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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Introduction: The Stirling Engine, a Hot Coffee Detector If you spend a fair bit of time at a desk, probably sipping coffee or tea to keep your gray matter working as you plow through your “To…