Innholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2024 i RifleShooter

Wood Is Good I am very encouraged and excited to read in the July/August “Commence Fire” commentary that you plan to offer more coverage of traditional wood guns. I look forward to the article in the next issue on the Sako 90 Hunter, as well as future articles on CZ and Montana Rifles. If you really want to get into the wood-stock rifles, may I suggest you feature the Ruger model No.1 RSI International and/or the Ruger M77 II International. They both have full-length Mannlicher-style fore-ends that, in my humble opinion, only add to their exceptional beauty. Thanks again for keeping us older hunters in mind. We don’t have much use for “black guns.” Dick Parker, North Carolina Thank you, Mr. Carl A. DiMatteo (“Commence Fire,” July/ August). My guess…

Last year, my wife drew a Colorado bighorn tag, and I was allowed to tag along. She’d hired a guide, but you can never have enough eyes on a hunt like this, so I decided to make myself useful. Years ago, I’d hunted Coues deer in Mexico and used 15X binoculars on a tripod. I’d always thought it was a superior way to glass for long periods while still having sufficient power, and I figured this kind of setup would be ideal for a sheep hunt. I already had the tripod, one I had carried to support a spotting scope I’d taken on several elk and deer scouting trips. It’s Leupold’s Alpine CF-425 ($400), a versatile and affordable tripod that weighs only 32 ounces thanks to its carbon-fiber legs. At…

Burris has offered its Signature LRF and other rangefinders for years, but now it has stepped into the rangefinding binocular market with the Signature LRF 10x42. They combine quality glass with a built-in rangefinder, meaning you have one less thing to carry with you. The Signature LRF binoculars don’t have onboard ballistics. You simply get a range to the target, and you get it quickly. The lack of onboard ballistics isn’t a bad thing. Adding a ballistic calculator requires extra mass, and that makes your binos more of a burden. There’s also a cost factor. Competing rangefinding binoculars with built-in calculators cost from hundreds to thousands more. If all you want is to get your range and apply your own dope, these offer everything you need. That’s not to say…

You’ll have to forgive me if I’ve told this story before, because I may have. When I was a wet-behind-the-ears assistant editor at American Rifleman magazine—and way more a hunter/shooter than a “gun guy”—I had the good fortune to have the late, great NRA technical editor Pete Dickey as my mentor. He’d hold court every morning before work, and I’d pester him endlessly about various hunting rifles I was thinking about buying. “Scotty,” he finally said, squinting through a blue haze of cigarette smoke, “just get a Sako .308.” A couple of Sakos have passed through my hands since then—a 75 and an 85—and both made me appreciate what Pete was talking about. I’m even more impressed with the new Sako 90 Hunter, a traditional beauty that showcases both the…

It’s no secret that lever-action rifles have enjoyed a well-deserved resurgence of late. It’s also not a news flash that Marlin Firearms is back in business under Ruger ownership. One of Marlin’s last ventures before its previous parent company’s bankruptcy was the Dark Series, a lineup of lever guns that blurred the lines between traditional and modern. Marlin has now redesigned and reintroduced the Dark Series, pushing the boundaries of modernism even further. Among the choices in the Dark Series lineup is the Model 1895 chambered in .45-70 Gov’t. The receiver is machined from steel alloy. The operating lever incorporates a slightly oversize loop so it can be used while wearing heavy gloves. The loading gate and ejection port are standard 1895, located on the right side of the receiver.…

LANDS & GROOVES We’ve been publishing our annual roundup of big game rifles for 15 years now, with Brad Fitzpatrick ably doing the heavy lifting once again. Rifle trends have come and gone, and come ’round again, but with cartridges it’s been more of a sea change. Yes, blips appear—new rounds that gain everyone’s attention for a little while and then fade—but there are some long-term trends that appear to be establishing themselves. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what this year’s cartridge list may or may not tell us, and I’ll go by caliber. Do keep in mind that this roundup, while extensive, is not all-inclusive, and just because a particular cartridge fares well or not so well in new-rifle offerings is not the…

A truly amazing rifle was created as the M1891 Mosin-Nagant. Amazing because the action never really evolved as did every other rifle born during the late 19th century’s smallbore/smokeless powder revolution. More amazing is its 7.62x54R cartridge—a living fossil that still serves strong 133 years later with no signs of slowing down, even though both rifle and cartridge were obsolete by Western standards well before World War I. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the Mosin-Nagant is the wallflower of guns. No one copied its design, although many countries fielded versions of the 10 million or more of all models produced. That makes the M1891 a hard rifle to ignore, and its size makes it stick out. The M91/30 version’s overall length exceeds 48.5 inches. Add the…

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…

Whether you’re trying to drop the buck of a lifetime in your back 40 or hoping to anchor a big bull elk on the next ridge, it’s the bullet that does the most important work. Whatever you’re hunting, the bullet must be right for the task. This is not a simple decision. Today we are blessed with an amazing array of projectiles—and accompanying hype that can make decisions difficult. Fortunately, bullet making today is highly advanced, their designs greatly aided by computerized modeling. I doubt there are any “bad” bullets out there today, and I also doubt that any are perfect for all seasons and all reasons. As the ancient knight says in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” “Choose wisely.” American rifle shooters are traditionally fixated on accuracy and…

If there’s any place where it behooves us to be OCD about organization, it’s at the reloading bench. After all, we are creating small items that harness the power of explosions and use that energy to drive projectiles downrange at extreme speeds. A simple mistake can cause a catastrophic failure. And although good organization isn’t a cure-all for temporary stupidity, it goes a long way toward circumventing an absent-minded oversight that just could blow up your favorite shootin’ iron. Plus, it just feels good to work in a clean, organized space. Tidy up your loading area, and you’ll impress your spouse and make your workbench the envy of your shooting pals. Here’s how to get started. When I began this project I was embarrassed to even look at my loading…

There’s a lot for hunters to be excited about this year, and there are lots of good excuses to part with your cash and make space in your gun safe for a new addition. As always, our annual Big Game Rifle Roundup includes rifles chambered in suitable .243/6mm or larger hunting cartridges. With fall fast approaching it’s high time to add another hunting rifle to your collection, and there are plenty of excellent options in 2024. Benelli The company adds a new hybrid hunting/target version of the popular Lupo, the HPR—which was RifleShooter’s cover gun in the March/April issue. The rifle utilizes the same three-lug push-feed bolt and double-stack magazine, but it incorporates a three-part chassis, heavy-contour, straight-fluted CRIO barrel and a muzzle brake. The crisp, user-adjustable trigger (2.2 to…

Franchi introduced the Momentum bolt-action rifle in 2018, and it is still going strong. A modified version called the Momentum Elite came along in 2021, and it was initially available in .223 Rem., 6.5 Creedmoor and .308. Also unveiled that year was the Momentum Varmint Elite with a heavy barrel in .22-250, .223 Rem. and .224 Valkyrie. The latest variation from Franchi and the star of this report is the Momentum All-Terrain Elite in .223 Rem. and .308. Putting camouflage finishes on hunting rifles is mostly an American thing, so the same rifle is sold in other countries as the Horizon All-Terrain Black Synthetic. Beginning with the action, the cylindrical receiver measures 1.350 inches in diameter, is 8.5 inches long and has the same roof contour as the Remington Model…