Rifles

George Kollitides has been appointed acting chief executive officer and executive chairman of the board for Freedom Group, Inc. (FGI).

As centerfire-rifle ammunition prices jump up and down, many shooters get more interested in accurate rimfire rifles that shoot affordable, available 22 Long Rifle cartridges. We recently tested three semi-automatic rifles chambered for 22 LR that showed promise of being more than just plinkers: The $325 Savage Arms model 64 TR SR V Savage, CZ-USA's $465 model 512, and the $595 Remington 597 TVP. Each gun fired from a detachable magazine, but offered different profile stocks. The Savage resembled a precision rifle that might be used for tactical applications or benchrest competition. The Remington stock was a thumb-through design fully relieved to offer a full pistol grip to the shooter. The CZ offered the most traditional outline with a somewhat rectangular receiver mated to a fine wood stock. All three rifles came with scope mounts in place, and only the CZ rifle was equipped with sights.

To test for baseline accuracy we fired each rifle from the 50-yard line utilizing benchrest support. For optics, we chose low-power variable power scopes with circle-X reticles for rapid target acquisition. Test ammunition consisted of three high-velocity rounds topped with 40-grain bullets. Both our CCI Mini Mag and AR Tactical rounds were copper plated. Federal's new Auto Match fired a solid lead slug with a smooth gleaming finish.

What we found were three very good rifles. Each one deserved an A rating, in our view, with downgrades that may or may not apply, according to the individual. By the end of our range days, the only job left was to accurately describe each gun in print so that our readers could choose which rifle would best meet their needs or suits one's tastes.

Checkering a stock is an art unto itself, and it requires hands-on experience to learn it. But we can show you some tools to use.

The Mosin Nagant bolt-action rifle was superseded by the need for a semiautomatic rifle firing the same potent caliber. Simonov came up with a design in 1936 that didnt win universal approval, and shortly thereafter Tokarev came up with his models 1938 and 1940 SVT rifles (costing about $500 to 700 today), the latter version being one-half the subjects of this report. The other half is the more recent Romanian PSL-54C (about $700 without scope), which still takes the rimmed 7.62 x 54R cartridge. This rifle resembles the AK-47, and is in fact based on it. It was issued as a designated marksman rifle. Normally scoped, our test sample had only iron sights.We shot these two rifles with Russian ball of two different types. Note that this ammunition is available inexpensively, and also with soft-nose steel-jacket bullets. Most armorers we know say to avoid soft-nose ammo in semiautos, so we did that. Most Russian-made ammo weve seen locally uses steel cases, but Norma has loaded it in recent years with brass cases, and still offers brass cases and bullets for the reloader. Several other manufacturers offer modern ammo with a great variety of bullet designs for this still very popular cartridge. All the bullets weve seen loaded in Russian ammo are steel-jacketed, even the soft-nose ones. Here are our test results.

Don’t think this little lightweight is skimpy on quality. No, it doesn’t have an AccuTrigger or a stainless barrel, and yes, it does have a polymer stock. But otherwise, it’s just as well made as the higher-end Savage Model 93 that we featured in the November 06 issue.The Stevens Model 310, chambered for the .17 HMR, is one of a series of four rimfire rifles. Of the other three, the Model 300 and the 315 are both chambered for the .22 LR, while the Model 305 is for the .22 WMR. All four disassemble in the same manner, but each rifle’s bolt has been factory fitted to the action. If you ever have more than one 300-Series model in for service at the same time, be sure you keep the bolts separated, temporarily marked with the gun’s serial number, and be sure the right bolt goes back in the right rifle.

To meet the increasing interest in short-barreled rifles, SIG SAUER has introduced a line of factory-built SBRs for the consumer market.

Those of us who like big rifles have plenty to choose from, both in type of action and caliber. Some of us have found out that rifles bigger than 30 caliber are, for those prepared to learn how to control them, far more fun than those of 30 caliber and under. There are a few tricks to help you avoid being hammered by the big ‘uns, and we've published a few of those tricks from time to time on these pages. For the uninitiated, begin with a heavy-enough rifle, one that has appropriate weight for the caliber. In this test we are going to look at two rifles chambered for the 416 Rigby, and such a rifle could easily weigh over 10 pounds without being declared too heavy.

Remington Arms Company and its parent, Freedom Group, Inc. (FGI), are pleased to announce that the board of directors has appointed Robert L. Nardelli as Chief Executive Officer.

Gun Tests Magazine has named the SSK Industries 300 Whisper AR-15 as the publication’s “Best in Class Rifle” for 2011.

Semi-automatic carbines have become enormously popular. Applications range from law enforcement and home defense to competitive target shooting and hunting. The most popular platform is the AR15-based weapon chambered for 223 Remington. But if you visit your local shooting range, you will find AR-style carbines, circa the 1960s, shooting alongside historical battle-rifle actions made popular in the 1940s. Gun Tests magazine recently tested an M1A variant in the form of Springfield Armory's $2090 Socom II AA9627 with black fiberglass stock.

Sturm, Ruger's new Ruger American Rifle is an American-made bolt-action offered in short- and long-action calibers. Ruger President and CEO Mike Fifer said, 'Our new rifle is lightweight and quick handling, yet manages recoil surprisingly well. With a great trigger, smooth-cycling bolt, and tack-driving accuracy, the Ruger American Rifle gives hunters an affordable tool to achieve success in the field.'

AR-15 rifles continue to be churned out by more and more manufacturers. Frankly, the modular concept of the AR platform means that rifles can be built to specific price points, more easily, we think, than traditional bolt guns or other actions. And we recently found two such guns that illustrate how perfectly pitched the product price can be made to appeal to a specific customer.

The Ruger SR-556E "Essential" #5912 5.56mm NATO/223 Rem., $1375, is what Sturm, Ruger calls its value-priced two-stage piston-driven carbine. The major similarity between it and the SR-556FB (January 2010) is the carryover of Ruger's two-stage piston and multi-stage regulator. The major difference is, rather than a quad rail, the Essential has a round aluminum handguard with a full-length Picatinny rail only at 12 o'clock, so the rail and the flattop receiver align. The handguard is also drilled and tapped to accept sections of rail or handguard covers, available at www.ShopRuger.com, which allows the user to configure the handguard to his or her requirements while minimizing size and weight. It's also a significant cost savings over the quad rail.

Adcor Defense's B.E.A.R. Elite is the second generation of that company's modern automatic rifle line. Based in Baltimore, Adcor rolled out the original B.E.A.R. (Brown Enhanced Automatic Rifle, designed by and named for Michael J. Brown, executive vice president of operations at Adcor Defense) with a free-floating gas-piston system attached to the rail. This allowed for a free-floating barrel. Other features were a key-locked rail system, an ambidextrous forward-placed charging handle, and a polymer dust shield that protects the ejection port from debris.

The B.E.A.R. Elite tested here offers several enhancements to the original (hereafter, we'll spell it "Bear" so those capital letters don't scream on the page). The Bear Elite features an FN Manufacturing 1:7 twist hammer-forged, hard chrome-lined barrel with M249 rifling profile, a Magpul MOE Mil-Spec rifle stock, and a Magpul MOE rifle grip. Both the Bear and Bear Elite are available in several barrel lengths, optics ready or with sights, and in fully automatic for law enforcement. Our test gun here is the optics-ready (no sights) 16-inch-barrel Adcor Defense Brown Enhanced Automatic Rifle (B.E.A.R.) #201-2040 E, $2214.

The charge we gave our test team was to compare a highly-rated gas-piston gun to the two new entries, so we chose the Ruger SR-556FB 5.56x45mm NATO-223 Rem., $1995. It's obviously very similar to the 556E — but much more expensive. In contrast, the Bear Elite offers an interesting set of potential upgrades, but it is $200+ more expensive than the SR-556FB.