Gun Digest April 2017

As a boy, I was mesmerized by Roosevelt and Hemingway’s Africa. There was just something about the exquisite and powerful firearms—Hemingway’s Westley Richards in .577 Nitro Express and Roosevelt’s famous Winchester lever guns—the dangerous game, the mystique; all of it captured my imagination. Game like elephant, Cape buffalo, and lion, all the stuff of legend and boyhood fantasy. Later, I became fascinated with Jack O’Connor’s tales of the North, replete with epic stories of sheep and bear hunts that would forever leave an imprint on my soul. As Phil Massaro points out in his article, “Best Cartridges for Dangerous Game” (p. 44), there’s just something about this type of hunting that brings out the best in the hunter and in firearms manufacturing. Maybe it’s the reality that, with your life…

Taking an accurate, ethical shot on game is an important part of any big-game hunt. However, when it comes to dangerous game, this becomes even more crucial. A misplaced shot can lead to an inhumane kill with non-dangerous big game species, but it can have potentially disastrous results when hunting animals that are themselves hunters. For this reason, many shooters like to use shooting sticks or a bipod to help ensure an on-target shot and a quick, clean kill. Although these rigid shooting supports can certainly get the job done, they can sometimes be lacking in terms of flexibility. The new highly adjustable bipods from Swagger address this problem. Featuring what the manufacturer refers to as “Crazy Legs” technology, Swagger’s bipod systems have adjustable telescoping legs with flexible joints that…

Doug Turnbull has been restoring high-quality firearms for more than 20 years, and in 2007, he began working on a modern cartridge for vintage lever-action rifles, specifically the Model 1886 Winchester. The eponymous result was this round, built from a blown-out necked-up .348 Winchester case. Turnbull has said that vintage Winchester 1886 actions are strong enough to handle the 40,000-plus psi pressures the.475 Turnbull generates, but they must be rebarreled with modern steel alloys. The .475 Turnbull shoots widely available .475-caliber bullets seated in a .502 neck. The shoulder diameter is .5371 with a 17-degree, 15-minute shoulder angle, its SAAMI drawing shows. The rim diameter measures .610 and is .070 thick. The base diameter is .5517. The case is 2.20 inches long and the COAL is 2.78. Turnbull Mfg. supplies…

GUN BOOKS P.O. ACKLEY: AMERICA’S GUNSMITH By Fred Zeglin Parker Otto Ackley, the eminent gunsmith, ballistician, barrel maker and writer, perhaps had more influence on modern shooting and firearms than any other one man. And now his life and works have been painstakingly detailed in P.O. Ackley: America’s Gunsmith. Writer and gunsmith Fred Zeglin gives a never-before-seen look at the humble man whose research thrust the firearms industry forward. From pushing rifle chambers to their limits to developing superior barrels to designing red-hot cartridges, readers will walk away with a new appreciation for Ackley’s exploration and ideas. Zeglin also delivers the most complete collection of accurate dimensions, loading data and history for the lifetime of cartridges created by P.O. Ackley, the most influential gunsmith in American history. Get your PhD…

The Right Scope I saw the video you guys posted on your Facebook page about the TruGlo 1-4x scope. In the wide open terrain this guy is shooting in, I’d be looking for a scope with better range if my rifle supported it, but it’s a lot about matching the rifle to the terrain and the scope to the rifle. Because I hunt on both sides of the Cascades in Washington and Oregon, I have several rifles but mainly hunt the coastal terrain with an old .30-30 with peep sights or a .243 with a Leupold 2-7x. When I hunt the more open eastern terrain, I hunt with a .30-06 Browning BAR that also has a Leupold 2-7x. There are plenty of options out there, and I’ve tried a bunch…

No firearm stands out quite like a Turnbull. In a world of synthetic stocks and sub-$500 rifles, the company bearing Doug Turnbull’s name is well known for making what he calls functional art, replete with top-shelf wood stocks and the classic look of color case hardening. It’s the one firearm that, without fail, produces prolonged stares and jaw-dropping admiration at the gun store and on the range. Turnbull Restoration & Manufacturing, Co., as the name implies, was started several decades ago with the restoration of fine firearms in mind but has since grown in the production of original works of fine art. Doug now produces everything from .470 and .475 lever guns to the new and stunning Ruger Mark IV and a host of 1911s, all with iconic looks and…