THINK TANK

THOUGHTS ON THIS AND THAT FOR US GUN FANS
Snow Globes, Sixguns &...

They were calling for a skiff of snow during the wee hours of the morning and tomorrow was the last day of the firearms season.
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Secret Files & Fatal...

If you’re squeamish, or prone to vasovagal syncope — grab the smelling salts. I’m about to reveal something few, if anyone, knows.
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Blasphemy, Or Better?...

Say it ain’t so, Bozo! How can you improve on the sanctity of one of the most beloved, popular, and well known .44 Special handloads of the 20th Century?
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Feeding Your .45 Sixguns

Hands down, the .45 Colt is my favorite handgun cartridge. You know this! Sure, I love other cartridges too, fickle as I am, but .45 caliber cartridges just...
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DIY Stocks With SK Grips

The easiest and most noticeable way to change the personality of your shooter is by giving it some custom stocks.
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Range Rats, Scavengers &...

Every range has them — Range Rats. They’re not beady-eyed, long-tailed rodents, but die-hard shooters who frequent the range almost daily
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Cracked Eggs &...

At the ripe old age of 5, I finished kindergarten. We never got diplomas or graduation parties for attending back then.
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Distance Tells The Tale

Wanna’ know the easiest way to analyze your shooting form? Simply back away from your target. The farther away, the more magnified your shooting faults...
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Rossi R92 Re-do

A while back I wrote up the stainless-steel Rossi R92 lever gun, chambered in 454 Casull. Being so impressed with its good manners, it was purchased.
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Bloodlines, Slobber & Dog...

Maisie Moose, Muscle Moose and Moose Goose are just a few of the pet names for our latest adopted family member, Maisie Lynn.
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Taurus G3 T.O.R.O.

These are indeed great days for shooters! Guns are more accurate, many are less expensive, and we have a plethora of aftermarket sights from which to choose.
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The Nifty .460 S&W Magnum

Versatility gives us more options during dire situations like ammo shortages. Sound familiar?
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DIY heavy hitters for your...

I could happily end my shooting days with the .45 Colt cartridge and never feel cheated. With handloads, the .45 Colt offers a versatility many cartridges lack.
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Answering Africa’s...

I’ve just finished playing fetch with my wild woman of a mixed breed mutt, Maisie. It’s 24 degrees out with a 20-mph wind to emphasize just how chilly it is
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Marlin’s Triple-Four

The lure of the lever gun is a contagious one. Once bitten, the symptoms rapidly progress. Cures include names like Marlin, Winchester, or Rossi.
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Don’t Let Primer Crimps...

Handloaders are frugal by nature. We enjoy bargains and freebies so we can load as much ammo as cheaply as possible, so we can shoot more.
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You deserve a pleasure...

Sometimes the urge to break away from the norm is overwhelming. We want something different —
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A Deer Stand Christmas Carol

Sitting in my deer stand, waiting for first light, it starts. My mind wanders back to all the opening mornings of deer season, waiting patiently for first...
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Double-Action Revolver...

Admittedly, the Single-Action (SA) revolver is my favorite because of its strength, simplicity and the sentimentality I hold for it.
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Tickling Yer’ Ruger...

Single-action (SA) revolvers are renowned for their strength, simplicity and durability.
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Frontier Knives, Hawks and...

Every writer I’ve visited seems to have plenty of “stuff” within arm’s reach of their writing quarters to be admired,
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E-Z Powder Coating

Powder Coating (PC) is simply the process of treating your cast bullets with a baked-on polymer coating. This coating acts as the bullets’ lubricant as it...
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Mag-Na-Port Montage

Just as the budding of new growth strikes a boy’s fancy to the opposite sex every spring, the brilliant colors of fall gnaw at the primal urge in...
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.41 Mag Slugs

Like most of my obsessions, it started by thumbing through a gun magazine — certain articles grab our attention, refusing to let go.
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The Classic “Keith”

When it comes to cast bullets, the term “Keith” bullet has morphed into any slug resembling a semi-wadcutter (SWC) design.
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Potluck Pickens

Pecking at my keyboard on a daily basis gives me instant access to the internet.
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Kalahari Safari

Just hearing the word Safari conjures visions of deepest, darkest Africa in all her splendor.
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Skinner Sights Ruger...

Andy Larsson — head honcho and chief floor sweeper at Skinner Sights — has the uncanny ability of knowing what shooters want, before said shooters even...
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Fighting Frustration

Sometimes, we all have bad days at the range — we get frustrated. Rather than waste our time (and money), here are a few tips for how to end things on a...
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A Single-Seven Salute

Admittedly, it was John Taffin (JT) who roped me into reading American Handgunner and GUNS Magazine so many years ago.
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.41 Magnum Bisley &...

A modern version of a tried and true gun/load combination, Elmer Keith's .41 Magnum scratches the nostalgic itch we all get from time to time and is as...
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Fixin’ Messes, Memories...

It’s early April as I write this and everyone’s donning surgical masks and gloves, bottles of hand-sanitizer holstered, ready for fast-drawing the...
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Round butts Are Best

Round-butted snubbies are the stuff dreams are made of, especially for nostalgic old Coppers. Compact, they have a comforting, familiar heft when loaded...
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Cast Bullet Accuracy

By now you’ve observed my affinity and affliction for the humble cast bullet. I’ve always tried to be as self-reliant as possible, even as a kid.
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Tips & Tales on the .480...

For many, 2015 became a colossal year when Ruger relented, finally releasing the long awaited 5-shot, single-action Bisley.
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DIY Skinner Scout System

Never being “by the book,” for 27 years I considered departmental regulations as guidelines for cops lacking problem-solving skills, discretion or the...
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Honoring Larry Kelly

More than hunks of machined steel, guns bond us with the past like the proverbial time machine.
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The .375 Winchester

The .375 Winchester was introduced in 1978 and is a modernized version of the .38-55 Winchester from the 1880s.
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.45 Colt Double-Action...

While loving the simplicity of the strong and reliable single-action thumb-cocker, I’m savvy enough to also appreciate its swinging sidekick, the...
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Bustin’ Banana Rock ...

Every year, it’s there — resting seductively on the #2 loading rack of the Hunter Pistol Silhouette Range. Next to it, a heaping bag of handloads, used...
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Flattop "Influencea"

Driving past New Mexico’s Florida Mountains, traveling over 2,000 miles by plane and hard road, I know it won’t be long. It’s far, but well worth the...
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Dial Keith-358429

If Elmer Keith were alive today, I imagine him pushing up his famous wide-brimmed Stetson, grinning at all the options available for his famous 358429 cast...
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Long Yardage

Long-range shooting is one of the fastest growing shooting styles sweeping the nation. Thousand-yard ranges are popping up around the country, accommodating...
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Tyler Gun Works Blackhawk

Last year, Ruger — in conjunction with Lipsey’s — released their single-action Blackhawk in 10mm/.40 S&W. The dual-cylindered cyclone was met with...
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Turn-in Treasure

Being blessed (cursed, my wife says) with an eye for the old, unique and strange, allows me to expand my knowledge. We’re mostly talking gun- or...
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Ruger SA Spruce-Up

We all have our favorite shooters — you know, the ones we keep handy and holstered, ready to shoot at a moment’s notice. After years and thousands of...
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Guns Of The Guides

Curled up in our favorite easy chair, perhaps sipping a distilled beverage, an outdoor show flickers on the flat screen featuring Alaska’s coastal brown...
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Tango Mike Mike

As a kid, I always noticed my buddy’s dads buried in their Lazy-Boy recliners, totally absorbed in watching WWII movies in the rec room, dimly lit only by...
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Skeeter-Style

Far from being just a way of expending ammunition, guns mean much more to people like you and me. They’re sentimental links from our past, reminding us of...
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Full-Bore Custom

It was bound to happen eventually. Being basically a “stock-box gun” kind of guy, I finally dipped my toe into custom waters. Sure, I tweak and primp my...
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The World Wide Web and Me

I hope the following sparks some interest with those of you who are as computer challenged as I am. See, I’m not the computer savvy guy you may think I...
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The Buddy System: Sixgun Style

Mom was dying of cancer and I’d recently learned how to log on the Internet. After discovering “gun forums” I kept returning to one in particular....
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You’re a Mean One, Mr....

You’re as cuddly as a cactus, you’re as charming as an eel, Mr. Fliiiinch...!” Dr. Seuss nails it with this Christmas favorite when describing the...
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Idaho’s Young Spuds

When I went up to Idaho for my yearly handgun mule deer hunt with my good buddy Dick Thompson, it was more show and tell than anything. Mother Nature showed...
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Cops ’n Revolvers

Significant dates are forever etched in our brains. September 23, 1985 is one of mine. On this day I entered Maryland’s Montgomery County Police Academy...
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Special Or Magnum?

Timing is everything in life. Sometimes we miss out on the wonderful, other times we evade disaster — and sometimes we’re at the right place at just the...
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Searching for a Purpose

We all have our reasons for buying guns. Sometimes our biggest hurdle is convincing ourselves why we need it. I’ve debated myself so often I consider...
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Make Mine A .45 Colt …

Picking your favorite handgun is a tough proposition. Narrowing down to a favorite caliber can be almost as frustrating for some folks.
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Cops n’ Revolvers II

After telling you about my police academy introduction to revolver shooting, I’m going to tell you what our thoughts were packing a duty sixgun way back...
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Tough Sledding

Serving our country as a Navy SEAL for 9 years, Jeff (no last names here!) has made a lot of sacrifices for you and me. Just hearing the acronym “SEAL”...
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