Reloading in Novels

[KRT97]

I just finished a book, PATRIARCH RUN (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J49L77S), in which the main characters reload. I read a lot of books, but very few have that type of detail. What's really striking, gunwise, about this story is that the good guys are using revolvers and lever actions against a cartel with modern weaponry. There's a kid using reloads for his .44 against some pretty hard customers. The kid's shooting hardcast, three hundred grain wide-flat-nose bullets at 1,200 feet per second. But he's only got six shots.

The sheriff teaches the kid to shoot when the kid's young, using a lever action .22. Then he moves him up to .30-30 reloads. The sheriff still carries his Colt Python for duty. I've never read anything like this story. It pays its respects to Bill Ruger, Elmer Keith and John Moses Browning with its love for wooden stocks, the Super Blackhawk revolver, the .44 Magnum cartridge, the 1911, etc.

There's a lot more to the story than that. The story is good all around. Really makes you think. But the guns in it are just fun.

What other novels have you read that feature reloading? I'd like to read some more like this.

[Artful]

Man, usually it's snicking off the safety on their revolver - I'll have to check it out.

[USAFrox]

If you haven't read Unintended Consequences, by John Ross, and Stephen Hunter's Point of Impact, you should. Point of Impact has incredible detail about reloading and even paper patching bullets.

[Tatume]

Man, usually it's snicking off the safety on their revolver - I'll have to check it out.

I was driving a friend to the VA one day. He had previously regaled me with his stories as a SEAL in VN. At one point he asked me about my carry gun, and thinking I was in the company of a knowledgeable fellow gun folk, pulled my S&W M49 Bodyguard from concealment and handed it to him, loaded. He turned it over a few times, and then asked "Where's the safety catch?" I gingerly retrieved the gun from him, and never offered him another loaded gun.

[USAFrox]

I've learned to never hand a gun to someone loaded. I always drop the mag and empty the chamber and hand it to them with the slide locked back, or open the cylinder and eject the cartridges and hand it to them with the cylinder unlatched. I never assume the other person knows as much as they should know about guns. Would really suck to get shot with my own gun because the other guy is an unsafe imbecile.

[Bullwolf]

I just finished a book, PATRIARCH RUN (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00J49L77S), in which the main characters reload. I read a lot of books, but very few have that type of detail.

What other novels have you read that feature reloading? I'd like to read some more like this.


My recommendation is PALLAS (http://www.amazon.com/Pallas-L-Neil-Smith/dp/1604504757/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1407733874&sr=1-1) by L.Neil Smith.

I own the paperback, and I re-read the book every few years because I enjoyed it that much. It's sometimes referred to as libertarian fiction, despite that I found it quite easy to read. The characters are heroic and very memorable.

It's a good story about responsibility, freedom loving, and firearms in a libertarian society placed on a frontier world. Reloading is involved for self sufficiency as well. My favorite quote was "Thomas Jefferson would have loved this book".

If you are a science fiction/fantasy fan, who also happens to appreciate firearms and reloading you will likely enjoy this book as well.



- Bullwolf

[Charley]

Movie rather than a novel, but the 1984 version of Red Dawn has a shot of Ben Johnson with a reloading press behind him. Think either Lyman or RCBS been a while. Also hands Patrick Swayze a "box of reloads for your Daddy's old gun". Been a while since I've seen it.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Movie rather than a novel, but the 1984 version of Red Dawn has a shot of Ben Johnson with a reloading press behind him. Think either Lyman or RCBS been a while. Also hands Patrick Swayze a "box of reloads for your Daddy's old gun". Been a while since I've seen it.

When the kids are grabbing supplies at the general store at the outset of the movie I caught where 1 kid is taking a bunch of ammo boxes - the boxes are all empty brass reloaders would buy. Also the box Ben Johnson hands Swayze is a box of reloaders empty brass. The audience wouldn`t know a box of loaded ammo from empty brass the director figured. Another thing is when did they sight in that .308 rifle with the scope if they didn`t want to make any noise firing guns?Robert

[cliff55]

When the kids are grabbing supplies at the general store at the outset of the movie I caught where 1 kid is taking a bunch of ammo boxes - the boxes are all empty brass reloaders would buy. Also the box Ben Johnson hands Swayze is a box of reloaders empty brass. The audience wouldn`t know a box of loaded ammo from empty brass the director figured. Another thing is when did they sight in that .308 rifle with the scope if they didn`t want to make any noise firing guns?Robert

All the boxes of new unprimed brass I have boutht to reload went back in the box they came out of
So if I handed you a box of reloads they Possibly could be in a unprimed box. LOL

[Green Frog]

Gerald Hammond's series of novels about gunsmith Keith Calder would be worth a look. Reloading is not real big, but is there; along with gunsmithing, competitive shooting, etc. The first of the series is Dead Game and sets the stage for 22 more. I have purchased most of them and periodically pull one out like going to visit with an old friend.

Froggie

PS Donald Hamilton's Line of Fire ​is also worth a look... a gunsmith turned assassin (or is he?)

[MtGun44]

Can a "Kindle book" be read on a PC?

Bill

[williamwaco]

Can a "Kindle book" be read on a PC?

Bill



Yes.

Download an e-book reader.
They are free and you can get them from Amazon

[GhostHawk]

Or you can do a bit of searching (Google is your friend) put in title, author, and the magic word "Ebook" or Ebook torrent.

[rockshooter]

not a novel, but Guy Lautard (ed.) put together the JM Pyne Stories and other selected writings by Lucian Carey- lots of good stuff in there.
Loren

[lup]

not a novel, but Guy Lautard (ed.) put together the JM Pyne Stories and other selected writings by Lucian Carey- lots of good stuff in there.
Loren

Where can you get this? As far as I can tell its out of print.

LUP

[Janoosh]

+1 on the JM Pyne stories....fascinating look at shooting and reloading. Supposedly based on Harry Pope.

[Dryball]

The JM Pyne stories are great and are a loose connection of Harry Pope. As far as I know they were originally written as a series for Gun Digest. I have most of the copies but I am missing one or two (of course they contain Pyne).

[williamwaco]

+1 on the JM Pyne stories....fascinating look at shooting and reloading. Supposedly based on Harry Pope.

DITTO

Where can we get this?

[rockshooter]

I bought my copy from Powells Books in Portland via Amazon.com. If I find another current source, I'll post it. Looks like Dixie Gun works may have it in stock.
Loren

[Green Frog]

The JM Pyne stories are great and are a loose connection of Harry Pope. As far as I know they were originally written as a series for Gun Digest. I have most of the copies but I am missing one or two (of course they contain Pyne).

Actually they were originally serialized in something like Saturday Evening Post if I remember correctly. They were then collected and reprinted in Gun Digest and the re-reprinted in the collection book by Guy Lautard. Lucian Cary wrote for a variety of magazines and was a great friend of Harry Pope... this is probably one of the reasons HP is better known today than Axel Petersen, George Schoyen, and some of the other great gunsmiths of the day, he had a better publicist! ;)

Froggie

[KRT97]

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions!