Field and Stream - Rifle Reviews RSS

Jack O'Connor's Legendary No.2 Rifle

Online Editors — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:08:59 -0500

by David E. Petzal

In 1959, Jack O’Connor bought a Winchester Model 70 .270 Featherweight in a hardware store in Lewiston, Idaho. He had bought his first Winchester .270, a Model 54, in 1925, and in the ensuing years had made the cartridge synonymous with his name. He already had several .270s, but as we all understand, one or two of anything is never enough.

The new gun—O’Connor called this the No. 2 rifle--turned out to be very accurate (MOA or just under, which in 1959 was sensational), and so O’Connor took it to his favorite custom gunsmith, Al Biesen, of Spokane, to give it a level of elegance befitting its performance. Biesen completed the work in 1960. Biesen was not only a first-rate craftsman, but had a very good feel for ergonomics. All his stocks had a very slim pistol grip that belled toward the bottom, and they have a very distinctive feel. You can mount a Biesen rifle blindfolded and pick it out of a bunch of rifles.

Trijicon TARS: A Powerful Scope for Long-Range Shooters

Online Editors — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:07:31 -0500

Trijicon's Tactical Advanced RifleScope is a power optic that can be used for a variety of applications, especially big game hunting and long-range target shooting.

Dimensions by Jeromy Holmes: One of a Kind Rifle Paint Jobs

Online Editors — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 11:45:04 -0500

So you have your rifle. There are many like it but this is your own. Now add a paint job by artist Jeromy Holmes and you can ensure no rifle will ever look the same as yours. And his work is not just for looks, it's functional beauty.

The Best New Rifles of 2012

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:41:18 -0500

The Best New Rifles of 2012.

Accuracy International AX: A Major Upgrade for Your Remington 700

Online Editors — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 12:09:01 -0500

The Accuracy International AX offers Remington 700 owners a stability boost with this chassis. There is nothing flimsy about the AX, and it has a lot of room for you to add on your favorite gear.

First Look: US Palm Takedown AK47

Online Editors — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:40:05 -0500

Here's a first look at a prototype of US Palm's Takedown AK47, a compact rifle that snaps together with a twist. AK fans, look for it to hit the market later this year.

Stag Arms 3G AR Rifle: Built for 3-Gun Competitions

Online Editors — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:24:46 -0500

The Stag Arms 3G was designed with 3-Gun competitors in mind. Stag Arms offers both right and left handed versions so everyone can join in this growing sport.

Troy Industries T22: An AR-Style Chassis For Your Ruger 10/22

Online Editors — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:07:24 -0500

Looking for a quick upgrade for your Ruger 10/22 that will add versatility and accessory options? This simple, railed, snap-on chassis set comes in two models.

Forbes Model 24B: An Excellent Rifle That Doesn't Break the Bank

Online Editors — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:36:35 -0500

Looking for a great rifle that won't leave your wallet empty? Then consider this light, accurate rifle that was built to last. And with such an attractive price tag, you can splurge and get two.

Quality and Value: Weatherby’s 2nd Generation Vanguard Rifle

Online Editors — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:30:30 -0500

This 2nd generation Vanguard rifle is a great bargain. For $500 you get a quality rifle that has a double-stage trigger with a terrific pull. Enhancing its affordability, the metalwork is Japanese, but the stock and gun assembly is American. Even Dave Petzal says: this gun is perfect.

The Savage Lady Hunter Rifle: Made Just for Women

Online Editors — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 09:14:29 -0500

If you’re looking for a rifle for the female shooter in your life, or even for yourself, look no further. Savage has just released the Lady Hunter. This rifle is tested by and made specifically for women. Rather than just taking ½ an inch off the stock like most companies, Savage gave the Lady Hunter a higher comb to accommodate women’s neck length, and took weight out of the forend so it has a lighter, shorter barrel.

SHOT Show 2012 From The Floor: Day 3

Online Editors — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 01:48:52 -0500

Photos from the floor of SHOT Show 2012, Day 2.

Dave Petzal on SHOT Show 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 18:27:48 -0500

by David E. Petzal

In a wretched economic year, the pants-wetters, doomsayers, and purveyors of pessimism would be confounded by the life and vitality in the shooting industry. This year in Las Vegas, an estimated 60,000 people (all in the gun biz), many of whom look like Larry the Cable Guy, crowded into a maze of under-ventilated halls to ogle, grope and buy. Guns. What did you think I was talking about?

The most densely crowded venues were dedicated to the wonderful worlds of the paramilitary and law enforcement. Apparently there is an insatiable need for the equipment used in shooting, clubbing, and gassing people. There are suits of full body armor the like of which has not been seen since the Battle of Agincourt. There are all-black deathmobiles, equipped with lethal gear of all sorts. I’m told that Cop World constitutes fully one-third of the SHOT Show. How shooting and suppressing the citizenry ties into Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade is more than I can comprehend, but there it is.

There is also a very notable shortage of Booth Babes. In past years, you could hardly turn a corner without seeing some inadequately clothed young mammal who would cause you to stop dead in your tracks and give thanks to the forces of evolution. Damned if I know what happened to them.

Thompson Center’s New Multi-Caliber Rifle Platform: The Dimension

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:03:38 -0500

This isn’t a standard bolt action rifle, it’s a whole new concept in terms of how to have a multi-caliber platform in one system.

SHOT Show 2012 From The Floor: Day 2

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 11:34:22 -0500

Photos from the floor of SHOT Show 2012, Day 2.

Rifle Milestone: The Remington Model 700 Celebrates Its 50th Birthday

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:09:21 -0500

The Remington Model 700 is one of the finest sporting rifles ever made. It debuted 50 years ago chambered for the then new 7 Remington magnum. Check out the commemorative anniversary edition here.

SHOT Show 2012 From The Floor: Day I

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:48:40 -0500

Photos from the floor of SHOT Show 2012, Day 1.

SHOT Show 2012 Sneak Peek: 12 New Guns From Range Day

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 07:54:40 -0500

New items from Media Day At The Range from SHOT 2012.

More on Long Range Shooting

Sarah Smith — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:30:40 -0500

by David E. Petzal

Back in April, 2011, I became a probationary member of the Scarborough Fish & Game Association in Scarborough, Maine. The name notwithstanding, SF&G is a shooting club, and a very large, very active one at that. They stage just about every kind of rifle, shotgun, handgun and archery event you can think of, and there is a dedicated range for cops to practice shooting people (so if you have any wants and warrants outstanding, stay away).

Among their assets is a beautiful range with shooting points from 100 to 600 yards, but since the Association’s official religion is safety, they do not let anyone use that range until they’re vetted. You qualify there or you stick to the 100-yard ranges; SF&G does not want any bullets sailing over the backstop. If you raise your muzzle above the level of the backstop you get a warning. If you do it again you are requested to leave.

Did You Get a Gun For Christmas, Too?

Sarah Smith — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:27:15 -0500

by Dave Hurteau

Actually I got a winter restoration project—a Savage Model 24 in .22LR/.410 with good bores and solid wood but a very rough exterior. As far as I’m concerned, the Model 24 in this configuration is the perfect squirrel gun.

By the way, did you know that squirrel hunting makes excellent practice for hunting whitetail deer, the species about which this blog is solely dedicated?

As I was saying, it’s a fantastic squirrel gun, particularly for small woodlots close to populated areas, because you can use the .22 when your backdrop will stop a bullet and the .410 when it won’t. Plus it’s just a damned cool gun that I’ve always wanted to own.

Jingle Bells With a 1911

Sarah Smith — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:48:01 -0500

Happy Holidays from the Gun Nuts!

Assume Nothing: You Guess, You Miss

Sarah Smith — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:00:19 -0500

by David E. Petzal

I was much taken with Ruger’s Gunsite Scout rifle when I shot one in April, and when it came out left-handed a little while ago, I bought one. Unlike the first Scout, this one is fussy, and does not like 147- or 150-grain bullets. It does, however, shoot 165- and 168-grainers just fine, so I settled on two loads: Federal .308 168-grain Sierra Match for tactical shooting, and handloads with 165-grain Nosler Partitions for hunting. Velocities are practically the same: 2,450 for the Noslers and 2,470 for the Sierras. At 100 yards, both bullets shoot to exactly the same point of impact, and both average 1.4 inches. You can’t tell the groups apart.

This Scout is set up as a 200-yard rifle; and not much can go wrong inside 200 yards, or can it? Since I now test everything and assume nothing, I set up two 8-inch bull’s-eyes at 200 yards and discovered the following: When sighted in three inches high at 100 yards, the Noslers drop five inches below the point of aim at 200, which is a lot more than I thought they would, and the group is not pretty. It would kill a deer, but you would not wave it around in public. The Sierras drop four inches, drift to the right four inches, and print a beautiful group. (The groups are 10 shots, by the way.) This does not mean that Sierras are better than Noslers, but that the two slugs have different flight characteristics.

Rifle Review: Is The Shootrite Katana AR a One-and-Only Gun?

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 09:21:22 -0400

See if the Shootrite Katana AR would be your choice for a one-and-only gun.

Testing Rifles: You Know a Good Gun Right Away

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:19:12 -0400

By David E. Petzal

Reading the comments to our Best of the Best tests on the website, I noted that people were pissing and whining that some of what we tested cost way too much for those who can barely afford a Happy Meal, and that I did not shoot enough to draw accurate conclusions about whether rifles shot well or not.

My fellow Americans: If you can’t afford expensive stuff, tough. This is the land of opportunity. Go out and manage a hedge fund instead of what you’re doing. We test what comes in, regardless of price. As for not shooting enough, one of the things I’ve learned over decades of testing rifles is that the good ones shoot well from the get-go and the bad ones disgrace themselves immediately.

One good group is not enough to tell you anything for sure. I’ve shot many factory rifles that came with a single sensational test-target group which I could never duplicate. If you get two good, or bad, groups it can still be coincidence. But with three, there’s very little doubt. You can go on and shoot two more groups, or ten more, and you’re going to keep getting the same thing.

Jarrett Signature Rifle Review Part III: Give Me A Brake!

Online Editors — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 09:27:34 -0400

by David E. Petzal

For Part I, click here
For Part II, click here
Oddly, one of the most striking features of the Jarrett Signature is the muzzle brake. Kenny’s recommendation is that any rifle he builds of .30 or above should come with a brake and I see his point. I’ve shot a good many guns with muzzle brakes, and while they all work, this one is uncanny. There is almost no recoil. John Blauvelt shot the rifle and could not get over it. We guessed that with the brake in place this .300 Win Mag kicked about like an 8-pound .243. To an experienced shooter, who knows what to expect from the .300 Win Mag, it is unsettling.