Rifles

The .300 Magnum is eternally popular, for reasons some of us don't fully understand. The .300s don't give you a lot more of anything—except expense—than you can get from the .30-06. Those wanting more rifle than the ‘06 are better served with larger bores, not just more gas. But many shooters don't understand that. Far be it from we gun testers to dictate the choices of those who like the blast of the various .30 magnums. Today there are a bunch of these, by Weatherby, Winchester (2), Dakota, Remington, and of course the original, by Holland & Holland, still viable after close to a hundred years. In this test we look at two cartridges in two rifles, the .300 WSM in Beretta's Tikka T3 Lite ($595), and the original .300 Winchester Magnum cartridge in Ruger's Hawkeye ($779). Both rifles are offered in at least two stock materials, synthetic or wood, and both have stainless-metal variants. We chose a synthetic-stocked, blued Tikka and the wood-stocked, blued Hawkeye. Let's take a look at how they stacked up.

Gun Tests actively monitors reader mail for trends and requests for new test categories. Over the months, an area of particular interest has emerged: the AR-15. We are receiving numerous requests to test the new models and calibers that manufacturers have been bringing to market. There is also a huge number of accessories emerging in the marketplace, allowing customization to the modular design of the gun. As one gun expert aptly stated to us, "The AR platform has become the Swiss Army knife of firearms."While all of these options are great for consumers, we do wind up peering into computer screens and thumbing through catalogs to sort through the dizzying array of products present in todays market. The options out there arent necessarily cheap; the AR-owner can easily have as much invested in accessories as he does in the rifle.Because of this economic fact, we explored some options available in multi-position stocks for the AR. The six-position OEM stocks of AR-15 carbines have enjoyed an enduring love/hate relationship with their owners over the years-loved for their adjustability, yet cursed for their wobbly fit and slippery buttstocks.Another issue has emerged as owners adopt new options in flip-up sights, and mount the latest in tactical optic technology from companies such as Aimpoint and Eotech. The low small rounded profile of the stock causes inconsistent cheek weld, and accordingly creates problems with sight alignment. This is a cause of frustration for the varmint hunter attempting to track a running coyote, but is a much bigger issue for the police officer in a confrontation, or a soldier clearing rooms in Iraq or Afghanistan.Companies have introduced a variety of options to augment the shortcomings, or replace the stocks altogether, with varying degrees of success. In this article we will look at four such attempts.For this test we selected four products: two attachable stock saddles for existing stocks, the Command Arms SST1, $26, and Cheaper Than Dirt #1543, $16. Both were plastic attachments that either snapped or screwed into place to provide additional cheek weld.The two replacement stocks picked for this showdown were the Command Arms CBS, $61, fitted with an adjustable cheekpiece, $30, and Magpul CTR, $97, with its optional Rubber Butt Pad, $20. In this review, we found that $25 might be all you need to invest in order to cure your gunstock woes, but a $110 replacement would be our choice.

The bolt-action rifle market is forever changed with the introduction of the all new Browning X-Bolt for 2008. The X-Bolt builds on the proven success of past Browning rifles, and adds numerous improvements that will position the X-Bolt at the top of bolt actions offered.

The Browning T-Bolt 22 is now available in a Composite Sporter, Composite Stalker Target/Varmint and a Target/Varmint model with a satin-finished stock.

The Morgan, Utah based makers of Winchester rifles and shotguns have announced the historic return to the original name given the brand nearly 150 years ago.

Winchester-Model-70-bolt-action-rifle-Columbia-FN-military-firearms.

Las Vegas, Nevada – Most serious shooters know that the Shooting and Outdoor Sports Trade Show, SHOT by any other name, is the annual showcase for new guns, ammunition, accessories and more. But for a select few gun writers, editors, TV producers and hosts, the day before the SHOT Show is a chance to not just look, but also shoot, the latest and greatest from gun makers from around the world.

Hunting rifles fall into an interesting category among the firearms crowd, with more shooters having more opinions about the long guns than any other smoke pole. The likes and dislikes range from composite versus wood; short barrel versus long barrel; and dont even try to argue about the perfect caliber.We selected three top-selling models for a test of good hunting tools and settled on what the late Jack OConnor considered the perfect caliber for North American game. In his classic The Rifle Book, he states: "Hunters using the .270 discovered that with it they could hit game at longer ranges than with anything else, and that when they hit they got a higher percentage of one-shot kills."With the argument about the perfect caliber finally put to rest (just kidding), we picked the Remington Model 700 SPS; the Savage 114 Classic; and the Weatherby Stainless Vanguard for our test of hunting tools. All three of the long guns have seen quite a bit of field and target range time as hunters across the country seek out their perfect deer rifle. We found few faults in the handling and functioning ability of the rifles and were generally pleased with the overall performance of all of the firearms in handling factory ammunition.Although our Weatherby came equipped with the manufacturers custom Accubrake recoil reducer, we removed the device for velocity tests. Recoil from all of the rifles was considered in the easily handled range, even after extensive time punching holes in targets. We noted that the out-of-the-box trigger pulls on all three rifles, ranging from 4 pounds for the Remington to 2.5 pounds for the Savage, were satisfactory to excellent for hunting.

The new Ed Brown Varmint stock includes every enhancement Brown customers have requested over the past few years.

Kathy Adkins moved from target to target, using a .38 revolver and a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol with deadly efficiency, putting holes in the dead center of paper targets meant to look like people. Adkins, 48, owns a real estate firm in Jackson and has been taking firearms training since March. Instructor Cliff Cargill said he has had many new students since the Legislature passed a bill last year giving residents expanded legal rights to protect…

A lot of Americans who believe in the right to own guns were very disappointed this weekend. On Friday, the Bush administration's Justice Department entered into the fray over the District of Columbia's 1976 handgun ban by filing a brief to the Supreme Court that effectively supports the ban. The administration pays lip service to the notion that the Second Amendment protects gun ownership as an individual right, but their brief leaves the term essentially meaningless.

The legislation requires federal agencies to provide relevant data for use in the NICS system, a database that stores the names of individuals prohibited by federal law from purchasing or possessing firearms.