Rifle November/December 2018

Rifles for pronghorn (aka, antelope) and the cartridges they are chambered for are generally thought of as long-range outfits, mostly due to the anticipation of a long shot at a trophy buck on the western prairie. It follows, too, that folks often associate designated antelope rifles with long-range scopes, most being variables that run up to 14x or higher, although heat mirage usually prevents the effective use of scopes over 12x or so, and a standard 3-9x is more practical for most hunting situations. Judging from correspondence regarding pronghorn hunting from folks who generally live on the east side of the Mississippi River, most seemed to have settled on the question of what rifle to use (mostly bolt actions), but are undecided about the cartridge and bullets. Interestingly, former Wolfe staffer the late Bob Hagel made the choice easy many years ago in a feature, “Rough Country Antelope,” published in the 1971 Gun Digest, 25th Edition by recommending the .270 Winchester, apparently using out-of-the-box 130-grain softpoint factory ammunition or equivalent handloads. ...Read More >

Scoped bolt-action sporters weighing less than 8 pounds are often referred to as being light in weight, possibly because many older (and some not so old) hunters prefer their hunting rifles to weigh roughly 8 pounds. However, when a scope is mounted to many rifles – particularly aged models – they weigh more than people think. ...Read More >

In 1978 Browning Arms Company began importing a series of Winchester pattern lever-action rifles and carbines that were produced in Japan by Miroku. Each model variation was based on the designs of John M. Browning, who originally sold his patents to Winchester Repeating Arms Company, with all becoming highly popular rifles. The modern Browning versions are of particularly high quality, at least in regard to machining and steel quality, resulting in outstanding reliability, strength and accuracy. They have been chambered in both modern and traditional cartridges. ...Read More >

Set triggers are an anachronism; a holdover from a bygone era. Immensely popular in their heyday, my bet would be that the vast majority of today’s riflemen and hunters are not familiar with them at all. In simple terms, a “set trigger” is a mechanism by which a rifle is fired with a trigger pull weight measured in ounces instead of pounds. It is meant for precise shooting and not for fast shooting – or what some hunters might call “snap” shooting. ...Read More >

One of the things gunsmiths who do general repair work have noticed since the advent of plastic/synthetic/fiberglass stocks is the lack of repair work on damaged or broken gun handles. Since there have always been, and will always be, riflemen who are hard on equipment, this trend has to be due to the tougher nature of the newer stock materials. They don’t completely prevent damage, however. ...Read More >

Today it’s quite possible to buy a scope that costs three times or more than the price of the rifle it will be mounted on. Money may buy peace of mind as far as a scope’s dependability and performance are concerned, but a bargain-priced scope is sufficient for most shooting and hunting. The Konus line of target and hunting scopes includes nearly 30 options from a basic 4x32, to 1-4x 24mm and 12.5-50x 56mm models that sell for a modest price. I’ve been using a Konuspro LZ-30 2.5-10x 50mm scope on a Savage Model 10 .223 Remington. One Internet site listed the Konus scope for $199, which is about half the price of the Savage rifle. ...Read More >

As a kid running around the farm during the summer, I always had my uncle’s little Winchester single shot to ply the fields for small game. At that time it seemed every manufacturer had a rimfire rifle of some kind, so it was not uncommon for Remington to also have one of its own on the market. ...Read More >

There was a time – not that long ago – that if you neglected to clean a rifle regularly, you could pick it up one day and find the barrel rusted, the bore pitted, accuracy nonexistent and the action turned to scrap metal. There were several causes: Corrosive primers fostered rust, ingredients in gunpowder mixed with water to form acids and ate away at things, and salt from fingerprints etched patterns in the steel. ...Read More >

In 2006, Spanish company Bergara created a good name for itself in the shooting world by producing accurate barrels that placed one bullet after another in the exact same spot. ...Read More >

The first factory rifle chambered in .308 Winchester appeared early in 1952, with both rifle and cartridge considered semi-revolutionary. Today this hot news would “explode” on the Internet, with SHOT Show podcasts of prerelease field tests performed by gun writers on big-game animals from Texas to Africa. Articles printed in hunting magazines would appear shortly, scheduled to back up the SHOT Show excitement. ...Read More >

When I first began shooting high-power hunting rifles during the 1960s and ’70s, the most common scope configuration among U.S. big-game hunters typically consisted of a one-inch tube with either 2.5x or 4x magnification, while other hunters opted for a 3-9x variable, which was generally considered the ultimate in versatility. That has all changed with today’s scope technology. ...Read More >

Every rifleman’s gun rack should hold at least one serious, high-quality .22. That’s not an exact quote, but it’s as close as possible, drawing on memory going back 50 years. Colonel Townsend Whelen wrote those words, and they have stuck with me despite the ravages of time. ...Read More >

Hunters get excited when something new comes along – a rifle, new ammunition or even a scope. As a serious rimfire shooter since adolescence, the thought of a new rimfire round that pushes a 20-grain bullet out the muzzle at 3,000 fps is indeed news. Faster than the .17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire (HMR) by around 26 percent, the Winchester Super Magnum cartridge was destined to be the velocity leader when it comes to present-day rimfire ammunition. Along with the Winchester Super Magnum (WSM) ammunition from Winchester, Savage Arms was first to introduce a new bolt-action rifle for the cartridge. ...Read More >