Gun Digest 2014

1926 Pages·2013·118.74 MB·English

by  Jerry Lee

GunDigest 2014
Edited by JERRY LEE
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32ND ANNUAL
I
t’s our pleasure to announce that Tom Caceci is the recipient of the 32nd
Annual John T. Amber Literary Award. The award is presented in recognition of
his excellent story, “The Hillsville Courthouse Tragedy,” which was published
in last year’s 67th Edition of Gun Digest. Tom’s detailed account told of a gun
battle that took place in a courtroom in the southwest Virginia town of Hillsville,
in 1912, following a guilty verdict in a murder trial. The shootout took the lives
of a judge, a sheriff, an attorney, and a member of the jury and was a national
news story at the time.
Tom Caceci has been involved in hunting, shooting, and gun collecting for
more than 50 years. He’s a native of New York City, and, in his teenage years
(long before the restrictive laws of today), New York was home to many fine
gun shops where Tom spent his Saturday afternoons, whenever he could. This
included the greatest one of all, the famous Gun Room at the original
Abercrombie & Fitch department store, where an awe-struck 14-year-old wasn’t
allowed to touch anything, but could dream of someday owning and using one of
the gorgeous guns on display.
We asked Tom to tell us about himself and his interest in firearms.
“I like to combine my interest in history and my fascination with the
technical aspects of firearms development to write about famous guns and
technical aspects of firearms development to write about famous guns and
historical events. My collecting interests include Webley revolvers and Lee-
Enfield rifles, and I’m also fascinated by guns of the ‘transitional’ era between
muzzleloaders and guns using fixed ammunition.
“The major historical events of the years between 1875 and 1939 — the
close of the American frontier, the ascendance of the United States to the status
of a major world power, and tensions in Europe that led to major wars — all
were accompanied by revolutionary changes in firearms technology. Those
events were the testing ground for new ideas and new operating principles. The
design challenges of the times were met by geniuses like John Moses Browning
and J.D. Pedersen, and the products of their workshops were used by good men
and bad, for both good and for evil. Firearms and their use are threads woven
into the fabric of our nation. I hope my writing on historical subjects helps to
convey some sense of connection between prior times and our own.
“In 2010, I put my love of history and of larger-than-life characters together
with my passion for African hunting, to produce a piece in the 2011 Gun Digest
about an H&H double rifle President Roosevelt took on his famous 1909 safari,
‘T.R.’s Big (Fire) Stick.’
“In southwest Virginia, the story of the Hillsville courthouse tragedy is well
known, and, so, it was a natural subject for me to write about, with its drama,
colorful characters, pathos and, of course, the classic guns used in the event.”
Tom bought his first hunting license at the age of 13 and has been as active
as he could be in the field ever since, having hunted large and small game on
four continents so far, much of it using “traditional” blackpowder rifles. He took
a fine warthog in Namibia with a T/C .54 a couple of years ago.
Tom is a Benefactor Member of the NRA, first becoming a member of the
organization nearly half a century ago. He obtained his first NRA Instructor
certification, in 1968, and is currently certified in several shooting disciplines.
As an active member of a local shooting club, he has provided many hours of
instruction to new shooters and hunters over the 26 years he’s lived in southwest
Virginia, where he is also a Master Hunter Education Instructor with the
Virginia, where he is also a Master Hunter Education Instructor with the
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ Outdoors Education
program. Tom is also a Charter Member of the Professional Outdoors Media
Association, and he has a website devoted to hunting, shooting, and gun
collecting in Virginia’s New River Valley.
Tom served in the United States Air Force, from 1969 to 1975, including a
year in Vietnam. Following military service, he attended graduate school at
Georgetown University, and today he is a professor of Basic Sciences at the
Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Before moving to
Virginia, in 1987, he spent five years teaching at Texas A&M’s veterinary
school. Tom says his work in veterinary education has allowed him to write
articles that draw on a knowledge of animal structure and physiology, as it
applies to large and small game.
Tom Caceci
The late Dan Shideler recruited Tom to be a Contributing Editor for the
Standard Catalog of Firearms, in 2007, to do a piece on an interesting offshoot
of firearms technology, the “humane killer” used by veterinarians. When Dan
took over Gun Digest, Tom continued to write for him. For a couple years he
covered the SHOT Show, reporting on new developments in air guns. In addition
to Gun Digest and the Standard Catalog, Tom has long been a writer for
Magnum, the most widely circulated hunting and shooting publication in South
Africa, and for African Outfitter and Safari & Hunting Magazine.
We asked Tom about his future writing plans. He said, “I’ve been a teacher
pretty much my entire adult life. Writing for popular publications about the
things I love is a way of continuing to teach, even as I wind down my working
career. Young people are the future of the shooting sports, and I want to do
whatever I can to give them a sense of history, as well as passing on the
importance of firearms, shooting, and hunting as part of the mainstream of
American life.”
Congratulations Tom Caceci, recipient of the John T. Amber Literary
Award! Well deserved!
Introduction
Welcome to the 2014 Edition of Gun Digest!
W
elcome to the 68th Edition of the World’s Greatest Gun Book! Once
again we’ve assembled a group of some of the best writers in the field to share
their knowledge and opinions on firearms and their uses. Among the bylines are
many that are familiar to regular readers of this publication, and, as always, we
like to introduce a few new writers.
Jim Wilson is new to Gun Digest, but his name is probably a familiar one to
most readers. In this edition he explores the concept of the back-up gun and the
idea that, if you need to carry a gun, you probably need to carry two. Wilson is
currently seen in the pages of American Rifleman and his face is known to
viewers of several shooting-related TV programs produced by the NRA and
aired on the Outdoor Channel. He also is a senior field editor for NRA
Publications. Sheriff Jim’s writings previously have appeared in Guns & Ammo,
Petersen’s Handguns, Handloader, and Shooting Times. Some of his readers
may also know that he is a popular entertainer on the cowboy music circuit, who
has recorded several CDs of classic and modern songs about the Great American
West. Wilson spent 30 years as a peace officer is Texas, serving as the elected
sheriff of Crockett County, down near the Rio Grande. I asked him for a
comment on his career, and he said, “I have spent all of my adult life making my
living with guns, and it’s been a mighty good life.”
Also among those new to Gun Digest is Denys Beauchemin, who gives us a
very complete introduction to F-Class high-power shooting. This fast-growing
sport involves long-range shooting, with scopes and from the prone position,
making it popular with hunters. The “F” in F-Class is in honor of George
“Farky” Farquharson, the Canadian shooter who originated the discipline. Denys
Beauchemin is a software engineer in his day job and has been shooting
competitively on and off for 30 years in IPSC, Ful-bore, Palma, Service Rifle
and, most recently, F-class, where he has attained the classifications of Mid-
Range High Master and Long Range Expert, all in F-TR. He is active in his club
in South Texas, serving as the Long Range Match Director, herding cats, and
welcoming new shooters to the discipline. Denys has been writing technical
articles for many years and has recently started writing about shooting and
competition for the general public. He likes to caution new competitors with,
“Beware, competitive shooting can be very addictive, and you will be amazed at
how accurate you can become.”
Another new byline in this edition is that of Buck Pope. For many years, he
has planned his “someday” rifle, a custom gun made to his very own needs and
specifications. Buck tells the story of his Prescott Stalking Rifle in this edition.
He is fortunate to live in Prescott, Arizona, a beautiful little city that is home to
many companies and individuals in the firearms industry. Among them are
several craftsmen involved in the creation of custom rifles, such as Pope’s
Prescott Stalking Rifle. After retiring from General Motors Corporation almost
20 years ago, Buck started his second career as an outdoor writer and is a regular
contributor to several publications. He has been an avid hunter and involved
with guns and shooting all if his life. Over the years he has hunted a large variety
of big game and has also worked as a guide in Alaska, Wyoming, and New
Mexico.
Highlights Of This Edition
Just what is a “magnum” rifle cartridge? The definition has certainly changed
over the years. Back in the ’50s, a magnum cartridge had to have a belt and the
name had to include “H&H,” “Weatherby,” or “Norma.” Since those days, many
new calibers have come on the scene, including various magnums, some that
have been successful and some not. Jon Sundra gives us an in-depth look at the
winners and losers, including the great saga of the short-magnums.
There are several reports in this 68th Edition that are devoted to some of the
more significant models in rifle history. Phil Schreier profiles Teddy Roosevelt’s
long association with Winchester lever-actions, including the Model 1895. Phil
is Senior Curator at the NRA’s National Firearms Museum and has some
exceptional photos in his story. Our buddy Phil appears with Museum Director,
Jim Supica, on the TV show, Guns & Gold, Monday nights on the Sportsman’s
Channel.
Paul Scarlata tells a well-researched story of the Ross, the unique straight-
pull action rifle that became entangled in Canadian politics in the first decade of
the last century. There have been many rumors, myths, and mysteries
surrounding this controversial battle rifle over the years, and Scarlata provides
some provocative insights.
Terry Wieland gives us a superb story on what he calls the world’s finest
production rifle, the Mannlicher-Schoenauer. He makes a strong case for that
opinion by giving his story the title, “In a Class By Itself.” From the early 1900s
through the 1960s, the various M/S models set the standard for what a quality
“gentleman’s rifle” should be. To this day, there are many who agree that the
workmanship of these fine rifles and carbines is unsurpassed.
For almost half a century now, Winchester aficionados have been