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November 15, 2009 by
Just got out of the woods in Northern Saskatchewan after a week of stand hunting during the rut. Friday the 13th was my lucky day as this buck strolled by me at about 11:30 on the second to last day of the hunt. Like every mature buck my fellow hunters and I saw in camp this week, he was cruising.
The does and young bucks were content to mill around a bit but the big boys were on a mission and more than one hunter in camp missed an opportunity because he wasn’t ready to pull the trigger when a bruiser walked by.
That’s the way it is with hunting thick timber, though. You spend a lot of hours looking at the same trees, the same birds and the same irritating squirrels and then a buck will appear and, poof, in a few seconds he’s gone. You better be ready.
I was for this guy. My Marlin 336C was on my lap with the forend sitting atop my shooting sticks. I had seen this deer at very first light, but it was about 10 minutes before legal shooting time so I had to let him walk.
For the first hour of the day I had a number of does come by as well as a small 7-point and a spike. I was hoping this 4x5 would take another cruise by my stand while searching for a doe and I wasn’t disappointed.
As soon as I saw him come out of the woods to my left I got the gun up and thumbed back the hammer. He stepped into a clear lane at about 50 yards and I shot. The 200-grain flex tip bullet in my .35 Rem. quartered through his chest and lodged under the skin in the off shoulder. He didn’t make it 50 yards before collapsing.
There are many reasons to love lever-actions, but the short 20-inch barrel and compact overall size are perfect when hunting from a confined blind.
[ Read Full Post ] November 8, 2009 by
I'm proud to say I knew the guy on my left before he became a celebrity.
In case you've been living in a cave in the Swat Valley, he is Jason Nash, the PR manager for Federal/ATK. And his 15 minutes of fame just kicked off in a major way in this week's edition of The New York Times Magazine.
In the magazine's "Consumed" (www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/magazine/08fob-consumed-t.html) column, Nash spells out how ATK, the parent company of Federal Premium Ammunition, has successfully introduced new products like the Fusion line of bullets and, more recently, Black Cloud steel shot.
What's notable about the article is that the magazine treats the ammunition category as a normal product and I was pleasantly surprised that the write up was free of any sneering references to hunters and shooters. In fact, I read it twice to make sure I hadn't missed some cheap shot.
Does this mean that the coastal media establishments will look at our passion for guns and hunting in a more even-handed light? It's a nice thought, but I doubt it.
Does this also mean that Nash, who took that beautiful mule deer with me in British Columbia a few weeks back, will no longer return the calls of a simple gun writer now that he's been discovered by the Times? We'll see.
[ Read Full Post ] November 7, 2009 by November 4, 2009 by
I’m heading off to Canada next week for a Saskatchewan whitetail hunt and pretty quickly settled on bringing a lever gun with me. Took my Marlin 336C in .35 Remington out yesterday to get my new scope dialed in (and an interesting little scope it is too…more on that later) and after I got it on paper I cranked off this 5-shot group.
Not too shabby: 0.631 inches. I did it with 200-gr. Hornaday Leverevolution ammo. I turned it down a quarter inch to put it 3.5 inches high at a 100. That will put it dead on at 200 and 15 inches low at 300, which works fine for me.
Having confidence in your rifle before starting off on a hunt—there’s no better feeling.
As a side note, if you have an old lever gun and haven’t tried any of the Leverevolution ammo in it, buy a box and give it a try. I’ve shot a bunch of it in .30-30, .45-70, .35 Rem., .450 Marlin and it has always been as accurate as other factory loads and sometimes a whole bunch better.
[ Read Full Post ] October 10, 2009 by
Few gun fanciers would argue that the Remington Model 870 pump shotgun is worthy of the moniker, “America’s Shotgun.” The fact is, one would be hard-pressed to find a devotee of upland bird hunting, gunning diabolical doves or chasing bunnies with beagles who doesn’t have a favorite Model 870 for such sporting pastimes.
That said, it should come as no surprise to most hunters and shooters that Remington Arms has produced quite a few Model 870s since first introducing the Wingmaster in 1950.
Make that 10 million.
In a full-page advertisement appearing in national newspapers last week, Remington Arms officially announced it has surpassed the 10 million mark in its 870 production, making the tried-and-true workhorse undoubtedly the best-selling shotgun in history.
While America’s oldest gunmaker has produced literally hundreds of variations of the Model 870 throughout the years—for hunters, trap shooters, left-handers, youth, law enforcement and military—the Model 870 has remained true to its original design. Among its features are a bottom-loading, side-ejecting receiver, tubular magazine under the barrel, dual action bars, internal hammer, and a bolt that locks into an extension in the barrel.
Today’s Model 870 variants can be grouped into five main groups:
- Wingmaster - polished bluing and glossy wood finishes.
- Express - inexpensive bead-blasted finish and satin wood or synthetic stocks.
- Marine - synthetic stocks and nickel finishes.
- Police - high luster blued to parkerized finish and satin wood or synthetic stocks.
- Tactical - numerous versions and options intended for military and police markets
In addition to its obvious popularity among sport and wing shooters, the Model 870 is the primary close-quarters weapon used by various special forces, SWAT teams and Marine units worldwide. The reliable 870 system incorporates potent self-defense capabilities and accepts a variety of ammunition, including slug, buckshot and flare rounds.
There’s little wonder why for generations, gun owners everywhere have appreciated the value, quality and reliability of the Model 870, making it the shotgun appearing most often in residential cabinets and gun safes, law-enforcement vehicles and military outposts around the world.
Can 20 million be far behind?
[ Read Full Post ] July 31, 2009 by
More bang for your truck? That’s the gist of the incentive that one automobile dealer in Kansas has adopted to lure potential buyers onto his lot.
For the month of August, Mark Muller, owner of Max Motors in Butler, Kansas, is offering an AK-style rifle to anyone who buys a truck.
According to The Tech Herald:
“There are a bunch of maggots out there and not defending yourself is irresponsible,” exclaimed Muller, while also admitting he would give away hand grenades to his customers if he could.
The Max Motors motto?
‘Guns, God, Guts and American Pick-up Trucks.’
Sounds good to me.
[ Read Full Post ]June 21, 2009 by June 18, 2009 by
Gary Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, is one of the leaders of a new grassroots movement that's seeking to invoke the principle of states' rights—including states' own authority to regulate firearms—to thwart what he and his allies view as an increasingly overreaching federal government.
Politicians in Washington have "assumed power that many of us believe was not authorized under the limits of the Constitution," Marbut told CBSNews.com last week.
This modern-day federalist revolt began with a Montana state law recently signed by Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. It says that firearms, ammunition, and accessories manufactured entirely inside Montana are not subject to federal regulation, including background checks for buyers and record-keeping requirements for sellers. They would remain subject to state regulation.
Montana is hardly alone: the Tennessee legislature has approved a nearly-identical bill, and others are pending in Texas, Alaska, Minnesota, and South Carolina. About 10 other states, including Florida and Arizona, are reportedly considering similar measures, and a Colorado state legislator has publicly pledged to follow suit.
For more, go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/06/16/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5090952.shtml
Related stories:
—Next gun controversy? Look to Montana; http://blogs.kansascity.com/crime_scene/2009/06/the-next-gun-controversy-look-to-montana.html
—Western states want reins on federal power; http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-west16-2009jun16,0,3422958.story
—Montana gun law challenges federal powers; http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/15/gun-law-challenges-federal-powers/?feat=home_headlines
[ Read Full Post ]April 27, 2009 by
Ever since Obama took office the New York Times has been engaging in a full-court press on its op-ed pages to get some new type of gun control legislation passed.
In today’s paper they have former president Jimmy Carter calling for an “assault weapons” ban. Curiously absent from Carter’s column are any statistics connecting assault weapons to gun deaths in general—for the simple reason that they are only used in a miniscule number crimes in this country.
[ Read Full Post ]
April 8, 2009 by A Pennsylvania man will face reckless endangerment charges in a trial after a Lancaster County judge upheld an ordinance against discharging firearms in Lancaster city.
Curtis L. Swinton was charged under the ordinance in December 2007 when he fired a warning shot to stop a gang of young men from beating up his cousin. Swinton's attorney filed a motion to dismiss the charge, arguing the ordinance was unconstitutional, but Judge Joseph Madenspacher disagreed, ruling on March 30 that the prosecution against Swinton should proceed.
The ruling is believed to be the first of its kind in Pennsylvania, which State Rep. Bryan Cutler, a Republican and a gun rights advocate, said could have a "chilling effect" on people's decisions to use firearms in legitimate self-defense, depending on its outcome.
For more, go to: http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/235846
[ Read Full Post ]
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