Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2025 i RifleShooter

Wood Is Good Thank you for your articles in the March/April issue depicting rifles with wood stocks. I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Proud to be an American,” which related to CZ’s 600 American and “Revel Yell,” which described Savage’s new lever-action rimfire. For those of us who have offered criticism in the past of the many articles pertaining to “black rifles,” I write to give credit where credit is due. Dick Parker, North Carolina Well I’ll be durned; a front cover with a wood-stocked rifle! Beautiful, says this six-decades-old reader. Seriously, I love your content, writers, photos. Keep up the great work. Ken Myers, Virginia More to Life than Creedmoor Why is it that when I read about tests of new rifles, the majority are chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor or .308…

The World War II U.S. .30 M1 Carbine light-rifle concept was born in World War I when there were many missions for which the long, 10-pound Model 1903 rifle firing a full-power cartridge was a clumsy choice but a handgun was just not enough. Limited use of the Winchester Model 1907 Self Loading Rifle impressed many, and it was not forgotten—just ignored as other priorities such as the M1 Garand took precedence. But in 1940, Army Ordnance revisited the light rifle. Just as in World War I, there was a vacuum between the heavy battle rifle, handgun and the new but equally heavy submachine gun. A light, handy, short semiauto or full-auto rifle firing a cartridge capable of hitting targets out to 300 yards could fill that niche—giving officers and…

There are more optics companies offering up products than at any time in my life, but few companies offer as diverse a product portfolio of affordably priced optics as Sightmark. The company’s Presido scope line offers a 6:1 zoom ratio and just about everything a shooter could want in an affordable package. Presidio scopes are available in 1-6X, 2.5-15X, 3-18X and 5-30X, so no matter the hunting or shooting task you face, you should be able to find one that works for you. The 3-18x50mm Presidio I tested has a 30mm main tube body made from high-grade anodized aluminum. Presidios feature multicoated lenses, and the scopes are nitrogen purged, shockproof and waterproof. They’re also IPX7 waterproof and dustproof rated. Operating temperature is listed as -20 to 160 degrees. My sample…

Ruger’s new Carbon X-22 is possibly the snazziest semi-auto rimfire I’ve ever put my hands on. It’s fitted with a 16.1-inch barrel sleeved in carbon fiber and a lightweight Magpul MOE X-22 stock, and the whole caboodle weighs just 3.5 pounds. A contender for the most popular .22 semiauto ever—more than 7 million had been sold by 2015, which is the most recent number I have—Ruger’s 10/22 design features a simple, incredibly reliable blowback action fed by a unique rotary 10-round magazine. Initially, Bill Ruger gave the 10/22 styling reminiscent of the M1 carbine of World War II and Korean War fame. It has since morphed into myriad configurations ranging from full-stocked Mannlicher types to chassis-stocked precision variations. It is easily modified and is a favorite for custom builds using…

Slide-action rifles have put meat in the pots of American families for a long time. Colt beat the competition to the punch in 1885 with its Lightning magazine rifle in three action lengths: short for the .22 Short and .22 Long rimfire cartridges; medium for the .32-20 Win., .38-40 Win. and .44-40 Win.; and long for cartridges ranging in power from the .38-56 Win. to the .50-95 Express. Lightning production ended at Colt around 1904. Remington introduced the first truly successful slide-action centerfire rifle in 1909 and called it the Model 14. It was designed by J.D. Pedersen, who later became famous for designing a blowback-operated unit that allowed a soldier in the field to quickly replace the bolt of his 1903 Springfield service rifle and convert it to semiautomatic…

There have been several new hunting cartridges released over the last decade, but Federal’s new 7mm Backcountry is unique. When I asked Federal’s senior media relations manager J.J. Reich what made this cartridge different from the myriad other hunting rounds to hit the market in recent memory, his response was three numbers: 20; 170; and 3,000. As in, the 7mm Backcountry drives a 170-grain bullet from a 20-inch barrel at 3,000 fps. Those are impressive figures, but what’s most impressive—and perhaps game-changing—is how it achieves those impressive stats. When Reich first told me about the cartridge, I expected the cartridge would be oversize to accommodate a super-size powder charge. It’s not. In fact, when I pulled the first 7mm Backcountry cartridge from the box, I set it side-by-side with a…

These days, America’s sportsmen and women are clamoring for more “content,” as we call it in the media: more articles, more television shows, more website info. Outdoor Sportsman Group—which publishes this magazine as well as bringing you the Sportsman Channel and Outdoor Channel—has answered that call with the My Outdoor TV (MOTV) app. It’s a resource like no other, a curated treasure trove of outdoor-oriented television shows and videos. Think of it like your own personal Neftlix, with episodes of “Gun Stories” with Joe Montegna, the gun restoration show “The Gunfather,” “Guns & Ammo,” “Shooting USA” and more. The universe of content is even bigger when it somes to hunting, and I know a lot if not most of you enjoy your time in the field. Check out “Petersen’s Hunting…

Christensen Arms has been at the leading edge of rifle design since it developed the industry’s first carbon-fiber-wrapped barrel three decades ago. The innovation ultimately led the company into the business of building complete rifles—rifles that have seen significant use the world over. That said, the firm’s products have always leaned toward the premium end of the price spectrum and were financially out of reach of many shooters and hunters. With the introduction of the new Evoke rifle, Christensen is now offering a rifle at a competitive price—starting at $899—that maintains many of the design elements that have helped build the company’s name. The Evoke is offered in four different models including the Evoke, Evoke Mossy Oak, Evoke Precision and Evoke Hunter. I tested the latter, and it’s available in…

Although there is no denying that longer-barreled rifles deliver higher velocities and downrange energy, this extra performance comes at the expense of overall handling. For generations, a common solution was to swap out the trusty bolt action for a more compact lever-action carbine. While this will always work, the lever’s typical chamberings often cut down the hunter’s ethical range to less than 200 yards. Finding a shot outside of that distance in a woodland setting is a challenge, but should your hunting area include a field, you’re likely out of luck if the buck of a lifetime steps out across the way. Reduced-length bolt actions strike a better balance between effective range and agility, and since suppressors are becoming commonplace, they are becoming increasingly attractive. To my point, we have…

Imagine a powder funnel that shunted propellant into the case in fractions of a second—no bridging, no granules sticking to the sidewalls, no tiresome tap-tap-tapping the funnel to get the powder to finally shake down through the funnel and into the case. It’s not a pipe dream. A while back, an enterprising young RCBS engineering intern named Marshall Clow dreamed the same dream and set out to create a product. The very successful result is the Matchmaster funnel kit ($100). Some of the technology is proprietary, so I can only provide a glimpse into how and why it works. But the fact is it does indeed work. Like magic. The funnel is made of 6061-T6 aluminum, which is inherently anti-static. Static is a significant portion of the reason powder sticks…

The medium bores are not dead. That’s a good thing because, if they were, the graveyard of deceased cartridges would be huge. There have been dozens of them over the years. Many are obsolete while others barely hang on, yet we keep creating more. Popular American bullet diameters stop at .308 inch because few of us need anything larger—not to hunt deer or elk, not to punch paper or ring steel. Short of the big bears and African game animals that have a 9.3mm minimum caliber restriction, there’s little need for a rifle with a bore larger than .30. Despite that, there are tons of choices between .30 and 9.3. Many of these .32/8mm, .33 and .35 cartridges are gone, and many are on life support. Few have enjoyed lasting…

Over the past several years, Savage Arms has expanded its lineup of premium 110 rifles, and the latest addition to that family is the Professional Pursuit Rifle or PPR. Loaded with many of the features modern hunters want on their guns, the PPR marks another important evolutionary step forward in the life of the Model 110 rifle. Since its introduction in 1958, the Savage 110 has kept pace with new developments in the rifle market. However, much of the gun’s basic mechanical geometry remains largely unchanged since its introduction—a testament to designer Nicholas L. Brewer’s engineering prowess. At the heart of all Model 110 rifles, including the new PPR, is a push-feed bolt with dual locking lugs. However, the bolt is designed to float slightly, and this allows for two…

Roy Weatherby was a showman. In the days before polymer stocks permeated the rifle market, his high-gloss California walnut stocks, white-line spacers and rosewood-accented Mark Vs were the most eye-catching rifles on any gun rack. By the late 1960s, Roy was a household name, but not everyone could afford his sleek Mark V rifles. That prompted the company in 1970 to release the Vanguard, which was called “The only medium priced rifle that lives up to the Weatherby reputation!” The original Vanguard rifles mimicked the Mark V’s sleek looks, although the aesthetics were a bit less flashy, and they carried a suggested retail price of $200. When you consider that the Mark V was priced at more than $300 by then, the Vanguard was certainly the best option for a…