Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2019 i Gun Digest

Magnum. When I was a young man, that term — at least among the rifle cartridges — was equated with the Holland & Holland belted case, first seeing the light of day in 1912 in both the .375 H&H Magnum and the lesser-known .275 H&H Magnum. The .300 Holland & Holland (also known as Holland’s Super .30) came along in 1925, giving a velocity boost over the immensely popular .30-06 Springfield. For many years, the .300 Magnum — the .300 Weatherby Magnum was still a niche cartridge — was the basis for a wave of magnum cartridges throughout the 1950s and ‘60s. The “magnum” name, in the context of a metallic cartridge, indicates a higher level of performance. And while most of the belted cases were actual magnums, not all…

‘‘Compare a thumb smashed with a hammer to a bad cut with a knife. The knife wound is infinitely scarier and potentially more dangerous, but cuts rarely hurt very much at all because there’s less tissue that’s traumatized. Pain is the ultimate equalizer.” Editor’s note: This article is Part Two in a three-part series designed to debunk common misconceptions associated with all facets of shooting and ballistics. Part One was featured in the March 2019 issue of GDTM; Part Three will be printed in the May 2019 issue. In the last issue, we addressed the ballistic misconceptions associated with sectional density, bullet weight and the age-old 9mm vs. 45 Auto argument. In this issue, we’re going to blow a hole in the notion that there’s such a thing as fast-expanding…

In 1892, Paul Mauser invented the 7x57mm Mauser, and since that day, the firearms world has never been the same. To say the 7mm Mauser was a success is an understatement. It’s a rifle cartridge that can practically do anything — and it practically has. From settling conflicts in Cuba to fighting off the British in South Africa during the Second Boer War, and from whacking coyotes, deer, elk, moose and bears in North America to stopping man-eating leopards and elephants in Africa, Mauser’s mild-shooting but pesky .284 caliber has always been the perfect ballistic recipe of form, function and accuracy. In short, the keys to the 7mm Mauser’s success are the fact that it’s mild to shoot, it’s inherently accurate, and the fact that it can be loaded with…

MARCH Mar 22-24 KY, Richmond. Kenny Woods Gun Shows. Madison County Fairgrounds3237 Old Irvine Road¬†, 3237 Old Irvine Road¬†. SH: Fri. 2pm-7pm, Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-4pm. F: . PO Box 334, Manchester, IA 52057. PH: 563-927-8176. www.rkshows.com. Mar 22-24 NY, Albany . Arms Fairs. Polish Community Center, 225 Washington Ave Extention. SH: Fri. 4pm-8pm, Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-3pm. T: 100. F: . NEACA. PO BOX 385, Mechanicville, NY 12118. PH: 518-664-9743. www.neaca.com. Mar 22-24 TN, Manchester. RK Shows. Manchester/ Coffee County Conference Center, 147 Hospitality Dr. SH: Fri. 4pm-8pm, Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-4pm. A: Adults: $8, VIP: $10.50 ‚ – no line, no wait Kids: $4, VIP: $6.50 ‚ – no line, no wait VIP Tickets can be purchased online. F: . PO Box 334, Manchester, IA 52057. PH: 563-927-8176.…

What makes one firearm worth $100,000 while a similar one can be bought for a measly few hundred dollars? Why is one a collectible antique and another just a used gun? There are many factors to consider when answering these questions. As with virtually any item, whether antique or merely used, condition is of prime importance. But more than that, origin and history are important, too. Provenance is a convenient word often used to describe an object’s origin, ownership chronology and overall history. It’s a term used to authenticate the true background of a piece of artwork such as a painting, piece of sculpture, book or some other work of art. And who can argue that a firearm cannot be a work of art? I’m not referring necessarily to finely…

In 1924, Ed McGivern set a world record by firing six accurate shots from a double-action revolver in 4/5ths of a second. An elaborate timing contraption attached to the revolver verified the event. Because of the wires, McGivern’s gadget did not lend itself to real-world application, so shooters continued to use stopwatches, sometimes even attempting to read 1/10th second divisions with a magnifying glass, erroneously assuming their reaction time was good enough to push a button that fast. This of course is impossible and results were not only a guess, but they were very dependent on the man running the watch. The father of the “Modern Technique of the Pistol” and Gunsite Academy founder, Jeff Cooper, espoused the importance of speed in his motto: “Diligentia, vis, celeritas” — shortened to…

Targets, in all honesty, don’t get the blood pumping. And it shows. Most shooters are still content plugging holes in simple sheets of paper. In turn, the terminal destination of our bullets has changed little over the years. OK, plate steel has made inroads — however, that’s not exactly the firearms equivalent of the iPhone. Pity. It seems we could do more at that end of the marksmanship equation. After all, the target is the ultimate goal and deserves better than zombie graphics or simulated blood. Ideally, a good target should improve training, advance competition and make us better marksmen. Since I’ve lead you by the nose to this point, there’s no call to build further suspense. As you’ve most likely gathered, there’s something out there that offers a majority…

I was at the backyard range examining the groups from the rifle I was testing — which happened to be seriously small (the groups, not the gun) — when the phone rang. Actually it buzzed, it and produced some sort of electronic tune simultaneously … but you get the point. On the other end of the magic box was my good buddy, Texas hunting guide and African Professional Hunter Jay Leyendecker. “Que pasa, amigo?” I uttered, in my best Spanglish. Jay, you see, speaks fluent Spanish, but I do not, so I tease him as best I can. “Not much, bro, what are you doing?” It’s usually at this point where the conversation turns to safari, rifles or some combination of the two. The tradition would continue for this conversation.…

The AR’s modular design makes it easy to swap out parts, even for components like the entire trigger group. However, this is a double-edged sword: Yes, anyone with some mechanical sense (and sometimes a few specialty tools) can configure the AR to their liking, but parts such as the trigger group should be chosen carefully. A good trigger must have three distinct attributes: smooth to cycle, crisp at the break and light throughout. Smooth and crisp are constants; they’re features desired in every trigger of any gun. Lightness or pull weight, meaning the amount of pressure required for the trigger to break, is more subjective. In fact, the proper trigger weight depends on your application. Trigger reset is another factor to consider, but it’s not quite worthy of a Top…

There are now varying ranks of custom gun work to be had, or “echelons of elite,” if you will. At the highest level, there’s the “bespoke” 1911. You arrange a time and a cost with a well-named pistol-smith, and then deliver the base gun and deposit. You wait to get to the head of the line, and you wait for the return of your prize. You have spec’d everything on it. From start to finish, it’s the product of one pistolsmith, and it’s your pistol. It might be one of a kind, or it might be like every other high-end gun that particular pistolsmith produces. But, in either case, it’s yours. This 1911 of mine is kinda-sorta one of those one-of-a-kind projects, but with a difference: You can duplicate the…

Ellsworth E. Arterburn, my great-grandfather, was an early promoter of Chase County, in the southwest corner of Nebraska. Old plat maps show parcels of land he bought and sold as the county was settled in the late 1800s and early 1900s. His advertising in eastern states like Illinois, touting the agricultural riches of the county, were apparently effective because my Uncle Keith’s research turns up numerous parcels changing hands as the county was settled in those early days. One parcel in the western reaches of the county included a 35-acre lake, bordered by an earthen dam holding back the Frenchman River to create a reservoir that provided irrigation through a snaking canal. The lake also provided recreation year-around: fishing and swimming in warm months, hunting in the later months, ice…