Field Notes On
S&W, T/C, And Trijicon John Anderson
is listed in the catalog as 7 pounds, con- siderably heavier than I would prefer for shooting at small targets at long range. Such a trigger pull weight does make you concentrate, though. The rifl e was topped with a Triji-
This bolt action Thompson/Center Venture Predator rifl e is chambered in 22-250. It’s topped with a Trijicon AccuPoint® Series scope, a Model TR23 5-20x50 with a yellow Triangle Post reticle.
has heard of, and quite possibly owns, Smith & Wesson fi rearms. After all, the company has been around since the middle of the 19th century. Their repu- tation is built on handguns, and over the years I’ve owned a number of them. More recently, though, S&W
I
has expanded their line of fi rearms to include long guns, and they now offer one of the broadest arrays of AR-style rifl es to be found anywhere. I counted in their current catalog 25 centerfire models chambered in 5.56mm NATO (223 Rem.). Most are gas operated semi- autos but some are piston operating system models. Plus, 10 rimfi re models (blowback semiautos) in 22 Long Rifl e are cataloged. Further, Smith & Wesson
recently acquired Thompson/Cen- ter Arms Company. This acquisition brought into the company a wide array of bolt-action centerfi re rifl es and sin- gle-shot break-open rifl es and handguns in centerfi re and rimfi re models. Plus muzzleloaders. Just about something for everyone! Last summer I had the oppor-
tunity to spend three days in southern Wyoming at the Silver Spur Ranch fi eld testing several rifles from these two
Page 192 Winter 2012
t’s my guess that just about ev- ery gun enthusiast in the land
companies, hunting both ground squir- rels and prairie dogs. The rifl es were equipped with Trijicon scopes, some of the fi nest scopes you’ll fi nd. The military is their biggest customer so these optics are built to military specifi cations. They aren’t cheap but they are darned good … with positive reticle adjustments and clear, bright images. I would have no hesitation about mounting a Trijicon scope on any of my own rifl es. The fi rst day out I hunted with
Dave Sturm, the hunting manager for the Silver Spur. That’s a plus because he knows the ranch like the back of his hand and always knows where to fi nd some prairie dogs … though by the middle of July the dogs have been shot at enough that they’re pretty wary. I car- ried with me that day a Smith & Wesson Model M&P 150RC rifl e (AR-15 style), a new model for 2011. This rifl e is a gas operated semiauto with a 16" barrel (1 in 9" twist) made of 4140 steel and is chambered in 5.56mm NATO (223). The upper and lower material is 7075 T6 aluminum. The magazine holds ten rounds. Overall length is 32" with the stock collapsed and 35" with the stock extended. The stock can be adjusted to any of six lengths. Rifl e weight is 6.07 pounds. The fi nish is hard coat black anodized. Factory set trigger pull weight
con AccuPoint® Series scope, a Model TR23 5-20x50 with superb clarity and a yellow Triangle Post reticle. Three other reticle styles and several color options are available. With sunshade, this scope weighs 29.4 ounces. Eye relief is 3.8 to 4.1 inches. Tube diameter is 30mm and has a matte black fi nish. Reticle adjust- ment increments are ¼ MOA per click, and the reticle adjustment knobs are el- evated target style with white increment markings around the circumference. On the left side of the turret is the parallax adjustment knob. The illuminated tri- angle on top of the post is not a reticle style I’m familiar with, and I’m not sure it would be my fi rst choice for shoot- ing small targets like prairie dogs on a regular basis. For long-range shots the illuminated triangle is somewhat large for targets as small as prairie dogs. It takes some concentration to use only the tiny tip top of the triangle as the aiming point. But it works … and I did begin to get used to it as the day progressed. Where Dave set up the shoot-
ing bench my closer shots were in the general range of 140 or 150 yards, just across a fence. My longer shots with this rig were in the neighborhood of 300 yards, give or take some. I certainly had no complaints about the accuracy of this rifl e. Once I fi nished making minor adjustments on the scope the rifl e put the bullets where I aimed … and I got quite a few prairie dogs. All in all, this rifl e and scope combination did its job in fi ne fashion. I used it all day and not once was there a glitch in the rifl e’s feed- ing from the magazine. The second day of this hunt I again
went out with Dave, and again we set up a shooting bench for me in an area that overlooked a prairie dog town that
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