Redesigned for a sleeker, more tactical look, the Leupold Freedom RDS Black Ring still boasts the top-notch functionality of the original.
If you’re familiar with the Leupold Freedom RDS Gold Ring, then the company’s new red dot sight shouldn’t throw you any curveballs. The Freedom RDS Black Ring model is essentially the same optic, except with a black ring. Explains the name, eh?
The aesthetic change, according to Leupold, was a customer demand for something a bit sleeker and more in tune with the rifle on which most will be used—the AR-15. Sensible request, especially for those with a truly tactical bent. Iconic as Leupold’s gold ring is it’s an eye-catcher akin to a struck match in the dead of night.
Outside of coming back in black, the Freedom RDS Black Ring boasts all the features that won it accolades when released around a year ago. These include exceptionally clear and scratch-resistant glass, true 1x magnification, highly-visible Twilight red-dot system, motion control activation and shutdown, and 1,000-hours operation time between battery changes.
The eye-catching—quite literally—aspect of the Freedom RDS is its fine 1 MOA red-dot, a break from the bulky 3 MOA dots that make up most of the market. While certainly, the lion’s share of the work the optic is meant for is of the close- to medium-range kind, the finer dot opens up its downrange potential. Leupold bills it as a 500-yard aiming solution, most certainly when talking about any target that’s not shy a dinner plate in diameter.
Two Freedom RDS options are available: a capped turret model and exposed BDC model. The capped version is aimed at more precision work, with ¼-MOA per click adjustments. The BDC iteration is optimized for 55-grain .223 Rem. ammo, giving a rifle the ability to quickly adjust to targets at various ranges. In either case, the Freedom RDS comes with a mount height-optimal for the AR and both have versions have 80-MOA of adjustment for elevation and windage. Also, the red dot is well-sized, less than 5.5 inches length and under 7 ounces in weight.
As to price, Leupold has hung a reasonable MSRP on the Freedom RDS Black Ring, with a starting MSRP of $365.
For more information on the Leupold Freedom RDS Black Ring, please visit https://www.leupold.com/.
10MM defensive loads have come a long way in a short amount of time.
The 10mm pistol cartridge has been a lot of things over its nearly four decades of existence. Evolving out of the .40 G&A, a cartridge developed with the impetus of Jeff Cooper back in the 1970s, it sprang onto the scene in 1983 in the Bren Ten and with ammo from Norma. The idea was a “better than .45 ACP” cartridge that held more rounds in a pistol that was just as, if not more, ergonomic than the 1911. In addition, it could be a short magnum if needed.
What we got was “Holy Cow!” in a pistol. Somewhere in my archives, my earliest chrono log has the numbers; but simply put, the Norma specs of a 200-grain bullet at 1,200 fps were modest … compared to real life. The load delivered more like 1,300 fps, which made it an honest .44 Magnum in a pistol. We won’t speak of the velocities of the 180-grain JHPs, except to say that I turned down the opportunity to shoot a second magazine of them (this, from a 1911, because Bren Tens were exceedingly rare).
Then, after the 1986 Miami FBI shooting, the FBI declared that the 10mm was the pistol cartridge of the future. Alas, the FBI quickly found out that its offices full of accountants, lawyers and other white-collar types held few who could shoot passing scores with 10mm pistols and then-factory ammo.
.40 S&W: 10mm Goes Soft
So, the FBI kept going back to the ammo companies, asking for softer and softer ammo, until it hit on the “magic” formula: a 180-grain bullet at 950 fps. That left a lot of empty space in the 10mm case, and the Winchester ballisticians did a clever thing: They shortened it. Voilà! The .40 S&W was born, delivering a 180-grain bullet and 950 fps in a 9mm-sized pistol.
Para used to make the Longslide Hunter, but this brand is no more. Colt came out with the Delta, and that jump-started the 10mm.
At that point, the 10mm became a “Jekyll and Hyde” caliber—one end was the soft, defensive ammo, basically a .40 S&W in a long case. At the other extreme, it was loaded to the gills (back then, handloaded) with a heavy bullet to full 10mm velocity. (There were some in-between loads, but not many.)
The .40 S&W, overpromising and under-delivering, has now fallen out of favor. The 10mm loads that duplicate it still exist, but they are legacy loadings and will only be around as long as sales warrant it.
In the place of the .40-equivalent loads, the 10mm defensive loads have stepped up a bit, in part due to the FBI test protocols. The 10mm was always a large-framed pistol caliber, not something you could shoehorn into a 9mm platform (that was what the .40 did), so users weren’t, and still aren’t, too put off by full-FBI-compliant loadings.
Because we’re looking at the bear-busters—the hunting loads here—I’ll leave the defensive ammo subject with one simple suggestion: Hornady 175-grain Flexlock Critical Duty. This is a 175-grain bullet at a listed 1,160 fps (testing usually puts it lower than that … not a bad thing), and that load will max out the scores on the FBI barrier tests. Buy it, test it, make sure your pistol is zeroed, and you’re golden.
The Bear-Busters 10s
But for hunting, you want more.
With the Rock Island high-capacity 10mm, loaded with Buffalo Bore 220-grain thumpers, hunting camp is a safer place.
So, the hunting loads for the 10mm are often full-weight bullets or even more. You can get 10mm bullets up to 220 grains in weight. You can, if you can stand the recoil, boost them up to supersonic velocities. Even so, that’s reloading, and we’re talking factory ammo for right now.
I gathered up an array of suitable-for-hunting and suitable-for-practice hunting loads to see what numbers they would produce.
The results were as expected—and impressive. The “soft” 10mm loads were the Speer 200-grain Gold Dots, which came in at a bit above .45 ACP+P power levels. Depending on how much power you feel the need for or which particular load is most accurate in your pistol, the array of available soft- and hollow-points makes it easy to gather a selection. Then, it’s just a matter of finding which is most accurate in your gun. If it came down to a choice between two loads, I would tend to go for accuracy over sheer horsepower. I’d stick with the most accurate, even if the second-most-accurate load is 100 fps faster. (But that’s me.)
And if I were either hunting, or using ammo for protection from, bears, there would be one load of these that I’d select: the Buffalo Bore .220 hard-cast. There, you need penetration more than you need expansion, and when it comes to penetration, a hard-cast, truncated-nosed bullet is going to drill like a laser.
Springfield offers a pair of 10mms with red-dot sights already installed. Your choice: 5 inches or 6 inches of barrel.
I have a few 10mm pistols. The first one is a prize gun from the old Second Chance Combat Pin Shoot (now back up and running as “The Pin Shoot”), and it is a stainless Colt Delta. It is my workhorse gun. I have fitted barrels chambered in .40 S&W and .357 Sig to it, besides the original 10mm barrel, and it has worked like a champ for the quarter-century I’ve had it.
Next in my lineup is a Para Ordnance longslide, built for hunting. With its 6-inch barrel, it can be expected to wring out every fps to be had from any given load. It is a single-stack, and I’d have to seriously de-horn it before taking it hunting or use it as a bear gun.
If I’m looking to have capacity on hand, my Rock Island Armory hi-cap longslide is just the ticket. It has a 15-round magazine, so I have plenty of capacity for hogs or bears; and a quick reload gets me 15 more.
Really, my idea of a suitable bear caliber starts at .338 Winchester Magnum and goes up from there, but you can wear a 10mm pistol all day long when hunting or in camp, and you can’t do the same with a rifle in .338 Win. Mag.
Revolver fans haven’t been left out: S&W has had the 10mm as a wheelgun in and out of its catalog. You can find them, and reloading a full-moon-clipped 10mm is lots faster than a .44 Magnum.
Now, if I’m feeling “modern” and want to be fully into the 21st century, Springfield Armory offers a pair of 10mm pistols in the 1911, one with a 5-inch barrel and one with a 6-inch. Both have factory-installed red-dot sights on the slide. They’re singe-stack guns as well … but not all problems are solved by sheer volume or capacity.
Glock? Nope. I checked, just to make sure, and the only big-framed Glocks I have are in .45 ACP. The Glock chambers I’ve measured are just a bit too generous for my taste, and 10mm hunting loads expand more than I like. The combination tends to be hard on brass. I’m sure there are lots of satisfied Glock 10mm owners out there, but what I have serves me well, so I’ll stick with the other Glocks I have.
There is another potential 10mm for hunting and bear defense that I don’t have, and that is the S&W 610. I have the identical revolver in .45 ACP, but not the 10mm version.
Why go with a 10mm revolver, you ask, when the same-size wheelgun could be had in .44 Magnum? Moon clips. The only faster reload for a revolver than moonclips is a second, loaded revolver. If you need a reload or you want to change what ammo you have in the gun and not lose any of it, moon clips rule.
If you’re using a handgun for hunting (as opposed to camp wear), a red-dot sight allows for more-precise aim from the hunting stand. In camp, it will be wicked fast.
The 610 has been in and out of the S&W catalog (currently in) and with barrel lengths of 4 and 6 inches. If you’re a fan of the DA revolver rather than pistols, the 610 is a first-class choice.
10mm Territory
The popularity of the 10mm waned a bit after the introduction of the .40 S&W, but it recovered and has been growing for a number of years now. One reason is the ever-larger number of state DNRs that permit handgun hunting in formerly shotgun-only areas. The one consistent rule for that has been the requirement for the handgun to be chambered for a straight-walled cartridge. The 10mm is the most powerful of those in a self-loading pistol that isn’t a big, bulky package. Pistols chambered in .44 Magnum tend to be much larger than the 1911 and, therefore, not as convenient.
When you venture into 10mm hunting load territory, be aware that you are working in the low-to-middle portion of .44 Magnum recoil. For instance, the Buffalo Bore .220 hard-cast lead, at a listed 1,200 fps, produces a power factor of 264.
Out of the Rock Island, it did better than that. Despite the listed ballistics, a .44 Magnum is going to be pushing a 240-grain lead bullet at 1,200 fps, so you’re neck and neck with the revolver. And because pistols—1911s, in particular—don’t roll up in your hand under recoil as revolvers do, you’ll take every bit of that recoil on each shot.
Left to right: Sig Sauer 180-grain FMJ, Federal Bonded Trophy 180-grain, Sig V-Crown 180-grain, Buffalo Bore 180-grain JHP, Buffalo Bore 220-grain L-TC.
Don’t expect to spend an afternoon plinking session shooting off a couple of hundred rounds of 10mm. You will have developed a flinch long before you get that much ammo downrange.
I chronographed the loads first in my Delta, with its 5-inch barrel, and then did them all again in the Rock Island longslide and its 6-inch barrel. You’ll have to decide for yourself if the extra length of the pistol is worth the extra velocity of the barrel. One thing you will benefit from with a longslide pistol is the extra sight radius: Tagging the 1-foot-square gong on the club’s 100-yard rifle range was pretty easy, even with the hardest-kicking loads.
To get some not-so-much-recoil practice in, 10mm empties are easy to reload. You’ll find that the hot factory ammo will have expanded the cases enough so that resizing is work—but not as much as the “T-Rex”-level .44 Magnum loads some shoot, which practically require you to stand on the loading press handle. But you’ll notice more work resizing with hot 10mm empties than with regular 10mm or standard .45, 9mm, .40, etc.
The 10mm uses a standard large-pistol primer—there’s no need for magnum primers—and, due to the popularity of the .40 for so long, there’s no lack of 10mm bullets. For lead, you’ll want .401 inch; for jacketed, you’ll want .400 inch. Easy to find.
Designed Machined and assembled in Leupold Optic's Oregon factory, the Mark 5HD scope keeps the company roots firmly planted in its home.
Crafted to redefine accuracy, precision, and optical performance for long-range shooters, Leupold’s award-winning Mark 5HD is a testament to domestic manufacturing. It’s proudly designed, machined, and assembled in the company’s Beaverton, Oregon factory, where Leupold employs over 650 hardworking Americans.
In designing the Mark 5HD line, Leupold’s product specialists asked elite shooters what they needed to put accurate fire downrange faster, and used that input to design a riflescope that provides all the tools necessary — in both quality and features — without the unnecessary extras that add weight and cost for consumers. Combining relentless optical performance, rugged reliability, and user-friendly features in a package that could only be produced by leveraging the 70-plus years of optics manufacturing Leupold possesses, the Mark 5HD has wowed end-users throughout the industry.
Be sure to enter our American Made giveaway, with great gear from great American companies. Click the tab at the bottom right of page to enter.
Pick up a Mark 5HD and you’ll feel the difference; it’s up to 20 ounces lighter than other scopes in its class. Get behind one and you’ll see the difference, from its superior edge-to-edge clarity to its extreme low-light performance. With three revolutions of elevation adjustment, the Mark 5HD was built to max out the performance of the latest long-range rifles and ammo.
The heart of the Mark 5HD is in its ZeroLock adjustments, which provide precise, repeatable tracking with a dead-on return to zero. The M5C3 elevation dial delivers over 30-mils of adjustment in three turns. Visual and tactile revolution indicators are in place to ensure you don’t get lost in the travel, and the auto-lock at zero eliminates the risk of accidentally moving the dial. The windage adjustment is capped and the zero indicator mark has been relocated on the riflescope’s main tube so you can see it without moving your head off the stock of the rifle.
In short, it’s the most dominant long-range, precision riflescope on the market. Best yet, it’s backed by Leupold’s legendary lifetime guarantee, which guarantees performance where other companies warranty failure.
For more information on Leupold Optics, please visit leupold.com.
When you can’t get close or you have to shoot over or around obstacles, a tripod is the most important tool in your toolbox.
Precision rifle shooting is the fastest-growing segment of the hunting industry, training should go hand-in-hand with it.
Hunting and sniping have a lot in common. It’s why back in the old days, Marines and hunters who were adept at hunting were often chosen to fill the military’s ranks.
Today, it’s not quite the same. For example, I graduated from sniper school, having come from a reasonably large city and with no hunting background. As Brad Pitt noted in Spy Games, we had a Safeway back home to put food on the table.
The main difference I see after years of being involved in the precision rifle world is the education side of things. Snipers have chased technology and seek out a lot of training, whereas hunters are happy to do things as they always have. In other words, if it was good enough for grandpa, it’s good enough for me.
I have story after story of students who attended classes because they missed a trophy elk inside 200 yards. Once fall hits, I get e-mail after e-mail about animals being taken at twice this range. I see everyone, from guides to professional hunters, in the classes I teach.
World-class hunts are expensive, so why risk a failed shot because of a lack of training?
Breaking down the fundamentals of marksmanship with easy-to-understand methodology, author Frank Galli draws on his background as a Marine sniper to offer a logical order of instruction from shooter to target. Buy Now!
Hunters are not solely to blame; the industry has not helped their cause. The firearms industry has been slow to address the recent changes we see on the military side, as well as with competition shooting. It has gotten better, and there are pockets of excellence out there in the hunting world. Sure, you might have to spend a premium to find it, but what are your efforts worth?
Get the Best Precision Rifle Training
The first place I would start to look is at a company such as Gunwerks, because I believe it’s providing training correctly. To begin with, it hired former USMC scout sniper instructor and competition shooter Philip Velayo. He is a rising star in the precision rifle community. Gunwerks is bringing a modern take to hunter education. Deep in theory and practical in its application, Gunwerks has a great hunter training program. I highly recommend it.
It’s no longer about the minute-of-pie-plate standard most hunters use. Well, if 99 percent of your engagements falls inside 100 yards, does it matter? The answer is yes; it should always matter. We are talking life and death here.
Offer Training and They Will Come
Even in my precision rifle marksmanship classes, we see a lot more hunters coming out to get educated. On my first few trips to Alaska in order to teach precision rifle courses, it was all about hunting rifles on the line. In Alaska, nearly everyone hunts to put food on the table or to protect themselves from the angry “dinosaurs” roaming the woods.
Pairing an older hunting rifle with a modern scope will increase its capability immediately.
I had to adapt my training for the shooters who showed up with hunting rifles in magnum calibers designed for no more than three shots. It’s a tricky way to teach a class and includes a lots of downtime so the barrels can cool. (Gunwerks’ rifles have moved from pencil-thin barrels that cannot handle more than three shots at a time to carbon-fiber variants that keep the weight down.)
Combine this with scopes that can’t reach out past 600 yards, and the result is some students making hits on target at 1,000 yards, while the others are barely able to take advantage of the ballistic power their rifles possess. Today, all our shooters are able to distance within that three-shot limit.
Advancing Technology
Precision rifle shooting is the fastest-growing side of the firearms industry, so it makes sense that we’re seeing hunting technology move forward. Better still is the current group of shooters who have adapted the competition tools and techniques to their hunts.
Competition shooters generally engage multiple targets at multiple distances in fewer than 90 seconds—as many as 10 shots on a variety of targets from 300 yards to 1,000 yards. And, they are doing it from alternate positions.
Let’s break down the facets of precision rifle shooting:
Sub-MOA targets
Compressed time standards
Alternate positions
Tripods and game-changer bags for obstacles
“Find it, range it, engage it” approach
Precision rifle shooters act as their own spotters
In fact, everything on this list applies to hunting throughout North America.
Best Practices
First, optics. Step up to a modern piece of glass with target or tactical-style turrets you can actually adjust. You have a fast-moving caliber that can effectively reach 1,000 yards in training. Dialing the scope is not going to slow you down; it will help you establish your verified drops to distance. These drops can be translated to the reticle for holds when time is on the line. Every student with a hunting scope is given two ways to attack this issue: a table of drops and a diagram of holds.
Change your zero. Get away from the 200-plus-yard zero and stick to 100 yards. With a 100-yard zero, everything is up, including shots, inside this distance. Zeroing at 200 yards or longer does not afford you any advantage at all. In fact, it costs you more than you realize, because atmospheric effects will begin to work on the bullet. If you are traveling, this is going to cause a lot of headaches.
Once you have a 100-yard zero on your scope, you can dial any point-blank range you want. You can put 200 yards on the turrets; you can put 300 yards on the turrets; you can use a battle sight zero the same way grandpa did—but with an actual value in range. Dialing for your point of impact to intersect your point of aim is critical. It doesn’t have to be a guess as to how much to hold over the animal’s back.
Next, when it comes to the rifle, don’t be afraid of a little weight. A carbon-fiber stock and thicker C.F. barrel will help balance the weight with the ability to shoot the rifle.
Get On Target With Precision Shooting:
Mils vs. MOA: Which Is The Best Long-Range Language?
In addition, consider a MagnetoSpeed Riflekühl for your training. This device will cool off your barrel and chamber in between shots so you can take advantage of some real training.
Better record-keeping means better results. Accuracy and precision come from a couple of places. A shooter’s ability to gather and interpret data is one of them. You need rounds on target in order to gather data. Simply checking zero at 100 yards using a paper plate won’t do the trick. The record-keeping process has helped students land animals at longer ranges, making them more effective hunters. Without this critical data, there is no long-range hunting.
Consider support. Tripods are the quickest and easiest way to create a stable shooting platform. You can use your tripod for spotting, as well as shooting. In my opinion, the tripod is the most valuable tool in the practical shooter’s toolbox. Given a choice, I would leave the bipod at home and focus solely on shooting from a tripod. There is not a single scenario for which it does not apply. Zero from it, shoot it from it, embrace it.
My current Really Right Stuff tripod with an Anvil 30 head weighs 4.5 pounds and folds to fewer than 26 Inches. The Anvil 30 is the shooting tool for the modern shooter.
Combine lasers and binos. Laser rangefinding binoculars are going to be your best friend for spotting and ranging. You can do both in a single action. If you have doped out your rifle properly prior to the hunt, you have everything you need to hit any target, point of aim, point of impact. Sure, it takes practice and effort to learn.
Space-Age Materials
When it comes to bags and nylon accessories, the new lightweight fills are amazing. You don’t have to carry a 7-pound game-changer; you can now accomplish the same thing with a bag weighing just ounces. These bags cradle the rifle off hard surfaces so the recoil will not bounce you off the target. In other words, instead of placing the rifle directly on a log or stump, add a bag and see the results of your impact. (These bags also make a great pillow when you’re hanging out.) I am certainly not putting anyone down; rather, I’m trying to elevate hunters to a more effective place.
During our fundamental evaluation at Gunwerks, we see a lot of students I wouldn’t want shooting an animal inside 100 yards—let alone 400 or 500 yards. We teach them to understand and dope the wind, gather dope and learn some basic external ballistics that put rounds on target. And finally, it’s all about the hammer-forged fundamentals.
After the class is finished, we see marksmen standing in front of us. Marksmen hit what they are aiming at … by using a combination of skills.
Just because you’re hunting something with a 3 MOA kill zone doesn’t give you license to wing it.
Pitching the mighty .50 BMG, the Remington R2Mi takes your long-range game to the next zip code.
Have a passion for long-range that the average 6mm or 6.5mm isn’t satisfying? Perhaps it’s time for an upgrade. In that case, look no further than Remington Arms.
Newly minted, the R2Mi bolt-action in .50 BMG is engineered to dust your average precision rifle’s range by a country mile. One of the advantages of pitching 600-plus-grain projectiles. Pleasantly enough, Remington has tweaked the massive rifle in a few distinct ways to set it off from similar options on the market today. None stand out more than its bolt handle.
Situated on the left of the receiver, the handle allows the right-handed shooter to operate with his support hand, thus not break position when cycling the gun. A small design point, but a weighty one—especially when follow-up shots are at a premium. Interestingly, the R2Mi still spits out the empty cases to the right. The other major aspect worth noting is the simplicity of the .50-caliber. Two integral pins lock the upper and lower receivers, making its disassembly similar to AR-style rifles, which in a word is easy.
Get On Target With Precision Shooting:
Mils vs. MOA: Which Is The Best Long-Range Language?
As to the specifics of the R2Mi, it boasts a Lothar Walther free-floated match-grade barrel, an 8-groove bore with a 1:15 twist and ACC muzzle brake, which accepts a Cyclops suppressors. As to the receivers, they’re made of machined aircraft-grade aluminum and mated with a vented handguard. Mercifully, Remington includes a bipod in the package. To the rear of the gun, the R2Mi is outfitted with a Magpul PRS Gen3 buttstock, both adjustable for length of pull, cant and comb rise. The rifle feeds off a 10-round magazine and also has a full-length Picatinny rail to facilitate the quick addition of an optic.
Now, on to a little issue of price. Expected, the Remington R2Mi demands a princely sum—$4,599. Face long-range isn’t cheap, extreme long-range does nothing to temper the price tag. Although, if you need a few extras to pry your wallet open, “Big Green” throws in a Pelican Storm Case, hearing and eye protection, as well as a cable lock with the gun. All you have to figure out after that is how to pay to feed it.
For more information on the Remington R2Mi, please visit remington.com.
Manufactured to exacting standards and as classy as come, the Merkel K3 is truly rifle royalty.
Why The Merkel K3 Is A Cut Above Other Hunting Rifles:
Single-shot with a Jeager tilting block action.
Generally sold in a kit with a Swarovski Z3 scope and compact case.
Comes chambered in 223 Remington, .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, 8X57IRS, 6.5X55SE, 7X57R, 7X65R and 6.5X57R.
Stock is high-grade walnut, with a hog-back comb and Bavarian cheekpiece.
Receiver is machined for a Suhl one-piece scope mount.
The rifle is also a takedown, disassembling in fewer than 10 seconds.
Real riflemen know many rifles, but in truth, love none. They’ll bear the sorrow of some, and with others, have fun. Eventually, they’ll always find and run home to one they truly trust. Rifleman are all different, skipping among rifles like a gypsy moves from place to place, looking for that perfection that always seems to be just past the next crossroads.
But, sometimes, that special rifle will fall into their hands. For many, it never happens. For most, it takes half a century or more.
Right and below right: Assembling the Merkel K3 requires no tools and can be completed in about 10 seconds.
My son was lucky: He found his at the tender age of 19.
The Merkel K3 is a single-shot rifle with a Jeager tilting block that’s manufactured by Merkel Jagd- und Sportwaffen GmbH, which is located in Suhl, Thuringia (in Germany). Merkel has been manufacturing weapons since 1905. They’re currently distributed in the United States by Steyr Arms of Bessemer, Alabama.
K3s are generally sold in kit form for about $5,000. The package includes a Swarovski Z3 3X10-42mm riflescope and a rugged compact case from Americase. The rifle, itself, retails for about $3,700. Yes, that’s pricy, and you’re probably wondering why I’m so excited about a single-shot rifle that expensive. Let me explain.
Merkel K3: All the Details
The standard chamberings available in the Merkel K3 are .223 Remington, .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, 8X57IRS, 6.5X55SE, 7X57R, 7X65R and 6.5X57R. Others are available on request. The rifle is equipped with an adjustable titanium-nitride trigger with a pull weight that can be set at 14, 21 or 28 ounces. Overall weight is a nominal 5.3 pounds. Overall length is 1 meter, and the barrel measures 20 inches. The stock is carved from a gorgeous piece of high-grade walnut, and it has that distinctive European hog-back comb and Bavarian cheekpiece. It’s also fitted with a rubber butt pad and can be had in the left-hand configuration.
Once the K3’s barrel is installed on the action, the forearm is snapped into place. The latch for forearm removal is located on the bottom of the forearm and can be depressed with just a finger.
There are four basic versions. The standard model, the Extreme and Lady DS all come with a short forend. The K3 Stutzen has a two-piece, full-length Mannlicher-style front stock. The standard and Stutzen offerings are fitted with high-profile, highly visible fiber-optic open sights, and the Lady DS and the Extreme come without sights. The receivers for all versions are machined to accept the unbelievably precise Suhl one-piece scope mount.
The K3 is a takedown rifle and can be disassembled in fewer than 10 seconds. The rifle and scope fit inside a 28×9.5×3-inch Americase. The one-piece Suhl scope mount has two locking levers. Swing these levers 180 degrees, and the scope mount releases from the barrel. There’s a slide lock on the bottom of the forearm. Depress this lock, and the forearm comes off. Then, the last step is to push the action lever to the right, thereby unlocking the barrel from the action. For the traveling hunter, this is an ideal, compact, easy-to-carry and exceptionally secure setup. The combined weight of the cased rifle and scope is 16 pounds.
At the Range With the Merkel K3
I’m sure by now you’re wondering if the rifle will shoot. I wondered the same thing, because even though single-shot rifles can deliver excellent precision, takedown rifles are notorious for a wavering zero and often require re-zeroing every time they’re put back together. Full-stock—Mannlicher-style—rifles also have a reputation for poor accuracy. So, on my first trip to the range, I figured I’d best establish just how precisely the K3 would shoot.
This hartebeest was taken at almost 300 yards by the author’s son using the classy Merkel K3 Stutzen that he named “Sweet Melissa.”
After mounting a GPO Passion 3X 3-9x42mm riflescope in the Suhl mount, I fired three three-shot groups with three different loads from a sandbag rest at 100 yards. The average group size for all nine groups was an impressive 1.22 inches. The 165-grain AccuBond load from the newly established Federal Custom Shop averaged 1.04 inches.
Inspired, I went to the next step in the evaluation process to see how reliable the Suhl scope mounting system was.
I fired three more three-shot groups using the Federal Custom Shop load, and I removed and reinstalled the scope after every shot. The average group size was 1.39 inches! More importantly, there was no point-of-impact shift. In fact, the smallest group I fired (0.77 inch) was one of the three for which I removed and reinstalled the scope after every shot.
The Americase supplied with the Merkel K3 is robust, secure and lockable. You’ve got to admit that the disassembled and cased K3 Stutzen has a bit of royal flare. It’s like a rifle for a king!
I still needed to establish if accuracy and precision would remain after the rifle was disassembled. I fired three-more three-shot groups; however, after every shot, I removed the riflescope and took the rifle apart. Unbelievably, the average for those three groups was 1.35 inches! Practically speaking, this was amazing; I’ve tested custom bolt-action rifles—rifles that aren’t takedowns—that won’t shoot this well.
A Must-Have for a Roan Hunt
Beyond the wonderful mechanics of this rifle, I must mention how well it handles. It’s a joy to carry and snaps to your shoulder quickly. With an upcoming month in Africa, I couldn’t resist taking it along. A roan hunt was on the agenda; I’ve wanted to hunt roan since my first African safari. As far as I was concerned, no rifle was more regal than the Merkel for hunting such a majestic animal. And, when I showed it to my son, Bat, who always accompanies me on these month-long African adventures, I saw a grin as big as I’ve ever seen on his face. He said, “Dad, you have to buy this rifle!”
While on safari, I had a lot to do, and the roan hunt got pushed to the last week. During that time, I never took the Merkel to the bush. However, it was brought out to the fire ring every time a new hunter arrived in camp. They wanted to see the rifle my son and I were so excited about. This exhibition was always accompanied by a demonstration of how the rifle could be so quickly taken down and reassembled (I mention this because during the course of about three weeks, the Merkel was taken apart and put back together well over a dozen times).
The sliding switch on the Merkel K3’s tang serves as the safety. It also cocks and uncocks the action.
Why is this important? Well, when I arrived in Africa, I checked the zero on the Merkel; it was spot on. I was so confident of the rifle’s ability to retain zero that after three weeks of showing it off, I didn’t even bother to check it. We managed to close to about 110 yards on the day of the roan hunt, and the little Merkel placed the 165-grain AccuBond with perfection.
But that hunt was mostly a testament to my professional hunter’s ability to close the distance and get us close to an animal. Where the Merkel really shone—and earned its name—was during the last day of the safari.
My son hadn’t had the opportunity to do much hunting at all during the safari because he’d been busy running a camera and drone for the full month. The last day was devoted to him. Of course, he wanted to hunt with the Merkel. Over the years, he’s taken a wide array of plains game but had yet to secure a hartebeest, zebra or a nice representative impala ram. A least one of those was the goal for the day.
Bat’s Hunt Day
However, we got off to a rocky start.
The K3 does not have an extractor, but fired or unfired cases can be easily removed by hand.
We spotted some hartebeest as we slipped through a stand of acacia. I picked out a nice bull and ranged him at just shy of 230 yards. The bull dropped at the shot but got right back to his feet; it was apparent the bullet had stuck low in the leg. I ranged him again and got a distance of almost 300 yards (my first attempt at ranging was obviously flawed). I told Bat the correct distance and instructed him to hold on the bull’s back. He did, and when the Merkel roared, the hartebeest was down for good.
Somewhat unbelievably, we managed to find a nice impala ram near dusk. Bat dropped him with a shot through the heart at 276 yards. And, just as that glorious African sun was beginning to turn the sky neon pink, a 300-yard shot from the little Merkel collected Bat his first zebra.
I’d watched this boy fall in and out of love with various sports and girls for years. But after 19 years, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him look at or hold anything the way he gazed and cradled the Merkel K3.
One of the most impressive features of the Merkel K3 is the Suhl quick-detach, one-piece scope mount. It’s easily affixed to grooves cut into the barrel.
Throughout Bat’s life, I’ve strived to expose him to the finer things in life. He’s been hunting in Africa since he was 14, and I’ve introduced him to some fascinating folks and exposed him to some wonders of the world. These things are all just part of a father’s job. (So, too, is introducing a young man to good music. During our month-long adventure in Africa, the Allman Brothers had become a regular on his playlist.)
And, with every good rifle needing a good name, after his fantastic last day in Africa, Bat told me, “I’ve decided to name the Merkel ‘Sweet Melissa.’”
It might well be impossible to better describe a rifle such as this.
Merkel K3 Stutzen Specs: Manufacturer: Merkel Jagd-und Sportwaffen GmbH (Merkel-die-jagd.de/en) Importer/Distributor: Steyr Arms USA (Steyr-Arms.com/us) Chamberings: .223 Remington, .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, 8X57IRS, 6.5X55SE, 7X57R, 7X65R, 6.5X57R (other chamberings are available on request) Barrel: 20 in. Sights: Fiber-optic open sights; Suhl quick-detach scope mount Stock: Walnut (various grades and in right- or left-hand versions) Finish: Matte black Length: 35.82 in. Weight: 5.29 lbs. MSRP: $5,000 (includes a compact Americase and a Swarovski Z3 3X10-42mm riflescope)
For more information on the Merkel K3, please visit steyr-arms.com.
Full-sized and configured like a centerfire precision rifle, shake hands with the .22 LR CZ 457 Varmint Precision Trainer/SR.
If it hasn’t hit your radar, there’s a trend in long-guns shaping up this year as clear-cut as a trigger break—bolt-actions in .22 LR. Nothing new about the most popular cartridge in the world teaming up with the tried-and-true rifle, they’ve nearly been a pair since the dawn of metallic cartridges. Yet, the new generation of rimfire guns are a marketed break from the past. They’re full-sized, meticulously manufactured and would seem more at home in a precision rifle match than perforating tin cans. Welcome to the rise of the precision trainer.
The concept makes sense. Taxing your ammunition fund for pennies on the dollar, the tack-driving rimfires guarantee a boon of profitable trigger time on a rig meant to mirror its centerfire cousins. Bolt-throw to downrange results, it’s all there—albeit closer in. Newest to this game, CZ-USA.
Notables aplenty on the CZ 457 Varmint Precision Trainer/SR, one stands out in particular—a top-notch carbon-fiber stock. While the Manners’ platform isn’t adjustable, its internal structure is optimized for the utmost rigidity, thus consistent performance. Additionally, it’s got the little extras that help you keep the rifle on target—tall comb, butt hook, pistol grip, among others. Furthermore, CZ has trimmed back the action an inch in length and slab-sided it to make more room for your mitt.
Other notables on the CZ 457 Varmint Precision Trainer/SR include threaded muzzle (1/2×28 pattern), 60-degree bolt throw, detachable magazine system and an 11mm dovetail milled into the receiver to make adding an optic much easier. Moreover, the rifle is also outfitted with a user-adjustable trigger, however, the feature isn’t exclusive to the Precision Trainer/SR—all 457 boast one now. The rifle is available in two barrel lengths, 24 inch and 16.5 inch, both tapered varmint profile. On par with other recently-released rimfire trainers, CZ aims for crossover appeal in the rifle, not only in its very manageable 7.56-pound weight, but also its three-color camo pattern.
Even in .22, precision doesn’t come cheap and the CZ 457 Varmint Precision Trainer/SR is no different. Commanding $1,144, it's out of weekend plinkers’ range, but more than affordable for anyone obsessed with honing their precision rifle skills to a razor’s edge.
As far as competition revolvers are concerned, the Smith & Wesson R8 is everything the legendary Model 19 was … and more.
How The R8 Outdoes The Model 19:
Boasts an 8-round cylinder compared to the 19's 6-round.
Its a few ounces lighter than the 19, thanks to a scandium frame.
The revolver's cylinder is cut to accomodate moon clips for faster loading.
Its rear adjustable sight is exellent and its front is an interchangable Patridge style.
Tapped and drilled, an optic is easily mounted.
Fifty years ago, I was an avid shooter, but I’d never shot in a match. I simply didn’t know how to get started. A close friend let me know there was going to be a police practical pistol match held within 10 miles of my home and that civilians were welcome. The match was being held by the local community college for its law enforcement program. I signed up the next morning.
There were four divisions for active and reserve officers, students and civilians. I won civilian and was in the top 25 percent in the overall results. My gun-of-choice was a Smith & Wesson Model 19, 4 inches. I used a Bianchi lined gun belt and a thumb break Bianchi Model 10 holster. The winner shot a 6-inch Colt Python that was original on the outside but with a smoothed-up trigger.
In those days, the revolver was “king,” and while Pythons were great guns, the Model 19 was the working man’s revolver. In fact, it was easy to buy a Python; they were in every gun shop. But Model 19 Smiths were hard to come by and often brought a price far above retail and often higher than a Python.
The S&W Model 19: All Business
Arguably the most influential law enforcement shooter of the time was Bill Jordan, who carried a Model 19. In fact, Jordan was instrumental in the development of the Model 19. One appears on the cover of his book, No Second Place Winner.
Probably the biggest flaw in the Model 19 was the Baughman Quick Draw front sight. In those days, few holsters had sight tracks, and a vertical front sight often scrubbed a bit of leather as it came out of the holster.
It was introduced in 1955 and, unlike the chrome-and-finned cars of the 1950s, it was all business. It was available with 2½-, 4- and 6-inch barrels and had quality adjustable sights with some options, oversized “Combat” checkered exotic wood grips (either rosewood or goncalo alves) and a shrouded ejector rod. It was based on the K-frame—small enough to be fast and strong enough to handle the powerful .357 Magnum round. To this day, no handgun feels better in my hand than a Model 19.
At the time of its inception, the Model 19 was a remarkable handgun and certainly one of the most iconic pistols of the 20th century. It was capable of serving the competitor, law enforcement officer and sportsman equally well. It won trophies and awards, put bad guys behind bars, defended citizens and protected sportsmen. It was the perfect combination of a reliable, powerful, accurate and easy-to-shoot revolver.
Many years later, I was invited to cover the Bianchi Cup for Gun Digest the Magazine. I’ve always been a competitor and don’t shy from trying new things, so I wanted to shoot. I chose to shoot a revolver like the one I shot in my first pistol match. I began to think of what would make the best firearm.
I briefly considered shooting a Model 19. My original M19 was long gone (traded for some other pistol that’s also long gone), but I still had an old, nickel-plated, 4-inch Model 19. It wouldn’t be competitive—but then, neither would I, so the idea was appealing.
Then, I saw a Smith & Wesson R8 at the NRA Convention and knew that would be just the trick. I could shoot the cup with it and also write a review, thus killing two birds with one stone. It did really well, and a better shooter could have placed pretty high in the standings with it.
The Smith & Wesson R8: Deadly Accurate
As good as the Smith & Wesson Model 19 was (and still is), the R8 is better in every category. If law enforcement officers still carried revolvers, it would be the best service revolver available. Out of the box, it’s capable of winning local revolver matches. As a defensive pistol, it has eight rounds, and the opportunity for malfunctions is as close to zero as firearms get. It’s powerful, easy to shoot and deadly accurate. As a sportsman’s gun, it holds eight powerful .357 Magnum rounds and is light enough for daily carry in areas where animals that bite might be encountered. And with an optic, it’s a perfectly capable hunting instrument for deer-sized game.
Eight-round cylinder, almost zero chance of a malfunction and deadly accurate, the R8 is as good as it gets. If law enforcement still carried revolvers, it's a sure bet it'd be the R8.
The Smith & Wesson R8 is everything the iconic Model 19 was … and even more. It’s based on the N frame, larger and now with an eight-round cylinder instead of the six of the 19 and earlier N frames. Because of a scandium frame, it’s a couple of ounces lighter—slightly fewer than 36 ounces—than the all-steel Model 19.
The cylinders are cut to accommodate moon clips for faster loading and ejection. The R8 comes with a synthetic grip that closely resembles the Hogue Monogrip. I’ve never liked that grip and instantly replaced mine with a Pachmayr Presentation rubber grip. For several years now, all K-, L- and N-framed S&Ws feature a round butt frame. Even so, standard square butt grips fit.
The Smith & Wesson R8 is a Performance Center gun with features that relate to a broad range of use, but those features really work as a competition revolver. The rear sight is the excellent S&W adjustable, and the front sight is an interchangeable Patridge style that’s popular with competitive shooters. There’s a bottom rail in front of the shrouded ejector housing, and the top of the sleeved barrel housing is drilled and tapped for a supplied top rail for mounting optics.
In-Depth Testing
Even though I’ve shot thousands of rounds through both these guns, I decided I should go through the same testing procedure I’d use as if I had never fired them before. I ordered 500 rounds of Aguila 130-grain .38 Special and 158-grain .357 Magnum ammunition and set about a serious testing session.
Because both could be considered target guns, I bench-tested them at 25 yards and wasn’t disappointed. I could have easily put an optic on the R8, but I kept things fair and tested both with iron sights. Both guns easily delivered consistent groups of around 2 inches, with occasional groups close to 1 inch (with better eyes and some experimentation with loads, I’d bet you could get close to a 1-inch average). I had to use sight black on both guns to get a sharper sight picture, especially with the Model 19. It had the popular, but almost useless, red ramp front sight so popular in the 1970s.
The Baughman Quick Draw front sight was fast out of those old leather holsters without dragging a wad of leather, but it left a lot to be desired in getting a really good sight picture. The Patridge front of the Smith & Wesson R8 is much better, but I’d add a high-vis front if I were going to shoot it a lot.
State-of-the-art revolver rigs—50 years apart. Leather will always be more beautiful than plastic, but the Bladetech OWB holster makes that old Bianchi seem like a Model A. Notice that it’s been trimmed in the front for a bit more speed.
In deliberate single-action shooting, both guns have remarkable triggers. The break gives the impression of being lighter than it actually is, and there seems to be zero movement. You line up the sights, begin pressure on the trigger, and the gun seems to shoot itself.
Recoil anticipation isn’t a problem, because the gun just seems to shoot when the sights line up. Maybe part of this comes from my youth being centered around revolvers, but it’s the most natural kind of shooting I can imagine.
The same is true when shooting standing. I tested both guns with .38 Special for accuracy testing, and it was easy to hold the black on a 25-yard reduced pistol target. (In my youth, I could reliably hold that 5.32-inch circle in the classic “bullseye” shooting pose with one hand only.) I kept most shots inside the just-over-2-inch 8 ring. In that original PPC match mentioned above, you didn’t get to put the support hand on the gun until you reached the 25-yard line and finished up at 60 yards.
Match Fever
Because revolvers do really well at shooting in falling plate matches, I also did quite a bit of plate shooting. I was surprised at how easy it was to run the plates clean in the time limit with the old Bianchi holster and the stock Model 19 trigger. It was easier with the Smith & Wesson R8 and a trimmed BladeTech OWB holster without retention, but the Model 19 held its own remarkably well.
Of course, these guns are chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge, and it simply wouldn’t be right to try them out with some full-power loads.
After that initial PPC match, my appetite for competitive shooting had to find an outlet. Metallic silhouette shooting became the latest rage. I settled into NRA Hunters Pistol and shot my first couple of matches with that same Model 19. I won unclassified with that 4-inch Model 19, shooting standing and with the ram target a full 100 yards away. Later, I switched to a 6-inch Model 28 and won a lot of matches—becoming one of the first three AAA class shooters in the state.
For more information on the Smith & Wesson R8, please visit smith-wesson.com.
A prolific gunmaker, Springfield Armory is also an inexhaustible importer. Most obvious to modern shooters are the XD pistols, the Croatian-made HS2000, which makes up the lion’s share of the company’s handgun catalog. Successful as the line has proven, it’s really just the Johnny-come-lately.
Early in Springfield Armory’s history, it raked in a number of imported guns, some of which are out-and-out classics. We look at four of them today. By no means do they account for every gun the company introduced to the U.S. market, but there’s a case they’re among the best they ever sold. Those shooting in the 1980s should more than catch the drift.
Born in Spain, refined in Germany, made in Greece—this truly European rifle might be Springfield Armory’s greatest import. The SAR-3 was an out-and-out gem, putting a sporter Heckler & Koch G3 (read semi-auto Model 91) into your hands at a fraction of the Teutonic titan’s price. Thing is, you weren’t settling going Greek. Turned out by the thousands for the Hellenic Armed Forces, H&K kept tight reigns on how Greek arms maker EBO manufactured them. Under the watchful eye of German engineers and using H&K tooling, the SAR-3 almost doesn’t deserve the moniker clone. It’s dang near the original rifle made in a different country.
So, what do you get in the G3 … er, SAR-3? Aside from bruiser 7.62x51mm NATO chambering, the meat of the gun is its roller-delayed blowback action and modularity. The former gives the gun the utmost reliability—it will chew through .30-caliber clean, dirty or otherwise. If you shoot it a lot, plan on dirty, at least to the degree of an AR. The latter aspect isn’t so much a matter of upgrading, say like the AR again. Instead, the feature makes it a simple and intuitive rifle to get apart and access every nook and cranny of the rifle. No stretch to say, it’s a snap to troubleshoot in the field.
Springfield Armory had a brief run with the SAR-3, importing it from 1985-1989, offering both fixed and folding stock models—both with 17.5-inch barrels. Its market brevity was fueled by the early- to mid-1990s Federal Gun Legislation, culminating in the 1994 “Assault Weapons Ban”, which put the kibosh on the SAR-3 as a pure G3 Clone. Springfield continued to piece together a version of the rifle, the SAR-8. The ugly twin, was essentially the same rifle, however, in a thumbhole stock and shipped with a 10-round magazine.
Dotting grainy photographs of fighting men in the African bush, the “Right Arm of the Free World” was captivating. Steeped in the romance of deadly conflict in faraway places, come the 1980s the FN FAL was next to impossible procure. Not that demand tapped out the market. FN Herstal cut off the supply of its semi-automatic version, leaving aspiring soldiers of fortune high and dry.
Door closed, Springfield Armory smelled the opportunity to open a window and did as much with the SAR-48. Brazilian made by FN-licensed Indústria de Material Bélico do Brasil (IMBEL), the 7.61x51mm NATO rifle was as true to the original as if it rolled off a Belgian assembly line. Piston, grips, stock, the whole shebang was authentic, built to FN specs and overseen by the legendary gunmaker’s officials. In short—sans select-fire—it was a FAL.
Mystique aside, the attraction to the FAL—thus the SAR-48—was its tried-and-true design, born from the mind of John M. Browning protégé Dieudonné Saive. A staple of nearly all NATO countries outside of The United States for the better part of the mid-20th Century, the FAL proved itself in nearly every climate across the globe. It was temperamental in deserts, where it was reported to have jamming issues, otherwise, the design was rugged and reliable—the same traits endearing the SAR-48 to American shooters. Much of what made the rifle tick like a clock was its gas-operated short-stroke piston and tilting breechblock, which facilitated smooth and nearly unfailing cycling.
Variety the spice of life, Springfield Armory offered several variations of the SAR-48 between 1985 and 1989: 21-inch barreled Standard Model, 18.5-inch barreled Brush Rifle, 18- and 21-inch Paratrooper rifles and 19-inch Heavy Barrel “Israeli” Match model. A few notables on the variations. The Paratrooper rifle featured a folding stock, in turn, its recoil spring is mounted in the top cover of the receiver. The Heavy Barrel SAR-48 was hung with the moniker “Israeli” for obvious reasons, it was constructed with Israeli military parts mated to an IMBEL receiver.
The “Assault Weapons Ban” of 1994 also hit the SAR-48, but Springfield Armory responded in kind with the SAR-4800. Essentially the same rifle, it was clunked up with a thumbhole stock.
Part of its bag for the better part of its existence, Springfield Armory is synonymous with affordable and well-made 1911 pistols. This might lead some to question why an import—a German import at that—of the pistol would warrant attention. The simple fact of the matter, the Omega isn’t your everyday, ordinary 1911.
Cutting similar lines to the All-American design, West German pistol-smith Peters, Stahls GmbH’s Omega breaks from a typical 1911 in several ways. Predominantly, it’s link-less. Instead, it uses a Sig Sauer locking system, in which the ejection port and barrel chamber are used as the locking mechanisms. Unfamiliar with it? Look at nearly any modern, non-1911 pistol and likely you’ll have a first-hand example. Additionally, Peters, Stahls’ used dual extractors. Novel enough tinkering in and of itself, but not the defining feature that makes the pistol an utterly unique addition to a collection.
The Omega wasn’t just one pistol, it was many: .38 Super, .45 ACP and 10mm. Spurred by Germany’s onerous gun laws, the pistol is essentially a handgun switch-barrel and requires little more than swapping barrels, recoil spring and magazine to jump calibers. Pretty ingenious, but it required a lot of gun to get the job done—some 40-plus ounces of it. While the one-gun-to-rule-them-all idea is pretty slick, American shooters in the mid-1980s were only enamored with one—the perfect 10. Minted only a few years prior, the hot .40-caliber captivated the shooting public, but there were few options chamber thus that didn’t run a mint. In steps Springfield Armory.
Dang near like it was when it came out of the box. Photo: GunsAmerica.com
In all, Springfield offered two barrel lengths in the 10mm Omega, 5 and 6 inch. In both cases, they boasted polygonal rifling and you could get either with porting. A little something to tame the snappy round, if 2 1/2-pounds of gun wasn’t enough. Omegas aren’t especially difficult to find still and dogged shopping can net you one for around $1,000. Buyer beware, threat yours with kid gloves, Peters, Stahls closing down means there are precious few replacement parts.
BM-59
Standard Model BM-59, one of the great offshoots of the M1 Garand, imported by Springfield Armory. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company
Did Italy get the evolution of the M1 Garand right? Not to invite jeers and gnashing of teeth from M14 faithful, but the Beretta BM-59 sure makes it a firm maybe. Particularly given the country didn’t drop eight figures making the Garand select-fire and adding a box magazine. Just saying.
Anyhow, this elegant offshoot of the “World Greatest Battle Implement” is even a whizbang in semi-auto and still among the most sought-after Springfield Armory imports. Maybe because the better part of most rifles are genuine Beretta. Springfield assembled and sold them in the late 1980s, many with original Beretta receivers. However, no stranger to Garand receivers themselves, when the real McCoy wasn’t available they used their in-house M1A parts. Either iteration, from a collectors standpoint, is considered correct.
Technically chambered .308, the Springfield BM-59 is fully capable of digesting military 7.62 ammo. Sugar to military arms fanatics, the semi-auto version is a dead ringer for the real thing, boasting all the bells and whistles. There are a lot of those on a BM-59. Flash hider/grenade launcher, flip-up grenade launcher sight, bayonet lug, 19-inch barrel and folding bipod, just to name a few. Of the more interesting facets is the rifle’s winter trigger. External the trigger guard, the implement folds down to behind the guard making it capable of firing in heavy winter gloves.
Pistol grip and metal folding stock are the defining features of the Alpine model. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company
True to the Beretta line, Springfield Armory imported several variations including the Alpine (19-inch barrel, pistol grip and folding stock), Paratrooper (18-inch barrel, pistol grip, QD compensator) and Nigerian (standard specs, but with pistol grip). Needless to say, interest in the BM-59 has accelerated over the years, and so has its price. Rarely found south of $2,000, some variations demand much, much more.
The term, “tactical,” is defined as “gaining an advantage over an adversary or situation.” The revolver is a tactical tool with many advantages. A firearm that’s remained viable for so many years and has saved so many lives is worth your consideration as an EDC piece. Revolvers are far from outdated for personal defense and, in some situations, might be a better fit for you than a pistol.
If you choose a tactical revolver for personal defense, there are many good choices. As with any handgun, the weight or heft of the piece, its balance and the level of recoil you’re willing to master are important considerations.
Reliability is the baseline for performance. Only after reliability is confirmed are other features considered. The greater maintenance demands and complication of semi-automatic handguns might be daunting to the occasional shooter. However, the revolver is simple: Load, holster, draw, fire.
Ruger Adds More Power, More Rounds
Among the most interesting recent introductions is the Ruger Redhawk .357 Magnum. The Redhawk is proven and has long chambered the powerful .44 Magnum and .454 Casull cartridges. Chambering the Redhawk in .357 Magnum results in a revolver that’s massively overbuilt compared to lightweight revolvers that take a beating from the .357 Magnum cartridge. The .357 Mag. Redhawk is a large handgun (more than 45 ounces), even with its 2.75-inch barrel. In this configuration, the Redhawk is exceptionally well-balanced tactical revolver, and its weight helps absorb the recoil of the powerful .357 Magnum cartridge.
Ruger’s Redhawk revolver is well-made of good material and is very strong. A new .357 Magnum variant handles the hot cartridge with ease.
The Redhawk is on the large side for carry under covering garments but is well-suited for home defense. No handgun is too large to fight with. Subjectively speaking, recoil is light—no more than firing a .38 Special cartridge in a small-framed revolver. The Redhawk .357 Magnum can be fired with affordable, low-recoil .38 Special loads or powerful magnum ammunition.
Ruger introduced two new revolvers based on the GP100 frame. The first is a .44 Special version. This revolver features a non-fluted, five-round cylinder. The lockwork is adapted to manage the five rounds. The feel of the action is different than the six-shot revolver and perhaps a bit longer and smoother. The .44 Special features a 3-inch barrel; its front sight is a fiber-optic unit; and the rear is Ruger’s standard, fully adjustable sight. All this adds up to make the .44 Special GP100 an excellent personal-defense handgun.
Ruger’s compact seven-round version of the GP100 is the author’s favorite new introduction.
While the .357 Magnum enjoys an excellent reputation against motivated adversaries, some prefer the surety of a big-bore cartridge. The .44 Special offers that advantage, and the Ruger GP100 is an excellent vehicle for it.
The Ruger GP100 .44 Special dropped one round in capacity in return for a big-bore cartridge, but Ruger was also working on increasing the capacity of the Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum. The result is the GP100 7-shooter. It feels and handles like a smaller revolver. While it’s only slightly smaller than the 3-inch-barreled .44 Special version, the overall impression is of a smaller handgun. I’ve fired the GP100 7-shooter extensively and adopted it as one of my most important personal-defense handguns.
The versatility of this wheelgun is unequaled by semi-autos. For example, with mild .38 loads, the GP100 is a pleasant plinker. With .38 Special +P loads, anyone in the family can use it as a tactical revolver for home defense. When I deploy the piece concealed with .357 Magnum defense loads, I’ve got a handgun with proven wound ballistics. In my experience, the only revolver that’s consistently as accurate as the GP100 is the Colt Python (it’s only slightly so), and it takes a good hand to prove it. The GP100’s lockwork in the seven-shot version cycles more quickly than the six-shot variant. This is an estimable revolver and my favorite among the new introductions.
Kimber Ups the Game
A development that’s quickly gained a good reputation is the Kimber K6S .357 Magnum, a light wheelgun that gives those carrying a J-frame revolver an option to move up in both caliber and capacity. The K6S’s cylinder accepts six cartridges, yet this stainless, double-action-only revolver is only fractionally wider than the archetypical five-shot.
Kimber’s addition of high-profile sights to the small-framed K6S revolver is a welcome modification.
The internals are no surprise: The revolver is based on proven lockwork. Kimber took the J-frame action, moved the hammer spring about 5 degrees and changed the hammer’s pivot. The result is a shorter throw than other revolvers, along with a smoother feel. This action allows accurate work well past what is assumed to be snub-nose ranges. While the Kimber has a short sight radius, its excellent trigger action and modern sights make for a superior shooter.
New Smith & Wessons for the Tactician
A few years ago, Smith & Wesson introduced the Model 69 .44 Magnum revolver. Its L frame has been offered in a seven-shot .357 Magnum version for some time. In turn, S&W recently introduced an even lighter version of the Model 69: the Combat Magnum Model 69 in .44 Magnum, which features a 2.75-inch barrel and round butt grip (all S&W revolvers in modern production feature a round butt frame, but the grips are offered in either round or square butt configuration).
Smith & Wesson has reintroduced the Combat Magnum .44 Magnum with a shorter barrel—a praiseworthy decision. It’s a great tactical revolver for those willing to master its heavy recoil.
This tactical revolver is more suited to concealed carry than the 4-inch version. With an excellent set of sights and the smooth S&W action, it has much to recommend it. I think most of us will carry it with .44 Special ammunition; but there are .44 Magnum loads that aren’t full power that can be controlled in the Model 69. While I’m a fan of classic S&W revolvers, the newer guns are more durable and more accurate. The frames are strengthened in critical places, and the steel is stronger than ever. Modern CNC machinery ensures the throat and barrel dimensions are a good match and provide excellent practical accuracy.
Revolver Ammo Evolution
There’ve been interesting developments in self-defense ammunition, much of it directed toward revolvers. Among the most interesting is the Black Hills Honey Badger, whose advantage is an all-copper bullet with sharp cutting flutes. This projectile doesn’t depend on expansion for wound potential. The bullet rips and tears tissue immediately—not after the bullet has begun to expand—and cuts tissue.
Federal’s Hydra-Shok .38 Special load offers good ballistic efficiency and excellent expansion.
When it comes to short-barreled revolvers that might not generate enough velocity for reliable hollow-point expansion, the Honey Badger makes a lot of sense. For an all-around defense load, it’s a viable alternative (the 100-grain .38 Special has proven accurate in the new Kimber). The newest addition to the Honey Badger line is a .44 Magnum version. I’ve fired this loading in the S&W Model 69 and found it accurate, clean-burning and not too difficult to control in double-action pairs.
Hornady offers its Critical Defense in popular revolver calibers, including .32 Magnum, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Special and .45 Colt. I’ve had the most experience with the .38, .357 and .44 loads. The .357 Magnum is sensibly downloaded from the 1,450 fps, 125-grain standard. At 1,380 fps from a 4-inch-barreled and 1,220 fps from the 2.75-inch-barreled GP100, this load offers excellent expansion and wound potential. The .44 Special and .45 Colt loads breathe new life into older cartridges.
One of the most interesting additions is sure to be a popular choice for snub-nose .38 Special revolvers: Federal’s .38 Special 130-grain Hydra-Shok loading. This bullet is loaded deep into the case to maintain a clean powder burn and limit muzzle flash. The Hydra-Shok features modest recoil, good accuracy and excellent expansion. It’s an outstanding loading for light revolvers.
Packing A Tactical Revolver
Among the most important choices you’ll make is how you’ll carry your tactical revolver. There are holsters that are too soft, inaccessible under clothing and that collapse after the handgun is drawn, making it impossible to holster the piece without loosening the belt. Revolver holsters differ considerably from semi-auto holsters in both design and balance. A revolver holster must keep the cylinder off the beltline. A high-riding holster will keep the revolver close to the body and angled into the draw for real speed. For retention, the holster should be tightly fitted to the revolver along the cylinder and barrel.
Lobo Gun Leather offers a first-class IWB holster that’s well-suited to revolvers.
A strong-side holster should always be the first choice. If a covering garment is worn, the strong-side scabbard affords good access and speed. A good choice is the Nelson Holsters Avenger, which keeps the handgun cinched in close to the body by use of a proven belt loop design. The butt is angled into the draw, and a strong holstering welt is designed to allow ease of holstering.
The DM Bullard Combat is a well-designed strong-side holster. Its supple construction keeps the handgun comfortably against the body and is well-suited to heavy, short-barreled handguns such as the Ruger GP100 .44 Special.
Another good choice is the cross-draw. Cross-draw holsters offer access while you’re seated or driving and afford real speed for those who understand how to properly execute the draw. Among the best cross-draw designs is the Galco Hornet. It’s stitched of quality steer hide and has excellent fit.
The default design for concealed carry is the IWB holster, which allows the use of a larger handgun: The main part of it is buried in the pants. Dual belt loops or a strong belt clip is needed. The holstering welt must allow holstering the handgun after it’s drawn—without removing the holster from the inside-the-pants position.
Lobo Gunleather offers IWB designs ideal for revolvers. I especially like Lobo’s rear-clip IWB, which keeps the handgun tight against the body and offers a sharp draw.
The Revo Rig, a new design from Urban Carry, is among the most interesting to come along in decades. This holster system comprises a backing that allows the attachment of different holsters. The same backing can be used for a number of handgun shells. The Revo is available for popular revolvers, including one of my favorites—the S&W Model 442 .38 Special. The backing features dual snaps that lock into the back of the holster, which, itself, is secured by hook-and-loop fasteners. It can be adjusted for forward or backward cant.
Revolvers are more advanced and more suited for everyday carry than ever. With proper training and modern accessories, the tactical revolver is not only a viable choice; it’s the right choice for many.
Born out of a bid for the U.S. Army's Modular Handgun System contract, each FN American 509 proudly made in the company's South Carolina factory.
The FN 509® Tactical is a 9mm striker-fired pistol based on the FN 509 series of handguns introduced by FN in 2017. It features FN’s patented Low-Profile Optics Mounting System™, which enables the platform to accept more than 10 commercially available miniature red dot (MRD) optics that co-witness with the suppressor-height night sights, while remaining adaptable to future optics releases with no need for direct milling of the slide.
Be sure to enter our American Made giveaway, with great gear from great American companies. Click the tab at the bottom right of page to enter.
The slide cap, for use when not shooting with an optic, has raised sight wings that protect iron sight alignment if the pistol is dropped or jostled, and provides a textured ramp for racking the slide against a belt loop, pants pocket, or boot. An FN-signature 4.5-inch, cold hammer-forged, stainless-steel barrel with target crown, ½x28-inch threads that accept the bulk of 9mm suppressors available, and threaded cap with integrated O-ring to prevent loosening during use complete the top end.
Lastly, the 24-round magazines, nearly identical in length to the pistol’s slide, maximize ammunition capacity without impacting carry convenience.
For more information on FN America, please visit fnamerica.com.
Sized right for concealed carry and ruggedly built, the Riton X3 Tactix MPRD makes your defensive pistol deadly accurate.
In the bad old days, a mild spring breeze was enough to knock a reflex sight off zero. This less than desirable trait made them a pretty sketchy addition to any gun meant to defend your life, thus kept them fairly cornered in the competitive shooting world. IDPA silhouettes don’t shoot back, so you had time to re-adjust. Now the aiming solutions are rugged as steel-belted tires and more than up to the role as a defensive-gun enhancement.
Riton Optics aimed for exactly this niche when it jumped into the reflex optics game a few years back with the X3 Tactix PRD and now looks to improve on the original design with the X3 Tactix MPRD. The MPRD stands for “Micro Pistol Red Dot”, essentially a scaled-down version of Riton’s previous reflex sight, making it more conducive to concealed carry guns. At the same tick, it’s just as rugged as the PRD.
Much of this is thanks to the optics maker favoring aircraft-grade aluminum over polymer for the housing, imparting greater impact resistance into the unit. From Riton’s literature, the Tactix MPRD is shockproof up 1,500 Gs, which doesn’t mean it’s impervious to a beating with a brick, but will stand up to most everyday hard knocks. Other notables of the red dot include multi-coated HD glass lenses, Shield RMSc footprint, 3 MOA dot, 10 levels of red illumination,and an auto shut off after twelve hours. It burns off a single CR2032 battery, with around 50,000 hours of run time between changes. As to price, Riton has kept X3 Tactix MPRD fairly affordable at $299.
More from Riton Optics:
Tucson, AZ – Veteran owned optics company, Riton Optics, is proud to announce the release of their new pistol red dot optic, the X3 Tactix MPRD.
As a variation from their 2019 released X3 Tactix PRD, this smaller frame micro pistol dot was engineered and tested at the Riton headquarters in Tucson, AZ. True to their core values, Riton’s X3 Tactix MPRD was created as a high-quality product that can withstand the most rugged applications, while also providing the highest level of functionality and absolute best value.
In contrast to many pistol red dots on the market that are made from polymers, the X3 Tactix MPRD is made from 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum and has fully multi-coated, HD glass lenses for optimal clarity and long-lasting performance. It is also waterproof fog proof and shockproof up to 1500Gs.
With a Shield RMS-c footprint, the X3 Tactix MPRD features an ultra-precise 3 MOA dot, 10 levels of red illumination, and an auto shut off after twelve hours. Utilizing one CR2032 battery, this red dot has an approximate battery life of 50,000 hours.
Riton’s Director of Sales, Todd Neice explained, “The new X3 Tactix MPRD is a great addition to our current line of high-quality, best value optics. The addition further diversifies the Riton line and provides our customers with more options to suit their needs.”
The X3 Tactix MPRD retails at an industry’s best value of $299.99 and is backed by the company’s unbeatable, unlimited lifetime warranty: The Riton Promise Warranty, which includes no proof of purchase, no registration and rapid new product replacement. The new red dot is available now on preorder for shipment in June.
For more information on the Riton X3 Tactix MPRD, please visit ritonoptics.com.
Bipod design matters when it comes to recoil management.
There's more to accuracy than breath and trigger control. Recoil management is as fundamental as any of the other shooting fundamentals.
Why You Need To Become A Master Of Recoil Management:
Dictates where your barrel is when the bullet leaves the bore.
Maintains sight picture and reticle's relationship with the target allowing you to spot your shot.
Ensures consistent muzzle velocity.
Creates opportunities for quick follow-up shots.
Recoil management tells the bullet where the barrel is when leaving the bore. It controls your zero. Depending on how you are positioned behind the rifle, once it fires, there is time between the primer strike and the exiting of the bullet. During this short period, new shooters tend to move causing deviations in the position of the barrel. More influence at the back of the rifle, increases movement at the front. If we are consistent, as in we shoot a group, it’s our job to adjust the sights to center the group around our aiming point. This recoil management is why your zero is different than your buddy’s; each person is addressing the rifle in a slightly different way; hence the recoil management changes.
Today, the military addresses recoil management as part of the firing task, the same as follow-through. However, recoil management starts during the beginning phases of the shot sequence. We want to load the bipod or stack our weight behind the rifle, eliminating angles during natural point of aim. Then, when the shot breaks, we ride the rifle through recoil, maintaining our sight picture and our reticle’s relationship with the target. This is the part of recoil management that works with follow-through.
Loading The Bipod
Loading the bipod is often misunderstood. People think it’s about pushing the rifle forward with the shoulders. This is incorrect. You are loading the bipod from the core, our hips. It’s not about pressure, but more about deadweight giving the rifle a slab of meat to recoil against. It’s also bipod-dependent, as you are merely taking the slack out of the system.
Get On Target With Frank Galli:
Mils vs. MOA: Which Is The Best Long-Range Language?
A Harris bipod, one of the most common on the market, has very little to no perceived movement in the legs. We load a Harris using one technique, where an Atlas Bipod has slack in the legs and movement. That requires are a different technique. The Harris is more of a rise with a knuckle under with the rubber feet. We do not push any bipod forward, but rather bring the rifle back into our shoulder pocket and move our core up. It’s a pinching method of holding the stock between the bipod and body.
Part of setting up the rifle to the shooter is balancing the proper height on the bipod legs, so recoil will come back in a straight line.
The Atlas comes back into our shoulder pocket, then operating as one unit, we remove the slack from the legs using our core weight to hold it. This way, when the rifle recoils, it just flexes on the slack of the legs. About a quarter inch of movement. Once the recoil pulse has ended, the rifle will return to the original starting point.
This works in alternate positions, too, when we are not even using a bipod. Take a barricade drill as an example. How do you position your body and stack your weight behind the rifle? We want our shoulders square and in front of our hips and the rifle held into the shoulder pocket. Picture the prone body position and translate that same upper chest and head location to other positions.
Cornerstone Fundamental
Recoil management is every bit of a fundamental as the fundamentals themselves. We can spot our own shots; we stay engaged with our targets, and can quickly follow up and fix a miss without assistance. Seeing is essential. The more we can see, the more we can locate, close with and engage. It’s about being our own spotter, and not taking our most senior member out of the fight. Two guns are always better than one.
Sniper’s Hide website has a robust online training section in the forum. I have more than 45 minutes of video breaking down recoil management under a variety of conditions. From prone to shooting off a bench, the way you position yourself behind the rifle matters. I have found that you can see as much as a 20fps difference in muzzle velocity by just mismanaging the recoil management. Yes, you read that correctly, your muzzle velocity can and will change based on your position and how you manage the rifle. It’s a critical element and needs to be understood.
Different rifles have different recoil pulses, so match the system to the technique employed.
Some ranges only let you shoot off a bench, but many of the competitions we participate in are either prone or a variety of alternate positions. When putting new shooters on a bench, we turn them around and square them up. The benches that force you to sit sideways and bladed are a no-go for us right from the start. Turn that bench around and sit squarely. Being up tall and bladed will push you off balance and bleed velocity off compared to the prone position.
It’s important to understand the type of shooting you are engaged in, the discipline. Each discipline has its little variations. I would not preach recoil management to the benchrest crowd, but that is not my discipline of choice.
Parting Shot
The best advice I can give the new shooter reading this is to relax behind the rifle. You need to be a slab of dead meat and not to push or to hold tension in your shoulders. We used to read about guys trying to practice recoil management based on the written word. Many will complain about the bipods rolling or creeping forward. That tells me you are using your shoulders and not your core weight. It’s about sliding that beltline forward about a half-inch. Next, make sure you are not unloading the bipod by reversing the order. Guys will move forward first and pull back into the shoulder pocket second. This unloads the bipod.
OK, you want to put the hurt to something, with a heavy bullet moving along at a pretty high velocity? The .450 Bushmaster to the rescue.
Why The .450 Bushmaster Remains A Top Big Bore Option:
Its genesis is from Col Jeff Cooper's concept of a thumper: a large-bore semi-auto cartridge capable of one-shot kills on big-game animals.
A necked-up .283 Winchester serves as the Bushmaster's parent case, providing reasonable capacity.
At the muzzle, the cartridge can pitch a 250-grain bullet 2,214 fps.
Not a true straight-walled case, the Bushmaster tapers .20 of an inch from base to mouth—this facilitates smoother feeding.
Completely compatible with the AR-15, the rifle requires a simple upper swap to convert over.
When I first saw it, at the 2007 SHOT Show, the cartridge was so new the samples they had for us to shoot didn’t even have a headstamp on them. The bases of the cartridges, where there would have otherwise been a headstamp, were blank, as if they had been made for some super-secret CIA plan in a foreign country.
Nope, not the case. They just hadn’t gotten around to making the brass with headstamps, that’s how new it was. So new, we gun writers only got to fire a few rounds each, we couldn’t snag loaded ammo for samples to write about, and each empty was tracked as it ejected and was picked up. Yep, that’s how you can tell a cartridge is 15 minutes out of its R&D cycle.
In all fairness, the SHOT Show is when the SHOT Show is. They are not going to change anything about it, especially the dates, to accommodate a manufacturer, any manufacturer, no way. So, if your product is coming off the line just in time to pack it up and ship it to the show, that’s what you do. Because if you don’t, it is next year for your next opportunity to get your new product in front of a huge group of gun writers, the next SHOT Show.
Not The First “Thumper”
The original cartridge was designed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms. The idea was simple: produce a hard-hitting cartridge in a compact form, one that was a real crusher at close range. The result, the .45 Professional. The impetus came from the late Jeff Cooper, who called such an approach the “thumper.”
The .450 Bushmaster rifle they had us shooting at SHOT Show was equipped with a red-dot scope. That was all we needed to mangle targets at 100 yards.
It was not new, in that there had already been lightweight carbines chambered in .44 Magnum, lever-actions and self-loaders, and there was even a short-lived run of M1 carbines rebuilt in .45 Winchester Magnum. I had an opportunity to shoot one of those particular specialties several decades ago. Once I had had a chance to inspect the sample carbine, and see how much steel had to be removed to fit the .45 case into the M1 receiver and barrel, I declined the invitation.
But by fitting that sort of a cartridge into an AR-15 receiver, the approach has a lot more strength.
.450 Bushmaster Design
The starting point for the .450 Bushmaster is the .284 Winchester case. A magnum in performance, the .284 does not have a belt, like so many of the belted magnums do. The lack of a belt, and the rebated rim, make it reasonably adaptable to standard-length bolt-action rifles, and those with standard (i.e. .473-inch diameter) bolt faces. The idea was to get .270 Winchester or .280 Remington out of a short-action rifle, instead of the standard-length actions those cartridges (based on the .30-06) required.
It might have worked, but Winchester intended it to be in, and introduced it in, the Model 100 and the Model 88. The 100 was a self-loading rifle, and the 88 was the lever-action version of the 100. Both duds, and both sought out by the few who wanted them, chambered in .308 or something with an even bigger bore.
The .450, as designed, was intended from the start to have the Hornady FTX bullet as the projectile. And there is nothing at all wrong with that. This is a deer-hammering combination of bullet, cartridge and rifle.
Had Winchester introduced it in something like a lightweight Model 70 bolt-action, meant as a mountain rifle, it might have had a chance. But with two strikes against it, it faded away.
But as a parent cartridge for the big thumper, it was perfect. So, back to the .450 Bushmaster.
Initially loaded by Hornady, the company adjusted the case length to accommodate its new Flex-Tip bullet and AR-15 magazines. This bullet is one with a flexible polymer tip, not a hard one, as is used on other rifle bullets. The soft tip allows for the bullet to be used in lever-action rifles, where the bullet tip will rest against the primer of the cartridge ahead of it. Hornady had a great idea, and a great bullet, but it needed the case to be a specific length to fit and feed. No problem.
The bullet also, because of the polymer tip, can have a more-pointed profile. I wouldn’t exactly call it a spire point, because you might have a mental image of a bullet much longer than the Flex-Tip is in this instance. However, the end result still improves downrange performance. The BC of the Flex-Tip used in the .450 Bushmaster is .175. Yes, it is miserable compared to the X-ELD Match 6.5, with a BC in the .600s. But you have to compare like to like. And the closest comparison to this would be a 250-grain flat-pointed .452-caliber bullet, and the nearest I can come up with as a comparison has a BC of .146. That’s 20 percent better for the Flex-Tip.
The .450 only fits into the AR magazine by slipping it under the feed lips.
The end result is a real thumper. In an earlier age, it would have been called an express cartridge. It is a .452 bullet of 250 grains, going just over 2,200 fps. A century and more ago, the British hunted all over the world with bolt action and double rifles, with the same ballistics. No Flex-Tip for them, however.
Hunting The .450 Bushmaster
As a hunting cartridge in areas where a straight-walled cartridge is required, the .450 Bushmaster has been the choice. It does have recoil, however. The Power Factor, which is not a measure used by DNR for hunting purposes, but does correlate pretty closely to felt recoil, has the .450 Bushmaster at a 550PF. That’s compared to a .44 Magnum, which can produce a PF between 280 and 330, and a 12-gauge slug, which can crank up a 700PF. I might be convinced to shoot a .44 magnum carbine that weighs a mere seven or eight pounds with ammo, sling and scope on board, but no way am I shooting a 12-gauge slug gun of similar weight. The .450 Bushmaster can recoil enough to create a flinch if you are not careful. The bright spot here is that it is easy to find a .450 Bushmaster that has a barrel threaded at the muzzle, and thus you can install a muzzle brake to dampen its enthusiasm.
The velocity is generated by a healthy chamber pressure, at 38,500 PSI max. The pressure limit is probably there as a result of the strength limit of the AR-15, but I have to think that even if the rifle could handle more pressure, more velocity would be too much of a good thing. I mean, an eight-pound AR recoils briskly enough with a 250-grain bullet at 2,200 fps. If you were to add another couple of hundred feet per second to that, who could stand to shoot it? Even with a muzzle brake, a 250 at 2,200 is sharp enough.
This is definitely an instance when you will want to swap out the mil-spec buttstock for something with a rubber pad on it. You won’t find something with a Sorbothane pad, like the 12-gauge slug gun can come with, but you can find a non-slip buttstock. Even a small amount of rubber will make shooting the Bushmaster more fun than the hard plastic or aluminum of a mil-spec stock.
You do not get the magazine capacity that a .223 will provide, but then you don’t want that. The DNR will get very fussy if you have a magazine of more than five rounds, so leave the big mags home when you go hunting with a .450 Bushmaster.
The width of the case, at an even half-inch (.500 at the base, tapering down to .480 at the case mouth) means there is no chance whatsoever of it being a double-stack in an AR-15 magazine. No, magazines are single-stack only, which means you have a few choices. An otherwise 10-round magazine will hold four rounds of .450 Bushmaster. A Vietnam-era 20-round magazine will hold nine rounds, and a 30-round magazine will hold 12 or 13. You’d think it would be the same for all, but some I’ve tried will only hold 12. That’s life.
This makes it simple for those who are planning on hunting with a .450 Bushmaster. You simply use any reliable 10-shot magazine, because it will only hold four rounds, and that is fine with DNR across the country. Well, except for those jurisdictions where four shots in a magazine are viewed with suspicion. OK, I’m being a bit alarmist, perhaps, but we can certainly understand that even if the magazines are OK, the AR-15 they would otherwise fit are not going to be allowed in some locales. Welcome to the 21st century.
Oh, and back a paragraph? Strictly speaking, if the case is .500 at the base, and .480 at the mouth, it isn’t a straight-walled case. But it does not have a visible neck, unlike, say, the .458 SOCOM (more about that in a bit) and the DNR can just overlook the minor taper. Which they do.
The rim diameter is .473, the standard American rifle case rim, which started with the .30-06 (actually, the .30-03, but who ever heard of that one?) and selected so rifle makers who were making bolt-action rifles for the cartridge could use the standard bolt face dimensions they were using for other cartridges. That’s one thing you have to consider if you are designing a new cartridge; what steps will the firearms makers have to undertake, to chamber their products in your new cartridge? Using a standard case rim diameter makes it easier for them, and more likely they will say “Yes” when customers ask.
Bushmaster Conversion
To make an AR-15 in .450 Bushmaster (besides the obvious, buy one) you need a .450 Bushmaster barrel, a bolt for same and magazines. Yes, the magazines should feed reliably, and if you have some, certainly try them. But if you are like any other .450 owner I have talked to, you will find some work and some don’t, and you’ll be sorting and marking your magazines.
The .450 Bushmaster, besides being a drop-on upper conversion, is an easy build. Use a .450 Bushmaster barrel and bolt, and build up one the way you want it to be.
Oh, and while the recoil is going to be tough on you, it is going to be just as, or even more, tough on scopes. So do not go cheap on mounts, and don’t be surprised if your low-cost scope dies in a short while.
A new twist on a popular over/under line, the 16-gauge CZ Redhead Premier should continue to stoke interest in the classic bore.
What Are The Finer Points On The 16-ga. CZ Redhead Premier:
28-Inch Barrels
Fixed IC and Mod chokes
Turkish Walnut Stock
Single Mechanical Trigger
2 3/4-Inch Chamber
Fine tweed and sharp pointers, there was a time if you weren’t hunting a 16-gauge you weren’t hunting. Particularly if you were a well-to-do swell or fancied yourself patrician. It was the “gentleman’s gauge”, suitable for taking bobwhites and ruffed grouse in the finest of company at the turn of the 20th Century. Not as brutish as the ruffian-class 12 bore, favored by American market hunters of the day. Then the game of skeet killed it … almost.
Languishing through the Second World War and countless American booms-and-bust cycles, the woebegone gauge is finally enjoying a Renaissance. Fueled by what it’s hard to say. But any rock-ribbed shotgunner will celebrate the revival of the 16 and the many affordable doubles in which it now appears. Among the most recent, the CZ-USA Redhead Premier.
Flagship of the gunmaker’s over/under catalog, CZ christening a 16-bore Redhead isn’t surprising. However, this isn’t the company's first foray into the chambering. Preceding the 16-gauge Redhead by a few years is the lightweight Sharp-Tail, a capable gun, but one that perhaps pales to the new release, if for no reason other than the smaller side-by-side audience. That and the Redhead Premier is right on the money when it comes to price, a very accessible $988 MSRP.
Studied smoothbore fans might already guess what keeps the over/under south of $1,000—its origin, which is the Anatolian Peninsula. Turkish manufacturer Huglu is the name behind CZ's O/U and has done a solid job turning out a quality scattergun at an affordable price. Amenities abound on the Redhead Premier, including satin silver chrome receiver, laser-engraved scrollwork, Turkish walnut stock, solid 8mm mid-rib, top rib, ejector and Prince of Wales grip. Additionally, the gun has a single mechanical trigger, which switches barrels after a shot. However, there is a manual selector on the tang safety, jumping between the fix modified and improved choke barrels. A tidy package, especially for what most will use as a dedicated field gun.
In the Redhead Premier’s 16-gauge iteration, the gun boasts 28-inch barrels and is chambered for 2 ¾-inch shells. 12- and 20-gauge versions have a 26-inch barrel option, so it will be interesting if the 16 follows suit sometime in the future. Given the long barrels, the gun does tend heavy at 8 pounds, but not unmanageable. Briefly touching on the stock, the grip and fore-end are both checkered, but not overly aggressively—just enough for a solid handle.
The 16-gauge coming back into fashion for the first time since Coolidge was in office is a good thing. So is CZ expanding the Redhead Premier line to include the classic bore.
This is one of the Colt rifles with the two-headed hydra takedown pin. Leave it alone and build on something else.
Assembling the AR-15 lower shouldn't cause a brain cramp, but there are a few tricks to make certain it doesn't rattle like a jalopy.
You can invest in a standard AR-15 lower parts kit (also known as the LPK) or a premium trigger set. The safety comes in your choice of regular or ambidextrous. I’m not a big fan of ambidextrous triggers, simply because my trigger finger tends to rest in the space occupied by the offside lever on such a design.
The rear takedown pin must be in place as you install the stock, there’s no way to go back and do it after the stock is on. The front is different.
Front Takedown Pin Installation
The dual push pin system of the M16, including the AR-15s that fit them, use nominal 0.250 inch diameter pins with machined heads. The thick head pin is the front, flat head the rear. These have grooves machined into the side where the detent pin rides. The groove has two small depressions at each end. The depressions keep the pin in place when fully opened or closed. To allow the upper to be removed, the groove is closed on each end so the pins do not leave the lower when they are pressed out.
CMMG packs their AR-15 lower parts kits in color-coded plastic bags. That way you can have just the parts you need, for the task at hand.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Colt manufactured AR-15 rifles for the non-military market with the infamous “large pin” in the front position. (These were made from the early 1970’s to the early 2000’s.) This pin is 5/16 inches in diameter, or nominal .312 inches. The center of its pin hole is offset from that of a regular small pin. The large pin does not use a spring and plunger, but instead is drilled and tapped on the end to the left side of the receiver. Colt fitted a screw threaded bolt there. The head of the large pin and the screw-thread bolt are slotted for screwdrivers. To disassemble the Colt large pin upper, you need a pair of large blade screwdrivers. It is possible to use adapter pins to fit the mismatch together. That is, a large pin and the other a small pin. But it is really not worth it unless you are really stuck with one due to local laws. It's usually best to leave a large head upper and lower assembled as a set.
Installing or removing the front takedown pin takes a bit of fussing. Starting from a bare receiver, you’ll need the spring and detent, front takedown pin (the front has a flat on the side of the pin head) a 1/8- or 3/32-inch drift punch and the assembly tool.
Assembling the AR-15 Lower, Front Takedown Pin
Insert the assembly tool into the receiver takedown holes from the left side. Use the tool with the bored hole in the lower receiver pin holes. Push the spring through the hole, into the receiver. Depress the detent. Use the punch to compress the detent and spring. When these have been compressed far enough for the installation tool to turn, rotate it a quarter-turn. The detent and spring are now trapped in the receiver. Remove the punch.
Some parts are, shall we say, marginal. The mag catch on the right kept dropping magazines, and it’s no wonder why. The locking edge is so rounded it’s a miracle it worked at all.
If the receiver lacks a buttstock, stand it on the rear flat. However, one with a buttstock may have to be stood or placed on the seat of your chair, between your legs. Make an inverted “V” with your left hand thumb and forefinger. Place your fingers over the tool at the location of the detent. With your right hand holding the front takedown pin, use the pin to press the assembly tool out of the receiver, while using that V shape of your fingers to keep everything compressed.
You want to prevent the detent and spring from launching themselves. Once down, the detent will snap into the groove (unless you pressed the takedown pin in groove-side toward the detent, in which case it is already captured) and the assembly is done.
To remove the pin, get an angled edge inside the groove to lever the detent back. A 1/8-inch Allen wrench, with the inside edge of the short leg filed on an angle, is the preferred tool. A small screwdriver like those used on eyeglasses will also serve the purpose. The trick is to lever the detent back so it no longer captures the front takedown pin. Once the detent is compressed, rotate the takedown pin. Cover the area with your free hand when you pull the detent out of the lower. Failing to cover this spot almost assuredly results in the detent and spring launching across the room, lost forever to the search party you’ve assembled to find it.
Get On Target With The AR:
Go Small With These 8 Economical AR Pistol Options
The pistol grip captures the safety/selector spring. Take that spring and wrap a tiny little triangle of masking tape around the end. This will let you stuff it into the pistol grip, keeping it from falling out.
Standard LPKs deliver a mil-spec trigger pull and look. If you want something else, you’ll have to hunt down the parts that give you the look or performance you desire.
Next, slide the screw and washer into the pistol grip, holding in place with a screwdriver.
The trick here is to not push the pistol grip all the way down onto the receiver flange. Doing so leaves the screw without guidance, causing it to wobble back and forth. Press the pistol grip on only far enough that it won’t fall off, lining it up by eye. The gap between the inside of the pistol grip and the receiver creates an alignment for the screw. Gently rotate the screw until you feel the threads catch. If you are too heavy handed, you can cross-thread it, and make a mess of your lower receiver.
Once the threads catch, and you have the screw turned in a few turns, push the pistol grip all the way down, making sure you don’t pinch the spring and that the selector plunger is still in its seat. Tighten, and you’re done.
Mag Catch Trick
The easiest way to install the mag catch is to use two buttons for the job. Drop the spring into the hole. Press one button in. Then push the second button down on top of the first one, depressing it deeper into the hole. Screw the L-shaped catch and shaft in from the other side. You want the tip of the threaded shaft to be flush with the first button, and no more.
Check that the edges of the catch aren’t rounded, a condition which can cause magazines to fall out.
Upper to Lower Fit
There is no reason on this green earth to screw around with fitting uppers to lowers. Yes, the military does it, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessary.
Spare parts are good to have. This broken hammer pin brought this rifle to a complete stop.
Uppers and lowers fit together, more or less. You see, the dimensions are available, but the exact specs aren’t, unless you are an honest-to-goodness military supplier. So just check fit. You don’t even have to install takedown pins in the lower to check the fit. Slip the upper onto the lower. Line up the holes and slide the front takedown pin through. Note the fit of the rear pin. Is it too tight for the pin to pass through? Try a different set. Do the upper and lower have excessive wobble? Same thing.
This is easy enough to do, and can be done in a gun shop. Bring your lower (just the lower) in to check the fit when buying a new upper. Then again, the current state of manufacturing, with everyone using CNC machining centers, means that mismatches are far less common. Most everything fits snug. You can also buy an upper with your lower, and have the retailer or supply house fit the pair before shipping.
Take five minutes to check the fit. Life is too short to have a wobbly AR.
Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 excellent concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
