I lent forward and with a great good luck managed to put the remaining bullet in the rifle into the hollow where her neck joined her shoulder. The impact of the heavy 500 bullet deflected her just sufficiently for her to miss my left shoulder, and her impetus carried her over the fifty-foot drop into the stream below,where she landed with a great splash. Taking a step forward I looked over the edge and saw the tigress lying submerged in a pool with her feet in the air, while the water in the pool reddened with her blood. ( Jim Corbett, The Muktesar Man-Eater)

Born in 1875 Jim Corbett was one of 16 children with some being half siblings which he was put to the task of taking care of when he came of age. He spent the majority of his childhood exploring the wilds of India gathering extensive knowledge and experience with the natural world, its sights,smells,sounds and the animal life that lived there. Jim served in both World Wars, he tried to enlist in 1914 but was initially denied due to him being 38 but as the war went on he was commissioned as a captain over the 70th Kumaon Company and saw action on the Western Front. At the end of the war in 1918 Jim was promoted to the rank of Major, he was also called upon in 1919 to serve in the Third Anglo-Afghan War. When World War 2 broke out Jim would enlist again but was rejected again because at this point in his life he was over 60 years old, he worked instead for a charity looking after families of active service members and became a recruitment officer after lying about his age. While recovering from a Typhus infection between 1942-43 Japan had begun their push into Burma and the jungles of South-East Asia he was approached by the Army and was appointed to senior jungle craft instructor due to his immense knowledge of how to survive,track and navigate the jungles, the British and American troops that trained under him were highly impressed and in awe of Jim’s ability’s and would say of him that he was a cross between a magician and a master detective.

Jim’s career of dispatching man-eaters started in 1907 with the killing of the Champawat tigress which killed over 400 people, his tally of man-eaters through the years was 31 tigers and 2 leopards, he shot his last tiger in 1938 that being the Thak man-eater. His love of India ,its wildlife and its people spurred his desire to help others in need, he would often walk days to reach a secluded village in need of dire help to stop the demons terrorizing them.

Jim would sell his home and move from India to East Africa in 1947. Jim’s years in Africa were spent fishing,traveling and entertaining high ranking British officials. With the deforestation and over shooting in India a major problem, Jim in his later life would be instrumental in the conservation movement in India helping establish one of the first National Parks in 1934 ,it was renamed the Jim Corbett National Park in 1957.

Years of sleeping in the rain and suffering from various bouts of pneumonia and tropical diseases left Jim weak in his later years. April 19th 1955 Jim would suffer a massive heart attack early that day and would sadly pass away that evening at the age of 79. Jim never married or had children but his sister Maggie was by his side the whole time,his last words to her were {Always be brave and, try to make the world a happier place for others}. Jim’s life was a testament to courage,diligence and love for others in need. He stands out as one of the greatest humanitarians,hunters and conservationist of the 20th century. The words on his tomb stone read as thus

UNTIL THE DAY BREAK AND THE SHADOWS FLEE AWAY

Fascination with far away places and vintage firearms lead me down the path in my late teens early twenties to desperately want to acquire a double rifle. Reading Jim Corbett’s accounts of braving the wilds of India in search of man-eating tigers and leopards didn’t help in quelling my obsession. So determined I set out on my quest, First what rifle did I want? Well something affordable…. I know those words don’t come into play when talking English double rifles! Well at any rate I knew I wanted something in the lines of what Jim had either a 450-400 NE or a 500 Black Powder Express Jones under lever hammer rifle.The Black Power Express hammer doubles are for the most part on the (cheaper) side of doubles rather than the Nitro Express hammerless doubles. At a local gun show of all places an old gentleman was walking around with a Jones under lever Thomas Mortimer and Son 500 Black Powder Express complete with loading dies and brass for a heck of a deal! So I walked away with my new rifle a very happy camper!

The 500 Black Powder Express was introduced around the early 1860’s with a 3 inch and 3 1\4 inch case, of the two the 3 inch case proved more popular and is the base for the 500-465 Nitro ,470 Nitro and 500 Nitro Express cartridges. Popular in India for soft skinned animals and tigers it was not very popular in Africa on dangerous game until it was introduced in the 1890’s loaded with 80 grains of cordite and a 570 grain bullet running 2’150fps with 5’850 foot pounds of energy turning it into an elephant stopper. Jim’s 500 was a Nitro for Black Express which means it was not a full nitro rifle but was loaded with 55 grains of cordite and a 440 grain bullet running around 1’800-1’900 fps giving it around 3’500 foot pounds of energy.

So now that I had the rifle I needed some ammo, getting the brass and reloading dies in the deal I set out to gather some books on reloading data. Graeme Wright’s 3rd edition of Shooting the British Double Rifle and the Woodleigh Bullets Loading Manual hold a wealth of knowledge in the double rifle reloading department, especially if you are looking to reload nitro for black, which his what I wanted to do with the 500.

Cross-Referencing Graeme’s book with Woodleigh’s I came up with a couple of nitro for black loads. Graeme suggest’s using medium burning rate powders IMR and Hogdons 4891,4895 and Varget.

The first load was Woodleigh’s 440 grain bullet over 51 grains of 4198 and 6 grains of cotton [to keep the powder against the primer] Graeme goes over this in his book. With that load I was getting 1’700fps and 2 inch groups at 50 yards. The next load I bumped up gradually to 56 grains of IMR 4198 and 5 grains of filler which gave me 1’850fps and 3 inch groups at 50 yards. Of the two I settled with the 51 grains of IMR.

So settling on a load I would set out on the back 40 of my North Carolina farm on occasion to try and track down the very dangerous and elusive white-tailed deer we have stalking around here.

Though I never got to use the old tiger rifle on anything other than white-tails,I did take it pig hunting a few times to no avail. The old tiger killer has since passed on unto another caretaker to pursue their dreams of far away places and adventure, my only hope and wish is that the old warrior will see many more sunrises afield and speak its might song to the four winds.

Introduced in 1906 by Remington the Model 8 was John Browning’s last sporting rifle design, based on his long recoil patent design, also implemented on his Auto 5 shotgun were as the recoil from the round cocks and reloads the firearm by the barrel moving reward along with the introduction of the 35 Remington cartridge made this a instant hit with sportsman. Browning having a long working relationship with Winchester designing the 1885 single shot a long with the 1886,1887,1892,1894,1895 lever actions and the 1890,1893,1897 line of pumps when he showed this new design to T.G. Bennett he was less than enthused and sat on the decision to produce Browning’s auto shotgun design for 2 years so Browning getting fed up with waiting and convinced this design was a winner asked Bennett for royalties on the design which Bennett refused and with that Browning broke off from Winchester..( big mistake on Winchesters part)

Browning went to Remington with his design but while waiting on a meeting with Remington’s president Marcellus Hartley in the parlor Browning was informed that the president had suffered a fatal heart attack. So realizing he wouldn’t be able to make any deals with Remington at the moment Browning took his design over the pond to FN. Having already set up a contract with them through Hart O” Berg FN’s factory director back in 1897 for his 32 cal Auto pistol ,FN was more than glad to take over the new shotgun and rifle designs, contracts where signed March 24 of 1902.

Browning stayed in Belgium for 3 months supervising the production of his A5 , an instant hit with American sportsman 10,000 where sold in the first year of production (1903) but in 1904 import tariffs on goods of foreign manufacture made the prices of FN made firearms too expensive so Browning renegotiated with FN to give him the rights to set up manufacturing in the US which they did and Browning was able to finally start manufacturing relations with Remington. Remington was very eager for Brownings designs and put them into production by 1905 with the Remington model 11 and by 1906 Remington introduced the model 8!

Five smashing knock down blows delivered at lighting speed! said Remington advertisements in 1906 with the new 35 cal Remington round with its 200 grain bullet moving at 2,000 fps. Initially introduced in 35 Remington only the 25,30 and 32 Remington soon followed in 1907 though never as popular as the 35.

25 Remington-100 grain sp at 2,330fps with 1’216 fp of energy

30 Remington-170 grain sp at 2,120fps with 1,696 fp of energy

32 Remington-170 grain sp at 2,220fps with 1,860 fp of energy

35 Remington-200 grain sp at 2,080fps with 1,920 fp of energy

Of all the Remington rounds the 35 has stood the test of time a fantastic brush and woods round it is as popular today as when it came out in 1906 that 358 cal 200 grain bullet moving at 2,000fps is a killer! a many of deer,black bear, moose, elk and grizzly bear have fallen to the little thumper! though the years rounds come and go there are fads but for the foreseeable future the 35 Remington is still a contender for one of the best woods and brush rounds. The popularity of the round over the years has made other firearm manufacturers introduced the round in some of their models Marlin in their 336 is a fine rifle and Winchester made a run in their pre 64 model 70, Remington would also have the round chambered in the model 14 and 141 pump rifles and 760 and also there model 600 bolt action and the model 81 Remington (which is a revamped model 8).

I’ve got my Remington model 8 running 200 grain cast lead gas checks at 1,900fps ,which it really seems to like with IMR 3031 in a hornady case with Winchester primers. Looking forward to getting the old model 8 out out this winter and testing out the little thumper on some unsuspecting quarry! Get those old warriors out in the field this hunting season!

Summer has a way of getting us (hunters) a little down, with its heat and humidity it has us longing for cooler days and the changing of the leaves, it has us yearning for Septembers first morning of dove season for with that starts the ever consuming pursuit of game in all its splendor, for soon after comes the opening days of deer,duck and quail. So in those summer evenings I find myself pondering on days gone by and the memories stored in the forests and fields and remember grand days with old faithful dogs and friends.

December 2017 my good friend Jordan Muir had invited my father,brother and myself on a combination deer, duck and quail hunt (mainly) duck on the Black River in eastern North Carolina. The Black River is a tributary that starts in Sampson county with the merging of the Great Coharie Creek and the Six Runs Creek and snakes its way into the Cape Fear River and is know for its old growth forests and grand bald cypress forest some 2’600 years old, a marvelous place teaming with diverse wildlife deer,bobcat,river otter,black Bear and of course duck make this there place of residents. My father having a passion for deer hunting having started at the age of 8 and killing his first deer and 13 with a bow that’s some 50 odd years of pursuing that elusive species of Artiodactyla….yeah I had to look that word up! So we didn’t go duck hunting when I was growing up, my father went a handful of times in his youth but didn’t have a passion for it like he did deer hunting. So I for one was looking forward to a new experience!

Arriving at Jordan’s cousins place on the Black River we promptly unloaded our gear and guns and awaited his cousins arrival a Mr. Allan Page owner and operator of Leaning Tree Game Calls a very skilled call maker and duck hunter to boot! We hit it off marvelously! Having a love of wildlife,good food and vintage firearms we stayed up most the night in conversation. Finely realizing how late it was and how early we need to get up we hit the sack. The next morning we fixed a grand Southern breakfast and set off on Allan’s property to do a little quail hunt! Quail used to be abundant in NC but with the progress of time and the loss of more and more farmland and do to the chemicals used in the practice wild quail in NC are sadly dwindling so in order to do a hunt quail were provided by Jordan’s employer at the time Shady Knolls Game Preserve, still we has a wonderful time tromping through the pine forest in pursuit of the little gentleman! After said hunt was completed we commenced to clean and prepare the little gentlemen for the nights supper and what a supper it was! Fried quail,venison and Allan’s signature way of fixing whole duck in the oven! Good conversation on the days hunt over a glass of port ended the day in cozy bliss.

The next morning while in the process of washing the sleep out of my eyes and preparing a little breakfast the door burst open and a blast from a duck call broke the mornings silence! Good morning fellas! Allan greeted us in his usual jovial manner.So loading up we drove through the darkness down back roads until we reached our designated spot, trudging through the undergrowth we finally reached the river and Allan having dragged a little kayak with him jumped in it and commenced breaking the ice that had formed on the water over the cold and chilly night, then throwing out the decoys we set up on the dam Jordan my brother Seth and myself, we were at the far right hand of the group, we waited with baited breath in the cold and frosty morning for those tell tail whistling wings. Before legal shooting hours (7am) in NC we could hear the skidding wooosh of the ducks starting to land. A shot from Allan’s daughter Skye’s 20 gauge broke the mornings silence! At that the ducks that had landed erupted in a haze of confusion! Ducks were everywhere darting about, I heard my brother Seth let loose with his Browning A5 3 inch mag as a mallard flew by overhead I cut loose as well with my 1901 Winchester 10 gauge but do to excitement and inexperience …mainly excitement both shots were out of range. We had a few more mallards fly by overhead that morning all out of range but the experience sparked a new found love of waterfowl hunting! Seeing those magnificent little dive bombers cup up and come into decoy is an experience one shouldn’t let pass by in a lifetime.

After returning to camp around 10 we decided to go on a jump shoot down the river in kayaks, let me tell you if you haven’t done that you are missing out! It is one of the most fun things I have done! Allan drove us up river to a bridge put in and dropped us off and said it should take us around 5 hours to drift down to where he would be waiting to pick us up, with that we unloaded the kayaks one single man for Jordan and a double man for Seth and I. We eased the boats into the lazily flowing Black River as Allan pulled away giving a a honk and thumbs up, We decided Seth would steer and let me do the shooting the first half and then we would switch and then he would shoot the later part of the trip, the river was eerily gorgeous with its ancient old growth cypress trees standing proudly over us ever watchful over the centuries.

We hadn’t drifted 100 yards when a group of 10-12 wood ducks exploded from our left off the bank! Guns were thrown to shoulder and cordite was ignited but with the sudden explosion of feathery confusion and excitement shots did not hit there targets, we were left in awe of how swift and fast the little feathery fowl could get out of dodge! As we came to our first bend in the river Jordan said keep an eye out to the extreme left or right depending on which way the river runs, the bend was to the left so I was in the process of checking my shotgun when all the sudden a hen wood duck exploded from my right under some overhanging brush on the bank. The 1901 Winchester snapped to my shoulder and I let loose a load of RST #4 in her direction and she came tumbling down my first duck! Drifting up and plucking her out if the swirling Black River I marveled at how the sun shown a gold’ish green sheen on her grey body absolutely gorgeous!

We continued down the lazily twisting river having to maneuver over fallen trees and brush jumping mainly wood duck, the thing about wood ducks is that if you jump them up they will fly down river only 3-4 hundred yards and land again so opportunity to get another shot is high. So half way through the trip I switch out with Seth and through out the rest of the trip we kept jumping this drake wood duck we would get almost within range and he would bust out not giving us a shot, we were coming to the last stretch of river in our trip when to our left he busted out from the left bank! Seth swung his Browning up to meet the little rocket and with a jolting roar the drake came crashing down Seth’s first duck! We found him floating feet up down the river stuck in some brush. And what a drake wood duck! Marvelously mature and one of the biggest ones Jordan said he has ever seen! Our trip at and end we drifted into where Allan said he would be waiting, pictures where taken and congratulations were made and a new found passion was sparked in these old deer hunters for these gorgeous feathery fowl!

Introduced in 1925 the model 54 was Winchesters first commercial bolt action sporting rifle offered to the masses, though bolt action rifles were offered by Winchester as early as 1882 with there 45-70 chambered Hotchkiss rifles. A majority of those rifles some 84,000 were in military style muskets and carbines ,sporting configurations on the other hand were not as popular with shooters at the time preferring Winchesters line of lever actions instead.

There were also sporting versions of there Lee Navy but only 1,700 were made in sporting variation partly due to its light 6mm caliber.

T.C. Johnson work for Winchester from 1885 until his death in 1934 and came up with some of Winchsters most iconic designs, the model 12 and 21 most respectively along with the line of 1903-1910 style of semi auto rifles. He also designed the Model 51 Imperial in 1918 only 24 were manufactured and then were shot down by short sited Winchester executives. It was offered in solid and take down form and calibers 30-06 Springfield and 35 Newton and a new 27 caliber… 270 WCF.

Drilled and tapped for telescopic sights and highly finished and based on there p-14 and M1917 action I don’t see why this was shot down, it looks to me to be a very robust and well thought out design.

Johnson would design the Winchester model 54 on a Mauser 98 action with 2 stage military trigger, one of its criticized features along with the single piece stamped trigger guard and Mauser type 3 position wing safety making it hard to mount a scope without modifying the bolt despite these drawbacks sales were good until the great depression

Calibers for the model 54 were 30-06 Springfield ,30-30 win ,7×57 Mauser ,7.65x53mm Argentine ,9x57mm Mauser ,250Savage ,22Hornet, 220Swift ,257Roberts…aaand the new 270 Winchester liked by a certain fellow with the last name of O’ Connor! You also could get your model 54 chambered in 25-35 win, 32 win special and 35 Whelen on special order. A model 54 carbine chambered in 35 Whelen would be a fantastic little brush gun!

Winchesters various offerings in the model 54!

My model 54 Winchester carbine was manufactured in 1935 and is chambered in the time tested 30-06 Springfield it came with a standard buckhorn sight which I promptly replaced with a period correct Lyman 48w sight which I prefer .Though no deer have fallen to the little carbine yet I am confident the little guy will get the job done when called upon, the carbine length rifle is ideal for slipping and maneuvering around the NC thickets come deer season!

The load I’ve chosen for the little guy is a 220 grain Hornady Interlock running 2,300 out of the 20 inch barrel with 54 grain of IMR 4831. I took to the shooting range today in this 100 degree heat…(yeah I know)…can’t wait until fall! anyway I went to test out my loads in off hand positions.

The first group I shot was in the sitting position, went to prone and got better groups and found out the gun was a little high (this is at 50 yards) and had to adjust the Lyman sight as you can see a little too much the second time but the third group was right where I wanted the little guy! Not bad for off hand!