Innehållsförteckning för November 2024 från Guns & Ammo

IT’S STILL WITH ME Regarding Mr. Hunnicutt’s article in the May 2024 issue, I was given a Winchester Model 1904 when I was 12 years old — 1944. My dad taught me gun safety with it and how to hunt squirrels. I shot .22 Shorts only. Eventually, I changed the butt to fit my shoulder. My last hunt was at age 80, and I am now 88. I still like to hold the old gun. Johnny HeltonMarceline, Missouri BARREL LENGTHS Over here, the only semiautomatic firearms with a rifled barrel that we can own must be in .22 rimfire, and 12 inches is the minimum barrel length for any cartridge chambering. Given these restrictions, does a longer barrel improve reliability in a blowback firearm with standard-velocity ammunition? Are high-velocity loads…

RUSH LIMBAUGH LIKED TO SAY, “Words mean things.” As a writer who deals with words every day, this quote really resonates with me. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who continually use words the wrong way. “Decimate,” for example, doesn’t mean “obliterate.” Historically, it means “to reduce by one-tenth.” Cops often call private citizens “civilians,” as if they are not civilians themselves. Unless that cop is also in the military, they are a civilian. Lastly, it’s not “I could care less.” You meant to say, “I couldn’t care less.” As for the great murky swamp that is the modern firearms lexicon, firearm, optic and ammunition manufacturers’ often design stylized words or ALL-CAPS names and acronyms to establish trademarks and market products. Some acronyms reportedly have no clear definition.…

A RIFLESCOPE’S purpose is classically defined as “magnifying the target and surrounding area while also providing a clearly defined aiming point.” Scopes have advanced from fixed-power models to variable power, and from point-of-impact click adjustments required to zero, to fine and repeatable adjustments done with a quick turn of an exposed turret. The next leap forward for riflescopes in this century has been spearheaded by Gunwerks, a Cody, Wyoming-based company that has been focused on long-range marksmanship for almost two decades. For a long time, rifleshooting required estimating range and figuring holds to strike targets at distances for which the shooter was not zeroed. This is why many hunters still zero at 200 yards and then don’t worry too much about target distance when the range is 300 yards or…

I COULD HAVE PREDICTED this years ago. Walther has announced its best-yet contemporary design, the PDP Pro-X in 9mm. Just add your preferred optic and/or pistol light, and you’ll have a versatile package that’s as accurate and reliable as any other. It’s difficult to imagine a full-size pistol that’s as sorted as this one. The point of the PDP Pro-X is to make shooting full-size guns easier. It’s not just about one-shot-at-a-time accuracy. I tested two PDP configurations when the platform was announced in the April 2021 issue. In my hands, the PDP Pro-X isn’t any more accurate than the base model. My best five-shot groups measured just under 1½ inches and averaged about 1.8 to 2 inches from 25 yards — on a benchrest. What the PDP Pro-X does…

“GUN-LOVING BAYSIDE MAN pays the price for hoarding huge arsenal of weapons and 50,000 rounds in his home,” the headl ine read. New York police had raided a man’s residence, confiscating 45 rifles, 23 handguns and a pair of pellet guns, along with the aforementioned ammo. I recognize i that, to the casual reader of “QNS” in Queens, this might seem like an unfathomable collection of firearms, but among many of my friends this individual’s stockpile wouldn’t raise an eyebrow. Just as I sat down to begin writing this column, UPS delivered 5,000 rounds of .22 LR ammo to my front door. It was on sale — with free shipping. (I couldn’t resist the deal.) Earlier during the week, while looking around my office for a book that I’d misplaced,…

@GUNSANDAMMOMAG I WON A BOX of magazines at an estate auction, but not the type you read. After losing the chance to own a Mauser C96 (Model 1930) — and several desirables on my want list — I felt desperate while thinking that I might leave with nothing. With the old Colts, Winchesters and other surplus firearms sold to the deep-pocket dealers in attendance, the crowd began to abandon the floor. The auctioneer quickly chopped the block through several small lots, so I raised my number to own a mystery box labeled “parts” for little money. That cardboard box moved from storage at that estate only to be stored at mine. Recently, I came across that box while attempting to reduce clutter in my life. Still unopened, four overlapped corners…

“UNIVERSAL” used to be a dirty word in the holster market. Its bad reputation resulted from soft, flexible pouches that technically fit a variety of firearms, but offered little retention or trigger protection. Creative solutions, including shims and moveable spacers herald a new generation of multi-fit holsters that meet the needs of serious shooters. The latest holster from Crucial Concealment (crucial-concealment.com) offers a new approach for securing pistols with pistol-mounted lights, including the popular Streamlight TLR-1, TLR-7, and SureFire X300U. Multi-fit holsters for light-bearing pistols are not new. There have been some good recent Kydex offerings. However, most light-ready holsters have been designed around the SureFire X300 series. Why? The dimensions and defined edges of the X300 offered holster makers plenty of real estate and retention points to mold a…

REPRO TOWER PISTOL Q: I purchased a Tower flintlock pistol in the early 1970s. It is about .69 caliber, and it has been fired without any issues, also in the early ’70s. I have attached photographs of it, which show that the barrel is both round and then appears to transition to be the shape of the upper portion of a hexagon, but there are no markings shown. It has “JAPAN M 309” markings and “TOWER” with a crown and “GR” under it. I have seen numerous similar versions, but all have only a round barrel. I am hoping you can provide me with a little more about it and an estimation of its value. B. N.Email A: These Japanese-made “Tower” flintlocks, which somewhat emulate a British 1811 Pattern cavalry…

ONE TRAGEDY OF LIFE is when children make promises they never fulfill as adults. We’re all guilty. As a youngster in the late 1990s, my aspirations were simple. In order of difficulty, I vowed to win over actress Julia Roberts, become a billionaire by 30, and kill all 29 species of North American big game. You could say that I was a dreamer. In the fall of ’98, I was living that dream, hunting British Columbia moose with my family. There, I saw my first grizzly. I didn’t know when or where, but I made a promise to hunt a great bear of my own. Even at 13, I was a ballistic geek, and I knew exactly what I’d use: .338 Winchester Magnum, North America’s premier dangerous-game cartridge. “Pretty Woman”…

THE 2024 OLYMPICS have come and gone, and with it came a surge of interest in the overlooked fields of sport. In particular, Olympic shooting drew attention with some credit to televised coverage of five events: Air Pistol and Air Rifle, Smallbore, Trap and Skeet. However, Turkish national Yusuf Dikeç went viral online and found himself the topic of mainstream news and social media for his unorthodox appearance during the 10-meter Mixed Air Pistol event. While other shooters wore specialized eyewear, ear protection, and clothing, Dikeç won a silver medal in a t-shirt, glasses, and with some earplugs, all while striking a relaxed pose with one hand in his pocket. The juxtaposition of these competitors lent to jokes and memes, but it also brought shooting sports into national conversation. The…