Rifles

(GunReports.com)--South Dakota has become the fifth state to decide that guns made, sold and used within its borders no longer are subject to rules enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

(GunReports.com)--According to a Tulsa World story, Oklahoma could be headed for a showdown with the federal government over firearms regulation and the scope of interstate commerce.

Theres no doubt about it; the AR-15 has gone mainstream. Over the last several years, the growth in demand for black rifles has lured many manufacturers (including the big guys) to introduce their own versions of the venerable Eugene Stoner direct-gas-impingement design. Now that the market has matured, we are now seeing engineering departments introduce versions that are claimed to improve upon the original AR-15 through the use of gas-piston systems.In January, we compared a new piston gun, the Ruger SR-556, to two direct-gas-impingement units, rating the Ruger an A- in the process. This time, we put the Ruger SR-556FB, $1995, apples-to-apples against two more gas-piston models, the Kel-Tec SU-16 CA, $890 as tested; and a Sig Sauer 556 Classic SWAT No. SIG556302, $2399.In the original AR-15, gases are vented back through a gas tube to work the bolt and bolt-carrier group. The entire assembly works as its own piston. Since all of the gas is vented back to the bolt, fouling and heat build up in the mechanism. A piston system uses exhaust gas to work an exterior piston and operating rod assembly, greatly reducing the amount of spent gas that reaches the guns action. In our tests all three of our guns ran with less fouling than we see with our regular AR-15s.The SIG556 and the Ruger SR556 use adjustable gas pistons, allowing the user to change the piston setting to optimize its operation for different ammo and operating conditions. The Kel-Tec uses a fixed gas piston in its design.

At age 98 this year, the 375 H&H Magnum is still one of the best cartridges in existence. One of our test crew calls it his favorite cartridge. The 375 is undoubtedly very versatile, especially for the reloader. Although some ammo companies today, notably Hornady, load the cartridge up to higher power than it originally had, there's little or nothing to be gained by so doing, as we have repeatedly seen here. In fact, the shooter gains more from this cartridge, we feel, by loading it down, not up. He can even shoot round lead balls from the 375 if he is a clever and determined reloader. Although the usual realm of the 375 is hunting larger game including elk, moose, bear, and most African plains game, some of us have found over the years that modest jacketed-bullet or cast-lead-bullet loads in the cartridge make it an excellent deer cartridge.

The weight of a 375 rifle can be a problem for the deer hunter. A proper 375 is going to weigh around 9 or 10 pounds, while an ordinary deer rifle might weigh 6 pounds. Why carry the extra weight? If you can shoot it well, there's no harm in using a powerful rifle for all your hunting. There is really no such thing as overkill, but there is such a thing as using an unsuitable rifle that fails to kill quickly, which no true hunter wants. The only way to learn to shoot a big rifle well is to shoot it a lot, and sub-power loads make that easy. Some of us have experienced great satisfaction from mastering a big rifle. We've found it more rewarding to shoot a sub-inch group with a 375 with full-power loads than with a 22 centerfire. Light handloads make the 375 into a fun gun, one you can learn to shoot well, but overpowered heavy loads take a lot of the fun out of it.

We finally obtained one of the more elusive rifles on the big-game scene, the wood-stocked Kimber Caprivi in 375 H&H Magnum (also available in 458 Lott). Once we had this gorgeous rifle in hand, we went looking for other 375 rifles for our comparison testing. We finally decided to do a one-two-three setup, to see what you can buy for roughly $1000, $2000, and $3000. We acquired a CZ 550 American Safari Magnum, which lists for a bit over a grand ($1179). Next we got a Ruger M77 Mark II Magnum rifle selling for just over two grand ($2404), and of course the Kimber 8400 Caprivi was at the top, listing for about three grand ($3196). These all appeared to be fine rifles with a whole lot going for them. Could they compare?

They all had Express-type iron sights, with a wide-angle V rear and a bead at the front. This setup, for those who have never tried it, gives a very clear sight picture, the rear V acting to some extent like an aperture and making even aging eyes able to discern the front bead. In all three rifles the iron-sight picture was outstanding. One common problem with Express sights is the maker sometimes sets the rear sight too close to the shooter's eye, but all three rifles had it plenty far out on the barrel. CZ's V notch left two shoulders on the sides of the rear blade, which maybe helped prevent canting the rifle. The other two had full-width Vs. Kimber and CZ added a protective cover to the front sight.

All three rifles also had two folding leaves, the CZ alone marked for 200 and 300 yards. All three blades on the CZ had a prominent white centerline beneath the V. The Ruger's unmarked folding leaves had small U-notches in the two folders, and no center line. These gave a relatively poor sight picture, compared to the V. The Caprivi had a scribed line on each leaf, but in the old British style the folding leaves were unfiled, that being a job for the owner's gunsmith once he has settled on his one hunting load. Our shooters' eyes were most pleased with the sights on the Kimber Caprivi, largely because of the big front bead on that rifle.

We tested these rifles with Hornady Heavy Magnum with 270-grain JHP, Remington Express 270-grain RNSP, and Federal Power-Shok 270-grain RNSP. Be advised 375 ammo sells for about $3 a shot, at a time when you can still get a decent handmade cigar for that price. Thus handloading is probably the way to go if you want to shoot your big rifle a lot. We shot the three with iron sights to get a feel for them, and then scoped them for our bench testing. Here's what we found.

(GunReports.com)--Gun Tests magazine is selling two of its recent test guns on GunBroker.com--a Glock RTF2 and a Stag 2L AR-15.

Back in November 1999 we tested three precision .308 rifles by Robar, Autauga, and Dakota. The cheapest of these, by Autauga, cost $3,200, and we thought it was a “Best Buy” at the time. The Dakota Longbow was over $4,000, and the fine Robar was over $5,000. The accuracy of all of those rifles was simply astounding. Half-inch groups were the norm, with match-grade ammunition. We got the distinct impression it was necessary to spend inordinate amounts of money to guarantee such precision, with all the bells and whistles of that group and class of rifle. We may have been wrong.We recently had the loan of a similar rifle, made in the U.S. under FN (Belgium) supervision, and sold only by Fulton Armory, in Maryland. It didn’t quite have all the bells and whistles of the other three precision rifles we tested, but had the more important ones. Called the FN Special Police Rifle, it was a .308 Winchester caliber, with heavy barrel and synthetic stock. Best of all, its listed retail cost from Fulton Armory is $999.95, which we round off to $1,000.

The evaluation of tactical or military-style carbines chambered for 22 LR doesnt come as a surprise to our readers, whove been asking for a story on the topic for months. But we admit were surprised that the production of rimfire rifles in full-size carbine trim is such a big trend. So many different models are currently available or on someones drawing board, its going to take two or three more articles to cover the entire category. So lets get started.In this rimfire test we will look at two AR-15 derivatives and another carbine that more closely resembled a 1941 Russian machine gun. Our test guns were the Ruger SR-22R No. 1226 22 LR, $625; Smith & Wessons M&P 15-22 No. 811030 22 LR, $569; and the Legacy Sports Puma Wildcat PPS2250S 22 LR, $550. Certainly, training was the most obvious reason for our test guns to be built-but we wanted to know if they were fun, too.How we tested was determined by the facility of each carbine to support open sights and/or a scope. The Legacy Puma was fit with open sights and a grooved rail machined into the receiver. The Ruger SR-22 and the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 each supplied rail support for mounting a scope or a set of clamp-on sights. A complete set of sights were supplied with the Smith & Wesson. But the Ruger was shipped with only a Picatinny rail atop the receiver. Before we could finish dialing up www.yankeehillmachine.com to order a set of AR-15 sights to be mounted on to the Ruger SR-22, we decided instead to use the Smith & Wesson-supplied sights and put them on the Ruger for recording shots of record from the 25-yard line. The accuracy totals would be more head to head, we reasoned, and wed save $100. Just factor the lack of sights into your buying decision if you go with the Ruger.We also mounted a scope on each carbine and collected accuracy data from the 50-yard bench. For this test we fired only the ammunition that proved most accurate. Our test rounds were Federal Champion 40-grain solids and Federals 36-grain hollowpoint Value Pack ammunition. But it was our third choice that turned out to be the sole ammunition utilized for our 50-yard session. The 40-grain lead roundnose CCI Green Tag ammunition was judged superior in all three guns. However, performance was very close regardless of gun or ammunition. That we were forced to split hairs to determine which gun was more accurate says a lot about the guns, and we might add, the category itself.For our 50-yard session we mounted a scope on each rifle. In the process we determined that one advantage to these guns was they afforded an inexpensive way to try out different accessories and master new techniques. We had with us some unusual devices, such as Insights MRDS mil-spec dot scope and Leupolds Mark 4 3.5-10X40mm LR/T scope. The MRDS was an upgraded version of a recreational design that offered improved windage and elevation adjustments plus an on/off switch. We wanted to know how well it functioned. The Leupold scope was used in an earlier test (November 2008). The letters LR/T signify illuminated crosshairs plotted as a Tactical Milling Reticle. This means the hash marks seen on the crosshairs can be used as holdover points as they apply to different-caliber ammunition and bullet weights. In addition, the reticle can be used as a grid to mathematically compute changes in elevation settings. This is called ranging. For the limited purposes of our tests the two most important features were the overall layout of its unique reticle. Approximately the outer half length of each crosshair was wide and bold. The inner lines both up and down were fine crosshairs, but the point at which the they met was left empty. Near targets are to be taken with the eyes somewhat relaxed to allow for a manner of wide-angle focus placing the target inside the bracket of the dark crosshairs. To record our 50-yard accuracy data we narrowed our vision to the void at the center of the reticle. The opportunity to perfect techniques necessary for using either the MRDS or the Leupold LR/T scopes effectively, while shooting inexpensive rounds of 22 LR ammunition, was one of the reasons we would own a rimfire carbine like these.Our targets for the long-range session were Caldwells 12-inch Sight-in Target with Orange Peel capability. This was a 1-foot square with four circles surrounding a diamond. We liked the Orange Peel feature because hits were highlighted with an orange ring, but the hits didnt obliterate the original point of aim. Roger Eckstine handmade the 25-yard target, the Reckstine Sight-In Target, to help the shooters visually bracket the sight picture, placing the tip of the front sight upon the center ring. High-volume work was spent shooting at Caldwellss Shooting Gallery-a great toy for high-capacity rimfire weapons. The $280 Shooting Gallery is a self-resetting, self-contained moving [IMGCAP(2)]target system. It allowed us to "hull" without tiresome target changes.Lets find out how each gun performed.

Any serious shooter knows that it's perfectly plausible (and safe) to teach a pre-teen to shoot. Thompson Center knows it, too, and that's why they've introduced a new product called the HotShot rifle, a single-shot rimfire aimed at the young shooter. In this gunreports.com product minute video, you can find out about the basics.

New AR-15 shooters-and there are hundreds of thousands of them in the last five years-face a bewildering set of choices when they consider buying a new rifle. Chambering (whats the difference between 223 Rem. and 5.56 NATO, and can the rounds be shot interchangeably?), features (rails, grips, handles, sights), and even color (basic black, sand, olive drab, or multiple color tones) are among the decisions the new buyer must ponder. And, of course, theres price, and now, gas mechanisms. The appearance of gas-piston systems in ARs has been variously hailed as a game-changer and as nothing special. Gun Tests readers have been asking for tests of gas-piston system (GPS) guns, and we are nearing the completion of head-to-head tests of several of those guns. But is standard AR direct-impingement-gas (DIG) operation going by the wayside?Perhaps, but we dont think so. There are many very good guns that work with the proven DIG system, and if GPS does supplant DIG, that sea change will be many years coming. But as for today, we wanted to find out if a GPS gun was worth hundreds of dollars more than two cheaper DIG guns at various price points. Our contestants were the High Standard HSA-15 Flat-Top Carbine No. HSTX6551, which lists for $920 and carries the dual-caliber designation of 5.56 NATO / 223 Rem. It is a direct-impingement unit like the Stag Arms Model 2T 5.56x45mm NATO, $1125. Pitted against these two traditional mechanisms is Rugers new SR-556FB 5.56x45mm NATO-223 Rem., a gas-piston gun that has an MSRP of $1995, but which commonly sells for around $1700. Thats a $575 premium above the Stag and a whopping $780 jump above the High Standard. But to see if those numbers reflect true value or simply fewer useful features, we had to get down in the weeds and shoot the guns side by side and see what we liked and what we didnt. But first, lets look at how the guns differ internally.

New AR-15 shooters-and there are hundreds of thousands of them in the last five years-face a bewildering set of choices when they consider buying a new rifle. Chambering (whats the difference between 223 Rem. and 5.56 NATO, and can the rounds be shot interchangeably?), features (rails, grips, handles, sights), and even color (basic black, sand, olive drab, or multiple color tones) are among the decisions the new buyer must ponder. And, of course, theres price, and now, gas mechanisms. The appearance of gas-piston systems in ARs has been variously hailed as a game-changer and as nothing special. Gun Tests readers have been asking for tests of gas-piston system (GPS) guns, and we are nearing the completion of head-to-head tests of several of those guns. But is standard AR direct-impingement-gas (DIG) operation going by the wayside?Perhaps, but we dont think so. There are many very good guns that work with the proven DIG system, and if GPS does supplant DIG, that sea change will be many years coming. But as for today, we wanted to find out if a GPS gun was worth hundreds of dollars more than two cheaper DIG guns at various price points. Our contestants were the High Standard HSA-15 Flat-Top Carbine No. HSTX6551, which lists for $920 and carries the dual-caliber designation of 5.56 NATO / 223 Rem. It is a direct-impingement unit like the Stag Arms Model 2T 5.56x45mm NATO, $1125. Pitted against these two traditional mechanisms is Rugers new SR-556FB 5.56x45mm NATO-223 Rem., a gas-piston gun that has an MSRP of $1995, but which commonly sells for around $1700. Thats a $575 premium above the Stag and a whopping $780 jump above the High Standard. But to see if those numbers reflect true value or simply fewer useful features, we had to get down in the weeds and shoot the guns side by side and see what we liked and what we didnt. But first, lets look at how the guns differ internally.

Now this is funny. Santa and his Texas whitetail sleigh.

The M1 carbine was the most prolific U.S. weapon of the WWII era, with six-odd million made, and it's still very popular today. It employs an anemic round by rifle standards, but—per its design—its cartridge is at least as powerful as most handgun rounds. Today's buyer of a genuine WWII-era or Korean War era carbine will probably need to spend around a thousand dollars, give or take a few hundred, for a reasonable example. On GunBroker we saw prices from about $750 to$1400, depending on condition and rarity. However, if you're qualified, and if you hurry, you may be able to get a decent carbine for about $420-675, through the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) sales. This outlet used to be called the DCM, Director of Civilian Marksmanship, run by the U.S. government, but that program is now in private hands. However, due to the nature of the program, the CMP carbines may be in very short supply by the time this report appears in print.

Do you qualify for a CMP firearm purchase? Taking the CMP requirements straight from the website (www.thecmp.org), "By law, the CMP can sell surplus military firearms, ammunition, parts and other items only to members of CMP-affiliated clubs who are also U.S. citizens, over 18 years of age and… legally eligible to purchase a firearm." For more information, visit the website.

For this test we acquired four carbines. We had on hand a Fulton Armory carbine, with an original Underwood barrel in near-perfect condition. But if you want a Fulton-built M1 carbine today you'll have to get it with the new Fulton barrel ($1300). All of the original mil-spec barrels are apparently now gone. Two of our carbines came from the CMP, both "Service Grade." One was an Underwood (CMP-1, $565) and the other an Inland (CMP-2, $ 495). The so-called "Rack Grade" carbines are a bit less expensive. Finally, we acquired a new Auto-Ordnance AOM130 M1 Carbine ($899) with beautiful walnut stock and newly manufactured metalwork.

In our testing of these four M1 carbines, we found many similarities and a few differences. There were two types of safeties. One was the swinging-arm or "flip" type, which requires pulling a small lever rearward to put the gun into the firing position. This is easily accomplished with the right index finger, by right handers, and fairly easily by the trigger finger of lefties. The second safety type was the crossbolt, similar to that found on many pump shotguns. This required pressing to the left to fire, which we found could not be done as easily by lefties. The Auto-Ordnance and Underwood (CMP-1) carbines had the push-button safety. The Auto-Ord and Underwood also had the flat bolt, and neither of these two had a bayonet lug. All the guns except the Auto-Ord had the stepped, windage-adjustable rear sight. The A-O had a modern-made, two-height sight similar to the original M1 carbine sight, which had to be drifted for windage. The two CMP carbines had a stamped base for the adjustable rear sight. The Fulton had a milled base. The Underwood (CMP-1) had a sheet-metal trigger guard. All had the wing-protected front sight.

We tested with three types of 30 US Carbine FMJ "ball" ammunition, all of it 110-grain loads. It was from Sellier & Bellot, American Eagle, and original U.S. Mil-Spec ball (head stamped LC71). Because the two CMP carbines came without magazines, we used an original Winchester 15-round magazine for all our testing, with one exception explained below.

Generally speaking, here's what we think. Those who like shooting military type firearms really owe it to themselves to have an M1 carbine. They're a lot of fun. Good ones need not break the bank, but in an era where the SKS rifles that used to go begging at gun shows for $85 now bring upwards of $400, the price of an M1 carbine is not outlandish, even at the over-a-grand mark. We suggest you act soon, particularly if you want one from the CMP. They're going fast.

Details on the four guns we tested follow: