K.I.S.S - Shotgunner

Guns Magazine, Jan, 2003 by Holt Bodinson

Cleaning out my reloading room recently, I came across a set of shotshell reloading tools that brought back a flood of memories, and reminded me how simple reloading can really be.

The tools pictured, plus a hand-cranked roll-crimper, a hammer-type resizing die, and a wad punch that I gave away years ago, loaded a ton of shells in the '50s for my father's Fox Sterlingworth double and my Stevens single shot.

The 12-gauge reloading set consists of a cutaway Winchester "New Rival" blackpowder shell to show you how to load a shotshell; a depriming punch; a primer seater; a shot-and-powder dipper graduated in ounces and drains; a loading sleeve/funnel; and a wadseater punch.

We bought fiber filler wads, card over-powder and over-shot wads, primers and shot from a local sporting goods store. Because we lacked a powder scale, we "dipped" DuPont Bulk Smokeless shotgun powder that was measured volume-for-volume with black powder. Our standard load was 3 drains of Bulk Smokeless and 1 1/8 ounce of shot. It patterned beautifully.

At some point, we acquired 50 Remington 12-gauge brass shells that accepted large pistol primers and 11-gauge wads. We sealed the overshot wads with a few drops of waterglass (sodium silicate) that we bought at the local pharmacy, but frankly, we found low base paper shells much handier and much lighter to carry.

Looking back, the only thing I miss is DuPont Bulk Smokeless powder. It was a terrific propellant in our .45-70 Trapdoors and .44-40 Winchesters.

Well, we gain a little and we loose a little.

Two, Great New Books For Shotgunners

John M. Browning -- American Gunmaker

Here is a "must read." John Moses Browning's official biography written by his eldest son with additional historical data by Col. Reid Betz, co-founder of the Browning Collectors Association.

For shotgunners, here are the inside stories on the creation of the Browning Auto-S and Superposed; Winchester Models 1887, 1893 and 1897; Remington Models 11 and 17; Stevens Model 520; plus pictures and descriptions of the many shotgun models that never made it to full production. And, of course, the histories and pictures of all the other commercial and military firearms designed by this genius of a man.

You may have read any number of books and articles on John M. Browning, but none approach the quality of this biography. It's thoroughly entertaining, anecdotal, handsomely illustrated, and very well written.

Hard-cover, 390 pages and priced at $27.95, it's available from Shootin' Accessories Ltd., [800] 676-8920.

The Duck Stamp Story

Here is the complete history of the evolution of the stamp from the passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act of 1934 to the present. Yes, that beautiful little stamp you buy every year at the Post Office, enabling you to hunt waterfowl, has now raised half a billion dollars for habitat acquisition and management and is the greatest success story in the annals of modem migratory bird conservation. If anyone needed proof that "hunters pay for conservation," here it is.

This is a beautifully illustrated book containing many of the barbed cartoons of Jay "Ding" Darling on the wanton waste of wildlife resources that precipitated the creation of the stamp program in the very depths of the Depression. The meat of the book is a colorful study of each and every Duck Stamp and accompanying limited edition print with an evaluation of their relative rarity and current cash value. Save those Duck Stamps!

Soft-cover, 206 pages in full color, priced at $29.95, it's available from Krause Publications, [800] 358-0929.