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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 email [email protected], write Subscription Dept., 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128 or call (858) 605-0250. CONTRIBUTORS submitting manuscripts, photographs or drawings do so at their own risk. Material cannot be returned unless accompanied by sufficient postage. PAYMENT will be made at rates current at time of publication and will cover reproduction in any or all GUNS Magazine editions. ADVERTISING RATES furnished on request. Reproduction or use of any portion of this magazine in any manner, without written permission is prohibited. All rights reserved. Title to this publication passes to subscriber only on delivery to his address. The opinions and recommendations expressed by individual authors within this magazine are not necessarily those of Publishers’ Development Corporation. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to GUNS Magazine®, ATTN: Circulation Dept., 12345 World Trade Drive, San Diego, CA 92128. Copyright © 2015 by Publishers’ Development Corporation.

6 CROSSFIRE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

8 GUNS INSIDER PAYTON MILLER

12 UP ON AR’s GLEN ZEDIKER

14 HANDGUNS MASSAD AYOOB

16 MONTANA MUSINGS MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINO

18 GAME ON SHARI LEGATE

22 HANDLOADING JOHN BARSNESS

26 RIFLEMAN DAVE ANDERSON

28 RIMFIRES HOLT BODINSON

62 KNIVES PAT COVERT

64 VIEWS, NEWS & REVIEWS RIGHTS WATCH: DAVID CODREA

78 ODD ANGRY SHOT JOHN CONNOR

82 CAMPFIRE TALES™ JOHN TAFFIN

COLUMNS

MAY 2015Vol. 61, Number 5, 725th Issue

DEPARTMENTS30 OUT OF THE BOX™ THE SPHINX 9MM COMPACT J.B. WOOD

32 SURPLUS, CLASSIC AND TACTICAL FIREARMS™ AMERICA’S ENDEARING BOCKBÜCHSFLINTE HOLT BODINSON

34 QUESTIONS & ANSWERS JEFF JOHN

70 QUARTERMASTER Featuring GUNS All-Stars!

THIS MONTH: JEFF JOHN, PAYTON MILLER

73 GUNS CLASSIFIEDS

74 NEW PRODUCTS

76 GUN OF THE MONTH

80 ADVERTISER INDEX

The Magnificent 7x57 Mauser.

Ruger’s Radical Charger.

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28

22

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • MAY 20154

WARNING: Firearms are dangerous and iF used improperly may cause serious in-jury or death. due to the inherent vari-ables in the reloading oF ammunition, be sure to veriFy any published loads with manuFacturer’s data. products men-tioned or advertised may not be legal in all states or jurisdictions. obey all Firearms laws. always consult a proFes-sional gunsmith when modiFying any Fire-arm. be a saFe shooter!

EXCLUSIVE ONLINE MANUFACTURERS’ PRODUCT INDEX:

www.gunsmagazine.com/product-index

FEATURES36 A FIERCE, AFFORDABLE FORTY The new value-priced CT40 from Kahr Arms. JOHN CONNOR

40 THE “E” FACTOR 9E: Ruger’s economical take on the striker-fired SR9 platform could be all the 9mm you need. MIKE CUMPSTON

48 UGLY YET FUNCTIONAL World War II Soviet small arms were used for and against Mother Russia, and then fought against the Free World for decades to follow. MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINO

52 GUNS OF THE SCARLET RIDERS Outfitting a 19th century Mountie with current reproductions calls for a bit of research. Not to mention a bit of rangework! JEFF JOHN

58 RIFLE ROYALTY Al, Roger, Paula: The Biesen family has long been at the peak of America’s custom rifle scene, as well as being an essential element of the Jack O’Connor legend. DAVE ANDERSON

ONLINE FEATUREWWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COMHIGH MOUNTAIN HANDGUNNERSA rare, dedicated breed.MARK HAMPTON

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS Thomas von Rosen, CEO; Thomas Hollander, Randy Moldé, Marjorie Young

PUBLISHER Roy Huntington Editor Jeff John Executive Editor Payton Miller Managing Editor Jade Moldé Online Editor Mark Kakkuri Editorial Assistants Sara Cardoza, Holly Parker Art Director/Staff Photographer Joseph R. Novelozo Advertising Sales Director Anita Carson Advertising Sales Assistant Dana Hatfield Production Manager Linda Peterson Website Manager Lorinda Massey Promotions Coordinator Elizabeth O’NeillCONTRIBUTING EDITORS John Taffin, Holt Bodinson, Dave Anderson, Clint Smith, Massad Ayoob, Mike “Duke” Venturino, Will Dabbs, MD, Shari LeGateFIELD EDITORS Sam Fadala, David Codrea, John Morrison, Glen Zediker, John Sheehan, Mike Cumpston, John Barsness, Dave Douglas, J.B. Wood

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WALTER WALSHI very much enjoyed John Taffin’s

“Campfire Tales” about the great Walter Walsh. I have an interest-ing addendum. I am now running the Marine Reserve Shooting team with which Col. Walsh was many times associated. Unfortunately, when he passed I was in no position to attend the funeral nor were any of my Marines. I contacted the active team and asked them to ensure some Marines attended in uniform if at all possible. Several Staff NCO’s made it.

One of them was Staff Sergeant Jonathan Shue, who is one of the best shooters in the Corps. Col Walsh’s daughter went up to them and thanked them for coming. She notice the Walsh Trophy Medal (winner of the annual Marine Corps Pistol Championship) on SSgt Shoe’s uniform and commented that she had never actually seen one. He took it off and gave it to her.

Greg Kitchensvia e-mail

GRAMMAR POLICESorry to be a nattering nabob of

negativism and nth-degree stickler, but I noticed the last issue was chock-full of a particular grammatical misde-meanor which, for whatever neurotic reason, always makes me cringe: The unnecessary apostrophe. There is never any reason to place an apostrophe before the letter “s” unless it’s a posses-sive noun or a contraction. Never, ever should this be done for a plural noun. Yet I quit counting after 50 or so unnec-essary apostrophes on plural nouns in the last issue. It seems to be particu-larly common if the writer is referring either to a gun model (“I put such-and-such a scope on all of my M1A’s”) or a caliber (“everyone in my family carries 9mm’s.”) It is, admittedly, a very trifling matter, but I thought I’d bring it to your attention.

Sean M. Smith via e-mail

It is not just madness on our part. Since many arms use a combination

of numbers and letters as part of the model number, an apostrophe sepa-rates the model name from a sub vari-ant. Since we have so many new read-ers, the apostrophe serves to separate the proper name from the plural. The German K98ks might be thought a sub variant, while K98k’s wouldn’t. Another would be the Yugoslavian M21S. Once we went down the path, it just seemed consistent to stay on it.—Editor

.204 RUGERI have been distressed some other

magazines leave out the .204 Ruger when discussing small caliber varmint rounds, so I was extremely pleased and interested to read John Barsness’ “Varminter Supreme” in the March issue. I find 28.4 grains of H4895 with Hornady’s 32-grain Vmax bullet produces about 3,900 fps from my CZ 527 Varmint and is so consistent and accurate I have quit experimenting. I love to watch my “occasional shooter” friends’ faces when they light up their first prairie dog at 200+ yards.

Donn LoyKearney, Ne.

REVOLVER COMPETITIONYes. Action revolver competitors are

taking bones (and even some scalps) already. I got my S&W 929 after a diligent, persistent search. One other club member, who got his back from a talented local gunsmith after an action tune-up, whupped a good number of C and B Production and Limited shooters in the last USPSA match we held (me being one of them. I can’t ever recall being beaten by a wheelgunner before). I expect my 929 back in a couple of weeks. I had almost exactly the same results in my accuracy testing as Mas reported. I have two other N-frames (625 and 29), two 686’s, and this 929 feels better balanced, and certainly is smoother than any of the others. The only drawback I see is there’s no option for a fiber optic front sight, but that’s easily remedied. I think it’s the real deal.

Marc RocqueSalem, Or.

GUNS Magazine® welcomes letters to the editor. We reserve the right to edit all published letters for clarity and length. Due to the volume of mail, we are unable to individually answer your letters or e-mail. In sending a letter to GUNS Magazine, you agree to provide Publisher’s Development Corp. such copyright as is required for publishing and redistributing the contents of your letter in any format. Send your letters to Crossfire, GUNS Magazine, 12345 World Trade Dr., San Diego, CA 92128; www.gunsmagazine.com; e-mail: [email protected]

CRO FIRE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Check out www.gunsmagazine.com for our digital edition, news, our exclusive Product Index, Web Blasts, online features, to enter the Giveaway Package and more! And if you have any news about hot new products you’ve found, or anything you think we need to know about, drop me a line at [email protected]!

6 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM • MAY 2015

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Although the 9mm eventually became the Colonel’s main whip-ping boy, it’s worth remembering

in those early days, the 9mm was nowhere nearly as popular stateside as it eventually became. For every

1st Generation S&W Model 39 or 59 auto, there were a seeming bazillion S&W and Colt .38 revolvers serving as LE duty guns or sitting on some homeowner’s nightstand.

Different schools of thought arose as to how to power-up the old .38 to avoid resorting to the “bright lights and blast” of the more pene-trative and difficult-to-control .357 Magnum. Many turned to loads featuring a lightweight JHP at high speeds, such as the Super-Vel 110-grain (introduced in 1963), which clocked around 1,200 fps from a 4-inch barrel. Handloads featuring heavier 146- to 160-grain jacketed or lead Keith-style bullets driven in excess of 1,000 fps (and usually from 6-inch barrels) had their adherents as well.

Commercially, the legendary “Treasury” or “FBI” load” consisting of a 158-grain +P lead semi-wadcut-ter hollowpoint was offered by Federal, Remington and Winchester, and usually clocked around 900 fps from a 4-inch gun. And, of course, most of those same manufacturers offered 125-grain +P JHP loads as well.

Today, of course, the .38 Special is primarily relegated (from a defen-sive standpoint) to small, lightweight

SENSIBLE SPECIAL-IZATIONREVOLVING RESULTS: HAVING A 3-GUN WORKOUT WITH A TRIO OF STANDARD-PRESSURE .38

SPECIAL DEFENSIVE LOADS IS AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE.

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More than a half-century ago, when Jeff Cooper pretty much kick-started the Great .45 ACP Revival, one of his major concerns—if not a precipitating factor—

was the .38 Special’s relative lack of stopping power, at least in comparison to Browning’s 1911. In this regard, the .38 Special—in particular its 158-grain lead RN configura-tion—was the target of a lot of bad press.

Thomas Mackie lines up his 2-inch S&W Model 36. This classic little steel J-Frame acquitted itself well offhand (despite the two lone flyers) at 10 yards with Buffalo Bore 150-grain Hard-Cast WC (inset, left) and Hornady Ameri-can Gunner 125-grain XTP loads (inset, right).


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revolvers. In light of this, several companies are offering standard-pressure personal defense loads, often tailored for low flash and low recoil. Another key element is the fact makers have taken full advantage of advances in bullet technology (which can offer a lower velocity “window” for expansion) for more reliable termi-nal performance. Many of those who rely on .38 revolvers are relatively “non-gunny” types as well as peace officers (uniformed and otherwise) who still prefer the point-and-shoot simplicity of a backup snubbie.

For those folks, we’ve dug up a trio of controllable loads from Winchester, Hornady and Buffalo Bore. Two feature a JHP bullet—Winchester’s Train & Defend bonded 130-grain load and Hornady’s Amer-ican Gunner 125-grain XTP (both factory-rated at 900 fps). The third is what Buffalo Bore refers to as a “Standard Pressure Short Barrel Low Flash Heavy 150-grain HC Wadcutter.” This interesting little number is rated at 850 fps.

THE GUNSWe dug up an appropriate trio of

revolvers to try them in. A vintage 6-inch barreled S&W Model 14, Ruger’s new 4-inch barreled GP100 Match Champion (to be featured in depth in a future issue) and, of course, the quintessential J-Frame, 2-inch snubbie, S&W’s Model 36 Chiefs Special. In the interests of full and fair disclosure, it should be noted, however, that the barrel length of the Match Champion is actually 4.2 inches and the barrel of the Chief’s Special is really 1-7/8—an admittedly infinitesimal “rounding” discrepancy.

Our objective wasn’t very mysteri-ous. We wanted to check the velocity gain/loss figures from all three barrel lengths. In addition, we wanted to get an admittedly subjective feel for the recoil characteristics in guns ranging in weight from 19-1/2 to 38 ounces.

And, of course, we also wanted to get an idea as to how they grouped from each particular gun. To get an idea, we decided to group the 6-inch M14 and the 4-inch Ruger GP100 Match Champion at 25 yards from a sandbagged rest. For the S&W M36, we decided to bring the target in to a more “snubbie friendly” 10 yards.

In terms of low-recoil and controllability, all of these loads—in all three guns—lived up to their “standard pressure” billing. From the K-Frame Model 14 and the beefy Ruger-GP100 Match Champion,

recoil was negligible—virtually no difference between the lighter Winchester and Hornady offerings, and only a slightly heavier bump from the Buffalo Bore.

From the little steel-frame 19-1/2-ounce M36, the recoil from the lighter pair was slightly more noticeable, but definitely not in +P class. Despite the “Heavy” designation, the Buffalo Bore 150-grain load felt about like a standard-pressure, 158-grain .38 Special. It made its presence known in a slightly less polite fashion (and would be even bumpier from an alloy J-Frame weighing roughly 5 ounces less), but it was nothing even a casual shooter couldn’t handle.

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.38 SPECIAL FACTORY AMMO PERFORMANCEGUN: S&W M14, 6-INCH BARREL

LOAD VELOCITY EXTREME SPREAD GROUP SIZE (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (FPS) (FPS) (INCHES) Winchester T&D 130 JHP 862 73 3.5 Hornady American Gunner 125 JHP 904 58 2.50 Buffalo Bore 150 Hard-Cast WC 968 62 3.0

GUN: RUGER GP100 MATCH CHAMPION, 4.2-INCH BARREL LOAD VELOCITY EXTREME SPREAD GROUP SIZE (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (FPS) (FPS) (INCHES) Winchester 130 T&D JHP 831 65 2.00 Hornady 125 American Gunner JHP 861 54 2.75 Buffalo Bore 150 Hard-Cast WC 944 23 4.0

GUN: S&W M36, 2-INCH BARREL* LOAD VELOCITY EXTREME SPREAD GROUP SIZE (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (FPS) (FPS) (INCHES) Winchester T&D 130 JHP 724 39 2.00 Hornady American Gunner 125 JHP 760 65 2.25 Buffalo Bore 150 Hard-Cast WC 882 9 1.75

Notes: *Groups fired offhand at 10 yards with the S&W M36. S&W M14 and Ruger GP100 groups fired from a sandbagged rest at 25 yards.

Our trio of very manageable .38 Special defen-sive loads included (below, left to right): Buffalo Bore 150-grain Hard-Cast WC, Winchester Train & Defend 130-grain JHP and Hornady American Gunner 125-grain XTP.

Our 4-inch revolver just happened to be Ruger’s new GP100 Match Champion, which turned in a very respectable 25-yard group with Winchester’s Train & Defend 130-grain bonded JHP load. Recoil, as might be expected from the 39-ounce Ruger, was negligible.


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Port pressure is the factor, and the variable. Port pressure is not cham-ber pressure. Port pressure is the amount of propellant gas available at the gas port hole in the barrel. Too much makes the action work too quickly and too forcefully.

If you want to run a “Big AR” out of the box, you have to respect boundaries. Don’t tell yourself you now have a .308 Winchester and can run all the recipes and load tactics suit-able for a Remington 700. No! You can’t get original with ammo choice, but you can get the original. The orig-inal is following the M14/M1A competi-tive ammo recipe, and what works for them works for a Big AR. The reason it works is because the M1A has all the same prob-lems, and even fewer potential solutions. We’re not really talking about fixing anything. We’re working around it or working with it, depending on whether we see the primer tray as half full or half empty.

These are not bolt-guns. Not even a little bit.

M1A’s have the same split-second bolt opening habit that swells brass and yanks the case prematurely from the chamber. Since we are talking here now about stock-configuration rifles with no system modifications,

port pressure has to be regulated by propellant choice, which then also becomes propellant volume. The trick to running an M1A is “The Load.” Components and construction defines it. Acceptance is mandatory. There aren’t a lot of extra-performance options, but the performance available is reliable and

known. Not all bad. Not at all. It’s the recipe that we “all” ran when the M14/M1A dominated NRA High Power Rifle Service Rifle competi-tion. It’s essentially what won every-thing every year, everywhere. It was simple. Most of us called it a “Lake City Match duplication load.” I honestly miss that simplicity. It’s

a lot more complex now with an AR-15 service rifle.

“THE LOAD”The idea is to preserve essential

“Gubmint” specs, and then make it a little better. Lake City case, 41.5 grains of H4895, Sierra 168-grain bullet loaded to 2.800 inches over-all length, CCI BR2 primer. Expect 2,500 fps (many variables influence velocity). If your .308 semi won’t shoot with that then, son, you got a gun problem. A Hornady 168-grain match bullet can be substituted with success.

By the way, the Lake City Match stamped cases are not any better in quality, or different in dimension than “plain” LC, but they don’t have a primer crimp.

There is a big article, actually a missing chapter from another book, for free-of-charge download on my website that will tell you about more than all on loading for an M1A. The essence of the advice is: 1. It’s crucial to select the correct burning-rate propellant, 2. Not to get too greedy

about velocity, and, 3. Case sizing should err toward “more” than less. Get it, read it and respect it.

What do you have in something like a DPMS .308-LR compared to an AR-15? Mo’ bullet! I’m not going to say that .308—under the limita-tions presented by the advice here—is going to eclipse .223 Remington in downrange perfor-mance. I will say the .308 is “easy.” Pressures don’t have to get edgy to shoot good groups at any yard line. Honestly, there is nothing edgy about The Load. The .308 is still one of the more accurate rounds we have for preci-sion use. Barrel life is good, about as good as it

gets. Selecting this chassis means you also have a means to experience the ballistic superiority of smaller cali-ber rounds that have taken hold of the records, like 6XC, but that’s later.

Combine The Load with an out-of-the-box .308 barrel and action system. What you’ll have from this is a reliable rifle and one just as

THREE-OH-EIGHTA RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

WITH YOUR BIG AR.GLEN ZEDIKER

Last time I went on about the AR-10/SR-25-type rifles, and covered over some of their quirks. The focus was, as it should have been, about reducing or eliminating the ill

effects of said quirks. Ammunition plays a big role in this. As alluded to then, ammo-influenced issues revolve around a whopping lot more gas pressure, compared to routine cham-berings in AR-15-platform guns. I think this is enough of a topic to warrant more. So here it is, in more detail.

There’s a honking mass of steel in that upper receiver. Getting the action to operate as it should has a whole lot to do with ammo choices. One more time: It’s a really big AR-15; therefore all, every last one, of the things said matter to the little gun matter to the big gun, but they matter proportionately more. Big chassis guns are out of proportion all the way around.


pleasant as it can be. Case condition will be the best it can be. Function will (or sure should) be 100-percent. Accuracy will be the best it can be. This load combo groups really well. Shooter experience will be the best it can be.

And as shooter experience grows from using this combination, some distractions, like rifle problems, won’t enter into the experience. The shooter can focus on things like hold and position and reading wind. If the load is performing well, and these (promise) will, then the variables are in judgment and actions. What I’m saying is you can take this combina-tion and learn how to shoot NRA Hi-Power Rifle, or similar. “How to shoot Hi-Power” is the important part. Otherwise, you might be learn-ing “How to spend a fortune to make my rifle work so someday I can learn to shoot Hi-Power.”

Honestly, it’s even easier than .223 Remington.

Options? Of course. (Who do you think is writing this...?) Here are some safe bets: Try the Sierra 175-grain MatchKing for 300- and 600-yard events, or the Hornady 175 A-Max. Reduce The Load by a 1/2 grain. Experiment with scooting the 175 out nearer the lands for the 600. This bullet, yes, is “better” than the 168-grain Sierra MatchKing, but it’s no more accurate. If it’s running through a 1:10-inch twist barrel, it’s possible to shoot a 190-grain Sierra for 600 yards, but I wouldn’t. The 175 will do you fine. The 190 will show more of the symptoms we’re trying to avoid.

If it’s hitting you too hard for the short-line (200 yard) events, try a Sierra or Hornady 155-grain bullet with 1 grain more propellant than used for the 168.

WHY THIS WORKSLake City cases are different from

most commercial .308 brass. It’s pretty well known I (and others) prefer something like Winchester commer-cial .308 cases for use in tricked-out racing rifles. WW cases are worlds better in consistency and other virtues, like case capacity. So why the LC recommendation? Because they are low capacity and hard as roofing nails. The low capacity gives a better fill volume with H4895 propellant and the hardness, combined with the thickness, keeps dimensional integrity notably more integral.

WW cases are relatively hard, harder than other commercial .308’s. They don’t work as well with faster-burning propellants as the mil-spec-style cases. WW cases more show their

worth with slower-burning propel-lants, like Varget and Viht. 150. Those propellants can and will increase .308 performance level, but they will also make your Big AR kick like a mule on prednisone. They will unlock the bolt too soon, slam the bolt carrier and tweak and twist the brass.

The propellant choice, then, is a big—huge—factor in leading this simple, pleasurable life. Hodg-don 4895 has a burning rate and fill volume level about perfect for gas

system operation in an unmodified Big AR. Port pressure is a good deal lower than it would be with propel-lants in the “next class” of burn rates, which I say starts with 4064. From an ammunition perspective, reduc-ing the port pressure through a lower volume of faster-burning propellant and using a durable case are about the only things that can be done to lessen these problems.

Faster-burning propellants than 4895 will work fine with our combi-nation outlined, but being that 4895 is the slowest-burning of these “faster” propellants, again, its fill level and velocity produced are going to get us the most from the round in this rifle. Same thing with the M1A. Keeping port pressure to a lower level makes the rifle behave better. It also makes it last longer, shoot cleaner, and all else that’s good.

SUFFICIENT SIZINGGet a headspace gauge for

cartridge cases and use it. Set back the case shoulder a good 0.003 inches and do not in anyway way flirt with incom-plete sizing of any area on this case. Small-base sizing dies are great with hard brass that comes from explo-sive semi-autos and, coincidently, are recommended for use with this one. My first, best and often only recom-mendation for sizing dies for the .308 is the “National Match” .308 die set from Forster. Pay close attention to giving each case consistent sizing. Do it enough, and check enough, and you might find you’re needing to “double size” a tough nut like a spent LC. I mean literally sizing the same case twice. Use Imperial Sizing Die Wax. Sinclair has it.

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Here you go. This works. The idea is to duplicate this loading. Lake City Match has a 173-grain bullet backed by (very) selected lots of 4895. Performance is very good, and the pressure is just right. The duplication load is 41.5 grains of Hodgdon 4895, Lake City case, CCI BR-2 primer, overall cartridge length 2.800 inches with a Sierra 168-grain MatchKing. I emphasize “duplication” because LC squoze a tad amount more propel-lant in there, but a literal duplication of their recipe is over-pressure. The round shown is my version of LCM with a Sierra 168 MatchKing.

It doesn’t have to be boring. There are options that work well for some using essentially the same recipe. I’ve always had excellent results with Hornady bullets, and here are three that make me say that.

The best case are ones just like these. Lake City Match brass is a little easier to work with than plain old LC. There’s no primer crimp on the Match. The “NM” (National Match) stamp and the row of marks around the body on the right hand case designate Lake City Match loaded with a commercial 168-grain hollowpoint bullet (iden-tifying it as not for combat use). It’s difficult to find a commercial duplicate. LC is thick-walled.


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Well, time, nature and the handgun industry all took their natural course. Today we have very reliable semi-automatics, which are all but universal in police uniform holsters.

It was not always thus, however. In 1967, the Illinois State Police (ISP) became the first major US police department to adopt semi-automatic pistols as stan-dard issue. They chose the 9mm Smith & Wesson Model 39. In the following decade, I spent a lot of time at that department, and followed up on the 9mm transition with everyone from the road troopers and their represen-tatives, Fraternal Order of Police Troopers’ Lodge 41, to Bob Cappelli and Sebastian Ulrich, the lead armorers at ISP’s Ordnance Section in Spring-field. I learned from Bob and “Bash” that once the guns were in the hands of their then-1,700 troopers, some problems showed up. This led to ISP recommendations to Smith & Wesson, which resulted in the improved Model 39-2 pistol… and also led to a policy of downloading the guns by one round.

The 39 was originally designed with an 8-round magazine, with a ninth cartridge to be carried in the chamber. ISP ran tons of ammo

through those guns, and discovered when loaded all the way up, there was potential for misfeed. The policy recommended was to load only seven rounds per magazine, which helped to cure the problem and became 7+1-for-sure beat 8+1 rounds maybe.

OTHER HANDGUNSAnother classic handgun, since

1935, has been the Browning Hi Power. The purpose of the P-35 project was to create a 9mm service pistol with lots of bullets, and John Moses Browning

and Dieudonne Saive loaded its mag up to max with 13 cartridges, making it a 14-shooter with one up the spout.

It turned out that to be a whole lot more reliable as a 13-shooter. I first shot in England in 1979, and began teaching there in the 1980’s, and in both roles got to interact with members of Britain’s SAS and the elite armed unit of the London Metropoli-tan Police, both of whom used the Hi Power as did their nation’s military. I was told the rule of thumb was no more than 12 rounds per magazine, and it was rigidly enforced. They had seen pistols jam after the first shot when the mags were loaded with 13.

Sure enough, before long I ran across a case in the US where a cop with a 1911 .45 won a gunfight with a bad guy who opened fire on him with a Browning loaded all the way up. The bad guy got the first shot off, and the cop lit him up and killed

him. Turned out the bad guy’s gun had jammed on the full mag after the first shot, quite probably saving the officer’s life. Time went on; Wayne Novak provided me with a modified maga-zine for a Hi Power that worked 100 percent with 14 in it plus the chambered round…but to this day, I load no more than a dozen in a Hi Power’s magazine. The lesson? Twelve for sure beats 13… maybe.

For most of the epoch of the 1911 .45 auto, it had a 7-round magazine, and 8-rounders came out decades ago. I saw prob-lems with the early ones. Keep ’em empty until match day and then fill ’em full, fine. Leave them loaded all the way up for a year or so, and you’d

start to have feeding problems. And, because there was absolutely no flex left in the cartridge stack, if you had to slam one into the gun while the slide was forward, it might not seat. The word went out: seven for sure beat eight, maybe. Today, of course, we have mags like the Wilson ETM (Elite Tactical Magazine), which holds 8 .45 rounds without fatiguing the spring and reloads smoothly with the slide all the way forward. The ETM is my current favorite, because it does give “eight for sure.”

RELIABILITY VS. ROUND COUNT

THIS HAS LONG BEEN AN ISSUE IN HANDGUN SELECTION. IT REMAINS SO TODAY AND CAN TAKE MANY FORMS.

MASSAD AYOOB

Back when I was a young cop in the early 1970’s, the service revolver was standard issue for most of Amer-ican law enforcement. When most officers asked their

bosses for autoloaders, or even for permission to buy their own for duty use, here was the standard answer: “Those automatics are jam-a-matics! You can’t trust ’em! Forget eight or 14 shots that will maybe go bang, when your revolver gives you six for sure!”

For decades, the “six for sure” argument kept cops with revolvers instead of autos. These circa 1918 Colts are a 1911 .45 ACP and .38 Army Special.


Most masters of the AR-15 plat-form will tell you they load their 30-round magazines to only 28. This gives enough flex in the maga-zine spring under the cartridge stack to allow it to seat smoothly when reloaded into a rifle when its bolt is forward. The same occurs with some pistols.

The Glock pistol is most common out there today, and most of them work just fine with the mags loaded all the way up. My favorite Glock is the 30 series, an amazingly accurate compact 11-shot .45 ACP. (In fact, I’m carrying my ROBAR custom 30S as I write this.)

To fit 10 fat .45 rounds into that short mag, meant there was just no stack left, and a full mag has to be just about hammered into the gun. No sweat, I can do that in an “administra-tive load,” when the pistol is loaded in a condition of calmness. A speed reload with the slide forward? Much harder. So my spare magazine is a compatible 13-round Glock 21 mag, built longer for the full-size Glock .45 ACP, with enough spring flex to seat all the time, every time. But when I carry one of my Glock 30’s in a state where I’m limited to 10-round magazines, my spare 10-round mags are downloaded to nine in case I have to do a reload under pressure with the slide forward. ’Cause “nine for sure” just beats heck out of “10, maybe.”

It became almost customary to download 13+1 9mm P35’s, like this Novak Browning (above), by one round. Mas’ ROBAR custom Glock 30S is loaded with 10+1 .45 ACP, but spares will be either G21 mag with full 13, or G30 (below) downloaded to nine to guarantee positive inser-tion with slide forward.

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When the realtor brought us here in late September 1986, Yvonne immediately went into the house while I walked about. At the edge of a ridge I looked down. What I saw was a perfect place to build a

shooting range. There was a ridge between the potential range and the house so noise wasn’t a problem. Also there was another ridge that shielded most of the potential ranges from the rest of the world. I turned to the

realtor and said, “This is it!” Yvonne was walking up about that time and heard me. She said, “But you haven’t even looked at the house.” My reply was, “To hell with the house. I’d live in a cave to be able to have this shoot-ing range. This is it!”

About a month later we moved in, whereupon I immediately built safe pistol and rifle ranges. The former was at 25 yards and the latter out to 300 yards. Due to the lay of the land I now even have a modest range for firing my World War II vintage submachine guns. No one can see me having full-auto fun unless they are on my land.

Even so, there are two places on this property I consider my favorite spots in the entire world. When time allows I like to just sit in them and, among other things, reflect on how well life has gone for me. Those are my shooting house and my gun vault.

The shooting house came first. This area is known for its winds. Even on days we consider wonder-ful there is likely a steady movement of the air. In summer that is fine. In winter it adds to the chill. For the first year and a half my shoot-ing range contained merely an open-air bench. Wintertime shooting was nigh-on impossible.

In 1988 I had a spare chrono-graph. A friend handy in carpen-try wanted it. He said if I furnished materials, for trade he would hammer me together a crude shooting shack. It was dirt-floored and far from air tight, but it did expand the possibil-ity of year-round shooting. Winter shooting was still no picnic but at least feasible if I dressed properly.

By the year 2000, that old shack was about to fall down around my ears, and coincidentally, I inherited a small sum of cash. So I hired a contractor to build a “real” shooting shack. As evidence of the truth in the above sentence, when the contractor hooked a chain from his backhoe to the shack he said it fell down before he even started pulling.

My new “shooting shack” is 14 feet square, with two windows to shoot from and many shelves for storing targets, ammo, chronographs and all the other paraphernalia a gun’riter needs. I also had it heavily insulated and equipped with propane heat. Even in winter I can hang my coat from a peg while shooting.

However, it was unbearably hot

MY FAVORITE PLACES

NOT SURPRISINGLY, THEY ALL HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH SHOOTING.

MIKE VENTURINO PHOTOS: YVONNE VENTURINO

Coming from the so-called poverty area of southern West Virginia, and from a family of relatively modest means, the most I expected in life was to own a

decent home here in Montana. Never did I dream of acquir-ing a place of about 70 acres with a stunning view of the Absaroka Mountains and fenced into multiple pastures for Yvonne’s horses. By good luck in regards to property prices and timing, we did it.


Duke stands in the door-way of his Montana “shooting shack,” one of his two favorite places.

From his “shooting shack” Duke can shoot handguns at 25 yards and rifles out to 300 yards.

in summer, what with large windows on three sides. That’s when I spotted those new portable air-conditioners that only require a hose stuck out a window for operation. So now I have a heated and air-conditioned shooting house! Sometimes, after the shooting is done I sit in my “shoot-ing shack” and think. I think about article and column ideas and perhaps loads that need testing, or rifles that need sighting in or anything else pleasant that pops into my head. My only complaint about it is I didn’t make it big enough for a nice easy chair for those relaxing times.

I do have a chair in my gun vault. It’s covered with a “buffalo” robe, so my constant canine and feline companions most usually have to be moved before I can sit. Two full walls have rifle racks and one is dedi-cated to shelves for handguns. In the middle there is a bench for tinkering on both types of firearms and also to hold two lube/sizing machines for processing cast bullets. A zebra hide on one wall reminds me of days spent hunting. High above the rifle racks are pegs holding an assortment of WWII steel helmets and other para-phernalia useful as photo props when Yvonne calls for such.

When my eyes blur from too much time in front of this computer screen and my brain gets too numb to gener-ate more words, I enjoy sitting in that buffalo-robed chair just think-ing. I think of ideas for future arti-cles and columns. I think of photo layouts for ones already written and I think of things needed for all those guns before my eyes. Such as, “That one needs a sling, yet. This other one needs zeroing. I have too many of that particular model… Perhaps I should sell one?”

My “shooting shack” and my gun vault are the two places on this earth where I long to be.

Duke’s second favorite place is his walk-in gun vault.

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But why this game is so compli-cated to dissect and explain is because unlike the other shooting sports where there are governing bodies to adminis-ter things, 3-Gun has no single entity to manage and coordinate the rules and events. A couple of organiza-tions have taken the lead, such as the United States Practical Pistol Associ-ation (USPSA) and the International Multi-Gun Association (IMGA), but even those two groups vary in their definitions and guidelines. However, the lack of a governing body hasn’t hindered the growth of the sport and there are many organizations, groups and gun clubs hosting 3-Gun matches. As a result, the rules for this game vary from competition to competi-tion, with each event host applying their own rules.

The good news is there are some central factors, such as the divisions or categories a shooter wishes to shoot in, but even those have slight varia-tions from group to group and range to range. But breaking down the divisions

is a start to determine the guns and gear needed. Keep in mind, these are the very basic fundamentals for the 3-Gun divi-sions and I recommend checking with the organization hosting the match.

3-GUN DIVISIONSOpen: Optics are allowed on all three

firearms with unlimited rounds in the magazines. Compensators and porting are allowed on the shotguns and rifles. There are almost no restrictions in this division.

Limited: Only the rifle is allowed optics with only one optic allowed and it can’t be magnified (iron sights or red dot). The shotgun can be a semi-auto or pump action and there is an 8+1-round maximum limit with no detachable magazine. The handgun can have no optics or porting and the magazine can’t exceed 141.25mm.

Tactical: Has the same requirements as Limited, except the rifle optic can be magnified.

Heavy Metal: Aptly named, as this is the large caliber division. The rifle

must be 7.62x51 or larger with only iron sights. The handgun must be .45 ACP or larger with no optics or port-ing. The shotgun must be a 12-gauge pump-action with iron sights and no porting.

In gets a little more confusing after the basics, as there are categories within divisions. For example, in Tacti-cal there’s Tactical Optics and Tactical Irons. In Heavy Metal, there’s Heavy Optics and Heavy Irons. Some groups have only three divisions. So, before jumping into the 3-Gun game and buying equipment, be sure to research thoroughly the divisions and organiza-tions you’re shooting in.

Once you decide what division to shoot in, what match and what organi-zation, get a copy of the rules. The rules for 3-Gun matches vary from competi-tion to competition, so I suggest going to the club or organization hosting the match for the rules. And finally, watch a match. Get a feel for how things take place.

There are multiple stages in 3-Gun competition with each stage being held on different bays. The number of stages depends on the match organizer. Again, there is no pre-set number, but the stages will combine rifle, pistol

DISSECTING THE 3-GUN GAME &

EQUIPMENTPART II: THE RIFLE

SHARI LEGATE

For someone like me, who has spent their entire shoot-ing sports career shooting games with very defined guidelines, rules, regulations and governing federa-

tions, 3-Gun is a test of my patience and frustration level. I’m not saying I don’t like the game. On the contrary, I love it and enjoy shooting it every chance I get.

Tommy Thacker, 2011-2012 3-Gun National Champion, now President of Armalite, Inc. was instrumental in the design of Armalite’s new M-15 3GN competition rifle.

Shari shoots a stage at the Brownell’s Lady 3-Gun Match with shooting the Armalite M-15 3GN in supported position.


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and shotgun. But having said that, all three firearms are not always used in every stage. A stage could use only the pistol and shotgun or the rifle and shotgun or any other combination of firearms. But one thing is guaranteed. All the stages are completely differ-ent. The only consistent format is the targets will be a combination of steel and paper and, in some cases, moving clay targets.

Combining how fast you complete a stage and how many hits you have determines your final score for that stage. However, in this sport, time is added to your final score as a penalty. Penalties are not “engaging” a target, meaning it was never shot at or missed completely, hitting a no-hit target, which is usually a white card-board cutout and is typically placed at a very strategic angle close to the target you need to hit. And lastly, hitting a target, but not in the defined area. All this adds to your score for that stage. Then, all the stage scores are combined for a total score, which determines your overall placement in the competition. Check the rules of that match for scoring procedures as like everything else in 3-Gun, they vary from match to match.

So, you’re probably thinking, I’ll take my time and be sure to hit all the targets, but shooting slow and methodi-cally will take time and add to the score. Conversely, just throwing rounds down range and not hitting targets adds to the score as well. Finding that happy medium between fast and accurate is what makes a successful 3-Gun shooter.

THE RIFLEStages vary in 3-Gun competition.

Sometimes you’re standing or kneel-ing in one place shooting at multi-ple targets, or you’re running and gunning. A light, fast and compact rifle is essential. The most commonly used rifle used in 3-Gun is the .223 AR-15 in the Open and Tactical divi-sions and the .308 AR-10 or M1A for the Heavy Metal division. I decided

to try Armalite’s new .223 M-15 3GN competition rifle for my first foray into 3-Gun.

Very seldom am I lucky enough to pick up a long gun right out of the box and be able shoot it without a lot of adjustments. The M-15 3GN was such a gun. At 6.9 pounds without the scope, it’s a very manageable weight and is well-balanced rifle for speed and accuracy.

Light guns are easily over controlled and can be whipped around, partic-ularly if they’re not well balanced. Though the M-15 3GN is light, I was able to get on target quickly and stay on target even in unsupported positions because the gun is so well balanced. And for a lightweight .223, there was minimal felt recoil. Granted, part of that could have been I was in a match, adrenaline was high and I wasn’t really focused on feeling recoil. But there have been many instances with a shot-gun where every shot felt as if I’d been kicked by a mule.

This gun is designed for competition and Armalite did an outstanding job in balancing the weight of the gun with its capabilities. Tommy Thacker, President of Armalite is a former 3-Gun shooter and a National Champion of the sport.

There’s no doubt he spent time with the Armalite designers making the M-15 3GN exactly right. Knowing what’s needed from a gun during competi-tion, knowing the abuse it will take and knowing how shooters will treat it makes all the difference in the design.

As a shotgun shooter, I am comfortable with long guns, and I even became comfortable running/moving with a loaded firearm, but I was very uncomfortable throwing it into a big plastic trashcan, which is required in 3-Gun competition. Taking any gun and aggressively dropping it or toss-ing it into a barrel is just flat against my nature.

One very important thing to mention when it comes to shooting any 3-Gun event is safety is paramount —the Number One priority of everyone. Because this is a run-and-gun game where people are moving as fast as possible with a loaded firearm, every-one from range officers to competi-tors to spectators are very cognizant of where their gun is pointed and the position of their body in relation to the targets engaged. Safety is constantly emphasized and enforced.

Which brings up another aspect of 3-Gun competition. You will eventu-ally be disqualified for a safety viola-tion. It happens to everyone I’m told, experienced pros and novice shooters alike. Usually for not putting the gun on “safe” after dropping it into the barrel or “sweeping” during a course of fire. Nothing to be ashamed of I’m told. Sitting around telling the story of how you were disqualified is a rite of passage. I haven’t been disqualified yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

The many variances and lack of strict conformity has contributed to 3-Gun competition’s popularity, and the game is definitely an adrenaline rush. As exciting and thrilling as it is to shoot it, it’s also an exercise in patience to understand all the nuances, but in the end… it’s well worth it.

Coming Next: 3-Gun Part 3—The Shotgun

The M-15 3GN rifle easily get on target and stays on target in an unsupported position.

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It gained fame on the losing sides in the Spanish-American and second Boer wars, where both rifle and cartridge proved superior to the .30-40 Krag-Jorgensens and .303 Lee-Enfields used by the winners. This persuaded the US to develop the M1903 Springfield and a rimless .30 caliber cartridge. The British were slower on the uptake, but did have a somewhat more powerful cartridge called the .276 Enfield in the works when development was halted by World War I.

The 7x57 almost immediately became a popular sporting cartridge, and in the first half of the 20th century was

probably chambered by every major sporting rifle manufac-turer in the world. (The British, however, called it the .275 Rigby, probably due to them “owning” so much of the world.) Probably the cartridge’s most famous fan was professional ivory hunter W.D.M. Bell, who used it on a bunch of elephants, but the 7x57 (or .275) was also the favored “light” cartridge of Jim Corbett, author of the best-selling Man-Eaters of Kumaon, a collection of his adventures with leop-ards and tigers in British-ruled India.

The original military load used a

full-metal-jacket roundnosed bullet of 173 to 174 grains at approximately 2,200 feet per second, providing plenty of penetration on both enemy soldiers and elephant skulls. But after the almost universal military switch to lighter pointed bullets at higher veloci-ties during the early 20th century, most countries used a 139-grain spitzer at about 2,750 to 2,800 fps. Softpoint hunting ammunition is still primarily loaded with minor variations on those

two bullets. Most modern

American hunters would consider the 7x57 a decent deer cartridge, but it’s always had a reputa-tion for killing larger game. My friend Kevin Thomas, an African professional hunter of wide experience, has carried a 7x57 as his light rifle for decades taking several eland the size of North American moose among hundreds of other animals. While I haven’t hunted any elephants or eland with my 7x57’s, I have

taken North American game up to and including bull moose, as well as elk-sized African game such as wilde-beest and kudu, and despite the rela-tively modest muzzle velocities, it works on open-country game. Mine

THE MAGNIFICENT 7X57 MAUSER

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Over the decades I’ve owned more than a dozen 7x57 Mausers, and the old round has prob-ably taught me as much about handloading

for smokeless rifles as any cartridge, partly because 7x57’s vary like spring winds. Basically the 8x57 Mauser necked down, the 7x57 was designed in 1892 for a new Mauser rifle adopted the next year by the Spanish military, and was eventually used as the mili-tary cartridge of several other countries.


Many Americans think of the 7x57 as a deer cartridge, but many hunters use it on much larger game. John has taken moose (below) and kudu (right) with his Kilimanjaro rifle.

The original military load of the 7x57 (left) used a 173- to 174-grain round-nose bullet, eventually replaced by spitzers of around 140 grains, like the hunting load on the right.

have taken pronghorn and springbok (the African equivalent of pronghorn) at ranges out to 400 yards.

There really isn’t any argument about the 7x57’s capabilities as a big-game round. Instead its problems revolve around variations in action strength and chamber dimensions. Rifles chambered for the 7x57 have been manufactured for over 120 years on anything from Remington Roll-ing Blocks to the most modern bolts, and the length of chamber throats varies considerably, even in modern rifles. The longest throat of any 7x57 I’ve owned was in the Ruger No. 1A listed in the handloading data, and the shortest on my present Kiliman-jaro Walkabout, chambered with a Pacific Tool & Gauge “USA Match” reamer with a throat shorter than SAAMI standard. The difference in throat length between the two rifles amounted to almost 1/2 inch, and the rest of my 7x57’s have ranged in between those extremes.

This results in widely varying pres-sures with the same powder charges and bullets, and sometimes in accuracy trou-bles. A few rifles with very long throats have refused to shoot accurately with bullets weighing less than 160 grains, due to the long jump shorter bullets

have to make before they hit the lands.Some published handloading data

limits pressures to antique levels, while some includes cautions to “use only in modern rifles in good condition,” but

even in modern rifles I tend to load to a certain velocity level rather than a specific charge weight. With appro-priate powders, velocity correlates strongly with pressure. In barrels 21 to

7X57MM HANDLOADED AMMO PERFORMANCE BULLET POWDER CHARGE VELOCITY GROUP SIZE (BRAND, BULLET TYPE, WEIGHT) (BRAND) (GRAINS WEIGHT) (FPS) (INCHES)

GUN: CUSTOM VZ-24 MAUSER, 24-INCH AND 21-INCH* BARREL Speer Hot-Cor 130 RL-19 53.0 2,848 1.25 Speer Hot-Cor 130 IMR4064 47.0 2,979 0.89 Nosler Solid Base 140 IMR4350 50.0 2,832 1.31 Nosler Solid Base 140 IMR4350 50.0 2,788 1.06* Nosler Solid Base 140 RL-19 53.0 2,846 1.19 Nosler Solid Base 140 IMR4064 46.0 2,887 1.81 Nosler Partition 140 IMR4350 50.0 2,801 0.70 Nosler Partition 160 H4831 50.0 2,729 1.25 Nosler Partition 160 H4831 50.0 2,632 1.00* Nosler Partition 160 RL-22 50.0 2,742 1.38 Hornady Spire Pt. 175 RL-22 50.0 2,533 1.63 Hornady Spire Pt. 175 RL-22 50.0 2,473 1.50*

Notes: *This rifle’s Shilen barrel was shortened after initial load development, as an experiment with velocity and accuracy. (All loads with

Remington brass and Federal 210 primers.)


GUN: RUGER NO. 1A, 22-INCH BARREL Nosler Solid Base 140 IMR4350 51.0 2,804 0.94 Hornady Spire Pt. 154 RL-22 53.0 2,759 1.49 Nosler Partition 160 RL-22 52.0 2,715 0.66

Notes: All loads with Federal brass and Federal 210 primers.


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24 inches long, 2,800 to 2,900 fps with bullets in the 140-grain range is easily obtainable with modern powders, and around 2,600 to 2,700 with bullets

in the 160-grain range, and 2,500 to 2,600 with 175’s.

But the powder charge required to reach those levels varies considerably

from rifle to rifle. As an example, with IMR4350 or H4350 and 140-grain bullets, the charge required to reach 2,800 fps can vary up to 3 grains, even in barrels of equal length. (Somebody will probably object to lumping those two powders together, because H4350 is “supposed” to be slower burning. If you take a look at the latest data, however, many times IMR4350 turns out to be slightly slower when loaded with the same bullet in the same cartridge.)

I’ve been handloading the 7x57 using the velocity method for a long time and have yet to encounter the slightest problem, but if you don’t feel comfort-able with the approach then sticking to published data is the only alternative. Good luck, since it also varies around 3 grains with 140-grain bullets.

While some of my fellow 7x57 fans are firm believers in the original bullet weight of around 175 grains, I’ve never been all that impressed with the perfor-mance of 175’s. Some hunters claim the slow 175’s perform more predict-ably than faster spitzers, but I’ve yet to encounter the slightest problem with either sufficient penetration or that debatable characteristic called “kill-ing power” with other cup-and-cores such as the 139-grain Hornady Spire Point or 160-grain Sierra GameKing.


GUN: NEW ULTRA LIGHT ARMS MODEL 20, 22-INCH BARREL Hornady Spire Pt. 139 IMR4350 49.0 2,802 0.75 Nosler Partition 140 IMR4350 49.0 2,790 0.92 Nosler Partition 160 RL-22 51.0 2,711 1.38 Speer Grand Slam 175 RL-22 50.0 2,623 1.44

GUN: CUSTOM REMINGTON 700, 24-INCH BARREL Nosler Ball. Tip 120 RL-15 45.0 3,182 1.12 Hornady Spire Pt. 139 H4350 49.0 2,926 0.54 Nosler Partition 140 H4350 47.0 2,857 0.74

Notes: All loads with Winchester brass and Winchester Large Rifle primers.


GUN: KILIMANJARO/MONTANA 1999, 21-INCH BARREL Nosler Ball. Tip 120 Varget 45.0 2,960 0.87 Speer Hot-Cor 130 Varget 43.5 2,880 1.55 Hornady Spire Pt. 139 IMR4166 43.5 2,824 1.13 Hornady Spire Pt. 139 Big Game 48.5 2,870 0.68 Norma Oryx 156 H4350 46.0 2,773 0.66 Barnes TSX 160 H4350 46.0 2,722 1.24 Northfork SP 160 H4350 46.0 2,733 0.75 Nosler Partition 160 H4350 46.0 2,717 1.09 Sierra GameKing 160 H4350 46.0 2,722 0.94 Sierra GameKing 160 Hunter 49.0 2,706 1.30 Sierra GameKing 175 Hunter 46.0 2,527 1.44

Notes: All loads with Winchester brass. Federal 210 primers were used with IMR4166, H4350 and Varget, and CCI 250’s with Big Game and Hunter.

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Typical 7x57 muzzle velocities don’t put much stress on bullets, one reason the cartridge has such a reputation for consistent performance.

On the other hand, on a number of occasions I also haven’t been impressed with how quickly heavy “premium” bullets kill big-game animals. Light-to-medium weight bullets at higher velocity seem to do the job quicker, while penetrating plenty. Two favor-ites are the 140-grain Nosler Partition and 156 Norma Oryx. Both expand easily on deer-sized game, yet pene-trate sufficiently on larger game, and do more interior damage than heavier premiums at slower velocities.

These days the 7x57 is being replaced in the USA by more recent cartridges. (Ruger has probably cham-bered the 7x57 in more rifles than any other American company in the past few decades, but in 2014 their website didn’t list any.) It’s been replaced by the 7mm-08 Remington, since the 7mm-08 provides the same ballistics in a case fitting in “short” bolt-action magazines. The 7x57 is a little long for such magazines, though handloads worked OK in the 3-inch magazine of a New Ultra Light Arms Model 20, especially with lighter bullets.

Factory 7x57 cartridges are consid-erably shorter than many of today’s long-action magazines, though they fit just about perfectly in magazines designed around the 8x57 and .30-06. These are becoming rare, and modern shooters apparently are offended by cartridges that don’t use every frac-tion of an inch of magazine length. However, the 7x57 feeds fine in long Remington 700 actions, despite 0.5-inch of extra room. My present 7x57 was built by Kilimanjaro Rifles on the shorter version of the Montana 1999 action, and the 3.15-inch maga-zine is just right.

The 7x57’s virtues have always combined relatively mild recoil with enough bullet weight and velocity for almost any hunting. Today there’s a much wider selection of bullets for every purpose, whether we’re hunting whitetails near home or bigger game in other countries. While the 7x57 isn’t used much in the 21st century for really dangerous game, it works very well for everything else, especially if handloaders understand its quirks and history.

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I have AR rifles with faster twists but all my bolt-action .223 rifles are either 1:9-inch or 1:12-inch. I wanted a 1:8-inch barrel to stabilize 75-grain bullets such as Hornady A-Max and Berger match bullets with their high ballistic coefficients.

My 1:9-inch barrels will do it on reasonably warm days. I’ve had sub-MOA groups at 600 yards with my Ruger Hawkeye .223 using 75-grain A-Max bullets when the temperature

was around 60 degrees F. On crisp winter days with single-digit temper-atures the bullets became unstable, meaning I couldn’t use them for winter coyote hunting.

Incidentally, I use the JBM online stability calculator, which shows how various factors (e.g. bullet length, twist, temperature, velocity, barometric pres-sure) affect bullet stability.

The Tikka T3 still seems like a new model to me. It was something of a shock to go poking through back issues and find my first review of the T3 was way back in a 2004 issue.

The original test rifle was a Lite stainless version in .270 WSM, which I subsequently purchased and still own. I’ve used other T3’s over the years, including a .243 with suppressor borrowed from a Scottish gamekeeper to shoot a red stag.

Out of the box, the T3 weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces. Trigger pull was crisp and clean with minimal overtravel, with weight of pull at 3-1/2 pounds. Although the trigger adjustment screw can be accessed through the magazine well, I disassembled the rifle to have a look under the hood and adjusted the pull before reassembling. With the adjustment screw backed off as far as possible, weight of pull was reduced to 1 pound, 15 ounces as measured by my Lyman trigger gauge.

The composite stock of the T3 is hard and relatively inflexible. The barrel shank is bedded to about 3 inches ahead of the receiver, then free-floated to the muzzle with substantial clear-ance between barrel and stock. Some don’t like the looks of such a gap but my view is, if you’re going to float the barrel, then float the darn thing.

Although a 2-lug action, the T3 has a relatively short bolt lift of about 75

degrees. Bolt operation is a joy, smooth as oil on glass. Cartridge feeding from the straight-line magazine is reliable and virtually effortless. I can operate this bolt faster than any of my bolt rifles with the exception of my Sako Finnlight and, of course, the old Lee Enfield No. 1 Mk III.

I haven’t decided yet which scope the T3 .223 will ultimately be paired with, but for now I fitted a well-proven Nightforce 2.5-10x32, using Burris bases and Weaver 30mm rings. Actually this is a pretty good combo and might even be permanent, though I do have other plans for the scope.

I have on hand a good supply of .223 reloads using H335 powder and the Hornady 55-grain V-Max. After roughly sighting in, I tried a 3-shot group at 100 yards. The group

TIKKA TALESTHE T3 PROVES A BETTER WAY

TO LAUNCH A LONG-RANGE .223.DAVE ANDERSON

It was Boxing Day 2014 here in Canada. A local gun store advertised a pretty good discount on all in-stock firearms. What the heck, I thought, it doesn’t cost

anything to look. I spotted a blue-steel T3 Lite in .223 on the rack, and a closer look showed it had the 1:8-inch rifling twist.

Dave’s Tikka T3 Lite in .223 Rem has a Nightforce 2.5-10x32 scope and GrovTec Mountaineer sling. Dave generally tapes the muzzle of a rifle while hunting, especially in snow. The T3 is a light, well-balanced, and accurate rifle.

T3 LITE STANDARDMAKER: SAKO LTD. (TIKKA)

P.O. BOX 149FI-11101 RIIHIMÄKI

FINLANDIMPORTER: BERETTA USA CORP.

17601 BERETTA DRIVEACCOKEEK MD 20677

(301) 283-2191 WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/INDEX

Action type: Bolt-action repeater, Caliber: .223 Rem (tested), many others,

Capacity: 4+1, Overall length: 42-1/2 inches, Barrel length: 22-7/16 inches,

Twist: 1:8, Weight, empty: 6 pounds, 6 ounces, Stock: Composite, Length of pull: 13-3/4 inches, Finish: Blued steel

barrel and receiver, Price: $625

The length of the front receiver ring (above) of the Tikka T3 receiver is considerably longer than most bolt actions and provides lots of sup-port for the barrel. The slot near the front of receiver engages a recoil plate inlet in the stock. An aluminum recoil plate (below) is inset in the T3 stock and engages a slot in the receiver. To those of us used to a recoil lug being a receiver component, this seems all wrong, but the fact is it works well.



measured 0.65-inch. Not so shabby for a first effort.

Nor was it a fluke. The 1:8-inch twist easily stabilized the 75-grain Hornady A-Max even at a temperature of 10 degrees F and gave 5-shot groups in the range of 0.8- to 0.9-inch. The worst group with this bullet measured 1.13 inches with one wide shot, which may have been shooter error. The other four shots went into just over 0.5-inch. My best 5-shot group was with the V-Max bullet and measured 0.53-inch. Func-tioning was smooth and reliable even though weather conditions were a bit miserable at times.

The T3 has been in production for well over a decade now, and used all over the world by many thousands of shooters. That much use will find the inherent weaknesses in any new design. Some shooters dislike the plastic bolt shroud, on both strength and esthetic grounds. But modern plastics are just a wee bit tougher than the brittle stuff used in our model airplanes back in the ’50’s. For the most part the shroud works fine, though everyone knows of a second cousin’s buddy who had a shroud break while hunting in Alaska.

The other complaint heard is in regard to the aluminum recoil plate inset in the stock. With harder-kicking cartridges there have been concerns over the fit of the recoil plate to it’s receiver slots, which would cause stock loosen-ing over time. I haven’t seen this with my .270 WSM, though admittedly it’s only fired around 400 shots.

I have no plans to modify my .223 but those who do can check out a Montana-based company called Mountain Tactical. They specialize in Tikkas and have both factory orig-inal and aftermarket acces-sories. One is an attractive aluminum bolt shroud to replace the plastic compo-nent. Currently it lists at $59.95. They also offer a stainless-steel recoil plate, which currently retails at $29.99.

The only “flaws” (actu-ally personal preferences) in my new T3 are the ones I mentioned back in 2004. The T3 uses one action length, with bolt stop and magazine altered for shorter cartridges. And even after using them in

various rifles for over 50 years, I’ve never learned to love detachable magazines though I recognize their utility.

Specific to the .223, my rifle is throated so I can load the 75 A-Max out to an overall cartridge length of 2.45 inches and just reach the lands. At the same over-all length the full-diameter of the bullet, just ahead of the boattail, is even with the bottom of the case neck.

So the barrel is throated the way I want, it’s twisted the way I want, life is good, and then… the magazine limits cartridge overall length to 2.26 inches. Yes, I can still seat the 75-grain bullets deep, and still get the 2,850 fps muzzle velocity I want, but now the bullet is jumping nearly 0.20-inch to

reach the lands. And only about three-fourths of the case neck is gripping the full diameter of the bullet. (Which seems to be enough; I tried press-ing the bullet nose hard on the edge of the bench, and there was no bullet move-ment.) But still… oh, rifle gods, why do you mock me?

Tikka is not the only maker with magazine length limitations; actu-ally with .223 it is more the norm. Riflemakers don’t necessarily cater to those of us who reload. Sometimes I think they don’t love us much. My Tikka instruction manual says “Damage to rifles occurs almost exclusively when using handloaded cartridges.” Seems a bit harsh! I’d have guessed bore obstructions were the most common cause of damaged rifles.

Solutions, from most to least expensive: fit DBM bottom metal ($209 from Mountain Tactical) and use AICS magazines; buy a spare Tikka .223 maga-zine (around $70 if you can find one) and modify it to accept a longer over-all cartridge length (do an Internet search for some creative ideas); feed single cartridges through the loading port (a single

shot follower, $19.99, from Mountain Tactical makes it easier).

Or you can set aside the A-Maxes, use the slightly shorter Hornady 75-grain BTHP loaded to an over-all cartridge length of 2.26 inches, and go shoot-ing. The 0.20-inch bullet jump may be irritating, but when the rifle shoots this well, maybe it’s not really a problem.

The T3 has proven extremely popular, and with many owners it seems to inspire the kind of devo-tion earlier generations gave the ’98 Mauser or pre-’64 Winchester 70. If this seems just plain wrong to old timers, remember there were once enthusiasts who thought only single-shots or doubles were real hunt-ing rifles, and who sneered

at “magazine rifles” as tools for meat hunters and poachers.

I think a big part of the T3’s appeal is its no-fuss, no-drama, out-of-the-box performance. Those of us who grew up with wooden-stocked rifles, consider a certain amount of tuning routine, such as floating the barrel, tuning or even replacing the trigger, maybe polishing and honing for smoother bolt opera-tion. Tuning up the rifle gave us a sense of accomplishment.

Crazy as it may sound, when the younger generation buys a pickup truck, computer, chainsaw, ATV or riding lawnmower, they actually expect it to work first time and every time. They expect performance. And the Tikka T3 delivers.

Butler Creek9200 Cody

Overland Park, KS 66214(800) 221-9035

GrovTec (slings)13529 SE Johnson Road

P.O. Box 220060Milwaukie, OR 97269

(503) 557-4689

JBM Ballisticswww.jbmballistics.com

Mountain Plains Targets3720 Otter Place, Lynchburg, VA 24503

(800) 687-3000

Mountain Tactical (Tikka accessories)

174 Shepard Trail, Unit BBozeman, MT 59718

(406) 285-2371

Nightforce Optics, Inc.336 Hazen Lane, Orofino, ID 83544

(208) 476-9814For more info: www.gunsmagazine.com/index

The shorter cartridge is topped with a Hornady 55-grain V-Max loaded to an overall length of 2.260 inch-es. Longer is the Hornady 75-grain A-Max bullet at an overall length of 2.450 inches. The longer cartridge will fit the chamber of Dave’s Tikka T3 with the bullet just reach-ing the lands and can be single-loaded, but is too long for the magazine. The receiver is long enough to accom-modate long rounds but the magazine is blocked off.

In order to reach the lands, and have the case neck grip the full-diameter section of the bullet, the Hornady 75-grain A-Max (center car-tridge) is loaded to an overall length of 2.45 inches. In order to fit the Tikka magazine, car-tridges must be loaded to a maximum overall length of 2.26 inches, easily done with the 55-grain V-Max (left cartridge) or the Hornady 75-grain BTHP (right car-tridge). The 75-grain A-Max bullet (bottom left) is much longer than its 75-grain BTHP brother bullet (bottom right).

Dave’s first five shots at 100 yards (above) with Hornady 75-grain A-Max and H-335 powder was to 1.13 inches due to shooter error. The other four shots went into just over 1/2 inch. The 1:8-inch twist ot the T3’s barrel stabilizes the long bullets even though it was cold. Dave swear’s this is a 5-shot group although it looks like four (below). The group’s size is 0.53 inch for five shots at 100 yards using the 55-grain Hornady V-Max.



Yes, the coolest pistol in Ruger’s rimfire lineup is back with some new bells and whistles to swing right into the 21st century rimfire scene. If there ever were a “sleeper” in the Ruger line, it’s been the Charger. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times I have seen a Charger on the range, and it’s been around since 2007. Built on the 10/22 chassis, which celebrated its 50th

anniversary in 2014, it was the perfect time to polish up the Charger design and reintroduce it the shooting public. Frankly, it’s one of the greatest fun guns ever to arrive on the rimfire scene, and it’s one of the most accurate rimfire pistols ever made.

For 2015, there are actually two, new Chargers. There’s the traditional solid frame model and for 2015, a takedown

model utilizing the same quick discon-nect system developed originally for the 10/22 Takedown rifle.

Both models are really snazzy-look-ing, decked out in their redesigned lami-nate stocks. The solid frame model is in brown laminate while the takedown version is in an attractive green. One of the surprising upgraded features was both models are fitted with AR/A-2 style pistol grips, giving their owners the option to substitute an A-2 style grip of their own choosing.

Another attractive styling touch is the fore-ends are accented with six, slashing, milling cuts, providing some

RUGER’S “SUPER CHARGER”

THE PISTOL VERSION OF THE ICONIC 10/22 IS NOW

STYLISH AS WELL AS PRACTICAL. HOLT BODINSON

A Charger is: (A) A knight’s trusty steed, (B) 707 horse-power under a Dodge hood, (C) The coolest pistol in Ruger’s rimfire line.

Ruger’s new Chargers are the coolest looking pistols in their rimfire line and are available as a takedown (above, left) or solid frame. Solid frame Chargers (below) are boxed with deluxe padded carrying case.

The Charger comes with a 15-round maga-zine combining high round count with a length perfect for use at the bench or afield.


dramatic eye appeal and a very tactile grip for offhand shooting.

Neither model is sighted, but both are factory mounted with a 4-5/8-inch Picatinny rail featuring 11 slots for positioning scopes, red dots and other optical options. The Picatinny rail couldn’t be a more flexible platform, but I strongly recommend you give the factory mounting screws a dash of Loctite No. 242 blue thread locker to assure that Picatinny rail never loosens up under use.

The Charger is fitted with a stout, 10-inch barrel and being a very contem-porary model, the Charger features a threaded muzzle protected by a knurled muzzle nut. The thread form is 1/2-inch-28, just right for a nice rimfire suppres-sor or other muzzle accessory. Again, my recommendation is to apply some Loctite to the muzzle nut and tighten it down if you don’t plan on adding an accessory in the immediate future.

These being factory test guns, I didn’t and I lived to regret it during the testing phase when a muzzle nut loos-ened up and opened up the test groups dramatically. So dramatically, I stopped shooting immediately to analyze the problem. That darn little nut had loos-ened up just one thread and that’s all it took to send accuracy south.

Speaking of barrels, there’s a very interesting National Firearms Act (NFA) warning on page 13 of

the owner’s manual, and it’s worth repeating: “Unauthorized instal-lation of the .22 Charger pistol’s barrel assembly onto a 10/22 Take-down rifle receiver is a felony under the NFA and can lead to substan-tial criminal penalties.” I don’t know why anyone would want to, but there you have it. Don’t.

The Chargers come with factory-supplied bipods. Two different brands and designs came with the test guns. The takedown model was furnished with a Harris-type knockoff that extended from 5.75 to 8.375 inches and the solid frame model came with a UTG bipod with extension from 5.5 to 5.875 inches. I liked the extended reach of the Harris-type bipod, which was also easier and quicker to mount on the front swivel post.

The bipods make the Chargers. With a solid, 3-point platform of support off the bench or from a prone position, the Chargers shoot like rifles, not hand-guns. They’re in a league all by them-selves as production guns, and won’t flip your credit card, yet deliver sensa-tional accuracy out as far as you want to shoot a rimfire.

The magazine supplied with the Charger is the new 15-round, BX-15 model. A nice compromise height, it clears the top of a bench. It’s the utterly

dependable Ruger rotary design that just feeds and feeds flawlessly.

For wringing out the Chargers, I selected two different optics pack-ages: Majestic Arms’ Bushnell Trophy 1x28mm Red/Green Dot platform featuring lapped-in Leupold quick-detachable rings and a proven B&L 2-6X pistol scope also mounted in QD Leupold rings. For cross-slot Pica-tinny-style bases, nothing is as handy as Leupold quick-detachable rings. They’re made for each other and allow you to swap out optics in mere seconds.

Going into the test, I was curious whether the takedown model would prove less accurate than the solid frame Charger. ’Twas not to be. With either model, the shooting results at 25 yards off the little bipods were outstanding with a variety of ammunition. One pattern emerged almost consistently though. There was one flyer out of an otherwise very tight 4-shot group, so in reporting the results I eliminated the flyer while measuring the 4-shot groups, hopefully giving a better picture of the inherent accuracy potential of the guns.

The Chargers are really neat pistols—distinctly different, racy look-ing and superbly accurate. It’s good to see Ruger giving them a 21st century facelift and bringing them prominently back in the line.

10/22 CHARGERMAKER: RUGER

411 SUNAPEE STREETNEWPORT, NH 03773


Action: Blowback, semi-automatic, Caliber: .22 LR, Capacity: 15 (supplied

magazine), Barrel length: 10 inches threaded, Overall length: 19.25 inches,

Weight: 3.12 to 3.22 pounds, Sights: None, Picatinny rail installed, Stocks:

Brown or green laminate, Finish: Matte black, Price: $309 (Solid Frame),

$413 (Takedown)

At the same time the new Chargers were released, Ruger surprised us all with the announcement of their revolutionary BX-Trigger assembly. At this time, the BX-Trigger is being offered only as a factory accessory, but what an accessory it is. The BX-Trigger reduces the pull weight of the typical 10/22 trigger from 6 pounds to 2.5 to 3 pounds, and it’s crisp with minimum overtravel and a positive reset. Best yet, it’s a consumer friendly, drop-in module for any existing 10/22 rifle or Charger pistol. The price is $89.95, and there’s an instructional video of the simple installation process at www.ruger.com/BX-Trigger.

During the testing, I also switched out the trigger module of the solid frame Charger with the new BX-Trigger assembly. The switch is simple and fast (Note: you must remove the pistol grip first.) The inletting is tight, and the judicious use of a rubber hammer to unseat and reseat the barreled action will prove helpful. Driving out two cross pins drops out the existing trigger module, and then it’s just a matter of inserting the new trigger module, reinserting the two pins, function testing, and you’re in business. It’s taken 50 years to get a good factory trigger on the 10/22, but the BX has been worth the wait. It will improve your shooting.

THE NEW RUGER BX TRIGGER MODULE

Offered as an accessory, the BX-Trigger offers a light, crisp, 2.5- to 3-pound pull weight. It is one of the best acces-sories arriving for 10/22 users in decades!

.22 LR FACTORY AMMO PERFORMANCE LOAD GROUP SIZE* GROUP SIZE** (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (INCHES) (INCHES) CCI Mini-Mag 40 0.92 0.67 CCI Pistol Match 40 0.55 0.87 Remington Golden 40 0.77 0.65 Winchester Power Point 40 0.48 0.70 Winchester FHP 37 0.74 0.59 Winchester 555 36 2.21 0.72

Notes: *Solid frame, **Takedown. Groups the best 4 of 5 shots at 25 yards.

Takedown Chargers come in their own compact, rugged, range-ready, hard cases.



OUT OF THE BOX™

J.B. WOOD

In the current SPHINX SDP Compact, there are two departures from the original CZ 75 pattern. One of these involves the materials used. The grip-frame—triggerguard included—is made of high-tech polymer. The mid-frame, containing the action parts, is alloy. All of the working parts, includ-ing the barrel and slide, are made of high-grade steel.

Another change is in regard to the manual safety. On my sample, it has been replaced by levers on both sides, a hammer-lowering system. Not a “hammer-drop,” it is the best kind of safety. As you release the lever, the hammer is eased down.

The trigger system is selective double

action/single action, and in both modes very nice. I’m sure this is partly a result of the precise attention of the work-men in Switzerland, but it’s also in the basic CZ 75 design. The DA employs the mechanical advantage of a push-bar, not a drawbar. The trigger does have some vertical ridges, but they’re not very deep and cause no discomfort.

When you use the lever to lower the hammer, it is left slightly to the rear, giving access to the grooves in its top for single-action cocking. As on the CZ 75, the slide latch is located high and forward, not within easy thumb-reach of the shooting hand. So, just use the European police/military method. When you insert a new magazine, use

that hand to trip it.The SPHINX has all of

the little modern touches you expect, of course. There is an automatic internal firing-pin-block released only in the last fraction of trigger pull. The magazine release button, in the usual location, is reversible. More good news: no magazine-disconnect safety. If the maga-zine is damaged during your plane crash in the Outback, you still have a single-shot.

For the back of the grip-frame, there are rubber-covered inserts in three sizes, and a tool is supplied so you can change them. If you still use that weird finger-in-front version of the 2-hand hold, the front of the triggerguard is cross-grooved and concave. A standard rail at the front allows mounting of a laser or a light.

Two Allen screws secure the rear sight in its dovetail, allowing lateral movement. The sight is Novak-style, and its back is cross-grooved and

all-black. The front sight has a white dot. The sight picture is square post/square notch, and the rear notch has ample width for easy eye pick-up. The sights on my sample pistol required no adjustment.

A little square lug on the extrac-tor protrudes to tell you the chamber is loaded. Also, there’s a slim window at the rear edge of the barrel where the rim of a chambered round is visible. After-shooting takedown for cleaning is not difficult, but read the manual. Lower the hammer before removing the slide.

Test-firing the SPHINX was done at 7 yards, with a 2-hand hold. On one target, with assorted ammo, the first shot was fired DA, and it hit slightly to the left, but still in the 8-inch black of the Champion VisiShot target. The other four rounds made a neat 1.5-inch group at dead center. That one DA round expanded the total to 4 inches.

The rest of the shooting was with an excellent load from CorBon, their +P 115-grain DPX. The group average was an impressive 2 inches, perfectly centered. Another tribute to Swiss precision, perhaps? One other thing, a note to those who reload: the SPHINX deposited the fired cases in one little area to right rear, 6 feet away.

The felt recoil was mild, even with the +P loads. Jacketed hollowpoints caused no problems. The gun worked perfectly every time. As mentioned earlier, there are some notable SPHINX additions to the basic CZ 75 design. And, of course, you get that Swiss precision. With this one, you can’t miss.

THE SPHINX 9MM COMPACT

THANKS TO THE GOOD OFFICES OF KRISS USA, THIS SWISS-MADE ARM

IS BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER.

Some years ago, its original importer offered it at a price that was—back then—too high for all but the most affluent buyers. This time, the figure is not out

of reach for anyone looking for precision Swiss engineer-ing and a basic CZ 75 design.

SPHINXIMPORTER: KRISS USA

2697 INTERNATIONAL PKWY.SUITE 3-140, VIRGINIA BEACH, VA 23452


Type: Double-action semi-auto, Caliber: 9mm, Parabellum, Weight: 31.8 ounces, Length: 7.3 inches, Height: 5.34 inches, Width: 1.36 inches, Barrel length: 3.75

inches, Sight radius: 5.8 inches, Capac-ity: 15+1, Price: $995 to $1,295

One of the targets with the CorBon DPX load gave 2 inches offhand at 7 yards.

The SPHINX SDP Compact 9mm is light, handy accurate and with accessible controls. The fire controls are ambidex-trous and the magazine release is reversible.



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SURPLUS, CLASSIC AND TACTICAL FIREARMS™

HOLT BODINSON

Uncle Lester was an orange grove man, living on Turkey Lake, just outside Orlando, Fla. He was also a gunner and living remotely, he was always armed. His go-to-town pants were fitted with oversize watch pockets that carried a brace of Remington .41 RF derringers. Hanging from the two bedposts of his master bed were a Colt .45 automatic and a .45 Colt Bisley fitted with target sights. As fancy as his handguns were, the gun that accompanied him daily as he drove around the groves in his old pick-up truck or trailed coonhounds

at night was a Savage Model 24 in .22/.410.

One sunny December day, he handed his 10-year-old nephew his Model 24 and said, “Let’s go hunting!”

In the middle of that groomed grove was a typical Florida limestone sink-hole inhabited by one alligator, a passel of soft shell turtles and along its brush-lined shores, cottontail rabbits. After handing me a 3-inch .410 shell and a .22 Short to load, Uncle Lester and I snuck along through the brush after those wily rabbits. Running shots proved not

to be my forte, but aiming through the peep sight of the Model 24, I finally bagged my first rabbit with the rifle barrel and a .22 Short. I can remember my first rabbit and the feel of that svelte Model 24 in my hands like it was yester-day. No moment in the field was ever more memorable.

Introduced in 1939 by Stevens and later re-branded with the Savage name, Model 24’s were common on farms, ranches and even on the fringes of suburbia. Whether they were leaning in a corner beside the back door or stored behind the truck seat or mounted in the rear window rack, a Stevens/Savage .22/.410 combination was kept loaded and ready to take on any pest or small game animal that might be encountered.

In the squirrel woods, it was a natu-ral, offering the hunter the immedi-ate choice of using a shotgun or a rifle. It was equally at home in brushy bunny country where sitting or running rabbits could be dispatched with equal ease. For an outdoorsman just loafing about, for casual plinking or for chal-lenging the whole family to some shoot-ing games combining shotgun and rifle targets, the modestly priced Model 24 couldn’t be beat. Plus the ammunition was cheap.

Recently, I asked Jim Sharrah, owner of the Frontier Gunshop in Tucson, Ariz., why we didn’t see more Model 24’s on the used gun racks. He

AMERICA’S ENDEARING

“BOCKBÜCHSFLINTE”IF SUCH A NAME MAKES YOU GARGLE THE CONSONANTS, THEN JUST CALL IT

THE SAVAGE MODEL 24 .22/.410.

“Bockbüchsflinte”—an O/U combination of a rifle barrel and a shotgun barrel—is slightly uncommon and very expensive in Europe, but fairly common

and very inexpensive in America. Made in the tens of thou-sands by Stevens and Savage in a wide variety of calibers and models, we know it as the classic Model 24.

The classic configuration of the Mod-el 24 will always be the .22/.410, and Holt took his first rabbit with this one. Early barrels were brazed together and were very rigid and accurate.

The classic Model 24 has a .22 LR rifle barrel over a .410 shotgun barrel, both 24 inches long.

The original factory rear sight was a cheap, flim-sy stamping. Fitted in a dovetail smaller than standard, it was difficult to replace.


promptly replied, “People seem to hang on to them.” That sounds about right. I’m still hanging on to the Model 24 I inherited from Uncle Lester, and it’s still doing yeoman service out here in the Arizona desert.

Pictured is the classic Model 24. It’s a .22/.410 with a tang lever operated, under-locking, break-open action, rebound-ing hammer and a side-button selector switch. The design is rather intriguing. The composite barrel assembly consists of a .410 barrel with a groove milled out along its top line. Brazed into the groove is a thin .22 LR barrel. The result is a very rigid barrel unit, which is capable of deliv-ering excellent accuracy, no thanks to the original sighting system.

Dovetailed into the .22 LR barrel is a rear sight adjustable for elevation by means of an eleva-tor, and for windage by drifting the whole sight right-or-left in its dove-tail. The rear sight of the early Model 24 has prob-ably given owners more gas pains than any other element of the design. It’s a cheap stamping so weak and flimsy it can be pushed right-or-left by mild finger pressure alone.

In short, it’s worthless, and why Stevens/Savage let it compromise an otherwise grand design is beyond me. The dovetail itself is tiny and non-stan-dard so alternative open sights weren’t available— why many of the early Model 24’s you’ll find are mounted with receiver sights like the Williams model pictured here. In later models the diameter of the .22 LR barrel was enlarged and the barrel grooved for conventional rimfire scope mounts.

The barrel selector switch on the early Model 24’s is a button on the right side of the frame. Pushed up, the hammer fires the .22 rifle barrel, pushed down, the .410 shotgun barrel. The switch resets to the shotgun barrel position when the action is opened. It’s an elegant but somewhat complicated design. Years later, Savage eliminated it and substituted a simple, finger-toggled firing pin selector in the nose of the

hammer, which brings up an important point.

During its lifespan, the Model 24 went through numerous design changes and model configurations. The top lever was replaced on some models by

a side lever and finally, by a sliding lock unit at the front of the triggerguard. The color case-hardened finish on the receiver was largely replaced with more conventional blued and plated finishes. Stocks were offered in English Express and Monte Carlo styles, checkered and non-checkered. Stained hard-wood and synthetics were often substituted for black walnut. The methods of assembling the barrels changed over the years. Different barrel lengths were offered. From its original .22 LR/.410 configuration, the Model 24 was produced in .17 HMR/20-gauge, .22 LR/20, .22 WMR/20, .22 Hornet/20, .222 Rem/20, .223 Rem/20, .30-30/20, .357 Mag/20, .357 Rem Max/20, .22 Hornet/12 gauge, .222 Rem/12, .223 Rem/12 and .30-30/12. There was even a Model 2400 produced by Valmet for Savage with a shot-gun barrel over the rifle barrel and a similar shot-gun-over-rifle configura-tion made in Italy as the Model 389.

The saga of the Model 24 is a complicated one, which only now is being unraveled and docu-mented by serious collec-tors. In fact, a comprehen-sive collection of Model 24’s in all chamberings and variations would be impressive indeed.

Still, in my mind, the classic Model 24 will always be a .22 LR/.410

and so the story comes full circle. The Model 24, that endearing Ameri-can Bockbüechsflinte, is gone, but the concept has been recreated by Savage as their new Model 42. And what do you know? It’s built in the classic .22/.410 configuration.

Further Information I highly recommend the collector’s website:

www.savage24.com and the Blue Book of Gun Values for model descriptions and production

information.

Rifled slugs, like this Brenneke, greatly enhance the capability of the .410 barrel.

Spare parts and cartridges can be carried under the buttplate

Simple extractors are featured on the classic version of the .22 LR/.410 Model 24. Note the groove in the shotgun barrel to which the .22 barrel is brazed.

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JEFF JOHN

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Got a burning question to ask the editor? Contact him via E-mail at:

[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.

SIGHT WOES

Q: I have a Winchester Model 94 AE in .356 Winchester, which

has a folding rear sight. I bought it secondhand and ammo is no longer common and quite expensive, which makes trial and error shooting very costly. I’m wondering if you can help me with the sight?

Merle ModispawSuffolk, Va.

A: The fold-down sights are adjust-able, but require a fine screw-

driver to adjust for elevation. Wind-age is adjusted by using a non-marring punch to drift the sight left or right for windage. Move the rear sight in the direction you wish the group to move. First shoot a group at the distance you want the rifle zeroed. If you wish, you can then determine the adjustment mathematically: sight radius x amount to move group in inches ÷ distance to the target in inches. Answer will be in 0.001-inch increments. Using a micrometer will be a big help rais-ing the little insert and drifting for windage.

Option 2: It’s an angle-eject and quite easy to scope. A 1-3x20mm Weaver Classic V-Series variable wouldn’t overpower the rifle and is a reasonable $257.49, (often on sale for less).

Option 3: Install a Williams peep sight. The FP-94BBSE is designed to use the factory-provided scope mount holes on the top of the receiver. The

sight costs $74.95, $86.95 with target knobs. Williams also offers the less expensive 5D sight 5D-94SE for $41.95. To conserve ammo, adjust the sights at 50 yards first and check them at 100. It should be just low.

Weaver Optics1 ATK Way, Anoka, MN 55303

(800) 379-1732www.weaveroptics.com

Williams Gun Sight, Inc.P.O. Box 329, Davison, MI 48423

(800) 530-9028www.williamsgunsight.com

LEVER .41 MAGNUM

Q: Is there a company making a lever action in .41 Magnum? I’d

love to have one to go with my Ruger Blackhawk.

A: Marlin made the 1894 in .41 Magnum but it was discontin-

ued in 1991, and few were made. They are hard to come by today, yet occa-sionally show up on auction sites like GunBroker.com. They can be spendy though. The good news is they are usually in really nice shape.


The Weaver 1-3X, shown here on Jeff’s Ruger No. 1 .405, is an affordable sighting option for a Winchester 94 Angle Eject and won’t look clunky on the rifle.

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“Reliability” is another appropriate word, though it’s not a desirable trait but rather an absolute requirement. “Accuracy” is another, but not “target accuracy.” A carry-gun may not be suited for cutting clover-leaves in paper at 50 yards, but should keep snap-shots in the clockworks at 7 yards 1-handed, and punching out the pump at 20, 2-handed. Add “power” to the list, and you’ve almost filled in the blanks for Kahr’s new .40 S&W CT40. Now add a really nice one: Affordable.

Kahr, taking note of the economic downturn some while ago, rolled out

bargain-priced versions of some of their top-selling premium full-size pistols, the 4-inch barreled TP45, TP40, and more recently the TP9. They’re the “Value Series” CT models, and while they look like clones of the TP’s—and they are in most respects—the CT’s are priced more than $200 less than their fraternal twins!

Kahr achieved this savings by making a few less machining opera-tions on the slide’s exterior—nothing negatively affecting performance—and simple roll marks versus engraving; mounting a pinned polymer front sight

instead of a TP’s drift-adjustable sight; using a MIM rather than a forged slide-stop lever, and substituting a conven-tionally-rifled barrel for Kahr’s stan-dard and far more expensive to produce match grade polygonal rifled barrel. Also, you only get one magazine with the CT’s—a situation easily rectified.

The pivotal question for most concealed-carriers is, “What difference, if any, do these differences make in a gunfight?” Read on and you can be the judge.

MECH-AND-TECH SPECSDecades ago Kahr made its bones in

micro-precision machining and then in small, high-quality pocket pistols, and that heredity is evident. Our test CT40 is only 6.5 inches long and just 5.13 inches high with a very slim 0.94-inch slide and 0.925-inch wide frame. Empty weight is 21.8 ounces. Compared to other gunmakers’ products, the size of Kahr’s TP’s and CT’s would be “compact,” and their weight is more in keeping with a “sub-compact”—with-out surrendering any strength. Despite that miniscule weight and spare dimen-sions, the polymer frame gives the larg-est hand a full-fingers grip. At the same time, consider that the “reach” from the surface of the trigger to the point where the web of the hand contacts the frame is only 2.375 inches—making it a comfortable and effective reach for even small hands. Check the trigger-guard and you’ll see it accommodates fat-sausage fingers like mine as well as slender digits.

Peer down the port side and you’ll note the only protuberance is the flat, smooth slide-stop lever; no whale-tail safety paddles or “tactical-ish” bollards there. The only other feature is the easily reached and operated maga-zine release button. On the starboard, note the hefty external extractor and deeply relieved ejection port. At the muzzle, the slide is machined with a


JOHN CONNOR

When considering the qualities of a good concealed-carry pistol some words come easily to mind; words like slim, light, simple and smooth. In fact, I think

they come so easily to mind that sometimes they also fade away easily, and then get overlooked. Maybe the best way to avoid this is to remind yourself of their opposites. Would you go lookin’ for a concealed-carry piece that’s fat, heavy, complex and festooned with hooks and knobs stickin’ out the sides? Not likely.

Kahr’s new CT40 with a comfort-able IWB holster by N82 Tactical and Kahr’s spe-cial Spyderco Delica knife—a great concealed-carry trio.

steep bevel, making re-holstering easier and more certain. The grip frame sides are nicely textured without being raspy, while the front and backstrap are very aggressively knurled providing an excel-lent purchase under stress and violent action.

The sights are crisp and clear, the front post bearing a white dot and the drift-adjustable rear sight bear-ing a white square centered under the U-notch. That combination gives you both speedy pickup for snap-shots and precision for deliberate aiming. Go squinty and focused when you may, but for fast work just put the dot over the square and squeeze!

The action is a trigger-cocking breech-locking DAO (Double Action Only) with a Browning-type recoil lug. It’s very strong and very simple. As my go-to gunsmith says, “There just ain’t much to go wrong, so it doesn’t,” which is why a Kahr PM has lived in his right front pocket since the mid-’90’s.

But the heart of a Kahr pistol is the trigger, and it’s ideally suited for speed-reactive fighting. Rather than moving a bar linearly, the smooth-surfaced

ergonomically curved trigger rotates a multi-function cam. The feel is more like that of a tuned revolver than a conventional semi-auto pistol. It’s so different from other fire control systems that it’s protected by seven patents. As you move through the long, smooth trigger stroke the cam rotates, cocking the striker, pushing the positive firing-pin block out of position, and then releasing the striker.

Trigger pull weight remains constant through this arc, with no stacking. Before break-in, the pull measured 6 pounds, 1 ounce on a Lyman electronic gauge, and after break-in, 5 pounds, 13 ounces—nice. The release is clean (not “crisp as snapping a thin glass rod”), but just about perfect for a fighting pistol. Given the length of the stroke, accidental discharge is highly unlikely. It takes a deliberate pull, enhancing safety even if you just dump the piece in a pocket. I don’t recommend that, but I’ve done it with confidence.

Kahr magazines are excellent; smooth and well constructed of stain-less steel, with stout springs for sure feeding. They pop in positively and release and drop free smartly. The

CT40’s mag capacity is 7 rounds. Before heading to the range, get

yourself a 4-ounce bottle of Militec-1 Synthetic Weapons Lubricant, a 1-ounce bottle with precision needle applicator, and a 1/4-ounce tube of their grease. Kahr uses Militec-1at the factory, and it’s some classy goop—kind of a high-tech “dry lube” in liquid suspension. It just makes sense to keep your cleaner, lube and protec-tant “in the family,” you know? I’ve found if you stick to Militec-1 from the start and follow the directions you may never have to use a solvent. Once well treated, you need very little lube.

Disassembly is simple and straightforward, so do that. For break-in, I wipe it down, then lube liberally—not dripping—but “lube-rich,” with a tiny dab of grease on hard chatter-and-bash points. After 80 to 100 rounds, I wipe off all the excess and soldier on. I kinda bust ’em in rather than break ’em in. Kahr recommends putting 200 rounds through their new pistols before you


CT40 MODEL CT4043 MAKER: 130 GODDARD MEMORIAL DRIVE

WORCESTER, MA 01603(508) 795-3919

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/INDEXAction: Trigger cocking DAO locked

breech, passive striker block, Caliber: .40 S&W, Capacity: 7+1, Barrel: 4 inches,

Overall length: 6.5 inches, Height: 5.13 inches, Slide Width: 0.94 inches, Weight: 21.8 ounces, Grips: Textured

polymer, Sights: Drift adjustable white bar-dot combat rear, pinned in polymer

front, Finish: Black polymer frame, matte stainless steel slide, Price: $449

The “Value Series” CT 40 (bottom) with a more expensive cousin, a TP 45 at top. The CT pistols may lack some refinement, but they’re fine fighting pistols.

All four brands of ammo proved very accurate. That’s a 5-shot 1-handed group at 10 yards, fired on a 1.25-inch dot.

.40 S&W FACTORY AMMO PERFORMANCE LOAD VELOCITY ES GROUP SIZE GROUP SIZE (BRAND, BULLET (FPS) (FPS) (10 YARDS) (20 YARDS) WEIGHT, TYPE) (INCHES) (INCHES) CARTRIDGE HIGHEST VELOCITY LOWEST AVERAGE EXTREME SPREAD

CorBon 135 JHP 1,394 29 2 3.375 Federal Premium PD165 JHP 1,000 30 1.75 3 Hornady Critical Defense 165 FTX 1,122 42 1.25 3.13 Nosler Match Grade 150 JHP 1,158 22 1.375 3

Notes: Chronograph results of 5 rounds at 10 feet from the muzzle over a ProChrono Digital by Competition Electronics. Accuracy is the result of the best of three 5-shot

groups of each ammo type, fired 1-handed at 10 yards and 2-handed at 20 yards.


consider them reliable for carry. My rule is 400 rounds. I put over 500 through this one in two sessions. If you do this, wear a glove. I did. The aggressive knurling I mentioned is great for gunfighting, but not for marathon machine-gunning.

As expected, there were several failures to go completely into battery in the first 50 to 60 rounds. All these occurred with the first round from a full magazine after firing the leader “up the pipe.” Also, a dozen times during that same sequence, ejected empties came flyin’ straight back at me, dingin’ me just above the cap brim. After that it was smooth sailing and malfunction-free straight shoot-ing all the way. By the way, I devoted the entire first session to just clear-ing her throat, stretching her legs and introductory dancing, shooting for accuracy later. Glad I did.

How did she perform? I don’t own .40’s, but I shoot them from time to time. I haven’t shot such a well-behaved example in years, and that was a full “full-sized” model weigh-ing 2 pounds. The CT40 was rock-stable in the hand, and shot right to point of aim. I attribute a lot of the stability to the geometry of the grip, and its controllability to that and the

duties. Federal’s Personal Defense was the softest-shooting, and since it pushes a Hydra-Shok slug you can be assured of great terminal effect. Hornady’s Critical Defense produced the stoutest recoil, with a heavy slug at over 1,100 fps. The FTX is a “pre-stuffed” hollowpoint made to over-come the “plugging effect” of heavy clothing and still achieve significant expansion. CorBon 135’s shot snappy yet still controllable—check the velocity of those puppies! If you’re a “faster is better” shooter, this is your chamber-chow. I’ve shot Nosler’s Match Grade ammo in three calibers now and its accuracy and consistency is outstanding. Check the Extreme Spread in chronograph data: 22 feet per second!

In addition to the accuracy groups, I burned lots of powder shooting “rapid sevens” on half-sized silhouettes at 7 yards, putting five shots in center mass and then two in the gourd. This is where the CT40 really sang, produc-ing results like five rounds into 1.3 inches high by 1.5 wide with four in the 10-oval, plus two shots 0.75-inch apart in the head. That was my best, but you get the picture. The CT40 proved itself as a gunfighter’s gun. And for $449? Sweet! Connor OUT

low bore axis. After I got rockin’ with the roll of the trigger, it was an unex-pected pleasure.

Accuracy flat-out surprised me. I must have been having a really good day. I’ll credit that to the pistol and premium ammo, but I’ll take a bow if somebody applauds.

About the ammo: All four types are premium-grade, and any one of them would be a great choice for defensive

• Built specifi cally for high-volume practice and competition

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• Shotshell – Competition ready buckshot and shot loads• Shotshell – Competition ready buckshot and shot loads

• Pistol – Lead-free primers and compensator-ready encapsulated bullets

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216742- Win3Gun half page Gun Magazine.indd 1 1/29/15 4:40 PM

The CT40 fieldstrips easily. Construction is sim-ple and strong.

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• Built specifi cally for high-volume practice and competition

• Rifl e – Lead-free primers for reduced fouling

• Shotshell – Competition ready buckshot and shot loads• Shotshell – Competition ready buckshot and shot loads

• Pistol – Lead-free primers and compensator-ready encapsulated bullets

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216742- Win3Gun half page Gun Magazine.indd 1 1/29/15 4:40 PM

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9E: RUGER’S ECONOMICAL TAKE ON THE STRIKER-FIRED SR9 PLATFORM COULD BE ALL THE 9MM YOU NEED.

9E: RUGER’S ECONOMICAL TAKE ON THE STRIKER-FIRED SR9 PLATFORM COULD BE ALL THE 9MM YOU NEED.

The Ruger 9E, “E” for Essential, comes in a simple cardboard box with one magazine and a cable lock. You might desire to add other essential items like the Streamlight TRL-2G light for the accessory rail and a Spyderco Delica.

MIKE CUMPSTON PHOTOS: ROBBIE BARRKMAN

Ruger entered the striker-fired handgun field in 2007 with introduction of the SR9. A full-featured, compact, light-

weight and affordable pistol, the SR series is now a mature design and encompasses 9mm Luger, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. It soon came to include compact models and “State Compliant” variations—10-round magazines in place of the sizes standard in jurisdictions not fully sold on the Utopian Ideal.

The SR9—as with the subject of this review—holds 17 rounds in its wide-body magazine. The width and length of the polymer grip frame is dimensionally indistinguish-able from pistols utilizing single-stack magazines with less than half the capacity. Even so, the grip arrangement effectively distrib-utes recoil, enhancing speed of deliv-ery and shooter comfort. The origi-nal SR9 has demonstrated reliability with the current crop of premium and generic ammunition and has survived a couple of fairly well-circulated, multi-thousand-round torture tests.

The Ruger approach to applying the “E-ssential” treat-ment to its rifles, and now handguns, diminishes nothing in the way of quality or material. The 9E pistol incorpo-rates a couple of modifications many buyers might consider

improvements. One reviewer noted the slide serrations on the previous SR were sharp and tended to cut into his fingers. The 9E’s wider rear-slide serra-tions are fewer in number with a melt treatment to remove any edges. They are still easy to grip, attractive and serve their purpose just as effectively. The 9E also eliminates the tactile-loaded chamber indicator required for sale in California (it is required nowhere else and its replacement with a view port simplifies matters and does not reduce safety). Since California has effectively banned semi-autos, Ruger is able to offer the simplified 9E for the rest of the country.

When the 9E is in its “at rest” posi-tion, the striker is partially cocked with

the rear of the striker visible at the back of the slide. The 9E retains the internal passive drop-safe mechanism to block the striker and the trigger, and prevents firing unless the trigger is consciously pulled. It has the SR9’s ambidextrous frame-mounted thumb safeties absent on many striker-fired “double action” pistols. This seems somewhat redundant, but the thumb safety is easily accessed and could serve as a positive hedge against use against you in a gun-grab.

It also has the Glock-like rocker/block frame impinge-ment safety situated in the center of the trigger’s face. A magazine disconnector works off of the magazine lips and has no influence on trigger pull. The single available finish is basic black and the magazines have the single option of a flat floorplate.

Disassembly for routine maintenance is very simple. Remove the magazine, ensure the pistol is unloaded, lock the slide back and push the ejector downward. The disas-sembly lever/pin is aligned for easy removal and replace-ment at slide lock. The ejector should be in the down posi-tion for reassembly and insertion of the magazine will put it back into register.


The Ruger 9E slide and frame are given a slight “melt” treatment at the front for ease of holstering.

The Streamlight TRL-2G offers 200 lumens through its C4 LED lamp for 1.5 hours and offers a beam with optimum peripheral illu-mination. A green laser rests below the light, and if both are utilized, run time is reduced to 1.25 hours. The TRL-2G is powered by one 3v CR 123A lithium battery.

The owner’s manual claims the 9E’s modular construction makes disassembly of the action easy, but provides no further encouragement toward trying this at home. Some users have noted it is very easy to remove the magazine disconnect. There are several excellent reasons to refrain from doing this, or decommission-ing any safety feature. (See Massad Ayoob’s In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of Firearms in Personal Protec-tion or his Deadly Force: Understand-ing Your Right To Self Defense).

PRACTICAL PERFORMEROur 9E arrived in a cardboard

box—another cost-saving concession, with a single flat floorplate magazine, cable lock and owner’s manual. The sights are drift-adjustable (with a rear sight set-screw) and feature promi-nent white dots, with the width of the front sight and the rear-sight open-ing sized for easy target acquisition. The trigger, partially cocked upon slide closure (preventing double-strike capability), let off at exactly 5 pounds after about a 3/8-inch takeup. Trig-ger travel is smooth and allows for a steady, straight-back pull and undis-turbed release. The usual 25-yard

benchrested groups ranged from just over 3 inches to a hair under 5. My worst groups highlight my tentative relationship with precision shooting using a striker-fired handgun, which does teach… humility.

The Ruger 9E really comes into its own with more practically oriented rangework. The 10-inch plates at the Centex Rifle and Pistol Club were easy marks with a 6 o’clock hold at a moderately rapid pace from 15 yards. I walked through the 50-round standard Texas Concealed Handgun Demo ignoring the par times and variable shot sequences and simply firing when the sights came back on target. The 9E’s minimal muzzle rise allows for a considerably quicker pace than called for in the official course.

The “10” and “X” rings are a central oval of 3.5 inches wide by 5.8-inches tall. The Ruger quickly produced a gaping hole dead center with the widest shot printing an inch—or a little more—outside the 10-ring. The course is shot from 3, 7 and 15 yards. The Black Hills 115-grain FMJ loads hit to the sights at the shorter ranges. The tendency of this pistol to shoot high and right, which had manifested

The 9E has an ample ejection port and rocker style trigger safety (above). In addition, an ambi-dextrous thumb safety is provided on the frame within easy reach of the shooting hand. Mike found the controls easy to manipulate. The left side of the gun (below) features the slide stop and thumb safety for right-handed folks.

9MM FACTORY AMMO PERFORMANCE LOAD VELOCITY ENERGY AVERAGE GROUP (BRAND, BULLET TYPE, WEIGHT) (FPS) (FT-LBS) (INCHES) Black Hills FMJ 115 1,109 314 4.0 CorBon +P JHP 115 1,280 418 3.2 Buffalo Bore +P JHP 115 1,264 408 3.2 Buffalo Bore +P JHP 124 1,213 405 5.1 Buffalo Bore +P JHP 147 1,119 409 4.9 Buffalo Bore +P+ Barnes 95 1,437 436 4.3

Notes: All 5-shot groups fired at 25 yards from a benchrest.


itself at the 25-yard bench became apparent at 15 yards, accounting for the five rounds edging the 10-ring at 2 to 4 o’clock.

While the Black Hills FMJ load was of standard pressure, the rest of my sample loads were +P with the exception of Buffalo Bore’s 95-grain load marked +P+. All except the Black Hills FMJ were JHP’s and the Ruger 9E functioned reliably with all of them. The rear of the grip—resembling the mainspring housing of a 1911—is reversible, giving you the choice of a flat or arched profile (it came arched side up and I left it that way.) The grip angle and over-all geometry was so favorable that the felt recoil and muzzle rise of

the hottest loads diverged very little from the standard velocity Black Hills load.

The +P 115-grain load from CorBon and the 124-grain loads from Buffalo Bore produced velocities in the high 1,200 fps range and tied for best accuracy from the bench. Buffalo Bore’s 124-grain JHP +P produced four duplicate velocities in a row and

one that was only 2 fps slower. Simi-lar results came with the Buffalo Bore Lead Free 95-grain Barnes JHP +P+. The extreme spread was 22 fps but four of the rounds were dupli-cates at 1,449 fps. These readings were real. Each consecutive reading the same as the last read “dupe” on the chrono screen. I watched the numbers flip with each shot. Enough readings weren’t duplicates to show the thing was working just fine. Consistency like this is usually rare but occurs frequently with Buffalo Bore loads in various calibers.

The Buffalo Bore +P 147-grain JHP produced the same velocity as the standard pressure Black Hills 115-grain FMJ. The FBI and the San Diego Police Department have both used one or the other loading of this bullet weight and have been pleased with the results. The +P+ Buffalo Bore 95-grain load and the company’s 147-grain +P offering printed near point of aim at 25 yards while most other loads hit several inches high.

SPECS, EXTRAS, FINAL THOUGHTS

The accessory rail will accom-modate the full array of accessory lights and laser sights. The SR9 window on the Ruger Firearms links to “buy now” cites for holster from Bianchi, Fobus, Mitch Rosen and Gould & Goodrich. The 9E is, inci-dentally, Commander-size. In fact, with the Ruger laid on top of a Colt Commander, the Colt is visible at all points of the compass. The unloaded weight is about 9 ounces lighter than the steel-framed Commander and barely tops 30 ounces with the maga-zine fully loaded with 115-grain, 9mm rounds. It turned out to be a natural in my quick-deployment slacks from CCW Breakaways.

45

9EMAKER: RUGER200 RUGER RD.

PRESCOTT, AZ 86301(928) 541-8892

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM/INDEXAction Type: Striker-fired semi-auto, Caliber: 9mm Luger, Capacity: 17+1, Barrel length: 4.14 inches, Overall

length: 7.5 inches, Weight: 27.2 ounc-es, Finish: Matte black, black polymer frame, Sights: 3-dot, drift-adjustable, Grips: Textured polymer, Price: $429

Shooting at Centex Rifle and Pis-tol Club, Mike found the 9E would clean this 6-plate rack at a reason-able pace from 15 yards.

The Ruger fieldstrips quickly and easily for routine maintenance. Just remember to push down the ejector before removing the slide or replacing it. Insertion of the magazine will push the ejector back up into operation.

A 25-yard group fired hand-held from the bench. Several loads shot high at this distance with the Buffalo Bore 95-grain +P+ and 147-grain +P hit-ting close to point of aim.

The Shooting Demonstration required of Con-cealed Handgun License applicants in Texas consists of 50 rounds from 3, 5 and 15 yards. The rounds outside of the 10 ring include five of the 10-round strings from 15 yards.

WWW.GUNSMAGAZINE.COM


Covering the basics, eliminating the hard box, the magazine loader and spare magazine shaves about $100 off suggested retail and, given the current realities of the marketplace, lands the real-world tariff at or below the $400 “price point” beloved of the gun-buying public. The 9E should be a solid performer both for the Ruger Company and the quality-conscious armed citizen.

Black Hills AmmunitionP.O. Box 3090

Rapid City, SD 57709(605) 438-5150

Buffalo Bore Ammunition366 Sandy Creek Rd.

Salmon, ID 83467(208) 756-3434

CCW Breakaways LLC1619 Lowell Ln.

New Cumberland, PA 17070(717) 774-2152

CorBon/Glaser1311 Industry Rd.Sturgis, SD 57785(800) 626-7266

Streamlight Inc.30 Eagleville Road

Eagleville, PA 19403(610) 631-0600

Spyderco820 Spyderco WayGolden, CO 80402(800) 525-7770

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The weight and size of the 9E make for com-fortable carry and fast deployment from these slacks from CCW Breakaways (above). The 9E is a little smaller and a lot lighter than the Colt XSE Commander beneath (below).

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With millions of men under arms, each of those countries found it diffi-cult to make sure every soldier indeed had a weapon. The Soviets, sometimes early in the conflict only gave rifles to the first few waves of their attack-ing troops. Ones following later were given ammunition and told to pick up a fallen comrades’ rifle.

(Author’s note: The statement in the above paragraph is considered apocryphal by some people nowa-days, but I have read it stated author-itatively in several well-researched history books concerning the “East-ern Front.”)

The Germans took a different tack in regards to weapons short-ages. They captured millions of small arms by overrunning most of Europe prior to attacking the Soviet Union in June 1941. Also in the first year of that invasion they captured millions more small arms from surrendered or perished Soviet troops. In fact so many Soviet weapons were captured that the German Heer (Army) gave most of them their own designations.

There is no doubt the Soviet Union paid little or no attention to cosmetic quality of their infantry small arms even before the fighting began. No one could favorably compare the fit and finish of say a Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30 to a US-made Model 1903 Springfield as produced by Reming-ton circa 1941. The same goes when

The Red Army’s secondary infantry rifle was the SVT40, also in 7.62x54mmR caliber (above). The SVT40 was modernistic in some features. Note the perforations to allow heat to escape from the barrel and the addition of a flash hider. The standard rifle for the Red Army in WWII was the Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30 rifle which proved unwieldy in urban fighting, so the Mosin-Nagant Model 38 carbine (below, middle) was designed for close combat. The Mosin-Nagant Model 44 carbine (bot-tom) improved the concept with the addition of a side-folding bayonet. Are all 7.62x54mmR caliber.

WORLD WAR II SOVIET SMALL ARMS WERE USED FOR AND AGAINST MOTHER RUSSIA AND THEN FOUGHT AGAINST

THE FREE WORLD FOR DECADES TO FOLLOW.


MIKE “DUKE” VENTURINO PHOTOS: YVONNE VENTURINO

Never in history have two nations fought one another with armies so large or with such ferocity as did the Germans and Soviets between 1941 and 1945. Where

the United States fielded a few score infantry and armored divisions in Europe, the Germans and Soviets went at each other with several hundred divisions each.

This German soldier is firing a Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30 sniper rifle fitted with either a 4X PE or PEM scope. Photo courtesy Michael Heidler

comparing a German MP40 subma-chine gun (machine pistol in German parlance) to the Soviet’s PPSh-41, or even when comparing the Soviet TT33 pistol to a Japanese Type 14 “Nambu” pistol.

UGLY BUT FUNCTIONALThat said, one fact about Soviet

small arms is they worked. Cosmet-ically they were utilitarian in the extreme but they worked. And because the vast bulk of potential Soviet infantry troops were drawn from peasant stock their weapons were simple. Here’s one example drawn from my own personal expe-rience. To dismantle my US M1 Thompson submachine gun, I must refer to a manual detailing each step. That is despite owning it for 7 years.

Dismantling my German MP40 is much easier and after 7 years of ownership I can whip it apart in a few minutes. To dismantle a Soviet PPSh-41for basic cleaning I merely have to press a button at the rear of the receiver and tip the barrel down. Then the bolt can be lifted from its trough. These steps take about 10 seconds.

As with all nations deeply involved in WWII just about every military weapon—newly designed or obsolete—was pressed into service. In a magazine article such as this we can only cover so much so I’m

limiting this to the infantry weapons with which most frontline Red Army troops were armed.

The Soviet Union fielded two basic infantry rifles during their “Great Patriotic War.” These were the bolt action Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30 and the semi-auto SVT40. The former rifle was simply a remodeled version of the MN Model 1891. The barrel length was shortened from 31.6 inches to 28.75 inches and the receiver was made round at the front ring instead of hexagonal. While Model 91/30 sights were slightly improved over the older model they remained open type. Interestingly,

Red Army doctrine called for troops to always fight with the Model 91/30’s bayonet attached.

The semi-auto SVT40 was a rifle ahead of its time. The American M1 Garand is more famous but the SVT40 had some superior design features. One was the gas operating system was atop the barrel, making access for cleaning easier. Its 10-round maga-zine was detachable but could also be loaded from the top with 5-round stripper clips or individual rounds. Although long at over 48 inches, it was light at just over 8 pounds. (Garands were 43.5 inches long and 9.5 pounds.) And finally, the SVT40 could have a

Although long obsolete the Red Army issued Nagant Model 1895 revolvers by the thousands in the nearly worthless caliber of 7.62mm Nagant.

The second subma-chine gun fielded in significant num-bers by the Red Army in WWII was the PPS-43. This is the semi-auto only imported from Poland. Caliber is also 7.62x25mm.


The Soviets also turned German small arms on their former owners. This photo shows a Russian gunner firing a German MG34 while being assist-ed with a rifleman with a Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30. Photo courtesy Michael Heidler

scope mounted directly in line with its barrel instead of offset as necessary with the M1 Garand.

Where the SVT40 did not equal the Garand was the fact the Soviet Union could not produce enough of them during wartime emergency. There-fore the Red Army decided to stick with bolt action rifles predominately and save semi-autos for special issue. The common Soviet infantryman was given a Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30. NCOs and special ops troops were issued the SVT40, as well as specially-trained snipers.

LEGIONS OF SNIPERS That is not the same as saying all

snipers got SVT40’s. Far more were handed scoped M91/30’s. In fact, the Soviet Union—even before hostili-ties began—placed more empha-sis on trained snipers. They boasted having 60,000 at war’s beginning. By comparison, in late 1941, the United States Army had none and the US Marine Corps, perhaps a few score.

Furthermore, the Soviet Union fitted better telescopic sights to their sniper rifles than any other combat-ant nation in WWII. Early Model 91/30’s had 4X PE or PEM scopes,

differing only in the former were adjustable for focus and the latter were not. Later the 3.5X PU scope became standard and was used on both bolt actions and semi-autos. (Those put on SVT40’s had some slight dimensional tube differences from those meant for bolt actions.)

All major WWII combatant nations issued carbines to their troops manning artillery, mortars and machine guns. Except for the United States’ M1 .30 Carbine, all fired the same cartridges as their respective countries’ standard infan-try rifles. The Red Army fielded two based on the M91/30. They were the Model 38 and Model 44. Both had 20-inch barrels give or take a frac-tion of an inch, but their main differ-ence was the later model had a fold-ing bayonet permanently attached. That brought weight from a bit over 7 pounds for the Model 38 to over 9 pounds for the Model 44. It was probably the heaviest carbine issued in WWII. There was also an extremely rare SVT40 carbine.

The cartridge for both Red Army rifles and carbines was 7.62x54mm Rimmed. It was an archaic-looking, large bodied tapered bottleneck case with a wide rim. It may have looked outdated but in terms of ballistics it certainly was not. Generally issued were “light ball” loads with 149-grain bullets at 2,855 fps or “heavy ball”

Duke owns and shoots a PPSh-41 sub-machine gun (above). He says its rate of fire is impressive. Note the 71-round drum magazine. Caliber is 7.62x25mm. The main battle cartridge of the Red Army in World War II was the 7.62x54mmR (below, left). Today factory ammo in the United States is available from DoubleTap (center) and Winchester (right).

Many SVT40’s were also fitted with scopes and issued as sniper rifles (above). This scope is a slight variation of the usual PU 3.5X scope seen on many Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30s. Note the unique scope mount. To dismantle a PPSh-41for clean-ing, you merely press a button at the rear of the receiver (below). Then tilting the barrel down exposes the bolt.

The TT33 pistol was the Soviet Union’s frontline handgun in WWII. Its caliber was 7.62x25mm and it is unique in that has no safety at all.


their heads to return fire. A secondary submachine gun the

Soviets did employ in numbers was the PPS-43. Whereas the PPSh-41had a wooden stock, this second SMG was all metal with folding stock. It fired the same cartridge but more sedately at about 700 RPM. The PPS-43 was actually a stopgap measure initially made in the besieged city of Lenin-grad, but it proved such a good idea that some postwar Warsaw Pact nations produced them for their mili-tary forces.

RED HANDGUNSThe Red Army issued two hand-

guns in significant numbers, one a revolver and one a semi-auto pistol. The revolver was the Nagant Model 1895 and deserves the title “worst handgun every issued to a national military force.” It fired the weak 7.62mm Nagant round with a 108-grain FMJ bullet at about 900 fps. The most distinctive feature of this revolver and the most useless is the cylinder cams forward as the hammer is cocked so the chamber extends over the butt-end of the barrel. This is supposed to prevent gas leakage, which it probably does, but gas leakage in decent condition

loads with 185-grain bullets at 2,683 fps. (Source: Military Small Arms Of The 20th Century, 7th Edition.)

SUB GUNSIn terms of submachine guns the

Soviets had arguably the most effec-tive and deadly one ever made. Over 5 million were made during WWII and later, making it was the most prolific submachine gun ever. Its name was PPSh-41. Barrel length was 10.5 inches with trademark perforated steel handguard around it. Firing the small 7.62x25mm pistol cartridge PPSh-41’s could accommodate 35-round stick magazines or 71-round drum magazines. With fully-loaded drum magazine a PPSh-41 weighed over 12 pounds.

PPSh-41’s needed high-capacity magazines because their nominal rate of fire was 900 rounds per minute. (I have one and it actually runs over 1,100 rounds per minute with Roma-nian military surplus ammunition.) It has been written that the Sovi-ets used too light a cartridge in their sub-guns—an 85-grain FMJ bullet at about 1,600 fps—but the true fact is with such a rate of fire enemies seldom got hit with a single bullet. Most victims caught in a PPSh-41 burst garnered several wounds. It was a very effective weapon, especially later in the war when the Red Army sent entire battalions armed with PPSh41’s at the Germans. It was almost impos-sible for Wehrmacht troops to raise

revolvers is not a problem anyway. On the other hand the Soviet

Union’s premier WWII pistol was the TT33 and it is a decent handgun. Some might consider its 7.62x25mm cartridge underpowered because of its 86-grain FMJ bullet. However, its muzzle velocity from the TT33’s 4.5-inch barrel is an honest 1,500 fps with Romanian military surplus ammunition. That makes it a mini-magnum in fact. Otherwise it’s a traditionally-styled, semi-auto greatly resembling some of John Browning’s autoloaders, except for the significant fact that there is no safety. Magazine capacity is 8 rounds.

It might interest readers to note that all of the above Soviet small arms were used not only against the Germans circa 1941-1945, but were fired at American troops in Korea from 1950 to 1953 and then seen again in significant numbers in Viet-nam in the 1960’s. One well-known American officer, Hal Moore, has been quoted as saying that the PPSh-41 was the most effective infantry weapon used on either side in Korea.

Soviet small arms weren’t pretty, but they were designed to work and they did so from above the Arctic Circle to Southeast Asia jungles.

A

B

C(A) This German Soldier is armed with a PPSh-41 submachine gun. (B) These German troops are carrying Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30’s. (C) Early in the war the Germans captured so many small arms from the Red Army that they reissued them to their own forces. Here captured Mosin-Nagant Model 91/30’s are being stacked. Note many of them have bayonets attached. Photos courtesy Michael Heidler


After the Custer Massacre in 1876, the Sioux crossed the border into Canada and were well-armed with repeating rifles themselves. In addition, the NWMP had to contend with well-armed smugglers and whiskey runners as well. The Mounties realized how woefully under-armed they were with the already obsolete single-shot Snider carbines and Adams revolvers, both of which had been converted from percus-sion to cartridge.

The fact that Britain was still armed with single-shot rifles—combined with how small the NWMP was—caused the force to take a hard look at the repeat-ers then available to even the odds. They

ultimately set their sights on the .45-75 Winchester Model 1876 Carbine and purchased 50 from a retailer for trials in 1878. The carbines would give the NWMP a ballistic advantage over the Henry, Spencer, 1866 and 1873 rifles popular among Indians and smugglers.

The first 50 trial carbines had a simple “non-adjustable leaf sight” and no dust cover. The force requested improvements, and the most important of which was increasing the barrel shank diameter to give the barrel/receiver joint greater strength. The next 50 also had a dust cover and an improved adjustable leaf sight. However, the new rear sight still proved inadequate, and a

military-style sight called the “Spanish Meter” sight (because it was first used on Winchesters provided to the Span-ish government) was ordered. The force eventually purchased 1,611 Winchester 1876 carbines.

CIMARRON STEPS INUpon seeing the first Cimarron 1876

rifle in .45-60, I had hoped a carbine would eventually enter the catalog,


STORY AND PHOTOS: JEFF JOHN

There is a romantic allure to Winchester’s 1876 North-West Mounted Police carbine, which armed the Scarlet Riders for several decades during the turbulent late-19th

century. The adoption of the ’76 by the NWMP was a neces-sary move, and the force simply purchased the most power-ful repeating rifle readily available to them at the time.

The North-West Mounted Police quickly discovered the scarlet British uniform and pith helmet to be useless on the frontier. The force quickly adopted Stet-son hats and buckskins for patrol. Improving their firepower greatly was the adoption of the 8-shot Model 1876 Winchester in .45-75 WCF. The unsuit-able .450 Mk I Adams cartridge conversion revolvers were supplemented by .44 Russian S&W No. 3 revolvers prior to the adoption of the Enfield Mk II.

The Cimarron 1876 Carbine has a saddle ring on the left side, and the lever lock typical of Win-chesters of the era. The NWMP generally carried the carbines across the pommel of the saddle.

since it is one of the more exotic-look-ing arms of the Old West. I was even happier to find Cimarron would repro-duce the gun from the second lot of 50 guns, which was provided to the force featuring the carbine sight, dustcover, NWMP markings and most impor-tantly, was chambered in the original .45-75. I had mine shipped to Holt Bodinson, who wrote about it in the December 2010 issue (www.gunsmaga-zine.com/digital-editions).

Components for some of the odder calibers remained in supply during the “Great ObamaScare Ammo, Gun and Component Shortage” of the last few years, and I was able to acquire dies, mold and 150 rounds of rather expen-sive, new, high-quality Jamison brass. The carbine required tuning to shoot well, but once I was satisfied with its performance at the range, I realized I wouldn’t really be living until I had the appropriate NWMP companion hand-gun from the same time period as well.

The handguns issued to the NWMP in 1874 were old .450 Adams Mk I cartridge conversions and, later in the 1880’s, the odd-looking .476 Enfield Mk II. Originals of either are pricey, with NWMP specimens quite scarce, since so many were used up. I perused the book Arms and Accouterments of the Mounted Police 1873-1973 by

Philips and Klancher, to aid me in my search for a suitable—and current—repro handgun. It proved to be Uber-ti’s copy of the S&W Old Model No. 3 Russian.

Initially, many of the NWMP’s Adams Mk I’s were so poorly converted, the British War Depart-ment agreed to exchange them. In the interim, the force purchased 30 S&W No. 3 Old Model .44 Russian

revolvers, one of which history records as still in service during 1878. Truth be told, individual troops purchased a wide variety of Ameri-can-made arms such as the Colt SAA and 1878 DA revolvers among others, so a Colt (or Colt clone) would have been equally correct as well. But in the Old Model Russian’s favor was the fact it was an issue revolver. None of the original 30 S&W revolvers are known to have survived, and if they had ownership marks peculiar to the NWMP, those markings are lost to history.

When I was hit by the “have-to-have-fever,” the supply of No. 3 revolvers dried up as ObamaScare II swept the nation. I haunted the Inter-net for one, and balked at the retail-plus prices asked. So I waited until they made more.

The overall fit and finish of this No. 3 Russian Top Break (its official name) is superb. The bluing is rich and deep, and metal polish is very good, with no ripples in the rather


Early Winchesters acquired by the NWMP had standard carbine sights dovetailed into the barrel (left). Later, the sturdier “Spanish Meter” rear sight (shown in the white) were ordered. It was attached with two screws. The front sight (right) is dovetailed into the barrel, while original Winchesters had the sight sweat-ed on. The useless nub of the Uberti was milled off and a 0.063-inch German silver blade pinned in place.

The carbine buttplate is generously sized and com-fortable to shoot. Oddly, the Model 1876 Carbines had no provision for a cleaning kit.

Many members of the NWMP pri-vately purchased arms and just about any American big-bore revolver saw use. The big Colt 1878 DA (top) was quite popular in Canada and England.

The S&W top-break design must have turned heads upon its release in the 1870’s. The biggest purchaser was Russia and S&W redesigned the pistol into this configuration at their behest. The NWMP purchased 30 Old Models to supplement their Adams Mk I revolvers.

complex contours of the barrel and frame. The grips have a nice matte oil finish, unlike the slippery wood finish found on most of the Uberti arms. The case hardening on the hammer barrel-locking block and trigger-guard is very attractive.

A nice touch is the finish on the screws and pins. They all fit perfectly and the screws passing through the frame are correctly trimmed and the ends domed. No threads appear—just the domed end of the screw. The pins are as well finished on both sides. And the sideplate fit is exceptional.

The serial number is visibly stamped on the frame, face of the cylinder and under the locking block. The barrel address is marked in Cyril-lic letters—as were the ones shipped to Russia in the 1870’s.

Oddly enough, although the revolver is marked “.44 Russian,” it is cham-bered in .44 Special (I checked with John Taffin and Duke Venturino and their older Uberti’s are chambered for the shorter Russian round). But the .44 Special chambering wasn’t a deal breaker for me. In fact, it increases the util-ity of the revolver, since it is usually easier to get Specials. They are not supposed to be cham-bered for Specials, so be sure and decide if it is important to you. The cylinder length is long enough for this model to be chambered in .45 Colt (another current option).

Be advised, even if it chambers .44 Special these top-break revolv-ers should only be fired with ammunition loaded to SAMMI spec-ifications and never with any of the hot-rodded +P loads available. The Uberti is well made from modern materials, but a

top break can’t compare in strength to a solid-frame revolver. On the plus side, if you want to duplicate black-powder .44 Russian loads, the Special case is ideal, since it has the capac-ity of the old balloon-head Russian

cases. This is not the case with the newer solid-head Russian brass.

I went to the range with my .44 Russian handloads along with some Black Hills and Winchester factory ammo. The Black Hills, topped with a 210-grain bullet, was certainly adequate for Cowboy Action shooting, deliv-ering 25-yard groups in the 3-1/2-inch range. Switching to a hand-load using a 246-grain lead roundnose over 3.8 grains of TiteGroup delivered one ragged hole at 15 yards and 2-1/2 inches at 25 yards. Winchester factory .44 Special 246-grain lead RN’s delivered the best 25-yard group of 2-1/4 inches.

The 7-pound trig-ger pull had creep on top of being heavy. A trigger job is in order, but won’t be as easy as with Colt-style revolv-ers, since many of the

components are pinned in place. Another thing, the sights need to be corrected for both windage and elevation.

My Cimarron NWMP carbine had some accuracy problems, most notably throwing shots 3, 4 and 5 wide, although the first two would be close together.

It also shot very high at 50 yards. The good news was the action was smooth, the trigger light and creep-free, and the lever safety spring not too heavy.

After rereading M. L. McPher-son’s chapters on lever actions in Accurizing the Factory Rifle, I discov-ered the fore-end was bearing hard both at the receiver face and fore-end lug. The mag tube also was jammed into place between the receiver and the lug dovetailed into the bottom of the barrel for the nose cap. The nose cap was tightly fitted to the barrel and forced against the wood so hard I was afraid I was going to twist the head off the retaining screw while removing it. The barrel band was “squish fit” tightly to the wood and barrel. None of these attributes contribute to accuracy.

Per McPherson, I relieved just enough of the mag tube to give it a little fore-and-aft play and polished the end entering the receiver. Next I scraped away the wood on the end of the fore-end where it touched the face of the receiver. I then used a Dremel to grind away a little off the nose cap where it touched the barrel. Lastly, I relieved the barrel band on

The slow rate-of-fire possessed by the Snider carbine issued to the force ear-ly on meant the NWMP was hopelessly outclassed by opponent’s repeating rifles. Canadian-issue Sniders such as this one are marked “DC” on the left side of the butt. Photo courtesy: www.joesalter.com, (603) 732-4000.

The NWMP was faced with Indians and smugglers armed with a wide variety of arms including such as the .56-56 Spencer (above, far left), big long-range single shots (.40-70 Ballard shown middle left), as well as repeaters in .44-40 (left). While formidable look-ing, the .577 Snider (far right) was already obsolete. Adop-tion of the .45-75 WCF (middle right) gave the force a power-ful repeating round capable of challenging both man and beast on the frontier. Hand-gun cartridges used by the NWMP included (below, left to right) .450 Adams, .44 Russian, .455 Mk II, and later, towards the turn of the century, the .38 S&W for plainclothes officers armed with S&W New Depar-ture pocket revolvers.

The 5-shot Mk I Adams cartridge conversions proved disappointing in service, although some officers purchased the 6-shot Mk II (shown) and Mk III Adams revolvers privately. The .450 Adams was one of the more anemic military rounds fielded in the 19th century. Photo courtesy: www.rockislandauction.com.


the area in contact with the barrel until a thin piece of paper would slide in between band and the barrel.

I loaded up 20 rounds of ammo using Hodgdon Trail Boss and a 350-grain bullet cast from the correctly-profiled Buffalo Arms mold. Now I got a 5-shot group at 50 yards in the 3-inch range (still too high), and had an epiphany. The finish on the stock was so slippery I couldn’t maintain a consistent hold very well.

I next stripped and refinished the stock. Uberti stocks are finish-sanded closely to the metal and the

finish on the stock itself is glass-hard and so thick sanding would remove too much wood. Few strip-pers touch this finish but Certi Strip from Brownells will. Steel wool barely touches this finish even after it is bubbling up (it’s that thick). I employed a sheet of brass to scrape off the finish.

The wood underneath the metal had no finish and I tested stains there until I achieved the color I wanted. I used Pilkington Oil Finish over the stain and, when I was satisfied, brushed in a generous coat of Laurel Mountain Permalyn Sealer. Now the rifle felt like it was rosined to my hands.

This 1876 has a standard Winchester-style carbine sight with a V-notch combined with a front sight on a block with the blade ground so fine it appears to be an inverted-V

front (I prefer a square-blade front with a V-notch rear).

Track of the Wolf offers a variety of German silver sights and sheets in various thicknesses, from 0.050-inch to 0.080-inch. Rather than buy a sheet, it was far cheaper to buy a front sight and loot the blade. Friend Roger, who runs the “Biggest Little Gunshop in Reno,” milled the useless inverted “V” off the sight block, slotted it and installed a 0.063-inch blade, pinned through the sight block. The 0.063-inch width proved perfect for the V-notch rear.

FINDING A LOADThe toggle-link action of the

1876 Centennial is not strong, and smokeless-powder loads won’t safely approach the power of original black powder loads. The light-for-caliber bullets don’t generate enough resis-tance for the black powder to burn completely, quickly fouling the shal-low rifling. Modern solid-head brass doesn’t hold enough black powder to reach original ballistics, either. Still, to get that pleasant boom and a large puff of smoke, I shoot jacketed bullets over black powder (a tip from Duke Venturino.) I can shoot a full magazine or two with decent accu-racy without cleaning, since the jack-eted bullets scour the black powder fouling with each shot. Initial 5-shot groups are very good, and I wouldn’t hesitate to hunt with this gun.

I found 4 boxes of previously-owned Hornady .458 350-grain jack-eted softnose bullets very reason-ably priced at a gun show. Load-ing 20 rounds with the Hornady bullets over 62 grains of Goex FFg in Jamison brass, I headed off to the range and shot a 5-round, 50-yard group 2 inches high and an inch wide. Cutting the sight, I returned to the range, moved the target out to 100 yards and shot a 4-shot group of

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Overall length: 12 inches, Weight: 45 ounces, Finish: Blue, Sights: Fixed,

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Caliber: .45-75 WCF, Capacity: 8+1, Barrel length: 22 inches, Sights:

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.44 RUSSIAN HANDLOADED AMMO PERFORMANCE BULLET POWDER CHARGE VELOCITY GROUP SIZE (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (BRAND) (GRAINS WEIGHT) (FPS) (INCHES) Remington 246 RN TiteGroup 3.8 643 2-1/2 Cast 265 RN Swiss FFg 19 * 3-1/4

Notes: Groups the product of 5 shots at 25 yards. Magneto Speed chronograph used at the muzzle. Winchester primers used in Starline brass. *Magneto Speed Chrono

can’t pick up cast bullets over black powder.

.45-75 WCF HANDLOADED AMMO PERFORMANCE BULLET POWDER CHARGE VELOCITY GROUP SIZE (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (BRAND) (GRAINS WEIGHT) (FPS) (INCHES) Buffalo Arms .458 350 Cast Trail Boss 17.6 1,268 2-1/2 Hornady 350 FN Goex FFg 62.0 1,068 4-1/2* Speer 300 Plinker Goex FFg 64.0 1,217 2 Speer 350 FP Goex FFg 60.0 1,155 2-3/4

Notes: Groups the product of 5 shots at 50 yards. Magneto Speed chronograph used at the muzzle. Winchester primers used in Jamison brass. *100-yard group.

.44 RUSSIAN & SPECIAL FACTORY AMMO PERFORMANCE LOAD VELOCITY GROUP SIZE (BRAND, BULLET WEIGHT, TYPE) (FPS) (INCHES) Black Hills 210 FN (Russian) 697 3-1/4 Black Hills 210 FN (Special) 655 3-1/2 Winchester 246 RN (Special) 727 2-1/4

Notes: Groups the product of 5 shots at 25 yards. Magneto Speed chronograph used at the muzzle.


The robust and odd-looking Enfield Mk II in .476 was adopted by the force in the 1880’s and served into the 20th century. A top-break, the cylinder slides straight ahead to eject the spent casings. After unloading, the revolver was closed and charged through a loading gate one at a time. It was both a cumbersome and heavy revolver. Pho-to courtesy: www.handgunsoftheworld.com.



2-1/2 inches, with shot 5 pulling out the group to 4-1/2 inches.

I charged the cases through a drop tube and seated the bullet to just touch the powder. The Hornady bullets sat below the cannelure and no roll crimp could be applied. Not a big deal, since the bullet is sitting on the powder, but this technique precludes using smokeless powder since recoil will cause the bullets to telescope in the magazine.

Switching to Speer 300-grain “Plinkers,” proved a better bet as they can be crimped into the top of the cannelure. The Speer 350-grain bullets begin to taper before they are deep enough, and the brass has to be rolled over the nose—not a big deal, just harder on brass life, and won’t work with smokeless powder.

Cast bullets over Trail Boss were accurate and fun to shoot. They delivered a little higher velocity than I expected—higher than the jacketed bullet loads—and I may just settle on them for the majority of my fun shooting.

ROMANCE: THE FINAL FACTOR

To me, one of the allures in our hobby is the romance associated with an arm. Having the M1876 carbine and a handgun known to be issued to the Scarlet Riders increases the fun factor for me. I was hoping to have a belt and holster for the story, but the buckle is on backorder. Always some-thing to look forward to!

One way to get a little more shooting done with black powder is topping the case with jacketed bullets (above). The Hornady 350-grain bullets delivered this nice 5-shot group at 50 yards. As with many originals, the Uberti No. 3 Rus-sian shoots very high at 25 yards (below), yet is quite accurate. Fit and finish of the top-break repro is superlative.

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The Machine-Age revolution opened the door to many identi-cal firearms assembled with stan-dardized components, resulting in dramatically reduced costs per unit. It made it possible for the average worker to purchase a reliable fire-arm. Maybe your Winchester Model 94 was identical to every other one. So what? It was still a good gun.

But if you wanted something a little different, factories in those days

offered options. If you wanted an octagonal barrel, a different barrel length or engraving, you could prob-ably get it. For the most part though, buyers were satisfied with “off-the-rack” guns.

From the turn of the 20th century up to WWII, it appeared as though custom gunmaking was becoming a thing of the past. Certainly there were still enthusiasts with the means and desire for rifles built exactly

to their needs, but their numbers weren’t very high.

The Depression seemed like the final blow. It was hard enough to sell a factory rifle, much less a custom one. Even in the early years follow-ing WWII, conventional wisdom indicated the era of custom guns was over. Many believed once the few custom makers still practicing retired or passed on, there would be no more.

But in fact, the greatest era of American custom gunmaking was just about to begin. Several factors came together to bring this about.

The postwar economic boom created unprecedented demand for

DAVE ANDERSON


Custom gunmaking in America is a tradition dating back to the flintlock era. Through much of the black-powder era, guns were made just one at a time. A

classic example is the famous Pennsylvania long rifle.

Dave’s Model 70 .270 was built on a 1951 vintage action. Fif-ty years earlier Al stocked a Model 70 for Jack O’Connor, which became his famous “Number 2.” Jack’s writings influenced a lot of people, including Dave, who dreamed of one day owning a Bie-sen custom.

Three generations of Bie-sen craftsmanship: From left: Roger, Al and Paula.

consumer goods and participation in the hunting and shooting sports increased tremendously.

Thousands of surplus military rifles were imported, fostering the growth of an industry to convert them to sporting rifles. Scope sights became the norm rather than an exotic acces-sory. Factory hunting rifle stocks intended for use with iron sights left scope users wanting replacement stocks more suited to optics.

Cheaper air travel provided more hunting opportunities. It had another effect—it let custom gunmakers see the work of their peers. The result-ing competition led to even better workmanship.

Al Biesen was born in Lacrosse, Wis., in 1918 and grew up during the lean years of the Great Depression. In those hard times Al found work where he could. Some of the jobs—working in a machine shop and cabi-net making—would help develop skills later put to use in gunmaking.

His skill in precision workman-ship was further demonstrated in the optical field, grinding precision optics. During WWII Al tried to join the US Navy but was not allowed to, as his job was considered essential to the war effort.

Al was always a hunter, shooter and firearms enthusiast. In those days he couldn’t afford the guns he

wanted. Instead, he bought used, sometimes broken, guns to repair and restock. His son Roger was just a boy when the family relocated to Spokane, Wash., but remembers Al making some stocks while they still lived in Wisconsin.

Almost from the beginning Al’s stock design was both beautiful—with sweeping lines and pleasing shape—and marvelously functional. It was comfortable, fast to handle and aim.

Roger Biesen recently acquired one of Al’s early rifles, made in 1951. It’s a .270 built on a Mauser action with Buhmiller barrel and Tilden safety. Anyone familiar with Biesen’s


work would recognize it instantly.“It has the basic designs of what

we’re putting out today,” says Roger. “About 5/8-inch drop at heel, length of pull to suit the shooter and it’s got a cheekpiece. And it’s very slim through the forearm.

“Once Dad had designed his stocks, he’s always stayed with that same feel. The people came back because of the pointability of his rifle. It jumps up like a fine shotgun. That’s what Dad has always built. Get it up there and the sight picture is there.”

Roger worked as a machinist for 15 years before going into partner-ship with his father. During more than 30 years of working together, he learned every aspect of gunmak-ing from Al. The most important lesson? Always do the very best work of which you are capable.

Roger’s daughter Paula is an extremely talented artist. When she expressed interest in engraving, Al and Roger acquired engraving tools, and left it to Paula to develop her engraving skill as she saw fit. Paula says she knew her father and grand-father would be thrilled to have her join the family business, but they never pressed her—it was an

opportunity if she wanted it. Fortu-nately for admirers of fine firearm engraving, she took up the challenge.

THE O’CONNOR CONNECTION

You can’t talk about Al Biesen without mentioning Jack O’Connor, considered by many to be the most influential hunting/shooting editor of the postwar era. The two were friends and hunting companions for many years.

The Biesen website notes, “Many of Jack’s articles and stories talked about his favorite Biesen rifle. O’Connor’s writings helped make Al Biesen one of the most famous gunmakers in the world.” Still, no endorsement—even O’Connor’s—would have made Al’s reputation on its own. Al knew perfectly well the outstanding quality of his work.

Some years ago I was visiting the Biesens in the workshop and another visitor mentioned the “O’Connor Rifle.” Al replied firmly, “It’s not an O’Connor rifle. It’s a Biesen rifle that O’Connor owned.”

Incidentally, for the cynics who claim O’Connor sold his opinions for free guns, here’s a quote from O’Connor’s The Last Book published

after his death: “Al has stocked and remodeled at least fifteen rifles for me over the past thirty years. I have yet to get a free one. I get the same discount as a retail store would—25 percent.”

O’Connor’s favorite rifle was the No. 2 Winchester Model 70 Feath-erweight in .270, the second of a matched pair. This is the rifle of which he once wrote, “I love this rifle and plan to have it buried with me!”

Roger recalls how Al went to O’Connor’s funeral in 1978 with a few .270 cartridges in his pocket, planning to drop them in the casket. Al didn’t want his old friend to reach the Happy Hunting Grounds with a rifle and no ammo.

As it turned out, O’Connor had directed his remains be cremated and

This rifle is one of the last 3-generation Biesen custom rifles. What the Biesens consider the very last 3-generation rifle was built to order for a long-time customer and close family friend. (Since

he might not care to be publicly identified, I’ll omit the name.)

On occasion, as their workload permitted, the Biesens built rifles “on spec,” using components on hand. Typically these would have the metal work done and the stock inletted, shaped and sanded.

If a customer liked the basic package, all that remained was to choose length of pull, checkering pattern, any other detailing (e.g. bolt knob checkering, trigger pull weight, scope bases) and engraving if desired.

That’s how my rifle was built. It wasn’t built specifically to my order, though it is almost exactly what I would have ordered. Doing it this way gave me something I prize: a rifle built by three generations of Biesens.

Roger assembled the barreled action from components he had in the shop. The action is from a 1951 Winchester Model 70 originally belonging to Al. Roger detailed the action, squaring the face of the receiver, lapping the locking lugs to bear evenly, honing and smoothing bolt operation.

He reworked the tang to a more graceful shape, reshaped the bolt handle, built up and checkered the bolt stop, tuned and adjusted the trigger to a crisp 3-pound break. He added a steel triggerguard with the floorplate

release inside the guard. The hinged floorplate is an original Winchester steel plate, reworked to straddle the triggerguard.

The barrel came from another Model 70. Long ago a customer brought in a new Featherweight .270 along with a custom barrel he wanted installed. The unfired .270 Winchester barrel was stored away and forgotten until Roger came across it. He removed the front and rear sights and fitted it to the action, fitting it so nicely the factory barrel markings line up just as on an original.

The stock blank chosen was a lovely piece of American black walnut. European walnut is rightly considered the king of stock woods, but the best American walnut can equal it in terms of hardness and figure, but is denser and somewhat heavier.

Because of the dense stock wood, weight with scope and bases is 8 pounds, 4 ounces. With Nosler 130-grain Ballistic Tips and H4831SC, it shoots into 0.75-inch at 100 yards.

THREE-GENERATION

MODEL 70

From left: Dave, Roger, Al and Paula with the custom “3-generation” Bie-sen rifle. The photo was taken in the basement workshop of the Biesen home in Spokane.


the ashes scattered by his son Brad, over the mountains where he loved to hunt. The rifle now belongs to Brad and is usually on display at the Jack O’Connor Center in Lewiston, Idaho.

Al Biesen made custom rifles for shahs and princes and kings, for collectors of great wealth and for rifle enthusiasts of average means who scrimped, saved and sacri-ficed. Custom rifles built in the clut-tered basement of the modest frame house in Spokane were carried in exotic hunting locations all over the world—and on deer hunts on public land a few hours drive from where they were made.

Year in and year out, the meat and potatoes of the Biesen business came from shooters and hunters, often of modest means, who simply loved and admired fine rifles.

Many of these customers were satisfied with the accuracy and func-tion of their rifles, but wanted a stock better suited to scope use, one that fit them, was fast into action and pleasing to the eye. No matter the job or the customer, all got the

same quality of work.Rifles built decades earlier show

up at the shop now and then; some-times for additional work (such as Paula’s engraving), sometimes for appraisals or sale by executors of estates. Sometimes the rifles look as new as when they left the shop,

having spent their life in a climate-controlled cabinet.

But what the Biesens really like to see is one of their rifles with the bluing on barrel and floorplate worn from saddle scabbards and hand carry, with the stock showing the scratches of Alaskan alders, Afri-can thorns and Wyoming sagebrush. Better yet, bring along an album with photos of the game taken with the rifle. The Biesens like to see their rifles admired and looked at, but most of all they want them to be used.

Al is now in his mid-90’s and, sadly, suffers from Alzheimer’s. Roger is closer to 70 than 60 and recently had knee replacement surgery. As this is written he is not taking on any new custom work, as he wants time to clear the backlog of work already ordered. Paula is still taking on new engraving jobs.

Personally, if I owned a rifle built by either Al or Roger, I’d be think-ing seriously of having Paula add the final touch of custom engraving. The Biesens are an amazing family and among the nicest folks I’ve ever met. Extraordinary talent. Extraordinary skills. Extraordinary people.

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Roger detailed and rebarreled this Model 70 action (using an origi-nal Featherweight .270 barrel). He reshaped the bolt and added a steel triggerguard and straddle floorplate. Al inletted, shaped and sanded the stock. All that remains is for the customer to specify length of pull, checkering pattern, engraving and metal finishing.

Roger rebuilt a standard Winchester steel floor-plate and steel triggerguard (above) into a straddle style plate, rather than the alloy com-ponents used on factory Featherweights. Paula used a floral engraving pattern on the guard and floorplate. The bolt handle (below) was was reshaped and bolt knob checkered by Roger.

The engraved grip cap has a floral pattern fram-ing Dave’s last-name initial (above). Screw slots are “timed” to align with the axis of the rifle. The result (below) is one of the last “3-generation” custom rifles to carry the Biesen name.

Paula Biesen-Malicki at her workbench doing some fine engraving. Much of the work is done under magnification in order to get the details right.


The Wisper may have a benign name, but it sends the not so subtle message, “You might wanna think twice about that, pal!” Wisper’s 4-inch, 8Cr14 stainless steel fighter blade has a deep main grind for superior slicing and a long saber grind on the back for penetrating spice. The handle is nicely curved with an index finger-groove, and the layered red and black

G10 scales are carved in waves for an enhanced grip. A guard is designed into the handle with notching added to the thumb ramp. The Wisper comes with a slick Kydex sheath sporting a stand-off belt loop.

Primarily, the Wisper is designed for combat and self-protection. The handle is very comfortable for slic-ing and thrusting using the stan-dard saber grip, but well designed by Mosier to feel just as accommo-dating in a reverse grip. The handles scales are nicely finished with no sharp edges to make you forget your mission.

In a nutshell, the Wisper exudes confidence in its lead role. Like most knives in the Hallmark Cutlery cata-log, the price is a very affordable $73.99. Now that’s a price you can scream about.

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If there were a Best of Show award for the name of a knife line, Bad Blood would be up there with the best. Ever since Hallmark Cutlery launched Bad Blood a few years ago,

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VIEWS, NEWS& REVIEWS

DAVID CODREA

embarrassments continuing to happen with regularity on Jones’ watch have gone unreported by most in the main-stream press, because then an incon-venient admission would need to be made: The supposed inadequacy of a string of “acting” ATF heads since 2006 was precisely the rationale given to pressure the Senate into confirming a “permanent” director. We were told that was especially urgent after Opera-tion Fast and Furious “gunwalking” to Mexico, tied in with the death of US Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and estimated hundreds of others, was exposed.

With that as backdrop, why shouldn’t ATF be disbanded and folded into other agencies, including having much of its work turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administra-tion? Could the feds do any worse?

It’s not like those agencies’ hands were clean. The “rip crew” that killed Terry was working at the behest of FBI operatives using DEA intelligence, Fast and Furious whistleblower John Dodson contends. Also unknown to ATF at the height of their investiga-tion: Suspects they were monitoring were working for the FBI.

And it’s not like Sensenbrenner’s proposal just appeared out of nowhere. Some ATF careerists commenting on CleanUpATF.org, a “whistleblower” website established to expose agency corruption and abuse, see the disbanding of the bureau as an administration goal for control and obfuscation reasons of its own, and view Jones as a willing midwife for its rebirth as a different creature. Comments by CUATF moderators have referenced “a white paper in DOJ effectively abolishing ATFE,”

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW

“The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would be elimi-

nated under a bill in the works from US Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner,” Milwau-kee’s Journal Sentinel reported. “Citing ATF’s recent operational failures and its overlap with other federal law enforcement, [the bill would] dissolve the agency and have existing agencies in the US Justice Department take on its duties.”

Those “operational failures” included the infamous Milwaukee storefront operation renamed “Opera-tion Fearless and Brainless” by Rep. John Mica as he confronted Direc-tor B. Todd Jones at a House Over-sight Committee hearing. True to form, things weren’t confined to one city, with debacles exposed in Wichita, Portland and Pensacola that included such truly brainless tactics as exploiting a mentally disabled teenager by giving him a neck tattoo of a squid smoking a joint, and paying a brain-damaged man with an IQ in the 50’s to set up gun and drug deals. Other idiotic moves included exploiting other low-intelligence marks, letting teens smoke pot and providing them with alcohol at an undercover location, encouraging thefts by buying stolen merchandise—no questions asked—allowing felons to walk out of such operations with guns, and in one case, hiring a felon to run a pawnshop.

Adding to their woes—and ours—ATF agents have been losing govern-ment-issued guns, at least 49 from 2009 to 2013. They’ve lost them in cars, in bathrooms, in bars. That’s in spite of bureau rules requiring service weapons, when not being carried, “shall be stored in secured, locked locations.”

This is all the kind of stuff that naming a full-time director was supposed to prevent. Actually, it’s the kind of stuff that basic common sense ought to preclude. Such

and assigning primary functions to the FBI and DEA.

Lest anyone dismiss that site as disgruntled employees and malcon-tents, recall that it was through their forum it was first revealed guns found at the Terry murder scene were part of intentional, large scale, government-sanctioned “gunwalking.” Higher-ups at headquarters, including the Chief Counsel and then-acting direc-tor Kenneth Melson, were desper-ately looking for ways to use Orders and Standards of Conduct to iden-tify and punish those revealing such information.

Note the Chief Counsel’s office was also involved in an email to ATF managers and attorneys warning about an open letter I wrote in January, 2011, in which the Senate Judiciary Commit-tee was put on notice that there were some people who wanted to come in from the cold, but feared using normal channels.

“ATF employees are looking to come forward and provide testimony and documentation about guns being illegally transported to Mexico, with management cognizance, in order to pad numbers and justify Project Gunrunner expansion,” that letter began. “This includes gun stores being used to allow illegal sales to proceed. Additionally, the gun used in the recent killing of a Border Patrol agent is alleged to be one of the guns involved. My colleagues and I working to bring this to light are told the Mexican authorities have been intentionally kept in the dark about this, with the approval to do so coming from Washington, and protests have been overridden.

“In order for these people to come forward, they require whistle-blower protection,” the letter continued.

“ATF HAS BEEN A HORROR MOVIE SINCE ITS INCEPTION,”

PRATT ASSERTED. “IT NEEDS TO BE DISBANDED, NOT MOVED

TO A HIDING PLACE BEHIND THE FBI SKIRTS—WHICH

DO NOT COVER VERY WELL, ANYWAY.”

“ATF HAS BEEN A HORROR MOVIE SINCE ITS INCEPTION,”

PRATT ASSERTED. “IT NEEDS TO BE DISBANDED, NOT MOVED

TO A HIDING PLACE BEHIND THE FBI SKIRTS—WHICH

DO NOT COVER VERY WELL, ANYWAY.”

RIGHTS WATCH


“Because the allegations involve high levels in Washington, they require the extra protection afforded through sepa-ration of powers, rather than going directly to a US Attorney reporting to Justice.”

That the allegations and the fear of reprisals turned out to be justi-fied is a matter of record. I bring this up because working with the insiders proved us right then and lends credence to our concerns now. In spite of all the stupidity, corruption and outright evil, disbanding ATF is not in the interest of gun owners.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to the reasons given by two men who, in many cases, represent opposite factions among gun advocates, Richard Feld-man of the Independent Firearm Owners Association, and Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America. I say “oppo-site” because Feldman arranged the 1997 White House Rose Garden agree-ment with Bill Clinton, when handgun manufacturers agreed to provide “child safety locks” with handguns. Addition-ally, his book Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist, hardly endeared him to the National Rifle Association, which he characterized as “a cynical, mercenary cult.” Pratt, on the other hand, has established a reputation as

the unbending force behind the “no compromise gun lobby.”

“I can’t think of anything more dangerous against gun rights than merging the ATF with the FBI,” Feld-man told journalist Raquel Okyay of Human Events. “I would much rather have a stand-alone agency because it is much easier to criticize the ATF for misconduct, than to criticize the FBI ... They would have awesome cover for misconduct and it would be harder, not easier, to hold them accountable.”

“ATF has been a horror movie since its inception,” Pratt asserted. “It needs to be disbanded, not moved to a hiding place behind the FBI skirts—which do not cover very well, anyway.”

That “hiding place” under “awesome cover” would also work against future employees of conscience being will-ing to place their careers (and possibly more) on the line to bring out revela-tions like we saw in Fast and Furious.

“We advise intelligence whistleblow-ers to stay away from established chan-nels to defend against retaliation,” the director of the Government Account-ability Project told McClatchy’s Wash-ington Bureau about the so-called Whistleblower Protection Act. “In our experience they’ve been a Trojan horse, a trap that ends up sucking the

whistleblower into a long-term process that predictably ends up with the whis-tleblower as the target.”

In this case, noting corruption and incompetence is unlikely to abate, it’s best to do what we can to keep it from being buried, and to ensure channels for getting the truth out are still open. In this case, better the devil you know than the devil you don’t appears to hold true.

Visit David Codrea’s online journal “The War on Guns” at www.waronguns.com,

visit DavidCodrea.com to read his Examiner column.

Due to the importance of this column, GUNS will begin posting “Rights Watch”

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REVIEWS

DEADLY FORCE –UNDERSTANDING YOUR RIGHT TO SELF DEFENSE

It is difficult to imagine and impossible to find a more positive presence in the

firearms field than Massad S. Ayoob. The “gun culture” is highly compart-mentalized with the icons of one disci-pline or enthusiasm largely unknown to even the most dedicated of shooters with alternative interests or practical approaches. In contrast, Mas, is widely recognized across the entire community. He has left his indelible footprint in the hunting field, practical competition, the nuts and bolts of handgun design and the curriculum of law enforcement and civilian handgun training across the country. His penchant for honesty went a long way toward reform-ing certain industry prac-tices a few decades ago.

The Renaissance Man of the gun culture, Mas is an internationally respected trainer, instruct-ing civilians, police agen-cies and government enti-ties on the methods, legali-ties and realities of lawful and necessary deadly force.

In 1980, Mas published In The Gravest Extreme, a comprehensive guide to all of the aspects of armed self-defense. Early recognized as the definitive work on the subject, it is still in print and remains a high-volume seller. Deadly Force is a follow-up and companion work rather than a replacement as the body of law relating to deadly force has been more or less “settled” for decades. Drawing on his court experiences as an expert witness, Mas explores the building blocks of case law as they impact the citizen who chooses to assert the right and respon-sibility to provide for his own and his family’s safety. His examples are drawn from current headline cases. They make for interesting and memorable read-ing and support a number of prescrip-tions and “commandments” Mas pres-ents to avoid or divert the pitfalls that frequently confront the survivor of a deadly force encounter. One such account is a gripping dissection of the Zimmerman/Martin case. Another is, the story of The State of Arizona V. Larry Vickers written by Gila Hayes of the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network. Mas was an active partici-pant in the two Vickers trials, providing expert ballistic research and testimony and materially contributing to the even-tual exoneration of the armed citizen

victimized by an anti-gun legal establishment.

The written law on lawful use of force has remained constant since Mas defined the field in 1980. The culture, as Mas observes, has changed. Thirty-odd years ago, it was difficult or impos-sible for the majority of citizens to go about legally armed. Now, there are few places that deny that basic right and the determination to protect and expand it is solid. At the same time, the anti-liberty crusaders funded by power-hungry elit-ists and abetted by the corrupt media have grown more aggres-sive in victimizing citizens who prevail against feral attackers. Crime scene

investigations and forensic technology have matured significantly and skillful application by citizens and their legal team can use the evidence they produce to deliver the righteous citizen from evil.

Hardware issues and concealed carry advice reside in the final two chap-ters—useful to the new demographic of armed citi-zen, familiar to readers of

Ayoob’s work and extremely interest-ing to all. Deadly Force belongs in the library of every armed citizen and every attorney who practices Criminal Law.— Mike Cumpston

Deadly Force – Understanding Your Right To Self Defense, by Massad Ayoob, ©2014, paperback:

240 pages, $21.99, Gun Digest Books, F+W Publications, 700 East State Street, Iola, WI

54990, (800) 258-0929, www.gundigeststore.com, ISBN-10: 1440240612, ISBN-13: 978-

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NEWS

US, CANADIAN EOD TRAIN TOGETHER

US Army Explosive Ordnance Disposal troops from the

Fort Drum, NY-based 725th EOD Company, and the Canadian Army’s 43rd Counter Improvised Explosive Device (CIED) Squadron, trained together for the first time last Septem-ber. The Canadian EOD troops came from Canadian Forces Base Gagetown in Oromocto, New Brunswick Province, Canada.

Part of the 63rd EOD Battalion, 52nd EOD Group, 20th CBRNE

Command (Chemi-cal, Biological, Nuclear, Explosives), the 725th EOD Company covers the northeastern United States. The 20th CBRNE Command trains and operates with joint, inter-agency and allied part-ners to counter weapons of mass destruction, elim-inate CBRNE hazards, and defeat IED’s.

“This was the first time the 725th EOD Company participated in a joint training exercise with the Canadians,” said 1st Sgt. Kieran Dollard, the 725th EOD Company senior enlisted adviser.

The teams covered 92 different real-istic scenarios. “The highlight of the training was seeing the unique ways each country goes about defeating IED’s at the operator-level, both differ-ent and highly successful methods,” said Dollard, from Albany, NY. “We all felt as though we have learned from the experience.”

Sgt. Roger Lalancette from the Canadian Army’s 43rd CIED Squad-ron, said, “This exercise was a very beneficial learning experience for everyone involved. With the change and advancement of the IED threat, being able to train with other coun-tries with different experiences and a different way of looking at the situa-tion can only strengthen our opera-tors. It is critical to keep learning from other nation’s experiences and to share our experience with them.”—Walter T. Ham IV, 20th CBRNE Command Public Affairs

CDC GUN VIOLENCE STUDIES

An overwhelming majority of Americans agree the misuse of

guns in violent crimes is a matter for the criminal justice system, not a public health issue. They also believe the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) should not spend resources on the study of “gun violence” but instead should concentrate on viruses and disease. These findings are among the results of a national scientific poll commissioned by the National Shoot-ing Sports Foundation to determine whether adults share the view of some gun control organizations and activists that the use of guns in crime, for which they use the shorthand term “gun violence,” is a public health issue. Now we have an answer and it is a resound-ing “No.”—Courtesy NSSF

US Army explosive ordnance dis-posal troops from the Fort Drum, New York-based 725th EOD Com-pany, and the Canadian Army’s 43rd Counter Improvised Explo-sive Device Squadron, trained together for the first time, last Sept. 22-26, 2014. Courtesy photo


http://www.americanhandgunner.com/trvids

HUGE HASHISH HAULA Royal Australian Navy warship

operating under command of Pakistan Navy-led Combined Task Force 150 (CTF-150), part of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), supported by a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) maritime patrol aircraft, coordinated their efforts last October to strike a blow against hash-ish traffickers off the coast of Somalia to the tune of $280 million (AUD).

The Anzac-class frigate HMAS Toowoomba and the RNZAF P-3K2 Orion aircraft trailed a dhow from the Arabian Sea to the Horn of Africa. After four days of inclement weather, the crew of HMAS Toowoomba were able to board the dhow and, after an exhaustive search, the ship’s boarding team discovered 5,588 kilograms (6.16 tons) of hashish in hessian bags.

Commander Cath Hayes, the commanding officer of HMAS Toowoomba, praised her team and her colleagues in CMF, “I am proud of the tenacity and hard work displayed by the Toowoomba team to intercept and board the dhow in challenging weather conditions before executing an exten-sive search of the vessel to locate the elaborately concealed drugs.”

She added: “This is a great result for the ship and our Pakistan Navy colleagues at CTF-150 who led the operation.”

HMAS Toowoomba’s boarding officer, Lieutenant Stefan Stuart, said the drugs were well hidden and, once found, were extremely difficult

to access and remove. He said, “It is great to make an intercept of this magnitude. The weather was not on our side but our training and our persistence paid off.”

HMAS Toowoomba was operat-ing under the command of CTF-150, the CMF Task Group responsible for promoting safety and security at sea, and the RNZAF P-3K2 Orion aircraft is deployed in support of the international counter-piracy effort.

CTF-150, currently commanded by Commodore Sajid Mahmood of the Pakistan Navy, is an international task force charged with conducting maritime security operations to deny terrorists the use of the seas as a venue

for attack or to transport person-nel, weapons, or other illicit mate-rial. This is the first successful coun-ter-narcotics interdiction operation for CTF-150 since the Pakistan Navy took command of the maritime secu-rity and counter-terrorism mission on 14 August 2014.

Commodore Sajid said, “I am incredibly proud of the sailors and airmen involved in this compli-cated operation. CTF-150 has a long history of disrupting narcotics traf-ficking in the region and Toowoomba, with the support of 5 Squadron of the RNZAF, have carried this on. Keep up the good work!”—Courtesy Combined Maritime Forces

Members of HMAS Toowoomba’s boarding party teams (above), Sub-Zero and Saintly, on the flight deck, with 5,588 kg (6.16 tons) of hashish intercepted during a boarding in support of CTF-150 operations. A member of HMAS Toowoomba’s boarding team (below, left) transferring a 21 kg (46.3 pounds) bag of hashish to the ship’s crew for accounting. Members of HMAS Toowoomba account (below, right) for and weigh 5,588 kg of hashish on the flight deck.


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QUARTERMASTER

CLEAN SCENEJEFF JOHN

Every once in awhile you come across a product delivering more than advertised. Such

was my discovery of Shooter’s Choice new Aqua Cleaner and Degreaser. I had purchased an Enfield No. 5 Mk I Jungle Carbine from Old Western Scrounger last summer. Dated 9/44, it is one I like to imag-ine as having “seen the elephant” during WWII. It was certainly well used, still having all matching serial numbers, but show-ing some rust peeking out from under the wood. In fact, it appeared the handguard ring was rust-ing through even.

Disassembly showed pockets of rust under the wood and other areas still protected by dried up old cosmoline. I have a proto-col for removing rust, and it does not affect existing finish. Since I wanted to clean all the old cosmo-line off, this seemed a perfect test for Aqua Clean. A water-based cleaner, Aqua Clean is “50-state legal,” ideal for jurisdictions limiting the use of petroleum-based cleaners. I sprayed it on the metal and let it work for 5 minutes.

I began cleaning with an old nylon toothbrush and, to my amazement, saw the rust lifting off

the gun with the dried grease. I used a bronze toothbrush to get the rust out of the deeper pits and have never seen rust dissolved so quickly and easily. I had no need to follow up with my proven rust removing method! Another new product, Ramrodz, was dragooned into the chore of digging out the cosmoline from other assorted nooks and cran-nies—especially inside the capacious flash hider.

Aqua Clean packaging says the product is safe on wood, but that isn’t

entirely accurate. Aqua Clean will attack and lift the linseed oil finish most military rifles have, so keep it away from any wood finished as such.

After getting all the rust off, I cleaned the Enfield barrel’s inte-rior with ammonia-free MC-7 aerosol, follow-ing the directions on the bottle (although it is indeed ammonia free, it still has quite an odor). I wore nitrile gloves and kept a fan going. Throw the patches away outside when you’re done or the odor will linger.

A better bet if you don’t have a garage or live in an apartment is Aqua Bore Cleaner. It is water-based and also removes copper fouling quickly and easily. I used a pris-tine Swiss K-31 acquired from Classic Arms for this test. Following the instructions, I cleaned first using a bronze Pro-Shot bore brush. The bronze brush will also leave some

copper fouling, so I routinely switch to a nylon bore brush for follow-up passes. Patches came out clean after the third trip down the bore. I then lubricated the action and protected the bore with FP-10. One real bonus? The brushes cleaned up with a water rinse, and there is almost no odor.

RAMRODZThink of Ramrodz as a giant bore-

size Q-Tip. I decided to give them a tough job—removing heavily crusted black powder fouling on a Stoeger/Uberti Old Model Russian .44 after a day at the range.

It was a hot, dry day and the foul-ing became pretty crusty. Because Ramrodz give full contact with the bore and grooves, the cotton swabs—soaked in Aqua Clean—quickly loos-ened and removed the fouling. They also compress more easily and make

Two recently acquired rifles—a nice Swiss K-31 and an Enfield No. 5 Mk I—were the test mules for new cleaning products from Shooter’s Choice.

Upon removing the fore-end (above), surface rust and dried grease greeted Jeff on his newly-acquired Enfield Jungle Carbine. Although not billed as a rust remover, Shooter’s Choice Aqua Cleaner & Degreaser (below) ate right through rust without affecting the finish underneath.

Shooter’s Choice MC 7 (above) removed extensive copper foul-ing in the WWII-era Enfield. The well-cared for Swiss K-31 rifle still had plenty of copper fouling in the barrel and Aqua Clean Bore Cleaner (below) easily removed it all. Because it is a water-based cleaner, fol-low-up protection with an oil like FP-10 is a must.


cleaning chamber throats much easier than using a patch. The swab stays on its bamboo rod and can be pushed back and forth to quickly loosen the crud. Another place they work great is cleaning large bottleneck chambers like those found on the Mosin-Nagant after shooting corrosive ammuntion.

PRO SHOT Back in 1994, as the riots began in

Los Angeles where I then lived, I took my M1 Garand out of the safe as my “defensive” rifle, since I had traded my AR’s away rather than register them. I had lubed the rifle with yellow GI grease after the last shooting session, and the lube had dried and frozen the bolt to the point I had to rest the butt on the ground and use my foot to break it free. I cleaned off the old grease and relubed it with Pro Gold grease, a prod-uct I used on my shotgun’s hinge pin. I haven’t shot my M1 for probably 5 years, yet it stands at the front of the safe still (although now it has my AR to keep it company).

Occasionally I still take the M1 out of the safe and open the bolt. To this day it opens smoothly (I can feel a little residual grease on the bolt still, but it’s probably time to clean and re-lube Old Faithful.) Pro Gold is a heavy petroleum-based grease with bronze flakes suspended in it to add lubricity. It’s perfect for high load areas and withstands high oper-ating temperatures quite well.

I’ve also used a Pro Shot pistol rod for the last 20 years or so as well. It still works fine, and the new ones are even better.

This Stoeger/Uberti Old Model Russian .44 (above) was fired with black-powder ammo. In the dry desert, the fouling became hard and thick. Aqua Clean cut through the heavy fouling and the Ramrodz made cleaning the bore and chambers fast and easy (below).

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Since Pro Shot bronze bore brushes are twisted around a brass core, they can be made with larger bristles and last longer than aluminum core brushes. I find they remove lead foul-ing quicker, too.

Pro Shot jags are very good, and the patches are flannel, finished on both sides. They hold plenty of solvent and fit the jags well. There are no surprises when I match up Pro Shot brushes, patches and jags. The patches can be purchased in large quantities such as 500-count bags. I rarely run low anymore. I find the patches useful for plenty of other chores around the shop—if they are abundant.

Pro-Shot ProductsP.O. Box 763

Taylorville, IL 62568 (217) 824-9133

www.proshotproducts.com

RamRodz16 Yerry Hill Road

Woodstock, NY 12498(855) 486-7922

www.ramrodz.com

Shooter’s Choice15050 Berkshire Industrial Pkwy

Middlefield, OH 44062(440) 834-8888

www.shooters-choice.com

PROLIX LUBRICANT

PAYTON MILLER

If you’re looking for something that’s pretty much a “one-stop” squeezable solution to your gun-

cleaning problems, PrOlix Lubri-cant may be what you’re looking for. A “multi-mission” solvent, it cleans, lubricates and preserves. During the cleaning process, it leaves a dry lubri-cant, which is drawn into the pores of the metal. The end result is a skin-like protective coating.

My first experience with PrOlix was a rather heavy-duty one. I had several revolvers in various stages of what I’ll simply refer to as “uncleanliness.” Some were blued, some were stainless (PrOlix is also equally effective on—and kind to—nickel finishes). All had light leading in the barrel as well as surface carbon burns, burnt powder and assorted contaminants—petri-fied lube and oil residue—in various nooks and crannies.

After scrubbing a couple of fairly dirty revolver barrels with a copper brush soaked in PrOlix, I ran a couple of patches through to see what came out. (For this stage of the opera-tion, some guys I know like to use a wet patch wrapped around a slightly undersize brush). Normally, I’d go

with a bore snake for this to avoid pushing a rod down from the muzzle end, but I wanted to see to see what was getting dredged up. The first patch, of course, was pretty cruddy, but after one or two more, things brightened up considerably.

The dry lubing did create a protec-tive byproduct I particularly appreci-ated when I cleaned the yoke assembly and ejector rod on a fairly well-used (and occasionally shamefully abused) old S&W Model 15.

Much of the prior gumminess was due to semi-petrified lubricants combined with the gun’s lengthy hiatus from the range. I confess to occasionally committing the original sin of over-oiling revolvers, which, no doubt, was a result of having lived in a very humid area of the Midwest for a couple of years. So, after an initial blast of aerosol degreaser and a wipe-down, I applied the PrOlix and a touch of PrOlix X-Tra T Lube and the old M15’s cylinder was once again back to its freewheeling ways.

For removing burn rings from the cylinder face of a stainless Ruger GP100 Match Champion, I found scrubbing with a PrOlix soaked steel brush removed the “bulk of the black,” but resorted to a Birchwood Casey Lead Remover & Polishing Cloth for final touch-up.

Editor Jeff introduced me to a lazy man’s technique he uses on his pet rimfires. Simply squirt a bit of PrOlix near the embedded brush bristles on a .22 Bore Snake before you pull it on through. No muss, no fuss and no smelly mess. That’s about as easy a method of cleaning your .22’s barrel as you’re likely to find.

If things have really gotten out of hand, of course, you can soak your handgun—or rifle bolts and assorted AR parts—in a shallow pan full of PrOlix (but first remove the grip panels). In fact, the company offers metal mesh dip baskets—not to mention mega-containers of PrOlix in 64-ounce and 1-gallon sizes. For seriously fouled bores, the company recommends thinning J-B’s Bore Cleaner with PrOlix as an initial scrubbing mixture. The stuff is biode-gradable, practically odorless, and about as environmentally righteous as you’re going to find. And it will not harm Glock polymer frames.

PrOlix Lubricants7244 South 3100 West

West Jordan, UT(800) 248-LUBE

Birchwood Casey7900 Fuller Road

Eden Prairie, MN 55344(952) 937-7933

www.gunsmagazine.com/index

Maintenance department: PrOlix Lubricant (left) cleans as well as serving as a conventional gun oil substitute. PrOlix X-Tra T Lube takes care of chores normally handled by grease.

PrOlix Lubricant is odorless, biodegradable and very efficient at cleaning and preserv-ing your gun’s bore. This PrOlix-soaked patch brought out a bunch of gunk after initial scrub-bing with a brush.

For initial scrubbing of burn rings on revolver cylinders, scrubbing with a PrOlix-dipped brush is very effective (below). If you’re dealing with stainless steel, a final touch-up with a lead-removal cloth will make things perfect.



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12X50, 15X56 HD BINOCULARSMEOPTA

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MT. FALCON EYEWEAR FRAMETACTICALRX

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The Foundational 1911, the Republic—built by Republic Forge in the heart of Texas—

not only boasts a match-grade 5-inch barrel, 25 LPI frontstrap checkering, custom Cerakote op-tions and various grip choices, the Foundational 1911 (like all Republic Forge firearms) is also 100 percent American-made. With old-world craftsmanship that is as tried and true as the Ameri-can spirit, along with the best of modern technology, Republic

Forge’s “build your own” tem-plate will help you design a cus-tom 1911 that will surely check-off all the “must-have” boxes on your gun list.

The Excelsa large folder from Maxpedition features a minimalis-tic, streamlined design, contain-ing a 3.6-inch, straight forward drop-point blade. Made from D2 steel and with a full flat grind and secondary bevel, the Excelsa is ideal for slicing and penetrating cuts—perfect for self defense

and as a utility tool while out in the field. The Excelsa also uti-lizes a titanium framelock, sports a matte, bead blast finish and weighs a mere 5.1 ounces.

To keep all your new gear in one spot, Maxpedition is also including its AGENT Kit Bag in black—a durable, heavy-duty car-ry-all that’s built tough ’n’ ready to take on whatever’s thrown at it… or in it. The AGENT includes YKK high-strength zippers, high-tensile strength nylon webbing and is triple polyurethane coated for water resistance.

For a lighter carry, Maxpe-

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* The 1911 in the image is not guaranteed to be the same pistol Republic Forge will be sending as the winner’s prize. After the drawing, Republic Forge will provide a pistol based on current inventory, and it may differ from the one shown here. It’s a great prize, so don’t hesitate to enter!

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If you are unable to enter online, mail a postcard (no envelopes please) to GUNS Magazine, GOM May, P.O. Box 502795, San Diego, CA, 92150-2795. Entries must be received before June 1, 2015. Limit one entry per household.

Don’t forget to bookmark this page! The Product Index will help you find links to our shooting industry as well as links to past and present reviews of products

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SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY ONLINEwww.gunsmagazine.com/giveaway

PRODUCT INFOwww.gunsmagazine.com/index

dition has provided its TC-6 Pouch in khaki, which is equally as durable, can be worn three separate ways and is designed to tackle your “everyday, micro-or-ganizational needs.” Last but not least, dress up one of your new bags with a Maxpedition “Stand & Fight 2A Support” 3D Velcro-backed Morale Patch, which comes with a hook back to attach to the lining of your Maxpedition bags.

Don't miss out on this great giveaway! Be sure to get those postcards in the mail or enter on-line at www.gunsmagazine.com/giveaway. —Sara Cardoza

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WINNERS CHOSEN BY RANDOM DRAWING. Limit one entry per household. To protect the privacy and security of winners, their names will NOT be made public. Contest void where prohibited by law. Winners must undergo a background check and comply with all other federal, state and local laws. Taxes and fees will be the responsibility of the winner. Contest open to U.S. residents only. Employees and agents of Publishers’ Development Corp. are not elegible. No purchase necessary. Winners will be notified by certified mail on official letterhead. Attention deployed military: Use stateside address! Giveaway guns and accessories may have evidence of being test fired or exhibit minor handling marks. Factory warranties may apply in some cases.The Gun of the Month package is awarded only to the entrant drawn and will not be awarded if the firearm presented is illegal in the jurisdiction of the winner. An alternate, authorized winner will be selected. No substitutions or transfers to a third party are allowed.


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A rifleman, he had fought from the cliffs of Normandy on D-Day all the way to Bastogne, only suffer-ing some deep bruises from falling rocks while scrambling up the cliffs from the beach. At Bastogne, he suffered blast trauma and a severe neck injury when his buckled helmet was blown off, then 3rd-degree burns when blazing fuel fell on his bare head. He spent years having skin grafts done and fighting repeated infections. Despite this he always called Bastogne his proudest experi-ence as a soldier. Why? “Because we

stopped them cold, when nobody but us thought we could.”

In the mid-’80’s I met and had several conversations with another veteran of Bastogne: A man who served as an NCO in a German Army field artillery unit. It was his last fight too, after being wounded and captured by American para-troops. Following the war he became a US citizen and wound up teaching high school history. One of his favor-ite study subjects was, not surpris-ingly, the Battle of the Bulge, getting “the big picture” denied him as a

low-ranking participant.“By all objective standards,” he

explained, “By the correlation of forces—manpower, armor, artillery, logistics, everything, it should have been a brief and bloody fight imme-diately followed by massive surrender of the Americans. But all objective standards fell to individual stubborn-ness! In that battle,” he said, “The Americans were more German—more hard-headed and stiff-necked—than even we Germans.”

My favorite anecdote from Bastogne provides a clear illustra-tion. An American tank destroyer was pulling back from the German onslaught, looking for a new fight-ing position, and ran across a lone, filthy, battered and bearded para-trooper. Armed with his rifle and a bazooka, he was hacking out a fight-ing hole, seemingly oblivious to the troops and vehicles flowing past his position, away from the oncoming Germans. The unnamed commander of the tank destroyer caught the eye of the paratrooper, identified only as PFC Martin of the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment.

“If you’re looking for a safe place,” the paratrooper called out, “Just pull that vehicle behind me. I’m the 82nd Airborne. This is as far as the bastards are going.” And it was.

My uncle, my German friend—and almost certainly PFC Martin and that tank destroyer commander—are long gone now and the rest of their stories with them, and that, my friends, is a cryin’ shame. I’m not concerned with “the big picture,” the sweeping sagas of world-shak-ing events, nor so much with the stories of those who gained fame and acclaim, often memorialized in books and movies. Their histo-ries are somewhat assured. It’s the human snapshots I worry about… the almost lost tales of individuals who rose to their moments in time. Let me share a few of them with you.

THE SCHOOLMARM AND HER SHOTGUN

When the Japanese Empire invaded the Philippines, they were pleased with their progress and emboldened by their victories. They became far less bold and were much less pleased after running afoul of a spectacled, 35-year-old school-teacher named Nieves Fernandez.

SNAPSHOTSTHE LITTLE THINGS CAN OUTSHINE

“THE BIG PICTURE.”JOHN CONNOR

As I write this in December 2014, it is the 70th anniver-sary of the Battle of the Bulge—the siege at Bastogne. Now virtually forgotten by most Americans, it was the

biggest and bloodiest battle fought on the Western Front in World War II. Over 500,000 troops clashed in the Ardennes Forest, as Hitler hurled 30 divisions and a quarter-million men against the freezing, surrounded Yanks. Seventy-six thousand were killed or wounded, among them one of my uncles. It was his last fight.


After liberation, Miss Fernandez shows an American soldier the preferred striking point for her bush knife—the neck.

She had heard about the slaughter, torture and beatings of her people, and when soldiers approached her school on Leyte, she hid the kiddies, opened up on the invaders with a homemade shotgun, and then melted into the forest.

She found several men hiding out there, but they were disorga-nized, poorly armed and threw away their lives blindly attacking Japa-nese strong points. They became her new students, and her organizational skills, inventiveness and sheer cour-age quickly made her their leader. Starting with a handful of men and three American rifles, she taught them how to make shotguns—called “latongs” or “paltiks”—using blocks of wood, wire and salvaged lengths of gas pipe.

Knowing they could not kick the Japanese Army out of the Phil-ippines, Nieves taught her boys to make surgical strikes on small patrols and security posts, terroriz-ing the Japanese and forcing them to concentrate behind their defenses, then carrying out acts of sabotage against their communications and supplies. Her philosophy was to deny them the countryside and ultimately, the country.

Over 2-1/2 years of guerrilla warfare, “Captain Fernandez” built her group to 110 men, mostly armed with captured Japanese weapons. She was wounded, shot through one arm, but remained in active command throughout the war. Her group was credited with killing over 200 Japanese soldiers, and Nieves herself killed several with her home-made shotgun and a long bush knife.

After liberation, when told a statue was to be erected in her honor, she waved a hand dismissively. “That’s when they called me Captain Nieves Fernandez,” she said. “Now I’m just Miss Fernandez.”

As the only female leader of the countless guerrilla groups of the Philippines, Miss Fernandez received some passing postwar renown before fading into obscurity. But the exploits of Phyllis Latour Doyle were hardly known at all for nearly 70 years, only recently coming to light.

THE SCHOOLGIRL AND HER SOAP

Half a world away in England, in 1941, when pretty, petite “Pippa” Latour joined the RAF for training as a flight mechanic, authorities chal-lenged her documents. She looked like a middle-school girl. It wasn’t long though before other facts about her background came to the atten-tion of Britain’s SOE—the Special

Operations Executive. The offspring of an English mother and a French-born doctor, Pippa spoke French like a native, had vacationed and trav-eled in France—and bore a grudge against the Nazis. Her godmoth-er’s father was shot and killed by the Germans, and her godmother committed suicide after being taken prisoner as a spy. She jumped at the chance for some payback.

After training with some strange characters, including an ex-convict cat burglar who taught her skills like using drainpipes and rooftops as her personal highways, she was smuggled into Vichy, France in 1942. Under three code names—Genevieve, Lampooner and Plus Fours—Pippa gathered invaluable intelligence and established a support network for further operations. She returned to England for rest and more training, then parachuted into Normandy alone on May 1, 1944.

Under the code name Paulette, the 23-year-old successfully posed as a poor 14-year-old French girl selling homemade soap to German soldiers—while learning all about the Normandy defenses. She slept in forests, foraged for food—including rat on occasion—and sent 135 coded radio messages back to England, all while keeping one step ahead of German radio-triangulation teams. Others didn’t. Sixteen of her sister British female spies were killed in action, summarily executed, or sent to concentration camps where they died.

Even after the Allies landed, she soldiered on, moving inland with the German Army for months, still send-ing out updates on troop concentra-tions and German movements. Pippa was awarded the MBE—Member, Order of the British Empire—and the Croix de Guerre, but she didn’t even stick around to formally receive them.

At war’s end she immediately moved to Kenya, where she married, becoming Phyllis Latour Doyle, then on to Fiji and finally New Zealand, where she lives today. She never breathed a word of her wartime service until one of her children stumbled across a footnote about her on the Internet 15 years ago. They petitioned Britain for her medals.

Finally, just last year, France’s government was given her full war records. On November 25th, Laurent Contini, the French ambassador to New Zealand presented Pippa, 93, with the Legion of Honour, France’s highest decoration.

Just a couple of snapshots. Connor OUT

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and unless we grow up in a plastic bubble we go through a whole lot of physical healing. When we are young healing comes very quickly. As we grow older healing of any kind seems to take much longer. You might guess reading this I am in the process of healing right now. I had the first of two needed total knee replacements and the healing, although slow, has been aided in so many ways.

Of course, my worn-out old body still has its built-in healing process. It may be slower now, but there are many outside forces which have contributed greatly to it. First and foremost there is Diamond Dot who, for the few of you who may not know, is my wife of more than half a century. I have no idea how I would’ve ever made it this far without her. She basically had to do everything for me the first few weeks and I am just now getting to the point where I can really start doing things for myself again. The walker was put away two weeks ago and the cane is mostly just a security blanket now (I often just leave it behind.)

I have often said there are only four things in this life that are really important, namely faith, family, friends and firearms. My personal faith has sustained me through this time, as it does through every day of my life. Not only Diamond Dot but the other members of my family, kids and grandkids, have been such a joy in helping me get better. Friends regu-larly called and sent cards when too far away to visit, while others living much closer have visited frequently which helps to pass the time when I can’t do much of anything else. I am also sure it adds to the healing.

That brings us down to firearms. The voice on the other end of the phone said, “Gary Reeder Custom Guns.” I responded with, “Hi Gary. You’re not going to believe what has happened.” I was about two weeks into recuperating and Gary had just sent me John Taffin’s Classic custom revolver built on a Ruger .44 Special New Model Flat-Top. Gary began honoring me with this limited edition of 100 “special Specials” one year ago and now I had my own. “Gary, I got this beautiful .44 Special and I rubbed it on my knee and I can feel heal-ing happening!” We both got a good laugh out of that, but healing cannot be accomplished in this way, Or can it?

Three years ago when I was recu-perating from an operation, which was only, at best, 20 percent successful, I am convinced firearms helped me to heal. First, I had been looking to no

avail for a full-sized 1911 chambered in 9mm. Don’t ask why I wanted a 9mm (I just did). They were very hard to find and then one showed up from Springfield Armory and I immedi-ately started to feel better. Then Matt over at Buckhorn Gun Shop came over with a pair of 1950 Target Smith & Wesson’s he thought I might be interested in and I could almost feel the healing happening as he stepped on the porch. Imagination? Maybe, maybe not. Emotion? Definitely. I know emotions have a lot to do with physical healing.

Even before my current opera-tion I did a few things to surround myself with healing firearms. I had stopped to see my friend Cactus at Boise Gun and what should I find but two wonderful old classic revolv-ers. One dated back to the 1920’s, it being a Colt Army Special chambered in .32-20, while the other was a 1950’s S&W Military & Police .38 Special. I could almost feel the healing proper-ties oozing from each. If I ever needed a reason for purchasing firearms what could be better than the innate heal-ing qualities found in them? Actually this was not the beginning of prepar-ing for healing. Even earlier, in fact, months earlier, I had commissioned a matched pair of USFA Buntline Specials.

USFA began as USPFA in the early 1990’s at which time they were import-ing parts from Uberti and assembling and finishing sixguns in this country.

They were definitely a cut above the typical replica of the time. The goal was to eventually produce an all American-made single action. USFA has closed their doors, however, parts remained. While they were operating as USPFA, special frames were made by Uberti.

These 10-inch .45 Colt single actions have more than just long barrels. They were built of all Amer-ican parts except the Uberti main-frames, which have the true Buntline rear sight consisting of a “ladder” lift-ing up out of the trough in the top of the frame to allow for long range shooting. Holding one of these in each hand, I can really feel healing running through my knee.

I haven’t got to the point where I’ve been able to shoot any of these yet. However, the time is coming faster and faster and today it even got warm enough for some defrosting to occur.

While I have been recuperating, both of my computers totally died with no chance of healing. Even more painful than the process of heal-ing my body has been that of learn-ing a totally new operating system as found in today’s newer computers. Without my son-in-law I would never have made it. My healing process will be complete when I take the two older computers out and use them for targets with my “Healing Handguns.” There is something very satisfying and therapeutic about shooting holes in computers.

Classic double actions have their own special magic too.

continued from page 82 “Three years ago when I was recuperating from an operation, which was only, at best, 20 percent

successful, I am convinced firearms helped me to heal.”


Now things were much better. The girl he truly loved had finally said yes and now they were expecting their first child. Elected to the state assembly, every Monday morning he caught the train to the state capi-tal and came back Friday evening to spend the weekend with his family. He and his wife lived with his mother

and his siblings in the family home. Everything was perfect. Then he got a message to hurry home. His mother was quite sick and died that day, which was enough of a blow but added to this was the fact his wife also died in childbirth. The two women he loved the most both died in the same house on the same day. Can we even begin to

imagine the emotional roller coaster he was now on?

His father was gone; now his mother and wife. He gave his new daugh-ter to his sister and ran. He ran away from all responsibility—something he would never ever do again. He went to the Badlands of Dakota Territory and became something he absolutely knew nothing about, a rancher. He learned quickly, and no one ever called him a 4-eyed tenderfoot the second time. He was not an ordinary cowboy. Actually, there never was anything very ordi-nary about him. He dressed in buck-skins and carried a fully-engraved 7-1/2-inch Colt Frontier Six-Shooter complete with a carved ivory stock in a fully carved cross-draw holster. No one who met him ever forgot him. He tracked down thieves in the bitter winter and stood up to anyone no matter their size or station. He was definitely a man’s man.

It was not an easy time. He built a large cabin and friends who had guided him on hunting trips in Maine joined him with their wives and they began the glorious adventure. He made sure he had a large enough room for his library and room to write. He invested his inheritance from his father and one of the worst winters in history wiped out most of the cattle and half of his family fortune.

That time in the Badlands totally shaped Theodore Roosevelt. With-out that experience he would not have been Col. Roosevelt during the Span-ish-American War and he certainly would never have been president. That time did much to heal him emotionally and spiritually probably even some-what physically. He wrote a best-sell-ing book, one of many, entitled Hunt-ing Trips of a Ranchman, which is still worth reading. Theodore needed to be healed and he was.

All of us need healing of some kind at some time or the other. Sometimes it’s spiritual, sometimes it’s emotional,

HEALINGRECOVERY CAN COME IN MANY FORMS.

His childhood had been very difficult as he was born with asthma and often found himself gasping for breath. He had wonderful ideas of what he wanted

to do with his life; however, asthma coupled with a very weak body assured those dreams would never come true. Neither he nor his father would give up and the latter built a gym in the house. He told his young son he was going to have to start from scratch and build his own body. That is exactly what he did. His body became strong, however, he was soon devastated by the early death of his beloved father who he called the best friend he ever had.

continued on page 81

Single-action sixguns have special healing properties.


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