Tikka is well known for offering quality rifles at a budget-friendly price. The new Tikka T1x is no exception. With the growing popularity of .22LR precision rifle competitions (such as the NRL 22 matches), more manufacturers have been adding heavy barreled accuracy oriented models to their lineup. The Tikka T3x rifles, chambered in .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor are common sights at precision rifle competitions. It made perfect sense for Tikka to release a .22LR version for rimfire matches. Continue reading Tikka T1x .22LR Review
Category Archives: Rifle Reviews
BadRock Rifles “South Fork” Production Class Competition Rifle
The “South Fork” is a new offering from BadRock Rifles. BadRock is a division of Defiance Machine, who is no stranger to the precision rifle world. The $1995 South Fork rifle is designed from the action up to compete in the “Production” division of the Precision Rifle Series matches.
The South Fork rifle starts with custom receiver that loosely follows the M700 pattern. The receiver will fit a M700 inlet stock or chassis and accepts M700 pattern triggers. The bolt is a two-lug design, but the similarities end there. The South Fork uses a controlled round feed design that work with Accuracy International AW ten round magazines.
Controlled round feed rifles are designed so that the bolt face solidly grips the case head as soon as the cartridge feeds from the magazine. This is incredibly useful if you are shooting the rifle while laying on your side or if you encounter a cartridge that will not chamber and you need to eject it. This is in contrast to a “push feed” type action where the extractor only grips the cartridge after the shoulder of the chamber has pushed it back into the bolt face. Controlled round feed is a highly beneficial feature, but is usually reserved for the more expensive custom actions. Continue reading BadRock Rifles “South Fork” Production Class Competition Rifle
Desert Tech Stealth Recon Scout (SRS-A1) Review
Desert Tech was kind enough to loan us one of their SRS-A1 rifles to take for a spin. After some time with the system, we are happy to report back to you with our impressions.
Tikka T3 CTR – Reader Submission
We have gotten a number of requests for information on the Tikka T3 series of rifles. I have been given the opportunity to shoot them in various forms, several times over the past few years. However we have not been able to find the time to do a comprehensive review.
Jason Holmes contacted us and asked if we would be interested his experience with his Tikka T3 CTR. After reading his opinion, we felt our readers might benefit from it. We are still looking forward to a chance to complete a full review of a Tikka T3 and hope to accomplish that soon.
RSS Defense Corp RDMR7 Review
Last year, I was contacted by RSS Defense Corp. RSS Defense is a small AR and AK manufacturer located north of Chicago. Before our conversation, I had never heard of this company. After a few exchanges, I agreed to review their flagship AR15, the RDMR7.
RDMR7 is an acronym for Rapid Deployment, Mission Ready, 7 days a week. This perfectly describes what the RDMR7 is designed to be. It is intended to be a law enforcement patrol rifle. Every part of the rifle supports this goal. Continue reading RSS Defense Corp RDMR7 Review
Ruger Precision Rifle (Gen 2) Review
We first had a chance to handle and shoot the Ruger Precision Rifle at the 2016 SHOT Show. The outward appearance of the rifle was enough to grab our attention. Once we delved into the details we were hooked. Ruger designed this rifle to specifically target the precision rifle competition shooter. Continue reading Ruger Precision Rifle (Gen 2) Review
Ruger 10/22 Project – Stock Replacement
Once we checked the accuracy of our stock rifle, it was time to make some changes. First, we decided to replace the factory wood stock with something more appropriate to our goal. The factory wood is fine for a boys plinking rifle, but it is really too small for an adult. The stock was designed for use with iron sights and the comb is too low for a proper cheek weld with a rifle scope. Even with our scope mounted as low as possible, we end up with more of a “chin weld.” Continue reading Ruger 10/22 Project – Stock Replacement
Ruger 10/22 Tactical Trainer Project
I have always had a love affair with rifles chambered in .22LR. It may be because my first rifle was a Remington 581 .22 bolt action handed to me by my father. It may be because I have yet to see a new shooter walk away from a .22LR session without a smile on their face. Whatever the reason, you cannot deny that the .22LR is one of the most cost effective training rifles available.
While training for tactical/precision rifle matches, the majority of my time is spent dry firing the actual rifle that I will use in competition. This mates the rifle to my body and makes handling it second nature. However dry firing is the practice and live fire is the test. It is extremely helpful to be able to make a few runs on a .22LR before you burn up limited barrel life on your competition rifle. Continue reading Ruger 10/22 Tactical Trainer Project
Cerakote Firearms Coatings
A trip down any tactical rifle firing line is often like looking at a black and white photo. Black rifle after black rifle. Repeating over and over again. Some shooters are happy with their rifles just like they came out of the box. Others would like to add a little “personality” to theirs. When Cerakote Firearms Coatings contacted us, we jumped at the chance to add a little flair to one of our rifles.
The rifle we chose to send off to Cerakote was Sarah’s XLR Evolution equipped Remington 700. This rifle started life as a plain-jane 26″ ADL Varmint rifle. We had the barrel cut back and threaded by Suppressed Armament Systems. Then we added a JP Tactical Compesator to take recoil down a notch. This setup was a great shooting rifle, but the sea of black was just “blah”. Continue reading Cerakote Firearms Coatings
AK47 versus AR15 – What’s best for you?
AK or AR? Which is better? The argument goes on and on and on. Both platforms have been in the hands of warriors for decades. They have been on both sides of the fight for freedom and oppression. These rifles have evolved from simple battle implements to railed and accessorized monstrosities.
In our comparison I refuse to conclude which rifle is “best”. I am more concerned with helping you to determine what rifle may be best suited to your specific situation. I own both rifles and feel that either would be well suited to most legally justifiable civilian engagements. However both are designed with slightly different roles in mind and both have slightly different strengths. Hopefully we will eventually get back to the days of the “cheap” AK.