Gun Nut

Is Dave Petzal Still Alive?

Online Editors — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:21:29 -0500

This question came up on another gun blog when someone mentioned that they had seen a rifle of mine for sale, and another blogger asked about the gun—a 7x57—and inquired if I was still alive. Far from taking offense, I see this as a reasonable question, and will attempt to answer it as best I may.

Bourjaily: Anvil Shooting (Don't Try It At Home!)

Joe_Cermele — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:17:37 -0500

Who knew there was such a sport as anvil shooting? The world championships are held every year in April in Laurel, Mississippi. Anvils are launched at various events around the country, mostly in the south.

An Expert Gunsmith on Over-Pressure Rounds and Exploding Handguns

Online Editors — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:28:47 -0500

A note to all you Gun Nuts: The photo below (and three more, which you can see by clicking here) came into my inbox attached to the following caption:

Bourjaily: A Closer Look at Beretta's A400 Xplor 'Dinosaur Gun'

Online Editors — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:53:46 -0500

Petzal: Collecting Versus Earning Your Game

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:22:06 -0500

Robert Ruark, writing in his journal about some particularly good African trophy that he had hammered, noted that it was “…collected, but not earned.” He believed, as many hunters do, that there should be a certain amount of work you put into bagging an animal or else you don’t really deserve it. This is a nice sentiment, but of course it is nonsense. You expect to have to work, and if you do work very hard and get something good as a result it is more rewarding, but that’s as far as it goes. Despite our touching belief that hunting is a matter of skill and perseverance, a lot of it is sheer dumb luck.

Bourjaily: Slow Down To Speed Up

Online Editors — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:05:43 -0400

Over the weekend I helped out at a Pheasants Forever Mentored Youth Hunt. PF, I should mention here, is my favorite of the single-species groups because they spend all their money locally, do good habitat work, and support youth hunting and shooting of all kinds. Anyway, it was my job to run three groups of kids through some shooting instruction before they went hunting. I’ve done this before, and I learn more from watching the kids shoot than they learn listening to me.

Petzal: How to Sweat Up A Ridge

Joe_Cermele — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:54:55 -0400

This past summer, a geezer friend of mine was railing at the current generation of hunters who roost in trees like so many spavined turkeys and rarely walk anywhere.

“They haven’t sweated up ridges like you and I have,” he snarled.

Sometimes, you gotta walk uphill, and if you haven’t done much of it, here are some tips from someone who has done a lot it and hated every yard.

Bourjaily Eats Crow: Light Shotguns Can Be Great for Waterfowl

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:46:16 -0400

Today’s first course is crow in a figurative sense:

I have long insisted that the best waterfowl guns weigh a lot -- eight pounds or even close to nine – for adequate recoil absorption. I believed they should have long barrels – 28-inches or even 30 -- and weight-forward balance. I have said so in print many times.

Petzal: Dakota Arms is Back from the Brink

Joe_Cermele — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:37:49 -0400

In 1987, Don Allen a retired airline pilot from Sturgis, South Dakota, and his wife Norma, founded Dakota Arms, a company that produced high-grade hunting rifles based on a design worked up by him and ace metal man Pete Grisel. The Dakota Model 76, the company’s basic model, was an immediate success, and was soon joined by other variations.

Bourjaily: Beretta’s Real Dinosaur Gun

Joe_Cermele — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:25:56 -0400

Some of you expressed disappointment that the new Beretta A400 -- billed as a dinosaur gun -- turned out to be a mere 3 ½ inch 12 gauge. While I think the A400 should be a dandy gun for ducks, geese and pheasants, it is admittedly on the light side for one-shot kills on larger sauropods. I would want more gun. In fact, I would want one of these.