Innehållsförteckning för December 2017 från Gun Digest

“The unmodified original gas-trap models represent the Holy Grail for Garand collectors.” World War I taught the Army the value of heavy firepower, and as soon as the war ended in 1918, U.S. Ordnance began to search aggressively for an auto-loading infantry rifle. During the next 10 years, many inventors submitted designs for testing, but none proved acceptable. If they could stand up to the punishment, they were too heavy — and if they were light enough to be portable, they had to be in a small caliber. A young Canadian, John Garand, had been working on a design that converted the 1903 Springfield bolt-action rifle into a semi-automatic. A brigadier general named Douglas MacArthur was interested in Garand’s efforts and helped him get a position with Springfield National Armory,…

“Weird thing is, I’ve seen rifles that won’t print any better than 1.5-MOA at the 100-yard mark but shoot better than that at 200 and 300 yards.” As a handloader, I’d be willing to bet that you’re not just trying to assemble ammunition that goes bang, but that you strive for the most accurate ammunition you can make. Once you’re infected with the accuracy bug, there’s no real cure for you. There are many factors involved with accuracy: We use the finest optics we can afford, tune our triggers so they will break crisply and cleanly, and we ensure our rifle stocks don’t interfere with the flexure of our barrels. Ammunition can be tailored to the rifle, and within that parameter we do all we can to make sure all…

I’m going to share 8 things that you can do today — right now — to become a better shooter, especially at longer ranges. None of these tips involve buying a new fancy piece of gear or upgrading the equipment you already have. This is because I believe that a good shooter with a decent rifle, scope and ammunition can outperform a poor shooter with the best rifle, scope and ammunition. Hopefully you’ll see a bit of a connection, or trend, from each of these points to the next. 1. Stop Sweating The Small Stuff I get it: Part of the fun of learning to master long-range shooting involves getting into the nuances of ballistics. However, that’s not going to make you a better shooter. Unfortunately, you’re way more likely…

The beginning of the 20th century was a classic age for shotguns. High-quality shotguns were being made here in the United States and around the world. Most guns sold were standard-grade guns, perfectly serviceable for hunting and recreational shooting, but during that time — and continuing on through modern times — there has been a demand for high-quality ”bespoke” guns. That desire for firearms that are a cut above the norm continues today in shotguns, rifles and pistols. I’ve said many times that it’s harder today to buy a bad gun than a good one. Modern manufacturing techniques, the open information stream of the internet and a more educated gun buying public have stifled the sales of inferior, poor-quality guns, and such firearms simply don’t survive. Of course, the computer-designed…

Enforcing Current Background Check Law On November 16, 2017, a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to improve the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) process. The legislation, dubbed the Fix NICS Act, attempts to better enforce current firearms law and ensure federal and state authorities submit all relevant information, such as mental and criminal history records. Senators sponsoring the Fix NICS Act include: John Cornyn (R-TX), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Scott (R-SC), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Dean Heller (R-NV), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). So, there’s certainly support on both sides of the spectrum. This bill comes on the heels of a recent shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where more than two-dozen people were killed. The gunman, Devin Patrick Kelley, had a documented…

As you’ve likely already noticed, we’ve been referencing our recent Gun Digest reader survey a lot lately, and for good reason — we simply want to give you what you want. Many of the responses we saw were in line with what the Gun Digest team expected. On the other hand, there were some surprises: We knew the average Gun Digest the Magazine reader owns a lot of guns, but as indicated by the survey, y’all have been busy acquiring more than expected. We’re a little surprised — and way more impressed! But with owning a pile of guns comes one significant problem — storage. An Innovative Option Boutique gun and shooting accessories companies aren’t hard to find these days — it seems like everyone has an idea and a…

When SIG Sauer first announced it would be entering the ammo business in 2014, it took many — myself included — by surprise. Most knew of SIG’s reputation as a producer of accurate, reliable handguns and rifles, but to see an established firearms manufacturer expand into ammunition production felt, at the time, to be something of a sea change. That initial introduction consisted of one line of five JHP defensive handgun loads in the most common calibers (.380 ACP, 9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP) and SIG’s own .357 SIG. It was a modest debut, but it established that SIG was indeed in the ammo business, and did so in a practical way. However, I recall wondering then about how soon the company would expand its offerings and if it…

One bolt-action rifle in history took American sniping beyond the basics with accuracy derived from decades of competitive shooting. Winchester’s Model 70 was to meet incredible challenges abroad; a civilian arm that transitioned into a true weapon of war — one that could be wielded with the precision of a scalpel in the right hands. Produced since 1936, the Model 70 quickly became a favorite rifle for marksmen and hunters upon its introduction. Its robust action, for instance, made the weapon reliable and safe. The bolt’s double locking lugs and the rifle’s smooth ammunition feed — in part, a result of the Mauser-style extractor — helped earn this firearm a solid reputation. Also known as “controlled-round feeding,” this design employed a process somewhat similar to the Mauser 98. The primary…

If you’ve been following this column, you already know that the only two variables that affect the path of your bullet on the way to the target are gravity and wind. Yes, there are other variables that also have an impact. However, they only change how much of an effect gravity and wind have. Gravity causes your bullet to begin falling the moment it leaves the barrel, and wind can blow it off of its original path. So what? What do we do with that information? We compensate for it! To counter the effects of gravity, we aim higher. To offset the wind, we shoot “into the wind” so that the wind blows our bullet back into exactly where we want to hit. You can compensate for elevation and windage…

SMITH & WESSON PERFORMANCE CENTER MODEL 686 PLUS $966 In early November, S&W announced that it would be adding the Model 686 and 686 Plus to the Performance Center line of competition firearms, and in doing so, these new models have received a number of enhancements. These include a Performance Center tuned action, a speed release thumb piece and an interchangeable orange front sight, as well as an unfluted cylinder, vented ribbed barrel and a chromed custom teardrop hammer. The Plus model has a 5-inch barrel and a cylinder cut for moon clips. CREEDMOOR SPORTS LOADING BLOCKS $11.95-$14.95 This fall, Creedmoor Sports debuted several new reloading tools. Two of these are the 30 Caliber Loading Block and the 223 Loading Block (pictured at the front of the image). Both are…

Properly zeroing a big game rifle is critical to making shots in the field. There are a variety of zeroing methods, but the Point Blank Zero (PBZ) might be the most practical. As the great gun writer Jim Carmichel once pointed out, “In some shooting circles, ‘point blank’ means up close and very personal … but in the lingua franca of ballistics, the point-blank range of a cartridge is the maximum distance out to which the bullet will hit a target of a specific size.” Let’s see if I can simplify the PBZ concept. With PBZ, you sight your rifle in so the bullet will never rise or fall more than half the diameter of your target out to a certain distance. That distance is determined by the velocity and…

We hunters simply love to quantify things, right down to the last detail. We’re also fond of assigning minimums, rules, absolutes, quotable lore and arguing over these points. Kinetic energy figures are no exception. And while there is merit to using enough gun with sufficient kinetic energy, these figures can be misleading. First of all, the kinetic energy of a bullet is measured in units of foot-pounds. The equation to derive the energy of a particular bullet is as follows: KE = (M x V 2  )/450,435 Here, KE = Kinetic energy in ft.-lbs., M = the mass of the bullet in grains, V = bullet velocity in fps, and the denominator of 450,435 being a product of gravitational acceleration (32.173 fps2) multiplied by 7,000 (to convert grains into…