My Path to Becoming an M1 Garand Collector, Researcher and Author, Part 4 By Scott Duff For most of the 1980s I was employed at the Pittsburgh based headquarters of ....

In addition to participating in IPSC competition, I began to shoot in Service Rifle matches.  I was shooting in four matches a month, practicing with pistol and rifle weekly, and ....

When we last visited this topic, about eight of us were piling into a van and heading to Clairton Sportsmen’s Club to shoot in our first DCM service rifle matches.  ....

My main interests have long been the study of history, firearms and shooting, and cars.  All of these interests began at a young age.  For my 10th birthday I received ....

Jack Walentine enlisted in the US Army in 1947. He was 16 years old at the time; he got in using his older brother’s birth certificate. The Army sent him ....

Darrell ”Shifty” Powers enlisted in the U.S. Army in early 1942 in Portsmouth, VA. He volunteered for the Paratroops and was sent to Camp Toccoa, GA. where he was assigned ....

The first thing that the reader must know about this book is that it is a gun book.  It is not simply war stories, but is a series of interviews ....

Let me begin by saying that I’m not much of a .22 rifle guy.  Like many youngsters who grew up in the late 1950s and early 1906s my Father taught ....

When my future wife and I started collecting martial arms, we followed a predictable progression.   First a M1 Garand.   Then a M1 Carbine.  As finances allowed, and opportunity knocked, a ....

“Let’s begin the meeting.  Hello, my name is Michael, and I’m addicted to collecting U.S. Martial Arms.” Let me tell you how it began, what I call “The fatal moment ....

As I mentioned in Part 1, the Colt AR-15 SP1 rifle was by far more prevalent than the SP1 carbine.  But it seemed that as each year passed the carbine ....

In earlier installments in this series, I told you about my first M1 Garand and first AR-15.  Now I would like to tell you about my newest AR-15. My first ....

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban in September 2004 changed the civilian AR-15 as much as the military M16 was changed to ....

If you have been following my Blog posts, from my review of authors Perry Cox and Bruce Kaufman’s wonderful new book, A Collectors Guide to the Colt AR-15 SP1 Sporter ....

Following the Civil War, Army Ordnance sought a cost effective way of altering the large inventory of serviceable .58 caliber muzzle-loading rifle-muskets into breech-loading rifles chambered for a self-primed metallic ....

“Write the book you’d want to read!” That was the impetus for the original AR-15 Complete Owner’s Guide.  To be honest, right through the ‘90’s I was disinterested in the ....

Most long time M1 rifle collectors know that duplicate World War II serial number Springfield and Winchester rifles exist.  This was revealed in the July 1960 issue of American Rifleman ....

One of my favorite periods of study of American history and the military arms is the time between the end of the Civil War in 1865 and the Custer battle ....

Newer M1 Garand rifle collectors may not be aware that the U.S. Rifle, Cal. .30 M1 with which we are all familiar featured a very different type of gas system ....

I have long been a fan of the Colt AR-15 SP1 Sporter Rifle.  When I bought my Colt SP1 in 1982 you had two choices in the purchase of the ....

This blog post is the last of three about my favorite World War I U.S small arms.  When America entered World War I in April 1917 it was ill prepared ....

This blog post is the second of three about my favorite World War I U.S small arms.  America declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917.  It took many months ....

This post is the first of three about my favorite World War I U.S arms.  My first collectible US martial arm purchase in the early 1980s was a Colt M1911 ....

This week’s Thursday day at the Range included a double action revisit of a true classic: a Smith & Wesson Model 10 Heavy Barrel. Pretty ordinary, you’d say; pretty common, ....

This Thursday Day at the Range continues our double action revolver action, this time with a pre-WWII square-butt S&W Military and Police, fourth change. With a serial number in the ....

This time Thursday Day at the Range continues the double-action revolver series with more DA action. My focus for over six decades has been single action automatic pistols, specifically M1911s. ....

This Thursday Day at the Range included the first revolver we’ve run in some time. We’ve had a long string of autopistols, thus I think it’s time to switch things ....

Today’s Thursday Day at the Range was, shall we say, both interesting and a bit humbling. After posting the “Five Best” 1911 targets below, this week’s targets weren’t nearly so ....

  This week’s Thursday Day at the Range includes a reshoot of the .30 Luger Ruger P89. If you recall from the earlier Thursday Day at the Range report, Ruger ....

  Today’s Thursday Day at the Range is brought to you courtesy of two Thursday Days at the Range ago, a shoot saved for a day when I could not ....

This week’s Thursday Day at the Range is a back-to-the-.45-SR1911 Day. Ruger’s SR1911 Series is a refreshingly direct rendition of the classic M1911. You’ll find no extraneous ornamentation – at ....

In My Back Yard: Tulle Fusil de Grenadier BY SCOTT DUFF One of the most interesting firearms I have had the opportunity to own is a Tulle Fusil de Grenadier. As ....

This post is my third about my favorite World War II U.S arms.  The first was, of course, about the M1 Garand rifle.  The second was about the M1 and ....

We Wish They Could Talk – And Sometimes They Do – Part 2 By Scott Duff Records of some serial numbered older US weapons from the Civil War through the ....

A 4th of July Tribute Part 2 John MacIlduff My great, great, great, great, great Grandfather, John MacIlduff, fought in the American Revolution.  Not in well-known battles fought along the ....

Each year on the 4th of July, I take some time away from cookouts, fireworks, and my family to spend a few moments with my favorite firearm.  I sit alone ....

This Blog post is on my Inland M1A1 carbine. The M1A1 carbine was a modification to the M1 carbine that replaced the standard stock with one that folded and was ....

This post is my second about my favorite World War II US arms.  The following paragraph is repeated from my earlier Blog post entitled “My Favorite M1 Garand.” As a ....

Over the many decades I have been a collector and dealer of US martial arms, I have often heard fellow collectors say “I wish this rifle (or pistol) could talk.” ....

More Super .38 Shenanigans: The Pachmayr-Tussey-Patton Pistol   Colt Super .38   Some years ago, whilst researching “The M1911 Complete Owner’s Guide,” I came across a Pachmayr custom M1911 in ....

In June of 1976 I bought my first handgun from Esman’s in Pitcairn, PA.  It was a new S&W Model 10 (.38 Special) with blued finish, pencil thin 4-inch barrel ....

  You’ll have to read the text to find out what this is… Here’s a question for you: what is this that is pictured above?  Take your time; I’ll wait… ....

Why did we build two pistols for “The M1911 Complete Assembly Guide”?   WJK M1911, the second pistol from “The M1911 Complete Assembly Guide” In “Retro” mode When we began ....

When one decides to write a book, the path may be straight and narrow.  Get an idea, do the research, write the words.  Fiction or non-fiction, that’s the way it ....

This week’s Thursday Day at the Range features something new to the series, a Ruger SP101 revolver. However, there’s a familiar twist; it’s chambered in “9mm Parabellum.” Yep, another 9x19mm ....

Barrel Usage on New M1 Rifle Production 1952 – 1957 Harrington & Richardson Arms Company – Part 3 of 3 Harrington &Richardson Arms Co. had a barrel contract that predated ....

Barrel Usage on New M1 Rifle Production 1952 – 1957 International Harvester Company – Part 2 of 3 Most M1 Garand collectors know that International Harvester M1s were assembled with ....

During World War II with few exceptions, new Springfield Armory M1 rifles were assembled using Springfield Armory manufactured barrels and Winchester Repeating Arms M1 rifles were assembled using Winchester barrels.  ....

It’s October of 2020, so the 22nd must be National 10/22 Day!  If you have a 10/22, be sure to bring it out and shoot it.  If you don’t have ....

M1911 Springfield Armory, 1914 Production I began collecting U.S. martial arms in 1980.  My interest was focused on M1911 and M1911A1 service pistols.  A 1983 business trip in to Holyoke, ....

Lowest & Highest Serial Number M1s – Part 2 By Scott A. Duff 9-10-20 There had long been a question of what was the highest serial number M1.  Director of ....

Many gun collectors are interested in the lowest and highest serial number firearms of the model in which they are interested.  Collectors of the M1 rifle are not an exception.  ....