Category: Hunting

Bullet Drop: It’s About Time, by Mr. Wobbet

This article gives another perspective on understanding ballistics charts. Introduction I am not much of a hunter. Over the past five years going up to my in-law’s place, I’ve taken about a dozen shots at the feral pigs that root up sections of their land. I have zero hits on running pigs. If you line up a handful of soda cans filled with water at 25 yards, I can go town on those. But with the pigs out at 200 yards, I am about useless, even when the neighbor has lent me his really nice hunting rifle. A few weeks …


A Top-10 Prepping List, Multi-Tool Not Included – Part 2, by St. Funogas

(Continued from Part 1.) 3. WOODSTOVE Currently, only 1.7% of American homes heat with wood with an additional 7.7% use it for their secondary source of heat. That leaves 90% of Americans without a sustainable way to heat their homes if the SHTF. Don’t be one of those 90% if you want to survive your first post-SHTF winter. Based on those numbers, for most preppers heat will be the second most difficult thing (after water) to prepare for on a long-term sustainable basis. And because it’s so difficult, it’ll be the most neglected topic among their prepping priorities. Don’t ignore …


Benjamin M600 Airbow, by Thomas Christianson

The Benjamin M600 Airbow is an outstanding development in the world of archery. It is powerful, accurate, and easy to use. Using pre-charged pneumatic power, it delivers arrows downrange at up to 600 feet per second with 300 foot pounds of energy. With a weight of 6.8 pounds and a length of 33 inches, the M600 delivers these features in a reasonably light and compact package. The M600 is made in the USA with globally sourced components. At the time of this writing, it cost $829.90 at benjaminairguns.com.


Christensen Arms Ranger in .22LR, by Thomas Christianson

Every gun cabinet should contain at least one rifle chambered in .22LR. The .22LR rimfire ammo is available in a wide variety of loads at reasonable prices. There is minimal recoil, minimal noise, and .22LR is a whole lot of fun to shoot. For training, for pest control, and for an all-around good time, there are few chamberings to match .22LR. Weighing in at just 5.1 pounds, the Christensen Arms Ranger in .22LR is an amazingly light and well-balanced bolt-action tack-driver with an excellent trigger. The threaded, 18-inch, hand-lapped, carbon-fiber-tension-over-stainless-steel-core barrel is well matched with a carbon-fiber stock with a …


An Everyday Pellet Gun, by Lodge Pole

Where I grew up, we called them pellet guns, not pellet rifles or air rifles. I am by no means a pellet gun expert. Nearly all of my experience is with a single-shot, break-action pellet gun. The knowledge and advice I offer in this article is solely based on my experience and familiarity of single-shot, break-action pellet guns. Depending on your age, physical build and desired purpose of use, pellet gun actions vary, though in application, the concept remains the same. There is an option for everyone. About twenty years ago, I was camping with a friend who had a …


Preparedness Primer for an Uncertain Future – Part 2, by Single Farmer

(Continued from Part 1.) Sometimes, when you are lost, often the best course of action if you can is to go back to a known starting point. Trying to figure out where we are on a historical timeline if we could be going into a Third World War, you first need to know how we became embroiled in the First and Second World Wars. Without the First, you would not have the Second. Nation-states need to have certain preconditions to have a world war. The First World War — known back then as the “Great War” — was a conflict …


Armasight Thermal Optics, by Thomas Christianson

I stepped out my door with the dog on a leash, ready to go for a walk. A glance toward the woods on the other side of the driveway did not reveal any signs of life. I was carrying an Armasight Thermal Monocular in my right hand. I turned it on, put it to my right eye, and glanced at the same patch of woods across the driveway just to make sure that the monocular was on. Much to my surprise, I saw a herd of a half dozen or so deer looking back at me. What was easy to …


Heritage 92 in .44 Magnum, by Thomas Christianson

Inspired by John Moses Browning’s iconic Winchester Model 1892, the Heritage 92 comes in a number of different models with various barrel lengths, finishes, and chamberings. The version that I tested has a 20 inch barrel, is chambered in .44 Magnum, holds 10 rounds in the tubular magazine, has semi-buckhorn sights, and walnut-colored tropical hardwood furniture. The Heritage 92 is light, attractive, and well-machined, operates reliably, and puts the shooter in touch with his inner movie cowboy. The .44 Magnum chambering has enough energy and a flat enough trajectory from a rifle length barrel to make the Heritage 92 useful …


Winchester Model 190, by Thomas Christianson

A very popular firearm of half a century ago, the Winchester Model 190 is a tube-fed, semiautomatic, .22 rimfire rifle that is no longer in production. It was manufactured from 1967 to 1980 in New Haven, Connecticut. Altogether 2,171,263 of the rifles were made, including the 290 version which had a Monte Carlo stock. I am not sure if this number includes the models that were sold by Sears as the Ted Williams Model 3T. The Model 190 has a 20-inch barrel, a cross-bolt safety at the front of the trigger guard, and a two-part beech stock. The barrel of …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 5, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 4.) Temperature Stable Powders I will use temperature stable powder in these rifles so that during summer time temperatures, my previously safe-to-shoot cartridges is not adversely affected by an increase ambient air temperature or while chambered in a hot rifle barrel. H4895, H4831, H4350, and Varget are my top choices. I engineer a wide margin of safety for powders that are not temperature stable and settle on a lesser weight charge. Accuracy can often be found at lower pressures when using lighter projectiles and at higher pressures if using heavier projectiles. Good accuracy for lighter projectiles is …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 4, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 3.) In my opinion, regardless if the chambering is .300 Savage, or .308 Winchester, or .30-06, using a temperature-stable powder at charge that delivers a muzzle velocity of 2,150 fps to propel a .308 150 grain round nosed bullet designed for the .30-30 is the safest practical load I could put together and recommend if the reloader is primarily interested in safety. As an example in the extreme to illustrate that a larger case capacity is more desirable in antique actions. If it were chambered in .30-06, 35 grains of IMR3031 behind a 150-grain round nosed bullet …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.) Sizing the Brass to the Chamber Assuming we have had a gunsmith evaluate the rifle, we should also fit the case to the chamber by backing out the die a full turn so that the shoulder of the case might be more than 1 to 2 thousandths of an inch longer. This process will compensate for the generous head spacing that exists in military actions coupled with the original military barrel, and remove any remaining and unneeded head space variance out of a re-barreled action. Accuracy might also be improved. The bolt should not close without …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) Pressure Limits, PSI, CIP, and CUP How many PSI are in a CUP? And to continue the absurdity, how many CIP’s of PSI are in a CUP? Could we be more baffled and confused? Yes! And this is all the comedic relief we can expect. To include CIP into our calculus is unnecessary, yet it is mentioned only to note that it is a competing metric used in European manuals and can be a source of additional confusion. Some of the false assumptions about the pressure limits of the Swedish Mauser may lie in the inaccurate …


Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed in 6.5 Creedmoor, by Thomas Christianson

Light. Accurate. Well-balanced. Excellent trigger. Versatile adjustable stock. Attractive appearance. Outstanding fit and finish. Butter-smooth bolt. Weather resistant. There are a lot of excellent features to commend the new Browning X-Bolt 2 Speed rifle. With a manufacturer-suggested retail price of $1,469.99 at the time of this writing, the X-Bolt 2 Speed falls into the medium price range for full-power rifles. A wide range of premium features justify the elevation of the X-Bolt 2 out of the sub-$1,000-price-range. The rifle is manufactured for Browning in Japan by Miroku. If you would like to invest in a better-than-budget-class rifle, the X-Bolt 2 …


Mossberg Patriot LR Tactical in 6.5 Creedmoor, by Thomas Christianson

With one of the most comfortably-shaped ergonomic stocks I have ever used, an excellent trigger, and a 22 inch free floating threaded bull barrel, it is not surprising that the Mossberg Patriot LR Tactical in 6.5 Creemoor offers excellent accuracy. Weighing in at 8.8 pounds not counting optics or ammo, the rifle is no featherweight. That makes it your friend while absorbing recoil, but less so if you need to haul it under your own power into the boonies. With a manufacturer suggested retail price of $1,085 at www.mossberg.com at the time of this writing, it represents a excellent value …