Rifle

I’ve always dreamt of going on a black bear hunt. Go ahead, admit it … bet you have too?

When I finally got invited I couldn’t figure out what gun I wanted to take. I’ve always been into lever guns — but was it the right choice? I needed something light, for climbing trees, for getting into shooting positions fast, that sort of thing. I needed something with enough accuracy and power to handle a black bear, but still quick enough for follow up shots. It’s the sort of quandary most shooters love to get into. “Oh darn, I gotta’ decide on what new gun I need to buy!”

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.

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.

For a 4000 yard shot, my round had a maximum ordinate, or apex, of around 185 yards (555 feet). When I first fired off a round, my bullet would deal with 1/2 value wind from 2 o’clock. The bullet continued its climb until reaching a height of 185 yards above my position. At this point, the bullet peaked above the canyon walls, where it was exposed to a blast of full value

The 1873 Winchester sported a steel receiver along with proper metallurgy in its barrel that allowed the gun to handle the relatively high performance of the .44 WCF round. Various barrel lengths and contours, engraved variations, and rifle, carbine, and musket versions kept things spicy.

Savage Arms is pleased to introduce their new two-tone stainless and black optics-ready A22 FSS rimfire rife chambered for .22 Long Rifle.

The SX1-MTR is a multi-caliber capable rifle. It features a modular receiver that can be configured with several sizes of magazine wells and barrels. Ritter and Stark currently offer barrels chambered in .308 Winchester, 300 Winchester Magnum, and .338 Lapua Magnum.

In a world where AR-15 clones are built by seemingly everyone but Toyota ( yet), it can be hard to get excited about a new model. But there is something to be said for the companies that specialize in AR’s as the core business. In a hyper-competitive market, they have to come correct to keep [...]