Making a living – or just simply supplemental cash – by posting modest firearm reviews here and there is no easy task for unknown freelancers, though it seems increasingly common these days. When reading such cartridge and firearm descriptions, it sometimes appears to me the author may have never fired a shot with the rifle/cartridge of interest. Such reports often parrot what someone else said, and all the “facts” are included. There is rarely a hint of any “personal familiarity” with said cartridge/load, or even a mention of shooting a rifle so chambered, and often does not include a photo. Apparently, the scribe has no further interest in the topic, which I guess is fine so long as readers don’t mind. ...Read More >

Recently, as I was thumbing through reader letters, emails and other forms of communication and couldn’t help but notice that there was one type of question that seemed to be repeated. This was in regard to barrel twist rates. There were several inquiries as to the best twist rate for several 6.5mm and .30-caliber cartridges and others, each with specific bullet weights or designs and sometimes at specified velocity, but the overwhelming number of questions were in regard to the 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington cartridges. Some readers wanted to use lightweight varmint bullets, others wanted to use long-range, heavy-for-caliber match bullets, but others were looking for the magical all-purpose twist rate that can do it all. ...Read More >

Do you have a rifle that is strictly for utility? In other words, it wasn’t purchased for its beautiful stock, or engraving or collector value or for competition. You don’t take it out for shooting pleasure or for hunting game. It’s with you “just because.” Yvonne and I keep such rifles at our rural Montana home. ...Read More >

The two major considerations of stock fit are comb height and length of pull. Neither has been given much consideration by manufacturers until quite recently. Oh, yes, civilian target shooters whose courses of fire required prone, sitting, kneeling and standing, often had large adjustable and replaceable aluminum buttplates. Obviously, such a thing was not practical on sporting rifles. The hunter had to make do with a stock intended for a small to average-size person firing offhand. ...Read More >