Guns Magazine articles from January 2009

Guns Magazine archives from January 2009

Makes me wanna ...(CROSSFIRE: LETTERS TO GUNS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... Conner, I'm sick and danged tired of you making me cry. No, that's a lie--I'm sick and danged proud of you for making me cry. The Vet in my family is from a recent war, fought in the shifting sands... my stepson Eddie. He's been safely...

United we stand.(CROSSFIRE: LETTERS TO GUNS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... I am an avid hunter, shooter and gun collector. In your last issue, I read the article about Kimber donating a large sum ($600K) to the NRA. I know some other companies in the gun industry, such as Midway, have also donated to the NRA and...

Shell shucker.(CROSSFIRE: LETTERS TO GUNS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... Just got finished reading Clint's article on "Remington's Masterpiece" wherein he rightly discussed the "... limited ammunition capacity..." of the pump gun. There is a slight offset to the disadvantage, however, as long as you stick with a...

Two classics.(CROSSFIRE: LETTERS TO GUNS)(Letter to the editor)
January 1, 2009... Back when the world was flat (it still is) out of the West came two knights to do battle over their respective choice of weapons. They were called Sir Skeeter and Sir Long Bill. They parried every once in a while in print with their ideas. ...

Back to basics: no one advances until they master the basics.(HANDGUNS)
January 1, 2009... I'm in the process of updating my resume. It isn't short. I've been around for a while, and taken a heckuva lot of firearms training in the last 3-1/2 decades or so. I retired from the "pro tour" of competitive handgun shooting a long time ago,...

It's broke! Or is it? Who am I to say?(RANGING SHOTS)
January 1, 2009... I recently did a column on a modification to my favorite polymer pistol the Springfield XD--when Springfield Armory added on a thumb safety to the XD system. Bluntly, it didn't do anything for me, but I at least grasp the marketing part where...

What's with the WRF? It's back and it's still viable.(RIMFIRES)
January 1, 2009... Scrounging through my drawer full of .22 cartridges the other day, gave me pause to wonder why certain 19th Century .22 cartridges made it and survived into the 21st while others met an untimely demise and vanished into the dust bin of history....

Reloading the .30 Winchester centerfire: today, we just call it the .30-30.(HANDLOADING)
January 1, 2009... If there has been a more popular American rifle cartridge than the .30-30 offered over the past nearly 115 years, I certainly don't know what it is. Winchester's Model 1894 lasted for 110 years with well over 7.5 million being produced and...

Click it: don't guess.(RIFLEMAN)
January 1, 2009... The steel target was about 8" wide and nearly 600 yards away. The shooter sat down at the bench, adjusted the turrets on the target scope, aimed and fired. A little over two seconds later the clang of a hit came floating back. Three more shots...

The PPSH41 submachine gun: rude and crude, but way too effective.(MONTANA MUSINGS)
January 1, 2009... When telling people I've bought several historical submachine guns, the conversations mostly go like this. Me speaking, "I've bought an American M1 Thompson from 1942, a German MP40 from 1941, and a British STEN gun from 1943." Up to that point...

What price power? Sometimes magnification is more curse than blessing.(OPTICS)
January 1, 2009... Over the past several decades, shooters have become enamored with more powerful cartridges, faster bullets, lighter rifles and optics with big X's, that is, more magnification. Are they right or are they just chasing the latest fad? To the...

Finland's Model 39: the ultimate Mosin-Nagant.(SURPLUS LOCKER)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Finnish Mosin-Nagants entered the milsurp stream several years ago and deserve a chapter all their own. While the Mosin-Nagant was Finland's basic military arm from 1918 to 1944, Finland never produced an M-N...

MTM shooter's range box: keeping it all organized.(OUT of the BOX)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I have never treated gun cleaning as a chore. In addition to giving me a chance to thoroughly inspect my guns, it breeds a comfortable familiarity and gives me a chance to wind down after a day of shooting. What has...

A true masterpiece: Volkmann Custom 1911.(OUT of the BOX)
January 1, 2009... The statement "one masterpiece at a time" sounds somewhat like a flashy marketing gig especially in today's world of "we make a million but they're all special and so are you!" kind of attitude. Every once in a while, though, I come across the...

No sights.(QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS)
January 1, 2009... Q: The article on the Ruger Charger in the September issue by John Taffin was very good until he stated the Charger comes without sights. That is my reason for not getting one. If they were to put peep sights on the little Ruger, sales...

Moon clips.(QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS)
January 1, 2009... Q: Why isn't every gun manufacturer of DA wheel guns offering the ability to load them with moon clips? Moon clips aren't new. Would it be that difficult to make the changes on existing revolvers with swing-out cylinders? Dave Bonaccorsi...

Sweet and Sauer semi-auto: the new Model S303 .300 Winchester Magnum.
January 1, 2009... The Sauer $303 is produced by the German firm of J.P. Sauer & Sohn long known for quality products including Sig Sauer semi-auto pistols. The Model $303 is the first semi-auto rifle in the company's more than 250-year history. No doubt about...

FN's Spacey bullpup: is this the short, handy rifle of the future?(Cover story)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In today's highly mobile, mechanized style of combat in which you often find yourself cramped inside an armored vehicle or chopper and weighed down with body armor, ammunition, grenades and whatnot, a compact weapon...

Thumb buster love: 40 years with the Colt SAA.
January 1, 2009... The summer of 2008 marks my 40th year spent studying, collecting, and above all shooting the Colt Single Action Army revolver. Back in 1968 as a summer job between my first and second year of college, I was hustling freight on the docks of a...

The wide, wide world of the .22 long rifle: America's classic rimfire handguns.
January 1, 2009... Breathes there a man with soul so dead who never to himself has said, "1 need a good .22 pistol, or two or three or more"? Actually I know of one well-known writer and friend who doesn't own a .22 of any persuasion, long, short or in between....

The successful straight pull: the Austro-Hungarian Model 1895 Mannlicher.
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Franz looked back down the cliff, loosening his grip on the rope with his left hand in order to allow a little blood to flow back into his fingers. The rope was taut with his weight and his two companions, Johannes...

The lady of the gun.(RIGHTS WATCH)
January 1, 2009... She looks like she could have been my mother, or perhaps yours, if your parents were of "The Greatest Generation." In one sepia photo, she drapes a dark coat across her arm. In the other she's wearing it. She stands by the side of a house, or...

NRA's Frank Brownell Museum.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... The Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest, housed at the NRA's Whittington Center, opened last August 30. The grand opening highlights 130 firearms contributing to the exploration and development of the southwest, specifically northern New...

NSSF passes SCTP torch.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... NSSF on Friday passed the torch of its popular Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) to the newly formed Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF). A key goal for NSSF this year has been to develop a strategy to encourage significant growth...

Corpsman saves civilians.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... On the morning of July 15, 2008, as Seaman Apprentice Brian T. Earle sat half-asleep in the passenger's side of a car traveling down a Southern California interstate, the last thing on his mind was the possibility of needing to save the lives...

Texas school district approves CCW.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... Accolades are being given to the Harrold, Texas, school district trustees and superintendent for changing policy to allow properly licensed staff and teachers with permission from the school administration to carry concealed handguns to protect...

Marines apply hunting tactics.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... Marines at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Camp Pendleton, California, are sharpening their ability to detect potentially dangerous people under the tutelage of both police personnel and big, game hunters, reports the Associated Press. Combat...

Sage grouse announcement.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... The Bureau of Land Management's announced efforts to conserve sage grouse habitat in northeastern Wyoming's Powder River Basin have drawn praise from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and the North American Grouse Partnership. The...

Steel challenge.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... US Army Marksmanship Unit shooter K.C. Eusebio won the Steel Challenge World Speed Shooting Championships, held last August in Piru, Calif. Eusebio won with a record time of 79.16. Kay Clark-Miculek won the women's division with a time of...

US shooters win.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 2008 Olympics have drawn to a close in Beijing. The US Olympic team for shooting turned out an outstanding performance at the Games. earning six medals to double the medal count from Athens four years ago....

USN, USCG capture semi-submersible.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... Sailors from USS McInerney (FFG 8) and US Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment 404 (LEDET) intercepted a self-propelled semi-submersible (SPSS) carrying seven tons of cocaine last Sept. 13. Sailors intercepted the 59' SPSS in a nighttime...

Army Olympic gold.(VIEWS NEW AND REVIEWS)
January 1, 2009... Army Soldiers, Pfc. Vincent Hancock and Spc. Glenn Eller, proudly announce, "Mission accomplished." Their assignment: bring home a gold medal from the Beijing Olympics. Both Soldiers are members of the US Army Marksmanship Unit based out of...

Tac-Pac.(QUARTERMASTER)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Contemporary thought moves toward having many modular devices to add to weapons platforms, so the equipment might address a broad spectrum of uses. Often in reality these multiple-use devices wind up not doing...

Birchwood-Casey's Universal Gun Cleaning System.(QUARTERMASTER)
January 1, 2009... Everyone should have two or more portable cleaning kits--one for the camp, truck and boat and one for the pack. Birchwood-Casey has just come up with the finest, toughest camp, truck and boat kit I have ever had the pleasure of using. The...

A modern American collectible: the Wickliffe Rifle was an elegant, but short lived single shot.(A GUNS MEDLEY)
January 1, 2009... This story really started about 30-years ago when I was a young police sergeant in Austin, Texas, with a wife and two small children. My funds for hunting were limited, but I had managed to save enough from overtime to purchase a new deer...

Catalog No. 61 from Brownells.(NEW PRODUCTS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Once again the folks at Brownells have topped themselves. This brand new catalog comes in at a whopping 576 pages. It is filled with more than 36,000 total products and over 1.100 of them are new listings. Just a few...

Cleaning Kits for 37/40 mm from CJ Weapons.(NEW PRODUCTS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CJ Weapons announces two new cleaning Kits for the 37/40 mm weapons system popular with law enforcement and military. The Alpha Kit. made for lethal use of the 37/40mm includes five round cotton felt disks with a...

Snapslide holster from CrossBreed Holsters, LLC.(NEW PRODUCTS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The CrossBreed Snapslide is a blending of the traditional slide type holster and CrossBreed's hybrid concept of leather and kydex. With its flat back and well spaced belt loops, the SnapSlide pulls your gun in very...

The Archangel from ProMag.(NEW PRODUCTS)
January 1, 2009... The Archangel 5.56 Ruger 10-22 carbine stock package is both exciting and new from ProMag. The standard Archangel package includes: a dual Picatinny rail free-float forearm a barrel accessory with rail and bayonet lug, upper and lower receiver...

Bravo tactical knife from Buck Knives.(NEW PRODUCTS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For those who need an extra-rugged, rock-solid folder, Buck introduces the 850 Bravo to their tactical line. Made in America, the new Bravo features a very smooth 1-hand open/close system, including a thumb stud on...

The 8 Pack from Ed Brown Products, Inc.(NEW PRODUCTS)
January 1, 2009... The Ed Brown 8 Pack was engineered as a true 8-round magazine. It has all the features of the original 7-round magazine that has proven itself time and again over the last century. The magazine tube has been lengthened and the base pad wraps...

"The Iron Mistress" from Tichbourne Knives.(NEW PRODUCTS)
January 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] After Paul Wellman's 1951 book on Jim Bowie was published, Warner Brother's brought the novel to the silver screen staring Alan Ladd. John Beckman, the Art Director on the 1952 film produced a unique knife design...

Tri-Pack/11-Bravo from Desantis Holster & Leather Goods Co.(NEW PRODUCTS)
January 1, 2009... The compact new Tri-Pack magazine pouch style M26 carries three spare mags in the least amount of space. It will mate up with any 11-Bravo, as well as any standard Molle platform. Built from sturdy cordura nylon, it is available in a number of...

You can win! Charter Arms Patriot .327 Federal Magnum revolver with knife, Wiley X PT-3 shooting glass system and Howard Leight hearing protection!
January 1, 2009... Your day at the range will be much more fun shooting your new Charter Arms Patriot .327 Federal Magnum with your hearing protected by a pair of Howard Leight Ultraslim earmuffs with a noise reduction rating of 23 dB and your eyes protected by a...

Tap, point, tap: first, my country ...(ODD ANGRY SHOT)
January 1, 2009... This isn't about politics. It's not about oil, or WMD's or who lied or didn't lie about what. It's sure as heck not about Democrats or Republicans or what passes for "truth" around Foggy Bottom. This is about something far more important--to...

Someday ... sometimes comes.(CAMPFIRE TALES)
January 1, 2009... As I sit down to write this, I have been on this earth 25,284 days. recently heard of a fellow who could remember every day of his life in minute detail. That must be a terrible burden! Most of us do not want to remember every day and certainly...