New Ruger AI-style magazines offer shooters a Ruger factory-produced option for their Ruger Precision and Gunsite Scout Rifles, as well as other rifles that use AI-type magazines.
In recent years, Ruger has expanded its production into categories outside of its typical base. It branched out into the ammo game with Ruger-branded ammunition, joined the ever-growing suppressor market with its Silent-SR .22 LR suppressor, and delved into accessories with its BX Trigger for the 10/22 and its Elite 452 Trigger for the AR. Now, the American manufacturer is adding factory-produced Ruger AI-style magazines to its list of aftermarket accessories.
These new Ruger AI-style magazines are molded from 50 percent glass-filled nylon for improved strength and durability. They feature corrosion-resistant, stainless steel springs for reliable feeding, as well as dust covers for protection during transport and storage.
The new magazines are compatible with Ruger's Precision Rifle and the company's Gunsite Scout Rifle. They are also designed to be used with many of the available AICS (Accuracy International Chassis Systems) type bottom metal assemblies.
There will be two models of the new Ruger AI-style magazines: a .308 version and a .223 variant. The .308 magazines are compatible with rifles chambered in .308 Win., 6.5 Creedmoor and other .308-sized cartridges. Meanwhile, the .223 version is capable of utilizing .223-sized cartridges with a maximum overall length of 2.5 inches.
The new Ruger AI-style magazines for rifles chambered in .223 Rem. are offered with a 10-round capacity, while the .308 magazines are available with a 5- or 10-round capacity in the standard variation or with a 3-round capacity for use in sporter-stocked rifles, such as Ruger's Gunsite Scout.
The new 22 and 33 Nosler cartridges fill some gaps in the ammo manufacturer's cartridge lineup and should be exciting developments for any serious shooter.
The Nosler name has been synonymous with advancements in ammunition and bullet design ever since John Nosler developed the famous Partition bullet and founded the company in 1948. In the past few years, the manufacturer has continued that legacy of innovation with the development and introduction of several proprietary cartridges.
In late 2013 and early 2014, Nosler introduced and began producing its very first SAAMI standardized cartridge, the 26 Nosler. An incredibly flat-shooting 6.5mm cartridge, the 26 Nosler used the .404 Jeffrey as a parent case, shortened to fit in a standard .30-06-length action, and was capable of impressive velocities – retaining as much velocity at 400 yards as a .260 Remington produces at the muzzle. In 2015, Nosler followed that up with the 28 Nosler, and in 2016 it released the 30 Nosler, both of which utilized the same .404 Jeffrey as a parent case.
Now, for 2017, Nosler has added two more cartridges to its ever-growing list: the 22 Nosler and 33 Nosler. The two new additions represent both the low end and the high end of the Nosler cartridge line, with both filling in important gaps.
33 Nosler Officially introduced in the fall of 2016, the 33 Nosler shares the same .404 Jeffrey parent case as the previous entries in the Nosler cartridge family but fires larger .338-caliber bullets. Dubbed the “patriarch” of the family by Nosler, the 33 Nosler is set up for big game and shooting at long range.
The new 33 Nosler boasts the ability to launch a 225-grain AccuBond bullet at a brisk 3,025 feet per second (fps) or a new, slightly heavier 265-grain AccuBond Long Range bullet at 2,775 fps. According to Nosler, that's roughly 275 fps faster, and with 20 percent more energy than the .338 Winchester Magnum using the same length action. It's also listed as being a touch faster than the revered .338 Lapua Magnum at the muzzle, and it does so burning around 18 percent less powder.
Nosler is currently offering three loads for the new 33 Nosler, two from Nosler's Trophy Grade hunting ammo line and one from its Match Grade line. The Trophy Grade loads feature either a 225-grain AccuBond bullet or a 265-grain AccuBond Long Range bullet, while the Match Grade offering utilizes a 300-grain Custom Competition projectile. Predictably, buying 33 Nosler ammo is not a cheap affair, with pricing for a 20-count box currently ranging from $71.50 to $77.50, depending on the load selected.
The company will also be supporting the new 33 Nosler with factory-made brass and with its full line of M48 rifles in 26-inch barrel configurations.
22 Nosler On the other end of Nosler's cartridge spectrum is the new 22 Nosler. Formally introduced during the 2017 SHOT Show, the 22 Nosler is one of the more exciting and, frankly, surprising developments for the new year.
It is unexpected for two reasons. One, it deviates from the rest of the Nosler cartridge family in that it does not use the .404 Jeffrey as a parent case. In fact, the 22 Nosler has no parent case. And two, unlike Nosler's other cartridges, which are built for bolt guns, this new offering is tailored from the start for use with the AR-15.
According to the manufacturer, the 22 Nosler was born from a desire to create the most powerful .22-caliber centerfire cartridge that could readily function in an AR. To that end, the new 22 Nosler offers 30 percent more energy and almost 300 fps of added velocity when compared to the standard .223 Rem./5.56 NATO. Nosler has also designed the 22 Nosler's case in a way that makes it relatively easy to convert a standard AR from .223 Rem./5.56 NATO to the new cartridge.
All that's required to convert an existing AR to one utilizing the 22 Nosler is swapping in a new barrel (or a dedicated 22 Nosler upper, if that's the user's preference) and changing out the magazine. Because the case diameter and taper are similar to the 6.8 Remington SPC, the 22 Nosler can feed from standard 6.8 SPC magazines. And because bolt face dimensions for the 22 Nosler are identical to those of the .223 Rem./5.56 NATO at .378 inch, users will still be able to use their rifle's existing bolt carrier group.
The 22 Nosler is capable of velocities approaching those of the iconic .22-250 Rem., and does so in a significantly smaller package. It offers almost 25 percent more case capacity than the standard .223 Rem./5.56 NATO and is capable of driving a 55-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullet and a 77-grain Custom Competition bullet at 3,350 fps and 2,950 fps, respectively, out of an AR equipped with an 18-inch barrel.
“The AR-15 is indisputably one of the most popular firearms among shooting enthusiasts across the globe” said John Nosler, Executive Vice President for the company. “While there are other hard-hitting cartridges that exist for the platform, as far as .22 caliber is concerned, nothing compares to the performance of our newly engineered 22 Nosler case. It was important to us that every AR-15 owner could instantly customize their existing rifle to 22 Nosler without any fancy gunsmithing. In keeping with that goal, a simple switch of the magazine and upper will do the trick. With a cartridge innovation this significant, any shooter running other .22 cals in their AR-15 will at the very least have to reconsider their efficiency.”
Nosler says it will be producing brass for the 22 Nosler, and it also plans to chamber its full line of M48 rifles in 24-inch barrel configurations for the 22 Nosler. In terms of fully loaded ammunition, the company will be offering two loads, one in its Trophy Grade Varmint line and the other in its Match Grade line. The Trophy Grade loading features a 55-grain Ballistic Tip Varmint projectile, while the Match Grade offering has a heavier 77-grain Custom Competition bullet.
Pricing on ammunition for the new 22 Nosler starts at $29.95 for a 20-count box of either the Match Grade or Trophy Grade loads.
For more information on either the 22 or 33 Nosler, visit the Nosler website.
In a defensive shooting situation, these are the basics that will help to save you and your loved ones' lives.
Most violent confrontations are sudden, dynamic and unpredictable. After all, if you knew there was going to be a fight, you would apply our number one tactic, which is avoid and escape. There are times, however, when this isn’t an option, and an immediate defensive response is required. The fundamentals of responding to a threat or attack are move, communicate, use cover, shoot, if necessary, and think.
The problem with these fundamentals is that none of them are natural; almost everything you need to do in response to a threat goes completely against our natural instincts. Our natural response to a threat is to freeze until we figure out what’s going on. Once we decide to fight, our instinct is to root to the ground. What we need to do is move. Communication consumes a large part of our brain’s resources. Under stress it’s extremely difficult, and it requires practice to overcome the lockjaw you’ll experience. The same thing is true when using cover. Almost everything you must do to take advantage of the protection cover offers goes against our natural inclinations. Shooting isn’t instinctual to begin with, and it’s even more difficult under stressful conditions. We aren’t built to have explosions going off in our hands, even the controlled explosion of shooting a firearm. Finally, thinking is mandatory. Defending against a violent attacker is a mental process – problem solving at high speed. If you’re not thinking and acting, then all you’re doing is reacting, which is a bad place to be when someone is trying to harm you or your family.
Move
There are a lot of reasons to move. Creating distance from the threat (or threats) greatly reduces the chance of being injured, regardless of the type weapon being used against you. There are bystanders in the environment, so you’re moving in order to get a clear angle of attack on the threat, reducing the possibility of injuring someone if you have errant rounds. You move to get to cover and the protection it provides. You move to the exit, toward your family or to get to better cover.
A moving target – you – is more difficult for the threat to engage. Moving is one of the best ways to put the threat into a reactive mode. The threat charges at you. You move a few steps to the side. Now he has to react to your actions, assessing, creating a response, and redirecting the attack.
Communicate
Communication is a key tactical skill that’s often overlooked during training and practice. You communicate with threats. “Leave my home now!” “Stop, drop the weapon!” Millions of times every year, strong verbal commands accompanied by a firearm defuse violent confrontations, and this is only the number of times that this is documented. You communicate with friends and family, telling them what you need them to do or where to go. Communication is mandatory when working with an armed partner in order to coordinate your tactics and actions. As discussed previously, sometimes it’s good idea to talk to yourself, verbalizing your actions in order to help maintain mental focus.
Communication is an exchange of information. I talk to my dog, but I communicate with my wife. Keep your communications short and sweet. Under stress, simple works best. Using names, in order to get someone’s attention, makes communicating more efficient. The act of communicating consumes a large part of our brain’s resources, or “random access memory.” In order to communicate effectively under stress, you need to practice it in advance.
Cover
Get to cover as quickly as possible, preferably as soon as you spot potential trouble, before the confrontation gets physical. Cover provides protection against the threat’s weapon. Cover is relative to what type weapon the threat is armed with. If they are trying to physically assault you, or they are armed with a knife or impact weapon (which means they have to be close in order to attack) something like a large table provides cover, as long as you can position it between you and the threat. When it comes to protection against firearms, everything is relative to what type weapon the threat is using. Cover stops or redirects incoming rounds. Something that protects you from a handgun round may not hold up against a high-velocity rifle round.
Concealment hides you, but doesn’t offer any protection, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work in response to an attack. If the threat can’t see you, they don’t know where you are; it greatly reduces the chance of them attacking. Then, if you decide it’s necessary, you can let them know where you are when you decide it’s time.
Stop the Threat
There are two ways to stop a threat – the psychological stop and the physical stop. Moving, issuing verbal commands and using cover may force the attacker to change his mind about what he was going to do – the psychological stop. The other way is to physically stop the threat by shooting, placing accurate hits on the threat and inflicting the physical damage necessary to stop the attacker.
When it’s necessary to shoot, you have to apply the fundamentals of marksmanship – aim, hold, press, and follow through – in order to get accurate hits. The speed at which you can shoot depends on the accuracy you need. With a large, close target you can fire fairly quickly, putting the hits where they need to go. As the distance increases and/or the size of the target decreases you need more precision, ensuring that when you do press the trigger you get accurate hits.
Think
Defeating a lethal threat is problem-solving at high speed. You have to constantly be thinking, forcing threats to react to you. Normally you have a very short amount of time to come up with a solution to the problem and then implement the action. Once you gain the upper hand, you keep pressing the advantage, which means thinking about what you’re going to do next and what you’ll do if that doesn’t work; and mentally plugged in and ready for the unexpected, which occurs in fights with regularity.
In order to focus on the problem-solving aspects of the conflict, the majority of your skills must be applied at a subconscious level. The AR runs empty. The conscious mind says “reload” and then the subconscious mind takes over to perform the actual reload. There’s no time to think about how to reload, it just has to happen. Ditto for clearing malfunctions if they occur, using cover or transitioning to the handgun. The ability to perform these actions at the subconscious level frees up the conscious mind to think about your problem.
Self-defense is more art than science. Your “artwork” will be different from that of everyone else. Train, practice, learn, and remember that your ultimate weapon is your mind. If you’re not thinking and acting, then all you’re doing is reacting, which means the threat is in control. The only thing you can control in a fight is what you do, so make sure to practice so that you can apply your skills efficiently, safely and under all types of conditions.
Winchester has christened its new line of autoloading shotguns, the Super X4. Combining tried-and-true technology with improved controls and ergonomics, the company believes it has found a way to replace a classic.
They say change is the only constant. That seems no truer than in the gun world. Present case, Winchester’s line of autoloading shotguns.
The Super X3 has been the company’s tried-and-true top-end semi-automatic smoothbore for a spell now. And it has won its fair share of fans along the way, whether in the duck marsh or the trap range. But it appears the sun is setting on the venerable SX3 and rising on its heir apparent, the aptly named Super X4.
With improved ergonomics, the Super X4 is meant to be easier to manipulate in the field.
The new line, released this year, will be Winchester’s bread-and-butter autoloading shotgun, as the company phases out the SX3 over time. The shotgun, initially available in 12 gauge, isn’t a radical departure from the past, carrying over important technology that made its predecessor popular. In particular, the new shotgun still features Winchester's Active Valve Gas System that automatically self-adjusts to cycle a vast spectrum of common loads. But the company has fiddled with a number of the SX3’s ergonomics in a bid to make the next-generation scattergun more functional — especially in the field.
However, right off the bat, what will catch the attention of those familiar with the SX3 line is how the new Super X4, SX4 Waterfowl Hunter, SX4 Field and SX4 Field Compact are balanced. The guns are more forward-heavy than their forerunners, with the center of gravity well into the forearm. This will give the guns a different feel to those who have handled the more center-balanced SX3. The change does have the potential to improve the gun’s follow-through, thus making it harder to miss a target.
From there, the name of the game on the Super X4 is ergonomics. Winchester has enlarged a number of the key controls on the shotgun, making them easier to manipulate. The bolt handle, bolt-release button, trigger and safety have each increased in size, making them easier to locate and work, especially on the fly. These considerations will be especially welcome for waterfowlers, who often operate with the impediment of gloves. Aesthetically, the cross-bolt safety and bolt release have been modified, as well, with Winchester opting for a polygonal design.
Across the board, the Super X4 can hold four 2 3/4-inch shells.
Winchester has also modified the stock, slimming down the forearm and the pistol grip. Once again, the idea is to make the firearm more compatible to gloved hands. But even without this gear, it should assist shooters in placing more of their hand on the firearm, affording them more control.
Winchester has done away with the brass bead common on the SX3 line. In its stead is a TruGlo Long Bead fiber-optic front sight, which should more readily draw the eye on the point. And finally, the company has outfitted the gun with its Inflex Technology Recoil Pad meant to reduce the gun’s felt recoil.
Other notable features of the Super X4 line include: a hard chrome-plated chamber and bore, a drop-out trigger group, Invector-Plus removable choke tubes and a back-bored barrel.
The SX4 and SX4 Waterfowl are available with both 3- and 3 1/2–inch chambers, and both have composite stocks. The Waterfowl model is covered from buttstock to muzzle with Mossy Oak Shadow Grass Blades pattern. The SX4 Field and SX4 Field Compact are only available with 3-inch chambers and come dressed in a stick of Grade I walnut.
Nearly the entire line comes in under the $1,000 mark, save the 3 ½-inch chambered SX4 Waterfowl that has an MSRP of $1,069.99. The price appears right, but it will take a few seasons chasing pheasants and pintails to see if the Super X4 reaches the mark the SX3 set.
Specifications:
SX4 Gauge: 12 gauge Chamber Length: 3 or 3 1/2 in. Barrel Length: 26 or 28 in. Overall Length: 47 or 49 in. Length of Pull: 14 1/4 in. Drop at Comb: 1 3/4 in. Drop at Heel: 2 in. Weight: 6 lbs., 12 oz. (26-in. barrel), 7 lbs. (28-in. barrel) Magazine Capacity: 4, 2 3/4-in. shells Rib Width: 1/4 in. Barrel Finish: Matte Stock: Composite Stock Finish: Matte Chokes Included: Invector-Plus Full, Modified, Improved Cylinder Receiver Finish: Matte Black Chamber Finish: Chrome-Plated Chamber and Bore Front Sight: Fiber Optic Stock Material: Composite Recoil Pad: Inflex 1, Small with Hard Heel Insert Receiver Material: Aluminum Alloy MSRP: 3-in. chamber $799.99; 3 1/2-in. chamber $939.99
SX4 Waterfowl Gauge: 12 gauge Chamber Length: 3 or 3 1/2 in. Barrel Length: 26 or 28 in. Overall Length: 47 or 49 in. Length of Pull: 14 1/4 in. Drop at Comb: 1 3/4 in. Drop at Heel: 2 in. Weight: 6 lbs., 12 oz. (26-in. barrel), 7 lbs. (28-in. barrel) Magazine Capacity: 4, 2 3/4-in. shells Rib Width: 1/4 in. Barrel Finish: Mossy Oak Shadow Grass Blades Stock: Composite Stock Finish: Mossy Oak Shadow Grass Blades Chokes Included: Invector-Plus Full, Modified, Improved Cylinder Receiver Finish: Mossy Oak Shadow Grass Blades Chamber Finish: Chrome-Plated Chamber and Bore Front Sight: Fiber Optic Stock Material: Composite Recoil Pad: Inflex 1, Small with Hard Heel Insert Receiver Material: Aluminum Alloy MSRP: 3-in. chamber $939.99; 3 1/2-in. chamber $1,069.99
SX4 Field Gauge: 12 gauge Chamber Length: 3 in. Barrel Length: 26 or 28 in. Overall Length: 47 or 49 in. Length of Pull: 14 1/4 in. Drop at Comb: 1 3/4 in. Drop at Heel: 2 in. Weight: 6 lbs., 12 oz. (26-in. barrel), 7 lbs. (28-in. barrel) Magazine Capacity: 4, 2 3/4-in. shells Rib Width: 1/4 in. Barrel Finish: Matte Stock: Grade I Walnut Stock Finish: Satin Chokes Included: Invector-Plus Full, Modified, Improved Cylinder Receiver Finish: Matte Black Chamber Finish: Chrome-Plated Chamber and Bore Front Sight: Fiber Optic Recoil Pad: Inflex 1, Small with Hard Heel Insert Receiver Material: Aluminum Alloy MSRP: $939.99
SX4 Field Compact Gauge: 12 gauge Chamber Length: 3 or 3 1/2 in. Barrel Length: 24, 26 or 28 in. Overall Length: 43 3/4, 45 3/4 or 47 3/4 in. Length of Pull: 13 in. Drop at Comb: 1 3/4 in. Drop at Heel: 2 in. Weight: 6 lbs., 12 oz. (24- and 26-barrel), 7 lbs. (28-in. barrel) Magazine Capacity: 4, 2 3/4-in. shells Rib Width: 1/4 in. Barrel Finish: Matte Stock: Grade I Walnut Chokes Included: Invector-Plus Full, Modified, Improved Cylinder Receiver Finish: Matte Black Chamber Finish: Chrome-Plated Chamber and Bore Front Sight: Fiber Optic Recoil Pad: Inflex 1, Small with Hard Heel Insert Receiver Material: Aluminum Alloy MSRP: $939.99
The Vortex Razor HD spotting scope proves it’s sharp enough to run with the big dogs.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the decades as a hunter and shooter, it’s that big, open country demands high-quality glass. When you spend dozens of hours each year picking the right hunting unit, putting in for points, stretching the maximum effective range of your rifle at the range and glassing high-altitude ranges for that trophy animal, poorly made optics are simply an unacceptable strain—and a waste of time.
I’ve done my time afield with cheaply made binoculars and bargain-basement spotting scopes, and I’ve also had the opportunity to tour the wild backcountry with some of Europe’s finest optics. The great tension, of course, is that we’d all like to own the Bugatti of glass, but many of us simply can’t afford to drop four or five grand on a spotting scope. If you’re facing that dilemma, one of the best solutions comes from Vortex Optics.
Based out of Wisconsin, Vortex has built a solid reputation in the optics industry by offering premium quality glass at a price point that’s significantly less than the European bigs. With the help of a well-crafted marketing and social media strategy, a no-questions-asked lifetime warranty, and the knack for building performance optics that don’t crush your bank account, Vortex has carved out a strong following with long-range shooters and hardcore hunters alike.
One of its best new spotting scopes is the Razor HD 20-60x85mm, which features premium high density (HD), extra-low dispersion glass that is precision crafted to produce outstanding clarity, resolution and color fidelity. The Razor HD carries a very reasonable MSRP of $2,000 (which means you can find it on the street for quite a bit less) and has the optical horsepower to hang with the big dogs. Ruggedly built to stand up to the worst elements, the Razor HD is also backed by the famous Vortex lifetime warranty—unlimited, fully transferrable, no receipt needed—which makes it an extremely tantalizing option for the serious hunter or shooter.
Features and Design The Vortex Razor HD comes in a few different setups and represents the top-of-the-line for Vortex spotters. The scope comes with the option for either straight or angled eyepieces and is available in variants of 11-33x50mm, 16-48x65mm, and 20-60x85mm (reviewed here). Magnification is obviously one thing to consider when choosing which scope you’ll invest in, but weight is the other. The 85mm version weighs 4.1 pounds, which isn’t a big deal if you’re scouting by vehicle, but it gets bulky if you’re packing that sucker on your back. On the other hand, I prefer the 85mm for Western hunting and the many times I’m watching elk at 1,200 yards or more. The 85mm also allows you to make out bullet holes in paper at considerable distances, certainly at 100 yards.
The Razor HD features a Porro prism design that provides excellent optical capabilities without sending the price to the moon. Invented by Ignazio Porro around 1850, this particular prism design, recognizable by the dog-leg design of the tubes, incorporates at least one triangular prism that transmits light and turns an upside down image right side up for the viewer. Porro prism optics generally offer a robust, sharp viewing experience for less cost than roof prism designs, which are characterized by straight, long tubes and a more compact design. Roof prism technology has come a long way over the decades and prices have fallen as a result, but binoculars and spotting scopes of this make are still generally more spendy because they require greater precision in manufacturing. In terms of quality, both styles offer premium-quality optical performance, all other things being equal.
The Vortex Razor HD features a dual focusing ring, with the base ring providing macro adjustment and the smaller, outer ring providing micro adjustment for fine-tuned precision viewing. The dial is located at the top medial position, which enables you to easily adjust focus without taking your eye off the viewfinder. Once focused, only minor adjustments on the micro dial have to be made when alternating between distances. To change magnification, the eyepiece turns left or right and features 20x, 30x, 40x, 50x and 60x setting designations. A 20mm eye relief adjusts easily and smoothly at the end of the eyepiece, perfect for use with or without glasses.
The Razor HD also features a built-in sunshade that extends out roughly 43 millimeters. A permanent tripod mount with standard-sized mounting screw is attached to a band around the middle of the scope, while a small knob allows you to rotate the body of the scope in its base. The scope comes with a zippable carrying case that helps keep it from getting dinged in the truck or a pack.
Straight or Angled? Like most spotting scopes, the Vortex Razor HD comes with the option of a straight or angled eyepiece. Neither option is necessarily superior, but each offers a different set of benefits and more or less comes down to preference. The straight eyepiece (reviewed here) is ideal for use from a truck window and works well from the seated or standing position from a tripod, though you’re in for some serious neck strain if you’re looking upward at a steep angle, as you would be for sheep and goat hunting. Some people also feel the straight eyepiece makes it easier and quicker to acquire a target. The downside is that you have to raise your tripod higher, especially when standing, which makes it more susceptible to shaking in the wind and is less desirable for keeping a low profile when stalking animals. The angled eyepiece is great for tripod viewing and steep angles and allows you to keep a shorter profile with the tripod, but would be difficult to use from a car window. Since I do most of my viewing from a tripod in the field, I lean toward an angled eyepiece.
Performance I put the Vortex Razor HD to the test this spring in Colorado during what has been a particularly wet year. It’s also a time of year when temperatures and weather change rapidly, so it’s t-shirts and sunshine one moment and jackets and snow the next. The Razor HD performed exceptionally well in all those conditions, and I never had a problem with fogging up or fading out in sunshine, heavy fog or cloud cover. The Razor HD is argon-gas-purged to prevent fogging in a wide range of temperatures, and that feature certainly came in handy. The XRPlus Multi-Coated lenses provide premium light transmission, anti-reflection and improve use in midday sunlight.
Light transmission was impressive, and I often found myself with elk in clear view at full magnification well after sunset. For comparison’s sake, I pulled out a $5,000 European spotting scope for late evening glassing and found, not surprisingly, that the big difference in optical capability comes at low light. The European optic was a clear winner in clarity and light transmission, but not by as much as the price disparity would indicate. For $3,000 less, the Razor HD still handled low light incredibly well and produced sharp picture clarity out to 1,000 yards.
Parting Shots The Vortex Razor HD offers an incredible amount of bang for your buck, pairing premium quality glass and scope construction with a very reasonable price point. The scope is a homerun for Vortex, which continues to bring superb optical quality down to the range of the workingman’s budget. After reviewing the scope in all weather and light conditions in the vast spaces of the Rocky Mountains, there was nothing the Razor HD couldn’t handle. It’s backed by the legendary Vortex lifetime warranty, which as I’ve personally experienced is as good as advertised. At four pounds it’s not exactly lightweight, but that’s very typical of even the high-end 85mm scopes. If you’ve been holding on to that old clunker of a spotting scope for too long or have simply gone without because the price tag has always been too great, the Razor HD is your excuse to make one of the best purchases yet. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
Vortex Razor HD 20-60x85mm Magnification: 20-60x Objective Lens Diameter: 85mm Glass: Premium High Density (HD), extra-low dispersion Construction: Porro Prism Body Type: Straight Waterproof: Yes Focus: Dual focus ring Eye Relief: 20mm Length: 15.8 in. Weight: 65.7 oz. (4.1 lbs.) MSRP: $2,000 Manufacturer: Vortex Optics
Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from the Summer 2016 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Smith & Wesson's new M&P45 Shield packs the firepower of the potent .45 Auto cartridge into the manufacturer's classic single-stack carry pistol.
First introduced in 2012, the M&P Shield line of pistols has been a huge success for Smith & Wesson, with the company selling 1 million Shields by November 2015. Slim and trim, the single-stack 9mm and .40 S&W models are a favorite with concealed carriers. But if there was one complaint, it was that the Shield wasn’t available in a larger caliber. Until now.
At the NRA Annual Meetings, Smith & Wesson launched the M&P45 Shield chambered in .45 ACP. It is a bit heavier than previous models but has essentially the same proportions as its smaller-caliber cousins.
“We were often asked at trade and consumer shows, ‘When are you coming out with a Shield in 45?'” said Jan Mladek, Smith & Wesson’s director of marketing. “Listening to our consumers, combined with our own market research, made it clear that we needed to develop an M&P Shield to chamber the popular .45 Auto.”
I received a 45 Shield for testing and can say without hesitation that it is accurate and reliable. It will be on many people’s short list for carry, especially for those who want a smaller pistol with the ability to pack 6+1 or 7+1 rounds of the mighty .45 ACP.
For accuracy and function testing, the .45 Auto ammunition brands I used were American Eagle’s Syntech 230-grain FMJ, Creedmoor Ammunition 230-gr. FMJ, and Remington UMC 230-grain FMJ.
Also, for general shooting practice and functionality, I added two more .45 ACP loads to the mix: Dynamic Research Technologies 150-grain HP frangible and SRPS Team Never Quit Ammunition’s 155-grain HP frangible.
With well over 300 rounds through the M&P45 Shield, I experienced zero malfunctions. Every round fed fine and ejected positively; the slide stayed open when each magazine was empty.
The slide and the barrel on the .45 Shield are both stainless steel and are finished in black Armornite, a very durable and corrosion-resistant finish. The M&P45 Shield came with two seven-round magazines, one a flush-fit model, the other an extended model.
Once I began firing the pistol, the first thing I really noticed was the texture on the pistol’s butt. As Mladek told me, “The 45 Shield has a new, more aggressive texture compared to our other Shield models, and it was developed for the heavier recoil of the .45 Auto round.”
I find the recoil on most mid-sized 9mm and .40 S&W’s snappy — sharp and mostly up — including Shields. The recoil on the M&P45 Shield is more substantial than these smaller calibers, of course! Yet, it’s more of a shove back into the hand versus the snappy up-pulse of the 9mm and .40 S&W Shields. The new texturing on the .45 Shield grabs the skin of the hand in a way that directs the recoil more or less straight back toward the forearm.
Of course, there is muzzle flip. You are firing a .45 Auto load out of a 3.3-inch barrel, after all. But that texturing helps you get back on target quite fast.
Much of my range work with the new Shield was done in temperatures in the upper 80s and low 90s, with very high humidity. Sweaty hands didn’t affect the superior grip on the Shield a bit. I also did my own “water test,” pouring water onto my hand and the butt of the pistol, rubbing the water into the texturing and then popping off two magazines fairly fast. My grip was still rock solid; my hand might as well have been dry.
The M&P Shields were known for pretty good triggers, and Smith & Wesson went one better with the 45 Shield, incorporating a lighter, crisper trigger; the striker-firing system makes for a fast reset, too. The trigger is also hinged, and it won’t pull back unless the tip is first engaged. A Lyman Trigger Pull Gauge measured the Shield’s trigger pull at 5.6 pounds.
The M&P45 Shield can be had with or without a thumb safety. Mine had the safety, and it actually snapped in and out of the safe position with my thumb (not always the case with some semi-autos). The magazine release worked fine, popping out the magazine easily. I found the slide stop a little tough to engage at first. You have to move the slide all the way back to get it to engage, and it takes some practice to time the back movement of the slide with your finger pushing up on the slide stop.
To test accuracy, I did 25-yard shots from a rest, firing five-round groups and printing three to five groups per brand of ammunition. For a short-barrel semi-auto, I thought the accuracy was impressive. This was especially true with the Creedmoor Ammunition, a relative newcomer to the ammo industry, which laid in two five-shot groups at just over 2 inches, one at 1.83 inches, and — the overall winner of all the ammo tested — a 1.49-inch group.
I decided a more complete testing of accuracy would need to include the M&P45 Shield at closer ranges, too, so I did the same five-round groups with the same ammo brands at 10 yards, firing from a rest. Not surprisingly, groups shrunk, by nearly a full inch.
I also used the M&P45 Shield for my daily concealed carry for the better part of a week. I used an inside-the-waistband Sticky Holster (Model MD-4) and tucked it into the small of my back. I found the 45 Shield comfortable to carry. That aggressive texturing also makes it easier to grab onto and withdraw than a number of other carry pistols I have tried.
All in all, the Smith & Wesson M&P45 Shield is one fine pistol — slim and concealable, easy to use, accurate and packs that .45 Auto punch. I’ve got nothing against smaller calibers, but if an armed confrontation is coming my way? Well, in that case, I’d much prefer a carry pistol that can launch .45 ACP self-defense loads downrange versus 9mm or even .40 S&W. That’s my personal preference, and it is a comforting one.
Specifications:
Smith & Wesson M&P45 Shield Type: Semi-auto, striker-fired Frame Size: Compact Slim Caliber: .45 Auto Capacity: 7+1, 6+1 Barrel: 3.3 in., stainless steel, Armornite finish Overall Length: 6.45 in. Trigger: 5.6 lbs. (as tested) Sights: steel, white three dot Width: 0.99 in. Height: 4.88 in. Grip: Polymer, textured Weight: 20.5 oz. (empty) Frame: Polymer Slide: Stainless steel, Armornite finish Finish: Black MSRP: $479 Manufacturer: Smith & Wesson
Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from the December 2016 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Affordable and simple to install, Mossberg‘s JM Pro Drop-In Match Trigger offers shooters a way to quickly upgrade their AR's accuracy potential.
It’s been said far and wide, over and over — trigger upgrades are one of the quickest routes to accuracy. This is especially true when it comes to stock AR-style rifles.
The Mil-Spec triggers typically found in the off-the-shelf variety of America’s favorite rifle leave much to be desired. They’re squishy on the take-up, gravelly once they hit the wall, and their overtravel can go coast to coast. Luckily, in the modern day, this is one of the simplest problems to rectify with a head-spinning array of trigger options that will improve the accuracy potential of a rifle the minute they’re installed.
Mossberg is one of the most recent entrants to this end of the market, recently releasing the trigger group found in a number of the models from its redesigned AR line (MMR rifles) as a standalone. The JM Pro Drop-In Match Trigger offers shooters what appears to be an economical and functional option to upgrade any Mil-Spec AR-15 or AR-10 rifle with .154-inch trigger and hammer pin holes.
The trigger was designed with the input of 3-Gun world champion Jerry Miculek (the JM in the name) and has been engineered to offer a crisp, creep-free break. The pull weight is factory set at 4 pounds and features user-adjustable overtravel. The latter feature should help make a rifle a faster shooter, creating a more efficient trigger pull, not to mention one more comfortable for the user.
Mossberg’s JM Pro Drop-In Match Trigger is also priced to be within reach of most shooters. With an MSRP of $161, the upgrade comes in on the lower end of the drop-in market's price scale.
Master the versatile and potent AR-15 under the tutelage of one of the nation’s foremost tactical trainers with the help of AR-15 Skills & Drills. The 272-page guide introduces shooters to Tiger McKee’s methods for developing and honing the skills necessary to manipulate the AR efficiently and shoot it accurately. Order Your Copy Now
FN America has introduced its new FN 509, a full-size polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol born out of the Army's Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition.
FN America has announced the release of a new full-size, 9mm striker-fired pistol. Dubbed the FN 509, this new pistol was developed out of FN's work to produce a contender for the U.S. Army's recent Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition.
As many shooters are aware, the Army's MHS competition, designed to replace the aging Beretta M9, has been an ongoing process for several years. The competition was first announced back in 2011, but delays pushed back the deadline for entry to February of 2016. Close to a year later, on January 19, 2017, the Army chose its winner.
A number of major manufacturers participated in the competition, and though only one pistol was chosen, much to the delight of civilian shooters, many of those pistols entered in the MHS have also found their way onto the commercial market. FN's new 509 has now joined that list.
The new FN 509 isn't the exact pistol FN submitted for the competition. According to the manufacturer, it is heavily based on that pistol but has been re-tailored for the U.S. law enforcement and commercial markets.
“When the requirements for MHS were released, our team of engineers immediately went to work, taking the successful elements of the FNS Compact and further developing those to meet the needs of the U.S. Army’s solicitation for a new, full-size pistol,” said Mark Cherpes, President and CEO of FN America, LLC. “Between the submission of MHS and the commercial release of the FN 509, we have worked with law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. and captured on-site feedback that we used to further optimize the pistol to far exceed the expectations of our valued customers.”
As Cherpes notes, the FN 509 is built upon the proven FNS Compact framework. FN has made several key internal and external design changes in accordance with some of the Army's MHS requirements, but the FNS Compact lineage is clearly evident. And since the conclusion of the MHS competition, industry experts have also helped refine the design into what is now the finished FN 509.
The FN 509 has been tested to meet extreme reliability, durability and ammo compatibility standards. According to the company, more than 1 million rounds were used to test the FN 509.
There are some new, easily observed changes on the FN 509 pistol. One of the most prominent includes the grip, which features an enhanced texturing scheme. The parts of the grip are uniquely textured to be more gritty where needed and smoother where excessive texture can become abrasive. Side panels are more aggressively textured, while texturing on the front and rear backstraps is less pronounced.
Other enhancements include more aggressive cocking serrations on the slide for easy manipulation, redesigned controls for easy and secure operation and an improved cold hammer-forged stainless steel barrel with a recessed target crown. The new 509 does not have a manual safety, but a non-manual safety works in conjunction with passive safeties for safe operation.
The full-size pistol features a 5.5- to 7.5-pound striker-fired double-action-only (DAO) trigger and comes equipped with fixed, three-dot luminescent sights (fixed, three-dot night sights will be available for law enforcement buyers only). The 509 will be available in 9mm and will have a standard magazine capacity of 17 rounds, with state-compliant 10-round magazines also an option.
According to FN America, two models of the new FN 509 pistol should be available to consumers in early May 2017, with two law enforcement models becoming available sometime in early June. The company states that additional models, including those with manual safeties and other features, will also be in the works.
The initial models of the new FN 509 pistol will be available for $649. Each gun ships with two interchangeable backstraps, two 17- or 10-round magazines, a locking device and an FN logo soft pistol case.
Over the years, CZ-USA has built a solid reputation in the hammer-fired pistol market. That kind of happens when a company conjures up a classic, such as the CZ 75. But the Czech gunmaker is making another run at striker-fired shooters with its new P-10 C.
The P-10 C isn’t the company’s first foray into this style of handgun, but it does represent its first updated design in quite a spell. The new compact 9mm (a .40 S&W model will be available later this year) has been met with plenty of fanfare, and the above video with Gun Digest the Magazine Editor-in-Chief Eric Conn shows it’s merited.
As Conn discovers, CZ put plenty of thought into how it would offer a modern variation of the pistol, addressing main user complaints of this style of handgun. Perhaps chief among these is outfitting the pistol with a dynamite trigger. Breaking at 4 1/2 pounds, it’s light and snappy. It also features one of the shortest resets available today. On top of that, CZ has put plenty of thought into the pistol’s ergonomics, designing a handgun that can be modified to fit any shooter's hand, thus allotting more control and greater accuracy.
Watch the video to learn more about CZ’s P-10 C and checkout Gun Digest’s YouTube channel for more great gun and shooting videos.
Reorganized after the fall of the Iron Curtain from a century-old, communist state-owned gun maker, CZ Firearms has taken the world by storm. Around the globe, the Czech manufacturer's name has become synonymous with well-crafted and dependable pistols, rifles and shotguns. Gun Digest Book of CZ Firearms pulls back the veil on the iconic company and its guns, arming you with the definitive resource for everything CZ. Get Your Copy Now
STI's new DVC Steel 2011 is a sized-down iteration in the line that grazes on off-the-shelf ammo and gets steel targets shaking in their boots.
Serious pistol competition is typically a labor of love.
There’s the training end of things, of course. Hours spent at the range, developing a lightning-fast sight picture, learning to deftly transition from target to target and honing silky smooth reloads. But there is also the time whiled away perfecting the pistol itself. Trigger jobs, slide modifications, grip adjustments, anything so that baby shaves off seconds and throws lead worthy of gold.
As running and gunning under the clock has grown more popular over the years, the competitive pistol market has become more sensitive to providing race-ready guns. STI Guns has always turned an eye to this end of the gun world, offering semi-custom handguns born to run the second they hit an USPSA or IPSC course. And when it comes to figuring out the ideal configuration for a pistol to shoot its way to the top, the Texas-based company is still hard at work at the drawing board.
A titanium nitride-coated barrel and compensator help add to the DVC Steel 2011's striking appearance. They also aid in the pistol running smoothly.
STI's most recent creation comes in its high-capacity 2011 family, a follow up of its top-end DVC Open 2011 Pistol, but without the requirement of major power ammunition. The DVC Steel 2011 is designed to shoot off-the-shelf ammo, and it is constructed to overcome minor power factor handicaps and to terrorize steel shooting competitions.
The DVC Steel's main asset is being slightly more demure than the Open, and, thus, a speedier gun on target transitions. The new pistol is 1¼ inches shorter than the previous DVC, even with its TX1 Compensator, and it comes in lighter than the 48-ounce pistol.
Like its DVC predecessor, the Steel has all the bells and whistles to make it run like a thoroughbred. Some of the more notable features of the pistol — available in .38 Super and 9mm — are its reversible dual detent slide racker, 2.5-pound trigger with minuscule reset, ported slide and titanium nitride-finished barrel that enhances lubricity.
Mounted with a C-More 6 MOA red dot sight, the DVC Steel 2011 is ready to run out of the box.
As a 2011 (a configuration STI pioneered), the DVC Steel boasts a 20-round capacity for both calibers, cutting down on reloads. But when it does need to be re-juiced, the reload is expedited by a flared magwell, cutting down on the margin of error.
Like the DVC Open, the Steel has an attractive DLC hard chrome finish that has a tri-tone effect contrasted with the black polymer grips and gold TiN barrel and compensator. The gun also comes ready for competition in the sight department, being fitted with a C-More 6 MOA Dot Sight.
Even though competitors won’t have to invest a ton on the backend to make STI’s DVC Steel 2011 race ready, like all competitive pistols, there is a sizable up-front cost. Presently, the pistol has a $3,999 MSRP. But for those who are gunning for laurels and less time customizing their gun, it could be a solid option.
STI DVC Steel: Caliber: .38 Super, 9mm Barrel Length: 4.15 in., titanium nitride finish Muzzle Device: TX1 compensator Sight: C-More 6 MOA Trigger: 2.5 lbs. Grip: 2011 DVC stippled, black Finish: Hard chrome MSRP: $3,999 Manufacturer: STI International
The new Ithaca Guardian rifle represents Ithaca's first real move into the long-range precision chassis rifle game, and it doesn't disappoint.
There is a massive amount of interest today in long-range shooting, and in engineering firearms with the best possible rifle and cartridge pairings for professional operators and military snipers. The Ithaca gun company, a well-established American gun making institution, has decided to make a major move into the high performance long-range sector with the introduction of ultra-long-range precision sniper rifles. Notice, if you will, that I have indicated that these are “sniper” rifles and not the basic, or even advanced, sporting-type firearms.
The expectations in the discipline of the modern military sniper or police sharpshooter are much higher, and Ithaca has decided to address the subject with three different long-range precision shooting systems, available to both the public and professional organizations. These include: the Ithaca Guardian, a short-action rifle; the Protector, a long-action; and the Savior, chambered in the potent .338 Lapua. For this review, Ithaca sent Gun Digest the Magazine the Guardian short action in .308 Win. (7.62 NATO).
Ithaca will build its rifles with any combination of special features you want, in effect making its standard rifle outlet a custom shop of sorts. However, the test rifle arrived here at Ballistics Research & Development as a totally Ithaca-built receiver and barrel, but was set into Accuracy International’s aluminum sniper stock. This rifle can also be had as an Ithaca standard model with one of the company’s own chassis-stocked CNC units cut from a single piece of 6061 aluminum.
Fitted with the Accuracy International stock and a Nightforce BEAST optic, the rifle weighs in at 18.40 pounds, way north of any general-purpose deer rifle. With a receiver built off a 4340 chromoly steel billet and a non-welded, CNC machined and hand-fitted (blue printed) bolt, the American-made barreled action is state of the art in terms of quality.
The rifle features a heavy-tapered barrel running 1.233 inches at the receiver ring and .976 inches at the muzzle, making the 24-inch pipe a handful to say the least, but very unlikely to heat up much under sustained firing. The trigger, which was also custom fit, recorded a crisp 3 pounds of pull weight on my Timney scale. Again, the standard Ithaca chassis rifle makes use of a Trigger Tech Accu Trigger, but the custom-based Ithaca gun works will install any type of trigger that suits your taste. I believe the term is one-stop shopping.
On the Gun After three days of wet snow and dark, cold weather, the sun came out enough to get the Ithaca rifle out and downrange for some basic zeroing over a very short assigned test period. The push feed bolt action picked rounds from the five-shot detachable magazine (AI) and chambered them with one slick-as-satin step. Set in heavy, 40-pound sandbag rests with the buttstock braced, I fired a few 168-grain boat-tail Lake City Government Match rounds. The first 100-yard, three-shot group measured 1.030 inches, indicating that the 23-degree morning, with a full-value right-to-left 5 to 8 mph frostbiting wind, was cutting into the rifle’s nail driving accuracy potential. However, the real world is just that, and sharpshooters, snipers, along with coyote hunters or grass rat killers don’t get to select perfect weather each day in the field. With groups printed via four different cartridges, it was obvious a pattern had emerged in that most of the groups held to just a few one-thousandths over 1 inch.
With a zero established at 200 yards, and groups shot for baseline accuracy, the next step in a quickly degenerating day in terms of weather was to move the target backer to 400 yards. Then I would press some five-shot groups downrange at Shoot N/C black carbon 18×18-inch blank targets with one half-life-size prairie dog Birchwood Casey marker target set in the center.
With the first two rounds of Lake City 168-grain sent at the 400-yard target, my self-generated firing solutions indicated a 1.5 Mil holdover on the target center. The two shots had been good in terms of the vertical line but hit just off to the left side of the prairie dog target. This was important because those first rounds at extended ranges answer questions of whether the shooter has the correct dope in terms of proper elevation. Now with a 1/10 Mil right-turn click against the full-value wind, the next three rounds sent home developed a nice 2.5-inch group on the paper dog’s body. I had been throwing cartridges one at a time into the rifle and simply sending the bolt forward as the push feed system. Without question the smooth feeding action did its job, and chambered every round in style.
Now, with the rifle showing some promise, I reset my dope for the 600-yard steel target (4.0 Mils), pushing two clicks on the Nightforce Beast into the wind, and sent the first round downrange. With the rifle and optics weighing in at 18 pounds, the rifle reacted like a .223 Rem., with the snow just ahead of the steel plate ripping a line several feet wide across the bottom of the steel. That splashing snow indicated a first round hit, and within seconds the return slap of the bullet against metal confirmed that my dope was good, and this rifle and glass combination was sending the mail just fine.
I fired four additional rounds in a slow-fire mode, and four more bullet-to-steel reports rang out across the snow-covered range. Not only was the rifle showing solid performance stuff, but it also was getting a real-time test in a winter environment that only western South Dakota in late March can provide. That final 600-yard steel was to be the end of the day, however, as I was now facing higher wind conditions, mid-day surface thawing mud and cold air that was not at all conducive to maintaining quality ballistic performance.
Pushing 1,000 Yards On the second day of test shooting, I set up on the steel bench rest at 600 yards. I shot at this range the previous day but had not recorded any exact hits, only impacts that indicated a solid hit someplace on the gong. I had set up a life-size combat target from Birchwood Casey taped to a steel gong, and a second full-size wolf target was also close by, but I saved them for the long shots and turned directly to several half-gallon milk jugs filled with water and a few bowling pins at 600 yards. Using the Lake City Match 168-grain Sierra rounds, I took out the first jug cleanly with a 4.0 Mil hold. Three follow-up rounds produced three additional hits on two more jugs and a single bowling pin. Shooting at this range with the Nightforce-scoped Ithaca rifle was about as simple as shooting a .22 rimfire at a 25-yard soda can.
Loading up my gear and turning to my portable bench rest system at the 800-yard mark was the next level of advanced long-range testing. Now with a new 7.0 Mil elevation using the H-59 Horus reticle, I dropped the crosshair dead center on the life-size combat target. At the shot, the whole front of the lung area opened up in a blast of fragment bullet jacket and lead core. Four follow-up rounds produced additional centered impacts that about trashed the large photo target completely.
The 800-yard marker had been a solid target-ranging point to look the system over before taking on the final longer-range steel target shooting. After writing three books on long-range shooting and working with and interviewing both law enforcement and military snipers alike during the past five years, I have learned that the .308 is quite capable of showing the rifleman some strange behavior after 800 yards, and I was skeptical at best. At that 800-yard range, the bullet is falling 196 inches, or 16.33 feet out of the sky, and the 1,000-yard push drops the little 168-grain pill by a full 386 inches (32 feet). That, my friends, is “indirect” fire at best. Both field artillery and long-range shooting have a good deal in common it would seem. Because the .308 is about sleeping after 800 yards downrange at sea level, it indeed can make some strong turns before finding its target.
On the final station with my portable bench rest, and the early morning cold, dead air still hanging over the prairie, I chambered a Federal Premium 175-grain Sierra MatchKing cartridge, elevated a full 10.8 Mils, with my crosshairs sitting on the wolf target, then pressed three pounds off the Ithaca’s trigger. With wet earth and a soft paper target, I didn’t see anything happen at all. Chambering a second round and using the very same hold, I touched off round number two, which indicated a slight burst of wet earth behind the target backer. I proceeded to send three more additional rounds at the paired second target steel gong for good measure. When reaching the targets, I discovered I had center punched the wolf with two clean rounds, but had only hit the steel gong once. The South Dakota mid-morning wind machine had started up, and my wind flag and meter told me that the 10 to 18 mph building wind was about to shut me down.
Parting Shots After running the Ithaca Guardian downrange I put a call into Ithaca to learn more about this very new addition to the world of long-range rifles. What I can say right off is that I liked this new rifle a great deal, and I believe it can stand with any of the current offerings in 1,000-yard to one-mile shooting systems available today, given the correct cartridge.
In terms of cost, the short-action rifle I was shooting, minus the scope, will retain a MSRP of about $3,250. That includes the Accuracy International stock. Ithaca offers an in-house chassis rifle stock design as well, but will custom fit its barreled action to any stock request the customer might have. Also in the custom department, Ithaca will chamber any of its three action designs for any cartridge a customer requests. The only requirement is that the action itself does not require alterations: for example, short-action 6.5 Creedmoor or 7mm Remington belted Magnum on the long-action Ithaca Protector. In effect, these are custom shop offerings right out of the box. Questions about the Ithaca long-range rifles can be addressed at 419-294-4113.
Optics As the old saying goes, “If you can’t see it, you can’t hit it,” and in the world of long-range shooting, nothing could be more true. Enter the new NightForce BEAST. The label is not about the looks or feel of the glass optic, but rather the hell management put engineers through when they indicated that Nightforce was to build the world’s best ultra-long-range sniper optic for military applications. What rolled out the end of the production line was a totally different, massively large riflescope that, by my estimation, will locate targets even beyond a mile, and then allow the shooter to calibrate an accurate, possible first-round hit against that previously located bad guy, varmint critter or steel plate.
I was pleased to see this scope mounted on the Ithaca long-range rifle, and even more pleased to see that the outstanding Horus H59 was etched into the reticle. With Mil-Radian graduations that cover 60 mils on the 34-inch turret tube, and another 28 Mil-reticle graduations from the 12 o’clock zero crosshair to the 6 o’clock bottom of the glass, this scope can guide bullets with solid accuracy right up to the .50 BMG, .338 Lapua, .300 Win. Mag., or the now-emerging .375 H&H Magnum, to the next zip code. In terms of the .308 Win. that the test rifle was chamber in, by just working with a turret set to a 200-yard zero and elevating to 10 Mils on the static reticle, you can send bullets into the 1,000 yard targets with ease. In other words, the .308/7.62 NATO is not even close to what this optic is all about when used out in Indian country.
Swarovski Optik of Austria continues to set the standard for high-end binoculars, rifle and spotting scopes. Here are five Swarovski optics that will change the way you look at the world.
I remember the very first time that I ever used a pair of Swarovski binoculars. I was camped in Etosha National Park in Namibia, and on the edge of that campsite was a waterhole that was illuminated at night so visitors could view lions, hyenas, rhinos, zebras and other game as they came to drink. It was just after midnight in Africa, which was six o’clock in the evening where I’d come from in Ohio, and I couldn’t sleep so I walked down to the waterhole, which was separated from the camp by a 15-foot fence. I had been sitting alone in the darkness watching a jackal drink and play at the water’s edge for about five minutes when a group of European tourists, apparently also insomniacs, came out of the darkness and sat on the rocks next to me. One of them asked what type of binoculars I had, and I told her. Feeling the need to reciprocate, I asked her what she was carrying.
“Swarovskis,” she whispered. “Have you used them?”
I told her I hadn’t, and she extended the binos toward me. I was shocked at the level of clarity and light transmission. The jackal, which had been little more than a blob of fur and pointy ears in my binos, stood out in high-definition clarity — from its ruffled hair to its almond-shaped eyes and twitching black nose. Not long after that an elephant came in to drink, gliding silently out of the blackness, and using those Swarovski binos I could see every crease and wrinkle of its skin, the dimples on its trunk, even individual eyelashes.
Swarovski Optik was founded in Austria in 1949, and since that time, the company has remained one of the preeminent optic manufacturers in the world. Swarovski optics aren’t cheap, but to those who understand the value of top-end glass, little else will do. Every element of the manufacturer’s products, from materials selection to construction to fit and finish, is excellent. And, over the years, I have realized that it isn’t just those with lots of disposable income who choose their products despite the price tag. Serious long-range shooters, professional hunters and wildlife biologists all spend a little extra cash because they want glass that provides the best clarity across a wide range of light conditions. Swarovski optics last for a lifetime, not a few years, and if you do encounter a problem, the company’s customer service is as good as its optics.
So, what does this Austrian company offer for hunters and shooters? Lots, but here are a few of our favorite Swarovski optics. They aren’t cheap, but gear of this quality never is.
Z8(i) Riflescope The new Z8(i) line offers an impressive 8x zoom ratio and comes in four models (1-8×24, 1.7-13.3×42, 2-16×50, and 2.3-18×56). The 1-8 and 1.7-13.3 scopes feature the FLEXCHANGE 4A-IF interchangeable reticle that allows the shooter to customize the reticle by switching the illuminated ring around the center dot on and off with the touch of a button. This 30mm scope is also available with Ballistic Turret Flex (BTF), which can be configured for numerous forms of ballistic compensation correction. Additionally, the BTF system can be attached or removed without tools. The BTF comes with windage and elevation turrets, and it is available with optional Personalized Ballistic Rings (PBR) that offer yardage or MIL adjustments for all relevant hunting distances. Additionally, this superb scope offers an impressive 93 percent light transmission. (Around $2,500 and up; SwarovskiOptik.com)
EL Range Binoculars The second-generation EL Range binoculars debuted in 2015, and they offer superb field of view and clarity combined with ranging capabilities that not only tell the range to the target but also the angle and calculate corrected length-to-target figures based on your position. The range button is easy to use, and a new, more ergonomic design with thumb depressions and rounded fins allows you to hold these binos steady for accurate measurements from 30 to 1,500 yards in the field. The new FieldPro package has bayonet attachments that allow you to adjust and switch the carrying strap and accessories quickly and silently in the field. Available in 8×42 and 10×42 configurations, these high-tech binos weigh just 31 ounces (10×42), packing world-class hunting and shooting technology into a lightweight optic. ($3,277; SwarovskiOptik.com)
X5(i) Riflescope The X5(i) might be the most advanced long-range riflescope available. Aside from the ultra-clear glass, this 30mm scope offers 20 MOA of elevation adjustment per revolution and up to 116 MOA of adjustment for the longest shots. There’s also a window that allows you to see what the revolution adjustment is set on, so there’s no more guessing as to where the optic is set. Spring retention and lever systems exert equal pressure on both turrets from the inversion system regardless of positioning, and the elevation, windage and parallax turrets, as well as inversion system, are built from stainless steel components for a lifetime of hard use. Options include an illuminated reticle with 10 brightness settings and a second focal plane option with 1 or 2 MOA increments. Additionally, there’s a clever SUBZERO setting that allows the shooter to instantly come down 10 MOA from the pre-set zero for close shots. The X5(i) is available in either 3.5-18×50 or 5-25×56 models. (About $2,800 and up; SwarovskiOptik.com)
STR 80 Spotting Scope Whether you’re on a once-in-a-lifetime mountain hunt or want the best spotting scope for making half mile-plus shots, the STR 80 has you covered. This scope comes with either an MRAD or MIL reticle with 15 illumination settings (10 day, 5 night), and there’s an option to remove the reticle completely for an unobstructed view when scanning for game. The reticle adjusts with magnification changes to help make corrections on very long shots, and precise ¼ MOA or .1 MRAD adjustments help you get dialed in for precise shooting at all reasonable ranges. Plus, the outstanding clarity of this scope makes it easy to see hits on paper targets from extreme distances. This scope works with Swarovski 20-60x and the 25-50xW (wide) eyepieces, and the STR 80 will also offer three Picatinny rails and a winged eyecup, which can be purchased separately. ($3,732; SwarovskiOptik.com)
SLC Binoculars The newest generation of Swarovski’s time-tested SLC binos are now available in three configurations: 8×42, 10×42 and 15×56. With excellent HD glass and high-performance coatings, these binos give you a supremely crisp view in any lighting conditions, and they provide the contrast that serious hunters need in the field. The magnesium housing and comfortable grip surface make these binos easy to hold onto and tough enough to withstand the worst conditions in the world. They offer a wide field of view (408 feet at 1,000 yards for the 8×42 models), 91 percent light transmission, and they weigh as little as 28 ounces, combining durable precision in a lightweight package for the field. (Starts at $1,721; SwarovskiOptik.com)
Classics always seem to survive despite changes in style and taste. And the SIG P225 was, and still is, a classic handgun that the Swiss created in the 1970s as a compact companion to the SIG Sauer P220. It was adopted as the law enforcement sidearm by several nations, most notably the West Germans, who designated it as the P6. As time passed, the West Germans transitioned to a different sidearm, and surplus P225s began to arrive in the US.
These single-stack 9mm imports gained a loyal following and were prized by many as a gun for discreet carry even though the striker-fired, polymer-framed pistol trend had begun. Now, as more states make lawful, discreet carry easier, the trend is toward smaller, single-stack handguns. All the major handgun manufacturers recognize this, but not all have a classic like the P225 in their heritage.
Although the original SIG P225 was made only in Europe, the new and improved SIG P225-A1 is made in the U.S. According to SIG, the gun is essentially the same as the P225 but has been made better by the use of the enhanced Short Reset Trigger (SRT), slight changes in design and new manufacturing methods that permit parts to be made to more precise tolerances and standards.
SIG Sauer has developed a reputation for making high quality firearms, but high quality does not come cheaply. So with an MSRP of $1,122–$1,236 with SIGLITE Night Sights, the P225-A1 cannot be classified as inexpensive. However, that is not going to deter those buyers who value high quality, especially in a classic design that has been enhanced by modern manufacturing methods and technology.
This gun is not going to be for everyone. In addition to the price, the trigger action is traditional SIG, with a double-action stroke for the first shot that transitions to single action for following shots. Compared to a single-action or striker-fired gun, the action is more difficult to master, but for those who take the time to train, it is quite satisfactory. A competent shooter can hold his own with a double-action/single-action (DA/SA) handgun against any other shooter of a similar skill level using a single-action or striker-fired handgun.
Details Unlike striker-fired pistols, the P225-A1 has an exposed hammer. When the hammer is in its resting position, the initial stroke of the trigger retracts the hammer to the cocked position before it is released to strike the firing pin. This first stroke requires more force than subsequent strokes because, after firing the first round, the action of the slide cocks the hammer and prepares it for the next round. Subsequent shots require only a shorter and lighter press of the trigger to release the hammer.
The first double-action stroke on the test pistol measured about 14 pounds, and single-action pulls measured about 6 pounds. The double-action pull was smooth and exhibited no perceived stacking, while the single-action pull had a short take-up, some creep, but a crisp let-off. Reset was distinct and indeed short as is implied by the Short Reset Trigger’s name.
Controls Controls are distinctly SIG. There is no external safety, but the gun has a firing pin safety that prevents the firing pin from moving forward to strike the primer unless the trigger is pulled. There is also a rebounding hammer that is blocked from contacting the firing pin until the trigger is pressed all the way to the rear. Additionally, the gun is equipped with a decocking lever on the left side just forward of the grip panel. Stroking it down when the pistol is cocked safely releases the hammer to fall without striking the firing pin and prepares it for a long, double-action pull. However, safety dictates that when using the decocking lever, the gun be pointed in a safe direction.
The slide catch is located above the left grip panel just to the rear of the decocking lever where it is easy to engage with the thumb of the right hand when retracting the slide. The magazine catch is also located on the left side of the frame at the junction of the trigger guard and front strap. It, too, is easy to reach.
The trigger guard is generously sized and is undercut at the front strap to allow the shooter to get a higher hold on the gun. This will help to control recoil, although with the weight of the gun, the 9mm chambering and a proper hold, recoil is quite manageable allowing for rapid follow up shots.
The alloy frame is nicely finished with a black hard coat anodizing. The two-piece grip panels are black G-10 manufactured for SIG by Hogue. Fastened by two screws on each side, they feature aggressive checkering on the sides and backstrap, and they are inlaid with an attractive silver SIG medallion on each side. The front strap has fine checkering, and most people will find the gun easy to grip firmly for good control.
The gun is supplied with two matte black steel eight-round single-stack magazines with witness holes. The magazines have a steel follower and a polymer base that sits nearly flush with the bottom of the grip when inserted. The magazine well is considerably wider at the base than the width of the magazine and is then tapered to form a funnel. This encourages rapid magazine changes.
The stainless steel slide has an evenly applied flat black Nitron finish. Deep serrations at the rear help the shooter obtain a firm grip on the slide when cycling the action by hand. The slide has the familiar SIG contours that have been around for decades and are pleasing to most eyes, and atop the slide are three-dot sights that are drift adjustable for windage. SIG also offers SIGLITE Night Sights with three tritium dots that glow in the dark, which help solve the serious problem of trying to find the sights in dim light. They are a good investment, especially considering that most lethal confrontations take place in diminished light where predators like to operate.
Test Fire The P225-A1 received for testing was an accurate gun and proved to be enjoyable to shoot. At 7 yards, a reasonable distance to test a short-barreled compact handgun, groups averaged 1 inch or less, with the best group delivered by Asym Match ammo at .39 inch. Obviously, at longer ranges, groups would widen, partially due to the challenge of aiming an iron-sighted handgun with a short sight radius.
Some observers have questioned why SIG would reintroduce the P225 when the company already makes the P239, which is almost identical and costs about $130 less. The P225-A1 is 1 ounce heavier than the P239, and the guns are about the same size. The grip panels are slightly different, but the controls are the same. SIG obviously believes there is enough demand for the classic design to make producing it a profitable venture. And SIG makes few mistakes, so only time will tell. For more information, go to SIGSauer.com or call 866-345-6744.
Specifications:
SIG Sauer P225-A1 Type: Semi-auto, double action, locked breech Caliber: 9mm Parabellum Barrel: 3.6 in. Overall Length: 6.9 in. Weight: 30.5 oz. Grips: Black checkered G10 Sights: SIGLITE night sights, or contrast sights Finish: Nitron and hard-coat anodizing Capacity: 8+1 MSRP: $1,236 (night sights), ($1,122 (contrast sights) Manufacturer: SIG Sauer
The new Ruger LCP II is an excellent .380 ACP pistol that's easily concealed, has some great features and is a solid shooter.
When I was a young man working behind a gun counter, the choices of truly small pistols were severely limited, and none were more than marginally effective. The smallest were the .22 short and .25 ACP semi-autos that offered less muzzle energy than many air rifles currently available. When one was purchased and the buyer was walking out the door, there was always a remark about the value of chocolate grips, or perhaps filing off the front sight in the event someone made the owner eat it or ingest it into some other orifice. There were Remington-pattern two-shot derringers available, but they were single action, heavy and antiquated. High Standard made a little double-action over/under .22 Magnum, and it was the best tiny gun to be found but offered only two shots and was still pretty heavy because it was all steel.
To get a small semi-auto in a more powerful caliber, one had to go to guns the size of the Walther PPK that Mr. Bond made famous, and a PPK is not a tiny gun by the standards of today. The PPK and other guns of a similar size were available in .32 and .380 ACP, and ammunition was full metal jacket only. I think James Bond was the only guy who saw the PPK as an effective stopper. There’s a new reality with modern defensive .380 ammunition; it’s now more effective than the standard round-nosed lead 158-grain load that 90 percent of law enforcement officers carried just a few years ago, and because of this, I consider a .380 a viable concealed carry gun when you simply can’t hide a bigger gun.
In the process of writing The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry Handguns, I reviewed the three most popular .380 sub-compact semi-auto concealed carry pistols. The guns I chose for the test were the Ruger LCP, the S&W Bodyguard and the Glock 42. While all were similar as sub-compact .380s, the three guns revealed a noticeable difference in approach to the same issue. The LCP was certainly the smallest and lightest, but with tiny sights and a challenging trigger. The Bodyguard was a bit larger, still with a long stroke trigger, but was a full featured semi-auto with a slide that locked back on the last round and sights that were more usable at a slight cost in concealability. The Glock was simply a sized-down version of the standard Glock product with all the features of any other Glock, smaller, but hardly a miniscule pistol. As a result, the Glock was easy to shoot, the Ruger was easy to hide and I chose the Bodyguard because it had slide lock and second strike capability.
The new LCP II addresses the shortcomings of the original LCP. LCP II (left), original LCP (right).
A Great Gun…But As I say almost every time I review a gun, we’re currently blessed with some mighty good choices in firearms, and it’s really hard to improve on what we have. Having said this, the LCP II is a big improvement over an already excellent concealed carry pistol. First impression is that it’s a bit bigger, but it’s just barely bigger than the original. When you operate it, you notice the big improvement, the trigger. The trigger on the older version was a long, double-action-type pull. The gun was already small, and guys with average-sized hands had trouble getting a full stroke before the index finger buried itself into their thumb. In spite of the long compression, the LCP didn’t have second-strike capability, meaning a second pull of the trigger wouldn’t fire the striker in the event of a dud round.
Another shortcoming of the earlier design was the lack of slide lock on the last round. There’s no doubt this omission was to allow lighter weight and simplicity, but it’s a nice feature to have, and most of us who shoot autoloaders have grown accustomed to the slide locking back. Still, the LCP was a very good gun, and at just over 9 ounces with a thin profile and shape, it was an easy gun to hide almost anywhere. Ruger sold tons of them, and it took a lot of LCPs to make a ton.
Striker-Fired Trigger in a Hammer Gun The new gun corrects every shortcoming of the original. First is the trigger. It’s an excellent striker-fired-style trigger. The LCP II isn’t a striker-fired gun. It still has a hammer, but the trigger pull duplicates the bladed, two-stage trigger of a good striker-fired service gun. My test gun’s trigger broke at a reasonable 6 pounds. Light triggers aren’t a good idea on defensive guns in the hands of shooters who aren’t highly trained, and 6 pounds is reasonable. The first stage is light; the second stage is well defined, and while there is backlash, it isn’t excessive.
The next improvement is slide lock on the last round. The original LCP had a manual slide lock, and though it was a bit difficult for anyone with sausage fingers, it was functional. The LCP II locks the slide back on the last round, decreasing the time required for a reload by what would seem eons if it was required during a deadly force event. Fortunately, reloads for civilians in defensive situations are almost non-existent, but it’s still a great feature.
The third major improvement was in the sights. On the original model, the sights looked like they might have been an afterthought. They were tiny, but in good light, they worked well enough to produce silver dollar sized groups at 7 yards. The sights on the LCP II are substantially larger, though still smaller than the almost-full-sized sights on a Glock 42. These three improvements cover every area of concern I’ve heard about the original LCP and at a cost of about 1 ounce of weight and $90.00. The MSRP of $349.00 is very competitive in the sub-compact pistol market. Still, Ruger is betting the $259.00 price, and slightly lighter weight, merits keeping the original LCP in the catalog.
Range Impressions Shooting the LCP II was much easier than the original and also easier than my previous favorite, the S&W Bodyguard. The two-stage trigger is easy to manage, and the sights are large enough to see. The grip is small, but a small gun can’t have a large grip. I fired it with both the flat magazine plate and the one with the finger hook. With the finger hook, it’s a two-finger arrangement. Without it, I could only get about half my ring finger on the grip. Grip texture is lightly stippled. One thing I noticed from the outset was the slide seemed easier to operate. On the original LCP, there was a separate stage at the beginning of the slide’s stroke. On the LCP II test gun, the slide stroke was smooth all the way back. This is not a big issue for most, but of real importance for those with low hand strength, like some women and older shooters.
The LCP II is a fully capable pistol at close range.
There is recoil. Even a .22 that weighs 10 ounces will generate recoil, and a firm grip is required to keep it properly placed in the hand when shooting fast. Still, it’s capable of shooting ragged-hole groups at 7 yards, and that’s all you can ask of a gun this small. The sights were easy to see, but I think a three-dot system might make it a bit better in low light. I teach shooting to a lot of novice shooters and lining up three dots is an easy way to teach sight alignment to a former non-shooter. The LCP II is a gun that’ll be attractive to those new to the concept of daily, concealed carry. There were zero malfunctions with the three rounds tested.
The magazine release is easy enough to get to, especially for a small gun, and the LCP II doesn’t just release the magazine, it launches it. I particularly liked the fact that I can drop a magazine without it snagging on the heel of my hand, a common problem with many smaller pistols. The gun comes with only one magazine, and I’d have liked to have another to see just how fast I could accomplish a mag change with it. I suspect it would be about as fast as any compact pistol and faster than some.
The Fix Is In In closing, the LCP II is everything one can ask for from a super tiny, reasonably powerful, decently accurate, easy-to-hide defensive pistol. Were I to revisit that test of the Glock 42 and S&W Bodyguard against the new LCP, the result would be different. The LCP II would be the clear winner because it has the best features of the other guns combined with substantially less size and weight. It’s certainly a good choice and maybe the best choice in the sub-compact pistol market.
Specifications:
Ruger LCP II Type: Semi-auto, internal hammer-fired Caliber: .380 ACP Barrel: 2.75 in., alloy steel Overall Length: 5.17 in. Weight: 10.6 oz. Grips: Integral with polymer frame Sights: Integral on slide, rear notch and post front Finish: Blued Capacity: 6+1 MSRP: $349 Manufacturer: Ruger
Performance Data:
Winchester 95-gr. FMJ Best Group: 1.72 in. Worst Group: 2.34 in. Avg. Group: 2.01 in.
Winchester 85-gr. Train & Defend Best Group: 1.02 in. Worst Group: 1.94 in. Avg. Group: 1.65 in.
Winchester 85-grain Kinetic HE Best Group: 1.44 in. Worst Group: 1.99 in. Avg. Group: 1.88 in.
Accuracy data was the result of five, five-shot groups fired deliberately at a distance of 7 yards from a standing position.
With a long barrel and an attractive walnut stock, Hatsan appears to have gone all out with its new Escort Rimfire Rifle.
In the modern day of rimfires rifles, semi-automatics have reigned supreme. And why not? Throwing a high volume of economical ammo downrange as fast as a trigger finger can squeeze them off is just plain fun. Not to mention, the ability for quick follow-up shots makes them worth their weight in prairie dog pelts as a varmint firearm.
With that said, there is definitely still a place for older technology in the rimfire world. The tried-and-true bolt-actions still provide some of the most accurate platforms to launch a bullet. On top of that, what they lack in rate of fire compared to a semi-auto, they more than make up for with dependability in cycling.
Hatsan seems to have recognized the desirable traits of bolt-action rimfire rifles, making a bold move to enter that market. The Turkish manufacturer has veered from its stock-in-trade airguns and shotguns to produce its first-ever rimfire. And by the looks of it, the Escort Rimfire Rifle should turn out to be a fairly slick shooter.
Imported by Legacy Sports, the new .22 LR is reminiscent of the now-discontinued CZ 452 Military Trainer. And just like the Czech-made favorite, this bolt-action appears to be set up to milk as much potential from a .22 round as possible.
The rifle’s 25-inch free-floating barrel should go a long way toward accomplishing this, not only giving the round ample bore to reach its velocity potential, but also making it a steadier shooter. Typically, longer, heavier barrels are easier to stabilize, thus aiding in the ability to hold the rifle on target and achieve an accurate shot.
The Escort Rimfire Rifle has a traditional look to it, dressed in a stick of Turkish walnut. And the stock has generous checkering on both the grip and forearm, making it easier to manipulate in any conditions. It is topped off with a ventilated rubber butt pad, helping make the already light .22 LR recoil next to non-existent.
The rifle comes outfitted with fully adjustable rear sights and a fiber optics front blade sight, allowing it to draw a clear and crisp sight picture. But for those looking to throw a scope on the rifle, it also comes with a 3/8-inch dovetail groove for quick mounting.
Escort includes a five-round single-stack magazine with the rifle, but the capacity can be increased with Escort's compatible 10-round magazines. And it comes ready to be outfitted for the field with fitted sling swivels standard.
Perhaps best of all, the Escort Rimfire Rifle is competitively priced. With an MSRP of $229, the rifle looks to be an affordable option for first-time shooters or old hands searching for another plinker for their gun safe.
CrossBreed Holsters is now offering several new fits for its flagship SuperTuck IWB line designed to accommodate Crimson Trace's Rail Master laser sight.
The CrossBreed Holsters name might not be as universally recognized as some of the other, older big names in the holster industry. However, those familiar with the American manufacturer, which opened its doors back in 2005, know that it produces some excellent holster solutions for just about all the common carry positions.
For 2017, the company is bringing out several new fits for its flagship SuperTuck model that are compatible with Crimson Trace's Rail Master (CMR-201) laser sight. The new SuperTuck models are designed to fit the Glock 17, 19, 22, 23, 25, 21, 32, 34 and 35, which comprise a good portion of the most common and popular Glock models.
These new holsters are hand-molded to fit each specific firearm listed and accommodate the Crimson Trace Rail Master (CMR-201). According to CrossBreed, the move to add these new fits to the SuperTuck line came from an overwhelming customer demand, which makes sense given the rise in popularity of laser-equipped pistols for home and personal defense.
All of the CrossBreed Holsters SuperTuck models feature a premium leather backing as well as a molded and mounted Kydex pocket. The holsters utilize SnapLok powder-coated steel belt clips, which incorporate a modular design that allows users to easily adjust cant and ride height.
The SuperTuck can be worn with or without a tucked-in shirt, and it's available in three different leather choices. Shooters can also choose from additional clip options and whether or not to add an optional combat cut.
Pricing on the CrossBreed Holsters SuperTuck starts at $59.29 and increases from there depending on your leather choice and any additional features added. The SuperTuck also comes with CrossBreed's “Two Week, Try It Free Guarantee” as well as a Life Time Warranty.
Self defense can be a matter of life and death for your family. Keeping your shooting skills sharp is important to using the best home defense weapon possible when the unexpected occurs. Turn your handgun into the best handgun for home defense with the drills outlined in Handgun Training – Practice Drills for Defensive Shooting. Nothing will give you more peace and security in your own home than the confidence you will hit your target. Learn More
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.
New Ruger AI-style magazines offer shooters a Ruger factory-produced option for their Ruger Precision and Gunsite Scout Rifles, as well as other rifles that use AI-type magazines.
The new 22 and 33 Nosler cartridges fill some gaps in the ammo manufacturer's cartridge lineup and should be exciting developments for any serious shooter.
