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It has been said in the industry that 'when all else fails, invent a caliber.' Part and parcel of any highly new-product driven industry is the constant attempt to invent new lines of price and performance where none exist in a tangible, real-world sense. One fairly recent cartridge development that has gained traction and popularity is the Hornady 17 Magnum Rimfire introduced in 2002. It is remarkable in many respects, gaining distinction as the first successful rimfire cartridge to hit the market in over 40 years. The last rimfire considered to be a 'successful' introduction was the 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire in 1959.

Toward the end of each year, I survey the work R.K. Campbell, Roger Eckstine, Ray Ordorica, Robert Sadowski, Gene Taylor, John Taylor, Tracey Taylor, Ralph Winingham, and Kevin Winkle have done in Gun Tests, with an eye toward selecting guns, accessories, and ammunition the magazine’s testers have endorsed. From these evaluations I pick the best from a full year’s worth of tests and distill recommendations for readers, who often use them as year-end shopping guides. These “best of” choices are a mixture of our original tests and other information I’ve compiled during the year. After we roll high-rated test products into long-term testing, I keep tabs on how those guns do, and if the firearms and accessories continue performing well, then I have confidence including them in this wrap-up.

(GunReports.com) -- It is hard to say who was the first gunsmith to drill or cut holes near the muzzle of a shotgun barrel to direct the expanding gas upward to provide a downward push, thus limiting both muzzle jump and felt recoil. Credit for this concept is generally given to Marine Corps Colonel Richard M. Cutts. His “compensator” was originally intended to be used on military weapons to minimize recoil and to reduce muzzle climb in fully automatic weapons. It was eventually adopted for use on the Thompson submachine gun, and a “Cutts Compensator” was soon made available to the civilian shotgun market by the Lyman Company.

(GunReports.com) -- Since most of the Remington 1100’s 95 parts are moving, it isn’t uncommon to have a few 1100s in your shop for repairs at any given time. That sounds simple enough, but sometimes it isn’t. The gas-operated, semi-automatic shotgun has undergone a number of internal changes over the years, with a resulting variation in parts. Most of the parts will interchange with varying degrees of success. But gunsmiths must be aware of the changes that have been made, in order to be on the lookout for problems caused by improper parts that might have been used to “fix” this shotgun before it gets to your bench. This combination of factors can sometimes make it very hard to determine just what is causing a particular problem with an 1100.

This is the best AK-style gun we have seen. Though it has its flaws—the trigger is too heavy, the button in the buttstock was distracting, and we would prefer the action lock open—we would still buy this gun ahead of the others.

The concept of a single-shot rifle for modern usage goes back quite a few years. Despite the advent of repeating firearms, the single-shot rifle has always held its own, from the Sharps down to the H&R Ultra rifle tested here. Many makers have put together some very fine and also some not-so-fine single shots on a great variety of actions. We acquired one of the U.S.-made H&R 1871 Ultra Hunters in 308 (SB2-808, MSRP $374).

Every December I survey the work Ben Brooks, R.K. Campbell, Roger Eckstine, Robert Sadowski, and Ralph Winingham have done in Gun Tests, with an eye toward selecting guns, accessories, and ammunition the magazine's testers have endorsed. From these evaluations I pick the best from a full year's worth of tests and distill summary recommendations for readers, who often use them as year-end shopping guides. These "best of" choices are a mixture of our original tests and other information I've compiled during the year. After the magazine's FFLs sell high-rated test products to readers, I keep tabs on how many of those guns do over time, and if the firearms and accessories continue performing well, then I have confidence including them in this wrap-up.

Every December I survey the work Ben Brooks, R.K. Campbell, Roger Eckstine, Robert Sadowski, and Ralph Winingham have done in Gun Tests, with an eye toward selecting guns, accessories, and ammunition the magazine's testers have endorsed. From these evaluations I pick the best from a full year's worth of tests and distill summary recommendations for readers, who often use them as year-end shopping guides. These "best of" choices are a mixture of our original tests and other information I've compiled during the year. After the magazine's FFLs sell high-rated test products to readers, I keep tabs on how many of those guns do over time, and if the firearms and accessories continue performing well, then I have confidence including them in this wrap-up.

All available SKS rifles are either used or surplus. The exception would be companies that offer 'new' guns that are weapons assembled from spare parts. We are beginning to see AK-47s made in the USA, so as import lines dry up perhaps new production SKS rifles will be offered in the future. In the meantime, our listed price represents a common if not the higher end cost for an SKS Type 56 in very good condition, plus the cost of the stock. Advanced Technologies (www.atigunstocks.com) offers six different replacement stocks for the SKS ranging in price from $59 to $139, with options ranging from AR-15 style buttpads with adjustable length of pull to traditional rifle stocks with camouflage finish. List price for the Dragunov-style Fiberforce stock No. SKS3000 was $69. This includes an adjustable-height cheekpiece (removable), which becomes necessary for sight alignment after mounting a scope.

Ruger makes some well-known semiauto rifles, including the 10-22 22 LR and the Mini-14. But when the company rolled out the SR-556 in May 2009, it was the company’s first foray into an increasingly crowded and competitive segment. And just looking at the feature set, including the two-stage piston-driven action, shows us the company put a lot of careful thought into the initial build.

To begin: The SR-556FB had a heavy contour, 16.12-inch chrome-lined barrel forged from Mil-Spec 41V45 chrome-moly-vanadium steel. The 0.700-inch-thick barrel had a 1:9 twist rate and was capped with an AC-556 flash suppressor. Our testers preferred the closed-bottom design of the other two guns’ hiders because they’re less likely to kick up debris if the shooter is on the ground. Chambered in 5.56mm NATO, the Ruger SR-556 also fired 223 Rem. ammunition.

There was a detachable carry handle that held the fully adjustable, mil-spec, two-aperture rear sight, and that handle added $90 to the Bushmaster’s price. This weapon was very similar to the “Shorty” Carbine we tested in June of this year, but its lighter stock, thinner barrel and short forend got the weight down to 6.1 pounds without sights. By comparison, the “Shorty” Carbine weighed 7.0 pounds without sights.With the carry handle attached, the weight of this Bushmaster rose to 6.7 pounds, which was our test weight.

GunReports.com finds a test of the Arsenal USA SSR-85B, $550, that Gun Tests magazine approved of. Per the company website, the gun was the result of the marriage of a Polish PMKMS parts set with a Hungarian-made FEG SA-85M stamped-steel receiver.