Rifle January/February 2017

The first hunting rifle I purchased upon release from active duty with the U.S. Navy nearly 45 years ago was a little-used Savage Model 110 .243 Winchester with a Weaver 6x scope mounted on it. The previous owner claimed it wouldn’t shoot very well, and upon inspection, most of the problem was attributed to the forend bearing on the barrel. ...Read More >

Curiously, handfuls of European 6.5mm cartridges available in the U.S. off and on since the early 1900s have gone largely overlooked by generations of riflemen, perhaps due to a comparatively limited number of rifles with which to shoot them. There are staunch fans of, say, the 6.5x54 Mannlicher-Schönauer and especially the 6.5x55 Swede, both great hunting cartridges. Although none of the European 6.5s have been quite so popular on these shores as the .270 Winchester or .30-06, to name but two. ...Read More >

Shortly after Mossberg announced the MVP (Mossberg Varmint Predator) rifle in 2011, I was invited to spend three days in central Oregon shooting ground squirrels and hunting coyotes with several model variations chambered in 5.56 NATO and .204 Ruger. I fired in excess of 1,500 rounds through several rifles that were accurate and very interesting. ...Read More >

If a rifle is going to have a pur- pose – hunting, defense or competition – it needs to be ready before the first shot is fired. (That’s as opposed to a wall-hanger or item for a collection.) Readiness doesn’t mean only having proven itself capable of decent groups. Whether scoped or iron sighted, rifles must be zeroed properly, and it must feed and eject its correct ammunition. Much more importantly, the shooter needs to be proficient with it. ...Read More >

In the previous columns on this subject, the stock was shortened (if needed) and a new recoil pad was properly attached. The joint between pad and stock was tight, while the cuts through which the mounting screws were inserted are invisible. Now it’s time to convert all the extra pad material protruding over the sides of the stock to a fine dust that will get on and into everything in the shop. It’s best to do the job outdoors! ...Read More >

Don Burris founded his namesake optics company in 1971. In the ensuing years, Burris introduced a full line of rifle and handgun scopes and his was the first company to sell scopes with multicoated lenses. Burris passed on to his reward in 1987, but the company continued to expand its product line to include binoculars, spotting scopes and more scopes. ...Read More >

It is a well-known fact among gun collectors that a fine gun from years ago is more likely to come down to us in good condition than a cheap gun from the same era. This is not an absolute rule. Some fine guns do fall into the wrong hands, and some inexpensive guns luck their way through a succession of owners who actually care about them. But generally, if a gun starts out as an aristocrat, it will still be one a century later. ...Read More >

Marlin Firearms began producing guns in 1870, but its first lever-action, repeating rifle was the Model 1881; 135 years later, the company is still producing leverguns that are highly regarded among shooters and hunters. The latest rifles are manufactured in Ilion, New York, in the Remington Arms plant. ...Read More >

Since CZ of the Czech Republic introduced its 557 Sporter bolt-action rifle in 2012, it has expanded the rifle’s models to include the Lux, Sporter Synthetic, Urban Counter Sniper, Carbine and Varmint. The newest 557 is the Sporter Short Action chambered in .243 and .308 Winchesters. CZ-USA imports the rifles, and for the last couple of months, I shot a Sporter .308 Winchester that has proved to be accurate. ...Read More >

In the previous issue (Rifle No. 289, November-December 2016), we took a brief look at the history of the Winchester Model 70 – its ups, downs and design changes from its introduction in 1936 to the closing of the New Haven, Connecticut, factory in 2006. ...Read More >

The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR) appeared in 1959, filling a gap created by the demise of older, larger rimfire rounds. Since then the .22 Magnum has seen both ups and downs, and to understand why, we need to examine rimfire history. ...Read More >

Hunters often say that semiautomatic rifles are not reliable and are heavy and inaccurate. In all the years of shooting and hunting with them, using handloads and factory ammunition, I have never found a modern rifle of this type exhibiting any of the above. They might be a half-pound heavier than a conventional bolt action simply because of the gas piston system, but I have never felt the extra weight on hunts. ...Read More >