Guns Illustrated 2011. Dan Shideler
not likely to forget the experience.
And now, thanks to computer-aided machining technology, the Merwin, Hulbert .44 Pocket Army is being remanufactured by Michael Blank’s Merwin, Hulbert & Company right here in the USA. According to my contact at M,H& Co., the .44 Pocket Army is the first model to be released, followed by the Frontier Army 2nd Model and 3rd Model Double Action. M,H&Co. also tell me that they have added A-Square safari rifles and ammunition manufacturing to their production mix, with the august personage of Col. Art Alphin himself heading their R&D/New Product Development effort. Heady stuff indeed!
CAD modeling of the upcoming Merwin, Hulbert Model 2 Frontier Army.
The new Merwin, Hulberts are expected to hit the market in 2010 with a base retail proce of $1250, not bad at all as such things go. You can learn more – and even pre-order your new Merwin, Hulbert – at the company’s website, http://www.merwinhulbertco.com.
The Minie Ball Pipe by J.M. Boswell.
J.M. BOSWELL MINIE BALL PIPE
My long-time readers (both of them) know that I am an inveterate pipe smoker. I will now pause for 30 seconds so you can berate me and cite a litany of dreadful statistics that show that pipe smoking is not good for me.
Point taken – and disregarded. I don’t ask much of a pipe: it should stay cool all the way through the smoke; it should break in quickly; it should draw smoothly even if I’ve packed it too tightly. That’s why I prefer Boswell pipes, handmade by J.M. Boswell and his son Dan of Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. J.M. has been making handcrafted and custom pipes for 35 years, and I’d say he’s just about perfected his art. For my money, they’re among the Top Ten fi nest makes in the world.
I own several Boswells, but one of my favorites is his Minie Ball Pipe. The story goes that during the Civil War, soldiers who were hard up for a smoke used to bore a hole in the hollow base of a lead 58-caliber Minie Ball, insert a straw or reed, and puff away happily. I can’t say I particularly like the sound of smoking a lead pipe, so I was delighted to learn that J.M. has improved on the concept by making his Minie Ball Pipe out of briar and fitting a vulcanite churchwarden stem to it. It makes for a delightful short smoke.
Plastic engineering model of the new M,H Pocket Army (left) alongside an original.
The Rossi Model 720 in .44 Special, an appealing revolver on the used-gun market.
J.M.’s pipe is also quite a bit larger than a real Minie ball, and its grease grooves are not quite to scale. But as a smoking pipe it’s as clean and cool as a good Dunhill, and that’s saying plenty. If you’re a pipe smoker or a Civil War reen-actor, you’ll want to try this pipe. Prices hover around $90, and that includes an ounce of your choice of the Boswells’ excellent blends. For more information, visit boswellpipes.com.
ROSSI 720 .44 SPECIAL REVOLVER
Last summer I stumbled onto what I consider an excellent little revolver, the Rossi Model 720 five-shooter in .44 Special. I’m the first to admit that early Rossis may have left a bit to be desired, but later-production Rossis strike me as well-built guns. (Rossi is now owned by Taurus, don’tcha know.)
The Model 720 has a 3-inch barrel and a fluted cylinder and is made from stainless steel throughout. Dimensionally, it approximates a S&W K-frame, though S&W never offered a .44 in that medium frame size. Some Model 720s left the Rossi factory with 3.5-inch barrels and unfluted cylinders, probably an attempt to tamp down recoil a bit. Mine has an adjustable rear sight, but some had a fixed groove rear.
The Model 720 has been out of production, sad to say, for at least since 2003 but examples still turn up on the used-gun market. I got mine, a lightly-used example, for $225, which isn’t at all bad for any steel-framed .44 Special. As you remember, the K-frame S&W Combat Magnum didn’t really hold up well under the battering of full-house .357 loads, so I use the old 246-gr. pointed lead .44 Special load in my 720, or a 200-gr. Cowboy Action load. Recoil is gratifyingly stout, something like a .45 hardball out of a 1911.
.44 Special snubbies are a boutique item, with the market currently dominated by variations on the Charter Arms Bulldog. But if you for some reason want an adjustable-sight .44 carry gun with better than average fit and finish, don’t automatically turn up your nose at a Rossi 720 at a good price. I used to, and I was just plain wrong.
DAISY MODEL 25 BB GUN
I have a soft spot for Daisy airguns, so I was happy learn that Daisy has brought back the hallowed Model 25 pump BB gun.
For those of you who came in late, the Model 25 was introduced way back when Hector was a pup, back in 1915. With a muzzle velocity of around 400 fps, it quickly gained a reputation as a hard-hitter. The grand old Model 25 had a run that lasted until 1979, with two commemorative editions being released in 1986 and 1994.
Now Daisy has brought back the Model 25 – not as a special-run promotional but as a legitimate production item. The “new” Model 25 is made offshore to Daisy’s specifications and features all the goodies that we older kids remember: the scissors-jointed pump action (which can pinch the unwary fi ngertip), the 50-shot magazine tube, the fl ip-up peep rear sight with choice of U-notch or aperture. Daisy lists the Model 25’s velocity as 350 fps, which is just about perfect for small birds, rodents, aluminum cans and all sorts of paper targets.
The Model 25’s buttstock and pump handle are made of an attractively-stained oriental mystery wood and its receiver is roll-engraved.
The reintroduced Daisy Model 25 50-shot BB repeater – a legitimate classic.
I admit that after I tore open the carton and monkeyed around with the Model 25 for a few minutes, I immediately ordered another one to set aside unopened. It really is that cool.
The Model 25 lists at $74.99 on the Daisy website (daisy. com) but can be had for substantially less from a number of online retailers and possibly some brick-and-mortar shops, too. At full-boat retail, the Daisy Model 25 is still an exceptional bargain, even in these days of “serious” upscale airguns.
CHIAPPA ARMS 1911-22 PISTOL
The Chiappa 1911-22 was introduced in the fourth quarter of 2009, so these at- tractive rimfire pistols have been around long enough for me to form an opinion of them. I like them.
The 2-lb., 1-oz. 1911-22 is a straight blowback pistol chambered in .22 LR and patterned after the 1911. In fact, my hands have a hard time telling the difference. The Chiappa is built on an alloy aluminum frame with a steel barrel and has all its essential controls in the same place as its centerfire counterpart. Its rear sight is drift-adjustable, though I have heard of, but not seen, a version with a fully-adjustable rear sight. The 1911-22 has a key-activated lawyer safety on the rear right side of the slide and dispenses altogether with the “real” 1911’s grip safety, so it’s by no means a perfect rimfire clone of the 1911 or even the sainted Colt Ace. Close enough for me, though.
The 1911-22 is intended to provide the 1911 shooter with an economical rimfire pistol that’s price-competitive with a .22 conversion barrel/slide assembly. With a street price of well under $300, it succeeds in that role rather well. Gun Digest Contribuing Editor Jeff Quinn reports one-hole groups from a good rest at 25 yards with his 1911-22; I haven’t equalled that performance yet, but I have managed several 2.5-inch groups offhand at 25 yards. That’s all I can reasonably expect, given my advancing years and receding abilities.