Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i Shooting Times

GUNSMITH JOHN GALLAGHER PASSED AWAY ON APRIL 14, 2020, AFTER an extended battle with cancer. Born and raised in West Texas, he became infatuated with guns and hunting. As a young adult, John moved to Montana to work on a cattle ranch and hunt in the nearby mountains and prairies. He also met and married his wife, Beverly, there and later moved to north Alabama, where I met him about 20 years ago. He always exhibited the most worthy characteristic of the typical cowboy—his word and handshake were binding. Respected as a talented pistolsmith, John was most interested in custom revolvers, especially Ruger single actions. In recent years, he, with son Isaac as apprentice, completed many projects for me. Several have been mentioned in Shooting Times over the years. The…

A TRUE SPORTING MAUSER, MADE FROM THE ground up on a non-military action (there’s no thumb relief cut for loading via stripper clips), this Husqvarna Vapenfabriks AB. was made in Sweden. Vapenfabriks loosely translates to weapon factory or fabrications. The “AB.” designation is an abbreviation for Aktiebolag, which means “limited corporation,” similar to our LLC. A “.30-06 U.S.” caliber designation is rollmarked following the manufacturer’s mark atop the barrel. As is common on some European firearms, the serial number is rollmarked on the left side of the barrel just forward of the receiver. A tiny “Nitro” roll-mark and Swedish proof mark indicate the rifle is made for modern loads and properly proofed. Established in 1689, Husqvarna has made, through its colorful history, everything from blackpowder musket barrels to motorcycles, stoves,…

MTM’S NEW TRANSPARENT IN-SAFE HANDGUN STORAGE CASES KEEP HAND- guns organized, allowing users to quickly find their firearm in a crowded gun vault. Designed to optimize storage in the most popular size gun safes, these cases feature a protective base composed of soft, closed-cell foam pad; an attractive, slimline shape; and two snap latches. Users can maximize storage space by stacking the cases. These storage cases are also ideal for storing jewelry, coins, watches, birth certificates, passports, etc. Sold in three-pack units, the In-Safe Handgun Storage Cases are offered in two sizes: 9 inch for standard 1911 and smaller handguns (outside dimensions: 9x7x1.8 inches, inside dimensions: 8.5x6x1.6 inches); 12 inch for larger handguns (outside dimensions: 12x7x1.8 inches, inside dimensions: 11.5x6x1.6 inches). Made in USA. MSRP: $16.95 (9-inch 3-pack), $18.95 (12-inch…

THE FIRST THING A ROOKIE FORENSIC FIREARMS examiner will learn is how firearm barrels are created. To understand and perform laboratory bullet comparisons and give fact-based testimony that can affect someone’s life, every examiner must be intimate with the rifled gun barrel. To make a gun barrel, you need a steel rod with a hole down the middle. For a couple of centuries, that hole has been drilled. There are four ways to turn that drill hole into a rifled barrel; two ways cut grooves into the steel, and two ways swage them under pressure. The earliest rifling was simple and intended to grip the cloth patch around a round lead ball, not to engrave the lead. This also eased the task of loading. Given the soft steels of the…

THE FRANCHI INSTINCT L OVER-UNDER IN 20 gauge featured in this report was brand-new when I received it, but the Instinct shotgun and I have been good friends since 2011. That was the year I had the pleasure of participating in a two-week wingshooting safari in Kenya. It was the introductory outing for the Instinct, and after hunting for about a week in the Galana River area, we loaded up the safari vehicles and headed north to Masailand, close to Amboseli National Park. Prior to our arrival, an elaborate tent camp had been set up within sight of Mount Kilamanjaro. A group of Masai warriors from a nearby village visited daily. They carried razor-sharp lion spears, which were decidedly not for show because the lions we photographed had obviously never…

RUGER INTRODUCED THE BOLT-ACTION MODEL 77 HAWKEYE SERIES IN 2007, AND SOME consider it to be the best Model 77 yet. Like its predecessors, the Hawkeye covered just about all shooting bases, and new variations continue to be introduced. One recent version is the Hawkeye Hunter, a purpose-built, classic-styled rifle tailored specifically for big-game hunting. It is offered in popular calibers, including 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, and .300 Winchester Magnum. I ordered one in .30-06 for this report. The metal on the Hawkeye Hunter is all stainless steel and is polished to a lustrous sheen. Barrel length for the .30-06 Hawkeye Hunter is 22 inches, and twist rate is 1:10. The muzzle is threaded 5/8-24, and a protective cap is provided. Ruger didn’t skimp on precision features that…

Q: I ENJOYED MR. HUTCHCROFT’S QUICK SHOT ON THE NEW RUGER LCP II Lite Rack .22 LR in the May issue. I was impressed by what looks like a delayed-blowback-operated .22. I cannot remember seeing a .22 with delayed blowback before. However, the article refers to the pistol as “straight blowback.” Since the barrel of this pistol recoils a short distance with the slide, I believe it is a delayed blowback. Am I right? Good article. Great magazine! Jerry Schlenz Spring Valley, IL A: It turns out, I made a mistake in my description of the LCP II Lite Rack .22 LR’s operation. After receiving your question, I contacted Mark Gurney, who is an engineer and director of product management at Ruger. He told me the gun is neither a…

I’VE BEEN RELOADING FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS, but until recently, I had never loaded plated bullets. I should have started using them years ago. Once rifled bores and smokeless propellants became the norm, shooters soon discovered the rifling and hotter gases damaged lead bullets, negatively affecting accuracy. It didn’t take long for strong copper, copper alloy, and mild steel bullet jackets to be developed to sheathe the softer lead core. The improved cup-and-core bullets meant firearms firing smokeless munitions could reliably and accurately provide much greater power and range. The monolithic copper and copper-alloy bullets of today have completely eliminated lead in many modern bullets. Jacketed bullets are complex, so they’re more expensive to manufacture. Plated bullets are like a hybrid version of a jacketed and cast or swaged lead…

WHICH PISTOL PRIMERS ARE THE MOST SENSITIVE? Which pistol primers are the least sensitive? This subject often comes up when shooters are adjusting the hammer-spring or firing pin spring strength for a lighter trigger pull. Competitors are all about light trigger pulls because they feel better and make it easier for faster, controlled shots. Double-action revolver shooters are especially keen on lightening the trigger pull for faster and smoother stroking and often lighten them as low as they can and still get reliable ignition. Federal primers are said to be the most sensitive and for that reason are the favorite of many wheelgun shooters. Many folks claim CCI primers are the least sensitive, with Winchester primers somewhere in the middle. Remington primers also tend to be somewhere in the middle.…

TRIJICON INTRODUCED several new lines of riflescopes in 2020, including the Credo HX, which, according to the company, “was designed with one purpose in mind: brag-worthy hunts.” Judging by the 1-6X sample we received, it should be excellent for hunting deer, hogs, and black bears. Other models in the line include 1-4X 24mm, 1-8X 28mm, 2.5-10X 56mm, 2.5-15X 42mm, 2.5-15X 56mm, and 4-16X 50mm, and they’ll be great for just about everything from varmints to dangerous game. The Credo HX scopes feature easy-focus eyepieces, repositionable magnification levers, crisp and precise windage and elevation adjustments, and extra-wide fields of view. They provide red or green illuminated reticles with “off” positions between brightness levels, quick target acquisition, tremendous light transmission, and excellent edge-to-edge clarity. Being tested to military standards and protocols, they…

IF SHE WERE A GIRL, YOU COULD SAY I MET HER at a dance, twirled her once around the floor, then watched her leave with another guy. Three months later, a sadder but wiser girl, we met up again, and this time she came home with me. Lucile being a rifle, that’s not quite what happened, but close enough. It was an auction, not a dance floor. Here’s what I know about her history. She’s a Stevens Model 52, chambered in .28-30-120, made to special order around 1902. She has a No. 44 action, which was discontinued in the higher grades around 1903, but the .28-30 was only introduced in 1901, so that pinpoints it nicely. The Model 52 was one of the finest of the Stevens target rifles, equipped…

IT’S HARD FOR ME TO BELIEVE THAT MORE THAN a decade has gone by since exhibition shooter Joe Bowman passed away. But it has. I got to know Joe, having interviewed him for a special publication we published years ago and also rubbing elbows with him at various industry shows and events. Joe was a real character, but he was always a gentleman and always told you exactly how he saw things. Joe was born on April 12, 1925, in Johnson City, Tennessee, and lived in Asheville, North Carolina, during his early years. When he was 12 years old, his family moved to Houston, Texas, which he called home for the rest of his life. He had a lifelong love of Western movies, cowboy history and lore, and guns. At…