February 10, 2012
After determining there would be little in the way of actual survival skills portrayed and absolutely no cannibalism on “Survivor,” I had little interest in reality television. But while I am still unlikely to voluntarily watch the “Real Housewives of Anywhere,” and could not give a whit about Snooky’s angst or what a Kardasian does or does not wear, I have changed my mind. And that’s because reality television has changed to include things that interest me and those like me.
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February 01, 2012
Two trends were apparent in the new firearm models at the recent 2012 Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show: One was increased interest in .22 Long Rifle chambered guns reflected by a host of new variants; the other was a renewed surge of small (or smallish) guns that can be concealed on one’s person (not a new concept, obviously). I have addressed the former and it is now time to look at what some of the handguns covered elsewhere in the 2012 SHOT Blog really mean.
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January 02, 2012
This year, 2012, promises to be the year of the .22. Why? Because $20 for 550 rounds of .22 Long Rifle is much better than $20 for 20 rounds of something else if you are just shooting for fun. When I referred to “affordable” in my recent post about the Ruger LCR in .22 Long Rifle, I was referring more to the ammunition cost than the gun itself. But the next Ruger handgun I just received (literally, I have only checked the serial number to log it in) retails for less than the LCR .22 and is still chambered in .22 Long Rifle. It is the Ruger SR22, and it is on the way to your dealer now.
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January 02, 2012
“Pretty bold to call your rifle the American, Mike,” I told Ruger President and CEO Mike Fifer. He just grinned at me. Product Manager Mark Gurney and the engineers at Ruger’s Newport, N.H. factory, had given me a full briefing on the design, features and construction of the company’s latest model. Finally I am able to talk about the newest all-American-made bolt-action rifle. In case you haven’t put the puzzle pieces together, it is called the Ruger American Rifle, and it reflects the growing trend toward the economical bolt-action hunting rifles that are dominating the firearm industry. Ironically, it started in 1963 with the Savage Model 110, and has been dog piled on by Remington, Marlin and others. Last year, the hottest selling rifle in this class was the Savage Axis.
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December 20, 2011
My blog on the Ruger Lightweight Carry Revolver (LCR) chambered for .22 Long Rifle has brought up a groundswell of requests for the gun to be chambered in .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (WMR), better known as .22 Mag. It looks to be especially attractive with the introduction of new loads, such as Hornady’s Critical Defense with a .45-grain FTX bullet, which according to factory data leaves a short 1 7/8-inch barrel at 1,000 fps, delivering a muzzle energy of 100 ft.-lbs. So why can’t you buy a .22 WMR LCR right now? The .22 Long Rifle seems to work fine, why not the .22 WMR?
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December 16, 2011
The “From The Editor” I wrote for the February issue (if you missed it don’t worry; it won’t be in your mailbox until mid-January) was based on two trends I have seen developing for 2012: Manufacturing guns to be affordable and the introduction of a host of new .22 Long Rifle rifles and handguns that are actually affordable to shoot.
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October 25, 2011
Alright, I need all of you to take out your red pen and cross out the “0” in the cover line “Taurus 990: 2 guns in 1” on the this month’s American Rifleman cover and write in a “2” (as illustrated below). This seems like a better solution than trying to get each and every of the 1.7 million issues of the magazine back out of your mailboxes and attempting to fix them all myself.
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October 25, 2011
If ever you are at an NRA National Defense Tactical Rifle Match and they ask if you want to shoot, say yes. I didn’t and I regret it. I decided that taking video and photos at the first one was more important. Bad decision. The new NDM was created by NRA’s Competitive Shooting Division, and they found the right guy for the job, former Navy SEAL Trey Tuggle. The match is a speed and accuracy event designed to test a shooter’s ability to perform drills that relate to real world defensive-shooting scenarios—and best of all, it is fun. Think of it like NRA Action pistol, but using a rifle, and the targets are fired from 7 to 500 yards in three classes. You shoot prone, kneeling or standing. You have to shoot from a barricade and—horrors—you have to shoot from your weak side, too. I was fortunate to be at Camp Perry, Ohio, on August 14 and 15 for the first National Defense Tactical Rifle Match. While limited to just a rifle match at this point, this is NRA’s first match that is similar to the exciting 3-gun gaining so much attention around the country.
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October 18, 2011
“Joe needs you to write up a rifle. It will be here Tuesday,” read the somewhat-cryptic message across the screen of my Blackberry. Executive Director of NRA Publications Joe Graham doesn’t usually make such assignments so my curiosity, as well as my attention, was up; he is my boss, after all.
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