Guns Illustrated 2011. Dan Shideler
a boat or truck, but is there just in case you need it.
REMINGTON
Remington continues to add models to its Model 887 Nitro Mag with three new pumps.
The Nitro Mag Bone Collector Edition has a 26-inch barrel with a HiViz fiber optic front sight and is emblazoned with that TV show’s whitetail skull logo. The gun has a 12-gauge 3½-inch chamber and its pump action insures it will cycle every type of shot and slug load.
The 887 Nitro Mag Combo is made for waterfowl and turkeys. A 22-inch barrel for turkeys has HiViz fiber-optic Rifle sights and a Super Full Turkey Rem Choke tube. The 28-inch waterfowl barrel has a front HiViz fiber optic sight and an Extended Waterfowl choke tube.
The forearm on the Ithaca Model 37 Ultralight with Ladies Stock is just big enough for the hand to hold and keep the fingers away the barrel.
The Model 887 Nitro Mag Tactical has an 18-1/2-inch barrel with a clamped on rail for mounting a flashlight or other accessories. A tube extension increases magazine capacity to six rounds. At the muzzle are a HiViz fiber optic sight and an extended, ported tactical Rem choke. Sling swivel studs are built-in the stock and on the forearm.
The 870 Express Super Magnum Turkey/Waterfowl is covered with Mossy Oak Bottomland camo. Its 26-inch barrel is chambered for 3-1/2-inch shells and has includes Wingmaster HD Waterfowl and Turkey Extra Full Rem choke tubes. A HiViz fi ber optic front sight and receiver drilled and tapped for an optic sight tops it off.
The 870 SPS Super Magnum Turkey/ Predator is mounted with a TruGlo 30mm Red/Green Dot Scope. The ambidextrous ShurShot vertical grip stock has soft molded-in panels for a sure hold and its 20-inch barrel has a Wingmaster HD Turkey/Predator Rem choke tube.
A black padded sling and Wingmaster HD™ Turkey/Predator Rem Choke are included.
The Tactical A-Tacs Camo dresses the Model 870 Express Tactical A-Tacs. The Tactical has an 18-1/2-inch barrel with an extended, ported Tactical Rem choke. The SpeedFeed IV pistol grip stock provides a firm grip and a SuperCell recoil pad dampens recoil. A fully adjustable XS Ghost Ring Sight is mounted on a Picatinny rail on the receiver rail with white bead front sight. The gun holds seven rounds of 2-3/4-inch shells with the two-shot magazine extension.
The Model 11-87 has been banging away in the duck swamps and pheasant fi elds for decades. This year the 11-87 returns to its roots with the Sportsman Field wearing a satin-finished walnut stock and forearm with cut checkering. A nickel-plated bolt and gold-plated trigger accent the satin blue barrel and receiver. The 12-gauge model has a 28-inch barrel with a ventilated rib and modifi ed choke tube. The 20-gauge has a 26-inch barrel.
In Remington-speak, the word “Super” means a 12-gauge 3-1/2-inch gun. Remington has several new Super 11-87s. The 11-87 Sportsman ShurShot Super Magnum Turkey has a ShurShot pistol-grip stock and is covered with Realtree APG HD camo. Its 23-inch barrel has fully adjustable TruGlo rifle sights and a Wingmaster Turkey choke tube. The 11-87 Sportsman Super Magnum comes with HiViz front fi ber optic sight with interchangeable light pipes on its 28-inch barrel. The 11-87 Sportsman Super Magnum Waterfowl includes an Adjustable Length of Pull Kit to vary pull one inch. It also has a HiViz front fi ber optic sight with interchangeable light pipes on its 28-inch barrel. All 11-87 Supers now have rubber overmolded grip panels on the stock and forearm, SuperCell recoil pad and a black padded sling.
ROSSI
Rossi’s sister company, Taurus, has been backordered on its Judge .410/.45 Colt revolver ever since it was introduced several years ago. Rossi has run with the Judge and made a long gun out of it and called it the Circuit Judge. The revolving cylinder gun is available with an 18-1/2-inch smoothbore or a Rifled barrel and weighs 4-3/4-pounds. The Circuit Judge has a blued finish and a hardwood stock with a Monte Carlo comb. A fi ber optic front sight, recoil pad and transfer bar safety system finishes it.
TIMNEY TRIGGERS
The 870 Trigger Fix lightens the pull and removes the creep from the trigger on Remington 870 pumps. The Trigger Fix comes with a sear, light, medium, or heavy pull weight springs and a hex head wrench. I put in the new sear and a spring in my 870 in about fi fteen minutes. I drifted out the two pins that hold the trigger assembly in the 870 and then the pin that holds the sear in place. Then I slipped in the new sear with the light spring and tapped the sear pin back in place. The original sear and spring in the trigger produced a pull with a lot of mush and a four pound pull. The new sear and spring reduced the pull to two pounds and removed all the creep. A few turns in of the adjustment screw increased the pull weight to 2-1/2 pounds, just right.
WEATHERBY
The Synthetic Youth 20 gauge semiauto weighs 5-3/4 pounds and has a 12-1/2 inch length of pull and a 24-inch barrel. That light weight is the result of an aluminum receiver and a synthetic stock and forearm. The barrel bore is chrome lined and comes with improved cylinder, modifi ed and full choke tubes.
The PA-08 Synthetic pump shotgun has a black injection-molded stock and metal with matte black finish. Like its partner the Upland, with walnut stock and forearm, the Synthetic is a 12 gauge with a 3-inch chamber and a 26 or 28-inch barrel and a weight of 6-1/2 pounds. Improved cylinder, modifi ed and full choke tubes are supplied.
The PA459 pump is a home defense shotgun. Its vertical rubber grip buttstock makes it quick to point and shoot. Its forearm incorporates a rail to clamp on accessories such as fl ashlight. A second rail is screwed on the receiver and is mounted with a ghost ring sight adjustable for windage and elevation. The blade front sight has a fiber optic pin. The 19-inch barrel is chrome lined and fitted with an extended and ported cylinder choke tube.
WINCHESTER
Winchester has several new variations of its Super X3 autoloader for big game and bird hunting and target shooting. The Super X3 All-Purpose Field 12-gauge has a 3-1/2-inch chamber. Its gas-operated Active Valve System cycles target to magnum shells in combination with full, modifi ed and improved cylinder choke tubes in 26- or 28-inch barrels. Its stock is adjustable with two length of pull spacers and drop and cast adjustment shims, which are included. Mossy Oak Break-Up Infi nity camo, with Dura-Touch Armor Coating, covers the entire gun. The Super X3 Compact Field 12- and 20-gauge models have 26 or 28-inch barrels with a 13-inch length of pull on the stock. A supplied spacer increases that length to 13-1/4-inches. Cast and drop shims are also included. The gun’s chamber and bore are chrome-plated and the bolt, slide and carrier are nickel-plated. An Infl ex Technology recoil pad helps dampen recoil.
The Super X3 Rifled Deer Cantilever has a 22-inch rifled barrel and is covered in Mossy Oak Breakup Infi nity on the metal and composite stock.
The Super X3 Sporting Adjustable has a walnut stock with an adjustable comb. The Sporting 12-gauge has a 2-3/4-inch chamber, ambidextrous safety and Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad. Five choke tubes are included.
The Super X3 Walnut Field 20-gauge weighs 6-1/2 pounds with a 28-inch barrel. The 12-gauge model weighs only 7 pounds. That light weight is the result of an aluminum receiver and magazine tuber and slender barrel with a trim forearm. A Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad is installed and two stock spacers can lengthen pull.
THE VOLUNTEER ARMS/COMMANDO MARK 45 CARBINE BY DAN SHIDELER
That’s no Thompson! It’s the Mark 45 Carbine by Volunteer Arms.
I’ve always had a thing for Thompson submachineguns. It’s one of the few truly iconic firearms in the world, one that you can immediately identify only by its silhouette. Alas, I have a phobia of governmental red tape, so I don’t care to own a genuine Thompson. But a semi-auto Thompson clone? That’s more like it!
My latest acquisition along these lines is a Volunteer Enterprises Mark 45 carbine, and though it’s certainly no Thompson, it does go a long way toward scratching an itch that goes back almost 40 years. Back in the days when dinosaurs ruled the earth and I was a kid, every year I eagerly awaited