments, as well as nifty multipoint reti-cles. If we really practice with these scopes, hitting avolleyball way out there becomes far more certain thanmost of life in the 21st century.

Burris331 E. 8th St., Greeley, CO 80631

(970) 356-1670www.gunsmagazine.com/burris

Holland’s Shooter’s SupplyP.O. Box 69, Powers, OR 97466

(541) 439-5155www.gunsmagazine.com/holland-guns

Leupold1440 N.W. Greenbriar Pkwy., Beaverton, OR 97006

(503) 646-9171www.gunsmagazine.com/leupold-stevens

Swarovski Optik2 Slater Rd., Cranston, RI 02920

(800) 426-3089www.gunsmagazine.com/swarovski-optik

Trijicon49385 Shafer Ave., Wixom, MI 48393(800) 338-0563

www.gunsmagazine.com/trijicon


This niceCoues deerwas takenin Mexicowith a Burrisscope withtheir Bal-listic Plexreticle.



useless. Black powder velocity with smokelesspowder is unsafe even in a modern-made toggle-linkUberti action. This is why I call the rifle “Little Big50.” In power it pales before its big brethren in theSharps family—but it is a .50, and the caliber alone

always has a certain cachet. If heavy bullets, powerand velocity are truly desired, move up to the Sharpsor the 1886 lever action—or even the X-frame .500S&W—all are strong enough. The toggle-link 1876wasn’t, isn’t and never will be.

I quickly concluded the long barrel loaded withonly a few cartridges would still handle more like aninfantry musket than a sporting rifle. Within theseweight/length/power considerations, I began to thinkof ways I could remodel the Cimarron 1876 intoa handier rifle. Most of these calculations wouldrevolve around the barrel, it’s contour and the maga-zine length.

THE CHAMBER

I had acquired RCBS dies, but my handloadsduring the initial test were disappointing comparedto the Ten-X factory loads (Ten-X uses a special setof dies for the Uberti chamber). After looking overthe factory barrel, gunsmith John King was reluctantto change the contour because of its diameter andthe depth of the magazine ring cut, which would’veneeded welding. So the search was on for a suitablebarrel and chambering reamer, which proved muchharder than anticipated.

There was no group such as today’s Sporting Armsand Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI)when the last .50-95 round was factory loaded andJohn King and I discovered there were many cham-

ber drawings in circulation to add to the confusion.Pacific Tool & Gauge offered two slightly differentversions, neither of which were close enough to thedimensions of the RCBS dies.

WHERE TO BEGIN?

First step: decide on brass and bullets. Amer-ican-made Jamison brass, properly headstamped.50-95, the RCBS 50-350 cast bullet and Barnes .510"300-grain FNSP jacketed bullets were easy choices.Already on hand were RCBS dies.

The barrel proved problematic because we couldn’tfind anyone duplicating the 1:48" twist of the Ubertibarrel. Although it isn’t cataloged, Douglas Barrels

can make a 1:42" twist, which seemed a good choicefor both the 350-grain cast and 300-grain jacketed.Better still, delivery was quick and prompt. King

55

The “BusinessLength” 1876rifle.

The “BusinessLength” 1876rifle.

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM



A

B C

E

F

G

D

A) The dust cover of the Winchester Expressrifles had this unique stamping, here recreatedwith acid etching by John King. (B-D) An original-style reproduction of the factory ladder sightfrom Buffalo Arms was chosen because it wasstandard on the Express rifle (B) no doubt due toits V-notch. A V-notch is quick to pick up, but notconducive for aging eyes to aim with precisely.

Paired up with the standard front sight (C), thisrepro from Winchester Bob is complete with Ger-man silver blade and lock screw on the base.The express sight with ladder raised is optimisti-cally graduated to 1,000 yards (D). The 1,000-yardrange flies in the face of Winchester’s advertising,which claimed the rifle was only powerful enoughfor 200-yard shooting. E) The crescent buttplate is

notorious for increasing felt recoil, however, it isjust fine on an 1876 rifle, since power (and recoilenergy) is limited by the action’s strength, ratherthan the shooter’s tolerance for pain. F) Originalbarrels were marked “Cal. 50-95” just ahead ofthe chamber, here recreated by acid etch. G) JohnKing made the button for the 1/2 magazine, whichis held in place by the fore-end cap.




sent a fired Jamison case, resized in the RCBS diesand topped with a bullet to Pacific Tool & Gauge fora reamer.

BARREL & BALANCE

The next step was to choose a barrel length. Aftermuch anguish (partly because this was uncharted terri-

tory as to balance and feel of the final arm), and longsearches through George Madis’ The Winchester Book, the 24" length was chosen. Only a couple of originalWinchester .50s were originally made with 24" barrels,the 26" was the factory standard length and 22" wasmuch more popular than any other optional barrellength. I briefly considered the 22", but the fore-end andmagazine are shorter and likely would make the gun alittle squirrely to handle, since the action itself is fairlylong and heavy.

The 24" proved to be very appealing to my eye (Idetermined this by taping off the barrel and mag tubeat various lengths and configurations with masking tape,leaning it against a wall, and casually studying its lookfor a day or so). Looks aside, the 24" 1/2 round, 1/2 octa-

gon with 1/2-magazine configuration proved to providethe gun enough forward weight to be steady duringoffhand aim yet keeping it handy and quick to shoul-der. Oddly, there wasn’t more than a 1/2-pound savingsin overall weight, but the balance point changed. The

balance point now is around the receiver and the step just forward of the receiver leading to the fore-end actsa rest for my fore or middle finger giving the rifle a verysecure feel in carry.

SIGHTS

Standard sights for the Express Rifle would be theodd long-ladder rear “Sporting Leaf”-style, and is areproduction offered by Buffalo Arms. I say “odd sight”because Winchester literature always claimed the Expresswas only effective out to 200 yards max, yet “standard”was a sight graduated for 1,000 yards. The front is a new

reproduction standard model by Winchester Bob. It hasthe correct German silver blade and a screw to lock it inthe dovetail.

57

The polished receiver blued quite nicely, but look at all the realestate available for engraving. The 1876 is a natural for a highlyfinished custom rifle. A custom Old West rifle deserves an ammobox replicating the era, too (above). Did Jeff mention fouling? Aftershooting the chronograph session of 10 consecutive shots, Jeff tookthe rifle home, turned it upside down and dry brushed out this hugetidy pile of filth (below). Birchwood Casey 77 Black Powder cleanerfinished up the cleaning task in no time.

In its new form with 24" Douglas .50-95 barrel 1/2round, 1/2 octagon and 1/2 magazine, the Cimar-ron 1876 is much handier and quicker to point.

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM



of “Deluxe Model,” checkering was added after givingthe wood an oil finish with Pilkington’s. The inside of thetangs and the buttplate were sealed with Permalyn.

As I had already taken the action apart back in ’09and stoned away any burrs inside left from the originalmachining, there really wasn’t much to do to tune theaction beyond making the lever safety-bar-spring lighter.This safety makes you consciously hold the lever tightagainst the receiver before the trigger can move. TheUberti factory spring is too stout and puts too muchstress on my hand for comfortable shooting. King soft-ened it so it’s close to the way Winchester set them. Istoned the hammer notch and sear square to each otherwhich made the pull crisp, if not light, at 6.5 pounds.

The original magazine tube was shortened and Kingspun a button for the 1/2 magazine to fit inside the Ubertinosecap. The 24" barrel still looks good with the rifle-length forearm and holds four rounds.

While Uberti does one of the better polish jobs inthe business, machine polish can soften edges and dishscrew holes. Having more time than sense, I stoned the

action flat and final polished with paper backed by woodor metal. In the process I lost the external Italian proof-marks and Uberti name. The hole where the lever lockresides is the only hole still slightly dished. I didn’t wantto monkey with the thinly struck serial number althoughit is also stamped inside the tang.

The hammer and lever exhibited very nice case colors,although the lever had a few thin, white areas. An easy fixwas randomly applying G96 Blue Creme with a Q-Tip tothe thin spots without doing any degreasing. Leaving alittle oil on the lever keeps the blue from giving the evencoverage normally desired. I didn’t want to cover all ofthe light spots, so some thin spots received a simple lightpass of the Q-Tip and other spots more passes to deepen

the color. Being a creme, the G96 is easy to control onthe Q-Tip.The receiver was given a deep Brownells Oxynate 7

finish by Jim Hoag. When hand polished to a 1,200-grit finish, metal finished with Oxynate 7 replicates thelook of the old deep blue-black charcoal blue used byWinchester, but is sturdier and can be touched up mucheasier. I briefly explored case hardening the receiver but itcaused shivers to those who do the work. Warping of thethin walls of the receiver and sideplate is highly possibleand at this point in the project, the thought of gettingthe receiver back in the form of a pretzel was enough toconvince me to go with blue.

I rust blued the barrel using Pilkington’s AmericanRust Blue. Polishing the barrel to a 400-grit finish, it has

a subtle matte finish complemented by the blue receiver.Rust bluing is easily in the realm of the hobby gunsmith.You only need a tank big enough to submerse the partsin boiling water, and the ability to follow instructions.Brownells can supply it all. My setup from the firm usesa standard BBQ-size propane tank.

King nitre blued the screws, loading gate and sundrysmall parts to give the final rifle a pleasing multicol-ored finish. Oddly, some of the screws under the actionrefused to take on the nitre blue or my subsequent stove-top heat blue. They easily were darkened with the G96.

The barrel has original-style Winchester addressmarkings and caliber acid-etched (sorry Cimarron), butthe serial number, was left alone and is obviously Cimar-

ron’s and not Winchester. Uberti marks still exist on thesteel under the stock, so this is not a “fake” Winchester,but a custom Cimarron.

The original wood wasn’t bad, just not striking andI’d already spent enough on this project that going wholehog wasn’t a hard decision. King kicked through hisfirewood pile and scrounged up a purty darn nice stickof American walnut. In keeping with the mission ofmaking a custom Uberti, we used the original stock fora pattern and the final shaping is more true to Ubertithan Winchester. The nose cap had been aggressivelymachined polished and the forearm had to follow itsshape, so the forearm is a little narrower at the front

than I would prefer. In keeping with the new iteration


CUSTOM 1876 WINCHESTER ORIGINAL IMPORTER: CIMARRON ARMS

P.O. BOX 906 FREDRICKSBURG, TX 78624

(830) 997-9090 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/

CIMARRON-FIREARMS-CO

Action type: Lever action, Caliber: .50-95, Capacity: 4+1, Barrellength: 24", Overall length: 43-1/2", Weight: 9-1/2 pounds, Finish:Blue, Sights: Sporting leaf rear, post front, Stock: Walnut, oil fin-

ished, Price: $1,650.60 (stock rifle), $4,500 (as shown)

The RCBS cast bullets wanted to shoot. Jeff believes black powderfouling in the throat caused the third shot (above) to continually goastray. The best accuracy was obtained with the Barnes 300-grainJFP bullets at 1,454 fps (below). At 50 yards, the Birchwood Caseywhite Shoot-N-C targets are very easy to aim at and bullet strikeseasy to determine without a scope, since it is, of course, a .50.



Winchester with this many “special order” options. HadI bought such an original, which appear in the 5-figureranges these days, I’d likely be afraid to do much morethan look at it!

*Quoted from The Winchester Model 1876“Centennial” Rifle by Herbert Houze.

Into Jamison brass from Buffalo Arms went the afore-mentioned RCBS 50-350, which dropped from the moldat 359 grains (cast from 20:1 mix, sized .512" and lubedwith SPG lube) and the .510" Barnes 300-grain jacketedflatnose. The jacketed bullet is mostly contemporarywith the original 1876 being offered at least as early as1899 (the earliest catalog I have showing it). Capacity ofthe modern solid-head modern brass is much less thanthe advertised 95 grains of the original loads. For the castbullets, 75.5 grains of Swiss FFg was dropped througha tube and a 0.060" Walters vegetable fiber wad placedover the powder before seating the bullet. The jacketedBarnes Bullets, being a little lighter were seated over 79

grains of FFg and both were lit with CCI 200 primers.Here’s some advice for anyone rebarreling one of

these 1876 rifles. Have the gunsmith make you a cham-bered barrel stub to check your reloads. After loading theBarnes Bullets, I decided to load some more cast bulletswith Trail Boss powder. I had to readjust the crimpbetween the cast and jacketed bullets and applied a just ahair too much crimp to the Trail Boss loads, subtly bulg-ing the shoulder.

I loaded the ammo before my move to Nevada andhad to pack and move before continuing this project.Not remembering I never checked the smokeless loads,I loaded the rifle with the Trail Boss loads first and thefirst round stuck in the chamber, trapped in the carrier.

I spent the better part of the morning carefully takingapart the rifle almost completely to remove the stuckround.

That ordeal over, the shooting commenced. Recoilisn’t bad, even with the crescent buttplate, but it’s loud.Accuracy with the 300-grain Barnes Jacketed Flatnosebullet at 50 yards was good with a pleasing 3-shot clover-leaf of 1-3/8" and velocity was decently high. The aver-age of 1,454 fps is pretty good even compared to theoriginal Winchester advertised velocity of 1,641 fps.

The cast bullet would shoot decent 2-shot groups, butthe 3rd shot always opened up the group. Light bulletsover black powder means fouling occurs pretty rapidly,especially in the throat. My cast bullets were heavier andsofter than originally used by Winchester, which were of

16:1 mix. It’ll be worth trying a harder bullet. I’m franklygrateful to get such 3-shot groups without having to wipeor blow down the barrel. If I stay with the Barnes jack-eted bullets and can’t sort out a hunting problem withthree quick shots of .50-95, it’s likely the loose nut behindthe trigger and not the load.

The Cimarron 1876 has proven to be a very worth-while platform for a custom gun project. There reallyweren’t any surprises once gunsmith John King and Idecided the heart of the build was going to be the barreland chamber both matched to components commer-cially available. After the reamer investment, the restfollowed naturally. Being able to do a lot of the finishwork and preliminary polish work both saved money

and gave a feeling of accomplishment, not to mentionone very unique rifle. As expensive as the project was,it was far cheaper than searching for a scarce original


.50-95 HANDLOADED AMMO PERFORMANCE BULLET POWDER CHARGE VELOCITY ENERGY GROUP SIZE (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (BRAND) (GRAINS WEIGHT) (FPS) (FT-LBS) (INCHES)BARNES 300 JFP SWISS FFG 79 1,454 1,409 1-3/8RCBS 350 LFN SWISS FFG 77 1,399 1,561 2-1/2*

NOTES: RCBS CHRONOGRAPH SET 10’ FROM MUZZLE. VELOCITY RESULTS ARE THE AVERAGE OF FIVE SHOTS. CCI 200 PRIMERS INJAMISON BRASS. *TWO SHOTS IN 1-1/4". GROUPS FIRED AT 50 YARDS.

The Winchester Model 1876“Centennial” Rifle, Herbert G. Houze,

©2001, 192 pages, illustrated, ISBN: 0-917218-97-3,Mowbray Publishing,

54 East School Street Woonsocket, RI 02895, (800) 999-4697,www.manatarmsbooks.com

The Winchester Book,

George Madis, ©1985, 640 pages,1,800 photos, ISBN: 0-910156-03-4,

Madis Books,P.O. Box 545, Brownsboro, TX 75756,

(903) 852-6480,www.georgemadis.com

Barnes Bullets38 N. Frontage Rd., , Mona, UT 84645

(435) 856-1000www.gunsmagazine.com/barnes-bullets

Brownells200 S. Front St., Montezuma, IA 50171

(641) 623-4000www.gunsmagazine.com/brownells

Buffalo Arms Co.

660 Vermeer Ct., , Ponderay, ID 83852(208) 263-6953

www.gunsmagazine.com/buffalo-arms

Douglas Barrels5504 Big Tyler Rd., , Charleston, WV 25313

(304) 776-1341www.gunsmagazine.com/douglas-barrels

G9685-5th Ave., Bldg #6, Paterson, NJ 07524

(877) 332-0035www.gunsmagazine.com/g96

Hoag Gun Works8523 Canoga Ave., , Canoga Park, CA 91304

(818) 998-1510www.gunsmagazine.com/hoag

John KingP.O. Box 700, Kila, MT 59920

(406) 755-5352

Winchester BobBob Knapp, 143 S. Oakfield Rd.,

Linneus, ME 04730(207) 532-9206

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Pacific Tool and GaugeP.O. Box 2549, 598 Ave. C, White City, OR 97503

(541) 826-5808www.gunsmagazine.com/

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At the annual Blade Show inAtlanta this past June I wandered pastthe White River Knives booth andimmediately my head snapped backin a double take. It wasn’t so muchthe company’s selection that struck

me—and they do have a wide rangeof choices—but the superb quality oftheir knives. The White River Caper,with its comfortable handle and deep

finger choil, is a skinning friendlyknife packing in at just a tad over2-1/2 ounces. The White River Scouthas a thinner profile perfect for finecaping and weighs about the same.Both knives sport 3.5" drop-point

blades and are 6.75" in overall length.The Caper and Scout are of full-

tang construction and feature top-shelf S30V stainless steel for the cuttingchores. White River offers a plethora ofhandle options too numerous to namehere, but a sampling includes syntheticslike Micarta and G10 as well as exoticmaterials such as Spalted Maple andStag. The fit and finish is custom qual-ity and both knives come with a Kydexsheath. Price wise the Scout runs $149and the Caper $159, both in optionalMicarta, which is $10 more. This pair is

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The White River Caper (top) and Scout(bottom) are big quality in a small pack-age shown with optional Micarta scales.

PAT COVERT

Small fixed blades are an oft-overlooked part of thehunter’s gear, and if you’re not toting one you mightwant to give them a second look. A small fixed blade

can skin with much more accuracy and less chance oferror than an oversized field knife. They add very little toyour pack weight and are a snap to clean compared to afolding knife, which has recesses and hidey-holes thatcollect blood and viscera like a pack rat.



Use GUNS Magazine Today to Stay Informed for Tomorrow.

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VIEWS, NEWS& REVIEWSDAVID CODREA

FOURTH

ESTATE FIFTH

COLUMNISTS

“US Distrust in MediaHits New High,” Gallupannounced, citing a poll

concluding “Americans’ distrust in themedia hit a new high this year, with60 percent saying they have little or notrust in the mass media...”

Firearms owners weary of thebarrage of disinformation, spin andoutright lies we have come to expect asthe norm when on gun issues could wellwonder how 40 percent of the populacecan be so thick.

A case study could be made of media

malpractice in its coverage of OperationFast and Furious gunwalking. When itwas not ignoring the story, the media,with a few notable exceptions like CBSNews, Fox News, and surprisingly, theSpanish-language network Univision,were working double-duty to carry theObama administration’s water and toparrot its talking points.

When the Justice Department’sOffice of Inspector General releasedits long-awaited report on the scandal,it noted it had found “no evidence”Attorney General Eric Holder knewabout the program prior to January

2011. Media shills were quick to spinthat into proclamations he had been“cleared” and “exonerated,” conve-niently not mentioning that muchevidence had been withheld, keywitnesses had refused to speak to inves-tigators, and the White House hadrefused cooperation with the probeciting lack of OIG authority.

Further breaches of integrity wereevidenced when the report demolisheda Fortune article claiming gunwalk-ing had not taken place that the mediahad previously picked up on to derail

further inquiry. Earlier, a Joint Congres-sional Report contained allegationstheir reporter may have been given

information illegally obtained from thepersonnel file of a key whistleblower.

That administration mouthpieceswere coordinating stories with asympathetic press became indisput-able when The Daily Caller reportedthe Justice Department’s public affairschief and Media Matters, an influentialleftwing advocacy site that has vocifer-ously defended the administration andattacked its investigators, had actu-ally corresponded and coordinated onstories about Fast and Furious.

On another front, the hostility andhypocrisy of legacy media to the rightto keep and bear arms manifested itselfperfectly in a story brought to light bycitizen journalist John Richardson,who reported on the Law Center toPrevent Gun Violence hosting a discus-sion on “Truth Telling: The Media’sRole in the Conversation on Guns,”where the panel was comprised entirelyof anti-gun media hacks. A representa-

tive of the CalGuns Foundation wasrejected from going and had his ticketmoney refunded because the organiz-ers did “not feel it was appropriate for[him] to attend this event.”

That’s some conversation they wishto have.

Pat Caddell, a former Democraticpollster, thinks “we’re at the mostdangerous time in our political historyin terms of the balance of power andthe role that the media plays,” and tolda recent Accuracy in Media confer-ence that rather than being protectors

of liberty, the press “have made them-selves a fundamental threat… and theenemy of the American people.”

Soviets joked about communistnewspapers, Pravda (“Truth”) andIzvestia (“News”).

“In the Truth there is no news, andin the News there is no truth.”

RIGHTS WATCH

Visit David Codrea’s online journal

“The War on Guns” atwaronguns.com,

visit DavidCodrea.com to read

his Examiner column.

Due to the importance of this col-

umn, GUNS will beginposting “Rights Watch”

at www.gunsmagazine.com on the

1st of the month—long before itappears here.—Editor

Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/fmgpubs so you’ll be among

the first to know when “RightsWatch” is posted online!

facebook.com/gunsmagazine

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NEWS

SILVER STAR FOR VALOR

When a patrol of Marinesfrom 2nd Battalion, 8thMarine Regiment, 2nd

Marine Division; Afghan NationalArmy soldiers and Afghan NationalCivil Order Police patrolmen wasambushed by insurgents on March5, 2011, Cpl. Jason M. Hass-inger quickly realized many of hiscomrades were trapped, unable tomaneuver or engage the attack-ing enemy. The Marines requestedair support, but it was not immedi-ately available, so Hassinger led hissection through the gunfire to rescuehis trapped brothers in arms.

Hassinger, a Philadelphia native,was recognized for his actionsduring the 2nd Marine Divisionchange-of-command ceremony onbase last August 23, when the outgo-ing commanding general of the divi-sion, Maj. Gen. John A. Toolan,awarded Hassinger the Silver Star,the nation’s third highest award forcombat valor. Staff Sgt. MatthewE. Faircloth, also of 2/8, was alsoawarded the Bronze Star withcombat distinguishing device for aseparate incident.

Hassinger was shot four times onthe patrol for which he was recog-nized. He continued to fight despitehis injuries until the enemy finallyretreated.

“They were all pinned down,” said

Hassinger. “My section was underfire but their faces were in the dirt,so it was up to us to get them out.We suppressed them and regrouped,and we were going to chase them butI collapsed and was evacuated.”

After being shot, Hassinger reliedon his training and combat experi-ence to take over to keep him in thefight. A calm, fearless Hassingersilenced the enemy with his weaponand M203 grenade launcher.

“I’m hit and I need to get backup, … keep going,” Hassingerrecalled after being shot on patrol.“The dude who shot me is going toget shot back.”

Toolan showed his appreciationfor the efforts of Hassinger andFaircloth as he addressed the crowd




toward the end of the change ofcommand ceremony.

“I want you to hear the citationsof Corporal Hassinger and StaffSergeant Faircloth,” said Toolan, anative of Brooklyn, N.Y. “That’s justan indication of the type of hero-ism that goes on every day (in 2ndMarine Division)… We don’t giveawards lightly.”

Those in attendance displayedtheir gratitude for the actions ofHassinger and Faircloth with anenthusiastic ovation as the twoproudly stood at attention with theirfreshly pinned decorations on theirchests.

Hassinger is no longer on activeduty and now works for DisabledAmerican Veterans where he helpsguide fellow veterans to utilize thebenefits to which they are entitled.— Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde, 2nd MarineDivision MCB Camp Lejeune, N.C.

UNDEFEATED

TEAM SINCLAIR

Adding to their undefeatedresume, Team Sinclair Inter-national has posted their fifth

championship in US F-Class Nationalscompetition at the NRA’s Whittington

any F-class nationals, the 2012 compe-tition was made up of dual 1,000-yardmatches where teams vied for victory byattempting to shoot the perfect cumula-tive score—800 points.

Team Sinclair’s aggregate scoreof 790-31x, which indicates an over-all score of 790 points with 31 X-ring(center) shots, was good enough toearn them not only the win, but a

Winning their fifth consecutive F-Class Championship were Team Sinclair members (left to right)Paul Phillips, Brad Sauve, Jeff Rorer, Derek Rodgers and Ray Gross. Gross is the team’s wind coach.

Center in Raton, N.M., on Sept. 20,2012.

The team, consisting of firingmembers, Paul Phillips, Brad Sauve,Jeff Rorer, Derek Rodgers and windcoach, Ray Gross, toppled 12 otherteams representing the best precisionshooters from the US, South Africa,Australia and Canada.

Boasting the highest attendance of

See our 2013 show dates online at www.elitesportsexpress.comTo book the ESE or get your products

on board, call Don at 702-528-6771

Visit one of our three traveling showrooms at a dealer near you and get your

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U.S. National Record (pending NRA

approval) for 1,000-yard F-Class shoot-ing competition.

“We’re grateful for Sinclair Inter-national’s support,” said the team in a

joint statement. “All of us use Sinclair’sprecision shooting components andreloading supplies when preparing forthese events. We need products of thehighest quality and consistency for usto succeed. We’ve never been defeated,and that’s a testament to SinclairInternational.”

The members of Team SinclairInternational have been competing

together since 2007, adding its newestmember, Jeff Rorer, in 2009. They havenever been defeated in professional-level competition.

Sinclair International is the world’spremier supplier of high-quality reload-ing tools, components, ammunitionand accessories, plus unique competi-tive shooting and hunting supplies. Amember of the Brownells Group since2007.—Courtesy Ryan Repp, Brownells

Sinclair International Inc.200 S. Front St.,

Montezuma, IA 50171(260) 482-3670

www.gunsmagazine.com/sinclair

51 YEARS OF SERVICE

After 51 years of distinguishedservice, the aircraft carrier USSEnterprise (CVN 65) will inac-

tivate on Dec. 1, 2012, in a ceremonyto be held at Norfolk Naval Station, inNorfolk, Va.

The inactivation ceremony will bethe last official public event for the ship,and will serve as a celebration of lifefor the ship and the more than 100,000

sailors who served aboard. Details ofthe actual ceremony are still being final-ized at press time, however, numerous

dignitaries and thousands of veterans

of the ship are expected to attend theevent.

Commissioned on Nov. 25, 1961,the eighth ship to bear the illustriousname Enterprise, the “Big E” was theworld’s first nuclear-powered aircraftcarrier.

A veteran of 25 deployments tothe Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean,and the Middle East, Enterprise hasserved in nearly every major conflictto take place during her history. Fromthe Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 to sixdeployments in support of the Vietnam

conflict through the Cold War and theGulf Wars, Enterprise was there. OnSept. 11, 2001, Enterprise aborted hertransit home from a long deploymentafter the terrorist attacks, and steamedovernight to the North Arabian Sea.“Big E” once again took her place inhistory when she launched the firststrikes in direct support of OperationEnduring Freedom.

For more information on USSEnterprise, her legendary history, andInactivation Week events, please visitwww.enterprise.navy.mil. —EnterpriseCarrier Strike Group Public Affairs

INDIANA MARINEEARNS SILVER STAR

“Ithought I was going to die,”Staff Sgt. Alec Haralovichpondered as he lay on his back

in Afghanistan. Taliban fighters hadambushed his patrol of dismountedMarines with automatic gunfire. Theenemy’s aim was accurate. Two bulletshad struck his body armor with suchforce he was knocked backward into

the dirt.Haralovich had seen all the signs. Itwas quiet as they patrolled Ghorah, a

The aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) is underway as part of Enterprise Carrier StrikeGroup to support maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts inthe US 6th Fleet area of responsibility. USN photo: Mass Communication Specialist 3rd ClassScott Pittman/Released

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village usually filled with people. “Aswe were pushing through we were allfeeling confident like we were goingto get a drop on these guys,” thoughtHaralovich, who is from Blooming-ton, Ind. “They’re not going to haveanywhere to run to.”

He was wrong. The insurgents setup a complex ambush that lured hisMarines into a death trap. Haralov-ich didn’t let his fears get the best ofhim though. He had survived twoother combat deployments to Iraq andAfghanistan. A reconnaissance Marinewho knows how to treat his ownwounds, Haralovich applied pressureto his side while he checked for bleed-ing. There was no blood.

“I was really angry,” he recalled.“I was angry because it basically waslike they had duped us, they had outmaneuvered us, outsmarted us.”

Haralovich’s combat medic, Cpl.

Matthew Chen, bounded forward totreat Haralovich who he thought wascritically wounded. However, Haralov-ich was only shot in his armor, so heyelled at Chen to get back.

As Chen was returning, he waswounded in the leg, with a minor graz-ing wound from an enemy bullet.

“That’s when I was like, time for therocket shot,” he said. “It’s time to endthis now.”

He yelled for a Marine to bring himthe M72 Light Anti-Tank Weapon, a

rocket launcher that can disable a tank.He knew this weapon well. He trainedextensively with it on active duty beforehe became a reconnaissance man in theReserves.

Haralovich and his team boundedforward through an open field towardthe enemy, while two of his Marineswere sending rounds steadily to theenemy. Haralovich armed his rocketlauncher. He knew he had to hurrybecause those two Marines were layingprone, shooting with less than one footof cover.

“Running out with a prepped LAWon your shoulder, you’re definitely atarget, I realized like halfway into the

field,” Haralovich remembered. “I hadto basically hurry up, take the shot.”

Haralovich fired. The explosionblew up the enemy stronghold andcaused all of the attackers to cease fireand retreat. But Haralovich and theMarines weren’t finished. He wasn’t

just going to let insurgents attack them.Haralovich tried to communicate

with the other element but he couldn’t.One of the rounds that struck his armoralso ruined his radio.

He had to go back and link up toget a face-to-face with his other patrolelement. Then both elements patrolledforward as a bigger, stronger unit.

“We knew there was a commandand control element well known withinthe region that was near this mosque sowe pushed to the north,” Haralovichsaid. “We pushed toward that area, raninto a couple more fighters. They weresurprised to see us and then they took

off.”With the insurgents nowhere to be

seen, Haralovich gathered his men andheaded back to the patrol base. Hiscompany commander, Capt. JonathanJoseph, said he had to convince him torest after he had returned.

For his gallantry in action, Haralov-ich was presented the Silver Star Medal,the nation’s third highest award forcombat heroism, by Maj. Gen. JamesM. Lariviere, the 4th Marine DivisionCommanding General at Camp Atter-

bury in Indiana last August 26.More than 100 Marines, sailors,

soldiers, family and friends attendedthe event at the training base. This wasthe same place where his grandfather,an Army veteran, was stationed beforeserving in D-Day in 1944. So it was alsoa historical occasion for Haralovichand his immediate and extended familymembers who attended the ceremony.

“I’d have to say that he’s made meextremely proud,” said Peter Haralov-ich, Alec’s uncle. “We followed histhree tours in Iraq and Afghanistan

and communicated with him regu-larly by satellite phone and email.We’ve experienced the stress that any

AS CHEN WAS RETURNING, HE WASWOUNDED IN THE LEG, WITH A MINOR

GRAZING WOUND FROM AN ENEMY BULLET.“THAT’S WHEN I WAS LIKE, TIMEFOR THE ROCKET SHOT,” HE SAID.“IT’S TIME TO END THIS NOW.”Do you need

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family experiences. And of course we’rerelieved that he’s healthy and in onepiece and looking forward to the rest ofhis career in the United States military.”

According to his uncle, heroicsrun in his family. Haralovichs’ havefought as Marines in the Pacific andexecuted bombing missions as soldiersin Germany during World War II.Haralovich now adds a new daringchapter to his family’s long legacy ofwar fighters who have lived for some-thing greater than themselves.— Sgt.Ray Lewis, Marine Forces Reserve

NJ NG TRAINS

WITH BOTSWANA

The ground shook as satchel andimprovised Bangalore chargespacked with C-4 explosives deto-

nated, to clear the way for 1st Battalion,114th Infantry Regiment, New Jersey

Army National Guard in Shoshong,The Republic of Botswana, last August.

Unrelenting mortar and small-arms fire filled the air with a deafen-ing orchestra of explosions, as roundsimpacted the dry, African desert.While support-for-fire rounds landed,

infantrymen of Company A rushed thesimulated battlefield through dust anddebris in tactical bounding movements.

The high-tempo assault and support-for-fire mission was part of SouthernAccord 2012, a large combined, jointexercise designed to enhance mili-tary capabilities and interoperabilitybetween US military forces and theBotswana Defense Force, or BDF.

“They’re just like us,” said Pvt.Rusty Rogers from Point Pleasant, N.J.,and infantryman with Company A,1-114th. “Most of the BDF performthe same jobs we do, just a little bitdifferently, which has made it fun for usto learn from one another.”

Once the dust settled, flames stillsmoldered from detonated ordnanceand expended ammunition, creat-ing a mirage-like haze in the air as USSoldiers advanced toward their objec-tive to eliminate their target.

“This is my first time overseas and

my first time firing rounds with mynew team,” said Camden, N.J., native,Pfc. Brandon Wood with CompanyC, 1-114th. “It’s a whole new experi-ence, far different than what I expected.Learning a new culture and beingaround my team for the first time has

Pfc. Tyler Castor (left) and Pfc. Brandon Wood of Company C, 1st Battalion, 114thInfantry Regiment, New Jersey Army National Guard, fire 60mm mortar rounds downrange during a field training exercise at Southern Accord 2012, Aug. 10, 2012, atShoshong Range in the Republic of Botswana. SA12 is a combined, joint exercisedesigned to enhance military capabilities and interoperability between US militaryforces and the Botswana Defense Force. Photo: Sgt. Adam Fischman, 139th MPAD




given me that deployment mindset inan atmosphere close to the real thing.”

Wood’s favorite part about being amortarman is firing rounds and carry-ing the heavy gear. He said it is hardwork, but it feels like an accomplish-ment at the end of the day. He alsoloves the sound of the rounds makingcontact.

“There is nothing like hearing thesound of a mortar,” said Wood. “It’slike magic.”

Once the assault team reached the

ridge where Company C providedsupporting fire, the teams switched,which allowed the BDF a chance torun the lanes. Three separate assaultsand support-for-fire missions werecompleted in addition to the BDF live-fire missions.

“This has been a great opportunityto learn from one another,” said Voor-hees, N.J., native, Pvt. John Donatucciof Company C, 1-114th. “To see howthe BDF run their missions and teachthem how we run ours has providedgreat training. It’s also a unique expe-rience to train with a foreign military

force.”— Sgt. Adam Fischman, 139thMobile Public Affairs Detachment

MISS. HIGH COURT RULING

Last fall the MississippiSupreme Court upheld thedismissal of a wrongful death

lawsuit brought against Walmartfor its alleged unlawful sale ofhandgun ammunition to an under-age buyer who would later use it toshoot an acquaintance. At the timeof the sale, Walmart had no reason

to believe the buyer was under-age or that he had a propensity forviolence, and it was not “within the

realm of reasonable foreseeability”that he would commit the criminalact. According to the court, it wasthe criminal and reckless shooting bythe buyer, not the retailer’s allegedunlawful sale of ammunition to him,which proximately caused the dece-dent’s death.— Courtesy NSSF

LEAD IN AMMO

“VERY INERT”

In a column by Emily Millerof the Washington Times lastSeptember 27th, research scien-

tist Don Saba explained the differ-ence between the lead in bullets andthe lead in paint that is harmful tochildren. “The lead that is used inammunition is metallic lead and isa very inert material that does notdissolve in water and is not absorbedby plants or animals,” Dr. Sabasaid. “There is a tremendous toxic-ity difference between highly inertmetallic lead used in ammunitionand the highly toxic lead compounds

used in legacy leaded paints.” Dr.Saba noted that groups intent onbanning traditional ammunitionmade with lead components aredeliberately trying to confuse andscare the public into thinking theyare the same.— Courtesy NSSF

ATK CONTINUES

TO RUN LAKE CITY

A

TK announced it has been noti-fied by the US Army that it was

selected for both the productionof ammunition and continued opera-tion and maintenance of the Lake City

A CH-47F Chinook Helicopter from 1st Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment, Hawaii Army NationalGuard, carries infantrymen from 1st Battalion, 114th Infantry Regiment, New Jersey Army NationalGuard to Shoshong Range during a field training exercise at Southern Accord 2012, Aug. 10, 2012 inBotswana, Africa. SA12 is a combined, joint exercise designed to enhance military capabilities andinteroperability between U.S. military forces and the Botswana Defense Force. Photo: Sgt. Adam Fis-chman, 139th MPAD




Army Ammunition Plant in Indepen-

dence, Mo. The initial contracts periodis 7 years, and if all award terms areexercised, the contracts would cover a10-year period.— Courtesy NSSF

RECOVERING A

DOWNED BLACK HAWK

Two joint inspectors from the8th Expeditionary Air Mobil-ity Squadron were tasked with

an invaluable mission at a remoteforward operating base in Afghani-

stan to help with the inspection andmovement of a downed UH-60 BlackHawk helicopter.

Tech. Sgt. Peter Feliciano Jr. andStaff Sgt. Micah Hallman, 8th EAMSair transportation joint inspectors, arepart of the joint inspection team thatrallied up with UH-60 Army coun-terparts at FOB Chakhcharan Sept.17, 2012. Chakhcharan is a townand district in central Afghanistan,which serves as the capital of GwhorProvince. Chakhcharan is a NATO-controlled FOB operated by the Lith-uanian Army.

“This FOB is located in a valleysurrounded by two villages,” said Feli-ciano. “We knew there was an elementof risk involved because this locationwas no stranger to enemy sniper fire.”

After the arrival, the JI teamassessed the damaged UH-60. TheBlack Hawk experienced a hard noselanding, smashing the nose cone andbottom of the cockpit rendering thebrakes inoperable.

“The ideal situation would havebeen to have the aircraft recovered andairlifted out by a (CH-47) Chinook heli-

copter,” said Feliciano, deployed fromEglin Air Force Base, Fla. “But becauseof the weight of the Black Hawk and

the elevation we were currently at, this

wouldn’t be possible.”The team’s next option was to

prepare the Black Hawk to ensure allhazardous material and cargo wereproperly secured to allow it to beloaded in a C-17 Globemaster III tobe transported to an airfield and flownout for repairs.

“Even though some structuraldamage was sustained in the crash,the Black Hawk’s struts were mechan-ically sound, which is important forraising or lowering the helicopter tomeet airframe height requirements,”

said Hallman, deployed from PopeAir Field, N.C.The JI team deemed the UH-60

airworthy to be transported on theC-17. The Blackhawk was thenprepped and readied for onwardmovement. The team’s quick and effi-cient work got them in and out of theFOB in a day and a half.

Even though the successful missionwas over and they were on their wayback to their squadron, a tenant unitto the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing,the excitement didn’t end for Hallman.

His brother, Army Staff Sgt.

Nathan Hallman, is assigned to theArmy Corps of Engineers at Kanda-har Air Field where Micah traveledthrough. The two hadn’t seen eachother in almost a year. They were ableto connect and spent a day hangingout and playing pool before Micahreturned to the 8th EAMS.

“The reward of not only gettingour mission accomplished at FOBChakhcharan, but to spend timewith my brother was worth the risk,”said Hallman. “This was a greatmission and I’m glad I was a part of

it.”— Senior Airman Bryan Swink,379th Air Expeditionary Wing PublicAffairs

Tech. Sgt. Peter Feliciano Jr., 8th Expeditionary Air Mobility Squadron Air Transportation jointinspector, inspects a downed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in Forward Operating Base Chakh-charan. Feliciano and the JI team prepared the Black Hawk to ensure all hazardous material andcargo were properly secured so it could be loaded and transported in a C-17 Globemaster III andflown out for repairs. Photo: USAF




QUARTERMASTER

GETTING A GRIP

ON GRIPS

When I was young, lots of folks’idea of custom “gun handles” was

fragile, slippery mother of pearl,now known as “mother of toiletseat” in tactical circles. Today, wehave “shoes for the baby” thatcombine good looks with functionalfeel. Some more I can recommend, inalphabetical order:

Alumagrips are modern-style withold-fashioned class. You see them inproprietary-to-the-gunmaker formon such marques as Nighthawk, andwhile they’re made for Beretta andothers, they’re most often encoun-tered on 1911 pistols. The slim grip

format may be the most useful, espe-cially for those with small hands. Theset on my Nighthawk T3 compact.45 is going to stay in place.

Crimson Trace LaserGrips don’t just help you control recoil in revolv-ers, they help you hit your target withany kind of sidearm, thanks to the

projected laser dot. They’re particu-larly useful for small-frame, short-

barrel revolvers. Their LG405 unit ismy favorite, its backstrap piece cush-ioning recoil and giving me moretrigger reach for better shootingleverage, without sacrificing conceal-ability. One of those is on the J-framein my pocket as I write this.

Eagle Grips cover the water-front from durable, well-executedfaux ivory, to hardwood shaped forthe human hand, to real-deal “bonehandles” in shapes that are actuallyuseful for shooting. I have them onseveral of my guns.

Grashorn is a name to rememberif you want “stag handles” on yoursix-shooter. Pat Grashorn’s work isthe gold standard there.

Herrett’s stocks proved early ongood looks and improved “shoot-ability” need not be mutually exclu-sive. I have a pair of their beautiful,

functionally-checkered Trooperstocks for one of my Colt Pythons.

Generations of shooters have beenwell served with the products fromHogue. A family-owned business,Guy Hogue’s widely copied revolverstocks have won countless matches,and countless gunfights. The “rubber”versions are on more of my .357-and-down revolvers than any other brand,and a sweet pair of Hogue Coco-

bolo stocks has not only made mypet Ernest Langdon-tuned Beretta abetter-looking pistol, but also prob-ably helped me to win some matcheswith that gun.

Nill grips are another example ofform combined with function, sacri-ficing neither. The P220 .45 ACP is myfavorite SIG, and my favorite Lang-don Custom P220 wears Nill grips.Perfect fit to the hand… no slippagein grasp at all even when rapid-firing.45 +P. And folks say, “Man, that’s ahandsome gun!”

Pachmayr is one of the oldest and

most respected names in the business,and I suspect I’ve won more matcheswith Pachmayr-gripped handgunsthan any other brand. The soft back-strap cushioning on their heavy-dutymodels makes them my choice foralmost all of my .44 Magnums, andColt is still putting them on some oftheir high-end 1911 pistols… withgood reason.

Spegel is another magic name in“handgun holding.” Craig Spegelcreated the widely-copied Boot Grip,which Oregon cops turned me on

to back in the day, and which haveadorned many of my guns ever since,including my favorite Colt Detective


MASSAD AYOOB

So, our own John Connor tipped me off to Tuff1 gripsleeves, and now there’s one of ’em on one of myGlock 17s. It’s the Thin Blue Line model, because

the “thin blue line” thereon sends a message that reso-nates with me. That, and they donate to COPS (Concernsof Police Survivors, a genuine group helping widows andorphans of police killed in the line of duty), and they workvery well. Check their website for their broad variety ofstyles and textures.

Craig Spegel Boot Grips greatly improvedhandling and shooting of Mas’ Cunningham

Custom Colt Detective Special, with no loss ofconcealability.

Crimson Trace LaserGrips,seen here on S&W Model 342,improve both hold and aim.



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NEWPRODUCTS

3D SERIESCARSON OPTICAL

The lightweight 3D Seriesbinoculars have precisely-placed

thumb grooves, “just right” texturingand all-over body ergonomics. Theadvanced optical technology producesadvanced depth and dimension. The3D Series features the High Definition optical coating technologyfound in Carson’s XM-HD Series. The ED glass offers distortion-free colors, clearer images and greater details. The BAK-4 prismsare fully multicoated and phase corrected, and are nitrogen-filled/O-ring-sealed to provide the ultimate in water and fog proofperformance. The 3D/ED Series binoculars are also available in10x42mm. All come equipped with a BinoArmor Deluxe binocularcase/wrap, durable harness system and neck strap. For moreinfo: (800) 900-8427 or www.gunsmagazine.com/carson-optical

BOLT ACTION MAGAZINE CONVERSIONCDIPRECISIONGUNWORKS

C

DiPrecisionmanufactures box

magazine conversion kitsfor an extended line ofbolt-action rifles. Magazineconversions are availablein short- or long-actionversions for Remington 700, Tikka T3, Howa 1500, Savage10/110 series, FN-SPR/Winchester, Kimber 8400 and Mauser 98Large Ring rifles. Their conversions utilize top-quality AccuracyInternational magazines in .223, .308, .300 Win and .338 Lapua.CDiPrecision offers stock inletting and complete installationservice with a fast turnaround. Several stock manufacturersprovide pre-inletted stocks for CDiPrecision conversion kits.For more info: (941) 961-3185 or www.gunsmagazine.com/ cdiprecision

EXTENDED SAFETYLEVER FOR SIG 500RIFLESKREBS CUSTOM

Krebs Custom announcesa new Extended Safety

Lever for SIG 500 series rifles(522, 530, 540, 542, 550,551, 5565, and 566). Madefrom 6061-T2 aluminum(with a 2-milliliter coatingthickness) that’s been anodized in conformance with mil-spec

MIL-A-8625, Type III, Class 2 Black, this lever is designed tobe installed easily by the purchaser, and provide the user withsuperior ergonomics and improved manipulation. Price is $44.For more info: (847) 487-7776 or www.gunsmagazine.com/ krebs-custom-guns

MONSTROID DARKOTIC TARGETSBIRCHWOOD CASEY

Test your shooting skills againstthings that “go bump in the night”

with the new Darkotic Monstroidtargets from Birchwood Casey. Thenew Darkotic Monstroid targets includeeight new scary monsters are available,including the Snack Rabbit Jackalope,

Dead Sea SeaMonster, FreezerBurn Yeti, NightWatch Werewolf,Final HarvestScarecrow, FarmHand Chupacabra,Grounds CrewGarden Gnomesand Scar Tissue, achainsaw wieldingmaniac. 12"x18"splattering targetsare available in

8-packs for $12.50, 50-packs for $70,or can be ordered individually/bulk inmultiples of 100 for $1.20 each. 23"x35"non-splattering paper versions of alleight targets are available for $1.98each in bulk/multiples of 100. Formore info: (800) 328-6156 or www.gunsmagazine.com/birchwood-casey-laboratories

LOCKDOWNX OPTICSDEPLOYMENT SYSTEMS4GEAR

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he LockDownX was designedfor maximum comfort,

incorporating an X-style harnessdesign that evenly distributes theweight of the binocular acrossyour back to eliminate shoulderor neck tension. It’s extremelybreathable and has multipleadjustment points, allowingfor easy resizing when wearingextra layers of heavy clothing.The LockDownX’s wider, low-profile binocular shield providesprotection as well as constantsecurity for your expensivebinocular, yet it affords the user rapid and quiet deployment.

The LockDownX fits binoculars from 5.75" to 7.5", and thehood of the binocular shield can be molded to fit tightly fora low-clearance setup. For more info: (866) 574-8743 orwww.gunsmagazine.com/s4-gear

COMETA AIRGUNSAIRFORCE INTERNATIONAL

Auto-Numatic Corp. has announcedthe formation of their latest venture,

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centuries-old tradition of high-quality gunmaking, Carabinas Cometa are specialistsin the development of craftsman-builtairguns. The barrels are precisely drilled

and later cold-hammer forged in machinesespecially made for this process. Formore info: (817) 451-8966 or www.gunsmagazine.com/airforce-international




If you would like your product featured in GUNS Magazine’s New Products,Contact: Jason Moreau (866) 903-1199. For more New Products visit us online at www.gunsmagazine.com

H2000 FLASHLIGHTSIGHTMARK

The SightmarkH2000 Tactical

Flashlight featuresCree LEDs to provide2000 lumens of lightfor the most difficultshots or furthestpoint in the dark of night. The H2000 Triple Duty Flashlightis constructed with Type II mil-spec anodizing aircraft-gradealuminum for durability and protection against corrosion. TheH2000 features 2 hours of continuous battery life, significant fora high-lumen count. It comes with two rechargeable batteries, abattery recharger, a weapon mount, on/off push button, pressureswitch and three color filters. This product is recoil resistant,waterproof, lightweight and protected by Sightmark’s limitedlifetime warranty. For more info: (817) 225-1625 or www.gunsmagazine.com/sightmark

PBS-DIGISWIPELOCKSAF

The LockSAF PBS-DigiSWIPEbiometric safe features the same bodyas the PBS-001. The DigiSWIPE readeropens the safe in 1 second, and next-generation algorithms allow the readerto be more reliable and consistent. ThePBS-DigiSWIPE features the LockSAF’stamperproof 9-gauge steel box that ismountable to any flat surface or can be secured with a cable,and comes with backup keys. For more info: (877) 568-5625 orwww.gunsmagazine.com/locksaf

MOE RIFLE STOCKMAGPUL INDUSTRIES CORP.

The MOE Rifle Stock is a drop-in replacement for AR-15/ M16 A1 and A2 rifle stocks,utilizing the standard rifle-lengthreceiver extension (buffertube). Designed as a basicupgrade, the stock features an integral 1.25" sling loop that canbe used as a butt hook for sand bag or support-hand weaponcontrol, optional dual-side front and rear QD mounting points,

compatibility with PRS and PRSextended rubber buttpads and alarge internal storage compartmentaccessible through the rear storagedoor. Made in the USA. For moreinfo: (877) 462-4785 or www.gunsmagazine.com/magpul-industries

BATTLEHOOK REAR COMBAT SIGHTVOLKMANN PRECISION

Atrue combat-ready and provensight design. This heavily

serrated black rear blade showsa sight picture that is quick fortarget acquisition and has theability and strength to operate theslide of the pistol single-handedlyin a real combat situation. Luke Volkmann designed thissight in partnership with Henning Wallgren. For more info:(303) 884-8654 or www.gunsmagazine.com/volkmann-custom-guns-inc

B.A. BARACASQTRM5TR

QTRM5TR’s first karambit design. Angular and industrialin appearance, the B.A. Baracas includes an enlarged

finger hole to accommodate the most swollen knuckles orgloved hands. This knife is being produced of the samepowder-metallurgy 154 ultra-premium steel that theirother three knives are cut from. There are no small partsand the design is simple—no spine-spacer means lighterweight and easiercleaning. A G10finger-hole spacermeans smootherspins and bettertransitions. Ajimped thumb-ramp and bi-level blade spinewill soon become an industry standard once enthusiastsget their hands on this knife. For more info: www.gunsmagazine.com/qtrm5tr

SLIP-OVER RUGER NO. 1 SCOPE MOUNTE. ARTHUR BROWN COMPANY, INC.

The new Slip-Over Ruger No. 1 scope mount solves theproblem

of aligning anafter-marketscope base ona contouredbarrel. TheSlip-Over usesthe factory pre-aligned rib asan alignmentshim! Now you can have a precisely aligned Weaver/ Picatinny-style scope base on your Ruger No. 1. Remove

the screws from the original rib (it will stay in place with therecoil pins). Slip the Slip-Over mount onto the rib, and installwith replacement screws included... easy! The Slip-Overscope mount is made of strong, lightweight, aircraft-gradealuminum. Retail price: $59. For more info: (320) 834-3000 orwww.gunsmagazine.com/earthur-brown-co

RAD (RADIATION DETECTOR)MTM SPECIAL OPS

The MTM RAD is a gamma dosimeter and a Swiss movement-equipped watch that monitors environmental radiation

levels and alerts users in case of dangerous levels with anaudible alarm. There is

a multifunction, digital-time-keeping display,analog time display and a100-meter water resistantwatchcase. The MTMRAD can be worn by bothprofessionals dealing withradiological materialsand environments on adaily basis, and citizensconcerned with possibleradiation exposure. Itrecords data for up to 500 separate events in its non-volatilememory and will transmit all recorded data to a PC forprocessing and analysis. For more info: (800) 284-9487 or www.

gunsmagazine.com/mtm-specialops




Blending true light weightwith exceptional accuracy,the Kimber 84L ClassicSelect Grade is unequaled as

a hunting rifle. It is a step up, with aFrench walnut stock, ebony fore-endtip, and hand-cut checkering thatestablishes a new high-quality base-line for a production rifle. Fine detailsspeak loudly of quality, and attentionto the smallest detail is a cornerstoneof every Kimber rifle.

On your new rifle is a Nikon rifle-scope, mounted with a Warne 2-piece

base and medium scope rings. TheMonarch’s wide magnification rangesets the standard of performance fora mid-sized scope! Nikon’s Monarcheye box offers a 4-time zoom rangeand a generous field of view, all whilemaintaining 4" of constant eye relief,making it the perfect hunting compan-ion even on hard-kicking rifles.

But we have more this month for just one lucky winner! You’ll be hunt-ing in comfort with a set of Howard

Leight by Honeywell Impact SportElectronic Earmuffs. Impact Sport

keeps wearers both protected fromhazardous noise and connected to theirenvironment. The muffs actively listenand automatically shut off amplifi-cation when harmful noise levels arereached. You’ll need eye protection,too, and the Genesis Sharp-Shootereyewear features wrap-around lensesfor uncompromised peripheral visionand protection.

All this can be yours for free, soenter to win! Go to: www.gunsmaga-

zine.com/giveaway or send those post-cards in now.

WIN!FOR WEB LINKS, GO TO WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/PRODUCT-INDEX

TOTALPACKAGEVALUE:

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Kimber 84L Classic Select Grade

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Action type: Bolt, Caliber: .30-06, Capac-ity: 5, Barrel length: 24", Overall length:

43-3/4", Weight: 6 pounds, 2 ounces,

Finish: Hand-rubbed oil, Stock: A-gradeFrench walnut, Value: $1,427




TO ENTER CONTEST:PLEASE USE YOUR OWN POSTCARD(NO ENVELOPES, PLEASE) Follow sample card below. Mail postcard to:GUNS Magazine, GOM FEBRUARYP.O. BOX 502795, San Diego, CA 92150-2795.Entries must be received before MARCH 1, 2013.Limit one entry per household.QUESTION OF THE MONTH: When loading your firearm’smagazine, do you use aftermarket loading tools?(A) Yes(B) No(C) Sometimes(D) I do not own a loading tool

Name

AddressCity, State, ZipEmail AddressCIRCLE ANSWER(S) TO QUESTION OF THE MONTH FEBRUARY 2012:

(A) (B) (C) (D)

IF I WIN, SHIP MY PRIZE THROUGH:

FFL Dealer

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City, State, Zip

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Attention Deployed Military: USE STATESIDE ADDRESS!

INSTANT

ACCESS!

INSTANT

ACCESS!WINNERS CHOSEN BY RANDOM DRAWING.

Limit one entry per household. To protect the privacyand security of winners, their names will NOT be madepublic.

Contest void where prohibited by law. Winners mustundergo a background check and comply with all otherfederal, state and local laws. Taxes and fees will be the re-sponsibility of the winner. Contest open to U.S. residentsonly. Employees and agents of Publishers’ DevelopmentCorp. are not elegible. No purchase necessary. Winnerswill be notified by certified mail on official letterhead. At-tention deployed military: Use stateside address! Give-away guns and accessories may have evidence of beingtest fired or exhibit minor handling marks. Factory war-ranties may apply in some cases.

The Gun of the Month package is awarded only tothe entrant drawn and will not be awarded if the firearmpresented is illegal in the jurisdiction of the winner. Analternate, authorized winner will be selected. No substitu-tions or transfers to a third party are allowed.

MONARCH 2.5-10X42 MATTE BDC MAKER: NIKON

1300 WALT WHITMAN RD., MELVILLE, NY 11747 (800) 645-6687

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value: 1/4", Tube diameter: 1", Weight: 16.6 ounces, Overalllength: 12.6", Color: Matte black, Value: $429.95

IMPACT SPORTSEARMUFFS

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Several questions related to visionand perception: Yes, you can some-times see a star or distant light from

the corner of your eye, but can’tsee it when you stare directly atit—and there’s nothing wrong withyour vision. Here’s why: The struc-tures in your eyeballs which pick uplight and color are called rods andcones; rods sense light, cones sensecolor. Directly behind your lens andretina you have a mix of rods andcones, but starting a few degrees

off center from your pupil, rods notonly dominate, they’re more denselypacked than those at the center. So,

your peripheral vision picks up thatstar or distant light better than yourcenter-focused vision simply becauseit’s better equipped for light-and-contrast sensing.

This is one of the reasons whydoing a slow, sweeping scan of anarea will help you pick up movementmuch better than staring directly atvarious points. When movement issensed, don’t stare straight at it! Firsttry to use your peripheral vision tobracket it with other features so youdon’t “lose” it. Soldiers and hunters

learned this centuries before scienceexplained it. This takes practice,especially when using binoculars, but

it pays off.Another visual phenomenon to

be aware of is superimposing . This

happens most in snow-covered,desert, and rocky high-mountainterrain. If you stare at, let’s say, adark brushpile in snow or knots ofdebris or dark shrubs in desert, look-ing for game, enemy or movement,then you stare at another brush-pile or shrub cluster, your eye maymomentarily superimpose a “blot”from the previous site onto the new

one, so you’re not really seeing what’sthere. It’s kinda the dark version ofthe “retinal memory” you get from a

sudden bright flash.

LEAD AND PRIMERS

.22 Lead Fouling: Frank inher-ited a rack full of .22 rifles describedas “shot a lot for many years, nevercleaned, and heavily lead-fouled.”Here’s a great technique I got from atop gunsmith. Caution: Wear imper-meable gloves and I recommend afilter mask. This process produceshighly absorbable lead. Mix up aslurry of JB Bore Paste and Kroil.With muzzle down, liberally douse

a stainless steel bore brush with thegoop and make a couple of slowpasses from breech to muzzle.

Leave the slurry thick in the borefor 10 minutes up to overnight. Thenslowly push a snug brass jag downthe barrel and marvel at the chunkymoosh that comes out. Sometimesyou’ll even get “strings” of lead acouple inches long. Clean the residueout with patches, then do a “normal”cleaning and recheck for any remain-ing lead. Remember, stainless steelbrushes should only be used on heav-ily lead-fouled or rusty steel barrels,and then, sparingly. They’re tooaggressive for regular use.

On corrosive primers: One readerbought a case of 1980s productionSellier & Bellot 7.62x51mm ammo,and was surprised to find it has

corrosive primers. He thought corro-sive primers were obsolete by WorldWar II and asked why they were stillbeing made in the 1980s.

Most militaries continued usingcorrosive primers through the 1950s.They were using up existing stock,and, because early non-corrosiveprimers didn’t have the same sure-fire ignition record, especially infreezing temps. The Warsaw Pactcountries continued using corrosiveprimers long after that because theSoviets firmly believed they held up

better over long-term storage in deepcold conditions. Their experiencesupported that, and Ivan knows allabout freezing.

Lots of shooters recoil in horrorfrom the thought of using corro-sive primers, but proper cleaningisn’t hard at all—just a bit moredemanding and requiring follow-upbore, chamber and bolt face clean-ings (and gas systems of semi-autos)for a couple of days—not vigorous,but regular cleaning and oiling. I’veused hot soapy water, diluted house-hold ammonia and Windex with

ammonia, with great results. If yourweapon has a flash suppressor, besure to clean, dry and oil its slotsthoroughly or rust will form. I’d saytake advantage of the low prices oncorrosive-primed milsurp ammo, doa little study on proper cleaning, andyou’re good to go!

BUGS: DON’T LET’EM BUG YOU

About Those Bugs: In my writ-ing about emergency prepared-ness, many have noted an empha-

sis on post-disaster protection frominsects, recommending inclusionof mosquito netting, sheet plastic,

SHRAP & FRAGS

EYEBALLS, PRIMERS, BUGS AND LEAD.

“When movement is sensed, don’t stare

straight at it! First try to use your periph-

eral vision to bracket it with other featuresso you don’t “lose” it. Soldiers and hunters

learned this centuries before science ex-

plained it. This takes practice, especially

when using binoculars, but it pays off.”

JOHN CONNOR

Iroutinely get questions from all kinds of sources. Feware enough to expand into columns, while sometimesthe answers couldn’t fit into the entire magazine. So, I

bundled some together and picked a couple at random. Ifyours isn’t among them, well, maybe you’ll find somethingof interest anyway.




insect repellent and bite-and-stingtreatments in your supplies. Severalhave asked “Why so insistent onthat? Are insects really such a prob-lem after fires, floods or whatever?”

Yes, they are! To a lesser extentafter fires and to a greater extent

after flooding, hurricanes, majorstorms, etc., insects and bugs of allkinds have been displaced from theirusual habitats and become concen-trated in the same constricted areaswhere humans are seeking shelter.Hey, they’re just as determined tosurvive as you are, and most of ’emare better at it.

You know how infuriating half adozen flies can be at your backyardpicnic table? How hard it is to sleepwith just one persistent mosquito inyour bedroom? Imagine trying to eat

and feed your kids with thousandsof flies swarming you, or the hungerof a million female mosquitoes afterbeing “grounded” and unable tofeed for 24 to 48 hours. It’s not justa health and medical issue, thoughthat’s serious enough. It’s also aboutpreserving your sanity and decision-making ability. Enough said?

Aside from gathering supplies,here’s something smart you can doin mid-winter: Test yourself andfamily members for negative skinand respiratory reactions to somepopular insect repellent lotions and

sprays, particularly any containingDEET. Test only a very small area,and watch for rashes or other reac-tions. Most repellents have detailedinformation on testing and reactions.At least, find out which repellentsare apparently safe for you beforeyou really need them. It’s not a badidea to test for reactions to after-bitetreatments too.

Believe me, you wouldn’t want torub something on your wife to sootheher, and find out it makes her swellup and break out like a lobster with

scabies! Learn from my experimentsand mistakes, OK? Connor OUT

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ADVERTISER’S INDEXTHE COMPANIES LISTED HAVE

FEATURED ADVERTISEMENTS IN THIS ISSUE. LOOK

TO THEM FIRST WHEN YOU ARE READY TO MAKE A PURCHASE.

ADVERTISER PAGE ADVERTISER PAGE ADVERTISER PAGE

Al Mar Knives . . . . . . . . .25American Handgunner

Subscription. . . . . . . . .35

American Watch Co. . . . . .3

The Beltman . . . . . . . . . .66Blade-Tech Industries . . .15

Bond Arms . . . . . . . . . . .13

Boomer Gear LLC . . . . . .46

Chapman Mfg. . . . . . . . .73

Colt Mfg. Inc. . . . . . . . . . .9

Crimson Trace Corp. . . . .63

CrossBreedHolster LLC . . . . . . . . .13

Daniel Defense . . . . . . . C2

DeSantis Holster . . . . . . .34

Dixie Gun Works . . . . . . .66

El Paso Saddlery Co.. . . .79

Elite Sports Express . . . .64

F I I S T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 6

Fiocchi Ammunition . . . C3

Fort Knox Security . . . . .62

Graf & Sons . . . . . . . . . .34

Gum Creek . . . . . . . . . . .32

GUNS Magazine

Subscription. . . . . . . . .61

Hogue Inc. . . . . . . . . . . .25

Kimber

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Kirkpatrick

Leather Company . . . . .64

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Site Co. . . .10, 60, 65, 69LaserMax . . . . . . . . . . . .16Mec-Gar USA . . . . . . . . .79

Rio GrandeCustom Grips. . . . . . . .73

Rock River Arms. . . . . . .23Sand Burr Gun Ranch . . .73Savage Arms. . . . . . . . . .17Smith & Wesson

Performance Center . . .11Spartan Blades . . . . . . . .46Springfield Inc. . . . . . .7, 33

Ten Ring Precision . . . . .73Thunder Ranch

Training DVDs . . . .47, 80Tuff1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32Wicked Grips. . . . . . . . . .67



continued from page 82

and especially speed shooting andlong-range shooting. For the latterhe used the then relatively new Smith& Wesson .357 Magnum on silhou-ette targets out to 600 yards. Todaywe may think scopes on handgunsare relatively new, however McGivernwas scoping the S&W .357 Magnumin the 1930s.

Even before the advent of the .357Magnum McGivern was using the.38/44 for long-range shooting andhis book has targets pictured with allsix shots on a silhouette target shot at300 yards with ironsights. When it cameto speed shooting hisfavorite sixgun wasthe Smith & WessonMilitary & Police .38and this book showsseveral photographs

with five shotswhich couldbe covered bythe hand eventhough shot in a1/2 second. Using twoguns, one in each hand,he performed the samefeat onto targets in justover 1 second. His bookis not the easiest reading, however,for pure sixgun information it is stillvaluable and a must read for anysixgunner.

Bob Nichols, author of TheSecrets of Double Action Shooting, 1950: Bob Nichols was a contempo-rary of both Fitz and Ed McGivernand his book takes up where they leftoff. He used the Fitz Special modifi-cation, however, like McGivern, hepreferred Smith & Wesson revolv-ers, saying, “Smith & Wesson actu-ally did produce the first smooth andfaultless double-action revolver evermade. The job took them all of 50years to accomplish. The accomplish-ment came, however, when the perfectdouble-action revolver no longer

seem particularly important. Theautomatic was now in the saddle.”

So even as early as the 1940s thehandwriting was already on the walland the semi-automatic would beeventually be king for military andpolice, as well as many civilians. Asthe title of Nichols’ book says, this isabout all aspects of real double-actionshooting, using the trigger not thehammer to cock the action and it isworthwhile to note he talks of bull’s-eye shooters in the 1940s using theirSmith & Wesson Target revolvers in

the double-action mode. This book isan absolute must-read for those whoappreciate, and want to know more,

about double-action shooting. It isinteresting to note his observance thatFitz understood full well the Smith &Wesson was better for double-actionshooting than the Colt he by necessityas an employee of Colt had to use.

Walter Winans, author of The Artof Revolver Shooting, 1901: In theclosing decades of the 1800s, WalterWinans was a champion revolvershooter. He was Russian born so itis somewhat fitting that much of hisshooting was done with a Smith &Wesson New Model No. 3 Targetrevolver chambered in .44 Russian.Using black powder loads in the1880s, Winans set records at 50 yards

that for all I know still standtoday.

He wrote, “When I firstbegan revolver shooting,I saw in a standard bookon shooting that to hit amark the size of a man at

10 paces was all one couldexpect of a revolver!Nowadays, if aman cannot at that

distance hit the pipof the ace of hearts, it isown fault.” His book isa true classic on revolver

shooting. However some-thing I find most interesting was howforward-looking Winans was. In hisbook The Modern Pistol from 1919 hemakes the statement, “Moreover, therevolver is now obsolete, and there is

no use learning to shoot it.” I don’tknow if I can forgive him for thatstatement as wrong as it was and is!The semi-auto may be king now butthe sixgun is far from obsolete.

Allotted space is always a prob-lem so we will have to save such othercontributors to the art of shootingas Walter Roper, Phil Sharpe, HenryStebbins, Townsend Whelen… foranother time or times. Where canyou find any of the above-mentionedbooks? An excellent source I use forold books is www.abebooks.com, andthe Firearms Classics Library (www.

palladiumpress.com) has reprintedover 100 valuable sources of infor-mation. Books sell for about $40 andarrive about every 6 weeks or so. I’vealready filled six shelves in my librarysince I’ve been a member. I beganbuilding my library of firearms infor-mation as a teenager in the 1950sthrough the old Outdoor Life BookClub and those books, which openedwhole new vistas for me, are still in mylibrary. In this age of electronic booksand the Internet there is still nothinglike the printed page especially when

the weather is bad and actual shoot-ing is out of the question. Reading iseven better than dry-firing.

The Classic of

all Classics.




The finest gunsmiths who haveever plied their trade are alive todayand they have the best tools and rawmaterials to work with. The exhibi-tion shooters of yesteryear have noth-ing on today’s crop of both men andwomen. Put a semi-automatic in thehands of Robbie Leatham, give JerryMiculek a double-action revolver,and allow Bob Munden to pick up asingle-action sixgun and prepare tobe amazed. We often assign mysti-cal properties to gunwriters of old,however compare a copy of GUNS orAmerican Handgunner to early

issues and the amount of infor-mation provided and the bogglingof the mind rivals that felt whenwe contemplate the proliferationof firearms.

As blessed as we are withtoday’s situation we still mustnot lose the benefit of lookingto the past. Anytime sixgunnersgather and reminisce there arecertain names that come up veryquickly, names of the men whoinfluenced all of us; the obviousones being, at least for me, Elmer

Keith, Skeeter Skelton, and JeffCooper. However, these are just acouple of names in a long list of

influential shooters. Even before Skel-ton and Cooper began sharing theirknowledge there were many othersdisseminating their knowledge. Thewritings of Elmer Keith go all the wayback to the 1920s, however there arethose who were both contemporariesof his and even preceded him; menwho contributed in a large way to thewisdom of the ages.

We are living in an age when every-thing is obsolete an hour later, so it isnot surprising to find older firearmsliterature somewhat dated. This does

not mean we cannot glean invalu-

able knowledgefrom the writers ofyesteryear. Someof these men whocan still provide uswith both informa-tion and entertain-ment in alphabeti-cal order are JohnHenry FitzGerald,Ed McGivern, BobNichols, and WalterWinans. Let us takea brief look at their

contributions andwhat they still haveto offer us.

John Henry FitzGerald—“Fitz”— author of Shooting, 1930: From1918 until 1944 Fitz was the face ofColt, their goodwill ambassador andexpert at tuning Colt revolvers andsemi-automatic pistols. Fitz’s book iscertainly dated, being over 80 years

old, however, guns and cartridges maychange, but basics remain the same.When reading through Fitz’s book,especially the sections concerningquick draw, self-defense, and policetechniques, much of what we still usetoday is evident including 2-handedWeaver-stance style shooting.

Everybody who had anything to dowith handguns knew Fitz. Fitz had thereputation as the fastest in the worldwith a double-action sixgun and hecarried a pair of specially altered .45Colt New Services in his front trou-

ser pockets. These were not ordi-nary New Services, which is a largedouble-action sixgun by anyone’s defi-nition. They do not fit easily into apants pocket, so Fitz made them fit.Barrels were cut back to 2", the gripframe was shortened, the hammerwas bobbed so it would not catch onclothing, however enough was left soan expert at double-action shootingcould start the hammer back with thetrigger action and then use the thumbto cock it for deliberate single-actionfire. What became known as FitzSpecials, had, for quick access to the

trigger, the front of the triggerguardremoved. That alone makes readinghis book worthwhile.

Ed McGivern, author of Fast andFancy Revolver Shooting, 1938: EdMcGivern is the fastest man with adouble-action sixgun who ever lived,at least until modern times and JerryMiculek. Unlike Jerry, McGivern alsoused Single Action Colts in his exhi-bition shooting and was unbelievablyfast fanning the hammer and puttingall five shots into the area of a play-ing card. McGivern’s book covers

just about every aspect of shooting

continued on page 81

Wisdom awaits!

WISDOM OF THE AGES

IT’S ALL AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.

It is the best of times; it is the worst of times. We won’tdwell on the latter, however when it comes to firearmsthese are definitely the best of times. We have the “best”

guns ever offered to the shooting public. For the mostpart they are stronger, held to tighter tolerances, relativelycheaper, (at least until the powers that be did such a jobon our dollar—oops, that is part of the worst of times andwe don’t need to go there!) The proliferation of productionfirearms is proverbially mind-boggling. Catalogs arecrammed with every possible choice as to action, finish,price, and chambering.




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guns magazine feb 2013

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