November 16, 2012
By RifleShooter Online Staff
What is it about the holidays that gets a gun guy all excited? While most people are excited to open up that brand new iPhone, we just can't wait to take our presents out to the 600-yard range. Yes sir, gun nuts appreciate the holidays just as much as anyone else, so show the shooter in your family how much you really care, and just in case you need some guidance, good ole' Petersen's RifleShooter is here to help with our 2012 holiday gift guide. With a little luck, this might just make your seasonal shopping just a little less stressful.
ATI HD-16 American Tactical Imports is introducing the HD-16 line of AR-platform rifles were produced in conjunction with Heads Down Products. There are currently two models, both sporting free-float aluminum rails, 5.56-chambered 16-inch barrels, 7075-T6 forged uppers and lowers with a hard-coat anodized finish, carbine-length gas system and M4 collapsible stocks. The V916 has a nine-inch rail, the HDVX a 13-incher.
Price: V916, $889; HDVX, $909
Barnes LRX If you like the
Barnes Tipped TSX bullet and like to stretch the distance, you'll love love the new Long-Range X (LRX). This relatively new design is now available in 6.5mm (127-grain), 7mm (168) and .338 (a 280-grainer engineered for the Lapua). Ballistic coefficients are .468, .550 and .667, respectively.
Price: $38.50-$50.15
Blackhawk! Women's Duty/Tactical Wear Blackhawk! clothing is designed specifically to meet the unique needs of female police, military and shooting enthusiasts, with an emphasis on storage, functionality and comfort. The two pieces shown are the Lightweight Tactical Shirt (5.1-ounce cotton poly/cotton blend) and Lightweight Tactical Pants (6.5-ounce poly/cotton blend), both of which are treated with water repellent. But there's a lot more, from tactical clothing such as these pieces to women's casual/sportswear.
Price: Shirt, $57; Pants, $65
Brunton Eterna Brunton Eternas feature fully multicoated optics and have fast-focus eyepieces. They're shock-, water- and fogproof and available with glass-etched BDC, (4.5-14x50, 3-9x40 and 6.5-20x50), duplex (1.5-5x20) and mil-dot reticles (6-24x40). Adjustments are 1/4 m.o.a. on the BDC and duplex and 1/8 m.o.a. on the mil-dot.
Price: $425-$965
Butler Creek One-Piece Flip Cap Here's a set of flip-ups from
Butler Creek that will get out of your way and stay out of your way. The flexible cover protects your scope from dirt and the elements, and when you're ready to shoot, simply pull them back and over the built-in stop, locking them in place. They're made of a material the company says is virtually indestructible and performs well in extreme temperatures. Available in two eyepiece and thee objective sizes.
Price: $17
Champion .22 Diamond Pop-Up Shooting steel is fun; resetting it after every hit is not.
Champion's sturdy new steel is paired with a heavy-duty spring system that returns it to the upright position when hit. Just pound the four supplied stakes into the ground-mount base or screw it into an elevated wood base and fire away. The diamond-shaped target measures 7.5x2.75 inches, and at a price of just $14, you can buy enough to set up a fun shooting course.
Price: $14
Hornady Cheekpiece Have spare ammo at the ready — fast — and cushion your cheek with this strap-on pad from
Hornady . It has adjustable hook-and-loop straps, the cartridge holder accommodates most centerfire rifle cartridge. Available in black and tan, the latter in both right- and left-hand versions.
Price: $42
Impact Sport Pro I've been wearing
Impact Sport Pro electronic muffs for several years and love them. Now comes an updated version, one that amplifies low-level sound more than four times while providing a noise reduction rating of 30 for protection. The four-hour automatic shut-off saves the AAA batteries. The muffs also feature an external jack that allows you to connect to smartphones, MP3 players and similar devices.
Price: $100
In-Range Supplies Portable Tactical Bullet Trap According to testing approved by the U.S. Army, this bullet trap from
In-Range Supplies is designed to prevent penetration and ricochet of the military 5.56 round. The shooting surface measures 24x35 inches and is made of ballistic rubber, and the unit can be mounted to a wall or a tubular steel H stand. The trap is available in two steel thicknesses to handle a variety of rifle calibers.
Price: $799-$899
Lewis Machine & Tool LM8 This new platform from
Lewis Machine & Tool is a lighter, smaller, slimmer and more maneuverable AR, and it's available in two versions: the LM8MWS and LM8MRP. Both come with four rail segments that allow shooters to customize their rifles: four, six, eight and 10-rail. The MRP (shown) is built on an LMT Defender lower with standard trigger and 16-inch chrome-lined barrel with 1:7 twist in 5.56. The MWS is built on a LM308MWS lower with two-stage trigger and choice of 1:10 chrome-lined barrel or 1:11.35 twist ultra-match stainless barrels.
Price: LMT LM8MRP, gallery=36,031; LMT LM8MWS, gallery=36,999
Magnum Research MLR22AT For years shooters have been tricking out their Ruger 10/22s, searching for better barrels, stocks, triggers, etc.
Magnum Research is capitalizing on that with the MLR22AT, which features an ambidextrous, lightweight thumbhole stock; free-floated, graphite bull barrel with six times the stiffness of regular steel; and a Benz target chamber. That and the 10/22 trigger group are housed in a 6061-T6 aluminum receiver. Weight is 4.25 pounds; overall length is 35.5 inches. I've got one and will be testing it soon.
Price: $562
Otis O12 Otis has added to its established line of gun cleaning solvents with three new biodegradable products: O12-CU Copper Remover, O12-GP General Purpose Blend and O12-Carbon Remover. The entire line is safe on all gunmetals, is ammonia free and available in 16-, 8-, 4- and 2-ounce sizes.
Price: $11.99-$28.99
Nikon ProStaff Target EFR And if you're looking for a scope to put on your new Magnum Research rifle — or any other rimfire — check out the new
Nikon ProStaff Target EFR, a 3-9x40 that is designed specifically for rimfires. The scope's parallax is set at 50 yards, and the objective is adjustable from 10 meters to infinity. It also features Nikon's new Precision reticle, a fine crosswire/dot setup, and boasts resettable-zero turrets. The ProStaff Target EFR is also waterproof, fogproof and shockproof.
Price: $190
Truglo Triton 20mm Tri-Color This compact reflex sight from
Truglo offers red, green and blue reticle options for contrast against any background, and the 5 m.o.a. dot is adjustable for intensity (three levels for each color). Comes with an integral Weaver mounting base, low (shown) or low and high, the latter for ARs. The Triton also features tool-less windage and elevation adjustments, powered by a supplied CR2032 battery.
Price: $123 (low base); $160 (low/high base)
Wiley X WX Valor The half-frame
Wiley X WX Valor features changeable lenses and is Rx ready. They meet ANSI-Z87.1-2003 impact standards and are mil-spec as well, and they're available in several models featuring an array of lens and frame colors. Extra interchangeable are available and are easily removed/replaced in the field.
Price: $75
Smith & Wesson M&P15-22 MOE Smith & Wesson made big news years ago when it introduced a .22-caliber version its M&P15 rifle, the M&P15-22. Now, the rimfire AR is available with Magpul MOE furniture. In fact, we labeled this rifle
our favorite tactical .22 , and for good reason: It's lightweight, reliable and functions exactly the same as a standard 5.56-chambered AR.
Price: $609
