Lee - GunDigest 2015

33RD ANNUAL

It is our pleasure to announce that Paul Scarlata is the recipient of the 33rd Annual John T. Amber Literary Award. The award is presented in recognition of his excellent story, The Remarkable Ross, which was published in last years 68th Edition of Gun Digest. Paul presented a very thorough and well-researched story on the confusing and complicated history of the straight-pull, bolt-action Ross rifle in the early decades of the 20th century. The infamous Canadian rifle was plagued with controversy and problems during its years of service in many different variations from 1903 to about 1940. Several soldiers were seriously injured due to failures of the rifles pull-bolt design, but the guns creator, Sir Charles Ross, blamed the incidents on faulty maintenance procedures. Politics and favoritism also played a role in the interesting tale of the Ross rifle.

We asked Paul to tell us a bit about his life and his interest in firearms.

I guess my ending up as a member of the firearms media was a foregone conclusion. My father, an avid hunter and fisherman, taught my two brothers and myself a respect for the outdoors, wildlife and firearms at an early age. Many of my happiest memories are of those days the four of us spent afield pursuing small and large game and deep-sea fishing. I often tell people that my childhood resembled a Hemingway novel.

In my teens I developed a fascination for the, then inexpensive, military surplus firearms flooding the market. Over the years I accumulated and sold off several collections until I began specializing in Krag-Jorgensens. A fascinating, if expensive, hobby.

I graduated college with an MA in Russian and Middle Eastern history and a minor in journalism, and over the years I worked as a teacher, medical office manager and business owner. After a life-changing event in my 40s, a divorce, the opportunity presented itself for me to pursue a career that involved two things that I loved firearms and history.

With the urging of my daughter and the help of my brothers, one an engineer for a major firearms/ammunition company and the other a photographer, I began submitting articles to various firearms publications and almost starved to death for three years! But my perseverance paid off and my work has been published by gun and military history magazines in the U.S., Switzerland, Finland, Russia, the Netherlands, Great Britain, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. I have also had three books on classic bolt-action military rifles published, all of which have proven successful.

Paul and one of his beloved Krag-Jorgensen rifles. Photo by Becky Leavitt

Paul Searlata

Today I continue to contribute to publications in the U.S. and around the world and am about to begin my fourth book. In my leisure time I am an active Action Pistol shooter, a sport that I share with my fiance and photographer Becky, and continue to pursue the Holy Grail of Kragdom an all original U.S. M1892 rifle!

The John T. Amber Award is presented each year to a Gun Digest contributor whose work demonstrates significant knowledge of the subject matter through experience and research, and also for the ability to express it in a way to inform, inspire and entertain the reader. Each recipient receives a handsome plaque and a $1,000 honorarium. The award is named for the late John Amber, who served as the editor of Gun Digest from 1951 to 1979 and is fondly remembered by many readers and industry people for his knowledge and love of fine firearms. Amber died in 1986 on his Creedmoor farm in Illinois at the age of 82.

Congratulations Paul. We look forward to seeing your stories in future editions of Gun Digest.

Jerry Lee

Editor

INTRODUCTION

Its hard to believe another year has gone by and that this edition of The Worlds Greatest Gun Book is in bookstores and gunshops all over the country. Or, these days, on a truck or plane headed to someones front door from gundigeststore.com, Amazon or some other online retailer.

From its early years, Gun Digest has set the standard for firearms-related journals and as editor, it is my goal to continue that tradition. We have put together a mix of stories, field reports, gun tests and reference sections that cover a wide range of the shooting sports from some of the top writers in the field. This edition has stories on everything from investing in machine guns to a womens-only African safari; from historical articles on Webleys, Rolling Blocks and Enfields, to tests on a modern-day sniper rifle and the latest Glock; and from holsters of the Hollywood Westerns to the handgun thats number one in battlefield fatalities. (Its not a 1911.)

We are very proud to add Dick Williams byline to our ever-expanding list of Gun Digest contributors. Dick has been published in many gun magazines for years and is recognized as a leading expert in the field of handgun hunting. He has taken a number of big-game animals in Alaska, Africa and Australia, as well as all over the United States. Dicks story in this edition is about the very first .44 Magnums from Smith & Wesson and Ruger.

Its great to welcome back two writers whose names havent been seen on our table of contents page for many years: Garry James and Nick Sisley. Garry has been associated with Guns & Ammo magazine for decades, having served as editor in the past and now as senior editor and contributor. He frequently appears as a host or guest on various gun-related television shows and is a regular contributor to the NRAs American Rifleman magazine. Garrys contribution to this edition is about the early .303 British rifles that were made for black-powder cartridges. No one, and I mean, no one, knows more about early English and French military rifles than Garry James.

Nick Sisley is Mr. Shotgun to many readers of gun books and magazines over the last 40-plus years. He has written thousands of magazine articles, eight books, is an NSCA, NSSA and NRA shotgun instructor, and a private pilot with many ratings. In this edition of Gun Digest, Nick covers the fine products of the Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company, and reviews the Caesar Guerini Invictus over/under. You can find a lot of Nicks thoughts and opinions at www.shotgunlife.com/author/Nick-Sisley.html.

Highlights of This Edition

For many years Wayne van Zwoll has hosted safaris to Africa for women hunters. In his Safari Sisters story, he says he discovered long ago that neither machismo nor magnums are required for a successful hunt. He tells us that women tend to be more careful in shooting big game, partly because they are inexperienced, but also because they arent reluctant to acknowledge their inexperience, unlike many male hunters. To quote Wayne, Circumstantial evidence suggests many men think they were born shooting bulls-eyes. And such fellows commonly attempt shots beyond their ability. That sounds like good advice for some of us.