Gun Digest September 2020

“I want to stay until noon, Daddy. Then we can go.” My daughter, Mya, and I had been sitting in that ground blind for 7 hours, and it was barely 11 a.m. At that moment, she wanted more than anything to wrap her first tag around a big Eastern gobbler, but the combination of silent birds, very high winds and extremely early mornings was beginning to take its toll on her enthusiasm. Still, her determination was inspiring. At 11:55 a.m., I began gathering items strewn about the blind and shoving them into our packs. “Daddy, look … .” Sure enough, a lone longbeard stood on the edge of the field, periscoped and appearing to be 6 feet tall. My iPhone read 11:59 a.m. I s-l-o-w-l-y reached for the pot call and scratched it in…

HISTORICAL NOTES Designed by Charles Newton, the .250 Savage was introduced by the Savage Arms Company as a high-velocity round for the Model 99 lever-action rifle. The original loading used an 87-grain bullet at 3,000 fps muzzle velocity, and Savage named it the .250-3000. One suspects the 87-grain bullet was chosen because it could be safely driven at 3,000 fps with the powders then available. This allowed Savage to introduce it with the ever-so-sexy name, “.250-3000.” Remember, in 1915, when this cartridge was introduced, riflemen were still marveling at cartridges achieving 2,000 fps. About 1932, the 100-grain bullet load was marketed by Peters Cartridge Company; and later, the velocity of the 87-grain bullet was slightly increased. Now, it’s simply called the .250 Savage. The Savage Model 20 and Model 40 bolt-action rifles…

Most people probably don’t think, “pheasants,” when they consider their next tactical holster purchase. I do ... well, I do now anyway. You see, last year, I got invited on my first wild pheasant hunt with Zach Hein from CZ-USA. Born and raised in Kansas, Zach wanted me to experience a few of the things that matter the most to him: his Midwestern family, hunting pheasants—and one of his very best hunting buddies, Alex Costa. Costa owns ANR Design, a New Hampshire-based thermoplastic solutions and holsters company. Zach’s family is a living Norman Rockwell experience of Americana: The pheasants of Kansas are glorious, and while I hunted beside Alex, I learned he is exactly the kind of man you want building holsters for you—he’s meticulous, pragmatic, painstakingly self-critical, and, above all else,…

When Mossberg launched the MC1sc pistol in 2019, a lot of folks were shocked and left wondering what a shotgun company—Mossberg is best-known for its shotguns—thought it was doing making pistols. Well, as it turns out, what most folks didn’t know—including me—was that the first firearm Mossberg ever produced was a handgun. Granted, that was 1919, and just because you made a handgun in 1919 doesn’t mean you can make one that’s marketable more than 100 years later. But, in Mossberg’s case it was true: The MC1sc turned out to be an affordable and reliable pistol. In fact, it’s the gun you’ll find in my wife’s purse. With the success of the MC1sc, it shouldn’t surprise you that Mossberg tried it again, and for 2020, it has introduced the MC2c. The pistol…

Gun writers are expected to be multitalented. Not only are we supposed to be expert shots, encyclopedic historians, wizard reloaders, and skilled photographers, we also have to be able to measure everything (we’ll leave out the “thrifty” and “wise” part). Readers, shooters, and the editor all obsess over trigger pull weight. In the old days, that was a real hassle. Using dead weights—iron discs hanging from a rod—I could spend an inordinate amount of time measuring triggers and dodging dropped weights. IT’S A SNAP! Now, Lyman has made it easy. Its trigger pull gauge, the electronic version, makes it a snap to snap. The process is simple: Unload and lock the firearm in place. Turn the unit on, ready it, and then place the extended rod against the trigger and exert pressure. Now, this…

I’ve been a wheelgun guy since I was a kid. My dad taught me how to shoot with that Ruger Single Six he wore on his gun belt each night he’d take the ’coon hounds out in the fall. How many raccoons fell to that pistol even hecan’t estimate. As my friends and I got older and began to acquire our own handguns (they were primarily wheelguns) and subsequently began to handload for them, we learned an awful lot about what to do and what not to do. When it comes to reloading for revolvers, there are a few guidelines that’ll help keep you—and your gun—healthy and running properly. CRIMPS Most revolver cartridges are rimmed cartridges. That’s important, because it gives the handloader some flexibility in their approach, especially regarding different crimp styles. Where…