Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2021 i Shooting Times

REGARDING JOSEPH VON BENEDIKT’S RECENT ARTICLE ON THE .303 British Uberti Model 1885 Courteney Stalking rifle, I agree completely with the recommendation that the .303 British be neck sized when reloading. In my experience, neck sizing improves accuracy and case life, for the reasons described in the article. Since chambers in many old rifles may be eroded, and my old .303 British No. 4 SMLE has a rear-locking bolt, neck sizing helps maintain a good fit between the cartridge and chamber. In a new rifle like the Uberti, some sizing of the case toward the base may be needed. As for loads for the .303 British, Remington used to make a 215-grain jacketed roundnose softpoint. I loaned my rifle to a friend who took a shot at a running deer…

SLEEK, WELL-MADE, AND CONFIGURED LIKE WIN- chester’s pump-action Model 62, the Rossi 62 was manufactured in Brazil between 1970 and 1998 and imported into this country by Interarms. Production ceased when Taurus purchased Rossi in 1998. Don’t be misled. This is not the Rossi Gallery currently manufactured by Rossi USA. The current gun has a distinctly different action, a beechwood or polymer stock, and some polymer parts. The older Rossi Model 62s are walnut and steel. Several iterations were made, including a rifle-length version with a 23-inch barrel in nickel and blued finishes. Some had octagon barrels. I’ve yet to see any of the carbine-length Rossi 62s with anything but a round barrel and blued steel, and I’ve read that the nickel carbines were brought in only during 1998 and…

A Benelli Lupo New for 2021 Benelli has added three chamberings to its bolt-action Lupo offerings: .243 Winchester, 6.5 Creed-moor, and .308 Winchester. The rifle was introduced last year in .270 Winchester, .30-06, and .300 Win. Mag. The new .243 and .308 rifles have 22-inch barrels, and the Creedmoor’s barrel length is 24 inches. The .243 and Creed-moor have steep 1:8 twists, and the .308 has a 1:11 twist. The Lupo’s original innovative features are retained in these new versions. Barrels are CRIO-treated and free-floated, muzzles are threaded 5/8-24, and a cap is provided. The two-position safety is ambidextrous, and the double-stack detachable box magazine loads easily in or out of the gun. The Lupo’s chassis-style construction features an alloy receiver and an ergonomically shaped synthetic stock and fore-end with…

IN 1912 THE RESPECTED BRITISH FIRM HOLLAND & Holland established the future of the belted rifle case with the .375 H&H Magnum. It was not the first belted case, but it was the one that set the dimensions for a century of cartridges to come. H&H’s head and belt design have been used almost unchanged in a staggering number of standard, proprietary, and wildcat cartridges. In about 1920, H&H applied those head dimensions to a then-new .30-caliber cartridge, first called the “Holland’s Super 30.” The same length as the .375 H&H case, the newcomer had a long, tapered shoulder. Soon its standardized name became the .300 H&H Magnum, and there was a sound reason for that funny-looking shoulder. I’ve previously written about how handloaders can deal with belted rifle cases,…

A Ed Brown EVO-KC9-VTX New to the Ed Brown EVO-KC9 1911 family is the KC9-VTX, which has a milled slide for installation of a Vortex red-dot reflex sight. The pistol has all the features of the handbuilt 9mm KC9, including an external extractor, an easy-to-change front sight, a 4.0-inch bull barrel, a flat wire recoil spring system, special front and rear slide grasping grooves, a recessed slide stop, and a nine-round magazine. In addition, it comes with the 6-MOA Vortex Venom reflex sight installed. MSRP: $2,495 edbrown.com B Browning Buck Mark Plus Vision Americana Even though there was no 2021 SHOT Show, Browning, like in past years, has announced several “2021 SHOT Show Specials.” One of these special pistols is the .22 LR Buck Mark Plus Vision Americana This semiautomatic…

THE CONCEPT OF CONVERTING A HIGH-POWERED rifle to .22 rimfire, temporarily—for plinking, practice, and pest control—has a very long, very checkered history. Over the last 100 years, just about everything has been tried, from barrel inserts to chamber plugs. Frankly, not many have worked out too well. They’re either not accurate, limit you to a single shot, or are hard to operate. There’s always something. About a year ago, Blaser announced its solution to the problem. The R8 straight-pull bolt action, which now has been around more than a decade and just gets better and better, is an ideal platform for a .22 conversion, since it already has interchangeable barrels, magazines, and breechblocks. The conversion kit includes those three parts, which fit any R8. You have, in effect, built yourself…

Q: THE “THE SHOOTIST” COLUMNIST ON THE PRE-’64 WINCHESTER Model 70 was off on a few points. First, there was only one action size for the Pre-’64, and it was cut out a bit for the H&H cartridges but was the same size action and bolt for the Hornet through the .375 H&H. There wasn’t a “short” Pre-’64 M70 action made. Second, the “1952” rifle pictured was actually made in 1960. You can tell by the bolt shroud and the 51XXXX serial number. Third, this was the first time I ever read that the Super Grades had premium barrels. It is my understanding that the Standard Supers had Standard barrels and the Featherweight Supers had Featherweight barrels. I have never read or heard that they had different barrels than the…

MORE THAN ONE MEMBER AT MY GUN CLUB’S range has asked me, “How many rounds do I have to fire to develop a perfect handload?” Well, as an engineer, I know there are several answers to that question. There’s the theoretical response based on statistics, and fortunately, there’s also a more practical, realistic answer. Developing the optimal handload is theoretically possible. There’s a mathematical term used in statistical analysis called the fundamental counting principle (FCP). Understanding the ramifications of the FCP can give you an idea of the scope of the effort required to determine the best handload. Let’s pose an example using the popular .30-06 to develop an exemplary whitetail handload. A rifle cartridge comprises four components: case, primer, propellant, and bullet. Quantifying each component, let’s assume three options…

I SURE HOPE READERS DON’T GET TIRED OF ME REVIEWING NEW 10MM Auto pistols—because I never get tired of shooting them. I’ve had the opportunity to do that at least once a year for the last five years or so, and I am pleased that so many new 10mm guns have been offered up by the industry. As Neil Diamond wrote and the Monkees made famous: “I’m a believer.” In the 10mm Auto’s effectiveness, that is. The newest 10mm Auto I have the pleasure of reporting on is the full-size Ronin 1911 from Springfield Armory. We’ve covered other Ronin 1911s in Shooting Times, so readers should already be aware of the platform. But for anyone who isn’t, the Ronin is a straightforward 1911. It comes in a two-tone finish with…

CHARLES NEWTON, WHO PREFERRED TO BE called Chas, was an early pioneer of high-velocity rifle cartridges. He championed the lever-action type of rifle, eventually creating a unique hybrid LeverBolt action. He promoted handloading for enjoyment and invented his own reloading tools. He experimented with “progressive burning” gunpowder mixtures and produced his own protected-point bullet that featured a copper wire embedded in the tip. He was granted patents on many of his designs, and interestingly, he did all that after first becoming a lawyer. Born on January 8, 1870, Charles Newton grew up in Western New York. By 1894, he was married, and the next year he went to law school. He was admitted to the bar in 1896. By 1915, he was an arms manufacturer. Along the way he spent…