American Handgunner May/June 1978

SPEED SAFETYFOR THE BROWNING HIGH POWERCompetition Proven Design By James W. HoagBlue-$23.00 Hard Chromed-$25.00(California Residents add 6%)Dealer Inquiries InvitedH & D PRODUCTS8523 Canoga Ave. Unit CCanoga Park, CA 91304BON OR STAINLESS STEEL.' Send 50C and no. 10 SASE for price lists.CROWN CITY ARMS P.O. BoxCortland, NY 13045 607/753-0194LUIN uc I EL I insorderP. 0. BOX 53Mesquite, TX 75149f ~ prepared!': eII H you believe that civilization may be on a short fuse which 1could easily be ignited by Ter~orism Monetary Collapse. FoodShortages Nuclear Attack or Blackmail and Thermonuclear 1I Accidents you should read SURVIVAL GUNS I1 Illustrations 458 5'4 x 8'4 Pages -Partial Contents: Choosing Defense and Hunting Handguns 1I Shotguns & Rifles Modifications and Maintenance SpecialPurpose Weapons Accessories Learning Practical Shoot-ing * Ammunition * Handloading and MoreSPECIAL BONUS: Personal Survival Batteries of BradAngler. Jell Cooper. Col. Burt MillerPlease send ine - copy(ies) @ $7.95 plus 65C (per book) for postage and handling. Send to: GUMS, Book Dept., Suite 200,II591 Cimhw do h RUna, Sin Dlqo, U 921UII56I II Iof competition, and never have been; theyjig this stuff, though, because of its novelty,practicality, and challenge. Of the rest,it's mostly bullseye shooters, with surprisinglyfew transplanted combat pistolbuffs. That surprised me. I'd have figuredihat combat shooters, being more accus-:omed to oractical and varvine , courses ofL.Eire, would eat this stuff up, but at least uphere, it doesn't seem to be the case.With each competitor, the word goesrippling out to another club, anotherclique, another circle of friends who sharei love for handgunning. Looks like Ronand his group have created something big.What was their secret? How did peoplewho'd never run a shoot before brine " off acoup that set attendance records in thetoughest place in the country to find peoplewith pro-gun feelings?I've talked with some of the principalpeople involved, and I'd have to say it waspure hard work, dedication, and believingin the handgun sports. Ron and countlessvolunteers, and their wives, spent untolddays working to make silhouette shootinga success here, and the answer to theirsuccess lies somewhere in the unrecordedlog of those tedious hours.The sporting press in the Northeast,and the gun press nationally helped, too.Less can be said for the conventionalmedia in the Bay State, most of which isnotoriously anti-gun, but at least one TVstation ran a long and favorable spot onthe event on a sportscast.Advice for others who want to startfrom scratch and, so to speak, shoot for asuper-successful match? "Round up allthe volunteers you can," advises Ron."Get plenty of target sets. Reach out to themedia with news releases and pictures.We do most of our own, though areasportswriters and nationally-known gunwriters like J. D. Jones and Bob Zwirzhave helped us out enormously. Try tohone your target-setting operation realsharp; our target-resetters ' are the onlyones who get paid for working, and its almostnothing, but they do a super job andwe couldn't run a smooth match withoutthem."If you're in the Northeast, you ought tocheck out the next Mass. Magnum Chaptertournament. The '78 schedule is notready, but you can find out by writing theMass. Magnum Chapter at P.O. Box 53,Medford, Mass. 02155.And that ain't the only place in the areayou can get your feet wet in this new sport.Since Ron's first shoot, many clubs havesprouted in the Northeast, all running silhouetteshoots and most to IHMSA rules,though some have developed their owncourses. That strikes me as a healthy stateof affairs even though a few IHMSA peoplefeel the newcomers should be followinga more doctrinaire line.This magazine and its sister publicationswill be running more articles on silhouetteshooting and how to choose theright guns and loads. We'll also be watchingthe phenomenon Ricci and his groupstarted in the Northeast.And the next time some people comeup and tell us they're going to put on asuper shootin' match, even though they'venever run a tournament before, I thinkwe're all gonna takea little more serious!TOOLS OF THE FAST DRAW GUNSLINGERSA typical Ruger conversion is as follows;the cylinder is bored to .45 Colt caliber;the cylinder is long fluted to reducethe weight; deeper notches are cut in thecylinder and the lead-ins are lengthened.An aluminum barrel replaces the old barreland it is fitted with a chrome plated rifledsteel sleeve. The hammer is a typicalraised fanning style, straight up, ratherthan the conventional curved type.(Continued from page 49)touch is a chrome plating as this simplifiescleaning, especially when using blackpowder.To give an idea of the customizingavailable and the cost, John Phillips ofPhoenix, Arizona, who specializes in fastdraw gunsmithing, offers the following.The prices mentioned are subject tochange;New stainless steel cylinders, 'The sights are removed and the top any caliber $50'strap, which is normally flat, is filed Bore cylinder to .45 caliberround. The trigger guard is ground down Deepen locking notch leads$10$8$70spring is shortened by clipping off six Build fanning hammer (on youron the right side to make it narrow andthinner. Internally, the main coil hammerin cylinderMake rifled aluminum barrelcoils. A block in the grip housing func- hammer) $2utions as a stop for the main spring plung- "Tune action $20er, it takes the backlash out of the ham- Six stainless steel cases, former. A hardened block is installed in the shotgun primers or .22 blanks $15frame beside the locking bolt, this pre- Cut down and reshape topvents battering of the bolt slot in theframe. Usually, the hand and triggerstrap (Ruger) $20A number of the "twisters" are usingsprings are shortened and all surfaces custom grips that are oversize with bellhonedfor smoothness. The finishing bottom and a distinct palm swell on theAMERICAN HANDGUNNER MAY/JUNE 1978,Â¥ --