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One of the major reasons hunters choose a 20 gauge over a 12 gauge is the former’s smaller frame, weight, and recoil. Though they may already own a 12, many field sportsmen wind up reaching for their 20s because the smaller gun is just easier to handle, and there are just a few hunting situations—layback goose hunting and spring turkey hunting, to name two—in which the bigger payload might make a difference. Gun Tests magazine recently tested an autoloader in 20 gauge that offers quite a savings in physical form over its bigger stablemates. Its 3-inch-chamber 20 gauge was a Mossberg SA-20 No. 75771, $496.

Bolt-action 22 rifles are among the most basic and useful of all firearms. They are fine trainers and excellent tools for a variety of uses limited only by the imagination of the owner. We’ve seen ‘em used for just about anything, and about the only constant is that decent 22 bolt rifles generally have long and useful lives.

One of the ongoing arguments between wingshooters is the 12 vs. 20 discussion. The short version of that issue can be summed up in two questions: Can I get away with the smaller gauge for the shooting I do?, or, Do I need the deeper and wider shotshell selection that the 12 gauge offers? One of the major reasons hunters choose a 20 over a 12 is the former's smaller frame, weight, and recoil. Though they may already own a 12, many field sportsmen wind up reaching for their 20s because the smaller gun is easier to handle, and there are just a few situations—layback goose hunting and spring turkey hunting, to name two—in which the bigger 12-gauge payload might make a difference.

Gun Tests magazine recently ran an over/under match-up with a distinctly international taste to it. The increasingly popular Caesar Guerini represented the Italian trigger-plate actions in a test of general-purpose shotgun models suitable for hunting and casual clays use.

If card shooters, sporting-clays shooters, skeep and trap shooters, hunters and shotgun owners in general all agree on the benefits of the screw-in choke, and millions of guns have been made with fixed chokes, how big do you suppose the need for screw-in choke installation is? It is enormous! You should learn to install screw-in chokes.

After Gun Test magazine’s article on 'Compact AR Carbines' in October 2007 and a related article on 'AR-15 Adjustable Stocks' in March 2008, the magazine was besieged with requests to visit additional limbs on the AR family tree: New caliber performance match-ups, more accessories testing, and national-match gun comparisons were just a few of the suggestions that popped up.

It has been said in the industry that 'when all else fails, invent a caliber.' Part and parcel of any highly new-product driven industry is the constant attempt to invent new lines of price and performance where none exist in a tangible, real-world sense. One fairly recent cartridge development that has gained traction and popularity is the Hornady 17 Magnum Rimfire introduced in 2002. It is remarkable in many respects, gaining distinction as the first successful rimfire cartridge to hit the market in over 40 years. The last rimfire considered to be a 'successful' introduction was the 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire in 1959.

Toward the end of each year, I survey the work R.K. Campbell, Roger Eckstine, Ray Ordorica, Robert Sadowski, Gene Taylor, John Taylor, Tracey Taylor, Ralph Winingham, and Kevin Winkle have done in Gun Tests, with an eye toward selecting guns, accessories, and ammunition the magazine’s testers have endorsed. From these evaluations I pick the best from a full year’s worth of tests and distill recommendations for readers, who often use them as year-end shopping guides. These “best of” choices are a mixture of our original tests and other information I’ve compiled during the year. After we roll high-rated test products into long-term testing, I keep tabs on how those guns do, and if the firearms and accessories continue performing well, then I have confidence including them in this wrap-up.

(GunReports.com) -- It is hard to say who was the first gunsmith to drill or cut holes near the muzzle of a shotgun barrel to direct the expanding gas upward to provide a downward push, thus limiting both muzzle jump and felt recoil. Credit for this concept is generally given to Marine Corps Colonel Richard M. Cutts. His “compensator” was originally intended to be used on military weapons to minimize recoil and to reduce muzzle climb in fully automatic weapons. It was eventually adopted for use on the Thompson submachine gun, and a “Cutts Compensator” was soon made available to the civilian shotgun market by the Lyman Company.

(GunReports.com) -- Since most of the Remington 1100’s 95 parts are moving, it isn’t uncommon to have a few 1100s in your shop for repairs at any given time. That sounds simple enough, but sometimes it isn’t. The gas-operated, semi-automatic shotgun has undergone a number of internal changes over the years, with a resulting variation in parts. Most of the parts will interchange with varying degrees of success. But gunsmiths must be aware of the changes that have been made, in order to be on the lookout for problems caused by improper parts that might have been used to “fix” this shotgun before it gets to your bench. This combination of factors can sometimes make it very hard to determine just what is causing a particular problem with an 1100.

This is the best AK-style gun we have seen. Though it has its flaws—the trigger is too heavy, the button in the buttstock was distracting, and we would prefer the action lock open—we would still buy this gun ahead of the others.

The concept of a single-shot rifle for modern usage goes back quite a few years. Despite the advent of repeating firearms, the single-shot rifle has always held its own, from the Sharps down to the H&R Ultra rifle tested here. Many makers have put together some very fine and also some not-so-fine single shots on a great variety of actions. We acquired one of the U.S.-made H&R 1871 Ultra Hunters in 308 (SB2-808, MSRP $374).