Ruger No. 1 rifles
Ring Around Ruger
On page 39 of your September 1999 issue (”50 Years Of Ruger Genius”), the statement is made that all Ruger No. 1 rifles are shipped with a pair of 1″ Ruger scope rings at no extra cost. Page 7 of the 1999 Ruger catalog also states this. However, this is not correct, as I found out when I recently purchased a new No. 1 rifle in 45-70 Gov’t.
When I telephoned the Ruger company to ask about the missing scope rings, I was told that the statement in the catalog was a “typo” and that some calibers of the No. 1 rifle are shipped without rings. The rings can be purchased from Ruger for about $50.
Duane Starr
Oak Ridge, Tenn.
A Flatterer’s Day Of Reckoning
I was scanning the August issue of GUNS magazine and saw a pair of letters in “Crossfire” that were disappointing. An often-repeated military leader once reminded some squabbling subordinates, “Men the enemy is out there.” With liberal extremists hiding the scandals and immoral, degenerate behavior in their ranks, they continue pushing their agenda of disarmament of the honest citizen.
Meanwhile, in this respected publication, two literate “friends” gripe in print because some readers have higher standards and convictions than they. Apparently other readers had registered distaste for the tawdry, excessive commercial use of exposed females to stir lust in males during the “rut.” More than one trophy has ended on a wall because the bucks could not think their best.
GUNS is not a magazine selected for articles about washing machines or underwear; neither do we expect it to be anything but a wholesome family publication that our children or grandchildren can read. If the two disgruntled readers parading their preference for porn get upset when ladies and gentlemen do not share their unrequited fleshly appetites, then their interest is not focused on guns.
Why don’t you get the porn magazines to write some truthful articles on the American right to keep and bear arms? The Second Amendment is the guarantor of the rest of the Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution including the First Amendment, which keeps those magazines in business.
You probably know that the biggest porn publishers in this country support the left wing agenda of disarmament in the U.S. and support the location, registration and confiscation agenda.
Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil. Truth still matters. Lies from big media anchors or lies from a prevaricator in chief are still lies. Anyone with integrity hates to be lied to. Even a flatterer has a day of reckoning and this gang has done a lot more than that.
Name Withheld
Don’t Choose Sports Authority
I was just reading my very first copy of GUNS Magazine (July 1999) when I came upon the “Wal-Mart Stomps 2nd Amendment” letter in “Crossfire.” Well, this one hit home because I had a similar experience. I was recently at my local Sports Authority store in Broadview, Ill., where I have been a loyal customer ever since they first opened. I always bought a lot of my hunting, fishing and golfing equipment there because their prices are hard to beat.
I noticed that they no longer sell handguns or much ammo for handguns. In addition to this, the clerk now makes you sign your John Hancock on a computer screen saying that you are over 18 years of age when you purchase any kind of firearm ammunition.
I see two things wrong with this picture. One, your date of birth is clearly printed on both your Drivers License and your Ill. F.O.I.D. Card (Firearms Owner Identification) along with a photo on both. So why the signature?
Second, I believe it is an invasion of my privacy for anybody or store to have my signature on file or in a computer database showing every ammunition purchase that I make. I believe this is another liberal “below the belt” shot at destroying what is left of our Second Amendment rights.
This is going to keep going on all over America. Not enough of us “walk the walk.” The NRA is our last line of defense against all of this. It is very disturbing to know that of all the legal gun owners, even some that are active sport shooters and hunters, there are literally millions who do not join or support the NRA. The NRA is the only group in America who fights to keep our Second Amendment rights and allow us the privilege to “keep and bear arms.
So please, if you are reading this and you are not a member of the NRA, do join, do voice your opinion to your Congressmen and Senators, do vote and do get youngsters involved in this fun and rewarding sport. Fight to keep our Second Amendment rights intact for our children and our children’s children.
In closing, remember this: “The will of the people is the best law.” So don’t just talk the talk, it’s now time to also walk the walk.
Nicholas L. Bobel
La Grange Park, ill.
Kudos For Beretta
Since I was such a good boy last year, I bought myself a Beretta Silver Pigeon for Christmas. (Mrs. Santa Claus was not real thrilled with my purchase, but she came around. Forgiveness is always easier to obtain than permission.)
When I picked up my back-ordered gun I commented on the blonde buttstock and the dark brown forearm. But, wanting to get some use out of it before quail season was over with, I went ahead and took delivery of the gun. Love at first use.
After hunting season was over with, I sent the gun back to Beretta U.S.A. asking them if they could restain the buttstock to match the forearm. Much to my pleasant surprise, they returned the gun four weeks later with a beautiful new buttstock, whose color was as close a match to the forearm as you could possibly get, all under warranty coverage. Cost me nothing but the original shipping through my local gun shop. A tip of the old hunting cap to Beretta U.SA for their merchandising integrity and no-questions asked satisfied customer response to my query. Thanks Beretta.
Jim Hathcoat
Olathe, Kan.
Quibbling Over .22 Magnum
I’ve been enjoying GUNS ever since it first hit the newsstands, and rarely, if ever, have I found anything I can quibble with. Finally, I have found some information I can take exception to as erroneous.
In the “Rimfire” column by Clair Rees, in the August issue, he states “For the first time ever, Remington is now offering .22 WMR factory fodder.”
Sorry, Clair, but Remington had .22 WMR ammo on the market in the early 1960s. I had an S&W model 48 in .22 Mag. Caliber and I purchased several boxes of the Remington stuff to harass the local jackrabbits with. I found this ammo to be highly erratic — a sort of pop, bang, and boom sequence — with the result of poor accuracy Shortly thereafter Remington quit marketing the .22 WMR ammo.
The point is they did sell the stuff way back then; so this is the “second-coming,” so to speak — not the first time ever.
Herb Hunt Richfield, Utah
A .32 Owner In His Right Mind
My September issue of GUNS Magazine arrived today in the mail. I gave it a cursory examination, and found your articles on the Smith & Wesson “J” frame .32 H&R magnums. I found them interesting, because I bought a new S&W model 331 yesterday after waiting a month for the retailer to put it on sale.
I read with great interest the comments on the old Federal .32 H&R ammunition that split. I spotted three boxes of Federal .32 H&R Mag. ammo on a shelf at a farm supply store in a rural town in our area and was planning on buying it. It was a closeout; three boxes for $10 each. After reading the article I remembered that it was in red boxes. I’ll spend $17 and get a box of good ammo now.
I chose the S&W .32 Mag because I didn’t think anyone in his or her right mind should fire +P round in an airweight J frame. I would have purchased the .38 model titanium if you could fire standard load .38 specials in it.
As an alternative, I bought an S&W model 637, and load it with plain-Jane 158 grain round nose lead. The purists would scoff, but it’s accurate, and a well-placed 158 grain will do the same job a 12 gauge slug will do. At my age, I’m not going to be uncomfortable anymore. The .32 H&R fills the bill and it is a delight to carry.
I bought one of the S&W model 640s when they first came on the market. Although it has a smooth action and is accurate, it is a heavy little fellow. I would think S&W would be hard pressed to develop something niftier than the model 332.