RIFLES
Varmint Gear
New guns, optics, loads and accessories for the tiny targets of summer.
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Why do so many avid rifle cranks like varminting so much? Well, it's not too hard to figure out. Serious varmint hunting calls for the ultimate in accuracy potential, both from your rifle and from the ammo you feed it. Varminting also calls for optical excellence in riflescopes and spotting scopes. Long distances, small targets, wind and mirage have a way of exposing what works and what doesn't. What we've gathered here is a rundown of noteworthy new gear--rifles, ammo, optics and accessories--that will be premiering wherever you'll find ground squirrel colonies, prairie dog towns or groundhog pastures.
Remington 700 SPS Varmint
Remington's latest addition to its 700 lineup, the SPS Varmint, should further enhance the company's reputation for bolt-action tackdrivers. It features a newly designed black synthetic stock with vented beavertail fore-end, a heavy-contour 26-inch barrel, non-reflective matte blue finish and Remington's X-Mark Pro trigger. Available chamberings cover the bases from ground squirrels and prairie dogs on up to predators. They include .17 Remington Fireball (see later sidebar for info on this new round), .204 Ruger, .22-250 Remington, .223 Remington and .243 Winchester. $647. Remington Arms Co. Inc., 800/243-9700
DPMS Panther LR-204
Precision ARs have proven without a doubt that they can hang with the bolt guns in the varmint department. DPMS has gone a step further and tweaked the precision AR concept with the LR-204, a bull-barreled flattop number chambered for the sizzling (4,000 fps) .204 Ruger. The upper and lower receiver is 7075-T6 aluminum alloy that's been hard-coat anodized and coated in black Teflon. The rail can handle serious varmint scopes, and the rifle can be had with a JP adjustable trigger as an option. $999. DPMS Panther Arms, 320/258-4448
CZ 452 Lux LH
With all the ballistic hoo-ha over hotrock centerfire varmint loads, it's often easy to overlook the humble .22 Long Rifle. But anyone with practical varminting experience knows that an accurate scoped rimfire is the cheapest high-volume option going, and it's plenty good out to 100 yards. The CZ 452 now comes in left-hand configuration for those southpaws who are tired of reaching over the top of the scope to work the action. The 452 is an elegant, classy sporter featuring a hammer-forged 28.6-inch barrel, Turkish walnut stock and detachable five-round magazine. $373. CZ-USA, 800/955-4486
