The “Land of Oz” and a Plethora of Rail Gauges There’s a song that says the “Land of Oz is a very funny place…” and some people like to call Australia the “Land of Oz”. Its…
The Tea and Sugar: the Nullarbor Plain Supply Train
Gar Wood 22′ Triple Cockpit Runabout
Introduction: An Odd Beginning The story of the Gar Wood mahogany runabout speed boats begins, oddly enough, with ferry boat racing on Lake Osakis in Minnesota and coal dump trucks. Born in 1880 Garfield Arthur Wood…
Tramontana GT Sports Car
The Spanish word “Tramontana” could best be translated as “a wind that travels over the mountain”, or perhaps “a wind that transports you to the other side of the mountain” . That is in all likelihood why…
Cased Set of Four Colt Revolvers from Samuel Colt to Brigadier General Andrew Porter
Samuel Colt was a businessman, and at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 he was placed in a position where, like everyone else in the United States, he would need to choose a side…
Winchester “One of One Hundred” Model 1873
Introduction: The Usefulness of a Time Machine We are looking at a rifle that has an expected value of around USD$275,000-$375,000 and may well sell at auction for rather more than that. But when it was…
Ken Owen “Owen-Rewa” 4 Bore Double Rifle
Back in the blackpowder era the standard elephant and large dangerous game guns were the 8 bore, 6 bore and 4 bore. This standard began in muzzle-loading days and persisted throughout the blackpowder breech loading cartridge…
Lamborghini 1R Tractor
Introduction: Raised in a Vineyard Ferruccio Lamborghini grew up on the family farm, which specialized in grape growing, as the eldest of five brothers. His father’s ambition for his eldest son was for him to ultimately…
Schultz & Larsen Rifles
Introduction In the United States Danish riflemaker Schultz & Larsen is not particularly well known among recreational shooters and hunters, despite the fact that one of the most popular bolt action hunting rifles for Americans was…
The .358 Norma Magnum
Introduction Although I started shooting seriously back in 1971 and am a keen shooter today, there was a two decade long hiatus in my opportunities to shoot and to go hunting caused by a need to…
Cased Colt-Ehlers Pocket Model Paterson Revolver
The Colt Paterson revolver was Samuel Colt’s first revolver, and it would prove to be the the creation that would propel his company into becoming a household name. There are a number of theories as to…