NEW RIFLES! - Rifle Magazine 228 Partial (LO) 2.pdf · NEW RIFLES! • Remington 799 ... quality of wood is good, making it an attractive package. On the downside, ... RIFLE BARRELS

November 2006 No. 228

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NEW RIFLES!• Remington 799

Mini-Mauser• New England Firearms

Handi-Rifle• NULA Models 20 & 24• Ruger Magnum Rifle• Savage Model 12

NEW RIFLES!• Remington 799

Mini-Mauser• New England Firearms

Handi-Rifle• NULA Models 20 & 24• Ruger Magnum Rifle• Savage Model 12

Classic Leverguns:Winchester’s .38 Calibers

Classic Leverguns:Winchester’s .38 Calibers

HOW TO:Free

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HOW TO:Free

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Rifle 228

Sportiting FiFirearearms JoururnalalRIF

LEFLE

November-December 2006Volume 38, Number 6

ISSN 0162-3593Issue No. 228

www.riflemagazine.com4

46 Winchester’s.38-CaliberLevergunsMidrange Power forMidsize Big GameMike Venturino

56 New EnglandFirearmsHandi-RifleLightweight,Compact withNatural BalanceBrian Pearce

64 New UltraLight ArmsBack in ActionJohn Barsness

Background Photo: © 2006 Gary Leppart

8 CatalogCustom RifleSpotting Scope -Dave Scovill

12 HenryRepeating ArmsMostly Long Guns -Brian Pearce

16 Prices Go Down!Optics -John Barsness

18 Hunters andTarget ShootersDown Range -Mike Venturino

22 Confusing ModelsStraight Talk -Ron Spomer

24 Free Floatinga BarrelLight Gunsmithing -

28 Bullets, Primersand TubularMagazine SafetyBusting the MythR.W. Ballou

Page 16. . .

Page 28. . .

Page 38. . .

38 Ruger’s MagnumRifleBeefed-Up Big Borefor Big GameStan Trzoniec

On the cover . . .The Ruger .375 H&H Magnum Model 77MKII features a Circassian walnut stockand is topped off with a Leupold 30mm1.5-6x 42mm scope mounted in Rugerrings. Rifle photo by Stan Trzoniec.Elk photo by Mike Barlow.

74 RemingtonModel 799Mini-MauserSerbian ImportJohn Haviland

80 SavageModel 12Long RangePrecisionVarminterRees findsa keeper!Clair Rees

94 What’s New inthe MarketplaceInside Product News -Clair Rees

12 Product Tests

22 N.L. Heineke, Inc. -Custom GunsmithCustom Corner -Stan Trzoniec

26 Approximatingthe .30-06Rifles &Woodsmoke -John Barsness

Issue No. 228 November-December 2006

Sportiting FiFirearearms Joururnalal

Publisher/President – Mark Harris

Associate Publisher – Don Polacek

Editor in Chief – Dave Scovill

Managing Editor – Roberta Montgomery

Art Director – Gerald Hudson

Production Director – Becky Pinkley

Contributing Editors

Associate Editor – Al Miller

Advertising

Don Polacek: [email protected]

Stefanie Ramsey: [email protected]

Tom Bowman: [email protected]

Advertising Information: 1-800-899-7810

Circulation

Circulation Manager – Michele Morgan

[email protected]

Subscription Information: 1-800-899-7810

www.riflemagazine.com

Rifle® (ISSN 0162-3583) is published bimonthly byMark Harris Publishing Associates, Inc., dba WolfePublishing Company (Mark Harris, President), 2625Stearman Rd., Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona 86301. (Alsopublisher of Handloader® magazine.) Telephone (928)445-7810. Periodical Postage paid at Prescott, Arizona,and additional mailing offices. Subscription prices:U.S. possessions – single issue, $4.99; 6 issues, $19.97;12 issues, $36; 18 issues, $48. Foreign and Canada –single issue, $5.99; 6 issues $26; 12 issues, $48; 18issues, $69. Please allow 6-8 weeks for first issue.Advertising rates furnished on request. All rightsreserved.

Change of address: Please give six weeks notice. Send both the old and new address, plus mailing labelif possible, to Circulation Dept., Rifle® Magazine,2625 Stearman Rd., Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona 86301. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Rifle®, 2625Stearman Rd., Ste. A, Prescott, Arizona 86301.

Wolfe PublishingCompany

2625 Stearman Rd.Suite A

Prescott, AZ 86301Tel: (928) 445-7810 Fax: (928) 778-5124© Mark Harris Publishing Associates, Inc.

John Barsness

Brian Pearce

Clair Rees

Gil Sengel

Ron Spomer

Stan Trzoniec

Mike Venturino

Ken Waters

Publisher of Rifle® is not responsible for mishaps of any nature which might occur from use of published loadingdata or from recommendations by any member of The Staff. No part of this publication may be reproduced withoutwritten permission from the publisher Publisher assumes all North American Rights upon acceptance and paymentfor all manuscripts. Although all possible care is exercised, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for lost ormutilated manuscripts.

Rifle 228www.riflemagazine.com6

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Background Photo: © 2006 Gary Leppart

Page 122. . .

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Page 80. . .

12 Rifle 228www.riflemagazine.com

It seems that more and more

goods are being manufac-tured overseas, which has alsoimpacted the firearms industry.In spite of this trend, there is arelatively new rifle company of-fering a 100 percent USA manu-factured lever-action .22 LongRifle (LR) with a “real world”price of around $200. Let’s see ifit’s worthy.

You might recall the IthacaModel 72 Saddlegun, a German-made rifle that was imported dur-ing the mid-1970s and known forits smooth action, accuracy andmodest price tag. Eventually, itwas marketed under the Ermaname (the German company thatwas actually building it), where itremained until the 1990s whenproduction issues forced its de-mise.

Henry Repeating Arms Com-pany obtained the tooling andbegan producing more or less theidentical rifle in 1997, but 100percent manufactured in Brook-lyn, New York. The rifle was sim-ply known as the Henry LeverAction. Since its debut, the Henryhas expanded into a variety ofstyles and calibers ranging from.17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire to.44 Magnum.

For the purposes of this col-umn, I obtained a Henry, the nofrills and most popular version,and a higher-grade Henry GoldenBoy, both chambered in .22 LR.

The Henry features an 18.25-inch round barrel, full-lengthmagazine tube (15-round capac-ity) and American walnut stock.It offers side ejection, and the ex-ternal hammer functions in thetraditional levergun fashion withthree positions and is (thank-fully) void of extra safety gadg-ets. The receiver is constructed

of die-cast alloy and is groovedfor scope mounting. The barrel,magazine tube, lever, bolt andworking parts are all from ma-chined steel. The rifle tips thescales at 5.5 pounds, empty. Con-sidering its “entry level” pricetag, the overall fit, finish andquality of wood is good, makingit an attractive package.

On the downside, the barrelbands and front sight are made ofblack plastic, which is my biggestbeef, as they could have beenmachined from steel for only a

few dollars more – a price, Iwould bet, most consumerswould be happy to pay. (A phonecall to Henry Repeating Armsconfirms that it offers a steelfront sight for $10. They alsooffer a “Frontier” model featuringan octagonal barrel, steel barrelbands with front and rear sightsfrom the old gun sight companyMarbles.)

After initial examination, theHenry was checked for function,where it turned in a good record.It has digested to date (withthe help of my sons) somethingaround 4,000 to 5,000 rounds ofbulk-packed loads from Reming-ton, Winchester and Federal.What impressed me most washow it functioned reliably evenwhen extremely dirty, and justlike its predecessors, the actionworks smoothly.

The Henry also did well in theaccuracy department. The barrelis button rifled, and the factoryguarantees one-inch groups at 50yards. (As a side note, the .22WMR models are guaranteed for1.5 inches at 100 yards, the .17HMR 1.25 inches and the .44 Mag-num 2.75 inches at the same dis-tance.) I temporarily mounted aWeaver 2.5-7x Rimfire scope tohelp determine its full potential.(This is an excellent scope with areasonable price.) The rifle wastried from a sandbag rest (as itcame from the box without anymodification) with a variety ofloads from CCI, Remington, Win-chester and Federal and provedcapable of .625- to 1.25-inch,four-shot groups. Federal’s Amer-ican Eagle, a 38-grain copper-plated, high-speed hollowpoint,managed to regularly cluster fourshots into .75 inch and some-times even tighter. Winchester’s40-grain Power-Point (also a

HENRY REPEATING

ARMS

HENRY REPEATING

ARMS

MO

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LO

NG

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UN

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SBrian Pearce

The Henry Golden Boy .22 (left)and standard Henry .22 havesold well since their introductionin 1997.

Henry Repeating Arms Com-pany offers a lifetime warrantyon all products and has earneda good reputation for top-notchcustomer service. A few calls todepartment stores indicated thestandard Henry can be pur-chased for around $199. This iscurrently the only .22 levergunin this price range, and ratherthan starting a young shooter onan autoloader, or for those on atight budget, the Henry is a goodoption.

Rifle 228

high-speed hollowpoint) turnedin virtually the same perform-ance.

The Henry Golden Boy is amore deluxe version sporting ahigher figure walnut stock, a20-inch octagonal barrel, a brass-colored receiver and buttplate,steel sights (gold bead front andsemi-buckhorn rear), all of whichadds almost $150 to its price. Theweight is also up, as it tips thescales at 6.75 pounds. The basicaction design remains the sameas the standard Henry, but thestock has considerably greaterdrop. I can only assume this ver-sion is intended to somewhat re-semble the original Model 1860Henry rifle. Personally I did notcare for the extra drop in the

stock, as it requires lifting thecheek off the stock to see thesights. As an observation, mysons – ages 11, 13 and 15 – wereallowed to shoot and hunt pestsand small game with each of theabove rifles at their leisure overthe past several months. In eachinstance they preferred the stan-dard Henry to the Golden Boy,which I believe was largely dueto the stock configurations.

14 www.riflemagazine.com

The Federal American Eagle .22LR, a .38-grain Hi-Speed hollow-point, produced these four-shotgroups at 50 yards.

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Clair Rees

Years ago, I gotmy hands onan early Sav-age long-action

– Model 112 BVSS-S –chambered for the .220

Savage Model 12Long RangePrecisionVarminter

Savage Model 12Rees findsa keeper!Rees findsa keeper!

The new Savage Model 12 Long Range PrecisionVarminter (front) offers several operational andperformance advantages over Rees’s venerableModel 112 BVSS-S Savage.

Long RangePrecisionVarminter

Swift. This rifle wore a fluted, 26-inch bull barrel tapering to 0.82inch at the muzzle. The stainlesssteel barrel was mated to ablued, single-shot action and freefloated in a heavy, laminatedstock with a wide forend and acontrasting black tip.

This serious varmint killing ma-chine tipped the scales at 101⁄2pounds before adding a scope.With factory ammunition, groupsaveraged well under an inch,while some handloads made thisa true 1⁄2 -MOA rifle.

The trigger was adjustable, butwhenever I tinkered the let-offdown below 21⁄2 pounds, the riflewould sometimes fire when Iclosed the bolt. I finally adjustedthe trigger to an even 3 poundsand left it alone. That’s slightlyheavy for a long-range varmintrifle, but the trigger always brokecleanly, with no creep or back-lash.

This has been my “go to” var-mint rifle for more than a decade.Whenever I needed to do somelong-range prairie dogging, theSavage Model 112 always camealong. I wouldn’t dare guess athow many grass-guzzling var-mints this rifle has accounted for,but the number is considerable.

When Savage recently an-nounced its new Model 12 LongRange Precision Varminter, I re-quested one to test. This rifle hadsome interesting features my oldSavage lacked, including a right-handed bolt paired with a port-side ejection and loading port.The small, contoured port andotherwise solid receiver were inmarked contrast to the conven-tional open-topped action of myModel 112 BVSS-S. In addition toimproving receiver stiffness, theunconventional left-side port al-lowed the bolt to be worked withthe right hand while feeding therifle with the left.

Unlike my faithful Model 112BVSS-S, the new Model 12 has astainless – not blued steel – ac-tion. The bulbous bolt knob is

November-December 2006 81www.riflemagazine.com

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Rifle 228

considerably larger, and the 26inch long extra heavy barrelmeasures a full inch in diameterall the way to the recessed muz-zle. Three action screws securethe receiver firmly to the mouldedalloy bedding block. The beddingblock is an integral part of theblack H-S Precision varmintstock the rifle comes equippedwith. The stock’s broad, beaver-tail forend is ideal for shootingfrom sandbags, while the high,straight comb positions your eye


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Like all current Savage centerfirebolt rifles, the Model 12 featuresthe revolutionary AccuTrigger.

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November-December 2006

vintage Savage rifles like my bull-barreled .220 Swift on the road toobsolescence.

The AccuTrigger on the testrifle broke at an ounce under 2pounds. That seemed like anideal weight for a varmint rifle,so I left the adjusting mechanismalone. Available chamberings in-clude the .223 Remington, .204Ruger and .22-250 Remington.The .223 version I requested hada button-rifled barrel with a one-in-9-inch twist, instead of the

perfectly behind the scope. Thestock wears a 3⁄4-inch thick H-SPrecision recoil pad. The barrelitself is free floated along the fulllength of the forend.

Last, but far from least, theModel 12 Long Range PrecisionVarminter features Savage’ssuperb AccuTrigger. The Accu-Trigger is the first standard-equipment factory trigger thatcan be easily adjusted by theowner without the services of agunsmith. In addition to beingadjustable for weight of pull, theAccuTrigger delivers a crisp,clean let-off most high-end cus-tom rifles can’t match. Thisground-breaking developmentmakes all current Savage boltrifles virtually unbeatable whenit comes to accuracy. Becausethe AccuTrigger can’t be retrofit-ted (at least, not yet), it also puts

83www.riflemagazine.com

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The Savage Model 12 PrecisionLong Range Varminter has itswork cut out for it at these yawn-ing distances.

more common one turn in 12inches.

Right out of the box, the rifletipped the scales at a substantial111⁄2 pounds. Adding a 4-16x 44mmBurris Signature Select scope inBurris rings brought the ready-to-hunt weight to a hefty 131⁄2pounds. This isn’t a rifle you’llwant to carry very far, particu-larly if you add the extra weightof a Harris bipod, but it’s not de-signed for mobility. Nestled insandbags on a sturdy bench, thenew Model 12 provides all thesteadiness you need to pick offprairie dogs at extended range.

I figured this Savage would be a“shooter,” but sighting the rifle inwas an eyebrow-raising experi-ence. The very first three-shotgroup fired at 100 yards withsome new, experimental varmintbullets Barnes provided meas-ured just 0.24 inch between cen-ters. The new 40-grain VarmintGrenade bullets were loadedahead of 26.0 grains of BenchMark powder ignited by Winches-ter WSR primers. This producedan average muzzle velocity of3,640 fps. The new Barnes bullet

Rifle 22884 www.riflemagazine.com

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The forearm is contoured for use on sandbags. An adjustable CoyoteJakes rest was used for testing and in the field.

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is in the early stages of develop-ment, and there would be ampleopportunity to test it and Sav-age’s new rifle during a four-dayprairie dog hunt.

Barnes technical support hon-cho Ty Herring, together with hiswife, Angel, and 11-year-old sonDouglas, Dan Day and I piledinto Ty’s crew-cab Chevy truckand headed for Vernal, Utah, justshort of the Wyoming and Col-orado borders. We had to becareful about where we hunted,as some Utah prairie dog townsare in close proximity with black-footed ferret populations. Black-footed ferrets are an endangeredspecies, so those particular prairiepoodle haunts were off limits.Multiple phone calls to gameenforcement officers gave us apretty good idea of where wecould – and couldn’t – hunt.

Arriving in Vernal in midafter-noon, we checked into a motel,then headed for desert country.

We made a few wrong turns, butwith the help of a couple of cellphone calls, we finally found the

spot we were after. By now, thesun was nearing the horizon, sowe quickly set up our shooting

Rifle 228

benches. These included a sturdysteel Big Shooter bench I’dtested earlier, a new alloy benchCoyote Jakes had recently sentand a homemade steel benchTy had welded together. Allthree benches featured rotatingpadded seats and shooting plat-forms.

While Ty, Dan and I assembledthe benches, Angel and Dougbroke out their .22s and tookcare of any prairie dog that daredpop out of its hole at rimfirerange. We had less than an hourof good shooting light left, butwe made the most of it. I hadtime to shoot a dozen ’dogs atranges between 120 and 247yards. While hardly a definitivetest, it offered a preview of theexcellent accuracy the Model 12would deliver.

Back at the motel, I decided Ihadn’t put enough rounds throughthe Savage to warrant cleaning.While Dan and Ty scrubbed theirrifles’ bores, I took a quick showerand headed for bed.


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Toll Free! 1-800-272-3000During the sighting-in process,Barnes new experimental varmintbullets produced a tight 0.24-inchgroup.

The small left-side ejection porthelps stiffen the varmint rifle’saction.

We managed to do a fair amountof shooting before that hap-pened, but by noon targets werefew and far away. The only activ-ity came from a long patch ofgrass along a fence line in thedistance. It was difficult to get agood laser return from flatprairie dog mounds, but thefence line registered between 372and 435 yards away.

It must have been cooler in thegrass. That’s where all the actionwas during the midday heat. Afew sub-300-yard targets ap-peared, but most of the shootingwasn’t much shy of 400 yards. Afew ’dogs were killed at rarifiedranges out to 500 yards. I neededall the magnification I couldget and kept the Burris scopecranked all the way up to 16x aslong as I could, but mirage even-tually made me back off to 12x.The fine Ballistic Plex reticle wasideal for this kind of long-rangegunning.

Shooting was sporadic in the

Rifle 228

After a quick drive-throughbreakfast the next morning, weheaded for another prairie dogtown. It was 10:00 A.M. before welocated the town and set up ourbenches. The temperature wouldsoon hit 95 degrees, and thingswere beginning to warm up.Prairie dogs were everywherewhen we drove into the field butbegan disappearing as the sunturned the thermostat up.


The three-position safety is handilylocated under the shooter’s thumb.


I liked the ability to feed a freshround to the chamber with myleft hand without releasing theoversized bolt knob from myright. You could practically throw

midday heat – 10 or 12 shots perhour. That slow pace made itpossible to watch each targetthrough a spotting scope orbinocular while the shootersqueezed off a careful shot. TheSavage Precision Varminter blewa number of prairie dogs sky-ward, and the vast majority ofshots I took were answered witha distant “thwock!”

We took turns shooting the newSavage and were all impressedby its accuracy. It was a rarewindless day. You simply had tocenter the critters in the reticle,elevate the crosshair a bit tocompensate for range and gentlytouch the trigger. In spite ofthe extended range, the Model12 scored clean hits more oftenthan not.

a round into the ejection port,and it would feed smoothly intothe chamber when the bolt wasclosed. This feeding method alsoallowed the left hand to catch


Rees feeds the chamber with hisleft hand and operates the

bolt with his right.

The ponderous heft of the SavageModel 12 Precision Long RangeVarminter discourages carryingit very far.

Rifle 228

empties ejected while the righthand worked the bolt.

The contoured, three-positionsafety button is positioned hand-ily under the thumb, where it iseasy to operate. With the safetyin its rearmost position, it locksboth trigger and bolt. The mid-

position allows cycling the boltwhile the trigger remains in-active. The rifle can be fired onlywhen the safety is pushed all theway forward. I didn’t really usethe safety much. The rifle restedsecurely on sandbags, with themuzzle always pointing down-range. I simply kept the bolthandle raised until it was timeto shoot.

Around 5:00 P.M., the day startedcooling down. This meant prairiedogging began heating up. Asnearby ’dogs ventured from theirburrows, we finally had somecloser targets to shoot at.

We returned to the same areaearlier the following day and gotsome incredible varmint shootingin before the sun heated thingsup. I’d fired fewer than 200 total


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If accuracy suffered, neither Inor my fellow shooters could de-tect it. The Savage continuedkilling prairie dogs with satisfy-ing regularity. That morning thesun was bright and low, burningthe back of my neck. I’d neg-lected this area when I appliedsunblock that morning. Fortu-nately, I’d stuffed my Kula hatfrom Silver Eagle Outfitters inmy duffel before leaving home. Ipromptly dug it out and put it on.The admittedly strange-lookingheadgear sports a kepi-like ex-tension that did a great job ofshielding that tender part of myanatomy from the hot sun. It’snow a permanent part of myvarmint-shooting gear.

I didn’t get the chance to domuch target work until I returnedfrom the hunt. There had barelybeen time to mount and bore-sight the scope, then sight thenew rifle in with 40-grain ammu-

Rifle 228

rounds the preceding two daysand still hadn’t cleaned the gun.This wasn’t due to simple lazi-ness (although that could’vebeen a factor). In really primeprairie dog country, it’s possibleto fire 500 rounds or more beforeputting the guns away for theday, heading back to the moteland breaking out the cleaninggear. I wanted to see how afouled barrel affected the rifle’saccuracy.


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The Model 12 bolt face (right)has an ejector pin on the oppo-site side of the ejector locationof the Model 112 BVSS-S bolt.


nition. A few shots later I de-clared the rifle good to go. I hadprairie dogs to kill! Paper punch-ing would have to wait.

Curious about how the rifle’sfast one-in-9-inch twist wouldhandle heavier bullets, I didsome shooting with Black Hillsfactory ammunition loaded with77-grain Sierra bullets. The firstfive-shot group punched a singleragged hole that measured 0.46inch, center to center. The sec-ond five-round group miked just0.35 inch across.

The best group fired with Hor-nady 40-grain V-MAX factoryloads created a tight 0.24-inchgroup with the first four rounds.A lone flyer opened things up to0.68 inch. Once I’d exhausted mysupply of experimental Barnesvarmint bullets, I depended on40-grain V-MAX loads from BlackHills and Hornady. The Savageperformed extremely well withboth ends of the .224-caliberweight spectrum, demonstratingthe versatility of Savage’s 9-inchtwist.

After long, faithful service, mySavage Model 112 BVSS-S isabout to be retired. This painfuldecision was forced on me by theincredible performance the newModel 12 Long Range PrecisionVarminter turned in. I’m rifle-poor already and notoriouslycheap. I dearly hate to pony upthe cash to buy yet another rifle,but the new Model 12 performsso doggone well there’s no way

it’s going back when the consign-ment period ends.


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I’ve always thought gun casescould be sorted into two cate-gories: lightweight zipperedcases suitable for hauling a gunaround in your truck or cartrunk, and the hard, luggage-typecases used to protect firearmsfrom the tender mercies of air-line baggage smashers.

I’ve recently been using acase that fits neither – ormaybe both – categories.

DoskoSport now offersa line of new Gun GuardX2 Hybrid Series cases.These innovative cases combinehard-shell durability with flexiblesoft case convenience.

I’ve used a number of differ-

ent shooting rests over theyears, and the new P3 UltimateShooting Rest from CTK Preci-sion has a lot to offer. The rest isconstructed of sturdy ridgedsquare aluminum and sports adurable e-coat finish inside andout. The T-shaped base has lock-ing, leveling screws at the end ofeach of its three legs. Fine eleva-tion adjustments can be madeusing the rear leveling screw.

The V-shaped forearm rest isalso adjustable for height and ispadded with solvent-resistantfoam covered with durable ma-rine carpet. The rest accommo-dates a wide variety of firearms,including handguns and rifleswith either slender sporter orwide beavertail forends. A groovebelow the center of the V-shapedsupport prevents sling studs frominterfering with accuracy.

A wide rear pad travels forwardor back along the rear rail tomatch the length of the rifle. This

“With these new hybrid cases,consumers can have the ease ofuse of a soft-sided case withoutsacrificing protection,” saysKevin Mitchell, DoskoSport’s

director of marketing communi-cations. “The X2 Hybrid Seriesintegrates hard and soft materialsto maximize protection and secu-

rity while providing real worldconvenience.”

The Gun Guard X2 Hybrid Se-ries DLX case I’m using has ahard plastic exoskeleton to pro-tect the rifle’s scope and receiver

from side impacts. The shellmeets at the zipper,

where sturdytongue-and-

groovemating

provides extrastrength and rigidity. The

zipper can be locked with a pad-lock. Additional plastic shell sec-tions guard the muzzle and butt.The balance of the case is madeof water-resistant (not water-proof) 600-denier, PVC-lined fab-

Clair Rees

P3 ULTIMATE

SHOOTING REST

P3 ULTIMATE

SHOOTING REST

INS

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SID

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pad is angled to fit the bottom ofthe stock and can be moved for-ward to support the base of ahandgun.

This rugged rest is versatileenough to be used with almostany firearm short of a huge .50BMG rifle. A gun vise attachment

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In case you haven’t noticed,

the field of airguns is undergo-ing huge changes these days. Onesuch change is the tremendousupsurge in popularity of airsoftguns. These originated in the FarEast – specifically, Japan – sev-eral decades ago, as shooting en-thusiasts in that nation have beensubjected to a total prohibitionregarding the ownership and useof firearms and even traditionalairguns that fire metallic BBs andpellets. In recent years, Taiwanhas also developed an enviablereputation as a major producerof airsoft guns, with their prod-ucts exhibiting the same degreeof quality in many instances asthe airsoft guns produced inJapan.

Airsoft guns are amazinglyfaithful look-alikes of modernfirearms. Their ammunition, forthe most part, consists of 6mmplastic, round pellets – often re-ferred to as “airsoft BBs” – rang-

ing in weight from about 2 grainsto 5 grains or so. Without excep-tion, airsoft guns have smoothbores, but they can still be sur-prisingly accurate within theirlimited practical range. The term“airsoft” actually comes fromtheir relatively lightweight pro-jectile, combined with the factthat most of the guns in this cate-gory seldom exceed muzzle ve-locities of 350 fps or so. Theirpower plants range from manu-ally cocked repeaters to truly su-

perb gas- and battery-operated,select-fire models. It is in the lat-ter category that the subject ofthis report belongs.

Manufactured by ICS Enter-prises in Taiwan, the airsoftmodel in question is an almostexact look-alike of the redoubt-able Kalashnikov AK-74 assaultrifle developed by the SovietUnion as a replacement for itsold workhorse assault rifle, theubiquitous AK-47. Although a bitshorter and lighter than the realMcCoy, the ICS airsoft AK-74 fea-tures moulded synthetic fur-niture and an all-metal bodysporting a matte black finish justlike that found on many currentassault rifles these days. Themoulded plastic magazines arealso nearly exact replicas ofthose found with the real AK-74.

However, they also have amatte black finish instead of thedull orange color of the real deal.A minor point, to be sure, that inmy view does not detract muchfrom the stunning realism of thisairsoft model. In fact, the tremen-dous realism of airsoft gunsprompted the U.S. government torequire that all airsoft guns im-ported and sold in the U.S. musthave their muzzles painted blazeorange, in order to avoid confus-ing them with real firearms.

THE AIRSOFT ICS AK-74THE AIRSOFT ICS AK-74P

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The ICS airsoft AK-74 is an almost exact look-alike of the real5.45x39mm assault rifle.

Incorporating a motor-driven, spring-pistonpower plant powered bya rechargeable 8.4-voltbattery, the ICS AK-74belongs to the class ofairsoft guns known asAEGs – Airsoft ElectricGuns. The battery fitsneatly in the hollow butt-stock, where it is hookedup to the gun’s connec-tor. The battery suppliedby Specialized Distribu-tion, the U.S. importer ofICS airsoft guns, has an outputrating of 3,600 milliamps andis of the type known as NIMH(nickel metal hydride). Fullycharged, each such battery canprovide enough power to fireseveral hundred shots in the air-soft AK-74. The gun tested camewith two magazines, each withcapacity for up to 550 airsoftBBs. Extra magazines are avail-able from the importer.

Surprisingly, the ICS airsoft AK-74 has a faster cyclic rate of fireon full-auto than the real powder-burning AK-74. At about 900rounds per minute on full-auto,this airsoft version of the AK-74

cheaper .12 gram air-soft BBs can damageits spring-piston/motorpower plant. Heavierprojectiles, such as .25gram and .29 gram BBs,work even better, asthey tend to produceincreased accuracy anda bit more oomph whenthey hit. Aluminum .29gram BBs, in particular,are entirely capable ofdrilling empty pop cansat distances of up to

10 yards or so.

The sights of the airsoft AK-74are basically identical to thosefound on the real item. The rearunit is adjustable for elevationvia a slider and ramp arrange-ment. Up front, the post can alsobe adjusted for elevation with thespecial tool supplied. In addition,the left side of the receivercomes with a rail that allows theinstallation of a telescopic sightwith a Soviet-style mount.

Another feature incorporatedinto this gun is an adjustable“Hop Up” mechanism. This con-sists of an adjustable constrictionat the breech that imparts a

beats the original by 250 rpm orso. Rows of empty pill bottles,plastic toy soldiers and otherlightweight plinking targets aresimply swept away by shortbursts from this amazing fun gun.On semiautomatic fire, groupsaveraging just under 2 inchesacross at 15 yards were thenorm. Not too shabby at all for asmoothbore gun firing light-weight plastic BBs at muzzlevelocities in the 310- to 330-fps range.

Incidentally, only high-qualityairsoft BBs weighing at least.20 gram (about 3 grains) shouldbe used in this gun. Using the

The 8.4 volt battery goes in the hollow buttstock.

Besides huge doses of fun, theairsoft AK-74 is useful in trainingsituations, as it mimics almostexactly the looks and “feel” ofthe real 5.45x39mm assault rifle.The selector lever works just asthe one found on the real AK,and the Cyrillic markings AB andOA, indicating fully and semiau-tomatic fire, respectively, arealso there. In addition, this air-soft model can be partially field-stripped like the real McCoy.

With a suggested retail price of$325, the ICS airsoft AK-74 offerstons of relaxed shooting fun fordedicated backyard plinkers whomight never be able to blaze

Rifle 228

greater or lesserdegree of back-spin to the BB inorder to give it aflatter trajectoryand thus greatereffective range.

Incidentally, thissuperb fun gunproduces only amild popping re-port upon dis-charge that com-pares favorablywith the report of a traditionalyouth-grade BB gun. Even onfully automatic fire, the sound isnot likely to attract undue atten-tion from neighbors. Althoughbasically recoilless, there is still afaint firing sensation as themotor-driven air tube movesback and forth to feed BBs to thebreech.


BB feed port in magazine. BBsare fed to the breech by springpressure.

SpecificationsPower plant: motor-driven,

spring-piston mechanismAction: select fire; semi/full autoBattery: 8.4 volt, rechargeableCaliber: 6mmAmmunition: round, airsoft pelletsMagazine capacity: 550Length overall: 35 inchesWeight: 7.25 poundsSights: adjustableCyclic rate: 900 rounds per minuteMSRP: $325Manufacturer: ICS (I Chih Shivan)

Enterprises, TaiwanImporter/Distributor:

Specialized Distribution – Team SD901 S. Fremont Ave.Alhambra CA 91803www.AirsoftSD.com

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Rifle 228

dry film lubricants. The namechange took place in 1992. Lo-cated in Hayward, Wisconsin, KGhas expanded its line of productsto include its original Gun Kote, avariety of lubricants, mold re-lease coatings, ceramic high-heatformulations and, more recently,a line of gun cleaning products.In 2004 KG was approved as amilitary vendor and now providesthe special coating found onmany military special weapons.

At a recent SHOT Show, I spentsome time at the KG booth.Mostly, I was interested in thegun cleaning products and thoselubricants best suited for gunmaintenance. After a bit, I re-quested, for evaluation, the fire-arms cleaning products thatincluded KG-1 Carbon Remover,KG-2 Bore Restore/Polish, KG-3Solvent & Degreaser, KG-4 GunOil and, the latest in the line, KG-12 Big Bore Cleaner. Together,they represent all we need,chemically, to clean and maintainour firearms.

In recent years a number ofcompanies have combined theirpowder and metallic removalchemicals into a single product.In some cases it has workedquite well. KG has approachedthe problem the old-fashionedway, separating the functionsinto two different steps. KG-1Carbon Remover is designed toremove the residue from powderand primer. It is claimed to be ef-fective on black-powder residueand aid in loosening copper foul-ing. The latter would occur natu-

away with a real AK-74. – J.I.Galan

KG Industries

Gun Care

ProductsWhile the number of gun care

products continues to prolifer-ate, with vast improvements seenin recent decades, there alwaysseems to be room for anotherchallenger.

KG Industries was founded in1965 as Kal-Gard Coating andManufacturing Corporation toprovide protective coatings and


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