Rifle January-February 2026

To Our Loyal Readership,We were saddened by the news that FMG will no longer be printing American Handgunner and Guns magazines. We feel this leaves a void in the firearms market, and we want to fill that void.We are proud to announce the rebrandi... ...Read More >

All the gun-crazy farm kids I grew up with (myself included) wanted an “automatic” .22 rimfire when we outgrew our single shots. When that happened, however, we were still mostly kids without the finances to buy new rifles. All we could afford were well-used Savages or hardware store brands, none of which “automaticed” very well. Jams and failures to feed were common. These were cleared by prying the offending cartridge out of the receiver with a large pocket knife. This probably didn’t help the situation any. ...Read More >

I first became aware of Athlon Optics through a small cadre of northern Idaho PRS shooters, who, while highly competitive, are also blue-collar guys with kids in college, mortgages and the usual financial obligations that come with the times we live in. They chose Athlon riflescopes due to a high degree of optical and mechanical quality offered at a working man’s price. ...Read More >

Several decades ago, it was common for gun writers to discuss a handful of rifles and cartridges that should be included in a rifle battery to cover everything from mice to the largest animal that would be hunted. The topic remains a great one, but today I will discuss just one rifle cartridge that has an important role on my gun rack. Before going forward, note that this cartridge is housed in a bolt action rather than a modern sporting rifle, commonly known as AR platforms. You have probably already read the title of this column, so you know that I am referencing the 223 Remington. ...Read More >

We’ve all heard that we should never dry fire a rimfire rifle because it will cause damage, but that is not the whole story. The fact is that it is perfectly okay to dry fire some rimfire rifles, such as the Ruger 10/22, and the dry-fire practice is routine among 22 Long Rifle competition shooters. Manufacturers do not always tell us which rifles fall into that “OK” category, and considering that for nearly all semiautomatic 22s, there is no other way to release mainspring tension on an empty rifle other than by dry firing. ...Read More >

The term “small-game rifle” hardly figures in the literature anymore. It is almost as passé as old-time Schützen and turkey shoots in the fall, at least among the mainstream. Even those of us who revel in the past and revere the masterpieces of nineteenth-century gunmakers generally give the whole genre a short shrift. ...Read More >

When hearing the words Wilson Combat, shooters immediately think of well-tuned, high-quality custom pistols, particularly model 1911s. Bill Wilson started his company back in 1977 and knew that to compete against the already established big boys of the custom gun market, he had to do two things: First, put out a better product than his competitors and second (and probably most important), was delivering his product before the competition. This meant having his guns already on dealer’s shelves, so that they could be sold before competitors’ guns. ...Read More >

The first successful commercial .30-caliber magnum was introduced by Holland & Holland (H&H) around 1920 and eventually became known as the 300 H&H Magnum. While it enjoyed popularity in Europe and with custom rifle builders in the U.S., it did not become widely popular until Winchester offered it in the Model 70 beginning in 1936. Using a custom-built rifle chambered in 300 H&H Magnum, Ben Comfort won the prestigious 1,000-yard Wimbledon Cup Match at Camp Perry, Ohio, in 1935, which brought considerable fame to the cartridge. Sales were strong despite the Great Depression. ...Read More >

If you’d asked for an opinion on Mossberg bolt-action rifles just a decade ago, I likely would have given a dismissive shrug. I generally live by the motto that you get what you pay for, while also admitting to a touch of snobbery when it comes to rifle aesthetics and, most especially, accuracy. My first Mossberg rifle experience occurred because I was working on my book, The Predator and Varmint Hunter’s Guidebook, and wanted a selection of rifles with very distinctive aesthetics to use for interior illustration. That first Mossberg was an MVP Varmint in 204 Ruger with an ergonomic laminated-wood stock (no longer in production). It shot so well – sub-1⁄4-MOA well – that I purchased it and shoot it to this day. ...Read More >

In 1901, C.W. Rowland of Boulder, Colorado, fired the most famous benchrest group in history: ten shots, 200 yards, .721 inches. It was a new record and stood for three-quarters of a century, only being broken, according to most reports, in 1978. ...Read More >

Creating a new cartridge by modifying an existing one typically starts with converting the brass case by necking it up or down, and maybe shortening it or changing the taper or shoulder angle. In the 21 Sharp, however, Winchester left the 22 Long Rifle brass case as-is and instead essentially necked the bullet down. With a more modern profile for theoretically improved accuracy and a generally higher velocity, the 21 Sharp joins the 22 Long Rifle to give shooters another option in an affordable rimfire hunting and plinking round. Could competition shooting be just around the corner for the 21 Sharp? ...Read More >