Engineering
Unnecessary Engineering
Project 1: Scope Dials Welcome all and please gather round so I can waste a few minutes of your precious time on describing something that didn’t really need doing and no doubt would interest few. [more…]
Shooting
19th Century
1850s British and American Rifle-Musket Cartridges Compared
Introduction My main interest in firearms has always been their technology and development, particularly during the 19th century which saw an incredible advance from flintlock, smoothbore muskets to semi and even fully automatic weapons. This [more…]
20th Century
The .303 Pattern 1914 – the Best Battle Rifle the British Army Never Had?
Introduction The humiliations suffered by the British Army at the hands of untrained Boer irregulars during the Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902 caused a great deal of concern at the War Office where questions were soon [more…]
Animals
How to be Top (Dog)
There is no such thing as the perfect gundog, and anyone who says there is should be ashamed of the barefaced lies they tell. There are some incredibly well trained dogs out there, and some [more…]
Collecting
Camping, Backcountry Knife choice
I recently reread two of Bertram Gilfoyles articles – the first teaching us about Japanese knives and the second helping us understand how to keep them sharp. His knowledge is far deeper than mine especially [more…]
America
Brit hand gun shooting skills
In my previous two articles – I’ve talked about how one might approach enjoying gun range time in the States and outlined my first range experiences in that wonderful country. In short, armed with a [more…]
Hobbies
The Clay is the Thing, Part Four
In the first three parts we looked at what it takes to get into clay shooting, how to progress and where it may lead. I touched a little in each article on what goes on [more…]
Hobbies
The Clay is the Thing, Part Three
Okay, I’ve skirted around the issue long enough, it’s time to tackle the complex subject of lead or forward allowance. To an experienced shooter, it is literally second nature, an unconscious calculation that is already [more…]
Hobbies
The Clay is the Thing, Part Two
I hope I’ve managed to drag a few readers along from the first part, and for this next exercise, we will take a hypothetical Puffin on a journey from someone who has developed a taste [more…]