Gun Digest March 2020

Evolution can be a fickle mistress. I guess what I’m trying to say is that as a gun-loving, flag-waving, old-school patriot, there are things going on these days that are hard to swallow. If you’ve got at least one eye on the news, you know what I mean. It all reminds me of the chorus in “Old Hippie,” by the Bellamy Brothers: “Should he hang on to the old, should he grab on to the new?” Granted, there are a few things that I’ve not only come to accept, but I actually appreciate: I’m OK with trucks now having four doors (but you’ll never convince me that a real truck should have a sunroof). And, as far as I’m concerned, whoever first invented the electric knife sharpener and gas-powered log splitter…

HISTORICAL NOTES Developed and introduced by Savage Arms Co. for the Model 99 lever-action rifle in 1920, the .300 Savage was later chambered in Savage’s models 20 and 40 bolt-actions. The .300 Savage was intended as a cartridge that would work through medium-length actions and deliver ballistics similar to the .30-06. Remington chambered it in the Model 81 autoloader, 760 pump-action and 722 bolt-action. The cartridge achieved considerable popularity, but it has since lost out to the superior .308 Winchester. GENERAL COMMENTS The .300 Savage provided fans of lever-actions, pump-actions and semi-autos with performance close enough to the .30-06 to make rifles of this type useful for most American big game. The original factory load used a 150-grain bullet and matched the original .30-06 sporting load at 2,700 fps. If loaded to original factory pressure…

Ease off the Throttle I am enjoying my Gun Digest magazine subscription and was especially pleased to see a new Python on the February 2020 Gun Digest cover. But I have a few niggles with the article: All the photos are of the left (latch) side of the guns. What about the other side? In particular, is there a hideous laser-etched QR code square on the gun? That would be like a huge, angry blemish on Scarlett Johansen’s cheek. But I can’t tell. Also, a side plate-off shot of the new internals would be of interest (at least to me). The grips might be walnut, but that’s laminated walnut—in other words: plywood (albeit very nice plywood). And the author states that Colt went with the brand-new .357 chambering at the last minute.…

MORE GUNS! MORE VALUES! MORE OF WHAT YOU NEED! IT’S ALL IN THE UPDATED 30TH EDITION! For over a quarter-century, the Standard Catalog of Firearms has been the leading illustrated guide to guns and their values, offering more of what the firearms enthusiast and collector needs: more photos, more prices and more guns. The Standard Catalog of Firearms is a must-have guide to commercial firearms, past and present. Every edition is updated with the newest entries from today’s handgun, rifle and shotgun manufacturers, plus the latest values from a wide range of experts, editors and auction houses for virtually every gun made or sold. Inside the 2020 edition, edited by firearms expert Jerry Lee, you’ll find—• More than 7,500 photos with extensive descriptions that let you know what each firearm is worth • Updated values…

The firearms industry is inexorably tied to history. While we have some great, new names that are delivering some excellent products, names such as Winchester, Remington, Rigby, Mauser, Holland & Holland, Marlin and Savage have all been bringing us great firearms since the 19th century. Among those greats—quietly making superb firearms since 1865—is the German firm of Heym. Establishing its reputation by producing fine double-barreled shotguns and rifles and three-triggered drillings (Friedrich Wilhelm Heym actually patented the first hammerless drilling), Heym survived the tumult of a pair of world wars by making cuckoo clocks and slide rules in West Germany after 1946. Fast-forward to the end of the 20th century, and you’ll find Heym with a modern firearms facility in a united Germany and Thomas Wolkmann at the company’s helm, producing such…

I would like to introduce you to a new defensive handgun. It’s the EDC X9S from Wilson Combat. Now, unless this is the first gun magazine you’ve ever read or your Internet is broken, you’ve surely heard of Wilson Combat. The company was founded by Bill Wilson, who started his gunsmithing business in 1977 in the back of his family’s jewelry store in Berryville, Arkansas. Wilson Combat has now grown to become one of the largest employers in the area and a premier manufacturer of what many consider the best custom 1911s in the world. Younger shooters might not know Bill Wilson’s history. In addition to building an impeccable reputation as a gunsmith, he was the Pistolsmith of the Year in 2002, a top-level IPSC competitor, former director of USPSA and…