Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Shooting Times

AFTER READING THE RECENT “HIPSHOTS” COLUMN PROFILING Col. Rex Applegate, I remembered that Mr. Applegate spent a week with our sheriff’s department in Athens County, Ohio, in 1996 training on point-shooting. He was the real deal! In the attached photograph, he is promoting the Applegate fighting knife. Former Deputy Terry HarveyVia email My 2 Cents Worth I just received my February issue of ST and read with delight Dr. Miller’s article on the Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum Model 686 Plus. It was a very nice write-up on a fine revolver! I bought one as a Christmas present for myself back in 2021 when it came out as a Talo special edition. Mine is the exact same revolver as described in the article. I will throw in my 2 cents…

THE SAVAGE SUPER SPORTER HAD DUAL, OPPOS- ing locking lugs, but they were located amidships on the bolt, rather than at the front end like most Mauser, Springfield, Winchester, Remington, and other bolt-action designs. Super Sporters came in two variations. A plain-Jane model was dubbed the Model 40, and a slightly fancier version with checkering on the grip and fore-end and a factory-mounted peep sight was named the Model 45. Neither, however, had the model number marked anywhere on the rifle—all were simply designated “Super Sporter” rifles. Both models were made from 1928 to 1940. I’ve been unable to locate any serial-number records with which to date the rifle I used for this report. From what I can tell, between 18,000 and 20,000 were manufactured, of which about 6,000 were…

ONE OF OUR MOST POPULAR SHOOTING-RELATED SHOWS ISGun Stories, which is hosted by accomplished actor and gun enthusiast Joe Mantegna. Now entering its 12th season, Gun Storiestakes viewers through a firearm’s history, from the heart of the design through its use on the range. For example, a recent episode investigated the lesser-known but significant .36-caliber Whitney Navy percussion revolver that saw duty during the American Civil War. Approximately 35,500 Whitney Navy revolvers were manufactured by Eli Whitney Jr., including about 1,500 of the First Model and approximately 34,000 of the Second Model. Both models went through some improvements, resulting in four “types” of the First Model and five “types” of the Second Model. Whitney obtained a contract with the U.S. Army in 1862 and provided about 7,602 revolvers through 1863.…

Hodgdon Powder Co.’s 2024 edition of the Annual Manual introduces Ramshot’s Grand magnum rifle powder, Hodgdon’s Perfect Pattern shotshell powder, and Hodgdon’s High Gun shotshell powder; features tons of load data and updates for 70 rifle and pistol cartridges; and includes authoritative articles by Layne Simpson, Lane Pearce, Steve Gash, Joseph von Benedikt, and Frank Melloni. Plus, a special tribute to Bob Hodgdon, who passed away in 2023, pays homage to his leadership and many contributions to the industry. More than 6,000 loads, including over 1,000 12-gauge loads, are offered. The 2024 Hodgdon Annual Manual is available on newsstands nationwide and online through hodgdon.com and osgnewsstand.com. MSRP: $14.99 hodgdon.com Walther Polymer-Frame PDP Match In addition to a new steel-frame PDP Match, Walther has a new PDP Match with a polymer…

FOR MANY RIFLE SHOOTERS, IT’S ALL ABOUT the accuracy, and that’s good. I’ve heard the question for years: “What’s the most accurate rifle cartridge?” That is like asking an artist, “What is a beautiful woman?” No single factor makes a woman beautiful or a cartridge accurate. As I’ve discussed here before ad nauseam, we must first assume that accuracy is properly evaluated. “Hunting accuracy” is putting the first shot from a cold bore where you want it. That is different from a true accuracy evaluation of a firearm or different ammo lot. The latter seeks to show what product consistently puts multiple shots into the smallest area. Proper evaluation takes statistics; at minimum, sample size must be sufficiently large to ensure your confidence in the repeatability of the results. Some…

The finest English cleaning kit can cost you some serious money, but your cash may be better spent on putting together your own inexpensive, homemade cleaning kit. COMES NEWS THIS WEEK FROM LONDON THATJohn Rigby & Co. is now offering a cleaning kit for “best” guns that will keep them gleaming for generations to come. It consists of a custom-built solid wood chest, built to the finest traditional London standards and outfitted with various oil bottles, rods, jags, and so on, all with the distinctive Rigby crest. Price: £6,000—approximately, at today’s exchange rate, $7,600. I haven’t actually seen one, and I don’t expect to, but I’m reminded of my first encounter with a gun-cleaning kit at the age of nine. My family had just bought an old hunting camp to…

Q. Steve Gash wrote about the Nighthawk Marvel Model 1911 in the February issue, and it was an excellent article. I have a couple of questions about that magnificent Model 1911. The author mentioned the Everlast Recoil System and the two-piece sleeved barrel setup, but he didn’t explain those features in any detail, and he didn’t give the reasoning behind the sleeved barrel. He did state that Mr. Marvel showed the gunsmiths at Nighthawk how to fit the barrel, but there was nothing said about the advantage or disadvantage of this barrel system. Can he tell me more about the sleeved barrel setup and the recoil system? Hunter StaffordVia email A. Over the past 20 years, Nighthawk Custom (NHC) in Berryville, Arkansas, has become well known for producing top-notch Model…

READER RICK WALLACE INQUIRED ABOUT THE.32 H&R Magnum, the .327 Federal Magnum, and the .32-20 Winchester (a.k.a. .32 WCF), wanting to know how they all stack up in terms of performance. A short answer is, “They’re all interesting, but their ballistic performances are different.” I guess that’s why I’ve owned at least two dozen .32-caliber rifles and handguns over the last 40 years. Each one has distinctly individual characteristics, and I’ve enjoyed shooting them all. The .32 H&R is not really a magnum cartridge compared to the .357, .41, and .44 Magnums. Federal partnered with Harrington and Richardson to develop this round in the 1980s. H&R revolvers are not nearly strong enough to accommodate typical magnum revolver pressures. The .32 H&R Magnum is simply a stretched .32 S&W Long case…

JOHN MOSES BROWNING WAS WITHOUT DOUBT one of the greatest gun designers in the world, especially regarding semiautomatic and fully automatic firearms. He came by his gunsmithing skills honestly, as his father, Jonathan Browning (1805–1879) also was a gunsmith. This column is about the great John M. Browning’s father. Jonathan Browning was born on October 22, 1805, in Sumner County, Tennessee. He began his career as a blacksmith, but by 1824 after an apprenticeship with Samuel Porter in Nashville, he had become a gunsmith. Around 1827 Browning moved his family to White’s Creek, near Nashville, and resided there until the spring of 1833 when he moved his extended family to Fairfield, Illinois. In about 1834, Jonathan and his brother James Green Browning bought farms 30 miles northeast of Quincy, Illinois.…