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Breaking in the Ma Deuce

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The Basics of Tactical Shotgun Training Getting good tactical shotgun training can overcome most of the limitations of using a shotgun for home defense. by KEVIN CREIGHTON

Tactical Shotgun Training

The debate rages on: What is best for home defense, a pistol, a rifle or a shotgun? There are definite advantages and disadvantages to each of these when it comes to keeping your home safe. A pistol is easy to carry and easy to move around inside your home, but it lacks the fight-ending punch of a long gun. A rifle, such as an AR-15, is very familiar to most American gun owners, but .223 or similar calibers quite often require more than one hit to stop the threat. A defensive shotgun or tactical shotgun brings a heavyweight hammer to the fight, but it has a low ammunition capacity compared to a standard capacity AR-15 rifle, with more recoil.

Despite these apparent limitations, however, the power of the shotgun is a quite compelling argument for using it to defend your home. Pistol drills like the Bill Drill and Failure to Stop Drill exist because we understand that a pistol is often not able to stop the fight with just one shot. The same is true for the AR-15. It’s very common to see trainers teach that three, four or even five rounds on-target as a normal response to a lethal threat. This means that a 30 round magazine in an AR-15 (which is usually loaded to 28 rounds in the field) suddenly becomes a firearm that can engage 5-7 targets before it needs to be reloaded. Coincidentally, this is the magazine capacity of the typical tactical shogun. All of sudden, the ammunition gap between a defensive shotgun and a rifle or a pistol is considerably smaller, and using a shotgun as a home defense gun starts to make a lot of sense.

Tactical Shotgun Training Shows You What Your Gun Can and Can’t Do

A good tactical shotgun training class can get even more out of your defensive shotgun, which is why I attended a recent Defensive Shotgun Instructor class taught by Tom Givens. Tom is a former Memphis police officer and a legend in the firearms training community. He is a firm believer in the power and efficacy of the defensive shotgun, and his class is a “must do” for anyone who wants to learn more about using a shotgun for home defense.

patterning a tactical shotgun

In this three day class, Givens taught us why a shotgun loaded with a good buckshot round is an absolute fight-stopper, if you understand what it can and can’t do. We first learned to pattern our specific gun with our defensive shotshell of choice to see how large the spread of pellets was at 5, 10, 15 or even 25 yards. Any pellet which doesn’t hit the intended target will fly downrange, with possibly disastrous results. Keeping all our hits on-target, no matter what gun you’re using, is an important part of marksmanship, and with a shotgun, that means knowing when the spread of your pellets exceeds the area of your target.

One of the biggest benefits of a good tactical shotgun training class is learning how to tame the recoil of a full-sized shotgun firing full-power buckshot loads. Givens teaches a “push-pull” method, where the hand that grips the fore-end of the shotgun pushes out towards the target while the other hand snugs the butt of the gun up against your shoulder. This creates a “loaded spring” effect and allows you to rapidly bring the sights of the gun back on target after each shot.

Make The Most Out Of Yourself And Your Gun

semi automatic tactical shotgun

The smaller magazine capacity of the defensive shotgun can be overcome by making sure you’re feeding fresh rounds into the magazine whenever possible, and just like other guns, there are two types of reloads, emergency and tactical. An emergency reload is when your gun runs completely out of ammunition and needs to get refilled right away, while a tactical reload is adding more rounds to your gun that is partially empty. An emergency reload with a shotgun means dropping a single shell into the chamber and closing the action, thus loading the gun. Shooting that round, or loading the rest of the magazine via a tactical reload will be dependent on your situation.

There was much more to this class than just those three concepts, as this wasn’t so much a class about shooting the shotgun as it was a class about how to teach other people how to use their shotguns in defense of life and limb. A shotgun can be an extremely effective home defense firearm but is definitely not “fire and forget.” Rather, it needs skill and expertise to be used to its fullest (and most devastating) effect, both of which can be acquired with good tactical shotgun training.

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Deleted Scenes (Hickok45)

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Garand Collectors Association Creates New Master Marksman Program

To acknowledge those who consistently score well in the John C. Garand Match with As-Issued M1 Rifles at designated Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) competitions, the Garand Collectors Association (GCA) has designed a new GCA Master Marksman Program.

“The GCA is grateful to enjoy a cooperative association with the CMP, whose administrative efforts are essential in making this new award a reality,” the GCA said in a statement.

The GCA Master Marksman program is set to begin in January 2023. Like the CMP’s established Distinguished Badge Program, the new addition will work on an Achievement Award point system, based on performance at designated CMP events.

Points will be awarded based on cut scores and presented as gold (10 pts), silver (8 pts.) and bronze (6 pts) levels. Competitors must reach a total of 40 points overall, with one gold and one additional gold or silver required. All other points may be bronze or greater.

The first points to be awarded will be at the 2023 Western Games, held in Phoenix in March.

Annual events featuring GCA point competitions currently include:

  • CMP Western Games (Arizona) – March 10-19, 2023
  • CMP Eastern Games (North Carolina) – April 28-May 7, 2023
  • CMP D-Day (Alabama) – June 6-11, 2023
  • CMP National Matches (Ohio) – July 2023
  • CMP New England Games (Vermont) – Sept. 16-24, 2023
  • CMP Talladega 600 (Alabama) – November 2023

To participate, a competitor must be a current member of the GCA. Individuals may even join the day of the match through the GCA website in order to be considered a valid member.

Only As-Issued M1 Garands maybe used. Competition Rules for the John C. Garand Match (Course A: 30 rounds) will be followed as defined in the CMP Games Rifle and Pistol Competition Rulebook. Those who fire in re-entry events will only be able to use their highest score as points.

Outside of the Master Marksman Program, the GCA will continue to donate generous funds to the winners of the John C. Garand Matches as well as the semi-auto category of the Vintage Team Sniper Matches at major CMP competitions, regardless of GCA membership.

Questions on the new program? Contact CMP’s Christina Roguski at 419-635-2141 ext. 714 or croguski@thecmp.org.

About the GCA: Since its beginnings in 1986, the GCA and its members have worked diligently to expand knowledge on the M1 Garand, to preserve its history and to encourage and assist others in collecting the historical rifle. The GCA has also worked closely with the CMP since 2000 on sorting/grading M1 Garand rifles and encouraging competitive and recreational firearm safety. Learn more about the organization at https://thegca.org/.

— By Ashley Dugan, CMP Staff Writer

The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.

Restricted 18+ in CA in compliance with CA State Assembly Bill 2571 prohibiting the marketing of firearms to minors in the State of CA.

Christine Elder

Civilian Marksmanship Program

Communications Manager

419-635-2141, ext. 711

celder@thecmp.org

www.thecmp.org

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Benelli: Super Black Eagle & What’s Next by AMERICAN RIFLEMAN STAFF

Of all the semi-automatic shotgun lines produced by Benelli, its most successful and well known is the Super Black Eagle. In 2020, American Rifleman staff had the opportunity to visit the Benelli factory in Urbino, Italy, to see what goes into designing and machining the Super Black Eagle line, as well as the other projects the firm was working on.

A diagram showing the inner workings of the inertia-driven action used by Benelli shotguns.

A diagram showing the inner workings of the inertia-driven action used by Benelli shotguns.

The Super Black Eagle line of semi-automatic shotguns utilize Benelli’s well-known inertia-driven action design. This action style uses the rearward inertia from a fired shot to tension a spring inside the bolt, making it dwell in place for a short period of time before releasing and moving rearward to unlock. This system is both reliable, simple and produces a fairly smooth recoil impulse. This action works with all the common shell lengths and sizes without imparting extra stress into the user’s shoulder.

Firing a Benelli Super Black Eagle Shotgun on the range.

Firing a Benelli Super Black Eagle Shotgun on the range.

However, the tolerances required for the individual components of the action make them relatively difficult to manufacture, which is why Benelli has blended the latest in computer design and automated machining into its manufacturing processes. This allows components to be manufactured as uniformly as possible with an end product that can be expected to meet customer’s expectations of quality control.

The third iteration of the Super Black Eagle line, the Super Black Eagle 3.

The third iteration of the Super Black Eagle line, the Super Black Eagle 3.

In 2003, Benelli introduced the second generation of the line, the Super Black Eagle 2, which incorporates a ComforTech synthetic stock to help further reduce felt recoil and increase user comfort. Since then, the firm has also released the third generation of the line, the Super Black Eagle 3. Building off of the Super Black Eagle 2, the third version includes further enhancements to control layouts and easier loading, along with the second generation of the ComforTech stock.

A Benelli 828U over-under shotgun with the action opened.

A Benelli 828U over-under shotgun with the action opened.

To further enhance its product lines, Benelli spent a decade working on a new process for its manufacturing to increase the weatherproof qualities of its firearms. Known as the BE.S.T. treatment, a hybrid steel treatment process which produces a weatherproof and wear-resistant finish, the finish is proprietary to the firm. Other than the autoloaders, the Benelli 828U over-under shotgun line is also popular in the competition and sporting market. Benelli has also expanded its reach outside of the shotgun realm, producing other types of platforms like the Lupo bolt-action rifle. To learn more about Benelli, its history and its firearms, visit benelliusa.com.

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Winchester Mod 92 .357 Mag Small Game Hunt

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The RARE Sturmgewehr STG44

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Well I thought it was neat!

Morning bathers in Las Vegas watch the mushroom cloud from an atomic test just 75 miles away back in 1953. The cloud had a brilliant red and purple cast.

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Smith & Wesson: Old vs New. Do they make them like they used to?

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All About Guns This great Nation & Its People

Theodore Roosevelt’s Amazon Adventure and Gun Gift By Kurt Allemeier

Following his stinging defeat in the 1912 election, President Theodore Roosevelt planned a trip to South America with a lecture tour and river expedition in the works.

On the trip he exchanged one river expedition meant as an enjoyable excursion for another that was far more dangerous. That trip, on the River of Doubt, veered into a fight to stay alive.

An engraved nickel and gold plated Smith & Wesson .38 Double Action 4th Model Bicycle revolver Roosevelt carried with him to South America and bestowed as a gift to an Argentine university president on his speaking tour is available in Rock Island Auction Company’s May 13-15 Premier Auction. Engraving on the short-barreled gun was done by master engraver L.D. Nimschke or his shop.

ad-shot-on-backgroundLot 238: This engraved nickel and gold plated Smith & Wesson .38 Double Action 4th Model Bicycle revolver is an extreme rarity as well as the gift of Theodore Roosevelt to a former Argentine university president on a trip to South America in 1913.

South America Tour

As one who enjoyed “the strenuous life,” Roosevelt, who was 55, wasn’t one to sit around and let his defeat to Woodrow Wilson gnaw at him. He accepted an invitation to South America for a series of lectures as well as a river tour to collect flora and fauna samples.

A friend, Rev. John Zahm, a Roman Catholic Priest who had traveled extensively in South America, invited Roosevelt on the expedition. An off-hand comment by a Brazilian official suggested an expedition of the unmapped River of Doubt that feeds into the Aripuanã River. The Aripuanã meets the Madeira River, the Amazon River’s largest tributary. The River of Doubt hadn’t been officially named since it had yet to be explored.

“I thought of making the trip a zoological one only, but in Rio de Janeiro I learned there was a chance of our doing a work of geographical importance,” Roosevelt later wrote.

S-W-facing-left-on-backgroundThis extremely rare .38 caliber Smith & Wesson Double Action 4th Model Bicycle revolver has some amazing engraving from the shop of L.D. Nimschke or by the master engraver himself.

Roosevelt, despite the risks, wanted to take on the River of Doubt. The director of the American Museum of Natural History, a sponsor of the original expedition, warned against the danger.

“If it is necessary for me to leave my bones in South America, I am quite ready to do so,” Roosevelt wrote.

Theodore Roosevelt – The River of Doubt, Part 1

Expedition Begins

Col. Candido Rondon was a veteran of the Amazon forest, a former military officer who led the effort to install telegraph lines through the jungle served as co-leader of the party. He was aware of the dangers faced by the expedition.

He and Roosevelt discussed what to expect, the former president wrote, “such as poisonous insects and the fevers they cause, dysentery, accidents in the rapids, and starvation!”

The expedition party traveled upriver by steamboat to a remote town where it began an overland trek to the River of Doubt. Several men fell ill and half of the pack animals died of exhaustion. Further complicating matters, it was discovered that the provisions were more for a cruise like Zahm had in mind than a tough river adventure. There was olive oil, tea, sweets and Rhine wine, but not enough necessities like dried food and salted meat.

Rio-RooseveltPresident Theodore Roosevelt stands next to a marker with the new name of the River of Doubt, Rio Roosevelt, or Roosevelt River. Naturalist George Cherrie is on far left. To the right of the marker is Col. Candido Rondon, who co-led the expedition, and Kermit Roosevelt, the president’s son.

Before setting off on the River of Doubt, the expeditionary team downsized due to the lack of proper supplies. In February, 1914, the party started out with the former president, his son, Kermit, Rondon and his assistant, a doctor, naturalist George Cherrie, and several porters. The number was 22.

Dangers of the Amazon

From the start, the expedition faced the threat of alligators, piranhas, and hostile natives. Roosevelt wrote of being overwhelmed by “torment and menace” from mosquitos and stinging flies.

A venomous coral snake nearly bit the former president who was saved by the thick leather of his boot. Still Roosevelt was captivated.

“It was interesting work, for no civilized man, no white man, had ever gone down or up this river or seen the country through which we were passing,” Roosevelt later wrote. “The lofty and matted forest rose like a green wall on either hand.”

Indigenous people, later learned to be hostile to outsiders and cannibalistic, were stalking the party. Rondon, the Brazilian, forbid anyone to go deep into the jungle after discovering his hunting dog shot with arrows.

S-W-in-case-on-backgroundThe impossibly rare engraved, gold and nickel plated Smith & Wesson Double Action 4th Model Bicycle revolver that was presented as a gift by Theodore Roosevelt.

River Rapids

By March the expedition faced treacherous rapids and had to decide whether to shoot through them or portage through the jungle. Several canoes were destroyed, causing delays as new ones had to be made. They were making about seven miles per day.

On one occasion, daring the rapids turned fatal. A canoe carrying Kermit Roosevelt and two other men was sucked into a whirlpool then sent over a 30-foot waterfall. Kermit and one of the men escaped. The third, a Brazilian, drowned.

Malaria and Murder

Men were overtaken by malaria, dysentery, and suffering as supplies ran low.

Roosevelt, attempting to rescue a canoe in a series of rapids, suffered a nasty gash on his leg. Easily treated in civilization, the wound quickly got infected, leaving the Rough Rider delirious from fever as high as 105 degrees and begging to be left behind. His son wouldn’t hear of it.

“There were a good many days, a good many mornings when I looked at Colonel Roosevelt and said to myself, he won’t be with us tonight,” naturalist George Cherrie later remembered. “And I would say the same in the evening, he can’t possibly live until morning.”

Roosevelt-with-Cherrie-on-his-rightFormer president Theodore Roosevelt with naturalist George Cherrie to his right. The men explored the River of Doubt in South America in 1914.

Cherrie would eventually be a veteran of 40 expeditions in his career and have several species, including a lizard, birds, and a pocket gopher named after him.

Eventually, on a muddy riverbank, the expedition’s doctor was forced to operate without any type of pain reliever for the former president. No matter, the doctor cut away the dead flesh and Roosevelt, who lost nearly 60 lbs. began to improve.

One night, a Brazilian porter was caught stealing food. He fatally shot the man who caught him and fled into the jungle. The party couldn’t find the fugitive and left him to his fate.

River Rescue

In April, the expedition started seeing signs of civilization. They recognized rubber trees tapped for their sap by Brazilian pioneers who had pushed into the jungle. Some of the pioneers were generous to the ragtag expedition and provided new canoes and food.

A relief party was spotted on April 26 at the confluence of the River of Doubt and Aripuanã River. The expedition had trekked more than 400 miles on the River of Doubt.

At his first opportunity, Roosevelt sent off a telegram to the Brazilian government declaring the expedition, “a hard and somewhat dangerous, but very successful trip.”

By the time Roosevelt returned to New York in May, 1914 he was strong enough to walk down the gangplank to meet well-wishers.

Theodore Roosevelt – The River of Doubt, Part 2

Addressing Naysayers

Roosevelt was met by critics about the extent of his role with the expedition, but a lecture tour of the United States and Europe quickly silenced them. The party brought back 2,000 species of birds and 500 mammals for the American Museum of Natural History.

River-of-Doubt-cartoonTheodore Roosevelt was met with naysayers who didn’t believe the events of the expedition. He proved them wrong on a lecture tour of the U.S. and Europe.

The expedition took its toll on Roosevelt who suffered from recurring malaria for the rest of his life that he called “old Brazilian trouble.” He died in 1919 at the age of 60.

An expedition launched on the renamed River of Doubt, now Roosevelt River, in 1926 confirmed nearly everything the earlier expedition did. Rondon, as the leader of the first expedition, was responsible for naming the river and chose to name it after the 26th president.

Teddy Roosevelt Revolver

The engraved short-barrel Smith & Wesson .38 Double Action 4th Model Bicycle revolver, with its silver barrel and frame and gold-plated cylinder is an extreme rarity in Smith & Wesson collecting. The engraving is from the workshop of famed engraver L.D. Nimschke. These double action revolvers are rarer than their Safety Hammerless cousins, especially special order short-barrel versions so this is a nearly impossible to find Smith & Wesson model.

S-W-facing-right-on-backgroundLot 238: An extreme rarity, this engraved short-barrel Smith & Wesson .38 Double Action 4th Model Bicycle revolver was a gift given by President Theodore Roosevelt on a South American tour before departing for an expedition that turned out to be a fight for his life.

Heap on it being a gift from one of America’s most beloved presidents and the revolver’s value increases even further. The gun is accompanied by a statement of provenance in Spanish by the great-grandson of the original owner, Dr. Figueroa Alcorta.  The statement says the revolver “was given to my great-grandfather Dr. Figueroa Alcorta when the ex-President of the United States of America, Theodore Roosevelt, visited the country in 1913.” Argentina is the country referred to in the statement, and in the statement the revolver is identified by serial number and short description of gold and silver plating and pearl grips as well as a description of the accompanying retailer box. Alcorta is a past president of the University of La Plata in Argentina so likely met the former president on his lecture tour ahead of the expedition. The history, rarity and provenance of this Smith & Wesson makes this an amazing and highly desirable piece of gun memorabilia.

Sources:

The Amazonian Expedition That Nearly Killed Theodore Roosevelt, by Evan Andrews, history.com

The River of Doubt, Theodore Roosevelt Center at Dickinson State University

‘The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey,’ by Candice Millar