Rifle January/February 2024

When the 6.5 Creedmoor first saw the light of day back in 2008 or thereabouts, there were those among us who took one look and said, “Well, yeah, but what will it do that the (fill in blank) won’t do?” The answer? Not much. ...Read More >

Rifle Master Index from January 2023 to December 2023 ...Read More >

I’ve been sitting on this one a few months because I really wanted to invest in some serious varmint shooting before reporting on it. I had mounted Maven’s RS.5 4-24x 50mm second focal plane (SFP) scope on my 224 Valkyrie-chambered Franchi Momentum Elite Varmint in medium Nightforce X-Treme Duty Ultralite rings while conducting a mid-summer varmint-load series for LoadData.com. That project was essentially the rifle’s last chance, as previous load development projects with this rifle for Varmint Rifles & Cartridges, as well as personal load testing, had failed to reveal any standout combinations. Those tests involved mostly heavier bullets, attempting to take advantage of the rifle’s 1:7 twist barrel. All had proven pretty disappointing. ...Read More >

Our first subject is one that comes up frequently – reticle squaring. What is really meant by that is the alignment of the reticle with the vertical axis of the rifle. This all starts with shots missed at creatures great and small. Then, someone looks through the scope and sagely observes it is no wonder, the reticle isn’t level! Immediately, the owner turns the scope in the rings, not knowing for certain if a problem has been solved or even existed. ...Read More >

Long ago, a friend called asking if he could drop by with a new acquisition – a Sharps rifle. Nowadays, most shooters are aware of Sharps rifles because their reproductions are being made by two companies here in Montana and at least one in Italy. For the most part, these Sharps are copies of the original Model 1874s produced in the 1870s. ...Read More >

During World War II, a young entrepreneur by the name of Roy Weatherby, began developing a line of proprietary cartridges that were based on the 375/300 H&H Magnum belted case, but were blown out and necked to various calibers. He then built custom rifles based on Mauser Model 98, Winchester Model 70 and several other actions and provided proprietary ammunition to customers. ...Read More >

The 1870s were an exciting era for military men and shooters, as there were many developments in early, modern cartridge firearms. One important example was the 45-70 Government that was officially adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873. Very few products developed 150 years ago are still in use, especially cartridges! In spite of its age, it is so good that it remains in high demand by traditional shooters, black-powder competitors, modern shooters, hunters and guides. ...Read More >

Let’s consider this matter of the political left desiring the banning of semiauto rifles and carbines (and handguns too). People think that ones with detachable magazines are somehow modern, of military origin and extraordinarily dangerous. They judge danger by looks and seem to think that if ugly guns are banned all will be well. When told that semiauto rifles with detachable magazines have been around since at least 1905, the unknowing give doubtful looks. Think about that – in 1905, most of this nation was just becoming familiar with automobiles. Horses were still in common use. ...Read More >

Iet’s begin with a little background. In 1989, I came into possession of a Sako Hunter-class benchrest rifle chambered in 6 PPC (Pindell- Palmisano Cartridge). It had a short and very heavy barrel attached to the cute little Sako Vixen action, with a walnut benchrest stock sporting a massive forend. It had the usual exquisite Sako trigger. I fitted it with a Leupold 36x target scope and journeyed to the range with a couple of boxes of Sako ammunition. ...Read More >

It seems all serious riflemen want to talk about today is long-range shooting, more accurately, addressing targets at what once would have been considered unfathomable ranges. This rage has also seeped into the hunting world, with refined rifles, cutting-edge optics, ever more efficient cartridges and more aerodynamic bullets feeding the craze. Extreme yardage means different things to different shooters, obviously – especially in a hunting context. But Wyoming-based Best of the West (BOTW) – which also owns Huskemaw Optics – has been instrumental in demonstrating to modern hunters what is possible with the right gear and a little knowledge and training. ...Read More >