February 2003

dope bag data & comment

A M E R I C A N R I F L E M A N

According to theSingle ActionShooting Society

(SASS), Cowboy Actionshooting (CAS) is thefastest growing shootingsport in America. CowboyAction competitionrequires entrants to use aWestern-style, single-action center-fire revolverof at least .32 caliber. Atmost CAS shoots, approxi-mately half the competitorspack Ruger single-actionrevolvers, with the Vaquerofar and away the most pop-ular choice. In 2002, Rugerexpanded the Vaquero linewith a new model that willsurely have strong appealfor Cowboy Action com-petitors. Called the Bird’sHead Vaquero, this newmodel combines a stan-dard Vaquero frame andcylinder with a short, 33⁄4"barrel and a “bird’s head”grip frame with smooth,

black stocks.While theSingle Action Army wasnever offered by Colt witha bird’s head grip, thedouble-action ColtLightning and Thundererrevolvers were made with abird’s head frame, and thatshape has becomeextremely popular withtoday’s cowboy shooters.Offered only in .45 Colt,the Bird’s Head Vaquero isrelatively compact for a

large-bore revolver.Bird’s Head Vaqueros

are available in traditionalcarbon steel with a bluedfinish and a color case-hardened frame or in high-polish stainless steel thatlooks very much like anickel-plated finish. Sightsare in keeping withWestern tradition as well—namely a fixed blade frontsight and a rear sight con-sisting of a notch in a slot

cut into the top strap.Ruger developed the

original Vaquero for mod-ern cowboys, and thedesign has proven to be avery rugged and reliablesingle-action six-gun. Allversions of the Vaquero,including the new Bird’s

MANUFACTURER: Sturm,Ruger & Co. (Dept. AR),200 Ruger Road, Prescott,AZ 86301; (928) 541-8820;www.ruger-firearms.com

CALIBER: .45 ColtACTION TYPE: single-action

center-fire revolverFRAME: color case-

hardened investmentcast carbon steel orhigh-polish stainless steel

BARREL: blued or stainless 33⁄4"RIFLING: six-groove,

1:16" RH twistCYLINDER CAPACITY: sixSIGHTS: fixed, blade front;

notch in slot rearTRIGGER: single-action,

31⁄2 lbs. pullOVERALL LENGTH: 91⁄4"WIDTH: 13⁄4"HEIGHT: 51⁄4"WEIGHT: 38 ozs.ACCESSORIES: plastic carry

case, trigger lockSUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE:

$576

RUGER VAQUERO

The American Rifleman has used the phrase “Dope Bag” at least since1921, when Col. Townsend Whelen first titled his column with it. Even then,it had been in use for years, referring to a sack used by target shootersto hold ammunition and accessories on the firing line. “Sight dope” alsowas a traditional marksman’s term for sight adjustment information, whilejudging wind speed and direction was called “doping the wind.”

WARNING: Technical data and information contained herein are intended to provide informationbased on the limited experience of individuals under specific conditions and circumstances. Theydo not detail the comprehensive training procedures, techniques and safety precautions absolute-ly necessary to properly carry on similar activity. Read the notice and disclaimer on the contentspage. Always consult comprehensive reference manuals and bulletins for details of proper trainingrequirements, procedures, techniques and safety precautions before attempting any similar activity.

68

Ruger Bird’s HeadVaquero Revolver

Bird’s Head Vaqueros are avail-

able in traditional carbon steel

with a blued finish and a color

casehardened frame or in high-

polish stainless steel.

Head model, are built withcoil springs rather thanleaf springs and employ amodern transfer bar safetysystem—making theseguns safe to carry with thehammer down and all sixchambers loaded.Withthis safety system, thehammer cannot reach thefiring pin unless the trig-ger is pulled. Pulling thetrigger releases the trans-fer bar to snap into posi-tion where it transfers theblow of the hammer to thefiring pin.

Due to the abbreviatedbarrel, the base pin of theRuger Bird’s Head Vaquerois about 1" shorter thanthose found on standard,longer-barreled Vaqueros.The pin has a large, flathead that proved easy toremove for cleaning androutine maintenance. Theejector rod on the Bird’sHead Vaquero is alsoshorter than those onstandard Vaqueros.Whenpushed to its rearwardlimit, the ejector rod does

not push fired cases fullyclear of the cylinder.However, we found thatpointing the gun’s muzzleupward while unloadingallowed the fired cases tofall clear.

We fired the Bird’s HeadVaquero for accuracy froma sandbag rest with threedifferent brands of factory.45 Colt ammunition. Therevolver proved capable ofshooting five-shot groupsaveraging around 33⁄4"extreme spread, which wejudged very good for ashort-barreled revolver.Groups were consistentlyabout 2" left of center andright on point of aim. Rightout of the box, the test gunsights were regulated wellenough with factory ammu-nition for the large, close-range targets used in CAScompetition.

When shooting fullpower factory loads, theBird’s Head Vaquero barkswith authority, but remainscontrollable and comfort-able to shoot.When firing

the mild, lead bullet hand-loads popular with CAScompetitors, we found theBird’s Head exceptionallypleasant to shoot, and bul-let impact points very nearpoint of aim at 25 yds. Asexpected, the short barrelproduced muzzle velocitieslower than catalog figureswith factory ammunitionnormally fired from longerbarrels.We found this dis-crepancy amounted toabout 10 percent of catalogmuzzle velocity: about 80f.p.s. with Federal ammuni-tion and 60 f.p.s. withWinchester factory ammu-nition. The reduced muzzlevelocities did not have anyeffect on the vertical pointof bullet impact at 25 yds.Nonetheless, light hand-loads that barely meet theSASS requirements of 650f.p.s. minimum in longer-barreled revolvers shouldbe checked in the Bird’sHead Vaquero and adjust-ed upward if necessary.

We found the stainlesssteel sights hard to see anddifficult to align properly inbright light. Blackening thesights helped consider-

ably. Although the frontblade is of sufficient widthfor a clean sight picture,the small notch rear sightwas difficult for some oldershooters to use andprompted younger shootersto wonder how shootists inthe “Old West” hit any-thing. Trigger pull waslong with considerabletake up, but a crisp breakmeasured at about 31⁄2 lbs.When cocking, the firecontrol mechanism makesmultiple, audible clicksthat are sure to pleasetradition-minded Vaquerocustomers.

We experienced nomalfunctions whatsoever inour tests. Despite its com-pact dimensions, therevolver balances well, andthe grip is comfortable.Shooters with small handswill especially appreciatethis model.

Ruger’s new Bird’s HeadVaquero revolver com-bines tradition, reliability,safety and a modest priceto offer real value to shoot-ers seeking a Western-style, single-action revolverfor CAS events.

February 2003

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Winchester CB45C 687 Avg. 262 1.66 6.30 3.10250-gr. LRN 9 Sd

Federal C45LCA 819 Avg. 335 2.77 4.4 3.34225-gr. SWCHP 38 Sd

PMC 45 CA 741 Avg. 305 2.67 6.29 4.95250-gr. LRN 11 Sd

Average Extreme Spread: 3.80

Measured average velocity for 10 rounds from a 33⁄4" barrel. Range tem-perature: 73°F. Humidity: 31%. Accuracy for five consecutive, five-shotgroups at 25 yds. from a sandbag. Abbreviations: LRN, (lead round-nose), Sd (standard deviation), SWCHP (semi-wadcutter hollow point).

SHOOTING RESULTS

The transfer bar safety system

prevents the hammer from

reaching the firing pin unless the

trigger has been pulled (l.). The

ejector rod is nearly 1" shorter

than on standard Vaqueros and

does not push fired cases fully

clear of the cylinder (below).

Cocking the Bird’s Head Vaquero causes the fire-control

mechanism to make multiple, audible clicks that are sure to

please tradition-minded Vaquero customers.

A M E R I C A N R I F L E M A N 69

FABARM recently res-urrected the Paradoxname with its Paradox

Lion over-under field shot-gun. Available in 12 or 20ga., both with 3" chambers,the lower barrel of these

shotguns is rifled for thelast 6" in the Paradox tradi-tion. However, unlike theParadox ball and shot shot-guns of a century ago, theFABARM Paradox shotgunis not intended for shoot-

ing slugs. Rather, theFABARM is intended forhunting fast game birdssuch as dove, quail, rail orother small game at closeranges. The slow rate oftwist rifling in the lower,fixed choke barrel isdesigned to open the pat-tern quickly but evenly forfast, close-in shots.Werecently received a 20-ga.Paradox Lion for NRA testand evaluation.

Paradox Lion barrelsare 237⁄8" in length with aventilated mid-ribbetween the barrels and a0.25" diameter ventilated,steel top rib. Mounted onthe rib are a high-visibility,fiber-optic red front barsight and brass mid-ribbead. The chrome-lined,smoothbore upper barrelhas FABARM’s Triborethree diameter bore con-tour system with inter-changeable, screw-inchoke tubes. The chrome-

February 2003

dope bag data & comment

A M E R I C A N R I F L E M A N

MANUFACTURER: FABARMS.p.A., 31 Via Averolda, I-25039 Travagliato, Italy

IMPORTER: Heckler & Koch,Inc. (Dept. AR), 21480Pacific Blvd., Sterling, VA20166; (703) 450-1900;www.hecklerkoch-usa.com

GAUGE: 12, 3"; 20, 3"(tested)ACTION TYPE: boxlock over-

under shotgunRECEIVER: casehardened

alloy steelBARRELS: blued, 237⁄8",

chrome-lined, Triboreupper, Paradox riflinglower with red fiber-opticfront and brass mid bead

CHOKES: interchangeable,screw-in choke tubesupper barrel only: full,modified, improvedcylinder

TRIGGER: single, selective:53⁄4 lbs. pull upper;61⁄4 lbs. pull lower

STOCK: oil-finished walnut:length of pull, 145⁄8"; dropat heel, 21⁄2"; drop atcomb, 11⁄2"

OVERALL LENGTH: 41" WEIGHT: 6 lbs., 5 ozs.SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE:

$1,199

FABARM PARADOX

70

FABARM ParadoxOver-Under

The lower barrel of the

Paradox Lion is rifled (l.) for the

last 6" to open patterns evenly

and quickly. The steel

monobloc has two lumps—the

rearmost having a bite for the

sliding locking piece in the bot-

tom of the standing breech in

classic Browning fashion

(below l.).The casehardened

finish contrasts nicely with the

high-polish blue barrels and

gold-plated trigger (below).

lined lower barrel isrifled for approximatelythe last 6" with six landshaving a right hand twistof approximately 1:28".

Selective, automaticejectors are standard, andboth alloy steel barrels aresilver-soldered into a steelmonobloc with twolumps—the rearmosthaving a bite for thesliding locking piece inthe bottom of the standingbreech in classic Browningfashion. The trigger is asingle-selective type witha selector switch on thesliding safety button. Thesafety is non-automaticand blocks the sears.There are also inertiablocks in the fire controlsystem that preventdoubling by using recoilto reset the sear of the

unfired barrel.Both barrels and the

trigger guard are finishedwith a high-polish bluewhile the receiver has acasehardened finish. Lightfleur-de-lis engravingembellishes the bottom ofthe trigger guard, toplever, monobloc andreceiver sides and bot-tom. The trigger is gold-plated for contrast andthere is a small gold lionescutcheon in the bottomof the receiver. The overallresult is tasteful, yet differ-ent, as casehardened fin-ishes are somewhatunusual on modern, over-under shotguns.We foundthe wood-to-metal fitevenly proud around theupper and lower tangs,but level on the receiversides. Blueing and polish

were even and attractive;the crosshatching on theupper surface of the venti-lated rib was particularlywell done and the ribitself was perfectly flatand straight.

High-grade walnut witha semi-gloss finish is usedto stock Paradox Lion shot-guns. The fore-end has avery distinctive schnabelon the front end and thebutt stock has a full pistolgrip. Checkering is of thecut type with 22 lines-per-inch of a flat diamond pat-tern with a double borderon both the fore-end andpistol grip. A soft, blackrubber recoil pad is stan-dard as are front and rearquick detachable slingswivel studs. A Wund-hammer swell on the rightside of the pistol grip willfind favor with right-handed shooters.

The Paradox Lion bal-ances approximately 1"behind the pivot pin in thereceiver. This is somewhatbehind the balance pointof many over-under shot-guns, but it makes for amore lively gun that doveshooters prefer. Indeed,we found the FABARMLion had very fast han-dling with excellent bal-ance. Perceived recoil withfield and target loadsproved moderate, however,

recoil with magnumloads—especially with 3"loads—was very heavy. Inthis connection, we sug-gest FABARM considerporting both barrels of theParadox Lion to reducerecoil and speed recoveryfor a second shot.

Paradox barrels asoffered by FABARM areintended to offer openchoke or improved cylin-der performance with shotloads as the rifled sectionhas no choke and the twistrate is not fast enough toimpart sufficient spin toblow the patterns. To testthis, we patterned thelower, Paradox-rifled bar-rel with the same shotload as the upper barrelwith the improved cylin-der choke tube installed,then compared the two inthe accompanying table.Both offered open chokeperformance; however, thelower, Paradox-rifled bar-rel opened up the patternevenly an additional 10percentage points. Thiswould prove a big advan-tage on close, fast targets.

The FABARM ParadoxLion shotgun re-opens anold, but proven, perspec-tive on fast-handling,over-under field shotgunsthat will have appeal todove, quail, rail or smallgame hunters.

A M E R I C A N R I F L E M A N February 2003

71

AVERAGE OF 10 PATTERNS AT 40 YDS.

9 8 6 7

11 11 9 9

10 13 7 6

10 9 8 6

Improved Cylinder ParadoxChoke Choke

=Point of Hold

Federal Field Load AE20F

20-ga., 23⁄4", 1-oz. No. 6 Lead Copper Plated

Average Pellet count: 222Measured Velocity @ 3 ft.: 1175 f.p.s.

Total Hits 81 (36%) Total Hits 58 (26%)21" Inner Circle 45 (20%) 21" Inner Circle 31 (14%)30" Outer Ring 37 (17%) 30" Outer Ring 27 (12%)

SHOOTING RESULTS

The Paradox sports a high-visibility,

fiber-optic red front bead and a

brass, mid-rib bead on its ventilated

steel rib.

The FABARM Paradox sports an attractive

casehardened receiver—a feature being

seen more often on modern over-under

shotguns—and a schnabel fore-end tip.

February 2003

dope bag data & comment

A M E R I C A N R I F L E M A N

Airguns have alwaysbeen attractive toshooting enthusi-

asts interested in low-costmarksmanship practice orshooting fun at home in agarage or basement. Sinceairguns produce littlenoise and even less recoil,they allow a shooter tofocus on shooting funda-mentals, such as breathand trigger control orsight picture and align-ment, or specific tech-niques such as position orweak-hand shooting.

Gamo has made astrong presence in thismarket by focusing onspecial-purpose airguns,such as those that matchthe profile of standardfirearms or high-velocitymodels for plinking orhunting. Recently wereceived the new Multi-Shot air rifle for testing.The Multi-Shot features aneight-shot repeating sys-tem consistent with itsname paired up with

break-barrel, single-cock-ing operation.

As the action is opened,a steel arm on the left sideof the receiver rotates thecylindrical magazine.Themagazine is removed bydepressing the projectionson both sides and pullingupward after the action isopened. An arrow moldedinto the face of the maga-zine indicates its clockwiserotation. For single loading,one must place a pellet orsteel air rifle shot in thecylinder at the 12 o’clockposition, since the maga-zine rotates when the actionis opened.The Multi-Shotcannot be loaded or firedwithout the magazinebecause its absence cre-ates a gap between thecylinder and the bore.

Although the magazinecapacity is eight rounds,the action must be openedafter every shot to re-setthe trigger, cock the actionand compress the pistonspring in the air cylinder

whose energy drives thepellet downrange. Gamolists the Multi-Shot’s cock-ing effort as 33 lbs.

With a length of 171⁄2",the barrel is made up of aninner rifled steel sleeve1/4" in diameter that isbonded to a blacksynthetic shroud runningthe full length of the bore.

The Multi-Shot’s sightsfeature contrasting coloredfiber-optic inserts in bothfront and rear units.Thefront assembly is a fixedpost with a 0.4 mm diameterred insert. Slightly larger,yellow, 0.6 mm diameterinserts enhance the rear U-notch.The rear unit isfinger-adjustable forwindage and elevation viaknobs on its top and leftside. Additionally, the Multi-Shot’s receiver is groovedfor the attachment of ascope and is provided witha scope stop to help preventrearward scope slippage.

For the stock, Gamochose beech hardwood

with a satin oil finish. Itsbulky dimensions andsilhouette are a significantaid to better offhandshooting. Contours for thestock include a pro-nounced pistol grip, raisedMonte-Carlo cheekpieceand a hard rubberbuttplate that is curved sothat the toe is more pro-nounced than the heel.

The Multi-Shot’s manual

MANUFACTURER: GamoIndustrias S.A., P.O. Box 16,Barcelona, Spain E-08830

IMPORTER: Gamo USA (Dept.AR), 3911 S.W. 47th Ave.,Suite 914, Fort Lauderdale,FL 33314; (954) 581- 5822;www.gamo.com

CALIBER: .177 ACTION TYPE: break-action,

single-cocking air rifleRECEIVER: blued tubular

carbon steelBARREL: 171⁄2" blued steelRIFLING: 12-groove,

1:9" RH twistMAGAZINE: eight-round

synthetic cylinderSIGHTS: fixed front post,

adjustable U- notch rearwith fiber-optic inserts,receiver grooved forscope attachment

TRIGGER: two-stageadjustable, 41⁄2 lbs. pull

STOCK: length of pull, 131⁄4";drop at heel, 11⁄2"; drop atcomb, 11⁄8"

OVERALL LENGTH: 43"WEIGHT: 6 lbs., 7 ozs.ACCESSORIES: scope stopSUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE: $189

GAMO MULTI-SHOT

72

Gamo Multi-ShotAir Rifle

safety consists of a fingerlever inside the triggerguard just forward of thetrigger blade. An “F” andan “S” molded into the bot-tom, the trigger guard pro-vide the shooter with avisual index of the safety’scondition. Just behind thesafety lever is the triggerblade with a gently curvedcontour and smooth face.The trigger is a two-stagedesign adjustable via aPhillips head screw mount-ed flush to the bottom ofthe trigger assembly justbehind the blade.

Take-up in the trigger ofour test rifle proved to be abit mushy and it broke at41⁄2-lbs.-pull with minimalovertravel. For accuracytesting we attached a BSACatsEye airgun scope to theMulti-Shot using the grooveson the receiver.There is nomore than an inch or two offront to rear adjustment foreye relief in the Multi-Shot’s

receiver grooves, butgiven the stock’s gener-ous length of pull and thegun’s negligible recoil,short eye relief did notprove to be a problem inour testing. Gamo matchand hunting pellets andalso steel air rifle shotwere used in ouraccuracy and velocitytesting and pellets fromCrossman and RWStested for functioning aswell. Results shown in theaccompanying table areconsistent with similarbreak-action air rifles wehave tested in the pastdecade.

The eight-roundmagazine enhanced shoot-ing pleasure by cuttingdown on reloading timeand tedium. It eliminatesthe need to fish a tinypellet or steel air rifle shotout of its container afterevery shot, and its capacityis generous enough thatyou would probably wantto change or re-set targetsonce you’ve shot it dry. A131⁄2" length of pull makesthe Multi-Shot an adult-

sized airgun.Youths orsmall-statured shootersmay find the gun bulky ifnot over-heavy. The Multi-Shot initially breaks openfor cocking with littleeffort. Often the grip ofshooter’s hand wasenough to release the bar-rel, but resistance increasesso much that we found twohands were needed tofinish the cocking strokeeven with the gun braced

solidly against the shoot-ers leg or hip.

When looking at airguns,beauty is often in the eye ofthe beholder. Some canseem like overweight pop-guns and others like flimsytoys. But if you want a full-size airgun accurate enoughfor impromptu practice orcasual shooting fun that iseasy to load, the Multi-Shotmay be just what you arelooking for.

A M E R I C A N R I F L E M A N February 2003

73

..117777 VVeell.. @@ 1155'' GGrroouupp SSiizzee IInn IInncchheess

((ff..pp..ss..)) SSmmaalllleesstt LLaarrggeesstt AAvveerraaggee

Gamo Match 1163 Avg. 0.66 1.29 0.837.5-gr FN 35 Sd

Gamo Hunter 1198 Avg. 0.79 1.53 1.147.7-gr. RN 38 Sd

Gamo Magnum 1297 Avg. 0.75 1.43 1.087.5-gr PTD 36 Sd

Average Extreme Spread: 1.02

Measured average velocity for 10 rounds from a 171⁄2" barrel. Range tem-perature: 65° F. Humidity: 82%. Accuracy for five consecutive, five-shotgroups at 10 yds. from a sandbag. Abbreviations: FN (flat-nose), RN(round-nose), PTD (pointed) ,Sd (standard deviation).

SHOOTING RESULTS

Gamo’s Multi-Shot is a break-action airgun (bottom l.) that

includes dial-adjustable sights (top l.), a screw-adjustable trigger

(top r.) and a non-slip, synthetic buttplate (bottom r.).

The bulk and power of Gamo’s Multi-Shot

make it an attractive airgun for adult shooters.

The Multi-Shot has a

cylindrical magazine

with a capacity of

eight rounds.