Gun Digest August 2017

In each issue of Gun Digest the Magazine, we pick a topic and cover it in extra depth. In this issue, as you can see, our focus (pun intended) is on optics. With so many choices in every imaginable configuration available, making choices about how to top off your rifle can be challenging. Whether you’re looking for a traditional scope, red-dot, laser sight or even night vision optics, I hope we can help you cut through the clutter. If you’re into ARs, particularly notable in this issue is Tiger McKee’s feature, “AR Optics Options.” Be sure to give this one some attention. McKee is a new Gun Digest columnist who covers something about ARs in every issue in his “AR Essentials” column. McKee’s day job is educating shooters at his…

Bushnell’s new Engage rifle-scopes are built to be affordable while offering ample features. Designed for hunters and new long-range shooters, the Engage line is meant to be versatile and right at home when hunting or shooting at long range. The line is a direct response to demand. Long-range shooters have always wanted optics that perform well during low light. Shooters always seek higher performance but are often put off by high price tags. This is not the case with the Engage line. These riflescopes use the new Deploy MOA reticle with 1-MOA windage and elevation hashmarks. Bushnell wanted the Deploy MOA to be clean and easy to use. Elevation hashmarks are at 1 MOA down to 30, and every fifth one is slightly longer, letting you count by 5s. Windage…

Designed by Charles Newton, the .250 Savage was introduced by the Savage Arms Co. as a high-velocity round for the Model 99 lever-action rifle. The original loading used an 87-grain bullet at 3,000 fps muzzle velocity, and Savage named it the .250-3000. One suspects the 87-grain bullet was chosen because it could be safely driven at 3,000 fps with the powders then available. This allowed Savage to introduce it with the ever-so-sexy name .250-3000. Remember, in 1915, when this cartridge was introduced, riflemen were still marveling at cartridges achieving 2,000 fps. About 1932, the 100-grain bullet load was marketed by Peters Cartridge Co., and later the velocity of the 87-grain bullet was slightly increased. Now it is simply called the .250 Savage. The Savage Model 20 and 40 bolt-action rifles…

A Bigger Shield Read your online review of the new M&P45 Shield. I have owned one now for a few months. I’ve fired a few hundred rounds through it with no issues at all. While it will never replace my Para P12 as my favorite CCW in warmer months, when I wear lighter clothing, this really fits the bill for me. Matt Ferris, online comment Hi Matt, thanks for the comment. The Shield is an excellent little concealed carry pistol, and the author of that review, Brian McCombie, certainly found the.45-caliber variant to be quite effective and reliable. I’ve had a Shield in 9mm for a few years now and have put a ton of rounds through it — often with what I’d describe as less-than-regular cleanings. In that time,…

NUMBER YOUR MAGAZINES The No. 1 cause of stoppages with semi-automatic handguns is faulty magazines. Either defective from the manufacturer or damaged through use, magazines can and do cause many of the feeding issues shooters experience. Unlike your handgun, a magazine is not a tool that will potentially last you the rest of your life. Many shooters forget this and do not take the necessary steps to circumvent potential problems. • The first thing you should do is purchase high-quality magazines; the device that feeds ammunition to your pistol is not the place to be skimping. • Secondly, you should take care of those magazines; after every range session or use, take the time to inspect and clean them. • And finally, number your magazines. This is something competitive shooters…

The sleek and streamlined Savage Model 1895 looked like something out of the future when it appeared in the last decade of the 19th century. It was the first firearm produced by the Savage Repeating Arms Company, and its slim, flat, hammerless design was in sharp contrast to the popular, visible-hammer models available from Winchester and Marlin since the 1860s. The rounded profile let shooters know that something new in hunting rifles had arrived. The 1895 was unique in many respects. Its internal rotary magazine was the first of its type and was designed for cartridges with pointed bullets, unlike the tubular-fed Winchesters and Marlins that were limited to round-nose bullets. The Savage was also the first lever action with a coil mainspring, an improvement over the leaf springs on…