Innehållsförteckning för January 2024 från Gun Digest

Every month, when I sit down in front of my computer and stare at the blank screen that is this column before it actually becomes this column, I’m pulled to write about my grandpa and the Model 61 Winchester pump-action .22 LR … I got from my grandma. Every time, without fail. If you follow my ramblings here, you’ve undoubtedly read a word or two about that gun, and I suppose it’s because that gun, and those two people, played such a huge role in the first two decades of my life. A young man can learn a lot about life with a good .22 LR, a woods full of critters and a farmyard plagued with rabbits—and a grandpa pushing just the right buttons to cause just the right amount…

Previously, referring to someone as a “pusher” meant they weren’t to be trusted. That’s not the case with XS Sights. Today, it’s used to adjust your sights, and the Inline Sight Pusher kit for Glock is a simple and straightforward tool. Normally, sight pushers are designed to work with, well … everything, making them complex. I mean, when you actually have to read the instructions, perhaps it’s too much of a good thing. The XS Sight Pusher, however, is simple and straightforward (or sideways, if you get what I mean). There’s an adjustment bolt, a sliding brass pusher and an included nylon wedge. Wedge? Yep. You slide the wedge along the angled base of the pusher to adjust the position of the slide and produce a non-slip surface that won’t…

01 Rock Island Armory TM22 Feather Plinking, pest control, teaching youth—there are a lot of different roles a rimfire rifle can fill. Whether you already own one or several, given its very affordable price, the Rock Island Armory TM22 Feather is worth a look. With aesthetics inspired by old-school AR carbines, the TM22 is a lightweight semi-auto chambered for .22 LR. Despite the removable carry handle rear sight, it still has plenty of modern features. Among these are a top optics rail and fully adjustable stock. Plus, the pistol grip and buffer tube adapter can both be replaced by AR-pattern aftermarket parts. The rifle ships with two, 10-round magazines, but 15-and 25-round mags are available as well. MSRP: $249 02 Chiappa Little Badger Take Down Xtreme Rifle Whether you’re a…

Few gun scribes have spilled more ink on the AR-15 subject than Patrick Sweeney. In addition to being a respected law enforcement armorer, he’s authored thousands of articles, columns and dozens of books, including the popular title Gunsmithing the AR-15: The Bench Manual—specializing in AR-15 maintenance, troubleshooting, upgrading, gunsmithing and shooting. GD: So, you’re this world-renowned AR-15 expert, you’re an AR-15 armorer. SWEENEY: [laughs] You’re gonna give me a swelled head if you keep this up. GD: OK, but you find a good deal on a $700 AR-15, and you get it home. SWEENEY: It used to be that if you spent $600 for an AR-15—and I’m dating myself here—that you were spending your money at the top of what you would be spending for an AR-15. Nowadays, you say…

HISTORICAL NOTES One of a number of cartridges for the Stevens 44 or 44½ series of single-shot rifles, this cartridge was introduced by Stevens in 1896. Actual design is credited to Charles H. Herrick, of Winchester, Massachusetts. It did not enjoy a particularly long life, as most shooters preferred the .25-21 or some of the larger-caliber cartridges. Many shooters claimed the .22-15 Stevens gave better accuracy than the .22 WCF. GENERAL COMMENTS This is an improved centerfire .22 of better killing power than other .22s of its day. With the heavy 60-grain bullet, it would shoot flat for 125 yards or so. As a target or match cartridge, most of the blackpowder .22s fouled the bore badly and required frequent cleaning. Most shooters preferred the larger calibers of .25 on…

The processes involved in reloading a centerfire rifle cartridge don’t vary drastically when comparing case and bore size, but there definitely seem to be some idiosyncrasies involved with the smaller cartridges. Perhaps it’s the accuracy expectations of a small-bore cartridge, or the game species that are hunted with those smaller cartridges, which have us looking for one-hole groups … or at least tiny little clover leaf groups. In my experience, the moderate velocity big-bore cartridges can often be more forgiving than the speedier smallbores, or perhaps I should say I’ve often been able to reach the goal line faster with a big-bore cartridge. Along the line, I’ve had some trials and tribulations with the smaller cartridges, and depending on the application for your reloading needs, there are some ideas and…

When a rifleman decides to make the move to a small-bore rifle—whether for hunting, target shooting or for defensive measures—their choice of cartridge usually ends being highly debated. I’ve seen guys who were friends for decades get extremely hot under the collar when arguing the .22-250 Remington versus the .220 Swift, to the point where I thought it might come to blows. Bring up the .204 Ruger and you might find a shooter who feels that all other bore diameters are an absolute waste of time, and the shooting world was just waiting for a .20-caliber cartridge. And then there’s the huge crowd of folks who feel that small-bore cartridges begin and end with the 5.56mm/.223 Remington, and that’s that. For the hunter/shooter looking for a small-bore cartridge to best…

The biggest hurdle for new shooters interested in precision rimfire always seems to involve optics. There are turrets, and parallax, and complicated reticles and debates over minutes-of-angle (MOA) versus milliradians (MILs). Coming from a hunting background or another discipline like silhouette where you held the crosshairs on the target, a more complicated aiming system can feel overwhelming. It does not help that “rimfire” plus “scope” just meant crappy for the longest time. The glass was inferior. The adjustments were spotty. Drop one or get it wet, and the scope was toast. Here’s the thing: You don’t need a “rimfire” scope for a “rimfire” rifle. Whether you need an optic for competition or hunting, most quality centerfire scopes will do the job, yet some are better suited for small-bore work than…

A lot of people think .257 Roberts is a total Fudd cartridge—an anachronism, destined for the brass pile of history. It’s a shame, too, because it has nearly all the virtues modern rifle shooters look for in any cartridge bigger than .223 Rem. and lighter than .308 Win. Unfortunately, the .257 Roberts has long suffered from a botched release (more on that soon) and never got quite the same development as other more popular cartridges. HISTORY OF .257 ROBERTS The .257 Roberts started life as a wildcat, devised by gunwriter and tinkerer Ned Roberts in the 1920s who tried his hand at necking down a case to shoot a smaller bullet. The idea, as always, was to decrease recoil and gain ballistic advantage through sheer velocity. The parent case is…

In the era we currently live in, there are platforms that dominate, and one of the more interesting examples has occurred in the rimfire world, where one general family of products has become the flagship for the entire genre. Ruger’s 10/22 is a worldwide classic and one of those ubiquitous firearms that almost everyone and their brother (and sister, dad, uncle, etc.) owns. Unlike literally hundreds of other rimfire rifle designs that have come and gone with each passing season, the 10/22 platform has hung on, in my opinion largely because of its extremely reliable magazines. The design was not originally something that was “modular,” but in our day it has become the go-to platform for all things rimfire. You can build your own not-technically-a-Ruger “10/22” out of parts from…

Stag Arms is a company known for its precision ARs, but the Cheyenne, Wyoming-based gunmaker is now expanding into bolt-action rifles—with the release of the Pursuit series. Initially available in nine configurations, Stag Arms promises to offer a completely different shooting experience regardless of your pursuit, whether that be hunting, competing … or anything in between. Based on the Remington 700 Short-Action platform, Stag Arms Pursuit rifles are being offered in .308 Winchester with an 18-inch barrel, 6.5 Creedmoor with a 20-inch barrel and 6.5 PRC with a 22-inch barrel. Regardless of your preferred chambering, all models feature sporter fluted 416 stainless-steel barrels and are sub-MOA guaranteed when using match ammunition. To further aid in accuracy, all models also ship with an adjustable single-stage TriggerTech Primary trigger. As for the…