Rifles

The NRA Competitions Division recently announced four bits of news important to shooters:

The AR-10 has led an interesting and strange life since its birth in the 1950s. It has never achieved the popularity of the AR-15, even though it was Eugene Stoner's first rifle built on his gas-impingement system. Initially spurned by the U.S. Army for the legendary M-14, the AR-10 was banished to relative exile, occasionally appearing in the hands for small foreign militaries, or in a few cases, the revolutionary. Raul and Fidel Castro were said to have ended up with a few of them, courtesy of a captured Batista government arms shipment. Today we find the AR-10 finally emerging from its diminutive brother's shadow. The shooting community's renewed love affair with all things AR has led to a demand for heavier calibers like the AR-10's 308 Win./7.62 NATO. In fact, one of our test guns, the Mossy Oak-covered Remington R-25 ($1,532), was introduced specifically with the hunter in mind. The other guns in our test are the ArmaLite AR-10T ($2,124), a match-barreled Target model with a 1-MOA guarantee, and the Fulton Armory Titan FAR-308 ($2,058), a gun with a distinct tactical look. The gun consumer's embrace of new shooting technology has forever blurred the distinction between tactical and practical shooting. Whether on a rooftop watching a perpetrator, eyeing a bull's-eye on the shooting line, or a big buck from a deer stand, all have the same basic requirement: the bullet should hit where it's aimed, and stop the target.

As the 270 Winchester nears its 80thbirthday, one fact demonstrates its widespread popularity: more than 50 factory loads are available for it—a long-standing record for a non-military cartridge. The Winchester 270 has long been standardized with 1:10 twist-rate barrels, and popular loadings usually utilize 130- to 150-grain projectiles. In this narrow and well-known load range, the 270 Winchester functions with excellence and utility.

Of course, how well the cartridge performs depends on the quality of the gun shooting it, so we went in the search for the best 270 bolt actions, turning to three of the most recognized names in bolt-action rifles today: Browning, with its new X-Bolt centerfire, the revitalized Accu-trigger Savage long action, and Remington's latest version of its long-running 700 series. Our specific test items were:

Browning X-Bolt Medallion No. 035200224, $959; Remington 700 CDL No. 84080, $931; and Savage's 114 Classic, $826.

According to a search of our website, gun-tests.com, we have never tested air rifles. Then again, weve never seen the cost of ammunition rise the way it has in the past year. Air rifles are commonly used in competition and as a training device for young shooters, and also for killing small game and pest control where firearms would overpenetrate. So we thought it might be worthwhile to try some air rifles to see if they were an economical vehicle for sharpening our skills. In this test we evaluated four single-shot pump-action air rifles. They were the $319 Gamo Whisper Deluxe No. 611006754, the $325 Walther Falcon Hunter No. 225226, and two Spanish-made rifles by Norica, the $220 Dream Rider and the $290 Marvic Gold.These rifles are new imports available to retailers through Camfour, Incorporated (camfour.com). Both the Walther and the Norica Dream Rider were 22-caliber rifles. Our Norica Marvic Gold fired 25-caliber pellets, and our Gamo rifle shot the popular .177-inch-wide pellet.With little precedence for test procedure we went about making a list of what we would be looking for and how we would judge each product. Reliability is always our first concern. Even a weapon that fires five shots into one hole and then quits running is going to get a failing grade. Next to reliability was ease of operation. Specifically, would working the pump be so tiring that shooting wouldnt be fun anymore? We also wanted to know if the sights on these rifles were reliable and easy to adjust. Would mounting a scope be worthwhile, and how secure was scope placement likely to be atop the smallish rails? Would the triggers prove to be precise or fatiguing? Could these guns actually supply us with valuable practice time?When it came to setting up accuracy tests we had to determine what distance we should shoot them at. Olympic air rifle distance is 10 meters or, about 33 feet. But given the fact that these rifles were shipped with scopes ranging in magnification from 3X to 9X, we concluded that none of our rifles were designed for that distance. We also considered that the lead text for the Whisper Series rifles on the gamousa.com website reads, "This New Models, [sic] will change the way you think about hunting with airguns." In preliminary tests we had fired standing from 36 feet and using only the open sights each of the rifles seemed capable of near perfect accuracy. To determine which rifle or rifles were superior, we would have to fire from a greater distance.Through research we learned that in England organized competitions for air rifles such as those ruled by the UK Association of Rimfire Benchrest Shooting specify targets set at 25 meters. We decided to collect data by firing from a distance of 25 yards with scopes in place utilizing a setup for rifle weve used many times. This meant a Ransom rifle rest beneath the fore end and a Protektor rear bag underneath the stock. In this manner we collected data for our accuracy chart. To satisfy our curiosity about the efficiency of the open sights on each rifle, we removed the scopes and fired a single six-shot group from the bench. From this pattern we calculated an average five shot group size. Would this test prove too severe? Lets pump up the action and see what we learned.

According to a search of our website, gun-tests.com, we have never tested air rifles. Then again, weve never seen the cost of ammunition rise the way it has in the past year. Air rifles are commonly used in competition and as a training device for young shooters, and also for killing small game and pest control where firearms would overpenetrate. So we thought it might be worthwhile to try some air rifles to see if they were an economical vehicle for sharpening our skills. In this test we evaluated four single-shot pump-action air rifles. They were the $319 Gamo Whisper Deluxe No. 611006754, the $325 Walther Falcon Hunter No. 225226, and two Spanish-made rifles by Norica, the $220 Dream Rider and the $290 Marvic Gold.These rifles are new imports available to retailers through Camfour, Incorporated (camfour.com). Both the Walther and the Norica Dream Rider were 22-caliber rifles. Our Norica Marvic Gold fired 25-caliber pellets, and our Gamo rifle shot the popular .177-inch-wide pellet.With little precedence for test procedure we went about making a list of what we would be looking for and how we would judge each product. Reliability is always our first concern. Even a weapon that fires five shots into one hole and then quits running is going to get a failing grade. Next to reliability was ease of operation. Specifically, would working the pump be so tiring that shooting wouldnt be fun anymore? We also wanted to know if the sights on these rifles were reliable and easy to adjust. Would mounting a scope be worthwhile, and how secure was scope placement likely to be atop the smallish rails? Would the triggers prove to be precise or fatiguing? Could these guns actually supply us with valuable practice time?When it came to setting up accuracy tests we had to determine what distance we should shoot them at. Olympic air rifle distance is 10 meters or, about 33 feet. But given the fact that these rifles were shipped with scopes ranging in magnification from 3X to 9X, we concluded that none of our rifles were designed for that distance. We also considered that the lead text for the Whisper Series rifles on the gamousa.com website reads, "This New Models, [sic] will change the way you think about hunting with airguns." In preliminary tests we had fired standing from 36 feet and using only the open sights each of the rifles seemed capable of near perfect accuracy. To determine which rifle or rifles were superior, we would have to fire from a greater distance.Through research we learned that in England organized competitions for air rifles such as those ruled by the UK Association of Rimfire Benchrest Shooting specify targets set at 25 meters. We decided to collect data by firing from a distance of 25 yards with scopes in place utilizing a setup for rifle weve used many times. This meant a Ransom rifle rest beneath the fore end and a Protektor rear bag underneath the stock. In this manner we collected data for our accuracy chart. To satisfy our curiosity about the efficiency of the open sights on each rifle, we removed the scopes and fired a single six-shot group from the bench. From this pattern we calculated an average five shot group size. Would this test prove too severe? Lets pump up the action and see what we learned.

Shooters who have considered purchasing a semiautomatic rifle chambered for .308 (7.62 NATO) likely balk at the question of which rifle they should buy, bypassing completely the question of whether to buy such a gun. Unquestionably, self-loading .308s are coveted by nearly everybody, mainly because they can do so much. They can compete, they can plink, they can hunt, and, of course, they’re made for self-defense, should such a situation arise. Though there are many options if you care to search them out, there are basically three readily available rifle types in .308. They are the FAL, the M1A (M14 clone), and the HK-91. The L1A1 FAL, equipped as we’ve described it below, is a very good alternative to the M1A Springfield, and may be less costly.

WASHINGTON, D.C.–The Brady Campaign has released its annual state scorecards, which the group claims 'rate each state on the strength of its gun laws.'

Black rifles, mouse guns, great machines, useless junk — these are a few of the names given to our country’s current military rifle and its semi-automatic civilian clones, which are commonly called AR-15 types. Let’s first clear the air by stating they are certainly not useless junk. The design, which some consider fragile, is instead war-proven and more than adequate for its purpose. They don’t have the punch of a .308, but ammo for them is lighter and cheaper. They work, last a long time, are easily maintained, and are in many ways delightful.

Beaver Dam school officials placed a middle school teacher on administrative leave after discovering a photograph of the teacher with a gun on the teacher's Facebook page.

The Rock River was a well-made, shorty version of the AR-15. Some slight feature differences would make the ultimate choice up to you. In both cases, we think the shorty AR-style rifles are better choices than the similar Ruger Mini-14.

This was an attractive $685 rifle, with a blonde-colored laminated stock sporting an extremely nice and well-done matte finish. After our initial negative experiences with the electronic Remington, the entirely conventional Ruger, with no gizz-whizzes or batteries or insulators needed to make it go bang, was most welcome. Besides .243, the same rifle is available in .223, .22-250, .220 Swift, 25-06 and .308.

The 26-inch-long stainless-steel barrel was free-floated evenly all the way back to the action. (So was the Remington's.) The Ruger's bolt felt a trifle stiff at first, but after cycling it a few times, it became very slick.

Shortly before the Christmas holiday, members of our staff were contemplating a return to North Dakota for a prairie dog hunt. One of our concerns, however, was the cost of ammunition. The last time we traveled to the Bismarck-Mandan area, (discoverbismarckmandan.com), game was so plentiful we expended a huge amount of ammunition. Our .204 Ruger bolt-action rifles proved to be an excellent choice, but if we were going to make the trip again, we had to find a way to cut costs. We considered a change to rimfire rifles. Our first impulse was to load up on 17 HMR ammunition. But after checking prices and availability, we decided on a more traditional round that was cheaper and easier to find, 22 Winchester Magnum Rifle, or 22 WMR. Its been a long time since we tested varmint rifles chambered for 22 WMR, so we rounded up a representative trio. The three rifles we chose were the $729 Browning T-Bolt Target/Varmint No. 025176204, the $527 CZ 452 Varmint No. 02041, and the $812 Ruger K77/22-VMBZ Target Grey Magnum Varmint Rifle. Each rifle offered at least one substantive feature that distinguished it from the others. Our tests would determine if one gun was superior to the others or simply more suitable for one individual or another. Our ammunition costs ran from $8.99 per 50-round box of Winchester 40-grain JHP from Walmart to $11.95 per 50 rounds of 50-grain Federal Game-Shok hollowpoints purchased at our test site, American Shooting Centers in Houston. The Winchester rounds were tipped with exposed lead, and we think they probably should be listed as semi-jacketed hollow points. We also shot some $9.99 CCI 40-grain Maxi-Mag JHP rounds that we found at Academy Sports and Outdoors. We could have purchased more exotic rounds, but we decided to stay within a price range that was more typical of readily available 22 WMR ammunition.