I was looking at this little Model Seven and I realized how much of a firearm snob I’ve become… for the second time in two weeks. The first time was after review of an H&R Handi-Rifle chambered for the 500 S&W Magnum. Rifles can bring about a cultural clash between […]

Hmmm… It isn’t often that we put a firearm through a live fire workout and it looks as good at the end as it did when we began. Not even frame dust cover scuff marks on the slide or in the grooves of the rails. Powder residue wiped right off. […]

There aren’t a lot of companies that begin life in Canada making paintball guns and end up in a 30,000 square foot facility in North Carolina making 1911 derivatives. However, that is about what Para Ordnance accomplished between 1985 and 2009, with 1988 as the actual transition year from paint […]

Based on the semiautomatic, tubular magazine Marlin 60 of 1960, the Marlin Model 70P Papoose, was introduced in 1986. This stainless steel version was re-introduced in 2011, produced in  Remington manufacturing facilities. So what can the Papoose do that a… non-papoose cannot? Unscrew the knurled takedown nut and the barrel […]

There are few really new cartridges, just a lot of subtle changeups on established themes. Which is not a bad thing, as anyone who has ever shot a 375 H&H belted magnum derivative can attest. In the case of the 500 S&W… case, the 500 S&W looks strangely familiar…. not […]

Initially, I didn’t know what to make of the H&R Handi-Rifle. It is a very basic rifle, shipped in very basic packaging. The first time I picked it up I couldn’t tell if it felt more like my old Savage 12 gauge break action shotgun, or a Thompson Center Contender […]

If you’ve been following along with the project, you are probably already familiar with what has gone into this rifle in terms of parts and assemblies, but I thought a spec box might help for anyone who fell asleep while reading. Real Guns® Project AR-15 Assembler Real Guns® Cartridge .223 […]

After concluding Part 1, a Burris 4.5-14X42mm C4 scope was installed on the subject rifle. Hmm… that reads like Dragnet dialogue. “The subject was then read his rights and taken to the precinct…” Where was I? Oh, yeah… Weatherby factory loads, 130 grain and 200 grain, are rated at 3,600+ […]

  At the conclusion of the last installment, assembly was completed with the exception of the butt stock and a muzzle brake and/or flash suppressor. A simple helical design VLTOR Weapon Systems flash suppressor was selected, Brownells # 100-003-114 $60 and, as pictured below, a Mako Group 6 position GLR-16BTK […]

As I’ve noted in all prior installments, this is not an attempt at instruction, only familiarization for folks who have not attempted to assemble an AR, but would like a basic overview of the process. None of the items assembled in this segment, with the exception of the pivot pin, […]