Surplus Collectible

(GunReports.com) -- Friends of NRA has announced its 2011 Gun of the Year: a custom-made Colt 1911 that honors the firearm's 100 years of service in the United States Armed Forces. Offered only at local Friends of NRA events, each pistol has a 5-inch barrel, carbon steel polished blued finish, 7+1 capacity, standard grip safety, spur hammer and custom rosewood grips with an NRA medallion recessed on both panels. Every specially produced Colt commemorative pistol in…

Americans want good looks and cheap prices, and the Rossi Gallery Rifle meets those criteria. Here's how to solve problems related to this low-cost rifle.

Many of us miss Winchester's Model 88. First revealed in 1955 as "a bolt action rifle with a lever," it shared few features with levered Winchesters made up to that time. It had no external hammer, no side-loading tubular magazine limited to flat-nosed rounds, and no rear breech lock-up. It had a full-length stock to dampen barrel vibrations, a removable box magazine that allowed hunters to take advantage of better ballistics pointed bullets provided, and combined lever/trigger assemblies, which eliminated the pinched fingers and snagged gloves known so well to lever gunners. The 88's biggest departure from Winchester's lever-action tradition, however, was its rotary bolt head incorporating a trio of locking lugs that was very close to Mauser's design of the late 1880s.

These relatively simple instructions from the American Gunsmithing Library will get you through the disassembly and troubleshooting of all the various Marlin lever-action 336 models, as well as the 30 and 36.

In 1893, Savage patented the first truly hammerless lever-action rifle. This streamlined rifle differed from the Winchester and Marlin lever-action rifles of the same era in that it used a rotary magazine that allowed the use of ballistically superior pointed-nose bullets. All of the other lever-actions of this period used a tubular magazine. The tubular magazine meant that cartridges were fed into the tube with bullet nose to primer, necessitating the use of blunt-nosed bullets to avoid a chain-fire situation. By 1895, Savage's rifle was in full production as the Model 95. Around 1899, a few small design improvements were made and, since then, the design has remained relatively the same—one of the "bread and butter" firearms of this company.

In our first review of handguns suited for the SASS Wild Bunch category—named in deference to the Sam Peckinpah movie, The Wild Bunch—we covered five traditional GI-type handguns from Springfield Armory, High Standard, and Colt. Prices ranged from $500 to $1000, a fairly large spread. In the 'modern' class of 45s we tested, quite a few SASS members probably already own such a handgun, and interested shooters from other disciplines may jump in to shoot Wild Bunch matches. In this class, we tested the Springfield Loaded Model PX9109LP 45 ACP, $1035, which was more than a GI pistol with good features.

I must admit that Browning has one strong reason in its favor for not telling the company's customers how to take their BLRs apart. Disassembling and reassembling this rifle should only be done by a knowledgeable, qualified gunsmith—even for cleaning—because doing it incorrectly may cause damage to parts. So Browning chooses to avoid all references to taking the gun apart. In fact, it says in the gun's manual, "If your rifle requires service, contact your local recommended Browning Firearms Service Center." This means gun shops will be getting these rifles in for repairs and cleaning, and you need to know how to take them apart the right way, or you will find yourself telling your customer that you are sorry, but he is going to have to wait until a new part arrives. Here's what you need to know about fixing the lever-action Model 81 Brownings:

The Marlin Model 9 is compact, light in weight, and more accurate than a 9mm duty pistol at longer ranges. It's able to fire the same service-pistol ammunition at a higher velocity, and it recoils far less than a 12-gauge shotgun. These factors have contributed to the growing popularity of the Model 9 as a law-enforcement and home-defense weapon. Here's how to fix it.

(GunReports.com) -- In its second major ruling on gun rights in three years, the Supreme Court Monday extended the federally protected right to keep and bear arms to all 50 states. Justice Samuel Alito wrote for the five-justice majority, saying 'the right to keep and bear arms must be regarded as a substantive guarantee, not a prohibition that could be ignored so long as the States legislated in an evenhanded manner.'

(GunReports.com) -- The SKS Type 56 rifle proved to be fun, and Ruger’s KMini Thirty-P/20 was hard working and versatile. The DPMS Panther also adapts well to the 7.62X39mm round.

(GunReports.com) -- Large majorities of Americans feel that they should be allowed to have guns, a new Harris Poll shows, but ominously, pluralities of Americans favor stricter control of guns, particularly hand guns.

The .30-06 is the most popular cartridge all over the world, and rightly so. The many varieties of bullet weights, types and velocities available, in both factory loads and as components for the handloader, are unmatched in any other cartridge. There are saboted lightweight bullets at varmint-getting velocities, heavyweights up to 220 grains with enough horsepower to cleanly take fairly heavy game, and lots of options in between. The cartridge is versatile and flexible, and an outstanding choice for anyone who doesn’t want a closetful of rifles for different uses. The ’06 fills many needs.Stainless steel rifles are not maintenance free. The use of stainless means your rifle won’t be damaged by occasional neglect, as sometimes happens on extended hunts or near the seashore. It’ll still need cleaning after use, just like rifles made of ordinary steel. Essentially, the use of stainless steel means the firearm will never need refinishing. Unless it is seriously damaged along the way, fifty years from now your rifle will look exactly like it does today. That’s the good part.