The heart of the Model 21 is a two-lug action made from 4340 chrome moly steel. For some time now, they’ve been building rifles, and the Model 21 is their newest offering. Since 1948, Nosler has established a trusted reputation with hunters by delivering some of the best game bullets made. “This is one of the top five rifles I’ve ever tested.” -Richard Mann.I’d be proud to own this rifle.” -Matthew Every It balances well and stays on target off-hand because it has enough weight up front.” -Dave Hurteau Stock: McMillan Hunters Edge Sporter Stock.That does not mean we felt it was a better precision rifle, we just thought it was a better rifle, in general. For example, the lone lever gun we tested had an overall higher score than one of the precision rifles. Otherwise, during our subjective evaluations, we scored each rifle based on whether it was a hunting rifle or a precision rifle. Where head-to-head comparisons made sense-like with quality of construction-we did that. You can’t compare the balance and handing of a lever gun to a long-range precision rifle, and we didn’t. When evaluating such a diverse collection of rifles, comparisons become complicated. Thompson Targets supplied the targets for our test. Finally, since money matters, the retail price of each rifle was ranked with the least expensive being awarded the most points and the most expensive the least. Each of us also ranked every rifle on quality of construction, balance, shooting comfort, adjustability and adaptability, versatility, and ease of maintenance. This gave us a pound-for-pound accuracy rating. We also scored each rifle on how precisely it shot the 5-shot groups in relation to how much it weighed. We scored each gun in our test of the best rifles of 2023 on how well it shot from the bench based on group sizes and for the practical drills. It was based on a 1920s practice regime used by Stewart Edward White, who Gunsite Academy founder Jeff Cooper regarded as a “true certified master of the art of the rifle.” With the precision rifles, we shot a version of the multi-positional Kraft Drill-created by long-range shooting expert Chris Way. For the hunting rifles, we conducted a snap-shooting drill using deer targets. After zeroing, we shot a bunch of five-shot groups with ammunition from Hornady, Remington, Winchester, Federal, Fiocchi, Black Hills, Sierra, and Nosler to test for precision.įinally, we ran each rifle through a practical hunting or precision shooting drill. First, we mounted a Leupold VX-3HD 4.5-14X40mm riflescope to each hunting rifle, and a Leupold Mark 5HD 5-25X56mm riflescope to each precision rifle, using Leupold rings for both. But because of the diversity of the rifles we tested this year, we had to do all of that based on each rifle’s intended use. We shot them for precision and exposed them to practical shooting drills. Just as in our past tests, we decided to rate the rifles based on certain categories. How We Test Rifles Clockwise from the top: scoring a deer target after our snap-shooting drill we used the same Leupold scopes for all of the hunting rifles except the Marlin the author takes a break from the Steward Edward White shooting drill. Best Precision Rifle: Bergara Premier MG Lite.When it was all said and done, we were confident we ranked and rated the top new rifles fairly. ![]() We had to do things a bit differently, and, just like you’d probably do around the campfire, we argued a bit to come to a consensus. Collectively, we have a century of shooting and hunting experience across North America and all over the world. Our test crew included executive editor Dave Hurteau, senior editor Matthew Every, PFG President and shooting instructor Syed Shahzad Adil Shah, and myself. The author loads up the Mauser M18 Savannah. We traveled to the fantastic Phoenicia Fish & Game Association (PFG) range, located in the Catskill Mountains in New York state, to extensively test what we felt were the 10 most exciting new rifles for 2023. This makes our job a bit more complicated, just as it makes your job of deciding which new rifle to buy harder. And in addition to what you could call “crossover” rifles, we’re seeing a lot of specialized rifles, and sadly, fewer and fewer lever guns each year. Companies are making target rifles you could go hunting with and hunting rifles that shoot well enough for competition. New rifles were once born into distinct categories hunting rifles were hunting rifles and target rifles were target rifles. That’s why we conducted our test of the best rifles of 2023 to help you decide which new-for-2023 gun you should spend your money on.īut testing new rifles isn’t as simple as it used to be. All you should really need is the cash and some guidance as to which new rifle might be best for you. If you need an excuse to buy a new rifle, you might want to reevaluate things.
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