Shooting Times

IN RESPONSE TO THE RECENT “THE SHOOTIST” COLUMN ON THE 1898 Krag, I am not sure if mine is a genuine carbine or not (see the accompanying photo). A few years ago, I spotted a shooter at the range with this rifle. I told him I would be interested in buying it. A few months later he came back, and we came to an agreeable price. I now shoot it on a regular basis. I feed it a 200-grain cast bullet from a SAECO/Redding #301 mold. I put 25.5 grains of VV N135 in the case. My usual targets are plates at 200 yards, and I use the too-tiny peep on the ladder rear sight. It’s a fun rifle to shoot. Carl Thomas Zmuda Via email Worth the Effort I found the May issue’s…

SAVAGE ARMS HAS PARTNERED WITH DAVIDSON’S TO OFFER AN exclusive version of the popular 110 Magpul Hunter. Available only from Davidson’s, this rifle is chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Win. and features a 22-inch heavy threaded barrel, a factory blueprinted action, an oversized tactical bolt handle, an adjustable AccuTrigger, a five-round AICS Magpul magazine, and an OD Green Magpul Hunter stock. The receiver is drilled and tapped, and a 20-MOA factory-mounted rail is included. MSRP: $1,049.99 galleryofguns.com Ruger Marlin Model 1895 Trapper Chambered for .45-70, Ruger’s brand-new Model 1895 Trapper was conceived by hunting and fishing guides in Alaska. The lever-action carbine is made of stainless steel and sports a 16.5-inch barrel with a threaded muzzle, a black laminate buttstock with thick recoil pad, and a black laminate slimmed-down forearm. The rear…

Q: THE RECENT ARTICLE BY LAYNE SIMPSON ON SHOOTING THE .44-40 was a great article about a great cartridge! Now I want to know where Layne got those gorgeous stocks that were in the photo of his Colt New Frontier revolver. So, Layne, how about ’fessing up? Where did y’all get those stocks? Clete Davis Elmhurst, IL A: I am happy to hear that you enjoyed my article on the .44-40 Winchester. The exhibition-grade walnut stocks on my Colt New Frontier revolver in .44-40 were made by Herrett’s Stocks in Twin Falls, Idaho. (I also have the same stocks on a Colt New Frontier revolver chambered for .45 Colt.) If the Herrett name sounds familiar, the company was started in 1955 by Steve Herrett, an avid handgun hunter who, with the assistance…

THIS SLEEK, LONG, BOLT-ACTION .22 WAS NOT one of Winchester’s more famous models. It was sandwiched between the legendary Model 52, which was a match-grade competition rifle capable of winning on national stages, and the more common Model 69—both of which were magazine-fed. In fact, the Model 72 is a close derivative of the Model 69, a fine rimfire designed by Winchester’s Frank Burton and introduced in 1935. Its primary differences are the tubular magazine and the two-position safety at the right rear of the action. Interestingly, sources list the Model 72 as Winchester’s first tube-fed bolt-action design. Announced in 1938, the Model 72 was intended to provide accuracy and balance combined with the high magazine capacity that was becoming popular in competing rifles from entry-level manufacturers. Thus, the tubular magazine, which…

WINCHESTER’S RENOWNED MODEL 1894 RIFLE IS forever linked with the .30-30 Winchester cartridge, but not everyone knows that the first Model 1894 rifles were chambered for Winchester’s incarnations of two older blackpowder cartridges: .32-40 and .38-55. The story of the .32-40 Winchester and the .38-55 Winchester begins in 1884 with two popular target cartridges for the Marlin-Ballard rifle: the .32-40 Ballard and the .38-50 Ballard. In 1875 patent-holder Charles H. Ballard licensed J.M. Marlin to build his single-shot rifle design. Marlin made improvements to the original pattern, and Marlin-Ballard target models in .32-40 Ballard and .38-50 Ballard graced the firing lines at many prestigious shooting events. The “Ballard” cartridge name lived on, but Winchester adapted and renamed them for the single-shot rifle that eventually became known as the Model 1885 Winchester. Early…

SPEAKING FRANKLY, THE NEW .30 SUPER CARRY cartridge debuted as a surprise to many of us in the shooting community. Somehow, in the middle of ongoing international health and political crises and a domestic ammunition shortage, Vista Outdoor convinced Smith & Wesson and Nighthawk Custom to modify handgun models to fire a totally new and extremely high-performance round. Touted as “filling the gap” between the performance of the popular .380 ACP and 9mm Luger rounds, the .30 SC’s ballistics are clearly slanted toward the latter. Six different loadings are offered from Federal, Speer, and Remington. Factory bullet options include 100-grain FMJs and JHPs and 115-grain TMJs and Gold Dots. The lighter-weight bullet velocities range up to 1,250 fps, whereas the heavier ones top out around 1,150 fps. At 0.312 inch, the .30…