Handloader February-March 2026

It seems that the entire firearms industry revolves around new products and launches. I don’t get overly excited about most of them, it takes a lot to get me genuinely interested. The subject of this column is one of the few exceptions to that statement. Last year, while attending the SHOT Show, I was ushered into a room in the back of the SDS Arms booth. I was shown a pre-production bolt-action rifle that they were going to start importing into the U.S. market under Spandau Arms, which previously was only known for their shotguns. ...Read More >

This summer, I was notified that a package was on the way from FedEx. All I had to do was click on a link, and I could learn all about it. Because I hadn’t ordered anything and am, at heart, a suspicious person, I declined. Days later, I was notified that my package was out for delivery. I finally succumbed to curiosity and clicked the link. My package was indeed out for delivery, but to the offices of Wolfe Publishing rather than my home office. The sender was Shooters World Propellants. ...Read More >

Q: Back in the 1970s and 80s, when I used to shoot a variety of pistol competitions using Colt Model 1911s chambered in 45 ACP, virtually everyone was using bullets cast from the old Hensley & Gibbs mould No. 68 or variations thereof. It was a 200-grain SWC design that fed with outstanding reliability and was very accurate. After I stopped competing, I put away my progressive Dillon press and stopped handloading for that caliber. Today I don’t shoot my 1911s much, but when I do, I generally rely on 230-grain factory-loaded ball loads. The other day, I was at the range with an old shooting buddy, and he handed me some of his 200-grain handloads, and my old gun started shooting better. I decided that I should start handloading for the 45 ACP again. ...Read More >

The term “Golden Age” is much overused today. Collector folks and historians are continually referring to the golden age of everything from bedpans to art. They are always dealing with the past. However, the Golden Age is never here and now. It is gone, and most of us missed it. ...Read More >

During the 1970s the popularity of the 44 Magnum grew rapidly for several reasons. Elmer Keith, who was the most influential person for it being developed, continued to praise its virtues, but interest in handgun hunting was also growing. The long-range shooting sport of International Handgun Metallic Silhouette (with heavy steel targets at distances up to 200 meters) helped make it more popular than ever. While single-action 44 Magnum sixguns, such as the Ruger Blackhawk, held up with a steady diet of heavy loads, the excellent and very refined Smith & Wesson Model 29 was just not as durable and required tune-ups and corrections from time to time. Following the introduction and huge success of the Security-Six 357 Magnum in 1971, Bill Ruger set out to design a large double-action 44 Magnum with unique new design and features. The Redhawk 44 Magnum was introduced in 1979 and has proven unusually strong and durable. ...Read More >

As a young lad just starting out on this adventure, I devoured many of Jim Kjelgaard’s 40 youth- oriented novels on hunting and the outdoors. Our elementary school library had a good selection of them, including Haunt Fox, Big Red (Disney made a 1962 movie from this one), Desert Dog, The Lost Wagon, Swamp Cat and a few others. ...Read More >

The 284 Winchester was introduced in 1963, and according to my count, eleven wildcats formed by simply necking up or necking down its case with no other change have since been created. Previously discussed in this column are the 6mm-284, the 25-284, the 35-284 and the 411-284. The latter cartridge was developed by Chris Moen of Havre, Montana, who uses it in a custom rifle on a 1910 Mexican Mauser action with a barrel made by McGowen Precision Barrels of Kalispel, Montana. ...Read More >

The 41 Remington Magnum remains a sort of red-headed stepchild in the magnum revolver world. It is certainly an able cartridge, though it has been largely overshadowed by the older 44 Remington Magnum. Remington developed it in 1964, eight years after the 44 Magnum’s introduction, and it was intended for hunting and law enforcement applications. Hand-gunning icons such as Elmer Keith, Bill Jordan and Skeeter Skelton are names that crop up in association with this cartridge. ...Read More >

In 1994, Dakota Arms of Sturgis, South Dakota, announced a new line of cartridges. Based on the rimless 404 Jeffery case from almost a century earlier, the Dakota cartridges more or less mirrored the Weatherby line from the 1950s. Aside from eschewing the belt (a move that presaged the anti-belt movement just gathering steam), Dakota did not trumpet sheer velocity and included neither a .257 nor a .270. ...Read More >

John Linebaugh was a true pioneer and innovator in the big-bore handgun world. He not only believed in the famous world explorer and hunter Sir Samuel Baker’s axiom, “Bullet diameter and weight are constant, velocity is the only diminishing variable” – but he lived and breathed it. John believed cartridges should exemplify these characteristics in compact, packable handguns. This is what John Linebaugh strived for was known for and accomplished with guns and cartridges that he built bearing his name. ...Read More >

The 300 Remington Ultra Magnum (RUM)was formally introduced in 1999 and is technically based on a new case design that has had tremendous influence within the shooting industry. Ballistics are impressive and generally list a 150-grain bullet at 3,450 feet per second (fps), a 180-grain at 3,250 fps or a 200-grain at 3,032 fps. Thirty-caliber magnums are widely popular in the U.S., especially in the western states where a combination of muscle and flat trajectory are important when hunting elk, moose or large bears, but also offer outstanding long-range finesse for taking antelope, mule deer, sheep, etc. ...Read More >

For a shooter, there are few things more frustrating than acquiring an old rifle in excellent condition and being unable to use it because ammunition is scarce or unobtainable. I say “shooter” as opposed to “collector” because many of the latter are horrified at the thought of shooting one of their treasures. ...Read More >

Curiosity sometimes takes us to the fringes of handloading, where we don’t always enjoy complete success. So, let’s first address the question, “Why bother?” in this exercise of examining the possibility of handloading wooden bullet blank ammunition. ...Read More >