Sporting Notes

rifle
This Stevens Model 47 Schützen rifle, in .25-20 Single Shot, was Wieland’s first impulse buy at Rock Island. It popped up on the big screen late on the last day, looked good, the bidding stalled, and Wieland took it home. He now has half a dozen more Stevens rifles of the same vintage, has written more than a dozen articles about them, and is pursuing yet another this week. Ah, well.

Rock Island Preview

This is the week of Rock Island’s second premier auction of the year, and I…
Books, books, and…

To Read or Not to Read

To be honest, I have a very low opinion of English teachers. There are exceptions, but…
One of Wieland’s all-time favorite loads — light or otherwise — is B&P’s Competition One, which delivers great performance on practically everything, with recoil like a maiden’s caress. Another favorite, but very (!) hard to obtain, is Federal Gold Medal Extra-Lite Paper. Obviously, too many other people like it, too. The gun is an H.J. Hussey pigeon gun, circa 1911.

Just for Kicks

Every so often, one runs into a new or unexpected problem. And, sometimes, it’s a result…
"HMS Ulysses," a novel by Alistair MacLean, was published in 1955. It gives a vivid and detailed — if horrifying — picture of the Murmansk Convoys.

Abandon Ship!

I found myself immersed in the history of the Murmansk Convoys. These were the Anglo-American shipments…
rifle
Blaser R8 fitted with a 6.5 PRC barrel and a Schmidt & Bender 2.5-10x40 Summit riflescope. About as good as a modern big-game rifle can get.

The Emperor’s New Cartridge

It has been my happy lot for the past week or two to put through…
The classic S&W Model 60, a trusty old carry gun that still does the job. How many of these lurk in bedside drawers?
The classic S&W Model 60, a trusty old carry gun that still does the job. How many of these lurk in bedside drawers?

Lessons From History

It was the summer of 1940, the Germans were threatening to invade, and things looked…
This Walker Colt is lot #1102 in Rock Island’s Premier Auction #85, May 13-15, 2022. It is estimated to bring from $250,000 to $375,000. Photo courtesy Rock Island Auction Company

Rock Island in Bloom

In the midst of global economic uncertainty and a conventional land war raging in Europe,…
Rimfire progress, from left: The .22 BB Cap, introduced by Flobert in 1845; .22 Short, from Smith & Wesson, 1857; .22 Long (circa 1870, developer unknown) and the later .22 Long Rifle, introduced by the J. Stevens Arms & Tool Company in 1887.

The Long and the Short

Way back when, hiking two miles to the general store to buy .22s, I was…
shooting
Not the greatest photo, but it will do. This is a Purdey, with Damascus barrels, dating from 1881. Not quite what you see out of the corner of your eye when focusing on the target, but doing that caused the camera image to blur into vague nothingness. This is actually closer to what the eye perceives. That day on the trap field, nothing was visible except the bead. Nothing.

Tales of the Exceedingly Strange (I)

Shooting by myself, with the Garmin Xero S1 radar unit set up, the goal was…
The two Martinis — the older in back, newer in front. The break in the thumb rest is clearly visible.

The Fraulein’s Final Touch

In Sporting Notes #19 and #37, I gave you a taste of a couple of…
In the absence of a triumphant photo of dead bear cubs in Russia, I offer this from a hacienda in Argentina where the old ways — the good ways — are still followed.

Back in the USSR

Back in what now seems another era, I was invited to go bear hunting in…
Pair of duelling cum target pistols by Kuchenreuter of Regensburg, in Bavaria. Fitted cases with accoutrements do not come much more elaborate or beautifully made — to say nothing of complete — than this one.

The German Connection

Any treatise on duelling pistols invariably begins in London and usually ends up right back…