Taurus Expedition Rifle ($984.99)

For most of us, when the name Taurus is heard, rifles don’t exactly come to mind, except for that brief venture into AR-15s some years back. Affordable polymer pistols and the superb .22LR TX22, yes—rifles, no. The brand is blazing down a new path with its very solid entry into the bolt-gun hunting market with its brand-new Expedition rifle.

Initially offered in an 18-inch barrel chambered in .308 Win., we expect caliber and barrel length choices to grow pretty quickly. Based around the durable and ubiquitous Remington 700 action, the Expedition’s barreled action is made entirely from stainless steel, which is then treated to a black DLC finish; it doesn’t get any more weather resistant than this. The barrel is hammer-forged and threaded at the muzzle to install a suppressor or brake. A feature that we definitely appreciate is that Expedition feeds from commonly available AICS pattern magazines. Other unique features include a scalloped cut in the stock designed to make the gun fit perfectly in most gun saddles, M-LOK attachment points on the bottom of the stock, and the integrated Spartan Precision attachment point for a quick attach/detach magnetic bipod. See the Expedition at your nearest dealer, or for more information, contact Taurus USA; Tel.: (800) 327-3776; Web: www.taurususa.com