Holland’s Super 30: The .300 H&H Magnum

May 22, 2024

A closer look at .300 H&H Magnum, a cartridge that’s anything but old and in the way.

We tracked the herd of eland in nearly a full circle, working the wind to make sure our presence wouldn’t be detected. My guide—Professional Hunter Maré van der Merwe—spread the sticks in the fading light, offering me a quartering shot at the bull with impossibly long horns. I broke the trigger of the Colt Coltsman, and the resulting whine of a bullet told us both I’d missed.

“That bullet hit a branch, but that bull will come out to the right, just there.” Maré hadn’t finished the last word when the bull stood quartering at 340 yards, pausing just long enough to look back in our direction. The second bullet did not miss. It was the culmination of a great Namibian safari, and that bull’s horns taped over 38 inches.

That rifle’s barrel was marked simply: .300 MAGNUM. Produced in 1959, there was no commercially loaded .300 Magnum (the .300 Winchester Magnum wouldn’t hit scene for 4 more years) other than the .300 Holland & Holland Belted Magnum, known in other circles as the Super .30, but best known as here as the .300 H&H Magnum.

HH-Super-30-rifle — *The author’s current .300 Holland, a late ’80s push-feed post-64 Winchester Model 70 that loves the longer projectiles.* *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

CIP (the Commission internationale permanente pour l’épreuve des armes à feu portatives) does recognize a slight dimensional variation between the .300 H&H Magnum and the Super 30, but I highly doubt you’ll be finding any Super 30 ammunition these days, so I wouldn’t be overly concerned about it.

The Family Tree

The .300 H&H was the fourth cartridge officially released by the London firm of Holland & Holland to feature a belt of brass just ahead of the extractor groove, following the .400/.375 (Velopex), the .375 H&H Magnum, and the .275 H&H Magnum, though all were preceded by the 41 Roper cartridge of the late 19th century. Where the .375 and .275 saw daylight in 1912, Holland’s Super 30 was released in 1925, “between the Wars” as they say.

Assuredly designed to take advantage of the huge success of the .30-06 Springfield—the military cartridge had, by then, long proved itself in the game fields—the .300 H&H Magnum would best the velocities generated by the American warhorse by 150 to 200 fps.

Like the .375 H&H that came before it, the .300 H&H came in two variants: belted and rimmed (though the United Kingdom will refer to this design as “flanged”), with the former being designed for the bolt-action repeating rifles, and the latter optimized for the single-shot and double rifles. The belted variety is, far and away, the most popular. While we’ll touch on the flanged cartridge in a bit, I’ll focus on the belted version.

HH-Super-30-wildabeest — Mrs. Suzanne Massaro developed a penchant for the .300 H&H Magnum, using it to take this wildebeest bull in Namibia. *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

Buckle Up

Sharing the same 0.532-inch case head diameter and 0.534-inch belt diameter as its more popular older brother, the .300 H&H maintains both the same case length (2.850 inches) and cartridge overall length (3.600 inches) as the .375 H&H. The slight 8½-degree shoulder gives a smooth and easy feel to both feeding and extraction, as headspace duties are neatly handled by the belt. That belt was, and remains, an excellent means of giving the definitive headspacing qualities of the rimmed cartridge designs, without any of the problems associated with stacking a rimmed cartridge in a box magazine or getting a rimmed cartridge to properly feed from that magazine style.

Most modern derivatives of the H&H case—such as the .300 Winchester Magnum, 7mm Remington Magnum, .338 Winchester Magnum and .300 Weatherby Magnum—still use the belt for headspacing, but a good many reloaders use the more prominent shoulder of these cartridges once they’ve been fired and resized. For the straight-walled cartridges like the .458 Winchester Magnum, .458 Lott and .470 Capstick, as well as those with a slight shoulder like the .300 H&H and .375 H&H, the belt is an aid (however, the .404 Jeffery and a handful of other cartridges make do with a shoulder of 8-10 degrees).

And in comparison to the .300 Winchester Magnum, which has been criticized for having a very short neck (0.264 inch), the .300 H&H Magnum offers plenty of neck tension, with its neck measuring 0.371 inch, well in excess of the desired one-caliber in length.

The length of the .300 H&H case is probably a derivative of the long, spaghetti-like structure of Cordite—the propellant so popular in Great Britain in the early 20th century—and how well that fit in the .375 H&H design. By 1925, if H&H weren’t already using stick powder, the transition wasn’t far off, but the case design stuck around.

HH-Super-30-hartebeest — An old and heavy-horned hartebeest bull taken at over 300 yards in the then-drought-stricken Namibia, with a single shot from the .300 H&H Magnum. *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

The .300 H&H requires a magnum-length action, which has always been more expensive to produce and was historically offered in smaller numbers. Considering the speed race in the cartridge world was just building a head of steam—Winchester had released the radical .270 Winchester in the same year, in their Model 54 rifle—the .300 H&H’s velocity offered a respectable jump above the .300 Savage, .30-30 Winchester, 3-40 Krag and even the .30’06 Springfield.

And, of course, then as it is now, there is the exotic factor: In comparison to the majority of the American cartridges, the .300 H&H just looked plain ol’ cool.

In the Wild and at the Range

The .300 H&H quickly garnered a great reputation among those headed to Africa and India. John “Pondoro” Taylor wrote in his excellent African Rifles and Cartridges, “Everything the .30-06 will do is done better by the .300 Magnum—as is only to be expected.” Pondoro would go on to opine that India offered the longest shooting in the (then) British Empire, indicating an appreciation for the .300’s flat trajectory on a number of the Himalayan species, but equally approving of the 220- and 225-grain loads offered by Peters and Remington, respectively.

HH-Super-30-eland — The author took this 38-inch eland bull in Namibia with Jamy Traut Safaris; a single Federal Trophy Bonded Tip bullet at 340 yards put this bull in the salt. *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

And therein lies the rub: One of the biggest factors in the successes of the .375 and .300 H&H Magnum cartridges was not necessarily the British rifles and ammunition, but the fact that the American rifle and ammunition manufacturers embraced them both. The pair was among the initial offerings in Winchester’s excellent Model 70—released in 1936—and ammunition for both was readily available.

This fact also explains why the .375 H&H became the go-to cartridge for traveling sportsmen headed to the Dark Continent: Not only is it effective in its own right, but American rifles and ammunition were made long after the British stuff began drying up.

Simply put, a great British cartridge was put into American mass production.

But it wasn’t only the Eastern Hemisphere where the .300 H&H showed its potential; here in North America, Ben C. Comfort used the cartridge to win the Wimbledon Cup in 1935, with a Griffin & Howe rifle based on a Remington 30S action. The .300 H&H also played a big role in the development of the premium bullet market, as John Nosler carried one on the fateful Canadian moose hunt where his projectiles failed to penetrate on a mud-caked bull. And it was the case upon which Roy Weatherby would base his lineup of speedy cartridges, cementing his place in firearms history. American author Robert Ruark would also go on to use the .300 H&H as the rifle choice for his fictional Professional Hunter Brain McDermott in his gripping Uhuru.

Nosler-HH-300-Magnum — *The author’s Winchester Model 70 absolutely loves the Nosler Custom 200-grain AccuBond load, printing ¾-MOA groups.* *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

I believe that despite many sparks in the early 20th century, the .300 H&H Magnum is the point where the speed game actually caught fire. Unlike Savage’s .250-3000, the .300 H&H Magnum has the bullet weight to be a true all-around big-game cartridge, and is versatile enough to be taken around the globe. It’ll push a 180-grain bullet to a muzzle velocity of 2,875 fps in factory loads, making it “enough gun” for the vast majority of big game pursued, including the great bears of the north and all but the largest and most dangerous game of Africa.

I’ve owned two rifles chambered for this excellent cartridge: the aforementioned Colt Coltsman that accompanied me to Namibia (and is now in the possession of a dear friend), and currently a post-64 Winchester Model 70 from the early ’80s, with one of the prettiest factory walnut stocks I’ve ever seen.

The M70 shows a preference for longer projectiles, with more bearing surface; this is contradictory to my experiences handloading for more than a few .300 H&H rifles. Generally speaking, the .300 Holland is one of the few .300 Magnums that doesn’t mind the light-for-caliber projectiles, but my own gives the best accuracy with the 180- and 200-grain projectiles, and I’m OK with that. The Federal 180-Trophy Bonded Tip load and Nosler’s 200-grain AccuBond load were among the top performers in this rifle; either of those bullets would handle just about anything I’d ask a .300 Magnum to do. With a 200-yard zero, you’ll see these bullets strike about 7 inches low at 300 yards and roughly 22 inches low at 400 yards.

In comparison to other .30-calibers, I feel the .300 H&H Magnum does better the performance than that of the 30-06 Springfield, though perhaps not enough that the average hunter would truly take notice. It is a bit slower than the .300 Winchester Magnum and .300 Winchester Short Magnum, and certainly slower than the .300 Weatherby Magnum and .300 PRC. But the .300 H&H is probably the easiest on the shoulder of all the .300 Magnums. And in the hands of good reloader, it can be brought down to .30-06 or even .308 Winchester velocities without too much trouble, making it a great choice for deer on the back forty, or it can be revved up to nip at the heels of the .300 Winchester Magnum, which is a good place to be as well.

Is it efficient? In comparison to the .300 WSM and .300 Winchester Magnum—which can deliver slightly better ballistics in a short-action and long-action rifle, respectively—probably not. But shooting a .300 H&H Magnum isn’t about the ultimate in efficiency; it has its own pedigree, and well, a cool factor to it. It’s an inexorable tie to a time long gone now, invoking the sentiments of safari in wild places, or long treks into the wilds of Canada, Alaska or those remote parts of the American West. I feel pretty confident saying that the belted cases—while they are not going away anytime soon—have seen their day, and we probably won’t see any new cartridges featuring the H&H belt anytime soon. However, the .300 H&H Magnum remains cooler than the other side of the pillow, at least to my eyes.

Ammunition Availability

Yes, there’s an elephant in the room: The glaring fact of the matter is that the .300 H&H has been pushed off the stage by newer, more efficient and better marketed .30-caliber cartridges. Each year, rifles and ammunition become increasingly scarce, and it will be just a matter of time before handloading is the only means of keeping the old girl alive. In fact, as of the time of this writing, the only factory loaded ammunition even cataloged is listed as “unavailable,” with no production information available. So if you want the .300 Holland experience, you either find older stashes of ammunition or handload your own.

HH-Super-30-handload — The author’s Winchester M70 shows a definite preference for the longer bullets, with increased bearing surface, like the 200-grain Federal Terminal Ascent and Nosler AccuBond. Handloading will be the best way to keep your .300 H&H active in the field and at the range. *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

Get a good set of dies—Redding dies are my favorite—and a good supply of brass, and you’ll be in business for life. I like Norma brass, and I like Nosler brass as well, though the situation with the .300 H&H is quickly becoming “any port in a storm.” But given my druthers, it’s Norma and Nosler for me, and I’ll happily take Federal or Hornady.

The powder charges of the .300 H&H Magnum warrant the use of a large rifle magnum primer; my favorite is the Federal Gold Medal Match GM215M. Powders in the range of IMR 4350 and 4831, Reloder 19 and 22, Hodgdon’s H4350, H380 and H4831SC are all good choices; the .300 Holland likes powders in the slow-but-not-too-slow department. My experiences show that charges that nearly fill the case give the most uniform results.

Good ol’ round and heavy bullets, like the Hornady 220-grain round-nose Interlock, are just as good as they were a century ago, especially at closer ranges; don’t overlook them for larger species in a woods or bushveld situation.

Hornady-HH-300-Magnum — Hornady .300 H&H ammo in their custom line, featuring the now-discontinued InterBond bullet. *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

I’ve championed a number of relatively obscure cartridges over the years, with some being on the verge of extinction. The .318 Westley Richards, .404 Jeffery and .33 Winchester each were at one point in time a sound choice with a decent following. Will we be seeing any new developments for the .300 Holland & Holland anytime soon? Sadly, I doubt it—though there are enough rifles out there chambered for it that perhaps Hornady or Federal will make another run of quality factory ammunition.

If you enjoy hunting with a cartridge that’s a bit left of center, and something that will cock an eyebrow or two in hunting camp, you could do worse than choosing the .300 H&H Magnum. In the meantime, I’ll invest my time at the reloading bench to keep my Winchester properly fed.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the July 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

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A Tale Of Two Rifles: Maximizing Rifle Accuracy

Len Waldron

May 21, 2024

We take a look at how to tweak your rifle to maximize its potential for accuracy.

Ten-thousand miles.

That’s how far my rifles must travel before the safari begins. Along the way, they’ll be herded by soulless conveyor belts, bounced off concrete floors and fingered by dubiously qualified “inspectors.” Bag-checking rifles for international travel feels like releasing a kid on a bike without training wheels. Though I expect to re-zero the scopes in Africa, I want to ensure the optics on my rifles are set up correctly before I leave. More importantly, I want to be confident I have the skills to return them to a reliable standard if they arrive with problems.

Maximizing-Rifle-Accuracy-franchi-safari — Both rifles performed in Africa despite being dropped and dragged along the way.

Courage, Tools and Torque

I teamed up with Caylen Wojcik, founder of Modern Day Rifleman, to coach my optics setup on two rifles I’d take to Africa. A former Marine Scout Sniper, Caylen teaches precision shooting for military, LEO and civilian shooters. He also teaches a precision shooting course for hunters.

Wojcik frequently sees similar optics problems when students dust off their hunting rifles after a long off-season. Luckily, most problems are avoidable or easily correctable with a step-by-step approach and a few simple tools.

“Shooters should not be intimidated by assembling and disassembling their hunting rifles down to their core components,” Wojcik says. “We’re just talking about turning screwdrivers, using a level and being thoughtful about torque adjustments. The key is to understand the goal of each step and be methodical.”

These rifles and their intended application present few unique variables. Both of my rifles are bolt actions and chambered in calibers for African plains game, so nothing “dangerous” or larger than a North American elk. One of my rifles, the Franchi Momentum All Terrain Elite (.308 Win.), is a test rifle, so I can’t make permanent modifications. It’s also new, unassembled and unfired. We’ll focus most of our attention on it.

The other rifle is a scoped and sporterized version of a 117-year-old Swedish Mauser (6.5×55 Swede). I own it, and it was set up and zeroed a few years ago. Though it’s been trapped in my gun safe ever since, the Mauser’s getting the same inspection. For most African hunting scenarios, the shots are from a standing position, supported by shooting sticks, at ranges inside 300 yards. So, we are taking care to get the basics correct, but our process isn’t intended for extreme long-range shooting.

Indeed, we used simple tools. Though bit shapes and sizes varied between components and manufacturers, the ultimate tasks weren’t more complicated than aligning one part with another and tightening the connecting screws to a prescribed tension. Torque-adjustable screwdrivers or torque-limiting ratchets are outside the basic toolboxes of many shooters, but they shouldn’t be. For a moderate outlay, you can have the same basic gunsmithing tools. “Torque” is an important concept to understand from the start. Torque is force applied in a rotational motion—for our purposes, it’s how hard you tighten a screw into a threaded hole. In standard (not metric) terms, it’s expressed as “inch-pounds.”

fix-it-sticks-2 — Worth its weight in your checked baggage, the Fix It Sticks “The Works” kit contains bit and torque tools to confirm or return your rifle to the proper specifications.

Why should you care? Because “hand tight” varies from person to person. Rifle and optics screws that are too loose can result in inconsistent accuracy. Overtightened screws can break off in their threads, rendering your rifle unusable and requiring a trip to a gunsmith. Tightening to the factory-prescribed torque values removes the guesswork from optic setup while avoiding costly mistakes.

Tight Action

With any process, you must choose a rational starting point; for bolt-action rifles, it’s the action screws. Action screws, also known as guard screws, hold the barreled action to the stock. There are generally two—one in front and one behind the trigger guard. This junction is the foundation for performance consistency for the rifled action and all the components mounted above it.

mauser-action-screws — The action screws on this Mauser were loose enough to move with my fingers. A tightening to a uniform 65 inch-pounds resulted in a 0.3 MOA shot group improvement.

Wojcik says more of his marksmanship students arrive with loose action screws than not. “It’s not uncommon for shooters to over-analyze scopes and rings, but they’re shocked when their action screws aren’t even hand-tight,” he says.

Both my rifles had loose action screws … or at least inconsistent torque adjustments. The Mauser’s action screws were so loose I could turn them with a press and turn of my finger into the flathead slots.

We torqued the action screws on both rifles to 65 inch-pounds. Again, using factory torque specs, where possible, is critical. However, they aren’t always available. In the case of a 117-year-old Mauser, the new custom stock was glass-bedded walnut, and I felt it could take the pressure. Was it too much? Time will tell, but I now know exactly how much pressure is on the screws if I want to readjust. After the tightening, the rifle shot groups inside 0.65 MOA, which was a 0.3 MOA improvement over previous groups, so this small adjustment provided an immediate benefit.

A few commonsense principles apply to action screw torque settings in the absence of a factory number. First, metal-on-metal contact points can take more pressure than wood or polymer synthetics. Second, heavier caliber rifles producing greater recoil generally require more torque, so be mindful of the difference between rimfires versus magnums. Finally, when in doubt, call a trained gunsmith and ask for advice.

Ride the Rail

On some rifles, scope bases are metal blocks mounted directly to threaded holes in the receiver or clamped onto a dovetail notch. Such was the case for the Mauser and its Trijicon scope and rings. The Franchi rifle comes with a Picatinny rail common on many new rifles.

“Most Pic rails on new rifles come with oil between the rail and the receiver,” says Wojcik. “I suspect it’s part of the manufacturing process. But fluids are dense under pressure, and I want the parts as flush as possible, so I routinely remove the rail from the rifle and clean the contact surfaces.”

When we removed the Franchi’s rail, it had a line of oil underneath its entire length. So, we cleaned the bottom of the rail and top of the receiver with alcohol and replaced the rail, re-torquing the screws to 25 inch-pounds. For the Mauser, I confirmed the same torque on all its scope base screws.

picatinny-rail-screws — Pic rails should be torqued to spec, starting from the center screws and working outward to minimize any minor bends or warps.

Care should be taken when removing Pic rails, especially the long ones like the 10-incher on the Franchi. The screws may be of different lengths or diameters depending on whether they mount to the receiver or the barrel. I usually throw screws and small parts into a magnetic tray, but in this case, I’d recommend you place them thoughtfully so there’s no doubt about how they’re replaced.

There are a few helpful techniques to consider when replacing a Pic rail. First, a bonding agent on the screw threads is a good idea. We used blue Permatex 24010 gel. Second, tighten the screws from the middle to the outside. This will correct for slight warps in the rail. If the rail is noticeably warped or damaged, replace it.

Level to the World

The next step is leveling the rifle and installing the scope rings.

Personal preference varies on the best method to secure a rifle for leveling and scope installation. I’ve found a high-quality bench vise with leather padded jaws is faster and more rigid than purpose-built cradles made from soft plastic. No matter your choice, the following steps are the same.

“You have to get the rifle level to the world, which means leveling the bore horizontally and ensuring the centerline is square, vertically,” advises Wojcik. “Take your time to get it right, and then lock it in.”

For this task, I chose a Wheeler Professional Reticle Level System that uses a reference and barrel clamp level. The reference level is placed on a flat surface in or around the receiver to level the rifle in the vice. Once the rifle is leveled in the vice, the barrel clamp level is attached and adjusted so that its bubble is centered and matches the reference level. The rifle can now be removed from the vice but quickly replaced and returned to level without starting over. Other, more expensive kits and methods exist, but for our purposes, this system works.

Next, we attached the ring bases to the Pic rail.

scope-base-screws — Torque these screws to the factory specifications. Placement for the rear base should be as far back as possible on a Pic rail mount, and the front base should land on the main tube roughly between the center turret and the objective bell.

Tip: If the bases have flush screws, it makes sense to orient the bases so the screw heads are on the same side as the bolt handle—that way, you don’t have to reach over or move the rifle to make adjustments. For bases with protruding nuts, installing the bases so that the nuts sit on the non-bolt handle side will ensure they don’t come in contact with knuckles when cycling the bolt. It’s a bit more trouble, but your hands will thank you.

With a Pic rail scope base, the mounts should always be pressed forward (toward the muzzle) and flush with the vertical surface of the Pic rail notch. This ensures the rifle’s recoil won’t creep the base forward and change the scope’s orientation with the receiver. If you choose a one-piece mount that combines the bottom scope ring and base, be aware that many are manufactured with a cant (horizontal angle) to give the scope more adjustment range.

Conveniently, the clamshell Vortex rings I’ve chosen for my Steiner scope have the torque specs printed on the parts. A word to the wise on scope ring screws—screw metal quality can vary widely across manufacturers … and even between models. Sadly, this junction, critical to establishing and maintaining accuracy, is often achieved with the cheapest materials bought in mass quantities from the lowest bidder. It’s very common for cheap screws to shear off or warp, even at factory specs.

Consider investing in a variety pack of backup firearm optic screws. For a small investment, you can always use fresh screws when you change mounted optics, and you’ve got backups if one strips, shears or falls through the floorboards. I followed this advice a few years back, and having a variety of spares around saved my bacon at least a dozen times.

Lock in the Glass

Scope ring height and placement are subjective decisions. Rifle design factors such as bolt handle clearance, receiver shape and the stock’s length and comb height combine with human factors like head size and visual acuity to create a complex challenge. Ultimately, shooters should orient the scope according to their physical and visual needs, but here are a few guidelines:

Base Placement: Place the rear base as close to the rear of the rail as possible, especially if you have backup iron sights. The front base should land on the uniform section of the tube midway (roughly) between the adjustment turret and where the tube flares into the objective bell.
Scope Prep: Wojcik recommends turning the windage and elevation adjustments to their limits in both directions several times before mounting the scope. Especially for new scopes, there is often a spot of grease that may not be uniformly spread over the internal parts. This quick step will spread the lubricant and confirm that no spots bind, limiting the scope’s adjustment range. If your scope adjustments do not turn with light to moderate pressure, don’t mount it—repair or replace it.
Scope Placement: Orient the scope so the magnification adjustment ring is over the trigger. Yes, the distance between adjustment rings and the ocular lens varies between scopes, but this is a reliable starting point. Adjust accordingly to your eyes, face and stock length.
Eye Relief: Eye relief is the distance between your eye and the ocular lens. To adjust it, tighten the screws on the rear ring just enough to hold the scope loosely in place. At its maximum magnification, move the scope forward and backward until you achieve a comfortable shooting and head position where you can see a full field of view through the optic, free of shadows. Different styles of shooting call for different head orientations on the stock, so I adjusted my eye relief with an upright hunting posture in mind.
Leveling the Scope: With your eye relief established, it’s time to take a breath and get patient. This step may take a few tries.

If possible, remove the elevation cap and use the erector screw to level the scope. Why? Though the elevation adjustment cap may seem level and square to the line of the scope, some are not machined to seat squarely. If the elevation turret caps are rounded, leveling becomes a guessing game. The erector screw is a better option if you have it.

Level the scope by sequentially tightening the ring screws in an “X” pattern ending with all screws torqued to spec and a level reticle. Screw tension will move the level’s bubble, but tightening the opposite side of the ring will move it in the opposite direction. This final step requires a methodical give-and-take of tension and adjustment. Be patient, as you might have to start over. Just remember to continue to visually reference the levels on the barrel and scope to guide your adjustments.

scope-ring-screws — Tighten scope ring screws in an “X” pattern. This step is a bit of a dance to tighten each side to a factory spec and still end up with a level reticle. Be patient, tighten each screw a bit at a time and be prepared to start over.

It took us two tries to get the Franchi assembled and leveled.

The Mauser’s bases and rings received uniform torquing. Thankfully, the adjustments didn’t require re-leveling the scope.

Set Up for Success

Factory torque settings, a clear scope picture and a level reticle will not increase the likelihood of encountering a trophy kudu bull. But, establishing a properly configured rifle and optic, and learning how to correct basic problems, gives you added confidence and a consistent basis to establish your rifle’s best possible zero and, by extension, your most accurate shots on game.

One final note of advice: Take your time with each step. Don’t wait until the night before opening day—get your rifle set up early, zero your optic and spend the extra time confidently practicing, knowing your equipment won’t hold you back.

Both my rifles made it to Africa (and back) without damage. Once in-country, I confirmed the torque on the screws, visually confirmed level reticles and adjusted the zeros to the location’s higher temperature and lower altitude.

I’m not without superstition: I believe Murphy’s Law is stronger in Africa than it is in the States. But because I was ready for him, he took his mischief elsewhere.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the July 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

More On Long-Range Accuracy:

Mils vs. MOA: Which Is The Best Long-Range Language?
Buying the Perfect Precision Scope
Shooting Positions: Variety Is The Spice Of Life
Riflescope Tracking: Why It’s Crucial To Test It
Long-Range Shooting: Becoming Your Own Spotter

Reloading Technique: How To Properly Skin A Cat

Philip Massaro

May 20, 2024

A dissertation on reloading technique and practices.

“What are you doing? I would never run dirty brass though my resizing die!”

Talk to 10 dedicated reloaders, and I’ll wager you get 10 different techniques and opinions, even if the differences are subtle. Is there one proper technique for the process of reloading centerfire rifle and pistol ammunition? There are, after all, myriad tools available to the reloader.

While some are deemed frivolous, others are must-haves. Flip through the front section of almost any worthy reloading manual and you’ll find some sort of step-by-step instructions pertaining to the procedure of reloading metallic cartridge ammo.

While those generic instructions are not wrong, somewhere along the line we all develop certain habits and adopt techniques that might work for some … while seeming completely foreign to others. Referring to my opening quote, some folks will run any old dirty piece of brass into a resizing die, while others insist the brass be not only already de-primed, but cleaned, tumbled and polished before it changes shape.

Which is the proper method?

Well, it’ll depend on your personal taste, and how much of a neat freak you are. You certainly shouldn’t put any case with actual dirt on it—say a pickup from the range—into your die, but if there’s some burnt powder residue, it won’t hurt your die, especially if you clean your dies regularly, which I definitely recommend. If the idea still offends you, perhaps the use of a universal de-capping die—one designed for the sole purpose of removing the spent primer—will allow you to clean the case inside and out before resizing it. This does minimize residue and debris in the die, and I do this sometimes, especially when reloading cases that were previously loaded with especially dirty-burning powder.

reloading-technique-primers — How do you prefer to install your primers, from the press or via hand primer? *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

Primers can be another hotbed of discussion—whether they’re installed with a hand-priming unit or primed from the press. Some guys demand absolute uniformity in primer-seating depth, while others feel that so long as the primer is seated flush or slightly recessed, all is right in the universe.

Having spent a fair amount of time at the Norma Ammunition plant in Sweden, I’ve seen the effects of uniformly seated primers—they have special tools to measure the depth of primers before their ammo is sent to the public—and it does make an appreciable difference. Where the precision shooter will be very concerned with this feature, the high-volume loader who knows how to consistently work the handle of Dillon 550 will be perfectly happy with what that excellent machine provides.

Personally, I like to install my primers by hand, as I feel the press can generate too much force at times.

The method of loading powder and seating bullets—whether you charge all the cases in a block and then begin seating projectiles, or charge an individual case and then immediately seat the bullet—is debatable as well. You’ll see photos of large blocks of cases, sometimes a hundred at a time, being charged with powder, each awaiting a turn for its projectile. While I know this system works well for many folks, I’ve also seen it lead to near-disaster.

If, for example, you were loading for a .300 Weatherby Magnum, the sheer volume of the powder required will easily prevent a double charge; the case simply won’t hold it. But switch to a .357 Magnum, .38 Special or .45 ACP, and it’s a much different story. Not only can all of these cases easily be double charged, but the charge weight may also be so small that a double charge might not be immediately visible.

In this author’s opinion, safety takes precedence over time saved, and my own technique is to charge a case with powder and then immediately seat the projectile. This way I can visually verify that there is no powder (or anything else) in the case before dumping the powder charge, and once installed there is no risk of double charging. Habits are going to form—good or bad—and I always err on the side of caution.

Want to start an argument among reloaders? Ask whether you should weigh every powder charge. Oh, will the sparks fly! “Benchrest shooters load by volume.” “I’ve used a powder thrower since I was a boy.” “Only certain powders will meter properly in those volumetric powder throwers.” “You’re wasting your time weighing every charge; it just isn’t that important.” Some of these statements may be true and applicable, but after spending more than 3 decades handloading the vast majority of my ammunition, in rifle calibers ranging from the .17s up to the .500s, I’ve found that uniformity leads to consistency, and therefore accuracy.

Just as I wouldn’t want to purchase a box of projectiles only to find the weight varies drastically, I want my powder charges to be as uniform as possible. Weighing each individual charge has given me the best results, and should you have an alternative method that works (and maintains safety), so be it. The modern electronic powder dispensers operate quickly and easily enough to accommodate my reloading style, and I sleep better at night knowing each charge was weighed.

reloading-technique-press — The progressive presses, like the Dillon 550 shown here, are certainly efficient, but you must give up some of the hands-on methods of reloading. *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

I also get many questions about the use of progressive presses, especially regarding the consistency, uniformity and safety. Certainly, the Dillon progressives are at the top of the heap, and the RCBS stuff of late is much better than it ever was, but the fact remains that there are so many operations happening simultaneously that it’s nearly impossible to monitor all at once. Call me a control freak, but I want to have my hands on these operations, so that I can ensure that something hasn’t come out of adjustment—such as the volumetric powder dispenser—and that all the primers are not only present, but seated properly.

Don’t get me wrong: I’ve shot some wonderful ammunition made on a Dillon 550 or 650, but my own personal tastes and preference lean so heavily toward single-stage loading that the Redding T7 turret press is about as far as I feel comfortable going. If you like the idea of a progressive press, and there are many reasons to do so, realize that rigorous inspection of the final product is a fantastic idea; it may save a firearm … or a life.

“You can’t do that.” Sometimes it rings true, and other times we reloaders need to realize there’s more than one way to skin a cat.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the July 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

More On Reloading:

Tips For Reloading the .30-06 Springfield
Loving Your Luger: Reloading the 9mm Luger
Handloading: Tips For Reloading The 7mm Rem Mag
How To: Tips For Reloading the .223 Remington
Reloading Bench: The Inside On Reloading For The .30-30 Winchester

Taylor’s & Company Announces TC73 9mm Lever-Action Rifle

Adam Borisenko

May 17, 2024

Want a lever-action rifle chambered for something a bit more modern? Here we take a peek at Taylor’s & Company’s TC73.

Lever-actions have been the hottest thing in the gun world lately, but Taylor’s & Company’s new TC73 rifle has taken a different approach than most other companies that have taken a crack at the trend. Rather than make a modern, tactical lever-action or just another traditionalist take on the classic design, Taylor’s & Company decided to give the TC73 a 9mm chambering instead.

Completely made in America, the TC73 is essentially a revamped 1873 chambered for 9mm. It boasts a 10-round magazine, classic looks and a few tasteful modernizations and improvements. Namely, the muzzle is threaded 5/8×24 for mounting suppressors and it has a Taylor Tuned Performance Action that provides a lighter trigger and a smoother lever throw. It also features a white bead front sight, a sporting semi-buckhorn rear sight and a rubber butt pad. As for the rifle’s aesthetics, the steel frame has a beautiful case-colored finish and the stock and forend are American Walnut.

Compared to the cartridges that lever-actions are traditionally chambered for, the 9mm TC73 brings a lot of versatility to the table. The ammo is incredibly common, comparatively affordable and is available in a wide variety of different loadings spanning range use to serious defensive bullets. The ability to add a suppressor is just the cherry on top.

If you’re in the market for a classic, stylish lever-action rifle with all the practicality and versatility of 9mm, the Taylor’s & Company TC73 is well worth checking out. MSRP is $2,099.

For more information, please visit taylorsfirearms.com.

More On Lever-Actions:

The Henry .45-70 Gov’t

Evolution Of The Legendary Lever-Action

Cowboy 101: How To Run A Lever-Action Rifle

The Rossi Rio Bravo .22 Lever-Gun

The Past, Present And Future Of Lever-Action Shotguns

On The Range With An ICORE S&W M-28

Patrick Sweeney

May 15, 2024

We go over a custom Smith & Wesson Model 28 revolver built for ICORE. She ain’t pretty, but she can still shoot.

For a guy who got to be known as a 1911 shooter, I spent a lot of time shooting revolvers. One wheelgun in particular was both a process and a tool. Back when the USPSA was being formed, my club was already shooting in many equipment divisions—one of which was “Revolver.” So, I had a 6-inch S&W M-25-2 in .45 ACP that I had to build … well, just to have one. (We can showcase that revolver at a later time.)

Soon after that, the International Confederation of Revolver Enthusiasts (ICORE) was formed. ICORE wasn’t interested in making Major, so I didn’t need a .45 revolver to compete there. I tried a number of different—not entirely suited to ICORE—revolvers, but I finally scored a police trade-in M-28. This is a .357 Magnum built on the N-frame, which is the .44 frame, with a matte finish for police duty. I think I picked it up for $125 back in the Reagan era.

ICORE-Smith-Wesson-M28 — If you didn’t catch the placement of the cylinder grooves, you’d never know this was a seven-shooter.

Soon after, I won a Baumann conversion cylinder at the old Second Chance Combat Shoot. This was a seven-shot cylinder that simply plugged into a .357 Magnum N-frame revolver. It used proprietary moon clips, and it was just the thing for ICORE.

The scoring system in ICORE is simple, and it’s the same as IDPA: Your shooting time, with added time for hits outside of the center ring and any penalties, is your score. The fastest time wins. And the power factor (PF) you had to meet back then was only 120. So, a plated 158-grain RN only had to be going 760 fps to make the scoring minimum.

A 120-PF load, out of a revolver that weighs 45 ounces, doesn’t recoil very much. So, I slicked up the action and had a grand time shooting ICORE with it.

Smith-Wesson-M28-cylinder-1 — Open the cylinder and look—a quick count tells the tale. And yes, it requires R-P brass to use the moon clips. If the groove isn’t the right size, the clips won’t clip in.

It turned out that this gun was also well-suited for bowling pins. There, you need a PF of 195 to reliably broom pins off the tables. So, using that 158-grain bullet, but changing it to a JHP or JSP, it needs to be going 1,234 fps to make a 195 PF. This is doable, but it isn’t the best choice.

So, for pins, I experimented.

Did you know you can get bullets of 180 grains for the .357 Magnum? Yep, and those only need to be going 1,084 fps for the same effect. Now we’re talking. But wait, other .357-caliber pin shooters had talked to custom bullet casters, and they came up with the ultimate .357 pin-shooting bullet: a hard-cast full wadcutter of 230 grains. This thing whacks pins like someone is standing down there and hitting them with a Louisville Slugger. And to make the 195 PF, they only need to be going 850 fps. Recoil is the same, but now there’s no whip-crack muzzle blast like you get with the 158s.

The full moon clips make reloading a breeze in ICORE. My process was simple: I kept my firing hand on the grip, opened the cylinder, ejected the empties and stuffed in a new moon clip, all with my left hand. Back then you could do a “New York Reload” in a pin shoot: You took a padded box or basket to the line and a spare revolver. On command, you loaded both and put the spare on the shooting rail. When your main gun was empty, and if there were pins left on the table, you simply dropped the empty revolver into the box, snatched the second one off the rail and kept shooting. For the next table, reload both and repeat.

ICORE-M28-shooting — The scoring in ICORE is easy: the time it takes to shoot, plus penalties. Faster is better, until you start getting sloppy hits. With the author’s ICORE gun, poor accuracy is a shooter problem, not a revolver problem.

But, there was one more evolution of my ICORE/Bowling Pin gun. I happened across a barrel for a 627, a take-off that a custom pistolsmith had pulled to replace with something else. So, I was able to score a 6-inch stainless full-underlug barrel for my ICORE gun, for a song. (Don’t hate me because I’m occasionally lucky.) This required a little bit of work to fit, time and create the proper cylinder gap, but by then I was an accomplished S&W gunsmith, having worked on many of them for a number of years.

So, the full-built ICORE gun got even heavier. The full underlug barrel added more weight, and with the Miculek grips I used, the full-up weight is now a full 3 pounds (yes, that’s 48 ounces).

The moon clips did have one peculiarity. Now, moon clips for a .45 ACP, 10mm or 9mm clip into the generous extractor groove of the case. On a revolver, that groove isn’t there. What the case makers do in making cases is, once the brass has been hydraulically formed and the headstamp and primer pocket bumped, the cases are fed into an automatic lathe. The lathe then turns the cases and cuts the rim to exact diameter and thickness. To make the front face of the rim correct, the lathe uses a square-ended cutter that plunges into the case from the side and cuts the rim face square. That also creates a small groove directly ahead of the rim.

With me so far?

OK, the thickness of that groove cut isn’t a SAAMI-specified dimension. The rim thickness is, but not the groove size.

revolver-case-head — The difference is small, but it’s enough. On the right is a Federal case, with a too-small groove. In the middle is an R-P case, just right. On the left is something else, and it’s actually too big. The round would be wobbly in the moon clip and hinder fast reloads.

Well, as it happened to be on Remington cases, the groove is large enough to accommodate a moon clip. Other cases are not. (Any made to the R-P pattern are, but many aren’t.) Some, like Federal, are too small, and the clip won’t fit. I’ve even found some too large, and the wobbly fit makes fast reloads an impossible task.

So, to use the Baumann-cylinder M-28 ICORE gun, I had to sort out the R-P headstamped .38 cases and do the same with .357s for Pin loads. And, so, my reloading brass is sorted accordingly. Bins are marked accordingly: for R-P and R-P only, and other bins for all the other headstamps in .38 and .357. Once done, it’s easy to keep separate, because picking up fired brass is easy—they’re in batches of seven, all connected.

After Baumann showed the way (I even sent my M-28 to S&W for them to study and see what Baumann had done), ICORE and the Revolver Division of USPSA/IPSC made a decision: Instead of revolvers being stuck with only six shots, shooters could opt for more shots. However, if it was chambered in a cartridge smaller than a .40/10mm, it couldn’t make Major.

ICORE-Smith-Wesson-M28-1 — The ICORE M-28 with its 627 barrel, Ed Brown cylinder latch and Miculek grips was a match-winning tool back in the day. It’s still fun to shoot.

So, S&W jumped right into making an eight-shot revolver, making several versions in the decade-plus since, in .38 Super and 9mm. However, this required a significant change. The cylinder had to be made larger in diameter to accommodate the .38 Super or 9mm, as well as the frame to fit it, and so an eight-shot cylinder will not fit into the same frame as a six-shot (or my seven-shot) cylinder would.

Oh, and the .38 Super and 9mm guns have another advantage—the short loaded lengths make the moonclips much easier to align and reload than the longer .38 Specials present.

As a result, my seven-shot Baumann ICORE gun got bypassed, and I can’t upgrade it. In a predictable change, the option for moving to eight shots and .38 Super or 9mm proved so popular that the number of competitors who shoot at the USPSA Revolver Nationals using a .45 is a literal handful. And in ICORE, my seven shots are a distinct disadvantage to the eight-shot revolvers, so now it languishes on the shelf.

Well, it also languishes because I don’t compete much anymore, being busy writing.

It’s still up to the task, however. I took it to the range to run some ICORE-level ammo through it; shooting from a sandbagged rest at 25 yards, it still posted seven-shot groups (why shoot five shots when it holds seven, right?) of 1.5 inch with mixed-era R-P brass reloads. Back when I was competing regularly—and this was the king of wheelguns—I used a single source of brass in matches. To do that, I had simply tracked down some R-P .38 Special ammo and bought three boxes of it from the same production lot. That way I had matched brass and enough of it for competition. And all the practice ammo was loaded on whatever R-P brass I sorted out of the .38 Special stream. After all, when you’re shooting using moon clips, there’s no such thing as a “lost brass” match. You get it all, and all yours, back.

Accurate, reliable and fun to shoot, this particular M-28 was also a learning experience but is now a historical curiosity.

Progress has a way of doing that to good guns.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2022 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

More On Revolvers:

.357 Magnum Revolver: Controllable Concealed Carry Options
Best Concealed Carry Revolvers For Personal Defense
Fighting Revolver Project: Smith & Wesson Model 586
Rolling With A .45 ACP Revolver

Self-Defense Mindset: How Prepared Are You?

Marty Hayes

May 15, 2024

**We ask you to analyze whether you’re really prepared to use deadly force in a self-defense situation.**

Are you prepared to use deadly force in self-defense? Most armed citizens would reply in the affirmative, but I wonder if the average citizen has really worked out in his or her mind how an act of killing another, whether justified or not, will change their life.

I came to grips with this issue in my early 20s when I first put a gun on my hip and started in the field of law enforcement. Thankfully, I was never forced to pull the trigger on a human being, although I did shoot up a ’76 Ford Pinto once (but that’s a story for another time).

What allowed me the luxury to have made that decision at an early age was the knowledge that if I did have to do the deed (assuming it was on-duty and justified) I’d have a law enforcement agency covering my six. And regarding the justified part: During my initial training in use of deadly force when I was a police recruit, I received what I felt was some pretty good training as how to make sure the use of force was justified.

We spend a considerable time in the academy understanding the concept of Ability-Opportunity-Jeopardy, and we also studied many of the USSC and appellate court decisions regarding both use of deadly force, but also lesser degrees of force. I’m happy to report that I can count on one hand the number of complaints that were filed against me during my police career, and those were all unfounded.

About 10 years into my police career, I decided to leave full-time and start teaching the private citizen how to use firearms for self-defense. At that time, I also made myself the promise I wouldn’t teach people how to kill, unless I also taught them when and when not they could legally use deadly force in self-defense. Twenty thousand people later, I’m proud to claim none of my students were ever prosecuted or sued after an act of self-defense. A couple years ago, I retired from teaching after developing a curriculum for my school and teaching those instructors how to do what I had been doing.

Fast-forward to present day and my current position as president of the Armed Citizen’s Legal Defense Network Inc. I’m also proud as heck to report that none of our members have been prosecuted for murder or manslaughter after using deadly force in self-defense, and only a couple have opted for a low-level misdemeanor plea bargain instead of taking the risk of a jury trial.

What’s the common denominator in all this? It’s documented training in the use of deadly force in self-defense. In the first two instances, the lectures I both received and gave were documented both with handout material and, of course, the instructor’s willingness to go to court and testify as to what was taught. In the latter, the Network provides over 10 hours of educational material (videos and a book) to each person who signs up. Of course, we’re willing to also help that member fight the legal fight, if needed.

Seek out online lectures and programs that teach use of deadly force in self-defense. When you’re viewing these lectures, document having seen them. If it’s not documented, it didn’t happen.

Lastly, there are in-person training courses in the use of deadly force. The good news is that the courses will likely be taught by an expert in the law and that expert will be available to come to court in your defense, if needed.

Now, getting back to the lead-in question: Are you prepared to use deadly force in self-defense?

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the February 2023 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

More Knowledge For The Armed Citizen:

Carry Law: What Is A Righteous Shooting?
Concealed Carry and the Right to Remain Silent
Tips For Communicating With Police After Shootings
Concealed Carry: After the Shooting
Q&A: Massad Ayoob On Self-Defense In Modern America

Attorney Selection: An Excerpt From Deadly Force, 2nd Edition

Massad Ayoob

May 14, 2024

**In this excerpt from Deadly Force, 2nd Edition, Massad Ayoob discusses the finer points of attorney selection following a self-defense incident.**

Even the most righteous defensive use of a firearm can lead to a false allegation of wrongdoing. It might be an unmeritorious civil lawsuit motivated by greed or revenge or a criminal charge promulgated by a self-styled social justice warrior in a prosecutor’s office.

Deadly-Force-Understanding-Your-Right-To-Self-Defense-cover — This article is an excerpt from Deadly Force, 2nd Edition, a complete guide to understanding your right to self-defense!

The poet Robert Frost once defined a jury as “12 people assembled to determine who has the best attorney.” There is much truth in this, and people who read this book—people who have accepted the responsibility to protect innocent people—need to take that to heart. Such people are alpha males and females accustomed to being in charge of important matters.

They have to understand that they are not the players when they are on trial anymore.

They are the stakes.

Their attorney is the player. Accordingly, they want the game’s best player to represent them at the table.

The ‘Game’

I don’t consider a trial to be a game. Neither should you. But many attorneys do, and it’s essential to understand that.

Many people think the best attorney for a shooting case is the most famous criminal lawyer in the region. That’s not necessarily true. That “Perry Mason of the community” often got his reputation by pulling rabbits out of hats and winning acquittals for obviously guilty criminals. That sort of legal wizardry employs tactics that are almost 180 degrees opposite of the best skillset for defending legitimate, lawful uses of lethal force.

Never forget that the defense of a genuinely justified use of lethal force is an affirmative defense! We are not claiming that we didn’t shoot our attacker; instead, we are stipulating that we did indeed shoot him, but we are maintaining that we were correct.

My work over the years has brought me into contact with many criminal defense lawyers. I can usually find time to ask them a few questions unrelated to the particular case at bar. One of those questions is, “Counselor, in all your years in defense bar, how many of your clients were innocent, wrongly accused men or women?”

The answer has always been a relatively tiny percentage who weren’t either guilty as charged or at least guilty of some lesser included offense. One with more than 30 years of practice answered, “Oh, it happens. A good 1 out of a 100 really is totally innocent.” Some others have told me they don’t think they’ve ever defended an innocent person.

If that is your professional experience, you will develop a formula of guilt mitigation and establishing some element of reasonable doubt because that’s all you, as a defense attorney with a guilty client, have to work with. It becomes your standard, automatic default. Let’s examine why that doesn’t work for the truly innocent defendant.

A guilty man’s lawyer never wants to put him on the witness stand: what can he possibly say that won’t be either an admission of guilt or a lie? The lie will open the client to the additional charge of felony perjury. If it appears that his attorney coached him to lie on the witness stand, the lawyer himself has to worry about the criminal charge of subornation of perjury and can hear his license to practice law grow wings and prepare to fly away. So, of course, his default practice becomes, “I never put my clients on the witness stand!”

In contrast, the defendant must take the stand in an affirmative defense. It’s not a “whodunnit” anymore: We’ve already established that it was the defendant who killed the deceased. It’s now a “why did he or she do it,” and who besides the defendant can truly answer that question?

The criminal defense lawyer whose experience is primarily defending the guilty routinely advises, “Never talk to the police!” The reason for that should be obvious: what can the guilty man say that won’t inculpate him and make his conviction all the more certain? He can lie, but he’ll almost certainly be caught in that lie, and lying to the police is another crime in and of itself. “Never talk to the police” probably is the best advice the lawyer can give to a potential future guilty client.

But the innocent person who fired in self-defense is poorly served by this advice.

A guilty man’s lawyer who gives an innocent client a guilty man’s defense will likely end up with a guilty man’s verdict.

If the client has established something like “This man attacked me” and pointed out evidence and witnesses from his first contact, he has made it much easier for his attorney to give him a solid affirmative defense. It is defense lawyers who have spent ninety-plus percent of their careers defending at least partially guilty clients who advise “Never talk to the police.” A defendant with the mental discipline to go through the “Five Point Checklist” I’ve described elsewhere in this book will have better paved the way for their attorney to drive them safely through trial to an acquittal.

Desirable Defense Attorney Attributes

All other things being equal, I would much prefer to have a law firm or at least a partnership defending me rather than a sole practitioner. Now, there are some exceptions to this. In the 1980s, I watched Gene Compton, a sole practitioner in Virginia, carry his wrongly accused client Mark Branham on a long, exhausting journey that lasted through three trials before winning the ultimate acquittal.

During that ordeal, focused exclusively on the Branham trial for weeks, Gene paid out of his pocket to keep the office open, knowing that the client couldn’t afford his usual fees. This was dedication “above and beyond the call of duty.” The attorney, after all, has a duty to their staff to generate enough income to write their paychecks and “keep the lights on.” Lawyers with that degree of dedication are not found in every office. A firm with multiple lawyers bringing in multiple fees can handle such things more easily.

During trial, good lawyers don’t get much sleep. The other side may be trying to surprise them at every turn, requiring them to burn the midnight oil between trial days. The emotional exhaustion of trial is exacerbated for any ethical attorney who knows they are defending an innocent person, which translates to physical exhaustion and running out of time when you have to do everything yourself without other lawyers taking the slack. Here’s an example from the 2021 trial of police officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd, which was the highest-profile case of its period and triggered riots nationwide.

On April 20, 2021, in my blog, in an entry titled “Thoughts On the Chauvin Verdict,” I wrote: “I don’t think the harsh criticism I’m seeing of defense attorney Eric Nelson is warranted. He was David against Goliath, the sole attorney of record that the police union could afford, against no less than three attorneys at the prosecutors’ table at any time and more behind the scenes backing them up. At the same time, Nelson’s only assistance in court came from a fledgling lawyer who had just passed her bar exam and was acting as an intern. I thought he did an excellent job cross-examining the State’s witnesses, and his necessarily long close was more professional than his prosecutorial counterpart’s.”

Chauvin was, of course, convicted. Many followed that case closely and think there was ample reasonable doubt as to whether Chauvin’s kneeling on Floyd for more than nine minutes caused his death—there was evidence that the deceased had enough fentanyl in his system to kill him and maybe enough to kill a couple of people—but I also had a sense of a defense team that was overwhelmed by a much larger prosecution team that also had media-driven public sentiment on its side.

An excellent lawyer, whom I won’t name here because it wasn’t his fault, lost a murder case in California. A sole practitioner, he learned before trial that his brother had been in a car crash and was not expected to survive. By trial time, he had been without sleep for days, living on black coffee and unfiltered Camel cigarettes. During the trial, I found him groggy, distracted, and “out of it.” In mid-trial, he collapsed and was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. There was no one to “pick up the ball” and run with it. His client was convicted and remains in prison.

In a murder trial in Florida, I saw something similar: The trial lawyer was a sole practitioner and a brittle diabetic whose illness was greatly aggravated by the long hours, insomnia and stress of the trial. He had no one to back him up when his disease hit him hard during trial, impairing his focus. The jury found the client guilty of the lesser included charge of manslaughter.

Many military combat survivors will tell you, “No one person can do it alone.” That is true to a significant degree in the combat of the courts. That’s why I worry about hiring a solo practitioner for the defense.

Don’t despair if financial considerations limit you to a public defender. Public defenders get a bad rap because they are notoriously underfunded and overburdened, but don’t fall for the stereotype that they’ll always give you a sub-par defense. The constant heat of their heavy caseloads has forged some excellent trial lawyers who began as public defenders; the great Roy Black in Miami comes to mind. Elsewhere in this book, Gila Hayes’ case study of the Larry Hickey trials demonstrates the splendid work public defenders such as Matt Messmer can do. A good public defender lives for the chance to exonerate a truly innocent client.

As noted earlier, you’re looking for the best attorney for an affirmative defense, not necessarily criminal defense in general. I, for one, wouldn’t want a flamboyant superstar known for courtroom shenanigans; they’ll often turn the judge against them, which never helps the client. The sort of lawyer who seems to have majored in Drama and minored in Law tends to aggravate a jury, and the jury tends to see lawyer and client as one, joined at the hip. If the attorney insults or angers them, the only way they can retaliate is to convict his client … you. I want my attorney to be calm, likable and dignified. I want a defense lawyer respected by the prosecutors and the judge alike: the sort of white-maned old lion (or lioness) of the courts that the Bar Association picks to give Ethics lectures at CLE (Continuing Legal Education) training seminars for other lawyers.

The lawyer must know the ins and outs of forensic evidence and proper investigation protocols in shooting cases. How do you find such an attorney near you?

One answer is: use the one the cops use.

It won’t be hard to find out what union or fraternal organization (such as FOP, the Fraternal Order of Police, or PBA, Patrolman’s Benevolent Association) represents your local police officers or county sheriff’s deputies. Reach out to that organization and ask them what criminal defense lawyer they retain for one of their members who is wrongfully indicted after a line of duty or off-duty shooting. That will be an attorney who knows the subtleties of handling a defensive shooting case. If that particular attorney only speaks for police, they will almost certainly be able to refer you to a lawyer who knows what they know and accepts private citizen clients.

Or you can reach out to your post-self-defense support group … if you belong to one!

Post-Self-Defense Support Groups

Over my decades as an expert witness, one thing that has always appalled me has been the enormous cost of legal defense, both criminal and civil, against unmeritorious allegations growing out of genuine self-defense cases. I’ve seen people go bankrupt. I’ve seen retirees have to go back to work full time. I’ve seen people who thought they would die peacefully in a home they owned free and clear to bequeath to their decedents, having to mortgage or reverse mortgage those homes to pay the legal fees. In my most recent murder trial of an armed citizen I helped get fully acquitted, I joined him for a celebratory beer the day after the verdict. He told me that his legal expenses had totaled $300,000 or a little more—and there was still a lawsuit in the wings, filed by the deceased’s family.

My colleague Marty Hayes has seen the same thing and did something about it. A highly successful expert witness in the same field as me since 1990 and a former LEO at ranks up to CLEO (Chief Law Enforcement Officer), Marty has also been one of the nation’s top firearms and lethal force instructors for decades. He graduated from law school in 2007 and founded the first support group for this sort of situation, the Armed Citizens Legal Defense Network (ACLDN, ArmedCitizensNetwork.org), the following year.

Hayes explains, “The idea of the Network came from discussing the aftermath of lawful self-defense with my students at the Firearms Academy of Seattle. Most students were very concerned about what to do after a shooting but did not have sufficient money to mount a legal defense. That was the beginning of the Network, and as I was at the time going through law school, I hit upon the idea that instead of becoming a practicing attorney, I would see if my students would pay a little money each year to have the possibility of assistance after an incident. They did, and the effort soon spread nationwide.”

The concept quickly caught on and was followed by many imitators, most with different business models. ACLDN is not insurance but instead is member-supported. Members receive several training videos featuring leading experts and attorneys in the field. ACLDN’s structure includes an advisory board consisting of Hayes and administrator Vincent Schuck, ace instructors Tom Givens and John Farnam, the same Dennis Tueller mentioned in this book, attorney and firearms expert Emmanuel Kapelsohn, pro-police and pro-gun attorney Marie D’Amico, and master instructor Karl Rehn, and this writer. The board members are available to assist members and their lawyers with trial strategy advice, expert witness appearances and additional support. ACLDN pays lawyers’ fees and related costs in criminal defense and civil lawsuits and pays bail if the member has been arrested. Coverage extends to all use of force incidents involving the defense of self or other innocent parties and is not limited to shooting incidents.

As a public service, ACLDN makes its monthly journal available even to non-members at the website listed above. A quick perusal of a few issues will give you an idea of where the organization, and its member lawyers, are coming from. Over the many years, ACLDN has resolved dozens of cases. None have had to go to trial. All have resulted in the most satisfactory outcomes possible. The organization will pay the attorney of the member’s choice or select and send in a suitable lawyer if the member doesn’t have a particular advocate in mind.

Issues In Selection of Post-Self-Defense Support Groups

While some of these groups offer insurance, many others are pre-paid legal services. The ACLDN is not insurance in any way, shape, or form, but rather a member support group providing a service analogous to a police union or fraternal organization promising to pay for legal defense for a wrongly-accused officer who belongs. Nevertheless, before signing up with any of them, I urge you to do what you would do with real insurance before signing up for a policy: READ THE FINE PRINT FIRST!

Consider the short-lived, ill-fated Carry Guard program once offered by the National Rifle Association. In this writer’s opinion, there were many things wrong with it, the cardinal one being their promise to pay every penny of your legal expenses … after you were acquitted.

Now, let that sink in. No attorney will take a criminal defense case on the promise that they will be paid only if—and after—they have won an acquittal. They require a substantial payment up front to draw from regarding legal fees and expenses as they go along. The expenses alone can be high. Volumes of paperwork (reports, depositions, statements, etc.) must be ordered beforehand, and I’ve seen the providers charge three dollars per page for these mountains of (sometimes triple-spaced) documents. Expert witnesses don’t work on later promises of payment either, nor do the court reporters transcribe depositions, etc. The attorney’s office staff have to be paid.

Reimbursement requirement is a big red flag. NRA Carry Guard is long gone, but there are organizations today that promise to pay all your legal fees and costs but require you to reimburse them if you lose the case in court. The most innocent man or woman’s case can be lost if they have an incompetent lawyer or for several other reasons.

Your support organization is supposed to be your staunch ally in your fight to keep your life as you know it. When it’s in the ally’s financial interest for you to lose the case, is that entity really your ally?

What I would call a no-violation clause could be another deal-breaker for me. This element of the agreement states that if you violate law, rules, or regulation in any way, even though the shooting itself was justifiable, the company does not have to pay for your defense. Let’s say you did not realize you were in a hotel that happens to be a “gun-free” zone, and you were carrying your gun in good faith when you had to shoot a rapist in the stairwell, an armed robber breaking into your room or a carjacker in the parking lot.

I have been in numerous establishments posted as “gun-free zones” but posted so poorly that the sign could not be seen until you left the premises, perhaps not even then. I’ve been in hotels where there weren’t any “no guns” signs in the lobbies or doors, but such a policy was stated on the hotel’s home page. We travelers rarely look at the fine print on hotel websites. But a “self-defense insurance company” will certainly look there after one of their clients has been involved in a justified shooting on such premises.

Is “no alcohol on board” a condition of coverage? If you had a pre-dinner cocktail before a two-hour dinner with friends, I would expect that small amount of alcohol to have metabolized entirely and be a non-issue when you paid for your meal, left the establishment, and had to defend yourself against an armed attacker in the parking lot. However, investigators knowing you left a place of business where alcohol is served, will doubtless check your bill, notice that you had a drink and include that in the report. Under these circumstances, a “no alcohol” policy might give the company a legal excuse to dump you and deny coverage.

Will the plan allow you to pick your own lawyer? This element is huge. If the support group insists on sending in an attorney of their choice, that might be the lowest-priced novice hungry for his first case. My Cousin Vinnie is a most enjoyable movie—I’ve met law professors who show it at law school—but the title character is the antithesis of what you want working for you when an affirmative defense is needed.

Do your due diligence and find a plan that works for you. Starry-eyed idealists still think, “A good shoot is a good shoot! None of those horror stories will ever happen to me!” That’s a mindset similar to, “I’ll never need a gun for self-defense; none of those horror stories will ever happen to me.”

But there’s another good reason to have post-self-defense support, which many people miss: deterrent effect against political prosecution or unmeritorious lawsuits. Whether in the criminal court arena or the civil, no attorney wants to bring a case he can’t win or browbeat the accused into accepting a plea bargain (criminal) or out-of-court settlement (civil). Part of their leverage in achieving that sort of thing, which I consider to be nothing less than legalized extortion when the defendant acted in legitimate self-defense, is the threat to bankrupt them with legal fees if they don’t plead or settle. When your attorney can smile at opposing counsel and say, “A third party is paying my client’s fees and expenses. Take us to court. We’ll beat you there,” the deterrent effect is obvious.

I strongly recommend that the armed citizen belongs to a post-self-defense support group for the same reason I recommend every law enforcement officer join their union, fraternal organization or bargaining entity. When wrongly accused in either criminal or civil court, it’s good to have a savvy, well-funded organization in your corner, paying for your defense.

Editor’s Note: This article is an excerpt of Gun Digest’s Deadly Force, 2nd Edition.

More Knowledge For The Armed Citizen:

Carry Law: What Is A Righteous Shooting?
Concealed Carry and the Right to Remain Silent
Tips For Communicating With Police After Shootings
Concealed Carry: After the Shooting
Q&A: Massad Ayoob On Self-Defense

Long-Range Pistol Shooting With Red Dots

Josh Wayner

May 13, 2024

Practicing your long-range pistol shooting at 100 yards will make 25 yards seem like point-blank range.

In creating this article, I originally imagined it would be an interesting how-to for stretching the legs of your optically equipped pistol. While I did make some interesting observations in the process, handguns—even like the one I’m using—aren’t designed to be fired at these distances, and a very dangerous situation can present itself to you and others if extreme caution isn’t exercised. It’s hard to shoot over a berm with a handgun bullet, but it’s very easy to skip them off the ground if you weren’t conscious of the drop. Any time you can’t safely stop a bullet, you’re asking for trouble. In the end, I didn’t walk away with the assumption that this was in any way practical with 9mm, .45 ACP or even 10mm Auto.

For this reason, I’ve included a recommendation on how to safely zero a pistol for longer distances; however, I don’t recommend you try this at home or at your local range. I was able to make some (not as many as you think) hits to a maximum distance of 500 yards, but, in reality, 200 yards with a proper zero is about as far as I feel is safe to go. I observed every precaution in creating this article.

Because virtually all dot-style optics are just that—a dot floating inside of a lens—there’s no real indicator as to where to hold or a means to estimate range. As such, most people tend to zero these optics for the ranges they expect to shoot at or try to create an average distance to take advantage of a given cartridge in point-blank range.

This is very common in rifles, and you’ll typically see different types of zeros being discussed and how they best take advantage of a given bullet’s trajectory. In the carbine world, we usually see a discussion on 100-yard zeros versus 25- or 50-yard zeros … and at what point the bullet’s trajectory rises above and falls back into the line of sight. Point-blank-range zeros aren’t a very good way to go on a handgun, as drop is significant in most cases. It’s far better to know your exact zero at all ranges and even dial in for it, as crazy as that sounds.

Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

All of this comes down to one simple word: consistency. Handguns are among the least consistent types of guns when it comes to accuracy. Across the board, it’s rare to find a handgun design capable of accurate shooting from offhand beyond 50 yards. Using a supported position, it’s not difficult to hit IDPA-sized targets at 100 or 200 yards. If you get into a stable, leaned back sitting position with your hands and elbows locked into knees, just like Elmer Keith taught us, you can shoot quite accurately at 300 yards and beyond. (When I talk about accuracy here, I’m talking about physically contacting the target, not X rings.)

1911-vs-lever-action-red-dots — Rifles, even in the same power level and bore diameter as a handgun, are virtually always better in terms of consistency and accuracy purely on a mechanical level. The Henry, with a 2-MOA dot, is vastly superior to even the most accurate 1911 with a 1-MOA dot given equal bullet weight and velocity.

A large reason why handguns aren’t very accurate (compared to rifles) comes down to how they’re built. It’s right there in the name. Anything designed to fit in your hand without a shoulder support or ability to be consistently slung up is never going to deliver its maximum potential. Human error is more than half of the problem; you’re never going to be able to be as steady with any pistol as you are with any rifle.

The 1911 is widely considered to be one of the most accurate designs ever made. Even at that, the aiming interface isn’t directly attached to the rigid structure in which the barrel is housed. The sights, slide, barrel and frame are all separate pieces on most handguns. Your accuracy with a red-dot sight is going to come from the consistency of the lockup between all of these parts when the slide is in battery.

brownells-1911-red-dot-slide — Brownells offers a red-dot-capable 1911 slide. It’s not a drop-in job, but when fit properly, it’s a welcome upgrade.

From here it gets more complicated. Adding things to the slide, such as an optic, can increase weight. While this might seem insignificant, I’ve noted that all guns of traditional design that I’ve tested have benefited from a much heavier recoil spring when using a slide-mounted sight. I do believe there’s a correlation between added weight in the slide and the need for greater spring weight. In my own guns, I’ve typically moved to a 20- or 21-pound spring for shooting .45 ACP using a dot sight. Accuracy is likewise benefited with a higher spring weight.

Another significant note is the addition of frontal weight when it comes to shooting with a dot. Again, while it might not seem significant, the addition of a flashlight or suppressor seems to increase the accuracy and overall utility when it comes to dot shooting. You’re probably correct in assuming that adding mass will make for less movement in the hand during firing. I noticed that there was a significant increase in hit likelihood with the light I use attached, versus without. Anything that’s attached can have a dramatic impact on performance. Again, this is all for fun, I really don’t expect serious competitors or tactical types to start looking to shoot handguns at long distance. I hope.

desert-eagle-44-mag — Guns like the Magnum Research Desert Eagle differ substantially from the 1911, and similar pistols that have a slide/barrel lockup (think Glock, Beretta, M&P, etc.), in that it can mount a red-dot to the barrel itself, thus making for much greater accuracy potential. I’ve had the pleasure of shooting one of these guns in .44 Magnum with an Aimpoint on the barrel, and it was the most easy-to-use hunting handgun I’d ever shot.

Moving on, you may be wondering what type of accuracy you need on paper at close range to be able to determine if you’ll do well at longer ranges. At 25 yards, you should be printing five-shot groups at 2 inches to be able to contact a target half the time at 300 yards. Basically, if you can hit a playing card five times in a row seated at the bench using your optically equipped pistol, you likely have enough mechanical accuracy to get the job done, however you’re still only halfway there in the equation.

Note that a 2-inch, five-shot group at 25 yards is the equivalent of 8 inches at 100 yards—a tall order for most handguns. Keep this in mind going forward: As distance increases, you can expect a relative group size of 16 inches at 200 … even if your dot is 2 inches across at that distance.

Zeroing a Pistol for Long Range

Consistency here is an interesting topic. Optical sites on handguns allow for a much wider range of adjustment than iron sights. Unlike most pistols equipped with adjustable iron sights, optical sights can be much more adaptable to rifle-shooting styles in that they have a known and consistent size of the aiming point, and consistent mechanical adjustments. An example of this is the RMR site that I used for testing in this article. This is a 1-MOA dot unit (RM09) and has 1-MOA adjustments. It couldn’t get easier than this.

pistol-red-dot-brightness-comparison — This is the same 1-MOA dot in this sequence. Brightness can have an influence on the eye’s perception of dot size. When on the lowest brightness (far right), the dot is so small it can be hard to find. Yet, the bloom increases not mechanically but as a sort of optical illusion. Keep this in mind, as you may be holding where your dot isn’t.

I find that a 2-MOA dot is about the biggest you can go while still being able to aim precisely. In the case of a 2-MOA dot, you’d be looking at an aiming point size of 10 inches at 500 yards. At 1 MOA, a dot is going to represent a 5-inch circle at the same distance. This might surprise you, but it’s very easy to hold on an IDPA target at that distance. In fact, you can even become somewhat proficient with range estimation using dot size alone. You can think of it as a rudimentary rifle reticle given that it behaves like a first-focal-plane scope. There’s one problem that you were going to run into, though, and that’s optical distortion and parallax, which is why zeroing is going to be different than with a rifle.

When using a rifle, it’s common practice to dial or hold on the estimated point-of-impact. If you know that you’re zeroed for 100 yards, and you know the velocity and ballistic coefficient of your bullet, you can plug all of that into a calculator and get a solution. From there, you go to the actual distance and test fire, wherein you might need to make small corrections. With an optically equipped pistol, you’re going to want to do all of your general adjustment at a short, known distance, such as 25 yards.

The trick to getting this to work correctly is to use a bastardized combination of precision rifle math and redneck mess-around. One of the problems with ballistic software is that it rarely has options for a handgun. And why would it?

Running Numbers

I used Hornady HAP bullets in .45 ACP for most of this in reloads. I load them a bit hot into +P territory, so I knew my velocity was 950 fps with an SD of 20 fps. That standard deviation number is going to be extremely important later on. The B.C. of that bullet is a paltry .188. Knowing speed and B.C., you can actually start to work it out in open-ended calculators.

45-acp-357-mag-9mm-45-colt — Flat shooting isn’t the name of the game for any pistol cartridge; 9mm and .45 ACP perform about the same. There’s no distinct advantage to either at distance except added mass in .45 ACP. Both the .357 Mag. and .45 Colt are also near-equal if loaded similarly.

At this point, you’ll want to begin the zero confirmation at your chosen distance. Because we have a 1-MOA dot and a 1-MOA adjustment, things can be streamlined quite well. The reason I plug numbers in at close distance is for safety reasons. If I know that my gun is shooting consistent 2-inch groups at 25 yards, I can more easily move that group as opposed to trying to adjust for the MOA of the gun while also trying to figure out the MOA of the sights. In this way, I can more easily confirm the accuracy of my adjustments on paper before taking them to longer ranges.

Interestingly enough, the loads used for this article required an elevation increase of only 9 MOA to drop them into the center at 100 yards. After testing and confirming at short and long distance, I was happy with the 100-yard zero and began to move out farther. I chose to zero for the center of the group, not the tightest concentration. As you can imagine, this is a game of averages past 50 yards.

Past 100, I began to use the target itself, having a known size, as part of my compensation. Remarkably, there isn’t quite as much difference as I expected between 100 and 200. At 300 yards, things begin to get dicey, and I had to go back and add more elevation. I felt that hits began to become happenstantial at 400 yards, and by 500, I was able to hit the target only occasionally.

1911-red-dot-long-range-pistol-shooting — One of the test 1911s used for this article and a White River Firecraft 7-inch knife. Matching grips by LOK Grips.

A Losing Game

While it seems sensational to strike targets with a pistol at 500 yards using an RMR like a mini precision rifle scope to dial in my hits, this is obviously well beyond the intention of any of this equipment. On merit of consistency alone, I’d say that the long-range distance for an optically equipped semi-automatic pistol chambered for common calibers is 200 yards on an 18×18-inch target. If you’re planning to hunt with a setup similar to this, a long shot is 60 yards. Even with powerful +P loads, most handgun ammunition runs out of gas at 100 yards on game.

So why do it? Why shoot a close-range handgun at 150 yards? Because understanding what a setup can do at that distance makes a much closer shot—say 50 yards—seem more like point-blank range.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

More On Pistol Red Dot Sights:

The Red Dot Advantage

The Best Optics For CCW

The Aimpoint ACRO P-2

The Trijicon RMR

The Swampfox Liberator II

The .32 ACP Walther PPK And PPK/s Are Back

Adam Borisenko

May 10, 2024

Walther has just reintroduced the famous PPK and PPK/s in .32 ACP.

There are many reasons why the Walther PPK has remained so popular since it was introduced in 1931. It has a rich history of use, is a pop culture icon and it remains a practical concealed carry pistol over 90 years later. It may not be the best by today’s standards, but it’s absolutely still viable. For years, if someone wanted a PPK in .32 ACP, they were forced to pay a premium for a vintage example. Thankfully that’s no longer the case, as Walther has just announced the release of new-production .32 ACP PPK and PPK/s models.

32-ACP-PPK-stainless-walther — The .32 ACP Walther PPK, stainless steel finish.

Walther says that the new .32 ACP PPK and PPK/s are “vintage-inspired” pistols that “pay homage” to the originals. That’s because these handguns aren’t exact clones and feature some modernizations to improve performance. Information on exactly what all those changes entail is not yet available. That said, most of the handguns’ features are otherwise what you’d expect. Both models are DA/SA straight blowback pistols chambered for .32 ACP and feature a decocker safety and fixed sights. Both are also available with either a stainless steel or a black finish. The differences between the two are that the PPK has a shorter grip and a 7-round capacity while the PPK/s has a longer grip and an 8-round capacity.

32-ACP-PPKs-black-walther — The .32 ACP Walther PPK/s, black finish.

Jens Krogh, Vice President of Marketing and Product Development for Walther, said this about the new guns:

Few guns have withstood the test of time like the PPK … To this day, it’s still one of the most sought after concealed carry pistols on the market, which serves as a true testament to Walther’s long-enduring legacy. We have no doubt bringing back the historic PPK/S in .32 ACP will make our consumers, plus overall fans of the world’s most renowned secret agent, extremely excited too.

The .32 ACP PPK and PPK/s share an MSRP of $969 for either finish option.

For more information, visit waltherarms.com.

More Classic Guns:

Why The Mauser C96 “Broomhandle” Still Looms Large
The Makarov And Other 9x18mm Pistols
Nagant Revolver: Unique Relic From Behind The Iron Curtain
M1917 Enfield: The Unofficial U.S. Service Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle: The Gun That Changed the Infantry

Behind The Brand: MidwayUSA

Jay Pinsky

May 10, 2024

We take a quick peek behind the doors of MidwayUSA.

As a gun writer, I often need odds and ends—and sometimes big items—to complete projects for assignments. And when I need something fast, I always check with MidwayUSA first. Every time. That’s how reliable MidwayUSA is.

It’s no accident, either, because Larry Potterfield planned it that way.

“Our vision is to be the best-run business in America—and the most-successful, most-respected business in our industry for the benefit of our customers,” Potterfield says.

How? A single-minded focus.

“Keeping the single mission of internet sales, with no retail stores, has allowed us to be possibly the ‘best’ shooting sports business on the internet,” he adds.

What Exactly is MidwayUSA?

“We are a family business with a great selection of products, fast shipping and the foremost supporter of the NRA,” Potterfield says.

MidwayUSA’s goals center on Potterfield’s single-minded dedication to the digital marketplace. “As an internet retailer of shooting, hunting and outdoor products, our goals are satisfying customers, employees, suppliers and shareholders … in that order,” he continues. “Engaging with our customers, always supporting our suppliers, and paying them on time have been defining strategies for MidwayUSA.”

While MidwayUSA’s digital philosophy remains the same, what they sell continues to evolve with the wants and needs of the shooting industry. “MidwayUSA’s roots are in shooting and reloading, where we offer ‘just about everything,’” says Potterfield. “Over the past several years, we’ve been steadily expanding into hunting, fishing and other outdoor products. Most of our future growth will be in those areas.

Humble Origins

In 1977, while most of us were fascinated by a new movie called Star Wars, Air Force veteran Larry Potterfield was building his own empire in Missouri that wasn’t that far, far away.

MidwayUSA started as Ely Arms Inc. and, according to Potterfield, “then changed to Midway Arms, Inc., in 1980, and then to MidwayUSA after the internet came along, about 1998. ‘Midway’ is now the brand, and we’ve established it over 40 years ago.”

“I got an FFL while on active duty in the Air Force back in 1972, and I maintained it for the next five years while in the service,” he says. “My hitch was up in 1977, so I left the service and started what is now MidwayUSA with my younger brother Jerry. (He left the business in 1980, and we bought his shares in Brenda’s name).”

The firearms business made sense to Potterfield, and it seemed to come naturally.

“Having bought, sold, shot, collected and traded guns while in the service, I enjoyed the business activities and the industry,” he continued. “I didn’t know how to find a job in the industry, so I just opened the business and have been in the industry ever since.”

MidwayUSA was created based on Potterfield’s vision to turn his wants and needs in his own life into a business to do the same for everyone else. As Potterfield stated, the direction was simple.

“It’s a hobby industry, and I’ve always liked guns, shooting and reloading—hunting. Just sell the things you personally want to use and talk about.”

Potterfield was more than just a gun guy with a bit of hustle. He saw the value in formal education and leadership, and he studied both to build his business. “I’ve always been a gun guy and a student of leadership and management; those have complemented each other in growing the business,” says Potterfield. “I’m just a country kid from Missouri; hard work and honesty came from my parents.

People First

MidwayUSA, through Potterfield’s leadership, has been and remains a customer-focused business, but that focus includes an equally dedicated commitment to MidwayUSA’s employees. In fact, Potterfield makes a point to credit MidwayUSA’s success to its employees.

“I must have some sense of hiring the right people, as employees grow the business not the boss,” he says. “We have nine core, basic-human values: honesty, integrity, humility, respect for others, teamwork, positive attitude, accountability, stewardship and loyalty. We hire people who share those values.”

Like any business, especially in the shooting industry, MidwayUSA has had to deal with obstacles. Potterfield says one thing above all else has been his most significant issue.

“Politics has always been the largest influence on the business, beginning with the Winchester Black Talon bullets/ammunition in the early 1980s, and continuing with most political cycles since then,” he said. “COVID-19 positively affected sales, as we were considered an essential industry, and demand across all categories was strong—especially ammunition.”

MidwayUSA doesn’t sit on the sidelines of America’s future, either. In fact, Potterfield and MidwayUSA have long held key roles as industry philanthropists dedicated to helping preserve and grow our industry. Potterfield humbly added MidwayUSA’s significant contributions at the end of our interview.

“I probably should mention the MidwayUSA Foundation that Brenda and I created back in 2008,” he said. “It’s a completely independent 501(c)(3) that helps communities raise money to support their high school and college shooting teams. Currently, the MidwayUSA Foundation has $250 million of endowed funds. In 2021, the Foundation paid out $7 million in cash grants to nearly 2,800 high school and college shooting teams to support their shooting teams for that year.”

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

More Behind The Brand Articles:

Behind The Brand: Silencer Central
High Speed, High Class: The History Of Weatherby
Behind The Brand: TriStar Arms
Meprolight: From Israel With Love
Behind The Brand: Badlands Rifle Company

Reloading: It’s All About The Base

Philip Massaro

May 10, 2024

For some hunting rounds, the backside of the bullet is just as important as the front.

Regarding our choice of projectile, we reloaders have the world at our feet; if it’s available in component form, we can load it. During the past few decades, the conformation of our projectiles has changed radically, with some of the sleekest and highly technological designs ever seen. Yet, designs dating back as far as the later part of the 19th century remain effective, especially for those reloading their ammunition for hunting.

The round-nosed jacketed bullets so familiar to the lever-action community are just as deadly as they were a century ago, within a certain range. These are, invariably, flat-based bullets, which will carry their weight forward, and a considerable amount of the bullet will be outside the case. Compare that with the latest target bullet—like the Hornady A-Tip—and you’ll see a much longer bullet, which will be seated deep into the case, almost without exception with the base of the bullet below the case shoulder.

Flat-Base Spitzer

The flat-based spitzer bullet was the hero of the early 20th century because it offered an unprecedented downrange advantage over the round-nosed projectiles. While America was making the transition from the .30 U.S. Army—better known as the .30-40 Krag—to the .30-03 Springfield, they carried forward the 220-grain round-nose projectile. Most of the European armies have switched to the lighter spitzer designs, and America followed suit, revising the new cartridge to use a 150-grain spitzer bullet at a higher velocity, and the .30-06 Springfield was born.

nosler-partition-bullet-base — Nosler’s famous Partition bullet is a dependable flat-base bullet, with a reputation for high weight retention. Inside of 300 yards, most hunters wouldn’t know the difference between this and a boat-tail bullet. *Photo: Massaro Media Group.*

The flat-base spitzer bullet is still a perfectly sound design, especially for hunters. Classics like the Nosler Partition, Speer Grand Slam, Hornady InterLock (certain models), SST and Swift A-Frame are all flat-based spitzers. I like them for the way they carry their weight forward, out of the case mouth, leaving room for the powder charge. In cartridges like the .308 Winchester, where real estate is at a premium, I like the flat-based bullets—especially when my shots are less than 250 yards.

Boat-Tail Spitzer

It’s absolutely true that a boat-tail bullet with a sleek ogive will offer a flatter trajectory than will a flat-based spitzer that more closely resembles the G1 model, but you probably won’t see any of the benefits until you get past the 300-yard mark, because it generally takes the bullet longer to “settle down” during flight.

I’ve always felt that boat-tail bullets are easier to seat and found that they tend to have less runout. A good chamfer on your case mouth is certainly required for easy seating, and should you be loading one of the VLD (Very Low Drag) bullets, you might want to reach for a VLD chamfer tool, which increases the angle of the chamfer to match the more severe boat-tail angle of the highest ballistic coefficient designs. In addition, a seating stem designed for the longer and sleeker bullets will minimize the risk of ogive deformation.

Apples and Oranges

To give some insight into the differences between the varying bullet shapes, I measured three different 180-grain, .30-caliber bullets: Nosler Partition (flat-base spitzer), Barnes TTSX (spitzer boat-tail, monometal) and Sierra GameKing (cup-and-core spitzer boat tail). Because they’re all the same caliber, only the length of the bullet can vary.

The Barnes monometal is the longest (copper being lighter than lead) and measures 1.490 inches. With four grooves cut into the shank of the bullet, the TTSX has its 0.697-inch bearing surface reduced in order to keep pressures low and minimize fouling. The Sierra GameKing measures 1.264 inches, with a bearing surface of 0.376 inch, according to my caliper. The flat-based Nosler Partition isn’t all that much shorter than the Sierra boat-tail, measuring 1.254 inches, but it has a bearing surface measuring roughly 0.600 inch. Because of the larger amount of bearing surface, it’d be a logical deduction that the Partition would reach maximum acceptable pressure first and with the least amount of powder of the three choices.

These differences in bearing surfaces are also another good indicator as to why there are such wide variances in load data for different bullets, even if of the same weight and caliber. If the loaded cartridges all have the same overall length, it’s easy to see how the monometal Barnes bullet is going to be seated deep into the case, well below the shoulder/neck junction.

In the terminal phase, a traditional cup-and-core boat-tail bullet runs the risk of jacket/core separation; I’ve seen it with nearly all brands of cup-and-core bullet, though I must admit those bullets were recovered from dead animals. Bonding the core to the jacket, or choosing a monometal projectile, can overcome that issue on big game. For those pursuing furbearers and varmints, bullet separation isn’t an issue—and often desirable—as the hydrostatic shock generated results in a quick kill and can reduce the chances of pelt damage.

If your rifle shoots a boat-tail bullet accurately, I see no reason not to use it … even if you only shoot at relatively short distances. You might not be using all of the bullet’s potential, but it’ll work. If you shoot a cartridge that has limited case capacity—the .308 Winchester, .300 Savage, .350 Remington Magnum—look to those bullets on the shorter side in order to prevent over-compression of the powder column. Larger-capacity cases offer much more flexibility, so even the longest boat-tail spitzer bullets might not pose an issue.

I’ve found that a flat-based bullet can help solve some accuracy issues in a rifle with a less-than-perfect crown.

The escaping gases from a crown that might be out-of-round has a more pronounced effect on a boat-tail bullet than their flat-based counterparts. I do like the premium boat-tail bullets in those faster cartridges I use for hunting at longer ranges, like the .300 Winchester Magnum, .300 H&H Magnum and 6.8 Western. I won’t shy away from using a classic bullet like the Nosler Partition at those distances, which I feel confident shooting at game; however, my target loads most definitely feature the highest B.C. spitzer I can get to shoot accurately.

Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

More On Reloading:

Tips For Reloading the .30-06 Springfield
Loving Your Luger: Reloading the 9mm Luger
Handloading: Tips For Reloading The 7mm Rem Mag
How To: Tips For Reloading the .223 Remington
Reloading Bench: The Inside On Reloading For The .30-30 Winchester

Cracking Open The CANCON Arizona 2024 VIP Bag

Adam Borisenko

May 9, 2024

We take a closer look at the goodies included in each VIP bag given away at CANCON Arizona 2024!

At each CANCON event, a limited number of VIP tickets are sold, and the lucky few who manage to purchase one before they’re sold out have quite a few extra things to look forward to. Besides having an additional private day to enjoy the fully-suppressed shooting, VIP attendees also receive a bag packed to the brim with tactical goodness. For CANCON Arizona 2024, the value of those items added up to more than $2,300. Calling it a singular bag is a bit of a misnomer, as it took three different packs to hold everything being given away.

So, without further adieu, let’s dive into what was to be found in each one.

Anechoic Suppressor

The belle of the ball was the suppressor, and this year’s VIP attendees got a pretty sweet package thanks to Anechoic providing a coupon for a free can of their choice. Picking the exact muffler for your needs is a much sweeter proposition than getting one for a caliber you may not even own. Despite the value, walking away with a coupon isn’t very satisfying, so Anechoic even 3D-printed some fake suppressors to include with each one (pictured above). A neat souvenir to play with while waiting for the real deal to transfer. Website: asilencer.com.

SilencerCo Threaded Barrel

If pistol suppressors are your thing, then you’re going to need a threaded barrel. Thankfully, SilencerCo gave away a voucher for a free threaded handgun barrel of their choice. Options include barrels for 20 of the most popular pistol models, so they probably have your flavor. Website: silencerco.com.

Maxim Defense Discount Card

If you were looking to buy a suppressor or any other product from Maxim Defense, the $250 discount card they provided with each VIP bag will make it a more affordable proposition. Website: maximdefense.com.

TiON Discount Card

For those looking to add some titanium to their can collection, TiON also provided a voucher to get 30% off any of its suppressors. Website: tioninc.com.

Armaspec Victory Charging Handle

This charging handle from Armaspec was just one of many AR-15 upgrades VIP attendees found in their bags. It’s ambidextrous, has an ergonomic curved handle design and features integrated gas ports to redirect gasses away from the shooter. Website: armaspec.com.

Timber Creek Outdoors Greyman Selector

This ambidextrous safety selector from Timber Creek is another easy upgrade for any AR-15. Website: timbercreekoutdoorsinc.com.

B5 Systems AR Stock & Grip

The extremely popular Bravo stock and Type 23 grip from B5 Systems. Website: b5systems.com.

Mission First Tactical Translucent EXD Mag

MFT even threw in one of its brand-new Translucent EXD mags, a clear 30-round AR-15 magazine that’s reportedly just as durable as anything else on the market. Website: missionfirsttactical.com.

Breek Arms Sledgehammer Charging Handle

The second charging handle included, because who doesn’t have more than one AR-15 that needs upgrading? This model will prove extra useful for those with suppressed ARs given its gas-reducing features. Website: breekarms.com.

FN ARS Mechanica book

Less of a book and more of a tome, this behemoth from FN comprehensively covers the company’s entire history. Filled with both high-quality color photographs and heaps of detailed information, it’s just as much of a coffee table book as it is a serious historical reference. Website: fnamerica.com.

FN Shooting Mat

CANCON-VIP-BAG-AZ24-spread — The FN shooting mat is beneath all the items on the table.

FN also threw in a branded shooting mat, a handy tool to have around for any shooter who felt like going prone without getting sandy. Website: fnamerica.com.

CRKT Cinco Flipper

This sweet little folding pocket knife from CRKT features an edge-retaining D2 steel blade, a smooth opening IKBS ball-bearing pivot deployment system and a durable G10/stainless steel handle. Website: crkt.com.

Mission First Tactical Sling Bag

The ACHRO 10L EDC Sling Bag proved very convenient for attendees to haul out all their loot, but given its incredibly useful suite of features for everyday carry, they’re likely to see much more use after CANCON as well. Website: missionfirsttactical.com.

CANCON-VIP-BAG-AZ24-bags — The CANCON Arizona 2024 VIP bag was truly three bags. The Mission First Tactical is pictured on the left, the FN range bag is center and the 5.11 Rush is on the right.

5.11 Rush 12 2.0 Backpack

This 24-liter backpack from 5.11 held the bulk of the products given to VIP attendees, but even then, it was overflowing and required two other bags plus careful packing to fit everything inside. Thankfully, the Rush’s several well-thought-out pockets made that job much easier. Website: 511tactical.com.

Swag

Of course, this list doesn’t include everything that was given away with each VIP bag, as tons of companies pitched in to provide plenty more swag and smaller pieces of gear. Everything from True Blue Gun Lube to an EOTech mousepad to some very cool hats from Dead Air Silencers. Special thanks to every company that helped make this year’s VIP bag so special.

For more information on CANCON, when the next event is, how to buy tickets and more, please visit CANCONevent.com.

Raise Your Suppressor IQ:

The Suppressor: How They’re Made, How They Work, And How To Buy One
Best AR-15 Suppressor Options For A Quiet Advantage
Handgun Gear: Best 9mm Suppressor Choices
Best .22 Suppressor Choices To Mute Your Plinker

First Look: G9 Defense 6.5 Creedmoor Solid Copper Super Match

Adam Borisenko

May 8, 2024

A brief look at the new 120-grain 6.5 Creedmoor Solid Copper Super Match ammo from G9 Defense.

G9 Defense has just released a new 6.5 Creedmoor load that should have long-range shooters excited. Called the Solid Copper Super Match, it features a 120-grain monolithic copper projectile that was designed to push the limits of long-range accuracy.

G9-Defense-6-5-Creedmoor-Solid-Copper-Super-Match

Each 6.5 Creedmoor Super Match projectile is machine-turned, resulting in a ballistic coefficient with an impressively low standard deviation. G9 Defense’s patented side geometry has allowed for improved internal ballistics as well, and these changes mean that there’s less friction in the barrel. Result? Higher muzzle velocities while remaining within SAAMI standard pressures and longer fire strings without overheating your barrel. Further, G9 Defense is using premium brass from Alpha Munitions that features its Optimized Case Design technology.

Designed with competition, target shooting and training in mind, 6.5 Creedmoor Solid Copper Super Match ammo has what it takes to help extend your long-range shooting capabilities. It’s available now and the MSRP is $45.99 per box of 20.

SPECS:

Caliber: 6.5 Creedmoor
Bullet: 120gr Copper Super Match
G1 BC: .625
Velocity: 2,950 fps
Recommended Twist Rate: 1:8 or faster
MSRP: $45.99 per box of 20

For more information, visit g9defense.com.

More On 6.5 Creedmoor:

The Rise Of The 6.5 Creedmoor

The Top 25 Sharp-Shooting 6.5 Creedmoor Rifles

Practical Overview Of 6.5 Creedmoor Ballistics

Bragging Rights: 6.5 Creedmoor Vs. .308

A Comprehensive Guide to 6.5 Creedmoor Ballistics

A Guide to the Best 6.5 Creedmoor Ammo

Key Differences Explained: 6.5 PRC vs 6.5 Creedmoor

Breaking Down 6.5 Grendel vs 6.5 Creedmoor

Pocket Holsters: Options For Easy Everyday Carry

Elwood Shelton

May 8, 2024

Here are several pocket holsters that simplify carrying a self-defense gun and keep it at the ready.

Given the sheer magnitude of concealed carry gear available today, your head can spin when going armed. Questions of calibers and carry methods, among other things, need consideration and testing before discovering the right combination. But for those who carry the most demure self-defense handguns, turning to what nearly everyone has on their person — a pocket — can circumvent much of this hubbub.

Pocket carry is among the oldest forms of concealing a firearm and is still among the most convenient and comfortable options today. Literally, you just put your carry piece into your pocket and go. Well, almost.

There is still one piece of gear you’ll have to invest in to efficiently execute this form of carry — a pocket holster. It’s vital, because you need something to break up the outline of your pistol or revolver when it inevitably tries to print. You also need something to make certain that trigger isn’t just hanging out, open to a negligent discharge if you ever have to draw your gun in the heat of the moment. And finally, you want something that will keep your piece in place, so it can be intuitively retrieved. Pocket holsters are the solution.

Luckily, the explosion of pocket-sized handguns in recent years has walked hand-in-hand with an eruption of options when it comes to pocket holsters. So with that in mind, here are seven top pocket holsters picks that will make everyday carry a snap.

Alien Gear ShapeShift Pocket Holster

Specialized as it is, it’s difficult to picture the pocket holster as a jack-of-all-trades. With Alien Gear it is. An option in the company’s protean ShapeShift line, its pocket option has the potential to upgrade to any style of carry—hip, shoulder, what have you.

Aside from its versatility, Alien Gear’s pocket configuration is light years ahead of nearly any other rig in its class. In addition to breaking up the outline of your pistol and guarding its trigger, it also—thanks to a hook system–ensures a clean and quick draw. Even better, Alien’s pocket holster also offers something few others do—an adjustable passive retention system, so you never have to worry about losing your piece.

The injection-modeled ShapeShift is a serious carry holster, for those who don’t compromise. MSRP: $53.88

Vedder Pocket Locker

Many believe you compromise speed for convenience when you pocket carry. Vedder smashes this misconception with the Pocket Locker. Engineered for utmost discreteness, the rig also is among the fastest on the draw.

This is thanks to two simple, yet elegant assets on the Kydex rig—a retention hook and optional thumb release. Similar to other systems, the hook snags hold of the inside of your pocket allowing a clean pull from the holster. To put an extra gear on the matter, you can order the Pocket Locker with a thumb tab on the slide guard aiding a quicker extraction. Additionally, the Vedder pocket holster doubles as an off-the-body option, easily integrating into a bag or purse via an attachment point. Pretty slick all around. MSRP: $42.99

CCW Breakaways SkinTight Holster

Let’s get something straight, pocket carry is among the most clandestine and convenient ways to tote your handgun. But you’ve got to do it right. First and foremost, this means getting a proper holster for the job. Not only should it provide the basic safety functions of handgun retention and keeping the trigger covered, but it should make it utterly impossible to decern you’re carrying.

CCW Breakaways more than has you covered on all these counts with a rig that more than lives up to its name. Unlike the bulky foam and fabric models common to this style of holster, the SkinTight Holster cuts an extremely low profile, while facilitating a clean draw. It does so through its hybrid design, a Kydex scabbard with a soft Neoprene/Spandex exterior.

Furthermore, the holster’s designed to enhance handgun retrieval, with index points on its outside providing tactile references. For the price, a lot is going on with this slim, trim and affordable pocket holster. MSRP: $26

Versacarry Adjustable Pocket Holster

Stylish enough you’ll wish you didn’t have to stash it, Versacarry’s Adjustable Pocket Holster is also a serious concealed carry system. In addition to breaking up the outline of your gun, it also draws as smooth as it looks—no matter what pocket you carry in. This is due to a simple, yet elegant Kydex claw system that adjusts to a pocket’s size so the holster stays in place when you pull your gun.

Made from premium water buffalo hide, the Versacarry rig provides solid passive retention and is stiff enough reholstering is a piece of cake. However, it carries comfortably, conforming over time to the curves of your body. Straight forward and effective, the Adjustable Pocket Holster makes everyday carry a snap. MSRP: $44.99

Crossbreed Pocket Rocket

Crossbreed-Pocket-Holster - pocket holsters

Crossbreed Holsters has always been at the cutting-edge of concealed carry and has deftly applied its hybrid-materials know how to pocket carry.

The Pocket Rocket looks distinctly like one of the company’s products, combining a leather paddle and a Kydex retention system. But it functions much differently than other Crossbreed products, with the leather facing away from the carrier, breaking up the pistol’s outline and appearing like a wallet. The paddle also has a grippy rubber backing, ensuring a clean draw and the rigid Kydex allows for simple re-holstering.

The Pocket Rocket runs a reasonable $36.95, comes in left- and right-hand models and, like all Crossbreed products, comes with a two-week grace period for testing to see if it’s the right fit. But these pocket holsters are strictly a .380 ACP semi-automatic pistol affair, with all models cut to fit a number of the smallest makes and models of this caliber.

Clinger Holsters Comfort Cling

Clinger-Pocket-Holster - pocket holsters

The Comfort Cling from Clinger Holster offers flexibility many other pocket holsters don’t. Designed not only to function seamlessly in the front pocket, where it sticks like glue on the draw. The Comfort Cling can also pull double-duty inside the waistband.

The monolithic lightweight padding and non-slip exterior fabric gives this slick little model the ability to hold fast, no matter where it’s placed on the person. Perhaps best of all, it can safely conceal a wide spectrum of semi-automatic pistols, all the way up to compact-sized guns. At $27.95 the ambidextrous Comfort Cling won’t break the bank either.

DeSantis Super Fly

DeSantis-Pocket-Holster - pocket holsters

DeSantis Gunhide packs a lot into a small package with its Super Fly pocket holsters. With a highly viscous rubberized fabric exterior, these small holsters are designed to stay in position no matter what.

The Super Fly comes with a removable exterior flap to further breakup a gun’s outline in tighter fitting clothes. And it is reinforced with rigid polymer at key points to ensure a pistol or revolver can find its way in and out of the holster quickly. The $52.99 Super Fly is also an option for nearly anyone who carries a small handgun, with size options to fit more than 182 models.

Safariland Model 25

Safariland-pocketholster - pocket holsters

Safariland is perhaps better known for its holsters decked out with retention systems, but it has a little something to offer in pocket carry as well.

Designed for deep carry, the Model 25 is adept at keeping a slew of semi-automatic pistol and revolver models under wraps. But perhaps its biggest selling point is its rigid interlining that keeps the holster open even when the firearm is drawn. This feature makes getting a gun back in the holster as simple as getting it out. And at $36.00, this black suede beauty is priced right for nearly anyone’s carry routine.

Galco Front Pocket Horsehide Holster

When it comes to a rugged holster material that can stand up to the toughest wear and tear, it’s tough to beat horsehide. And Galco Gunleather offers a tough-as-nails option that fits a large swath of small pistols and revolvers available today.

The Front Pocket Horsehide Holster has a double hooked shape and rough-out texture to cement the unit into place. The inside is smooth and soft leather, slick enough to release a handgun with ease. With ample use of material, the holster also does a bang-up job of helping a gun melt into the carrier.

Galco does demand a bit more for this beauty than the everyday pocket holster — $76. But designed for the long haul, shooters will get every penny out of it.

Gould & Goodrich Wallet Holster

Like its name suggests, Gould & Goodrich‘s Wallet Holster is engineered to look like a plain old wallet when placed in a pocket. It accomplishes this with a piece of durable and rigid 10-pound foam that keeps the holster’s shape, even during long carry periods.

Pistols and revolvers are held firmly in place via a strong elastic retention band that has enough give to facilitate a smooth draw. The Wallet Holster comes in right and left hand models and is designed to function in nearly any pocket desired.

It is among the most affordable options out there at $18.91 and is a slick way to carry a primary or backup gun with the utmost concealment.

Milt Sparks Manta Ray

Like handguns themselves, pockets come in all shapes and sizes. Milt Sparks’ Manta Ray Holster gets over this often overlooked hurdle with a customization system that fits any pocket.

Rear-wing inserts help the cowhide holster stay right in place, whether it resides in a wide-open pocket of baggy shorts or the trim pocket of suit trousers. The engineering that has gone into the Manta Ray is spendy, compared to the rest of the pocket holster market — $115.00. And its scope is fairly limited; it’s meant for revolvers only. To this end, there are models available for S&W J frame revolvers, Ruger LCR and Colt Detective Specials.

For more information on concealed carry holsters check out:

Essential Gear: Best Concealed Carry Holsters
Buckling Up The Basics Of Gun Belts
Pocket Holster Options For Easy Everyday Carry
The Shoulder Holster And Its Carry Angle
Pros And Cons Of The Appendix Carry Holster

Winchester 1873: The Gun That Won The West

Robert Sadowski

May 7, 2024

We dive into the history of the iconic Winchester 1873 to understand the role this classic lever-action rifle played in winning the West.

Name a famous or infamous personality from the Old West and there’s a good chance they used a Winchester 1873. It was the gun to own. A Winchester Model 1873 could spit out lead like no other rifle of its day. Nothing came close. And that was the Winchester’s edge, rapid firepower.

Winchester marketed the rifle as “The Gun That Won The West,” and that tagline turned out to be true. The Model 1873 was a complete success and created a legacy of Winchester lever-action rifles. Over 720,000 Model 1873 rifles were built and even though it was quickly rendered obsolescent by newer, stronger Winchester lever-action rifles, it was so popular that manufacturing continued through 1919. Call the ’73 iconic, call it legendary, this is the rifle that made Winchester a household name.

Winchester-1873-left-RIAC — An original Winchester 1873 in .44-40, manufactured in 1899. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.

Volcanic Beginning

The Model 1873 heritage starts with the Volition Repeating Rifle developed in 1848 by Walter Hunt. This unique lever-action used a tubular magazine and fired a Rocket Ball, an early attempt at caseless ammunition that featured a black powder charge loaded into the hollow base of a lead bullet. The design wasn’t fully baked, but Lewis Jennings purchased Hunt’s patent in 1849 and tried to work out the bugs. Jennings produced working rifles, but the design was still too complex to see success.

The next entrepreneurs to buy the patent and take over the development reigns were Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson who would go on to form Smith & Wesson. Wesson and Smith hired Jenning’s shop foreman, Benjamin Tyler Henry, and acquired needed capital from investors to form the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company. Perhaps even more revolutionary than the lever-action rifle design was the work Smith did on refining the Rocket Ball concept. By adding a primer, and eventually a copper case as well, his improvements culminated in the release of the .22 Short rimfire cartridge in 1857, the first of its kind.

volcanic-RIAC — An engraved Volcanic carbine. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.

While the metallic cartridge was a big step forward, the Volcanic rifle itself wasn’t. The Volcanic Repeating Arms Company went belly up in 1856 and one of the company’s investors, Oliver Winchester, purchased the bankrupt company’s assets and in 1857 opened the New Haven Arms Company in New Haven, Connecticut.

Damn Yankee Rifle

Progress continued to be made on what would become the Winchester 1873, but it wasn’t there yet. Smith’s cartridge was reworked by Henry into the more potent .44 Henry, and the Henry 1860 lever-action rifle was developed to go along with it. Used by the Union Army in the Civil War, it earned the reputation of “that damned Yankee rifle that they load on Sunday and shoot all week!”

Henry-rifle-RIAC — A first model Henry Rifle. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.

Following that, the rifle was improved upon and dubbed the Winchester Model 1866, but it was often called the “Yellow Boy” due to the color of its gunmetal (a brass-bronze alloy) receiver. Also chambered for .44 Henry, some of the Model 1866’s new features included a wood forend to protect the user’s hand from barrel heat, a side loading port and a sealed magazine tube. These rifles not only saw great success in the United States, but internationally as well, and it was leading the pack of repeating arms for a respectable seven years until the introduction of the Winchester 1873.

yellow-boy-RIAC — A Winchester Model 1866 “Yellow Boy”. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.

From Brass to Steel Frame

The Winchester 1873 offered several advancements over the Model 1866, but the most notable changes included the tougher steel receiver and the improved toggle link system. In turn, the Model 1873 quickly gained a reputation for being an extremely smooth-operating and reliable rifle.

Winchester-1873-receiver-RIAC — The blued steel receiver of a Winchester 1873. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.

The two most common models are the standard Winchester 1873 which featured a 24-inch octagonal barrel and the carbine version fitted with a 20-inch round barrel, though there was also a musket version with a 30-inch barrel. The Winchester 1873 offered incredible firepower for its day, and being able to spit lead faster than the other guy is an edge in any gunfight. Besides outlaws and lawmen, the Model ’73 was also very popular with hunters who went after just about any game smaller than buffalo.

Winchester-1873-RIAC — An original Winchester 1873 in .44-40, manufactured in 1899. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.

The Winchester Center Fire Cartridge

As mentioned, the more robust steel frame was the most obvious new feature of the Winchester 1873, and they didn’t make the switch just for aesthetics. Steel is more expensive, so there better have been a good reason.

That reason was its chambering for the new .44 Winchester Center Fire cartridge, also known as .44 WCF and .44-40. This black powder metallic cartridge was more powerful than the .44 Henry rimfire round, and according to Frank Barnes in Cartridges Of The World, “has killed more game, large and small, and more people, good and bad, than any other commercial cartridge ever developed.” The .44-40 was loaded with a 200-grain round-nose flat-point lead bullet and 40 grains of black powder with a muzzle velocity is 1,245 fps. The legacy of the ’73 is inseparable from the .44-40 cartridge. Winchester would go on to chamber the 1873 for .32-20, .38-40 and some other calibers later on as well.

44-40-winchester — A .44-40 Winchester cartridge.

Sheer Firepower

Cowboys, lawmen, desperadoes, settlers, and Native Americans were immediately awed by the Winchester 1873 when it was introduced. An impressively large magazine capacity and the ability to fire rapidly were the Model 1873’s strong suits and were what made the rifle so popular. The added value of the ’73 was its ability to be paired with a revolver. Colt and Remington soon chambered their single-action revolvers in .44-40 which gave the average cowpoke, sheriff or outlaw the ability to share ammunition between their handgun and long gun. A six-shooter carried alongside a rifle with 12 or 15 shots in its tube was a formidable combination, especially at the end of the 19^th century.

The governments of Canada, Mexico and other groups abroad all purchased the Model ’73, but the U.S. Army surprisingly never adopted the iconic Winchester. The Army preferred the power of the .45-70 Government cartridge over .44-40, even if the .45-70 was only available in single-shot rifles.

That said, most hunters in the Old West found the .44-40 adequate for most western game like mule deer and antelope, as well as larger game like elk. The Winchester 1873 would never be considered a tack driver, nor is it a long-range caliber, but the effective range for a seasoned shooter is about 150 yards, and accuracy is good enough for hunting or defense. In the east, hunters found the caliber and rifle well suited for deer, black bear and all other sorts of critters big and small.

billy-the-kid-winchester-73 — Billy the Kid posing with his Winchester 1873.

From Saddle Scabbards to the Silver Screen

The Winchester 1873 earned its reputation in the hands of famous and notorious users, both real and fictional. The one existing photograph of Billy the Kid shows him posing with a Winchester ’73. Pat Garrett, Billy’s pal and lawman, used a Winchester 1873 as did Butch Cassidy and Belle Starr. Buffalo Bill used a special-order Winchester 1873 with a smooth bore barrel in his Wild West Show. Texas Rangers like Ranger J.B. Gillett used a Model 1873 during numerous confrontations with Kiowa, Comanche and Apache tribes.

Native Americans respected the ’73 as well, and many were decorated with brass tacks and leather. Cartridge casings found at the Battle of Little Bighorn indicate that some Cheyenne, Lakota or Arapaho warriors used the Winchester Model 1873 rifle with other repeating rifles against General George Custer and his 7th Cavalry. Custer’s men were armed with single-shot Springfield Model 1873 carbines, which were slow to reload and were easily outgunned by the fast-shooting Winchester lever-actions.

Winchester-73-IMFDB — The titular Model 1873 from Winchester ’73 (1950). Photo: IMFDB.org.

Clever marketing helped to create the original hype surrounding the Winchester 1873 and the rifle’s real-world performance cemented its reputation. But Hollywood was what ensured the lasting legacy of the Model 1873. Model 1873s were prominently featured in about every Western film worth mentioning, most notably the eponymous 1950 movie Winchester ’73 which starred James Stewart. If you haven’t seen it, I’d highly recommend changing that as it’s a must-watch for any lever-action fan.

Collecting The Winchester 1873

Seriously collecting original Winchester Model 1873 rifles is a rich man’s game. The guns were already pricey when sold new, but today, you need to be ready to pay several thousand dollars if you want one in good condition or are interested in acquiring multiple model variations. Some 1873s in poor condition have been known to sell for around $1,000, but once you start looking at higher condition grades, earlier production years and rarer model variants, the price goes up very quickly.

Early examples in excellent condition can easily exceed a $10,000 value, and rare examples fetch even more. For a particularly desirable model with documented provenance, such as Thomas Stuart’s One of One Thousand Winchester 1873, the auction price can even exceed a half-million dollars. That’s an extreme example, but the point stands that putting together a real ’73 collection will get expensive fast. If that’s something you’re still interested in doing, make sure you do proper research before dropping any major cash. The market is unfortunately rife with fakes and unscrupulous sellers.

Winchester-1873-RIAC-stuart — Thomas Stuart’s aforementioned One of One Thousand Winchester Model 1873 rifles. It sold at auction in 2023 for $528,750. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.

Reproduction Winchester 1873 Rifles

Cowboy Action Shooting began to blossom in the early 1980s with competitors dressing up in cowboy garb and shooting steel desperadoes and cactus with six-shooters, shotguns and rifles. All the reasons why the Model 1873 was prized in the Old West proved to make the rifle popular again. The smooth cycling ’73 has the speed and power that contemporary cowboys and cowgirls require to blast through stages. Italian firearm manufacturer Uberti began cloning versions of the model 1873 in the early 1990s and continues to offer a variety of customized options just like special-order original Winchesters back in the day. Uberti also makes Model 1873 rifles for Cimarron, Taylor’s & Company and others to those companies’ specifications.

In 2016, Winchester reintroduced the Model 1873 with a 150th Commemorative edition and two years later started to reintroduce more models. New Winchester Model 1873s are manufactured in Japan by Miroku. Many of these Italian- and Japanese-made 1873s use modern steel and some have additional safety features that the originals did not have. Winchester incorporates two modern safety features including a passive safety in the bolt that prevents the rifle from firing if it is dropped and a more robust interlock on the lever before you can press the trigger. Winchester also re-engineered the carrier block to eject empties away from the shooter and not above the shooter’s head like the originals did.

New production 1873s are mostly chambered in .45 Long Colt or .38 Special/.357 Magnum, though you can also find them chambered for some original black powder cartridges like .44-40, .32-20 and .38-40. The caliber choice mostly depends on whether you’re more interested in collecting historically accurate reproductions or being able to buy enough ammo to shoot them.

The Top 5 Winchester 1873 Reproductions To Own Today:

Uberti Special Sporting Short Rifle

Specs

Caliber: .357 Magnum
Capacity: 10+1
Barrel Length: 20 Inches
Overall Length: 43.25 Inches
Weight: 8.2 Pounds
Finish: Case Hardened / Blue Steel
Furniture: Checkered A-grade Walnut
MSRP: $1,549

Pros

Handy size
Attractive finish

Cons

Only one chambering option for short model

Perhaps my favorite Spaghetti Western 1873 is the Uberti Special Sporting Short Rifle. This .357 has a 20-inch octagonal barrel, a color case-hardened receiver and a checkered pistol grip stock and forend made of A-grade Walnut. In my opinion, this rifle rivals any of the original special-order Winchesters offered back in the day. There’s also a Special Sporting Rifle variant with a longer barrel available in .45 Long Colt.

Taylor’s & Company 1873 Comanchero Rifle

Specs

Caliber: .357 Magnum ; .45 LC ; .44 Special ; .44-40 ; .38-40
Capacity: 10+1
Barrel Length: 18 Inches
Overall Length: 36..87 Inches
Weight: 7.39 Pounds
Finish: Case Hardened / Blue Steel
Furniture: Walnut
MSRP: $2,211.24 (.357 Mag.)

Pros

Features ideal for speed and comfort when shooting competitions
Available in both original and practical caliber options

Cons

Most expensive model on list

If you are looking for tuned performance against steel and cardboard desperadoes, the Taylor’s & Company 1873 Comanchero Rifle is your ticket to speed. This rifle has a half-octagonal and half-round 16-inch barrel so it helps absorb recoil yet swings quickly. It features a short-stroke action, meaning the lever arc is shorter than on a standard gun and it has a lighter trigger pull too. The butt and lever are wrapped in leather for softer recoil and less wear and tear on your shooting hand when operating the gun. This model is available chambered in .357 Magnum, .45 Long Colt, .44-40, .44 Special and .38-40.

Cimarron Texas Brush Popper

Specs

Caliber: .44 LC ; .44-40
Capacity: 10+1
Barrel Length: 18 Inches
Overall Length: 36.87 Inches
Weight: 7.39 Pounds
Finish: Case Hardened / Blue Steel
Furniture: Walnut
MSRP: $1,318.20

Pros

Good features for competition

Cons

No .357 Magnum chambering option

The Cimarron Texas Brush Popper is another good choice for cowboy action shooting. It features an 18.5-inch half-octagon half-round barrel and is available with either a straight or pistol grip style stock. These short rifles offer excellent balance and attractive case-hardened receiver finishes and are available in either .44-40 or .45 Long Colt.

Winchester Model 1873 Carbine

Specs

Caliber: .357 Magnum ; .45 LC ; .44-40
Capacity: 10+1
Barrel Length: 20 Inches
Overall Length: 39 Inches
Weight: 7.25 Pounds
Finish: Brushed polished steel
Furniture: Grade I Black Walnut
MSRP: $1,429.99

Pros

Features original Winchester branding
Most classic model on list
Original and practical chambering options

Cons

No improvements for shootability, not ideal for competition

The Winchester Model 1873 Carbine is perhaps the most classic of all the 1873 reproduction models. It features a 20-inch round barrel, a straight grip with a smooth, oil-finish walnut stock and forend and a deep-blued finish on its metal. It’s available in the original .44-40 chambering as well as .357 Magnum and .45 Long Colt.

Winchester Model 1873 Sporter

Specs

Caliber: .357 Magnum ; .45 LC ; .44-40
Capacity: 14+1
Barrel Length: 24 Inches
Overall Length: 43 Inches
Weight: 8 Pounds
Finish: Polished Blued
Furniture: Grade II/III Black Walnut
MSRP: $1,869.99

Pros

Higher quality and more attractive components
Better ballistics due to longer barrel
Larger magazine capacity
Original and practical chambering options

Cons

Added length, weight and value make it not ideal for competition

Life is too short to shoot an ugly rifle, so Winchester is producing the new Model 1873 Sporter, which could be a dead ringer for an original special-order Winchester rifle. Features include a 24-inch full octagon barrel, a Grade II walnut stock and forend, and a case-hardened finish. It’s available in .44-40, .357 Magnum, and .45 Long Colt.

More On Lever-Actions:

The Henry .45-70 Gov’t

Evolution Of The Legendary Lever-Action

Cowboy 101: How To Run A Lever-Action Rifle

The Rossi Rio Bravo .22 Lever-Gun

The Past, Present And Future Of Lever-Action Shotguns

First Look: Springfield Armory SA-16A2

Adam Borisenko

May 2, 2024

Springfield Armory has just released the SA-16A2, a faithful yet enhanced clone of the iconic M16A2.

The past few years have seen retro AR-15s come back in a big way, with several manufacturers taking a stab at the new demand for old-school, military-inspired clones. The latest company to throw its hat in the ring is Springfield Armory with the new SA-16A2, a 5.56 NATO rifle inspired by the U.S. Military’s iconic M16A2.

The Springfield Armory SA-16A2 features a forged 7075 T6 aluminum A2-style upper receiver, boasting the iconic carry handle with an integrated rear sight. Like a proper A2-style upper, the rear sight features two sizes of aperture and is adjustable for both windage and elevation. Also made of forged 7075 T6 aluminum, the lower has “Property Of U.S. Government” receiver markings as well as SAFE/SEMI/BURST selector markings (the burst setting, of course, is nonfunctional). One feature that’s not clone-accurate is the addition of Springfield’s Accu-Tite tensioning system that eliminates movement between the two receiver halves. An invisible, but welcome addition.

Naturally, the SA-16A2 is sporting a 20-inch barrel with a 1:7 twist, and it’s chrome-lined as well. Covering the rifle-length gas system are the correct round polymer handguards that feature an integrated aluminum heat shield. As for the BCG, it has a hard chrome lined interior with a mil-spec phosphate exterior. Made of Carpenter 158 steel, each one is also high-pressure tested and magnetic particle inspected. The other features are also what one would expect from an M16A2 clone, including a bayonet lug, an A2 birdcage flash hider and a fixed A2-length buttstock with a trapdoor storage compartment. Each gun also ships with one aluminum 30-round magazine and a rifle case.

Steve Kramer, Vice President of Marketing for Springfield Armory, said this about the new rifle:

The SA-16A2 takes what made the A2 upgrade of the M16 rifle so great and adds some subtle — but significant — enhancements for today’s shooters … If you want a rifle that exudes classic appeal yet delivers modern performance, the SA-16A2 is the right choice.

The SA-16A2 is available now and MSRP is $1,249.

Springfield Armory SA-16A2 SPECS:
Caliber: 5.56 NATO
Barrel: 20 Inches, 4150 CMV, Chrome Lined, 1:7 Twist
Sights: A2
Finish: Type III Hardcoat Anodized Upper & Lower, Black
Trigger: Mil-Spec
Overall Length: 39.5 Inches
Weight: 7.5 Pounds
Capacity: 30+1 (Uses standard AR-15 mags)
MSRP: $1,249

For more information, visit springfield-armory.com.

More Retro AR Stuff:

Retro AR-15: The Old Rifles That Inspired The New Ones
AR Essentials: Vintage And Retro ARs
First Look: Colt M16A1 Reissue
Budget Retro Build: Riton X1 Tactix RRD Review

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GUN DIGESTWE KNOW GUNS SO YOU KNOW GUNS

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Here are several pocket holsters that simplify carrying a self-defense gun and keep it at the ready.

What’s got you covered for pocket carry?

Alien Gear ShapeShift Pocket Holster

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For more information on concealed carry holsters check out:

We dive into the history of the iconic Winchester 1873 to understand the role this classic lever-action rifle played in winning the West.

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**We ask you to analyze whether you’re really prepared to use deadly force in a self-defense situation.**

**In this excerpt from Deadly Force, 2nd Edition, Massad Ayoob discusses the finer points of attorney selection following a self-defense incident.**