Rifle March-April 2024

The 22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR), or more commonly known as “22 Magnum,” was formally introduced in 1959, although Winchester did not offer rifles until 1960, with the introduction of the Model 61 Magnum pump-action rifle. Marlin was the first to offer a rifle with the Model 57M Levermatic, while Colt quickly offered the inexpensive bolt-action, single-shot 1-22 rifle, but Smith & Wesson, Ruger and Colt almost immediately began offering 22 Magnum sixguns – many with dual cylinders that accommodated the use of 22 Long Rifle cartridges in the same gun. Despite the high cost of ammunition when compared to the 22 Long Rifle, the 22 Magnum was instantly popular due to its notable performance advantages. I first acquired a Winchester Model 9422M 22 Magnum in 1972 and over the past 50 years, I have owned many rifles and sixguns in this caliber and it remains a personal favorite. ...Read More >

Except for the several versions based on the AR platform, the Model 1903 Springfield served the United States Armed Forces longer than any other rifle. It was adopted in 1903 and served in several forms until the Korean War of the early 1950s, wherein scoped ones were used for sniping. I’ve read unofficial reports that stated some scoped M1903s were put back in service during the Vietnam War, but that could be hearsay. ...Read More >

Last time, I made a couple of precision rods that allowed for determining if the two rings holding a scope sight were in alignment with each other. Such measurement is seldom made today and certainly not with the accuracy made possible using the alignment rods. Failure to detect and correct the problem will result in a dented scope tube at best, failure of the internal workings of the scope immediately, or sometime down the road at worst. ...Read More >

Burris Optics introduced the Veracity PH 4-20x 50mm at SHOT Show 2023 and it became available to authorized dealers last July. Headquartered in Greeley, Colorado, Burris has been in business since 1971. In that time, the name has become a respected source for rifle and handgun scopes and other hunting-optic solutions. The Veracity PH brings Burris into the high-tech world of long-range shooting. ...Read More >

One of the favorite pastimes of a certain kind of people is to hoist a libation or two and wonder aloud what the most desirable single gun to collectors would be? ...Read More >

I have happily shot a good number of Savage 110 rifles over the years, from my favorite 223 Remington varmint rifle to a 7mm Remington Magnum used to shoot a once-in-a-lifetime oryx at 400-plus yards on the White Sands Missile Range of southern New Mexico after 27 years of applying for a tag. The 110 is Savage’s equivalent to the Remington Model 700, Winchester Model 70 or Ruger M77. It was first introduced in 1958 and quickly became a fixture in hunting camps across the nation. The 110 is a stout and reliable action that has developed a reputation for straight shooting despite the affordable price tag. Savage recently added a new member to the 110 lineup of bolt-action rifles, this one in a higher price range than the $400 to $500 Savage 110s I’ve handled in the past. ...Read More >

In 50 years of writing about firearms, I have never felt like an apology was owed to any of the hundreds of rifles or carbines covered so far. That was until doing a video for Wolfe Publishing’s Handloader TV channel on YouTube. In the introduction to my Japanese Type 97 6.5mm sniper rifle, I fairly well trashed it in regard to all other World War II sniper rifles. That was primarily because the scope is mounted offset to the rifle’s bore and furthermore, there is no provision for zeroing its 2.5x scope. That was just too foreign to my American mindset. ...Read More >

Sixty years ago, after being in production for around 28 years, Winchester redesigned its legendary Model 70 bolt-action rifle that is commonly known as the post-’64 Model 70 or New Model 70. Initially, this was a huge mistake, as the original was rugged, reliable, handsome and highly respected. By comparison, the quality of the new rifle was initially poor and severely criticized by savvy riflemen, but eventually, quality returned and the design has been steadily upgraded and improved. Once again, the Model 70 became a respected rifle, but unfortunately, Winchester’s New Haven Connecticut, plant was closed in 2006, bringing production to a halt. However, the Model 70 was far too good and the demand too high to let it die. In 2008, manufacturing of the Model 70 resumed, but it was now produced in the FN plant (a subsidiary company) located in Columbia, South Carolina. Beginning in 2013, assembly was moved to Portugal, but by 2015, manufacture was also moved to Portugal, where it remains today. ...Read More >

During World War I, Winchester manufactured Pattern 14 and Model 1917 Enfield rifles for British and U.S. troops, a task that would cata- lyze efforts to design a bolt-action hunting rifle. By 1922, it had pruned the weaknesses of the Lee, Hotchkiss and Enfield from a prototype. Its receiver and cock-on-opening bolt, also the safety and extractor, hewed closely to the ‘98 Mauser’s. The ejector, after a Newton design, nixed the need for a slotted lug. The 1903 Springfield contributed a coned breech. A slender walnut stock with Schnabel forend cradled a nickel-steel barrel. ...Read More >

In the 1965 Gun Digest, John Lachuk wrote a piece called “M14, Hail and Farewell.” The army had just announced it was dumping the M14 after just seven years in service, making it the shortest-lived primary service rifle in modern history – shorter, even, than the Krag-Jorgensen (1894-1906). Lachuk undertook to evaluate the M14, and look at possible successors. His assessment was scathing: “(The M14) is modern in name only,” he wrote, and “represents…a monumental mechanical failure for U.S. Army Ordnance.” ...Read More >