Guns Illustrated 2011. Dan Shideler
with yet another: the Model 110 BA. Chambered for .338 Lapua and .300 Win. Mag., this considerably extends the range of these great precision rifles. The BA modular platform is built around an aluminum stock that features Savage’s innovative three-dimensional bedding system. Buttstock and pistol grips are easily interchanged and a three-sided accessory rail adds versatility. The 110 BA features a five-round detachable magazine, high-efficiency muzzle brake and a Magpul PRS adjustable stock. MSRP is $2,267.
Another great addition at Savage is their new Model 111 Long-Range Hunter with a new chambering for 2010, the 6.5x284 Norma. The 6.5x284 Norma has been very successful in competition out to 1,000 yards and is a favorite of those who appreciate 26-calibers. The new Long-Range Hunter features a 26-inch fluted magnum sporter barrel, AccuTrigger, AccuStock with Karsten adjustable cheekpiece and a matte blued finish. MSRP is $934 to $972.
SMITH & WESSON
Smith & Wesson is best known for their high-quality handguns, but over the last few decades the company has very successfully moved into the rifle and shotgun market. Recently the company released a great new addition to their line of rifles, the .22LR-platform Model M&P 15-22, which mirrors the AR-style centerfire rifles. The M&P 15-22 comes with a 25-round detachable magazine and a six-position collapsible CAR stock that’s capable of collapsing to an overall length of 30.5 inches or extending to 33.75 inches. The match-grade precision barrel is 16 inches long with a 1:16 twist. The weight is a moderate 5.5 lbs. and the sights are an adjustable A2-style post in the front and an adjustable dual aperture in the rear. In addition, the M&P 15-22 comes with a functioning charging handle, quad rail handguard, threaded barrel with an A1-style compensator, and lightweight, high strength polymer upper and lower receivers. They come from Smith and Wesson with a lifetime service policy and carry an MSRP of $569.
THOMPSON/CENTER ARMS
In the recent years Thompson/Center Arms (nowa Smith & Wesson company) has become a major player in the area of sporting firearms. Answering the calls of predator hunters, in January 2010 the company added yet one more member to their Venture family of rifles, the T/C Venture Predator. At the core of the T/C Venture Predator is its 22-inch precision barrel with 5R “offset” rifling and target grade crown. T/C guarantees these rifles to have MOA accuracy. Just a few of the many inherent favorable features include a trigger with an adjustable pull from 3.5 to 5 lbs, a nitrate-coated bolt with a 60-degree lift, a roller-burnished receiver (which helps to provide quick follow-up shots), and a classic styled composite stock with inlaid traction grip panels. The T/C Venture Predator comes from the factory with a drilled and tapped receiver and ships complete with Weaver-style scope bases already installed. Currently the rifle is available in .204, .22-250, .223 and .308 and comes with a single stack 3+1 detachable nylon box magazine. The Venture Predator is entirely made in the U.S. and is backed by Thompson/Center’s lifetime warranty for a retail price from $549 to $599. Sounds like a helluva deal to us.
To be available in April of 2010 from T/C is the new .22LR HotShot Youth Rifle. Designed to mirror mom and dad’s T/C Pro-Hunter, the HotShot includes many features that are favorable to a youngster, like an easy to operate break-open system, a weight of only 3 lbs. (!) and an overall length of 30-1/4 inches. With the rifle’s single shot design and hammer block trigger, the HotShot will not fire until the hammer is cocked. It’s available in three colors (black composite, Realtree AP camouflage and pink AP camoufl age). The HotShot is made totally in the United States and is also backed by T/C’s lifetime warrantee at an anticipated retail price ranging from $229 to $249 (again: !).
WEATHERBY
Weatherby has long been a supporter of our youth and the company’s introduction of their new Vanguard® Youth Rifle further emphases that dedication of getting youngsters involved in shooting sports. The Vanguard Youth features a removable elongated spacer system that is adjustable to fit the shooter. Installing the spacers creates a longer length of the pull, allowing it be changed from 12-1/2 up to 13-5/8 inches. The rifle weighs only 6-1/2 lbs. and comes with a #1 contour 20-inch barrel. It’s equipped with a black synthetic stock, fully adjustable trigger, a cold hammer forged barrel and the proven Vanguard short action. It has an injection molded Monte Carol style stock and is currently only available in a right-hand version. Available calibers include .223 Remington, .22-250 Remington, .243 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington and the .308 Winchester. The Youth Vanguard Weatherby carries a MSRP of $529.00.
Ruger combines the AR platform with economy in their .22LR-chambered SR-22.
Olympic Arms’ Model K8-MAG is now offered in a new cartridge developed by Olympic, the .300 Olympic Super Short Magnum (OSSM).
The latest addition to Nosler’s line of fine Rifles is the Model 48 Trophy Grade Rifle (TGR).
A number of shooters appealed to Weatherby, requesting that the company produce a detachable magazine rifle. Weatherby responded with a couple of new offerings in their Vanguard line: the Synthetic DBM (stands for detachable box magazine) and the Sporter DBM. The magazines are made of a durable polymer, which helps to reduce the overall weight of the rifles. The magazines hold three rounds and come with a unique cartridge counter for easy reference in the field. Other features of the Synthetic DBM include a black injection-molded composite Monte Carlo stock, matte black metalwork and a low-density recoil pad. The Sporter DBM has a raised-comb Monte Carlo walnut stock with a satin urethane finish, a rosewood forend and low-luster, matte-blued metalwork. Both rifles weigh 7 lbs. and are available in .25-06 Remington, .270 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield and come with a 24-inch #2 contour barrel, but, again, only in a right hand. configuration
WINCHESTER REPEATING ARMS
Winchester has expanded its line of Rifles once again to include a couple of John Browning-designed models from our distant past: the Grade I Model 1895 and the extra light Model 1886. Both of these lever action models have deeply blued receivers and blued steel end caps and are equipped with straight buttplates. Both come with top tang safeties and adjustable buck-horn rear sights. The 1895 is available in .405 Winchester, .30-06 and .30-40 Krag, while the 1896 is available only in .45-70. The Grade I 1895 carries a MSRP of $1,179 and the Grade I 1896 is $1,269. Also new from Winchester is a takedown versison of the 16-inch-barrelled Model 1892 Trapper Carbine, a finely-machined little honey that’s expected to be vailable in short, short, short supply sometime this year.
THE UNLIKELIEST SLEEPER of them all BY DAN SHIDELER
Back around 1971, when I was just getting interested in guns and shooting, my older cousin Steve Shideler sent me a full-page ad he had clipped from the pages of Guns &Ammos magazine. In the margin of the ad he had penned a brief editorial comment: “HA HA HA!”
The ad showed two guns, the ugliest things I had ever seen. They looked like some sort of over-and-under rimfire Rifle, but there wasn’t a splinter of wood anywhere on them. Their stocks were made of wire. They apparently had two triggers. And they were headlined “Bronco. No nonsense, hard-working guns without the frills. ”
Ah, yes, the Garcia Bronco! At the time, I dismissed the Bronco as just another one of those nutty phenomena that appeared with distressing regularity in those days, like Tiny Tim or George McGovern. Time heals all wounds, however, and today the ugly-duckling Bronco is a prime collectible. Don’t believe me? Just try to find one!
The weird little gun best known as the Garcia Bronco appeared in a number of incarnations in the late 1960s and early to mid-1970s. To begin with, the name “Bronco” wasn’t even unique to the skeleton-stock rifle. Garcia - a major sporting goods distributor - used the name “Bronco” pretty willynilly. In fact, if you wanted to spend a day in the Great Outdoors, you could outfit your Garcia Bronco spinning rod with a Garcia Bronco open-face reel. For good measure you could carry your Garcia Bronco recurve bow and strap on your Garcia Bronco quiver. And if squirrel season was in, you’d better take along