Historical – Page 15 – Scattered Shots

Townsend Whelen: Mister Rifleman

From the now long dead Rifleman’s Journal One of the most accurate, and at the same time lyrical and romantic, descriptions of highpower rifle shooting is found in Charles G. Finney’s The Old China Hands. The book is the wonderfully told tale of a young man’s experience as a private soldiering in the 15th InfantryContinue reading “Townsend Whelen: Mister Rifleman”

The Old Master The Story of Harry M. Pope

By John Scofield(from The American Rifleman June, 1941) The old man slowly climbs the stairs that hang steeply on the side of the warehouse, and lets himself into the fourth floor shop he has worked in for over three decades. Before him now the lettering “H. M. Pope” shows dimly for an instant through theContinue reading “The Old Master The Story of Harry M. Pope”

THE STORY OF CREEDMOOR

from: The Galaxy, August 1876 by: Frederick Whittaker A HUNDRED years ago there was no doubt as to the nationality of the rifleman. He was peculiar to the only republics then existing, America and Switzerland. The Swiss, until very recently, have changed little in their habits and weapons. The short Yager rifle, with its twoContinue reading “THE STORY OF CREEDMOOR“

MBA Short Stop Data Dump

We’ve covered some AP projectiles the last few days, so how about one that won’t penetrate anything? As I mentioned with the Sting RAG and Soft RAG yesterday, less lethal riot control was the topic of day in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Robert C. Mawhinney of MB Associates (MBA) came up with one of theContinue reading “MBA Short Stop Data Dump”

Full Disassembled 2 Inch Unertl 15X

A fellow in the Unertl group took it upon himself to take his 15X Unertl varmint scope apart. Not something any of the various John Unertl recommended you do. Though oddly enough a lot of the Unertl was designed to be field serviceable. Common things of the day would have been fogging, water getting intoContinue reading “Full Disassembled 2 Inch Unertl 15X”

Commercial Timeline of Colt M1911, Clones, and Variants

Here is a timeline of the commercial introductions of the Colt M1911, its variants, and numerous clones.

Unertl Instruction Sheet

Retaining the M1911A1 – The Final DOD Holdouts

After the adoption of the 9mm M9 in 1985, some special units within the DOD were loath to give up their .45 M1911A1 pistols.

History: Bill Brophy

A follow up post on a man I have talked about in the past a bit. The most significant man at Aberdeen Proving Ground, in 1941, was General Julian Hatcher. Hatcher was one of the most prominent members of the nation’s shooting fraternity. He was also the Commanding General of the Ordnance Training Center. PerhapsContinue reading “History: Bill Brophy”

Colt Law Enforcement Pistol

For Missed Opportunity Monday, we have yet another abandoned Colt design: the .40 caliber Law Enforcement Pistol. It also served as the platform for their Smart Gun tech. Here are some of the Smart Gun patents, which show bits of the pistol’s design as well. While the exterior profile looks a bit like the “AllContinue reading “Colt Law Enforcement Pistol”