Sporting Notes

Bar-in-wood guns, like this 1880 James Purdey, have the steel action bar enclosed by the walnut of the buttstock, which extends past the trigger guard. Stylistically, they represent a bridge from late percussion guns.

And the Madness of Crowds

Every time I go to the Rock Island auction, I learn something new. Sometimes the…

Teutonic Tapestry

When most shooters think of German guns, they think military: Luger, Mauser, Walther. Rarely do…
The birth of a paper shotshell begins with a huge roll of special paper. Produced by one remaining mill in America, Federal keeps it in business.

Cornerstones

Trap shooters are the repository of some strange beliefs, which could be assembled into a…
Stevens Model 47 “Modern Range,” built on the 44½ (NOT the older 44) action.

Wins and Losses

Anyone with an ounce of humanity would sympathize with the evaluators of guns and compilers…
The gun-auction survival kit: Catalogue, tape measure, chamber gauge, flashlight, bore lights, caliper, micrometer. Add an unencumbered credit card, and you’re ready for the fray.

A Boy’s Guide to Gun Auctions

As I write this, the three-volume catalogue for the Rock Island “Premier” gun auction in…
This iconic (and archaic) engraving of an old-time trap shooter appeared on the frame of the famous Ithaca 4E, almost from start to finish.

Revisiting the King of Trap Guns

Trap guns, especially old trap guns, have a magic all their own. They are to…
The Starr carbine.

Paper Trails

Every so often, it’s good to delve into the past and see how things used…
The .264 Winchester Magnum from 1958 (left) compared with the .26 Nosler, 55 years later.

Twisted History

Way back in 1988, I bought a Parker-Hale chambered for the venerable 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser,…
Cimarron Arms’s Colt Walker reproduction, exactly duplicating the original 1,000 military guns and aged to look authentic. Earlier this year, the Walker Colt was named the offical handgun of Texas.

Notes From the Percussion Section

Never — I repeat, never — did I expect to become interested in muzzle loaders…
The frame of the Reilly, out of the Varsol and freshly scrubbed, its engraving inviting admiration.

Recalled to Life

In A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens tells of a doctor who, having been…
The .300 Weatherby with 150-grain bullets did the job on the Alaska brown bear, but it was a close-run thing.

Spoiled By Choice

Among the key advances in shotgunnery, according to all the books, are the inventions of…
The Twigg and the wherewithal for its care and feeding.

Shooting the Twigg

Among my many failings, I have minimal interest in any gun I can’t take out…