Rifles

Many hunters love semiautomatic rifles for shorter-range (under 200 yards) deer hunting, mostly because they dont need sendero-class accuracy, but instead prefer faster-handling, shorter firearms. Also, not having to work a bolt-action rifle in close quarters is a positive, when a fast follow-up shot can prevent wounded game animals from suffering needlessly.

Some parts of the country, notably California, dont permit their fine, law-abiding citizens to own so-called "black rifles," which generally means you cant have an AR-15 if you live there. But you may still want a rifle that handles the .223 cartridge, for a number of reasons. One may be to take advantage of the low-priced "deals" that often come along on surplus .223 or 5.56 ammunition.The need for a non-semiauto .223 is generally met by a bolt-action rifle. Many companies have made delightful little rifles for the .223 over the years, notably Sako and various suppliers of the so-called Mini Mauser in that caliber. The Sako Vixen is still much sought-after, though prices continue to climb, with new versions (Sako 85) around $1600 today.There are plenty of other more affordable choices, however, and for this test we chose three rifles in the $550 to $750 range. The guns were Savages Model 16FSS "Weather Warrior" in stainless/synthetic ($569), Rugers new Hawkeye "All-Weather" also in stainless/synthetic ($749), and Remingtons Zastava-made Model 799 in blue/laminated ($648).We tested the three with two factory loads by Black Hills, a 62-grain FMJ and a 60-grain JSP, as well as Remingtons 55-grain PSP. We also tried two low-cost surplus brands of FMJ ammunition that were loaded in Russia, typical of so much of the very inexpensive stuff that will inevitably find its way into almost all .223 rifles. One of these was brand-named Wolf, and the other was white-box Russian. We also experimented with very-heavy-bullet handloads designed for 1:7-inch twist, but results were uniformly so poor we didnt record them. Here is what we found.

There are those wholl tell you that the era of modern muzzleloadingwas spawned in the wave of patriotism and revived historical interest engendered by the 1976 Bicentennial celebration.You will indeed find that many of the popular sidelock reproduction muzzleloaders were first introduced in that general timeframe and states special blackpowder/primitive weapons hunting seasons started soon thereafter.But the true birth of "modern muzzleloading" - considering the fact that 97 percent of all muzzleloaders purchased for hunting today are in-line rifles - was in the mid-1980s. Thats when a theretofore unknown Midwestern railroad employee/gunsmith named Tony Knight got the financial backing to produce his futuristic in-line (enclosed hammer as opposed to sidehammer) muzzleloading rifle.Knights company was, in fact, named Modern Muzzleloading. The first modern (there were in-line designs back in the 18th century) in-line muzzleloader was actually a bolt-action rifle receiver fitted with a screw-out-and-pull-to-cock bolt and a breech plug in the barrel where a chamber would normally be situated in a centerfire design. The enclosed hammer hit a firing pin of sorts that struck the percussion cap, igniting the powder.The guns were streamlined, lighter and less cumbersome than sidelocks, used faster-twist rifling and, eventually, saboted slugs rather than conical bullets or patched round balls. They felt and shot like rifles; a big factor in their appeal to hunters interested in expanding their hunting opportunities without messing with the primitive aspects of the sidelock guns.New propellants, synthetic blackpowders, were formulated - later in pellet form of specific weights, new sabot styles designed, and new riflestyles emerged as the market grew. Knight was one of the first to design a gun to accept shotgun primers for ignition rather than percussion or musket caps, and further developed that technology to encase the cap in proprietary plastic disk that made it easier to handle and load.In the late 1990s Remington brought out a bolt-action rifle, the Model 700ML (actually a Model 700 centerfire receiver and bolt fitted with a muzzleloading barrel and breech plug) that provided easy access to the ignition system while also enclosing it against the weather. Virtually all other manufacturers jumped on the bolt-action bandwagon.Simplicity then became the goal, since muzzleloading can be a complex and messy. And few years later two stalwart muzzleloading companies, CVA and Thompson Center, introduced simpler exposed-hammer dropping-block designs where a squeeze on the rear of the trigger guard dropped the rear of the action open, exposing the touch hole and primer position.Soon thereafter companies redesigned the single-shot concept with break-action designs (there had been previous versions in budget guns) where the barrel was actually hinged to the lower aspect of the receiver and dropped open to expose the ignition seat.We tested three state-of-the-art .50-caliber modern in-lines: The break-action Traditions Pursuit XLT, the modified dropping block Knight Revolution II and the hinged-block Remington Genesis.

The idea of using just one caliber for all ones hunting and fun shooting may best be met by what we call medium-bore rifles. These include the various .325s, .338s and some .35s, but not the .375 H&H Magnum and its like, which are a lot more powerful. Of all these over-.30 and under-.375 Mag calibers, one of the most versatile is the .338 OKH, also called the .338-06. The new .338 Federal is the .338 on the .308 case, and while were very interested in it, we havent been able to obtain test rifles yet.In the meantime, we chose two .338 Winchester Magnums to go against one .325 WSM in this report. We picked a new Ruger Hawkeye ($749) and the Savage 116FHSS ($602) in .338 Win. Mag; and the Browning A-Bolt ($824) in .325 WSM.Reloaders like the medium bores for their versatility. There are plenty of good bullets out there in .338, ranging from 185 up to 300 grains if you look hard. A variety of powders can make the .338 Mag talk about any talk a shooter might need, from fun at the range to taking big game. The .325 WSM, on the other hand, is a short cartridge with no belt. The case is a short .404 Jeffery size, and takes bullets of 0.323-inch diameter, the same as various 8mm cartridges. Bullets ought not to be a problem for the reloader. The .325 case held 83 grains of water, filled to the top of the case. The .338 Win Mag held 89 grains, which is 7-percent greater capacity. But how do they fare against each other?

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.