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Nonsense Product Names: WEN Will it All End?

Online Editors — Thu, 24 May 2012 11:25:55 -0400

by David E. Petzal

Well, there I was sitting at the old Mac, trying to work instead of listening to bluegrass, when I got a press release announcing that Redfield now has a scope out called the “Revenge.” I thought this was a pretty odd name to give an optical sight, but then I remembered that last year, Winchester came out with an all-copper bullet called Power Core, which has no core, so I guess the rules about product names have been relaxed.

But then, just a moment ago, I received word of a new crossbow called the Barnett Vengeance. Vengeance on what? The last time a crossbow was used in an act of vengeance was on March 25, 1199 when Richard the Lionheart, King of England, was killed by crossbow bolt to the neck that was fired by a French boy who claimed that Richard had killed his father and brothers.

Will we now see bumper stickers that read “Payback is a bodkin head?” or “That bolt from the blue is meant for you.”? Will we have to listen to Rachel Maddow screeching about crossbows you can sneak past metal detectors?

As if this weren’t bad enough, there now are ads running on the various cable channels I watch for a shampoo called WEN. I don’t know what marketing genius thought this one up, but “wen” is an archaic English word for a cyst, usually on the neck or face, as in “Will you look at the wen on King Richard’s neck? That thing’s big enough to hit with a crossbow bolt.”

On the other hand, maybe I should just listen to bluegrass more.

Should Young Hunters Start With Deer and Turkeys?

Online Editors — Tue, 22 May 2012 10:50:13 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Here’s me, on the set of the Gun Nuts TV show, holding my pick for the ideal youth turkey gun: a 20 gauge 870 Express Jr. with a red dot sight.

It is short, light, doesn’t kick much with the right loads, and it’s easy to hit with. My younger son shot his one and only turkey with it, and I have since taken it from him and killed turkeys with it, too. While you don’t have to put a $500 Zeiss Z-point on a kid’s gun, I think some form of red dot sight (and a lot of target practice before the season) is the best way to be sure a kid doesn’t miss.

Which brings me to my real point: for a lot of kids now, deer and turkeys are the first game they hunt. I am not sure that’s a good idea. Even though sitting in a blind and plinking a turkey someone else calls in for you is easy, killing a turkey is still treated as a big deal. Kill a turkey – or a deer – and a lot of people shake your hand and treat it like it’s a big deal. If you don’t get one, or you miss, well, you failed. It’s not good for kids to attach that kind of pressure to a first hunting experience. It should be about enjoying the outdoors, learning to hunt, and, ideally, bringing home some game. A friend of mine took a kid years ago who missed two turkeys in the same morning. He never went turkey hunting again after that.

I started my sons and a few other kids on youth season ducks. We always had enough chances that everybody who started with me killed at least one duck.

Really, squirrels are the very best animals for kids to start on. They are lots of them, so if you miss one, you don’t have to wait long to find another. Usually you can find at least one stupid squirrel that will sit still on a branch and let a kid shoo t it. People don’t generally tend to ask “get your squirrel yet?” as they do with deer and turkeys so a kid who is unsuccessful doesn’t feel as if he or she failed, which is the last thing we want in a first hunting experience.

Rifle Recoil: Oh, Mommy, My Shoulder!

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 22 May 2012 08:48:12 -0400

by David E. Petzal

As a number of you pointed out in my post on the Forbes Rifle, light rifles kick more than heavy rifles of the same caliber. But weight is only part of the equation, and recoil is a highly subjective matter.

In the case of NULAs, you get kicked less than the figures would indicate because the stock is an extremely good design that gives you plenty to hang on to, and directs the recoil into your shoulder rather than into your head.

I myself am not a good judge of recoil because I shoot all the time, have been reduced to an insensible mass of protoplasm, and don’t care anymore. I’ve shot NULAs ranging from .22/250 up through .340 Weatherby, and the only ones whose kick I really noticed were a .338 Win Mag and the aforesaid .340. They were not more than I could handle, but they weren’t fun, and I realized after a while that I could do the same amount of damage to the critters with lesser cartridges.

The .270 Forbes Rifle that I tested did not have enough recoil that you’d notice unless you were hypersensitive, and you can kill damn near anything with a .270. A .30/06 would jump more, but not a lot. However, as some of you pointed out, the best Forbes/NULAs would be/are the ones in the smaller calibers such as 6.5 Swede, 7mm/08, .260, and 7x57. I would add to that list the .257 Roberts, .25/06, .250 Savage, and .243.

Some people are less sensitive to recoil than others. On the upcoming season of Gun Nuts, you’ll see a young woman named Jessica Bruenn shoot a Savage Model 11 Lady Hunter in .308. Prior to the taping Jessica had shot a centerfire rifle exactly once, and the Lady Hunter, because it weighs something like 6 ½ pounds, will give you a jolt in .308. Jessica is a gifted rifleperson, and she paid no attention at all to the recoil. For her, it didn’t exist. Her shooting, despite her lack of experience, was exceptional.

Some people are like that. Others, who are not, should stick to small, sensible cartridges. With the bullets we have today, they will handle just about anything.

Forbes Model 24B Rifle: A Light Gun at a Great Price

Online Editors — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:10:00 -0400

by David E. Petzal

Melvin Forbes started Ultra Light Arms (now New Ultra Light Arms) in 1986, and is still very much in business, which is a towering tribute to the quality of his rifles. Small gunmakers riseth up and are mown down, but Melvin is still turning out the best truly light hunting rifles in the world.

What stands between a New Ultra Light Arms rifle and most shooters is the price. It’s a handmade gun, and the basic Model 24 NULA is $3,600 before options, which are many. And so, because Melvin is a man of the people, he has found a way to get his rifles into the hands of the many at a price of $1,400, which puts it in the upper tier of factory rifles.

The Forbes Model 24 B consists of the same Kevlar/graphite stock, made by Melvin, a CNC-produced action turned out by Titan Machine Products in Maine, a Timney trigger, and a Shaw barrel instead of a Douglas. The barrel comes in 24 inches only, #2 contour, and at present the rifle is available only in .270 and .30/06, right-hand only, and one stock color, gray. Its weight is 5 ¼ pounds, and until you heft one, you can’t imagine how light that is.

Picking up a Model 24B is jarring because the rifle has not been hacked, chopped, gouged, bobbed, or otherwise mutilated to achieve that extraordinary weight. It’s a full-sized gun, and looks like a full-sized gun, so you don’t expect it to weigh that little. The stock is only a pound, and there is not a fraction of an ounce extra anywhere else. It’s extremely durable (Nosler had a NULA action on a test rifle and put a million rounds through it before it got tired.), accurate, and foolproof.

After some snorting and farting on everyone’s part, I got my hands on a production rifle in .270, and am pleased to report that it shoots as well as any of the $3,600 NULAs. Due to the very limited time I could keep it, I went directly to handloads, and found that I could get groups of .589-inch with 150-grain Hornady SSTs, Federal 215 Primers, and H4831. Even by the unearthly accuracy standards of the newest rifles, this is about as good as it gets.

Two words of caution: The Shaw barrel is pretty rough and collects copper very quickly, so be advised that unless you clean your Model 24B with great vigah, it will quickly cease to shoot well. Second, rifles this light place an extra demand on you; every little twitch or jiggle is magnified because you don’t have 8 or 9 pounds of gun to absorb it. If your marksmanship basics are not up to snuff, you might want to buy something heavier.

I’ve owned a number of ULAs and NULAs over 20-plus years, and have hunted just about everywhere and everything with them, and except for the stamp on the receiver, I can’t tell the difference between the Model 24B and my guns. It’s still the best light big-game rifle around…but at $2,200 less.

Shooting Clays: Field Stocks vs. Target Stocks

Online Editors — Mon, 14 May 2012 16:35:43 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

As I mentioned previously, raising the comb of a field gun with moleskin or a slip-on comb pad makes it work better for clay target shooting--especially trap. The question arose in the comments to that post: Why should guns have different stock dimensions for clays or birds, seeing as how both are flying targets? Good question.

The gun in the picture is a Remington 1100 trap gun. I bought it (for $250. Score!) from a friend who used it as his duck gun for many years. It’s the gun I give to any kid who is having trouble hitting trap targets, especially kids who are struggling to hit trap targets with a field gun.

It has a stock that is straighter than a field stock but not aggressively high (1-3/8” at the comb, 1-3/4” at the heel). For most people, it shoots just high enough that you have to see the whole bird over the barrel to hit it. I believe it’s a lot easier to hit birds (whether clay or feathered) when you see them, rather than when you have to cover them with the barrel.

So, why aren’t all guns stocked this way?

I have no answers, only theories.

Here’s one: since so much of target shooting is done with a premounted gun, you have an opportunity to wriggle your cheek down onto the stock of, say, a trap gun. In the field, on the other hand, you throw the gun up hastily and rarely cheek it as firmly as you would on the target field. Therefore a field gun needs a lower comb to compensate for the fact that most people don’t have time to “get down” on it.

The man I bought the 1100 from was a serious sporting clays shooter. He has practiced his gun mounting enough that it was consistent, whether he was shooting ducks or clays with the 1100. For him, a gun with a target stock was perfect for hunting. Your mileage may vary, as they say, but it’s something to think about.

Iowa Governor Rescinds Ban on Lead Ammo for Dove Hunting

Sarah Smith — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:45:34 -0400

--Chad Love

It's been a long, strange and litigious trip, but it looks like Phil Bourjaily can finally go dove hunting in Iowa with whatever ammo he wants to use, thanks to an executive order from Iowa governor Terry Branstad

From this story in the Sioux City Journal:
Gov. Terry Branstad fired a shot at his executive-branch agencies by issuing an order Friday rescinding a ban on lead ammunition by dove hunters. Branstad said he would not let them trump actions of elected officials by using “administrative fiat” to set rules that go beyond a law’s intended effect. “We need to make sure that we stop this practice of agencies going beyond what’s been delegated to them and their responsibility,” Branstad said.

Branstad claims the Iowa Natural Resources Commission exceeded its authority when it banned lead shot for dove hunting last year. Unsurprisingly, the Humane Society of the United States, which first fought the dove season and then pushed for the lead ban, was disappointed.

From the story:

Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, issued a statement condemning what he called a “power grab” by the Iowa governor. “It is the height of hypocrisy for Gov. Terry Branstad to overrule both the Legislature and the Natural Resources Commission by executive fiat and to thumb his nose at the people of Iowa," he said. "But Gov. Branstad apparently believes that politics should trump science, and that anything goes if the gun lobby demands it.”

Thoughts? Reaction? Now that you have a choice, will you use lead or steel this fall?

Armed Citizen Alliance: Shoot the Gun You Carry

Online Editors — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:12:55 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Two years ago when I took my tour of Smith & Wesson, S&W’s Paul Pluff talked with me about current the boom in gun sales. He told that something like 50% of recent gun buyers were first time gun owners. He said the challenge the shooting industry faced was to turn those new gun owners into shooters or they would not be repeat customers, and the boom would be but a one-time spike in sales.

Pluff drew an analogy to Harley Davidson. A lot of people buy Harleys just because they are cool American icons. If they never ride their Harleys (and some don’t), they never have to buy new ones. Harley Davidson, therefore, puts on events and rides specifically aimed at getting people out and riding their bikes so they will buy more. The firearms industry, said Paul, needed something like it.

A couple of days ago I received a release about the Armed Citizen Alliance (ACA) which appears to be an initiative like the one Pluff was describing. The ACA, among other things, plans to offer shoots for carry guns. From their website:

“ACA “Practice & Confidence” recreational events offer an appealing alternative, designed specifically so people can “Shoot what they actually carry; the way they actually carry it.” Only store-bought handguns of carry-concealed configuration are allowed. No special-configuration custom guns, no non-standard refinements.

The format and structure of ACA events themselves will be simple, safe, and fun. Basic and necessary forward-looking rules will provide for the inevitable desire of returning participants to expect growth and improvement as they become “captured” by the challenge--and the enjoyment--of developing personal defense abilities and confidence, and seek ways to “keep track of how well they’re doing.”

It seems like a sensible idea all around. The shooting industry needs to sell guns, ammunition and holsters. People with permits should practice and become more familiar – and therefore safer and more responsible – with their firearms. They should have fun with them, too.

Discussion questions:
Would you shoot in an ACA event with your carry gun?
If ACA events catch on, do you predict they will become serious competitions in their own right the way skeet and sporting clays evolved from hunting practice to target sports.

16 Of The Best Westerns Ever Made: What's Your Top Ten?

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 11 May 2012 08:39:36 -0400

Share your Top 10 Westerns list in the comments section!

State Police to Shut Down PA Instant Check System, No Firearms Purchases for 3 Days

Sarah Smith — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:59:25 -0400

--Chad Love

Are you a Pennsylvania resident who plans on buying a gun sometime this month? You might want to check with your gun shop before making the drive...

From this story on examiner.com:
The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) announced on Friday, that the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), used by the Pennsylvania State Police, will be taken out of service for three days later this month for a full system replacement. Consequently, this will temporarily restrict the purchase of firearms and negate the ability to obtain criminal history checks.

It's that last bit of news that has more than a few people a little ticked off. And it didn’t take long for them to express just how much...

From this follow-up story on examiner.com:

A complete shutdown of the Pennsylvania Instant Check System (PICS) by the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) for a period of 60 hours later this month for a system upgrade is "inexcusable," the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today. “Closing down the background check system, and thus suspending all firearms transactions and concealed carry license processing simply allows the [PSP] to obstruct the gun rights of law-abiding citizens,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan M. Gottlieb. “Access to the computers for background checks should not be suspended at all. Surely the [PSP] can find alternate means of processing firearms transactions and permit applications while the upgrade is in progress.”

The system will shut down at 10 p.m. Saturday, May 19 and will remain down until the following Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Thoughts? Reaction? Is it a mere inconvenience, or a de facto (albeit temporary) suspension of the Second Amendment?

Gun Test: Rock River Arms LAR-15 Fred Eichler Series Predator

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:51:48 -0400

by David E. Petzal

Here’s a good reason not to be a coyote, or any other objectionable form of animal life. Mr. Eichler, who is a varmint hunter of note, has collaborated with Rock River Arms to produce a totally cool MSR with all the right bells and whistles. There are a great many specs here, so let’s get to them.

Starting at the muzzle, the Predator has a tuned and ported muzzle brake (Why does the rifle in the photo not have one? We will get to that shortly.), a 16-inch, stainless, medium-heavy, lapped, cryo-treated barrel, low-profile gas block, free-floating handguard (whose vent holes are in the shape of paw prints, which I find almost unbearably cute), mid-length gas system, all sorts of rails, a truly superior (3.5 pounds, dead clean) two-stage trigger inside an oversized trigger guard, Hogue pistol grip, and a choice of an adjustable or non-adjustable stock. The barrel has a Wylde chamber, so it can use either civilian .223 or military 5.56 ammo. Twist is 1-8, and it handles 55-grain to 77-grain bullets just fine, although I found the rifle had distinct preferences about what it liked and didn’t like. Weight is 7.6 pounds, and overall length with the non-adjustable stock is a highly compact 36 inches. Excuse me; I need to catch my breath.

RRA guarantees that this rifle will group in ¾-inch at 100 yards. I found that with match ammo I could equal that, and with 77-grain Federal Match ammo, I could get ½ inch. However, the Predator will not shoot everything well; with some brands of ammo it didn’t like it would group in 2 inches.

Two things about the Predator jump out at you: First, it’s a very high-quality gun that’s put together with a lot of care. A collection of parts it ain’t. Second, you won’t have to go tearing off components and substituting other stuff. What’s on here, works, so leave it alone.

Now, why did my rifle not have a muzzle brake when it’s standard equipment? Because under the weird specs New York State imposes on MSRs, a muzzle brake would probably be illegal on this rifle. Or maybe it is legal. No one really is sure, so RRA acted on the side of caution. New York State assumes that if a semi-auto rifle with a muzzle brake fell into my hands I would be come a menace to the public. What can you say about that kind of thinking? In any event, if the rifle did have a muzzle brake, it would undoubtedly shoot even better than it did, and kick less, which was hardly at all.

The Predator lists for $1,395, which is fine. I look beady-eyed at the prices on a lot of MSRs, but not this one. It’s obvious where the money went. Also, Rock River Arms informs me that there is a wait on the order of 6 to 8 weeks for these guns. They can’t keep up with demand for any of their firearms, and the Predator is no exception. But I like this little rifle tremendously; it’s worth the wait. Rockriverarms.com

Good Gun Book: 'Shooter's Bible Guide to Optics'

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:09:35 -0400

by David E. Petzal

Optics, like everything else in our world, are in a state of turmoil. On the one hand, you can now pay close to $4,000 for a riflescope or a spotting scope and $3,000 plus for a binocular, while on the other hand there are riflescopes and spotting scopes selling for $400 and $300 that are better than anything you could buy at any price 20 years ago. Yet on the third hand we now have optical devices that did not even exist 20 years ago, such as laser rangefinders, range-compensating scopes, and good red-dot sights.

And if you’re to spend your money on any of this gear, you will quickly become confused, and your confusion can take on ugly notes of fear and panic. “What is one to do?”, you will bellow, and your dog will wet the carpet in terror.

Not to worry. You can simply spend $19.95 on a new book by Tom McIntyre called the "Shooter’s Bible Guide to Optics," which will make all things clear. It’s not only a guide but a catalog as well, printed on good paper that resists much handling and streams of drool. Tom does the judging for Field & Stream’s “Best of the Best,” feature in the optics department. He knows everything about the subject, has worlds of hunting and shooting experience, and is a brutal and relentless tester. When I want to explain something that’s complex, involves glassware, and requires that I actually know what I’m talking about, I quote him.

Buy the book. It’s the only way you’re going to make any sense out of all this. Skyhorsepublishing.com

Shotgun Tip: Raise the Comb on Your Field Gun for Trap

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 07 May 2012 11:43:50 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

I have posted this picture before but it gets a repost for good reason. It’s spring, and for many of you summer trap league is right around the corner. A lot of hunters shoot league trap with their field guns purely for fun and to hit more birds in the fall, and that’s great. However, you will shoot much higher scores (and get even better practice, as high scores beget confidence, and confidence makes good shooters) if you raise the comb of your stock a quarter-inch or so. A slightly elevated comb raises the gun’s point of impact, allowing you to see the target instead of having to cover it up with the barrel of your gun to hit it.

It’s simply easier to hit birds you can see.

That’s not to say it’s impossible to shoot good scores with a field gun. You can. I’ve done it, and seen it done a lot. But, it’s a difficult way to shoot clays, and what often happens is, eventually, the good shooter with a field gun starts to miss and doesn’t know why. Then he or she bears down, squishing their face even harder on the comb, which just makes the target even harder to see. A cycle of frustration, madness and despair follows.

Last night at practice I asked one of our shooters, who has been struggling, if he would let me use him for a guinea pig. I pulled the Beartooth products’ Comb Raising Kit onto his gun at the start of a round. He immediately broke his first 25 straight of the season. He’s a good shot. He had just been bearing down so hard he couldn’t see the targets.

More on Preppers

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 04 May 2012 12:10:50 -0400

by David E. Petzal

If you’d really like to depress yourself some evening, watch “Doomsday Preppers” on the National Geographic Channel. The show details the plans of normal, well adjusted people to cope with the aftermath of fiscal collapse, nuclear holocaust, the eruption of Yellowstone, solar flares, and so on.

The New York Times noted with outrage that many of these people were accumulating guns and ammunition in order to defend their 1,500 pounds of MREs and dried brown rice, but stockpiling guns is fine with me. My concern is that most of them seem pretty inexpert with guns. One prepper was counting on a Ruger Number One single-shot which, despite its many splendid qualities, is not what you’d pick to blast the mob at your door. Another managed to shoot off several fingers during a practice session. Yet a third, a resident of the Oligarchy of Bloomberg, took lessons in knife fighting because he was unable to get a gun, ignoring the fact that everyone in the Oligarchy of Bloomberg who wants a gun has one, or several, and when the pistol-waving mob comes to this fellow’s apartment I don’t think that he and his knife will last long.

A dose of reality was interjected into prepping recently when a resident of Washington State, one Peter Keller, shot his wife and daughter to death and then retreated to a heavily fortified bunker which he had spent 8 years digging into a hillside in the woods. The cops found his hole and waited him out. Then, after a 22-hour standoff, they brought in a breeching team and blew the door off his dugout. Inside were copious guns, ammo, body armor, and everything else a good prepper should accumulate. There was also the body of an apparent suicide whom the police believe is Mr. Keller. There went 8 years’ hard work in the time it took a couple of blocks of C-4 to go off.

I have nothing against prepping. I think a certain degree of preparedness is not only worthwhile, but necessary. Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, ice storms, and Congress are facts of life that are all too real, and we must be able to deal with the havoc they wreak.

But if you have visions of accumulating tons of .223 ammo and dried corn and toughing it out by yourself after Life as We Know It ceases to exist, I suggest you watch a film called Threads, which was made by the BBC in 1984, and shows what life after a nuclear attack is bound to be like. You will not want to be around after the Big One arrives, your 5,000 rounds of 9mm ammo and food dehydrator notwithstanding.

Reflecting on The Greatest Generation

Online Editors — Thu, 03 May 2012 10:02:55 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

As we come up upon VE day (May 8) we should reflect that even the youngest WWII veterans are in their mid-eighties by now, a fact I’m well aware of, since my dad died in 2010.*

I was reminded of the “Greatest Generation” a couple of times last week. An Honor Flight was landing at the Quad Cities airport when I picked up my son the other night, and a few days before that I squeezed into my old tuxedo and attended a black tie event for my wife’s department.

Since I knew almost no one there and we were seated at a table with a wealthy donor and assorted VIPs, I feared a long evening. Wrong. The VIPs were all interesting and the donor – an attorney who sponsors an ethics essay award my wife administers – was a very lively 87-year-old who loves to fish and often travels to Brazil for peacock bass. He doesn’t hunt, though, having had enough of guns as an infantryman in Europe during WWII.

Besides being wounded in the war, he suffered from PTSD (“They didn’t have a name for it back then but I had nightmares for 50 years,” he said) until a few years ago. He cured himself by talking to schools, veteran’s groups and anyone else about PTSD and experiences he had kept inside for years.

Like many who fought in WWII he had grown up with very little. He was the son of a Greek immigrant who never had much to begin with and lost all he did have during the Depression.

He told me: “I once asked my father what were the best years of his life. He said it was the Depression, because then we had nothing but time for each other.”

*He drove an ambulance with the American Field Service attached to the British army in North Africa and Italy, then was drafted into the Army and was training for the invasion of Japan when the war ended. I always figured if it wasn’t for the atom bomb I might never have been born.

Is the NRA's Political Power an Illusion?

Sarah Smith — Tue, 01 May 2012 11:03:59 -0400

--Chad Love

Is the National Rifle Association's power on the wane? Please don't beat the messenger, but that seems to be the thrust of a recent blog post from the Economist that argues the NRA's influence on national elections is mostly an illusion and that it's also on the wrong side of changing demographic shifts that in the future will further erode its influence.

"...Paul Waldman, of the American Prospect, has recently argued that the NRA's dominance is a myth. He has looked closely at the figures and writes, “Despite what the NRA has long claimed, it neither delivered Congress to the Republican party in 1994 nor delivered the White House to George W. Bush in 2000.” He also argues that NRA money has no impact on congressional elections, as it spreads its money over so many races, and that NRA endorsements are “almost meaningless” as most go to incumbent Republicans with little chance of losing.

The author also claims that despite an increase in gun sales nationwide, most of those sales are going to, well, old white guys who already have guns, and that the number of actual households with guns has been in a steady decline. The author also cites further demographic shifts toward more urban residents and a smaller percentage of the aforementioned old white dudes.

White males, the gun-loving sector of American society, also make up an increasingly smaller percentage of the population. What the industry actually needs is more Latino, black and female gun enthusiasts. But the NRA isn’t delivering these."

Thoughts? Reaction? Rebuttal?

How the Public Sees Hunters

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:43:16 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

There is a small percentage of the U.S. population that hunts, and a small percentage that hates hunting. While many of us believe the general public looks on at hunters with disapproval, the truth is, most of them rarely think about hunting at all.

When they do think about it, the non-hunters I encounter believe two things:

- We are crazy for keeping the hours we do and going out in the cold.

- Hunting is okay if you eat what you shoot.

More often than not the reaction I get from the non-hunters I encounter is polite curiosity. For instance, after I shot my turkey the other day I stopped to treat myself to more caffeine at a coffee place in a strip mall on the edge of town. The shop was full of housewives, professionals, college students and people working on their novels.

I was in full camo, headnet still pulled down around my neck, with the bloody turkey head stain you get on the seat of your pants when you carry a gobbler over your shoulder. I felt conspicuous, but no one screamed “murderer!” or shielded their children’s eyes from the sight of me. Instead, the 20-something barrista kid poured my coffee, then we had the following conversation. It was far from scintillating but it sums up the many people’s understanding of, and attitude toward, hunting:

Him: “Been hunting?”

Me: “Yes, for turkeys.”

Him: “Did you get any?”

Me: “Yes, I got one.”

Him: “How many can you get?”

Me: “Two.”

Him: “A day?”

Me: “No, a year.”

Him: “Cool. Congratulations.”

I put a dollar in the tip jar to help win his heart and mind all the way over to our side and went home.

Phil Bourjaily's 10 Best Cheap Shotguns for Turkeys

Online Editors — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:32:18 -0400

Guns on Film: Can You Answer These 12 Movie Gun Trivia Questions?

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:33:34 -0400

Let's have a little fun. As is the case for many, the guns I grew up hunting with represent my first real world experience with firearms. But from an even earlier age, my interest in guns was definitely peaked by those I saw in movies. Whether it was to find out what kind of gun a hero or villain carried, or just a desire to know how the gun I saw on the screen really worked, movies provided that spark that made me want to find out more. In a way, guns made me a movie nut, and vice versa. I mean, how can you blame me with toys like this beckoning from the aisles of Kiddie City...yeah, I definitely had this one.

If you can relate, or just want to remember some awesome movie moments, click through this gallery of movie gun trivia questions. On the first slide for each movie, I pose a question about a film character that met his demise in front of a muzzle. It might be about the movie, the guns in the movie, or both. Click to the next slide to see if you're right and learn some fun movie gun facts along the way.

Every film in here is at least a decade old, so there shouldn't be any spoilers for anyone. And if you haven't seen the flicks in this gallery...you should probably turn in your man card anyway. Have fun! --Dave Maccar

Turkey Hunting: Sometimes It's Better To Be Lucky Than Good

Sarah Smith — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:52:33 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

I have written a lot of how-to turkey stories over the years, but I generally ignore my own advice. Instead my personal approach to hunting boils down to: sleep late, get lucky. This morning I actually woke up at 4:30 a.m., thought about getting out of bed, then decided against it. It’s not that I don’t like getting up in the early morning, it’s that I hate feeling wiped out later in the day when I do.

So I left the house at the crack of 6:30 a.m. As an afterthought, on my way out the door, I grabbed a new mouth call from the box where I store the calls sent to me by manufacturers to try. I had noticed yesterday the ones in my vest were starting to fall apart and thought I should add a new one.

There were two trucks parked at the spot I had planned to hunt so I drove on to another part of the wildlife area. I got out of the Jeep, found the new call in my pocket and looked at it for the first time. I was a little dismayed to find I had picked a single reed call, which ordinarily I don’t care for in the spring (they are best for whistling up fall birds). I figured I should see what it sounded like before I took it hunting, so I tore open the package, put it in my mouth and yelped experimentally from the parking lot.

To my surprise a turkey gobbled right back. Evidently the H.S. Strut Single D “Infinity Latex” really is a World Champion Call, just like it says on the package.

I got my gear together, walked about 200 yards, sat down and called some more, trying to make the bird gobble again so I could go to him. Instead, he gobbled once and came to me. I shot* the tom at 25 steps 10 minutes after I sat down. He was a big fat 24-½-pound bird with long spurs and a beard to match.

On my way back to the parking lot with the turkey over my shoulder, I found a quarter. Seriously.

They say it’s better to be lucky than to be good. I would much rather be good, but I’ll take lucky until I get good.

And, I have added a new rule: always call from the parking lot.

*since this blog is supposed to be about guns: Remington 870 Super Mag, iron sights, Rob Roberts .665 choke and trigger job, 3-inch Federal Heavyweight 7s.

Shotgun Tip: Staying In The Zone

Online Editors — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:50:27 -0400

by Phil Bourjaily

Talk to good shotgun shooters, and they will tell you they get “in the Zone” where targets look as big as trashcan lids and birds seem to fly in slow motion. I get in the Zone sometimes, but the difference between ordinary pretty good shots like me and really good shooters is that the champions can find the Zone regularly and stay in it. For me, being in the Zone is a fragile state.

I had cause to reflect on this these last few days as we filmed Gun Nuts, Season III. Having two camera men depending on me to hit targets helps me focus. It’s just the right amount of pressure and it often puts me in the Zone. In the picture here (actually taken last season) I am breaking a trap target with a camera on my gun. I broke 103x105 trap targets that day, about half with a camera on my gun blocking my view of the target. I was In the Zone.

This season, when the Wolf Creek Production guys cranked the cameras us I got right back into the Zone. I missed exactly one target before lunch the first day and we set up some stuff like a “grouse in the woods” shot that were pretty difficult. I crushed them all.

However, when I fall out of the Zone while we’re filming, I melt down completely. It happens two or three times each Gun Nuts season. That same afternoon we filmed a segment about sporting clays guns that required me to shoot a very easy double on a pair of looping targets. I broke enough of them for the segment – thankfully – but then I missed the closer, easier target, and that was it. My Zone evaporated. The target was 15 yards away and hanging in front of me. I missed it again and again. I would have had a better chance of hitting it if I threw shells at it. Shotgun shooting is a funny thing which is why I find it so interesting.

I am also grateful for the magic of editing. We will not be doing a “Gun Nuts Live” show if I have anything to say about it.

Petzal's Best Rifles, Ammo, Glass and Deals from SHOT

Online Editors — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:48:40 -0400

From the pages of Field & Stream

In a year that was otherwise economically putrid, the 2012 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show was booming. Attendance last January in Las Vegas was so heavy that there were some aisles you could not walk through, and there was lots of great new stuff to drool over. Let’s get to it.

Thompson/Center Rifles

So radical is the Dimension that T/C doesn’t even call it a rifle; they’ve labeled it an Interchangeable Bolt-Action Platform. Whatever it is, it allows you to swap bolts, magazines, and barrels (including heavy barrels) in calibers from .204 Ruger to .300 Win. Mag. I’ve shot it and hunted with it, and it works. The price for the rifle is $600. Each additional barrel is $199, and a new bolt (if required) is $49. tcarms.com

Ruger

A completely new gun, the American Rifle is based on a piston-style bolt with a non-rotary extractor. Its synthetic stock has integral aluminum bedding blocks. The trigger is two-stage and adjustable, and the magazine is detachable. Right now it comes in .243, .308, .270, and .30/06. It weighs only 61⁄4 pounds and retails for $449. ruger.com

Forbes Rifles

If you’ve lusted for a rifle made by New Ultra Light Arms but could not hack the $3,500-plus price, lament no more. Forbes Rifles is a brand-new company that’s building the Model 24B, a semicustom version of the NULA, for $1,500. Melvin Forbes makes the stocks, Forbes Rifles does the receivers, Timney supplies the triggers, and E.R. Shaw turns out the barrels. It weighs 51⁄4 pounds and comes in .270 and .30/06. I took a close look at the 24B, and I can’t tell it from a NULA. forbesriflellc.com

Montana Rifle Co.

Montana’s new gun is the DGR, which stands for Dangerous Game Rifle, and it’s a heavy, super-reliable, no-frills bolt action that will allow you to mess with death in the long grass. This is a stopping rifle done right. You can get it in chamberings that include the horrifying .505 Gibbs, the cataclysmic .460 Weatherby, and the ever-so-pleasant-by-comparison .416 Rigby. In blue steel it’s $2,399; add $100 for stainless. For what you get, that’s a bargain. montanarifleco.com

Savage

Most women’s rifles are men’s rifles with an inch hacked off the stock, but the Savage Model 11 Lady Hunter is truly designed for female shooters. The walnut stock is shorter and the comb is much higher than standard because women have longer necks than men. Savage has also slimmed the pistol grip and fore-end and lessened the front-end weight. Calibers range from .223 to .30/06. It comes in long- and short-action versions, for $819. savagearms.com

Winchester

Even though the Model 71 lever action was built for only a comparatively short time and only for one cartridge—the .348 Winchester—it earned a lasting place in the hearts of hunters. The 71 is a supremely effective rifle—fast-handling, fast-shooting, dead reliable, and powerful. This year it’s back in Standard ($1,470) and Deluxe ($1,660) grades, and it’s just as great as ever. The one weak point is its buckhorn rear sight. Ignore the silly thing and get a good rear peep sight. winchesterguns.com

Norma

This Swedish ammo maker has been in the U.S. for a long time, but in a small way. Now it intends to be a major factor in the market, which is fine with me. I’ve been using the company’s loaded ammo, brass, and powder for years, and all are of the highest quality. Norma will be offering reloading components and ammunition in all sorts of calibers including metrics and British loadings. norma.cc/en

Meopta

Reinhard Seipp, Meopta’s chief operating officer, says, “We’re not very good at publicizing ourselves, but we’re very good at making things.” Meopta is a Czech company that’s been in the optics business for 79 years and turns out riflescopes, binoculars, and spotting scopes of truly top quality and at very reasonable prices. I am in possession of a MeoStar R1 3–10x50mm, a 30mm-tube model that is a paragon of perfection and carries a real-world price tag of only $600–$650.

Kenny Jarrett, who is as fussy about scopes as any human being I know, told me, “If you can’t afford a [here he named a very famous high-priced scope], get a Meopta.” If that’s not a solid-gold endorsement, it will do until the solid-gold endorsement comes along. meoptasportsoptics.com

Carl Zeiss

Your binocular is your most important piece of hunting equipment, and a fine binocular is worth whatever you pay for it many times over. Unless you’re some kind of witless savage, you hardly need me to rave over Zeiss glasses, so I’ll simply state that the company’s new Conquest HD binoculars come in 8x42 and 10x42, are the absolute state of the art, and do not sell for $2,700, or $2,950, or $3,028.31. The real-world price is under $1,000 for either one. They are also covered by Zeiss’s new unconditional repair policy, which means that if they break, or you break them in the line of duty, Zeiss fixes them for free, period, no questions asked. www.zeiss.com/sports

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

Petzal's Best Rifles, Ammo, Glass and Deals from SHOT

Online Editors — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:48:40 -0400

From the pages of Field & Stream

Ruger

Forbes Rifles

Norma

Meopta

Carl Zeiss

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

Petzal on the Trayvon Martin Shooting

Dave_Maccar — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:56:47 -0400

by David E. Petzal

On April 11, Florida Special Prosecutor Angela B. Corey announced at a press conference that George Zimmerman would be indicted for second-degree murder in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. She prefaced this by informing the world that her team of investigators were fearless defenders of the victim, yet mindful of the rights of the accused; immune to political pressure from anyone; compassionate yet strict; enforcers not of public opinion, but of Justice. She did not say that hers was the greatest assemblage of legal minds since the drafting of the Magna Carta in 1215, but that was probably because she forgot. It reminded me of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote: “The louder he spoke of his virtue, the faster we counted our spoons.”

In all likelihood, we will never know the complete truth about what happened in the death of Trayvon Martin, but I think I can guarantee that whatever took place, George Zimmerman will go to prison.

He is guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of three counts of SWA—Stupid While Armed—and there is always a penalty for that.

Count One: He chose to carry a gun, despite being prohibited from doing so by the Neighborhood Watch, so he was automatically wrong no matter what happened.

Count Two: When he chose to pursue Martin, despite the police dispatcher’s telling him to stand down, he was automatically wrong, no matter what happened.

Count Three, which rises to Grossly Aggravated SWA: He shot someone who was unarmed. If you’re going to do that, and not go to prison, the guy you shoot had better have your spleen in his hands when you pull the trigger.

But how about the No-Retreat (Stand Your Ground) law? Permit me to quote a judge of my acquaintance.

“The No-Retreat law is a defense available in Florida, but it has to be established by the defendant to the jury’s satisfaction—it’s not an automatic ‘get out of jail free’ card.

"And whether or not the defense will succeed will depend on a lot of factors, especially on the defendant’s ability to establish [by evidence other than his unsupported testimony] that he was justified. This is the cautionary part—better make sure that you can back it up if you’re going to rely on the No-Retreat law. Much better to retreat if you can do so safely.”

So what will happen now? A trial will take place. The verdict will be guilty. Everyone concerned will get their time on camera, as will everyone with a cause connected to the case. It will be written and talked about endlessly. And when this sorry, tiresome dance is done, if I were George Zimmerman, I would be thinking hard about how I wanted to decorate my prison cell.

Long Range Shooting: Equipment and Theory Are Not Enough

Dave_Maccar — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:37:19 -0400

by David E. Petzal

One of the shows in this season’s Gun Nuts will be me shooting at 500 yards at the Scarborough Fish & Game Association range in Scarborough, Maine. The point I will be making is that, if you don’t practice shooting at ranges over 300 yards, don’t shoot at game beyond 300 yards. It’s not enough to buy the equipment and know the theory.

This was borne out a couple of weeks ago when I was shooting at Scarborough with Rocky Prout, who is head of the Rifle Committee, a Distinguished Rifleman, and a Highpower Competitor for 20-plus years. I was to shoot at 500 yards and we had a stiff incoming breeze on the order of 25 mph.

Conventional wisdom says that an incoming wind will lift your bullets on their way to the target, and I asked Rocky how much I should allow for it.

“Nothing,” he said. “At 500 yards this isn’t going to move a .30/06.”

And he was absolutely right. How did he know? From years and years of watching bullets go downrange in all kinds of conditions, from all sorts of rifles. It’s not what the book says, but it’s what experience says, and experience is what you must have. Three hundred yards seems to be the point of departure in rifle shooting. Up to there you can pretty well predict what’s going to happen. Beyond that mark, you have to go and find out for yourself.

Fear and Loathing at Canadian Customs

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:06:16 -0400

by David E. Petzal

This took place in the 1990s at an airport in one of Canada’s western provinces, and involved a member of that country’s Immigration Service, which is dedicated to making life as hard for American hunters as it possibly can.

I had been invited to this province by a scope manufacturer to hunt whitetail deer, freeze, and see what great stuff they made. By sheer chance, a few weeks previously, Field & Stream had been visited by a minister of Canada’s Department of Tourism who asked the magazine’s help in persuading sportsmen to visit their country, eh? He left a couple of his cards, and I, in a rare stroke of foresight, kept one.

So I got to the Canadian airport and on the entry card, where it asked whether I was there on business or pleasure, I checked off business, because I was, after all, representing the magazine and was the guest of a manufacturer. This was a mistake.

I was waved into an office where I encountered a member of the Immigration Service who asked if I had a work permit for what I was about to do. No, I said, I was going deer hunting, and if there was any actual work connected with the event it would take place later back in the United States.

“Well,” she said, “I can’t let you in without a work permit.”

I smiled. I was faced with the one chance you get in a lifetime where you get to make them sweat for a change.

I took out the Tourism Minister’s card, laid it on the counter, and explained how I came by it.

“Now,” I said, “since I can’t get in without a permit, and since I have no intention of taking out a permit, I’d like someone to escort me to the baggage claim so I can pick up my rifle, and then to the ticket counter so I can go home. And when I get home the first thing I’m going to do is give Minister So-and-So a call and tell him about our little adventure here. And the second thing I’m going to do is write about this and keep everyone out of Canada that I can. And finally, I think that your life next week is going to be a lot more interesting than it is this week.”

Frantically, the immigration person dragged out a huge book of regulations. I watched smiling, and encouraged her by telling her that she’d better find something in her effing book that would let me into Canada. Finally, she did. I congratulated her on keeping her job, and went on the hunt as scheduled, where I froze, and shot a monster eating whitetail with only three points on either side.

But this happened only once in 40 years of flying with guns. The rest of the time, I have had to put up with various officials’ crap until they became bored with me and moved on to the next hapless traveler.