Rifle July/August 2019

I’ve been sort of sequestered over a couple of months, owing my cardiologist’s instructions. First, he took care of an irregular heartbeat, and a few months later installed a pacemaker. Both procedures were less troublesome than waiting for special-order pizza. The problem was the “don’t do” list afterward, effectively summarized by “don’t do anything stupid or lift anything over 10 pounds for four to six weeks.” I didn’t ask about chopping wood. ...Read More >

In Rifle No. 303 (March 2019), it was explained that the .17 Winchester Super Mag cartridge – shortly after its introduction about seven years ago – appeared to be quickly falling by the wayside in spite of being the highest-velocity rimfire cartridge ever introduced to the shooting public. There were several factors in play, including severely limited rifle options. In fact, upon the cartridge’s introduction, there were just two. ...Read More >

The history of the Winchester Model 1873 lever-action rifle, produced from 1873 through 1919, is generally well known. In short, it was based on the Volcanic design but featured King’s improved patent associated with the first rifle to bear the Winchester name, the Model 1866 (aka Yellowboy). ...Read More >

A used car salesman once told me, “Paint sells.” To paraphrase in regard to firearms, “Color case hardening sells.” That’s in today’s marketplace. In the old days, I suspect attractive colors were a byproduct of hardening rifles’ and revolvers’ steel or iron receivers for safety’s sake. Today, steel can be plenty hard and therefore safe without color case hardening, so it is applied more for cosmetic purposes. ...Read More >

In the last column, the receiver of a Harrington and Richardson break-open, single-shot rifle was modified to remove stock looseness common to this model. As many of these rifles were drilled and tapped for scope mounting and had quite good triggers, solid buttstock attachment is needed for best accuracy. ...Read More >

Accurate long-range shooting started its escalation when laser rangefinders showed up, followed by rangefinders that computed ballistic information and relayed it to scopes to provide a correct aiming point. Now all those features are in a riflescope. ...Read More >

No sight in the history of rifle shooting has been so roundly condemned as the open rear blade generally known as the “Rocky Mountain” or “buckhorn.” It’s known by other names, too, most of them unprintable. It has been around forever, and forever it has been reviled as not only poor for sighting a rifle, but an actual hindrance. Some riflemen even insist you’d be better off with no rear sight at all. ...Read More >

What can be written about a rifle that has been in continual production since 1962? The Remington Model 700 is certainly the most successful centerfire bolt-action rifle of all time, with more than 5 million sold and counting. Remington currently chambers the 700 in 23 cartridges from the .204 Ruger to the .338 Lapua Magnum, and a .50-caliber muzzleloader. Over the years the 700 has housed nearly 20 other cartridges from the .222 Remington and .250 Savage to the .35 Whelen and .375 Remington Ultra Magnum. Remington currently lists 30 variations of its Model 700. ...Read More >

The Howa Model 1500 rifle was developed during the late 1960s, produced by Howa Machinery in Japan. As early as 1970 it was imported into the U.S. by Weatherby and eventually Smith & Wesson, Mossberg and Interarms. It was something of a compilation of several proven features borrowed from other rifle action designs. Over the past half century there have been minor design changes and improvements along with updated manufacturing processes, all of which resulted in a rifle that is modestly priced while offering precise tolerances, accuracy and reliability that is often on par with more expensive rifles. ...Read More >

Bolt-action rifles may have changed more since 2000 than during the last half of the twentieth century, even though major changes started right after World War II. The necessity for quick military manufacturing carried over to civilian rifles, including button rifling and hammer-forged barrels, plus simpler parts requiring less machining time and hand-fitting. ...Read More >

The name Sharps elicits visions of big-bore, single-shot rifles in the hands of rough-cut western frontiersmen. No firearm in American history has received so much attention with so few made. In fact, it surprises many shooters today to learn that only about 6,000 Sharps Model 1874 Sporting Rifles were produced between 1871 and 1880. Add to that those labeled as Carbines, Mid-Range, Long Range, Schuetzen, Business, Military and Creedmoor, and the total is about doubled. ...Read More >

The name Kessler Arms doesn’t come up in too many conversations these days. The New York company was in business for only a couple of year in the early 1950s and produced only two low-priced, short-lived shotguns. One was a bolt action, the other a lever. ...Read More >