Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2019 i Guns & Ammo

A fine-condition pre-’64 Winchester Model 70 that was custom crafted by Al, Roger and Paula Biesen as the 2013 fundraising rifle for the Jack O’Connor Hunting Heritage & Education Center brought $10,000 at a recent Sportsman’s Legacy sale. This spectacular rifle in .375 H&H Magnum is in unfired condition and wears its original 25-inch tapered heavy sporter factory barrel with hooded ramp front sight and island rear sight base topped with two folding leafs. The much-refined action features a jeweled bolt body, extractor, follower and rail, hollow bolt knob with two checkered teardrops, recontoured and checkered bolt-release button, recontoured tang and custom bottom metal with inside-the-bow release button. Magazine capacity is five plus one, though there is no drop-box configuration. The classic stock is of exhibition-grade English walnut. Finished appointments…

Walther Q5 Match SF Pro 9mm AN EVERYDAY, STEEL-FRAME RACE GUN. TIRED OF POLYMER? Some days, in this job, I am, too. I’m very familiar with Walther’s line of PPQ polymer-framed models, so I wasn’t prepared for the enhanced shootability of Walther’s new Q5 Match SF. It is not just the new steel frame that caught my attention, it’s the pistol’s assemblage. It’s the lightened slide, the tacky wrap-around grip, the stipple-like texturing, the 17-round magazine and the flared magwell. Each component helps to make this pistol feel like it’s not moving in your hands when burning down targets. Replace the rear sight plate with a mini red dot and a day at the range gets even better. This pistol feels like you’re cheating, but the end result still amounts…

OUTSIDE OF FALLUJAH, IRAQ, on September 17, 2004, Sgt. Todd Bowers of the 4th Civil Affairs Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, saw insurgent snipers initiate an ambush on his security patrol. While engaged in the firefight, his sight picture exploded as an enemy bullet impacted Bowers’ Trijicon ACOG. Fragments of both the bullet and optic showered the left side of his face. A U.S. Navy corpsman tended to Sgt. Bowers and called for a medical evacuation, but Bowers refused and kept fighting alongside Marines during the four-hour battle. The ACOG on his M16A2 was given to him by his father, John, a former Marine sergeant, just two days before his deployment. Conceived in 1986 as an idea rooted from a halved pair of binoculars by Trijicon’s founder, Glyn Bindon, Bindon…

John Wayne/John Ford Film Memorabilia Raffle The Former Texas Rangers Foundation (FTRF) is raffling a Springfield Trapdoor carbine and a Henry Boker Solingen Model 1860 Civil War cavalry saber donated by Hollywood Guns & Props. The carbine was rented from Stembridge Gun Rentals for use in the epic cavalry sagas “Fort Apache” and “She Wore A Yellow Ribbon” starring John Wayne and directed by John Ford. The saber is from the once vast inventory of edged weapons at Western Costume Company and was rented for use in dozens of cavalry sagas. All the funds from the raffle are dedicated to the second phase of construction on the Texas Rangers Heritage Center in Fredericksburg, Texas. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the FTRF at TRHC.org  or by phone at…

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOOK very far in advertising material to find claims of match-grade performance. The term “match” is being used so often that many wonder if it means anything anymore. The impetus for match loads arose from the early days of the National Matches, which were started in 1903 by the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Army. They were instituted to improve military marksmanship and national defense preparedness. The first National Matches were held at Sea Girt, New Jersey, in September 1903. The matches were attended by teams from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as state militias and National Guard organizations. Pistol competition events were added to the National Matches in 1904. Then, in 1907, the National Matches were moved to Camp Perry, Ohio, where…

WHEN IT COMES TO EVALUATING ANY PRODUCT, I prefer long-term testing. At times, abbreviated testing and a small sample size is all we have to familiarize ourselves with and base our opinions on. Other times, we’re fortunate to spend extensive time in the field to compile experiences. For me, this review of Browning BXS ammunition is one of the latter. A Little History In 2016, Browning entered the ammunition game and launched two very different lines of hunting ammunition: the Browning Rapid Expansion Matrix (BXR) and the Browning Controlled Expansion Terminal Tip (BXC). The BXR features a cup-and-core bullet crowned with a large-diameter polymer tip. The tip is a uniquely blended copper-polymer matrix that fragments on impact to expose the bullet’s hollowpoint cavity and kick-start expansion shortly after impacting thin-skinned…

Type: Direct impingement, gas operated, semiautomatic Cartridge: .450 Bushmaster Capacity: 5+1 rds. Barrel: 18.63 in., 1:16-in. twist Overall Length: 35.6 in. (collapsed); 38.9 in. (extended) Weight: 7 lbs., 6 oz. Stock: Magpul MOE SL Grips: Magpul MOE Length of Pull: 11.1 in. (collapsed); 14.4 in. (extended) Finish: Black anodized (aluminum) Trigger: Ruger Elite 452; 4 lbs., 8 oz. (tested) Sights: None Safety: Two-position, lever MSRP: $1,100 Manufacturer: Sturm, Ruger & Co., 336-949-5200, ruger.com…

ALTERED COLT NEW SERVICE Q: I recently acquired a Colt revolver and I’m having difficulty getting a history on this Colt. It appears, from what I can find, that it was manufactured to shoot .455 Eley ammo, which I believe is British. That ammo was difficult and expensive to get, so these guns were changed by gunsmiths to accept .45 Colt. Was this something that was done nationwide on some type of program or did Colt do this reconfiguration? You can see on the barrel where it was originally stamped “455 ELEY”. The second “5” was etched out and “Colt” was stamped over the word “ELEY”. I’d like to figure out what I have, it’s history and approximate worth. Any information you could give would be greatly appreciated. G.H. Email…

U.S. MANUFACTURING is making a comeback in Berryville, Arkansas, the home of Wilson Combat. Every year, the company brings more of its manufacturing in-house. First known for building custom 1911s, Wilson Combat (wilsoncombat.com) is just as well known for its EDC X9 pistol, which was first reviewed in Guns & Ammo’s October 2017 issue. They’re also known to refine tactical shotguns and AR-pattern rifles. When Wilson Combat started making AR-15s, they switched to billet machining so their upper and lower receivers, as well as handguards, could be made in-house. Wilson made this decision at great expense, but having hands-on control of critical components was important to Wilson, ensuring that they get exactly what is needed. The most recent manufacturing move was to bring barrel production to Berryville. Barrel making is…

GROWING UP IN SOUTH DAKOTA, there was a certain draw to the lever gun. Dad was a real-life cowboy, not the fake kind you see in a western hunting camp with the fringed chinks, 10-gallon hat and satin scarf. Dad was the kind of guy that used a horse as a tool every day. If I wanted to shoot, there wasn’t any other choice as far as rifles go. My pa had a Winchester Model 94 chambered in .30-30. Later in life, someone told me that it wouldn’t work on deer. Somehow, I never noticed this shortcoming. Last year, I traveled to South Africa to hunt Cape buffalo with Japie Horn’s outfit, Horn’s Africa Safaris (hornsafricasafaris.com), for a Viking Chronicles episode to appear on the Outdoor Channel. Horn’s operation was…

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION announced on December 18, 2018, that the Department of Justice has amended the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), effectively banning so-called “bump stocks.” The administration made the determination that bump stocks fall within the definition of a “machine gun” under federal law because these devices allow a shooter of a semiautomatic firearm to fire multiple rounds with a single pull of the trigger. It must be noted that numerous state legislatures have also banned these accessories during the 2018 legislative sessions. This ruling came in the wake of the Las Vegas atrocity that left 58 dead and more than 400 wounded by gunfire on October 1, 2017. President Trump vocalized his support in February 2018 for banning such devices, but took…