M1911
100 YEARS
The Custom Combat M1911
March 2011
A MER I CA N
The World’s Oldest And Largest Firearm Authority
R I F L E M A N
MAGAZINE
M1911
100 YEARS
FNH-USA’s
SCAR 17S
British
Thompsons
M14 Enhanced
Battle Rifle
based from Jan.1, 2000 - Jan. 2011
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based from Jan.1, 2000 - Jan. 2011
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ALL NRA
MEMBERS
Est.
1994
M1911
100 YEARS
TABLE OF CONTENTS MARCH 2011
Volume 159, No. 3, 125th Year of Publication
NRA
EXPERTS
IN THE
FIELD
OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
The NRA, the foremost guardian of the traditional American right to “keep and bear arms,” believes every
law-abiding citizen is entitled to the ownership and legal use of firearms, and that every reputable gun
owner should be an NRA Member.
—Wayne R. LaPierre,
Executive Vice President
features
Power Grab. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 16
Chris Cox
Egged on by anti-gun groups and the mainstream media, the Obama administration makes a new demand for records of America’s gun purchases.
Sail The Rivers Of Freedom .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 44
NRA Staff
Imperial War Museum photo
M1911
0 YEARS
Tens of thousands of NRA members will unite for the 2011 NRA Annual
Meetings & Exhbits, April 29 through May 1, in Pittsburgh, Pa. This year marks
NRA’s 140th anniversary, and it will be a celebration of freedom in grand style.
Heavy Metal: FNH-USA’s SCAR 17S .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 48
Photo by Ichiro Nagata
Glenn M. Gilbert
The semi-automatic FNH-USA SCAR 17S in 7.62x51 mm NATO offers
serious punch in a platform not much larger than rifles chambered in
5.56x45 mm NATO. Long anticipated, the 17S didn’t disappoint on the range.
54
The U.S. Military SCAR Program Status: Present And Future .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 51
58
The “Tommy’s” Thompson . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 54
David Crane
Martin Pegler
The Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle program has had its
ups and downs. Though built the way it was ordered, the 5.56x45 mm NATO
SCAR MK16 Light has been overshadowed by the 7.62x51 mm NATO MK17
SCAR Heavy.
Although reluctant to adopt a “tatty American gangster gun” in the 1920s,
Britain’s War Office changed its tune after Hitler’s legions rampaged across
Europe. Thompsons served with British troops, or “Tommy Atkins,” and their
Commonwealth allies across the globe during World War II.
The Evolution Of The Custom Combat .45. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 58
Cameron Hopkins For decades gunsmiths were principally concerned with making the M1911
more accurate for NRA Bullseye Pistol competition. Here, we tell you how
customizing the M1911 for a combative role led to a whole new breed of
Browning’s big slab-sided pistol.
New Life For An Old Warhorse: Enhanced Battle Rifle. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 64
U.S. Army Photo
John L. Plaster
64
The changing nature of the war in Afghanistan led to the re-issue of the
7.62x51 mm NATO M14 rifle due to its long-range punch. Now the U.S. Army,
Navy and Marine Corps each have a modernized version of the Cold War
infantry rifle with which to the face the Taliban.
THE COVER: The long-anticipated semi-automatic 7.62x51 mm NATO FNH-USA
SCAR 17S Heavy is finally here. Shown on top of the 17S on this
month’s cover is the new Leupold 1.1-8X 36 mm CQBSS that was developed to handle any role on the battlefield. Look for a feature article
on this radical new Leupold next month. For more on the SCAR 17S,
turn to Shooting Editor Glenn M. Gilbert’s story beginning on p. 48. For
an update on the military SCAR, see David Crane’s article staring on
p. 51. Photo by Hannele Lahti. Design by David J. Labrozzi.
MEMBER PROGRAMS: (800) 672-3888
The VFW “Defenders of Freedom” Tribute Pistol
Authorized by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and Issued by America Remembers
The left side is dedicated to those who served in the Vietnam War.
Near the muzzle are the A-4 Skyhawk and the B-52 bomber, along with
the POW/MIA insignia. Wrapped around the American bald eagle, a
banner reads: “Vietnam War” and “Honor the Dead by Helping the
Living,” with a trio of helicopters flying above. To the right, three soldiers
frame a depiction of the Wall of Names at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The Tribute is
issued under
license from the
Veterans of
Foreign
Wars.
The right side is dedicated to those who served during World War II and Korea. A detailed illustration shows
three infantrymen at the ready with their firearms. Also pictured is a view of the divided Korea, split along the
38th parallel. Featured prominently are two superstars of the air war over Korea: the Lockheed F-80 Shooting
Star and the F-86 Sabre. Completing the illustration on the right side is a banner unfurling in front of Old
Glory, which includes the motto of the VFW, “We’d Do Anything for this Country.” All artwork is featured in
stunning 24-karat gold and nickel.
Millions of Americans have proudly served our country as members of our nation’s
military. These men and women stood during times of peace and when called during times
of war. And many paid the ultimate sacrifice for the principles that America stands for –
freedom, liberty, and justice for all the citizens of the world.
For an American serviceman there is no worse nightmare than going from combatant
to captive. Today, our troops in the Gulf region and Afghanistan face this reality each day
they serve. In World War II, Korea and Vietnam, captured Americans endured unspeakable
miseries. Once imprisoned, they faced brainwashing, torture, starvation and cruelty. They
faced infamous horrors such as the Bataan Death March, German Stalags, Japanese Hell
Ships, the Tiger Death March and the Hanoi Hilton.
Many POWs held on through torturous conditions until they were freed, while many
others died in captivity. Americans must never forget their sacrifice. We can never forget
their courage. Nor can we forget those who remain missing decades after bravely stepping
forward to defend America.
Now, to honor all those who have served in America’s military, America Remembers,
in cooperation with the Veterans of Foreign Wars, presents the VFW “Defenders of
Freedom” Tribute Pistol. This handsome Tribute pistol honors the legacy of those brave
warriors who fought and gave everything for their country in some of the greatest battles of
the 20th century, with special recognition to those who served as prisoners of war and those
who are still listed as missing in action. For this important Tribute we selected the classic
military sidearm of the era: the Colt® Government Model® .45 Pistol. Craftsmen
commissioned specifically for this project by America Remembers decorate each working
Colt .45 in sparkling 24-karat gold and nickel. In magnificent detail, this handsome Tribute
pistol honors the legacy of those brave warriors who fought and gave everything for
their country.
An Exclusive Edition
The VFW “Defenders of Freedom” Tribute Pistol is individually numbered in a strictly
limited edition of only 500 pistols. It will be a family keepsake to be treasured for
generations, and a permanent reminder of the sacrifices made by so many Americans
throughout the 20th century. We will ship your Tribute through a licensed dealer of your
choice. If for any reason you are not completely satisfied, you may return it in original
unfired condition for a full refund.
Now is your opportunity to own this superbly crafted heirloom, a memorial that can
be handed down from generation to generation to ensure that our courageous veterans will
never be forgotten.
Model: Colt® Government Model® • Caliber: .45 ACP • Edition Limit: 500
©AHL, Inc.
Display
Case
Available
An optional
custom-built,
wooden display
case is available
for purchase.
I wish to reserve ___ of the "VFW “Defenders of Freedom”
Tribute Pistol,” at the introductory issue price of $1995.
My deposit of $195 per pistol is enclosed. I wish to pay the
balance at the rate of $100 per month, no interest or carrying
charges. Certificate of Authenticity included. Thirty-day return
privilege. *Virginia residents please add 5% sales tax. All orders are subject to
acceptance and credit verification prior to shipment.
❏ Check enclosed for $______________ .
❏ Charge payment of $ ______________ to:
❏ VISA ❏ MasterCard ❏ AMEX ❏ Discover
No.
Exp.
Display Case
❏ I wish to reserve the optional, luxuriously lined, custom-made
display case with locking glass lid. My payment of $149* is
enclosed or add to credit card.
Name
Address
City/State/Zip
Daytime Telephone No. (
)
America Remembers
®
10226 Timber Ridge Drive, Ashland, Virginia 23005
www.americaremembers.com
To place your reservation toll-free call
1-800-682-2291
NRA PUBLICATIONS
M1911
100 YEARS
TABLE OF CONTENTS MARCH 2011
Volume 159, No. 3, 125 Year of Publication
th
official journal
Armed Citizen . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 10
Special Reports
Standing Guard .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 12
President’s Column .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 14
Political Report .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . 76
ILA Report.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 78
Regional Report/Member Info & Benefits .. .. .. 80
Programs & Services .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 82
correspondence
Editor’s Letter .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 8
Readers Write . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 22
Favorite Firearms .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 42
M1911
0 YEARS
lock, stock & barrel
technical
News, Notes and Ephemera . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
Opening Shot, Random Shots, Second Shots,
Product Previews, On Screen, Books In Brief,
Rapid Fire and Where Can I Get ... ?
Questions & Answers
24
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 40
Safeties On Revolvers?
From The Loading Bench
. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 66
Handloading The .30 Rem. AR Cartridge
Dope Bag: Data & Comment
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 68
Winchester Model 70 Safari Express .458 Win. Mag.
Colt Sheriff's Model .45 Colt
Pacific Tool & Gauge Blueprinting Tools
I Have This Old Gun
.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 92
Colt Woodsman Target Model
66
92
68
Printed in the United States of America
70
Joe H. Graham, Executive Director
Lourdes F. Kite, Deputy Executive Director
Evelyn Q. Kessler
Publications Services Manager
Tyler C. Kreis
Firearms Inventory Manager
Terri A. Wolfe, Executive Assistant
EDITORIAL
John R. Zent
Editorial Director
Mark A. Keefe, IV
Editor In Chief
Brian C. Sheetz
Senior Executive Editor
Glenn M. Gilbert
Shooting Editor
Aaron Carter
Managing Editor
Angus K. McClellan
Assistant Editor
Laura K. Cromwell
Editorial Assistant
Gina Schmidt
Editor At Large
John Barsness, Phil Bourjaily, Bruce N.
Canfield, Wiley Clapp, Bryce M. Towsley,
Stanton L. Wormley, Jr.
Field Editors
ART
Harry Lloyd Jaecks
Art Director
Susan K. Kilday
Managing Art Director
David J. Labrozzi
Senior Graphic Designer
Lloyd Hill
Photography Director
Hannele Lahti
Photographer
Alex Sutherland
Associate Photographer
Kari S. Murphy
Photography Assistant
American Rifleman (ISSN 0003-083X) is
published monthly by the National Rifle
Association of America, 11250 Waples
Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030-9400, (703)
267-1000, for the benefit of its members.
Membership dues (U.S. and possessions) $35 a year, $85 for 3 years, $125
for 5 years. $3.75 per year is designated
for a magazine subscription. For foreign
postage add $5 a year in Canada and $10
elsewhere. For membership inquiries
only, call (877) 672-2000. Copyright 2011,
the National Rifle Association of America. All rights reserved except where
expressly waived. Periodicals Postage
paid at Fairfax, VA, and at additional
mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Please send address
changes to American Rifleman, c/o National Rifle Association, P.O. Box 420648,
Palm Coast, FL 32142-0648.
TO CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS or to report a damaged or undelivered magazine,
write: American Rifleman, c/o National
Rifle Association, P.O. Box 420648, Palm
Coast, FL 32142-0648. Do not return damaged copies. Change of address should
include both new address and a mailing
label bearing the old one. In case of duplication send both labels.
NRA PUBLICATIONS
M1911
100 YEARS
INTERNET MARCH 2011
Video
First Look At The FN SCAR
The Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR)
was developed at the solicitation and with input from U.S.
Special Operations Command. Our crew headed to Columbia,
S.C., for a behind-the scenes look at the SCAR.
Making The Model 70
The Winchester Model 70 Safari Express in .458 Win. Mag.,
reviewed on p. 68, is built at FN’s Columbia, S.C., plant, and we
take you there to show how Model 70s are made.
M1911
0 YEARS
Stories
FN-SCAR: A Cut Above
American Rifleman has been on top of developments in the
SCAR program, and in July 2009 we ran an in-depth feature
story on how the program was shaping up. Also, you can see
what Shooting Editor Glenn M. Gilbert thought of the semiautomatic-only 5.56x45 mm NATO SCAR 16S as compared to
his review of the 7.62x51 mm NATO SCAR 17S, “Heavy Metal,”
which starts on p. 48 of this issue.
Exclusive
Hitting With HAMR
Blogs
Clapp On Handguns
American Rifleman’s Mark Keefe and Shooting Illustrated’s
Adam Heggenstaller had a chance to shoot the full-automatic
prototype FN Heat Adaptive Modular Rifle (HAMR), which
fires from the closed bolt until it heats up, and then switches
to open-bolt operation to prevent cook-offs in the chamber.
Field Editor Wiley Clapp shares more than a half-century of
experience and knowledge in the technical and historical
aspects of handgunning.
Industry Insider
Cameron Hopkins goes inside to bring you the latest information about the firearm, shooting and hunting industries.
The RackAttack
Our own www.americanrifleman.org blogger Paul Rackley
is an NRA Pistol and Personal Protection Instructor and a
proponent of being prepared for anything. Here he shares tips
and tactics for training and self-defense.
The Armed Citizen Blog
Can’t get enough “Armed Citizen” from the magazine? Read
additional accounts of Americans using their Second Amendment rights to defend home and family.
Also On
www.americanrifleman.org
PRODUCTION & ADVERTISING OPERATIONS
Michael J. Sanford
Director
Michelle E. Kuntz
Manager
James C. Handlon
Marketing Manager
Lori Boss, Debra Oliveri
Production Assistants
Samantha Brown
Senior Coordinator, Ad Services
Tiffany Ngu
Coordinator, Ad Services
E-MEDIA
John R. Zent
Editorial Director
Ann Y. Smith
Editor In Chief
Paul Rackley
Associate Online Shooting Editor
Benjamin P. O’Brien
Assistant Online Hunting Editor
Daniel McCullough
Web SEO/SEM Specialist
Tom Rickwalder
Lead Developer
Philip Levy
Web Developer/Video Editor
Steve Dulco
Senior Web Designer
Lia Dangelico
Editorial Assistant
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WARNING: All technical data in this publication, especially for handloading, reflect
the limited experience of individuals using
specific tools, products, equipment and
components under specific conditions and
circumstances not necessarily reported in
the article and over which the National Rifle
Association (NRA) has no control. The data
have not otherwise been tested or verified
by the NRA. The NRA, its agents, officers and
employees accept no responsibility for the
results obtained by persons using such data
and disclaim all liability for any consequential
injuries or damages. See asterisked (*).
* NO ADVERTISED ITEM IS INTENDED FOR
SALE IN THOSE STATES, OR IN THOSE AREAS WHERE LOCAL RESTRICTIONS MAY
LIMIT OR PROHIBIT THE PURCHASE, CARRYING OR USE OF CERTAIN ITEMS. CHECK
LOCAL LAWS BEFORE PURCHASING.
MENTION OF A PRODUCT OR SERVICE IN
ADVERTISEMENTS OR TEXT DOES NOT
NECESSARILY MEAN THAT IT HAS BEEN
TESTED OR APPROVED BY THE NRA.
OFFICIAL NRA POSITIONS ARE EXPRESSED ONLY IN STATEMENTS BYLINED
BY NRA OFFICERS OR IN ARTICLES IDENTIFIED AS SUCH.
THE EDITORS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE
FOR UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPTS OR
PHOTOGRAPHS.
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CORRESPONDENCE
EDITOR’S LETTER
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MARCH 2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
istorian Barrett Tillman’s
article “Won With Hardball: The M1911 And
The Medal Of Honor”
(January 2011, p. 50) was
one of the most well-received and
commented upon articles we have
run in some time, and we received
notes from family members of two
of those who earned our nation’s
highest award for valor while using
M1911 pistols.
The first was from Regina
Kouma-Renteria, who wrote:
“Thank you for mentioning my
uncle, Ernest G. Kouma, MOH, in
your recent article on the M1911.
My father, Sgt./Maj. Anthony B.
Kouma (Ernest’s younger brother)
also used a Browning—the
Browning Automatic Rifle—and
he was a recipient of the Navy
Cross. Obviously, these
were superior guns that
kept my father and uncle
alive to tell of their experiences. Both my father and
uncle are now deceased,
but I know they would
have enjoyed seeing this.
It was very newsworthy
at the time; two brothers from the very small
town of Dwight, Neb., (a
predominantly Czech
farming community)
had received the Medal of
Honor and the Navy Cross.”
“I’ve been an NRA member
since 1977, and I am also a
Vietnam veteran,” wrote Joe Bailey.
“I remember having a fascination
with the M1911 pistol since I was
a child, and I have collected them
for years. I always wondered why,
despite its wonderful qualities, I
have had such a fondness for this
old warhorse. Imagine my astonishment as I read that a relative of
mine had won the Medal of Honor
with an M1911. When I was a kid,
my grandmother told me about
an uncle of hers who had won the
Medal of Honor in World War I. This
was Sgt. Richmond H. Hilton, mentioned on p. 52. My grandmother’s
maiden name was Hilton, and our
family was from South Carolina.
She told me her uncle went by
the name of ‘Hobston’ Hilton and
yes, he had only one arm. I never
thought more of it until now. Now
I know that my fondness for the
M1911 was somehow ‘passed’
down to me from a man who
bravely used it in combat.”
Before running the article, Tillman
and I discussed the lack of clarity in Medal of Honor citations
as to which arms were employed
and the potential for omissions.
“I noted Medal
of Honor winner
1st/Sgt. Sidney G.
Gumpertz, Company
E, 132nd Infantry,
33rd Division, was not
mentioned,” wrote
Life member Alan
Kouth. “First Sergeant
Gumpertz, armed
with the M1911,
was awarded his
MOH for actions
on Sept. 26, 1918,
in the Bois des Forges.
In James Hopper’s 1929
book Medals of Honor he states
that Gumpertz was shooting with
his automatic, and he quotes
Gumpertz as saying, ‘The beauty of
an automatic is that all you have to
do is press the trigger and it keeps
on shooting.’” In Tillman’s defense,
Gumpertz’s citation made no reference whatsoever to the type of
arms employed, but he has since
been added to the list.
Sincerely,
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OFFICIAL JOURNAL
IN THE NEWS
the armed citizen
J
ust after midnight, a married couple awoke to the discovery that three men were
banging on their front door and repeatedly ringing the doorbell. Both husband and
wife are avid target shooters, and each retrieved a handgun before quietly creeping
toward the front of the house to investigate. For a moment it appeared the men would
leave, but instead they drove their car down the driveway closer to the home. At that
point the husband dialed 9-1-1. Two men resumed beating on the front door, while a third
moved to the back door and beat on it with increased urgency. The husband aimed his
.32-cal. pistol at the back door and his wife did the same with her .38-cal. revolver. When the
suspect forced the door open, the husband opened fire. The shots caused all three suspects
to flee the scene. (The Item, Sumter, SC, 12/22/10)
P
olice said six men with ties to
California’s Sureno gang drove into
a rural area intent on committing
burglaries. Maybe they thought there
wouldn’t be as strong a police presence
outside the city, but they forgot an important detail: Many rural homes contain
firearms and folks who know how to use
them. The gang members burst inside a
home and were immediately greeted by
gunfire. One suspect was killed, a second
one was shot several times and the remaining four fled back to the city. Police
arrested the five surviving suspects.
(KXTV-10, Sacramento, CA, 12/10/10)
answered the door after being roused
from bed, but found they were gone.
The suspects returned and one of them
attempted to force open a sliding glass
door while the other pried at a window.
The homeowner heard the suspects
and got a pistol to investigate. Upon
discovering the suspect at his door, he
fired one shot. Both suspects fled. The
wounded suspect died nearby and his
accomplice was arrested. (The Salt Lake
Tribune, Salt Lake City, UT, 11/09/2010)
W
A
father realized his worst fear
when an unknown male intruder
broke into his home and entered
his 15-year-old daughter’s bedroom.
Alerted by the family dog’s barking, the
father went to check on his daughter
and discovered that someone was
holding her door shut. Fortunately, the
daughter remained asleep, oblivious
to the traumatic event. The father ran
to another part of the home and got
his handgun. Returning to his daughter’s room, he forced the door open,
ordered the intoxicated suspect to
the ground and held him at gunpoint
for police. (Decatur Herald, Decatur, IL,
12/01/10)
hile returning to their car after
visiting a cemetery, an
82-year-old man and his
76-year-old wife were accosted by a man
ackson, Miss., police spokeswoman
wearing a mask. The suspect drew an
Colendula Green said she’s seen an
illegally possessed gun and ordered the
increase in the number of armed
assan Malih was working at the
citizens protecting their homes and busi- couple to the ground. But his elderly tarInternet café he owns when
gets were no easy victims. The husband,
nesses. “They’re going to protect thema bizarre crime unfolded—an
who has a concealed-carry permit, drew
selves. That’s why the Castle [Doctrine]
alleged robber burst inside, pulled out a
Law is in effect,” Green said, noting several a .22-cal. revolver from his pocket. The
water bottle filled with gasoline, threw
incidents in recent months during which suspect took cover behind a pine tree
gas on Malih and waved a lighter while
Jackson homeowners have shot would-be and both men opened fire. The husband’s demanding money. “He obviously gave
shots forced the suspect to retreat from
burglars. In the latest such incident, four
the clerk the impression he was going
suspects allegedly kicked down the door the area. Police arrested the suspect and
to be set on fire,” said Seminole County,
an alleged accomplice, aided by a witness Fla., Police Lt. James Clark. Malih drew a
to a home and ordered the family inside
to lie on the floor. The homeowner quickly who described the getaway car as white
handgun and fired several shots at the
retrieved his gun and opened fire, shoot- with an “abnormally loud muffler.” (Chronicle suspect, causing him to run out of the
Independent, Camden, SC, 12/17/10)
ing three of the suspects. The wounded
store. (MSNBC, 12/17/10)
suspects were arrested at the hospital. The
fourth is still being sought. (The ClarionIf you have a firsthand “Armed Citizen” experience,
Ledger, Jackson, MS, 12/12/10)
call NRA-ILA PR/Communications at (703) 267-1193.
J
H
K
nocking at a home at 1:30 a.m.,
a pair of alleged burglars did not
receive a prompt answer. They
left with plans to return in 90 minutes.
Unbeknownst to them, the homeowner
10 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
Studies indicate that firearms are used more than 2 million times a year for personal protection,
and that the presence of a firearm, without a shot being fired, prevents crime in many instances.
Shooting usually can be justified only where crime constitutes an immediate, imminent threat
to life, limb, or, in some cases, property. Anyone is free to quote or reproduce these accounts.
Send clippings via e-mail to armedcitizen@nrahq.org, or by mail to “The Armed Citizen,” 11250
Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030-9400. For bonus features, visit “The Armed Citizen Blog” at
www.americanrifleman.org.
OFFICIAL JOURNAL
SPECIAL REPORT
standing guard
By Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President
Upholding The Constitution
A
s the new Congress—with its progun majority—began its official
business, the Constitution of the
United States was read from the well of
the U.S. House of Representatives for the
first time in history.
It was a solemn pledge to Americans
that the singular intent of the Founders
would be upheld—that “we the people”
rule government and not the reverse.
If there were any lesson to be learned
from the midterm elections, that’s it. The
reading of our 223-year-old founding
document is a warning to those in government that their role has strict limits.
Yet the media reaction to this humble
act and from those who consider
themselves our ruling class was truly
reprehensible. They were offended. They
are ashamed of a simple recognition of
our liberty.
The New York Times called the reading
“a ghastly waste of time … A theatrical
production of unusual pomposity. …”
further describing homage to the
Constitution as an “insider ritual of selfglorification … eyewash … presumptuous, self-righteous. …” Its editorial
accused the new majority of “suggesting
that they alone understand the true
meaning of a text that the founders left
open to generations of reinterpretation.”
The new House majority is also
requiring that all proposed legislation
include a section on Constitutional
justification. That alone could have a
profound effect on any measure proffered by the gun-ban crowd. The New
York Times sputtered livid ink over that
mandate saying it represented an “air of
vacuous fundamentalism.”
The new requirement recognizes that
the out of control theft of power by unelected bureaucrats must come to an end.
But while the U.S. House of Representatives appears at the outset to be on the
right course, the Obama administration
will be doubling down to accomplish
12 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
a “progressive agenda” rejected by the
American people—an agenda that
Barack Obama will attempt to impose
through executive fiat and heavy-handed
power grabs.
You can bet the farm that gun control
in some form or other will be slipped
into this mix. There may be a renewed
attempt to ban lead bullets through
the Environmental Protection Agency.
Hillary Clinton’s destruction of our wall
of national sovereignty before the U.N.
Human Rights Commission will be
broadened. A U.N.-mandated international gun-ban treaty will be doggedly
pursued. There will be redoubled efforts
to close down vast tracts of federal land
to hunting. There will be attempts to
expand the powers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
absent any Congressional authority.
All of this is part of a plan hatched by
George Soros’ Center for American Progress, the think tank run by John Podesta,
who as White House chief of staff was
one of President Bill Clinton’s point men
on gun-ban schemes. Remember all of
the back-door attempts to kill the Second
Amendment during the Clinton years?
Think Podesta.
Podesta, who headed Obama’s transition team and salted the administration
with fellow anti-Second Amendment
“progressives,” has produced a roadmap
for abuse of executive power titled, “The
Power of the President, Recommendations to Advance Progressive Change,”
read the steady loss of liberty.
Podesta, with funding from billionaire
globalist gun banner George Soros, wants
Obama to circumvent Congress thus assuming vast powers to do what the legislative branch would never authorize. And
they want to do it under the cover of the
most opaque administration in history.
It’s already started. The Federal Communications Commission—staffed with
former Podesta/Soros operatives who
demand the eradication of conservative
talk radio through FCC broadcast license
denial—is pressing for Internet control
through something called “net neutrality.”
Congress has specifically voted down
any FCC authority to regulate the Internet. And in May 2010, the U.S. Court of
Appeals ruled that the FCC possesses no
lawful power over the Internet. Yet the
agency—with huge support from Sorosbacked groups, joined by the Joyce
Foundation, the Ford Foundation and
the MacArthur Foundation—is forging
ahead issuing rosy-sounding regulations
over Internet access.
Keep in mind that without the Joyce
Foundation, the radical gun banners
at the Violence Policy Center would be
without jobs. And without Soros and the
Ford and MacArthur Foundations, the
U.N. gun-ban operation would not exist.
In another abuse of executive power
and another immediate threat to gun
owners, the BATFE is attempting, in its
phony border campaign, to force more
than 8,000 gun dealers through “emergency requirements” to report multiple
sales of rifles in border states. This is just a
shallow excuse to engage in a sweeping
firearm registration scheme. And again, it
comes without any statutory authority.
With President Obama losing his lock
on Congress, we can expect more of
these back-door attacks on our rights.
I promise you this: With the Obama
administration’s doubling down to
circumvent Congress, especially with
BATFE, we will do everything in our
power and fight with every ounce of our
strength to stop these attacks and to
uphold the Constitution.
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include .45 ACP and 9mm. A carry pistol is the last place to compromise. Carry a Kimber CDP.
©2011 Kimber Mfg., Inc. All rights reserved. Kimber names, logos and other trademarks may not be
used without permission. Names of other companies, products and services may be the property of
their respective owners. Kimber firearms are shipped with an instruction manual and California-approved
cable lock. Copy of instruction manual available by request.
Kimber, One Lawton Street, Yonkers, NY 10705 (800) 880-2418
THE CHOICE OF AMERICA’S BEST
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OFFICIAL JOURNAL
SPECIAL REPORT
president’s column
By Ronald L. Schmeits, President
Come Experience Freedom In Pittsburgh!
W
e’re about two months away
from convening in Pittsburgh,
April 29-May 1, for the most
exciting event on NRA’s calendar, our
Annual Meetings & Exhibits. As always, a
cast of stars will be on hand to entertain
and enlighten. This year, Mike Huckabee,
Michael Reagan, Jeff Foxworthy and
Ted Nugent will be taking the stage on
Saturday and Sunday.
That same stage, in years past, has
brought you the president and vice
president of the United States, senators, governors, military leaders, top
policy makers and award-winning musicians. It’s brought you “from my cold,
dead hands.” And it’s brought many a
sleepless night to freedom’s enemies.
But perhaps what’s most important
is what you’ve brought to the stage: a
passion for freedom from the grassroots
level that, even in America, knows no
equal. That passion draws leaders from
country coming together to celebrate
and protect the precious liberty that
unites us.
And they’ll be reminded that power
in this nation is not confined to the White
House or Capitol Hill—it’s ours, so long
as we continue to exercise it.
Because while freedom has a number
of more overt enemies, its most dangerous is apathy. As long as American
liberties are exercised, they’ll never fall
prey to the pack of gun-banners and
anti-freedom extremists.
And every year, NRA members do
just that. That’s what makes the Annual
Meetings so special to me, and it’s why
our nation’s leaders always want to make
an appearance. Because their audience is
filled with America’s greatest patriots—
people like you, who refuse to sit idly by
and entrust our country to those who
don’t respect it.
Come join me in Pittsburgh. We’ll
Come join me in Pittsburgh. We’ll celebrate
both our firearm freedom and those who’ve
made an active commitment to its defense.
our nation’s highest levels year after year.
They come to see you and pay their
respects to a grassroots movement that
predates us all—and they leave inspired.
That’s not the expectation at most other
stops on the speaking circuit. But anyone
who stands behind our podium in
Pittsburgh this year will look out at tens
of thousands of freedom’s greatest allies
and see this nation’s heartbeat, steady
and stirring with pride.
They’ll see exactly what the Founding Fathers envisioned: Americans from
all walks of life and every corner of the
celebrate both our firearm freedom and
those who’ve made an active commitment to its defense. And while you’re
there, I think you’ll find much to enjoy.
The Exhibit Hall will play host to
acres of the absolute latest firearms
and hunting equipment for you to
browse and sample, and representatives
from nearly every manufacturer will
be available to answer your questions.
Not only is it one of the year’s greatest
gun shows, it’s free for NRA members
to enter!
I strongly encourage you to attend the
Annual Meeting of Members on Saturday
morning, where you can participate in
the official business of our Association.
You’ll hear first-hand from our Association’s officers about the challenges that
lie ahead, and we’ll discuss strategies to
meet those assaults head-on.
The Celebration of American Values
Freedom Experience, truly the weekend’s
can’t-miss event, takes place Saturday
night. Following opening remarks by my
friends Wayne LaPierre and Chris W. Cox,
comedian Jeff Foxworthy will have you
rolling in your seats, former Arkansas Gov.
Mike Huckabee will deliver a powerful
keynote address and best-selling author
Michael Reagan will present the Ronald
Reagan Leadership Award. It’ll be a night
to remember.
Throughout the weekend, you’ll
have access to numerous receptions
and seminars on a variety of specialized
topics, featuring some of the leading
authorities in their fields. Whether it’s
the Annual Firearms Law Seminar, the
NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop or any
number of others, you’ll leave Pittsburgh
with a stronger understanding of Second
Amendment issues and the battles that
lie ahead.
Most of all, I hope you’ll leave
Pittsburgh with a renewed sense of
appreciation for your freedom. What is
simply yours, as an American birthright,
is envied around the world and unique
throughout history—a fact we will
celebrate all weekend long.
For more details about this year’s
Annual Meetings, as well as hotel information, please visit www.nraam.org.
Join me in Pittsburgh!
For news about legislation and your NRA, visit: www.nraila.org, www.nranews.com and www.nra.org.
14 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
I AM
READY.
When you need me most, I’ll answer the call.
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FEATURE
ILA STORY
POWER
Egged on by anti-gun groups and
the media, the Obama administration
makes a new demand for records
of Americans’ gun purchases.
BATFE
Multiple Sales
Registration Zone
16 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
GRAB
I
f you’re one of the nearly 71 million
Americans who live in the four southwest border states, some of your gun
purchases could soon be reported to
the federal government. If you don’t like
that—and no gun owner should—read
on, because this may be our first big
head-on gun control battle against the
Obama administration.
The fight began with a bureaucratically worded “Emergency Notice of
Information Collection Under Review,”
published in the Dec. 17 Federal Register
—the daily publication where all
proposed federal rules make their
debut. It announced that the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives plans to require federal
firearms licensees in the border states
to begin reporting all transfers “of
two or more rifles within any
five consecutive
business days with the following characteristics: (a) Semi automatic; (b) a caliber
greater than .22; and (c) the ability to
accept a detachable magazine.”
In other words, a dealer would have
to tell the government every time a deer
hunter in Sacramento or Amarillo finds a
good deal on a pair of semi-auto .30-06s
like the popular Remington 7400.
Some might ask, “Aren’t multiple rifle
sales already reported?” The answer is a
definite “No.” For many years, Congress
has required dealers to report multiple
sales of handguns—and only of handguns. According to one of the basic rules
for interpreting laws, when the legislature
specifies one thing, it excludes everything
else. (This is the same principle your
parents applied when they said you could
have only a cookie, even if there were also
cupcakes and pies on the table.)
For months now, anti-gun activists,
members of the media and federal
bureaucrats have been urging the BATFE
to ignore this principle.
As we’ve reported before (See “End
Run,” Feb. 2011), the drumbeat began
with New York City Mayor Michael
Bloomberg’s group, Mayors Against
Illegal Guns, and its “Blueprint for
Federal Action on Illegal Guns.” That
document was an agenda of 40 ways
for the Obama administration to
impose new restrictions on gun
owners and the gun industry, without bothering to go to Congress.
The “Blueprint” urged the BATFE to
“identify the long guns most linked to
crime and require dealers to report multiple sales of such guns.” MAIG, of course,
is falsely assuming that when a particular
type of gun is frequently traced, that
must mean the gun is frequently used
in crime. That’s a lie heard nearly every
day in the gun control debate, despite
repeated warnings from the Congressional Research Service and the BATFE
By Chris W. Cox
NRA-ILA
Executive Director
itself that tracing is designed to find the
source of specific guns, not to collect statistics. (For more information, see “Traces
of Truth,” Dec. 2010.)
The push for multiple sales reporting continued with a pair of reports by
the Department of Justice’s Inspector
General this year. First, a draft report in
September noted that multiple sales
reports on rifles would have been useful
for investigations of supposed gun trafficking to Mexico. While the September
draft made no specific recommendations, a final report issued in November
urged the BATFE to require multiple sales
reports on long guns. The Inspector General recommended that the BATFE “work
with the Department [of Justice] to explore options for seeking a requirement
for reporting multiple sales of long guns.”
The bureau responded that it “concurs”
in the recommendation “but notes that
this may require a change to the Gun
Control Act which is beyond ATF’s and
the Department’s authority.”
But there’s a twist. According to the
latest installment in the Washington
Post’s months-long “Hidden Life of Guns”
series, the BATFE itself had already
recommended a reporting requirement
last spring, months before the Inspector
General’s recommendation. The policy,
according to the Post, was held up by
then-White House chief of staff Rahm
Emanuel because it would energize gun
owners before the midterm elections.
If that’s true—and we certainly don’t
always believe the Post—it was a cynical
move by Emanuel, a longtime ally of the
anti-gun groups. But it would definitely
be consistent; after all, President Obama
also waited until after the elections to
nominate Andrew Traver, another official
with long ties to gun-ban activists, as
director of the BATFE.
All this maneuvering aside, how can
the BATFE try to require something the
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
17
ILA STORY
Congress never authorized?
Showing why it’s now the
greatest organized threat
to our Second Amendment
rights, Mayor Bloomberg’s
MAIG pointed the way. MAIG’s
“Blueprint” suggested that
the new multiple sales reports
could be required through “demand letters.” These are letters
sent to dealers by the BATFE.
According to the provision of
the Gun Control Act that authorizes these letters, dealers must submit “all record information required to be
kept [under the Gun Control Act] or such
lesser record information as the Attorney
General in such letter may specify.”
That sounds like an incredibly broad
license for anything up to total gun registration based on dealers’ records. But the
Congress has passed many protections
against gun registration, including the
Firearms Owners’ Protection Act’s ban
on new rules or regulations that would
require dealers’ records “to be recorded
at or transferred to a facility owned, managed, or controlled by the United States.”
So what does the law really allow?
A quick look at history answers that
question. The original demand letter
provision was a regulation adopted in
1968, under the original Gun Control
Act, and added to the U.S. Code in 1986.
Back in 1968, Harold Serr, the director of
the Treasury Department’s Alcohol and
Tobacco Tax Division (the precursor of
today’s BATFE) wrote to U.S. Sen. Frank
Church of Idaho that “under no circumstances does the Alcohol and Tobacco
Tax Division intend to require licensed
firearms dealers to submit all records of
firearms transactions to a central location. This would be in effect gun registration and the Congress clearly showed its
desires in this area when gun legislation
was voted on.”
Instead, the demand letter provision
was to be used for examining dealers’ records in the course of a criminal
investigation, or for tracing guns—two
activities that are authorized by other
provisions today.
More recently, demand letters have
been used for other limited purposes.
For example, the BATFE uses this provision to compile annual statistical reports
18 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
… 36 members of
Congress blasted
the “new, onerous
requirements that
would inevitably
track and catalog the
purchases of lawabiding gun owners.”
on how many firearms are made and
exported by each gun manufacturer.
And in 1994, when certain shotguns
were reclassified as “destructive devices”
under the National Firearms Act, the
bureau used the provision to get contact
information for buyers of those guns in
order to inform them about NFA registration requirements.
More objectionable was the use of
demand letters, beginning during the
Clinton administration, to get certain
dealers to report all used gun transactions for use in future traces. NRA strongly
objected to that program and funded
litigation against it. Unfortunately, the
government won those cases, but even
the court decisions stressed how limited
the program was. As the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the Fourth Circuit put it, the
demand letter statute “is not a limitless
delegation of authority” and “cannot be
construed in an open-ended fashion.”
The courts also stressed that the
demand letters were only issued to
dealers who had supposedly failed to
respond quickly to trace requests, or who
had high numbers of guns traced quickly
to crimes. As flawed
as those reasons
were, the letters still
only went to a few
hundred dealers—less
than 0.1 percent of the
licensees in the United
States at the time.
Compare that to
the number of dealers
slated to receive the new
multiple sales letters.
The BATFE estimates that
nearly 8,500 dealers will
receive those letters; that’s
nearly one out of every
seven firearm retailers in
the United States today,
including many who are hundreds of
miles from the Mexican border. That’s
obviously casting way too big of a net,
and could lay the groundwork for even
broader demands that would truly
amount to a gun registration scheme.
That makes this fight a top priority
for NRA. Right now, we’re filing comments with the Office of Management
and Budget, asking them to deny the
proposed “information collection.” But
we’ve also begun planning our next
move, which will be legislative proposals
to limit the “demand letter” authority.
Fortunately, our allies in Congress
are already rallying across party lines
on this issue. For example, the entire
Montana congressional delegation has
already weighed in, with Democratic
Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester calling
the proposal “unnecessarily burdensome” and arguing that any further
reporting requirement “must be done
by Congress through the transparent
legislative process.”
Likewise, Montana’s Republican
U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, joined by 35
House colleagues, including incoming
Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar
Smith, R-Texas, blasted the “new, onerous requirements that would inevitably
track and catalogue the purchases
of law-abiding gun owners,” also denouncing the proposal as an “end run
around Congress.”
NRA will make sure all of these arguments are heard on Capitol Hill—and
in the courts, if necessary—as this fight
goes on.
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CORRESPONDENCE
READERS WRITE
A Strong Link—
For A Century
I
You’ll take a shine
to the blinding
700-lumen beam!
was very pleased to
read the article by Philip
Schreier, “NRA & BSA:
100 years Of Partnership”
(December 2010, p. 50),
concerning the association
of NRA with the Boy Scouts
of America. As both an NRA
Life member and 40 year
Scoutmaster (and Eagle Scout), I am well aware of the shooting sports
merit badges and other shooting opportunities that Scouting affords the
youth of this country. I have for many years held Troop shoots for my boys
where I have introduced them to various types of firearms and provided
them with the chance to experience them firsthand. I hope that the NRA
continues its strong link with Scouting for at least the next 100 years.
WILLIAM H. MITCHELL, VIA E-MAIL
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ittle did I know when I was a young Boy
Scout earning my Marksmanship merit
badge that one merit badge would
someday help save my life. The Marksmanship merit badge was one of the hardest
badges I earned on the path to becoming
an Eagle Scout. All summer long and then
some, I struggled to qualify on the range.
Having not been raised around guns and hunting like my fellow Scouts,
I had a long and tough road to accomplishment. With personal dedication and a counselor with lots of patience, I finally succeeded. My merit
badge counselor introduced me to the NRA, and later I became an NRA
Life member.
Thirty-plus years later I would need the marksmanship skills I
earned as a young man. While hunting on safari in South Africa, one
strategically placed shot at a charging Cape buffalo saved my guide’s
life and my own. NRA training and ideals, plus Boy Scout skills, have
together made a large difference in many lives. That is why, every year,
I gladly donate to these two fine organizations that have made a difference in so many lives.
VIRGIL GERSTENBERGER, VIA E-MAIL
Correction: In the article “Rewriting The Rules: Superformance Varmint”
(January 2011, p. 60), the author inadvertently listed the wind deflection of
the .223 Rem. Superformance Varmint and .22-.250 Rem. Varmint Express
loads in m.o.a., not inches. Wind deflection of the former load’s 53-gr. V-Max
bullet is 8.4”, 15.9” and 26.5” at 300, 400 and 500 yds., respectively. For comparison, the 55-gr. V-Max from the .22-.250 Rem. load drifts off course 9.1”,
17.2”, and 28.9”, respectively, at the same distances.
—THE EDITORS
22 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
“Readers Write” affords members an opportunity to comment on material published in
American Rifleman. Single-topic letters are preferred and may be edited for brevity. Send letters
to: Readers Write, NRA Publications, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030-9400 or e-mail us at
publications@nrahq.org.
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24 M
ARCH
A
fter averaging 2 million viewers per episode in season
one, the History Channel is geared up for season two
of the hit competition show “Top Shot.” This time
about 16 contestants from across the country will have to
adapt to new firearms and more demanding physical situations to win $100,000 in prizes and the title of “Top Shot.”
The firearms used will include the Colt M1911, M1 Garand,
Barrett M82A1, Thompson, SIG 228, Ruger 10/22, Benelli M4
and more. Fans of the series can look forward to the return
of intense shooting competitions and high-speed HD impact
shots in extreme slow motion.
“We took everything that the viewers loved about
season one and amplified it,” said host Colby Donaldson.
“It is basically season one on steroids and that goes
for the firearms, the challenges, the level of competition and the difficulty for the shooter. As soon as [the
contestants] thought they knew what was coming, we
completely took their knees out.”
The 12-episode season airs on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST
on the History Channel.
—BEN O’BRIEN,
ASSISTANT ONLINE HUNTING EDITOR
“Top Shot” Gears Up For Second Season
LOCK, STOCK & BARREL
2011
OPENING SHOT
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
Photo courtesy of History Channel
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The F sonal def
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And Bushmaster
Heads To …
RANDOM SHOTS
Thompson/Center Arms Moves To Springfield …
S
mith & Wesson Holding Corp. announced that during 2011 it will be
moving Thompson/Center Arms production from the Rochester, N.H.,
plant to Springfield, Mass., home of the parent company’s corporate headquarters and production factories. The move will affect about
350 employees, many of whom may relocate to the alternate facility to
help smooth the production transition. The move is “designed to streamline our firearms manufacturing processes and improve our margins,”
said S&W Director of Marketing Services Paul Pluff, who added that
the foundry operation in Rochester will be sold to another manufacturer. The 40-year-old facility began producing Contender pistols and
blackpowder rifles in the 1960s and ’70s, and today it is also known for
its interchangeable-barrel Encore and G2 Contender, modern in-line
muzzleloaders such as the Omega and Triumph, and its bolt-action Icon
and Venture rifles, among others. Supplies and offerings of Thompson/
Center guns, bullets and accessories are expected to remain unaffected
during the move.
F
reedom Group
announced
that it will
close its Bushmaster
Firearms Int’l manufacturing facility located in Windham,
Maine, effective March 31, 2011. As
of January 2011, the parent company had yet to announce where
Bushmaster production would
resume, but rumors swirl that it
will be at Remington’s Mayfield,
Ky., plant. The move is expected
to have no impact on customers
or the existing supply base. The
company noted that all affected
employees will be offered a comprehensive severance package,
including outplacement services.
Board Chairman John B. Blystone
commented, “We are continuing
to adjust our operations in order
to remain competitive and to continue to grow. Given increasing
costs and pricing pressures affecting the entire firearms industry,
this action is clearly necessary
and responsible.”
100 Years Ago
SECOND SHOTS
.45 Automatic Replaces The Revolver
T
hat disturbing and vexing question which has so long interfered
with the peace of mind of our
military authorities, of what should be
the hand arm of the services, has at
last been settled.
Not alone has it been settled but by
the nature of the decision which, in its
effect, substitutes as the service hand
arm the Colt automatic pistol, caliber
.45, for the Colt revolver, caliber .38; but
it has been settled in our opinion in a
way which denotes progress.
As this paper has often declared, the
automatic pistol for military use—given
a weapon developed to a satisfactory
condition of reliability—was bound to
come. It was only a question of time.
Most of those interested in the
subject and all readers of Arms And
26 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
The Man during the past four years
are familiar with the history of the
case. A Board of distinguished officers
appointed to try out various and all
forms of automatic pistols and revolvers submitted to them found the Colt’s
and Savage automatics the best and
decided upon caliber. 45 as the suitable size.
All necessary details in relation to
the whole subject will be found in our
columns next week. At this time just as
the moment of going to press we are
able to say that the board of officers
conducting the last competitive trials
and Springfield has reported in favor of
the Colt’s as more satisfactory for the
purposes in mind than the Savage. Both
pistols were found suitable for military
use and both were considered superior
to any other automatic pistols or any
form of revolver heretofore known. All
the rest that may be said about the case
we shall tell next week.
[March 1911]
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ARCH
2011
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custom rifles and pistols at…
www.lesbaer.com
Baer 1911 S.R.P.©
(Swift Response Pistol)
Baer Custom's S.R.P. continues to do everything you
would ever want a tactical or self defense pistol to
do: It's completely reliable, uncannily accurate,
powerful enough to deal with virtually any situation,
and, because it's built on the tried and true 1911 platform, it's
familiar as an old shoe. It also comes with a host of
thoughtful extra features for which Les Baer Custom has
become known, including night sights as standard equipment.
Performance. It’s Everything.
1804 Iowa Drive • LeClaire, Iowa 52753
Ph: 563-289-2126 • Fx: 563-289-2132
Email: info@lesbaer.com
Office Hours: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM Central Time
Rite In The Rain Journals
product previews
O
riginally developed for loggers taking notes in the soggy Pacific
Northwest, Rite In The Rain’s waterproof paper pads allow tradesmen, soldiers, hunters and other outdoorsmen to make indelible
impressions in inclement conditions. For example, the company’s AllWeather Hunting Journals—Big Game, Water Fowl, Turkey, and Upland
Bird—feature rigid plastic covers and coated paper pages preprinted
with general categories and blanks for specific data such as: GPS of Starting Position; Wind Direction/Speed; Glassing Optics Used; Firearm; Caliber and Type of ammunition; and more. Other products include a wide
range of blank notepads with combination lined/graph paper, sewn nylon
covers, ring binders and waterproof copier paper. Price: $4 to $20.
Contact: J.L. Darling Corp. (Dept. AR), 2614 Pacific Highway E., Tacoma, WA
98424; (253) 922-5000; www.riteintherain.com.
Galco Recoil Pad
T
he Galco slip-on Recoil Pad fits snugly over the butt of shotguns
and rifles and is held in place with an overlapping hook-and-loop
fastener. It is made of chestnut or dark havana leather and has a
1/2"-thick shock absorbing gel, which the company claims can reduce
felt recoil up to 50 percent. Price: $78. Contact: Galco Int’l (Dept. AR),
2019 Quail Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85027; (800) 874-2526; www.galcousa.com.
Magnum Research® & Desert Eagle® are now part of
the Kahr Arms® family!!
Thompson® Pistol
Lightweight Deluxe
TA5
Auto-Ordnance M1 Carbine
“Paratrooper Folding Stock Model”
AOM150
Magnum Research®
Desert
Eagle® Mark XIX
Kahr Arms takes pride in its
DE50GO
ability to offer customers a
selection of unique nicheMagnum Research®
type firearms, such as the
Back by
Popular
“Baby” Desert Eagle® II
world famous “Tommy
Demand!!
BE9900
Gun” and Auto-Ordnance
NEW!!
line of M1 .30 caliber
carbines. The addition of Magnum Research products to the Kahr
Kahr Arms®
Arms family will provide Kahr Arms and Auto-Ordnance customers
P380 with LCI (Loaded Chamber Indicator)
another unique line of firearms to choose from.
KP38233
®
®
®
www.kahr.com | www.tommygun.com | www.auto-ordnance.com | www.magnumresearch.com
32 M
arch
2011
www.aMericanrifleMan.org
CA
APPROVED
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assurance of lawn success backed by more than 5 decades of
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©2011 Zoysia Farm Nurseries, 3617 Old Taneytown Rd, Taneytown, MD 21787
www.ZoysiaFarms.com/mag
✂
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Retail Value Your PRICE + Shipping
$ 8.95
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$ 5.00
$ 26.85
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$ 62.65
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Amazoy is the trademark registered U.S.
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TM
Mail to: ZOYSIA FARM NURSERIES
3617 Old Taneytown Road, Taneytown, MD 21787
Write price of order here
$
Md. residents add 6% tax
$
Shipping
$
ENCLOSED TOTAL
Card #
Name
Address
City
Zip
✂
Dept. 5658
Payment method
(check one)
❑ Check ❑ MO
❑ MasterCard
❑ Visa
$
Exp. Date
State
Phone
We ship all orders the same day plugs are packed at earliest correct planting time in your area.
Order Now! www.ZoysiaFarms.com/mag
Not shipped outside the USA or into WA or OR
product previews
TacStar Sidesaddle
H
olding either four or six 12-ga. shells, TacStar Sidesaddles fit
Benelli, Beretta, HK, Mossberg, Remington and Winchester shotguns. A few four-shell, 20-ga. versions and RealTree patterns are
also available, depending on the model. The polymer holder attaches
to an aluminum plate, which is then directly mounted to the shotgun
receiver without need for special tools or gun modifications. Simply push
the two mounting screws with washers through the receiver so that they
take the place of the two pins, and then thread them onto the plate. Attach
the shotshell holder to the plate with screws and the holder is firmly
attached to the shotgun. Prices range from $25 to $30, depending on the
model. Contact: Cheaper Than Dirt (Dept. AR), 2524 N.E. Loop 820,
Fort Worth, TX 76106; (800) 421-8047; www.cheaperthandirt.com.
Guide Gear Extreme Deluxe Climber Tree Stand
F
eaturing a welded steel frame, the Guide Gear Extreme Deluxe Climber Tree
Stand has a 300-lb. weight capacity, but, even at 28 lbs., is easily transported
thanks to its padded shoulder straps. With a 19"x26" foot platform, users have
ample room to move, and a 1"-thick 10"x17" sling seat, along with a 18"x14" padded
backrest, make for the utmost comfort. To make ascending and descending easier, the
sit-and-stand-type treestand has a padded climbing seat bar, and the nylon foot straps
are adjustable. Two locking cam-buckle straps keep the platforms in place. Price: $80.
Contact: The Sportsman’s Guide (Dept. AR), 411 Farwell Ave., South Saint Paul, MN 55075;
(800) 888-3006; www.sportsmansguide.com.
Part guard dog.
Part flame thrower.
exceptionally hot pepper blasting out at
90 mph provides protection like nothing else.
PepperBlaster® II incorporates a pistol grip and
sights to quickly target a threat. a simple pull of the
trigger releases the first blast of pepper. a second pull
of the trigger sends a second blast flying—just in case.
FasTer
Caution: Strong irritant. Keep out of reach of children. May be unlawful to own
or possess in some states or jurisdictions. Use for any purpose except lawful self
defense may be punishable by imprisonment, fines or both. Guardian Angel
protected by U.S. Pat. 6,951,070B2. ©2010, Kimber Mfg., Inc. All rights reserved.
34 M
arch
2011
www.aMericanrifleMan.org
To learn more about PepperBlaster ® II
go to www.pepperblaster.com.
l
easIer
l
saFer
It's the complete package for the smoker: twenty Thompson handmade, imported Dominican cigars, plus a solidly
constructed cedar-lined divided humidor whose quadrant hinges, humidification system and hygrometer make it a
veritable vault to protect your puros. This exquisitely fashioned humidor is handsome enough to grace any smoker’s
desk. At the low, low price of $29.95 for a regular $80 value, this really is quite an offer. I’m making it to introduce
new customers to Thompson & Co., America’s oldest mail-order
cigar company. Since 1915 our customers have enjoyed a rich
variety of cigars and smokers’ articles.
Save
63
All this for only
%
29
$
95
Holds up to
40 cigars
Compare
at $
80
Cigar sizes may vary
Promo Code
T9215
1- 800 - 641-4913
w w w. t h o m p s o n s p e c i a l s . c o m
Use promo code T 9 2 1 5
for special pricing
Get your Five Families Combo 20 now! 20 top-notch handmade cigars, cedarlined humidor and windproof lighter for ONLY $29.95 + $4.95 shipping (#926861). (All shipments to AK,
HI, Guam, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico must go priority mail - add an additional $10.00. Florida residents add
6% sales tax + appropriate county tax). Remittance of any taxes on orders shipped to a location outside of Florida
is the responsibility of the purchaser. In the event we are out of a Premium brand, Thompson reserves the right
to substitute another premium brand cigar or size, of equal or greater value. All written orders MUST include your
signature and date of birth. Limit one per customer.
America’s Oldest
Mail Order Cigar
OFFER GOOD FOR 30 DAYS • NOT AVAILABLE TO MINORS AND GOOD ONLY IN THE USA
Company, Est 1915
AUCTION – BID on Your Favorite Cigars! Start as low as $1
P.O. Box 31274
Go to: www.thompsoncigarauctions.com updated daily!
Tampa, FL 33631-3274
We now carry these highly popular brands: • Swisher Sweets
• Phillies • Black & Mild • Dutch Master • Garcia Vega
and more ... Go to: w w w . p o p u l a r s m o k e s . c o m
Fax: 813-882-4605
©2011 Thompson Cigar Co.
product previews
Weaver Precision Tactical Bipod
M
ade in the United States of matte-black, hardanodized 6061-T6 aluminum, the Weaver
Precision Tactical Bipod is designed for toolfree mounting and
removal to Picatinny
accessory rails. Its
telescoping legs
adjust from 7" to 10",
and it offers 25 degrees
of cant adjustment for use on
uneven surfaces. Thumb-operated,
ridged paddles lock and release the
legs in the open and closed positions, and polyurethane feet keep
the bipod from skidding. Price:
$220. Contact: Onalaska Operations
(Dept. AR), N5549 County Trunk Z,
Onalaska, WI 5 4650;
(800) 635-7656;
www.weaveroptics.com.
second shots
25 Years Ago
Bren Ten Announcement
O
range County District Attorney Cecil Hicks announced
today that a final judgment was entered in a consumer
fraud case involving the Bren Ten semi-automatic
pistol.. Dornaus and Dixon Enterprises, Inc.., Huntington Beach,
the manufacturer of the Bren Ten, has agreed to a permanent
injunction as well as $10,000 in civil penalties..
The terms of the injunction require that the pistols,
along with fully functioning magazines must be delivered
within six weeks of receipt of payment for the product.. The
injunction mandates establishment of a fund for consumers
who have not received their guns and
desire a refund, as well as a specified
servicing period..
Deputy District Attorney Gay
Geiser-Sandoval said that the
complaint arose from consumers who had paid for
their guns in 1982 and had
never received the magazines, thus rendering the
weapons inoperable..
[March 1986]
ON SCREEN: AMERICAN RIFLEMAN TELEVISION
Boy Scouts And Sporting Clays
The South Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America holds an annual
sporting clays invitational to raise money for local Scouting programs and
to rebuild Camp Seminole, which was destroyed by Hurricane Wilma in
2005. Join host Mark Keefe as he heads to Florida’s Quail Creek to show how
shooting benefits the Boy Scouts. Keefe also reviews the semi-automatic-only,
belt-fed 7.62x51 mm NATO Ohio Ordnance M240-SLR.
Wednesday, February 23
Feature. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..Boy Scouts And Clays
Rifleman Review .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .Ohio Ordnance M240-SLR
I Have This Old Gun .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..Star Models A & B
Wednesday, March 2
Feature. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . Taurus: Made In The USA
Rifleman Review .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .Uberti 1876 Centennial
I Have This Old Gun .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Sportsman’s Guide Chilean Mauser
Wednesday, March 9
Feature. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . Taurus Judge Family
Rifleman Review .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .Smith & Wesson M&P15-22
I Have This Old Gun .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..Savage .45 Pistol
Wednesday, March 16
Feature. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . The Petersen Collection
Rifleman Review .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Blaser R8 Rifle
I Have This Old Gun .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..German MP41 Submachine Gun
“But I was instantly armed and ready, thanks to my GunVault. The armed
intruder was met with a hail of gunfire from my .45 as he kicked in my
door — preventing him from even getting the chance to fire his own
weapon. I truly believe that no other product would have given me the
speed and confidence to access my handgun and control the situation.
Thank you for helping me save the lives of my family.”
– J. of San Bernardino, CA
GunVault.com
BOOKS IN BRIEF
The Story of Winchester:
1 of 1000 and 1 of 100 Rifles
A
n original Winchester Model 1873 or
Model 1876 would be a gem for any
firearm collector. The guns have, after
all, attained regal status as the most reliable,
practical and accurate rifles of their time. But
the crown jewels of 1873s and 1876s are the
extremely rare 1 of 1000 and 1 of 100 rifles. Author Edmund E. Lewis has
compiled the histories of these arms and their owners in his 176-pp.,
8½"x11" hardback work, serving as a guide to collectors and Winchester
enthusiasts. He includes images of patent drawings, ledgers, original
letters and, of course, detailed images of the guns so few collectors can
cherish today. They were selected and engraved with their respective
monikers following accuracy testing at the factory, often with further
embellishments to reflect their exceptional craftsmanship. The selection
and engraving programs ceased early in production, however, with only
about 140 of the 1873s and 63 of the 1876s known to have been made, and
they were little-known in their day. They gained prominence among collectors following the classic 1950 film “Winchester ’73,” and many have
survived to be shared in this well-researched and informative volume,
which retails for about $50. Contact: Mowbray Publishing (Dept. AR),
54 E. School St., Woonsocket, RI 02895; (800) 999-4697;
www.gunandswordcollector.com.
—ANGUS K. MCCLELLAN, ASSISTANT EDITOR
Also On The Shelf
WEBLEY SOLID FRAME REVOLVERS
BY JOEL BLACK,
HOMER FICKEN, FRANK MICHAELS
SCHIFFER PUBLISHING (DEPT. AR)
4880 LOWER VALLEY ROAD
ATGLEN, PA 19310
(610) 593-1777
WWW.SCHIFFERBOOKS.COM
THE TRAVELER’S
GUN & KNIFE LAW BOOK
BY DAVID WONG
SPARTAN PRESS (DEPT. AR)
P.O. BOX 1598
NASHUA, NH 03061
WWW.SPARTANPRESSONLINE.COM
RAPID FIRE
Marlin
has expanded its XL7/XS7 bolt-action, center-fire rifle line to
include the XL7S and the XS7S. The long-action XL7s and the short-action
XS7s feature stainless steel barrels and receivers, adjustable Pro-Fire
trigger systems, Soft-Tech recoil pads, button rifling, pillar-bedded
stocks and recessed muzzle crowns.
The Youth Shooting Sports Alliance
38 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
(YSSA) recently recognized the Savage Sports Corp. for
its generous donation of dozens of Savage Mark I rifles,
requested in support of designated priority youth shooting
sports programs, particularly those attached to a number of
Boy Scout troops and 4-H camps across the country.
Buckshot And Slug
Combination Shotshells
F
ew people involved in, or
knowlegeable about, realworld self-defense situations
would offer anything but praise of
either buckshot or slugs delivered
from a 12-ga. shotgun in ending
a threat. With its PDX1 12, Winchester combines the proven fightstoppers together in one shotshell.
The 12-ga., 2¾" shotshell has three
Grex-buffered, 00-size copperplated buckshot pellets atop a
1-oz., hollowpoint Fostertype lead slug
propelled at
1150 f.p.s.,
presenting a
single solution
to ending both
close-range
and moderate-distance altercations. Likewise, the load would
work for big-game hunting given
reasonable ranges. Another nice
feature is a low-visibility black
hull with an equally inconspicuous black oxide head. MidwayUSA
sells five-count boxes of PDX1 12
for $13.79. Contact: Winchester
Ammunition (Dept. AR), 600 Powder
Mill Road, East Alton, IL 62024;
www.winchester.com.
—AAron cArter, MAnAging editor
835® Ulti-Mag® – 12 Gauge
…?
TURKEY THUG
where can i get
Field-Proven
Performance.
The Only Pump Action Adjustable Trigger
Select models feature the revolutionary Lightning Pump
Action Trigger System — the first and only user-adjustable
pump action shotgun trigger (adjusts down to under 3 lbs).
NEW Turkey THUG Series
The exclusive guns of Mossy Oak’s Turkey THUGS TV show.
Includes models with top mounted rail, TRUGLO® dot sight,
and Break-Up® Infinity™ full dip camo.
Hardcore Versatility
Developed for use with 12 gauge 2¾" – 3½" factory
loaded shotshells.
Over Fifty Turkey Models Available
Choose from a wide variety of Turkey models across
our 500®, 535 and 835® product lines.
ALWAYS KEEP THE MUZZLE
POINTED IN A SAFE DIRECTION.
Made in the USA
TriGGer
www.mossberg.com
adjusTmenT pins for pull
m1911s
BroWnellS inc. (Dept. ar)
200 South Front St.
montezuma, ioWa 50171
(800) 741-0015
WWW.BroWnellS.com
and sear enGaGemenT on
leaTher
shoTshell pouches
wiTh elasTic sleeves
levy’S leatherS limiteD (Dept. ar)
190 DiSraeli FreeWay
Winnipeg, manitoBa, canaDa r3B 2z4
(800) 565-0203
WWW.levySleatherS.com
all-copper pelleTs in .177
and .22 caliBer
gamo outDoor uSa (Dept. ar)
3911 S.W. 47th ave., Suite 914
Fort lauDerDale, Fl 33314
(954) 581-5822
WWW.gamouSa.com
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
39
Get INFINITE shots
out of your
stag arms rifle.
Technical
quesTions & answers
A novel idea at the time, the incorporation of a grip safety in Smith
& Wesson’s Safety Hammerless (r.,
and far, r.) required more deliberate manipulation to operate the
handgun. Other “safety” measures
of the time included those from
Forehand & Wadsworth (below).
Safeties On Revolvers?
Smith & Wesson made a revolver called the “Safety Hammerless.” Did it actually feature a safety button? Were there any revolvers made with safeties?
Scan this QR code
with your smartphone
to learn more about
our product line
Made in the USA
stag
arms
www.stagarms.com
40 M
arch
2011
www.aMericanrifleMan.org
The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless models were introduced in 1887
and continued in production through a number of variations until 1940.
They were initially offered in .38 S&W and a few years later in a smaller
version chambered for the .32 S&W. The gun was not exactly “hammerless,” since the hammer was enclosed by the frame, eliminating a snag
point and making the revolver double-action only.
Although lacking a “safety button” per se, the rear of the grip frame
contained a “grip safety”—essentially a curved bar, about 2¾" long—
which had to be depressed for the gun to function. In addition, the
double-action trigger pull was long. Firing the revolver required deliberate hand placement, the intention being to prevent accidental discharges.
Because of the competitive nature of the firearm industry in the late
19th century, it didn’t take long for competitors to copy the hammerless
S&W pocket gun. It wasn’t a great effort to conceal a hammer within a
frame, so most of the thousands of Harrington & Richardson, Iver Johnson,
Hopkins & Allen, Meriden, and others produced from 1890 to 1905 had
that feature.
American-made revolvers with safeties were scarce during that time;
the opposite was true for examples from Europe, in particular those
produced in Belgium, Spain, and France. Whether the guns were of the
Bulldog, the Puppy, or the Velo-Dog style, safeties—usually in the form of a
lever located on the side of the frame—were common.
Either European influence or a need to add the word “safety” to
their advertising copy led some American
revolver manufacturers to go a step further
by actually applying a safety button to
their hammerless revolvers. A little searching will turn up examples from Spencer,
Forehand, American Gun Co. of Boston,
Hopkins & Allen, and perhaps others.
They have concealed hammers and safety
mechanisms that render the gun inoperable until disengaged.
Several of these revolvers were truly
Photos by author
.308
All bArrels And bolts
Are proof-tested And
mAgnetic-pArticle-inspected
to mil-spec stAndArds
chrome-lined
bArrel, longer life,
eAsier cleAning
monolithic rAil design thAt
Allows the AbilitY to chAnge
bArrel length, operAting
sYstems And cAlibers with the
tUrn of two locking bolts
strAight gAs tUbe
resists bending,
better Alignment
From the thousands of questions and letters on
guns, ammunition and their use that American
Rifleman receives every year, it publishes the
most interesting here. Receiving answers to
technical and historical questions is a privilege
reserved to NRA members.
Questions must be in the form of letters addressed to: Dope Bag, NRA Publications,
11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA
22030-9400; must contain the member’s code
line from an American Rifleman or American
Hunter mailing label or membership card; must
be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed,
legal-size envelope; and must be limited to one
specific question per letter. Non-members may
submit a question with a membership application. We cannot answer technical or historical questions by telephone, e-mail or fax,
and we cannot place even an approximate
value on guns or other equipment. Please
allow eight to 10 weeks for replies.
“Questions & Answers” is compiled by staff
and Contributing Editors: Hugh C. Birnbaum,
Bruce N. Canfield, O. Reid Coffield, Charles
M. Fagg, David Fischer, Angus Laidlaw, Charles
E. Petty, Jon R. Sundra, John M. Taylor and
John Treakle.
mil std 1913 stAnAg
4694 compliAnt
rAil spAce
cAptiVe firing pin
with retAining pin
Ar10 mAgAZine
compAtible
AmbidextroUs
sAfetY selector And
mAgAZine releAse
2 stAge
electronicAllY
recorded trigger
AdJUstAble
sights to
fit YoUr
reQUirements
impproVed
ergo grip
sopmod collApsing
bUttstock, 6 position
LM308MWS
enigmatic. They deviate from the
norm in ways other than the inclusion of safeties. The Spencer, for
example, looks at first glance to
be a hinged-frame revolver with a
latch at the upper rear of the frame.
On closer inspection, however, one
realizes that the barrel and frame
are of one piece, and what appears
to be a latch is actually a means to
disengage the cylinder stop and
rotate the cylinder for loading
through a gate on the right side.
The American Gun Co. example
features a fire-control selection
system allowing either conventional double-action or a means to
cock the hammer through action
of the trigger. The hammer of the
Forehand New Model Hammerless
is shrouded by the barrel latch, a
design that calls for the shooting
hand to press down on the latch
while the non-shooting hand tips the
barrel down—a definite time-saver.
These were all innovative features of
good guns that, in only a few short
years, would be considered underpowered and obsolete.
—JOHN TREAKLE
7 Qd sling swiVel
AttAchment points
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MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
41
CorrespondenCe
favorite firearms
Thirty Years, Three Troopers, One Shotgun
T
he Arkansas State Police has
been a part of my family for 60
years and has fed my family for
three generations. Another constant
in my family for more than 30 years
is our old Remington Model 11-48
shotgun, inscribed “PROPERTY OF
THE ARKANSAS STATE POLICE.”
The ASP purchased semi-automatic
shotguns for the Troopers when my
grandpa, Rue Luter, was in service,
and he was issued one. My dad, H.D.
Luter, was hired and assigned to
Highway Patrol several years later. When my Grandpa died, the 11-48 was
reissued to my dad. I was then commissioned as an Arkansas State Trooper
in 1990 and 10 years later, my dad retired and the 11-48 was issued to me.
After a couple of years, the ASP retired the gun, and I was able to buy it.
The 11-48 had taken a beating bouncing around in a marked patrol car for
more than 30 years, so I had it restored. The 11-48 was presented to retired
Sgt. H.D. Luter and is now proudly displayed on the wall at his house next to
a framed history of Trooper Luter’s Shotgun.
Though it is not in use anymore, the shotgun is a reminder of the years
of service and pride the Luter family brought to the Arkansas State Police.
Although I never met grandpa Rue, I always felt that he would be proud to
know his legacy, as well as his gun, carried on for three generations.
—ScOtt Luter, arkanSaS
Return Of The Savage
B
oth of my brothers and I harvested our
first deer with this 1899 Savage when
we were each 12 years old. We were
raised on our parents’ cattle ranch in southern Idaho, so of course dad slaughtered
his own beef for the family meat. One day
a steer set for slaughter escaped into the
pasture, so I had to run to the house and get
the .25-35 Win. I dropped him with a shot
between the eyes, offhand, at probably 30
yds. I thought that was pretty good shooting
for a 12-year-old.
Shortly after that, a friend of Dad’s talked him into selling the rifle. When I
was informed of that I told Dad, “We have to get that rifle back.” Dad agreed,
and he tried to get it back, but the friend would not sell. I kept after Dad for
a few years and as luck would have it, one day the owner called to see if Dad
was interested in trading the .25-35 Win. for a .30-’06 Sprg. He jumped at the
chance, the trade was made and we again had that beautiful little rifle.
About 25 years ago Dad divided most of his rifles between we three
brothers. I received the .25-35 Win., and today it resides with me. It is still
in perfect condition, and sometimes I go to the range and put a few rounds
through it. When I get home it is then lovingly cleaned, oiled and put away.
This rifle has no price tag. When it is my turn to walk with God, it will
be given to the next family generation to love and cherish, as I have.
—Mike Gardner, OreGOn
42 m
arCh
2011
www.ameriCanrifleman.org
NRA member photos
Advertisement
A Father’s Heirloom
M
y dad passed before I was
born, so we never hunted
together. Mom carefully
kept his favorite rifle for me as a
keepsake, in case I wanted to be a
hunter, too. I’m glad she did.
The rifle is a pre-’64 Model 70
Winchester in .270 Win.—Jack
O’Connor’s rifle in O’Connor’s
caliber. Dad restocked it, including
the oil finish, to O’Connor’s specifications. I have a copy of the article
he worked from.
The Model 70’s wood and
stock are beautiful, but if you look
closely at the checkering, you
can tell it was done by a gifted
amateur and not a skilled professional. The bolt is polished—by
hand and by use— and operation
is silky smooth. The rifle would be
precious to me just because it was
Dad’s favorite, but it has turned out
to be one heck of a rifle.
Since I began hunting and
shooting later than most, it took
years to appreciate just how special it is. Temperamental it is not;
it shoots well everything I feed
it, factory or handloads, 130 grs.
to 150 grs. With its 24" barrel and
good handloads, the velocity and
accuracy are wonderful to behold.
I like to think my dad and I would
be friends and hunting buddies
today had he lived. I’m pretty sure
I’m right. He left me a great gift in
the .270, a piece of himself. I try to
be worthy of it.
—R. BRUCE MOON, TEXAS
Special RepoRt.
“What You MUST
Know BEFORE
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Concealed Carry is a
SERIOUS Subject...
I
f you’ve decided to carry a firearm
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It is critical that you realize that the
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The MOMENT you decide to draw your
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whether you fire a shot or not.
The Moment You Draw Your Gun,
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If you need to take the time to THINK
about these decisions, there’s a good
chance you’ll make a choice that will
put you in jail...or worse.
You need to have these decisions
programmed into your brain BEFORE
you leave your house with your gun!
Being a part of the United States
Concealed Carry Association is all
about helping people make informed
decisions. We empower our members
so they know EXACTLY what to do in
a life or death situation.
For a limited time, we’re giving NRA
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Inside, you’re going to uncover the
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I urge you to get your free download
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� YES! Send me MAN AT ARMS For the Gun and Sword
Collector, The NRA Journal for the American Arms Collector. One-
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and Canada (foreign orders add $9.00.) Attention first-time subscribers only — order now and get a free bonus issue!
Call 1-800-999-4697
Nearly every shooter has a favorite firearm. If
you have one you wouldn’t part with and would
like to share the experience of owning it with
other American Rifleman readers, send a sharp
color photograph of the gun, accompanied by
its story in fewer than 400 words, with your
name, address and daytime telephone number
to: Favorite Firearms, American Rifleman, National Rifle Association, 11250 Waples Mill Road,
Fairfax, VA 22030-9400. Photos and submissions
cannot be returned and may be edited for clarity
and brevity.
Special
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MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
43
Photo courtesy VisitPittsburgh
Official Sponsor
Sail
The Rivers
Of
Freedom
By NRA Staff
J
ust as the Allegheny and Monongahela
Rivers converge to form the mighty
Ohio River in Pittsburgh, Pa., thousands
of NRA members will unite for the 2011
NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits, April 29
through May 1, 2011. While the 2010 Meetings in Charlotte set all-time attendance
records with more than 72,000 attendees,
the 2011 Meetings in Pittsburgh will be
celebrated in even grander style—this year
marks NRA’s 140th anniversary.
Events will be held at the David L.
Lawrence Convention Center, the
CONSOL Energy Center and Heinz Field.
The convention center will be bustling
with 500 exhibitors displaying the latest
guns and gear covering 320,000 square
feet. Exhibitors will include every major
firearm company, as well as knives, wildlife art, shooting accessories, hunting
gear, outfitters, collectors and much more.
Arrive early and you’ll get a sneak preview of the weekend’s events on Thursday.
Beat the lines and register early, put your
skills to the test on the Pyramid Air airgun
range, stop by the Guns & Gold Showcase,
sponsored by Universal Coin & Boullion,
shop at the NRAstore and visit the special
lobby exhibits before the Exhibit Hall
opens on Friday.
Bid To Show Your Support
This year’s Meetings will set sail with
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre (l.) will
introduce a captivating slate of speakers, including
(above, l.) former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee,
author Michael Reagan and comedian Jeff Foxworthy.
The National NRA Foundation Banquet
and Auction, sponsored by Leupold and
Cabela’s, on Thursday, April 28. Held in the
Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom, the event
will include a dinner, live and silent auctions, games and raffles. Special auction
items will include a 100th Anniversary
Master-Engraved Colt 1911 and a fiddle
autographed by Charlie Daniels. Proceeds
will go directly to The NRA Foundation,
which supports shooting-related activities
for all ages. Tickets are limited; to order, visit
www.nraam.org or call (877) 672-7632.
New this year will be the “Steel for a
Steal” raffle drawing. On Friday and
Saturday, April 29-30, on the third floor
of the convention center, this large raffle
drawing will include hundreds of firearms.
Don’t stop your bidding there. The
NRA-ILA Dinner and Auction will be held
on Friday, April 29, at Heinz Field. Don’t
miss your opportunity to bid on one-of-akind firearms, hunts and artwork. Tickets
to this sell-out event are limited; to purchase, contact John Commerford at
(703) 267-1141, jcommerford@nrahq.org.
Celebrate American Values
On Friday, April 29, NRA will kick off
the weekend with the Celebration of
American Values (COAV) Leadership
Forum, presented by MidwayUSA. NRA
members who attended last year’s forum
are still talking about their incredible
experience; previous speakers included
former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin; former
U.N. Ambassador John Bolton; Lt. Col.
Oliver North and actor Chuck Norris. This
year’s COAV forum will be held Friday,
April 29. Tickets are available on a firstcome, first-served basis. Due to limited
space, seating in the main room will only
be available to the first 2,400 requests.
The Celebration of American Values
Freedom Experience, presented by
MidwayUSA, will take place Saturday,
April 30, at the CONSOL Energy Center.
The evening will begin with a concert by
the award-winning chorus and Virginia’s
91st Air Force Junior ROTC Band from
Randolph-Macon Academy. Then you
will be treated to a special performance
by comedian Jeff Foxworthy. Next up,
you’ll hear a powerful keynote address by
former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee—a
patriotic American who works tirelessly to
advance constitutional liberty.
Following Gov. Huckabee, best-selling
author Michael Reagan will present the
NRA Ronald Reagan Leadership Award to
commemorate the 100th anniversary of
the birth of one of NRA’s most-admired
members, President Ronald Reagan. If you
buy tickets to Saturday night’s Freedom
Experience, you’ll also receive a gift
membership to award to a member of our
To learn more about events and hotel accommodations go to www.nraam.org, or call (877) 672-7632. See you in Pittsburgh!
44 M
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WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
military. Don’t miss this historic evening
filled with excitement, laughter and fun.
Buy tickets at www.nraam.org or call
(877) 672-7632.
Meetings, Workshops And Seminars
The Annual Meeting of Members will
take place on Saturday, April 30. NRA
officers will deliver their annual addresses
to members, and the results from the
2011 election of members to the NRA
Board of Directors will be announced.
Myriad educational workshops and
seminars, sponsored by Cabela’s, will be
presented during the Annual Meetings.
Personal safety seminars will include
Methods of Concealed Carry and Refuse
To Be A Victim (RTBAV). Sunday’s RTBAV
Instructor Development Workshop is
continued on p. 81
Fun For The Entire Family!
Bid On A Masterpiece
D
aylight was fading fast in the hunting grounds of British East
Africa when Theodore Roosevelt, led by R.J. Cunninghame, finally
encountered the game they had been tracking—three bull elephants
that loomed like huge, dark hulks in the twilight. With bated breath, they
watched as the beasts came into view and stood motionless. The biggest
elephant’s trunk uncurled, lifted and searched for the hunters’ scent. Initially, the men backed off and then, assessing the situation from a better
and safer vantage, Roosevelt fired and brought down the lead bull.
This epic encounter has been reenvisioned in the original oil painting
“Twilight Trophy—Roosevelt & Cunninghame” by renowned artist
John Seerey-Lester. It will be a featured item up for bid at the gala NRA-ILA
Dinner and Auction on April 29 in Pittsburgh.
Annual Meetings fundraising auctions that support NRA political
action and shooting education programs provide attendees with the
opportunity to acquire fabulous firearms, jewelry, artwork and other
collectibles.
This is your chance to own Seerey-Lester’s stunning, one-of-a-kind,
30”x48” masterwork depicting a key event from America’s firearm heritage.
TECHNICAL
EXPLODED VIEW
U.S. Model
M1911A1 Pistol
The Browning-designed M1911 pistol and its descendents may
represent the most successful handgun design of all time.
DISASSEMBLY
T
o ensure that the pistol is
unloaded, point the muzzle
in a safe direction and then
remove the magazine and retract
the slide. Visually inspect the
chamber to confirm it is empty.
Start by resting the heel of the
gun on a table so both hands may
be used. With the thumb, press
inward on the knurled end of the
recoil spring plug (13) while at
the same time rotating the barrel bushing (10) one-quarter turn
clockwise to free the plug and
recoil spring (11) assembly (Fig. 1).
Next, withdraw the plug and recoil
spring (Fig. 2) from the slide (1). If
the spring does not come free easily, rotate the plug in the counterclockwise direction to separate it
from the spring. Rotate the barrel
bushing counter-clockwise until it
is disengaged from the slide and
remove it.
Pull the slide rearward until the
small clearance notch is aligned
with the slide stop (19) lug. Push
the slide stop from right to left
and pull it out of the receiver (46)
(Fig. 3). Pull the receiver to the
rear and off the slide. The recoil
spring guide (12) may then be
lifted off the slide. Push the barrel
link (9) forward and slide the barrel (7), link and link pin (8) out of
the slide’s front.
With the hammer cocked, rotate
the safety lock (26) nearly to the
46 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
“on” position. It may now be pulled
to the left and away from the frame
(Fig. 4). Next, remove the hammer
strut pin (18) from the receiver.
Then lift out the hammer assembly
(Fig. 5), which includes the hammer (16), hammer strut (17) and
hammer strut pin (18).
Using the hammer strut as a
punch, drift out the mainspring
housing pin (38). Slide the mainspring housing (33) downward
and off the receiver (Fig. 6). The
grip safety (31) may now be
lifted out. Next, lift out the sear
spring (32), and remove the sear
pin (24).
Lift out the sear (15) and disconnector (14), noting the relationship
between these parts to facilitate
reassembly. Depress the magazine
catch (20) from the left side while
rotating the magazine catch lock
(22) one-quarter turn counterclockwise using the lip of the sear
spring as a screwdriver. The catch
assembly may then be lifted out of
the frame.
Remove the trigger (30)
through the rear of the frame.
Using the tail of the hammer
strut, push out the barrel link pin,
freeing the link from the barrel.
Again using the hammer strut,
depress the firing pin (4) while
pushing the firing pin stop (6)
downward. This frees the stop for
removal downward and off the
slide. The firing pin may now be
pulled out and separated from its
spring (5). With the hammer strut,
pry out and remove the extractor
(3) rearward and out of the back
of the slide. Reassembly is in the
reverse order.
1
2
3
2A
PARTS LEGEND
1. SLIDE
2. REAR SIGHT
2A. FRONT SIGHT
3. EXTRACTOR
4. FIRING PIN
5. FIRING PIN SPRING
6. FIRING PIN STOP
7. BARREL
8. BARREL LINK PIN
9. BARREL LINK
10. BARREL BUSHING
11. RECOIL SPRING
12. RECOIL SPRING GUIDE
13. RECOIL SPRING PLUG
14. DISCONNECTOR
14A. EJECTOR
14B. EJECTOR PIN
15. SEAR
16. HAMMER
17. HAMMER STRUT
18. HAMMER STRUT PIN
19. SLIDE STOP
20. MAGAZINE CATCH
21. MAGAZINE CATCH SPRING
22. MAGAZINE CATCH LOCK
23. HAMMER PIN
24. SEAR PIN
25. PLUNGER TUBE
26. SAFETY LOCK
27. SLIDE-STOP PLUNGER
28. PLUNGER SPRING
29. SAFETY LOCK PLUNGER
30. TRIGGER
31. GRIP SAFETY
32. SEAR SPRING
33. MAINSPRING HOUSING
34. MAINSPRING CAP PIN
35. MAINSPRING CAP
36. MAINSPRING
37. MAINSPRING HOUSING PIN RETAINER
38. MAINSPRING HOUSING PIN
39. STOCK, LEFT
40. STOCK, RIGHT
41. STOCK SCREWS (4)
42. STOCK SCREW BUSHINGS (4)
43. MAGAZINE ASSEMBLY
44. MAGAZINE SPRING
45. MAGAZINE FOLLOWER
46. RECEIVER
4
10
2
13
7
11
3
1
8
5
6
9
14B
4
14A
12
46
14
16
15
18
19
45
22
21
20
23
17
25
27
28
24
29
30
26
35
31
41
44
42
39-40
38
43
32
36
37
34
33
41
5
6
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
47
Feature
scar 17s
The SCAR 17S is the semi-automaticonly 7.62x51 mm NATO version of the
rifle SOCOM wanted all along. Its arrival
is most welcome.
More on the Web
www.americanrifleman.org/SCAR
48 M
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Photos by Hannele Lahti
FNH-USA’s SCAR 17S
A
BY GLENN M. GILBERT, Shooting Editor
t long last, the SCAR 17S is here. The new rifle is a semi-automatic-only
version of the military’s selective-fire MK17 Mod 0 or Special Operations
Combat Assault Rifle (SCAR) Heavy. Chambered in .308 Win./7.62x51 mm
NATO, the gun is bigger and more powerful than its .223 Rem./5.56x45
mm NATO predecessor, the SCAR 16S, but, thankfully, not objectionably
so. No longer constrained by limitations of that gun’s smaller receiver and chambering, the bigger SCAR 17S greatly expands the potential utility of the SCAR platform. One can argue that the SCAR Heavy was what Special Operations Command
(SOCOM) wanted all along: a modern carbine chambered in 7.62x51 mm NATO
that is lightweight, reliable and accurate.
SOCOM adopted both the SCAR Heavy and the SCAR Light in November 2004,
and since that time both military and civilian shooting circles have taken to the
new gun. Those who shoot AR-style rifles for service or sport will find themselves
right at home. The bolt stop paddle, magazine-release button and safety lever are
in the same places, and the latter two controls are now ambidextrous. The bolt stop
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
49
SCAR 17S
paddle is almost identical to that of the AR-15, but
the circular magazine release button is taller and
wider, so it is easier to find in a hurry. Major differences between the SCARs and ARs include the SCAR
charging handle, which reciprocates with the bolt.
The handle can be switched from the left to the right
side, so both right- and left-handed shooters can
choose whether they want to operate it with either
their strong or weak hands. In addition, the safety
lever has a short, 45-degree throw between the safe
and fire positions, whereas that of the M16/AR-15 has
a longer, 90-degree throw.
The seven-lug bolt has a deeply recessed face with
a plunger ejector and a claw extractor. There are a
number of mechanical features that help ensure the
17S’s multi-lug bolt seats consistently into battery. The
mass of the bolt assembly combined with the mechanical advantage of the SCAR’s fixed charging handle
eliminates any need for a forward assist plunger.
As one can imagine, these improvements greatly
simplify the immediate action drill. In the event of a
stoppage, there is no need to tap a separate forward
assist after you pull and release the charging handle.
Also, there is no charging handle to pull over the
top of the stock, so one can keep his or her head on
the stock when reducing a stoppage to get the gun
back into action that much faster. The stock also has a
The seven-lug bolt of the FNH
SCAR 17S has a claw extractor,
a plunger ejector and a deeply
recessed face. A kidney-shaped
cut-out in the bolt carrier rotates
the bolt in and out of battery.
two-position adjustable comb. Given that many of the
powerful optical sights currently available require the
use of tall rings and bases, this is an important feature.
Its six-position collapsing stock is indexed on
both sides. Compressing a metal release bar on
the left-hand side of the stock allows the user to
adjust length of pull, and depressing a half-moonshaped button at the wrist folds the stock to the
right side of the receiver. A stud on the comb locks
into a hook at the rear of the ejection port that
doubles as a shell deflector. The hook is just a friction lock, so a sharp pull on the butt of the stock
will release it from the hook.
The SCAR 17S has a number of sling attachment
points. At the stock’s wrist are two vertical sling loops
on the left-hand side and one on the right. Two more
vertical sling loops are fixed to the mouth of the foreend. Last, a horizontal slot runs through the stock’s heel.
As befits a rifle designed for hard use, the SCAR 17S
disassembles quickly without tools. Folding front and
rear sights are standard equipment. The rear aperture
is finger-adjustable for windage and range. The front
is detent-adjustable for elevation (r.).The PWS muzzle
brake (below, r.) does much to dampen muzzle rise
and aid controllability.
50 M
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continued on p. 52
The U.S. Military SCAR Program Status: Present and Future
O
n April 14, 2010, FN Herstal (FNH) received notification
from the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM)
Program Executive Office that the FN SCAR (Special
Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle) program achieved
the Milestone C phase, authorizing the production and deployment of the following: MK16 5.56x45 mm NATO SCAR-L (SCARLight) (Short Barreled Rifle); MK17 7.62x51 mm NATO SCAR-H
(SCAR-Heavy); MK20 7.62x51 mm NATO SSR (Sniper Support
Rifle); and 40x46 mm MK13 Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module (EGLM). According to an Aug. 16, 2010, FNH USA press
release, SOCOM approved the SCAR systems for full-rate
production on July 30, 2010. This created some confusion at
the time, however, since SOCOM quickly let it be known that it
would not be purchasing the MK16.
The approval on the rest of the SCAR systems was a long
time coming, considering that SOCOM had awarded FNH the
SCAR development contract in November 2004. The program
was actually conceived in 2002, and SOCOM drafted the Joint
Operational Requirements Document (JORD). The original
objective of the SCAR program was to develop a modular,
multi-caliber platform for Special Operations Forces (SOF). Six
years later and after spending $19 million on research, development and procurement, SOCOM is on the verge of achieving
this end. SOCOM and FNH are presently developing the FN
MK17 SCAR-H “common receiver,” which takes the MK17 to
the next level of modularity, past its quick-change barrel function. The MK17 common receiver will be capable of accept-
BY DAVID CRANE
ing a 5.56 mm conversion kit, consisting of a trigger module,
bolt, firing pin, magazine, and barrel. According to FNH USA’s
Marketing Director Combat Rifles & Technical Support Gabe
Bailey that the recoil spring and guide remain the same, and
there’s no need to change the case deflector.
As of December 2010, FNH has been actively developing
the SCAR common receiver platform/system for about the
past year and a half, and it has been testing it for roughly the
past six to eight months. The common receiver is currently
approaching the final phase of government testing. Bailey
informed me that they’re looking at fielding the SCAR common receiver system sometime in 2011, most likely around the
mid-year mark.
FNH made a wise choice in developing the common
receiver, since SOCOM has decided not to purchase the MK16
variant. The reason for this is pretty straightforward: According to SOCOM Public Affairs Officer Maj. Wes Ticer, “The
MK16 does not provide enough of a performance advantage
over the M4 carbine to justify spending limited SOCOM funds
when competing priorities are taken into consideration.”
This is a diplomatic way of saying that the MK16, although it
is a capable weapon system that offers more than 80 percent parts commonality with, and identical ergonomics to,
the MK17, it doesn’t offer any measurable combat-relevant
performance or lethality advantage over the M4 carbine.
Put another way, there’s nothing a military operator can
continued on p. 53
Two developments
of the SCAR program
include the MK17 and
MK13 EGLM.
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
51
SCAR 17S
continued from p. 50
A 37-position M1913 Picatinny rail runs the full
length of the aluminum alloy upper receiver. The rail
runs all the way from the gas block to the wrist of the
stock. The mounting points are indexed so it is easier
to quickly reinstall optical sights without altering zero
or eye relief. Also there is no slip ring on the onepiece upper receiver that can create steps and gaps to
complicate scope mounting.
The polymer lower receiver has a larger magazine well to accommodate FNH-USA’s proprietary
double-column, detachable box magazine. The
magazine, of which 10- and 20-round variants are
available, has a stamped steel body and a polymer
follower, and the fl oorplate has a wedge-shaped
extension that gives the magazine the appearance
of having a fl at bottom.
Detachable flip-up iron sights are included. The
rear aperture overlaps the circular shroud for the
front sight—a system first seen on the G3/H&K-91 that
aids rapid sight alignment. The front post is detentadjustable for elevation. Vertical drums located on
both sides of the rear sight base provide adjustment
for windage, and a horizontal wheel at the foot of the
rear aperture indexed from 200 to 600 meters allows
adjustment for range.
The cold-hammer forged barrel has a moderate
profile. It measures 0.66" in diameter and is 16¼"
long. The twist rate is 1:12". Fabrique Nationale
chose a four-prong triple-baffl e muzzle brake from
Primary Weapon Systems. The free-floating barrel is
attached to the receiver via six Torx-head machine
screws. Swapping out a barrel requires a Torx wrench
with a proper torque setting and takes about five
minutes. FNH-USA states that when SCAR barrels are
swapped, loss of zero should be limited to less than
1" at 100 yds.
continued on p. 73
The operating handle on
the SCAR 17S can be configured on either the left
or right side. The folding
buttstock (r.) allows adjustment of the length of pull
and comb height.
FNH-USA SCAR 17S
IMPORTER: FNH-USA (DEPT. AR),
P.O. BOX 697, MCLEAN, VA 22101,
(703) 288-1730; WWW.FNHUSA.COM
CALIBER: .308 WIN./7.62X51 MM NATO
ACTION TYPE: GAS-OPERATED,
SEMI-AUTOMATIC CENTER-FIRE RIFLE
RECEIVER: ALUMINUM UPPER
AND POLYMER LOWER
BARREL: 16¼", COLD-HAMMER FORGED,
CHROME-LINED
RIFLING: SIX-GROOVE, 1:12" RH TWIST
MAGAZINE: 10- OR 20-ROUND
DETACHABLE BOX
SIGHTS:
FLIP-UP FRONT POST DETENT-
ADJUSTABLE FOR ELEVATION
(1-MINUTE
CLICKS); FOLDING REAR APERTURE
FINGER-ADJUSTABLE FOR WINDAGE
(1/2-MINUTE CLICKS) AND RANGE
(200-600 METERS); PICATINNY RAIL
TRIGGER PULL: NON-ADJUSTABLE, SINGLESTAGE; 6 LBS., 5 OZS.
STOCK: FOLDING SYNTHETIC: LENGTH OF
PULL, SIX-POSITION ADJUSTABLE IN 1/2"
INCREMENTS FROM 141⁄8" TO 115⁄8";
DROP AT HEEL, 11⁄4"; DROP AT COMB,
1/8", 0" (COMB RAISED)
OVERALL LENGTH: 381⁄2" (BUTTSTOCK
EXTENDED) 281⁄2" BUTTSTOCK FOLDED
WEIGHT: 8 LBS.
ACCESSORIES: ONE 10- OR 20-ROUND
MAGAZINE, OWNER’S MANUAL
SUGGESTED RETAIL PRICE: $3,349
52 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
SHOOTING RESULTS (100 YDS.)
VEL. @ 15'
(F.P.S.)
ENERGY
(FT.-LBS.)
FEDERAL GM308M
168-GR. MK BTHP
2519 AVG.
20 SD
2,367
0.92
1.43
1.18
HORNADY NO. 8094
CUSTOM GMX
150-GR. BTHP
2652 AVG.
18 SD
2,342
1.14
1.62
1.32
NOSLER
CUSTOM COMPETITION
168-GR. BTHP
2541 AVG.
22 SD
2,420
0.97
1.56
1.24
.308 WIN.
CARTRIDGE
AVERAGE EXTREME SPREAD
GROUP SIZE IN INCHES
SMALLEST LARGEST AVERAGE
1.24
MEASURED AVERAGE VELOCITY FOR 10 ROUNDS FROM A 16¼" BARREL. RANGE TEMPERATURE:
40° F. HUMIDITY: 57%. ACCURACY FOR FIVE CONSECUTIVE, FIVE-SHOT GROUPS AT 100 YDS. FROM
SANDBAGS. ABBREVIATIONS: BTHP (BOATTAIL HOLLOW-POINT ), MK (SIERRA MATCH-KING),
GMX (GILDING METAL EXPANDING) SD (STANDARD DEVIATION).
The U.S. Military SCAR Program Status: Present And Future
accomplish tactically or ballistically with a MK16 that he
can’t already accomplish just as well with an M4, i.e., putting
rounds on target quickly, accurately, and reliably in a fight.
Rifle on rifle, the two look pretty evenly matched.
The FN MK17 SCAR-H common-receiver platform is a
very different story, however, as its light weight (7.91 lbs. in
standard configuration with 16" barrel), multi-caliber capability, semi-quick-change barrel system, and monolithic upper
receiver with integrated quad-rail system provide a new level
of usability and mission adaptability/versatility over the M14.
This allows the MK17 to “fill an existing capability gap for a
7.62 mm rifle,” wrote Bailey. Right out of the box, the MK17
“adds no more than one m.o.a. over the ammunition at 100
meters; this is really more precision than accuracy. In regards
to accuracy, with the MK16 and MK17, it is really tied to other
factors, i.e., reliability and barrel life. In basic terms, the MK16
and MK17 had to fire a minimum of 15,000 rounds with a meanrounds-between-stoppages better than in 2,000. I believe we
came in around 1 in 3,600 on both weapons and maintain 70
percent of hits on an e-type target at 300 meters. Of the 15,000
rounds, 50 percent were full-automatic fire and 25 percent
were suppressed.”
The MK17 common receiver’s caliber convertibility is
arguably one of the most profound threats to the M4’s survival
with SOCOM, and potentially with U.S. infantry forces, since
it provides long-term production and training cost advantages. Greater production increases absolute cost savings. A
single SCAR common receiver can double as an assault rifle/
carbine/SBR and battle rifle/carbine/SBR, as opposed to the
M4, MK18 MOD 1, M16, MK12 MOD 1 and M14, which are all
individual systems, and the AR-type arms and the M14 are
completely different platforms. This may be one of the reasons
Colt Defense has designed and developed the Colt CM901
7.62x51 mm NATO AR-10 type modular/multi-caliber battle rifle
with a “universal” lower receiver, to match the capabilities of
the SCAR series.
The MK17’s reception by SOF warfighters has generally
been positive. Operators enjoy the rifle’s light weight and
adaptability. The only controversial aspect of the system of
which I am aware is its reciprocating charging handle, which
some military operators find unwieldy. I am not a big fan of
reciprocating charging handles either, and I would like to see
a non-reciprocating charging handle developed for SCAR.
FNH’s and SOCOM’s goal with the MK20 SSR (Sniper
Support Rifle) was originally to give military snipers a one
m.o.a. gun that can fire 4,000 rounds between stoppages,
continued from p. 51
fire accurately on full-automatic, and be used as a fullcapability battle rifle. However, it would appear that the MK
20 is now a semi-automatic-only rifle with a 45-degree-throw
safety/selector lever. The MK20 features a beefed-up barrel attachment system, utilizing more barrel retention and
barrel extension screws; an extended receiver for mounting in-line night vision and thermal optics and standard day
sniper optics; a modular single-stage/two-stage trigger; a
non-folding adjustable precision buttstock; and a thicker,
free-floating heavy barrel.
According to FNH, it is to be fielded in May 2011. The
MK20 offers more than 60 percent parts commonality
with the MK17. Its trigger-pull weight is 4 lbs. (+/- 0.5 lbs.)
versus the MK16’s and MK17’s 6-lb. (+/- 1.5 lbs.) trigger-pull
weight. Accuracy is a claimed 0.25 m.o.a. at 100 meters over
baseline ammunition. The MK20’s threshold barrel life is a
claimed to be 7,000 rounds, but 15,000 rounds is the objective
goal, while maintaining a group size under 2.5 m.o.a. SOCOM
has deemed the MK20 “Operationally Effective /Operationally Suitable and Sustainable.”
A bit lower down on most people’s SCAR radar is the
under-barrel-mounted/stand-alone 40 mm MK13 EGLM
(Enhanced Grenade Launcher Module), which replaces the
M203. Unlike the M203, the MK13 swivels left and uses new
low-impulse 40 mm munitions that allow the operator to
engage the enemy out to 800 meters.
In my opinion, the hands-down most interesting and
ambitious SCAR variant is the aptly named FN Heat Adaptive
Modular Rifle (HAMR), which is FN’s Infantry Automatic Rifle
(IAR). Where other IARs feature open-bolt, full-automatic/
closed-bolt, semi-automatic operation to avoid cook-offs, the
HAMR’s thermal regulation system controls the bolt carrier
position. The FN HAMR will initially fire from the closed-bolt
position in both either semi-automatic or full-automatic. Once
the chamber reaches a certain temperature, however, it
will transition automatically to open-bolt operation before it
reaches its cook-off threshold. Once the chamber’s temperature comes back down below its cook-off threshold, the gun
will return to closed-bolt operation. The HAMR hasn’t landed
any U.S. military contracts, yet.
SOCOM’s Fiscal Year 2011 budget submission for all SCAR
variants is $3 million. According to SOCOM Public Affairs,
“SOCOM will use the existing contract with the manufacturer
to procure the weapons. SOCOM is in the process of determining the exact quantities of the MK17, MK13 and MK20
variants that will be purchased,” said Maj. Ticer.
The semi-automatic-only MK20 Sniper Support
Rifle in 7.62x51 mm NATO has a free-floated heavy
barrel, a beefed-up method of barrel attachment, an
extended receiver for mounting optics and a nonfolding stock. Accuracy is said to be 1/4 m.o.a.
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
53
More on the Web
FEATURE
BRITISH THOMPSONS
www.americanrifleman.org/Kahr
The
“Tommy’s” Thompson
54 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
Imperial War Museum photos
Although reluctant to adopt a “tatty American
gangster gun” in the 1920s, Britain’s War Office
changed its tune after Hitler’s legions rampaged
across Europe. Thompson submachine guns
served with British troops, or “Tommy Atkins,”
and their Commonwealth allies across the
globe during World War II.
I
BY MARTIN PEGLER
n May 1921, Gen. John Taliaferro Thompson went
on a sales tour of Europe, visiting Belgium, Britain,
France and Spain to promote his innovative “submachine gun,” a term he coined for the fully automatic .45 ACP that arrived too late for service in
World War I. He was invited to demonstrate the Model
1921 at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield on June
30, 1921, which he did with some success. The chief
inspector of small arms’ report illustrates his concerns
with the accuracy and reliability of the gun. He was
particularly puzzled by the requirement for the Blish
locking system, albeit couched in faintly impenetrable
army technical language.
“There is an element of doubt as to whether the
use of the lock is a positive one. The inclination of the
sides of the ‘H’ and the corresponding angle of the
grooves in the breech block tend to closure, whereas
… the inclination of the outside ‘ears’ and the corresponding angle of the grooves in the receiver tend to
release. It is well known that with pistol ammunition
the inertia weight of the breech block and the resistance of its return spring afford sufficient resistance
to hold up the cartridge [case] while the bullet leaves
the barrel, provided such weight and spring resistance are correctly worked out.”
In simple terms, the chief inspector was questioning
the necessity of the Blish lock, as the counterbalancing weight of the breech-block and its recoil spring,
matched to the cartridge performance, should in
theory provide sufficient delay on opening when operating on a straightforward, blowback principle. Indeed,
the Small Arms staff at Enfield predicted the alteration
of the design of later Thompsons by removing the Blish
lock completely and then firing the gun remotely under
safe conditions. The results were instructive: “The
rounds were fired, both ejection and extraction being
satisfactory. The gun functioned well and the condition
of the spent cases was found to be identical with that
of the spent cases … fired with the wedge assembled
to the gun.” There was also doubt about the efficacy of
the drum magazines: “The 20 round box magazines are
Men of the South Staffordshire Regiment, armed with
Tommy guns, climb up onto a harbor wall during an
amphibious exercise in Northern Ireland (l.). During
training, a Free-French commando balances precariously on a wire bridge while aiming his Thompson (r.).
One hopes he didn’t actually try shooting it.
much simpler than the drum magazines and appreciably lighter for the same number of rounds, 5 empty box
magazines holding 100 rounds in all weighing 2 lbs. as
against 3 lbs., 2 ozs., for the 100 round drum and 2 lbs.,
8 ozs. for the 50 round drum. The box magazines are
simpler for packing and transport.” There were a few
reliability problems when the Thompson was tested,
mostly with ammunition failing to fire (not necessarily
the gun’s fault) and some ejection problems.
But overall the British report praised the Thompson:
“The weapon is handy, compact and is designed in a
manner convenient for manufacture.” But there were
no orders forthcoming, the British government being
reluctant to spend money re-equipping the army
with a gun that was relatively expensive, unproven in
combat and against its guiding principles of not issuing light-automatic arms to soldiers. This was, after
all, the same army command that had insisted that
the Lee-Enfield rifle be fitted with a magazine cut-off
“to prevent the unnecessary expenditure of ammunition,” and which refused to countenance the issue of
semi-automatic pistols to their soldiers during the
Great War for similar reasons. The prospect of actually
issuing the soldiery a gun capable of such high rates
of fire horrified many at the Board of Ordnance, and in
the wake of the public’s distaste for anything involving
military expenditure after 1918, there was little chance
of Britain adopting the Thompson. Nearly two decades
later, that was to change.
When war broke out in September 1939, few, least of all
those in Neville Chamberlain’s government, had even the
remotest idea of the enormity of events that would soon
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
55
BRITISH THOMPSONS
unfold. The “phoney war” period was one of gathering
forces, stockpiling existing arms and frantically ordering
more. The Bren gun was in service along with the indomitable Lee-Enfield rifle, but the British Army, consistently
underfunded in the 1930s, was bereft of light-automatic
arms. Conveniently forgetting its earlier evaluation of the
Thompson as “that tatty American gangster gun” after
earlier testing, the Board of Ordnance requested that the
government sanction the purchase of “as many Thompson
machine carbines as possible.”
With the election of Winston Churchill as prime minister in 1940, things began to move quickly. Churchill, an
ex-soldier and an arms enthusiast, was also a believer in
the Thompson, publicly paraphrasing the Time magazine
comment that “General Thompson’s gun may be, pound
for pound, the most devastating weapon devised for war.”
He immediately sanctioned the acquisition of Model 1928
guns, and the British Purchasing Commission, based in
New York, placed the order in February 1940.
At first the commission ordered only 450 guns, and
the subsequent contract did not actually specify a
number—Britain needed all the guns it could get. Ordnance inspectors were sent from Britain to check and
stamp all export guns destined for Europe, and many
of the guns that never reached England bear their
inspection stamps. Savage was to ship them as fast
as possible at $225 apiece, and these guns, finished
in commercial blue, were supplied in a transit chest
with walnut stocks and two “L”-type drum magazines,
five box magazines, a webbing sling, 1,000 rounds of
ammunition and a cleaning kit.
The first units to receive the Thompsons were not
regular army units but the men of the highly secret
Home Guard Special Units, a small army comprised of
professional soldiers and Home Guard with previous
military experience, who together were to become
the core of a country-wide resistance in the event of
invasion. They had access to a series of specially constructed underground bunkers, cleverly camouflaged
in remote areas, in which they stockpiled arms, food
and radio equipment. These units had been formed at
the start of the war, and they received the first deliveries of Thompsons in early spring 1940.
Exactly how many Thompsons were supplied is
unknown, but doubtless some still lie, safely packed
and greased, in sealed bunkers secreted in woods dotted around the country. It was not until early 1941 that
the first 1928s began to find their way into the army,
and initially the guns were issued to Commando units,
The boxed Thompson kit issued to British units in the
early months of the war cost $225 each (l.). George
Goll is shown firing an M1921 Thompson in front of an
invited audience of British officers at Bisley Camp in the
summer of 1921 (above, r.). The climbing muzzle caused
by the recoil on the gun can clearly be seen, and Lyman
sights would have been of questionable practical use.
MODEL 1921
MODEL 1928A1
CARTRIDGE
MODEL M1/M1A1
.45 ACP
MUZZLE VELOCITY
EMPTY WEIGHT
OVERALL LENGTH
BARREL LENGTH
920 F.P.S.
10 LBS., 4 OZS.
10 LBS., 2 OZS.
10 LBS., 7 OZS.
25"
33¾"
32"
10½", 12½" (WITH CUTTS)
10½", 12½" (WITH CUTTS)
10½"
LYMAN LADDER REAR, BLADE FRONT
LYMAN LADDER REAR, BLADE FRONT
PEEP REAR, BLADE FRONT
CYCLIC RATE
800 R.P.M.
600-725 R.P.M.
500-600 R.P.M.
MAGAZINES
20-ROUND BOX, 50- OR 100-ROUND DRUMS
20- OR 30-ROUND BOX, 50- AND 100-ROUND DRUM
20- AND 30-ROUND BOX
SIGHTS
56 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
Osprey Publishing’s
“Weapon” Series
F
as Sgt. Thomas “Tommy” Dales of No. 2 Commando
recounted: “We were given a new carbine, the Tommy
gun, in, I think April or May 1941. We had all seen them
at the pictures, of course, Al Capone and the rest, so
we went around talking like Jimmy Cagney for a while.
In fact they were very well made, beautiful really. But
blimey, they were heavy things.” Five Commando units
were selected for early supply because of their need
for a compact, fast-firing arm that was reliable and
hard-hitting, and the Thompson fit the bill.
As the Lend-Lease program got underway, more
and more Thompsons found their way to Britain. By this
time, the U.S. government was wholly responsible for
the supply of arms under Lend-Lease, and total British
orders for the Thompson stood at 514,000. Despite the
depredations of the U-boats on the Atlantic convoys,
some supplies of Thompsons continued to reach Britain;
but of the guns ordered, only 100,000 had arrived by
April 1942. By the summer of 1942, however, panic measures set in to introduce some alternative to the costly
Thompson, resulting in the production of the Sten submachine gun. Unlike the finely machined Model 1928,
with its beautiful finish, the Sten was assembled by
unskilled workers from black-painted parts supplied
by subcontractors and cost £2.50 (about £112 or $180
in current values). It was unlovely, crude and dangerous if mishandled, but it was also serviceable and easy
to manufacture. Sten guns became a priority for issue
to all European Theatre of Operations (ETO) Commonwealth troops with the exception of the Commando
brigades who were mostly supplied with Thompsons—
and wanted to keep them.
Despite the availability of the Sten, Thompsons
continued to be issued to Home Guard units. For some
of these scratch-formed defence groups, the old jokes
about taping a butcher’s knife to a broom handle were
not so far from the truth, but in reality many units were
issued new Thompsons, albeit initially with no ammunition. Peter Evans, ex-East Yorkshire Home Guard,
said: “We had two Thompson guns and several dozen
Enfield Pattern 1917 rifles, which were chambered
for the [American] .30-calibre ammunition, but we
were issued with .303 cartridges which were no use.
continued on p. 89
or the past seven centuries, man has made remarkable leaps in arms technology. To trace the advances
since the Hundred Years War is a Herculean task, but
by focusing on a particular arm or class developed during
this period, it becomes manageable for both researcher and
reader. Osprey Publishing has begun this undertaking with the
first seven volumes of its “Weapon” series, covering everything from Medieval Handgonnes to the The Rocket Propelled
Grenade in 80-pp., illustrated books that are affordable, easy
to read and full of historical and technical information.
It’s amazing how much information can be packed into 80
pages. Whether it is the use of the katana by samurai prior to
the Tokugawa Shogunate or the baker’s dozen of cartridgetypes used in the M2 .50-cal. machine gun, Osprey and Series
Editor Martin Pegler (formerly of the Royal Armouries), the
author of the accompanying Thompson story, have managed
to cover a swath of history in a manner that will appeal to the
casual enthusiast and the tech-junkie alike.
Though Medieval Handgonnes, The Rocket Propelled
Grenade, Katana: The Samurai Sword and Fairbairn-Sykes
Commando Dagger will certainly captivate anyone interested
in historically important arms, the titles of greatest interest
to our readers will likely be The Thompson Submachine Gun,
Browning .50-Caliber Machine Guns and Sniper Rifles.
Don’t let the short length of these titles fool you—they
are not mere introductions to the subject, though far longer
tomes have been assembled covering each subject in
the series. For example, The Thompson Submachine Gun
has a section on the British use of the .45 ACP “Chicago
Typewriter” during World War II, including details such
as description of the gun’s packaging when delivered to
the Tommies. Sniper Rifles might cover more than three
centuries of marksman’s rifles, from the development of
the Kentucky Rifle on the American frontier to new models
developed and tested on the battlefields of Afghanistan in
the 21st century, but it leaves no stone unturned despite its
relatively few pages.
If you’re looking for a treatise on the Browning M2 down
to the variation in knurling on the backplate buffer tube or
the difference between a proof marks on Savage and Auto
Ordnance-produced Thompsons, the “Weapon” series is probably not detailed enough for your tastes. If, however, you seek a
thorough history of the development and use of any of the arms
covered in the series, you won’t
be disappointed, no matter
your prior knowledge of these
important historical tools.
The softbound, heavily illustrated books in the
“Weapon” series are each
$17.95 plus shipping and are
available from: Osprey Publishing, (866) 620 6941;
www.ospreypublishing.com
—ED FRIEDMAN, ASSOCIATE EDITOR,
SHOOTING ILLUSTRATED
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
57
Feature
combat .45
This classic Armand Swenson custom combat .45 features S&W K-sights, a squared
and checkered trigger guard and a stippled
slide with a French border (above). Ported
barrel extensions, such as on this Devel
Gammon, emerged in the 1980s (above, r.).
58 m
arch
2011
www.americanriFleman.org
Photos by Ichiro Nagata
More on the Web
www.americanrifleman.org/SIS
The Evolution
Of The
Custom Combat .45
How customizing the M1911 for a combative role led to a whole new breed of
Browning’s big slab-sided pistol.
S
andy Koufax pitches a perfect game against
the hapless Cubs while Gemini 4 astronaut
Ed White executes the first space walk
above the Earth. The Beatles play the first
“stadium concert” in New York; Lyndon
Johnson is sworn in for a full-term as president;
and the first Colt M1911 Government Model is
“combat customized.”
The year is 1965, and the funeral of Sir Winston
Churchill captures far more attention than the ministrations of Swedish gunsmith Armand Swenson.
His remarkable modifications to a Colt Government
Model, however, are proving to be a watershed event
in the development of the M1911. Swenson created the
custom combat .45.
Custom tuning of the M1911 is not new, but, prior
to Swenson, gunsmiths such as Bob Chow, Jim Clark
and Al Dinan had focused solely on accuracy work
for NRA Bullseye pistol competition. Along with
lightening triggers and installing adjustable sights,
the Government Model had never been customized
specifically for combative purposes—a genre that
later came to be known as “custom combat”
gunsmithing—until a handful of pistolsmiths in
Southern California began modifying the big slabsided pistol for down-and-dirty use.
The late Armand Swenson remains the foremost
of these pioneering pistolsmiths and the man who
defined the custom combat .45 for evermore. A
former state champion Golden Gloves boxer, the
barrel-chested Swede worked a day job at Boeing.
His hobby was building custom hunting rifl es using
surplus Mauser 98 actions and stocking them with
elegant pieces of walnut. Swenson loved guns and he
BY CAMERON HOPKINS
was a gifted craftsman—a rare combination. His other
passion was speed. Armand designed high-speed
racing boats in his off-time.
And back in 1965, things were indeed happening fast in Southern California. In a sleepy mountain
resort called Big Bear, Jeff Cooper was holding “combat shooting” matches in the South West Combat
Pistol League.
Ray Chapman was one of the top shots, using an
M1911 against the likes of Jack Weaver, Thell Reed
and Elden Carl. The exigencies of fast, close-range
shooting in a sport with no alibis (unlike NRA Bullseye shooting where a jam wasn’t penalized) led to a
need for a rather specific list of custom work to be
performed on the Government Model.
Arnold “Al” Capone of King’s Gun Works in Los
Angeles became a favorite of the local combat shooters, and it might well be argued that the first custom
combat M1911s were built by Al Capone and one of
his hired hands, a gunsmith who would receive great
acclaim in his own right as the inventor of the longslide M1911, Jim Hoag.
Meanwhile, word spread about Armand Swenson
after several of his custom Mauser rifle customers
brought their M1911s to his Gardena, Calif., shop.
There the friendly Swede, who called everyone
“Laddy,” readily took to the Model O. His modifications
were not only eminently functional but also aesthetically pleasing. A Swenson gun from the 1960s looks
just as dashingly serious today as it did then. In fact,
no other custom M1911 has ever achieved such a distinctive “look” as a Swenson .45, a style so influential
that pistolsmiths 40 years later still mimic the Swede’s
trademark touches.
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
59
coMbat .45
Combat Custom Features
Consider this beast we call the custom combat M1911.
Many of Swenson’s customers were soldiers and Marines
deploying to Vietnam. One of them, a West Point graduate who would become one of the foremost experts on
military small arms before his untimely passing, was
Chuck Karwan. Karwan, then a young lieutenant, carried a
Swenson-modified Colt on his Vietnam tours.
What did a professional soldier such as Karwan and
an active competitor such as Chapman both demand
in a Colt pistol? Three qualities were most important:
handling, reliability and durability. First and foremost
was handling.
Swenson checkered the front strap at 30 lines per
inch to give the shooter a better purchase with sweaty,
wet or, yes, bloody hands. If checkering works on
highly figured walnut stocks, why not on a pistol?
To prevent the reciprocating slide from pinching
the web of the shooter’s hand, the tang of the grip
safety was bobbed and radiused. (Later, enlarged grip
safeties were made, known as “beavertail” safeties for
their resemblance to an aquatic rodent’s tail.)
Swenson developed an ambidextrous thumb safety
featuring enlarged levers for faster, more positive
access to enable the pistol to be operated with the
left hand only. He patented his invention, the first such
design. Today any right-sided thumb safety is referred
to generically as a “Swenson safety.”
In order to enhance the ability of the shooter to
fire quickly and accurately, Swenson installed adjustable “K sights” pirated from Smith & Wesson K-frame
revolvers. Later, Swenson developed the “Swen-Sight,”
a high-profile fixed sight with a large, serrated blade.
The tiny Colt stock front sight was always replaced
with a dovetail serrated ramp front sight that Swenson
machined individually.
Facilitating a secure, two-handed grip—as advocated by Cooper and perfected by Weaver—Swenson
welded the front of the trigger guard into a square,
then he finished it by hand-filing it to shape and
checkering it. Chapman and, later, Ross Seyfried won
combat shooting world championships using M1911s
with squared trigger guards for better purchase by
their left-hands’ index fingers.
For those with large hands, a long trigger was
installed and the pull was adjusted to a crisp 4 lbs.
Often a flat mainspring housing with a lanyard loop
replaced the arched style that came standard on Colt
Government Models.
To make reloading the pistol easier in the heat of
competition or the chaos of combat, Swenson beveled the inside edges of the magazine well. Looking
at early Swenson pistols today and comparing them to
the gigantic magazine funnels on today’s M1911s, we’d
think of the beveling as mild, but back then it was a
novel innovation.
60 M
arch
2011
www.aMericanrifleMan.org
To increase accuracy, before the day of aftermarket
match barrels, Swenson installed a rivet on the left
slide of the slide to hold a small steel pad brazed to
the inside of the slide that he filed to fit against the
side of the barrel hood. This created tension on the
barrel where it mates to the slide’s breech face, stabilizing the barrel and centering it. Swenson called it a
“barrel tensioner.” Of course, the link was properly fitted, and an over-size bushing was made to fit the slide.
Turning to reliability, the ejection port was lowered
to prevent fired brass from deforming at the mouth,
an all-too-common occurrence on factory Colts and
a sure sign that brass was not being ejected cleanly.
Extended ejectors, like those found on the thenrecently introduced Colt Commander Model, were
installed and the extractor was tuned for the correct
amount of tension on the case rim.
To make the Government Model more durable
Swenson drew on his experience at Boeing, where
he had learned that metal corrosion and abrasion
can be dramatically reduced with a finish known as
hard chrome. Indeed, the U.S. Army had learned the
same lesson and was hard-chroming barrels on M16s.
The matte hard-chrome finish on M1911s is one more
Swenson innovation.
A fourth category of custom work on this new
entity known as a custom combat .45 finally came:
good looks. The aesthetic appeal of a hand-tuned
One of the best of Second
Generation pistolsmiths is Bill
Wilson, and below is a Wilson
Combat custom .45 with all the
embellishments.
Wayne Novak (far,
r.), who apprenticed
under Swenson, fires
his Colt Series 70.
Novak, a pistolsmith
of renown, is best
known for his sights.
M1911 came into its own on Swenson’s cluttered
workbench in Fallbrook, Calif., where he had moved
from his original Gardena shop. Using a new rat-tail
file (the process ate one new file per gun), Swenson
stippled the top of the slide by hammering the file
into the steel with a round brass bar. The rat-tat-tattat of the file being smacked by the bar created a
subdued stippling that Swenson smoothed by bead
blasting.
He cleaned up the edges with a fine line that he called
a French border. The term stuck and years later pistolsmiths such as Richard Heinie and Steve Nastoff accented
their slides with what they, too, called a French border.
Combat Special
Carrying on through the late ’60s, Swenson, Hoag
and Capone were soon joined on the East Coast by
two more talented pistolsmiths who saw the writing
on the wall: Austin Behlert and Al Dinan. Both of these
’smiths had developed solid reputations as bullseye
specialists, tuning the Colt .45 for target work.
But the next major advance in the custom combat
M1911 came once more from California in the shop of
a German immigrant named Frank Pachmayr. Already
well known for his custom hunting rifles and shotguns—
Pachmayr-customized Model 21s are still stunningly
beautiful—Pachmayr employed two talented gunsmiths
named Tom Dornhaus and Craig Wetstein in his Monrovia shop. (A decade later, Dornhaus went on to partner
with Mike Dixon to form the ill-fated Bren Ten company.)
It was these two talents, Dornhaus and Wetstein, who
together produced the next major evolution of the custom combat .45, the Pachmayr Combat Special.
The year was 1972. The gun featured a two-tone finish of hard chrome on the frame and a mirror-polished
blue slide. Swenson’s trademark S&W K-sight was
upgraded to a “melted” Bo-Mar adjustable sight, the
This Jim Hoag custom Colt with
“buried” Bo-Mar sights features
Hoag’s handmade beavertail safety
and a squared trigger guard (below).
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
61
coMbat .45
installation so perfectly blended into the slide that it
looked as if the metals had melted together.
Pachmayr’s new pistol included Swenson’s stainless
steel ambidextrous thumb safety and a beavertail grip
safety patterned after the style made by Jim Hoag. The
top of the slide was serrated longitudinally, an aesthetic touch evolved from Swenson’s stippling. Another
striking feature: a set of matte-black rubberized grips
that would go on to make Pachmayr’s name synonymous with “grips.”
By 1976, Jeff Cooper’s original combat shooting club, the South West Combat Pistol League, had
formulated a book’s worth of rules, and the discipline
had spread internationally. A conference was held
in Columbia, Mo., to form the Int’l Practical Shooting
Ass’n (IPSC). Cooper was elected the chairman, giving rise to his derisive nickname, Chairman Jeff, for
his penchant to issue unilateral decisions and enforce
them with draconian intransigence.
The year prior, 1975, a “world championship” combat shooting match had been held in Switzerland that
was won by Chapman, an athletic American who had
competed in Cooper’s early combat matches. At the
time, IPSC did not exist, but at the Columbia Conference the match was retroactively designated as the
IPSC World Championship, and Chapman thereby
found himself its first world champion.
Cooper appealed to Frank Pachmayr to donate a
Combat Special as the winner’s prize. Pachmayr agreed
and went on to sponsor Chapman as a competitive
shooter; however, Chapman actually won his world title
with a Jim Hoag Master Grade pistol, not a Pachmayr
Combat Special as some sources erroneously indicate.
It was only after he received his prize and subsequent
sponsorship that he shot a Combat Special in matches.
Another Cooper protégé, however, did win an IPSC
World Championship with a Pachmayr Combat Special. In 1979 a man, about whom it was jokingly said
“makes once-fired brass for a living,” won the world
championship in South Africa with his Pachmayr-tuned
Colt: Ross Seyfried.
The Torch Passes
By the late ’70s and early ’80s, the custom combat
Government Model had evolved into what I call its Second
Generation. The pioneering work of Swenson, King’s Gun
Works, Hoag and Pachmayr constitute the First Generation, but a whole new breed of enterprising pistolsmithscum-businessmen took up the torch.
The foremost of the Second Generation was an
Arkansas watchmaker who took to tuning M1911s first
as a hobby, then as a part-time business and finally
as the most successful producer of aftermarket parts
and customized pistols. His name was Bill Wilson. The
formal moniker of Wilson’s business and the name that
was stamped on his guns was “Wilson Combat,” a sign
62 M
arch
2011
www.aMericanrifleMan.org
Steve Nastoff built
this Government
Model for noted
M1911 authority
and combat shooting pioneer Ken
Hackathorn. It was
through competition that guns such
as “longslides” and
eventually “raceguns” emerged on
the M1911 pistol
platform.
that the genre had a national following.
Wilson took what the First Generation had started
and applied solid marketing and brand development,
building custom pistols as “house guns” like Pachmayr’s and King’s, but also manufacturing parts, magazines, barrels and accessories. Wilson guns were—
and still are—renowned for their value and quality.
In 1981, John Shaw won the Second Chance Bowling Pin Shoot with a specially modified Colt called
the Bowling Pin Model, built by Jim Clark of Louisiana.
The gun featured a steel cone slipped over the barrel
with a large block on the end, machined to the same
shape as the slide. The “pin gun,” as it became known,
led to other attempts to control the recoil of full-house
.45 ACP handloads with various recoil-dampening
devices (bowling pin shooters had to knock pins from
a 4-ft. wide table, requiring very stout handloads). This
led to ported barrel extensions called compensators.
The first compensator to gain prominence was made
by Charlie Kelsey of Devel Corp., arguably the greatest visionary of the Second Generation pistolsmiths.
The Devel Gammon was the first .38 Super made for
combat shooting and Devel’s combat conversions of the
Government Model remain classics of the genre.
With the introduction of Clark’s pin gun and the
compensator, an arms race began in combat shooting circles. The M1911 became more and more exotic
with various compensator designs. No longer could
the gunsmithing work be considered “combat customizing,” because the guns had evolved to be far too
cumbersome, finicky and downright odd to ever be
functional in a steamy jungle, a wind-blown desert or
any other far-off land where war might pop up. The
Second Generation had run its course.
Third Generation
The pendulum swung back to the classic form of
the custom combat .45, like that of the Swenson era.
A backlash arose against the ever-more expensive
and exotic “raceguns” found at IPSC matches, an
continued on p. 83
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FEATURE
THE ENHANCED BATTLE RIFLE
A U.S. Army solider
in Afghanistan uses
a half-century-old
M14 upgraded into an
Enhanced Battle Rifle.
The civilian semiautomatic equivalent is
the Fulton Armory EBR
(r.), shown here with a
Bushnell Tactical scope.
64 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
U.S. Army Photo
NEW LIFE
FOR AN OLD
WARHORSE
More on the Web
www.americanrifleman.org/war
The changing nature of the war in Afghanistan led to the re-issue of the 7.62x51 mm NATO
M14 rifle due to its long-range punch. Now the U.S. Army, Navy and Marine Corps each have a
modernized version of the Cold War infantry rifle with which to face the Taliban.
ENHANCED BATTLE RIFLE
BY MAJOR JOHN L. PLASTER, U.S. Army (Ret.)
N
ot long after U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan,
al-Qaeda and its Taliban allies came to realize that America’s 5.56x45 mm NATO infantry
rifles lost most of their lethality beyond 500
meters. Demonstrating their adaptability, the
insurgents exploited Afghanistan’s sprawling valleys and distant mountainsides to seek engagements
beyond the M16’s and M4’s effective ranges.
This is borne out by U.S. Army data, which reveals
that more than half of the war’s small arms engagements are now beyond 500 meters, with the enemy
employing heavier weapons and then withdrawing
before air support or artillery fire can arrive.
One solution, military planners could see, was
employing a more capable cartridge already in the
system: the 7.62x51 mm NATO. Today’s standard U.S.
sniper cartridge, the 175-gr., M118 Long Range load,
delivers four times the foot-pounds of energy as the
standard 62-gr., 5.56 mm round at extended ranges. In
other words, at 600 meters the 7.62 mm round packs
about as much energy—1,000 ft.-lbs.—as the 5.56 mm
round at 100 meters.
Although M14 rifles were pulled from depot storage, fitted with scopes, shipped to Afghanistan and
issued to Army and Marine designated riflemen, the
guns proved less than ideal for today’s warfare. First,
their fixed stocks could not be adjusted to fit the
length-of-pull needed for today’s body armor. And
second, the 40-year-old rifles could not accommodate modern accessories such as lasers, night vision
scopes and lights, which require MIL STD 1913 Picatinny rails. Fortunately, a solution had already been
developed by the U.S. Navy’s Surface Warfare Center
at Crane, Ind.
Photo by author
The SEAL CQB Rifle
One year before the 2001 terrorist attacks, U.S. Navy
SEALs had gone to Crane to request an updated version
of the 42-year-old M14. Great believers in the M14’s reliability and the 7.62x51 mm NATO cartridge’s lethality,
they wanted a shortened version with a pistol grip and
adjustable-length buttstock for close-quarters use.
The design task fell to David Armstrong, an
accomplished small arms engineer who previously
had developed the well-received SOPMOD (Special
Operations Peculiar Modification System) for the M4
carbine. A mechanical engineer, machinist and recreational shooter, Armstrong began by searching for an
off-the-shelf collapsible buttstock.
After trying several, he chose a Sage Int’l collapsible,
pistol-grip stock made for the Remington Model 870
shotgun. The telescoping design offered five lengths
of pull, in 1" increments, that worked well with body
armor. Armstrong connected the Sage buttstock to the
forward section of a modified M14 fiberglass stock. He
also replaced the rifle’s standard 22" barrel with an 18"
unit, reducing its overall length by nearly 10", to 35".
continued on p. 84
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
65
TECHNICAL
LOADING BENCH
Handloading
The New .30 Rem. AR
T
he increasing use of AR-15s
for hunting identified a void
in the lineup of available cartridges: there was no mainstream,
.30-cal. cartridge for the platform.
There was the 7.62x39 mm, but it
was designed for a much different rifle, and as such the tapered
case had compatibility issues with
AR-15 magazines.
Freedom Group, the parent
company of Remington and DPMS,
decided to use its resources to
develop just such a cartridge. Called
the .30 Rem. AR, it first appeared at
an outdoor writers seminar in October 2008; however, it was mid-2010
before guns and ammunition started
to appear on dealers’ shelves.
Make no mistake, the .30 Rem.
AR is not to be confused with the
older .30 Rem. Although the two
cartridges have the same internal
case capacity—44 grs. of water,
BY BRYCE M. TOWSLEY
which is almost the same as the
.30-30 Win.—the new cartridge
operates at a higher pressure level
than the .30 Rem. The SAAMI Maximum Average Pressure (MAP) for
the .30 Rem. AR is 55,000 p.s.i. The
.30 Rem. was never rated in p.s.i.,
but with the older c.u.p. rating it’s
listed for 35,000 c.u.p., and the
.30-30 Win. is rated at 38,000 c.u.p.
For comparison, the .30-30 Win.
has a MAP of 42,000 p.s.i.
There are claims that the
.30 Rem. AR matches the .308 Win.
in performance. This is not only
wrong, but dangerous. The .308
Win. is rated by SAAMI with a MAP
of 62,000 p.s.i., and it has a case
capacity of 56 grs. of water. There
The .30 Rem. AR’s squat case is based on a
shortened, necked-down .450 Bushmaster, and
has a capacity of 44 grs. of water.
66 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
Photos by author
Selected loadS For the .30 rem. ar
Bullet
Brand/
Weight
Barnes
110-gr.
ttsX
ProPellant Weight
tyPe
(grs.)
Primer
tyPe
C.o.l.
(inChes)
average aCCuraCy
veloCity (inChes)
(f.P.s.)
Hodgdon
H4198
35.0
Rem. 7½
2.220
2918
1.52
nosler
150-gr. Bt
ImR 8208
XBR
37.0
Rem. 7½
2.260
2527
1.50
nosler
150-gr. Bt
ImR 8208
XBR
38.0
Rem. 7½
2.260
2657
2.25
sierra
150-gr. fn
Hodgdon
H335
37.5
Rem. 7½
**
2610
2.15
sPeer
130-gr. fn
ImR 8208
XBR
38.0
Rem. 7½
**
2621
2.17
AveRAged velocIty wAs fRom A 22"-BARReled RemIngton R-15. All cAses we once-fIRed
RemIngton. AccuRAcy Is tHe AveRAge of one fIve-sHot gRoup At 100 yds. ABBRevIAtIons: Bt (BAllIstIc tIp), fn (flAt nose), fp (flAt poInt), ttsX (tRIple-sHock
X-Bullet). ** denotes no c.o.l. gIven.
is no possible way that the .30 Rem.
AR can safely match the ballistics of
a .308 Win. Be forewarned.
Although the .30 Rem. AR is not,
and never will be, the equivalent of
the .308 Win., it’s not a .30-30 Win.,
either. With its higher pressure
rating it will outperform the .30-30
Win. by a comfortable margin. The
reality is that the .30 Rem. AR is on
par with the performance of the
.300 Savage. Considering the .300
Savage was one of the most popular deer cartridges ever made,
that’s pretty good company.
The .30 Rem. AR is a short-fat
cartridge with an odd lineage.
In 1963 Winchester introduced
the .284 Win. for its Model 88 and
Model 100 rifles. This short-action
cartridge featured a rebated rim,
which was pretty close to cutting
edge at the time. The .284 Win.
was shortened and straightened to
become the .450 Bushmaster, a bigbore cartridge designed specifically for the AR-style rifle. For the
.30 Rem. AR, Remington and DPMS
worked together to shorten the
case a bit more and neck it down
to .30 caliber using a 25-degree
shoulder. The rim was made larger,
to 0.492" versus 0.472" for the .450
Bushmaster, so that the .30 Rem.
AR could not be used with bolts
designed for the .450 Bushmaster.
Because of the .30 Rem. AR’s higher
pressure, DPMS (the sister company
that builds the rifles for Remington)
developed a way to use an AR-10
bolt and barrel extension in an
AR-15 rifle.
The .30 Rem. AR has proven to
be a very handloader-friendly cartridge. This cartridge performs well
with bullets in the 100- to 150-gr.
weight range. Lightweight bullets
can go faster than 3000 f.p.s. That
makes bullets like the Hornady
110-gr. V-Max or the Sierra or
Speer 110-gr. hollow-point bullets
excellent for varmint hunting. For
bigger game, Barnes’ 110-gr. TTSX
bullet or the new, easier-expanding
110-gr. Triple-Shock SBR bullet it
designed specifically for the
.30 Rem. AR should be ideal. (Note:
This bullet is not a catalog item,
but it can be ordered from Barnes.)
The mid-weight 125- to 130-gr.
bullets achieve a good balance of
weight and velocity. But, they lack
enough sectional density for serious big-game hunting on anything
much larger than medium-size
deer. Like the .300 Savage it emulates, the .30 Rem. AR will shine
brightest hunting whitetails in the
woods with 150-gr. bullets.
The key is to use a soft bullet
that will expand at the modest
velocity this cartridge produces.
The Nosler Ballistic Tip or Hornady SST are good choices. Bullets
designed for the .30-30 Win. are
perfect for deer hunting. I had
expected to experience problems
with feeding in an AR-style rifle
using flat-nose .30-30 Win.-type
bullets, but I shot Sierra 150-gr.
and Speer 130-gr. flat-nose bullets without issue. The Hornady
160-gr. Flex Tip bullet is another
good choice as it is designed for
.30-30 Win. velocities, but it offers
a higher ballistic coefficient (.330)
than the flat-nose bullets.
The .30 Rem. AR’s overall
cartridge length is 2.260", and
bullets should be seated to that
length to start. The limiting factor
on cartridge length is the magazine, and if you try to push the
limits with a longer seating depth
you may find that the cartridges
bind up in the magazine.
Whenever loading hunting
ammunition for an AR-type rifle
it’s important to full-length size the
continued on p. 88
As the .30 Rem. AR uses 0.308”-diameter bullets, options abound. In addition
to those with a spitzer profile (top, r.), the author also had good luck with flatnose .30-30 Win. projectiles (top, l.). The cartridge’s trim-to length is 1.520” (r.).
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
67
TECHNICAL
DOPE BAG
More on the Web
www.americanrifleman.org/70
WINCHESTER MODEL 70 SAFARI EXPRESS
B
efore the untimely closing
of Winchester’s New Haven,
Conn., plant in 2006, the
company offered an almostinconceivable array of Model 70s.
With Fabrique Nationale’s Columbia, S.C., facility now well-established, it makes sense that some of
Winchester’s more popular Model
70s would re-emerge. One such
model is the Safari Express chambered in .375 H&H Mag., .416 Rem.
Mag. and .458 Win. Mag.
Many hunters, professional
and guided, decry anything but
controlled-round feeding for
dangerous-game rifl es, and the
Safari Express appropriately
features Winchester's fi eld-proven
Pre-'64-style full-length claw
extractor. Ejection is provided
by a spring-loaded blade-type
ejector fitted to the receiver.
The bolt locks by way of dual,
opposed lugs at its front, and the
root of the bolt handle at its rear
serves as a third lockup point. The
bolt release button is located on
the left, rear side of the receiver.
Model 70 aficionados will take
comfort in the familiar threeposition safety. Only a small portion of the bolt body, along with
the handle, knob, safety, and bolt
shroud have a matte-blue finish;
the bolt body itself is jeweled
for both functional and cosmetic
purposes.
Unlike standard Model 70s, the
Safari Express has dual recoil lugs.
The forward lug, which measures
0.50"x0.750"x0.50" and begins
approximately 4" forward of the
receiver, is induction-brazed to the
barrel. Its second lug, machined
into the front of the receiver,
measures 0.356"x1.173"x0.437".
The lugs are glass-bedded to the
walnut stock, and the compound
is likewise used in the tang area at
the receiver’s rear and at the holes
for the action screws.
To facilitate mounting an optic,
the receiver is drilled and tapped,
though hole spacing for the rear
mount is specific to the Safaricaliber model. Depending upon
individual preference, the Safari
Express’ M.O.A. Trigger System
might please or incense. It is of
modular design and is not useradjustable. That being said, the test
rifle’s trigger exhibited virtually no
creep, take-up or overtravel while
breaking at 4 lbs., 4 ozs—about
perfect for a dangerous-game rifle.
The Safari Express’ 24" barrel
measures 1.22" at the receiver and
0.725" at the muzzle, where it ends
in a recessed crown. Atop the barrel
is a windage- and elevation-adjustable express-style rear sight and a
hooded, ramp-type front with a brass
bead that is dovetailed into the base.
Twelve inches rearward of the front
sight is a barrel band front swivel
base, which is preferred on largercaliber rifles as it reduces the discomfort that can occur during recoil
on such a rifle with a sling swivel stud
in the fore-end.
Like all Model 70s produced at Fabrique Nationale's Columbia, S.C., facility,
the Safari Express features Winchester's modular M.O.A. trigger system.
68 M
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SHOOTING RESULTS (100 YDS.)
WINCHESTER MODEL 70 SE
Vel. @ 15'
(f.p.s.)
energy
(ft.-lbs.)
federal Cape-shok
500-gr. tsX
2017 Avg.
5 Sd
4,520
1.04
1.92
1.49
WinChester super-X
510-gr. sp
1986 Avg.
30 Sd
4,468
1.54
2.54
1.87
WinChester supreMe
safari 500-gr. pt
2005 Avg.
16 Sd
4,462
0.92
1.54
1.29
.458 Win. Mag.
Cartridge
aVerage eXtreMe spread
group size in inChes
sMallest largest aVerage
1.55
AccurAcy reSultS bASed on five conSecutive, five-Shot groupS At 100 ydS. from
cAldwell leAd Sled Solo. velocitieS were meASured with An oehler model 43
chronogrAph And were the reSult of five conSecutive ShotS. temperAture: 43° f.
AbbreviAtionS: pt (pArtition), Sd (StAndArd deviAtion), Sp (Soft point),
tSX (triple-Shock X-bullet).
A
Bedding is critical in
a hard-kicking, woodstocked rifle to prevent
stock splitting. The
Safari Express features
a generous main recoil
lug integral to the
receiver and a smaller
secondary lug brazed
to the barrel (top) along
with a bedded stock (r.).
ManufaCturer: wincheSter repeAting
ArmS (dept. Ar),
275 wincheSter Ave.,
morgAn, ut 84050; (801) 876-3440;
www.wincheStergunS.com
Caliber: .375 h&h mAg., .416 rem.
mAg., .458 win. mAg. (teSted)
aCtion type: bolt-Action,
repeAting center-fire rifle
reCeiVer: mAtte-blued, forged
4140 chromemoly Steel
barrel: mAtte-blued 24", hAmmerforged 4140 chromemoly Steel
rifling: 1:12" rh twiSt
(.375 h&h mAg.);
1:14" rh twiSt (.416 rem. mAg.
And .458 win. mAg.)
Magazine: three-round-cApAcity
sights: windAge- And elevAtionAdjuStAble eXpreSS-Style reAr;
rAmp-type front with brASS beAd;
drilled And tApped for optic
trigger pull: Single-StAge;
4 lbS., 4 ozS.
stoCk: AmericAn wAlnut: length of
pull, 13¾"; drop At heel, 15/16";
drop At comb, 9/16"
oVerall length: 44¾"
Weight: 9 lbS.
aCCessories: owner’S mAnuAl
suggested retail priCe: $1,279
The Model 70 Safari Express exhibits classic American stock lines and
many of the features that generations of riflemen have come to rely on in
the gamefields of Africa and beyond.
A one-piece steel bottom metal/
trigger guard assembly is rigid
and durable, and the hinged floorplate is released by depressing a
latch in front of the trigger guard.
The follower is aluminum, and the
magazine holds three rounds in a
staggered-column.
The test rifle’s straight-grained,
dense walnut stock undoubtedly
contributed to its 9-lb. overall weight.
Adorning the fore-end and pistol
grip was finely executed checkering,
which not only added to its appeal
but also enhanced purchase. In addition to the dual recoil lugs, the Safari
Express has dual steel stock reinforcing crossbolts to further prevent
stock splitting during recoil. The
second sling swivel stud on the butt
sits below flush and is secured via
two screws. Capping the buttstock is
a 3/4"-thick Pachmayr Decelerator
rubber recoil pad that’s offset by a
1/4"-thick black spacer.
To test the Model 70 Safari
Express, we topped the .458
Win. Mag.-chambered rifle with
a Trijicon 3-9X AccuPoint riflescope in Leupold STD bases (Win.
70 Exp RVF) and STD Medium
Rings. To evaluate accuracy, the
rifle was shot from a Caldwell
Lead Sled Solo from 100 yds., and
the average was resultant of five
consecutive, five-shot groups.
Function-testing was conducted as
rapid-fire drills.
Overall, the Safari Express
not only functioned flawlessly, it
exhibited commendable accuracy. Of the three loads, the most
accurate proved to be Winchester’s Supreme Safari 500-gr.
Nosler Partition, averaging 1.29"
for 25 shots. Not far behind,
though, was Federal’s Cape-Shok
500-gr. Barnes Triple-Shock
X-Bullet, which averaged 1.49".
Even the more “value-priced”
Winchester Super-X 510-gr. Soft
Point grouped into 1.87". One
cannot ask much more from a
dangerous-game rifle.
The rifle’s iron sights were of
excellent quality and seemingly
durable. Our only qualm was that
at times the brass bead on the
front sight was difficult to pick up
quickly in low-light conditions.
The rifle came to the shoulder
quickly, though it’s worthy of
note that the Decelerator recoil
pad is a bit tacky. Still, the recoil
pad, along with the rifle’s heft,
were both welcomed help in
attenuating recoil. Fit and finish
of the Safari Express was also
very good, showing consistency
throughout.
Considering the Safari Express'
performance and that it has a suggested retail price of $1,279 with
real-world pricing that is likely
less, it is a real bargain.
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
69
DOPE BAG
COLT SHERIFF’S MODEL REVOLVER
F
or nearly all of the past 138
years, Colt’s of Hartford,
Conn., has made the Single
Action Army revolver in .45 Colt.
Produced in many barrel lengths,
calibers, finishes and styles, one
of the more popular variations
is the so-called Sheriff’s Model.
The first were made in the 19th
century and were known at the
Hartford factory as the “ejectorless” Single Actions. The Sheriff’s
Model terminology came from
latter-day collectors, who also
sometimes used the term “Storekeeper’s Model.” This interesting
variation on the Peacemaker is
now back in the Colt catalog.
By any name, the gun is simply a
Single Action Army manufactured
without the ejector rod or ejector
rod housing on the barrel. This was
done to create a simpler, easier-tocarry revolver useful in the Frontier era for short engagements that
might not demand quick reloading.
Colt made up the guns on special
order, fitting them with barrels of
any length the customer wanted.
Eventually, it became obvious that
either the 3" or 4" barrels were
the most popular. The frame of the
Sheriff’s Model differs slightly from
the frame of the standard SAA in
that the regular guns have a loop
of steel on their front right edge.
This loop or socket accepts the
rear end of the ejector rod housing, which is held to the barrel by
a screw. Without an ejector, the loop of steel is
superfluous. Colt made
those early versions by taking
regular frames and removing the
loop, which resulted in a non-symmetrical profile. It isn’t particularly
attractive, so a different frame was
used when the company made up
short runs of the Sheriff’s Models
on two occasions in the post-World
War II period. This current run also
has a more pleasing symmetrical
shape. Reloading the gun requires
the use of a short dowel to punchout fired cases. More commonly,
modern shooters would probably
perform the extraction/ejection
process with a common lead pencil or ballpoint pen.
To please history buffs, Colt
offers the new Sheriff’s Model with
either the 3" barrel, or the more
popular (at least in the Frontier
era) 4" barrel. There is a choice in
chamberings as well, .45 Colt or
.44-40 Win., and our sample was
The lack of an ejector and ejector rod housing simplifies the Sheriff's Model's design but
requires that spent cases be pushed out with a
dowel rod, pencil or similar instrument.
70 M
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SHOOTING RESULTS (25 YDS.)
SHERIFF’S MODEL
Vel. @ 12'
(f.p.s.)
energy
(ft.-lbs.)
blaCk hills
250-gr. rnfp
787 Avg.
31 Sd
344
2.89
3.55
3.20
ten-X no. 4250
250-gr. rnfp
733 Avg.
27 Sd
298
3.13
3.67
3.33
WinChester no.
usa45Cb
250-gr. rnfp
741 Avg.
19 Sd
305
2.93
3.54
3.39
.45 Colt
Cartridge
aVerage eXtreme spread
group size in inChes
smallest largest aVerage
3.30
NoteS: AccurAcy reSultS bASed oN five coNSecutive, five-Shot groupS At 25 ydS. the
hANdguN wAS fired from A Solid beNch ANd SANdbAgS. velocitieS meASured with AN
oehler model 35p chroNogrAph with ScreeNS plAced 12 ft. from the muzzle. temperAture: 45° f. AbbreviAtioNS: rNfp (rouNd-NoSe flAt-poiNt), Sd (StANdArd deviAtioN).
a 3", .45 Colt. Also, .45 Schofield
ammunition—essentially a short
version of the original .45 Colt—
works in any revolver chambered
for the .45 Colt.
Colt finishes the new guns in
the traditional way. The main frame
and loading gate are color casehardened, producing surface hardness, as well as a rainbow of dark
colors that gun aficionados often
find attractive. Other portions of
the gun—barrel, cylinder, trigger
guard, backstrap and screws—are
polished and blued.
On this model, Colt installed a
new set of checkered black stocks
with the Rampant Colt in an oval at
the top. Toward the bottom of the
stocks is a precisely rendered Federal Eagle. Although the material
appears to be some form of plastic,
the quality of the material and
die are excellent. It is an accurate
rendering of an earlier gun. Combined with the high quality of the
machine work and polish on metal
manufaCturer: colt’S mfg. co.
(dept. Ar), p.o. box 1868,
hArtford, ct, 06144;
(860) 236-6311; www.coltSmfg.com
Caliber: .44-40 wiN., .45 colt (teSted)
aCtion type: SiNgle-ActioN,
ceNter-fire revolver
frame: Solid, cASe-hArdeNed Steel
barrel: 3" (teSted), 4"
rifling: Six-groove, 1:16" lh twiSt
Cylinder CapaCity: Six
sights: fixed, SquAre Notch reAr,
blAde froNt
trigger pull: SiNgle-ActioN;
3 lbS., 8 ozS.
oVerall length: 8½"
Width: 15⁄8"
height: 4¾"
Weight: 34 ozS.
aCCessories: hArd cASe, lock, mANuAl
suggested retail priCe: $1,290
The short-barreled Sheriff's Model has a distinctive appearance and a muzzlelight balance. Its main frame and loading gate (l.) are color casehardened, which
contrasts nicely with other parts, such as the blued cylinder (above).
parts, the stocks finish off a modern version of a timeless classic.
The lack of the ejector rod
and housing, combined with a
shorter barrel, produce a gun with
a distinctively different balance.
It is light at the muzzle and handling must be adjusted accordingly. That’s particularly true when
shooting against the clock, as in
Cowboy Action matches. Properly
handled, the Sheriff’s Model can
be a speedy revolver to work.
At the range, evaluation shooting involved three different types
of current-production ammunition
loaded for use in SASS matches.
This means a soft lead bullet of
round-nose flat-point style loaded
at very modest velocities. Recoil
was noticeable, but not onerous.
As it is with most Peacemakers and their many copies, the
revolver tends to roll muzzle-up
when fired, as originally intended
by Col. Colt. Another Peacemaker
feature was also apparent—the
Sheriff’s Model tends to shoot low.
That’s because the front sight is
higher than it needs to be so the
end user can file it down to match
his hold and a particular load.
Evidently, the current designers
set out to build a version of an old
classic that flies in the face of the
cliché that “they don’t make them
like they used to.”
The Sheriff’s Model is an
accurate rendering of a centuryold classic and a handsome little
revolver. For the purists among
Colt’s customers, it is pleasing to
note that this new version is built
on an original-style blackpowder
frame, as were those thrilling guns
of yesteryear.
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
71
DOPE BAG
A
bolt-action rifle’s best
accuracy is achieved when
stresses and vibrations from
firing are made more consistent by
means of squaring all the major critical surfaces of the action to the central axis of the receiver and barrel.
Achieving maximum accuracy
thus involves either purchasing an
expensive benchrest-grade action
or remachining—“blueprinting”—
a factory action, a time-consuming
and costly lathe job requiring an
experienced riflesmith. Recently
a third option has emerged: action
blueprinting using non-lathe tools.
Available for Howa, Remington,
Ruger, Sako, Savage and Winchester
actions, Pacific Tool & Gauge’s basic
receiver blueprinting tools are
based on a rigid, 0.500"-diameter
mandrel that is centered in the bore
of the receiver by precision bushings. The bushings, in sizes from
0.6995" to 0.7055" in 0.0005" increments, allow the tool mandrel to be
tightly centered with no play.
The process normally begins by
selecting the proper bushings and
installing the Standard Receiver
Reamer in the receiver. This tool
squares the locking lug seats and
also shaves a few thousandths off
the minor diameter of the barrel
threads, bringing them concentric with the receiver bore. Using
the same bushings, the Universal Receiver Facing Tool is then
mounted in the receiver to true the
receiver face, and the Standard Tap
Mandrel (made to nominal factory
barrel thread specifications for
each action) is used to clean up the
factory barrel threads, if necessary.
All cutters are carbide; taps are
TiAlN-coated high-speed steel.
The Oversize Receiver Reamer
and Oversize Tap Mandrel are
used to true the barrel threads by
recutting them slightly oversize—
common in a full blueprinting
job. These will produce precisely
aligned threads 0.010" over nominal standard diameter.
New are PTG’s Gen II tools,
which combine a receiver reamer
and receiver face cutter in one
72 M
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2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
PTG BLUEPRINTING TOOLS
The Pacific Tool & Gauge set includes (from top): Bolt Face Truing Cutter
and Guide; bushings and Gen II Receiver Reamer; and barrel thread tap
mandrel shown here with a Remington Model 700 bolt and receiver.
unit, ensuring absolute alignment
of the lug seats with the receiver
face. Both Standard and 0.010"
Oversize Gen II tools are available.
Bolt face truing is accomplished
with PTG Bolt Face Truing Cutters,
made of carbide with multiple flutes,
in sizes for .223 Rem. (0.378"), PPC
(0.448"), standard (0.473") magnum
(0.537") and .338 Lapua Mag./416
Rigby (0.590") bolt faces. The 3/8"
shank of these cutters fits into a precision bushing in the PTG Bolt Face
Truing Cutter Guide, a steel block
that threads into the receiver ring.
We used the PTG tools to blueprint a Remington 700 short action.
With the receiver clamped vertically
in a vise, and using Brownells DoDrill cutting fluid, we employed the
Gen II standard receiver reamer to
simultaneously true the locking lug
seats and receiver face. When the
freshly cut lug seats were marked
with blue ink and the bolt fitted into
the receiver, rub marks indicated
that both lugs were bearing.
We then employed the Standard
Tap Mandrel to straighten the
original barrel threads, as evidenced by bright marks on one
side of the threads. Finally, we used
the 0.473" Bolt Face Truing Cutter
and Bolt Face Truing Cutter Guide
to square the bolt face. The entire
process took just under an hour.
With the blueprinted receiver in
a precision fixture, we gauged the
locking lug seats and receiver face
with a dial indicator. Total runout
was less than 0.0003"—similar
to what is achieved in traditional
lathe blueprinting, and corresponding well with PTG’s estimate
of 0.0002" maximum runout.
Precision tooling is never inexpensive. That said, the PTG kit will
true dozens of actions to matchgrade tolerances before resharpening is required, so consider it
an investment.
Available from: Pacific Tool
& Gauge, Inc. (Dept. AR), P.O.
Box 2549-598 Ave. C, White City,
Oregon 97503; (541) 826-5808;
www.pacifictoolandgauge.com.
Price: $600-$900
The American Rifleman has used the phrase “Dope Bag” since at least 1921, when Col. Townsend
Whelen first titled his column with it. Even then, it had been in use for years, referring to a sack used
by target shooters to hold ammunition and accessories on the firing line. “Sight dope” also was a
traditional marksman’s term for sight-adjustment information, while judging wind speed and direction
was called “doping the wind.”
WARNING: Technical data and information contained herein are intended to provide information
based on the limited experience of individuals under specific conditions and circumstances. They do
not detail the comprehensive training procedures, techniques and safety precautions absolutely necessary to properly carry on similar activity. Read the notice and disclaimer on the contents page. Always
consult comprehensive reference manuals and bulletins for details of proper training requirements,
procedures, techniques and safety precautions before attempting any similar activity.
SCAR 17S
continued from p. 52
The single-stage trigger of our test gun broke at
6 lbs., 5 ozs. There was no creep, slack or stacking
and overtravel was minimal. For testing I chose a
Leupold Mark 8 CQBSS scope. With its 1.1-8X magnification range and precision reticle it was the right
tool for exploring the accuracy potential of the SCAR
17S. (An evaluation of the new Leupold will appear
in these pages next month). Results in the accompanying table compare favorably with every .308 Win.
semi-automatic rifl e I’ve tested in the past.
The SCAR 17S is about 1 lb. heavier, and the receiver
is about 1/2" longer than a SCAR 16S. The extra bulk
was noticeable when picking up one gun then the
other, but much less than one would expect when stepping up from 5.56 mm NATO to 7.62 mm NATO. The
stock is the same size as that of the lighter gun, as is the
grip. Additionally, the size and placement of all of the
controls, including the charging handle, selector lever,
magazine release and bolt stop lever, are identical. The
balance point of two guns is in the same place and the
gun is anything but muzzle-heavy. In terms of handling
and ergonomics, transitioning between the two guns
was a snap. The extra weight was not readily apparent
when the gun was first picked up, but after a dozen or
more simulated action-style shooting stages there was
no denying it was a bigger, heavier gun.
Unadorned, the gun is very svelte and handy for a
.308 Win. semi-automatic carbine, but if you mount a
heavy scope or drape the fore-end with a lot of accessories, I think you are going to find a vertical fore-grip
The SCAR 17S’s gas
block has a two-position
gas regulator. The
standard setting is for
operation under normal
conditions, but the second setting opens up
the gas port to increase
reliability when the gun
is heavily fouled.
No longer constrained by limitations of the
SCAR 16’s smaller receiver and chambering, the
bigger SCAR 17S greatly expands the potential
utility of the SCAR platform.
an outright necessity. The mechanical rhythm of the
gun (the lock time of the trigger system and the dwell
time of the bolt) was similar to its lighter counterpart,
but the extra recoil of the .308 Win. round required
significantly greater recovery time. Just how much of
a penalty this will exact in terms of engagement time
will depend on the shooter’s skill, body size and mindset. In short, the better the shooter is able to cope with
the extra recoil, the more he will get out of the rifle.
I am a left-handed shooter, but I wanted to try
shooting it without reversing the charging handle,
thinking there might be some advantage to working
with my strong hand. But I found that the charging
handle kept brushing against my fingers as the bolt
cycled. Naturally, that wouldn’t be a problem if I used
a vertical fore-grip or disciplined myself to keep my
support hand glued to the front of the magazine well.
In the end I switched the charging handle over to
the right side of the gun. I felt like I had punted, but
it really made more sense to work the bolt with my
support hand since it was already in motion swapping
magazines. It also kept my working hand in front of my
face, rather than hidden by the receiver, which makes
for smoother work in almost any endeavor conducted
in a high-stress environment, whether that be a timed
Heavy Metal match or a self-defense situation.
From my point of view, the arrival of the semiautomatic SCAR in .308 Win., though belated, is most
welcome. Reliable and accurate, it is easy to see why it
is the .308 Win. carbine of choice for our elite troops.
When SOCOM originally wrote the specifications for
the proposed SCAR, one of the main requirements
was the ability to shoot a variety of calibers, up to
and including .308 Win. One might say that the SCAR
Heavy is what SOCOM’s operators wanted all along.
The arrival of the SCAR 17S greatly expands the
potential of the SCAR platform.
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
73
We’re celebrating
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Meetings &
Exhibits
April 29-May 1, 2011
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call toll-free 1-877-776-7614
or visit www.nraam.org
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“Last year in Charlotte, we had
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take part—and this year’s
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OFFICIAL JOURNAL
INSIDE NRA
Political report
On The Front Lines Of The Culture War
O
n Dec. 18, 2010, at a time of year
when many children are eagerly
anticipating toy guns, BB guns,
or even their first real firearms under the
tree on Christmas morning, city leaders in Providence, R.I., had an entirely
different idea. In an elementary school
gymnasium, upset children were coerced
into turning over their toy guns.
Hijacking the Christmas season for
a pint-sized lesson in civil disarmament was not a new idea, either—this
was the seventh annual “Toy Gun Bash”
hosted by a pair of city councilmen and
Santa hat-clad Attorney General Patrick
C. Lynch. Any child who brought a toy
gun to be destroyed was rewarded
with “a Christmas present that reflects
a more peaceful way to play and have
fun.” And in true authoritarian fashion,
cribbed from gun destruction rituals
worldwide, the toy guns were crushed
by a machine called the “Bash-O-Matic.”
The Boston Globe took note of dissenters, saying that “some children were
not thrilled with the trade” and describing how one unhappy 8-year-old had
attempted to hide his favorite toy gun
under his pillow. His mother confessed
to letting him keep one toy gun, saying,
“I mean, he is a boy.”
As ridiculous as the Providence toy
gun turn-in may seem, it’s an important
reminder that the battle for the Right
to Keep and Bear Arms is as much a
cultural conflict as a legislative one.
NRA OFFICERS
Ronald L. Schmeits, PRESIDENT
David A. Keene, FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
James W. Porter II, SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
Wayne LaPierre, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Edward J. Land Jr., SECRETARY
Wilson H. Phillips Jr., TREASURER
Kayne Robinson, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
GENERAL OPERATIONS
Christopher W. Cox, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
As NRA members rack up victory after
victory in the legislative and political
arenas, anti-gun leaders—never content
with just trying to demonize actual gun
ownership—have set their sights on
demonizing anything remotely related
to firearms.
The wild lengths of this campaign
were startlingly apparent at a grade
school in Michael Bloomberg’s fiefdom
in early 2010, when a 9-year-old fourth
grader on Staten Island brought a twoinch toy gun belonging to a Lego figurine to school. Once discovered, the child
was taken from his class and targeted
for suspension. In another bizarre case, a
6-year-old kindergartner in Ionia, Mich.,
was suspended for pointing his fingers in
the shape of a gun, over the protests of
his mother who noted, “He’s only six and
doesn’t understand any of this.”
Of course, toy guns pale in comparison to real guns in the eyes of these
self-appointed social engineers. Back
in Washington, D.C., Marian Wright
Edelman, the longtime anti-gun head
of the Children’s Defense Fund, reached
a new low in rhetoric, proclaiming in
congressional testimony that “The terrible Taliban terrorist threat to American
child and citizen safety is rivaled by the
terrible NRA threat which terrorizes our
political leaders from protecting our
children from the over 280 million guns
in circulation.”
Not to be outdone, the Brady
Campaign has fashioned itself into a
national scold decrying the use of gun
imagery and even metaphors. The group
denounced the NBA, Nike and Kobe
Bryant for an advertisement where the
basketball star described his hard play
by stating, “I don’t leave anything in the
chamber.” Pop music stars have also been
a target of the group, as Brady President
Paul Helmke wrote a blog post complaining about pop star Lady Gaga’s use of
by Chris W. Cox,
NRA-ILA Executive Director
fake guns as props in her music videos
and on tour. (I guess even anti-gun activists know better than to complain about
Ted Nugent.)
Just as irrational hatred stretches
from real guns to toys, pictures and
words, the aims of gun-hating social
engineers go well beyond young children. In what now seems to be an annual
scourge, model students from high
schools all over the country face expulsion for inadvertently leaving hunting
firearms locked in their cars well away
from school buildings. A 16-year old
Montana cheerleader described as an
“exemplary student” was immediately
suspended during a “lockdown” contraband search conducted with a gunsniffing dog. Demari DeReu had been
on a Thanksgiving hunting trip and
realized she had left an unloaded rifle in
the trunk of her car. Trying to be cooperative, DeReu told the school authorities about the gun and was immediately
suspended when the principal opened
her trunk to find the cased rifle with no
ammunition present. Only a tremendous outcry from the local community
spared DeReu from the expulsion of at
least one year called for by state law
and local school district policy. (Those
state laws are mandated by the federal
Gun Free Schools Act; it may well be
time for the new Congress to look at
some of the unintended consequences
of that law.)
The cultural attacks by gun control
supporters serve as an important window into the mindset of the disarmament crowd. While these groups often
claim they only want to ban certain types
of firearms, their attempts to change
American culture prove otherwise. If
Lego toys and a basketball player’s
metaphor can draw their wrath, you can
be sure that, ultimately, they will be after
every real gun everywhere.
NR A- I L A : ( 80 0) 3 92- 8683 • NR A- I L A web s i te: w w w. nr aila. org
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Official JOurnal
inside nra
ILA report: Latest legislative news from inside the NRA Institute for Legislative Action
Supreme Court: Breyer Continues
Campaign Against Heller Decision
O
“[Americans are protected by]
the advantage of being armed
which Americans possess over
the people of almost every
other nation...”
—James Madison
n Dec. 12, Supreme Court Justice
Stephen Breyer took to the
airwaves to continue defending
a view of the Second Amendment—and
the Constitution—that a majority of his
colleagues have rejected.
During an interview with Chris
Wallace on “Fox News Sunday,” Clinton
nominee Breyer, who dissented from the
court’s decisions in District of Columbia
v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. Chicago
(2010), claimed that the role of the court
is to interpret the Constitution flexibly,
in light of ever-changing circumstances.
Breyer argued that the court should give
consideration not to the Constitution’s
“words,” but to the “values” the Framers
had in mind.
The Framers’“values,” Breyer suggested,
would allow a total ban on handguns
in Washington, D.C. “It’s not a matter of
policy, it’s a matter of what those Framers
intended,” he said. According to Breyer,
Second Amendment author James Madison
only intended to prevent Congress from
nationalizing the state militias.
Regardless of what Breyer was trying
to sell, Wallace didn’t seem to be buying
it. Pointing out the plain language of
the amendment’s “keep and bear arms”
clause, Wallace asked Breyer whether he
was assuming the role of politician or
policy-maker, rather than that of a judge.
Breyer said “no,” and asked whether
the amendment should be interpreted to
allow the ownership of machine guns and
torpedoes, as well as handguns. Wallace
countered that at the very least, the
amendment “certainly . . . didn’t provide
for a ban on all handguns, as we have
here in Washington, D.C.” To that, Breyer
asked Wallace, “Are you a sportsman? Do
you like to shoot pistols at targets? Well,
get on the subway and go to Maryland.”
Justice Breyer’s comments should
remind Americans why it is important to
vote in 2012 for a president whose nominees to the court will be faithful to the
Constitution and for U.S. senators who
will reject nominees who are not.
Appeal Filed In California Right-To-Carry Case
O
n Dec. 10, a federal district judge
in California ruled that San Diego
County’s restrictive policy on issuing concealed carry licenses does not violate the Second Amendment. Gun owners
arguing for the right to carry a firearm in
California have already filed an appeal.
The case, Peruta v. County of San
Diego—supported by NRA and the
California Rifle and Pistol Association
Foundation—involves California’s
concealed weapon licensing law,
which gives sheriffs and other chief law
enforcement officers wide discretion to
grant or deny applications.
Specifically, the challenge involves
denials of concealed carry permit applications by San Diego County Sheriff
William Gore. Though none of the
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plaintiffs were prohibited by law from
possessing firearms, their applications
were denied—or they were told not to
bother applying—for lack of “good cause.”
The sheriff defined “good cause” as “a
set of circumstances that distinguishes
the applicant from other members of
the general public and causes him or
her to be placed in harm’s way,” adding
that “fear for one’s personal safety is not,
standing alone, considered ‘good cause.’”
The denial of the plaintiffs’ applications left them with no effective way to
carry firearms outside of their homes
for self-protection. Californians without
concealed weapon licenses may only
carry handguns openly and must carry
them unloaded (except in certain rural
counties where open carry permits may
be issued). In effect, the California law
has the same impact as the District of
Columbia “safe storage” law that the
Supreme Court struck down in District of
Columbia v. Heller. Whether a handgun
is disassembled or locked (as the D.C.
law required) or merely unloaded makes
little difference; either way, the gun is
not ready for use when it’s most needed.
Unfortunately, the challenge to
Sheriff Gore’s policies met a setback
when Judge Irma Gonzalez of the United
States District Court for the Southern
District of California ruled that the plaintiffs’ rights to carry firearms were not
infringed—because, she said, California
law provided another “reasonable”
means by which the plaintiffs could
carry firearms outside of their homes.
State Courts Reject Challenges To Uniform Laws
I
n the last days of 2010, state courts in Ohio and New York
issued important decisions upholding the uniformity of
firearm laws throughout those states.
In the battle over gun control at the state level, this is one
of the most critical issues for gun owners. Without strong state
preemption, anti-gun politicians can impose city and county
restrictions of their own, forcing gun owners to deal with a patchwork of inconsistent laws throughout a state. Fortunately, 44 state
legislatures have passed preemption laws. In another four states,
courts have ruled that state legislation is so comprehensive that
there’s no room for another layer of rules at the local level.
In the first decision, on Dec. 29, the Ohio Supreme Court
upheld the preemption law passed by the state legislature
in 2006. The case, City of Cleveland v. State, stems from Cleveland’s
passage of a series of restrictive gun laws—including a
handgun registration law and bans on open carry and “assault
weapons.” The city challenged the state law in order to protect
those laws, as well as others it might pass in the future.
The legal question in the case was whether the preemption statute violates the city’s home rule powers granted by
the state constitution. NRA, along with Ohioans for Concealed
Carry, filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of the state’s
position that the preemption law was within the state’s powers.
The California law was different from
the D.C. law, in Judge Gonzalez’s view,
because California allows a person in “immediate, grave danger to carry a loaded
handgun when the carrying of the handgun is necessary for the preservation of
the person’s life.” Unfortunately, a person
may not recognize that kind of situation
until it’s too late.
The plaintiffs have already filed an
appeal to the United States Court of
Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. As the case
progresses, NRA and the CRPA Foundation will continue fighting to ensure that
Californians have some truly reasonable
way to carry firearms for self-defense
outside of their homes.
The court agreed, finding that the preemption law was “part
of a statewide comprehensive legislative enactment” that
“applies to all parts of the state and operates uniformly.”
The day after the Ohio decision, the Appellate Division of
the New York Supreme Court (a mid-level court, despite its
name) decided the case of Chwick v. Mulvey, holding that a
county ordinance banning “deceptively colored” handguns
was preempted by the state’s general handgun licensing law.
The Nassau County law—supposedly enacted out of
concern that police officers might mistake real guns for toys—
generally made it illegal to possess a handgun that is any color
“other than black, brown, grey, silver, steel, nickel or army
green.” Owners of pink, gold and camouflaged guns challenged the law, arguing that it interfered with New York state’s
uniform (and restrictive) licensing system.
The court agreed, saying “there is ample evidence to demonstrate that the Legislature intended … to preempt local laws
with respect to firearm licensing.” The judges noted that in addition to depriving Nassau County gun owners of the benefits
of their previously granted licenses, the law would put visiting
handgun owners at risk of local prosecution.
At press time, there was no word on whether the county
would appeal.
IN MEMORY NRA-ILA CONTRIBUTIONS
(December 1-31, 2010)
Harlan Kreger, Federal Way, WA (from Avis Kreger); Kenneth Burleson, Doniphan, MO (from
Esther Burleson); Norman Amos, Battle Creek, MI (from Joanne Amos); E. J. Browder, Bartlesville,
OK (from Mrs. Jack Browder); Donn DiBiasio, Smithfield, RI (from Rick Rosati, Ken & Paula Aker,
Charles Hawkins, David Mello, Joe & Linda Chrostowski and Smithfield Sportsman’s Club, Inc.);
Mark Kratzer, Clarion, PA (from D. Jane Kratzer & Families and Don & Judy Singer & Family); George
Bernhard, Poughkeepsie, NY (from Donald Keaton); Richard L. Minion, Windom, MN (from Wallace
Minion); Mark Ballenger, Hagerstown, IN (from John Everhart); C. A. “Chucksan” Ries (from Robert
Huff ); Woody Dixon (from White Oak Shooting Club); Deceased Members of the Dundee Sportsman’s Club, Dundee, MI (from Dundee Sportsman’s Club)
ILA CONTRIBUTIONS
(The following contributed $1,000 or more to the NRA Institute for Legislative Action during
December 1-31, 2010.)
John Sneidmiller, Niland, CA; Blair Woodall, Dallas, TX; Farris Wilks, Cisco, TX; Estate of Thomas
G. Kuzma, Brecksville, OH; David L. Sipos, Youngsville, LA; Timothy Mullen, Houston, TX; Mid
America Fittings, Inc., Overland Park, KS; Paul Bunyan Rifle & Sportsman’s Club, Inc., Puyallup,
WA; Weatherby Collectors Association, Inc., Washington, MO
IL A G rassro o ts: ( 8 0 0 ) 3 9 2 - 8 6 8 3 • NR A- I L A : ( 703) 267-1170 • NR A- I L A web s i te: w w w. nr aila. org
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
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OFFICIAL JOURNAL
INSIDE NRA
regional report • north central
011 NRA ANNUAL MEETINGS • APRIL 28-MAY 1 • PITTSBURGH, PA
For hotel accommodations at the NRA Annual Meetings, visit
www.nraam.org
W
hether you’re a hunter, a competitive
shooter or just a proud gun
owner, Friends of NRA has something
for everyone. The format is simple—
food, fun, family and fundraising! At
every Friends of NRA banquet you’ll
have the opportunity to participate in
games, raffles, live and silent auctions,
and more. You’ll also find many unique
items including limited edition firearms,
wildlife art, jewelry and outdoor gear.
To learn more about events in your area,
visit www.friendsofnra.org, contact
your local field representative or call
(800) 672-3888, ext. 1354.
WI—Scott Taetsch
(715) 873-3360; staetsch@nrahq.org
Central Region Director—Philip Gray
(740) 773-4119; pgray@nrahq.org
Crime Prevention
Midwest Region Director—Tom Ulik
(507) 895-9407; tulik@nrahq.org
IA, NE—Tim Bacon
(515) 576-1285; tbacon@nrahq.org
Northern IL—Mike Huber
(815) 652-0033; mhuber@nrahq.org
Southern IL—Philip Gray
(740) 773-4119; pgray@nrahq.org
IN—Steve Teutsch
(317) 946-7260; steutsch@nrahq.org
MI—Allan Herman
(989) 686-3013; aherman@nrahq.org
MN—Scott Lembke
(218) 844-2000; slembke@nrahq.org
ND, SD—Clay Pederson
(701) 522-9622; cpederson@nrahq.org
2011 Print of the Year:
“Unbearable Itch” by Dan Smith
Northern OH—Lloyd Edwards
(419) 646-3669; ledwards@nrahq.org
Southern OH—Bryan Hoover
(740) 297-4255; bhoover@nrahq.org
Member information & benefits
MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT INFORMATION: (877) 672-2000
MEMBER SERVICE
(800) 672-3888
NRAstore.com
(888) 607-6007
MEMBER PROGRAMS
Hertz Car Rental CDP# 166609
(800) 654-2200
AVIS Car Rental AWD# A832100
(800) 225-7094
NRA Endorsed Insurance Programs
(877) 672-3006
NRA Endorsed Prescription Plan
(888) 436-3700
NRA Endorsed Check Program
(888) 331-6767
NRA VISA Card
(866) NRA-VISA
NRA Real Estate/Relocation Services (800) 593-2526
NRA Endorsed Moving Program
North American Van Lines
(800) 524-5533
Allied Van Lines
(800) 871-8864
INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Grassroots/Legislative Hotline
(800) 392-8683
OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT
(877) NRA-GIVE
THE NRA FOUNDATION
(800) 423-6894
NRA headquarters: (703) 267-1000
INTERNET ADDRESS: www.nra.org
PLANNED GIVING
EDDIE EAGLE GUNSAFE PROGRAM
FRIENDS OF NRA
WOMEN ON TARGET
REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM
INSTRUCTOR/COACH
COMPETITIVE SHOOTING
FIELD OPERATIONS/RANGES
GUN COLLECTOR PROGRAMS
NRA AFFILIATED CLUBS
HUNTER SERVICES
LAW ENFORCEMENT
NATIONAL FIREARMS MUSEUM
EDUCATION & TRAINING
MEDIA RELATIONS
YOUTH PROGRAMS
PROGRAM MATERIALS CENTER
(800) 672-4521
(800) 231-0752
(703) 267-1354
(800) 861-1166
(800) 861-1166
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1450
(877) 672-7264
(703) 267-1601
(800) NRA-CLUB
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1640
(703) 267-1600
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1595
(703) 267-1505
(800) 336-7402
The “NRA Regional Report,” a service for NRA members, appears in every issue of American Rifleman, American Hunter and
America’s st Freedom. The Regional Report is an up-to-date listing of NRA conducted and/or sponsored events scheduled
in your region for the current month. Call to verify event dates and locations before traveling.
80 M
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TRAINING
N
RA’s Refuse To Be A Victim program
provides men and women with
common-sense crime prevention and
personal safety strategies that can
be used to decrease their chances of
victimization. During the four-hour
seminars, participants learn about a
wide variety of strategies and devices for
increasing automobile, home, Internet and
travel security. Instructor Development
Workshops (IDWs) are designed to train
instructors to teach Refuse To Be A Victim
seminars. Since certified instructors
schedule seminars on a daily basis, the
most up-to-date schedule is available
at www.nrahq.org/rtbav, by e-mail at
areashoots
PISTOL
WADENA, MN
WEST FARGO, ND
WEST LIBERTY, IA
FLUSHING, MI
GEORGETOWN, IN
RAPID CITY, SD
WARREN, OH
MILAN, IL
ACTION PISTOL
BENTON HARBOR, MI
MARCH 6-7
MARCH 12-13
MARCH 13
MARCH 18-20
MARCH 19
MARCH 19
MARCH 20
MARCH 26- 27
MARCH 27
AIR GUN
HIGHLAND, IL
WEST FARGO, ND
MARCH 12-13
MARCH 12-13
SMALLBORE RIFLE
OSHKOSH, WI
JACKSON, MI
GRAND FORKS, ND
ALTON, IL
PATASKALA, OH
MARCH 5-6
MARCH 12-13
MARCH 18-19
MARCH 19
MARCH 19-20
HIGH POWER RIFLE
FREEDOM, IN
MARCH 5
For more information, contact Tonia Forte at
(703) 267-1466 or tforte@nrahq.org. For a complete
listing, see www.shootingsportsusa.com.
2011 NRA Annual Meetings
refuse@nrahq.org or by phone at
(800) 861-1166.
MARCH 19—MIDDLEBURG HEIGHTS, OH
(Seminar)
Timothy Stahlberg (440) 891-7600
MARCH 19—WYANDOTTE, MI
(Seminar)
Lisa Orick-Martinez (303) 806-9812
MARCH 21—WARREN, OH
(Seminar)
Pam Karousis (330) 720-1110
gunshows
MARCH 4-6
WAUKESHA, WI
Expo Forum, Bob and Rocco Shows (608) 752-6677
MARCH 4-6
DEADWOOD, SD
The Lodge at Deadwood, Yellowstone Gun and Knife
Shows (307) 347-2100
MARCH 5-6
GRAND FORKS, ND
Alerus Center, Dakota Territory Gun Collectors Ass’n
(701) 642-6970
MARCH 5-6
JANESVILLE, WI
Rock County Fairgrounds, Rock County Rifle and
Pistol Club (608) 754-1911
MARCH 12-13
DUGGER, IN
Dugger Community Building, Chad Reynolds
Gun Shows (812) 648-2407
MARCH 12-13
FORT WAYNE, IN
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, CPI Gun
Shows (260) 483-6144
MARCH 12-13
SIOUX FALLS, SD
Ramkota Inn, Dakota Territory Gun Collectors Ass’n
(605) 368-9117
MARCH 18-20
ONALASKA, WI
Omni Center, Bob and Rocco Gun Shows
(608) 752-6677
MARCH 5-6
JEFFERSON, IA
Greene County Fairgrounds, Jefferson Gun Show
(712) 782-3195
MARCH 19-20
COLLINSVILLE, IL
Gateway Center, E.C.A., Inc. (618) 495-2572
MARCH 5-6
MANKATO, MN
National Guard Training Center, Crocodile
Productions (763) 754-7140
MARCH 19-20
GREENFIELD, IA
Adair County Fairgrounds, J.R. Gun Shows
(712) 782-3195
MARCH 5-6
CADILLAC, MI
Wexford Civic Center, Michigan Gun and Knife Shows
(517) 676-4160
MARCH 19-20
FALCON HEIGHTS, MN
Minnesota State Fair Coliseum Building, Minnesota
Weapons Collectors (612) 721-8976
MARCH 5-6
COLUMBUS, OH
Westland Mall, C&E Gun Shows (540) 951-1344
MARCH 19-20
BIRCH RUN, MI
Birch Run Expo Center, Michigan Gun and Knife
Shows (517) 676-4160
MARCH 6
DE PERE, WI
The Swan Club, Oneida Muzzleloaders (920) 662-2647
MARCH 11-12
SLINGER, WI
Kettle Moraine Bowl, Wisconsin Gun Collectors Ass’n
(920) 447-2224
MARCH 11-13
EAU CLAIRE, WI
Indoor Sports Arena, Bob and Rocco Shows
(608) 752-6677
MARCH 12-13
MASON CITY, IA
National Guard Armory, River City Rifle and Pistol
Club (641) 357-6253
MARCH 12-13
WELLS, MN
U.S.C. Public High School, Wells Rifle and Pistol Club
(507) 533-5479
MARCH 12-13
BELLEVILLE, IL
Belle-Claire Expo, E.C.A., Inc. (618) 495-2572
MARCH 19-20
WATERTOWN, SD
Codington City Agricultural Building, Dakota Territory
Gun Collectors Ass’n (605) 793-2347
MARCH 20
SAINT CHARLES, IL
Kane County Fairgrounds, Constellation, Inc.
(815) 758-2773
MARCH 25-26
EAGAN, MN
Eagan Civic Arena, Heritage Arms Society
(952) 888-1079
MARCH 25-27
WEST BEND, WI
Washington County Fairgrounds, Bob and Rocco
Gun Shows (608) 752-6677
MARCH 26-27
PEORIA, IL
East Peoria Events Center, E.C.A., Inc. (618) 495-2572
MARCH 12-13
RHINELANDER, WI
Quality Inn Conference Center, Elcho Trap Club
(715) 275-5300
MARCH 26-27
KALKASKA, MI
Kaliseum Recreational Complex, J&J Sport Shows
(800) 968-5016
MARCH 12-13
NOVI, MI
Rock Financial Showplace, Michigan Gun and Knife
Shows (517) 676-4160
MARCH 26-27
MUNCIE, IN
Delaware County Fairgrounds, Greg Shirley
Gun Shows (765) 675-8456
MARCH 12-13
SALINE, MI
Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds, Huron Gun
Collectors Ass’n (517) 605-0624
MARCH 26-27
MAUMEE, OH
Lucas County Recreation Center, Maumee Valley
Gun Collectors Ass’n (419) 893-1110*
MARCH 12-13
SHARONVILLE, OH
Sharonville Convention Center, Bill Goodman’s
Gun and Knife Shows (502) 538-3900
MARCH 26-27
MARIETTA, OH
Comfort Inn, Front Sight Promotions (740) 667-0412
MARCH 12-13
WELLS, MN
U.S.C. Public High School, Wells Rifle and Pistol Club
(507) 533-5479
MARCH 30
NAPANEE, IN
Borkholders Dutch Village, Northern Indiana Gun
Collectors Ass’n, Inc (574) 936-4437*
*NRA Affiliate. All others are NRA Recruiters. For details, call (703) 267-3772.
continued from p. 45
limited to 50 people, so be sure to e-mail
refuse@nrahq.org to pre-register.
The NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop on
Friday, April 29, will discuss how you can
take an even more active role in your
community to protect our cherished
freedoms. On Saturday, April 30, “In Their
Own Words” will feature NRA members
who will discuss their experiences promoting our Second Amendment rights. Visit
www.nraila.org for upcoming details.
The 14th Annual National NRA Firearms
Law Seminar will be held Friday, April
29. This day-long seminar is an opportunity for attorneys who represent firearm
owners and firearm-related businesses to
discuss legal issues and practice pointers.
CLE credits are available. For more information, visit www.nrafoundation.org/
lawseminar.
The 2011 Prayer Breakfast, sponsored
by Trijicon, will held Sunday, May 1, offering good food and fellowship.
Make New Memories
Whether you attended your first NRA
Annual Meetings last year or your family
attends every year, we look forward to seeing you. Attendees of past Meetings shared
some of their favorite memories with us:
“My fondest memory is the friends I have
made. Whether at a banquet, vendor
booth or just milling around the show
floor, I have never met a greater group of
people. ... I am constantly reinvigorated
when I
attend the Annual Meetings.”—Tim Case
“I was honored to be in the presence of
so many American veterans who I will
call heroes. My 13-year-old son was with
us and listened to all of the wonderful
speakers. We need to get our youth involved and teach them why this country
is great.”—Mark Hoidas
“My best memories of the NRA Annual
Meetings are how kind and considerate
the gun crowd is. It truly does prove,
‘the armed society is a [polite] society.’
The ultimate highlight is always Ted Nugent’s seminar. Ted rocks the crowd!”—
Linda Walker
Act Now!
Don’t let this adventure sail away without
you! Contribute to the success of the NRA
Annual Meetings by volunteering. You name
it—the NRAstore, airgun range, member
services—NRA volunteers help get the job
done. To volunteer, visit www.nraam.org/
volunteer.html or call (877) 672-7632.
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
81
OFFICIAL JOURNAL
INSIDE NRA
regional report • northeast
011 NRA ANNUAL MEETINGS • APRIL 28-MAY 1 • PITTSBURGH, PA
For hotel accommodations at the NRA Annual Meetings, visit
www.nraam.org
W
hether you’re a hunter, a competitive
shooter or just a proud gun
owner, Friends of NRA has something
for everyone. The format is simple—
food, fun, family and fundraising! At
every Friends of NRA banquet you’ll
have the opportunity to participate in
games, raffles, live and silent auctions,
and more. You’ll also find many unique
items including limited edition firearms,
wildlife art, jewelry and outdoor gear.
To learn more about events in your area,
visit www.friendsofnra.org, contact
your local field representative or call
(800) 672-3888, ext. 1354.
Eastern Region Director—Brian Hyder
(276) 579-9828; bhyder@nrahq.org
ME, VT, NH, Northern NY—
Michael Langton
(603) 938-2860; mlangton@nrahq.org
Eastern PA, DE—Kory Enck
(717) 689-3200; kenck@nrahq.org
Western PA—Tom Baldrige
(724) 861-0447; tbaldrige@nrahq.org
Upper NY—Jay Rusnock
(845) 298-7233; jrusnock@nrahq.org
Lower NY, MA, RI, CT—Eric Bieler
(860) 426-1478; ebieler@nrahq.org
NJ—Brian Swartz
(973) 343-2104; bswartz@nrahq.org
TRAINING
2011 Print of the Year:
“Unbearable Itch” by Dan Smith
Crime Prevention
N
RA’s Refuse To Be A Victim program
provides men and women with
common-sense crime prevention and
Member information & benefits
MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT INFORMATION: (877) 672-2000
MEMBER SERVICE
(800) 672-3888
NRAstore.com
(888) 607-6007
MEMBER PROGRAMS
Hertz Car Rental CDP# 166609
(800) 654-2200
AVIS Car Rental AWD# A832100
(800) 225-7094
NRA Endorsed Insurance Programs
(877) 672-3006
NRA Endorsed Prescription Plan
(888) 436-3700
NRA Endorsed Check Program
(888) 331-6767
NRA VISA Card
(866) NRA-VISA
NRA Real Estate/Relocation Services (800) 593-2526
NRA Endorsed Moving Program
North American Van Lines
(800) 524-5533
Allied Van Lines
(800) 871-8864
INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Grassroots/Legislative Hotline
(800) 392-8683
OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT
(877) NRA-GIVE
THE NRA FOUNDATION
(800) 423-6894
NRA headquarters: (703) 267-1000
INTERNET ADDRESS: www.nra.org
PLANNED GIVING
EDDIE EAGLE GUNSAFE PROGRAM
FRIENDS OF NRA
WOMEN ON TARGET
REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM
INSTRUCTOR/COACH
COMPETITIVE SHOOTING
FIELD OPERATIONS/RANGES
GUN COLLECTOR PROGRAMS
NRA AFFILIATED CLUBS
HUNTER SERVICES
LAW ENFORCEMENT
NATIONAL FIREARMS MUSEUM
EDUCATION & TRAINING
MEDIA RELATIONS
YOUTH PROGRAMS
PROGRAM MATERIALS CENTER
(800) 672-4521
(800) 231-0752
(703) 267-1354
(800) 861-1166
(800) 861-1166
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1450
(877) 672-7264
(703) 267-1601
(800) NRA-CLUB
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1640
(703) 267-1600
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1595
(703) 267-1505
(800) 336-7402
The “NRA Regional Report,” a service for NRA members, appears in every issue of American Rifleman, American Hunter and
America’s st Freedom. The Regional Report is an up-to-date listing of NRA conducted and/or sponsored events scheduled
in your region for the current month. Call to verify event dates and locations before traveling.
80 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
personal safety strategies that can
be used to decrease their chances of
victimization. During the four-hour
seminars, participants learn about a
wide variety of strategies and devices
for increasing automobile, home,
Internet and travel security. Instructor
Development Workshops (IDWs) are
designed to train instructors to teach
Refuse To Be A Victim seminars. Since
certified instructors schedule seminars
on a daily basis, the most up-to-date
schedule is available at www.nrahq.org/
rtbav, by e-mail at refuse@nrahq.org or
by phone at (800) 861-1166.
areashoots
PISTOL
OWEGO, NY
STRATFORD, CT
OLD BRIDGE, NJ
SHARON, MA
MARCH 3-5
MARCH 18-20
MARCH 19-20
MARCH 27
AIR GUN
GIBBSBORO, NJ
TROY, NY
AUGUSTA, ME
MARCH 6
MARCH 12
MARCH 12-13
SMALLBORE RIFLE
RIDGEWOOD, NJ
WASHINGTON, PA
BROCKPORT, NY
MARCH 5-6
MARCH 19-20
MARCH 27
SILHOUETTE
FAIRLESS HILLS, PA
MONTOURSVILLE, PA
MARCH 13
MARCH 26
For more information, contact Tonia Forte at
(703) 267-1466 or tforte@nrahq.org. For a complete
listing, see www.shootingsportsusa.com.
2011 NRA Annual Meetings
MARCH 19—PERKASIE, PA
(Seminar)
Charles Lehnert (610) 588-7512
MARCH 20—PERKASIE, PA
(Instructor Development Workshop)
Charles Lehnert (610) 588-7512
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Training
P
ublic and private officers interested in
becoming firearm instructors should
attend one of NRA’s Law Enforcement
Firearms Instructor Development
Schools, designed to enhance the
instructors’ firearm knowledge and
handling skills, and prepare them to
develop effective training programs,
instruct in a professional manner and
conduct practical training exercises.
Restricted to law enforcement officers.
Visit www.nrahq.org/law for more
information or e-mail lead@nrahq.org.
MARCH 7-11—FORD CITY, PA
(Handgun/Shotgun)
MARCH 21-25—ELIZABETHTOWN, PA
(Tactical Shotgun)
Mary Shine (703) 267-1628 or
mshine@nrahq.org
Police Competition
T
he NRA Police Pistol Combat
competition is to be used as an
extension of an officer’s training. See
PPC Rulebook (Rule 2.4) for eligibility
requirements. For more information,
visit Law Enforcement Competitions
at www.nrahq.org/law or e-mail
lecompetitions@nrahq.org.
MARCH 12—LEBANON, PA
(Approved)
Tiffany King (703) 267-1621 or
tking@nrahq.org
gunshows
MARCH 5-6
FRANKLINVILLE, NY
Franklinville Fire Hall, Robert Irwin Gun Shows
(716) 353-6501
MARCH 5-6
HAMBURG, NY
Erie County/Hamburg Fairgrounds, Niagara Frontier
Collectors Gun Shows (716) 569-6810
MARCH 5-6
WILMINGTON, MA
Shriners Auditorium, Westchesters Collectors Club
(914) 248-1000*
MARCH 5-6
CARLISLE, PA
Carlisle Expo Center, Eagle Arms Productions
(610) 398-2650
MARCH 5-6
SUFFERN, NY
Holiday Inn Hotel, Big Al’s Gun and Premier Knife
Shows (914) 760-3026
MARCH 12-13
LEESPORT, PA
Leesport Farmers Market, Appalachian Promotions
(717) 697-3088
MARCH 12-13
WILMINGTON, OH
Roberts Centre, The Ohio Gun Collectors Ass’n
*OGCA Members Only Event (330) 467-5733*
MARCH 12-13
WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA
Eastern States Exposition, Mid Hudson Promotions
(914) 248-1000*
MARCH 12-13
ERIE, PA
Bayfront Convention Center, C&E Gun Shows
(540) 951-1344
MARCH 12-13
ALLENTOWN, PA
Roadway Inn, Eagle Arms Productions (610) 398-2650
MARCH 18-20
SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY
Saratoga Springs City Center, New East Coast Arms
Collectors (518) 664-9743
MARCH 19-20
HARRISBURG, PA
Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, Mid Atlantic Arms
Collectors (570) 679-2250
MARCH 26-27
LAKE HARMONY, PA
Split Rock Resort, Eagle Arms Productions
(610) 398-2650
MARCH 26-27
MCCONNELLSBURG, PA
American Legion Post #561, Commonwealth Target
Company (570) 640-0144
MARCH 26-27
DAYTON, OH
Dayton Hara Arena, Bill Goodman’s Gun and Knife
Shows (502) 538-3900
MARCH 26-27
RUTLAND, VT
The Howe Center, Green Mountain Gun Show Trail
(802) 875-4540
MARCH 26-27
FITCHBURG, MA
Royal Plaza Trade Center, Westchesters Collectors
Club (914) 248-1000*
MARCH 26-27
ROCHESTER, NY
Fair and Expo Center, Empire State Arms Collectors
Ass’n (585) 359-2977*
*NRA Affiliate. All others are NRA Recruiters.
For details, call (703) 267-3772.
continued from p. 45
limited to 50 people, so be sure to e-mail
refuse@nrahq.org to pre-register.
The NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop on
Friday, April 29, will discuss how you can
take an even more active role in your
community to protect our cherished
freedoms. On Saturday, April 30, “In Their
Own Words” will feature NRA members
who will discuss their experiences promoting our Second Amendment rights. Visit
www.nraila.org for upcoming details.
The 14th Annual National NRA Firearms
Law Seminar will be held Friday, April
29. This day-long seminar is an opportunity for attorneys who represent firearm
owners and firearm-related businesses to
discuss legal issues and practice pointers.
CLE credits are available. For more information, visit www.nrafoundation.org/
lawseminar.
The 2011 Prayer Breakfast, sponsored
by Trijicon, will held Sunday, May 1, offering good food and fellowship.
Make New Memories
Whether you attended your first NRA
Annual Meetings last year or your family
attends every year, we look forward to seeing you. Attendees of past Meetings shared
some of their favorite memories with us:
“My fondest memory is the friends I have
made. Whether at a banquet, vendor
booth or just milling around the show
floor, I have never met a greater group of
people. ... I am constantly reinvigorated
when I
attend the Annual Meetings.”—Tim Case
“I was honored to be in the presence of
so many American veterans who I will
call heroes. My 13-year-old son was with
us and listened to all of the wonderful
speakers. We need to get our youth involved and teach them why this country
is great.”—Mark Hoidas
“My best memories of the NRA Annual
Meetings are how kind and considerate
the gun crowd is. It truly does prove,
‘the armed society is a [polite] society.’
The ultimate highlight is always Ted Nugent’s seminar. Ted rocks the crowd!”—
Linda Walker
Act Now!
Don’t let this adventure sail away without
you! Contribute to the success of the NRA
Annual Meetings by volunteering. You name
it—the NRAstore, airgun range, member
services—NRA volunteers help get the job
done. To volunteer, visit www.nraam.org/
volunteer.html or call (877) 672-7632.
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
81
OFFICIAL JOURNAL
INSIDE NRA
regional report • south central
011 NRA ANNUAL MEETINGS • APRIL 28-MAY 1 • PITTSBURGH, PA
For hotel accommodations at the NRA Annual Meetings, visit
www.nraam.org
your local field representative or call
(800) 672-3888, ext. 1354.
W
hether you’re a hunter, a competitive
shooter or just a proud gun
owner, Friends of NRA has something
for everyone. The format is simple—
food, fun, family and fundraising! At
every Friends of NRA banquet you’ll
have the opportunity to participate in
games, raffles, live and silent auctions,
and more. You’ll also find many unique
items including limited edition firearms,
wildlife art, jewelry and outdoor gear.
To learn more about events in your area,
visit www.friendsofnra.org, contact
Southern Region Director—Al Hammond
(386) 462-5421; ahammond@nrahq.org
AR—Mike Nevins
(479) 754-0282; mnevins@nrahq.org
CO—Gwen Chermack
(719) 539-9574; gchermack@nrahq.org
KS—Rick Chrisman
(913) 294-9956; rchrisman@nrahq.org
LA—Dick Kingsafer
(601) 794-0068; dkingsafer@nrahq.org
MO—Gregg Pearre
(573) 761-5466; gpearre@nrahq.org
NM—Peter Ide
(505) 281-6721; pide@nrahq.org
OK—Darren DeLong
(405) 692-8672; ddelong@nrahq.org
should attend one of NRA’s Law
Enforcement Firearms Instructor
Development Schools, designed
to enhance the instructors’ firearm
knowledge and handling skills, and
prepare them to develop effective
training programs, instruct in a
professional manner and conduct
practical training exercises. Restricted to
law enforcement officers. Visit
www.nrahq.org/law or e-mail
lead@nrahq.org for more information.
MARCH 14-18—LA JUNTA, CO
(Tactical Shooting)
MARCH 21-25—BATON ROUGE, LA
(Select-Fire)
Tim Cole (703) 267-1626 or tcole@nrahq.org
Northern TX—Tommy Easterling
(903) 677-6803; teasterling@nrahq.org
Southern TX—Elizabeth Foley
(936) 273-6379; efoley@nrahq.org
Western TX—Jack Cannon
(325) 617-4460; jcannon@nrahq.org
2011 Print of the Year:
“Unbearable Itch”
by Dan Smith
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Training
P
ublic and private officers interested
in becoming firearm instructors
Member information & benefits
MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT INFORMATION: (877) 672-2000
MEMBER SERVICE
(800) 672-3888
NRAstore.com
(888) 607-6007
MEMBER PROGRAMS
Hertz Car Rental CDP# 166609
(800) 654-2200
AVIS Car Rental AWD# A832100
(800) 225-7094
NRA Endorsed Insurance Programs
(877) 672-3006
NRA Endorsed Prescription Plan
(888) 436-3700
NRA Endorsed Check Program
(888) 331-6767
NRA VISA Card
(866) NRA-VISA
NRA Real Estate/Relocation Services (800) 593-2526
NRA Endorsed Moving Program
North American Van Lines
(800) 524-5533
Allied Van Lines
(800) 871-8864
INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Grassroots/Legislative Hotline
(800) 392-8683
OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT
(877) NRA-GIVE
THE NRA FOUNDATION
(800) 423-6894
NRA headquarters: (703) 267-1000
INTERNET ADDRESS: www.nra.org
PLANNED GIVING
EDDIE EAGLE GUNSAFE PROGRAM
FRIENDS OF NRA
WOMEN ON TARGET
REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM
INSTRUCTOR/COACH
COMPETITIVE SHOOTING
FIELD OPERATIONS/RANGES
GUN COLLECTOR PROGRAMS
NRA AFFILIATED CLUBS
HUNTER SERVICES
LAW ENFORCEMENT
NATIONAL FIREARMS MUSEUM
EDUCATION & TRAINING
MEDIA RELATIONS
YOUTH PROGRAMS
PROGRAM MATERIALS CENTER
(800) 672-4521
(800) 231-0752
(703) 267-1354
(800) 861-1166
(800) 861-1166
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1450
(877) 672-7264
(703) 267-1601
(800) NRA-CLUB
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1640
(703) 267-1600
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1595
(703) 267-1505
(800) 336-7402
The “NRA Regional Report,” a service for NRA members, appears in every issue of American Rifleman, American Hunter and
America’s st Freedom. The Regional Report is an up-to-date listing of NRA conducted and/or sponsored events scheduled
in your region for the current month. Call to verify event dates and locations before traveling.
80 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
TRAINING
Crime Prevention
N
RA’s Refuse To Be A Victim (RTBAV)
program provides men and women
with common-sense crime prevention
areashoots
PISTOL
TONGANOXIE, KS
KANSAS CITY, MO
DENVER, CO
GUNNISON, CO
MARCH 5
MARCH 13
MARCH 26
MARCH 26-27
AIR GUN
TONGANOXIE, KS
ARVADA, CO
MARCH 5
MARCH 19-20
SMALLBORE RIFLE
PINE BLUFF, AR
ALBUQUERQUE, NM
VICTORIA, TX
MARCH 5
MARCH 5
MARCH 19-20
HIGH POWER RIFLE
HOUSTON, TX
BOULDER, CO
CAMP ROBINSON, AR
GONZALES, LA
ARCADIA, OK
MARCH 6
MARCH 19
MARCH 27
MARCH 27
MARCH 27
SILHOUETTE
WINNSBORO, TX
BYERS, CO
ARCADIA, OK
MARCH 6
MARCH 12
MARCH 19
For more information, contact Tonia Forte at
(703) 267-1466 or tforte@nrahq.org. For a complete
listing, see www.shootingsportsusa.com.
2011 NRA Annual Meetings
and personal safety strategies that can
be used to decrease their chances of
victimization. During the four-hour
seminars, participants learn about a
wide variety of strategies and devices
for increasing automobile, home,
Internet and travel security. Instructor
Development Workshops (IDWs)
are designed to train instructors to
teach RTBAV seminars. Since certified
instructors schedule seminars on a daily
basis, the most up-to-date schedule is
available at www.nrahq.org/rtbav, by
e-mail at refuse@nrahq.org or by phone
at (800) 861-1166.
MARCH 19—COLORADO SPRINGS, CO
(Seminar)
Paul Pucci (719) 332-1949
gunshows
MARCH 5-6
MOUNTAIN HOME, AR
Baxter County Fairgrounds, Twin Lakes Gun Club
(870) 431-8947
MARCH 19-20
HUTCHINSON, KS
Kansas State Fairgrounds, G&S Promotions
(918) 659-2201
MARCH 5-6
JOPLIN, MO
John Q. Hammons Center, Metcalf Gun Shows
(918) 272-1119
MARCH 19-20
DENVER, CO
Merchandise Mart, Tanner Gun Shows (303) 756-3467
MARCH 5-6
SAINT CHARLES, MO
Saint Charles Family Arena, Metcalf Gun Shows
(918) 272-1119
MARCH 5-6
TAHLEQUAH, OK
Cherokee County Fairgrounds, G&S Promotions
(918) 659-2201
MARCH 5-6
IRVING, TX
Irving Convention Center, North Texas Gun Club
(214) 341-2895
MARCH 5-6
PASADENA, TX
Pasadena Convention Center, High Caliber Gun and
Knife Show (281) 331-5969
MARCH 5-6
SAN ANTONIO, TX
San Antonio Events Center, Saxet Trade Shows
(361) 289-2256
MARCH 5-6
JACKSONVILLE, AR
Former Walmart Building, R.K. Shows (563) 927-8176
MARCH 11-13
SWEETWATER, TX
Nolan County Coliseum, Sweetwater Rifle and Pistol
Club (325) 235-7572
MARCH 11-13
MOBERLY, MO
Moose Lodge #776, Sweet Springs Gunworks
(660) 277-4868
MARCH 12-13
ARDMORE, OK
Heritage Hall, Metcalf Gun Shows (918) 272-1119
MARCH 12-13
FORT WORTH, TX
Will Rogers Center, Lone Star Gun Shows
(214) 635-2009
MARCH 12-13
CORPUS CHRISTI, TX
Borchard Regional Fairgrounds, Saxet Trade Shows
(361) 289-2256
MARCH 12-13
SPRINGDALE, AR
North West Arkansas Convention Center, R.K. Shows
(563) 927-8176
MARCH 19-20
SPRINGFIELD, MO
Springfield Expo Center, Metcalf Gun Shows
(918) 272-1119
MARCH 19-20
GROVE, OK
Grove Civic Center, Metcalf Gun Shows (918) 272-1119
MARCH 19-20
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
Oklahoma City Fairgrounds, R.K. Shows (563) 927-8176
MARCH 19-20
LAWTON, OK
Comanche County Fairgrounds, Metcalf Gun Shows
(918) 272-1119
MARCH 19-20
MESQUITE, TX
Rodeo Exhibition Center, Original Fort Worth
Gun Show (817) 732-1194
MARCH 19-20
TYLER, TX
Harvey Hall, Lone Star Gun Shows (214) 635-2009
MARCH 19-20
AMARILLO, TX
Amarillo Civic Center, Texas Gun and Knife Ass’n
(830) 285-0575
MARCH 26-27
SALINA, KS
Bi-Centennial Building, Metcalf Productions
(918) 272-1119
MARCH 26-27
SAINT CHARLES, MO
Saint Charles Convention Center, Saint Louis
Weapons Collectors (314) 846-0751
MARCH 26-27
ALLEN, TX
Allen Event Center, Texas Gun Club (214) 341-2895
MARCH 26-27
ABILENE, TX
Abilene Civic Center, Texas Gun and Knife Ass’n
(830) 285-0575
MARCH 26-27
MESQUITE, TX
Big Town Exhibition Hall, Big Town Gun Show
(214) 341-2895
MARCH 12-13
LONGVIEW, TX
Maude Cobb Center, Classic Arms Productions
(985) 624-8577
MARCH 26-27
BROWNWOOD, TX
Brownwood Coliseum, Silver Spur Trade Shows
(806) 253-1322
MARCH 12-13
WICHITA, KS
Century II Convention Center, Metcalf Productions
(918) 272-1119
MARCH 26-27
PHARR, TX
Int’l Convention Center, Saxet Trade Shows
(361) 289-2256
*NRA Affiliate. All others are NRA Recruiters. For details, call (703) 267-3779.
continued from p. 45
limited to 50 people, so be sure to e-mail
refuse@nrahq.org to pre-register.
The NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop on
Friday, April 29, will discuss how you can
take an even more active role in your
community to protect our cherished
freedoms. On Saturday, April 30, “In Their
Own Words” will feature NRA members
who will discuss their experiences promoting our Second Amendment rights. Visit
www.nraila.org for upcoming details.
The 14th Annual National NRA Firearms
Law Seminar will be held Friday, April
29. This day-long seminar is an opportunity for attorneys who represent firearm
owners and firearm-related businesses to
discuss legal issues and practice pointers.
CLE credits are available. For more information, visit www.nrafoundation.org/
lawseminar.
The 2011 Prayer Breakfast, sponsored
by Trijicon, will held Sunday, May 1, offering good food and fellowship.
Make New Memories
Whether you attended your first NRA
Annual Meetings last year or your family
attends every year, we look forward to seeing you. Attendees of past Meetings shared
some of their favorite memories with us:
“My fondest memory is the friends I have
made. Whether at a banquet, vendor
booth or just milling around the show
floor, I have never met a greater group of
people. ... I am constantly reinvigorated
when I
attend the Annual Meetings.”—Tim Case
“I was honored to be in the presence of
so many American veterans who I will
call heroes. My 13-year-old son was with
us and listened to all of the wonderful
speakers. We need to get our youth involved and teach them why this country
is great.”—Mark Hoidas
“My best memories of the NRA Annual
Meetings are how kind and considerate
the gun crowd is. It truly does prove,
‘the armed society is a [polite] society.’
The ultimate highlight is always Ted Nugent’s seminar. Ted rocks the crowd!”—
Linda Walker
Act Now!
Don’t let this adventure sail away without
you! Contribute to the success of the NRA
Annual Meetings by volunteering. You name
it—the NRAstore, airgun range, member
services—NRA volunteers help get the job
done. To volunteer, visit www.nraam.org/
volunteer.html or call (877) 672-7632.
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
81
OFFICIAL JOURNAL
INSIDE NRA
regional report • southeast
011 NRA ANNUAL MEETINGS • APRIL 28-MAY 1 • PITTSBURGH, PA
For hotel accommodations at the NRA Annual Meetings, visit
www.nraam.org
W
hether you’re a hunter, a competitive
shooter or just a proud gun
owner, Friends of NRA has something
for everyone. The format is simple—
food, fun, family and fundraising! At
every Friends of NRA banquet you’ll
have the opportunity to participate in
games, raffles, live and silent auctions,
and more. You’ll also find many unique
items including limited edition firearms,
wildlife art, jewelry and outdoor gear.
To learn more about events in your area,
visit www.friendsofnra.org, contact
your local field representative or call
(800) 672-3888, ext. 1354.
MD—Brian Swartz
(973) 343-2104; bswartz@nrahq.org
Southern MS—Dick Kingsafer
(601) 794-0068; dkingsafer@nrahq.org
Eastern NC—David Wells
(252) 456-2097; dwells@nrahq.org
Western NC—Doug Merrill
(828) 628-0410; rmerrill@nrahq.org
TN—Mike Webb
(901) 229-2819; mwebb@nrahq.org
SC—T. Dale Carwile
(864) 223-9900; tcarwile@nrahq.org
Eastern VA—Bob Hipple
(540) 631-0633; bhipple@nrahq.org
Western VA, DC, WV—Jim Kilgore
(304) 255-2916; jkilgore@nrahq.org
TRAINING
Eastern Region Director—Brian Hyder
(276) 579-9828; bhyder@nrahq.org
Crime Prevention
Southern Region Director—Al Hammond
(386) 462-5421; ahammond@nrahq.org
AL—Al Hammond
(386) 462-5421; ahammond@nrahq.org
Northern MS—Mike Nevins
(479) 754-0282; mnevins@nrahq.org
Northern FL—Howell “Trip” Lancaster
(352) 463-1673; hlancaster@nrahq.org
Southern FL—Tom Knight
(941) 923-7676; tknight@nrahq.org
GA—Brad Ward
(770) 228-8218; bward@nrahq.org
KY—Larry Summarell
(270) 586-5031; lsummarell@nrahq.org
RA’s Refuse To Be A Victim (RTBAV)
program provides crime prevention
and personal safety strategies. During
the four-hour seminars, participants
learn about a wide variety of strategies
and devices for increasing automobile,
home, Internet and travel security.
Instructor Development Workshops
(IDWs) are designed to train instructors
to teach RTBAV seminars. Since certified
instructors schedule seminars on a daily
basis, the most up-to-date schedule is
available at www.nrahq.org/rtbav, by
N
Member information & benefits
MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT INFORMATION: (877) 672-2000
MEMBER SERVICE
(800) 672-3888
NRAstore.com
(888) 607-6007
MEMBER PROGRAMS
Hertz Car Rental CDP# 166609
(800) 654-2200
AVIS Car Rental AWD# A832100
(800) 225-7094
NRA Endorsed Insurance Programs
(877) 672-3006
NRA Endorsed Prescription Plan
(888) 436-3700
NRA Endorsed Check Program
(888) 331-6767
NRA VISA Card
(866) NRA-VISA
NRA Real Estate/Relocation Services (800) 593-2526
NRA Endorsed Moving Program
North American Van Lines
(800) 524-5533
Allied Van Lines
(800) 871-8864
INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Grassroots/Legislative Hotline
(800) 392-8683
OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT
(877) NRA-GIVE
THE NRA FOUNDATION
(800) 423-6894
NRA headquarters: (703) 267-1000
INTERNET ADDRESS: www.nra.org
PLANNED GIVING
EDDIE EAGLE GUNSAFE PROGRAM
FRIENDS OF NRA
WOMEN ON TARGET
REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM
INSTRUCTOR/COACH
COMPETITIVE SHOOTING
FIELD OPERATIONS/RANGES
GUN COLLECTOR PROGRAMS
NRA AFFILIATED CLUBS
HUNTER SERVICES
LAW ENFORCEMENT
NATIONAL FIREARMS MUSEUM
EDUCATION & TRAINING
MEDIA RELATIONS
YOUTH PROGRAMS
PROGRAM MATERIALS CENTER
(800) 672-4521
(800) 231-0752
(703) 267-1354
(800) 861-1166
(800) 861-1166
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1450
(877) 672-7264
(703) 267-1601
(800) NRA-CLUB
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1640
(703) 267-1600
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1595
(703) 267-1505
(800) 336-7402
The “NRA Regional Report,” a service for NRA members, appears in every issue of American Rifleman, American Hunter and
America’s st Freedom. The Regional Report is an up-to-date listing of NRA conducted and/or sponsored events scheduled
in your region for the current month. Call to verify event dates and locations before traveling.
80 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
e-mail at refuse@nrahq.org or by phone
at (800) 861-1166.
MARCH 11—RICHLAND, NC
(Seminar)
Donald Sayers (419) 265-2744
MARCH 13—APEX, NC
(Seminar)
G. Shuford (919) 303-5192
MARCH 18—NORTH PALM BEACH, FL
(Seminar)
David D’Eugenio (561) 379-8905
MARCH 22—LARGO, MD
(Seminar)
Vanessa Davis (866) 370-7350
MARCH 23—FORT MYERS, FL
(Seminar)
W. Dean (239) 357-3437
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Training
P
ublic and private officers interested in
becoming firearm instructors should
attend one of NRA’s Law Enforcement
Firearms Instructor Development
Schools, designed to enhance the
instructors’ firearm knowledge and
handling skills, as well as prepare them
areashoots
PISTOL
HARWOOD, MD
MOUNDVILLE, AL
VALDOSTA, GA
MARCH 20
MARCH 21-22
MARCH 26
AIR GUN
CHARLESTON, SC
LEXINGTON, NC
WINCHESTER, VA
MARCH 5-6
MARCH 19
MARCH 19
SMALLBORE RIFLE
HOLLYWOOD, FL
CENTREVILLE, VA
MARCH 12-13
MARCH 13
HIGH POWER RIFLE
COVINGTON, GA
COLUMBIA, SC
YORK CO., VA
PINELLAS PARK, FL
MARCH 5
MARCH 13
MARCH 19
MARCH 20
SILHOUETTE
HOOVER, AL
MONTPELIER, VA
MARCH 5
MARCH 12
For more information, contact Tonia Forte at
(703) 267-1466 or tforte@nrahq.org. For a complete
listing, see www.shootingsportsusa.com.
to develop effective training programs,
instruct in a professional manner and
conduct practical training exercises.
Restricted to law enforcement officers.
Visit www.nrahq.org/law or e-mail
lead@nrahq.org for more information.
MARCH 7-11—COLUMBUS, GA
(Patrol Rifle)
MARCH 14 -18—FLORENCE, AL
(Tactical Shooting)
Rudis Amaya (703) 267-1636 or
ramaya@nrahq.org
gunshows
MARCH 5-6
HAMPTON, GA
Atlanta Motor Speedway, Eastman Gun Shows
(229) 425-9881
MARCH 19-20
MURFREESBORO, TN
Mid-Tennessee Expo Center, R.K. Shows (563) 927-8176
MARCH 5-6
HAMPTON, VA
Convention Center, Southeastern Guns and Knives
(757) 483-5385
MARCH 19-20
DALE CITY, VA
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post #1503, Classic Gun
Shows (305) 266-0996
MARCH 5-6
COLUMBIA, SC
Jamil Shrine Center, South Carolina Arms Collectors
Ass’n (803) 463-9377
MARCH 19-20
ORLANDO, FL
Central Florida Fairgrounds, Old Dominion Gun
Shows (276) 238 1343
MARCH 5-6
TAMPA, FL
Florida State Fairgrounds, Suncoast Gun Shows
(561) 744-5341
MARCH 19-20
NASHVILLE, TN
Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Bill Goodman’s Gun
and Knife Shows (502) 538-3900
MARCH 5-6
SOUTHAVEN, MS
Southaven Arena, Tri-Lake Productions (662) 934-9077
MARCH 5-6
RICHMOND, VA
The Showplace, C&E Gun Shows (540) 951-1344
MARCH 5-6
WINSTON-SALEM, NC
Lawrence Joel Veterans Museum Coliseum, C&E Gun
Shows (540) 951-1344
MARCH 5-6
ASHLAND, KY
El Hasa Temple, R.K. Shows (563) 927-8176
MARCH 5-6
ATLANTA, GA
Atlanta Expo Center, R.K. Shows (563) 927-8176
MARCH 12-13
GULFPORT, MS
Lyman Civic Center, South Mississippi Gun Ass’n
(601) 928-5518
MARCH 12-13
MARIETTA, GA
Cobb County Civic Center, Eastman Gun Shows
(229) 425-9881
MARCH 12-13
CHARLOTTE, NC
Merchandise Mart, C&E Gun Shows (540) 951-1344
MARCH 12-13
KNOXVILLE, TN
Expo Center, R.K. Shows (563) 927-8176
MARCH 12-13
MONTGOMERY, AL
Alcazar Shrine Center, Collectors and Shooters Club
(334) 279-9895
MARCH 12-13
FORT WALTON BEACH, FL
North West Florida Fairgrounds, Southern Classic
Gun Shows (305) 266-0996
MARCH 19-20
GAINESVILLE, GA
Georgia Mountains Center, Eastman Gun Shows
(229) 425-9881
MARCH 19-20
COLUMBIA, SC
South Carolina State Fairgrounds, Land of the Sky
Gun Shows (770) 630-7296*
MARCH 19-20
LAWRENCEVILLE, GA
Gwinnett County Fairgrounds, R.K. Shows
(563) 927-8176
MARCH 19-20
ORLANDO, FL
Central Florida Fairgrounds, Classic Gun Shows
(305) 266-0996
MARCH 19-20
SAINT AUGUSTINE, FL
Saint Johns County Agricultural Center, Cliffhangers
Gun Shows (386) 325-6114
MARCH 19-20
WEST PALM BEACH, FL
South Florida Fairgrounds, Sport Show Specialists
(321) 777-7455
MARCH 19-20
JOPPA, MD
Joppa Town Flea Market, Appalachian Promotions
(717) 697-3088
MARCH 19-20
FREDERICKSBURG, VA
Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center,
Southeastern Guns and Knives (757) 483-5385
MARCH 19-20
KENNER, LA
Pontchartrain Center, Great Southern Gun and Knife
Shows, LLC (865) 458-0051
MARCH 19-20
ROANOKE, VA
Roanoke Civic Center, Showmasters Gun Shows
(540) 951-1344
MARCH 26-27
GWINNETT, GA
North Atlanta Trade Center, Eastman Gun Shows
(229) 425-9881
MARCH 26-27
MANASSAS, VA
Prince William County Fairgrounds, Virginia Gun
Collectors Ass’n (571) 215-8761
MARCH 26-27
LAUREL, MS
Magnolia Center, Big Pop Fireworks (601) 498-4235
MARCH 26-27
BIRMINGHAM, AL
Birmingham Jefferson Convention Center, Alabama
Gun Collectors Ass’n (334) 272-1193
MARCH 26-27
SAVANNAH, GA
Savannah Civic Center, R.K. Shows (563) 927-8176
MARCH 26-27
DELAND, FL
Volusia County Fairgrounds, Sport Show Specialists
(321) 777-7455
MARCH 26-27
FLETCHER, NC
Western North Carolina Agricultural Center, Land of
the Sky Gun Shows (770) 630-7296
MARCH 19-20
TIMONIUM, MD
Maryland State Fairgrounds, Maryland Arms
Collectors Ass’n (301) 865-6804*
MARCH 26-27
CHATTANOOGA, TN
National Guard Armory, R.K. Shows (563) 927-8176
MARCH 19-20
HICKORY, NC
Hickory Metro Convention Center, C&E Gun Shows
(540) 951-1344
MARCH 26-27
JACKSONVILLE, FL
The Morocco Shrine, Cliffhangers Gun Shows
(386) 325-6114
*NRA Affiliate. All others are NRA Recruiters. For details, call (703) 267-3772.
2011 NRA Annual Meetings
continued from p. 45
limited to 50 people, so be sure to e-mail
refuse@nrahq.org to pre-register.
The NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop on
Friday, April 29, will discuss how you can
take an even more active role in your
community to protect our cherished
freedoms. On Saturday, April 30, “In Their
Own Words” will feature NRA members
who will discuss their experiences promoting our Second Amendment rights. Visit
www.nraila.org for upcoming details.
The 14th Annual National NRA Firearms
Law Seminar will be held Friday, April
29. This day-long seminar is an opportunity for attorneys who represent firearm
owners and firearm-related businesses to
discuss legal issues and practice pointers.
CLE credits are available. For more information, visit www.nrafoundation.org/
lawseminar.
The 2011 Prayer Breakfast, sponsored
by Trijicon, will held Sunday, May 1, offering good food and fellowship.
Make New Memories
Whether you attended your first NRA
Annual Meetings last year or your family
attends every year, we look forward to seeing you. Attendees of past Meetings shared
some of their favorite memories with us:
“My fondest memory is the friends I have
made. Whether at a banquet, vendor
booth or just milling around the show
floor, I have never met a greater group of
people. ... I am constantly reinvigorated
when I
attend the Annual Meetings.”—Tim Case
“I was honored to be in the presence of
so many American veterans who I will
call heroes. My 13-year-old son was with
us and listened to all of the wonderful
speakers. We need to get our youth involved and teach them why this country
is great.”—Mark Hoidas
“My best memories of the NRA Annual
Meetings are how kind and considerate
the gun crowd is. It truly does prove,
‘the armed society is a [polite] society.’
The ultimate highlight is always Ted Nugent’s seminar. Ted rocks the crowd!”—
Linda Walker
Act Now!
Don’t let this adventure sail away without
you! Contribute to the success of the NRA
Annual Meetings by volunteering. You name
it—the NRAstore, airgun range, member
services—NRA volunteers help get the job
done. To volunteer, visit www.nraam.org/
volunteer.html or call (877) 672-7632.
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
81
OFFICIAL JOURNAL
INSIDE NRA
regional report • west
011 NRA ANNUAL MEETINGS • APRIL 28-MAY 1 • PITTSBURGH, PA
For hotel accommodations at the NRA Annual Meetings, visit
www.nraam.org
W
hether you’re a hunter, a competitive
shooter or just a proud gun
owner, Friends of NRA has something
for everyone. The format is simple—
food, fun, family and fundraising! At
every Friends of NRA banquet you’ll
have the opportunity to participate in
games, raffles, live and silent auctions,
and more. You’ll also find many unique
items including limited edition firearms,
wildlife art, jewelry and outdoor gear.
To learn more about events in your area,
visit www.friendsofnra.org, contact
your local field representative or call
(800) 672-3888, ext. 1354.
Western Region Director—Brad Kruger
(907) 235-9059; bkruger@nrahq.org
AK—Mark Steinke
(719) 322-4072; msteinke@nrahq.org
AZ—Donna Cassity
(520) 316-0620; dcassity@nrahq.org
Central CA—Jason Quick
(805) 239-4246; jquick@nrahq.org
Eastern CA, Western NV—Steve Wilson
(209) 847-4826; swilson@nrahq.org
Northern CA—Dan Wilhelm
(707) 994-5877; dwilhelm@nrahq.org
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Police Competition
T
he NRA Police Pistol Combat
competition is to be used as an
extension of an officer’s training. See
PPC Rulebook (Rule 2.4) for eligibility
requirements. For more information,
visit Law Enforcement Competitions
at www.nrahq.org/law or e-mail
lecompetitions@nrahq.org.
MARCH 19-20—LAS VEGAS, NV
(Approved)
Tiffany King (703) 267-1621 or
tking@nrahq.org
Southern CA, Southern NV—Lissa Davis
(714) 832-1355; ldavis@nrahq.org
MT—Joe Crismore
(406) 293-2498; jcrismore@nrahq.org
OR, HI—Mike Carey
(541) 385-9404; mcarey@nrahq.org
UT, Eastern NV, Southern ID—Jerald Olsen
(801) 317-4878; jolsen@nrahq.org
2011 Print of the Year:
“Unbearable Itch”
by Dan Smith
Eastern WA, Northern ID—Steve Vreeland
(208) 286-0950; svreeland@nrahq.org
Western WA—Kiefer Lewis
(360) 736-2838; klewis@nrahq.org
WY—Dave Manzer
(307) 746-2520; dmanzer@nrahq.org
Member information & benefits
MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT INFORMATION: (877) 672-2000
MEMBER SERVICE
(800) 672-3888
NRAstore.com
(888) 607-6007
MEMBER PROGRAMS
Hertz Car Rental CDP# 166609
(800) 654-2200
AVIS Car Rental AWD# A832100
(800) 225-7094
NRA Endorsed Insurance Programs
(877) 672-3006
NRA Endorsed Prescription Plan
(888) 436-3700
NRA Endorsed Check Program
(888) 331-6767
NRA VISA Card
(866) NRA-VISA
NRA Real Estate/Relocation Services (800) 593-2526
NRA Endorsed Moving Program
North American Van Lines
(800) 524-5533
Allied Van Lines
(800) 871-8864
INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Grassroots/Legislative Hotline
(800) 392-8683
OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT
(877) NRA-GIVE
THE NRA FOUNDATION
(800) 423-6894
NRA headquarters: (703) 267-1000
INTERNET ADDRESS: www.nra.org
PLANNED GIVING
EDDIE EAGLE GUNSAFE PROGRAM
FRIENDS OF NRA
WOMEN ON TARGET
REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM
INSTRUCTOR/COACH
COMPETITIVE SHOOTING
FIELD OPERATIONS/RANGES
GUN COLLECTOR PROGRAMS
NRA AFFILIATED CLUBS
HUNTER SERVICES
LAW ENFORCEMENT
NATIONAL FIREARMS MUSEUM
EDUCATION & TRAINING
MEDIA RELATIONS
YOUTH PROGRAMS
PROGRAM MATERIALS CENTER
(800) 672-4521
(800) 231-0752
(703) 267-1354
(800) 861-1166
(800) 861-1166
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1450
(877) 672-7264
(703) 267-1601
(800) NRA-CLUB
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1640
(703) 267-1600
(703) 267-1500
(703) 267-1595
(703) 267-1505
(800) 336-7402
The “NRA Regional Report,” a service for NRA members, appears in every issue of American Rifleman, American Hunter and
America’s st Freedom. The Regional Report is an up-to-date listing of NRA conducted and/or sponsored events scheduled
in your region for the current month. Call to verify event dates and locations before traveling.
80 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
TRAINING
Crime Prevention
N
RA’s Refuse To Be A Victim (RTBAV)
program provides men and women
with common-sense crime prevention
and personal safety strategies that can
areashoots
PISTOL
PHOENIX, AZ
PORTLAND, OR
SACRAMENTO, CA
FAIRBANKS, AK
AIR GUN
HONOLULU, HI
SEATTLE, WA
PORTLAND, OR
MARCH 12
MARCH 13
MARCH 20
MARCH 25-27
MARCH 12
MARCH 19
MARCH 20
SMALLBORE RIFLE
BONNERS FERRY, ID
BIG TIMBER, MT
PHOENIX, AZ
MARCH 4-6
MARCH 5-6
MARCH 16-20
HIGH POWER RIFLE
MANUKA, HI
PORT TOWNSEND, WA
SLOUGHHOUSE, CA
KINGMAN, AZ
MARCH 13
MARCH 13
MARCH 16-20
MARCH 20
SILHOUETTE
CONCORD, CA
MESA, AZ
PHOENIX, CA
MODESTO, CA
BISHOP, CA
MARCH 5
MARCH 20
MARCH 20
MARCH 26
MARCH 26
For more information, contact Tonia Forte at
(703) 267-1466 or tforte@nrahq.org. For a complete
listing, see www.shootingsportsusa.com.
2011 NRA Annual Meetings
be used to decrease their chances of
victimization. During the four-hour
seminars, participants learn about a
wide variety of strategies and devices
for increasing automobile, home,
Internet and travel security. Instructor
Development Workshops (IDWs)
are designed to train instructors to
teach RTBAV seminars. Since certified
instructors schedule seminars on a daily
basis, the most up-to-date schedule is
available at www.nrahq.org/rtbav, by
e-mail at refuse@nrahq.org or by phone
at (800) 861-1166.
MARCH 14—TUCSON, AZ
(Seminar)
Kathleen Kuck (909) 936-6064
MARCH 20—CONTINENTAL, AZ
(Seminar)
Kathleen Kuck (909) 936-6064
MARCH 26—ORANGE, CA
(Seminar/IDW)
T.J. Johnston (714) 744-4485
gunshows
MARCH 4-6
HELENA, MT
Lewis and Clark Fairgrounds, Sports Connection
(406) 633-2206
MARCH 5-6
PAYSON, AZ
Mazatzal Hotel and Casino, Western Collectibles and
Firearms Show (928) 772-4247
MARCH 12-13
OGDEN, UT
Golden Spike Events Center, Utah Gun Collectors
Ass’n (801) 486-5174
MARCH 12-13
CENTRALIA, WA
Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, Wes Knodel
Gun Shows (503) 363-9564
MARCH 12-13
MONROE, WA
Evergreen State Fairgrounds, Washington Arms
Collectors (425) 255-8410
MARCH 5-6
PINETOP, AZ
Hon-Dah Resort, Firing Pin Enterprizes, Inc.
(928) 485-0437
MARCH 12-13
MOSCOW, ID
Latah County Fairgrounds, Cliff Beck Promotions
(509) 595-7468
MARCH 5-6
GLENDALE, CA
Glendale Civic Auditorium, Glendale Gun Show
(619) 328-0957
MARCH 18-20
CASPER, WY
Central Wyoming Fairgrounds, Wasatch Gun Shows
(801) 466-7556
MARCH 5-6
ROSEVILLE, CA
Placer County Fairgrounds, Jon Brooks (707) 498-8714
MARCH 19-20
GLENDALE, AZ
University of Phoenix Stadium, Crossroads of the
West Gun Shows (801) 544-9125
MARCH 4-6
LARAMIE, WY
Albany County Fairgrounds, Wasatch Gun Shows
(801) 466-7556
MARCH 5-6
SACRAMENTO, CA
Cal Expo, McMann’s Roadrunner (602) 843-5303
MARCH 5-6
COEUR D’ALENE, ID
Kootenai County Fairgrounds, Sports Connection
(406) 633-2206
MARCH 19-20
LEWISTON, ID
Nez Perce County Fairgrounds, Lewis Clark Trader
(208) 746-5555
MARCH 19-20
ELKO, NV
Elko Fairgrounds, Phoenix Productions (775) 835-9677
MARCH 5-6
POCATELLO, ID
Idaho State Campus–Student Union, Lewis Clark
Trader (208) 746-5555
MARCH 19-20
PORTLAND, OR
Portland Expo Center, Wes Knodel (503) 363-9564
MARCH 5-6
LAS VEGAS, NV
The Cashman Center, Crossroads of the West
Gun Shows (801) 544-9125
MARCH 19-20
EUGENE, OR
Lane County Fairgrounds, Willamette Valley Arms
Ass’n (541) 689-9829
MARCH 5-6
DEMING, WA
Deming Logger Showgrounds, Falcon Gun Shows
(360) 202-7336
MARCH 25-27
BILLINGS, MT
Holiday Inn, Sports Connection (406) 633-2206
MARCH 5-6
VANCOUVER, WA
Clark County Fairgrounds, Collectors West
Gun and Knife Shows (800) 659-3440
MARCH 25-27
KALISPELL, MT
Fairgrounds in Expo Building, Northwest Montana
Arms Collectors Ass’n (406) 255-9169
MARCH 11-13
RENO, NV
Grand Sierra Resort, Lou Fascio, Inc. (775) 828-2350
MARCH 25-27
ROCK SPRINGS, WY
Sweetwater County Fairgrounds, Wasatch Gun
Shows (801) 466-7556
MARCH 11-13
SHERIDAN, WY
Sheridan County Fairgrounds, Wasatch Gun Shows
(801) 466-7556
MARCH 26-27
COSTA MESA, CA
Orange County Fairgrounds, Crossroads of the
West Gun Shows (801) 544-9125
MARCH 11-13
THERMOPOLIS, WY
MAP Armory Building, Yellowstone Gun and Knife
Shows (307) 347-2100
MARCH 26-27
GRANTS PASS, OR
Josephine County Fairgrounds, Collectors West
Gun and Knife Shows (800) 659-3440
MARCH 12-13
KINGMAN, AZ
Mohave County Fairgrounds, The Gun Trader
(928) 684-2149
MARCH 26-27
MEDFORD, OR
Medford Armory, Wes Knodel (503) 363-9564
MARCH 12-13
TUCSON, AZ
Pima County Fairgrounds, Crossroads of the West
Gun Shows (801) 544-9125
MARCH 12-13
YUBA CITY, CA
Yuba-Sutter Fairgrounds, U.S. Gun Traders (530) 438-2913
MARCH 26-27
PUYALLUP, WA
Western Washington Fairgrounds, Washington Arms
Collectors (425) 255-8410
MARCH 27
PORTLAND, OR
Jackson Armory, Oregon Arms Collectors
(503) 254-5986
*NRA Affiliate. All others are NRA Recruiters. For details, call (703) 267-3784.
continued from p. 45
limited to 50 people, so be sure to e-mail
refuse@nrahq.org to pre-register.
The NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop on
Friday, April 29, will discuss how you can
take an even more active role in your
community to protect our cherished
freedoms. On Saturday, April 30, “In Their
Own Words” will feature NRA members
who will discuss their experiences promoting our Second Amendment rights. Visit
www.nraila.org for upcoming details.
The 14th Annual National NRA Firearms
Law Seminar will be held Friday, April
29. This day-long seminar is an opportunity for attorneys who represent firearm
owners and firearm-related businesses to
discuss legal issues and practice pointers.
CLE credits are available. For more information, visit www.nrafoundation.org/
lawseminar.
The 2011 Prayer Breakfast, sponsored
by Trijicon, will held Sunday, May 1, offering good food and fellowship.
Make New Memories
Whether you attended your first NRA
Annual Meetings last year or your family
attends every year, we look forward to seeing you. Attendees of past Meetings shared
some of their favorite memories with us:
“My fondest memory is the friends I have
made. Whether at a banquet, vendor
booth or just milling around the show
floor, I have never met a greater group of
people. ... I am constantly reinvigorated
when I
attend the Annual Meetings.”—Tim Case
“I was honored to be in the presence of
so many American veterans who I will
call heroes. My 13-year-old son was with
us and listened to all of the wonderful
speakers. We need to get our youth involved and teach them why this country
is great.”—Mark Hoidas
“My best memories of the NRA Annual
Meetings are how kind and considerate
the gun crowd is. It truly does prove,
‘the armed society is a [polite] society.’
The ultimate highlight is always Ted Nugent’s seminar. Ted rocks the crowd!”—
Linda Walker
Act Now!
Don’t let this adventure sail away without
you! Contribute to the success of the NRA
Annual Meetings by volunteering. You name
it—the NRAstore, airgun range, member
services—NRA volunteers help get the job
done. To volunteer, visit www.nraam.org/
volunteer.html or call (877) 672-7632.
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
81
official Journal
inside nra
programs & services
2011 Director Nominations
T
he nominees for election to the NRA Board in 2011 were
selected by the Nominating Committee and/or by
Petition of the Membership.
The Board consists of 76 Directors. The Bylaws require
that one-third of the terms of office of 75 Directors shall
expire at each Annual Meeting of Members. One Director
will be elected for a one-year term at each Annual Meeting
of Members. Such Director shall be selected from only those
candidates who were not elected by the mail ballot and those
write-in candidates who received two hundred and fifty (250)
or more write-in votes on said mail ballot but were not elected
by the mail ballot.
The 2011 election will fill the 25 three-year terms that
expire in 2014. Voting members will be asked to vote for a
total of 25 nominees. The 25 nominees receiving the highest
number of votes will be elected to the three-year term.
Nominations by the Nominating Committee. The
Committee, elected by the Board of Directors, includes six
Directors and three Lifetime members who are not Directors.
The Committee met and gave consideration to 58 names
recommended by the membership. Each person was given
serious, deliberate and careful consideration. A total of
31 nominees was selected.
Nominations by Petition of the Membership. A total of
10 persons was nominated by Petition. (Four of the 10 had
already been nominated by the Nominating Committee.)
Each Petition sponsored by an NRA member or member
organization required the signatures of not less than
250 voting members.
A total of 37 nominees, the combined total from the
Nominating Committee and Petition of the Membership, will
appear on the ballot.
1. William H. Allen
Memphis, Tennessee
14. John L. Cushman
Patchogue, New York
27. Todd J. Rathner
Tucson, Arizona
2. Thomas P. Arvas
Albuquerque, New Mexico
15. William H. Dailey
Moline, Illinois
28. Carl T. Rowan, Jr.
Washington, D.C.
3. Clel Baudler
Greenfield, Iowa
16. Dennis DeMille
Oceanside, California
4. David E. Bennett
Albuquerque, New Mexico
17. R. Lee Ermey
Palmdale, California
5. J. Kenneth Blackwell
Cincinnati, Ohio
18. Erik Estrada
Los Angeles, California
6. Dan Boren
Muskogee, Oklahoma
19. Joel Friedman
Pasadena, California
7. J. William Carter
Danville, Kentucky
20. James S. Gilmore III
Richmond, Virginia
8. Ted W. Carter
Jacksonville, Florida
21. Roy Innis
Las Vegas, Nevada
9. Anthony J. Chimblo III
Greenwich, Connecticut
22. Curtis S. Jenkins
Forsyth, Georgia
10. Patricia A. Clark
Newtown, Connecticut
23. Carl B. Kovalchik
Kittrell, North Carolina
11. Allan D. Cors
McLean, Virginia
24. Eddie Newman
Eldridge, Iowa
36. Howard J. Walter
Flat Rock, North Carolina
12. Charles L. Cotton
Friendswood, Texas
25. Timothy W. Pawol
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
37. Dennis L. Willing
Sunfield, Michigan
13. David G. Coy
Adrian, Michigan
26. Peter J. Printz
Hamilton, Montana
82 M
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www.aMericanrifleMan.org
29. Steven C. Schreiner
Englewood, Colorado
30. Harold W. Schroeder
Lancaster, New York
31. Tom Selleck
Thousand Oaks, California
32. Leroy Sisco
Boerne, Texas
33. Marion Townsend
Muncie, Indiana
34. Linda Walker
Alexandria, Ohio
35. James L. Wallace
Newburyport, Massachusetts
COMBAT .45
continued from p. 62
abomination Cooper dismissed as “Rooney guns.” If a shooter didn’t
own a high-capacity M1911 on an STI frame with an Aimpoint or
C-More sight, he simply wasn’t competitive.
In 1994, Illinois pistolsmith Richard Heinie—whose immaculately
hand-built custom .45s resemble pristine Hoag Master Grades—initiated a match called the Single-Stack Classic as a sort of Tea Party revolt
against the excesses of raceguns found in IPSC competition. In 1996, Bill
Wilson founded the Int’l Defensive Pistol Ass’n (IDPA). The custom combat M1911 was back in vogue.
The trend was accelerated by federal legislation that prohibited the
manufacture of magazines holding more than 10 rounds. Suddenly eight
rounds of .45 ACP in an M1911 made sense again. Those of us who had
continuously carried John Browning’s immortal design wagged told-youso fingers.
We can pinpoint the beginning of the Third Generation of combat
M1911s to the day Kimber introduced its “custom quality” line of pistols.
The year was 1995, and the place was the SHOT Show. The prototype Kimbers were actually built by a custom pistolsmith on sourced slides and
frames, then stamped Kimber. Production didn’t begin until a year later in
March 1996.
The Kimber pistols exhibited classic styling. The guns incorporated
every modification and upgrade that distinguished an archetypical handbuilt custom combat M1911. Now, however, a Swensoneque .45 was available over-the-counter in gun shops nationwide.
As the M1911 market expanded, Kimber was joined by none other
than Bill Wilson, who began offering the same level of quality as his
custom-order .45s but on a production basis. Several of Wilson’s top
gunsmiths subsequently left to open NightHawk Custom, also offering
custom combat M1911s on a production basis.
Ed Brown Products, headed by one of the more talented Second Generation pistolsmiths, also began producing ready-to-go custom combat
.45s. Les Baer, another Second Generation pistolsmith, opened a shop in
Illinois after leaving the Springfield Armory Custom Shop.
Springfield then hired Dave Williams to head its Custom Shop and
began incorporating a lot of the hand-touches characteristic of a custombuilt M1911 on a line of production pistols. Today the Illinois-based
company offers an upgraded array of pistols based on its Custom Shop’s
input.
This is the Third Generation—custom-quality M1911s in the Swensonian mold, now available out-of-the-box. There are still talented pistolsmiths such as Hilton Yam who are making hand-built custom combat
.45s, but it’s no longer necessary to go through the expense or wait for a
handmade M1911.
This story can’t end without noting that two of the First Generation
pistolsmiths are still plying their trade. Jim Hoag of Canoga Park, Calif.,
is still building Hoag Master Grades and the occasional Hoag Longslide.
Now in his 70s, the grandmaster still handcheckers every frame and fits
every barrel just as he did back in the day.
Also of note is Paul Liebenberg, who took over building Pachmayr
Combat Specials after Dornhaus and Wetstein left the company. Liebenberg operates Pistol Dynamics in Florida where he offers a Liebenberg
Combat Special patterned after the originals he built while at Pachmayr.
As a matter of fact, I’m commemorating the 100th anniversary of the
M1911 in my own way—I sent a Commander and a Government Model to
Liebenberg to be made into a matched set of Combat Specials.
The custom combat M1911 was, is and shall be the pinnacle of John
Browning’s immortal fighting pistol.
MARCH 2011
the enhanced battle rifle
continued from p. 65
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The fiberglass stock, however,
did not satisfy him. “The [M14]
design has always been tough to
beat for reliability, but required
laborsome bedding and tuning
for best accuracy,” he explained.
Earlier sniper versions of the M14,
especially the M21 Sniper System,
which used a resin-impregnated
stock with epoxy bedding, proved
so temperamental that snipers were
instructed not to remove the action
from the stock while cleaning it.
Armstrong took the bold step of
designing his own chassis stock,
machined from aircraft-grade aluminum. Not only would this be more
rigid than fiberglass, but it would
include an aluminum bedding
block and an assortment of Picatinny rails for optical and illumination accessories. The result was a
true “drop-in” stock, requiring no
bedding or special fitting. “This
stock floats the gas system through
a replacement operating rod guide
screwed to the rigid stock fore-end
and a simple spacer replacing the
front band,” he said. He also modified the Sage buttstock’s cheek rest
to give it 2" of vertical adjustment at
1/4" increments.
In addition to installing quad
Picatinny rails around the fore-end,
he attached a short-rail scope mount
that replaced the M14’s stripper
clip guide. The final additions were
a more effective flash suppressor,
three ambidextrous 11/4" sling slot
locations, and a Harris Engineering S-LM Series S bipod. Patented
to the U.S. Navy with Armstrong as
its inventor, the chassis stock is now
produced under license by Sage
Int’l in Oscoda, Mich.
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84 M
arch
2011
www.aMericanrifleMan.org
U.S. Marine Corps photo
“Simply adding the chassis stock
system cut the group size of a basic
M14 in half without the need for
glass-bedding,” he reports. Firing
five-shot groups with M118 ammunition at 600 yds., Naval technicians at Crane recorded 2 to 2.5
minute-of-angle (m.o.a.) extreme
spreads—meaning 12" to 18"
groups. Standard M80 ball ammunition shot nearly as well.
The EBR & EMR
When the U.S. Army and Marine
Corps later sought modernized
M14s, Armstrong merely switched
the Navy’s Mk. 14 Mod 0 rifle’s short
barrel for a full-length 22" version
to create the Army’s Enhanced Battle Rifle (EBR) and the Marine’s M39
Enhanced Marksman’s Rifle (EMR).
These versions measure 38.5" overall, with the stocks collapsed, and
45" when fully extended.
Although 3 lbs. heavier than the
standard M14, the EBR and EMR
compare favorably to America’s
current 7.62 mm sniping platforms,
such as the Army’s M24 and M110,
and the Marine Corps’ M40A3. The
Army is issuing two EBRs per infantry squad, while the Marines have
placed the EMR at platoon-level.
The Army EBR is fitted with a
Leupold 3.5–10X scope, and the
USMC’s EMR optic is the Schmidt
& Bender M8541 Scout Sniper Day
Scope, the same scope used by
Marine snipers. Thus equipped,
these designated riflemen have
the ability to engage enemy personnel to 800 meters.
Each service is now building
Give a Contribution
to your NRA
Help Support Your NRA and
Donate Today!
call: 1-877-672-2000
or visit our website:
www.nramemberservices.org
Knowledge Bound
When you’re wondering how it’s done (or if it’s legal),
count on the NRAstore™ to have a book on the subject!
Item # 01617 (Two Volume Set)
Item # 01566
continued on p. 86
While the Army fields
EBRs, the U.S. Marine
Corps issues the M39
Enhanced Marksman’s
Rifle (EMR) to its designated marksmen.
For a FREE catalog
call 1-888-607-6007
or visit NRAstore.com
MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
85
the enhanced battle rifle
continued from p. 85
its own rifles, with Navy Mk. 14
Model 0’s being produced at the
Crane facility, while Army rifles
are assembled at Rock Island Arsenal, Ill., and the USMC version at
Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va.
Some 5,000 EBRs have been produced at Rock Island Arsenal, with
funding for another 1,200. A further
2,000 Sage stocks have reportedly
been sold directly to military units
and individuals for conversion of
M14s. Still more rifles issued to
Marines and SEALs suggest that
perhaps 10,000 of these modernized M14s are now in service.
Firing The EBR
4.375 in.
PRODUCT SAFETY NOTICE — WARNING
DO NOT USE YOUR REMINGTON ®
VERSA MAX™ SHOTGUN
Remington has found that a limited number of its VERSA MAX shotguns may have
hammers out of specification. This condition may result in inconsistent firearm
performance. Inconsistent firearm performance may result in property damage,
serious personal injury or death.
If you have a Remington VERSA MA X shotgun, immediately discontinue use of
the shotgun and contact Remington at 1-800-243-9700, Prompt #4. Remington will
arrange for the return shipment of your VERSA MAX shotgun and, upon receipt, will
immediately inspect and retrofi t your VERSA MAX shotgun and return it to you at
no cost to you. All VERSA MAX shotguns that have the hammer enhancement will
contain a “V” stamped that can be seen by looking in the ejection port or through
the carrier.
Thanks to Fulton Armory of
Savage, Md., I was able to test fire
a platform nearly identical to the
EBR. Available to civilian shooters, this semi-automatic-only rifle
incorporates Fulton’s own M14
Receiver, installed on the same
Sage Int’l chassis stock that David
Armstrong designed.
Examining the rifle in my shop,
I found that its military two-stage
trigger broke cleanly at 3 lbs.,
7.5 ozs.—about perfect for me. For
test-firing, I mounted a Bushnell
Elite 6500 4.5–30X Tactical Scope,
which was a simple task with the
rifle’s Picatinny rails.
Ergonomics had concerned
me because of the stock’s square
edges. Nonetheless, I found its
balance and heft surprisingly good
No other firearms are affected.
SAFETY IS FIRST
Remington wants to ensure that you enjoy years of safe and dependable service from
your Remington VERSA MAX shotgun. For any consumer questions or instructions on
how to return your Remington VERSA MAX shotgun, please contact the Remington
Consumer Service Department at 1-800-243-9700, Prompt #4.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Safety First:
Always observe the Ten Commandments of
Firearm Safety and wear approved eye and
ear protection anytime you are shooting.
86 M
arch
2011
www.aMericanrifleMan.org
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with the center-of-balance at the
magazine well. Having trained on
the M14 in the 1960s, I already
appreciated the reliability of its
gas piston and operating rod
system, and the action’s resistance
to sand and carbon buildup. Of
course, I experienced no stoppages or malfunctions of any kind.
Weighing 14 lbs. with a scope, a
bipod and a loaded 20-round magazine, this weight plus the straightline stock resulted in a mild recoil
“push,” making it very comfortable
to fire. This also assisted target
reacquisition for follow-up shots.
The basic difference between the
military EBR and Fulton Armory’s
version is a National Match barrel—
and that really showed on the range.
Accuracy with the Fulton Armory
EBR was impressive. Firing off sandbags at 100 yds., my Federal Gold
Medal Match, .308 Win., 168-gr.
ammunition punched a three-round
group measuring 0.721". Switching
to the U.S. military’s load specifically
designed for sniping—the 175-gr.,
M118 Long Range round—the rifle
fired even better, scoring a 0.50"
three-round group.
In the hands of a trained marksman, the EBR—especially with a
National Match barrel—is more
than capable of dealing with insurgents to 800 meters and beyond.
Perhaps the Taliban and its allies
have proven adaptable; but, as
demonstrated by these 21st century M14s, so have we.
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U.S. Navy designer David Armstrong
developed the EBR’s chassis stock
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Call (877) NRA-2000
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Contributions, gifts or
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March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
87
LOADING BENCH
continued from p. 67
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cases. These rifles have only moderate spring power to close the
bolt and the case must slip easily
into the chamber. Of course, you
must check the case length and
trim if it is longer than 1.530".
Primers must be seated fully as
high primers can cause slam fires
or prevent AR actions from completely closing. The Hodgdon data
uses Remington 7½ primers. I also
used some CCI 400 with excellent
results. Standard small rifle primers work fine for most loads, but
don’t rule out a magnum primer if
you are using ball-type propellant
and are experiencing accuracy
problems or high standard deviations. Of course, you must reduce
the propellant charge if you switch
to a magnum primer and work
back up to a safe maximum load.
1:31 PM The
Pageonly
1 available tested data of
which I am aware is from Hodgdon
(www.hodgdon.com). The data
lists several propellants for the
cartridge. From its list, I had very
good results using IMR 8208 XBR
for the mid- to heavy-weight bullets and Hodgdon H4198 for the
110-gr. projectiles. I used one of
my favorites, the old standby H335,
for the 150-gr. Sierra flat-nose
loads. Although I didn’t have any
on-hand when I was working up
the loads, Hodgdon’s Ron Reiber
says that H322 is probably the best
of the bunch. The thing is, using the
Hodgdon data, I never found a bad
load; however, I didn’t try every
single load, either.
The .30-30 Win. changed the
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88 M
ARCH
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WARNING: Technical data and information
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information based upon the limited experience
of individuals under specific conditions and
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safety precautions that are absolutely necessary
to properly carry on similar activity. READ THE
NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER ON THE CONTENTS
PAGE OF THIS MAGAZINE. ALWAYS CONSULT
COMPREHENSIVE REFERENCE MANUALS AND
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We had no ammunition at all for
the Thompsons though, and were
told that in the event of invasion
we were to apply to the nearest
regular army headquarters for a
supply of cartridges. This was daft,
because they were 20 miles away,
which meant we’d have to fight our
way to get there with useless guns
in order to get our ammunition!
Things got much better later on,
though, and we eventually became
very well armed indeed; we had
something like 20 Thompsons, as
well as Browning machine guns,
mortars and Enfield rifles. When we
were photographed we looked like
a regular army unit.”
The supply of Model 1928s was
nowhere near enough, of course,
and for propaganda reasons guns
were often taken from one unit and
passed to another so that suitably
aggressive pictures could be taken.
Indeed, many home service units
were supplied with wooden “props’’
for propaganda purposes, as the
Ministry of Defence knew that all
pictures released to the public
would be carefully examined by
German intelligence staff. Even
today, occasionally some wooden
Thompsons appear in sale rooms
and are typically described as “film
prop guns,” but their history is often
far more interesting.
As supplies of the Model
1928 began to dry up, they were
replaced with the more basic M1/
M1A1s, and these too were issued
to line regiments. As a result,
troops carried a great mix of different models, with old Model 1928s
being used alongside the later M1
guns. In regions where supply was
problematic, such as Burma and
Madagascar, the early guns often
saw service with Commonwealth
soldiers right to the end of the war.
Such was the esteem in which the
Thompson was held that the Commando badge, worn on the upper
shoulder, featured a Model 1928.
Military production of the Thompson finally ceased in 1944, after
1,387,134 Thompson guns had
been manufactured.
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MARCH 2011 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN
89
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Est.
UAMRFPP0311
1994
Read I Have This Old Gun
N E X T PA G E
Item No. PB 01548 plus shipping
and applicable sales tax
March 2011 aMerican rifleMan
91
TECHNICAL
I HAVE THIS OLD GUN
…
Colt Woodsman Target Model
C
ould there be a more fitting name
than “Woodsman” for a .22 Long Rifle,
semi-automatic handgun that evokes
images of bouncing tin cans or dropping
rabbits on the run? This is yet another classic
firearm from John M. Browning, assisted by
Colt employees George H. Tansley and F.C.
Chadwick. When introduced in 1915, it was
named the “Colt Automatic Pistol, caliber .22
Target Model”—hardly indicative of what
would become a 62-year reign of a gun that
started many a boy on a lifetime of shooting.
In all, more than 690,000 were made.
Initially sporting a 65⁄8" barrel, adjustable sights, blued finish, checkered walnut
stocks and a profile reminiscent of the Luger
(and later, the Ruger Mark I), this pistol was
renamed the Woodsman in 1927. Retaining
its adjustable sights, it came with a two-tone,
10-round-capacity magazine retained by a
European-style heel release. In 1933 Colt
introduced a Sport Model with 4½" barrel,
and from 1938 until 1944 the company made
a heavier-barreled Match Target with a “Bull’s
Eye” target logo on the frame. These guns constitute the First Series, which ran until 1947.
From 1947 to 1955, the Second Series
featured Sport and Target Models, with Target
barrels shortened to 6", and saw a sidemounted magazine release. Designers and
engineers at Colt re-proportioned the grip
(with Coltwood or brown plastic stocks) with a
higher arch, for better controllability, and they
added a weighted-barrel Match Target Model
to the line.
The Third Series, from 1955 to the end of
production in 1977, had the magazine release
relocated to the frame’s bottom. It introduced
the economical, fixed-sight Challenger and
Huntsman Models, along with other variations.
Stocks were black plastic, but beginning in
1960 Colt offered thumbrest walnut stocks
at no extra cost. The price back then for a
Woodsman Target was $84.50. Two years ago
a 1938-era, 95-percent Woodsman Target with
original magazine, box, and sales receipt sold
for $850 at Wally Beinfield’s Las Vegas Antique
Arms show.
This pristine Third Series Target Model
was shipped on June 21, 1974. If I hadn’t
known it had previously been shot, I would
have rated it NRA New, as virtually 100 percent of the finish is present. As the saying
goes, the only thing missing is the box. Even
so, at 99 percent, to a collector it is easily
worth $800 or possibly more.
—RICK HACKER
GUN: COLT WOODSMAN TARGET MODEL–THIRD SERIES
SERIAL NUMBER: 052XXXS
CALIBER: .22 LONG RIFLE
CONDITION: 99 PERCENT
(NRA PERFECT—MODERN GUN CONDITION)
MANUFACTURED: 1974
VALUE: $800
92 M
ARCH
2011
WWW.AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG
Photos by author
We found our most important
watch in a soldier’s pocket
I
t’s the summer of harrowing flights in a B-24 bomber
1944 and a weath- and somehow made it back to the
ered U.S. sergeant is U.S. Besides the Purple Heart and the
walking in Rome only Bronze Star, my father cherished this
days after the Allied Lib- watch because it was a reminder of
eration. There is a joy- the best part of the war for any
ous mood in the streets and this soldier—the homecoming.
tough soldier wants to remember this
He nicknamed the watch Ritorno for
day. He’s only weeks away from
homecoming, and the rare heirloom
returning home. He finds an interestis now valued at $42,000 according to
ing timepiece in a store just off the
The Complete Guide to Watches. But
Via Veneto and he decides to splurge
to our family, it is just a reminder
a little on this memento. He loved
that nothing is more beautiful than
the way it felt in his hand,
the smile of a healthy
and the complex movereturning GI.
ment inside the case inWe wanted to bring this
trigued him. He really
little piece of personal
liked the hunter’s back
history back to life in
that opened to a secret
a faithful reproduction
compartment. He thought
of the original design.
that he could squeeze a
We’ve used a 27-jeweled
picture of his wife and
The hunter’s back
movement reminiscent
new daughter in the case
back. He wrote home that The Ritorno watch back of the best watches of the
now he could count the opens to reveal a special 1940s and we built this
watch with $26 million
hours until he returned to compartment for a
worth of Swiss built
the States. This watch keepsake picture or
can be engraved.
precision machinery.
went on to survive some
For fastest service, call toll-free 24 hours a day
We then test it for 15 days on Swiss
made calibrators to insure accuracy to
only seconds a day. The movement
displays the day and date on the
antique satin finished face and the
sweep second hand lets any watch
expert know that it has a fine
automatic movement, not a massproduced quartz movement. If you
enjoy the rare, the classic, and the
museum quality, we have a limited
number of Ritornos available. We
hope that it will remind you to take
time to remember what is truly valuable. If you are not completely satisfied, simply return it within 30 days
for a full refund of the purchase price.
Stauer 1944 Ritorno $147
Now only $99 + S&P
800-806-1646
Promotional Code RTN263-02
Please mention this when you call.
To order by mail, please call for details.
14101 Southcross Drive W., Dept. RTN263-02
Burnsville, Minnesota 55337
800-806-1646
Visit us online at www.Stauer.com for the complete line of Stauer Watches, Jewelry and Collectibles
The Kimber Super Carry.
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©2011 Kimber Mfg., Inc. All rights reserved. Kimber names, logos and other trademarks may not be
used without permission. Names of other companies, products and services may be the property of
their respective owners. Kimber firearms are shipped with an instruction manual and California-approved
cable lock. Copy of instruction manual available by request.
Kimber, One Lawton Street, Yonkers, NY 10705 (800) 880-2418
THE CHOICE OF AMERICA’S BEST
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