Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2023 i RifleShooter

Twist and Shout Was happy to read another good article by Craig Boddington. I know that he has not always been a huge fan of the 7mm Rem. Mag., as there are many other rounds he likes or prefers, and I don’t disagree with him. I have 42 years of shooting, hunting and reloading the 7mm Rem. Mag., and have learned a few things about it. The only question I had with the article, was regarding Mr. Boddington’s statement: “...the long standard 1:10 twist rate of the 7mm Rem. Mag. can’t stabilize [heavy-for-caliber bullets], so you can re-barrel them or start over.” That may have been the case in the 1980s, but today’s RemArms is using a 1:8, and with a bit of research I found many other companies using…

The Winchester Xpert bolt-action .22 rimfire rifle was introduced in early 2022, but production was delayed for several months. A two-digit serial number on the bolt and receiver of the one I received puts it among the first rifles produced. It’s built by the Turkish company Istanbul Silah A.S. Breech lockup of millions of .22 rimfire bolt-action rifles built by numerous manufacturers during the past century or so has been adequately accomplished by nothing more than the root of the bolt handle bearing on the rear of its notch in the wall of the receiver. Given good steel, that’s plenty sturdy because SAAMI maximum average chamber pressure for the .22 LR cartridge is only 24,000 psi. Mild pressure combined with the extremely small case head surface area of the cartridge…

Patriot Ordnance Factory’s new Tombstone lever-action 9mm looks like it was assembled by a space cowboy from spare robot parts—and the effect is just cool. Even better, the handy little carbine is potentially the best non-semiautomatic self-defense long arm to hit the market recently. It’s ergonomic, reliable, accurate and versatile. And with the velocity 9mm ammo generates in the Tombstone’s 16.5-inch barrel, it’s authoritative. Lever-action carbines are often touted as being the ultimate under-the-radar personal protection tools because no one suspects a country gent or a lass with a blued-steel-and-walnut piece of history of being dangerous—even though such a tool is in fact rather potent in the hands of someone who knows how to make it sing. I suspect that the wicked looks of the Tombstone will prove to be…

LANDS & GROOVES The Civilian Marksmanship Program, or CMP, has long been based at Camp Perry, Ohio, on the shores of Lake Erie. However, there are competitions held across the country, known as CMP Travel Games. CMP competition season begins in March with the Western CMP Games at the Ben Avery shooting facility in North Phoenix, which is followed by the Eastern CMP Games at Camp Butner National Guard training site outside Durham, North Carolina. There’s an annual CMP Talladega D-Day Match held around the June 6th anniversary where participants use World War II-era service weapons. “The CMP Games matches are a lot of fun. These Games folks really love firing pistols and rifles from World War I, World War II and the Korean era,” said CMP’s Steve Cooper. “We…

Remington’s “deadliest mushroom in the woods” has been getting the job done since 1939. And while it’s no less deadly today, these days many hunters are looking for better ballistic coefficients, which meant it was time for an update. The new Core-Lokt Tipped incorporates a polymer tip to boost BC and help initiate expansion. While my testing involved the 6.5 Creedmoor, the regular Core-Lokt and the tipped version don’t share a common bullet weight in this caliber, so let’s look at two others that do. (Drop figures based on 200-yard zero.) .270 Win., 130-grain Core-Lokt muzzle velocity (fps) 3,060 Tipped muzzle velocity (fps) 3,080Core-Lokt BC .336Tipped BC .447Core-Lokt drop at 400 (in.) -43.4Tipped drop at 400 (in.) -37.2 .308 Win., 150-grain Core-Lokt muzzle velocity (fps) 2,820 Tipped muzzle velocity (fps)…

Bill Ruger was a great gun designer, and part of his success came because he knew what firearms owners wanted even if the gun didn’t yet exist. Ruger revolutionized the semiauto rimfire market with his Mark I and 10/22 guns, and just when single-action pistol sales started to slump, Ruger made cowboy cool again with designs like the Blackhawk. A high-end single-shot rifle? Nobody thought shooters wanted such a gun. Nobody, that is, except Bill Ruger, who created the svelte, stylish No. 1, and that gun has amassed legions of fans over the years. Sadly, Bill Ruger is gone, but his namesake brand remains committed to innovation. Case in point: the new Ruger LC (for Lightweight Compact) Carbine. Ruger didn’t invent the 5.7x28, but the brand’s LC Carbine is a…

Way back in 1982, Colt introduced the 9mm SMG, also known as the 635. This carbine combined the ergonomics and controls of the M16/AR-15 but in a short-barreled 9mm format. It looked like the 10.5-inch-barreled Colt Commando but with a distinctive straight magazine that told the world it fired pistol cartridges. They were great guns that never really got the attention they deserved. Trends ebb and flow and, today, shooters have rediscovered the virtues of the pistol-caliber carbine and are migrating back to these designs for competitive, recreational and defensive use. What was old is new again, and Springfield Armory’s new Saint Victor 9mm Carbine fits perfectly into this niche. Why build a pistol-caliber carbine on this platform? Well, since AR-15-style rifles are the most popular centerfire long guns in…

Temperature-stable powder can be crucial to success on the range or in the field. However, there are situations in which other powders work as well or even better. Here’s a look at how to pick the right type of powder for your cartridge and needs. Precision rifle shooters these days are looking farther and farther downrange. As a result, temperature-stable gunpowders are at a premium. Other powders have almost become pariahs—at least among this demographic of shooters. And for good reason: A carefully developed handload for long-range work must produce consistent velocity whatever temperature it’s fired in, and that’s not subject to debate. Temperature sensitivity dates back to Cordite, which was long strands of propellant cut into lengths and sheaved into big Nitro Express cartridges for use on dangerous game.…

The 5.7 has been around for a few decades, but this round has never been as popular as competing cartridges like the 9mm Luger, which is ironic since that’s exactly the cartridge the 5.7 was designed to replace. Back in the late 1980s, NATO decided it needed a personal-defense weapon that offered better accuracy and terminal ballistics than the 9mm, and FN’s engineers developed the 5.7x28 round from scratch. The 1.138-inch case with rebated rim, minimal body taper, and a 35-degree shoulder was a unique creation; it had no parent case. FN also built a pistol around the cartridge and called it the FN Five-SeveN. Ballistics were impressive. Bullets between 23 and 40 grains were pushed to velocities ranging from 2,350 to 3,000 fps. Regardless, the cartridge never earned enough…

When I told a colleague I was getting ready to review the new Christensen Modern Hunting Rifle, I told him it was like me dating a supermodel. As in, way out of my league. It’s certainly sexy, a great-looking combination of Desert Brown Cerakote-finished metal and carbon fiber, with lines that give it modernistic flair without going overboard. And just like taking a supermodel out for dinner, drinks and dancing (as if I would know), you’re going be reaching deeply into your wallet for that date. This should not come as any big surprise if you’re familiar at all with Christensen Arms, a company based in Gunnison, Utah, and one known for its high-end firearms. As other RifleShooter writers in this magazine have reported, founder Roland Christensen and his firm…