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7.62x25mm Tokarev: The Many Copies Of The Combloc Icon

By
George Layman
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The Czech CZ 52 is the only “un-Tokarev” of the communist Eastern European semiautomatic pistol designs in the Soviet caliber of 7.62x25mm. Perhaps a more contemporary design, the CZ 52’s greatest drawback is the lack of a slide latch, and it depends upon an empty magazine to lock the slide to the rear. The Bakelite grips are fastened by a U clamp. At the range, the author feels it handles somewhat better than pistols of the Tokarev pattern.
The Czech CZ 52 is the only “un-Tokarev” of the communist Eastern European semiautomatic pistol designs in the Soviet caliber of 7.62x25mm. Perhaps a more contemporary design, the CZ 52’s greatest drawback is the lack of a slide latch, and it depends upon an empty magazine to lock the slide to the rear. The Bakelite grips are fastened by a U clamp. At the range, the author feels it handles somewhat better than pistols of the Tokarev pattern.

Among the best known Combloc pistols, true-to-life Russian Tokarev pistol specimens are few and far between stateside. But its clones abound.

Ironically, Russia never released the surplus Tokarev TT-33 semiautomatic pistols after the fall of communism. Chambered for the powerful, high-velocity bottlenecked 7.62x25mm cartridge, the Tokarev was well known, but not readily available in the West for over five decades. In reality, it used a round that was an almost identical, but hopped-up version of the old 7.63mm Mauser “Broomhandle” cartridge. Adopted by the USSR in 1933, those very few that have come into the United States were either wartime bring-backs, including a limited quantity of imports from the Ukraine. In years gone by, Service Armament (later Navy Arms Company) offered a handful in the 1960s, all of which were Spanish military surplus and were leftover Soviet “gifts” from the Spanish Civil War in 1936, however, most of those ‘60s imports came from Finland.

Manufactured at the Tula Arsenal, this eight-shot, short-recoil-operated semiautomatic pistol that takes much of its mechanics from both John Browning’s Colt Model 1903 and Model 1911, is probably one of the most widespread military handguns used throughout the world. Furthermore, it was licensed by the Soviet Union to at least three European countries behind the Iron Curtain, as we shall later see. Currently, aside from those 1990s arrivals from the Ukraine, the author has yet to observe any Russian-made Tokarev TT-33 in this country that came to our shore directly from its Motherland. Thus, the specimens most commonly available in this country are once again, more often than not, bring-backs from the Vietnam War, Korea or other former combat zones. For that short period of time in the mid- to late-1990s, the limited numbers of Russian-made TT-33 pistols imported by Century International from the Ukraine were equipped with a mandatory aftermarket manual trigger safety required by federal law. This unwanted addition was demanded by the BATFE on all pistols of Tokarev design. Nevertheless, though former Ukraine state property, all are marked “Russia” along with the importer’s address.

Shown here is the Romanian TTC and the Yugoslavian M-57 copy of the Russian Tokarev. It can be seen that physically the two differ primarily with the longer grip of the latter, which accepts a nine-round magazine in lieu of the standard Tokarev’s eight. Romanian TTC pistols were for the most part refinished prior to export, and the majority of the M-57 variety were imported in “as is” condition. Note the added thumb safety on the Romanian example – a feature demanded by the BATFE prior to import of any pistol of the Tokarev design. The M-57 is equipped with a far more cosmetically pleasing sliding safety adjacent to the left frame.
Shown here is the Romanian TTC and the Yugoslavian M-57 copy of the Russian Tokarev. It can be seen that physically the two differ primarily with the longer grip of the latter, which accepts a nine-round magazine in lieu of the standard Tokarev’s eight. Romanian TTC pistols were for the most part refinished prior to export, and the majority of the M-57 variety were imported in “as is” condition. Note the added thumb safety on the Romanian example – a feature demanded by the BATFE prior to import of any pistol of the Tokarev design. The M-57 is equipped with a far more cosmetically pleasing sliding safety adjacent to the left frame.

In the beginning, it appears that one of the earliest semiautomatic pistols in 7.62mm Tokarev caliber introduced to U.S. shores was the indigenously designed Czechoslovakian CZ-52. Between 1993 and 1996, Century Arms International was among the first to offer the CZ 52 on the American surplus market. Its arrival was certainly a welcome one as practically no American shooters or collectors had ever had the opportunity to examine, let alone own, one of these unique semiautomatic pistols. From 1952 to 1954, the Czech government manufactured a total of 200,000 CZ 52 pistols, which bear no resemblance to the Tokarev physically, nor internally, whatsoever. Its original Czech nomenclature was the Vzor or VZ 52 (Vzor translated to “Model” in Czech) is more commonly known to Americans with the prefix “CZ”, and was the brainchild of engineers, Jaroslav Kratochvil and Frantisek Myska who were fairly prominent in Czech ordnance circles.

Da … We Have More Combloc Guns:

  • Is A Mosin-Nagant Still Worth The Money?
  • The AK-47: Rifle for the Motherland
  • SKS Collecting: The Last Hold Out?
  • The Makarov And Other 9x18mm Pistols
  • The Peculiar Pioneer Arms PM-63C Pistol
  • Nagant Revolver: Unique Relic From Behind The Iron Curtain

The entire mechanical concept of their design was unlike any other semiautomatic military pistol manufactured to date. The action of this unique eight-shot, single-action pistol utilizes a roller-locked, short-recoil system equipped with a cam block that is quite efficient at allowing the use of both standard velocity or high-pressure submachine gun ammunition. Similar to that of the German MG 42 machine gun, the CZ 52’s beefy lock-up system has never been applied to another semiautomatic pistol. Czech military’s reasoning behind this was to allow the use of one cartridge for both pistol and submachine gun, a logistically clever move precluding the requirement to maintain and identify two varieties of cartridges for two different firearms. Design-wise, no screws are used in its construction and its multiposition, manually operated safety system allows it to be de-cocked and locked with a round in the chamber as the firing pin has a sear block system allowing safe carry. The red-lined Bakelite grips are retained by a “U” clip and unless reworked, most pistols have a phosphate-like finish similar to Parkerization. The CZ 52 remained in uninterrupted service until it was replaced in 1982 by the CZ 82 in 9mm Makarov caliber.

At the range, the Romanian TTC performs superbly at ranges up to 50 yards. This tight group was fired at 15 yards using surplus Romanian 7.62x25mm ammunition. Much of it is surefire, 1980s manufacture, and is still readily available.
At the range, the Romanian TTC performs superbly at ranges up to 50 yards. This tight group was fired at 15 yards using surplus Romanian 7.62x25mm ammunition. Much of it is surefire, 1980s manufacture, and is still readily available.

A word of caution on the CZ 52 drop safety is that many of these are well known for worn safety disconnectors, and may inadvertently fire when using the de-cock feature on a loaded chamber if such parts are not replaced. The best advice is not to use the de-cock feature at all on a loaded CZ 52 chamber. Replacement parts for the CZ 52 may be found at harringtonproducts.com.

Three post-World War II Soviet satellites opted to build copies of the Russian TT-33 Tokarev in their own factories, and examples of these were seen for the first time in the 1990s when these countries began selling off their Soviet-era hardware. Among the first licensees to manufacture a clone of the Russian Tokarev service pistol was Poland. Since 1922, Poland’s Fabrika Broni, located in Radom and known also as Lucznik Arms Factory Number 11, had a reputation for producing high-quality military arms, and were temporarily taken by Germany during the Nazi occupation. FB continued to remain active following the end of World War II when Soviet domination dictated Poland’s governmental affairs. In late 1946 the Polish military adopted the Russian Tokarev as their standard military sidearm and received licensing rights to manufacture the pistol domestically. Earlier that year, tooling and gauges were shipped to Poland from Russia’s Tula Arsenal with production of the PW wz.33 copy of the Tokarev commencing soon after.

The surplus M-57 pistols made prior to the early 1980s have “29 November 1943 Yugoslavian Republic” crest representing the date of the council at Jajce, located on the rear of the slide. Highly detailed when seen magnified, its presence will increase prices on pistols.
The surplus M-57 pistols made prior to the early 1980s have “29 November 1943 Yugoslavian Republic” crest representing the date of the council at Jajce, located on the rear of the slide. Highly detailed when seen magnified, its presence will increase prices on pistols.

The Polish variant is practically identical to its Russian counterpart – with the physical exception of its grips. The Soviet version has a five-point star with CCCP in between the star points (USSR in the Cyrillic alphabet), whereas the hard rubber grips on the Polish copy have vertical striated lines from top to bottom minus the circle and star logo. Serial numbers are located on the left frame and upper slide along with the year of manufacture and Factory’s Circle 11 logo. In regression, as the original Tokarev’s sole safety feature is a half-cock position on the hammer, the BATFE-added trigger safety is located beneath the slide catch. The most commonly encountered type of supplementary safety found on Tokarev imports is a rotating thumb-type affair. Though noble in concept, the unsightly addition simply detracts from the Tokarev’s original cosmetics. Having long since sold out from import surplus distributors, they are regularly encountered on Internet websites.

A peculiar note is appropriate regarding the Tokarev copies. Along with the former Soviet Union, the one Eastern European nation that did not export their Tokarev copies is Hungary. Receiving their license rights to build the Tokarev at the Budapest Fegyvar factory in 1948, their variant is known as the Pistoly M48. From the end of the Cold War to the present, Hungary has not released any domestically produced Tokarev copies and the reasons are yet unknown. Hungary did export their 9mm Makarov caliber surplus handguns as shall be seen later. With very limited numbers of the M48 pistols in the United States, it should be considered the rarest of Eastern European Tokarev copies. Currently, most are found ranging in price from $1,600 to $2,500 on the surplus firearms circuit.

From left is 1980s Romanian surplus ammo, of which is presently the most plentiful and packed at 72 rounds per box. The center is the Czech M-48 submachine gun ammo, 40 rounds per box in stripper clips. This is no longer as common as it was 15 years ago and is the most expensive.
From left is 1980s Romanian surplus ammo, of which is presently the most plentiful and packed at 72 rounds per box. The center is the Czech M-48 submachine gun ammo, 40 rounds per box in stripper clips. This is no longer as common as it was 15 years ago and is the most expensive.

Following Poland, it appears that both Romania and Yugoslavia began exporting their surplus licensed Tokarev pistols with the former appearing about 1997 up until 2013, when supposedly the final lots were received. Romania’s licensing rights to manufacture the Tokarev began about 1952 and ceased production in 1959. Known as the TTC or Tulskiye Tokarev Cugir, they were produced at the Romanian military arms factory at Cugir and remained in regular service until the Romanian revolution of 1989. Practically identical to the Polish version, its major differences are the narrow, rear slide grip serrations, whereas the Polish copy had the spaced oval serrations, similar to those found on the original Russian TT-33. Also, the Romanian TTC has the hard rubber grips with a circled five-point star. The lettering located between the star points is “RPR,” an abbreviation for Republica Socialistica Romania. The Romanian TTC has its serial number and year of manufacture on the rear left frame with import markings and country of origin usually on the center of the left slide flat. The identical, and non-original, swiveling thumb safety is located similar to that of the Polish variant. Incidentally, some gunsmiths have removed these, filling the space with a dummy pin. However, this can be a tricky procedure and are perhaps best left alone.

Research has found that PW Arms of Washington state possibly imported the most recent, and perhaps final batches. Many of the TTC pistols included an original military-style brown flap holster and a cleaning rod, and the majority were refinished and in crisp mechanical condition. The author has fired this pistol with hundreds of rounds of fresh, but corrosive, Romanian surplus 7.62x25mm ammunition loaded with 86-grain copper jacketed bullets; and it is a superb performer at the range. At 50 yards, 3- to 4-inch groups were commonplace on a half-size silhouette target. Overall, it’s a great combination for the shooter searching for economy, satisfactory accuracy and a piece of Iron Curtain history, to boot.

At right is the Polish-made 7.62 Tokarev ammunition that is still for sale at various times. The string-tied, blue-paper wrapped Bulgarian surplus ammo is presently available in large quantities. It is sold in either the 16-round pack as shown, or in sealed zinc cans of 440 or 600 rounds.
At right is the Polish-made 7.62 Tokarev ammunition that is still for sale at various times. The string-tied, blue-paper wrapped Bulgarian surplus ammo is presently available in large quantities. It is sold in either the 16-round pack as shown, or in sealed zinc cans of 440 or 600 rounds.

The last of the licensed Tokarev copies imported into the United States are those from the former Yugoslavia, a former communist country that broke off relations with the USSR in 1948. The Yugoslav M-57 is believed to have first appeared on the U.S. surplus market sometime around 2000 to 2004. We must remember that the Balkan wars in Bosnia and Kosovo ended just a short time earlier and most of the old Yugoslav republics hung on to much of their obsolete surplus firearms. Licensed to Yugoslavia during Premier Tito’s reign in 1957, manufacture of the M-57 was produced at the Crvena Zastava arms factory in Serbia.

There are a few twists to this particular pistol that differs from the standard Tokarev design. First off, the grip of the M-57 is some 15 millimeters longer than the standard Tokarev and was purposely lengthened to accept a nine-round magazine. The eight-round standard Tokarev magazine, however, is not interchangeable – nor vice versa. Furthermore, the M-57 has a magazine disconnector, which will not allow it to fire without a magazine inserted. In addition, the forward portion of the upper slide flat is serrated to reduce glare and it has a dovetailed front sight base to adjust windage. Also, the firing-pin retaining system differs by way of a three-piece “U” clamp assembly rather than the simple crosspin retainer of the standard Tokarev. Apparently, the engineers at Yugoslavia’s former state factory at Zastava sought to improve building a better Tokarev using reverse engineering. Perhaps the most cosmetically appealing, but non-original, feature is the sliding frame safety, which is installed along the left frame panel above the inner grip. This was by far a better approach to satisfy the BATFE demands for the added safety. For this reason the M-57 is advertised in the United States as an M-57A, the A indicating alteration for installation of the required safety. Be that as it may, the left slide flat remains stamped with M-57 as most military surplus variants were manufactured up to the late 1980s.

The author has found that the Yugoslav imports are in varying grades of condition from good to near excellent. It serves to be noted that the values of the M-57 for the collector have increased, especially those with the presence of the old Yugoslavian republic crest on the upper rear of the slide. Most of these pistols were produced before 1989, prior to separation of the six republics of Bosnia, Montenegro, Slovenia, Macedonia, Croatia and Serbia. This crest has a typical communist wreath with six flames, a star, and 25 November in Roman numerals and the year 1943. Prior to 1964, another crest with five flames was stamped in the same location and represented the five ethnic groups of Yugoslavia. Several U.S. importers have handled the M-57/57A with import marks of various countries of origin from within the former Yugoslav republics.

In addition to the availability of these pistols for the past two-plus decades, American shooters can also consider themselves quite fortunate to have been able to obtain substantial quantities of 7.62x25mm surplus ammunition. Prior to the end of the Cold War, this cartridge was practically impossible to obtain in the West, and what was available at the time was prohibitively expensive. Military surplus ammunition from Romania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Poland are where the majority of 7.62x25mm fodder has originated and it is all corrosive. Quality of the ammunition varies with some showing chronic evidence of case splitting after firing, particularly in some lots of the Polish and Bulgarian varieties. Being Berdan primed, none of it was intended to be reloaded. The occurrence of minor case neck splitting after firing is not dangerous to the shooter, but can raise eyebrows. However any loaded ammunition with any such visible deficiencies should not be fired. Examine before you purchase. Perhaps the smallest quantities of imported 7.62×25 surplus ammunition is from Czechoslovakia. The majority that has been available is of the M 48 submachine gun variety, which are packed with five, eight-round stripper clips, 40 rounds to a box. As previously noted, the action of the Czech CZ 52 pistol was purposely built to be able to handle both standard and high-pressure submachine gun ammunition.

The M48 cartridge is loaded with an 85-grain steel jacketed, or copper-cased bullet, which is the average weight for most 7.62 Tokarev ammunition manufactured in former communist arsenals. The heaviest bullet weight loaded were some Russian-made varieties with a 90-grain projectile. In addition to surplus fodder, there are ample numbers of commercial ammunition makers in Europe and the United States that offer the 7.62x25mm cartridge. For those bent on reloading this number, Boxer-primed Winchester 7.62x25mm ammunition is available in their Metric Cartridge Line. Actually manufactured in the Czech Republic, nonetheless, they are of the highest quality, adhering to the typical Winchester standard. Average muzzle velocity for the 7.62 x25 mm is in the 1,230 to 1,350 feet per second range, however, the surplus Czech M 48 submachine gun cartridge attains a whopping 1,730 fps on average.

Editor's Notes: This article originally appeared in Gun Digest 2018, 72nd Edition.

New Guns And Gear December 2020: Aiming Solution Special

By
Gun Digest Editors
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In the market for some class glass? Check out some of the best new optics and aiming solutions ready to get you on target.

What Are The Top New Optics:

  • Aimpoint CompM5b
  • Viridian HS1 Laser-Sight Hand Stop
  • Maven CS.1 15-45x65mm Spotting Scope
  • Sightmark Wraith HD 2-16x28mm
  • Bushnell AR Optics 4.5-18x40mm Multi-Turret Riflescope
  • Meprolight R4E Tru-Dot
  • Swampfox Liberty and Justice Red-Dot Sights

    • Whether it’s a top-of-the-line scope to make a long shot a sure bet or a minuscule red dot for hitting center mass every time, you need a solid aiming solution. Optics, laser sights and red dots are better than ever and, in many cases, won’t break the bank. We’ve gathered up seven of the best new optics to hit the market recently. All you’ve got to decide is, which will get you on target?

    Aimpoint CompM5b

    GG Aimpoint

    It’s no secret that Aimpoint delivers the goods. But the respected optics maker might’ve outdone itself with the CompM5b. The red dot offers a truly tactical system, not only delivering outstanding accuracy, but also quick calibration. This, in part, is thanks to an interchangeable turret system adapted for different calibers at different target ranges. It’s also compatible with an array of Aimpoint magnifiers, including the 3XMag-1 and 6XMag-1 magnifiers, as well as all generations of Night Vision Devices. Its 2-MOA dot is excellent for precise close-quarters engagements, but fine enough to handle midrange work. And, as expected from Aimpoint, the 6.3 unit is tough. MSRP: $1,124

    Viridian HS1 Laser-Sight Hand Stop

    GG Viridian

    Simple concepts oftentimes prove the most useful. That perfectly pegs Viridian’s new additions. Pulling double duty, the HS1 is the first and only hand stop laser sighting device on the market. Hard to believe it’s taken this long for someone to cook up this concept, given the AR-15 is more than a half-century old. As to the particulars of the Viridian HS1, it uses a highly visible green laser, which extends its use to some daylight applications. M-Lok mounts make it compatible with a wide spectrum of handguards. And, it has a simple operating system, powering on via a pressure pad on the stop. There might not a more practical addition for a close-quarters AR. MSRP: $179

    Maven CS.1 15-45x65mm

    GG Maven

    Compromise isn’t part of the game with once-in-a-lifetime hunts. From rifle to boots, you’ve got to have equipment up to the job. Maven gets this, which is why they’ve designed the CS.1 spotting scope. At once, the precision optic is lightweight and unimposing, while delivering pristine details at ranges most other scopes only dream of. Boasting the same extra-low dispersion, multi-coated glass found in Maven’s C Series binos, the CS.1 has impeccable light-gathering capabilities, producing bright, high-contrast images. And with an aluminum/magnesium frame, the 40-ounce optic is next to nothing in a rucksack with the durability to stand up to the toughest hunt. MSRP: $650

    Gear Up!:

    Sightmark Wraith HD 2-16x28mm

    GG Sightmark

    Lack of light is no excuse to head home from the field. Not with the Wraith HD 2-16x28mm digital riflescope on your rifle. Boasting a 1920×1080 CMOS sensor that delivers pristine images on a 1280×720 FLCOS display, the day/night optic is the perfect option to fill your bag, no matter the hour. The dandy optic is easy to use, too. Switching from full-color daytime mode to green or black-and-white night IR is push-button simple. Additionally, the Wraith comes with a removable 850nm IR illuminator to enhance nighttime images for accurate target acquisition out to 200 yards. If that’s not enough, the scope’s built-in video recording system comes with seven hours of memory. MSRP: $600

    Bushnell AR Optics 4.5-18x40mm Multi-Turret Riflescope

    GG Bushnells

    Next to surgical-like precision, long-range shooting pursuits are known for one thing—a hefty price tag. However, Bushnell has done a dynamite job moderating the expense of adding a quality optic and continues the trend with the AR Optics 4.5-18x40mm Multi-Turret. The scope’s defining feature is its quick-swap elevation caps. Simply choose from four popular calibers—6.5 CM, .224 Valkyrie, .308 Win. and .223 Rem—and you’re ready to dial in at any range. Large controls, from magnification ring lever to turrets, make this tactical marvel easy to adjust on the fly. And with a large 40mm objective and magnification to spare, it’s certain to get you on target no matter the distance. MSRP: $270

    Meprolight R4E Tru-Dot

    GG Mepolight

    While suppressors have taken the shooting world by storm, it takes more than just a threaded muzzle to make one compatible with most handguns. Given the diameter of some cans, sights are a concern. Meprolight solves this dilemma with the introduction of the R4E Tru-Dot day/night sights. Tailored for Glock and H&K VP9 pistols, the upgraded sights stand taller, allowing for a clear sight picture over a suppressor. The sights also boast three vertical and two horizontal lines that produce a reticle-type sight picture that improves target acquisition time. Furthermore, the lines are tritium enhanced on the rear sight to help improve target acquisition in low-light conditions. Available in orange, yellow or green, the sights are ideal to get on target with your suppressed handgun. MSRP: $129

    Swampfox Liberty and Justice Red-Dot Sights

    GG bliad

    What? You aren’t shooting with a red dot yet? As far as modern accessories go, there are few that do more for your accuracy behind a handgun. Swampfox makes red dots an easy, not to mention effective, addition to your target or defensive pistol with the introduction of the Liberty and Justice red-dots. The next-generation optics are optimized for concealed carry, robust enough to take everyday knocks, and adequately low-profile to keep under wraps. Liberty is Swampfox’s standard-window model, measuring 22mm wide, while the Justice is the big-window 27mm variant. Whichever you choose, you’ll get a 3 MOA dot, shake-and-wake power system and incredibly long battery life.
    MSRP: Liberty: $249 / Justice: $259

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    New Texas Bill Requires Victims to Attempt Retreat before Using Deadly Force

    By
    Gun Digest Editors
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    AdobeStock_129793745

    Lone Star Gun Rights is alerting Texans to a bill pre-filed by Texas Rep. Terry Meza; HB 196: AN ACT relating to the use of deadly force in defense of a person or property. Per LSGR:

    …a very worrying piece of legislation was introduced by Irving State Representative Terry Meza. HB 196 seeks to repeal the Castle Doctrine, preventing a homeowner from using firearms to defend their property.

    Yes and no. The bill does strike “robbery, or aggravated robbery” from the list of things one can use deadly force against in Sections 9.32(a)(3)(B). But the use of deadly force — and not just with a firearm — to prevent the loss of “tangible, movable property” is left intact in Section 9.41.

    Now, in my own state one cannot use deadly force to prevent a theft, but nonlethal force is permissible. And if a criminal is stupid enough to escalate the situation by assaulting you in order to complete the theft, deadly force would then be on the table. That's also the case in Texas under Section 9.31. So I don't think that would be too great a problem in of of itself, other than the precedent of restricting rights.

    The problem is that HB 196 would also do something else, something problematic. Texas has no duty for victims to retreat. This bill would require a victim to attempt to retreat in the face of an attacker before using deadly force, except when you are in your own home (Section 9.31(c)). This eliminates so-called stand your ground protection.

    I call duty to retreat Faster Than A Speeding Bullet, because if your attacker is armed with a firearm, that's how fast you would have to be for a retreat to work.

    Texans should read LGSR's entire alert for a list of other bad Dem-sponsored 2A infringements.

    This article originally appeared on TheTruthAboutGuns.com

    Top AR-15 Upgrades From Top To Bottom

    By
    Luke Hartle
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    AR Upgrade Lead

    Fast, easy and inexpensive AR-15 upgrades.

    What Are The AR-15 Upgrades On This Rifle:

    Have you ever seen a NASCAR driver roll up his sleeves and dive, elbow-deep, under the hood of his machine? Yeah, me neither. Now, I’m confident that every driver has an intricate understanding of what goes on under all those logos while he’s chewing up asphalt at 200 mph, but when parts need swapping and tweaks need tweaking, there’s a guy on the team for that. The driver drives, and the mechanics wrench.

    For the most part, gun owners work like this too. The majority of riflemen I know—and I’m referring to people who have multiple gun safes to house all their firearms—do little more to their firearms than pull the bolt to clean the gun. The thought of checking the torque on the action’s screws or pulling the trigger assembly for a clean-and-lube darned near paralyzes them. In their minds, they do the “driving,” and a qualified gunsmith does the “wrenching.”

    Now, don’t misunderstand me one bit here: If you’re uncomfortable opening that hood, don’t do it. Tinkering with a firearm is always best left to the trained hand.

    A Different ‘Racecar’

    But, with that said, the AR is a completely different type of “racecar”—the type that can make even the newest of shooters (or those hardcore shooters who are completely new to the platform)—look like a master mechanic. While I don’t agree with those who refer to the platform as “Legos for gun guys,” the modularity advantage of this statement certainly stands up. And, as a result, it’s possible to change up the body and the handling of the rig without messing around with the “drivetrain.”

    Here’s my point: Customizing something to fit your needs and personality is, simply put, fun … whether we’re talking about outfitting a truck or tweaking a firearm. I know a lot of hardcore gun guys—people who own a dozen bolt-action rifles, a half-dozen revolvers, a bunch of 1911s and even a few poly guns—who avoid the AR platform entirely, simply because it’s so different from what they know.

    And none of them is wrong: The AR is quite radical by old-school standards. But, in this case, radical equals intuitive, and intuitive equals easy customization.

    To prove my point in an effort to inspire you to find that special “this one is mine” Zen, I detailed a part-by-part breakdown of my most recent AR-15 upgrade project. And, to further prove my point about this being so simple that even an AR amateur can do it, I timed a good friend (who owns a bunch of rifles and pistols but has only shot one 20-round mag through an AR) during each phase. He knows guns, but he’s new to ARs.

    For the install of each piece, I silently observed while the included instructions were referenced. YouTube was consulted for additional instruction, as needed.

    For this article, I’m not going to crawl down the torque-spec rabbit hole. You don’t have to be the head cashier at Bass Pro to know that managed torque is extremely important in every firearm, regardless of platform. For torque specs, hit up the instructions or the website of the manufacturer that made your specific part(s).

    All right; enough of that. Let’s get on with it.

    Gun

    RRA

    Make: Rock River Arms
    Model: RRAge AR-15 in 5.56 NATO
    MSRP: $760
    Time: N/A
    Notes: N/A
    When ARs first entered the consumer market, ground-level guns were quickly replaced by the manufacturers with, “Let’s see what unique features we can slap on this gun to make our black gun different from the rest.” With that came a substantial jump in pricing, and that movement essentially created a forest of niche-based ARs with price tags that alienated many potential new-to-platform shooters.

    Today, “budget-friendly” is a market phrase that’s re-infiltrated the lineups from most manufacturers. Finding a sub-$500 AR is very possible: There are some diamonds in the rough, but a cheap car isn’t really “cheap” if you have to replace the transmission within a few thousand miles. Get me?

    I chose the Rock River RRAge as the chassis for this AR-15 upgrade project, largely due to the company’s outstanding reputation. As with others in this class (for example, Sig Sauer’s Tread or Springfield’s Saint), the reliability comes stamped with a company name that’s proven its competence.

    The RRAge’s furniture wares are as expected from a budget-friendly rifle: an M4-style stock, six-position receiver extension, very basic, A2-style pistol grip and an ejection port cover. A 16-inch barrel with a carbine-length gas system and an RRA single-stage, mil-spec trigger are also included. Absent are a forward assist and a case deflector, but I honestly couldn’t care less (apologies in advance to any traditionalists out there).

    Bolt Carrier Group

    BCG

    Make: Velocity Triggers
    Model: Recoil-less Bolt Carrier
    MSRP: $299.95
    Time: 12 minutes
    Notes: Synchronized removal of the bolt carrier group and the charging handle can be a delicate dance. It’s easy, but it’s gotta be just right. The same goes for the re-install of each.

    I consider this AR-15 upgrade the biggest novelty buy of this build … but it was so damned easy! Although the low-mass bolt carrier can be purchased separately, this beauty (yes, the nano-diamond nickel coating visually matches my comp and trigger quite well) performs best with the fine-tuning capabilities offered with an adjustable gas block.

    In case it isn’t clear, the entire premise behind the low-mass, Recoil-less bolt carrier is designed to do exactly as its name indicates: minimize recoil. Sure, the 5.56 NATO doesn’t produce much to begin with, but with recoil reduction comes a reduction in muzzle rise—which means faster follow-up shots, one after another.

    Trigger

    Rise Trigger drop in ar-15 upgrade

    Make: Rise Armament
    Model: RA-434 High-Performance Trigger
    MSRP: $169
    Time: 14 minutes
    Notes: Two pins remove the two-piece mil-spec trigger. Two pins secure the one-piece drop-in.

    If you retain a single sentence from this entire article, let it be this one: Replace your mil-spec trigger immediately. Take money out of your child’s college fund to pay for its replacement if you have to, but get it done! It is, without question, the most impactful AR-15 upgrade equation … and, it’s not that expensive. While brand options are many, I elected to go with Rise Armament’s RA-434 because it operates in a sweet spot between speed (not a priority concern for my shooting disciplines) and smoothness (which should be everyone’s priority) from a single-stage function.

    Remember what your grandfather told you? “The gun should surprise you when it goes off.” Um, no. I want a trigger that breaks cleanly and consistently so I know exactly when it’s going to release during each and every shot cycle. I got that—at a 3.5-pound break—with the Rise 434. Plus, it comes packaged with anti-walk pins. And, in the name of true vanity, the trigger’s silver color closely matches the bolt carrier and the comp. (Hey, looks matter!)

    Get On Target With The AR:

    Stock

    Stock

    Make: Hogue Grips
    Model: Rubber Overmolded Collapsible Buttstock
    MSRP: $69.95
    Time: Under 1 minute
    Notes: It’ll take you longer to open the new stock’s packaging than it will for you to make the swap!

    Pop the pin, slide the old stock off the rear of the tube. Push the pin on the new stock and slide it on. Don’t even waste your time YouTube-ing this step … you’ll have it done before you find a suitable instructional video.

    I chose the Hogue for the AR-15 upgrade project because it markets its stock as being a “beard-safe design,” and anyone that creative and honest can have my money. However, more important than that was the rubber overmolding for a hard and comfortable cheekweld. There’s a bit of a recoil pad, but it’s semi-unnecessary with the light tickle of 5.56 NATO fire.

    It’s also worth noting here that not all buffer tubes are created equal (yes, I learned the hard way during my first stock swap a few years back); thus, your stock must fit accordingly. In the sometimes convoluted world of the AR, there’s a “commercial tube” and a “mil-spec” tube. My RRAge has the commercial variant. Simply: The commercial buffer tube has a slightly larger diameter—about 3/100 inch. Whatever genius thought we needed two buffer tube sizes should be kicked. Hard.

    Grips

    AR-15 upgrade Grip

    Make: VZ Weapon Solutions
    Model: Recon M-Lok Bundle
    MSRP: $129
    Time: 5 minutes
    Notes: Remove the original grip slowly, and don’t take your eyes off that selector spring. It’s Houdini-like!

    Remember when I said that looks matter? A good-looking AR had better have a grip and rail panels that match, and they’d better tie in with the rest of the build as well. But, alas, the form must have a function if I’m spending the money and the time to affix it to my AR.

    Like AR manufacturers, the companies that offer AR accessories are thick these days. And, honestly, VZ Grips came out of left field. Like a bee to honey, I was attracted to the availability of a blue pistol grip to match my handguard. However, after a wee bit of digging, I also realized I’d be adding an increased palm swell for better control, as well as textured rail panels for grip indexing and control up front. It’s an excellent upgrade. I also swapped the grips on my 1911 Executive carry gun to match.

    I have two words of warning here: First, clear your afternoon schedule before jumping onto the VZ Grips website. It’s like a grown man’s candy store. Second, keep an eye on that darned nomadic selector spring when you pop off the factory grip. It’ll wander off on ya.

    Trigger Guard

    Trigger Guard

    Make: Velocity Triggers
    Model: Sentinel Trigger Guard
    MSRP: $14.95
    Time: Less than 5 minutes
    Notes: Pop a roll pin and a detent pin to remove the old guard. Three screws secure the new one.

    For me, this AR-15 upgrade is a complete vanity item—for no other reason than to get some more beautiful blue onto this build. It’s very much true that the Sentinel does allow for a bit more finger room inside the guard; and, for some shooting styles, that little bit of room makes a big difference. Me? I just like the color!

    Mag Catch Release

    Mag Release

    Make: Velocity Triggers
    Model: VMR Magazine Release
    MSRP: $21.95
    Time: 6 minutes
    Notes: Remove the original by pushing the mag release button in with a punch and unscrewing the mag release on the opposing side. The new one goes on just as easily.

    The award for “tiny, but mighty” goes to Velocity’s “extended” mag release button. My mom always said that habits are just cobwebs that become cables. Still, even after countless rounds through an AR, I occasionally struggle to quickly and efficiently find the mag release button on a tactical reload. This little AR-15 upgrade not only matches in color (Velocity’s website lists 10 color options), it also adds just enough real estate for my index finger to find easily.

    Handguard

    Handguard AR-15 upgrade

    Make: Rise Armament
    Model: RA-905 M-Lok
    MSRP: $229
    Time: 22 minutes
    Notes: Most handguards will come with a replacement barrel nut, which means that removal of the gas system is mandatory. This isn’t as daunting as it sounds! YouTube is your friend here.

    How does one not select a handguard with the color name, “Patriot Blue”? To make sure the function fits the form, the RA-905 is free-floating (as it should be), loaded with M-Lok slots and complete with Picatinny rail mounting options at both the muzzle and breech of the handguard. What I really like about this handguard is the slim profile through the center, which allows my fat mitts great control over the muzzle end of the gun.

    Muzzle Device

    Compensator

    Make: Rise Armament
    Model: RA-701 Compensator
    MSRP: $109
    Time: 3 minutes
    Notes: Keep an eye on how the washer references the barrel to avoid putting it on backward.
    I know that a stainless steel comp is going to show shooting debris 10 times more than a black one, but when it’s clean … man, does it look sharp! Plus, top porting is designed to mitigate muzzle rise. Most importantly, I wanted the flash hider off my gun.

    Unless you’re trying to do something with the rifle that you really shouldn’t be doing anyway, a flash hider does little more than protect the threads (and they make thread caps for that).

    The Sum of All Parts

    A handful of years ago, there was a movement within the shooting industry to try to relabel the AR as an “MSR” (an acronym for “modern sporting rifle”). The motives were a pure attempt to distance the platform from the “dark shadow” cast by the mainstream media’s interpretation of the tool. The efforts never really took root, and I’m good with that. After all, a rose by any other name is still a rose.

    Regardless of its moniker, the AR-15 is, and always has been, “America’s rifle.” And, with a little creativity and about an hour’s worth of very enjoyable work, this one is mine.

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    Is The Trijicon Huron The Ultimate Whitetail Optic?

    By
    Brad Fitzpatrick
    -
    1
    The Huron scopes come with a matte-black, nonglare finish on the 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum body. Trijicon exposes its scopes to a litany of abuse tests, so there’s no worry that rough baggage-handlers, bumpy ATV rides, or heavy recoil will ruin your scope.
    The Huron scopes come with a matte-black, nonglare finish on the 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum body. Trijicon exposes its scopes to a litany of abuse tests, so there’s no worry that rough baggage-handlers, bumpy ATV rides, or heavy recoil will ruin your scope.

    In sub-zero conditions, the Trijicon Huron riflescope still put whitetails on ice.

    The big news from Trijicon for 2020 is certainly the release of its groundbreaking Ventus, a portable rangefinder that doubles as a sophisticated wind mapping device. As significant an advancement as the Ventus is, it’s hardly Trijicon’s only new product for 2020: The company is offering a whole host of brand-new scopes for hunters and shooters.

    Huron Scopes

    One of the new Trijicon releases is the Huron line, a family of optics that’s aimed at (pun intended!) the white-tailed deer hunter. The whitetail is, far and away, the most popular big-game animal in North America, and approximately 80 percent of the hunters who head to the field each year do so in search of whitetails. As a result, it makes sense that Trijicon would make an effort to build the perfect deer scope … if such a thing exists.

    If it does, it might be the Huron.

    Trijicon optics have a reputation for superb clarity and excellent construction, but optics of that caliber don’t come cheap. In designing the Huron, Trijicon’s engineers set out to provide the same level of optical quality at a price that would be more palatable to the average deer hunter by providing them with every feature they need and nothing they don’t.

    Trijicon’s Huron is available in four different magnification ranges: 1-4x, 2.5-10x, 3-9x, and 3-12x. All of these scopes come with Trijicon’s BDC Hunter Holds reticle. The 3-9x40mm (shown here) is also available with Trijicon’s Standard Duplex and German No. 4 reticles.
    Trijicon’s Huron is available in four different magnification ranges: 1-4x, 2.5-10x, 3-9x, and 3-12x. All of these scopes come with Trijicon’s BDC Hunter Holds reticle. The 3-9x40mm (shown here) is also available with Trijicon’s Standard Duplex and German No. 4 reticles.

    To be clear, the Huron scopes share the same military-grade construction and premium glass you’ll find in the company’s more expensive optics, so the Huron offers the same clarity, contrast and construction quality you’ll find on optics such as the AccuPoint. What the Huron doesn’t offer is Trijicon’s battery-free illumination tritium/fiber-optic lamps that are found in the AccuPoint line. The Huron offers AccuPoint-like clarity and light transmission in a package that costs about $500 less than the company’s flagship hunting optic. There are four Huron models available for 2020: 1-4x24mm, 3-9x40mm, 2.5-10x40mm, and 3-12x40mm. All are available with either 30mm or 1-inch tubes.

    Trijicon is bucking the trend toward very large objective bells, but that’s not a bad thing. For starters, the notion that a very large 52mm or 56mm objective lens allows for better light transmission at dawn and dusk simply isn’t true. A 40mm lens with good-quality lenses and coatings will allow the shooter a clear view, even in low light.

    The downside of those oversized objective bells is that they demand the rifle be mounted higher above the bore (and this, in turn, demands higher rings), and they weigh more than scopes with smaller objective lenses. Forty-millimeter objective lenses not only cut weight, they also allow the scope to be mounted closer to the rifle’s bore, and this prevents the shooter from having to increase comb height or break their cheek weld on the rifle to clearly see through the scope.

    The compact 1-4x24mm scope measures just 10.4 inches long and weighs 15.9 ounces. At 17.8 ounces, the 3-12x40mm is very light for its magnification class, and that makes these optics ideal for sporter-weight rifles.

    Weighing in at 18 ounces or less, the Huron line of scopes is ideal for lightweight mountain rifles such as this Christensen Arms Mesa Titanium. With the Huron scope mounted, this rifle—chambered in 6.5 PRC—weighs less than 8 pounds.
    Weighing in at 18 ounces or less, the Huron line of scopes is ideal for lightweight mountain rifles such as this Christensen Arms Mesa Titanium. With the Huron scope mounted, this rifle—chambered in 6.5 PRC—weighs less than 8 pounds.

    Huron scopes offer a long list of standard features that include MOA adjustments in both the 30mm and 1-inch models. They also come with Trijicon’s Easy-Focus Eyepiece so the diopter can be adjusted to match the shooter’s vision for a clear, consistent sight picture.

    The scope body is made from 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum with a black satin finish that’s durable and glare-resistant, and the capped windage and elevation turrets can be adjusted without special tools. The fully multi-coated broadband anti-reflective glass lenses are equipped with an anti-scratch coating, and there are different second focal plane reticle options: Standard Duplex, German No. 4, and BDC Hunter Holds. The BDC Hunter Holds’ crosshair offers quick reference points for windage and elevation adjustments, and these scopes offer extremely wide fields of view (up to 33.8 feet at 100 yards for the 3-9×40; up to 95 feet at 100 yards for the 1-4×24).

    Backed by Trijicon’s class-leading warranty, the Huron is a lot of glass for the money. MSRPs range from $650 to $699, and that’s a bargain for optics of this quality from a brand with such an outstanding track record.

    Range-Testing the Huron

    The Huron model I tested was the 2.5-10x40mm 30mm version with the BDC Hunter Holds reticle, and I tested it on an ER Shaw Mark X bolt-action rifle in 6mm Creedmoor. I knew part of the test would include a hunt in Canada’s far north for November whitetails, and the Mark X was the rifle I intended to take on that hunt—because, like the Huron, it promises excellent performance at an affordable cost.

    The Huron’s 40mm objective lens allows it to be mounted lower on the rifle. Yet, the smaller objective doesn’t reduce low-light clarity.
    The Huron’s 40mm objective lens allows it to be mounted lower on the rifle. Yet, the smaller objective doesn’t reduce low-light clarity.

    Because ER Shaw builds all its rifles to customer specifications, I designed the Mark X rifle myself, mating the Shaw action with a 24-inch, matte-finish sporter target barrel with an 11-degree crown, a 1:8 twist rate, and a Grade 5 walnut stock. Together, the rifle and optic carried an MSRP of less than $2,000, but the performance was equal to guns costing much more.

    With the Huron mounted on the rifle, Hornady’s 103-grain ELD-X and 108-grain ELD Match bullets averaged groups between 0.6 and 0.87 inch at the range, and recoil from the 8-pound rifle was essentially nonexistent. The Huron’s reticle is wonderfully free of clutter, offering a wide and unobstructed sight picture.

    The BDC Hunter Hold reticle is a great option for hunters, because it offers clear holdover points for fast reference in the field. While hunting, you might not have time to fool with making click adjustments to find the right elevation hold. The BDC reticle is faster—and that can make a huge difference when you’re presented with a narrow window of time to take a shoe.

    Unlike other hunting scopes, the Huron’s click adjustments are precise and easy to count. What’s more, resetting the zero on your scope is fast and simple. To do so, you simply zero the scope, lift the dial, turn to the “zero” mark, and drop the dial. It locks into place, and you’re re-zeroed without the need to fiddle with tools. Not only is the design wonderfully simple, it’s also precise.

    Trijicon’s Huron 2.5-10x40mm and ER Shaw’s Mark X rifle in 6mm Creedmoor proved to be a deadly combination on Saskatchewan whitetails. This rifle shoots well under an inch with factory loads, produces little recoil, and the optic performed well in dim light.
    Trijicon’s Huron 2.5-10x40mm and ER Shaw’s Mark X rifle in 6mm Creedmoor proved to be a deadly combination on Saskatchewan whitetails. This rifle shoots well under an inch with factory loads, produces little recoil, and the optic performed well in dim light.

    Into the Great North

    Trijicon rates the Huron effective from -20 to +140 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures were at the low end of that range when I arrived in Saskatchewan in November for my whitetail hunt.

    On the first morning in the Safari Rivers Outfitters camp, the thermometer read -12 degrees F, making for a bitterly cold ride to the blinds scattered deep within the Northern Provincial Forest. The formula for hunting Saskatchewan’s huge whitetail bucks is relatively simple: Position yourself along a prime travel corridor … and hope that the drive to reproduce compels the bucks to move during daylight hours.

    I had complete confidence in my rifle/scope/load combination, and I knew that if a deer showed, the 6mm Creedmoor would do its job. If you believe the stories regarding body size on these big, Canadian bucks, you might be compelled to consider bringing a .30-caliber magnum on such a hunt. But the reality is that while northern-tier whitetails are larger than their southern cousins, they aren’t that much larger.

    Nevertheless, like all whitetails, they’re elusive and hard to find, and that’s especially true in the massive forested tracts of northern Saskatchewan. It’s easy to lose heart and hope when the bitter cold seeps in and the woods are still and frozen, but the knowledge that the deer of a lifetime (several lifetimes, maybe) could be just out of sight around the closest stand of pines keeps you going.

    The daylight hours are short in these woods, and even in full sun, the forested canopy blocks the light. It’s essential, therefore, to have a scope that offers excellent light transmission.

    Canada is tough on hunters and gear, and that’s why it was the perfect proving grounds for both the new Trijicon Huron scope and the ER Shaw rifle. As you can see, both performed well.
    Canada is tough on hunters and gear, and that’s why it was the perfect proving grounds for both the new Trijicon Huron scope and the ER Shaw rifle. As you can see, both performed well.

    The concept that scopes “gather” light isn’t really true, but clear glass with good coatings goes a long way toward managing available light properly and providing hunters with a clear enough image to see their target.

    As the days passed in the cold blind, I had several opportunities to test the Trijicon’s low-light efficiency, and it’s very good—on par with scopes costing much more. There’s very little color distortion, and the optic is clear, edge to edge. By the end of the second day, I’d thoroughly vetted the Huron as an observational tool in low light. Even so, I really needed to test it on game.

    The first blind location was on a small ridge looking down into a winding creek that was frozen solid as steel pipe. The open understory was a mass of telephone-pole-straight pine trunks, and often, the only feature that betrayed the presence of an approaching deer was a horizontal, brown backline passing through the wall of vertical pines.

    There was no shortage of deer in that pine forest, but the bucks that were hanging out around my quaint outpost in the big pine woods were immature. My guide, Joel, made the decision to move me to another area that was even deeper into the forest—far from anything resembling human habitation.

    Scope Out More Optics Info:

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    • Shifting Winds: SIG BDX Changing Shooting For The Better

    When the sun “warmed” (a relative term, I assure you), and chickadees began peeking into the blind windows, I could see a pair of does 100 yards ahead of me. I hoped that they would bring in a buck, but after moiling around for over an hour, they vanished into the trees, and the woods fell silent.

    At noon, I pulled my lunch bag from underneath my outer layer of clothing (to keep everything from freezing) and peeled the wrapper off my sandwich with the Shaw rifle across my legs. I’d just finished when I saw movement through the trees.

    It was a buck, and although he wasn’t one of the giants that are sometimes found in these woods, he was mature and far better than anything I’d seen. I slipped the rifle into position on the shooting sticks and turned the dial on the 2.5-10x40mm Huron to max power.

    The buck turned to the right, quartering slightly away from me. I slid the safety forward and held the crosshairs of the Trijicon at the seam between the buck’s leg and chest a third of the way up his body. When the rifle was steady, I exhaled sharply, settled myself and pressed the trigger.

    The afternoon silence was shattered by the sharp crack! of the 6mm Creedmoor, and the buck fell, nose-first, into the snow. He then managed to regain his feet before vanishing out of sight. I listened for any sound: Other than a series of four or five thumps in the snow, there was nothing.

    The Hornady bullet had passed through the deer’s lungs and broke the off-side leg, and the deer had barely made it out of sight before expiring. He was a better buck than I thought—fat, healthy, and with very dark main beams that reached around and nearly touched. By the time I reached him and snapped a few pictures, the day’s light was quickly fading, and I radioed that I had a deer on the ground and for someone to come and pick me up.

    I came away from that hunt very impressed with the Huron’s performance, and it’s advantage to hunters that Trijicon is offering its high-quality scopes at a price that’s more manageable for the average whitetail hunter. The Huron is marketed as the “ultimate whitetail hunter’s scope,” and it performed exceptionally well in some very challenging conditions.

    Trijicon Huron 2.5-10x40mm Specs
    Tube diameter: 30mm
    Tube material: 6061 aluminum
    Eye relief: 2.4-3.3 in.
    LengtH: 12.5 in.
    Weight: 18.2 oz.
    Finish: Satin black
    Reticle: Trijicon BDC Hunter Holds
    Adjustments: ¼ MOA
    Adjustment range: 70 MOA total
    Exit pupil: 0.58-0.16 in.
    Focal plane: Second
    MSRP: $699

    For more information on the Trijicon Huron scope, please visit trijicon.com.

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    Henry Repeating Arms Expands Side Loading Gate Offerings

    By
    Elwood Shelton
    -
    0

    Henry Lead

    Henry goes all-in with side loading gates, expanding its selection to nearly every model.

    Say hello to the new Henry, same as the old Henry only different. No, no, the hallowed brand hasn’t reinvented the wheel with its brand-new catalog of lever-action rifles. All the favorites are still there, from the Big Boy to their All-Weather models. Only, now the modern-throwbacks will feature a rather startling modification—a loading gate.

    Alleluia! So, it might not be true to the original Tyler Henry design—then again, steel receivers weren’t either—but boy oh boy does it improve the ease of use. Henry Repeating Arms got the ball rolling in 2019 with the “Kings” gate addition with the Side Gate Lever Action. It struck a chord. Now all of Henry’s .30-30 and .45-70 rifles, .410 bore shotguns, and revolver caliber Big Boy rifles in their blued steel, All-Weather, and Color Case Hardened finishes include the side loading gate. In all, the company is replacing 29 of what it calls “legacy” models with the upgrade.

    Don’t fret if you’re a traditionalist. Henry hasn’t completely broken its successful mold. While the guns now all have side loading gates, they also retain the original removable tubular magazine based on Henry’s (the man) patented 1860 design. Best of both worlds. Given the modification came about due to customer demand, the loading gate will likely get more use. Why not? It’s a world more convenient.

    Henry Loading Gate

    “Ever since our fans and customers got a taste of a side loading Henry, the requests started rolling in immediately to include this feature on their favorite finish or caliber. These new models are going to make a lot of people very happy, and we are always going to have options for fans of our legacy configuration as well,” states Anthony Imperato, president and owner of Henry Repeating Arms. “The removable tube magazine is a core part of our product DNA, so that’s not going anywhere, and fans of the classic brass and octagon barrel configurations will always be able to get that from us.”

    Along with the loading gate addition, the Henry also expanded its Single-Shot Rifle line-up to include two new chamberings—.350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster. The calibers are popular in regions around the Great Lakes, where only straight-wall rifle cartridges are allowed for deer season. In all, the break-action, hammer-fired rifle is now available in 10 calibers, also including .223 Rem., .243 Win., .308 Win., .44 Mag./Spl., .45-70 Gov’t, .30-30, .357 Mag./.38 Spl.

    New Henry Rifles

    Steel in .30-30

    Steel 30-30

    Color Case Hardened in .30-30 and .45-70
    CC Hardened

     

    Steel Wildlife

    Steel Wildlife

    Steel in .45-70

    Steel 45-70

    All-Weather in .30-30 and .45-70

    All Weather

    Big Boy in .44 Mag/Spl, .45 Colt and .357 Mag/.38 Spl

    Big Boy

    Big Boy All-Weather in .44 Mag/Spl, .45 Colt and .357 Mag/.38 Spl

    Big Boy All Weather

    Big Boy Color Case Hardened in .44 Mag/Spl, .45 Colt and .357 Mag/.38 Spl

    Big Boy CC Hardened

    Lever-Action .410 Bore

    410 SG

    Single-Shot in .350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster

    Single Shot

    For more information on Henry side gate loader rifles, please visit henryusa.com.

    Raise Your Henry Rifle IQ:

    Is It Time to Rethink Your Pet Load?

    By
    Philip Massaro
    -
    0
    You needn't be a slave to your pet load.
    You needn't be a slave to your pet load.

    We all have our favorite recipes we follow to the letter. But with new components available, you might improve your pet load with some tinkering.

    For a handloader, one of the beauties of a canister-grade powder is that it’s consistent (within reason) from decade to decade. Rifle or pistol, if the brand and type of powder, primer, and make and weight of bullet stay the same, the load should give consistent performance.

    I know loaders who reach for a recipe they’d cooked up during the late Carter administration, put it all together and head to the range or woods just as happy as can be. And frankly, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a pet load if it fits the bill and performs in a manner you’re happy with.

    But, as with any other aspect of the shooting industry, great pains have been taken to improve both powders and projectiles. For the first time in shooting history, we can—with great confidence—grab an affordable rifle off the shelf, screw a scope on it and, with factory-loaded ammunition, print MOA groups. In fact, this might be the “golden age” of affordable accuracy. So, the results we obtained years ago with older components might warrant a revision; or, at the very least, some of the new components might deserve an audition.

    Irrefutable Results

    My favorite, old .300 Winchester (a Winchester Model 70 Classic Stainless that shoots rather well) likes a 180-grain boat-tail bullet and 68½ grains of IMR 4350 with a Federal GM215M primer. Hornady’s InterLock, Sierra’s GameKing, Swift’s Scirocco II—all will print sub-MOA at 100 yards with that same formula. The extreme velocity spread on these bullets runs anywhere from 30 to 50 fps. And while that might not make a huge difference inside of 300 yards, it will on a target rifle that you’d want to stretch out to 1,000 yards.

    Check Out The Gun Digest Reloading Data Center

    With the longer ogive bullets such as the Nosler AccuBond Long Range, this rifle shows a definite preference for IMR Enduron 4955. With bullets of 150 grains, and especially the mono-metal bullets of this weight, the rifle likes IMR Enduron 4451. I’m not sure why, but this gun likes the newer powder designs with different bullets.

    When the author starts a new load, such as the .280 Ackley Improved he took to Namibia, he usually picks a new powder.
    When the author starts a new load, such as the .280 Ackley Improved he took to Namibia, he usually picks a new powder.

    I had a variety of load data for the .318 Westley Richards that was provided by the good folks at Woodleigh Bullets and tested in real rifles instead of universal receivers. However, the best results came from some data Nathan Chesney and I interpolated with the newer Reloder 16 from Alliant: It gave extreme velocity spreads in the single digits, and the velocity hit 2,475 fps with the 250-grain Woodleigh Weldcore. By contrast, many other powders were struggling to attain the 2,400 fps mark that the century-old formula called for. If Nate and I hadn’t been willing to experiment with a new powder, I’d have missed the sub-MOA accuracy and enhanced velocity this rifle delivers.

    There are so many new powders and projectiles on the market that I’m sure there’s a “sleeper” somewhere in your gun safe; a rifle or pistol that has, up until the point at which you experiment with some new components, given only mediocre results. Some time at both benches could have you looking at that rifle or pistol in an entirely different light.

    New and Proven Winners

    Am I insinuating that the old pet loads are somehow invalid or obsolete? Not at all, although things are most definitely changing. Some of the older powders are being discontinued. For instance, IMR 4320, which was the factory propellant for the early .308 Winchester ammunition, will be leaving us soon. It’s a shame, because I have quite a few loads for different cartridges based on using this powder.

    Nevertheless, it’s not the end of the world if this powder or, speaking more broadly, any single powder were to be discontinued. Looking at a burn rate chart, powders have been added that are very close to—although possibly not interchangeable with—some of the older classics, but with more-uniform characteristics.

    “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” So saith “Ol’ Grumpy Pants” (my father), who still wears a sweatshirt from 1989 and is convinced that his old dot-matrix printer might come in handy someday. His mystical formula of a .308 Winchester with a 165-grain bullet over IMR 4064 has become the “song of his people,” in spite of the fact that I’ve shown him better accuracy with Hodgdon’s Varget and H380 or Alliant’s Reloder 15—and this is in his own rifle. He has redefined the concept of “stubborn” and simply likes his proven formula.

    There was good data for the author’s .318 Westley Richards, but he decided to think outside the box for his ammo.
    There was good data for the author’s .318 Westley Richards, but he decided to think outside the box for his ammo.

    But I enjoy experimentation, and finding a new load—even with a proven bullet—with a new powder that might provide better accuracy or velocity is a labor of love.

    Those new powder developments—IMR’s Enduron line, Hodgdon’s Extreme line, the newer powders from Accurate and Ramshot, as well as the new offerings from Alliant—have proved to be winners, and I can’t think of a single example of a new powder released in the last few years that hasn’t proved to be an improvement. They burn cleaner, offer copper-fouling remover and are much less sensitive to fluctuations in temperature. In addition, I’m seeing velocity spreads getting narrower all the time.

    I’m not exactly abandoning my IMR4350 loads: I’ve found that the .30-06 Springfield, .300 Winchester Magnum and .375 H&H Magnum really like that powder (or any of the classics). However, because the IMR Enduron line has five offerings, and each is very close in burn rate to an existing classic powder, I’m slowly developing my own new data centered around those powders.

    Load Up On Reloading Info:

    Winchester’s new StaBALL 6.5 is a new powder that’s highly intriguing; it sits right in between the various 4350s (IMR, Hodgdon and Accurate) and IMR4831 and H4831SC. But because of the grain structure, it’ll take up less room in the case and meters wonderfully. It’s been showing an increase in velocity when compared with powders of similar burn rate, and it possesses all the copper-fouling reducers and temperature insensitivity the IMR Enduron and Hodgdon Extreme powders have.

    Is Your Pet Load Obsolete?

    While I could spend half the pages of this issue pontificating on this point, the recent developments in projectiles warrant some attention.

    Component bullets, such as the Trophy Bonded Tip (newly available as a component) and Terminal Ascent from Federal for hunters; the A-TIP Match from Hornady for the long-range crowd; and the Gold Dot G2 for pistol fans are all fantastic designs that could re-inspire you.

    We seek the best reloading gear—VLD chamfer tools, micrometer-adjustable crimp dies and seating dies, etc.—and, of course, we prepare our cases to be as uniform as possible. So, it stands to reason that we’d want the best projectiles and powders money can buy … or, at least, that we can afford.

    Personally, I have those go-to pet loads that have never let me down, but I truly enjoy the new developments and using them in the field.

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    All Steel, Hammer Fired And Affordable: Sarsilmaz SAR 2000

    By
    Elwood Shelton
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    SAR 2000

    Move over other CZ-75 clones, the SAR 2000 is ready to give all comers a run for their money.

    How Does The SAR 2000 Stand Up To Other Clones:

    • All steel construction for a hefty and durable pistol.
    • Respectable trigger, with a very crisp single-action break.
    • Priced competitively relative to nearly any other CZ-75 clone.

    An echo of an echo, it’s difficult to tell where the CZ-75 starts and its clones end. By all rights, it’s among the most copied handguns to ever come down the pike, perhaps only overshadowed by the throngs of Single Action Army and 1911 riffs swelling the market. There’s a whole story about CZ-75 clones and how they multiplied like fleas on a feral dog. Sufficed to say, its proliferation is a testament not only to poor Combloc patent law, but the genius of the design. Imitation, flattery and all that.

    Like so many European gunmakers, Sarsilmaz long ago succumbed to the CZ-75 siren song and has now introduced its crack at the old 75 to U.S. gun buyers. Well, the SAR 2000 is a reintroduction of sorts. Yanks have fawned over the Turkish concern’s double-action/single-action (DA/SA) pistols previously under the banner of Armalite, the unfortunately somewhat forgotten AR-24. Though this latest iteration is more closely related to the original Sarsilmaz DA/SA—the Sarsılmaz Kilinç 2000. Pretty much a dead ringer.

    Following the original’s lead, the SAR 2000 isn’t a true-to-form CZ-75 clone. The 9mm has an Italian accent, taking a cue of another prolific 75 clone-maker, Tanfoglio—best known stateside nowadays for the EAA Witness. This is mainly seen in the fire control, which at times some shooters have contended was better than what came out of CZ. (That’s a barbershop debate point, not set-in-stone gospel.) The single-action especially won praise with a short take up, crisp trip and bearable reset. What more could you ask from a pistol whose first trigger pull (in double-action) hovers around 14-pounds?

    SAR 2000 1

    As to the SAR 2000’s tale of the tape, it features a 4.5-inch hammer-forged barrel, recessed match crown and forged stainless steel slide—tri-top, with plenty of material shaved away. Forged steel frame too, which should strike a chord among traditionalists.

    While dimensionally, the pistol comes in compact enough to conceal, it’s got the stuff to test waistbands. Unloaded, the SAR 2000 tips the scales at a robust 35 ounces, considerably more with a fully-loaded 10- or 17-round magazine (both are available). On the flip side, the pistol is a smooth shooter, with much of its heft devouring the already polite 9mm’s recoil. This gives it the chops as a budget competition gun.

    The pistol’s ergonomics are solid as well. Grip rake is nearly identical to the CZ-75, and it boasts ample beavertail facilitating a fundamental high grip without fear of the SAR 2000’s bite. The front and back straps are lightly textured, rubberized panels do the lion’s share of keeping the gun in hand. No decocker either, just a relatively streamlined thumb safety, so it’s possible to run the pistol cocked and locked. As to the sights, no frills here—steel three-dot. But front and rear are dovetailed and upgradable.

    The part to get very excited about with the SAR 2000 is its price, which in a word is “low”. The company’s black-finished pistol has an MSRP of $477 and the stainless-steel model an MSRP of $500. Given its assets, if it proves a shooter, the DA/SA qualifies as a value.

    SAR 2000 Specs
    Caliber: 9 mm
    Height: 5.5 inches
    Capacity: 17+1 or 10+1 rounds
    Width: 1.4 inches
    Overall length: 8.0 inches
    Barrel Length: 4.5 inches
    Weight: 35.2 ounces
    MSRP: $477.77 black finish; $499.99 stainless steel

    For more information on the SAR 2000, please visit sarusa.com.

    Load Up On More 9mm Knowledge:

    Terminal Ballistics: Shooting Through Walls

    By
    Philip Massaro
    -
    1
    Have you ever wondered what a handgun bullet will do if it hits the walls of your home? Author Phil Massaro put together a backyard experiment to find out.
    Have you ever wondered what a handgun bullet will do if it hits the walls of your home? Author Phil Massaro put together a backyard experiment to find out.

    Drywall, insulation, plywood—what exactly do these materials and combinations of them do to the terminal ballistics of premium defensive bullets?

    As someone who owns a handgun and is willing to take action to defend you and yours, you’ve certainly given thought to the possible consequences of firing that gun within your home. There are many premium handgun bullet designs that will give fantastic performance through all sorts of media.

    But what happens in the event of a missed shot in the home?

    I was intrigued to see what these premium bullets would do in a few “real-world” environments, such as an interior wall with studs or an exterior wall with drywall, fiberglass insulation and plywood exterior.

    • Do certain materials cause different behavior?
    • Will the premium bullets whistle through a door with enough apparent energy to wound, maim or kill?
    • What will it take to stop a handgun bullet?
    • What effects do caliber and bullet weight have?

    While my testing was the “rudimentary/backyard” style instead of some controlled laboratory environment, it’s real … and there were some informative and eye-opening results.

    Gathering Guns and Ammo

    Officer Mark Nazi from the Catskill, New York, police force and co-owner of Double Eagle Tactical Training and I got together with some of our favorite handguns and a variety of makes and models of premium ammunition: S&W Model 36 in .38 Special, a Glock G45 in 9mm Luger, Mark’s personal-carry gun—a Glock G22 in .40 S&W—a Kimber 1911 TLEII in .45 ACP and … just to add some spice, my own Ruger BlackHawk in .45 Colt.

    Once you hear that “bump in the night,” you need to be extremely cognizant of what might be behind your prospective target, because your home’s walls probably won’t stop a bullet.
    Once you hear that “bump in the night,” you need to be extremely cognizant of what might be behind your prospective target, because your home’s walls probably won’t stop a bullet.

    Ammunition ran as light as the 110-grain bullets for the .38 Special (Hornady Critical Defense +P) to the 325-grain slugs in the .45 Colt (Choice Ammunition’s Bear load, featuring a wide, flat-nosed, hard-cast bullet). Barriers included one interior wall comprising two pieces of sheetrock screwed to a pair of 2×4 studs and an exterior wall comprising one piece of drywall, studs, fiberglass insulation and a plywood exterior.

    (Now, before you start to find fault with these simple designs, please realize that we were not trying to build a home; rather, we wanted to find the effects of common building materials on premium handgun projectiles' terminal ballistics.)

    We needed a way to stop our bullets—with minimal damage to the design. Mark brought along an old bulletproof vest that we attached to the back side of our mock wall, allowing it to move enough so as to not overly influence the shape of bullet. We recovered all but one projectile.

    Massaro and Officer Mark Nazi mocked up both an exterior wall and interior wall for the penetration and terminal ballistics test.
    Massaro and Officer Mark Nazi mocked up both an exterior wall and interior wall for the penetration and terminal ballistics test.

    Mark and I then discussed the average distance at which a shooter would be using a handgun in the house. We settled on 10 feet and set the targets accordingly.

    Bullet Trio

    Let’s start with this premise: Nearly all handgun bullets, including those from a .22 Long Rifle, will penetrate a couple of panels of sheetrock … unless a stud, pipe or electrical wire is hit. While wooden studs and drywall aren’t the only combinations used for home construction, they represent very common choices.

    Accordingly, different construction materials will have varying effects on any bullet (for instance, masonry construction is much tougher than the thin wood paneling that was so popular in the 1970s) regarding its deformation and retained energy. However, observing the ferocity with which our test bullets whistled through both barriers, along with how much they moved the vest (which was stapled to the top of the target so it could rotate upward), showed us both the varying power levels of the cartridge/bullet combinations, as well as which bullets expanded regularly and which plugged up with material.

    Mark Nazi of Double Eagle Tactical Training staples a used bulletproof vest to the rear of the mock wall in order to stop and recover bullets in this "backyard" terminal ballistics test.
    Mark Nazi of Double Eagle Tactical Training staples a used bulletproof vest to the rear of the mock wall in order to stop and recover bullets in this “backyard” terminal ballistics test.

    S&W .38 Special

    I tried a trio of bullets in my snubnose S&W .38 Special: the 110-grain Hornady FTX Critical Duty, 130-grain Winchester PDX-1 Defender and the 158-grain Hornady XTP in my handload. Firstly, of all the cartridges tested, the .38 Special had the least visible movement of the vest. Secondly, all three bullets were nearly plugged with gypsum from the drywall.

    More Ballistics Information:

  • Ballistics Basics: Initial Bullet Speed
  • How Does Barrel Length Affect Accuracy And Ballistics?
  • Truth About Straight-Walled Cartridge Ballistics
  • Working With Ballistic Gelatin at Home
  • Ballistics Basics: Bullet Efficiency And Ballistic Coefficients

    • Expansion was rather uniform, with expanded bullets measuring between .429 and .486 inch (from the original .357-inch diameter) and weighing just under or a bit over original weight (the drywall material added to the bullet weight). I don’t doubt the effectiveness of the .38 Special cartridge—especially in the +P guise—and although the 2-inch barrel of the Model 36 gives up a bit of velocity, in a crowded house, this cartridge came out as my favorite.

    9mm Luger

    The 9mm Luger offered a visible increase in momentum, pushing the 135-grain Hornady FTX bullet at slightly more than 1,000 fps from the 4-inch barrel (the 110-grain .38 Special load lists an equal velocity—but with a 4-inch barrel, not the 2-inch barrel of the Model 36), and it expanded to an average of 0.576 inch, retaining 131.8 grains of its original 135. This might have been an instance of velocity gain due to barrel length, but the visual impact of the 9mm into the vest had a definitive advantage over the .38 Special.

    This is the exit hole through the second sheet of drywall on the mock interior wall.
    This is the exit hole through the second sheet of drywall on the mock interior wall.

    .40 S&W

    Bumping up to the .40 S&W, things changed radically. The interior wall offered virtually zero resistance, other than to start the expansion, but the exterior wall didn’t offer much more, because our bullet-stopper vest was flipping around. Mark carries the Federal Hydra-Shok 180-grain load on duty, and that load is well-proven throughout the law enforcement community, as well as the CCW crowd.

    I could say the same about the 155-grain Federal HST load; that HST has been my favorite defensive bullet for quite some time. The 180-grain Hydra-Shok expanded from .400 to .717 inch, weighing 183.6 grains (picking up material through the wall). The lighter HST load expanded to .635 inch, weighing 158.2 grains. The .40 S&W has bridged the gap between the 9mm and .45 ACP for some time now and gives a great blend of low recoil and wonderful terminal ballistics.

    .45 ACP

    Turning to the classic .45 ACP, its additional throw weight more than made up for the diminished velocity, especially at the test distance we chose. The .45 ACP is my favorite all-around defensive cartridge.

    The Sig Sauer FMJ load for the .45 ACP gave the kind of penetration and deformation you’d expect from a premium FMJ design in the penetration and terminal ballistics test.
    The Sig Sauer FMJ load for the .45 ACP gave the kind of penetration and deformation you’d expect from a premium FMJ design in the penetration and terminal ballistics test.

    There are also some wonderful projectiles available for the .45 ACP; and among those tested, there were a few that gave excellent performance. Regarding momentum: The visible movement of both the wall and the bulletproof vest was the greatest we’d seen as of that point, with most designs being nearly equal (from a visual standpoint).

    As they showed me during a more formal test at the Federal plant in Anoka, Minnesota, both the Hydra-Shok Deep and HST gave stellar performances. Browning’s BXP load and the Sig Sauer V-Crown load (the latter being a bullet from Sierra) also had high weight retention and good expansion throughout the test.

    .45 Colt (just because)

    When firing the Choice Ammunition Bear load, the .45 Colt in my Ruger Blackhawk—replete with a 7½-inch barrel—showed an amazing amount of energy. It blew the vest 3 yards off the two combined walls, giving far and away the most dramatic impact. That 325-grain, wide, flat-nosed, hard-cast bullet retained 95 percent of its original weight, expanding to .548 inch in diameter and hitting our mock walls like a category 5 hurricane.

    What Does It All Mean?

    Well, Mark and I clearly established that neither the interior nor the exterior wall stopped much. Even the combination of the two didn’t offer much resistance. In fact, we added three more sheets of ½-inch plywood to the mix and, with the exception of the .38 Special, our premium bullets still escaped the obstacle we’d created. I can say rather confidently that firing through the exterior wall of the average house does little the terminal ballistic potential of a round and could very easily result in the death of someone standing on the other side.

    Hornady’s Critical Duty FTX load in 9mm Luger gave good expansion through the wall, thus slowing down the bullet.
    Hornady’s Critical Duty FTX load in 9mm Luger gave good expansion through the wall, thus slowing down the bullet.

    As basic as it was, this little experiment opened my eyes to just how careful one has to be when even considering using a firearm in the home. I want to know exactly where beds, couches, desks and seats—as well as any other possible location of a person in my home—are, and I want to be able to establish that from many different angles from within my home.

    Premium bullets are exactly that: They give the best performance available. Of the bullets tested, it seemed the Hornady FTX design had the greatest tendency to plug with wall material and have its expanded diameter reduced—at least in comparison to the figures and conformation demonstrated by shooting these bullets into gelatin.

    That said, I don’t think this casts any sort of a shadow on Hornady’s design, because the parameters of bullet design can’t possibly account for the post-penetration performance through all types of barriers. As is true for any soft-point bullet delivered from any firearm, the higher the impact velocity, the greater and more radical the expansion. With that expansion comes a decrease in velocity … and that might very well equate to a saved life on the other side of that wall.

    Of all the cartridge/bullet combinations put through the "backyard" terminal ballistics tests, the author found that the .38 Special with Hornady’s Critical Defense 110-grain +P ammo had the least amount of visible overpenetration.
    Of all the cartridge/bullet combinations put through the “backyard” terminal ballistics tests, the author found that the .38 Special with Hornady’s Critical Defense 110-grain +P ammo had the least amount of visible overpenetration.

    I have a favorite handgun bullet, and I make no excuses about being such a fan: Federal’s HST is one of the best designs I’ve come across. Yes, the Hydra-Shok Deep solved many of the issues associated with the original Hydra-Shok design. However, the recovered shape, weight retention and wound channel of the HST, combined with the accuracy of Federal’s loaded ammunition, has earned that bullet a position at the top of my list.

    There was nothing highly technical about this test—with the possible exception of the vest to stop the bullets. However, if you had to replicate it with wet newspapers, I’m sure it would work. Should you find yourself curious about the combination of handgun/cartridge/bullet you’ve chosen, you can easily replicate this simple experiment using sample materials of those used in your home.

    It’ll make you a more careful—and more confident—shooter.

    Terminal Ballistic Results

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    On The Trail Of The Kimber Open Country

    By
    Philip Massaro
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    0

    Kimber Open Country 6

    For the discerning hunter looking for a rifle that goes the extra mile, the Kimber Open Country stands in a class of its own.

    We’d spent the morning making a concerted effort to cross a creek—swollen with the recent rains—to no avail. Although we sat on the near bank, glassing a mule deer buck and his trio of does on the far hillside, they might as well have been on another planet.

    My pal, Mike Mattly, and I decided to pull up stakes and try another location: a deep series of gorges that just seemed to appear in the South Dakota terrain … the ones those mule deer like to haunt. As the old saying goes, I’d rather be lucky than good.

    We’d barely stopped the truck—in fact, it wasn’t in “park” yet—when two bucks bounded from their beds. Mattly gave what amounted to an order.

    “Run!”

    And run we did. With a near-cliff in front of them, the deer had to break either left or right, and we took a gamble to head left. It paid off, because the larger of two deer, a big-bodied 3×4, had slowed down just long enough to allow me to send a 140-grain Hornady ELD-X into his vitals. I stood in the South Dakota mud, looking proudly upon my first mule deer buck. The rifle I was testing performed so fluidly that I never gave it a second thought.

    Mini Mauser

    The rifle? Kimber’s Open Country. And, it performed so well on that mule deer hunt that I asked Kimber to send me another rifle for a more in-depth review.

    Hornady’s Precision Hunter proved to be one of the best rounds of the bunch, printing groups between ½ and ¾ MOA.
    Hornady’s Precision Hunter proved to be one of the best rounds of the bunch, printing groups between ½ and ¾ MOA.

    For more than 40 years, Kimber has offered sensible and reliable rifles for the hunter who prefers to hunt the toughest terrain. Kimber offers lightweight actions, which still offer controlled round feed, claw extraction, a Winchester Model 70-style, three-position safety, smartly designed stocks (both synthetic and walnut) and a range of cartridges suitable for everything from paper and steel, prairie dogs, and right on up to buffalo and elephant. The Open Country rifle, part of Kimber’s Open Range line of hunting rifles, offers a well-balanced blend of match-grade components and ruggedness.

    Built around the Kimber 84M short-action receiver, and offered in 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester, the Open Country is loaded with features a hunter will most certainly appreciate. My test rifle for this review, as well as the rifle I had on that South Dakota hunt, was chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor—a sound, if controversial, choice for hunting deer and similar-sized game, as well as for the target range.

    Kimber’s 84M action is what I refer to as a miniature Mauser, in that the benefits of the non-rotating claw extractor and controlled round feed are there, but at a significant reduction in weight. The bolt features a beefier target-style handle, which affords a positive grip, even under stress (as the situation with that mule deer buck certainly was). A fast, second shot was no issue whatsoever.

    Four 8-40 screw holes in the receiver allow for the attachment of scope bases. For the test rifle, I used Talley Lightweight one-piece bases and rings, mounting a Leupold VX-5HD 2-10x42mm riflescope with the CDS turret on board. Although the 84M action might be small, the Open Country wears a beefy, 24-inch barrel with deep flutes, threaded and capped for a muzzle brake or suppressor. I measured a diameter of 0.860 inch at the muzzle.

    The Kimber 84M action is the perfect size and weight for the 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester.
    The Kimber 84M action is the perfect size and weight for the 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester.

    Kimber equips the Open Country with a carbon-fiber stock finished in—you guessed it—the Gore OptiFade Open Country camouflage pattern. With a length of pull measuring 13¾ inches, the stock comes easily to shoulder (in spite of the fact that I generally prefer stocks about ½ inch longer), and the wide forend allows the shooter’s left hand to steady the rifle for the shot. In fact, at the widest part of the forend, the stock measures a full 2 inches, and that width sits in the palm very nicely, in addition to sitting nicely on a sandbag.

    The stock has no cheekpiece and has a comb designed for use with optics. The Open Country rifles have no iron sights. They come equipped with a pair of sling swivels mounted on the forend, making the attachment of a bipod and sling simultaneously easy as pie. Two aluminum pillars help keep the stock affixed to the action, without risk of crushing the carbon-fiber stock from overtightening, and to prevent the action from moving within the stock.

    While the stock of the Open Country is a light, strong design, I found the rifle to be just the slightest bit nose-heavy while carrying it, but it settled down nicely for the shot from field positions. Measuring 43 3/8 inches overall, the Open Country rifle is nice to carry, even in the woods, because it’s not long enough to get caught on tree limbs or to pose a problem in the average deer blind. Even so, its barrel is long enough to wring the proper velocity from both the 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester.

    Tipping the scale at 8 pounds, 7 ounces (unloaded and with the Leupold scope onboard), the Open Country sits nicely on the shoulder. It stays put (when using a decent sling) and doesn’t wear a groove in your trap muscle. Nevertheless, it’s heavy enough to offer stable shots from common field positions, even the offhand shot I had to take on that mule deer buck. From the knee, or when leaning on a tree, fence post or other solid object, the rifle settles nicely.

    Kimber provides a hinged floorplate, placing the release on the inside the trigger guard at the front.
    Kimber provides a hinged floorplate, placing the release on the inside the trigger guard at the front.

    And, I’ve come to love the mix of weight, magnification, clarity and ruggedness the Leupold VX-5HD 2-10x offers; and, in those Talley rings, it mounted perfectly, sitting no more than 1/8 inch off the barrel and aligning wonderfully with the comb of the Open Country’s stock.

    Bone Up On Kimber:

    The Open Country At The Bench

    I could tell you that Kimber built an accurate 6.5 Creedmoor rifle, with the hopes of you making that “shocked” face, but I feel pretty confident that you’re aware of the accuracy reputation of the Creedmoor, in spite of the sub-MOA guarantee Kimber makes for this rifle. I could also allude to the fact that a sub-MOA guarantee in a rifle offered only in 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester is not a great boast in today’s market, but there are a good number of rifles on the market that don’t live up to the guarantees their tags make.

    Happily, this isn’t the case with the Kimber Open Country.

    I grabbed a wide selection of 6.5 Creedmoor ammo—both target and hunting bullets—to see what the Open Country was capable of in the accuracy department. I settled on three-shot groups (because this is a hunting rifle) and settled into the bench on a hot summer afternoon.

    To measure velocity, I set up my trusty Oehler 35P chrono and began to have fun. None of the ammo I chose was disappointing; in fact, the worst of the three-shot groups measured 1.2 inches, and I have to attribute some of that to barrel heat on that 90-plus-degree day.

    A Hornady ELD-X 6.5mm 143-grain softpoint handled this big-bodied mule deer very nicely.
    A Hornady ELD-X 6.5mm 143-grain softpoint handled this big-bodied mule deer very nicely.

    The rifle showed a definite preference for Hornady’s Precision Hunter with the 143-grain ELD-X bullet, as well as the ultra-affordable American Eagle Match load and Choice Ammunition’s 140-grain Nosler AccuBond load. These three routinely printed groups just over ½ MOA.

    Looking at the trio, you’ve got an attractively priced target cartridge, one of the best cup-and-core bullets ever designed in the ELD-X, and the terminal strength and hair-splitting accuracy of Nosler’s AccuBond handloaded in the Choice Ammunition load. What more could you ask for? Or, perhaps put a better way: This trio of factory loads will do anything you should be doing in the hunting fields with a 6.5 Creedmoor.

    In South Dakota, I used Black Hills ammo topped with the 143-grain Hornady ELD-X, and the three-shot groups were sub-MOA. And, after I’d taken my mule deer, a young hunter used the rifle to take his first buck—at more than 300 yards. The Open Country is a shooter!

    Kimber Open Country Range Data

    During the entire afternoon testing, I experienced no issues with either feeding or extraction, irrespective of muzzle velocity or bullet shape. The hinged floorplate—released via a button located at the front inside of the trigger guard—only released its contents when I asked it to; and the shape of the stock, combined with the mounts and that Leupold scope, made a bench session a pleasure.

    Talley’s one-piece lightweight ring/base combination cradled the Leupold VX-5HD scope perfectly, mounting it as low to the bore as is practical.
    Talley’s one-piece lightweight ring/base combination cradled the Leupold VX-5HD scope perfectly, mounting it as low to the bore as is practical.

    The three-position safety gives a positive feel, with a definite click when switching between positions. In addition, the wider trigger gave great control at the range in the field, the trigger didn’t even come into play; it just did what I asked of it. Grabbing the Lyman digital trigger scale, I measured the break of the Kimber’s trigger at 3 pounds, ½ ounce, and that figure was very consistent. I like the width and the feel of the trigger, both from the bench and from other field-like positions.

    The Oehler reported velocities in congruence with the advertised figures … or at least within the parameters I’ve come to expect for the Creedmoor, given the slight variations in barrel dimensions from rifle to rifle.

    A Lifetime of Hunting

    In a market flooded with sound and solid designs, where does the Kimber Open Country sit? Well, at just under $2,300, it isn’t an entry-level rifle, nor is it in the league of a custom rifle. I feel it sits in the league of rifles that offer a good value to the hunter who’s more concerned with functionality than appearances.

    The rifle’s weatherproof coating sheds rain and snow wonderfully, the stock is a smart design (if the digital camo pattern suits your fancy), and the now-famous Kimber action provides a reliable platform for a lifetime of hunting. It’s not often that I get to test two different models of the same rifle, but I can honestly say they are consistent from model to model. In fact, there were two other Open Country rifles on that hunt, and all shot well and performed flawlessly.

    Kimber’s controlled-round-feed action is scaled down, yet rugged, giving excellent performance in the field.
    Kimber’s controlled-round-feed action is scaled down, yet rugged, giving excellent performance in the field.

    Regarding the choice of cartridge, I find the .308 Winchester to be a better all-around choice, simply for the additional bullet weight, should the hunter want to take the rifle for elk, moose, and bear. The 6.5 Creedmoor and cartridges of similar proportions have taken all three, but the bullet weight usually tops out at 140 to 143 grains, whereas the .308 Winchester will offer bullet weight up to 200 grains. Either way, the pair of cartridges is easy on the shoulder, equally easy on the wallet and shares a reputation for exceptional accuracy. Kimber’s Open Country is a great platform for either cartridge and makes for a serious rifle for the traveling hunter whose focus is deer and similar-sized game … especially when topped with good, versatile glass such as that Leupold VX-5HD.

    I get to shoot, test, and hunt with a lot of different rifles, and I really enjoyed my time with the Kimber Open Country. If I had one thing to change about the design, I’d want about another ¾ inch of length added to the stock, but that’s common to almost every mass-produced American rifle I pick up.

    Take a look at the Open Country; I think you’ll find an immediate friend.

    Kimber Open Country Specs
    Approximate weight (pounds/ounces): 6/15
    Overall length (inches): 43.25
    Barrel Material: Stainless Steel
    Barrel Finish: Gray, KimPro II
    Barrel Length (inches): 24
    Twist rate (right hand): 8
    Grooves: 4
    Trigger: 3-3.5 pounds
    Stock Material: Reinforced Carbon fiber
    Stock Finish: Optifade Open Country
    Recoil pad thickness (inches): 1
    Length of pull (inches): Adjustable
    Drop at heel (inches): 0.54
    Drop at comb (inches): 0.43
    Action Material: Stainless steel
    Action Finish: Gray, KimPro II
    Magazine capacity: 4
    MSRP: $2,269

    For more information on the Kimber Open Country, please visit kimberamerica.com.

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    How To Buy Or Build A Custom Precision Rifle

    By
    Frank Galli
    -
    1
    The M700 Rifle from Ashbury Precision Ordnance starts out as a barreled action. Then, because they can be adjusted to particular specs, the chassis and other features were added by the author. The color was the main choice here.
    The M700 Rifle from Ashbury Precision Ordnance starts out as a barreled action. Then, because they can be adjusted to particular specs, the chassis and other features were added by the author. The color was the main choice here.

    If you're going to spend serious money on a custom precision rifle, make certain you get what you pay for.

    What Features Do You Need To Consider On A Custom Precision Rifle:

    Production, semi-production, custom shop. We have several choices when it comes to purchasing a firearm. Most of the time, I speak about production- or semi-production-class rifles—products you’ll find on the shelf locally. Shooters like to be hands on, so buying rifles sight unseen can be a daunting task.

    I’ve been very fortunate in my shooting career to work with some of the very best custom gunsmiths. The custom rifles in my collection have a lot of personality and some deep connections behind them.

    Gain-Twist Barrels

    Today, I still start with a barreled action—it’s the heart of every rifle. My first step is to decide what caliber I want. Then, I look to Bartlein barrels to customize the twist rate. Today, I’m entirely sold on this company’s gain-twist barrels.

    Bartlein, because of its computer-controlled rifling machines, can do gain-twist barrels correctly—which is about a three-quarters transition. This means that for my 6.5-caliber barrels, I use an 8.25 twist at the chamber and finish at 7.5 as my exit twist rate. This small transition puts less pressure on the bullet while enabling on overspin of the twist rate.

    Going custom with a full build, a Mausingfield action was put together with an AICS chassis—and an amazing paint job. The Mausingfield is a high-end action, so you’ll end up spending more, depending on its specs.
    Going custom with a full build, a Mausingfield action was put together with an AICS chassis—and an amazing paint job. The Mausingfield is a high-end action, so you’ll end up spending more, depending on its specs.

    Why a gain-twist? Bullets are the weak link: They’re mass-produced from two dissimilar metals. As a result, the lead can slip under the jacket, thereby deforming it. In most cases, you take this shot to be a flier; in the worst-case scenario, the bullet will come apart midflight. Gain-twist barrels fix this problem.

    The other benefit I’ve found is that when it comes to changes in bullet weight, they’re more forgiving. We want to balance the twist rate with the bullet weight. This is where the heavy-versus-light-bullet debate comes into play. I’ve found that the gain-twist barrels end this debate.

    For instance, I can shoot 130-grain Prime ammo or use my 136-grain Scenar handload with my 260 gain-twist barrel for my Accuracy International AX. They’re two completely different loads that just happen to zero in the exact same place. And the accuracy? Sub-½ MOA. They only start to deviate from each other after 400 yards, when the weight and BC kick into gear.

    This is the benefit of a custom barrel. I can decide every factor—from twist rate to profile or contour all the way to length. In most cases, I feel that 22 inches is optimal for me; in other cases, I might choose 25 inches.

    Get On Target With Frank Galli:

    Action

    The caliber and barrel are my first considerations in a custom precision rifle. I then pick an action. I can go super-expensive custom or a little-less-expensive custom. Today, my main go-to custom action is Zermatt Arms’ Origin. The Bighorn action started locally here, in Colorado. It features a floating bolt head that’s also interchangeable. That feature, alone, is worth the $850 price of admission.

    The MCM A10 stock is designed for smaller-statured shooters to reach the trigger better; and it fits the rifle to the shooter. Customizing a stock helps with fit. Fit lends to comfort ... and comfort to success.
    The MCM A10 stock is designed for smaller-statured shooters to reach the trigger better; and it fits the rifle to the shooter. Customizing a stock helps with fit. Fit lends to comfort … and comfort to success.

    I see actions as a delivery device and not something I get overly obsessed with. The best case for me? A three-lug action, because those tend to be beefy (and yes, they also cost more). I also like shorter bolt throws when I can get them.

    Trigger

    Triggers are the main point of human contact with the rifle, so make sure to spend some time understanding the different options and features of the triggers out there.

    Two-stage triggers are my preferred style; I like to marry-up to my trigger shoe so I can’t have it fire with just a look: I want to feel it take up the slack of the first stage, balance against the wall of the second and break on my command. I’m a tactical shooter who’s out in the field a lot. I need a trigger that can handle a certain amount of dirt and debris. Today, I run Trigger Tech or even Elfmann triggers.

    There are a lot of choices in triggers, so explore them all and decide which one meets your needs. I’d rather use a 3-pound, two-stage Accuracy International trigger as opposed to an 8-ounce Jewell, but that’s me; it’s what I want.

    Stocks

    Think of a stock as being the same as your car’s seats, steering wheel and mirrors. How comfortable would you be driving eight hours in a vehicle in which the seat was stuck out of position? Imagine not being able to adjust your mirrors to your needs. Picking the wrong stock for a custom precision rifle is the same thing.

    The semi-custom Sniper’s Hide Edition APO M700 comes with a test target to show you what you paid for. At an MSRP of $1,950, this rifle is a winner and has customized features pre-spec’d out.
    The semi-custom Sniper’s Hide Edition APO M700 comes with a test target to show you what you paid for. At an MSRP of $1,950, this rifle is a winner and has customized features pre-spec’d out.

    Chassis offer off-the-shelf adjustability, whereas fiberglass stocks have to be made to order. Yes, this process takes a lot longer. It’s one of the reasons I think we’ve seen a decline in custom orders from companies that focus on semi-production rifles. This semi-production model is designed to be in the buyer’s hand quickly. Why wait four weeks or longer for a part when the entire rifle can be in your hands in half the time?

    The reason is that custom-fit products are comfortable and have a value that transcends money. For instance, the McMillan A10 stock has been designed with smaller-statured shooters in mind; it’s meant to fit me better. I can choose the style and colors. I can add options and accessories that fit my needs.

    Make it All Your Own

    The point is that you don’t have to take what manufacturers offer. Instead, you can make your rifle all your own.

    Custom precision rifles give us a mission and a goal. We research, we compare, and we’re forced to provide an objective to our decisions—what we’re looking to accomplish and how much we’re willing to pay to get it. And, when your custom-designed rifle is done, the sense of pride never goes away.

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    Super Sleeper: Why To Consider The .38 Super For Self-Defense

    By
    Richard A. Mann
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    7

    A defensive CCW cartridge you’ve never considered: the .38 Super.

    The story of the .38 Super starts in 1900, when Colt introduced the John Browning-designed M1900 .38 Automatic pistol. Interestingly, this was two years prior to the introduction of the 9mm Luger. The 9mm Luger was almost immediately adopted by the German military, but the .38 Automatic (ACP) was rejected by the U.S. military, which ultimately adopted the .45 ACP and the Colt Government Model in 1911.

    Now, ironically, our troops are carrying 9mm pistols.

    In 1929, Colt tried again with an improved version of the .38 ACP. This modernized cartridge had a new name—.38 Super—and the only improvement amounted to nothing more than the cartridge being loaded to a higher pressure: 36,500 psi, as compared to 26,500 psi. This resulted in a velocity increase of about 200 fps.

    The King of Competition

    Some mistakenly assume the .38 Super is based on the 9mm Luger. It isn’t; the .38 Super case is semi-rimmed, smaller in diameter and longer than that of the 9mm Luger.

    The Super was only marginally successful until about 35 years ago, when it became a favorite of practical pistol competitors. In IPSC competitions, there’s a power factor that must be met. It’s calculated by multiplying a cartridge’s bullet weight by its muzzle velocity. Then, the product is divided by 1,000.

    The Buffalo Bore 115-grain JHP load for the .38 Super is one of the best defensive loads available. With a muzzle velocity of 1,400-plus fps, it will out-penetrate just about any comparable 9mm Luger load.
    The Buffalo Bore 115-grain JHP load for the .38 Super is one of the best defensive loads available. With a muzzle velocity of 1,400-plus fps, it will out-penetrate just about any comparable 9mm Luger load.

    At the time, 175 was the lower limit for “major class” (currently, the IPSC major power factor is 165). Competing with a “major” pistol was a huge advantage, because hits were worth an additional point. By using a barrel with a supported chamber in a 1911 pistol, competitors found they could make major with the Super. And, a 1911 in .38 Super held more ammo than one in .45 ACP.

    For a time, the Super was the king of competition.

    More Self-Defense Cartridges:

    The Super for Defense

    But what about the .38 Super as a defensive handgun cartridge? Texas Ranger Frank Hammer carried one, and my good friend and former Texas sheriff, Jim Wilson, is fond of the cartridge as well. For an auto-pistol cartridge, the velocity is high, and the recoil is noticeably less than you’ll feel from a .40 S&W or a .45 ACP. From an external ballistics standpoint, the Super might not be the equivalent of a big-block V8 but is, for sure, a supercharged small block.

    However, ammunition options in .38 Super are not limitless and, on top of that, .38 Super ammo can sometimes be hard to find. I had a limited supply of .38 Super ammunition on hand from Wilson Combat and Buffalo Bore and fed it all through a Les Baer 1911 Commanche. I started with five, five-shot groups with each load from a sandbag rest at 15 yards. Two of the loads performed very well, and the other two delivered about average accuracy from a 4.25-inch gun at the tested distance. Even so, overall, the Commanche averaged 1.5 inches for 20 five-shot groups at 15 yards.

    .38 Super Terminal Performance

    Of course, this is well within any reasonable expectation for precision from a defensive handgun. The more important question is, What kind of terminal performance can be expected from a .38 Super?

    On the left is the .380 Auto designed by John Browning; in the middle is the 9mm Luger; and on the right is the John Browning-designed—and Colt’s improved—.38 Super.
    On the left is the .380 Auto designed by John Browning; in the middle is the 9mm Luger; and on the right is the John Browning-designed—and Colt’s improved—.38 Super.

    To find out, I tested three of the four loads I had on hand—one was an FMJ load—in 10 percent ordnance gelatin. On average, the major difference I found when comparing the .38 Super to 9mm Luger was a substantial increase in penetration. Looking at all the 9mm Luger loads I’ve tested over the years, the average penetration depth in 10 percent ordnance gelatin was about 14 inches. The average penetration depth for the three .38 Super loads tested was 2.5 inches—17 percent—deeper. (For what it’s worth, there are only about six quality defensive loads available for the .38 Super, so I tested half of them.)

    This increase in penetration is due to two factors.

    The first is the increase in velocity, which is about 200 fps when compared to 9mm Luger loads with the same bullet weight. The second is the reduction in recovered-bullet diameter. Due to the higher velocity, bullets fired from the .38 Super tend to deform, with a smaller frontal diameter, which averages about 1.4 times the original bullet diameter.

    However, this slight reduction doesn’t negatively impact .38 Super terminal performance, because the higher impact velocity, combined with the dynamic expansion of the bullet, creates a larger wound cavity with the potential for more-serious wounding. This is another way of saying the .38 Super makes a bigger “splash” than the 9mm.

    Grand Invention

    When it comes to the .38 Super, I think there are several things to consider. The first is that, on average, it will out-penetrate the three most common defensive handgun cartridges (the 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 Auto) commonly chambered in semi-automatic pistols. The recoil of the .38 Super is more manageable than that of a .40 S&W or .45 Auto, and it has a higher velocity than the 9mm Luger. It also allows for a substantial increase in capacity when compared to a .40 S&W or .45 Auto. From the standpoint of the defensive handgunner, all these things are important … and this should make you wonder why the Super .38 is not more popular.

    The .38 Super is a fantastic cartridge for the defensive handgun—especially if you’re looking for a handgun with more power than a 9mm and a higher capacity than a .45 Auto.
    The .38 Super is a fantastic cartridge for the defensive handgun—especially if you’re looking for a handgun with more power than a 9mm and a higher capacity than a .45 Auto.

    Colt, Rock Island, EAA and Llama all offer pistols chambered in .38 Super, as do many custom 1911 builders (such as Les Baer).

    Regardless of its performance or popularity as a defensive handgun cartridge, we have to acknowledge that it’s yet another grand invention of John Moses Browning, who also gave us the .45 Auto, .380 Auto, 1911 and the M2 machine gun. Even after 100 years, those three cartridges and two firearms are still being trusted all over the world.

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the 2020 Concealed Carry issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    3 Dry Fire Drills Enhanced By G-Sight ELMS

    By
    Gun Digest Editors
    -
    0
    Sponsored Content
    A simple laser diode, G Sight’s ELMS device gives you a way to measure accuracy while dry-firing.
    A simple laser diode, G Sight’s ELMS device gives you a way to measure accuracy while dry firing.

    Adding accuracy and urgency to your dry fire regimen, G-Sight ELMS ups your handgun skills without the need for ammo.

    What Dry Fire Drills Does ELMS Enhance:

    Like playing Texas Hold’em by yourself, dry fire training isn’t a thrill a minute. Take away the bang and the hit downrange, well, you’ve got some pretty dry (pun intended) trigger time. That said, disciplining yourself to drop the hammer on an empty chamber on a regular basis has always been among the best things you can do to improve your skill as a marksman. Now it’s even better.

    In the long-ago—less than five years ago—getting the most out of ammo-free practice was a subjective endeavor. Sure enough, the mechanics were there, honing sight pictures and schooling trigger pulls. But unless you had a sharp-eyed observer picking nits from draw to follow through, at best gauging improvement was a semi-educated guess. No longer, with devices such as the G-Sight ELMS (Expert Laser Marksman System) making alone time with your gun as fruitful as a high-priced class with a seasoned instructor.

    What Is ELMS?

    We’ve done a full review on what to expect from the G-Sight device previously. Suffice to say, we walked away impressed. But a thumbnail sketch of the system is in order.

    There are two parts to the G-Sight ELMS, the laser diode and smart device app. The diode interfaces with your gun, providing what might be considered a virtual bullet—the laser beam. Chambered directly in your handgun, a pressure pad at the rear activates the laser when the firing pin strikes it, thus projecting the laser onto the target.

    Getting the ELMS device up and running is as easy as sticking it in your gun’s chamber.
    Getting the ELMS device up and running is as easy as sticking it in your gun’s chamber.

    The other side of the equation, the ELMS app, displays hits. Utilizing a smart device’s camera, it records up to 10 shots giving you an idea of the precision of individual shots and the accuracy of groups. No matter how you cut it, it is a powerful tool.

    There’s no substitute for first-shot accuracy. Certainly, many lethal-force encounters require multiple shots to neutralize a threat. However, a dead-nuts center-mass hit goes an incredibly long way in reducing the number of trigger pulls needed to save your skin. This is exactly what the G-Sight ELMS is built for and how it enhances any number of dry fire drills away from general bullseye practice.

    Furthermore, you get instant feedback. Not only visual, via shot tracking on the G-Sight app, but also auditory. Hits on the target elicit a sweet ping, nearly as satisfying as knocking a steel target, allowing you to focus where you need to—on target and your front sight.

    Drilling In With G-Sight

    While general accuracy shooting—plugging away at the X-ring— is worth the time and is an enjoyable diversion. To get the most out of the G-Sight ELMS and dry fire in general, you should strive to work more true-to-life scenarios. No, not a combat roll behind cover. More along the lines of a textbook draw, presentation, trigger pull and follow through. We spell out three areas of practice ELMS enhances below. But, before the cart goes before the horse, a slight word of the aim of dry fire and ELMS work is warranted.

    Similar to fielding endless grounders in baseball or running pass routes in football, the goal in ammo-less exercises is building muscle memory. And like those athletic drills, this isn’t accomplished by going full speed from the get-go. Instead, the majority of dry fire work is executed at quarter speed or less, allotting you ample time to perform every movement with the utmost precision. This includes the trigger pull, follow through and reset. There’s magic in the lack of urgency and speed.

    Done over and over and over, you’ll program your body to perform these movements with an exactitude. When you pick up the pace this precision will manifest itself. But to start, the keywords are slow, smooth and accurate.

    One last note before you start drilling with the G-Sight ELMS—do so safely. Always double and triple check you have no ammunition in your gun or magazines you’ll drill with. A good rule to follow is not to allow any live ammunition in the room in which you’ll practice. One lapse in discipline can cause a lifetime of regret.

    Load Up On More Handgun Training:

    Presentation
    Essentially, this is the foundation of any self-defense dry fire training. At its quick, it’s retrieving your handgun and orientating it toward the target—a skill that requires more practice than it sounds. Utilizing the G-Sight ELMS, this dry fire practice goes a step beyond, incorporating sight-picture acquisition, trigger pull and, of course, accuracy.

    Those who carry a concealed handgun should spend time dry practicing their draw so they’re adept at clearing the cover garment out of the way.

    When practicing presentation, ideally you’re doing so in steps. That is, clearing clothing, grasping the handgun, orientating your support hand, drawing, etc. Each step of the process you take pains to ensure you’re executing each movement to perfection—including placing a perfect shot with the ELMS. As these slow and deliberate movements become second nature you can speed up, but never to past the point where execution degrades. Finally, when you’re at the point where everything is crisp, clean and relatively quick, you can add an element of urgency with the G-Sight shot timer.

    Don’t cheat yourself working on presentation. If you’re practicing with your self-defense handgun, be certain you do so with the holster you’ll carry with and in clothing, you’ll likely wear.

    Reload
    Chances are in a self-defense situation you won’t need to reload, particularly with the excellent capacity of most modern pistols. But it’s not out of the realm of possibilities. Better safe than sorry, you should be confident and expedient in recharging your handgun with a fresh magazine, manipulating the slide and getting off an aimed shot. Given there are much different mechanics to emergency, speed and tactical reloads than presentation, the G-Sight ELMS goes a long way in honing accuracy on the last part of this practice.

    It’s important to practice the reload with a handgun or long gun. This can easily be done during dry practice—just make sure you use dummy rounds.

    Reload practice can be practiced standalone or as an extension of a presentation drill. Again, this is where smooth and accurate are at a premium, working each part of the movement in textbook fashion. G-Sight will give you a good gauge if you’re rushing—move too fast you won’t be on target.

    Additionally, get into the practice of muzzle discipline with these drills. You’re responsible for every bullet that leaves your handgun, you don’t want any going where they’ll do more harm than good.

    Malfunction
    Handguns aren’t exempt from Murphy’s law. In turn, you might as well accept you’ll have to deal with a malfunction sooner or later. There are many:

    • Failure to feed
    • Failure to chamber
    • Failure to lock
    • Failure to fire
    • Failure to unlock
    • Failure to extract
    • Failure to eject
    • Failure to cock

    Like reloads, addressing malfunctions requires movements that can throw off accuracy—especially given the amped up pressure.

    ammo storage-209

    We won’t go through how to set up every scenario here, give we have an excellent article on how to stage each type of handgun malfunction. Sufficed to say, G-Sight will give you guidance on where you stand in getting your handgun back in a fight productively. Be patient when practicing clearing stoppages, you’ll find they prove more challenging in maintaining accuracy. But over time you’ll also find you can place meaningful hits as quickly as if you were drawing from your holster.

    Kicked To The Curb: Tales Of Recoil And Pain

    By
    Richard A. Mann
    -
    2

    Some take it as a sign of manhood others of unnecessary punishment. One thing is for certain, nobody gets a kick out of excessive recoil.

    Hard-kicking guns have been a source of pain and amusement for as long as hard-kicking guns have been around. Big-bore guns are often the hard-kickers … but not always: Lesser guns can pound your shoulder, too.

    No doubt you’ve seen Internet videos of folks getting the snot knocked out of them. Sometimes, it’s a surprise, but sometimes, it’s an intentional joke. You might’ve even orchestrated such amusement (I know I have!).

    Back in my law enforcement days, we were messing with the department’s new inertia-driven Beretta 1201 FP shotguns. These shotguns would smack you like your mamma used to, especially if you didn’t hold them tightly. One guy was bragging about how he was unaffected by recoil. (Yeah, well, there’s always one of those, right?)

    We were shooting hand-thrown clays, and before I handed him the shotgun, I slipped a 3-inch magnum in the tube ahead of a couple of low-brass shells. After the first round of low brass, he turned and grinned to illustrate his magnificent level of manhood.

    This standard .45-70 load is not very powerful at all. However, in the <a href=

    When the magnum load went bang!, he dropped the shotgun, squalled like a baby and screamed, “Did it blow up?”

    Everyone laughed—except him. In fact, I’m laughing again as I write this.

    The Gunsmith

    I once communicated regularly with a custom builder who made some fantastic dangerous-game rifles. He even handloaded custom ammo for his clients and tested it in order to guarantee sub-MOA precision. I’m not sure you need sub-MOA precision with a buffalo rifle, but I’m damned sure folks will pay handsomely to get it.

    At any rate, he called me one night and told me he thought he was allergic to ice cream. I asked how he arrived at that odd conclusion. He said that after dinner every evening, he would eat some ice cream. On several occasions, he’d pass out shortly thereafter. This seemed unusual, and I suggested he visit a specialist.

    Come to find out, it wasn’t the ice cream: He’d had a concussion received from continually shooting too damned many rifles that kicked too damned hard. I’m not suggesting the average guy would become “allergic” to ice cream by shooting hard-kicking guns, but I’m confident that if you shoot enough of them, you will become, at a minimum, hypersensitive to shooting them.

    Using proper shooting form is one way to mitigate heavy recoil. When shooting a hard-kicking rifle, don’t shoot it across your body—square-up behind the rifle.
    Using proper shooting form is one way to mitigate heavy recoil. When shooting a hard-kicking rifle, don’t shoot it across your body—square-up behind the rifle.

    Grandpa was right: Too much of a good thing is bad for you, and too much of a bad thing is dangerous.

    Master Your Firearms:

    Masochistic Magnum Recoil

    When I was just starting out writing about guns, I was invited on a turkey hunt. I’m not much of a turkey hunter and have never been much for shotguns—unless the attempted target is flying. There were several big-name writers on this hunt, and they all insisted on 3-inch magnum loads. I can only assume they were seriously pissed off at the turkeys (or maybe just seriously intent on impressing the “new kid”).

    All the shotguns were fitted with optical sights, so they all had to be zeroed. In three shots, I had my shotgun—loaded with 2¾-inch loads—dialed in. The other guys? They pounded and pounded targets with little turkey heads on them for hours. Forget jelly-heads, we’re talking jelly-shoulders.

    Eventually, they seemed modestly happy with their efforts, even though it was obvious some were flinching as if they’d been in the ring with Mike Tyson. Later that night, copious amounts of alcohol were consumed—I’m sure in an effort to deaden the pain. To add insult to injury, no one killed or even shot at a turkey.

    By no means a big-bore, this .35 Whelen load packs a serious punch in a rifle that weighs fewer than 7 pounds—especially when fired from the bench.
    By no means a big-bore, this .35 Whelen load packs a serious punch in a rifle that weighs fewer than 7 pounds—especially when fired from the bench.

    One of those same writers came to use my range a few years back to pattern some turkey loads he was testing for an article. They were those sadomasochistic 3-inch magnums. He’d shoot a couple times, rub his shoulder and shoot a couple more. After about a dozen, he asked if I’d like to shoot some. I declined. He finished a couple of hours later, asked for some Motrin … and probably went home to cry in the privacy of his own home.

    Yours Truly

    I’ve never liked rifles that kicked hard and have spent much of my personal life and professional gun-writing career avoiding them. I’ve never wanted to shoot a gun just to see how hard it kicks and have wondered in amazement at those who do.

    Still, the circumstances sometimes dictate a certain level of unreasonableness. On more than a few occasions, I’ve had to crawl behind a gun that was, let’s say, “unpleasant” to shoot.

    The Griz-Killer

    I’ve had a long love affair with the ultra-light rifles of New Ultra Light Arms. They were the first true lightweight hunting rifles. Although many have tried to copy these rifles, they remain the benchmark of that genre. I was provided with one in .35 Whelen to take to Africa on a plains game hunt. Excited about the rifle, the cartridge and the hunt, I got behind it at the bench.

    Double-guns are often associated with hard-kicking cartridges. However, most double-guns are heavy, and a heavy rifle is one way to mitigate felt recoil.
    Double-guns are often associated with hard-kicking cartridges. However, most double-guns are heavy, and a heavy rifle is one way to mitigate felt recoil.

    I pulled the trigger, and … in all honesty, I peed myself just a little. The Hornady Superformance .35 Whelen load pushes a 200-grain bullet to just a shade more than 2,900 fps. Out of that 6.8-pound rifle, that’s almost 40 ft-lb of recoil energy! However, when it comes to recoil, recoil velocity also matters. That rifle/load combination had a recoil velocity 25 percent more than a .308 Winchester.

    I emptied my bladder, wiped my watering eyes, manned-up and fired two more shots to get a three-shot group. Amazingly, it measured 0.68 inch, center to center! Fortunately, when shooting from field positions, the rifle was much more manageable, because that’s how those rifles are intended to be shot.

    I bought the rifle but never used it again. Later on, I sold it to my best friend, who runs the Baptist Mission in Kodiak, Alaska—partly because I realized I didn’t need to be kicked that hard to kill anything, and partly because he needed a rifle in case he had a run-in with a bear. And, as it turned out, he used it to stop a charging grizzly at only a few feet. It now rides with him on his horse everywhere he goes.

    Cowboying-Up

    But that wasn’t the hardest-kicking or most-painful-to-shoot rifle I’ve ever fired. The most painful was a Marlin 1985 Cowboy that was chambered for the .45-70 Govt. Granted, .45-70s can kick like the devil when loaded with the heavy Buffalo Bore ammunition, but this rifle—with its hard-plastic butt plate—would bring a tear with every trigger pull, even when using the “anemic” Remington factory ammunition.

    Although some will claim a 3-inch shotshell is infinitely more deadly than a 2¾-inch shell, the question is: Are they worth the substantial increase in kick?
    Although some will claim a 3-inch shotshell is infinitely more deadly than a 2¾-inch shell, the question is: Are they worth the substantial increase in kick?

    I fired a box or two of ammunition through it—the rifle was astoundingly accurate—and sold it. Speaking of .45-70s and Buffalo Bore ammo, I used that combination on my first two African buffalo. However, those Marlin lever-guns had a nice, soft recoil pad. The recoil was forceful (maybe a tad less than a hard hit from a professional linebacker) but not unbearably painful. After about a half-dozen shots, I always got a headache.

    As it turns out, those heavy loads are probably not needed for most of the game animals a hunter might use a .45-70 for. On an African safari in 2007, a buddy used those “weakling” Remington loads to take a very nice blue wildebeest. It ran about 30 yards and piled up.

    The .500 Cyrus Recoil

    The hardest-kicking rifle I’ve ever fired was when a custom gun builder convinced me to take a .50-caliber rifle he’d made to Africa. The wildcat cartridge he’d created was called the .500 Cyrus and was really rather ingenious.

    Unlike the .50 BMG cartridge, which shoots a 0.510-caliber bullet, this cartridge fired a true 0.50-caliber bullet. This limited bullet selection, but he’d worked with a custom bullet maker to create some really revolutionary projectiles. Surprisingly, this monstrosity was short enough to fit in an action sized for the .308 Winchester.

    The rifle, which was as beautiful as it was demonic, would launch a 345-grain bullet at 2,700 fps. In case you’re mathematically challenged, that’s 5,584 ft-lb of muzzle energy. But, here’s the thing: The rifle only weighed 8 pounds. This meant felt recoil was in the neighborhood of 60 ft-lb—three times that of a .30-06.

    Even so, this rifle was incredibly deadly. I used it to take two eland and a blue wildebeest, all with one shot each. When I returned home, the custom builder offered to give it to me. I declined. I told him unless the world was once again infested with dinosaurs, I would never be mad enough at anything—ever—to pull that rifle’s trigger again.

    Mitigating Recoil

    After almost a half-century of shooting guns, some of which kicked like a violated mule, I’ve found only one foolproof way to avoid the pain: Don’t shoot hard-kicking guns. But, for those of you wanting to flirt with detached retinas and blown-out rotator cuffs, there are a few ways to combat violent recoil.

    One way is to select a heavier rifle. On average, 2 pounds of additional rifle weight can reduce felt recoil by as much as 20 percent. You can also invest in one of those recoil pads that strap to your shoulder (for instance, Limbsaver makes one for about $35). They don’t reduce the recoil force, but they do help distribute it over a larger area, thus limiting the pain involved.

    The push-pull technique is a good way to reduce felt recoil. It works, but it takes some practice to do it naturally and accurately.
    The push-pull technique is a good way to reduce felt recoil. It works, but it takes some practice to do it naturally and accurately.

    Another method is a shooting technique taught to me by a Gunsite Academy instructor. He suggested pulling the rifle into your shoulder with your shooting hand while pushing the rifle away from your shoulder with your support hand. In other words, you create sort of a dynamic platform that applies the logic of “opposite force.” In practice, it works wonderfully well and can make a rifle that’ll knock you cross-eyed almost pleasant. On the other hand, it takes a good deal of practice to apply this method unconsciously and with accuracy.

    Lastly, there’s no substitute for good shooting technique. Keep the butt firmly in your shoulder, and square your body up perpendicular to the rifle—don’t shoot hard-kicking guns across your body. In addition, make certain you maintain a good cheek weld—don’t let the comb of the rifle smack you in the face.

    And, for the love of Elmer Keith, don’t crawl the stock and get your eye too close to the riflescope. That half-moon scar you see on the brow of some shooters is not called the “Weatherby ring” for nothing.

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    Colt Single-Action Army: Owning The Enduring Legend

    By
    Josh Wayner
    -
    0
    Colt Single-Action Army
    Colt Single-Action Army

    The Colt Single-Action Army revolver remains among the most coveted handguns of all time. But what's worth spending your money on?

    What Single Action Army Revolvers Are Available:

    “God created men, but Sam Colt made them equal.”

    That adage was more of a premonition than a witty saying. When you look into it, what Colt did with its original revolvers was to offer the individual the first widely produced and available compact repeater for means of defense and offense. It could be said that Colt designed the gun that popularized handguns in general.

    The SAA is still produced today by Colt. It’s difficult to get this gun brand-new from the factory, but there are many thousands of fine examples available out in the “wild.”

    An Uberti replica with bird’s-head grip (left) and a gen-3 Colt SAA with standard black Colt stocks. The beauty of the SAA is present in both, and they’re both highly functional, as well as esthetically pleasing.
    An Uberti replica with bird’s-head grip (left) and a gen-3 Colt Single-Action Army with standard black Colt stocks. The beauty of the SAA is present in both, and they’re both highly functional, as well as esthetically pleasing.

    There are three main generations of these revolvers. First-generation Colts entered production in 1873 and were manufactured right up until the beginning of World War II in 1941. These guns are some of the most prized today, and many are still in firing condition.

    America’s Legendary Gun: First-Gen Single-Action Army

    Because the SAA was in the hands of Americans during our most formative and transformational eras, it became endeared to the public. In fact, there’s hardly been a time when this gun has not had influence on the American psyche. Where older cultures have their swords, knights, samurai and archers, we, as a young nation, found our heroes in the gunslinger, cowboy … and occasionally in the “good-hearted” outlaw.

    The SAA is America’s version of a magical weapon. Every imaginable figure in our history has been impacted by this gun: It was in the hands of Custer’s men at the Little Big Horn. It was in the waistbands and sashes of Mexican desperados. Native Americans learned to fear it on the frontier—and treasured them when they adopted them into their own cultures. Bass Reeves, the famous gunslinger and law man, had one in his holster. The story of the Colt Single-Action Armyis the story of American exceptionalism, ingenuity and struggle.

    Stoic Heroism: Second-Gen Single-Action Army

    The second-generation SAA began production about 15 years after World War II started. At the time, Colt didn’t generally see the SAA as a profitable venture. But the lure of the SAA made its rebirth necessary and was in no small part due to the fact that the postwar era was the “golden age” of Westerns.

    Note that the replica (top) has a rudimentary safety lever built into the hammer. The original Colt (below) doesn’t.
    Note that the replica (top) has a rudimentary safety lever built into the hammer. The original Colt (below) doesn’t.

    The second-generation guns were produced until 1974. There was, again, a sputtering in the manufacture as it resumed in 1976 with what is considered the third-generation SAA. There was intermittent production in the 1980s, but it seemed the SAA was destined to be forgotten as the nation and the public’s shooting interest began to look at new forms of handgunning and competition shooting sports. The end, it seemed, had finally come for the storied “Peacemaker.” However, it again proved to be too important to the American spirit to die in history’s dustbin.

    Take A Spin With More Revolver Content:

    The New Golden Era

    Today, we live in what could be described as the “renaissance” of the single-action. Past times saw the SAA as a weapon on par with, or even better than, many competing designs. Because today’s weapons are extremely accurate, high capacity and lightweight, the SAA is something of a dinosaur, in that it’s not modular, is slow-loading and somewhat difficult to master.

    The 1990s saw a dramatic increase in the popularity of cowboy action shooting—a sport that flew in the face of high-speed race guns and polo shirts covered in sponsor logos.

    The rampant colt is only present on genuine Colt Single-Action Army revolvers. That pony adds a tremendous amount of value and is a status symbol for some.
    The rampant colt is only present on genuine Colt Single-Action Army revolvers. That pony adds a tremendous amount of value and is a status symbol for some.

    The 1990s also became a significant decade of the American Western, for which the emphasis began to focus more on gritty realism and less on theatrical heroism. The 2017 Christian Bale film, Hostiles, is a perfect representation of the somber and brutal use of the Colt Single-Action Army on the American frontier.

    Americans were not the only ones influenced heavily by the storied culture of the West. Some of the most famous Westerns ever made were filmed in Italy with Sicilians and Greeks filling in for Mexicans and Native Americans. The lasting cultural impact of these films (such as Sergio Leone’s Dollars trilogy), along with the star status of Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef, still influence film and story today. It just so happens that some of the largest manufacturers of replica SAA revolvers and many other contemporary weapons are in … Italy.

    SAA Clones

    Uberti is one of these major producers of SAA-type clones. It might surprise some, but many of the most significant and important guns on film weren’t authentic Colt revolvers. Virtually all the guns in Leone’s Westerns were made in Italy. Chances are that the SAA you see on screen is a replica, not an original Colt. For that reason, one could argue it’s the spirit of the SAA—and not the Colt rollmark—that makes it soldier on today.

    A Cimarron Doc Holliday replica. This isn’t a replica of a historical gun; it’s a replica of the original movie prop from the 1993 film, Tombstone, which starred Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.
    A Cimarron Doc Holliday replica. This isn’t a replica of a historical gun; it’s a replica of the original movie prop from the 1993 film, Tombstone, which starred Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday.

    While Colt Single-Action Army revolvers used to be made in a large variety of calibers, there are currently only a couple of versions offered new from the factory. Contrast this with what comes out of Italy: There are, quite literally, dozens and dozens of variations from Uberti, alone; it supplies three major American brands: Taylor’s, Cimarron and Stoeger.

    Modern Problems, Modern Solutions

    With the increased popularity of cowboy shooting sports came the desire to tweak and improve upon what were seen as the imperfections of the original SAA. One of the big issues was the fact that the hammer could not be lowered on a full cylinder.

    The traditional way of loading an SAA was to follow this procedure: Load one, skip one, load four, hammer down. This ensured the firing pin came to rest over an empty chamber in the cylinder. Of course, this meant that for all intents and purposes, your six-shooter was now a five-shooter.

    Brownell’s sells a dedicated set of SAA screwdrivers. It’s of critical importance to own a set when maintaining your own sixgun. A set such as this is made with special dimensions to match the screw slots, thus preventing them from getting marred.
    Brownell’s sells a dedicated set of SAA screwdrivers. It’s of critical importance to own a set when maintaining your own sixgun. A set such as this is made with special dimensions to match the screw slots, thus preventing them from getting marred.

    Ruger came out with the Vaquero in 1993 to appeal to the cowboy market. While it’s cosmetically very similar, the gun is actually based on the company’s Super Blackhawk and employs the same style of transfer bar safety. This gun is not loaded the same way as an SAA. The Vaquero is different: All you have to do is open the loading gate, and the cylinder spins freely. You don’t have to touch the hammer to load and unload the gun.

    The New Vaquero was introduced later. It’s much closer in overall dimensions to the Colt Single-Action Army, and the newer version is constructed out of modern materials using modern manufacturing methods—although it does borrow from tradition in some respects: It has nonadjustable sights and a fluted cylinder. However, unlike the SAA, it features the option of magnum chamberings (such as .44 Magnum).

    Some of the most sought-after replica SAA revolvers came from a company called United States Fire Arms Mfg. Co. (USFA). The company is now out of business, but in its day, it made some of the finest replicas ever assembled. Unfortunately, the company made some bad investments in its product offerings and subsequently closed. Even so, these guns are still held in high regard, with some of them commanding prices that rival collectable Colts.

    Typical loads fired in the SAA and clones are lead and not jacketed. While jacketed bullets can be used, traditional calibers such as .45 Colt and .44 Special tend to do best with traditional bullet profiles.
    Typical loads fired in the SAA and clones are lead and not jacketed. While jacketed bullets can be used, traditional calibers such as .45 Colt and .44 Special tend to do best with traditional bullet profiles.

    Standard Manufacturing recently came out with the simply named Single Action Revolver. The company boasts that it’s superior in every way to the originals in terms of both individual part and build quality. The price of one of these is comparable to a genuine new SAA from Colt, but it’s less than many gen-2 and gen-3 guns that are available on the collector’s and used gun market.

    Is a Real Colt Really Worth It?

    When it comes to what you get for your money, it all comes down to how you see value. Of all the manufacturers mentioned in this article, the only one that manufactures investment-quality guns is Colt. That’s not to say that the others are low quality—the exact opposite is true. It’s the fact that the “rampant colt” stamped on the side of a gun is worth more because it’s real Americana. The others are good replicas or in-spirit designs. Yes, they’re solid guns, but over time, they don’t carry the same value as a genuine Colt.

    While there are many arguments to be made about what you get for the money, it can’t be said that a genuine Colt Single-Action Army is a cheap gun. Many currently command prices of anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000, depending on features and manufacture date. Today, the average price for a gen 3 is about $2,000. A factory-new Colt is listed at $1,799 on the Colt website. The MSRP for a matched set of Ruger New Vaquero cowboy action guns is $1,699.

    The treasured Blue Box. Many collectors will pay a premium for the box alone. In fact, a matched SAA and original box can command a substantial price over an unmatched set.
    The treasured Blue Box. Many collectors will pay a premium for the box alone. In fact, a matched SAA and original box can command a substantial price over an unmatched set.

    Italian replicas from Uberti run as low as $400; on occasion, they can be had for less. As far as quality is concerned, there are differences in what each American importer offers. For instance, some of the imported guns lack recoil shields in the frame, which can lead to peening around the firing pin hole. And, you’ll pay more for a tuned competition revolver from Uberti: usually around $1,000, depending on the model.

    Will the Real Single-Action Please Stand Up?

    For some people, there’s absolutely no substitute for the original. In my opinion, a genuine Colt Single-Action Army is hard to beat in overall quality, material and construction, accuracy and investment. There are various levels of quality out there; most of this depends on age and collectability. Some of them aren’t worth shooting, because their value would be reduced. For the avid shooter, there’s something to be said about having the original—and the best. Depending on your attitude, these are either museum pieces or examples of living, fireable history that will turn heads at the range.

    It could also be said that it isn’t necessary to possess the Colt brand; rather, it’s the spirit it instilled in the heart of every red-blooded American. Colt, itself, has a lot of competition from the replica business (it doesn’t actually produce a large amount of its most famous gun). A pair of Uberti revolvers on your belt will get you on the firing line for much less money.

    Note the differences in markings between the two guns. The Uberti (top) has CIP markings common in European guns and lacks a rampant colt stamp, despite retaining the patent date stamping.
    Note the differences in markings between the two guns. The Uberti (top) has CIP markings common in European guns and lacks a rampant colt stamp, despite retaining the patent date stamping.

    At the end of the day, the single-action revolver is not a truly modern weapon. It doesn’t really have a place on the battlefield or in a concealed-carry rig.

    It is a symbol, though, and it represents the wild and untamable spirit of America and our adventurous and pioneering nature.

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

    The Rare Pleasure Of Obscure Cartridges

    By
    Philip Massaro
    -
    0
    The .300 H&H Magnum (left) is a rarity these days when compared to the .300 Winchester Magnum (right), but it can be fun and effective in the field.
    The .300 H&H Magnum (left) is a rarity these days when compared to the .300 Winchester Magnum (right), but it can be fun and effective in the field.

    Common vs. obscure cartridges: Sometimes it pays to paddle against the current. You might find the rarities the most fulfilling to shoot.

    Why You Might Want To Shoot An Obscure Cartridge:

    • The challenge of producing key components, such as cases, to reload the ammunition.
    • A connection to historical hunts and hunters and the cartridges they used.
    • Fulfillment to experiment with the performance of cartridges and spice up your gun collection.

    Because I’m both a handloader and an aficionado of metallic cartridges, the choice between buying a rifle or pistol chambered for one of the proven—and readily available—cartridges and one of the more obscure, yet “cool,” cartridges has been a struggle.

    Yes, ammunition for the .30-06 Springfield, .270 Winchester and 7mm Remington Magnum are available at pretty much any store that sells ammunition, and they’re also very effective hunting cartridges, but it’s great fun to carry an equally effective, yet more obscure, cartridge you’re personally passionate about.

    If you’re on any form of social media where cartridges are discussed or perhaps one of the hunting forums, you’ve surely seen the fervor (and sometimes, venom) with which certain cartridges are attacked and/or defended. Shooters will insist that 100 fps or 100 ft-lb of energy will make the difference between anemic terminal performance and blinding devastation.

    The .30-06 Springfield, shown here with the 200-grain Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, might be one of the most common and versatile cartridges available.
    The .30-06 Springfield, shown here with the 200-grain Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw, might be one of the most common and versatile cartridges available.

    We hunters feel the need to quantify all things (John Taylor’s Knockout System is a great example of a demonstrative, yet admittedly flawed, means of quantifying the power of certain cartridges), but it’s silly to say that the .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield are as different as peas and apples inside of 200 yards. Further muddy the waters with an obscure or obsolete cartridge, and the sparks will most certainly fly.

    Variety Is the Spice of … Ammo

    I’ve long handloaded my own ammunition, even for the rifles chambered for the most common cartridges, so I’ll be the first to admit that my view of ammunition availability is skewed: I can usually make what I can’t buy. If you’re the practical type of shooter/hunter (as my father, “Ol’ Grumpy Pants,” certainly is), you can get through with just a handful of cartridges to hunt the whole, wide world.

    If you had a good .22 LR, perhaps a .223 Remington or .22-250 Remington for varmints, a 6.5 Creedmoor or PRC for light game and targets, a common .30-caliber for larger game and a good .375 H&H for huge dangerous beasts, you’d be well-served. With the exception of the PRC (and even that is starting to change), all those cartridges are readily available at most places that sell ammunition, and I can’t really find a reason not to use any of the choices I’ve mentioned.

    The author took a .280 Ackley Improved to Namibia—with great success. Had the ammo not shown up, there would have been no replacing it.
    The author took a .280 Ackley Improved to Namibia—with great success. Had the ammo not shown up, there would have been no replacing it.

    But if you’re the kind of sportsman who has a desire to experiment with the performance of a cartridge that’s not one of the most popular, yet is fully capable, or you’re the type of hunter/shooter who reads too many old hunting and shooting books (and I’m most definitely guilty of this), taking one of the vintage cartridges out in the field creates a definite connection to the past. So, while it might not make the greatest financial sense, owning some cartridge that’s a little “left of center” can bring quite a bit of joy.

    Being completely honest, a good .30-’06 Springfield (capable of launching bullets weighing between 110 and 250 grains) can cover an awful lot of ground in the hands of an accomplished rifleman. While I’ve gone on record stating that the .30-06 Springfield is wonderfully boring and predictable, some want a different experience. In spite of its age—it’s a robust 114 years old this year—it remains the benchmark for the caliber, and it’s still one of the most popular cartridges ever developed.

    Load Up On Reloading Info:

    Should everyone be shooting it? Well, variety is the spice of life, but I own a .30-06 rifle in addition to a wide selection of others. Does this make that sweet 1895 Winchester in .30-40 Krag (which offers a performance level capable of taking nearly all the same game as the ’06) in the corner of the gun shop a silly purchase? Absolutely not! The available ammunition for the Krag will certainly not equal that of the Springfield, but if you know that going into the deal, there are steps you can take to feed the rifle. But remember: You’ve got to keep that Krag fed properly.

    The .358 Norma Magnum (left) is certainly less popular than the classic .375 H&H Magnum (right), but if you enjoy the performance, there’s no reason not to use it.
    The .358 Norma Magnum (left) is certainly less popular than the classic .375 H&H Magnum (right), but if you enjoy the performance, there’s no reason not to use it.

    So, let’s take a look at different sources for ammunition or components for that obscure cartridge you’ve become enamored with.

    Shopping Spree

    Certain companies have been instrumental in keeping the obscure cartridges alive, and there are means of making your own cases, if you’re so inclined. There are companies that specialize in brass cases for these cartridges (such as Bertram Brass from Australia and Roberson Cartridge Company in Texas), and I’ve leaned on their products a number of times.

    I hired Hillbilly Custom Rifles of Vermont to build a .318 Westley Richards on a 1916 Gew. 98 Mauser action and made my own brass cases by cutting down and re-forming some .30-06 cases. They worked just fine, but there was just one issue: Many African countries require the headstamp of the cases to match the marking on the rifle; otherwise, they won’t allow the importation.

    Don’t expect to find many camps with .338 Federal ammunition hanging around. Nevertheless, it’s still a versatile and effective cartridge.
    Don’t expect to find many camps with .338 Federal ammunition hanging around. Nevertheless, it’s still a versatile and effective cartridge.

    I bought some properly headstamped Bertram cases and some from Roberson and had a great safari with that rifle in Zimbabwe. There’s just a limited amount of Kynoch loaded ammunition available (at a seriously high price), but I wanted to use the excellent Woodleigh Weldcore bullets in my own handloads.

    Depending on the cartridge, you might (or might not) be able to make your own cases from another or have someone competent make them for you. But sometimes, you need to buy the cases. I’m in the process of having a .350 Rigby Magnum rifle built, and while it shares the same shoulder angle as the younger .416 Rigby, it can’t be made from that case. So, it’s Roberson to the rescue again; and, with a good set of dies, I can handload my own ammunition.

    There are many examples such as this, and depending on the cartridge you’re passionate about, you can either revive a cartridge presumed to be at death’s door or have a chance to hunt with a wildcat. I would recommend the purchase of The Handloader’s Manual of Cartridge Conversions by John J. Donnelly—if for no other reason than to examine the possibilities of making brass for your obscure choice.

    Author Massaro built a custom .318 Westley Richards (very popular a century ago), but the ammunition must be handloaded. Roberson Cartridge Company and Woodleigh Bullets offerings fit the bill.
    Author Massaro built a custom .318 Westley Richards (very popular a century ago), but the ammunition must be handloaded. Roberson Cartridge Company and Woodleigh Bullets offerings fit the bill.

    Bullet sources for obsolete bore diameters can pose a bit of a problem, but the solutions are increasing. As I stated earlier, Woodleigh Bullets of Australia has long embraced the classic British cartridges of yesteryear, offering a selection of its Weldcore bonded-core soft-points, as well as its FMJ solids, in a wide array of calibers and weights. This manufacturer is well-versed in the classic cartridges (both Graeme Wright and Geoff McDonald are amazing information sources), and their reloading manual is invaluable.

    Having good component bullets available for cartridges such as the .280 Ross (.287-inch), the .333 Jeffrey (.333-inch), the .425 Westley Richards (.435-inch), as well as the .475 NE and .475 No. 2, makes the difference between a wall-hanger and a functional rifle. Here, in the United States, Hawk Bullets offers some obscure bullet diameters in its lineup and also offers its customers the option of choosing different jacket thicknesses. I use the Hawk 200-grain .330-inch-diameter bullet in my .318 Westley Richards for deer and black bear, although I’ve yet to connect with the Hawk; they’re very accurate in my rifle.

    Among the big hitters in the ammunition industry, Hornady has been instrumental in bringing back a good number of cartridges, providing good ammunition for certain cartridges that are most definitely past their prime (although it usually coincides with a modern rifle being available). The .405 Winchester (the darling of the 1895 Winchester), .450 Nitro Express, .250 Savage, .275 Rigby (specifically, the HV design) and the .348 Winchester are all available from Hornady in factory-loaded form, and their components are also available for most of these.

    Mainstream or Obscure Cartridge?

    I built a .318 Westley Richards because of nostalgia (it was a very popular, all-around cartridge in East Africa a century ago), but I could have easily attained nearly identical ballistics from the more-modern .338-06 A-Square. I’ll admit that the .338-06 offers a wider selection of bullets (the .318 WR uses a .330-inch-diameter bullet), and proper headstamped brass is much easier to obtain.

    The author handloaded for the .300 H&H Magnum for a plains game safari. Although it’s obscure these days, its performance was wonderful.
    The author handloaded for the .300 H&H Magnum for a plains game safari. Although it’s obscure these days, its performance was wonderful.

    However, I enjoy the connection to the history of the safari with the older cartridge. The same can be said for that .350 Rigby Magnum: I could probably come very close to the ballistics with the .35 Whelen (in and of itself a very useful cartridge) or matched it with the .358 Norma Magnum, but it’s all the stories I’ve read about Denys Finch-Hatton and Bror von Blixen-Fineke, coupled with the opportunity to shoot a genuine 1917 Rigby takedown rifle chambered for that cartridge, that set the hook.

    Among the lever rifles, there are plenty of excellent choices, such as the .30-30 Winchester and .45-70 Government—both of which remain superb hunting cartridges—but because I’m a fan of the oddballs, I find myself scouring the gun shops for just the right Winchester Model 71 in .348 Winchester or an 1886 Winchester in .33 Winchester. I suppose I have an incurable attraction to these oddballs.

    I believe there are instances for which a “traveling” rifle chambered for a common cartridge certainly makes sense ( … as if you’re going to find any spare ammunition in hunting camp). Odds are, it’ll be a common cartridge. Most African camps have some .375 H&H ammunition on hand, and American hunting camps will have some .30-06 and/or .308 Winchester or maybe some 7mm Remington Magnum or .300 Winchester Magnum. I’d be shocked to find any .338 Federal or 7mm Dakota stuff, but if you enjoy hunting with them, that’s the chance you take when you hunt abroad.

    The author’s handloaded .318 Westley Richards worked perfectly in Zimbabwe. The recovered bullet is from a Burchell’s zebra stallion.
    The author’s handloaded .318 Westley Richards worked perfectly in Zimbabwe. The recovered bullet is from a Burchell’s zebra stallion.

    Do some research of your own. If there’s a cartridge that tickles your fancy, or if you find a used rifle in a gun shop, take a look at the difficulty of obtaining ammunition. Companies such as Choice Ammunition, Superior Ammunition, my own Massaro Ballistic Laboratories and others can give you the handloaded ammunition experience—from professional hands. Poke around the Internet for different sources for ammunition, and you’ll be surprised how much is actually out there.

    Maybe that vintage .308 Norma Magnum or .350 Remington Magnum isn’t so hard to feed after all … .

    Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the March 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

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