Working The Trapline — An Outlander, A Homesteader & A Mauser Moose

Pairing a pistol and a carbine of the same caliber have been a frontier tradition since the .44-40 cartridge slid into the cylinder of a Peacemaker and the sidegate of a Winchester back in the 1870s. Henry Rifles is introducing a brand-new 9mm autoloading carbine it’s calling the Homesteader. Not only is ammo interchangeable with the ubiquitous 9mm pistols that dominate everyday carry, it comes with different mag wells to accommodate popular mags like Glock and Smith & Wesson (alas, no Springfield as of yet). So, your EDC pistol and its mags mate up with what seems like a mighty nice truck gun.

It’s a damn good-looking piece that hearkens back to early 20th Century autos.

Intuitive, quick target acquisition is achieved with an adjustable full aperture rear sight and screw-on front post sight. The longer sight radius (when compared to a handgun) is far more accurate at distance and forgiving of mistakes. For those that prefer illuminated or magnified optics, the receiver is drilled and tapped for a Weaver 63B base. In close quarters, the Homesteader is highly maneuverable, weighing just 6.6 pounds and under 36 inches in overall length. Perceived recoil is counteracted with a reciprocating mass inside the forearm, getting you back on target faster from shot to shot and inspiring confidence for the recoil sensitive. For even greater control, leather-like texturing on the genuine American walnut stocks and a soft rubber recoil pad provide non-slip contact points.

Do I like this? I do. Lady Marilyn could work this carbine effectively and without trepidation. Ceili would wield it comfortably, too. As the name implies, it’s a handy rifle to have around on the homestead.

Kind of a moot point, though. MSRP is nearly a grand, which is a little rich for a pistol-caliber carbine, unless I was going to throw down for one of the resurrected Ruger-made Marlin lever actions, which will (presumably) be coming out in .357 magnum. THAT is a pistol/carbine pair that I have always wanted to have — and I’m halfway there. The reviews are stellar for those classics, and hats off to Ruger for saving them from the ash heap of history.

Either way, we’re not likely to see any of these rifles that got their unveiling at SHOT Show for some time. I’ve been keeping an eye out for a CZ 600 Lux in .223 since they came out early in 2022. No dice.

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STARZ dropped the opening credits sequence for Outlander S7. As always, the theme is The Skye Boat Song, this time with vocals by Sinéad O’Connor.

STARZ previously announced that an expanded, 16-episode seventh season will premiere this summer. The season brings a host of new characters, including the grown-up version of Jamie’s bastard son, William (Charles Vandervaart), and Quaker brother and sister Denzell (Joey Phillips) and Rachel Hunter (Izzy Meikle-Small). Plus, many fan favorites who were absent from previous recent seasons — including Graham McTavish, Nell Hudson, and Steven Cree — are set to return.

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Mauser offers up a very striking doco on a moose hunt in in Northern Sweden.

A documentary film about moose hunting in Swedish Norrbotten, north of the arctic circle, with the five guys from the hunting collective Toppenjakt. We get to see a stripped-down truth, what moose hunting really can be like and a very spectacular nature. We get to know the guys in Toppenjakt a bit better and what moose hunt means to them. Lars is the only one of them five who never have shot a moose, will he finally succeed? Swedish moose hunt is done with driven Norwegian/Swedish elkhounds and by calling this time of year.