Cutting-Edge Extras

Ammo, Accessories, Accoutrements,
Auction, Action

By Payton Miller

As a hunting round for bolt-action rifles, the ’06 will always have a place. But you’d have to be nostalgically hidebound to deny that the .308 (despite its 7.62 NATO nom de plume) is now pretty much “America’s .30.” And with advances in propellants and bullets, the ballistic advantage the ’06 once held over the .308 has gotten noticeably smaller. Of course, there’s no shortage of loads that do specific things better than the .308. But very few loads do as many things so well. And certainly no other load is offered in such an outstanding array of platforms.

As such, it was only a matter of time before SIG included it in its ammo menu—along with its handgun offerings we’ve touched on in earlier issues. The load we had on hand was the 168-grain OTM Match Grade Rifle. We grouped it through a Remington 700 SPS Varmint with a 26-inch heavy barrel and a 3-9X BSA variable.

The factory-claimed muzzle velocity on this one was 2,700 fps. We averaged 2,668 fps, but with an impressive Extreme Spread of 28 fps and a Standard Deviation of 13. Running it through a 16-inch barreled Springfield SOCOM was equally instructive. The average was 2,593 with an ES of 69 fps and an SD of 28. That’s a 75 fps difference for 10 inches of barrel—less than 8 fps per inch. This stuff is nothing if not efficient. We only grouped it through the scoped Remington bolt gun, but results were plenty good—just over 1/2-inch at 100 yards for 3 shots.

Thomas Mackie found the Kershaw Barge to be just the ticket for
prying loose a sticky shift lever on his 1971 Norton Commando restoration
project (above). It is a handful as a folder, but it was never envisioned
as a flyweight penknife! That no-nonsense Sheepsfoot blade (below) will
handle a multitude of slicing jobs.

Right Tool for the Job

My shooting buddy Thomas Mackie is also a mechanic, a machinist, motorcycle, and 1911 fanatic. In a moment of candor, he once admitted, “Sooner or later, every tool you own eventually becomes a hammer.”

Well, using something to do what it wasn’t originally intended for isn’t the exclusive province of knuckle-busters like Thomas. The concept even leaks over to outdoor types. A case in point includes one of the first cardinal rules of cutlery: Don’t use a knife as a prybar. Nobody in their right mind is going to use a vintage Loveless custom for such a mundane and potentially damaging task. But sometimes a knife is all you’ve got and, like it or not, sometimes things just gotta get pried on right now. But wouldn’t it be nice if somebody designed a knife made for such things? As well as for actually cutting things, of course.

Well, Kershaw’s Barge folder is just such an item. Its integral prybar extends from the backspacer of the knife itself. And even when closed (as, of course, it better be) it’s long enough to give you plenty of leverage provided you’re not trying to move boulders.

Of course, for that kind of strength, be prepared for a tradeoff. This ain’t no gentleman’s penknife. It features a beefy 2.6-inch Sheepsfoot blade (which, along with a Wharncliffe, is just about ideal for most utilitarian tasks). For all you metallurgist types out there, the blade material is 8Cr1MoV stainless. The overall length closed is 4.7 inches. Open is 7.3.

The Barge weighs 5.5 ounces and has a pocket clip and stainless-steel frame lock. Its stonewashed finish and black, glass-filled nylon handle gives this workhorse as much in the way of good looks as it’s gonna get. But that’s all part of its charm.

You might be manly enough to break a blade this stout by prying with it. But it is extremely unlikely you’ll be able to break the Barge’s integral prybar. Unless you’re some kind of Marvel Comics superhero.

The verdict? The blade is sharp as all get-out. It’s not a do-it-all fantasy survival item. But it does do two things very well. It can pry and it can cut. And it costs less than two boxes of name-brand .30-06 hunting ammo. There’s a pretty good deal going on here.

SIG’s new 168-grain .308 Match Grade ammo proved its
potential in a Remington 700 SPS Varmint.

Open Me First!

Having been a consumer (and fan) of Buffalo Bore handgun ammo since the first time I used it, I’ve only had one gripe with the stuff—those big old styrofoam/cardboard 20-round boxes always seemed like overkill from a size standpoint. Now, however, the Idaho-based high-performance specialists have solved the problem in an innovative fashion. We’ve just seen the new packaging for their 9mm and .38 Special Heavy +P loads. The one for the .38’s consists of a plastic container much more compact than the older containers.

Slit the adhesive label on both ends, squeeze in the black tray on both sides and pull the lid off to get to the cartridges. Tabs on both sides lock the lid back in place when you pop it back on. All the pertinent info is still there, plus the familiar “smokin’ buff” logo. It’s just conveniently downsized a bit and a heck of a lot more secure.

What’s also a nice touch is a small viewing window at the top right featuring a pair of rounds “bullet up” and the rest pointing down. You can see at a glance whether you’re grabbing a box featuring the Hard Cast SWC, Lead SWHP or all-copper Barnes HP. I imagine they’ll be handling their mega-stomper calibers in similar fashion, although the container will, no doubt, be scaled up commensurately. This is a distinctively attractive and well-conceived bit of packaging. And if your storage space is at a premium, these will take up considerably less of it.

Less is more: Buffalo Bore’s got a slick new packaging concept right
for 20-round containers of their high-performance handgun ammo.

Grab & Go

For spur-of-the-moment trips to the range to check zero or try a new brand of ammo, a simple “grab-and-go” single pistol case is pretty much ideal. The US PeaceKeeper Attaché Case wasn’t intended to replace a serious old-school competition range box, but for a single pistol, ammo and up to 5 spare magazines, it’s ideal. The case features a hook-and-loop tab to secure the gun, a double zipper and wraparound handles. It’s made of 600-denier polyester and is water-resistant, as we discovered on a drizzly early morning range trip. It kept Thomas’ prize Browning Competition Hi-Power dry and protected with its 1-1/4-inch padding. It’d better have! Very few of those items ever made it over onto these shores. Colors are OD Green, Black, Pink and Purple. Not being overly adventurous, we’d opt for the Black or OD. The price? An easily digestible $17.26.

Shooting Facilities provided by:
Angeles Shooting Ranges
12651 Little Tujunga Rd.
Lakeview Terrace, CA 91342
(818) 899-2255
www.angelesranges.com.

Buffalo Bore Ammunition
366 Sandy Creek Rd.
Salmon, ID 83467
https://gunsmagazine.com/company/buffalo-bore-ammunition/

Kai USA
18600 SW Teton Ave.
Tualatin, OR 97062
(800) 325-2891

SIG SAUER
18 Industrial Drive
Exeter, NH 03833
(603) 772-2302
https://gunsmagazine.com/company/sig-sauer-inc/

US PeaceKeeper
15165 Sierra Bonita Lane
Chino, CA 91710
(877) 732-2303
https://gunsmagazine.com/company/us-peacekeeper/

Hand-Cranked Hellraiser

Few firearms of any era can rival the iconic Victorian cool of a Gatling Gun—and that goes double when the specimen in question is a Colt Model 1883. This one was the star of the show at Rock Island Auctions Company’s Premiere Firearms Auction last September. The package included the original field carriage, plus two Accles drum magazines. This brassy, beautiful beast was made in 1887 and can grind through .45-70 ammo as fast as you can turn the crank. At this writing, the estimated “out the door” bid on this Gatling was between $140,000 and $200,000.

For information on RIA’s auction schedule, contact them at www.rockislandauction.com, (800) 238-8022. Photo: RIA

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