Example Articles - Guns
Click below to see example articles, together with links to downloadable pdf copies, listed by the magazines under which they were originally published:Click on picture or links to download the articles. Available as PDF files. Download Adobe Reader® here 
It's Showtime! -
Gun Shows Provide a Lot More than Guns and Ammo
Firearms News, Volume 77, Issue 10, May 2023
Magazine articles that review gun shows focus almost exclusively on new product releases at major venues such as the Las Vegas SHOT Show (Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade) or the annual N.R.A. Meeting and Exhibits. This article is different. I'll start with some background perspective on gun shows, highlight the December 2022 SAR West Show, and finally transition to show-related stories that might interest or amuse readers.
Shooting Arizona - Machine Gun Shooting Like nowhere else in the World
A Three Part Series, Firearms News, Starting October 2022
The Coen Brothers are American filmmakers known for their dark comedic and eccentric genre in award-winning movies like Fargo and No Country for Old Men. Raising Arizona is one such movie starring Nicolas Cage as Herbert, the ex-con. It was filmed in Arizona in 1986 andhad guns, more guns, kidnapping, robberies, jailbreaks, biker gangs, and death by explosion. The storyline has all the essentials for a quirky movie, including a dream ending with Herbert in a happier future.
Shooting Arizona is the story of machine gun shooting in Arizona, as unconventional as the movie. Unfortunately, it also has an accidental death by an explosion and a robbery. It describes how urban growth and other forces drove an Arizona shooting community from site to site for half a century. The main actors sought a permanent place to shoot crew-served machine guns and heavy weapons at targets that explode, move, and even fly. Shooting Arizona has some extraordinary incidents and famous and infamous individuals who laid the groundwork for the world's largest machine gun and heavy artillery shoots.
Part One: Evolution
Issue #20, October 2022
Part Two: War Stories: Memorable Events and CharactersIssue #21, November 2022
Part Three: Progression to Current Shoots and The Epilog
Issue #22, November 2022
The Range is HOT, Firearms News, February 2020, Issue #3
A safe place to shoot is essential for anyone who owns or uses firearms. For military, law enforcement and security professionals their livelihood, if not their life, depends on live fire training. Hunters must sight in their guns and where better to do this than at a local 100 yard outdoor range.
In the not-too-distant past, outdoor places to shoot were abundant with few constraints. Today with urban sprawl and encroachment, restrictive local laws, and shamefully, the few target shooters who trash good sites, informal ranges are becoming an endangered species and permits for sanctioned ranges are more and more tightly controlled. A place to shoot is becoming a hot commodity, more so than most readers of Firearms News may realize.
Historically the gun press has been focused on protecting Second Amendment rights, specifically gun bans, self-defense and concealed carry methods and laws, and ammunition and magazine restrictions. And so it should. This article, however, focuses on a dimension to our gun rights seldom considered, namely long-term access to shooting ranges. Shooters may grumble over range fees, but once you know the facts, you will realize the advantages they offer at bargain prices. It is very expensive to build, own and operate indoor and outdoor ranges. We must all do our part to take care of and support local ranges and informal shooting sites, lest they too become as threatened as our Second Amendment rights.
Higher Resolution download available here
Aerial Gunnery - The Ultimate Challenge,Shotgun News, April 5, 2010
It is extremely difficult to shoot down a fast-moving aircraft the old-fashioned way - with a gun. The ultimate challenge, of course, is shooting down a plane that’s shooting at you. But machine gunners at several western shoots can try their hands at the nearest thing - shooting at fast-darting radio-controlled planes. It is tremendously challenging and fun. This article opens by covering the evolution of aerial gunnery from WWI to the present and describes the rigorous training that WWII aerial gunners underwent. Interviews of two WWII veterans, including a Silver Star recipient, provide first hand accounts of the rigors of aerial combat.
Note: Shothun News is now Firearms News
Gangster Tommy Guns - These notorious guns sometimes had all their serial numbers removed – or did they?,Small Arms Review, June 2009
The Colt Thompson submachine gun has become the icon of organized crime and the gangsters of the 1920s and 30s. Indeed, its use by criminals who made the 20s roar was a leading cause of the National Firearms Act of 1934.
Model 1927 - Rarest of the Colt Thompsons- A story about Colt Thompson Numbers 4943 & 5238, Small Arms Review, May 2009
Rare is a relative term and it does not always translate directly into either the most desirable or valuable gun in a collection. Unique prototypes, serial numbers, or other distinctive production characteristics are as important to collectors as is condition. Some guns have visual appeal, history, and quality - a mystique - about them. Considering all these factors, it is no wonder that Model 1921 Colt Thompsons are both desirable and very valuable.
Goof-Proof Removal of the Thompson Barrel -American Gunsmith, November 2008
If you’re ever lucky enough to work on a valuable original, you’ll need some special tools and techniques that might not be necessary for working on the semiautomatic replica.
It’s a Dog Eat Dog World - It Happened to Me – Combat Handguns, November 2004
The big dogs get attacked more often. What to carry to protect your dog and avoid vet bills.
Predatory Instincts - It Happened to Me – -Combat Handguns, August 1999
What to do and not do when encountering a mountain lion.