Buying any type of machinery is a major cause of anxiety. Not because I can sift through specs and reputation and make a decision, but because almost all of it is heavy enough to require general freight delivery. When I was a young guy, and there were still only one […]

I was looking at the Ruger, under the lights on the bench and I started thinking about the lyrics of Johnny Horton’s song, “North to Alaska”. Specifically the verse: “Sam crossed the majestic mountains to the valleys far below. He talked to his team of huskies as he mushed on […]

Part I concluded with the Mossberg Ulti-Mag 835 sporting a 24″ rifles slug barrel with adjustable sights and an extended magazine that added three rounds of magazine capacity. It’s overall length was reduced to 44¼” with weight held at 7½ lbs. In the world of lever action carbines, that is […]

A very long time ago I was pulled over by a state trooper for driving 72 MPH in a 65 MPH zone. I knew the car’s speedometer had been reading a steady 65 MPH so I was less than calm about the stop. After a quick look around the car, […]

Some time ago, I wrote a series titled “Everything I know About Shotguns in 500 Words or Less”. It got away from me, just a little bit, when it became a ten thousand plus word, four part series. In my own defense, I think it is important to note, only […]

Sitting at the breakfast table and having coffee with my wife, the morning’s backyard entertainment was wild turkeys. Lots of  absolutely goofy bird behavior. The morning prior, it was a red fox eating compost pile melon rinds, which probably explains an absence of turkeys that day. Two days earlier, there […]

  Being a self taught machinist is a lot like being a self taught neurosurgeon… except the patients, and/or their families, don’t complain nearly as much. When I tackled the issue of turning speed, I read the books that indicated material type, diameter and type of operation should all be […]

  I like tactical shotguns. In most home defense situations, they are probably a lot more useful than handguns, although probably not as tidy. They don’t require critical aiming, ammunition can be selected to avoid serious over penetration problems, they have extended magazine capacity, but they don’t have an extra […]

If you remain a firearm enthusiast for an extended period of time, you will eventually get to a point where you will want to fabricate parts. This conclusion will typically manifest itself in the form of a bench top lathe and/or milling machine.   As a proud owner of new […]

OK, so I initially thought this was a really nifty take down rifle. How else could Remington fit a Model 700 into a 10″x13½” corporate green hard case? I didn’t know they were making a 1911 type gun because… no one tells me anything… ever. Which is actually much safer […]