Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Gun Digest

I’ve got a .300 Winchester Magnum that’s gonna get me one of these days. She’s a slapper. Somehow, after probably tens of thousands of rounds downrange in my shooting career, I’ve never been scope-bit. But this one … well, she’s eventually gonna get me. The problem is that I really like her, and in some convoluted way, I’d rather put up with her abuse than consider a divorce. Come to think of it, splitting up has never really been an option for either of us. We’ve danced together on three continents … and that’s history I’m not capable of throwing out the window simply because my eyebrow hairs get rearranged every time she’s triggered. And, oddly enough, I stay with her even though she ain’t much to look at. Sure,…

Sometimes, it takes force to move something. Technically, it requires work and that can also entail force. Sometimes you gotta whack it with a hammer—like adjusting “fixed” sights: You can’t just shove the front or rear sight over with your bare hands. If you don’t have a specialized tool, you use a punch and hammer (after making sure there aren’t any screws holding it on tightly). Here’s a tip: If the punch is steel, it’ll leave a mark. You’ll likely peen the shape of the punch tip into the side of the sight. Ouch. What to do? Brass. Back in the day, I took a brass rod, chucked it into the lathe and made punches that fit as needed. If I bent it, I’d re-lathe it. This, of course, required…

01 Rossi RM 66 It’s been a hot minute since the Brazilian gunmaker announced a new revolver import, but this has changed in a big way for 2023. The company has three new .357 Magnum DA/SA revolvers hitting the market, with the RM66 more than living up to the definition of a big gun. The 6-inch barreled, medium-framed wheelie has a competition spin to it, featuring not only a fully adjustable rear sight along with a ramp front, but a solid set of grips to boot. Rubber and well-contoured, the handle provides a solid purchase to the gun as well as eats up recoil along the way. Tipping the scales at 34 ounces, the six-shot revolver has an ample trigger shoe and looks as fast as it runs with a…

In 1966, Robert Ruark published a book titled, Use Enough Gun. Ironically, there wasn’t a lot in the book about guns or how much gun one might need. But Ruark’s title stuck, and it has become a catchphrase that’s thrown around by those who think you don’t have enough gun. The problem, of course, is that other than opinions there’s no definition of exactly what enough gun is. This can make selecting a cartridge for big game hunting problematic, because opinions, as they say, are, well … For the hunter, the term “enough gun” implies that the cartridge your rifle is chambered for is capable of ethically killing the species you’re hunting—out to the furthest distance you expect to shoot. Distance is easy to measure, but killing power is not.…

A great many rifles have passed through time never having truly been tested. Some of them were simply too far ahead of their time, and others a day late and a dollar short. Such is the case of the Swiss K31, arguably one of the finest military rifles ever made … and possibly the best bolt-action rifle to come out in the prewar era. It’s too bad, however, that it was never used in its intended role, an example of notorious Swiss neutrality. The rifle is so well made and accurate that it has instead made a name for itself stateside as one of the go-to rifles for vintage military matches, but even then, it’s slowly becoming extinct on the firing line. So, without further ado, let’s look at the…

Vortex Optics recently released the Defender CCW micro red-dot sight, a new pistol optic designed for small-framed concealed carry handguns. The optic is loaded with all the features that shooters have come to expect of modern pistol red-dots, and it has some new tricks up its sleeve, too, as you’d expect from Vortex. The Defender CCW is available with two reticle options—either 3 MOA or 6 MOA—and it mounts via the common Shield RMS footprint. The optic is small enough to be used with micro-compact handguns (as well as full-size pistols), but Vortex designed the Defender CCW to have “the biggest sight window in its class” to help users shoot with both eyes open and maintain superior peripheral vision and spatial awareness. The unit is 1.6 inches long, has a…

HISTORICAL NOTES The .416 Taylor was developed by Robert Chatfield-Taylor in 1972. It’s based on the .458 Winchester Magnum case necked down to .416 caliber. However, it can also be made by necking up .338 Winchester Magnum cases. The late Chatfield-Taylor was a writer and hunter of note. He used the cartridge in Africa and reported very favorably on it. It was also checked out on Cape buffalo, elephant and lion by several others with success, including the late John Wootters. At one time, there were rumors that the cartridge would be commercialized by Remington or Winchester, but it remained for A-Square to do that. The .416 Taylor is ballistically similar to the .416 Rigby and is adequate for the same range of game, including the tough, dangerous African varieties.…

The big brown truck that brings happy packages lumbered down my driveway, stopping in front of the house. The dogs let me know some danger was present—they bark at anything—and I headed out to greet our friendly driver. “Something jingly in this one.” Something jingly, indeed. Today would be a good day. Today was new brass day. If gun owners can proclaim it is “new gun day,” and musicians can have “new guitar day,” then dammit, we reloaders are allowed to have new brass day. Using new brass might seem counterintuitive to the reloader, as the very name of the action alludes to the fact that the ammo had been previously fired at some point in time. I prefer to use the term “handloading,” as it implies the hand-tuning of…

In the grand scheme of rifle cartridges, we tend to think of rounds like the .300 Win. Mag. as existing on the upper end of the power spectrum. In reality, the cartridge is much more of a middle-of-the-road option that has, in our current AR-centric era, become one of the “big boys.” The .300 Win. Mag. is not purely a shoulder-destroying powerhouse reserved for moose hunters; instead, it’s a surprisingly versatile round that offers a tremendous amount of value, even at shorter ranges and on a variety of game and targets. What needs to be understood about chamberings like the .300 Win. Mag. is what and who they were initially designed for … not necessarily what we see them as today. The cartridge was born in 1963 out of a…

To those who burn shoe leather traversing its many miles of booth space each year, SHOT Show is somewhere between spiritual pilgrimage and Barnum & Bailey circus. And whether you need a practical home defense shotgun or a fun new bird- or clay-blasting tool, the show had plenty to offer. Here are some of the best scatterguns that caught our eye at this year’s event. BENELLI 828U STEEL BE.S.T. The Benelli 828U Steel BE.S.T. is the first steel receiver of the line, adding extra weight for heavier loads (the steel version tips the scales about a pound heavier at 7.65 pounds compared to the aluminum model’s 6.60 pounds). Benelli’s Progressive Comfort Stock technology slashes recoil further. Since reviewing the Benelli 828U 20-gauge, with its feather-weight aluminum receiver, it’s quickly become…

WARNING CALL BEFORE YOU DRIVE TO ANY SHOW PROMOTERS CANCEL SHOWS AND FREQUENTLY CHANGE DATES AND LOCATIONS CONFIRM BEFORE YOU TRAVEL SHOWDEX Listings are grouped according to state. Bold headlines show the name of all states in which gun shows have been reported to us. These headlines are arranged according to the full spelling of state names. Under each headline, shows scheduled for a particular state are listed by date, postal abbreviation, city, and site. For more information, see our regular SHOW LISTINGS section. DUE TO THE CANCELLING AND REBOOKING OF SHOWS THAT HAS TAKEN PLACE BECAUSE OF COVID -19 PLEASE CALL OR CHECK THE WEBSITE OF THE SHOW PRIOR TO TRAVELING TO THE SHOW. MAY May 20-21 TX, Amarillo. Pioneer Gun Collector’s Association Gun Show. Amarillo Civic Center, 3rd…

A few days ago, I received a package in the mail. A friend sent me a book in which he’d contributed a chapter. It was a massive book, measuring more than 15 inches tall, almost 2 inches thick and weighing more than 10 pounds. It was mostly about hunting dangerous game in Africa. To say the least, I’m elated with my gift and the good education and entertainment it has been providing. A book like this demands respect and brings the necessary attention to a dangerous pursuit. But as I’ve been reading it, it dawned on me that, as dangerous as some consider the hunting of the African beasts to be, it’s nowhere near as dangerous as just living a normal life in the United States. Yes, sometimes African hunters,…

There are many rifle bipod styles and models out there, but which is best for you? Like most shooting gear, that mostly depends on your use case and what features you want or need. So, we're going to go over the different kinds of bipods, what each type is best used for, and then look at some good models to choose from for different purposes. ARE RIFLE BIPODS WORTH IT? The obvious utility of a bipod is stabilizing the rifle in the field. For some pursuits, using one is, at a minimum, a very good idea—and for others, it’s an absolutely critical piece of gear for placing precise shots at distance. Competition shooters in modern rifle sports, such as 2-Gun, Quantified Performance, Brutality matches and similar events, can lose a…

It was raining that early December afternoon—not enough to warrant staying indoors, but enough to make things uncomfortable. Deer sign was minimal in the Hudson Valley, to say the least, as the EHD breakout of the previous few years had taken a toll. In fact, in my little secret spots where I would have guaranteed the sighting of at least a doe or two, there was nothing. Still, I had a tag in pocket … and I wasn’t giving up. At 4:15 pm he broke cover, stepping into the old orchard, apparently smelling the evidence of a doe I hadn’t seen. My thumb disengaged the safety, and as soon as the crosshair was tucked in behind the buck’s shoulder, I broke the trigger. The 6.8 Western barked, and a 140-grain…

In the present age of long-range shooting and extended-range hunting, specialty cartridges designed and groomed for those applications, cell phone ballistic apps and turreted scopes rivaling the ocular strength of the Hubble telescope, we’ve forgotten something. Peruse various reloading manuals from recent decades, and you won’t find it. Scrutinize volumes of books dedicated to guns and cartridges; it’s not there. Heck, some books detail wildcat cartridge designs that only a select group of shooters have heard of—with nary a mention of this old classic. Indeed, the .33 Winchester has been almost forgotten. I’ve been lucky to have assembled a decent “gun book” library over the years. Very few of the titles in my collection give any detail about the .33 Winchester. However, the cartridge is mentioned in the “Obsolete American…