For those of you who enjoy Allen's post's, I thought you'd like to know Allen helped evaluate new rifle's and shotgun's with a team (including Jim Carmichel) for the Summer edition of Outdoor Life. It's at news stands now.

Mr. Carmichel is obviously a good judge of credibility, as Allen has that (and honesty) in spades!

Good job my friend!

Brad Amundson

I saw that, and was mighty impressed!

Hey Allen
What did you think of that Weatherby side by side?

Hell I've always thought allen was gun rag material.

Brad,

Allen had told me he was going to be doing this several months back, and I have been looking forward to reading. Thanks for the heads up that it is out. Allen, has hunted with Carmichel, several times, and I know he thinks highly of him.

I for one think very Highly of Allen, he has helped me out a time or two or three. His form follows function, ideals agree with my thinking.

Hopefully he and JohnS ran into some big bears in Alaska, this week and we will get the details before too long when they get back.

Many Thanks

HBH

HBH, I also knew Allen was going to be in this issue. Allen has become a valued friend over the last few years. Allen's a down-to-earth guy who's got his feet frimly planted in the "good-earth" as well as someone who has well reasoned and well written ideas's about rifles and hunting as well as a lot of other things... not a two-dimensional guy by any means! I look forward to the day when we can hook-up for a hunt... how bout you too? Here in MT?

Regards,

Brad Amundson

Brad,

That would be interesting, and something to think about for the future. I have a spring Brown Bear hunt booked for 2004, I have had this booked for 2 years, and it has dominated, about 3 years of my hunting budget. I dont have any solid plans after that hunt, will just wait and see. I have hunted WY,& CO, but never MT, well there was a pretty darn cute girl, that worked in the Billings airport, that I put a stalk on back in my single days. But I dont think that counts? I remember she was pretty well armed.

Many Thanks

HBH

OL just got me to buy another issue.

Brad and HBH, all I can say is, pick the hunt that you'd like to do together, and I'll be there...

The ODL shoot was a great experience. When Jim C. decides to step down, he won't be easily replaced. In fact, I don't think Jim could ever be replaced by anyone. He's the most qualified man for the job that any big-circulation hunting/shooting magazine could ever have, and he's completely honest. The "Gear Test" write-up is as truthful and accurate as could be summerized in words, and it was an honor to be a part of it.

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Allen,

I do enjoy Mr. Carmichel's writing style, it is down home, yet always informative. For a long time he was the only reason to open an Outdoor Life, for me. It adds a great deal to the creditability of the review, knowing you had input. By the way Carmichel's " hanging judge" line was just perfection from a great wordsmith.

HBH

Elmo, I missed your question about the Weatherby SxS shotgun the first time around.

That Spanish-made gun could be a real winner if some of the bugs get worked out. It needs a higher degree of finish, for one thing. For example, there were some filing/grinding marks on the lower tang that were simply blued over. More seriously, the safety/barrel-selector mechanism was not functioning properly on our test gun. It would only fire one barrel much of the time, which was a vexing thing to have to deal with.

On the positive side, the gun was well-balanced and it was very shootable. In fact (when it worked!) I could hit better with this little Weatherby double than any of the other test shotguns.

I was really disappointed that we didn't get one of Ruger's new doubles for testing. I don't know exactly why, but one was not made available to us.

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Allen
I'm going to have to go get a copy of ODL. I have long enjoyed you input here and I'm sure I will like your work in ODL.
X-Ring

Allen
Thanks for the reply. Am I correct in assuming that AYA was was a pre-production unit? I hope they do get the bugs out. Well, there's your next Outdoor Life assignment;

Ruger vs. Weatherby, A Double Barrel Shootout.

I've always wanted a good SxS but didn't have "Purdy Pockets". I think there might be a good market for a reasonably priced, good quality double today. In a perfect world, I'd be able to buy a CNC machined Win Mdl 21 for about a $1000.

Jim Carmichel is one of my favorites, have several of his books on the shelf. I don't read much of the gun articles or buy the magazines hardly at all, to much of the wrong kind of advertising and most information seems like a rehash of the past.

Carmichel is from the old school and tells it like it is, real plain like so's most can understand without much of a problem. There have been several others that match that discription, but most like Bill Jordan, Elmer Keith, Bob Milek
have all left town in recent years for a better place to tell their stories.

They are the only reviews in a major outdoor magazine that "tell it like it is". I especially chuckled at the comment on the Ruger rifle. Most writers wouldn't venture to be critical of a manufacturer.

Good job, Allen

Phew! I get Outdoor Life but usually chuck'em without reading them, these days. Luckily, this copy was retrieved from the recycle bin. Go Allen!

Quote:big-circulation hunting/shooting magazine,why fuck, it should be on the news stand next to STAR magazine. It doesn't even make good ass wipe. Go ahead allen day, pat yourself on the back some more or better yet contact TNN for your own TV production. With an EGO the size of yours you will blow right to the top.

A 1-post troll! Where do they all come from?

I think it needs to go back to HA.

Hey, "Dundee", thanks so much for the encouraging words! You're a living example of what true courage, taste, intelligence, and integrity are all about...........

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Very nice article, enjoy reading some honest reviews now and then.
I guess we know there honest cause the Editors Choice and Great Buy went to the Tikka Whitetail Hunter and to the best of my knowledge it's not a control feed action.
Allen did it break your heart to rate such a rifle that high?

jbmi, no, it didn't make me feel a bit bad to give that Tikka high marks. It was a nicely finished, simple, well-built rifle that shot like "ahousafire" and represented what I honestly felt was the best rifle buy that we tested. It was a better rifle in most ways than the more expensive, whimsical Sako .243 we tested, which came as a real surprise to me. Nevertheless, the Tikka earned its high marks, pure and simple.

That heavy barrel Savage was another astounding tackdriver, and a real pleasure to shoot, but then considering Savage's incredible track record of consistenly fine accuracy right out of the box, I guess its accuracy should come as no surprise. There is a commonality between the Tikka and the Savage: Both were .308s and we tested both of them with Federal 168 gr. match ammo. Good ammo to be sure, but then if the rifles weren't capable of fine fundamental accuracy in the first place, the ammunition wouldn't have been able to showcase its capability....

My other favorite was the Marlin levergun in .38 Special; it was a very, very sweet rifle and beautifully finished, but then I like Old West style guns anyway.

We didn't have any new-to-the-market, controlled-feed bolt guns to test for the magazine article, but even if we did, personal prejudices would have to give way to actual performance criteria, and we'd have to call it that way, straight down the line. That's what made this test a pleasure to be a part of. We had the chance to test new firearms using a uniform, logical set of performance/finish/value related criteria, and to report the results honestly, without deliberately trying to make anyone happy (or unhappy) in the process.

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