GUNS Magazine October 1956

MINIATURE REPLICAS OF
FAMOUS SWORDS and SABERS
Unique letter openers
for Den or Office. A
must for collec-
man Crafts-
brass with nickeled
blade and
sheath. 914" overall.
Send for free brochure
showing other
authentic miniatures of
U.S. and German Military
swords, plus full size
fighting knives $3.95
etc., from PP~.
A
WILSHIRE GUN HOUSE
12203 Wilshire Blvd. 10s Angeles 25. Calif.
. . . pected. The
LEARN GH^~~ITHING
Great opportunitiesÑOperat YOUR OWN SHOP!
Learn easily with Country's most complete ele-
mentary and advanced course. Approved for
Korean Vets; low tuition. Write.
PENNA. GUNSMITH SCHOOL
IOWG Western Ave. Pittsburgh 33, Penna.
he can correct his trouble without coaching.
There are some lengthy instructions for
proper use of the Armax chamber, but they
are simple and often obvious. The chamber
comes in a leather pocket case, price $7.50.
In some brief tin-can plinking with the
Armax in a 16-gauge J. C. Higgins Model 10.
I was surprised at the close impact of the
bullet to my point of aim. The non-existent
recoil made me tend to keep my gun prop-
erly cheeked, too, correcting a slight ten-
dency I had to strain my head away while
aiming. It seems to be a practical and effec-
tive device.
New H & R Pump Shotgun
For many years Harrington & Richardson
offered a good line of guns but they have
been weak on repeating shotguns. Now the
handsome but inexpensive Model 400 in 12
or 16 gauge fills that niche. Our sample gun
with a stock of standard dimensions swung
easily and handled like a high-grade weapon.
The space between barrel and magazine tube
garrington Si; Rich-
ardson's new Model
401 pump shotgun.
GUN RACK
(Continued from page 9)
seems to rive it a lightness which Is unex.
- gun weighs - in at 7 pounds 7
ounces with the H &R Variable choke attached.
Both push-button safety and slide release
are standard, on the die-cast aluminum trigger
guard and housing, and convenient to
use. The wood is clean, straight walnut,
oiled. Barrel is 28" for 2%" shells. Magazine
tube holds 5 shells and a 3-shell plug
comes with the gun. Base price is $68.5(1
and with the choke $10 extra.
The finishing of the metal was quite good
for a weapon in this grade. The action was
a little stiff but smoothed up with handling.
The choke is H & R's standard device which
is the collet-type which changes by turning
the knurled sleeve. The nine individual degrees
of choke did not check out exactly
right on patterning, but the range was fundamentally
okay. I had no trouble-well, not
I I more than usual-busting birds at skeet when
kills oi extreme ranges, with
nloure 10 go., 3'/2" Magnum
the choke was opened up. All in all, the gun
is good value and a handsome addition to
the H & R line.
Simmons Single Trap
Ernie Simmons, the shotgun man in Kan-
sas City with a lot of good ideas, has solved
a minor shotgun shortage by importing a
single trap 12-gauge. It is one of the best-
looking single traps we have handled, and
that includes all makes and models. This
smoke pole specially built fqr Simmons by
his Belgian gunmaker, Cordy of Liege, is a
first-rate piece of finishing and workmanship
throughout. A hammerless model in classic
single trap styling, the fitting of wood to
metal in this relatively inexpensive gun is
actually superb. The inletting is exceeding-
ly tight and close all along the action body
and tang straps. The action was sparsely
but competently engraved by a skilled ar-
tisan. The wood on the sample examined,
while not gaudy, was a simple piece of
straight-grained French walnut, close and
fine, with a good checkering pattern over
grip and forend.
Basically, the Simmons trap lists for
$292.50, less than any other single trap in
the U.S. It is a heavy gun, about 8% pounds
with a 32" barrel and ventilated rib. But
the distribution of weight is such that the
gun handles like a 6-pounder, and still has
heft enough to take up the slap of long
stints of firing at the traps. While 100 shots
run through it quickly showed up my out-of-
condition side muscles, there was no soreness
or bruises from kick. The soft Simmons
recoil pad may have had something to do
with it, but the accidentally-perfectly-di-
mensioned stock on the gun I handled com-
bined easy pointing and, easy shooting. Sim-
mons will make stock dimensions to order
on this gun, and offers a choice of butt pads.
Browning's Lightning Superposed
"Lighter than lightweight" is the Brown-
ing Arms Co.'s description of their newest
superposed double shotguns, the Lightning
models. They have shaved almost a pound
off the famous "Rocky rugged" over-unders
in both 20 and 12 gauges. The new models
are just like the basic Browning double
but reducing the weight has been made
possible by using special steels which permit
saving metal with no loss in safety. Every
Browning gun is proof-tested in the Liege
government-supervised testing laboratory for
strength and safety. Shooters who prefer
ultra lightweight guns will find the new
over-under.a pleasure in the field. The weight
has been reduced to about six pounds
in the 20-gauge and seven pounds in the 12,
but the same balance and handling qualities
which have made the over-under a favorite
among many gunners is carefully retained,
and the Lightning will have a special appeal
to the upland hunter.
All five grades of finish, from the lightly