Obsessions Of A Rifle Loony By John Barsness
Book Review by John Anderson
opinions than you can shake a stick at.” In my opinion (there’s that ‘opinion’ word again) that’s all right because Johnny B. has “been there and done that” enough in the world of rifles to have opinions. Valid ones at that. He grew up with a rifle in his hands and, at any given moment, probably still has a rifle in his hands … whether he’s shoot- ing and testing it for an article for some magazine or a book or actually using it for what it was made for … hunting. I’ve known John for at least a dozen years and have had the pleasure of hunting with him several times, so I’m pretty well convinced he knows whereof he speaks. (I’ve watched him shoot and I know he does it well.) I completely agree that it’s all right to be a rifle loony. After all, I’m working at becoming one myself … and I hope John B. approves. Obsessions of a Rifle Loony is di-
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vided into three parts: Part I – The Rifles, Part II – The Cartridges, and Part III – Technical. The first chapter is titled “Only Unusual Rifles Are Interesting.” However, all this is preceded by a three- page preface titled “Gunwriterese: The Language of Rifle Loonies.” (I’m glad someone finally explained this.) Because John B. earns his living as
a gun writer, and has for quite awhile, he gets to examine and shoot a lot of rifles. The fact he has to work with so many rifles, many of which will be somewhat similar to many others, may have led him to the conclusion that the more unusual rifles are the more interesting ones. And if you work with enough of these more unusual and in- teresting ones you may have taken the first step to becoming a rifle loony. From there John proceeds through
several chapters (“The Bolt Action,” “Repeating Centerfire Rifle Actions” and “Single-Shot Hunting Rifles”) that provide overviews of these rifle types and describe the pros and perhaps cons of these rifle styles for hunting. Chap- ters dealing with “Rifle Weight and Balance” and “Stock Fit” explain why these aspects of rifle design are “oh, so
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his soft cover book of 326 pages has been described as “…more
important” but, alas, are too often over- looked … by major manufacturers and one-man shops alike. The chapter “So You Want A
Custom Rifle” tells you what steps to take to obtain that dream rifle, explain- ing along the way that there may be more than one way to achieve this goal. From there, John moves into “Buying Old ‘Shooters’,” when a “golden oldie” you’ve spied on a used gun rack just may be that “perfect rifle” you’ve been searching for. Here’s what to look for and, perhaps, what you should avoid. Part II – The Cartridges has 15
chapters and begins with “Efficient Cartridges,” which John describes as “…compromising between velocity and recoil.” Then “My Cartridge Is Better Than Yours” explains why whatever cartridge we happen to prefer just hap- pens to be “… the best there is …” regardless. “Confessions Of A Rimfire Addict” explains what every kid with a new .22 rifle understands intuitively … there’s nothing like a rimfire for just plain shooting. What true rifle loony hasn’t started with a rimfire? “The Mod- ern Hornet” describes why this ancient small centerfire round is so darned much fun and so useful … and why John likes it so much. (John, I’m with you on this! J.A.) From there, Chapters 13 through 22 describe the virtues (and occasional faults) of various cartridges or groups thereof, including the .224 and .243 calibers, the .257 Roberts, the “Mag- ical” 6.5s, Why .27?, The All-American 7mms, Why the .308 is Great, The .30-06 Springfield, The Circular History of the .300 Magnums, Medium Magnums, The .416 Rigby, and Just Enough Gun. This final chapter sums up the main point of all the preceding chapters of this section, which is: use enough cartridge for a worst-case scenario (like meeting a grizzly while elk hunting) but don’t use so much cartridge that you’re afraid of the recoil … that might make you miss. One of the strengths of this sec-
tion of the book is that John Barsness has, at one time or another in his hunt- ing career, used these cartridges in the hunting fields. Whether your favorite
cartridge is mentioned in this section is really not important, in my view. What is important, I believe, is that John B. cogently explains why these various cartridges, or groups or categories of cartridges, have worked well for their intended purposes over the decades, satisfactorily serving countless hunters and shooters and becoming favorites in the process. From mice to moose or even pachyderms, there is a cartridge in this section that will do the job … and do it quite satisfactorily. The last section of the book is com-
prised of eight chapters that deal with the technical matters of rifles, stocks, scopes, shooting, sights, and ammuni- tion. And technical things do matter. John begins this section with a chapter on what we can learn from examining a rifle’s bore with a bore scope … an exceedingly useful tool that any self- respecting rifle loony should own. Then he moves on to bedding your own rifle, which, John explains, is not beyond the capabilities of an average rifle owner. Next, the merits of synthetic stocks are explained, including what makes them ideal for hunting rifles. Choice of scopes for various applications (such as hunting vs. target shooting) is cov- ered, including why one style might be preferred over another. Following scopes is a chapter on do-it-yourself scope mounting. (Yes, you can.) Once you get your scope mounted you need to understand open country shooting, particularly steep uphill and downhill shooting. And once you understand the whys and wherefores of using a scope, John explains why there still is a place in this day and age for iron sights. Last but far from least in importance is accu- rate ammunition … without which we wouldn’t be shooting our accurate rifles. John has packed an inordinate
amount of useful information in this very useful and very readable book. And whatever else you may choose to read within its pages, be sure to read the Epilogue. But, by all means, save it for the very last, as John intended.
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