Innehållsförteckning för August 2024 från Guns & Ammo

TOM’S ELR RIFLE? What is Tom Beckstrand’s Extended Long Range (ELR) rifle that he competes with? I know it’s made by Accuracy International (AI), but I don’t know the model. It appears to have a 30-inch heavy barrel that I would also like to know the manufacture of. Finally, what is the trigger? Is it stock or custom? Mark ThornhillEmail For ELR matches where target distances are between 500 and 2,200 yards, I use a factory AI AXSR with a stock trigger equipped with a Nightforce ATACR 7-35x56mm F1. The barrel was made by Hawk Hill, a 30-inch cut-rifled barrel that is no longer available. My recommendation would be to source a Bartlein, Kreiger, or another cut-rifled barrel. I prefer .300 PRC with a 230-grain Hornady A-Tip loaded over Hodgdon…

SILENCER CENTRAL has earned a good reputation for its Banish line of suppressors. Generally configured with traditional external tubes and internal baffle stacks, the company’s offerings reduce noise and provide utility due to modular designwork that incorporates popular mounting options. With cans rated for rimfires up to .460-caliber cartridges, the Banish series has become a go-to recommendation for range use, hunting, and personal defense. Lacking in the lineup, though, was an option that could be used by armed professionals. Enter the Speed K. Developing the new suppressor for duty required a different perspective on important characteristics. Whereas a hunter might put a premium on noise reduction and light weight, a SWAT officer has additional considerations. Before developing its first duty-capable suppressor, Silencer Central surveyed dozens of armed professionals to verify…

BERSA’S ANNOUNCEMENT that it was introducing several 1911 models came as a surprise, as did the price of the pistols. The Bersa B1911, while being competitively priced against, is more than double the price of any of its other offerings, save the longslide competition-oriented TPR9 XT. Pricing is undoubtedly due, in part, to increased labor costs, as the B1911 is not just its first 1911, but its first American-made pistol. The B1911 is being produced by Bersa in its Kennesaw, Georgia, facility. Other Bersa pistols are made in Argentina, so this is quite a departure from the expected. Initially, there are six models offered. All are full-size all-steel Government Models chambered in .45 ACP, and all are built using 416 stainless-steel frames and slides. Other variants are identical in construction…

SINCE THE KIMBER RAPIDE BLACK ICE was introduced on November 13, 2019, the quick succession of follow-on models demonstrated the brand’s relentless creativity and public interest. Launched as a 9mm, the Rapide is now offered in 10mm and .45 ACP, with or without an accessory rail or threaded barrel. Aesthetically, Rapide models share distinctive appearance details that distinguish them from other Model 1911 pistols: Stainless-steel construction; slide lightening cuts; stepped cocking serrations; Stiplex-textured frontstrap; G10 grip panels; and a mainspring housing with texturing that incorporates the style of the Rapide’s slide cuts and serrations. Underneath the aesthetics and treatments, the Rapide line shares the same qualities as other Kimber 1911s in the most important ways. Despite the color combinations, stocks and submodel naming convention, the Rapide series all have ambidextrous…

AUTHOR GURNEY BROWN wrote three well-illustrated and documented books on Colt revolvers including “Colt Double Action Revolvers: The Post-War Era,” “Seven Serpents: The History of Colt’s Snake Guns,” and “Colt’s Python: King of the Seven Serpents.” No longer in print, I recommend acquiring these to any collector building a firearm library. The tale seemed complete when the Colt Custom Shop ceased production of the first generation in 2005. As nostalgia peaked, values of these guns surged, particularly low-production models such as the Viper and blued Pythons in unusual barrel lengths or configurations.. As Brown’s “Seven Serpents” title indicates, there were seven varieties of snake guns made on different frames in various calibers. The Cobra was the start in 1950, the first lightweight aluminum-frame revolver. The Python was introduced in 1955,…

RUGER’S AMERICAN RIFLE has been with us since 2011. It has been extremely successful, particularly with hunters and new riflemen. It has earned a reputation for being accurate, lightweight and inexpensive. It also benefits from a healthy aftermarket supporting the model with accessories. The aftermarket is how a gun company knows a product has become a darling among its consumers. The first-generation American Rifle still possesses a sound mechanical design, offering excellent performance at a starting price of $599. The Gen II model enhances the feature list for a starting price of $729. These rifles are Ruger’s own creation. The action utilizes a bolt with three large lugs and a 70-degree bolt lift. The 70-degree lift strays from the more common 90-degree lift seen on just about every two-lug action…

SMITH & WESSON’S M&P “Military & Police” pistols are engineered to be tough enough for law enforcement use. The full list of features resulted in a Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) that currently starts at $639 for M2.0 models in 9mm, .40 S&W and .45. Meant as an entry-level alternative, the SD series starts at $399 and is available in 9mm or .40 S&W. The SD was an evolution of S&W’s Sigma, which was produced from 1994 to 2012. The striker-fired Sigma was the company’s first pistol featuring a polymer frame. In 2010, the SD was introduced. For 2024, the series has been updated with 2.0 enhancements. The previous generation of the SD was offered in 9mm and .40 S&W, but the 2.0 is only available in 9mm. With sales…

WHEN HOWA INTRODUCED the Model 1500 Superlite in Guns & Ammo’s November 2022 issue, it proved impressive. According to Guns & Ammo’s “RifleShooter” publication, the first lightweight mountain rifle was the Savage Model 1920, so we know the concept has been with us for more than a century. The Model 20 weighed 6 pounds, but modern materials and manufacturing capabilities allow Howa to produce the Superlite, which weighed 4 pounds, 11.2 ounces during G&A’s test. Author Craig Boddington used it to shoot sub-MOA groups. For 2024, Howa developed an even lighter and shorter variant of the Superlite. To make the Superlite Short, Howa gave it a 16¼-inch threaded barrel to achieve a 4-pound, 3-ounce, rifle-only weight. Best of all, Howa also offers a Vortex scope package to complement the weight…

STAFF SERGEANT ROBERT EMARY was a soldier of the 101st Airborne, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, I Company, from October 1943 to January 1946. He was part of the same regiment as “Easy” Company, which was featured in Stephen Ambrose’s book “Band of Brothers” (1992) that became a hit miniseries in 2001. My father was in the first wave of replacements immediately after D-Day, arriving in England during June of ’44. He served with the 101st from that point to the end of World War II. If you watched “Band of Brothers,” besides the D-Day scenes, you can imagine what he participated in. During the Battle for Bastogne, I Company suffered horrendous losses. Only 11 of the original 138 soldiers in I Company came out of Bastogne. My father…

THE MOST POPULAR TYPE of carry gun for the last decade has been the subcompact polymer-framed striker-fired 9mm. Since its December 2019 introduction in Guns & Ammo, atop the list of these pistols has been the Springfield Armory Hellcat. However, people who regularly shoot the guns they carry have discovered that while sub- and micro-compact pistols are convenient for carry, they’re not always that easy to shoot. Hence, many brands have developed up-sized versions of its flagship micro. Springfield Armory did the same when it announced the Hellcat Pro in the July 2022 issue. For 2024, G&A has received the Hellcat Pro Comp Optical Sight Pistol (OSP), arguably the most feature-rich Hellcat that Springfield Armory has offered. The design started with the Hellcat Pro OSP, the barrel of which was…