Just a while back, I was talking to my brother, who is a big Ruger fan, and we agreed that Ruger would probably get into the 1911 business since they were already doing ARs, etc.  Well, a check of their website last night revealed their newest gun: the SR1911.  It’s a pretty nicely set up 1911 with flat checkered mainspring housing, Novak sights, and a decent looking grip safety. I don’t think it will make me want to go trade in my Sig STX, but at a retail price of $799 (street should be somewhere in the 650 range) it looks like it should be a winner.  Check out the Ruger SR1911 page for more details.  Availability looks to be May 2011.

Now if Ruger would start competing with Springfield Armory and build an M14 clone…

Wholesale Sports is one of my favorite stores in Fargo because it’s not the over-inflated ego of our local sporting goods titan’s statues of U.S. Presidents or ferris wheels inside the building, and it’s not the cheap tackle of Walmart.

From this weekend’s pass through the aisles, my haul looks something like this:

2 Plano Pro Latch 3650 tackle boxes, $2.66 on sale and part of a buy one get one free special, reg. $4.59 apiece,
1 Bianchi Accumold holster for 1911, $19.99, on sale from $29.99,
and 2 20 ct. bags of root beer 4″ Yamamoto grubs, on sale for $4.00 each from $6.00.

Let’s see, do the math and I paid roughly 31 dollars for 51 dollars worth of stuff. Not bad for a 20 minute pass through the store.

So Utah has become the first state to have a state firearm, in addition to a state flower, state bird, etc.  It’s actually surprising to me that it hasn’t happened before.  Utah’s choice, the Browning 1911 design is very appropriate considering its role in the freedom of our country.

The full CNN article can be found here.

There is a fair amount of chatter from liberal anti-gun pundits whining about it.  I hope the idea takes hold.  I would like to see the Winchester 1895 in .405 become the North Dakota state firearm in honor of Teddy Roosevelt.

From the Outdoor Channel, a very heartwarming video of WWII veteran Ted Gundy, 85. He shows his eagle-eye marksmanship as he’s invited to try out modern sniper equipment.  Check it out:

Since bloggers seem to love lists, I thought it would be useful to list my top 5 for utility guns. I have some pretty guns, some useful guns, and some guns just for fun. In the useful category, I elect the following to my top five useful guns of all time:

1. Ruger 4 3/4″ .357 Vaquero. This is my current choice, but the same role has been filled by several Speed Six, Security Six, SP-101, Blackhawks, etc. A solid wheelgun in .357 makes a good all around holster gun when performing a number of tasks outdoors, makes an easy-to-use firearm to introduce newbies to handguns, and will do just fine as a primary home defense gun.

2. S&W Airlite 2″ J-Frame. This is the gun I clip in an inside-the-waistband retention holster in the top of my waders, throw in my gear bag for the Boundary Waters, use for concealed carry purposes, and generally use when anything else gets in my way. The old adage “any gun is better than no gun” applies here, but it’s a more useful gun than, say, a two-shot derringer.

3. Weatherby Vanguard Varmint .223 Rem, 20″ heavy barrel with tan stock. I love these for their value and that’s why I mounted a Tasco Varmint Mil-dot 6-24 (also an excellent value) on it. The pair shoots 3/4 moa or better out to 200 yards and cost a whole lot less than a Cooper. It stows in the pickup nicely because of its shorter barrel and doesn’t ever fail to do what I ask.

4. Benelli Nova .20 Ga. I’m not a big fan of the 12 ga. Nova, since it hammers the shoulder a bit harshly (I like an auto in 12 ga) but I love my 20. It’s light, built to withstand just about anything, and was cheap enough to help me avoid crying when it gets scratched. This is a gun that can do duty in the grouse woods, jump shoot ducks off puddles, and be used as an easy-to-find-and-load-in-the-middle-of-the-night home defense gun.

5. T/C Icon .243. OK–this one is a little on the nice side for a utility gun, so if I had to choose a more utilitarian alternative, I would choose the T/C Venture, which looks to be one of the best deals of all time. The .243 will handily drop everything from ‘yotes to speed goats to deer, doubles as a good gun to introduce kids (or the recoil sensitive) to deer rifles, and is just simply one of my favorite cartridges to handload and shoot.

So there you have it. If I had a sixth spot to choose, I might throw in a Marlin lever gun in .444 in case you live in bear country, or a .44 Mag wheelgun, or a 30-06, or . . .

In about a month, I will be eligible for a new discounted phone on my wireless plan, and the iPhone has finally arrived on Verizon’s network.  I plan to pick one up, as I like the robust quality of all things Apple.  In anticipation of my phone upgrade, I’ve identified some of the apps that look promising. My research is unscientific, but based on Internet chatter, I think these are on my download list:

Ballistic: The ballistic trajectory computer for the iPhone.  This one has a large library of loads and includes a mil-dot estimator and range log.

GPS Kit: Full-featured GPS for the great outdoors.  Differentiating itself from the Tom-Tom style street navigation systems, this one has the features you’re used to seeing on your outdoor GPS.

iSOlunar: This app is for you, if like me, you use the solunar tables to identify good fishing times.  I don’t plan my whole season around these, but they definitely come into play.  This appears to be the most professional-looking app for this purpose.

I’m on the hunt for more, so please post a comment if you have an app on your iPhone that you just can’t live without in the outdoors.

As a shooter and former firearms trainer, it really irks me to see stories in the news that indicate guns firing by themselves, as if they suddenly come to life.  Case in point — headline from the Associated Press: Two Wounded at Los Angeles School When Gun in Backpack Fires.  Now, the story seems to be that the gun fired when the backpack was dropped.  There is no mention of the make and model of gun, so it is hard to speculate how that might happen.  My point is that it probably had help.  Most modern guns need a very deliberate sequence of action to fire.  Yet the press continues to report these incidents as if guns are magical, self-operating devices with murderous urges.  

The other genre of guns-firing-by-themselves stories involves the classic “the gun fired when I was cleaning it” variety.  A similar theme was reported in a news story I read yesterday in my own region of the country.  The introductory sentence of the article goes something like this: “A Grand Forks resident was cited this morning for discharging his firearm within city limits after he accidentally shot himself in his home while attempting to move his handgun.”  The story goes that the man was cleaning his apartment in the wee hours of the morning and when he moved his handgun, it fired, striking him in the hand.  The story reports the man’s first name was Darwin.

GUNS DO NOT FIRE THEMSELVES.  Accidental discharges are certainly (remotely) possible, but are mostly due to negligence.  I have heard a story, for instance, in which a man shot himself in the leg with a single action revolver because he had it stored in the console of his pickup in a sock.  Evidently, in the process of things moving around with the gun in the console, the single action hammer was cocked back, and when the man moved some other things around in the console, he caught the trigger in the fabric of the sock and fired it.  Knowing the full context in that story, it is somewhat believable, but the person who shot himself was certainly negligent in how he was storing a loaded gun, as was the high school kid in Los Angeles.  

Stories I generally approach with suspicion are the ones where police officers and/or security guards cleaning their weapons at home experience accidental discharges.  Those people have obviously been trained to know better, and what I usually envision behind those stories is either boredom or drunkenness leading to quick-draw practice or other unsafe stunts that lead to the discharge.

I hope for a day when the mainstream media writes gun stories with factual information and avoids personifying and/or demonizing mechanical objects.

While others are going ga-ga over the new compact Ruger LC9, I’m going ga-ga over their latest rifle offering.  The official Ruger press release follows. I’ll be doing a post soon on the scout rifle concept, and discussing the new Ruger as well as lever action scout rifles.

From www.ruger.com:

Ruger Introduces New Platform in Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle 
December 29, 2010 
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. (NYSE: RGR) is proud to announce the Ruger® Gunsite Scout Rifle, the ideal “fighting carbine” in .308 Winchester that is a credible rendition of Col. Jeff Cooper’s Scout Rifle concept. Cooper called for a relatively lightweight, hard hitting, do-all rifle that in the hands of an accomplished shooter was able to place accurate, sustained fire out to long ranges, yet was quick-handling and light enough for all-day carry.

Developed in conjunction with Gunsite instructor Ed Head, the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle is a new platform in the Ruger M77® family. While the Scout Rifle has M77 features such as controlled round feed and integral scope mounts (scope rings included), the 10-round detachable box magazine is the first clue this isn’t your grandfather’s Ruger rifle.

“Ruger has taken an in depth look at the intended purpose of a Scout Rifle and developed a full-featured rifle designed to meet the Scout Rifle criteria of hunt, fight, defend,” says Head. “This firearm offers outstanding features in an affordable, versatile and reliable rifle designed to deliver .308 Winchester performance in a variety of situations. It is compact, lightweight, offers 10-round box magazines, can be fit to the individual shooter, and accommodates a host of optics. It is a serious rifle for those serious about rifles.”

The Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle has a 16.5″ medium contour, cold hammer-forged, alloy steel barrel with a Mini-14® protected non-glare post front sight and receiver mounted, adjustable ghost ring rear sight for out-of-the-box usability. A forward mounted Picatinny rail offers options in mounting an assortment of optics – including Scout Scopes available from Burris® and Leupold®, for “both eyes open” sighting and super-fast target acquisition.

A Mini-14/SR-556® flash suppressor is effective on reducing the muzzle flash that may be present on some .308 Winchester loads when fired out of the short (16.5″) barrel. The 5/8-24 muzzle threads allow most standard .30 caliber muzzle accessories – flash suppressors, muzzle brakes, and sound suppressors – to be installed. 

The Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle features a matte black oxide alloy steel barrel and receiver on a black laminate stock with sling swivel studs and checkered grip and forearm. A soft rubber recoil pad, with three 1/2″ spacers allows the length of pull to be adjusted and allow the rifle to be properly sized for different shooters, or to give the shooter the proper fit with outerwear or defensive gear of varying thickness. With its compact size and weighing in at just under seven pounds, the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle combines ease of carry and shooting for the serious Scout Rifle enthusiast. 

The rifle’s trigger guard and magazine well are formed with glass-reinforced nylon. The magazine release is a push-forward Mini-14 paddle just ahead of the trigger guard. “Gunsite Scout Rifle” is engraved on the grip cap of the laminated, weather resistant stock, and the receiver is roll-marked “Ruger Gunsite Scout”, commemorating the collaboration of Ruger with Gunsite Academy, America’s oldest private firearms training facility.

As they say, beware the man with one gun, for he probably knows how to use it. Never has this been more true than with the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle, the one rifle to have if you could only have one. It is the perfect lightweight, hard-hitting, do-it-all bolt-action rifle – where rugged, reliable Ruger meets the practical, tactical.

For more information on the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle, or to learn more about the extensive award winning line of Ruger firearms, visit www.Ruger.com. To find accessories for the Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle or other Ruger firearms, visit www.ShopRuger.com.

Having just finished a shopping spree in which I found deals on a flat-panel TV and a Blu-ray player (and caught myself up a bit on home theater), my thoughts turned to how much technology has changed in the last 20 years or so. Applying that ponderance to reloading and shooting, let’s check out two of the newfangled contraptions that will probably be commonplace soon:

1. Hornady’s electronic case cleaner: This one intrigues me, since the technology has been around for a while, but not applied to case cleaning until now. The main reason I see for using Hornady’s new gadget is to clean those pesky primer pockets. Perhaps it’s just an aesthetic thing, since my reloads have always gone pop even with cruddy looking primer pockets.

2.  Burris Eliminator laser rangefinding scope.  Bushnell and Nikon also have laser rangefinders built into riflescopes, but this one looks to me to be the most viable setup yet.  One notable feature is that it illuminates a dot for holdover.  I’m hoping that one day these features can be available in a more svelte design, and I’m guessing that by the time I’m done hunting, I will see that happen.  For now, I’ll use my more compact mil-dot and stadia-wire reticle scopes.

I must admit to having split personalities.  I am drawn to guns with high gloss blue and figured walnut one minute, and black matte industrial tools with phosphate and polymer and matte finishes the next.  This idea is very evident if you look at the shotguns that I have owned.  The fanciest was probably a Grade V Browning Citori in 20 gauge that I never should have let go, and the crudest was, ironically, a double barrel over-under, too, albeit a Brazilian double with a stock that I swear was carved from a 2×4. I have owned a silver receiver Beretta 391 lightweight with gorgeous wood, a Browning Gold Stalker with black matte everything, and many in between.  For waterfowl, however, I have never managed to hang onto anything because (startling confession begins here) I don’t do that much waterfowling. Any really nice duck guns I have ever had have been traded off for things I would use much more often.  

Benelli 20 ga. Nova and Remington 12 ga 887

What I have ended up with is a 2o gauge Benelli Nova (black on black) and a Remington 887 12 gauge (black on black on black–hey, it even has plastic over-molded on the barrel).  Both are very similar and are cut from the same cloth–inexpensive, and made to smash against the boat, get dirty, and cycle hundreds of rounds without complaining.

In looking back on the history of waterfowl guns, I couldn’t help but think about a pair of Winchester Model 12s I know.  Both are family guns, so were easily accessible to compare to their modern counterparts.  One is a 12 gauge belonging to one of my in-laws and one is a 16 gauge that I inherited from my great uncle who shared my love of jump-shooting ducks and fly-fishing.  The Model 12 was definitely the equivalent of the Nova or 887 in its day.  Very practical, and it’s not surprising that most of the Model 12s one sees are beat to heck.  My 16 ga. was definitely used, but not abused. Most of the finish is gone from being carried afield hundreds of times, but there is not a single drop of rust. The bore to this day is mirror-bright.

16 and 12 ga Winchester Model 12s

Of course, if one were to really cover the history of pump guns, one should mention the Remington 870, probably one of the best (and most boring) pump-action shotguns ever.  The best ones were in found in days past, with the current crop of Expresses being as interesting as a piece of gravel, and finished to match.  The Ithaca 37 and Browning BPS were much better (and a little bit nicer, being bottom-eject, in my opinion).  The are also generally finished much nicer.  

But this article is about plastic guns, and not the kind that shoot water.  Unlike the old Model 12s in the family, the Nova and 887 will probably hold up to the wear and tear a little bit better, allowing things to bounce a bit off the plastic parts, instead of leaving gouges in walnut.  The recoil pads are certainly better than the plastic buttplate of my 16 or the hard rubber on the 12 gauge Model 12.  

Remington SuperCell recoil pad on 887 12 ga.

Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences of the two polymer quacker-blasters:

Benelli Nova polymer receiver

Outwardly, both guns have a matte black finish and a polymer receiver outer shell, combined with composite stocks that have molded-in grip areas on both the pistol grip and the forend.  Each gun has a mid-bead on its vented rib, and there is a rubber recoil pad.  Remington wins the battle of the pads with its superb SuperCell pad, a welcome addition on a 3 1/2″ 12 gauge.  Honestly, on the Benelli, which is a 20 ga, the pad is not an issue for me, but I assume they use a similar pad on the 12 gauge model.  I have also heard many reports that the Nova in 12 gauge form is a pretty hard kicker, so I think if my chamberings and guns were reversed, I would have to invest in Benelli’s recoil reducer or at the very least a Limbsaver recoil pad.  

Remington 887 receiver

An area where the guns diverge is in their barrels.  The Remington comes with one choke, a modified tube, while the Benelli comes with the standard three-choke assortment of Modified, Improved, and Full.  The guns also diverge in their treatment of the outer barrel finish.  The Remington 887 barrel is over-molded with plastic in a method that Remington terms Armor-Lokt.  The Benelli is more traditional steel on both the inside and outside with a durable matte-black finish.  

Benelli Nova barrel

Remington 887 barrel

Other areas where the guns diverge is in the placement of the slide release and safety.  The Remington places the slide release on the front of the trigger guard, with a crossbolt safety behind the trigger.  The Benelli, on the other hand, places the slide release and the safety both in front of the trigger.  One annoying thing about the Remington is that the forend is so large and has so much plastic protruding to the rear, that it is possible to pinch a hand between the forend at its rear-most position and the trigger guard.  I will have to use mine for long enough to see if I get used to it or if I have to remove some material from the rear of the forend.  

Spring will have to arrive for me to test both guns against one another, as I have not yet fired the Remington.  Reports around the Internet are mixed, with some saying that the Remington has less recoil than most 3 1/2″ 12 gauges.  The recoil pad is certainly a good start.  My initial impressions comparing the two guns are that the Benelli seems to have a smoother action and more stylish features, while the Remington has the look of a brute, even though it swings and shoulders well.  The thickness of the barrel with its plastic shroud may be deceiving.

For a guy who once laughed at Glocks and their “Tupperware” containers, I have come a long way.  I own a striker-fired polymer 9mm pistol (Ruger SR-9) and my duck-blasters look like they can be hosed off.  But then I redeem myself by pheasant hunting with an Ithaca SKB side-by-side with some nice walnut (that has dings in it).  They say variety is the spice of life, and I think those of us who really like guns shouldn’t limit ourselves to one finish and stock material.