Rifle 347 July/August 2026

About the Cover: A pair of Lonesome Dove Walker CB 9” .44 caliber revolvers from Cimarron Firearms. The guns are authentically marked, one with “Capt. Augustus McCrae, Texas Rangers Frontier Battalion” down the backstrap and his Texas Ranger Division “E Company No. 120” on the left side of the frame and barrel, and the other with “Capt. Woodrow F. Call, Texas Rangers Frontier Battalion” and “E Company No. 119”. Photo by Lacey Polacek.

COLUMNS

4 Smith & Wesson Model 25-5 and 625-6 45 Colt Sixguns

Mostly Long Guns

Brian Pearce

10 Making the AR-15 Shoot Rimfire

Fouling Shots

Art Merrill

14 Ruger MKII 22 LR Pistol

Light Gunsmithing

Gil Sengel

18 Riton Optics 5 Primal 3-18x 50mm Long-Range Scope

A Rifleman’s Optics

Patrick Meitin

22 The Silver Stream of Versatility

Sixguns, Slugs and Such

Jeff Hoover

34 Precision Rifle Checkering Giveaway Savage Model 99

Custom Corner

Staff

66 The Great Suppression

Walnut Hill

Terry Wieland

FEATURES

26 The Colt Walker Dragoon

The Horse Pistol of the Texas Rangers

Gary Lewis

36 A Pencil-Thin Bull Barrel?

An Innovative Approach in a DIY Barrel Swap

Art Merrill

38 Franchi Momentum Classic Walnut Elite in 270 Winchester

Old-World Style, Modern Precision

Patrick Meitin

44 Smith & Wesson 16-4

A Masterpiece by Any Other Name

Terry Wieland

50 The 35 Whelen and the Ruger M77 Hawkeye African

A Century of Proven Performance

Brian Pearce

58 Winchester XPR Hunting Rifle

An American Legend Reimagined

Alan Garbers