Rifles

The 22 autoloading rifle is an American icon. Many a youngster had one for his first rifle, and while they may not be ideal for that service, they are unquestionably handy rifles for any serious outdoorsman. They can also be excellent training pieces for just about anyone interested in serious shooting. So Gun Tests Magazine found a Remington 597 SS with stainless barrel and synthetic stock ($283) at a local gun shop.

(GunReports.com) -- Chiappa Firearms is introducing two new .45-70 lever action carbines for 2011. These new carbines can safely fire full-power modern era ammunition or traditional era correct .45-70 loads.

In the May 2009 issue we tested four semi-automatic rifles chambered for 308 Winchester. Our test rifles were the DSA FAL SA58 No. SA58B21CM, $2095; the FNH USA FNAR Light Barreled Rifle No. 3108929250, $1821; the Springfield Armory Loaded M1A No. MA9226, $2363; and the Fulton Armory Universal Precision Rifle, $1969; an AR-style gun based on Fultons Titan II lineup. The winner of the test was the Springfield, which earned a B+ grade from our testers, followed closely by the FNH with a B grade. Trailing those rifles were the C- rated DSA, which didnt show enough accuracy for our tastes, and the Fulton Armory Universal Precision Rifle, which we rated as a D. The summary for the UPR said, "Too many malfunctions caused us to downgrade this rifle. If it were only a matter of a bad magazine, then this is a good example of why all guns, especially expensive ones, should be shipped with an extra magazine. But when it ran properly we think this was the best AR-10 weve handled. If youre willing to fix the problem under warranty, then adjust the grading yourself."Because the article was negative regarding Fultons UPR, we offered W. Clint McKee, the companys president, the chance to respond at length to the May article. He did so in "Firing Line" in the July 2009 issue, writing, "Regarding your test and D grade of the Fulton Armory UPR in the May issue, we received the rifle back and test-fired it without doing anything to it. That is, we simply took it out of the shipping box, ran a patch down the bore to clear any potential obstruction and then just shot it. Shot it with the mag Roger Eckstine received, and with some mags off the shelf, with round counts of 4, 9, and 19. We even shot it with one additional round forced into the mag (10 in the 9-round mag, 20 in the 19-round mag), and we even held it loosely (not against a hard backstop like a shoulder) which can cause short-stroking in semiautos), and still it fired every round, every way, flawlessly. Not a single malfunction. Not one."The rifle has not been disassembled, cleaned, lubed, nothing. I have instructed that it remain this way, untouched, so we can test it again, and again. For a rifle that reportedly functioned so poorly it could not even be used to complete your testing, a rifle that performed so horribly that you failed it in a public venue (by dropping it from the test) without any communication/question/elucidation as to possible causes from the manufacturer is simply incomprehensible to me."Though we didnt find anything wrong to repair, were shipping it back to Houston for the customer, the Gun Tests team, to reshoot. If it functions correctly, as I expect it will, I hope youll revise the guns grade because youll find the UPR works properly, and Fulton Armory gave its customer the prompt attention that every purchaser of our products gets."This Special Report recaps our follow-up testing of the UPR. The results from our retest were conducted by Benjamin A. Brooks, one of the magazines FFL gun coordinators and a longtime shooter with a Master ranking for across-the-course High Power.

In the May 2009 issue we tested four semi-automatic rifles chambered for 308 Winchester. Our test rifles were the DSA FAL SA58 No. SA58B21CM, $2095; the FNH USA FNAR Light Barreled Rifle No. 3108929250, $1821; the Springfield Armory Loaded M1A No. MA9226, $2363; and the Fulton Armory Universal Precision Rifle, $1969; an AR-style gun based on Fultons Titan II lineup. The winner of the test was the Springfield, which earned a B+ grade from our testers, followed closely by the FNH with a B grade. Trailing those rifles were the C- rated DSA, which didnt show enough accuracy for our tastes, and the Fulton Armory Universal Precision Rifle, which we rated as a D. The summary for the UPR said, "Too many malfunctions caused us to downgrade this rifle. If it were only a matter of a bad magazine, then this is a good example of why all guns, especially expensive ones, should be shipped with an extra magazine. But when it ran properly we think this was the best AR-10 weve handled. If youre willing to fix the problem under warranty, then adjust the grading yourself."Because the article was negative regarding Fultons UPR, we offered W. Clint McKee, the companys president, the chance to respond at length to the May article. He did so in "Firing Line" in the July 2009 issue, writing, "Regarding your test and D grade of the Fulton Armory UPR in the May issue, we received the rifle back and test-fired it without doing anything to it. That is, we simply took it out of the shipping box, ran a patch down the bore to clear any potential obstruction and then just shot it. Shot it with the mag Roger Eckstine received, and with some mags off the shelf, with round counts of 4, 9, and 19. We even shot it with one additional round forced into the mag (10 in the 9-round mag, 20 in the 19-round mag), and we even held it loosely (not against a hard backstop like a shoulder) which can cause short-stroking in semiautos), and still it fired every round, every way, flawlessly. Not a single malfunction. Not one."The rifle has not been disassembled, cleaned, lubed, nothing. I have instructed that it remain this way, untouched, so we can test it again, and again. For a rifle that reportedly functioned so poorly it could not even be used to complete your testing, a rifle that performed so horribly that you failed it in a public venue (by dropping it from the test) without any communication/question/elucidation as to possible causes from the manufacturer is simply incomprehensible to me."Though we didnt find anything wrong to repair, were shipping it back to Houston for the customer, the Gun Tests team, to reshoot. If it functions correctly, as I expect it will, I hope youll revise the guns grade because youll find the UPR works properly, and Fulton Armory gave its customer the prompt attention that every purchaser of our products gets."This Special Report recaps our follow-up testing of the UPR. The results from our retest were conducted by Benjamin A. Brooks, one of the magazines FFL gun coordinators and a longtime shooter with a Master ranking for across-the-course High Power.

The ancient Mosin Nagant rifle has a storied history. It was the first magazine rifle adopted by Russia, back in 1891. The early versions harked back to Civil War rifles as to overall length. The first version of the rifle was over 50 inches long, and by 1930, as with our test rifles, the length is still over 4 feet. Add a bayonet and the gun resembles a spear more than a modern rifle. However, the basic design is still being used by many troops who need a stout bolt-action rifle, well over a century after its introduction. The Mosin Nagant will never win any beauty contest, mostly because of its drop-down magazine, and we don't know of any custom sporters built on them, though they surely exist. However ugly the rifle may be, it has served long and well as a prime military weapon.

In this report we tried to find out how good a military rifle the 1930 variant was, and if it was any better with a scope. To that end, we acquired two of the long Model 1891/30 rifles, which designation indicates the original design was seriously modified in 1930. One of our test rifles was a common variety and the other, the "sniper" version with a reproduction period scope. The two rifles came with a package of bayonet, sling, and cleaning materials. We tested them with three bullet types and weights, 150-grain soft-point boattail, 182-grain FMJ BT, and 203-grain soft point. The first two types of our test ammo were made by the Serbian Prvi Partizan company, and the third by Brown Bear, out of Russia. Here's what we found.

Colt Defense LLC is now on Facebook. And as a way to say “‘thank you” to its customers and to encourage new enthusiasts to join the conversation, Colt is also offering a chance to win a Colt 6920 AR-15 rifle to those who visit the new page.

Fulton Armory is a small manufacturer located in Savage, Maryland, known in the competitive shooting market for its reproductions of the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine, and M-14 models. Their AR-15s aren’t chopped liver either: Fulton’s FAR-15 (5.56/223 Rem.) was our gun of the year in 2009. Now the Titan FAR-308 was in our crosshairs. To ensure neutral opinions on this gun, none of our testers had participated in last year’s review of the FAR-15.

NSSF's Dave Miles takes a look at the popular and rapidly growing sport of three-gun shooting with Tom Fuller of Bushnell during the AR15.com/Rockcastle 3-gun Pro AM held at Rockcastle Shooting Center at Park Mamoth Resort in Park City, KY.

The Savage Model 10 Scout is another attempt to emulate the Steyr Jeff Cooper Scout without breaking the bank. In our May 2011 issue, we tested the Steyr Scout against the new Ruger Gunsite Scout rifle, and though we thought the Ruger looked great, we also thought it was too heavy. We wondered why Ruger insisted on such a heavy, if durable, laminated stock for that gun. Savage put a synthetic, all-black stock on its version of the Scout, so we hoped it would 'make weight,' as Cooper used to put it, which means be light enough to equal the original concept, which the Steyr barely does. We acquired a copy of the Savage Scout and put it to the test to see how it compared to the Steyr, with a few notes on the Ruger. This is what we found.

The Savage Model 10 Scout is another attempt to emulate the Steyr Jeff Cooper Scout without breaking the bank. In our May 2011 issue, we tested the Steyr Scout against the new Ruger Gunsite Scout rifle, and though we thought the Ruger looked great, we also thought it was too heavy. We wondered why Ruger insisted on such a heavy, if durable, laminated stock for that gun. Savage put a synthetic, all-black stock on its version of the Scout, so we hoped it would 'make weight,' as Cooper used to put it, which means be light enough to equal the original concept, which the Steyr barely does. We acquired a copy of the Savage Scout and put it to the test to see how it compared to the Steyr, with a few notes on the Ruger. This is what we found.

The full-length stocks of Mannlicher-style rifles make them distinct, evoking the aesthetics of one of the most iconic rifles ever manufactured. In 1903 the military rifle company of Mannlicher-Schonauer introduced a sporter rifle. This Austrian-made Mannlicher sporter became the stuff of legends and would be used on all types of game from African savannas and the mountain ranges of Europe to here in the U.S. They were fast-handling carbines that offered a silky smooth bolt-action and packed a punch. Ernest Hemingway owned and wrote about the "little Mannlicher," and W.D.M. "Karamojo" Bell used one exclusively on elephant. These short rifles had characteristics unlike other bolt-actions then or now. Along with the full-length stock that ran to the barrel muzzle, originals had a split bridge action. Since the bolt handle was positioned forward of the trigger assembly, unlike most bolt actions where the bolt handle is aft of the trigger, the bolt needed to pass through the bridge to cycle. The Mannlicher-Schonauer is also known for its fixed rotary magazine, set triggers and a flat, butter knife bolt handle.We wanted to find some current representatives of the type that we hoped would evoke the performance and styling reminiscent of original sporters-fast handling, smooth-cycling action, short barrel, butter knife bolt handle, and full-length stock. To our delight, we found the $2999 Steyr Classic Mannlicher CL FS, the $894 CZ 550 FS, and the $1222 Ruger No. 1 International. All three of our test guns sported full-length wood stocks with checkering. They also shared 20-inch-long barrels-the CZs barrel is actually 20.5 inches-iron sights, and sling swivels. Open sights are rare on todays hunting rifles, and the iron sights on our test carbines gave them even more charm and begged to be used. Accordingly, we test the set with and without optics. The two Europeans were chambered in 6.5x55mm, and the Ruger came in 7x57mm, aka the 6.5 Swede and 7mm Mauser, respectively.Lets see which one of these carbines stays truest to the spirit of the originals.

The full-length stocks of Mannlicher-style rifles make them distinct, evoking the aesthetics of one of the most iconic rifles ever manufactured. In 1903 the military rifle company of Mannlicher-Schonauer introduced a sporter rifle. This Austrian-made Mannlicher sporter became the stuff of legends and would be used on all types of game from African savannas and the mountain ranges of Europe to here in the U.S. They were fast-handling carbines that offered a silky smooth bolt-action and packed a punch. Ernest Hemingway owned and wrote about the "little Mannlicher," and W.D.M. "Karamojo" Bell used one exclusively on elephant. These short rifles had characteristics unlike other bolt-actions then or now. Along with the full-length stock that ran to the barrel muzzle, originals had a split bridge action. Since the bolt handle was positioned forward of the trigger assembly, unlike most bolt actions where the bolt handle is aft of the trigger, the bolt needed to pass through the bridge to cycle. The Mannlicher-Schonauer is also known for its fixed rotary magazine, set triggers and a flat, butter knife bolt handle.We wanted to find some current representatives of the type that we hoped would evoke the performance and styling reminiscent of original sporters-fast handling, smooth-cycling action, short barrel, butter knife bolt handle, and full-length stock. To our delight, we found the $2999 Steyr Classic Mannlicher CL FS, the $894 CZ 550 FS, and the $1222 Ruger No. 1 International. All three of our test guns sported full-length wood stocks with checkering. They also shared 20-inch-long barrels-the CZs barrel is actually 20.5 inches-iron sights, and sling swivels. Open sights are rare on todays hunting rifles, and the iron sights on our test carbines gave them even more charm and begged to be used. Accordingly, we test the set with and without optics. The two Europeans were chambered in 6.5x55mm, and the Ruger came in 7x57mm, aka the 6.5 Swede and 7mm Mauser, respectively.Lets see which one of these carbines stays truest to the spirit of the originals.