Steiner

I am relatively new to the .17 HMR cartridge. When it debuted in 2002, I was guilty of downplaying its effectiveness. Most of my life, Uncle Sugar bought me all the centerfire rounds a growing boy could want, so I didn’t have to worry about training ammo. Now that I have to buy my own [...]

The first thing that comes to mind when someone says Steiner to most U.S. veterans is the ubiquitous Steiner 10×50 binoculars. These were a staple in every unit I ever served in, and had a great reputation for clarity and toughness. German glass is legendary in sniper circles for clarity and lack of imperfections. I was never issued a Steiner, but I had enough of the other Kraut options to know I should jump at the chance to test a myriad of Steiner glass.

Who doesn’t love America’s favorite rifle — the AR-15. For the last few years, the AR-15 has rapidly become the 1911 of rifles. There are options for customization so thorough that companies like Brownells now ship a special catalog just for the options available. And every time I think everything possible has been done, a company proves me wrong. This week, Cobalt Kinetics shipped two models of rifle for testing, and I was not disappointed.

The .50 caliber in question was the RN-50 from Serbu Firearms, Inc. This Tampa, Florida based company is one that I have a great deal of respect for. The founder Mark Serbu is a mechanical engineer that is best know for producing the BFG-50: a .50 BMG caliber, single-shot rifle. Serbu Firearms produces high-quality firearms that are either: cool, unique affordable and specifically engineered to stick-it-to-the-man. The RN-50 accomplishes all four. 

Steiner has made very high-end optics for the military for a very long time, but I haven’t seen a lot from them on the civilian side. That ends now.