Crossfire March 2020 Issue
The Boogie Mas?
I have it on good authority that the Boogie Man checks under his bed for Chuck Norris before he goes to sleep. Who, pray tell, does Chuck Norris look under his bed for?
Massad Ayoob of course!
I very much enjoyed his most recent writing on the Smith & Wesson Shield .45. I too, have much respect for the Shield .45 and find it to be as close to the perfect concealed carry companion as is available anywhere. I have the standard and Performance Center models and both of them inspire confidence without sacrificing comfort or versatility. Having Mas agree is excellent.
James Lee
Awww … that was nice. Thanks! —Mas
Redhawk Redo
For John Taffin: as an experiment, I took some full moon clips that I use in my S&W Mod. 325, and using my flatbed sander, thinned them out until I could close the cylinder on a 6-pack of 45 ACPs. They worked fine, great in fact. I then obtained a bunch of 45 Winchester Mag brass (another tongue-in-cheek story) and loaded them up to max. They also work great. I have an overactive appreciation for guns that can shoot ammo in different forms of their caliber. It makes me happy!
Thanks guys, for making GUNS and American Handgunner the best mags!
Bert Brown
Bert, thanks for writing and for the excellent information. When friends in the industry sponsored a hunt and banquet for me, I agreed to raffle off my .455 Super Redhawk. It went for $5,400!!! — JT
History Usually Eepeats Itself
I am a Disabled Veteran with a story to tell:
Feb 4th, 1938. Adolf Hitler promoted himself to Military Chief of Germany. Hitler took over Austria on March 14th, 1938. After massing thousands of Nazi troops at the Austrian border. Chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg admitted defeat and was arrested. One might ask what has this got to do with the right to keep and bear arms?
My wife of more than 50 years was living in Austria at that time and she told me how the Nazi troops took away the firearms from the farmers and the village people. Soon after that the Jews and the Gypsies disappeared from the countryside, a few of their bodies were found, the rest sent off to prison. They had nothing to defend themselves with.
I pray to God that freedom loving people in our beloved United States take this lesson in history, so that we may keep and bear arms and the right to defend ourselves.
Don Humphrey
Shaved Baby Llamas?
Love the magazine. Really miss Connor. One of the things I have looked forward to is his collected writings in book format. I’m one of those guys who likes source material in physical format so I can scribble in the margins and not worry about internet access (or censorship).
I’m unsure who actually owns his columns, but can the issue be looked into? Can ya poke him with a stick? There is a ton of collected wisdom in his writings and my writing hand is getting tired.
David D. “Sabu” Myers
My email reply to Mr. Myers: We own all his columns penned for FMG (GUNS and American Handgunner) … maybe we should consider running a “Best of.” Unfortunately, I was recently told Mr. Connor is steadfastly refusing to come out of retirement, even after we resorted to gift boxes of money and then blackmail via doctored photographs. —BW
GUNS received this in reply: I knew those photos of the shaved baby llama with the Cool Whip weren’t gonna do it. I will have to get a needle and thread and try to sew myself a field expedient copy of his works. Thank you very much for getting back to me.
David Myers
Spat Resolved
Clayton Walker, I hate you! Your article about the John Browning-designed Stevens 520 was bouncing around in my head when I went to a gun show yesterday. The owner had a tag on it for $150 and it looked like the stock was refinished by a 4-year-old with a can of lacquer and a washcloth. It is stamped Western Field. The guy wouldn’t come down at all, so I left.
I only live 4 miles from the gun show so I went back up this afternoon (Sunday). He still had it and would soon have to tote it back out to his van. Still wanted $150 for it — so I pulled out a $100 bill and said, “Listen carefully to what this bill is saying to you.” I got it for the $100 and 10 minutes later I was shooting it. Amazing design for a 100-year-old shotgun. Since I got mine for $50 less than you paid, I don’t hate you anymore.
Dave Schmidt
I’m glad our little spat resolved so amicably! Your story reminded me of what Branch Rickey once said: Luck is the residue of design. Those of us armed with a knowledge of those old “department store” guns and a cool head for negotiation will find bargains to be plentiful. Congrats on your find! —Clayton
T/C question
After reading the July 2018 issue of Guns Magazine review of the Thompson Center Compass rifle by Holt Bodinson, I rushed out to our next evil gun show and bought one of these rifles. I went on the TC web site to register my warranty, completing this task took me to another window and a red box appeared stating to stop using all Compass rifles for safety reasons and a resolution would be issued shortly. Are you aware of this problem and have you heard anything from Thompson Center concerning this?
Sincerely,
David N Hasenflu
This recall affects Compass rifles manufactured prior to August 16, 2016. After communication between David and Holt, we got things resolved and David sent a follow-up:
I called them and learned my rifle was made Jan 2019 and the recall didn’t apply; that made my day. Now just gotta find a good place to go shooting. Thanks.
David N Hasenflu
Electric Primers And Stone Clubs
To Mike Venturino: In your “Montana Musings” article about accuracy loss due to firing pin problems, you stated: “If there is a firearm using metallic cartridges that operates without a firing pin, I’m completely unaware of it.” Okay, I wanted to make you aware that around the turn of the century, Remington introduced the model 700 EtronX VSSF in 22-250, and 243 Win. This rifle did not have a firing pin but instead used a 9-volt battery to apply an electronic pulse to the special ammo with EtronX electric primers instead of a firing pin strike. It went over about as well as their 5mm Rimfire magnum or the Gyrojet series of rocket propelled bullets. If you could find them, EtronX primers for reloading ran about $0.19 each, $19 per 100! Great article about firing pin problems causing loss of accuracy. In decades of shooting/reloading, that thought never crossed my mind. I’m amazed.
Bert B
To Mike Venturino: In your “Montana Musings” article about accuracy loss due to firing pin problems, you stated: “If there is a firearm using metallic cartridges that operates without a firing pin, I’m completely unaware of it.” Okay, I wanted to make you aware that around the turn of the century, Remington introduced the model 700 EtronX VSSF in 22-250, and 243 Win. This rifle did not have a firing pin but instead used a 9-volt battery to apply an electronic pulse to the special ammo with EtronX electric primers instead of a firing pin strike. It went over about as well as their 5mm Rimfire magnum or the Gyrojet series of rocket propelled bullets. If you could find them, EtronX primers for reloading ran about $0.19 each, $19 per 100! Great article about firing pin problems causing loss of accuracy. In decades of shooting/reloading, that thought never crossed my mind. I’m amazed.
Bert B
Going The Extra Mile
I want to thank Savage Arms for going the extra mile to help our program solve a huge problem. We were having extraction problems with our Savage MK 1 and 2 models of .22 LR. Nick White of Savage Arms came through with replacement parts of extractors, guides and spring clips. After installation of the new parts the problems were gone. It was refreshing to see this caliber of service and I want to express my gratitude and respect to a fine company that will stand behind its products. KUDOS Savage Arms.
James F. Yeoman,
Chairman, CMP Jr. Shooting Program
Early Delivery Explained
Dave Workman, terrific article in the January issue of Guns. Not sure why Guns sends me the Jan issue in November. Maybe RH can’t wait for 2020 to arrive.
“Wild Bill”
The “early” publication dates are normal across the magazine publishing industry primarily because of consumer preference for fresh news. As various magazines within a genre publish on different dates, a situation arises where one magazine might only publish one day later than a competitor but appears “newer” (and more valuable to readers) than the others. Therefore, most publishers publish a month ahead so “old” magazines are never sitting on the shelf past their “expiration date”. The practice was started decades ago. —BW
Mark Hampton 686
Completely agree with Mark Hampton’s 686 article in the January issue of GUNS. The first handgun my father bought me when I turned 21 was a 686 no dash 6″. Fell in love with that gun at first shot. I now have other 686s in different barrel sizes, including 2-1/2″ Mag-na-port and don’t forget S&W’s own version, PowerPort 686 6″ inch, which I happen to own. Once you own one, you kind of want to own all barrel sizes!
A.T. Harris
Me too! The 686 has been on my “wish list” for years and unfortunately, they keep appreciating in price. I continually find myself saying, “Maybe at the NEXT gun show …”
One of these days I’m just going to have to bite the bullet and pry open my wallet! —BW
One More Pump
In regards to David Freeman’s article on pump-action rifles (GUNS January issue), I’ve a dandy to add. About 30+ years ago I bought a Rossi model 62 slide action in .22 LR, a copy of the Winchester “Gallery” gun. It is also a takedown. It is still like new and a joy to shoot …
Laurence J. McFall
Another O-Ring Fix
John Taffin’s Campfire Tales in the December edition of GUNS has a letter addressing a reader’s problem also suffered by Mr. Taffin and many others — the inner magazine tube being loose, and sometimes falling out of its outer cover on Winchester’s 94-22 and others. Solution is simple and costs only a few cents. Simply take your inner magazine tube to your hardware store, buy a rubber “O-ring” that fits over the mag tube, roll the ring to the knurled end of the tube. That has worked perfectly on my 93-22 and costs virtually nothing.
Ray Shaw
Mystery Gun
I received this boot pistol many years ago and have seen none like it. There are no readable markings. It is chambered for a .22 cal bullet and the barrel is rifled. Can you tell me anything about it?
Fred Olefson
That’s a Stevens Model J, as I recall. Worth around the $150 mark. Safe to shoot with modern .22 standard velocity loads. I only shoot shorts in mine.
—Roy Huntington
