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A MERIC A N
SHOOTING JOURNAL Volume 9 // Issue 6 // March 2020 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andy Walgamott OFFICE MANAGER / COPY EDITOR Katie Aumann LEAD CONTRIBUTOR Frank Jardim CONTRIBUTORS Jim Dickson, Duane Dungannon, Scott Haugen, Phil Massaro, Mike Nesbitt, Paul Pawela SALES MANAGER Paul Yarnold ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Mamie Griffin, Jim Klark, Mike Smith DESIGNERS Celina Martin, Lesley-Anne Slisko-Cooper PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker WEBMASTER / INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@americanshootingjournal.com
ON THE COVER Bullet Bulletin columnist Phil Massaro bagged this kudu bull in Zimbabwe with professional hunter Brian van Blerk. He used a roundnose bullet fired from a .318 Westley Richards. (MASSARO MEDIA GROUP)
Website: AmericanShootingJournal.com Facebook: Facebook.com/AmericanShootingJournal Twitter: @AmShootingJourn
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
Visit us at the NRA Show Booth # 3855
The Inspirational Speaker You Need Twenty-one year Air Force Veteran Scott W.F. Aubin has seen things that most of us never will. His story is compelling, his spirit unconquerable. PTSD made life impossible, he has prevailed. Now a suicide prevention speaker nationwide, he serves our country by sharing his story, traveling with his Service Dog, Dash. He tried to take his life; those who know him are grateful that it was Knot Today. ‘…so wonderful and has a fantastic speech, you must hear him!’ --Angela Shelton, Film Director, Author ‘It was incredible how he is so real and able to tell his story…what an amazing person…’ ‘ Powerful. Inspiring...An amazing message...riveting, compelling, informative’ --New York State Children’s Alliance “Scott, it was an incredible presentation and brought the group to a more poignant and deeper level.” --Program Director, HomewardBoundAdirondack.org In order to reach even more of our Heroes & Guardians, Scott is acquiring 501c3 status. His organization, also called ‘Knot Today,’ was created to Reach, Support & Transport Veterans & Responders to approved Programs that assist in Suicide Prevention. A majority of his proceeds will go to ServiceDogProject.org For more information & availability, please email him directly.
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CONTENTS
VOLUME 9 • ISSUE 7
FEATURES 24
BULLET BULLETIN:
41
PROFILING – THE EFFECTS OF RIFLE BULLET SHAPE
“Not all bullet profiles perform the same, and you should choose the profile that best suits your hunting scenario.” That’s the advice our Phil Massaro offers in his latest treatise on all things ballistic coefficient, sectional density, secant ogive, boat tail, flatnose and roundnose.
(MASSARO MEDIA GROUP))
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WHAT I LEARNED AT COUNTERTERRORISM SCHOOL Inspired by legendary senior operator Billy Waugh, our 58-year-old Paul Pawela signed up for Crisis Response International’s intense, three-and-a-halfweek-long training course with a bunch of students half his age. From the gun ranges to driving school to rappelling down cliffs, find out what Paul experienced! REBARRELING AN M1903A3 SPRINGFIELD IN .308 WINCHESTER Break out your barrel vise, receiver wrench, piloted reamer guide, cutting oil and WD-40. Frank Jardim shares his step-by-step guide for replacing the barrel on a deactivated war trophy rifle from the Civilian Marksmanship Program. SALUTE TO GUNS: WAS THIS REALLY THE GUN THAT WON THE WEST? A certain lever action and six-shooter get all the credit, but the U.S. Army’s trapdoor Springfield might have actually set the stage for those iconic firearms. Jim Dickson traces the rise of this rifle, from master armorer E.S. Allen’s pivoting breechblock to the eradication of bison to skirmishes with Native Americans and beyond. BLACK POWDER: TRYING OUT A NEW .44 SHARPS BULLET After coming back from a long-range black powder cartridge match a bit disappointed in the performance of his 405-grain bullets, Mike Nesbitt got ahold of a new mold for a 470-grainer and got to pouring. How’d they work out at the range? Mike shares his initial results.
105 ROAD HUNTER: MEXICO’S PRIZED OCELLATED TURKEYS For most folks, the Yucatan means beaches, jungles and Mayan ruins, but for our far-traveling hunter Scott Haugen, it’s also home to the most colorful gobbler in all of North America. And if a record-book brocket deer buck should pop up along the way, so be it!
AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Ave South Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2020 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
westernshootingjournal.com 13
CONTENTS
115
VARMINTS:
ENJOY GOOD HARE DAYS IN OREGON THIS SPRING
Jackrabbits, sage rats and rockchucks abound in the Beaver State’s vast southeastern quarter. Head into this “Sagebrush Sea” with some, er, sage advice from a shooter who’s taken more than a few varmints here over the years.
company spotlight 123 Arma Products: Makers of better armor plates, and more
DEPARTMENTS 19 23 (DUANE DUNGANNON)
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
Competition Calendar Gun Show Calendar
AR15 & AR10 PARTS & ACCESSORIES
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PRIMER
COMPETITION C A L E N D A R
march 7
March 22
March 8
March 28
March 8
March 29-31
March 20-22
March 26-29
Sandy Ford Olympic Pistol Streator, Ill.
usashooting.org
PARG Air Pistol PTO Redwood City, Calif. MRG International Air Gun PTO Milford, Mass. TPS USPSA at CMP Alabama Sectional Talladega, Ala.
March 26-29 uspsa.org
Glock Area 6 Championship New Smyrna Beach, Fla.
Cedar Hill Jr. Gun Club PTO Blackfoot, Idaho Smallbore Rifle, Olympic Trials Part II Fort Benning, Ga. 2020 Roadrunner Shootout Clovis, Calif.
March 28
Ozarks Classic Billings, Mo.
March 7-8
March 21-22
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Ouachita Regional Challenge X Monroe, La.
gssfonline.com
Hollywood PTO – Air Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
Northern California Glock Challenge XII Yolo, Calif.
Delaware State GSSF Challenge V Bridgeville, Del. Sweet Home Alabama Glock Challenge VIII Montgomery, Ala.
March 20-22
River Bend Ballistic Challenge XIII Dawsonville (Canton), Ga.
March 6-7
March 28-29
March 15
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Wild West of Equi Fest Salina, Kan.
cmsaevents.com
2020 Battle for the Buckle III Corona, Calif.
Ozark Spring Round Up Springfield, Mo. South Carolina State Championships Pendelton, S.C.
March 27-29
TMS Lazy E Classic Guthrie, Okla.
March 7
March 28
March 14
March 28
TSGC-IDPA “Postal” Match Daleville, Ala.
idpa.com
Gulf Coast Regional Championship Eagle Lake, Texas
Tri-State Border Disorder Tallahassee, Fla. Arizona State IDPA Pistol Championship Catalina, Ariz.
March 20-21
Coastal Carolina Challenge 2020 Bolivia, N.C.
americanshootingjournal.com 19
PRS RESOURCE GUIDE Pro Bolt Gun Series March 6 March 13 March 21 March 21 March 28 April 4 April 18 April 24 May 2
Clay’s Cartridge Company Classic Accuracy International Long Range Classic The South Wind Shootout California Sharpshooter Showdown W.A.R. Rifles Shootout (AG Qualifier) MPA Spring Shootout Rockland Precision Spring Rifle Classic 2020 Alabama Precision Rifle Challenge 2020 Buckeye Classic
Leedey, Oklahoma Baker, Florida Tipton, Kansas Bakersfield, California Gerrardstown, West Virginia Blakely, Georgia Kennerdell, Pennsylvania Carbon Hill, Alabama Kimbolton, Ohio
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PRIMER
GUNSHOW C A L E N D A R
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March 7-8
Sharonville, Ohio
Sharonville Convention Center
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Winston-Salem, N.C.
Winston-Salem Fairgrounds
March 14-15
Columbus, Ohio
Westland Mall
March 14-15
Hickory, N.C.
Hickory Metro Convention Center
March 28-29
Columbus, Ohio
Ohio Expo Center
March 7-8
Tucson, Ariz.
Pima Fairgrounds
March 7-8
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Dixie Center
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Del Mar Fairgrounds
March 14-15
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Centennial Hall
March 21-22
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OC Fair
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Bradenton Area Convention Center
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Missouri State Fairgrounds
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Oklahoma City, Okla.
Oklahoma State Fair Park
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Kingsport, Tenn.
MeadowView Convention Center
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Colorado Springs, Colo.
Colorado Springs Event Center
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The Center for Rural Development
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Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Mid-TN Expo Center
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Kansas City, Mo.
KCI Expo Center
March 28-29
Lexington, Ky.
Kentucky Horse Park
March 7-8
Taylor, Texas
Williamson County Expo Center
March 14-15
Bastrop, Texas
Bastrop Convention & Exhibit Center
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Brenham, Texas
Brenham Fireman’s Training Center
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Denver Mart
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Southwest Washington Fairgrounds
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Crossroads Of The West Gun Shows
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To have your event highlighted here, send an email to kaumann@media-inc.com.
americanshootingjournal.com 23
WHAT I LEARNED AT COUNTERTERRORISM SCHOOL
Inspired by a legendary senior operator, our 58-year-old author signed up for an intense, three-and-a-half-week-long course with students half his age. Here's what he experienced. STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAUL PAWELA
R
ecently while doing research on paramilitary operators, I came across a book written by Annie Jacobsen titled Surprise, Kill, Vanish – The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins. I was delighted to discover that more than half the book was about the exploits of one of my long-time mentors, Sergeant Major Billy Waugh (retired). Now 90, Waugh had 25 years in Special Forces as a leader of the elite Military Assistance Command-Vietnam Studies and Observations Group
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
Hand-to-hand combat techniques, called Krav Haganah, are one of many important aspects of the training at Crisis Response International’s Counter-Terrorism Training School. americanshootingjournal.com 25
CRI training includes firearms training with handguns, rifles and shotguns ... ... using smoke for cover ...
(MACV-SOG) unit that would go deep into enemy territory and disrupt their agenda. He retired from Special Forces at the highest enlisted rank, after being wounded in combat and receiving eight Purple Hearts. Not a man for sitting still, Waugh went to work for the CIA for another 25 years. In that amazing second part of his career, he was directly responsible for capturing the most wanted criminal/terrorist in the world at the time, Carlos the Jackal. After 9/11, Waugh, now in his 70s, participated in Operation Enduring 26
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
... and learning to shoot on the move – including from moving vehicles.
Freedom as a member of the CIA team that would help topple the Taliban regime and al-Qaeda at the Battle of Tora Bora. I often pondered where individuals such as Waugh are able to receive specialized hands-on training to be able to do these brave acts. I found my answer after having a conversation with a good friend by the name of Jason Brooks. Jason arranged for me to meet with Doron Benbenisty, the owner of Crisis Response International Counter-Terrorism Training School, who has been doing
this type of training for almost two decades in Las Vegas, Nevada. Benbenisty, a man of seasoned combat experience who does not mince words, was direct and to the point: “Yes, Paul, I would be delighted for you to write an article on our program, with one caveat. You must go through it as a student.” At 58 years old, I was not relishing the thought of going to an intense, three-and-a-half-week counter-terrorist training school with people half my age. Then again, Waugh was 71 years old working with the CIA and roaming the
Extensive time is spent on the range (above, right, below) ...
... while aerial gunnery training is another course taught at CRI.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
roaming the mountains looking for terrorists. So I enrolled in what would become one of my greatest experiences in nearly four decades of training. CRISIS RESPONSE INTERNATIONAL (CRI) is an Israelibased counter-terrorism training school with its roots deeply embedded with the Mossad. The Mossad is the national intelligence agency for Israel and works with Aman (Military Intelligence) and Shin Bet (International Security). All together, they are responsible for intelligence collection, covert operations and counter-terrorism – basically the same mission as the CIA. CRI offers comprehensive instruction to the military, law enforcement, dignitary protection and private security, and has been involved in training state and federal agencies, Students are trained to handle pretty much any situation, including rappelling down a mountain.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
as well as other governments from around the world. Right out of the gate, the first day of training is Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape, better known as SERE training. The first part of the class simulates being captured by terrorists, which includes having a hood put over your head and your feet and hands bound, while being waterboarded. You are asked a series of questions and if your answers do not match up to the pseudo-terrorists who are conducting the interviews, you are shocked with a taser. I experienced being hogtied on the ground, tied up by being hung, put into a small box in isolation, and strapped in a chair, all while handcuffed, blindfolded, interrogated and shocked by a taser. Why would anyone want to go through that? Many of my classmates
were contractors going overseas to the Middle East and needed realistic training in case of abduction. We not only experienced being bound, gagged and tortured, but we also watched 10 different videos of actual beheadings and murderous executions. Why would a civilian want to attend? Almost every one of you carry a firearm for home defense or personal protection, but have you ever thought of what would happen if you or someone in your family was taken hostage? Think being bound and tortured and brutally murdered does not happen in the United States? The CRI courses are designed for anyone who may find themselves in a hostile situation. CRI ALSO OFFERS firearms training with handguns, rifles and shotguns. Since most shooting in these situations is very close-quarters, instructors
taught instinctive fire techniques, rather than aimed fire, and the results were amazing! Firearms training included: shooting on the move in all directions, shooting from moving vehicles, shooting in and around vehicles, shooting through windows of vehicles from all positions inside the vehicle, dismounting from vehicles and covering your team while shooting and moving, shooting while moving and holding onto a hostage, shooting onehanded, and shooting on the ground with both handgun and rifle. Students also learned Israeli hand-to-hand Krav Haganah combat techniques, including long gun, handgun and knife disarms and takeaways, ground fighting tactics for both offense and defense, surviving counterattacks from the rear, knife defense, and knife throwing skills as a last-ditch option. Another course covered offensive and defensive vehicle tactical driving and pit ramming maneuvers. The course also included how to take over the driver’s position if he has been shot and is seriously wounded or killed, which in 35 years of LEO training was the first time I ever witnessed these techniques. A variety of other subjects were taught, including in-depth classes on tactical first aid, personal protection
Attendees also participate in close-quarters battle (CQB) training, as author Paul Pawela (left) and two other students did.
teams and formations, covert intelligence gathering and much more. All trainings were drilled to perfection by CRI instructors and capped off with physical and demanding “stress tests.� The one I liked most was the driving test. The instructor would 32
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
play loud music, yell and scream, pour water over the face of the student/ driver, and use a shock knife on the driver, all while the driver was having to complete the vehicle obstacle course, which simulated driving while being shot at. This was similar to all
CRI’s logo covers a wall at the company’s Las Vegas headquarters.
the tests performed. STUDENTS WHO ENTER the CRI Counter-Terrorism Training School are generally seasoned combat veterans, many of whom are seeking to go back overseas as a contract
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
security specialist, where the pay is higher but the risk and danger are higher as well. For jobs like these, one must have physical endurance and great marksmanship skills in all weapons, including those of the enemy, and
they must undergo memory training and psychological tests, medical examinations, driving tests and lots of verbal interviews. Hysteria and aggression have no place in a job like this; one must do everything calmly, deliberately and tactically. Strategy, tactics, endurance, techniques and closecombat fighting are honed until it becomes second nature. Those who can resist stress and strain are well on their way into working in this type of field; in calmness lies strength, flexibility and endurance. At the end of the day, the objective for the individual is to fit in and be a part of a well-refined team to accomplish the mission. While this is a high-speed personal protection course, could civilians benefit from all of the blocks of instruction taught by CRI? The answer unequivocally is absolutely yes! ď‚Ť For more information on the CRI Counter-Terrorism Training School, go to critraining.com.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
CONCEALED CARRY
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Introducing the Defender Holster made specially for revolvers. This new design fully covers all barrel lengths and features up to six bullet loops in your choice of caliber, a sweat shield and open muzzle. Made to be worn in the 2 to 3 o’clock position with a 10-degree forward cant for easy holstering. MSRP: $110.
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americanshootingjournal.com 37
STICKY HOLSTERS
The Belly Band and Guard Her Belt are modular bands that secure a Sticky Holster and handgun around the hips/torso or thigh. Both bands have two small accessory pouches for a spare magazine or knife, and the Belly Band has two large accessory pouches for a phone, wallet or other items.
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KIRKPATRICK LEATHER
The K-400 Detective Carry holster is a favorite among plainclothes police. Its open-muzzle design reduces the size of the holster and allows the wearer to carry pistols of different barrel lengths. The shoulder straps are thin enough for concealing with light cover, yet very durable. The wide design of the harness distributes the weight of the firearm, reducing fatigue during extended use. Other features include molded sight rail; soft, durable leather straps; double stitching at stress points; gun-specific hand molding; and thumb break design. MSRP: $140. www.kirkpatrickleather.com
TAP RACK HOLSTERS
Tap Rack Holsters IWB offers function and form with safety and comfort as two principles in their line of handmade holsters. They mold to your specifications for a correct fit. No buckets here. Holsters feature adjustable retention, a 550 corded loop for securing to a belt or belt loop, semiclosed bottom that can be left open for threaded barrels on request, different body shield heights in low, medium and high upon request, and nonbinding smooth edges with no sharp points in their designs for comfort. Different colors and patterns available upon request.
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DARA HOLSTERS
Dara Holsters’ patented Curved Clip is designed to mimic the curve of the waistline, offering 100-percent clip-to-belt contact while carrying, keeping the gun and holster close to the body at all times. Concealed carry has never been so easy.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
REBARRELING AN M1903A3 SPRINGFIELD IN .308 WINCHESTER
A step-by-step guide for replacing the barrel of a deactivated war trophy rifle. STORY AND PHOTOS BY FRANK JARDIM
O
ver the years I’ve seen many otherwise fine rifles with poor barrels sell cheap because barrels are usually the most expensive part on the gun and the gunsmith’s labor to install it was never going to be less than a C-note for the most simple replacement job. Vintage 20th century bolt-action military rifles are among the easiest and most economical to rebarrel. It’s not particularly hard, as long as you have a replacement barrel and the right tools. Though you can change a barrel with a bench vise and a pipe wrench, to do the job like a pro requires a pro’s tools. Your savings
The Civilian Marksmanship Program sold M1903 and M1903A3 deactivated war trophy, or DEWAT, drill rifles over a decade ago with their barrels plugged and welded to the receiver, broken-off firing pins and welded bolt faces and magazine cut-offs. Quite a number of them have since been “reclaimed” and made operational with replacement barrels and bolts, though not all of them should be. The CMP can’t certify any of these reclaimed guns as safe.
Upon completion of author Frank Jardim’s barrel replacement project, you can see how the match-grade Criterion barrel is a visual match for the original GI barrel, with the exception of its lack of an Ordnance Corps roll stamp and date.
in gunsmith labor will pay off the investment in the first two or three jobs. My first job was a .308 Winchester conversion of a reclaimed DEWAT, or deactivated war trophy, M1903A3 Springfield drill rifle I bought from the Civilian Marksmanship Program many years ago. THE 1903A3 IS one of the easiest guns to rebarrel. A lot of this has to do with the availability of excellent quality replacement barrels from Criterion Barrels (criterionbarrels.com). The CMP uses Criterion barrels in their restoration shop and after installing thousands of them, has never had one fail to index properly. Criterion actually makes barrels for all the American service rifles, from the Krag to the AR15, and a couple British guns too. Their barrels are match-grade quality at a bargain price, thanks to a highly refined The most challenging part of reclaiming a drill receiver is removing the weld at the magazine cut-off. If it’s a heavy weld, like on the lower receiver in the photo on the previous page, it took a lot of torch heat to do and surely altered the original arsenal heat treatment. Author Frank Jardim’s reclaimed receiver was very lightly welded but you can see the evidence through the parkerization.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
manufacturing process. The 1903A3 barrel costs $219.99 and is a direct replacement for the original, lacking only the U.S. Army Ordnance roll stamp. The threads are properly timed and the mark stamped on the side; the extractor slot and front sight key are cut, and the barrel is parkerized. All you need to do is screw it on and set the headspace. Since the barrel has to index in a specific spot to
keep the front sight properly oriented, the barrels are all short chambered by .010 inch so they can be finish headspaced to suit your rifle. Criterion was a pioneer in the development of match-grade button rifling. They do all their barrel machining operations in-house, including finishing their own rifling buttons. Before the bore of the barrel blank is rifled, it is lapped to remove
The Brownells barrel vise is a lifetime quality investment. It uses various aluminum bushing inserts to grip any barrel without marring the steel.
tool marks until mirror smooth. When the rifling button is drawn through, by a custom-built CNC machine, the resulting lands and grooves are consistently uniform. Their ordnancegrade 4150 chrome moly barrel steel is stress relieved before and after the rifling process to maintain dimensional integrity during machining. THE SPECIALTY TOOLS required for this project were an action wrench, chamber reamer and headspace gauges. You’ll also need some quality sulfur-based cutting oil like Brownells’ Universal Do-Drill. The vise and wrench need to be bought or made, but the reamers and gauges can be rented from several companies for a fraction of what it would cost to buy them if you don’t see yourself doing another gun in the same caliber again. Customarily, the barrel is held still in a vise while a specialized action wrench is used to torque the receiver on or off. 44
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
The action wrench jaws are designed to disperse force around the ring of the receiver so it won’t be crushed or bent. The Brownells tools I use are excellent quality and so rugged, they seem indestructible. The Brownells barrel vise bolts to the workbench and uses split shim inserts of various diameters to grip the barrel between the base and top plate secured with four massive socket head bolts. Aluminum bushing inserts protect the barrel from marring. Cost for the vise and a #8 (1.175-inch) bushing for the 1903A3 Springfield was $149.99. Additional bushings in other sizes cost $29.99. Brownells’ action wrench is comprised of a universal handle that fits about 20 custom upper jaws that bolt on to match the receiver. The wrench with the Springfield upper jaw was $124.99. Additional jaws for different guns cost $40 to $70. MY PROJECT RIFLE was a reactivated DEWAT drill rifle
originally sold by the CMP. They were DEWATted for parade use by breaking off the tip of the firing pin and gas welding: 1) the firing pin hole on the bolt face closed, 2) the barrel to the receiver, 3) the magazine cut-off down so the bolt can’t be removed, and 4) a hardened pin in the chamber. Some were very lightly welded and their receivers were restored to function by cutting the barrel and cut-off away through the weldment and leaving the receiver itself intact. Contours were restored with careful filing and a Dremel tool before reparkerization. Some surface defects from the original weld, and the heat that made it, will remain visible in the finished receiver and are easily detected on an assembled gun in the exposed cut-off area. While my drill rifle was a great candidate for reactivation because of the light welds, not all of them are. Some welders were sloppy. I’ve
Leave just enough barrel sticking out the front to see the witness mark. The 1903A3 barrel has a short shoulder and you want as much of it gripped in the barrel vise as possible since only the front two bolts on the cap will be holding it in place. Then grease the threads, handtighten the receiver and wrap the ring with a soda can shim to protect it.
seen reclaimed receivers that were reparkerized and showed big halos around the weld area where a lot of heat was put into them with the torch. I’d question the heat treatment and safety of those. For the record, the CMP doesn’t advocate the reactivation of DEWAT rifles for the simple reason they can’t certify them as safe. They will also disqualify competitive shooters using them at the CMP matches if they discover it during their safety inspections. They’ve found rifles put together on receivers so heavily, and needlessly, ground on the bottom of the ring that barrel threads showed through the .030-inch gap! They’ve also had plenty come into their shop for work, some from customers who had no idea their rifles were built on reactivated receivers. Their policy is to inform the customer, and if the customer still wants the work done and signs a waiver holding them harmless, the CMP will do the work but won’t certify the gun as safe. As such, they replace the firing pin with a deactivated one and return the finished rifle in a nonfiring condition along with original, undamaged firing pin. What the customer does from there is on them. BEGIN THE BARREL swap by 46
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
applying some penetrating oil to the receiver ring/barrel junction inside and out over the course of a few days. I’ve been a fan of Kroil brand and I’m still using the gallon can I bought 10 years ago. While the oil is doing its thing, set up your barrel vise. Find something solid and heavy to mount it on with two ½-inch bolts. The left side of the bench is preferred because the weight of the bench helps to stabilize it when you are trying to torque off a stubborn barrel.
Always clean the oil off the barrel and receiver with solvent before clamping. You don’t want them spinning in your tools. Once clean, install the bottom barrel bushing, barrel, then the top bushing and cap. Start all four bolts in their holes and adjust the position of the barrel before you tighten them so the receiver wrench handle is where it’s easiest for you to work with. Since the 1903A3 barrel has a short shoulder, only the front two bolts on the cap do the hard gripping. The two rear bolts just serve to keep the cap level and the force evenly applied. Get those front bolts as tight as you can with an Allen key alone and then give it an extra short push with the leverage of a 10-inch pipe extension on the tail of the Allen key. BEFORE MOUNTING THE receiver wrench, make a protective shim for the receiver ring to protect it from getting marred. I cut a strip from an aluminum soda can, wrapped it around the ring and taped it in place. The receiver wrench has a cut-out on the head for the recoil lug. The top jaw is relieved for the extractor hump. Screw the top jaw down evenly until it’s tight enough that it doesn’t slide or wiggle on the receiver ring. Don’t “go caveman” and overtighten or you can The Brownells receiver wrench is the gunsmith’s war hammer. This universal tool uses specially cut replaceable top jaws, and a few adapters, to fit just about any receiver.
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you can get the lines on the barrel and receiver to meet up and it’s been known to take up to 60 pounds of torque. Those witness lines can play tricks on your eyes. Proceed slowly so you don’t overshoot the mark. There’s enough elasticity in the steel to recover from a few degrees of overtightening, but too much and you’ll deform the shoulder so much you’ll never get the barrel to snug up without pressing the shoulder back down. Lacking heavy rollers, you could carefully peen the shoulder back down with a hammer. Be aware of the witness lines to get the barrel and receiver close enough to the ideal position that the rifle can be zeroed with sight adjustment. It might be perfect, or it might be slightly off when you meet those witness lines up. You may want to place a machinist rule or similar perfectly straight narrow object in one of the front sight key flats and see if it is parallel to the top of the rear sight base when you sight down the barrel. If it’s not, now is the time to make fine adjustments.
Clean up the threads of the receiver ring with a wire brush and solvent to get any rust and dried grease out before you install it onto the greased barrel threads. Notice the heat marks from the demil weld.
crush the ring. With the wrench securely on the receiver, put your weight on the handle, turning counter-clockwise, until the receiver turns free of the barrel. If you need more leverage, slip a section of 1½-inch steel pipe over the wrench handle. Once you get it off, clean up the threads of the receiver ring with a wire brush and solvent to get any rust and dried grease out. Mount the new barrel in the barrel vise, leaving enough exposed to see the witness mark on the left side of the barrel. I orient the mark facing up so I can see it easily and it puts the wrench handle pointing downward and to the left so I can lift it, rather than pull it. Grease the barrel threads, hand-tighten the receiver on, and wrap and tape the aluminum can shim back on before reattaching the action wrench. Have good light on the work so you can see where the witness marks are on the barrel and receiver. They will be easier to see if you fill them with white crayon. Before tightening, mine were about 3/8 inch apart. The barrel 48
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
shoulder has about .003 to .004 inch of lateral crush against the receiver once tightened. That’s what holds it on. Get a firm grip and lift the wrench handle to snug up the receiver while watching the witness marks. You may have to tighten and loosen the receiver a few times to set the threads before The correctly installed receiver wrench is leveraging on the flats and you don’t want any play. The thin sheet of the aluminum can shields the receiver ring, but doesn’t compress and loosen the grip. Screw the top jaw down evenly until it’s tight, but don’t crush the receiver.
ONCE YOU HAVE the new barrel mounted, it’s time for the precision work of setting the chamber headspace by hand-reaming the chamber to get it perfect for your receiver/bolt/ barrel combination. I put a new bolt in this rifle but shot it enough with .30-06 to wear it into the receiver. If you are using a brand new bolt in your
americanshootingjournal.com 49
newly reactivated receiver, the time to lap the lugs to the receiver is now. You probably wouldn’t gain much headspace as the bolt wears in if you didn’t. I wouldn’t expect .0005 inch as the high spots wear down, but I’ve been told by people who shoot better than I ever will that it helps accuracy if you lap the bolt lugs in. There are two ways to finish ream a chamber. You can use a pull-through reamer or a standard reamer. The easiest (and only way for semiautos) is with a pull-through reamer, which is turned from the pilot at the tip by a slender rod that extends through the barrel and out the muzzle. You improvise a handle at the end of the rod at the muzzle to turn it. A donutlike bearing slips over the back of the reamer, which is engaged by the bolt face. You put forward cutting Righty-tighty. Get a firm grip and lift the wrench to snug up the receiver while watching for the witness marks to match up. They will look offset if viewed from any angle other than directly above them.
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pressure on the reamer by pushing the bolt into the battery. The reamer itself is dimensioned to the exact size of the go gauge. Thus, when the bolt closes, you’ve cut the headspace perfectly to the minimum dimension – at least in theory. To be on the safe side, I wouldn’t ream it all in one pass. Stop with the bolt about 1/16 inch from lockup, clean everything up and check the headspace with the go gauge. There’s only .005 inch of difference between the go and no-go. There’s no downside to a pullthrough reamer. So why doesn’t everyone do it this way, you ask? The tool costs more. Brownells sells the Clymer pull-through reamer, rod and bearing for $190, compared to $105 for a standard reamer. A quick online check of mail order three-day rental
prices showed around $65 for a pullthrough setup and $29 for a standard reamer. By the way, go and no-go headspace gauge sets cost $58 to buy at Brownells.com, but only from $7 to $9 to rent. All these prices exclude shipping costs. You can find rental pull-through reamers in the U.S. martial calibers, but I’ve yet to find a firm renting a caliber outside of those. For this reason I chose the standard reamer, available in all calibers, to demonstrate a technique that will work on any bolt action. Regardless of the reamer you use, you need sulfurbased cutting oil to lubricate the tool and chamber. You’ll also need a means to clean the chips of metal off the reamer and out of the chamber at numerous intervals so you can take accurate headspace measurements. I
The witness lines on the new Criterion barrel (above) and receiver (right) before tightening are about 3/8 inch apart. If you want to get an idea how short-chambered the barrel is, try installing the go gauge in the chamber and screw it onto the receiver by hand with the bolt closed. There will be a gap between barrel and receiver.
The tools for finish reaming the chamber and checking the headspace include (left to right) the author’s homemade piloted reamer guide, Clymer .308 chamber finishing reamer and headspace go and no-go gauges from Brownells, and a stripped and cleaned bolt handle. Not shown are cutting oil, spray WD-40 and cleaning patches for cleaning the chips from the chamber.
Jardim made a rear receiver bushing to steady his reamer driving extension rod with the lathe from an ordinary 7/16-inch nut and then chucked it up to burnish the threads to fit the rod body with the rod itself.
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A standard chamber reamer is pushed and turned from the chamber end of the barrel and must remain centered with the bore axis. The author made a bushing guided extension rod for it from an old socket wrench extension whose head was the same diameter as a Springfield bolt. With a Scotch tape shim around it, the fit was perfect.
Check headspace and note the position of the bolt handle before you start to establish a baseline for the progress of your reaming. Using a standard reamer by hand in this way requires a carefully applied “guess and check� approach.
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suggest shop air pressure and a blow gun, but spray WD-40, a toothbrush, cleaning patches and a cleaning rod will get the job done. A small magnet you can reach into the receiver ring with is also very helpful to retrieve your headspace gauge. A standard chamber reamer is pushed and turned from the chamber end of the barrel and requires careful use to prevent cutting an oval chamber by tilting it off center with the bore axis while turning. The use of some sort of bushing to stabilize sideways movement of the driving extension is preferred, but skilled hands have finished chambers perfectly without bushings.
Here’s the reaming setup. The front of the extension is held against the three points of contact in the bolt ways by the thumb and the rear bushing is held against four points of contact in the loading bridge of the receiver by an O-ring while Jardim makes his cut.
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BY GOOD LUCK, I found an old 6-inch-long 3/8-inch ratchet extension rod with a .694-inch head diameter. My Springfield bolt body measured .695 inch, so the extension was a near perfect fit. All bolt actions have a little play between the bolt body and the receiver to allow for a sliding fit. To take up that slack, I wrapped a single lay of shiny Scotch tape around the ratchet extension head to bring the diameter out to .698 inch and take up the play. The extension rod head is supported on three points of contact in the bolt way and needs to be held against them by hand during reaming. To support the rear of the extension rod steady and on center with the bore, I made a bushing on my lathe that fit in the rear receiver from a 7/16-inch nut and then chucked up the bushing and burnished the threads to fit the rod body with the rod itself. The bushing is held in the right place on the extension rod with a tight rubber O-ring. Keep in mind that the maximum amount of metal you are removing from the chamber of a shortchambered Criterion M1903A3 barrel amounts to no more than .010 inch. That’s not quite the thickness of three sheets of printer paper. Cut with great care because if you overdo it, you can’t undo it. The barrel might be salvaged by cutting back the shoulder and reprofiling the breech and extractor cut, but that’s a lot of work and requires a lathe and mill. The main disadvantage
The complete reclaimed M1903A3 Springfield.
of using a standard reamer by hand is that you don’t know how far you have cut until you check the headspace. In fact, this method is often referred to as the “Guess and Check Method.” Establish your starting point by checking the clean, uncut, short chamber with the headspace go gauge and a clean, dry, stripped bolt, noting the position of the bolt handle. You might want to take a picture of it with your cell phone, looking at it from the rear as if you were shooting. Where on the clock face is the bolt handle when closed on the gauge? How much it moves clockwise after your first cut will give you an idea of how much metal you are taking off with each turn. Obviously, you need to keep the pressure consistent too. When checking headspace with the barreled action held vertically, the headspace gauge can be easily retrieved with a magnet. WHEN I HAND-FINISH ream a chamber, I clamp the barrel vertically between wood blocks in a bench vise because it’s easier for me to see what I’m doing and flush away the chips after cuts. The oil and chips run down the barrel onto a piece of cardboard on the floor underneath, 56
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
not back into the chamber area. Before inserting the reamer, it and the chamber are doused wet in cutting oil. The driving extension rod is then connected, followed by the rear bushing. Adjust the rubber O-ring so the rear support bushing is visible in the receiver’s cut-off slot. A reamer doesn’t need much forward pressure to cut and it is only turned clockwise. You are either cutting or standing still. Never go backwards or you will dull the tool. Proceed carefully. Make your first turn/cut with gentle pressure and withdraw while turning. Remove the whole driving tool from the receiver so you can put it out of harm’s way on a clean piece of cardboard on the bench while you inspect. Look at the reamer and the chamber. There should be small metal shavings (chips) from the cut on the reamer’s shoulder and in the chamber shoulder. Blow or brush the chips off the reamer with a toothbrush and flush clean with WD40; set it aside again. Next, clean the chamber and inside of the receiver ring of all chips and dry it. The oil film can add .001 inch to your measurements, so it has to go before inserting the go headspace gauge and your dry stripped bolt again.
See how far the bolt closes now. The new position of the bolt handle will give you a feel for how far you have cut and how far you still have to go. Then douse the chamber and reamer with cutting oil again, reinsert it along with the driver and bushing, and make another cut. Repeat the oiling, cutting, cleaning and checking process until the bolt just closes on the go gauge. At that point, you have set your rifle up with minimum headspace and you are done. THE PROCESS IS more tedious than complicated, the most challenging aspect being devising the extension and bushing needed to drive the reamer in-line with the bore for a perfectly concentric chamber. If this seems like too much trouble, there happens to be another very economical option in the specific case of the M1903A3 Springfield. The CMP offers the best deal in town to people qualified under their program as part of their commitment to support competitive shooters. Their shop will sell you a brand new Criterion barrel, installed and headspaced on your functional and serviceable receiver for a total of $275 plus $29.99 shipping. Visit their website at thecmp.org for the details on that.
SALUTE To GUNS
WAS THIS REALLY THE GUN THAT WON THE WEST?
A lever action and six-shooter get all the credit, but the U.S. Army’s trapdoor Springfield might have actually set the stage for those iconic firearms.
David Jones firing the Model 1873 trapdoor Springfield.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY JIM DICKSON
T
he gun that won the West was not the M1873 Winchester or Colt in civilian hands, for it was the army that subdued the Sioux and other tribal nations and opened up the West for settlement. And the gun they used was the trapdoor Springfield. After the Civil War, the army
needed a standard breechloading rifle, but draconian budget cuts made adopting a new rifle almost impossible. Master armorer E.S. Allen had invented a rimfire .58-caliber conversion of the old percussion rifled muskets by milling away the lower part of the rear of the barrel and adding a pivoted
breechblock that swung up to expose the chamber and a new hammer. This was adopted in 1865 and was the American equivalent of the English .577 Snyder. While the army thought that using their employee’s invention for free was great, they soon faced two patent infringement suits brought by William Mont americanshootingjournal.com 59
Storm and Col. Hiram Berdan. The next improvement was to go to centerfire and a smaller cartridge in the M1866. Thus was born the famed .50-70 round. This round was just as accurate and long-ranged as the later .45-70, and the buffalo hunters said it hit harder than the .45-70. They certainly had enough experience to know. It was a 450-grain .50-caliber bullet backed by 70 grains of FG black powder at 1,260 feet per second. Buffalo Bill’s famed rifle, Lucretia Borgia, was a .50-70 M1866 Springfield. With it, he killed 4,862 buffalo in 18 months, fulfilling his contract to provide meat for a railroad being built through Kansas. This was the gun he used to take
The trapdoor’s ramrod jarred out by the recoil.
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back a stolen horse and the gun that he killed most of his total bag of over 40,000 buffalo, plus deer and antelope. Lucretia Borgia can be seen today at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, Wyoming. New barrels were not required, only relining the old barrel, which many needed anyway after wartime service. The army ordered 25,000 and the new gun went into service as the M1866. It soon proved its worth on the frontier when 26 soldiers armed with it – together with six civilians – held off several hundred of Red Cloud’s Sioux on August 2, 1867 at the famed Wagon Box Fight near Fort Phil Kearny, in northcentral Wyoming. The Sioux could not believe the volume of fire
being delivered by this small group of soldiers that were decimating their forces. That same year at the Hayfield Fight near Fort C.F. Smith on the Bozeman Trail in southeast Montana, 26 soldiers armed with the new M1866 rifles and nine civilians held off between 500 and 800 Sioux warriors. Although these were minor skirmishes, it marked the end of Native American mastery of the plains. Vastly superior firepower meant that the army could defeat Sioux and other tribes on the cheap without having to match their numbers. An experienced rifleman can fire 12 to 13 aimed shots a minute with a trapdoor Springfield and the record is 23 shots a minute.
SALUTE TO GUNS Right side view of the M1873 .45-70 trapdoor Springfield.
Top view of the M1873 trapdoor Springfield.
There were 52,000 M1866 rifles made between 1867 and 1869. About half of these were sold to the French during the Franco-Prussian War, leaving about 26,000 in the U.S.
IN 1868, ARMY Ordnance refined the design. Instead of milling out the top at the back of old muzzleloading barrels, a new receiver was made for the barrel to screw into. Barrels were now made from scratch and a new simplified breechblock was designed, along with a new rear sight with a sliding graduated leaf. The stock was shortened with the M1868 having two instead of the previous three barrel bands. The overall length was now 52 inches and the gun weighed 9¼ pounds. The 32½-inch barrels were rifled with three lands and three grooves with a twist of one turn in 42 inches. The barrels were taperbored with grooves .010 inch deep at the breech tapering to .005 inch at the muzzle. These were still rebuilt M1863 percussion rifles with only the addition of new barrel and sights, breechblock assembly, and hammer. Minor changes, such as shortening the receiver ring by ¾ inch, produced the M1870. One of these was my first rifle. Ever since the big ammunition companies quit loading ammo for it in the 1930s, it has been hard to feed. I still have some 1872 Frankfort Arsenal insideprimed ammo in my shooting stash and it still works. The military was panicked over the prospect of losing its ability to manufacture its own guns in the period of military budget cuts 62
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
that followed the war and they devised a scheme to get back into making entire guns again, instead of modernizing existing stocks. The new gun became the M1873 in .45-70 caliber. The cartridge size was reduced, as was the bullet weight, which became 405 grains. Velocity was 1,300 fps. In later years, bullet weight was increased to 500 grains. Pushing the heavier bullet raised pressure sufficiently that the velocity went up to 1,315 fps. Recoil of the .45-70-500 in the M1873 was 14.4 footpounds, which compares favorably to the 14.98 foot-pounds of the M1903 Springfield in .30-06. The new cartridge was not more accurate or longer-ranged than the .50-70 and it had less stopping power on buffalo, which the army was determined to eradicate as it was the indigenous people’s larder. But it offered the selling point that they were keeping up with England, which had adopted a .45-bore rifle in the .577-450 Martini-Henry rifle, and Spain and Germany, which had adopted 11mm (.43-caliber) rifles. A caliber change meant that much more money would have to be appropriated to Ordnance and enough new guns would have to be made to totally reequip the army. Ordnance would be back in the business of making complete guns again. The rest of the gun had cosmetic changes to sell it to Congress, but also no real improvements. The trigger was grooved and hooked at the bottom so the soldier would engage it where he had the most leverage, resulting in the trigger pull
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SALUTE TO GUNS seeming lighter than it actually was. The rear sight was larger and more impressive but offered no shooting improvement. A stacking swivel like on the M1903 Springfield was added behind the sling swivel, where the sling got in the way of using it. This was a useless addition, as previously the ramrods and the barrels provided the engagement for stacking the arms and this method was easier and far quicker to disengage when under attack. That’s why Germany used the ramrod for stacking on the 98K all through World War II. Like the previous guns, the M1873 was polished with a very rough matte finish, then blued or color case hardened on its respective parts. Quality was first-rate and all the trapdoor Springfields are exceptionally rugged and durable. Specifications for the M1873 are: Weight: 9.3 pounds Length: 51.9 inches Barrel length: 32½ inches Number of grooves: 3 Twist: Right Sights: Inverted V front, rear leaf adjustable for elevation Caliber: .45-70-405
THE MODEL 1873 remained in service as the official U.S. Army rifle from 1873 to 1892, when it was replaced by the Krag. U.S. Volunteer Units
(National Guard) used it until 1903. The trapdoor remained basically the same during all these years. The M1873 was also made in a cavalry carbine version, which fired a reduced load of 50 grains of FG blackpowder, as the lightened guns kicked too much with full-power 70-grain loads. People who think “sporterizing” military guns is a good idea should take note of that. The .50-70 Sharps carbines had sufficient weight that they never had a problem with full-power loads, so the cavalry ended up with a less effective carbine than their previous guns. Later models were the M1879, M1884 and M1890. There was also the M1873 Cadet Rifle for West Point, which was midsize between the carbine and the rifle. This was later modified as the M1879 and M1884. Very limited quantities of M1875 Officer’s Model rifles were made for those officers wishing to purchase a fancy rifle for themselves. These had special sights, optional set trigger, high-polish finish, checkered stock and engraved lock, and those made after 1877 had a detachable pistol grip. The M1873 shotgun was the trapdoor made as a 20-gauge shotgun in order to enable troops on the frontier to forage small game. After 1881, they were issued normally two to a company in remote areas.
The impressive rear sight on the M1873 trapdoor Springfield.
Top view of the M1873 action open with the rear sight up.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
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SALUTE TO GUNS
Close-up of the casehardened M1873 action.
Rifles M1879, M1880 and M1882 had insignificant changes. The M1884 was the model with the Buffington rear sight, which is adjustable for windage. It was made in rifle, cadet and carbine versions. After 1886, a front sight cover was added. One thousand of these rifles were equipped with ramrod bayonets. A ramrod with a sharp end was pulled out about 15 inches and locked in place with a latch. This bayonet resurfaced later and was adopted and then discarded on the original M1903
The M1873 action open.
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Springfield rifle when it was found that they snapped off when struck with even a moderate blow. The M1889 rifle was similar to the model 1884, with minor manufacturing changes to the rod bayonet latch, bayonet and front sight.
THE ADOPTION OF the reducedcaliber M1873 did not end the story of the .50-70 on the frontier. It opened the door to a new chapter. Issued to indigenous scouts and friendly tribal members, it saw continued use.
Surplus guns were bought by buffalo hunters and pioneers. Some military men retained theirs as well. When Major Reno’s column was beseiged at the Battle of Little Big Horn, he had good reason to be thankful that Captain Thomas French of M Troop, 7th Cavalry, was carrying his “Long Tom” full-length .50-70 rifle, instead of the newer M1873 carbine, because it was so accurate at long range. He put that long-range accuracy to good use and did more than his share in saving Reno’s column.
SALUTE TO GUNS
Close-up of the left side of the M1873.
The .50-70 was the main caliber used to destroy the buffalo herds. Long rifles did splendid longrange work, while the .50-70 Sharps carbines were favorites of many who hunted the buffalo on horseback. With the army dedicated to destroying the buffalo in order to starve Native Americans onto the reservations, if you showed up at an army base and said you were hunting buffalo, the base commander would often give you a case or two of .50-70 ammo and tell you to get on with the job. One of the reasons the Sharps “big 50” calibers were so popular is that they could shoot this free ammo, which often ended up being what was used in them simply because it was free and it worked. The M1873 carbine got some bad press after the Battle of Little Big Horn, where Custer foolishly divided his troops into three columns under himself, Major Benteen and Major Reno, before attacking a
Left side of the M1873.
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peaceful Sioux camp. Benteen and Reno refused to come to his aid and Custer’s column was wiped out. Later the army had its revenge when a group of infantry of the same number as Custer’s total command was sent after the Sioux, armed with the M1873. Charging riders could not get past the fixed bayonets, and the rapid fire of the trapdoor rifles decimated their ranks. While the warriors could ride away from the infantry, their camps and supplies could not. The infantry proceeded to destroy these and soon the Sioux were driven into Canada to escape. Canada could not support that large a band and starvation forced them to return to the U.S., surrender and return to the reservation. The black powder rifles became obsolete when the French invented smokeless powder in 1886. They kept the formula a secret as long as they could and the U.S. lagged behind Europe in chemical engineering
at that time. It was not until 1892 that the United States could enter the smokeless powder era with the adoption of the Krag rifle. This was the last year of production for the trapdoor rifles, although they would soldier on until 1903 with the National Guard forces. The National Guard units called up for the Spanish-American War and the subsequent Philippine Insurrection were equipped with the black powder trapdoor rifles. If they had just made smokeless powder shells for them, everything would have been all right, but their position was given away by a dense cloud of black powder smoke every time they fired, while the regular army troops and the enemy fired smokeless powder shells that did not reveal their position. This resulted in great outrage and scandal in those days. The regular army has always looked down on the National Guard and the Guard has always been the last to
SALUTE TO GUNS The .50-70 M1870 trapdoor Springfield right side view.
get the latest weapons, but this time it was too much. Men were dying because of this. Such was the last combat use of the trapdoor by U.S. forces, a rifle unnecessarily blemished because no one cared enough to load the ammunition with modern smokeless powder. After all, it was only the National Guard that needed that, not the regular army.
WHEN I VISITED Hunters Lodge in
Ethridge, Tennessee, this past spring (American Shooting Journal, June 2019), they reached deep into their Aladdin’s treasure cave of rare guns and produced a brand-new M1873 in unfired condition for me to play with. These guns are superbly accurate. They often made 6-inch groups at 1,000 yards at the National Matches when this was the service rifle. That is partly because black powder maintains a consistent velocity at 1,000 yards, while smokeless powder varies by 50 to 60 fps at that range. That’s why some men were still shooting the trapdoors at the National Matches in the 1920s. I had 40 rounds of ammunition loaded by Colorado Custom Cartridge Co. specifically for accuracy in trapdoor Springfields. It did not disappoint me. I have always liked a heavy long-barreled rifle for its extreme steadiness in the first couple of shots. After that, the weight starts to work against you as tired muscles begin to minutely tremble. I set out a target at 100 yards and began to fire offhand. God was with me that day and the first two shots went into one inch at 100 yards! Fatigue then raised its ugly head and the third shot opened up the group to 2½ inches, while the fourth shot opened it up to 4½ inches. Unable to repeat the performance on the next two or three targets, I put the rifle in the Bullsbag sandbags on the bench rest and promptly put three shots in one inch to prove that the first group was not an accident and the rifle was really that accurate.
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Left side view of the M1870 .50-70 Springfield.
SALUTE TO GUNS Everything settled now, I set down to enjoy shooting the rest of the ammo offhand and before I was done, I had once again put the first two bullets in one inch at 100 yards! The third shot opened it up to 2½ inches, of course. Groups like these are among a shooter’s most precious memories. It doesn’t matter if you can ever repeat the performance or not. All that matters is that you did it. During the firing, the ramrod bounced out of its retaining collar and started sticking out. This is common to all rifles with ramrods but I have never seen anything about this in print. If your rifle has a ramrod, just plan on pushing it back in place during firing. At all times this rifle shot slightly high. Differences in the original black powder ammo it was sighted-in for and the new ammo may be to blame. Trapdoor front sights I have had the measurements on have differed
as much as one-tenth of an inch in height, so this sort of thing is to be expected. Krag rifles can sometimes be worse in this respect. It is a shame that so few shooters do much offhand shooting these days. If you want to hit offhand, you have to shoot that way. A lot. Also you have to train your muscles to be steady. I have a semiauto G3. With a scout scope on it and a loaded 20-round magazine, it weighs 12 pounds. Every day I hold the German three-post reticle of that scope on a tiny target as long as I can hold it there. It starts off steady but it sure is trembling at the end of this exercise. I do this several times a day and consider it essential training if you are going to hit offhand.
AFTER FIRING, THE rifle was
thoroughly cleaned before returning. A gun in this condition might be kept as a pristine museum piece and never fired but this one time. Even
though the lead bullets had a coating to prevent leading, I scrubbed the bore with an Otis brass brush and Shooter’s Choice Lead Remover after using the Shooter’s Choice Bore Cleaner. This was followed up by a protective coat of Shooter’s Choice FP-10 Lubricant. The whole gun was then wiped down with the German Ballistol oil, which protects both the wood and the metal. I have always liked the trapdoor Springfield. It is a very accurate, lively and easy to hit with rifle. It will kill anything on this continent with one shot. An American classic in the long rifle tradition, there is something special about being afield with one. There is great pleasure in hunting with one. A pleasure steeped in tradition that surpasses the pleasure found with hunting with your average rifle. It also delivers better results in the field than your average modern rifle.
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American Shooting Journal // March 2020
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Ultimate Arms - Warmonger .50 BMG Shoulder-fired Sniper Rifle The lightest .50-caliber bolt rifle ever built by Ultimate Arms weighs between 12 and 14.5 pounds, depending on barrel length. Built only for military at present. A new commercial model will be available soon for public consumption. MSRP in the $4,000 to $5,000 range.
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BLACK POWDER
TRYING OUT A NEW .44 SHARPS BULLET
The new bullet, known as the No. 44-470N, is shown in both .44-77 and .44-90 cartridges.
Black powder projectile impresses in shooter's initial test and now it's on to long-range trials. STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKE NESBITT
A
fter using my heavy .44-77 at the 1,000-yard match down by Bend, Oregon, with bullets weighing about 405 grains and not doing quite as well as I had hoped, a new heavier bullet was seriously contemplated. Actually, such a bullet had been on my mind for several months, but it was that 1,000-yard match (American Shooting Journal, November 2019) that
told me I had better do more than just think about it. My thoughts included how a heavier bullet, heavier than the 405-grain original Postell style, should be more consistent at the longer ranges. But at the same time, I didn’t want to go really heavy. A bullet with a weight of 470 grains or just a little more would be fine. Part of the bullet’s nose would be bore-riding, just a very tiny bit smaller in diameter than the bore diameter of the .44’s barrel. And the bullet was to have four lube grooves with no crimp groove so it would
carry the needed amount of lube for shooting without wiping between shots. Finally, it was to get a double radius nose so it might look more like a bullet cast in a nose-pour Sharps mold. Authenticity in appearance means a lot to me and I do like my Sharps ammo to have the “flavor” of traditional Sharps cartridges. Just a few hours after letting Tom Ellis at Accurate Molds know about these desires, he sent me a note saying the mold had been added to the catalog as the No. 44-470N. My order for a double cavity with americanshootingjournal.com 79
BLACK POWDER “Hefty Hannah,” author Mike Nesbitt’s 15-plus-pound .44-77 by C. Sharps Arms.
aluminum blocks was placed just a minute after that. The new mold was received a short time later and casting with it began almost right away, using a 30-to-1 alloy. A quick weight check showed 480 grains for the new bullets. That was just fine with me, and a small number of them were sized to .446 inch, lubed with BPC, and loaded in .44-77 cases over 70 grains of Olde Eynsford 1F powder. THOSE BULLETS WERE ready to shoot, but there wasn’t time to try them on paper because a special .50-70 match was close at hand. The .44-77 wasn’t to be used in the .50-70 match, but it was taken along with those new loads to be used in the 10-shot gong/ silhouette match that followed. The gongs were a 16-inch octagon at 200 yards, which was fired at from the sitting position over X-sticks, and the scaled-down “Quigley bucket,” which was posted at 100 yards for offhand shots. We started at 200 yards and I used a sight setting that was in my book from use with another weight bullet, adding one minute of elevation. All five of my bullets hit the gong, with most of them hitting inside the white spot. Then came the offhand shots and I was using “Hefty Hannah,” my 15-plus-pound .44-77. My first shot at the bucket was a miss, but my other four shots at the bucket were all hits, giving me nine hits for the 10 shots, plus winning the small pot that goes with that match. Those were my very first 10 shots 80
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
with the new bullet and my hits on the 200-yard gong, which is simply a scaled-down version of the 48-inch octagon that is out at 600 yards at Quigley, suggested that this bullet was one to be used in further competition. So, trying these new bullets on paper became a priority to be completed as Allen Cunniff with his favorite .45-70 Sharps.
soon as the weather was clear enough. In fact, two loads were tried; the loads with the 70-grain charge of 1F Olde Eynsford was tried again, along with another 10 rounds loaded with 72.5 grains of the same powder. The loads with the 70-grain charges grouped the best and heavier charges were not
BLACK POWDER
Nesbitt’s 200-yard target, 96-X from sitting position.
tried again. At least, not yet. The loads with the 70-grain powder charge were fired for a good group at 100 yards, shooting from the bench. I was getting groups and target scores that pleased me, but I had hoped to get a better group to show here in a photo. To get that good group, I asked Allen Cunniff to do the shooting. Allen is my partner for most of my black powder cartridge shooting, especially long-range shooting, and he is simply a better shooter than I am, which is almost always reflected in our match scores. On the day we did our shooting I had about 40 rounds of the .44-77 ammo ready with these new bullets, all loaded over 70 grains of Olde Eynsford 1F powder. Two targets 82
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
were posted at 100 yards and I opened the proceedings by pouring five shots into the first target. Then Allen shot five more at the second target. Both of those targets showed rather good groups, but both were to the right. Two more targets were posted and the rifle’s sight was moved about one minute to the left. Then I shot five more, sending those bullets all into the 10-ring, with two X’s. Allen watched that group being made through his scope and he commented, “You’ll be pleased.” That was followed by five more shots with Allen doing the shooting. Allen’s group was simply outstanding, scoring a 50-4X! Some shots were taken with this bullet loaded in the .44-90 Sharps,
using a 90-grain powder charge of Olde Eynsford 1F. The shooting with the .44-90 wasn’t bad, but it was not as good as with the .44-77. That just means there is more work to be done with the .44-90 and I do intend to find a good load for the longer case. For now, however, the good shooting with the .44-77 has captured my attention. RECENTLY OUR CLUB had an Old West Centerfires match, which uses paper targets at 100 and 200 yards (the longest distance we can shoot at our range) and the .44-77 was used again. Our targets are standard bull’s-eyes with the military target used at 200 yards. All shooting is done from the sitting position over X-sticks and I started, like most of our shooters, at
BLACK POWDER Cunniff’s five-shot group at 100 yards, 50-4X benchrested.
100 yards. My 10 shots at 100 yards were good, but I had hoped to do better. Moving out to 200 yards, after raising the rear sight to the same setting I had used for the octagon gong, provided some good hits. This was my very first paper target at 200 yards and I was hopeful for some consistent grouping. And I wasn’t disappointed at all. My 10 shots at 200 yards gave me a score of 96-X and all of the shots hitting the 9-ring were to the right. Perhaps a slight windage adjustment should have been made. My scores at both 100 and 200 yards were good enough to put me in third place for this match, allowing me to win a nice long summer sausage. As you might guess, Allen 84
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
An Accurate Molds drawing shows the four lube grooves of the 44-470N.
placed higher, just two points ahead of me. And after the paper match we had another 10-shot gong shoot using a “buffalo” at 200 yards and the offhand “bucket” at 100 yards, which I was lucky enough to win again. This new .44 Sharps bullet has done everything I’ve asked it to do so far. Yes, I still must “put it to the test” of long-range shooting, which is the reason I got the bullet. That will come, perhaps rather soon, and more than likely a follow-up report will be made on the results. I’m looking forward to doing the shooting. Editor’s note: For more info on Accurate Molds, visit accuratemolds.com, where you will find easy-to-follow instructions on ordering your next bullet mold.
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY
BULLET BULLETIN
The profile of a rifle bullet can have a definite effect on its performance.
PROFILING – THE EFFECTS OF RIFLE BULLET SHAPE
Tailor ammunition choice to hunting area, species, shot distances to maximize best options. STORY BY PHIL MASSARO • PHOTOS BY MASSARO MEDIA GROUP
N
ot all bullet profiles perform the same, and you should choose the profile that best suits your hunting scenario. Looking at ammunition advertisements, or while reading articles on hunting or shooting, you will invariably come across terms that are used to describe the shape and/or profile of a bullet. Ballistic coefficient,
sectional density, boat tail, secant ogive, flatnose, roundnose, hollowpoint; the list goes on and on. Which design is best for your shooting or hunting needs? Looking back through the history of the projectile, the earliest jacketed bullets were roundnose designs, hearkening back to the lead bullet designs of the mid- to late 19th century. At moderate ranges, these bullets
offered everything a hunter or shooter needed: plenty of accuracy, a weightforward design that aided in straightline penetration, and a compact lengthto-width ratio that didn’t take up all sorts of room in the case. Near the turn of the 20th century, and especially due to the battlefield results of the Spanish-American War, the U.S. Army decided to revamp its americanshootingjournal.com 87
bullet bulletin The classic .318 Westley Richards, shown here with a 250-grain roundnose Woodleigh Weldcore, earned a stellar reputation in East Africa a century ago.
choice of the .30-40 Krag, and settled on the .30-03, retaining the 220-grain roundnose bullet of the Krag. It would be only three years until the U.S. would follow the lead of European designers, modifying the ’03 case and utilizing a lighter, pointed spitzer bullet. A boat tail – almost as crucial as that pointed nose – helped to increase the aerodynamic properties of the bullet at longer ranges, allowing for a flatter trajectory and for better retained velocities as distances increased. In fact, the boat tail showed up on the scene as early as 1901, to give you an idea as to how rapidly the science of ballistics was evolving. Fast forward to 2020, and you’ll see all of the above designs still on the market, and still doing well, each for its own reason. Let’s take a look at the benefits and downsides of the different rifle bullet designs to help aid you in your decision-making process. 88
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Most African hunting is done at short ranges, like this kudu bull the author took in Zimbabwe with Brian van Blerk. The roundnose bullet from the .318 Westley Richards worked wonderfully.
bullet bulletin THE ROUNDNOSE BULLETS – so popular among the classic cartridges and those who enjoy using them – can still make an effective choice for the hunter, providing the distances at which you intend to take game aren’t too great. For the intents of this article, I’ll include the flatnose bullets in this group as well, as they’ll perform much the same. The major issue with roundnose bullets is that their ballistic coefficient – the measure of how easily they will slip through the atmosphere – tends to be low, and their velocities will drop off after 200 yards or so. If you’re hunting inside of that number, and I’m certain that for most of us in the eastern part of the country this is true, these bullets pose no real handicap, as more than likely you are shooting a big game cartridge powerful enough to be zeroed at 200 yards. The Hornady InterLock and DGX Bonded, the Woodleigh Weldcore, the Federal Power-Shok line, certain Sierra ProHunter bullets; all are good roundnose designs. I use them in the 6.5-284 Norma (a 160-grain roundnose is a formidable choice), the .308 Winchester and .300 Winchester Magnum, and the .318 Westley
A roundnose Woodleigh solid, or nonexpanding bullet, shown in the .450 Rigby Magnum.
Richards, as well as the .375 H&H, .404 Jeffery and .470 NE, and I love the way they hit an animal. Upon impact, you can see the animal shudder, and I firmly believe the way the flatnose and roundnose bullets transfer energy
The Dzombo solids from South Africa have a flat meplat. At the ranges they are used, it poses no problems.
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is a unique experience. In addition to the closer shots in the Northeast, hunting in the African bushveldt rarely presents shots past 200 yards, so there are still plenty of applications for the older style of projectile. And they can be wonderfully accurate! MOVING TO THE spitzer design, you will see a definite advantage in trajectory when the shots get longer. Classic designs like the Nosler Partition, the Sierra ProHunter, many of the Hornady InterLocks and SSTs, the Barnes TSX, and others represent what I refer to as a middle-of-the-road choice for hunters, as you will see the trajectory flatten out past 200 yards, and the amount of retained energy increase at longer distances. The ogive shape most often associated with these bullets is still rather curved, so when maintaining the SAAMI- or CIP-approved overall length, the case capacity isn’t impinged upon too badly. I really like these as a choice for a general hunting bullet, as I try to keep things inside of 400 yards when hunting, and the true benefits of a boat
bullet bulletin The classic 180-grain .30-caliber Nosler Partition. In spite of the flat base, it still makes an excellent choice for a hunting bullet, 72 years after its introduction.
tail over a flat base design don’t show themselves until around 350 yards. Even hunting globally, the amount of shots past that distance are few, unless prairie dogs are on the menu. The boat tail spitzers, and especially some of the modern designs, are truly a thing of beauty. The science that goes into some of these bullets is astounding; they have nearly perfected the projectile. Both target and hunting bullets fall into this category, and for those who hunt the open plains or mountains, where windy conditions can pose a serious problem, this bullet type can be a game-changer. The long-range precision shooters – those who ring steel out past 1,000 yards and sometimes out past a mile – rely on this bullet profile for all of their work, as no other bullet design will give the The latest from Federal: The Terminal Ascent. With a high ballistic coefficient and bonded core, this sleek bullet gives both excellent trajectory and wind deflection values, in addition to great terminal performance.
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bullet bulletin reward at long ranges that the boat tail spitzer will. Essentially, for target shooters, the conversation begins and ends with the boat tail spitzer. These bullets have the highest BC values, and though in the cup-and-core designs they can be prone to jacket/core separation, they are an excellent choice for those who routinely hunt antelope, elk, sheep, Coues deer
and even mule deer in those open places where the wind and distance become a factor in making the shot. SO WHAT MAKES the most sense for you? Well, like I stated earlier, if you hunt the woods – where I spend most of my time – a roundnose bullet will serve. But there isn’t anything wrong with choosing a spitzer design or even a spitzer boat
The new Hornady A-MAX match bullet, with all the attributes of a great target bullet: high ballistic coefficient, steep boat tail and long ogive.
tail; just realize that you probably won’t see any of the accuracy or trajectory benefits at those short distances. Certain bullet shapes lend themselves to certain cartridges. The .260 Remington (an excellent design) uses a longer case than does the newer 6.5 Creedmoor, the Creedmoor concept being to create a case short enough to use the long-ogive target bullets in a short-action magazine. The .260 Remington is too long to seat the longer bullets so that the case mouth hits the shank of the bullet and still adhere to the length dictated by the short-action magazine, and hence the success of the Creedmoor. If you’re a hunter who doesn’t need to push a bullet to 1,800 yards, the .260 Remington poses no handicap out to sane hunting ranges. The same issue can pop up with the .300 Winchester Magnum; the designers moved the shoulder and case mouth so far forward in an effort to maximize case capacity that a good number of the longest target bullets can’t be loaded in the cartridge without exceeding the maximum overall length established by SAAMI. Had those designers ever 94
American Shooting Journal // March 2020
americanshootingjournal.com 95
bullet bulletin
The Hornady ELD-Match – shown here loaded in the 6.5-284 Norma – uses a polymer tip, boat tail and sleek ogive to maintain a high ballistic coefficient, which is essential for long-range target shooting. Berger’s OTM Tactical bullet; note sharp hollowpoint tip, long ogive and boat tail, and short shank. A bullet of this shape can sometimes pose an issue in longer cases, as quite a bit of the bullet extends out of the case.
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envisioned the long-range shooting sports we all enjoy today, I’d be willing to wager the .300 Winchester Magnum would have looked much more like the .308 Norma Magnum, leaving more room for a longer bullet in the longaction magazine. Cartridges like the .350 Remington Magnum – trying to squeeze as much velocity as possible from a short-action rifle – simply cannot use the longest bullets in their caliber; it can seem silly to have to work so hard to attain velocity just to give up the use of most of the 250-grain bullets that made the .35-caliber’s reputation. However, there are many who enjoy cartridges like this, and there are bullet choices that can become problem-solvers. Lastly, you may see that some classic cartridges use the lead-free copper alloy bullets, but those bullets may not be available in the heaviest bullet
bullet bulletin
The Federal Trophy Bonded Tip is one of the author’s favorite hunting bullets; with the boat tail and polymer tip, it shoots flat enough for almost any hunting scenario, and the terminal performance is among the best.
weights normally associated with that cartridge. The difference can be the weight differential between a lead-core bullet and a copper alloy bullet; copper is much lighter than lead, and will – especially the spitzer boat tail designs – take up a whole bunch of room in the case. For example, the .338 Federal, which is nothing more and nothing less than the .308 Winchester opened up to hold .338-inch-diameter bullets, can’t use the 250-grain copper alloy bullets; they are simply too long for the case capacity. Some hybrid designs – and the Federal Trophy Bonded Bear Claw and Trophy Bonded Tip come immediately to mind – blend a diminished lead core with a rear copper shank, and keep the weight forward to give an excellent bestof-both-worlds solution. Examine your hunting area, or if you’re planning a trip to an exotic location, ask your outfitter about the average shot distances. You can then tailor your ammunition/bullet choice to the particular scenario in which you’ll be hunting, and maximize your experience. 98
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The .350 Remington Magnum, loaded with 220-grain Speer Hot-Cor flatnose bullets. This design keeps the weight forward and out of the case, helping to maximize the short case’s capacity.
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ATHLON OPTICS The Argos BTR GEN2 1-8x24 is a reliable close-range scope with the ability to engage midrange targets, something no one should be without. The Argos BTR GEN2 1-8x24 features the glass-etched illuminated ATSR5 reticle, providing quick target acquisition at close range and holdovers out to 600 yards.
CDNN SPORTS AR-15 low-profile flip-up 45-degree sight set See us on page 15
ARMASPEC The Armaspec Rifter Linear Muzzle Brake with blast shield greatly reduces felt recoil and directs the gasses as well as sound forward, away from the shooter. The Rifter minimizes the blast pattern, which is especially helpful when in close proximity to others or in the prone position. MSRP $159.99 with blast shield. Patents pending. See us on page 35
LUTH-AR- MBA-5 BUTTSTOCK The Luth-AR MBA-5 Buttstock is the latest in the MBA Series of buttstocks. It’s designed as an affordable, lightweight, adjustable carbine buttstock with a paddle-style adjustment lever, allowing for rapid positioning. The wide, flared cheek rest provides a comfortable cheek weld, and the integrated Picatinny rail allows for attaching a mono-pod or other accessories. The MBA-5 is designed to fit either Mil-Spec or commercial carbine buffer tubes and includes an industry-exclusive anti-rattle clamp. The MBA-5 is Grovtec Quick Detach sling cup-ready. Paired with Luth-AR’s Chubby Grip and Palm Handguard, the new MBA-5 is just the right choice for your AR. See us on page 91 VELOCITY TRIGGERS 3-pound curved trigger See us on page 100
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VELOCITY PRECISION Like all Velocity Precision products, their Recoilless Bolt Carrier is designed with accuracy and performance in mind. The unique, patent-pending design is stronger than other low-mass bolt carriers and is one of the lightest bolt carriers on the market. It will significantly reduce your rifle’s recoil impulse and muzzle rise for faster follow-up shots, and its Nano Diamond Nickel coating makes it extremely wear-resistant, easy to clean and uncompromisingly durable. This unique coating creates a very slick surface, which reduces the probability of failures due to a lack of lubrication, reduces typical wear and tear on expensive parts and truly makes shooting your AR-15 much more fun. Learn more at VelocityTriggers.com. See us on page 100
CAMO FACE PAINT INC. The U.S. Department of Defense recognizes Bobbie Weiner as their No. 1 supplier of camo face paint for all branches of the military. Bobbie also supplies camo face paint to the hunting industry. Three-, four- and five-color compacts include unbreakable mirrors, and camo tubes in a variety of colors for all terrains. Odorless, nontoxic, hypoallergenic, nonglare, washes off with soap and water, and has a four-year shelf life. Made in the USA! See us on page 103
ZERMATT ARMS The Origin action from Zermatt Arms is a modestly priced precision bolt action. Incorporating a floating and interchangeable bolt head with controlled round feed and mechanical ejection as well as toolless bolt disassembly, the Origin action is perfect for the at-home tinkerer and the competition shooter alike. At $825, the Origin is an affordable option for any level of precision shooter. See us on page 27
LUTH-AR Palm handguard See us on page 91
SEAL 1 SKIT-R/P Gun Cleaning Kit – All Rifle and Pistol See us on page 95
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ROAD HUNTER
MEXICO’S PRIZED OCELLATED TURKEYS
A trip to the Yucatan to chase colorful gobblers also pays off with record-book brocket deer.
The spurs of an ocellated turkey are the most impressive in the gobbler world.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT HAUGEN
A
s dawn loomed on the jungle fringe, faint scratches emanated in the distance. “Coati?” I quizzed my guide, Mito. “Pavo,” he replied. I know little Spanish, but enough to know pavo translates to turkey. The crunchy leaves blanketing
the forest floor made the rustling sounds seem close. No matter how hard I strained, however, I failed to see any birds. As time slowly passed, the noises grew louder. Peeking through a side-flap on the ground blind, Mito pointed, nodding his head. Reaching for the shotgun,
firmly gripping it so it wouldn’t slip through my sweaty palms, I finally laid eyes on my first ocellated turkey. More than a dozen hens comprised the flock. As they fed by, their scratching faded into the jungle behind us. Setting down the shotgun, I jumped when Mito grabbed my americanshootingjournal.com 105
ROAD HUNTER knee, pointed to our left and quietly exclaimed, “Grande pavo!” The lone male was 30 yards out, quickly closing to catch up with the hens. His green, blue, copper and white colors were more brilliant than I had imagined. The golden caruncles set atop a lofty crown on his powder-blue head were unlike anything I’d seen. I was so intently watching the bird, admiring its beauty, that when Mito whispered, “Shoot,” it surprised me. Soon I was caressing a bird I never dreamed of having the honor to hunt, but had dreamt of pursuing since boyhood. Staring at the bird’s indescribable plumage, I felt blessed. TAKE ME TO MEXICO! Six weeks prior to this hunt, I’d wrapped up delivering seminars at the National Wild Turkey Federation Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that I was approached by a fellow NWTF member, asking if I was interested in an ocellated turkey hunt in Mexico’s Yucatan region. The gentleman had a change of plans and couldn’t go, so was looking for an alternate. The hunt was with Jorge Sansores of Snook Inn Hunting, and I jumped at the chance, as I’d heard nothing but great things about this operation. Longtime NWTF advocate and avid hunter Bob Linder was the party’s point
The plumage of these Central American birds is considered the holy grail among hunters, and one look tells why.
SLOW-COOKING BEST FOR WILD TURKEYS
W
ild turkeys are some of the besteating game birds out there. If someone tells you wild turkeys are not worth hunting because they’re not worth eating, they’re dead wrong. Either they’ve not had them prepared properly, or they need to realize cooking a wild turkey is far different from cooking a fat, store-bought bird. We eat many wild turkeys every year in our family, and raised our boys eating them; all of our family and extended family love eating wild turkey. We've smoked, roasted, braised and stewed wild turkey legs and thighs, which can be the most challenging part of the bird to prepare. After trying many recipes
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and countless methods, one way to cook this flavorful dark meat still stands above them all, and that’s slow-cooking. Because turkeys spend most of their time running around on the ground, their legs and thighs are sinuous and dense. Unless you want to spend a lot of time separating out all the meat from the tendons and ligaments, throw the legs and thighs into a crockpot. The meat stays moist, absorbs flavors and becomes incredibly tender when slowly cooked at a low temperature. 2-4 turkey thighs and legs 1 onion, diced 1 tomato, chopped
1-2 jalapeño peppers, diced 1 4.5-ounce can green chilies, diced 1 6-ounce can tomato paste 1 cup white wine or beer 2 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons cumin 1 teaspoon salt In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients. Place turkey meat in a slow cooker or Crock-Pot. Cover with vegetable/spice mixture. Cook on high heat four to five hours or until meat falls from bone. Remove bones, tendons and ligaments (careful, some are quite small) and use meat for burritos, tacos, enchiladas, etc.
ROAD HUNTER Author Scott Haugen and guide Mito pose with a striking ocellated turkey, the second bird of their hunt in Mexico. The duo hunted three days for this pavo, and finally caught it moving through a milo field.
man. Soon Linder had all the details handled, and our group of seven hunters was landing in Campeche, Mexico. Plans had come together quickly. Upon arrival in camp, I had the honor of meeting Jon McRoberts, a PhD candidate working with the NWTF and conducting dissertation research on ocellated turkeys. Given my former teaching background and formal education in the sciences, I spent much time with McRoberts, eager to hear what he’d learned. From January to June, 2010 through 2013, McRoberts spent four years in this part of Mexico studying the overall breeding behavior of ocellated turkeys. During that time, over 70 birds were captured and fitted with transmitters. “We uncovered many interesting details in our studies,” shares McRoberts. “For instance, cats are a major predator of ocellated turkeys, especially ocelots and jaguarundis, 108
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which have developed a style of hunting adult birds at night, on their roost. On the local level, subsistence hunters are pressuring these birds, potentially limiting where populations can expand.” McRoberts’ findings of ocellated movements also intrigued me. “I actually thought we had massradio failure one spring when all the birds we’d fitted with transmitters quickly dispersed. We got in a small plane and flew the roadless jungles, discovering turkeys had walked nearly 15 miles in 48 hours to begin nesting. Six weeks later, the birds returned to the agricultural grounds where they were tagged.” The following year, McRoberts switched to GPS transmitters to track birds in remote areas. “Ocellated numbers have definitely been expanding in the agricultural areas,” notes McRoberts. “Food habit studies prove milo is the dominant food
source of turkeys in this region.” It was the croplands where I chose to hunt with the hopes of filling my second ocellated tag. “Get ready to see a lot of birds in this area, many more than what’s in the jungle,” McRoberts encouraged. A SECOND CHANCE My first ocellated tag was filled fast, too fast, within the first hour of the hunt. Wanting to see more of these gorgeous birds and spend more time afield, we decided a move to the open farmland would be wise. Within two hours of the first morning on the second hunt, I laid eyes on over 150 turkeys. That evening, Mito and I watched nearly 100 more birds, including a big male. For the next few days we targeted that bird. Finally, on day three, the big male emerged from dense brush to feed in the milo. He was 200 yards away, on
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ROAD HUNTER GOBBLE, GOBBLE: WESTERN EXPERT’S BOOK SHARES TURKEY HUNTING TACTICS
T
urkey hunting throughout the West continues to grow in popularity. Whether you’re a newcomer or a veteran to the sport, the popular book Western Turkey Hunting: Strategies for All Levels, by longtime American Shooting Journal columnist Scott Haugen, is for you. Haugen makes his living in the outdoors and has hunted turkeys in several western states for nearly a quarter-century. In this unique book, Haugen draws upon his turkey hunting experiences and formal education in the sciences to help hunters gain valuable insight as to what it takes to find success. Be it spring or fall season, this comprehensive guide teaches hunters various approaches that apply to all skill levels. Special attention is given to scientific turkey behavior, gear, youth hunting strategies and also includes sections on field care and favorite recipes. For your signed copy of Western Turkey Hunting, send a check for $20 (free S&H) to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489, or visit scotthaugen.com.
the opposite side of the field where we set up. For two hours we watched the bird intently feed, paying no attention to hens passing by. Then another big male stepped from the brush, 30 yards from our blind. The instant our target bird saw the challenger, he puffed up and started coming our direction. It didn’t take long for the big male to close the 200-yard gap, and when he strode to within 25 yards, the shot was simple. Ocellated turkeys aren’t called to, like turkeys in the U.S. Hunters set up in ground blinds and simply wait for birds to walk within shooting range. It’s fun, but frustrating at times due to the lack of control you feel, as encounters are purely by chance. Then again, success rates on these hunts are very high due to low pressure and high ocellated turkey numbers. Admiring the bird’s beautiful feathers, golden nodules and nearly 2-inch spurs, Mito and I couldn’t have
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ROAD HUNTER Haugen admires his first ocellated turkey taken in Mexico, a grand bird he never thought he’d have the honor of hunting.
The author was more than elated with this recordclass brocket deer, a bonus that came while hunting ocellated turkeys in Mexico’s Yucatan region. Brocket deer grow only spike antlers, and big bucks can weigh up to 40 pounds.
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been happier, or so I thought. When a lone brocket deer buck stepped out of the brush and into a milo field, Mito hurriedly told me to stalk in and try to shoot it. Figuring I had about zero chance of pulling that off, I was amazed when it all came together and soon I was admiring a record-class brocket deer.
The hunts, the people, the food and the setting all went in to making this one of my most memorable experiences ever. It’s one I’d love to one day return to, if for no other reason than to set my eyes on what many hunters consider to be the world’s most beautiful turkey, the ocellated turkey of Mexico.
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY
ENJOY GOOD HARE DAYS IN OREGON THIS SPRING
In daytime jackkrabbits can be found in the cover of sagebrush and rabbitbrush on public land near hay fields.
Jackrabbits, sage rats and rockchucks abound in Beaver State’s vast southeastern quarter. STORY AND PHOTOS BY DUANE DUNGANNON
T
he best way to spot a good hunt area is by the amount of roadkill you run over as you head out on the highway. Maybe not so much with elk hunting, of course, but it’s definitely the case if you’re hunting jackrabbits in eastern Oregon.
Judging by the number of rascally rabbits run over in the road east of Lakeview, just north of the California border, we knew we were in the right place. About that time, a jack flashed across the road in front of us and disappeared into the rabbitbrush
alongside the road, no doubt en route to lush green alfalfa fields and high haystacks on the adjacent ag land. My son Tyler and I mobilized to intercept. “He’s rabbiting!” I joked. “But he won’t get far on foot!” americanshootingjournal.com 115
Landowners in Eastern Oregon lose a substantial amount of their crops to sage rats and other rodents. Hunters can help. (TYLER DUNGANNON)
I parked the rig on the roadside, and we bailed off into the BLM land that bordered the alfalfa field. Tyler loaded his bolt-action Savage .17 HMR, and I popped in the clip for my Ruger 10/22. We fanned out through the sagebrush, hoping to get a glimpse of the jack as he made his way through the sageflat. Often the hunter who kicks up a jackrabbit is the first to see it, but can’t get a shot quickly enough, and it’s instead a buddy – alerted to the rabbit’s escape route –who gets the best shot as it streaks by. Tyler always walks to my right, because he’s right-handed, but lefteyed, so he shoots left-handed. This makes it easy for us to each swing on game that appears on our respective flanks, and keeps those cradle carries pointed away from each other. This 116
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time, though, the rabbit appeared in front of us. Both guns went up, and both guns went off. “Got him!” we both exclaimed, pleased to have notched the first kill of the weekend. We gave each other funny looks, and then walked up to what turned out to be different rabbits we each thought was the one we were chasing. That was the start to a great Memorial Day weekend in which we combined to take 45 jackrabbits. The place was literally jumping with jacks. We could have taken many more, but toward the end of the trip, I switched to a .22 pistol and that severely handicapped my hunting. But even missing jackrabbits is literally a blast, and I can’t say that about missing elk. There’s just no such thing as a bad hare day.
LAKE AND HARNEY Counties, located in that corner of Oregon where it comes together with California, Nevada and Idaho, are home to some of the state’s best hunting for jackrabbits, sage rats and rockchucks, as well as the coyotes that make meals of them. The key for finding thick concentrations of all varieties of varmints is to find hay crops. The best hunting is found on or around ag land, especially alfalfa fields. Sage rat hunting is almost exclusively on private property, but it’s not hard to find a landowner willing to allow you to hunt their property. Landowners vexed by varmints not only lose substantial amounts of their harvest to rodents, but the holes dug by the pests also pose risk of damage to farm equipment and injury to livestock that step in the holes. Cruising country roads is the best
Remember that the property owner or ranch foreman doesn’t know you or anything about you, and you’re asking to fire perhaps several hundred rounds of ammunition on their property. If they don’t want anyone shooting around their homes, equipment, sprinklers or livestock, that’s easy to understand. Often, though, there may be other fields where they’re more comfortable letting you hunt. Tyler and I have enjoyed good rat hunting west of Lakeview on fields owned by the same rancher. Sometimes he has work going on in one area where he would like us to steer clear, but he’ll direct us to another parcel.
Varmints offer great spring training for kids to sharpen their shooting skills.
way to find good places to hunt, but you’re looking for something different for each varmint. Jackrabbit populations can be somewhat spotty, but the best areas are most commonly close to farmland. For as fleet of foot as they are, those rabbit’s feet aren’t always so lucky when they’re crossing a road, going from the safety of the sagebrush to their favorite food in the fields. Where you find an abundance of jacks hammered in the road, you’ll find a place that’s hopping with hares. What’s great about jackrabbit hunting is that the rabbits are more likely to be laying low in the sage on public land 118
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during the daytime, waiting for the cover of darkness to make night raids in the fertile fields. NOT SO WITH Belding’s ground squirrels, commonly known as sage rats or squeaks for the high-pitched chirp they bark out. Squeak shooting is almost exclusively a private-land proposition. A field marred by mounds of dirt dug up by the squirrels is a likely spot. Where you find a field overrun by rats, you will most often find a landowner more than happy to let you do some rodent removal. The most common concerns of landowners are about safety.
IN THE CASE of rockchucks, as their name suggests, you’re looking for rocky features where they make their homes in close proximity to food sources. Often there will be well-worn trails between bed and breakfast. Some landowners have managed to get back a portion of their losses to rodents by leasing their land to outfitters who offer guided varmint hunts, often involving elevated platforms that provide a lofty line of sight and a steady shooting rest. The community of Crane in south Harney County is in the heart of the action, and many hunters enjoy the hospitality of Crystal Crane Hot Springs and the services of reputable outfitters like Justin and Nikki Aamodt of Diamond A Guides (541-573-6080). Christmas Valley in north Lake County is another bastion of burrowing varmints, and I’ve watched sage rats adding a few extra holes on the links at the country club there. Rats also roam Klamath County, especially east of Klamath Falls around farm communities like Bonanza. I’ve found plenty of rockchucks in Klamath and Lake Counties, but I think I’ve seen the most in the rocky terrain of Deschutes County, even in the city limits of Bend, in central Oregon. To the east and southeast, Crook and Malheur Counties have their share of all of these varmints, as well.
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COMPANY PROFILE
BETTER ARMOR PLATES, AND MORE
Arma builds on military/LEO product lines with offerings for hunters, shooters – and more is on the way.
Using a new, semiautomated manufacturing process, Arma Products developed a “lighter-weight, better-performing spall cover” with its Arma-Guard body armor plates.
PHOTOS BY ARMA PRODUCTS
dvanced Converting, Inc. has been in business for over 15 years, fabricating adhesive tapes along with films, foils, foams, rubber and plastic for applications in electronics, automotive, medical, aerospace and general industrial. But about seven years ago, the folks at the Arizona-based company realized that their products could be valuable in a completely different type of industry – the military. “We decided to work with local manufacturers of military body armor
A
in order to expand into a new market where we have core capabilities, and in doing so we found that these manufacturers had a major problem with their incumbent material and process,” explains Joseph Stickovitch, Advanced Converting’s cofounder and chief operations officer. “They were all using a nylon fabric that is hand-applied,” he says. “The nylon is hydroscopic (meaning it expands and contracts with humidity) and the manual labor was not only expensive, but it produced significant insurance claims for carpal tunnel/
repetitive motion issues.” Stickovitch continues, “We were tasked with developing a better solution – and we did. We developed Arma-Guard, which is a lighterweight, better-performing spall cover for body armor plates that is applied in a semiautomated process. Manufacturing is now faster, better, and removes the manual application of fabric.” Arma Products, a division of Advanced Converting, was established, specializing in products for both the military and law enforcement. americanshootingjournal.com 123
COMPANY PROFILE
Along with specialty products for military and law enforcement applications, to include labels, print ribbons and plate protective foams, the company offers items for hunters, target shooters and others, as well as has a number of other products in development.
In addition to the Arma-Guard spall cover system, other products include labels (Arma-ID), print ribbons (Arma-Ribbon) and plate protective foams (Arma-Strike). “These products cover and protect the internals of body armor plates,” says Stickovitch. “The system we have developed produces a durable, better124
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looking plate in a quick repeatable process – far better than handapplication.” Stickovitch says both the finished plate appearance and the process efficiency are what draw military and law enforcement customers to their body armor applications. Additionally, Arma Products serves
a wide scope of other industries, including first responders, hunters and target shooters, among others. The company has a slate of new products currently in development, so stay tuned. Editor’s note: For more information, visit armaproducts.net.
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