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When the 19th Century rolled over to the 20th, a new type of handgun began to appear. It was the automatic pistol, so named because the gun reloaded its own (single) chamber. Previous repeaters rotated a series of chambers into alignment with the barrel—the revolver. The auto had great advantages in its faster reloading—with its pre-loaded magazine—but a series of problems came with the new mechanism. Most of them have long since been resolved to various degrees of success, but one has not. However, many shooters are unaware that the problem even exists. The problem deals with pistol accuracy and is sometimes called the first shot flyer.
May 01, 2012
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In past years, various writing projects have caused me to research a couple of cartridges with similar sounding names—the .357 Mag. and the .357 Sig. Trying to match the two is like comparing apples and oranges. It can be done, but doing so produces rather little in the way of really meaningful data. Nonetheless, let's take a look.
April 24, 2012
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The late Chuck Ransom was a very accomplished man. At various times, he was a U.S. Marine, firefighter, machine shop foreman, gunsmith, competitive shooter and inventor. At all times, he was a decent man and one of my best friends. I remember him for a lot of good times, but the world remembers him for a remarkable device called the Ransom Rest, a mechanical device that permits a scientifically oriented shooter to evaluate a pistol and/or the ammunition it is firing. The rest consists of a cast-steel base that the shooter attaches to a solid bench or pedestal and a movable rocker arm that is held in close contact to the base by a powerful spring. A handgun can be placed in the forward end of the rocker arm and held there in rubber-faced “inserts” made to the exact shape of the gun's butt. Built in this fashion, there was no possibility of marring the firearm.
April 20, 2012
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I talked about the 5.5 mm Velo Dog cartridge a while back and referred to its use as the parent cartridge for Col. Charles Askins' wildcat .22. This prompted readers to write and ask for more information about this long ago effort by the legendary adventurer/author/soldier/shooter. It's been awhile since anyone has written this one up, so let's take a look at one of the more clever—but controversial—wildcats of all time. It dates to before World War II and only one gun was ever made for this round.
April 17, 2012
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While still a dream job, firearm evaluation can be hard work.
April 09, 2012
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As an amateurish but enthusiastic student of Marine Corps history, I remain fascinated with the battle of the Chosen Reservoir. One of the more interesting aspects of this battle was the performance of the various firearms the Marines used 60 years ago. Most of the Browning-designed guns did pretty well, but the M1 Carbine and the Garand rifle did not function with their customary reliability. A lot of this had to do with ammunition, which is what I’m dealing with here. Cold weather can have an impact on the performance of ammunition and there were a number of reports that the point of impact changed on various firearms shot at the Frozen Chosen.
April 09, 2012
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With a shorter grip frame and a shorter slide than the stalwart P229, SIG Sauer’s P224 is a sweet new model for the “always” role.
March 28, 2012
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All of this current interest in revolvers that shoot several calibers from the same cylinder has set some handgunners minds a'racing. Since the Taurus Judge and S&W Governor shoot a .410 shotgun shell, as well as a .45 Colt, is there any tactical advantage to loading the cylinder in a pattern? For example, you could load two .410s with No. 4 shot, followed by two .45 Colt rounds with 225-grain JHP bullets and top it off with a single round of .410 with 000 buckshot—in a five-shot Judge. The Smith & Wesson entry is different in that it is a six-shooter and also will work with .45 ACPs in special clips. Therefore, the options are considerably wider. You could go with two .45 Colts, two .410s and two .45 ACPs. The possibilities are quite varied with a revolver. The basic idea is to have the best load for a series of situations readily available in the gun.
March 28, 2012
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It's no secret that the economy is hurting and that few Americans are spending heavy on recreational activities and equipment. Still, lots of folks are involved in the shooting sports and many are newcomers. And of course, most of us are interested in managing our funds to get the most for our money. So here's my take on where you need to put your money at the beginning of a career in handgun shooting. Obviously, the heart of the matter is making your money go as far as possible. It's the old homily of “waste not, want not.”
March 21, 2012
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For 32 years—from 1954 until 1986—the best deal in the Smith & Wesson catalog was the Model 28, a revolver built on the N frame and chambered for the .357 Mag. cartridge. Before S&W assigned model numbers to all products, the maker called this gun the Highway Patrolman. Made with the user's choice of either 4- or 6-inch barrels, the Highway Patrolman had a matte-blue finish, with a very plebeian exterior. There was no grooving on the barrel rib or rear sight and no choices in sights, trigger or hammer. I have seen Target and Magna grips on them, almost always in oiled, checkered walnut. In other words, the Model 28 was a plain .357 Mag. revolver of the largest and strongest type. You got a lot of gun for your money and that made the Model 28 popular with cash-strapped police agencies and individual officers.
March 15, 2012
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Remember back in the 1970s when Smith & Wesson offered a series of beautiful die-struck belt buckles? A full collection of these handsome artifacts from a never-to-return era would be worth a lot more than what a 70s-era collector paid for them. Sadly, mine does not include every buckle in the series. It does, however, include the famed “gun box” buckle. This variation was a metal rendering of the top of the boxes found in the first few years of the Smith & Wesson partnership. The top of those boxes portrayed the tip-up revolver contained in the box. The original boxes are of course quite valuable, but the belt buckle is also collectible. Original boxes were made from a material known as gutta percha, a form of sap from a particular tree.
March 13, 2012
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Wiley Clapp shares his five favorite self-defense firearms.
March 09, 2012
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I love that old saying about “what goes around, comes around.” It means that history runs in cycles and what was once popular might be popular once again. We went through a long cycle of interest in larger, more powerful handguns for just about every use, including personal defense and concealed carry. The present conventional wisdom holds that the concealed-carry handgun must be small and light, but adequately powerful. To accomplish this, gunmakers have evolved both the conventional pistol and the even older revolver designs to new guns that fill the bill. All three of the major wheelgun makers now offer a light powerful snubnosed revolver with a polymer frame—Ruger LCR, S&W Bodyguard, Taurus 85PLYB2. The new designed automatics are so numerous as to be hard to enumerate.
March 07, 2012
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I overheard a gun store conversations the other day that set my mind to thinking about the process of getting all the shots into the center of the target. One guy was talking to an experienced gun salesman and complaining about the work of a well-known custom pistolsmith. The smith had done an accuracy job on a pistol by installing a premium barrel and meticulously fitting it to the frame and slide.
March 02, 2012
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I live in the state of Nevada, a glorious place of open spaces and gun-friendly politicians. For a gun guy, you couldn't find a better place to live and work. Like all of the other states, Nevada does its best to maintain the streets and highways to be safe places for all Americans to use. That includes the signs that abound our roads, telling you where you are and other important things, like the distance to Las Vegas. Apparently, some citizens seem to feel that those signs are there for other reasons. Sadly some of these people have guns.
February 27, 2012
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