American Shooting Journal // November 2022

CONTENTS

VOLUME 12 • ISSUE 2

COVER STORY

PRODUCT REVIEW: RELOAD IN A FLASH

TactaLoad’s easy-to-mount and indestructible five-shell buttstock accessory provides shotgun shooters faster access to rounds than side saddle carriers. With an eye toward self-defense, Paul Pawela takes a look at this unique product and the man who invented it.

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FEATURES

20 THE BASTOGNE BOY, SHELTER IN A STABLE AND THE NURSE: A TRUE STORY FROM THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

Belgian Andre Meurisse experienced the last Nazi offensive of World War II as a 7-year-old who was wounded during the December 1944-January 1945 fighting between the German and Allied armies. With the 78th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge next month, Frank Jardim shares his remarkable story.

33 HONORING THREE HEROES

November brings Veterans Day, and this month we celebrate Major John J. Duffy and Specialist Fives Dwight W. Birdwell and Dennis M. Fujii, who were recently awarded with the Congressional Medal of Honor for their Vietnam War heroism and deeds.

41 ROAD HUNTER: HUNTING HOMEBODY AND MIGRATORY ELK

There are two species of wapiti in the West and what’s more, there are two kinds of bulls: those that migrate, and those that don’t. Our expert Scott Haugen serves up tactics for pursuing pursuing Roosevelts in their coastal and Cascade hideaways and Rocky Mountain elk in and on their way to winter range.

TACTALOAD

48 MOUNTAIN SONG

The heights are a constant call for Cassidy Caron and when the bulls are bugling, there’s no stopping her from heading afield. She shares another of her incredible Canadian hunting stories, this one from a part of British Columbia “accessible only by horse, untouched by resource extraction and enclosed in pure wilderness.”

55 BULLET BULLETIN: HOLLOWPOINTS FOR HUNTING  A CHANGING TRADITION

Where hollowpoints were once shunned in deer camps for their unwelcome effects on game meat, today’s versions “rank among the toughest bullets available.” So writes Phil Massaro, who takes a look at the evolution of the projectile and modern offerings for hunters.

71 SCATTERGUN ALLEY: BUY THAT KID A SHOTGUN FOR CHRISTMAS  BUT NOT JUST ANY

For many young shooters over the ages, a long, slender package under the Christmas tree has been their entry into the world of shotguns. And if you’re planning on wrapping up just that sort of present for your kiddo this holiday season, Larry Case has some things and models to consider.

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