rifle

ithaca e
This Flues-model Ithaca 4E trap gun was a mess when Edy received it, and a lovely article when he returned it to Dick Stephens a year or so later.

Edwin von Atzigen, RIP

The name “von Atzigen” is not familiar to most, but in my opinion it should…
Granite Mountain .505 and Blaser R8 chambered for the equally fearsome .500 Jeffery. Both have short, heavy barrels — the Blaser’s is 24 inches, but it saves length on the action — which are exactly what the doctor ordered for such bruisers. They weigh an identical 10.4 pounds.

Weight a Minute

What follows was triggered (so to speak) by my learning that the Army’s new rifle,…
tom turpin
The closest a writer comes to immortality—having words and thoughts enclosed between hard covers. These three books, plus a complete collection of Gun Digest from the mid-80s onwards, will give you the breadth of Tom Turpin’s work.

Lives, Deaths, Eras, and Random Thoughts

As you might have read here, in a note by Dave Petzal, the rifle world…
Ultra Light Arms catalogue, 1996.

Lord Melvin, Appreciated

Melvin Forbes, of Granville, West Virginia, departed this earth on June 5th at the age…
purdey gun
Fantasy engraving by Aristide Barre, unusual for 1912. Courtesy Rock Island Auction Company

Rock Island Preview

Rock Island’s second premier auction to be held at its new premises in Texas is…
Terry Wieland’s custom Mauser 98 in .450 Ackley has a steel-tube Swarovski scope in a German claw mount, instantly detachable, and a set of highly customized iron sights that fit Petzal’s description of those on a professional hunter’s rifle. It has not accounted for as many animals as Warren Page’s rifle, but it includes two Cape buffalo inside of five minutes.

Put Some Iron on Your Rifle

Back when everyone knew who Arthur Godfrey was, you couldn’t sell a big-game rifle without…
Springfield Armory’s M14 (A1). To Wieland’s eye, it is better looking than either its predecessor M1 Garand or its successor, the M16 (AR-15).

The M14. Unsung. Much Loved.

To read John Lachuk’s piece in the 1965 Gun Digest, you’d think the M14 was…
Peter Hofer’s Jaguar Double in .500 Nitro Express
Peter Hofer’s Jaguar Double in .500 Nitro Express

Peter Hofer’s “Jaguar” Double in .500 Nitro Express

In 1984, a handsome French professional hunter invited me to a remote town on the…
Double rifles of the quality of this W.J. Jeffery, built between 1929 and 1939, do not come along every day. Just seeing and handling such a rifle is a privilege.

The Fate of the Jeffery

A few of these missives ago, I alerted readers to the presence at the Rock…
Mannlicher Model 1903

Introducing the Ischler

This is not, admittedly, a puzzle that has me lying awake nights, but for many…
rifle
If ever there was an American classic, this is it. This rifle brought $7,475. Photo courtesy Rock Island Auction

The Latest From Rock Island

Rock Island holds three premier auctions every year. These are the sales where you see Wild…
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…