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Western Shooting Journal // October 2014

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WESTERN

October-November 2014

SHOOTING JOURNAL

Volume 3 // ISSUE 2 // October 2014 PUBLISHER

James R. Baker ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Dick Openshaw

Missoula, MT Missoula County Fairgrounds, 1101 South Ave W

Oct. 3-5

Walla Walla, WA Walla Walla County Fairgrounds, 363 Orchard St

Oct. 4-5

Kalispell, MT Flathead County Fairgrounds, 265 N Meridian Rd

Oct. 17-19

Butte, MT Butte Civic Center, 1340 Harrison Ave

Oct. 24-26

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Oct. 25-26

Helena, MT Lewis and Clark County Fairgrounds, 98 W Custer Ave Yakima, WA Yakima State Fairgrounds, 1301 S Fair Ave Billings, MT Metra Park, 308 6th Ave N

EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Andy Walgamott EDITOR

Rachel Alexander LEAD CONTRIBUTOR

Frank Jardim CONTRIBUTORS

Larry Case, Tom Claycomb III, Andre´ Dall’au, Norman Gray, Phyllis Gross, Scott Haugen, Mike Nesbitt, Daniel Scott, Larysa Switlyk, Robin Taylor, Dave Workman SALES MANAGER

Oct. 31-Nov. 2 Nov. 8-9

Brian Lull ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

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Nov. 28-30

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Katie Sauro INFORMATION SERVICES MANAGER

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Jon Hines CIRCULATION MANAGER

Heidi Belew DISTRIBUTION

Tony Sorrentino, Gary Bickford, Barry Johnston ADVERTISING INQUIRIES

ads@westernshootingjournal.com

ON THE COVER Actor Brad Pitt plays Staff Sergeant “Wardaddy,” a World War II tank commander in the movie Fury coming out October 17. (SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT, INC.) Contact the editor at ralexander@media-inc.com.

CORRECTIONS

In the last issue, the Black Powder headline on p. 55 incorrectly identified the Low Wall as a model from 1855. It should have said 1885. The article about Second Amendment attorney Alex Kincaid should have identified the photographers as Amanda Allard (the main photo on p. 62) and Oleg Volk for the remaining photos

MEDIA INDEX PUBLISHING GROUP WASHINGTON OFFICE P.O. Box 24365 • Seattle, WA 98124-0365 14240 Interurban Ave. S. Ste. 190 • Tukwila, WA 98168 OREGON OFFICE 8116 SW Durham Rd • Tigard, OR 97224 (206) 382-9220 • (800) 332-1736 • Fax (206) 382-9437 media@media-inc.com • www.media-inc.com

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Western Shooting Journal // October 2014

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 3 • ISSUE 2 • OCTOBER 2014

FEATURES 41

GUN REVIEW: Browning’s New Citori 725 20-Gauge O/U

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Longtime gun writer Dave Workman says you won’t be disappointed with this new easy-swinging, fast-targetacquiring, clean-shooting over-under.

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GUN REVIEWS: CZ’s 75B Omega

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BLACK POWDER: Lyman Brings Back The ‘Collar Button’ Load A big-game-caliber bullet you can hunt (and not destroy) small game with?!?!

Meet the “Collar Button,” originally designed for indoor-target-practicing GIs, but our ol’ rabbit hunter likes its light grain load for chasing his quarry.

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‘Yeah,’ It’s Joe Nichols What sort of shooting irons does this gun-loving country-music superstar – two number one hits this summer! – have in his safe? We asked!

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105 Aussie Hunting Speaking of traveling, we check in on the topsy-turvy hunting scene on the other side of the world.

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BEHIND THE BADGE: Mysterious Police Of Veterans Affairs Quick, what’s the largest uniformed federal police agency in the US? It ain’t

ARCHERY: Adjusting To The Reintroduction Of Wolves Wolves will never be welcome in the West, but if you want to bowhunt elk in the Rockies, you need to read Tom Claycomb’s tips for adjusting to how the rangy predators have affected the herds.

SCATTERGUNNER: 3-Guns’ Devil Thinking about getting into 3-Gun competitions? You need to see our writer Larry Case’s advice on best shotguns for what is the sport’s toughest third.

ROADHUNTER: Mule Deer Traveling sportsman Scott Haugen reveals his five top destinations for hunting mule deer.

COMPETITIONS: Idaho NSSF Rimfire Challenge How does a .22 competition held in the middle of nowhere bring out some of the biggest players in the industry?

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The Fastest Gun In A Dress You’ll have to be lightning-fast to beat Stormie Weather on the draw! The young world champ tells us the secret of her speed, how she started, and more.

It’s name implies the last, but this 9mm is a great first handgun – and one that’s easy to shoot and clean, and works well at the range and in a CCW holster.

the FBI – rather, the VA Police, just one of many national police agencies you’ve never heard of. Are they necessary, or just needless bureaucracy?

The History Of Cowboy Fast Draw With one of the biggest if not the biggest event in the Cowboy Fast Draw world occurring this month, we take a look back at where the sport came from.

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Arizona’s Patriotic Firearms Manufacturer Patriot Ordnance Factory explains its origins and how it came up with the unique, gas-piston AR-15.

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FURY Y UNLEASHED

On the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II in Europe, Brad Pitt’s new movie follows the tracks of Staff Sergeant “Wardaddy” as he takes his five-man crew on a dangerous mission behind Nazi lines. For tank and Panzer buffs, this could be the film they’ve been waiting for, says our resident historian-movie reviewer. (SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT, INC.) WESTERN SHOOTING JOURNAL is published monthly by Media Index Publishing Group, 14240 Interurban Ave South Suite 190, Tukwila, WA 98168. Display Advertising. Call Media Index Publishing Group for a current rate card. Discounts for frequency advertising. All submitted materials become the property of Media Index Publishing Group and will not be returned. Copyright © 2014 Media Index Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be copied by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording by any information storage or retrieval system, without the express written permission of the publisher. Printed in U.S.A.

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CONTENTS ALSO INSIDE 117 123 129 133

BOOK REVIEW: 101 Classic Firearms Do You Need A Gun Trust?

Tomahawk Competitions The Importance Of A Reloading Station

DEPARTMENTS 17 19 21 27 29 31 35 39 127

Editor’s Note Correspondence News: Slugs in a Thug; .22 Ammo Shortage Mystery – Solved!

Gun Show Calendar Competition Calendar Reader Snapshots Guns Of Our Fathers: From 1911s To Torpedo Boats, Part 2 Range Spotlight: Fargo’s Red River Regional Markmanship Center Product Feature

SHOOTING WITH LARYSA: Seven Must-Know Pointers To Improve Your Aim Larysa Switlyk of Sportsman Channel’s Larysa Unleashed begins her new shooting column with tips for archers.

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EDITOR’S NOTE s Veterans Day approaches, this issue begins a two-part series celebrating our war heroes.

World War II began on September 1, 1939, 75 years ago. Appropriately, the movie Fury, about an American mission behind Nazi enemy lines during World War II, is coming out this month, our cover feature.

An important part of our coverage here at Western Shooting Journal is our veterans. Without them, we would have no freedom of press nor the right to keep and bear arms, which many consider the most important right of all. Without our Second Amendment to protect our other rights, they could potentially become meaningless.

In this issue, we also continue a Western theme, interviewing Stormie

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“Weathers” Mernickle, a world record champion in Cowboy Fast Draw. Next month, we will interview another world record holder in fast draw as we cover the October annual fast-draw competition, Gil Guerra Jr., aka Master Gunfighter, of Southern California who appears as “Cisko” regularly on the Outdoor Channel’s Impossible Shots. He will be competing to defend his 2009 title as the Fastest Gun Alive.

We’ve also got an interview with a country star who scored two top hits on the country charts in a row this

SOPHISTICATED

SAFETY

Joe Nichols & me

year, Joe Nichols. I got to meet him at the NRA convention earlier this year, where I interviewed him before he gave a performance for NRA Country.

Yeah, that’s right, Joe Nichols. WSJ

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Western Shooting Journal // October 2014

CORRESPONDENCE Dear Editor, I’ve been seeing your magazine for awhile now on news stands at the airport where I work. Bravo! I like the covers.

Unlike other magazines, you have interesting covers, not just photos of guns. People like to see people – we’re human.

There’s a place for gun photos too, but not on every single cover, over and over again. You’ve got creativity and a human touch.

I also noticed you cover a wide variety of topics. Seems like most other gun magazines I pick up usually only cover a very narrow range of topics. Some are too afraid to cover AR-15s.

Some won’t cover archery or knives like you do. And my wife appreciates all the articles about and by women. It’s refreshing to see a gun magazine that isn’t just geared at guys. Women are the fastest growing demographic of gun owners.

Keep up the good work!

Ted Shooter MOST POPULAR PHOTO LAST MONTH ON FACEBOOK Authorities in Edinburg, Texas, a town bordering Mexico, are proactively teaching residents how to shoot firearms in self defense to protect themselves and their families from criminals.

MOST POPULAR TWEETS LAST MONTH ON TWITTER @WesternShooting Sep 2 More of the beautiful work by photographer/artist Gabriel Krekk. If you’d like a photo or painting done of you... fb.me/6IwkTwSk3 @WesternShooting Aug 29 This is an awesome story!!!! The one robber will have an injury to remember the rest of his life. The more... fb.me/6He1WRcFJ @WesternShooting Aug 28 If you haven’t seen the video of Joe Nichols’ newest #1 country hit, “Yeah,” you’re missing out. It’s hilarious!... fb.me/2XK5kmLPE @WesternShooting Aug 28 Who knew Cher shot atomic -er, automatic weapons?... fb.me/6DzUGrxYF @WesternShooting Aug 28 Ted Nugent has some sage advice for dealing with the police in a tense situation. Great article since he reveals... fb.me/6FzxMBUh4 westernshootingjournal.com 19

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PRIMER NEWS // CALENDARS // READER PHOTOS

NEWS

SLUGS IN A THUG

Armed Robber Beaten In Gunfight By WWII Veteran ARTICLE BY FRANK JARDIM • PHOTO BY CANSTOCKPHOTO

n Saturday, August 23, 2014, 89-year-old Arthur M. Lewis was working in The Jeweler’s Exchange, his small watch repair shop in North Palm Beach, Fla. It was like most days until a man less than a quarter his age came in asking about repairing a wristwatch. But then 20-year-old Brandon Jerard Johnson pointed a pistol at Lewis. Lewis immediately concluded the man was intent on killing him.

To jump ahead in the story, Johnson did not succeed. Lewis immediately grabbed for the thug’s pistol and grappled with him for several minutes, trying to disarm him. He was grazed

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by a bullet in the arm in the process.

Lewis managed to pull his own pistol from his pocket during the fight and put six .38 slugs in Johnson, four in the chest and one in the leg and wrist.

Although gravely wounded, Johnson continued to battle Lewis until he abruptly withdrew, climbed back over the counter and staggered to the door.

However, he could not escape because the small shop had an electric entry/ exit control system. Bleeding heavily and now doubly humiliated, Johnson asked Lewis to buzz him out. Happy to be rid of the ruffian, and out of bullets, Lewis complied.

Johnson got into a waiting getaway car outside, but the driver was so

fearful he would die, she pulled over to ask police for help. Both were arrested.

The thug survived and will stand trial.

He is no stranger to Miami-Dade and Broward County law enforcement.

Their records show Johnson has been arrested 20 times since 1989.

The targeting of the weak is a despicable and cowardly characteristic that most criminals share. Presumably the thug who attacked Lewis thought the nearly 90-year-old man would be an easy mark. I bet he didn’t read the newspapers much. If he had, he might have know that Lewis had driven off another armed bandit about four and half years before in a gunfight in the very same store. Any crook who figures a man in Lewis’s age group is an easy mark probably isn’t all that smart either. Lewis’s peers might be physically weak, but they aren’t likely to be weak in character or short on moxie.

If you are too young to see where I’m going with this, read The Grapes of Wrath. Lewis’s generation were the adults of my youth, and I know from firsthand observation they were a heck of a lot tougher than your average American adult is today. They scraped a living through the Great Depression and they fought in World War II. Not surprisingly, since over 12,000,000 Americans served in it, Lewis is also a veteran of that war. Somehow, I suspect this latest thug with a gun isn’t the toughest adversary he’s ever faced. WSJ westernshootingjournal.com 21

PRIMER

NEWS

THE .22 AMMO SHORTAGE MYSTERY — SOLVED! ARTICLE BY RICH SMITH REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE MOTLEY FOOL. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

even 10, 11 or 12 cents! For that matter, even the 12-cents-a-round price may be an illusion. Popular online guns and ammo website AIM Surplus advertises four varieties of .22LR rifle ammunition for sale at the 12 cents price point, for example – and is all sold out.

WHO’S TO BLAME? Similar stories can be heard from owners of guns of all shapes and sizes – not just .22s. To cite just one example, after skyrocketing in price through the end of 2013, Brown Bear 7.62x39mm rifle rounds (standard for an AK-47) are now entirely unavailable on AIM Surplus. All you can get today is cheap Russian Wolf-brand ammo ... that costs a staggering $230 for a box of 1,000 rounds.

A Wal-Mart in Bellevue, Wash., is still frequently out of several calibers of ammo.

arlier this year, CBS News spotlighted a growing shortage of .22-caliber ammunition. “One of the most popular and common” – and cheapest – calibers of ammo for hunters and target shooters alike, CBS reported that .22 shells are in short supply these days. Interviewing one supplier, CBS reported that while as recently as two years ago it was still possible to buy .22-caliber ammunition “by the pallet-load ... now they’re putting restrictions on how much you can get and how you get that ammo.”

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RETAILERS ARE SHOOTING BLANKS This is a problem from ammunition retailers – and for gun owners as well.

Statistically speaking, 24 to 45 percent of Americans own guns either for self-defense or sporting purposes. But 22

Western Shooting Journal // October 2014

getting the ammo to load into those guns is becoming a bit of a trick.

Over the past five years, .22 ammo is said to have more than tripled in price. Historically, .22 ammo was obtainable for about five cents a round. And yes, some retailers are still advertising it for that price. Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc., for example, has two varieties of .22LR advertised for sale at roughly five cents per shell.

But Wal-Mart Stores – long the go-to spot for impulse purchases of ammo – instituted a policy early last year limiting customers to buying no more than three boxes of ammo per person, per day. So getting in on Dick’s deal may not be as easy as it sounds …

Meanwhile, online, bargainbasement website gun-deals.com shows that the more usual price for .22 ammo today is eight cents a round – or

WHY IS THIS? National Shooting Sports Foundation, or NSSF, public affairs director Mike Bazinet notes that “there are a lot of wild stories” about the ammunition shortage, with some people even blaming the U.S. government for “buying up all the ammo.” But according to Bazinet, that’s simply not the case. In fact, “government purchases have gone down over last three years.”

He may be right. Earlier this year, the National Rifle Association, or NRA, helped to debunk the “government conspiracy” thesis for America’s .22 ammo shortage. Laying out the facts and figures in a multi-page spread in American Rifleman, the “official journal of the NRA,” the NRA described how: The dollar value of ammunition sales in America doubled between 2007 and 2012. Highlighting the obvious, the NRA noted that sales

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PRIMER

NEWS

really “started to climb fast as gun sales began surging” in the run-up to the 2008 Presidential election.

ATK subsidiary Federal Cartridge Company attributes ammo shortages to “high demand for our products,” and said flat out that the biggest increases in ammunition purchases are coming from “the civilian market.” (This means you).

Olin Corp’s Winchester Ammunition agrees it is “that experiencing an extremely high demand.”

And privately held Freedom Group, which manufactures Remington cartridges, says “it’s clear to us that any lack of supply in the marketplace has been from consumer demand.”

And then there was the interview with privately held Hornady Manufacturing. There, president Steve Hornady explained to the

NRA, “People walk into the store, they don’t see as much as they want so they take everything they can get. The next guy who comes in can’t get anything, so he panics.”

Panic and prudent price-comparison habits rarely go hand-in-hand, of course.

This naturally results in higher prices for ammunition.

TIME FOR SOME GOOD NEWS Now that we know the origin of the .22 ammo shortage, it’s time for some good news. Recent earnings reports at both Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger show a marked deceleration in demand for guns, with sales falling nearly five percent year over year at S&W, and down more than 14 percent at Ruger.

Earlier this year, Cabela’s CEO Thomas Millner noted that he’s seen a “significant deceleration in ammunition sales” at his stores. And

website thecabin.net goes so far as to say the ammunition shortage “may be ending,” as manufacturers crank up production, wholesalers restock, and supplies begin filtering down to the retail level. With any luck, this will eventually result in fully stocked shelves at gun stores, assuaging consumers’ panic-fueled urge to hoard ammunition – and putting the .22 ammo shortage to bed once and for all.

Or ... well ... at least until the next Presidential election. WSJ Editor’s note: Rich Smith has no stock position in any companies mentioned.

The Motley Fool has no stock position in any of the companies mentioned.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Western Shooting Journal // October 2014

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

PRIMER

GUNSHOW C A L E N D A R

3–4 Lincoln County Gun Show, Moscow Mills, Mo.

Country singer Louise Mandrell, who runs an ammo company, DRT, with her nephew Nathan Dudney (l), was interviewed by outdoors writer Al Hague (r) at the Western Shooting Journal booth at SHOT Show this year. (BRIAN LULL)

3–5 Central Oregon Gun & Custom Knife Makers Show, Redmond, Ore. Chinook Gun Show, Chinook, Mont.

Humansville Gun & Knife Show, Humansville, Mo. Missoula Sports Connection Gun Show, Missoula, Mont.

4–5 Aloha “Great Guns” Gun Show, Honolulu, Hawaii Belton Lone Star Gun Show, Belton, Texas Brazos Valley Ft. Worth Gun Show, Ft. Worth, Texas Bremerton Falcon Gun Show, Bremerton, Wash.

Centralia Gun Show, Centralia, Wash.

Early Gun, Coin & Knife Show, Early, Texas Farmington Gun Show, Farmington, Mo. Gardnerville Gun Show, Gardnerville, Nev. GGA Killeen Gun Show, Killeen, Texas Grants Pass Gun and Knife Show, Grants Pass, Ore. Houston GRB Gun & Knife Show, Houston, Texas Marsing Gun Show, Marsing, Idaho Mineola Civic Center Gun and Knife Show, Mineola, Texas NMGCA Gun, Sword & Knife Show, Albuquerque, NM Oklahoma City Gun Show, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Ontario Gun Show, Ontario, Calif.

Ozark Shooters Gun Show, Branson, Mo. Pueblo Gun Show, Pueblo, Colo.

Rocky Mountain Phoenix Gun Show, Phoenix, Ariz.

Saxet San Antonio Gun Show, San Antonio, Texas Sonora Gun Show, Sonora, Calif.

Saxet San Antonio Gun Show, San Antonio, Texas Western Trails Gun & Knife Show, Las Vegas, Nev.

5 –6 Enid Gun Show, Enid, Okla.

24 – 25 Ninnescah Valley Gun Club Gun Show, Pratt, Kan.

Orange County Gun Show, Orange, Texas

24 – 26 Butte Gun Show, Butte, Mo. Marshalltown Gun Show, Marshalltown, Iowa Sweet Springs Gun Show, Moberly, Mo. Waterloo Gun Show, Waterloo, Iowa

25 – 26 Auburn Gun Show, Auburn, Calif.

Eugene Gun and Knife Show, Eugene, Ore. Kansas City Gun Show, Kansas City, Mo. Las Vegas Gun Show, Las Vegas, Nev. Liberty Floresville Gun Show, Floresville, Texas Lubbock Gun & Blade Show, Lubbock, Texas Lynden Falcon Gun Show, Lynden, Wash.

Prospectors Sertoma Colorado Springs Gun Show, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Richland Gun Show, Richland, Wash.

Sapulpa/Kellyville Badshot Gun Show, Kellyville, Okla.

Saxet Corpus Christi Gun Show, Corpus Christi, Texas Seguin Gun Show, Seguin, Texas The Big Oregon Gun & Knife Show, Canyonville, Ore. The Original Ft. Worth Gun Show, Ft. Worth, Texas Tyler Lone Star Gun Show, Tyler, Texas WAC Puyallup Gun Show, Puyallup, Wash.

26 Oregon Arms Gun Shows, Portland, Ore.

Visit westernshootingjournal.com for more events.

Email editor@westernshootingjournal to have your show listed here.

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PRIMER

COMPETITION C A L E N D A R

Championship - Tier 3 (pistol), Sloughhouse, Calif.

4–5 Comanche Moon Shootout (singleaction shooting), Midland, Texas

4–6 Fallen Brethren Challenge (3-gun), Jacksboro, Texas

8 – 11 2014 Illinois Section Championship (pistol), Lefthanders Gun Club, Loami, Ill. Huntsmans World Senior Games (single-action shooting), Hurricane, Utah Lone Star IDPA Championship 2014 (pistol), Cresson, Texas

10 – 12 The top archers in the country compete every year at the Redding Trail Shoot and the National Field Archery Association National Marked Yardage Shoot in Redding, Calif.

Richmond Roughriders Annual Match (single action shooting), Richmond, Calif.

(ROBERT MARTIN)

11 – 12 2 High Desert Classic (pistol), Albuquerque, N.M.

2–4 Kansas State Championship Millbrook Massacre (single-action shooting), Millbrook Station, Kan.

2–5 Defend Old Fort Parker (single-action shooting), Fort Parker, Texas Nevada State Championship Eldorado (single-action shooting), Boulder City, Nev. ShowMe Shootout (single-action shooting), Marshfield, Mo.

3 2014 Missouri State Section Fall Classic Championship (pistol), Rolla, Mo.

3–4 2014 California State IDPA

2014 Arkansas Section Multi-Gun Championship, Old Fort Gun Club, Ark. Desert Classic (archery), Phoenix, Ariz.

2014 Sunflower Shootout (pistol), Topeka, Kan. Oklahoma State Wild Bunch Championship (single-action shooting), Oklahoma City, Okla.

19 Hanging Tree Shootout (single-action shooting), St. Robert, Mo.

15 Northern Arizona High Country Shootout (pistol), Prescott, Ariz.

22 – 23 Midwest Territorial Black Powder Championship – The Branson Triple C, Walnut Shade, Mo. Missouri State Wild Bunch Championship, Walnut Shade, Mo.

22 – 26 Arizona State Championship Bordertown (single-action shooting), Tombstone, Ariz.

Missouri State Championship The Branson Triple Classic (single-action shooting), Walnut Shade, Mo.

25 Zombie Shooters United 3-gun Tactical Course, West Point, Ky.

31 2014 AZ State Field Championships, Mesa, Ariz.

2014 Area 3 Multigun Championship, Rolla, Mo.

16 – 19 Amateurs mingle with top archers in Redding.

2014 Arizona State Field Championships (archery), Mesa, Ariz.

Arizona State Wild Bunch Championship, Peoria, Ariz.

Blueridge Mountain 3-Gun, Park City, Ky. Border War (single-action shooting), East Port, Idaho Peacefuls End of Track at High Sierra (single-action shooting), Railroad Flat, Calif.

The Last Hurrah (single-action shooting), East Wenatchee, Wash.

The Whoopin’ (single-action shooting), Dripping Springs, Texas

Amateurs mingle with top archers in Redding.

Visit westernshootingjournal.com for more events.

Email editor@westernshootingjournal to have your show listed here.

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PRIMER

TOP SHOTS Born and raised in Arizona, Ashley Allen loves to fire some rounds with her family and friends, especially her dad, Tom Allen, who taught her how to shoot 20 years ago at Reservation Lake. A family that shoots together, stays together! Here, the fam – Tom, Ashley, Todd Couch, and Carmen Allen – take a break from busting clays for a Kodak moment. (TODD COUCH)

Joyce Flora heard Vice President Joe Biden say you should have a shotgun for home defense, so her son Royce took this 12-gauge Mossberg 500 to his gunsmith and said, “When I get this back, I want it to be what Nancy Pelosi sees in her worst nightmare.”

Meet “The Pelosi!” (ROYCE FLORA)

Jessica Estrada of Estrada Armory shoots a M249 SAW, owned by friends Kevin and Ann of tcarmory.com, in Florence, Ariz. The SAW is a Class 3 firearm in full auto with a silencer. (JORGE ESTRADA)

E. Robert Nordby with a Savage Model 10FP-SR in .308, in Rainbow Valley, Ariz. (E. ROBERT NORDBY) westernshootingjournal.com 31

PRIMER

READER TOP SHOTS

E. Robert Nordby, with, from top to bottom: 1) DPMS Panther in 5.56, 2) standard Armyissue FN manufactured M4, and 3) S&W M&P15 in 5.56. (E. ROBERT NORDBY)

Nicole (last name withheld) in the Arizona desert with a Nova Tactical 12-gauge shotgun. (KEITH SIPMANN) Ashley Nicole Allen with a DPMS Panther AR-15 at the base of Four Peaks in Arizona.

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER!

Congratulations to Beth Banister for winning the Readers’ Top Shots contest for September! Each month, the reader who submits the best photo will receive an AmmOMug of their choice from ammomug. com. Submit your best reader photos to us at ralexander@media-inc.com. You can also submit videos for our website.

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Western Shooting Journal // October 2014

guns of our fathers

FROM 1911S TO TORPEDOES, PART II ARTICLE BY GLEN PETROSKI

Torpedoes on a submarine, similar to the ones the author worked on as a journeyman marine mechanic. (CANSTOCKPHOTO)

ime rolled on from the days of shooting my 1911. I graduated from a technical college in Boston, Mass., class of 1966, magna cum laude I might add. As you may recall, that was

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the zenith of the Vietnam War. In an attempt to please my Navy veteran father, I enlisted into the U.S. Navy.

I ended up on the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA63), and sailed to the Tonkin Gulf where we launched air strikes

against the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese Army. After six days of air strikes, the pilots who returned to the Hawk were allowed a 24-hour respite for rest. Generally, we lost eight pilots per nine-month deployment, tough to take for sure. All the pilots were lean and mean; they all had size XXX jocks.

At Mach 2 speeds, we designated the pilots to be “throttle jockeys.”

The thrill of flight operations never got old, even after three and a half years of watching fighters, bombers, recons, refuelers, helicopters, and AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) being launched with the logistics of war, and delivering much air mail to the VC and NVA, then, one hour later, watching them return and “grab the wire” for an arrested landing on a floating hunk of steel. Oh my, such an adventure!

Sadly, at that time, while I was hucking 500- and 1000-pound bombs, missiles, napalm containers, .50-caliber rounds, etc., my younger, left-wing little sister went to D.C. for an antiwar protest march, shouting “Hell, no, we won’t go.” Quite a sibling dichotomy. I still love her a lot, yet I’ve continued to hang to the right while she got left out to lunch. At her choosing, we restrict politics from our conversations.

After leaving the Navy in 1970, I found employment at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard – more guns, bigger guns. Much to my blessing, I got to work on fast attack and fleet ballistic submarines, as well as destroyers and cruisers. For me, going to work was a picnic with all the trimmings.

My very first work project as a journeyman marine mechanic was to overhaul and test four torpedo tubes on a fast attack submarine, the SSN westernshootingjournal.com 35

guns of our fathers

The USS Kitty Hawk, a super carrier, is a warship with the second longest status in the United States Navy. (WIKIPEDIA)

637 Sturgeon Class. Talk about big calibers; the tubes had a 21-inch bore diameter. Pierside, we fired “dummy” torpedoes. I recall also working on the missile compartments of Trident Class SSGN 726 submarines.

As an overhaul finished and the boat was about to leave the yard, I often times walked “Missile Tube Row,” with its white, polished tile decks, all the brass shining bright with 24 missile tubes, each a cookie

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cutter of them all. Having labored on them and basically knowing how they worked, I was one proud AmericanPollock. Comically, us “yardbirds” referred to our jobs as “maintaining national defense in a civilian capacity.”

Back in the day, I was (and still am) a supporter of John Wayne’s philosophy of taking on the bad guys.

In consonance with that, I bought two Model 94, .30-30 caliber, lever-action rifles, one for me and one for my young son. Although the Model 94s aren’t the best rifles on the planet (many moving parts), I bought them because John Wayne did back in his day.

Occasionally while watching WWII documentaries, I break out the 94 and cycle the action just because it sounds cool and feels good!

As the legacy goes on, my six sons are carrying on the tradition and legacy; each one owns and packs shootin’ irons of various calibers, mostly 1911 .45s. My daughter-in-laws

pack small 9mm Glocks in case the 1911 is too far away.

Surprisingly enough, I own a few shootin’ irons myself, comically known as “portable, metallic, acceleration-launching devices” aka guns/bullets/kinetic/energy/ protection/safety, all packed into one small, easy-to-use container.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, CVN68, weigh in at 90,000 tons when combat ready. Their command-ball caps are embossed on the back with the words “90,000 Tons of Diplomacy.

Do you hear what I am saying?” WSJ Editor’s note: In Part 1, Glen Petroski discussed the guns he grew up with, from homemade pretend guns to BB guns, pellet guns, .22s and finally, 1911s for the entire family. Glen Petroski is always interested to hear from fellow Kitty Hawk veterans. If you would like to contact him, he can be reached at glen.petroski@gmail.com.

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RANGE SPOTLIGHT

RED RIVER REGIONAL MARKMANSHIP CENTER OF FARGO, ND

n the fall of 2009, the Red River Regional Markmanship Center opened as an indoor shooting range in Fargo, North Dakota.

There is both a handgun and rifle range, but at the time of this writing, the rifle range was temporarily closed.

There are open shooting days as well as various training classes from expert

I

instructors. Classes can be taken to obtain CCW permits and NRA training. Air pistol shooting, air rifle, and basic pistol marksmanship classes are offered for youth.

The main range is 50 feet long with 15 lanes, and any caliber handgun or rifle is permitted, including rimfire. A wide variety of groups regularly use the range. They include FM Practical Shooting Association, Gateway Pistol Club, Cowboy Action Shooting, NDSU Markmanship Club, NDSU ROTC, Cub/Boy Scouts, 4H, Civil Air Patrol, ND Game and Fish Department, and

West Fargo Parks and Recreation.

Membership rates are generally $75 annually with a $10 visit fee. Walkin visits are $20 per visit. A meeting room is available to rent for group or corporate outings. Hours widely vary; check the website for the schedule and more information at rrrmc.com. WSJ

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gun reviews

A BROWNING CITORI 725 IN 20 GAUGE Swings Fast, Gets On Point And Shoots Clean shot. Instead, it allows for instant second shots, and having put this to the test, I’ll just say Browning delivered the goods.

Over the years, there have been so many Citori model variations that it’s impossible to name or count them all. The The author wandered around Washington’s shotgun has Central Cascades with been offered in the Browning Model 725 Citori and found it to be 12, 16, 20 and 28 a comfortable carry in gauge, as well as upland bird country. .410 bore, though eralded for years as one of there is currently no 16 gauge in the the best over-and-under lineup. That’s a pity, because my first shotguns ever, Browning’s smoothbore was an old 16-gauge Citori has earned a single shot, and it accounted for quite reputation since its 1973 introduction a few grouse in the stew pot. for reliability and pleasing aesthetics, The field model has a silver nitride so when the company announced that finish on the receiver, with high-res roll its Model 725 was being introduced engraving of game bird scenes. On the this year in 20-gauge (a 12-gauge right side is a single bird motif, and the model is also available), I jumped left-side engraving has a pair of birds at the chance to get my sticky little in flight. It boasts a full-width hinge fingers on a field version. pin and tapered, locking-bolt receiver There is no disappointment, design, according to Browning press because this handsome upland gun is material released earlier in the summer. everything one could expect, and more.

With the Model 725 Citori family, BROWNING FITS THIS MODEL with a Grade Browning has unveiled the new Fire II/III walnut stock with a gloss-oil finish, Lite Mechanical Trigger system. and my test gun had 26-inch barrels, Browning’s Paul Thompson described though 28-inch tubes are also available. this exclusive new system as being They are back bored and feature Vector unlike a traditional inertia, because it Pro lengthened forcing cones. does not rely on recoil to set the next Browning provides the new

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ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY DAVE WORKMAN

Invector-DS choke tube system, and my test gun came with three chokes in full, modified and improved cylinder.

Browning supplies a T-Wrench for quickly swapping out chokes, and the tang safety doubles as the barrel selector switch. Push it to the right, and the lower barrel fires first. Leave it left, and the upper barrel goes off first.

So, how does the Model 725 handle?

Just like you would expect a Browning Citori to handle. It swings fast, gets on point and shoots clean – that is, the trigger is crisp and with a white bead front sight and mid-point bead, so you’re going to be on target quickly.

As I get older, I’ve come to appreciate the details that go into producing a fine shotgun. The Model 725 Citori has nicely done 20 LPI checkering on the curved grip and forearm. The forend tip sports a modest Schnabel curve, and the goldfinished trigger is smooth to the touch.

Browning also fits this shotgun with

The author liked the modest Schnabel-style forend tip, noting that it adds another touch of class.

a dandy new Inflex II recoil pad that does soak up the jolt. I’m not certain what this pad is made from, but it definitely makes shooting the Citori a pleasant experience. According to Browning’s literature, this pad features westernshootingjournal.com 41

gun reviews “internal directional deflection construction” that “guides the comb down and away from your cheek.”

Whatever that means in plain English, it translates to less felt recoil.

CHAMBERED FOR 23/4 - AND 3-inch shells, the Citori has a low-profile receiver and vent rib, and the barrels are polished and deeply blued. Barrels are made from steel bars that are rolled and tempered for a lifetime of service.

This shotgun will handle steel as well as lead, and the chamber is chrome plated. The release lever is also finely checkered and it works smoothly. That’s always a concern of mine, as I’ve been a double-gun shooter for all of my adult life. When the lever feels stiff and it seems like you need to put an extraordinary amount of pressure on it to make it move, there might be something wrong inside. I didn’t feel any such problem with the Citori.

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According to Browning specs, the 20-gauge Citori 725 weighs 6.25 pounds with 26-inch barrels and 6 pounds, 6 ounces with 28-inch barrels.

Honestly, having carried the shotgun in the field, it’s a very light-feeling 6¼ pounds with the shorter barrels, which my test gun came with. I would not hesitate to pack this gun around all day in stubble fields or along canyon breaks looking for chukar, or even climbing ridges in grouse country.

I know some people who also use the 20 gauge for waterfowl hunting, and for jump shooting along coastal rivers where ducks try to find little backwaters in which to hide, a hunter loaded up with No. 4 steel or other nontoxic shot might do very well.

The MSRP is $2,469.99, and for folks looking for an upscale, quality O/U shotgun, it will be worth every penny. As pretty as it is, the Citori is no display piece, but is instead a workhorse that just looks spiffy.

Now, there is also a Sporting Clays model in 20 gauge that features gold-accented target engraving and a Grade III/IV walnut stock with a gloss-oil finish. The stock features a close-radius pistol grip and palm swell.

Barrels for this model are available in 28-, 30- or 32-inch versions, with fiberoptic front sights. The Sporting Clays model’s MSRP is $3,139.99. WSJ Editor’s note: Dave Workman has been an NRA Certified Firearms Instructor for 30 years and is a graduate of the Lethal Force Institute. He is the author of Washington State Gun Rights and Responsibilities, senior editor of TheGunMag.com, contributing editor to Women & Guns, a contributor and columnist for several publications, including Western Shooting Journal, Gun Digest and Gunworld. He is an award-winning outdoor writer, weekly newspaper editor and served three terms on the NRA Board of Directors.

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gun reviews

OMEGA: A GREAT FIRST HANDGUN CZ’s New 9mm 75 B Is A High-Quality Steel Pistol That Soaks Up The Recoil ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY NORMAN GRAY

perform perfectly. All the controls are prominent, with a semi-melted style to give you a highly snag-resistant pistol for concealed work. The matte black finish is first class and most desirable for those who desire a non-glare finish.

Two 16-round steel magazines and one in the chamber gives you 33 rounds to handle any situation with the CZ 75 B Omega.

Z is short for ČZUB, the abbreviation for “Ceska zbrojovka Uherský Brod.”

It’s a subsidiary of the original Ceska zbrojovka plant built in 1936. ČZUB is located in the small, Moravian town of Uherský Brod, in what is now known as the Czech Republic. In 1997, ČZUB established CZ-USA, which currently employees over 2,000 engineers, craftsman and business personnel.

Today’s CZ is a modern, yet OldWorld arms manufacturer whose traditions are still evident in their proof marks. That being said, when you receive a well-made steel handgun from the company, the only polymer you may find is in the case. This was the case when I received the 75 B Omega. The plus side of steel is, it will

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soak up the recoil of the most potent 9mm defense load. It also gives the owner a feeling of quality they can hold in their hands.

What makes the CZ 75 B Omega different is its revised trigger system.

It will easily disassemble and reassemble without tools. The owner can take down the CZ 75 B Omega farther for maintenance than previous models. And since the parts are made of stout materials, it will extend the life of the CZ 75 B Omega and increase its overall reliability, which is another plus for the owner.

Two well-made 16-round steel magazines accompany the CZ 75 B Omega. Should you decide to use it in a potentially unfriendly environment for self preservation, or just making nice round holes in a target, they

HAVING EXTRA LARGE HANDS, the grip was comfortable, with my pinky finger resting contently on the magazine’s floor plate. When drawing from a holster, I could manipulate the thumb safety, although it would fare better with extended controls. The slide and magazine release still require the operator to cant the pistol inward towards the body in order to use them effectively, as is the case with most handguns.

The single-action trigger pull measured close to 4 pounds. It’s a bit long, yet enjoyable, and I can see it smoothing with age. The double-action trigger pull came in at 12 pounds; older or smaller hands may find this very taxing or even unachievable.

The trigger guard is spacious, with a serrated finger rest on the front half, and will easily accommodate a gloved hand.

I fed the CZ 75 B Omega both factory and reloads for its break in, and I didn’t experience any pistol-related stoppages. Serving in the roles of duty or personal defense, stoppages are not acceptable, and the CZ 75 B Omega did not disappoint. I did find the factory three-dot sights too small for daylight shooting and nearly indistinguishable in lower-light shooting; I would recommend aftermarket sights instead.

As far as I’m concerned, the trigger makes or breaks a handgun, and the CZ 75 B Omega sports a great trigger. westernshootingjournal.com 45

gun reviews The CZ 75 B Omega is a very nice package for beginners and experts who recognize a quality burly handgun.

Another quality I look for in a pistol is controllability, and its ergonomic grip felt very comfortable. Shooting both practice and defensive ammo, you notice the change in recoil, but the 2.2-pound CZ 75 B Omega soaks up the energy produced by the cartridge very effectively, allowing greater control

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and fast follow-up shots.

Field stripping is simple; after unloading the CZ 75 B Omega, align the two witness marks on the back of the slide and frame. Push or gently tap the slide catch-release out and pull the slide forward, then remove the spring guide and spring, followed by the barrel. The

barrel utilizes a permanent barrel link and is much easier to reassemble than the tilt-link 1911 design.

If someone wanted a first handgun that is easy to both operate and shoot, and works equally well on the range or in a CCW holster, the CZ 75 B Omega would be a great choice. And with a reasonable asking price of $544, it’s not out of reach of the average working man or woman. I found that while testing it and allowing others to shoot it, it developed a following, proof positive the CZ 75 B Omega is shooter friendly. WSJ Editor’s note: Norman Gray contributes to numerous firearms-related publications. He has been involved in the shooting sports for well over 30 years. He served in the United States Army and was honorably discharged.

Moving to Arizona, he began assisting his long time friend and mentor Bob Shell, an accomplished writer and author in his own right.

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BLACK POWDER

LYMAN BRINGS BACK THE ‘COLLAR BUTTON’ Big Caliber Bullets For Small Game ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY MIKE NESBITT

A loaded “collar button” is standing in front of the 1886 action.

Short-range bullets have always appealed to me, probably because I’m just a rabbit hunter at heart. But those short-range bullets and loads give a big-bore rifle a whole new character as well as a widely expanded range of use. On top of that, shooting the shortrange bullets is simply a lot of fun.

And the shortest of the short-range bullets, to the best of my knowledge, is the collar button for the .45-70. This

strange and very unique-looking bullet weighs only 145 grains when cast, and it was designed to weigh the same as a .457-inch round ball. The original purpose for this bullet was to give our troopers some good shooting practice during inclement weather, because they’d shoot their .45-70s with this bullet loaded over only five grains of black powder. And, with that load, they’d do their shooting right inside the barracks!

My shots with the Lyman collarbutton bullets worked really well.

The bullets were seated deep enough to cover the BPC lube in the bullet’s groove. Those collar buttons were seated over only 7.5 grains (by weight) of loose Olde Eynsford 3F powder – that’s 2.5 grains more than the old “indoor” load. It’s rather unusual to hear about black powder loaded loose in a cartridge case, but this is a special application and this load works very westernshootingjournal.com 49

BLACK POWDER

Lyman’s #457130 bullet mould is seen with some fresh cast “collar buttons.”

well. The rifle had a very light report, and that quiet boom was followed by a rather loud snap as the blunt little bullet punched through the paper target at 25 yards.

Two rifles were taken for shooting with the collar-button loads. The first rifle tried was my favorite lightweight Sharps Model 1874, a .45-70 with a 28-inch barrel. The second rifle was a Browning Model 1886 carbine, and that gun used the collar-button bullet nicely but only when single loaded. Of course, both of those .45-70 rifles were sighted in for much heavier loadings.

And, in order to satisfy my widening

POWDER RIVER CARTRIDGE COMPANY’S COWBOY AMMO IMPRESSES

The author’s .45 by his first group with the .45 Cowboy ammo.

Powder River Cartridge Company is making some good ammo for specific cartridges, and I just got to try a few rounds. They make ammo for a real variety of cartridges, from the 9mm to the .45 Auto for automatics, and the .38 Special to the .45 Long Colt and the .45 S&W Schofield for revolvers. They also make a variety of loads for the .45-70, as well as some good loads for 12-gauge shotguns. My interest, as you might guess, lies in the ammo for the good old revolvers and the singleshot or lever-action rifles.

The first ammo I tried was some of their cowboy loads for the .45 Colt, their new Evil Roy Signature Series ammo.

The shooting was done with my old and “very well trained” Colt Single Action with a 7-inch barrel, at a target posted 50 feet away. I almost quit after the first shot, because that one was an almost perfect pinwheel X. It was simply too good to improve upon, but I did continue. After four more shots, I took the target down to take the picture showing that good

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old Colt, and my first five shots taken with Powder River Cartridge Co. ammo.

Then the target was posted again, and 15 more shots were sent through the paper. No, my group didn’t shrink with those added shots. But it didn’t expand terribly either. Every shot was in the black with only three bullets straying as far out as the eighth ring. Those .45s were very easy on the ears and the hand, with a very low blast and recoil. Being cowboy loads, they are intended for rapid-controlled, timed shooting at fairly close targets. I think my targets show they have a winner with this .45 cowboy load.

Following that, another target was posted, at 50 feet again, but this time it was shot at with .38 Special cowboy loads. Two guns were used for this shooting: my old Colt Bisley in .38 and a Beretta Laramie with a 5-inch barrel. These cartridges are loaded with a 125-grain bullet at a published velocity of 825 fps. That produces a very light recoil, and I’d say that’s the real thing for cowboy action shooting, just what they were made for.

These hit a little low on the target, perhaps mostly due to the light recoil, but 33 rounds of them chewed a very big hole in the paper target. All went very well, and it was certainly a pleasure shooting such easily controlled, mild loads.

More comments will be made as more shooting is done with ammunition from Powder River Cartridge Company.

The ammo I received is very good looking, loaded in new Starline brass. For now I do invite you to go to their web site at powderrivercartridge.com and look at what they have to offer. For information you can email info@ The great results of testing this cowboy powderreivercartridge.com or call ammo with 33 rounds them at (855) 357-4570. from two .38 revolvers.

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curiosity, the chronograph was set up to record the velocities with these 7.5-grain loads.

FIVE SHOTS WERE RECORDED for velocity from each rifle, and, I know this will take your breath away, they both had an average speed of 429 feet per second! The extreme spread of velocities gives good indication of inconsistent burning of the powder.

If we were working up a long range load, that extreme spread would not be tolerated, but for this light load it is simply a characteristic we should be aware about.

My next step was to load more of the collar buttons, but over 10 grains (by weight) of the Olde Eynsford 3F powder. These were tried only in the Sharps, mainly to take advantage of that rifle’s peep sight. And, while holding the front blade halfway into the black, the 10-grain loads performed very well on the target posted at 25 yards.

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Western Shooting Journal // October 2014

In this five-shot group, the last shot was the one low and to the left. The group might have been tighter if I had used a blow tube to keep the fouling down. The first hits in the group were the real good ones.

The 10-grain loads had an average velocity of 559 fps, and they still sounded like a .22 Short when being fired. Also, the 145-grain bullet fired at 559 fps carries an energy of 100-foot pounds, which is more than what a serious small game hunter needs.

What the collar button does is to greatly increase the range of use for rifles of .45-70 or similar caliber. There is no better load for introducing a youngster to shooting the black powder cartridge rifles, and the light collarbutton loads make these otherwise bigbooming rifles excellent for small game.

More shooting with the collar button will be done in this neck of the woods.

In future stories, I hope to include grouse and rabbits, maybe even with some interesting recipes, which might be gathered while on big game hunts with our black powder .45-70 rifles.

You will find Lyman products in just about any sporting goods store, or if you want to contact Lyman more directly, perhaps to request their catalog, write to them at: Lyman Products Corporation, 475 Smith Street, Middletown, CT 06457. You can also visit their website at lymanproducts.com. As a final comment about these light .45-70 bullets, let me just say they are a lot of fun and “Small game, watch out!” WSJ Editor’s note: Mike Nesbitt’s articles about black powder shooting can be found in back issues of certain magazines from nearly 40 years ago, and he’s learned a few things over that span of time. Join him now as newer stories continue in our black powder column. With Mike, you can talk about black powder cartridge shooting, from paper-patched bullets to the famous “collar button,” and we’ll hit on traditional muzzleloading too. For Mike, shooting begins with black powder.

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: Y R FU

R E H T O THE M ES! I V O M K N A T L OF AL r II Film a W d l r o W e New v i s o l p x E n i rs Brad PitNtK JSARDtIMa T, INC. FRA INMEN ARTICLE BY ES ENTERTA ONY PICTUR S Y B S TO O PH

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ith the upcoming cinematic release of Fury this month, the war movie genre finally has a realistic, historically accurate, film focusing on tank crews and armored combat in World War II. It comes right after the 75th anniversary of the start of WWII, which began on Sept. 1, 1939 with the German invasion of Poland. The film was written and directed by David Ayer and stars Brad Pitt in the lead role as Staff Sergeant “Wardaddy,” a Sherman tank commander in the 2nd Armored Division.

Filmed in England, the movie takes us to the last days of World War II, when American, British and Russian forces had put nearly all of Germany’s tanks out of commission, and the Nazis had to call up their elderly men and teenage boys to defend the homeland. The wear of war is reflected in Pitt’s battle-hardened character, who’s been riding in a tank since North Africa, and contrasts sharply with his fresh-fromthe-cornfields driver, which is particularly revealed when their armored vehicle is blasted out of its tracks. Yeah, we all know how the war ends, but this film takes us along for a more realistic ride than most other recreations of the European theater.

Pitt’s character is a bit reminiscent of the role he played as a soldier in Inglourious Basterds, which also took place during WWII. He takes his five-man crew behind enemy lines, where they are outnumbered and outgunned. Yet he is determined to succeed in the deadly mission. “I started this war killing Germans in Africa. Now I’m killing Germans in Germany. I promised my crew a long time ago that I’d keep them alive,” he pledges.

Since Saving Private Ryan premiered in 1998, we’ve had several movie and cable television productions realistically portraying the violence, blood and gore of infantry and air combat that give the viewer a real sense of the mortal terror of battle. By doing better showing how it really was, they have honored the sacrifices of the real participants.

That is not to say that some earlier films were not excellent and realistic.

One that leaps to mind is the superb 1949 film Twelve O’Clock High starring Gregory Peck, which is frequently studied in our military training academies to this day. However, most of the older films simply couldn’t recreate how it really was because of the technical limitations of filmmaking and special effects, and viewer tastes.

I should qualify the term “historically accurate” lest someone call me out on it after Fury opens. I haven’t seen it yet, and since Hollywood usually sacrifices some historical accuracy for the sake of story, I’m expecting some artistic license in terms of plot. However, that didn’t make The Guns of Navarone, Saving Private Ryan or Inglourious Basterds any less great as entertainment. What I mean by “historical accuracy” is the realistic look and feel of the film thanks to accurate rendition of the historical detail of the time and place. To achieve that, a filmmaker has to do a lot of things very close to right. That includes uniforms, equipment, tactics, haircuts, casting, and dialogue, to name just a few. Regardless of plot, the scenes in a historically well-rendered period film should transport us back to that time and place. When I saw the trailers for Fury, I was impressed. In addition to the technical details, it had a sweaty, soiled, muddy quality to it. I could almost smell the BO in that cramped tank.

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Brad Pitt’s character, Staff Sergeant “Wardaddy,” a Sherman tank commander in the 2nd Armored Division, is a bit reminiscent of the role he played as a soldier in Inglourious Basterds, which also took place during WWII.

Fury is the first war film to feature a German Tiger I tank; this one came out of a British museum collection.

Tigers were the most feared German

tanks in World War II. The 75mm and 76mm guns on American Sherman tanks could only penetrate the Tiger’s frontal armor at point-blank range.

Thanks to the greater range of the considerably more powerful 88mm gun that the Tiger was armed with, it was hard for American tanks to get that close. If you were an American tanker in World War II, the Tiger was terror on tracks. When our tank crews defeated them in battle, it was usually by attacking with superior numbers and outmaneuvering them to get a shot at the Tiger’s thinner armor on the sides and rear of the vehicle. In order for an American tank to get around the side or rear, other tanks had to keep the Tiger’s attention. The attention of an 88mm gun is not the kind you want. In short, somebody was very likely to get killed.

Virtually all war movies suffer to some degree from a lack of enemy equipment. Nowhere is this more apparent when attempting to portray German armored forces of World War II. The fact is, American air power, and to a much lesser degree American armor, did excellent work in destroying German tanks on the

BRAD PITT, NO HOLLYWOOD HYPOCRITE ON GUNS It is hard to believe that heartthrob actor Brad Pitt is 50 years old. Pitt has made a name for himself over the years for his roles with guns in action and war movies, frequently playing a reckless or bad guy.

He is one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood, receiving $20 million apiece for his roles, and may be the most wellBrad Pitt at the Global known actor as well.

Summit to End Sexual Last year he starred in Violence in Conflict in 2014. (FOREIGN AND the $539 million zombie COMMONWEALTH OFFICE) movie, World War Z. In 2009, he appeared as the main actor in Inglourious Basterds, a fictional account of two plots to overthrow Hitler. In 2004, he starred in the movie Troy, about the Trojan War. Pitt got his breakthrough into major motion pictures in 1991, when he portrayed a wild young man in Thelma and Louise alongside veteran actresses Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon.

Despite his Hollywood career, Pitt is not afraid to support the Second Amendment. It was reported by multiple media outlets in 2012 that Pitt bought his wife, the equally famous actress Angelina Jolie, a shooting range and accompanying

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armory for a wedding gift, worth $400,000 and built at the couple’s Miraval estate in southern France.

After the Colorado movie shooting in 2012, Pitt told the British Magazine Live, “I absolutely don’t believe you can put sanctions or shackles on what is made. Nor do I want to pretend the world is different than what we witnessed that night … America is a country founded on guns. It’s in our DNA. It’s very strange but I feel better having a gun. I really do. I don’t feel safe, I don’t feel the house is completely safe, if I don’t have one hidden somewhere. That’s my thinking, right or wrong.”

Jolie also has strong views about the Second Amendment, telling the UK Daily Mail, “I bought original, real guns of the type we used in Tomb Raider for security. Brad and I are not against having a gun in the house, and we do have one. And yes, I’d be able to use it if I had to … If anybody comes into my home and tries to hurt my kids, I’ve no problem shooting them.”

In recent years, Pitt has taken up humanitarian causes with Jolie, which include visiting U.S. troops overseas. Earlier this year, it was reported Pitt will play former Army General Stanley McChrystal in the movie adaptation of a book written by the reporter who got the general fired. McChrystal and his staff openly mocked Vice President Joe Biden and others in the administration to Rolling Stone reporter Michael Hastings.

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battlefield. As a result, there weren’t many running enemy tanks around after the war. Disappointingly, the blockbuster movies Battle of the Bulge and Patton had the Nazis fighting our boys in gray-painted American tanks emblazoned with German crosses.

With their budgets they could have done better. There were far more vintage World War II German tanks in existence then. In fact, many were still on the battlefields where they were knocked out as late as the early 1970s! Fury has outdone all its processors by bringing a real German tank to the cinematic battlefield. I hope the Tiger I isn’t the only real German tank in the film.

It was fortunate for the Allies that the Germans never had many Tigers, because American tank crews faced enough dangers fighting their more common adversaries. Because the Sherman sacrificed armor for speed, it was more vulnerable to penetrating hits. There is one incredible scene in the Fury trailer where an older model Sherman is hit, resulting in the instant detonation of its ammunition supply. The huge explosion blows the

turret, as well as the three crewman in it, right off the hull and into the air.

Though the Sherman was respected by the Germans, it got nicknamed “Ronson” by its crews because of its tendency to burn when hit. This problem was largely corrected with the later models by stowing the ammunition in lockers surrounded by liquid. By 1945, most of the old Shermans had been replaced by improved models, of which Fury, Brad Pitt’s tank, is one.

Another great detail that I noticed in the Fury trailer was the use of green tracer ammunition by the Germans.

Tracer lights up a battlefield as they do in this movie. Americans commonly loaded their machine-gun belts with every fifth round a tracer. Seasoned soldiers knew that tracer was the harbinger of far more bullets invisible to the eye.

Live ammo is almost never used on the movie set. In older films, when you saw tracer, it had been spliced in from real war footage. It was all black-and-white film then, so the final presentation could look quite convincing. The first time I recall

seeing tracer rendered as a special effect was in the Vietnam War battle scenes in the 1994 film Forrest Gump, and it was striking. In Fury, it looks like they nailed it. Tracer was very important on the battlefield for several reasons. Tank crews are nearly blind when they are buttoned up in their tanks. They had to peer out through little periscopes that could get dirty very fast. Tracer allowed them to better see where their shots were hitting. In the case of the Sherman tank’s bow gunner (referred to as a BOG at the time), situated in the front hull next to the driver, tracer was the only means by which he could sight his machine gun. Tracer also reveals the approximate origin of the shooter and their direction of fire. If you wanted to hit an enemy you couldn’t see, fire toward the origin of his tracer.

These observations alone have me tremendously excited to see what is certainly going to be the very best tank movie of the war genre.

Fortunately, we still have some World War II tank veterans among us. It will be interesting to hear their assessments. WSJ

THE ALLIES’ M4 VS. THE AXIS’ GERMAN TIGER

A German Tiger I at the Musée des Blindés (museum of tanks) in France. (WIKIPEDIA/ Hal9001)

There are weapons of war, and then there are weapons of war.

Brad Pitt’s character’s tank, an M4 bearing the film’s name on its huge 76mm cannon, belongs in the latter category. Just as the buffalo rifles did in America’s bison herds and thus the Plains Indians, this mass-production tank was the breakout and breakthrough armored vehicle of World War II, leading the Allies from the desert of North Africa, up the boot of Italy and through the hedgerows of Normandy into the heart of

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Nazi Germany.

Perhaps better known to today’s generation as the bubble-turreted tank in their plastic toy armies, the Sherman was a fitting warmachine for putting an end to Hitler, whose invasions across Europe had been based in part on lightningfast Panzer strikes. The dictator’s forces were simply outgunned by the M4’s sheer numbers. In just three and a half years, American factories pumped out 42,459 in various models for the U.S Army, Marines, England, Russia and China.

The one captained by Pitt’s Sgt. Wardaddy is the M4A3E8, 3,100 of which were built in Michigan. They weighed as much as 33 tons, were 19 feet long, required a crew of five, and could crash through the countryside at up to 30 mph. Landing in France after D-Day, the division portrayed in the movie, the Second Armored, operated in the Low Countries, Ardennes Forest, and after crossing the Rhine in late March 1945, was the first U.S. unit to reach the Elbe.

Fury also features the world’s only operable German Tiger I. A thickly armored, heavy tank mounted with an 88mm cannon, Tigers were superior to Shermans, but their low numbers and high production cost made them no match in the end to the Allies on the march.

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SHOOTING WITH LARYSA

BEFORE YOU UNLEASH THAT ARROW Seven Must-Know Pointers To Improve Your Aim

ARTICLE BY LARYSA SWITLYK • PHOTOS BY PATRICK CRAWFORD/LARYSA UNLEASHED LLC

Larysa is known for her popular outdoors TV show, Larysa Unleashed.

Shooting a bow is not only an enjoyable activity, but also a great challenge in the woods. I personally shoot a Limbsaver Proton, and here are some tips I’ve learned from my experiences that I would like to share with you: ALWAYS SHOOT BEFORE YOU HUNT. I travel far for some of my hunts, and if my gear isn’t packed right, the traveling can definitely knock off my sight, so it is always smart when you get where you are going to shoot a

few arrows to make sure traveling didn’t change your gear. Since I’ve been packing my stuff in SKB cases, I haven’t had a problem, but it is always smart to shoot and be confident in your shot before you head into the woods.

LEARN FROM AN EXPERT. I had someone show me really quickly how to shoot a bow, and then I went off on my own to practice. I picked up a bad habit of having a really tight grip on my bow, which would make me tweak the bow to the right every time I shot.

To this day, I am fighting this bad habit,

and I have to remind myself to relax my grip and make sure to follow through with my shot so I don’t move my shot.

Easier said than done while in a hunting situation, because you tend to go back to your bad habits, and I have caught myself having a death grip on my bow while trying to take a shot. Learn correctly the first time and get pointers from an experienced shooter so you can kick bad habits before they start.

PRACTICE IN HUNTING TYPES OF SITUATIONS. Shoot out of a tree stand, shoot out of a blind, shoot out of a chair or off westernshootingjournal.com 61

SHOOTING WITH LARYSA going to be at exactly 20 yards sitting perfectly broadside. Spend some time practicing at different yardages so you feel confident in your shot and bow when that animal is standing at 34 yards.

Larysa is equally as comfortable with a bow as she is with a gun.

one knee. That way if that deer walks in and you don’t have a chance to stand up to shoot, you are already comfortable taking that shot while sitting down.

Definitely practice with broadheads way before you go out hunting.

I’ve made the mistake thinking my broadhead would fly exactly like my field tip, and tried it out the day of my hunt to learn it didn’t. So, at the last minute, I had to sight my bow into the

way my broadhead flew. I have tried many different brands of broadheads, and have always had trouble getting them to fly like my field points. The one brand I have found that flies just like the field points and that I have successfully hunted with the past two seasons is Muzzy Trocars.

PRACTICE AT DIFFERENT YARDAGES BESIDES 20, 30, AND 40.

In a hunting situation, the animal isn’t

Larysa advises practicing with broadheads before going hunting.

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LEARN TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT. You will not always have someone there to help you sight in your bow or fix something if it breaks. Learn to sight in your own bow.

Make sure your arrow is always fully nocked and your release is closed properly on your string before pulling back!

These are just a few pointers that I have learned from experience and I hope they help you have a more successful archery hunt. Go ahead, unleash it! WSJ Editor’s note: Larysa Switlyk is host of Larysa Unleashed on the Sportsman Channel and Destination America.

She is a CPA turned professional outdoorswoman sharing her passion with her main pursuit to influence and encourage other females and children to get involved in the outdoors.

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YEAH IT’S JOE NICHOLS Country Star Loves The NRA, Guns And His Fans ARTICLE BY RACHEL ALEXANDER

I

had the chance to interview country star Joe Nichols in person recently, and it was a lot of fun. He has successfully combined cool, country and conservatism. He had an entourage of staff with him, since he was getting ready for a performance, and appeared extremely relaxed.

Part Native American, he has a glamorous shock of long dark hair and is usually sporting some funky jewelry. He has tattoos on his arms of Bible verses. His inner right bicep says Psalm 91, and his left bicep has Isaiah 11:11 inscribed on it. He told me the verses help him spiritually, especially when he’s not feeling perfect. One of his new songs is called “Billy Graham’s Bible.”

Joe Nichols had two number one hits in a row on the country charts this past year, including the catchy tune (with equally catchy video), “Yeah.”

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A real outdoorsman, Joe Nichols golfs, fishes and shoots skeet.

Nichols had five number one hits on Billboard country since 2003. His most recent song, “Yeah,” hit number one in July right after “Sunny and 75,” another song off his album Crickets.

His dad was also a country singer, so it came naturally to him. Originally from Arkansas, he first tried to be in a regular rock band, but everyone

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said his “twangy tone” sounded too country. He also plays guitar.

Nichols’ motto is “freedom, family and fun.” He feels strongly about supporting the Constitution, especially the Second Amendment.

As part of NRA Country, he performed at the NRA’s annual convention earlier this year. He told

me that people wrongly focus on guns as the problem, when really it’s just common sense – it’s maniacs who kill people. He owns several guns for home protection, including an AK-47, Desert Eagle .44 Magnum (which he described as “sexy”), a couple of AR-15s and a “loud” Benelli M4 12-gauge shotgun.

He enjoys shooting skeet. He doesn’t hunt, because he doesn’t have the patience, but he is a true outdoors kind of guy; he golfs, fishes for bass, big fish, and crappies in east Texas.

Perhaps the funniest thing about Nichols is he once performed a country version of Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back” at a country music festival.

He married Heather Singleton in 2007 and started a family, taking him off the market for the ladies. WSJ Editor’s note: You can visit joe Nichols’ website at joenichols.com and find him on Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to watch his humorous video “Yeah,” which can be found on YouTube.

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Final rounds of shooting at the 2014 Cowboy Fast Draw nationals.

–WITHOUT AMMO! COWBOY SHOOTING The History Of Fast Draw And The Cowboy Fast Draw Association

BY CAL EILRICH AKA “QUICK CAL” PHOTOS BY COWBOY FAST DRAW ASSOCIATION

TIES TO THE AMERICAN OLD WEST Before Hollywood, there were the “dime novelists,” some of whom actually followed certain gunmen around the Old West and promoted their subjects to a legendary status.

There was an actual term in the Old West, “quick on the draw,” which actually meant hotheaded and quick to draw a gun with very little provocation. It was really this group of literary figures who coined the phrases quick draw, fast draw, gunfighter and gunslinger in the late 1800s and very early 1900s. These exciting stories created a rich environment on which to base early Western screenplays.

Since the beginning of motion pictures, Westerns have always seen periods of strong popularity. In 1903, a 12-minute film was made called The Great Train Robbery. This milestone

achievement in filmmaking was based on a true train robbery carried out by Butch Cassidy and the Hole in the Wall Gang on August 29th, 1900, only three years prior. Even though it was made on the East Coast, it helped spawn a new motion picture industry in Hollywood, Calif., where the weather was more dependable. So I have always wondered, Did Hollywood invent the Western, or did the Western invent Hollywood?

HOLLYWOOD WESTERNS Western movies were king during the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, with Tom Mix and Gene Autry as Hollywood’s top box office stars. Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, John Wayne and a host of others became huge box office sensations.

Nationwide, interest in fast draw was spawned during the mid-1950s

amidst the era of the television Western, when weekly serial Westerns reigned.

Dee Woolem is credited as the “father of fast draw.” A native Oklahoman, he was employed by Knott’s Berry Farm in Anaheim, Calif., to perform as a stuntman. He staged train robberies and entertained millions of visitors who came to the park for a number of years. In 1954, with the help of technicians at the park, he created the very first fast draw timer. Woolem held the first fast draw contests and billed them as National Fast Draw Championships.

Hugh O’Brian, who was starring as Wyatt Earp, purchased one of Woolem’s timers and wagered $1,000 to any Hollywood actor who could beat his timed draw, to bring publicity to his show. In 2006, I had the privilege of interviewing Mr. O’Brian. He westernshootingjournal.com 71

be factory chambered in .45 Colt caliber, since ammunition is provided at many events.

HOLSTERS Holsters as well must be period correct and contain no steel lining.

CFDA has attempted to hold the line between period correct, Hollywood and modern. Our members are dedicated to this effort.

Left to right: Early Western stars James Arness and Dennis Weaver from Gunsmoke, with fast draw technical adviser Arvo Ojala.

confirmed this story, but said the amount was actually $5,000 and that no one ever beat him, and some did try.

He also confirmed that Audie Murphy called him out, but Mr. Murphy insisted that they use live ammunition – wisely, O’Brian declined.

THE SPORT OF FAST DRAW IS BORN During the ’50s and early ’60s, the entire country was consumed with the mythos of the American Old West. Fast draw clubs were forming from coast to coast. Contests were hosted by clubs, and it seemed that each club had their own set of rules.

Although no firm figures exist, it has been calculated that there were over 100,000 fast draw participants in the U.S. during that time period. This prompted Colt to start manufacturing the famous SAA Colt once again.

Numerous regional and national associations have existed since the 1950s, with various sets of rules.

Some combined with others, but none of these organizations had ever grown past a few hundred members.

Competitive equipment was also heavily impacted by modern times, with “race guns” costing over $1,500, and holsters contained in enlarged boots (bucket boots) that had no practical use, except for drawing a sixgun with minimal effort.

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COWBOY FAST DRAW ASSOCIATION (CFDA) In 2002, Cowboy Fast Draw, LLC was founded in Deadwood, S.D. CFDA is considered the reformation of fast draw. It has resonated and become the largest fast draw organization by far in the 60-year history of the sport, with membership numbers approaching 4,000, about 80 CFDA affiliated clubs from coast to coast, and numerous members and clubs in several countries.

The motto of the Cowboy Fast Draw Association is, “Safety first, fun second and competition third.” The founder’s letter states, “It’s about handshakes, camaraderie, a man’s word, morality and friendship, fair play and honest competition.” Our credo is “The cowboy way” in action and deed; it requires no further explanation.

SIX-GUNS A basic founding principle of CFDA is to keep all competitive equipment as faithful reproductions of the Old West.

With the many quality reproduction firearms on the market, it is possible to purchase a stock six-gun at a local store that could be used to win a world championship competition. That has resonated with some major firearms providers that have sponsored Cowboy Fast Draw, including Ruger, Pietta of Italy, Cimarron, Taylor’s & Company, and Colt. All six-guns must

WAX BULLET AMMUNITION Wax bullet ammunition is crucial for Cowboy Fast Draw. Never attempt fast draw with live ammunition! Not only does wax-bullet ammunition allow the sport to exist in a safe environment, but also allows Cowboy Fast Draw events to be conducted almost anywhere. Many members have personal practice ranges in their own garages. The most often used propellant is nothing more than shotgun primer in a specially made casing (CFDA brass), which can be reloaded without loading tools. No gunpowder is used. Dead Eye EZ Loader Wax Bullets only cost $25 per 1,000, and are loaded in with finger pressure only. Even though the wax bullets reach velocities of around 700 fps, they are stopped dead in their tracks with archery netting or 5/8-inch plywood. WSJ

Wax bullets are used in fast draw instead of real bullets for safety reasons.

Editor’s note: This is an abbreviated form of an article that appeared on the Cowboy Fast Draw Association’s website, and is reprinted with permission. To learn more about Cowboy Fast Draw, visit cowboyfastdraw.com or contact: CFDA, P.O. Box 5, Fernley, Nevada, (775) 575-1802 or info@cowboyfastdraw.com. The CFDA General Store is a clearinghouse for just about everything needed to get started.

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STORMIE WEATHER: FASTEST GUN IN A DRESS Mernickle Holsters’ Young World Champion Shooter ARTICLE BY FRANK JARDIM • PHOTOS BY STORMIE WEATHER

Long before there was a Single Action Shooting Society and a cowboy-action shooting hobby, there was fast draw. As a kid, I was awed by the superhuman speed of Bob Munden and Arvo Ojala.

They were extraordinary showmen and skilled marksmen. Both have been dead a few years now, but the exciting world of competitive cowboy fast-draw shooting is bigger and better than ever.

I got the chance to interview Stormie Schweizer, the former Stormie Kay Mernickle, aka Stormie Weather, who is a Woman’s World Champion in Cowboy Fast Draw, and who earned the title of fastest woman alive after her victory at the 2012 Beretta Fastest Gun Alive competition. She’s won too many fast draw competitions in Canada and the U.S. to list in this short article, and even holds a world-speed record in the sport. She is among the best competitors in Cowboy Fast Draw.

It was her stepfather, the respected holstermaker Bob Mernickle, who got her started in fast draw by making a rig for her out of leather scraps and teaching her the range commands. That was in 1996, when she was only six years old. So, at that tender age when most boys are playing with cap

Stormie displaying her awards from the 2012 world championship. westernshootingjournal.com 75

guns, Stormie had already learned to shoot, and began competing in fast draw. Before anyone goes reporting her dad to child services, it should be noted that Cowboy Fast Draw

and accuracy, but also with a pleasant attitude. You truly have to lose many times before you can earn your chance to win.

FJ After you began shooting, when did you realize you were really, really good?

SM I guess when the women of the sport lovingly did not want to shoot against me anymore. It was also great to hear the same fun banter from the men of the sport, such as “Oh, man … I drew you!” In titled matches, men and women shoot separately, so I only got that from the men during side matches.

you never see them competing in a dress. Is there a competitive advantage to shooting is a dress, or do you just do it because you can?

SM There is no advantage to shooting in a dress. I also shoot wearing a steel-boned corset. So, all in all, I do it because I can! I was also very much encouraged by the directors of Cowboy Fast Draw to continue to wear dresses while shooting and promote the idea to the other ladies that I shoot with. When competitors look “period correct,” it’s very pleasing to the audience.

FJ One thing I noticed about male Cowboy Fast Draw shooters, is that

FJ Ruger has been your sponsor since 2006. What kind of modifications have

Stormie with fellow competitor Kendra K. Short, aka KK Kid in Virginia City, Nev., during the weekend of the Western Territorial and Nevada State Championship.

competitors shoot only wax bullets driven by shotgun-shell primers. They aren’t shooting real bullets, so nobody is going to accidently shoot their foot off. At worst, they’ll bruise their foot and figuratively die of embarrassment.

FRANK JARDIM The Mernickle family has got to be one of the most shooting clans in history. When you were small, did you play with dolls or dartguns?

STORMIE MERNICKLE I played with dolls – they made for great targets!

FJ Your stepfather, Bob Mernickle, holds 22 world records in World Fast Draw, and you’ve said he taught you everything you know about the sport.

What have you learned from him that you would want to share with other young shooters?

SM I have learned to be calm under pressure and respectful to my fellow competitors both younger and older than myself. He has also taught me how to be a gracious loser and a humble winner. He was there for my first world championship win and was able to see that he truly did teach me how to win not only with speed 76

Western Shooting Journal // October 2014

Stormie with her sister, mother and stepfather in Virginia City, Nev.

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you made to your Vaquero to help you perform at your best?

SM Ruger requires no modifications to shoot in Cowboy Fast Draw. They work great right out of the box. My pistol has been tuned very slightly.

would develop a new holster, I would try it out, and more times than not I asked for one to be built for myself.

Being comfortable and confident in your equipment is important when shooting competitively.

FJ I notice you use a Mernickle fastdraw rig. What kind of specialized holsters are used in Cowboy Fast Draw and what features are particularly important to you as a champion shooter?

SM In Cowboy Fast Draw, we use Mexican loop holsters to be as period correct as possible. We build a deflector shield into the bottom of the holster for the safety of all our shooters. The deflector shield is the only metal allowed in a Cowboy Fast Draw holster. We use rawhide to keep the mouth of the holster open, so the cylinder can rotate freely while being cocked in the holster during the drawing of the pistol.

I shoot out of the CFD9 made

by Mernickle Holsters. For me, this

FJ Can you tell me the secret of your speed, without being forced to kill me afterward?

SM It’s Uncle Cal (Cal Eilrich, aka Quick Cal). He pushed me to become the fastest shooter I could be. He would jokingly say that girls couldn’t shoot as fast as the boys because they are girls! I proved him wrong. I was very focused and I proceeded to practice, practice, practice! I have practiced twice a week, at least 50 shots per practice, for a few years now. I also target – figuratively speaking – faster shooters to shoot with in my local club. This is a great practice technique for anyone trying to speed up.

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This was taken at a gun show and inserted into a background with the caption beneath it.

rig is perfect, as it keeps the gun up as high as possible while keeping it within the rules. I have followed Bob’s lead when it comes to what holster I was shooting out of. Every time he

FJ How much do you practice your fast draw? Since it only takes a blink

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one-third of a second to blink.

Stormie made the skirt and the fancy waist belt for this period outfit.

of an eye or so for you to draw and shoot, I’m guessing you don’t have to practice very long.

SM I practice about three to four hours a week minimum. Currently, my world record fastest time is .360 thousands of a second. It takes approximately

FJ Do you think having the title “Fastest Gun Alive” intimidated potential boyfriends? I would imagine it might be like being a woman lion tamer. Guys can easily develop an inferiority complex when confronted with that degree of awesomeness.

SM I was responsible for getting my husband Brian Schweizer (aka Shots B Wanderin) into Cowboy Fast Draw. He likes shooting with me, no matter how frustrated he gets when I continuously beat him on time.

It helps him develop his speed for shooting with the faster men in the sport. He also helps me to be a faster shooter, as I will not let him outdraw me. I love his determination to try and beat my time.

FJ Where do want to go competitively?

SM My newest goal is to win all of the state championships in the sport of Cowboy Fast Draw across the U.S at least once before I move up in the

age category. The next age category is the 49er, and I am currently 24 years old. I am also working on winning the national championship as well. I won the Western Territorial, Wyoming State, the World Championship and Top Gun of the Year in 2012.

FJ What work do you do in the family business? Ever design any holsters yourself?

SM I am involved in all facets of the manufacturing process of all of our holsters.

FJ Are you going to take over operation of Mernickle Custom Holsters when your folks retire?

SM This is the plan we have spoken about at the dinner table many times.

FJ When you aren’t doing fast draw, what other kinds of shooting do you enjoy?

SM I was asked a similar question when I was 10 years old. I like and enjoy shooting anything with a trigger. WSJ

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COMPETITIONS

IDAHO NSSF RIMFIRE CHALLENGE OFFERS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE Amateur Shooters Mingle With The Stars ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY ROBIN TAYLOR

Sturmgevehr? Maybe not, but you’ll see .22s of every description on the line. Ruger 10/22s are the most popular.

nto its third year, the Idaho NSSF Rimfire Challenge outside of Boise stands out as the match of the Inland Northwest. You’ve heard about the explosive growth of the NSSF Rimfire competition (formerly known as Ruger Rimfire Challenge). Starting from nothing five years ago, this year 50 matches blanket the nation – but of those 50, this match in Idaho is special.

I dragged a dozen shooters on a 1,400-mile-round trip to shoot this

I

match, some of who had never shot a competitive rifle/pistol match in their lives. Why? The match is simple, has a great prize table, and brings together a shocking diversity of industry “power players.”

You don’t need any special training to shoot NSSF Rimfire. That alone makes this the ideal “first match” for would-be competitive shooters. The tremendous prize table gets given away by random draw, so there’s no pressure. In a way, the match feels a

little bit like a super-size fan club gettogether or a family reunion. Two of our “first timers” won new 10/22 rifles in the prize raffle, and we all learned a tremendous amount about rimfire speed shooting from some of the best in the game.

MARKETING POWER PLAY Boise-based Tactical Solutions supports NSSF Rimfire Challenge nationwide as a corporate sponsor, but this match is theirs. The firm westernshootingjournal.com 83

COMPETITIONS Tactical Solutions partner Dan Person personally led factory tours of his company the day before the match. Those are Tactical Solutions’ custom barrels racked up in the background.

puts its considerable influence and manpower behind the match. As one of the premier manufacturers of competition accessories for rimfires,

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Tactical Solutions took an immediate interest in this style of competition when it first started. Today, they take a very real interest in making sure their

match is done right.

Match director Mike Wirth is one of Tactical Solutions’ machinists, and “TacSol” releases him to focus on putting the match together on the ground. “Rimfire rifle/pistol is definitely our customer base,” says Wirth. “TS employees put in a lot of hours on the match every year.” That involvement runs right to the top of the corporate ladder. Both of Tactical Solutions’ owners were onsite on match day, and the factory itself is open for tours the day before. Their director of marketing gets tasked with putting the prize table together.

“By doing that, a lot of our friends in the industry learned about the match, and they chose this as a time to come out and visit,” says Wirth. As a result, I found myself chatting with Ruger exec Ken Jorgensen in the lunch line.

NSSF Rimfire’s head man Tim Norris was sitting nearby. That afternoon I ran into Michael Bane and his crew

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from the Outdoor Channel shooting an episode of Down Range TV. As if that weren’t enough top industry people, past NSSF Rimfire national champion Ron Stricklin drove in to compete. He shot against Southern California standouts Mike Setting and his daughter Alicia, plus nationally recognized marksmen John Bagakis, Mark Itzstein, and Steel Challenge enthusiast Jim O’Young.

For an out-of-the-way match in Idaho, that’s an amazing get-together!

“The first year I was here, I was on the same squad as the newly-crowned world champion John Allchin,” says Stricklin. “He’d won the championship the weekend before.” True to form, Allchin was here too, vying to knock Stricklin out of the top spot.

GROWTH DESPITE OBSTACLES Make no mistake, ammunition scarcity blocks the expansion of NSSF Rimfre competition. Sponsors are jumping in

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to help, but as a rule, no one can find .22 ammo over the counter in this part of the world. Despite the blockage, Wirth’s match grew from 115 to 130 competitors this year, selling out all the available slots.

There’s some talk of having the match apply to become the NSSF National Championship next year. If it does, expect more than 200 people, 14 stages, and even more national media attention.

A MATCH FOR EVERYONE Rimfire Challenge continues to grow despite the obstacles because it’s just so approachable. Of the 130 shooters, more than 20 were under the age of 18, and for the first time, we saw competitive youth teams showing up (notably “Team Gotta” and the Junior Shooters Magazine team). Women show up in unusually large numbers as well, and family groups are common.

My crew brought two father/son pairs, plus one mother/daughter. The kids shoot on a team together, but the dads both chose to start pulling the trigger themselves at this match. “This is pretty cool,” said first-timer Mike Jeffcoat. “I can see why people like it.”

Typically scheduled for Memorial Day weekend, you won’t find a better “show” to try, especially if this is your first exposure. You’ll find more details on the 2014 event, and plans/contact information for 2015 at rc.parmarng.org. The match dates for 2015 aren’t set yet, so be sure to get your scheduling information direct from them. If southwest Idaho is just too far to go, you’ll find the full schedule of NSSF Rimfire matches at nssf.org/rimfire. WSJ Editor’s note: For more than 20 years, Robin Taylor has covered the shooting sports from the inside, covering events in more than 20 states and two European nations. His firm, Taylor Freelance, LLC, produces pistol magazine extensions, books on shooting and other accessories for competititive shooting at taylorfreelance.com. westernshootingjournal.com 87

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THREE CHOICES FOR 3-GUN’S MOST STRENUOUS MATCH The Right Shotgun Can Make Or Break Competitors ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY LARRY CASE

The Versa Max in action.

nless you have been living under the proverbial rock for the past few years, you have heard of or been exposed to 3-Gun Nation shooting competitions. This combatstyle shooting sport has become wildly popular, and encompasses the use of three firearms in one match: rifle, pistol and shotgun. As you may surmise, we will deal primarily with the shotgun.

We are getting a few years down the road since Chad Adams and his crew at 3-Gun Nation came up with this inspired idea. These guys now have a successful TV program, magazine, over 4,000 registered members and more than 100 local 3-gun clubs nationwide.

I think it may be safe to say that it was an idea whose time had come!

Volumes have been written by now about different techniques of shooting, reloading, gun selection, conditioning

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for matches and so on. As in the past, your humble shotgun scribe will take the path of attempting to help a novice shooter who may want to enter the wonderful world of 3-gun shooting.

I would advise any new shooter to go and observe a 3-gun match or two before diving head first into this world. Watching it on TV is one thing.

Being there in the sun and the rain, and shooting a physically challenging course with three different weapon, is quite another. Having said that, I will tell you that this shooting sport has a reputation for being very addictive.

GEAR UP This is the part where I am going to tell you to shoot a few matches with the guns that you own. You need a semi-automatic rifle with detachable magazines. Anything on an AR platform will work; you don’t need to get too fancy at first. I have seen some

guys shoot this with a Mini-14; don’t laugh, the boys who got beat by the Mini-14s didn’t.

Any well-functioning semi-auto pistol will do for the handgun phase.

Personally, I am not a fan of the 9mm round, but there are a lot of shooters better than me who use it. I am a .45 kind of guy who wants bigger chunks of lead to knock things down, but if you feel the smaller bullet works, bless you.

OK, now let’s talk about the most important of the three weapons in 3-gun competitions: the shotgun.

When I say most important, I am not coming at this from the angle that this is a shotgun column, hence the shotgun is the most important. I have heard from several 3-gun shooters with much more experience in this game than me, and all agree that the shotgun is the most important of the three guns. Here’s why: westernshootingjournal.com 89

SCATTERGUN TRAIL THE MAIN EVENT Many successful 3-gun shooters will tell you that the shotgun is the hardest of the three weapons to be proficient at. Not only are the shotgun shooting skills different from the rifle and pistol, the reloading skills are, well, just plain old harder! Couple this with the fact that in many matches the shotgun gives you the chance to pick up much needed bonus points that help your final score (a Pepper Popper that throws a clay target, for example). Now add to this rodeo the cold hard facts of life: 3-gun competition is hard on guns – especially shotguns.

If you attend very many 3-gun matches, you are going to see some shotguns break down, everything from simple jams, the result of dirty actions, all the way to metal parts flying out onto the ground.

Earlier I said I would advise you to shoot 3-gun with the guns that you have, but I know the main reason that you would try a new kind of shooting sport. You get to procure new guns and gear, a worthy goal. So, here is a quick look at three good choices for your

3-gun shotgun. Burn some powder!

REMINGTON VERSA MAX TACTICAL COMPETION I have told you before that the Versa Max is a beast, and it is. The

tactical competition model may have everything the 3-gunner is looking for: oversize bolt release and bolt-release button, trigger guard and loading port.

(Loading is as important as shooting, remember?) The shotgun has a 10+1 loading capacity with the carbon-fiber magazine extension. All of this on the proven Versa Max platform. I like the shallow rear sight.

more than once. So when he puts his name on a shotgun, it should mean something. The JM Pro Series 930s come in two tactical class models, a nine- and 10-shot version. The 10-shot models have a 24-inch barrel, and the 9 shot has a 22 inch. Both have chamfered loading ports, adjustable trigger stops, and anodized receivers.

BENELLI PERFORMANCE SHOP M2 3GUN EDITION The Benelli M2 shotgun had a good reputation with 3-gun shooters before

MOSSBERG JERRY MICULEK PRO SERIES 930 We can say nothing here that has not been said about Jerry Miculek,

this version came along, and it should be even better. These guns feature extended bolt handles, oversized release buttons, modified carriers, enlarged loading ports and HIVIZ competition sights. Benelli shooters are very loyal to their shotguns. WSJ

who has won everything there is to win in this world of competition, and

Editor’s note: The author is a lifelong shotgunner. When he misses, he usually admits it, and when he hits it, he tries not to brag.

Some of the author’s preferred shotguns for 3-gun, top to bottom: Benelli M2, Remington Versa Max Competition Tactical, and Mossberg JM Pro Series 930.

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BEHIND THE BADGE

THE MYSTERIOUS POLICE OF VETERANS AFFAIRS Largest Uniformed Federal Police Agency In The Country ARTICLE BY ANDRE’ M. DALL’AU • PHOTOS BY VETERANS AFFAIRS POLICE

Most people have never heard of the Veterans Affairs Police, much less have any idea what they do.

ospital campuses are really small communities where people comfortably work, sleep, eat, heal, learn, socialize and care for each other. Also, like every community, protection is needed to prevent violence, provide security, control situations and investigate crime that unfortunately occurs. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs operates the largest healthcare organization in the United

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There are over 3,000 employees in this agency.

States. The VA has their own police force that has the responsibility to provide security and police the many VA hospitals, outpatient clinics and community based outpatient clinics operated by VA Police and the Veterans Health Administration, as well as the National Cemetery Administration and the Veterans Benefits Administration.

As part of their training, each VA police officer is certified in the use of less-lethal pepper spray, the expandable police and CPR first responder. The armed VA police carries 9mm duty sidearms, either the Beretta 92D pistol or the SIG Sauer P229, and SIG Sauer P239 for plainclothed officers.

Many VA police officers are military veterans. This is an asset

Many VA police are former military.

when it comes to dealing with the VA’s veterans. As with a lot of situations that VA Police and every other sworn officer has to deal with, the problems encountered do not necessarily need law enforcement but understanding, communication and display of mutual respect that helps tremendously in resolution of issues, solving problems westernshootingjournal.com 93

BEHIND THE BADGE and truly helping our veterans in crisis who have already done so much for this country.

Looking out for our veterans means policing their own agency, the VA. At least a portion of the VA has been found to be systematically neglectful of their patients, with damning evidence showing the chronic

conditions of excessive wait times resulting in many patient deaths were known but ignored and covered up at the highest levels of authority.

Last month, two VA Medical Center employees were arrested for using VA facilities to transport and sell cocaine. Employees Robert Tucker and Erik Casiano used the mailroom

DO WE REALLY NEED ALL THESE OBSCURE FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES?

Is it really necessary to have both U.S. Mint police and Federal Reserve Police, or could they be more efficiently combined?

(US GOVERNMENT)

There are close to 100 federal law enforcement agencies in the U.S., many which are probably not necessary, duplicating the work of others and wasting taxpayers’ money. Most of them are law enforcement specific to one federal agency, such as the United States Government Printing Office Police and the Amtrak Police.

The Founding Fathers did not envision federal law enforcement. James Madison wrote in The Federalist No. 45 that the powers delegated by the Constitution to the federal government are “few and defined,” whereas “The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.”

Some federal law enforcement agencies make sense, such as the Border Patrol, FBI and the Secret Service. But a different law enforcement for

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to distribute the drugs. The VA Police caught them, working tandem with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Office of Inspector General, and with assistance from the VA. Currently, VA Police are investigating the theft of personal records from the Dorn Veterans Administration Hospital in Columbia,

every federal agency seems like overkill.

Here are just a few of the most unnecessary sounding federal law enforcement agencies: • National Institute of Standards and Technology Police • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Office for Law Enforcement • National Institutes of Health Police • Office of Field Operations • Office of Intelligence • Office of Professional Responsibility • Office of Inspection • Office of Protection Services • Tennessee Valley Authority Office of Inspector General • United States Agency for International Development, Office of Inspector General Some even sound duplicative of each other: • United States Government Printing Office Police • Bureau of Engraving and Printing Police • United States Mint Police • Defense Criminal Investigative Service • Defense Intelligence Agency • Pentagon Force Protection Agency • United States Pentagon Police • United States Postal Inspection Service • U.S. Postal Police

The more federal law enforcement agencies there are, the more expensive it is to provide separate training, uniforms, and employees. Combining many of these agencies, or eliminating them and allowing local law enforcement to take over their duties, would save taxpayers billions of dollars.

In 2012, in order to cut costs, Governor Robert Bentley of Alabama began the process of folding in many of the state’s 22 law enforcement agencies into the Department of Public Safety. The federal government should follow suit.

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BEHIND THE BADGE LOOKING OUT FOR OUR VETERANS MEANS POLICING THEIR OWN AGENCY, THE VA. S.C. Four boxes of pathology reports were noticed missing last summer, containing patients’ names and social security numbers. As many as 2,179 veterans had personal information in the boxes. The VA is offering them a year of free credit monitoring to minimize any damage. So far, fortunately, there has been no evidence the records were misused.

In Seattle, VA Police have been investigating radio communication breakdowns, lapses in training, forged records and inadequate staffing. The chief law enforcement officer for the Puget Sound VA Police, Tim Plourd, concluded that the location was acting “in an unsatisfactory manner.”

The VA Police themselves aren’t

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without criticism. Auditors found multiple problems with the Puget Sound division. They weren’t properly staffing the Seattle hospital, failed to properly train some officers, and got into a feud with the Washington State Patrol over billing, prompting WSP to pull terminals out of VA facilities that provided information on suspects.

The VA Police has a long history as an armed, uniformed and plainclothes law enforcement organization. In 1903, the U.S. founded the Department of Veterans Affairs along with the VA Protective Service. The VA Protective Service, later redesignated as the VA Police, was given the responsibility of providing law enforcement, security and criminal investigation within VA

facilities. With the increase in both the number and needs of our veterans, the VA has enlarged with its police force to become the largest uniformed federal police agency in the U.S., with about 3,000 sworn officers and support personnel.

Although the still-unfolding serious scandal of excessive wait times may impact the current VA and political administration, the VA Police still lives and works by their motto of “Protecting Those Who Served.” WSJ Editor’s note: Andre’ Dall’au has a varied medical, industrial and scientific background (holding a senior reactor operator’s license for more than a decade) as well as military experience when he graduated from the University of Miami on a full AFROTC scholarship. In addition, Andre’ was one of the first non-SEAL members on the U.S. Navy UDT SEAL Museum Board of Directors.

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MULE DEER MADNESS

Prime Time For A Western Adventure ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY SCOTT HAUGEN the last hour of the day glassing for mule deer. Reaching a high point on a ridge, with a glowing red sun setting to my right, I set up the Swarovski spotting scope and started scanning distant hillsides.

A few deer popped out here and there, but nothing too exciting. Then, with less than an hour of daylight remaining, the floodgates opened. Deer began pouring out from the rolling, sage brush-studded hills, making their way to feed in the valley below.

Farmland drew the deer from their bedding area, and after a few more minutes of glassing, I’d seen enough.

Hopping in the truck, I headed for camp. Along the way the going was slow, as hundreds of deer rolled out of the hills, across the road, into the fields to feed. At times I had to come to a full stop to let deer cross. By the time I reached camp, I had counted over 400 deer, a mix of muleys and whitetails.

To this day, it’s one of the most gamerich habitats I’ve seen, a place that leaves faith deer are still thriving in the American West.

Filling a tag was easy on that Wyoming hunt; other muley hunts I’ve had throughout the West haven’t come so easily. There was the time I hunted central Idaho, west of Grangeville, along the Snake River Breaks. On that hunt, I spent five days in rugged

Scott Haugen worked hard for this Idaho muley along the Snake River Breaks.

Some of the West’s best mule deer hunting lies far off the beaten path.

riving from my home in Oregon across the Cascades, through the high desert and into the Rocky Mountain states, is one of my favorite road trips in the world. The

d

spectacular colors of fall, cool nights and the onset of hunting season mark this special time of year.

Pulling into the little town of Arvada, Wyo., I had just enough time to fuel up, grab a bite to eat and spend

Don’t overlook lowland habitats and river drainages when it comes to mule deer hunting. Be prepared to devote many hours to glassing from high points, too.

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ROAD HUNTER country before laying eyes on a buck, but that first one buck was a good one. Following a three-hour stalk through rugged, rimrock terrain, I finally filled that tag on a buck that carried over 170 inches of massive antlers.

Two years later, I was back in that same spot in Idaho, and bucks were everywhere. That year I filled my tag on the second morning.

It’s no secret mule deer habitat loss has contributed to a decline in their overall numbers, but hunters willing to work may be surprised by the number of big bucks still out there.

NOW IS PRIME TIME TO HEAD INTO MULE DEER COUNTRY. The last few winters have been mild in many regions, and muley numbers are stable, even thriving, in some overlooked areas. October marks mule deer season in most Western states, and if you’ve acquired points and drawn tags, you’re off to a good start. Next, research exactly where

OVERLOOKED MULEY HOT SPOTS Many of the West’s top mule deer hot spots are no secret.

Build enough preference points and you can go just about anywhere, including Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and more. Or you can book guided hunts for monster muleys in Saskatchewan and Sonora, Mexico. But there are many destinations offering public land opportunities that still hold solid numbers of deer. These places are often overshadowed by more popular areas, but shouldn’t go overlooked.

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NORTH-CENTRAL WYOMING

While the golden triangle around Sheridan, Buffalo and Gillette is largely private land, the deer numbers here are something that must be seen to be believed. It’s nothing to spot 400 deer in an evening – even more – as they make their way out of the sage-studded hills into farmland. Knocking on ranchers’ doors is necessary to gain access, and more guides are tying up private lands, but there is opportunity for those willing to work.

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CENTRAL IDAHO

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NORTH-CENTRAL WASHINGTON

Idaho is coming off three consecutive mild winters, meaning this is a place worth hitting. The Upper Snake Region is one of the best places to start your mule deer search, as rarely does it experience such a string of mild winters; and now muley numbers here are high. The Mountain Valley area (units 21, 28, 36B, 36A) and Central Mountain area (units 21A, 30, 30A, 29, 37, 37A), offer some of the highest survival rates, according to an August statement by the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.

At the time of this writing, it’s uncertain as to the impact Washington’s intense string of summer wildfires will have on mule deer populations. But in recent years, there have been some monster muleys coming from the rugged country around and between Omak and Winthrop.

General season rifle hunters will want to head high into the

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backcountry, where big bucks reside. Over-the-counter tags, even for nonresidents, make this an appealing option for many hunters.

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CENTRAL MONTANA

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NORTHWEST COLORADO

If looking for a unique hunt where enjoying the outdoors and putting meat in the freezer is a priority, consider central Montana. There’s still good muley hunting to be had by floating the Missouri River. The deer likely won’t be giants, but with upland bird hunting, fishing, and floating a gorgeous part of this river, the experience is as Western as it gets. A good starting point is at Winifred, north of Lewistown. Tags are acquired through a lottery, and the general rifle season usually runs late, meaning you can hunt the rut.

While the eastern plains of Colorado are kicking out some of the country’s biggest mule deer, many preference points are required to pull a tag, and the region is dominated by private land. If looking for the opportunity at a big deer, with plenty of public land access, turn to the northwest portion of the state. The units lying around and between the towns of Meeker, Steamboat Springs and Fort Collins are where to start. Prior to applying, call the Colorado Parks and Wildlife offices for current population, winter kill and migration information.

There are many overlooked places when it comes to mule deer hunting the West.

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ROAD HUNTER PARACORD RIFLE SLING

Paracord is well known in the world of survival bracelets, but the author found it to be one of the most comfortable, secure rifle slings he’s ever hunted with. This one was made by Oregon Paracord Knife & Tool.

When it comes to rifle slings, everyone has a preference. With all the hunting I do on foot, I want a sling that keeps the gun on my shoulder no matter what clothes I’m wearing, what pack I have on or what type of terrain I’m traversing.

It’s frustrating and exhausting when a sling constantly slides off the shoulder every few steps, for hours on end.

your hunting camp will be. Call regional wildlife offices for current deer populations, migration trends and drainages in which to focus hunting efforts.

With cooling nights and the prerut kicking in, spend time glassing for deer on the move early and late in the day. During those midday hours,

Last season, I tried a custom sling created by Joshua Hill, a U.S. Army combat veteran, and owner of Oregon Paracord Knife & Tool (find them on Facebook). The handcrafted sling, made of parachute cord, is 5/8-inch wide, meaning it holds very securely on my shoulder. When hunting in thin layers of clothes, the sling stays atop my shoulder; when wearing thick jackets, the sling digs in, holding tight.

I really like the fact the sling has enough stiffness to grab and wrap around my supporting arm, ensuring a sturdy hold when shooting offhand, kneeling or from a prone position. It’s lightweight, quiet, and if you find yourself in a jam, contains several feet of paracord that can be used in numerous ways.

Joshua custom makes slings and many other handy items in many colors, that fit nicely into our many hunting needs.

pack a lunch and spend time glassing distant hillsides for bedded bucks.

With fall in the air, it’s an exciting time to hit the road, enjoy what traveling throughout the West is all about, and experiencing mule deer hunting along the way. In addition to seeing gorgeous country, hopefully you’ll be putting some great-eating

venison in the freezer. WSJ Editor’s note: For signed copies of his popular big game hunting adventure book, Life In The Scope: The West, send $15 (free S&H), to Haugen Enterprises, P.O. Box 275, Walterville, OR 97489 or order online at scotthaugen.com.

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Western Shooting Journal // October 2014

HUNTING

ON THE OTHER SIDE

OF THE WORLD The Unique Game Of Aussie Hunting Adventures Television ARTICLE BY FRANK JARDIM • PHOTOS BY AUSSIE HUNTING ADVENTURES

Dave Fent with solid Asiatic Water Buffalo taken with the bow (70lb) in the far reaches of the Northern Territory.

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he US population is 317 million, of which 70 to 80 million (24 percent) are gun owners and 13 million (about 4 percent) are hunters. In contrast,

Australia’s population is about 22 million with one million involved in shooting sports of various kinds, including hunting. There is a rich hunting tradition Down Under

that survives despite draconian firearms confiscation laws passed in 1996, making it illegal to possess semi-automatic arms and pump shotguns, with some rare exceptions. westernshootingjournal.com 105

Dave Fent with a Cape Barron Geese taken on Flinders Island Tasmania.

It also required that all firearms be registered, their owners licensed and showing a justifiable need for firearms.

As a point of reference, self defense is not a legally recognized need for having firearms in Australia.

Fortunately for Australian sportsmen, their continent needs them to prevent it from being overrun

by non-native species that were introduced at various times since its colonization in 1788. Other than the saltwater crocodile, there are no large predators to deal with the feral dogs and cats, goats, pigs, donkeys, horses, Asiatic water buffalo, cattle and even camels. Among the introduced wild animal species, rabbits, foxes, and deer are seriously detrimental to the native flora and fauna. Because culling these non-native species is the driving force behind hunting in Australia, there are usually no limits to the number of animals taken by hunters.

Just to be clear, you can hunt kangaroo, wallaby and some other native species too, and those are creatures North American hunters usually only see in the zoo. If any of this has piqued your interest in a hunting adventure down under, you need to tune into Aussie Hunting Adventures TV (A.H.A.TV), hosted by lifelong sportsman Dave Fent. Streaming online video from their website at ahatv.com.au after each episode has

Dave Fent and Lachlan Cooke with a good Boar from the Gulf of Capentaria in Far North Qld

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aired on broadcast television negates the need to actually be in Australia to enjoy the show (you can also see some clips on www.youtube.com/user/ AHATVSERIES anytime).

AUSTRALIA IS A HUGE COUNTRY with a broad range of terrain types, unfamiliar species and different hunting techniques which are explored in the series. Hunting with firearms and bows is nothing new to us, but doing it at night with spotlights from a vehicle is a challenge usually only reserved for poachers in America. Hunting

Dave Fent and Neal Blaker with a quality Red Deer taken in North East Victoria with the .308

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with bloodhounds is something else the average North American hunter has not experienced. The style may be different, but the ethics of hunting seem to remain the same around the world. The A.H.A. team takes great pride in taking game humanely with clean kills, and taking only as many animals as need dictates to promote environmentally sustainable and responsible hunting practices.

Those dictated needs can be surprising and complex and offer some unusual hunting opportunities.

Bantengs (a form of wild cattle native to Asia) were introduced to Australia Dave Fent with a Fallow Buck taken in the Highlands of Tasmania with the .308

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Neal Blaker with a Scrub Bull taken with the .375 H&H in Far North Qld.

about 1850 and are considered a pest now. They are a popular big game animal down under. Ironically, the species cannot be hunted in the Asian countries where it originated, because it is desperately endangered and protected there. The pest Australian bantengs have been used to rebuild dwindling populations of the species around the world.

The thing that is fun and unique about A.H.A.TV is the look it gives us at our fellow sportsmen on the other side of the world. Their country, like ours, is vast and diverse, and full of natural spaces to explore and enjoy.

They don’t go in much for big magnum cartridges, and they rarely use more

than a .308 Winchester. The .303 British cartridge is a notable exception, but it has a legacy there like our military .30-06 does in the U.S. Feral water buffalo and bulls are examples of game that call for heavier calibers.

Australian slang takes a little getting used to, but that is part of the charm of it. The Aussies are also good humored and funny, and you can’t help but feel it would be a lot of fun to join them. Sometimes you can.

The show’s sponsors have offered up various hunting trips as prizes and the lucky winners actually get to be on A.H.A.TV. The host and crew join them on the hunts and tape the adventure specifically for broadcast on the show.

It’s not just hunting either.

The episodes cover fishing, field preparation and cooking, camping, four wheeling, trade shows, product reviews and technical tips for outdoor adventure. Australia has its own version of SHOT Show too – just don’t expect to see any semiautos or pump shotguns there. WSJ

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ARCHERY

ADJUSTING TO THE REINTRODUCTION OF WOLVES An Elk Hunter’s Quandary ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY TOM CLAYCOMB III

From left to right: Ed Sweet, Joe White and the author on a super Idaho bowhunt. They called in five bulls in one canyon. Great hunt, great friends.

lk hunting is the ultimate hunt each year for us guys out West. What’s not to like about it? They live in killer country, they’re an awesome animal and provide for great eating.

I travel a bit, and any time I strike up a conversation with anyone east of Colorado, they automatically ask me about elk hunting.

I live in Idaho, where we used to have the best elk hunting in America.

For the life of me I can’t understand why we allowed the Canadian wolf to be introduced into our state. It

E

completely devasted our elk hunting.

Let me give you an example: One year we packed into the Frank ChurchRiver of No Return Wilderness Area.

There were five people hunting for 10 days. We killed four elk, three deer, one bear and one moose. Then the wolves moved in. Three years later, we hunted there again. After three days I went back to work. There was no use wasting my vacation. I didn’t see one big game animal.

I say the above so you know that to hunt elk now, you are going to have to do things differently than 15 years

ago in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Oregon, Washington and Colorado – just wait. They’ll be coming in droves to you as well. (Yes, I know that you already have them, but wait until they get well established.)

If I was writing this article 15 years ago, it would have had a whole different twist. With the introduction of the wolves, you are going to have to hunt totally differently now. So with that said, here’s my advice: Elk are now not as vocal as some other big game. If they are, guess who shows up? If you go to any elk hunting westernshootingjournal.com 111

ARCHERY seminars, the presenters will tell you not to call as much. I disagree. The elk don’t call as much, but I still call just as much as ever … or more. Just don’t expect to hear a response. I have numerous bulls come sneaking in without calling.

It is critical to make sure that your broadheads are razor sharp. The author sharpens his on a Smith’s stone. Smith’s also makes a broadhead sharpener.

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DON’T GET ME WRONG, bulls will still come in screaming. It’s just that now it’s a little different. I sorta learned this by mistake, like most of the tricks that I discover. I have an old buddy who I take elk hunting often. Due to his age and health, he can’t get around too good, so when we do a setup, we may sit there for 1½ hours.

I’ve never done an elk setup for that long in my life.

What I learned from hunting with him is that sometimes a bull may not come in for 1½ hours. One year he wanted to go to a spot where he’d seen a couple of bulls. By now he was using a walking stick, and teetered and tottered up the mountain wobbling like the proverbial weeble that won’t fall down.

I set up a couple of Montana Decoys, and put him on one side of the ridge and I set on the other. We called steady for 1½ hours, and suddenly I saw a decent four-point bull slipping

up the mountain, sniffing like a bird dog right towards me.

I couldn’t believe it. It was a good 1½ hours after we’d first started calling.

So don’t jump too fast. He did not make one peep, and I credit that to wolves.

And he wasn’t just a smaller satellite bull. He was the herd bull of a group of four cows that I’d seen that morning.

So, regardless, whether they come in screaming or silently, you want to set up the same. Sometimes I’ll carry a piece of camo burlap. I lay it over two bushes to help hide. Set up one or two Montana Decoys. If a bull comes in and doesn’t see an elk, that’s not normal. They expect to see something.

You’ll want to use scent cover to hide your scent. I’d have to say that scent is the number one elk defense.

When they come in, they always circle downwind. I use a lot of Tink’s gear, and I really like the Hunter Spec Solid Scent Wafers. I clip a couple on my backpack.

For calls, I like the Hoochie Mama

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ARCHERY and Quaker Boy Herd Master. For a bugle I use the Primos Terminator.

Everyone will tell you to cow call more than you bugle and this is true. As I’m walking, I’ll cow call every 50 yards.

I’m out of room and still have a lot to cover, but hopefully I’ve given you a few new tricks. It’s a lifelong quest.

I learn something new every year and every time that I hunt with someone new. Have fun and stick an arrow in a big bull. WSJ

The author (left) and Chris Horton with a nice Idaho bull he killed.

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Editor’s note: Tom Claycomb writes for Bass Pro Shop and has outdoor columns in newspapers in Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Louisiana. He freelances for numerous other magazines, newspapers and websites. He teaches 60 outdoor seminars each year and is on prostaff for numerous companies.

He likes anything related to the outdoors and has works available on Amazon Kindle.

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Book Review

AN INSTANT ‘CLASSIC’ New Book From Dillon Precision Chronicles The ‘Golden Age Of Firearms Development’

D

illon Precision Products, Inc., recently published 101 Classic Firearms: A Chronological Foray into the Golden Years of Firearms Development.

The case-bound, full-color 224page book is a compilation of author John Marshall’s “Classic Firearms” articles, which have been published in The Blue Press, Dillon Precision’s monthly magazine-format catalog.

“For a long time, I’ve been saving for reference the center-story in The Blue Press on classic firearms by John Marshall. Now, we have 101 of them

at hand in this excellent book. In each one, you will find out something you didn’t know,” said veteran gun writer J.B. Wood.

Some of the firearms reviewed include the Colt 1911, the U.S. Model 1903 Springfield Rifle, the Colt Single Action Army, the Mauser Model 98, the Luger P.08 Pistol, the Smith & Wesson Perfected Target Pistol, and the U.S. Model of 1917 “Enfield” Rifle.

The book is available at dillonprecision.com, stock #40133, at $29.95 each. Autographed copies are available for just $5 more.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Marshall is an accomplished photographer and freelance writer whose articles have appeared in The Blue Press, The Gun Digest, Guns & Ammo’s Handguns, and American Gunsmith.

An expert on firearms, he is also a member of the Remington Society of America, the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association, the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation and the American Gunsmithing Association He is also an endowment member of the National Rifle Association. WSJ westernshootingjournal.com 117

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A LOOK INSIDE POF-USA’S FACTORY ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY PHYLLIS GROSS

M

y first exposure to Mr. Frank DeSomma, president and CEO of Patriot Ordnance Factory, was when he returned my phone call to interview him. At the time, I was unfortunately rushed as I had a flight to catch to California. I was delighted to hear his views and patriotic responses to the few questions that I was able to get into our dialogue.

Frank can really expound when his passionate, patriotic views are being voiced. I asked Frank how he came up with the name for his company.

He told me that he did not want it to be his own name, in the case that he someday sold it, and if the new owners were to make any changes that did not meet his standards, he did not want his name on it. He told me that since you cannot copyright military words, and since they are a military family, thus the name Patriot Ordinance came about.

Frank told me, “2004 is when we first started. It is almost an embarrassment, but we will never stop on improvements – I love being challenged!” POF-USA began as tinkering in his garage, building things. People liked what he made, and the process began. He related a story in 2004, when he showed a gas-piston AR at SHOT Show in Las Vegas. He got laughed at and ridiculed, told he was a joke and that it would not work. Fast forward to now … he is offering an AR gun that is piston driven. Frank explained that one person can make a change in a great way and succeed if they are passionate and believe in themselves.

I ADMIRED HIM FROM THE START, and my curiosity in how he started POF-USA led me ask for a tour and a face-to-face follow-up interview when our schedules permitted.

Shortly thereafter, I visited POF-USA

Frank DeSomma

headquarters in Glendale, Ariz. The office, which was secured with a buzzin door system, had amazing statues, wall hangings, posters and photos that told me how proud, patriotic and progun the POF-USA staff was. I felt right at home.

Frank came in the door with a warm smile on his face, which I returned. We then went to the office and sat down to talk. Frank began to talk to me in a very casual and comfortable way that informed, educated and aparked my interest in the AR-15 platform and the launch of POF-USA. Frank carefully explained the process of how he went from designer to aerospace engineer, and how he

discovered the weak link on the AR platform, which led him to come up with the E(2) Extraction Technology.

To gain a better understanding of the POF-USA unique features and enhancements that are new in 2014, Frank brought in the POF catalog and talked and walked me through the

POF-USA lists 27 standard features and enhancements in an overview of its rifles.

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INFIDEL COMBAT SYSTEMS

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diagram of the AR string, including the Extraction Technology, gas-piston system and general components. He next showed me the rifle assemblies and the upper and lower assemblies.

You can see an animated demonstration of the E(2) technology on their website, pof-usa.com/esquared.

Next, Frank gave me a tour of the factory, which was located in another part of the building. My eyes went in circles at all the things to see, then focused in on what Frank was pointing out to me. The factory was laid out in a nice, organized manner for ease of movement from station to station. I saw various bins filled with specific parts such as the buffer tubes, roller-cam pins, hand guards, rails, sling mounts, and more.

There are 27 standard features and enhancements listed in their rifle overview, located on pages eight and nine of the 2014 catalog, which helped me understand the rifle better.

POF-USA IS A FAMILY TEAM EFFORT. They are all passionate about the vision of POF-USA. There are creative, artistic juices flowing in the designs at POF-USA. I was delighted to be introduced to the newest product that POF-USA is producing, which isn’t a firearm – it’s a new take on a classic hand weapon, the tomahawk!

Upon finishing my tour of the factory, Frank encouraged me to check out his truck outside and invited me to take photos for this article. I personally love the hood of the POF-USA truck! Be sure to honk

and wave when you see it.

The company’s mission statement speaks loudly and proudly: “Our mission at POF-USA is to continue offering U.S.-made, high-quality, relentlessly reliable rifles as well as to be a leader in innovation and new technology for the AR-style weapons platform.”

POF-USA also has an informative, educational coloring book for children that is impressive. Frank was generous and sent me away with a few posters and a coloring book. I want to point out that the new POF-USA poster – Free men, of free will bow to no one – the patriot has the AR on his back in a sling as well as has a tomahawk in his right hand!

If you live in Arizona, you probably have seen the POF-USA tables at many of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association events, as well as at other events at Ben Avery and Cowtown ranges. They also have booths at many of the larger gun shows around the country. Have you stopped and checked them out? I encourage you to. They are educating, sponsoring and helping ASRPA and its members. WSJ

POF-USA’s newest product is a tomahawk.

Editor’s note: Phyllis Gross is known as the Harley Glock Gal. She started arizonafemalefirearmcompetitors. com, and recently became an editor of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association’s Bullet Trap.

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If you’re considering setting up a gun trust, it’s best to consult with an attorney first. Derek DeBrosse, an attorney, shoots a suppressed pistol.

DO YOU NEED A GUN TRUST? Excellent Way To Own Banned Firearms ARTICLE BY FRANK JARDIM • PHOTOS BY DEREK DEBROSSE

G

un laws are the last thing any responsible shooter or gun dealer wants to run afoul of, but sometimes it happens. When it does, you need attorneys who specifically practice in this field of law.

Recently, I was talking with Derek DeBrosse from Barney & DeBrosse, LLC, Attorneys at Law in Ohio. He’s not only an avid shooter and staunch

supporter of the Second Amendment, but his firm’s expertise in firearms law is second to none. Whether, it’s an individual trying to get their firearms rights restored or an FFL dealer defending themselves against BATFE harassment, Derek is the first guy you should call.

In my case, I needed Derek’s guidance on the subject of NFA

(National Firearms Act of 1934) trusts. The NFA banned certain weapons including machine guns, suppressors (aka silencers), shortbarreled rifles and shotguns. Most states allow private ownership of these unique and usually highly collectable and expensive weapons, subject to the requirements of federal law.

Those federal laws and paperwork westernshootingjournal.com 123

Derek DeBrosse’s Class III firearms: an Uzi and Mac-10 submachine guns.

requirements can be very confusing to the uninitiated, and I knew Derek was a top-notch attorney in this field.

The crux of our discussion was what was the best means through which to purchase an NFA weapon?

The answer depends on your circumstances. Individual ownership is the most private, simplest, cheapest and most restrictive form of ownership. Corporate ownership is the most public, complex, and expensive.

However, its versatility has advantages for businesses. The NFA trust fits somewhere between the two, and can be extremely useful for individuals.

The purposes of trusts generally range from asset protection to asset control. Like a corporation, the application for an NFA weapon purchase by a trust does not require a signed letter of approval from the chief law enforcement officer in the community. In areas where the police officials are hostile to the Second Amendment, an NFA trust offers the only cost-effective way to obtain an NFA weapon (your average NFA trust costs about $600 to set up). There is no fingerprinting requirement either, which saves a bit of money and time as well.

There are a lot more to trusts that make them well worth the initial investment to set up. They offer a degree of versatility similar to corporate ownership, but they are far more private and easy to manage.

Derek fielded a few of my questions to help illustrate this by example.

FRANK JARDIM Most NFA weapons 124

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owners purchase their pieces directly from the dealers as individuals. What are the legal disadvantages of this?

DEREK DEBROSSE There are a few. A significant one is that the buyer listed on the paperwork is the only person who may possess, transport and use the listed weapon. To qualify that, the owner arguably could allow someone else to fire the weapon if that person was under the listed owner’s direct dominion and control. As an example, if the listed owner was on a public range, he or she could allow the person who would be under their control to shoot their NFA weapon. What they can’t do is loan the gun to a friend who wants to take it for the weekend to compete in a match somewhere.

The whole purpose of the NFA was to control possession and movement.

a corporation to buy the weapons, but that is more complex, costly and, frankly, fraught with perils because of the repetitive reporting requirements and fees. The trust is a much simpler mechanism. The operative word there is trust. If you don’t trust someone, don’t even consider being involved in a trust with them. All of the named trustees have to be completely trustworthy. Violations of the NFA have serious consequences.

FJ How would purchasing NFA weapons through a trust be advantageous?

DD To reexamine the above example, consider that a group of friends with deep trust for one another wished to participate in machinegun competitions in various states at various times. If they set up a trust, naming themselves as the trustees, and purchased an NFA weapon through the trust, any one of them could possess, transport and use the firearm. Of course, all the NFA rules regarding reporting out-ofstate transport, etc., to the BATFE would still apply, but now the NFA weapon could be legally possessed, transported and used by more than just a single individual.

FJ NFA weapons are very valuable assets. I know people who have bought them solely as investments.

How can trusts be useful to protect an NFA weapons collection?

DD Trusts can be very useful for protecting all manner of assets, but they are a godsend for protecting NFA weapons. Single ownership of NFA weapons creates some serious problems in the event of the death of the listed individual. Say for example, you are married with children and you own a $25,000 machine gun, which you keep in your gun safe at home. You die unexpectedly, and now your family is potentially in illegal possession of an NFA weapon which is subject to confiscation if not disposed of within a reasonable amount of time.

If you had created a trust with your wife, and purchased the machine gun through that trust, your family would not be worrying about a knock on the door from the guys in the black Kevlar and helmets. Furthermore, you have preserved that $25,000 asset for your heirs, that will hopefully continue to appreciate in value.

FJ I can see how a trust would be useful for historic military reenactment groups who want to use NFA weapons in their education programs. Some members of the organization could form a trust, purchase the vintage 1919A4 Browning Light Machine Gun, Thompson, BAR or whatever, and then they would be able to demonstrate them at their public displays around the country as long as any one of the trustees was able to attend.

DD Certainly. They could also form

FJ Thanks, Derek. Hey, you aren’t charging me for this interview, are you?

DD No, Frank, this was just a general discussion about gun trusts. If you really want to get down into the specifics of your own objectives in forming a trust – the nitty-gritty legal aspects – we’ll need to spend a lot more time together and I’ll have to charge you and work out any details to make sure I’m practicing law correctly in your state or mine. I’ve got a family to feed, you know. WSJ

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PRODUCT FEATURE LOGOS LEATHERCRAFT logosleather.com

SADDLE SEATS Logos Leathercraft was started in 1995 by Dan Cochran. After trying many types of crafts he fell in love with the leather craft. He enjoys the feel,

smell and look of unfinished leather all the way to the finished product.

Diane, Dan’s wife, joined him in his craft in 2000 and has been an asset to him ever since. She laces and sews some of the product, and is the much needed “third hand.” Their son Connor, enjoys learning the art of stamping, cutting and dying. When Dan started this business his main focus was to do something that was honoring to God. Since Diane and Connor have come into his life that desire is even stronger today. So every time Dan makes an item he does the best work possible with honesty and creativity.

The Logos Leathercraft long-range shooting kit includes shooting sticks and three-legged stools, known as saddle seats. There is a 24-inch camp stool for $45, a 30-inch camp stool for $65, and a 36-inch bar stool height for $95.

machined and ground, and honed on leather to a razor edge, in the cutler’s shop behind his 1884 home in Fort Benton, Mont.

I’ve been involved in knife and tomahawk production and forging for a few years and have admired the styles and quality of Bob Two Hawks’ work at Polaris Industries. When I heard of Bob’s illness and subsequent passing away I thought his styles and reputation would be a good fit with what I’d been doing. After discussions with Bob’s wife, she agreed that it would be a good fit with my business and Bob’s reputation for quality would be upheld.

In just a short time we had the shop and forges integrated with my business and are now again producing quality hawks and knives in the style of the original Two Hawks, Bob Thalman.

At a recent rendezvouz event, my hawks were met with great enthusiasm and orders are rolling in. I am proud to be able to offer the highest quality knives, hawks and service and look forward to making a hawk for you soon.

I make them out a full solid piece of 6150 high-carbon steel, oil hardened and tempered to a Rockwell of 57, which is durably hard but not brittle, and takes an edge back easily. I offer a 25year blade warranty on all my products.

They are all one-piece construction, and I do mostly free hand grinding, stock removal, and some milling to bring them to their precision shape

2HAWKS

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and finished design. I use a one-piece, no-seam process for a few reasons: 1) mostly because I sell many of these to the military, SWAT teams, Special

Forces and anyone else who depends on 2hawks Tomahawks to cut into and out of many metal fand aluminum structures daily. When lives depend on them, there is no room for failure, in seams and welds that can fail on forged, welded tomahawks.

Please visit my website, 2hawks. net, for specs, weights, prices, and pictures. I am frequently adding additions to the product line and listing shows I’ll be attending.

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Units start at $110. Order at uccsystem. com or call (479) 629-5566. WSJ westernshootingjournal.com 127

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KNIVES

LOOKING FOR AN ACTIVE, COMPETITIVE TARGET SPORT?

Tomahawk Competitions An Inexpensive, Fun Way To Keep In Shape ARTICLE BY RACHEL ALEXANDER

he sport of tomahawk throwing, a variation of knife throwing, has become popular within reenactment groups such as the rendezvous. Mountain men dress in period costume as they compete in the sport. Yet in stark contrast, brand-new types of martial arts like Okichitaw are also incorporating the old colonial style of tomahawk throwing.

Movies such as Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, Bullet to the Head, and Assassin’s Creed have caused an increase in interest in tomahawk throwing within martial arts.

T

(CANSTOCKPHOTO)

Tomahawk throwing is nothing new. Boy Scouts have always learned how to throw tomahawks. Native Americans perform it at modern day powwows. Across the board, there are hundreds of tomahawk competitions around the U.S. The sport has fairly simple rules, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

Participants start out standing at a line close to the target, maybe 10 feet away, then gradually step back 15 feet, then 20 feet and so on. There are several different ways to throw, with names like “Double-hand, Double-target Tomahawk Throw.” A popular game is called Around the World, where players attempt to make a ring around the round, tree-trunk-section target.

Since it is such a dangerous sport, a minimum of 50 feet of space is required between the target and spectators.

Targets are generally wood – tree trunk sections or lumber. Softer wood is preferred, since it is more likely the tomahawk will stick and not bounce off. The handle length of the tomahawk is required to be between 12 and 24 inches, with a maximum blade length of no longer than four inches. Pricing

Putting the fling in Spring Fling, a reenactor throws a tomahawk at an Idaho rendezous. (MIKE PETERSON)

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Targets consist of pieces of wood, usually tree trunk sections or lumber. (CANSTOCKPHOTO)

starts around $15 for a woman or child’s model, and can reach $200 for a handcarved piece.

Tomahawk competitions are part of the American Knife Throwers Alliance.

AKTA provides some excellent instruction on its website, such as this: “Learning to throw a knife is strictly

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Lining up to throw at the Lolo Trail Muzzleloaders’ Spring Fling in Orofino, Idaho. (MIKE PETERSON)

trial and error because no two people are built exactly the same. Therefore, after one learns the fundamentals as to grasp, stance and follow through, he must develop a style that fits his build.”

According to Flying Hawkes Axe Throwing (flyinghawkesaxethrowing .com), the trick is to throw the same way every time. “If your axe hits the target handle first, you are too close – move back half a step. If your axe hits the target with the top of the blade, you are too far away – move forward half a step.”

Some of the best instruction AKTA provides is that in order to throw knives/tomahawks well, you can’t trust the cheapest versions to work well.

If you’re not very good at tomahawk throwing the first time you try it, it could be because of the poor quality of the tomahawk, not you. There are three things to look for in a knife or tomahawk, AKTA recommends: 1) It should weigh approximately 1 to 1 ¼ ounces for every inch in length; 2) It should be somewhat pointy, but they do not need to be extremely sharp; and 3) buy the best that you can afford.

Tomahawk throwing is not only fun, but a good source of exercise. If you are looking for a competitive, active sport that involves hitting targets, which doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, you may have found it. WSJ Editor’s note: For a good source on what to look for when buying a tomahawk for competition, visit www. akta-usa.com/docs/buyingtips.htm. westernshootingjournal.com 131

and Ammunition Pistol Bullets and

Zero Bullet Company, Inc.

ZERO

P.O. Box 1188 Cullman, AL 35056 Tel: 256-739-1606 Fax: 256-739-4683

Toll Free: 800-545-9376 www.zerobullets.com

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RE loading

THE IMPORTANCE OF A RELOADING STATION Don’t Settle For A ‘Rickety, Filthy Bench’

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY DANIEL SCOTT

hen getting into reloading, newbies tend to focus on loads, dies and powders.

What doesn’t often get discussed is the importance of a good, sturdy, and well-organized work bench.

I’ve seen presses chucked into boxes in the attic, only to get hauled out once or twice a year to be assembled on the kitchen table or on a rickety, filthy bench in the garage. Frankly, I may or may not have been guilty of some of those things in the past.

Organization is key to efficiently and accurately loading up rounds, and a clean, well-organized workbench then is not so much a luxury as a necessity. It doesn’t have to be big and elaborate, or even expensive.

I’ve been collecting photos and design details of other reloaders’ setups, and will be profiling them with you periodically on these pages.

To start things off, we’ll look at Brian Cameron’s bench. Brian’s bench is everything a reloading station needs to be: sturdy, well organized, and inexpensive to build.

Building the actual bench was pretty straightforward. The 2x4 Basics Workbench comes with a complete set of instructions, and you can scale your bench bigger or smaller as desired.

The list of materials provided will leave you with a bench 2 feet deep and 4 feet wide. By cutting the 2x4 pieces longer or shorter, you can adjust the height of your bench.

Brian then went on to add a Masonite top, in order to have a smooth worktop that makes cleanup much easier. He secured it with the sheetrock screws every 6 to 8 inches.

He then drilled holes on either corner

W

A clean, well-organized workbench is not so much a luxury as a necessity.

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RELOADING of the top shelf and mounted the desk lamps (sans bases) to provide adjustable lighting. The location of the

This Lee Challenger press is easily customizable to a height and width that suits your individual needs.

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power strip, paper-towel holder, and the magnetic strip can be customized to suit your individual needs.

Brian’s Lee Challenger press over-cams the lever when working, requiring him to notch the front 2x4. Your press(es) may or may not require similar modifications.

The beauty of this design is that it’s easily customizable to a height and width that suits your individual needs. The shelves provide valuable organizational space for bins and boxes, and the modified desk lamps keep your work area well lit. WSJ Editor’s note: Interested in having your own reloading bench featured in Western Shooting Journal? You can send your photos along with design and build details to DanielS@ AmongTheLeaves.com. Daniel Scott is an outdoor writer with a background in technical writing, editing, and publishing. Based in Fort Worth,

BUILD SHEET • 2x4 Basics Workbench and Shelving System P/N 90164: $63 • 12 - 8-foot 2x4, select grade: $42 • 1 - 23/32 -inch B-C plywood: $25 • 1 - 2-foot x 4-foot sheet 1/8-inch Masonite: $6 • 1 box -¼-inch deck or sheetrock screws $7 • LED desklamps with removable base: $30 • Heavy-duty power strip: $30 • Paper-towel holder: $5 • Magnetic knife strip: $20 (perfect for holding trim gages, hand tools, etc.)

• 4-inch bench vise: $50 – $100 TOTAL COST: about $300

Texas, when he’s not writing, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and various shooting sports. He blogs about hunting, shooting, and the outdoors at AmongTheLeaves.com.

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