Rifles

Pressed into service more than 50 years ago, the M1 Carbine is coming home again and often needs a gunsmith's attention.

(GunReports.com) — Here are more 2014 SHOT Show videos added to the GunReports.com YouTube channel this week.

We had the loan of a Browning Safari BAR semiauto rifle in 338 Win. Mag. and had a chance to try it out in very cold weather here in Idaho. The Browning BAR sporting rifle has been in production since 1967. Originally made for Browning by FN in Belgium, they are now made in Belgium, but - as our test rifle indicated - are assembled in Portugal. Our first inspection of the big rifle showed it to be well made, with great attention to detail, excellent bluing on well-polished and flat metal, and with attractive, though pseudo, engraving on the sides of the action. The wood was decent, though certainly not fancy, most likely chosen for strength in some areas rather than eye-stopping beauty that might show cracks from slight abuse. The glossy stock finish was impeccable. The stock design was classic and hand-filling in its dimensions without being club-like.The checkering was unbelievable, quite fine and nearly perfectly done. The forend was wrapped with enough excellent checkering to cover six rifles, and the pistol grip also had an abundant amount of it on each side. If we owned this rifle, wed rub some linseed oil into the checkering and brush it out with an old toothbrush, which is one of the best ways to preserve what looks like bare wood on the checkered areas. The fine checkering served us well in the cold to help get a good hold on the rifle.

Most of us are familiar with 17-caliber cartridges as rimfire ammunition, but the 17 Hornet is a centerfire round that's only manufactured by Hornady in 15.5- and 20-grain V-Max Superformance loads. But we aren't offended by being one of the few people buying this round, because the touted box ballistics offer some astonishing numbers. Such as a muzzle velocity of 3650 fps with a drop of only -6.6 inches at 300 yards (200-yard zero). Maybe that's why Ruger and CZ are taking a chance on chambering rifles for this pipsqueak round, and it's one of the reasons we were attracted to the cartridge. So much so that we got a $725 CZ-USA 527 Varmint 17 Hornet #03066 and Ruger's $969 77/17 17 Hornet Rotary Magazine Rifle to test head to head.

Each rifle represented a design well established by their respective manufacturers. The Ruger was built on a Green Mountain color-laminate stock. The CZ stock was Turkish walnut. Both rifles offered a traditional pattern of checkering at the forend and on the pistol grip. Length of pull was equal, measured at 13.5 inches. Stock drop at the comb and at the heel measured the same, and stock pitch was nearly equal. The Ruger had a 3-position safety that allowed the operator to work the bolt, but not the trigger when in its central position. The CZ rifle offered a simpler 2-position on/off safety. Both rifles featured a removable magazine. The Ruger's 5-round rotary design would go heads up against CZ's 5-round single column magazine. Each rifle offered a scope mount integral with the receiver and proprietary scope rings. Each gun was fitted with a 24-inch barrel with recessed crown, and when fully loaded, both the CZ and the Ruger weighed more than 7 pounds. Both guns had rubber buttpads. The Ruger finish was matte stainless and the CZ was blued. One final note of comparison was that both the CZ 527 and the Ruger 77/17 17 Hornet rifles demonstrated a noticeable improvement in function between the thirty-fifth and fiftieth rounds. This included magazine fit, feeding, and bolt action, primarily regarding extraction from the magazine. Accuracy from the CZ was remarkable right out of the box, and the Ruger rifle continued to show improvement as its barrel was broken in. Both rifles produced muzzle velocity as listed on the ammunition box, resulting in muzzle energy near 600 ft.-lbs.

To find out how these rifles differed and evaluate this unusual chambering, we began by mounting a 4-16X42 Nikon Monarch BDC scope to test for accuracy from the 100-yard bench. Blessed with tame weather across the range at Houston's American Shooting Centers, we were able to perform our tests with reasonable uniformity from day to day.

The 36th edition of the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) is ongoing through Friday at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev. Here are some of the more interesting rifle introductions we’ve seen so far:

Here are some of the 2104 SHOT Show videos added to the GunReports.com YouTube channel this week.

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.

Battle Rifle Company is releasing new models at SHOT Show 2014: the BR4 Wolverine, the BR4 ODIN, and the BR4 Attaché, and the company has redesigned the Spectre rifle.

Las Vegas-based Arsenal Inc.’s new SLR-104UR rifles are the popular stamped-receiver “Krink” configuration.

Here are new videos added to GunReports.com the week of December 26: World Champion Jerry Miculek speed-shoots the 500 Magnum, the JM Mossberg 930 12 gauge, and a Smith & Wesson M&P-15.

For 2014, Fayette, Missouri-based CMMG is delivering another precision-machined AR rifle, the new Mk4 RCE, available in 5.56x45mm NATO or .300 AAC Blackout.

Ammunition maker Lapua has introduced a handful of new products for 2014: