Innholdsfortegnelse for December/January 2025-26 i Shooting Times

I JUST READ TERRY WIELAND’S “GUNSMOKE” COLUMN ABOUT HIS STE- vens Model 45. I enjoyed it very much. I love articles about old firearms, so I always enjoy his writings. He said he might like a smaller cartridge than the .357 Maximum that he had the extra barrel chambered for. I think a pistol I have might be a good choice for another barrel. It’s chambered for a wildcat called the .270 Max. It’s the .357 Maximum necked down to 0.277 inch. I have used it for years in IHMSA Big Bore U.S. That is standing out to 200 meters. It’s a very accurate cartridge. Unfortunately, at 72, I’m not able to shoot it competitively anymore and plan on selling it. I believe it is a well-known-enough wildcat that a…

ADOPTED AMID SIGNIFICANT ANGST BY AMERI- can designers, this Norwegian-engineered rifle was the first standard-issue repeating rifle authorized for the U.S. Army. It was a five-round, repeating bolt-action rifle with a unique rotary magazine fed through a massive side loading gate. When this rifle was new, it came with a new cartridge—the .30-40 Krag, a.k.a. .30 Army, which drove a 220-grain cupro-nickel jacketed roundnose bullet at about 2,000 fps. In their attempt to move U.S. Army rifle performance into the next era, both rifle and cartridge fell short. The action wasn’t super strong. That 220-grain RN projectile was slow and didn’t shoot flat. The .30-40 Krag cartridge case had a large rim—a holdover from lever-action and single-shot designs that would soon prove to be obsolete and problematic. Colloquially known as…

TO MARK THE HISTORIC 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF BURRIS FULLFIELD RIFLE- scopes, the company has unveiled the completely redesigned fifth generation of Fullfield scopes and is offering six new models. The new Fullfield scopes are built lighter, shorter, and stronger, and they are designed for unmatched maneuverability in the field. They are precision-crafted with fully multi-coated lenses for exceptional clarity and maximum light transmission. They feature one-inch or 30mm main tubes, an improved proprietary 4X zoom system, high-performance glass, and the registered Burris Knob Synergy, which according to the company makes it easy to upgrade the elevation knob to more advanced, feature-rich systems, including custom ballistic knobs. The fifth-generation Fullfield scopes are offered in 2-8X 35mm (1-inch diameter main tube, 13.5 to 14.1 ounces, 9.75 inches long), 2.5-10X 42mm (1-inch-diameter main…

AT ITS CORE, BALLISTICS IS A NUMBERS game. Testing generates numbers that are meaningless without tools that, in the case of ammo, create safety-forward testing and evaluation protocols. This requires statistical analysis. Previously, I’ve written about the importance of proper sample size in accuracy testing. That’s statistics at its most basic. Now I will look at how advanced statistical methods ensure your ammo is safely within spec. Ammunition is a consumable product that requires destructive testing. If a company loads 100 cases of ammo and tests every cartridge, there is nothing left to ship. That’s a bad business plan. We need tools that allow a small but representative test sample to confidently predict if the entire production run is in spec. Statistics hands us proven sampling and analysis tools for…

SMITH & WESSON HAS PERIODICALLY OFFERED unique versions of its revolvers they call Mountain Guns. As the name implies, these handguns are intended to pack in the mountains and are generally conceived as defensive firearms for threatening bears and any other troublesome four-legged creatures that might come your way. The idea for the Mountain Gun started in the 1980s after Tommy Campbell and Ross Seyfried shared their thoughts on what features from past revolvers they considered comprised the perfect revolver. Both men were top shooters, and Tommy was an S&W employee, so there was a lot of experience to draw on. According to Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, the first time Smith & Wesson offered a .44 Magnum Mountain Gun was in 1993. That was a limited production, and…

IT IS NOW MORE THAN A CENTURY—108 YEARS, to be precise—since Walter Winans, the acclaimed pistolero, author, and champion of dueling as an alternative to overburdened law courts, pronounced the revolver dead and as good as buried. The semiautomatic pistol, said Winans, “now rules the day” and within a decade the trusty old wheelgun “would be no more.” Well, to paraphrase Mark Twain, rumors of the revolver’s death have been greatly exaggerated. New ones are landing in the market on a regular basis, from super-powerful beasts for hunting big game to my current pet, Smith & Wesson’s Model 432 UC in .32 H&R Magnum. The UC stands for “Ultimate Carry,” and I’m not about to argue. Of course, I’ve been a sucker for .32s generally—rifles, pistols, you name it—for as…

Q. SOMETIME IN THE LAST SIX OR SEVEN MONTHS SHOOTING TIMES ran an article on a joint venture between Ed Brown Products and Springfield Armory called the Fueled Prodigy. I can’t find my copy of that magazine, and I’m interested in the gun, so would you please reproduce the specifications and the shooting results charts? I promise to keep the information this time. Max Casey Via email A. We’re happy to reproduce that information for you, Mr. Casey. I’ll remind you that the Fueled Prodigy is the first joint venture between the Springfield and the Ed Brown companies, and our writer who reviewed the pistol (Joseph von Benedikt) said it looks, feels, handles, and shoots like a full custom 1911 pistol, and it’s his favorite of all the various double-stack 1911-type…

I RECENTLY WRAPPED UP SEVERAL DAYS OF T&E at the range with a suppressed Ruger AR-556 pistol topped with a Burris red-dot optic. I have to admit, it was an experience like I’d never had before. Two friends were ready and willing to help me with the firing of a couple hundred rounds of test loads. Of course, like the children’s farming fable, I did all the reloading while they enjoyed doing almost all the shooting. Until recently, I’d never thought about acquiring a suppressor. Then Ruger offered an AR-556 pistol with an arm brace. It was introduced chambered for 5.56 NATO/.223 Remington, and then it was offered in .300 Blackout (BLK). This version delivers heavier bullets at supersonic velocities and even heavier ones subsonically with less flash and much…

WE’VE PROFILED SEVERAL OTHER SHOOTING, HUNTING, AND FISH- ing shows that are available at MyOutdoorTV.com, but one we’d like to draw readers’ attention to this time is one of our more specialized shows. It’s called Wild Upland, and it’s a Gun Dog production. Wild Upland is an “aspirational production dedicated to wingshooting adventure and the gun dogs that sustain the action.” This show blends applicable dog training tactics, lessons in canine health, and hunting how-to, giving viewers the opportunity to apply such tips to their own “legend-worthy” pursuits. It’s hosted by Kali Parmley, associate publisher of Gun Dog magazine, and it features passionate hunters and their well-trained bird dogs as they pursue wild game across America’s untamed landscapes. At the time of this writing, three seasons of Wild Upland are…

EXPANDING ON SOMETHING TERRY WIELAND wrote in his “Gunsmoke” column in this issue of Shooting Times, I’m profiling a unique American shooter who had an intriguing life story. Walter Winans won Olympic medals as a shooter and as a sculptor, the only American to do so. He also was a painter, a horse breeder, and a writer. Walter William Winans was born on April 5, 1852, to Americans William Louis Winans and Maria Ann de la Rue at the Nikolaevsky Railway Works in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the time, William was in charge of building the first major railroad in Russia. He succeeded, became very wealthy, and settled in England, never returning to the United States. Walter was raised in St. Petersburg and Kent, England. He took the oath of…