Guns Illustrated 2011. Dan Shideler

      The John Browning-designed Model 1895 and 1886 are once again available from Winchester, honoring a historic time in our history.

      OLYMPIC ARMS, INC.

      Olympic Arms continues to build top quality ARs in a wide variety of configurations. The usual 5.56mm, 6.8 SPC and .7.62x39 are available, as well as some pistol calibers. Unique to Olympic is the Model K8-MAG that is offered in .223, .243 and .25 WSSM. New for 2010 is a new cartridge developed by Olympic called the .300 Olympic Super Short Magnum (OSSM). This new hotrod produces ballistics exceeding those of the .30-06 out of a 22-inch barrel. Winchester .25 WSSM brass is easily necked-up to make the cases. Hornady makes the dies, Hodgdon will have load data available soon, and HSM supplies factory loaded ammo. Complete rifles, as well as uppers ready to go on your existing AR, are available. The complete rifle is called the “Gamestalker” and it’s a real looker with its camo finish, ACE skelton-buttstock and ERGO Sure Grip. It comes with no sights, but its fl attop design allows shooters to arrange it in any optics configuration that they see fit. The aluminum handguard is free-floated and the 22-inch stainless-steel barrel is of a lightweight hunting contour. Overall weight is a comfortable 7.5 lbs.

      ROSSI/TAURUS

      Possibly one of the most unique new rifles making its debut is the Rossi/Taurus Circuit Judge. [Editor’s note: The Circit Judge also pops up in our Shotguns section. –DMS] The rifle combines the design of the Taurus revolvers with that of a long gun. This shotgun/rifle crossover offers the ability to shoot .410 2-1/2- or 3-inch magnum shotshells or .45 Colt ammunition in any order or combination without the need of changing barrels. The Circuit Judge is available in either a smooth bore or a Rifled barrel version and comes with a blued finish, hardwood Monte Carlo style stock, single-action/double-action trigger, fiber-optic front sight, yoke detent, recoil pad, transfer bar and the Taurus Security System. The barrel measures 18.5 inches long, the overall firearm length is only 38 inches and total weight is only a mere 4.75 lbs. MSRP is $618.00.

      RUGER

      It wasn’t long after Ruger appeared on the firearm/shooting scene in 1949 that shooters throughout the world began to appreciate the quality of the products that this company produces. Over the six-plus decades that followed, Ruger has established a reputation as a very progressive company that seemingly has the inherent ability to supply exactly the type of firearms that shooters are looking for. And there is no better example of this than a couple of newly released rimfires.

      First there is the SR-2 that combines the visual features of an AR rifle with the fun and economy of shooting a .22 LR. The SR-22 uses a standard 10/22 action inside a top-quality, all-aluminum chassis that faithfully replicates the AR-platform dimensions between the sighting plane, buttstock height and the grip. It includes a Picatinny rail optic mount and a six-position telescoping M4-style buttstock on a mil-spec diameter tube, plus a Hogue Monogrip pistol grip. The round, mid-length handguard is mounted using a standard-thread AR-style barrel nut, which allows a vast array of rail-mounted sights and accessories to be used. The 15-1/8-inch barrel is precision-rifled and constructed of cold hammer forged alloy steel and comes capped with a SR-556/Mini-14 fl ash suppressor.

      The second new addition to Ruger’s rimfire rifles is the 10/22® VLEH Target Tactical rifle. This rifle offers many of the inherent features used in the Hawkeye® Tactical bolt-action rifle but in a semi-auto rimfire action. It builds on many of the features of the Ruger 10/22 Target Model, beginning with the same precision-rifled, cold hammer forged, spiral-finished barrel, but cut to the shorter length of 16-1/8 inches in order to reduce the weight and improve the handling. The .920-inch OD match-grade barrel is capped with a target crown to protect the rifling at the muzzle, and the barreled action is mounted in a non-slip, rugged Hogue OverMolded stock. The trigger of the 10/22® VLEH Target Tactical rifle is the same as used on the 10/22® Target Model and an adjustable bipod comes with each rifle. The Rifle, minus the bipod, weighs 6-7/8 lbs.

      SAKO

      For the economy-minded shooter, Sako has merged many of the desirable Sako features into their Model A7 bolt-action rifle, yet kept the price down. The A7 comes in wide variety of the most popular calibers ranging from .243 up to the .300 Win. Mag. It is available in either blued or stainless steel and includes such features as a cold hammer forged match-grade barrel, single stage adjustable trigger (adjustable from 2 to 4 lbs. pull), detachable magazine, two-position safety with separate bolt release button, Weaver-style scope bases and a lightweight synthetic stock. Depending on caliber, the weight ranges from 6-3/8 to 6-5/8 lbs. with barrel lengths from 22-7/16 to 24-3/8 inches. Each rifle is guarantee to place five shots into a 1-inch group at 100 yards. MSRP for the blued model is from $850 to $900 and the stainless model runs from $950 to $1,000.

      SAVAGE ARMS

      In the last decade Savage Arms has substantially improved both the quality of their products and expanded their firearms lines. The company’s newly developed AccuTrigger and AccuStock come stock on many of those products, and this has provided Savage with a signifi cant edge over their competition. This year the company followed up their very successful 2009 release of the radical