Viewpoints

Gun Testsmagazine compared two 17 HMR bolt-action rifles by Browning and Ruger in the September 2013 issue. The specific guns were the Browning T-Bolt Target/Varmint No. 025176270 17 HMR and the Ruger 77/17 Rotary Magazine Rifle K77/17VMBBZ No. 7027 17 HMR. The magazine's shooters liked the Browning T-Bolt Target a lot, giving it an A- grade. Following are excerpts from that test, used with permission.

Once you make the decision to possess and carry a concealed handgun, you are also making the decision that you may have to use it. The collective experience of the lawyers in the LawShield program, from observing the justice system in action and from the scores of police officers we represent is: if you use your gun, there is a very, very high degree of probability that you will be the person arrested.

I like the first month of the year. It means Ill soon be headed to the SHOT Show, where tons of new and interesting stuff gets introduced. But some companies are already busy getting new products in the pipeline, and here are a few interesting ones I think are worth noting:

Looking very much like the Rock River rifle, the ArmaLite had a hidden beauty in its superior accuracy. Despite a hefty 7.2-pound trigger, the rifle shot very well for us. For extended field use, we would like a better trigger, and of course less weight. This one worked perfectly, just like the other two.

We compared two 1911 handguns from companies not known for those pistols in the May 2012 issue. After a very long wait the staff acquired one of the Remington Model 1911 R1 Enhanced 45 ACPs ($940 MSRP). The GT team wanted a similar-priced gun to compare it to, so they went to another company not commonly known for producing 1911s, Taurus. The test Taurus PT 1911 ($900 MSRP) was stainless. Here is what we found.