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Example Articles

 

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Example Articles - Personalities

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

 

Aerial GunneryGUN TOWN USA, Shotgun News, January, 2014 (Currently Firearms News)

Prescott, Arizona, is like no other city when it comes to a gun-friendly environment. Scores of cities can rightfully claim to be (now or in the past) prominent centers of America’s gun industry. One of the earliest hubs was Springfield, Mass., and the towns along the Connecticut River Valley. But it takes much more than the presence of a major gun manufacturer for a city to land the title of Gun Town, USA. As this article explores, the clear winner is Prescott.


Figures Don’t Lie Prescott’s claim to being Gun Town, USA is based on a number of elements, some of which are subjective and difficult to quantify, such as local culture and history. For those readers living elsewhere, you might consider placing Prescott on your vacation list. It’s a great relocation destination for gun-minded individuals in places like California. And finally, for those who live in gun-restrictive areas, this article may provide some inspiration that it really does not have to be that way. It is proof positive that a “gun-crazed” city can be safer than a “gun-free” city and at the same time be a magnet for new business and talented individuals.

Note: Shothun News is now Firearms News

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Aerial Gunnery

 

 

Bob Faris – The Passing of a Legend, 1930-2012, Small Arms Review, April, 2012 (Authored as "Small Arms Review Staff Writer)

“Uncle Bob,” as he was known to so many, had a profound influence on the NFA world as marked by the two-part interview published in the October and December 2009 issues of Small Arms Review and in a follow-up article celebrating Bob’s 80th birthday in the November 2010 issue. Much of what has been written or videotaped in the past consisted of interviews recording Bob’s reflections back on his life. He conveyed his views of the weapons he analyzed and repaired while working for the government as well as those that he collected and shot as a private citizen. Contained here is a perspective of Bob from people who knew him well.

 

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Woodin LabWooden Lab

 

Woodin Laboratory, Small Arms Review, December, 2010

This article is about Woodin Laboratory, described by Pepper Burruss, president of the International Ammunition Association (IAA), as “the international center for the study of post-1880 military and police ammunition under 35mm. It traces the entire evolution of modern small arms ammunition. No other collection, government or private, comes close. It contains many  thousands of specimens, scores of which are the only known examples in existence.”

This article is also about the man behind the Lab, Bill Woodin. Few know of him outside the ammunition and forensic communities because he is an extremely private and modest individual. Indeed, Small Arms Review is privileged to publish the first ever in-depth interview and description of the Lab.

 

 

 

 


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Who Was J Curtis Earl?  A Three Part Series, Small Arms Review, May, July, August 2010

Some claim he was one of the most important figures in the Class 3 firearms world, a courageous individual who was willing to take on the ATF, a major benefactor of the NRA, the founder of a world-class arms museum and a mentor to many.  Others viewed him as an abrasive, tightfisted, petty man, ready to challenge family, friends and customers alike at the slightest perceived wrongdoing.  Indeed, he was all these things and much more. This three part series sheds light on the life of this complex individual through whose hands thousands of machine guns passed…maybe even one of yours.

Part One: Curtis war stories and the formative years
(1.4 MB file download)Earl Part 1

Part Two: Evolution of a gun business and a collection of dreams
(1.1 MEarl Part 1B file download)Earl Part 2

Part Three: The problems take their toll and the quest for a legacy
(2.2 MB file download)

  

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An Interview with Robbie Barrkman, Robar Companies, Inc. - A story of business success based on talent, fate, timing, luck, and skill in asking the right questions, Small Arms Review, December 2009

Many readers may know Robbie Barrkman through his business, Robar Companies, Inc., a manufacturer of custom defensive and competitive shooting handguns and sniper rifles. Some may be familiar with its proprietary weapons coating systems such as NP3, Polymax and Rogard. Others may know him through his training classes in defensive handgun, shotgun and tactical rifle extending all the way back to his early association with the Gunsite
training center in Arizona.

 

 

 

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