Gun Digest December 2020

A few weeks back, I was somewhere in the middle of a 14-hour road trip when my mind began to wander, as minds tend to do when the hum of the tires turns into a lullaby. The topography of central South Dakota didn’t offer much visual distraction at that particular mile-marker, and I got to mindlessly looking over the labyrinth of buttons, dials and switches that adorn the inside of my truck. There are so many controls within arm’s reach and, if it’s not too bold to say, that truck is damn shiny when the chrome is polished and the black paint is clean. As the highway continued on, I drift ed back to the age of 10 or so, playing the part of Dad’s wingman at a local auto dealership.…

HISTORICAL NOTES Announced in 1958, the .338 Winchester Magnum is another of the series based on the .458 Winchester necked down. Initially available only in the Winchester Model 70 Alaskan bolt-action rifle, Remington adopted it for the 700 Series bolt action. Some of the European rifle makers also chamber it, as does Ruger for the Model 77 and No. 1 rifles, Mossberg in the Patriot line, Savage in the 110 series, as well as many custom and semi-custom rifles. Browning’s BAR autoloader also chambers it. .338 WINCHESTER MAGNUM LOADING DATA GENERAL COMMENTS With proper bullets, the .338 Winchester Magnum shoots almost as flat across 500 yards as similar loads in the various .30-caliber magnums—the difference amounts to only a few inches more drop. Designed to handle the heaviest North American big game, the .338…

In the firearms world, perfection doesn’t exist. Thank goodness. After all, how boring would perfection be the next morning? Most people know things can always be better, and the best of us know they should be. That quest to make things better every day isn’t perfection—it’s precision. I have no doubt why it’s in the name of the company Tom Houghton Sr. started in 1978: H-S Precision. What is the H-S Precision brand? “I want the H-S Precision brand to be known as the highest-quality products in the firearms industry offered at a fair price,” says Tim Houghton, vice president and chief operating officer for H-S Precision based in Rapid City, South Dakota. “We will continue to design, engineer and manufacture every component of the products that we offer. We are one…

“Somewhere in your gun is the bullet that will solve your problem. It might be the first one, or it might be the last one,” says David “Boon” Benton. There’s a lot of wisdom in that quote, and there are several lessons to be learned from it. I think many who carry a gun for personal protection often get too wrapped up in their gear. They’ll obsess about the gun they carry or the ammunition that’s inside it, but quite often they’ll overlook the fact that in most cases it won’t be the gun or the ammunition that saves their life. Mindset, tactics and marksmanship and gun handling tend to be the things that determine outcomes. Gun writers like me are often the reason the focus gets misplaced; for years, we’ve spent…

“Custom-molded earplugs, 31 NRR rated, for $30.” Standing at a booth on range day at the SHOT Show and hearing this, I was certain either my hearing was finally calling it quits after decades of shooting—or I was having a stroke. “You mean $300, right?” The answer, with a smile, was “No, $30. And you can custom fit them at home.” OK, now I was hooked. “Tell me more.” The custom-fitted ear protection is a clever product from Decibullz, and they’re a product of modern chemistry. The plugs start shape in a more-or-less earplug form. You drop them in boiling water and let them boil away for 5 minutes. You fish them out, let them cool and dry, and then press them into your ears. Obviously, you don’t want boiling-hot anything to…

Spoiler alert: I’m not the neatest guy in the world. While not technically a slob, most of my guns could use a thorough cleaning, and so could my reloading gear. I find cleaning rifles a necessary but mundane chore. Sometimes we need to turn an eye to our reloading tools themselves and give them some attention to keep things running smoothly and delivering consistent results. POLISHED BRASS Regarding the cleaning of cases, there are several methods you can choose, depending on your personal preference. Some reloaders like to clean all of their cases before they even see a resizing die, leaving the spent primer in the case during the cleaning process, and letting the resizing die push that old primer out. Others want to get rid of that primer so the cleaning/tumbling…