Good news! - On a Positive Note

Guns Magazine, Jan, 2003 by Jim Gardner

Fall is such a delightful time of year. In my part of the country, the oppressive days of late summer are now past, and the first hint of the longed-for winter rains have teased us by speckling the dusty ground. Not enough to do any real good, it leaves us hoping for more. But by God's grace, the rains will come soon enough.

Other good harbingers of change come in the fall. For those who shoot, it's just about now we may begin hearing rumors of new and interesting things from the various firearm manufacturers. With the big industry event, the SHOT Show, just around the corner, there are usually interesting changes in the wind. In just the past few days, I've learned of two new developments, both of which are rather exciting.

Hurrah! Good News From USRAC

Without checking a bunch of reference material, I think it's safe to say the Winchester Model 1894, produced by the U.S. Repeating Arms Company, has been in continuous production longer than any other domestic sporting rifle. The old girl has suffered through a great many changes over the years, and in my opinion, few of them have been positive.

I'm speaking here primarily of the various "safety enhancements." The Winchester's original design, incorporating a half-cock safety notch, was simple and trouble free. Anyone with the mental acuity to tie his own shoes could figure out how to manage this correctly.

The first deviation from this proven arrangement was the incorporation of a rebounding hammer. I have owned several of these, and although this system causes no real difficulties, the departure from the elegantly simple original design is lamentable.

The same faint praise cannot be lavished on the egregious cross-bolt safety that has been a standard feature on recent production M94s. This device is essentially useless, occasionally dangerous, and is an unsightly blight on an otherwise fine traditional rifle.

Simply by grasping one of these rifles around the receiver to pick it up, it's possible to brush this safety on without realizing it. I've seen this happen first-hand on many occasions. Expecting a bang, pressing the trigger brings only a click. I've also seen people lever two or three rounds through the chamber before realizing they've fallen prey to this damnable device:

In our litigious society, it's understandable companies should seek to make their products as fool-proof as possible, but permitting these safety, modifications to inhibit proper function is unacceptable.

The good news is the days of cross-bolt equipped Wrinchester '94s are numbered. USRAC has redesigned .he M94 to incorporate a tang-mounted safety, similar to current production 1892 and 1886 rifles. Falling naturally under the thumb, this will be easier to use if desired, and will be far less obtrusive than the former safety.

Other interesting developments are in the works at USRAC, but I'll have to share these with you at a later date.

Savage Announces New AccuTrigger[TM]

I happen to share Dave Anderson's opinion (GUNS Magazine, December, '02), that the Savage 110 series s an exceptional value. Every sample I have experimented with has been superbly accurate. The sole compliaint I would make is the out-of-the-box trigger is unacceptably stiff for good shooting.

The Savage 110 is certainly not alone in this fault, -- with the rarest exceptions -- all factory rifles are saddled with the same flaw.

What a surprise then to hear from Brian Herrick, V.P. of Marketing at Savage Arms. He advised not only that Savage is upgrading to a new trigger system -- it's designed to be adjusted by the shooter! How wonderful to find a modern American sporting arms maker that desires to treat its customers as thinking, intelligent people.

The new AccTrigger[TM] is adjustable within a range of 1 1/2 to 6 pounds. Its design is safe against accidental discharge, even if roughly handled or dropped. The Savage team has extensively tested this new trigger against all manner of both production and custom triggers. The new design is not only lighter in weight of pull, it requires less travel and shows less creep.

The new AccuTrigger[TM] will initially be offered on the various Savage varmint, law enforcement, and heavy barreled long-range rifles, commencing in January, 2003.

Savage is to be congratulated, both for leading the industry in providing a superior trigger, and for their faith in the intelligence of the end user. Great job, guys!

Cowboys Go To Town

Cowboy Shooting appears to remain the most actively growing segment of the shooting sports. This has been a good thing both for the firearms industry, and for the shooting sports in general. In addition to being a lot of fun, the less than serious, non-threatening nature of Cowboy Action Shooting has succeeded in making inroads into the general media.

National Public Radio, which may usually be described as left leaning, ran an unbiased report on the phenomenon of cowboy shooting, as have a number of major newspapers and magazines. This has been a refreshing and positive development.