Shooters normally associate sub-MOA accuracy with above-average cost, but in the case of this single-shot chambered for .25-06, that wasn't the case. And, even better in the past decade, the price of the H&R Ultra Rifle hasn't changed much at all.
Is the single-shot H&R Ultra Rifle lightweight? Not really. The thick barrel, big laminated wood stock, and a 50mm scope put the package at more than nine pounds.
Most people would agree that it’s better to have a good-shooting rifle that’s also easy on the eyes, but few of us would choose to carry a rifle that looked great, but couldn’t hit the side of a barn.
Some years ago I owned an inexpensive single-shot .25-06 single-shot rifle, a $250 Harrington & Richardson Ultra Rifle. It shot well and operated cleanly, and I still consider it to be a bargain.
Though there are several more models in the line now than when I tested, the basics of the Ultra Rifle remain the same. They are break-action designs with a spring-loaded extractor/ejector. The action is released by pushing a lever on the right side of the external hammer, allowing the barrel to pivot down.
There’s basic bluing, a laminated wood stock, and 26-inch-long barrels on the long-action units. The stock featured a one-inch ventilated recoil pad, and the gun came with swivels installed. I liked the cut checkering on the fore end and the buttstock, and I thought its weight and well-proportioned buttpad made the rifle a joy to shoot.
A recent price check in these pages and in the GDTM online classifieds showed a remarkable fact—these guns still sell for around $250. Here’s more you need to know about these guns, before you buy.
Field Use
Overall, this gun handles well in the field. It is well balanced and shoots well from a woods rest as well as offhand. You’d think that a single-shot would be slim and lightweight, but the thick barrel, large stock of laminated wood, and a 2.5- to 10-power 50-mm scope made the H&R gun tip the scales at 9.3 pounds. It measured 41.4 inches in OAL, but still felt like a manageable field rifle.
The trigger as I received it needed work. It broke at more than six pounds and was grainy. An affordable $75 trigger job changed that to a trigger than broke crisply at 2.8 pounds.
Accuracy Testing
The basics of the Ultra Rifle are a break-action design with a spring-loaded extractor/ejector. Push a lever on the right side of the external hammer, and the barrel pivots down.
From the bench, I shot three-round groups with Federal Premium 115-grain Trophy Bonded loads, Federal Premium 90-grain HP Varmint loads, and Federal Classic 117-grain loads. All groups were shot at 100 yards and measured center-to-center to the nearest 0.1 inch.
The groups were fired in rapid succession before the rifle was allowed to cool to see the rifle’s reaction to barrel heating. The short version is that I didn’t see accuracy variations because of heating of the 26-inch barrel, which was 0.7 inch thick at the muzzle.
The best group with the 115-grain Trophy Bondeds was 1.6 inches. The 90-grain Varmint loads shot best groups of 1.4 inches. But the best in the test were the 117-grain soft points, which averaged 0.7-inch group sizes and a best three-shot group of 0.62 inch.
Before You Buy
My experience with the H&R Ultra Rifle is easy to express: It’s a perfectly satisfactory field tool. When you factor in price, the H&R has an unqualified edge over many other guns.
Do I think the lack of magazine capacity (that is, one shot) is a detriment? Of course. But I never lost a deer or coyote I shot with the gun, in part because I was extremely careful with the one shot I did have. The real issue with the single-shot isn’t speed of loading, I found.
It was that I had to take my head off the stock to operate the mechanism and reload, which meant I had to relocate the game in the scope. But that happened only once, and the spike I had to shoot twice was already Dead Man Running—he just didn’t know it yet.
Certainly, a repeater has an advantage, but for the money, if you need only one shot, then the Ultra Rifle is probably worth $250.
I have not had time to read the entire document, nor to analyze it. I expect the experts to begin weighing in immediately, and national gun organizations will no doubt release position statements soon. In the mean time, read the report for yourself. Notable highlights from first glance:
“Over 90 percent of the firearms seized in Mexico and traced over the last 3 years have come from the United States.”
Which, as we've seen repeatedly, is a woefully incomplete data set to extrapolate from.
While the eTrace data only represents data from gun trace requests submitted from seizures in Mexico and not all the guns seized, it is currently the only systematic data available…
HOUMA, Louisiana — In 15 years of selling guns and ammunition, he’s never seen anything like it. Wednesday afternoon, there were wide gaps between the boxes of ammunition for sale at the shop, formerly an auto-parts and gun store but now strictly a firearms business.
“That shelf is usually packed,” Prevost said. “If we don’t hide ammo, they’ll buy it all.”
Spurred by rampant rumors and fears that President Barack Obama, now six months into his term, may levy massive taxes on ammunition or add cumbersome new firearms restrictions, gun owners have been buying bullets in huge quantities, creating shortages nationwide.
“The American public just went bonkers,” Prevost said. “People are panicked.”
Workers at three other gun shops and sporting goods stores in the Houma said they face similar problems.
“People are buying whatever they can get their hands on, and there’s a shortage with the distributors,” said Bryan Butcher, owner of Tri-Parish Police Supply on La. 311. “They’re afraid they’re not going to be able to get it or it’s going to be three times the price.”
The shortages are affecting law-enforcement agencies also. Terrebonne Sheriff Vernon Bourgeois said his office has had trouble finding ammunition in bulk for deputies.
“We’re not out yet, but we will run out,” he said. Read more
The proposal, which is scheduled to be heard today in the Senate Judiciary Committee, has sparked a debate over what restrictions should be placed on gun owners who wish to carry weapons in public buildings, schools and other places.
Opponents said the bill would endanger law-enforcement officers and the public by eliminating permits and the training courses now required to obtain them.
“This bill would make a radical and very dangerous change to state law,” Attorney General Terry Goddard said at a Thursday news conference. “The current law in Arizona is not broken. It has worked exceptionally well.”
To receive a concealed-carry permit today, gun owners have to take an eight-hour course on gun laws and safety and pass a shooting test. The course costs about $100. About 125,000 Arizonans have obtained the $60 permit since the concealed-carry law was established in 1994.
Senate Bill 1270, sponsored by Sen. Sylvia Allen, would make the safety course optional. It also would allow people to carry guns into public buildings and onto school campuses if they were picking up their children or responding to an emergency.
Supporters of the bill say existing concealed-carry laws are confusing and can lead to unfair prosecution. A woman could be arrested for a concealed-carry violation if she was driving in her car and inadvertently placed a newspaper on top of a gun in the passenger's seat, they say.
Gun owners who want to untuck their shirts to conceal a weapon when they walk into a store shouldn't have to take a training course, said John Wentling, vice president of the Arizona Citizens Defense League. Read more
“Greg Nickels knows he will find a sympathetic ear in the Oval Office for his illegal gun control scheme,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Like Barack Obama, Mayor Nickels is an opponent of legal concealed carry, and he desperately wants the authority to unilaterally ban the lawful carrying of firearms on public property, regardless of state law and the state and federal constitutional protections of the right to keep and bear arms.
“Nickels may be inspired by Obama’s current ability to push a social agenda,” he observed. “Both seem to believe they have some imperial mandate to shape the world by executive order with no legislative oversight or intervention. The United States is a Republic, not a socialist monarchy, and the City of Seattle is not Greg Nickels’ personal fiefdom.”
Mayor Nickels has been threatening to ban all legally-carried firearms from all city property, despite warnings from State Attorney General Rob McKenna that he is prohibited from doing so under the state’s long-standing model preemption law. CCRKBA, the Second Amendment Foundation and National Rifle Association are prepared to sue if Nickels carries out his threat. Read more
MIDVALE, Utah — A man with a concealed weapons permit stopped two would-be Midvale robbers from making off with his friend's stuff.
Police say the men were coming home from an errand around 7 a.m. Wednesday morning when they spotted the suspects with their things. The suspects took off on foot.
One of the men being robbed grabbed a gun from his truck and started running after them.
Midvale police Detective Sgt. John Salazar said, “Grabs a loaded .40-caliber handgun and chases with the gun, shooting rounds either into the air or into the ground as they were chasing.” Read more
It was a reversal for the gun lobby, which has been successful this year in winning approval of several bills to expand the places where permit holders are legally allowed to carry their sidearms, including parks and places where alcohol is served. The bill had passed the House 83-12 in May.
Although the bill is technically not dead, the legislature is struggling to adjourn its 2009 session today and Minority Leader Jim Kyle, D-Memphis, said it will take a two-thirds vote of the 33-member Senate to resurrect it. Although it received a favorable 14-13 vote, it takes 17 votes, a majority, to pass legislation.
The bill’s sponsor, Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris, R-Collierville, said that although it could potentially be resurrected before lawmakers go home for the year, it would be heavily amended.
“It’s possible, but I am bothered by the fact that there are apparently political campaigns and candidates that want to use the database for their purposes. I find that as offensive as data mining for gun control purposes,” Norris said after the vote.
“There is some incentive to get those records closed to a reasonable degree. The senators in the chamber (Wednesday night) were split on what they thought was reasonable and a number of them obviously took a walk. I presented it as the Senate sponsor and did the best I could.”
Gun-carry licensees mounted a huge effort this year to close the records that have been open since the state created handgun-carry permits 12 years ago. The push came after The Commercial Appeal posted a searchable database of permit holders on its Web site last November.
Opponents of the bill — led by Kyle, Sens. Roy Herron, D-Dresden, Joe Haynes, D-Nashville, and Douglas Henry, D-Nashville — sought a compromise and argued that closing public records would set a bad precedent. Read more
At long last, Teddy Kennedy has partially revealed the health care system he wants to foist on the whole country — and it isn't pretty.
It won't be pretty for your pocket book… OR FOR YOUR GUN RIGHTS!
But first, let us explain what TeddyCare is all about.
At the center of the plan is what's called a “universal mandate.” What this means is that you — and virtually everyone in the country — will have to buy as much health insurance as the government demands, and that insurance plan will actually have to be approved by the government.
If you work for a small business, the business will buy the insurance on your behalf. But you may be saddled with an enormous part of the cost. And, if the employer's contribution is too large, you will be fired.
If you fail to buy TeddyCare, as the government orders you to do, the IRS will fine you, garnish your wages, put a lien on your house, and, ultimately, put you in prison.
How much will you have to spend on your TeddyCare insurance? Teddy's not saying.
The portion of your paycheck that will have to be forked over to Teddy's latest social experiment will be revealed ONLY AFTER THE MASSIVE HEALTH CARE BILL IS SIGNED INTO LAW.
This should set off alarm bells in your brain, because, for instance, the average family policy is currently $12,700. “So,” proclaims Teddy, “everyone's going to get a subsidy to pay for this.” There's going to be a “chicken in every pot,” and no one's going to have to pay for it. Read more
The steady introduction of new calibers and high-techloads is fueling the firearms industry. One has to look no further than Hornady to sense the pace of the ammunition market. This year Hornady is introducing four completely new cartridges – the 308 Marlin Express, 30 T/C, 375 Ruger and 460 Bushmaster. It is also bringing into production two great classics – the 450/400 N.E. 3″ and the 9.3 x 74R. Remington, which has controlled the 17-caliber centerfire market with its swift 17 Remington for years, decided it was time to rev up the market and created the appealing 17 Remington Fireball along with five bolt-action rifles to shoot it in. The heavy end of the handgun market keeps boiling with a number of new loads for the 460 S&W and 500 S&W, including Hornady's 500-grain FP-XTP for 500 S&W shooters who like a bit of kick to their loads. Over in scattergun territory, the accent is still on the development of dense shot including Winchester's Extended Range High Density, Remington's Wingmaster HD and Federal's Black Cloud FS Steel. It's been a busy year!
A-Square Company
A-Square has aggressively tamed a number of excellent wildcats by domesticating them through the SAAMI protocols. Two of the successful cartridges, the 6.5-06 A-Square and the 338-06 A-Square, will be joined this year by the 416 Taylor A-Square. Developed by Robert Chatfield Taylor in the 1970s by necking down the 458 Win. Magnum case to .416, the compact and highly efficient 416 Taylor is capable of churning up 2400 fps with a 400-grain bullet. Move over 416 Rigby and 416 Remington, the Taylor A-Square runs on less powder and doesn't require a magnum length action to equal your classic ballistics. It's good to see that the 416 Taylor has now been standardized and is available loaded with A-Square's unique “Triad” of big game bullets. www.a-squarecompany.com
Ballistic Products
Ballistic Products new “HITS” program is changing the way shotshell reloaders optimize their choice of components around a specific game species or shooting game. Standing for “Hull Integrated Technology System,” the HITS program provides the reloader with a bundle of the best components, except for powder and shot, plus reloading instructions to assemble the finest pheasant, waterfowl, sporting clays and 20-gauge shotshells. There's also a new multi-purpose 16-gauge field wad available this year. Designated the “Multi-Metal 16,” it can handle lead, steel and Hevi-Shot loadings. www.ballisticproducts.com
Celebrating their 75th anniversary, Barnes is introducing no less than 41 new bullet designs this year. Noteworthy as well is that the Barnes bullets are being factory loaded today by Black Hills, Cor-Bon, Federal, Norma and Weatherby.
Brand new to the Barnes family is the “Varmint Grenade” – a 36-grain HP in .224, featuring a highly frangible, copper-tincore. It's a “green” bullet, accurate and designed for explosive expansion of game and a minimum of ricochets. The line of Maximum-Range X-Bullets (MRX) introduced last year, featuring tungsten-alloy cores and polymer tips in the familiar TripleShock platform, has been expanded to cover every popular caliber from 270 through 338. Barnes' line of solids has been completely redesigned with multi-grooved shanks that reduce pressure, minimize fouling and enhance accuracy. The new “Banded Solid” line has been expanded to cover every popular caliber from 224 through 600, and this includes some classic big game calibers such as the 9.3mm, 450/400, 404 Jeffrey, 470 Nitro, 505 Gibbs and 500 Nitro. The 30/30 gets a new high performance bullet this year, a flat-nose, 150grain Triple Shock. Finally, look for a variety of new XPB pistol bullets including new weights and designs for the 357, 357 Sig, 40 S&W, 44 Spl. and 45 GAP. www.barnesbullets.com
Barnes' Triple-Shock X Bullet is so effective, it's being factory loaded by Federal, Black Hills and Weatherby.
Berger Bullets
In an interesting turn of events, Berger is pitching its Match Grade Very Low Drag (VLD) line as perfectly suitable for hunting big game. Berger's tests, which are available on a free DVD from the company, show that the sharp nose of a VLD bullet penetrates at least 2 inches of initial tissue and then expands rapidly in the vital area. Added to the lineup this year are a 120-grain/6.5mmMatch BT and a 130-grain/6.5mmMatch VLD. www.bergerbullets.com
Bismuth
Working with Berger, Bismuth has developed and is loading a 175grain/30-caliber VLD match grade bullet with a pure Bismuth, non-toxic core in the 308 Win., 30-'06, 300 Win. Mag. and 300 WSM. Test results show exceptionally fine accuracy and rapid fragmentation. Bismuth continues to offer a complete line of shotshells and Bismuth component shot for handloaders. Bismuth is the only non-toxic shot that is suitable for pre-steel shot shotgun barrels, be they breech or muzzleloaders. www.bismuth-notox.com
Black Hills
With S&W returning the Model 1917 to its line, a lot of shooters will be searching for 45 Auto Rim ammunition. It's hard to find, but not at Black Hills. Their new 45 Auto Rim loading features a hard-cast 255-grain SWC at an honest 750 fps. The hottest new varmint load this year is Black Hills' 223 “Varmint Grenade.” Built around Barnes' new copper particle-cored 36-grain bullet, the Varmint Grenade is running at 3750 fps and is said to be “humanely devastating” on small critters. Long known for their custom match ammunition, Black Hills is loading a 123-grain/6.5mm Sierra MatchKing in the 6.5 Grendel cartridge for Les Baer, who is reporting .5 MOA accuracy from his custom AR-15s. Similarly, they have developed a long-range tactical match load for the 260 Rem. cartridge, featuring a 139-grain Lapua Scenar bullet at 2770 fps. The tactical match 260 Rem. load will be marketed exclusively through G.A. Precision rifles. Finally, their premium line of hunting ammunition, Black Hills Gold, is being expanded with Hornady SST bullets added to the 243 Win., 270 Win. and 7mm Rem. Mag. Great people – great ammo. www.black-hills.com
45 Auto Rim has been in short supply, but no longer. Black Hills is bringing it back.
Brenneke USA
The 16-gauge continues to creep up in popularity, and why not. A 16-gauge built on a 20-gauge frame is a delight to shoot and carry. Well, Brenneke has upgraded their 1 oz/16-gauge slug with a new wad system that is capable of 2.5 groups at 50 yards. Velocity is right up there at 1600 fps. Over the past year, Brenneke commissioned ballistics expert Tom Burczynski to run a series of comparative tests on all brands of shotguns slugs. Interestingly, the Brenneke 12-gauge Heavy Field Short Magnum out-penetrated the competition by a long margin and ranked second in terms of accuracy and muzzle energy. See the test results at www.brennekeusa.com
DKG has emerged as a great resource if you're looking for NobelSport or Centurion shotshells. Manufactured in Italy, both lines feature some interesting variations like NobelSport's 20-gauge steel trap load and 12-gauge sporting clays spreader load.
Under the Centurion banner, one will find a unique 12-gauge buckshot load featuring one 0.650 round ball and six #1 buck and a .410 shell stuffed with five #00 buck. See the whole lines at www.dkgtrading.com
Extreme Shock
Extreme Shock ammunition is designed to fragment and dump all its energy within the target. With a technology based on bullets having Tungsten powder cores, the lines now cover personal defense and aircraft safe handgun rounds, short and long range 5.56mm tactical rounds, subsonic, door-breaching and even a 675-grain 50 BMG load. See them all at www.extremeshockusa.com
Federal
Federal's 12 and 20-gauge sabot slug loads feature a spitzer-tipped Barnes Expander.
Waterfowl beware! The new Black Cloud FS Steel cartridge is described as “Dropping Ducks Like Rain.” Basically, a combination of Federal's proven Flitecontrol wad and a steel shot pellet that features a cutting edge around its circumference, Black Cloud FS is a new step-up in steel shot lethality. Twelve and twenty gauge slugs also have been given a facelift by the addition of a streamlined polymer spitzer tip to Federal's Barnes Expander sabot slug. The factory standard is 2 inches at 100 yards – no exceptions. Speaking of Barnes, the 7mm/140-grain Triple Shock X-Bullet has been added to the 7mm-08, 280 Rem. and 7mm Rem. Mag. under the Premium Vital-Shok label. Also new under the same label are a 150-grain Nosler AccuBond in the 30-'06 and a 165-grain AccuBond in the 308 Win. The popularity of the 460 S&W keeps growing so Federal has once again teamed up with Barnes to load a 275-grain Expander in that big bore handgun caliber. www.federalpremium.com
Fiocchi
Break out those Broomhandles! Fiocchi is reintroducing the 7.63Mauser cartridge in a full-power loading sporting an 88-grain FMJ bullet at 1425 fps. www.fiocchiusa.com Hastings
Famous for their slug gun barrels and sabot slug ammunition, Hastings is introducing a 20-gauge case stuffed with a 350-grain Laser Accurate Slug at 2000 fps. It's the ultimate 20-gauge magnum but suitable only for single-shot shotguns at the moment. www.hastingsammunition.com
Hodgdon
Having taken over the distribution of Winchester canister powders, Hodgdon is releasing two classic Winchester shotshell powders: WAALite – the same powder used by Winchester to create the Feather Light AA12FL shell; and SuperHandicap – useful for duplicating Winchester's clays-crushing SuperHandicap 12-gauge loading that tough competitors call the “silver bullet.”There's a new short cut powder this year, IMR 4007 SSC. “SSC” stands for “Super Short Cut” and the burning rate of the new powder falls between IMR 4064 and IMR 4350. The new IMR 4007 SSC is turning in outstanding velocities and accuracy in the short magnums as well as in the 22-250, 220 Swift, 243 Win. and the classic 30-'06. Be sure to buy the new Hodgdon Reloading Manual that now includes thousands of proven recipes for IMR and Winchester, as well as the traditional Hodgdon powders. www.hodgdon.com
Hornady
After last year's introduction of the “LeverEvolution” family of cartridges, we expected Hornady to take a breather. Not so, this year Hornady is producing four completely new cartridges, the 375 Ruger, 308 Marlin Express, 30 T/C and 450 Bushmaster as well as bringing into production two great classics, the 450/400 Nitro Express 3? and the 9.3?74R. The 375 Ruger is based on a 30-'06-length case and loaded with a 270-grain SP and 300-grain SP or FMJ, it is capable of duplicating 375 H&H performance in a 20-inch barrel. The 308 Marlin Express features a 160 grain spitzer bullet with a high B.C. rating of .400 that leaves the muzzle of Marlin's new XLR lever action at 2600 fps. If you like Marlin lever actions, you'll like this new cartridge.
Hornady's puts some muscle in the AR-15 with the new 450 Bushmaster.
The 30 T/C is a short-action case designed specifically for T/C's forward-looking ICON bolt-action rifle. Producing 3000 fps with a 150-grain bullet and 2850 fps with a 165-grain pill, Hornady claims the new case uses less powder than the 308 or 30-'06, exceeds the factory velocities of those classic 30s in a 20-inch barrel, and produces noticeably less recoil. Designed to take your Bushmaster AR-15 big-game hunting, the 450 Bushmaster will produce over 2000 fps with a .425-caliber/250-grain SST bullet. The overall length of the new cartridge matches the 223 Rem. at 2.250 inches. Just change your uppers and go hunting. www.hornady.com
Huntington
This is the handloader's emporium for bullets, cases and RCBS tooling and parts. Buzz Huntington does an exceptional job of rounding up the hardest-to-get components and will go to any length to find them. Need lead bullets for the 310 Martini, newly drawn cases for the 577 Snider, or samples of the 600 and 700 Nitro Express cases or bullets. Huntington keeps them in stock. I enjoy shooting the oddball and obsolete cartridges, and I haven't been able to stump Buzz yet.
Huntington's catalog is as educational a reference as you will find in the trade. www.huntingtons.com
Kent Cartridge
“Speed Kills,” states their catalog, and Kent has the shotshells to prove it. New this year under their “Faststeel” waterfowl label is a 12-gauge/3?? shell packing 1? oz of BB, 1, 2 and 3s at 1625 fps. That's fast! Then there's a new 12-gauge/2?? upland lead load featuring 1 oz of 4, 5 and 6s at 1460 fps. Look to Kent for speed. It kills. www.kentgamebore.com
Lightfield
Famous for their exceptionally accurate and lethal shotgun slugs, Lightfield has capitalized on its experience with plastic sabots and projectile design to develop a new 50-caliber muzzleloading round. Named the “Alpha Gold 300,” it consists of a pure lead 300-grain boattail hollowpoint bullet wrapped in a gold-colored sabot. The hollow point is serrated to generate controlled expansion upon impact and a bullet seater is provided in each blister pack to ensure the soft spitzer point is not deformed when loading. The plastic sabot is formulated to take both blackpowder and smokeless pressures. It's a good looking round and early reports from the field indicate it's exceptionally lethal. Also new this year are several new sabot shotgun slugs and a full range of non-lethal law enforcement and wildlife control loads. Most important may be Lightfield's well-written instructional guides on benchresting and sighting in a slug gun, and analyzing recovered muzzleloading sabots to fine-tune your load. www.lightfieldslugs.com and www.lightfieldlesslethal.com
Midway
Do you have a vintage 12-gauge side-by-side that would be pleasant and safe to shoot with a low-pressure shell? Midway has the shell. Loaded by Federal to Midway's specifications, the 12-gauge/2 1/2 shell shot at 1200 fps. The chamber pressure is a mild 5,000 pounds and recoil is equally as light. The shell would be a great practice round in any 12-gauge gun and is ideal for recoil-sensitiveshooters. Available by the case, see it at www.midway-usa.com.
Norma
Norma fields its “African PH” series of big game ammunition. Featuring FMJ and SP Woodleigh bullets, the new cartridge family includes the 375 H&H, 404 Jeffery, 416 Rigby and Rem. Mag., 450 Rigby, 458 Lott, 470 NE, 500 NE and 505 Gibbs. The “African PH” catalog, featuring stories on a number of past and present professional hunters, is a great read and well worth ordering. In another interesting development, Norma will be bringing out a new 6mm competition cartridge designed by David Tubb. Called the “6XC,” the case is based on an improved 22-250 design with minimum case taper and a 30-degree shoulder. The 6XC will be factory loaded with a moly-coated 105-grain Berger bullet loaded to approximately 3000 fps. Norma is considering introducing the 6XC as a hunting cartridge as well, noting its superiority over the 243 Win. www.norma.cc
Nosler
Expanding its highly successful AccuBond line, Nosler is introducing four new bullets: a 130-grain/6.5mm, 130-grain/270, 225-grain/35 and a 250-grain/9.3mm. There's a new 32-grain/20 caliber Ballistic Tip varmint pill and a new 140-grain/6.5mm HPBT target bullet in the line. Nosler continues to expand its brand of custom brass and is cataloguing the 260 Rem., 280 Ackley Improved, 300 H&H and 300 SAUM this year. www.nosler.com
Polywad
Always a fertile center for shotshell innovations, Polywad is introducing the “Gram Crak-R Shell,” a buffered shot load, wrapped in a high-sided craft paper shot cup. The results in the 28-gauge and .410 are amazing. With the 28-gauge shell, I was taking doves out to 50 yards this past season while the .410 Crak-R performs more like a 28-gauge. The secret is in the buffer and in the environmentally friendly shotcup that holds the shot together, producing a short shot string and a tight shot pattern with a minimum of aberrant pellets. www.polywad.com
Remington
Remington's traditional Core-Lokt bullet just got better with the addition of a bonded core.
Having opened the 17-caliber door years ago with their sensational 17 Remington, Big Green has done it again. Necking down the cute-looking 221 Fireball, they're introducing the 17 Remington Fireball with a 20-grain AccuTip-V at 4000 fps in no less than four different model rifles. Another ballistic break-through this year is Wingmaster HD waterfowl, turkey and predator loads. Utilizing their proprietary tungsten-bronze-ironalloy with a pellet density of 12 gm/cc, the new shot is perfectly spherical and offers optimum pattern densities in gauges from 10 through 20. The predator loading in the 3″ and 3 1/2/12 gauge is based on “T” shot at 1300-1350 fps – should be deadly on coyotes at extended ranges. Working with the concept of stair-stepping loads, Remington is offering three different power level loads for the 300 Rem. Ultra Mag. Power Level 1 tames the 300 RUM to 30-'06 level performance; Level 2 to 300 Win. performance; and Level 3 brings out the full power level we buy the 300 RUM for in the first place. Remington states that the point-of-impact of all three power levels is within 2 inches at 200 yards, making scope adjustments unnecessary. In the shotshell slug department, there is a new ManagedRecoil addition featuring a 1 oz./12 ga. Copper Solid Sabot Slug at a mild 1200 fps. Look for Remington Core-Lokt Ultra Bonded component bullets this year in calibers 243 through 338. www.remington.com
Schroeder Bullets
For uncommon custom diameter bullets and brass, always check out Schroeder.
This year he is adding formed brass for the 204 Ruger Rimmed, 223 Rimmed, 222 Mag. Rimmed, 17357 Maximum, 5.7x28mm Rimmed, 30 Herrett, and 7×61 S&H. New custom bullets include a 60-grain HP in .234 diameter and 225-grain and 250-grain spire points in .356 diameter. If you own a 5mm Rem. Mag. rifle, Schroeder offers a simple and inexpensive conversion to 5mm centerfire. (619) 423-3523
Sierra Bullets
Meeting the demand for 6.5mm match bullets, Sierra has added a 123-grain HPBT MatchKing to its existing line-up of superb 6.5mm competition projectiles. www.sierrabullets.com
SSK
SSK is the place to look for high-tech specialty bullets.
JD Jones and David Frickie have teamed up to produce a series of unique bullets turned from brass or copper. There are a variety of styles in 6.5mm, 6.8mm, 338, 375, 416, 458, 500, 510, 13mm, 14.5mm, 62 and 95 caliber. If you have a self-designed bullet in mind, Jones and Frickie will get it into CNC production for a modest cost of $300. Working with Michael McCourry, SSK now offers a completely new line of custom 50, 416 and 458 caliber cartridges based on WSM and Rem. Ultra Mag. brass, including a 50-caliber Alaskan cartridge that is giving outstanding performance in the Win. Model 71 and Marlin 1895. Dies, bullets, brass and custom gunsmithing are available through SSK. www.sskindustries.com
Speer
Speer's continued production of “Special Purpose Rifle Bullets” is a blessing shooters should not overlook. In spite of what must be a very limited demand, the “Special Purpose” line includes properly cannelured bullets for the 218 Bee, 25-20, 730 Waters, 30 Carbine and 32-20. Stock up! www.speer-bullets.com
Swift
If you're a 25-caliber shooter, there's a great new bullet in the Scirocco line. It's a streamlined 100-grain boattail spitzer with a high BC of .429. www.swiftbullet.com
Weatherby
Weatherby was the first major company to integrate Nosler Partition bullets into their entire line. They continue to search out and load premium, high-tech component bullets. This year, Barnes Triple-Shock X-Bullet and Nosler's AccuBond bullet are being added across the Weatherby family of high-performance cartridges that already sport the Nosler Partition, Nosler Ballistic Tip and Hornady Interlock bullets. www.weatherby.com
Winchester
Weatherby's focus on premium bullets now includes the Barnes' Triple Shock.
Winchester's top-of-the-line ammunition family, the Supreme Elite line, includes a number of firsts this year. The 243 Win and the 243 WSSM have been tipped off with Winchester's finest controlled expansion, bonded core bullet, the 95-grain/XP3. The popular 270 Win. and 270 WSM are also being upgraded with a 130-grain XP3 bullet. Respective velocities are 3050 fps and 3275 fps. Designed for rifled shotgun bores, there's a striking new XP3/12-gauge shotgun slug featuring a sharp polymer tip, controlled expansion jacket, and a refined sabot. The combination is said to be highly accurate and very flat shooting. As we go to print, the shell's velocity has not been announced. Predator hunters will like the Supreme Elite Xtended Range High Density Coyote 3 1/2 12-gauge load featuring 1 1/2 oz of Hi-Density B size pellets. Lots of knockdown power with minimum pelt damage. The 3?/20-gauge is getting some additional octane this year with the introduction of an Xtended Range turkey load packing 1 oz of #5 shot at 1225 fps. Finally, the premium line features a 3 1/2 12-gauge Xtended Range waterfowl load, loaded with 1 oz of #6 Hi Density shot. The old 30-30 gets a facelift with a new 150-grain, slightly pointed, Ballistic Silvertip ripping out at 2390 fps. If the full-power 500 S&W seems a bit much for extended target sessions, Winchester has a new reduced recoil load consisting of a 350-grain bullet at 1400 fps. Delivering only ? the recoil of the full-power cartridge, big-bore handgunners should love it. Speaking of reduced recoil, there's a new line of WinLite Low Recoil shotgun ammunition covering target, buckshot and slug applications. Finally, honoring the late John Wayne on what would be his 100th birthday, Winchester is issuing a limited edition collector's set of ammunition in 44-40, 45 Colt and 30-30 calibers, featuring special headstamps and commemorative packaging. www.winchester.com
Woodleigh
Constructed with pure lead, bonded cores, the Woodleigh line of premium big-game bullets is being expanded this year with an ultra heavy, 240-grain protected point, Weldcore bullet for the 30-?06, 200 and 220-grain PP bullets for the 325 Win., a 400-grain FN for the 500 S&W, and a 450-grain RN in .510? diameter for the 500 Nitro. See the whole line. www.woodleighbullets.com.au
Marbut, president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, is one of the leaders of a new grassroots movement that's seeking to invoke the principle of states' rights — including states' own authority to regulate firearms — to thwart what he and his allies view as an increasingly overreaching federal government.
Politicians in Washington have “assumed power that many of us believe was not authorized under the limits of the Constitution,” Marbut said in an interview with CBSNews.com last week.
This modern-day federalist revolt began with a Montana state law recently signed by Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer. It says that firearms, ammunition, and accessories manufactured entirely inside Montana are not subject to federal regulation, including background checks for buyers and record-keeping requirements for sellers. They would remain subject to state regulation.
The law, which does not permit the manufacture of certain large-caliber weapons or machine guns, takes effect on October 1, 2009.
Montana is hardly alone: the Tennessee legislature has approved a nearly-identical bill, and others are pending in Texas, Alaska, Minnesota, and South Carolina. About 10 other states, including Florida and Arizona, are reportedly considering similar measures, and a Colorado state legislator has publicly pledged to follow suit. Read more
A list of those attorneys general is included below, and surprisingly, it does not include Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.
This is a remarkable letter, made public by the National Rifle Association. It follows three months after 65 House Democrats sent a similar letter to Holder, admonishing him for remarks made earlier this year suggesting that the Obama administration would like to see the ban renewed. That March 17 letter took issue with Holder, and others, who at the time were using the drug cartel wars in Mexico as an excuse to push for renewal of the ban, which expired in September 2004 after having accomplished pretty much nothing.
As the states’ top law enforcement officials, we share the Obama Administration’s commitment to reducing illegal drugs and violent crime within the United States. We also share your deep concern about drug cartel violence in Mexico. However, we do not believe that restricting law abiding Americans’ access to certain semi-automatic firearms will resolve any of these problems.
McKenna is not generally thought of as an anti-gunner. His office did, after all, advise Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels – poised to be elected president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Monday – that his blustery promise to ban legally-carried handguns from Seattle city property by executive order would be illegal. Nickels has some other problems as he heads into another campaign for re-election (the guy has never held a job in the private sector), and it will be interesting to watch whether he tries to bully people with his new national status, or make good use of his new position to address such pressing needs nationally as municipal infrastructure at times of economic downturn, public transportation, and urban decay.
It is not “bullying” in which the pro-gun attorneys general are engaging with Holder, but frank conversation about a subject that should be dead and buried. All 23 of these chief law enforcement officers concur that “additional gun control laws are unnecessary” and that the individual right to keep and bear arms protected by the Second Amendment “should not be encroached upon without sound justification – and a clear law enforcement purpose.”
Because fully automatic machine guns have already been banned, we do not believe that further restricting law-abiding Americans’ access to certain semiautomatic firearms serves any real law enforcement purpose.
The only logical purpose of reinstating the ban, expanding it as proponents desire and making it permanent would be to strip American citizens of their legally held property and make it seem acceptable. Once the gun prohibition lobby can sell the notion that banning a specific type of firearm is okay, they will wait a while and then move to ban another specific type of firearm, all under the guise of public safety.
As with the case of the letter from the 65 Democrat congress members in March, this letter did not get any news coverage, at least not yet. You can rest assured that if 23 attorneys general had signed a letter calling upon the Obama administration to push for renewal of the ban, it would have occupied all of the Sunday morning news/talk programs. Read more
“They” may never really ‘come for you’, but when something is legal today and arbitrarily made illegal tomorrow, you’ve been had and didn’t even know it.
The process comes when someone introduces a concept and master prosecuting bodies or assigned agencies get the last word in how it all shakes out. The agencies may post that they are taking comments, but once they get ahold of it, they never let go and soon the concept of carrying a pocket knife with you will be illegal.
It’s a societal mistake to regulate and then to come after anything, and I’ll say why. When anti-gun activists try to mock gun ownership and gun owner apprehension about soft tyranny of the type we are seeing today, they like to carp out loud about how anyone is going to stop the Army when they come for us. ..almost as if they are gleefully looking forward to it. (Did you ever get the idea that some in this country are actually looking forward to a Police State?)
First, it probably won’t happen that way. There won’t likely be any confrontations between citizens and their own troops. It will be more subtle, such as coming to arrest violators of things which aren’t illegal at this time, but are becoming illegal. The pocket knives are the latest example. Soon, it will be what you eat or refuse to eat, or refuse in the way of a microchip or vaccine. Officials loathe independence. It means you don’t have to listen to them on issues where they have no such authority.
Rather than shoot-outs with troops, the result will be more that of officers to come a-calling while neighbors watch because they cannot relate to your situation of too many parking tickets, or refusing that chip, or refusing that diet, or anything, and they’ll mutter that he probably brought it all on himself, since they heard him complain about too much government.
You see, the agencies charged with deciding ultimately decide against the will of the people. Instead of taking No for an answer, they invite comments, but will still not reject the idea as an interference with our liberty. This is soft tyranny. They’re going to get their way instead of our getting our way.
As KGW News reported, “The divisive issue has pitted gun owners and sheriffs against reporters and the courts. Supporters claim publishing the records puts those carrying handguns in jeopardy.”
Oregon sheriffs have strongly opposed giving out such private information to the media. In fact, “Earlier in the year, sheriffs from across Oregon sent letters to handgun permit holders, warning of media attempts to publish their names,” KGW News noted. “The Medford Mail Tribune sued Jackson County last year to force release of every concealed handgun permit holder on the books. A judge agreed and demanded the list be given to the newspaper. That verdict was appealed and is now under consideration by the state appellate court.”
President Barack Obama said in April that the ban “made sense” but that he wouldn't push to reinstate it because it would be difficult to pass in Congress.
McDaniel said in a news release that he shared Obama's desire to reduce crime. Read More
They said it highlights the need for lawmakers to reconsider efforts to ease the District's tough gun laws and allowing firearms into national parks.
D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray said the shooting underscored the need for strict gun laws in the nation's capital.
“It's all the more reason why, though, District of Columbia gun legislation should be not used as a bargaining chip by those in Congress who would use our city for political gain while compromising safety, particularly when it involves our right to a vote,” said Mr. Gray, at-large Democrat.
House Democratic leaders this week shelved indefinitely a long-sought bill to grant the District a voting member in Congress because they couldn't defeat a Republican amendment to scale back the city's gun restrictions.
“Congress should think very hard about their responsibilities for public safety before weakening gun laws in our nation's capital, and should rethink their decision to allow more guns in our national public areas,” said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
“It is dangerous to force more guns into places that American families expect to be gun-free and safe,” he said. Read more »
Gun rights versus gun control; both sides are bringing their message front and center. Hundreds sang and prayed for peace Wednesday night at an anti-gun rally in Rogers Park. The Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. read the names of 36 Chicago Public School students killed just this year. And in a powerful symbol of the lives lost, youngsters laid down on the sidewalk.
CBS 2 Political Editor Mike Flannery reports that now the battle over guns moves to Washington.
Mayor Daley and the National Rifle Association are headed to the U.S. Supreme Court for a showdown over Chicago's ban on handguns. There are powerful, compelling arguments on both sides. CBS 2 talked to a shop owner who said that if he had obeyed the city's ban, he'd be dead.
“We were actually broken into, you know, during the day,” he said.
He owns a small business on the South Side. He doesn't want us to reveal his identity. Although it's illegal in Chicago, he often packs a .25 caliber pistol. He claims it saved his life twice, most notably when a robber hit him from behind with a hammer.
“As he reached to hit me again, I drew my pistol,” he said. “He saw the pistol, and I shot and missed him totally 'cause I was half-knocked. He took off running.”
Chicago police who responded did what officers often do in the city's toughest neighborhoods. They pretended that the victim had not broken the law by defending himself with an illegal handgun. Read 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.
Shooters normally associate sub-MOA accuracy with above-average cost, but in the case of this single-shot chambered for .25-06, that wasn't the case. And, even better in the past decade, the price of the H&R Ultra Rifle hasn't changed much at all.
