By Chris Parkin I was lucky to bring an early version of the latest PARD 008s night vision scope back from the British Shooting Show in February and have since received the full production version in both variants, one with and one without the laser rangefinder. Both units are class 3 laser products and fully certified safe to comply with British Standards which is the reassuring factor to consider when assessing laser infra-red illuminators. Essentially, the only difference between these two is that the “LRF” has an additional bulge on the left upper side, housing the laser emitter for the ra ..read more

By Chris Parkin Caldwell’s Ballistic Precision Chronograph 'Premium Kit' brings together all the items you need to accurately chronograph any projectile. A strong dual zipped Cordura travel case with a shoulder strap is partitioned inside to hold the chrono, tripod and two sets of sunscreens. One to shade the sensors from direct sunlight and a second set, powered by 4 x AA batteries, which Illuminate the screens for use indoors and are unaffected by flickering lighting. The Caldwell’s central body shows optical sensors at each end to detect the passing projectile’s shadow, with readings from 5 ..read more

By Chris Parkin The M&P 15-22 from Smith and Wesson is a seemingly formulaic AR-15 inspired semi-automatic 22 rimfire rifle but over a great length of time and use, I have quite a lot to report on it. Although receiving a pristine new review model just a few weeks ago, I have been using a pair of these rifles in my working environment for over five years, so a lot has been learned. Several colour and barrel length options are available but this Sport Model in black features a 16.5”/420mm barrel with a parallel 17mm profile, threaded ½” UNEF and supplied with a ported muzzle brake but I qui ..read more

By Chris Parkin The Zephyr II from Steyr Mannlicher is a great looking rifle, I love the look of the external spiral created by the cold hammer forging process on Steyr’s excellent barrel with its matt blue/black finish, classic metalwork contrasting the traditional oiled walnut stock. With a ½” screwcut for sound moderator, the barrel tapers straight from 15.2mm at the muzzle to 21mm before entering the cylindrical receiver. This is topped with 11mm dovetails for scope mounting. The action shares an identical magazine to that of the CZ rimfires in any of the 22 RF or WMR calibres as well as t ..read more

By Chris Parkin I can be very critical of scope mounting solutions but have very much liked using the Accu-lite mounts from Element optics for several reasons. With the growing mass of both optics, and additional components like night vison add-ons and large, long range illuminators, reliable mounts offering assured positional control with otherwise compact, versatile dimensions, have never been more appreciated. These Picatinny or Weaver fitting mounts are available for 30 and 34mm scope tubes and feature four T-15 Torx screws atop each ring pairing to attach the top cap clamping the tube in ..read more

By Chris Parkin Like any other mechanical tool, guns require maintenance, what and when they need it can vary depending on how you need it to perform and how regularly it is used. It’s critical above all else to make sure a gun is dry and cleaned after a day in the field and don’t just assume a gun dried out and locked in its cabinet is ok, it’s important to remember a cold gun brought into a warm house will immediately form copious amounts of condensation that can and will linger in all tiny spaces and crevices to cause corrosion long term. With rifles, I always remove the moderator as these ..read more

By Chris Parkin Like any other mechanical tool, guns require maintenance, what and when they need it can vary depending on how you need it to perform and how regularly it is used. It’s critical above all else to make sure a gun is dry and cleaned after a day in the field and don’t just assume a gun dried out and locked in its cabinet is ok, it’s important to remember a cold gun brought into a warm house will immediately form copious amounts of condensation that can and will linger in all tiny spaces and crevices to cause corrosion long term. With rifles, I always remove the moderator as these ..read more

By Chris Parkin The essential differences between game and sporter shotguns are the designs of the barrels. Lighter shorter barrels offer faster handling and a physically lighter gun to transport and carry around. This matters for what may be a ten-minute stand at the start of a pheasant drive or several hours of walked up shooting. Game guns will most often have the safety catch set to automatic meaning every time the gun is broken, it will set itself to safe whereas a sporter is usually totally manual in that you must set or unset it forward or backward yourself when required. Most guns allo ..read more

By Chris Parkin This is a common question when choosing riflescopes and when you really get down to it, both are quite simply just different units of measurement, the same as miles or kilometres, metres or yards, pounds or kilograms and pints or litres. Although not specifically metric or imperial versions, the MRAD system is considered to be a simple metric format simply because it all calculates in base ten and can be defined exactly with metres or centimetres perfectly. For example, 1 MRAD or milliradian spans 1 metre at 1000 metres. Think of it as a simple triangle and as you draw closer ..read more

By Chris Parkin There are all sorts of shooting jackets for a variety of seasons and conditions as well as those suited to specific tasks or with unique features, here is a quick look at three to demonstrate key points to look out for. Deerhunter Packable Jacket £71.99 The Packable jacket from Deerhunter is a superb, ultra-lightweight, thin, comfortable and flexible jacket without bulk to wear either as a backup in cool conditions or to build into the layering system when the winter draws colder. The deep green colour is subtle with front hand pockets and smaller chest pocket for valuables as ..read more