It might be a good idea to begin with Part II of my articles before reading Part I. Part I contains my creative theories and conjecture. Part II contains all of the post live fire corrections. If not outright  corrections, certainly revised opinion. Part I cast aspersions on what I […]

Not too long ago, I began to get the feeling some readers thought I was being a snob and writing mostly about non-mainstream firearms and cartridges. I’m pretty intuitive, so it wasn’t difficult for me to arrive at that conclusion after receiving email from some readers that stated, “Joe, you’re […]

I realize the .500 Jeffery is a major departure from my needs as a hunter, and clearly more than I want to shoot recreationally on a routine basis. It is, however, one of those bigger than life cartridges that got me interested in firearms when I was very young, and […]

I don’t know why large dangerous game cartridges and rifles are described with an aura of mysticism. Objective data would seem more useful, but then I can’t even explain why I habitually put cheese on the top of my cheeseburgers and not on the bottom. Life can be quite a […]

Our shop is situated on wooded land in rural Maine. There’s lots of wildlife to enjoy, but some not so enjoyable including the  occasional feral dog, rabid fox and two legged skunk that wanders in from out of state. Self reliance is key and carrying makes a lot of sense. I […]

Bad luck was the impetus for the founding of Brownells, the largest supplier of gunsmithing tools, firearms accessories and specialty equipment in the world today. In the mid 1930s, Bob Brownell wanted nothing more than to run a resort in Minnesota – so he took a stab at living his […]

Could have been worse. I could have described the gun’s Czech-ering, or when the Czech was in the mail, or needing to Czech the gun’s safety…or write about the company’s Czech-ered past. Sometimes I just crack myself up. Snort. Anyway… I’ve used up my lifetime allocation of adjectives, adverbs and […]

With few exceptions, the American firearms industry has gone the way of the American auto industry; a cost reduction march to unimaginative, cookie cutter products, that will eventually be followed with a dramatic loss of market share. It has become increasingly difficult to uncover a unique aspect of a newly […]

The RCBS ChargeMaster Combo is a computerized system that automates the process of dispensing smokeless powder charges by weight. The system, comprised of a linked ChargeMaster 1500 digital scale and ChargeMaster powder dispenser, has a dispensing range of 2.0 to 300 grains. The ChargeMaster Combo MSRP is $417.95, however, it […]

The range was packed today; always a good sign for gun owners. It was a good mix of experienced and new shooters in all of the range areas: shotguns, rifles and handguns, and it was truly a melting pot of humanity. I can’t speak Cantonese, but my firing line neighbor […]