by TGM staff
This may not go down as the “year of the rifle,” but there are some brand new long guns worth attention for American shooters as 2017 unfolds.
Browning-BAR Safari 100th anniversary limited edition.
This is the 100th anniversary of the Browning Automatic Rifle, and for 2017, Browning (browning.com) is commemorating the centennial event with a special semi-auto sporting version dubbed the BAR Safari 100th Anniversary model. It has a steel receiver with special engravings and a handsome polished blue finish, 22-inch barrel, Grade V Turkish walnut stock with an oil finish and it is chambered for the .30-06 Sprg. Only 100 of these rifles will be made.
There’s a new BAR MK 3 DBM semi-auto with a matte black finish, 18-inch barrel, black composite stock and forearm, 10-round detachable magazine and integrated Picatinny scope mounts. It also has two QD sling swivel cups with swivels, a front sling swivel stud and it is chambered in .308 Winchester.
Another Browning entry is the X-Bolt Medallion Safari Grade bolt action model with deep polished blue fluted heavy sporter barrel, gold accented engraving, an engraved receiver that also has a polished blue finish, and a Grade IV/V walnut stock with Rosewood forend tip and pistol grip caps. It wears a gloss finish.
Another X-Bolt model is the Hell’s Canyon Long Range model with a Cerakote Burnt Bronze finish on exposed metal surfaces and a fluted heavy sporter contour barrel. It has a composite stock with textured gripping surfaces and is available in seven different calibers, with barrel length dependent upon the caliber.
Lastly, Browning offers the AB3 bolt-action in the Micro Stalker model with black composite stock featuring a 13-inch length of pull for smaller shooters. It has an Inflex recoil pad, bvolt lock override button and floating barrel.
Springfield Armory (springfield-armory.com) announced The Saint semi-auto rifle late in 2016, and it’s a sizzler. The advertising dubs this rifle “the AR-15 for people who are ready for the challenge,” and it appears to fit.
The Saint features a GI-style “F” height front weight with tapered pin front sight base, a telescoping butt, flat top receiver with forward assist and M4 feed ramps. The lower receiver has a proprietary Accu-Tite tension system. It also boasts an enhanced GI-style trigger.
This Mossberg MMR Pro is chambered in 5.56x45mm.
Mossberg (Mossberg.com) is offering the MMR Vortex StrikefireII combo semi-auto with a AISI 4140 alloy steel or 416 stainless steel barrel that is button broached and cut with a 1:8 right hand twist. Chambered in 5.56mm, it has a receiver forged from 7075 T6 aluminum.
The nearly identical MMR Tactical Optics Ready model can be fitted with the Vortex StrikefireII sight. Both rifles come with 30-round magazines.
Mossberg’s MMR Pro has a rifle-length gas system. An 18-inch 416 stainless steel barrel cut with a 1:8-inch twist, Silencerco ASR muzzlebrake, adjustable stock, forward bolt assist and black phosphate-anodized finish.
In the bolt-action arena, Mossberg offers the Patriot Predator in four calibers, including .223 Remington, .243 Winchester, .308 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor, all with 22-inch barrels, matte blue finish and flat dark earth stocks.
In .223 Remington are the Patriot Predator, Patriot Super Bantam and Patriot Synthetic. The Super Bantam model has a synthetic stock with spacers to fit younger shooters as they grow.
With a handsome checkered select walnut stock featuring Rosewood grip cap and forend tip, Mossberg’s Patriot Revere bolt action available in five calibers. The barrel and action are deeply blued and the stock features QD sling swivel studs. The barrel has a recessed crown.
The newest bolt-action from Christensen Arms (christensenarms.com) is called the Mesa, and it comes from the factory guaranteed to shoot sub-MOA groups. This rifle features a stainless steel barrel with a tungsten Cerakote finish, carbon-reinforced fiberglass stock, adjustable match-grade trigger and removable stainless steel radial muzzle brake. The rifle hits the scale at 6.65 pounds.
Christensen chambers the Mesa in several calibers including .308 Winchester, 6.5 Creedmoor, .300 Win. Magnum, 7MM-08, and 7MM Rem Magnum.
Winchester Model 1866 Yellow Boy Grade I Short Rifle.
Nostalgia buffs should warm up to the Model 1866 Yellow Boy Grade I Short Rifle from Winchester (winchesterguns.com), a historic lever-action with a Grade I American black walnut stock and forearm with satin oil finish. It has a 20-inch barrel with a folding ladder rear sight and Marble Arms gold bead front sight. Chambered in .44-40 Winchester or .38 Special, this rifle weighs about 7.25 pounds. It has a full length magazine tube and top ejection.
Winchester is also unveiling the XPR Hunter Mountain Country Range bolt-action rifle. It’s got a polymer stock in Mossy Oak Mountain Country Range camo, an M.O.A. trigger system, Perma-Cote matte blue finish on the metal surfaces, detachable box magazine, steel recoil lug, two-position thumb safety and 22-inch barrel. It is chambered in several calibers from .243 Winchester to .338 Winchester Magnum.
There are also two new XPR Hunter Compact models with 13-inch length-of-pull, and caliber offerings from .243 Winchester to .325 WSM. It’s got a 20-inch barrel on a short action on standard calibers and 22-inch barrel on WSM calibers.
Colt Combat Unit carbine.
Colt (colt.com) is offering another incarnation of its M4 platform, this one called the Combat Unit carbine. It has a mid-length gas system, low-profile gas block, Centurion CMR free floated forend, Magpul SL buttstock and pistol grip and MOE trigger guard.
Skelico’s new X11 is chambered for 5.56x45mm, but can be converted to .300 Blackout, 6.8 SPC II or 6.5 Grendel with the proper barrel.
The new X11 modular carbine from Skeli (skelico.com) is chambered for the 5.56x45mm cartridge and it features an aluminum frame and polymer grip. The carbine has a folding stock with a 12¾-inch length of pull, and a threaded 16-inch removable barrel with a 1:7-inch rifling twist.
It’s got a short-stroke piston and rotating bolt, 14-inch top rail and folding polymer sights. This model is capable of being converted to .300 Blackout, 6.8 SPC II or 6.5 Grendel with the proper barrel.
MasterPiece Arms (masterpiecearms.com) announced the MPA bolt action Compact Suppressor Ready (CSR) rifle.
Late in 2016, MasterPiece Arms (masterpiecearms.com) announced the MPA bolt action Compact Suppressor Ready (CSR) rifle. Chambered for .308 Winchester or 6.5 Creedmoor, the CSR features a Kelbly’s Atlas Tactical action with a 416RQ stainless steel hand-lapped barrel in either 16 or 20-inch lengths. The .308-caliber model has a rifling twist of 1:10-inch while the Creedmoor twist is 1:8-inch. It has a five-round magazine.
New from Uberti (uberti.com) come two new rifles, an 1886 lever-action sporting rifle and an 1886 Hunter Lite, both chambered in .45/70 Govt. The Sporting model has a 26-inch octagonal barrel with full length magazine tube, while the Hunter Lite has a 22-inch round barrel and half-length magazine. Both rifles have blued, color-case receivers and select American walnut stocks and forends, plus fully-adjustable sights and they are drilled and tapped for Lyman’s receiver peep sight.
New Savage semi-auto rimfire rifle.
Savage (savagearms.com) offers the A22 semi-auto with a straight blowback action and user-adjustable AccuTrigger. It’s got a 10-round rotary magazine, composite stock and button-rifled 22-inch blue steel barrel. It can accept a Butler Creek 25-round accessory magazine, and the receiver is drilled and tapped for scope mounts.
