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Dan Wesson Razorback 10mm
Nosler’s new flagship hunting rifle has it all – accuracy, quality components, good balance, and an action that operates flawlessly
If you’re looking for a cheap hunting rifle, don’t bother looking at Nosler’s new flagship Model 21 bolt-action rifle. This gun is not inexpensive, but if you’re looking for a high-quality factory rifle that comes close to being a custom-built gun, using some of the best components available, the Model 21 may fit the bill.
With an MSRP of $2,795, the Model 21 competes with some of the best rifles offered by Browning, Weatherby, Bergara, Seekins Precision, and others. It costs a bit more than some and a little less than others in its price category, but quality can’t be measured by price alone. Any rifle is only as good as the sum of its parts, and in the case of the Model 21, the sum of the parts can only be described as impressive. Here’s a closer look at what makes this rifle worthy of its price tag.
For Model 21, Nosler set out to create a new action by collaborating with the Mack Brothers of South Dakota, who are well-known among serious shooters for their popular EVO action. The Model 21 combines some of the best features of the EVO action with some custom touches designed by Nosler. Notably, the action is cut using wire EDM technology, a type of CNC machining that can produce geometric shapes that are nearly impossible to achieve with other CNC methods. This process uses a rapidly charged metal wire which melts away material without contacting the metal. It is a very precise machining technology.
The 416 stainless steel push-feed action has a sleek, streamlined appearance and is essentially blueprinted out of the box. Lockup with the bolt’s large dual locking lugs is precise, and the bolt cycles effortlessly with silky smoothness. Machined from 4340 chrome moly steel, the one-piece bolt is spiral fluted to reduce weight and help keep dirt and debris from interfering with cycling. Nitride-coated for protection, the bolt is designed for toolless disassembly and cleaning and is equipped with an M16-type extractor and a plunger ejector. The bolt comes with a bell-shaped bolt handle, but it’s threaded so you can swap it out if you prefer a different bolt handle. The top of the action is drilled and tapped to accept Remington 700-pattern scope bases.
To provide added barrel support, increase thread shank length and eliminate any misalignment issues, the front of the cylindrical action is mated to a self-indexing 17-4 stainless steel recoil lug.
The rifle is chambered for a dozen cartridges ranging from 22 Nosler to 375 H&H Mag. There are some interesting stops in between, including all the proprietary Nosler cartridges as well as the ubiquitous 6.5 Creedmoor, 308 Win., 300 Win. Mag, and a personal favorite of mine, the 280 Ackley Improved. Regardless of chambering, all rifles are equipped with stress-relieved, hand-lapped, match-grade Shilen barrels. Depending on the chambering, barrel length is either 22 inches or 24 inches. Barrels for all but one chambering have a No. 3 contour classified as “sporter,” but this is not a pencil-thin barrel. Rifles chambered in 375 H&H Mag. have a No. 5 contour barrel. All barrels are threaded (1/2×28 or 5/8×24 depending on chambering) to accept muzzle brakes or suppressors.
Both the barrel and action are protected with a nicely executed Tactical Grey Cerakote finish, but there’s nothing tactical about this rifle. It is designed purely for hunting, so it uses a box magazine with a hinged floorplate rather than a detachable magazine. Capacity is either 3 or 4 rounds, depending on chambering.
The rifle’s all-business hunting emphasis is further enhanced with the action pillar-bedded into a McMillan Hunters Edge Sporter stock. Made of 100 percent carbon fiber, this stock is executed in a relatively slender and straight classic style. The bottom of the stock is flat, with rounded edges, so it will sit solidly on rests. It has an industrial-grade, non-slip polyurethane pebble finish in an attractive black with a white-and-grey-speckled granite paint scheme. Although it’s classified as an ultralight hunting stock, it’s built to stand up to the recoil from magnum cartridges. The stock has a nicely fitted one-inch Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad. As you would expect of a rifle in this price category, the barrel is truly free-floated and is centered in the stock’s barrel channel. There are Cerakote-protected sling swivel studs fore and aft.
I really like the lines of this stock. It handles quickly and instinctively, and with a scope attached, it balances nicely between the hands with just a slight weight-forward feel. Weight and overall length vary depending upon chambering, but the rifle sent to me for testing, chambered in 308 Win., weighs 6.8 pounds. It is not an ultralight rifle, but neither is it heavy. I’d classify it as light enough for most hunting purposes. Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate rifles in this weight class because ultralight rifles can be more challenging for many people to shoot accurately, especially when the featherweights are chambered in hard-kicking cartridges or you’re shooting in high wind.
The Model 21 comes with an excellent trigger, although I didn’t think so when I first dry-fired it. As it arrived from the factory, the TriggerTech Field trigger broke at a rather hefty pull weight of 4 pounds, 2 ounces. I normally test triggers at their factory setting, but I could not abide that heavy trigger pull. Happily, this trigger is externally adjustable to a pull weight of between 2.5 pounds to 5 pounds. Using a 5/64 Allen wrench, I turned the external set screw, located just forward of the trigger, counterclockwise until the trigger broke at a pull weight of 3 pounds even. That’s just about perfect for a hunting trigger, and it felt lighter than that because it broke so cleanly and crisply, with zero take-up and zero creep.
The TriggerTech design uses unique “frictionless release” technology, meaning it does not operate with sliding friction as other triggers do. This trigger would more accurately be described as using rolling friction because it uses a patented, free-floating roller that is captured between the sear and the trigger. The result is a very crisp-breaking trigger that the inventors say will wear at a much slower rate than other triggers. No hunter is likely to shoot a rifle enough to find out, but it’s nice to know the trigger should suffer no degradation in performance over time.
The rifle employs a two-position, rocker-style safety, mounted within easy reach of the thumb, that does not lock the bolt down when engaged. The surfaces of both the trigger and the safety lever are grooved for sure control in wet conditions, and there’s a prominent cocking indicator at the rear of the bolt shroud.
Since the Model 21 is designed purely for hunting, I mounted one of my favorite hunting scopes, a Trijicon AccuPoint 2.5-12.5X42mm, on the rifle for range testing using Talley rings and two short Picatinny rail sections sent with the rifle. Nosler recommends a specific barrel break-in procedure to achieve maximum accuracy, but I didn’t have the luxury of time to do that with this rifle. Results were quite impressive considering I tested the gun with four different factory hunting loads, with no match loads in the mix.
Before we get to the results, here’s a quick rundown on velocities for the four tested loads, which were predictably a little slower than the ammo makers’ stated velocities out of the test rifle’s 22-inch barrel. Federal’s Non-Typical 150 gr. load stepped out at 2,707 fps over my CED M2 chronograph, while Federal’s Terminal Ascent 175-grain load, with the heaviest bullet tested, was clocked at 2,560 fps. Hornady’s Superformance 165-grain SST load proved to be the hottest load at 2,721 fps, while Winchester’s 150-grain Deer Season XP load launched at 2,718 fps.
In accuracy testing, the rifle started out shooting some very nice three-shot groups, but groups opened up midway through the process. Tightening the action screws a bit put things back on track. I expected this rifle to shoot well, but I was a little stunned to find that it shot as well as it did with four different hunting loads using bullets ranging from 150 grains to 175 grains.
Federal’s Terminal Ascent load turned in the best performance with the best group measuring just 0.18-inch and 0.82-inch average groups. Federal’s Non-Typical load was no slouch, either, producing 0.82-inch average groups and a 0.66-inch best group. Hornady’s Superformance load and Winchester’s Deer Season XP load both turned in average groups measuring an inch, with slightly better best groups.
Nosler got just about everything right with this rifle. I did find myself wishing that the gun had a little shorter bolt throw, but that’s just nitpicking on my part – clearance from the bolt handle to the scope was tighter than I like, but that didn’t interfere with operation at all. The rifle ran like a thoroughbred in every regard. I classify rifles of this quality as “aspirational” rifles, meaning they are guns people aspire to own and will hand down from generation to generation. The Model 21 is entirely worthy of that designation.
Nosler Model 21 Rifle
Caliber: 308 Win., 1:10 twist
Action Type: M21 bolt action
Trigger: Adjustable TriggerTech Field
Barrel: Shilen match-grade stainless
Finish: Tactical Grey Cerakote
Stock: McMillan Hunters Edge carbon fiber
Magazine/capacity: internal box, 4+1
Sights: None, drilled and tapped
Barrel Length: 22 inches. threaded
Overall Length: 41.65 inches
Weight: 6.8 pounds
MSRP: $2,795
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Curator’s Corner: Weird Derringers
Gov. Hochul proposes changes to New York’s concealed carry laws
More changes could be on the way for New York’s concealed carry law after Governor Kathy Hochul made several new proposals in her latest budget.
NEW YORK – Governor Kathy Hochul is proposing changes to New York’s new concealed carry law that would allow for armed security guards outside houses of worship and exempt retired police officers from the law.
Last year, the Supreme Court struck down the state’s century-old concealed carry law stating that it was too restrictive.
In response, New York State lawmakers passed the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, which designated “sensitive locations” where firearms are banned including Times Square and public transportation. It also requires applicants to prove that they are of “good moral character.”
But some argue that these tweaks being proposed don’t go quite far enough.
According to the NYPD, antisemitic hate crimes have more than doubled in November 2022 from November 2021, a 125% spike.
Alan Mindel, Chairman of the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center of Nassau County says they have had to spend thousands on upgrading their security.
“We have an event this weekend at Lake Success Jewish center with a choir and we are thankful that the Lake Success police are going to be providing security for the event, without which I’m not sure it would be safe,” Mindel explained.
Right now under the state’s new concealed carry improvement act, places of worship are considered “sensitive locations” where firearms are banned.
RELATED: Handgun owners carrying daily in US doubled in 4 years; self-protection cited as main reason: study
Security guards can be armed outside the place of worship, but technically this law does not specify that they can be hired.
Hochul wants to change this, but Mindel worries this might not be enough.
“It’s unaffordable really for these institutions to provide this security,” Mindel said. “And unfortunately, it’s not fair to ask police to constantly provide the security that today, these institutions require. “We have to be willing to allow people, ordinary citizens, to bring guns into these houses of worship for the sole purpose of protecting those that are participating in events.”
Hochul wants to make another tweak by allowing retired law enforcement officers to be exempt from the concealed carry laws.
Paul Digiacomo, President of the Detectives’ Endowment Association says even retired officers still face threats of violence.
“The uptick in crime is because of the illegal guns on the street, not the legal guns on the street,” Digiacomo explained. “But New York City detectives that carry their guns, whether active or retired, it adds another layer of safety to the people of this city and state.”
There are numerous lawsuits challenging the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, including one brought forward by the Gun Owners of America-NY.
A federal judge last August ruled in favor of the organization, saying that the new concealed carry law is unconstitutional. The New York Attorney General’s office is currently appealing the decision.
In a statement the Senior VP of GOA, Erich Pratt, wrote “Kathy Hochul knows this law blatantly violates the Second Amendment and the Bruen precedent, and in turn, she hopes that some of these changes will prevent the courts from striking it down like they are already indicating is imminent. Instead of half-baked measures, she would be wise to come to terms with the state’s overreach and encourage the legislature to repeal this law and in turn save millions in legal fees, which will be paid for by her taxpayers.”
In a separate case, New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms argue that the restrictions on firearms in places of worship are a violation of civil rights.
“I think what we’re seeing now with the governor’s budget initiative trying to put that proposal in there is this quiet acknowledgement that the houses of worship were right all along,” Executive Director for New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms Jason J. McGuire said.
There are some other tweaks to the law Hochul wants to work out in the budget, including clarifying that firearms are allowed at military ceremonies, funerals and on movie production sets.
She also wants firearms to be allowed in the Adirondack and Catskill state parks.
Some of about 125 weapons confiscated in a gang takedown are displayed at a press conference on May 21, 2009 in the Los Angeles-area community of Lakewood, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
In the wake of a devastating mass shooting in Monterey Park last month in which 11 people were killed during a Lunar New Year celebration, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is set to evaluate and discuss new gun control measures in hopes of curbing gun violence in the county.
Several motions are expected to be presented at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, with proposals both ambitious and small in scale.
Countywide gun owner registry
Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Hilda Solis have proposed a motion that would direct the County’s legal counsel to study the feasibility and legality of implementing a countywide gun registry.
The registry would be created in partnership with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and would use existing data and records to create a database that is “easily accessible for law enforcement first responders.”
Horvath and Solis say that the current system for gun tracing is a slow and tedious process and a countywide registry would make it easier for law enforcement officers to track down criminals.
“Having access to a database that lists the firearm(s) registered to a certain address would allow first responders to better assess the situation and adjust their approach accordingly when responding to a call for service at an address with a licensed firearm,” the motion reads.
Even if the Board of Supervisors agrees to move forward with the proposal, a countywide registry would not be immediately implemented and it would likely face many legal challenges. Federal law currently prohibits the Federal Government from having its own nationwide gun owner registry, the motion says.
Liability insurance
Additionally, the motion directs Los Angeles County to look into the possibility of requiring gun owners in the county to carry some form of liability insurance for their firearms.
The hope, according to the motion language, is that the insurance requirement will encourage firearm owners to “take safety classes, use gun safes, install trigger locks, or utilize chamber-load indicators.”
The idea of liability insurance requirement is a popular suggestion among gun control advocates, and the Supervisors’ proposal says there is some data to support its effectiveness.
The County’s Counsel would be required to report the findings of both the registry and insurance items within 90 days of the motion’s passage — if it passes.
Warning signs and secure storage
While those two proposals are quite ambitious and abstract at the current juncture, there are two additional items that appear likely to move forward with some immediacy.
If passed, the County would require new signage that warns of the dangers of firearms to be displayed at businesses where guns are sold.
Additionally, a requirement could be instituted that would require firearms at a gun owner’s home be securely stored in a locked container or disabled with a trigger lock.
Citing a study from the Journal of the American Medical Association, the proposals states that households with locked firearms and ammunition saw a vast decrease in self-inflicted firearms injuries and a much lower risk of unintentional firearms injuries among children.
Currently, California law requires firearm owners to keep guns safely secured and requires trigger locks be sold simultaneously with firearms sales. But, the motion argues, the State does not clearly define what counts as “safe storage” and the requirement only exists for home in which children live or regularly visit.
“The County has the ability to build upon state law with specific requirements for safe gun storage which could prevent the unintentional deaths of children and teen suicides by as much as 85% depending on the type of storage and could also prevent guns from being easily stolen in the case of a home invasion,” the motion reads.
Consumers can buy gun storage devices that are approved by the United States Department of Justice for as little as $40 and trigger locks can often be obtained for free from police and sheriff’s stations.
Assault weapons ban
Another motion authored by Solis and Supervisor Janice Hahn urges the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to publicly support efforts by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein to reinstate the nation’s expired ban on the sale and manufacture of assault weapons.
.50 caliber ammo ban and County property restrictions
And a third motion, also authored by Solis and Hahn, aims to ban the sale of .50 caliber firearms and ammunition in Los Angeles County and restrict the carrying of firearms on County property.
County property includes beaches, playgrounds, plazas and County department buildings, the motion reads.
Both ordinances have been researched and are ready for immediate introduction, Hahn and Solis say.
That motion also includes language to evaluate L.A. County’s zoning regulations. If passed, the County will begin researching the legality of implementing zoning restrictions on firearms dealers, including establishing a safe “buffer zone” to keep those businesses a yet-to-be determined distance from schools, parks and daycares, among other “sensitive areas.”
It will also call for stricter requirements for ammunition and firearms dealers to become licensed locally.
The L.A. County Department of Regional Planning and Treasurer and Tax Collector would be tasked with finalizing those two ordinances and would be asked to submit the findings to the Board for approval “as soon as possible.”
“Too many people have lost loved ones to gun violence in Los Angeles County. We must be united in our fight against gun violence and enhancing local regulations is an important part of the fight,” Solis and Hahn wrote in that motion.
It’s unclear at this time which, if any, motions will survive past Tuesday’s Supes meeting, but the Board currently carries a 4 to 1 Democrat majority and the lone Republican, Supervisor Kathryn Barger, has at times shown a propensity to support increased gun control measures during her terms as Supervisor.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
California lawmakers held an oversight hearing on Tuesday to figure out how to improve the state’s Armed and Prohibited Persons System, also known as APPS, which is a program that is supposed to keep guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous people.
The program has faced criticism for using antiquated systems and having the workload outweigh the manpower.
“California leads with some of the most stringent gun laws, but gun violence is a daily reality for communities across our state,” Assm. Reggie Jones-Sawyer said. “We know gun violence across California requires stronger action.”
The APPS program, which only exists in California, places legal gun owners on a list of people who are prohibited from having weapons if they are convicted of a felony, violent misdemeanor, have a restraining order against them or for a mental health reason. The program has been in place since 2001 and uses the state’s Automated Firearms System, which tracks in state registration of firearm owners across the state. The California Department of Justice oversees the APPS program.
“The program has been plagued with numerous challenges since its introduction,” said Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris in Tuesday’s hearing, noting there were 24,000 people on the APPS list. “That is just not good enough,” she said.
Tuesday’s oversight hearing included lawmakers from the Assembly Public Safety Committee and Administrative Review Committees.
The CA DOJ was still in the process of putting together its latest data, which is expected to release sometime in the spring, so the agency used numbers from its 2021 report in Tuesday’s hearing.
CA DOJ officials said of the 24,000 people on the APPS list, 10,000 of them were still in the process of being investigated to have weapons taken away. Another 14,000 are considered “pending cases,” meaning the investigations were exhausted because of reasons including agents being unable to clear weapons, unable to locate the person, or those on the list moved out of state. Officials said they expected the 10,000 figure to remain consistent, noting prohibited people land on the list daily.
The CA DOJ has 73 special agents dedicated to taking weapons away from those prohibited from having them every day. Officials said 56 special agents are currently doing the work while the agency tries to fill 17 vacant positions, noting turnover is high when other large law enforcement agencies have better pay.
Former California Highway Patrolman and Republican Assm. Tom Lackey said law enforcement retention and recruitment go beyond pay.
“Morale amongst law enforcement is low right now; all agencies are having trouble because the incentive has been thwarted,” Lackey said. “Everybody hurts when we demonize an entire profession for conduct of a few.”
San Diego’s police department and city attorney’s office have a state-leading gun violence restraining order program. The state has earmarked $1 million for the agency to help train other local agencies across the state.
Sgt. Thomas Dillon and Chief Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby suggested lawmakers consider approving resources to create regional APPS/Gun Violence Restraining Order task forces. They noted this will help boost manpower and streamline communication between agencies.
“We have a great relationship with DOJ but the burden of firearms collection falls on local law enforcement,” Crosby told lawmakers.
“The biggest concern we have is to maintain accurate information in a timely manner,” Dillon told lawmakers, who noted the APPS system uses old technology and requires the use of several state databases to gather information on a prohibited person.
Republican Assm. Laurie Davies introduced a bill, Assembly Bill 303, that would create a new database for the APPS system.
Tuesday’s hearing was informational, meaning no votes or action was taken. It’s possible state lawmakers could address the system’s issues through legislation or the state budget process.
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Brass Cigars !?!
