THAT ONE SPECIAL GUN

At one time, the .50-caliber Hawken was America’s general-purpose rifle. About 70 years later, it was replaced by the Winchester 94 in .30-30 Winchester, and after World War I, the bolt-action .30-06 became America’s one-rifle answer. It remained so until the turn of the 21st century. At that time, the AR-15—or modern sporting rifle (MSR) as it’s known among the politically correct—and the easy recoiling .223 Remington stole that title away.

Modern advancements in weaponry, ammunition and optical sights were partly responsible for these transitions. Interestingly, we passed from a single-shot, to a lever-action, to a bolt-action and to a semi-automatic. We also went from a rifle delivering about 500 ft-lb of energy at 100 yards to one with 1,400 (.30-30 Winchester), to 2,000 (.30-06 Springfield) and 900 (.223 Remington) fpe. But, in addition to technology, specialization played a large part in the evolution America’s general-purpose rifle has gone through.

With the increase