Shooting Times

LAYNE SIMPSON’S ARTICLE “TIPS FOR SHOOTING THE PER- cussion Revolver” in the July 2022 issue was right on once I got past the first sentence. People who sail aboard Merchant Ships in the Merchant Marine are properly referred to as “Merchant Mariners” not “merchant marines.” The latter terminology conjures up visions of an invasion force of salesmen storming beaches armed with “fully automatic assault order-form machines,” forcing their products upon the citizens of the invaded land. Obviously, I am of that group known as licensed professional mariners, so to me the term “merchant marine” applied to an individual is right up there with someone referring to cartridges as bullets. I have a bunch of percussion guns and enjoy shooting them, especially the Colt reproductions, even though the Colts are famous for…

THE NEW 3.0-INCH-BARRELED Python from Colt is 8.5 inches long overall and weighs 40 ounces. The double-action revolver is chambered for .357 Magnum and features a newly redesigned action, stainless-steel construction, a full-length underlug, a ribbed topstrap, and checkered walnut grips. It has a fully adjustable rear sight and a red ramp front sight, and the front sight is user-interchangeable. The cylinder holds six rounds of .357 Mag. or .38 Special ammo. MSRP: $1,499 colt.com Mossberg 7mm PRC Patriot Predator Mossberg has added the new 7mm PRC chambering to its purpose-built, suppressor-ready Patriot Predator bolt-action rifle lineup. Two configurations are offered, both with synthetic stocks (FDE or Strata finishes) and 24-inch fluted barrels. These new rifles feature a flush-fitting three-round polymer detachable magazine, Mossberg’s user-adjustable LBA trigger, and a receiver-mounted Picatinny optic rail. They weigh…

Q: WHEN FIREFORMING .243 WIN. OR .257 ROBERTS FACTORY AMMO in Ackley Improved chambers, will the bullet exhibit the same velocity, drop, and accuracy as compared to firing them in a standard .243 Win. or .257 Roberts chamber? Charlie Bressman Via email A: Let’s say you have a rifle chambered in .243 Win. or .257 Roberts. First you fire 10 rounds of factory ammo in your rifle to determine the average velocity and velocity variation, i.e., the extreme spread (E.S.) and standard deviation (S.D.). Then your gunsmith sets the barrel back one turn to ensure he can cut a complete, clean Ackley Improved chamber. Finally, you fire the rest of the box of ammo (10 rounds) in the modified rifle and record the velocity data, i.e., average velocity, E.S., and S.D. Because the chamber…

IN THE FIREARMS WORLD, THE BRAND NAME J.C. Higgins is known for budget-priced guns with high quality. As such, they sometimes offer an outstanding value for shooters looking for a hardworking shotgun. Some folks like to collect them, too. That same quality makes J.C. Higgins guns—particularly the Model 20 shotguns like the one profiled here—nice vintage pieces at blue-collar prices. Model 20 guns were made for J.C. Higgins by High Standard, and J.C. Higgins was the brand name of Sears, Roebuck and Co.’s line of firearms. John Higgins was an Irish immigrant who hired on at Sears in 1909 or thereabouts and worked his way up the ladder, eventually becoming vice president. Apparently, the marketing department figured initials gave the brand more of a ring, so they added a “C” and created the…

HANDGUN AMMUNITION DEVELOPMENT before the mid-1960s was stagnant. In addition to unrealistic tests—pine boards were apparently considered dangerous and tested for penetration—ammomakers and police administrators largely ignored amateur researchers like Philip Sharpe and Elmer Keith who advocated for alternative bullet styles to improve handgun “stopping power.” When I entered the crime lab in 1971, the .38 Special revolver remained the darling of law enforcement. You could get any bullet shapes you wanted…as long as they were roundnose or full wadcutter. Handloaders already enjoyed better, if not perfect, options from component bullet specialists like Hornady, Speer, and Sierra. Lee Jurras changed the industry. His Super Vel ammo combined special JHP and JSP bullets wearing ultra-thin jackets and posting very high velocities. Their performance raised both the bar and eyebrows. I used his .45…

AS I STATED IN LAST MONTH’S COLUMN, THE .45 Colt and Colt SAA revolver were approaching obsolescence by the early 1900s. In addition to the advent of new smokeless propellant technology, self-loading firearms were also being developed. Georg Luger and John Browning designed several new semiautomatic pistols and their cartridges for the military and civilian market. Luger introduced a .30-caliber and 9mm round primarily adopted in Europe. Browning worked with Colt and FN to introduce the .32-, .380-, and .45-caliber Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP) cartridges. This column is about the esteemed .45 ACP. The original .45 ACP loading launched a 200-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of about 900 fps. By 1911 an updated .45 ACP round topped with a 230-grain FMJ bullet had a velocity of about 850 fps. The…