I own firearms for two reasons: I’ve been a bullseye target shooter all my adult life, and believe freedom, like one’s intellect, requires regular, frequent, energetic exercise.
Clearly, individuals are entitled to choose not to defend themselves against criminals and tyrants and terrorists; let no one, however, dare try to deprive me of my innate human right to do so! The constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms may be unique to the United States, but the right to defend one’s very existence is universal and inalienable.
Predator resistance
The National Rifle Association is the sole national, effective organization that defends the Second Amendment to the U.S. constitution. To be sure, it’s neither very strong nor very effective: only about 5 million of the nation’s 80-odd million firearms owners actively resist predation. Does “predation” seem too strong a word? Consider this, please:
The late Nelson T. “Pete” Shields, the Founding Chair of Handgun Control, Inc., explained: “The first problem is to slow down the number of handguns being produced and sold in this country. The second problem is to get handguns registered. The final problem is to make possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition—except for the military, police, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors—totally illegal.”
—Richard Harris, “A Reporter at Large: Handguns,” The New Yorker, July 26, 1976, p. 58.
and:
If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them, Mr. and Mrs. America, turn 'em all in, I would have done it.
—Senator Dianne Feinstein, 60 Minutes, February 5, 1995
The NRA isn’t the only grass roots organization devoted to preserving the individual right to self-defense: merely the largest and best known. The resolutely uncompromising Gun Owners of America is doing a fine job of exposing predation at the national, state, and local levels, and encouraging citizens to resist it effectively.
The Second Amendment Foundation’s web site contains a great deal of useful information. The group fights anti-Second Amendment predation in the courts.
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership lends a unique perspective to encroachments upon the right to keep and bear arms.
Information
I take the High Road when I need information about the Second Amendment and firearms, or just want to hang out with my fellow shooting enthusiasts. It’s a fine successor to the Firing Line.
Keep and Bear Arms is an information-packed site.
If you’re interested in exercising your right to keep and bear arms, aim your browser at Packing.org.
I buy every issue of American Handgunner magazine. I read the reviews, disagree with some of the opinions, patronize the advertisers, and keep back issues for reference.
I keep up with the latest firearms industry news by visiting the National Shooting Sports Foundation site.
If you’re looking for a pistolsmith, a good place to start is the American Pistolsmith Guild.
Target shooting
Visit the Bullseye Pistol.com encyclopedia for comprehensive, well organized information on target shooting.
Jim Spacek operates a web site devoted to the grandest .22 caliber target pistols ever made in America, High Standards. If you have a question, you’ll have an answer in a day or two.
Manufacturers
I purchased a model 1911 .45 ACP pistol from Kimber America, and can truthfully tell you it’s far and away the best model 1911 I’ve ever owned or shot. I’ve never actually cared a great deal for the cartridge or the pistol’s design, but Kimber has worked out virtually all the bugs and weirdities from the latter. If I were a rifleman, I’m sure I’d want the Kimber .22, as well, although like the .45, it’s decidedly costly.
If I didn’t already have a Kimber .45 ACP, I’d buy one from Clark Custom Guns (see below) or Les Baer Custom.
Volquartsen transforms humble Ruger .22 caliber pistols into target pistols, and manufacturers high quality replacement parts for Ruger pistols and rifles. The Volquartsen replacement High Standard barrel I bought several years ago fits perfectly, and immediately proved the equal of the very best barrels I’ve ever shot.
Millet Sights makes the best replacement iron sights I’ve ever found. They’re rugged, very well made, and more finely adjustable than factory sights. A friend mounted a Millett red dot scope on a .22 caliber match pistol. It seems to be as good a sight as my Ultra Dots, and costs somewhat less.
RCBS manufactures equipment used to reload ammunition. I started reloading nearly thirty years ago with an RCBS Rock Chucker press and a set of .357 magnum dies. I still use both. I called RCBS several years ago to ask whether the company manufactures an off-handed accessory for my press to relieve the strain on my right wrist, which suffers from arthritis and computer mousing. The Rock Chucker, it turns out, is strictly a right-handed device, but the woman I spoke with all but insisted upon sending me the newest version of the handle, which is easier on one’s wrist—and wouldn’t even let me pay for the postage!
I don’t own a Dillon Precision reloading press, but if I ever decide to upgrade to a high volume reloading system, it will be a Dillon. The company’s catalogue contains a wealth of information. I’ve ordered cartridge cases, bullets, and assorted reloading and shooting gadgetry from Dillon for several years, and have been favorably impressed every time.
I’ve been carrying one pocket knife or another since the age of about seven. I’m no one’s idea of a knife collector, but have been charmed by the offerings in the A.G. Russell catalogue, one of the very few sideways catalogues still published. The quality and customer service are very good.
Custom shops
Magnaport International invented a unique method of ventilating barrels to reduce perceived recoil, which has been widely copied by other custom shops. The company’s service is excellent, and its other services, including refinishing, are equally commendable.
I sent an elderly Smith & Wesson model 27 .357 revolver to Clark Custom Guns for rebarreling a year or so ago. It had never been much of a shooter. Its accuracy is now the equal of my Pythons, although the trigger lacks a well tuned Python’s crispness. I bought a Clark barrel for a Ruger project gun. The gun ended up being a waste of time, effort, and money, but the Clark barrel was magnificently accurate.
I’ve sent a number of firearms to Cylinder & Slide for a variety of work, some of it mundane, some exotic. The good folks there have consistently done very high quality gunsmithing. I’m sure you could find less expensive gunsmithing, and quicker, as well, but better? Not in my experience.
If you have a firearm you’d like to have ruined at an exorbitant price, send it to Checkmate Custom of Brooksville, Florida. I sent a four-inch Colt Python there in May, 2001 for nitre bluing, which I was assured the company did “all the time” and “perfectly.” After a two-month wait, the firearm was returned to me unevenly polished, unevenly blued, filthy inside and -out, and missing the small plastic bead under the cylinder release latch. When I called, I was told, “We almost never do nitre bluing.” I shipped it back for regular bluing. The front of the barrel, front and back of the cylinder, and inside of the trigger guard were left rough, although all had been brightly polished when I’d shipped the gun to Checkmate Custom at the outset. The remainder of the polishing was extremely uneven, and the cylinder was “polished” so energetically the bolt no longer stopped it from spinning freely.
I sent the grotesquely abused Python to Michael Gouse, who assured me he could, indeed, engrave an over-polished revolver, and could, indeed, engrave it in something other than the usual bank note style. I asked him for an art deco style, and have been nothing short of delighted with the results. His rates are reasonable and service is very good.
Most of the best target stocks I own were made by Randall Fung, and just to ice the cake, they were reasonably priced and delivered by the date promised without extra charges. I was initially somewhat skeptical of his preference for stippling rather than checkering, but a single trip to the range convinced me stippling works every bit as well. The advice and encouragement he’s given me have been as useful as his stocks. I’ve discovered a serious drawback to Fung stocks: once you adjust them to your hand and accustom yourself to their feel, other stocks will inevitably feel second best. Others may be more pleasing to the eye, especially when crafted of exotic materials, and his certainly aren’t at all useful for defensive purposes, but for my hand on a target range, at least, nothing else will do.
Prior to discovering Randall Fung, I had target stocks made to fit my hand by Herrett’s Stocks. There’s nothing wrong with Herrett’s design and workmanship, and the company was willing to work in coco bolo, my favorite wood. I recently ordered a pair of Herrett’s stocks for a project revolver. I requested and paid for exhibition grade walnut, and am very pleased with the result. Expensive? Yes. Worth the three-month wait? Definitely. Service is excellent.
I purchased a set of target stocks from Nill Grips for my High Standards some months ago. They fit both the guns and my hand very well, although the heel support can’t be angled, sad to say. The stocks are very well made and finished, and the stippling is incomparable. I bought more Nill stocks for a pre-agreement Smith & Wesson .44 magnum carry gun and a Colt Python. The quality was good.
Ajax Custom Grips makes handsome pistol stocks of exotic and faux exotic materials. I recently purchased a pair of surprisingly inexpensive faux ivory stocks for a project gun, and am happy to report they were delivered sooner than expected and fit perfectly. Do they look exactly like ivory? No, but truth to tell, I’ve never been a keen ivory fancier.
Don Collins made me a very handsome pair of faux ivory micarta stocks for a project revolver. I liked the look of his work, but not the shapes of his stocks, so I sent him an E-mail message to ask whether he’d be willing to undertake a custom project. I wanted stocks approximately the same shape and size as a pair of Hogue stocks, with finger grooves and a goodly amount of material left at the top for my thumb. He did a fine job at a reasonable cost, and sent me the stocks in short order, too. He makes stocks of elephant ivory for selected firearms.
If you have a semi-automatic pistol you’d like elegantly stocked, visit Hakan Pek, a Norwegian craftsman who specializes in finely finished stocks of exotic wood. I bought a set of his stocks made of amboina burl for a model 1911 for well under $100. I found him easy to do business with.
How to improve upon Hakan Pek’s stocks? Send mine to Sherry Abraham, whose specialty is elegant hand-cut checkering. Her rates are reasonable. Her customer service is very good. I plan to send her more in the future.
One of the first things to do with a new pistol is contact Wolff Gun Springs for replacement springs. Service is good, and prices are reasonable. A surprisingly large number of firearms manufacturers rely on Wolff for their springs.
Ultra Dot makes the best red dot .22 caliber sights I’ve found, and backs them with a lifetime guarantee. I’m sure I’ll always prefer iron sights and a Merit peep sight to help focus my aging eyes, but my Ultra Dot scopes are crisp, clear, and entirely reliable.
I’ve been ordering .22 long rifle ammunition and assorted accessories from Natchez Shooters’ Supply. Natchez is what Midway used to be.
The Alpha and Omega of firearms parts and accessories suppliers is Brownells, whose massive, comprehensive catalogue is an indispensable reference book in its own right. The quality of service is exceeded only by the staff’s knowledge and willingness to help fellow shooters solve thorny problems.
Auctions
I regularly visit Guns America, Gun Broker.com, and Auction Arms for information and ideas on reasonable prices. In case you’re curious, internet firearms auctions in no way circumvent federal firearms legal requirements: sellers ship only to licensed dealers, and buyers must comply with all the usual federal, state, and local laws, of which we have over 22,000 in the United States.
I’ve purchased several pocket knives and a revolver through GunBroker.com, and was very favorably impressed with the site itself and courtesy of the people I’ve done business with. I’ve purchased several firearms from fellow members of the High Road with excellent success.
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