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At a time when almost all modern nations' military forces were adopting semi-auto handguns, the British stubbornly clung to revolvers. From 1887 to 1928, their standard service revolver cartridge had [...]

If any phrase could be used to collectively describe Great Britain's WWII small arms, it would be 'Plug Ugly!' Be that as it may, I must paraphrase Forrest Gump's famous [...]

PART I GARAND TECH: MECHANICAL PERFECTION? Miracles can occur and the development of the M1 Garand might just qualify as one. This particular miracle had a bit of help thanks [...]

This 25-yord group from sandhog rest shows how accurate o 0.357' diometer hollow-base bullet con be when fired from o 0.370+' barrel. The test gun was Dulce's converted Colt Model [...]

Ever gotten off on the wrong foot with someone? This cliche can be attributed to me and the .32-20 cartridge. First it started in 1972 with a K-Frame S&W M&P. [...]

In 1873 no one involved in the development of Colts new 'Strap Pistol' or members of the U.S. Army who tested it could have possibly dreamed this revolver would forever [...]

Over the years my rifle racks have held scores of original Winchester lever guns. This was especially true when doing the shooting for my book Shooting Lever Guns of the [...]

The very first cartridge I hand-loaded carried a bullet cast by myself. As a complete novice, my only source for information was gleaned from firearms magazines. In such reading, it [...]

The year 2024 is the 150th anniversary since the advent of the .45-70--and if there was ever a cartridge or rifle to fire it that deserved to last a century-and-a-half, [...]

To generations of American shooters and hunters, the Winchester Model 1894 rifles and carbines and the .30-30 cartridge are nigh-on synonyms. That said, a lesser known fact is that first [...]

Without a doubt, some of the most popular and longest-lasting handgun cartridges developed have been with semi-auto pistols in mind. Primarily, I'm talking about 9mm Parabellum and .45 ACP--both dating [...]

If you've read my articles much, you must be aware of my quests in which I develop a desire for certain firearms and strive to fulfill it. For example, once, [...]

To the casual observer, the M1 Garand and the M14 share similarities yet are very different rifles. However, both came from the fertile mind of one man. The story starts [...]

For many gun buyers, the lure of getting guns with special stories or pairs with consecutive serial numbers is irresistible. My good friend, Kirk Stovall of Bozeman, Mont., has four [...]

Weight is important to horse soldiers so almost as soon as firearms were invented, efforts were made to lighten them for mounted troops. That said, prior to breech-loading designs, carbines [...]

Over the past 40 years, I've encountered many Springfield Armory Ml As. In the late 1970s, the first one I fired belonged to a friend--a Vietnam combat veteran. Upon his [...]

Looking back on my long career of handgun shooting, I've come to realize some of the hundreds I've experienced stood head and shoulders over others in my estimation. Now understand [...]

Japanese weapons of World War II are generally denigrated as low-quality junk but until late in the war, this charge was far from the truth. Japanese rifles, carbines, light machine [...]

Over many decades of shooting, one is bound to develop favorites. One of mine is a genre of firearms; pistol-cartridge rifles, carbines and revolvers. For this, my all-time favorite cartridges [...]

After 50 years of shooting and experimenting, I've come to think of eight cartridges as Colt's Great Eight. A book titled The 36 Calibers of the Colt SAA by David [...]

By my memory I had never fired any rifle chambered for 8mm Mauser until beginning my World War II firearms collection early in this century. Now I can say I've [...]

During my writing career, I obsessed over a genre of firearm to the point my editors became frustrated. It was because I studied those rifles so deeply, handloaded for them [...]

My first sixgun replica was purchased in September, 1970. It was an Uberti Cattleman .357 Magnum and was the first SAA copy I'd encountered. Over the years it has been [...]

In nearly 60 years of handgunning, during which I've owned hundreds of revolvers, I've learned much about making them suitable for me personally. That's more about making them as shootable [...]

Something irking me now for over a half-century is someone saying, 'My pistol needs jacketed bullets.' That attitude is especially wrong in the middle of this component shortage, the likes [...]

Most revolver models have been offered with a rather small number of barrel length options. For instance, S&W's Model 19 .357 Magnum was only cataloged with 2 1/2, 4 and [...]

Recently I sat down in front of one of my lead casting furnaces with misty eyes. The reason for the emotion was happiness because a variety of complications had kept [...]

In my most humble opinion, the following is a conundrum about Winchester's Model 1895. Many people say they would only want one if chambered for the legendary .405 Winchester. Fewer [...]

In my entire career I don't remember writing about a firearm with which I had only a few moments' experience. But what an experience! The gun was the legendary 'Ma [...]

The Thompson submachine gun--better known as the Tommy Gun --has a long, mythical history in both popular culture and reality. Starting in 1962 gun-guys my age watched Sgt. Saunders pack [...]

Overwhelmingly, what we see, hear and read about guns in the media is negative. Purposely so, in my opinion. The good things--when and if reported--are almost always about taking down [...]

By the time this issue comes out, rattlers will also be coming out around my Montana home. I dread snake season, for I have a 10-lb. dog that follows me [...]

'Questing' has been a subject in my columns before but it's time to revisit. Almost every day of the year I deal with firearms in one manner or another. It [...]

Almost simultaneous with the appearance of metallic cartridges there came a firearms genre popular to this day--the pistol cartridge carbine. There is an irony about their advent. Military forces had [...]

Now, in the 21st century, M1 Garands are highly revered, receive much adulation and are considered World War II's best battle rifle. However, it might surprise some readers to learn [...]

Never in my wildest imagination did I expect anyone to reproduce Winchester's Model 1894 in .38-55. Cimarron Arms has them, as made by Uberti of Italy, and if the .38-55 [...]

After 50 years of buying Colt Single Action Army revolvers in many calibers and all generations, I had never actually had one custom-made to my specs. Of course, I've had [...]

For many reasons some handgunners like having a rifle/ carbine of the same caliber as their pistol. I'm one of those people. The idea started about 150 years ago when [...]

Growing up back east, two things caught my imagination early on--guns and horses, both of which were not plentiful there. So, as soon as I was able, the logical thing [...]

One thing quickly learned upon diving into gun 'riting full time in 1981 was being self-employed causes a tendency to feel guilty when not producing. Therefore, I've tried to make [...]

As a firearms industry dinosaur, I'm sad to have seen the end of double-action revolvers' golden years. In my time, barrels were actually barrels, sometimes even forged with integral front [...]

Throughout my handloading career, the vast majority of handgun bullets I've sent downrange have been cast--mostly by me but a significant minority by commercial casters. My shooting results from revolvers [...]