Guns Magazine articles from December 2003

Guns Magazine archives from December 2003

Letter of the month.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... Editor, I'm a 25-year reader and 10-year subscriber to GUNS and American Handgunner magazines, and I am a big fan of John Taffin (keep up the great work). The reason I'm writing is to let you know about the very helpful service I...

Taking action.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... I think I have a way for gun owners to "wake up" the politicians. I have been a regular contributor to the Republican Party and pro-gun candidates for many years. For the last few weeks, however, whenever a solicitation comes in the mail, I...

Credit where it's due.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... I would like to pass on the experience I had with J. Dewey Company. I received a defective 17C36 one piece rod from Brownells and called J. Dewey Company and explained the problem. A gentleman said to keep it for use on .22s and he would send...

Note of appreciation.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... I just received your October, 2003 issue (at my law office). Thank you John Taffin. Most Lawyers that I know are gentlemen, many enjoying shooting, hunting etc. Thanks for realizing that real lawyers are not what you see on television. ...

A one gun man.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... I've found some of GUNS reader's wish lists most interesting, but as for me, my favorite guns are all "Elmer's." Most people call it the .44 Magnum, but I call it the ".44 Keith." If they don't understand, they don't matter. Gary Paulson...

Shared experiences.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... Dear Mr. Taffin- Your articles in the August and September issues of GUNS particularly struck a chord with me. I have "also been lucky enough to have met Charles Askins, Jr., Walter Walsh and Bill Jordan. It was a privilege and a...

Kudos to Springfield.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... I have a Springfield Armory stainless 1911 .45ACP that had been "repaired" by an incompetent gunsmith. I contacted the Springfield customer service department, which corrected my problem in very short order. Other firearm companies should...

Blue Wonder is a wonder.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... First, I need to apologize for not taking full advantage of your magazine. I usually only read it to try for the Gun Of The Month and for John Taffin's Campfire Tales. Recently, I decided to make a day of cleaning my guns, and was heart...

Conduct counts.(On A Positive Note)
December 1, 2003... In the small community where I reside, there lives a talented artisan who crafts quite realistic cutout plywood signs. His work is popular. You'll see it at the local dairy, at the car wash in the neighboring town, etc. I don't know who this...

Seen at the 2003 Shot Show.(Shotgunner)
December 1, 2003... The shotgunning world is full of surprises, that is, if the 2003 Shot Show held in balmy Orlando was any example. As always them were new models of all varieties, mostly minor variations of a theme, but what is always interesting are the new...

Two useful shooting positions.(Rifleman)
December 1, 2003... Jackknife sitting position The "jackknife" is a useful variation of the silting position, though rarely seen either in pictures or in practice. One of the few times I've seen it illustrated is in Elmer Keith's classic book Keith's Rifles...

Carl Zeiss Tripler.(Quartermaster)
December 1, 2003... A spotting scope is a great tool to have, and nicely complements a binocular and riflescope. However, the truth of the matter is it's probably also the first optic to be left behind when weight becomes an issue. For such situations where you...

Merit adjustable iris disk.(Quartermaster)
December 1, 2003... The shooting world is full of new products, but many of the very best are hardly new. Some 69 years ago, avid shooter and toolmaker Ralph Albertson formed the Merit Gunsight Company. His goal was to produce a variable-aperture sighting iris to...

RIMZ moon clips.(Quartermaster)
December 1, 2003... Scott Beckham of Beckham Product Design, has created advanced plastic component designs for the medical, commercial and aerospace industries. His credits include the pilot control grips for the F-18 Fighter and B-1 bomber, disposable medical...

What zero for your fighting rifle?(Ranging Shots)
December 1, 2003... One of the many myths and legends that abound promulgates the thought that many rifle fights take place at long range. Conceptually this sounds good and we all like it because it satisfies our ego to shoot and hit targets at long range. In...

Straight from the shoulder (holster).(Handguns)
December 1, 2003... Shoulder holsters aren't always as concealable as lay people think. Bat Masterson's older brother Ed and one Jack Wagner could have told this to the world, had they survived the latter's "'shoulder holster indiscretion." On the night of April...

Bullet casting.(Handloader)
December 1, 2003... When I was a serious bullseye pistol shooter I spent countless hours over a hot lead pot casting the bullets I needed in both .38 and .45 calibers. I scrounged wheelweights from tire shops, melted them in a plumbers pot, poured them into one...

Reloading ... in small quarters.
December 1, 2003... Having always enjoyed the luxury of having a well stocked 4x8 foot reloading table located in the basement or more recently in a spare bedroom, I was seriously challenged recently when preparing our house for sale. The spare bedroom, a.k.a....

No two ways about it.
December 1, 2003... Gun guys are schizophrenic. At least that's my explanation for the things we do. For example, when I ordered my fancy custom .45 automatic, I wanted a "de-horning" job to eliminate all the sharp edges, but I also ordered sharp checkering, Go...

Gary Reeder's ultimate .500: a gun too far, at least for some.
December 1, 2003... If the old adage, "bigger is better," is true, how far call it go? The answer may be near. I think the late great Elmer Keith originated the art of handgun hunting. At least my first exposure to what a handgun was capable of at extended ranges...

A second look: the potent .30-378 Weatherby Magnum offers potential for the hunter who can use it.
December 1, 2003... I've never been all that keen on the "super" .30 caliber magnum rifles. The reader should take that bias into consideration when reading this piece. In my long career, I have owned but three big .30s and I have two of the three in my battery as...

Weight watcher: Kimber's Tactical Custom II embodies everything we love in a good 1911, while shaving ounces from our CCW burden.
December 1, 2003... Let's not mince words here. This is a truly superior 1911 pistol. It has every feature you really need in a serious fightin' gun, and a few you may not really need, but which most of us seem to want. It's beautifully fitted, feels great in the...

Doing the right thing.
December 1, 2003... Shooting is an active and vibrant sport. but ifs no secret that in recent years fewer young people have been drawn to the sport than in years past. Many of us have said, "Something should be done about this," but too often that's where out...

Crossover cutters!
December 1, 2003... One of the most interesting trends occurring in the cutlery industry today is the return of the fixed blade knife to prominence. The straight knife had been largely overlooked since the mid-1990s, when the tactical folder market turned into a...

Biggest big-bore boomer.
December 1, 2003... Before the advent of smokeless powder, bigger was always better. Going back to muzzleloading days, .50 was looked upon as minimum for big game hunting. In fret, most fish and game departments today set .50 as the smallest caliber for hunting...

Too much of a good thing? Many shooters seek more power and less weight, but is S&W's Model 329PD approaching the limit?
December 1, 2003... When yon see a Smith & Wesson revolver with the numbers 29 in the nomenclature it can only be one thing. It shoots the cartridge Eastwood made famous. While the .44 Magnum can no longer claim to be the world's most powerful handgun, it remains...

Still more wish lists.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... 1) S&W to now take the Model 500 revolver and shorten the frame and cylinder by .375 inch and chamber it as an eight-shot .44 Mag., six-shot .454 Casull, .480 Ruger or .475 Linebaugh. 2) S&W to buy the rights to manufacture the great...

Clint tells true.(Crossfire: letters to GUNS)
December 1, 2003... I just finished reading Clint Smith's recent column on "The Good Consumer." I recently purchased a Charles Daly ECS 1911 .45 pistol. I had been looking for a compact pistol for awhile, and after looking over many different models and...

Magnum Lite graphite rifle.(Out Of The Box)
December 1, 2003... To say that the Winchester short magnums have become popular is like saying King Kong was taller than average. Everyone is jumping on the band wagon. One manufacturer chambering rifles for these new calibers is Magnum Research. Their approach...

Les Baer AR-15.(Out Of The Box)
December 1, 2003... It wasn't long ago that common knowledge told us that semiautomatic rifles were not capable of anything more than mediocre accuracy. You would have been laughed out of town if you said an AR-15 could shoot. My how things have changed. In a...

Stampede--Beretta's new six-gun.(Out Of The Box)
December 1, 2003... A fair assessment of a product includes a negative side to balance the teeter-totter of opinion. And se I pondered over the less favorable aspects of the new Beretta Stampede single-action revolver until tiny beads of sweat formed on my brow....

New Taurus knives.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From Benchmade Taurus and Benchmade have partnered to produce a new line of folding knives. The Taurus Tracker Manual and the Taurus Full Auto will each be limited to a production run of 1,000. The Tracker features a 325-inch black steel...

New A-5 stock.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From McMillan McMillan Fiberglass Stocks introduces the new A-5 stock for tactical rifles. Key features include a wider forend for a more stable prone and off-hand position with a vertical pistol grip, an ergonomically designed comb for a...

Digital Powder System.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From Lyman Products Lyman's 1200 DPS Digital Powder System combines a precision electronic powder scale and an automatic powder dispenser into one convenient unit. The memory in the DPS stores up to 20 loads, which may be accessed by...

New Ultravid binoculars.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From Leica Leica's new Ultravid binoculars deliver unsurpassed performance in low light conditions. The entire line features reliable performance and a housing made from nearly indestructible high-grade magnesium. The center axis shaft is...

Safari binoculars.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From Steiner Steiner's Safari line offers the outdoor enthusiast a versatile, high-performance binocular in a rugged and dependable package. Offered in both the subcompact 8x22 and compact 8x30, the Safari line features UV-blocking optics...

42mm series binoculars.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From Minox The new 42mm lightweight binocular series from Minox features aspherical lenses for a sharp, high contrast, detailed image over the entire field of view. The ergonomically designed aluminum body fits naturally in the hand and...

Assisted technology knives.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From SOG Specialty SOG's new Assisted Technology (S.A.T) knives come in a selection of vivid colors and five models. The Rainbow Flash I and II models feature a black Zytel synthetic handle, plain edge blade and pistol lock and pivot. The...

Revolver.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From Cimarron Arms Cimarron Arms and the Single Action Shooting Society have teamed to produce the new Evil Roy Cowboy Action competition revolver. The Evil Roy uses the tooling of the famed Cimarron Modal P Cowboy Comp revolver and such...

Baikal ported shotgun.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From European American Armory The Baikal Model IZH18 Max ported barrel shotgun, imported from Russia by European American Armory, is a versatile sporting shotgun with an attractive price tag. Important features include hammer forged...

New Xpert steel shotshells.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From Winchester Winchester Ammunition introduces Xpert, a new line of value priced high-velocity 12-gauge steel shot loads for waterfowl hunting. Xpert delivers impressive velocities of up to 1,550 fps. Xpert is available in 2.75, 3.5 and...

New .45 ACP.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From CZ America Adco Sales and CZ America announce the arrival of their new Modal TT .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol. The convertible nature of the design will allow for the TT to be converted to 9mm Luger and .40 S&W calibers. Key...

Limited edition folders.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From KnifeArt.Com KnifeArt.Com has commissioned renowned designers Chris Reeve and William Henry to create a pair of stunning limited edition gentleman's folders. The Mnandi from Chris Reeve features a premium stabilized natural giraffe...

Smith & Wesson watches.(New Products)
December 1, 2003... From Campco Campco, the exclusive U.S. distributor of Smith & Wesson watches, offers a line of sturdy and attractive field models for outdoor enthusiasts. The Modal SWW-18 and SWW-72 carabineer watches may be worn on a belt loop, attached...

Gun shows: gettin' burnt and findin' bargains.(Campfire Tales)
December 1, 2003... First day of school: September 1945. First job: Unloading freight from trailers and boxcars. First kiss: A gentleman never tells. First love: 6th Grade, Nancy Cacioppo, and she never knew 1 existed. First trip to town all alone: 1948 to see The...