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The Gun Nut Nation Survey 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:42:59 -0400

Sound off, Gun Nuts. Tell us what you love about today’s rifles and shotguns. Tell us what you hate most about the perception of gun owners in the media. Tell us about your hopes and fears concerning a certain election this November. Tell us about what makes you a Gun Nut in the following survey—a collection of questions about the politics, economics, and state of Gun Nut Nation. The results will be published in the July 2012 issue of Field & Stream. Thank you for participating.

Retirement Age: The Progress of Modern Optics

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 12:17:05 -0400

by David E. Petzal

At any given time I’m likely to be shooting loaner rifles, and so I keep eight or so scopes on hand to mount on these guns. Some of the scopes have been around for 15 years or more, and I keep using them because they work. The other day, however, I was shooting with one that had been around a long time, and on the other rifle I was using I had a brand-new Meopta MeoStar. When I switched from the rifle with the Meopta to the one with the old scope it was as though I had suddenly developed glaucoma. Everything went dim and muddy.

Often, when this happens, it’s because the lenses have acquired a coating of what looks like dried oxtail soup, topped by a layer of dust. You clean them off and they’re fine. But the lenses on this old scope were clean. What was at work? New scopes are so much better than those from only a decade ago that they make them look...disadvantaged. Optical progress, which used to proceed at a measured and stately course, now moves at the same breakneck speed as everything else.

This is not a disadvantage. One of the results is, I’m now seeing new low-priced scopes that are as good, optically, as the high-priced scopes of the 1990s. And today’s medium- and high-priced scopes are in another league altogether.

The other thing that happened on that fateful day was, my old scope declined to send bullets where they were supposed to go. The windage adjustment was either worn out, or wearing out, and was unable to do what I was telling it.

So I sighed, and retired the old scope, and got a brand-new Meopta Meopro, and everything is now bright and sharp, and the bullets go where they’re supposed to, but it’s sort of sad. The old scope had served honorably.

I have yet to feel an ounce of empathy, however, for any old computer.

More on Long Range Shooting

Sarah Smith — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:30:40 -0500

by David E. Petzal

Back in April, 2011, I became a probationary member of the Scarborough Fish & Game Association in Scarborough, Maine. The name notwithstanding, SF&G is a shooting club, and a very large, very active one at that. They stage just about every kind of rifle, shotgun, handgun and archery event you can think of, and there is a dedicated range for cops to practice shooting people (so if you have any wants and warrants outstanding, stay away).

Among their assets is a beautiful range with shooting points from 100 to 600 yards, but since the Association’s official religion is safety, they do not let anyone use that range until they’re vetted. You qualify there or you stick to the 100-yard ranges; SF&G does not want any bullets sailing over the backstop. If you raise your muzzle above the level of the backstop you get a warning. If you do it again you are requested to leave.

The 600-yard hopefuls are split into two squads; one pulls targets while the other shoots, and then they switch. You can use any rifle you choose, any scope, or iron sights, and since this is a qualification and not a competition, you can use a bipod or sandbags or a mechanical rest.

All the shooting is done from prone. You start at 100 yards to check your zero, then you move back to 200 and fire five shots for record. All five have to be on target or you go home. The highest possible score is 50. Then you move back to 600 and get to fire a few sighters, after which you make whatever corrections you need and shoot five shots for record. Same rules—every bullet has to score or you get to slink off.

There are half a dozen coaches, all experienced over-the-course competitors to whom this is old stuff. They score you, and will give you advice if you ask for it, but otherwise they leave you on your own because they want to see if you have the knowledge and equipment to get the job done.

For my trial by fire I used a Shaw Mark VII .30/06 with a Bushnell Elite 6500 scope with a mil-dot reticle. Ammo was handloads—155-grain Berger VLD bullets at 2,840 fps. I also used a short Harris bipod. The only question in my military mind was which dot to use to get in the black at 600 yards. Through a mixture of Euclidian geometry, trigonometry, basic physics, consultation with ballistic tables, The Book of Kjells, prayer, fasting, and a whiny call to Kenny Jarrett, I determined that the fourth dot down would get me into the promised land, or at least my bullet would go there.

We had a beautiful calm morning with only a 2 mph breeze, and my first shot went into the eight ring at 2 o’clock. I needed to come left half the width of the eight ring, so I put in enough clicks to do that, and then I had to come down about six inches, so I did that. The next shot was a 10, so it was time to shoot for record.

I ended up with a 45x50—two 10s, a 9, and two 8s. This was good enough to qualify, but in competition it would get you looks of pity and contempt. The guy for whom I was pulling the target shot 50x50-4X, which means he put four out of 5 shots in 6 inches at six football fields. I wish I had the chance to find out what he was shooting, but was able to learn only that it was one of the 6.5s.

A final note: The shooter to my left, who was using an AR, asked me what that huge cartridge was in my ammo block. “A .30/06,” I said, and smiled, because when the old ’06 qualifies as a huge cartridge, we’ve come a long, long way.

Did You Get a Gun For Christmas, Too?

Sarah Smith — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:27:15 -0500

by Dave Hurteau

Actually I got a winter restoration project—a Savage Model 24 in .22LR/.410 with good bores and solid wood but a very rough exterior. As far as I’m concerned, the Model 24 in this configuration is the perfect squirrel gun.

By the way, did you know that squirrel hunting makes excellent practice for hunting whitetail deer, the species about which this blog is solely dedicated?

As I was saying, it’s a fantastic squirrel gun, particularly for small woodlots close to populated areas, because you can use the .22 when your backdrop will stop a bullet and the .410 when it won’t. Plus it’s just a damned cool gun that I’ve always wanted to own.

A peep sight seems the obvious answer, but I’m toying with the idea of a vintage low-power Weaver or Lyman scope. It’s the one type that would not be an abomination on the gun; it would be well suited to close-range squirrels with the .22LR barrel, and (back to whitetails) with the .410 barrel, it would be great practice getting on a moving target through a scope.

Anyway, enough about my Christmas present. Did you get a gun, too? If so, let’s hear about it. On the other hand, if all you got was boxer shorts and a tie, you are more than welcome to talk about my new obsession—I mean, my gun. What do you think about the vintage scope idea? How about staining the wood a darker color? (I think yes.)

Recommendation on blue brands: Wonder Blue, Brownells Oxpho-Blue, Birchwood Casey Perma-Blue? (I’ve only used the last.) Any other thoughts?

Ohio Man Shoots Amish Girl While Cleaning Gun

Sarah Smith — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 11:02:41 -0500

by Phil Bourjaily

This story out of Fredericksburg, Ohio serves as a freakish, tragic reminder that the only place to shoot a rifle is into a safe backstop. Fifteen-year-old Rachel Yoder was driving her buggy home when she was struck in the head by a muzzleloader bullet apparently fired a mile and a half away, by a man “cleaning” his gun who had fired it into the air. That the bullet landed where it did defies probability, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened and cannot be undone.

While no one knowingly cleans a loaded gun, it is common for blackpowder hunters to unload their rifles at the end of a hunt by shooting them. Perhaps that’s what happened here, and if so, in an instant of carelessness someone ended a young girl’s life and ruined his own.

Be careful in 2012.

Jingle Bells With a 1911

Sarah Smith — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:48:01 -0500

Happy Holidays from the Gun Nuts!

On Fouling Shots, and Choosing Your Friends

Sarah Smith — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:36:38 -0500

by David E. Petzal

A friend of mine called from Wyoming with grave concerns about his rifle, a .300 Win Mag with a #4 contour barrel from one of the really good makers, and all the other Right Credentials.

“It never prints the first shot with the others,” he said. “The first shot is always an inch high, and then you can cover the next three with a badly worn dime. What’s wrong with the gun?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it,” I said. “It just needs a fouling shot. About half of my rifles do. I have no idea why. I keep cheap ammo for just that. When I shoot, I put the first round in the dirt alongside the target and then get to business. Same when I go hunting. I sight in here and don’t clean the bore until I come home.”

“The other thing,” he said, “is I get my best groups from [He named a very popular quick-expanding bullet that’s been around for years, and has a sterling reputation for accuracy.}. My friends say they’re no good. What do you think of them?”

“I wouldn’t hunt Cape buffalo with them, but otherwise they’re terrific. Get new friends who know what they’re talking about, or get friends who don’t hunt. Trust your own experience. If they’ve served you well, who gives a popcorn fart what your friends think?”

Do You Treat Your Reel As Well As You Treat Your Gun?

Sarah Smith — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 09:16:00 -0400

About a month ago, I wrote about the necessity of maintaining and servicing your fishing reels. Some readers noted doing a lousy job of tackle maintenance while at the same time taking meticulous care of their firearms.

That brings up an obvious question: Why is this so? Or what’s the difference? Seems to me that if you’re going to make the effort to keep a prized rifle or shotgun in top shape, then you might lavish the same attention on a nice, quality reel--be it fly, spin or baitcasting.

Guns and reels both perform better with appropriate care. But somehow guns are often seen as treasured heirlooms while various tackle items are usually not. Historically, it’s an attitude that goes back a long way, which I learned as the former director of a flyfishing museum and often went through boxes of old, usually neglected fishing stuff.

Personally, I’m far more of an angler than a hunter. But I do own firearms and enjoy hunting occasionally. I try to do at least a half-decent job of maintaining and cleaning my rifles and shotguns once in a while. And I do the same with fishing reels, especially those I use most often.

It’s quite true that a fishing reel does not have the potential of saving my life or defending my home, as a firearm might do in some unforeseen circumstance. Maybe that’s the reason that arms--both historically and today--are so much more revered.

So I’m looking for answers, just out of curiosity. If you’re among the (seemingly) many who carefully maintain a firearm while often ignoring a fishing reel--why is that? What’s the difference?

Bashed-Gun Puzzle Solved

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:26:33 -0400

by David E. Petzal

In my post of Oct. 24th, I wrote about a friend whose hitherto-flawless backup rifle had developed a scope that was knocked 8 feet off target and an extractor that suddenly refused to extract. He—and I—now know why.

My friend put the ruptured rifle in a gun vise and saw that the scope was knocked so far out of line with the barrel that it was obvious from across the room. The last time he had used the gun was on a whitetail hunt in Kansas and, on a hunch, he hauled out the case in which it had traveled—a cheap plastic one. Sure enough, there were tire marks across the case. Some thoughtful ramp ape had driven a baggage cart or an airplane tug over it. The case had given and sprung back, but the scope mount—not the scope itself—was twisted all to hell.

In 2008 on a trip to Africa, a friend’s old Model 70 in a strong aluminum case was driven over (also in Kansas, I believe), snapping the stock at the grip and wrecking the scope. The second problem was caused by accumulated crud under the rifle’s small hook-type extractor. Every time you clean your rifle you should get under the extractor with a Q-Tip or a toothpick and root out everything that’s collected there: little pieces of brass, grease, stuff that I can’t mention here.

About the gun-squashing problem, the only advice I can offer is buy the strongest case you can afford and pray that the ramp apes are too busy to give it special attention.

Jim Baird’s Arctic Adventure: Lube Your Gun for Negative-40 Degrees

Online Editors — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:27:52 -0400

Two days before I saw this bird, I got a couple ptarmigans for the pot. My gun worked with out incident. This bird in the video got away because my firing pin was frozen. Once the trip was done, I told the story to my friend Pat in Ulukhaktok, and he showed me what he uses to lube his gun in extreme cold.

He uses a fast-drying graphite spray made for aviation applications that can handle extreme cold. Oil-based lubricants get very slow and sticky at low temperatures. In the deep cold, the heat created from firing your gun creates condensation that can freeze your pin. In these conditions, it’s better to use no lube at all if you don’t have a dry lubricant, wiping all the oil-based lube from your gun. I would also consider putting a stronger spring in my gun in future situations like this.

Moral of the story: If your gun freezes up when your ptarmigan hunting, you’ll go hungry. If your gun is freezes up when you’re being charged by a bear, the bear doesn’t go hungry.

Graphite spray it is.

Announcing the 2011 Gun Nut Target Photo Contest

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:22:42 -0400

Never Trust a Quirky Rifle

Online Editors — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 10:39:52 -0400

by David E. Petzal

In my post of April 7, wherein I pissed and moaned about my groups breaking up at 300 yards, Amflyer asked a couple of very interesting questions: First, would a bullet that dropped 10 inches below point of aim at 300 yards really cause me to miss any animal that was big enough to justify shooting at it with a .338? And second, would not a range-compensating scope compensate for the fact that some bullets went way low?

To which I reply: there are two things every rifleman should fear: shifting winds and anomalies of any sort. Since the first is not relevant to this post, we will deal with the second. In the wonderful world of rifles, consistency is king. Just as surely as Congress is comprised of petulant, half-bright children, any gun, or load, that does weird, quirky stuff is not to be trusted, no matter how often or seldom it occurs, because, when it counts most, that anomaly will jump up and bite you right in the ass.

In theory it would be hard to miss an elk-sized animal with a 10-inch low shot at 300 yards. Except I might be shooting at something a lot smaller than an elk, and a lot farther off than 300 yards. Those who tolerate inconsistency are doomed to failure.

As for the rangefinding scope, I have one on only one rifle, and not the .338, because while I think they are highly useful, I don’t need one as a rule. And, more important, they function on the assumption that your bullets will go where they’re supposed to. If your rifle is spraying slugs all over the place, no scope in the world will save you.

Make a Log from a Newspaper + 57 More Hunting, Fishing and Camping Tips from the Readers of Field & Stream

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 08:39:38 -0500

Some of the best hunting and fishing tips that appear in Field & Stream every month don't come from the editors or writers at the magazine. They come from you, the readers. We get so many good tip submissions, in fact, that it's sometimes tough to select the winners for our "Reader Tips" section. But there was never any doubt about the tips in this gallery.

If you have a good Reader Tip for the magazine, e-mail it to fsletters@bonniercorp.com, or post it on The Tip Board. If it appears in the magazine, we'll send you some great outdoor gear—free!

Make a Tic Tac Box Bait Dispenser + 44 More Hunting, Fishing, and Camping Tips from the Readers of Field & Stream

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 15:19:38 -0500

If you have a good Reader Tip for the magazine, e-mail it to fsletters@bonniercorp.com, or post it on The Tip Board. If it appears in the magazine, we'll send you some great outdoor gear—free!

SHOT Show 2011: E.R. Shaw's Rex White on Re-Barreling Your Rifle

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 01:27:58 -0500

by David E. Petzal

About the Video: Pennsylvania-based E.R. Shaw has been around for nearly a century, and while they're best known for rifled-slug barrels, they make terrific rifle barrels, too. Shaw's Vice President of Marketing, Rex White, talked to me about when it's time to re-barrel your gun.

Bourjaily: 3-Gun Two-Sight Solution

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:29:08 -0400

Dave often cautions us not leave our variable scopes set on the highest magnification when we’re hunting. That way, if we have an unexpected close call with a buck as we sneak through the woods, we’ll have a better target than a patch of blurry hair, which is all you see when you look at a deer 10 yards away through a 9x scope.

Here’s another idea: the hot rifle sight setup among competitors in 3-Gun ( tactical pistol, shotgun and rifle shooting) matches right now is a conventional scope with a small backup red dot set on an angled mount. You’ve got your scope for longer range work but if you suddenly have to shoot a target at 10 feet, you keep your head still, both eyes open and on the target, and you roll the rifle slightly to bring the red dot into view. It is a very fast and effective method and way better than bobbing your head up and down with those see-through scope mounts that let look under your scope to use iron sights.

I am tempted to try the two sight arrangement on a slug gun this way for fall, just to do it. Anybody else think the 3-Gun two-sight solution might cross over to hunting?

Petzal: All About Gun Cleaning

Online Editors — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:36:43 -0400

Some time ago, I was asked how to clean a rifle. There are as many different ways to do this as there are to summon Beelzebub, and there is no single “correct” method.

Whatever works, works. Here, instead, are some general tips.

*Think of cleaning as a two-stage process. First you get out the powder fouling, then you get out the copper.

*For powder fouling, I use Shooters Choice solvent and phosphor-bronze brushes. When you’re finished with a brush, give it a toot from a can of Birchwood-Casey Gun Scrubber; this will get the dirt off the brush and will keep the Shooters Choice from eating the bronze bristles.

*For copper fouling, I use J-B Non Imbedding Bore Cleaner. Other copper-killers will not work on some barrels, or take forever, or will pit your bore if you leave them in too long. This stuff works fast, and will get all the copper out for sure.

*Keep your rods clean. That is why God invented paper towels. A dirty rod is an instrument of terrible destruction.

*Do not use slot-type patch holders, You do not want to drag dirty patches back and forth through the bore. Each patch gets one trip only.

*When you think you’re done, leave the bore wet with Shooters Choice for a couple of hours and then run a dry patch through. If it comes out with no green on it, you’re done. Then run a Rem-Oil patch through the bore and a dry one after it.

*Clean the chamber with a dry patch. You don’t want anything at all left in there.

*The source for all cleaning supplies is brownells.com

The Gun Nuts On Television

Online Editors — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 12:55:05 -0400

That’s me -- I’m the one on the left -- on the set of “The Gun Nuts” the other day. We had just filmed a highly scientific test on the shot-resistant properties of shooting glasses. What happens when 8 shot launched at 1200 fps meets polycarbonate lenses protecting googly craft eyes on cantaloupes representing human heads? Tune in to The Gun Nuts to find out.

Starting today, every Wednesday at 9:30 PM (EST) Dave and I will do our best to bring this blog to life onscreen on the Outdoor Channel. We will blast melons, torture red dots, debunk myths and even break out Dave’s famous Ballistic Buffalo. We’ll talk about guns both classic and new, give shooting advice, and speak our minds about gunny subjects. We may give some stuff away, too.

So far it has been a lot of fun to work on The Gun Nuts, and I hope the end result is as much fun for you to watch. We’ll find out soon enough. If you can’t wait until next Wednesday, then play the preview clip below, which the Outdoor Channel worked up for the show. -- Phil Bourjaily

How to Shoot a Magazine for Fun and (Maybe) Profit

Online Editors — Thu, 27 May 2010 13:20:41 -0400

We want you to take the July issue of Field & Stream out and shoot it. Well, not the whole magazine, but the target on page 49. It’s part of the special Gun Nut issue, in which DEP and I put this blog on the pages of the Field & Stream. In the section you’ll find shooting advice, lots of guns, Gun Nut rules to live by and such vital minutiae as my five favorite gun scenes in the movies and Dave’s nominations for the Three Meanest Gunwriters Ever. The issue hits newsstands on June 22nd.

Back to the target. We want you to shoot it. Really. With any gun, at any range. One shot or many – doesn’t matter – then shoot it again, this time with a camera. You can be in the picture, too. Whoever takes the photo our editors like best wins a Smith & Wesson M&P MOE in 5.56mm. And by “wins” I mean, we give it to you (via a registered FFL dealer) and you get to keep it. You can enter the contest here once your issue arrives.

I have shot a bunch of phone books (you test penetration by seeing how far in the alphabet the pellets reach) but I don’t recall ever shooting a magazine so you are on your own in your choice of guns and ammunition. My only advice is be safe, be creative, have fun, and send us your pictures.

There’s nothing in the rules that says you can’t send in pictures of more than one target. That will require buying more magazines which, of course, is all part of our insidiously brilliant plan. Magazines are supposed to be dying out, killed by the Internet as delivered on home computers, laptops, phones and iPads. Maybe someday, but for now, we are proud to say we have created an app for a magazine that can’t be replicated on a screen. Well, I guess you can shoot your laptop if you want to, but we won’t let you win a gun for doing it.

Petzal: All About Barrels, and the End of Days

Online Editors — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 11:52:01 -0400

I’m getting lots of questions lately about the End of Days, and about which barrels I recommend, so let’s do the easy subject first. Yes, it’s coming. December 20, 2012, is the end. You don’t think all the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are coincidence, do you? Get your affairs in order.

Now about barrels. Among the top-flight companies, there is no “best” that I’ve been able to detect. In the past half-dozen years I’ve had barrels installed from Lilja (.22 RF and 6.5mm), Hart (.22 CF), and Pac-Nor (.458), and I’ve used Shilens and Schneiders and Jarretts, and they have been, without exception, sensational. They should be. By the time you get one installed by someone who does good work, the bill is around $700.

If you’re not quite nutty enough need one of these, I can also vouch for McGowen, Douglas, and E.R. Shaw, which will go roughly half as much. I’ve had loads of experience with Douglas; the worst Douglas I ever used shot OK, and the best would make you haul out the adult diapers.

A good barrel may not cure an evil-shooting rifle. I’ve found this out to my sorrow on several occasions. But if you have a gun that shoots good, a new barrel in the medium-price range will at least keep it at its present level of accuracy, and probably upgrade it a little. A $700 barrel will almost surely make it shoot a lot better, provided you can do your part.

A footnote: There is about a 3-month wait for most of the top-flight barrels because they’re made slowly and lots of people want them. Kenny Jarrett, who used to barrel only his own rifles, will now put a new tube on anything reasonable, and in a month. He did it for me in two weeks because I whined at him, and he cannot tolerate a whining Yankee. 803-471-3616.

Petzal: Who Knows What Horrors Lurk?

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:57:38 -0500

A Hawkeye borescope is a pair of steel 17-inch tubes (they give you two different views of what they see) containing gradient lenses and a light. When you poke it down your barrel you see what is actually there, as opposed to the bright, shiny surface you see when you squint down it with the naked eye. For about the price of a good scope sight, you can tell a bad barrel from a good barrel without firing a shot, see when you’re really done cleaning the bore as opposed to when you think you are, and detect what’s wrong with your rifle when the friggin’ thing won’t shoot.

Here are some of the neat things you can see:

A damaged land. I have no idea how this was done, but it has wrecked the barrel for good.That gouge is going to tear any bullet that passes over it.

Pitting. This is one of the things that happens when you don’t clean your bore. The steel is eaten away by corrosion.

A tackdriver bore. No copper fouling, no radial toolmarks, everything nice and smooth.

Scorched steel. Eventually, this happens to all barrels. When it extends far enough up the bore, it’s time for a new tube.

Rust. Death on barrels, and no excuse for it.

Hawkeye borescopes are fragile, as I found out to my sorrow last winter when I dropped mine. However, they have the best repair service of any company I’ve ever worked with. I got the scope back within a week, as good as new.

Gradientlens.com. You’ll wonder how you ever got along without one.

Petzal Reviews the Second Edition of Terry Wieland's "Dangerous-Game Rifles"

Online Editors — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 13:39:08 -0500

There are only a few books on guns that are worth a damn, and to make matters worse they are rarely updated* and become less valuable over the years. Such is the case with Warren Page’s The Accurate Rifle (1973) or Jim Carmichel’s The Book of the Rifle (1985)--still eminently worth reading, but now quite dated.

Happily, this is not true of Terry Weiland’s Wieland's Dangerous-Game Rifles. It appeared in 2006, established itself as the definitive work on the subject, sold out its first printing, and then sold out a second printing. Now, Terry has done a complete revise, which is not only up-to-the minute, but more complete than the original.

Wieland is a writer of the first magnitude, and his book is an irresistible combination of nifty (and mostly very expensive) machinery, high adventure, gore, lots of excellent photos, and plenty of very sound advice which you can use even if you never hunt anything bigger or more dangerous than whitetail deer. He is careful, scientific, does not rely on hearsay, rumor, or innuendo, and lets you know if he does not know something, which is almost unheard of in this business.

DGR II also contains one of the best quotes on marksmanship that I’ve ever come across:

“A good shot is the man who shoots well when he is shooting badly.”—Major J.E.M. Ruffer

Real-world price is around $29 from Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and the usual suspects. It’s published by Shooting Sportsman Books.

*If you’d like the experience of writing a book and then revising it without going to the trouble of actually doing so, gouge out your right eye with a rusty screwdriver for the sum of $34.88. Then gouge out the left one for $12.09.

How To Replace A Rifle Stock

Online Editors — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:22:56 -0500

In the current economic climate, it could be a while before that new rifle you've had your eyes on ever reaches your hands. But what if I told you that in one hour you could make your old rifle shed a pound or more and increase its accuracy for a fraction of the cost of a new gun? · All you need to do is glass-bed the barreled action into a synthetic replacement stock. Sounds like a job for a gunsmith? I thought so too, but Wayne York of Oregunsmithing (541-278-4177)—who provided one of his composite stocks for the project rifle, a Remington 700 .350 Magnum—assured me that anyone who could follow directions could do the job.

Parts List:
Sandpaper
Modeling clay
Painter's or electrical tape
Replacement stock ($70-$450)
Bedding kit like the Brownells Acraglas Gel ($40; brownells.com)

PREPARING THE ACTION

1. Separate action from stock: Unscrew the barreled action from the old stock and remove it, along with the trigger guard-floor plate assembly. Remove the bolt.

Photo by Dan Marsiglio

2. Remove Trigger Assembly: Tap out the pins holding the trigger assembly and remove. Also detach the scope (bases and rings can stay in place).assembly_3 [nid:1001345043]

Photo by Dan Marsiglio

3. Tape Up The Barrel: Put a strip of wide tape lengthwise along the underside of the barrel, starting just forward of the recoil lug. Cut strips of tape to precisely fit the front, sides, and bottom of the recoil lug, but leave the back of the lug bare. Tape other exposed metal, including the underside of the tang. If you are bedding the trigger guard-floor plate assembly, tape that metalwork. (When you purchase a stock from Oregunsmithing, York will bed this area at no cost if you send the barreled action; this is an important service if any metalwork has been customized, such as the Blackburn trigger guard-floor plate on my .350.) Place two more lengthwise strips of tape along the bottom of the barrel, starting about 1 1/2 inches forward of the recoil lug. The three layers of tape in this area provide the gap to free-float the barrel.

Photo by Dan Marsiglio

4. Insert Clay in Action Crevices: Work modeling clay into any nooks in the barreled action, especially the crevices exposed once the trigger assembly is removed. Scrape and smooth the clay to a precise fit to keep bedding compound from seeping inside and locking the action to the stock.

PREPARING THE STOCK

Photo by Dan Marsiglio

5. Roughen Channel: With 100-grit dry sandpaper, rough up the inside of the replacement stock, including the barrel channel, the rear tang indent, and the inlet for the front receiver ring. If you are bedding the trigger guard-floor plate, rough up the indents.

Photo by Dan Marsiglio

6. Tape Up The Fore-End: Stick strips of tape to the sides of the fore-end where they contact the barrel, around the rear tang, and anywhere that bedding compound could squeeze out and contact the outside of the stock. Clamp the stock in the vise with the barrel channel facing up.

GLASS-BEDDING THE ACTION

Photo by Dan Marsiglio

7. Apply Release Agent: Apply the release agent supplied in the bedding kit to all metal parts that can come in contact with the bedding compound. Don't forget to coat the action and guard screws.

Photo by Dan Marsiglio

8. Apply Bedding Epoxy: Mix the bedding epoxy. Apply a thin layer to the indent under the rear tang, in the trigger guard-floor plate indentations (if you are bedding these areas), and to the inlet for the front receiver ring. Fill the recess for the recoil lug half full and apply a line of compound along the barrel channel.

Photo by Dan Marsiglio

9. Insert The Action: Set the barreled action into the stock and screw it into place with the action and guard screws. Don't overtighten. Remove excess bedding epoxy with an alcohol-dampened cloth.

Photo by Dan Marsiglio

10. Clamp Rifle In Vise: Lightly clamp the rifle in the vise in a horizontal position. Wait 10 hours for the compound to dry, then follow the kit directions to lift the barreled action from the stock. This might require a light tap on the barrel's underside with a rubber hammer.

Hunting, Fishing, and Camping Tips from the Readers of Field & Stream

colinkearns — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:47:49 -0400

If you have a good Reader Tip for the magazine, e-mail it to fsletters@bonniercorp.com, or post it on The Tip Board. If it appears in the magazine, we'll send you some great outdoor gear—free!

Petzal: Why I Hate Detachable Magazines

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:37:18 -0400

In the course of this blog I’ve said many unkind things about detachable magazines and I meant every word I said. It has dismayed me to see detachable magazine on some very fine and high-priced rifles whose makers should know better, but it seems that the industry trend is toward them. So I was elated to see, on p. 251 of Craig Boddington’s brand new book Safari Rifles II, the following:

“Personally, I’ve never understood what place a detachable magazine has on a hunting rifle. They are one of my pet peeves, just something else to look after and possibly lose.”

Say amen. There’s only one rational reason to design a rifle with a detachable magazine, and that is for military use, where you have to stuff as many rounds in the gun as quickly as you can.

Here is why I dislike detachable magazines.

Very often, either because they are defective in design or manufacture, or because you didn’t shove them in all the way, they fall to the ground where they break, are lost, or become so loaded up with dirt or snow that you now have a single-shot.

They add to the weight of a gun.

You can lose them.

A stock with a cutout for a detachable magazine is less rigid than a stock with a blind magazine.

Hinged floorplates pop open accidentally, but all you lose are your cartridges.

I’ve heard it said that detachable magazines “…make it easier to load and unload your rifle.” True, but how hard is it to cycle three cartridges through the action or drop a floorplate? If you have trouble performing either of these tasks, perhaps you should not be using a rifle in the first place.

Anything that’s not essential and which opens the door to malfunctions is something that I can do without quite nicely.