A few years ago I wrote the post about how the gangster era came to an end. It was mostly about how each gangster met his end, which I found fascinating, see that post here. One of those gangsters, was actually a couple, perhaps the most famous gangster couple to have ever lived: Bonnie & Clyde. Those of you that know the story will remember that Bonnie & Clyde were ambushed by a posse in the backwoods of Louisiana in the V-8 Ford they had stolen weeks earlier. The other day we were on a trek and were going through the town of Primm Nevada and decided to stop to see one of the attracti ..read more

 I purchased this S&W model 29 last year and it came with the presentation case, but the case was not in the best condition. Here is what it looked like when I bought it. After cleaning up the loose flocking and inventorying the tools & paperwork which were all present and accounted for I was pleasantly surprised that the plastic insert was in excellent condition. Other than a few small nicks and dents, the outside of the box is in great shape (considering it is 40 years old). I went online and found a flocking kit in royal blue, the factory color was a bit darker ..read more

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  Despite what it may appear, Manhattan Arms Company didn't produce any guns in New York. Manhattan Arms Company was started in 1855 because of one reason: Colt's patent on the revolver was set to expire in 1857. The company set up shop in Norwich Connecticut led by Mr. Thomas Bacon.  Bacon had already been in the gun business for years having started a previous operation in Norwich, Bacon sold his interests in that operation to work for Manhattan Arms. Bacon brought with him a single shot design and soon he and fellow gunsmith Joseph Gruber began work on a percussion ..read more

 It wouldn't be March without some 10/22 gun porn ..read more

Yes, another 10/22 project, only this on is pretty short, just one post. A while back I bought a vintage (1966-1971) Finger Groove Sporter stock that was in really good condition. I built it into a functioning rifle using a Kingston Armory steel receiver, an aluminum trigger housing from Pike Arms and a new production "take-off" barrel. See the final post of the build here. I had the intention of replacing those parts with more vintage stuff, which I am in the process of doing. Then I bought this new production Deluxe Sporter stock. It is made of American walnut (they also make a version in ..read more

There is an old saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I believe that to be true. It could also be a sign of the lazy. When it comes to firearms, we see a lot of flattery (or laziness) going on. Take the Mauser rifle, the design was so good that nearly every bolt action rifle since has an element of the Mauser in their design. Maybe this is because there is no better way to design a bolt action rifle? When it comes to 22 self-loading rifle designs, there have been many, but few if any have been copied, cloned or duplicated as much as the venerable Ruger 10 ..read more

This month marks the 60th anniversary of the introduction of the Ruger 10/22 as well as the 75th anniversary of Sturm, Ruger & Co. They have two new 10/22s for sale, just the typical sporter rifles in "natural" and "walnut stained hardwood". In 2014 for the 50th anniversary, Ruger held a contest for owners/fans to design the 50th Anniversary edition. I thought I might show the guns that were entered, since it has been 10 years now to see how the contestants might have fared if the competition were held today. Below are the entrants: This take-down would be a good choice, but in m ..read more

 Every March I bring you projects, facts, upgrades and pictures of 10/22s that anyone would like to own. Today I am doing something different, these are pictures of ugly 10/22s ..read more

We have been doing this for 8 years now, I have provided links to the previous years below. 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 In their April 2010 gun review, The Truth About Guns said this about the 10/22 "You'll never confuse the Ruger with rigles that won the West or a mucho macho black gun, but The Little Carbine That Could has the goods to Git 'er Done" The 10/22 is the most imitated, most copied .22 rifle ever made. Ruger & TALO added another special edition 10/22 Sporter rifle, this one feature Rocky Mountain outdoors scene. The first description given about th ..read more