The year 1857. The who is Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson the originators of Smith & Wesson firearms founded in 1852. The what is the .22 Short and their Number 1 revolver. Today the .22 Short rules the ranges during Olympic competition. The humble .22 short is 162 years old. This is the longest…
Shooting is a perishable skill. This means that the ability to shoot straight can truly diminish without practice. If you are carrying concealed or open carry, for that matter it is incumbent that you stay on top of your shooting skills. This translates to ‘range time’. Though there are many dry fire exercises that you…
When you are going to the gun range whether you are a beginner or you are someone that is an expert it is always a good idea to go over some rules and of course etiquette. The gun range is a great place to train, learn and grow as a shooter and a place to…
Here we continue our subject on the compromises of the modern bullet design. Long slim and slippery bullets will deflect when hitting branches and limbs of foliage between the hunter and the game. Round-nose bullet will hold a truer coarse bucking the bush better but are still subject to some deflection. Long aerodynamic bullets shoot…
Nothing seems to be straight forward. In engineering there are a long string of compromise in machine design. This applies to ballistic projectiles; the bullet. Originally a ball shaped projectile, it has changed much over the last couple of centuries. In fact, a case could be made that the round ball, made of lead, ruled…
Moisture is one of the primary elements that ruins guns. To keep the safe in a dry environment, there are a number of dehumidifiers available. There are wireless, rechargeable units that are a common favorite. These amazing units house desiccant beads that will pull moisture right out of the air. Once these desiccant beads are…
Firearm propellants have progressed from black powder to semi-smokeless to smokeless powders. Smokeless powders are not truly smokeless as some combustion with take place outside the barrel and incomplete burning will produce some smoke. Traditional Black Powder Black powder is a mixture of charcoal (willow is the best), sulfur and potassium nitrate also known a…
As the world progressed from the 19th through the 20th century the market become inundated with a plethora of cartridges. Why are there so many? The 19th century was a big experimental environment for cartridges. Smith & Wesson introduced the .22 Short just before the civil war. Another rimfire innovation was the lever-action Henry with…
