I had the chance to shoot Kimber's new 9mm Solo concealed carry pistol yesterday and I am impressed! Accuracy, reliability, power and the classic Kimber quality combine to make a great little pistol.
On target with hard-hitting 9mm rounds, the Kimber Solo is ready for action.
This is everything you could want in a small 9mm. For a full review of this excellent gun, check out the Special Concealed Carry Edition of Gun Digest the Magazine, hitting the newsstands in Mid-June.
The Kimber Solo is a fantastic concealed carry gun.
Recommended gun books for those who carry concealed handguns:
Cooper centerfire rifles combine modern design with the soul of fine walnut and clean, traditional lines.
Wayne van Zwoll explains why some guns have soul and others do not. It may be subjective, but it's still important to gun collecting.
Opinions are like shopping bags: cheap and ubiquitous. Mine get about as much notice. Most recently, I’ve held forth on Chihuahuas, subsidized soybeans and motorists who drive 55 in the left lane. The soybean has kept its record reasonably clean, so I’ve managed one positive review.
Firearms have tripped me up. To report on them as tools is to ignore their soul. To admit that they have soul takes Darwinism to a new level. It also leaves some current guns with poor marks. It’s no trick to make firearms that work. Brilliant 19th-century inventors did that. CAD drawings, CNC machines and better steel can improve hardware, but they don’t add or maintain soul – or even elemental “gunniness.”
The author drilled this knot with a wood-stocked E.R. Shaw rifle. Barrels that float ignore shifting walnut.
Before John Browning tired of sending designs to Winchester, he came up with some of the most fetching rifles ever, from the 1886 to the 1894. For decades after the Civil War, lever-actions proved as popular as the Homestead Act. Then came the Model 1895, a lever rifle for the government’s powerful .30-40, .30-03 and .30-06 cartridges.
I’m not a fan of the 1895. It does show the wonderful machining and finish common to firearms of its day. It does function reliably, and permits use of pointed bullets. But the 1895 is a cruel rifle. The stock comb is sharp and has lots of drop. It jabs you viciously in the chops. The sights don’t line up for me. When I cycle the action, the lever pinches my fingers. All that shuffling steel smacks of machinery by International Harvester. In the 95 you can also sense an incipient loss of soul.
Lest you think I’m heaping dung on a grave, I’d buy a minty 95 in a heartbeat, were it affordable.
Kimber’s Tactical rifle (top) has a wood stock painted black. Its Montana is synthetic-stocked. Elegant in profile, both look exactly like every other rifle of their type.
Had anyone asked me, I’d have suggested that certain elements of the 95 (and its forebears) be carried forward. Soul resides in design, fit and walnut. Surely, the best hand-laid carbon-fiber stocks are clean to the point of elegance in profile, besides being strong, lightweight and waterproof. Still, the most attractive guns wear walnut. Claims of wood bending to the whims of weather have over-stepped. Most hunters can’t shoot well enough afield to tell if a stock is nudging the barrel or not. And wood is durable. That’s why trees worth cutting for gun-stocks live longer than we will. Even straight-grained walnut has character to plumb, like the plain girl no one thought would become a CEO, or the “square” who later earned a PhD and a Guggenheim. Polymer has the eye appeal of tractor tires. Every black polymer stock is the same, as soul-less as it is colorless.
Even rusted, battered and taped, an early Winchester 94 has pick-me-up appeal. Original fit of wood to metal was tighter than on many more costly rifles now.
Had anyone asked me, I’d have suggested that synthetic stocks dress in color. Henry Ford had to buy lots of paint, and sticking to black gave him the leverage of volume. It also absolved him of having to decide which color the next customer would want. Eventually, even Henry conceded there were other profitable colors. Many gunmakers remain hung up on black. While hand-laid stocks do come in a variety of shades, and McMillan offers a giddy selection, the rule is still black. I’m tired of it.
Had anyone asked me, I’d have insisted that metal never “stand proud” of the stock; that rifle and shotgun stocks, fit more neatly than the doors on a tool shed. While CNC tooling has reduced variation in dimensions, tolerances in mating parts seem to have increased. Close fit shows care in manufacture. Once you could get it in a Winchester 94, millions of which traded for under $100.
Had anyone asked me, I’d have required any firm contemplating a commemorative floorplate to install a boxcar-size façade with said plating on the lawn of company headquarters. If it looks good there, it will probably pass muster on a floorplate. Otherwise, plain blued steel works fine. Triggers of bright pot metal might also accede to steel. Ditto plastic grip caps. Steel too costly? Omit floorplate and grip cap. If they’ve been stamped with decoration borrowed from lawn ornaments, it’s best they leave anyway.
Had anyone asked me, I’d have scotched superfluous parts, starting with automatic and redundant safeties. A firearm’s function is to fire. Multiple impediments make it as useless as a boat with holes.
Had anyone asked me, I’d have declared fixed throttles more useful than non-adjustable triggers. Pulls as heavy as a rifle’s weight almost ensure the rifle will move as the trigger breaks – just as double-action handgun pulls with the resistance of a bumper jack ruin accuracy.
While my opinions are mostly dismissed, gunmakers still sell serviceable products. Shooters still buy them, as 100 years ago they made peace with the mulish kick and finger-chomping lever of the 95.
The Rock Island Auction Co. based in Rock Island, Illinois, hosted its largest antique gun auction of the decade on April 20, 21 and 22, 2012. The auction generated $12.6 million in sales.
Nate Squared Tactical makes a concealed carry holster that's comfortable enough to wear all day.
Nate Squared Tactical makes a great IWB concealed carry holster you can wear all day.
I just had the chance to look over and try on a new holster from Nate Squared Tactical. This inside the waistband concealed carry holster is not just the best of “both” worlds, it is the best of several worlds: Comfort, concealment, retention, adaptability. This line of holsters has a lot to offer.
The IWB holsters offered by Nate Squared Tactical have been called “the most comfortable concealed carry holsters on the market today.” Subjective? Yes, but the design in patented, the materials are top-notch and the system is so simple you want to slap your head and say, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Nate Squared Holsters combine oil-tanned leather with a soft suede backing to make a thin yet supportive and comfortable platform for the holster. The Original and Orignal Tuckable models use an elastic band to secure the pistol, the Professional model uses molded polycarbonate shell to allow for easy re-holstering.
I have tried on both style holsters and simply love the fit and feel. Yes it is nearly impossible to reholster with the Original model, but the reality of a deadly force situation means you will likely not reholster until the situation is clear. At that point the police will likely tell to put your weapon on the ground. Follow their instructions. This holster allows for comfortable all-day concealed carry. If you have to pull your gun you likely won’t be worrying about putting it away until you feel safe.
I like the simplicity, quality and comfort these holsters offer. You can find the complete line at www.n82tactical.com
Holster manufacturer CrossBreed Holsters, LLC, has announced its sponsorship of the Personal Defense Network (PDN) Training Tour 2012.
“CrossBreed is proud to partner with the best of the industry on many levels,” says Mark Craighead of CrossBreed. “We think that PDN and [lead instructor] Rob Pincus are doing a great thing with a worthy cause, and we are glad to lend our support.”
For its first-ever cross-country Training Tour, PDN has brought together top instructors in the industry to train students from coast to coast. The PDN tour truck actually began in March. But between now and July, the Tour will make approximately three dozen stops at cities all over the U.S.
The tour covers a variety of fundamental and advanced personal defense topics such as Combat Focus® Shooting, Martial Blade Concepts and Advanced Pistol Handling.
PDN was formed to provide high-quality personal defense instructional videos and articles for conscientious civilians, law enforcement personnel and military operators interested in learning the most efficient and complete methods of personal defense. Course fees vary.
2) For Concealed Carry Training: American Gunsmithing Institute
The American Gunsmithing Institute's popular Armorer's Courses are packed with exclusive information and equal to a complete Factory Armorer's Course. These how-to Technical Manuals on DVD cover 52 different firearms. We use an exclusive cutaway gun to explain in detail the design of the feeding and locking mechanisms, the trigger system, proper ejection, and other functions with views of the intricate internal workings not normally visible. We also show you complete disassembly and reassembly, and teach you basic trouble shooting and repairs at an Armorer's level. AGI keeps you out of trouble by telling you what parts you should never remove! Each DVD includes a FREE printable schematic.
To take advantage of this deal Click Here or call 1-800-797-0867
3) For Concealed Carry Firearms & Accessories: CDNN Sports, Inc.
The Kel-Tec PF-9 is a semi-automatic, locked breech pistol, chambered for the 9mm Luger cartridge. It has been developed from our highly successful P-11 and P-3AT pistols with maximum concealability in mind. The PF-9 has a single stack magazine holding 7 rounds. It is one of the lightest and flattest 9mm ever made. Firing mechanism is Double-Action Only with an automatic hammer block safety.
The PF-9 is nearly identical to the P-11 in length and height and shares the same exterior controls. The shorter trigger system with integral hammer block and the extraction system are adapted from the P-3AT.
5) For Concealed Carry .45 Pistols: Springfield XDM
Since we introduced the XD(M)® Compact in 9mm and .40, our Customer Service department has been swamped with requests for a .45 version. So, we've been frantically developing an amazing product that combines concealability and high capacity, with a big bullet, that, like all XD® and XD(M)® models focuses on Point & Shoot Ergonomics™.
The genius of the XD(M)® Compact design is that it doubles as a full-size frame model with the use of the XD(M) Gear® Mag X-Tension™ (US Pat. 7191556) that offers a full-capacity back-up magazine. It's also a great range option for people that don't want to have to buy both a CCW, and a range pistol.
For more information about the XD(M)® Compact .45ACP, along with all XD(M)® models, please visit www.The-M-Factor.com
6) For Concealed Carry Holsters: Nate Squared Tactical
The IWB holsters offered by Nate Squared Tactical have been called “the most comfortable concealed carry holsters on the market today.” This patented design allows you to carry your handgun all day, everyday. Our Professional series has an adjustable cant, is tuckable, and also a positive retention feature that makes it the ultimate inside the waistband design. All of these holsters are handmade in the USA and include a Lifetime Warranty. Try a Nate Squared Tactical holster today and end your search for a comfortable concealed carry holster. With Nate Squared Tactical comfortable concealed carry is a reality, not just a slogan.
7) For Concealed Carry Legal & Ethical Information: Seven Things You Must Know Before Drawing Your Gun
FREE Concealed Carry Special Report…
If you've decided to carry a firearm for personal protection (or even if you're just thinking about it), I applaud your decision.
Most people are not willing to do what is necessary to protect themselves, their family members, and even complete strangers from the ruthless attack of a violent felon…
It is critical that you realize that the MOMENT you're forced to draw your gun in self-defense there will be 100+ decisions that you'll need to make in a split second.
In this video from Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT), the M.A.K.-1 and Extrik-8-R are put through some glass-breaking tests. What do you think of the design of these rescue tools? Leave your comments below.
Simple, portable and effective are words to describe the BLACKHAWK! Hook Serrated rescue tool. Professionals and civilians will find it's perfect for breaking windows, cutting wires, slicing seat belts and more.
In this video from the Cato Institute, Massad Ayoob draws on his decades of experience to critically examine so-called “Stand Your Ground” and “Castle Doctrine” laws.
Ayoob was one of many to speak at the Cato Institute about this hot topic issue.
In this video, defense expert Waysun Johnny Tsai reviews the DPx HEST 2.0 (Hostile Environment Survival Tool). This tactical knife has received a lot of buzz. After watching the video, would you add it to your tactical system?
Keep Tactical Knives Sharp in the Field
Retail: $30 Your Price: $24
For something that's supposed to maintain a tool, there sure aren't many durable pocket sharpeners out there. The GATCO DCS Diamond/Carbide Sharpener isn't one of them.
Gemsbok (or gemsbuck) rank among the toughest of plains game. The hide is elastic, and blood trails are often sparse.
Big game that drops instantly to a shot is cause for concern.
Bullets don’t hurl animals to earth; an immediate collapse usually mean you’ve struck the spine. A severed spinal cord anchors the beast. If your bullet has also sent fragments through the chest or so shattered the forward spine as to deliver fatal shock, you won’t have to fire again.
An offhand shot up close destroyed this bear’s heart. It ran as if untouched – but only for 30 steps.
Without knowing that, you’d best cycle the bolt and ready yourself for another shot. Bullets that strike spinal processes – those short appendages on vertebrae – also deliver a hammer-like blow. But the animal can recover, sometimes within seconds. Once it regains its feet, you’ll likely not bag it unless another hit follows, pronto.
You can expect reaction to both bullet strikes and near misses. If the buck doesn’t react instantly, you probably missed. A bullet arrives faster than you can get your scope back on target, and the reaction is involuntary. If you see the deer duck, and it runs with tail up, it is likely unscathed. A deer that stands as if puzzled by the blast and sonic crack is almost surely untouched. Sudden noise can be hard to place; animals often pause, to determine a safe exit.
Up close you’ll seldom see the eruption of hair, dust or water, the flinch, the caving to the blow when your bullet lands. The violence of recoil will obscure all.
At distance, depending on light conditions, bullet velocity and your recovery time, you will. The sound of a strike follows reaction to the hit. A .270 bullet leaving at 3,000 fps averages about 2,700 fps over its first 300 yards. It reaches a deer 300 yards away in a third of a second. The thud of impact takes a second ambling back. You’ll hear the hit about 1 1/3 seconds after you fire.
This South Dakota mule deer ran off after the hit. But the hunter persevered, delivered a killing shot after trailing.
The solid “thwuck” of a bullet through front ribs is welcome music. A sharp “whock” means you struck big bone; a sodden, splashy, hollow landing means a paunch hit.
Always assume a hit. Always reload quickly. Excepting offhand shots up close in timber, I stay in shooting position for at least 10 seconds after a shot. If game appears after the shot, I make sure it is the same animal before firing again.
The author called the hit too far back and circled the cover. The deer ran and fell to a careful second shot.
Always check if you suspect a miss. First, flag your shooting spot and the place where the animal was when you fired (I carry ribbon for this purpose). Many deer are lost because hunters don’t follow up intelligently after the shot. Blood may not appear on the trail for many yards, even if the damage is lethal. I’ve found dead deer and elk many yards from where they were hit and had to back-trail to see any blood. A bullet that doesn’t pass through may cause lots of internal hemorrhage, only to have elastic hide slip over the entry hole during escape, impeding leaks.
Once, after calling a good shot at a deer in open woodland, I watched it gallop off at an even and deliberate pace. I followed the hoofprints but found no blood. Returning to the site of the hit, I got down on hands and knees, searching in circles. A tiny pink pellet with a single deer hair caught my eye. Lung.
Carefully, I worked my way along the trail again. This time I found a drop of blood. At a turn in the trail, I spied a track I’d missed before. The buck lay a few steps farther on.
Game commonly makes an abrupt turn just before collapsing. A buck I hit too far back slipped into dense willows. I followed on hands and knees as the vegetation pressed in. There was no blood; it seemed as if the earth had swallowed this deer. Then I spotted a small gap to the side of what was now just a rabbit’s path. I crawled through it – and onto the carcass of the buck.
Perseverance is an asset. You might also call it a requisite. When you fire at big game, you have the responsibility to follow up. Some years ago, guiding a mule deer hunter, I spied a buck across a draw.
My client decided to shoot. The deer ran immediately. “Aw, I probably missed,” said the man, obviously not keen to cross the rugged draw and spend time on the deer’s trail. I insisted, though, and presently we stood where the animal had. “See, no blood.”
My companion wanted to start hunting again. I left him at the site and tracked the deer into timber, where I found it dead.
Lethal hits don’t always put game down immediately. In fact, most of the animals I’ve shot have moved before dropping. Regardless of the reaction, I always check and follow. As do all sportsmen.
Does this sound familiar? The March 2012 National Shooting Sports Foundation's (NSSF) adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,189,152 was an increase of 20.0 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 990,840 in March 2011.
You should have heard or read something similar before, considering that this newest NICS update represented the 22nd straight month that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have increased, as compared to the same period the previous year.
As NSSF explained, “For comparison, the unadjusted March 2012 NICS figure of 1,715,125 reflects a 19.3 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,437,709 in March 2011. The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky, Iowa and Michigan for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.”
While not a one-to-one correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS statistics provided a more accurate picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions of firearms sales and transfers on new and used handguns and long guns.
Gun Digest is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. Readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews and practical how-to instructions. With your subscription, you’ll also learn about threats to your Second Amendment rights.
* It's the special NRA Show double issue! * Ithaca's 1911 is fit for duty – and the cover * Tips and Tricks for Changing Barrels * The Forgotten Fal, Pt. 2 * Review: Rossi Wizard * Loading up the .35 Remington
One critical rule of firearms safety is that the bullet must stay in its intended backstop. No responsible shooter would go to one of the older indoor shooting ranges that have a warning poster saying “LEAD BULLETS ONLY, JACKETED BULLETS CAN PIERCE BACKSTOP” and then proceed to pump hard-jacketed bullets into that frail backing.
On the street, the only safe backstop for the defensive handgun’s bullets is the body of the offender. Therefore, it is not exactly responsible to be firing bullets that are likely to shoot through the assailant.
This is one of the main reasons law enforcement in its virtual entirety has gone to expanding bullet handgun ammunition in this country.
It was a lesson written in blood.
Hollow Points are No Dummies
In 1999, New York City became almost the last major police department to adopt hollow point ammunition. They did so in the face of huge, long-term opposition based on political correctness and the erroneous perception of hollowpoints as wicked “dum-dum bullets.”
Full metal jacket 9mm ammo like this has been known to be an impotent man-stopper for a century. It also horrendously over-penetrates living tissue. After many innocent over-penetration casualties, the New York Police Department dropped this ammo in favor of hollow points.
One reason they were able to pass it was that the city fathers had been made to realize how much danger the supposedly “humane, Geneva Convention-approved” ammunition previously used presented to innocent bystanders and police officers when the duty weapons were fired in self-defense or defense of others by the officers.
From the early ’90s adoption of 16-shot 9mm pistols (Glock 19, SIG-SAUER P226 DAO, and Smith & Wesson Model 5946) through 1999, NYPD issued a full metal jacket “hardball” round, comprising a round-nose 115 grain bullet in the mid-1100 fps velocity range.
The New York Times exposed the following facts in its startling report on the matter:
“According to statistics released by the department, 15 innocent bystanders were struck by police officers using full metal jacket bullets during 1995 and 1996, the police said. Eight were hit directly, five were hit by bullets that had passed through other people and two were hit by bullets that had passed through objects,” stated the Times.
In other words, in rough numbers, 53 percent of these tragic occurrences were apparently missed shots, while 33 percent were “shoot-throughs” of violent felony suspects.
Counting bullets that went through objects to hit presumably unseen innocent victims (13 percent), that tells us that roughly 46 percent of these innocent bystanders were shot by over-penetrating bullets that “pierced their backstops.”
The Times continued, “In that same period, 44 police officers were struck by gunfire using the old ammunition: 21 were hit directly, 2 were struck by bullets that ricocheted and 17 were struck by bullets that passed through other people.”
In round numbers, 52 percent of those “friendly fire” casualties were hit by bullets that apparently missed their intended targets. Forty-two percent passed through the bodies of the intended targets after the bullets struck the people they were aimed at.
Even the U.S. military is looking at switching from ball ammo to expanding bullets. This is Federal’s “Limited Penetration FMJ,” which uses Expanding Full Metal Jacket technology developed by Tom Burczynski to deliver a more effective wound channel in ballistic wax by Ballistic Technologies’ Bullet Test Tube and causing bullet to expand to 50-caliber or better.
Deconstructing ShootthroughFatalities
Why would officers hit more of their own brethren than “civilian” bystanders in this fashion? For the simple reason that while victims and potential innocent bystanders tend to flee danger scenes, the cops are conditioned to “ride to the sound of the guns.”
In a close-quarters situation where a violent criminal is attempting to harm or even murder another officer, cops try to grab him or stop him or even maneuver into a position from which to shoot him.
All these actions can put them in the line of fire of brother officers.
Ball ammo, like the excellent American Eagle at left, should be used strictly for practice in author’s opinion. The 147-grain JHP Subsonic as pioneered by Winchester (right) was better, but still erratic and unpredictable in its performance. Today, there are much better ammo choices than either of these antique rounds for “street” use.
Tunnel vision occurs in a majority of life-threatening encounters. This is the perceptual phenomenon of being able to see only the threat and being unable to cognitively recognize other people or objects that might be in the line of fire.
Moreover, the body of the offender may simply block the shooter’s view of the brother officer who is trying to apprehend or restrain the attacker from behind. In these situations, a “shootthrough” is highly likely to kill or cripple one of the Good Guys and Gals.
What does this have to do with private citizens’ use of CCW handguns? Only this: Where the cops jump in to protect their brother and sister officers, brave citizens may step in to protect their actual brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, sons and daughters, or fathers and mothers. Now it is your loved ones who are behind the offender – unseen by you – when you discharge your CCW weapon.
Those 115-grain jacketed ball 9mm rounds will pierce more than two feet of muscle tissue-simulating ballistic gelatin. So will 230-grain full metal jacket 45 hardball.
By contrast, the depth of the average adult male thorax is probably no more than 10 inches, from front of chest to back. Nor is it solid muscle: the spongy tissue and large air volume of the human lung offer little resistance to a bullet.
A Real-World Example
Many years ago in Los Angeles, an Aryan Brotherhood thug took several people hostage in an office. He demanded an escape vehicle and threatened to start shooting hostages if he didn’t get one.
A vehicle was provided, and he got into the car with the victims. At this point, the LAPD SWAT team launched smoke, and two members of the team whom I happened to know moved forward through the gray cloud, their issue Colt 45 automatics up and ready.
When the perpetrator reached for his pistol, the cops opened fire, using department-issue 230-grain hardball. They fired four shots between them, and killed the offender before he could launch a single bullet of his own.
Autopsy showed any of the four hits would have been quickly fatal. However, only one of those bullets stayed in the offender’s body. One of the three exiting slugs struck one of the hostages. Fortunately, the wound was not in a life-threatening location.
LAPD quickly switched to hollowpoints, which is what they use today. Lesson learned.
Editor's Note: This article is excerpted from The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry.
* Used in full here on GunDigest.com with permission
Actors in the movie First Winter might have unknowingly included documenting footage of a deer poaching spree in upstate New York. A trailer of the film can be viewed at www.tribecafilm.com.
Do you think your state game agency would look the other way if you decided not to buy a deer license (much less take the required hunter’s education course) then grabbed someone else’s gun (in February) and shot two deer, butchered them, ate them … and made a movie about it?
Yes, I think your obvious reply would be, “Of course not! They’d lock me up and fine me thousands of dollars!”
Well, that is exactly what many law-abiding deer hunters are hoping happens to a group of self-proclaimed hipsters who allegedly poached two deer while producing an independent film “First Winter” in 2011.
According to an article posted by www.dnainfo.com, the filmmaker is pleading guilt by way of ignorance.
“We are idiots. We didn’t know how to do this [hunting] stuff,” Ben Dickson told DNAinfo reporter Serena Solomon. The film is set to premiere at the Tribeca Film festival on April 19.
“There were so many deer weak from the winter and getting eaten by local dogs we didn’t even think about it,” Dickson was also quoted as saying.
The article further states that the film crew was practicing yoga inside an upstate New York house one day when someone spotted several white-tailed deer in a neighboring field. They allegedly “grabbed a rifle and camera and ran outside.”
Actor Paul Manza allegedly pulled the trigger. It was unclear who owned the rifle or whether it was registered. The bullet allegedly killed one deer and wounded a second one standing behind it. The crew allegedly chased the second deer into the woods and shot it again, killing it.
According to the DNAinfo.com report, the crew then skinned one of the carcasses, cut it up, and cooked it over an open fire — all in front of the camera. Manza was quoted as saying it, “was amazing to eat that meat and really feel the spirit of the animal,” and that the experience gave him a different relationship to eating animals and animal products.
Although we at Deer & Deer Hunting are glad to hear that actors and filmmakers found new respect for venison, we must also admit our utter disbelief at the group’s ignorance of wildlife conservation and modern hunting regulations. And we aren’t alone. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation isn’t amused, either.
“I’m kind of at loss for words,” DEC spokesman Wendy Rosenbach told me earlier this afternoon.
Rosenbach, who said she had not heard of the incident until I phoned the department, said the head of the Albany region’s law enforcement division was also unaware of it.
“This isn’t to say that it isn’t being investigated by one of the other regional offices. I will need to gather more information and get back to you with an update,” she said.
If the allegations are true, Dickson, Manza and others could possibly face a laundry list of violations.
“If this indeed happened in the state of New York in February, you could be looking at illegal hunting and shooting a deer out of season, among other things,” Rosenbach said. She added that other potential violations could include discharging a firearm from or near a dwelling; illegal use of a firearm (depending upon what caliber was used); and hunting without a license. Even if the incident occurred during a regular hunting season, New York requires all hunters to complete hunter education course.
The website shows photos of the actors preparing and eating what appears to be venison. If they did, they can only hope they didn’t take any of the meat home with them, especially if they do not live in New York. Otherwise, the alleged poachers could be facing serious Federal Lacey Act violations.
We will continue to follow this story and provide updates here on deeranddeerhunting.com.
What are your thoughts? Should the filmmakers be given a break for being oblivious to big-game hunting regulations, or should they be held every bit as accountable as any law-abiding hunter?
The 2 3/4x Redfield on this M70 is Wayne’s idea of a fine all-around big game sight. Note low mount.
Wayne van Zwoll explains differences between rifle scopes. Matching the scope to the rifle is important.
A lever-action carbine is as lithe under a scope as a sports car under a roof rack. On a double rifle, optics make no sense at all. While my aging eyes need glass for sharp aim, not all rifles need glass to be useful. Many animals are shot very close to the muzzle.
In Africa, firing at dangerous game farther than you can toss a stone is bad form. In typical whitetail cover, and probing the lodgepoles in elk country, you shouldn’t need a scope.
Still, a low-power scope properly mounted is as fast as irons. Actually, it’s faster, because reticle and target appear in the same focal plane.
A 2-8x, this Zeiss Duralyt has great versatility. Its 42mm objective admits all the light you can use.
Your eye sees both in sharp detail. And modest magnification helps when you must thread a bullet between branches. Up to 3x or even 4x, magnification won’t slow a practiced shooter. Field of view shrinks as you boost power – but a rifle sight is not a picture window.
The first scopes for big game were tidy, though steel tubes made them relatively heavy. Hunting rifles in those days weighed 7 ½ to 8 ½ pounds without a scope, so the extra heft (12 to 18 ounces for a 4x or 6x steel sight) remained a modest proportion of finished weight.
Also, objective diameters of less than 40mm kept bulk to a minimum while permitting use of low rings.
Surely, there were big scopes back then, from Lyman’s limousine-length Super TargetSpot to the enormous Unertl, with a recoil spring the diameter of a rolling pin. But these fine and costly sights made sense only on heavy-barreled rifles with thick walnut stocks – rifles for dusting distant woodchucks with the likes of the 2R Lovell and .219 Donaldson Wasp.
Besides jacking a rifle’s center of gravity up from between your hands, a heavy, bulky scope in high rings pulls your cheek from the stock. Losing comb contact, you compromise rifle support and leave your head bobbing about in space.
The problem is especially acute when you affix a big scope to a rifle designed for iron-sight use. This arrangement turns the comb into a baton that swats your chops on recoil.
Stocks on early rifles fitted with iron sights suited scopes like the popular 2 1/2x Lyman Alaskan and 4x Noske, whose 7/8-inch tubes and straight front ends permitted very low mounting.
Such slender tubes have now gone the way of bias-ply tires, but 1-inch scopes with tube-diameter objectives have hung on. Some of these are fixed-power models, like the Weaver K2.5. Many are variables, commonly 1-4x or 1.5-5x, like the Leupold VX3 on my Montana .375. All have much better optics than their steel forebears.
The Weaver 6×38 on Wayne’s Ruger No. 1is bright and lightweight, with plenty of field – and power.
Many shooters think compact sights can’t offer bright images. Wrong. Image quality – sharpness as well as brightness – depends mainly on the lenses and their coatings. In normal light, your eye’s pupil contracts.
If a scope’s exit pupil (objective diameter / magnification) is larger than your eye’s pupil, you can’t use all the light coming through the sight. Only in dim conditions does big front glass help at all.
For most big game hunting I favor 4x magnification. The 32- to 40mm objectives common to the 4x provide 8 to 10mm of exit pupil – more than your eye can use even in total darkness. A 6×36 scope delivers a shaft of light big enough for any shooting conditions.
Want more power? Well, probably you don’t, at least for deer and elk. If you’re shooting small animals at distance, you may benefit from higher magnification. But you needn’t endure scopes with maws the size of motorcycle mufflers. A 3mm exit pupil suffices for Dogtown – as in a 14x scope with a 42mm objective.
For big game, the long-popular 3-9×40 is still a top choice. And as competition in this slot is brisk indeed, you’ll find bargains at every price point. My latest rifle, a .25-06 by talented gunmaker Patrick Holehan, wears a 3-10×42 Swarovski, about as big a scope as seems appropriate. I’d have been as pleased with a 3-9×36, or Leupold’s 2.5-8×36.
No glass needed. This Webley & Scott in .500 NE is for fast shooting up close on dangerous game.
Another concern when choosing a scope is free tube – space available for rings. In days of yore this was no issue at all, because scopes were of fixed magnification and had tubes as long as a swimsuit model’s legs.
Now scopes are short-coupled, with big turrets and power-selector rings that take up lots of tube. You’re wise to consider where the scope must sit on the rifle to give you proper eye relief.
Some scopes now are AR-specific, following the market to rifles with a mean look and no soul. The high line of sight mandated by the high comb of ARs, and the full-length Picatinny rail standard on models intended for scope use give you more options that do bolt- or lever-action rifles. Rails give even short-coupled scopes plenty of latitude fore and aft.
Leupold catalogs several sights specifically for the AR, from the CQ/T 1-3×14 scope to a 1×14 Prismatic sight to the new DeltaPoint reflex red-dot sight with magnesium housing. I have a Mark AR 3-9×40 on an AR in 6.8 SPC.
No, I’m not categorically opposed to big scopes. Or to liberal politicians or people who drive 55 in the left-hand lane. But sights should not over-burden rifles. And if your rifle’s sight accounts for more than 15 percent of its overall weight, you might ask yourself: Do I really need all that glass?
Ted Williams, also known as “The Kid”, “The Thumper” and, “The Greatest Hitter Who Ever Lived,” is marked down in history for his performance on the ballfield. He's one of the greatest baseball players of all time. He was also a great outdoorsman. He was a world-class fly angler and is mostly remembered for chasing tarpon in the Florida Keys. He was inducted into the International Game Fish Association Hall of Fame in 2000.
On April 28th, Hunt Auctions will host an auction for Mr. Williams personal items, including his sporting gear and his private firearms collection.
There are 24 firearms ranging from a Bernardelli side-by-side to a Daisy air rifle. Williams had good taste in the classics: a Colt Woodsman .22 pistol, a Winchester pre-64 Model 70, a humpback Browning A-5, a Charles Daly over-and-under, a W.W. Greener side-by-side and others.
Williams' initials and uniform number are stamped in gold on the underside of the butt stock.
One stand out is an AYA side-by-side 12-gauge. From the catalog description: “Features fully engraved side plates and the receiver is finished in a stunning mellow case hardened fashion that brings out the fine hand engraving. This finish appears to be almost as new as the day it was made. The deluxe walnut stock features beautiful hand checkering which includes the checkered butt plate area which is actually part of the stock rather than an add on piece. The 26″ blued barrels also retain almost all of their original factory blued finish. It is chocked in both improved and cylinder bore which makes this an ideal upland game gun such as pheasants or dove. In addition, Williams' initials and uniform number are stamped in gold on the underside of the butt stock. Very strong example is among the finest within the Williams collection. Estimated Price Range: ($1,000-$2,000).”
Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 excellent concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
