Gun Digest 2011

Gun Digest 2011

Product Description

BIGGER. BETTER. MORE OF WHAT YOU WANT!
IT’S GUN DIGEST 2011!
THE WORLD’S GREATEST GUN BOOK SINCE 1944
Long regarded as the shooter’s best resource, Gun Digest is jam-packed with the kind of entertaining information on guns and shooting that you just won’t find anywhere else. From in-depth field reports on the newest guns and gear to fascinating discussions of collectible arms, you’ll find it in Gun Digest 2011.
IT’S ALL HERE! Rifles, Handguns & Shotguns Engraved & Custom Guns
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So join us this year as we take a fond look at the greatest handgun of all time, the 1911, on its 100th birthday – and discover other great guns along the way!

About the Author

Dan Shideler is the editor of Standard Catalog of Firearms, Modern Gun Values, The Official Gun Digest Book of Guns & Prices and several other firearms-related titles. He lives in northern Indiana.

S-M Make-up

by WARREN PAGE/THE GUN DIGEST
           The Steyr-Mannlicher barrels, please note, are hammered or coldforged over a mandrel. Steyr has been using this process on military orders for years, so they know it from muzzle to chamber. The residual outside spiral marks of the multiple hammers are left at the butt section (30mm in diameter for standard calibers, 35mm for magnums) as evidence of this. Though of conventional chrome-moly steel, the work-hardened tubes should resist erosion well. Evidently the Steyr people thind they have a highly accurate barrel since I got to shoot one fancy group with an experimental 7.62 NATO target musket, meant for ISU or Olympic competition; even with iron sights it made an impressively tight cluster at 300 meters.
          The action of these new rifles is it self stiff, being tubular and with minimal cutouts for magazine and ejection ports. The bolt body is round for smooth function, the bolt face is rather conventional in today's terms with a plunger ejector and a spring supported extractor slicing through the cartridge-shrouding wall. The lock up is halfway back, with 6 lugs ahead of the bolt handle (three rows of paired lugs means a 60-degree bolt lift) to give an area of 60 square millimeters of bearing surface for standard rounds or 93mm for mabdtagnums. The safety slide is handy at the right rear, locking both firing pin and bolt handle; the firing pin shows very short travel; and the action is well gasproofed. I had absolutely no functional problems with action or feed, will offer no opinion as to how the midpoint lockup will work with hot handloads until I can have a rifle long enough to brew up some.
         We were told, over hot chocolate swimming in whipped cream, that all the centerfire models will be coming along as rifles with 23 5/8-inch barrels, and the SL,L,and M types for the nonmagnum rounds will also be turned out with 20-inch carbine barrels and full length or "Mannlicher" stocks. It will be interesting to see if the New Steyr-Mannlicher carbine sets people to slavering the way those old Mannlicher-Schoenauers did. The old one had a lot of romance about it. The new one is based on hard commonsense.
        The guy who designed it is that way. A young chap named Horst Wesp, he is the type who knows what makes a computer tick, has the gumption to throw old engineering ideas out onto the courtyard cobblestones and to try radical new approaches. He had the persuasiveness, too, to swing all of Steyr along with him, to overturn the thought habits of roughly 70 years. Without benefit of broad lapels, square-toed shoes or two bushels of hair, Horst is a modern fellow. I just want to be around when he has his first encounter with a band of U.S. rifle nuts!
photo by auctionarms.com

Range and Field Trials

by WARREGN PAGE/THE GUN DIGEST

     My second exxperience with one of the New Steyr-Mannlichers started at Steyr itself. The commpany’s Dr. Breitenfeld drove over to Vienna to tear three of us, Pete Kuhlhof, Pete Brown, and me from the pastry shops where we were committing slow suicide on Sachertorte and assorted other shipped cream goodies. Out at the plant range he handed us three identical M-series sporters. Each was barreled in 7x64, each was equipped with a Helia 4x scope in a quick-detachable style of mount which, believe it or not, proved by later events to be capable of removal and return to dead zero. That range has target butts out to 1000 meters but mercifully the Steyr engineering crowd, who were anxiously wondering shether or not these American gun-scribblers could hit anything smaller than a chocolate cake, expected us to check out the rifles’zero only as far as 300. That’s 330 yards, shich is a fair approximation of reasonable maximum hunting rang expectancy, though as it turned out later on, I had to stretch the 7x64 a mite to drop a stag, the red deer or hirsch, well beyond 350 meters.

         Everybody  hit the chocolate cake. One guy, whose name I shall refrain from mentioning, luckily had two holes cutting each other at 300 meters. He promptly quit while the was ahead. In my judgment, all three of the rifles were capable of shooting 1 1/2 MOA (minute of angle) with factory fodder, and who needs better?

        During the next few days, I really came to know my borrowed 7x64 since it was slung on my shoulder shile I huffed up and down, mostly up, the assorted Alps that make up Donnersbachwald, the revier or hunting areajointly controlled by the Mannlicher outfit and the Semperit tire people. With it I nailed two very nice red deer, and two chamois as well, the better of which carried hooked-back horns of record-book dimensions. So I got to know that rifle even better than I did my guiding fager, Nicholas Hochsteiner (that means high rock, and he certainly never messed around with any of the lower rock piles). If it hadn’t been for that exercise in futility known as the Gun Control Act of’68 I’d somehow have sneaked that rifle home from Steyr too. It was very evidently a better fifle than the one lugged by my unnamed friend who shot the 300-meter doublet, since with if I bagged 4 head of prime game, and he only one with his!

      The 7x64 or 7mm Brenneke, let me interpose, is an earlier germanic forerunner of the 280 Remington (some say contrived as an answer to our 270) , but which user heavier bullets than either, There’s a pinch of optimism mixed into the ballistic dope, perhaps, since the Torpedo-style 162-gr. bullet from the 7x64 is supposed to have 230 foot pounds more energy at 300 meters than our 165-gr . bullet from the 280 has at 300 yeards, but whatever the numbers the 7x64 is a good killing cartridge. I used the 173gr. H-Mantel Copper-Pointc as put up by RWS. Far and away too much slug for a 50-55 pound chamois or even a 450 pound stag, it dropped game like a 16 pound sledge.

        Then I contrived later range experience with the New Steyr-Mannlichers, two of’em. One was a 7mm Remington Magnum (S type) withh which John Olson of Stoeger had just clobbered an Ontario moose. Stuffed with Remington 175-gr. PCL loads it shot consistently at 1.75 MOA. OK for any quantity-loaded ammunition. One of the M series  rifles, a 30-06 that came straight out of the box and was fitted with a scope right there on the range, hung around 1.75 inches with the 125-gr. Remington varmint load. With handloads using the 180-gr. Nosler over a rather mild dosage of Dupont 4064, 46.5 grains of it, shot very close to the magic minute of angle mark. These rifles are clearly going to deliver first rate hunting accuracy, and on the basis of my experience to date, will also hold zero well.

Five Action Lengths

by WARREN PAGR

     The true novelty of this rifle lies entirely in the idea of relating action length to cartridge length. As practicing gun nuts you are presumably familiar with the fact that no American made action is turned out in more than two lengths. One European type (the Czech-made BRNOs in the ZKK models) has been available in three lengths. As gun nuts you’re a all aware of certain basic facts: that  a standard or 30-60-length-action, roughly an inch longer than those intended for the 308 family of rounds, is also inevitably proportionately heavier and slower to operate (where and when when weight is not needed); that an action long enough to handle the 375 H&H looks pretty silly digesting a 222; that, conversely, jamming a cartridge into an action length which is marginally short for it—the 6.5 Remington or 350 Remington magnum into the M600, for example—may place ballistic limits on the round’s performance by limiting the case volume. That’s why you can now buy the normal-length M700 rifle in 6.5 Remington Magnum, for example.

     What the people at Steyr have done is to plan 5 basic actions, all alike save in longitudinal dimensions (and also in the fatness of the magazine area, naturally) tailored for each of 5 categories of cartridge. Four of these rifles, the centerfires, are in production as this is typed; the rimfire will be along during 1970 and will in most details save length duplicate the centerfires’ operating principles.

     The SL series, shortest of the 4 centerfires, has been made for three years. I first tested one in 1967. Equipped with a Weaver V9 scope and weighing only 7 1/2 pounds it shot better than most rifles hefting half again as much. Remington factory loads with Power-Lokt .224" bullets punched clusters as tight at .769" on the average; handloads with Sierra match bullets came up .488"  for the average of five 5-shot spreads. This is a shooting iron, believe me. Its length is structly for the 222, 223, 222magnum family since the SL magazine will accommodate rounds no longer than 65 mm or 2 5/8  inches.

         The L version is one size longer, with a 76-millimeter magazine, 3 inches in our terms, and equivalent spread between the receiver bridge and the ring so the action throw is appropriate to such rounds as the 308, 243, the 22-250, and, of course, the shortcoupled metrics. Longer yet is the M series, which boasts a 92.5 mm magazine length and like action throw, to handle cartridges like our 30-06 and 270, the 7x64, and the 7.92x57, 7x57, or the 6.5x57 when their bullets are seated properly out, not shoved down against the primer hole as they must be through our "compact" or 722 lengths of action. The big one is called the S type. Its functioning length is indicated by the measurement on its magazine, 101 milimeters. That of course means it’ll take the pony-car magnums like the 264 Winchester, 7mm Remington, the 458 Winchester and the 308 Norma. It handles the shorter Weatherby cartridges, but not the 460 or 378. It will digest Holland & holland rounds (300 and 375) or others of like dimension, and of course will swallow the European blockbusters like the 8x68 , 6.5x68 or 9.3x64. Only one thing bothers me about the S type. To accommodate all those elephant-jarring rounds in its magazine, it has to be a mite portly, some might say fat, around the mid-section. Other-wise it and the little SL com out of the same pasture.

Heart of the S-M

by WARREN PAGE

      Heart and core of the New Steyr-Mannlicher—they want it called that because the design was solely conceived within the Steyr works—is a complex moulding of a synthetic developed by the Bayer people and called Makrolon. Now before you start cussing plastics consider these points. Makrolon is self-colored, so the blue-black matches the rifle’s metal parts even if you manage to cut the surface. It is stable under any humidity or wetness variation, and over temperatures from a minus 150  Fahrenheit to 275 above zero, which is more than 50 above boilling. You’re not about to encounter temperatures beyond either, not during this life. It will neither scratch like aluminum nor rust like steel. It is tough beyond  belief. After watching an engineer pound on the table with parts made from Makronlon I tried to go him one better by whanging a steel chair leg with the one long thin-walled piece that in aBew Mannlicher constitutes the triggerguard floor section, and magazine liner-box. I hurt my hand, not the synthetic.

       The same substance is used for the detachable rotary-spool magazine(modeled closely after the original Schoenauer feeding device)that slickly feeds the New Mannlicher with, in any given caliber, one more round than is usual today in commercial bolt action magazines of that caliber. Five 30-60 cartridges, for example,not four. Four fat magnums, not three.

      The Makrolon element becomes heart and core of the New SteyrMannlicher for these reasons: 1) it permits the magazine, trigger guard and floorplate weight to be kept minimal, thus keeps gross weight down; 2) by eliminating a whole slew of complex milling/stamping operations, it permits magazine and guard parts to be made for several different lengths of rifle action (actually 5) without shoving the retail price up through the roof; 3) it makes possible a stiffer rifle since the recoil lug can be positioned so that it bears at the rear of the whole action, not under the breech end of the barrel, to keep receiver and barrel “working” as one unit. Without Makrolon, in fact, the real newness of this Mannlicher would’ve been impossible.

THE NEW MANNLICHER RIFLES

by WARREN PAGE

The new mid-lugged, low-lift 60-degree Steyr-Mannlicher action-with a mere nod to herr Schoenauer-comes in five basic lengths, derives much of its excellence and strength from engineer Horst Wesp and a tough plastic called Makrolon. Field&Stream’s editor wrings out several of the new fifles, both on the range and in the Austrian gebirge for red deer and chamois.

           THE TOWN OF STEYR is located in Austria where join the Enns and the Steyr rivers, at the confluence of the greatest brown trout stream and the best water for the pike-like huchen in all of Europe. The people of Steyr seldom yodel on street corners, but lederhosen are as common as ordinary pants and wearing one of those Tyrolean-style hats rivals brandishing a beer mug as a local occupation. Steyr should be a tourist town, but it isn’t really. What Steyr is famous for is a great works, where iron and streel, swords and plow-shares, have been pounded out since the early Mikkle Ages, where firearms have been  made for the past 105 years. It’s all very well for the local Chamber of Commerce to point out that the industrial combine of Steyr-Daimler-Puch makes jillions of trucks and tractors or more jillions of motorcycles, but that gets no more tumble than do the trout in the beautiful Enns, What everybody does know is that Steyr is the home of the Mannlicher rifle.

          Ferdiand Ritter von Mannlicher—the “von” indicates that he was a nobleman—has perhaps never been so glorified as Paul Mauser in the field of bolt-action rifle development, possible because his designs were primarily produced only at Steyr and, Mannlicher being a complete patriot, chiefly for Austrian army use. His first repeating bolt action, an 11mm Austrian or.433 " is datede 1880.  In that same year Mauser had about perfected the famous 1871-'84 repeater with which the Prussians overwhelmed the French. It could be argued that Mannlicher’s rifle was the better, though more complex to manufacture, since in one version its magazine held 20 rounds!

         As far as I know the two great designers never foined forces, but Mannlicher dreamed up as many significant ideas as did Mauser, including, for example, feeicient straight-pull designs like the Model 1895  Austrian which we still see floating around, While he did not go as far into the automatic pistol field, like Mauser he ended up designing automatic rifles, Regardless of the country of usage, ass of these were produced at Steyr.

         But of all the military items, the model to become best known among sportsmen was the 1900 Greek Mannlicher-Schoenauer, on which engineer Schoenauer had collaborated to work up the spring-driven spool magazine, a device that has guaranteed smooth feeding for Mannlichers ever since. It is this 1900 version, with its complex multiple-piece bolt and mid-point hadle, which was sporterized in carbine form, weighing only 6 pounds 9 ounces in 6.5x53 with a slim, fulllength stock, with close-lying or spoonshaped bolt handle. These packets of graceful potency earned the respect, even the love, of our fathers and their fathers before them, The light, slick, handy Mannlicher, in either rifle or carbine form, imported into this country then as now by Stoeger, attracted scads of would-be- owners.

       The name Mannlicher has honestly earned its luster in sporting circles. Karamoja Bell hunted ivory with a 6.5, slew hundreds of bull elephants with it. The 6.5 carbine went with early north-country hunters like Sheldon and piled up Yukon game amazingly, the long 160-gr bullet doing well even at mild velocities. I recall seeing my first Mannlicher-Schoenauer when I was about eleven, the prized possession of one of the oldtimers who introuuced me to the outdoor world. He had never killed anything larger than a whitetail deer with it, but from the way he handled it, he very evidently would never have swapped that carbine for an 8-cylinder Wills SteClaire and a pretty new wife!

         The traditional Mannlicher-Schoenauer, despite its two grave drawbacks—the midway positioning of the bolt handle gardly helps repeat-shot speed and the split-bridge receiver provides major scope-mounting limitations—is still desired by tradition-minded European hunters. They now have available calibers like 7x64 and 8x60, more potent than the original 6.5x53, 7x57 and 8x56 combinations of the early 1900s. So the Steyr plant is still turning them out, in very limited numbers. For a while, anyway.

         What is really coming off the machining lines in quantity is a New Steyr-Manlicher,  and I mean new—or neue, as we say in Austria—New, because the design is not only new to Steyr after some 70 years but is new in its approach to several basic design problems common among sporting rifles.

photo by zastava-arm.rs

1956-1967

by Dr.EUGENE SOCKUT

       The post-Sinai Campaign period saw another modernization of Israeli military small arms. The 8mm Mauser 98 was relegated to a second line  position, replaced by  the new Belgian 7.62 NATO FN FAL assault rifle. First produced in belgium, these were later made in Israel under contract from FN. in time most of the Mauser 98 irfles were rebarreled to the 7.62 NATO caliber. Bolt action rifles are still favored by many Israeli soldiers because of their greater accuracy.

       Officially, the Italian Beretta 1951 9mm semi-auto postol is the standard Israeli army handgun, but few are in service. Handguns are low-rated in Israeli military thinking; the Uzi SMG is portable enough to replace them, they feel. Handguns such as the 38 Enfield revolver, the 455 Webley revolver, as well as the Colt 45 auto postol are in common use among Israeli officers. The Israeli Police seem interested in the 9mm Colt Commander.

         In the 1950s Israel manufactured a few revolvers resembling the Smith and Wesson Military and Police Model. These used the rimless 9mm Parabellum cartridges in half-moon clips quite like those used in Colt and S&W 1917 revolvers chamberred for the 45 ACP loads. These revolvers served to demonstrate the level of quality production that Israeli Military Industries had achieved. Most were distributed as special presentation pieces.

Uzi Submachine Gun

by  Dr. EUGENE SOCKUT

     The 1956 Sinai Campaign established the reputation of an Israelidesigned and made 9mm Parabellum submachine gun called the “UZI” (pronounced OOO-zee). It was named after its designer, Maj. Uziel Gal, who had served time in jail under the British rule in Palestine for making submachine guns for the Jewish underground. Production of the weapon began in 1951.

      The Uzi has some very desirable characteristics. For example, the gripsafety acts on the sear, resembling that on the Clot 45 pistol, plus the usual trigger safety which also serves as the selector button. These help to prevent accidental discharge if the gun is dropped or jolted, features wery useful for paratroopers, “tankers,”or mobile infantry. It uses a grip magazine, again like the Colt 45, a convenience for night warfare, taking advantage of the “hand finds hand” concept. The grip also provides added protection for the 25,32 or 40-round magazine since a part of the latter is surrounded by metal. The Uzi has no external moving parts when the gun goes throgh the firing cycle, thus reducing the chances of jams if placed against an object.

      An unusual feature is the comparatively long barrel (10") in relation to the 25.2" over-all length of the weapon. This is achieved by machining a recess in the blot for the barrel. Thus bolt metal surrounds the barrel on three sides, helping to hold the weapon steady, damping upward climb during full automatic fire. The extensive use of metal stampings and heatresistant plastics insures ease of fabrication. Maintenance is relatively simple. For example, the barrel may be easily removed by unscrewing the barrel-locking nut by hand. The most widely-distributed SMG in the Western World, the Uzi is also, many experts say, one of the finest made anywhere.

       The Uzi is made in Israel by IMI(Israeli Military Industries) and in Belgium (under license) by FN. Because of its many excellent characteristics it is the standard NATO sbmachine gun, being in service in Belgium, West Germany and the Netherlands. It has also found acceptance in South America, Africa and the Far East.

photo by : word.guns.ru

1948-1956

by Dr. EUGENE SOCKUT

Israeli Prime Minister David BenGurion reflected that it was more efficient reflected that it was more efficient from a political and military standpoint to place such elite units as the Palmach under a single unified command. This was accomplished in November of 1948. Gen. Yigael Yadin, succeeding Gen. Yaakov Dori (Israel’s first chief of staff)established the structure of the new army. It was to be essentially one of reservists led by a small professional nucleus. Moshe Dayan, a protege of Ben-Gurion’s, and regarded as a military and organizational genius at an early stage in hiscareer, was put in command of Israel’s southern front with Egypt in 1949.

           Dayan felt that the morale, training and equipent of the army needed rejuvenation, that an elie unit would act as an ideal to emulate and help to establish a spirit of compettitiveness. The unit was formed and named Battalion 101 By 1953 its successful exploits had a beneficial effect on the army, and Ben-Gurion soon promoted Dayan over other senior officers to be Chief of Staff.

             Now Dayan began his full reorganizational concept in earnest. He recommended that:

              1.     Every officer should have paratroop or commando training.

              2.     The army was to be primarily a combat force, with every soldier undergoing combat duties.

              3.      A military college in Israel was to be immediately established for officers with the rank of major and above, and most officers were now to be Israeli trained.

             Dayan’s insistence on these three recommendations met some opposition, but in time they were all accepted as standard army policy.Experience has proven the value of his viewpoints.

           In time, Arab raids and the Arab blockade of Israele shipping in the Suez Canal and the Gulf of Aqaba triggered the outbreak of the Sinai Campaign of 1956. It was in this campaign that the new concepts of training and tactics established by Dayan proved highly successful, Israeli forces slashing across the Sinai peninsula in less than a hundred hours! But again, diplomatic pressures and the threat of  economic sanctions forced the Israelis to pull back from the Sinai, as it had in 1949. Then Great Britain threatened to intervene unless the Egyptians were given back this vast desert. Dayan, in the field with his victorious troops, helped them swallow this bitter political pill.

Photo by en.wikipedia.org

1948-Israeli War of Independence

by Dr. EUGENE SOCKUT

           During November of 1947, The United Nations divided the country originally promised by the League of Nations divided the country originally promised by the League of Nations to be the Jewish National Home into one Arab and one Jewish state. The Jews, desperate to resettle the survivors of the concentration camps of Europe, accepted this decree but the Arabs did not. With the departure of the British military forces in May of 1948, 8 Arab armies invaded Israel. Every able-bodied Jewish man and woman sprang to the defence, but the tremendous shortage of weapons and the chaotic mixture of calibers and types of guns made the small arms situation critical. Some Enfield 38 revolvers, 303 SMLEs, and Sten SMGs were taken from or secretly bought from departing British soldiers. Sympathetic Irish troops “lost” two tanks which the Jews found. Captured German infantry weapons, such as the MG42 LMG, Mauser rifles, Luger and Walther 9mm pistols, were brought home in bits and pieces by Jewish Palestinians who had fought with the Allies. Small numbers of light arms were brought in by plane and ship, many of them surplus American weapons collected in the U.S. by Jews and their sympathizers. Among these were Colt 45 autos, Springfield and Garand 30-60 rifles, M3s and Thompson submachine guns. Even two B-17 bombers were flown toward the Holy Land, one never getting further than the Azores. The FBI and the U.S. government seemed o wink t these shenaniigans, but the British tried to stop these arms shipments even after Israel achieved independence.

          Because of the small arms shortage many ingenious Rube Goldberg shotcuts were attempted. For example, the necessary machinery for making Sten barrels was not at hand. Old rifles were cannibalized and their barrels shortened and altered to fit Israelimade Sten guns In time, these were replaced by barrels locall produced. Another development was the fitting of Enfield rifles with Israeli-made grenade launchers. These were humorously stamped U.S.A. (Yiddish for Unserer Stickle Arbiet or Our Bit of Work.

           Another hastily-engineered product was the melting down of kitchen utensils into calings for hand grenades by the trapped Jewish forces in th besieged city of Jerusalem.

          Because of the shortage of such essential items as mortars, cannon and bazookas, the Israelis came forth with a mortar called the Davidka (Little David), designed by one David Leibovitz. These proved a godsend. Some 36 of them were fabricated from sewer pipe and steel rails, their projectiles making a tremendous noise when they landed. Though militarily ineffective they created panic among the enemy, who feared that the Jews had developed an atomic bomb! Nevertheless, effective as some of their arms were, the need for first class military hardware remained acute in the early stages of Israel’s War of Independence.

          The landing of large amounts of Czech-made light arms in operation Haseda (stork) helped ease the shortage, enabling the Israelis to open the road to Jerusalem and break the siege of that beleaguered city. These Czech arms consisted of 8mm Mauser rifles and MG34 LMGs, while another bonus was the shipment of large quantities of Polish hand grenades.

        The end of Israel’s War of Independence found the Israeli military in control of a mixed bag of light arms. It was felt that the 8mm Mauser rifle, the 9mm Sten and the 8mm Besa Medium MG were best suited for the young state’s defence needs, so these were accepted as standard. In time, Sten guns and Mauser rifles were entirely manufactured in Israel. Large amounts of non-standard weapons remained in stock, however, and were issued to regular army troous. The British SMLE303 rifle, a popular non-standard weapon, was issued in large numbers to regular army and border-defence settlements.

photo by : jewishsearch.com

1939-1948

by Dr. EUGENE SOCKUT

     The Hagana Command knew that erlatively few guns, spare parts, and munitions could be secretly gleaned from British Army depots, and that this small number could not meet their arms needs. Yehuda Arazi, a mysterious figure in Hagana undercover word, negotiated a secret agreement with Poland for 8mm Mauser bolt action rifles and “Browning Type” meedium machine guns of good quality, plus some Radom 9mm Parabellum pistols. Luckily, the British did not believe Arab reports that large planes had landed near their villages during the night. Needed raw materials were secretly imported for the Hagana underground workshops, which were expanding into production of light mortars and hand grenades. Submachine guns such as the 9mm Sten could now be manufactured along with the ammunition needed for them. Weapons were secretly stored in cellars, holes in the ground, and in the inner walls of buildings in the expectation of the conflict that all feared would follow the end of WWII.

     During May, 1939, the British issued a “White Paper” restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine. Moshe Dayan and some 42 Hagana men were imprisoned in the fortress at Acre because of their opposition to this policy. However, in 1941 the British position in the Mid-East was threatened by the pro-Nazi Vichy French governments of Syria and Lebanon. The British needed their immediate neutralization to prevent General Irwin Rommel’s Afrika Corps from linking up with a feared Vichy French thrust through Palestine. Ironically, the British were again forced to use the people who they dnew would and could do the job.

      Jewish volunteer Commando units were asked to protect the roads and bridges leading into Palestine. Dayan and his fellow prisoners were released and assigned to this task on the northern borders of Palestine. In one engagement, Dayan was looking through his field glasses when struck by a sniper’s bullet that drove one lens into his left eye, hence dayan’s famous black eye-patch. Another soldier seasoned during these battles was Yitzhak Racers, Shimon (Koch) Avidan and Israel Karmi. During the Hitler period German Fews had fled to Palestine by the tens of thousands. It was from these immigrants that the special units were formed. Armed with captured German weapons and uniforms, they gave an excellent account of themselves. A fictionalized version of their exploits was told in the Hollywook film Tobruk.

     Toward the end of 1943,parachute units of Jewish Palestinians, who had come from countries under Nazi domiwas raging another battle against the edicts of the British White Paper was being waged in Palestine. Jewish underground forces were divided into three groups: the Hagana, representing the majority of the population; the irgun Zvi-Leumi, a large right-wing group formed by Vladimer Jabotin sky, developer of the Jewish Legion of WW I, and the smallest group, the Lechi (fighters for the freedom of Israel) or Stern Gang, as the British called them. During WW II, unlike the Hagana and the Irgun, the Lechi (led by Abraham Stern)considered the British just as much the enemy as the Nazis, attacking British facilities and personnel with the same gusto the Irish Republican Army displayed during the “Irish Troubles.” After the war, the Irgun and then the Haganajoined in attacks on the British in palestine.

      The small arms of these underg. round forces ran the gamut of weapons available around the world. As a general rule, French arms prevailed in the north because of its proximity to the Vichy French battlefields. British arms were found in the rest of Palestine. Milk cans, cut in half, then rewelded and hermetically sealed, were a favorite hiding place for arms since they could be safely placed underground. The Sten SMG was most desired because of its simplicity, protability, and the ease with which it could be broken down and hidden in the skirts of female members of the resistance groups.

Special Night Squads

     Spring of 1938 saw a new Britishled Jewish force called “Special Night Squads,”  commanded by a brilliant British Army intelligence officer, Order Charles Wingate. Captain Wingate was a Bible-toting Protestant whose pro-Zionist opinions soon got him into trouble with the British Imperial Staff. The Special Night Squads atracted the brightest and bravest of the Hagana men, and daring commando raids testing new military tactics were the order of the day under Wingate.

     Captain Wingate’s actions and attitudes toward the Jews won him their love and respect—as well as the nickname Hayedid(friend). Wingate recalled the past military exploits of such Jewish generals as joshua and Gideon. Because the topography of the land had changed so little since biblical times, the tactics of those early Jews (sharp thrusts,mobility and carrying the battle to the enemy) were still valid. Wingate was later to find fame in masterminding the defeat of the Italians in Ethiopia during World WarII. He died in the Far East after organizing and leading a group called Chindis or “Wingate’s Raiders,” who fought against the Japanese in the Burma campaign. Today, in Israel, his name is still spoken with reverence, for Orde Charles Wingate, more than any man, helped to mould the character of the future army of Israel.

by Dr. EUGENE SOCKUT   

1936-1939

        Assisted by the Fascist Powers, a full scale Arab revolt broke out in 1936. Attacks were made on British forces stationed in Palestine under the League of Nations Mandate. These forces were there, ostensibly, to help form a “Jewish National Home,” but in actuality the British used the principle of divide-and-rule among the Arabs and Jews. Raids were made aginst British communications systms, police posts and army bases, against Jewish settlements. The British, reluctantly, were forced to rearm the Jews. Quasi-military units, called “Supernumerary Police,” were immedeately formed. These troops were issued such standard British military equipment as the SMLE 303 rifle, the Webley 455 revolver and the Lewis 303 MG. Meanwhile, the Hagana, which had changed its tactics from static defense to mobile offensive warfare, considered the Supernumerary Police an excellent training vehicle for future officers. One of the men the Hagana called to duty with the S.P. was young Moshe Dayan, then honeymooning in England. Meanwhile, the Hagana organized mobile field platoons, called “P.U.S.H,” placing and active duty lasted for a period of 6 months. Many of Israel’s future leaders were trained in these field units, among them Dayan and Yigal Allon (later to be Deputy Prime Minister of Israel), learning the new tactics of fluid warfare and surprise attack. A technique called “Hammer and Anvil” was developed whereby the anvil unit would ambush and engage an Arab force until the hammer group, led by Dayan, would join the conflict and crush resistance. Much in formation on firearms, logistics and tactics was cataloged for futrure use. An interesting development was a “cloth cartridge catcher” for the 9mm Hispano Suiza submachine gun. This device caught the tell-tale ejected shells.

UZI Submachine Gun

The Israeli Army 1920-1936

     In 1920 the region of Tel-Hai in northern Palestine saw large-scale attacks by Arab bands against Jewish settlements. In one of these battles the Jews lost Josef Trumpeldor, one of the founders of the Jewish Legion and the only Jew ever to win a commission in the Czar of Russia’s army. The need for a larger Jewish defense organization became apparent. A new group called the Hagana (Hebrew for"defense")replaced Hashomer. Hagana members were trained in the use of small arms and unit warfare;some of the arms were bought in vienna. As usual after a war, these were surplus military weapons of the period—the Austrian 1907 Roth-Steyr 8mm pistol, the 1912 Steyr 9mm pistol, and The Austrian 1888/90 8mm straight pull rifle and the Austrian Schwarzlose 8mm machine gun M07/12 were also used by the Hagana.

        “Our task is not to kill, but to defend ourselves,” Became the motto of the Hagana. Havalagah (restraint)described the mood that prevailed among these settlers, who could best be described as “reluctant warriors.”

         In 1929 disturbances broke out once again. After a 7-year period of relative peace, Arab mobs incited by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem attacked isolated Jewish settlements.  It soon became aparen to the Hagana high command that their forces would have to be quickly expanded to meet the new challenge. The country was then divided into 20 regional centers, each commanded by a trained officer, to furnish needed protection to the  isolated settlements. Special training courses for officers were immediately instituted to enable he Haganah to cope with the new situation. Since light arms continued to be bought from many sources, ammunition supply became a nightmare. Pistols, for example, ranged from the lowly 22 rimfire to the 455. Extablishment of secret underground workshops to make small arms, components and ammunition relieved this problem to a certain extent.

The Israeli Army 1904-1920

by Dr. EUGENE SOCKUT

     Spurred on by these early successes, dozens of new Jewish setlements were built in the areas of Galilee, Samaria and Judea. It soon became necessary to expand the Shomrim into a larger and better-trained force called Hashomer. Carridge rifles and pistols became more prevalent though no standardization of weapons was feasible. Mauser, Luger and other pistols of 7.62 and 9mm Parabellum calibers were in service as well as various 25, 32 and 380 semi-automatic pistols. Large caliber revolvers of Russian and British design became common after the end of WWI.

     The out break of World War I had found the allies in a life and death struggle with the Central Powers. One of these was Turkey. One of these was Turkey, whose empire extended throughout the Middle East. Palestine and Trans-Jordan, part of this empire, were promised to the Jewish people in exchange for their support of the Allied Powers. The Arabs, whose support was also sought,were promised the larger portions of the empire, these later to become Iraq,Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf sheikdoms. The Emir Feisal, leader of the Arabs, welcomed this arrangement between Arab, Jew and Englishman, but the honeymoon was to prove short lived.

      During WW I, Jews fought in an Allied unit called the Jewish Legion. They were armed with the standard British infantry small arms of the period—the SMLE Mark I bolt action rifle, the Webley 455 top-break revolver, and the Levis 303 machine gun. Tranining and tactics were decidedly British, Organized by a brilliant Jewish soldier, Vladimir Jabotinsky, the Legion consisted of such units as the 1st Judean Regiment—raised in the U.S. by David BenGurion, and the Third Palestine Battalion, soldiered by Jews from Palestine. These units fought under Field Marshall Allenby, and were commanded by a pro-Zionist colonel named Patterson, a regular British army officer. Arab soldiers were led by T.E. Lawrence, the famed Lawrence of Arabia, who was simultaneously pro-Zionist and pro-Arab.

       After the Armistice of 1918, the British disbanded the Jewish units and confiscated their weapons. How ever, experience with British military methods of logistics, training and tactics was to prove invaluable in the future for the Jews of Palestine. Some British light arms were “liberated” by the returning soldiers. 

The Israeli Army 1878-1904

by Dr.EUGENE SOCKUT

      Prior to 1874, most of the Jews living in Palestine were native born. A few traced their ancestry back to the Jewish-Roman Wars of 70 A.D., which resulted in the destruction of the Second Jewish Commonwealth, and changed the “land of milk and honey”into a desolate, eroded place—land not to be independent again until the birth of modern Israel in 1948.

        During the 1870s, Jews began retruning to the Holy Land, driven by their belief that the rebirth of an independent Jewish nation promised by the prophet Isaiah was at hand. Though many Jews had hone to the Holy Land throughout the exile, the first successful mass movement began at this time. This phenomenon was called Zionism, a rebirth of Zion, the Land of Israel. A gathering in of the scttered Jewish people was its goal.

      The small arms of these early Zionists were representative of the period, consisting mainly of black powder muzzle-loading and cartridge guns of mixed origin, but chiefly European.Because of incessant Bedouin Arab attacks, the pioneers constructed defense walls around their settlements which resembled the stockades of the early American pioneers. Like the early American settlers, they found it necessary to train themselves in the use of small arms. This led to the development of a defense force called Shomrim (watchmen), whose duty was to guard the settlement’s livestock and rields. In the historical exhibition of the Hagana Museum in Tel-Aviv, there can be seen, along with ancient muzzleloaders, a “shilalee,” hand carved by an old rabbi tired of being set upon by Arab ruffians as he went to prayers.

The Israeli Army

a history of its small arms, tactics and training.

What enabled a nation of less than three million people to defeat a foc backed by a populace almost fifty times their number? Arms, yes, but much more than that—Israel’s secret weapon is the fantastic spirit of her people, their firm belief that they cannot lose a battle, much less a war.      by Dr. EUGENE SOCKUT : THE GUN DIGEST

       THE HISTORY of Israeli military small arms procurement, development, manufacture and use is directly related to the establishment and growth of the Third Jewish Commonwealth in hisory. In biblical times, as well as today, the land of Israel found itself surrounded by a succession of would be conquerors. Situated at the crossroads of three  continents—Europe, Asia and Africa, Israel,s very geographical position made it mandatory for them to take up arms for self-defense.

     Three times in the past 22 years the world witnessed events as miraculous as the biblical military victories of Joshua over the Philistines. In the Arab-Israeli Wars of 1948,1956 and1967, tiny israel succeeded in vanquishing enemies whose numbers of men, quantity and quality of war materiel should have resulted in the total destruction of the Fewish State. What factors contributed to the ability of a nation of 2.5 million to defeat forces backed by populations almost 50 times its size? Tracing the small arms history of the Yishuv, (Hebrew name for the Fewish commuity of the Holy Land)best illustrates the ability of a people to persevere against insuperable odds and emerge victorious.

photo: balagan.org.uk

The National Rifle Club

introduction and notes by John T. Amber

The story of an 1886 shoot between the last of the great muzzle-loading marksmen and the breech-loaking upstarts from Walnut Hill.

WE ARE particularly pleased to reprint this account of a great event in shooting history from the 1886 pages of Firest & Stream. It was the occasion, apparently, of the first shoulder-to-shoulder contest between the die-hard advocates of the muqqle-loading rest rifle and several noted marksmen using the newfangled breechloaders (these las had only been in use generally for some dozen years.)

       Mr.Murray Leyde of Painesville, Ohio, an old friend, was kind enough to send me a photo copy of the old account. In it I learned exactly how string measurements were made in that period, clearly and withcut question—as you will learn in your reading of the report. It had been assumed that the technique was pretty much as the anonymous correspondent has it, but here is the exact methodology outlined. Briefly, each shot in the string was measured from the intersection of the diagonal lines to the bullet hole, then the 10 measurements were simply added together

It is difficult to compare these old string scores with today’s targets—most commonly measured from center to center of the bullet holes farethest apart—unless a reproduction to a know scale of the old target is available for measuring. In the present instance we have two of them to assess.

      Fletcher’s first string measures 2 5/8" center to center, the string total 9 7/16 " as the table shows. Brown’s third string measures 3 9/16"—almost a full inch greater than Fletcher’s—but Brown’s string score on histen shots is 9 13/16", or only 3/8" worse. Fletcher’s group is quite obviously a better one than Brown’s, but simply reading the string measurements would not have revealed the graphic difference.

       Another nice bit of source data given in this 1886 report is the quite exact load information put down for most of the contestants, to say nothing of the drawing that depicts, to scale, the variety of bullets used by 15 of the marksmen.

     Further comments will appear in the text, set inside brackets.

Other Garcia/Berettas

by JOHN T. AMBER

The AL-2 gas- operated autoloader (make in 12-and 20-gauge) has some new touches this year. Buttstock and fore-end show more checkering, in a new pattern, treatment of the now capped pistol grip has been improved, and the fore-end offers a wider, more hand-filling form. Field guns show new de luxe engraving, with additional amounts on Skeet and trap models. Easy and virtually complete disassembly of the AL-2 permits quick cleaning and inspection, a much-neglected job with some other autos. Extra barrels are readily exchanged, too, without tools or initial factory fitting.

         The AL-2 offers extra safety, too—live shells can e removed from the magazine without shuffling them through action, and a heavy, hardened steel block cams the firing pin back until the bolt is lully home.

          The rest of the large Garcia-beretta line continues in production—there’s an inexpensive single-barrel folding gun in 12 or 20; another single made in 12 gauge only, the TR-1 or TR-2, and an excellent buy in a trapgun at its low $160 cost($185 for the vent-rib TR-2); the fine Beretta BR series, a range of side-by-side doubles in 12- and 20-gauge, I consider Best Buys in their type class: the GR-4, made with single selective trigger, ventilated rib, auto ejectors and a semi-beavertail fore-end, is an especially good value.

        The Beretta SL-2, a recrently-introduced pump 12 bore that exhibits numerous excellent features, appears to have been taken off the Garcia list, perhaps pro tem.

        Beretta will be delivering a single barrl trapgun before long, Dick Wolf has told me. This will be on the BL frame, their boxlock gun, and the tentative designation is the Mark II.

Garcia-F.I.

by JOHN T. AMBER

The two rifles on our back covers are from Firearms International, an organization well and favorably known, that was recently acquired by Garcia.

       The smaller rifle seen is the Sako Vixen, called by F.I. the “most accurate production rifle in the world.” Well, that’s a claim that takes in anawful lot of territory, but it is true that a Sako rifle, a 222 right off the shelf and without tuning, once set a world records at 100 yards in a National Bench Rest Rifle Assn. shoot—10 shots in the Light  Varmint class making a target only .209" center-to-center.

      Will they all do that well, sans tuning and whatever? I doubt it. Yet no one can deny that’s a mighty nice performance, and it is indicative of what the Sako L-461 actioned rifle can do, and it is equally true that the L-461 action—with or without Sako barrel—has been a much-sought-after item for many years—when it could be bought! They were a scarce unit for a long time, but the supply seems to be in better shape nowadays. The Sako Vixen rifles are made in only three calibers—222,222 Magnum and 223. The rifles come in three styles; a standard Sporter, a Heavy Barreled version, and in Carbine form, with full length or Mannlicher stock and a 20" barrel. The others use a 23 1/2" barrel.

 

     The other Sako pictured on our back cover is the Finnbear (L-61), made only as a half-stocked sporter and in such bigger calibers as 270,30-06 and most of the belted magnum calibers, including the newly added 375 H&H. A rugged and well-built action, the Finnbear, and very well suited to the more potent big game loads.

       The rest of the Garcia F.I. line continues pretty much intact, though there have been some product  changers since a year ago. The Sako Forester bolt acion and the Finnwolf lever action rifles show no change, nor does the F.N. Supreme bolt action rifle line.

     The AYA shotgun line—a sidelock double and three boxlock side-by-sides-has been dropped, it appears, and the Lasalle auto and pump shotguns are no longer listed. The Musketeer rifles, Mauser-actioned, have been retained, and a new line of doublebarreled shothuns—with outside hammers—has been added to the list. The "Overland" arms are made by Rossi in Brazil, suppliers also of the Regent Gallery Model 22 slide-action rifle and Presentation revolvers (22 LR and 38 Special), new on the F.I. list

      F.I. still carries the Gaucho, Star, Astra Cadix, Regent, Taurus and Unique handguns—revolvers and autos—but not in quite as full an array as before, thanks doubtless to the stringencies of the GCA 1968 in good part.

picture by: common.wikimedia.org,shooterforum.com

Beretta BL Series

The  other over-under double gun on our front cover is one of Garcia’s BL series, a line of high quality boxlock guns in the popular price range—a gamut these days that runs from about $200 to $500, with a few models at the top end commanding a price a bit higher.

     There are 5 models in the BL group, and all of them have several features of construction in common, important aspects they all share. First there’s the low profile of the BL reciver, achieved through an unusual—perhaps unique—method of hinging and barrel lockup. The hinge pins are located at a point alongside the middle of the lower barrel, not underneath as with so many other overunders. There are no underlugs on the Beretta BL barrels, thhus a considerably shorter receiver, top to bottom, is obtained. This makes for a gun easier to handle, lighter over-all, stronger and, because the mass of the receiver is around the barrels, not below them, recoil is reduced and a second shot can be got off faster.

         Recoil—felt recoil, That is—is reduced because thrust is more directly rearwards, and lessened muzzle lift means getting back on the sightsfaster for that second shot.

         A second common factor in all BL guns is barrel construction. Barrels, of chrome-moly steel, are processed at the Beretta factory through all steps from the raw, forged solid billet through boring, reaming and chambering to the point where they’re ready for insertion into the Monobloc breeches. All machining is done on the Monobloc, none on the barrels, where the attachment of lugs, ribs,etc., requires shot heating and the attendant danger of distorsion and alteration of tensile strength. In addition, the Monobloc technique of mounting barrels results in a much stronger system.

       A third feature of all BL Berettas is a clever and foolproof barrel selector system.

       In many double guns, the top-tang sliding safety combines with a button or whatever to let the shooter switch from top barrel to bottom—or vice versa—and in this system it’s necessary, usually, to shove the safety back to the ‘Safe’ position before changing barrels. Not so with Beretta’s BL doubles—the changeover can be made instantly, whether the safety is on ‘Safe’ or not. An excellent idea, and one that could well let you kill that bird that you could have failed to grass with a selector button you had to fumble with.

      Mainsprings in all BL guns are of coiled type, made of the best Swedish steel; breech faces are grooved to deflect and carry gases away if a primer fails, and all BL guns show careful attention to excellent fit of wood to metal, of meticulous filing, stoning and smooth-working assemble of internal parts for perfect functioning and dependable operation.

        From here on, however, the BL grades differ: BL-1 is a 2 trigger gun, made without a barrel rib, but the front trigger is hinged, a feature usually found only on guns with a much higher price tag—this lets you find the rear trigger faster, and also keeps your trigger finger from banging into the back of the front trigger when the rear trigger is touched off.

The BL-2 is like the BL-1 but has a single selective trigger, and both are available only in 12 gauge field grade, with 26",28" or 30" barrels.

    The BL-3 comes with a ventilated rib, nicely matted, a single trigger of selective type and plain extractors. Engraving on the BL-3 is of better quality and more extensive, and new this year are BL-3s in 20- and 28- gauge, offered in both 3" Magnum chambering and as Skeet guns with 2 1/2"  chambers. A 12-gauge 3" Magnum is also on the list, as are 12-gauge Skeet and trapguns. These target type BL-3s are &25 extra, but that also covers special sears, a manual safety, middle sights and straighter stocks, with Monte Carlo combs, and a trap-style recoil pad on the BL-3 Trap Gun.

    The BL-4 (the style shown on) and the  BL-5 are alike except for the latter offering a fully engraved, gray-finished receiver, better quality wood and finer, more extensive checkering. Both have auto ejeectors, all other features of the BL-1,BL-2 and BL-3 guns mentioned, and both are available in the some wide choece of gauges listed for the BL-3.

         Standard stock dimensions for all five BL 12, 20 and 28 Field and skeet grakes are:1 1/2"x2 1/2"x14 1/8" but trapguns have a trigger pull length of 14 3/8", with drop figures of 1 3/8" by 13/4". All can be had with extra sets of barrels, though differing a bit with in grades as to chokes, lengths and price, of course.

picture by: the spoting life.net, shotingtime.co.uk,proguns.com

                  

Garcia Guns 1970 (3)

     All other SO over-unders—which start with the SO-2 (I don’t know why there isn’t an SO-1!) and run through the SO-3 and SO-4—are equally the  well-built and offer the same functional features as does the SO-5. The essential differences are in the embellishments and visual aspects of one grade against the other—the wood quality, the engraving, the checkering and so on.

     What does this Iuxuriousness cost? Well, the SO-5 guns carry a catalog price of $1750, to which you’d and something for the options mentioned Extra barrels ordered with the SO-5are $460. The SO-2 grade lists for #950, extra barrels $365, while the SO-4 and SO-4 guns are in between. Whatever grade, a fair amount of money is involved,no question about that. Still, just ablut everyone of you reading this owns an automobile in one price class or another, and in a year or three you’ll be buying another. You’ll spend anywhere from a minimum of $2000 or so up to $5000 and more (and these figures might rise to $3000-$6000 if inflation keeps up, as it looks like doing). yet in a few short years most of those new cars will be ready for the junkyard. In the interim, more thousands of dollars will have been spent on fuel and care, heavy insurance charges, tires and the like.

     Now, that doesn’t happen when you buy—invest is a better and truer term—a really first class shotgun, believe me. Let’s say you put $1500 or so into a fine smoothbore, and that you give it decent care over the next 5 or 10 years. At the end of that time, say 10 years or so, it’s an absolute verity that your top grade double gun is going to be worth more than you paid for it, assuming that the dollar is going to continue to lose value—which is just what it has been doing for 150 years or more, notwithstanding the temporary reversals of the trend brought about by such catastrophes as our Great Depression of the 1930s.

     Don’t you wish—those of you who were young men or a bit beyond that in the late 1930's—that you had bought a Parker VHE or a Model 21 Winchester when both could be had at a full retail price of about $150?

That price bought either of these fine—if relatively plain—guns with fancy wood, beavertail fore-end, single selective triggers, auto ejectors and ventilated ribs—plus a quality of workmanship and detailing hard to come by in American firearms to day.

     I know! That $150 or so wasn’t burning a hole in many pockets in 1938-1940, but I don’t imagine that  a spare $1000-$1800 is much more readily to hand today. Nevertheless, these are the money machanics I’m pointing up; how to solve ‘ em is where you come in.

     Gee, I wish I’d had sense enough in 1939 to buy one of those Parkers at $150, or one of their GHE or DHE grades at…

     Two brand new Berettas are on the Garcia list for 1970. These, the SO-6 and the SO-7, are side-by-side doubles that equal the top grade So-4 and SO-5 over-unders in quality and lavishness of treatment generally, in the variety of chokes and barrel lengths offered, and in the optional constructional details and dimensions to be had on special order. We’ve not as familiar with these latest Berettas as we’d like to be, but Berettas in this quality and price bracket ($1360-$1820) leave little to be desired and nothing to criticeze.

Garcia Guns 1970(2)

The SO-5 locks are of the fullydetachable sidelock form, of extremely

simple and rugged construction. All friction surfaces are specially hard-

ened, and all inside action parts are hard chrome-plated. Barrel locking

is by means of two lugs extending from either side of the upper barrel into mating slots in the standing breech, these locked in place by a modified Greener crossbolt system

     Barrels for the Crown Grade Berettas are made from the best barrel metal to be had—Bohler Antinit(rustless) steel, made in Austria—and that’s true of all SO-series barrels. Made normally in 26- and 28-inc length and 12 gauge only, the regular boring in improved cylinder/modified and modified/full respectively. On special order, though, barrels can be had with any choice of choking, and from 26 to 30 inches Ventilated ribs are furnished on all SO-series guns, and all have a matted, knurled top to kill glare. SO-4 and SO-5 ribs are hand matted. Barrels may be ordered with chrome-plated bores, if desired.

     Two triggers are sual on all of the SO-series over-under doubles, but  selective single triggers are available Auto ejectors are standard, as is an auto safety, but a manual safety may be ordered.

     All SO Beretas carry hand-cut engraving, but the SO-5 grade will illustrate. carries the finest and most lavish. The deep relief chiseling is perfectly executed and covers virtually  all metal except the barrels, in cluding screw heads, tangs, fore-end release, etc. The thumb-piece of the top-snap opening lever is filigreed(pierced)and engraved, and a superbly done gold crown is inlaid in the broad top lever.

 

Garcia guns 1970 (1)

by JOHN T. AMBER
Here's full descriptive data on the Beretta shotguns and the
Sako rifles that appear on our front and back covers,
plus a rundown on the full Garcia-Beretta-FI lines in general.

     Garcia Sporting Arms Corporation--which became the sole distributor of
Beretta shotguns last year, and took over Firearms International more re-
cently--furnished us with the Beretta and Sako arms pictured in full color
on the front and back cover of this 25th Silver Anniversary edition of the
Gun Digest.
  
     One of the world's finest overunder shothuns, the Beretta Crown Grade
SO-5, was selected for one of the two smoothbores shown on our
front cover. The SO-5 is the top overunder shotgun in Beretta's extensive
line, and everyone is a masterpicec that exhibits the combined skills and
artistry of the gunsmith, the stocker and engraver. Only the finest and
fanciest-figure Curopean walnut is used, the checkering is extra fine-
line, and the most careful, painstaking attention is lavished on inletting,
fitting-up and jointing to the metal. Buttstocks and fore-ends are cut from
the same bland, of course, for full matching of grain flow and color. A
hand-rubbed oil finish is standard, but glossy or wax finishes are optional.
The standard stock on the Crown Grade is a pistol-grip type that measures
1 1/2 inches drop at the comb bose, 2 1/2 inches at the heel, with a
14 1/8-inch pull length. However, on special order stocks can be made to
the customer's specifications, and straight-hand or pistol grip as desider.
read more

Collecting

The Gun Digest

     The some extent, all riflemen and hunters are collectors. My armory
consists of many rifles, combining the best skills and craftsmanship that
modern manufacturing can produce. All shoot and shoot well. They are
not antiques in any respect and, by some standards would not be called
a collection. They aren't used very often. and certainly not enough to
justify their cost and care. Yet, they are among my most treasured pos-
sesions--their value being primarily intangible. Since there is more than
one rifle in the rack. and since valueis measured by more than more
utility, by my definition it has to be a collection.

     Most collcetions of things aren't worth much in cash, and will hardly
ever alter history. Their value is measured in other ways. It is of such stuff
that museums are made, filled with wondrous things that stir the imagi-
nation and kindle stange fires. The past should be preserved. Not to
escape the present, but to bring contentment for things accomplished and
condition the perspective of the future. I think this applies equally to
the advertising arts as well as the masterpieces of the gunsmiths.

     When I think of the adventurous scenes of hunters and campfires,
black bear and elk that once graced thousands of firearms advertising en-
velopes, it makes me wonder how many postal clerks, circa 1910, might
have been stirred to less mundane activities after seeing dozens of these
covers pass through their hands. I wonder if any one of them quit his
job, bought a rifle, a box of new somkeless shells, and left for the
North country....I think I would have.

Care and Cleaning

The Gun Degest


     In the beginning, questions may arise as to the best means of storage
and display or, if a somewhat soiled cover is obtained, a bit of judicious
cleaning may be necessary.


     The best help in  both these respects will usually be from a local
stamp dealer. Like some gunsmiths and sporting goods dealers, he is apt
to spend as much time giving worthwhile advice on sundry matters as he
does working.


     The ideal arrangement is to provide protection for the cover yet make it
possible to view both sides of the envelope, should advertising be so 
imprinted. This can be done cheaply with transparent glassine envelopes.
Higher in cost are book-like cover albums similar o photo albums. Several
dozen covers may be effectively stored in such albums. Each cover is
encased in a slip-through acetate pocket so hinged that both sides may
be examined. Whichever the choice, protection from soiled hands and care-
less handling is provided. The covers may be old and brittle, They are 
scarce and care should be taken to preserve them.


     Do not mount covers with cellophane pressure tape. This otherwise
useful product starts disintegrating in a few months. It will stick to and
stain any paper product to which it is attached or that comes in contact
with it.


     Firearms covers obtained through dealers or at auction are usually quite
clean but sometimes pencil marks are found on the envelopes. The collector
 may find these distasteful, but such markings can be effectively 
erased by a soft art-gum eraser. In fact, the art-gum eraser can be trusted
to accomplish most, if not all, cleaning of soiled areas caused by grease or 
other dirt. Liquid cleaners should be avoided since they may adversely
affect the envelope paper, the glue holding the cover together, or the
inks used in printing.


     Framing a group of firearms covers is another way to provide both pro-
tection and an ttractive display. Arranged formally or informally, perhaps 
with an original or a photo copy of an advertising broadside or circular,
a small collection would provide a touch of color and nostaalgia suitable
for den or gunroom.

Sources of Supply

The Gun Digest:by Robert F. Denny


     Quite possibly there are hoards of such firearms advertising stacked
away in attics or correspondence bins of some old hardware stores. The
treasures that may be found for the price of an hour's conversation and a
cup of coffee could amaze the collector. Should nothing result, the time
spent would be in good company.

     A better source is the dealer in United States stamps and covers.
Occasionally a dealer will be found who is not aware of the increasing
interest in firearms advertising and, therefrome, covers may be obtained
at a lower price. The number of such naive dealers is slowly diminishing.

     Members of the American Stamp Dealers Association are a good
source, and can be counted on to provide fair and reasonable service.
Here are some men I've dealt with:
     Samuel C. Paige,45 Bromfield St., Boston, Mass. 02108
     W. T. Pollitz, 45 Bromfield St., Boston, Mass. 02108
     Charles J. Molnar, 1246 Summit Drive, Cleveland, O. 44124
     Stanley H. Waite, 3 Washburn Terrace, Brookline 46, Mass.
     Harrington's Stamp shop, Deansboro, N. Y. 13328
     E. N. Sampson, Box 162, Hammond, N. Y. 13646
     Frank S. Landers, 155 Woodbury Rd., Huntington, L.I., N.Y.
     R. H. Hess, P. O. Box 3145, Inglewood, Calif., 90304

"Sticky Mosin Nagant Bolt? Making your Mosin Rock part 1" M91/30 M38 M44...

Color Covers

     In the 1890s covers were most often printed in but one color. The cover
in fig. 10, dated 1893, is printed in a light brown. Blue, black, orange, and
red were also used, perhaps others.

     As the years passed, however, monochrome printing evolved into bicolor
and, by the early part of the 20th century, hunting and game scenes
blossomed out in multicolor lithog graphy. Soon all shades and color
combinations were in use.  In most instances inks were carefully chosen
to picture the hunting and wild game scenes in natural color. The results
exemplify the high standards of lithographic art attained at that time.
    
     Colors chosen for the printed messages and trademarks reflected the
individual companies' taste. Winchester, for example, used bringht red for
most of its inscriptions. Observant readers will recognize that the same
color is still used by this company today.
 
     A lithographers catalog picturing samples of firearms advertising available
to manufacturers of rifies, powder and cartridges would be invaluable
to the collector. My efforts to locate such a treasure have been futile.
Many dealers and philatelists and a few firearms enthusasts know
of their existence, but no one has much additional information. Perhaps
this article will provide the impetus to someone to investigate the story
more fully.

Infinite Variety

By Robert F. Denny

     Desings were as varied as  they were tasteful. Some, as figs. 3 and 4
denote, were intended to be only artistic. Others (figs. 5 and 6 ) are
adventurous. The hard-sell of  presentday advertising is approached in figs.
7 and 8, the soft-sell in fig. 9. Occasionall humor and danger were indicated.
One cover pictured a wellequipped rifleman and a brown bear
high on a rocky ledge, apparently hunting each other.

     Women received attention, too. Several covers show lady trapshooters or
ladies afield with dog and gun. All were properly attired, of course, as
befitting the sport.

     Winchester and Remington, as might be expected, seem to have been
the most prolific with envelopes of various designs. They certainly offered
some of the most adventurous illustrations ever to pass through a postman's
hands. What spirit of restlessness must have been generated in the
hearts of some by the picture of a hunter on snowshoes tracking game,
or the view of three elk, one with a massive head, crashing through a
primitive forest.

      Designs were chosen to exemplify the company's stock in trade. The
J. Stevens Arms and Tool Company often pictured a target shooter, offhand
position of course, equipped with the then new Stevens'Pope target
refle. Open field scenes, bird dogs,or people engaged in trapshooting
were pictured to advertise shotguns. Game birds were a favorite of gun
powder companies. Other covers pictured wild turkeys. Indians on horseback,
campfire scenes, bears, cougars, and bird dogs; all tatefully and artistically
crafted.

     Early  covers usually pictured only a finely engraved cut of a shotgun or
rifle. Verbal descriptions of course, were included.

     Advertising was often printed on both sides of the envelope. Figs. 4a
through 6a illustrate the attempt to obtain a mazimum amount of the advertising
from a minimum  amount of envelope. Generally the front of the
cover presented the hunting or the wild game scene, the back of the envelope
reserved for the printed message. Occasionally, smaller illustration
of firearms were also printed on the back in conjunction with the printed matter.
    
     Few covers provided complete illustrations or pictorial matter on both
sides. One cover, issued by Peters depicted a wild turkey covering half
the face of the envelope while the reverse side was illustrated with 10
different cartridges and shotshells. Both sides are in full color.

Issuing Companies

     Perhaps every firearms, gun powder and cartridge manufactruer issued
envelopes to their retailers and jobbers. The list below is undoubtedly
incomplete. It represens all such companies that can be accounted for
through personal acquaintance with some 60or70 advertising covers.

     Firearms: Winchester, Remington, Ithaca, Sauer, Hunter Arms Company
(L.C.Smith), Stevens, Savage, Colt, Parker, Marlin and Iver Johnson.

     Cartridges: Remington, UMC, U.S. Cartridge Co. and Peters.
      Gun Powder: Hercules, Laflin and Rand, DuPont,Atlas,Hazard and
Sycamore.

       The Hardware or sporting goods stores that had use of such advertising
prebably numbers in the hundreds or housands since I have seldom
seen two covers that originated from the same retailer.

Airsoft gun collection

Development and Usage

                                          classichuntingcollections.com


          It is doubtful if any one factor was responsible for the development of
such advertising media as the lowly envelope. The fad blossomed about
1890 and continued for a period of about 30 years.
           Undoubtedly advertisers and lithograpers were influenced to a great
extent by the popularity of the illustrated patriotic covers that were
sold by the millions during the Civil War. They may have reasoned that
if people had enfoyed looking at envelopes of the then current war
 propaganda that they might enjoy attractive hunting scenes or a picture
of a new rifle. If such works of art also included a pitch for a new product
they were justified.
           Firearms and gun powder were not the only products so-advertised.
Tool,hardware, farm implement and carriage companies also did their best
to out-advertise each other. About 1910 the automobile industry began a
similar campaign. Soon tire chains and carburetors,engines and gasoline
were pictrued, in color, on the fronts and backs of commercial envelopes.
             However, it appears that most of the firearms advertising covers
were seldom seen by the buying public. As the photographs show, most
envelopes were eventually sent to dealers and wholesalers. Apparently
few were used for the billing of customers or personal correspondence.
From the collector's point of view, perhaps, it is good that this occurred.
Most individual recipients would have had little reason to preserve an
envelope for the enfoyment of a future generation. It was the practice of
industrial concerns in those days, however, to file both letter and
envelope as records of correspondence. These were preserved until such
 time as the company disbanded or made an effort to clean out its files.
           Such advertising was not restricted to the United States. As figs.
1 and 2 illustrate, various firearms companies with international sales issued
such envelopes, appropriately printed in the proper language, to their foreign
distributors. Such covers are rare today; the only two the author has seen
are those illustrated.

by: The Gun Digest

Price and value

by: classichuntingcollectibles.com

          The prices came as a shock. After one auction I obtained a copy of the

auction prices. I obtained a copy of the auction prices. My mail bids, guessed

at in haste and with little knowledge, were low by one-fifth! Since then,

however, I've purchased similar material for as little as fifty cents. At

the other extreme, I' ve seen covers with price tags up to $11.50 and

heard of some that were sold for $20 and $25. Like many other artistic

and historic objects, there appear to be no accepted price standards .

Through experience and inquiries,however, certain general statements

about prices and pricing can be made.

          Prices realized for such covers at auctions are usually somewhat

higherthan open-market costs. To some extent, this is caused by the

excitement of auction proceedings--auction fever! More influential,

however, is the generally better-quality material offered at auctions.

         Average over-the-counter prices are about $4.00. Unused envelopes,

thatis, covers that do not indicate positive routing through a Post Office at

the time of issue, usually cost about $1.00.

          Pricses for firearms covers in the past have been generally

established by the stamp trade. The philatelist, for example,if interested in

 advertisingcovers might very well pay $5 for an illustrated cover, irrespective

of the merchandise advertised, That the cover illustrates firearms is immaterial.

              Dealers' prices are based primarily upon three factors: 1) scarcity,
2)condition, and 3) demand. Unfortunately, all covers displaying firearms
are scarce. Auction prices also indicate that some collectors of firearms
covers haves have rather high incomes. Covers dated in the 1880s or '90s
 bringhigher prices than those of the early 20th century. In all instances,
covers that have been through the mails and postmarked have much higher
 price tag than unused covers. To the philatelist, the reason is apparent. To
the firearms enthusiast, however, postal usage is of little concern so
long as a guarantee is obtained that the cover is a genuine original. Given
two covers with identical designs, one in multicolor and the other
 monochrome, the colored cover would  reap the highest bid.

             condition relates to the over-all neatness of the cover, the stamp,
andthe postmark. Clean, unripped advertising covers convey higher prices
 than soiled and  damaged covers Strangely enough, the postage stamp
affixed to the cover, wxcept in rare instances, does not affect cover value
It seems That stamps used for most mail at the turn of the century
have little more philatelic value than the common postage stamps used today.
Condition of the stamp and postmark however, if it distracts from
the cover's over-all neatness, adversely affects price.

              Demand for such covers from the rifle fraternity has been pretty
 light,probably because of a lack of acquaintance with them. Doubtlessly
this will change. There is, however, a steady demand from our philatelic
brethren, but it does not seem to increased as fast as coins or antique firearms.

           United States stamps and covers in good or excellent condition,
particularly those of the 19th and early 20th century, in spite of war, famine
anddepression, have always increased in dollar value at a rate comparable
 to or exceeding that of other investments. There is no reason to believe
that firearms advertising cover will not react similarly.
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Gun Digest
1971 Silver anniversary Deluxe Edition