A Lesser-Known Name Find
I suspect that most non-shooters view gun trading as some sort of mental or emotional deviance. Gun trading isn’t universal, but it does appear in enough humans to be readily recognizable to those who are not afflicted with the malady. I think it’s kind of like a...
Beretta at 500: Still Too Restless to Grow Old
Travis Haglin stopped me at the Beretta booth during last year’s Safari Club International Convention, moving with the haste of a man who had found something he wasn’t supposed to show anyone. “You gotta check out this room.” Coming from someone with the Beretta...
Holland & Holland: Old Values In New Times
In 1985 Holland & Holland bought W&C Scott of Birmingham, a purchase that brought together two of the oldest and most influential gunmakers in England — two firms that helped create the modern gun and thus helped shape tradition. And then Holland & Holland...
Arthur Savage and His Inimitable 99
Unlikely seed of cattle, coffee and a torpedo, his rifle failed. Its revival blessed hunters for a century. Gashes in the old snow pulled me into a riot of swamp-grass. Yards into it, a speck of red winked from the tangle. Confirmation, not a promise. I’d called a...
Winchester’s Haunted House
Said to be haunted by the ghosts of those killed with Winchester rifles, the home is an interesting site even without the superstitions.
Most Embarrassing Mistake In Gunmaking
For gunmaker Al Biesen, misspelling Jack O’Connor’s name was a tiny mistake, but something he would never be able to live down. Spokane was as far from her family as my rightfully cautious bride would move, at least in the direction of Montana’s elk country, so we set...
Bo Whoop: The Enduring Mystique
It was born of genius, destined for fame, and fated for mystery. Together, to make it the single-most fascinating and enduring legend in the multi-colored history of the American sporting scene. Its name was “Bo Whoop.” A custom-built, ten-pound, twelve gauge,...
My Purdey: Much More than a Gun
Endowed with seven decades of shooting tradition and the souls of two men, Purdey No. 21390 came as a gift and will be passed on as such. But for now, it is a living extension of its owner’s nerves and brain. If a man lives in the gun he loves and shoots, then my...