Sports Publications

Good things come in threes - Rifleman

Guns Magazine, Nov, 2003 by Dave Anderson

Talley Scope Rings For CZ Rifles

The integral receiver scope bases on the popular CZ rifles is an excellent feature. CZ rings are strong and well made. My only objection to them is they mount the scope higher than necessary.

The fine Talley rings are available to fit CZ receivers. The rein ring has a projection to fit the notch in the receiver bridge to prevent ring movement from recoil. As with all Talley products they are precisely machined and beautifully finished in a smooth, non-reflective matte.

I used the Talley tings to mount a Leupold 3-9x40 Rifleman scope on my CZ Safari Magnum in .375 H&H Magnum. The rings fit both rifle and scope perfectly. The assembly is strong and rigid, with no ring or scope movement from recoil. I like the fixed version, but quick detachable rings are offered as well.

Improved Trigger For Marlin's 17V

Martin's 17V in. 17 Hornady Magnum Rimfire is an outstanding value. A sample I had on consignment gave superb accuracy, often placing five shots in a half-inch group or less at 100 yards. It's only drawback was a "liability trigger," with substantial creep and overtravel, and a weight of pull in excess of six pounds.

A friend who purchased a 17V solved the problem by snipping the rifle to Mike Johnson's Shooting Specialties for a trigger job. It came back with a crisp 2.5 pound break, free of creep and with minimal overtravel.

I called Mike to inquire about the job. He was a little vague on details, likely afraid I'd try it at home and lose a finger. In essence he said it was a matter of changing a couple of angles on a surface grinder, honing engagement surfaces mad replacing the trigger return spring.

My pal absolutely dotes on his accurate little Marlin now that it has a first-rate trigger. It's a great buy, even after adding the $65 cost of a trigger job to the moderate initial purchase price. You can spend a lot more on a .17, but I doubt you can get better accuracy at any price.

Garmin eTrex GPS

Some years ago I tested several GPS units. They were a great innovation, but also bulky, heavy, expensive and in some cases, overly complicated.

In fall of 2002 I bought a Garmin eTrex from WalMart for $119.95. It is small, light (5.5 ounces), relatively simple to use, reliable, and a year later is still on its first set of batteries. I bought it mainly to keep from losing my pickup, but found a number of other uses as well.

On an elk hunt I used a topographical map with longitude and latitude markings along with the Garmin so we always knew exactly where we could legally hunt. Legal bunting hours in many areas are from a half-hour before sunrise to a half-hour after sunset. The Garmin shows sunrise and sunset times for fire position it is located.

On a mule deer hunt with my wife, we shot a nice buck shortly before sunset, with the truck a long ways away across two large, deep valleys. We field dressed the deer and marked the position on the Garmin. Next morning we used the GPS to navigate the truck in from a different direction. Before moving the deer I went back to the place from which I'd fired and used the GPS to check my range estimate.

The eTrex displays ground speed, a feature I found useful for checking speedometer accuracy. On the other hand ...

I found myself parked on the shoulder of Interstate 94, looking into a pair of sparkling blue eyes framed by lovely blond hair. Normally a pleasant experience, but in this case the eyes and hair belonged to a highway patrol officer.

"I'm letting you off with a warning, but slow down a little. The speed limit is 75, my radar unit said you were going 83".

"Thank you, officer, but let me check my Garmin GPS. It stores average speed, and it can recall the top speed of a trip--see, 87.6 mph. Better get your radar unit checked."

"Oh, I will", she said, with an unnecessarily happy smile. "Want to guess where the money will come from to repair it?"

The officer flipped open her ticket book. Dang GPS unit. It's too accurate.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Talley Manufacturing Inc.

[307] 436-8724

www.talleyrings.com

Mike Johnson's Shooting Specialties

Box 653 Chinook. MT 59523

Phone [406] 357-3132

Marlin Firearms Company

[203] 239-5621

www.marlinfirearms.com