Scott Haugen, Ash Hess, Phil Massaro, Mike Nesbitt, Paul Pawela, Nick Perna
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ON THE COVER
Wayne Brown, a successful businessman and current owner of Aggressor Adventures tour company, holds an FN PS90 5.7 at his 45-acre Georgia farm, named Happy Valley Ranch, where he shares his love of guns, hunting and nature with his grandkids. (WAYNE BROWN)
AmericanShootingJournal.com
@AmShootingJourn Volume 14 // Issue 5 // February 2025
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Nile Queen II
FEATURES
29 R OAD HUNTER: MAXIMIZE CALLING TO BRING IN PREDATORS GALORE!
Part of the thrill of predator hunting in the West is that any calling setup could bring in a variety of species – secretive bobcats, stealthy mountain lions, tricky coyotes, and more! Scott Haugen details how to pull off a mixed-bag hunt.
39 BULLE T BULLETIN: TRYING OUT THE FUSION TIPPED
Looking for better accuracy and longer ranges but don’t want to spend an arm and a leg for a box of hunting bullets? You might take a gander at Federal Premium’s new Fusion Tipped line. Phil Massaro evaluates this bonded-core and polymer-tipped cartridge.
59 TACTICAL TRAINING: SHOOTING’S HOLY TRIAD
There’s spray and pray and there’s luck, but if you really want to be on target, it’s all about the right firearm, right ammunition and your capabilities. Ash Hess shares the gospel of the bull’s-eye shooter.
75 M AKING THE CUT: GRAND WITH HIS HANDS, STEEL AND HEART
Our Paul Pawela has a lot of mentors, but at the nexus of two of his many interests is Bram Frank, self-defense instructor and knife-maker extraordinaire. From Philippine martial arts to cunning blades to his humanity, learn more about this well-rounded man.
85 BL ACK POWDER: PLUNDER I’D RECOMMEND
Better grab that credit card, Mrs. Nesbitt, Mike’s on October Country Muzzleloading’s website again! Our resident black powder shooter shares some of the best items there to fill a possibles bag with.
WAYNE BROWN’S STORY
Farm kid. USAF medic. Taco Bell franchisee. Scuba teacher. Aggressor Adventures owner. Gun collector. Proud grandpa. Wayne Brown has packed a lot of lives into his highly successful time on Earth – Frank Jardim interviews our cover guy.
(WAYNE BROWN) COVER STORY
Gun REVIEWs
50 TIKK A T3X TACT RIFLE
“In a market currently flooded with tactical precision rifles, sometimes it’s the lesser-known ones that deserve a second look.” So writes Nick Perna about the Tikka Arms T3x TACT, “a solid, well-built gun” from Finland. Let’s check it out!
64 CHARTER ARMS .357 MAGNUM/9MM DOUBLE DOG SNUBNOSE
Lightweight, easy to carry, capable of firing 9mm, .38 Special and .357 Magnum loads, and ported to reduce muzzle flip – do we have your attention yet? Frank Jardim gave the American-made Double Dog snubby from Charter Arms a tryout and liked what he saw – and felt.
MORE FEATURES
79 L AW ENFORCEMENT SPOTLIGHT: LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE RESERVES!
They may not get paid much – heck, they might not get paid at all – but volunteer officers are a pretty big help for often understaffed police departments. Nick Perna shares a little love for the guys helping cops get the job done.
81 MILITARY SPOTLIGHT: ‘A MAN AMONG MEN’
Stop in at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Florida and you’ll see a statue commemorating a Vietnam War hero’s selfless actions, but who is that man carrying his wounded comrade? Meet the Medal of Honor recipient and SEAL Team 6 founding member behind the bronze likeness.
(NICK PERNA)
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Wayne Brown at the gates of his 45-acre property in Appling, Georgia, named Happy Valley Ranch. He is holding a 1947 Stevens Model 15 singleshot bolt-action .22 that his dad bought him when he was 6. It’s the first firearm that Brown teaches his grandkids on today.
Wayne Brown’s Story
A love of shooting, hunting, nature and family anchor a very successful businessman’s life.
STORY BY FRANK JARDIM • PHOTOS BY WAYNE BROWN
This month I had the chance to talk with Wayne B. Brown, the president and CEO of Aggressor Adventures tours and author of the book From Rags to Enrichment: How I Define Success in Business and in Life. Fans of the popular Pursuit Channel show Surviving Mann may recognize Aggressor Adventures as one of the sponsors. If you know anything about Brown, it will come as no surprise that he was all-in on the show. This soft-spoken, highly successful Florida businessman’s character was shaped by a love of the great outdoors and his military service.
Brown with an FN PS90 5.7. He owns a “fairly large and very diverse gun collection” that includes a .50 BMG sniper rifle, pair of consecutively serial numbered Centurion Tactical pistols and several AR-15 rifles he built himself, among other firearms.
Frank Jardim You are the classic example of the self-made man … who had the discipline not to self-destruct on his own success. What is your origin story?
Wayne Brown I was raised on a family farm in rural Florida about an hour inland from Saint Augustine Beach. Our whole community was just a couple hundred people. To give you an idea how small it was, our one gas station was also our one grocery store.
We had horses, cows, pigs, goats, chickens, turkeys and a big vegetable garden. Mom canned everything so we always had enough healthy food, and we hunted big and small game in the woods that surrounded us and fished the streams. The family farm wasn’t a way to make money; it was a way to be self-sufficient. We all worked the farm, but my folks also had regular jobs to earn the money for the things we didn’t eat. Dad was a truck driver by profession and Mom drove a school bus. My brothers and I did our farm chores before the school bus picked us up. I fed the livestock. Looking back, you might say we looked poor, but my father owned the land and we were happy. My lifelong passion for the outdoors was born and raised on that farm. There is something about nature that satisfies me like nothing else.
FJ Did your dad teach you to hunt?
WB He taught all of us to shoot and we hunted the squirrels, turkey and deer on our land. He gave us each a rifle and a shotgun of our own when he thought we were old enough, and at that point we could go hunt on our own. Dad enjoyed nature as much as I did. He and Mom were both from rural West Virginia.
FJ How old was old enough to have your own gun?
WB Dad bought me a .22 rifle of my own when I was 6. At the store they cut the buttstock down so I could shoulder it. I still have that gun. My brothers and I loved shooting and we did a lot of target shooting and plinking at tin cans, and shot the armadillos and the occasional rabbit sneaking into the garden.
At least twice a month my brothers and I would grab our guns, tent, matches, a big cast iron frying pan and a box of pancake batter, saddle up the horses and ride up into the woods to camp for the weekend and live off the land on squirrels, wild blackberries and huckleberries. We got our water from the creeks. The pancake batter was in case we didn’t shoot enough squirrels.
I eventually got an over-and-under combination .410 shotgun and .22 rifle. It wasn’t fancy. Just a store brand gun my dad got me. The .410 was a good squirrel-getter.
We had no cellphones back then. You would never see parents today letting kids under 12 years old disappear for two days. Our parents trusted us enough to look after ourselves and each other. When you get that kind of trust from a parent, it’s good for your self-confidence. I kept it up at that pace until I got my driver’s license.
FJ What was so important about learning to drive?
WB Once you hit 16 you start thinking about girls. A car got me to the beach where I had the opportunity to learn to surf and chase girls. Driving didn’t reduce my love of the outdoors, it just allowed me to broaden my interests.
In high school we had a field trip to the estuary where they turned us loose to explore the swamp with instructions to collect samples of every living thing we could find: frogs, fish, bugs … A lot of kids thought it was disgusting, but I remember thinking that it was the best school day I ever had. I loved it. Even though I had less time for hunting and fishing and camping, the love of it stayed with me my whole life. The outdoors is still a place for me to restore myself. The peacefulness of nature becomes even more important when the demands of work increase.
FJ I would be remiss in my duty to our readers if I didn’t ask you about alligators. How big a danger are they to Florida outdoorsmen?
WB I think native Floridians, especially rural ones like me, don’t get worked up about them like the snowbirds and
tourists do. What happened at Disney was horrible [a 2-year-old boy was killed by an alligator at Disney World in 2016], but my experience sharing the outdoors with them is that we didn’t bother them and they didn’t bother us. We had a pond on the farm and there was usually at least one gator in it. We watered the livestock there, fished there and swam there too and didn’t think anything of it. One would pop their head up once in a while and peek at us, but nothing more than that. Perhaps we were just accustomed to keeping track of where they were and aware not to threaten them. Or maybe they weren’t hungry. My brothers and I were more worried about our turkeys than gators. Those big birds were mean! We kept a heavy stick by the gate to fend them off when we had to go in to feed them. They would run at you and try to spur your legs.
FJ How did you go from farmboy to globe-trotting adventurer?
WB I didn’t plan that. As I was nearing graduation, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I just knew that if I didn’t get out of that little town I wouldn’t amount to anything. I came up with the idea of joining the US Air Force and becoming a medic. In high school I took this health class that had me working in the local hospital three hours a week and I thought the work was interesting and I was good at it. I was a good student, but realistically, college was out of the question, so the military seemed like a good way to get training in the medical field, and my high school guidance counselor agreed. Unlike most guys who join the military, I knew what I wanted to do and negotiated hard with the recruiter to get it. They must have thought I was worth it because they gave in. I spent eight years in the military from 1979 to 1987.
FJ Older readers will recall that was during the Cold War when the United States led the free-world coalition against the aggressive advances of the communist Soviet Union, Red China and their satellites. Were US Air Force medics required to qualify with the M16 rifle?
WB That was part of my basic
training. Then in Germany I also had to qualify with the then-new M9 9mm Beretta pistol that replaced the old .45 Automatic. Some guys had clearly never picked up a firearm. With all the shooting I’d done back on the farm, I wasn’t worried about qualifying … but on the day we shot for the record I pulled a shot on the rifle range. It pissed me off to miss, but my score was still high enough that I had no trouble qualifying as marksman.
FJ What unit were you in?
WB Once I completed my training as a paramedic I was stationed at a hospital at Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi. That’s important because I met and married my wife there. Later I was transferred to RheinMain Air Base in West Germany to join the 2nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron where I stayed for the rest of my service.
By the end of it, I was an E5 staff sergeant responsible for scheduling to ensure that three planes and crews were ready at all times to respond to emergencies. We were basically big jet ambulances. For long trips to Africa or the US, we used the C-141. Shorter flights were made in C-9A Nightingales, which were militarized Douglas DC-9 twin-engine airliners. It was a big plane, too, 119 feet long. The
crew included pilot, copilot and five medics. We would configure them on the inside in whatever way best suited the mission. Typically, if we took out the seats, we could comfortably carry 14 stretcher cases in two levels, but on one occasion we had so many casualties to evacuate that we had the stretchers stacked five or six high from floor to ceiling. That happened only once.
FJ Your squadron responded to the October 23, 1983, bombing of the US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Lebanon, that killed 305 people and wounded another 150, most of them Americans. I will never forget the news broadcasts showing rescuers digging in the rubble and carrying out horribly maimed marines without their legs or arms. What was it like for you?
WB It was the first and only time I was under hostile fire. The Beirut airport is in a valley surrounded by hills and there were snipers shooting at you all the time. I flew three missions to Beirut in a week. The first one arrived about 14 hours after the attack. All of us had our steel helmets and flak vests on, but only one M9 Beretta pistol was issued for the defense of the whole crew. The wounded were already at the airport and we loaded them on board and did our best to keep them alive on the long flight to hospital. Many
of them were really bad. Some died in transit despite our best efforts.
FJ It sounds like you were pretty devoted to your job. Why did you leave the Air Force?
WB It wasn’t because I didn’t like and take pride in my work. It was because I saw more and more evidence that the military wasn’t a genuine meritocracy. One commanding officer might recognize your contributions and advance your career, but the next one might hold you back for no other reason than he disliked you.
After eight years of service experience in a complicated job where human lives depended on it being done right, I had matured and was confident in my abilities. My wife and I returned to Florida, (and) I found an opening with PepsiCo Corporation in the newspaper help wanted ads. I got an interview and joined the corporate world as the assistant manager of the Taco Bell restaurant in Jacksonville with a negotiated salary of $20,000. I applied myself like I’d done in the Air Force and within a year and a half, I was the supervisor responsible for all 25 restaurants in the city.
To make a long story short, as I moved up the ranks, I realized I wasn’t a great fit for the corporate world either. I’m a no-nonsense kind of guy,
Brown with the Telly Awards he won as an executive producer of five TV shows. They featured his signature lodge in Sri Lanka and its amazing culture and wildlife and his liveaboard yacht in Belize, the BelizeAggressorIII, and diving the world’s second largest barrier reef system.
and I wasn’t seeing that from upper management. They did not like being called out about it either. Having a lot of confidence in myself, I quit corporate and partnered with a great guy to buy our own franchise in 1992. Unlike the corporate-owned stores, the franchise side of Taco Bell was great. When you own the franchise, it’s your business to make successful or crash and burn. By the time I sold out in 2006, I had 1,500 employees in 60 restaurants across Florida, southern Alabama, the Mississippi coast and Georgia.
FJ What was something like that worth?
WB From my research, I figured $160 million, so that’s what I asked for. A private equity group bought it. The deal didn’t come together overnight, and that turned out to be a very good thing. I kid around that I couldn’t retire because I didn’t want to be that guy at the country club bar every day drunk at 4 p.m. But the truth is I had sacrificed a lot of my time building a successful business and my kids were growing up. I always wanted to share with them my love of the outdoors so they could appreciate nature the way I did.
As a successful businessman I was able to buy a 45-acre farm and when I could get away from work, which wasn’t often enough, I took them on vacations. They got a taste of camping, boating, shooting, hunting, fishing, four-wheeling and dirt-bike riding, and they enjoyed it, but not the way I did when I was a kid. For me, enjoying the outdoors was an everyday thing because I was a farmboy and being in nature was an everyday thing. For my kids, raised in the suburbs, it was just a two-week-a-year thing when I could get away from the job.
When my son was 15, I was concerned he would get a car and drive off and I’d never see him again. I hadn’t found the hook that could give him the connection to outdoors that I felt. Then I was walking past a dive shop one day and I got the idea to try scuba. We tried it, and he enjoyed it, but not as much as me.
FJ OK, now this story is making me sad. WB No! No! I assure you it has a great ending. Exploring nature’s underwater
wonders didn’t spark a love of outdoor adventure in my son, but it did in my daughter. She loved scuba as much as I did and became my best dive partner. We did a high-end, smallgroup Aggressor tours dive in the Galapagos Islands together and we loved the experience so much we did another in Belize.
Aggressor was so good, I really wanted to introduce myself to the owners as a professional courtesy. I was a little shocked when I was told they were dead and the company was for sale. This was at the time when I was in the process of selling my Taco Bell franchise.
A couple months after I closed that deal, I became the owner of the Aggressor tours franchise. Aggressor had six destination franchises at the time: Belize, Palau, the Galapagos, Fiji, Cayman, and Turks and Caicos. Now we have 40 franchisees operating around the world, mostly diveoriented, but also a sailboat river cruise in Egypt down the Nile and a land-based safari camp nature
adventure in Sri Lanka.
Owning Aggressor tours led to a lot more outdoor adventure and fun than managing restaurant franchises did. It’s still a lot of work. It’s my business now to promote all our tour offerings, attend all the travel trade shows, and do the advertising that gets those tours booked over 85-percent capacity so my franchise operators don’t have to worry about getting enough guests to make a profit. They can focus on delivering the best possible experience for our guests. After I bought the company I spent a year traveling around the world to meet my franchise owners and learn their operations.
FJ What are Aggressor Adventures tours like?
WB Luxury accommodations onboard, including gourmet food and top-level service, knowledgeable and helpful staff to facilitate all parts of the adventure safely, including preparation, handling and maintenance of all the required scuba gear, and exciting, beautiful locations to explore with experienced
As founder and chairman of the board for the Sea of Change Foundation, Brown presented the Lifetime Explorer Award to JeanMichel Cousteau, Jacques Cousteau’s son. The pair have worked together for many years on marine conservation projects worldwide.
staff who have a real passion for their work and can educate you about the area you’re visiting and answer all your questions so you can get the most out of the activities. These are physical outdoor adventures, and our guests are generally in very good health, but by 9 p.m. most of them will be in bed in their cabins resting up for the next day.
FJ Do you explore any sunken ships?
WB On our Red Sea Wrecks tour, we dive on a lot of sunken ships. The SS Thistlegorm is one of the more dramatic. It was carrying British supplies through the Suez Canal in World War II. Divers can see the trucks and motorcycles and artillery and stacks of rifles she had on board when she went down.
How many wrecks we visit in a day depends on how close they are to each other. You might visit 10 wrecks one day, two the next, and so on. There are 400 or so in the area. Some of these vessels were early steamships from the 1800s. Wrecks are fun, but most divers are down there to experience the magnificently beautiful – and often very
colorful – great outdoors hidden under the waves.
FJ What about sharks?
WB They are a little like undersea rock stars, but they are only a small part of the ecosystem. Still, everyone is curious about sharks. They are a feature of our Tiger Beach dive in the Bahamas. It’s always a thrill for me to see them. The sound of the yacht motor draws in the lemon sharks, whose big mouths full of big, craggly teeth make them look fierce. Nobody is rushing to be the first in the water when they show up, but attacks on humans are extremely rare. Sharks are curious, but virtually never attack scuba divers swimming underwater.
FJ You don’t use those dive cages?
WB Of course not. What kind of outdoor adventure would it be in a cage? The truth about sharks is that they are curious about people, but not as food. They don’t attack scuba divers, unless they are driven into a frenzy by chumming up the water. Chumming is when lots of meat
and blood is dumped in the water to draw in the big sharks and get them agitated. We don’t do that. We are guests in the undersea world to appreciate the beauty of all its living creatures and their habitats.
FJ What’s the most amazing thing you’ve seen?
WB That’s hard to answer, but one of the most memorable things was the sawfish that came across my daughter and I as we were letting a current carry us along a beautiful reef. They are extremely rare. For readers unfamiliar with this creature, imagine a 20-footlong shark with a 3-foot-long chainsaw bar growing out of its nose. The killer whales are really magnificent too. They are extremely intelligent creatures.
FJ I always wanted to know – orca versus shark: who wins?
WB Orcas kick butt. Once we saw a few of them on the surface in the Galapagos and it looked like they were chasing something, but we really couldn’t see what they were doing.
Colorful fish swim past the wreck of the British cargo ship SSThistlegorm, which lies in Egyptian waters on the bottom of the Red Sea. It was sunk by a German bomber in 1941 and its inventory of armored vehicles, motorcycles, guns and ammo, as well as two steam locomotives, attracts divers. The ship was discovered in the 1950s by the elder Cousteau.
Once we got in the water we saw that the orcas were literally tossing around a big hammerhead shark for fun. They were using the hammerhead for an underwater beach ball.
FJ I’m no diver, but I’d do your Nile River tour. It is a lot more affordable than I expected.
WB A history-oriented guy like you would love drifting down the river with only sails for power, watching the people in the little cities you pass by go about their lives. In the morning you see guys fishing the Nile like they did thousands of years ago, a guy driving along in a little tuk-tuk motor tricycle with the bench seat loaded with bread to deliver, and hear the Muslim call to prayer echoing over the river. I’m so grateful I got to experience the culture in such a direct, but unobtrusive, way.
We have an Egyptologist on the crew to explain the history of the sites we take our guests to. Most want to go in the big pyramids and
temples like those at Giza and Luxor, but in the little temples and tombs we visit, off the normal tourist path, you’ll find some of the best preserved wall paintings from the age of the pharaohs. The colors are so bright.
You can’t believe they were made 2,000 years ago. We have so many great adventures for our guests, we could talk about them all night and only scratch the surface. The best place to begin exploring what we offer is our website at aggressor.com.
As much as I like sharing adventure stories with you, I need to bring my story full circle.
Diving didn’t just bond my daughter and I with nature. All my grandkids love it too. I got certified in 1999 and decided to get my instructor rating to teach kids, which I loved doing. At age 3, all my grandkids were doing scuba in the pool. At 6 they qualified for Scuba Ranger, and at 10 they were certified Junior Open Water divers.
My grandkids were also much more receptive to the shooting sports.
Bennett, then 8, was taught how to scuba dive by his grandfather while attending the Scuba Ranger program. “They all love scuba and I get them in the ocean every chance we get,” Brown says of his grandkids.
Brown and his four grandchildren – Bennett, 12, Cash, 8, Caylee, 6, and Collin, 8 – in front of the new center console boat he bought for them to all fish together. “I enjoy spending as much time as possible with them and as a tribute to the grand times we will have on board, I aptly named her Grand Time,” he says. “Of course, we all had to have the logo on our fishing hats and shirts!”
They want to go out shooting every weekend on the farm.
FJ And so we come full circle to your happy childhood days plinking at cans and protecting the family garden from armadillos.
WB We have even more fun now than I did back then. I built a trap and skeet range on the farm. I have self-healing small game targets set up for them to hone their hunting skills, and in the fall we gather up all the pumpkins, load them with Tannerite, and have a real blast. I put a half-pound of that stuff in a big pumpkin to test it and the pieces came back past me when it blew.
FJ Noted. Stick to a third a pound of Tannerite or less per pumpkin.
WB My 8-year-old grandson is like me when it comes to shooting. He’ll shoot until the ammo is used up. I bought him his first rifle, a .22 Henry lever-action, when he was 8 years old. I taught all my grandkids gun safety and how to shoot.
I have a fairly large and very diverse
gun collection. Most of it is on display for them to look at and they can handle them under my supervision. The variety exposes them to lots of different firearm operating systems and gives me the opportunity to teach them safe gun handling across multiple platforms – bolt-actions, lever-actions, magazine-fed semiautos, pistols, revolvers and so on.
FJ What kind of guns do you collect?
WB Guns I can get at a good price that are fun. I have some nice guns, but I’m no gun snob. I don’t buy them as investments to stick in a safe either. I buy them for us to enjoy shooting, military and sporting arms both.
I even built a few AR-platform rifles last year. The faster they shoot, the more fun we have with them. Forced reset triggers and binary triggers let you boost your gun’s rate of fire a lot, but they don’t require any special NFA paperwork. You might call them poorman’s machine guns. They are still semiauto, of course, but they make your $500 AR-15 feel a bit like a $20,000 full-
auto M16. It’s just good fun. I’ve always been a Beretta fan and I got a pair of consecutively serial numbered Centurion Tactical pistols and had Bill Wilson do his custom treatment on them. He was surprised I intended to shoot them.
FJ One in each hand?
WB Sometimes. Why not?
FJ I’m not judging. I’m envious. I wish you were my grandpa. Do you actually let the kids shoot anything in your collection?
WB I only let them shoot guns they can safely handle. It’s going to be a while before they can shoot my .50 BMG sniper rifle or .50AE Desert Eagle pistol. That way they stay safe and always have something else to aspire to in the shooting hobby. My youngest grandson wants to hunt turkey with me. To do that he’ll have to pass his hunter safety course, learn to call them in, learn to camouflage, and so on. There’s always something new to learn in the shooting sports. ★
ROAD HUNTER
MAXIMIZE CALLING TO BRING IN PREDATORS GALORE!
Strategies for Western cougars, coyotes, foxes and more.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT HAUGEN
ith a fawn decoy next to an electronic speaker, I settled into cover 50 yards downwind. The decoy was on a semiopen hillside at the intersection of four game trails that emerged from tall timber. A mountain lion I’d been catching on trail cameras traveled each path.
WSeconds after sending out a fawn distress call on the remote, a cry rang out to my right. I knew what it was, and soon a gray fox came sprinting in, followed by another, then a third. All three foxes yipped and barked at the decoy, then left. The shot would have been easy, but I was holding out for a lion. A few minutes later, a coyote came in, which I passed on as well. After an hour of calling, no cougar showed. I returned to the area the
following morning and called in two more gray foxes and a bobcat. The cat was too good to pass up.
While coyotes are often the target species when predator hunting the West, you never know what might come to a call. One of the biggest thrills is that a bobcat, gray fox, red fox, cougar, badger or even a bear can show up at any moment.
When multiple gray foxes, a coyote and a bobcat came into my
Part of the thrill of predator hunting in the West is knowing that any calling setup could result in an encounter with a variety of species at any moment, including secretive bobcats.
ROAD HUNTER
sets intended for a cougar, I wasn’t surprised. What did surprise me was that more coyotes didn’t show up. The number of trail camera shots I had of all these predators – especially coyotes – in recent weeks left no guess as to what lived there. I was frustrated that the cougar never showed, despite seven straight days of calling for it.
TRAIL CAMERAS PLAY a big role in determining where and how I hunt predators. They reveal what predator species lurk in an area, when they move and what direction they’re heading, and they provide an idea of how many animals are out there.
Trail cams are your eyes in the woods when you’re not there and deliver valued information that helps establish a mindset to target multiple predator species at once, not just coyotes. I position trail cameras on fence lines, game trails, secondary
logging roads, the corners and edges of farm fields, and along brush lines.
I currently have 134 trail cameras set out. My non-cell cameras are Stealth Cam DS4Ks and my cellular cameras are Moultrie Mobiles. Over half the trail cameras I have out targeting predators are Moultrie cellulars. Every single trail camera is set on video mode. What you learn by watching the behavior of predators and hearing what goes on out of frame will greatly influence how you hunt an area, since video with sound reveals much more than still images. I hang cameras lower for predators than I do for big game, and often position them on fallen trees that create paths of travel in order to capture sounds they and their prey make.
Supplement the intel you glean from cameras by also searching for sign. When traveling roads and trails, look for tracks and droppings from
predators. Search for fur on fence posts, trees near trails and where trails cross under barbed-wire fencing. Take note of well-worn trails, as predators are creatures of habit and will use the same trails for years.
WHILE COYOTES ARE the cornerstone predators of the West, many other species coexist in the same habitats. By being aware of the habitats of bobcats, foxes, badgers, cougars and even bears – and preparing, setting up and calling based on what you know is out there –you’ll be on the way to expanding your predator hunting success.
When setting up to call coyotes, we usually do so in open, elevated terrain where we can see them approaching from a long way. But if you know gray foxes, bobcats and cougars are around, and want to target all of them at once, move your setup into cover. Old logging roads closed to vehicle traffic,
An electronic call, like this FoxPro X24, is ideal for pulling wary predators into the open for a shot opportunity in brushy habitats throughout the West.
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game trails, thinned habitats and even the edges of logged units and meadows are places to focus calling efforts if you’re looking to bring in a mix of predators to one calling post.
If you want to call red foxes or badgers, do so on the fringe of brushy habitat, as well as in open terrain like sagebrush flats and agricultural fields. Red foxes and badgers often occupy more open habitat than cats and gray foxes, but not always. Red, cross and silver foxes thrive in river bottoms and riparian zones too.
On a recent high-desert coyote hunt, I called into a dry gully. In less than two minutes, three coyotes came sprinting in. I shot one and the other two instantly vanished into the brush before I could get a second shot. I kept calling, and a few minutes later a gray fox came slinking in; 25 minutes after that, a bobcat. Three species in one set, all responding to jackrabbit distress sounds.
When targeting multiple predators in one spot, be prepared to sit. While
coyotes and gray foxes often approach within the first two minutes, cats, badgers and bears can take an hour or more.
If you’re hunting coyotes, bobcats and foxes in sagebrush country and you want a badger, a change might be necessary. Badgers are the one predator I’ve had to specialize my approach with when calling in areas where multiple predators thrive.
If I can see a badger, I’ll try to get within 100 yards before calling. I’ll often start with rodent distress sounds. If that doesn’t work, I’Il move to soft cottontail and jackrabbit sounds. I don’t call too loudly, as I don’t want to scare them off.
Badgers are continually moving, digging and sniffing, and it can sometimes take them a while to hear your sounds. If you’re confident a badger can hear you but isn’t coming out of cover, try switching to bird distress sounds, which can work when nothing else does.
NOT ALL PREDATORS approach calls
in the same manner, but they will respond to the same sounds. My good friend Brandon Ayres of Arrowhead Outfitters is a noted big-game guide in the Pacific Northwest who loves predator hunting. He’s called in every species of predator where he hunts.
“I like mimicking the food sources in the area I’m hunting, and mixing them up,” Ayres says. “We’ve had good luck with every sound over the years, from all kinds of rabbit distress sounds, fawn distress calls, even rodent sounds.”
I’m a firm believer in having a range of bird distress sounds at your disposal. I’ve used bird sounds to coax in coyotes, badgers, bobcats, raccoons, cougars and black bears. I like using open-reed mouth calls for this, as they allow a great variety of sounds to be generated. I also like electronic calls, as some sessions can go long and you can only blow so long on mouth calls.
“I like using mouth calls,” says Ayres. “I have better control of the
Decoys, like this Miss Hoptober Predator Decoy from Montana Decoys, can be just the ticket for pulling wary predators from cover.
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Red Stag
Wild Boar
Whitetail
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sounds, and I think it brings in more predators than the electronic calls I’ve used. I do use electronic calls, I just don’t place them very far when calling in places where bobcats and cougars are. Cats can hang back in the brush before making a move, and I want to be able to see them.”
When calling in brushy country, many predator hunters carry both a rifle and a shotgun. Having the rifle set in shooting sticks and the shotgun by your side is a wise approach. If you catch movement of a nearby predator in the
TOP PREDATOR CALLS
When hunting a mix of predators, having both electronic and mouth calls is important. My go-to electronic call the past two years has been a FoxPro X24. It comes with 100 sounds and can hold up to 1,000. The horn speaker is loud and compact, and the addition of a tweeter boosts frequency response. The HD speaker allows for high volume that’s crisp and clear. This call is made for Western predator hunters.
For mouth calls, I’m a fan of bite-down, open-reed calls, as they allow for a range of sounds to be made, from fawn distress to rabbits to birds. I love the Slayer Calf External Call. Though it’s designed for elk, it reaches a good volume for calling predators in expansive habitats and thick forests. I also like Slayer’s Wicked Rabbit Coyote Call and their line of turkey calls, which work great for producing a range of varmint distress sounds.
Using a mouth call enables predator hunters to control the sounds they are making, which can complement an electronic call.
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brush, grab the shotgun.
OFTEN, WHEN HUNTING where a mix of predators live, you never know what will come in. Do your homework, cover country, and don’t be afraid to tuck tight into cover before calling, especially if seeking cats. Be sure to check furbearer regulations in states you’ll be hunting and have the proper license and tags.
Western predator habitat is big, but don’t let that intimidate you. Find habitats that are home to multiple predator species, offer a variety of prey sounds and cover ground. With so much land to hunt and so many places for a range of predators to be, now is the time to take your predator hunting thrills to the next level. ★
Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s bestselling books, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow Scott’s adventures on Instagram and Facebook.
Author Scott Haugen relied on a mix of electronic sounds and mouth calls to pull this cougar to within 20 yards for an up-close shot.
Ron Spada at 503-539-5396 with any questions or to set up a time to tour the club. siducks.com
TRYING OUT THE FUSION TIPPED
Federal bullet family expansion yields improved downrange performance for hunters on a budget.
STORY BY PHIL MASSARO • PHOTOS BY MASSARO MEDIA GROUP
If I were asked to name the most underrated – or perhaps unnoticed – big game bullet on the market, my first response would be the Federal Fusion. For those hunters on a budget who wish to have the high weight retention and deep penetration associated with bonded-core projectiles, the Fusion bullet checks all the boxes.
The traditional cup-and-core bullets
involve a lead core inside a drawn copper jacket – some models use a swaged lead core, while others actually pour molten lead into the cup – and that design has been relied upon for over 140 years, but it does have its limitations. As the velocities of our hunting cartridges increased, the risk of jacket and core separation increased considerably as well, especially with closer shots, where impact velocities are high. The tendency for separation is also increased with boattail projectiles. Many different steps to mitigate
bullet separation have been taken, including using a partition of harder jacket material to divide the lead core in half, relying on the untouched rear core to penetrate into the vital organs, or using a crimping groove to lock the jacket and core together. Though popular now, the Barnes X bullet took the radical step of removing the lead core altogether, leaving a bullet made of copper. But the most popular method of increasing the structural integrity of a cup-and-core bullet is to chemically bond the jacket and core, resulting in
Federal Premium now offers their Fusion bonded-core bullet with a polymer tip.
BULLET BULLETIN
our “bonded-core” projectiles.
The process is labor-intensive and generally comes at a price premium. Though the Swift Scirocco II, the Nosler AccuBond and Woodleigh Weldcore are among some of my favorite hunting bullets, they are costly. For example, if you want a box of Federal Premium 165-grain Swift Scirocco II ammo,
the Federal website indicates a price of $73.99 per box of 20, whereas the Fusion load of the same weight and cartridge will set you back $48.99 per box of 20. It is not very difficult to see why the Fusion might be attractive to a hunter on a budget.
THE ORIGINAL FEDERAL Fusion had a
boattail, but used a slightly rounded meplat with just a bit of exposed lead at the nose to help initiate expansion. At common hunting distances – from those “woods shots” inside of 100 yards out to 250 yards – this nose profile won’t have a very drastic effect, but beyond those distances you might want a bullet of higher ballistic
The original Fusion bullet – a 180-grain in .300 Winchester Magnum – recovered from a whitetail buck.
The original Fusion bullet has a slightly rounded meplat.
Federal’s original Fusion bullet is available in component form and in lighter bullet weights than the Fusion Tipped bullets are currently offered.
BULLET BULLETIN
coefficient. To complement the original Fusion design, Federal Premium has announced the new Fusion Tipped bullet line. Federal has mated the bonded-core design with a polymer tip to boost the BC and to keep the meplat more uniform for longer shots.
Like most bullets wearing a polymer tip up front, there is a hollow cavity underneath the tip, so the tip acts as a wedge upon impact to initiate expansion. The nose section of the Fusion Tipped bullet is skived to further enhance bullet expansion, down to velocities lower than the original Fusion bullet. This feature is important for those who hunt at longer distances, as your bullet will need to possess the ability to expand reliably at low impact velocities, yet be rugged enough to handle those close shots where the bullet has had virtually no chance to slow down.
Looking at the data published by Federal, you’ll see a slight increase in BC when comparing the standard Fusion and the new Fusion Tipped, but nothing too radical. Where I do see the
big improvement is in the accuracy department, as the new Fusion Tipped stuff has been very accurate in my test guns, while the Fusion ammunition was either lights-out accurate or
dismal, depending on the gun/ cartridge/bullet weight combination. I tested the .308 Winchester load with the 180-grain Fusion Tipped, the .270 Winchester load with the 150-grain
An exploded view of the Federal Fusion Tipped 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge.
Author Phil Massaro has found that the original Fusion design prints well in some guns, while others just don’t like it. This target from a .3006 Springfield showed a happy rifle.
BULLET BULLETIN
Fusion Tipped, and the 6.5 Creedmoor load with the 140-grain bullet, and all gave excellent accuracy.
My old Ruger Model 77 MKII in 308 Winchester absolutely loved the Fusion Tipped bullet, printing three-shot groups averaging .65 inch at my 100yard backyard range, and my Oehler 35P chronograph showed me an average muzzle velocity of 2,585 feet per second, just 15 fps shy of the advertised 2,600. The .270 Winchester 150-grain load – as tested in my Savage 116 Lightweight Hunter – was the worst of the lot, with three-shot groups averaging 0.95 inch, and if that is the worst, I’m a happy shooter. The box said 2,850 fps and my rifle gave 2,895 fps, with a slightly wider velocity deviation than the other loads delivered, but this is still more than acceptable. My 6 5 Creedmoor liked the 140-grain Fusion Tipped bullet, with three-shot groups averaging just under .75 inch at 100 yards, giving an accuracy level that is more than acceptable for any hunting rifle, anywhere. Federal advertises 2,715 fps for this load; the 20inch barrel of my test rifle only gave me 2,670 fps, but that is to be expected by the shorter barrel.
WHEREAS THE ORIGINAL Fusion ammunition line included bullets on the lighter side of the spectrum (a 120-grain 7mm-08 Remington load, a 150-grain load for the .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield, and a 130-grain .270 Winchester load), as well as some of the heavier choices (the 165and 180-grain .300 Win. Mag, .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield), the Fusion Tipped tends to stay on the heavier side of things. The 6 5s are 140
Federal’s new Fusion Tipped bullet in 6.5mm and weighing 140 grains; note the skived jacket just behind the polymer tip.
Federal now offers a 175-grain Fusion Tipped load for the new 7mm Backcountry cartridge, making a sound choice for longer shots on big game.
grains, the .270 Winchester comes in at 150 grains, the 7mms are 175 grains, and all the .30 calibers use a 180-grain bullet. Federal offers the Fusion Tipped line in the following calibers: 6.5
Taking the Federal Fusion Tipped to the field, a buddy and I grabbed the .270 Winchester load to fill several nuisance whitetail tags here in New York. The shot distances were all inside 250 yards, and as one could imagine, these stiff projectiles all exited, resulting in oneshot kills. No bullets were recovered, so my data pool was a big fat zero. Needless to say, they worked.
Comparing and contrasting, I feel that your particular rifle should dictate the choice between the original Fusion and the Fusion Tipped. My Ruger 77 .308 Winchester loves the Fusion Tipped factory ammo, but does not like the Fusion factory ammo. It does, however, like the 150-grain Fusion component bullet when handloaded over a suitable charge of IMR 4064 sparked by a Federal Gold Medal Match large rifle primer. It’ll print a three-shot group well under 1-MOA, so I suppose the original Fusion bullet
Bonding the copper jacket to the lead core results in a very strong bullet, one that can withstand the high-impact velocities of magnum-level cartridges like the 7mm Backcountry. (FEDERAL PREMIUM)
A revolutionary steel-cased magnum capable of generating high velocities, the 7mm Backcountry is the perfect platform for the tough Fusion Tipped. (FEDERAL PREMIUM)
might be velocity-sensitive, or maybe my rifle is just a finicky bastard.
As of this writing, Federal Fusion Tipped is not available as a component bullet, so if you shoot a cartridge that is not on the list, you’re out of luck for the time being. The original Fusion is available as a component projectile in .224 caliber at 90 grains; 6 5mm diameter at 140 grains; .277 diameter at 130 and 150 grains; 7mm diameter
at 140, 160 and 175 grains; and .30 caliber at 150 and 180 grains.
But if you do shoot one of the cartridges Federal has chosen to include in the Fusion Tipped ammunition line, you could certainly do a whole lot worse than choosing this sleek, tough and accurate bullet.
Looking at the improvements offered by the Fusion Tipped line, I can see that the accuracy advantage is a worthwhile
investment, provided your rifle likes the ammunition and the bullet profile. I’ll also say that the original Fusion has no flies on it; if you are interested in a budget-friendly bonded-core load, suitable for nearly all the North American species and the majority of the African stuff, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better value than the original Fusion or Fusion Tipped line. Visit federalpremium.com for more. ★
The 6.5 Creedmoor is popular as a target/ hunting round, and the 140-grain Fusion Tipped makes it even more effective in the hunting fields.
The author’s Ruger .308 Winchester certainly likes the 180-grain Federal Fusion Tipped ammunition.
The 90-grain Fusion bondedcore bullet takes the .224 Valkyrie into the realm of big game (deer-sized anyway) cartridges.
TIKKA T3X TACT
Finnish precision tactical rifle
‘a solid, well-built gun.’
STORY AND PHOTOS BY NICK PERNA
t’s truly a wonderful time to be alive! When it comes to longrange precision rifles, there are many options available. This wasn’t always the case. In the past, shooters had to choose from only a couple of different manufacturers. Now, there are literally dozens to choose from. The difficult part is deciding which one to buy.
IOne name many shooters probably haven’t heard of is Tikka Arms. They are a subsidiary of Sako, in Finland. Sako is a well-established manufacturer of quality rifles, accessories and ammunition. They build a variety of rifles to suit different needs for sport shooters and hunters, as well as tactical rifles for the military and law enforcement. The parent company of Sako and Tikka is Beretta, another very reputable firearms producer.
Tikka guarantees sub-MOA accuracy in all of their rifles. This means that they will shoot groups of less than 1 inch at 100 yards, the industry standard for all long-range rifles. Tikka rifles are built in the same factory as the Sako guns, the
“In a market currently flooded with tactical precision rifles, sometimes it’s the lesser-known ones that deserve a second look,” says author Nick Perna about the T3x TACT series from Tikka Arms.
gun review
main difference being the significantly lower price point of Tikka products.
THE FOCUS OF this article is their tactical rifle series, the T3x TACT. If you go to their website (choose.tikka .fi/usa), you can order one built to your specifications. You simply click on the options you like, such as what stock you want, and they build it the way you want it. It’s like ordering a pizza, hold the anchovies.
The TACT series comes in .223 Remington, .260 Remington, .308 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor. I have to admit, I wasn’t familiar with the .260 Remington round. It’s built around a .308 casing and has a similar trajectory as a .300 Winchester Magnum. I’m sure it’s a great round, but I’d stick with 223, .308 or 6 5. All of Tikka’s bolt guns – sporters, hunters, tactical – are built from the same basic action. This cuts down on costs and helps guarantee uniformity throughout the product line.
Along with guaranteed sub-MOA accuracy, there is no break-in period for the barrel. This is important. Most precision rifles require a break-in period of roughly 100 rounds to get them to fire accurately and consistently. At today’s ammo prices, this is an expensive proposition, not to mention a little frustrating and time-consuming.
The hammer-forged barrel is 24 inches, pretty standard for most tac rifles. It can be had with a threaded barrel or a muzzle brake.
The chassis (stock and portions that hold the bolt and trigger group) is made from a synthetic/aluminum blend. The action is also made out of aluminum.
The trigger is match quality, so you shouldn’t have to buy an aftermarket trigger group to replace it. They come in single-stage or double, to fit your needs, and can be ordered in 2- or 4-pound pulls. The weight is adjustable.
The rifle uses a metal box magazine that holds 10 rounds. Since most bolt guns have three to five rounds in the mag, 10 rounds is an unusual feature. In the tactical realm, that has obvious advantages. It’s a “nice to have” with a
Along with guaranteed sub-MOA accuracy, there is no break-in period for the barrel of the TACT. The series is chambered in .223 Remington, .260 Remington, .308 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor.
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hunting rifle too.
THE T3X TACT uses an AR-compatible pistol grip. When it comes to building tactical accessories, why recreate the wheel? The AR grip system used on AR-15/M16/M4 rifles works well and there are literally hundreds of options to choose from, so if you don’t like the one that comes with the gun, order what suits your needs and specifications.
This rifle has a fully adjustable buttstock and cheek piece. These are pretty much “must have” features on a tactical rifle. A folding stock is available as well, another great feature, even if you purchase it for hunting or sport shooting. Tactical rifles are generally pretty long, which makes them difficult to transport. A folding stock takes care of that issue. Folding the stock reduces the length of the rifle by 11.5 inches. Like the handguard, it is AR-compatible so you can swap it out with stocks if you so choose.
The chassis over the receiver and barrel has a full-length Picatinny rail.
is also a short Picatinny rail under the barrel for mounting a bipod. Mounting a bipod on a front sling swivel isn’t going to give you the same stability or accuracy
This allows the shooter to mount the optic wherever it best suits their needs. It also allows for mounting night vision in front of, or behind, your optic. There
The rifle features a 10-round magazine. “In the tactical realm, that has obvious advantages,” says Perna.
An adjustable buttstock and cheek piece are key features.
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as a bipod mounted to a Picatinny rail.
The rest of the chassis forward of the receiver has M-Lok mounts. Like the Picatinny, the M-Lok gives the user a variety of options for placement of aftermarket products such as slings, laser designators and so on.
As far as affordability goes, the TACT model isn’t one of Tikka’s lower priced guns. They go for around $2,200, which isn’t cheap. That being said, that is in the lower price category for fully tricked-out tactical rifles. They also make T3 rifles for hunting that go for less than $1,000 with the same
accuracy guarantee, just none of the bells and whistles that you get with the TACT model.
IN A MARKET currently flooded with tactical precision rifles, sometimes it’s the lesser-known ones that deserve a second look. The Tikka TACT series, as well as all the rifles built by Tikka, are definitely worth considering.
The TACT rifle I shot was paired with a Night Force 2 5x20 power optic. I mention this every time I write about pairing rifles with scopes, but I’ll say it again. A good, reliable optic is going
to cost as much or more than the rifle itself. Night Force is definitely on the higher end of the optic price spectrum, but it worked well with the TACT I shot. I should also mention that this particular rifle is a precision gun used by a SWAT team member.
The trigger was smooth, as was the action. The cheek piece and stock felt comfortable and both were easily adjustable. The gun definitely kept its promise, punching out ½-inch groups at 100 yards with regularity. It is a solid, well-built gun and a pleasure to shoot. ★
The folding stock cuts down the rifle’s length by 11.5 inches and makes transport much easier.
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TACTICAL TRAINING
SHOOTING’S HOLY TRIAD
How
the right gun, ammo and your skills combine to drive accuracy.
There are three things that determine the amount of effort dedicated to a shot.
thinking, let’s get into it.
TARGET SIZE
As laid out in TC 3-22.9, the US Army’s rifle marksmanship manual, they apply to all types of shooting and there is no cheat code for it. Those three things are target size, target distance and system capability. System capability includes the user, the rifle, the ammunition and the optic. Just to get your brain flowing, shooting a 15-inch target at 25 yards requires much less effort than the same 15-inch target at 300 yards. Now that you are
Target size gets overlooked a lot but it rapidly changes the dynamic of that shot. To use bull’s-eye shooting, hitting anywhere on an NRA B-8 target at 25 yards is relatively easy. As you want to increase your score, the effort goes up. Shooting the X ring on that same target requires greater amounts of stability and aiming. For hunting, getting a shot somewhere on a deer is both unethical and a waste. In defense, the human body has an amazing capacity to absorb punishment and even if you are using a .45 ACP, shot placement is still key. Even though you are presented a large
target that measures in inches or feet, 99 percent of that target doesn’t matter in many instances. In competition, though, oftentimes a hit anywhere on the target will count.
The actual size of the desired point of impact (POI) combined is often expressed in inches, minute of angle (MOA) or milliradians (MIL). The 15inch target I talked about earlier is 60 MOA but at 300 yards is 5 MOA.
TARGET DISTANCE
As the target gets further away, other factors begin to make it harder. Environmental effects on trajectories must be accounted for. A 1-MOA target at 100 yards still requires enough
STORY AND PHOTO BY ASH HESS
Author Ash Hess aims a Knight’s Armament Company rifle at a Quantified Performance match. (PAUL PAWELA)
TACTICAL TRAINING
stability to hold the sights inside that space for the duration of the shot but doesn’t require the adjustments and computations for gravity and wind.
Other factors also start to come into play such as your vision, mirage and lighting conditions. We lose detail and that makes it harder to precisely aim at a target. This is one of the reasons for adding magnification to the optics. Optics don’t make you shoot better; they make you see better.
SYSTEM CAPABILITY
Capabilities are where the biggest gains can be found. Most miss the mark on the largest factor because that’s the one that hurts feelings. I like to talk about it as a weapon system because many people I talk to don’t think of it that way. The rifle, ammunition and the shooter are one system, like a tank. The lower body is the chassis, the upper body is the turret and the brain is the fire control system. We must develop all those things together to have realistic capabilities, but for now we are going to leave the turret and chassis alone and talk about the fire control and the main gun.
RIFLE AND AMMO A significant amount of effort and even more money are spent on a firearm. People will watch reviews, study catalogs and ask questions about this rifle or that barrel. They will brag about the rifle’s capability as a “subMOA” and argue endlessly online and take part in brand wars. Now, I am in the industry and work in sales, so this
isn’t a bad thing for my line of work, but here is a secret: Most rifles from the established brands arrive with quality components and on paper will easily outperform most shooters. If you ask me, my first answer will always be one brand in particular, for obvious reasons, but again, most brands are a solid base. Ammunition is a larger factor in rifle capability than the rifle itself under most conditions. The real answer here is to buy quality and put effort into other areas.
Ammunition, though, is significantly harder to nail down. Every rifle will have a favorite loading, and frankly, it doesn’t care what name is on the box.
US ARMY’S TC 3-22.9 MANUAL ON TARGET SIZE, TARGET DISTANCE AND CAPABILITY
5-13. Time, target size, target distance, and the Soldier’s skills and capabilities determine the amount of effort required of each of the functional elements to minimize induced errors of the shot.
5-14. Each weapon, tactical situation, and sight system will have preferred techniques for each step in the shot process and within the functional elements to produce precision and accuracy in a timely manner. How fast or slow the shooter progresses through the process is based on target size, target distance, and shooter capability.
5-15. The most complex form of shooting is under combat conditions when the Soldier is moving, the enemy is moving, under limited visibility conditions. Soldiers and leaders must continue to refine skills and move training from the simplest shot to the most complex. Applying the functional elements during the shot builds a firer’s speed while maintaining consistency, accuracy, and precision during complex engagements.
The goal here is manufacturer quality and consistency. Variations in velocity can drastically affect the flight path of the bullet. These are generally expressed in one of two ways: extreme spread or standard deviation. Extreme spread is the velocity difference from the fastest to slowest bullet across the measured shots. Standard deviation is the measure of the amount of variation of the values of a variable about its mean. For our purposes here, all we need to understand is that lower SD is better and more consistent. Inconsistent ammunition will result in inconsistent groups, no matter who made the rifle.
These numbers come from using a chronograph. In days of old, only those who were super serious about shooting would mess with a chrono; the rest relied on what was printed on the ammo box. Keep this in mind: the box is designed by the marketing department, not the engineers making the ammunition. The numbers come from a chrono, but most times the conditions are unknown. Things like barrel length, altitude and temperature probably don’t match your configuration, so they can’t be used to predict a flight path for you. There are many different chronographs on the market and the cost is very
Applied Ballistics Quantum app predictions for a 13.7-inch-barrel rifle in 5.56mm with a 1-mile-perhour wind.
TACTICAL TRAINING
reasonable. My advice is to have one and check your ammunition at every lot change, altitude change, or if the rifle is showing any inconsistencies.
THE SHOOTER Let’s assume that you have a quality rifle and ammunition combination for now and spend some time on the most important factor. You.
You are the fire control. You have to get stable enough to hold the sights on the target and not disturb that aim for the duration of the shot. If you cannot, you may own a champagne rifle, but you are applying beer capabilities. Nothing makes a sub-MOA rifle shoot big groups faster than a big-group shooter. This affects the entire system. Your skills must include the ability to judge and adjust to environmental conditions. There are systems out there that help, like wind meters and ballistic calculators, but it is still on you to do the work. Depending on the zero, the bullet will only match the point of aim
a maximum of two times. You cannot just “hold center and send it” and expect to get quality or ethical hits.
As the fire control, the shooter handles making the elevation and windage corrections followed by launching the bullet. This requires knowledge and quality input. Remember the old axiom, “garbage in, garbage out.” For those of you who spend large amounts of time and money on highquality equipment but not with quality instructors, you are the weak link. For those who have focused on the trial of rifles, ammunition and skills, you are being rewarded with a predictable and accurate fire control system.
CONCLUSION
I have laid out the factors that are present in every shot, from competition to combat, when it comes to launching a projectile at a target. These are as true now on today’s ranges as they were for David when he stood against Goliath.
They applied to archers in medieval times and all the way back to when Gronk tossed rocks at predators stalking around his cave. Target size and distance determine the amount of skill and equipment needed to successfully hit it. Without the proper triad of firearm, ammunition and skills, getting hits at distance becomes more about volume of fire and luck. But putting the proper effort into these elements will reward you with hits when the time comes.
Editor’s note: Ash Hess is a highly seasoned combat veteran of 22 years with four combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq, totaling 52 months. His military training includes the US Army Master Marksman Trainer course, as well as rifle marksman instructor, urban combat leaders’, senior leaders’, army basic instructor, high-angle marksman and unit armor courses. He also wrote TC3-22.9, the Army’s marksmanship manual.
The lightweight, 22.6-ounce, dual-cylinder Charter Arms Double Dog revolver is easy to carry and can take 9mm, .38 Special and .357 Magnum loads.
An EDC revolver you can afford to master and carry forever.
The snubnose revolver remains a solid choice for very close-range personal defense because of its reliability and simplicity of operation. It doesn’t get much easier than pointing the muzzle at the belly of the ruffian menacing life and limb and pulling the trigger. If it misfires, pull the trigger again.
For self-defense gun owners who aren’t going to practice for whatever reason, a snubnose will probably be the most foolproof choice for deadly encounters at 10 feet or less. Statistically speaking, that covers a large portion of defensive shootings. But what if you’re involved in one of the atypical encounters at longer range? For those, you need practice. The short sight radius and small concealable grips of the snubnose definitely work against accurate double-action shooting. I’ve seen plenty of untrained shooters who can fire five shots doubleaction into the FBI silhouette target at 3 yards, but miss the target completely at 7 yards. Firing single-action will help, but it will also slow you down. Dry-fire practice at home will help you develop your trigger finger to
STORY AND PHOTOS BY FRANK JARDIM
gun review
evenly manage the pull, but you need live-fire to learn how to manage the gun in recoil.
Everyone in the shooting community would like to see new gun owners practice, for their own safety as well as the safety of others. When I saw that Charter Arms was offering their .357 Mag Pug snubnose with an extra 9mm cylinder, I immediately thought that this was a snubnose that you could actually afford to practice with enough to master. The cheapest .38 Special is around $24 per box of 50 rounds, but 9mm FMJ can be bought for half that, and sometimes less than half. In testing this new pistol, renamed the Double Dog, with 9mm 115-grain FMJ, I found the recoil was actually a little snappier than .38 Special loads, and sometimes sharp enough to sting a bit. That’s great from a practice standpoint, because the gun will be easier to handle with your defensive .38 Special standard or +P loads.
With so many excellent defensive 9mm loads available, you might consider using this caliber when carrying the Double Dog. That’s fine if you are the type who doesn’t carry any extra ammunition. In that case, I’d recommend Hornady’s 115-grain FTX bullet because of its reliable expansion when shooting through heavy clothing.
If you see yourself trying to reload the Double Dog’s cylinder in the midst of a violent encounter, I wouldn’t recommend 9mm. The Charter Arms design uses a very clever ball-detenttype lock in the ejector to engage the groove of the rimless 9mm cartridge case, and it works well when used with care. However, it is fairly easy to confound if you’re ham-handed. Sometimes 9mm cases wiggle free of the ball locks and fall back into the
Both 9mm and .357 Magnum/.38 Special cylinder assemblies are included with each Double Dog combo revolver. Cylinder and ratchet are machined from billets of steel.
Switching the cylinders is a snap, requiring removal and replacement of a single screw.
cylinder where they get trapped under the ejector. A minor annoyance on the range, it could cost you precious time in a hostile encounter. In addition, the 9mm cartridges need to be loaded into the cylinder one at a time because the resistance offered by those ball locks makes conventional speed loaders useless. By the way, I’ve found that pointing the barrel upward and hitting the ejector rod sharply is the most reliable way to empty spent casings from the chamber.
CHARTER ARMS REGARD themselves as the Chevy of guns, and that is evident in the manner in which their firearms are constructed. To deliver value to their customers, their focus is on efficient manufacture and reliable operation rather than cosmetics. When I first
Note the little spring-loaded extractor buttons that engage the 9mm case rim. No clips are needed with this design, but speed loaders won’t work with it either.
Here you can see the unique sliding locking sleeve on the ejector rod that fits into a recess cut into the frame. This is an extremely strong and stable lock-up, and much stronger than you’ll find on the front of a S&W or Colt revolver crane.
gun review
handled one of their revolvers, upon opening up the cylinder I was alarmed at the looseness of the crane-to-frame fit! But the rigidity of the alignment of cylinder and frame is only important in lock-up, and their guns have a unique sliding sleeve lock on the ejector rod that engages a recess inside the frame for an extraordinarily rigid lock-up when closed. They are precise where they need to be and sometimes loose where it doesn’t matter. Consider the results of my accuracy tests fired single-action with various loads from the bench at 7 yards.
Five-shot groups of Winchester “W” Target & Practice 115-grain FMJ averaged 1.46 inches and 1,075 feet per second and stuck 3 7 inches below the point of aim. Federal Personal Defense Punch 120-grain JHP .38 Special +P averaged 1.1-inch groups and 795 fps, striking 3.8 inches low. Federal Premium HST .38 Special +P 130-grain HP, unfortunately discontinued, averaged 1.16 inches and 749 fps and struck 2 7 inches low. Felt recoil between the 9mm and .38 Special loads tested, as well as point of impact, were close enough to make the 9mm essentially identical for practice purposes. The .357 Magnums had similar points of impact, though much more recoil.
The Double Dog actually shot better with .357 Magnum loads. Federal’s American Eagle .357 Magnum 158-grain JSP averaged 0.71 inch and
Charter Arms revolvers are built of modern alloys with modern CNC machines and simple solid frames, lots of pins instead of screws and extensive use of economical investment castings.
Author Frank Jardim compared firing the Double Dog and his wife’s S&W 640 (bottom), which has the same barrel length and overall weight, and found that the former’s porting helped reduce muzzle flip.
gun review
At 7 yards, the 9mm shot to nearly the same point of aim as the .38 Special and .357 Magnum, making it ideal for practice. Recoil with the 9mm was similar too, but slightly snappier than .38 Special.
968 fps, striking 2 7 inches low. With “V” porting at the front of the barrel, recoil was stout but not painful. For comparison purposes, I got out my wife’s S&W 640, which has just about the same barrel length (2.2 inches) and overall weight (22 6 ounces), but isn’t
This is a goodshooting snubnose. The barrel and front sight are a single stainless steel investment casting. The porting helps control muzzle rise. Jardim’s test gun shot from 3.8 to 2.7 inches low at 7 yards. Point of impact could be adjusted by filing the front sight lower.
ported. Using slow motion recording, it appeared the S&W had more muzzle flip. The Charter Arms muzzle jumped no more than 30 degrees from the horizontal when fired compared to 35 degrees for the unported S&W. Felt recoil was considerably greater with
the unported S&W, which has always been painful to shoot. In fact, it drew blood on the first shot. The smaller concealment Crimson Trace grip on the S&W surely played some factor in making it miserable to shoot, but I’m convinced the porting on the Charter
The four loads tested. Note the shape of the Black Hills Ammunition Honey Badger bullet.
gun review
Slow-motion frames from the video Jardim shot show the unported S&W at the peak of its recoil arch, which measured in excess of 35 degrees. On top of that, it was painful to shoot, drawing blood with the very first round the author fired.
Arms Double Dog made it easier to endure with full-power magnum loads. The benefits of porting come at the price of some velocity. In this case, a 106-fps drop. The S&W averaged 1,074 fps, which is 9 percent more than the ported Double Dog.
I thought about this when I was testing Black Hills Ammunition’s .357 Magnum Honey Badger 127-grain solid-copper bullet self-defense load. Accuracy was again excellent, averaging 0 74-inch groups and 1,102 fps through the ported barrel. Would a 100-fps drop in velocity affect this bullet’s terminal performance? Justin Evans, who works in research and development at Black Hills Ammunition to engineer the Honey Badger bullets, assured me that the velocity drop wouldn’t degrade performance as it sometimes does with conventional hollowpoints. You can imagine the scooped-out flutes on the front of the bullet as acting like a snowplow on the highway as they pass through tissue. The flutes accelerate the fluid and tissue they come in contact with laterally with about 30 percent more velocity than the projectile itself. The principle, Evans explained, is that lateral acceleration of tissue enlarges the temporary wound cavity and the hydrostatic shock the bullet delivers to the target.
These bullets are not designed for instant, complete energy dump into the target. In fact, the tissue is acting on the face of the bullet like a hydraulic brake and its disruptive, snow-plowing force is transferred throughout the wound channel. Unlike a typical FMJ bullet that will pass right through a target, the solid Honey Badger bullet is designed to minimize the danger of overpenetration. At his Black Hills lab, Evans runs mathematical models on his computer to determine the best flute design and bullet weight to achieve the desired tissue disruption with enough hydraulic braking effect to keep bullets in the target. Perhaps the single most important thing about the Honey Badger bullet when compared
By contrast, the recoil of the ported Charter Arms snubbie was stout but not painful, and showed less muzzle flip. At the most, Jardim measured 30 degrees of rise during the height of recoil. Most shots were a few degrees less.
gun review
to conventional hollowpoints is that the Honey Badger is comparatively immune to barriers. It has no hollow cavity to clog, so it isn’t rendered ineffective by heavy clothing, and its hard copper alloy resists deformation when passing through doors, sheetrock or glass.
TRIGGER PULL ON the Double Dog I tested measured 3.75 pounds in single-action and 10 5 pounds in double-action. The double-action trigger pull is on the light side, for sure, and fairly smooth despite an audible “click” about halfway through the arch. That “click” imparts a peculiar, mechanical quality to it, but overall it’s quite good. When firing single-action, the trigger pull breaks crisply. When cocking the hammer in single-action, care must be taken to draw the hammer fully to the rear, to the point where the spur touches the frame. If not drawn fully back, the hammer will drop. This
seemed more like an idiosyncrasy of the design rather than a defect. There is no danger of discharge when this happens because the pistol has a transfer bar safety and only exposes the firing pin to the hammer strike when the trigger is pulled.
Switching cylinders on the Double Dog combo requires a few seconds to remove a single screw with a small flat-bladed screwdriver. These guns are built on Charter’s medium-sized frame, which is comparable in size but somewhat lighter than a S&W J-frame and has a larger-diameter five-shot cylinder. Because of the larger cylinder, this pistol won’t fit in most holsters made for the J-frame. Barrels and frames are investment cast stainless steel, while the combination triggerguard/grip frame is cast in aluminum to shave off weight. Finish options are utilitarian and include a matte (bead-blasted), raw stainless, or durable, nonreflective, black passivate
treatment that provides corrosion protection and reduces friction, galling and scoring between metal parts.
MSRP on the 2 2-inch-barrel snubnose is $637. A 4 2-inch-barrel target version with an adjustable rear sight is available for slightly more.
Charter Arms engineered their designs to be economically manufactured in the United States. If you do a little online price comparison, you’ll find that their guns often cost at least $100 less than comparable models from premium brands like S&W, Colt and Kimber. Compared to them, the humble Charter Arms gun looks primitively made and finished. But on the inside, and in the places where it counts for accuracy, reliability and safety, Charter Arms keeps their tolerances tight to guarantee reliable mechanical function.
For more information on the Double Dog combo and other Charter Arms revolvers, visit charterfirearms.com. ★
MAKING THE CUT
GRAND WITH HANDS, STEEL AND HEART
Self-defense instructor and knife-maker extraordinaire Bram Frank.
About six months ago in this column, I discussed my knife background and some of my knife and martial arts instructors/mentors. Fifteen mentors were pictured (there should have been more, but time and space only allow so many), and in the top row, all the way to the right, is Grandmaster Bram Frank.
I have known Frank for nearly four decades. He is not only internationally known as one of the top trainers in Philippine martial arts, but also as a designer of some of the best knives in the world. More on that later.
Frank trained under and was mentored by the late great GM Remy Presas, who is considered the father and founder of modern arnis, a Philippine martial art. He is also proficient as an instructor in wing chun (a form of southern Chinese kung fu) and jeet kune do (a hybrid martial art practiced by Bruce Lee), and has taught American free-style karate for over 49 years.
For his contributions to the martial arts world, Frank has been honored with many honorary titles. According to his bio, in 2003, the World Head of Family Sokeship Grandmaster Council recognized Bram as the first modern grandmaster on their council (of which I am proud to be an honored member).
In 2004, while in the Philippines, the Senior Master Council of Modern Arnis – consisting of legendary international GMs Vic Sanchez, Rolando Dantes, Jerry Dela Cruz and Rodel Dagooc – recognized Bram as
Coming
For his many years of teaching combatives in Israel to the country’s Special Forces and IDF, he has been
STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAUL PAWELA
the Senior Master of Modern Arnis.
from those great legends, it is hard to think of a greater honor.
Grandmaster Bram Frank and author Paul Pawela.
MAKING THE CUT
recognized there as the father of Israeli knife fighting and knife combative. He has also taught in many countries worldwide and trained many top law enforcement and security companies.
FRANK’S LIST OF awards, honors and accomplishments could go on and on –including, as previously mentioned, for his knife designs. Speaking of ...
Frank has designed and holds four patents in knife design and operation: the world’s first kinetic opening fullforce continuum tool and knife, the puzzle lock, the Gunting tactical folder and the Abaniko tactical fixed blade. He has also won many awards for his unique designs, including Tactical Knife of the Year. Many companies have used Frank’s designs – even though he has patents – which is probably the best compliment anyone
could give.
While he is one of the most excellent ambassadors for Philippine fighting arts worldwide, the other side of Frank is his love for humanity. Frank is of Jewish heritage and proudly represents his culture without going into depth about his family. He has personal knowledge of the horrors of the Holocaust and has committed his life to defend his beloved people and the country of Israel.
I first met Frank at the Soldier of Fortune convention held in Las Vegas, probably some three decades ago. I had known of his reputation as an outstanding instructor. When I was finally introduced to him, I had my youngest daughter, Angel, with me. As I was scheduled for a seminar, I didn’t know what to do with Angel in the meanwhile, but Frank stepped up to the plate and said words I will never forget as long as I live: “Paul, I am a parent too, and if you trust me, I will watch and guard your daughter with my life.”
Looking deeply into his eyes and his soul, I realized that he meant every word, and from that point on, he became one of my closest
Frank makes excellent trainers to go along with all the knives he designs. These particular models were designed for law enforcement for practicing body searches and defensive tactics.
His blades – these are Abaniko knives –are incredibly sharp right out of the box.
MAKING THE CUT
mentors, giving me everything he knew about Philippine fighting arts over many years.
As I have mentioned before in this column, learning about fighting arts is not about killing; it is about love and protecting the lives of the ones that you love so dearly. Frank has been an excellent role model for this.
I wish I had much better words to convey not only the impact that he has made in the martial arts world –making it a much better place because of his dedication and his sacrifice to the art he cares so much for – but also the gentleness and the love of humanity he has represented that will carry his reputation for years, long after he is gone. It has been one of my greatest treasures in life to know this remarkable man.
One last note: I am often asked what my favorite Bram Frank knife design is. My answer, honestly, is all of them. They all make the cut! ★
Frank’s works have been licensed by some of the country’s top tactical knife makers, such as Skallywag and TOPS Knives.
L.E. SPOTLIGHT
LET’S HEAR IT FOR THE RESERVES!
Volunteer officers help keep the lights on for often understaffed departments.
STORY BY NICK PERNA
Imagine going to a job website and reading this want ad:
We are seeking proactive, honest individuals to work in an exciting, dynamic environment. We operate 24 hours a day and need motivated employees who are willing to work off hours and weekends.
Risks include but are not limited to:
Bodily injury or death, risk of assault, and being verbally berated daily.
Training: You will have to pay for most of your own training.
Benefits include: Free uniforms,
equipment and a vehicle to use while at work.
Requirements: Complete and pass a full medical exam, invasive background check and polygraph required.
Salary: None.
So, to recap, who wants a dangerous, often thankless job with no financial compensation? Don’t all volunteer at once.
WHAT I’VE LISTED is the job description for a “police reserve,” or reserve police officer. Most departments have some sort of reserve program, made up of officers who volunteer to work the streets. To be clear, some positions are
paid, but often not at nearly the same rate as full-time officers, and there are no benefits. The vast majority of reserve officers out there do it for free. Usually they put themselves through a police academy, using their own money and committing their own time to complete it.
Depending on what department they work for, their day-to-day activities vary. Some reserve officers work independently, as a solo patrol officer pushing a patrol car around. Others team up with full-time cops, acting as cover officers. Either way, they are what the military calls “force multipliers,” allowing understaffed police departments to do more with less.
“You wouldn’t go there for a million dollars. Cops do it all the time. Reserves do it for free.” That was the phrase on a poster of a dark alley that author Nick Perna remembers from his days in the police academy. (SHUTTERSTOCK)
Reserves are often assigned to mundane tasks – manning checkpoints, transporting prisoners to jail, traffic control, etc. They may be the happy face you see at a community event, handing out stickers and posing for pictures.
What reserves bring to law enforcement is invaluable. They bring their civilian skillsets to the job and are often more wellrounded than their full-time counterparts. They’re doctors, lawyers, accountants and teachers – heck, in my department, we had a reserve officer who was also a cobbler. I would go to him to get my patrol boots resoled. Now that’s service!
There was a poster hanging on the wall of the police academy I attended. It showed a spooky, dark alley at night, dimly lit by a lone streetlight. The following was written on it:
You wouldn’t go down there for a million dollars.
Cops do it all the time.
Reserves do it for free.★
Editor’s note: Author Nick Perna is a sergeant with the Redwood City Police Department in Northern California. He previously served as a paratrooper in the US Army and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He also has a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco. He is a frequent contributor to multiple print and online forums on topics related to law enforcement, firearms, tactics and veterans issues.
'A MAN AMONG MEN'
Meet Mike Thornton, Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipient, SEAL Team 6 founding member.
STORY BY PAUL PAWELA
PHOTOS COURTESY OF MIKE THORNTON
n the November 2023 issue of American Shooting Journal, I covered one of Florida’s littleknown tourist destination gems, the National Navy UDT-SEAL
IMILITARY SPOTLIGHT
Museum, located in Fort Pierce.
I mentioned that when entering the property, one of the first things visitors see is an imposing statue modeled after two of the most impressive Navy SEALs of all time, both of whom are Medal of Honor recipients. The statue is that of Mike Thornton rescuing a very severely wounded teammate, Tom Norris.
In this month’s article, I wanted to give you the genesis of this historical story.
THORNTON AND NORRIS, along with Dick Couch, co-wrote the book By Honor Bound: Two Navy SEALs, the Medal of Honor, and a Story of Extraordinary Courage, which details their heroics. This is from the book’s description:
“In April of 1972, SEAL Lieutenant Tom Norris risked his life in an unprecedented ground rescue of two American airmen who were shot down behind enemy lines in North Vietnam, a feat for which he would be awarded the Medal of Honor – an award that represents the pinnacle of heroism and courage.
“Just six months later, Norris was sent on a dangerous special reconnaissance mission that would take his team deep into enemy territory. On that mission, they engaged a vastly superior force. In the running gun battle that ensued, Lieutenant Norris was severely wounded; a bullet entered his left eye and exited the left side of his
Thornton served in the US Navy from 1967 to 1992, was a founding member of SEAL Team 6 and retired a lieutenant.
A statue outside the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum depicts the rescue of Lieutenant Tom Norris by Petty Officer Mike Thornton during the Vietnam War.
MILITARY SPOTLIGHT
head. SEAL Petty Officer Mike Thornton, under heavy fire, fought his way back onto a North Vietnamese beach to rescue his officer. This was the first time Tom and Mike had been on a combat mission together. Mike’s act of courage and loyalty marks the only time in modern history that the Medal of Honor has been awarded in a combat action where one recipient received the Medal for saving the life of another.”
Many people have stated that what Thornton did in that dire moment was simply impossible; however, to Thornton and his fellow SEALs, the word “impossible” is not in their vocabulary. This is his incredible story, as told in By Honor Bound, in a condensed version.
THORNTON HAD SEVERAL tours of combat in Vietnam as it was winding down. He
was now a petty officer and was one of only a dozen SEALs left in Vietnam.
Thornton was part of an intelligence gathering team whose mission was to gather intelligence and capture prisoners. Just south of the Demilitarized Zone, the team consisted of not only Thornton but SEAL Lieutenant Tommy Norris and a couple South Vietnamese Special Forces members.
They were transported by a small boat called a junk, then paddled in a rubber boat to within a mile of shore and swam the remaining distance to their objective. The objective had numerous enemy North Vietnamese encampments; the team soon realized they had landed too far north and were actually in North Vietnam.
Finding large numbers of bunker complexes and heavy concentrations of North Vietnamese troops, they patrolled slowly through the middle of the enemy troops, gathering valuable intelligence as they went. When the group encountered a twoman North Vietnamese patrol on the beach, the South Vietnamese members of the team attempted to capture them. Thornton chased one of the enemies back towards the jungle to prevent him from alerting others, but this action alerted about 50 North Vietnamese. Outnumbered and outgunned, an incredible firefight ensued. Thornton was eventually wounded in the back by a grenade. The team requested gunfire assistance from a Navy destroyer, but the destroyer was unable to help them.
For the next four hours, the five-man team held off an enemy of 150 strong, desperately trying to get an extraction. All attempts failed, and the enemy surrounded them. The decision was made to extract towards the beach and head into the surf.
THE TEAM’S LEADER, Lieutenant Norris, covered the withdrawal of the group’s rearward movement. As he was preparing to lay down cover, he was shot severely in the head and was presumed dead. Upon hearing the
Thornton and Norris, together with Dick Couch, cowrote a book detailing their heroics.
Thornton had several tours of combat in Vietnam as the war wound down. At the time of his mission with Norris, he was one of only a dozen SEALs left in-country.
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If you’re looking for a holster that keeps your pistol secure while allowing for a fast and smooth draw, the AlphaMag™ retention Holster is the perfect choice. The combination of magnetic hold and paddle design sets this holster apart, providing both next-level retention and comfort.
Black
Mahogany Brown
Gunfighter Brown
Saddle Tan Natural
MILITARY SPOTLIGHT
news, Thornton ran 400 yards to the last location where he saw Norris, recovering the body of his fallen comrade. What Thornton saw was the whole side of Norris’s head gone. As enemy troops were overrunning his position, he stopped what he was doing to eliminate many of them.
Putting Norris on his shoulders, Thornton ran back towards the beach when the first shell from the USS Newport News struck the beach. The concussion from the round blew Thornton and Norris 20 feet into the air; after recovering, Thornton picked up Norris, whom he discovered was just barely alive.
As Thornton carried Norris into the surf and began to swim, another teammate, a South Vietnamese Special Forces soldier, was shot and also couldn’t swim. Thornton grabbed him as well and pushed both of them out to sea. Bullets were landing all around them, affecting immediate first aid. Thornton also bandaged Norris’s wound so he could swim for about three hours.
They were all finally picked up by South Vietnamese boats and transported to an operating room, where a doctor looked at Norris and surmised there was no way he was going to live.
Norris did live, however, and was
later awarded the Medal of Honor and medically retired from the Navy. Later, he became a founding member of the famed FBI Hostage Rescue Unit.
For his actions and bravery, Thornton was also awarded the Medal of Honor and later became a founding plank owner of the elite Navy counterterrorist team, SEAL Team 6.
In the words of fellow Medal of Honor recipient Bob Kerrey, who wrote the foreword to By Honor Bound, “Mike Thornton’s extraordinary bravery is more muscular, and like Mike himself, bigger than life. He saved Tommy’s life and the lives of two Vietnamese frogmen who were also wounded during a reconnaissance of the naval base on the mouth of a river that was the legal boundary that separated North and South Vietnam. I know of no other individual who could have or would have done what Mike did that day.”
Kerrey went on to say, “Whenever I read or hear the phrase ‘a man among men,’ I think of Mike Thornton.” ★
President Richard Nixon presented the Medal of Honor to Thornton at the White House on October 15, 1973. Here, Thornton (right) is seated next to fellow recipient Norris at another MOH ceremony.
Author Paul Pawela (center) ran into Thornton and Norris at the NRA Convention.
BLACK POWDER
PLUNDER I'D RECOMMEND
A few of Mike Nesbitt's favorites from the October Country Muzzleloading catalog.
It’s rather hard to believe that some black powder shooters might not have heard about October Country Muzzleloading. This outfit, based in Dalton Gardens, Idaho, near Lake Coeur d’Alene has been around a long time and you’ve most likely seen some of their products, perhaps without even knowing it. October Country’s shooting bags and other accessories have been featured in several movies such as The Last of the Mohicans, The Alamo and even Quigley Down Under. The list could be continued, but I’ll let the folks at October Country tell you about that. I want to talk more about how good their products really are.
putting it somewhat mildly. Their business began with shooting pouches, what some folks refer to as “possibles bags” because they’ll hold everything possible. Added to those bags, and not necessarily in this order, were powder horns, brass ramrod fittings, Bumblin’ Bear Grease for patch lube, Pushing Daisies Patches, Delrin ramrods, and more.
Simply put, there is no way that I can tell you about all of their fine offerings – this column is too short for me to do that. So to see all of their goods, as well as current prices for the products, just visit their website at octobercountry.com. I suggest getting a full cup of coffee first, as you might be there a long time.
(or have bought) for myself. This also means that I’ll be featuring the goods that appeal to my tastes but that doesn’t mean the other goods aren’t as, well, good; the quality of all their products is very high. I’ve never heard of a customer of theirs who was not highly pleased.
To say that they have a full line of accessories for muzzleloading is
As a way to selectively “filter” some of their goods, I’m going to tell you about the plunder that I would buy
THE FIRST ITEM I’ll tell you about is a shooting pouch. In fact, shooting pouches are what most of their
STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKE NESBITT
October Country’s Black Rifleman Pouch is author Mike Nesbitt’s choice for a small possibles bag. (OCTOBER COUNTRY)
The Idaho company’s Blanket Rifle Cover, shown here with Nesbitt’s “Ol’ Trailblazer.”
BLACK POWDER
customers are looking for when they first visit October Country, either in person or on the website. And I’ll editorialize just for a moment: Too often, in my opinion, shooters who are new to muzzleloading pick a shooting pouch that is larger than what they need. A problem with getting a large pouch is that it tends to get filled up, many times with things that are simply not needed for good shooting. A smaller pouch most often fills the bill and actually gives the shooter better service.
For me and my tastes, the pouch I would select is called the Black Rifleman Pouch. (To find it on the website, go to “Possible Bags” and then select “Small Possible Bags.”) This black pouch is made of soft or supple leather, sized 7 inches by 7 inches square with a 2-inch-wide gusset, and the front flap can be held closed with a brass button that is sewn to the front of the pouch. On the inside there is a small leather pocket in the shape of a half-moon, which is
the biggest bag you might ever need and it could carry enough supplies, shooting and otherwise, for extended treks in the wilderness.
a good pocket for holding round balls. The pouch is supported by a 1¼-inchwide shoulder strap with a brass buckle that makes the strap adjustable from 50 to 61 inches. And that buckle is placed on the shooter’s backside when the pouch is worn, so they ask if you are right- or left-handed when the pouch is ordered.
While that is considered a “small shooting pouch,” it will easily hold all you need for a good session of shooting, while hunting or on a trailwalk at a match or a rendezvous. In addition to that, it will look more authentic because a study of the oldtime shooting pouches will show they were generally not very large.
Of course, if you want a larger shooting pouch, go for it! October Country has a fine selection of larger pouches. I only pointed out what fits my taste. One example of a larger leather pouch is their 9-inch by 10inch Traveler Possible Bag, which has many extra pockets as well as a 3-inch-wide gusset. They say this is
WHEN IT COMES to powder horns, October Country can fill the bill there as well. To point out my tastes again, I’d want a buffalo horn, which goes along with my following of the mountain men. October Country’s Buffalo Powder Horn is one that catches my eye very easily.
This is a rather new style of powder horn for October Country; I actually hadn’t seen it before. It is made with a real buffalo horn with the natural color of black. The horn’s throat is finished with flats down to the strap groove, where the shoulder strap is fitted on the spout end of the horn, and large brass tacks surround the horn’s base. The polished black walnut base plug is fitted with a silver staple for attaching the shoulder strap. This powder horn is available in either a medium or large size and is made here in the USA by October Country. A leather shoulder strap is included in the price.
Of course, I’d be a little remiss if I didn’t tell you about October Country’s Nesbitt Powder Horn. This is their rendition of a powder horn that was made for me, some
This Traveler Possible Bag holds a lot, Nesbitt can vouch. (OCTOBER COUNTRY)
October Country’s Buffalo Powder Horn (top) and Nesbitt Powder Horn. The latter is a copy of a horn made for the author by an influential horn maker, the late Harold Moore. (OCTOBER COUNTRY)
BLACK POWDER
years ago, by the late Harold Moore, a truly fine powder horn maker. My horn, however, is mostly white and it is covered with scrimshaw, which identifies that horn as mine. If you also want a white horn for scrimshaw enhancement, let the folks at October Country know. They will also ask if the powder horn is to be worn or carried on the right or left side, because the curvature of the horn can be selected appropriately.
IN MY INTRODUCTION, I mentioned how October Country made something
that was seen in the movie Quigley Down Under. Indeed, they made the leather rifle case that Matthew Quigley (played, of course, by Tom Selleck) used to carry and protect his Sharps buffalo rifle while he was traveling. That is a good idea – our rifles certainly should receive good treatment and October Country makes that fairly easy to do.
First, their Blanket Rifle Cover is made from horse or saddle blanket material, which is fully lined with a heavy canvas. This makes the rifle cover very good for wet
weather. Customers can choose from a variety of colors and lengths. October Country offers the following guidelines for length: If your rifle is less than 47 inches long, order a gun cover of 54 inches. If your rifle measures less than 57 inches, go for the 64-inch cover. And if your rifle is up to 64 inches long, try the 72inch rifle cover. The Blanket Rifle Covers also feature leather trim on the outside.
An optional pocket attached to the front (outside) of the Blanket Rifle Cover is available for an extra charge.
The Buffalo Runner Rifle Cover, along with Nesbitt’s .44-90 Sharps.
• EZ-XL accommodates 2 dogs over 65 lbs each
• Made from High Density Polyethylene with UV protection
• Easy Loader fits most full size pickups, SUVs & large UTVs
• Deuce fits smaller pickups, SUVs & UTVs
• EZ-XL is for larger breed dogs & full size vehicles
• Vents, cold weather door covers, insulated covers & custom kennel pads available
