Innehållsförteckning för July 2024 från Gun Digest

Have you ever had one of those moments when you find yourself stepping out of your vehicle at home with no recollection of actually driving home—because your mind was 1,000 miles away and your body shifted into autopilot? Life comes hard and fast sometimes, and that’s a certainty for each of us. Worse still, I’ll find myself in one of those moments and realize that nearly a month has gone by, and because life has been so incredibly busy that each day feels like it’s been reduced to a box to check on the to-do list of life … where everything is just a little bit fuzzy and a reference to the calendar is mandatory to ensure I’m actually operating within the parameters of the correct date. In truth, those…

They say that fashion is a boomerang: If you throw it out, the style comes back around in a few decades. The guys I grew up shooting and hunting with could never really be considered “fashionable” in terms of dress or style. Indeed, it was probably the opposite; the same uniform of jeans and button-up work shirts, metal-rimmed shop glasses and the ever-present layer of indeterminable grime that somehow never washed out. Things come around again in the shooting industry, just like high-waisted jeans and bell-bottoms do for the ladies. Right now, we are in something of a retro era, and fashions are favoring the old and bold—as well as simple and nostalgic. THE EVER-PRESENT PAST The interesting part about this current retro trend is that it’s happening almost as…

Ten-thousand miles. That’s how far my rifles must travel before the safari begins. Along the way, they’ll be herded by soulless conveyor belts, bounced off concrete floors and fingered by dubiously qualified “inspectors.” Bag-checking rifles for international travel feels like releasing a kid on a bike without training wheels. Though I expect to re-zero the scopes in Africa, I want to ensure the optics on my rifles are set up correctly before I leave. More importantly, I want to be confident I have the skills to return them to a reliable standard if they arrive with problems. COURAGE, TOOLS AND TORQUE I teamed up with Caylen Wojcik, founder of Modern Day Rifleman, to coach my optics setup on two rifles I’d take to Africa. A former Marine Scout Sniper, Caylen…

When the late physicist Stephen Hawking was working on his book, A Brief History of Time, his publisher told him that each equation he used would cut the book sales in half. He rolled the dice and risked it, including just one equation. The book was a success, and when it came time to update it to a second edition, he included a second equation. I’m no Hawking, but I will resist putting in equations unless necessary. And I’ll try to be brief. You may hear 1911 fans talk about “Saint John” or “The Mormon Genius.” The period we’re looking at here is the last decade of the 19th century. Smokeless powder was still new but was around long enough that gunmakers were now comfortable with it. A self-loading pistol…

HISTORICAL NOTES Introduced late in 1971, the .44 Auto Mag cartridge was developed for the Auto Mag pistol designed by the late Harry Sanford of Pasadena, California. The gun was also made and marketed for a few years by High Standard. The cartridge is made by cutting off .30-06 or .308 Winchester cases to a length of 1.30 inches, inside reaming the case neck to accept 0.429-inch bullets and trimming to a length of 1.298 inches. The newly formed case is then loaded with 0.429-inch jacketed bullets of 200 to 240 grains. For a time, .44 Auto Mag cases were made in Mexico, by Cartuchos Deportivos Mexico and headstamped CDM. Loaded ammunition was later offered by Norma of Sweden. A few custom ammo makers furnished loaded rounds. Dies are made…

It’s easy to become a snob in this business. There are many truly good products, but by the same measure, there can’t be too many. I’ve known Stan Chen for (mumble, mumble, how many years?) a good long time, and he never ceases to amaze me. He just sent me some of his thumb safeties—and wow. OK, so you want a safety on your 1911, but which one? How big, what shape, what need? Stan makes three; they’re all stainless, and they’re all perfect. You’ve got the “baby bear,” which is the short, narrow, thumb safety for deep concealment. If you have bigger hands or less need of deep concealment, then the “mama” safety—the longer and wider one, but not too long or wide—will serve you perfectly. And then, for…

In 1872, Colt submitted a .45-caliber revolver to the U.S. Army for test and evaluation. In 1873, it was accepted, and one of the greatest firearm legends was born. The Colt Single Action Army (SAA), also known as the Peacemaker, was most generally offered in three barrel lengths. The short 4¾-inch barrel is often referred to as the “Gunfighter,” the 5½-inch-barreled version as the “Artillery Model,” and the longer 7½-inch-barreled version as the “Cavalry,” or standard model. The revolver enjoyed immense popularity well after World War I, but after World War II Colt tried to retire it. Television Westerns and Bill Ruger’s introduction of the Blackhawk in 1955 forced Colt to bring back the SAA, and in 1956, the second-generation Colt SAA was born. By 1974, sales had once again…

The USPSA (United States Practical Shooting Association) represents more than 37,000 members and more than 400 affiliated clubs. It’s the largest practical shooting association in the United States, and it’s the second largest region within IPSC (International Practical Shooting Confederation), which was founded in part by Jeff Copper. Collectively, IPSC and USPSA have provided a test bed for equipment and techniques, some of which are now standard for police and military training. There are three letters displayed on the USPSA logo—DVC—and they represent the foundational guide for both organizations. DVC are initials for the Latin words, Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas, which mean accuracy, power and speed. The acronym was popularized by former Marine, firearms trainer and gun writer, Jeff Cooper, who also founded the American Pistol Institute, now known as Gunsite…

Post-WWII, the West had a problem. The Europeans, having paid attention to the recent fracas (especially the Eastern Front), had developed new less-robust service cartridges and rifles for them. The problem? The Americans and their insistence on retaining a 1,000-yard cartridge. All the Euro efforts at lightweight, compact rifles with low recoil and bullpups (we’re looking at you, England) were out the window. The USA was paying the bills, and the USA was going to get what they wanted, cartridge-wise. Deuidonne Saive, head designer at FN, modified his excellent (but already retro, even in the late 1940s) SAFN, the FN-49, to make it what NATO needed: Out went the fixed 10-shot magazine for detachable 20-shot magazines; out went the wood stock and in came plastic; out went the regular contour…

We tracked the herd of eland in nearly a full circle, working the wind to make sure our presence wouldn’t be detected. My guide—Professional Hunter Maré van der Merwe—spread the sticks in the fading light, offering me a quartering shot at the bull with impossibly long horns. I broke the trigger of the Colt Coltsman, and the resulting whine of a bullet told us both I’d missed. “That bullet hit a branch, but that bull will come out to the right, just there.” Maré hadn’t finished the last word when the bull stood quartering at 340 yards, pausing just long enough to look back in our direction. The second bullet did not miss. It was the culmination of a great Namibian safari, and that bull’s horns taped over 38 inches.…