According to most sources, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin uttered the words “We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly we shall all hang separately.” This practical piece of advice had been around for some years before Franklin quoted it, but at the time of the signing it summed up his best thoughts on how the colonies could pull off actually declaring independence from the world superpower, England. It made good sense then and, given the nature of the assault today on many of those freedoms that the signers of the Declaration fought for, it makes even more sense now. ...Read More >

Our cover for this issue comes to us compliments of Chris Fantini and it shows a rare bird, indeed. The Springfield 1881 Long-Range rifle was made by Springfield in very limited numbers and the survival rate has not been good. ...Read More >

Most of us who shoot black-powder cartridge rifles are familiar with the Creedmoor long-range rifle matches of the 1870s. This was initially a civilian activity with rifles provided by the Sharps and Remington companies. The army eventually wanted to get into the game and began experimentation to determine the necessary modifications to the standard service rifle to make it competitive out to 1,000 yards. The rifle in the accompanying photos is the result of several years of the army’s effort to produce a long-range target rifle. ...Read More >

Are there times when you just don’t feel like spending a lot of long hours at the reloading bench? Are there days when you are just too busy to reload some brass for the weekend? If so, here is a slick little breechloader to check out – the Smith carbine. A handloader can load a batch of cartridges for it in less than 20 minutes, or simply load them at the range. No reloading tools are required, except for a simple powder measure, and no great degree of precision is required to make accurate ammunition for it. The inherent accuracy is the remarkable thing about the Smith carbine that seems to defy logic. That is also the reason it has become a favorite of the North-South Skirmish Association and many other gun nuts like me. ...Read More >