Recreational

EPPING, N.H. -- Sig Sauer Academy is offering a 30% discount on its February 21-22, 2009 Defensive Pistol course. The two-day course regularly costs $395, the special offer price is $277.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Smith & Wesson Corp. has introduced a new tactical rifle chambered in .22 LR: The M&P15-22.

GEORGETOWN, Texas -- STI International has joined the ranks of AR-15 builders with its new Sporting Rifle, an $1800 unit that comes in Competition and Tactical dress. The Sporting Rifle is available 5.56mm NATO.

The Rock River was a well-made, shorty version of the AR-15. Some slight feature differences would make the ultimate choice up to you. In both cases, we think the shorty AR-style rifles are better choices than the similar Ruger Mini-14.

This was an attractive $685 rifle, with a blonde-colored laminated stock sporting an extremely nice and well-done matte finish. After our initial negative experiences with the electronic Remington, the entirely conventional Ruger, with no gizz-whizzes or batteries or insulators needed to make it go bang, was most welcome. Besides .243, the same rifle is available in .223, .22-250, .220 Swift, 25-06 and .308.

The 26-inch-long stainless-steel barrel was free-floated evenly all the way back to the action. (So was the Remington's.) The Ruger's bolt felt a trifle stiff at first, but after cycling it a few times, it became very slick.

The P220 is available with options that can put the MSRP upwards of $958, but our P220 was the blued base model. Available options include night sights and a nickel-coated slide. The special K-Kote finish is no longer available.

The combination of the white dot on the front sight and the white vertical line inside the rear notch offers fast sight acquisition. If you feel more comfortable with tritium sights, a set of Siglite night sights will cost an extra $100 if sold as original equipment. Send your slide to Sigarms and the factory will install a set of Siglites for $195.

ORLANDO, Fla. – American Tactical Imports Inc is unveiling a limited supply 2009 SHOT special edition version of its popular GSG-5 rifle.

PHOENIX – AWC Systems Technology's redesigned Agenda Six suppressor is a lighter, smaller-diameter unit than the previous Agenda Six suppressor.

To the basic rifle price ($2,500) must be added the prices for the gorgeous McMillan M3A stock ($600), the ARMS steel scope mount ($150), extended rail ($100), bipod ($70), swivel package ($100), and a leather sling ($50). There was also a Krieger barrel ($200). The total package, less scope but with mount and rings, came to $3,770. With the Leupold scope, the tag would be about $4,620 as tested. We got our prices out of the maker’s catalog and may have missed a few things, so it’s best to contact Fulton for an exact quote on your needs. We had the loan of some scopes with state-of-art add-ons set up specifically for the M14 that bear close scrutiny.Fulton’s Peerless rifle was easily the most impressive-looking of this test trio. When we pulled it out of its box, we were struck by its purposeful beauty. Everything about the rifle was flat black except for the exposed Krieger stainless barrel, which was in the white, with a decent but not glaring polish. The McMillan M3A stock felt just great. Its pistol grip was acutely angled to give near-perfect trigger control.

North Haven, CT, Dec. 22, 2008—Mossberg is the manufacturer of the only 12 gauge pump action shotgun ever to pass the stringent U.S. Military Mil-Spec 3443 standard. For 2009 Mossberg will make available select 590A1 models to the general public. All models will come standard with heavy-walled barrels, metal trigger guards and safety buttons in a Parkerized finish. A full range of sighting options will be available in front bead, ghost ring rear or 3-dot configurations.…

This roller-locked HK variant was Vector’s V-53, chambered for the .223 cartridge. This well-made rifle had a composite trigger-assembly housing, incorporating the pistol grip as well as holding all the parts normally contained in a sheet-metal housing.Takedown was much the same as for the .308 version, except the V-53 had only one pin holding the all-composite buttstock to the receiver. The recoil spring was not captive within the butt cover, as it was on the JLD rifle.

Our initial evaluation showed us a very well made rifle with a lot of aura and some mystery to its makeup. The rifle came with two barrels, the mounted one of 20.25 inch length for the Expeditionary Rifle, and one of 16.2-inch length that let us convert this rifle into the Recon Carbine.There was no magazine, and the operator’s manual even stated that it didn’t come with a magazine. But any AR-15/M16 mag would do, the manual told us, so we used the Bushmaster’s 10-shot one. It worked perfectly throughout our testing.