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Cockpit Colt
I really enjoyed reading “Colts In The Cockpit” (April 2018, p. 58) by Anthony Vanderlinden and Luke Mercaldo, and learning a little history about my dad’s Colt .380 hammerless and holster. That gun spent about 40 years in and out of his night stand, and another 40 years in and out of mine. I couldn’t resist taking the attached photo of the excellent-condition Colt and its holster. The holster is a little different than what appears to be a newer one in the article. The markings on it indicate it was made by Brauer Bro.’s Mfg. Co. of St. Louis (and noted as Moose Brands Sporting Goods Model H2 A32 and patent No. 1696708). My dad passed away in 1979 and, unfortunately, I never had the chance to ask him more about how or when he acquired the gun, but, because of the excellent condition, it likely was new at the time. Thanks for continuing to include articles like this one, covering bits and pieces of our fi rearms heritage.
KEN STAUFFER, VIA EMAIL
More On The Marine 1909s
Reading Justin Dyal’s very informative article “Last Of Its Kind: The USMC Model 1909 Colt” (January 2018, p. 74) reminded me of a curious angle on the Corps’ adoption of this gun. When researching for an article on the M1909 that I wrote for the Marine Corps’ historical quarterly, Fortitudine, in the mid-1990s, I found that, while Colt refused to consider any of the Army’s requested minor changes to its “New Service” revolver, the company readily agreed to make a major manufacturing change for the Marine Corps’ small order of 1,300 guns— one-tenth the amount of the Army order!
Although the Corps did “land the landing force” on several occasions in the 1909-1913 time period, the only fi ghting was in the fi rst Nicaragua campaign of 1912. Otherwise, the M1909s stayed in their holsters, and the last photograph that I ever saw of the guns in use was with the Marine Guard at the Portsmouth Naval Prison in 1913.
Colonel Robert Debs Heinl’s acquisition of a number of these revolvers from Haiti, while he was military advisor to “Papa Doc” Duvalier’s government in the late 1950s and early 1960s, is the basis for the most extensive collection of extant M1909s, now in the collection of the National Museum of the Marine Corps. While the regulations of both the Gendarmerie d’Haiti and the later Garde d’Haiti specifi ed “.38 Caliber Revolvers,” the Corps also furnished this native constabulary with the more powerful M1909s.
KEN SMITH-CHRISTMAS, VIA EMAIL
Custom Built
how-to
Build Your Own Precision Bolt-Action Rifle
I just wanted to reach out to Senior Executive Editor Brian C. Sheetz for the excellent, well-written article “Build Your Own Precision Bolt-Action Rifl e” (April 2018, p. 52). I have personally built an AR-15 in .223 Wylde and wanted to attempt a build around either the .224 Valkyrie or 6.5 mm PRC cartridge. Thanks for all the tips and, yes, your info was exactly what I needed for my next boltaction build. Thank you so very much, you have done a great job. I cannot wait to see any handload developments and match-grade factory ammunition testing in the future with your rifl e build. Thanks again; let’s see more articles like this one.
52 April 2018 AmericAn riflemAn AmericAnriflemAn.org April 2018 53
Precision bolt-action rifles used to be exclusively in the realm of custom riflesmiths, but these days they’ve become a legitimate DIY proposition—one that can be deeply rewarding. BRIAN C. SHEETZ, SENIOR EXECUTIVE EDITOR hooters bring all sorts of preferences, prejudices and preconceived notions to our ideas about rifles and related equipment—and nowhere are they more apparent than in the realm of precision bolt-actions. Every nuance is overanalyzed, and discourses abound regarding the best action types, barrels and cartridges. Such firearms have long been the province of professional gunmakers whose methods for achieving the ultimate in accuracy are typically cloaked in mystery. And while many shooters still seek out their expertise and advice, more and more have decided to go it alone and build their own rifles.
That proposition has become increasingly attractive given the wide availability of components for such builds. Despite being from disparate companies, they are usually manufactured with computer-aided techniques to tolerances that result in near-perfect compatibility. Added to that are the Remington Model 700’s status as the de facto dimensional standard in actions along with an explosion of Precision Rifle Series and similar competitions. The result is a cottage industry awash in stocks, barrels and triggers that afford the home gunsmith a unique opportunity to assemble them on a legally transferred receiver into an accurate, powerful, long-range rifle. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the entire process is that it requires no machining or gunsmithing skills on the part of the builder. For years, I had considered having a custom rifle built—going so far as to discuss it at length with more than one gunmaker—but I finally decided on the do-it-yourself (DIY) route because I was convinced it was the only way to end up with exactly the result I envisioned. And although the project covered here resulted in one specific build with unique specifications and capabilities, its larger purpose is to illustrate how simple it is for anyone with a modicum of mechanical ability to put together a precision rifle. After deciding on the role you want the rifle to fulfill, and establishing your budget, make a list of design considerations, select the parts, acquire a few tools, garner some advice and, finally, assemble and test the gun.
Photos by Forrest MacCormack
JEFF WRIGHT, VIA EMAIL
