July/August 1978 - American Handgunner

Zen, a td, lean, mustached western typefrom Fresno, stepped up and dropped 23out of 40 silhouettes shooting a RugerBlackhawk with a 5%" barrel and charnberedfor the -45 Colt cartridge. Glen shotthat outstanding score from the standmgposition with a two-hand hold.The unlimited or modified class gunsare of great interest to thehandgunningenthusiast because they attempt toachieve the ultimate in a precisionxhandyamand, as such, stir the imagination ofthe hunting handgunner. To date fivewildcat cartridges have been developedand tested which would function verywell for varmint or big game hunting; theyrange from the 6.5mm X .222 Mag. Talbot,which would be great for varmints,up to the 1W ,458 Stephens, which, withits 350 grain bullet going at ISOOfps,would be good for bear. These cartridgesare capable of being loaded to velocitylevels which will damage the steel silhou- -wettes used in the matches, and in someinstances holes have been punched completelythrough the %-inch thick steelchickens. The loads described to me bysome of the shooters at the matches Ihave attended appear to be so extremethat I am leery of putting them in print forfear that someone might damage his pistolwhile attempting to duplicate a load.However, the loads these shooters areusing are safe for their pistols becausethey are custom tailored for the one gunthey are being shot in.The old Remington XP-100 and theThompson Center Contender have beenthe beginnings for most of die modifledguns. On occasion an M-29 Smith &Wesson or a Ruger Super Blackhawkshows up at a match with a long bullbarrel but the revolvers do not allow theshooter the precise trigger mechanismand selection of sighting equipmentavailable to the shaoter of a single shot.Gunsmith Lee Baker of Carson Citv. PNevada has used rifle sights, such aspeep rear sights and hooded front sightswith great success. Even so, tfae highest,modified gun score fired to date (August, .1977) is 38 hits out of 40 silhouettes. Thatscore was fired at the May match in Los -'Angeles by Elgin Gates. All eyes will be 1on the too modified gun shooters at theupcoming matches 6 see if the perfectgun which combines accuracy, knockdownpower (the rams weigh 40 poundseach) and controllable rthat perfect score-40 hits with 40 shots.AMERICAN HANDGUNNERJULYMJC4