Rifle November/December 2019

To find something more constructive to do while waiting for the two feet of snow from the last winter storm to melt off, I decided to start the annual spring cleaning, inventory and inspection of rifles, handguns and the only shotgun I’ve owned in nearly 40 years, an early Parker hammer model 10 gauge. To keep things simple, the process usually starts with Model 73, 92 and 94 Winchesters and Marlin 94s by caliber, starting with .44 so all the barrels use the same size bronze brush or cotton swab. ...Read More >

At Rifle, we try to answer readers’ queries in a timely and helpful manner. Most questions of a technical nature are cleared up easily enough by our editorial staff, and advice is provided when requested or deemed necessary. What’s more, since most readers are sportsmen, other less technical topics pop up now and then. ...Read More >

Last Sunday was a rather lazy day spent with family and friends, followed with an early dinner that, as usual, was followed by a discussion of guns, ballistics, handloads and hunting. Afterward, a walk was in order so several family members and a couple of working Australian Sheppard cow dogs left the house for a 2-mile walk through our place. ...Read More >

Googling the word cachet revealed the definitions of prestige, distinction and similar terms. Many guns have received cachet from the shooting world. Ever had a conversation about leverguns with someone who doesn’t own one? Invariably, they will say that if they ever buy a levergun it will be a Winchester Model 1886. That’s cachet. Same goes for the U.S. M1 Garand. Just about every rifle shooter respects them whether they have fired one or not. ...Read More >

Wood gunstocks are just like wood furniture. All manner of bumps, bulges, grooves, swells and inlays have been tried in an attempt to make stocks more attractive to potential customers. However, while distinctive features on furniture are admitted to be “just for looks,” on stocks they are justified as serving some purpose. Nowhere is this more evident than that strange growth on the buttstocks of longarms called a cheekpiece. ...Read More >

SIG Sauer’s new line of TANGO4 scopes designed for AR-type rifles are made for mid- to long-range shooting and hunting, according to SIG. TANGO4 scopes include 1-4x 24mm, 3-12x 42mm and 4-16x 44mm options. The scopes include features such as a 4:1 magnification zoom ratio, LockDown Zero System turrets and the choice of several motion-activated, illuminated reticles in the first focal plane. ...Read More >

Dale Hegstrom, after 20 years of working for the better gun shops in the country, decided to settle down in his hometown of Spicer, Minnesota, and offer his own gunsmithing services. Starting with a case trimming product called the World’s Finest Trimmer, he moved on to other products, but his first love was custom rifles. ...Read More >

After he graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1881, Harry Pope went to work in a bicycle factory in Hartford, Connecticut. You might think making bicycles would be pretty low-tech for a man with a degree from MIT, but in the last years of the nineteenth century, bicycles were big, especially in the cities and suburbs that were blooming in the East. ...Read More >

During the three years the Sauer 100 has been on the market, it has been portrayed as a bargain-priced bolt-action rifle. The 100 is not priced like the Ruger American, Savage Axis or Mossberg Patriot rifles that sell for $300 and change. However, the 100 is a great deal and then some, with all the features usually found on rifles costing twice its price. ...Read More >

Rifles produced by the (Christian) Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company, later reorganized as the Sharps Rifle Company, were originally offered from approximately 1851 until 1881, but quickly became a larger-than-life legend famous for their accuracy, power and rugged reliability. Even more remarkable was that their production numbers were very limited. With so few rifles produced, it is amazing that they built such a monumental worldwide reputation. The U.S. won its first world long-range championship using Sharps rifles. ...Read More >

The modern world of double rifles was shaped by three critical patents taken out in England in 1863, 1865 and 1875. Any high-quality double rifle you buy today, regardless of origin, will use at least one of these, probably two, and more than a few will use all three. ...Read More >

​Humans regard certain round-number measurements as especially significant, though that can change with time, technology and even inflation. At one time, a millionaire was considered “rich,” but these days middle-class Americans in a few cities spend one million dollars on a pretty basic house. During the first half of the twentieth century, some experts though it might be physically impossible for any human to run a mile in four minutes, but in 1954 Roger Bannister ran a mile in 3 minutes, 59.4 seconds. Today’s record is 3:43.13, but that does not have the same ring as a “4-minute mile.” ...Read More >

Before modern muzzleloaders, before sabots, before even Maxi balls, there were two basic types of muzzleloading projectiles used in America, the patched roundball and the Minié ball. The first type dates from the early 1700s and was primarily used in rifles of the Eastern “long rifle” type or later western “plains rifle” style. ...Read More >