By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

In the July issue of The American Rifleman, I saw that the U.S. military is dropping the underpowered and generally unloved 9mm Beretta 99 and going back to the .45 ACP. (The article never named the Beretta 99, which is fairly odd, or maybe not.)

When we went to 9mm Parabellum cartridge 20 years ago, everyone I knew who had any experience of combat was baffled. But the military’s logic was that we had to get our sidearms in line with NATO, and NATO used the 9mm, and that was that.

No one who is familiar with how cops and soldiers select guns should be surprised. In the early 1960s, Air Force General Curtis LeMay (who knew everything about dropping bombs on people but precious little about land war) saw a radical new rifle called the AR-15, and thought it would be just the thing for the Air Force. And so the Army, which had fought against the adoption of the AR-15 tooth and claw, became insanely jealous, and bought it for themselves (after screwing it up with several modifications)  as the M-16.

Eventually, the M-16 was tortured into an acceptable infantry rifle, but now, 40 years after it was adopted, we’ve discovered that its 5.56mm cartridge is not powerful enough to shoot people satisfactorily, and so we now have a new 6.8mm cartridge which may or may not be widely issued in the future.

And in the realm of law enforcement, there is the famous Dade County, Florida shootout in April 1986 between FBI agents and two heavily-armed robbers in which 2 agents were killed and 5 wounded in a savage exchange of gunfire that lasted only a few minutes. Both felons, despite being mortally wounded, managed to do an amazing amount of damage before they expired, and the FBI put the blame on its .38 Special and 9mm sidearms, which did not get the job done. We need something more powerful, they said, and eventually adopted the .40 S&W cartridge.

I happened to be talking about this with a New York State trooper who had 20 years on the job, and he said:

“The FBI didn’t need different guns. The truth is that they simply botched the arrest. Any county sheriff’s department could have taken those two guys into custody without a shot being fired. The FBI is real good at lab work and crime-scene investigation, but they don’t do too well with the other stuff.”

Maybe so. In any case, it was a great reason to get a new gun.

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

Fellow gun nuts: We hear from each other, from gun writers, and from manufacturers, but gun dealers give us a perspective that we don’t get elsewhere. And so I’d like to introduce you to Scott Moss, who is the third generation of that family (all of whom have taken lots of money from me) to sell firearms. He’s agreed to come on the blog from time to time and tell us what’s on his mind, good or bad, about the guns he handles. If you’re interested in buying from him or selling to him on consignment, you can call Forest & Field, Norwalk, CT 203-847-4008.—Dave Petzal

Caesar Guerini. 
MSRP: $2,500.00 – $9,785.00
Contact:  http://www.gueriniusa.com

Caesar Guerini is rapidly becoming a name to be reckoned with in sporting clays and wingshooting circles and for good reason: It’s a fine Italian shotgun that actually comes with excellent customer service! 

Guerini looks after its guns and its customers in a way that is unheard of and unparalleled.  Their Pit Stop program allows for up to three complimentary tune-ups, one per year with a turnaround time of 5-7 business days.  They are readily accessible to customers and dealers, unlike many of their competitors, and they offer custom stocking for those who need it.  They have been careful to only put on enough dealers whom they can adequately supply with guns.

Most manufacturers will not enforce MAP (Minimum Advertised Price) on the internet because lower price creates demand that in turn keeps production going, but Caesar Guerini strictly enforces its MAP policy.  This keeps the line clean and prevents it from being footballed on the web by those to whom price is the only consideration.  It means that quality matters most and the customer ultimately benefits.

Speaking of quality, I feel that grade for grade, Guerinis have better wood and better engraving than their competitors, and excellent wood to metal fit.  And performance?  I have a 20/28- gauge Maxum combo that simply crushes targets.  What more could I ask for?  I love the guns and I love the company. –Scott Moss

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

Dear Dave, I will be hunting Mule Deer and Elk in Southeastern Idaho this fall - and need advice on binoculars. Most of my friends seem to think 8x42 or 10x42 would be sufficient...but, then again, none of them has hunted out West as far as I can recall - which is why I turn to you folks. Being an eyeglass wearer...should I go with porro prism or roof prism binocs?  What is the difference?

Jeff Harper
Fowlerville, MI

Dear Mr. Harper: Thanks for your e-mail.

Being an eyeglass wearer, you want to make sure that your binoculars--of whatever type--have fold-down eyecups. Just about all binoculars do, but check to make sure. Porro- or roof prisms have no bearing on this, just the eyecups.

As for power, I'd go with 10X. 8X is easier to hold steady, but I like that extra magnificatiion, and out West, you need it.

Porro prisms are the older, "dog-leg" style of binoculars; roof prisms are "straight-through" Porro prisms are cheaper to make than roofs, but roof prisms are slimmer, lighter, easier to waterproof, and they are what I would get.

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

Coming in the October issue, we’ll be doing a special on deer camps. But we’re lacking an element. We need humor. Camp humor. Practical jokes. Tales of disgraceful behavior. Wretched mistakes. You know, all the good stuff that, if it were about you, you’d kill the guy who ratted you out.

Since we intend to print the best ones in the October issue, we will need your real name and e-mail address, and just to prime the pump, here is a favorite of mine, as told me 50 years ago in Maine by an old Maine Guide.

“We were deer hunting near the Dead River, and we had a guy in camp who was a real jerk and a drunk to boot. Never hunted, just boozed, never worked. And the booze screwed up his stomach, so he was in the outhouse all the time.

“Then one of the boys shot a black bear, and we got a bright idea. We kept the bear out of camp, and laid it out so that his legs stiffened straight. Then when our pal was sleeping one off we jammed the bear onto the seat in the outhouse with his stiff rear legs blocking the door from swinging inward, which was the way it opened.

“Then we waited. Sure enough, after a while the drunk wakes up, heads to the outhouse, and pushes the door.”

“'Oh, ‘scuze me,' he says.

“He paces for a while, then he raps on the door, hard.

“'Damn, get a move on,'" he says.

“But nothing happens.

“Finally he says ‘All right’ and gets a running start and crashes his shoulder against the door and gets his head inside. For a minute we didn’t hear anything, then real slowly he says ‘Oh…my…God.’ He comes back in the cabin, white as a sheet and never says anything or takes another drop for the rest of the hunt.

“We had to sneak the bear out of there and come back for it when he’d gone home, but it was worth it.”

That sort of stuff. This could be your 15 minutes of fame. Go to it.