HUNTX3 — New Digital Hunting Magazine Debuts on Web

HUNTX3, a new all-digital hunting magazine, launched this week. You’ll find a full-featured website at HuntX3.com. There you can access gear reviews, videos, news feeds, and popular articles. But that’s just the beginning. The “heart” of HUNTX3 is a flash-based, interactive e-Zine that displays like a conventional print magazine with “double-truck” layouts, flip-page navigation, and full-page ads. The e-Zine even has embedded video and audio — and all content is FREE. As a rule, we generally don’t favor these print-magazine mimicking formats. They take a long time to load, and seem less reader-friendly than conventional web pages. On the other hand, HUNTX3’s e-Zine layout allows for large photos, and impressive two-page spreads. The premier issue of HUNTX3 Digital Magazine features many articles of interest for bow-hunters and big game hunters. There are excellent stories about elk hunting in Utah, Red Stag hunting in New Zealand, and Dall Sheep hunting in the Canadian Yukon.

High-Tech Hunt Planning with Google Earth
HUNTX3’s premier issue also includes a fascinating article by Toxie Givens explaining how to use Google Earth satellite photos to monitor game stands and plan a deer hunt. The article shows how you can define club boundaries, and plot the location of feeding stations, deer stands, and trail cameras. Using Google Earth, you can even mark locations where game has been taken in the past, link trail cam photos, and superimpose current weather conditions.

Givens explains: “I keep a record of the location where every deer is taken… for every year we have been hunting. This is great information to see where the most successful areas are on the club. Using Google Earth you can get the Weather Radar superimposed on your location. Furthermore Google Earth is capable of geo-caching [trail camera] photos to GPS points.”

Happy Holidays to our Readers Around the World

We wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. We hope you’re enjoying time with your family today, whether you’re basking in the sun in Australia, or shoveling snow up in Finland near the Arctic Circle.

We want to take this opportunity to thank all the folks who have generously donated to the site over the past year. (Please, if you’ve donated and are a Forum member, tell us your Forum “nickname” so we can acknowledge your contribution). This year we received roughly 225 donations, many from “repeat” contributors. Thank you all!

We also want to thank the many individuals who help this site by donating time and effort and/or writing articles. This includes Kelly Bachand, Charles Ballard, Jason Baney, Vince Bottomley, John Brewer, Mike Bryant, Brand Cole, Richard Franklin, Speedy Gonzales, “Graymist”, Sam Hall, Dan Lilja, Bryan Litz, Chris (“Techshooter”) Long, Larry Medler, Danny Reever, German Salazar, Russell Simmonds, and members of the USAMU. We also want to acknowledge the dozens of fine shooters who have helped us with the Guns of the Week features. They have spent much time and effort to bring you their stories and photos. And we want to say thanks to our commercial sponsors that have supported the site this year through advertising or donated items for auction. Last but definitely not least we should all thank the field testers who have volunteered reloading and range time to test loads and products: Jason Baney, Barry Bluhm, Joe Friedrich, Mark LaFevers, German Salazar, and Jerry Tierney.

FREE Classic Shooting Books for Christmas

In the spirit of the season, German Salazar offers this gift to our readers: free books. German notes: “I can think of no better gift than knowledge, in this case knowledge of the early days of ballistic science, organized competitive shooting, the NRA and much more.”

Google, a company we all know for its internet search service, has undertaken a massive project known as Google Books under which they are scanning and making available millions of out-of-print books with uncertain copyright ownership.

Below you will find a list of books, each with a clickable title link and brief description. The title link will take you to the Google Books page for each book. You can read the entire book online, or you can download it to your computer as a PDF file and save it (or print it). You can also create your own Google Library and save the books there for access from any computer. Most of these books are hundreds of pages long, so consider your paper and toner supply before printing!

The Bullet’s Flight From Powder to Target, Franklin W. Mann, 1909, 384 pages.
This is the original and still widely read and highly regarded book on internal and external ballistics. Dr. Mann was a tireless experimenter and had the resources to pursue his interest with the best equipment available. A close friend of Harry Pope as well as other notable experimenters in the early days of smokeless powder, Mann’s work is thorough and well documented. If you have an interest in ballistics, this is the foundation that you must know in order to understand the ensuing century of work in that field.

Irish Riflemen in America, Sir Arthur Blennerhassett Leech, 1875, 216 pages.
This book chronicles the Irish rifle team’s trip to America in 1874 to compete against the best of America’s riflemen as organized by the Amateur Rifle Club of New York when the fledgling NRA ignored the Irish challenge. The book also includes a great deal of history of Irish target shooting and an account of a hunting trip in the American West by members of the party. Well worth reading.

The American Rifle, Townsend Whelen, 1918, 637 Pages.
Townsend Whelen was — and remains for many of us — the dean of American firearms writers. Here is a man who truly did it all and wrote about it with the authority of experience and the modesty of a true gentleman. Despite his roots in Philadelphia society, Whelen sought outdoor adventure and hard living and he found it; we are all richer for his ability to document it so well. This book, written immediately after (and during) the Great War gives a great insight into the period from a rifleman’s perspective: equipment, reloading, shooting — it’s all here. A long book and worth every page.

Suggestions to Military Riflemen, Townsend Whelen, 1909, 243 pages.
Townsend Whelen’s pre-war book on marksmanship which brought him to national prominence in the military establishment. Whelen, who coached the national championship winning Army rifle team at Sea Girt in 1906, covers all aspects of shooting the Model 1903 rifle, including long-range shooting. There is also an appendix covering the Krag-Jorgensen as it was still used by various state guard units at the time. Positions, sights, zeroing, windage, score books, slow-fire, rapid-fire, long-range, ammunition, vision; it’s all here. Every topic you see covered in a modern book on marksmanship was covered by Whelen in this book. You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been — this is a “must read” for the serious marksman and student of history.

Modern Rifle Shooting From the American Standpoint, W. G. Hudson, 1903, 155 pp.
Dr. Hudson was one of the leading lights of the early smokeless era (as well as the Schuetzen era), a contemporary and friend of Mann and Pope, Hudson was a tireless investigator of all things related to accuracy. This very hard to find book is an introduction to target shooting with a detailed overview of equipment and practices and is well illustrated with many plates of top level equipment of the day; a real gem.

Manual for Rifle Practice: Including Suggestions for Practice at Long Range, George Wood Wingate, 1879, 303 pages.
Wingate was the central figure in the founding of the National Rifle Association of America. Like Whelen’s manual 30 years later, Wingate’s book was adopted as the training manual by many military organizations. An authoritative view of marksmanship instruction in the day of the Trapdoor Springfield, Sharps, Remington Rolling Block, and Peabody military rifles. Includes diagrams and instructions for their care.

How I Became a Crack Shot — With Hints to Beginners, W. Milton Farrow, 1882, 204 pp.
Milton Farrow was one of the top shots of his time. Well-bred and highly educated, modesty was not among Farrow’s virtues. This makes for entertaining reading as he describes his travels and his many shooting accomplishments. The Hints for Beginners section has advice that remains sound even these many years later.

The Gun and its Development, William Wellington Greener, 1907 (8th Ed.) 786 pages.
Originally published in 1881, Greener’s book covers all aspects of the firearms world at that time and this 8th edition has many updates. While much of the text focuses on shotguns, there is a great deal of other material in this massive tome, including coverage of gunpowder and explosived, pistols, rifles, target shooting, rifle clubs and much more of interest to the modern rifleman. Many great period advertisements at the end will make you wish for a time machine!

Description and Rules for the Management of the United States Rifle, Caliber .30, Model of 1903, United States Army Ordnance Dept., 1904 (5th rev. 1914), 72 pages.
Here is the original US Army manual for the new Springfield Model 1903. A must-have for the Springfield 1903 buff or student of history.

Cartridge Manufacture, Douglas Thomas Hamilton, 1916, 167 pages.
This book is a well-written, technical presentation of small arms cartridge manufacturing during the Great War. An inside look at all processes at the Frankford Arsenal including case manufacture, bullet manufacture, loading and packaging. A useful historical treatise on the topic.

CLICK HERE for more FREE, downloadable Classic Shooting Titles.

MOH Winner, Most-Decorated Soldier Passes

Medal of Honor winner Col. Robert L. Howard passed away yesterday in Waco, Texas. Prior to his death, historians believed Howard was the most highly-decorated then-living American soldier. He was part of the Army Special Forces and ran cross-border operations in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam. He was wounded 14 times in Vietnam and was awarded eight Purple Hearts.

He was nominated three separate times for the Medal of Honor, finally receiving the nation’s highest award in 1971. President Richard M. Nixon presented him with the honor for his bravery in Vietnam during a mission to rescue a missing soldier in enemy territory.

In addition to the MOH, Col. Howard held the following major decorations: Distinguished Service Cross (with one oak leaf cluster); Silver Star; Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit (with three oak leaf clusters); Bronze Star (with three oak leaf clusters and “V” device); Purple Heart (multiple with a silver and two bronze oak leaf clusters); Meritorious Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters); Air Medal (with “V” Device and numeral 3. One award for heroism and two for aerial achievement); Joint Service Commendation; Army Commendation Medal (with “V” device and one each silver and bronze oak leaf clusters. 4 awards for valor and 3 for achievement); Presidential Unit Citation (for Studies and Observations Group–SOG).

Howard also held many other U.S. service medals and Foreign Decorations, including the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (with Gold, Silver, and Bronze citations).

After retiring from the Army, Col. Howard spent much of his free time working with veterans. He also took periodic trips to Iraq to visit active duty troops. Howard died of pancreatic cancer at a hospice in Waco, Texas on December 23, 2009.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Col. Howard and to read his Medal of Honor citation. As a staff sergeant of the highly-classified Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group (MACV-SOG), Howard was recommended for the Medal of Honor on three separate occasions during thirteen months spanning 1967–1968. The first two nominations were downgraded to the award of the Distinguished Service Cross due to the covert nature of the operations in which Howard participated.

NSSF Donates $109,500 to 16 Collegiate Programs

From Ivy League to smaller schools, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has provided 16 colleges and universities with early Christmas presents — grants to help more students get involved in the shooting sports. Among the grant recipients are Harvard University, Clemson University, the University of Vermont, and Hillsdale College. “NSSF is making these grants available in response to a growing interest in the shooting sports on campuses across the country,” said Zach Snow, NSSF’s senior shooting promotions coordinator. “Graduates of scholastic shooting programs like the NSSF-developed Scholastic Clay Target Program want to continue participating in their favorite sport when they go off to college, and once there, they’re eager to introduce new friends, classmates and faculty to this lifetime activity. At the same time, collegiate shooting programs help create a positive image for the shooting sports and firearms ownership.”

A total of $109,500 in grant money was awarded for new and existing shooting programs at the schools. Harvard University, for example, will use its grant to revive the Harvard Shooting Club, founded in 1883, and which has been dormant since 2003; raise awareness of the shooting sports within Harvard community and general public; and host firearms education events on campus. READ MORE about the 16 schools and their plans for their grant awards. Find more information on NSSF’s College Shooting Sports Initiative at www.nssf.org/college.

Photos of Gen 4 Glocks Reveal Notable Changes

Ed’s Public Safety, a gunshop in Georgia, has published photos of the New “Gen 4″ Glock handguns. The much-ballyhooed design changes for the Gen 4 Glocks are interesting, but hardly revolutionary. As expected, the new Glocks will have interchangeable backstraps. That’s probably a good thing.

CLICK HERE for more Gen 4 Glock photos

Other noteworthy changes in the Gen 4 Glocks are a dual recoil spring, and an interchangeable magazine release that can be moved from right to left. The dual spring is a more modern design that may reduce perceived recoil somewhat. The mag release change is smart and makes the gun more user-friendly for southpaws. Glock is making new magazines for the Gen 4 Glocks that work with the interchangeable mag release. Older magazines can still be used with the new Gen 4 Glocks, but only when the mag release button is positioned on the left.

Design Change — Too Little, Too Late?
Unfortunately, with either of the two provided backstraps, Glock’s Gen 4 grip is still fat and blocky compared to many other pistols. Also the Gen 4 Glocks retain the prominent “backstrap bulge” or flare in the bottom 1/3 of the grip’s back edge. For many shooters this “Glock bulge” causes the gun to point poorly, and for this Editor, that bulge also causes the gun to twist more on recoil (since it pushes against one side of the base of the shooting hand). The first thing done by companies that modify Glock grips is to reduce the flare or bulge in the bottom of the grip. That makes the grip much more user-friendly for smaller hands. In this Editor’s opinion the bottom rear section of the Glock grip was an ergonomic mistake when it came out in 1982 and the Gen 4 redesign really does nothing to correct the flaw. The interchangeable backstraps are just a poor “band-aid fix” when a more fundamental redesign was needed.

Overall, we think that most of the Gen 4 design changes are positive, or at worst “neutral”, but this may be a case of “too little, too late”. We doubt if the redesigned Glock is sufficiently improved to grab much market share back from the Smith & Wesson M&P series and other handguns whose sales have cut into Glock’s lucrative police contracts and civilian sales. The Gen 4 Glocks offer a modest ergonomic improvement over previous models, but they still not as well-designed ergonomically as Smith’s M&P. We doubt that police agencies which have switched to M&Ps will find reason to go back to Glocks anytime soon — unless, of course, Glock radically drops its prices, which is unlikely.

Tim Burke, USA’s Top Biathlete, Leads World Cup

At the current Biathlon World Cup event in Slovenia, American Tim Burke earned the yellow bib signifying that he is the current leader in the Biathlon World Cup. This is the first time an American has EVER been the overall leader in this prestigious Biathlon series. Tim now ranks among the elite biathletes who could win Gold at the upcoming Vanouver Olympic games. Tim Burke is a remarkable athlete who has overcome serious medical issues: “It wasn’t at all an easy way for me. But I think those down times were important as well for taking step by step forward to where I am now. I had a major hip surgery in 2002 and I wasn’t sure if I would continue to be a biathlete after that and [mononucleosis] took me out the whole 2004 season.”

CLICK HERE to learn more about the U.S. Biathlon team at biathlon.teamusa.org

Before Slovenia, Tim Burke made history twice at the previous World Cup event in Ostersund, Sweden. His silver medal performance in the 20km Individual competition tied the best World Cup finish ever for a U.S. Biathlete and Tim followed that performance by capturing the bronze medal in the Men’s 10km sprint event. Burke’s bronze medal marked the first time a U.S. Biathlete has ever reached the podium in the sprint competition — and the first time that Americans have won silver and bronze medals in the same competition.

In the major World Cup competition leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Team USA has gained world attention. The U.S. Biathlon team has been called the most improved team in the world by Olympic and Biathlon experts. Michael Dixon, Eurosport TV Biathlon Commentator, reports: “The United States Biathlon Team is the most improved in the world. It won’t be long before a moment of brilliance brings them to the podium for their first Olympic medal.” The YouTube slideshow below shows the USA Biathlon Team in action. NOTE: If you’re at work, you may want to turn down the speaker volume before playback.

“Biathlon is a sport that captivates and fascinates nearly all who see it”, commented Max Cobb, Executive Director of the U.S. Biathlon Association. “The world-class Biathlete attempts to combine the physically demanding sport of cross-country skiing with the intense precision of rifle marksmanship. The opposing disciplines collide with unique drama at the shooting range. With hearts pounding nearly three times a second, athletes struggle to control their breathing as they attempt to hold their rifles steady and squeeze off a successful shot, knowing that each shot, and the number of seconds it takes to make it, will determine who stands on the podium.”

New Smartreloader iSD Digital Powder Dispenser

A new digital powder dispenser just hit the market. Priced at just $205.99 (at Grafs.com), the new Smartreloader iSD Digital Powder Scale & Dispenser, is about $100.00 less expensive than RCBS’s popular ChargeMaster. Designed in Italy, the Smartreloader iSD dispenser has the ability to work with either 110 volt (American) or 220 volt (European) power supplies.

The new Smartreloader iSD has some impressive features, such as fast calibration and a selectable trickle function. We hope to get our hands on one soon so we can comparison-test it against an RCBS Chargemaster. You can learn more about this new powder dispenser at Smartreloadermfg.com. General specs are very similar to the Chargemaster: the iSD scale has a maximum capacity of 1,500 grains and has claimed accuracy of ±0.1 grains. You can store up to 50 loads in internal memory, and users can select four (4) different measurement units: grams, grains, carats, or ounces.

Where can you find this new powder dispenser? Supplies are very limited right now, but in the USA, Smartreloader-branded products will be carried by Cabelas.com, Grafs.com, Midsouth Shooters Supply, and Cabelas.com. The worldwide distributor of Smartreloader products is H.T. Helvetica Trading, a Swiss-based company. CLICK HERE for a list of Smartreloader vendors in other countries.

Tactical Watch with Full-Featured Horus Ballistics Calculator

Just when we thought we’d seen everything, Horus Vision has teamed up with 5.11 to create a wristwatch with a built-in ballistics calculator. Priced at $219.99, the 5.11 Ballistics Field Watch incorporates the Horus Vision SureShot™ ballistic calculator, plus a digital compass to indicate direction and degree. The watch has a molded polycarbonate body, offered in three color choices: black, olive drab, and coyote tan. Equipped with a backlight for night use, the 5.11 Field Watch also features dual time zones, a stopwatch, a countdown timer, and alarm.

Full-featured Ballistics Calculator
The ballistics functions are fairly complete. Using the four control buttons you can input temp, scope height (above bore), altitude, zero range, target distance, inclination (up/down angle), wind speed, wind direction, bullet BC (Ballistic Coefficient), and Muzzle Velocity. Then the watch will calculate your elevation and windage correction in either Mils or MOA-fraction clicks. It’s amazing that Horus was able to pack all these features into a normal-sized watch.

CLICK HERE for full explanation of Watch Functions with Interactive Demo.

NOTE: This online product demo is very cool. By clicking the buttons on an interactive watch mock-up, you can test all the functions and see how to input values into the Ballistics Calculator.

We haven’t compared the Horus/5.11 Ballistics Calculator watch with more sophisticated ballistics programs, but if you can remember all the buttons to push (and in what order) this watch appears to be a compact alternative to a laptop or PDA with ballistics software installed. Buyers have rated the watch highly: “Brillliant — I ordered the 5.11 Tactical Field Watch for my husband to use on his tour in Afghanistan. He loves it. He loves every feature it comes with and says that it’s accurate and durable. This watch highly recommended and in high demand.”

CLICK HERE for more detailed product review from DefenseReview.com.

Firearm Sales Charted by Region — Southeastern and Mountain States Lead Rifle Purchases

The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) has issued an interesting report charting gun sales by region. Southerners like handguns, and those in the Great Lakes states purchase the most shotguns by far. In 2008, southern Atlantic states led per capita in handgun purchases and also accounted for 31.4 % of all handguns bought in the United States. East north central states led per capita in shotgun purchases and accounted for 33.4 % of shotguns sold.

The Mountain states led per capita in rifle purchases and accounted for 10.7 percent of rifles sold. But the South Atlantic states’ residents buy the most rifles overall — 22% of the nationwide total. It is interesting that the Pacific states (California, Oregon, Washington) encompass 14.7% of the U.S. population, but that region accounts for only 10% of rifles and shotguns sold. On the other hand, Pacific states’ residents buy 14.2% of all handguns, the second highest figure among regions. Maybe all those crazy gun control laws in California haven’t made things any safer, and people feel the need to arm themselves.

Download Full Report on Firearm Sales by Region (PDF File)

Norma Plans to Resume 6PPC Brass Production

This is potentially big news for short-range Benchresters and for varminters who shoot PPC variants. Norma has resumed production of 6PPC brass — at least on a prototype basis. NOTE: We don’t have many specifics. Norma has not firmly committed to exporting production 6PPC brass to the USA, nor has Norma announced a product release date. However, we received the following email today: “After some work Norma has just started production of 6 PPC cases again. A new double-press has been installed which allows us to work-harden the case better. Internal tests are promising and we wonder if you would be interested to test a bunch.” That’s it… we’ve shared all that we know for now.

United Nations & IANSA Global Gun Control Agenda Revealed

As many of you know, there is a concerted effort in the United Nations to adopt an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) regulating civilian small arms. The Treaty would extend, and make binding, the restrictions of the U.N. Firearms Protocol adopted in 2004. This effort has been lead by the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), funded by billionaire George Soros. IANSA’s director is Rebecca Peters, a radical anti-gunner from Australia. Under Peters’ leadership, anti-gun coalitions convinced Australian politicians to ban semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, as well as confiscate and destroy nearly 700,000 weapons.

The proposed international small arms treaty has been pushed by representatives of many foreign nations. Related efforts to restrict civilian arms have been supported by European countries, such as Great Britain, which donated $2,000,000 to IANSA in 2001.

The details of this story are revealed in the video below, produced by NRANews. The video is an advocacy piece opposing interference by the United Nations and other countries in U.S. firearms policies. Keep in mind that this NRA video is deliberately alarmist — it intends to make the situation appear more dire than it may truly be… for now. Blue-helmeted storm troopers are not going to break down your door tomorrow.

Nonetheless, the video reveals many important facts which American gun owners should understand. This video includes interviews with leaders of gun rights groups in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. Their experiences are very telling… they have seen the effect of sweeping gun confiscations. The producers of this video believe that an international treaty could defeat Second Amendment rights in the United States. That may be an extremist view — the Constitution would still remain the law of the land. But the video is worth watching.