Gunwriter Chronicles (2024 Episode 4)
A look at the February 2024 Safari Prep Suppressed course at Gunsite Academy.
Gun Reviews (Part 2)
I discussed how gun reviews occur and how they may or may not be influenced by advertising in this article. The next logical step is to explain how I conduct a gun review. The process might be a bit more involved than you think, and it’s not always just about doing a lot of shooting.
When I select a gun for review, I’ll reach out to the manufacture and request a sample for test and evaluation. With most manufactures it usually takes a week or two for the gun to arrive, but sometimes – for a variety of reasons – it takes much longer. While I’m waiting on the gun, I’ll identify the ammunition I want to test in the gun as well as any accessories I might want to include, such an optical sight, slings, and so on. If I don’t have those on hand, I’ll request them from various manufactures as well. With handguns I always try to get at least one holster for the test.
When the gun arrives and I pick it up at Dove’s Custom Guns, it’s typically on a 90-day loan. At the end of that period I can request an extension, return the gun, or in some cases, purchase it for about the same price a dealer would pay. (After all, it will be well-used when I’m done with it.) But I don’t run home and start shooting. Generally, I’ll wait until I get the ammo and accessories I want to evaluate with the gun before I begin. When everything is in hand, the first thing I do is unbox the gun and begin to get to know it.
Sometimes this takes time, especially if it’s a new gun or a design I’m not familiar with. In other instances, especially if it is just a line extension in another chambering or color, the gun is familiar right out of the box. After the getting to know it period, I’ll wipe it down, punch the tube with a dry patch, and mount any accessories. Sometimes this also takes time, especially with rifles. Sometimes the scope rings I have are not high enough or they’re too high, or the scope bases don’t fit the rifle, or the riflescope I planned to use just does not fit the rifle in terms of size or purpose.
With rifles, the next step is to boresight and zero the rifle. In most cases this takes only two or three shots because I’m not interested in the rifle hitting my exact point of aim. This is partly because different loads often impact at different locations on the target, and partly because I may not have decided the primary load with which I’ll use to do most of the filed shooting. This is why you’ll see images of groups on the target that are not hitting the center of the target. With a point of impact within a few inches of the point of aim, I’ll start shooting five-shot groups and chronographing the test ammo. As a minimum, I’ll chronograph 10 shots and fire three, five-shot groups at 100 yards with each load.
Sometimes I’ll shoot more than three, five-shot groups. This is often the case when the rifle I’m testing is one designed more for targets than hunting. But, on occasion, there are other considerations. For instance, I recently tested the new Pursuit bolt action rifle from Stag Arms and the instructions suggested the barrel should be broken in with between 50 to 60 rounds in five-shot increments. This of course adds time and ammo to the test. (The review of that rifle should be live on Field & Stream soon, and for what it’s worth, the rifle did not shoot very well until it was broken in. After break in, it performed exceptionally well.)
I try to shoot five shot groups quickly – usually in about 60 seconds – to see if barrel heating negatively impacts accuracy. Then, I’ll cool the barrel with an air compressor. Without an air compressor it takes about 15 minutes for the barrel to completely cool, especially if I use a suppressor. With the compressor I can cut that time to about five minutes. Generally, you can figure about 10 minutes for every five-shot group fired, and since I always test at least three loads, that works out to a minimum of 90 minutes. As for the test ammunition, I try to use a range of common bullet weights, from at least three manufacturers.
Once all the chronographing and precision testing is complete, I’ll decided on the load I want to use for field testing – which is either the one I have the most of, or the one that shot the best – and I’ll fine tune the zero. That’s usually all the shooting that happens with that rifle on that day, but I tend to test several rifles from the bench at one time. Typically, I have anywhere between 1 and 5 guns on hand to test at any given moment.
Later, on another day, I’ll begin shooting off-hand, and from kneeling, sitting, prone, and shooting sticks and a bipod. I’ll also often use a shooting sling and sling up tightly from various positions to see how that might affect point of impact. During all this I’ll also be evaluating all the various features of the rifle to see if they work as described. I have several drills I run rifles through based on their intended purpose. This gives me a chance to see how different rifles perform when compared to other rifles intended for the same application. During the field shooting I’ll make notes and it’s generally when my son comes to take the photos. I have to schedule these test sessions with him because he runs his own photo/video business and stays busy. (We all wish for our kids to be successful, but the more successful they get, the less we see them.)
After all the shooting is complete the rifle goes in a rack next to my desk where it lives for a week or two. From time to time, I’ll pick it up and fondle it, examine it, and think about it. I’ll also show it to others who drop by and ask their opinion on the overall concept of the rifle and its various features. Often I’ll let others shoot the guns I’m testing and note their opinion and performance. Most of the time, before I write the review, I’ll end up on the range with the rifle again to evaluate some feature, an idea, or maybe another load or sight system. In all, I’ll usually spend about 16 hours with a rifle – over a period of about two weeks –before I’ll write the review.
The process with handguns is similar but can vary. With self-defense handguns I usually take them to the range and shoot them a lot before I put them on paper and chronograph the ammo. Over the years I’ve found that the most likely problem with a self-defense handguns is reliability and shooter interface, and I like to discover these issues before I invest the time necessary to chronograph and precision test multiple loads. Not all that long ago I evaluated a high-end 1911 that worked wonderfully well with FMJ ammo, but it would only feed JHP ammo about 50% of the time. It had to go back to its builder for tweaking.
Typically, I run the same three drills with each self-defense handgun. Like when testing rifles this gives me a good idea how the test gun stacks up with all the other guns I’ve evaluated over the years. If the gun is reliable, a few days later I’ll spend the time necessary on the bench for precision testing and chronographing. Like with the rifles, I like to try a varied weight range of bullets from multiple manufacturers.
When I write a review, I report how the gun shot and if there were any malfunctions. I do not write up guns that suck or that I would not recommend; like I’ve said before, there are too many good guns to write about to waste my time and space in a magazine on a gun that’s crap. I will however write about what I did not like about the gun. For instance, I recently tested the Colt CBX TAC Hunter rifle for Field & Steam. The rifle was reliable, and it shot very well. However, the rifle’s stock was underwhelming and to me it felt more like an expensive canoe paddle, and that’s what I wrote in the article.
Rarely, but sometimes, I’ll become attached to a gun and not want to send it back. This is generally not a good thing because it cuts into the money I’m paid for writing about the damned thing to start with. If I purchased all the guns that I tested and liked, I would not have any money, or a wife, or a house to keep them in. Sometimes it’s hard to send a gun back, and sometimes I’m glad to see it go. Interestingly, the manufactures are quick to send an invoice for a gun, but its nearly impossible to get them to send a return label.
Lastly, I would add that I review guns based on their intended application, objectively, but my reviews are also subjectively based on my likes and dislikes. And I think that’s important. If you feel that me or another writer have similar views with you about guns, hunting, or shooting, then you are more likely to trust our reviews to somewhat reflect your likes and dislikes.
For example, if I review a hunting rife that weighs more than seven pounds, I’m going to bitch about it. If the recoil is unpleasant, I’m going to tell you. And if I think the gun is ugly, I’m going to tell you that too. By the way, guns don’t have feelings, only the folks who make them or own them do. And I’m not in the business of trying to not hurt feelings.
Interesting. I honestly did not know how important barrel “break-in” can be.
Great video with your son Bat.
Will there be another Safari Prep course in the future for Un-suppressed rifles?
SplitHoof