Rifle July 2009 PDF

The State of the Firearms Industry!
Limited Production!
Nosler Model 48
Varmint Rifle
Merkel’s
Revolutionary
KR1 Bolt Action!
July 2009 No. 245

$5.99
07
7 25274 01240 4
Printed in USA
$5.99 U.S./Canada
July 2009
Volume 41, Number 4
ISSN 0162-3593
Issue No. 245
8 Dual Purpose
Varmint/Big Game
20 Ugly Rifles
Down Range -
38 Nosler
Model 48
Rifles Mike Venturino Varmint Rifle
Page 38 . . . Spotting Scope - Limited Production
Dave Scovill 24 Dial Awhile
Optics -
Custom
Chub Eastman
14 .300 Savage
Classic Cartridges -
Ron Spomer
44 What a Gun
John Haviland 28 Replacement
Trigger Guards
Writer Learns
Mike Tracks 33
18 Fashion Police
Needed for
Light Gunsmithing -
Gil Sengel
Years on the Job
Mike Venturino
Shooters,
Hunters
34 Casull Cartridges 54 Drifting into
Trouble
Straight Talk - Mostly Long Guns -
Ron Spomer Brian Pearce The Fickle Wind
Ron Spomer
62 State of the
Industry
Pearce Travels
East
Brian Pearce
74 Merkel KR1
Revolutionary
Bolt Action
John Haviland
Page 74 . . .
Page 34 . . .
4 www.riflemagazine.com Background Photo: © 2009 Royal Tine Images Rifle 245

Page 62
On the cover . . . Page 38
The Nosler Model 48V is topped off
with a Leupold VX-III 8.5-25x varmint
scope. Rifle photos by G. Hudson.
Page 74
82 What’s New in
the Marketplace
Inside Product
News - Issue No. 245 July 2009
Clair Rees
88 Montana Rifle
Company
Sportiting Fi
Firear
earms Jour
urnal
al
Publisher/President – Don Polacek
Custom Corner -
Associate Publisher – Mark Harris
Stan Trzoniec
Editor in Chief – Dave Scovill
90 Rebirth of the
Ranch Rifle
Managing Editor – Roberta Scovill
Art Director – Gerald Hudson
Production Director – Becky Pinkley
Product Tests -
Clair Rees Contributing Editors
Associate Editor – Al Miller
John Haviland Ron Spomer
Page 88 . . .
Brian Pearce Stan Trzoniec
Clair Rees Mike Venturino
Gil Sengel Ken Waters
Advertising
Advertising Director - Stefanie Ramsey
[email protected]
Advertising Representative - Tom Bowman
Page 82 . . .
[email protected]
Advertising Information: 1-800-899-7810
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6 www.riflemagazine.com Background Photo: © 2009 Royal Tine Images Rifle 245

DUAL PURPOSE
VARMINT/BIG GAME RIFLES
SPOTTING SCOPE by Dave Scovill • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
echnically speaking, my first varmint rifle

T was a borrowed J.C. Higgins single-shot .22
rimfire. It worked fine on critters around our place
but was replaced by a Winchester Model 69A that
somehow managed to show up under the Christmas
tree in 1955. Looking back, I’m somewhat surprised
the little 69A survived the next 50 years, having
consumed at least a gazillion rounds of .22 Long
Rifles, Longs and Shorts on the likes of squirrels,
rodents, skunks, feral cats, a few coyotes and, at
the rate of $1.00 an hour, thousands of orchard-
raiding birds on the French Creek Ranch.
When the coyotes, foxes and birds of prey honed
in on the lamb crop during the winter months, I
switched over to Mother’s Remington Model 760
.257 Roberts with 75-, 87- or 100-grain jacketed bul-
lets by Speer or Sierra, depending on weight. By the
time the lambs were a month old, there wasn’t an
For anyone who intends to hunt big game in North

America or potentially dangerous game in Africa, it
helps to have some measure of “boots on the ground”
experience with your trusty .389 Atom Smasher
on an off-season hunt for smaller game.
airborne or four-legged predator within miles of

the place.
Back then there were no “varmint” rifles around
our neck of the woods, save for the .222 Reming-
ton, but it was widely heralded as a “target” car-
tridge. Savage chambered the “triple-duce” in its
Model 24 over/under with a 20-gauge barrel under-
neath – a pretty neat outfit for popping a coyote at
a distance with the rifle barrel or busting them up
close and personal with a load of shot.
Since Mom’s .257 and the Savage Model 24 were
fairly effective as dual-purpose rigs for varmints
and blacktail or whitetail, and varmints and upland
birds, respectively, it seemed logical that a .243
Winchester might be suitable for doubling up on
varmints and deer as well. It was, but didn’t quite
do the job on larger mule deer, whereupon I up-
graded to a Ruger Model 77 7x57mm Mauser.
While the 7mm Mauser with factory loads or hand-
loads using 130- to 175-grain bullets was fine for
8 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245
deer, it seemed a bit on the heavy side for coyote or Recognizing there are a host of varmint rifles on
fox. The remedy turned out to be the Hornady 120- the market, I’ve never owned one. I’ve used a bunch
grain jacketed hollowpoint that erupted from but never thought enough of any of them to pay the
the 22-inch barrel at a tick over 3,000 fps. That asking price. For my purposes, a varmint rifle is
so-called varmint bullet was designed to be prod- whatever I have in my hand when the opportunity
ded at magnum velocities and pressures, and it arises. The rifle on tap is usually the one scheduled
worked out fine at modest – comparatively speak- for the next big game hunt, which over the last four
ing – velocities in the 7mm Mauser. Enough so that decades has ranged from .257 Roberts to the .45-70,
it plowed through midsized mule deer bucks with with just about any sane choice in between, even a
considerable effectiveness, way out to 300 yards or Sharps big .50 with a 600-grain cast slug. That is not
slightly beyond. And, it held together well enough to suggest the .50 was sane, but it was what I had
to avoid big exit holes in winter fur. when that mule deer buck stood up at 20 yards.
Another fine load used the Speer 130-grain flat- The .25-06 Remington is also a dandy all-around
base softnose at just under 3,000 fps. In the end, the rifle for anything found lurking in the high desert.
Ruger and aforementioned .243 collected enough Those I have owned and borrowed were remark-
winter pelts to pay for a chain saw, a used GMC ably accurate, although a bit shy of ideal for elk, or
four-wheel drive truck and all the powder and bul- so I thought at the time, but was quite satisfactory
lets I could shoot. for 150- to 200-pound pasture-fed mule deer. For
Nowadays, most folks view a varmint rifle as a the most part, I doubled up on varmints and deer
dedicated rifle for smaller vermin like prairie dogs, with 75- and 100/115-grain loads, respectively.
rock squirrels, rabbits, etc. They range from .17 to Neither do I ignore the dual-purpose rigs for
.24 caliber but are generally represented by the smaller game, like rabbits, marmots and rock squir-
hoard of .22 centerfires, from the .22 Hornet to the rels. During the spring, summer and early fall, I
.22-250 Remington or .220 Swift. Some might even enjoy working along the desert floor, pushing
include the .17 rimfires and centerfires along with jackrabbits out of their hideouts, forcing them into
the .22 WRM in that crowd. the low rolling hills. At ranges that vary from 50 to
300, sometimes 400 yards, it’s easy to go through 50
to 100 rounds a day. By the time deer and/or prong-
horn season rolls around, the rifle is like a good
friend, and shots inside 300 yards under various
field conditions are pretty much a slam dunk.
Awhile back I chided Barnes Bullets to come out
with an 80-grain .257, 110-grain .277 and 130-grain
.308 Tipped TSX. At 3,400, 3,500 and 3,600 fps, re-
spectively, they flatten trajectory over longer
ranges but are tough and accurate enough to get
the job done when used against anything from
prairie dogs to pronghorn and/or midsized deer.
I’ve also gotten a lot of use out of the Barnes 120-
grain 7mm non-tipped TSX in the 7mm Mauser and
7mm WSM at around 3,000 and 3,400 fps, respec-
tively. Initially, the little pill was tested on jack-
rabbits and a couple of coyotes, then stepped up to
pronghorn and mule deer that scored approxi-
mately 81 and 217 SCI, respectively.
I have avoided “doubling up” with .30 calibers or
larger, mostly I suppose, because they tend to get
into the realm of larger game, from elk to larger
African plains game. Nevertheless, I decided to try
both ends of the spectrum with one bullet, the
Barnes 130-grain Tipped TSX in the .300 Winchester
(belted) Magnum on several jackals (about the size
of a red fox), “book” wildebeest and kudu, impala
and warthog, all with a single shot (each) at modest
ranges.
The only disadvantage is that the high-stepping

bullet was a bit rough on jackal
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Now you can have a neck sizer for your
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those who might want to cull the CALL: 406-323-2431 www.meachamrifles.com [email protected]
coyote population in the interest
of saving a few pronghorn or
mule deer fawns, it works fine.
It’s been said that the belted or
chubby magnums are a bit much
for varmints, owing recoil and
muzzle blast, and if all anyone
ever did was to shoot the mag-
nums off the bench, I understand
the sentiment. Then too, for those
who get off the bench and hunt,
an animal in the crosshairs has a
way of taking the felt recoil out of
the equation. Seasoned hunters
already know that; modern recoil
pads will protect the rest.
This is not to ignore those folks
who apparently believe a big .300
is a bit too much for deer-sized
game, although a number of pro-
fessional guides, outfitters and
respected writers will use noth-
ing else. And while it is just a
guess, it would be fair to suggest
the .300 Weatherby and Winches-
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tions.” That same could be said
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I’ve also used a variety of older
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July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 11

For the most part, particularly but isn’t because he fears some-
Alaskan • Yukon with lever actions, I prefer to
hunt small game with any rifle
one else will buy up everything if
he doesn’t get it first. (Sort of a
Trophies Won prior to the pursuit of larger vicious circle.)
& Lost
game. I did feel a bit silly busting
Most of this, if not all, appears
jackrabbits with the .475 Turn-
to be panic buying by those who
bull before it was used to take a
are concerned that politicians
by couple of cow elephants, but
are going to (1) ban handguns,
G.O. being able to take a rabbit with
(2) mandate a shelf life on
Young an off-hand head shot out to 75
primers and powders, (3) ban
or 80 yards with the iron-sighted
Catalog #570.5 Model 86 Winchester makes a bullets, (4) ban handloading, (5)
Hardbound ban clip-fed firearms, (6) ban
frontal brain shot on an elephant
at 14 to 23 yards, well . . . let’s paramilitary firearms, aka assault
$39 95
just say it helps settle the nerves. weapons, (7) ban ammunition or
(8) restrict anything not men-
+ shipping
*** tioned above or a combination of
($7.25 each)
Originally published in 1947, this
SHORTAGES the above. Or (9) you can toss in
“government conspiracy” in any
book is now available in a new A number of folks have written
of the above, and (10) some folks
LIMITED EDITION HARDBOUND or emailed requesting some sort
version. Mr. Young tells of the journey
are buying up all those primers,
of explanation for shortages of
of three men (himself included) into bullets and brass so they can
just about everything to do with
the interior of Alaska and the Yukon manufacture home-spun ammu-
handloading and/or ammunition,
Territory. Follow this story of their nition and sell it at inflated prices
and to some degree, firearms.
triumphs and hardships – one of the at gun shows. None of this is to
The hot topic seems to be the
BEST HUNTING ADVENTURES of all ignore the panic demand for rim-
time. Don’t miss it! lack of primers.
fire ammunition.
Wolfe Publishing Co. According to manufacturers,
wholesalers and retailers, it With 14 years of retail manage-
2625 Stearman Rd., Ste. A
Prescott, AZ 86301 seems a number of folks are buy- ment under my belt, I’ve seen
this phenomenon before – in
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1970s when gold prices sky-
www.riflemagazine.com up to 10,000 or 20,000 at a whack,
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That it is the lightest, all steel, windage adjustable, projectionless mount is a matter easily deter-
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But the most important feature of this remarkable mount is the fact it is the only mount in the world gold, toilet paper and the gun/
that properly addresses the problems inflicted upon scope and rifle alike by out of line receiver holes hunting industry, respectively, in
or bases and rings that do not perfectly align with each other. a normal market was . . . gone,
The S&K SKulptured™ mount - alone in the world - cannot inflict torque upon a scope tube or spent, consumed, poured down a
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Any other design can if it has improperly bored rings or bases that are out of parallel or if receiv-
er holes are out of alignment. panic subsided and the market
Any gunsmith will tell you these conditions are not rare. normalized, demand fell off the
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over $800 and didn’t sell out were
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So, unless all the ammunition,
primers and powder are shot up
in short order, manufacturers,
wholesalers and retailers will
tighten their belts. The market is
saturated or will be shortly. On
the bright side, a lot of that mer-
chandise will probably show up
in yard and/or inventory clear-
ance sales by the end of the year
– probably sooner.
None of this is to suggest that
the present administration will
not, eventually, give just cause to
all the panic buying. Right now,
however, they are taking the
TROPHY
measure of the opposition.
This gives rise to the fact that
CARIBOU
some folks who claim to be pro-
gun are in fact shills for the anti-
crowd. No sane person could
write some of the letters I’ve read
in what passes nowadays as
From
“newspapers.” Some say the NRA
is “too radical,” which is fol-
Canada’s
lowed by what appears to be a
rational discussion of gun “rights”
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office now is not going away any E-Mail: [email protected]
time soon. That’s a fact. R

.300 SAVAGE
CLASSIC CARTRIDGES by John Haviland • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
n a November afternoon,
O I came out onto a high ridge
from a morning of hunting elk in
Table I .300 Savage Factory Loads
yards
load muzzle 100 200 300 400
the lodgepole pines. Smoke drift- (grains)
ing above the trees in the canyon
150 Federal Power-Shok softpoint
bottom said the Ahlens were
back at their cabin from the day’s velocity (fps): 2,630 2,353 2,094 1,850 1,629
hunt. The trail led off the ridge energy (ft-lbs): 2,304 1,844 1,460 1,140 884
trajectory (inches): +2.4 -0- -10.2 -31.1
and along a creek pushing against
a hem of ice. The peal of an ax 180 Remington Express Core-Lokt softpoint
came through the trees, and velocity (fps): 2,350 2,025 1,728 1,467 1,252
around the last corner in the energy (ft-lbs): 2,207 1,639 1,193 860 626
trail, father Ahlen and his two trajectory (inches): +3.41 -0- -14.79 -45.12
sons gathered up split stove 150 Winchester Super-X Power-Point
wood. I walked up and one of the velocity (fps): 2,630 2,311 2,015 1,743 1,500
sons pointed, “See you have a energy (ft-lbs): 2,303 1,779 1,352 1,012 749
new rifle there.” trajectory (inches): +2.8 -0- -11.5 -34.4
“It’s a new 7mm Remington
Magnum,” I replied. On the cabin walls hung three RIFLES
They collectively rolled their eyes. Savage Model 99s, all chambered
in .300 Savage. The Ahlens had A discussion of the .300 Savage
The second son said, “You’ve must include the Savage lever-
complete confidence in those
been living in that college town action Model 1899 rifle. Arthur
rifles and the .300 Savage car-
too long.” tridge for hunting elk and mule Savage’s Model 99 was far ahead
All three trooped into the cabin deer and wondered why any- of its time and any other lever ac-
with a load of wood before I had one would want to endure the tion of the day. In comparison to
a chance to show them my new added expense, recoil and rifle the Model 99, the Winchester
rifle. The father came back out weight of hunting with a magnum Model 1894 lever action was
and waved me in for a cup of tea. cartridge. chambered for cartridges limited
Although the .300 Savage was chambered in bolt,

pump and autoloading rifles, it was the lever-action
Savage Model 99 that made the .300 popular. The
Marble aperture sight was factory installed in 1955. The .300 Savage produced this .68-inch group at
Federal, Remington and Winchester still produce 100 yards with Hornady 165-grain bullets over
ammunition for the .300 Savage. IMR-3031.
to much lower velocities, and the BLUES BROTHERS Robinson’s Custom Guns
Winchester Model 1895 lever ac- Firearms Metal Finishing Specialists Finest Quality Custom Rifles
tion was considered by some to • Blueing: Matte, Polished
• Carbon & Stainless Steel Hot Bath at Affordable Prices!
be a cumbersome club. Big game • Slow Rust & Parkerizing
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• Coatings: Gunkote, Duracote,Cerakote
hunters who stalked the forests Call for information. Shop: 928-632-7565 C a l l To l l F r e e : ( 8 7 7 ) 5 2 4 - 7 4 0 5
and climbed the steep mountains Jerry: 928-308-2137 Jess: 928-308-7732 8 6 1 R i d g e R d . , W a y n e s b u r g , PA 1 5 3 7 0
for their game were well aware
of the Model 99’s easy carry. COLOR CASEHARDENING GARY L. STILES
- Gunmaker -
When the .300 Savage, which WOOD & BONE CHARCOAL METHOD - Specializing in Classic Bolt Action Rifles
nearly duplicated the ballistics of WRITE OR CALL
- Complete Rifles - Prices Upon Request
- Quarter Ribs, Checkered Bolt Handles
the larger .30-06, was introduced FOR INFORMATION - Safety conversions for Mausers & Springfields
76 Cherry Run Road, Homer City, PA 15748
in 1920 in the light and handy MICHAEL HAGSTROM P.O. BOX 8 Phone: (724) 479-9945 or 479-8666
SANTA ROSA, CA 95402 (707) 544-4832 E-Mail: [email protected] • www.yourinter.net/glstiles
Model 99, it was an instant win-
ner with big game hunters.
Over the following decades, the Are you a custom gunsmith?
.300 was chambered in bolt-
action rifles such as the Savage Ever tried bone char for casehardening
Models 20 and 40, Remington
Models 722 and 700 and the Win-
or barrel bluing?
chester Model 70. Remington 2 sizes of bone char available.
also chambered the cartridge in
its autoloading Models 81 Woods-
Now available in 4 lb. pails.
master and 760 pump. However,
it was the Savage 99 that carried
the .300 through the years.
P.O. BOX 3247 - MELVINDALE, MI 48122
THE CARTRIDGE (313) 388-0060 [email protected]
WWW.EBONEX.COM
It’s said the .300 Savage was de-
veloped by merely reducing the
length of a .30-06 case to 1.871
inches. That’s most likely true.
However, the Savage Arms peo-
ple were certainly students of
cartridges and noted established
cartridges of the time similar
to the one they wanted to de-
sign. One such cartridge was the
7.65x53mm Mauser, designed in
the late 1880s as the first small-
bore smokeless powder military
cartridge for the Mauserwerke’s
Model 1889 rifle. The 7.65 was
used as a military cartridge in
Turkey and at least six South
American countries. Argentina
was one of those countries, and
the cartridge is best known in
America as the 7.65 Argentine.
Remington and Winchester also
loaded 7.65 ammunition and
chambered, respectively, the
Model 30 and Model 54 rifles in
7.65 for the American sporting
market into the 1930s.
One criticism of the .300 is its
short neck, but both the .300 and
7.65 have relatively short neck
lengths compared to most other

Table II .300 Savage Select Handloads
bullet powder charge velocity
(grains) (grains) (fps)
125 Speer TNT Varget 44.5 2,821

150 Remington PSP Core-Lokt Varget 43.8 2,740
150 Sierra spitzer Varget 44.0 2,726
165 Hornady InterLock Spire Point boat-tail IMR-3031 39.0 2,578
180 Sierra spitzer RL-15 42.0 2,462
200 Hawk roundnose RL-15 40.0 2,363
Be Alert – Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data.
cartridges: the 7.65’s .252 inch ence in case dimensions, slightly

and the .300’s .2207 inch. If the shorter case length and being
7.65’s short neck failed to hold necked to hold America’s favorite
bullets securely, the Savage de- bullet, the .30 caliber, the .300
signers would have heard about Savage is a ringer for the 7.65.
it. So they opted for the short
The .300 has faced some stiff
neck in their new .300 to optimize
competition over the years. The
powder capacity. Other than a
original factory load for the .300
few hundreds of an inch differ-
was supposed to shoot a 150-
grain bullet at 2,700 fps, equaling
the .30-06. It came up somewhat
www.jamescalhoon.com short of that velocity. But it was
19 CALIBER RIFLES close enough in a handy rifle such
& Re-Barrel Kits as the Model 99. However, the The .308 Winchester (right) is
Bullets: 17, 22,19, 20 cal .300 met its match when the .308 similar to the .300 Savage (left),
Varminting Articles! PH: (406) 395-4079 Winchester came along in 1952. although the former is loaded to
The .308 fit nicely in the same higher pressures and velocities.
Kelly’s Africa Pvt. Ltd. size action as the .300, and its
23 Years Experience throughout Africa tag in hand. I hunted ridge top
military status guaranteed its
Namibia - Zimbabwe thickets of lodgepole pine and
success. While capacities of the
South Africa-Tanzania swamp bottoms of brush. I saw
two cases are nearly the same,
quite a few does and a couple of
the .308 produces somewhat
small bucks so practiced quickly
faster velocities due to its higher
mounting the rifle and aiming at
operating pressure. The SAAMI
the deer as if each one was a big
maximum average pressure for
buck and I was going to shoot.
the .308 Winchester is 62,000 psi,
There really wasn’t anything to it.
while the .300’s is 47,000 psi.
With my eye on the deer, the rifle
With handloads the .300 pro- came up and the comb met my
vides respectable velocity. From cheek, the scope lined up with
the 20-inch barrel of my Savage my eye, and the post reticle was
99F, 150-grain bullets go slightly on the deer.
Hunt Specials for 2009! over 2,700 fps, 180s nearly 2,500
ZIMBABWE- Ten days elephant all inclusive $15,500. Just after sundown I told myself
fps and 200s almost 2,400 fps.
7 days plains game 2x1 $5,350, 1x1 $6,100 for: Greater to shoot the next big, lone doe
Kudu, Impala, Warthog, Steenbok, Zebra, Wildebeest, The nice thing about the .300’s
Duiker, Jackal & Baboon. that came along. Right on sched-
mild velocity is regular bullets
10-Day Leopard!-All inclusive $8,990. ule a doe walked through the
Cape Buffalo-10 days 1x1 $10,900 (Zimbabwe) with a copper alloy jacket and
Leopard/Sable plus 9 other plains game, 12 days $17,500. quaking aspens and stopped
lead core expand well, yet hold
16-Day Photo Tour includes Capetown, Victoria Falls, broadside at 80 yards. I brought
5 National Parks-round trip airfare, full board, trans- together.
fers $4,650 per person. the 99 up and shot. The deer took
16-Day Portal to Portal-7 days hunting, 5 days tour- A couple of years ago, I loaded off on a mad dash. Nearly on its
ing, 5-star lodge, Capetown, Victoria Falls, 7 trophies,
w/air $7,450/single - $10,900/couple (Zimbabwe, a box of .300s with Remington own the rifle went “click, slick”
South Africa or combination at no additional cost) 150-grain PSP Core-Lokt bullets and chambered another .300 car-
South African Plains Game-7 species including
Greater Kudu and Gemsbok 1x1 $4,800. and 43.8 grains of Varget, then tridge. There was no need, though,
Round trip airfare from USA to Africa from $1,300 usd fretfully waited for whitetail sea- because the deer fell about 30
Kelly’s Africa Pvt. Ltd. - www.kellysafrica.com
Alan C. Kelly - Box 1356, Elizabeth, CO 80107 son. On a cold November morn- yards from the .300’s muzzle, just
Ph/Fax (303) 646-3076 Cell 24/7 (303) 570-6950 ing, I headed out with my Savage like big game has been doing for
E-mail: [email protected]
99F and a whitetail buck and doe nearly 90 years. R

FASHION POLICE NEEDED
FOR SHOOTERS, HUNTERS
STRAIGHT TALK by Ron Spomer • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
hank God our elected of- guns. That’s basic fashion sense. maintain a roster of acceptable
T ficials are looking out for
our safety. Otherwise we might
And if we Americans are any-
thing, it’s fashion-aware.
handguns – and two-toned Spring-
field XD-45s were not on the list.
be harmed by the wrong colored To get on said list, manufacturers
guns. Now, in fairness it should be must submit to the California De-
noted that Washington officials partment of Justice (oxymoron)
That’s right. The wrong colors. didn’t figure out this fashion faux for “safety testing” three samples
According to a news release pas on their own. Hardly. Like of any model handgun they wish
from the Second Amendment most of us, they took their cue to sell in California. The penalty
Foundation, Washington, D.C., from California. Let’s give credit gun makers/sellers must pay for
city bureaucrats told citizen where credit is deserved – Holly- the privilege of submitting them-
selves to this “safety” review is
$200 per model of gun submitted
for testing. The $200 fee must be
repaid every year or the model
will be dropped from the Califor-
nia Roster of Handguns Certified
for Sale. If manufacturer A wishes
to sell Gun D in two-tone or
stainless as well as basic black,
he must request these be added
If two-toned handguns have

Tracy Ambeau Hanson she could- been condemned as unsafe by
n’t own a Springfield XD-45 hand- government fashion police,
gun because it was two-toned. could two-toned rifles be next?
The report did not specify if
Tracy’s hazardous tool was desert-
wood! Swimming pools. Movie
tan and black or green and black
stars. But Washington didn’t
or even green and tan, but it was
admit to their plagiary immedi-
definitely deadlier than an all-
ately. The radical gun-press had to the roster too. Apparently
black version and unsafe, so she
to smoke them out. So here’s the Springfield ran out of enthusiasm
couldn’t be trusted to own one.
rest of the story. when it came to the two-tone
Application denied. XD-45.
It seems the state of California,
Well, duh! That’s rather obvious. being in the forefront of fashion, Now, let’s give credit to the fis-
We can’t let ordinary citizens run if not social progress and con- cally responsible city govern-
around with green-and-black or sumer safety, uses abundant ment bureaucrats back in D.C.
tan-and-green or pink-and-purple taxpayer dollars to develop and Rather than squander their citi-

zens’ tax dollars to rewrite the could happen. Yes, even to an in- stopped the partying and got
wheel, so to speak, they merely stitution such as GMC. back to making more laws to en-
lifted the California Roster of It’s high time our overpaid, un- hance public safety. What’s next,
Handguns Certified for Sale. This derworked government officials pink rifles? R
is to be commended. While petty
bureaucrats around the country
have been wasting tax dollars
on excessive studies and commit-
tees and official czars of this
and that, the D.C. officials were
conservative enough to accept
the judgment of the California
experts.
Brilliant.
So now anyone, visitors as well
as residents, in D.C. needn’t worry
about Tracy Ambeau Hanson
jeopardizing public safety or
fashion with a two-toned defense
tool.
This action raises the obvious
question: Why don’t we insist our
superiors in various stations of
government codify other fashion
trends? For instance, I find it
patently offensive when hunters
mix a traditional buffalo plaid
shirt or jacket – that famous red
and black Filson coat springs to
mind – with camouflage trousers.
Talk about dangerous! This com-
bination is enough to cause pro-
jectile vomiting. Yet rednecks
across the nation violate our vi-
sual space every month with
this stuff. Come on, city hall. Or
should it be state legislature? The
latter, definitely, because city law
would apply only as far as city
limits, and most violations occur
beyond. Except in Seattle where
the grunge look was born and
still lingers. Please, mayors. Gov-
ernors. Senators. Stop the visual
carnage. Protect the innocent.
Outlaw plaid and camo.
Next on the agenda should be
monster trucks painted camo.
Start giving average folks the
idea our automakers are cater-
ing to gun-totin’, deer-killin’, gas-
guzzlin’ monster truck drivers
and there goes another driver
over to Volvo. Should this con-
tinue, our homegrown automo-
bile manufacturers could risk
financial instability. Seriously. It

UGLY RIFLES
DOWN RANGE by Mike Venturino • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
here is a great divide now-

T adays between riflemen.
Some think it’s okay to let the
government ban some types of
rifles because they are ugly and
relatively useless for hunting. On
the other side, there are those
who say that firearms freedom
isn’t about handsome rifles or
even hunting rifles. They like Mike was surprised to see one surplus dealer’s sale flyer that said the M1
their “assault rifles,” aka “black Garand could be shipped to California but the M1 Carbine could not.
rifles.”
A couple of years ago, I pretty She still had a scowl on her idea of what they were about,
much alienated a physician’s as- face, so next I took this tack. one of those old leverguns was
sistant who was supervising my “Have you ever watched western just as deadly as any assault rifle.
cardiac stress test. She asked movies?” She had. So I asked, She couldn’t comprehend that
what I do for a living, and my “Do the cowboys’ Winchesters and pointed out that those cow-
boy guns weren’t “automatics”
and didn’t have those big “things”
hanging underneath that held
many cartridges. Basically, what
she was saying was cowboys’
Winchesters aren’t ugly.
To paraphrase Forest Gump,
ugly is as ugly does. Since World
War II, military rifles have been
designed to put out volumes of
To most of the world, the “cowboy” Winchester Model 1892 seems fire in order to keep adversaries’
harmless, but the CAR15 is ominous. heads down so they can’t return
volumes of fire. That covers
reply was simple, “I write about worry you.” They don’t. Then I other troops who are maneuver-
guns.” She was obviously taken told her that in the hands of ing to get close with the intention
aback and said, “Well, I under- someone who had the slightest of ending the fight, usually with
stand hunting, but I don’t think
people should be allowed to own
those assault rifles.” To which I
said, “That’s because you don’t
know what you are talking
about.” Thinking she had put me
on the defensive, that comeback
startled her. She then rather
forcefully said, “Well, no one
needs those things.” I said, “Lady,
you let the bureaucrats get their
toe in the door about regulating
your ‘needs,’ then they will be
making rules about how much
toilet paper you can buy every The Colt CAR15 (top) and the Rock River A4 Varmint (bottom) are
week. Besides, do you know any- equally “ugly,” but the CAR15 is a fighting rifle while the A4 Varmint is
one who actually ‘needs’ to hunt?” a dedicated varmint hunting rifle.
some sort of explosive device. CUSTOM BARRELING &
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Back in the late 1990s, I at- “The first and still the best
tended one of Thunder Ranch’s aftermarket trigger for
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rifle training classes when the fa- Spec-Tech Industries Inc.
5473 Mt. Baker Hwy. • Deming, WA 98244 USA
cility was located in Texas. But Telephone: 360-303-9077
www.spec-tech-industries.com
TR Director Clint Smith asked
me to bring a levergun. That sur-
prised even me, but his rationale
was this: A good portion of this
class’s attendees would be one
type or another of law enforce-
ment officer, plus several profes-
sional security personnel. Clint
had seen me shoot pistol car-
tridge leverguns on numerous
occasions and he said, “I want
those guys to see what an old
Winchester is capable of in the
hands of someone who knows
what they’re doing.”
It actually turned out to be a
heck of a good time. When we
showed up at the range, the other
20 or so students had firearms
like AR-15s of various brands and
configurations, AK-47s, Spring-
field M1As and even something
called a Steyr Aug, which indeed
was very ugly. Those rifles were
equipped with sights ranging
from ordinary peep types to
things that put out red dots and a
few with regular scopes. One and
all they used detachable maga-
zines. I showed up with a 1914-
vintage Winchester Model 1892
round-barreled .38 WCF (aka
.38-40) rifle with a Lyman tang-
mounted peep sight. Everybody
else had on tactical clothes,
while I wore ordinary jeans but
a loose-fitting jacket with big
pockets. I saw guys nudging each
other and nodding in my di-
rection, sort of like they were
saying, “Look at the country
bumpkin over there.”
The class was great. Maximum
range was 100 yards, and there
was lots of shooting at turning,
swinging and moving targets. The
exercises included much reload- that I am a superlative shot. It
ing. That’s where my big pockets was simply that while the little
OCTAGON BARRELS - Using Douglas premium came into play. I’d just dump a Winchester was being levered, I
barrels or your barrel. Straight-Tapered or
Contoured. Little or no 544 Eaton Road
box of .38-40s in them, and at any was reacquiring the front sight.
polishing needed. Chico, CA 95973
Tel: 530-345-2928
pause in the action, I would And since the large aperture rear
Fax: 530-345-8614
www.cncbarrelworks.com Toll Free: 800-345-4742 thumb a few rounds through the sight was right there by my eye, it
Model ’92s loading gate. My rifle needed no attention. The bottom
High Plains never once ran dry. Others fum-
bled with magazines to a consid-
line: I was delivering well-aimed
Reboring & Barrels, L.L.C. fire. Most of the guys with their
erable degree. Every time we took semiautomatic “assault rifles”
Offering Button and a break to get some water, they were pressing the trigger for the
Cut-Rifled Barrels. had to recover the mag azines
Most calibers and twist rates. second shot before getting the
Contact: Norman Johnson lying all over the ground and fill sights on target. Unless well
Phone: 701-448-9188 them again. I just stood around trained, that’s generally what
E-Mail: [email protected] visiting with the instructors. people do with semiautomatics.
243 14th Avenue NW - Turtle Lake, ND 58575
When we paused to tape up bul- By the end of the first day, the
let holes in the targets, mine snickering had ended. Some of
were pretty well centered. Many the fellows were even wandering
Barrel & of the class members had bullet over to ask about the old Win-
Gun Works holes spread from top to bottom chester. That’s when the instruc-
Reboring • Rerifling and from one side to the other of tors told them, “We put Mike in
Custom Barrels their targets. The class instruc- here with his Winchester, not to
Lengths to 36” tors, most of whom I knew previ- show you how wonderful a lever-
Calibers .22 to .585 ous to the class, took great gun is but to let you see how they
Chrome moly or pleasure in pointing that out. can perform when someone is
Stainless Steel
used to them. If you’re going
Dan Pedersen, Barrel Maker But, the fact was (and is) not
339 Grove Avenue • Prescott, AZ 86301 about your duties and some bad
[email protected] • 928-772-4060 guy pops out of the woodwork
with an old levergun, don’t let
your guard down. He just may
know how to use it.”
A rifle’s effectiveness, deadli-
ness or even its purpose isn’t reg-
ulated by its looks or by how its
supply of cartridges is stored.
Just because a rifle has a detach-
able magazine doesn’t make it
an “assault rifle.” Neither does
it become one by having a “black
stock.” My Rock River A4 Varmint
.223 can take a detachable mag-
azine with a capacity up to 40
rounds; yet it is capable of the
same sub-minute-of-angle preci-
sion my bolt-action Savage Model
11F .223, and it is just as good a
rifle for varmint hunting as the
latter. However, it is indeed ugly
in the conventional sense.
Following that same line of
thought, the Savage Model 11F
has a black synthetic stock, and I
sure wouldn’t want someone
telling me it was outlawed be-
cause it is uglier than the same
rifle with a fancy wooden stock.
For the past few years, I’ve been
building a collection of World

Mike attended a FINE CUSTOM RIFLES
Thunder Ranch • Precision Barrels •
defensive rifle • Highly Efficient Muzzle Brakes •
shooting class • Barrel Lining for Accuracy Restoration •
but used a Dennis E. Olson Gunsmithing
Winchester P.O. Box 337 - Plains, MT 59859 - (406) 826-3790
Model 1892
.38-40 to good
effect alongside RMS CUSTOM GUNSMITHING
Robert M. Szweda
many “ugly”
rifles. Classic Style Stocks
and Custom Checkering.
Call: (928) 772-7626 or visit my web site:
www.customstockmaker.com
So this is my
message both to - Gunsmithing -
idiot politicians Specializing in Single-Shot
Rifles, i.e. Sharps,
and to brother Remington & Winchester.
sportsmen. Don’t J.P. Gemmer© and Freund
judge any other Since 1976 Patent Sharps.
shooter or me by P.O. Box 203 • Drake, CO 80515 • 970-635-2409
the looks of the
firearms in our
hands. Our col-
# WA N T #
lective interests
are wide. Those
ACCURACY?
guns can range MPI Largest
War II firearms. Each and every from flintlocks to exposed ham- Fiberglass selection
stocks, of hand-
one of them served their respec- mer, single-shot rifles of the over 25 crafted
stocks
tive countries as top-of-the-line, 1870s to any number of historical years in available.
business. ™
state-of-the-art fighting rifles, military weapons of a relatively
Send for FREE
circa the early 1940s. Yet they are recent era. Some are even full- Lightweight, information to:
deemed so harmless now that autos. Instead judge us by our be- strong &
extremely MPI Stocks
most of them can still be owned havior. Form your attitudes P.O. Box 83266 • Dept. R
stable. Portland, OR 97283-0266
even in a place like California. according to that. R Synthetic stock mfrs.for
Here’s a good paradox to con- DAKOTA ARMSINC.

Call us at (503) 226-1215
www.mpistocks.com
Logo used by permission E-Mail: [email protected]
sider: Many World War II combat
veterans threw down their M1
Carbines and picked up some
fallen comrade’s M1 Garand.
That was due to the .30 Carbine
cartridge’s poor reputation for
stopping power compared to the
.30-06 of the Garand.
But recently I received an ad- ☆ 2007 Pan American Games
3x20 Gold Medalist
vertising newsletter from a mili-
☆ 2007 WC Milan 3x20 Silver Medalist
tary surplus arms distributor
☆ 2008 Olympian 3x20 Fifth Place
containing both of those guns for
☆ 5-Time NRA Camp Perry
sale. There was a note in it saying 3x20 Junior National Champion
that M1 Garands could go to Cali- ☆ Multiple Women’s NRA Camp Perry
fornia dealers, but M1 Carbines National Champion
could not because the bright If you want to shoot like
lights that govern that state fig- a champion, choose Lilja!
ure the little carbine is more dan-
gerous than the big Garand. Its www.riflebarrels.com
15-round detachable box maga- Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels, Inc
PO Box 372 • Plains, MT 59859
zine evidently looks more sinister Tel: 406-826-3084 • Fax: 406-826-3083
Jamie Beyerle
to some than the Garand, whose
eight cartridges are held inside
its slightly swelled belly.

DIAL AWHILE
OPTICS by Ron Spomer • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
iven the costs of travel, ing. That worked too. The rising rifles. Practice makes execution
G big game tags and outfitter
fees, hunting with your scope’s
profile of military snipers dialing
scope turrets in books, movies
quick and easy. If a 450-yard tar-
get calls for moving the reticle 6
windage and elevation dials ex- and videos fueled the fire. So did minutes of angle to match the
posed could literally mean you’re long range shooting schools and flight of your 165-grain bullet
dialing for dollars. Crank in the word of mouth. Rising consumer and your scope has 1⁄4 MOA ad-
proper MOA correction and you interest inspired scope manufac- justments, you multiply 6 x 4, dial
win. Bump the dials inadver- turers to build more target-style 24 clicks in your elevation turret
tently or “get lost” in your turns or “tactical” turrets. These are (or just turn to the number 6
and you miss your animal, lose tall, often aggressively knobbed MOA mark on the turret), put the
your investment. dials without protective caps, but crosshair on target and fire when
Game over. not without problems. ready. Call the taxidermist. Or so
it’s supposed to go.
It wasn’t long ago that hunters Dialing corrections into a scope
and scope builders tried their to compensate for bullet drop or In the real world, dialing in bul-
best to prevent reticles from wind deflection works because it let drop compensation presents
moving once a rifle was sighted moves the reticle into position challenges. To understand them,
in. Intentionally changing them for a dead-on hold if the shooter examine an exposed turret ad-
sprang from the sniper justment scope such as
world where milradian Leupold’s Mark 4 series,
ranging and MOA adjust- Nikon’s Monarch X se-
ing became standard op- ries, Zeiss’s Conquest
erating procedure for 4.5-14x 50mm AO MC,
zeroing in on extreme- Schmidt & Bender’s 4-
range targets. This is 16x42 PM II LP or any
usually accomplished Nightforce scope. (Night-
with a team of two – one force can be purchased
shooter and one spotter with or without turret
who reads the wind, caps but are best known
computes the “come ups”
for their exposed, finger-
and announces when to
adjustable tactical tur-
pull the trigger (when all
rets.) Each of these in-
conditions match his
computations). Adjusting struments and others
crosshairs in the field is like them feature large,
relatively new to hunting. finger-adjustable turrets
The advent of laser range- with easily seen index
finders prompted a few numbers etched on the
varminters to try it – with vertical turret bodies
considerable success. Eenie meenie miney mo. Is where you’re dialing corresponding to MOA,
And why not? What can where you’ll go? sometimes milradian ad-
go wrong on a bench on justments. The best of
the prairie? There is little to bump knows the precise range to the such turrets have audible and
a turret off accidentally, and an in- target, the precise windage cor- tactile clicks that snap solidly
correct adjustment merely costs a rection needed and the correct into each new setting. Those that
rodent. No big deal. number of “click” adjustments remove too easily can be acciden-
Folks who ranged, dialed and quired to match both – and if the tally turned when pulling a rifle
picked off hundreds of long- scope adjusts precisely each and from a case, scabbard (if you can
range varmints got so good and every time. Serious practitioners find one large enough to accom-
so confident that they tried reti- either memorize their correction modate the thing) or vehicle. Plow-
cle dialing while big game hunt- tables or tape the data to their ing through thick brush can even

Ed LaPour Gunsmithing rub the dials into a new set- To combat this, some scopes
• M-98, CZ 550 & BRNO ZKK 600 • ting, as can dragging the knob are built with elevation turrets
3-Position Safeties for: across a coat. If a shooter doesn’t that adjust 1⁄2 MOA instead of 1⁄4.
Win. 70,54 - Spgfd. 1903, 1922, - Enf. 1917
Swedish Mauser 94, 96 visually check his turret settings This cuts in half the distance the
Ruger M77 - Rem. M30 before firing – and they were turret must be rotated, making it
Sako Pre Model 75
Sako Vixen bumped off – he could easily possible to dial in the entire ad-
Send $2.00 for information: miss. A change of just one MOA justment range of a 30mm tacti-
908 Hayward Ave. - Bremerton, WA 98310
Tel: (360) 479-4966 Fax: (360) 479-3902
means a bullet will be off by cal scope with one complete
www.edlapourgunsmithing.com slightly more than 4 inches at rotation, so you never have the
400 yards. problem of going past your zero.
Schmidt & Bender addresses
J O N T R A M M E L’ S I’ve adjusted a number of these
G U N S M I T H I N G
ars
24 Yeience
Exper
tactical scope turrets and found over-rotation a couple of ways in
its 4-16x 42mm PM II LP scope.
the best of them solid, tight and
not easily bumped off their set- One is with a single-turn turret
Old World Craftsmanship
21st Century Technology tings, but the possibility exists. with 0.1 mil (milradian) click val-
Action Blueprinting ± .0003
This is why the best turrets are ues (roughly 1⁄3 MOA) instead of
Factory Rifle Accurizing
Fluid Flushed Precision Chambering built to require significant force MOA. The turret will not turn be-
Pillar Bedding • Trigger Jobs • Answer Muzzle Brakes
Dual Elliptical Bushed Custom Rifles Built to adjust. The best also sport yond one cycle, so you always
270 WSM • 300 WSM • 6.5 284 • 243 WSSM IMP
large, bright, easily seen index know where you are. Total ad-
30-8mm Imp 35º • 6mm Ackley • 338 Lapua Rogue
22 Dasher • 30-BR • 6mm Dasher • 6x47 Lapua
marks. Still, one must remember justment is 46.8 inches, which
Contact: Jon Trammel doesn’t sound like much but is
120 W. Walker, Breckenridge, TX 76424 to check them. In the excitement
(254) 559-3455 I [email protected] more than adequate when com-
of the hunt, this doesn’t always
happen, as many a hunting guide bined with one of S&B’s mil-dot
can attest. Turrets with faint or reticles that provide aiming
tiny marks are difficult for older points for an additional 17 MOA
eyes to see. or more. S&B’s other trick is to
build a two-turn turret but add a
At extreme ranges some turrets colored bar on the turret that be-
must be rotated one complete comes visible after the first full
cycle or more in order to move rotation. See the bright yellow
the reticle sufficiently to accom- bar and you know you’re in your
modate rainbow trajectories. The second rotation. Finally, to pre-
problem then becomes remem- vent accidental turret movement,
bering if your turrets are, say, 2 S&B offers locking turrets.
MOA past your zero setting or 2
MOA plus one complete rotation. With its VX-7 scopes, Leupold
Big difference. solves the inadvertent dialing
problem with its SpeeDial turret.
The knurled tops of the turrets
cover the indexed dials, but a
half twist counterclockwise lets
them pop up, exposing the index
and engaging the adjustment
screws for quick and easy turn-
ing. When finished, push the caps
back down and lock into place.
Another option offered by most
scope makers is turret caps. Ob-
viously, having to twist them off
before accessing the adjustment
turrets costs time, but anyone
needing to make reticle adjust-
ments is probably shooting at
game beyond fight or flight dis-
tances anyway. Plenty of time.
Another potential problem with
dialing corrections is inaccurate
mechanical performance. If mili-

tary snipers are dialing scopes to • Gas Checked & Plain Base Match Grade Cast Bullets We supply all of CorBon’s
engage high-profile targets at • Everything from 6.5mm to .500 S&W, 20-22 BHN cast bullets!
1,000 yards, the devices must be • Real Keith Bullets - .357, .41, .44 & .45
dependable, but not every hunter 440, 465 & 500 Gr. in .500 S&W, .460 S&W - 395 Gr.
is necessarily buying the same 349 NW 100 St. • St. John, KS 67576
Tel: 620-549-6475
quality scope as our military. Website: www.proshootpro.com
Cheaper goods can wear out,
lose accuracy or break. Most
commonly, erector tube springs
literally stick against the tubes
(friction wear or galling), keep-
ing them from moving with pres-
sure from the turret screws. The
shooter thinks he’s moved the
reticle, but it’s stuck – until recoil
breaks it free. But then it’s too
late.
Holland’s ART reticle eliminates
the need for dialing scope correc-
tions in the field by incorporating
a reticle precisely marked with
MOA dots and hash marks down
the vertical wire sufficient to
cover 24 MOA. That more than
covers any wildly optimistic
range at which anyone should be
targeting game. Other scope
makers offer reticles with a
number of mil-dots and hash
marks that similarly accommo-
date long-range holdover. Some
shooters find such multiple reti-
cles confusing to decipher and
use; others prefer them over the
potential problems involved with
dialing in corrections. Tradition-
alists stick with the old maxi-
mum point blank range system
and limit shots inside that dis-
tance (roughly 300 to 375 yards
with most modern centerfires.)
Real conservatives just get close
enough that they don’t have to
worry about compensating for
anything.
Regardless which system you
use, study it, practice with it and
then practice some more until
you and it run like a well-oiled
machine. Most reticle foul-ups
are operator error not equipment
malfunction. The wilderness –
with a 200-inch mule deer walk-
ing away at 397 yards – is neither
the time nor place to wonder if
your elevation turret has been
compromised. R

REPLACEMENT
TRIGGER GUARDS
LIGHT GUNSMITHING by Gil Sengel • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
few years back, I was rid-

A ing through a residential
area in a nearby town. The num-
ber two objective was to find a
particular address. Number one
was to avoid the other drivers on
the road. Nearly 35 years of driv-
ing for an employer six days a
week allows one to see most all
the unthinking actions people
take in motor vehicles, along
with the sad and sometimes
grisly results. One soon learns to
be very alert.
On this day it was necessary to
brake hard for a car that sud-
denly pulled away from the curb Materials needed to a make trigger guard forming jig.
in front of me. Its driver was
“multitasking” – eating, talking ing example of today’s U.S. pub- love E.B. engraved on the barrel.
on a cell phone and driving all at lic education system, of which Anything is possible!
the same time. The car’s depar- more would soon follow.
As it turned out, no Parkers or
ture exposed a small cardboard
These sales are always interest- charred Lugers showed up. There
box displaying the words YARD
ing. Among boxes of clothes, were, however, many old two-
SALE.
lawn ornaments and souvenirs piece boxes containing steel
Since I was already stopped and from Disneyland and the Wiscon- wood screws. Labels were single-
had a place to park, it was de- sin Dells, one can envision a color from hand-drawn masters,
cided to check this out. Nothing, cased Parker double. An old bearing such names as Mattatuck
however, was visible in the yard. cigar box might contain a Luger Mfg. Co., Hillwood, Pheoll Mfg.
Turned out the activity was in a with fire-blackened grips and the and Lamson & Sessions. They
garage behind the house – a shin- small inscription To A.H. with were unplated, oval head, fully
Filed out guard bow form is sitting properly on The two pieces are welded together with two short
angle iron base prior to welding. beads on each side.
gun owners today should keep
in mind.
The foregoing event came back
to me recently as one of those
trigger guards was being made
for a Winchester Model 60 proj-
ect. It seemed like a perfect sub-
ject for this column.
As previously indicated, the
trigger guard probably originated
in Europe – perhaps Germany,
perhaps not. All the rifles I have
seen them on are what might be
called standard rifles. That does
not mean cheap export guns or
those intended as farm tools. Pre-
World War II Mauser .22 rimfires
The jig is set up in a vise with metal to be formed/clamped in place. and Winchester Model 52s are
the most commonly seen exam-
threaded with narrow slots – grip caught my eye. Several lengths of ples today. A similar style guard
cap, buttplate and swivel base steel strap were wired together is also found on the centerfire
screws! I felt like John Sutter with the end of one of them Savage Model 340.
when he discovered all that gold formed into a trigger guard. This The beauty of this design is its
dust plugging up the sluice gates guard was exactly the same as outstanding appearance when
of his mill. one whose making had been compared to the cheap guards on
A young man walked up and taught to me some 40 years ago. most American .22s made from
said this was the last of his My instructor was not a gun- the 1900s up through the 1970s.
grandfather’s estate. All those smith, but his father had been Everyone knows what we are
“bolts” (as he called the wood and his father before him a gun- talking about. They are made
screws) and a box of metal be- maker in Germany. from plastic or a narrow steel
side them was $6. He also of- Handing the young man $6, I ca- strap that is thin enough to be
fered, “Grandfather fixed things, sually inquired if his grandfather bent with the fingers. None stand
like old clocks. In his house all had been a gunsmith at one time. a chance if dropped or bumped
you could hear was the click, The fellow suddenly coiled up hard against something.
click, click of those worthless old like a snake and asked how I Also annoying is that most of
clocks.” (Click, click – I’m not knew that, then snapped, “That the steel factory guards turn
making this up!) junk is gone!” His tone of voice under at the front and are held by
In the box of metal was at least indicated I probably wouldn’t a tiny wood screw. This screw
50 pounds of steel in various want to know what happened to can’t be reached by a straight-
shapes. Something suddenly it. Very sad and something all blade screwdriver. An identical
Another clamp is placed as shown and the rear half

of guard is formed. The text explains how to form a
The front of the guard is formed first. slightly longer or deeper guard bow on this same jig.
The rough formed guard (top) is
shown with the finished guard
(below), along with rough and
finished pieces of banding
material used to make the
trigger slot cover. (See text.)
how it is done. This size is cor-

rect for most .22s, though a
slightly larger guard may some-
times be needed. Such is possible
using the same forming jig.
To make this tool, start with a 1⁄2
inch thick piece of mild steel and
a short length of heavy angle iron
as shown. The jig I have used for
years is made from rusted scrap.
In photos it looked like some-
screw holds the rear of the guard. through the Mauser factory-made thing hauled up from a salvaged
Both are easily pulled loose since guard and is held in place by a shipwreck. Therefore, this oppor-
the trigger guard isn’t inletted small latch. If there is a better tunity was used to make a new
into the wood but merely sits on way of doing this, it has so far one incorporating a few changes.
top. The European-style guard eluded me. After using it just once, it was ob-
we will make eliminates all this
and looks much better as well.
New guards are made from eas-
ily available 1⁄8 inch thick mild
steel strap in widths from 1⁄2 to 3⁄4
inch. Half-inch will suffice most
of the time; wider widths are
needed to replace broken plastic
guards. Shaping is done cold
over a steel forming jig using a
An edge view of the cover for

the trigger slot in the stock.
Bends are necessary to allow
the cover to fit under the
trigger guard yet still be flush
with the stock surface.
big, 3-pound hammer. The steel Making the forming jig over vious this should have been done
jig makes the job simple. which to bend the metal is not years ago.
Illustrations show what these difficult. The finished guard At any rate, copy or work out
new guards should look like. A shown on the 1⁄8-inch grid was the shape of the jig by cutting it
detachable box magazine fits made on my jig. The photos show out of thin cardboard. The radius
of the small bends is about 1⁄4
inch. These are mandatory to
give the guard its gun-part ap-
UÊ ÕÌÊÊ ÝVÊVÌÃÊUÊiÊÌÊ>`ÊÕVÌÊU David Clevinger

UÊ
>LiÀ}ÊÊÃÌÊ,i`Ê
>ÀÌÀ`}iÃÊU Engraving
L.L.C.
UÊ,i>Ã>LÞÊ*ÀVi`ÊU Fine Hand Engraving on Firearms,
4EL&AX s#ELL Knives & Other Items of Interest.
www.dcengraving.com 720-979-9202
% -AILHA WINDSTREAMNET Firearms Engravers Guild of America Member

This trigger guard inch from the near edge of the
is on a factory angle iron. This allows clamping
Winchester Model 60. the 5⁄8 or 3⁄4 inch wide steel strap to
the jig when needed. The two
pieces are then welded together.
To begin to form a new trigger
pearance – other- guard, clamp a piece of 1⁄2 x 1⁄8-inch
wise it just looks like steel strap to the jig as shown.
a piece of bent iron.
Front and rear must
be well rounded, as should the
bottom.
Use the cardboard template to
begin shaping the 1⁄2-inch piece of
steel that will become the inside
shape of the new guard. Unfortu-
nately, this is time-consuming
work. Saw, file, grind and then
file some more. Could this be
why early gunsmiths had appren-
The new trigger guard on the Winchester Model 60 project is not yet
tices? Note that only a short tang
complete, but an improvement over the factory Model 60, yes?
has been left at the rear of the jig.
It allows forming a tang of any
length on the new guard, which The heavy angle iron shown is The jig is held firmly in the jaws
will then be bent to fit the pistol- 11⁄4 inches on a side and 1⁄4 inch of a bench vise by the vertical leg
grip curve of the stock. All will thick. Position the filed-out form of the angle iron.
be a little different. as shown, its side edge exactly 1⁄8 As mentioned earlier, the steel

Pre-World War II Mauser .22 rimfire uses same
style trigger guard.
Newly made trigger guard on 1⁄10-inch grid. This size is
will bend fine cold. Form the suitable for most .22 rimfires. A slightly larger guard
front of the guard first. Note the can be made on the same jig. (See text.)
photos. The tool used to force
the metal into the radius bends is long enough to reach the long Incidentally, the two guards
a piece of 3⁄4-inch steel rod ground bolt holding the barreled action shown are made from the steel
on the end to fit the bend. Don’t in the stock or even become the and will be held in their stocks
be afraid to hit it! base for this bolt. If the rifle is a by the screws purchased at the
Shape the rear of the guard clip-fed repeater, a hole may garage sale mentioned. It is hoped
next. If a slightly longer finger have to be cut in this tang for the their original owner can some-
opening is needed, the metal may clip, which is easily done. how know they are still being
be moved forward on the jig That’s all there is to making a used to repair rifles – just as he
and reclamped before forming good looking, nearly indestruc- planned when he originally pur-
the rear. To make the guard bow tible replacement trigger guard. chased them. R
deeper, a spacer (tapered at the
ends) is laid on the jig to increase
this dimension.
Our new trigger guard is, of
course, inlet into the stock. To
make the job look even better, a
JDS Quick Measure
piece of steel can be installed in Cut Your Reloading Time!
the open section of the guard to Not Your Powder!
cover the trigger opening. Perfect • This powder measure will not cut powder!
material for this is 1⁄2 inch wide
blue banding material used to
• Charge directly into the cartridge cases
strap heavy articles to wooden • Charge 100 cases in less than 4 minutes
pallets for shipping. It can be had Johnson Design Specialities
for the asking from any place 4607 W. Elderberry Avenue
that receives such articles. Home Spokane, WA 99208 • 509-464-0697
improvement and appliance [email protected]
stores are common sources. www.quick-measure.com
Banding material is bent as
Talley Scope Rings

shown, the ends left long enough
to be clamped under the trigger
guard with at least one wood
screw passing through it to hold
it in place. If care is taken in cut- PREMIUM SCOPE MOUNTING SYSTEMS
ting the trigger slot, it can be
used as a stop to remove trigger
overtravel on those .22s that have NOW AVAILABLE
1
⁄4 inch too much. IN STAINLESS!
The rear tang of the guard is
usually short, shaped to the P.O. Box 369
curve of the stock’s grip and Santee, SC 29142
drilled to accept a proper size 803-854-5700
wood screw. The front tang can www.talleyrings.com
be short with one screw, nearly

CASULL CARTRIDGES
MOSTLY LONG GUNS by Brian Pearce • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
hen the name Dick Casull Dick Casull

W is mentioned among shoot-
ers, most associate it with the
maintains a
complete
powerful .454 Casull revolver machine shop,
cartridge. Certainly, beginning where he
back in the 1950s, Dick designed regularly builds
and developed that cartridge, complete proto-
which became proprietary in type guns, in-
1983, and he also designed and cluding pistols,
patented the Freedom Arms revolvers and a
Model 83 revolver. This revolver variety of rifles.
was clearly innovative, as it fea-
tured line-bored chambers (never
before accomplished in a produc- also developed
tion revolver), state-of-the-art and patented a
steels with heat-treating methods number of rifle
that resulted in amazing strength actions and cartridges that may normal mode of cartridge devel-
and modern lockwork. be of interest to riflemen. Exam- opment, and the patented rifle
That is not all, as Casull has ples include an open-bolt, high- that houses them.
capacity, fully automatic rifle
with a gas-operated piston to Back in 1997, Casull developed
cycle the drum magazine that two cartridges known as the 6.5
was designed primarily for spe- Casull and .30 Casull. They each
The NEW
cialized military applications. feature a brass body with a steel
BALD EAGLE head that is machined from 17-4
There is a bolt-action rifle for
Rimfire benchrest shooters that I fired PH stainless steel with a Rock-
Cartridge well hardness of 40. The “mar-
Gage back in the 1980s (chambered in
a 4,000-plus fps wildcat car- riage” between the steel head
“The Gage
That Works!”
$8500 tridge) that delivered 10 shots and brass body is accomplished
This is a gage to measure con- into a ragged hole at 200 yards. by swaging, which actually grows
sistency of rim thickness on .22 There are many other signif- stronger with each firing. The
rimfire ammunition (a .22 rim-
fire rifle’s headspace is deter- icant designs that include 22 head diameter is .612 inch and
mined by case rim thickness). patents (with 191 claims), plus he the cartridge overall length is
The more consistent the rim
thickness, the more consistent has performed design work for 3.16 inches for the 6.5 Casull. The
the ignition of the primer and the
powder charge in the case. In major companies. Today, how- cartridges retain conventional
other words, the firing pin will fall the ever, let’s take a
same distance every time if the same rim
thickness is used on every case being closer look at
fired for a particular group. By sorting the two innovative
shells into various groups by rim thick-
ness, a reduction in group size of up to and patented car-
25% can be realized in some IF NOT
MOST rimfire rifles. This information tridges, which are
about group reduction comes from the far outside the
.22 rimfire benchrest participants who
compete in the extremely difficult BR-50
matches. All of the top shooters sort their
shells into groups by checking rims and
weighing the unfired cartridges.
The Casull rifle
BALD EAGLE chambered for
Precision Machine Company 6.5 and .30
101-D Allison St.
Lock Haven, PA 17745 Casulls is as un-
TEL (570) 748-6772
FAX (570) 748-4443
conventional in
Bill Gebhardt, Owner design as the
(NRA Benefactor Member - IBS Life Member) cartridges that
it houses.
is capable of handling such pres- lows the cartridge to sit in the
sures) without expansion, and chamber in a more direct manner
primer pockets remain within in relation to the axis of the bore
specification. Nonetheless, both when compared to belted mag-
cartridges are loaded by Casull to num cases. The bolt face also
pressures that run between serves to hold the rear of the case
70,000 and 75,000 psi and have in alignment with the chamber.
been reloaded in excess of 10
times without weakening or rup- The Casull bolt rifle, known as
turing. (Necks, however, needed “The Casull Bolt Action Rifle,” is
trimming.) Furthermore, the as unconventional as the car-
solid steel head is beltless and al- tridges that it houses. Giving a
A COUPLE OF LIGHTWEIGHTS!
Summit - 15 oz.
Summit XL - 12 oz.
This experimental double-cham-

ber “test machine” gun was built
by Dick back in the 1950s. Two
We Manufacture 30 other Lone Wolf (406) 892-9653 PH/FX
Glass Stock Designs 125 N. Hilltop Rd., Columbia Falls, MT 59912
barrels were fitted (.22 and .30 E-Mail: [email protected] www.lonewolfriflestocks.com
caliber) that drove bullets, with-
out a case, to over 10,000 fps.
centerfire ignition (priming). Op-

posite of conventional cartridge
designs, rather than the case ex-
tractor slot being located exter-
nally, it is internal and requires a
totally new rifle action to feed,
function and extract. The shoul-
der angle of each cartridge is
30 degrees. The 6.5 will drive a
155-grain bullet 3,300 fps, while
the .30 drives a 240-grain bullet
between 3,250 and 3,300 fps (de-
pending on temperature). Long-
range shooters will appreciate
the high ballistic coefficient and
wind bucking virtues of such
long and heavy bullets.
The head of conventional mod-
ern brass cases usually begins to
expand excessively around 57,000
to 67,000 psi, with primer pock-
ets often loosening (and primers
occasionally falling out) around
65,000 to 70,000 psi. The Casull
cartridges’ steel head construc-
tion tackles both of those issues,
as it can withstand pressures of
100,000 psi (but only if the action

complete report on the patented
mechanics and unique design
features could fill several chap-
ters. The bolt lift is 90 degrees
and features Buttress threads
(rather than locking lugs) that
are around 11⁄2 inches in length. In
operating the bolt, the action is
smooth and clearly a precision
instrument. The forward end of
the bolt body (the last, approxi-
mately .125 inch) is a step-down
in diameter to allow it to fit into
the counterbored steel cartridge
head, with the extractor being
The countersunk bolt body fits inside the steel cartridge head, and the
extractor works inside the case head. There are approximately 15
threads that serve to lock the bolt, which results in an incredibly strong
locking system. (Note the centerfire primer.)
matched to fit the internal cartridge case from the chamber
tridge extractor groove. It should and assure smooth operation.
be noted that the cartridge diam-
Cartridges are held in a single-
eter is the same as the bolt body.
The bolt handle pivots to help stack, detachable, three-shot box
leverage the high-pressure car- magazine. There is also an alu-
minum bedding plate placed in
the center of the stock that ex-
tends almost full length, making
RUSS HAYDON’S it unusually rigid and providing a
solid bedding platform for the
SHOOTERS’ SUPPLY action. (As a note, Dick Casull
15018 Goodrich Dr. • Gig Harbor, WA 98329
• Benchrest patented aluminum bedding many,
TOLL FREE 1-877-663-6249 • Target
Web Site: www.shooters-supply.com • E-Mail: [email protected] • Varmint many years ago, but those rights
Full-line distributor of: • Redding • L.E. Wilson • Pro-Shot • Dewey • Berger Bullets • Shilen have long since expired and ex-
• Butch's Bore Shine • K&M • Nightforce Optics • Protektor • Lapua • Jewell Triggers & more
Fast, Friendly and Knowledgeable Service! plains why it is so commonly
used in the gun industry to this
- FREE catalog on request -
day.) Dick enjoys the natural
beauty of wood, and his proto-
type rifles feature fancy walnut
on each side of the aluminum
bedding system. The recoil lug is
located in the back of the action.
An exact figure for lock time is
not available, but estimates indi-
cate it is around 1.5 milliseconds.
Casull used hammer-forged bar-
rels, to help resist erosion and
increase barrel life, with a one-in-
8-inch twist for both cartridges.
A unique aspect of the barrel
and receiver relationship is a
(Continued on page 94)

Even though the
“Coyote Tan” finish
on the entire rifle is a
departure from what
some are used to, it
blends nicely with
light-colored camo.
Nosler
Model 48
Varmint
Chub Eastman The only suggestion, or complaint, that came back
from customers was that the rifle with its extra
fancy walnut stock was almost too nice to take on a
n 2005 Nosler decided to expand
I
high-country sheep hunt or a backcountry horse-
and enter the rifle business. The back elk hunt in the late season, where the chances
approach to its new addition of a mishap in the rocks or a good soaking in rain
or snow was a high possibility.
was different than other rifle
manufacturers. In fact Nosler With this suggestion in mind, the 2006 rifle intro-
duction was the Model 48 that addressed the above
concerns and provided the shooter/hunter with a
pure working rifle capable of withstanding anything
Mother Nature could throw at it and still have per-
formance, reliability and accuracy without worry-
didn’t just produce a rifle ing about weather or a scratch or two. The Model
but a complete hunting/shoot- 48 hunting rifle came with an accuracy guarantee of
.75 inch at 100 yards after it was broken in. Model
ing system that the customer could 48s I had the opportunity to shoot exceeded the ac-
immediately put to use on the range curacy guarantee. (As a side note, Nosler came up
or in the field. The packaged system with the model number “48” to commemorate when
the company was founded, 1948.)
included the rifle chambered for the
.300 WSM, a Leupold 2.5-8x VX-III The big news from Nosler for 2009
scope with a serial number that was the introduction of the
matched the rifle, a classic-designed
Model 48 “V” Varmint rifle.
extra fancy walnut stock, two boxes
of custom ammunition, a sling and a The folks at Nosler were thinking “outside the
box” when they introduced the custom rifle. This
hard case. Only 500 of these rifles same thinking prevailed with the Model 48 in the
were manufactured, and each cus- choice of calibers it would be chambered for.
tomer was assigned a specific serial Nosler didn’t follow the pack with the normal
.30-06, .270 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum or
number. If the customer decided to 7mm Remington Magnum. Instead the Model 48
purchase the following year’s intro- was chambered for make-sense cartridges the aver-
duction, he/she could have the same age shooter/hunter could feel comfortable with,
such as .308 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, .300
number. All this came with an accu- WSM, .325 WSM, .338 Federal and .270 WSM. For
racy guarantee of .5-inch groups 2009 two other outstanding hunting cartridges were
using Nosler custom ammunition added, the .280 Ackley Improved and 6.5x284
Norma. They were blessed by SAAMI as standard
loaded with the excellent AccuBond cartridges so are no longer classified as wildcats.
bullets. That’s better than what 90
The big news from Nosler for 2009 was the intro-
percent of the average shooter is duction of the Model 48 “V” Varmint rifle. With the
capable of holding. same basic action as the big game Model 48 hunting
Limited Production Custom
Rifle
Nosler
The combination of the Model
48V and Leupold’s VX-III 8.5-25x
side focus scope coated in
matching tan offers a unique
Model 48
rifle, it sports a 24-inch
and handsome package.
stainless match grade

barrel chambered for
the popular .22-250
Remington. It comes
in at a little over 6
pounds, light enough
with scope and ammuni-
tion that it can be carried
over the next hill without
straining your back. Future Model 48V
owners can request the
same finish from
Leupold’s Custom Shop.
than some of the others on the is used on these parts. On most

market. new rifles, a coating of light grease
or oil is applied to these parts
The insides of all interior work-
ing parts are coated with a more as a rust preventative than
process called MicroSlick™. This a lubrication, and if not disas-
A few well thought out features includes the inside of the bolt sembled and cleaned it can affect
were added during the manufac- body, firing pin assembly and fir- the fall of the firing pin enough to
turing process that make the ing pin spring, eliminating the po- cause a misfire in cold weather.
Model 48 a little different and tential for a misfire in extremely Not a good thing if a prized tro-
more reliable as a working rifle cold weather if heavy lubrication phy is in the crosshairs.
All exterior metal parts have a
ceramic-type, non-glare finish
called CERAKOTE™. This finish
is tough, wear-resistant, and mois-
ture has no effect on it. Only the
slightest bit of a light synthetic
oil like Rem Oil is needed to
make bolt manipulation smoother
than it already is. During the
range sessions, the only lubrica-
tion used was a very small amount
of gun grease applied to the rear
of the locking lugs to help ensure
the lugs didn’t gall. I did this only
because there was so much dust
and sand blowing around it was
nearly impossible to keep it out
of the action.
The composite classic style
stock fits well when it comes to
your shoulder and keeps the bal-
ance of the rifle between your
hands – where it should be. The
textured finish looks good and

The enclosed bolt face with its Sako-type
extractor and plunger-type ejector RB Outfitters and
performed flawlessly. Note Guide Service
Top Quality Hunts for Elk, Mule Deer,
the large gas ports in Antelope, Turkey and Varmints!
the bottom of Ron Schalla • P.O. Box 57 • Chama, NM 87520
www.rboutfittershunt.com
the bolt, which Tel: 575-756-1409 • E-mail: [email protected]
in the rare
event of a
case rup- PENROD PRECISION
Precision Rifle Building
ture keeps Over 160 Chamberings
escaping Quarter Ribs - Scope Mounts
gas from Bolt Handles - Other Custom Work
312 College Ave., North Manchester, IN 46962
reaching the 260-982-8385 [email protected]
shooter’s face.
doesn’t let the rifle slip around in Did I mention it’s very easy to
your hands when wet. It also pro- tell the difference between the
vides a very comfortable feel. Model 48V and the Model 48 big
game hunting rifle? “Coyote Tan”
The other well thought out idea
is what the folks at Nosler call
that helps is the receiver is con-
the color. At first glance you ask
toured, drilled and tapped to the
yourself: What were they think-
same dimensions as the Reming-
ing? But you understand what
ton Model 700. It’s not a big
the thought process was when
thing, but it does save trying to
used on a varmint stand with
find a mount system. Most every
light-colored camouflage. It also
gun shop or gunsmith has Rem-
creates a few raised eyebrows
ington bases in stock. Base and
and questions from other shoot-
ring manufacturers also like the
ers at the rifle range.
idea, because they don’t have to
tool up for another style. Before heading for the range,
.302 .338 .375 .416

Whispers® are developments of SSK Industries.
Custom barrels for Contenders, Encores,
bolt guns and semi-autos as well as com-
plete guns and the cans to keep them
quiet are available. SSK chambers over
400 calibers. Wild wildcat ideas welcomed.
SSK Industries
590 Woodvue Lane
Wintersville, OH 43953
Tel: 740-264-0176
The Model 48V attracted quite a bit of attention at the range. www.sskindustries.com

Nosler Model 48
2
In spite of extremely challenging range conditions,
the Model 48V was better than advertised with
1 Nosler factory ammunition (targets 1 and 2) . . .
there was a long conversation to determine how a new rifle will ragged hole. Making sure the
with the powers that be at Leu- shoot. Temperatures were in the heater worked in the pickup after
pold’s Custom Shop. The request mid-30s, and wind gusts were each group or two and timing
was for a scope and mount sys- strong enough to blow the target the shots between wind gusts
tem that matched the color of the stand over a couple of times. did help.
rifle. The folks at Leupold ac- Now I know why some people
complished the request perfectly. think gun writers are missing a After all the ammunition was
They were pleased with the proj- couple of rungs off their ladders. expended and targets gathered,
ect enough that any future Model there were no five-shot groups
During the two days of range that measured over an inch.
48V owners can request the same
time, factory ammunition from The Nosler Model 48V is an im-
finish from Leupold’s Custom
Winchester, Federal, Remington, pressive shooter, in spite of the
Shop. The scope used for the
Nosler and Hornady along with weather.
range tests was Leupold’s VX-III
a number of pet .22-250 Reming-
8.5-25x with a side focus, target After spending time with the
ton handloads was used. Even
adjustments and varmint reticle. new Model 48V, you can tell that
under the adverse conditions,
It made the perfect combination. whoever helped with the design
the Model 48V shot considerably
The side focus is a great asset, of the finished product was not
better than Nosler’s accuracy
especially where precision shoot- just a hunter but a varmint
guarantee. A number of potential
ing is desired. The only thing that shooter as well. A great job was
five-shot wall hanging groups
might be changed is for a little done, and any varmint hunter
were screwed up by yours truly
less power, 15x or 16x is enough
when the trigger finger didn’t who takes the new Model 48V in
for most varmint situations.
work as directed – after seeing the field won’t be able to blame
In the middle of February, cen- the first four shots go into one the rifle for a missed shot. R
tral Oregon range conditions are
not the best to do an honest test
3
. . . and pet handloads (targets 3, 4 and 5). 5

What a
Mike Venturino
Gun
Photos by Yvonne Venturino
few days back, Dave Sco-
A vill and I were talking and

somehow or the other the
subject came up of when
my first article for Wolfe Publishing
was printed. I told Dave it was for
Handloader and appeared early in
1976. He was silent for a moment,
and I could tell he was mentally
figuring on his fingers and toes, so
I satisfied his curiosity and said,
“Dave, I was 26 then.” Then I went
on to tell him that in 2009 I would
turn 60 and sometime in the year
I would pass the 1,500 mark for
articles and columns written and
published.
Dave then suggested that I might do an article de-
tailing some of the high points of my career, includ-
ing not only what I’ve done for Rifle and
Handloader but also other gun magazines. I inter-
preted that to mean both what I have learned about
shooting and reloading and also about how it has
been to spend most of one’s adult life as a full-time
gun writer.
First off, let me say that ending up with a gun-
writing career wasn’t an accident. I majored in
journalism in college with the specific intention
of becoming a gun writer. Upon graduation in
1972, however, I didn’t just dive right into build-
ing a career, although over the next two years I
did write about a dozen articles. All but one
made it into print. What I mainly did for five
years was run around Montana with a bunch of
cowboy types being wild and carefree. Starting
in the spring of 1974, my fingers did not touch a
typewriter for four years. Then I met Yvonne and

Mike at age 2
4
his first Hand was doing test shooting for
loader article
Model 29 .44 with a S&W
M
with his brand agnum used in conjunction
-n
Rest. The articl ew Lee Pistol Machine
e
until he was 2 wasn’t printed, however,
6.
Writer
Learns everything changed. With a young bride my
working a seasonal job on a road maintenance
crew in Yellowstone National Park wasn’t going
to cut it. So in the first month of our marriage, I
dragged out the old portable typewriter and got
busy. By 1981 I quit the road crew job and have
been a full-time gun writer ever since.
Even at that young age, I was smart enough to
realize that my articles couldn’t stem from exten-
sive experience. Unlike many of the great gun
writers of the day, I had never been in law enforce-
ment, had never served in the military and hadn’t
even patrolled our country’s borders. So I had to
ask myself, “What can I bring to the table?” The
answer was extreme enthusiasm and boundless
curiosity. That interpreted into doing “shooting
projects” and then presenting the results.
For example, my first two articles for Handloader
concerned testing alloys for .44 Magnum cast bul-
lets and a comparison of results when test firing
gas check and plain-base bullets in the .44 Magnum.
Several things were learned from those two proj-
ects. First was that Smith & Wesson made wonder-
Mike Tracks 33 fully accurate .44 Magnum revolvers. From the two
61⁄2-inch barreled N-Frames used for the alloy test-
ing, groups averaging as small as 1.50 inches at 50
Years on the Job yards were realized after some refinement of the
handloading process. The gas check versus plain-
base article used one of those same revolvers but
with the barrel cut by the factory to 5 inches. That
project taught me that gas check bullets are almost
always more accurate – an opinion I still have
today. But on the practical side, the differences can-

What a
Gun Writer Learns
not usually be seen in hand-held shooting; and
to help with those first two articles, I bought a
Lee (later Mequon) Pistol Machine Rest, be-
cause I certainly didn’t consider myself a
good enough shot with a magnum handgun
to trust hand-held test results. Dave asked if
I still had it after all these years. I do, albeit a
Ransom Pistol Machine Rest has been my
standard for nearly 25 years now. Further-
more I still don’t trust hand-held shooting
results with pistols and revolvers, espe-
cially in an extensive project.
Naturally, I also wanted to establish my-
self in Rifle magazine, but to be honest, in
those days I knew precious little about rifle
shooting. Therefore, landing in a place like After his first
hu
Montana with a tradition of rifle shooting was BPCRs, such as nting season in 1982 using
o
fortuitous. Collectively my new friends became hooke this Shiloh Model 1874 .50 nly
d on hunting w -90, Mike
He has used li
owned a wide variety of rifles, which they ttle else since ith classic-style rifles.
often loaned me for use in “projects.” .
as a friend’s 6x47mm coyote rifle and a trea-

tise on my custom-built .25-06 varmint rifle.
Some Handloader articles dealt with a
comparison of .243 Winchester, .244 Rem-
ington and 6mm Remington rifles. Later
shooting projects focused on .222 Reming-
ton Magnums and even a 6mm-284 wild-
Mike’s curiosity and enthusiasm even

led him to develop cast bullet hand-
loads for a Ruger Mini-14 that were
both reliable and accurate.
on) Pistol
lied on a Lee (later Mequ the
re t
Early on Mike r testing. He still has it, bu
ine Rest fo
Mach
to go.
mustache had
Most of those early Rifle articles concerned

varmint hunting, mainly because that was an en-
deavor wherein shooters strive for pinpoint ac -
curacy. Hence, extensive load development was
required, which also was a learning experience.
Those early Rifle articles concerned such things

results were trustworthy. Also
some experience was gained
with some of the finer points of
handloading for rifles, i.e., full-
length sizing as opposed to neck
sizing, bullet seating depth and
its effect on groups, weighed
powder charges versus measure-
thrown charges and so forth.
Also learned was that a full day’s
shooting with a .25-06, even with
75-grain bullets, hammered you,
that perhaps the .244 Remington
was the best of all .24-caliber
cartridges, and that the .222 Rem-
ington Magnum was a humdinger
of a .22 centerfire. I still have
the Remington Model 700 ADL
Most of Mike’ that was the centerpiece of that
s early shootin 1980’s “project,” and it still gets
for Rifle articl g
es back in the projects to gather data used.
around varmin 1980s were ce
t n
through a Rem rifles. Here he is running a tered
ington Model patch
which he con 7
cluded was ab 22 .244 Remington,
.24-caliber ca out the best o
rtridges. f the
cat. For each of those articles, hundreds of

rounds were handloaded and fired.
Those early shooting projects were im-
mensely educational, and in doing so much
shooting from light recoiling rifles, I devel-
oped into a fairly good benchrest rifle shot.
Good enough anyway that my shooting
ugh
sh oo ting thro a
able with
onsider block”
After c emade “twig Mike con-
his hom riety of rifles, uch thing as .
s
wide va here was no s and cartridge
t s
cluded ucking” rifle
“bush-b
Early on Mike developed the attitude that testing
for a lengthy project was more reliable if done with
a pistol machine rest. This Ransom rest has been
his mainstay for 24 years now.
Perhaps it was only natural that this interest in ac-

curate rifles evolved into benchrest types. A Rem-
ington Model 40X-BR .222 Remington was acquired,
and a very heavy Shilen barreled .308 Winchester
was built on a Mauser 98 action. Then handloading
factors such as case neck turning, small powder
charge increments and even flat base as opposed
to boat-tail bullets were tested. To my surprise Win-
chester 168-grain flatbase hollowpoints beat the
Sierra 168-grain boat-tails every time in the .308, but
in the .222, the Sierra 52-grain HPBT beat all others.
Also the 40X-BR showed in a primer test that Rem-

What a
Gun Writer Learns
ington 7 1⁄2 Benchrest primers Perhaps the most important
were great, but CCI 450 Small Rifle lesson learned was that you
Magnum primers were just as didn’t have to be the most
great. Such an experience caused talented writer on the planet
me to try a variety of primers if you were reliable. Editors
when extreme precision was de- preferred having material to
sired, an attitude that helped upon them on time over whiz-
diving into black powder cartridge bang writing that showed
reloading later on. up eventually.
All the above concerns learning Photography was the
about rifles and handloading, but making-or-breaking factor
at the same time I was also learn- in my career. The best
ing about being a gun writer. writer in the world could-
Early on it became obvious that n’t sell articles to gun mag-
gun magazine editors could be azines without photos.
extremely frustrating. Some al- Back in those days every-
ways did what they said they thing was black and white, One of the def
in
were going to do. Some never did meaning you had to have a dark- Mike’s gun-wri ing events in
ti
what they said they were going room or pay somebody with one. the NRA’s intr ng career was
oduction of B
to do. And some did what they It was nearly the “breaking” fac- Powder Cartr lack
id
said they were going to do some- tor for me. I had a heck of a time This group sho ge Rifle Silhouette.
w
times. For instance, that first with it and might have given up the second ex s the attendees at
perimental mat
Handloader magazine article was my budding career if not for Rick held at the NR ch
A
Center near R ’s Whittington
sent to then-editor, the late Neal Jamison. He gladly helped me at
A much younge on, New Mexico.
third from left r Mike is kneeling,
Knox in the spring of 1974. De- learn to take decent photos. Even-
spite his saying several times that tually the photography chores .
it was going in the next issue, it were handed off to Yvonne, when
didn’t actually appear until win- she got interested in picture tak- local animal shelter do photos
ter of 1976. Much worse was an ing. That interest didn’t stem for their newspaper, and later In-
article “accepted” by DBI books from wanting to help me but ac- ternet, advertising. (If you think
for Handloader’s Digest in 1974. tually came from helping the her firearms photography is
It didn’t get printed until 1981! good, you should see some of the
dog and cat photos in her files.)
After countless hours in a dark-
One article room, nowadays I worship at the
Mike wrote altar of the digital camera.
for another
magazine Some editors were also amaz-
concerned ingly egotistical. The very first
the firearms “gun-writer get together” I was
used at invited to in 1982 was to tour the
the Custer Winchester ammunition plant in
Battle, aka Illinois. At the breakfast table
Little Bighorn one morning, I was discussing
Battle. The my reloading efforts with the .41
National Park Long Colt cartridge in a Colt SAA
Service histo- revolver with another writer. A
rian copied it well-known editor across from
and used it as us thumped the table loudly and
a handout for exclaimed, “I hate it when you
seasonal young writers call it the .45 Long
personnel.
Colt! There never was a .45 Short
Colt!” I then mildly replied,
“Thanks for that bit of informa-
tion. I’m talking about the .41

It was in those years that I from following that path. He told
began turning away from me that readers only were inter-
run-of-the-mill, bolt- ested in articles about guns and
action rifles cham- cartridges that they already
bered for modern bot- owned. He maintained that they
tlenecked cartridges. would not read articles about
There were plenty of stuff they didn’t have in hand. I
gun writers focused on felt that if I had nothing else
that genre of firearms. going for me, my firearms enthu-
Besides I’ve always siasm was contagious. So, if I
considered myself an wrote about something that gen-
amateur historian, so it uinely caught my fancy, perhaps
was natural to gravitate readers would follow me down
toward firearms that that same path. I’m pretty sure it
played a significant role worked, because I’ve had many
in American history. readers’ wives tell me that be-
Also I had been a bullet cause of my articles their hus-
caster since my very first bands spent way too much money
day as a handloader, so on guns and accessories. Some-
home-poured projectiles times they weren’t very nice about
were included whenever it either.
possible. The very first
such project combining Following such interests taught
casting with history con- me a lot, but a good deal of what
LONG COLT.” He was obviously cerned handloading for a Mon- I learned went contrary to popu-
embarrassed. That was good be- tana friend’s Winchester Model lar gun writer say-so. For example,
cause afterwards he bought lots 1886 .40-82. That article was a iron sights permit fine shooting,
of articles from me – I think from
guilt. (He was wrong. There actu- I dragged out the old portable typewriter and got busy.
ally was a short .45 Colt cartridge
headstamped .45 Colt but with a milestone in my career, and it especially if they are aperture
case length only as long as the caused my already considerable types. In the beginning of my
.45 S&W Schofield. I have a sam- enthusiasm to really take off in a work with single-shot rifles, I put
ple in my collection.) specific direction. Perhaps that is targets at 50 yards to “compen-
the reason why I kept the ’86 sate” for the handicap of iron
Winchester .40-82 when selling sights. That was ridiculous! Now-
off all my other adays most test shooting of my
rifles of that aperture-sighted, black powder
model. cartridge rifles is done at 300
yards.
Interest-
ingly, one Gun-writer mythology had such
past editor old single-shot rifles capable of
for Wolfe mediocre accuracy, say 3- to 4-
Publishing inch, five-shot groups at 100
tried to dis- yards. Nonsense! Properly loaded
courage me BPCRs are capable of 1.5 MOA
precision, and that’s for 10-shot
groups at 300 yards. In fact I
Mike’s inte don’t compete with a rifle that
in World Wrest doesn’t shoot at least that tightly.
firearms is ar II “Compete?” you say. My first
n
new. This ’t hunting season with BPCRs came
photo
is of him a in 1982 with both a mule deer
t
16 with his age and bull elk taken with a Shiloh
brand-new Model 1874 .50-90. It was enjoy-
Carbine. T M1
h able and I’ve hunted with little
helmet an e
d else but one type or another of
uniform a
re classic rifles since. That said, one
another st
ory. of the defining events of my gun-

What a matches fired in the
past 24 years, I’ve
a gemsbok from under 100 yards.
My only excuse was that the fo-
Gun Writer Learns yet to become bored
with the game.
liage was dense between that
critter and me. Therefore I de-
cided to do at least a limited con-
writing career came with the From that experience, I began
trolled test of “bush-bucking”
NRA’s development of its Black to question more gun-writer
rifles and cartridges. For an arti-
Powder Cartridge Rifle Silhou- myths and legends. For instance,
cle to appear in a popular news-
ette game. It supplied the impe- what about brush-bucking rifles
stand magazine, where I was
tus to make those rifles and the and cartridges? More Nonsense!
under contract, I made my own
handloads for them ever more During my sole African hunt, I
“brush.” It was a large block of
accurate. Even after hundreds of missed an easy broadside shot at
wood in which holes were drilled
that would hold rows of wooden
dowel segments from .0625 to .25
inch diameter. Then that block of
wood was placed at various dis-
tances from 10 feet in front of the
rifles’ muzzles to 10 feet in front
of a target. Occasionally a bullet
would go on through my little ar-
tificial thicket to the target. Often
bullets showed signs of tipping
or left perfect profiles in the
paper. And some just went spin-
ning off into space or blew com-
pletely to pieces. Interestingly,
the editor of that magazine resis-
ted printing that article because
it went against what some popu-
lar “hunting writers” were saying.
In regards to cast bullets, there
is an amazing amount of gun-
writer myth floating around –
for instance, the old adage that
harder is always better in regards
to cast bullets. The truth is that
harder is sometimes better. Just
as often softer is better. Shame-
fully, I must admit to repeating
that one in print many times be-
fore experience taught me differ-
ently. It has often been written
that the same defect that’s incon-
sequential in a .45-caliber rifle
bullet would be devastating to a
.22-caliber design. As far as that
goes, it is true, but the kicker is
this: Don’t cast bullets with de-
fects. I took on a “Cast Bullets in
.22 Centerfires” article for Hand-
loader using rounds as tiny as
the .22 Hornet and as large as
the .220 Swift. Most of the rifles
fired therein digested the little
cast bullets just fine, with groups
as tight as 1.5 MOA at 100 yards.
I did discover, however, that put-
ting gas checks on .22-caliber
cast bullets was a trying experi-

PINAIRE
What a Gun Writer Learns
ence for someone with big, blunt
GUNSMITHING fingers.
9438 East Elmwood
Barrel
Mesa, AZ 85207 Carrying that cast .22 bullet
(480) 986-1805
idea to an extreme, I next put
Fluting considerable effort into making a
Ruger Mini-14 .223 Remington
• Cools Faster
shoot accurately with cast bullets
Helical
• Reduces Weight
Bolt
and function with them. In that I
! • Adds Rigidity to Barrel
Fluting was about 99 percent successful.
• No Reduction in Accuracy
Once in a great while, the little
carbine failed to kick an empty
out. Groups ran about an inch at
25 yards, which was precisely
what the Ruger gave with jack-
eted bullet loads. That article
was submitted to the editor then
at Handloader, who rejected it
because he deemed it “frivolous.”
Later it was printed in another
newsstand magazine.
Here’s another cast bullet myth:
All copper fouling must be re-
moved from a rifle barrel before
cast bullets deliver decent groups.
I’ve never been able to get some
of my 60- to 90-year-old military
rifle bores to stop giving green-
colored patches when cleaned
with copper solvent. Yet they
group cast bullets just as well as
jacketed loads and sometimes
better. Also it has been written
many times that no sizing of cast
bullets is best. I bought into that
one and repeated it for many
years but ask some of the top
BPCR Silhouette competitors if
they size their cast bullets. Most
do because they say it is better to
shoot a perfectly round bullet
than one with even minute out-
of-roundness. The differences
might not show up at 100 yards,
but it does at 500 meters.
If I’ve learned anything as a gun
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writer, it is to not repeat what I read on the Internet that I’m tracts with a popular newsstand
have read but to write about the using World War II firearms as a magazine. They were trying to
results of what I have done. pretext to “get away” from my turn me into a shill for a few se-
Here’s something else learned black-powder persona. Not so; lect advertisers. I hated it; any
along the way: Putting your per- competing with BPCRs in silhou- gun writer should if when he
sonality in an article is good, but ette is still my major shooting rereads something he’s written
they don’t always have to be passion. But it is true that many he feels ashamed of it. Some
about you and your doings. His- of my “Old West” guns have been have asked me why I left Wolfe
torical articles about guns and sold to finance a World War II Publishing in the mid-1980s and
happenings can be very popular. firearms collection. After all, started signing contracts anyway.
Back in the mid-1990s, I wrote what can be done with say 50 dif- The answer is that bank loan offi-
one about “Guns at the cers look terrified
Little Bighorn Battle.”
Not only did it go over
Photography was the making-or-breaking when applicants can’t
say how much money
well, but a historian at factor in my career. they will make in a
the Park Service’s Lit- month or a year. That
tle Bighorn Battlefield site asked ferent single actions that can’t be makes buying property or vehi-
if they could reprint it and hand done with 25? It’s just that the in- cles difficult. Conversely they
it out to their seasonal person- terest isn’t new. My very first cen- smile broadly when you can
nel so they would have a basic terfire gun at age 16 was an M1 show them a paper contract.
overview when questioned by Carbine. Nowadays our home is paid off –
tourists. That particular article is I don’t need bank loans.
The thing that a gun writer
one of the few I’m very proud of.
should fear most is boredom, for If life has not been perfect for
Some readers have commented if he is bored, his articles will be me, it has darn sure been close.
of late that I’m turning away from boring. Left to my own devices, One friend recently said, “You are
black powder and “getting into” boredom for me is impossible. the only person I know whose
smokeless powder reloading. I’ve That is why I quit signing con- dreams always come true.” R
The western plains and mountains provide plenty of
opportunities for extremely long shots, but the terrain
is notorious for fickle winds. Use the highest BC bullet,
with good terminal performance characteristics, your
rifle will stabilize at maximum velocity.
The Fickle Wind
Drifting in
Ron Spomer You can improve this by shooting a magnumized
magnum. The .300 Remington Ultra Mag and .30-378
Weatherby will add another 25 yards to your MPBR,
M
agnum cartridges are
but you’ll be forced to endure increased recoil and
forgiving. Their extra en- to drag around a 28-inch barrel, heavy stock and
ergy means bullets will heavy action. Extending MPBR by 55 or 60 yards is
useful, and many hunters choose this option, but at
fly farther before gravity some point even they end up calculating drop and
pulls them to the ground. Thus, the hold over.
maximum point blank range (MPBR) The alternative to magnums for shooting effec-
of a .300 Winchester Magnum should tively at longer ranges is merely to determine any
rifle/bullet trajectory curve and apply it. Because
be about 30 yards beyond the MPBR gravity pulls consistently at 32 (fps)2, downrange
of a .30-06. Whoopee. drop remains constant. If your .308 Winchester puts

a 165-grain Sierra spitzer boat-tail deflects them into new directions Two .30-30 loads: The more
26.4 inches low at 400 yards of travel, new vectors. The bullet tapered, pointy nosed Hornady
today, it will put it 26.4 inches isn’t just drifting with the wind, rubber-tipped bullet on the left
low at 400 yards tomorrow and like a tumbling tumbleweed, but will drift less than the flatnosed
next year, given the same muzzle is angling away from the original Winchester bullet on the right.
velocity, temperature and air den- angle of departure on a new course
sity at launch. Determine precise propelled by the kinetic energy
range with a laser rangefinder (or it carries. A miniscule change in
some seriously accurate subtend- angle near the muzzle will widen
ing rangefinding skills), and you to a significant distance at long
don’t need the extra fudge factor range, even if the wind stops blow-
of the magnum. Consult your ing farther along the path. This is
drop charts and break out your why wind at the shooter is more
skinning knife. significant than wind at the tar-
Unless the wind is blowing. get or halfway to it.
Wind, not gravity, is the shooter’s Warning: Every time I write
biggest problem, because wind is about wind deflection, I get
fickle. Buffeting this second, criticized by mathematicians/
dead the next; 10 miles per hour physicists who know more than I
at the muzzle, 20 mph at the tar- do. To them I apologize in ad-
get, 30 mph at the midway point. vance. They will tell you, as
Across this flat, up that ridge, they’ve tried to tell me time and
down that mountain. Wind is again, that “lag time” is the rea-
about as dependable as a politi- son bullets are pushed (or is it
cian. You don’t want to bet on the drifted?) off course by wind. Lag
wind, but you have to put up time is the difference in time of
with it because it’s always there – flight of a bullet in a vacuum ver-
just like congress. Some days it sus a bullet in the real world –
to Trouble
may lie low, but at any instant a the atmosphere we’re forced to the longest, sleekest, highest bal-
sudden gust of activity can throw shoot through because game ani- listic coefficient (BC) bullets we
a monkey wrench into your life. mals need it to breathe. The can find for our rifles. If said bul-
longer the lag time, the greater lets are built for proper terminal
Shooters are wise to study and
the wind drift. Thus, short, fat, performance, like penetration
understand “wind drift” and learn
blunt bullets that lose energy, be- and adequate expansion, we win.
how to minimize and circumvent
cause they push so much air out It’s a free lunch – no magnum
its effects. Yes, magnums help,
of their way, increase their drag platform, no magnum powder
but “magnum bullets” will help
time. Wind has more time to doses and no magnum recoil.
even more. And, despite what
work on them. Long, slim, sharp-
you’ve read over the years, this Ah, but those who fully under-
nosed pills slip through the
doesn’t necessarily mean heavier stand wind drift also tell me it’s
air, minimize drag time and drift
bullets, as we shall see. not really drift, but deflection. To
less in the wind. This means we
The reason projectiles “drift” in can all minimize wind drift by prove that bullets don’t just drift
the wind is because moving air shooting to maximum velocity in wind but are deflected, these

Drifting Into
Trouble
experts reference a simple test in
which one shoots a bullet toward
a target in a consistent 10 mph
breeze and, at the precise mo-
ment of departure, drops the
same weight/shape bullet to the
ground from muzzle height. As
Isaac Newton theorized some 430
years ago, and Galileo more or
less proved by dropping cannon-
balls from the Tower at Pisa, a
bullet fired on a perfect horizon-
tal plane hits the ground at the
same instant as one merely
dropped from the same height at
the same time. So they are both Coues deer hunters glass long and
airborne for the same time, yet, hard to find distant bucks, but that
Drift/deflect. Ying/yang. What-
from all accounts, in a breeze the doesn’t mean they have to shoot
ever the causes and to whatever
dropped bullet does not drift as long range. Excess winds suggest
effect, we poor shooters are at
far from its point of aim as does stalking as close as possible.
the mercy of the wind. So what
the fired bullet. Ta da! Proof that
are we going to do about it?
the fired bullet is deflected on a This means that we – you and I
new course. The easy answer is to stalk and even those brilliant mathe-
closer. There’s not much maticians who fully understand
wind drift or deflection this process – can avoid some
inside 100 yards. But wind deflection by, as suggested
stalking is not what above, shooting at maximum ve-
modern hunters seem locity high BC bullets that mini-
to want to do. Dan’l mize lag time. This is reflected
Boone style hunting in wind drift charts and tables
skills are not “cool.” published in most handloading
We’d rather exercise manuals or generated on most
our higher intelligence ballistic software computer pro-
(even if it’s not quite grams. These are a wonderful
wrapping itself around convenience because they save
all this windy physics) us the brain strain of decipher
and high-tech equip- formulas like: Z = Vcw (t- X/Vo). I
ment to solve the prob- don’t even speak that language.
Instead I depend on the pre-deci-
lem. More accurate
phered crutch of those ballistic
rifles, longer barrels,
wind drift tables. I enter the BC
more accurate bullets,
of my bullet (weight doesn’t mat-
higher magnification ter because it’s already factored
scopes, laser range- into the BC rating) and its muzzle
finders. Technology to velocity as recorded over the
the rescue. compact Beta Chrony I was smart
enough to buy from Brownells.
Mountain breezes are You can’t trust the velocity num-
particularly difficult to bers in reloading manuals or
read. Dips, humps and manufacturer’s catalogs. Measure
canyons block and them yourself if you wish to be
funnel winds in odd accurate.
directions, while
increasing and And even then you won’t be ac-
decreasing velocity. curate.
56 Rifle 245
Joe Arterburn (right) and Ron compared notes on
the wind and sabot slug ballistics before taking these
Al Morris didn’t let the Colorado mountain winds two mule deer in the nasty Nebraska wind. Rela-
keep him from collecting this coyote. He combined tively slow, low-BC muzzleloader slugs play by the
a .22-250 Remington throwing a 55-grain Ballistic same wind drift rules as any other projectiles. These
Silvertip at 3,750 fps with a predator call that Cabela’s replica rolling block muzzleloaders and 1x
brought the varmint within 150 yards. scopes guaranteed the duo would crawl close.
As many of us have discovered 4 o’clock? And was it constant numbers exactly right. Some
the hard way, those comforting across the 320 yards to your tar- have been accused of intention-
wind deflection charts we so get, or did it drop near zero be- ally inflating them to sell more
carefully print out and tape to hind those trees, then kick up to product. Others have gotten the
our stocks lie, or sometimes nearly 20 mph in that saddle? math wrong. But let’s be chari-
seem to. It could be that we did- table because our rifles can mess
n’t guesstimate the wind speed or Obviously, nature’s inconsisten- up otherwise accurate BC num-
direction accurately. This is cies can ruin the best-laid plans bers. Yup, depending on how
tricky. The last time you held 2.2 of mice and mathematicians. But rifling scores a bullet and stabi-
MOA into the wind and missed so can rifle barrels. Or bullet lizes it, BC ratings can fall dra-
your target, was the air truly makers themselves. Huh? Well, matically. Rifling marks increase
blowing 10 mph from 3 o’clock? the ugly truth is that bullet mak- air drag. Less than perfect stabi-
Or was it more like 6.3 mph from ers don’t always get their BC lization leads to yaw (wobbly
Shooters are wise

to study and understand
“wind drift.”
Just because you can see it doesn’t mean you have to shoot. Pronghorn
may look impossible to stalk, but patience and caution usually bring
you close enough to make your shots on the windy plains. Above,
somewhere in this collection of .308 bullets lies the perfect compromise
between flat trajectory and minimum wind deflection. The perfect
combination of weight and form determines BC.

Just a glance should tell you which of these three
Bullets should be long and sleek to beat wind drift, .308-caliber bullets will drift least in the wind – the
but they must also be constructed for solid terminal Hornady 165-grain InterBond boat-tail on the right.
performance. Swift’s bonded, poly-tipped boat-tail The Barnes 150-grain TSX comes in second and GPA’s
Sciroccos are specifically designed for long-range unusual, 148-grain banded, all-copper hollowpoint
work. lands in third.
flight), meaning the bullet’s nose then test and test thoroughly in value (right-angle, 3 or 9 o’clock)
swings wide around its axis, in- real world conditions. Yes, that and your chosen velocity.
creasing the surface area ex- means shooting on the range
According to wind deflection
posed to the air. BC drops again. when it’s windy, preferably 10
theory and ballistic charts, bul-
Heck, even bullet speed changes mph or more.
lets with the same BC launched
BC. According to my old Sierra
Ideally, one should shoot with a
50th Anniversary Edition Rifle
partner and at a wide target.
Reloading Manual, BC changes
You’ll learn more at 200 yards
with velocity. Some bullets lose
and beyond than 100. Give that
BC with velocity, but others gain.
wind some time to work. While
All this suggests we should use the shooter concentrates on the
a manufacturer’s BC rating as a shot, the spotter should watch a
starting point. Ditto wind drift ta- wind meter (I have an inexpen-
bles and computer charts. And sive Caldwell Wind Wizard that
seems to work quite well.) and
call for the shot to be launched
Drifting Into when the breeze is steady at full
Tape ballistic chart and wind

Trouble drift tables to your rifle. It’s not
cheating; it’s a reminder.
Hunting in the Wind

250-Yard Zero, 10-mph Full-Value Wind, 500-Yard Performance
ballistic muzzle
cartridge bullet coefficient velocity drop windage energy
(grains) (fps) (inches) (inches) (ft-lbs)
.243 Winchester 87 Hornady V-MAX .400 3,100 34 21.3 765

100 Hornady roundnose .230 3,000 54 46.6 383
100 Sierra spitzer boat-tail .430 3,000 35 20.4 871
105 Berger Match VLD .556 3,000 31 15.0 1,119
.257 Weatherby 115 Nolser Ballistic Tip .453 3,300 28 17.0 1,308
115 Berger Match VLD .523 3,300 26 14.2 1,457
.264 Winchester Magnum 130 Swift Scirocco .571 3,200 27 13.3 1,629
140 Berger Match VLD .640 3,100 28 12.2 1,751
.270 Winchester Short Magnum 150 Speer Hot-Cor spitzer .455 3,100 32 18.2 1,482
7mm Remington Ultra Mag 168 Berger Match VLD .643 3,250 34 11.4 2,337
.300 Remington Ultra Mag 180 Barnes Tipped TSX .484 3,300 27 15.5 2,156
210 Berger Match VLD .631 3,100 28 12.4 2,605

Drifting Into deer and sheep hunters subject
themselves to the trauma of haul-
ing .300 Super Magnums into the
Those who fully
understand wind drift
Trouble wilds. They believe these power-
ful, flat-shooting behemoths –
usually pushing 200-grain slugs at
also tell me it’s not
really drift, but
at the same speed should deflect peak velocity – minimize wind
deflection.
identically. This puts to rest the drift. In reality, much lighter bul- My favorite example is a Hor-
often cited “fact” that heavier lets from smaller calibers can nady 75-grain, .224-inch A-MAX
bullets drift less than light bul- equal the wind drift performance with a BC of .435 versus a .308
lets. One reads this regularly in of many heavyweights, even Hornady 150-grain boat-tail Spire
the shooting/hunting press. This some twice as heavy, according Point InterLock, BC .350. Launch
is why so many pronghorn, Coues to ballistic computations. both at 3,200 fps and at 500 yards
WIND DRIFT tunities. Most plainsmen con-

sider the standard 10-mph wind
locity bullet takes one second to
travel 800 yards, and if you don’t
used in factoring wind deflection think a deer or elk can move a
I f wind deflection worries you,
if it seems like a vexing prob-
lem, relax. No one is forcing you
on ballistic charts as a calm day.
At 20 mph it’s breezy and 30 mph
foot in one second, you don’t
know much about wildlife. With
to deal with it. Just because the windy. So, if your wind drift chart one step, your heart shot be-
wind is blowing and you can see shows your bullet will deflect 12 comes a gut shot. And then
a legal game animal in the far dis- inches at 500 yards in a 10-mph what? Are you going to run right
tance doesn’t mean you must zephyr, that’ll be 3 feet at 30 mph! over and finish the job? Eight-
launch a bullet toward it. That Cut that 500 yards down to 200 hundred yards is nearly a half-
old, nearly forgotten woodsman’s yards, and your deflection prob- mile. By the time you get there,
trick of stalking the animal is still lem is reduced to about 6 inches. wolves could have eaten your
permitted. (Check local F&G reg- Crawl within 100 yards and it’s trophy for lunch.
ulations just to be safe.) Yes, you 1.5 inches.
Several years ago Idaho Fish &
can dig deep and dredge up that Extreme range shooting is such Game outlawed .50 BMG rifles
atavistic skill of sneaking so a fashion these days that entire for big game hunting because
close that no wind velocity will television programs are built certain lazy “shooters” (one hesi-
blow your bullet off course. around it, yet the practice re- tates to call them hunters) were
In the real world of long-range mains risky and ethically ques- sitting along forest roads and
shooting, perhaps 90 percent of tionable. Regardless the skill launching cross-canyon shots as
which occurs in the West, exces- level of the shooter, wind always elk appeared in the distance –
sive winds preclude your oppor- introduces unknowns no mathe- like 1,000-yard distance. The .50
matical calculations can over- slugs were certainly capable of
come. A simple nervous tick terminating the elk when prop-
when the trigger breaks can erly applied, but the shooters
mess up a long shot, never proved less capable at finding the
mind a swirl of air, the carcasses. Come to Idaho some-
shimmer of mirage or the time. I’ll show you some of our
animal suddenly taking a canyons and you’ll understand.
step. The average high-ve- Lower leg shots and gut shots
meant the elk hobbled off to feed
the wolves.
The far slope of this canyon
measured 450 yards accord- One man’s extreme range is an-
ing to Ron’s laser rangefinder, other’s slam dunk, but everyone
and it was calm where he sat, has his/her limits. Each of us
but he could hear a wicked must know ours. It’s fun to train
wind moaning down the for long-range shooting. It’s fun
intervening canyon. Despite to powder rocks and ring steel
his best guesstimate, he still plates and even engage varmints
shot two feet downwind of at extreme range but, please, not
his point of aim. Wind is a game animals. They deserve bet-
serious impediment to long- ter than that. We are better than
range shooting. that. R

Don’t judge a cartridge by
its cover. Until you know the
BC of the bullet and its launch
speed, you’ll not know if the
.243 Winchester on the far left
will drift more or less than
some of the belted magnums
on the right. But it’s a cinch
the .375 with the 300-grain
roundnose slug isn’t going to
win. Weight isn’t everything.
the .22 pill drifts about 18 inches

and the .308 Spire Point drifts 24
inches. (Calculations done via
JBM Small Arms Ballistics at:
www.eskimo.com/~jbm/cgi-bin/
that downrange wind deflection Bullet makers don’t
and drop both decrease and re-
jbmtraj-5.0.cgi.) tained energy increases as BC in- always get their BC
Shocking data, eh? Who’d have creases. They don’t show terminal numbers exactly right.
imagined a skinny, .22-caliber performance of the bullets. Some
bullet could drift less than a may not be adequate for clean than standard in most factory
heavier .30-caliber bullet. If you kills. That is not the purpose of barrels.
don’t believe it, test it on the this article. However, one can
range. clearly see that the largest cal- Long experience has shown
ibers firing the heaviest bullets that a pronghorn, Coues whitetail
Of course, wind deflection isn’t or mule deer will be just as dead
are not necessary for minimizing
everything in shooting or hunt- when struck in the vitals by a
wind deflection. High muzzle ve-
ing. What about bullet drop?
locity and high BC ratings are. 100-grain .243 with 1,000 ft-lbs of
Well, that 75-grain .224-inch A-
Hunters might choose to mini- energy as one similarly stuck by
MAX should drop 40.8 inches at
mize rifle mass and bulk while a heavier slug with 2,600 ft-lbs of
500 yards, the 150-grain .308
putting together the perfect tool energy. Given that, I see no bene-
should drop 45.1 inches accord-
for long-range work, keeping in fit in carrying an extra-long,
ing to the JBM software. Again,
mind that extremely long, heavy extra-heavy magnum rifle of ex-
BC and muzzle velocity deter-
mine trajectory, not just bullet bullets require a faster twist rate cess caliber. R
mass. However, retained energy

in the .22 bullet at 500 yards
should be about 768 foot-pounds
(ft-lbs). The .308 bullet should re-
tain 1,237 ft-lbs. There the advan-
tage goes to the heavier slug.
What this means is you can tai-
lor your gun/cartridge/bullet for
maximum performance with min-
imum discomfort based on your
perception of energy required to
cleanly take game. If you believe
a 75-grain slug carrying 768 ft-lbs
of energy will bounce off a mule
deer, choose a heavier bullet. But
relax in the knowledge that you
won’t require a howitzer to beat
the wind and drop a 90-pound an-
imal – or even a 900 pounder.
Consider the table as an exam-
ple of options for whatever you
plan to hunt in the wind.
These numbers clearly show
Pearce
Travels East
Brian Pearce
’m fascinated by how a piece of
I steel is heated, beaten, poured,

ground and machined (among
many other processes) into a
functioning and precision fire-
arm. In spite of having toured gun
manufacturers in years past, I
wanted to make a trip to what is
commonly known as “Connecticut
Valley,” which includes several
states, wherein historic as well as
com paratively new gun compan-
ies have practiced their trade for
many years. Examples include Colt,
Smith & Wesson, Remington, Mar-
lin, Savage, Harrington & Richard-
son (H&R 1871), Ruger, Thompson/
Center Arms, Kimber, United States
Fire Arms and several others. The
problem was that such a trip would
take a large chunk of valuable time,
but nonetheless, I finally committed
and eagerly made the trip east in
March 2009.
62 www.riflemagazine.com
63
State of the
Industry
It is well known that gun manu-
facturers have often “helped” one
another at various times by pro-
ducing barrels or parts and
pieces and even complete guns.
This same practice or trade con-
tinues to this day, with one man-
ufacturer stating that it has “built
major gun parts and frames for
between 18 to 20 gun compa-
nies.” For the most part, these
companies are friends with each
other. I can’t help but reflect on
my meeting with Ken Jorgensen
at the Ruger plant in New Hamp- A variety of Savage rifles are being prepared for shipping.
shire. At the end of my visit, he
asked where I was headed next,
arms. There has never been so chasers are obtaining a variety of
and I mentioned Smith & Wes-
great a threat to our peace, in- arms, including personal defense
son. He responded: “Oh, that is a
dividual rights and Second handguns, shotguns, rifles and
good company, and be certain to
Amendment rights as is currently ammunition. Manufacturers are
tell Paul Pluff and Ginger Demers
coming from our government essentially running at full capac-
hello for me; they’re great peo-
and the United Nations. Firearms ity, and in most cases around-
ple!” Comments similar to those
have played a vital role in Ameri- the-clock shifts, to try and meet
were often heard from one manu-
can history in establishing and demand. Most are reporting they
facturer to the next. In spite of
maintaining freedom, a role that are at least six months back-
being in competition with each
our founding fathers clearly un- ordered! In spite of operating
other, there is a real camaraderie
derstood when they established under the above black cloud with
among them.
the Second Amendment. With all economical and political uncer-
It is no secret that the firearms the energy of my soul, we must tainty, most are continuing to
industry is scrambling to keep maintain those rights! As a result, develop new and innovative
pace with the demand for civilian gun owners and first-time pur- products and improve manufac-
The manufacturing floor at Savage Arms. Twist gauges control the rate of twist used to make
Savage barrels.

Some Savage rifles are factory fitted with scopes, A Savage rifle in the “Proof Room” is ready to re-
which are computer-tuned to assure that crosshairs ceive a special high-pressure “proof” cartridge to
are level. assure its strength.
turing processes. Let’s take a ever, it is focused on manufactur- by November 1989, Savage Arms,
closer look. ing rifles, something it is doing Inc. had acquired the crucial as-
exceptionally well. Back in 1988, sets of Savage Industries. Coburn
SAVAGE ARMS after a number of years of poor quickly upgraded manufacturing
INCORPORATED management, Savage was faced processes and improved quality,
In addition to offering a long list with bankruptcy. Ron Coburn, with a focus on the Model 110
of firearms, including handguns, current president and CEO was bolt-action rifle. With a team of
shotguns and rifles, Savage Arms hired specifically to deal with the gun savvy managers and engi-
has a colorful history of produc- legal issues and essentially dis- neers, they were determined to
ing a variety of innovative items solve the company, but with his make the Model 110 and its varia-
that have ranged from lawn deep appreciation for the com- tions reliable, accurate and prof-
mowers and vehicle tires to pany and its history, that was not itable. It seems they have achieved
washing machines. Today, how- an option. The story is long, but their goals. Today if we asked
Brian had a chance to tour the Smith & Wesson facility that contained Smith & Wesson historian Roy
state-of-the-art CNC tooling and massive production capability, includ- Jinks is sitting at the original desk
ing pistols, revolvers, and bolt-action and semiautomatic rifles. of D.B. Wesson.

State of the
Industry
riflemen and shooters to describe
the Savage Model 110 in a single
word, it would be accurate. In
the years since, sales have soared,
and the company has its feet on
solid ground.
In touring the Savage plant,
located in Westfield, Massachu-
setts, since 1959, I was impressed
from several aspects. First, the
employees, a company’s greatest
assets, were cheerful, friendly
and took real ownership of their
Marlin Firearms has been in business since 1870 and has a long history
of producing quality firearms, particularly leverguns. They are cur-
jobs, which is a culture that is
rently updating equipment and improving processes.
clearly established with upper
management. To support this
statement, Ron Coburn has justi- 110 rifle and its variations to is a simple design that offers an
fiably earned a number of indus- serve many roles and purposes. excellent pull right out of the
try awards for his, as well as There are traditional wood stocks box. Recently the new Accu-
Savage Arms’, remarkable per- on blue steel hunting rifles, but Stock has become available that
formance. Additionally, there has there are also big bore express features three-dimensional bed-
been a continual improvement of models, varminters, stainless ding and is something that will
equipment, including CNC tool- steel, tactical, competition target, be covered in greater detail at a
later date. The Savage line is
It is no secret that the firearms industry is competitively priced and a great
value. All the above, along with
scrambling to keep pace. other aspects associated with
ing and other state-of-the-art ma- camouflaged predator, muzzle- gun making, including marketing,
chinery to further enhance effi- loader and many, many others. It materials procurement, etc., have
ciency. Also, special care is taken is likely that you will find the ultimately helped make Savage a
to make certain that the button “ideal” bolt-action rifle for almost progressive company.
rifled barrels are carefully hand- any application. That is not all, as One new Savage product that
straightened to ensure accuracy. they have continually improved was introduced in January 2009
The folks at Savage have also quality, and a few years back de- at the SHOT Show is the Model
focused on offering the Model veloped the Accu-Trigger, which 10 BAT-K. Initially this bolt-action
Below, this Marlin rifle is receiving vintage-style en-

graving. Right, note the quality of high-figure wood
used in this Remington Custom Shop stock.

rifle will be offered in .308 Win- The latter features a compact, plant located at Newport, New
chester and features an alu- lightweight action that was de- Hampshire, which employs over
minum stock that is fully signed around the .223 Reming- 1,000 people and produces a
adjustable with 3-D bedding. It ton. It features three locking large quantity of firearms each
also features a 10-shot detach- lugs, a 60-degree bolt lift and a day. It is an impressive facility
able box magazine. Clearly it is detachable box magazine. for a number of reasons. Perhaps
designed with law enforce- foremost is the huge varia-
ment in mind, but it will no tion of firearms produced
doubt see strong civilian Folks at Savage have focused under one roof, including the
sales too. During my visit, the on the Model 110 rifle. Redhawk, GP100, SP101,
first production rifles were Blackhawk, New Vaquero,
being completed, and I com- While at the Savage plant, I was Single-Six, Bearcat, Mark III .22
mented to Savage Marketing given the opportunity to “hands autoloading pistol (the one that
Manager Bill Dermody that there on” build my own rifle in the started it all in 1949), Model 77
would be huge interest in that model and caliber of my choice, MKII (in its many variations),
rifle, which he confirmed had al- which was not only fun but also Model 77/22 bolt action, 10/22,
ready taken place in the form of educational. The details of that No. 1, Mini-14/30, Red Label shot-
heavy orders. rifle and how it shoots at dis- gun and several others. As a re-
As has been previously indi- tances out to 1,000 yards will be sult of so many different types
cated, the bread-and-butter gun featured in an upcoming issue of of firearms, there are a huge
at Savage is the Model 110 bolt Rifle magazine. For more infor- number of parts and pieces that
rifle, which has been in produc- mation visit www.savagearms.com are manufactured. The Ruger
tion since 1958, but they also or call 1-866-233-4776. Pine Tree Casting division is
offer other interesting guns, in- next door, where major parts are
STURM, RUGER investment cast to a predeter-
cluding shotguns, a variety of
autoloading and bolt-action rim- & COMPANY mined specification then ma-
fire rifles and the Model 25 rifle. My next stop was at the Ruger chined into final form at the
State of the The Remington Arms
plant in Ilion, New York,
is huge, covering one
Industry million square feet.

Remington is America’s
oldest gun maker, dating
back to 1816. It has
Ruger plant. To watch raw steel invested significantly in
heated to cherry red, cast, then new, state-of-the-art
machined to final form is truly an tooling to help speed
impressive process. production and
improve quality.
months, many of which are still

current models. In many instances
his designs and ideas were com-
pletely new, creating demand for
a product that had not previously
existed.
In the past few years, there have
been concerns regarding the fu-
ture of Sturm, Ruger & Company,
but after visiting, my impres-
sion is that it has its feet firmly
planted on the road to continued
success. For instance some of its
manufacturing methods became
somewhat outdated but are in
the process of being updated by
improved CNC technology and
Ruger has been a changing com- in the use of investment casting lean manufacturing methods.
pany, especially since the death for major firearms parts, frames, Ruger is currently two years into
of Bill Ruger, a gun-designing ge- etc., which helped hold down a seven year modernization pro-
nius who also successfully built manufacturing costs. During gram that will speed the produc-
flourishing factories in a field most of his management years, tion process, reduce inventory
among established competition on average he designed and pro- and overhead and increase effi-
in 1949. He had been innovative duced a major new gun every 18 ciency by a large margin. This
includes new and updated CNC
tooling and improving the proc-
ess of manufacture. Previously
34),,4(%/.%4/"%!4
many guns traveled as much as
21⁄2 to 3 miles during production,
with a variety of steps or proc-
esses along the way, but are now
4HElRSTDESIGNEDLIGHTWEIGHTRImE traveling less than 100 feet from
a raw casting to a finished prod-
COMPLETEWITHSCOPE uct. And the time of machining
UNDERPOUNDS and assembly is reduced substan-
tially. In short, this will help keep
the costs of firearms down for
0/"OX consumers.
'RANVILLE76 Ruger is another company that

WWWNEWULTRALIGHTCOM is largely in a back-order mode
with most of its product line, and

production is at full capacity, so
be patient if you have ordered a
JARD, Inc.
gun and it has not yet arrived. In Ruger Model 77, 77/22 & 77/17
spite of selling every firearm it Custom Trigger System
can manufacture, Ruger is work- Smooth, Crisp trigger pull
ing on a number of new prod- with adjustments for:
• Overtravel
ucts, and by the time you read
• Sear engagement
these words, its new AR-15 rifle • Safety fit
that features a new piston gas Black...$80
system should be in production. Silver...$85
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The samples I examined were of Pull Weights:
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email: [email protected]
good quality and producing sub- 1 lbs, 11⁄2 lbs, 2 lbs, 21⁄2 lbs www.jardinc.com
minute-of-angle (MOA) accuracy.
I look forward to getting one in Building DOUBLE RIFLES on Shotgun
hand and will report on it, along Actions, 2nd Edition - By W. Ellis Brown
with other new models, in the This book is written to take the gunsmith or advanced
pages of Rifle magazine. For hobbyist step by step through the process of building a
more information on Ruger prod- double rifle, using the action of a side-by-side shotgun.
Chapters include evaluating actions and cartridges; build-
ucts go to www.ruger.com. ing monoblocks; ribs; bushing firing pins; and proof test-
ing. Of particular interest is the chapter on regulating the
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field, Massachusetts, was con- HB, DJ, Large Format, 217 pages with over 300 b/w photos,
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era, World War II was fresh on
the minds of Smith & Wesson
management, and there was the
feeling that if the U.S.A. were at-
tacked by a foreign enemy, major
gun companies would likely be
bombed. As a result the plant
was built with a huge cement
bunker underground, which is
still used for production. In this
way S&W could continue the
manufacture of guns under-
ground to arm citizens and aid
the war efforts.
Smith & Wesson has been con-
tinuously producing guns, except
for a government takeover dur-
ing World War I, for 157 years.
Touring the plant with Paul Pluff
and Ginger Demers was an eye-
opening experience. First, Smith
& Wesson has regularly updated
tooling to state-of-the-art CNC
equipment, which quickly pays
for itself, as it speeds manufac-
ture and reduces defects. Smith
& Wesson operates more CNC
tooling than any other company
in Massachusetts. The equipment
ran as smoothly as a Swiss
watch, and I was especially im-
pressed with the strict quality

State of the
Industry
Above, the Remington Model 700 barrel is

heated to 2,450 degrees and forged prior to
rifling. Right, Remington shotgun barrels
are in the process of production.
control. Certainly the efficiency double-check parts, pieces and such as its excellent Model 1911
was apparent, but there was frames for absolute quality. Even lineup, match winning Model 41,
also a huge emphasis on quality the smallest defect was rejected. the Walther PPKs and others, as
control, as tooling and workers well as the I-Bolt rifle and an ex-
It may be of interest that Smith
tensive line of AR-15 rifles.
& Wesson has invested large
sums of money to assure that the I had the opportunity to spend
chemicals associated with fire - time with S&W’s Tactical Rifle
arms manufacture are properly Product Manager Matthew Nyman.
recycled and disposed of. An- We examined AR-15s in detail,
other operation that was espe- and he showed me the new M&P
cially impressive was the huge 15-22, which is a dedicated AR
forges that pound cherry red-hot pattern rifle chambered for .22
steel to form. The power of these Long Rifle – great fun and an ex-
great machines could be felt in cellent training tool. It will retail
the ground from a distance. for less than $500 and should be
Smith & Wesson has also become available by July 2009. We also
as self-sufficient as possible, ef- examined the new Model M&P 15
fectively controlling every aspect MOE rifle that features Magpul
of production. It even maintains original equipment and is a wor-
its own machine shop, keeping thy home/property protection
careful records, to keep tooling tool that is ready to go right out
sharp and operating at peak of the box; it has proven a huge
performance before it begins to success. We disassembled and
produce rejects. I was also given studied the details of the new gas
the opportunity to observe as piston AR-15 rifle that is slated
artists hand-engraved special for production by July 2009, and I
order guns, much the same as it look forward to getting one in
was performed more than a hand. It should be mentioned
century ago. that when Smith & Wesson en-
tered the AR-15 market, it was
The company employs around already crowded with several
1,400 people and produces thou- good manufacturers; nonetheless
sands of guns per day. While it has captured a large portion of
Smith & Wesson is famous for its that market. Of the three rifles I
fine revolvers, it also produces have fired and evaluated, each
top-notch autoloading pistols, proved capable of a sub-MOA,

five-shot group right out of the records of significant firearms forgings, and the company has
box. that were shipped to Doug Wes- never compromised quality. From
son, General George S. Patton, a gun-writer’s standpoint, this
Smith & Wesson is currently
Elmer Keith and other notables. fact is especially appreciated, as
back-ordered five to six months
It was a truly memorable even- they can be heartily recom-
on its entire product line and
ing, especially for one who sa- mended. In short the Models 39,
production speed is at full capac-
vors history. 336, 1894 and 1895 are strong, re-
ity. For more information on
liable and accurate and have re-
Smith & Wesson products visit MARLIN FIREARMS mained the bread and butter for
online: www.smith-wesson.com
COMPANY the company.
or call 1-800-331-0852.
Marlin has thrived on producing Marlin, located in North Haven,
I was graciously invited to the
products that are of old-fash- Connecticut, has been acquired
home of Smith & Wesson’s histo-
ioned quality, such as its lineup by the Freedom Group Family of
rian Roy Jinks, whom I have
of rimfire and centerfire lever-ac- Companies, the same outfit that
known for a number of years,
tion rifles, which is significant in purchased Remington Arms,
and when he “opens up” so to
a receding world that is full of Bushmaster, DPMS, H&R 1871
speak, his knowledge of firearms
plastics and disposable products! and others. For those not familiar
is incredible, and the history of
All are 100 percent manufactured with this company, it is “manu-
Smith & Wesson is very personal
in the U.S.A. with the exception facture” savvy and has been in-
and dear to his heart. We spent
of Canadian-made rubber recoil vesting money to assist Marlin in
the evening examining historical
pads. While Marlin’s rifles no becoming faster and more effi-
pieces, documents, significant
longer feature the fine detailed cient in its production. Machin-
letters and discussing guns in
ery is being upgraded to further
general. I was given the opportu- handwork often found on its ri-
assist in that goal, which may
nity to examine notes from D.B. fles during the late nineteenth
also improve quality.
Wesson and to sit at his historic and early twentieth century (at
desk, which now resides in Roy’s least for now), major compo- In touring the Marlin plant, I
study. We examined shipping nents are still machined from found workers enthusiastic and
• Custom, odd, obsolete
and specialty
ammunition
State of the beyond already sold. It is running
at full capacity and shipping
• Wildcat development
• Loading OVER 200 different calibers
• Correct headstamped wildcat brass
WEBSITE: http://www.qual-cart.com
Industry large quantities daily, so check
with your dealer for availability.
Nonetheless, Marlin is working
P.O. Box 445, Hollywood, MD 20636 (301 373-3719) possessing a deep belief in the on new products and ideas,
products they build. It was espe- which I have been asked to keep
cially interesting to watch barrel quiet for now, but are certainly
making in process, wherein they exciting and will be reported
NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA employ both button-rifling (Micro- here when they become avail-
Moose, Woodland Caribou & Black Bear Hunts Groove®) and cut-rifling (Ballard) able. For more information on
Book now for 2009 & 2010 • Tel/Fax: (709) 681-2191
[email protected] www.biggamecanada.com on select machinery that for- Marlin products, visit online at:
P.O. Box 159, York Harbour, NL, Canada A0L 1L0 merly built M-1 Garand barrels www.marlinfirearms.com.
prior to and during World War II.
WORLD’S FINEST PRODUCTION Frankly, both systems and rifling REMINGTON ARMS
RIFLE BARRELS types have proven accurate and COMPANY
DOUGLAS
have their place.
The historic Remington Arms
Likewise it was interesting to plant located in Ilion, New York,
ULTRARIFLED observe the manufacture of Mar-
lin’s latest centerfire bolt-action
was my next stop. I was joined
by Public Relations Manager
BARRELS IN MOST SIZES, rifle, the X7 series, which has Eddie Stevenson and Custom
SHAPES AND CALIBERS. sold unusually well for several Shop Manager Tim Butler, who
• Stainless Steel or Chrome Moly • reasons. It is competitively would serve as our “guide,” and
–AFFORDABLE QUALITY– priced but still delivers smooth who tolerated my constant ques-
Write for free information to: bolt operation, reliable function, tioning. The red brick plant con-
DOUGLAS BARRELS, INC. accuracy and good looks. It is
5504 Big Tyler Rd., RM7 sists of more than a million
Charleston, WV 25313 available in several popular long- square feet, which is huge by any
304-776-1341 FAX 304-776-8560
and short-action cartridges, and standard and dates back to 1915,
there are stock options too. I sus-
but company origins date back to
CHIRON INC.
pect we will see the X7 series
1816 when founder Eliphalet
grow into additional models and
Remington first began building
calibers.
guns. Today, Remington employs
Not being known for remaining around 2,200 people and is Amer-
silent when it comes to opinions ica’s oldest gun maker.
on guns and such, I took the op-
After checking in and waiting
portunity to make a few sugges-
tions that would improve an for Tim to join us, we took the
already excellent lever-action opportunity to view the outstand-
rifle, including increasing the ing Remington museum, which
www.HUNTERBID.com barrel twist rate from one turn in includes historical milestones,
38 inches to one in 20 inches on many vintage rifles, shotguns and
The Finest .44 Magnum rifles (and .444s) handguns as well as original ad-
Circassian-Turkish and tightening the groove diame- vertising artwork. Remington is a
Walnut Blanks For ter to not exceed .430 inch. I company with “deep roots” and
Rifles & Shotguns would also like to see the abrupt innovation.
leade found on almost all its cen- After being joined by Tim, we
The largest Selection of Turkish terfire leverguns cut at 1 1⁄2 de- headed for the custom shop,
Blanks on our Web Auction Site. grees, similar to what benchrest where we entered through large
Buy online or call for more information! shooters use. From my experi- doors cut from beautiful, solid
ence this change improves the XXX-grade walnut. (I tried every
accuracy, of an already accurate reasonable approach to convince
Tel: 603-433-8908 rifle, with jacketed and especially
[email protected] Tim that those old doors weren’t
cast bullets. There were other serving any useful purpose and
www.hunterbid.com suggestions, but those ideas will even offered to strap them to the
have to wait for another day. roof of my rental car and haul
Chiron Inc.
PO Box 982 Marlin is likewise in a back- them off, but was unsuccessful!)
Portsmouth NH 03802 order mode with virtually every The custom shop produces a va-
rifle it can build during 2009 and (Continued on page 86)

Merkel
KR1
Jim Morey of Merkel is

using a Merkel KR1. This
Premium KR1 model has a
silver-finished duralumin
bolt shroud.
Revolutionary
Bolt Action
John Haviland From its fully rearward po-
sition, the bolt head moves
forward only 3.5 inches
hunter has time to study
A
before it enters the bar-
his rifle while sitting in rel and then locks into
recesses in the barrel
a tree stand, hunkered breech. That is at least an
down in a rain suit against inch shorter travel and
continual torrents of rain and wait- shorter receiver length
than standard Mauser-type
ing for whitetail bucks that never bolt actions chambered for
come. The rifle under scrutiny was cartridges similar in length
to the .270 Winchester.
a German Merkel bolt-action KR1
Stutzen Antique. At first the rifle’s With the KR1’s bolt open
the entire top of the action
novel and complex design made me is exposed and allows un-
think: The Germans will tell you restrained access to load
the magazine or to clear
what you like, and you will like it. any jams that might occur,
But after studying the rifle’s modu- even with a scope extend-
lar design while hunting with it for ing over the receiver. This
wide opening also enables
three days in Alabama and shooting visual verification of the
it back home, the KR1 has some extraction of cases and
very innovative features that may feeding of cartridges. Often
when I loaded the maga-
well redefine the bolt-action rifle. zine from the top of the re-
The KR1 is a bolt action with forward rotating ceiver, cartridges were
locking lugs, but that’s about the only resemblance tipped up, and the closing
the rifle has to other bolt actions. The receiver bolt failed to pick them up
above the stock waterline is blocky, yet its profile from the magazine. But the
from the tang flows in a pleasing continuous line to bolt never missed a car-
the breech of the barrel. Lift the bolt handle and tridge when the floorplate
pull the bolt back, though, and the whole receiver was opened and the maga-
seems to move back. That’s because the KR1 does zine removed and loaded.
not have a receiver that threads deeply onto the With the bolt closed the
barrel or that holds the bolt within it like other entire lock and chamber
standard bolt actions. area is covered by the ac-
tion housing. In fact, while
Neither does the KR1 receiver have a bridge or a hunting with the KR1 in
feeding ram. The tips of bullets of cartridges in the three days of rain, the in-
magazine sit right up at the barrel breech. This steel nards of the receiver re-
bolt assembly weighs 1 pound, 6 ounces, and mained completely dry.
Merkel calls it the “action housing” or “bolt carrier
shroud.” The shroud on the Antique model is color The safety on the KR1 is
casehardened, which gives the steel a marbled blue located on the tang, and a
tab in the middle of the
surface that looks like cooling metal. A lighter
safety button must be de-
weight shroud made of silver-finished duralumin is
pressed to move the safety
also available on the KR1 Premium model.
and keep it from inadver-
The shroud contains a bolt head with six locking tently releasing. The but-
lugs, firing pin, straight line hammer and spring. ton fully rearward blocks The KR1 Stutzen
Channels in the left and right inside bottom of the the sear and locks the bolt has color case-
shroud run in corresponding channels in the re- shut. The middle position hardened antique
ceiver. The six locking lugs allow a short angle of blocks the sear but allows metal finish on the
bolt rotation, and bolt pull is short, slick and fast. opening the bolt and floor- bolt shroud.

Merkel KR1
A climbing tree stand is an invention
of the devil. While the short length
of the Merkel KR1 Stutzen rifle made
climbing with the stand less onerous,
it wasn’t Haviland’s “cup of tea.”
With the KR1’s bolt open the action is wide open to clear any jams that
may occur or to load the magazine.
plate. Forward is the fire setting, .25-06 Remington or .30-06 need

which also locks the floorplate only switch barrels. For a wider
shut. Trigger pull weight was selection of cartridges, different
right at 2 pounds time after time. magazines and bolt heads are re-
For an even lighter pull, the trig- quired:
ger is pushed fully forward and
• .222 Remington and .223 Rem-
to the set position. The set trig-
ington, a short bolt head and a
ger was one pound.
number 1 magazine.
The KRI is a bolt action • .243 Winchester, 7mm-08 Rem-

ington and .308 Winchester, a
with forward rotating standard bolt head and number
locking lugs. 3 magazine.
• .25-06, 6.5x55, .270 Winchester,
In many European countries,
7x64 and .30-06, a standard bolt
sportsmen are allowed to own
head and number 2 magazine.
only a few firearms. For instance,
in Sweden, citizens can own only • 9.3x62, a standard bolt head
six firearms. For them, a switch and number 4 magazine.
barrel rifle, like the KR1, is one
• 7mm Remington Magnum, .300
way to possess at least a sem-
Winchester Magnum and .338
blance of enough suitable hunt-
Winchester Magnum, a mag-
ing guns. The barrel of the KR1 is
num bolt head and number 5
removed by loosening two
magazine.
screws at the front of the floor-
plate. A hunter who wants to • .270 and .300 WSMs, a mag-
switch from a .270 Winchester to num bolt head and number 6
a 7x57mm Mauser, 6.5x55 Swede, magazine.
Below, pushing a button opens the

KR1’s floorplate. Right, by swinging
the floorplate open, its magazine
can be removed for loading. The
floorplate remains locked when
the safety is in the fire position.

The bolt head has a plunger
ejector (at 1 o’clock) and a wide
extractor on the left, inside the
bolt face.
The KR1’s bolt has a swept-back
angle. checkering is cut with a laser. In-
dividual scales are precisely cut,
and the borders are sharp. The
That should be enough car-
comb height was the right height
tridges to get a hunter through at
for aligning the open sights and
least most of a hunting season.
the Docter 2.5-10x scope in low
Switching bolt heads is easy. detachable mounts.
The bolt handle is pulled from
The open sights are called
the shroud, which allows the bolt
driven-hunt sights with a round
head to slip out. A different bolt
notch rear leaf with three green
head is inserted, along with the
alignment dots. The leaf is ad-
original firing pin and hammer
justable for windage by loosen-
assembly. The bolt handle snaps
ing a setscrew, sliding the leaf
back in place, and you’re ready
laterally and then retightening
to shoot.
the screw. The front red fiber
The KR1 I hunted with and shot optic pipe is adjustable for eleva-
was a Stutzen Antique with a tion. Turning a hex-head screw at
20.28-inch barrel. The rifle’s the front of the front sight regu-
length was 38.25 inches. The lates horizontal adjustment. The
stock style is strictly European open sights are very innovative.
with a humped comb, squared off Sight radius is a bit short at 9.5
cheekpiece, full-length stock inches. However, the sight spac-
with a metal cap at the muzzle ing could not be much longer as
and fish scale checkering. The the rear sight would interfere
Below, left to right: the tab in the center of the three-position safety
must be depressed for the safety to operate. When the KR1 is cocked,
the tail of the firing pin assembly protrudes from the rear of the bolt.
That protrusion can be felt with the thumb to verify the gun is loaded
and ready to fire. The trigger is shown in the forward or set position.

Merkel KR1
with the huge scopes Europeans,
and Americans, seem to prefer
these days.
The bare rifle weighed 7 pounds,
12 ounces. Weight increased to
9 pounds, 6 ounces with the
Docter scope in place.
SHOOTING
The KR1’s open sights are called “driven-hunt” sights and include a
The Merkel .270 Winchester round rear notch leaf with three green alignment dots and a front red
took some shooting to settle fiber optic pipe.
down and was rather finicky
about the loads it shot best. At
the range it grouped several loaded Nosler 150-grain Ballistic I fired a three-shot group, then
Tips and Reloder 22. The center unfastened the SAM’s rotating
The shroud contains of those groups wandered locking levers and removed the
a bolt head with around the target about an inch scope. I reattached the scope and
left and right and up and down. fired three more shots. The first
six locking lugs. That made me wonder if the bullet landed within .5 inch of the
handloads and factory loads in Merkel SAM (Suhl tilt-up mount) previous three-shot group. The
about 2 inches at 100 yards. Six, wasn’t clamped securely to the next two bullets landed 1.5
three-shot groups averaged 1.47 barrel or something was loose in- inches low and left. Three more
inches at 100 yards with hand- side the Docter scope. bullets hit the same for elevation
as the first group but an inch left.
Then I went to 300 yards. A five-
shot group out there clustered in
3.32 inches. That was certainly
more than good enough for Ala-
bama whitetail.
HUNTING
On the Alabama deer hunt, the
Merkel folks had spotted a large
buck running a ridge. They
clamped a climbing tree stand on
the trunk of a thin pine tree on
the ridge and told me to hop in
and shinny on up the tree. Now if
you’ve never seen one, a climb-
ing tree stand is a contraption of
the devil. The frame of the top
piece of the stand contains a seat
and steel teeth on the opposite
side of the frame that bite into
the tree trunk. The bottom part
of the stand is a small platform
for a foot rest and also a row of
teeth on the opposite side. Rais-
ing one piece, then the other, I
inched my way up the tree trunk
like a caterpillar. About 12 feet
up, I started feeling woozy. It
didn’t help that a 20-mile-per-
hour wind was blowing the top
of the tree back and forth. “You
The Docter scope was fitted with a Merkel SAM mount The barrel is easily removed by unscrewing two bolts
on the barrel of the KR1. The SAM mount has two rotat- that extend through an aluminum bedding block on
ing levers that snap claws into recesses on the barrel. the underside of the barrel.
need to go up 30 feet so you can stand to anyone who wanted to branches when I was making the
see over these shorter pines,” kill the big buck. tightrope turn of stepping from
they shouted from below. “That the ladder to the seat and then
I spent the remainder of the
big buck’s here, and you’ll sure back again in the dark.
hunt perched in ladder stands se-
get him from up there.”
curely strapped to substantial A few does came past my stand
I’ve shot deer before, but I’ve oak trees. The Stutzen’s sling was over the three days, usually on a
never fallen out of a tree. I inched short across my back climbing run. To keep up my interest, I
my way down and offered the the ladders and never snagged snapped the rifle to my shoulder
Merkel KR1
and swung it like I was going to
shoot them on the run. The trig-
ger pushed forward into the set
position required a bit of a reach
for my index finger. But only a
thought was required to trip the
trigger, and the light pull didn’t
disturb the sights. I think I could Above, this five-shot group was fired at 300 yards
have hit the deer rather easily out with the Merkel KR1 Stutzen rifle. Bullets were
to 100 yards. Nosler 150-grain Ballistic Tips. Right, Nosler
150-grain Ballistic Tips and IMR-7828 powder
The wind and the rain in- averaged 1.47-inch groups for several three-shot
creased, and the radio warned groups at 100 yards from the KR1.
KR1 Stutzen Antique Shooting Results ple of minutes, the deer was right
.270 Winchester behind the stand. I squeezed the
rifle’s stock so hard rain water
100-yard
bullet powder charge velocity group dribbled out of the pores, like the
(grains) (grains) (fps) (inches) wood was a sponge. A brown
130 RWS H-Mantle 2,793 .89 patch appeared at the bottom
150 Federal Premium Sierra GameKing BTSP 2,763 2.00 corner of my eye. In one motion I
150 Nosler Ballistic Tip RL-22 54.0 2,543 1.47 sat up and brought the rifle
150 Speer Grand Slam IMR-7828 58.0 2,860 2.82 around and down. A little buck-
Be Alert – Publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in published load data. toothed cottontail rabbit stared
up through the scope. It jumped
sideways into the brush like my
The bare rifle weighed the last day and a half. We kept
the TV going in the trailer at night
7 pounds, 12 ounces. to listen for tornado warnings.
of straight line winds that are The rain slacked off the last af-
the harbinger of tornadoes. The ternoon of the hunt, and the red
Birmingham TV news reported clay earth actually turned solid. I
five inches of rain had fallen in jumped four deer as I walked
down into the creek bottom to
my stand. In front of the stand, a
MAUSER 98
doe grazed in the middle of the
narrow strip of greenfield. With
SAFETY the Merkel slung over my back I

scurried up the sturdy ladder and
- Classic Design - into the seat of the stand. Sun
burned through the black clouds
as I clicked the Merkel’s floor-
plate closed on the magazine and
slid a cartridge into the chamber.
In the next hours, a couple The KR1 has traditional diamond
more does came out to feed, then checkering or the shown fish
• Three Position Safety
• Stainless Steel or Blue wandered back into the brush. scale checkering.
• Right or Left Hand With 10 minutes of shooting
• Installation available movement was a swooping great
light remaining a soft crunch of
Gentry Custom, L.L.C. cautiously approaching footfalls
horned owl.
- Custom Gunmaker - on the oak leaves came from be- For more information about
314 N. Hoffman hind – three steps, a scrutinizing Merkel KR1 rifles, write to:
Belgrade, MT 59714 wait of 20 seconds then three Merkel USA, 7661 Commerce
(406) 388-GUNS more steps. It had to be a buck, Lane, Trussville AL 35173; or visit
www.gentrycustom.com
and a big, smart one. After a cou- online at www.merkel-usa.com. R

BUSHNELL’S
BACKTRACK™ GPS
INSIDE PRODUCT NEWS by Clair Rees • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
ver the years I’ve accu- n’t mastered any but the most with the distance in yards, miles,
O mulated a handful of GPS
units. My first global positioning
basic functions his cell phone
offers.
meters or kilometers. Go in the
direction the arrow points, and
system was the size and heft of you’ll eventually arrive at your
a brick and about as handy to One of the neatest products I
destination. Carry one of these
carry. While this was an early, saw at the SHOT Show last Janu- simple-to-operate devices, and
very basic GPS, its directions ary was a GPS unit that was as- you should never get lost again.
required careful reading. It was- tonishingly easy to use. The
instruction booklet for Bushnell’s In addition to a SiRF Star III
n’t in any way intuitive or easy
new BackTrack GPS is a four- GPS receiver, the BackTrack fea-
to use.
page 43⁄4x51⁄2-inch pamphlet. The tures a digital compass, which
first two pages feature simple, shows the direction of travel in
photo-illustrated instructions compass degrees and indicates
that clearly show you how to op- magnetic north.
erate the GPS. The next two Frankly, now that I have this
pages offer six-step instructions dead-easy GPS unit, my more so-
in slightly greater detail. phisticated (and complicated)
GPS tools will see a lot less use.
Finally, someone is offering a
Simple is good, and I think Bush-
simple GPS that’s easy to use.
nell has a huge hit on its hands.
Bushnell Outdoor Products has
eliminated the confusion and The unit fits easily into any
complexity associated with other pocket and has a detachable lan-
GPS units. Two buttons allow yard so you can hang it from
you to record and save up to your neck or attach it to your
three waypoints (GPS double - pack. It’s water resistant (not wa-
speak for “locations”). Once a lo- terproof) and has a backlit
cation is recorded, you need only screen. It’s powered by two AAA
press one of the buttons to find batteries (not included), and au-
your way back. tomatically shuts off after 10
minutes. The BackTrack is of-
As Bushnell points out, this fered in five different colors
compact, 27⁄8 inch diameter GPS (thankfully not including camou-
isn’t only useful to find your way flage). MSRP: $69.
back to camp or return to your
kill with a pack horse, but it also See the new BackTrack at your
As GPS devices grew lighter Bushnell dealer. For more infor-
offers a quick way to locate your
and smaller, they incorporated all mation, contact Bushnell Out-
car in a stadium parking lot.
kinds of useful bells and whis- door Products, Dept. R, 9200
tles, including downloadable Just press a button, and the Cody, Overland Park KS 66214;
map displays, electronic com- easy-to-read screen displays an or visit the website online at:
passes, altimeters, speedometers, arrow that points the way, along www.bushnell.com.
the ability to store hundreds of
different locations – even speech
recognition, etc. As these devices
Knoxx Industries’ Rifle CompStock™
became more sophisticated and Recoil Reducing Stock
complex, their instruction manu-
als grew apace. The instructions The Rifle CompStock ™ (shot- molded synthetic stock features
accompanying a GPS unit I ac- gun versions are also available) Knoxx’s patented CompStock re-
quired last year were written in is designed to greatly reduce coil reduction system, which the
excruciating detail. That’s intimi- felt recoil in bolt-action rifles. company claims reduces felt
dating to someone who still has- Built by Hogue, the rubber over- recoil by as much as 75 percent.

Independent laboratory tests on Stock on a .30-06 Remington to shoot, the collapsing butt-
an older version of the Comp- Model 700. The .30-06 isn’t a no- stock moved 11⁄2 inches sharply
Stock showed an actual “net toriously hard kicker, but some rearward. Place your cheek too
peak recoil reduction” of 54.8 shooters have a problem with ’06 far forward on the stock, and
percent. The new Soft-Start Cam recoil. you’re likely to collect a pain-
and heavier extension spring in ful “shooter’s eyebrow,” even
While I had no way to measure
new CompStocks are said to re- with a moderate kicker like the
the actual reduction in recoil,
duce felt recoil even more. .30-06.
it was significant. The best com-
The CompStock I received for parison I could make is that the The stock features a fiberglass-
testing was designed to fit Rem- .30-06 – firing heavy 180-grain reinforced polymer skeleton
ington Model 700 BDL rifles. I loads – seemed no more punish- completely covered in Hogue
didn’t have a magnum Remington ing than a .243. One caveat: While OverMolded soft, synthetic rub-
on hand, so I installed the Comp- the rifle was very comfortable ber. It contains a recoil reduction

mechanism that fits into the rear
of the replacement stock.
Traveling rearward under re-
coil, the rifle activates a roller
and cam lever attached to a
sturdy spring in the telescoping
buttstock. As the spring absorbs
Bill Ferguson - METALLURGIST
BULLET CASTING
Classic Checkering
by Tim Smith-Lyon
recoil energy, it slows the recoil
cycle. That energy is then used to
METALS & ALLOYS “Professional Checkering since 1972”
return the rifle to firing position.
EQUIPMENT & TOOLS 1225 Adams Lake Rd. - Utica, MS 39175
Shop Phone: 601-885-9223
[email protected] E-Mail: [email protected] This recoil system is suitable
(520) 458-5321 Website: www.classiccheckering.com for any caliber without any need
for adjustment. It eliminates the
need for muzzle brakes that
can permanently damage your
hearing – and that of anyone
nearby.
My CompStock features a pillar
bedding system of CNC-machined
aluminum. This provides solid
mating between action and stock,
resulting in better accuracy. The
stock is also available with a full-
length aluminum bedding block.
These easily installed stocks are
available to fit most Remington,
Winchester, Ruger and Mauser
bolt rifles.
I’m impressed with how well
this stock dampens felt recoil. It’s
a great improvement over mer-
cury-filled tubes, stock weights
and similar gadgets. The no-slip
stock feels good in the hand, and
the way it reduces recoil must be
experienced to be believed.
BLACKHAWK! Products Group
sells this stock for $249.95. Tele-
phone toll-free 1-800-694-5263; or
visit the website: www.black
hawk.com. For more informa-
tion, contact Knoxx Industries,
LLC, Dept. R, 500 Linne Rd. Ste.
A, Paso Robles CA 93446; or visit
online at: www.knoxx.com.
Sinclair
F-Class/Varmint
Bi-Pod
I’ve used a lot of shooting rests
and bipods, but this one offers
exceptional shooter comfort and
rock-solid support. Sinclair’s lat-
est bipod has a large frame
designed for varmint hunting,

bottom-mounted Picatinny rail Wayne IN 46803; telephone toll-
with this bipod. The Sinclair free: 1-800-717-8211; or visit the
Bi-Pod provides an extremely website: www.sinclairintl.com. R
strong, stable, comfortable shoot-
ing platform for almost any rifle.
The Sinclair F-Class/Varmint Exhibition Grade Gunstock Blanks
Bi-Pod is priced at $199.95. For Thousands of Blanks
more information, contact Sin- Available Online!
clair International, Inc., Dept. R, www.dressels.com
2330 Wayne Haven St., Fort Limited Precision Stock Duplicating
Belgian Blue, Slow Rust Blue, Parkerizing
Paul & Sharon Dressel • 509/966-9233
F-Class competition, tactical

shooting, load testing, sighting-in
rifles or simply plinking. For
shooting from the prone position,
this bipod is hard to beat. It was
used by the winner of the 2008
U.S. F-Class Nationals.
This bipod attaches to the rifle’s
forward sling swivel stud and can
be quickly mounted or removed
with the help of a captured pin
system. Two tensioning knobs
pull the stock tightly against
heavy felt pads for a wiggle-free
mount. The bipod’s new cant-
locking feature allows you to
make – and lock – adjustments to
LITTLE CROW GUNWORKS, LLC
Dale Hegstrom, Gunsmith CUSTOM RIFLES
compensate for rifle cant quickly 6593 113th Ave. NE, Suite C, Spicer MN 56288 *Many Styles *Over 150 Chamberings
and easily. The rigid twin-beam Telephone: 320-796-0530 CUSTOM STOCKS
frame won’t wobble like tradi- Email: [email protected] *Walnut *Hardwood Laminate *Fiberglass
tional bipods can, and the large
sledlike feet work well in almost
every terrain. They allow your rifle
to recoil smoothly and consis- *Vais™ Muzzlebrake installed - $245 (Includes return shipping or muzzle cap)
tently, promoting better accuracy. *Krieger Barrels installed - Starting at $550 (Includes action truing)
*Factory Rifle Accurizing - True action, pillar bed, adjust trigger, recrown, lap rings,
mount scope, range test - $325 + Ammo (No extra charge for fitting aftermarket stock or trigger)
The bipod’s legs can be quickly
*Mil-Spec Polymer Metal Finish (Excellent lubricity and corrosion protection) Long gun with scope mounts - $240)
adjusted by turning a knob and *Cerakote Metal Finish (Extreme corrosion protection and durability) Long gun with scope mounts - $275)
can be locked tightly in place
Let us e-mail or send you a color brochure!
with adjustable locking knobs.
The Sinclair F-Class/Varmint Bi-
Pod is offered in a satin silver or
matte black finish. The bipod is
anodized for weather protection.
Shooting height can be adjusted
from 5.5 to 10.25 inches. The
bipod weighs 2 pounds, 4 ounces
and has a 16.75-inch footprint. It
accommodates forends up to 3
inches wide. Stocks up to 3 3⁄8
inches wide can be mounted, but
the canting feature won’t work.
Sinclair sling stud adapters
allow the use of target rifles with
accessory rails or AR-15s with a

Target and Vintage Scope Repair State of the Industry few, even world-class, compan-
Parsons Scope Service (Continued from page 72) ies ever achieve. Remington has
P.O. Box 192, Ross, OH 45061 also modernized with CNC and
513-867-0820 riety of rifles and shotguns. Ex-
Cleaning, reticles, complete restoration
other state-of-the-art tooling,
amples include the Model 700
Please call for information which results in even more pre-
Hunter series, Tactical/Target,
Specialists in vintage scope repair since 1989 cise products.
40X, Rimfire, Rolling Block and
Models 1100 and 870 shotguns. Observing as rifle barrel stock
was heated to 2,450 degrees,
Touring this operation was in-
forged, shaped and rifled was re-
deed a treat, and it is much more
markable. Special attention is
than just installing a match-grade
given to this last process, which
barrel into a custom stock and
has helped the Remington rifle
adding engraving or cosmetic ad-
achieve a continued reputation for
ditions. It was neat, clean and
accuracy. Every phase of build-
well organized with each work
ing the Model 700, as well as
station providing specific jobs or
other rifles and shotguns, was
operations. Tooling is state of the
art, and work can be performed observed, and the attention to
that most small shops cannot do quality control was significant.
because they do not have the re- Remington jumped into the AR-
sources to procure the necessary 15 market a couple of years back
equipment. Tim is a firearms en- and is building a number of top-
gineer, but more importantly, he’s rate rifles in several configura-
a shooter, so he understands how tions. It is known as the R-15,
a gun should handle, feel, look which is manufactured at the
and shoot. That insight is appar- Ilion plant (yes, I saw them), and
ent in every rifle and shotgun there is special attention to bar-
produced in his shop. rel quality to assure accuracy and
Another aspect of the custom long life. The R-25 version houses
shop is the factory resources for .308 Winchester length cartridges,
parts, tooling, etc. This, com- and new this year is the .30 Rem-
bined with workmen who scruti- ington AR cartridge that offers
nize every small detail of gun near .308 Winchester perform-
building that ranges from blue- ance but is housed in the smaller,
printed actions to barrel lapping, lighter R-15 platform.
results in a truly precise firearm. Remington’s production capac-
Handloaded ammunition plays an ity is huge, and the number of
important role in testing guns guns produced daily is stag -
and how they perform prior to gering. During my visit, the cus-
being sent to the customer. I tom shop was working on the
must say I have a new respect for 10,000,000th Model 870 Wingmas-
the work that is being performed ter, a highly decorated and en-
in this shop. graved gun. And by year-end
If you are considering a custom 2008, there had been 5,075,758
rifle, the Remington Custom Model 700s produced since 1962.
Shop offers a professional staff Remington builds solid, working
who deliver the finished product guns, and apparently there are
on a “schedule.” And in the event many consumers who agree. For
you sell the gun, resale is usually more information visit online at:
substantially higher than a com- www.remington.com; or call
parable gun built outside the 1-800-243-9700.
plant. There were several companies
The Freedom Group has played visited that were omitted from
a huge role in helping Remington this review, but they will be dis-
Arms become a true world-class cussed in future issues of Rifle
firearms manufacturing facility. and Handloader magazines. In
Productivity has increased sub- spite of a struggling economy,
stantially, with an efficiency rat- overall the American gun-making
ing of 92 percent, a figure that trade is alive and well. R

MONTANA RIFLE COMPANY
CUSTOM CORNER by Stan Trzoniec • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
ooking at Montana Rifle Company’s well-illus- and accessories to include express rear, hooded
L trated catalog shows a team who will build

you a rifle in their shop from the ground up.
With a selection of over 80 different cartridges,
front and barrel band sling studs.
With the action all taken care of, still more is on
the list for your choosing. When it comes to stocks,
from the .220 Swift to the bone-crushing .460 A- fancy walnut in grades AA and AAA is the wood
Square, this is just the beginning of your dream cus- of choice, as well as stocks equipped with full-
tom rifle. length bedding blocks, laminates, all glass bedded
The first thing you notice is they specifically de- in a classic stock profile. The hunter who likes to
signed an action for the sole purpose of using it in get out in all kinds of weather has not been forgot-
custom rifles. Called the Model 1999, the idea came ten; Montana Rifle offers synthetic stocks in vari-
up when Montana Rifle’s founder Brian Sipe found ous configurations and colors to suit everyone from
it harder and harder to purchase controlled round varmint to big game hunters.
feed actions for his custom rifle stocks. With the The rifle shown here is the
lines and dimensions of the famed Model 70 action, Woodland with AA wal-
his design will fit into most previous stocks made nut, cut checkering,
for this action along with the Model 70 trigger, sear matte-blued action
and three-position safety. According to the and glass bedded.
brochure, “the Model 1999 uses the Mauser 98 Chambered for the
breaching system with the cone breech C-ring and high-stepping .270 WSM,
large claw extractor. Also incorporated is a dove- this rifle is ready for just about any
tailed lug and raceway as an anti-bind feature along North American game. For more
with a new style bolt release knob.” information, contact Montana
Currently this Model 1999 comes in a short- or Rifle Company at 3172 MT
long-action length, right or left hand and stainless Highway 35, Kalispell MT
or carbon steel. In 2008 Montana Rifle introduced a 59901. R
new action for the big game hunter; it will handle
cartridge lengths and the power of the .375 H&H to
the .585 Nyati. Talking to Brian revealed that a
Model 1999 Mini-Action is in the developmental
stage for cartridges of the .223 Remington
family.
From here, the choice is yours
on finish, barrel designs or
fluting. Matte, satin
and high-gloss
blue are avail-
able, as well as
matte and high-
gloss stainless
steel, on any ac-
tion. Barrel designs
include round, straight
octagonal or half round/
half octagonal and come
in various contours and
lengths up to 28 inches.
Four, six or eight flutes are
available with muzzle brakes
and optional sight packages

REBIRTH OF THE RANCH RIFLE
PRODUCT TESTS •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
oon after Ruger introduced the Mini-14, I

S decided I had to have one. Nothing remotely
like it was available 30-odd years ago, although it
bore more than a passing resemblance to the U.S.
.30 Carbine countless soldiers carried in World War
II. Surplus .30 Carbine autoloaders were a hot item
then, something Bill Ruger was well aware of.
In the pre-Vietnam era, military experience taught
me to field strip, maintain and shoot the M1 and the
M14, and familiarity with the Mini-14’s basic operat-
ing system added to its appeal.
The new Target Rifle
sports an unconven-
tional stock and
heavy bull barrel. It
proved capable of
sub-MOA groups
with selected
ammunition.
was missing targets

I should have hit.
The Ruger annihi-
The rotating bolt and action were inspired by the lated critters at 60 or
original M1 and M14 design. 70 yards but wasn’t
nearly as deadly at
I finally acquired a Mini-14. After sighting in the twice that distance.
new rifle, I walked the nearby desert, plinking away Handloading offered
at jackrabbits, foxes and any coyotes unwary little or no improve-
enough to show themselves. The little rifle was ment.
highly reliable, chewing through all the ammunition
I fed it without a bobble. It was fun to shoot, and I Since there were no provisions for mounting a
shot it a lot. scope, and disappointed with its lack of long-range
precision, I eventually traded the Mini-14.
I was happy with the Mini-14 until I realized I
Then the Ranch Rifle came along. As an improved
version of the Mini-14, it featured a redesigned bolt
that eliminated the original spring-loaded ejector. A
ventilated glass-fiber handguard replaced the origi-
nal wooden handguard. Better yet, the Ranch Rifle
came equipped with integral scope bases and
matching rings. Specifically designed to accommo-
date optical sights, the new rifle ejected spent brass
to the side, where it would clear a mounted scope.
An internal buffer dampened the shock produced
when the slide block hammered the receiver each
time the action cycled. This buffering helped keep
scope innards intact.
Eager to give the new Ranch Rifle a try, I wasted
Scope rings can be quickly removed, allowing the no time getting my hands on one. I liked being able
use of aperture sights. to mount a scope – a big improvement over the

Specifications: until a year or two ago, when I
Ruger Mini-14
learned the rifle had been put on
hiatus while Ruger designers and
Wineland
Ranch Rifle engineers went to work giving Walnut
Claro and
Action: gas-operated autoloader the rifle a facelift. “Facelift” was-
n’t a truly apt description. Aware English
Caliber: .223 Remington Walnut
Finish: blued of the rifle’s reputation for poor Gun Stock In control of the process
Stock: hardwood stock with ventilated accuracy, Ruger shut down pro- Blanks from tree to finished blank!
glass-fiber handguard duction until manufacturing Highly Figured and Plain Grain
Magazine capacity: 5 rounds problems could be solved. 9009 River Road, Chico, CA 95928
Tel: 530-345-4012 Fax: 530-345-0990
Length: 37.25 inches www.wineland-walnut.com
The rifle contains a number of [email protected]
Weight: 6 pounds, 12 ounces
investment-cast components. If
Barrel length: 18.5 inches
Rifling: six grooves, one-in-9-inch twist
castings aren’t uniform, this can
affect performance. The two-
HOCH CUSTOM BULLET MOULDS
Trigger: single-stage
piece gas block at the front of the
Sights: blade front with protective ears,
forend is a potential problem
adjustable ghost ring rear
area. The two sections are held
Price: $775
together by four screws. If the
Manufacturer: Sturm, Ruger & Co.
two pieces don’t mate perfectly,
Contact information:
Legacy Sports International
they can add tension to the bar- Tool room quality, nose-pour,
4750 Longley Lane, Suite 208 rel. Also, if the rear face of the most standard or custom designs
Reno NV 89502 gas block has an uneven surface, made to order. Cylindrical
it affects contact with the for- (straight) or tapered. Rifle &
ward end of the slide assembly pistol designs available.
original design. Quick-detachable when the action is in battery. COLORADO SHOOTER’S SUPPLY
rings made it easy to switch to Shop 575-627-1933 • Home 575-627-6156
the rifle’s military-style aperture “We were making Ranch Rifles 910 N. Delaware • Roswell, NM 88201
sights. with the same machinery and [email protected]
manufacturing processes we’d www.hochmoulds.com
Unfortunately, magnifying op- used 30 years ago,” Roy Melcher,
tics didn’t improve the Ranch
director of development at Ruger
Rifle’s performance. However, it
said. Roy was one of those re-
was light, cute and handy, but
sponsible for the Mini-14’s de-
still fell short on accuracy. I soon
sign.
parted company with the Ranch
Rifle. “In the original manufacturing
process, parts were moved from
I’d written the Ranch Rifle off
fixture to fixture, sometimes
with more than a dozen fixtures
involved,” he said. “Whenever a
part was moved to a different fix-
ture, tolerance variations could
be introduced. These variations
were accumulative, increasing
the potential for error.
“Today, most parts remain in
the same fixture during several
stages of manufacturing,” Roy
said. “Only two basic fixtures are
used in making receivers. New
CNC machinery is used for ma-
chining, while milling is done on
oversized Bridgeport machines.
Everything is now being made to
much tighter tolerances.
“The Ranch Rifle production
line was shut down for a full year
Rees with revitalized Ranch Rifle to retool, and new processes
held at the ready. were put in place,” he added. “A

new straight-line procedure was With its 22-inch bull barrel, the
introduced to minimize varia- Target rifle weighed an even 9
tions in castings. Also barrels pounds. Adding a Burris 6-24x
that were originally button-rifled 44mm Signature scope increased
would now be produced by ham- the rifle’s heft to 10 pounds, 10
mer forging.” ounces.
Roy also told me about a new I had the Target Rifle for only a
Mini-14 Target Rifle that was short while, so I put it through its
about to be offered. This rifle paces first. I wasn’t blown away
would share the same receiver by its performance. Fired from
and bolt with the Ranch Rifle but sandbags at 100 yards, the rifle
would be bedded differently in punched three-round groups
the stock. The stock itself would measuring from 1.20 to 1.75
be a modified thumbhole design inches between centers. When I
with an extended high, straight switched to Black Hills 60-grain
comb designed specifically for V-MAX loads, my first two groups
scope use. went into 0.89 and 0.79 inch, true
The Target Rifle would wear a sub-minute-of-angle accuracy.
heavy, 22-inch bull barrel fitted That’s far better performance
PEABODY PATTERN with an adjustable harmonic than any other Mini-14 or Ranch
21 RECEIVER SIGHT dampener. Moving the threaded Rifle I’ve used has delivered, but
$134.95 plus S&H dampener up or down the barrel it was obtained with only one of
allowed finding the rifle’s “sweet several loads I tried. I didn’t have
spot” for a particular load. time for more extensive testing
before the rifle had to be re-
Figuring the third time could be turned. With carefully tailored
the charm, I requested one of loads the Target Rifle may be
the new, improved Ranch Rifles capable of even tighter groups.
on loan. In addition, I briefly
using lyman’s® 1895 patent Accuracy aside, its onerous heft
FITS MOST MARLIN AND borrowed a sample of the new
WINCHESTER LEVER Mini-14 Target Rifle. Visually, the and ungainly appearance meant I
ACTION RIFLES! wouldn’t be adding a Mini-14 Tar-
new Ranch Rifle was indistin-
guishable from the one I’d once get Rifle to my personal collec-
owned. tion. I own a few equally heavy
varmint rifles, but they regularly
The Target Rifle had a more un-
shoot .5- to .25-inch groups.
conventional appearance. Its
distinctive gray-laminated thumb- The Target Rifle’s performance
manufactured in u.s.a. by hole stock sported a bulbous gave me hope the Ranch Rifle
providence tool company forend and a space-age thumb- might deliver similar accuracy.
plymouth, wi Complete with the 4.5-14x 40mm
CALL YOUR ORDER IN TODAY! hole buttstock. A harmonic
(920) 893-9675 dampener at the muzzle resem- Leupold Vari-X III scope I added,
check out our website
WWW.PEABODYRIFLES.COM bled an oversized muzzle brake. the 18 1⁄2-inch barreled carbine
scaled just 8 pounds, 4 ounces,
ready to hunt.
Compared to my earlier experi-
ence, the new Ranch Rifle pro-
duced greatly improved accuracy
in spite of its 5.5-pound trigger.
Fired from a sandbag rest at a
range of 100 yards, the rifle
punched three-round groups
measuring from 1.5 to 2 inches
between centers. With the ammu-
nition it liked best – Black Hills
factory loads firing Barnes 36-
grain Varmint Grenades – it
printed 1.30- to 1.41-inch spreads.
The Ranch Rifle’s “not quite

MOA-accuracy” represented real
improvement but won’t warm the DEM-BART
GUNSTOCK CHECKERING TOOLS
hearts of prairie dog shooters. USED BY MANUFACTURERS, PROFESSIONALS, AND
However, that’s precise enough THE BEST GUNSMITH SCHOOLS. OUR TOOLS WILL CUT
CONTROLLABLE, CLEAN LINES.
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BY NORM B
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300, yards. I own a handful of TOC VICTOR, MONTANA E 1825 Bickford Ave., Snohomish, WA 98290
S
bolt-action varmint rifles that

punch eye-popping groups, but
Harry Lawson, L.L.C.
most are too heavy to lug through Since 1965
Lawson Classic
the desert. The Ranch Rifle is
tailor-made for this kind of duty. CUSTOM STOCKS - Finished or semi-finished
Muzzle Brakes, Custom Metalwork
Deep winter weather and some CATALOG $2.00
3328 N. Richey Blvd., Dept. C, Tucson, AZ 85716 (520) 326-1117
other assignments caused a few
delays, but my hunting buddy
Tim Janzen and I finally headed
to Lander, Wyoming, where coy-
otes are said to abound. They are
so numerous the area is regularly
selected as the site for a multi-
state calling contest – a fact that
was soon to haunt us. In short,
we got skunked.
Does Ruger’s new Ranch Rifle
pass muster? With carefully se-
lected loads, the exotic bull-
barreled Target Rifle is capable
of sub-minute-of-angle groups.
But for me, this strange-looking
hybrid holds little appeal. The
Ranch Rifle isn’t quite as accu-
rate, but I think it’s a more practi-
cal choice.
While Ranch Rifle accuracy has
vastly improved, I doubt the
handy little carbine will ever
crack the MOA mark. That’s okay
by me. The newly refurbished
rifle is plenty accurate for jack-
rabbits, rockchucks – even coy-
otes at reasonable range. I like its
looks and quick-handling “carry-
ability.” What’s more, the Mini-14
has proven exceptionally reliable
over the years. “It’s been called
America’s AK,” Roy told me.
“Many of these rifles have been
sold to law enforcement agen-
cies. Some policemen have re-
ported firing 100,000 rounds
through one, and the gun was
still functioning fine. It’s the au-
toloader that always works.”
While the Ranch Rifle still isn’t
perfect, Ruger engineers did a
commendable job. They’ve pro-
duced a knock-around rifle I’m
finally happy to own. – Clair Rees R

Mostly Long Guns The bolt handle pivots to help
(Continued from page 36) increase leverage to extract cases.
chamber that is located inside
the receiver. If the barrel needs Just for clarification, many of
replacing, there is no need to Dick’s firearm patents may leave
chamber the new barrel. The bar- readers with the impression he is
interested solely in modern high-
rel will only need the breech cut
tech firearms. That is not correct,
with a 30-degree angle to match
as Casull is also deeply tradi-
the cartridge’s shoulder.
tional with an appreciation for
Keep in mind that these are pro- the virtues of classic and modern
totype rifles, built by hand in designs. For instance, back in the
Dick’s machine shop, nonethe- mid-1980s when I first met him,
less, they perform well. At 1,000 Dick was wearing a Colt Single
yards, groups the size of a com- Action Army .45 Colt fitted with
mon dessert plate are typical, a 4 3⁄4-inch barrel in a beautiful
and Casull says that if he built hand-carved leather rig on his
these rifles again they would per- hip. He was also carrying an orig-
form (in terms of accuracy) even inal Winchester Model 1886 ELR
better. There are branches of the .45-70. He still considers both
U.S. military that have tried and guns and cartridges “modern and
The point being, don’t expect to highly useful.” Shortly thereafter,
are considering the above rifle
order a Casull rifle anytime soon, I wrestled the Model 1886 from
and cartridges.
but I have suggested to a major him in a trade; it still resides with
Casull’s association with the gun company to take a closer me and has accounted for a num-
Freedom Arms factory ended in look at this cutting edge technol- ber of big game. A man who likes
1992, and other than a fully ogy. At least I hope you have en- single-action sixguns and lever-
equipped machine shop, he does joyed reading about something a action rifles is always welcome
not have a manufacturing facility. little different than the “normal.” in hunting camp. R
AD INDEX
Arctic Safaris ............................................13 Hagstrom Gunsmithing .............................15 Providence Tool, LLC ...............................92
B&T Industries LLC ..................................69 Harris Communications ............................32 Pyramyd Air ..............................................31
Bald Eagle Precision Machine Co. ...........34 Harry Lawson LLC ....................................93 Quality Cartridge.......................................72
Bandera Gunleather .................................86 Haydon’s Shooters’ Supply, Russ ............36 RB Outfitters .............................................41
Barnes Bullets ..........................................37 High Plains Reboring & Barrels LLC ........22 Redding-Hunter, Inc. ................................93
Battenfeld Technologies ...........................84 Hill Country Rifle, Inc. ...............................22 Remington Arms Company, Inc................53
Bellm TC’s, Inc. ........................................13 Holland’s Shooters Supply, Inc.................36 RMS Custom Gunsmithing .......................23
Billingsley & Brownell Metalsmith .............27 Hornady Manufacturing Co.......................17
Birchwood Casey......................................35 IMR Powder Company .............................59 Robinson’s Custom Guns .........................15
Blues Brothers ..........................................15 James Calhoon Mfg..................................16 S & K Scope Mounts ................................12
BOG Gear, LLC / Hicks Production ..........95 Jard, Inc. ...................................................69 Savage Arms, Inc. ....................................87
Brockman’s Custom Gunsmithing ............26 Johnson Design Specialties .....................33 Schmidt & Bender.....................................50
Brown Company, E. Arthur .......................84 Jon Trammel’s Gunsmithing .....................26 Schuetzen Gun Company, LLC ................23
Bruno Shooters Supply...............................7 Kelly’s Africa Pvt. Ltd. .........................16, 52 Sheep River Hunting Camps ....................41
Bullet Metals / Bill Ferguson .....................84 Lapham Outfitters .....................................36 Shilen Rifles, Inc. ......................................19
Bunduki Publishing ...................................69 LaPour Gunsmithing, Ed ..........................26 Shooting Chrony, Inc. ...............................11
Burris Company ........................................96 Leadheads Bullets ....................................27 Shotgun Sports .........................................32
Cabela’s, Inc. ............................................40 Leupold & Stevens, Inc.............................21 Sierra Bullets ............................................27
Champion ...................................................2 Levergun Leather Works ..........................19 Signal Mountain Gun Works .....................11
Chiron, Inc. ...............................................72 Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels, Inc. ...............23 Sinclair International, Inc. .........................86
Christman, David (gunmaker)...................21 Little Crow Gunworks, LLC .......................85
Classic Barrel & Gun Works .....................22 Lone Wolf Rifle Stocks .............................35 Sonoran Desert Institute ...........................70
Class Checkering .....................................84 Luxus Walnut ............................................92 Sou’Wester Outfitting................................72
CNC Barrelworks ......................................22 Lyman Products Corporation ....................15 Spec-Tech Industries................................21
Colorado Shooter’s Supply .......................91 Marlin Firearms Company ........................73 SSK Industries ..........................................41
Conetrol Scope Mounts ......................43, 84 Mary Carlson ............................................13 Stiles Custom Guns ..................................15
Cooper Arms ............................................51 MBI Promotions, Inc. ................................21 Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. ............................5
Corbin Mfg. & Supply..........................84, 92 Meacham Tool & Hardware, Inc. ..............11 Sunny Hill Enterprises, Inc. ......................13
CTK Precision...........................................69 Merkel USA / Heckler & Koch...................78 Swarovski Optik North America, Ltd. ..........3
D&B Supply ..............................................10 Midsouth Shooters Supply Co. ...................9 Talley Manufacturing, Inc. ........................33
David Clevinger Engraving .......................33 MLV Enterprises .......................................84 Terrco, Inc. ...............................................52
Dayton Traister Trigger Co. ......................13 MPI Stocks ...............................................23 Timney Mfg., Inc. ......................................91
Dem-Bart Checkering Tools, Inc. .............93 New England Custom Gun Service ..........11 Trijicon, Inc. ..............................................81
Douglas Barrels, Inc. ................................72 New Ultra Light Arms, Inc. ........................68 Vais Arms, Inc. .........................................85
Dressel, Paul and Sharon.........................85 Nosler Bullets ...........................................67
Ebonex Corporation..................................15 Olson Gunsmithing, Dennis E. .................23 Western Powders .....................................83
Erhardt Custom Guns, Dennis..................19 Pacific Tool & Gauge, Inc. ........................52 Williams Firearms Co................................69
Gentry Custom .........................................80 Parsons’ Scope Service ...........................86 Wineland Walnut ......................................91
Gordon Harms ..........................................30 Penrod Precision ......................................41 Wolf Performance Ammunition .................85
Green Mountain Rifle Barrel Co. ..............26 Pinaire Gunsmithing .................................52 Wolfe Publishing Company ................12, 21
Grizzly Custom Guns LLC ........................61 Pioneer Research (Steiner) ......................79 Yavapai College .......................................52
Gunslick Onalaska Operations .................71 Preslik’s Gunstocks ..................................13 Zeiss Sports Optics, Carl ..........................25

Rifle July 2009 PDF

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What is the main topic of discussion in the magazine?

What is the main topic of discussion in the magazine?

What rifle is featured on the cover?

What rifle is featured on the cover?

The State of the Firearms Industry!

July 2009 No. 245

4 www.riflemagazine.com Background Photo: © 2009 Royal Tine Images Rifle 245

Rifle® (ISSN 0162-3583) is published bimonthly by

6 www.riflemagazine.com Background Photo: © 2009 Royal Tine Images Rifle 245

echnically speaking, my first varmint rifle

For anyone who intends to hunt big game in North

airborne or four-legged predator within miles of

10 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 11

12 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 13

Although the .300 Savage was chambered in bolt,

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 15

125 Speer TNT Varget 44.5 2,821

cartridges: the 7.65’s .252 inch ence in case dimensions, slightly

16 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

If two-toned handguns have

18 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 19

here is a great divide now-

22 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

Here’s a good paradox to con- DAKOTA ARMSINC.

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 23

24 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

26 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 27

few years back, I was rid-

Another clamp is placed as shown and the rear half

how it is done. This size is cor-

An edge view of the cover for

UÊ ÕÌÊÊ ÝVÊVÌÃÊUÊiÊÌÊ>`ÊÕVÌÊU David Clevinger

30 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

32 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

Talley Scope Rings

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 33

hen the name Dick Casull Dick Casull

This experimental double-cham-

centerfire ignition (priming). Op-

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 35

36 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

Limited Production Custom

stainless match grade

than some of the others on the is used on these parts. On most

40 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

.302 .338 .375 .416

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 41

42 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

few days back, Dave Sco-

A vill and I were talking and

44 www.riflemagazine.com Rifle 245

July-August 2009 www.riflemagazine.com 45

as a friend’s 6x47mm coyote rifle and a trea-

Mike’s curiosity and enthusiasm even

Most of those early Rifle articles concerned

UÊ ÕÌÊÊ ÝVÊVÌÃÊUÊiÊÌÊ>`ÊÕVÌÊU David Clevinger