Category Archives: Historical

When I was young. all of my shotgun use was with the M870 and the M1100/11-87. Always in 12ga. When I was 23 and was working for Brady ( famous already to long time readers) I walked in one morning and Brady had a shotgun apart and was carefully polishing some internal parts and cleaning.Continue reading “Model 31 Remington”

In Special Forces from 1960 to the mid-1980s, there was a capability called, among other things, “the Magic Rucksack.” (This weapon, and its mission, were prolific producers of slang and nicknames, most of which were as compartmented as the mission itself; it’s unlikely anyone knows them all). It was the Special Atomic Demolition Munition, SADM, aContinue reading “WeaponsMan – The Magic Rucksack”

After yesterday’s post on the Hydra-Shok, Shawn asked if I had any information on the PMC Starfire. As a matter of fact I do. Tom Burczynski started working on the Starfire around the same time as the Hydra-Shok, but the commercial development of the latter took priority. Burczynski filed his patent application back in MayContinue reading “PMC Starfire Data Dump”

You may not have ever heard the name Eric Johnson before, but it is a name many old timer match shooters and appreciators of fine rimfire rifles would know. A custom barrel maker of high regard. Famous for his ability to make rim fire barrels that seemed to be magical. The “Eric Johnson 5 StarContinue reading “Eric Johnson”

Starting in September 2013, Ruger began filing a flurry of patent applications for a pair of semi-automatic shotgun designs. Designers included Chief Design Engineer Dwight Potter, Chief Engineer Scott Warburton, Chief Engineer Bruce Rozum, Product Design Engineer Jason Pittman, Manufacturing Engineer Benjamin G. Hawkins, and Michael R. Tilton. Potter was hired from Browning, Rozum wasContinue reading “Whatever Happened to Ruger’s Semi-Automatic Shotgun Designs?”

by: Lucian CaryJoe Hill had two target rifles in cases of canvas and leather hanging from his shoulder as he walked down a factory-lined street in Jersey City of a hot Saturday afternoon in August. He guessed, after half a mile, that he had come to the right corner. There was the little red- brickContinue reading “The Secret of the Old Master”