reviews

My father was a big advocate of old cowboy guns. Hailing from Europe by birth and upbringing, his fascination with the old West and the cowboys who won it bordered on overzealous. Any gun good enough to be preferred by the old-time cowboys was good enough for him.

He had a point.

The mere mention of the word obtains my undivided attention; it is the concept of a hunting adventure in the wild places of Africa, and is undoubtedly my happy thought. The word safari is taken from the KiSwahili dialect of East Africa, and it simply means ‘journey.’ It represents the challenge of shooting a big-bore rifle and being in an environment where there are animals large enough to take your life with ease. The CZ 550 rifle is, in and of itself, a journey, in that it has its roots in the Czechoslovakian Brno ZKK 602 rifle, and has come a long way to get to the current inception. That ZKK 602 is still revered among those who enjoy the big bore bolt-action rifles; the action is considered as rock-solid and reliable as a Mauser 98.

When you’re planning a hunting trip there are few very important considerations — what gun are you going to take? What does the weather look like? How much will the tags cost? Equally as important as what firearm you’re going to take is what binos will you take? For a mid-range 8X binos, the Vortex Viper HD 8×42 are hard to beat.

Real innovation in the firearms industry is a rarity, and some of what is innovative isn’t necessarily good. So it was with mixed emotions earlier this week I set out to review TrailBlazer’s LifeCard 22. Trailblazer Firearms is new to the business, and the LifeCard is their only product thus far. TrailBlazer is an appropriate moniker, this is definitely a different handgun. The company is based in Asheville, North Carolina. That region has been rife with what we shall term “ creative sauce” as long as I can remember.

There is no doubt that Browning has become the first name in American hunting. So when I had a wolf hunt come up last month, they were the first place I turned. The best thing about going to Browning is that you don’t walk away with just a rifle. Your walk away with a magnificent rifle.

Kimber has built a brand name that for many gun buyers in America is simply synonymous with top quality firearms. From its long guns to the many variations of 1911s, on down to the subcompact self-defense pistols — choosing a Kimber means taking a look at what is on the top shelf and telling the clerk, “I’d like to try that one, please.”

With the release this week of the variant, the Springfield Armory AR-15 family comes closer to completion. Not content to just chop down a SAINT and slap a forearm brace in place of the buttstock, Springfield has added some design features that make this AR pistol the one to beat. SPECS Type: Direct-impingment semiautomatic pistol Cartridge: 5.56x45mm [...]

Like you always do, you’ve done your “homework” and researched the crap out of your next purchase: be it a Smart TV, a camera, handgun or tires for your truck. And as a result of your data collection efforts, you eventually decide on an item knowing that it has “almost” all the features and qualities you had on your wish list.  It is a pretty good bet that the guys who engineered the new SAR 9 from SAR USA have felt the same way.

ArmaLite began as a tiny little division of Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation in the early 1950’s. Fairchild built a variety of trainer and transport aircraft during and after World War II. Their most recognizable creation was the 1970s-era A10 Warthog ground attack fighter. Gene Stoner was the chief bottle washer at ArmaLite, and their mandate was to contrive the most technologically advanced military firearms designs on the planet. With a modest team of engineers, a few resources, and a remarkable excess of vision, these guys first strived to apply cutting-edge aviation technology to the development of small arms. Their efforts changed the way the world makes guns.