Powerhouse Lever Rifles: We Like The Guide Gun
Handy rifles seem to find their ways into the hearts of outdoorsmen all over the world, whether they're in Alaska or Africa or deep in the heart of Texas. Handy can mean many things, but most of all it implies ease of carrying, combined with adequate power for whatever use to which it might be put. We'll wager the average reader seldom thinks of a lever-action rifle, except the .30-30, when handy rifles are mentioned. Most riflemen of our acquaintance think in terms of short-barreled bolt rifles of "handy" calibers, like a Ruger Model 77 carbine in .308, or a custom 7x57, or perhaps the little Mannlicher-Schoenauer carbine in 6.5x54.
We certainly never thought about a .45-70—in any config...
.308 Bolt-Action Showdown: Weatherby Beats Sako, Browning
[IMGCAP(1)] Some time back (April 1998) we tested a Sako Model 75 Hunter in .308, when it won a head-to-head hunting-rifle competition against a Browning A-Bolt II Eclipse and a Steyr SBS Forester. As such it garnered a hard-earned Buy recommendation, and in our view, it has been one of the strongest performers in its category—a king of the hill, if you will.
Thus, we wondered how that gun's performance would hold up against new challengers, such as a $999 Weatherby Mark V and a $636 Browning A-Bolt II Medallion. At the time of that earlier test, the .308 Sako retailed for $1,055, but in the intervening years, new Sakos have gone up in price to $1,185. Since the Sakos are basically unchan...
Big-Bore Lever-Action Hunting Guns: Pass On Marlins New .450
Marlin wanted to add some oomph to its line with a new cartridge. But is the belted round that much better than good loads for the .444 Marlin? We test to see.
