These days, some folks seem to have fun referring to the 30-30 Winchester cartridge by its original name, the 30 Winchester, or the 30 WCF, or the 30 Winchester Smokeless. Not unlike the .45 Colt Vs Long Colt fiasco or using or not using the leading decimal point in a […]

In January 19, 1894, John M. Browning, through attorney Earl Seymour, applied for a patent for the J. M. Browning Magazine Gun. There was no other model nomenclature. Browning’s intention was not to design a rifle for use with smokeless powder cartridges, but rather his design was to simplify and […]

There are scope snobs in this world who hang $3,000 scopes on lever action woods rifles and there are folks who live in denial and insist that a $49 box store special scope can serve acceptably on a 500 yard centerfire varmint rifle. The former pays for features and capabilities […]

Rural living – When the weather gets really chilly, sub zero not factoring in wind chill, I tend to pull the shooting bench just outside the back door of the garage and set up. There is a straight hundred yard lane for shooting and, if I fall face down in […]

The Model 627-5 descended from revolver royalty. In 1935 S&W introduced its first 357 Magnum, the Registered Magnum. The Registered Magnum progressed to the pre World War II Non-Registered 357 Magnum, then to the Model 1950 and then the Model 27 in 1957. Models through to the 27 were all […]

Today was a good day to conclude coverage of the big Mark V Weatherby. There was a light snow fall last night that smoothed over the accumulated drifts and erased  all of the animal tacks and human foot prints. The temperature had fallen below zero, the air was crisp, clear […]

In 1956, Weatherby gave dangerous game hunters the ultimate .375 caliber, the jumbo 378 Weatherby Magnum. In 1957, Weatherby released its newly designed Mark V action; big enough and strong enough to handle the 378 Weatherby Magnum’s then current and future potential. In 1958, to comply with the East African […]

If you missed the “1911 380” emblazoned on the side of the slide in the picture above,  you are probably thinking this is a 1911 type. It is… sort of. It is a Browning Black Label 1911-380 autoloader, a pistol that shares many attributes with the full size 1911, but […]

Scope selection for this Winchester Model 70 Super Grade was not casual. The 270 WSM is a very flat shooting, hard hitting long range cartridge so a proper scope is required to extract its potential. Mounted on this hunting rifle, the selected scope needs to survive extreme heat and cold, […]

It’s difficult to continuously write about firearms with  unbridled enthusiasm, even when a firearm deserves such accolades. Sometimes it is necessary to think of another more… inspirational firearm while writing, just to get into the right frame of mind, always with the danger of blurting out a competing manufacturer’s name […]