Rifles

Brown plastic, actually Nylon, in a wood-grain pattern gives this rare old Nylon 12 a timeless, glossy look. The checkering was useful, and the rifle durable. It was a light and well-balanced rifle, but not many of us thought it was handsome. The full-length stock added good protection to the tubular magazine.

Sturm, Ruger Company’s new Ruger American Rimfire bolt-­action rifles chambered in .22 LR or .22 Magnum carry over several design innovations from the company’s other rifles, including rotary magazines, adjustable triggers, and interchangeable stocks.

Truth be told, there is no shortage of good rimfire rifles. Bolt-action or semi-automatic, the majority of 22 LR and 22 WMR rifles are capable of delivering tight groups from distances of 50 yards or more. While such rimfire rifles may be plentiful, good 22 LR ammunition has, for some reason, become scarce. Nevertheless, many smallbore hunting devotees would rather be shooting a more powerful cartridge anyway. Enter, the 0.172-inch-diameter bullet and caliber 17 HMR or Hornady Magnum Rifle and a pair of bolt-action rifles from Sturm, Ruger and Browning.

The Ruger 77/17 follows the pattern of Ruger's full-size bolt-action rifles. Our test rifle featured a laminate stock and scope mounts integrated with the receiver. Barrel length was 24 inches with a noticeable taper. The Browning T-Bolt Target Varmint fired from a shorter 22-inch barrel that was closer to a bull-barrel profile. Despite a mere 2-inch difference in barrel length, the T-Bolt seemed much more compact. Perhaps it was the Browning's Monte Carlo walnut stock that gave us this impression.

Both test rifles fed from removable magazines that stored rounds in a rotary pattern, and that allowed them to fit flush or nearly so with the bottom of the stocks. The most obvious difference between the two rifles was their bolt-action designs. The Ruger worked from a traditional pattern that required a short throw upward, back, forward, and down. The Browning T-Bolt required only a straight pull rearward and then a straight thrust forward to cycle the action.

We had no trouble finding a variety of loads for the rifles, including one from Hornady Manufacturing that was topped with a 15.5-grain NTX (non-toxic) bullet. We also purchased Winchester's 20-grain GamePoint (hollowpoint) ammunition. Finally, we chose Federal Premium ammunition that launched a 17-grain TNT hollowpoint made by Speer to represent the caliber's traditional bullet weight. We wondered if the small difference in bullet weight would make a big difference in accuracy.

For optics, we chose the same Nikon 4-16X42mm SF Monarch scope that was used in our recent test of a CZ USA 204 Ruger centerfire rifle. As in that test, we found that 50-yard targets were no challenge at all. Rather than assemble accuracy data that would divide the two rifles by the hundredths of an inch, we posted targets on the 100-yard boards of American Shooting Centers in Houston. And, as we did with the 20-caliber CZ rifle, we planned to test the capability of each rifle on the 200-yard range as well by using the BDC (Ballistic Drop Calculator) reticle.

Given the few but starkly contrasting designs of our two rifles, we wondered if either design would prove to be more efficient than the other. Would the Browning's straight-pull T-Bolt prove to be a gimmick, or would it provide a distinct advantage? And, given the variety of bullet shapes, specifically at the tip of each slug, would both guns be able to smoothly cycle all three choices of test ammunition and produce superior accuracy? Let's find out.

Gun Tests magazine tested 243 Win. bolt rifles in the February 2013 issue. Here's an excerpt of that report, used with permission: If we were to choose a couple of new 243 Win. bolt-action rifles that sell for less than $500, would they really perform at a level of accuracy that just as few years ago would be much more costly in terms of time and money? To see if today's rifle shooters really…

Smith & Wesson has supplied the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in Arizona with rifles from the company’s Military & Police Series. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has taken possession of 400 M&P15 Magpul Original Equipment (MOE) Mid rifles and is currently in the process of converting deputies to the new rifle system.

The original A-Bolt Hunter and its BBR predecessor had several things in common. Both were manufactured by Miroku in Japan, had detachable magazines under their floorplates, and adjustable triggers. They were both delivered to the store without sights unless otherwise specified, and neither was designed by John M. Browning.

Gun Tests magazine tested 308 Win. bolt rifles in the January 2013 issue -- a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight Compact ($880), a Savage 11/111 Lightweight Hunter ($899), and a Mossberg 4X4 No. 27656, $471. Here's what we found out about the Savage.

Wilson Combat’s new BILLet-AR receiver set was engineered from the ground up to address structural design weaknesses in standard USGI receivers and enhance overall tolerances which improve shot to shot consistency. A complete matched set is $600.

Staff Sergeant Brandon Green of Box Spring, Georgia has won the 2013 National Rifle Association High Power Rifle Championship with a 2384-126x out of 2400. Held at Camp Perry, Ohio, from August 4-9, the matches are a part of the annual Remington/NRA National Rifle & Pistol Matches. Green’s win was determined by a tie-breaker with defending champion Carl Bernosky.

Ashbury Precision Ordnance Mfg (APO) has expanded its line of Asymmetric Warrior Precision Tactical Rifles by introducing the bolt-action ASW223 chambered in .223 Wylde. Ashbury's selection of the Wylde chamber in the ASW223 allows shooters to use either commercial 223 Remington or military-specification 5.56mm NATO ammunition with high levels of accuracy.

The Gun Tests Houston group obtained a Browning T-Bolt Target/Varmint No. 025176270 17 HMR, $799, and a Ruger 77/17 Rotary Magazine Rifle K77/17VMBBZ No. 7027 17 HMR, $969, and tested them in the September issue.

GunReports.com takes up the subject of Winchester Model 70 Rifle. Today’s Model 70s don’t qualify for “classic” status, but they’re out in such number that they’ll keep you busy. Here are some tips. Adapted from American Gunsmith magazine, Gunsmithing the Rifle, Chapter 3