Hunting rifles: New products, tests, experience reports

SHOT Show 2024: The Droptine Classic is the newest version of Pedersoli's popular lever-action rifle in .30/30 Winchester and, by popular demand, marks a return to traditional aesthetics, with a walnut stock, color case hardened finish, and "Old West" style sights.

Exactly 170 years after Horace Smith & Daniel Baird Wesson patented their first lever gun with the Volcanic lever-action, Smith & Wesson introduces the Model 1854, a lever-action rifle series with modern features. Two versions are initially available, both chambered in .44 Magnum and with a magazine tube capacity of 9 rounds.

The 110 bolt-action rifle family has a new member featuring both a PROOF Research carbon fiber wrapped stainless steel barrel and a HNT26 folding carbon fiber stock from MDT. The 110 Ultralite Elite also comes factory with an Omniport muzzle brake installed and a 680-1,814 g user adjustable AccuTrigger. 

The latest version of the classic par excellence in wild boar hunting: the new Browning BAR 4X, the rifle series that, thanks to technique and customization possibilities, brings the myth into legend.

Featuring a nitride steel threaded barrel, a black nitride carbon steel receiver and a gray synthetic adjustable stock with pistol grip, the new hunting rifle is available in two calibers, .308 Win and 6.5 Creedmoor, with 20” or 22” barrel length respectively. Accuracy and price are its selling points.

The first CZ firearm with a carbon fiber wrapped barrel, the latest addiction to CZ's 457 series also features a polymer stock with a soft-touch digital camouflage pattern finish. The ultralight (2,15 kg) rifle in .22 LR is easy to carry and guarantees 1 MOA accuracy with match ammo.

A modern, American-style centerfire hunting rifle with an elegant Turkish walnut stock is the latest addition to CZ's 600 family. Guaranteed for sub-MOA accuracy, the new CZ 600 American is available in a wide range of popular calibers.

The new all-around hunting rifle from Savage features a Hogue Overmolded full coverage rubber overmold on the stock in OD Green, coupled to a Tungsten Cerakote ceramic coating for the barreled action. The 110 Trail Hunter is available in more than a dozen calibers, including the .400 Legend.

The latest Cross bolt-action rifle version features a 24”/609 mm user changeable barrel, a free-floating handguard, a full-length M-Lok and ARCA rail handguard, and an easy folding stock. The action length is capable of handling cartridges as long as the .300 PRC.

The HPR (High Precision Rifle) version of the Benelli Lupo came in 2023 as an effective and reliable option for both hunters and avid long range shooters. Available in .308 Winchester and 6.5 Creedmoor calibers, we had a chance to try it on the range to tell you about its details and performance.

The R8 Ultimate Monza takes off: following the special R8 Ultimate Silverstone model, Blaser is christening another Ultimate version with the melodious name of a Formula 1 circuit. In addition to the discreet leather inlays, however, Blaser relies on proven high-quality gun technology and ultra-rugged, yet classy-looking surfaces with DLC coating for the R8 Ultimate Monza. Here the details.

More and more hunters are turning to rifles with customizable polymer stocks. With the new Haenel Jaeger NXT Composite, Haenel now also has such a rifle with an "off-the-shelf" custom stock in its program.  Discover what is special about the new stock of the straight-pull rifle from Haenel's Jaeger NXT series, and what makes it so special, in the following article.

Designed for backcountry hunts, the new Model 2020 Redline is a lightweight, rugged and compact rifle. Chambered in .308 or 6.5 Creedmoor, with a choice of 16” or 20” carbon fiber-jacketed barrels, it features an adjustable Grayboe Trekker synthetic stock.

In the series about the new rifles from Rössler, we now present the Signature Hunter in the popular .308 Winchester caliber. We were able to put this hunting rifle with innovative hand cocking system under the microscope at 100 and 300 meters together with the Kahles Helia 3.5-18x50i scope and a silencer from the Hausken JD 184 XTRM series specially designed for RÖWA in green. 

The famous London gunmaker presents a very limited series of just 52 rifles (two for each of Switzerland’s 26 cantons) in 7.5x55 Swiss caliber, delivered in a beautiful hand-manufactured gun case. Each owner of a Swiss Limited Edition will also become a member of an exclusive club.

Designed as a rugged and reliable rifle and featuring a fiberglass-reinforced polymer stock, the 600 Alpha is intended as an all-weather rifle. The two new chamberings – that add to the nine already available, from .223 Rem. to .300 Win.Mag. – make it a truly versatile rifle on both the shooting range and hunting ground.