Gun Digest January 2020

Ican’t tell you how often I hear a frequent shooter say, “Man, I haven’t picked up my .22 since I was a kid.” Now, the fact that millions of .22 LR rounds get sent downrange annually proves that not all rimfires get pushed to the bowels of the gun safe as a shooter matures. However, it’s common enough to be a peculiar statement. Am I missing something? Is the ittybitty .22 LR considered a “youth” round in some circles? I, too, often gravitate toward the 9mm for handgun work with my CCW gun or a .223 Rem. long gun when the situation requires … but I estimate that working with a .22 LR of some format still comprises at least 40 percent of my range time. Why? It’s inexpensive, and trigger time is…

HISTORICAL NOTES The 5mm Remington Rimfire Magnum (5mm RFM) was announced in 1969 but wasn’t actually introduced until 1970. Only the Remington bolt-action Model 591 clip-loading and Model 592 tubular magazine repeating rifles were available for the round. It was not adopted by other ammunition manufacturers. For a while, Thompson/Center furnished barrels in 5mm Remington for the Contender pistol. At the time, this round used the only modern bottlenecked rimfire case. However, many of the obsolete black-powder rimfires were necked, so it wasn’t an entirely new development. Bullet diameter is .2045 inch. It weighs 38 grains and has a muzzle velocity of 2,100 fps. This round developed the highest velocity of any rimfire at the time (newer, 30-grain .22 WMR loads offer greater muzzle velocity). Conversion kits have been offered every so…

Top 17 6.5 Creedmoor Rifles Mr. Shelton, the 6.5 Creedmoor rifles mentioned in your article are worthy of the ink and paper (or bits and bytes), but your omission of the Remington 6.5 700 PCR, as well as others, has left the overview incomplete. The Remington has much to offer your readers: quality, a proven track record, comfort, accuracy and a good price point. This was an oversight on your part, and you did state, “ ... some of the best rifles to get the Creed-moor to go the distance ... .” Perhaps this should have been a two-part overview. Cigam Zoe/online comment I couldn’t agree with you more: There are some top-notch rifles that didn’t appear on the list. Alas, omission is the clear and present danger of any finite endeavor, particularly…

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If you study actual shootings, you’ll soon see a trend. It’s very common for someone—a cop or civilian—to point their handgun at the bad guy and start pulling the trigger. It seems that this dumping of available ammunition is not a conditioned response; it’s a reflexive one. From a training standpoint, it’s easier to train to a reflexive response than it is to create a new, conditioned response. This is how the Forty-Five Drill came about. It’s an evaluation exercise that establishes your ability to do what you are, in fact, very likely to do if you’re actually attacked. THE DRILL This drill involves drawing a handgun from concealment and engaging a 5-inch circle at a distance of 5 yards with five shots in fewer than five seconds. I gave it the “Forty-Five…

As a gun writer, I have to chronograph constantly. And, as a long-time shooter, reloader and competitor, every chrono I’ve ever owned, I’ve shot. Every. Single. One. Until Labradar. The difference is that the Labradar (also known as “Big Orange”) uses radar, not skyscreens. With multiple settings, there are several ways you can use it, but I find the simplest is triggered radar. That means the vibrations—on the casing—of the sound of the shot trigger the radar pulse that then reads the bullet. When I was using skyscreens, life could be tough. My gun club ranges are down in pits, with the berms on all sides 20 to 60 feet high and with trees on top. In the winter, I had enough light to chrono—more or less—from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. With…