Innehållsförteckning för April 2016 från Gun Digest

Those of us who enjoy the pursuit of dangerous game spend an extraordinary amount of time focusing on the gear we use; it has to perform flawlessly, as our very lives depend upon it. I’m not the kind of hunter who holds one form of hunting above another, as though dangerous game is somehow superior to other game animals, but I do know if my deer rifle malfunctions, odds are my life won’t be in danger. The same cannot be said for the truly dangerous game animals. One malfunction—whether from an errant shot, a misfire or a bullet that simply doesn’t reach the vitals—and things can turn nasty in the blink of an eye. Rogue elephants, mauling leopards, grizzlies that just won’t die, or the charge of the Cape buffalo—”Black…

Just south of the urban center of Mexico City, Mexico, lays Cuernavaca, the capital of the state of Morales. Prior to the arrival of Europeans in Central America, Aztec rulers made their home in Cuernavaca during the warm summer months, and the region is home to some of the most valuable and important artifacts of Aztec history in all of Mexico. Today, the city, with its towering cathedral, aquifers, abundant gardens and tropical climate is still a favorite vacation spot for residents of Mexico City seeking to escape the cramped metropolis. Cuernavaca is also home to Mexico’s largest ammunition company, Aguila. And, as the brand has expanded into the U.S. market and started appearing more and more frequently on store shelves, there are a growing number of American shooters who…

This likely won’t shock you, but the sales of AR rifles and accessories have skyrocketed in the past five years. In the early 2000s, there were only a handful of companies that built and sold ARs, but this year there were more than a hundred companies displaying new AR rifles, parts and accessories at the annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas. This comes despite the anti-gun media’s seek-and-destroy mission aimed at vilifying all things AR. These guns have survived the onslaught of attacks because the AR platform itself is so versatile, so functional and so much fun to shoot. Besides being a great gun for casual shooting, competitive shooting and defensive applications, the AR makes a fantastic hunting rifle. ARs are the fastest-growing subset of hunting rifles, and many companies…

Most shooters fully understand the need for hearing protection when spending time at the range. The same cannot always be said of those who take their firearms afield in pursuit of game. Hunters want to be able to hear their surroundings, and, for many, the damage their ears endure when they take a shot is simply the cost of increased awareness. While these hunters may not notice it at the time, that damage is permanent, and each additional shot only makes matters worse. Luckily, there are options for those who want to be able to hear but still protect themselves from deafening muzzle blasts. The X-Pro Series Earplugs from SportEAR are one example that provides an unobtrusive, effective option, offering the user protection when it’s needed and clear hearing when…

Early this year, Ruger asked me to perform some testing on both of its new Super Black-hawk models, all under the veil of secrecy of a strict embargo. I put nearly 1,000 rounds through the .454 Casull model and almost 5,000 rounds through the .480 Ruger model. Appropriately dubbed an “endurance test,” I wasn’t sure whose endurance we were testing, the gun’s or mine. I had no support crew or relief shooters. It was just the revolvers, the bench, piles of ammunition and me. I am happy to report that I survived, and my hands are still somewhat intact. I can’t figure out what’s wrong with me. I have an inability to say “no” when asked to test firearms I find irresistible—irrespective of the parameters of the test. When Ruger…

While I was hunting elk in the Madison Range of Montana last October, a brief snow storm rushed over the mountains and dropped about an inch of fresh powder. The sudden burst limited visibility and made crossing the boulders on the base of the mountain a slippery challenge, so my hunting partner and I sat out the storm under a clump of trees overlooking a river valley. When the brief storm ebbed and the first streaks of sunlight filtered through the firs and pines of the Madison Forest, we started down into the valley below to pick up the trail of the elk herd. That’s when we came upon the grizzly tracks. The prints were unmistakably large, round and very fresh. The bear had crossed the trail no more than…

It’s hard to imagine my sporting life without the invention of the Ruger No. 1 rifle. Although I received mine about 10 years after its formal introduction, looking at my gun rack, eight of them are still there standing tall. Granted, I use them all for varmint and small game hunting, so the calibers are mostly in the .20- to .22-caliber range. Nevertheless, they have all served me well and allowed me to experiment with some vintage wildcats. And the fact that it’s a single-shot has definitely added to the challenge of any of my hunts. I believe at the time I paid around $250 for my .22-250 Remington copy. If we want to drop accolades on one person, it just has to be Bill Ruger, and as shooters, we…

Many of us, myself included, have trouble with open sights even under the best of conditions. So what are your options? If you are a hunter—and I suspect that many of you who purchase one of these revolvers are—you will want to equip your new Ruger with some sort of optic. Well, you can have your Ruger revolver drilled and tapped for a scope mount from a number of manufacturers like Leupold and Weigand. But, if you don’t want to have holes drilled into the top of your revolver’s frame, you have several viable options. We tried three types, and they all have their merits. The simplest, smallest and least intrusive is by JP Enterprises and consists of a small mount that fits in the recess that houses the rear…

Over the last many decades, Ruger has forged a reputation as one of America’s premier firearms manufacturers, with iconic models like the No. 1, Mini-14, 10/22 and the Mark I/II/III as its headliners. Ruger has also been the workingman’s gun company because of its ability to provide well-made, sweet-shooting firearms with blue-collar price tags. The Ruger American rifle series, which arrived on the scene back in 2012, epitomizes everything the company stands for and has, in a few short years, lived up to the prestigious Ruger name. The newest edition to the lineup is the American Magnum rifle, which is available in either 7mm Remingtom Magnum or, as tested for this review,.300 Winchester Magnum. Like its predecessors, the American Magnum is well built but inexpensive, carrying an MSRP of $699…