Gun Digest 2022, 76th Edition: The World's Greatest Gun Book!

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ISBN-13: 978-1-951115-34-0

Edited by Phil Massaro and Corey Graff

Cover Design by Gene Coo

Interior Design by Jon Stein and Dave Hauser

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The John T. Amber Literary Award is named for the editor of Gun Digest from 1950 to 1979, a period that could be called the heyday of gun and outdoor writing. Amber worked with many of the legends in the business during his almost 30 years with the book, including the great shooting and hunting writer Townsend Whelen. In 1967, Amber instituted an annual award, which he named for Whelen, to honor an outstanding author from the previous year’s Gun Digest edition. In 1982, three years after Amber’s retirement, the award was renamed in his honor.

Terry Wieland

All gun writers are passionate about firearms, but few have the passion of Terry Wieland. An unabashed aficionado for all things African hunting, Terry’s classic book, Dangerous-Game Rifles , holds a special place on my bookshelf; if you have an interest in the pursuit of dangerous game on any continent, this volume is a must-have. Having read the ink off the pages of that book, plus following Terry’s writings in several different publications — his contributions to the A-Square Any Shot You Want reloading manual remain a particular favorite — I have no qualms about admitting that I’m a big fan. His biography of the late, great Robert C. Ruark, A View From a Tall Hill , is perhaps the most fitting tribute penned to the great dangerous game author.

With that glowing introduction, I am pleased to announce that Terry Wieland is the recipient of the 40th Annual John T. Amber Literary Award for his feature article, Echoes of Valhalla. The treatise on German Schüetzen rifles appeared in the 75th Edition of the Gun Digest annual last year.

Terry’s storied literary career includes eight books, a massive volume of articles in numerous different hunting and shooting publications, and several literary awards, including the John T. Amber Literary Award in 2007.

I’ll let Terry describe the journey which has culminated in his time behind the keyboard.

"I’m a Canadian, raised in Ontario. My earliest memories, circa four years old, involves a toy pistol, and I have never lost interest. When I was 13, my family moved to the country where I went to work on the farm next door, got my hands on a .22, and was delegated to control the woodchuck population. Shortly afterwards, I started buying gun magazines, fell under the spell of Jack O’Connor and, a little later, John Taylor.

When I was 16, I read Robert Ruark’s The Honey Badger, and that decided me that my destiny was to write. I also became enthralled with Africa. In 1968, I got a job as a copy boy on the local daily newspaper, and got my first reporting job in 1969.

In 1971, having decided I wanted to be a war correspondent, it seemed the best way to do that was to find a war and correspond. I left for Africa with a one-way ticket to London and C$210. in my pocket, crossed Europe, ended up in Uganda and then in the southern Sudan where the never-ending war was, well, never-ending. I came back to Canada in early 1972, wrote an article for The Toronto Star about the Sudan, and later that year the Star sent me back to Africa to cover the expulsion of the Asian population from Uganda by Idi Amin.

I have been a full-time freelance writer ever since. I made my first hunting trip to Africa in 1990, with back to back safaris in Tanzania and Botswana, fell in love with Cape buffalo, and have killed seven so far. If I could do just one more hunt before I called it quits, it would be for Cape buffalo."

I couldn’t agree more with that last sentiment. Terry is a regular contributor to this book and stays busy as the Shooting Editor of Gray’s Sporting Journal. Wieland currently resides in Fenton, Missouri.

Gun Digest proudly presents this Literary Award, named in honor of John T. Amber, the long-time editor of this book, to Terry Wieland, a significant figure in the history of hunting, firearms, and the literature which surrounds it all. Congratulations, Terry!

Phil Massaro, Editor-in-Chief

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GunDigest 2022

Photo: Weatherby, Inc.

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

John T. Amber Literary Award

Introduction: 76th Edition

About the Cover Gun

FEATURES

.257 Weatherby Magnum

BY MIKE DICKERSON

The Puzzle of China’s SKS Carbine

BY GEORGE LAYMAN

44 Years With .44 Revolvers

BY DAVE CAMPBELL

The 6.8 Western

BY PHIL MASSARO

Guns of the African Professionals

BY JOE COOGAN

The History of Weatherby Rifle Cartridges

BY CRAIG BODDINGTON

How to Tune Your AR-15

BY PATRICK SWEENEY

Sako Safari: West for Mule Deer!

BY COREY GRAFF

The Colt Walker

BY TERRY WIELAND

Handguns and Bear Protection

BY PHIL SHOEMAKER

Five Long-Range Rigs on a Budget

BY THOMAS GOMEZ

Five Favored Custom Rifles

BY TOM TURPIN

The Versatile .41 Magnum

BY DICK WILLIAMS

Photo Essay: Curiosa of Vintage Firearms

BY JIM SUPICA, DOUG WICKLUND, PHILIP SCHREIER

I Dreamed of Double Rifles

BY DAVE FULSON

Colt Python

BY BOB CAMPBELL

Snipe, Snipe Guns and Snipers

BY NICK HAHN

A Treatise on Non-Toxic Shot

BY PHIL BOURJAILY

Pocket Protectors of the Past

BY JIM SUPICA

Back to the Wall: Handgun Bullet Penetration

BY MARK NAZI

Trapper Lever Guns

BY RICK HACKER

The 6NormaBR For Competition or Sport

BY STAN TRZONIEC

Surviving the Droughts: Ammo Shortages

BY RON SPOMER

Walnut — Before It’s Gone

BY WAYNE VAN ZWOLL

Ruger Hawkeye African Meets .280 Ackley Improved

BY STEVE GASH

The Single-Action Revolver Today

BY JIM WILSON

My Friend Sage

BY JIM FORAL

TESTFIRE

Uberti 1885 Courteney Stalking Rifle

BY L.P. BREZNY

Pig-Poppin Pistol: Lantac 6ARC

BY DAVE MERRILL

Taylor’s & Co/Uberti 1860 Army

BY BOB CAMPBELL

Ruger 77/44

BY ROBERT SADOWSKI

Savage Impulse Straight Pull

BY PHIL MASSARO

ONE GOOD GUN

Winchester Model 70 Safari Express

BY JAY LEYENDECKER

Customized Ruger BlackHawk .41 Magnum

BY SHANE JAHN

1895 Rigby 12-Rore Rising Bite

BY SIMON K. BARR

Remington Model 710 in Alaska

BY TYLER FREEL

.45-70 Handi Rifle

BY JIM HOUSE

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD

AR-Style Rifles

BY TODD WOODARD

Rifles

BY WAYNE VAN ZWOLL

Semi-Auto Pistols

BY ROBERT SADOWSKI

Revolvers & Others

BY MAX PRASAC

Shotguns

BY KRISTIN ALBERTS

Muzzleloaders

BY LUKE HARTLE

Optics

BY JOE ARTERBURN

Airguns

BY JIM HOUSE

Ammunition

BY PHIL MASSARO

Reloading

BY PHIL MASSARO

2022 FIREARMS CATALOG

RIFLES

Centerfire – Autoloaders

Centerfire – ARs

Centerfire – Levers & Slides

Centerfire – Bolt Actions

Centerfire – Single Shots

Drillings, Combination Guns, Double Rifles

Rimfire – Autoloaders

Rimfire – Bolt Actions & Single Shots

Competition – Centerfires & Rimfires

HANDGUNS

Autoloaders

Competition

Double-Action Revolvers

Single-Action Revolvers

Miscellaneous

SHOTGUNS

Autoloaders

Pumps

Over/Unders

Side-by-Sides

Bolt Actions, Single Shots & Lever Actions

Military & Police

BLACKPOWDER

Single-Shot Pistols

Revolvers

Muskets & Rifles

AIRGUNS

Handguns

Long Guns

BALLISTICS TABLES

Average Centerfire Rifle Cartridge Ballistics & Prices

Centerfire Handgun Cartridge Ballistics & Prices

Rimfire Ammunition Ballistics

Shotshell Loads & Prices

WELCOME TO Gun Digest 2022 76th Edition

Gun Digest Editor-In-Chief Philip P. Massaro in his element.

PHILIP P. MASSARO

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Hello all, I’d like to welcome you to the 76 th Edition of the Gun Digest Annual . It’s difficult to imagine that it has been a year since I wrote the introduction for the 75 th Edition, but it has, and to say it’s been a strange year may be the biggest understatement I’ve ever put in print. There was an ammunition shortage and millions of new shooters joined our ranks. We endured quarantines, masks, canceled trade shows, virtual product releases, travel bans, postponed hunts, vaccines; all of these were issues we didn’t have to deal with until recently. Bottom line: our lives have changed, and I’m not sure whether or not it will ever return to what we knew as normal.

But, life goes on. And looking at the bright side of things, statistics have shown that the number of hunters has increased — and that’s a good thing. With firearm sales continuing to hold steady, more folks are embracing the gun culture and enjoying their Second Amendment rights than we’ve ever had before. The increase in new shooters creates a renewed need for training and information; the histories, designs, and performance of firearms, cartridges, and shotshells are, perhaps, more relevant than ever.

INSIDE THE 76TH EDITION

We’ve got lots of good stuff piled between the covers of this book, from choices for those looking to ring distant steel on a budget, to the history of Weatherby Magnum cartridges (big congratulations to Weatherby on its 75th anniversary), to modern single-action revolvers to the sordid histories of the Chinese SKS, Colt Python, and Colt Walker. In addition, Phil Bourjaily takes us on a tour of non-toxic shot choices for the shotgunner, Nick Hahn tackles his favorite snipe shotguns, and Dave Campbell discusses a lifelong love of .44-caliber revolvers.

There are also some wonderful cartridge profiles in this edition, starting with Mike Dickerson’s feature on the .257 Weatherby Magnum (if you ever meet Mike, you’ll quickly understand how passionate he is about that cartridge). Next, Dick Williams shows us just how underrated and overlooked the .41 Remington Magnum is, and Steve Gash discusses the merits of one of my favorites — the .280 Ackley Improved. Finally, Stan Trzoniec casts an eye upon the 6mm BR Norma, and Yours Truly sheds some light on the new Winchester-Browning collaboration known as the 6.8 Western.

Joe Coogan shares his insight on the rifles used by African Professional Hunters — Joe spent years as a PH in Botswana, hunting among legends — and Dave Fulson shares his experiences with and history of the revered double rifle. Finally, Alaskan Master Guide Phil Shoemaker recounts his famous experience with a big brown bear while armed with a 9mm pistol; there is plenty of excitement involved.

In an interesting feature article, the father and son team of Lek and Mark Nazi of Double Eagle Tactical Training explores what happens when a hollowpoint handgun bullet strikes the walls of a residence. And we’re not just talking about sheetrock, but both interior and exterior walls, not to mention siding and brick construction. I was as surprised by the results as Mark and Lek were, and these guys spend a considerable amount of time with a pistol in hand.

Our Reports from the Field section highlights a considerable number of new products related to the shooting industry. Our TestFire department has some in-depth reviews, from rifle and handgun designs of the 19th Century to the latest releases. And, as always, our Catalog compiles a comprehensive overview of firearms available to the shooter.

And, in what may be my favorite section of the Gun Digest, the One Good Gun section covers all sorts of exciting topics. When a writer is passionate about a gun they’ve spent time with — whether it is an entry-level firearm or a highly sought-after vintage piece — I feel they deliver their best work. Shane Jahn takes us on his customized .41 Magnum Ruger BlackHawk journey, and Jim House tells the tale of his .45-70 single-shot Handi-Rifle. Tyler Freel’s well-worn Remington Model 710 .30-’06 Springfield has a story of its own to tell, all over the 49th State. My friend Simon Barr uses his vintage Rigby Rising Bite 12-bore to complete the fabled ‘Macnab,’ and Jay Leyendecker recounts the tale of his prized Winchester Model 70 in .375 H&H Magnum, a special gift from his grandfather.

We may be stuck in a rut as Covid-19 complications pose an issue to traveling sportsmen and those who enjoy the simplicities of a trip to the range or a gun club meeting. But as the old saying goes: "this, too, shall pass." We have witnessed the breakup of Remington, an absolute American icon. Still, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Big Green and its sister companies have been picked up by several different organizations. For example, Remington’s ammunition division is now a part of Vista Outdoor (parent company of Federal Premium, Speer, and CCI) and is up and running in its Alabama plant. Not only that, Barnes Bullets is now a part of Sierra Bullets and Marlin Rifles now hangs its hat under Ruger’s roof; so, though there are inevitable changes in the firearms industry, not all of them are for the worst.

Our cartridge technology continues to develop, and with that comes advancements in bullet technology; not far behind, you’ll see the changes in optics and so on down the line. But, just as the Gun Digest is steeped in the history of the firearms industry (this publication has been around longer than the .308 Winchester, .223 Remington, and .300 Winchester Magnum), many shooters, hunters, and readers still embrace blued steel and fine walnut, chambered in a classic cartridge. So, no matter what your passion in the firearms realm is, there is something in here for you. I hope you enjoy this, the 76th Edition of Gun Digest.

GUN DIGEST STAFF

JIM SCHLENDER| Group Publisher

PHILIP P. MASSARO| Editor-In-Chief

COREY GRAFF| Features Editor

DEPARTMENT CONTRIBUTORS

Wayne van Zwoll | Rifles

Todd Woodard | AR Rifles

Robert Sadowski | Semi-Auto Pistols

Max Prasac | Revolvers & Others

Kristin Alberts | Shotguns

Luke Hartle | Muzzleloaders

Joe Arterburn | Optics

Jim House | Airguns

Philip P. Massaro | Ammo, Reloading & Ballistics

Tom Turpin | Custom & Engraved Guns

ABOUT THE COVER GUN The Mossberg Patriot LR Hunter

O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc. has long produced firearms that represent a great value in the American market. That’s true, from rimfire rifles to shotguns, to the highly popular centerfire rifles Mossberg manufacturers. New for 2021, the Mossberg Patriot LR Hunter is all business, being developed for the serious long-range shooter and hunter.

The newly designed polymer stock is specifically packed with features that the long-range shooter will enjoy: a Monte Carlo comb, which will aid in the proper alignment of the eye and larger riflescopes, dual forward sling swivels to facilitate the simultaneous use of a bipod and a sling, and machined aluminum pillar bedding to keep the action securely in place for consistent accuracy with even the hardest recoiling cartridges. The stock is Spider Gray, with a light micro-texture to afford a firm grip in any weather, with gloved or bare hands. The fore-end of the stock is flat, much like a benchrest rifle, to give good stability when leaning upon any number of different surfaces. The fore-end width narrows toward the muzzle to provide a good purchase when wearing gloves or for those shooters with smaller hands.

The button-rifled, fluted barrel is free-floated, threaded for a suppressor or muzzle brake, and features an 11-degree match-grade crown at the muzzle. Mossberg has opted to include a Picatinny rail on top of the receiver for mounting your chosen optic. Like the standard Patriot models, the Patriot LR Hunter features the proprietary LBA (Lightning Bolt Action) adjustable trigger, which you can adjust for a pull weight between 2 and 7 pounds. Other standard features include a detachable drop magazine and spiral-fluted bolt with an oversized handle for a positive hold, whether bare-handed or wearing gloves.

The Patriot LR Hunter is available in 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester, each with 5+1 capacity and 22-inch barrels. You can also get it in 6.5 PRC (shown on the cover) with 4+1 capacity and a 24-inch barrel, and in .300 Winchester Magnum with 3+1 capacity and a 24-inch barrel. All models have a 13 ¾-inch length of pull and feature a matte blue finish on the receiver and barrel. The standard push-feed, twin-lug bolt face typical of the Patriot line is present here, and you can quickly push a two-position safety on the rear right side of the receiver into the fire position with your right thumb. For the long-range shooter looking for a lot of rifle and minimal investment, it will be difficult to beat the Mossberg Patriot LR Hunter.

The Leupold VX-3HD 4.5-14x40mm Riflescope

Leupold & Stevens is another name synonymous with tremendous value, as the company has a well-deserved reputation for rock-solid products at a fair price. The VX-3 and VX-3i line of riflescopes have long been a favorite of hunters and shooters worldwide, as they represent a perfect blend of necessary features and affordability. In 2021, Leupold has given the VX-3 product line a revamp and introduced the VX-3HD series of riflescopes. The lineup includes models suitable for nearly any application, from the low-powered dangerous game scopes with their wide field-of-view to the models well-suited to target work and hunting at longer ranges, where precise shot placement is paramount. The Leupold VX-3HD 4.5-14x40mm (shown here) is a natural choice for a long-range hunting scope, as it offers enough magnification to make a shot at any sane hunting distance, yet you can dial it down to perform in the deer woods. A 30mm main tube gives plenty of room for elevation adjustments, and the side parallax knob keeps the image crisp at any distance.

The VX-3HD 4.5-14x40 is — like other Leupold scopes — tough as nails, yet weighing in at a mere 16 ounces will not destroy the delicate balance of your favorite hunting rifle. The Elite Optical System offers the optimum performance in any light, and there is plenty of eye relief for even the hardest-kicking magnum cartridges. Elevation and windage adjustments are ¼ MOA with a positive click. The elevation turret has a zero lock to ensure you return to zero after every adjustment; push the button and twist to make an elevation adjustment, and upon return to zero the unit stays locked in the field. Leupold offers the CDS (Custom Dial System), which correlates to your chosen load’s trajectory. Once you provide Leupold with the necessary ballistic data, you can swap a secondary elevation dial for the standard MOA graduated turret, which Leupold marks in yardage for your specific load. Range the target, dial the elevation turret to the proper distance, and squeeze the trigger. It couldn’t be any more practical or straightforward.

The Wind-Plex reticle even further enhances the performance of the VX-3HD. The horizontal crosshair of the reticle is graduated in one-MOA hash marks, making wind adjustments on the fly easy. There is 10 MOA of graduation on either side of the crosshair, offering all the wind adjustment any shooter should need. Quality optics are a worthwhile investment, and Leupold has packed an awful lot of high-quality features into an affordable riflescope that will give a lifetime of service. Backed by Leupold’s Lifetime Guarantee, this riflescope is designed, machined, and assembled in the USA and, with an MSRP of $749.99, you probably won’t find a scope of this quality, with all of these features, at a price point this low. Serious shooters have always equated the famous Gold Ring with quality and dependability, and the VX-3HD is no exception.

The .257 Weatherby Magnum, combined with today’s lighter, weather-resistant Weatherby rifles, is an excellent choice for hunting big country where shots are long. Photo: Weatherby

.257 WEATHERBY MAGNUM:

The Once and Future King of the Quarter Bores

MIKE DICKERSON

It may seem hard to believe now, but there was a time when Southern California was a hotbed of innovation and activity in the shooting sports. For many decades following World War II, before anti-gun politicians in Sacramento started legislating away gun rights, the old-Hollywood A-list elite counted many accomplished hunters and shooters among their ranks. Los Angeles was home to several top hunting and shooting publications. L.A. had numerous custom gun shops, like Pachmayr, and famed gunsmiths, including Jim Hoag, a competitive shooter who became known as the gunsmith to the stars. Other notable locals included legendary big game hunters Elgin Gates and Jack Lott — Lott was the inventor of the .458 Lott. In the 1960s, Col. Jeff Cooper was holding court — and shooting matches — in the mountains above L.A., teaching the Weaver stance, which L.A. County Sheriff’s deputy Jack Weaver developed. Later, Kim Rhode, who would become America’s greatest female Olympic trap and skeet shooter, trained as a youngster at Mike Raahauge Shooting Enterprises, where I often shot pheasants and saw Kim training on clays with her father.

Long before then, during World War II, a car insurance salesman and wildcatter named Roy Weatherby spent his nights and weekends experimenting with handloads. He would develop cartridges that would forever change the industry and influence ammo and gun makers alike. One of the first of these cartridges was the .257 Weatherby Magnum.

IT ALL BEGAN WITH A FAILURE

Roy’s historic journey of invention began with a failure when he wounded and lost a deer on a hunt in Utah using a rifle chambered in .30-‘06 Springfield. The experience led him to develop his theory of what we would today call hydrostatic shock. Roy believed that if he could get a bullet moving fast enough to disintegrate inside the animal’s body, the shock would cause instant death even if the animal was not hit in a particularly vital area.

The first cartridges Roy developed, including the .257, .270, 7mm, and .300 Weatherby Magnums were all based on the .300 Holland and Holland Magnum case. Roy blew out the cases, increasing powder capacity while reducing the parent case’s taper, and gave the shoulder the iconic Weatherby double radius. That, along with the case’s brass belt, made Weatherby magnum cartridges readily identifiable at a glance. The belt, incidentally, was not needed for strength, as many people believe. Its purpose in the British parent cartridge was a means of proper headspacing.

An ardent hunter and wildcatter, Roy Weatherby developed his Weatherby magnum cartridges during World War II. They became so popular that he quit his job as an insurance salesman to produce cartridges and rifles that would forever influence the shooting industry. Photo: Weatherby

For the .257, Roy necked the case down to .25 caliber and shortened it to about 2.5 inches. That worked best with the slowest-burning powders of the time and allowed the cartridge to fit in standard-length actions. There had been other .25-caliber cartridges before Roy’s design, but the .257 Wby. Mag. blew them all out of the water. They included the .25-20 Winchester, a short-range round; the limited-range .25-35 Winchester; the obsolete .250-3000 Savage, which was the first .25 to crack the 3,000 fps barrier with light bullets; and the .257 Roberts, which pushed a 100-grain bullet along at slightly more than 3,000 fps. Even the newer .25-06 Rem., which Remington standardized in 1969, propels bullets substantially slower than the .257 Wby. Mag. for given bullet weights.

The .257 Wby. Mag. was then — and remains today — the king of the quarter bores. When Roy first trotted the cartridge out, shooters were astonished. The cartridge drove an 87-grain bullet at 3,825 fps. Numbers were equally startling for heavier bullet weights: 100-grain bullets blazed along at about 3,600 fps, 117-grain bullets stepped out at 3,400 fps, and 120-grain Nosler Partitions (my personal favorite for hunting) launched at 3,300 fps.

As many people know, the .257 Weatherby Magnum was known as my grandfather’s favorite cartridge, says the company’s third-generation leader, Adam Weatherby, I think it really demonstrated what he was all about … high velocity. Noting that the .257 Wby. Mag. is still touted as the fastest .25 caliber today, Adam says he has a .257 in his personal safe that harvested four deer last year, including one his high school-aged daughter took. It is a cartridge that has a cult-like following for those looking for something fast and flat. There truly is nothing else like it out there, Weatherby noted.

The author’s love affair with the .257 Wby. Mag. began decades ago at Weatherby’s old retail shop in the Los Angeles suburb of South Gate. The firm subsequently moved to more gun-friendly environs in central California and then to Sheridan, Wyoming. Photos: Weatherby

THE NEED FOR SPEED

Apart from those of us who have a profound need for speed, there’s a certain smug self-satisfaction to be had when someone asks you what you’re shooting, and you reply, .257 Weatherby. Owning one is a bit like being the guy who shows up driving a Ferrari to a car rally where everyone else is driving a Prius. I once sat next to a rancher in a Texas blind who had just watched me shoot a whitetail at a couple of hundred yards. He was watching the deer with binoculars when I touched off the shot. Holy Mother of God, he mumbled under his breath as he slowly lowered the binoculars. He immediately made me an offer on the rifle. Yes, performance can be that impressive — also, rifles in .257 Wby. Mag. also have relatively little recoil. Anyone who can shoot a .270 Winchester can comfortably shoot a .257 Weatherby.

Roy Weatherby tested his magnum cartridges — including his personal favorite, the .257 Wby. Mag. — extensively in Africa. He killed many plains game with the cartridge and even used it on one occasion to kill a Cape buffalo to prove he could do it.

Roy would later write that he couldn’t pinpoint an exact date when he created the cartridge, but he was sure that it was in 1944. He once wrote that the .257 was his favorite for almost everything, and he had shot animals with it up to 300 yards away with dynamic success. He himself was amazed at the killing power of the .257 Wby. Mag., says Roy’s son, Ed Weatherby, who led the firm from 1983 until 2017. He used that caliber more often than any other, including the .300 Wby. Mag. Roy reportedly preferred to use the 100-grain bullet over the 117 grainers because he found that it did more damage within reasonable ranges.

The differences between the .257 Wby. Mag. right, and its closest competitors, the .257 Roberts and the .25-06 Rem., are clear at a glance. For nearly 80 years, the .257 Wby. Mag. has ruled as the most potent quarter-bore cartridge.

The author says his personal favorite .257 Wby. Mag. rifle, a much modified Weatherby Vanguard, has likely accounted for more game than any other rifle in his collection.

While there was always some merit in the hydrostatic shock theory, its effects are not always guaranteed. There are limits to its application in the field, particularly with larger animals that are considerably more shock-resistant than deer-sized game. In those early years, Roy was working with relatively light cup-and-core bullets, and he didn’t have the improved, controlled-expansion bullets that we take for granted today. That changed in the 1960s. That’s when Weatherby began loading .257 Weatherby Magnums with Nosler Partition bullets — or, more accurately, when Norma started to load them. Norma has manufactured Weatherby ammunition since the 1950s and was Nosler’s first commercial loader. In any event, this made Weatherby one of the first to offer premium-grade ammo with controlled-expansion bullets, and in the case of the .257, it proved to be a game-changer. Hunters still got the benefits of speed-induced shock — and uber-flat trajectories — but with bullets that would hold together and penetrate deeply.

Weatherby currently offers seven loads for the .257 with the following bullets: a 100-grain spire point, a 100-grain Hornady Interlock, a 100-grain Barnes TTSX, a 110-grain Nosler Accubond, a 110-grain Hornady ELD-X, a 115-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip, and the 120-grain Nosler Partition. Today’s Weatherby ammo is multi-sourced and includes some loaded by Weatherby in Wyoming. Factory offerings don’t stop there.

Hornady makes 90-grain GMX and 110-grain ELD-X loads. Nosler makes a 110-grain AccuBond offering in its Trophy Grade line and no fewer than five different loads in its Custom line with bullet weights ranging from 100 to 120 grains. Federal’s custom ammo shop will create loads for you using a 100-grain Barnes TTSX, a 110-grain Nosler AccuBond, or a 110-grain Sierra MatchKing bullet. DoubleTap produces three .257 Wby. Mag. loads. Choice Ammunition has three, including one with a 115-grain Berger VLD Hunting bullet. HSM makes one load with the same bullet, plus another with a 117-grain SBT GameKing bullet. Norma currently lists only .257 brass for sale.

Many large hogs and blacktail deer fell to the author’s .257 Weatherby during several decades of hunting the central California coastal range. Those were primarily spot and stalk hunts, and shots could be rather long, making the .257 perfect for the job.

The Weatherby Mark V line got a makeover in the last few years, as evidenced in this Mark V First Lite model, and the result is an updated take on an iconic American rifle design. In testing, this rifle chambered in .257 Wby. Mag. shot sub-MOA groups with all four tested loads, demonstrating both the cartridge and the rifle’s accuracy potential.

The author used the .257 Weatherby Mag. loaded with a 120-grain Nosler Partition bullet to take this bruiser of a Texas whitetail.

MATCHING THE CARTRIDGE TO THE GAME

Campfire discussions about the .257 Wby. Mag. often revolve around a single question: What can you kill with it? The answer, as demonstrated throughout the 77-year life of the cartridge, is just about anything. In North America, hunters have killed grizzly bears with the .257. Roy Weatherby was fond of telling the story about how he killed a Cape buffalo in Africa with the .257 — just once — to prove the cartridge could do it. Details of that hunt are lost to the mists of time, but as the story goes, he shot the buff while it was quartering away, and it dropped in its tracks.

The Mark V rifle had radical styling when Weatherby introduced it, with Monte Carlo combs, fancy inlays, spacers, and high-gloss finishes. The rifle, and numerous other versions of the Mark V, were chambered for the .257 Wby. Mag. from the beginning.

The .257 Wby. Mag. also accounted for the author’s best pronghorn to date, from New Mexico.

Of course, the fact that you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean that you should, and I’m not about to suggest that anyone who isn’t in a hurry to meet their maker take up hunting large and dangerous game with the .257. As Roy and his hunting companions demonstrated in Africa many times, however, the cartridge is perfectly capable of downing plains game as big and tough as zebra.

Some will tell you that the cartridge is inadequate for elk and moose, and that may be true with less-than-optimal shot placement, as it is with many other cartridges. Still, plenty of hunters have killed elk and moose with the .257. They had to wait for the right shot opportunity and sent their bullets where they needed to go. It is, after all, not the size of the hole that matters, but where you place it. The .257 works fine on black bears, and it’s hard to imagine a more perfect cartridge for pronghorn.

Most North American hunters use the .257 for hunting mule deer and whitetails, and the cartridge shines in that role. As one fellow die-hard .257 fan puts it, There is no finer cartridge for deer than the .257 Wby. Mag. He is not alone in that belief. It has a fanatically loyal following, and with good reason. The critical thing to remember is that it’s all about matching the bullet to the game and distance — no matter what you hunt with it.

The cartridge isn’t without its critics. Some are quick to point out that it is seriously overbore, and so it is — but so are many other great cartridges with large case volumes and relatively small diameter bullets. Ah, they say, but burning that much powder will shorten barrel life. Again, that’s true, but most owners of a .257 Wby. Mag. rifle aren’t going to shoot it enough to wear out a barrel in their lifetimes. The actual use of my .257 is limited to checking zero, being sure to let the barrel cool between shots, and taking shots on game. If you do the same, you should have no problem. But the ammo is expensive, say detractors. That’s also true, but most people who buy Weatherby rifles in Weatherby magnum chamberings do so knowing that, and you can always cut costs by loading your ammo.

The .257 Wby. Mag. cartridge and guns like the Weatherby Mark V Weathermark LT are genuinely go-anywhere, do-anything combinations for most North American game. Today, Weatherby chambers all Mark V and Vanguard rifles in .257 Wby. Mag., except the Camilla models.

MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH THE .257

My love affair with .257 Weatherby Magnum began more than 30 years ago when I occasionally visited the old Weatherby retail store in South Gate, a Los Angeles suburb. In those days, my tastes ran toward racy and aesthetically pleasing rifles and cars, among other things, but my tastes often exceeded my budget. Happily, the store had a blem rack, holding guns with slight cosmetic blemishes that it sold at a discounted price, and I sometimes found a gun there with no significant imperfections. My credit card came out so fast it smoked, and the store salesmen were happy because they didn’t have to follow me around to prevent me from drooling all over the beautiful Weatherby rifles.

One of those guns was a Weatherby Vanguard chambered in .257 Wby. Mag. It did not long stay in its original configuration. I replaced the factory trigger with one from Timney and swapped the stock for a pillar-bedded Weatherby Fiberguard in an attractive tan color with a black spiderweb finish. I quickly realized why the .257 was Roy Weatherby’s favorite as I used the rifle to take a lot of hogs and blacktail deer on spot-and-stalk hunts in Central California in those years.

Since then, I have primarily fed the rifle Weatherby factory loads with 120-grain Nosler Partition bullets, which group around ¾ MOA out of that rifle. Launching those bullets at 3,300 fps, the load hits hard and shoots flat, and it’s the one I would choose to handle just about everything that walks on the North American continent and several others. Using the old-school trick of zeroing the rifle to place bullets three inches high at 100 yards, it is dead on at 300 yards and hits a little more than three inches low at 350 yards. Within that range, there’s no need to waste time calculating holdover or turning turrets. You get a good rest, hold dead-on, and shoot. The bullet, incidentally, is still packing nearly 1,750 ft-lbs of energy at 350 yards.

With that load, the rifle has always been nothing less than a death ray, and over time it has probably accounted for more game — and made more great memories — than any other rifle in my collection. That rifle was with me when I shot my first pronghorn in Wyoming, and it was the one I used to take a New Mexico record book pronghorn. With that gun, I’ve taken mule deer in several Western states, and it was the one I used to take my first javelina and my first axis deer. It has killed many whitetails, including my best to date — a barrel-chested 11-pointer nudging the 160 B&C mark from Texas. I killed a running whitetail with an offhand shot in Kentucky, and the list goes on.

The author spends more time testing and hunting with new rifles these days, but he still sneaks his .257 Wby. Mag. out occasionally for the pure joy of hunting with it.

Almost every animal I’ve shot with that rifle dropped in their tracks. A few ran a short distance, but none have ever required any tracking to recover. Mind you, that’s not because I shot any of the animals through the shoulders to anchor them. I don’t particularly appreciate wasting meat. I took all those animals with heart/lung shots, and when people saw the rifle perform in the field, they offered to buy it from me. For any of my friends who still haven’t gotten the message, it’s not for sale. That gun is going to remain in my family.

This axis deer, the first of many the author has taken, fell to the .257 Weatherby.

The author also took his first javelina with the fast little cartridge.

THE WEATHERBY MYSTIQUE

Of course, no discussion of Weatherby cartridges would be complete without touching on Weatherby rifles, for the two go hand-in-hand. Shortly after Roy developed his early cartridges, he began rechambering guns for people in his garage. He then started building rifles on just about any type of action he could get. These included FN Belgian Mauser, Enfield, Schultz & Larson, Brevex Magnum Mauser, and FN Sako Mauser actions. In 1957, he introduced the Weatherby Mark V rifle and thoroughly shook up the shooting industry, which produced rather bland products. Mark V rifles were radical designs by the day’s standards, featuring Monte Carlo combs, fancy inlays, spacers, and high-gloss finishes. They were hot rod rifles for hot rod cartridges, and from the beginning, Weatherby chambered them in .257 Wby. Mag.

Ever the savvy salesman and promoter of his rifles and cartridges, Roy had a talent for accessing some key influencers in the entertainment business, including John Wayne, Gary Cooper, and Roy Rogers. As he told one interviewer long ago, there were damn few important big game hunters who could afford a Weatherby rifle who didn’t own one. The list included Ernest Hemingway, former president of Mexico Miguel Aleman, Prince Abdorreza Pahlavi of Iran, Air Force generals Curtis LeMay and Nate Twining, the presidents of Volkswagen and Gulf Oil, the owners of May Company and Ohrbach’s department stores, several professional athletes and a few Indian maharajahs.

The prototypical Weatherby rifle is the Mark V Deluxe, which the company still makes. Weatherby added many other Mark V models to the lineup over the years, including the more affordable Vanguard rifle line. Production has been both overseas and in the U.S. at different times, but where Weatherby made the guns mattered little because the company always exercised a high level of quality control.

Today, rifles chambered in .257 Wby. Mag. remain top sellers for Weatherby, ranking second only to rifles chambered in .300 Wby. Mag. According to Ed Weatherby, the .257 has historically always been one of Weatherby’s top four calibers in sales. That may diminish a bit with the introduction of new Weatherby cartridges such as the 6.5-300 and 6.5 RPM, he says, but it will always be one of the most popular for medium-sized game like antelope, deer, and sheep.

As of this writing, Weatherby, now based in Sheridan, Wyoming, offers 18 different Mark V and 21 Vanguard models, and — except for the Camilla models — all of them include the .257 chambering.

Several custom rifle makers have produced guns in .257 Wby. Mag. You can find some other factory guns chambered for the cartridge over the years, but that begs the question: Why would you want to? A big part of the appeal of shooting Weatherby cartridges is shooting Weatherby rifles. Despite Roy’s talent for getting his rifles into the hands of famous people, the guns were never just the bone-crushing playthings of wealthy Texans, as one writer described them long ago.

There has always been a certain mystique associated with owning and shooting Weatherby rifles and the Weatherby magnum cartridges. That’s especially true of the .257, and its popularity shows no sign of slackening despite the current trend toward cartridges with long, heavy-for-caliber bullets and higher ballistic coefficients. The .257 Weatherby Magnum has been putting trophies on the wall and meat on the table for nearly 80 years now, and it’s a pretty safe bet that it will continue to do so, with style, for a long time to come.

The ultimate catch for the collector is a Vietnam bringback such as this well-used Type 56 captured during the Cambodian Incursion in June 1970. Shown is a communist Khmer Rouge-checkered neckerchief jammed into the butt trap where the cleaning kit is typically stored. Note also that the stock was repaired and sanded down to remove a split or crack in the pistol grip. The sling even shows a repair! Though it is in used condition, its owner, SKS authority and Vietnam veteran Howie Bearse, once told the author, I like such guns that have been there, done that! Howie Bearse Collection

The Puzzle of China’s SKS Carbine

Enigma of the Bamboo Curtain

GEORGE LAYMAN

What became the most prolific copy of Sergei Simonov’s world-renown semi-automatic military carbine was the near 30-plus-year production run of those manufactured in the People’s Republic of China. These easily outnumbered all others in variety and distribution throughout the world, including the United States!

A full-length view of a Type 56 made at rectangle Factory/Plant 0141, located in Hebei, China. The rectangle factory guns appear in the early 1970s, and this T56 is sure to be a 1973 production gun given the 73 prefix, followed by 3,025, the actual number of guns made up to that point by this facility. Many rectangle guns have a line from the center of the box leading to the serial prefix. The characters Five–Six Type begin at the far left and are neatly done in a block print style. Adrian Van Dyk Collection

Declassified in 2009, this rough drawing from memory was made by a CIA operative in Russia in 1954. Agents included it in the Russian SKS CIA Information Report dated April 14, 1955, that first looked at the then-highly classified Soviet SKS and its specifications.

The development behind the SKS carbine began five years before the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov was getting close to nearing completion of a basic prototype of his semi-automatic infantry carbine. These were the dark, pre-war days of the Nazi juggernaut, which would soon roll across Russia’s seemingly endless western frontier. The details of Simonov’s returning to the drawing board in 1943, and eventual perfecting of his famous SKS carbine, is well known among arms historians. However, the 8 1/2-pound, ten-shot semi-automatic gas-operated carbine wasn’t finalized until late 1945 — too late to be issued to the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. The Soviet Union would not officially adopt it until 1949.

The SKS-45 or Samozaryadn’ye Karabin Sistemi Simonova 1945 (Simonov Semi-Automatic Carbine), did not enjoy a genuinely long service life. The Soviets selected Mikhail Kalashnikov’s soon-to-be-fielded AK-47 for adoption in 1949. The Russian SKS became a stopgap weapon but did remain in official issue until 1958, when production terminated. It is, however, still an active participant in ceremonies and special functions. The world got its first glimpse of the still-classified SKS during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. By that time, the Soviet Union offered its satellite states the opportunity to license and manufacture the SKS. Yugoslavia, Romania, and East Germany are three Eastern European countries that domestically produced the SKS. The fourth was Albania, which formed a unique affiliation with the most prolific manufacturer of the Russian-designed SKS — the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

The PRC was the first Soviet ally to receive licensing to manufacture the SKS, but in the beginning, it experienced a hint of reluctance that came with a hefty price. After Mao Tse Tung’s People’s Liberation Army drove the rightful Nationalist Chinese Government out of China’s mainland to Taiwan in October 1949, chairman Mao quickly partnered his regime with Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin. Following a half-baked reception by the aging Russian leader, the Soviets allocated some standard Soviet weaponry quantities to Mao. Most of China’s post-war ordnance consisted of countless surrendered Japanese military hardware and ammunition. Within a year of assuming power, Mao Tse Tung sent thousands of volunteers at the request of ally North Korea, four months after the South’s invasion on June 25, 1950. This action resulted in China pleading with the USSR for substantial quantities of Soviet weaponry. The Chinese received 375,000 World War II-era, Russian small arms, and 250,000,000 rounds of ammunition in November 1950.

Over time, when satellite factories and sub-plants expanded, China cleverly devised methods to insert three and four numbers into a limited space. The triangle with a 3 inside a smaller triangle is Factory 6336. Studying this closely, one can understand how this reads compared to the more straightforward Factory 326, which is not difficult to interpret. Why many triangle markings end with the number Six is unknown; however, the author feels there is a connection to the Jianshe Factory 26. The location of most of these numbered plants is also unknown, aside from a small percentage. Factory 326 is in Anhui Province, with 6635 located in Guangdong Province. As numbers increase to four digits, many triangles are like puzzles and are challenging to decipher. All photos by author unless noted

This refinished Sino-Soviet, Type One SKS is one of the 2,050 made as test and evaluation guns by the Chinese students at the Tula Arsenal in Russia. Its serial number of 1789 is over the 1,410 mark that indicates it is one of the 540 guns completed at Factory 26 between January and March 1956. Less than a dozen of its kind are known. They feature a four-digit number to 2,051 and a star at the right. The humidity-resistant fiberglass/phenolic stock is a replacement, but these can run beyond the $1,800 mark in any configuration. Adrian Van Dyk Collection

In June 1951, Mao sent a group of military emissaries to Moscow to purchase and request licensing for tooling and machinery to build small arms domestically. Stalin suspected that providing China with an inch would eventually result in many miles. He was right. China’s ulterior motive was to obtain SKS technology, a subject yet to be brought up. China financially sacrificed a substantial price, paid to the Russians for World War II-era obsolescent ordnance, along with tooling, drawings, and spare parts. Thus, China obtained most on its wish list; however, it all arrived 14 months later than promised. Regressing to the June 1951 arms talks, Mao was incensed that his chief negotiator, Marshal Hsu Hsang Chien, had yet to acquire the SKS part of the deal. Marshal Hsu also had not received Stalin’s blessing to provide the SKS package and Russian technical advisors’ schedule to move on the SKS project. It would be two more weeks of negotiating before a frustrated Marshal Hsu would finally convince Stalin and the Politburo with a hefty payment using the old Soviet bartering system.

This Type Two was once another difficult-to-locate Chinese Type 56 SKS until the Albanian imports of the last ten years arrived and were completely original, as a matching numbered Type Two variant as shown. With nothing but a serial number from 2,052 to 215,000, these were not common during the 1980s and 1990s surplus SKS boom. Though rusting in places, this example has its original finish. It seems to have experienced more storage time than shooting and handling, given most of its original finish is remaining. Without its import marks stating CHINA as the origin, you could easily misidentify it as another country’s product. The buttstock is a very distinctive grain of Arctic Birch. Pictured with it is a closeup of a 194,000-range, six-digit Type Two, and an extremely desirable North Vietnamese Project One Star at the end of the serial number. It is likely among the earliest Chinese Type 56 carbines given or sold to communist Vietnam early in the war. Photos by the author and the Adrian Van Dyk Collection

This 11-million prefixed Type 56, approximating 1967, is an excellent representation of Factory 26 guns made during the Vietnam era. It arrived with the last known batch of Type 56 guns from Albania in 2019 and, as is the norm, features everything from mixed up parts and incorrect bayonets to badly cracked stock. However, this example matches completely, with solid wood and 90 percent finish showing minimal use. The Triangle 26 at far left is a model number in characters followed by the prefixed serial number, representing the later majority. The chamber shows the shorter barrel collar/lug introduced by this time. In the 1970s, factories eliminated the short collar in favor of a more economical, press-fit, and pinned barrel. However, the Factory 26 guns’ reappearance in 1979 retained the short collar and threaded barrel. This condition is desirable among collectors.

A disassembled view of one of the rare, 2,275 Russian Code K SKS guns, s/n K0811. This SKS was the first SKS Chinese model the military had a chance to familiarize itself with while students were in Russia training from 1954 to 1955. Arriving from Albania in the 2010s, it’s the only one of its type reported thus far, and you can find the abundant Russian inspection markings in numerous locations. Jude Steele Collection

As late as August 1953, however, China had yet to receive any word on the SKS equipment transfer. Thirteen months after Stalin’s death in March 1953, China’s long obsession with the SKS carbine slowly became a reality. The new Russian Premier Nikita Krushchev was informed through diplomatic channels that China had received nothing regarding the SKS equipment previously paid and agreed upon during the 1951 Second Sino-Soviet Agreement. Krushchev learned that Stalin’s general mistrust of others had delayed the SKS program. In the original July 7, 1951 agreement, Marshal Hsu grudgingly concurred with Soviet demands that China should send apprentices to Russia’s Factory 26 for SKS training before equipment transfer.

Krushchev got the ball rolling from late 1953 to Fall 1955, and China’s Jianshe Factory sent 95 Chinese apprentices to build SKS carbines on a rotational evaluation basis. The Chinese requested only 2,050 guns. The shrewdly astute Krushchev decided to formulate a Third Sino-Soviet Agreement in 1954. In part, it stipulated Russia would additionally supply 2,275 pre-issue SKS carbines for China’s military to train with while the students were in Russia. These specially numbered SKS carbines are identified in the archives as the Kitayets Otsenka Serii Kod Bukva’ K’ Programma or Chinese Evaluation Series Code Letter K Program. Albania exported one known example in 2013; these SKS variants are quite rare. Furthermore, the Joint Sino-Soviet 1954 Agreement (officially known as the Lin/Kovalyov Signing) saw Russia providing substantial quantities of SKS components in addition to tooling, drawings, and machinery, which China readily agreed would expedite production. This agreement was yet another separate payment, again using the bartering system.

Two views of the experimental stamped steel Type 56 SKS. This right front angle quickly identifies it by the square-contoured frontal frame and the cross bolt’s presence. This gun made at rectangle Factory 0138 also has the 70 prefix found on cast steel guns. Whether 70 is a code or the production year is unknown. Another unique feature is the rounded area where the receiver cover meets the frame. Very few had the large, visible electro-penciled import markings of NORINCO, as shown. Norinco was a People’s Liberation Army front organization operating in the United States as an arms importer. You cannot rule out a possible link to espionage. Jude Steele Collection

The early, one-piece gas tube (top) and the two-piece modified gas tube (bottom) appeared in 1967. Production-wise, the latter was far more inexpensive to produce than the former and eliminated expensive machining steps.

The Chinese apprentices were schooled at Russia’s Tula arsenal until December 1955, with the last group returning to China with the 67 Soviet technicians. In addition to the previous agreement in 1951, this payment went towards some 3,120,000 unfinished SKS carbines in various completion stages, about 812,000 yet-unidentified components, 10,500,000 bayonet blades, and 11,220,00 rear leaf sights, all shipped to China over two years. Oddly, the 2,275 K Code guns were separate and cost-free. However, the 2,050 SKS test carbines were chargeable commodities. Of these guns, Russia completed 1,640, with the remaining 410 finished in China in March 1956. In this agreement, the materials bartered included natural resources such as tungsten, vanadium, salt, lead, and other minerals needed by the Soviets. Adding insult to injury, Krushchev ensured that Russia also demanded a quantity of refined gold, an added resource that rankled Mao Tse Tung to no end. The amount is still classified as Secret. The 67 Russian technicians were compensated monthly by China for their services on the Soviet wage scale. Thus, China paid a heavy price to acquire SKS technology. Soon after, the Chinese received the AK technology¹.

Both the Chinese SKS and AK-47 are identically christened the Type 56. By 1958, the original 67 Russians were replaced by 75 newly selected advisors who would be the go-to people when China required high-grade Russian steels and other materials not available in China proper. These early 2,050 guns are coined by collectors as the Sino-Soviet Type 56, along with SKS carbines built from 1956 into late 1960, as they consist of Chinese- and Russian-made parts. I have classified this first group as Type One. You identify these by a four-digit serial number and a small star at the right indicating receivers were made at Tula Arsenal. Fewer than a dozen are known, making them the scarcest Chinese Type 56 SKS carbines. Type Two continues from serial number 2,051 to about 214,000. These have five to six serial numbers, with no identifying markings to distinguish them. The Type Three variant of the Chinese T56 SKS is the first Factory 26-marked gun that appeared, with serial numbers 215,000 to 218,00. The entire range of Type Threes runs from approximately 215,000 to about 1,820,000. In essence, China produced Type One through Type Three models from 1955 to 1959.

The Chinese used four types of leaf sights on the Type Two SKS. The earliest, which lasted until the early 1970s, was one of the 10,500,000 purchased from the Soviet Union purchased per the 1954 Agreement. The base has a Cyrillic P, which to English speakers appears as a square-topped U. There are two abbreviations for this Cyrillic P, the first is Pritsel, meaning Rifle Sight, and Postoyanyy, or Permanent; another means the standard position of the sight at 100 meters. The second early sight is a Latin D marking at the base, which, as a PLA soldier explained to the author, stands for Di wei or low position. The D-marked sight leaf is seen as early as 1964 and was in use through the 1970s. Many early Chinese M 21 carbines featured it. The next is a number 3 stamped leaf. The exact meaning is unknown, but you will find it on many 1980s and 90s imports. The final and latest sight leaf is like a Roman numeral III lined over the top and bottom. You’ll see many of the later Public Security guns with this stylized leaf marking.

This DP-marked carbine has the prefix of Baicheng City behind the Type 56 markings in front of the serial number. One of 11 different city prefixes on DB/DP guns, this example was neatly marked. Assume that the 24 heading in the serial number on this non-Factory 26 Type 56 SKS indicates the 24th year of manufacture, 1981, with 1,192 representing the production number. Note the later press fit and pinned barrel lacking a collar. There is no known record of how many guns