Accessories

[IMGCAP(1)] We have always shied away from fluting barrels. As an old machinist told us many moons ago, the more you machine a piece of steel, the more chance you'll generate problems. For instance, one problem barrel fluting can cause arises from dulling tools. The cutter gradually dulls as the flutes are milled, and they tend to generate a hard surface case in the bottom of the flutes. This is not a problem if these areas of hardness are the same. But the process tends to produce a variable hardness in the flute-groove bottom. As the flutes are cut, the cutter is gradually dulling, and the first groove is not as hard as the bottom of the last groove. This can cause stress in the barrel, an...

The term “working up a good handload” conjures an image of nothing more than arriving at the right bullet driven by the correct powder charge touched off by the proper primer. What...

According to information in the public service brochure entitled Noise, Ears, and Hearing Protection, published by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, 1 in 10 Americans has a hearing loss that affects his ability to understand normal speech. Excessive noise exposure is the most common cause of hearing loss.

If you think you have become accustomed to loud noises, you have probably damaged your ears. There is no treatment, no medicine, no surgery, or hearing aid that will truly correct your hear...

The evolution of spotting scopes seems to have maintained pace with other advancements in the firearms and shooting accessory industry. This fact was strongly realized when we compared the equipment in this test to the spotting scope one of testers has mounted in his pistol box. It's an O. F. Mossberg & Sons Model A "Spotshot" 20x. In 1963, its list price was $29.95. It has a 38mm objective lens. Its 10mm ocular lens is mounted at the end of a sliding tube, which is pulled in and out to rough-focus, then rotated to fine-focus. Considering inflation, we certainly get a lot for our money today, in quality, warranty, and advances in manufacturing and the science of optics.

However, the Mossb...

One solution to both of these problems is the Optimuff by Howard Leight Industries. It is an all-in-one unit consisting...

The subject of this test is the RCBS PowderMaster, and it’s a winner. This electronic powder dispenser probably dispenses loads more accurately than you can weigh by hand. There’s no inertia problem because it uses an electronic scale. But the PowderMaster’s price is a little high—$214 plus the cost of the scale—and its speed is a little slow, compared to a volumetric powder measure. That’...

For most kinds of deer hunting, a 3-9x rifle scope is a good choice. It provides a fairly wide field of view, which makes acquiring the target relatively easy, and a good range of magnification. However, when hunting varmints at long distances, a much more powerful scope is needed. A 6-24x scope with at least a 40mm objective lens is generally considered to be a good varmint scope.

However, this rather limited definition of a varmint scope promptly expanded when we started buying scopes for this test. We found two 20x scopes that outperformed most of the 24x scopes, and a 44mm scope that was smaller than most 40mm scopes. Our final choice of optics for this evaluation included the eight...

Shooters of many different stripes enjoy the flexibility 6-20X and 6-24X variable riflescopes give them. These products' extended power ranges allow them to be used at their low settings for indoor air rifle or rimfire and centerfire hunting use. Dialed up, they allow shooters to shoot spots on silhouette targets or pick their spots on long-range game animals with .300 Win. Mag-class beanfield rifles. With the right glass and mounts, a shooter can easily make one of these variable scopes work in several scenarios, assuming its owner has the skills and steadiness to use the high-mag settings.

Ideally, such products should provide crisp looks at targets and accurate adjustments to compensat...

We selected three models for testing, choosing some that had some evaluative capability, but without printers or computers attached. Most models can be upgraded with software that downloads load performance results to your computer, and can be converted to accept a dedicated printer for instant hard copy readouts. The models we tested were: t...

The velocity of a bullet is a function of the pressure behind it, or the chamber pressure. Higher pressures develop higher velocities. That's why a .30-06 shoots faster than a .30-30. Velocity is also a function of the length of time that the pressure is applied. A longer barrel shoots faster because the bullet stays in the barrel longer. That's also why slower burning powders develop higher velocities. The hot gases generated by the burning powder push on the bullet for a longer period of time.

Chamber pressures are generally limited by the brass case to 65,000 psi (52,700 cup), although we've never tested a commercial load that "hot." Belted cases may withstand a little more pressure t...

We selected three models for testing, choosing some that had some evaluative capability, but without printers or computers attached. Most models can be upgraded with software that downloads load performance results to your computer, and can be converted to accept a dedicated printer for instant hard copy readouts. The models we tested were: t...