The .300 Winchester Magnum Bullet Pen

[mhphoto]

A month or so ago I posted a review of The Mighty Pen Company's .30-06/.308 Combo Pen. I found it to be near perfect in balance and a smooth writer. And ever since posting that review I've been putting a new Mighty Pen through its paces. I know this is my third ballpoint review in a row, but I promise I have several fountain pen reviews half written and more than a few ink reviews that need finishing. This one was already written and ready, so here goes.

 

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This is the .300 Winchester Magnum/.300 Winchester Short Magnum model. It differs from the previous .30-06/.308 combo pens not only in parent caliber but in refill style. This is the nickel model, featuring copper accents. There is another model also; brass with copper accents.

 

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First, the most obvious difference between the two model is the size. The .300 WM/WSM is slightly longer and wider than the .30-06/.308 model. More on this later, as right now I want to focus on the business of laying that sweet ink down.

 

Whereas the .30-06/.308 pens use the ubiquitous and—if you get a Chinese manufactured example, somewhat skippy—Cross refill, the .300 WM/WSM model uses a higher quality (and higher ink capacity) Parker refill. Now, with the Cross model you can use the excellent Fisher Cross-style refill (preferably in Fine), but other than that you're fairly limited on alternatives. With the new .300 WM/WSM model you have many, and I mean many options.

 

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Supplied with the pen is a Parker-style gel refill. It's a smooth writer that puts down a thick, albeit wet, line. It goes on jet black but dries a semi-opaque deep charcoal. It requires much less pressure than a ballpoint to lay down a solid line, but if you don't write with enough pressure the line will skip (I'm talking really light writing here). Gel pens are unique in their chemistry and use a mixture of the more common ballpoint and rollerball features. Ballpoints use a viscous, oil-based ink where the color is made up of dyes dissolved in the ink. Rollerballs, as many of you might know, write much smoother than ballpoints. In many ways rollerballs are simply fountain pens in ballpoint form. In contrast to ballpoints, rollerballs use a thin, water-based ink, but still get its color from dye. Rollerballs are require much less force to get the ink onto the paper at the cost of drying time. Gel pens are a subsidiary, if you will, of rollerballs. The ink is gelled instead of liquid, and suspended pigments are used instead of dissolved dyes. The use of pigments is why you see so many vibrant colors in gel pens that can't be produced with rollerball or ballpoint inks. But gel pens aren't without their faults. They're slow to dry once on paper, just like rollerballs. And they can be, well, globby once in a while. I haven't experienced any globbiness with this refill, but slow to dry? Yes.

 

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But back to the refills available for this pen. As stated, if comes supplied with a black gel refill. It also takes Parker, select Mont Blanc refills (with a slightly shorter spring, not included), and Fisher's Space Pen refill (with the Parker adapter that comes with every Fisher refill). As I said above, the gel refill is very good compared to some of the stinker gel pens I've used in the past. Parker ballpoints are a cut above Cross in terms of feel, ability to put down an uninterrupted line, capacity, and look. And, oddly enough, the expensive Mont Blanc ballpoint refill I received wasn't nearly as smooth as the Parker refill. This could be a fluke or it could be the norm, I'm not sure. The Fisher refills are very good provided you buy the fine tip version and stay away from the medium refills (you can find them under "junk" in the dictionary).

 

The refills are all very compatible with the pen and fit perfectly, though I did have a little issue with the Mont Blanc refill. Due to an oddly shaped barrel, the Mont Blanc refill requires a slightly shorter spring in order to fit. This is no problem, but when changing the refill from a Mont Blanc to another refill, the shorter spring became lodge in the tip and required a bit of the good old prod and shove to get it out. Not a major issue, but notable. I colored the end of the spring that kept getting stuck in black Sharpie and just made sure it was reversed from then on, and haven't had anymore problems.

 

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This pen, just like the cheaper .30-06/.308 models, is very handsome. I love anything copper, brass, or bronze, ( :puddle: ) but I've really fallen for the nickel with copper accents look.

 

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The nickel is smooth and the copper is covered in epoxy, so you needn't worry about tarnishing. The copper accents are just gorgeous.

 

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The procedure for changing the refill in this pen is a bit different than for the .30-06/.308 model. Instead of pulling the tailcap off, with this pen you unscrew the tailcap to get to the refill. Just change out the refill and re-tighten (and you'll need to make it pretty tight so the twisty-action doesn't slip).

 

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This model is heavier than the .30-06/.308 model, weighing in a 50 grams against the .30-06/.308 models' 37 grams (brass/copper model) and 38 (nickel/gunmetal model). It's also thicker in the hand than the cheaper models. The bottom, business end is a .300 Winchester Magnum case, and the top section is a .300 Winchester Short Magnum. These are pretty thick cases compared to the .30-06/.308, and might take some getting used to for my fellow piano-fingered brethren.

 

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The two cases fit together well and are smooth in their action.

 

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All the accents are unmarred and well fitted. The clip is, I believe, copper-plated steel, and feel very strong. It clips into pockets easily and stays put.

 

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Overall I definitely think the added utility of being able to take far more refills that the .30-06/.308 models makes this pen worth the extra money. The only problem I can see people encountering is, as I said, an adjustment period for small-handed folk like me. It's not uncomfortable writing with this thicker pen, but it definitely takes some getting used to. But the variety of refills makes getting used to it worth it.

 

Now off to finish my fountain pen reviews!

Edited January 28, 2012 by mhphoto

[breaker]

nice review and pics!

thanks!

[dadoody]

Becareful of lead residue - especially if you already have elevated lead levels in your blood stream.

[georges zaslavsky]

very lovely maybe this company should start making piston filled fountain pens

[mhphoto]

very lovely maybe this company should start making piston filled fountain pens

 

I talked to the owner a few weeks ago and he said he has one in the works. I'm excited to bring the gap between my hobbies! :roflmho:

[DeaconKC]

Thanks for the very fun review. Looks like I will have to add one to the barrel of pens on my desk!

[dadoody]

very lovely maybe this company should start making piston filled fountain pens

 

I talked to the owner a few weeks ago and he said he has one in the works. I'm excited to bring the gap between my hobbies! :roflmho:

 

 

That changes everything

[olivier78860]

Isn't the quill supposed to be stronger than the sword ? I don't know what to think about this "concept"...

[RLTodd]

Isn't the quill supposed to be stronger than the sword ? I don't know what to think about this "concept"...

 

No, that was proganda dreamed up by people who had swords. :-)

[devjeethensh]

Superb review. This pen will easily qualify for the '' Super Tactical Pen Category''

 

I will have to add this to my stable of tactical pens.....

 

By the way, i think apart from the refills mentioned, this pen will also take the regular Gel refills (like Pilot G2, Pentel Energel, etc.)by slightly cutting the refill to size.

 

Allthough, it's just a guess and it would be great if someone can try this out and confirm.

 

Thanks,

Dev

[mhphoto]

Superb review. This pen will easily qualify for the '' Super Tactical Pen Category''

 

I will have to add this to my stable of tactical pens.....

 

By the way, i think apart from the refills mentioned, this pen will also take the regular Gel refills (like Pilot G2, Pentel Energel, etc.)by slightly cutting the refill to size.

 

Allthough, it's just a guess and it would be great if someone can try this out and confirm.

 

Thanks,

Dev

 

Dev, I replied to your PM.

 

I tried to make it work but the G2 won't work in this pen.

 

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