Many modern rifle accessories are battery powered. It’s important to carefully choose the batteries you use for reliable and consistent performance and consider shelf life as well.

A few short decades ago, fighting rifles wore a sling, held a cleaning kit and that was about it. Those were simpler times. Today your average carbine or rifle intended for self-protection will also be fitted with some type of optical sight, a white light and perhaps other accessories.

The big difference between a couple decades ago and today is our modern accessories require electricity. While there was an interim period when some preached against battery-powered accessories, those days are largely over. Today, battery-powered accessories are embraced, and shooters understand their benefits (properly utilized) outweigh their drawbacks.

With that being the case, the question becomes which type of battery best suits your requirements. Typical accessories such as optical sights and white lights are powered by “button-type,” CR123 three-volt or AA batteries. All three have certain advantages and disadvantages, and shooters should weigh these pros and cons before choosing accessories.

Let’s start with lithium button batteries. These are compact and lightweight and the only option for powering many optics. They’re disposable and have lithium metal or compounds as an anode. The design normally provides a long service and shelf life thanks to a high charge density. The shelf life of 10 years or more is a plus, especially if long-term storage is a consideration.

One model commonly used to power optical sights is the three-volt CR2032, and if you’ve ever wondered what CR2032 (or other battery designation) stands for, here is how the designation is broken down—according to the International Electrotechnical Commission:

• C means it has a manganese dioxide electrode.
• R stands for the battery’s shape: round.
• 20 is the diameter of the battery in millimeters.
• 32 indicates the battery is 3.2mm tall.

Typical capacity is 225 amperes per hour or mAh. This model of battery is intended to operate in a temperature range from -4 to 140 degrees. If you need a battery for colder conditions, you can usually substitute the almost identical BR2032 (the B means it has carbon monofluoride electrode). This is rated for conditions from -22 to 185 degrees.

Common brands of CR2032 lithium battery are Energizer, Maxell, Panasonic, Sony and Duracell. Beware of cheap no-name batteries produced in China. My recommendation is to buy a more than sufficient quantity of the correct button cells from a respected manufacturer. Keep them on hand and change them before you need to.

The most common battery used to power white lights is the CR123/CR123A (IEC designation CR17345). This is a disposable three-volt lithium primary battery with a typical capacity of 1,500 mAh. In profile the CR123A looks like a short AA.

Positive attributes of this compact battery include a high charge density and long shelf life—10 or more years. A proven design widely utilized in cameras, CR123As are much more common today than they were 10 years ago. However, depending upon where you live they can still be a chore to find and often are expensive. That’s the downside of the CR123A.

While a good reliable design when properly manufactured, there are potential problems to be aware of. Due to its lithium design this type of battery can provide extremely high currents and rapidly discharge when short-circuited. A too-rapid discharge can cause the battery to overheat, rupture, catch fire, even explode.

Consumer batteries usually incorporate over-current or thermal protection or vents in order to prevent explosion. However, last June the FBI released a warning concerning counterfeit and substandard CR123A batteries. “The FBI has received numerous reports of such batteries, which are not manufactured with the safety mechanisms of legitimate U.S.-branded batteries, spontaneously combusting while being used, transported, or stored, resulting in serious injuries to consumers and damage to tactical equipment and property.” Please be aware of this.

I am not a fan of the CR123A three-volt battery due to its less than universal acceptance. By this I mean it’s not as readily available across the globe as a mundane AA. That said, the majority of tactical lights run on CR123A three-volt batteries. So my suggestion is if you are running a CR123A-powered light to buy name brand batteries in bulk from a reputable company. You can save a heap of money this way. Just don’t be lured into purchasing batteries offered at rock bottom prices.

Also note that some two-cell CR123A flashlights will accept a single 18650 lithium-ion rechargeable battery. The 18650s are slightly larger in diameter and do not fit all devices. However, this is a nice option and what I use if possible.

Lately, though, there has been a swing toward AA-powered lights. While common AA batteries lack the voltage punch of the three-volt CR123, in many ways it is a much better power source. The battery we know today as the AA was standardized in 1947 by the American National Standards Institute. It stands two inches tall and is approximately 0.55 inch in diameter. Voltage runs from 1.25 to 1.65 depending upon cell composition. Ampere hours also vary from 400 to 3,000 mAh depending upon composition.

When it comes to batteries, the AA is king. More than half of all general batteries sales are AAs. Not only can you find AAs in bulk in any small store but you can have them in a wide variety of flavors as well. Non-rechargeable types include zinc-carbon general purpose (400 to 900 mAh), zinc-chloride heavy duty and super heavy duty (1,000 to 1,500 mAh) and alkaline (1,700 to 3,000 mAh).

Non-rechargeable lithium batteries offer a step up from alkaline with a longer run time in high drain devices. Then there are rechargeable nickel-cadmium (NiCd) with a capacity of 500 to 1,100 mAh and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), which run from 1,300 to 3,000 mAh.

Today there are number of excellent rechargeable AA batteries and chargers (including solar) on the market. Due to this I highly recommend considering rechargeable batteries for high-volume use. In particular I recommend Sanyo Eneloops. These 2,000 mAh NiMH rechargeable batteries are not only high quality and extremely reliable but more importantly they are low discharge. They will retain 75 percent of their charge after sitting for three years.

While I prefer the simplicity and widespread availability of AAs, they may not be right for you. I recommend choosing the batteries powering your accessories as carefully as the ammunition in your rifle.

The Precision Stock Works Rifleman is designed specifically with the long-range shooter in mind and features a high comb for proper head alignment.

It’s certainly not a rifle you would pack on your average hunting trip when headed over hill and dale on foot. So I was a bit intrigued when I was introduced to Hill Country Rifles and its new .338 Lapua Mag. Here was a well-thought-out, handsome sporting rifle chambered for the big Finnish magnum.

I was unfamiliar with this New Braunfels, Texas-based company. I learned it was formed in September 1996 by David Fuqua and Matthew Bettersworth. The intent was to focus on bolt-action hunting rifles. Their two-pronged approach consisted of accurizing customers’ rifles as well as building custom guns. Over the years this has proven successful for them, and today they have 13 employees, nine of whom are gunsmiths.

When it comes to accurizing a customer’s rifle, Hill Country Rifles begins with an inspection. The barrel, chamber, locking lugs, stock, scope, mounts and trigger are all checked. Then they pillar- and glass-bed the action, recrown the barrel, ensure even locking lug contact, check the headspace, tune the trigger and ensure the scope is properly mounted. Next they test it at 100 yards to verify the results of their work. Rifles are returned with the final test target and the type of factory ammunition used during testing.

For most calibers this costs $495, and the work comes with a sub moa guarantee. In addition to accuracy packages Hill Country Rifles also does traditional gunsmithing work such as rebarreling, recrowning, trigger work, muzzle brake installation, recoil pad mounting and refinishing. Their barreling work includes complete squaring and trueing of the action, lapping of the bolt lugs, cutting a recessed target crown, matte finish applied on the barrel and barrel break-in. Barrels are selected from Hart, Krieger, Schneider, Benchmark and Lilja.

Hill Country Rifles also offers a complete line of custom rifles—including lightweight sheep rifles, Field Stalker rifles, dangerous game rifles, long-range hunting rifles and even tactical models. During an interview with Bettersworth, he told me the company was probably best known for its sheep rifles, which weigh, depending upon a customer’s desires, 6.5 to seven pounds and are guaranteed to shoot into 0.5 moa

The company’s most eye-catching model is the American Classic. Built on a professionally blueprinted Winchester or Dakota action, Hill Country’s in-house stock maker, Michael Ullman, crafts the wood. Numerous small details combine to form a work of art any rifleman would be proud to own. Better still, even this ornate model is still required to shoot into 0.5 moa

But to get back to my test rifle. While most rifles chambered in this caliber have a definite tactical or prone gun flair to them, this one was rather different. Weighing in at just 9.5 pounds without optics, here was a .338 Lapua Mag. well-suited for hunting and position shooting. I have to say, it immediately caught my attention when I first handled it. Although long, it was quite handy.

The heart of this model is a Defiance Machine action. This is pre-hardened before machining to prevent changing tolerances during heat treating. Full-length lug ways are wire EDM-cut. It features a pinned recoil lug and oversize 8×40 base screws. Fitted to this is a 27-inch match-grade stainless barrel from Gary Schneider. It’s a hand-lapped, pull-button rifled barrel with a 1:10 twist. To reduce weight it is a No. 5 contour. Bettersworth said Schneider was at first leery of doing a .338 Lapua Mag. in this light of a contour. However, the results were so good Hill Country Rifles stuck with it.

To reduce recoil, a Badger Ordnance Thruster Tactical Compensator is fitted to the muzzle. Badger machines these from stainless steel with angled ports to direct blast up away from the ground. This reduces the amount of debris blasted into the air.

Bettersworth said the company initially considered turning the compensator down to more closely match the barrel profile. However, after speaking with Marty Bordsen at Badger, the designers decided to leave it be.

Riding inside the action is a fluted, one-piece bolt body with an M16-style claw extractor and plunger ejector. This sports an oversize tactical bolt handle. To enhance accuracy, the chamber is cut to minimum SAAMI specifications. Bettersworth says this takes a bit more time but is well worth the effort

A Jewell trigger is fitted and adjusted to provide a crisp 2.5-pound break. Bottom metal consists of Badger’s highly regarded M5 Badger Detachable Magazine system. Machined from aircraft-grade aluminum and hard-coat anodized, it accepts steel five-round magazines. A simple ambidextrous paddle lever releases the magazine.

The Badger Ordnance Thruster Tactical Compensator is stainless steel and tames the .338’s recoil courtesy of angled ports that direct blast away from the ground.

The barreled action is carefully bedded into a Precision Stock Works’ Rifleman stock. Hill Country has three ’smiths who do nothing but glass bedding. Two of them have been bedding rifles for more than 20 years.

The stock itself is well-suited to the task at hand. As it’s intended for a long-range hunting rifle, the design has been influenced by tactical-style stocks. By this I mean the comb height, grip angle, fore-end shape and overall weight are optimized for long-range field shots. It is fitted with two studs in the fore-end to facilitate mounting both a bipod and a sling. A recoil pad adds comfort when firing heavy loads, and firing heavy loads is what this rifle is all about.

It’s a good-looking rifle with an olive Cerakote finish that is both handsome and practical. Workmanship was excellent from muzzle to recoil pad. Search as I might, I found nothing to gripe about. Due to its 27-inch barrel and muzzle brake the rifle’s overall length is rather long at 49 inches. Empty weight without optics is 9.5 pounds.

This combination of numbers adds up to it feeling like an early 20th century infantry rifle. So while long, it shoulders and handles fairly well. It is comfortable in traditional positions as well as field positions other than prone. Unlike a traditional .338 Lapua Mag. precision rifle, it actually holds rather nicely offhand. Basically it has enough weight to be steady yet is not so heavy to be burdensome.

Documentation provided with the rifle showed it would keep three rounds inside 0.5 inch at 100 yards with two factory loads. So I was interested to see what I could squeeze out of it. I started testing by selecting a proper scope for it. This is a hunting rifle, not a tactical rifle so I wanted an appropriate piece of glass. I found what I was looking for in Premier Reticles’ 3-15×50 Hunter. Built using sniper scope technology, it is an impressive optic built specifically for the long-range hunter. I mounted it using a set of Tactical Rifles’ titanium Chimera rings. While expensive, these are glorious rings and the perfect interface for such a fine optic and rifle.

Ammo for the .338 Lapua Mag. can be a bit hard to find, but I had three loads in my bunker. These consisted of Black Hills Ammunition’s 250-grain MatchKing and 250-grain Scenar along with Lapua’s 250-grain Scenar. So I put the rifle to work with these three loads from the bench at 100 yards.

I immediately noticed how comfortable the rifle was to shoot, even from the bench. Magazines loaded and locked into place without issue. The bolt operated smoothly, and rounds fed cleanly with little effort. The Jewell trigger was excellent.

Plus when the trigger broke the Badger brake, stock design and pad soaked up the recoil. Recoil was mild, but the gun was loud—to the point a neighbor asked me the next day what was barking so loud on my range. Extraction and ejection were 100 percent; zero issues of any kind experienced during testing.

Firing five three-shot groups from the bench provided excellent accuracy, as you can see in the accompanying chart. Chronographing the loads also revealed that the long barrel squeezes a lot out of the .338 Lapua cartridge. Take a look at the average velocities in the chart.

Let’s be honest though, shooting a .338 Lapua Magnum at 100 yards is, well, boring. So I snapped a Harris bipod onto it and climbed up my shooting tower. Going prone I lined up on my farthest steel plate—an Action Target silhouette at 800 yards. I admit I had been lazy and didn’t bother to make a data card for the load I was shooting. Instead I stuffed three rounds of Black Hills’ 250-grain Scenar load into the magazine, checked the wind and held up 4.5 mils on the reticle. Sounded about right. Boom.

I had the scope back on the silhouette by the time the Scenar rocked it. A first-round hit at 800 yards. I was pleased. Although the hit was low left, I fired two more rounds using the same hold to see how the gun would do.

The bolt design features a claw extractor and a plunger ejector, and the rifle fed and extracted flawlessly.

I drove down to the target and measured the three hits—discovering they were just 4.2 inches center to center. So my first try was almost 0.5 moa at 800 yards, which is pretty impressive.

After letting the barrel cool, I reloaded the magazine and then carefully shot two more three-shot groups at 800 yards. Black Hills 250-grain Scenar load averaged 4.7 inches at this distance. I did note that the relatively thin barrel does heat very rapidly. So I let it cool and then I fired 10 rounds at a rapid pace (less than 30 seconds). During this test the shots strung vertically as the barrel heated, and I dropped the last round off the steel (high). But this didn’t come as a surprise. The barrel is thin, and this rig is not intended for long strings of fire.

All in all I was very impressed by Hill Country Rifles .338 Lapua Mag. It is handsomely made, functioned with zero issues and was very accurate. It definitely would invoke pride of ownership. Here is a rifle light enough to hunt with yet capable of driving an extremely efficient 250-grain bullet at 2,900 fps. The downside is simply price: $5,995. Still, with the Premier Reticles’ 3-15×50 aboard it proved an excellent package.

The rifle is built on a Defiance Machine action, and the fluted bolt has an oversize handle for sure operation. The detachable box mag is released via a paddle in front of the trigger guard.

One trimmer type, such as this Lyman, consists of a lathe-type tool that’s either cranked by hand or adapted to use a battery-powered screwdriver.

Years ago I traded for a rifle in .22-250 Rem. when it was a wildcat cartridge. It was easily formed by necking down .250 Savage cases, but in addition to being quite expensive, they were difficult to come by. At the time, match-grade, military-surplus .30-06 cases were only slightly more expensive than dirt, and the quality rivaled that of the best commercial cases available. So the previous owner of the rifle used a set of RCBS dies to form .22-250 cases from .30-06 brass. He included the dies with the rifle, so I did the same.

The wall of a cartridge case is thickest at its base and gradually tapers from there on out to its mouth, and the neck wall of the .22-250 case formed from the longer .30-06 case ends up being thick enough to increase outside neck diameter of a loaded round beyond that of the chamber neck diameter of a rifle.

Included with the form die set was a reamer die and a reamer to be used in thinning the neck wall of a case for a reduction in neck diameter. After reaming, a trip through a full-length resizing die readied a case for loading. It was a laborious process, but in those days it was a cheap way for someone who had more time than money to come up with a supply of .22-250 cases.

RCBS still offers reamer dies and reamers for a number of wildcat cartridges requiring a large amount of brass to be removed from the neck of a case during the forming process. One that comes to mind is the .219 Donaldson Wasp, which was originally formed by shortening the .219 Zipper case and now would be formed from .30-30 Win. Another is a drastically shortened version of the .308 Win. called the .308×1.5-inch Barnes.

Regardless of whether a case is formed at home or commercially produced in a huge factory, wall thickness can vary from one side of the neck to the other. Some brands of are worse than others. As the variation increases so does the runout of a seated bullet, and we all know of its potential affect on accuracy.

While reaming is a good way to thin the case neck wall of a case, it cannot improve thickness uniformity. When a reamer is pushed through the neck of a case, it follows the path of least resistance and in doing so removes the same amount of material over the entire inner surface of the neck. If the neck wall is thicker on one side than on the other to begin with, it will remain so after being reamed even though it has been made thinner.

In addition to reducing neck wall thickness, outside turning will make the wall the exact same thickness all the way around. This is accomplished by forcing it between a snug-fitting pilot on the inside and a steel cutting blade on its outside. Distance between the cutter and the pilot is adjusted for the desired neck wall thickness.

There are two types of outside neck turners. The first one I bought many years ago consisted of a tool designed to be attached to the cutter shaft of a hand-cranked, lathe-type case neck trimmer. It came with pilots of various diameters for cartridges ranging from .224 to .375. Since I also used it for case trimming, I had a set of pilots for that as well as another set of longer pilots for outside turning. Made by Forster-Appelt (now called Forster Products), the exact same tool is still available.

Lyman and RCBS also offer the same type of attachment for their case neck trimmers. Converters that allow a battery-powered screwdriver to replace elbow grease are available.

The second type consists of a cartridge holder and a turning tool. I bought one ages ago from barrel maker Paul Marquart, and during decades of use and thousands of cases its cutter has required resharpening only once. This type is available from Sinclair International, Hornady, Stiller Precision, Forster, K&M, Precision Reloading, PMA and others. The Sinclair battery-powered driver works with all of them.

Most benchrest shooters prefer this type of tool because it is a bit more precise, but they don’t use very many cases. A varmint shooter who has hundreds of cases to process will likely be happier with a lathe-type tool powered by batteries, although the other type with a powered driver is pretty darned fast.

Whether or not great uniformity in neck wall thickness is important depends on the rifle and what it is used for. The undersized chamber necks in rifles used by benchrest shooters require it. When preparing a case for that type of rifle, its neck wall is thinned enough to reduce outside neck diameter of a loaded round just enough smaller than chamber neck diameter to allow the case to expand outward just enough to release its grip on the bullet. Doing so precisely aligns the bullet as closely as possible with the bore of the barrel. Allowing the case to expand outward a minimum amount during firing also increases its useful life.

The jury is still out on the benefit of uniforming neck wall thickness for other types of rifles with SAAMI-dimension chambers. It is certainly wasted effort on a lever-action .30-30 capable of no better than four-inch groups at 100 yards.

I think it mostly depends on the level of accuracy a rifle is capable of and the quality of the cases to begin with. When I first added a Cooper Model 22 in 6.5-284 Norma to my battery, I formed cases by necking down .284 brass made by Winchester. When later trying cases made by Lapua, I noticed an immediate improvement in accuracy with the same loads. The difference was not enough to cause me to miss a deer at 300 yards, but group size went from larger than three inches at that distance to smaller than two inches.

As I discovered, bullet runout with Lapua cases was close to zero versus .008 inch for the Winchester cases. Outside turning the necks of the Winchester cases just enough to reduce their thick side to the same thickness as their thin side reduced group size. Accuracy is still not as good as with Lapua cases but with that particular rifle, the improvement is enough to make neck turning worthwhile.

In 1995, Guns and Ammo ran a special interest magazine dedicated solely to big-bore rifles. Although it was only on newsstands for a few months, that publication contained a treasure trove of information about guns designed to take down the world’s largest, meanest game. Joe Coogan discussed his fondness for the .458 Win. Mag. and Craig Boddington wrote about the various .416s.

The late G. Sitton waxed eloquent about the beloved .375 H&H, and John Wootters, another fabulous outdoor writer who has left us, taught us how to shoot these guns without getting our teeth knocked out. The .338 Win. Mag. was covered, as was the then-new .700 H&H Nitro Express. Almost 20 years later, this issue still contains a great deal of pertinent, practical knowledge. After all, the game hasn’t changed, and except for a few new cartridges, what worked in 1995 works just as well today.

If you ever happen upon a copy of that publication, you will immediately notice that one thing has certainly changed since the mid-’90s. The pages of the original Big-Bore Rifles are awash with fine English walnut stocks, ebony fore-end caps, full-length actions and multi-leaf express sights. If this were the only magazine you read before going on a hunt, you might expect your professional hunter to be carrying a Bond Street rifle from one of the finest London makers.

I’m sure many of the rifles on those pages are still in use in some remote and dangerous corner of the world, and big bores are as beautiful today as they were in 1995—or 1915, for that matter. However, what you’ll find no discussion of in the pages of that publication are the effects leather rifle scabbards, overturned canoes, Alaskan mud, Namibian sand and long, bumpy rides in Toyota Hi-Lux trucks have on beautiful rifles. Hard hunting requires tough guns, and nobody hunts harder than the pros.

I was under the impression that guides all carried expensive guns, and I was wrong. Three weeks in the thorns of Africa or the alders of the great white north will make a beautiful stock look like it’s been used to hammer out the points on a mile of barbed-wire fence. The life of a guide’s gun is pretty rough, and these professionals need a rifle that can stand the abuse without falling apart. Practicality is king.

At the time the big-bore special issue came out, Bill Ruger was selling one of the most beautiful rifles on the market, the Mark II Magnum. With its Circassian walnut stock, barrel band swivel stud, express sights and magnum action, it was the prototypical safari rifle of its time.

The rifle earned quite a reputation among the professionals who staked their lives on their rifles, and it will always be remembered as one of the few beautiful off-the-shelf dangerous game rifles built in this country.

Fast-forward to today, and a lot has changed. Synthetic models are more common than wooden stocks. The modern crop of budget rifles such as Ruger’s own American rifle will shoot sub-m.o.a. groups and have better triggers than even the top production guns carried twenty years ago. These same improvements have carried over into the niche market, and Ruger’s Guide Gun is one example.

Bearing almost no resemblance to its ancestor, the Mark II Magnum, the Guide Gun is all business. It is a purpose-built gun, engineered to withstand the abuse that months in the field can dish out. There isn’t any pretty wood to get scuffed, no mirror-finish bluing to mar or corrode, and no long barrel to get hung in the trees.

The Guide Gun looks as though someone locked Jeff Cooper and John Rigby in a design room and told them to build a rifle. It is a tool, and it isn’t a chisel or a scalpel. It’s a hammer, and it is built to hit things. Hard.

Pretty wood doesn’t last very long in the elements, but laminated stocks are darn near indestructible. Ruger’s Guide Gun wears a Green Mountain laminate, giving it the look and feel of wood with the durability of a laminate. Hard-recoiling rifles are tough on wood, and I’ve seen more than one big-bore rifle sidelined with a cracked stock, but this laminate ensures you won’t have to worry about cracking or warping.

A single steel cross bolt is located almost directly below the chamber in an effort to minimize the rotational force produced during firing. Like Ruger’s Scout Rifle, the Guide Gun has stock spacers that can be removed or added as needed, allowing for length of pull adjustments from 12.75 inches to 14.25 inches. Since a gun such as this could be called on in extremely hairy situations, you need a rifle that fits, and stock spacers are the most economical way to ensure at least reasonably good fit.

All of the external metalwork on the Ruger is matte stainless, which makes the most sense for a rifle like this. The finish is durable and resistant to corrosion, but the dull gray finish prevents the rifle’s metalwork from reflecting in the midday sun and acting as a warning beacon to game. The floorplate metal bears the Ruger logo, as does the bottom of the pistol grip.

×

The floorplate is etched with the Ruger logo, and the release is located in the front inside of the trigger guard where it’s not likely to be activated accidentally.

At the heart of the Guide Gun is the proven Model 77 action with integral scope bases and claw extractor, housed in a laminate stock and with a matte gray metal finish.

The rifle’s express rear sight is a bit deeper than the author would prefer. Its white line indexes with the front sight’s white bead.

The stock features a spacer for a more or less custom fit and a cushy recoil pad to soak up the recoil from the hard-charging calibers for which the Guide Gun is chambered.

The Guide Gun’s threaded muzzle offers the option of a muzzle brake, a muzzle weight that matches the brake’s weight or a thread cap for those who don’t want the brake and prefer a shorter tube.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 5

Ruger Guide Gun Review

◄ Back

Next ►

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Mechanically, the rifle shares the same action as other Ruger rifles, with a claw extractor that assures controlled feeding and a blade ejector. The internal magazine has a hinged floorplate with the release blade integrated into the front of the trigger guard, minimizing the risk of an accidental cartridge dump at the most inopportune time. The safety is a three-position wing-type that will be instantly recognizable to all the Ruger fans out there.

The Guide Gun incorporates the LC6 trigger system, which breaks clean and crisp just a bit over four pounds. Integral scope bases are machined into the receiver, and Ruger includes a pair of one-inch scope rings with the purchase of the rifle. I’ve always been a fan of Ruger’s ring system because of its simplicity, and throughout the duration of the test the Leupold Ultra Light 3-9×40 scope I used remained locked in place.

There are a few features the Guide Gun has that set it apart from other members of the Hawkeye lineup. First, it has a threaded barrel and comes with a muzzle brake, a muzzle weight and a barrel cap. It’s a simple setup, and the idea behind it is sound.

Not too many people want to practice with a .375 Ruger or a .338 Win. Mag. (the Guide Gun is available in both calibers as well as .338 Ruger Compact Mag., .300 Win. Mag. and.30-06) very long from the bench because of the beating those big rifles dole out. The screw-on muzzle brake that comes with the Ruger rifle significantly reduces recoil, enabling shooters to practice longer and better. In addition, the rifle weighs about nine pounds fully scoped and loaded, and the hefty recoil pad does an effective job of soaking up recoil.

During the test I did the bulk of my bench shooting with the muzzle brake in place, and although I can’t quantify the amount of recoil reduction that took place, I can assure you that the kick was far less than standard .375 Ruger rifles. If I had to estimate I’d say the recoil level was at or slightly below the amount generated by my 7.5-pound .30-06, so the rifle was easily manageable from the bench.

The problem with muzzle brakes, however, is a dramatic increase in noise and muzzle blast. Many guides and outfitters specifically tell their clients not to bring rifles with muzzle brakes because of this because they often find themselves positioned close to a client’s muzzle.

With the Guide Gun, switching the muzzle brake for the barrel weight is simple, and since the two screw-on pieces weigh the same, there won’t be any change in balance. If you don’t believe in switching muzzle brakes and barrel weights or don’t want to add two inches to the carbine-length barrel of the Guide Gun you can screw on the barrel cap. This interchangeable muzzle brake system will come standard on Ruger’s Hawkeye African rifles this year, too.

It would have been simpler to add a rotating system like Savage has—where the brake can be turned on or off by hand—but Ruger opted to go with the interchangeable system instead. It works just as well, but the interchangeable parts are just one more thing to lose on a trip.

The Guide Gun is fitted with express-type sights designed for rapid target acquisition. The rear sight has a V notch that, at least to my mind, is relatively deep for an express sight. It is adjustable for windage and elevation and has a white stripe that runs down from the base of the notch to assist in aligning the sight picture.

The front sight is a large white bead that is easily visible in low light. According to the Ruger manual, the white bead of the front sight should rest atop the stripe on the rear sight, and the front bead should be placed directly beneath the center of the target. I shot the rifle a half-dozen times or so using the iron sights from a standing position at 15 yards and found the sights to be pretty close just as they came from the factory—with bullets clustering in a tight group just behind the large front bead. A bit of elevation adjustment would put them right where they belong.

Mechanically, the gun never had a hiccup. The large claw extractor moved the cartridges in and out of the chamber effectively, and there were never any problems with feeding. I fired the rifle with a loaded magazine as well as feeding single cartridges, and there were never any glitches throughout the course of the roughly 60-round test.

When the .375 Ruger hit the market seven years ago, there were detractors who said it wouldn’t feed as well as the slope-shouldered African queen, the .375 H&H. This test didn’t lend any credence to that assertion, as the Guide Gun had no problem feeding .375 Ruger cartridges.

At the range, the Guide Gun performed quite well, especially for a big gun. The LCR trigger helped, and the muzzle brake certainly made it more comfortable to shoot.

I tested Hornady 270-grain softpoints, and two loads from Superior: a 235-grain Barnes TSX and a heavy, 350-grain TSX.

All three loads averaged less than 1.5 inches at 100 yards, and one group of Superior was less than .90 inch from center to center. There’s an old adage that .375s will place bullets of different weights at the same point of impact, which didn’t happen in this case, but accuracy was consistent across the board.

The Guide Gun is billed as a durable carbine that is impervious to the elements and perfect for those rapid, close-range shots in heavy cover. And while it fits that bill nicely, it would be a shame to pigeonhole this rifle. In reality, it’s a very nice carbine-length bolt gun that will do just about anything you need it to. When chambered in one of the .338s or the .375 Ruger, it makes sense as a gun for hunting the great bears, and in .375 Ruger it would certainly work for chasing Cape buffalo and lion in Africa.

But the rifle is available in .30-06 and .300 Win. Mag. as well, and so chambered it would make an excellent woods rifle. In addition, the muzzle brake on the smaller calibers would make them a joy to shoot from the bench, provided you’re wearing plenty of hearing protection. Overall, this is a very well-built rifle that is capable of far more than the name suggests.

For a gun with as much recoil as the .375 Ruger, the Guide Gun proved quite accurate, as this group with Superior 350-grain Barnes TSX ammo illustrates.

Pistol caliber AR-15-style rifles have been around for decades, and there are now a number of different offerings. Not only is pistol ammunition cheaper than rifle ammunition, I have yet to hear of a range that didn’t allow the use of pistol caliber carbines. These guns also have a utility beyond that of simple target shooting, namely self-defense. Depending on the caliber and load, you’ll see an extra 100 to 300 fps boost when firing pistol ammo out of a carbine-length barrel.

The lack of recoil and quieter report not only make them great choices for new shooters but those of slight build as well. Let’s take a look at a few of the most popular AR-15-style 9mm carbines on the market today.

Colt AR6951
The Colt 9mm is the original pistol-caliber AR carbine. The Colt 9mm is a straight blowback gun with a redesigned bolt carrier. The requirement for any reliable gun is a good magazine, and Colt engineers decided to use the Uzi magazine as the basis for their magazine design and to use standard AR-15 upper and lower receivers as a starting point.

Colt 9mm carbines have a large polymer case deflector at the rear of the ejection port, but that is the only external difference you’ll see from a standard AR, apart from the pin holes in the magazine well. A steel block is roll-pinned into place in the magazine well of a standard AR-15. The top side has a feeding ramp as well as a fixed ejector, and the standard magazine release button works to drop the magazines.

I obtained an AR6951 to test. It has a light 16-inch barrel tipped with an A2-style flash hider, M4-style fore-end with fixed front sight post, flattop receiver and Magpul flip-up rear sight. The carbine comes with a standard A2 pistol grip and one of the new Rogers Super-Stocs, an improved collapsible model with a hard rubber buttplate.

I’m told that if you put enough rounds through a select-fire Colt submachine gun it will get dirty enough to start jamming, but truth be told I’ve never been able to get a semi-auto Colt 9mm carbine that dirty. What you will find, however, is that the Colt 9mm magazines are tough to load. The springs are so strong that getting more than 10 rounds into a magazine without a mag loader requires a lot of effort.

As these are submachine gun mags, they are fed from the top, not the front. To load them by hand you need to put the next round on top of the feed lips, hold it down with your thumb and then smartly smack the base of the magazine against something hard. The round will pop into place. The followers have a tab that will lock the bolt back on an empty magazine.

The carbine Colt sent me ran flawlessly, and the only complaint I had with it was the stock. The length of pull is adjusted by the use of a lever, which bears on a cross pin. The cross pin is supposed to be captured, but on mine it wasn’t, so when I was adjusting the stock while it was tilted sideways the pin fell to the ground, rendering my stock (temporarily) nonadjustable. This was annoying, but it did not affect operation of the gun.

PROS

• It’s an original Colt
• Ships with two 32-round magazines and Magpul backup iron sight

CONS

• Rogers stock was defective
• Magazines are extremely tough to load
• Most expensive of any carbine tested

Click to enlarge.

Rock River Arms LAR-9
Rock River Arms originally was in the business of making custom 1911s but moved into the AR market, including the LAR-9 9mm carbine. There are several different versions available, and I picked a LAR-9 CAR A4 model to test. This flattop model has a 16-inch barrel, M4-style fore-end and collapsible stock, fixed front sight, A2 flash hider and rubber pistol grip.

Unlike the Colt, the Rock River has a dedicated 9mm lower, with a magazine well that will accept only 9mm magazines. The LAR-9 is built on the Colt design, and will accept any Colt 9mm magazines. It is shipped with one magazine, and I received a converted 25-round Uzi magazine with my carbine. Uzi magazines are very reliable and easy to load to capacity by hand because they have lighter springs than the Colt mags, but they will not lock the bolt back.

The barrel of the LAR-9 is slightly heavier than that found on the Colt, although they have the same twist (1:10). Between that and the extra aluminum in the dedicated 9mm magazine well the Rock River weighs 0.2 pound more than the Colt at 7.1 pounds. This is heavier than a pistol caliber carbine needs to be, but it balances well. The LAR-9 comes with Rock River’s improved Star selector, which is an improvement over the original design.

The trigger on the RRA LAR-9 (and the Colt as well) is typical GI, which means it is heavier and grittier than I would have liked, but hitting palm-sized targets offhand at 50 yards was easy. Try that with a 9mm pistol. The low recoil impulse also means you can hit a pie plate at 25 yards with every shot as fast as you can pull the trigger.

I ran several hundred rounds through the LAR-9 using both the supplied converted Uzi magazine as well as a Colt 9mm magazine, and it was boringly reliable with everything. It was also a lot of fun.

PROS

• Price is $150 lower than the Colt
• Comes in a lockable rifle case

CONS

• Ships with only one 25-round magazine
• No rear sight

Lone Wolf Distributors G-9
Lone Wolf doesn’t offer complete carbines, but it sells a complete lower receiver and a complete upper receiver. I wanted to cover the company in this article specifically because it has a different goal: to make a reliable pistol-caliber AR-15 that uses Glock magazines.

The Lone Wolf G9 uses a standard Colt-pattern 9mm carbine bolt/carrier, slightly modified to work with Glock magazines. The firm will convert the bolt of your Colt, Rock River or other carbine to work with Glock magazines, as it only needs to be relieved slightly, so if you have a pistol caliber upper and don’t want to buy a whole new gun you could go that route. The biggest differences are in the lower receiver.

I got a CAR A4-style G9 carbine for testing. This carbine was a little more tricked out than the standard model and had a 16-inch barrel with an M4 cutout, tipped with a muzzle brake (the standard upper has a flat top, A2 flash hider and quad rail for $650). It also had a rubber Ergo pistol grip instead of the standard A2 grip.

Carbines fed by Colt mags require a feed ramp between the magazine and the chamber, but the angle of the Glock magazines means that the rounds feed directly from the magazine into the chamber, with no feed ramp required. The bolt will not lock back on an empty magazine, but you can lock it back with the bolt catch.

Lone Wolf engineers designed a large serrated paddle-type mag release that works off the standard Glock mag catch cutout, and works with all generations of Glock magazines. Not only does this paddle mag release work well, it looks cool. As the carbine is fed by standard Glock pistol magazines, whether you have 10-, 17- or 33-round 9mm Glock mags lying around, they’ll work in the G9. The lower receiver uses standard mil-spec trigger parts, including a 5.56 hammer, and a complete lower retails for $350.

The Lone Wolf G9 was completely reliable, but I would have been surprised if it hadn’t been because of the Glock magazines. It was a little busier than I prefer (I have no fondness for quad rails, and the muzzle brake didn’t really do anything as the pistol cartridges don’t generate enough gas at the end of the long barrel), but I like the concept.

PROS

• Fed by Glock mags
• Controls identical to an AR-15
• Magazine release an improvement over the original GI design

CONS

• Not provided with any sights
• Bolt doesn’t lock back on an empty mag

Click to enlarge.

JR Carbine
The JR Carbine is a straight-blowback pistol caliber carbine. While it will take AR trigger groups, stocks, pistol grips and fore-ends, one look at the carbine will tell you it is not designed around the AR receiver.

This carbine is very simple, and simple is good. First, it is designed around ultra-reliable Glock magazines. Second, both the charging handle and ejection are completely reversible. The handle simply unscrews. Moving the ejection port cover from one side of the receiver to the other changes the ejection because the ejector is built into the inside surface of the cover.

I obtained a 9mm carbine for testing, but they are offered in .40 S&W and .45 ACP as well. If you want to change calibers, you don’t have to buy a whole new gun; you can buy a conversion kit for $250 that includes a new barrel and, in the case of moving from the 9/40 to the .45, a new magazine well.

To keep their carbine inexpensive ($699 for the basic model) the designers use a simple magazine release on the left side of the magazine well, similar to the layout you see on Glock pistols.

The upper receiver is secured to the lower with two hex-head screws. The bolt handle reciprocates when firing, and it can be locked back with the use of a notch. Both the upper receiver and fore-end are railed, so you can mount whatever optic you desire, but the carbine does not come with any sights.

I have fired three JR Carbines extensively, two in 9mm and one in .40 S&W. All of them were completely reliable. My boys and I ran at least 500 rounds through one 9mm, and it got so dirty I could barely work the bolt by hand, yet it still kept running. However, all three carbines suffered the same problem: The fore-ends got loose and unscrewed under recoil.

PROS

• Inexpensive
• Fed by Glock mags

CONS

• Not an AR-pattern carbine
• Fore-ends came loose under recoil

Conclusion
To be honest, I liked the looks of the JR Carbine the least of all the guns I tested, specifically because it wasn’t an AR-pattern gun, and the looks (and balance) of the Colt the best. However, the tough-to-load Colt magazines frustrated me, and the broken pin in the stock was disappointing.

My two boys (ages 14 and 10) liked the JR Carbine the best because the controls were simpler. They liked the bolt handle on the side of the receiver. They knew right where it was, and with the notch it was easy for them to figure out how to lock it back.

Reliability wasn’t an issue when it came to picking a favorite, as every carbine ran flawlessly, clean or dirty.

Converted Uzi mags to run the Colt or Rock River aren’t hard to find, and 9mm Glock mags are everywhere, which is something to consider. But whatever your tastes, there’s a pistol caliber carbine out there that’s right for you.

9mm carbines (left-right): Colt AR6951, Rock River Arms LAR-9 CAR A4, Lone Wolf Distributors G9 and JR Carbine.

At typical shooting distances, a properly functioning powder measure works fine. But for longer ranges many handloaders prefer to weigh every charge for best accuracy.

The only way to be certain each and every powder charge in a batch of cartridges weighs the same is to carefully weigh them on a scale. Even so, many handloaders have discovered that a small variation in powder charge weight usually has little to no effect on accuracy out to the maximum distances they shoot, and for that reason they save time by measuring charges rather than weighing them.

In conventional benchrest competition, where targets are placed at 100 and 200 yards, top-ranked shooters customarily average less than 1/4 m.o.a. accuracy. They use the same dozen or so carefully prepared cases for each rifle and reload them between relays during a match.

Instead of weighing powder charges, they use precision-built measures to throw them. Ask one of those guys how much Vihtavuori N130 he is shooting in his 6mm PPC, and rather than giving an answer in grains, he will likely tell you what setting he uses on his Harrell or Culver powder measure.

Back when I bumped off a lot more prairie dogs each summer than I do today, I decided to compare the accuracy of ammunition prepared with weighed powder charges and those thrown by the measure of a progressive press. Several different powders and bullets were loaded in the .223 Remington. I shot the ammo in two custom rifles in .223 Remington, both capable of shooting inside half an inch at 100 yards. I also tried the loads in my rail gun.

Groups fired out to 500 yards revealed no difference in accuracy between weighed and measured charges. Some of the ammo loaded on the progressive press was actually a bit more accurate in the rail gun, but I chalked that up to fluke rather than uniformity differences in how powder charges were dispensed.

Benchrest shooters and varminters shoot small cartridges that burn relatively small powder charges, but measuring powder for cartridges with bigger appetites can work equally well.

Before a rifle built by Kenny Jarrett is shipped to a customer, it must consistently shoot three bullets inside half an inch at 100 yards. I used to visit his shop quite often and, just for the fun of it, occasionally accuracy-tested rifles for him. The powder charges of all test ammunition used in Jarrett’s shop are thrown by RCBS and Redding measures. A scale is used, but only when adjusting the measures to throw the desired charge weight. Same goes for his line of custom ammunition.

For most of the reloading most of us do, powder measures available from RCBS, Lyman, Lee, Hornady and Redding are precise enough. Benchrest shooters usually go for precision-machined units like the Micro-Measure from Neal Jones as well as the Harrell and RFD/R from Sinclair International.

Benchrest competitors sometimes tweak the loads they are shooting between relays, and the custom measures they use have more precise repeatability of adjustment than some mass-produced measures. I started using a Jones measure during my benchrest shooting days and continue to use it today. With many powders it is not a whole lot better than high-quality measures available from other sources, but it does operate more smoothly and throws charges of large-grained powders a bit more consistently.

How a measure is used is extremely important. To throw charges with minimum variation, it has to be operated exactly the same for each charge of powder. If you bounce the handle hard against its stops on one charge and then operate it softly on the next, the two charges will likely vary more in weight than if the handle is operated exactly the same both times.

I consider a charge weight variation of 0.3 grain acceptable in the larger cartridges such as .30-06 and up, but a good measure, operated properly and filled with a smooth-flowing powder, should hold that to no more than 0.1 grain. When measuring extremely heavy charges, consistency will improve with some measures when two half-charges are thrown into the case rather than one whole charge. In other words, the handle is operated twice on a 40-grain setting rather than once on an 80-grain setting.

Finely granulated powders meter through any measure more accurately than coarser powders. This is why benchrest shooters use either ball powders or fine-grained stick powders such as Vihtavuori N130 and IMR-8208 XBR. Same goes for varmint cartridges.

Any time I don’t use a ball powder such as W748 or A-2015 in the .223 Remington, I’ll use a small-grain stick powder with Benchmark and V-N135. If H4831 and IMR-7828 are your favorites for the .270 Winchester, finer-granulated versions of those two powders designated H4831SC (short cut) and IMR-7828SSC (super short cut) flow through measures more uniformly than the originals and their burn rates are the same.

Digital dispensing systems capable of automatically measuring and weighing powder charges are available from Lyman, RCBS, Hornady and PACT. After the machine is programmed for the desired charge weight, a push on its start button or placing the pan on the digital scale causes it to trickle powder from a reservoir into the pan. In addition to being more precise with large-granule powders than a standard measure, it totally eliminates operator inconsistency in throwing charges.

To reach peak efficiency with one you may need to modify your loading sequence a bit. When using a standard measure, I charge all cases with powder before moving on to bullet-seating. Depending on the size of the charge being dispensed, a digital machine can take anywhere from five to 30 seconds to get its job done, so seating a bullet on a charged case while the machine is dispensing powder for the next one speeds up the operation a bit.

Distance to the target often has a bearing on whether a handloader chooses to weigh or measure powder charges. Out to 500 yards I don’t believe it matters enough to go to the trouble, but when punching paper at greater distances those tiny variations can become big ones and for that I believe carefully weighing each charge is the way to go.

Most of us load so few rounds of big game ammunition each year, weighing charges is no big hassle. High-volume loading is where it can save a lot of time.

• Submersed in water to a depth of 18 inches for 12 hours
• Subjected to a steam bath for 15 minutes
• Cooled in a 20 degree environment for 24 hours
• Heated to 130 degrees for 12 hours
• Test-fired on a 7 pound .458 SOCOM with 405-grain handloads to induce stress. Ten rounds, rapid fire.
• Test-fired to check mechanical adjustment accuracy and consistency at 100 yards.

A bit to my surprise all 10 examples passed these tests without issue. None fogged internally or suffered from a mechanical issue. All of them tracked consistently. How well their tracking holds up under hard and long-term use though is beyond the scope of my testing ability. However, to be fair it’s doubtful a rifleman would be dialing in windage or elevation with a scope of this type in the field. They are designed to provide rapid hits, and once properly zeroed, riflemen simply hold off for wind or distance.

Next I checked the optical performance and reticle illumination of each scope in bright, overcast and low-light conditions. I measured field of view and eye relief and also checked the reticle designs against a man-size silhouette at 50, 300 and 700 yards at highest and lowest magnification settings. The results were then tabulated and scored on a scale of 1 to 10.

Find all this and more on the accompanying charts:

[Show as slideshow]

Decades ago the environmental tests performed for this article would have proven very difficult or impossible for most riflescopes to pass. Times change, and with the advancements in sealing technology all the scopes shrugged off these tests as if they were nothing.

Optical performance has also come a long ways.

Lens design and coatings have made constant strides that have trickled down into economically priced models.

Today the big push is to increase magnification range and reticle intensity. The smoke is already visible on the horizon, and the models of tomorrow will be even better.

When it comes to optical sights, we live in exciting times.

×

Burris MTAC 1-4x24 Ballistic CQ

In recent years, Burris has moved aggressively into the tactical scope market. Its MTAC 1-4x Ballistic CQ is the result of user feedback. This is a good-looking scope that offers a lot of value for the price. Built on a 30mm tube, it sports a 24mm objective lens. Length and weight are both well suited for use on an AR or similar rifle.

The capped turrets prevent accidental rotation. Beneath the caps you find nicely designed finger adjustable turrets with tactical and audible adjustments, so you can dial if you’d like.

The reticle is located in the rear focal plane and provides bullet drop compensation out to 600 yards. I found the reticle very fast to use up close on 1X. The BDC reticle worked well out to about 500 yards when set on 4X. Just keep in mind the reticle is located in the rear focal plane, and the BDC is calibrated at 4X. Optical performance is quite good, and aesthetically it’s a very nice-looking scope that looks well built. One neat touch is the objective lens is recessed 1.5 inches, so the front of the tube acts as sunshade. All in all I liked this scope very much. Suggested retail price is a reasonable $399, making it a great buy.

Bushnell SMRS 1-6.5x24

Bushnell has put a great deal of work into developing high-quality tactical scopes, and its SMRS 1-6.5x24 is ample evidence of this—an optic that ups the ante with a wide magnification range from 1X to 6.5X. This provides a truly usable increase in magnification for both identifying and engaging distant targets, and it does this without sacrificing 1X on the bottom end.

Available with either a front or rear focal plane BDC reticle (two reticle options are offered), you can have exactly what you want. I tested the front focal plane model with the BTR-1 reticle.

This model is an animal past 100 yards but a bit slow at 1X because it lacks a daylight illuminated reticle. Crank it to 1X and the reticle becomes small and slow to pick up in bright light. In low light the reticle is bright enough to be quick, or you can dial it down for use with night vision. It just needs daylight illumination for it to reach its potential.

The BDC reticle works well, optical performance is good and build quality is nice. This would be a great match for a rifle used from 100 to 600 or yards. Minimum advertised price is $1,400.

Hi-Lux 1-4x24 CMR

Hi-Lux’s 1-4x24 CMR scope has grabbed the attention of many simply due to its economical price. But what’s really most impressive about this scope is the performance it offers for the money. This is an extremely well thought out 1-4X scope stuffed full of features. The rear focal plane BDC reticle is intended to be fast up close on 1X while offering ranging and bullet drop compensation out to 900 yards.

The illumination features a setting for use with night vision, and the elevation turret sports a zero stop. Optical performance is quite good and much better than one would expect. Durability? This model was tested by a Russian military arsenal and stood up to abusive testing on medium caliber belt-fed machine guns.

My only complaints are I wish the horseshoe reticle was thicker and that it featured daylight illumination. Hi-Lux is also introducing a new model of this scope featuring a reticle calibrated for the 7.62x39 cartridge, which should also work with .300 BLK supersonic loads. Plus the company has an entirely new model called the CMR-4 that will offer a noticeable step up in performance. Hi-Lux wants to be recognized as China’s first premium optical house, and it seems to be serious. Street price of the CMR is $419.

IOR Valdada 1, 4x32 Pitbull

The Romanian optics manufacturer IOR and its U.S. distributor Valdada Enterprises have continually pushed the U.S. market. They led the charge of wider magnification ranges and fatter scope tubes. Well-regarded for their optical performance, they have a number of innovative designs under their belt, including the Pitbull. Rather than being a conventional variable scope, this optic offers either 1X or 4X with nothing in between.

Built on a fat 35mm tube, it’s surprisingly compact. It was the shortest of all scopes tested. Normally when you shorten a scope this much you expect the optical quality to suffer. However, in this case performance is impressive. Field of view was the widest of all the models tested. Resolution and low-light performance were also excellent.

Reticle design is user friendly with bullet drop compensation out to 800 yards. The reticle also is designed to range a target the width of a man’s shoulders. Downsides: It was the heaviest of all the optics tested, and it’s expensive. Suggested retail price is $1,395 including rings.

Leupold 1.25-4x20 VX-R Patrol

Leupold’s 1.25-4x20 VX-R Patrol stands out from the crowd primarily for one reason: It has daylight illumination. Sure, it’s a nifty scope that’s small in size and light in weight. Yes, it has handy uncapped turrets with 0.1 mil adjustments and a rear focal plane mil reticle. The optical performance is indeed good, and the piece is nicely made.

However, it’s the FireDot daylight illumination that makes this scope special. Even though it dials down only to 1.25X instead of 1X it’s a game-changer. Crank up the illumination and you have a brightly illuminated dot that catches your eye and indexes quickly onto a target.

I found the eye-box a bit touchy regarding eye position, and I really wish it was 1X instead of 1.25X. Even so, it’s fast up close. On longer shots the mil reticle can be utilized for ballistic compensation or you can dial it in. The one feature I really don’t like, though, is the push-button switch. Call me old-fashioned, but I’d rather have an traditional knob to twist.

However, this model does offer Leupold’s Motion Sensor Technology. Basically this feature turns off the dot after five minutes of inactivity to conserve battery life. Then it turns it back on as soon as the rifle is moved. It’s not cheap at $725, but it’s not euro expensive either.

Millet 1-4x24 DMS

Least expensive of the group was Millet’s 1-4X DMS. The second biggest of all the scopes tested, it’s intended to be an economical piece of glass. Performance is about what you would expect from a scope with a street price just north of $200 (suggested retail for the matte version is $386). Field of view appears to be narrow, and I wonder if it actually goes all the way up to 4X. The reticle is a simple circle with a dot in the center and floating posts at three, six and nine o’clock.

No problems were encountered with it, but I was not impressed by its build quality. It looks like a cheap scope. That said, if all you have are a couple hundred bucks in your budget and you want a scope for recreational use, this could fill the bill. While not sexy, it provided reliable service and an illuminated reticle.

Nightforce 1-4x24 NXS WL-FC2

While the Millet is less than impressive, the Nightforce is a slick optic with handsome good looks. Better still, the NXS has the performance to match its looks. Available in a wide variety of configurations, the model I tested is just one example of how this scope can be ordered. Different reticle and turret options are available.

Nightforce is highly regarded for its optical performance and reliability, and my review scope stayed true to form. Color rendition, resolution and low-light performance were all extremely good. The FC-2 reticle performed well on man-size targets, and the turrets adjusted crisply. My only wish would be for daylight illumination. Keep in mind this is a professional-grade optical sight, and it performs as such. It’s also priced accordingly at $1,495.

Steiner 1-4x24 Rapid Dot 5.56

The surprise of the test came in the form of Steiner’s 1-4x24 Rapid Dot scope. I’ve never really been a huge fan of Steiner, and I was unimpressed by this 1-4X when I first pulled it from its box because of its large size (it was the biggest scope in the test).

But once I started working with it I have to say my attitude changed. Yes it’s big, but that’s a plus in this case. The Steiner engineers got things right, and its optical performance is very good indeed. Mechanically it also performed extremely well.

What really fired me up was its daylight illuminated Rapid Dot reticle. This proved lightning quick at close range, almost like a red dot. At distance, the rear focal plane BDC reticle worked well. The image was bright, the field of view wide and the resolution excellent. It’s a wonderful piece of glass. Downside: If your battery dies, the reticle is fine and hard to pick up at speed. Plus there’s the German price tag of $1,895.

Trijicon 1-4x24 TR24G Accupoint

Trijicon’s highly regarded 1-4x24 TR24G Accupoint is a bit different from the norm. Rather than relying on a battery to illuminate the reticle, the Accupoint features a combination of tritium and fiber optics. In low-light conditions, the triangular aiming point is illuminated by tritium. In bright light, it’s illuminated by fiber optics.

A rotating collar on the eyepiece lets you adjust the intensity of the fiber optic illumination. This system provides a brightly illuminated aiming point, which is easy to see even in bright day light. Better still no batteries are required. Optical performance is very good.

There’s a lot to like about this scope. However it does have some drawbacks. Due to its design you basically have a post reticle with an illuminated tip, so at distance you need to dial in elevation.

In low-light conditions when it’s running on tritium I’ve found a weapon-mounted light will often wash out the reticle’s illumination. So there are trade-offs. Even so, it’s a solid performer that has proven very popular. Suggested retail is $995.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 9

Comparing Tactical Riflescopes

◄ Back

Next ►

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Unlike the .270 Winchester, the .280 Remington has been struggling almost since its inception in 1957. It also utilizes the .30-06 as a parent case, and as it’s necked down to .284, its bullet is exactly .007 inch larger than the .270. But the latter enjoyed a 32-year head start, and the .280 suffered from some bad fortune—one being a name change from .280 to 7mm Express then back to .280, the other being the introduction of the instantly popular 7mm Remington Magnum.

The .280 has spent most of its life pinched between the popular .270 and the 7mm Remington Magnum, and it competes against several other commercial 7mms as well: the blazing fast 7mm STW and 7mm Remington Ultra Mag and the low-recoiling 7mm-08 chief among them.

With all this going against it you’d think the .280 would have shuffled into obscurity, but this hasn’t happened. Why? Well, let’s remember the .280 is very closely related to the .270, and the .270 formula works well.

Anything that you can do with a 130-grain .270 can be done with a 140-grain .280. The longer, heavier bullets available for the .280 give it a higher ballistic coefficient, and when loaded with 175-grain bullets the cartridge offers a sectional density of .310, meaning it will penetrate in heavy game—although this can be hampered by the .280’s velocity.

From a ballistics standpoint this gives the .280 a slight advantage over the .270. Which one you ultimately choose depends on whether you prefer the tried-and-true .270 or you root for the underdog .280.

The ambidextrous bolt release and safety lever on the LWRC SIX8 are so well-executed they look like Eugene Stoner himself designed them that way. The author wonders when other companies will start paying more attention to lower receivers. (Photo by Richard King)

A few days ago I had the opportunity to visit LWRC International in Cambridge, Md. LWRCI has become well-known and respected for its short-stroke piston design incorporated into AR rifles. The company was one of the early pioneers of piston systems on ARs when this operating system came back into vogue.

Recently the firm also took an interesting step away from the norm when it cast aside the 5.56×45 specifications and designed an AR around the dimensions of the 6.8 SPC cartridge. In doing so, the designers rid themselves of the limitations of the 5.56×45 magazine-well dimensions and optimized the design specifically for the 6.8×43 cartridge. Make no mistake; this was a big step.

While the piston system and new SIX8 rifle are impressive, what really caught my attention were the ambidextrous controls. Rather than being aftermarket parts bolted on as an afterthought, the lower receiver is designed with this capability in mind. The rifle sports a bolt release, safety and magazine release on both sides of the rifle as well as an ambidextrous charging handle.

The controls are designed in such a way to make them truly useful for both a right-handed or left-handed shooter. As an example, the bolt release on the right side of the rifle allows a right-handed shooter to lock the bolt back or release the bolt easily from a firing grip. This is a handy feature to have.

To date, only a couple of companies have taken the time to redesign the lower receiver’s controls in this manner. In stark contrast it seems like every AR company under the sun has done a great deal of work on tweaking and modifying the upper receiver.

You can get long or short barrels in any weight or contour you can think of, a variety of gas system lengths, a bewildering array of handguards, piston systems, direct gas or blow-back operating systems for all sorts of calibers plus every muzzle device you can think of. But when you have finally spec’d out your dream upper you then stuff it onto a traditional lower receiver basically unchanged since the 1960s. Why is that? It doesn’t make sense to me.

Considering what an important piece the lower receiver is, I am somewhat perplexed at why more companies haven’t looked at bringing it into the 21st century. It’s obvious by the growing proliferation of aftermarket ambidextrous parts that the market would support such a move.

It’s also interesting to note this is actually how Magpul began work on what eventually evolved into the Masada/ACR rifle. Years ago when Magpul first showed this eye-catching design, company officials spoke at length about how they undertook developing a rifle. What is interesting is they didn’t originally plan on designing an entirely new rifle. Instead they just intended on upgrading and modifying the AR-15 system.

An important part of this work was improving the controls. Eventually Magpul’s concept actually progressed beyond what the company felt it could do to an AR-15. So the engineers took out a fresh sheet of paper and began from scratch designing what eventually became the Masada and then the Remington/Bushmaster ACR.

I have never seen a rifle concept electrify people like the Masada did its first year at the industry’s annual trade show. Throngs of people crowded about Magpul’s booth just to try to catch a glimpse of the Masada. Word of it spread like wildfire around the show.

I am one of the few Westerners who have not only handled but fired the recoilless AN-94 Nikonov assault rifle. This Russian design is brilliant in concept and amazing to fire in two-shot burst mode. In operation it is one of the most advanced rifle designs to ever be fielded. But the controls are typically Russian and leave much to be desired. Comparing it to the Masada is like comparing a Soviet-era Lada to the black 1968 Dodge Charger in “Bullitt”. The Masada was just, well, Steve McQueen.

While the Masada had many mind-bending features, everyone I spoke to mentioned the perfectly designed and located ambidextrous controls. Without a doubt this was one feature of the rifle which people really liked.

Now, to be fair, Alex Robinson had already done something similar with his XCR. An impressive and forward-thinking rifle in its own right, for some reason the XCR simply never garnered the attention it perhaps deserves. The Masada? It quietly slipped into the history books after being sold to Remington/Bushmaster and being brought out in a disappointed introduction as the ACR. While the ACR retained the controls of the Masada, the high price, porky weight and some other features along with a very long wait disenfranchised once-enthusiastic followers.

Which brings us back to the AR-15. New designs will come and go, but the AR-15 will remain highly popular with American shooters. It simply has too many strong points for it to simply disappear in the foreseeable future. Due to this, it only makes sense to continue to evolve and improve the basic design.

The most obvious piece begging to be optimized is the lower receiver. LWRC International has done an outstanding job in this regard. Knight’s Armament also offers these features on certain models. My question is how long will it take before we see such designs become mainstream? Currently, integrated ambidextrous controls are only found on very expensive top-of-the-line rifles. Hopefully we will see that change in the near future so that someday we look at traditional AR-15 lower receivers as old fashioned.

I don’t know about you, but my roots with the .22 rimfire go back to early childhood days. Spending summers on the farm with an old Winchester showed me the right way to hunt, to hunt humanely and to deliver a decisive shot every time. Today, that tradition still continues with me, and when a new .22 rimfire rifle hits the market, I can’t wait to try it out.

The most recent gun to appear on my doorstep is the Uberti Silverboy—a trim, lever-action repeater that is easy to shoot, fun to carry and smooth to operate. The action cycles without any effort, and I would rate it as an excellent tool for teaching folks how to shoot, not to mention the fact that it is perfect for small game or varmint hunting. It would also make a good, economical practice gun for a Cowboy Action shooter.

The first thing you notice about the Silverboy is its brightly polished receiver. To keep the gun small and light, the receiver is alloy with a chrome finish. The polishing and assembly are well-done. The fitting of the hardwood stock is true, if a bit proud, but overall I was impressed with the wood-to-metal fit.

Topside there are three tapped holes for scope mounting, but I like this gun without optical sights and chose not to install a scope. The sights that come with the gun are more than adequate, consisting of a blade front and notch rear. Both have set screws, allowing them to be drifted for windage, but there’s no elevation adjustment.

When the hammer is forward it blocks your view of the rear sight. I think Uberti would be wise to notch or cut back the top of the hammer so you can follow up on a shot without having to change your head position in order to look over the sight.

On the plus side, the hammer sits tall at the end of the receiver—a boon to those who like to hunt in colder weather because it affords additional purchase even with gloves on. The hammer is serrated for nonslip operation and has a half-cock notch for safety. Pulling the hammer back about a quarter of an inch, you hear a click and now the gun is on Safe.

×

The straight-line buttstock is walnut-stained hardwood and was fitted slightly proud to the metal. The comb is sufficiently high for iron or scope use.

The fore-end has no checkering and is fitted with an alloy barrel band that matches the receiver—another styling cue on a great-looking rimfire.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 2

Uberti Silverboy Review

◄ Back

Next ►

• 
• 

Cocking the hammer felt as if it was on ball bearings, and the sear broke at 3.5 pounds with just a minute amount of slack in the blued trigger’s travel.

Like the hammer, the lever is also very smooth, and the bolt slides into firing position with an audible click. Uberti says the mechanism is a controlled-round feed, permitting the gun to be fired at any angle—even upside down.

I was impressed by the polishing of the lever/trigger guard combination. This is a complicated area to get right—particularly on the inside curves of the lever—and there were no rough edges or missed spots.

The wood on this gun is nothing to write home about, but then again, I would classify this lever gun as a working gun, not a wall hanger. It’s hardwood with a walnut-colored finish, but the dark tone does contrast nicely with the bright receiver and blued barrel.

The fore-end is slim, held secure with an aluminum barrel band, and feels good in a firing grip even without checkering. The buttstock is typical lever gun designed, with no pistol grip or checkering. It has been configured with just enough of a comb to allow the shooter to use iron or optical sights without any problems. There are no sling swivel studs, and the butt is finished off with a plastic nonslip buttplate.

The barrel is 19 inches long, with a magazine tube extending nearly right out to the muzzle. You can load up to 14 rounds of .22 Long Rifle ammunition into the tube. Looking at the loading port on the magazine tube, I think that maybe, just maybe, Uberti might be planning to chamber this gun in .22 Magnum at a future date. In any event, loading the gun is typical; just rotate the knurled knob off its detent and counterclockwise. Pull the brass tube out of the gun until it passes the loading port and start filling up the gun.

It’s hard not to have a good time at the range with a gun like this. The action was smooth, worked every time without fail. With iron sights, the gun is accurate with one-inch groups at 25 yards with Remington’s fine Target ammunition. Accuracy with the Winchester loads was not too shabby either, and I would surmise that with a good scope, this rifle would be a hoot out to modest ranges. If we were giving out ratings, this Uberti Silverboy would collect five stars easily.

The handsome chrome-finished alloy receiver houses a controlled-round feed action that means the gun will cycle regardless of angle—even upside down.