GunsAmerica Product Reviews – Rifles

After what feels like an absurdly long wait, Beretta is shipping the ARX 100 in 5.56. This is the civilian version of a battle rifle that’s currently in service in Italy and a handful of other countries. The rifle combines the operational familiarity of both the AR-15 platform and the AK platform into a versatile rifle that’s built for active service. Every detail of the gun is adaptable. Controls can be switched easily, without tools. Even the various calibers of barrels are interchangeable, on the fly. It is an impressive rifle. Beretta is calling the ARX 100 “The Ultimate Tactical Rifle.” Is it true?

Let’s say you’ve just gotten a call from a friend who wants to go hunting with you, tomorrow, and he doesn’t have a rifle. He really wants to go. And you know you’ll be able to put him on a deer, or a hog, or something, but you don’t have an extra rifle set up and ready to go. There’s a big-box retailer right around the corner. What would you suggest?

There’s a lot to presume about the hypothetical above. Let’s pretend the friend knows his ass from his elbow and is aware of basic firearms safety and function. We can assume he can get a license and that you will be hunting, not poaching. What you need is a rifle that’s turnkey. You need a gun, one in a common caliber, and an optic (preferably one that’s already attached and sighted in).

You need a Savage Axis II, the complete package.

Tactical is a term that seems to get attached to way too many products these days and truthfully it’s beginning to get a little tiresome. I find it refreshing then when a rifle like the MMR hits the market with all the right features one might find in a “tactical” rifle but with a slightly different approach. There isn’t an excessive amount of rail space, fancy camo finishes or a catchy name taken from ancient weaponry. The MMR stands for Montana Marksman Rifle, simple and to the point just like the rifle itself.

The SIG SAUER P556 is a popular choice for people who want to register a short-barreled rifle. If you buy the pistol version and then begin the paper work, you can keep the P556 and shoot it, too, while you wait for the NFA stamp to come in. Now, thanks to SIG’s SB15 Pistol Stabilizing Arm Brace, the P556 has a much more promising life of its own. If you want a combat-capable compact rifle, this strange pistol has a lot to offer, right out of the box.

Oddly, I find myself back where I originally started my AR platform adventure—back with a 308 DPMS. However, this DPMS rifle has changed drastically. My first AR-format rifle was not an AR15 but a DPMS 308B with an 18-inch bull barrel. My theory was that I could have my cake and eat it too with a little lighter weight and accuracy of a bull barrel in a defense to large game hunting caliber.

When MMC Armory approached me to review its brand new Recon 16.1 and Tactical C16.1 AR15s, I could feel my eyes roll into the back of my head, thinking “ohh great, yet another new company that wants to gang pile on the AR15 demand.” Actually, MMC Armory is a division of Mennie Machine, which has been around for a number of years as an OEM AR15, heavy arms, DOD, and military parts manufacture. The company is unable to disclose its specific clients or projects because of legal restrictions, but it has impressive experience, and their expertise is visible in their new line of rifles.

If you were going to build a new AR-15 with a focus on competition shooting, such as 3-Gun—you would very likely wind up with exactly what you get out of the box with the new-for-2014 Stag Arms Model 3T-M. Assuming of course, that you used the best components and wanted a no-nonsense tactical rifle. No strangers to the competition uses of the modern sporting rifle, particularly the AR platform, the folks at Stag Arms know how to build a stage-ready rifle.

If you like to shoot like I do, you’re faced with limited supplies of ammo and high costs (when you can find it). You can’t always reload either, because the most common powders are just not available. I’ve been looking for reloading powder online and at the local sporting goods stores for more than a month. Got everything else, but no powder to send the bullet on its way.

However, there is one rifle cartridge that’s in plentiful supply at very reasonable prices—7.62×39. Developed by the Soviets during WW II, it later became the cartridge of the battle rifle developed by Makhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov. Introduced as the Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947, better known as AK-47, the gun was adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces in 1949 and has since proven itself in 65 years of continuous service in militaries around the world.

“This is my rifle. There are many like it but this one is mine.” Do you remember that line from the movie Full Metal Jacket? The movie was lame but the point of that line should ring true for anyone who considers long term survival against all odds. Many gun writers have said this over the years, but something that many new shooters do not know is that there is no such thing as a powerful handgun. Even the whopping .44 Magnum pales in comparison to even a light rifle cartridge like the AK-47 round. In the game of survival, you have to at some point accept that fact that force will eventually meet force. You may be armed, but two weeks into any major disaster, everyone still standing will also be armed, and they won’t be that afraid of your .45ACP Taurus semi-auto pistola. Pop, pop, pop won’t be the sound that people fear. But a thundering BOOOM, coupled with their available cover being either seriously rocked or completely shot through, will put anyone and everyone on notice that the force they face is not worth facing, and it may be better to move on. A rifle is firepower like a handgun can never be, but the problem with rifles is that they are expensive to own and expensive to shoot. There is however one lowest common denominator with rifles, and for as little as $100, if all you own is a pistol, I strongly suggest that you go out and buy one of these powerhouse rifles today.