Rifles

With everything going on in the world today, interest in self-defense rifles has skyrocketed. Until recently, semi-automatics were flying off dealer shelves and prices were sometimes double what such guns sold for only nine months ago. Naturally, many shooters are having trouble finding what they want, which usually means rifles that can accept standard-capacity (20- or 30-round) magazines. However, you may be able to find and more easily afford a category which well loosely call low capacity rifles - e.g., those made for single-stack magazines and which arrive from the manufacturer with 10-round magazines.We recently tested a couple of lo-cap rifles to see if they could live up to their standard-cap counterparts that can be so hard to find. The Century International Arms N-PAP M70 7.62x39mm, $750, is an AK-47 manufactured by Zastava, a Serbian arms manufacturer, and its receiver is cut to accept a single-stack magazine. Our test gun came with two plastic single-stack 10-round mags. Going head to head against the PAP is the K-VAR VEPR AK-47 imported by Arsenal. The VEPR has a reinforced receiver manufactured by Molot in Russia and and ours came with two plastic 10-round mags. Both rifles can be modified to take standard AK-47 magazines, but in some states that is not an option now, so we tested both in their as-delivered capacity. Heres how our testers assessed them:

With everything going on in the world today, interest in self-defense rifles has skyrocketed. Until recently, semi-automatics were flying off dealer shelves and prices were sometimes double what such guns sold for only nine months ago. Naturally, many shooters are having trouble finding what they want, which usually means rifles that can accept standard-capacity (20- or 30-round) magazines. However, you may be able to find and more easily afford a category which well loosely call low capacity rifles - e.g., those made for single-stack magazines and which arrive from the manufacturer with 10-round magazines.We recently tested a couple of lo-cap rifles to see if they could live up to their standard-cap counterparts that can be so hard to find. The Century International Arms N-PAP M70 7.62x39mm, $750, is an AK-47 manufactured by Zastava, a Serbian arms manufacturer, and its receiver is cut to accept a single-stack magazine. Our test gun came with two plastic single-stack 10-round mags. Going head to head against the PAP is the K-VAR VEPR AK-47 imported by Arsenal. The VEPR has a reinforced receiver manufactured by Molot in Russia and and ours came with two plastic 10-round mags. Both rifles can be modified to take standard AK-47 magazines, but in some states that is not an option now, so we tested both in their as-delivered capacity. Heres how our testers assessed them:

With everything going on in the world today, interest in self-defense rifles has skyrocketed. Until recently, semi-automatics were flying off dealer shelves and prices were sometimes double what such guns sold for only nine months ago. Naturally, many shooters are having trouble finding what they want, which usually means rifles that can accept standard-capacity (20- or 30-round) magazines. However, you may be able to find and more easily afford a category which well loosely call low capacity rifles - e.g., those made for single-stack magazines and which arrive from the manufacturer with 10-round magazines.We recently tested a couple of lo-cap rifles to see if they could live up to their standard-cap counterparts that can be so hard to find. The Century International Arms N-PAP M70 7.62x39mm, $750, is an AK-47 manufactured by Zastava, a Serbian arms manufacturer, and its receiver is cut to accept a single-stack magazine. Our test gun came with two plastic single-stack 10-round mags. Going head to head against the PAP is the K-VAR VEPR AK-47 imported by Arsenal. The VEPR has a reinforced receiver manufactured by Molot in Russia and and ours came with two plastic 10-round mags. Both rifles can be modified to take standard AK-47 magazines, but in some states that is not an option now, so we tested both in their as-delivered capacity. Heres how our testers assessed them:

Every gunsmith has secrets he would never share with a competitor. Here are a few you can claim as your own (but don’t tell anyone else).

Gun Tests magazine recently tested compact two new 243 rifles in the April 2013 issue. Here’s an excerpt of that report, used with permission: Lost in the current frenzy to hoard any and all Modern Sporting Rifles are fresh innovations being applied to bolt-action rifles. Not only are new manufacturing techniques making “minute-of-angle” bolt guns less expensive but more versatile, too. In this test we will evaluate two bolt action rifles chambered for 243 Winchester that offer something extra. The $641 Howa/Hogue Youth 2N1 rifles come with two different stocks so that the same Howa M1500 action will accommodate more than one shooter. Both stocks are manufactured by Hogue, using the OverMolded technique. Thompson Center Arms’s $679 Dimension rifle offers the ability to accept different-caliber barrels so that the same rifle, or as the manufacturer prefers “platform,” can be used to hunt a wider variety of game.

Wilson Combat has announced its first firearm collaboration with tactical shooting expert Paul Howe, the Paul Howe Tactical Carbine.

There are three new videos available at GunReports.com.: Harley Ride and Shoot -- For Juvenile Diabetes, SIGTac Adaptive Carbine Platform, and IWI Tavor MTAR-21 SAR first impressions with Jerry Miculek.

In making the case for the AR-15 platform to serve as a hunting rifle, it was pointed out that its military pedigree does not really set it apart from the other rifles we love carrying into the field. Almost every rifle from musket to semi-automatic was born of military design, so why should the Modern Sporting Rifle be any different? Likewise, were also seeing a growing acceptance of bolt-action hunting rifles with military profiles. Just like the AR-15, if a certain stock configuration and features like removable box magazines work well for snipers and designated marksmen, then they are sure to work efficiently for the hunter, too. Hence the appeal of our test rifle, the $885 Model 527 Varmint Target from CZ-USA chambered for 204 Ruger.

Marlin’s Model 1891 lever-action repeater was manufactured from 1891 through about 1897, with nearly 19,000 rifles manufactured in all. This handy, small-framed model was offered in both .22 and the then-popular .32 rimfire calibers.

American Gunsmith magazine recounts that Remington 700 rifles seldom cause many problems, but here are some quick-and-easy solutions to common complaints. From the American Gunsmith Library series.

The glory days for Marlin were from the early 1880s up to about the turn of the century, a time when they manufactured an impressive line of high-quality lever-action rifles and carbines. Marlin's lever-actions were also offered in a wide range of calibers and sizes. These ranged from large rifles to handle big-game calibers to medium-framed rifles in pistol calibers (such as the .44-40 Winchester) down to small .22-caliber rimfire versions. The original Marlins were…

Wilson Combat has introduced the T.R.I.M. AR-10-D (Tactical Rail Interface, Modular) AR-10 rail, which the company touts as the lightest, strongest and most versatile compact free-floating rail systems on the market. It’s available in 12-inch ($350) and 14-inch ($360) sizes. It is designed for AR-10 pattern rifles and clones with 1-7/16-18 inch threaded receivers, such as the DPMS/SR-25.