Rifles

In February 2010, we began evaluating tactical or military-style carbines chambered for the 22 LR round, and we continue to find new guns in what we call the "rim-tac" category. Previously, we looked at one AR-15 derivative, one tac-styled 10/22, and another carbine that more closely resembled a 1941 Russian machine gun. Our test guns were the Ruger SR-22R No. 1226 22 LR, $625; Smith & Wesson's M&P 15-22 No. 811030 22 LR, $569; and the Legacy Sports Puma Wildcat PPS2250S 22 LR, $550. In that test, we narrowly liked the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 the best, giving it an A grade compared to the Ruger's A- tally and the Wildcat's Bgrade.

Along the way, we had a heckuva lot of fun with the rifles without breaking the ammo bank. So, we gathered up two more rimfire samples from Umarex and Sig Sauer and wheelbarrowed bricks of 22 fodder to the range and had at it. Our test guns this round were the very different Colt M4 Carbine No. 2245050 22 LR, $576; and the Sig Sauer Sig522 Classic No. SIG522001 22 LR, $572.

The Colt has a complicated background. Carl Walther Germany entered into a licensing agreement with New Colt Holding Corporation, in which Carl Walther will produce these 22 rifles in Germany under the Colt brand. Umarex USA is responsible for importation, sales, marketing and service for the Colt tactical replicas.

Two tactical styles are being offered, each modeled after a Colt original—the M4 and M16 rifles—and both are available in two variations with 30-round 22 LR magazines along with a variety of accessories. The M4 version that we tested is a blowback semiauto with a barrel length of 16.2 inches (412 mm), overall length of 31.1 to 34.4 inches depending on the adjustable stock length, and iron sights, with the rear set into a detachable carry handle on a metal flat-top receiver.

Likewise, the Sig522 has lineage worth noting. According to Sig Sauer, the 522 has the "…look and feel of the Classic SIG556. Featuring SIG556 parts, including a Swiss-type folding stock and polymer forend on a durable metal receiver with integral Picatinny rail." We evaluated a 556 in the March 2010 issue, grading the 5.56mm rifle highly with an A-, but dinging it for its weight and cost.

Those aren't such factors with the 522, whose price tag is a few dollars below the M4 rimfire and whose weight is 6.4 pounds empty. Its overall length is 35.1 inches with the stock fully extended, 33.6 inches with the stock collapsed, and 26.1 inches with the stock folded.

In February 2010, we began evaluating tactical or military-style carbines chambered for the 22 LR round, and we continue to find new guns in what we call the "rim-tac" category. Previously, we looked at one AR-15 derivative, one tac-styled 10/22, and another carbine that more closely resembled a 1941 Russian machine gun. Our test guns were the Ruger SR-22R No. 1226 22 LR, $625; Smith & Wesson's M&P 15-22 No. 811030 22 LR, $569; and the Legacy Sports Puma Wildcat PPS2250S 22 LR, $550. In that test, we narrowly liked the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 the best, giving it an A grade compared to the Ruger's A- tally and the Wildcat's Bgrade.

Along the way, we had a heckuva lot of fun with the rifles without breaking the ammo bank. So, we gathered up two more rimfire samples from Umarex and Sig Sauer and wheelbarrowed bricks of 22 fodder to the range and had at it. Our test guns this round were the very different Colt M4 Carbine No. 2245050 22 LR, $576; and the Sig Sauer Sig522 Classic No. SIG522001 22 LR, $572.

The Colt has a complicated background. Carl Walther Germany entered into a licensing agreement with New Colt Holding Corporation, in which Carl Walther will produce these 22 rifles in Germany under the Colt brand. Umarex USA is responsible for importation, sales, marketing and service for the Colt tactical replicas.

Two tactical styles are being offered, each modeled after a Colt original—the M4 and M16 rifles—and both are available in two variations with 30-round 22 LR magazines along with a variety of accessories. The M4 version that we tested is a blowback semiauto with a barrel length of 16.2 inches (412 mm), overall length of 31.1 to 34.4 inches depending on the adjustable stock length, and iron sights, with the rear set into a detachable carry handle on a metal flat-top receiver.

Likewise, the Sig522 has lineage worth noting. According to Sig Sauer, the 522 has the "…look and feel of the Classic SIG556. Featuring SIG556 parts, including a Swiss-type folding stock and polymer forend on a durable metal receiver with integral Picatinny rail." We evaluated a 556 in the March 2010 issue, grading the 5.56mm rifle highly with an A-, but dinging it for its weight and cost.

Those aren't such factors with the 522, whose price tag is a few dollars below the M4 rimfire and whose weight is 6.4 pounds empty. Its overall length is 35.1 inches with the stock fully extended, 33.6 inches with the stock collapsed, and 26.1 inches with the stock folded.

GunReports.com rolls out several videos on new product introductions at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas: Included are reviews of 22 Rimfires in Tactical Platforms (4:00), Beretta U22 Neo 22 pistol/carbine combo (0:53 secs), FN Report (3:02 mins), Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 380 and Bodyguard 38 Special (2:08) w/integral Insite laser, and Steyr AUG A3 bullpup 223 (1:16).

GunReports.com is now on Facebook. Keep abreast of what's going on minute-by-minute on breaking gun news, harmful gun legislation, firearms victories by becoming a Fan. Look for 'Gun Reports' on Facebook. Also, for inside peeks into Gun Tests' ongoing criticism of firearms, search Facebook for 'Gun Tests'

While we agree that lasers are no substitute for proper shooting techniques, we also believe that they can be a valuable tool in low light confrontations. Their continued popularity among our Law Enforcement and Military communities is also a testament to their effectiveness.

(GunReports.com)--The new Rossi single-shot break-open Wizard firearm allows the shooter to transfer any barrel quickly and easily without tools and shoot many popular calibers plus three shotgun gauges, two muzzleloaders, .22 rimfire and .22 rimfire magnum.

(GunReports.com)--South Dakota has become the fifth state to decide that guns made, sold and used within its borders no longer are subject to rules enforced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

(GunReports.com)--According to a Tulsa World story, Oklahoma could be headed for a showdown with the federal government over firearms regulation and the scope of interstate commerce.

Theres no doubt about it; the AR-15 has gone mainstream. Over the last several years, the growth in demand for black rifles has lured many manufacturers (including the big guys) to introduce their own versions of the venerable Eugene Stoner direct-gas-impingement design. Now that the market has matured, we are now seeing engineering departments introduce versions that are claimed to improve upon the original AR-15 through the use of gas-piston systems.In January, we compared a new piston gun, the Ruger SR-556, to two direct-gas-impingement units, rating the Ruger an A- in the process. This time, we put the Ruger SR-556FB, $1995, apples-to-apples against two more gas-piston models, the Kel-Tec SU-16 CA, $890 as tested; and a Sig Sauer 556 Classic SWAT No. SIG556302, $2399.In the original AR-15, gases are vented back through a gas tube to work the bolt and bolt-carrier group. The entire assembly works as its own piston. Since all of the gas is vented back to the bolt, fouling and heat build up in the mechanism. A piston system uses exhaust gas to work an exterior piston and operating rod assembly, greatly reducing the amount of spent gas that reaches the guns action. In our tests all three of our guns ran with less fouling than we see with our regular AR-15s.The SIG556 and the Ruger SR556 use adjustable gas pistons, allowing the user to change the piston setting to optimize its operation for different ammo and operating conditions. The Kel-Tec uses a fixed gas piston in its design.

At age 98 this year, the 375 H&H Magnum is still one of the best cartridges in existence. One of our test crew calls it his favorite cartridge. The 375 is undoubtedly very versatile, especially for the reloader. Although some ammo companies today, notably Hornady, load the cartridge up to higher power than it originally had, there's little or nothing to be gained by so doing, as we have repeatedly seen here. In fact, the shooter gains more from this cartridge, we feel, by loading it down, not up. He can even shoot round lead balls from the 375 if he is a clever and determined reloader. Although the usual realm of the 375 is hunting larger game including elk, moose, bear, and most African plains game, some of us have found over the years that modest jacketed-bullet or cast-lead-bullet loads in the cartridge make it an excellent deer cartridge.

The weight of a 375 rifle can be a problem for the deer hunter. A proper 375 is going to weigh around 9 or 10 pounds, while an ordinary deer rifle might weigh 6 pounds. Why carry the extra weight? If you can shoot it well, there's no harm in using a powerful rifle for all your hunting. There is really no such thing as overkill, but there is such a thing as using an unsuitable rifle that fails to kill quickly, which no true hunter wants. The only way to learn to shoot a big rifle well is to shoot it a lot, and sub-power loads make that easy. Some of us have experienced great satisfaction from mastering a big rifle. We've found it more rewarding to shoot a sub-inch group with a 375 with full-power loads than with a 22 centerfire. Light handloads make the 375 into a fun gun, one you can learn to shoot well, but overpowered heavy loads take a lot of the fun out of it.

We finally obtained one of the more elusive rifles on the big-game scene, the wood-stocked Kimber Caprivi in 375 H&H Magnum (also available in 458 Lott). Once we had this gorgeous rifle in hand, we went looking for other 375 rifles for our comparison testing. We finally decided to do a one-two-three setup, to see what you can buy for roughly $1000, $2000, and $3000. We acquired a CZ 550 American Safari Magnum, which lists for a bit over a grand ($1179). Next we got a Ruger M77 Mark II Magnum rifle selling for just over two grand ($2404), and of course the Kimber 8400 Caprivi was at the top, listing for about three grand ($3196). These all appeared to be fine rifles with a whole lot going for them. Could they compare?

They all had Express-type iron sights, with a wide-angle V rear and a bead at the front. This setup, for those who have never tried it, gives a very clear sight picture, the rear V acting to some extent like an aperture and making even aging eyes able to discern the front bead. In all three rifles the iron-sight picture was outstanding. One common problem with Express sights is the maker sometimes sets the rear sight too close to the shooter's eye, but all three rifles had it plenty far out on the barrel. CZ's V notch left two shoulders on the sides of the rear blade, which maybe helped prevent canting the rifle. The other two had full-width Vs. Kimber and CZ added a protective cover to the front sight.

All three rifles also had two folding leaves, the CZ alone marked for 200 and 300 yards. All three blades on the CZ had a prominent white centerline beneath the V. The Ruger's unmarked folding leaves had small U-notches in the two folders, and no center line. These gave a relatively poor sight picture, compared to the V. The Caprivi had a scribed line on each leaf, but in the old British style the folding leaves were unfiled, that being a job for the owner's gunsmith once he has settled on his one hunting load. Our shooters' eyes were most pleased with the sights on the Kimber Caprivi, largely because of the big front bead on that rifle.

We tested these rifles with Hornady Heavy Magnum with 270-grain JHP, Remington Express 270-grain RNSP, and Federal Power-Shok 270-grain RNSP. Be advised 375 ammo sells for about $3 a shot, at a time when you can still get a decent handmade cigar for that price. Thus handloading is probably the way to go if you want to shoot your big rifle a lot. We shot the three with iron sights to get a feel for them, and then scoped them for our bench testing. Here's what we found.

(GunReports.com)--Gun Tests magazine is selling two of its recent test guns on GunBroker.com--a Glock RTF2 and a Stag 2L AR-15.

Back in November 1999 we tested three precision .308 rifles by Robar, Autauga, and Dakota. The cheapest of these, by Autauga, cost $3,200, and we thought it was a “Best Buy” at the time. The Dakota Longbow was over $4,000, and the fine Robar was over $5,000. The accuracy of all of those rifles was simply astounding. Half-inch groups were the norm, with match-grade ammunition. We got the distinct impression it was necessary to spend inordinate amounts of money to guarantee such precision, with all the bells and whistles of that group and class of rifle. We may have been wrong.We recently had the loan of a similar rifle, made in the U.S. under FN (Belgium) supervision, and sold only by Fulton Armory, in Maryland. It didn’t quite have all the bells and whistles of the other three precision rifles we tested, but had the more important ones. Called the FN Special Police Rifle, it was a .308 Winchester caliber, with heavy barrel and synthetic stock. Best of all, its listed retail cost from Fulton Armory is $999.95, which we round off to $1,000.