In the Studio Today...

...with the video podcast and wrapping up the audio podcast. One thing that really struck me at the NRA show was how many people who's primary contact with Down Range is through the audio podcast...interesting!

I wanted to mention that my good friend Larry Weishuhn now has a signature Thompson/Cener Encore package with his name on it. Here's the press release from Ammoland:

The new Encore pistol bears Weishuhn’s signature on the right side of the blued receiver along with his personal antler logo created in gold inlay. The esthetically pleasing handgun remains true to its original platform with its single-shot break open design and interchangeable barrel capabilities. The blued frame Encore Pro Hunter is chambered in .308 and is standard with a 15-inch blued barrel with fluting. As part of the package, each Encore pistol will be shipped with a new Nikon Encore pistol scope, Pachmayr grips and a soft carrying case. The pistol features Thompson/Center’s patented automatic hammer block safety with bolt interlock and a highly accurate precision barrel. The Larry Weishuhn Signature Series package will have an MSRP of $1,199.

I ran into Larry for a few minutes and he was pretty stoked about the gun. It got my attention because I've had Contenders for, like, 30 years — mostly to experiment with stupid calibers...I was the first on my block with 10-inch 45-70 barrel from J.D. Jones back when 45-70 was still obscure. I shot a .308 Encore at Boomershoot and it reminded me of what big fun it was to lob big pistol calibers at distant targets. Might be something single-shot-ish in my future.

I wanted to answer a comment from yesterday's post on the utility of 12 gauge Quick Strips for pumps and semiauto shotguns...I see the utility mostly in 3 pretty specific areas — ammo sorting and ammo storage. As most of you know from the podcast, I'm more a fan of single round reloading than long tubes on defensive shotguns. My primary defensive shotgun is a Vang Comp 870, which does come with a tube. Once the tube is empty I don't care about it one way or the other...rather, I'll simply single-load the pump. IMHO, it is faster to single-load than trying to stoke the tube (and if I was taking a shotgun class, I might pull the tube to take some of the weight off the gun). The reloads are loose in bag on my left side. I now have 6 slugs in the Quick Strip in the bag...that way I can tell the slugs from the buckshot by feel and I don't have the added weight of 4 or 5 slug rounds in a carrier on the gun. Ammo storage should be self-explanatory...I keep ammo with my stubby Super-Shorty 870, for example. Six rounds of TAPS buckshot and 6 slugs should get me home. Having the ammo oriented on the strips makes it wasier to carry than loose shells in a pocket as well...