Rifles

Just about anyone who has ever pulled a trigger will admit that there are times when their goal is to send a lot of lead down range with a minimum of effort and a maximum of fun.[IMGCAP(1)]Call it "Rock and Roll" or just plinking, this type of shooting can be accomplished with about any firearm, but is best suited for what can be described as a cross between handguns and rifles.Two models that fall in this category are the Browning Buck Mark Sporter, which lists for $572, and the Walther G22, available for $399. The Browning is more of a traditional cross breed in that the firearm is basically a version of the manufacturers popular handgun that has been adapted with a rifle stock and barrel; while the Walther features space-age technology in a "Bullpup" design that drastically changes the balance and handling capabilities of the little .22-caliber.Both firearms utilize easy-to-load 10-round magazines and are capable of semiautomatic rapid fire favored by plinkers trying to punch holes in a target.These two models both lend themselves to duty (where there are no legal prohibitions in place) as firearms that can be carried in ranch or farm vehicles for quick service as varmint eliminators. Optics such as red dot, laser or even a standard scope can be easily installed to improve their point-and-shoot capability.To review the test firearms handling ability of a variety of ammunition, we selected several brands of .22 caliber long rifle bullets for our review. The ammo included CCI Standard Velocity and Federal Gold Medal 40-grain solids, and Punta Hueca 39-grain hollowpoints made in Argentina. The muzzle velocity of each of the rounds was about 1,200 feet per second.Targets used in our test were the Birchwood Casey Shoot-N-C bulls eyes and saltine crackers (birds and other varmints enjoy cleaning up the pieces). Heres our test report:

Anyone who wants a rifle with more power than a .22 LR but doesn't want all the noise of a .223 can always choose the .22 Hornet. The idea of a handy centerfire rifle for "survival," or as a fun gun for the dedicated woods loafer or weekend plinker can be well met by a rifle chambered for this old cartridge. When the Hornet first came out in the early 1930s it was a big hit, and remained so for many years. Today it has a spotty popularity record, generally because many shooters think more is always better, and want a .223. But the Hornet is a lot quieter, and even cheaper than the .223 for the reloader.

Although the Hornet survives today, guns and ammo may not always be easy to find. A recent casual survey of gun shops in a small deer- and elk-hunting community led to exactly one shop out of three having any .22 Hornet ammunition on hand, and that store had but one box.

The tiny, rimmed cartridge screams for reloading, not only because ammo might be hard to find. A pound of powder is enough for a thousand reloads. The bullets, primers and a pound of powder will cost about $100-150 total, or about 10 to 15 cents a shot. We just paid $32 for a box of 50 factory loads. That's 64 cents each. Ouch! So if you own a Hornet, be sure to save your brass. Also, reloading can make the Hornet more versatile than the .22 WMR or the new .17 rimfire, and it delivers a lot more power than either of those.

We recently tested several bolt-action Hornets and fell in love with a CZ that shot circles around its competition. At that time we though a single-shot version might be even handier, and maybe less costly. We wanted to do without a scope, if possible. We can already hear the complaints, that a rifle without a scope is little better than a handgun. But iron sights are hard to beat for lowest cost, plus all-out durability if they are good ones. Never mind that our test rifles can be scoped, they both came to us with iron sights, and we evaluated them that way.

We acquired a New England Arms Handi-Rifle with hardwood stock (SB2-224, about $250 street price) and a Thompson/Center Encore with synthetic stock, which was the least costly version (about $450 street price). The guns had several attributes in common. The controls were few, and were extremely simple. One button or lever opened each rifle. The only safety on each was the hammer. Both had internal blocks that prevented the hammer from striking the firing pin unless the trigger were pressed. We tested them with Remington Express 45-grain PSP ammo and with two of our carefully assembled handloads, one featuring Barnes' 40-grain Varminator HP bullets (stock no. 22429) and the other with 55-grain Hornady FMJs. We experimented with 75-grain bullets, but the twist rate wouldn't stabilize them. Here is what we found.

Remington does not have a suggested retail for this rifle. They let the dealers set the price, with $850 being an average selling price. Even though the rifles are produced in small volumes for the police and military, they are occasionally available to the public.

The world of premium-grade bolt-action .22 LR rifles has many entries that, frankly, cost a fortune. There are also a great many .22s available new or on the used market that can be bought for, say, less than a C-note, and they may or may not shoot as well as youd like. Somewhere in between, for a bit less than youd pay for a good centerfire bolt-action rifle, lie some of the more interesting rimfire bolt-action rifles. They are fine enough to serve as trainers for centerfire rifles, or to do good work in rimfire competitions of many sorts, and wont make you ashamed to be seen with em on the firing line. Will they shoot up to par? To find out, we acquired two rifles in this general category, the CZ Model 453 Varmint ($530), and the new Remington Model Five ($348), and set them against each other. We thought they were both mighty interesting rifles, and maybe you will too. Heres what we found.

The carbine offers greater accuracy and power than a handgun but is less clumsy to put into action than a ri?e. This makes the carbine especially handy when operating inside a building where walls and doorways limit movement and acquisition. Today's most popular carbines are built on the AR-15 platform, which normally shoots 5.56mm or .223 Remington ammo-ri?e cartridges. But we recently evaluated three AR-15-style carbines with 16-inch barrels chambered for 9mm ammunition--normally handgun fodder. They were the $1050 Bushmaster Carbon 15, the $1035 Rock River Arms CAR A4, and from Olympic Arms the $834 model K9.Why 9mm? The manufacturers said the round's low cost and diminished penetration into walls were the main reasons. Two out of three reps said that civilian sales of 9mm carbines were higher than the total number sold to law enforcement, but the value of the 9mm carbine for training indoors is widely recognized. They also noted that the 9mm (0.355-inch diameter) bullet produced a larger wound canal in many instances than .223 Remington, the most common AR-15 round.We decided to bench-test our carbines for accuracy at 50 yards using a Caldwell Tack Driver sandbag rest. Adding a scope of nearly any design would likely have improved our scores, but we shot all three weapons with open sights. For protection from the Texas sun, we set up beneath the covered benches of American Shooting Centers in Houston's George Bush Park (amshootcenters.com). We also decided to try shooting each carbine from a three-point prone position. Lying atop a Dillon Shooting Mat, ($65 from Dillon Precision, 800-762-3845), the long magazines played a part in support, along with the elbows. We wanted to know if pressing down on the long, thin 9mm magazines would affect reliability. Given that virtually all the 9mm ammunition we found was intended for use in a handgun, we went so far as to seek advice in choice of test ammunition from Rock River Arms, Olympic Arms and Bushmaster. All three recommended the 115-grain FMJ round. Federal's American Eagle 115-grain FMJ ammunition was the only name speci?cally mentioned, so we started with this round. We also tested with 115-grain FMJ Match rounds from Atlanta Arms and Ammo (atlantaarmsandammo.com). Next we tried a 75-grain frangible training round from Precision Ammunition (precisionammo.com). Precision's CM9 Matrix NTF featured a copper non-toxic bullet that was designed to disintegrate rather than penetrate or ricochet off of hard surfaces, making training at close range with steel targets and walls much safer. But with so many different types of 9mm ammunition to choose from, we decided to try three different types of expanding ammunition as well. We tested with Federal's 105-grain expanding FMJ rounds, Black Hills 115-grain JHP remanufactured loads and Speer's 124 grain GDHP "Gold Dot" hollowpoints. The Gold Dots are among the most popular choice of professionals, so we wanted to see if it was viable to carry the same ammunition for pistol and carbine. Here's what we found:

The 1960s were a trying time for law enforcement in America. Radical anti-government groups were popping up, and drug use began its long-term intrusion into everyday life. Shoot-outs with police were becoming more common. Criminals were starting to take more hostages during the commission of crimes. It became clear to law-enforcement leaders that they needed officers with specialized training for these situations. The days of using military surplus weapons, .38 revolvers and shotguns had changed.

Chief Daryl F. Gates of the Los Angeles Police department has been credited with starting the first SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team in 1967. It was composed of sixty of the department's best marksmen. Now most large departments have a well-trained SWAT Unit that is capable on being called into action 24 hours a day. To supplement SWAT and to secure crime scenes until SWAT can arrive, ERTs (Early Response Teams) have been developed in the ranks of the regular patrol officers. This is where there is a great need for less expensive and easily transported tactical rifles, such as those with 20-inch barrels.

Why a short-barreled rifle, you ask? In urban situations a short-barreled rifle is easier to handle in close quarters. Since the size of today's police cars are shrinking, a short-barrel rifle is much easier to carry in the trunk or even in the front seat. Departments need trained officers with rifles capable of sub-MOA accuracy. For the civilian, these rifles are handy, easy to carry, fun to shoot, and make great hunting rifles.

We recently tested two guns that fit in this class: Remington's Model 700 LTR (Light Tactical Rifle) .308 No. 5739, which usually sells for about $850, and the Savage 10FP .308, $621.

A well-made rimfire rifle will make other shooters at the range stop, stare, and sometimes drool. Some people might buy them simply to admire their beauty or impress onlookers, but we believe that no matter how good a gun looks, if it doesn't perform, it isn't worth our consideration.

We recently tested two models that fit, or perhaps define, the high-end rimfire sporter market: The Anschutz 1710 D KL Monte Carlo No. 220.2030, $1413; and the $1877 Kimber SuperAmerica. When other shooters saw these rifles at the range, they usually stopped and asked, "What kind of rifles are thooose!"

To find out if these guns shot as well as they looked, we enlisted a panel of testers that included seven teenagers (four male and three female) and three adult males. The teenagers' experience varied from first-time shooter to four years of hunting and target shooting. The adult males all had over 25 years of shooting experience of all kinds. One of the adults commented that these rifles were "too good for teenagers to shoot."

According to Winchester, the main values of its Short Magnum (WSM) cartridges are that when compared to conventional, long-action calibers, the 270 WSM, 7mm WSM and 300 WSM exceed the ballistics of the 270 Win., 7mm Rem. Mag. and 300 Win. Mag. respectively. Also, WSM rifles achieve these improved ballistics in short-action configurations which purportedly are lighter and faster handling than their long-action counterparts.

We've tested several of the fat-but-fast WSM and WSSM cartridges over the years, usually comparing them to their closest standard-action competitor. As you might expect, sometimes we liked the WSM/WSSM guns better than standard chamberings, and sometimes we didn't.

This time around we wanted to set aside the multiple-cartridge matchups and put three similar 270 Winchester Short Magnums to the test. Toward that end, we acquired three rifles, each measuring about 43 inches in length and weighing about 7 pounds. Our test subjects were the Savage Arms 16FSS No. 17425, $569; a Browning A-Bolt II Composite Stalker No. 035012248, $734; and the Ruger KM77RFP MK II No. 17839, $695.

Nearly every state in the union has a special blackpowder hunting season. Such seasons, some of which are exclusive bp-only hunting periods, entice a lot of hunters to try their hand at muzzle loading. Some states specify that the rifles used must be side locks and shoot round balls. Other states allow in-line rifles that shoot sabots and often come with scopes. Each hunter has to decide for himself how he wants to limit himself. A round-ball shooter is limited to 100-yard shots, but a sabot shooter can reach out to 200 or even 250 yards. Also, a round-ball shooter, also known as a traditional-style shooter, carries a rifle similar to those our forefathers carried more than two centuries ago. Carrying a rifle like that lets the modern-day hunter relive history, and actually taking game with such a rifle is a real test of his hunting skills.

The two leading traditional-style rifles being sold today are the Lyman Great Plains, $435, and the Thompson Center Hawken, $550. Designed after rifles of the late 1800s, these .50-caliber rifles are well made, accurate, and would both perform well in the woods on a deer hunt or a fun day at the range. But we wondered if one model would be a better buy than the other, so we put them through a head-to-head evaluation at a private range outside of Lampasas, Texas.

A handgun is many times more difficult to learn to shoot well than a rifle, but there are times when a rifle cartridge is too powerful for the task at hand, whether it's punching holes in old tin cans or defending your home. The solution is one about as old as cartridge firearms, a short rifle that shoots handgun cartridges. A pistol-caliber carbine makes hits easier, and often gives away very little practical usefulness or stopping power to a full-size rifle cartridge. There too is the advantage of multiple firearms taking the same cartridge, so ammunition supply is simplified.

With the steady or even increasing popularity of the .40 S&W cartridge, it seemed to us it was time to see what's available in .40 S&W carbines. To that end, we acquired three, Hi-Point's Model 4095 ($225), the compact, polymerized Beretta Cx4 Storm ($800), and Olympic Arms' K40 with its collapsible stock ($834), and put them through our paces. As with pistols, we tried them for fast bursts of two shots, and also from the bench at 50 yards. We tested with Cor-Bon 140-grain DPX JHP, with Remington 155-grain JHP, and with Speer 180-grain GoldDot HP. We also tried several other types of ammo, but didn't record all the results. This is what we found.

In September 2005, Sturm Ruger announced production of a compact version of its prolific 10/22 semi-automatic rifle, $275. Christened the 10/22CRR, we ordered one immediately. When it arrived, our first impression was that this carbine was not merely shorter; it, in fact, seemed scaled down from the original design.

We couldn't help but smile at the compact 10/22's size, but the real fun began when we went shopping for additional rimfire semi-automatic carbines to fill out a test roster. We acquired a Marlin 70PSS with composite stock, $318. The Marlin carbine differed from the Ruger in several ways, not the least of which was that it can be broken down by removing the barrel for transport. Marlin refers to this model as the Papoose. Our third gun was the Armscor AK 22, $220. The AK22 closely resembles an AK47, down to the replica magazine.

All three guns arrived with a single magazine. Further, each carbine could be viewed as a youth model, a training device, or both. But would the reduction of size compromise the time-proven 10/22 design? Would the Armscor AK22's big-gun appearance interfere with function or reliability? Would the integrity of lockup between barrel and receiver of the Marlin show signs of failure after repeated applications? Could three conceptually different models produce the same level of accuracy?

To find out, we shot the guns at 50 yards using a Caldwell Tack Driver ($33 unfilled from ). The Tack Driver is a sand-filled support with a left- and right-side chamber that forms an 11-inch-long channel to grip the forend. Our selection of test ammunition included the Federal Classic 40-grain solid copper-plated rounds and two Remington products. They were the Remington High Velocity 36-grain HP and the Remington Eley Target Rifle 40-grain LRN ammunition.

Here's what we found when we tested the guns head to head:

The Mauser 98, in most of its many variants, is one of the finest rifle actions ever developed, and one of the most long-lived. Today, we see that Remington has just announced its own version of the old German design in a "new" rifle. But you can still occasionally find inexpensive variants of the old M98 war-horse in original versions, as issued to troops in countries all over the world, offered for sale by some of the major importers, and that's how we got our three test rifles. Southern Ohio Gun (SOG) had a sale, and we acquired three slightly different M98s for evaluation. Before we saw these rifles, we thought any of them would provide at least a decent action for a custom rifle, always with the understanding that custom rifles will almost certainly cost way more than just going out and buying a Ruger or Remington. But some folks are happy to spend lots of money for a personalized, one-off rifle, and the M98 is one of the best actions to use for such a project. One of our just-bought actions — the German one — was badly deformed on the forward part of its front ring, removing it from any reasonable consideration for use on a custom rifle. The other two could be made into custom rifles, but that's not necessary, because any decent older 98 ought to be a good long-term investment, and should provide lots of shooting fun along the way. Do these 98s have any value, other than for collectors?

We bought three M98 variants from SOG, all 8mm rifles. They were a German K98 (SLG-K98 SB, $140), a Yugoslav Mauser M24/47 (SLG-M24/47, $110), and a Model 1903/38 (SLG-T03, $90). All fell into the class of Curios & Relics. Each rifle was tagged with a notice that stated the guns had not been inspected by a gunsmith, so there was no obvious guarantee we had three viable rifles. In fact, they all were thickly coated with cosmoline when they arrived, so we actually had no idea what was there. Were they worth their price, or just a total waste of money? Let's take a look.