Accessories

(GunReports.com) -- Elite Iron, a high-end custom weapons systems and sound suppressor manufacturer in Potomac, Montana, has announced the development of three new extreme duty suppressors.

(GunReports.com) - LaserMax Inc. announces its newest Guide Rod Laser sighting system for the Springfield Armory XD(m), both full size, .40 caliber and 9mm.

Beasts usually like to keep as much woodlot, coulee, or cornfield between us and them as possible, and that may mean shooting our rifle farther than the sighted-in distance. Essentially we use old-fashioned Kentucky elevation and take our best guess at crosshair hold over. Combine a good sense of distance with shooting experience, and you could fill out your tag. If not, you'll kick up dirt below two sets of hooves, whiz a round high, or, sadly, wound an animal.

Riflescopes with ballistic reticles purportedly take the guesswork out of long-distance shooting by combining a typical crosshair with additional aiming points at set distances. The reticles are calibrated to popular hunting cartridges with muzzle velocities in the range of 2800 to 3000 fps or more. The usual suspects fall into that range—243, 6mm, 25-06, 270, 308, 30-06, 7mm Rem. Mag., 300 Win. Mag., including a slew of others. Since the aiming points are not calibrated to a specific load they, offer general approximations, which means you will need to shoot your rifle to understand how the reticle will work with your specific rifle and cartridge combination. The reticles are chockfull of aiming points and seem cluttered compared to a typical hunting scope, but they are quite easy to master. You may want to make a cheat sheet on an index card or a piece of masking tape and fix it to your stock so you can remember what aiming points are for what distances. Finally, you will still need to know the distance to the target, and some scopes have this covered with built-in range estimators, as you will see.

Our team recently tested three scopes with ballistic reticles: Bushnell's Elite 3200 with DOA 600 reticle, Leupold's VX-3 with Boone & Crockett reticle, and Nikon's Monarch with BDC reticle. We were interested to see if the additional aiming points would be easy to use and hit true to the distance claimed. Since the purpose of these scopes is hunting, a kill zone the size of paper plate, or about 9 inches in diameter, was used to determine whether the aiming points worked. We also looked at light-gathering ability and weather resistance.

To test the scopes, our shooters fixed them to a Kimber model 8400 Classic in 30-06, which is a perfect example of a hunting rifle/caliber combination likely to be found from Montana to Maine. Since the 30-06 is common caliber and is available in a number of bullet styles and weights, we assumed it would fit the scope manufacturers' criteria as a "popular caliber" as stated in their manuals.

We also wondered if proprietary and not-so-popular calibers that fall into the muzzle velocity range, like those from Weatherby and newer ones like the 30TC, would work with these scopes. Debuting just a few years ago, the 30TC, which is only loaded by Hornady, has less recoil than a 308 or 30-06 yet achieves a higher velocity using the same weight bullet. We tested the 30TC in a Thompson/Center Icon using Hornady 165-grain SST InterLock bullets. We found that what mattered were the velocities and bullet weights. All scopes performed within the calculated range.

Test ammunition consisted of Federal Premium 165-grain Sierra Gameking boattail softpoints and Remington's Premier Core-Lokt Ultra bonded pointed softpoints in 168 grains. Since the scopes are calibrated to muzzle velocity, we chronographed the factory ammo with a ProChrono chronograph to be sure the Kimber's 24-inch barrel provided the necessary length for the bullet to pick up speed. After initial sight-in, our test procedure consisted of three-shot groups fired from a bench rest. Starting at 100 yards and progressing to 200 yards, we soon ran out of range, so we fired at 100 yards using the additional aiming points. We used an online ballistic calculator (www.biggameinfo.com) to determine the bullet trajectories. The idea was that the shots should group at a height consistent to the caliber's trajectory, so the 300-yard aiming point group with the Federal 165-grain bullets should print 4.6 in. high at 100 yards and so on. Light-gathering ability was tested during dusk conditions, and the scopes were frozen for 15 minutes and then placed in warm water for another 15 minutes to test water and fogging resistance.

Shooting took place over numerous sessions at the Fin Fur Feather Club, a members-only facility in Chaplin, Connecticut. Let's see where the bullets hit the paper.

(GunReports.com) -– Safariland announced today that its two most popular models of nickel finished handcuffs have passed the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) 0307.01 Standard.

(GunReports.com) -- LaserLyte announces its new Rear Sight Laser (RSL) for many popular 1911 pistols with Novak sights. The RSL's ground-breaking new laser design incorporated into the rear sight, compact size and revolutionary performance make it the most extraordinary system LaserLyte has produced. Easy-to-install and easy-to-operate, the new RSL offers a high-power laser with the benefit of not having to replace existing grips or internal stock parts. …

Check out several new GunReports.com videos are loaded this week: A super slow motion video of bullets hitting stuff 0:47; Sighting In Crimson Trace Lasergrips, 2:43; Ruger Tactical Tips - 2: Handgun Fundamentals, 4:48; and Sinclair Reloading Series Part 3: Introduction to the Components of a Metallic Cartridge, 4:14.

GunReports.com is now on Facebook. Keep abreast of what's going on minute-by-minute on breaking gun news, harmful gun legislation, firearms victories by becoming a Fan. Look for 'Gun Reports' on Facebook. Also, for inside peeks into Gun Tests' ongoing criticism of firearms, search Facebook for 'Gun Tests'

While we agree that lasers are no substitute for proper shooting techniques, we also believe that they can be a valuable tool in low light confrontations. Their continued popularity among our Law Enforcement and Military communities is also a testament to their effectiveness.

(GunReports.com)--Mayor Bloomberg urges President Obama to adopt dozens of gun registration and confiscation measures using executive power and bypassing Congress.

(GunReports.com) — Browning has added two new models to its Tactical Safe line-up, the Tactical Series Mark I and Mark II.

(GunReports.com)--South Dakota has become the fifth state to decide that guns made, sold and used within its borders no longer are subject to rules enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

That gun is the Winchester Model 1887, a lever-action shotgun originally designed by John Browning and produced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The www.callofduty.wikia.com site says of the ancient firepower, "The Model 1887 originally used black powder 12-gauge shells and 10-gauge shells, but replicas made today are often chambered for more common modern ammunition." Further, the site notes that, "The Model 1887 is the only lever-action gun to ever be featured in a Call of Duty game."

Well, yes, because the design isn't a popular choice for shotguns, with semiautos, pumps, and double-barrels being more popular products. But the infatuation with the 1887 lever shotgun doesn't stop there.

In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (a 1991 sequel to Jim Cameron's original film, Terminator), a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) T-800 cyborg is sent back in time to protect Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and son John Conner (Edward Furlong) from the more advanced T-1000 Terminator (Robert Patrick).

Probably the most recognizable weapon carried by Terminator Schwarzenneger is the highly customized 12-gauge 1887 Winchester lever-action shotgun. The character is seen holding this weapon (atop his Harley Davidson motorcycle) on the one-sheet posters and key publicity material. The movie gun was customized with a variety of lever handles used, such as the loop style for "swing-cocking" on the Harley Davidson.

Also, Brendan Fraser used a cut-down pistol-gripped Norinco copy of the Winchester 1887 in The Mummy Returns, most notably in the bus scene.

We understand the use of the 1887 in the Mummy movies—they're period pieces, and the 1887 fits. The initial runs of 1887s were made by Winchester in New Haven, Connecticut. They are notable for a small hammer spur at the top of the action, a solid lever, and a ball-type pistol grip on the buttstock. Most had fluid steel barrels, though some had Damascus steel and were only safe to use blackpowder. They were made from 1887 to 1901, about 65,000 in all.

Coming back to current times—in a way—the 1887 is widely used in Cowboy Action events, but perhaps most fluently by SASS champion "Gunfighter" Lassiter, aka Tom Wildenauer. Starting with an open action, he's able to load two and shoot two in under 3 seconds. Not bad for a design that few have seen and fewer have shot.

So, with all this interest in the 1887, we wanted to compare a couple of current production models to see which one we'd buy for fun shooting. Our test guns were the IAC Imports Reproduction Cowboy 1887 87W-1 lever action, $600; and the Armi Chiappa 1887 Fast Load 930.004, which we found selling under the Puma name by Legacy Sports International for $1229. Both guns have 12-gauge barrels chambered for 2.75-inch modern shells. The IAC has a 20-inch barrel with a fixed Cylinder choke and a five-round-capacity tubular magazine. The Chiappa we tested had a 22-inch barrel and was threaded for choke tubes and and came with a Cylinder screw-in tube. It had a total capacity of two because of an action modification that speeds reloads for CAS at the expense of total round count.

Here's what we thought of them: