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This column picks up where the last one ended concerning the development of the .44 Magnum cartridge. The last column ended with the introduction of the first .44 caliber, self contained cartridge for a handgun that was actually a rim fired cartridge developed for the Henry and Winchester rifles developed during the Civil War. After the war, Smith & Wesson (S&W) built a handgun for the cartridge. The U.S. Army ordered one thousand of the pistols but specified the cartridge had to be center fired...
For the past several weeks, we Americans have been told we must stay at home. We have been told we cannot attend church. We have been told we cannot assemble in groups larger than ten. The state of Maryland has deployed drones to enforce social distances on people’s private property. In Wisconsin, a mother was cited for allowing her young daughter for playing outside in the front yard and notation was made in the police report of the incident the mother was being “uncooperative!” A Jewish family in New Jersey was told they could not condu...
I don't have much confidence in the idea that we humans evolved from pond scum but I know for certain that firearms and ammunition have evolved through the ages to give us the wonderful products we use today. I want to tell you the story of how we have gotten the guns and cartridges we have today, describing the advancements made that have resulted in the products we use today, one gun and/or one cartridge at a time. This column will do that with the .44 Magnum cartridge. I will begin with the...
I am confident if you ask ten people what "Freedom" means to them, you would get ten different replies. During these difficult times of quarantine, maintaining social distances, staying at home and unemployment, I would like to offer some of my thoughts of what "Freedom" means to me. Hopefully these will be encouraging to you too. 1. Going to the shooting range. A pickup is needed to haul all the guns, ammo, targets, binoculars, spotting scope, rifle rest, eye and hearing protection and who...
Those of you who have been reading my columns know I like handguns...a lot. To add thrill and challenge to hunting, do it with a handgun. Shooting a handgun is not so different from a rifle and the skill is manageable at almost any age. Eyesight is one of the challenges for those of us over 50 but that can be overcome too. The handgun will require much more practice than the rifle. Which is fun by itself. It is not nearly as easy to hit the target and the distance to the target, under most situa...
Americans are accused by many as having an obsession with firearms. If this is true, why is it? Let's assume for a moment it is true. Maybe it is because we are much more closely tied to our frontier heritage. Europeans had been ruled by the "elite" for at least two centuries when we declared ourselves a separate nation. During those two centuries, the general world-wide population had been disarmed by the rulers for one reason - to make revolt nearly impossible. The general population was consi...
My first reply to that question is, "yes, sometimes, maybe." It all depends on the situation. But let me define what a premium bullet is - I'm talking about the projectile, not the cartridge.) Most bullets available are "cup and core" bullets. These are made of a copper jacket with molten lead poured into the jacket, then squeezed into final shape. There is very little in the construction of these bullets that holds the core and the jacket together. When these bullets strike a target, the...
It is a very sad fact that all living creatures die, even the giant Sequoia trees of the western coast. The wild animals of our forest and mountains face death every day. It should be no surprise that harsh winters, when there is over 200 inches of snow with 48 inches on the ground for three months is the biggest killer of all. The severe cold and the deep snow ensures that no wild animal dies of "old age." Many starve and freeze to death. I find this to be appalling but there is absolutely noth...
As with any activity, there are ethics in hunting. The difference with ethics in hunting is there is almost no one around to see the behavior of the hunter in the woods and mountains. Were we sure the elk had a brow tine when we pulled the trigger? Are we sure we can make a certain, solid, deadly shot each time we pull the trigger? Do we practice enough during the off-season to be confident with our firearm? There is a television show called "THE BEST OF THE WEST." I hate the show with every...
I have been exchanging emails with my nephew on what makes up a complete rifle battery. Lets define what we are attempting to assemble. That is "The rifle chamberings needed to hunt all the species of big game and varmints in North America". Varmints will be prairie dogs, coyotes and anything legally hunted weighing less than 50 lbs. One might consider this is a big challenge. Actually it is not. If one wants to do it with as few rifles as possible, it can easily be done with as few as three...
I was extremely upset, even angry, when I learned the sow grizzly bear that had three cubs roaming around the Swan Valley, had been captured and killed by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks personnel. These four bears provided the utmost joy, excitement and photographic opportunities for the people of the Swan Valley. The sow and two of the cubs were captured. The two cubs were given to the zoo in Gardner and the sow was killed. The third cub escaped capture and was left to whatever future a young...
These mass shootings occurring around the country are doing grave damage to one of our most cherish freedoms. Millions of people believe that gun control laws are the answer to the problem. But that is not a solution. How many laws does a mass shooter break in the act of shooting innocent people totally unknown to him? Do you think passing one, two or three more laws that will not impact a psychopath is going to make a difference? First recognize what is the mass shooter seeking. Recognition of...
I have had a life long "love affair" with firearms. I just love the darn things. Why this is I cannot say. It's just a distinct part of me. The firearms I like most are really special works of art and beauty. My favorites are custom stocked with walnut on blue steel. Oh, the wood is out of this world beautiful with its color, grain, figures of fiddleback, tiger stripes, feathered, contrasting colors and especially the depth of multiple coats of hand rubbed oil finish. The wood fits against all...
Describing why I love a particular gun or cartridge isn't easy. Where do I begin? First, the pistol and cartridge were built in a joint venture between Smith & Wesson and Remington, made available to the public in 1955. It was built to be a hunting handgun. Period! It will take deer, black bears, elk, and wild hogs, antelope, sheep and mountain goats, if I can get close enough. Distance is this cartridge's only limiting factor, but that is true of all hand guns regardless of caliber. Distance at...
I know most of you reading this do not hand load your own ammo. Let me attempt to convince you that you should. These are my reasons. First is always economy. It doesn't matter what cartridge you want to load, once you have the empty cartridge case, that you will throw or give away if you don't reload it, you will be able to load it for at least a 50 percent savings. If you cast your own bullets (primarily for handgun cartridges) the savings is approximately 90 percent. I have saved ammo compone...
Previously I discussed the advantages a revolver has as a concealed carry/self defense firearm. Now I will discuss why the auto pistol is also a great choice. First, the auto pistols come in many sizes and weights so there are many choices. Prices are also available to fit everyone's budget. Everything I said about the revolvers is still true but the autos have some advantages. They are: The auto pistols carry more "on board" ammo. Some of the autos will have as many as 17 rounds of ammo in the...
When asked that question, my reply is, “what do you want the gun for?” Let’s talk about only concealed carry for now. I will address other purposes later. There are so many choices it can be confusing. There are more handguns made today by more manufacturers for concealed carry than ever before. Let’s talk about revolvers first. Next time I will talk about autos. Revolvers are extremely simple and easy to operate. Anyone wanting to master a handgun, the revolver is by far the easiest. Push a...
The reason I hate the .357 so much is partly because of the handguns it is available in. Many of the firearms manufactured in the .357 are works of art by themselves. Some of them are so nice and so carefully crafted, they are almost too nice to shoot. This is true especially of the Smith and Wessons. Practically every company that has ever manufactured a center fire revolver has made a .357. Hence, there is an almost endless variety of .357 revolvers available. Everything from small...
I want to respond to Mike Marshall’s letter in last week’s Pathfinder. Mike disagreed with some people’s dissatisfaction with other people’s method of protesting. I think Mike is very wrong. There are acceptable ways of protesting and there SHOULD be unacceptable ways. Nations have even attempted to make rules of fighting wars. In that light there should be rules of protesting. When a person burns our flag, or stomps our flag into the ground, to me that means he/she hates everything about this country and there is nothing good, redeema...
How is it that a person can illegally transmit 2,100 classified emails on four illegally established personal computers, lie to the FBI multiple times during a criminal investigation (which is also a crime), allow four US state department officials to be killed in a terrorist attack after the chief official has requested additional security hundreds of times, then openly lie about the attack, collect tens of millions of dollars for her personal use (the Clinton Foundation) from foreign countries while a U.S. Government employee (is this not...
