Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2020 i Shooting Times

I REALLY ENJOYED JOSEPH VON BENEDIKT’S “THE SHOOTIST” COLUMN IN the November 2019 issue on his Pre-’64 Model 70 in .300 H&H. I got mine in 1964 from a friend, in preparation for a someday-move to Alaska (finally did it in 1976). My rifle was built in 1937 and had been punched out to .300 Weatherby, which was okay by me. Anyway, I always liked to view my rifle as one of Roy Weatherby’s early conversions before he started manufacturing his own rifles. It is the one rifle that I have never sold and always keep as my personal hunting choice. Thank you for a great column about the greatest rifle of all time! Name and Address Withheld by Request Don’t Be Misled At the ripe old age of 49,…

SEVERAL YEARS AGO I REVIEWED A VALMET-MADE M39 here in “The Shootist.” It performed superbly, and I was rather sure I’d never find a Mosin Nagant I liked more. Then I found the Sako version reported on here. It is without doubt the nicest Mosin Nagant I’ve had the pleasure of handling, at least in terms of build quality and retained condition. Engineered by the Finnish Civil Guard and adopted by the Finnish Army on 14 April, 1939, the M39 is a much-improved derivative of the Russian-designed M1891. Importantly, every M39 is built using an M91 action. According to Brent Snodgrass and Vic Thomas’s excellent article “The Claws Of The Lion: The Model 1939 Rifle,” “The bolt, magazine assembly and portions of the trigger were [also] retained….” However, the barrel,…

IT’S A GREAT TIME TO BE A GUN GUY OR GAL BECAUSE FIRE - arm manufacturers are gleefully inventing, refining, and adding cool extensions to their lines. In shotguns, this means more purpose-driven special models and variations. As you’ll see, new offerings range from sexy sub-gauge over-under field guns in 28 gauge and .410 Bore to advanced-capability, home- and personal-defense scatterguns. Here are my selections for the most interesting new scatterguns. A BENELLI // 20-GAUGE 828U Picking between Benelli’s sleek 20-gauge over-under and the company’s superb Super Black Eagle 3 with the B.E.S.T. corrosion protection required considerable contemplation. I chose the 20 gauge because it’s more of a departure from the original, and it offers upland hunters a truly superb field piece. The frame is downscaled and sized correctly…

THE NEW ULTRA CUSTOM HOLSTER BY 1791 GUNLEATHER IS AN INNO- vative and creative concept. Its patent-pending Memory-Lok technology allows the user to mold the leather/proprietary polymer gel-layered holster to fit his or her very own gun. The process is simple and requires three steps: heating, molding, and cooling. First, preheat about a gallon of water to between 155 and 175 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not use a microwave oven or exceed 190 degrees F. While the water is heating, place the holster in a heavy-duty plastic bag and seal it. A small weight or river stone may be included to help keep the holster submerged during the heating phase. Make sure the bag’s seal is tight and secure. Place the bag with the holster in it into the water, making…

Hornady Subsonic Ammo HORNADY’S SUBSONIC AMMUNITION IS NOW OFFERED IN BOTH RIFLE and handgun calibers. New offerings this year include .30-30, .450 Bushmaster, .45-70, 9mm Luger, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. The Subsonic Handgun ammo is loaded with Hornady’s famous XTP bullets, while the Subsonic Rifle ammo is loaded with the Sub-X bullet used in Subsonic Rifle that features a lead core, a flat profile hollowpoint, long grooves in the gilding metal jacket, and the patented Flex Tip insert. MSRP: $25.85 to $45 depending on caliber hornady.com SK .22 LR Flatnose Target SK Ammunition’s new .22 LR Flatnose Target ammo has a 40-grain semiwadcutter-style target bullet and was designed for shooters seeking extreme accuracy. According to the company, like the SK Flatnose Match ammo, Flatnose Target cuts a clean hole…

IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY, REM- ington laid claim to the commercial 7mm rifle cartridge market with the .280 Remington in 1957 and the 7mm Remington Magnum in 1962. Both cartridges required full-length rifle actions. Winchester saw an open door for short actions and entered the 7mm universe in 1963 with the compact .284 Winchester. It used a case with a rebated rim and a loaded length the same as the .308 Winchester. The .284 Win. struggled with acceptance, but it hung on. However, things were afoot among silhouette competition shooters that would challenge that cartridge niche. Rifle metallic silhouette competition requires top accuracy, enough power to knock heavy steel targets off a rail 500 meters away, and mild recoil for sustaining long firing strings. Their focus…

WALTHER HAS A long history. Heck, the company has been churning out firearms since about 1886. Beginning in the early 1900s, the company began specializing in self-defense handguns. The small, compact PPK and the big P38 are just two examples of Walther pistols that have achieved iconic status. The company has gone through several changes in terms of distributors in the United States, but in 1994 Umarex Sportwaffen purchased Walther, and in 2012 it opened a distribution center in Fort Smith, Arkansas. Since then, Walther Arms has introduced a bunch of innovative, modern, and ergonomic pistols. Many have garnered a lot of praise within the gun industry. The newest offering from this great company is the CCP M2 chambered in .380 ACP. Shooting Times received one of the first .380…

LAST YEAR TWO OLD GERMAN TARGET RIFLES came my way at bargain prices. Oddly, each cost exactly the same ($950), although one was much older, plainer, more beat-up, and in an arcane caliber. Why the disparity? Because the newer, more elaborate, more beautiful, and almost fully restored one had no sights. This, I presumed, would not present a problem. For the right amount of money, almost any gun problem can be solved. By coincidence, they were built on very similar Martini actions, requiring the same type of rear aperture (or diopter) sight, as well as a front sight and a mid-barrel sight. The newer rifle needed all three, while the older one was missing only the mid-barrel sight. I was able to track down two mid-barrel sights and a front…

Colt .25 ACP Pocket Pistol? Q : I inherited a small Colt .25 ACP pistol when my dad passed away. It has “COLT AUTOMATIC CALIBRE 25” on the right-hand side of the slide and “COLT’S PT. F.A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD CT. U.S.A. PAT’D AUG. 25 1898 APR. 20, 1897 DEC. 22, 1903 JAN. 25 1910” on the left-hand side. What can the experts tell me about this gun? Jerry Black Via email A : I have that same Colt pistol, and it is an interesting little gun. Officially, it’s called the Vest Pocket Model 1908 Hammerless. It was designed by John M. Browning and produced by Colt from 1908 until 1946. About 420,700 were produced by Colt. Fabrique Nationale also produced the pistol as the FN Model 1906, and an…

BECAUSE THIS ISSUE OF SHOOTING TIMES FOCUSES on new guns and gear announced at this year’s SHOT Show, I’m happy to take a look at some of the newfor-2020 handloading products. There are plenty of new items for those of us who enjoy reloading our own ammunition. Hornady 120-Gr. FTX for the 7-30 Waters When Hornady introduced the .30-30 FTX bullet with its semi-rigid polymer tip several years ago, handloaders no longer were limited to loading only roundnose bullets for safe use in a lever-action rifle’s tubular magazine. Plus, FTX bullets have improved BCs, so trajectory is flatter. Five years ago, I suggested that Hornady should develop an FTX bullet for the 7-30 Waters. My effort intensified when the company introduced one for the .25-35 WCF. It shot great, and…

AS ALWAYS, THE CONSUMER rules when it comes to successful new products. As tastes wax and wane, new rifles for 2020 include something for just about every shooting purpose and budget. Here’s a brief rundown on many of the most interesting new rifles announced at this year’s SHOT Show. A BENELLI // LUPO Benelli is well known for its great semiautomatic, pump, and over-under shotguns, but this year the company has an exciting new bolt-action rifle called the Lupo. “Lupo” is Italian for “wolf,” and Benelli bills the new rifle as an “apex predator.” The Lupo’s separate butt-stock, receiver, and fore-end allow the shooter to customize the gun to fit with a set of 12 shims for drop and cast and spacers for adjusting the length of pull. It…

JUST BY LOOKING AT THE RAPIDE 1911, YOU CAN TELL IT IS BUILT FOR speed. It has all the bells and whistles that a hot-rod 1911 needs for fast function, and its fit and finish are superb. The Rapide’s slide runs on its rails like grease on glass, and there’s little to no discernible movement in it or in the barrel bushing fit or when I press down on the barrel hood with the pistol locked into battery. The pistol’s joint blending is way above par for a production gun. The magazine release is nicely fitted, functions smoothly, and is blended perfectly on the backside. The oversize beveled magwell mates perfectly with the bottom edge of the G10 WavZ grip panels. The mainspring housing sits ever so slightly proud of…

I FIRST LEARNED OF PINK HIGGINS ABOUT 20 years ago when Sheriff Jim Wilson wrote about him here in the pages of Shooting Times. I’ve done additional research of my own and found the man definitely had a way with lever-action rifles. He seems to have been a very tough character and is credited with killing some 14 men during his lifetime. John Calhoun Pinckney Higgins, a.k.a. “Pink,” was born in Macon, Georgia, on March 28, 1851. When he was a lad, his family moved to Lampasas, Texas. Pink grew up working the family ranch and serving in the Law and Order League, a local ranging company that protected the nearby ranches from Indian raids, cattle rustlers, and horse thieves. It was a rough, tough, and dangerous life. In fact,…