Recreational

The Colt Trooper was made from 1953 to 1969. The Trooper Mark III superceded the Trooper and had a redesigned lock mechanism. It was manufactured from 1969 to 1983 in blue and nickel finish with 4-, 6-, and 8-inch barrel lengths. An owner's manual can be obtained by calling Colt at (800) 962-2658. The Trooper III in our test was made in 1974.

The Colt Trooper Mark III is for all practical purposes the working man's Python. Sound good? It features a serrated front sight pinned in place. The rear sight is fully adjustable, and it should be more durable than similar designs since the rear notch moves back and forth inside a protective frame. While adjustment for elevation is clockwise for down and counter-clockwise for up, the windage adjustment is reversed. Turn it to the right if you want the point of impact to move left, and turn left to bring the POI to the right.

Another feature is the direction in which the cylinder rotates. While other revolvers move counterclockwise, expecting a Colt to go bang requires the first round to be in the 11 o'clock position prior to cycling. Also, to release the cylinder one pulls rather than pushes on the latch.

The quantity of air-gun parts per gun is about the same or less than the number of parts in cartridge firearms. In fact, many air-gun parts look and function like their counterparts in firearms we're already familiar with. Here's an inside look at the Crosman 760 air rifle.

Being able to shoot on the move is a skill we all want to have, but which few of us know how to do well.

Smaller guns have always had a certain appeal. In some cases it was just the aspect of miniaturization that captures our imagination. In other cases it was the reassurance of a highly concealable weapon. One niche of such guns were semi-auto .380s, which have long been popular sidearms because of their flat, short footprint and sufficient, if not outstanding, power. Even in the small world of 9mm Shorts there is a pecking order in terms of size, with the Beretta 84LS being one of the largest.

The design of the OA series of AR-15 type rifles connects to the OA 98 pistol. To accommodate a folding stock, Olympic Arms developed an upper that eliminated the need for a buffer tube. However, due to subsequent legal restrictions, folding-stock models such as the OA 93 and its cousins now feature fixed stocks, but these rifles still benefit from their minimal design and lighter weight. If you look at an OA-built AR-15 and imagine it without a stock, it is easy to visualize how the OA 98 pistol came into being.

Rugers $780 KRH-444 Redhawk was our top pick among three 4-inch .44 Magnum revolvers. Heres why. When Ruger engineers sought to make a more compact revolver, they did so by shortening the barrel and introducing a new grip. They left the frame alone. This meant the gun was plenty strong to take any punishment we could dish out.

CMMG Adds 5.56mm Caliber to New AR Pistol Line-Up

Newer versions of this famous shotgun use roll pins instead of screws to hold certain action parts. Here’s how to convert early Auto-5s.

In the April 2012 issue, Gun Tests magazine tested three semi-automatic rimfire rifles that showed promise of being more than just plinkers. They were the $325 Savage Arms model 64 TR SR V No. 45200 22 LR, CZ-USA's $465 model 512, and the $595 Remington 597 TVP. Following is an excerpt from that test, used with permission:

'Higher velocities mean shorter leads, which are necessary for fast-flying waterfowl,' said Brett Flaugher, Winchester Ammunition vice president of marketing, sales and strategy. 'We want to give the consumer what they want, and that's why we're expanding this popular waterfowl load.' …

Savage has sold thousands of Model 110 rifles to hunters seeking an inexpensive rifle. Watch for several things when they need fixing.

JP Enterprises is debuting a new and improved JP-22R action that opens up every small-frame JP platform (JP-15, CTR-02, SCR-11 and PSC-11) for a .22 LR conversion.