EmptyCases Substack: The Gun Safe

My 327 Lever Gun

EmptyCases — Sun, 07 Jun 2026 14:12:56 GMT

Right after I graduated high school I bought a Ruger Single Six in 32 H&R Magnum. For years it was my constant companion on the farm. That was a long time ago but I’ve owned at least one gun chambered for that cartridge ever since. You can watch the video on my current Ruger Single Seven >HERE. That revolver is one of my favorite guns, but I have a lever action rifle that will also fire 32 H&R Magnum and 327 Federal ammo, and it is one of my favorites too. It’s not a Henry it’s a Marlin, and I don’t know of another Marlin in 327 Federal. I’ve heard Marlin made less than 3000 of their Model 1894s in 32 H&R Magnum, which is what this conversion is based on. Regardless, I know a lot of folks look down their nose at the 327 Federal Magnum but that cartridge along with its little brother—the 32 H&R Magnum—have served me well for a long, long time.

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You can read more about my experiences with the 32 H&R Magnum and the 327 Federal Magnum in a lever gun in my latest book, which is available on Amazon

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My Evolving Model Seven

EmptyCases — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 15:50:26 GMT

Some of my rifles never change much or if at all over the years. But some of my rifles continually evolve, either out of need or want. This Remington Model Seven is now on what you might say is its third life. In fact, it now very much resembles a rifle I have wanted for almost 40 years. What makes it special is that it was part of my infatuation with, …

My Dress Gun

EmptyCases — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 21:57:23 GMT

There are some things I forgot to mention in the video. When I got the pistol back from Joe, I got it out of the box a checked the trigger and it was terrible—just like it was when I bought the gun. I called Joe and asked, “What the hell?” and Joe said, “I didn’t do a trigger job. You have to do it. You need to learn how.” Well, I did it, it took me abo…

My Appalachian Deer Rifle

EmptyCases — Sun, 23 Nov 2025 19:50:45 GMT

I like all of the rifles I own, but I can’t think of a single one I like better than this one.

Custom Scout Rifle

EmptyCases — Sun, 09 Nov 2025 17:28:03 GMT

This is a rifle I am very fond of, though I don’t use it as much as I used to. It is mostly a product of all the research I conducted when I was writing The Scout Rifle Study. This rifle, with no accessories attached, weighs 6 pounds 1 ounce. With the Burris 2-7X Scout Scope and quick detach rings (16.0 ounces), three sling swivels and Galco’s modified RifleMann sling (7 ounces), and the VersaCarry AmmoCaddy (2.5 ounces), it weighs 7 pounds 10.5 ounces.

When Cooper wrote about the Scout Rifle he suggested field ready weights from between 6 pounds 9.6 ounces (3 kilos) to 7 pounds 11.2 ounces (3.5 kilos). This rifle comes in at just under the maximum weight Cooper stipulated for a Scout Rifle. But then of course there’s the bipod question. If you add the 7.6 ounce Spartan bipod—which you can carry in your pocket—to the rifle, it then weighs more than eight pounds. Of course if you’re using the bipod you’re not holding the rifle because it’s rested on the ground.

I only mention all this because weight has always been the hardest element of Cooper’s Scout Rifle concept to meet. Bipod or not, there has never been a commercially produced Scout Rifle that would meet Cooper’s field ready weight of 3 kilos. Maybe someday we will see that rifle…

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Dad's Deer Rifle

EmptyCases — Sun, 02 Nov 2025 15:49:25 GMT

My father only had one centerfire rifle. It was the rifle he used for deer hunting and groundhog hunting. Dad was deadly with that rifle. As the old saying goes, “Beware the man with one gun.”

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The Gun Safe

EmptyCases — Sun, 26 Oct 2025 02:58:34 GMT

The curse of the gunwriter is that you rarely get to talk, write about, or use your own guns. This is because in order for a gun writer—a gun writer who does not have a wealthy wife—to make a living, he must talk, write about, and use guns he does not own. The irony of it all is that I talk and write about the guns I like the best, the least. Some time ago I came up with a way to work around that, and its with a series of videos about the guns that don’t just visit my safe, but the ones that live in my safe or are on or around me most of the time.

Of course I must stay busy paying the bills, and I have also spent a lot of time over the last year working on my new book that was just released on Amazon, and that all Premium subscribers to the EmptyCases Substack will receive for free. (By the way, those books will ship this week.) Finally, now caught up on all my assignments and with my book behind me, I can get this video series started. What you’ll see under The Gun Safe section of the EmptyCases Substack are videos of me talking about the guns I own, like, and use.

I’m not sure how often I’ll post these videos , but I expect with deer season just around the corner you should see several by the end of the year. The gun I picked for the first installment of this new video series is a revolver and one of my very favorite guns, and it is also a gun that spends a lot of time on my hip and in my hands. In fact, it has been on my side all this week while I have been at my camp, reading for buck season, doing some chores, and a little bit of hunting.

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