AmSJ Aug 2018

C

S ECT IAL

S PE

N IO

2018 B UYE R’S GUIDE

I N S I D E!

HISTORY REVISITED Making Of A Colonial-era Warfighter’s Kit

TOMBSTONE Inland Manufacturing’s

Ron Norton

Hunting Season’s Here!

Calling Black Bears Long-range Elk Woodchuck 101 Hornady’s InterLock Bullets

US’s First 2A City

QUIGLEY Buffalo Match Shoot

Kay Miculek American Shooting Family Matriarch

U|xaHBEIGy01752nzWv!:)

2

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 3

4

American Shooting Journal // June 2018

6

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 7

8

American Shooting Journal // June July 2018 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 9

Gentry Custom, LLC CUSTOM GUN BUILDER C

A MERIC A N

SHOOTING JOURNAL Volume 7 // Issue 11 // August 2018 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak

QUIET MUZZLE BRAKES We offer 5/8x24 Threads

3POSITION SAFETIES For Mauser, Remington & CZ

Where guns are not a hobby, BUT A

Way Of Life...

buy direct

dealers & shooters welcome

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andy Walgamott OFFICE MANAGER / COPY EDITOR Katie Aumann LEAD CONTRIBUTOR Frank Jardim CONTRIBUTORS Jim Dickson, Scott Haugen, Nancy Keaton, Phil Massaro, Mike Nesbitt, Paul Pawela, Nick Perna, Jim Sessions SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Rick D’Alessandro, Mamie Griffin, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold PRODUCTION MANAGER Sonjia Kells

GENTRYCUSTOM.COM • (406) 388-GUNS G S

DESIGNERS Kayla Mehring, Jake Weipert PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Kelly Baker WEBMASTER / INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines

torqueprecision.com

CALIFORNIA – YOUR AR RIFLE IS BACK.

INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@americanshootingjournal.com ON THE COVER

FC HOOK

Ian Pratt is one of 14 artists from the Contemporary Longrifle Association who designed and crafted A Warrior’s Clutch, “a vibrant, visually striking set of items that reflect the possessions carried by a warrior in the mid-18th century.” These items include a gun and carrying sling, powder horn and strap, hunting pouch, dagger with sheath, and war club. (MARYELLEN PRATT)

FULLY COMPLIANT

$36.00 BEAR FLAG DEFENSE BF-10™ EJECTION PORT LOADER (3 pack)

$99.00

Website: AmericanShootingJournal.com Facebook: Facebook.com/AmericanShootingJournal Twitter: @AmShootingJourn

MEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP WASHINGTON OFFICE P.O. Box 24365 • Seattle, WA 98124-0365 14240 Interurban Ave. S. Ste. 190 • Tukwila, WA 98168 OREGON OFFICE 8116 SW Durham Rd • Tigard, OR 97224 (206) 382-9220 • (800) 332-1736 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com • www.media-inc.com

10

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 11

CONTENTS

VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 11

(PAUL PAWELA)

43

RETURN TO TOMBSTONE

Paull Pawela P P l put on his hi six-shooters i h and d duster d to celebrate l b the h 25th h anniversary i off TTombstone, b the h popular l movie i about b the h Gunfight at the OK Corral, an event which also saw this Arizona town named America’s first Second Amendment City.

cover story 25

73

THE MAKING OF ‘A WARRIOR’S CLUTCH’ Who says good old-fashioned American craftsmanship is dead? Certainly not the Contemporary Longrifle Association artisans who created a stunning colonial frontier fighter’s kit as an organizational fundraiser. Frank Jardim has the story of the blacksmiths, gunmakers, carvers and leather workers whose collective work represents “a vibrant, visually striking set of items that reflect the possessions carried by a warrior in the mid-18th century” – and imagines the man who might’ve carried them!

85

95 BLACK POWDER: QUIGLEY BLACK POWDER SHOOT ALMOST A WASHOUT Rain dampened the annual Montana long-range shoot named after the sharpshooting movie character played by Tom Selleck, but the marksmen persevered after a daylong delay. Mike Nesbitt wrung out his buffalo hides and has the report!

59

WOMEN AND GUNS: CATCHING UP WITH KAY Kay Miculek thrives on teaching other women how to shoot, including at her Babes with Bullets courses held around the country. Nancy Keaton checks in with this lifelong shooter.

HUNTING: MORE THAN A MILE OF SMILES Four long-range elk hunters tagged out on bulls a combined 1,864 yards out in the high country of Wyoming during a recent season. Jim Sessions shares how his family and friends were so successful with “the Huskemaw advantage” working for them.

Features 51

ROADHUNTER: CALLING BLACK BEARS It’s not for everyone and does take knowledge of some basic strategies, notes well-traveled alpha predator Scott Haugen, but once a bruin responds, “you’ll discover why so many people are becoming addicted to the thrills” of calling them in. Read up on Scott’s tips and try it out this fall!

BULLET BULLETIN: TAKING STOCK OF THE INTERLOCK One of Hornady’s initial offerings from way back in 1949, the product line “remains successful to this day,” according to big game hunter Phil Massaro, who’s been around an InterLock or two over the years. He details its capabilities and wide range of caliber offerings.

105 VARMINT HUNTING: WOODCHUCK 101 Punxatawney Phil and his pals pose a challenge for farmers and shooters alike. Nick Perna has the top tactics, and best rifles and ammo for hunting crop-raiding woodchucks.

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 © 2018 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.

12

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

CONTENTS

111

RON NORTON:

THE MAN BEHIND INLAND MANUFACTURING From building a .35-caliber matchlock as a kid to training Army marksmen, Ron Norton’s life has been lived around guns and shooting, and he’s now expanding his firearms-making company. Jim Dickson profiles this very busy member of the American shooting world.

More Features 128

Pics from 2018 Special Operations Force Industry Conference

Company Profiles 65

Man Gear holsters: Made to withstand Alaskan extremes 71 Fury Carry Solutions: Makers of custom holsters for 100-plus handguns 126 Spike’s Tactical: Specializing in high-quality ARs, parts, accessories

DEPARTMENTS (RON NORTON)

14

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

19 21

Competition Calendar Gun Show Calendar

americanshootingjournal.com 15

16

American Shooting Journal // July 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 17

American Precision Arms

GEN 2 FAT BASTARD MUZZLE BRAKE The Gen 2 Series of brakes started where the Gen 1 left off. We came up with a solution for the shooter that has been a game changer. The Gen 2 has a nut that is a separate piece. This allows our customers to install the brake themselves at home. Installations takes about 30 seconds and has no hideous crush washers or peel washers to deal with. Additionally competitive shooters can easily remove this brake for cleaning or simply to move if from barrel to barrel. Competitors can burn through 6 barrels or more in a season at times.

This means less money spent on gear and with your smith. To the gunsmith it means no hassle indexing a brake.

Simply thread to spec. and go.

The most popular brake in long range competition!

18

American Shooting Journal // July 2018

www.americanprecisionarms.com

PRIMER

COMPETITION C A L E N D A R

August 4-5

August 11-12

August 24-25

2018 Delaware State Championship – Tier 3 Bridgeville, Del.

2018 Washington State IDPA Championship – Tier 3 Onalaska, Wash.

2018 Colorado State IDPA Championship at Cameo – Tier 3 Grand Junction, Colo.

August 10-12

August 17-19

2018 Michigan State IDPA Championship Brighton, Mich.

2018 Sig Sauer New England Regional Championship – Tier 4 Harvard, Mass.

August 1-5

August 10-11

August 23-26

Cheely Custom Gunworks Area 5 Handgun Championship Brooklyn, Mich.

Columbia-Cascade Section Championship Shedd, Ore.

2018 EGW Area 8 Championship New Tripoli, Pa.

August 3-5

August 10-12

August 25-26

Alaska State Sectionals Match Fox, Alaska

2018 Illinois Sectional Havana, Ill.

Minnesota Section Championship Forest Lake, Minn.

August 9-12

August 18-19

August 30-September 2

2018 Area 3 Championship Alda, Neb.

2018 Inland Empire Sectional Benton City, Wash.

2018 Utah State USPSA Championship Salt Lake City, Utah

August 4-5

August 11-12

August 25-26

Coalfields Classic VIII Beckley, W.Va.

Magic City Glock Challenge III Billings, Mont.

Northern California Regional Classic XXV Richmond, Calif.

August 18-19

August 25-26

Keystone State Ballistic Challenge XXII Topton, Pa.

Midwest Regional Classic XXVII Hallsville, Mo.

August 4-5

August 11-12

August 24-26

Louisiana State Championship DeRidder, La.

NM/AZ Border War in the Valley Socorro, N.M.

South Sound Shootout Rochester, Wash.

August 10-11

August 18-19

August 25-26

North Carolina State Championship Williamston, N.C.

2018 North Pacific Regional Shoot Oregon City, Ore.

WI State Championship Deerfield, Wis.

August 4-5 Northwestern Regional Classic XXVII Port Townsend, Wash.

August 11-12 Rocky Mountain Regional Classic XXIV Greeley, Colo.

August 11-12 Riverbottom Shooters State Championship Shoot Meridian, Miss.

August 8-13

August 25

August 31-September 2

USAS Rifle/Pistol Fall Selection Match Fort Benning, Ga.

USAS Air Rifle PTO Long Beach, Calif.

USAS Fall Shotgun PTO Kerrville, Texas

americanshootingjournal.com 19

877-556-GUNS (4867) • RainierArms.com 20

2504 Auburn Way N. Auburn, WA 98002

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

PRIMER

GUNSHOW C A L E N D A R

C&E Gun Shows

August 11-12 August 18-19

Winston Salem, N.C. Harrisburg, Pa.

Winston-Salem Fairgrounds PA Farm Show Complex

Crossroads Of The West Gun Shows

August 18-19 August 25-26 August 25-26

Costa Mesa, Calif.

Ventura, Calif.

Las Vegas, Nev.

OC Fair and Event Center Ventura County Fairgrounds The Pavilions at World Market

Florida Gun Shows

August 4-5 August 4-5 August 11-12 August 18-19 August 25-26 August 25-26

Panama City, Fla. Fort Myers, Fla. Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Orlando, Fla. Pensacola, Fla. Tampa, Fla.

Bay County Fairgrounds Lee Civic Center War Memorial Auditorium Central Florida Fairgrounds Pensacola Interstate Fairgrounds Florida State Fairgrounds

August 4-5 August 4-5 August 4-5

Kingsport, Tenn.

Cartersville, Ga. Oklahoma City, Okla.

R&K Gun Shows

August 11-12 August 11-12 August 18-19 August 18-19 August 24-26 August 25-26 August 25-26

Springfield, Mo. York, Pa. Knoxville, Tenn.

Kansas City, Mo. Cape Girardeau, Mo. Lawrenceville, Ga. Cabot, Ark.

MeadowView Convention Center Clarence Brown Conference Center Oklahoma State Fair Park – Modern Living Building Ozark Empire Fairgrounds York Expo Center – Memorial Hall West Knoxville Expo Center KCI Expo Center Osage Centre Gwinnett County Fairgrounds Cabot Event Center

Real Texas Gun Shows

August 11-12 August 18-19

Taylor, Texas Brenham, Texas

Williamson County Expo Center Brenham Fireman’s Training Center

Tanner Gun Shows

August 18-19

Denver, Colo.

Denver Mart

Wes Knodel Gun Shows

August 25-26

Centralia, Wash.

Southwest Washington Fairgrounds

To have your event highlighted here, send an email to kaumann@media-inc.com.

americanshootingjournal.com 21

THE REAL TEXAS

GUN SHOW GUNS | AMMO | KNIVES | BUY | SELL | TRADE | LOOK

ORANGE, CROSBY CROSBY, Y, BELTON, BE ELTON, BRENHAM, TAYLOR, PORT ARTHU TAYLOR ARTHUR and TOMBALL TOMBALL, TEXAS! CHECK OUT OUR WESITE FOR DATES AND LOCATIONS Aubrey Sanders Jr. -Promoter

www.TheRealTexasGunShow.com P.O. Box 300545 Arlington,Tx 76007 (713)724-8881

22

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 23

HANDMADE // LIFETIME WARRANTY // LIGHTWEIGHT // AFFORDABLE // FAMILY-OWNED ED COMPANY // ADJUSTABLE CANTS // KYDEX CONCEALED HOLSTERS //

24

5417 JACKWOOD DR. • SAN ANTONIO, TX 78238 OFFICE: 210-362-1549 • WWW.ONYOUR6DESIGNS.COM

American Shooting Journal // July 2018

THE MAKING OF

'A WARRIOR’S CLUTCH’ Contemporary Longrifle Association artists create a colonial frontier fighter’s kit.

STORY BY FRANK JARDIM • PHOTOGRAPHS BY RIC LAMBERT

It is the 9th of May, 1763. The battle cries of Indian warriors mix with the two-part report of flintlocks in the English settlements around Fort Detroit a few miles north of Lake Erie. Regardless of whether Britain or France claimed sovereignty over this region, it is now and has always been Indian country. About a minute apart, two figures run down a forest trail so heavily canopied with lushly leaved hardwood branches that the sunlight touches it only dimly, with sporadic, blinding spots of white brightness where the rays have found their way through. In their haste and the visually confusing light, neither notices a third figure, watching them from the concealment of the thick underbrush lining the trail and slipping out silently behind to follow just out of sight. Moments later, when the crack of a rifle

Designed and handmade by members of the Contemporary Longrifle Association, the flintlock, powder horn, hunting bag, dagger with sheath, and war club represent “a vibrant, visually striking set of items that reflect the possessions carried by a warrior in the mid-18th century” and will be auctioned as a fundraiser for the organization. americanshootingjournal.com 25

(Clockwise from top left) Warrior’s Clutch artisans include Ian Pratt, Brad Emig, Dave Rase, Jeanne McDonald, Ken Gahagan and Josh Wrightsman.

shot ahead echoes off the trees, the trailing figure’s pace slows to a careful, crouched advance until spotting a man’s fallen body crumpled on the trail.

Halting, the third figure instinctively shoulders his flintlock and scans the forest with his eyes. It is quiet except for the birds, squirrels and struggling breaths of the man laying still on his side with his head on the trail 20 yards ahead. The third figure’s right hand drops from the gun’s grip and draws a long wooden war club from his belt as he dashes up the trail to the supine man, passing him on the run while smashing his temple with a graceful savagery. He wheels around to strike again. There is no need.

Under the impact, the fallen man lurches on his back and is instantly silent, right eye dangling from the socket and a rounded dimple, 3 inches across and an inch deep, on 26

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

the side of his skull. Pink foam leaks from his mouth and each side of his chest. It is apparent to the third figure that had the war club’s crushing impact not killed him, the bullet wound penetrating his chest from lung to lung would have. Pausing to listen, and hearing no human sounds approaching, he slides his war club back in his belt and drops to his knees with his gun at his side to inspect the dead man for things valuable or useful.

He relieves him of a fine double-edged dagger in a beautifully quilled neck sheath. No other weapons are in sight.

The dead man’s shirt is heavily stained with blood but his linen trousers are in fair shape and the third figure begins to pull them off, but stops abruptly and once again scans the forest with eyes like an owl’s.

Rising to one knee, he draws his newly acquired dagger with one hand

and pulls up the dead man’s head by the hair with the other. Cutting down to the bone, he peels up and slices free a fist-sized chunk of scalp and long hair, rolls it up and puts it in his hunting pouch. Wasting no time, he picks up his gun and disappears into the forest, apparently abandoning any continued pursuit along the trail for a destination along the same general axis, but more west than south.

THE DENOUEMENT OF this tale is coming.

The vagueness of the narrative was meant to excite your historical curiosity, much like the pictured gun, powder horn, hunting bag, dagger with sheath, and war club – collectively known as “A Warrior’s Clutch” – that were designed and handmade by a select group of 14 artists of the Contemporary Longrifle Association (CLA). Ian Pratt, one of

(Clockwise from top left) Tad Frei, Alec Fourman, Joe Seabolt, Clint Seabolt, Matt Fennewal, Eric Ewing and Shawn Webster also worked on the kit.

the artists, explained that the goal for the craftsmen was to create “a vibrant, visually striking set of items that reflect the possessions carried by a warrior in the mid-18th century.

Although we imagine a general Great Lakes region as our warrior’s home, his identity remains unknown.”

The objects represented those indispensable on the frontier and each was conceived, made and aged by the artist to evoke from the viewer its own imagined history, exactly the way real artifacts of unknown provenance do.

The artists purposely built in details that could point the viewer to various, and even contradictory, historical explanations and no two people will perceive the grouping in exactly the same way. A Warrior’s Clutch is a three-dimensional historical novel of your own writing.

Before getting into the details of

the art and artists, I need to point out that you can actually own A Warrior’s Clutch. It will be auctioned to generate funds to support the CLA this month (August 17-18) at their annual show and meeting in Lexington, Kentucky. The 350-table CLA show is an impressive event attended by around 150 artists whose specialties include gun and knife making, leather working, horning, clothes making, pottery, furniture building, Indian art forms like porcupine quill embroidery and bead work, brain tanning, silversmithing, carving, painting, sculpting and many more.

The spirit of the CLA is that of a historically inspired and guided artistic community committed to creating original, unique, fully functional items using traditional methods and materials. The only way to get anything more authentic than

buying a 250-year-old artifact would be to build a time machine to carry the artisans of the 1700s into the present day. To be clear, the CLA also includes artists who specialize in exact reproductions of historic artifacts and their restoration or repair.

THE PIECES AND THE ARTISTS Gun & Carrying Sling – Colonial America had a thriving and purposedriven gun-making industry but it was by no means the only source of arms.

Smoothbore guns of basic working quality and embellished with simple engraving and paint to the aesthetic tastes of Indians were heavily imported from Britain and France to trade for the animal pelts and other commodities the Europeans wanted. Commonly called trade guns at the time, they were cheaper than a custom-made domestic americanshootingjournal.com 27

gun and white frontiersmen also used them. They lacked the range of rifles but were quicker to load for fighting and capable of firing shot loads for hunting birds and small game. The .58-caliber flintlock with a 48-inch-long barrel in the Warrior’s Clutch collection was conceived as a composite piece, made of salvaged imported trade gun parts combined with domestically made parts. The lock and barrel are from an English trade gun, the buttplate and trigger guard from a French one, but the curly maple stock could have come only from America. Perhaps the colonial gunsmith took a French trade gun with a burst barrel and broken stock in on trade and combined it with English parts on hand or brought in by a customer. Colonial America was not a “disposable culture” like our present day.

The gun stock was painted black at one time, suggesting Indian use, but it was then overpainted red at the buttstock and decorated with a black sunburst and English vining scrollwork designs. Were they added by a British fur trapper?

The carrying sling is a colonialmade piece with only basic embellishment in its two-color woolen weave strap. The frontier was a dangerous place, and civilian guns were usually carried in the hand, ready for immediate use. Slings were not as popular then as they are with modern hunters. Especially noteworthy is the front sling loop on the gunstock, which was a rarity on civilian rifles and could indicate military use by a scout or militiaman. Was this gun used during the French Indian War or Pontiac’s Rebellion? We can only speculate. It was artificially aged to indicate a long period of use and the possibility of it passing through the hands of many owners.

Ian Pratt did the lock work, engraving, and stock and metal

The Seabolts and Webster created the dagger and its handsome sheath, respectively.

finish on the gun. He was also on the vine-like iron display fixture forging team. He is an artist from southern Ohio who works chiefly as a maker of flintlock guns. Specializing in iron mounted rifles and smoothbore pieces, Ian hand-forges many of the parts for his unique flintlock guns which, along with his handmade knives and accoutrements, are highly sought after by shooters and collectors. Ian has taught various classes in gun building, knife making and forge work at Canter’s Cave, the Log Cabin Shop, Conner Prairie, and the Washington Historical Gunmakers’ Guild.

Brad Emig did the engraving on the gun’s French-style buttplate and trigger guard. He has over 30 years’ experience as a full-time 18th century gunsmith. After serving 11 years as master gunsmith in the 18th century gun shop for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Brad privatized the shop and opened Cabin Creek Muzzleloading in

Hallam, Pennslyvania. Together with his son Shane, he now operates the nation’s only traditional 18th century gunsmith shop outside of a museum atmosphere. The shop offers its customers a very unique window into the past through a wide variety of items they produce, utilizing traditional tools, materials, technology and precision handcraftsmanship.

Dave Rase inlet the gun’s barrel and some of the parts and started the hand-shaping of the stock. He grew up hunting and shooting in Colorado.

After a four-year enlistment in the Navy, he returned to Ft. Collins, Colorado, and found an interest in mountain men, their firearms and accoutrements. Unable to afford to buy a fine rifle, he set about learning to build one himself. With tool and die maker experience and an interest in woodworking, he created his first muzzleloading rifle, a Hawken, in 1982. Shortly after building that first rifle, he met Robert Lienemann, who helped him become a serious student

The .58-caliber flintlock had the most collaborators – Pratt, Emig, Rase, Wrightsman, Gahagan and McDonald all worked on elements of the piece.

28

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 29

of the longrifle. Today he is known primarily as a gunmaker but is a multitalented artisan doing horn and leather work, barrel inletting services to other gunmakers, and making tools by hand and machine.

Josh Wrightsman forged the gun’s iron hardware: trigger guard, buttplate and lock bolts. He started his gunbuilding career as a blacksmith forging 18th century-style iron gun parts, knives and axes at the early age of 15. His main focus is to create guns that have the look and feel of original 18th and 19th century firearms using raw materials and making every component from scratch using traditional tools and methods. He uses his own blend of techniques combined with traditional methods to make subtle details stand out and catch your eye. Using forged wrought iron, sand casting brass parts, and a from-scratch method of hard work is just as timeconsuming today as it was 250 years ago, but this is how a longrifle gets imbued with the soul of its maker and comes alive itself.

Ken Gahagan finished stocking the gun, built the display’s colonial furniture inspired base and was part of the forging team making the display fixture. He is an accomplished 18th century gun, knife, accoutrement and furniture maker. “I have always had a strong interest in history and a desire to build things and work with my hands and imagination,” he says. “I started building 18th century furniture in my 20s. I became involved with reenacting and wanted to make something for these shows that I could sell, so I researched and started building copies of early trade knives. I moved on to flintlock rifles when I had more time to dedicate to working on them. One of my main interests is smoothbore fowling pieces and especially Dutch Hudson Valley fowlers because of their unique shape and features.” Today he switches back and forth between all 18th century items to keep it interesting and participates in the Southern Ohio Artisan Workshop as a gun-building instructor with Ian Pratt.

Jeanne McDonald made the 30

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

The powder horn was made by Frei, while Fourman finger-weaved the beaded strap.

woven strap for the gun. She lives on a small farm in Highland County, Ohio, with her husband Rich. After working in real estate, Jeanne started in her craft as a leather worker by making the sheaths for the custom knives her husband builds. She then delved into creating hunting pouches and haversacks for the muzzleloader enthusiast. Next she tried her hand at weaving on an inkle loom and found she really enjoyed it. Her handwoven powder horn straps and rifle slings are some of her most popular creations. She makes muzzleloading accoutrements including: bullet pouches, flint wallets, lock covers, gun cases and many other items needed by the traditional muzzleloader shooter and reenactor. Striving for quality and satisfaction in every item she produces, she imparts a warm, slightly used, patina to her creations that adds to the character and charm of each piece. She prefers to base her work after original examples. Those curious to see more of her work can visit longknivesandleather.com.

Powder Horn & Strap – A gun without ammunition is just a club.

On the frontier, your powder supply was precious and required careful

protection from the elements while still being ready for immediate use.

Horn was an ideal material since it insulated the powder from heat, humidity and light. This black powder horn is made from a very high-grade bison horn. These huge beasts are usually associated with the Plains Indians, but they also roamed the East in the mid-18th century. The horn’s carrying strap is two-ply handwoven wool made with a uniquely native weaving technique. The front is decorated with imported glass seed beads commonly used by Indians to embellish their clothing and accoutrements. The decorative end tassel was also a popular native motif.

Backed by heavily stained wool cloth and repaired with a linen patch sewn to one end, there is the suggestion of long use in the field, but by native or colonist we cannot know for sure.

Tad Frei made the powder horn.

Though only a horner for a few years, his work has made a great impression.

“I have always been fascinated by early American history,” he says. “I began making powder horns four years ago as a way to recreate and hold part of that history in my hands. I enjoyed the process and end result so I immersed myself in the study of original 18th

americanshootingjournal.com 31

century horns, striving to emulate the style of original makers as I continued learning. My background is in social studies education, so I view horn building as an opportunity to highlight a lesser known segment of American history.”

Alec Fourman made the fingerwoven and beaded strap for the powder horn. A two-time veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he devoted the past 15 years to preserving and mastering the vanishing traditional crafts of the 18th century Eastern Woodland Indians. He is best known for his exploration of the difficult open face, or oblique finger, weaving technique. His other focuses include brain tanning, porcupine quillwork, and natural dye methods.

Dagger & Sheath – A good fighting knife was nearly as indispensable as the gun on the frontier. Double-edged fighting knives like this were difficult to hand-forge and though this “small warrior” could be domestically made, it would more likely be an import. It resembles an English Sheffield trade knife in basic form. Typically, their handles were plain wood with a simple round ball for the pommel. Someone personalized this one by carving the ball into a head and dying the handle red, creating a figure distinctly native in appearance. The high quality and very traditional native porcupine quill embroidery decoration on the neck sheath suggests the owner treasured this knife. This type of embellishment was almost exclusively an Indian art form, used on personal and trade items.

Joe Seabolt collaborated on the dagger with Clint Seabolt, his cousin and apprentice. Joe was also on the display fixture forging team. He is a traditional artist and bladesmith. In his shop, located in Goshen, Ohio, he creates traditional hand-forged backwoods knives, tomahawks and various other historically correct tools. Joe has been making handforged knives and tools for over 25 years. He started knife making and blacksmithing in the blacksmith shop at Historic Manskers Station in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. Joe 32

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

Webster also teamed with Ewing to make the hunting pouch.

demonstrates and teaches knife making at various venues, including the House Brothers’ knife-making seminars and ABS Hammer-Ins. Clint Seabolt carved the effigy head on the handle. New to the CLA, he is becoming a talented knife maker himself. Clint attended knife-making seminars, including the House Brothers school in Woodbury, Kentucky. He has been wood carving since he was a young boy and has combined this talent with bladesmithing to create some very unique and beautiful knives.

Shawn Webster made the quilled sheath for the dagger. He also collaborated with Eric Ewing on the pouch. His interest in quillwork was sparked in 1980 when a friend showed him a hatband made from rawhide and porcupine quills. He couldn’t afford the price tag and decided the only way to get one would be to learn to do it himself. Soon after that, a chance meeting with artist H. David Wright at an American Mountain Man (AMM) Rendezvous resulted in Shawn being steered in the right direction. Since that time, his work has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers. A proud member of the AMM, his

other interests include building flintlock rifles and hunting pouches and attending many rendezvous throughout the year. He makes his home in Cedar City, Utah.

Hunting Pouch – Afield, some type of practical bag is needed to carry flints, a small priming horn, bullets and/or shot, patches and a vent pick. Those are the bare essentials to keep a flintlock shooting. Bags varied in design and decoration, just as such things do today. This small pouch would be ideal for shorter ventures into the wilderness, perhaps a few days hunting. It is a peculiar combination of materials and styles. Open-top bags, without protective flaps, were typically used by the Indians. Likewise, the red tassels (made from imported thread), porcupine quill decorative embroidery, and the soft and flexible brain-tanned deer hide used for the face of the bag and strap. However, the body of the bag is made from bark-tanned deer hide, a European method rarely used by the natives.

Also, the vine scroll work design of the embroidery is very unusual for an Indian-made item. It mimics the decoration of English trade guns. Was

americanshootingjournal.com 33

Fennewald carved and decorated the fearsome-looking war club.

this bag assembled from salvaged parts, orr repaired by a colonial leatherworker? rker? Was it made from materials on hand by an Indian at the hite trader? request of a white laborated on the Eric Ewing collaborated pouch with Shawn Webster. Eric is a leatherworking artist residing esiding in New York’s Hudson Valley. He graduated from The School of Visual Arts in NYC, and his background in fine arts has led him to approach creating ating contemporary hunting pouches and d other accoutrements as an art form as well as a traditional craft. He often combines a mix of both professional and home-tanned leather, as well as sourced antique textiles and hardware for unique but functional hunting pouches that appeal to a diverse following of both collectors of folk art and shooters of muzzleloading firearms.

He has participated in numerous collaborations with artists such as Ian Pratt, Shawn Webster and Matthew Fennewald. His work has won several ribbons at Dixon’s Gunmakers Fair in Kempton, Pennsylvania, including two Madison Grant Awards, and his work has been featured in the pages of Muzzleloader magazine.

War Club – Indicative of the brutal hand-to-hand combat Indian warriors were accustomed to, these practical weapons were used by various tribes prior to 1500 and into the Colonial era. This one is carved from hard cherry and finished with red ochre, milk paint and bear grease. The animal face is a native decorative motif. It might be a bear, otter, or the Iroquois mythical underwater panther. The inlaid horn eyes are attached with tiny nails. While exclusively Indian-made, the use of war clubs wasn’t limited to 34

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

the Indians. This might explain the capital English letters “IF” carved on the handle. They are almost certainly initials. Was this club once owned by a white fur trader or guide?

Matthew Fennewald made the war club. He attached the eyes with antique nails from the former home of Flanders Callaway, Daniel Boone’s son-in-law and a frontier legend in his own righ right.

Hours were spent burnishing th the club to impart a rich patina llike that of a 250-year-old origin original. At an early age Matthew discovered the discov world of muzzleloader muzzleloaders and the artisans who recreate history, fostering a love of th the contemporary longrifle ltu from the start. He resides in culture the foothills of the Ozarks with his family on a small homestead where they embrace an 18th century lifestyle, from gardening to hunting to trapping.

He is best known for brain-tanning buckskin, antiqued hunting bags, and woodworking folk art pieces. Powder horns, Native American archery equipment, and museum-quality 18th and early 19th century material culture reproductions round out the mediums he works within. Pursuit of an art degree in college, conservation work on nationally renowned pieces of art, and an apprenticeship through the Missouri Folk Arts Council and experience finetuned his technique and skill set.

THE HISTORIC BACKDROP for my personal imagined interpretation of A Warrior’s Clutch took me to the start of Pontiac’s Rebellion in 1763. It was one of the bloodiest in history, where several tribes of the Ohio and Illinois Country uncharacteristically banded together to destroy English forts and settlements and drive their colonists back to the Allegheny Mountains. Most of the

Indians of this region allied with the French during the seve seven-year French Indian War (1754-1763) (1754 1 where Britain and France bat battled for supremacy in North America.

Am The French lost and had to give up their Canadian colony and all their territory and forts east of the Mississippi. That was really bad news for their Indian former allies. The French had been trading partners with a minimal physical presence in Indian territory, but the English colonists wanted to move in and settle their land!

What Chief Pontiac did not know at the time was that Indians had an ally in the King of England, George III, who wanted no more costly wars in support of his only marginally valuable American colonies. Concluding that English colonists and Indians had to be separated to maintain the peace, the Crown issued the Proclamation Line of 1763 forbidding English settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains. A peace with the warring tribes wasn’t formally negotiated until 1766, but most of the violence ended in the summer of 1764. Indian losses are unknown but English casualties are estimated at 450 soldiers killed (50 of them captives tortured to death), 2,000 settlers killed or captured, and another 4,000 driven from the region.

Ironically, this Indian revolution contributed to the American Revolution in 1775. Denied access to western land, the colonists felt cheated by their king. They also chaffed at the aggressive tax collections ordered by the Crown to defray the cost of garrisoning the frontier forts with royal troops for their protection.

On the personal level, the “third figure” in my fictional opening narrative explains the origin of the Warrior’s Clutch. The English around

americanshootingjournal.com 35

Fort Detroit called him Israel Frye.

He was born in New York in 1733 and lost to his family at five years old during an Iroquois raid on their frontier farmstead. Adopted by an Indian family mourning the loss of their child, he was raised as a tribe member in the warrior tradition. He excelled as a hunter and fighter but his prominence in the tribe grew for another reason. He had a gift for languages and learned those of the six different Iroquois tribes, and several more, earning him the name “manytongues.” Because he was white, he could liaison with the colonial fur traders easily and move between cultures, but by the start of the French Indian War he saw his future, and the future of the continent, was not with the natives. His tribe remained neutral in the war, so he joined the fight against the French and their Indian allies with a clear conscious knowing he would not have to fight his friends or adopted kin.

In the war his knowledge of Indian culture, language and fighting

36

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

An attack on Fort Detroit by Chief Pontiac’s forces provides the backdrop for author Frank Jardim’s imagined tale of the warrior across whose life the elements of the Warrior’s Clutch were gathered.

methods made him an exceptionally valuable asset. He re-embraced the white man’s God during this time and married a white farm girl, fathering a son and daughter. While he campaigned with the Army as a scout, his young family resided in relative

safety at his father-in-law’s farm on New York’s western frontier.

As Anglo-French hostilities wound down and British troops took over the old French forts, he lingered in the area looking for opportunities to settle his family in the newly conquered

americanshootingjournal.com 37

territory. He worked as a hunter for the British garrison at Fort Detroit and was observant of the Indian movements around it, faithfully reporting them to the soldiers. The Indians he encountered hunting were not fans of the English or the Iroquois and offered him no information. On May 7, Chief Pontiac and 300 warriors from previously unaligned tribes arrived at the fort intent on taking it by subterfuge, but they failed and withdrew. At this point, Israel decided his interests would be best served by being someplace else and departed his temporary quarters on a nearby English farm on the night of the 8th.

To avoid detection by the hostile warriors or the French farmers sympathetic to them, Israel moved through the settlements and forest with maximum stealth. Detection could mean torture and death. His escape was necessarily slow, but by the time the sun was up, he was fairly sure he’d made it past the point Pontiac would have stationed many scouts. He was a mile and a half from the closest plowed

ground when the noise of battle erupted from the settlements. Exhausted from the night’s exertions, he decided it would be prudent to rest a spell.

Dozing under cover until late morning, he ate some bread and jerky and prepared to move on when he detected the sound of racing footfalls approaching. Hidden in the underbrush, he saw the 15-year-old son of the English blacksmith running hatless and in shirt sleeves with a rifle.

The young man, breathing hard and soaked in sweat, looked frightened but determined. A minute later a pursuing Ottawa warrior appeared with his blue painted trade gun cocked and ready and an iron tomahawk on his hip.

The Indian wasn’t struggling with the pace and would surely catch up to his quarry soon. Israel liked the boy and decided to intercede on his behalf, but it proved unnecessary.

The boy was no stranger to the hunt and doubled back to ambush the Ottawa from close range along the trail, mortally wounding him. It was the boy who relieved the fallen warrior of his

powder horn, shooting bag, tomahawk, and gun before tearing away down the trail again. Israel arrived on the scene mere seconds later.

Israel had no love for the Ottawa and dispatched the wounded Indian quickly and quietly before checking him for loot. A better pair of trousers would have been nice, but he worried that the boy’s rifle shot might attract more warriors and the time spent undressing a dead man would not be worth the added risk. Recent events had demonstrated this was no place for a white Englishman to be. He thought the boy was heading to Fort Sandusky, about three days away. It was the closest British military installation, but he’d been there before and it was really nothing more than a small blockhouse and couldn’t hold off a large Indian force. In fact, there weren’t enough troops at any of the forts to deal with attacks of the size he suspected Pontiac launched at Fort Detroit.

Israel’s wife and children were in New York. Having just finished one lengthy frontier Indian war and now sensing the opening of another, he loathed the thought of being drawn into it. The most he was willing to do was spread the warning as he traveled gradually eastward, and then north toward home and family. There, he put his fighting tools and trophies away. They were memories of another, exceptional life: an underwater pantherheaded war club bearing his initials; the old colonial shooting pouch he got in trade that was lovingly repaired and decorated for him by his Iroquois step-sister; his unique trade gun, economically pieced back together by a skilled Pennsylvania gunsmith after the wrist of the stock was torn away by a French musket ball; the powder horn given to him when he was accepted as a warrior in his tribe; and a beautiful dagger and sheath, the last prize he would take from the battlefield.

That’s how I see A Warrior’s Clutch. You can see it however you want to.

Editor’s note: For more on the Contemporary Longrifle Association, see longrifle.com.

38

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

CUSTOM DESIGN RIFLES MACHINING SINCE 1955

LaykeTactical.com

PISTOL Gallery WMD GUNS www.wmdguns.com

MODEL 11.1 IN .45 ACP See us on page 122

LAYKE TACTICAL www.layketactical.com

CUSTOM-BUILT PISTOL See us on page 40

CDNN SPORTS www.cdnnsports.com

RUGER AMERICAN PRO COMPACT 9MM PISTOL See us on page 42

SPIKE’S TACTICAL

www.spikestactical.com

5.56 CHF 8.1”

See us on page 127

42

American Shooting Journal // June July 2018 2018

RETURN TO

TOMBSTONE 25th anniversary of popular movie brings fans of the Earps, Holliday, Old West to famed Arizona town; Tombstone also named America’s first Second Amendment City.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAUL PAWELA

T

Th G The Greeks had their classics, The Iliad aand The Odyssey. Americans have their own classic tragedy, The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Wyatt Earp’s Vendetta Ride.

America in 1881 was a deeply divided nation. Vicious politics.

A shamelessly partisan media.

A president scorned by half the

population. Smuggling, robbery and murder orchestrated by gang warfare along the Mexican border. And standing in the middle, armed citizens willing to stand their ground and take the law into their own hands.

Not much has changed in 137 years.

The feud between two groups of people in Tombstone, Arizona Territory, would come to a climactic ending in a gun battle for the ages.

The Earp Brothers, with their

companion Doc Holliday, faced off against a faction called the Cowboys.

The Cowboys were America’s first organized crime family, which included two sets of brothers, the Clantons and McLaurys. What started out as a misdemeanor arrest (for wearing guns when a city ordinance Lookalike gunfighters pose at the 25th anniversary celebration of 1993’s Tombstone, which starred Sam Elliott, Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer and Bill Paxton, as the Earp Brothers and Doc Holliday.

americanshootingjournal.com 43

Author Paul Pawela shares a moment with Lt. Col. Allen West and Gary O’Neal, Special Forces legend and Ranger Hall of Famer, at the shindig.

forbade it), in addition to prior physical confrontations and threats between the two sides, would come to a head in a gun battle that lasted 30 seconds. Around 30 rounds were fired, leaving three men dead, three wounded, two severely, and leaving one last man standing. His reputation would forever cement him into a Godlike status. That individual would be none other than Wyatt Earp!

The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral has been immortalized in film countless times by Hollywood, but none captured the hearts of Americans more than the movie Tombstone, released in 1993 by Hollywood Pictures. The all-star cast included Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer, Sam Elliott, the late Bill Paxton, the late Powers Booth, Michael Biehn, Dana Delany, the late Charlton Heston, Billy Zane, Billy Bob Thornton, and the late Robert Mitchum, to name just a few.

Tombstone featured dialogue that we firearms enthusiasts use to this

day, lines like the colorful ones used

by Holliday, portrayed by Val Kilmer.

Who doesn’t remember the classic lines “I’m your huckleberry” or “You’re a daisy if you do”? Or Kurt Russell’s classic line as the legendary Wyatt Earp: “You tell ’em I’m coming and Hell’s coming with me.”

It is easy to forget this movie is based on real-life events by very real-life people who lived it and unfortunately even died from it.

Tombstone brilliantly captured the struggle that the Earp brothers (Virgil, Wyatt and Morgan) and Holliday had with the outlaws known as the Cowboys, including “Curly Bill” Brocius, Johnny Ringo, brothers Ike and Billy Clanton, brothers Frank and Tom McLaury, Pete Spence, Florentine Cruz and Frank Stilwell.

IN CONJUNCTION WITH the film’s 25th anniversary, the town of Tombstone recently had a huge celebration bash,

Tombstone stars and other key players in attendance included (left to right): Billy Zane, Michael Biehn, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Dusty Dukatz, Miguel Corona, Joanna Pacula, Frank Stallone, Peter Sherayko, and Sandy Gibbons.

(MIGUEL CORONA)

44

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

West receives the keys to the City of Tombstone from Mayor Dusty Escapule.

thanks to the efforts of Gordon Anderson (a resident of Tombstone and owner of Larian Motel, a popular motel in the heart of town) and Miguel Corona (producer, actor and stuntman), with help from the town of Tombstone.

The actors who participated in the reunion included Biehn, who played Johnny Ringo; Peter Sherayko, who played Texas Jack Vermillion; Frank Stallone, who played Ed Bailey; Zane, who played Mr. Fabian; Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, who played Mattie Earp; and Joanna Pacula, who played Kate, Doc’s female companion.

Tombstone not only celebrated the 25th anniversary of the movie, but “The Town Too Tough to Die” was also officially recognized as America’s first Second Amendment City.

In celebration, the city threw a parade not only honoring past heroes but modern ones as well. Leading the parade was Lt. Col. Allen West, the former congressman and Fox TV and radio personality. West was given

Producer/actor/stuntman Miguel Corona and his team worked hard to make the event a success. Corona is pictured at right with Mayor Escapule. (MIGUEL CORONA)

americanshootingjournal.com 45

the keys to the city of Tombstone

by Mayor Dusty Escapule. Medal of Honor recipient Melvin Morris and Special Forces and Ranger Hall of Famer Gary O’Neal were also in attendance and took part in the parade.

Also being honored for their brave exploits in American history were the Buffalo Soldiers, the hardened, toughdisciplined men who bravely tracked and fought another fierce band of warriors, the feared and respected Apache Indians. Through outstanding memorabilia from the Buffalo Soldiers Chapter, American citizens were able to learn about their great history.

Other events included a memorabilia auction, for which American Shooting Journal donated a custom-made frontier Bowie knife crafted by master bladesmith Sorin Radu out of Romania. The one-of-akind Bowie knife went for a good sum and a good cause.

There was also a memorial walk down Allen Street, where the actual gunfight took place, and a costume contest for that time period. On

46

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

Tombstone re-enactors made the celebration extra special.

that note, at times the streets of Tombstone were filled with so many people in authentic costume it gave the illusion one actually had been transported back in time.

With historical sites like the Bird Cage, Boot Hill, the Court House,

Stuntman Chris Swinney ready for action at the Tombstone celebration.

and the O.K. Corral, Tombstone is part of American history, and now the movie Tombstone is cemented in history as one of the greatest Westerns ever. As a gun enthusiast, you owe it to yourself to visit The Town Too Tough To Die!

THE NORTHWEST’S LARGEST PAWN AND GUN STORE BUY•SELL•TRADE WE BUY GUN ESTATES, NO SIZE TOO LARGE.

DEER PARK Store Location 811 S Main St Deer Park, WA 99006

FRANCIS Store Location 315 E Francis Ave Spokane, WA 99208

ALL LOCATIONS OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK •

SPRAGUE Store Location 3030 E Sprague Ave Spokane, WA 99202

www.doubleeaglepawn.com • (509) 487-1644 americanshootingjournal.com 47

GRIPS

www.tractiongrips.com

Tractiongrips are precision cut, self-adhesive, textured rubber grip overlays, designed and manufactured in the USA.

GRIPS FROM THE OLD WEST

Extremely durable urethane Ages (yellows) like real ivory Affordable and versatile

Offering sculpted, simulated ivory hand gun grips and simulated stag design grips for colts and clones, 1911, Ruger, Remington, Smith and Wesson and others.

GRIPMAKER 17401 State Hwy 96 Carthage MO 64836 gripmaker@suddenlink.net Phone: 417-359-8880 | Fax: 417-237-0340

#TRACTIONGRIPS

HandgunGrips.com FOR ALL YOUR SHOOTING NEEDS

Custom Grips • Rubber GripS • Reproduction Grips IN STOCK • READY TO SHIP • Order On Our Secure Website, By Phone Or Mail www.HandgunGrips.com • 618.483.3272 • P.O. Box 215, Altamont, IL 62411

GRIPS GALLERY handgun grips An assortment of grips for Ruger SP101, and new products from Altamont and Pachmayr.

These wood, rubber and G10 grips will enhance your Ruger SP101.

Inventory in stock and ready to ship. www.handgungrips.com

TRACTIONGRIPS

GRIPMAKER

Tractiongrips has added a premium Coyote Brown rubber material to their custom-made grips lineup.

They look great on 19X and FDE pistols. www.tractiongrips.com

Whether your barbeque gun is Old West or new, Gripmaker grips will be a standout in any crowd.

They not only look great but feel great too. www.gripmaker.com

Visit Us Online!

americanshootingjournal.com americanshootingjournal com

americanshootingjournal

@amshootingjourn

americanshootingjournal.com 49

Rust Protection for Firearms, Weapons, and Ammo Use Zerust20 for a 20% discount when ordering online

If you’re looking for the ultimate solution to protect metal from harmful rust, look for Zerust.

Includes a VCI Weapon Protection 9ƃǼӗ ěʍƹlj ծ 9ƃɨɨljȢ ČɽɨȈɥӗ latex gloves & a zip tie

ĄȈːlj ¶Ȉɽ ĄȈːlj ¶Ȉɽ

Gun Gu un Oil O & Gun Cleaner Clean ean ner

ř: ĄȈːlj 9ƃǼ ř: ĄȈːlj 9ƃǼ

ěʍƹlj ծ 9ƃɨɨljȢ ČɽɨȈɥ ěʍƹlj ծ 9ƃɨɨljȢ ČɽɨȈɥ

ř: ŚljƃɥɁȶ ĀɨɁɽljƺɽȈɁȶ 9ƃǼɰ ř: ŚljƃɥɁȶ ĀɨɁɽljƺɽȈɁȶ 9ƃǼɰ

www.zerustproducts.com customerservice@zerustproducts.com • 330-405-1965 9345 Ravenna Rd. Unit E • Twinsburg, OH 44087-2465 50

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

BLACK POWDER

QUIGLEY 2018: ALMOST A WASHOUT Rain dampens annual Montana long-range shoot, but marksmen persevere after daylong delay.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKE NESBITT

T

he Matthew Quigley Buffalo Rifle Match, the largest gathering of buffalo gun shooters in the world, was almost washed out this year.

That would have been a terrible blow to several international shooters, some, like Gavin Dignam, having come all the way from Australia to participate. But the match did go on, in a shortened version, which delighted the over 600 competing shooters. And the results, as of press time, are still not in. So, let me give you a report on this latest Quigley doin’s, as seen from behind the butt plate.

ALLEN CUNIFF AND I got to “Quigleyville,” in eastern Montana, early in the week, giving us plenty of time for sightingin and making ready. In addition to that, on Wednesday I went to another range, just 12 miles from the Quigley camp, to shoot in a .22 Black Powder Cartridge Rifle silhouette match, my first time to try such an event. My .22 rifle is a Low-wall from C. Sharps Arms and, in my opinion, it treated

Under an eastern Montana sky that delivered a daylong rain delay, Mike Nesbitt aims at the buffalo target with his .44-90 during the Matthew Quigley Buffalo Rifle Match, an annual event named after the sharpshooting movie character played by Tom Selleck in 1990’s Quigley Down Under. (DICK SAVAGE)

me rather well by giving me 13 hits.

Three of those hits were on the tiny chickens shot offhand at 50 yards.

Those little chickens should be called hummingbirds.

The .22 match was managed by John Olsen of Big Sky Cast Bullets & Big Sky Lube. He did a good job, and I’ll look forward to giving that another good try. The .22 match gave me some very good practice with quite a contrast between the .22 rifle and my .44-90 Sharps.

On Thursday the weather was still very good; almost too good. That’s when most of the sighting-in was done.

My .44-90 was used with notes made the year before, although I was using that same rifle but with a new bullet and a different powder charge. The new bullet was from Accurate Molds’

No. 44-450B, dropping out of the mold with a 25-1 alloy at 457 grains. And the powder charge was 95 grains of Olde Eynsford 1F, the largest granulation and slowest burning of GOEX’s Olde Eynsford line. Even though I’m sure those bullets were traveling at a higher velocity than the 470-grainers I used last year, most targets “requested” an additional five minutes in sight elevation to give me good hits.

IT STARTED RAINING the next day. That was Friday and an important day because all of the shooters must go to their respective shooting groups and sign up in the six-man squads they want to shoot in. We lined up in the rain to do that. Squading is important. Allen and I signed up so I’d be in squad number one and he would americanshootingjournal.com 51

BLACK POWDER

Nesbitt says his Low-wall by C. Sharps Arms in .22 Long Rifle “treated me rather well” during a Black Powder Cartridge Rifle silhouette match held nearby before the main event.

follow me in the same position but in squad number three. That was so he could spot for me while I was shooting, then I’d spot for him when he shot, all without moving any equipment, such as the spotting scope.

Having a good spotter while you are shooting long-range is simply essential. Allen and I have spotted for each other at Quigley now for five years. The shooter can’t always see where the bullets are hitting and it is the spotter’s job to note those strikes and perhaps to recommend sight adjustments as needed. Longrange shooting of this type certainly requires teamwork.

The rains continued all night and the next day. This was turning Quigleyville into a muddy pond and the soil, which is very heavy with clay, was not absorbing the water. That was Saturday, the day the shooting in the match was supposed to begin.

At first the shooter’s meeting was postponed for an hour, then for another hour. Then, two hours later, it was announced that no shooting would be done until perhaps the next day.

Some of the shooters did more shooting, either to check their sights again or just to have something to do.

Others, like me, did more shopping along the Vendors’ Row, almost a whole half-mile of traders. C. Sharps Arms was there and while it was dry inside their tent, a fair-sized lake was forming right outside their door. It was on this Saturday when I talked for a short time with Al Lee, the ranch owner. He was concerned that several of the trailers and motorhomes in camp would be needing some “real 52

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

equipment” (tractors) to pull them out to the road. Most of us just tried to stay dry and waited to see if the shoot would still be held.

LATE THAT NIGHT the rains backed off.

The shoot would be held but it needed to be reduced to only four shots per target. That was necessary so that all 600-plus shooters could get through the course of the six targets in just one day – a good move. Our group was to start on target number three, the “Postage Stamp,” a rectangle at 530 yards.

Then, one way or another, squad number two in our group was emptied and squad number three was moved up to take its place. That was wrong!

It meant that our squading had been for nothing. Allen and I could not spot for each other because while I was shooting, he’d have to be getting

ready to shoot in the next relay. What they should have done is move squad number four to replace number two, and number six would move up to replace number four, and so on. By replacing an even-numbered squad with another even-numbered squad, the shooting and spotting partners would not be changed.

Complaints at the time seemed to fall on deaf ears and we had to start shooting. So, after the scorekeeper called my name, I fired my first shot without a spotter. That shot was a miss and I asked our group’s range safety officer if he’d seen where it hit. He just said “no” and we had to keep shooting.

My second shot was also a miss.

But then some luck switched to my side when “Dakota” Dick Savage stepped forward with his scope, saying he’d spot for me. Dick also spotted for Rob Dickerson, who was to my right,

When it rains on the Northern Plains, it pours. A lake forms outside the C. Sharps Arms tent in “Quigleyville.”

Top Quality Custom Built AR Weapon Systems at a great price Hand Guns Shotguns Bolt Action Rifles Firearm Accessories Cleaning Gear Gunsmithing

Grunt model

chambered in 5.56 with a 16� barrel

601 104th St SE Minot, ND 58701 | Phone: 701-839-0005

Custom Rifle Actions www.defiancemachine.com 406-756-2727

americanshootingjournal.com 53

BLACK POWDER

The author’s 32-inch barreled .44-90 Sharps, a Hartford Model.

shooting after me. My third shot was also a miss, to the left, but at least it was seen and Dick suggested moving my sight to the right. Then my fourth shot went just barely off the target at 9 o’clock – also a miss. I scored a zero on that first target.

Dick is a very accomplished shooter who has shot his way into the top 10 more than once at Quigley. He was more than helpful, in addition to offering some real inspiration. I don’t need to give a shot-by-shot accounting for the rest of the match, but I most certainly appreciated having Dick “on my side.”

MY HITS WERE recorded on all of the other targets and I will only give more details about the last two targets, which, for our group, were targets number one and number two.

Target number one is the full-sized buffalo at 805 yards. Just before I was about to shoot at the buffalo, Dick and I shared some comments about how much windage to use. He “sensed” the rate of the wind and direction, then recommended six minutes to the right. Then he asked what kind of bullets I was shooting, paper-patched or grease-groove. I was shooting grease-groove bullets and Dick said to give my sight two more minutes to the right, adding that paper-patched bullets “cut the wind” just a little better.

Those last two targets had strobe lights hooked up to them that flashed very noticeably after a hit. When I saw the lights flash after my first shot at 54

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

the buffalo, I was delighted, and Dick shouted, “A hit!” Then, in a quieter voice, Dick explained that I had hit the target on the “hind hoof.” That’s as close to a miss as you can get!

That called for another two minutes in elevation and two more minutes right windage. My second shot was also a hit but more windage was added for “security.” With Dick’s help, all of my shots at the 805-yard buffalo were hits.

On target number two, the 48inch octagon at 600 yards, I did even better. Those targets are all painted black with a white aiming point in the middle. My four shots at this target were more than simply all hits, they all hit in the white aiming point. That

made my day!

After such a bad start, I finished this 24-shot match with 13 hits. Just over half.

I would have been very happy to spot for Dick, to return his favor, but Dick brings his spotter with him most of the time. That’s his wife, Kristy. And Dick is very quick to say that she’s the best spotter he’s ever had.

At press time, the names of the winners had yet to be announced so I can’t congratulate anyone for their good shooting right now. If you are interested in seeing how the scores ran, by all means visit the Quigley website at quigleymatch.com to get those details, as well as the schedule for the Quigley match next year.

“Dakota” Dick Savage aims his .45-110 at the buffalo target, while wife Kristy spots his shots.

americanshootingjournal.com ame am a meeric m riicans an nsshoot n hootin hoo tiingjo ti g ourn gj nal. all.co a com om 55 om 55

56

American Shooting Journal // July 2018

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

PRS RESOURCE GUIDE Bolt Gun Series August August August August

4-5 11-12 18-19 24-25

Hawkins Precision High Altitude Shootout MPA Summer Shootout Kestrel Precision Shootout Lights Out 2018

Bloomfield, New Mexico Blakely, Georgia Berrardstown, West Virginia Ninnekah, Oklahoma

Lonestar Gasser

Kopperl, Texas

Gas Gun Series August 11-12

For more information visit www.precisionrifleseries.com

PARTS, ACCESSORIES & GEAR

See us on page 53

See us on page 55

See us on page 56

See us on page 57

See us on page 58

americanshootingjournal.com 57

58

American Shooting Journal // July 2018

women and guns

GOING STRONG

Catching up with shooter and trainer Kay Miculek.

STORY BY NANCY KEATON

K

ay Miculek, matriarch of the Miculek shooting family, was born into shooting. One might think that she came into it after marrying champion shooter Jerry Miculek. But she was raised by a dad who was a gunsmith and was himself a nationally ranked Bullseye shooter.

Miculek and her brother were on their high school rifle team. She moved away, but went back home to Louisiana in her 30s. Her brother suggested they shoot the Bianchi Cup, and that’s where she met Jerry.

They began traveling and shooting, having a wonderful time. Then a daughter, Lena, appeared late in life.

“I was almost 40,” says Miculek. “So Jerry and I had a decision to make.

Quit shooting or take Lena with us.”

It was an easy decision. Miculek homeschooled Lena and she traveled with them her whole childhood. “She was born into it more than I was,” laughs Miculek. She reports that Lena did some shooting, but didn’t take a big interest in it. Then when her parents told her she needed to get a job or go to school, she decided she wanted to do what her parents do. “She took to it well,” smiles Miculek.

Kay Miculek thrives on teaching other women how to shoot, including at Babes with Bullets courses held around the country. (KAY MICULEK)

MICULEK HAS TRAVELED AND competed for many years now. When asked how aging may affect a shooter, she replies, “Staying in some physical conditioning is important. The most different thing a person is going to run into is their eyesight, especially if you’re shooting iron sights. It’s a constant battle. At some point, there is no fix.”

“It’s not such an issue with a red dot, which is what I have used the most in my wins. But when I go to iron sights, it becomes an issue,” she explains. “I’m

actually amazed at how blurry my front sight can be. For 30 years I’ve taught ‘front sight, front sight, front sight.’ I got a prescription where I could see my front sights really clearly, but then I couldn’t see the long targets. I finally had to arrive at a happy medium.

Having a good set of fiber optic sights helps. It’s amazing how accurate you can be with a blurry sight.”

Miculek has some advice for other older women just starting to shoot. “Work on your eyes, your grip, your strength,

and your stamina. Even if you work hard to retain it, you’re going to lose some of it.

But shooting is so much about technique.

I had a doctor tell me once that the most important 6 inches in shooting is between your ears,” she laughs. “And it’s true, most of it is mental. Yes, upper body strength is an advantage. But years back I watched Valerie Levanza in a steel shooting championship. She’s so small, maybe 100 pounds soaking wet. Jerry and I watched her closely and Jerry was like, ‘My goodness, her arm is like three americanshootingjournal.com 59

women and guns of my fingers together.’ But it was all about her technique. Technique is more important than brute strength. You can overcome it.”

Miculek reports that she is crossdominant in her eyes, as she says is more common with women. “A lot of times, even if you’re not cross-dominant, I found that taping the non-dominant eye is a help. Again, women are different than men. About 40 percent of women are cross-dominant, only about 20 percent of men. I’ve asked my optometrist so many questions about this, but I can’t find anything related to male-female, but I know it is because I’ve seen it for 30 years. I also believe there are degrees of dominance. Some have strong dominance and some are more ‘wishy-washy.’ But you can train your dominant eye to be more dominant. Just tape a tiny piece of frosted tape over your shooting glasses on your non-dominant side to block the view when the sights are lined up right. You might have to

60

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

start off with a bigger piece of tape but by the end, the size of tape could be the size of your thumbnail. This will help train your dominant eye.”

ONE OF MICULEK’S BIG projects is Babes with Bullets (BWB), which holds handgun camps around the country, and a 3 Gun Challenge on her range on her property. It all started in 2004 when she was in Oregon at a USPSA National Match, vying with other women to go to the World Team Shoot the next year. Miculek wanted the group of ladies to get together at her range in Louisiana to practice and critique each other.

“But somehow it got around that I was having a big practice. All of a sudden, we had all these other ladies coming in. We had 24 people sign up,” she laughs. “Basically, it turned into coaching more than practicing.”

Deb Ferns showed up as the most inexperienced shooter. Afterwards she

went home to Arizona and continued shooting. Six months later, she asked Miculek about creating a training program to take to others. Now they hold eight to 10 camps around the U.S. Miculek’s advice to women is to be patient. She reports that at the BWB camps they have a lot of women over 40 years old, sometimes into their 60s, that have never shot a gun before in their lives. Sometimes they have been athletic in other ways, and lived a very athletic life. They can become frustrated because shooting well doesn’t happen immediately for them like other sports may have in the past.

But she starts them out with a .22, a caliber that’s not too large.

“We always start our camps with 100 rounds of .22 ammo so that they can get the technique without having to worry about the recoil. If they develop a flinch from recoil from starting with a higherpowered gun, it can be hard to ‘unlearn’ that,” she explains. She says a .22 is

americanshootingjournal.com 61

easy to use and build technique, trigger control, and sight picture. Miculek says a person can also simply start out with something like an air soft pistol, anything to get someone very confident before they move on. “And a lot of dry fire,” she says. “A lot of dry fire.”

The same advice goes for starting kids in shooting, according to Miculek.

For about 10 years, she and Jerry ran a junior USPSA camp for kids 12 to 18 years old. “Some of the younger kids were already shooting more gun than they could handle, so they had already built in that flinch reaction,” she says.

“Don’t go too big too soon.”

Babes with Bullets camps are for every skill level, from beginners to more experienced shooters who are trying to up their game. Participants are divided according to their skill level. “Whether you shoot a lot of matches or never touched a gun, we can help you,” Miculek smiles.

The handgun camps are different than most trainings. They are all female and they are all-inclusive including lodging, which is where a lot of the fun takes place. “We go back to the lodge or house and talk a lot. Women can ask questions, learn about cleaning guns, just talk or ask about anything. We can give them information about contacting a range near where they live. A lot of these ladies leave with new friends and stay in contact after the camp is over.

There’s a sisterhood there and some remain lifelong friends. A lot of ladies find out they’re only an hour away from each other. It’s a three-day experience, everybody should do it at least once.”

Miculek reports that several women have gone to the camps five and six times. “Sometimes they go out, shoot for awhile, and then want to come back to move up to the next level,” she explains.

UNFORTUNATELY, MICULEK HAS AN injury that’s prevented her from shooting a lot lately. But she can still fire a rifle, and a .22 is most comfortable for her. Even with the injury she can still teach, and she has great memories of helping other women get comfortable with a handgun.

62

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

The first memory that comes to her mind is a handgun camp in Montana a few years ago. A woman came who was in her late 70s and had never shot before at all. She was there mainly as support for her daughter, and she wasn’t quite sure she wanted to be there or whether she wanted to shoot.

“She struggled and struggled a lot and at one point did fine with the .22.

When we went to a 9mm, she struggled more. She was a little tiny lady, with not a lot of hand strength, and she started flinching really badly. I said, ‘Let’s put you back on a .22 tomorrow.’ The next morning I brought the .22 but she said, ‘You know what? I don’t want to shoot the .22, I want to go back to the 9.’ The next day we had a little mini USPSA match and the moment I remember most is when I ran her through a little stage.

She was slow but basically she got all her hits and went one-for-one on steel.

When she fired that last shot, everybody started hollering and clapping. She turned around and put the gun away, then started crying because she was so excited and didn’t think she could do it. I threw my arms around her and told her, ‘You are a winner no matter what.’ She really impressed me. That was a really good moment that sticks in my mind because she was one of the older ladies.

I know how hard it is for me to take up new sport, so for her to come at her age and really stick with it was terrific. It is harder when you’re older.”

When asked what her future plans are, Miculek says that she will be busy this year with a lot of camps, but will also be doing more private lessons at her range on her property. She says she’s usually not very active at her range because she’s often on the road, and she does still want to travel but she will only be competing in five major matches this year. But no matter what, Miculek will continue shooting and teaching, helping other women become comfortable with firearms – at any age.

Editor's note: For more on Kay Miculek's organization, see babeswithbullets.com.

americanshootingjournal.com 63

64 64

American A Ame meeric ric ican an Sho Sh Shooting h ot hooti ho ottiiing oti ng n g Jou J Jo Journal ou o urna rn rn na al // // July Ju ully uly ly 20 2018 0118 8

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

PRODUCT OF ITS ENVIRONMENT Man Gear holsters are made to withstand the extreme Alaskan elements.

PHOTOS BY MAN GEAR

R

ebecka Paniwozik, owner and founder of Man Gear, got into the firearms industry by happenstance.

Living with her family in Alaska, she was looking for a job where she could work from home and the company she applied to just happened to make holsters.

“The owner, who is now deceased, took me under his wing and taught me about making the original holsters, (which) I still make,” says Paniwozik.

She also developed a newer holster design with her husband and a good friend, a former Vietnam veteran Marine and retired law enforcement officer.

They tested the design in the field and then received two patents for it.

Thus, Man Gear was born.

“I believed in the product and the idea due to (my family’s) lifestyle,” Paniwozik explains. “My husband is a registered guide and we raised our children out in the bush during the fishing and hunting seasons here in Alaska. With the need to always be armed – whether you are just going to the outhouse, gathering up a string of horses 3 miles away from the lodge, or taking a nap on a hot summer day in a cabin with an open door (there is a personal bear encounter in this comment) – I realized that the chest holster was a perfect way (especially for a woman) to carry a sidearm.”

Made from high-quality materials and sourced in the U.S. whenever possible, Man Gear’s rugged, durable chest holsters are made in Alaska to withstand the extreme Alaskan climate.

“Our black fabrics are the heaviest made in the market, and our colors are just one grade below this since they

are not made in the 1680 denier like the black,” says Paniwozik. “All of our webbing is Mil-Spec and our buckles and D-rings are the highest strength and quality to stand up to being resistant, even at the coldest temperatures when other composite materials tend to get brittle and crack and shatter. We use waterproof inner materials so that the holsters can get soaked and still not affect the structure of the holster, in addition to using a thread that has a UV coating so that the threads will not get worn by the intense sunlight we get on our long, intense, Alaskan summer days.”

Not only are the holsters durable in the Alaskan extremes, but they are comfortable too. And they are flexible, often accommodating more than one model of gun in the same holster.

Paniwozik adds that many customers appreciate the freedom of movement with this design. “They have their gun placed where it is close and highly accessible without getting in the way of their sides, range of motion, or arm movements,” she says.

“Many customers mention that they often begin to realize that they are aware that they have their gun, but almost forget about carrying it in the holster because it moves with them so nicely.”

Man Gear offers a few different styles of holsters, including the original “Ultimate” design that Paniwozik learned from her former boss, as well as the newer Gen2-MTU line, which she says has actually overtaken the original design in sales. The Gen2-MTU line, designed for semiautomatic pistols, is made out of the same high-quality materials that the Ultimate is made from, with only a few changes made to hardware to achieve the tactical look and feel.

Whether hunting, fishing or riding, the Man Gear chest holster is durable yet comfortable, with freedom of movement and easy accessibility.

Paniwozik is proud to make Man Gear products in America, and especially in Alaska, where she can create jobs in her own community.

“We believe in America and strive to keep our products the highest quality as we grow,” she says. “Our goods are still handmade by individual people in our community. Customer service is a top priority, along with making a durable product that consumers can depend on to do the job they expect the product to do.”

Editor’s note: For more information, visit mangearalaska.com. americanshootingjournal.com 65

CONCEALED CARRY

Adjustable Cant Can n 0-15 degree d

Adj justable e Adjustable Retention

Custom Colors Custom Options Fast Turn Around Times!

815-290-9866 WWW.RAMHOLSTER.COM

Weapons Carry Solutions LIFETIME WARRANTY

GearcraftHolsters.com

+

706-867-6212

LEO/MILITARY DISCOUNT

+

MADE IN THE USA

450 North Grove St, Suite C • Dahlonega, GA 30533

CONCEALED CARRY

NEWWERKZ M6

Clearance For slide mounted optics

Included 1.5” belt clip Adjustable for straight drop or canted, or deep carry

Lifetime Gaurantee

Included claw Helps rotate the pistol into the body for better concealment

Modular Mounting System Allows for optional tuckable hooks or struts with snap straps

Adjustable Retention Precision Fit Using 3D scans of the actual pistol and precision molding techniques

IWB Holster

Supports Tall sights and threaded barrels

• Your

holster source for pistols with lights or lasers

• Custom holsters: 200+ pistols, 60+ lights & lasers • Quick ship holsters for common configurations • Hand crafted in Idaho

855-937-5901

Use coupon code ASJ for 10% Off at: www.werkz.com

CUSTOM KYDEX HOLSTERS & GEAR

THE ORIGINAL LIGHT & LASER SPECIALISTS www.multiholsters.com 1-734-392-7630

CONCEALED CARRY FURY CARRY SOLUTIONS Comes standard as OWB, but can be converted to IWB. Features a full sweat guard and N]TT \ZQOOMZ O]IZL KW^MZIOM 5WTLML \W aW]Z [XMKQÅK ÅZMIZU IVL ITTW_[ MI[a one-handed reholstering. Handcrafted in the USA and backed by a limited lifetime warranty. » www.furycarrysolutions.com

GEARCRAFT HOLSTERS The Solo V2 is Gearcraft’s latest inside-the-waistband holster featuring adjustable ride height for ultimate comfort, is tuckable for complete concealment and has a minimalist design. » www.gearcraftholsters.com

HANDGUN GRIPS Now that summer is here, update your holster with lightweight material.

Check out Handgun Grips’ selection of Techna Clip, which attach to a variety of pistols and revolvers, eliminating the need for a holster. Handgun Grips also stocks a variety of leather holsters made by Don Hume and nylon holsters made by Ace Case. » www.handgungrips.com

TAP RACK HOLSTERS Tap Rack Holsters manufactures premium, American-made Kydex holsters. With decades of experience and customer input, their detailed handmade holsters are built to last. » www.taprackholsters.com

PRECISION HOLSTERS The Ultra Carry’s patented design offers unique features to provide you with a higher level of comfort T IIVL KWVÅLMVKM ?Q\PQV Q\[ LM[QOV aW] _QTT ÅVL KWUNWZ\ NZWU Q\[ XZMUQ]U TMI\PMZ JIKSQVO KWVKMITUMV\ from its engineered shell and the adjustable clips will provide height and cant adjustments.

The overall functionality will allow for a more consistent grip, resulting in a faster draw process. » www.precisionholsters.com

KANGAROO CARRY 3IVOIZWW +IZZa 44+ XZW^QLM[ \PM PQOPM[\ Y]ITQ\a KWVKMITML KIZZa ÅZMIZU PWT[\MZ[ used by law enforcement, military and legally licensed civilians since 1996. All holster models are available in seven sizes ranging from 31 to 60 inches and left and right hand. » www.kangaroocarry.com

GALLERY COVERT CARRIER <PM +W^MZ\ +IZZQMZ .I[\MVMZ KIV JM ILLML \W I O]V _Q\P I ZMUW^IJTM OZQX 1\ ITTW_[ LMMX KIZZa 1?* _Q\PW]\ I PWT[\MZ KI[M WZ XW]KP » www.covertcarrier.com

ULTICLIP =T\QKTQX ZMXTIKM[ [\IVLIZL PWT[\MZ KTQX[ 1\[ XI\MV\ XMVLQVO LM[QOV ITTW_[ Ã&#x2026;ZMIZU W_VMZ[ \W KIZZa _Q\P OZMI\MZ ZM\MV\QWV I [UITTMZ NWW\XZQV\ NWZ QVKZMI[ML KWVKMITUMV\ IVL UI`QU]U ^MZ[I\QTQ\a 1\ KIV JM _WZV _Q\PW]\ I JMT\ IVL Q[ [MK]ZM _PMV KTQXXML QV I XWKSM\ JIKSXIKS WZ X]Z[M » www.ulticlip.com

WER WERKZ <PM QVKP JMT\ KTQX Q[ ILR][\IJTM NWZ [\ZIQOP\ LZWX WZ KIV\ML WZ LMMX KIZZa +TI_ PMTX[ ZW\I\M \PM XQ[\WT QV\W \PM <PM < PM J JWLa JWLa NWZ JM\\MZ KWVKMITUMV\ 5WL]TIZ PWTM[ ITTW_ NWZ WX\QWVIT \]KSIJTM PWWS[ WZ [\Z]\[ _Q\P [VIX [\ZIX[ ;]XXWZ\ NWZ \ITT [QOP\[ IVL \PZMILML JIZZMT[ [\IVLIZL +TMIZIVKM NWZ [TQLM UW]V\ML WX\QK[ )LR][\IJTM ZM\MV\QWV NW 8ZMKQ[QWV Ã&#x2026;\ ][QVO , [KIV[ WN \PM IK\]IT XQ[\WT IVL XZMKQ[QWV UWTLQVO \MKPVQY]M[ 4QNM\QUM O]IZIV\MM 8Z

» www.werkz.com

RAM HOLSTERS 1?* 3aLM` 0WT[\MZ LM[QOVML Ja -,+ )XXMVLQ` PQX WZ [UITT WN JIKS 4W_ XZWÃ&#x2026;TM LM[QOV )LR][\IJTM KIV\ IVOTM )LR][\IJTM ZM\MV\QWV 5ILM NZWU QVL][\Za [\IVLIZL 3aLM` 4MN\ PIVL UWLMT[ I^IQTIJTM M » www.ramholster.com

WRIGHT LEATHERWORKS WOR WORKS <PM 8ZMLI\WZ Q[ IV 7?* XIVKISM [\aTM JMT\ [TQLM PWT[\MZ LM[QOVML \W KWUNWZ\IJTa PWTL \QOP\Ta \W <PM 8 8 aaW] aW]Z JWLa -`\ZMUMTa TW_ XZWÃ&#x2026;TM IVL [TQU NWZ MI[a KWVKMITUMV\ 4QSM ITT WN ?ZQOP\ 4MI\PMZ_WZS[ Z PWT[\MZ[ Q\ IT[W NMI\]ZM[ I K][\WU K]\ JWLa [PQMTL \PI\ Ã&#x2026;\[ aW]Z [XMKQÃ&#x2026;ML O]V IVL _QTT VW\ P QV\MZNMZM _Q\P aW]Z LZI_ » www.wrightleatherworks.com

AMERICAN AMERI AM I MOUNTAIN SUPPLY ;\aTQ[P N]TTa TQVML X]Z[M _Q\P QV\MZQWZ XWKSM\[ IVL [PW]TLMZ [\ZIX )UJQLM`\ZW][ M`\MZQWZ XWKSM\ Ã&#x2026;\[ KWUXIK\ WZ []JKWUXIK\ PIVLO]V[ QV IV ILR][\IJTM ZMUW^IJTM PWT[\MZ )^IQTIJTM QV VQVM XI\\MZV[ 8IZ\ WN I N]TT TQVM WN ++? IKKM[[WZQM[ » www.americanmountainsupply.com

CONCEALED CARRY

CARRY CONFIDENT

CARRY FURY

www.furycarrysolutions.com

(865) 551-9058

MADE BY HAND MADE WITH PRIDE MADE IN AMERICA Fury Carry Solutions offers OWB & IWB options for over 100 handguns. Standard & light bearing options are available and include a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

All FURY products are proudly made in the USA. FULL LINE OF SOFT SIDED, WATER PROOF WEAPONS CASES, HOLSTERS, & CONCEALED CARRY PRODUCTS

RedCliff Concealed Carry Purse â&#x20AC;&#x201C; P01 This Concealed Carry Purse is available in several patterned fabrics, suitable for right- or left-handed shooters with the Ć&#x201C; UHDUP FRPSDUWPHQW EHLQJ DF cessible by a zipper on either side.

The purse also features a built-in adjustable hook/loop holster, with a fully lined interior.

SBR Case Short and wide design for AR pistols, short barreled rifles, and VXEPDFKLQH JXQV )HDWXUHV WZR anchor points for your weapon, a divider and internal stretch PDJD]LQH ORRSV VL]HG IRU ULIOH PDJD]LQHV %HHI\ <.. =LS SHU 6XEPDFKLQH JXQ YHUVLRQ KDV PDJD]LQH ORRSV VL]HG IRU PP PDJD]LQHV $YDLODEOH WR ILW ZHDSRQ OHQJWKV RI and 32 inch.

AMPHIBIAN DRY BAG FIREARM CASES 7KHVH ZDWHUSURRI Ć&#x201C; UHDUP FDVHĹ?V IHDWXUH D VWLIIHQHG UROO WRS FORVXUH WR create a watertight seal. Three fold/rolls, then buckle shut, and all water is NHSW RXW 7KH FDVH FRPHV ZLWK D WKLFNO\ SDGGHG LQWHULRU OLQHU VOHHYH PDGH ZLWK KHDY\ GXW\ FRDWHG Q\ORQ IDEULF DQG RQH LQFK WKLFN UHERXQGLQJ IRDP 7KLV LQWHUQDO XQLW SURWHFWV \RXU Ć&#x201C; UHDUP IURP LPSDFWV DQG DOVR SURWHFWV WKH LQVLGH RI $PSKLELDQĹ?V H[WHULRU IURP VKDUS HGJHV RI \RXU Ć&#x201C; UHDUP $YDLODEOH LQ IRXU ULĹ´ H VL]HV DQG RQH SLVWRO VL]H

Visit us at: www.AmericanMountainSupply.com USE CODE â&#x20AC;&#x153;ASJ18â&#x20AC;? TO RECEIVE 20% OFF YOUR ORDER OR USE CODE â&#x20AC;&#x153;ASJ18Aâ&#x20AC;? TO RECEIVE 30% OFF AMPHIBIAN DRY BAG CASES offer valid until September 30, 2018

CONTACT US:

800-368-4267 | sales@americanmountainsupply.com

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

THAT PERFECT FIT

Fury Carry Solutions makes custom holsters for 100-plus handguns, as well as those that are accessory-rich.

PHOTOS BY FURY CARRY SOLUTIONS

B

ased in Knoxville, Tennessee, since 2010, Fury Carry Solutions specializes in Kydex holsters, mag carriers and accessories for law enforcement and civilian use.

Each product is custom-made and handcrafted to the customer’s specifications, a quality that founder Nick Allen takes great pride in.

“There are tons of holster options and materials available on the market.

Some function as advertised, but most fall short,” he explains. “This is why most gun owners have the infamous ‘holster box’ loaded up with holsters that never made the cut. If a guy has a threaded barrel, suppressor sights and an oversized slide release on his gun, chances are most of the big box holster options aren’t going to work. If a lady sets her self-defense gun up with a mounted light or laser, it gets even harder to find a holster, especially if the goal is to carry it concealed.”

He continues, “Our holsters are handcrafted one at a time, to the customer’s specific needs for a specific firearm.

We can build holsters for over 100 handguns and over a dozen light/laser setups. We currently have six different ‘series’ of holsters to choose from where you pick the color, mounting attachments, and inside or outside the waistband carry. We can accommodate aftermarket sights, threaded barrels, and even some compensators. The customer gets a holster that fits their gun and personality.”

Every shooter is different, and their wants, needs, and intended usage differ greatly too. “It may be for concealed

carry, competition or hunting. You may wear it to work every day as part of your job and certain requirements have to be met,” says Allen. “Nine times out of 10, we can build it for you.”

Allen says that shooters love the wide array of options that Fury Carry Solutions offers, as well as the company’s attention to detail. “We build most of our fixtures, molds and presses in-house,” he explains. “This truly allows us to fine-tune the finished product.

The edges on our gear are all blended and polished. We still sand and polish most of our holsters by hand. Yes, it’s old fashioned and yes, it’s time-consuming work. But it makes for a more refined and finished product. As the old saying goes, ‘Great work is never cheap, and cheap work is never great.’”

Next up for Fury Carry Solutions is a new Hybrid holster with a Kydex “shell” and a nylon polymer “backer,” which will be released soon. “This new ‘Hybrid Series’ holster is lightweight, flexible, breathable and extremely customizable,” says Allen. “We will also be releasing our new ‘Duty Series’ holster soon for our law enforcement customers. So be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram pages for those releases.”

When asked if he had anything else to add, Allen posed a question for the readers: “I guess I would rather ask your readers to ask themselves these questions about their current holster.

Was it made specifically for your exact firearm? Does it fully cover the trigger guard? Does it protect the full length of the firearm? Is it stable, meaning can you run, jump, and fall over without it flopping around? Can you

Fury Carry Solutions specializes in custom-made, handcrafted Kydex holsters, mag carriers and accessories for law enforcement and civilian use.

do all those activities without holding the gun in the holster? Does your holster allow you to reholster one-handed, clear a stovepipe or rack the slide? If it can’t, you really need to ask yourself if this is a safe holster for me to use in a life or death situation. Can you trust it to perform? If you have any doubts about its capabilities to perform when you need it the most, you shouldn’t be using it. Your gun, holster and belt are all part of one weapon system.

Do your research, and buy true, quality products. And, if that product happens to be a Fury Carry Solutions holster, we’ll thank you for your business and you can take confidence that you will receive a serious product that doesn’t cut any corners.”

Editor’s note: For more information, visit furycarrysolutions.com. americanshootingjournal.com 71

For 28 years SmartCarry® the Invisible Holster™ has provided high quality, comfortable and practical deep concealment holsters.

With a patented snag-free draw and sweat-proof back, wear SmartCarry® just about anywhere, with any clothing or activity.

See our new website

www.smartcarry.com (727) 581-7001

AVAILABLE NOW IN LEATHER AND MULTIPLE COLORS. 7U\ RXU QHZ PRUH FRPSDFW 6LQJOH 3RFNHW 0RGHO 72

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

ROAD HUNTER

CALLING BLACK BEARS

Black bears respond to calls in many different ways, which is why being able to watch them through an entire calling sequence is helpful. (JOHN HINDERMAN)

It’s not for everyone and does take some basic strategies, but once a bruin responds, ‘you’ll discover why so many people are becoming addicted to the thrills’ of calling them in.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT HAUGEN

ith August comes the opening of some of the earliest big game hunts in North America, namely, black bear. These bruins can be hunted in many places, many ways throughout the fall months, but when it comes to pure adrenaline, no approach comes

W

close to the thrill of calling in a bear.

I’ve been fortunate to call in many bears over the years, and one thing I’ve learned is that you never know how such a hunt will unfold. It’s this level of uncertainty that creates the excitement, and when you know the animal you’re calling is approaching with the intent to kill, the playing field takes on a whole new level of intensity.

THE SOUNDS When calling black bears, let the season and terrain dictate where and how you call. What predator sound you choose to make to lure in a bear should be indicative of the food sources available in the area at the time, but with bears, that’s not always the case.

While predator distress calls, wounded woodpecker cries and americanshootingjournal.com 73

ROAD HUNTER This little hand-held call has brought multiple bears to within shooting range for the author, including this bruin.

HANDCRAFTED IN THE USA Leather Conceal Carry Bags & Purses

PO Box 3273, Lynchburg, VA 24503 434-386-7854 AlfordDesignsLimited@gmail.com | www.Etsy.com/shop/AlfordDesignsLTD | www.PaulaAlford.com

74

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

screaming bunny noises can work year-round, more species-specific sounds can increase the odds of bringing a bear to the call.

For instance, in one of my black bear haunts, I know elk are present year-round, so calf and cow elk sounds can be very productive. If you’re a bowhunter, consider using elk decoys, like those made by Montana Decoy, to help capture the attention of an approaching bear and bring it within close shooting range.

Where bear densities are high, and competition for boars to breed is intense, bear cub distress sounds can also work very well during the late spring and early summer months.

The bear’s rut usually starts in late May and extends into July. Boars are known to kill newborn cubs in an attempt to bring a sow into estrus.

In early fall, fawns and elk calves have bigger lungs, so they can make louder sounds than when they first hit the ground in late spring. This is also the time of the elk rut, and vocalization

TAP RACK HOLSTERS Hand Built For Hardcore Use (559) 478-5475 www.taprackholsters.com Tap Rack Holsters is a leading provider of premium American-made gun holsters and knife sheaths. Our products are the result of 40 plus years of combined experience in the military and law enforcement field using American made materials. Every Tap Rack holster and sheath is hand crafted using extreme care, precision and built to last because weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re dedicated to providing premium quality products our customers can rely on.

DPREMIUM QUALITY DFULLY FUNCTIONAL DLIFETIME WARRANTY DCUSTOM BUILDS DBUILT FOR EXTREME USE DMADE IN AMERICA DBUILT WITH AMERICAN MATERIALS AND PARTS DMADE BY AMERICANS AND VETERANS

americanshootingjournal.com 75

ROAD HUNTER among herds, especially cows and calves, is high. Hunters looking to call in bears stand a good chance of doing so with the simple sounds of calf and cow elk talk during the months of August and September.

THE CALLS How long to call depends on the situation.

If cold-calling – that is, calling without first seeing a bear – I’ll call almost steady for a solid 45 to 60 minutes; longer if there’s a lot of fresh sign in the area, which makes me confident bears are near. This is because sometimes bears take their own sweet time coming to the call. Other times they’ll charge in, seconds after hearing the first call.

You never know how a bear will respond.

My goal is to keep their interest, whether I can see the bear I’m calling or not, and constantly making sounds helps achieve this when cold-calling.

When bears are pulled out of dense cover into the open, they sometimes move very cautiously.

This is where switching up calls can make a difference. Maybe a cow elk call brought the bruin from thick cover, but it may take an alluring bird distress sound to pull the bear to within shooting range or more into the open.

Because calling can last so long, an electronic call is the best way to go. Be sure and check state regulations on the use of electronic calls for bear hunting. Don’t be afraid to switch up calls, as often variety is the key to attracting bears. Electronic calls are also nice, as they can be used handsfree with a remote control.

THE SET-UP Prior to calling, it’s ideal if you can first see a bear. Being able to observe how a bear reacts to your calls is the best way to learn what sounds they like and don’t like. I compare calling bears to dealing with teenagers in that you never know what kind of response you’ll get, and oftentimes what you see makes absolutely no sense.

Some sounds are met with 76

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

Black bears live in big, rugged country, and spotting one before calling can save a lot of time.

eagerness, others go totally ignored.

Sometimes a bear hears a call, starts coming in aggressively, then loses interest and wanders off in another direction for no apparent reason.

Sometimes a bear won’t even lift its head to acknowledge the sound, despite the fact that you know it can hear you.

Being able to see how a bear reacts to your calls will help you learn so much about their behavior. A bear’s inconsistent behavior is the most volatile factor hunters deal with when calling.

Often, hunters must change their volume, sound and even position to keep a bear’s interest level piqued.

When a bear is located, try setting up in a crosswind or downwind from the bear, so when it approaches, the likelihood of picking up your scent is less.

If calling bears across an opening, set up in the shadows of trees or bushes.

Bears don’t have the greatest eyesight,

but I think it’s better than what many people give them credit for.

I think a bear’s poor eyesight is often misconstrued for their lack of fear.

They are at the top of the food chain in the wild, and seeing a human might not always rattle them. When a bear does approach, keep movements very slow and to a minimum.

Calling from treestands and ground blinds does work, but don’t let them tie you down. Try staying mobile, using natural cover for a blind. If only sparse cover exists, break some branches and create your own blind, as it doesn’t take much foliage to break up a hunter’s outline.

The closer a bear comes, the more important it is to maintain composure and keep movement to a minimum.

This is where having a diaphragm call comes in handy, allowing you to make hands-free sounds to either

ROAD HUNTER bring the bear in those final few yards, or stop him for a broadside shot if you’re bowhunting.

What I’ve found is that it’s usually the boars that respond to calls. These more aggressive members of the species have big appetites, and finding food is atop their priority list much of the year, whereas sows are more leery and protective of cubs.

Mind you, that’s not to say sows won’t come to the call; they will. On more than one occasion I’ve had an aggressive bear come busting through the brush, only to find a plump sow.

Dry sows – those no longer breeding – will also come to the call.

If you can’t see a bear before calling to it, fresh sign, like this track, is the next best thing to letting you know a bear is in the area.

THE CHALLENGES As summer progresses, insects make up a large part of a bear’s diet in some of their ranges. When bears yearn for these protein sources, they will cover more ground, too. This means predator

calling during the months of August and September can be very effective, as bears are hungry and covering a lot of ground.

With the onset of fall, a variety of berries also begin to ripen. Personally, I’ve had no success using calls to pull bears off berry patches. All that fruit – or even piles of acorns – can simply be too much competition for the predator caller, and a much easier food source for bears to attain. Don’t spend too much time trying to convince bears that chasing down wounded prey is better than munching on berries, nuts, apples or pears, because it rarely works.

Then again, if you can intercept bears as they move to and from these food sources, you have a chance of bringing them to the call.

Black bears can live up to 30 years, and the older they get, the wiser they become. Targeting old, wise bears is a thrill, and if you can call one of these brutes into range, it’s one of big game hunting’s greatest accomplishments.

Xtreme Components for the Xtreme Builder Gas Blocks and Tubes • Charging Handles Forward Assist Kits • Bolt Carrier Groups Dust Covers • Muzzle Devices • Pistol Grips Anti Rotation Kits • Buffer Tubes and Springs AXCTACTICAL.COM • sales@axctactical.com • 480-924-5200 78

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 79

Author Scott Haugen has hunted bears for many years, and ranks calling them to within shooting range atop his list of favorite hunts in the world.

Precise shot placement on bears is important. A broadside shot is the best to take, ensuring both lungs receive penetration. A bear that’s well hit may go less than 10 yards before expiring. One that’s hit poorly can travel miles.

When a bear presents a broadside shot, imagine bisecting the bear in half, moving your point of aim 4 inches forward, and shoot for the middle of the body. If the lighting is good and you can see definition of the front shoulder, follow the inside crease of the leg to the middle of the body, and shoot.

THRLL OF THE HUNT When calling bears, you’re never certain how the hunt will unfold. But it’s this unpredictability, this level of danger, that creates the thrill. I’ve been fortunate to have taken over 50 bears – black, grizzly and polar – through various methods and never tire of going one-on-one with these big predators.

Due to the nature of calling bears, maintaining one’s composure is crucial, both for bringing a bear to within range, especially bow range, and for being able to place a shot with pinpoint accuracy. Calling bears is not for everyone, but if you’re up for it, once a bear comes in you’ll discover why so many people are becoming addicted to the thrills and challenges of this hunting style.

Editor’s note: To learn how to skin bears and other big game, check out Scott Haugen’s popular DVD Field Dressing, Skinning and Caping Big Game. Order at scotthaugen.com, or send a check for $20.00 to Haugen Enterprise, P.O Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489.

80

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 81

Dragoon 5.56mm, 7.62mm CQB & 7.62mm Rifle Suppressors

Dragoon Suppressors Freedom Armory Machine Works is proud to introduce the revolutionary Dragoon 7.62 suppressors configured in both Direct Att ach (DA) and Quick Detach (QD) models utilizing Total Breakdown Technology (TBT). In a market where heavy, welded, non-serviceable designs are the norm; the Dragoon distinguishes itself with an all Titanium takedown design. The use of rimfi re ammunition in welded suppressors causes a buildup of lead and other contaminates that can never be cleaned out. Freedom Armory Machine Works design with TBT allows the user to remove, clean and service ALL components.

The Dragoon suppressors are machined from solid Titanium bar stock that eliminates any welds/failure points. Th is aspect of the design creates an extremely durable and light weight suppressor that can be serviced down to the piece parts. Top rated sound reduction is achieved across the entire caliber range of each respective suppressor creating a truly universal suppressor for your many caliber needs.

Dragoon Benefits • TBT allows 100% of the parts to be disassembled for easy cleaning.

• 7.62 is rated from .22LR thru .300 Wby Mag. • Extreme strength/durability achieved by machining the body from solid Titanium Bar. • Superior db Reduction across entire caliber range.

• Field strip and assemble with standard tools.

• Proprietary fl ash hider/QD mount creates rock solid, fast and light weight (Titanium) lock-up.

• Robust mounting system allows one handed installation or removal in 2 seconds.

• 1.375” Diameter • DA model is 11.5 oz and QD Model is 12.9 oz in weight.

PREMIUM TITANIUM RIFLE SUPPRESSORS (717) 227-9060 • Suppressors@famachineworks.com • www.famachineworks.com 82

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

SUPPRESSOR GALLERY GEMTECH M Model: Aurora II Length: 3.4 inches Le Caliber: 9mm/.380 ACP Cal Mount: Thread mount (½x28 and 13.5x1mm LH)

Weight: 3.5 ounces Decibel: 135 decibels Material: 7075-T5 aluminum MSRP: $399 More info: www.gemtech.com

SPIKE'S TACTICAL Mo Model: Buckwheat .22LR Suppressor Length: 6 inches Len Cal Calibers: .22 LR, .22 Mag, .17 HMR Mount: ½x28 threaded Mo Wei Weight: 3.3 ounces

Sound reduction: 38 to 42 decibels Materials: Titanium and 7075 aluminum MSRP: $279 More info: www.spikestactical.com

americanshootingjournal.com 83

84 8 4

American Ame A Am me m eri rric i a an nS Sh Sho Shooting ho hoot oti o ttiing ing ng Jou Journal ou urna al // // A August ug u ugu gust gu st 2 2018 20 201 01118 0 8

HUNTing Author Jim Sessions’ wife Lynn with the bull elk she took during a rut hunt in October 2016 with a 425-yard shot out of her Best of the West Hunter Elite 6.5x284 topped with a Huskemaw 4-16x42 scope. It was the first of three successful hunts with four tags filled that season that Sessions was a part of.

MORE THAN A MILE OF SMILES

With ‘the Huskemaw advantage’ working for them, four long-range elk hunters tagged out on bulls a combined 1,864 yards out in the high country of Wyoming.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY JIM SESSIONS

y wife Lynn and I headed into a remote mountain drainage on a hunt that had all the elements for a successful adventure. Those included time spent prescouting the area, discovery of two distinct game trails converging in a high mountain saddle, a great limited quota tag and a season that opened October 1. However, the kicker was that she had what we call “the Huskemaw advantage.”

I have broken this article into three separate adventures that I was a part of during the fall of 2016. Lynn’s hunt was

m

the ice-breaker for an incredible season of hunting bull elk in the high country of the Absaroka Range of northwestern Wyoming. The first hunt was during the annual rut, or breeding season, the second was in the post-rut, and the third was in the late season, mid-November, when the majority of bulls and cow/ calf groups had separated. Common denominators of these three hunts included hunting the same general area of the unit and all hunters had longrange/precision capability via Best of the West shooting systems. The major differences were that we strategically hunted different drainages and set up spike camps based on weather forecasts

and information collected from previous hunts.

Let’s start with the first hunt of the season, with the aspen having turned color and the bulls screaming.

THE RUT We planned our hunting strategy soon after Lynn learned she had drawn a coveted limited-quota tag for any elk.

I had spent 10 days in the area guiding a sheep hunter and was excited with both the quality and quantity of elk observed. We loaded up two horses and two mules on September 29 for an arduous 8-mile ride into God’s country. After peeling off the main americanshootingjournal.com 85

HUNTing route, we followed game trails down drainage and finally summited a ridgeline that gave us a commanding view of the high mountain saddle – the travel corridor we had discovered.

With an evening and full day to scout and observe elk activity, we set up camp and tethered out our stock. That evening and the following day we were treated to a wildlife spectacle normally seen only in national parks. The rut was in full swing and several mature bulls were bugling their challenges across the mountain parkland.

Dawn of opening morning was an elk hunter’s dream, as we quietly boiled coffee and ate breakfast. We didn’t have far to reach our hunting area. A 30-yard walk gave us the view we needed for covering the two trails mentioned at the start of this tale. Bulls were bugling in the drainage directly below our location and several groups dotted the surrounding open slopes.

All we had to do was glass, listen and prepare for the shot. We experienced an absolutely perfect day in the field without firing a shot. We glassed several mature bulls, just nothing Lynn wanted to hang her tag on.

The second morning dawned very similar to the first, with bulls and cows moving throughout the area.

About 9 a.m., a deep growly bugle pierced the morning stillness in the thick timber below our location. I cow called from our location and the game was on. The bull sounded off every 10 seconds as I continued mewing in his direction. At the same time, a heavy symmetrical 6x6 began herding his cows in the direction of the high saddle. As we turned in the direction of the screaming bull, he broke cover and stood looking directly at us from 40 yards. Lynn decided the heavy 6x6 was the bull of choice.

This is where the Huskemaw advantage comes into play. I ranged the bull at 426 yards directly across from our location. The bull was moving upslope toward the saddle we had set up on. Lynn had previously set up her prone tripod and quickly acquired the 86

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

Chuck McCoy (left), owner of Flatline Ops, the author, and Shane Gerhardt (right), Huskemaw Optics sales manager, pose with Chuck’s 8x6 bull, taken on the second hunt with a 500-yard shot.

bull in her scope. I called out 426 yards with no wind. She dialed the Huskemaw 4-16x42 scope to 425 yards and prepared for the shot. As her Best of the West Hunter Elite 6.5x284 broke the morning stillness, the bull immediately began to waver and fell on the mountain slope.

It was that quick, that simple and that lethal. Lynn has complete confidence in her shooting system, which had allowed us to set up our spike camp on a secluded ridge and effectively hunt right from camp. We had previously ranged several locations out to 800 yards, which is her self-imposed maximum shooting distance for hitting a vital area on an elk-sized animal.

POST-RUT Following Lynn’s hunt we assembled our gear and stock for the second elk hunt of the season. We had two highquality elk tags and a lot of country to hunt. Chuck McCoy, owner of Flatline Ops, and Shane Gerhardt, Huskemaw Optics sales manager, held the coveted tags. Myself and Best of the West’s hunting show videographer/video editor Terence Knudsen completed our high country team. We headed into the far reaches of the Absaroka Range and set up our spike camp as intermittent snow blew through the country.

Our first morning dawned clear and cold, with high expectations from all.

We rode into a deep pocket of timber and climbed out on a ridgeline that afforded expansive views of several drainages. The lack of recent elk sign and no bugling was concerning. A heavy snowstorm during the last week of September seemed to have pushed most of the elk out of the high country.

We decided to hang tough, tied our stock in a sheltered location, and set up for a day of intense glassing.

We glassed for several hours, spotting scattered elk herds at a great distance and a band of four rams. The afternoon shadows began to cloak the various ridges, ravines and timbered pockets. I continued to glass from our location and turned back to the west, glassing the edge of a deeply timbered ridge. As I scanned the edge, a mature blond bull materialized in my Huskemaw binoculars. After literally hours of glassing, the bull just popped into my sight picture, or so it seemed.

This bull had a unique rack with a secondary main beam on his right side for an 8x6 antler configuration. This is the point where being calm and having a simple method to compensate for the distance and wind comes into play.

I will attempt to describe the events

HUNTing leading up to the actual shot.

Two of our crew were having a late-afternoon siesta, so I whispered to Shane that I had spotted a big bull and that Chuck should get set up.

Terence was quickly up and had the camera running. I had a confirmed range of 500 yards with minimal wind and had dialed in my Leica spotting scope. This all took about 30 seconds but it seemed like 30 minutes. The bull was facing us and continued to shake and scratch his back with his antlers.

After about 20 minutes, the bull finally turned broadside and Chuck sent a Hornady 175 ELD-X into his vitals.

As we rode up to the bull, I knew Chuck was in for a pleasant surprise.

With sun setting, we quickly field dressed the bull and propped him up to cool in the mountain air. Chuck went into the shot with full confidence, making a 500-yard shot look easy. The next morning we butchered the bull where he lay and packed the boned meat, cape and antlers to camp.

We continued hunting for Shane’s bull but couldn’t find what he was looking for and did not kill one on our hunt. On the last day of the season, Shane headed solo into the high country and killed a beautiful 6x6 bull at 162 yards off-hand, further demonstrating the versatility of the Huskemaw scope.

LATE SEASON This was the last elk hunt of the year and one that I was really looking forward to. On this hunt were my son Scott, son-in-law Peter, and good friend JR Ramsey with his daughter Cloe. Scott and Cloe held the coveted tags. The major determining factors for this hunt were the weather and accumulated snowpack. We continued watching the weather and confirmed a four-day window for November 12-15.

We were in luck, as the forecast called for clear and cold conditions.

We loaded up nine head of horses and mules, which would carry the five of us and our gear into the high country.

Several hours later and 9 miles in, we 88

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

Sessions, his hunting partners and their mules and horses head along a ridge during the third hunt.

The author’s son Scott and son-in-law Peter with Scott’s bull, taken at 550 yards.

set up camp on a high plateau affording us a grand view of the surrounding mountains. We had two hours before dark to meticulously pick apart the country looking for the telltale yellow glow of mature bulls feeding. In short order, several bulls were spotted from our high country camp.

The next morning, spotting bulls was the first thing on our agenda.

After breakfast we broke camp, packed up and headed down drainage into the core of the unit. The biggest bulls were on the south side of the divide feeding on the cured grass of late fall. No established trail existed, so we picked our way down elk trails into the drainage bottom. We located

good feed and water for our stock and our second camp was set. That night we rode a ridgeline trail to a location that gave Scott and Cloe a good position for both shooting prone and glassing the area holding the bulls.

We spotted several bulls within range of our young hunters. Fading light was a big issue, as we were hunting in grizzly-infested country. At last light we crept back to our horses and traversed down the slope to camp.

The next morning we left camp and were in position before sunrise. We quickly glassed eight bulls from 389 to 1,100 yards out from our location.

With help from her dad, Cloe set up in a solid prone position dry firing on a

americanshootingjournal.com 89

HUNTing beautiful 6x6 at 389 yards. Scott set up on a massive blond bull ranged at 550 yards. I was “multi-tasking,” filming and trying to orchestrate a one-two punch on these two bulls. We had a plan in place to pull this off. Scott was to shoot first, followed immediately

by Cloe. At the report of Scott’s rifle, his bull staggered. Soon after, the morning stillness was again breached

by Cloe’s 6.5x284 with a one-shot anchor. Scott’s bull was still standing and another shot immediately dropped him in the dirt.

Twenty seconds; the sequence was that fast, that precise and that lethal.

This efficiency was demonstrated by a 19-year-old young man and a 13-year-old young lady. That is the Huskemaw advantage.

As I think back on each hunt, the importance of preparation cannot be overstated. The stock, weather, escape routes, limitations of hunters, game movement patterns and many

90

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

Cloe Ramsey with her 6x6 taken at 389 yards.

other variables play an important role in the final outcome. A complete shooting system that a hunter has built confidence with usually makes the difference between another “what if” story and memories of a lifetime, a

regal mount and mounds of delicious meat from the wild.

Editor’s note: For more information, go to huskemaw.com and longrangestore.com.

americanshootingjournal.com 91

Best Of The West - Hunter Elite Calibers: Barrel length: Overall length: Weight: Magazine capacity: Stock: MSRP:

6.5-284, 7mm Mag., .300 Win. Mag. 26.5 inches with muzzle brake 51 inches 9.6 pounds 3+1 in the chamber HS Precision Stock $3,995.00 (with 3-12Ă&#x2014;42 scope)

LongRangeStore.com

Layke Tactical - LT10 Caliber: Barrel length: Overall length: Weight: Magazine capacity: Stock: MSRP:

.308/7.62x51mm 18 inches 36 to 39 inches 8.4 pounds 5 to 25+1 Composite $1,599 to $2,000

LaykeTactical.com

American Built Arms Power to the People Program Caliber: Barrel length: Weight: Magazine: Stock: MSRP: Note:

ABArms.com

.308 (Model 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD Barreled Action) 20 inches 8.75 pounds AI Spec (not included) A*B Arms MOD*X GEN III Chassis $899.99 Some assembly required

CDNN Sports - Ruger 10-22 Bull Barrel Caliber: Barrel length: Overall length: Weight: Magazine capacity: Stock: Sights: MSRP: CDNN Price:

.22 Long RiďŹ&#x201A;e 20 inches 38.5 inches 7.5 pounds 10 rounds Black laminate Optic mount $629.00 $349.99

CDNNSports.com

WMD Guns - NiB-X Coated Big Beast Rifle Caliber: Barrel length: Overall length: Weight: Magazine capacity: Stock: MSRP:

6.5 Creedmoor 22 inches (with NiB-X coated barrel extension, 1:8 twist) 44 inches 9.5 pounds 10 rounds standard Luth-AR with adjustable ble lee cch cheek h eekk re hee restt and rest an nd length n llen engggth en th h off pu p pull ullll u $2,599

WMDGuns.com

Spikeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Tactical - Battleworn Roadhouse Precision Rifle Calibers: Barrel length: Overall length: Weight: Magazine capacity: Stock: MSRP:

.308, 6.5 Creedmoor 20 inches, 18 inches, 14 inches (.308 only) 40 inches (stock position 1), 43.25 inches (stock position 6) 9 pounds, 9 ounces Various Magpul ACS Stock $3,195.00

SpikesTactical.com

94

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

BULLET BULLETIN Author Phil Massaro with a Scottish red stag, taken at 225 meters with a Hornady 165-grain InterLock from a .30-06 Springfield.

TAKING STOCK OF THE INTERLOCK One of Hornady’s initial offerings from way back in 1949, the product line ‘remains successful to this day.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY PHIL MASSARO

T

he rain had finally ceased, only to give way to the rise of the midges – those Scottish black flies that are possessed of unequaled ferocity – but I was OK with that. Ronnie Hepburn and I were hunkered down behind what he called a “bump,” watching a herd of red deer feed toward us, and there was a good stag at the rear of the group.

“Can you shoot with these midges?” the stalker asked me, and I replied in the affirmative. “How far is that stag?” I asked, as I settled into the fine Rigby rifle. “Two hundred twenty-five meters,” Hepburn replied, or 250 yards.

I waited for a hind to clear out of

the way, and when the stag was clear, gave a bit of adjustment for elevation and broke the trigger of the Highland Stalker. I watched the stag fall out of the scope, and the resulting slaps on the back from my Scottish friend assured me he was down for good. It was my first hunt on a Scottish estate – and for those interested, the hunting on the Blair Atholl Estate is fantastic – and with a special rifle, the Rigby Highland Stalker. The ammunition was from Hornady, .30-06 Springfield loaded with the 165-grain InterLock.

I am no stranger to the potency of Hornady’s InterLock; it was the first component bullet I used when I was learning how to handload, and it’s been with me on many different hunts.

The Hornady InterLock is one of their older designs and it remains an excellent choice for deer and similarsized game. It is available in several different configurations, including the spire point, boattail spire point, round nose and flat nose. The principle of the design is simple: a one-piece lead core is jacketed in copper, with an exposed area of lead at the nose, the base of the bullet surrounded by the jacket.

A cannelure, or crimping groove, not only allows the case to be roll crimped around the bullet but extends into the core, locking it into place after impact; hence the name InterLock.

I have used the Hornady Interlock to take a good number of whitetail deer – probably more than I can recall – as well as black bear, caribou and that Scottish red stag. I like the fact that this bullet is available in so many americanshootingjournal.com 95

bullet bulletin Hornady’s original bullet, the 150-grain InterLock in .308-inch diameter. It still makes a great deer bullet.

Hornady Custom ammunition for the .275 Rigby, loaded with 140-grain InterLock spire point.

designs, as well as in many different bullet weights within each caliber.

I’ve relied on the 170-grain flat point for my .30-30 Winchester loads for years, and have used InterLocks weighing between 150 and 220 grains in the .308 Winchester, .3006 Springfield and .300 Winchester Magnum, though being a cupand-core bullet, I do recommend the heavier caliber designs when

TRL

RELOADING SUPPLIES // Featuring Starline brass, Mag-Spark nipple replacements, Lapua & Hornady brass casings, Berry’s ammo boxes

2.5 oz Net Wt. Co Container ontaine ontainer inerr of TRL LLC Patch Lube be and Bore Conditioner. nditio ndition ition n er. e r.

— Made in USA SA — Nice size for the e range. range e.

Also in 1.5 oz Net. et. Wt. Wtt. This one is the perfect erfec erfect ectt size for your pock poc pockock ket or Possibless bag bag.

Dealer inquires welcome

Mag-Spark

Mag-Spark replacement nipples allows use M of 209 shotgun primers, modern Black Powder o rreplacements, as well as Black Powder re

ttoddlindstro@yahoo.com oddlindstro@yahoo.com Find me on Gunbroker: www.gunbroker.com/All/search?IncludeSellers=1227719 96

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

shooting a magnum cartridge.

I’ve had good results in the little .243 Winchester, as well as using the big round-nosed InterLocks in the .375 Holland & Holland Magnum and .416 Remington and Rigby cases.

I have a soft spot for round-nosed projectiles, including the 160-grain 6.5mm, which my 6.5-284 Norma likes so much, as well as the big 220-grain .308-inch-diameter bullet that works wonderfully in my .300 Winchester.

The InterLock is loaded in many of the Hornady factory loads, and with good cause; the bullet gives a great blend of expansion and penetration, if the bullet is of appropriate sectional density for the velocity. The Hornady Custom, Custom International, and even some of the Superformance and Dangerous Game loads are built around the InterLock bullet. While there are many cartridges to choose from within those lines – including some rarities like the .250 Savage, 7x64mm Brenneke, .275 Rigby (identical to the 7x57 Mauser) and .376 Steyr – it is the component end of things that always appealed to me.

They have given excellent performance in my handloads for customers who use the .257 Roberts, 7x57 and 8x57 Mauser, and the wide lineup of bullets has helped me personally. My .318 Westley Richards – which uses a .330-inch diameter bullet – has few bullet choices, namely Woodleigh from Australia, Peregrine from South Africa and Hawk bullets here in New Jersey. However, Hornady

AMMO/RELOADING

Visit Us Online!

TRL

americanshootingjournal.com americanshootingjournal com

americanshootingjournal

@amshootingjourn

We at TRL, LLC strive to be the best of the best in reloading suppliers. We do so with a focus on customer service. If you are looking for a product we do not have in stock, shoot us an email and we will source it for you and get a price.

Starline, Hornady, Lapua, Peterson and Nosler are some of the brands we carry.

We also carry the Mag-Spark nipple adapter. This allows you to use 209 primers in your side locks.

Our own TRL, LLC muzzleloader patch lube is a good choice for all-weather use. It can also be used to lube bullets for black powder cartridges.

For you target/match competitors, try our patch lube or some Peterson Brass cases. They will help you get to the winning circle.

Check out our auctions on Gunbroker at https://www.gunbroker.com/All/search?IncludeSellers=1227719

toddlindstro@yahoo.com

bullet bulletin

There are many Hornady factory loads which feature the InterLock bullet, including this 7x57 Mauser ammo. (Right) The author with a Catskill Mountains black bear, taken with a Hornady InterLock from his .300 Winchester Magnum.

makes a 205-grain InterLock for the 8x65R cartridge, which is also .330inch diameter, and the bullet works great. Though the .318 WR made its reputation with the 250-grain slugs, it’s nice to have a lighter bullet for our local deer season.

Is the InterLock on par with other premium bullet choices? No, I think the Hornady InterBond, GMX and

’S R LELER M U MB THTU

even the ELD-X are a bit tougher, but that’s not the point of the InterLock. It is, however, plentiful and affordable, and like so many of the cup-and-core bullets that we all used for decades, will most certainly kill effectively. A whitetail deer or pronghorn antelope is not especially tough or thick-skinned, and a bullet of this construction will most certainly get the job done. Again,

BRASS MASTER ULTRA VIBE CASE CLEANERS

Made of durable steel construction - heavyduty, sealed ball bearing motors - thermally protected - fast, quiet operation - 3/4 to 4 3/4 gallon capacity - industrial and rotary models available. Send for our free brochure!

TRU-SQUARE METAL PRODUCTS, INC. P.O. Box 585, Auburn, Washington 98071 TEL (253) 833-2310 or Toll Free 1-(800) 225-1017 www.thumlerstumbler.com t-tumbler@thumlerstumbler.com

“Manufacturers of quality case cleaners, deburring and tumbling equipment since 1959” 98

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

The Original Coated Bullet Since 1998

Coated with our proprietary GEN-2 technology, Precision Bullets gives you the precision of jacketed ballistics in a swagged lead bullet.

903-498-8451 33112 CR 2142 KEMP, TX 75143 WWW.PRECISIONBULLETS.COM

americanshootingjournal.com 99

AMMO/RELOADING

Matt’s Bullets

Premium Bullets & Ammunition

The 500 S&W Specialists Including: 700 Grain

Tyrannosaurus Rex 635 Grain

Grand Canyon HP

500 S&W Ammunition

600 Grain

Long Flat Nose 500 Grain

Available in boxes of 20 and 50!

XTP

440 Grain

The 220-grain Hornady InterLock in .300 Winchester Magnum, a rather potent combination.

Round Flat Nose 440 Grain

Low Recoil 425 Grain

Vaporizor HP

500 S&W Shotshells

390 Grain

The Power and payload of a 28 gauge shotgun in a revolver!

Spire Point 350 Grain

XTP

Over 100 bullets for Also: reloading in most calibers! 38/200 For Webley & Victory Revolvers

104 Turkey Pen Road • Highland, AR 72542

870-856-6788 www.mattsbullets.com - for bullets www.mattsbullets.com/ammunition - for ammunition

keep in mind that you’ll want enough sectional density to ensure that the vitals will be reached on an elk, moose or bear, but thousands have been taken with bullets of this construction style.

The InterLock was among Hornady’s initial bullet offerings back in 1949 – the 150-grain .30-caliber – and remains successful to this day. The secant ogive employed on the spire point and BTSP bullets was pioneering, as it has made its way to many of the competition’s designs. Pick up a box of Hornady InterLocks – whether factoryloaded or in component form if you handload – and you’ll soon see why they remain a favorite.

Editor’s note: For more information, see hornady.com.

The 160-grain 6.5mm Hornady InterLock, in 6.5-284 Norma – a great choice for closer shots on larger animals.

REVOLUTIONARY NEW 2-PIECE NAS3 CASE TECHNOLOGY: 50% LIGHTER THAN BRASS Nickel-Plated Aluminum Base

High Tensile Nickel-Alloy Cylinder

• Less wear on ejector pin • Can be color coded forr ID/branding fo ID/b ID /bra rand ndin ing g

• • • •

2 x pressure rating (over 70k PSI) Higher tensile strength and elasticity Corrosion resistant Reloadable using S3 Reload dies

WWW.SHELLSHOCKTECH.COM W W W.SHELLSHOC

5.56 MM

C

UNLO UNLOADED UNLO CASES AVAILABLE FROM SHELL SHOCK SHOC SH OC TECHNOLOGIES. 9MM CASES G AVAILABLE AVAI AV AI NOW, OTHER CALIBERS IN M COMING SOON. SEE WEBSITE COM CO M O FOR FO R MANUFACTURERS OF LOADED LOAD LO AD AMMO

SOON...

AMMO/RELOADING

americanshootingjournal.com 103

104

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

varmint HUNTing

PHIL’S COMRADES A CHALLENGE FOR SHOOTERS Top tactics, rifles, ammo for hunting crop-raiding woodchucks.

(Far and middle left) Author Nick Perna with a woodchuck taken with a .223, and with one weighing more than 15 pounds and taken with a .22 Magnum.

(Middle right) Woodchuck hunting is a good way to introduce kids to the sport and teach them important lessons about varmint control. (Far right) The author watches a corn field, a prime spot for hunting woodchucks.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY NICK PERNA

T

hey’re not much to look at, basically an overweight beaver minus the tail, but the North American woodchuck can be a fun challenge to hunt.

Woodchucks are classified as varmints. They are disliked by farmers because they eat their crops, and ranchers because they dig big holes that their cattle and horses can break their legs in. They can do a significant amount of damage.

They are referred to as groundhogs in some areas, including the worldfamous Punxsutawney Phil, predictor of Pennsylvania weather. They’re also known as ground pigs, whistle pigs (due to the sound they make), Canadian marmot, monax, moonack and red monk.

They inhabit the northeast of the United States but are found as far west as eastern Oklahoma. They are also prevalent in Canada and can be located as far away as Alaska.

They are herbivores, with adults

eating up to a pound of plants and vegetables a day, another reason why farmers don’t like them.

Online research I conducted found that woodchucks get up to 15 pounds, but I can personally attest to hunting ones that were closer to 30 pounds. If there are no natural predators in the area to keep them in check, they can get pretty big.

There are only a few animals that seek out woodchucks as food source.

They are coyotes, foxes, owls and hawks. Often, overzealous predator population control by farmers and ranchers, designed to protect livestock and deer, results in an overpopulation of woodchucks.

Woodchucks are highly adept at maintaining a low profile, but if you know where to look for them, you’ll be able to find them.

In my experience, the best place to look for them is on the edge of a forest, especially where it abuts a field. They make their dens just inside the woodline, putting them in close proximity to their food sources. Check any farmer’s field and you’ll find their

burrows in the brush and trees that surround them. Their tunnels are often quite large and rival something the Viet Cong could construct.

They have great camouflage and blend in quite well with their surroundings when in the bush. When they remain on all four quarters, they are very hard to spot. For a large, fat varmint, they move fairly quietly through the brush with decent speed. Here’s a hint: If your first sense that is alerted to a ’chuck’s presence is your hearing, specifically the sound of one scurrying away, you’re probably too late.

HUNTING THEM Like any animal hunt, it’s best to do a little looking around first to figure out where these guys are hanging out. I realize that we aren’t talking about stalking a trophy deer that might take months of scouting to find, but a quick walkabout of the area you are going to hunt will prove beneficial for future hunts. I like to pick out a couple of spots where woodchucks are active. I’ll usually go out in the early morning or early americanshootingjournal.com 105

varmint HUNTing evening ( just prior to sunrise and around sunset) and set up in a spot I know they are hanging out and wait for them to pop up. Like most animals that are prey, they have a great sense of smell, so be cognizant of wind direction. They generally stay indoors, per se, on rainy days, so it’s probably not worth looking for them.

If you spook one when arriving at the preferred hunting site, don’t worry; they’ll be back. ’Chucks have a brain the size of a marble, so long-term memory isn’t one of their greatest attributes. Set up in a good concealed position, be quiet, and wait. They’ll generally show up again.

I use a couple of different techniques to set up on them. Sometimes I set up on the edge of a farmfield, especially when the crop is in season. This works well, as there is generally a break in the vegetation where the crops end and the woodline begins. Woodchucks spend a lot of time in those areas, being leery of going too far from their burrows but needing to venture out to eat. Other times, I’ll set up in the field itself and look for the woodchucks near the woodline.

Both techniques work, so I recommend trying both.

Woodchucks, like all animals, are required to cross open areas at certain times. I’ve noticed that when they cross open fields, they usually do it in the same spot. I’ve had success setting up on a “’chuck trail,” ambushing one as it goes from point A to point B. The preferred shot is when one is standing up on its hindquarters.

Woodchucks will pop up to investigate sounds. I like to do a faint whistle that mimics their own form of communication. The primary area to target is the upper chest, about where the shoulder line is for the front quarters, with the focus being the heart and lungs.

This shot is hard to get when they are on all fours, unless they are out in the open.

FIREARMS My preferred rifle for hunting ’chucks is a Marlin Model 88 .22 Magnum bolt-action rifle with a 3x9 Redfield 106

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

Perna’s preferred varmint rifle is a .22 Magnum bolt-action (left). A set of binos are nice to have as well.

A scope can be used for spotting, but it increases eye fatigue. The author also uses a .223 (above) on occasion, in this case a Ruger No. 1 with a Leupold 3x9 variable scope.

scope. You can use a .22 long rifle but, with bigger woodchucks, it’s a little too underpowered. The .22 Magnum is suitable for most small to medium game. I like it because I can fire it without hearing protection. Any hollowpoint round is good. I prefer Winchester Super X. It’s a 40-grain round that travels at 1,800 feet per second.

I’ve also used .223. The larger round is preferable when hunting bigger ’chucks or shooting at distance. Pretty much any round designed for hunting will work.

One round that is popular is the Barnes Varmint Grenade. It is a light bullet (36 grains) that travels at a blistering 3,750 feet per second and fragments on impact. Not that you would ever pay a taxidermist to mount a ’chuck but, if you choose to do so, don’t use a Varmint Grenade – this round puts them down, but the results aren’t pretty.

With pretty much every round, regardless of caliber, be prepared to do follow-up shots. Woodchucks tend to stay close to their holes, so when they are shot, they will retreat there.

As a humane hunter, it is preferable to ensure that game is properly killed.

On more than one occasion, I’ve shot a woodchuck and watched it stop dead in its tracks, then watched it come alive again and run off to the woodline.

If you are interested in hunting predators like coyotes, ’chuck carcasses make great bait. Leave one in an area where coyotes are known to congregate.

In the interest of full disclosure,

I’ve never attempted to eat a woodchuck, nor do I intend to. For those inclined to try it, I did some research and found out that those who do eat the meat find it to be dark, but mild and tender. It’s recommended that you soak it in brine overnight.

There are scent glands that need to be removed prior to cooking too. You can make woodchuck pie, woodchuck stew, fried woodchuck, woodchuck patties, woodchuck fricassee. I guess that’s about all the ways you can eat woodchuck.

So, if you are looking for an exciting hunt and want to help manage varmint overpopulation, try woodchuck hunting. And if you find the answer to how much wood they can ’chuck, please drop me a line.

Editor’s note: Nick Perna is a sergeant with the Redwood City Police Department in northern California. He has spent much of his career as a gang and narcotics investigator. He served as a member of a multijurisdictional SWAT team as an entry team member, sniper and team leader. He previously served as a paratrooper in the US Army and is a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has a master’s degree from the University of San Francisco. He is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys hunting and fishing. He is a regular contributor to multiple print and online periodicals dealing with tactics, gang and drug investigations and veteran’s issues.

americanshootingjournal.com 107

108

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

HANDGUN GRIPS Stocks, barrels and other accessories for Ruger 10/22 See us on page 48 SHELL SHOCK TECHNOLOGIES NAS3 cases See us on page 101

DEFIANCE MACHINE Tenacity action with 20 MOA rail and recoil lug See us on page 53

MCMILLAN FIBERGLASS STOCKS Adjustable A-6 in Urban Ambush See us on page 89

HIGH TECH CUSTOMS Custom muzzle brakes for personal firearms, muzzleloaders See us on page 90

SPIKEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TACTICAL Black Spider Optics BSO 1-4X24 See us on page 127

Guns &

Accessories

YOUR SOURCE FOR AR-15 AND GLOCK

110

WWW.SPINTAPRECISION.COM

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

Ron Norton has been many things in his life, and most have been related to the making or shooting of firearms. These days he heads up Inland Manufacturing, which makes the M1911A1, among other Mil-Spec weapons.

RON NORTON: THE MAN BEHIND INLAND MANUFACTURING From building a .35-caliber matchlock as a kid to training Army marksmen, his life’s been lived around guns and shooting and he’s now expanding a firearms-making company.

STORY BY JIM DICKSON PHOTOS BY RON NORTON

R

Ron Norton is one of the best qualified gun makers America has seen and he is currently making the finest M1 carbines and M1911A1 pistols available.

His love of guns began early. His very first memory of his father was sitting on his shoulders in the field while he was pheasant hunting with their English setters. By the time he was 6 or 7, he was allowed to clean his father’s J. C. Higgins 12-gauge semiauto. By 7 or 8, he was allowed to disassemble and then reassemble it.

At 10, he built a .35-caliber matchlock, which he proceeded to shoot vermin and hornet and

wasp nests with. He was also busy making knives from old files in his grandfather’s tool shed at this time.

On his 11th birthday he was presented a Daisy pump BB gun. He learned to instinct shoot by shooting houseflies from the hip in the back yard with this gun. This skill would become very important in his future.

The next year he got a 20-gauge Stevens shotgun for Christmas and the following spring he had earned enough money to buy a Stevens single-shot .22 rifle.

Growing up on the west end side of Dayton, Ohio, Norton was only a couple of miles from where the Inland Division of General Motors had made M1 carbines for the government in World War II. He soon discovered that many of the people around him had

been employed there making them.

He studied tool and die making at Patterson Co-op high school and as part of that, he would work two weeks as an apprentice tool and die maker at Viking Tool and Die in East Dayton and go to school two weeks during his junior and senior years. A true gun lover, he spent his first paycheck on a Ruger Super Single-Six with a 9½-inch barrel, which quickly became his primary squirrel gun. Not satisfied with the fixed sights, he made his own adjustable sights after hours at Viking Tool and Die. During this project he forged a friendship with one of his fellow workmen, who had worked on the tooling for the M1 carbine during WWII. The finished product proceeded to outshoot rimfire rifles at a turkey shoot in Tennessee, where he was visiting relatives.

Tool and die work was drying up when he left school, so Norton joined the Dayton Police Department in 1976.

There he became friends with firearms instructor and master gunsmith Dale americanshootingjournal.com 111

Tullis, who taught him the intricacies of the S&W double-action revolver.

That was important, as two years later he had his first shooting scrape, which resulted in his bringing down his man with a single shot in near total darkness at 73-plus yards with his 4-inch-barreled S&W M19 loaded with 158-grain .38 specials.

During this time he moonlighted repairing guns for a local pawn shop.

He also began building tactical rifles on .22s and developed modular rifle designs using H&K and FN rifles as a basis, utilizing optical systems with his own design for a precision dowel pin/claw mounts that ensured the scope could be removed and replaced without losing its zero.

IN 1980, NORTON became friends with Mitch Werbell, who was the inventor of the Sionics silencer and the man who produced the Ingram submachineguns at Military Armament Company.

Werbell was running a training center for military skills at his farm in Powder Springs, Georgia, at the time. Norton also met Lucky McDaniel there.

McDaniel was the man who developed the “Quick Kill” instinct shooting method taught with a BB gun to the troops in the Vietnam War. This system works equally well with rifle, shotgun and pistol, and is the only purely satisfactory method for gunfighting.

Combat firearms training was one of the big draws for the Sionics Training Center. McDaniel and Norton hit it off, and Norton ended up doing several exhibition shoots where he was able to hit a BB tossed in the air 80 percent of the time and break an aspirin tablet tossed into the air 99.9 percent of the time. The end result of all this was that Norton and Werbell founded Sionics Midwest in New Paris, Ohio.

Working with Norton at Sionics was Congressional Medal of Honor winner Lew Millett. During the Korean War, Millett heard North Korean propaganda that the Americans were afraid to face the cold steel of the bayonet. His response was to launch the last bayonet charge in U.S. history, which routed the North Koreans. Millett inspired Norton to fulfill his earlier dreams of going into the Army. He joined the Rangers, but a knee injury there forced him out and he was reassigned to Panama. There, he won his unit’s top honors in pistol

matches and ended up on the National Army Team at the National Matches in Camp Perry, Ohio, for four years.

While training with the Army team at Fort Benning, Norton met ace M1911A1 pistolsmith Jackie Best.

With his skills as a tool and die maker, Norton was a big help to Best, and Best taught him his secrets of building the match-grade M1911A1.

Upon returning to his unit in Panama, Norton was made captain of the battalion shooting team with the responsibility of selecting and training the pistol, rifle and machinegun teams. The Commanders Cup had been dominated by the Military Police Battalion for years in Panama, but that year Norton’s 2nd 187th Airborne Infantry Battalion accomplished a clean sweep, winning all three categories.

THE WIN RESULTED in Norton being promoted and becoming the noncommissioned officer in charge (NCOIC) of marksmanship p for U.S. Army Southern Command, covering all of Central and South America.

The first week, he ran into classic Army corruption. A range report came in saying that the 1st 187th Battalion at Fort Clayton had just completed their range qualifications

(Left) Norton aims the .22 LR conversion he made in Panama.

(Above) Right side view of the M1911A1 made by Norton at Inland Manufacturing.

1112 11 12

American Am Ame A meerric m ican ic ca an n Sh Sho S Shooting ho hoo otti oti ting ng J Jo Jou Journal ou o urna rna rn nal // // August Augu ug gu g ustt 201 2 20 2018 01 018

americanshootingjournal.com 113

M1 carbine made by Norton at Inland.

for their Expert Infantryman Badge on a known-distance range (Empire), 8 percent qualified as with over 98 ew that was bull expert! Norton knew and said they needed to be retested.

The next Thursday, he went to the 1st Battalion headquarters and requested d 10 of their best shooters in formation with their zeroed weapons. They were taken to the Clayton pistol range and on a short course of 25 meters, only three had zeroed weapons and only two qualified, and that was not expert!

Brigade commander General Loeffke was at the range at the time and wanted to know who the remedial soldiers

114

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

were. When he found out it was a verification of their expert qualification, he hit the ceiling! He wanted to know if these troops were so lacking in basic marksmanship skills, what other basic infantry skills were lacking too. This is where the mini-ARTEP (Army Training and Evaluation Program) started throughout ughout the entire command.

Over the he next three months, Norton evaluated all of the he units and averaged qualification scores of only nly 22 percent.

He developed a “train the trainer” ner” program and over the next 18 months hs the basic rifle proficiency was increased to 89 percent for the entire command.

During this time, Norton scrounged scroun enough parts to make a .22 conversion conver kit for the M16, combining the M261 M system used by the Army and th the Atchisson conversion used by the Air Force with an M16 barrel rel relined to .22 LR with a 1-in-16-inch twist. He had a bit of fun with this at the expense of Special Forces soldier soldiers who were always so secretive about abo what they were doing on the range.

When they ra saw him shooting cl cloverleafs with this new gun, they came cam over and wanted to know what it was. They got their own stock reply repl back: “Sorry, need to know basis only. w on ”

Norton in action during a cowboy mounted shooting competition.

ALSO AROUND THIS TIME, the Army began issuing the Beretta M9 pistol, and the first three guns to have their slides come off and hit the shooter in the face when fired occurred in Panama.

Norton had to write the official report, resulting in the guns being hurriedly recalled. Had the slides hit the soldiers a fraction of an inch over, it could have caused the loss of an eye or death, as the skull is very thin behind the eye.

Every gunsmith’s pet peeve is the gun brought to him disassembled for him to put back together, even though he wasn’t the one to take it apart. When General Loeffke’s driver put his Jeep in the Pacific Ocean with the general’s pistol on board (the first M9 in Panama), the brigade armorer detail-stripped the M9 and found out the hard way it was not as easy to put back together as a M1911A1. Unable to reassemble it, he called Norton in.

With no manual and no other gun to compare it to, it took them three hours to get that thing back together again.

Considering the ease with which I have detail-stripped and reassembled 1911A1s in the past, I find the difficulty of doing an M9 appalling.

Norton and his men were much more comfortable and proficient with the M1911 and they proved it in numerous “training missions” and competitions throughout Central and South America with other forces. During a training mission in Belize, his unit was challenged to a 116

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

match with the British Royal Marine Commandos and Special Air Service.

The Brits were shooting the Browning Hi Power 9mm, some with high-end adjustable sights, which they called their “superior combat handgun,” but they were crushed by Norton’s team shooting standard-issue M1911A1s with standard fixed sights. Says Norton, “Who needs sights with Quick Kill instinct shooting?” When the smoke cleared, the CSM asked Norton to stay on and train his troops with the Quick Kill instinct shooting method.

Norton also developed training programs in Guatemala, Paraguay and Belize, and had the opportunity Inland Manufacturing’s carbine in the M1A1 Paratrooper version.

to compete in international pistol competitions throughout the region, winning the gold medal in Paraguay in both international standard and rapidfire competitions.

When he left the service, the troops of the Southern Command of the U.S. Army were proficient in their marksmanship skills thanks to his training.

RETURNING TO THE U.S., Norton was reinstated with the Dayton Police Department. He was invited to a police competition with his issue weapon, a Glock. He won the combat phase with a time of 18.3 seconds. The next year he brought the M1911 he carried in Panama and won it in 17.3 seconds, the older design gun being the faster.

An old friend wanted Norton to do cowboy action shooting with him but Norton told him he wanted to do horseback-mounted cowboy shooting.

Rather new to riding, he only came in third overall in the Arizona State Championship. Most riders were riders first and shooters second, but at least Norton never missed because instinct shooting works just as well off a 30mph horse as it does standing still.

During these early days of mounted shooting, Norton met the president of American Western Arms, Jack Sweeney, who sponsored him in the new sport. Norton began working with them, building custom

2258 Brattonsville Rd, McConnells, SC 29726 803-328-6829 // www.puregoldchokes.com Monday-Friday // 8am-4pm Eastern Time

d on am e Di h o k C

n

— Mention this ad for $5.00 off your next order! —

o pi am e Ch hok C

SPORTING CLAYS

americanshootingjournal.com 117

Right side view of the Inland M1 carbine with sling.

revolvers and working in marketing and graphic design design.

Asked to share his secrets of hitting, he wrote several columns for the CMSA Rundown newspaper entitled “The Mounted Marksman,” and taught other riders the style that became the standard for mounted shooting.

Remembering a laser-based training aid called Beamhit, he decided that could be made into a good training aid.

Beamhit was a single plane surface hit, but with his high school friend Fred Swenson, who was now an electronics system engineer, they made it work with multidirectional 3D targets. Beamhit had tried and failed to do this and hired both of them for R&D. They continued developing target systems for CAS and Mounted Shooters, as well as law enforcement and military, until a large military contractor bought Beamhit and canceled their contract and stopped their royalty payments. Norton and Swenson thought they could win in court but doubted that they could ever collect from the largest military

contractor in the world at that time, so they walked away with the ability to utilize their designs and inventions.

They next went to work for a Houston-based company, Lasershot, where their earlier work was incorporated into the company’s other products, such as video-based shooting systems.

IN 2006, NORTON was contacted by Susanna Chiappa of Chiappa Firearms about working with the Italian company to develop direct distribution in the U.S. On November 1 of that year, Norton founded Chiappa Firearms USA Ltd. in partnership with the Chiappas in Dayton, Ohio. While manager and co-owner of Chiappa Firearms, he developed an M1 Carbinestyle rifle and acquired the Inland Manufacturing name in order to keep the famous name in the gun trade.

In 2013, Norton separated with Chiappa but retained the Inland name and the building. His dream was to bring back the M1 carbine

Norton firing a short-barreled M2 carbine full auto (below) and an M1911A1 (right) in Guatemala.

118

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

in its final military form with all details and markings correct. While the WWII Mil-Specs are readily available, the final military form of the M1 carbine had subtle changes that made it more accurate and longer-lived. Finding out what these were was a job. Obtaining one of the last M1 carbines produced for the government was hunting for a needle in a haystack, but Norton succeeded at that and other areas of research.

The result is the final perfected form of the U.S. Army Mil-Spec M1 carbine. Thanks to these improvements, modern materials, and state-of-the-art production methods, Inland is now making the best M1 carbine in the world. They use Green Mountain barrels and the guns are really accurate. The average Inland M1 carbine is a 2-minute-of-angle gun just like a Barrett .50-caliber semiauto. The best groups that have been fired by the new production M1 carbines are subminute-of-angle. Like the military-issue guns, they are still

americanshootingjournal.com 119

541-765-2545 • www.docksidedepoebay.com • 800-733-8915

americanshootingjournal.com

OCE AN FISHING

Norton with the M1 carbine.

loose enough to work in the mud, dust, sand and rust of combat.

I tested one of these carbines for a gun magazine article a few years ago and could hardly bear to part with it when the test was over. Like Norton, I believe the M1 carbine is as good a weapon now as it ever was, and like many men who have experienced using both the M1 carbine and the M16 and M4 carbine, I prefer the M1 carbine for combat. It is lighter, easier to hit with, far more reliable, easier to maintain, and contrary to popular belief, is a far superior man-stopper.

Norton also brought out a Mil-Spec M1911A1 and it’s a beauty. Unlike most M1911 builders who make them too tight to function in mud, rust and sand, these Inland .45s have enough play that the slide can be wiggled when in battery. Norton understands that you can have loose tolerances and still keep accuracy. Depending on the ammo used, his M1911A1s shoot two- to three-inch groups at 50 yards – not 25, where most pistols are tested – with the best group so far being 1½ inches at 50 yards. I have shot thousands of rounds through one of these guns and it is still good as new. I can think of some popular automatics that would be junk by now if I had fired that many rounds through them.

Norton has also branched out into silencers and I predict that Inland Manufacturing will be one of our largest gun companies in the future.

Editor’s note: For more information, visit inland-mfg.com.

120

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 121

VELOCITY TRIGGERS DESIGNED FOR P R ECISION

TM

The Marksman Performance ChoiceTM Trigger is designed with a 3/8” wide removable trigger shoe that is ½” forward for faster acquisition.

The shoes are available in: curved, straight or straight with finger stop and 5 different color options. The trigger shoe can also be rotated for a custom fit for your finger position.

The Velocity Triggers

MPC Trigger

TM

122

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

Visit us at: www.VelocityTriggers.com

Companies with booths at this year’s Special Operations Force Industry Conference included (this row, left to right) H&K, Glock and Sig Sauer. is year’s

Also on hand (this row, left to right) was a bald eagle, Spyderco and its knives, and members of foreign militaries.

Outside the confines of the Tampa Convention Center, helicopter, boat and jump demos (this row, left to right) took place.

PICS FROM S.O.F.I.C.

Special Operations Force Industry Conference a chance for operators, industry to meet, hold demos.

STORY AND PHOTOS BY PAUL PAWELA

O

Once a year in May, the greatest gods of war from the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) converge at the Tampa Convention Center and in the surrounding Tampa Bay area. There they perform pseudo-demonstrations of their very real professional trades in masterful displays to the public, leaving the viewing audience thunderstruck!

The purpose of the Special Operations Force Industry Conference (SOFIC) is for the special operations community to interact with the industry and to collaborate on the challenges, initiatives and the way ahead in delivering the most

cutting-edge capabilities into the hands of SOF operators. During SOFIC, there are educational sessions, demonstrations and interactions with exhibitors.

Who are these Special Operations soldiers? Bluntly put, they are the best and the bravest elite warriors in the American arsenal. Bob Kerry, a former Senator from Nebraska who received the Medal of Honor for his services as a Navy SEAL in Vietnam, describes them this way: “Special Operations Warriors must be prepared to go wherever the bad guys are. They must be able to locate and identify the enemy. They must be able to choose a range of weapons available to counter the threat. Day or night, they must be able to see, hear and smell signs of danger. In all imaginable conditions,

they must be skilled in aimed fire; and they must be able to deliver a bullet to its intended target.”

SOCOM has five different commands under its umbrella: the Army Special Operations Command (including the Green Berets); the Navy Special Warfare Command (including Navy SEALs); the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command; the Air Force Special Operations Command; and the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), which includes SEAL Team 6 and Delta Force, among other teams.

The next SOFIC conference will be held May 20-23, 2019. Americans owe it to themselves to make the journey to Tampa to see for themselves how truly special these soldiers are. americanshootingjournal.com 123

124

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

THORDSEN CUSTOMS

CDNN SPORTS

FRS-15 Gen III featureless AK-47 stock kit See us on page 11

AR-15 556 rifle kit – just add lower See us on page 42

VELOCITY TRIGGERS 3-pound curved trigger See us on page 122

SPINTA PRECISION 4.5-inch 9mm cold hammer forged stainless steel barrel See us on page 110

LAYKE TACTICAL LT-10 lower receiver See us on page 40

WMD GUNS NiB-X bolt carrier group See us on page 122

AXC TACTICAL Hive enhanced pistol grip See us on page 78

HANDGUN GRIPS ProMag, Mec-Gar and factory magazines See us on page 48

AMERICAN BUILT ARMS COMPANY

SPIKE’S TACTICAL

LUTH-AR

Urban Sniper stock See us on page 87

Enhanced lower parts kit See us on page 127

Palm handguard See us on page 13

COMPANY SPOTLIGHT

BUILDING ‘AMERICA’S RIFLE’ Spike’s Tactical specializes in high-quality AR-15s, plus custom parts and accessories to make your dream firearm.

PHOTOS BY SPIKE’S TACTICAL

S

tarted in the garage of founder Spike Register, Spike’s Tactical became an official business on September 10, 2001 – the very day before the September 11th attacks on U.S. soil.

“That immediately strengthened Spike’s resolve to build the best rifles possible for the most reasonable price,” explains Kit Cope, marketing director for Spike’s Tactical. “He also recognized that, like himself, people want to build their own AR-15. So, Spike made a decision to make the highquality parts we use to build our rifles accessible to builders as well.”

Register decided to focus on the AR-15 in particular because it is “America’s rifle.”

“Just like Spike and everyone here, Americans like to customize their guns and make them as personal as

possible,” says Cope. “We make rifles that excel in every test and stand up to every side-by-side challenge.

However, we understand that need to make your weapon yours. So, we offer a myriad of parts and accessories to assist in that adventure.”

To meet the ever-evolving needs of the firearms market, Spike’s Tactical continues to innovate with new calibers, configurations and even other non-AR toys, like the new M79 Thumper. “The Thumper is a recreation of the Vietnam-era M79 in 37mm,” explains Cope. “We also make .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor Precision Rifles that are currently being used

by U.S. military sniper teams abroad.”

Also new on the market is Spike’s line of exploding targets.

“Spike-O-Myte is our new binary explosive target brand,” says Cope.

“If you have ever enjoyed the fun of exploding targets, Spike-O-Myte takes that enjoyment to another level.

Our formula has created the same size of explosion from 34 grams as other popular brands get from a full pound of binary explosive. It’s simply the best innovation that market has seen.”

Whether you’re looking for a complete rifle or that custom part to make it uniquely yours – or an awesome new exploding target – rest assured that Spike’s Tactical uses only the highest-quality Americanmade materials in its Apopka, Florida-based shop. And the team at Spike’s stands behind its products with a lifetime guarantee.

“We build a 100-percent American-made weapon with a zero B.S. lifetime warranty,” says Cope.

“That’s for the life of the Spike’s product, no matter who bought it. If it came from us, it’s covered.”

Editor’s note: For more information on Spike’s Tactical and their line of products, visit spikestactical.com.

Spike’s Tactical offers custom parts and accessories, as well as a full line of AR-15 rifles and pistols, including (clockwise from left) the Billet ST Compressor, the Crusader, and the Spartan Pistol.

126

American Shooting Journal // August 2018

americanshootingjournal.com 127

128

American Shooting Journal // August 2018