Guns

The Battle Rifle is commonly accepted to be an autoloading combat rifle that feeds from a detachable magazine and fires a full-sized .30-caliber round. While Battle Rifles found their stride in the years following the Second World War, they have been largely replaced by small caliber Assault Rifles nowadays. However, combat in such places as Afghanistan has shown us in recent years that the need still exists for a man-portable .30-caliber rifle that can offer precision fires out past the range of the 5.56mm cartridge.

Overall the Colt 1917 is a very interesting revolver. It was a stop-gap sidearm that ended up with American troops in two world wars. 1917 revolvers, both Colt and Smith & Wesson, can usually be found for reasonable amounts of money (especially in comparison to other US military revolvers, or WWI 1911s). They are not difficult to find suitable ammunition for, and they’re strong enough to enjoy some range time with. So if you’re looking for a WWI handgun to add to your collection, consider one of these old Colts.

Big Green has finally stepped into the chassis rifle arena with the Remington Model 700 PCR in 6.5 Creedmoor and this week we got our hands on it for a full review.  By the way, PCR stands for Precision Chassis Rifle.  It is late to the party, no doubt about that. But the big question on everyone’s mind, did Remington continue the winning streak started by the 870 DM and recent 1911 models?

This week we got a chance to look at the XDM OSP. The OSP is a 4.5 inch duty size gun that comes out of the box with a Vortex Venom on top.

The operating system is so unique and different on the Virtus, we were really curious about how well it would actually run over time. We tossed down the gauntlet of attempting to run it 2000 rounds suppressed, without a drop of lube

Barrett Firearms Manufacturing of Murfreesboro, TN is known around the world for building heavyweight, hard-hitting 50 BMG rifles for the military and law enforcement. Barrett’s a family owned business and has been supplying firearms for the US and its allies for over 30 years.  With the Fieldcraft they jumped completely to the other end of the firearms spectrum- from one of the biggest and heaviest shoulder fired rifles to one of the lightest, most versatile hunting rifles on the market.

The action is a miniaturized Mauser action, something CZ does exceedingly well. There are a lot of Mauser’s in a huge variety of calibers floating the Earth, and last I heard they tend to work. The “micro action” is based on a 223 length, though it is available in several calibers. My test sample of the CZ 527 Carbine Rustic is chambered in 7.62×39, and also available in 223.

Competing in the Extreme Tough Man Division of the Mammoth Sniper Challenge is a test of both shooter and gear. This 3-day event held each January requires competitors to carry all their gear 25+ miles between stages and campsites, camp out, and engage precision rifle targets out to 800+ yards. Many of the lessons learned are applicable to hunting and backcountry scenarios. Here are a few of those I discovered over the years.

Sometimes we get a rifle in that doesn’t look overly sexy in the packaging, but then proceeds to blow your socks off. The Ruger American Predator in 6.5 Creedmoor is one such weapon. When it comes to accuracy, this thing is a monster.