Mossberg’s Rimfi res ... plus John Anderson
Mossberg became a major force in the manufacture of shot- guns, though they also produced a line of rifl es. While the company has been most noted for its shotguns over its fi fty years of fi rearms production, it is now jumping into the rifl e end of the business in a much bigger way. Many new rifl e models, both centerfi re and rimfi re, are now available in the Mossberg lineup. This summer I had the opportunity to fi eld test several
F
of the company’s new rifl es while hunting ground squirrels in Oregon and, later, prairie dogs in Wyoming. Contribut- ing Editor L.P. Brezny and I are splitting up the chores in our Mossberg rifl es coverage. In this issue I’m describing several rimfi re models (and one centerfi re) and in our next issue L.P. will cover several centerfi re rifl es. (He’s very keen on AR-style rifl es.) In early June I traveled to Oregon to join writers Dick
Rockchuck, Mossberg MVP bolt-action rifl e, and author.
Metcalf, Richard Mann, and Ron Spomer for a ground squirrel hunt in the southeastern part of the state. Mossberg was repre- sented by Tom Taylor, vice president of sales and marketing, Linda Powell, director of media relations, and senior design engineer Tim Blazek. Cory Lundberg of CODA Depredation Services was the guide and outfi tter. Also helping with the guiding service was Duane Freilino, who lives not far from where we hunted. Duane and his wife provided us with our evening meals at their ranch. Mike McNett, president and CEO of DoubleTap Ammunition and Travis Noteboom of Centermass Marketing also attended. We headquartered at the Horseshoe Inn in the town of Burns in northern Harney county and hunted out of town a ways. Our primary targets were ground squirrels, but also in this area we could call coyotes and hunt badgers, rockchucks, and jackrabbits. The 2011 Mossberg catalog lists forty-eight rimfi re mod-
The new MVP rifl e feeds from an AR magazine.
els and variants, in fi ve different categories, and in bolt-action, autoloading, and lever-action styles. Some of them are simply variations on a theme, such as different stock colors or blued vs. stainless barrels, and so forth. Still, forty-eight models offers a lot of choices for a parent shopping for a rifl e for a child … or an adult looking for a rifl e for himself or herself. Twenty-nine bolt-action rimfi re models are available in .22 LR or .17 HMR. Some models come equipped with scopes and some models come with different stock colors … including camo and pink. One model, the 817, has a black synthetic stock and comes with a scope and a muzzle brake. I’m not quite sure what purpose a brake serves on a rimfi re that has virtually no recoil … but the “cool” factor is high and that may be purpose enough. Plus, the brake can be easily removed. Three rimfi re models, the 702, 802, and 817, have synthetic stocks that include a fold-down vertical grip forend. Bantam models have reduced length of pull and shorter
The western-styled Lever-Action rifl e in .22 LR is new. Page 12 October — December 2011
barrels for smaller statured shooters. Some stocks offer a variable length of pull, with six positions, great for a grow- ing child or to be handed down to a younger child. The short
ifty years ago, in August 1961, Mossberg began producing their Model 500 shotgun. Over the years,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168 |
Page 169 |
Page 170 |
Page 171 |
Page 172 |
Page 173 |
Page 174 |
Page 175 |
Page 176 |
Page 177 |
Page 178 |
Page 179 |
Page 180 |
Page 181 |
Page 182 |
Page 183 |
Page 184 |
Page 185 |
Page 186 |
Page 187 |
Page 188 |
Page 189 |
Page 190 |
Page 191 |
Page 192 |
Page 193 |
Page 194 |
Page 195 |
Page 196 |
Page 197 |
Page 198 |
Page 199 |
Page 200 |
Page 201 |
Page 202 |
Page 203 |
Page 204 |
Page 205 |
Page 206 |
Page 207 |
Page 208 |
Page 209 |
Page 210 |
Page 211 |
Page 212