Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2024 i Shooting Times

IN RESPONSE TO JOEL HUTCHCROFT’S ARTICLE IN THE AUGUST ISSUE ON the Taurus Deputy single-action revolver, in which he said coming up with something to call the four clicks made by cocking the hammer, how about B-U-L-L or maybe T-O-R-O? Take your pick. Rick Norton Whittier, CA Bring Back the Savage 219 Following up on the comments made by fellow reader Vance Lemaster in the August issue, perhaps the answer to the multitude of hopes and dreams of fellow shooters regarding the old classic calibers would be Savage bringing back to life the Model 219. This old gem was made back in 1938 and updated through the years until 1965. It had barrels that could be switched easily. Originally chambered in .22 Hornet and .30-30, apparently there were also guns…

MARVELOUS IS THE HISTORY OF WALTHER’S PPK (and its related PP and PPK/s). Although it’s best known as the preferred sidearm of Agent 007, author Ian Fleming’s James Bond didn’t begin carrying a PPK until 1962, several decades after it was introduced in 1931. Also notable is the history of the popular .380 Auto cartridge that many PPK-series pistols are chambered in. Previous to Bond, at least two very significant events spotlighted the PPK-type pistol and the .380 Auto cartridge. You could say the shot that started World War I was fired with a .380 Auto, used in the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. And then you could say the shot that ended World War II was fired with a Walther PPK, when Adolf Hitler used his to kill himself. It’s…

BROWNELLS HAS A NEW HEAVY-DUTY GUNSMITH VISE THAT’S DESIGNED to meet the needs of professional gunsmiths as well as hobbyists. Forged from high-grade steel in Germany, the Brownells Gunsmith Vise features drop-forged guide tracks, a robust spindle assembly, and 4.75-inch precision-aligned jaws with hardened faces that withstand high torque without flexing, making the vise ideal for removing and installing barrels. The base jaws are reversible and replaceable, offering both smooth and “checkered” faces to suit various tasks. Magnetic jaw inserts are available separately. The new Brownells Gunsmith Vise delivers unmatched strength and durability, and it can be bolted directly to a workbench or used with optional rotating bases for added flexibility. Plus, it’s backed by Brownells’ lifetime guarantee. MSRP: Starts at $399 brownells.com Ruger Marlin Trapper 1895 With Magpul…

TODAY WE TAKE AFFORDABLE, ACCURATE gear to determine bullet velocity for granted. We enjoy the bounty of a very long journey. Long before accurate timing devices or reliable electric power existed, the ballistic pendulum had to do. Ballistic pendulums (attributed to Benjamin Robins, 1742) measure momentum (a projectile’s mass times its velocity). Gunners “backed into” velocity if they knew momentum. In its simplest form the pendulum system involved a projectile moving a heavy weight suspended in air. Pendulum movement after impact was cranked into complicated formulae, usually developed by each pendulum’s maker, to solve for velocity. The external variables at play were painfully numerous. Accurate? Unlikely. Accurate velocity determination requires precision time measurement. The formula relating velocity to time and distance is: velocity = distance/time Measuring distance was trivial. It…

AS LOYAL READERS OF SHOOTING TIMES KNOW, FOR MANY YEARS we published short shooting reviews of guns, ammo, and accessories that we fondly called Quick Shots. Well, MyOutdoorTV has just launched its own form of Quick Shots on the streaming platform. These segments aim to capture and showcase the most exciting moments from the world of outdoor hunting, shooting, and fishing adventures, bringing together expert insights and action in easily digestible segments. From turkey hunting to whitetail stalks to shed hunting, Quick Shots serves up the essence of each hunt, chase, or cast in short, compelling videos. Quick Shots represents the next development in MyOutdoorTV’s commitment to delivering high-quality, engaging content for today’s hunters, shooters, and anglers. “Our audience craves action and knowledge, but we also understand the premium they place on…

MOST HUNTERS AND SHOOTING ENTHUSIASTS know that United States President Theodore Roosevelt (1858 – 1919) was an avid hunter. He worked briefly as a big-game hunter and guide in the American West in the mid- to late 1880s, and his African safari of 1909 is famous and well documented. Some may not know that Roosevelt was a sickly child with debilitating asthma who overcame his health problems with a strenuous lifestyle and developed a “cowboy” persona defined by robust masculinity. This column is not about Roosevelt’s exploits; instead, it’s about the man who guided Roosevelt on two famous bear hunts. The first of those hunts took place in Mississippi during November of 1902, and it was led by a seasoned bear hunter/hunting guide by the name of Holt Collier. Collier…

Q. I ENJOYED JAKE EDMONDSON’S REPORT ON SMITH & WESSON’S new-for-2024 Model 1854 lever-action rifle that was printed in the May 2024 issue of Shooting Times. It looks like a very nice rifle. I noted that he mentioned the antique Volcanic pistol that the early Smith & Wesson company produced as sort of the foundation for the new rifle. I’d like to know more about the old Volcanic pistol design. What can the experts tell me about it? Tom Josephs Via email A. As I wrote in that review, in 1852, Horace Smith and D.B. Wesson began their first partnership in Norwich, Connecticut, and formed a company to build firearms parts and firearms. Two years later, in 1854, they received a patent for a lever-action repeater that fed ammunition from…

THE WORD “ASSUME” IS OFTEN CONSTRUED TO be a descriptive acronym, i.e., doing so can make an “ass” (out of ) “you” (and) “me.” Deciding something or implementing a directive based on an incorrect assumption can often cause an unexpected event or result. I expect we’ve all experienced situations when assuming something led to a mistake. Hopefully, the results are usually only startling at most or just embarrassing. But when it comes to handloading, assuming something can be unsafe. Here are a few examples. I met Bart Skelton, son of longtime ST writer Skeeter Skelton, years ago at an NRA annual meeting. Bart himself was a well-known contributor to several shooting sports publications including ST. We corresponded occasionally over the years, discussing guns and reloading. He called one day to…

BY THE TIME YOU READ THIS, THE STORY OF RCBS changing hands will be old news indeed, but we work far ahead in the magazine business, and as I write this in June, RCBS has been owned by the Hodgdon Powder Co. for less than a month. It would be going too far to say I’m shocked at the news, but it’s certainly true that I’m shocked at how old I’ve become—at least, if you measure age in the number of times I’ve watched RCBS change hands. This is the third—or maybe the fourth time? When I was born, RCBS was an independent small business in California pioneering the production of loading dies and handloading equipment. Fred Huntington Sr. was the founder, in 1943, and the name RCBS came from…