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A MERIC A N
SHOOTING JOURNAL Volume 8 // Issue 12 // September 2019 PUBLISHER James R. Baker GENERAL MANAGER John Rusnak EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Andy Walgamott OFFICE MANAGER / COPY EDITOR Katie Aumann LEAD CONTRIBUTOR Frank Jardim CONTRIBUTORS Jim Dickson, Scott Haugen, Phil Massaro, Mike Nesbitt SALES MANAGER Katie Higgins ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Dawn Carson, Mamie Griffin, Mike Smith, Paul Yarnold DESIGNERS Celina Martin, Jake Weipert PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS Kelly Baker, McKenna Boulet WEBMASTER / INBOUND MARKETING Jon Hines INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER Lois Sanborn ADVERTISING INQUIRIES ads@americanshootingjournal.com
ON THE COVER A professional model, Santina Warthen wants a self-defense handgun she doesn’t have to dress around to keep concealed. No stranger to guns, the 21-year-old Kentucky native started deer hunting with her father when she was 11 years old. (FRANK JARDIM)
Website: AmericanShootingJournal.com Facebook: Facebook.com/AmericanShootingJournal Twitter: @AmShootingJourn
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
CONTENTS
VOLUME 8 • ISSUE 12
22
GUN REVIEW:
IDEAL CONCEAL I380
Designed for discretion and protection, the IC380 smartphone pistol just might be one of the most innovative self-defense platforms around these days. Frank Jardim takes a hard look at this two-shot derringer that looks not unlike a Samsung Galaxy and allows the bearer to carry in environments where typical handguns might be considered not very PC.
(FRANK JARDIM)
FEATURES 37
BULLET BULLETIN: FEDERAL’S HANDGUN BULLET LINES From defensive ammunition to components for handloaders, Federal offers a bit of everything for handgunners. Phil Massaro covers some of the company’s top products.
53
SALUTE TO GUNS: MAGNUM OF MAGNUMS “Think artillery” when it comes to the 4-bore double rifles of Austrian gunmaker Peter Hofer. He’s built both the smallest and largest doubles in the world, and this issue Jim Dickson takes a look at the latter, a gun of exquisite craftsmanship and flat-out knockdown power.
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BLACK POWDER: ‘ROUND TOP’ ROLLING BLOCK RESTORED Inspired by a Remington Sporting Rifle carried by General George Armstrong Custer, black powder enthusiast Mike Nesbitt restores a “round top” rolling block in .50-70.
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‘STACKIN’ ’EM DEEP AND SELLIN’ ’EM CHEAP!’ Let’s just say Frank Jardim found heaven this summer when he pulled up to the front door of Kentucky’s Centerfire Systems, a great outlet for bargains on guns, gear, military surplus, ammo and more. He walks us through the retail store, warehouse and website of this great find for fans of firearms and history.
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ROAD HUNTER: 7 BUCKS, 1 SEASON, 1 HUNTER When Scott Haugen puts his mind to something, odds are this famed Western hunter is going to succeed. Such is the case with his “deer slam,” which found him chasing three different species and seven subspecies of bucks from Oregon to the Dakotas to Mexico to Alaska.
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 © 2019 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A.
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
CONTENTS 89 FERAL PERIL
Hunting wild boar has a proud tradition in Europe, but in the United States, where they’ve been introduced or have escaped from farms, Sus scrofa is non grata due to damage they cause. Whether you’re looking to try out Old World tactics or help out New World farmers and wildlife, Jim Dickson has tips for how to pursue them.
DEPARTMENTS
17 Competition Calendar 21 Gun Show Calendar
(SHUTTERSTOCK)
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
PRIMER
COMPETITION C A L E N D A R
September 7-8
September 27-28
September 20-21
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Western Regional IDPA Championship Sacramento, Calif. idpa.com
Fall Brawl 2019 Perryville, Ark.
September 4-8
Cheely Custom Gunworks USPSA Area 5 Championship Zanesville, Ohio
September 5-8
California State Shooting Championship San Luis Obispo, Calif.
uspsa.org
September 6-7
Greater Yellowstone Section Championship Three Forks, Mont.
September 13-15
Iowa Section Championship Elkhart, Iowa
September 7-8
Twin Tiers Regional Classic V Pine City, N.Y. gssfonline.com
September 20-22
September 13-15
Colorado State USPSA Championship Byers, Colorado
September 21-22
Southern Oregon Sectional Championship White City, Ore.
September 22-24
SIG Sauer “HICAP” Nationals Open & PCC Division Washington, Utah
September 26-28
SIG Sauer “HICAP” Nationals Carry Optics & Limited Division Washington, Utah
September 28-29
Badger State Regional Classic XIII Milwaukee, Wis.
SEPTEMBER 4-7
September 21-22
September 14
September 21-22
CT State Championship Match Bethany, Conn.
September 20-22
WWMS Hosted Washington State Shoot Sultan, Wash.
September 21
Alabama State Championship Rainsville, Ala.
September 7-21
USA Shooting Shotgun Fall Selection Kerrville, Texas usashooting.org
Tri-County Sportsmen Challenge 2019 Saline, Mich.
Glock Annual Shoot XXVI & Gunny Challenge XV Talladega, Ala.
Eastern US Championship Murfreesboro, Tenn.
cmsaevents.com
Lone Star IDPA Championship Cresson, Texas
September 17-21
300 Meter Rifle National Championship Foley, Minn.
Kentucky State Shoot Williamstown, Ky.
Mid-Atlantic Regional Championship Lumberton, N.C.
September 28-29 Idaho State Shoot Athol, Idaho
September 28-29
Montana 2019 State Shoot Silesia, Mont.
September 27-30
NCSSA Western International Conference Championship Colorado Springs, Colo.
September 30-October 4
2019 USA Shooting Rifle-Pistol Fall Selection Fort Benning, Ga. americanshootingjournal.com 17
PRS RESOURCE GUIDE Bolt Gun Series September 7 September 13 September 14 September 21 September 28 September 28 October 4 October 12 October 19 November 1 November 2 November 15
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americanshootingjournal.com 19
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
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americanshootingjournal.com 21
W THE
IDEAL CONCEAL IC380 CELL PHONE PISTOL
THE BEST GUN IS THE ONE YOU HAVE WITH YOU STORY AND PHOTOS BY FRANK JARDIM
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
hat would you think of a gun that you could carry in plain sight, was easily accessible in your back pocket or a belt holster, and wouldn’t attract the slightest attention? Nobody would look twice at it, even if you were in a T-shirt, with no jacket, and they were standing right next to you in the supermarket check-out line, or even if you were wearing only shorts and sneakers playing Frisbee at the park. This invisible gun could save your life in a desperate situation, when its appearance would come as a complete surprise to an attacker. Because it’s invisible, nobody you interact with socially or professionally ever knows you carry a gun for self-defense either. In places where gun ownership is equated with crime and mayhem in the minds of citizens, this invisible gun could save its user a lot of unnecessary social friction. This idea of an invisible gun is what got the mind of Kirk Kjellberg stewing and led him to invent a double barrel, .380 ACP Derringer with the appearance of a common smartphone. Kjellberg formed Ideal Conceal to manufacture his unique pistol. “The first rule of gunfighting is have a gun.” This is perhaps Jeff Cooper’s best known quote. The famous lawman-turned-tacticalshooting-guru was making the point that self-defense begins with the “self.” Seems obvious, right? Yet in the recent rash of heinous mass-shooting attacks directed against innocent city dwellers in crowded public venues by deranged gunmen, it doesn’t appear that anyone on the receiving end was prepared to fight back. The police responded efficiently to these attacks, but the death and injury inflicted by the gunmen was staggering. In Dayton, Ohio, the police arrived in half a minute and killed the attacker, but not before he shot 36 people. In the El Paso, Texas, Walmart, it took cops over six minutes to get there and the attacker shot 46 people. At the Gilroy,
California, Garlic Festival, the attacker shot 13 people before he was killed by police, just under a minute after he began his rampage. At that event there was a substantial police presence for security, which apparently didn’t dissuade the attack. Nobody can really prepare thoroughly for dealing with crazy anyway. Nobody can ensure your protection and safety in a public place either, though they may try their best. Your safety is always on you.
The IC380 cell phone pistol is designed for discretion and protection. At a quick glance it looks like a Samsung Galaxy or other model, but allows the bearer to carry in environments where typical handguns might be considered not very PC.
CONSIDER WHAT MIGHT have happened in Dayton, El Paso and Gilroy, if just one good person unfortunate enough to be present at these tragic, insane murder sprees was armed and fired just one shot in response. Let’s say the good person’s single shot missed the attacker and impacted harmlessly into the wall. Might it have diverted the attacker’s attention, caused him to pause, take cover, or perhaps withdraw? It might have saved some lives, or might have cost more. We can’t know. But, at the very least, it would have been an act of active resistance, a brave attempt to bring the murderous madness to a stop. That is not to say that any private citizen should be expected to demonstrate heroism in that type of situation, though some did, despite being unarmed. Soldiers march to the sound of the guns but ordinary citizens usually don’t. Kids, adults or elderly, whether soccer moms or welders, truck drivers or short order cooks, can’t be criticized for running like heck from a life-threatening situation. That’s part of nature’s “fight or flight” reaction that all Earth’s living, thinking creatures share. What might you or I do in a situation like that? It would probably depend a lot on the circumstances: alone or with family, close or far from the attacker, armed or unarmed? Fight is the other side of the survival instinct we all possess. If we must fight, being armed improves our chances of staying alive. If you assume you can maintain a calculating presence of mind in a life-threatening situation,
americanshootingjournal.com 23
but if you do that too much, it can have real consequences for your social and professional life. I recently attended a dinner party with old friends in New Jersey who recently took up target and trap shooting with gusto. However, they warned me not to mention their interest in getting a handgun for self-defense to the other guests. What a shame that they felt they had to keep their recent epiphanies about gun ownership secret for reasons of sociability.
“I don’t expect or advocate those already legally carrying more efficient and larger capacity revolvers and auto-loading self-defense handguns to switch to the IC380,” says inventor Kirk Kjellberg of Ideal Conceal. “I just want law-abiding citizens to carry because they make us all safer when they do.”
you probably also assume being armed will figure into your choice of actions. Even if you don’t possess what soldiers call “coolness under fire,” being armed at least gives you the ability to fight back when you have no other choice. An old army colonel I worked for years ago once told me, “Even a bunny will fight when it’s cornered.” Personally, if I’m ever that bunny, I want to be an armed bunny. The thing all these recent shootings have in common is that they took place in urban and suburban settings where a large percentage of the population holds negative opinions toward gun ownership. Just because a person lives in a thickly populated region doesn’t mean they are anti-gun
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
stooges for the Democratic Party, but statistically they are pretty likely to be, and they’re also likely to be unarmed. That doesn’t make them bad people. They’re usually just ignorant despite the pretensions to education and refined judgment that the more comfortably situated and well-to-do ones often demonstrate. I live in rural Kentucky, but I hear these misinformed and defenseless unfortunates on National Public Radio all day long. If you have to live and work in America’s cities and heavily populated areas, you’re stuck with the people there. You’ll want to enlighten them about responsible gun ownership and defend the Constitution’s Second Amendment,
THE SOCIABILITY OF gun ownership was one of the factors that Kjellberg gave considerable thought to in designing his gun so it wouldn’t look like a gun at all. He made the cell phone pistol for people who don’t carry guns at all because they live and work in areas with strong social anti-gun bias. Living in a liberal suburb of Minneapolis, Minnesota, he’s observed first-hand the negative attitudes toward the shooting sports and the Second Amendment commonly held by urbanites and cultivated by their Democratic city governments and liberal news media. Kjellberg created the IC380 cell phone pistol as a means for those who want to legally arm themselves for protection, to do so with maximum discretion and avoid the ill will and social fallout of conflicts with their anti-gun neighbors, acquaintances and business contacts. It’s a niche market perhaps, but so were sword canes in the 19th century. As a two-shot derringer, the IC380 is no Glock 43. However, that was never Kjellberg’s goal. His objective was to get people who don’t exercise their right to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense to start doing it, and just as importantly, to keep doing it. “I don’t expect or advocate those already legally carrying more efficient and larger capacity revolvers and auto-loading self-defense handguns to switch to the IC380,” he says. “I don’t care what you carry. I just want lawabiding citizens to carry because they
Chambered for .380 ACP, recoil is described as “mild,” according to author Frank Jardim.
make us all safer when they do.” I will admit a fascination with clever designs. A .380 ACP Derringer disguised as a smartphone is the type of thing you’d expect to see in the next James Bond movie. That’s surely part of its attraction and it caused a stir inside and outside the shooting community. Critics, pro- and antigun, claim it’s likely to get people killed in confrontations with police or that it’s a danger to children who are inclined to play with cell phones. Time will tell, I suppose, but I expect this to be the case. I believe that the IC380 is actually the first of many more disguised self-defense arms to come.
ON THE RANGE, my test pistol
worked reliably and proved simple to use, as well as adequately accurate for The IC380 is smaller in size than some smartphones, but also heavier, as it’s been “built like a bank vault.”
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
confident self-defense shooting at 7 yards. It’s also built like a bank vault. In fact, Kjellberg drove his minivan over one and the only damage he noted were some small scratches on the gun’s black, hard-coat, anodized finish. The two-part frame and hinged barrel block are machined aluminum and the fold-up grip is sheet steel. The barrels are stainless steel sleeves pressed into the aluminum barrel block. The remaining parts are hardened steel alloys. The frame halves are screwed together, aligned, and largely sealed up from dirt infiltration by a tongue-andgroove joint. To fire the pistol, the sheet metal grip is first pulled down so it locks in on opposing left and right side ball-detent locks. When locked, there is a small amount of wobble Deploying the handgun is a simple matter of pulling the fold-up sheet metal grip backward into place.
between grip and frame, but I found this unnoticeable in rapid fire. The grip angle when deployed makes the IC380 a fairly instinctive pointer. The open-front, rectangular, sheet metal grip won’t set the standard for shooter comfort, but it won’t deter its owner from range practice either since the .380 ACP’s recoil is mild. The grip actually provides for better control than a lot of subcompact 9mm guns, simply because there’s enough grip surface for your hand to get a good purchase despite the smooth sides and rectangular shape. The edges of the grip’s open front actually help anchor the pistol in your grasp while shooting. When it comes time to put the IC380 back into stealth mode, all you do is push in the spring-loaded locking balls while folding the grip forward. The small front sight is milled from the same block of aluminum as the barrel block. It can’t be adjusted but also can’t fall off or get knocked out of alignment. The front hinged barrel block has a raised central rail along the bottom with two shallow cuts in it that mate with a slot and matching steel recoil lugs in the frame. This ensures the barrel stays in alignment with the frame even if the hinge wears. The barrel locks closed at the breech with a heavily sprung sliding latch along the top of the pistol (or side of the phone in this case). The latch is grooved to provide a grip surface and slotted down the center to form the pistol’s rear sight. It is made of a very strong steel alloy and mounted The extended grip is locked via a pair of balldetent locks.
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A close-up view of the grip.
The rear sight doubles as a latch that you pull back to load and unload the gun.
Pulling back the sight/ latch releases a barrel block, providing access to the chambers.
An extractor button helps lift spent cartridges out of their chambers.
Ready for reloading ...
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within the pistol’s steel core. You can’t accidentally open it and it can’t be broken out of its slot. The IC380 is loaded and unloaded by drawing back the latch/rear sight, which allows the spring-loaded barrel block to pop up, exposing the chambers. Extraction is manual via a rectangular sliding button on the left side of the barrel block. Both cartridges are lifted ¼ inch from the chambers (just enough to pluck out with your fingers) by pressing down on the dual-legged extractor button while simultaneously drawing it to the rear. The extractor button retracts
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
automatically when released, allowing for insertion of new cartridges. Once loaded, the barrel block is closed and automatically locks in place under the latch/rearsight. When the barrel block is opened, the pistol automatically resets to fire the top barrel first. The second pull of the trigger fires the bottom barrel. The IC380 is double action only with a smooth 7/16-inch-long trigger pull that breaks at the end of the pull with no apparent overtravel. As a result of its design, the trigger pull of the upper barrel is heavier than that of the bottom, 12.5 and 10.5 pounds
respectively, though the trigger’s broad shoe makes it feel somewhat lighter. The distance from the front of the trigger shoe to the back of the grip frame is 3.9 inches, which might be a little too long for people with very small hands. For me it worked fine. As a word of caution, I noticed that I could switch back and forth between barrels by partially depressing the trigger and releasing it. If, for whatever reason, you only partially pull the trigger back instead of drawing it all the way through to fire, you’ll find you have switched barrels the next time you pull the
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Jardim ran several different brands of bullets through the handgun, getting best groups out of Speer Duty Ammunition, with Hornady XTP hollowpoints close behind.
trigger. This could leave you in an awkward spot on that next pull if you really need a bullet to come out and you inadvertently switched to a barrel you already fired. You would need to pull the trigger again to get back to the barrel you accidentally skipped. Contrary to what I’d seen on the company’s many videos, the online manual stated that the pistol can discharge if dropped. If true, that would be a serious flaw considering how often I drop my cell phone, so I asked Kjellberg about it. He explained the “lawyers” insisted on that, though he believes there is no way for the pistol to accidentally discharge because neither striker has a load on it until the trigger is pulled to compress the spring, and it has a firing pin lock to keep the pins from moving forward unless the trigger is pulled. Since he
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
designed it, I’ll take his word.
THE IC380 IS not a target pistol, nor
is it what the old-timers used to call a “belly gun.” The pistol’s barrels aren’t specifically regulated to have matching points of impact, but they aren’t that far apart and five-shot groups for either averaged just under 3 inches extreme spread at 7 yards fired rested from the bench. I noted that both the top and bottom barrel consistently favored the left by 1.25 inches, but it is tough to say if that was the sights or the shooter when you’re dealing with a fairly stiff trigger pull. The top barrel shot about 2.5 inches above the point of aim, and the bottom barrel 1.5 inches below point of aim. The centers of top and bottom barrel groups were separated by about 4 inches on average. When I combined
the top and bottom group, I got overall group spreads between 5 and 7.5 inches. In a worst case scenario where one might have to shoot precisely to save the life of a loved one held hostage, the pistol is accurate enough, but I have doubts about my ability to recall each barrel’s point of impact under stress. However, delivering two panicked, close-range shots into an attacker’s torso in less than a quartersecond is something I’m confident I could do with the IC380. The most accurate and highest velocity ammunition tested was Speer Duty Ammunition 90-grain Gold Dot hollowpoints averaging 949 feet per second. Five shots from the upper barrel grouped in 2.11 inches and 3.11 inches from the bottom. Hornady 90-grain XTP hollowpoints were close behind. Velocity was 895 fps and the same test produced a 3.08-inch group from the top and 3.59-inch group from the bottom. Winchester Super X 85-grain Silvertip hollowpoints moved at 873 fps and grouped 3.51 inches from the top and 3.97 inches from the bottom. In rapid double-tap drills, I found my shots more tightly clustered in the silhouette’s center mass when I started with the bottom barrel. When I started with the top barrel, my shots would curiously cluster in two distinct groups, one low and left and the other high and right. I’m no physicist, but this may be related to the bottom barrel being closer to my hand. The gun doesn’t have much muzzle flip to begin with, but that bottom barrel may have just a little bit less than the top. That could cause the pistol to
A close-up of the trigger area. The pistol is a double action.
Model: IC380 Manufacturer: Ideal Conceal Caliber: .380 ACP (not recommended for +P ammo) Barrel length: 3 inches Action: Break open Capacity: 2 bullets Trigger: Double action only, 10.5- to 12.5-pound pull Weight: 18.3 ounces unloaded Length: 5.5 inches Width: 0.75 inches Height: 3 inches closed, 5.19 inches deployed Material: Aluminum frame, stainless barrel sleeves, steel internal parts MSRP: $575
A belt clip resembling a typical smartphone holster will be available soon for the gun.
have less rise before the second (top) barrel is fired, resulting in tighter grouping of my shots. If I carried this, I’d set the bottom striker to go first. Ideal Conceal is in the process of working with a respected laser supplier to add a laser aiming option to the pistol soon. Expect that to add $100 to $125 to the retail price of the standard pistol. The button on each side in front of the trigger is where the
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
The IC380 measures 5.5 inches long by 3 inches wide by .75 inch thick, and weighs just over a pound unloaded.
laser control will be so it can be easily, and ambidextrously, activated with the trigger finger. The pistol is fairly quick to deploy from the pocket and a specially designed skeletonized belt clip holster will be available soon. It resembles a normal smartphone holster. The pistol’s grip can be opened up to fire while it is mounted in the holster on the belt so as to have it in a ready position in times of expected danger. The holster also allows for the pistol to be fired while sheathed, just in case it’s pulled off the belt and stays on the gun during the draw. Kjellberg is refreshingly transparent about his pistol’s development, which he holds both design and utility patents for. It’s smartly designed
and shows quality workmanship. He proceeded slowly and was able to incorporate improvements to his design along the way based on customer feedback. There’s a good chance the smartphones of 2028 will look a lot different from today’s. But even when smartphones eventually change in appearance and size, the IC380 still won’t look like a gun, and that’s the whole point. As of this writing, the company is producing 100 guns a month, all here in America. Shipments to customers go out in the order they are received. Ideal Conceal is its own distributor, and those wishing to order a pistol can select a dealer from the 500 listed on the company website, idealconceal. com, or by calling (888) 409-4867.
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STORY AND PHOTOS BY PHIL MASSARO
I
was in Minnesota for a deer hunt – specifically the Minnesota Governor’s Opening Weekend event – when my friend J.J. Reich suggested I amend my itinerary in order to pay a visit to the Federal plant in Anoka. J.J., you see, is the public relations manager for Federal Ammunition, and I didn’t hesitate to accept his invitation. “We can test all sorts of stuff: rifle, pistol, whatever you want to
do.” I have long been a fan of Federal ammunition – with all the different brands of bullets they load, in addition to their own fantastic designs – and it would be my first time shooting into ballistic gel. We spent the afternoon with a good 1911 clone and some boxes of .45 ACP ammunition loaded with Federal’s famous handgun bullets. We shot into bare gelatin, gelatin covered with clothing, and finally through some
gypsum sheetrock. While all are good bullets, I ended up with a particular favorite, and some of Federal’s subsequent releases have paired up with their premium bullets very well. Let’s take a look at Federal’s lineup of handgun bullets, available in both component and loaded form. FEDERAL HYDRA-SHOK For the last 30 years, the Federal Hydra-Shok has pretty much defined americanshootingjournal.com 37
bullet bulletin
Federal has made the Hydra-Shok available as a component bullet for the handloading community.
the defensive bullet. The brainchild of ballistic engineer Tom Burczynski, the Hydra-Shok was developed in an attempt to better the terminal ballistics of a standard cup-and-core jacketed bullet design, and it did exactly that. With a deep hollow cavity, and its signature center post – used to initiate expansion – the Hydra-Shok uses a skived copper jacket to create a large wound channel and give deep penetration. It is an accurate bullet, and has been depended upon by both law enforcement and civilians alike. Available in many popular cartridges, like .32 Auto, .327 Federal, .380 Auto, 9mm Luger, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, 10mm Auto, .44 Remington Magnum, .45 ACP, and .45 GAP, there is a Hydra-Shok for nearly every shooter. The HydraShok has traditionally given weight retentions in the 90 percent range, holding together very well in a number of different mediums. I found that the Hydra-Shok will give 13 to 16 inches of penetration in both gel and gel covered with clothing fabrics, as well as consistent expansion. There is a +P version for the .38 Special, as well as several “low recoil” loadings, to reduce muzzle jump and get the shooter back on target quickly. Federal offers the Hydra-Shok in both factory loads and in component form for handloaders. Without argument, the Hydra-Shok is a bullet you can count on. The classic defensive handgun load: the Federal Hydra-Shok.
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
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bullet bulletin
The revamped Hydra-Shok Deep gives greater penetration than the original.
HYDRA-SHOK DEEP The Hydra-Shok received a facelift in 2018 in order to better reach the FBI protocol penetration depths of 14 to 16 inches in 10-percent ballistic gel (I will assume that other folks saw less penetration in their tests than I did with the original Hydra-Shok). The center post was redesigned, and according to Federal, the revamp scored much better in the FBI protocol testing. That center post is much more prominent in the Hydra-Shok Deep, and the results of the new configuration are certainly there. Federal offers this bullet in their Personal Defense Line, in 9mm Luger (135 grains), .40 S&W (165 grains) and .45 ACP (210 grains). My Sig Sauer 1911 in .45 ACP really likes the 210-grain Hydra-Shok Deep load.
The large skives of the Federal Hydra-Shok Deep.
Author Phil Massaro’s favorite defensive handgun bullet: the Federal HST. A 230-grain .45 ACP Federal HST, upset in ballistic gelatin.
FEDERAL HST A good designer/engineer never stops tinkering, and they are rarely ever satisfied; Burczynski came up with another winner when he designed the Federal HST. It was intended to provide unprecedented expansion without
The recovered .45 ACP HST weighed 228 grains.
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
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bullet bulletin
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giving up any of the penetration of the Hydra-Shok. Well, long story short, Burczynski nailed it, and his HST is my personal favorite of the lot. The upset HST bullet looks like a metallic flower with razor blades for petals; the skived jacket and deep hollowpoint
The .38 Special +P Micro HST Load, with the bullet seated flush with the case mouth.
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combine to give what I consider to be the consummate blend of terminal ballistics: deep penetration and excellent expansion, in an accurate and reliable load. It is this factory load that I carry daily in my .45 ACP, at 230 grains. Testing this bullet into ballistic gelatin, I have found that it opens consistently – no matter the medium, I have yet to see any HST “plug” and fail to open – and in the tests I’ve done with my .45 ACP, I’ve found the average expansion to be between .80 and .95 inch, with the retained weight to be above 95 percent. The Federal HST is one bad hombre. It is available in both standard and “Micro” loading in the Personal Defense line – the latter being optimized to perform in shorter-barreled handguns – in .380 Auto (99 grains Micro), 9mm Luger (124 and 147 grains standard; 150 grains Micro), .38 Special +P (130 grains Micro, seated flush with the case mouth), .40 S&W (140 grains), 10mm Auto (200 grains) and .45 ACP (230 grains).
FEDERAL FUSION Designed with the same electro-chemical bonding process used in the Fusion rifle bullets, the Federal Fusion handgun ammunition makes a great choice for those who enjoy hunting with their handguns. Federal offers the Fusion in common handgun hunting cartridges, ranging from .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum, through the true big cases like .454 Casull, .460 Smith & Wesson and the mighty .500 Smith & Wesson. With a skived ogive and a copper jacket bonded to the lead core, the Fusion gives a lot of performance for the money; like most Federal loads, I’ve found them to be more than accurate enough for hunting. FEDERAL SYNTECH If you practice often with your handgun – and you most certainly should – the ammunition bill can get rather expensive. Federal has solved that problem with the Syntech bullet: it is a lead bullet with no copper
bullet bulletin The Federal Train + Protect ammunition, built around the VHP – or Versatile Hollow Point – bullet. The Syntech ammunition line represents a great value to the high-volume shooter.
jacket, instead encapsulated with the TSJ polymer coating, eliminating metal-to-metal contact. It is affordable – with boxes of 50 cartridges having a street price of between $15 and $22, depending on the cartridge – and runs very clean. Federal uses a lead-free primer (important for indoor shooting ranges) and a clean-burning propellant; the Syntech ammo will make you happy when you clean your sidearm and see how clean it actually runs. Federal offers Syntech in its loaded ammunition and in component form for the handloaders, in 9mm Luger, .40 S&W and .45 ACP (loaded ammo) and 9mm, .40 and .45 (component).
Federal’s 9mm Luger Syntech load runs clean and is plenty accurate.
Massaro testing .45 ACP ammunition at the Federal ammunition plant in Anoka, Minnesota.
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ODDS & ENDS Federal offers a quality full metal jacket (FMJ) bullet in most common calibers, as well as their jacketed hollowpoint in the Power-Shok “blue box” line. The new Train + Protect line is built around the Federal Versatile Hollow Point (VHP) bullet, for an affordable yet effective load that will allow the shooter to practice routinely without breaking the bank, and use the same ammo for the defensive weapon. Ever innovative, Federal remains on the cusp of bullet development, and this article only highlights their proprietary designs. Federal has long been known for embracing a great number of different brands, and they continue to do so, even in their handgun cartridges. Take some time to peruse federalpremium.com and see how many different bullets are loaded in their ammunition; these guys take ammo very seriously.
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RAW DOG TACTICAL The folks at Raw Dog Tactical believe in having confidence in your everyday carry. With adjustable retention to find the perfect fit, leather backing for all-day comfort, and a Kydex shell for trigger protection, their team of skilled craftsmen strives to provide the highest quality holster that America offers.
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COVERT CARRIER Covert Carrier, Inc. has added SIG 238 and SIG 938 grips to their line. The G-10 grips can be purchased as a set or single right- or left-handed options. Visit their website or call (702) 245-6302 for more info.
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DARA HOLSTERS Dara Holsters’ patented Curved Clip is designed to mimic the curve of the waistline, offering 100 percent clip-to-belt contact while carrying, keeping the gun and holster close to the body at all times. Concealed carry has never been so easy.
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BULLARD LEATHER A new addition to Bullard Leather holsters is the thumb break snap, designed to be used on most of the company’s holsters. The back is reinforced leather to keep from breaking down, and the strap can even be made with exotic leather. The holster pictured is a Combat Holster for a Glock 19/23/32 with the thumb break snap.
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CLIPDRAW Everyday carry made simple. Comfortable and discreet concealed carry without a holster. American-made, fits for all handguns.
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SALUTE To GUNS The massive 30-pound 4-Bore Magnum double rifle.
MAGNUM OF MAGNUMS
‘Think artillery’ when it comes to the 4-bore double rifles of Austrian gunmaker Peter Hofer. STORY BY JIM DICKSON • PHOTOS BY PETER HOFER
T
he long, illustrious history of the 4-gauge rifle goes back to the days of the muzzleloaders first employed against the pachyderms of India and Africa. These guns reached perfection with the advent of the breech-loading cartridge guns. The standard load was 14 drams of black powder behind a 1,882-grain slug, which would give an approximate velocity of 1,200 to 1,400 feet per second. The immense unbridled
power of a shoulder gun firing the maximum load for a ship’s swivel cannon generated 300 pounds of recoil energy in a 22-pound rifle. For the record, a ship’s swivel cannon larger than 4-bore size will normally tear itself out of the ship’s railing on firing. To call the 4-bore rifle a cannon is no understatement. Its long rifled barrel actually makes it more powerful than the ship’s swivel cannon. The necessity of these monsters was driven by the inability of small-
Austrian gunmaker Peter Hofer has built both the largest and the smallest double rifles ever made. Shown here is his 4-Bore Magnum (top), this article’s subject, and his .17-caliber.
bore black powder rifles of the day to deal with the enormous beasts of India and Africa. In those days the big game had not yet learned the fear of the white hunter and attacks by big game while traversing thick cover could be expected. Both 12bore and 10-bore rifles were tried and found wanting on elephants and rhino, the latter of which might charge as a matter of policy upon being disturbed. There was also Africa’s Cape buffalo and Asia’s gaur,
The monster 4-Bore packs a wallop both ways when fired, given its more than 300 foot-pounds of recoil energy. americanshootingjournal.com 53
Left side of the heavily engraved and gold inlaid 4-bore action.
the largest of all the wild bovines, a monster that makes the Cape buffalo look like a runt in comparison. Only the 8-gauge and the 4-gauge proved up to the task of reliably stopping them under the worst conditions. The 8-gauge guns with 200 pounds of recoil energy in an 18-pound rifle proved the most popular, as they were the most gun that many men could effectively use. For those who were man enough to handle them, the 4-gauge was the logical choice. It is worth noting that nothing has ever come close to the stopping power of the 8- and 4-gauge guns, regardless of the energy figures of high-velocity smokeless cartridges bandied about. When facing a charge from the largest and most dangerous game on Earth in thick cover at a range of just a few feet, you
Right side view of the action.
don’t want anything else. Trying to substitute smaller calibers with high velocity and paper energy figures for big heavy bullets on big game at close range has produced a long line of tombstones continuing down to the present day. Size does matter. THE EXTREME WEIGHT and recoil of these behemoths led to the decline in their use when powerful smokeless powder rifles became available. Cartridge size is another factor that figured prominently in their demise, yet no one has ever put this in print. A box of 4-gauge shells weighs 25 pounds and will fill a Vietnam-era fanny pack. The shells themselves are just over an inch thick. Compare this to the svelt .577 3-inch Nitro Express, whose rounds fit nicely in shell loops on your shirt, and you can see that a full
A size comparison of the largest and the smallest double rifle barrels with a .375 H&H double barrel set between them for comparison. When you think of 4-bores, think big, think artillery.
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
day’s shooting by a professional ivory hunter requires ammo bearers for the 4-gauge. The .577 Nitro Express has only half the recoil of the 8-gauge and a third the recoil of the 4-gauge, as well as a comparatively mild 100 foot-pounds of recoil energy. Don’t kid yourself. That still hurts. But the demand for the ultimate stopping rifle never completely went away and very small numbers of 4-bore rifles continued to be built. I well remember handling a 4-bore hammerless H&H that I lacked sufficient funds to buy many years ago. In more recent years, the 4-bore was the subject of one of the most impressive feats of double rifle regulation ever done. The late David Perkins was one of the finest English Best Quality gunmakers of the 20th Century. Since most people only want to buy old established gunmaking names, he bought the Charles Lancaster name to make guns under. Perkins was helping Mark Crudgington, another great gunmaker, build a 4-bore double rifle when he accomplished the great feat of calculating the amount of the wedge that would go between the barrels so that the gun was perfectly regulated the first time it was test fired. It was a feat made all the more difficult by the fact that double rifles have to be individually regulated, as the amount of spreading the barrels to prevent cross firing varies from gun to gun in the same caliber. The big gauge guns are a bit more forgiving, but still, this is the only time that I know of that this has been
SALUTE TO GUNS
The magnificent engraving on another Peter Hofer 4-Bore Magnum double rifle.
done successfully. IN TODAY’S WORLD, velocity is king and magnums are all the rage. Austrian gunmaker Peter Hofer has risen to the challenge and built what can only be termed the 4-Bore Magnum, a gun firing a 1-inch-diameter 2,000-grain bullet at up to 2,624 feet per second. The standard loads are a high load at 2,418 fps and a medium load at 1,903 fps. Hofer says the recoil of the medium load is 199.14 foot-pounds (that’s down to 8-bore recoil levels!), the high load is 317 foot-pounds, and the maximum load is 373.21 footpounds. The maximum load has an energy of 30,671 foot-pounds. That’s five times higher than the impact energy of the .700 Nitro Express. According to the Taylor Knock Out value formula, the 4-bore maximum load has a KO Factor of 750, the high load has a KO Factor of 690, and the medium load has a KO
The .17-caliber and 4-bore double’s muzzles with their respective cartridges.
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
Factor of 543. This is emphatically and drastically superior to all the modern nitro calibers. The KO Factor of the .700 Nitro Express is a mere 196, while the .600 NE is 155.9, the .500 NE is 89.3, the .470 NE is 72.9, and the .416 Rigby is 57.1. Accuracy of the 4-bore rifle is up to all standards for heavy-gauge rifles, as it groups within 9 centimeters
(that’s 3.54 inches) at 40 yards with 1-inch-diameter bullets. You don’t use a heavy rifle on big game at long range. Remember the old elephant hunter’s advice to a newcomer to the trade: “Get as close as you can to the elephant and then get 10 yards closer.” I would add the admonition to not overdo that, as I remember one hunter who got too close and his elephant
A 4-bore being built dwarfs the post bench vice holding it.
Stocking the 4-bore requires a massive block of wood chosen for great strength as well as beauty.
americanshootingjournal.com 57
SALUTE TO GUNS The 4-bore springs to life from the drawing board ...
nearly fell on him when he shot it. You can overdo anything, it seems. When firing a gun with over 300 foot-pounds of recoil energy, proper form is mandatory. You cannot brace against it and fight the recoil without getting injured. You have to lean into the gun and get a firm grip on it, as a gun of this size and recoil can fly out of your hands if held loosely and fired. If you have a long neck, you might be advised to brace it as well to prevent whiplash effect. Hold the gun firmly against the shoulder so that it does not work up speed before hitting you, but not so tight that the
Hofer with his 4-bore in the heart of the British Best Quality Gun trade, London.
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
... to the workbench.
tissue is compressed before it has to be. Now relax the rest of your body and fire, letting the gun push you upright. People who fire big guns from a straight upright position or leaning backwards to better balance the heavy weight of the gun have no more room to be pushed back and end up knocked down. The trick is to roll with the punch like a boxer and allow yourself sufficient room to give with the blow and still not affect your balance. THE 4-BORE MAGNUM weighs 30 pounds and is 49.9 inches long with a 24.4inch barrel. This extra weight is absolutely necessary to handle the recoil of this monster. I just wish the black powder-era 4-bores had weighed this much. Smokeless powder produces less recoil than black powder and a special smokeless powder was developed to fill up the huge case. It had to burn slow, as a fast-burning powder would produce unbearable recoil at these velocities and could cause injury to the shooter. The huge slug had to be started slowly like a rocket lifting off for the gun to be safely fired at these velocities. The special highvolume powder with pores and a hollow body took years to develop. It is the only powder with sufficient volume and a slow enough burn
rate to make this gun shootable at these high velocities. Personally I would be content with stopping at the ballistics of the original 4-bore load and would not want any more velocity than their medium load if I ever felt the need for more power. I definitely do not consider 30 pounds an excessive weight for any 4-bore and I am strong enough to easily handle a gun of this size. This is one gun I really wish I had the money to buy and go hunting with. Getting the brass cases made to this size proved a daunting task and added to the headaches, time and cost of the project. Designing the ejectors was a hard task, as they would have to deal with cases that weigh 1 pound when fully loaded. Getting them strong enough to work without requiring excessive force to close the gun was a difficult problem. A lot of experimentation with the pivot points on the ejectors resulted in getting sufficient leverage that the extremely strong ejector springs are barely noticeable when closing the gun. Early 4-bore guns made with ejectors typically require you to hold the barrels further down toward the muzzle to get sufficient leverage to close them easily. All told, it took 12 years to work out all the problems to develop
SALUTE TO GUNS this rifle, which then takes 10,000 working hours to make. That has raised the price considerably, as that money has to be recovered. Peter Hofer would have to build at least 10 weapons at $899,189 USD just to break even. Currently the price for this gun is $1 million USD. It’s not for everyone but it costs what it has to cost. Remember that this gun was designed and made to push the limits of gunmaking and big game rifle performance to a new level. The high cost of the years of development is the reason that no one else has done it. A project like this is done for the sake of doing it instead of mere monetary gain. When you want to make the best gun ever made in its category, the cost is high both to the maker and the customer.
Hofer shooting the 4-bore for accuracy from the standing rest you use with double rifles.
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Editor’s note: For more information, contact peterhofer@hoferwaffen.com or visit hoferwaffen.com.
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
BLACK POWDER
Author Mike Nesbitt’s restored “round top” rolling block is shown with .50-70-caliber loads, the same as General George A. Custer’s model of the Remington Sporting Rifle was chambered for.
‘ROUND TOP’ ROLLING BLOCK RESTORED Inspired by a Sporting Rifle carried by Custer, a black powder enthusiast rebuilds his model. STORY AND PHOTOS BY MIKE NESBITT
R
emington’s No. 1 Sporting Rifle was introduced around 1868. That was a rather quiet introduction and this sporter was not identified or named as such until 1874. The No. 1 Sporting Rifles were last shown in a Remington catalog in 1889 with a total production of under an estimated 13,000 rifles. Remington was simply concentrating
a lot more on filling military orders from several countries, and making sporting rifles was secondary. When the Remington sporting rifles first appeared, they were made using military receivers which had “round tops.” The top of the receiver ring was not “octagoned” like the later No. 1
Sporting Rifles, which were appearing around 1873 at about serial number 1400. These figures, taken from Roy Marcot’s book, Remington Rolling Block Sporting & Target Rifles, are educated guesses because Remington’s records for these changes simply do not exist. But with only about 1,400 of the round-top sporting rifles made, you can guess how interested I was when americanshootingjournal.com 63
BLACK POWDER
I found one at a very reasonable price. The price was reasonable because this gun had mismatched serial numbers. In other words, this rifle had been reassembled from pieces and parts long after it had left the factory. Also, the barrel had been shortened from the breech end by about 4 inches, and then lined and chambered to a nonblack powder caliber. The old rifle itself was little better than just a parts gun. However, the parts were actually in pretty good shape. And while the numbers on those parts didn’t match, they were all of the right ones. This old rebuilt rifle was certainly an outstanding candidate for restoring. The idea of restoring it put me on a path of research to help me decide what to restore it to, which caliber and such. ONE MEMORABLE CUSTOMER Remington had in the early 1870s was General George A. Custer, and he got his rifle
Like Custer’s .50-70 rolling block, Nesbitt’s has a 28-inch barrel.
through civilian channels instead of as a military order. Custer’s rifle was a .50-70, which was the military rifle cartridge at the time when he got his gun, in early 1873. This rifle was a Sporting Rifle and Custer carried it with him on each of the field maneuvers or expeditions he went on, including (we must guess) to the Battle of the Little Bighorn. We have to guess about Custer’s last battle because the rifle was not found and hasn’t resurfaced since. Remington liked Custer, and the general wrote letters back to the company telling great stories about how much he enjoyed using his rolling block, along with the fantastic shots he was making with it. At least one of those letters was reprinted in Remington’s catalog in 1876. Having very positive notes from an outspoken general like Custer was very good advertising. That led me on a trail to find out
The Montana Vintage Arms Rough & Ready sight is a copy of the old combination sight.
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American Shooting Journal // September 2019
more about Custer’s rolling block .50-70. The trail quickly led to the book General Custer and his Sporting Rifles by C. Vance Haynes, Jr. This is also a very good book that includes information on Custer’s sporterized Springfield trapdoor and on his .50-70 rolling block. There is no purchase order available for Custer’s .50-70 “roller” and no notes describing the details of the rifle. But there are several photographs where the rifle is included. Haynes used those old photographs to look at every detail that he could and came up with some excellent information. According to Haynes, Custer’s rifle had a 28-inch barrel, combination open and peep rear sight, single set trigger, Beach front sight, half-circle “cheek” or receiver extension on the forearm, and it did have the round-top receiver. One tiny detail that could not be determined was which fore-end cap the Custer rifle had. In the photos where his gun is shown, the fore-end cap is hidden either under fringe from Custer’s jacket or with a cartridge belt. However, going back to the Marcot book, it is shown that the usual steel nose-cap was typically in use on rifles serial numbered 700 and higher. With that, we can assume Custer’s rifle had the standard steel nose-cap. THAT INFORMATION SET the course for me; I would have my parts gun rebarreled and chambered for the .50-70. To do so meant having a barrel made and specially contoured to fit this rifle’s receiver and forearm because I didn’t want the forearm “gouged out” to fit a heavier barrel.
BLACK POWDER
Jerry Mayo tries an offhand shot with the restored sporter, making a good hit.
And I wanted the barrel to be 28 inches long, to make my rifle similar to the Custer rifle. The stock shouldn’t need any more work, according to my ideas, but the barrel would require bluing and I wanted the receiver case-hardened again. For
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this work, the gun was quickly sent to a shop that specializes in restoring Remington rolling blocks, C. Sharps Arms Company (csharpsarms.com). There, a Green Mountain .50-caliber barrel blank was cut to 28 inches and contoured with a taper
to fit the gun. A Rough & Ready rear sight from Montana Vintage Arms was installed on the barrel just forward of the receiver and the original Beach front sight was put in a slot cut near the front of the barrel. (New Beach front sights are also available from MVA; I have one on another rolling block.) The barrel was blued quite nicely and the receiver was given a pack hardening, which looks very good. The only pictures I have of this rifle were taken after the restoration work was done and I hope you agree with me, this old restored .50-70 roller is a looker! In fact, this restored roller looks so good to me that I thought about not shooting it and keeping it as a showoff piece instead. But oh no, it will be fired and probably shot quite a bit. My first shots with this restored rifle were taken with loads using 425-grain paper-patched bullets, cast from a KAL mold, over 65 grains of Olde Eynsford 2F black powder. The 425-grain paper-patched bullets were used in the old .50-70 Sporting loads and my loads are quite comfortable to shoot, and this rolling block is a light 8½-pound rifle. My first target was posted at just 50 yards to see what this rifle would do. The peep sight was used, set at its lowest setting. Even so, when holding the top of the front sight at 6 o’clock, the bullets hit at the top of the black. But the five-shot group was pleasing. You might ask if the rifle hits in the same place when the front sight is flipped from the blade to the circled bead? Yes, it does; the fiveshot group held three shots with the blade sight and two more with the bead on the post inside the ring. I can’t complain about that. Then my friend Jerry Mayo tried the rifle, shooting offhand at a paper plate that was set out at 100 yards. Jerry squeezed off his shot, which hit the plate very nicely, turned to me and exclaimed, “That’s a huntin’ gun!” He might have the right idea.
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Pre-1898 Turkish Mauser Rifles ready for direct shipment to collectors – no Federal Firearms License required.
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‘Stackin’ ’Em Deep And Sellin’ ’Em Cheap!’ Kentucky’s Centerfire Systems serves up bargains on guns, gear, surplus, ammo and so much more.
W
ith the slogan “Stackin’ ’em deep and sellin’ ’em cheap!”, Centerfire Systems, Inc. in central Kentucky is known as a leading value retailer among enthusiasts of all shooting sports and vintage military firearms. In fact, the company is the goto source for nearly all things AK-47 for the home-build hobbyist. Company founder Mike Davis was a bargain hunter extraordinaire and got into selling firearms as a side job after seeing one change hands twice at a local flea market, netting the middleman a quick $20. In the mid1980s, Davis’s buying savvy and hard work put him in a unique position to take advantage of a rapid succession of great opportunities, beginning with the influx of astonishingly inexpensive, and high-quality, Chinese SKS rifles. He knew from experience that gun show buyers characteristically spent
STORY AND PHOTOS BY FRANK JARDIM
A treasure trove of century-old Brazilian M1908 Mauser bayonets packed in grease with their leather scabbards.
upwards of $500 on a firearm, but rarely bought more than one new gun a year. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to buy more guns; they just didn’t have enough disposable income. Davis determined that the
imported SKS rifles could be packaged with 100 rounds of ammunition and a few accessories and still sell for around $100 – an offer just about everyone could afford and hardly anyone could pass up. Customers couldn’t get americanshootingjournal.com 69
A peek inside Centerfire Systems’ retail outlet in Versailles, Kentucky, just west of Lexington. With 48 hours’ advance notice, they’ll bring up any item from the warehouse for your inspection.
Company president and owner Shane Coe in the retail store, where customers can shop for guns, gear, ammo and see some of the most popular deals from their huge and everchanging online catalog inventory.
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enough of them and he made $20 on each sale. In 1985, Davis established Centerfire Systems Inc., and soon afterward, a second company, Advanced Technology Inc. (ATI), to make molded plastic sporting and tactical stocks for the SKS rifle. In those early years, there were a lot of deals to be found on imported military surplus and firearms: Norinco AKs, MAK 90s, Russian Makarov and Chinese Tokarev pistols, Mosin Nagants, Egyptian Hakim and Swedish Ljungman rifles, magazines, parts, and what amounted to a mountain of surplus ammunition and accoutrements. By keeping his prices low and margins small, Davis moved volumes of product and the business grew. Davis’s son-in-law, Shane Coe, took over Centerfire Systems’ operations as owner in 2004 and Davis sold his plastics molding company in 2008. WHEN IT COMES to rooting out bargains and identifying value, Shane Coe was cut from the same cloth as his father-in-law and the business continued to grow. Coe readily admits that he’s actually not much of a shooter or hunter. His thrill comes from the hunt for the deals that let Centerfire Systems deliver real value to their customers. Coe still finds caches of surplus dating back before World War I, stashed away decades ago. His quests have taken him to some surreal places. Back in the late ’80s, he would make mid-January visits to a towering brick 19th century locomotive repair shop that Vermont-based Century Arms used as their warehouse. Coe found that he could have the run of the place at that time of year because no one else wanted to be there in the bitter cold of a Vermont winter. The largely unlit and completely unheated ancient structure was packed with tons of military surplus just waiting to be rediscovered, but it was so cold that condensation that dripped from the ceiling turned to snowflakes before hitting the floor! For Coe, it doesn’t matter where the deal is or if it’s big or small; if it represents value he can pass on to the customer, he’ll explore it.
An exceptional Persian Mauser from a close-out deal. Pieces like this are usually listed individually on the website so the buyer sees the exact gun they’re purchasing. (CINDY CENTERS)
The receiver markings on the Turkish Army Mauser rifles show rebuilds and rechambering done in the 1930s. (CINDY CENTERS)
When I visited Centerfire Systems in August, staffers were cleaning, checking headspace, and grading hundreds of pre-1898 Turkish Army Mauser rifles they had procured when the “Golden Age” importer Springfield Sporters closed their doors for good last year. Reworked in the 1930s to chamber 7.92x57mm at Ankara arsenal, the rifles had been warehoused since the 1960s and are rich with the history of the Ottoman Empire. These Model 1893 Johnny Turks have seen their hundredth birthday and they show their age. Their once blued or polished bright steel now wears a mellow grey patina. Since these Mausers were originally built before 1898, they can be shipped direct to the customer for $180 with no Federal Firearms License transfer needed. Additionally, for an extra $20, Centerfire will “hand-select” a betterthan-average rifle for you. Older gun collectors will automatically look upon any “hand-select” charge as a scam to get a little extra money out of the customer for shipping just-the-next-one-on-the-pile. Coe understands this, which is why he ensures that the whole lot is inspected and sorted before any are sold. “If you pay extra,” Coe says, “you’re going to get that extra value knowing that your 72
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rifle is headspaced within specified tolerances and was among the prettier belles at the ball.” Another one of Coe’s amazing recent finds are thousands of Brazilian M1908 Mauser bayonets. Pulled from service in the 1950s, they were packed in grease and crated up, brassmounted leather scabbards and all. A large wooden surplus crate of them sits on the retail store’s floor, along with a roll of paper towels, so buyers can clean, inspect and select their own for just $50 each. I picked one at random and wiped it off to find a near perfect, untarnished blade. A century-
A brand new Romanianmade PM-AK semiauto kit with the hard work of populating and headspacing the barrel already done.
old Mauser bayonet in very good shape with its scabbard for only $50 is an outstanding and totally unexpected value in 2019. ONE OF THE largest product groups where Coe still sees tremendous value for the consumer is the AK-47 parts and accessories market. The earlier importations of hundreds of thousands of AK variant parts kits from Eastern European demilled guns has spawned a rise in domestic AK component manufacturing. Home-build hobbyists can now use these Americanmade parts and accessories to turn
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Some of the thousands of new semiauto AK receivers Centerfire Systems offers at close-out prices.
Coe inspects a genuine military surplus Romanian PM-rifle kit.
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those foreign parts kits into USC 922r-compliant semiautomatic sporting arms. Despite the ready availability of American-made compliance parts and build tools, the majority of AK parts kits sold are likely to go unbuilt because the purchaser is intimidated by certain facets of the project. Populating the barrel (installing rear sight base, gas block and front sight base) and installing and correctly headspacing the barrel in the front trunnion can be particularly alarming to the neophyte home-builder. To address this all-toocommon obstacle, Coe offers some AK parts kits where these moderately difficult yet safety-critical processes have already been done. For example, Centerfire Systems has brand-new-production, semiauto, Romanian PM-63 AK-47 parts kits, with a factory-new Romanian chrome-lined barrel already populated and correctly headspaced for $599.99. With plans to offer their other AKvariant parts kits the same way, there’s no excuse for not building your own semiauto AK rifle or pistol. Along with a large assortment of AK parts, magazines and accessories, Centerfire also offers a wide range of stamped AK receivers from Kalashnikov USA, DDI, IO, High Standard-Interarms, and Ohio Ordnance Works. All are priced from $29.99 to $69.99. Some even have the trigger guard and magazine release already installed. There are gunsmith special bargains too, starting at only $9.99 (if you can tolerate the fairly easy tasks of cleaning up some rust, hardening the pin holes and installing
Close-out deals on Swedish Mausers: cleaned, inspected and brought up from the warehouse to be photographed for the website.
the center support rivet yourself). These are the kinds of great buys that make the Centerfire Systems website so much fun to explore. You never know what bargain you’ll find. Customers who provide an e-mail find out about the newest deals first: an unissued Russian M40 steel helmet for $39.99, new shotguns for $120 each, Sightmark red-dot sights going for less than cost at $100, Persian Army Mauser rifles from the 1930s
Centerfire Systems has five warehouses they have “stacked deep” so they can “sell cheap.” (CINDY CENTERS)
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for $399.99, a 2,500-round brick of Armscor .22 LR ammo for $100, etc. ORIGINALLY A MAIL-ORDER company, Centerfire Systems went online in 2007 and then opened their retail gun store for the surrounding Lexington, Kentucky, market in 2015. Five customer service representatives are available six days a week to assist with customers’ orders. You won’t get lost in a frustrating labyrinth of
automated phone prompts here. A real person picks up the phone every time to get you the help or answers you need. The retail store is adjacent to the phone bank for additional technical assistance as well. Qualified Glock and AR armorers staff the gun shop. Their off-site warehouses are stacked floorto-ceiling with thousands of different inventory items. If you find something on their website that you want to check out in person, you’ll want to call 48 hours in advance before you visit the store so they have time to bring samples to the showroom. “These are great times for the customer,” Coe says. “Gun sales have slowed dramatically since the election and prices have dropped accordingly, which lets us make great deals on firearms, ammunition, magazines, military surplus and tactical gear. Centerfire Systems can pass those values and savings on to our customers at prices lower than many of them have ever seen.” Check out centerfiresystems.com, sign up for their e-mail sale alerts, or call (800) 950-1231.
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ROAD HUNTER
7 BUCKS, 1 SEASON, 1 HUNTER
Author Scott Haugen ranks this Sonoran Coues deer as the toughest tag he had to fill of the seven, and he couldn’t have been more pleased with this great buck.
Chasing animals from Oregon to the Dakotas to Mexico to Alaska fulfills first ‘deer slam.’ STORY AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT HAUGEN
I
t began as a vision, one that initially sounded doable, but in reality I knew would be unlikely. “It’s never been done before, taking the deer slam in a single season,” shared one outdoor industry authority. Those words motivated me to fill all seven tags, or at least try my best. Sometimes the hunts ended quickly, other times they extended to the final day. In the end, dreams became reality, and a lifetime of memories are now locked in my mind. Every hunt had a story, and it’s these stories that I’m thrilled to share. COLUMBIAN WHITETAIL When plans were finalized for a Columbian whitetail deer hunt in my home state of Oregon, I knew it would likely be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At the time, it was only the second hunting season in over a quarter century following a federal closure to protect the rare deer, and tags were tough to get. This was my first deer hunt of the season, and though success rates are high for this subspecies, I wanted a big buck or nothing. I grew up hunting and fishing amid the breathtaking Umpqua River Valley, near Roseburg, the only place in the world these deer can be hunted. I’d watched them my entire life, but when the chance came to actually hunt one, the level of intensity americanshootingjournal.com 81
ROAD HUNTER picked up. Less than 30 minutes into the first day of hunting, a nice 3x5 popped out of an oak draw, feeding on acorns. Inside 100 yards, the shot would have been easy, but the buck was clearly a young one. Three days later, and having not seen a better buck, I was secondguessing my decision. Then, on the final morning of the season, I spotted a buck working its way into the hills from the river bottom. A short stalk found me in a prone position, waiting for the buck to move my way. Finally, as the buck slithered out of the tall, dry grass, a shot opportunity presented itself. When the eight-point, heavy-racked deer buckled at the shot, a lifetime dream was realized. It was October, and my first of seven deer tags was filled.
Perhaps the most prized deer tag in the country at the time, Haugen took this Columbian whitetail near his Oregon home. This fine buck marked the start of his single-season deer slam quest.
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MULE DEER Later in the month I found myself in the extreme northwest corner of South Dakota, bowhunting for mule deer in the badlands. Given the broken terrain and time of year, spot-and-stalk was the rule. I’d already blown a good opportunity on a nice 4x4, then stalked to within range of an even bigger deer, but could not hold the bow steady enough for a shot in the 50-mile-perhour crosswinds. On Halloween morning the wind finally died, the air was crisp and clean, and the mercury registered 9 degrees. As soon as the sun hit a gumbo knob, a big, lone muley buck worked his way up against a cutbank, then bedded, soaking up the early morning sun. Two hours later, I was within 10 yards of the deer but didn’t have a shot. His body was blocked by a tight cutbank. Slowly backing out, I worked in from another angle. Hands numb from the cold morning, I ranged the buck at 17 yards. He laid facing away from me, and, given his position, gave me about a 3-inch window. The arrow hit the mark, and the buck bolted a short distance before toppling. The 29½-inch-wide buck was my largest bow-killed muley to date.
ROAD HUNTER Haugen knows he could hunt a lifetime on Kodiak Island and never again take a Sitka blacktail of this magnitude. He considers it one of his greatest bucks of all time, and the fact that it was rattled in makes it that much sweeter.
COLUMBIAN BLACKTAIL A few days later, I was back in my home state of Oregon, hunting what I consider to be the toughest trophy deer to consistently attain in all of North America, the Columbian blacktail. Unfortunately, I had only two days to hunt. I rattled and called all day long, covering miles of ground on foot, but came up empty. Day two found my fouryear-old son, Kazden, by my side, as he so wanted to hunt deer with Dad. More than anything Kazden wanted to skin a deer with his new knife, and I wanted him along to experience the entire hunt. A few hours of hunting turned up nothing, then we bumped into a spike. All I had to hear was Kazden’s level of interest, and how eager he was to skin his first deer. Fortunately a spike was legal with the tag I held, and though I revel in taking big blacktails, pulling the trigger on this buck made for the most memorable hunt of the season. Kazden was elated, and after fielddressing and skinning the little buck together, I knew it was a bonding 84
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moment we’d never forget. We also had some of the best eating venison one could ask for. This blacktail, though little, had a huge impact on my son’s life. WESTERN WHITETAIL Prior to Thanksgiving I was on the road to Idaho, in search of western whitetail in the southern part of that state’s panhandle. Well into the hunt, one morning we hiked the rugged ridges in the Clearwater region, and found a nice buck bedded high on a hill. Given the buck’s position, there was no way of getting closer. Setting up the shooting sticks, it was obvious the shot would be a long one. Then the sun broke over the hill directly behind the buck, botching my view. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find the buck through the intense glare in my scope. Then he bolted. As he headed up the steep hillside, I moved behind a big pine tree, searching for shade. The buck was with a doe, and they weren’t slowing down. Quickly setting up, I knew there would only be time for
one shot before they crested the ridge. Placing the reticle of my Trijicon scope on the buck’s nose, I pulled the trigger on the .300 Winchester Magnum as he continued trotting in a straight line, uphill. At 340 yards, the bullet found its mark, dropping the 10-point buck and sending him toppling down the ridge more than 100 yards before coming to rest. SITKA BLACKTAIL I’ve hunted Kodiak Island a few times, and on this hunt decided to go late in the season, during the rut, so I could rattle. On my first setup of the first morning, I stumbled into a flat where several draws met. Snow had fallen all night, and continued coming down. Fresh deer trails and buck rubs were everywhere. Initiating my first rattling sequence, all felt good. Moments later a gorgeous buck emerged from the thick brush. A perfect 4x4 with eyeguards, his heavy, dark rack commanded my attention as he moved through the snow. When he turned broadside, I stopped him with a mouth grunt, and the .300 once again came through. Carrying 105 inches of
ROAD HUNTER I figured it was over. Fortunately he turned 180 degrees, looking back at the doe. The instant the buck stopped, the shot was on its way, hitting the mark. Approaching the downed buck, he was even bigger than I thought, a record book qualifier that marked the final deer needed for my slam. But it wasn’t over yet.
Haugen’s desert mule deer, taken in Sonora, marked the last buck that fell in his season of a lifetime.
antler, he was a true Sitka blacktail buck of a lifetime, one that will be hard to beat no matter how many more years I may hunt them. Sometimes things just come together fast when hunting. COUES WHITETAIL January found me in Sonora, Mexico, hunting for prized Coues deer. The conditions were tough with a recordsetting two-week cold spell and chilling winds that put the bucks in the brush.
The rut was also delayed. Finally, midway through the hunt, a buck was spotted with a doe on the edge of some thick brush. While she fed, he followed, then bedded down. Buddy Jeremy Toman and I wasted no time making a stalk. Unfortunately, the doe busted us, and they both fled. Remarkably, we found the buck again, tucked into thick brush, tending the doe. Just as I got set up in the shooting sticks, the buck bolted, and
After a long stalk in biting cold temperatures, Haugen finally arrowed this handsome South Dakota mule deer at 17 yards.
DESERT MULE DEER A couple days after securing the Coues deer, a hunt for desert mule deer in Sonora provided an opportunity to add to an already blessed deer season. As the cold weather broke, more bucks started moving. We passed up some nice deer, hoping for better. Then, on the second to last day of the hunt, a pair of battling mule deer caught our eyes. We could see one was wide, pushing 30 inches, but he had several broken tines. But the buck he fought was high and heavy. As soon as the wide buck cleared the other, Toman urged me to shoot. A heart shot found the buck not going far. Kneeling beside that grand Sonoran muley, I reflected on a magnificent season. Not only had I taken a mule deer subspecies I’d dreamed of hunting my entire life, but I’d just taken my seventh different deer in four months of hunting. Will it happen again? Likely not. The tags I drew that fall and the people I connected with to help make everything come together were an act that’s tough to duplicate. Possible, yes. Probable, no. Everything simply went right, from airline travel to favorable weather conditions on each hunt to finding bucks in shootable positions to being able to make the shot when it counted. That’s hunting, and that’s what I love so much about it; nothing is ever a guarantee. Editor’s note: For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s series of popular hunting books, visit scotthaugen.com. Scott is host of The Hunt on Amazon Prime. Follow him on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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BROUGHT TO YOU BY
FERAL PERIL
Hunting wild boar has a proud tradition in Europe, but in the U.S., where they’ve been introduced or escaped from farms, Sus scrofa is non grata due to damage they cause. Here’s how to pursue them.
While author Jim Dickson recognizes that hunting wild boar is a noble pursuit in Old World countries, one that is centuries old and still practiced with spears by some, the species’ introduction to the New World is causing increasing problems for native wildlife and farming.
STORY BY JIM DICKSON • PHOTOS BY SHUTTERSTOCK
H
unting the wild hog is a tradition as old as man himself. In Europe the wild boar was considered a worthy opponent for heroic warriors who faced him with sword and spear. Throughout the centuries, many men were killed, as the European wild boar is a brave and savage animal that can fight unflinchingly to the death. Often he will disdain to squeal or cry out even
if mortally wounded as he fights to the bitter end. If cornered by dogs, he normally will shake them off and charge the first man on the scene. Only death will stop him. That is why boar spears have a short, thick, wood crossbar lashed to the shaft behind the massive spearhead used on them. That is to prevent the boar from running up the spear shaft to get at the man at the other end. These boar spears are heavier-bladed and
thicker-shafted than the ones used on men in wartime, as they want to inflict the maximum amount of damage and bleeding to the quarry and the shaft must not break, no matter how much the stricken boar pushes the hunter on the other end around. If that shaft breaks, the boar is on the hunter in a heartbeat and only quick skillful use of a sword can save the hunter then. When a boar bites a man, he takes out a plug as clean as a cookie americanshootingjournal.com 89
the speed of the lower powered 8mm. A sorbuthane recoil pad and a mercury recoil reducer are a great help for any gun that you have to shoot fast and this type of hunting in Germany often means fast shooting. For those whose wallets are less well endowed, bolt-action rifles for the rimless versions of these two cartridges, the 8x57 JRS and the 9.3x62, are preferred. It should be noted that while the American loads for the 8mm Mauser are underpowered and hit like a .30-30, the European loads are much more powerful and hit more like a .338 Magnum on game.
Variously known as wildschwein, sanglier and cinghiale in Germany, France and Italy, wild boars are widespread across Europe. But according to concerned US officials, feral swine have been reported in 33 states as of last year, up from 20 in 1982.
cutter in dough, and those big jaws take out a big plug. A single bite has often proved fatal over the centuries. In past times, men sometimes wore their armor when fighting wolves, boars and bears with spear and sword –a very smart move that greatly increased their life expectancy. This tradition of hunting boars with cold steel has never died out in Germany, where boar spears are still made and used in the dark primeval forests by hunters adhering to the old heroic ideals of the hunt. This is as thrilling as dangerous game hunting gets. THAT IS NOT to say that hunters today do not use firearms, as most of them do. One of the charming things about the great city of Berlin is its parks, yet most Americans do not know that you can legally go wild boar hunting there inside the city. You are required to use an elevated stand so that all bullets exit the boar into the ground and none go horizontally through the park to imperil picnickers or walkers. In recent years there have been the usual anti-hunting protests 90
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there, just like everywhere else in the world. In Berlin, a wild boar provided the best response to them when he invaded a city shop and chased everyone out while he wrecked the place. It’s amazing just how much mayhem and damage a big wild boar can cause in the small confines of a shop. It is better imagined rather than experienced first-hand, though. Wild boars are tough to stop and perfect shot placement is more important on them than most other game. The Germans found that nothing stops a wild boar’s legendary charge with more authority than 12-gauge Brenneke slugs. You can buy double-barreled shotguns and drillings regulated for these slugs in Germany. Double rifles are popular among those who can afford them because of their fast two shots. The most popular calibers are the rimmed version of the 8mm Mauser, the 8x57 JRS, and the 9.3x74R, a .375 H&H Magnum equivalent. While the 8mm can take out two boars running close together past your stand easily, the more powerful 9.3 needs a mercury recoil reducer in the stock to match
WHILE THE EUROPEAN wild boar (often called the Russian wild boar in the U.S.) is the ancestor of your domestic pig, it is a much smarter, stronger and fiercer beast. It is a lean animal with razor-sharp tusks extending 3 to 6 inches that slash out quickly, propelled by the powerful shoulders and low hindquarters. They can run as fast as a deer and they can easily weigh from 350 to 600 pounds. They often will turn on dogs intent on pursuing them, instead of running. Forty percent casualties among the dogs is common. While this seems unnecessarily cruel to the dogs, these nocturnal animals can be difficult to hunt without them. What a herd of wild hogs can do to a farmer’s crops is a lot more cruel, as is what they may do to the farmer’s children or the farmer himself, for a wild boar with a sow and piglets is very prone to attack on sight. They rank with the old man-eating European wolf and the European brown bear (which is identical to the American grizzly bear) as Europe’s most dangerous big game animal and there is a long line of graves dating back to the Stone Age backing up that rating. In terms of the number of people that they have killed down through the ages, they rank behind the European wolf (a much deadlier animal than his North American counterpart) and ahead of the European brown bear, which is normally not a man-eater like the
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“In most places hog hunting is a desperate fight to keep their numbers down. They are an invasive species that wreaks havoc on wildlife habitat and the wildlife itself,” writes Dickson. They’re also considered a vector for disease.
European wolf is and the bears are not as mean and vicious as the wild boar. This savage animal was imported from Germany’s Black Forest to the game preserve of Austin Corbin in New Hampshire in the 1890s. The Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee got three stocking punches. A man named Barnes imported some from the Schwarzwald around the turn of the century and two North Carolina brothers brought some breeding pairs in from Russia after World War I. An Englishman named George Moore established a hunting preserve in North Carolina and brought in his group in 1910. As any farmer could have told these folks, you can’t keep a 92
American Shooting Journal // September 2019
hog in with a fence and you can’t keep a fence up in the woods with all the trees falling on it. The hogs soon spread out into the Smoky Mountains, where they quickly earned a reputation as the most dangerous animals in the woods. They have even killed black bears that tried to prey on them. MANY OF THE wild “Rooshuns” have interbred with the domestic hogs gone wild, called razorbacks. This produces a more dangerous hog than the usual tame hog gone wild. The domestic hog gone wild has proved an environmental disaster, as the pigs’ ability to breed fast like rabbits and subsist on most any food has resulted in them eating the food and young
of more highly valued wildlife, to say nothing of the devastating effect they have on the farmer’s fields. Turkeys, grouse, quail, pheasants, ducks, geese, etc., all build their nests on the ground where the pig’s keen sense of smell can locate them. Then it’s eggs for dinner. Until the young are fully fledged and can fly, they have no chance of outrunning a pig and they are gobbled up like popcorn. The pig’s overdeveloped sense of smell often makes hiding from them futile. Rabbits and other small game also are vulnerable to losing their young to hogs. Even fawns have been taken. Hogs have also been known to eat all the available food in an area, like a herd of sheep, before moving on. When a herd of hogs has eaten all the food in an area, there is nothing left for anything else to eat so that area is now barren of wildlife. Due to their incredible breeding and reproductive ability, herds of wild hogs can become huge fast. The effect on the wildlife is often more devastating than that of the coyotes that have recently spread outside their native habitat. When both are present, you will really see game populations plummet. Like coyotes, they no longer have any natural predators to keep their numbers in check and there are insufficient hunters to fill the gap. As a result, their population keeps growing while the desirable native species populations decline proportionately. A herd of hogs can destroy a farmer’s livelihood overnight and they multiply faster than they can be hunted out. They are a problem in more than half of the states now. Most places have no closed season and no bag limit, plus you are allowed to hunt them at night. That’s a necessity for their control, as they are nocturnal. Large numbers of night vision devices and thermal imaging scopes are bought by hog hunters. Silencers open many areas to hunting, as most people do not want to be awakened by gunshots all night long. Farmers work hard and need their rest. Staking out the fields they forage on at night can be very productive. In some places they are hunted from planes and helicopters, as
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this is a matter of a farmer’s economic survival and not sport hunting. Dogs are always popular for running them down, but even the domestic pig gone wild can be very tough on a dog pack. Still, this is often the only way to make a dent in their numbers in the daytime. MANY OF THE hogs shot are smallish due to their enormously fast reproductive rate turning out so many each year. For this reason, the 5.56mm has been popular. Personally I would go with the M1 carbine over the 5.56mm any day because it has so much more stopping power. Bigger guns are better, though. I know of at least two of these hogs that were shot and turned out to weigh over 1,000 pounds. I do not think an elephant rifle would be out of place for either of those two overgrown monsters. Many of the men who hunt them with dog packs use pistols to kill them. I know a holster maker who has sold some of these men Western buscadero holsters like you see in the cowboy movies because they want to make a fast draw when the hog and the dogs are mixing it up before they lose some dogs to those tusks. I would not recommend anything but .45s and .44s for this game – and definitely would not consider anything smaller. Some of these men evoke the European hunting tradition of the short hunting sword when they use a bowie knife to kill a hog the dogs are holding onto. Hog hunting can be as dangerous as you want to make it. In most places hog hunting is a desperate fight to keep their numbers down. They are an invasive species that wreaks havoc on wildlife habitat and the wildlife itself. They can bankrupt a farmer in no time. While most of these razorbacks will run from you, there is always one who may attack. I have seen a hog put a man up a tree faster than a squirrel could climb. I didn’t think that that guy could move that fast. You would think that lesson would have taught him not to go out in the woods without a gun, but I am afraid some people can never learn. I also have seen one chase a man like a dog chasing a car that 94
American Shooting Journal // September 2019
has no intention of catching it; he just wants to chase it. Pigs are smart. Make no mistake about it. Just ask any farmer who has raised some. They can outwit a hunter because they have the home turf advantage. You are playing on their home court and they know the terrain and all the possible moves that are open to them. On the rare occasions that they are not fully occupying their minds with thoughts of food, they can put those piggy brains to good use, plotting and planning with the best of them. One tactic that is fortunately not too common is the massed charge at the hunter. You’d better be able to shoot fast and accurately when that happens. This is a time for militarytype semiauto assault rifles with big magazines and full-power military cartridges instead of reduced power assault rifle cartridges like 5.56mm and 7.62x39mm. All herd animals are capable of employing this tactic and I have seen it often enough in different species that I will never overlook that possibility in any type of herd. Most of the time these domestic hogs gone wild are too busy trying to escape to be a danger. Most of the time. Just remember, they can turn on you and be prepared for whatever. I have been around hogs all my life and I have always had a deep-seated distrust for them, just as I do for cattle. Both hogs and cattle can get it in their heads to hurt you for no reason and they are both capable of killing you. Just a few months ago in Europe, a woman fell in her hog pen and was eaten alive. They were not starving or abused pigs, either. Just plain old barnyard hogs. Over the centuries, chopping up a body and feeding it to the hogs was used repeatedly to remove the corpus delicti and thus hide a murder. While rare, there are reports in past times of rogue man-eating wild boars in Europe. Considering the hogs’ taste for meat, some of these stories are undoubtedly true. NOT TOO LONG ago I crossed the tracks of about a 500-pound wild hog on my farm. I was instantly gunning for him, but he had already passed
through and I did not get to shoot him. He never came back but if he does, I am after bacon and not any “peaceful coexistence” tripe. That is one animal that I am definitely not sharing space with. Just one more reason I carry a .45. In these northern Georgia mountains, the mountaineers have a long history of hog hunting. In the old days you notched your hog’s ears for your mark and then turned them out in the woods to fatten on acorns and anything else that they could find until cold weather came and it was cool enough to butcher them and preserve the meat. Then you went hunting for your own hogs and not your neighbor’s. Shooting the other fellow’s hogs was the start of many a deadly feud in the old days when that meat was crucial to your family’s survival. Hog butchering was a big job and families often got together and went from one farm to another with everyone helping skin and butcher the hogs. That’s a big enough job that you really need any help that you can get to process them for the winter. It was another good reason to have big families, especially if you did not have neighbors close by. Today it bothers me to see a lot of hogs wasted, but when you have to kill so many just to save the native wild game and the farmer’s crops, it often is just not possible to deal with them all. Despite these methods, the pigs are winning this war. They are reproducing faster than they can be found and shot. Like coyotes that have expanded outside their native habitat, they are a scourge devastating the areas they infest. They have a major economic impact on the farmer and an incalculable impact on the hunting industry because of their destruction of game animals and their habitat. No game animals, no hunting, no revenue from the hunters and their purchases. A decline in hunting means less hunters and that also means less defenders of the Second Amendment. The damage wild hogs are doing to this country extends to all levels. They are a serious threat to be exterminated and not considered a game animal.
Bobbie Weiner’s Camouflage Face Paint
camofacepaint.com Bobbie Weiner has manufactured and provided Camo Face Paint to all branches of the U.S. military and hunting industry for 22-plus years. This past winter, Bobbie was asked by the military to create a new face paint kit. It is now available to all end users and distributors. The new three-color compact face paint wheel includes black, loam and olive green. There is also an unbreakable mirror included in the inside of the compact. Private labeling is available. Bobbie manufactures three-color, four-color and five-color compacts that all come with unbreakable mirrors. She also makes tubes filled with her camo face paint in Acu, Woodland and Scorpion colors. Her makeup is made of the highest quality. It is odorless, nonglare, non-toxic, hypoallergenic, washes off with soap and water, and has a four-year shelf life. Each compact will last for 20-plus applications. All makeup is manufactured and packaged in the USA.
Michlitch Company
spokanespice.com Do you like barbeque? Do you like hot sauces but don’t like a mess on your grill? Try this dry hot sauce rub, newly developed by Michlitch Company for Fletcher’s Sauce Company, located in Spokane, Washington. This dry rub is not too hot for covering a steak before cooking. It’s so good that you can sprinkle it on jojo potatoes, fries and grilled vegetables, or even on a tossed green salad for kicking things up a notch. The Brisket and Roast rub is excellent for grilling, pan frying or roasting. Rub the spice blend on both sides of a brisket, roast or steak before cooking. The Smokie BBQ is wonderful on ground beef, potatoes or grilled vegetables. Try it on a grilling rack or bowl over slices of onion and green pepper. The uses of these blends are limited only by your imagination! Buy retail online at spokanespice. com. Commercial bulk pricing is also available on these products. Call 509624-1490 for pricing.
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Clippership Motorhome
clippershiprv.com Clippership Motorhome is the oldest RV company in Alaska. They have been in business 37 years, providing families and individuals with a vacation “home away from home.” Clippership Motorhome has the largest selection of recreational vehicles in terms of size, class and category, designed to fit any budget. Their motorhomes are self-contained – you will have hot and cold running water, a water heater, a heater, a freezer, a refrigerator, and lights without plug-in. Alaska has no restrictions; you can park on the side of the road, by beautiful lakes and rivers, with your personal view out of the windows. Rates include linens, utensils, unlimited mileage, insurance and taxes. For reservations, call 800-421-3456, visit clippershiprv.com, or email info@ clippershiprv.com.
AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
VictoryTM Charging Handle – AR15 The Armaspec VictoryTM Ambidextrous charging handle designed for the 5.56/.223 rifle or pistol. With curved handles for hands free charging, integrated vents ports to route captured gas downward away from the face, and center force charging to reduce shaft twisting. Made from 7075-T6 aluminum and hard black anodized. Patents Pending.
$65.99
Curved Handles for Hands Free Charging | Ambidextrous Design Integrated Gas Vents | Center Force ChargingTM | FITS 5.56/.223 7075-T6 Aluminum | Made in U.S.A | Lifetime Warranty
www.armaspec.com
americanshootingjournal.com 5
Joseph Chiarello & Co., Inc.
Find what you need in spices and seasonings at our Spokane store or online at: SpokaneSpice.com
WE ALSO HAVE • herbs & spices • meat grinders • seasonal blends • meat saws • cutlery • how-to-books • supplies for sausage & jerky making!
guninsurance.com Joseph Chiarello & Co., Inc. is a family-owned and -operated business founded in 1934 that has specialized in insuring the firearms industry since 1979. Throughout those years many competitors have come and gone. For over 40 years, Joseph Chiarello & Co. has stood by the firearms industry.
The insurance coverage they provide is an important tool for managing one’s exposure to risk. They strive to provide the best products and services available to their clients, at reasonable prices. Their primary focus is on commercial general liability and property coverages. This program is underwritten by the Granite State Insurance Company. Policies are written on admitted paper in all 50 states.
AMMUNITION/RELOADING/PROJECTILES Accura Outdoors
accuraoutdoors.com With a dedication to using only the highest quality materials and machinery, as well as a relentless quality assurance program, Accura Outdoors has built a reputation for not only quality but consistency, along with the best customer service in the industry. After over a decade of selling to OEM loaders and the private label sector, they expanded their capacity and are taking that product straight to the consumer. Accura Outdoors’ goal is to offer the best options for hand loaders striving to reach the most cost-efficient way to shoot without sacrificing accuracy. Throughout the years, they’ve perfected their current offering of bullet options in .380, 9mm, .38, .40, .44, and .45, and a .30 caliber optimized for .300 Blackout. Customers can expect the highest quality, innovation and accuracy at a reasonable price from Accura Outdoors for years to come. They will not be stopping there; join the Accura Outdoors family as they continue to develop new products and improve the current ones. 6
AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
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AMMUNITION/RELOADING/PROJECTILES Black Hills Ammunition
black-hills.com Shooters looking for the ultimate performance in their .300 Whisper/Blackout guns will be pleased with a new copper bullet load from Black Hills Ammunition, the 110-grain Tipped TSX (TTSX) from Barnes Bullets (G1 B.C. of .295). This projectile was designed with a long ogive to ensure smooth and positive feeding, even from full 30-round magazines. It expands immediately upon impact and retains nearly 100 percent of its weight, penetrating to desired depths of 18-plus inches. Testing has shown it also performs well through tough barriers, such as car doors and windshields, making this a very suitable round for police patrol rifles. As a hunting bullet, it will provide superior performance against everything from whitetails to tough critters like monster hogs. This round provides great accuracy, flawless function and great terminal performance.
Rim Rock Bullets, Inc.
rimrockbullets.com Introducing the new 10mm 200-grain and 220-grain FP from Rim Rock Bullets. These bullets were brought to market due to popular demand from several writers and at least one company that wanted hard-hitting ammo for pistol hunters. The bullets are made with 15 Brinell hardness lead.
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AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
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AMMUNITION/RELOADING/PROJECTILES Matt’s Bullets Ammunition
Environ-Metal, Inc.
hevishot.com Environ-Metal, Inc., makers of HeviShot, bring you Hevi-Duty frangible, nontoxic bullets and cartridges. The patent-pending material system and process produces bullets that are: • More accurate than lead in independent tests; • Precision steel safe ammunition; • Nontoxic; • Frangible; • Match grade accuracy; • Non-sparking on steel targets; • Available in cartridges for indoor
and outdoor ranges. These bullets allow Environ-Metal to offer versatile cartridges that are: • Suited for all shooting venues: indoor and outdoor ranges, quarries, public land; • Non-sparking at impact and safe to use on any steel targets or rocks; • Deeply penetrating on soft targets, for home defense; • Substantially more accurate than lead for competition shooting; • Inexpensively priced to compete with lead; • Made in Sweet Home, Oregon.
mattsbullets.com/ammunition Here is finally a solution for those who want to shoot their .45 Colts that have oversized cylinders, or even worse, oversized bores. These cartridges are loaded with a hollow base wadcutter bullet and the pressure on the base of the bullet, as it is fired, blows the base of the skirt of the hollow base bullet into the rifling, making for a more accurate cartridge, especially in oversized revolvers. Matt’s Bullets makes high quality ammunition where each cartridge passes multiple inspections in the manufacturing
Matt’s Bullets
Premium Bullets & Ammunition The 500 S&W Specialists Including: 700 Grain
Tyrannosaurus Rex
500 S&W Shotshells
500 S&W Ammunition
Available in boxes of 20 and 50!
635 Grain
Grand Canyon HP
The Power and payload of a 28 gauge shotgun in a revolver! Also: 38/200 For Webley & Victory Revolvers
600 Grain
Long Flat Nose 500 Grain
XTP
440 Grain
Round Flat Nose 440 Grain
Low Recoil 425 Grain
Vaporizor HP 390 Grain
Over 100 bullets for reloading in most calibers!
Spire Point 350 Grain
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Now offering 240 grain 45 Colt Hollow Base ammunition!
104 Turkey Pen Road • Highland, AR 72542 • 870-856-6788
www.mattsbullets.com - for bullets 10
www.mattsbullets.com/ammunition - for ammunition
AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
COWBOY .25 .32 .38 .38 .38 .38-40 .44-40 .45LC .45LC .458
85 GR. 78 GR. 120 GR. 125 GR. 130 GR. 180 GR. 180 GR. 160 GR. 200 GR. 350 GR.
STANDARD .32KEITH 125 GR. .380 95 GR. 9MM 115 GR. 9MM 125 GR. .38 148 GR. .38 158 GR. .40 180 GR. .45ACP 200 GR. .45ACP 230 GR. .45LC 255 GR.
RNFP/500 RNFP/500 TC/500 RNFP/500 RNFP/500 RNFP/500 RNFP/500 RNFP/900 RNFP/500 RNFP/100
SWC/500 RN/500 RN/500 RN/500 DEWC/600 SWC/600 RNFP/500 SWC/500 RN/500 SWC/500
! S E C I R P R E W O L NEW GAS-CHECK .38 .357 .41 .44 .44 .44 .45LC .45LC .458 .500
! S E C I R P R E W O L NEW 158 GR. 180 GR. 230 GR. 240 GR. 240 GR. 305 GR. 260 GR. 325 GR. 430 GR. 440 GR.
SWC-HP/100 LBT-WFN/100 SWC/100 SWC-HP/100 SWC/100 LBT-WFN/100 SWC-HP/100 LBT-LWN/100 LBT-LWN/100 LBT-WFN/100
This is a good cross reference of the bullets we offer. We have about 144 set of molds with new molds coming. Sixteen employees working 10 hr. a day shifts 4 days a week with 9 casters, 6 auto lubers, and 12 star lubers gas checking every day. We have bullets made with five different alloys that we order in 40,000 - 60,000 lbs at a time a mixed per our set alloys. Prices subject to change without notice.
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AMMUNITION/RELOADING/PROJECTILES process. The .45 Colt Premium Target Ammunition is $44.95 for 50 cartridges. They also make other hard-to-find loads, such as a very light recoil .38 Special practice load for those who are recoil-
sensitive, especially with the popular lightweight concealed carry revolvers. Now you can practice without hurting! Feel free to call 870-856-6788 and talk to Matt about any questions you have.
Zero Bullet Company
zerobullets.com Fifty-two years. That’s how long the folks at the Zero Bullet Company have been manufacturing jacketed handgun bullets. And their expertise and craftsmanship show in their impressive competitive championship wins. Team Zero member Kevin Angstadt won the prestigious Bianchi Cup in 2014 using the company’s Number 136 9mm 125-grain jacketed hollow point competition bullet. Kim Beckwith has racked up multiple High Senior awards at the Cup with Zero’s .38 Super ammunitions. The National Pistol Championship? Zero’s been there and done that. Same with the Pistol 4-Man Team Championships at Ohio’s Camp Perry. An impressive record, for a company with equally as impressive credentials and products.
CLEANING/ GUN CARE Present Arms, Inc.
presentarmsinc.com The AR Hook is another “third hand” from Present Arms. It is an AR cleaning rod guide and upper receiver strut.
Simply hook the upper receiver and pin to the lower with the takedown pin. Use it with Present Arms’ patented Sentinel Plate and AR magazine post, sold separately, for the perfect user-friendly AR cleaning station.
Pistol Bullets and Ammunition Zero Bullet Company, Inc.
ZER 12
P.O. Box 1188 Cullman, AL 35056 Tel: 256-739-1606 Fax: 256-739-4683 Toll Free: 800-545-9376 www.zerobullets.com
AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
PrOlix
PrOlix is a penetrating solvent/ dry lube product that was lab-developed and tested by law enforcement, military and commercial shooters over many years. The citrus-based biodegradable cleaner, pioneered in 1995, is the first successful “all in one” gun care product, now deemed “Bio-Technology.” Their recyclable (strain and reuse) products are made of 89 percent or greater renewable resources, a true commitment to sustainable practices and caring for the environment. As such, the USDA has listed PrOlix as a BioPreferred Product since 2012. The solvent “goes on wet, cleans, bonds, and the lube turns dry to the touch.” It removes carbon, copper, lead, shotgun plastic residues, and black powder. PrOlix will not damage wood, freeze, or flash off, and it can be used for commercial and industrial applications as well. To complement the PrOlix Cleaner/Lubricant (Dry Tech) line, shooters can use the equally superior “gun-oil and grease replacer” PrOlix Xtra-T Lube for a total care product. PrOlix, which will be celebrating its 33rd anniversary soon, announced at the 2019 Shot Show that they would be shipping out their products with a new look around the middle of the year. Along with the new look, due to many requests, their PrOlix TGCP in the 16-ounce-PRO with an adjustable nozzle and trigger-sprayer cap will also change to an easier-to-handle bottle. Visit prolixlubricant.com for more information.
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CLEANING/GUN CARE Iosso Products
iosso.com Remove all gun fouling in 15 minutes or less with Iosso. So quick and effective, you will never go back to smelly, messy solvents. The system consists of the Iosso Bore Cleaner, the Iosso Premium Bore Brush, and the Iosso Triple Action Oil. The combination of these products will remove the nasty carbon burn, copper, lead, plastic wad and all other fouling associated with shooting. It’s great for people with allergies or intolerance to chemicals. The bio-based formulas are made from plant extracts. While keeping the environment healthy, it is also safer for the user, in that it is odorless. The blue brush is a trademark of Iosso, which stands for a quality product made in the USA.
PrOlix
prolixlubricant.com See page 13 for more information.
CONCEALED CARRY/HOLSTERS Bullard Leather
bullardleather.com Looking for that new leather holster, double thick belt, rifle sling, cowboy rig, cartridge belt, wallet or a knife sheath made from beautiful 100-percent Hermann Oak Leather? Look no further than Bullard Leather, located in Cooper, Texas. All their products are handmade with care in their shop. All holsters are molded to the gun and boned in for a snug and accurate fit. Choose from a variety of exotic skins, bull hides and custom hand-tooling in an array of colors. Pictured are the Combat Holster, Slant Trapper Knife Sheath and 1½-inch Carry Belt in Brown Water Buffalo. The Combat Holster features a slight 10-degree forward cant and is worn in the 2 to 3 o’clock position. Visit their website and online store at bullardleather.com, email bullardleather@gmail.com or call 844-336-2958. 14
AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
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americanshootingjournal.com 15
CONCEALED CARRY/ HOLSTERS
Conceal & Protect
smartcarry.com The SmartCarry women’s holster was designed with women in mind! Sweat-proof and virtually invisible, carrying concealed has never been more comfortable. Made in the USA and sold only at smartcarry.com.
Covert Carrier
covertcarrier.com The Covert Carrier allows the user to carry a small-framed, narrow handgun concealed inside the waistband (IWB) with “total handgun concealment.” There is no need for a holster, case or pouch. The device is made of stainless steel and is guaranteed for life. The Covert Carrier was designed and developed for semiautomatic pistols; however, it can be adapted to small revolvers that have a “boot grip” affixed to them. The Covert Carrier is the gold standard for concealed carry. The metal fastener is placed on the handle of smallframed, low-profile, narrow pistols or five-shot wheel guns. Furthermore, it can also be used for deep cover, on either a primary or backup handgun. The metal fasteners are easily installed to plastic or wooden grips. Covert Carrier’s EPDM Sleeves are designed for polymer semiautos. Their replacement panels fit the following handguns: Seecamp 25, 32 and 380; NAA 25, 32 and 380; Beretta Tomcat and Bobcat; and Sig Sauer 238 and 938. The Covert Carrier was built for appendix carry, and the manufacturer suggests appendix carry for best results. However, the device works well in other concealment configurations and carry options, such as the small of the back, and inside a pocket, boot or purse.
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AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
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CONCEALED CARRY/HOLSTERS JM4 Tactical
jm4tactical.com The JM4 Tactical Magnetic Quick Click & Carry is the first ever, and only, magnetic retention concealed carry holster that provides you with a way to carry your firearm, no matter what you wear. The Original Magnetic holster allows you to be armed without the hassle of belts or clips, while maintaining a level of unprecedented comfort. The Original Magnetic Holster is designed to be worn for hours at a time and forgotten about until needed, no matter what you’re wearing or what you’re doing. From jeans and dress pants to shorts and activewear, the patented JM4 Tactical Magnetic holster has you covered, no matter where life takes you. Historically, gun holsters had only men in mind with their design. But the Magnetic Quick Click & Carry is great for both men and women who wish to arm themselves in comfort, convenience, and the deep concealment that can only be found with this magnetic holster. Furthermore, there is no hard plastic from injected molds known to damage a firearm’s finish, nor does it use metal or plastic clips that could damage your clothing. The Magnetic Quick Click & Carry is 100-percent made in the U.S.A. Use discount code SJ10 at checkout to save 10 percent.
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AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
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 handcrafted using extreme care, precision and built to last because we’re dedicated to providing premium quality products our customers can rely on.
a PREMIUM QUALITY a FULLY FUNCTIONAL a LIFETIME WARRANTY a CUSTOM BUILDS a BUILT FOR EXTREME USE a MADE IN AMERICA a BUILT WITH AMERICAN MATERIALS AND PARTS a MADE BY AMERICANS AND VETERANS
ASJ2019
No usage restrictions, except for orders over 100 pieces. 20% off all product except accessories through the end of the year!
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CONCEALED CARRY/ HOLSTERS
Dara Holsters & Gear, Inc.
daraholsters.com Dara Holsters’ Custom IWB Holster features a patented Curved Clip, designed to mimic the curve of the waistband. This keeps the gun tight to the body and secured to the belt. Proudly made in the USA, and backed by a lifetime warranty.
Stoner Holsters
stonerholsters.com Stoner Holsters has been making holsters since 1997. They carry over 10,000 holsters in stock to fit over 500
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AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
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CONCEALED CARRY/HOLSTERS different guns. All holsters are available for both right- or left-handed carry. Their holsters can be made to fit many lasers and lights. Stoner Holsters is known for their custom work and willingness to accommodate their customers’ needs. Styles available are in-the-waistband,
outside-the-waistband, shoulder rigs, dress belts, gun belts and western rigs. Colors offered are black, havana brown and tan. Carry options are tuckable, canted, stainless steel reinforced rim and leather lining. Check out their Pro-Series line of holsters which have a smooth leather
Stealth Operator Holsters by Phalanx Defense Systems
lining some styles have a stainless steel reinforced rim. All holsters have a 100-year manufacturer’s warranty All products are made in the USA. Visit stonerholsters.com for complete listing and descriptions of available styles and videos.
phalanxsystems.com/holsters/ Over the past seven years, the folks at Phalanx Defense Systems have seen more customers than they can count say “Wow!” or “Perfect fit!” in disbelief after trying a Stealth Operator. It can be difficult to believe that one holster can secure 150-plus different firearms with positive retention, but their advanced designs do just that. And if you’re skeptical, they want to make it as easy as possible for you with free shipping, 30-day satisfaction guarantee and lifetime warranty. Stealth Operator Holsters are crafted in the USA by a team that is serious about quality. So serious that they quality check each holster twice before they ship it. They’ve even simulated extreme wear conditions by running one over with a two-ton truck… it was good as new! How’s that possible? The holsters are made from a nylon polymer – not Kydex – so they are more durable and more flexible. Even though just one Stealth Operator Holster can replace a bucket of others, they make a variety of options to suit your everyday carry or range bag needs. All low print, all made to last: IWB, OWB, full-size, compact, black, coyote or special edition.
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AMERICAN SHOOTING JOURNAL // 4TH ANNUAL BUYER’S GUIDE
Changing the
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DISCOUNT CODE: SJ10 TO SAVE 10% AT CHECKOUT.
CONCEALED CARRY/HOLSTERS
Raw Dog Tactical
rawdogtactical.com The folks at Raw Dog Tactical believe in having confidence in your everyday carry. With adjustable retention to find the perfect fit, leather backing for all-day comfort, and a kydex shell for trigger protection, their team of skilled craftsmen strives to provide the highest quality holster that America offers. Raw Dog Tactical began in 2015 with the idea of offering a simpler solution to the oversized hybrid holsters. They wanted to reduce the footprint by offering a single clip hybrid holster for ease of putting on and taking off, without having to practically undress. After months of research, they finally had it. The first single clip hybrid holster design with adjustable retention. They moved along to becoming one of the fastest growing internet-based holster companies in America. With well over 100,000 customers, Raw Dog Tactical lets their experience and satisfied customer base do the talking as they continue to keep their values intact as they grow. The team has developed streamlined systems to make and ship your holster within 3 to 5 business days, not weeks like others.
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CONCEALED CARRY/HOLSTERS Tap Rack Holsters
taprackholsters.com Tap Rack Holsters is a leading provider of premium, American-made firearm holsters. In business for over 10 years, the folks at Tap Rack take pride in handcrafting premium holsters for those on the front line in military, law enforcement and private citizens all over the world. Their principles are simple: they aim to provide premium quality products their customers can rely on at reasonable prices. Safety, function and form are the three principles that Tap Rack integrates into their line of holsters. They listen to what their customers say about designs and features, because in some cases it helps shape their product. At Tap Rack, they know whether you are shooting a match, are a licensed CCW holder, law enforcement or serving in the military, that the product they build must perform each and every time, no matter the task.
IVER JOHNSON
GOLDEN EAGLE PORTED 10mm MSRP
$1,700
• 1911 long slide with 6” ported barrel • Polished 24K gold-plated • • • • • • •
XL
Fully adj. white dot rear sight with dovetail front sight Front & rear angled serrations Extended slide stop & thumb safety Beavertail grip safety w/memory cut 3 hole trigger & skeleton hammer Lowered & flared ejection port White pearlized grips with Iver Johnson logo coin PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
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www.iverjohnsonarms.com
Custom CustomGuns Guns
“BLACK “BLACK WIDOW” WIDOW” When When you you areare looking looking forfor fullfull custom custom guns, guns, look look nono further further than than GARY GARY REEDER REEDER CUSTOM CUSTOM GUNS. GUNS. WeWe have have been been building building fullfull custom custom guns guns since since 1987 1987 and and currently currently have have almost almost 7070 series series of of fullfull custom custom revolvers, revolvers, custom custom 1911s, 1911s, custom custom lever lever guns, guns, custom custom single single shots shots and and a lot a lot more. more. Custom Custom guns guns like like ourour very very popular popular BLACK BLACK WIDOW, WIDOW, one one of of ourour most most popular popular series series since since 1987. 1987.ForFor more more info info check check ourour web web sitesite or or give give meme a call. a call.
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FIREARMS
Gary Reeder Custom Guns
reedercustomguns.com When you are looking for full-custom guns, look no further than Gary Reeder Custom Guns. They have been building full-custom guns since 1987 and currently have almost 70 series of full-custom revolvers, custom 1911s, custom lever guns, custom single shots and a lot more. These include the very popular Black Widow, one of their most popular series since 1987. For more info, check reedercustomguns.com or call 928-527-4100.
Iver Johnson Arms
iverjohnsonarms.com The Stryker SN from Iver Johnson Arms is a 12-gauge, AR-15-style semiautomatic shotgun. Features include: satin nickel/black two-tone finish; 20-inch smooth-bore barrel plus muzzle brake; MKA 1919 five-round box magazine; A2-style detachable carry handle with adjustable sight; fiber optic front sight; synthetic forend with light rails on the sides and bottom; two-piece pistol grip stock; standard AR-15 bolt release and mag release; cross trigger safety; and thick rubber buttpad. The gun’s overall length is 43 inches; overall weight is 7 pounds, 10 ounces unloaded; length with stock removed is 33.75 inches; and the length of pull is 14.25 inches.
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FIREARMS
Al Lind, Gunmaker
allindgunmaker.com Custom designed and built to your specifications, using the finest materials to craft every detail.
GEAR FOR GUNS Bartlein Barrels
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bartleinbarrels.com With a current wait time of five to six months for a precision barrel, the word is out that some of the most precise barrels commonly used for hunting and today’s Precision Rifle Series competitions are those io nS ut from Bartlein Barrels. ingle Point C This team of experienced shooters, reloaders and hunters has been in the firearms industry for years and knows the industry inside and out. Their uniformity is second to none and their rifling machines are so accurate they carry the twist rate to the fourth decimal point, meaning you can have your twist so precise, it measures 1 in 11.3642. Their single-point cut rifling is the most stress-free method to rifle a barrel, the twist is exact, and the bore and groove dimensions are uniform. They prelap every barrel before rifling and finish lap just after. This means you should never need to fire lap or borepolish your barrel under any circumstances. They also swear that a lapped barrel will not wear out faster than an unlapped one, and have found that their barrels will typically last longer than a button barrel.
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GEAR FOR GUNS
Armaspec, Inc.
armaspec.com The Armaspec XPDW Gen2 stock is an aluminum five-position stock with hardened steel rods. It incorporates a low-profile lightweight aluminum latch carrier with a steel lock engagement point. The stock can be rapidly deployed using the ratcheting system or gravity by pointing the rifle up while disengaging the lock. The XPDW is designed to mount directly on your standard Mil-Spec buffer tube with no other modifications. It also features a QD butt attachment point for your sling, is made in the USA, and has a lifetime warranty. Patent pending.
Elftmann Tactical
elftactical.com The ELF 700 Precision Rifle Trigger is the pinnacle of drop-in trigger systems for the Remington 700 and clone precision rifles. Designed with an externally adjustable pull weight, it is infinitely adjustable from 8 to 64 ounces. This trigger has the incredible feel and crisp break that ELF triggers are known for, even at the highest weight. One of the unique and proprietary features of this trigger, three aerospace-grade bearings are key to the consistency and smoothness of the pull. Because the bearings are a pressed fit with a pressed fit shaft pressed into a billet housing, there is absolutely no play in any components. Another proprietary technology is a 6-to-1 ratio roller bearing pivot arm that effectively eliminates any variation in set pull weight, regardless of firing spring tension. Other features include an oversized safety knob and an innovative internal bolt release mechanism, which is optional if you are installing in a clone rifle. The trigger shoe is aluminum, easily adjustable, and is available curved or flat. (Both included.) “The Elftmann Remington 700 trigger may be the most versatile trigger available with a wide range of adjustment that can support hunters to competitive shooters with consistency and reliability without compromising safety,” said Phil Hayes, prior USMC with 28 years of law enforcement tactical operations and firearms instruction. Hayes is also a NRA long range High Master and Distinguished Rifleman. “I weighed the trigger pull in the full range of adjustment to within an ounce time and time again. The release is amazingly consistent and smooth every single shot. The adjustable trigger shoe, bolt release and oversize safety also support ease of manipulation under all shooting conditions. Whether I’m using it for competition, law enforcement application, hunting or recreational shooting, this trigger does it all for me.” 34
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GEAR FOR GUNS DIP Inc.
diproductsinc.com See page 43 for more information.
New England Custom Gun Service, Ltd.
newenglandcustomgun.com New England Custom Gun Service, Ltd. specializes in top-quality gunsmithing and restoration services to the sporting arms community, as well as high-quality long arms, optics and gun components. They sell AyA, Blaser, Krieghoff, Mauser, Merkel, Sauer and others. Their extensive gun accessories list features an assortment of scope mounts by EAW and Recknagel, quality gun sights and gun accessories, many designed by NECG and made in Germany or here in the United States. They also sell their NECG Peep Sights for Weaver Bases, Grooved 22s, as well as Ruger and CZ firearms. You’ll find a lot of knowledge at NECG. Browse their new website at newenglandcustomgun.com.
Kick-Eez
kickeezproducts.com Dave Poppe, Technical Support at Kick-Eez, offers specialized one-on-one technical service for customers that have purchased one of the company’s recoil pads or are considering purchasing a Kick-Eez product of any kind and are in need of service. Dave is always available to help you work out which product might be the best for your gun, overcome fitment issues or be walked step-by-step through the process of getting the pad successfully mounted on your gun. Dave personally answers more than 50 emails weekly regarding technical questions and gives continual direction to gunsmiths and customers to obtain optimal results. 36
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GEAR FOR GUNS October Country Muzzleloading
octobercountry.com Back in 1977 when the company was in its infancy, October Country Muzzleloading was a hunting bag. One product. Today, more than four decades later, the northern Idahobased outfit offers a complete and thorough line of muzzleloaders and muzzleloading accessories, including ramrods, Pushing Daisies patches, Blue Thunder solvent, Bumblin’ Bear Grease, leather shooting bags, powder horns, and hand-forged shooting tools. Their inventory also features custom English sporting rifles, and products specifically designed and manufactured for cowboy action and black powder cartridge shooters.
R&S Precision Sports, LLC
1022racerifle.com/10-22racerifle.com R&S Precision Sports, LLC was founded in 1996 and since then, they have provided after-market accessories for various rifles and handguns from Ruger, Savage, Remington, Browning, Howa, Weatherby, Thompson Center, etc. They carry a wide range of products for customizing and accurizing hunting and target rifles from some of the best manufacturers in the business, including: Boyds, Volquartsen, Athlon, Tactical Solutions, Pike Arms, Green Mountain, Victor Company and more. R&S Precision’s goal is to offer excellent parts for sporting arms while providing customer service that’s second to none. In order to meet that goal, they are happy to communicate with any customers concerning their products, and all products in stock are ready to ship the same day. Pictured above is the Savage Axis, which features: Boyds At-One Thumbhole Coyote Wood Stock, Athlon 6-24 Optic, and a Harris Bipod.
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GEAR FOR GUNS SierraPapa Inc.
Palmetto State Armory
palmettostatearmory.com The Palmetto State Armory Custom Series of firearms and accessories relies on modern innovation and design to elevate your shooting platform to the next level. From PCC to AR-15, the Palmetto State Armory Custom Series helps eliminate excess weight while adding durability and improved functionality. The PSA Custom Series gives you the option of upgrading your existing rifle with its offering of over 40 individual parts, complete rifles, receiver sets and optics. You can find more information at palmettostatearmory.com.
sierrapapacx4.com CX4 Storm lovers looking to improve the performance of their firearm will be delighted to know that SierraPapa specializes in upgrade replacement parts for this firearm. Available upgrades include the machined aluminum trigger housing, stainless steel hammer/aluminum trigger/spring kit and steel guide rod kit. Replacing the existing stock trigger assembly with the HTS kit will reduce the trigger pull weight to approximately 6.5 pounds and take some of the sponginess out of the trigger. When used in conjunction with the machined ATH, the trigger pull weight can be reduced to approximately 5 pounds, removing almost all pretravel and all overtravel. Installing the steel GR kit provides performance reliability and helps absorb some of the recoil, making the firearm more enjoyable to shoot. Contact SierraPapa to see what they can do for you!
Safety Harbor Firearms Inc.
safetyharborfirearms.com Safety Harbor Firearms’ 2019 product lineup includes the KES (“Kompact Entry Stock”) line of PDW and pistol braces for the AR-15, CZ Scorpion, Sig MPX-Rattler, HK MP5k/MP5 and the Grand Power Stribog SP9A1. Since 2003, SHF has manufactured the SHTF 50 BMG Upper Conversion for the AR-15, available with a side-fed removable fiveround box magazine or as a single-shot. Available barrel lengths are 18, 22 and 29 inches. SHF-made steel stocks and bipod are also available. Delivering customers affordable, innovative and high quality products is the driving force at Safety Harbor Firearms. For more information visit safetyharborfirearms.com.
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BERETTA CX4 STORM
PERFORMANCE & RELIABILITY UPGRADES
MAKING THE CX4 THE FIREARM THAT IT SHOULD BE sierrapapac x4.com 18525 NW ST. HELENS RD.
PORTLAND, OR 97231
(503) 621-3017
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GEAR FOR GUNS UltiMAK
Skinner Sights
skinnersights.com Skinner Sights is now offering scope mounting solutions for several rifle makes and models. Some models feature an integral peep sight built into the scope mount. Rails are machined from solid aluminum bar stock and the sights, like all Skinner offerings, are machined from solid steel. Made in Montana, USA. For more information, visit skinnersights.com/scope_mounts_31.html or give Skinner Sights a call at 406-745-4570 Montana time.
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ultimak.com UltiMAK has been known for 20 years for their rock-solid AK optic mounts and forends, but they’ve come up with ground-breaking designs for other rifles as well. USGI pattern M1 Garands, M14s, M1As, M1 .30 Carbines, and Ruger’s Mini-14 series are supported by UltiMAK’s innovative, solid, userinstalled, practical optic mounts and legendary customer service as well. The time-tested and proven UltiMAK model M6 optic mounts for the M1 .30 Carbine (M6-B shown) are the lowest, most stable and practical optic mounts available for the platform. The forward positioning allows faster targeting with better field of view, provides more rail length, maintains full access to the receiver mechanism, and will not interfere with case ejection or take-down for cleaning. No need to remove your rear iron sight, either. Also, for the first time in all the history of the known universe, it will soon be possible to co-witness an optical sight with the USGI M1 .30 Carbine factory iron sights. Of course that also means getting a proper cheekweld on the Carbine when using an optic sight, so it’s not only about having your irons available for instant backup. See the UltiMAK website at ultimak.com for updates.
DIP INC. Not content with the cheap plastic parts that many companies were producing for rimfire firearms, Bob Bland decided to take matters into his own hands. His company, DIP Inc. (aka Diversified Innovative Products), makes drop-in metal rimfire parts and accessories that are both affordable and high quality. “Because of the economy in 2008, a lot of firearms companies were making more and more parts from molded plastic that easily broke,” said Bland. “Working with a number of local machine shops, we are able to make drop-in metal replacement parts affordable that are a superior upgrade for Savage, CZ, Marlin, Anschutz and a host of others. We even make small batches of specialized parts if we have enough requests.” Other popular firearm brands that DIP Inc. makes parts for include Remington, Ruger, Boyds and Henry. All of their products are made in the U.S., which Bland said his customers truly appreciate. “We refuse to outsource anything to other countries even though I might be able to produce them cheaper,” he explained. “Oftentimes, as goes the price so does the quality.” The folks at DIP Inc. are constantly making new parts, and in-house CNC machines make the R&D process smoother and more efficient. One of these new products is an aluminum replacement trigger guard for Howa MiniAction rifles. This is a direct replacement for the plastic factory trigger guard/mag well. DIP Inc. redesigned the magazine catch spring perch location to add a noticeable amount of tension to help prevent accidental magazine drops.
For a full list of products DIP Inc. offers, visit diproductsinc.com.
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GEAR FOR GUNS White Oak Armament
whiteoakarmament.com White Oak Armament made its reputation by providing award-winning barrels to the highpower competition community. Now the company is using that expertise to design barrels for other shooting disciplines and the hunting market. Chambered in .223/5.56, 6.8 SPCII, .204 Ruger, .22 Nosler and .224 Valkyrie, all White Oak barrels start with a stainless steel, match-grade, lapped blank to give you the best barrel possible. Their line of Varmint and Predator barrels are extremely accurate and are available in lengths from 18 to 26 inches. White Oak has also introduced a purpose-built 18-inch 3-Gun barrel that will deliver the match-grade accuracy they are known for in a lighter weight barrel. Their SPR and SDM barrels are designed for the MIL/LE market but make a great barrel for the casual shooter as well. They are also building complete uppers with all of their barrels! Check out whiteoakarmament.com or call 309-376-2288.
KNIVES Exquisiteknives.com
exquisiteknives.com Exquisiteknives.com was founded by American Bladesmith Society Mastersmith, Dave Ellis. Dave began his collecting at a young age and currently provides some of the world’s finest knives to top collectors. Specializing in the most collectible of knifemakers, such as Bob Loveless, Bill Moran, Ron Lake and Michael Walker, as well as many of the top bladesmiths, Dave has a rapport with both makers and collectors alike. Lately, Exquisiteknives has been highlighting the forged works of Sam Lurquin of Belgium (knife pictured here) and the three-brother team from Argentina, CAS. Knives by these makers have increased in both value and collectability over the years and Exquisiteknives is close to all of these fine men. For the best in the custom knife world, remember Exquisiteknives.com.
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Bartlein Barrels, Inc Manufacturers of Precision Single-Point Cut Rifled Barrels
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KNIVES Ontario Knife Company
ontarioknife.com In the tradition of one of Ontario Knife’s most venerable and popular knives, the trusted classic 499 pilot’s survival knife, the company has added the OKC Journeyman. This knife is a workman and outdoorsman’s knife designed in similar fashion to the 499. Boasting the stacked leather handle, sheep’s foot blade design and deep serrations on the spine, this knife is sure to easily conquer any task set before it. Coming in at only 8.5 inches overall length, 4 full inches of cutting surface, and coupled with a leather sheath, the OKC Journeyman is built to be a true standard in everyday carrying.
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OPTICS Athlon Optics
athlonoptics.com Athlon Optics has announced the addition of the Ares ETR to their family of riflescopes. Bringing a new dimension to precision rifle work, repeatable precision has never met an optic at this price point. Designed with consumer feedback in mind, the Ares ETR first focal plane riflescope is loaded with features accommodating a variety of shooting disciplines. A locking windage turret eliminates concerns of inadvertent adjustments in the field. The true precision zero stop provides a hard, repeatable return to zero, ensuring your shot is on target every time. Extra-low dispersion ED lenses offer the sharpest, most colorful image possible. The Ares ETR is built with a rugged 34mm onepiece tube, offering 110 MOA total elevation adjustment. A highprecision erector system and stainless steel turret design provide consistent and repeatable adjustments from top to bottom. From big game hunting to extreme long range, the Ares ETR is “Sharp, Tight, and Priced Just Right.”
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SAFES/GUN STORAGE
Liberty Safe
libertysafe.com From building just six safes each day in 1988 to becoming the industry leader in safe engineering and technology, Liberty Safe has spent the last 30 years doing business for and with Americans. What started in a few storage units has culminated in the ability to manufacture up to 700 safes each and every day. And with over two million safes sold, they take their responsibility to preserve and protect seriously. Yes, you can store your firearms in a safe. But more and more people are using safes to protect their own slice of the American dream. Each safe owner has a different definition of the things they value the most, and Liberty works to make sure they feel secure. From your grandfather’s pistol to mementos, medication to documents, Liberty Safe is there to protect your story. Their mission to safeguard what matters most is what drives them to continue their focus on engineering and testing their products to create better features and a more secure safe. Liberty has invested over $30 million in security innovation and engineering to make sure their safes offer the protection they promise. From stronger welds to better locking mechanisms, their 350 employees in Payson, Utah, (and hundreds of independent dealers across the country) are dedicated to creating the best product for you. Liberty Safe’s American dream? To do whatever it takes to protect yours.
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TARGETS/TARGET SYSTEMS SPTargets
sptargets.com The Running Man is an intensely challenging firearms training system that will stretch any shooter’s skills, challenging even the most advanced shooter. The Running Man is often used in tandem with a Turning Target System to simulate hostage or fugitive situations and presents officers with shoot/no shoot decisions. It can also be used alone as a moving, wireless target training system. The SPTargets Running Man combines classic, tough, powdercoated steel construction and sealed bearings with advanced electronic sensors that constantly re-orient the moving target for 100-percent accuracy in location relative to the Turning Targets. Unlike many RM systems, the SPTargets Running Man never loses its place. Its wireless handheld control unit permits selection of a variety of speeds and motion of the target, or the user can select various automatic modes.
Wireless Turning Target System Components /// Wireless Control Unit /// • Wireless design for safety and convenience • Intuitive oversized push-button interface • Protected by a rugged ergonomic silicone case • Select your own target and timing options, or use pre-programmed modes, including Random • Custom programming available • Requires 4 AA batteries
Receiver ///
Compact & Cross Bases ///
• Standard range 600 yards; can be increased • Operates on any of 101 radio frequencies • Commercial steel receiver box; NEMA 6p • Connects to mains power or 12V battery
• Powder-coated steel of average 0.10” thickness • Industrial nylon bearings need no lubrication • Tool-free replacement of filled-nylon frames and pneumatic air modules
SPTargets • 18525 NW St. Helens Rd. Portland, OR 97231 (503) 621-3017 • www.sptargets.com 52
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