Guns Magazine articles from May 2009

Guns Magazine archives from May 2009

GUNS ad.(CROSSFIRE: LETTERS TO GUNS)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... In our current and constant struggle with the anti-gun faction of our population, I feel it is very important to present gun owners in the best possible light. I am not sure the photo of Mr. Venturino in the Hawaiian shirt and German helmet on...

Get real.(CROSSFIRE: LETTERS TO GUNS)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... Holt Bodinson chose to ignore the obvious in his "Gettin' The Lead Out" piece in the March issue. While comparing the "inconsequential" difference between the two eco-rounds he tested, he makes no note of the fact both groups shown are...

Insults.(CROSSFIRE: LETTERS TO GUNS)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... I read with interest the e-mail from Sam Pikula in the March issue. I found the first part of his letter a bit negative, but my main objection was the last half of his last paragraph. I fail to see how Mike Venturino's corpulence has anything...

John Barsness.(CROSSFIRE: LETTERS TO GUNS)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... Thank you for helping me find John Barsness again. I have been a reader of GUNS and Rifle magazines from the beginning. For years when each magazine arrived, I would retire to my "reading room" and turn to the back page first and read either...

Cartridge names.(CROSSFIRE: LETTERS TO GUNS)(Letter to the editor)
May 1, 2009... A lot of folk find cartridge designations confusing. Now I see we have another designation, 6.5x284 Norma. Do we really need another format to further confuse new shooters? Shouldn't the designation really be 6.5-.284 Norma? If we follow the...

Monster mag: the .30-378 Weatherby and other thoughts.(RIFLEMAN)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Moderation isn't necessarily a virtue for a gunwriter. The easiest path to fame is to be controversial, to take extreme positions or attack something popular. For example, "The .30-06 is the most useless cartridge...

Scope savvy Part I: reticle hashmarks.(OPTICS)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Reticle hashmarks or bars have taken the market by storm. I can't think of a manufacturer who does not include them in some form in their line of riflescopes,...

Zip guns: spring in the air.(RANGING SHOTS[TM])
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Spring is in the air as you read this and, in our part of the country, we start to break out our zip guns anticipating hordes of ground rats popping up to begin their yearly ritual of finding girlfriends and doing...

Dummy handguns for dummies: inert, realistic duplicates of handguns have a number of valid uses.(HANDGUNS)
May 1, 2009... Forgive the title. Those "For Dummies" books you see all over the place seem vaguely insulting, don't they? They bothered me until I got a "Computers for Dummies" book and realized I didn't understand it... sigh. Dummy guns have been...

Eureka! It's a Steyr-Daimler-Puch Zephyr.(RIMFIRES)
May 1, 2009... Did you ever lust for a particular .22, but because of cost, availability or just plain bad luck were never, it seemed, destined to own the treasure of you dreams? For decades, the Steyr Zephyr has been as elusive to me as the soft, gentle...

A salute to our military: from Shiloh Sharps, with respect.(MONTANA MUSINGS)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Various American firearms manufacturers spend their funds in interesting ways. One donated money to the Obama campaign, another has backed a Nascar racing team. One of my favorite gunmakers has taken a different and...

A primer on primers: rifle and handgun primers start everything going.(HANDLOADING)
May 1, 2009... Right now it's difficult to buy any kind of primer, but there are still primers out there, for sale or barter. Most handgun and rifle shooters are happy with whatever they can get, but differences between primers sometimes--not always--make a...

C'est magnifique! France's 8x50R ammo returns.(SURPLUS LOCKER[TM])
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With Grafs recent run of brand new French 8x50R Lebel brass and Lee's simultaneous production of very affordable 8mm Lebel reloading dies, grab those old, milsurp Lebels and Berthiers and out them back to work. ...

From mighty to mini: Magnum Research, better known for cannons, gives us the Micro Desert Eagle .380.(OUT of the BOX[TM])
May 1, 2009... Small easy to conceal .380s have become exceptionally popular lately. Now Magnum Research, well known for the Desert Eagle semi-automatic and BFR single-action sixgun, both of which can be described as rather large and powerful handguns, has...

.44 Magnum.(Q and A)
May 1, 2009... Q: I'm thinking about venturing into the lever-action rifle world. It seems to me a rifle so configured in .44 Magnum would be ideal. I could use full-power loads for the short-range deer hunting I sometimes engage in, and .44 Specials for home...

Caliber?(Q and A)
May 1, 2009... Q: I have what I believe is a .300 H&H Magnum. The only markings on the barrel say 300M. I have been told I can't fire a .300 Win Mag bullet or can I? What is the best way to find out exactly what bullet it fires? Greg via e-mail ...

Carcano values.(Q and A)
May 1, 2009... Q: My great grandfather always kept a Mannlicher Carcano by the side door of his house. As a kid, it was always there and we knew not to touch it. When he died, my grandmother asked if there was anything I wanted of my great grandfathers and I...

Cut how? When a knife is too much or not enough.
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many of us so-called baby boomer types will remember the days when choosing a knife for hunting or camping was relatively easy. Most of us carried a standard stacked-leather-handled sheath knife and a simple utility...

Stealth hunter: the Smith & Wesson Model 629 .44 Magnum takes on a whole new attitude at the performance center.(Cover story)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Sixgunning was changed forever with the introduction of the .44 Magnum in December 1955. I had just turned 17 when I shot my first Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum and, although I wouldn't admit it, I was terribly...

Return of a classic: the new Model 70 Winchester.
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was just too good of a rifle to end up on the scrap heap of history. Born in the middle of the Great Depression, the classic Model 70 soldiered on from 1936 to 1963 in more model and caliber variations than any...

Myth "meats" reality: rifles for African plains game.
May 1, 2009... Perhaps 95 percent of Americans who go on an African safari only hunt "plains game." This means any hoofed animal not considered dangerous, even if it lives in the thornbush instead of out on the plains. Many American hunters firmly believe...

Carbines: the M1, M1A1 & M2.
May 1, 2009... Back in 2008 I wrote a column in these pages about finding a Winchester made World War II Vintage M1 Carbine. It was still in its original 1943 configuration, which is somewhat amazing as the US Government called back most of them after 1945...

Outside choir.(RIGHTS WATCH)
May 1, 2009... Maybe it's the onset of the flu. Perhaps that, in conjunction with the impending inauguration of the most anti-gun president in my lifetime has me in a funk. Whatever the reason, the chronic apathy exhibited by so many gun owners has me low...

The piper still needs paying.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has deployed a Joint Task Force to the small Pacific Island nation of Kiribati to commence Operation Kiribati Assist at the request from the Government of Kiribati to assist in the disposal of World War II...

T-62 tanks add to ANA.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... A deafening roar shakes the earth and clouds of dust fill the air as a giant, metal beast spouts flame and steel from its snout. This is the visage of an old, familiar enemy taken from its master and turned into an ally. For the first time...

Drugs and weapons.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... Royal Marines from 42 Commando, supporting an Afghan Security Forces-led operation, uncovered a sizeable quantity of drugs and weapons in the Nawa area of southern Helmand, Afghanistan, last December. The operation, conducted at night, saw...

Army wins sniper match.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... A team of two Soldiers from the US Army Marksmanship Unit won the 8th Annual International Sniper Competition for the second consecutive year. Sgt. 1st Class Jason M. St. John, the noncommissioned officer in charge of the USAMU Service Pistol...

Tools against Taliban: a vital link.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... Although they ,make up one of the Air Force s smallest career fields, their mission leaves a huge impact on the battlefield and can mean life or death for troops on the ground. Tactical Air Control Party airmen serve as liaisons between...

Commandos lead helicopter assault.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... Last December, Royal Marines pushed deeper into southern Afghanistan s rural Kandahar province with a helicopter assault directly onto insurgent positions, supporting a wider Canadian initiative to redraw the boundaries of ISAF (International...

Control and compliance.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Current battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan conjure up images of Soldiers engaged in combat using the latest in lethal weapons technology. But what about US Forces deployed to countries where peacekeeping is the...

Coltsville National Historic Landmark.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... The Coltsville Historic District in Hartford, Conn., has officially been designated a National Historic Landmark, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne announced last week. Located at the southern edge of downtown Hartford, Coltsville is...

D.C. councilman takes 'first shots'.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... Washington, D.C., Council-member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) traveled to Maryland recently to try something he said he's only tried twice in his life--shooting. Mendelson, who has been involved in writing the city's new gun laws, was one of a...

Royal Navy seizes 23 tonnes of drugs.(VIEWS NEWS AND REVIEWS)
May 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Plymouth-based Royal Navy warships operating in the Gulf region seized a massive 23 tonnes of narcotics last July, which could have been used to fund the insurgency in Afghanistan. The British warships involved...

Single shot vs. AR-15: custom-built rifles are more accurate than repeaters. Oh really? Or ... how I lost another match.(A GUNS MEDLEY)
May 1, 2009... After a stint in the military, I had a strong desire to shoot , Benchrest competition. Why? Well, putting all 5 or 10 bullets in the same hole fascinated me. But alas, no such matches were being held near where I lived, nor did I have any idea...

Nosler custom ammunition.(QUARTERMASTER)
May 1, 2009... For years, Nosier bullets have been held in high esteem by hunters and the Partition bullet in particular was the go-to bullet for hunters desiring deep penetration combined with controlled expansion. The Partition has been with us since 1948...

Nuclear bullets: and cranked concentration.(ODD ANGRY SHOT)
May 1, 2009... (Best of John Connor from our sister publication American Handgunner, originally running in the May/June 2008 issue.) I've warned you guys. Weird things happen in gunfights. You should expect an Elbonian satellite to fall on your head, or a...

The Stoplite tactical light from Sig Sauer.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... Designed as a stand-alone flashlight, the Sig Sauer STOPLITE can be attached to an accessory rail allowing it to double as a vertical grip. A rotary switch operates steady, strobe or accessory functions. Because of its disorienting capacity,...

21st Century San-Mai from Lightfoot knives.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... Ancient San-Mai was a hard metal core with a softer outer casing. Now, Greg Lightfoot has perfected a 21st Century San-Mai with a D-2 core and a Carbon Fiber bonding on the exterior. This combination makes for an unusually lightweight, very...

C4 power LED signature Stringer LED and Stinger DS LED Rechargeable lights from Streamlight.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... Streamlight has introduced enhanced versions of its popular Stinger LED and Stinger DS C LED Rechargeable flashlights, providing law enforcement professionals extraordinary brightness and durability with new C4 LED technology. Boasting up to...

Advanced shooting kit from Action Airgun.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... ActionAirgun is an unprecedented timed-action shooting sport designed to be played each week in your own garage, basement, spare room or clubhouse range. Scores are uploaded to the Internet, where shooters instantly find out how they measure up...

The new P380 from Kahr.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... This ideal concealed carry weapon is the latest addition to Kahr Arm's award winning line of double action only (DAO) micro-compact pistols. Chambered for the .380 ACE the tiny and powerful model KP3833 has a 2.5" barrel and an overall length...

The XTI Procyon tactical rail-mounted LED light from Insight.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... The XTI Procyon, named after one of the brightest stars seen in the night sky, is a simplified multi-function tactical rail-mounted LED light providing dynamic flexibility without confusing complexity. Its stunning 125 lumen high-output LED,...

Hard-hitting air rifles from Stoeger.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... The Stoeger X-Series is an exciting new line of modern high-tech air rifles. Developed Italian engineers and designers, these high-power air rifles embody the fine styling of quality European sporting arms combined with rugged ergonomic design...

Cargo trousers from P.I.R.(NEW PRODUCTS)
May 1, 2009... Here is a new line of durable men's cargo and khaki trousers. Offering many features that appeal to outdoor and shooting sportsmen, these trousers are cut from original WWII uniform designs. All styles of P.I.R. Cargo Trousers are made from...

The learning never stops: Part II: the legacy of TR.(CAMPFIRE TALES)
May 1, 2009... Discovering Theodore Roosevelt literally changed my life. Up to that point in time I had lots of heroes, but they were all found at Saturday matinees in Western movies. The movies were fun, but of course they weren't real. Theodore Roosevelt...