Introduction: the "Pre-64" but "Post-47" Winchester Model 70 The Winchester Model 70 made its debut in 1935, having been the result of over a decade of development and field experience work provided by its predecessor, the Model 54. In 1935 however the Model 70 was still very much a work in progress as the early models ...
Introduction: The Dawn of the Belted Cartridge Case The story of the .300 Holland & Holland Magnum traces all the way back to 1905 when British rifle-maker Holland & Holland wanted to make .375" caliber magazine rifles (i.e. bolt action rifles) to compete with the 9.5 Mannlicher and the .375 Flanged Nitro Express 2½" Velopex. The ...
Introduction: The All in One Gun A double rifle can be a very flexible hunting arm, especially if it comes with additional shotgun barrels and/or combination rifle/shotgun barrels: and the Valmet 412 series were one of the best of the affordable combination guns on the market. There is a limit to what one can expect from an ...
Introduction: The Break-Action Double Rifle The double barrel action has long been established as a shotgun action, ideal for providing an effortless second shot, and able to be made as an elegant looking, and instinctive handling gun. I don't know about you, but my preference for a shotgun is a quality side by side double which, ...
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 first sold back around 1876-1878 it was a "One of One Hundred" high grade version of the standard Model 1873 ...
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 era until the advent of nitro propellants, especially the British Cordite, which rendered the blackpowder bore guns obsolete. This ...
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 once the Danish Krag–Jørgensen chambered for the 30-40 Krag cartridge. The Krag–Jørgensen rifle was launched into popularity in the United States ...
Introduction: Naval Guns Were Single-Shots I wonder if you've ever considered that the artillery and naval guns of the First and Second World Wars were single shots? Most artillery guns probably still are. My own father served as a D.E.M.S gunner (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship) during the Second World War, and after the war he would ...
Introduction Back in 2009, when Mauser announced that they were going to put the classic Model of 1898 back into production, you could hear sporting rifle aficionados all over the globe singing "Halleluyah". Not the miserable version from the Shrek movie: but the Halleluyah chorus from Georg Friedrich Händel's "Messiah" Oratorio, sung with unbridled joy - ...
Introduction Its not often you get to handle a rifle that is worth as much as a house, it happened to me exactly once, and the rifle concerned once belonged to a royal family. The rifle's owner enjoyed it very much and often used to take it shooting: but sadly I didn't get to shoot it. ...
