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A MERIC A N
SHOOTING JOURNAL Volume 8 // Issue 6 // March 2019 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andy Walgamott OFFICE MANAGER / COPY EDITOR Katie Aumann LEAD CONTRIBUTOR Frank Jardim CONTRIBUTORS Brittany Boddington, Matt Collins, Jim Dickson, Scott Haugen, Mike Nesbitt, Jason Wilson SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Kayla Mehring, Jake Weipert
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 6
51
ROAD HUNTER:
DECODING TURKEY DECOYING
(TROY RODAKOWSKI)
Scott Haugen has downed more than a few spring toms in his day, and with season dead ahead, he details how faux gobblers, jakes and hens “serve a specific purpose, sending precise messages, and the more you know what these messages are, the better the odds of filling a tag.”
FEATURES 27
THE KING OF BIG GAME CARTRIDGES
41
SHE HUNTS: PLAINS GAME PARADISE
65
It packs more than a little wallop, but when the critter you’re pursuing is really, really large, the .577 3-inch Nitro Express is your friend. Jim Dickson has an appreciation for this cartridge. Rough-around-the-edges Mozambique isn’t as tourist-friendly as nearby African nations like Namibia and South Africa, but for seasoned hunters seeking unique plains game like the warthog, it’s a prime safari destination. Join along as Brittany Boddington hunts this somewhat overlooked corner of the African continent.
77
BLACK POWDER: ‘UNCLE DAVE’ EARNS A BUTTON
It wasn’t the game that Mike Nesbitt expected to take with his big .58-caliber flintlock named for the man who made it, but when the smoke cleared, boy, had it performed against one of the craftiest – not to mention swiftest – animals in the woods!
107 GUNS FOR THE ALASKAN BUSH DWELLER
From plinking for the pot to tending the trapline to protecting against cabin raiders – four- and two-footed alike – here’s what former Last Frontier backcountry resident Jim Dickson recommends.
COYOTE HUNTING OPTICS: WHAT SHOULD YOU TOP THAT AR-15 WITH?
Coyotes roam every nook and cranny of the country, but what scope is best for your neck of the woods may be different than habitats elsewhere. Matt Collins shares his thoughts on getting the most out of your optics everywhere Wile E. roams.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2019
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CONTENTS
87
BULLET BULLETIN:
BEST HANDGUN CALIBERS FOR BEGINNERS Pick the right entry point and you’re already on your way to enjoying a fun, long-term shooting hobby. Jason Wilson of GunBacker.com has four great starter calibers for newbies at the range.
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KING BIG GAME THE
OF THE
CARTRIDGES It packs more than a little wallop, but when the critter is on the really large size, the .577 3-inch Nitro Express is your friend.
T
he .577 3-inch Nitro Express is one of three cartridges that I have never been able to find an instance where a properly placed bullet failed to stop any charging animal with one shot. The other two are the 8-gauge and the 4-gauge rifles of the Victorian hunters. These last
STORY BY JIM DICKSON • PHOTOS BY WESTLEY RICHARDS
two weigh considerably more than a .577, and the 8-gauge has twice the recoil of a .577, while the 4-gauge has three times the recoil of a .577. The enormous size and weight of 8-gauge and 4-gauge cartridges make it difficult to carry many rounds on your person and you really need an ammo bearer. Loaded 4-gauge shells weigh
A vintage Westley Richards .577 3-inch Nitro Express like the famed ivory hunter Jimmy Sutherland used.
about a pound apiece. At this point someone always says that 100 grains in the brain will kill anything with one shot. Wrong. In 1938 near Mpika, South Africa, the famous elephant hunter Sir Charles Ross put three perfectly placed brain shots with a .450 nitro double in an elephant, but the elephant still
managed to reach him and kill him before it died. This was his 350th elephant killed. The elephant’s skull lay on his grave for many years and every passing professional hunter had to examine it for himself and probe the bullet channels. They all agreed the shots were perfectly placed. It’s these weird exceptions to the rules and conventional wisdom that dictate that bigger is better. The larger and heavier .577 slug would have done more damage plowing through the brain and saved the hunter. The .577 has even been known to drive brain matter out an elephant’s ear holes with a brain shot. If Ross had only used a .577 instead of a .450, he would not have been killed. OF COURSE THERE IS the more common problem of tough animals like the Cape buffalo. I knew one white hunter who was a successful elephant hunter in the old ivory hunting days, yet he never shot a Cape buffalo because he was afraid of them. Does that tell you anything?
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American Shooting Journal // March 2019
Keith Haynes handmaking a double’s fore end at Westley Richards in Birmingham, England.
A Best Quality .577 sidelock made by J. Roberts and Son for W.J. Jeffrey Co. Ltd. to be sold under the Jeffrey name. All the pre-war Jeffreys were jobbed out to the gun trade in this manner also.
The Cape buffalo is overbuilt with extra-heavy bones, overlapping ribs, a physiology that doesn’t react to hydrostatic shock, and a brain that can store oxygen under stress, enabling it to keep going for a while
30
American Shooting Journal // March 2019
after the heart stops pumping. Most charging animals can often be turned by a shot hitting them. The Cape buffalo is like a kamikaze plane boring in on a ship. Only death will stop him once he attacks. While a careful
shot taken at an unsuspecting buffalo will terminate it with predictable efficiency, there is always that rare case where the buffalo got his adrenaline up and proceeded to take 15 or more assorted .458 and .500 shots before stopping. One .577 will stop it instantly in this situation. You have crossed a threshold in power with the .577 and are in a whole new world of stopping power. A good parallel is the experience of the Japanese navy when they moved up from the 16-inch guns of the Nagato-class battleships to the 18-inch guns of the Yamato-class battleships. To their shock and horror, they found that the muzzle blast from an 18-inch gun would tear the flesh off a seaman’s exposed arm. They had crossed a threshold in power and could not believe the difference. On a shoulder shot on an elephant, the .577 visibly delivers a much more crushing blow than a .470 or .500. Some of the things .577 users witness defy belief and are guaranteed to get you called a liar or crazy by those who
Westley Richards shop foreman Ken Halbert at the bench making a Best Quality double. Ken is one of the most skilled workmen in the gun trade.
have not seen it themselves. Longtime users of the .577 often speak of these things only amongst each other for this reason. SUCH POWER BRINGS visions of terrifying recoil to the uninitiated, but that is not true. While the 100 foot-pounds of recoil of a 15-pound .577 double is capable of injuring you if you brace against it and fight it, this recoil is a heavy shove that requires you to roll with the punch. Just lean into the gun with a good grip on the barrels and pistol grip. Pull the gun firmly against the shoulder but not so tight that the tissue has no more room to compress when recoil starts. Now relax and let the gun push you up straight when it fires. If your gun has been stocked to fit you, as all double rifles and shotguns should be, you will feel even less recoil. A double that has a fitted stock can also be fired quite accurately like a shotgun without taking time to use the sights. That means you live in those life and death situations where time and light for sighting is absent. I cannot emphasize enough 32
American Shooting Journal // March 2019
how important it is to get your gun stocked to fit you. A proper gun fitting can be had at the West London Shooting Grounds, The Easley Estates Shooting School outside of Birmingham, and the John Dickson and Son Shooting School outside of Edinburgh, Scotland. In addition, any of the Scottish and British Best Quality Gunmakers can give a gun fitting. This is done with a try gun, which has a stock that can be adjusted to 1/16 inch in all directions. It is an exact science requiring this precision tool. I am unaware of anyone with the proper training or tools to do this correctly in the U.S. and your life may well depend on its being perfectly correct. It is important to note that gun weight has a lot to do with recoil. Every time you double the weight, you cut the recoil in half. A 15-pound .577 is not too bad to shoot. At 14 pounds, it is noticeably worse. A 13-pound is very unpleasant and an 11-pound .577 will really show you what recoil pain and gun headache is all about. It should be noted that just as the .577 is more effective on big game than a .600
because of its greater penetration, it also kicks more than the .600. This is because of the lower velocity and heavier gun weight of the .600. Underweight guns with the resultant vicious kick have kept the .577 from being as popular as it should be. It’s not just the momentum of the recoil but also the velocity of the recoil that you must deal with. The higher the muzzle velocity and the lighter the gun, the faster the gun comes back at you. A sharp blow hurts worse and is more damaging than a shove. Recoil velocity over 15 foot-seconds ensures gun headache, which is nothing but injury to the brain. A heavier gun slows this blow down to a more tolerable speed. SOME MEN WILL SAY that a 15-pound rifle is too heavy to carry. Obviously they never lugged a loaded 20-pound Browning Automatic Rifle around like one man in every squad did for decades in the Army. Victorian hunters sometimes lugged 20-pound 4-bore doubles, which gained an extra 2 pounds when their cartridges were loaded in them. Since
the proper weight of a .450-400 is 10 pounds, a .470 is 11 pounds, and a .500 is 12 to 14 pounds, with 14 being ideal, you really aren’t carrying that much more weight, but you are gaining so much more effective power for when things go wrong. When hunting in Africa where you may have to run after the game in African heat, a heavy gun can be held steady when the lighter guns cannot because you are hot and tired. That’s why even the little .450-400 has been made in 13- and 14-pound guns. If you like to shoot a lot in practice like I do, then I strongly recommend a 17-pound .577 with a wide buttplate, two mercury recoil reducers in the stock, and a Sorbuthane recoil pad with rounded edges. Otherwise you may end up shooting just one or two rounds at a time, which is bad, as you really need to practice with the gun that you are staking your hunt and your life on. Some will say, what can go wrong on a modern safari where you are protected by your guide? I have seen too many instances of both guide and hunter being killed by big game
The finished masterpiece. A Westley Richards .577 double with hand detachable locks, handmade exactly the same way they were when they made Sutherland’s pair more than 100 years ago. Westley Richards made more guns in this caliber than most.
when their .375 magnums didn’t stop a charge in time. If you are depending on your guide to protect you, perhaps you shouldn’t be there. After all, he is generally a stranger to you. You don’t know how he reacts when he feels that he himself is endangered. You don’t trust the new man in a combat outfit until you have seen him under fire, so why is this different? No modern professional hunter has the time or ammo to practice sufficiently 34
American Shooting Journal // March 2019
to be a really good shot. The standards of an exhibition shooter are thus beyond their means to attain, yet the customer wants to think that their guide can shoot like the great exhibition shooters Doc Carver and Ad Topperwein. It ain’t gonna happen, son. If you want to be able to stand on your own two legs and take care of yourself like a man in all situations, I strongly recommend that you carry enough gun to do it with.
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SOME PEOPLE REGARD the .577 as just a stopping rifle for use in heavy cover. They subscribe to the “the more guns the better on safari” tradition, which advocates a 7mm Mauser, a .375 H&H magnum, a .470, and a .577 as the ideal hunter’s battery. I subscribe to the old East India hunter’s advice, “Use your big gun for everything, Laddie, and count it practice for the day your life depends on it.” There is no better advice you can give a dangerous game hunter. The more you use it, the deadlier you will become with it. You will find that game shot with a .577 doesn’t require difficult tracking, as it doesn’t go far. The sportsman’s ethic of giving the game a clean, fast, humane kill has never been better served. A good .577 double will easily hit anything at normal hunting ranges and beyond. While the ammo is expensive, it is nothing compared to the rest of the cost of the safari and if you don’t practice with it, how do you ever expect to save your life with it when the chips are down? It’s a gun,
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American Shooting Journal // March 2019
custom-fitted to act as a part of your own body, but still a gun that requires practice to use effectively. If it is to be used extensively you also have to get used to the recoil when shooting it multiple times a day. The old-time white hunters certainly fired enough at a time to intimidate the uninitiated. Jimmy Sutherland cropped almost every big tusker in the Southern Province of Tanganyika, today’s Tanzania, with a pair of Westley Richards .577 double rifles. Decades later, hunters were complaining that there was no big ivory left there. Sutherland also had a .318 Westley Richards but preferred the .577 for the extra margin of safety it offered. Bad ammunition has been the downfall of many. The post-war Kynoch gilding metal-clad ammo ruined the .600 nitro’s reputation. Original Kynoch .577 steel jacketed ammo deformed on elephants, which inhibited their performance. The ammunition loaded by Wolfgang Romey in Petershagen, Germany,
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uses the superb Woodleigh solids from Australia, which do not deform. The result is that none of Wolfgang’s .577 bullets has ever been recovered from an elephant. There is always an entrance hole and an exit hole, regardless of the angle the elephant is shot at. It doesn’t get any better than that for an elephant hunter. Wolfgang also loads the Woodleigh soft nose bullets, which are unexcelled when you want an expanding bullet. This is the only .577 ammo that I would use or recommend others to use. I can’t say that too strongly because this is a life and death matter. THE HISTORY OF THE .577 began in the black powder era with the 24-bore Enfield .577 muzzleloader and continued through the .577 Snyder cartridge conversion to these guns. The black powder 3-inch version was developed when the famous white hunter and explorer Sir Samuel Baker wanted an express cartridge that could perform on pachyderms. The original black
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American Shooting Journal // March 2019
powder load with a 650-grain lead bullet was potent but the full potential of the cartridge wasn’t reached until the nitro loading was developed at the turn of the century. The modern nitro load launched a 750-grain bullet propelled by 100 grains of cordite at 2,050 feet per second. It equaled the 8-gauge in stopping power and only the enormous 20-pound-plus 4-gauge offered more stopping power. For those whose life was on the line with dangerous game in thick cover, this behemoth was a blessing. Due to the burning and pressure curve of cordite being different from modern powders, it can be difficult to recommend a load that will shoot to the point of aim at all ranges in all the guns that were regulated with cordite charges. Wolfgang Romey is considered one of the world’s great authorities on small arms and cannon powders and he has powders that match cordite’s burning and acceleration rates so that his ammo shoots to the same point of impact as the cordite shells at all ranges. For the handloader, I have heard that 145 grains of IMR 4831 with an F215 primer and a 750-grain Woodleigh bullet will give the factory standard velocity of 2,050 fps, but since I have no experience with it I cannot give any endorsement. Since loading for a particular double rifle is more about getting the barrels to shoot to the same point of impact than velocity, the handloader should start with 5 grains less powder and work up till the barrels are shooting to the same point of impact. Getting a double rifle to shoot to the sights at extreme ranges takes more than just matching muzzle velocity, so I prefer to stick to Wolfgang Romey’s ammo. I like my long-range capability with this very accurate cartridge and do not find its trajectory a problem. You just have to know the range and how to compensate for the bullet drop, the same as on any gun ever made. In the final analysis, when dealing with something that can stomp you into the ground, do you want to be the stomper or the stompee? The .577 stacks the deck in favor of you being the one doing the stomping.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2019
she hunts Mozambique isn’t as touristfriendly as nearby African nations like Namibia and South Africa, but for seasoned hunters seeking unique plains game like the warthog, it’s a prime safari destination.
PLAINS GAME PARADISE
Rough-around-the-edges Mozambique offers seasoned hunters plenty of options. STORY AND PHOTOS BY BRITTANY BODDINGTON
M
ozambique is one of those magical places I could go to over and over again. The last time we were there was primarily for my fiancé Brad to get a buffalo (American Shooting Journal, February 2019), but we did a lot of other hunting as well. The plains americanshootingjournal.com 41
she hunts game there are all slightly different to other places, which makes it a great destination for those who have been there and done that in nearby South Africa and Namibia, in the southern end of the African continent. My favorite of the Mozambique antelope are the blue duiker, suni and the red duiker. They are part of the pygmy antelope group – tiny and elusive. Hunters typically use a smallcaliber rifle for the red duiker, while the blue duiker and suni are mostly hunted with a shotgun because they are so small. They live in dense forest undergrowth and move about in little channels carved by constant travel. For the most part they are undetectable, unless you catch them in little open areas. But even then they stand still with incredible camouflage skills. It took me a couple days to start picking them out as we drove around. I had to train my eyes to look for their shape and color. Hunting these small antelope is always a challenge, and only the lucky hunters succeed on
Mozambique has plenty of wildlife viewing opportunities, so expect to stumble upon cobras and monkeys (below) in your travels.
their first try to get them all. If the small antelope are not exciting for you, larger antelope are also unique to the area. You’ll find Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, Chobe bushbuck, Selous’ zebra, Livingstone eland, wildebeest and more.
A HARD-CORE EXPERIENCE
For first-time hunters and families I typically recommend Namibia; it is
safe and wonderful for all ages. But for more seasoned African hunters I highly recommend Mozambique. It takes some effort to get to the hunting area. You must fly to Johannesburg, South Africa, and then up to Beira – the fourth largest city in Mozambique – where you can catch a charter flight into camp. It’s not a huge deal to get there, although it does take some effort and patience. I only go to Mozambique with Zambeze Delta Safaris (zambezedeltasafaris.com), which is run by Mark Haldane. They always have everything planned out and take care of all the details, making the customs entry and exit smooth sailing. Since I do not speak Portuguese and very few airport employees speak English, I really appreciate his attention to detail.
EARNING YOUR STRIPES
I was hoping for the chance to hunt a zebra on this last safari. The Selous’ zebra is a beautiful creature, featuring stripes going all the way down the legs to the hooves and no brown shadow stripes. They don’t get very many permits to hunt these zebras, so I wasn’t able to hunt them on my last safari. This year Mark saved one tag for me! They tend to stay in herds, with most of the animals avoiding the thick forest and staying more toward the edge of the floodplains where the buffalo reside. 42
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she hunts We went out to the edge of the floodplain to glass for zebra in the early afternoon. We saw a few herds way out in the open floodplains, but there was no way to get anywhere near them with zero cover, so we continued to glass. This continued for a few days with no luck for us. But one day toward the end of our trip we happened upon a group of zebra grazing in a relatively open area. We decided to make a plan and sneak in. We were so fixated on the zebra 400 yards ahead of us that we almost missed the small group with a stallion off to our left at 150 yards. Brad spotted them and got our attention. We changed our plan and got behind some small palm plants. I was able to get the sticks up and take a standing shot and hit exactly where I aimed. The zebra dropped to the shot. I was shooting a borrowed Blaser in .300 Win. Mag., my favorite caliber for plains game. The zebra was incredible – a true stallion with battle wounds from years of fighting, but it still had beautiful stripes and was exactly what I was looking for.
HIGH ON THE HOG Lush green conditions greeted the hunters’ morning coffee at camp. The edge of barren floodplains like this offer a good opportunity to spot zebras, which congregate in herds away from the thicker forests.
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Our final wish-list species was a big warthog for each of us. Fortunately Brad and I both found an old dinosaur in the
she hunts
“Mozambique is one of those places I could easily visit every year,” Boddington writes.
last two days of the hunt. I thought my warthog was huge until I spotted the one for Brad to shoot. The tusks were so long that one of the warthog’s eyes was blocked by the tip of the tusk. The trip was a huge success and we are already planning our next adventure there. I’m hoping for an eland next time and Brad really wants to hunt a bushbuck. Translation: Mozambique is one of those places I could easily visit every year! Editor’s note: Los Angeles native Brittany Boddington is a Phoenix-based hunter, journalist and adventurer. For more, go to brittanyboddington.com and facebook. com/brittanyboddington. 46
American Shooting Journal // March 2019
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT
SEAL OF APPROVAL
Gun care products maker expands into muzzleloader market, has new product for shooting in cold weather. PHOTOS BY SEAL 1
rom competitive shooters to hunters to military and law enforcement personnel, every gun owner knows that they need the right gun care products to keep their weapon working properly. Offering a full line of products, including lubricants, cleaners, anticorrosion, anti-seize and more, Seal 1 specializes in environmentally friendly options that are all natural, nontoxic, and safe for all gun owners. Dwight Settle, managing director at Seal 1, explains the origins of the company: “My business partner, Scott Lee, wanted to create a product that would actually clean, lubricate and protect your firearms and not kill you in the process. Scott has developed many products over the past 35-plus years in the gun industry for many different companies. I’m sure that you
F
Seal 1 offers an array of gun care products for a wide variety of shooters.
have heard of Bore Butter and Wonder Lube, just to name a few.” In August of 1990, Lee started research and development on his new formula. After years of tweaking and testing, he was ready to bring it to market. Lee and Settle launched Seal 1, LLC on July 5, 2011, along with their winning formula, called Seal 1 CLP Plus. “Seal 1 CLP Plus is a ‘green engineered’ biobased, nontoxic, complete gun care product,” says Settle. “Our formula is proprietary and is not vegetable oil- or vegetable ester-based. It will not dry out or get gummy over time. With Seal 1 CLP Plus there is no need for having to use multiple products. It has submicron dry lubrication and protection characteristics and is very simple to use. Just remember: wipe on, wipe off!” Seal 1 products do not incorporate
any petroleum, which is part of the reason they work so well. “Petroleum-based products actually increase the hard carbon build-up in firearms,” says Settle. New from Seal 1 is a muzzleloader line, a nontoxic copper and lead remover for the long gun larger caliber shooters who feel the need to have all the copper fully removed from their barrel. And at this year’s SHOT Show, they introduced their Below Zero product, which is specifically designed for cold weather operations. The Seal 1 team takes pride in knowing their products are safe not just for the Earth but for those who inhabit it as well. “It’s a dangerous world out there and if we can help get your mind off of it while you spend a little time maintaining your firearms, why not?” jokes Settle. “Seriously, though, if we can help you have peace of mind while you, your kids, or grandkids are handling and cleaning your firearms, that brings a smile to our face.” Editor’s note: For more information, visit seal1.net. americanshootingjournal.com 49
ROAD HUNTER
DECODING TURKEY DECOYING
Tom behavior changes throughout the spring turkey season, and knowing what their posturing and calling means helps hunters determine what decoys to use.
Faux gobblers, jakes and hens ‘serve a specific purpose, sending precise messages, and the more you know what these messages are, the better the odds of filling a tag’ during this spring’s season. STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT HAUGEN
E
ach season more and more turkey decoys hit the market, and the creativity and precision with which they’re designed is nothing short of amazing. Some decoys look even better than the real birds. What will likely most influence what decoy or decoys you buy will come down to how much money you want to invest. A simple two-dimensional decoy can be purchased for as little as $20, or you can actually have a bird mounted for use as a decoy, and that
could run upwards of $500. Some custom-made, hand-painted synthetic models will run $400 or more. Hen decoys come in a variety of body postures and color ranges, and some are even moveable. Jakes come in a range of body positions with heads painted various colors and with tails at full or half-fan, all in an effort to evoke specific moods and behaviors. Some jake decoys even spin, raise and lower a partially fanned tail. Tom decoys are also available in a wide selection, with an array of
different colored heads. They can be found in full-strut, half-strut, feeding positions, aggressive postures, submissive stances and more. The key is knowing which decoy sends the message you want to convey at the time of your hunt. Whatever decoy or decoys you decide to get, make sure you’re getting them for a reason. In other words, make sure you know what message each decoy is sending. Based on turkey populations and patterns, decipher what objectives you want your decoy americanshootingjournal.com 51
ROAD HUNTER set to convey. If looking to use moveable decoys – mechanically, battery or manually operated – be sure it’s legal in the state you’re hunting. One more warning: when hunting pressured public grounds, be sure to hide the head of a mature tom decoy in your pack when on the move; to stay safe around other hunters, you don’t want it sticking out when walking through brush. At the same time, when calling, be watchful of fellow hunters who might approach your decoy, looking for a shot.
SO, WHAT TURKEY decoy should you buy? If you’ve never hunted turkeys before, I’d start with a lone hen, and that’s it. A lone hen decoy has accounted for more than 75 percent of the toms I’ve taken over a decoy or decoy spread. In other words, a hen decoy has worked for years, and it will continue working. The purpose of a hen decoy is to capture the attention of a tom that is looking to breed. If he sees her, he’ll likely come to inspect. If you’re looking to acquire multiple decoys, your next best purchase might be a jake. A jake decoy situated near a hen decoy sends the message to
Turkey decoys send a very specific message. What decoys work well early in the season may not produce later in the spring.
adult toms that there’s a hen nearby, and she must be ready to breed, for the jake is courting her. This will often draw a mature tom in, fast. When a mature tom approaches a lone hen decoy, he’ll usually break into fullstrut to get the hen’s attention. Often he’ll strut and walk around the hen, sometimes gobbling, spitting, drumming and
pirouetting. When walking behind the hen decoy, a tom might try to approach and mount her. I’ve had numerous hen decoys knocked over by toms trying to breed them. This is why, when using a lone hen decoy, you want her facing toward you or to the side of you, to keep the tom from staring your direction, as he’ll make an effort to get in front of her.
DAVE SMITH DECOYS Recently I’ve been using a selection of Dave Smith Decoys (davesmithdecoys.com) on my spring turkey hunts. These are the most realistic man-made decoys I’ve ever used, and I’ve never had a tom or hen spook from them. Last season I was very impressed with the Mating Hen decoy. Used alone, I had multiple toms mount this decoy early in the season. I also had great results with the DSD Mating Pair turkey decoys. Not only did this duo capture the attention of distant toms, but the sound they made when bumping together while pulling the jerk cord made approaching toms aggressively react. I’ve used a lot of full-strut tom decoys over the years, and the DSD Strutter is the best I’ve seen. Last season, a guide buddy had 100 percent success when using this tom decoy. It’s bulky, and not cheap, but more than worth the investment and effort if you’re serious about taking your turkey hunting to the next level. –SH 52
American Shooting Journal // March 2019
Author Scott Haugen, based in Oregon, highly recommends the realistic faux turkeys made by Dave Smith Decoys.
ROAD HUNTER When setting up a hen decoy for bowhunting from a blind, I’ll usually stick her 5 yards from the blind, no more than 10 yards. If hunting with a shotgun, 25 yards is good, for this will give the pattern time to spread out. This is where patterning your shotgun is important, so you know exactly how it’ll perform at what range. If using a jake decoy in conjunction with a hen, positioning is important, especially for bowhunters. When using a jake decoy – or any tom decoy, for that matter – it’s a good idea to set them so they’re either facing you or standing broadside to where you’re sitting. This is because when a tom approaches, he usually goes in front of the intruding male decoy in an effort to visually impress and intimidate him. For a bowhunter, getting the live tom to stand between you and the jake decoy will offer the best shot.
AS FOR MATURE tom decoys, there are Replacing a synthetic turkey tail fan with a real one you’ve dried yourself can make a difference in getting wise toms to commit.
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ROAD HUNTER
This tom couldn’t resist a Dave Smith Decoys Mating Hen, one the author had great success with early last season.
hunting, the verdict is still out on just what these decoys can and cannot do. Personally, I’m amazed at how their application continues to expand and just how effective they can be throughout the season. The key to choosing and using a tom decoy comes down to knowing what’s behaviorally going on with the birds in your hunting area. In regions with high tom densities, I’ve observed fights amongst mature birds throughout much of the season, and it’s especially high during the first half of the season. During wet, cold, delayed springs, I’ve seen toms remain in bachelor flocks two to three weeks longer than normal, meaning these are also great situations in which to use a full-strut tom decoy. I also like them later in the season when hens have gone to nest. I like using full-body, strutting tom decoys in agricultural areas, too. Here, toms are used to seeing hens, and know what gobblers are in the area. But
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American Shooting Journal // March 2019
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ROAD HUNTER introduce an aggressive tom decoy and the live bird will often come barreling in to see who the new intruder is. Some hunters like using tom decoys that are in half-strut or a walking position, as this sends the message that they are interested in the hen decoy, but not overly confident. This semisubmissive decoy position can be an open invitation for a live tom to come in, strutting his stuff as he approaches with the attitude that he’s going to establish dominance, then breed. There are tom decoys with red, white and blue heads, and ones with nearly all white heads. Brightly colored heads send the message, “Hey, look at me, I’m good looking, I’m brave and I’m worthy of breeding.” A white-headed tom is one looking for a fight, and if he’s strutting at the same time, he’s saying, “Hey, hen, look at me, I’m big, tough and mad, and for you other toms, come fight me, I dare ya!”
I’ve had the best success using white-headed tom decoys in conjunction with hen decoys in a submissive, breeding position. I think this combination is effective because it sends the message that a hen is ready to breed, and that an aggressive tom is ready to mount her, but also willing to take on any challenges. Where tom ratios are high, or many hens have gone to sitting on their nests, this can be a great decoy combination to get toms fired-up and moving in. I’ve also had good luck using a brightly colored, red, white and blueheaded, full-strutting tom decoy over both a submissive hen decoy, as well as one in a feeding position. For years, hunters thought that tom decoys would scare off turkeys, and in many cases that’s right. But when you know when to use them, they work unlike any decoy I’ve ever seen. They create some of the most eye-popping memories you’ll ever witness in the turkey woods,
and leave you wanting more. One thing I do with all my strutting tom decoys is replace the factory supplied synthetic tail with a real fan I’ve made. When heading to Merriam’s country, I’ll use a Merriam’s tail fan, and in Rio country, a Rio fan. I like the real tail fan because it doesn’t reflect light and the feathers move in the slightest breeze. With turkey season fast approaching, grab a decoy or two and use them, wisely. Decoys serve a specific purpose, sending precise messages, and the more you know what these messages are, the better the odds of filling a tag. Editor’s note: For copies of Scott Haugen’s best-selling book, Western Turkey Hunting, send a check for $20 (free S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489. It, and many of his other books, can be ordered online at scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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COYOTE HUNTING OPTICS: WHAT SHOULD YOU TOP THAT AR-15 WITH? Scope selection varies by region, usual range to target, time of day you’re afield. STORY BY MATT COLLINS ARTICLE AND PHOTOS COURTESY OF GUNBACKER.COM
H
unting a natural predator can be an exhilarating and rewarding experience. There’s nothing quite like hunting something that can be just as clever and canny as you are. Coyotes fit this bill nicely. They’re smart, fast, tough creatures that also happen to be destructive to livestock and other game animals like pheasant and quail. All of this combines to make coyote hunts a popular and enjoyable pastime. That is, if you can actually hit the sneaky suckers. Coyotes are a challenging animal to hunt. They’re smarter than a lot of common game animals like whitetail and even turkeys, and they’re stealthy and cautious at all times. If you’re looking to go after this wily creature, you better make sure that you and your gear are up to the task, or you’re sure to go home emptyhanded. Today, we’re going to be talking about one of, if not the most important piece of gear for coyote hunting: your optic. Coyotes are small, fast, and sometimes like to hunt in low light
Coyotes roam every nook and cranny of the country, but what scope is best for your neck of the woods may be different than habitats elsewhere. (CHAD ZOLLER)
americanshootingjournal.com 65
around dawn and dusk, so you’ll need all the help you can get if you want to down some songdogs this year. A good optic is a strong step in the right direction, while a poor one will definitely leave you hanging out to dry. OVERVIEW There are so many different highend choices out there these days that choosing just one to mount on your rifle is somewhat of a daunting task. How do you pick one scope from the thousands that are out there? Well, first you need to define your needs. A 40x target scope and a 3-9x hunting scope can both be perfectly good scopes, but for dramatically different types of shooting. You will likely be hunting varmints from a distance, so you won’t have a need for a red-dot sight or a high-priced optic like a holographic EOTech sight. For coyote and other varmint hunting, here’s what you need. MAGNIFICATION This is the most contentious, and also
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most subjective, part about choosing any scope, and that almost goes double for choosing a predator scope for coyote hunting. The magnification you need is going to vary wildly based on your environment, your rifle, and even your personal skill level. First, consider your environment. What’s the local geography like? The terrain? Are you in woodlands, covered swamps, or wide open plains? If you’re somewhere in the Deep South, like I am, you might have to make a 300-yard shot, but most of your hunting is going to be under 150 yards or so. For this, a 3-9x is going to be just fine. You’ll want to stay away from closer range optics, like Aimpoint’s. For those who hunt Great Plains country, you might have to make shots as far as 400 yards, sometimes even more. I’ve personally taken shots on coyotes as far as 800 yards, but that was with a rifle that I know very, very well. I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable reaching out much further than that
and still being sure of an ethical kill on a coyote-sized target. For those longer shots, magnification in the 14x to 20x range is more on par with what you’ll want to make sure you can not only spot something small like a coyote, but also land an accurate killshot. I like a 4-14x variable optic, personally. It has a wide enough view on the low end to make those close-range shots where the coyote is just about in your lap, but also enough magnification to easily spot coyotes slinking through the grass at 300-plus yards. LIGHT-GATHERING Like I said before, coyotes rarely cooperate and come out to stand in the open during broad daylight, preferring to be more cautious during the day, and a little more active around dusk and dawn. Why does that matter? Because if your scope doesn’t pull enough light to see the coyote, good luck even knowing it’s there. A good coyote scope will be able to pull in ample light to make those
FIVE GREAT PICKS
W
hile there are many different optics on the market, here are the ones I’ve used and tested personally, so I can vouch for all of them in the field. Each has all the traits I consider to be most important, so let’s dive in and take a look at each model in more detail. –MC
VORTEX DIAMONDBACK SERIES The Vortex Diamondback series might just be the best value in budgetminded optics right now. Vortex has nailed the pricing on these things, and you still get an excellent feature set for the price. This is the scope that I would consider the best for occasional hunters, or those who want to save the most money on their gear. The 4-14x44 and the 6.5-20x50 options are more than adequate for coyote hunting at even the longest ranges. I have one of these scopes on a .308 AR-10 and after probably 1,000 rounds or so, the zero hasn’t shifted at all and is still dead on. On something lighter like a .223 AR more suited to coyote hunting? It’ll keep running forever.
BUSHNELL TROPHY SERIES The Bushnell Trophy series is the other budget option that I would still consider worth your time. The glass isn’t as clear as the Vortex Diamondback line, and they don’t have Vortex’s stellar lifetime warranty, but they are perfectly good otherwise, and are typically a little bit cheaper. These are more traditional hunting scopes, and are ideal for those who are looking for a traditional duplex crosshair reticle. Bushnell owns a huge chunk of the hunting market, and scopes like this are why. If you’re looking for something simple with an uncluttered reticle, this is the way to go. This scope line also has some pretty impressive light-gathering ability, and is more than rugged enough for all but the worst abuse your rifle is likely to see. Don’t drop it out of a treestand and it’ll be just fine.
VORTEX VIPER SERIES The Vortex Viper series is a higher-quality version of the Diamondback series. It has better target turrets with better adjustments for longer shots, as well as an illuminated reticle for those all-important lowlight shots. The Viper series also has (slightly) better glass that contributes to the Viper series’ overall higher price, and the scope washes out far less at higher magnification. The Viper series might be the best value in longrange optics right now, and I’ve easily made 1,000-yard shots with this scope at full 20x magnification. If your personal skill and rifle are up to the task, these scopes make shots like that a cakewalk, even in low light.
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LEUPOLD VX-3I SERIES Leupold is one of the most respected names in the optics world, and they continue to earn their reputation with every single product they put out. Their scopes aren’t cheap by any means, but you can be absolutely sure they’ll work and continue to do so under even the most adverse conditions. The Leupold VX-3i series comes with the proprietary Diamondcoat 2 lens coating, which not only gives you the highest level of scratch- and abrasion-resistance Leupold has ever offered, but it also gives you some of the best light gathering and contrast of any scope on the market today. With these scopes, you can stay in the field longer, shoot later, and drag it through all the roughest terrain without having to worry about the scope at all. NIGHTFORCE NXS SERIES Nightforce is basically the king of the tactical scope market, so you know they’re going to have some great options for the coyote hunters out there. The NXS series is not cheap. At all. Even the cheapest options in this line are likely to cost the same as a couple mortgage payments, but for that high cost of entry you get what might very well be the best scope on the market without getting into the “could have bought a used car instead” budget. These are the scopes the military uses, and police departments that can afford them also love them. These scopes can literally take a bullet and keep working. It doesn’t get any more rugged than that, folks. I’ve used a Nightforce scope on the few opportunities I’ve had to reach out to 2,000 yards, and when I build my .338 rifle out, this is what’s going on top of it. These scopes will survive any kind of abuse, pull in light better than anything but a dedicated night vision optic, and come in a variety of magnification and objective sizes to give you exactly what you need for your next coyote hunt, no matter the conditions or distance involved. “20 minutes after sunset” shots, and may even have an illuminated reticle to make shots like that even easier. Of course, if you live somewhere that allows night hunting, you’ll need something that can do an even better job in this area because you’ll be working from spotlights. How do you get a scope with good light-gathering abilities? Mainly, get one with a large objective lens. The objective lens of a scope is the end that points towards your target. It’s typically measured in millimeters, and when you see that something is a 4-16x40 scope, it’s the last number in the listing that tells you the objective lens has a diameter of 40mm. For a good low-light scope, you’ll also want something that has very 70
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clear, high-quality glass. Bargain-bin scopes at your local gun store need not apply. Personally, I like a scope from a quality manufacturer like Vortex, U.S. Optics, Bushnell, Sightron, etc., and with at least a 40mm objective lens, but more preferably a 50 to 66mm objective lens. RETICLE There are fancy target reticles out there that will help you estimate distance, judge bullet drop automatically and correct for windage. Do you know how these reticles work? If so, great! Mil-dot and BDC scopes are wonderful for hitting targets at unknown ranges in variable scenarios. Don’t know what a milliradian is
and don’t want to learn? That’s OK too! Most hunters will really be OK with a simple duplex reticle for coyote hunting. Learning your gun, using consistent ammo and learning your windage and elevation holds with a simple crosshair is going to be of more use to most hunters than learning how to use a MRAD, MOA or BDC reticle. If you want to get a reticle that’s tuned to your particular hand-loaded bullet, or mil-dot reticle that you can use target shooting, go for it. Just don’t be fooled by the manufacturers (or other gun blogs) that say you need them for coyote hunting. Use what you’re comfortable with, and learn to use it extremely well. That’ll make you a much more effective varmint hunter, I promise.
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RUGGEDNESS For those of you who can walk 100 yards to a treestand and reliably call coyotes to you on any given day, you don’t need to worry about this section too terribly much. For the rest of us mere mortals who have to schlep our rifles several miles, getting in and out of vehicles at different stands, a rugged scope that isn’t going to get scratched up, knocked around or lose zero is a must. That’s why I recommend quality brands with a solid reputation, and a good warranty policy as well. There’s nothing worse than shouldering your rifle to take aim at that coyote in the distance and finding a big scratch on your scope lens, or worse, taking a shot and realizing your zero has shifted so badly you’re nowhere near the target. CLARITY AND CONTRAST This is another area where you get what you pay for and it definitely behooves the aspiring coyote hunter to spend a little more on quality glass. Coyotes have some great natural camouflage that makes them very difficult to spot in their usual habitats. This means that you need a scope with good clarity that won’t wash colors out, which means good, high-quality glass, well-made, that’s multi-coated and fog-proof. These are features that you only get in more expensive scopes, but optics makers like Burris and Vortex are offering insanely good scopes with these features, at very affordable prices. Whether you go after coyotes once a year, or you’re continually picking them off from your front porch to protect your livestock, there’s a scope out there that will help you get the job done. With a sufficiently rugged optic like the ones mentioned in the sidebar, and the right magnification, your next coyote hunt should be a breeze. Editor’s note: Matthew Collins is an active contributor at GunBacker. He enjoys both competitive shooting and gunsmithing. When you don’t see him at the range, you can catch him on Instagram and other gun-related websites. 72
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BLACK POWDER
A BUTTON FOR ‘UNCLE DAVE’ It wasn’t the game that the author expected to take with it, but his big .58-caliber flintlock still performed well in the woods.
A group fired with the big .58 while sighting-in.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKE NESBITT
L
et me begin this tale by reviewing some background and a few technicalities. The rifle that is the real centerpiece of this story is a .58-caliber flintlock, in the fullstock Hawken style. That was the last rifle made for me by the late Dave Dolliver. It was my second .58-caliber rifle, but compared to some of the other muzzleloading calibers, I had very little experience with the .58s. Getting more experience with the .58s was something I did set out to do and when that experience came, it came in good measures. The design for this rifle came from two original Hawkens, which are both featured in John Baird’s book, Hawken Rifles: The Mountain Man’s Choice. From the lock to the muzzle, it copies an original fullstock Hawken that has a 39-inch barrel. From the lock to the buttplate, my new rifle follows the lines of the Modena Hawken and the Modena-style patch box is included. There is one difference, however.
While both of these originals are percussion rifles, my gun is a flintlock. No original Hawken mountain rifles have been found with flintlock ignition, but I do believe some were made. This rifle was finished in late summer, now more than a few years ago. Then it was taken to the range to be sighted-in and that took just a few shots. I’d fire a group of three shots, then file down the front sight to bring up the point of impact. That was repeated five times and with just 15 shots fired, the rifle was hitting very close to center at 25 yards. Then it was tried at 50 yards with the powder charge raised from 60 grains (which was used at 25 yards) to 80 grains. The target at 50 yards was very good too. THE NEXT WEEK was spent camped with Les Miller high in central
Here’s “Ol’ Uncle Dave,” the last rifle made for author Mike Nesbitt by Dave Dolliver.
Washington state’s Cowiche, on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains, looking for deer and elk, during the early season. There was plenty of meat taken by other camps but that kind of luck just didn’t shine on me. However, I did make one rather good and lucky shot. That took place on Thursday, our fifth day of hunting. It looked like we’d have a dry day, unlike previous ones with rain and snow. In the morning I grabbed the .58-caliber Hawken and headed out to a favorite ridge where I could sit and just watch the hillside below. Les was going into the canyon with hopes of making something move for me. I picked a good sitting spot, but the wind shifted so I moved. At my new spot I caught a glimpse of what looked like a dark, round critter running downhill, away from me. It didn’t make a sound and it disappeared behind a tree only to reappear for just a moment before it was gone completely. That, I’m pretty sure, was a running blue grouse. (Some have suggested that it might have been a turkey, but all I saw was americanshootingjournal.com 77
BLACK POWDER
Nesbitt’s coyote looks small, but note that his rifle boasts a 39-inch barrel.
the silhouette.) Then the wind shifted again so another move was made, taking me to my third spot. My third spot was a good one. I was anchored very comfortably next to a stump, which was also next to a spruce tree, so I had very limited visibility to
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my left. Of course, I was also hidden rather well in that direction. My view downhill was very good, as well as to my right. Best of all, at this new location, the wind was in my favor. Nothing stirred or entered my view for about two hours, when a nicely
furred coyote came by. It went right in front of me, coming from my left and continuing to my right. When it got well past me, perhaps just 30 yards away, I eared my rifle’s hammer back to full cock. To do that silently, I held the trigger back and pulled the hammer back until it stopped. Then the trigger was released and the hammer was eased forward so the tumbler in the lock could engage the trigger sear. That was done with no noise at all. But then I set the trigger and there was no way to muffle the very quiet “click” that set triggers have. That quiet click of the triggers sounded more like a loud “clank!” to the coyote in the silence of those mountains. The coyote turned with a surprised look on its face, as if it was saying, “My gosh! That’s the click of a set trigger!” Then it bolted and ran at full speed going straight down the open hill. When the coyote bolted, going so fast that my eye could barely
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BLACK POWDER follow it, a voice inside me said, “Not a chance now.” At the same time, another voice inside my head said, “Give it a try!” Perhaps I listened too much to those voices and the argument they were having because I don’t recall actually squeezing the rifle’s trigger. When the sights were aligned, giving the running coyote just a little lead, the big rifle roared. THAT LOAD WAS a heavy one; it was really meant for elk. Behind the patched .565-inch round ball was 120 grains of GOEX FFg powder. The big flintlock rifle fired without any hesitation at all and I saw the dead coyote go skidding out from behind the rifle’s cloud of smoke. After skidding the little distance that I could see, the coyote completely disappeared. It had slid over a small drop in the hillside and that hid it from my view. My next step, of course, was to reload the .58, using a premeasured powder charge
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that was carried in an empty 35mm film container and a prepatched ball, patched with a prelubed .020-inch patch from Bridgers Best, from the loading block, which hung around my neck. Before reloading the rifle, however, I had to stand up. I had been sitting there, without moving, for over two hours and my legs were sound asleep. That meant standing up was quite a chore and while I was somehow able to rise, there was nothing quick about it. Once I was able to stand, reloading the rifle was easy and with the rifle freshly loaded and primed again, I headed down to find the coyote. After getting down to the old skid road that was below me, I saw the coyote lying there, stone dead. At first I could not find where the bullet had hit. That was a mystery until I noticed a puckered-over entry hole right in the back of the coyote’s neck. The .58’s ball had hit the critter in the back of the neck and then exited out the mouth,
which left no exit wound. I was sure glad I hadn’t listened to that voice that had said “Not a chance now.” A bit later I stepped the distance off back to where I’d shot from and that distance was 79 uphill paces. My uphill pace is just a bit shorter than while pacing on level ground, so the actual distance for the shot was about 70 yards, if not a hair more. The fur on that coyote was certainly in prime. That became my trophy for this hunt and I cased out the skin using my Remington Bullet knife, keeping only the tail attached. Then the skin was carried up the hill and back to camp where Les was already waiting for me. He quickly grinned and complimented my good shot. Later, back at home, my .58-caliber Hawken, the rifle I’ve named “Ol’ Uncle Dave” in honor of its maker, was awarded a small low-dome brass tack put in the bottom line of the stock behind the trigger guard for its first good shot at a critter.
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY
BULLET BULLETIN
BEST HANDGUN CALIBERS FOR BEGINNERS
Caliber choice is critical for new shooters.
Pick the right entry point and you’re already on your way to enjoying a fun, long-term shooting hobby. STORY BY JASON WILSON • ARTICLE AND PHOTOS COURTESY OF GUNBACKER.COM
or a new shooter, buying their first handgun can be an intimidating experience. What brand, what style, revolver or semiauto, and most of all what caliber? Most people jump straight into picking out their favorite handgun without thinking about what caliber it is. Caliber choice is critical for new shooters. Too much gun can be a handful; too little and you might be undergunned. Beginners looking for a firearm
F
need to identify what they intend the gun to do. For example, a new shooter may desire a firearm that is suitable for self-defense; a self-defense caliber has certain criteria to meet. A shooter looking for a fun range gun has some different criteria to meet. We are going to first look at the best calibers for beginners, and then provide you with a few examples of popular handguns in each caliber that you should consider when you are first starting out.
TRAITS OF BEGINNER CARTRIDGES
In general, beginners should stick to commonly available, well-reputed handgun calibers. Magnum rounds are often too much of a handful for new shooters, and odd balls are often expensive and hard to find. Commonality and affordability are very desirable traits for a caliber to have. If you cannot afford to shoot the caliber regularly, the skills you build will deteriorate. The same goes for trying to find ammunition in odd americanshootingjournal.com 87
bullet bulletin calibers. Rounds like the .32 Long are still out there, but they can’t be found in most big box stores. The round should be relatively low recoil. Beginning with powerful, heavy recoiling rounds can actually cause training scars. Training scars are poor habits gathered from poor training and practice. Magnum calibers in the hands
of beginners tend to create an exaggerated and noticeable flinch that pulls a shot off target. Starting with a smaller, lower recoiling caliber and working up to larger calibers is the better way to go. Magnum calibers for beginners are also genuinely unsafe. There have been tragic accidents in the past where an individual lost control of the firearm
and harmed themselves or another. Firearm selection is another important thing to remember when choosing your first caliber. If a shooter likes a certain caliber, they need to ensure that caliber is in a firearm type they want. For example, the 10mm is a great round, but few production guns chamber it compared to 9mm.
FOUR GREAT BEGINNER CALIBERS
While there are a number of different caliber choices out there, we are going to focus on four of the great American stalwarts for anyone just starting out. We highly recommend starting off with a .22 handgun of some type if you are brand new to shooting. The ammunition is cheaper, and you won’t have to deal with recoil when you are first starting out. If you are brand new to firearms and hop out on the range with your shiny new 1911, you might just decide not to come back after you feel the power that a .45-caliber handgun offers. We’d also recommend that you look at a handgun with a metal frame instead of a polymer frame if you are nervous about any type of recoil. Now let’s look at each caliber in detail, and then we will give you a few different handguns to check out that we feel are a good fit for anyone that’s just starting out.
.22 LR: A SAFE CHOICE
The .22 LR round is a classic of American firearms. It is a tiny rimfire round chambered in the anemic .22 caliber. The .22 LR is probably the most popular round in the world if you judged it on a per-round-sold basis. At only an inch long, the rounds are often sold in bulk. You can commonly purchase .22 LR in bricks of 500 rounds for around $30. This makes it a very affordable round that can be purchased and fired in bulk while not killing the wallet. The round is common enough that any gun store in the United States will carry it. The same goes for big box
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COWBOY .25 .32 .38 .38 .38 .38-40 .44-40 .45LC .45LC .458
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bullet bulletin
.22 LR
stores that sell firearms. The .22 LR is so highly desired and so common, it’s one of the easier rounds to locate. When it comes to recoil, the .22 LR is probably one of the lightest rounds out there. There is almost no recoil in your average-sized handgun, just a gentle push that lets you know you fired it. In the smallest of guns, like derringers, the recoil is still minimal and comfortable to fire over and over. The .22 LR is the perfect training caliber for shooters looking mainly to target practice and plink. It is not the best choice for a defensive round. It’s simply too small, and does not reliably penetrate deep enough to always strike something vital. As a target round it excels in accuracy and beginners can shoot quite a bit affordably to practice and become proficient with their firearm. Speaking of firearms, the selection for handguns in .22 LR is expansive. New shooters can find revolvers, automatics, derringers, and even boltaction .22 LR pistols. The round is so popular people make a wide variety of firearms in the caliber. New shooters can get cowboy-style revolvers, or .22 LR versions of the most popular automatic pistols. The .22 LR is the best round for beginners who are children, or who are recoil-sensitive and scared of the loud concussion most handguns create. 90
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Best .22 pistols for beginners: • Ruger SR-22 • Walther P22 • Any of the pistols covered in our roundup here
9MM: MOVING UP IN THE WORLD
The 9mm round has experienced a resurgence in the last two or three years. With ammunition technology constantly changing and evolving, the 9mm projectile has become more effective and more popular. The 9mm round is the current choice of the United States military and NATO as a whole. Nine-millimeter ammunition is
9mm
very common and extremely popular. It’s used by police, military, concealed carriers, competition shooters and recreational plinkers. And it can be found in any self-respecting gun store and big box store. Buying online in bulk is often the cheaper method, but does require a significant initial investment. Buying bulk can often reduce the price per round to an affordable 17 cents. Nine millimeter also comes in a very wide variety of different loads and styles. A shooter can purchase affordable and common 115-grain full metal jacket loads for practice, or choose the heavier 124-, 135-, or even 147-grain rounds for a variety of different purposes. For example, the 147-grain loads are often subsonic and perfect for suppressor use. The 9mm round is an excellent round for both defensive use and plinking. Its affordability makes it a great choice for simple target shooting. There is more recoil than the .22 LR, but it’s far from harsh or punishing. The recoil is controllable in full-sized weapons, compact weapons and even subcompacts. Shooters will not run into recoil issues until they go to super small pocket pistols. Even then, the recoil is controllable, just a bit snappy. The 9mm is a great caliber that
bullet bulletin creates an advantage in terms of versatility. A single pistol can be used for target practice and plinking, concealed carry and general selfdefense, and even some competitions. The 9mm is a very versatile round, it’s easy to shoot, and quite capable when paired with the correct
.38 Special
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ammo. Firearm selection is also very broad for this caliber, and includes automatics and revolvers. This caliber is mainly found in automatics and can be found in close to any configuration a shooter desires. Best 9mm Pistols for Beginners: • Glock 17
• CZ 75 B • Ruger SR9 • Any of the pistols we cover in our 9mm write-up here
.38 SPECIAL: LESS POPULAR BUT FUN
The .38 Special is probably one of the oldest active rounds still commonly used for self-defense. It is a classic revolver cartridge that’s been around for generation after generation. The .38 Special is typically a revolver caliber, and a good choice for anyone looking for a modern six-gun. There are at least two automatics that can chamber and fire the .38 Special, but it is mainly used in revolvers. The .38 Special is the round used for small revolvers designed for concealed carry. The .38 Special is well known and well respected for its features, which includes a relatively low recoil, even when fired from a small, snubnose revolver. Snubnose revolvers in .38
bullet bulletin Special give users a compact weapon, in a full-powered cartridge. In an automatic, the same size auto would likely be in the weaker .380 ACP. The .38 Special isn’t just isolated to snubnose revolvers, though. There are several full-sized revolvers that shoot
the .38 Special. For those who prefer a wheel gun over an automatic, a .38 Special with a 3- or 4-inch barrel is an absolute blast to shoot. The round is accurate and performs well as a defensive round. It also has a very mild recoil that is pleasant, and
hardly any muzzle rise. Since most .38 Specials are revolvers, you can purchase reduced recoil ammo that will not cause functional issues with a revolver. Best .38 Specials for Beginners: • Rossi 352 • Smith & Wesson 38
.45 ACP: AN AMERICAN CLASSIC
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP is a classic American round. Designed for the legendary 1911 automatic pistol, the .45 ACP has served the United States for over 100 years. It was the standard militaryissue handgun cartridge for over 70 years and is still an American favorite. The .45 ACP is a bigger round that does have the highest level of recoil on this list. However, the recoil impulse from the .45 ACP is not harsh or painful in any way. It is often described as more of a slow push than a snappy kick. The .45 ACP is good for beginners looking for a bigger bullet. Beginners
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who start with a .22 LR may decide to move up to a new caliber and the .45 ACP is an excellent choice in that situation. Since the round has been around for so long, there are tons and tons of pistols chambered in it. The classic 1911 is just one of hundreds of .45 ACP pistols out there. The classic round has attracted almost all major manufacturers to create a .45 ACP handgun. The .45 ACP is an excellent choice if you are a beginner looking to acquire a suppressor. The common and cheap .45 ACP 230-grain ball round is naturally subsonic. Other calibers have subsonic rounds but they are often hard to find or pricey. This makes it a very quiet round out of a suppressor since there is no supersonic crack. The .45 ACP is also an excellent choice for individuals who have an affection for classic firearms. The .45 ACP is an American institution and it often attracts new shooters for good reason. Best .45 ACP Pistols for Beginners: • Any type of 1911, preferably an American-made model or a Sig Sauer
BEGINNERS BEWARE
Choosing a caliber is often more important than choosing an exact firearm. While we’ve given you some pointers on which handguns are some of our favorites in each particular caliber, people often try to choose the gun before they choose the caliber, which is a recipe for disaster. Proper caliber choice sets beginners up for success, and as a starting point for a long-term hobby. Remember, pick a caliber that’s common, affordable, easy to handle, and fits your desired needs. Editor’s note: Jason Wilson is a firearms enthusiast and CZ collector. He has a number of CZ 75s that he shoots regularly. He is a firearms hobbyist and has been adding to his firearms collection for over 20 years. He is also the lead editor at GunBacker.
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COMPANY SPOTLIGHT
EVOLUTION OF A FIREARMS COMPANY Freedom Armory Machine Works, makers of rifle, pistol suppressors, changes its name to TiON Inc. Dragoon
PHOTOS BY TION INC.
iON Inc., a division of Freedom Armory Inc., has gone through quite the evolution over the course of its 25-plus-year run, morphing from a modest 1,000-square-foot retail facility into a 23,000-square-foot state-of-the-art operation and manufacturing complex. Freedom Armory Inc. was first established in 1993 with the intent of creating a full-service, premier training, shooting, retail firearms and gunsmithing facility in Glen Rock, Pennsylvania. They became a Class III dealer shortly thereafter, selling silencers, machineguns and short barreled rifles. And in 2012, Freedom Armory formed a manufacturing division, called Freedom Armory Machine Works, with its core objective being the reinvention of the sound suppressor. Over time, it became clear that the manufacturing activity must become its own entity with its own identity, and thus, Freedom Armory Machine Works officially became TiON Inc. on January 2, 2019. While the name has changed, the folks at TiON Inc. still offer the same quality products with the same excellent customer support. Their most popular suppressor remains their Dragoon 7.62 QD, followed by the Grenadier 45 and Minuteman .22. “The shooting public is amazed by the Dragoon’s less than 13-ounce weight and total serviceability, as well as our unique quick disconnect mounting
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Grenadier 45
Minuteman
system,” says Scott Morris, the company’s president. “One of the most difficult areas of suppressor sales is trying to describe the decibel reduction of a given unit and the entire range of calibers that can be fired through it. We excel in this area and provide a section in our catalog on testing with table data to support the decibel numbers, such as bullet weight and barrel length.” He continues, “The Grenadier 45 is the most popular pistol suppressor, primarily because it supports more calibers than our 9mm suppressors. Our first suppressor, the Minuteman, and its 3.9-ounce weight, redefined the rimfire suppressor market.” The Dragoon family of suppressors, the Grenadier 45 and the Minuteman all use the company’s Total Breakdown Technology (TBT), which allows every suppressor component to be
removed from the suppressor tube/ body for the ease of cleaning/servicing each suppressor component. The Grenadier 45 and Minuteman also employ the company’s patented Gas Indexing Technology (GIT), which allows the consumer to reconfigure the suppressor baffle stack for improved sound reduction capabilities on different host firearms. “The overall characteristic that defines our line of suppressors is the use of titanium and TBT in all our products, making them the world’s lightest, serviceable suppressors in their respective calibers,” says Morris. As for what’s next for TiON Inc., Morris shares that they’re working on several new products, but “no sneak previews at this point.” Stay tuned. Editor’s note: For more, see tioninc.com. americanshootingjournal.com 103
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GUNS FOR THE ALASKAN BUSH DWELLER From plinking for the pot to tending the trapline to protecting against cabin raiders – four- and two-footed alike – here’s the arsenal one man recommends. STORY BY JIM DICKSON * PHOTOS BY MANUFACTURERS
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his article is for those who live in the bush. Those who go on a guided hunt may find other guns satisfactory for their purposes, but a bush dweller’s life may depend on his guns being called on to meet every contingency, not just those of a guided hunt. Most bush dwellers have only a few guns
and since these must both provide food and protection, this is no place to scrimp on quality. Having lived there, here are my observations on the subject. The people living deep in the backcountry face threats the same as those in the city, only a bit different. Wolf and bear attacks have been
increasing in recent years and wolves come in packs, dictating a semiauto for defense. No matter how deep into the wilderness you go, you still may run into people. Some of them are nice and some are not. Some treat any cabin and its contents as abandoned, even if there is a fire still going in the barrel stove. Be forewarned and be prepared.
Between foraging for dinner – looks like ptarmigan is on the menu for this Arctic Alaska gunner – managing a trapline and just dealing with the dangers of living in the bush, the Last Frontier is no place to scrimp when it comes to firearms, especially for those trying to make a go of it in the bush. (PAUL A. ATKINS)
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Browning .22 rifle
Ruger 10-22 semi-auto
A GOOD .22 RIFLE is a basic necessity for small game and practice. No practice, no hit anything. The old Browning semiauto .22 has the longest trouble-free life by far. That made it the mainstay of shooting galleries in years gone by. A somewhat cheaper alternative is the Ruger 10/22 semiauto, which has earned a wide following. Rifles need to be able to handle moose and bear. The best one currently available is the semiauto version of the German G3 rifle. This was also Norway’s standard 7.62 NATO rifle, so you know that it will work in any part of Alaska at any time of the year. The G3 has proven more reliable than any other gun in widespread use. Even Russia’s vaunted AK-47 pales in reliability comparison to the G3. New guns built on the machinery Portugal used to build the gun under license from H&K in Germany are available from PTR-91. Guns built on military surplus parts kits are available from Century Arms at about half the price. The ones made in Spain are called CETME and they were the first ones. Designed by German engineers
after World War II, the CETME was adopted by Germany as the G3. These guns work perfectly with all 7.62 NATO and .308 loads, including the heavy bullet ones. Whichever one you buy, you need to send the trigger group to Williams Trigger Specialties for a trigger job, as the mil-specs on these guns call for a bad trigger in order to survive an insanely high drop test without jarring off. Some hoplophobic bureaucrat’s idea of safety. People often want to know what is the best survival rifle to carry in their bush plane. The answer may surprise you. It is the M1 carbine. Its cartridge is basically a high-velocity .32-20 load and it kills small game cleanly without ruining the meat. It has also killed very many deer and bear, even though it is universally considered not the best caliber for that. Some people say they would not want to face a charging grizzly with one. Well, the grizzly’s brain is located on the centerline of the skull about halfway between the eyes and the ears when his head is down, and you have plenty of shots at it, for the carbine is almost as fast-firing as a .22. Unlike most survival rifles, the
Inland M1 Carbine
PTR 109
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carbine is also easy to hit with. Indeed it may well be the easiest rifle of all time to hit with. So don’t worry. The gun will do its part. In any survival scenario, hitting what you shoot at is the first priority. This gun is small and light, as is its ammunition, so you can carry a lot of ammo easily. The finest ones I have encountered are made by Inland Manufacturing. They make it to the last mil-specs, which were a big improvement over the earlier ones. Inland has been able to get 1-inch minute-of-angle groups at 100 yards with their guns. Riflescopes often have a problem with the fact that it rains so much in Alaska. Bushnell’s RainGuard coating on their scopes’ lens enables them to be used in the rain. For semiautos, get a German three-post reticle because crosshairs blur in aimed rapidfire. Once you have taken that careful first shot, you may need aimed rapidfire to bring a running big moose down before his noisy demise attracts bear. I do not want to deal with skinning, butchering and packing out a moose and a bear on the same day. That’s just more work than I want.
Inland Mfg. M1911A1 Colt Single Action Army revolver
FOR PISTOLS, THE BEST choice is the M1911A1. Due to the short ranges in our part of the Alaskan interior, my wife Betty and I ended up using WWII Remington Rand M1911A1s for everything with perfect results. We were both pistol shooters, which made this easy. The M1911A1 is by far the most reliable pistol ever made and definitely the one to choose when your life depends on your pistol. It is extremely fast firing and instantly reloadable with fresh magazines. Again, in my opinion the best one in current production is the Inland Manufacturing
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M1911A1. This is a loose-fit gun with play in the slide but still incredibly accurate out to 300 yards. For holsters we always used the WWII G.I. issue rig of the M1916 holster with web belt and magazine pouch. Both El Paso Saddlery and Pacific Canvas and Leather make this holster, and Pacific Canvas and Leather
also makes the web belt and magazine pouch to go with it. For concealed carry, nothing beats the pancake holster and El Paso Saddlery makes a fine one for this gun that they call their Tortilla. A .22 pistol is a necessity on a trapline. We used a Stoeger .22 Luger because it was so accurate and easy to
hit with. It wasn’t the best .22, though, and it is no longer made. Today the finest .22 pistol is the Marvel Precision LLC .22 conversion unit mounted on a M1911A1 pistol. This means that you have to buy an extra M1911A1, but now you are getting cheap practice with the gun that you are depending on. The Marvel Precision LLC units tighten down on the gun in such a way that they provide the finest accuracy, as witnessed by the fact that they are used in the .22 matches at Camp
Perry. Unlike most .22 pistols, these are easy to maintain. Many fine .22 pistols are difficult and tricky to take apart and put back together, but not these. They also go on and off the gun quickly and easily. A LOT OF PEOPLE prefer a revolver. It is a myth that revolvers are more reliable than automatics. I like to shoot at least 200 rounds a day and I have had far, far more jams and malfunctions with revolvers than I
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ever had with any automatic. That said, the choice is now between single- and double-action revolvers. The M1873 Colt Single Action Army revolver in .45 Long Colt has been popular in Alaska since the gold rush. It has accounted for every type of Alaskan game many times over the years. It is an extremely easy pistol to hit with, which accounts for its popularity. On the downside, it is slow to unload the spent cartridge cases and reload the chambers. So slow that its sustained fire rate is the same as a capand-ball revolver with paper cartridges. Always remember to carry this gun with the hammer down on an empty chamber, as otherwise a sharp blow to the hammer can fire the gun. This is the way it has always been carried over the years, despite its being called a “six-shooter.” The Colt has a lot of screws and they all like to work loose as the gun is fired, so get a pair of fitted screwdrivers for it from Peacemaker Specialties and keep them tight. I have always found the 4¾-inch barrel the fastest and best handling length on this
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gun. If you go this route, get a genuine Colt. Trust me, you will be glad you did. The finest double-action revolver is the stainless steel Ruger Redhawk 4-inch barrel in .45 Colt. It is a modern design without screws to back out and is made as rugged and indestructible as modern science can make it. It has the most perfect double action trigger pull of any revolver I have seen. You can actually shoot as good double action as you can single action with this pistol. El Paso Saddlery has a full line of holsters for both of these revolvers. THERE IS ALWAYS A place for a close-range backup pistol, but it must be powerful and small. The best one I have found is the American Derringer Co.’s .45 Colt/.410 double Derringer. This gun is a close-range powerhouse that does not recoil badly, so long as you keep a tight grip on it. In Alaska I would only carry .45 Colt ammo in it due to the bears it might be called upon to defend against. You will note that I only recommend .45 ACP- and .45 Colt-
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caliber handguns. There are solid reasons for sticking to these two proven performers. Due to the poor ballistic shape of pistol bullets and the fact that air resistance goes up exponentially with velocity after 50 to 75 yards, your .44 Magnum’s velocity has dropped below that of the .45’s and the .44 only has a .429-inch bullet diameter compared to the larger .451-inch diameter of the .45. Since you never want expanding bullets in a pistol used for big game, as you need penetration, this size difference is significant. The sonic boom of a bullet over the sound barrier of 1,100 feet per second, added to the muzzle blast, will quickly do permanent hearing damage to unprotected ears and how many people have their shooter’s earmuffs on all the time they are in the bush? The subsonic .45s are safer on your hearing. Recoil of the magnums slows down the second and third shots so much that it can have fatal consequences to you. Stick with a proven performer and don’t get caught up with the latest craze like a teenage bobbysoxer.
FOR SHOTGUNS, THE CHEAPEST solution is a Mossberg 500 12-gauge pump gun. With a 20-inch riot gun barrel and sights loaded with German Brenneke slugs, it will put down a bear as fast as the biggest magnum rifle. With a choked barrel made for use with steel shot, which will ruin any barrel not specifically made for it, you have a waterfowl gun. You can shoot grouse and rabbits quite well in either configuration and you don’t have to use that infernal steel shot for them. If you are serious about your shotgunning and don’t want to waste shells by missing game, you had better invest in a side-by-side 12-bore game gun from the British Isles and have it stocked to fit you. You will have to have a gun fitting at a shooting school or a gunmaker over there and have the stock made to these measurements or, in the case of a used gun, altered to fit them. Now you have a gun that points exactly where you are looking and you can hit unfailingly with. Prices range from a new Purdey at the high end to a used Birmingham-made
Mossberg 500
boxlock extractor gun at the low end. Either way you won’t wear them out like you will a mass-produced gun in hard shooting service. Having a broken gun or running out of ammunition without bringing sufficient game to bag is a lot more serious deep in the Alaskan interior in the winter than it is for the casual sportsman in the Lower 48. This is reason enough to invest in the best. THE AFOREMENTIONED GUNS WERE recommended as the best available within the budget of the average Alaskan bush resident. There are other guns, of course, but some of the best are not readily available or are very high priced, or both. The M1941 Johnson semiautomatic rifle is a good example of this. The guns I have listed will give good service and not let you down.
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ALASKA GUN CARE
Alaska’s extreme weather makes equally extreme demands on gun oils. The best for year-round use is Ballistol. This was the standard German Army oil in both world wars. It works equally well on steel, wood and leather. It forms an emulsion in water, so it won’t wash away in Alaska’s rain. As long as there is 5 percent Ballistol in that emulsion, the water will evaporate without causing rust. It can also be applied in the rain if need be. When winter comes, Ballistol moisture forms like dew on cold guns brought inside. If they are lubed with Ballistol, it will evaporate away without rusting. When Alaskan winter cold hits 60 below, do what the Germans did on the Russian front and use a mixture of 7 parts kerosene to 3 parts Ballistol. There is no reason to use a dry, unlubricated gun when Ballistol is available. A mixture of 25 percent Ballistol and 75 percent water makes an excellent bore cleaner that works on black powder, corrosive primers and noncorrosive primers. Ballistol is nontoxic and also works to prevent chapped, cracked and split skin in the winter months. –JD
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