Innehållsförteckning för April 2017 från Gun Digest

I’ve been told I’m crazy, near suicidal, for using handloaded ammunition on hunts for dangerous game. “You can’t rely on that stuff! You’re going to get killed.” Nonsense; nothing could be further from the truth. Just as you trust yourself to pull the trigger on any dangerous game animal, because you’ve honed your skills as a shooter, you must trust your skills as a reloader to produce big-bore ammunition that is as reliable, if not more reliable, than the factory stuff. Not that you’d ever skimp on your reloading procedure, irrespective of intended purpose, ammunition for dangerous game hunting requires a special level of detail. What we’re looking for here is utter reliability and uniformity, so the last thing you’ll be concerned with when the excrement hits the oscillator is…

For many years after its introduction in 1955, the .44 Magnum was often referred to as the most powerful handgun cartridge in the world. Several other handgun cartridges have exceeded its power since then, but it still remains a powerful round that is capable of taking most North American big game. Smith & Wesson’s Model 29 was the first production revolver chambered for the .44 Magnum, and sales skyrocketed after Clint Eastwood’s portrayal on the big screen of Inspector Harry Callahan, aka “Dirty Harry,” who dispatched the bad guys with one. Stories still circulate about movie fans buying a Model 29 and a box of cartridges, then after shooting one cylinder full of six, selling the gun and the remaining cartridges because of the sobering recoil. The Model 29 beget…

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…

There are three notable cartridges in the .475-inch diameter category — the .480 Ruger, .475 Linebaugh and the.475 Maximum or Linebaugh Long. The progenitor of all three of these cartridges is the .475 Linebaugh, which spawned both the shorter .480 Ruger and the longer .475 Maximum. John Linebaugh is responsible for bringing his namesake .475 into this world by cutting the .45-70 Government down to 1.4 inches and necking the case to .476 inches. This caliber category is serious big-game medicine and represents a significant step up in terminal effectiveness from the various .45-calibers. .480 Ruger The .480 Ruger is, essentially, a shortened .475 Linebaugh. The first loads offered to the public did not show the true potential of the cartridge, featuring relatively light-for-caliber bullets at moderate velocities. It was…

“This rifle makes me feel like Thomas Jefferson,” exclaimed my friend Cody, ret. U.S. Marine Corp., after he blasted seven rapid-fire rounds of .50 Beowulf into the Arizona dirt. “I might as well have a bald eagle perched on my shoulder right now; there’s a whole lot of freedom going on here,” said Cody as he gazed into the vast desert of the Prescott National Forest with the Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf Hunter AR-15 clinched in his hands. Cody was not alone in his charismatic reactions from shooting the Alexander Arms .50 Beowulf rifle for the first time. The brute power of the Beowulf cartridge results in a dramatic report that seems to make shooters howl like a werewolf after every trigger pull. The rifle produces a distinct thumping muzzle…

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…

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…

Forty years ago, when I got involved in shooting, we rarely discussed shooting pistols as a way of improving our chances in a personal defense situation, and the NRA discouraged calling handguns “weapons.” Now, defensive handguns are the hottest segment of the firearms market. Carrying a handgun has become a way of life for citizens across the demographic board. From soccer moms to plumbers, the realization that the option of armed self-defense might be a life-changing practice is now common. It’s harder today to find a bad defensive pistol than it is to find a good one. Modern engineering, metallurgy, technology and a rapidly growing market have created a perfect storm of improvement in firearms of all kinds. Modern handguns are designed to be easy to shoot well and have…