Innehållsförteckning för May 2023 från Shooting Times

I enjoyed Joel Hutchcroft’s recent “Hipshots” column about Bill McMillan. I was assigned to the rifle and pistol range at Quantico in 1960 under Bill. He taught me a grip on the .45 ACP pistol that he used, and it allowed me to snap-shoot the pistol. It also worked on my .38 Special wheelguns that I carried for over 20 years with the LAPD. I always wondered what happened to Bill after the Marines. Now I know, and it seems our careers were close as he was at the San Diego County, California, Sheriff’s Department and I was LAPD from 1963 through 1984. Jim LaDow Victorville, CA Standard Versus Magnum Primers I read with interest the February issue’s “Ask the Experts” question about magnum primers and whether or not one…

ITHACA’S REFINED MODEL 37 SHOTGUN WAS introduced at one of the worst possible times. It was late during the Great Depression, with rumors of another World War on the horizon. It’s a miracle that the shotgun survived, let alone became so successful that eventually more than two million were manufactured. When you understand that the Model 37’s fundamental design was John Browning’s, it becomes less surprising. Although he had a few flubs, as every designer does, Browning’s good designs were invariably excellent and invariably successful. Browning sold the rights to the original pattern to Remington, and the gun became the Remington Model 17, which hit American markets right after World War I. It’s notable that the design debuted as a svelte 20 gauge, certainly intended for the upland bird hunter.…

FEDERAL’S PERSONAL DEFENSE HST AMMUNITION IS WIDELY KNOWN AS one of the very best hollowpoint bullet designs out there. It has been largely limited to semiautomatic chamberings, but Federal once offered a .38 Special 130-grain HST loading and now offers a .327 Federal Magnum 104-grain HST and a .357 Magnum 154-grain HST. The .357 Mag. offering has an advertised speed of 1,340 fps from a 4.0-inch barrel (for a muzzle energy of 614 ft-lbs). I test-fired this .357 Mag. round from several wheel-guns to see what speeds it would produce in different barrel lengths. From my 4.0-inch S&W Model 686 it clocked an average of 1,273 fps. From a 2.5-inch S&W Model 66 it ran 1,117 fps, and from a 2.12-inch S&W Model 60 it ran 1,065 fps. These are…

XS SIGHTS HAS TWO NEW INLINE REAR SIGHT TOOLS FOR GLOCK PISTOLS that are made in the USA from 6061 T6 aluminum and hard coat anodized. The DIY Series Sight Pusher Install Kit is engineered for do-it-yourselfers and allows a wide range of sight installs on all Glock slides. The included Allen key is turned to move the pusher back and forth across the slide, and the process of installing and removing sights requires up to 50 percent less force than other sight pushers. This kit includes the sight pusher with stainless-steel bolt, locking wedge, Allen key, go/no-go gauges, steel Glock front sight tool, oil, and thread locker. The GUNSMITH Series Sight Pusher is intended for professional use and offers the fastest sight installation. Instead of an Allen key to…

I RECEIVED TWO VERY GOOD BALLISTICS questions in a span of a few days. My editor and I decided my responses might interest the broader audience. SAAMI Versus CIP Pressures? B.B. from Oregon responded to my recent column on .45-caliber British revolver cartridges. He said I erred in stating that there is a lack of correlation or conversion of the pressure unit bar used by CIP (Commission International Permanente, Europe) to the pressure unit psi as used by SAAMI. I would have been seriously wrong had I stated, “There is no direct correlation/conversion between ‘bar’ and ‘psi’….” But I wrote, “There is no direct correlation/conversion between CIP’s ‘bar’ and SAAMI’s ‘psi’ pressure protocols….” I gladly can say we are both correct. The reader is correct in that 1.0 bar equals…

THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ED BROWN Products EVO line of Model 1911s is the EVO E9-LW. Company spokesmen say this new configuration is “optimized for 9mm.” As such, it features a shortened and thinned 4.0-inch-long slide and an aluminum frame. Additionally, it is the first EVO pistol equipped with a red-dot optic. I’ll get to those details and more shortly, but first, here’s a quick review of how the EVO line has evolved. EVO stands for Evolution, and this series of Ed Brown pistols was born only a few years ago. The first models in the line inherited Ed Brown’s Bobtail grip frame, which is rounded off at the bottom to reduce printing when carried concealed. The Bobtail frame was a true trendsetter when it was introduced in 2002…

IN THE SPIRIT OF THIS AGE OF “GREEN” EVERY- thing, I offer you a gun-cleaning and maintenance suggestion that ticks every environmental box and does a great job. It is a 120-year-old concoction called Ballistol. As well as the age of green, we are also into the age of specialization, with some solvents touted solely for use in large-rifle, blackpowder substitutes or in bores clogged with tin-lead alloys. The joy of Ballistol is that it can be used not only in any firearm using blackpowder or smokeless powder, but it also is beneficial to wooden stocks, leather slings, and if the necessity arises, to treat your boot leather and even ward off trench foot. If this sounds incredible, well, it is, rather. But history bears it out. Ballistol was invented…

Q. I RECALL READING IN AN ISSUE OF SHOOTING TIMES ABOUT TRIG- gers and the gauges the magazine writers use, but I can’t find it. Can you refresh my memory on what the most popular and accurate gauges are for measuring trigger pull, especially for handguns? Michael Kmitch Via email A. After receiving your question, I conducted a quick up-to-date survey of the writers. Before I go too far with that information, let me tell you that I use two different RCBS mechanical spring gauges. One is called the RCBS Trigger Pull Scale, and it measures trigger pulls up to 8 pounds and is graduated in 2-ounce increments. I use it for semiautomatic pistols, single-action revolvers, double-action revolvers in single-action mode, precision rifles, and shotguns. Two of the writers I…

CAN YOU HAVE A “LOVE-HATE” RELATIONSHIP with a cartridge? I say you can because that’s what I have with the .38-40 (a.k.a. .38 WCF). I must love it because I have owned a lot of guns chambered for it, including a Remington Model 14½, a Ruger New Model Blackhawk Convertible, a Winchester Model 1873, a Third Generation Colt Single Action Army, a Marlin Model 1894, and a Bowen custom conversion of a Ruger Blackhawk Flattop. In fact, I just acquired a new-to-me vintage Winchester Model 92 from former Shooting Times writer and friend Rick Jamison. The .38-40 handguns and rifles I have are fun to shoot and surprisingly accurate, considering my old eyes peering down the barrels over iron sights. But I also hate the cartridge because it’s frustrating to…

IN THE FIRST ISSUE OF SHOOTING TIMES (MARCH 1960), the magazine began covering the topic of gunsmithing with a monthly column. This being our annual “gun care” issue, I thought now was a good time to remember the writers who have served as our resident gunsmiths. The first was P.O. Ackley. A lot has been written about Ackley, and not just in ST. However, I dedicated a full “Hipshots” column to him in the November 2018 issue, so I won’t rehash it here. Suffice it to say, P.O. Ackley was a legendary gunsmith and wildcat-cartridge developer. For his first few monthly “The Gunsmith” installments, he covered such topics as barrel steels, headspacing, and various aspects of wildcatting. Then beginning with the September 1960 issue, the format of this column was…