Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Gun Digest

It took me longer than I care to admit to truly understand what productive firearms practice looks like … and still longer to actually implement what I knew to be paramount to my success on the trigger. When I was a kid and just learning the ropes of hunting whitetails with my family, I was appalled by the opening morning talk of uncles and friends who had pulled their guns from the cabinet the evening prior, slid it in a case and considered it ready to roll because, well … it worked last November when they put that gun in the safe. And there I was, an over-achiever at age 14, shooting a box or two (these were slug guns, with five-round boxes, mind you) a full week prior to…

Not every neat tool needs to be a machined thing of beauty made of exotic alloys. In the century-plus the 1911 has been around, every approach to improve it has been undertaken … or so it seems. There are a bunch of 1911s, factory and custom-built, that use a one-piece guide rod. To disassemble those, you need to use a bent paperclip to lock the recoil spring assembly. That’s fine, except you’re always losing the paperclip, it fights you on staying in place as you juggle the slide, or it breaks and launches parts. And it’s unsightly. Double Alpha Academy has the solution: the Reverse Plug Retention Clip (and the name is literally longer than the tool). This is a bent piece of spring steel wire, but with a clever…

01 Nosler SR-30K Two inches shorter and 2 ounces lighter than Nosler’s SR-30AlTi, the new SR-30K was specifically designed with backcountry hunters in mind. Thanks to its titanium and aluminum construction, the suppressor weighs just over 7 ounces and measures just under 6 inches in length. This makes it ideal when being hauled over long distances or through rough country. It also features a special baffle stack designed to maximize sound suppression performance despite its reduced size. If you’ve wanted to hush up your hunting rifle but are worried about added bulk, the Nosler K-Can is worth your consideration. MSRP: $729 02 Ruger/Marlin Model 1894 Classic Ruger has continued its reintroduction of classic Marlin lever-action rifles. The latest to hit the scene is the Model 1894 chambered for .44 Remington…

In 2008, Remington purchased Marlin. Shooters and hunters were not all that happy with the acquisition, and it took a long time for the new Marlin to start making rifles. When they did, there were a lot of complaints. Then, in 2020, Remington went bankrupt, and Ruger purchased Marlin. Given Ruger’s history of turning out fine firearms, Marlin fans were excited, and it didn’t take long for Ruger to get it together either. By 2022, they’d reintroduced the 1895 SBL and since then have introduced two other 1895 models and the 336 Classic. In mid-June, Marlin reintroduced the Model 1894 in .44 Magnum, which is one of the Marlin rifles those of us who, at least sometimes, identify as a cowboy have been impatiently waiting for. THE RIFLE The Marlin…

Whether you’re a competitive long-range shooter, a serious hunter or just someone who enjoys shooting paper at the range, there’s a good chance you have a rifle that features the ubiquitous Remington 700 Short Action. If so, and you’re in the market for an affordable upgrade, the new MDT Field Stock is worth a look. MDT describes its new Field Stock as being entry-level, but it still has quite a few features for the price. Firstly, accuracy is improved by aluminum V-block bedding and a free-floated barrel. The injection-molded polymer body is lightweight at only 3.1 pounds, making it easy to carry, and MDT says that the grip remains warm to the touch in any weather condition. Furthermore, length-of-pull spacers and an adjustable cheek riser allow for a perfect fit…

HISTORICAL NOTES The 6mm Remington has exactly the same case dimensions as the .244 Remington. They differ only in the fact that the 6mm Remington is loaded with bullets of up to 100 grains, whereas the .244 Remington was never loaded with bullets of more than 90 grains. Ammunition marked .244 Remington can be fired in 6mm Remington chambers and vice versa. However, rifles marked .244 Remington will not always stabilize the 100-grain bullet. The difference in the two is that .244 rifles (if manufactured by Remington) have a 1:12 rifling twist, and rifles marked 6mm have a 1:9 twist. When Remington introduced the .244 in 1955, it selected the 1:12 twist as best suited to long-range accuracy with bullets of 75 to 90 grains. That was correct, except that…

Bottlenecked cartridges have many different means of headspacing, from using a rim—so popular among the lever-action cartridges—to the Holland & Holland belted design, to the true rimless cartridges that use the shoulder for headspacing. And while the goal for creating ammunition is to have the cartridge slip easily into the chamber, sometimes that formula doesn’t give the best possible accuracy. If you reload your ammunition, you can control some of the dimensions, and you can give yourself an advantage in the accuracy department. MANAGING VARIABLES AND EXPECTATIONS First, to understand things properly, we must realize that not all chambers are cut in the same manner. Yes, our factory guns and even custom jobs do the best to keep things as uniform as possible, but even with the modern level of…

For those who don’t know the history of the 10mm (a few of you, no doubt), here’s a thumbnail: It began in the early 1970s as a 40-caliber project based on a Hi-Power. The performance peaked at a 180-grain bullet at 1,050 fps. Next, it was upgraded to go into the Bren Ten pistol, and Norma loaded the ammo, greatly exceeding the desired specifications in the process. I shot one back then, and the result was a 200-grain bullet at 1,200 fps or a 180-grainer at 1,350 fps … or so. Adopted by the FBI, they found (to no great surprise) that you can’t get an office full of accountants to pass a handgun qualification course with such ammo. The FBI kept asking for softer and softer ammo until they…

None of us are getting any younger, and if you were to ask my legs, hips and lower back, the hills I choose to hunt seem to be getting steeper. Despite having crossed the half-century mark, I refuse to allow my native Catskills and Adirondacks to intimidate me to the point where I avoid hunting them. Though the terrain may be rugged, here in New York we have oxygen in our mountains—as opposed to the Rockies, where oxygen comes at a premium—and while the game might be sparse, it’s an iconic experience. Rifle weight has often been a factor for those who hunt the rugged terrain, whether it be sheep hunters on the scree slides of Alaskan mountains or anyone who hauls their gear on their back when venturing into…

When shooting a handgun, steel targets are the most fun to shoot. This is because they provide immediate audible feedback. And, depending on the target, they can also provide immediate visual feedback when the target moves. Another appealing feature of steel targets is that you don’t have to go downrange and paste up your bullet holes. Sure, you might want to paint them every now and again, but even that’s not mandatory. Steel targets are just easy to use and fun to shoot at. But are they the best target for training with a defensive handgun? Yes and no. To conduct the best defensive handgun training, you need a variety of targets, some made of steel and some made of paper, and there are several reasons for this. BASIC MARKSMANSHIP…

If you don't want to use quad rails or a traditional handguard on that next AR build (or if you're looking to put more modern furniture on your current rifle), your two options are either KeyMod or M-Lok. Is one generally better than the other? Do either offer any niche advantages? What are the best handguard models for each style? WHAT ARE KEYMOD AND M-LOK? KeyMod and M-Lok were both invented to mount various accessories to an AR-style rifle without the bulk and weight of a quad rail “cheese grater” handguard. Besides offering more attachment points for accessories, both styles of handguards often provide another key advantage: free-floating. Because most M-Lok and KeyMod handguard models attach to the barrel nut rather than the barrel itself, they improve a rifle’s potential…

Alot of hunters don’t spend the necessary time practicing with their hunting rifles in the same ways they will use them when they’re hunting. I believe gun magazines and gun writers have sort of corrupted many hunters because too much focus is spent on shooting itty-bitty groups from a bench. This is a great way to test ammunition and almost mandatory for sighting in a rifle, but it does very little to help you enhance your relationship and interaction with the rifle you’ll be hunting with. Some practical exercises that help you develop field marksmanship and gun handling skills are a better approach to preparation for hunting season. These three drills can be fired on any 100-yard range; they’re easy to set up and easy to score. Most importantly, they…

In 1958, Winchester created the .264 Winchester Magnum. Three years later, Finnish gunsmiths at Sako built and shipped Finnbear Model L61R Serial 2080, chambered in the muscle car-powered 6.5mm caliber. Sako built quite a few L61Rs in .264 Winchester Magnum. What makes Serial 2080 unique isn’t that it’s a “pre-Garcia” Sako, that it has a “Borfors” steel-stamped barrel or that it wears an even more rare 26-inch barrel. No, what separates Serial 2080 from every other .264 Winchester Magnum ever made is that this one is mine. Why I own a .264 Winchester Magnum at all, considering I already have a stable of 6.5-caliber rifles chambered in 6.5x55 Swede, 6.5-284 Norma and the brand-spanking-new 6.5 PRC, is what makes this rifle special. While Serial 2080 was born on December 11,…