Recreational

Sturm, Ruger & Company has announced an “Inaugural Special” for Mini-14 20-round magazines that runs through Inauguration Day.

SAN ANTONIO, TX  - Anthony Matarese, Jr. has become the 20th Sporting Clays National Champion, beating more than 1400 shooters for the top prize and edging former champion Wendell Cherry by one target. The four-day, 300-target main event, sanctioned by the National Sporting Clays Association, concluded Sunday evening at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio.

Higher priced than its competitors, but not prohibitively so, the 686 Plus nonetheless covered all the bases. Consistent, accurate, and packed with seven rounds of either .38 Special or .357 Magnum, this gun is a top revolver choice.

Until October 31, IAR is knocking off $10 on its blank-firing Model 1851 Navy Colt Revolver.

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. announced that it has recently received a small number of reports from the field indicating that LCP pistols can discharge when dropped onto a hard surface with a round in the chamber. Although no injuries have been reported, the company will retrofit all older LCP pistols. The retrofit involves installation of an upgraded hammer mechanism at no charge to the customer. This is a free safety upgrade.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Smith & Wesson has shipped 7,500 M&P9 pistols to the U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq for distribution to Iraqi military and security forces.

The first thing we noticed was this was a very light rifle. Without scope it weighed under 5 pounds. The second thing we noted was the recoil pad was excellent, a model for the rest of the industry. The straight Kevlar/carbon fiber stock was dark gray in color and had enough of a pebble-like surface that checkering wasn’t needed, even when wet. There were no visible parting lines on the stock, and the barrel, though free floated, was so close to the stock it was not easy to see the separation.The action was like a small pre-’64 Model 70 Winchester compete with cone-shaped breech, controlled feed, and positive ejection.

Introduced into the field gun market in January 2007, this gun had 26-inch barrels and an overall length of 43.5 inches. The length of pull on the stock, which featured a checkered butt rather than a recoil pad or butt plate, was 14.6 inches, and the gun weighed 6.5 pounds.Our shooters said the shotgun was quick and smooth into each target. There were no problems mounting the gun into shooting position, but we would have preferred a pad or plate to prevent slippage. This could be accomplished by a short trip to a nearby gunsmith if the S&W owner prefers practicality over classic appearance.

Smith & Wesson has introduced the M&P9 JG (Julie Goloski) as part of the new Smith & Wesson Champion Series.

The coolest and costliest gun in our test provided the best overall accuracy, although it just missed the claimed “1/2 inch MOA or better” guarantee. Each gun is built to order, so you can pick and choose the options you prefer to lower the price, but southpaws should request something other than the right-handed pistol grip normally provided.

The Stoeger Coach Gun comes in several variations, so finding one for the right price can be a challenge, since it’s not always clear exactly which model is which when you’re shopping.

While we had a lot of fun with this gun, we believe that for sporting sub-gauge purposes, women and teen shooters will like it better than tall adult males. The gun did excel on the skeet field, and thanks to its 3-inch chambers, this gun will hunt, too.