“Tag: Wyoming”

I sat down to my reloading bench this morning to put together some .45 Colt ammo for my new Ruger Flattop. It got me to thinking: The .45 Colt just might be the best—or at least the most versatile—handgun cartridge of all time. Of course, that only holds true if you consider the role of a handgun in its traditional sense—a reactive tool for stopping threatening or edible creatures at close range.

I see that my birth state—California—has not relinquished its stranglehold on the notion that the only proper way to manage its wildlife is through emotion. California has become the laughingstock of the nation for its polices, ranging from cultural to fiscal to wildlife management, and continues down that road with absolutely no remorse.

If you have been reading this sonorous blog for any time you know how I enjoy shooting black powder cartridges in our local cowboy action matches.

I just received one of those e-mails you hate to get. Brandon Forrest Eggleston, the only son of Alisa Moody—who used to be one of my graphic designers at the NRA and now manages my website—was killed last night in Afghanistan by an IED.

I was at the range the other day working with some new handloads. Normally, I have the place all to myself during weekdays but not this day. There was a young man there wringing out his rifle. He was, shall we say, rather proud of the fact that his rifle was guaranteed to be sub-minute-of-angle (moa). Unfortunately, on this particular day, his rifle was printing groups of about 1 1/4 inches—not bad, but not sub-moa. He was crestfallen.

As most of you know, I love my rather bucolic state of residence. A lot of folks like to characterize us as backward and unsophisticated. But as if it were a scene from the CSI television series, some Wyoming game wardens were able to determine that a 185-inch 4x5 mule deer buck was taken in an area closed to hunting in 2010 because of the contents of the buck’s stomach.

A couple of years ago, the Louisiana-based firearms distributor Lipsey’s put together a contract with Ruger to produce a Blackhawk Flattop .44 Special revolver. Seems they took notice that quite a few original Flattops in .357 Mag. were making their way to custom revolversmiths to be converted into the better caliber.

The Myth: Coyotes and other predators only prey on the sick and weak.

In June 1941, an American pilot—one Roland “Bud” Wolfe—was flying a British RAF Spitfire on a sortie over the Atlantic and returning to his base in northern Ireland. His engine experienced a failure, and Wolfe was forced to eject to safety. The Spitfire plunged into a bog at more than 300 mph.