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By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

On Tuesday, Tucson Police Lt. Michael Lara told the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security that a malicious investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) devastated his career and personal life after he gave a gun to a licensed friend. A pro-gun attorney testified that Lara’s case is not uncommon and that the ATF also routinely holds gun dealers to unreasonable standards. According to this CNSNews.com article, the House subcommittee is considering legislation to curb any overreaching by the agency. Check out this important story linked below. 
http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=%5CNation%5Carchive%5C200603%5CNAT20060329a.html [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Bullwinkle, a robotic decoy designed to nab those who would shoot Nova Scotia’s mainland moose (an endangered species since 2003) has bagged it’s first poacher. Robert Lee McLaren, 49, of Pugwash Junction, has pled guilty of attempting to kill an endangered species. His shot at Bullwinkle will cost him his hunting license for 20 years, along with about $4,000, his car, and his rifle.
http://www.lfpress.ca/newsstand/News/National/2006/03/29/1510223-sun.html [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

This seems to be the year for high-profile bass pro disqualifications. Only a few weeks after Mike Iaconelli was booted from the Bassmaster Classic for an unofficial record-setting second time, Kevin Van Dam has now been tossed from the Elite Series Santee-Cooper Showdown for breaking a boating rule. Van Dam has already release a statement, saying in part:  “I take full responsibility for violating a BASS rule. I did not do it purposely and I did not realize I was breaking any rules.”
http://www.fishingworld.com/News/Read.php?ArtID=000017281 [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

In a world filled with disappointment and betrayal, one institution I’ve never lost faith in is located in Montezuma, Iowa. (Why is a town in Iowa named after an Aztec king?) It’s called Brownell’s, and is THE SOURCE to gunsmiths and gun nuts of all types.

Since 1957, Brownell’s has issued a catalog that is doom and ruin, because it contains (in its most recent, 488-page incarnation) over 30,000 items, of which any committed shooter will just have to have 14,322. Not only that, but they are extremely nice people to deal with, and when you call them for tech help you get tech help. And they have never screwed up an order. Cabela’s once screwed up an order, but considering that I’ve spent the equivalent of the Bolivian national debt with them they were bound to. But Brownell’s? Never.

Once, when placing an order, I allowed to the nice lady that I brushed my teeth with J-B Bore Cleaning Compound, which tasted terrible but gave me a lovely smile. She said “OH MY GOD,” but didn’t hang up.

Give your credit card to a responsible adult and log on to www.brownells.com. [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

As reported on ABC’s World News Tonight, the legendary maker of the gun that won the American West is about to close up shop and move to Belgium. It’s a situation, according to this report, that embarrasses the company’s current remaining employees: "Belgium," said one. "I mean they probably don't even know where New Haven is." Check out the latest below, including a video clip.
http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Business/story?id=1770471&page=1  [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

Okay, let me rant about these and then we’ll get back to guns. Here are two books that no Old West fan should miss. Oddly enough, both are fiction.

First is a book called The Court-Martial of George Armstrong Custer, by Douglas C. Jones, written in 1975. Jones, who was a retired Army lieutenant colonel when he wrote his, had a great premise: Custer is the sole survivor of the Little Bighorn, and is brought back to Governor’s Island, in New York City, for trial. The Army, it seems, it very cross with him for getting a third of his command killed.

Jones is a hell of a fine writer, a meticulous researcher, and had a deep understanding of the way the Army works. Once you get into his book you’ll be unable to put it down, and you’ll have to remind yourself periodically that you’re reading fiction, not history. It’s that good.

Second is The Shootist, written in 1976 by Glendon Swarthout. (Yes, the very same Glendon Swarthout who wrote the anti-hunting book, Bless the Beasts and the Children. ) The book was made into a truly lousy movie of the same name, and it was John Wayne’s last film. He deserved... [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Meanwhile, in countries where avian flu is already present, the deadly virus could claim new victims, including rare big cats and other mammals. According to a statement released by the United Nations Environmental Program, "A far wider range of species, including rare and endangered ones, may be affected by highly virulent avian flu than has previously been supposed." Here’s the full story:

http://today.reuters.com/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2006-03-22T164328Z_01_L22367371_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU-ENVIRONMENT-SPECIES.xml [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

By a curious twist of fate, the Old West died out at just the time the motion picture was born, and the latter immediately glommed onto the former, transforming grubby reality into glamorous myth. Hollywood has produced more Old West b.s. than all the longhorns that ever lived.

Probably the first realistic Western character seen on the screen was in Shane (1953). Jack Palance portrayed a gunfighter named Jack Wilson, and he was very close to the real thing because he shot farmers for a living and enjoyed it.

Gary Cooper as Marshall Will Caine was good in High Noon (1951) because he was plainly terrified throughout the picture. But I’ve only seen three westerns in a lifetime of watching them that were real from start to finish.

First is The Culpeper Cattle Company  (1972). This was a B movie with a no-star cast, and it portrayed cowboy life as it really was: dirty, dangerous, and something to get the hell away from as soon as a better opportunity came along. “Cowboyin’s somethin’ to do when you can’t do nothin’ else,” says the cattle-drive cook.

Second is Ulzana’s Raid  (also 1972), a low-budget A movie with Burt Lancaster. It’s the story of a cavalry... [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Should hunter-safety courses be taught only to hunters? Or to all kids who may (or may not) eventually encounter guns or participate in shooting sports. The question has been the topic of hot debate in Tennessee ever since one such all-inclusive course was recently shot down at a Smith County elementary school. According to the article below, dozens of Volunteer State schools offer hunter-safety courses, but not all parents want them in the curriculum.
http://www.fairviewobserver.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060323/NEWS04/603230403/1321/MTCN06 [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

This was not a Hollander who could aviate, but a legendary sailing ship, doomed to wander the oceans forever, never reaching port. Wagner wrote a boring opera about it, but I digress. Apparently I have a former rifle that is a flying Dutchman, destined never to find a home.

It began life as a .378 Weatherby Magnum that I bought new in 1971. It came with a beautiful claro walnut stock as did many Weatherbys at the time, but being a classic-stock snob, I took it to Griffin & Howe, the custom gunmaker, and had all sorts of neat stuff done to it, including the addition of G&H iron sights, a QD side mount, a Canjar trigger, and a custom stock—a very handsome piece of nearly black French walnut.

The rifle was very accurate—you could shoot cloverleafs with it—but had one consuming fault: It kicked like the hammers of hell. The .378 Weatherby (actually a .375) sends a 300-grain bullet on its way at 2,950 fps, courtesy of 115 grains of powder, and produces 75 foot-pounds of recoil, which is a lot. But it was not the foot-pounds that killed you, it was the speed at which that rifle came back. You couldn’t... [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Halfway out the door, retiring U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton has thrown open the window for county commissioners to gain approval of road claims that cut across national parks, wildlife refuges, and federal rangeland. Critics say the move will open these areas to mining, drilling, and off-road vehicles. Meanwhile, Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne, Norton’s successor pending Senate confirmation, seems poised to walk into a hornet’s nest.
http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_3625624 [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

When Mac Weakley landed his would-be, could-be new world record bass--the 25-pound, 1-ounce monster--from Lake Dixon on the morning of March 20th, a star was born. For days, Weakley’s name has been bandied about on hundreds of news outlets across the country--major newspapers, Internet chat groups, and ESPN. But let’s not forget who the real star of the show is: the giant fish itself, whose story may be as wacky and wild as any in sport.

The giant she-bass landed this week is, according to Weakley and his fishing partner and best friend, Jed Dickerson, the exact same fish that Dickerson landed at Dixon in 2003. When Dickerson landed her, she weighed 21-pounds, 11.2 ounces, not the record-breaker, but good enough for fourth place on the all time list of the biggest largemouth bass ever caught. A replica-mount of that fish was featured on the cover of the March 2004 issue of Field & Stream, and in a feature story in that same issue on Dixon Lake.

What makes the anglers think it’s the same fish? A dime-sized black... [ Read Full Post ]