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November 2005 No. 222

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Rifle 222

Sportiting FiFirearearms Joururnalal

November-December 2005Volume 37, Number 6

ISSN 0162-3593Issue No. 222

26 FakesandCounterfeitsDown Range -Mike Venturino

28 The WinchesterSingle ShotThe Model 1885Past and PresentMike Venturino

38 Ordinary BulletsThey still do the job!John Haviland

46 Browning’sShortTrac RifleBAR Short ActionStan Trzoniec

54 The Art ofBore CleaningNew productsmake the jobeasier and faster!Clair Rees

64 3 NewBear BulletsSpomer takes aninside look.Ron Spomer

72 The “New”Ruger No. 1Updated andImprovedJohn Barsness

www.riflemagazine.com4

Page 6. . .

Page 54. . .

Page 82. . .

Page 28. . .

Page 46. . .

6 Barnes MR-XSpotting Scope -Dave Scovill

12 A Really NewScopeOptics -John Barsness

16 .300 Versus.325 WSMMostly Long Guns -Brian Pearce

20 Clever Designerson Verge ofReinventingSelf-ContainedCartridge RifleStraight Talk -Ron Spomer

24 Blued Steeland WalnutQueries & Comments -

www.riflemagazine.comNovember-December 2005

On the cover . . .The Browning High Wall .38-55 isoutfitted with a Browning tang sight.The custom High Wall from BallardRifle, LLC features a 30-inch octagonalbarrel chambered for the .45-90 WCF.Whitetail photo by Michael H. Francis.Rifle photos by Gerald Hudson.

82 Double GunShootoutA Test of Skill inOregon High CountryChub Eastman

90 Remington Model 504 Rimfire SporterProduct Tests -

00 What? You NeverRead Jack O’Connor?Book Reviews -

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

22 All Those Zeroes!Rifles & Woodsmoke -John Barsness

5www.riflemagazine.com

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.

Issue No. 222 November-December 2005

Sportiting FiFirearearms Joururnalal

Publisher/President – Mark Harris

Editor in Chief – Dave Scovill

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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.

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Copyright © Mark Harris Publishing Associates, Inc.

John Barsness

Brian Pearce

Clair Rees

Gil Sengel

Ron Spomer

Stan Trzoniec

Mike Venturino

Ken Waters

Page 126. . .

Page 6

Page 54

Page 28

Background Photo: © 2005 Michael H. Francis

100

106

122

6 Rifle 222www.riflemagazine.com

There’s evidence to suggest

that the first jacketed bulletwas little more than a copperwire wound around a lead core.That evolved into a copper alloyjacket and lead core. Then some-one figured out that gildingmetal, 90 to 95 percent copperand 5 to 10 percent zinc, helpedreduce barrel fouling. At thetime most hunting bulletswere roundnose, flatbasedesigns, reflecting no doubt,the military influence, aka.30-03 and .30-40 Krag (aka.30 U.S.) of the period.

During World War II, whenthere was a severe shortageof copper, a few enterpris-ing individuals used firedrimfire cases to make jack-ets for anything from .22 to.30 calibers. The resultantbullets weren’t very durable,nor did they necessarilyprovide the kind of accu-racy we might expect nowa-days, but at least they hadbullets.

In time bullets becamemore streamlined withlonger, more pointed pro-files. Eventually the U.S.military discovered boat-taildesigns (first used in Eu-rope), placed a premium onimproved trajectory at com-bat ranges, out to 600 yardsand beyond. For sport hunt-ing purposes, however, amajor improvement in the ballis-tic coefficient was required tosignificantly flatten trajectoryout past 300 yards. Even then,the boat-tail had to be formedperfectly or the resultant bulletcouldn’t compete with accuracyroutinely produced by run-of-the-mill flatbase bullets.

As cartridges became morepowerful, producing upwards

tradeoff, of course, was thattougher bullets often punchedon through at lower velocities,producing little or no expansionfrom cartridges that producedless horsepower, or at extendedranges in the “magnums.”

One of the first bullet designs tooffer a bit more versatility, upclose and downrange, was thePeter’s Belted, a cup-and-core

of 3,000 fps with some bulletweights in representative cal-ibers, bullets had a tendency tocome apart on impact, producingsuperficial surface wounds orfailing to reach the vitals, orboth. That inspired a few custombullet makers to come up withthicker, tougher jackets. The

design with a “belt” wrappedaround it, to reinforce the jacketat high impact velocities, whilethe front end responded to down-range impact quite nicely.

Another offering was the Win-chester Silvertip, a lead core,jacketed bullet with an aluminum

alloy cap that extendeddown inside the nose, ef-fectively reinforcing thefront of the bullet on im-pact or while the loadedround was battered backand forth in the magazine.

The innovative RemingtonBronze Point was a cup-and-core bullet with abronze cone-shaped tip,the tail end of which wassecured inside the hollownose cavity when thejacket was closed to formthe ogive at the base of thebronze point.

Neither can we forget oneof Elmer Keith’s favoritebullets from Western Tooland Cooper Works (WTC)that were made by inmatesin the state penitentiary.They were nothing fancy,just a combination of thickjackets on heavy-for-caliberbullets that would punchthrough an elk with devas-tating effectiveness.

There was also the NoslerPartition, a dual core design witha partition dividing the front andback. The idea, according toJohn Nosler, was to allow thefront end to blow off at higherimpact velocities, while the backend punched on through.

Nosler’s philosophy challengedconventional wisdom that sug-gested a bullet should retain ahigh percentage of weight, and

D a v e S c o v i l l

BARNES MR-XBARNES MR-XS

PO

TTIN

G S

CO

PE

SP

OTTIN

G S

CO

PE

The boat-tail MR-X features a polymer tip,grooved shank and tungsten core.

Rifle 222

expand, to create a larger woundchannel. If that occurred at lowervelocities with the Nosler Parti-tion, all was well and good, butwhen the going got tough, suchas the shoulder of a 1,400-poundmoose, John Nosler wanted thenose to separate, producing sec-ondary missiles to create addi-tional havoc in organs and tissue,i.e., shrapnel.

There were/are other good de-signs as well, including the SwiftA-Frame (similar to the NoslerPartition), Jack Carter’s TrophyBonded, Barnes Originals, Hawk,etc., plus a number of custombullets put out by smaller shops.

Fred Barnes (Barnes Bullets,aka Colorado Custom Bullets)designed a bullet back in the1940s from solid copper with alead core up front. As the storygoes, he couldn’t make it shootall that well and sold them to P.O.Ackley, who in turn sold themas the Ackley Controlled Expan-sion (CE). When Randy Brooksbought out Fred Barnes andchanged the name of the com-pany to Barnes Bullets, he dis-covered the CE bullets, got rid ofthe lead core up front and startedexperimenting with what we nowknow as the X-Bullet.

The folks in Europe and south-ern Africa weren’t sitting on theirhands either. Many of the designsworked as advertised and earneda stellar reputation for puttingbig, tough animals on the ground,whether they were launchedfrom a .30-06, .300 magnum, .375H&H or a .470 Nitro Express.

The next significant designchange in cup-and-core bulletswas the polymer tip. John Noslercredits a Canadian company(CIL) for coming up with theidea, but Nosler thought he coulddo it better. Apparently, it’s safeto say he could, and did. The Bal-listic Tip pretty much revolution-ized the design and performanceof hunting bullets. A similar bul-let with a black coating and sil-ver colored polymer tip is also

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trolled expansion and penetra-tion at higher impact velocities.

Another variation of the hard-ened core concept is used bySpeer in the front half of itsGrand Slam, a dual-core design,minus the bulk head (a nautical

term to describe the “partition”concept that Nosler trade-marked) to separate the frontfrom the more malleable rearcore. In practice, the GrandSlams hit hard targets with con-siderable authority.

Meanwhile, long before thebonded core, polymer tip and re-inforced jackets became stan-dard fare, Randy Brooks had theX-Bullet, an all-copper hollow-point. It was not without its ownset of problems, however, andsome folks complained of pooraccuracy and fouling. The X-Bul-let was also quite long in anygiven weight and caliber, enoughso that it extended into the casebody a bit more than conven-tional lead core bullets, limitingpowder capacity.

Eventually, the X-Bullet evolvedinto the XLC, a blue-coated X-Bullet (the coating was originallyused in high-performance racing

sold by Winchester, the BallisticSilvertip.

While some of the early BallisticTips were a bit “volatile” on im-pact, Nosler reinforced the jack-ets, making them thicker aroundthe shank. Varmint bullets werestill designed for small game, butbig game bullets became increas-ingly tougher, eventually leadingto the bonded core concept, akaNosler AccuBond, which is em-ulated by the Swift Scirocco,Hornady InterBond, RemingtonAccuTip, etc. There may be aquestion as to who was first withthe bonded core, but most wouldagree that Jack Carter had ahand in the stew early on.

Other noteworthy bullet designsincluded the Hornady InterLock,a design feature added to theSpire Point that used a ringaround the inside of the jacket tohold the slightly hardened leadalloy core in place, ensuring con-

Sub-bore diameter grooves re-duce friction and accommodatealloy displaced by lands. Shearednose petals serve as secondarymissiles in game.

than-lead core had considerableinertia, and impact tests in watercaused the jacket to shatter.Speer fixed the problem, ofcourse, and the net effect withtungsten allows the bullet to bemuch shorter than all-coppersolids or lead core counterparts.In short magnums, like the .458Winchester Magnum, for exam-ple, where powder capacity is ata premium with 500-grain solids,the tungsten core mitigates therequirement to seat longer, heav-ier bullets deeper in the case.

The same concept applies to theMR-X; a tungsten core allows thebullet to be somewhat shorterthan the X-Bullet or Triple-Shockin any given weight in respectivecalibers. This cools the heels ofthose who would argue that theX-Bullet is too long, reducingpowder capacity and, conse-quently, limiting velocity some-what when compared to leadcore bullet designs.

When Randy Brooks, presidentof Barnes Bullets, told me aboutthe experimental bullet designthey were working on nearly twoyears ago, most of the featuresoutlined were concepts we hadhashed over before. Randy saidthe final design wasn’t complete– they were still working out thebugs – but it had a plastic (poly-mer) tip and a heavier-than-lead core in the rear. If theycould get the design right, itwould come out with a boat-tail,a problem that at the time hadnot been worked out to Randy’ssatisfaction.

The comment about the boat-tail was noteworthy, since no onein the industry, to my knowledge,had figured out a way to put acore in the back end of a bulletand put a boat-tail on it. Thepoint being, a boat-tail shape isone thing, but the resultant bullethas to fly straight, and a slightlyout-of-whack boat-tail has drivensome fairly astute engineers tothe “brink.” At any rate, currentcommercial designs with a core

engines to reduce friction) thatdid a pretty fair job of reducingfouling and accuracy problems.

The XLC was followed a coupleof years back with the Triple-Shock, another all-copper designwith sub-bore diameter groovescut around the shank. Thegrooves reduced bearing surfaceand served to provide space toaccommodate the copper thatwas displaced by the lands, re-ducing friction and fouling.

Obviously, the grooves are anoffshoot of the flatbased groovesJohn Nosler cut over the solidcross section on early Partitionsand V-shaped grooves that wererolled into the shank of Nosler’sZipedo. The keyword here, how-ever, is sub-bore diameter.

The distinction is simply thatthe Partition and Zipedo usedbore diameter grooves in an ef-fort to reduce pressure, while ex-tensive tests at Barnes provedslightly sub-bore diameter, flat-bottomed grooves did a betterjob of relieving pressure and im-proving accuracy.

Other grooved bullets includethe North Fork, designed by BobFulton after he sold Hawk Bul-lets, the GPA out of Monaco (seeRon Spomer’s feature in thisissue of Rifle) and the GS, Rhinoand Impala from South Africa.The J36 is similar to the X-Bulletbut with a bronze tip. The list ofcustom designs could fill a book.

The latest design from Barnes isthe MR-X – an offshoot of theTriple-Shock boat-tail with apolymer tip, three to four sub-bore diameter grooves (the num-ber of grooves depends on bulletweight in any given caliber) anda rear cavity stuffed with a tung-sten core.

Neither is the tungsten core anew idea. Speer used the conceptin its African Grand Slam lineupthat was introduced several yearsago. It was not without problemsin the early stages of develop-ment, however; as the heavier-

Rifle 22210 www.riflemagazine.com

(Continued on page 104)

Rifle 222104 www.riflemagazine.com

in the rear half of the bullet areflatbased, including the Swift A-Frame, Nosler Partition, Win-chester Fail Safe, etc.

It was a year later when Randyforwarded a few bullets for test-ing, but they hadn’t come up witha name yet. Around the office,we referred to it as the Triple ByPass, an obvious reference to theTriple-Shock, on which the newdesign was based. Eventually thefolks at Barnes decided on MR-X– Maximum Range X-Bullet. Withthe torpedo shape, it fits.

Randy said independent testsindicate the MR-X shoots quitewell; groups from a preproduc-tion run of bullets are runningnip and tuck with best accuracyproduced by a variety of biggame bullets. A few MR-Xs alsomade it to Africa, where they putplains game on the ground withconsiderable authority.

Without question, the MR-X isthe result of years of research bya number of folks who chasedimproved accuracy and terminalperformance with big game bul-lets. Some ideas like the NoslerPartition worked exceptionallywell. But as John Haviland pointsout in this issue of Rifle, even or-dinary bullets, and some not-so-ordinary, do a fine job oneverything from deer to elk-sizedgame – assuming the appropriatebullet is placed properly.

And, it’s not over yet. While thesporting/hunting industry has re-lied heavily on lead core bulletsto establish standards of per-formance and accuracy, thewinds of change are lurking overthe horizon. Owing toxic fumes,lead core bullets are almost uni-

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versally banned at indoor shoot-ing ranges and lead core huntingbullets are banned in two coun-tries in Europe. It won’t be longbefore the anti-gun crowd picksup the baton and demands a banon lead or lead alloy core bulletson federal lands in the U.S. – aswas done with lead shot.

Fortunately, following on theheels of the lead shot contro-versy, a number of lead substi-tutes have been developed thatwork reasonably well in water-fowl and upland bird loads. Itwas just a matter of time beforesomeone figured out how to stuffa non-toxic lead substitute in abullet. Randy Brooks and Speerdid it with tungsten, and Win-chester reinforced the shank ofthe Fail Safe with steel inserts, ashort hop from a steel core.

The redeeming factor in the de-velopment of more efficient bul-let designs is that the industryhas learned to engineer modernbullets that do the work of tradi-tionally heavy cup-and-core de-signs. In the past where it wasgenerally accepted that heavybullets (high sectional density)were required for big, toughgame in cartridges like the .338Winchester Magnum, for exam-ple, we routinely take on thetoughest game with the new gen-eration of hunting bullets thatweigh significantly less. Where a300-grain roundnose was onceconsidered a minimum for largergame using a .375 H&H, or even a.338, a 225- to 270-grain Swift A-Frame, Nosler Partition or Triple-Shock can be expected to do thejob of their heavier counterparts,a fact that John Nosler provedyears ago. This also means a 165-grain bonded, heavier-than-leadcore bullet, or a 150-grain MR-X,in a .30-06 can pack the punch ofa 180-grain lead core bullet anddeliver that power from aboutany reasonable shot angle. Rightnow the MR-X is on the razor’sedge. Given the current politi-cal/environmental climate, weshould expect more innovativedesigns to follow. R

46 Rifle 222

Maybe yes, maybe no, but you would think thatwith a limited amount of the market dedicated tosemiautomatic centerfire sporting rifles, therewould hardly be room in the field for another varia-tion. Browning, however, does not seem to sharethat concern and recently introduced another semi-automatic rifle.

Made by Miroku of Japan and called the Short-Trac and LongTrac, Browning officials claim the

new models will not replace the current Brown-ing BAR. These are stylized versions of the

famous BAR and look like something posi-tioned in the line to compete with the

modern Benelli R1, right up to theEuropean stock treatment.

The ShortTrac is chambered forthe short magnums, including

the .270, 7mm and .300 WSMs.Additionally, the shorter rifleis chambered for the .243and .308 Winchesters. Thelonger action handles the.270 Winchester, .30-06,7mm Remington Magnum

and the .300 WinchesterMagnum.

For 2005, the BARcontinues to have

the field coveredwith nine op-tions from the.243 Winches-

ter to the.338 Win-

chester Mag-

Stan Trzoniec

Semiautomatic centerfirerifles have been around fora long time, yet they trail inpopularity in most hunting

camps. Some claim they are inac-curate, prone to malfunction or aresensitive to certain ammunition.

www.riflemagazine.com

Browning’sShortShort

BARShortAction

BARShortAction

num. In comparing the new Trac rifles to the BAR,both models are more svelte in appearance. Theirreceivers, buttstocks and forends have been re-designed to make the rifles more field friendly, andin the lighter calibers, weight has been reduced byas much as 8 ounces. While this is not a large reduc-tion by any means, those looking to carry a rifleover long periods will find this modest decrease anadvantage on any grueling hunt.

In overall appearance, the stocks are certainlyradical from anything we’ve seen in the past fromBrowning. Comparing the Trac series to the BARcounterpart, a number of features stand out. First,the forend is thinner and slightly shorter than theBAR. Whereas I have heard complaints aboutthe BAR when it came to its somewhat “clunky”stock, these new Brownings should appeal to thosewho like a rifle that is now on par with many bolt-action rifles.

Almost square along its flanks, the forend has anatural taper from the receiver forward. There aretwin finger grooves on each side, which are deepernear the receiver for a natural hold, then gracefullydisappear as they move toward the muzzle. Therear of the forend covers the receiver by nearly 11⁄4inches. This in turn serves to cover the linkage andthe lever of the bolt release that is located underthe forward part of the bolt. Still another reason for

November-December 2005 47www.riflemagazine.com

RifleTracTrac

The new Browning ShortTrac (bottom) is shownwith the traditional BAR in Grade IV.

Rifle 222

finish the forend, the leadingedge is cut at a 45-degree angle.

The buttstock is rather full, andthere is no monte carlo or highcomb to mar the lines of thissemiautomatic. There is nocheekpiece to offset your facefrom the stock, and in mountinga scope with medium-heightrings, I never missed either ofthese features as my eye lined upnicely with the scope reticle,demonstrating that Browning en-gineers had indeed done theirhomework. The pistol grip hasenough of an inward curve to fitthe average hand; there is no gripcap, and the bottom is cut at asharp angle, making it vulnerableto chipping from rough treatmentin the field.

The stock has a modern check-ering pattern with individual pan-els separated by a ribbon and,like the forend, displays a linethat runs upward almost meetingthe detailing on the receiver. Likethe forend, the stock is finishedin a smooth, oil-type coating thatbrings out the grain in the Euro-pean walnut stock while protect-ing it from the elements.

Included on the buttstock is ahard rubber pad set at 131⁄4 inchlength of pull. If I had the privi-lege of an opinion when the gunwas being designed, I would optfor a softer pad. The pad itselfhas two forward insets, whichserve as guides to reinstall thepad, if it is ever removed. A set ofspacers that fit in between the

this extended coverage is that itenhances the rigidity of theforend at the receiver.

The forend has more thanample coverage of machine cutcheckering, including a small lineextension at each end that runstoward the receiver to completethe pattern.

Inletting of this section of thestock was good and hugged thebarrel out to the forward slingswivel. This swivel also serves tohold this part of the stock snuglyagainst the receiver and is re-movable for general cleaning ofthe gas cylinder and relatedparts. To remove the forend, re-move this swivel with a smallpunch, then pull the forend for-ward and off the ShortTrac. To

The ShortTrac ischambered for the

short magnums,including the .270,

7mm and .300 WSMs.

48 www.riflemagazine.com

ShortTracShortTrac

The ShortTrac is gas operated and runs off the same tried-and-provenaction as the BAR.

Left, the bolt release is positioned just behind the forend wood. Lowerleft, Browning has installed a red warning dot just behind the operat-ing handle. This is to show the shooter that the bolt has fully closed.Lower right, the rotating bolt has seven locking lugs.

Rifle 22250 www.riflemagazine.com

The receiver has been stylizedsomewhat to bring the rifle up tocontemporary standards. Al-though it looks smaller than theBAR, in actual dimensions it isvery close to its in-house rival.Gone is that Auto-5 reversedhump that still dominates theBAR as its trademark. Browningdesigners not only recut the re-ceiver to a 45-degree angle butalso cleverly blended this partinto the tang area of the stock.The result is now a pleasingblend of styling with function.

Unlike the BAR with its ord-nance steel receiver, the newaddition has an aircraft-grade,aluminum alloy receiver that isdrilled and tapped for com-mercial scope mounts. I addeda Browning one-piece base,Leupold rings and a Burris Full-

field II 3-9x scope. The Belgium-made barrel is 23 inches long,and without sights. The receiver,floorplate and trigger guard arefinished in a matte patina, whilethe barrel is polished and fin-ished to a bright blue.

Forward of the trigger guard isthe floorplate/magazine release.Pulling it to the rear allows thefloorplate to drop down to loador refill a magazine. Behind thetrigger guard is the cross-boltsafety that locks the trigger fromtraveling to the rear and releas-ing the sear. Trigger pull on thesample was 41⁄2 pounds with aslight amount of slack; it almostfelt like a two-stage trigger.

of 1⁄8 inch in either direction, andsince there is no left-hand ver-sion, this feature could makethe rifle appealing to south-paw shooters. Additionally, twospacers will adjust the rise ofthe comb as well as cast-on orcast-off.

buttstock and receiver at thewrist of the stock can be used toraise or lower the comb, or theycan add additional cast-on orcast-off depending upon yourshooting style. The Trac seriescomes from the factory with aneutral shim installed. To cus-tomize the rifle only requires theuse of a Phillips-head screw-driver to remove the pad and along shaft flathead screwdriverto loosen the stock bolt andremove the stock.

Presently, you receive six spac-ers or shims with the rifle. Twowill raise or lower the comb by 1⁄16

inch, at the heel about 1⁄8 inch.For cast-on or cast-off, there aretwo spacers with an adjustment

The forend has anatural taper from the

receiver forward.

Above left, the cross-bolt safety shows red, indicating the rifle is readyto fire. In front of the trigger guard is the floorplate release. Right, withthe floorplate down, you can see that Browning has opened up themagazine, allowing a quick glance at its contents in the field.

The sling swivel acts as a take-down screw to remove theforend for maintenance.

SpecificationsRifle model: Browning ShortTrac

Action: semiautomatic, gas operated

Stock: European walnut

Cartridge tested: .270 WSM

Cartridges available: .243 Winchester,.308 Winchester, 7mm and .300 WSMs; long actions include .270 Winchester,.30-06, 7mm Remington Magnum,.300 Winchester Magnum

Barrel length: 23 inches

Overall length: 421⁄2 inches

Sights: none furnished, clean barrel

Weight: 71⁄2 pounds, depending onwood density

Finish: satin receiver, high-gloss barrel,oil-finished wood

Options: none

Price: from $885 to $965, depending oncartridge choice

ShortTracShortTrac

November-December 2005 51www.riflemagazine.com

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guard assembly are twin pins.With the bolt fully forward, driveboth pins out from either side.Now grasp the trigger assemblyand pull it down and out of thereceiver. Complete your inspec-tion and maintenance and rein-stall in the reverse order.

The ShortTrac is gas operated

with the mechanism linking upwith the action bars, inertia pieceand the short-stroke piston doingthe yeoman duties. Like many ofits ilk, gases from the fired car-tridge pass through a small outlet

The Dragoon-styled triggerguard is made from polymer, isoversized, and the entire triggergroup can be removed for main-tenance. The disassembly of thetrigger group is easy. Just makesure the rifle is unloaded, themagazine is empty and the rifle ison safe. Just above the trigger

Above, a circular cut accentuates the pistol grip. Right, the recoil padis easily removed to install the shims that are supplied with the rifle.

sign. Since you never want to“ride” the bolt slowly as it pushesa cartridge in the chamber, re-leasing the bolt via the bolt re-lease allows it to spring for-ward, creating a certain amount

of noise. That’s notso good on a deerstand, as smart bucksfor miles around willhigh-tail it to anothercounty. So dependingon the guide and/orhunting conditions,hunters need to decidewhether to carry thechamber loaded (on“safe”) or unloaded.

The ShortTrac I testedwas chambered forthe .270 WinchesterShort Magnum. Intro-

duced to the shooting publiconly a short time back, it is al-ready a popular cartridge formedium to large game at long,western-type distances. Placedin the same class as the .270Winchester and the .270 Weath-erby, it will outpace the formerby about 200 fps, and the Weath-erby version is about 75 fpsfaster – pretty much too close tocall.

For our tests, Winchester Am-munition sent along five differentvariations of the .270 WSM, in-cluding 130- to 150-grain bullets.Proven designs include the Bal-

in the barrel setting up the cycle.From here, the piston is driven tothe rear, which strikes the inertiapiece and in concert with thetwin action bars unlocks the ac-tion, pushing the bolt to the rear.

Emulating design fea-tures from the BAR,there are seven lugs onthe enclosed bolt headthat turn 60 degreesand mate with reces-ses within the steelbarrel. According toBrowning, “Every car-tridge that is loadedinto the chamber ofthis gun is surroundedby a recessed boltface, which is encir-cled by the barrel,which in turn is sur-rounded by the receiver.” Allthese internal features help pro-mote a high degree of accuracywith premium factory or tailoredhandloads.

Upon firing, an extractor on the

Rifle 22252 www.riflemagazine.com

right side of the bolt face willpull the spent cartridge out of thechamber, followed by a plungerejector that ejects the case assoon as it has cleared the insideof the receiver.

Pushing down on the bolt re-lease allows the bolt to slambriskly into the breech pickingup a round as it goes. This isprobably one of the biggest prob-lems of the semiautomatic de-

– Range Tests –Browning ShortTrac Rifle (.270 WSM)

factory ammunition velocity group(grains) (fps) (inches)

130 Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 3,275 1.25

140 Winchester AccuBond 3,200 1.00

140 Winchester Fail Safe 3,125 1.00

150 Winchester Ballistic Silvertip 3,120 1.50

150 Winchester Power-Point 3,150 1.25

Unlike the BAR, the new addition has anaircraft-grade, aluminum alloy receiver.

Above, this three-shot group wasfired at 100 yards, fairly typicalof the rifle and ammunition.Right, Stan used the new LeadSled to test the ShortTrac.

ShortTracShortTrac

November-December 2005

listic Silvertip, AccuBond, FailSafe and the Power-Point.

For the shooting tests, I usedthe Lead Sled, which is avail-able through MidwayUSA. Whilethe recoil factor on the .270WSM may be of concern to a fewhunters, that was not the purposeof the Lead Sled. Aside fromkeeping the apparent recoil fromreaching your shoulder, the sledcradles the gun so you can getthe best out of it. Granted, strongrecoil can ruin the concentrationof the best shooter, so in this wayI was testing the rifle and notmyself.

Like the BAR, I had no troublegetting the ShortTrac to shoot,and in part I think it’s becausethe rifle is self-feeding. Unlike abolt gun that you have to move tolift the bolt, eject the case, loadand get back into position, theShortTrac just needed anotherpull of the trigger to launch an-other round downrange. Veloci-ties were all over 3,100 fps, andthe average of all the groups was1.2 inches. Handloads couldshrink that number to under aninch.

At the range I put the riflethrough its paces by firing offas many rounds as I could, asfast as I could, until I finished a20-round box. The rifle neverbalked, and ejection was ex-tremely positive without anymalfunctions.

I found the ShortTrac easy toshoot and quite accurate. Withconventional cartridges, the rifleis perfect; with the WinchesterShort Magnums, it will find aplace in the hearts of hunterswho want a versatile field rifle.

For more information, contactBrowning Arms, One BrowningPlace, Morgan UT 84050.

53www.riflemagazine.com

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90 Rifle 222www.riflemagazine.com

Remington’s Model 504 is

the most accurate .22 rimfiresporter I’ve ever tested. How ac-curate? Well, with the assistanceof a 4x Leupold scope, I was ableto rack up an impressive numberof one-inch groups (five-shotstrings) at 50 yards with twodifferent brands of ammunitiondespite the opposition of persist-ent wind gusts blowing inter-mittently from 15 to 20 mph(according to the Weather Bu-reau recording station 31⁄2 milesaway). Those groups were firedbenchrest, of course. Had I beena better judge of wind, thosescores would have been evenmore impressive than they were.

The range where the tests tookplace faces due south. The windblew from the west-southwest,more or less from right to left.Out at the 50-yard line, a red-colored piece of twine about afoot long was tacked to the targetboard and left hanging beside thetargets. Its movements would be-tray the wind’s intentions. Theidea was, of course, to hold myfire until the string hung limp.

That worked sometimes – occa-sionally, it didn’t. Not infre-quently, the string would beginto stir just as I was about tosqueeze a round off. Before Icould stop myself, I’d hurry theshot, more often than not, open-ing the group. In any event, hereare the results of a series of five-shot strings fired at 50 yards. Thebulls were 11⁄2 inches in diameterand were black on buff-coloredpaper.

Number 1: no wind – .6 inch.Number 2: no wind – .6 inch.Number 3: 4 rounds in .5 inch,one more out to 1.0 inch (windgot me). Number 4: 4 in .6 inch,one more out to 1.0 inch (wind

again!). Number 5: 4 in .65 inch,one more out to 1.5 inch (wind).

And so it went. Those particulargroups were fired with EleyMatch. An old box of RemingtonSubsonic Long Rifles, the last inmy inventory, did almost as well.Like most .22s, the 504’s barrelhad its preferences where ammu-nition was concerned and lostno time revealing them. Sevenother brands were fired but nonegrouped as well or as reliably asEley and that old Subsonic. Nev-ertheless, how many .22 sportershave you seen capable of puttingfive rounds in an inch – or less –

at 50 yards, string after stringafter string? Had it not been forthat blasted wind . . .

Why didn’t I wait for a windlessday? Simply because I’d still bewaiting! There haven’t been anywindless days around here forweeks. It’s whistling outside rightnow, as this is being typed. Geez!What a summer.

But to continue: The 504 isn’t abeginner’s rifle. One glance at itis enough to know it was con-ceived and dimensioned withgrownups in mind (my originalintent was to refer to it as an“adult” rimfire but because that

S t a f f

REMINGTON MODEL 504RIMFIRE SPORTER

REMINGTON MODEL 504RIMFIRE SPORTER

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TS

PR

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TS

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noun has taken on a whole newmeaning these days – “adultmovies,” “adult TV” – it seemedbest to avoid the word lest itcause some confusion in theranks. Let’s just say that 504swere created with dedicatedsmall game hunters in mind.

There’s nothing flimsy about a504. Even a cursory glance isenough to tell that several life-times’ worth of use has beenbuilt into it. It’s the kind of riflethat will be handed down from

one generation of hunters to thenext – and cherished by each.

Take its receiver, for instance:Machined from a single chunk ofsteel, it’s massive enough to ac-commodate 50,000 psi or better.Its bolt handle is .3 inch thick,and its knob is 3⁄4 inch in diame-ter. The action is wedded to thestock by means of two heftystock bolts: One reaches upfrom the forward end of thetrigger guard; the other links theforward receiver ring with thefloorplate embracing the detach-able magazine. The result is anextremely stiff assembly, admit-tedly much stronger than neces-sary but one that, judging fromthe fired targets, keeps barrelvibrations to a minimum and re-markably uniform. That barrel,by the way, is button-rifled, andthe muzzle’s crown is deeply re-cessed too. Oh, yes, and whenthe rifle is cocked, a tiny cockingindicator protrudes from thecenter of the bolt head’s rearface where it can be felt as wellas seen. Apparently, Remingtonrifles are designed by shooters.

Although a 504 can’t be charac-terized as being “showy,” it looksa lot more expensive than it is.Its walnut stock looks like stocksused to: straight-grained, evenlystained with neatly checkeredpanels (machine-checkered, ofcourse – but very carefully exe-cuted, no run-overs). Its blackrubber buttplate would do justiceto a much livelier caliber, but itdoesn’t slip when set against theshoulder; neither does it make asound when plopped in dirt orshale.

Admittedly, the pistol grip capcame as a bit of a surprise, withits black, anodized finish embel-lished with tasteful scrollworkencircling a large, stylized goldenletter R. Some will criticize it as“gilding the lily.” Maybe it is, butit adds a touch of class andserves to emphasize the fact thatthe Remington arms being manu-factured today are a great dealmore handsome than they were afew years back.

92 www.riflemagazine.com

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Remington rifles, at least thoseI’ve handled over the years, havealways been impressively accu-rate right out of the box, but untilthe last couple of years, few everdrew any oohs or aahs at firstsight. That’s no longer the case,and the 504 is as good an exam-ple of this trend as any I canthink of.

Dual extractors make feeding ano-nonsense proposition. During

the range tests, more than 500rounds were fired. Every one ofthose cartridges slid into thechamber unhesitatingly – andeach of them was withdrawn andflipped some four feet to theright and two to the rear withoutbalking.

According to Remington ads,each Model 504 sold this yearwill include a free set of scopebases. Sad to say, the test riflewas delivered without them andall attempts to buy some locallyproved fruitless. I was informedthat Burris was making them andcould help, but they turned medown too. Finally, after siftingthrough an old box of odds andends, a couple of Weaver baseswere discovered that were madeto serve. Moral of the Story: Any-one who buys one of these riflesthis year should make sure thescope bases are included!

And one more item: The triggeris fully adjustable, but must be

worked on only by a Remington-authorized gunsmith. If the oneon the test rifle is typical, my ad-vice is not to mess with it! – AlMiller

SpecificationsRemington Model 504

Barrel length: 20 inchesLength overall: 391⁄2 inchesMagazine: 6 roundsWeight (advertised): 61⁄2 poundsWeight (as tested): 7 pounds (with 4x Leupold

scope mounted)Trigger pull: 37⁄8 poundsStock: American walnutLength of pull: 133⁄4 inchesDrop at comb: 11⁄8 inchesDrop at heel: 11⁄4 inches

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106 Rifle 222www.riflemagazine.com

My first brush with mail-

order stocks came when Ipurchased a “semi-inletted” stockfrom Herter’s and attempted tofit it to a surplus 03-A3 Spring-field I’d bought on the cheap.Ineptitude and teenage impa-tience made that experiment only

that was first treated with a high-polyurethane content base coatdesigned to resist dents andscratches, then hand-finishedwith Permalyn, an oil finish of-fered by Brownells. Finally, thestock was waxed to enhance theluster of the hand-rubbed oil fin-ish. Both forend and pistol gripsported well-executed laser-cutcheckering (hand checkering isan available option).

My straight, classic-style stockwears a one-inch Pachmayer“Old English” style black De-celerator recoil pad. Length ofpull is 131⁄2 inches, and the stockweighs an even 2 pounds.

One thing that sets this good-looking stock apart from con-ventional walnut stocks is afull-length, fully bedded alu-minum chassis designed to dis-tribute recoil evenly throughoutthe stock. This chassis is preci-sion CNC machined from 6061aircraft-grade aluminum andsports an anodized pillar system.

To add even more strength, thewrist of the stock is reinforcedwith a titanium pin.

The stock I requested for test-ing was for a long-action Model700 Remington. When I tried to

partly successful. The experiencetaught me a valuable lesson:Someone with my woodworkingskills should buy only fully fin-ished, 100 percent inletted “dropin” stocks when trying to im-prove a rifle’s performance or ap-pearance.

I don’t know how many differ-ent after-market stocks are nowavailable to shooters hoping tochange the personality of a pethunting rifle. I do know the vastmajority of today’s drop-in riflestocks are made of some kind ofsynthetic or laminated wood.Synthetic stocks are typicallylighter, tougher and more weath-erproof than wood, while lami-nated stocks are stable and canbe aesthetically pleasing.

For the past several weeks, I’vebeen using an entirely differentkind of after-market stock – oneof the Accurate Innovations’Golden Accuracy™ series of drop-in stocks. The Golden Hunter™

stock is “select-grade” walnut

C l a i r R e e s

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Ballistic Plex™. The simplest, most confidence-buildingtrajectory-compensating reticle for connecting at longrange. Will work for almost any cartridge 30 calibrationlabels come with each scope. Ballistic Plex is fast, simpleand accurate. Add an accurate rifle, a laser range finder,some long range practice, and you have the ingredients tocreate capable and successful marksmen. Available in theFullfield II, Signature Select, Compact and Handgun scopes.

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close-up at 400 yards (standard trajectory)

Example Cartridges that calibrate for 100 to 500 yards.

.223 55grain

.243 100grain

.270 150grain7mm-08 140grain7mm Mags 175grain30-06 150grain30-06 165grain338 Mag 225grain

Example Cartridges that calibrate for 200 to 600 yards.

.243 WSSM 100grain

.25-06 100grain

.270 130grain

.270 WSM 150grain7mm Mags 140grain7mm Shrt Mg 160grain300 Mag 150grain300 Ultra 180grain

All riflescopes are warranted forever.

Burris Company 331 E. 8th Street, Greeley, CO 80631 (970) 356-1670 www.burrisoptics.com

fit the stock to a new Model 700SPS barreled action I had onhand, the rear of the metal be-hind the trigger guard was a hairtoo long to “drop in” without fir-ing up the Dremel tool. Instead, Itried another long-action Model700 I had on hand – this timeeverything fit fine.

Installation instructions speci-fied 65 inch-pounds (not foot-pounds) of pressure on front andrear action screws. Lacking atorque wrench, I simply snuggedthese screws to a solid, but notoverly tight, fit. (If you need aportable torque wrench, you canbuy one from Accurate Innova-tions for $79.)

Once installed, the GoldenHunter stock was a very good fit.The barrel was free floated, withonly a slight gap along the rightside. Accuracy also improved.With its original moulded stockin place, the Model 700 Reming-

ton produced very acceptable 13⁄8-inch, three-shot groups at 100yards with .30-06 Hornady 165-grain Custom SST factory ammu-nition. Once the new stock wasinstalled, groups shrank to just 7⁄8inch across.

Retailing at $389, the hand-finished Accurate Innovationsstock was not inexpensive. Un-finished stocks sell for $279.While my stock was plain, straight-grained Claro walnut, four bettergrades were available. Opting for“fancy” walnut would add $120 tothe price. Other upgrades include22 lpi hand checkering ($250),raised shadow-line cheekpiece($54), custom length of pull ($9),while opting for a thumbhole-style stock would add $90 to theprice.

The instructions note thatscratches or dings “can be easilyrepaired using 400 grit wet/drysandpaper and an oil finish such

as Permalyn. Dings can be raisedusing moisture and heat from asoldering iron and wet cloth asyou would with any other woodstock.”

While I would have preferredwood with fancy figuring, theGolden Hunter stock was a hand-some addition to my Model 700Remington. My limited testing in-dicated a significant improve-ment in accuracy.

For more information, contactAccurate Innovations, LLC, Dept.R, PO Box 1007, Rapid City SD57709-1007; or visit online at:www.accurateinnovations.com.

Champion

X-Ray

Deer TargetMost deer hunters know they’re

supposed to place their shot “justbehind the shoulder.” But exactly

November-December 2005 107www.riflemagazine.com