|
|
November 3rd, 2011
With larger-caliber rifles, manual bore-sighting (with your eyeballs) is not that difficult. Just remove the bolt, and look through the bore at the target. It helps to have a well-illuminated, high-contrast circle target about 8″ to 12″ in diameter. When you’ve got the target centered, then stabilize your gun on the rest so it doesn’t move from that position. Because bore-sighting the old-fashioned way is not that difficult with larger calibers, we’re not sure laser bore-sighters and other gadgets are really needed.
 However, with smaller calibers (.17, .204, .223), manual bore-sighting is not so easy. Much less light makes its way down the smaller-diameter bore, and it’s more difficult to find the target on the background. That’s why we welcome two new products from Sightmark. This Texas-based company has developed in-chamber laser boresights for 17 HMR and .22LR rimfire guns. The tiny boresights are correctly dimensioned so they fit in rimfire chambers just like normal 17 HMR or .22LR cartridges. With the boresight in place, simply flick a switch on the battery pack and the laser dot shows exactly where the rifle is aimed. The dot is roughly 2″ in diameter at 100 yards.
Sightmark rimfire boresights are made from brass, so they are gentle on your chambers. The separate battery pack holds two (2) AAA batteries, which will power the laser for about 30 hours. We like the fact that the battery pack is separate. That makes it easier to swap in new batteries, AND, importantly, the battery pack makes it obvious when the boresight is in use. That lessens the chance that someone could mistakenly try to chamber a live round with the boresight in place.
Sightmark Rimfire Boresights Developed After Extensive Comparison Testing
“We tested every competitor’s chamber boresight for the 17 HMR and .22LR currently on the market and found that they did not work well, so we decided to create one that would,” said James Sellers, president of Sightmark. “Our Sightmark 17 HMR and .22LR boresights are as accurate as our other award-winning chamber boresights, so there’s no guessing if you’re on target”. Sightmark 17 HMR and .22LR Rimfire boresights retail for $47.99 and can be ordered directly from the Sightmark Online Catalog.
January 29th, 2011
While our SHOT Show coverage concentrated mainly on rifles and rifle accessories, we did find two notable handgun offerings from Sig Sauer: 1) a new .22LR version of the 1911; and, 2) a re-introduction of the classic Sig P210, with some enhancements. There are a handful of 22-cal 1911s on the market. Some, like the Chiappa, leave much to be desired, both in functionality and build quality. By contrast, the new Sig Sauer 1911-22 looks and handles like a high-grade .45acp 1911. CLICK for More Photos.
The grip safety and ambidextrous frame safeties work just like those on a well-built centerfire 1911. The frame ergonomics and grips are identical to the classic 1911 design. The sights are good, and most importantly, the single-action trigger is light and crisp — just as you’d expect on a good, tuned 1911. We were very impressed with the gun, especially after noting the MSRP is just $399.00. We should add, however, that Germany’s GSG also makes a similar 1911-22 that costs less. You can buy a GSG 1911-22 for about $350.00 at larger gun dealers. The Sig Sauer 1911-22 we tried had nicer grips and a lighter trigger pull than the GSGs we’ve sampled.
Sig 1911-22 Photos courtesy Osage County Guns and SigSauerGuns.com.
Sig Sauer Re-Releases P210 “Legend”
Prominently displayed at Sig Sauer booth was the Sig P210 “Legend”, an updated version of the classic Sig P210. The new version has been released with an American-style mag release at the rear of the trigger guard, and some subtle modifications. The original Sig P210 is a genuine classic, perhaps the most accurate 9mm duty pistol ever created. Because of the high quality of its construction and careful hand-fitting, the P210 has never been cheap. The latest “Legend” version will be priced about $2,200.00 in the USA.
The new P210 “Legend” continues to offer superb accuracy, with some enhancements for target shooters. As expected, the P210 Legend’s trigger pull was sweet indeed — light, crisp, with no creep. Let me put it this way — the Legend’s trigger is smoother and lighter than what you’ll get on most custom 1911s. The optional, new rear target sight has a 3-position slider that adjusts the zero for three different target distances. That’s a smart feature we’d like to see on other target pistols.
In the video below we show the Sig Sauer 1911-22 and Sig P210 “Legend”. The Video starts off with a visit to the Smith and Wesson booth.
September 26th, 2010
 Here’s a product that should interest varminters and Service Rifle shooters. Mossberg has just introduced its new Tactical .22 auto-loading rimfire rifle. With a $276 MSRP, the Mossberg Tactical .22 provides the look and feel of an AR-style rifle with an affordable price. This gun, officially sold by Mossberg Int’l, promises to be a fun plinker that can also work for very close-range varmint hunting on small prey.
Service Rifle shooters looking for an inexpensive trainer will find that the Mossberg Tactical .22 shares most of the ergonomics of their centerfire AR-15 match rifles. With the rising costs of centerfire ammunition, Mossberg’s new Tactical .22 rimfire can provide a cost-effective training platform.
 Model 702 Action in AR-Style Chassis
The lightweight Mossberg Tactical .22 is based on Mossberg’s proven model 702 rimfire autoloader. Mossberg adapted the Model 702 action to an AR-style chassis with an 18″ barrel and a quad-rail fore-end. (We would rather see standard AR-style handguards, but this does allow a varminter to mount lights or other accessories on the forearm.) The Mossberg Tactical .22 will be offered with two stock configurations — a fixed stock with 13″ LOP, or a 6-position stock that can adjust length of pull from 10-3/4″ – 14.5″. The adjustable stock may be good for young kids, but otherwise we recommend the fixed stock. The Tactical .22 comes with an A2-style carry handle and an adjustable rear peep/front blade iron sights. On top of the carry handle is a Picatinny rail for mounting optics. Groan — that’s the wrong position for a scope, because you can’t maintain a cheek weld, but the rail is better than nothing if you need to mount a red dot or other sighting system. A 10-rd magazine is standard.
June 19th, 2010
 CDNN Investments has updated its online catalog, and now you can access the catalog with one click from your browser. (Previously you would have to download a huge PDF file). As usual the CDNN catalog is full of exceptional deals. Multi-Gun competitors may be interested in the ultra-reliable Sig Sauer 556 Carbines. For a limited time, if you purchase a Sig 556 in .223 Rem, you get a FREE Sig Sauer 522 rifle. The 522 is a semi-auto .22LR rimfire rifle with ergonomics virtually identical to the centerfire 556. This allows you to train for matches with inexpensive rimfire ammo. If you’ve always coveted a Sig Carbine, this is a great offer.
CDNN’s current catalog contains thousands of bargains in its 124 pages. In addition to handguns, rifles, and shotguns at bargain-basement prices, you’ll find a full range of shooting accessories. Some of the intriguing deals we found are listed below. The Sig p232 is a superb .380 acp carry gun — probably the most reliable .380 you can buy. This all-metal gun is a good deal heavier than “pocket” .380s, but it is durable and very accurate. As the owner of a Sig p230, the predecessor to the p232, I can tell you that these guns are crafted with typical Sig quality, and the p23X series of pistols hold their value very well.
CDNN is also selling Bore-Snakes for just $8.99, and it is selling Birchwood Casey target stickers at ultra-low prices. Choose from fluorescent orange stickers, or the Shoot-N-C variety that leave a bright yellow ring around each bullet hole. We really like the orange stickers for testing at longer ranges. The 2″ sticker is great at 300 yards, while the 3″ sticker is big enough for 600 yards. The orange circle is easy to pick up on a target board, and the black diamond in the middle of the 3″ sticker is visible at 600 yards with a high-magnification scope. This allows very precise aiming at 600.
May 7th, 2010
One of the most popular events at the Camp Perry National Matches is the Rimfire Sporter Competition. This fun, affordable, family-oriented event allows competitors of all ages to shoot inexpensive factory rimfire rifles. And the ammo is even free — thanks to Lapua. There are classes for both youths and adults, and open sighted rifles (O-Class) as well as scoped rifles (T-Class). New this year is a third class for Tactical Rimfire rifles. CLICK HERE for National Rimfire Sporter Match Official Program.
Each year Camp Perry’s Rimfire Sporter Match attracts hundreds of competitors, from grade schoolers to grand-dads. It’s not unusual to see three generations of family members participating. Registration for the 2010 National Rimfire Sporter Championship is now open. To register, simply fill out the CMP Online Registration Form. Entry in CMP Rimfire Sporter matches is open to all persons, male or female, any age, regardless of previous competition experience. For Juniors (born after 1990), entries are FREE, while adult entries cost $25.00 for one rifle class or $35.00 for two classes.
Hundreds of Rimfire Sporter Competitors Expected at Camp Perry
The Ninth Annual National Rimfire Sporter Match is expected to expand again in 2010 after eight consecutive years of increased participation. In 2009, 333 individual competitors made 421 event entries. This year the range will feature a full 125 covered firing points that can accommodate 500 event entries in four relays. If there are more than 500 entries, a fifth relay will be added.
 New Tactical Rimfire Class
Now that several companies are manufacturing tactical .22LR rimfire rifles (both bolt-action and semi-auto), the CMP will include a new “Tactical Rimfire” class in the 2010 National Rimfire Sporter Championship program. Also new in 2010, if sufficient range capacity is available, competitors may be allowed to make a third event entry at the match. This would allow a shooter to compete in the new Tactical Class, as well as in both O-Class and T-Class (“T” for telescopic sights).
New Youth-Adult Partner Match
The 2010 National Rimfire Sporter Match will feature a new Youth-Adult Partner Match which combines an adult or older junior with a younger junior in a two-person team event. This will be a fun match to encourage multi-generation family participation and to get more adult shooters to mentor new and younger shooters. The CMP is considering special rules for this match that will give bonus points to teams that have both male and female members as well as to teams that have greater age differences between the two team members .
Lapua Provides Ammo to Competitors; Savage Awards Rifles
Lapua, a world-renowned ammunition manufacturer with plants in Finland and Germany, is once again the official ammunition supplier for the match and will provide 100 rounds of rimfire ammo for each competitor. Savage Arms is also sponsoring the Rimfire Sporter Match. Savage will present a Mark I or Mark II FVT rifle to the top O-Class and T-Class Juniors.
|
