®

Dope Bag is compiled by Staff andContributing Editors: David Andrews, HughC. Birnbaum, Bruce N. Canfield, RussCarpenter, O. Reid Coffield, William C. Davis,Jr., Pete Dickey, Charles Fagg, Robert W.Hunnicutt, Mark A. Keefe, IV, AngusLaidlaw, Scott E. Mayer, Charles E. Petty,Robert B. Pomeranz, O.D., Jim Supica,Charles R. Suydam, A.W.F. Taylerson andStanton L. Wormley, Jr.

CAUTION: Technical data and informa-tion contained herein are intended to pro-vide information based on the limited expe-rience of individuals under specific condi-tions and circumstances. They do not detailthe comprehensive training procedures,techniques and safety precautionsabsolutely necessary to properly carry on

LLAMA was the victim of some veryunfortunate timing with its IX-Cautoloader (October 1994, p. 58), a

large-capacity .45 that arrived just in timefor the enactment of the Violent Crime andLaw Enforcement Act.

Fortunately, with some astute prod-ding from its U.S. importer, Llamarebounded with the MAX-1 (June 1995,p. 52), a single-stack M1911 type that cor-rected many of the shortcomings of previ-ous Llamas and that was priced to pick upsome of the business opened up by theimport ban on Chinese-made M1911s.

Now the Spanish maker has respondedto the current craze for smaller carry pis-tols with the Minimax 45, a pocket-sized.45 that carries forward many MAX-1 fea-tures. With its 311⁄16" barrel, the Minimaxranks in size between the 31⁄2"-barreledColt Officer’s ACP and the 41⁄4"-barreledCommander (and Llama’s own IX-O).

Magazine capacity is six, and theMinimax, like other Llamas we have tried,will accept aftermarket M1911 magazines,including the extended 10-round variety.The supplied matte-finished steel magazinehas witness holes up to the maximumcapacity of six rounds.

The Minimax’s steel frame has asquared and grooved trigger guard, a fea-ture some might find retrograde, sincerounded guards have come back in fashionrecently, but the shape is subtle and notoverly recurved.

The beavertail grip safety from theMAX-I is included, as is the Commander-

style modified rowelhammer. The backedge of the grip safe-ty, which was quitesharp on the MAX-1,was better rounded this time out. The slidestop is extended, but the thumb safety hasa conventional contour.

The grip panels are the thick rubberunits we found so objectionable on thelarge-capacity Model IX-C, but here and onthe MAX-1 they are just comfortably hand-filling. The magazine housing is curved,

LLAMA MINIMAX 45

42 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • June 1996

The Llama Minimax 45 is a com-pact .45 ACP autoloader thatcomes on the heels of the ill-timed IX-C large-capacity .45 auto.

MANUFACTURER: Llama Gabilondo &Cia., Portal de Gamarra 50, 01013Vitoria Alava, Spain

IMPORTER: Import Sports, Inc., Dept.AR, 1750 Brielle Ave., Wanamassa,NJ 07712

MECHANISM TYPE: recoil-operatedsemi-automatic pistol

CALIBER: .45 ACPOVERALL LENGTH: 71⁄4"BARREL LENGTH: 311⁄16"WEIGHT: 35 ozs.

WIDTH: 17⁄16"HEIGHT: 51⁄16"MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 6TRIGGER: single-stage, 6 lbs. pull SIGHTS: three-dot with rear drift-adjustable for windagePRICE: $408.95

LLAMA MINIMAX 45

Disassembly follows the usualM1911 principles.After ensuring thepistol is unloaded, remove theextended slide stop (l.) and move theslide forward and off the frame.Thenlift up the pistol’s recoil spring guide(r.) to allow easy removal of the con-centric recoil and buffer springs.

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • June 1996 43

though it takes a bit of effort to notice thatin its shortened state.

The slide is in the style introduced withthe MAX-1, with the rib thatwas a feature of previous Llamaautos deleted and the front ofthe slide scalloped in the man-ner expected on M1911s. Thesights are a two-dot rear drift-adjustable for windage and awhite-insert front that providesa dot-dash-dot pattern.

Llama’s M1911-type pis-tols use the Swartz safety sys-tem (January 1976, p. 30). Ituses a rod passing upwardthrough the right rear of theframe to press up a plunger inthe slide that, in its normal posi-tion, prevents the firing pinfrom moving forward. Taking anormal grip on the pistolextends this firing pin safety actuator,allowing firing.

Should the pistol be dropped, the actu-ator will snap back into the frame, permit-ting the safety device once again to preventfiring. The safety is retained by the sear pinand has no effect on trigger pull. It is, how-ever, inconvenient when shooting the pis-tol from a Ransom Rest, since the actuatoreffectively prevents slide removal whenextended.

The slide is M1911-like with a couple

of exceptions. The extractor is pivoted inthe fashion of the Browning Hi Power. Inplace of the familiar M1911 recoil springplug is a reverse plug that rests against theback side of the dust shield. Its front isattractively contoured to blend with themuzzle end of the slide.

A recoil spring and buffer spring sur-round a full-length guide rod that passesthrough the reverseplug. The barrel isbelled at the muzzle tofill the space normallyoccupied by the barrelbushing. Both the steelframe and slide are fin-ished matte black, atreatment that looksquite purposeful but thatrubbed off easily onwear points.

Disassembly fol-

lows M1911 principles, with a few modifi-cations. When removing the slide, be surenot to touch the grip safety, which willextend the firing pin safety actuator, lock-ing the slide. Remove the barrel by firstpulling up and out the recoil spring guideand springs, then allowing the plug to droprearward out of its place. The barrel then isfree to be drawn out the front of the slide,M1911-fashion.

The Minimax 45 was fired for accuracywith results shown in the accompanying

table, and function-fired with AIM, BlackHills, CCI, Hornady and Remingtonammunition. There was a single failure tofeed the last round of a magazine, but oth-erwise there were no failures of any kindwhen we held the pistol normally.

We were able to induce failures to fireby pulling the trigger with a very light gripthat failed to depress the grip safety, then

taking a tighter grip and pulling the triggeragain. This yielded very light firing pin hitsthat would not fire the chambered round.

It is difficult to visualize a real-worldequivalent of this, except possibly for a par-tially disabled shooter who probablywouldn’t choose a .45 anyway.

Compact autoloaders are often quite

.45 ACP Vel. @15' Smallest Largest AverageCartridge (f.p.s.) (ins.) (ins.) (ins.)

CCI No. 53967 901 Avg. 4.00 6.75 5.69230-gr. TMJ 30 Sd

Hornady No. 9111 893 Avg. 4.17 7.00 5.71200-gr. FMJ 12 Sd

3-D No. B45JHP 864 Avg. 2.83 4.75 3.99185-gr. JHP 32 Sd

Average Extreme Spread 5.13

Five consecutive 5-shot groups from 25 yds., fired fromRansom Rest. Abbreviations: Sd (standard deviation),TMJ (total metal jacket), FMJ (full metal-jacketed), JHP(jacketed hollow-point)

ACCURACY RESULTSWhile the Minimax .45 was comfortableenough with the .45 ACP loads we tried init, it proved to have the very annoying habitof tossing empties in the shooter’s face.

The plunger at the right of the disconnec-tor actuates the Swartz safety system thatallows the firing pin to move forward onlywhen the grip safety is fully depressed.

The barrel is flared at thefront to occupy the spacewhere one normallywould look for a barrelbushing (l.).The extractoris pivoted like the Brown-ing Hi Power rather thanfollowing the M1911 pat-tern. In place of the M1911recoil spring plug is areverse plug that restsagainst the rear surface ofthe slide apron. A tab onits top closes the spaceunder the muzzle for amore conventional look.

44 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • June 1996

DESPITE enough ups and downs for asoap opera, Kimber has proven to bea name that just won’t die. It seemed

the firm was down for good after a secondbankruptcy, but it reemerged in 1994 underthe financial wing of distributorNationwide Sports. While the initial inten-tion was to concentrate on the Model 82 .22sporter, the firm took on a successful offer-ing of sporterized 96 and 98 Mausers, andhas shown M1911-style .45 automatics andthe prototype of a long-action center-firerifle based on the Australian Sportco 44.

Before taking the leap to the .30-’06level, Kimber has reintroduced the short-action center-fire Model 84. This was pro-duced in a bewildering array of wildcat cal-ibers during earlier corporarate incarna-tions, generating a whole collector field, but

now is restricted to .17, .222 and .223 Rem.The line includes the Model 84C

Classic, with controlled-round feedingfrom a five-shot magazine, the 84CSuperAmerica, which adds AAA claro wal-nut, hand-cut checkering and ebony fore-end tip, and the 84C Custom Match, the topof the line with French walnut. The supplyof that wood limits availability of theCustom Match.

Our sample rifle was the Single ShotVarmint, equipped with a 24" fluted stain-less barrel. The receiver is closed on the bot-tom, so the magazine parts are deleted andthe stock left flat in front of the trigger

MANUFACTURER: Kimber of America,Inc., Dept. AR, 20365 S. GreenMountain, Colton, OR 97017

MECHANISM TYPE: bolt-action rifleCALIBER: .223 Rem. (tested), .17 Rem.,

.222 Rem.OVERALL LENGTH: 423⁄4"BARREL LENGTH: 24"WEIGHT: 7 lbs.TRIGGER: single-stage, 21⁄2 lbs. pullRIFLING: six-groove: 1:12" RH twistSTOCK: Claro walnut: length of pull,

137⁄8"; drop at heel, 7/8"; drop at comb, 1"PRICE: $999

KIMBER 84C

KIMBER MODEL 84C RIFLE

accurate, but the Minimax 45 was an excep-tion to that rule, providing quite mediocregrouping. In several cases, this was becausethe first shot of a group hit well above itsfellows, suggesting incomplete seating ofthe locking lugs into their slide recesses.

We dealt with this by slamming the slidefirmly into battery. This unorthodox proce-dure made groups rounder, but still didn’tproduce impressive accuracy. We suspectlockup could be smoothed by a gunsmith

or several hundred rounds of firing, butmany pistols shoot much better than this outof the box.

One of the Minimax’s most annoyingtraits was a tendency to toss empties direct-ly into the face of the shooter. This is a pis-tol that really reinforces the importance ofwearing shooting glasses. While a gun-smith experienced with M1911s wouldreadily correct this, a new shooter wouldfind it very disconcerting.

On the credit side, we found theMinimax comfortable to shoot, even withheavy loads. Here its fat rubber grips are anasset. Once we got used to it, we liked thedot-dash-dot sight pattern for speed shoot-ing, though we found it less desirable forclose aiming on bullseye targets.

The Minimax 45, then, is a pistol thatshows some potential for the defensive user,but that requires a bit more development tosmooth out some shortcomings.

Kimber has moved up from its bread-and-butter .22 rimfires to anew series of short-action center-fire rifles. One of the most inter-esting is the Single Shot Varmint with a fluted stainless barrel.

The receiver is essentially tubular, witha recoil lug that is dovetailed below thefront ring and secured there with a sock-et set screw. Other 84C variants areequipped with five-round magazines.The bolt head follows the pre-’64 Win-

chester Model 70, with a non-rotating clawextractor and a slot for the fixed ejector.

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • June 1996 45

guard. The fore-end flares sharply from111⁄16" to 21⁄2" to provide a wide surface forfiring from prone, bench-rest or bipod sup-ported positions.

The Model 84 bolt could be thought ofas a miniaturized pre-64 Winchester Model70, with a non-rotating claw extractor andfixed ejector that protrudes through a slotat the bottom left of the bolt face. UnlikeModel 70s on either side of the 1964divide, there is no mechanism to controloverrotation of the bolt, but given theModel 84’s short stroke, there’s proba-bly no need for one.

In the event of a pierced primer, gasis vented out a hole in the bottom of thereceiver. This would go out the maga-zine in other Model 84 Models; its pathwould be much constricted in the SingleShot Varmint. A ring on the cockingpiece shroud prevents gas moving backalong the lug raceway from exitingtoward the shooter’s eye.

The receiver body is tubular; the recoillug is dovetailed in at the front and securedby a set screw. The trigger assembly isscrewed to the receiver rear and connectedto the two-position safety button by a rodand spring that pass through a shaft at therear of the trigger assenbly.

This is tapped for a hex socket screwthat blocks the trigger when the safety isrotated rearward. Turning the screw all theway in prevents trigger movement; turning

it out too far deactivates the rifle’s safety.The trigger is adjustable for overtravel,

pull weight and sear engagement.Overtravel is limited by the top screw at thefront of the trigger housing, pull weight bythe bottom. Sear engagement is regulatedby a Torx socket screw at the rear of thehousing. The Torx pattern was selected, no

doubt, to discourage the idle tinkerer.The fluted stainless barrel tapers from

.97" at the receiver to .65” at the muzzle.The crown is both dished and recessed formaximum protection of the rifling origin.

The sample rifle’s Claro walnut stockwas checkered in a point pattern at 18 linesper inch. Like other Kimber rifles, it is pil-lar-bedded with aluminum bushings

around the stock screws. These preventovertightening of the screws and return theaction to the same spot every time thescrews are snugged up. A sheet of typingpaper could be passed between the barreland its channel in the fore-end.

The trigger guard is the squared-off ver-sion used in the rimfires rather than the

rounder model specified in theother Model 84s, and the pistolgrip is capped in metal.

The Model 84C was firedfor accuracy with results shownin the accompanying table, andfunction-fired with Black Hills,Hornady, PMC, Samson andSouth African military ammu-nition. There was one failure tofire the surplus ammo, althoughthe primer seemed well-hit.

This was our first encounterwith the Hornady VX ammuni-tion, and it lived up to its claimto provide .22-250 velocitiesfrom a .223 rifle, though accu-racy didn’t equal results frommore conventional loads.

We liked the Kimber’s fixedejector, which made it easy tokeep empties on the bench, andfound its relatively light weightappealing for ground hogshooting where walking isrequired. Some might prefer asynthetic stock, but those wholike the warmth of wood willfind the Model 84C an attrac-tive choice.

.223 Rem. Vel. @15' Smallest Largest AverageCartridge (f.p.s.) (ins.) (ins.) (ins.)

Black Hills 3317 Avg. 0.59 0.96 0.7752-gr. HP 25 Sd

Hornady No. 8325 3811 Avg. 0.97 1.46 1.1440-gr. VX 53 Sd

Samson 223-11CM 3339 Avg. 0.41 1.07 0.7755-Gr. SPBT 7 Sd

Average Extreme Spread 0.89

Five consecutive 5-shot groups from 100 yds., fired fromsandbags. Abbreviations: Sd (standard deviation), HP(hollow-point), VX (Varmint Express), SPBT (soft-pointboattail)

ACCURACY RESULTS

The rifling origin is protected by a muzzlecrown that is both dished and recessed. Itwould take some doing to nick this one.

The two-position safety (l.) blocks the trigger whenrotated to the rear. The bolt stop button (below) isconveniently located at the right rear of the receiver.

The fore-end flares abruptly at the front of the action.Some found this a good blend of form and function,while others would have liked a smoother transition.

46 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • June 1996

BROWNING LIGHTNING BLR

Browning has changed the receiver of the BLR rifle toaluminum for a big weight saving over the previous steel-receiver model.The rifle’s name is now Lightning BLR.

THE Browning BLR center-fire lever-action has been around for a almost30 years, and has gone through sev-

eral configurations.It was briefly manufactured by TRW in

Cleveland between 1966-68 after that auto-motive-parts company finished makingM14 rifles for the U.S. military. Productionthen migrated to Fabrique Nationale inBelgium, which made the gun 1970-71. Allsubsequent BLRs have been made byMiroku in Japan.

When introduced (February 1971, p.48), it was immediately identifiable by abulbous detachable magazine and a receiv-er contoured inward at front and rear to

mimic Old West designs. All thingsWeatherby were popular at the time, so itused a multi-row arrangement of eight lock-ing lugs at the business end of a cylindricalbolt that was shuttled back and forth by arack-and-pinion system.

Apparently, the BLR was conceived asa competitor for the Winchester Model 88(a rifle that had only a couple of years’pro-duction left), since it was chambered ini-tially in .308 Win. and later in other short

rounds like .222 Rem., .223 Rem, .22-250,.243 Win., .257 Roberts, 7 mm-08 Rem.,.284 Win. and .358 Win.

In 1981, the BLR’s appearance was con-siderably improved by a new slab-sidedreceiver and a magazine box that was morenearly flush with the receiver bottom.Caliber choices were still restricted until1991, when a new long-action modelallowed chambering for the .270 Win., 7mm Rem. Mag. and .30-’06.

That model (April 1991, p. 56) alsointroduced a new bolt that combined sixlocking lugs in a single row with a bolt bodygear-shaped in cross-section. It also saw theintroduction of a new finger lever thatincorporated a separate gear rack spring-loaded to dampen the impact of overeageroperation. The rack also featured a camlever at its top front that provided some ini-tial extraction force to help prevent gearstripping in the event of a swelled case.

In all these changes, the BLR retaineda straight-gripped buttstock and a Western-style fore-end with barrel band, retained bya tenon threaded into the receiver.

And it was something of a load, with anall-steel receiver.

Now Browning has decided to freshenup the BLR a bit, and the result is the BLRLightning. As the name implies, theLightning is a bit lighter than the Model 81BLR, thanks to an aluminum receiver. Our7 mm Rem. Mag. was still no featherweightat 7 lbs., 12 ozs., but that’s almost a half-pound lighter than the steel receiver ver-

MANUFACTURER: Miroku FirearmsMfg. Co., 537-1 Shinohara-NangokuCity, Kochu Pref., Japan

IMPORTER: Browning, Dept. AR, 1Browning Pl., Morgan, UT 84050

MECHANISM TYPE: lever-action rifleCALIBER: 7 mm Rem. Mag. (tested),

.270 Win., .30-’06 (long action); .223Rem., .22-250 Rem., .243 Win., 7 mm-08 Rem., .308 Win. (short action)

OVERALL LENGTH: 447⁄8"BARREL LENGTH: 24"WEIGHT: 73⁄4 lbs.MAGAZINE CAPACITY: 3 (4 in standard

calibers, except 5 in .223)TRIGGER: single-stage, 6 lbs. pullRIFLING: six-groove, 1:91⁄2" RH twist SIGHTS: bead front, open rear

adjustable for windage and elevationSTOCK: American walnut: length of pull,

141⁄4"; drop at heel, 1"; drop at comb, 1"PRICE: $608.95

BLR LIGHTNING

Unlike Old West designs that use a seriesof levers, the BLR uses a rack and pinionto move the bolt. Its locking is by a rotat-ing bolt head that engages a steel insert.

The detachable box magazine holds three7 mm Rem. Mags., four standard caliberslike the .30-’06 or five .223 Rem.cartridges.

Browning has dispensed with the barreltenon and outside band of previous gunsand reduced weight by attaching the fore-end to a dovetailed boss below the barrel.

sion. The short-action model for cal-ibers in the .308 Win. class weighs just61⁄2 lbs.

The weight-reducing effect of thealuminum frame is mitigated a bit bythe fact that the buttstock now has around-knobbed pistol grip and thefore-end, while losing its barrel band,is considerably more bulbous than theprevious gun’s.

The fore-end tenon also is gone,replaced by a stud dovetailed into thebottom of the barrel. This is thewood’s only connection to the barrel;there is plenty of clearance betweenthe two parts.

The basic operating system remains thesame. The BLR could be thought of as ahand-operated semi-auto rifle, since thebolt head and body work in much the waythey do in the AK-47 or AR-15. As the boltmoves forward into engagement with thesteel locking insert in the front of the receiv-er, a pin inside the bolt body moves up anS-shaped track in the bolt head, turning itcounterclockwise to lock.

After firing, the lever is lowered, draw-ing the bolt body back and rotating the bolthead clockwise to release it from the lock-ing insert. At the same time, a small hook

extractor withdraws the spent case from thechamber. A plunger ejector on the left sideof the bolt face tosses it out once the fingerlever is lowered sufficiently.

The gold-plated trigger blade rides withthe finger lever, preventing pinching as thelever is closed. The lever must be closedcompletely for the trigger to contact the searinside the receiver.

Most of us would tend to regard thelever-action rifle pretty much idiot-proof,and the original BLR had a conventionalstyle hammer. In the early 1970s, however,the firm prudently added a tilting hammerspur that can be pressed forward and downat the half-cock, taking it out of line withthe inertia firing pin.

The natural motion of the thumb or boltretracting the hammer resets the movable

spur to the firing position, so no thought isrequired to take it off safe.

The magazine catch is a lever locatedinside a generous pocket at the junction ofthe fore-end and receiver. Large or glovedfingers should have no trouble finding it.The detachable box magazine holds fourrounds of everything except .223 Rem.(five) and 7 mm Rem. Mag. (three).

Steel bushings in the top of the receiv-er are drilled and tapped for scope mount-ing, while the supplied metallic sights area ramped brass bead front combined withan open rear sight adjustable for windage

and elevation screwed into the BLR’s barrel.The sample rifle’s stock was of a

straight-grained medium brown walnutwith checkering in a bordered point patternat 16 lines per inch. Length of pull is a ratherlong 141⁄4"; this is no ladies’and junior gun,at least in the long action. We also wouldhave preferred a bit higher comb; the sam-

ple gun’s was perfect for iron sights but abit low for a scope.

The BLR Lightning was fired for accu-racy with results shown in the accompany-ing table and function-fired with Federal,Hornady and Winchester ammunition andwith a variety of handloads. The only mal-functions suffered were a couple of occa-sions when the magazine balked at beingshoved home and one double feed.

We’d never tried the steel-receiver 7 mmRem. Mag. BLR, but have fired it in .270and .30-’06, and there is a distinct step upin recoil with the lightweight 7 mm Mag.It’s not in any way out of line for huntingpurposes, but a long session at the bench isno picnic.

It is possible to keep the BLR on theshoulder while operating the lever, but ittakes a shooter who can disregard theonrush of the bolt that stops just short of theeye. We found this a bit disconcerting at

first, and ignoring it took someconcentration.

Feeding was quite smooth,despite the length and beltedrim of the 7 mm Rem. Mag. Wewere fortunate enough to havethe .308 Win. Savage Model 99in-house at the same time, andit seemed to us that the leverstroke of the BLR wasn’t allthat much longer than the

Savage’s, despite the extra length of the 7mm cartridge.

The Lightning BLR, then, seemed to usa useful freshening of a proven, thoughsomewhat ponderous, lever-action design,making it a bit easier to carry afield. It givesleft-handers, traditionalists and other levergun fans a rifle that gives up little in powerand accuracy to bolt-actions.

AMERICAN RIFLEMAN • June 1996 47

7 mm Rem. Mag. Vel. @15' Smallest Largest AverageCartridge (f.p.s.) (ins.) (ins.) (ins.)

Federal No. P7RE 2844 Avg. 0.88 2.53 1.95165-gr. BTSP 11 Sd

Hornady No. 8059 3001 Avg. 1.77 2.66 2.23139-gr. BTSP 15 Sd

Win. No. S7MAGA 2799 Avg. 1.41 2.34 1.79160-gr. STBT 38 Sd

Average Extreme Spread 1.99

Five consecutive 5-shot groups from 100 yds., fired fromsandbags. Abbreviations: Sd (standard deviation),BTSP (boattail soft-point), STBT (Silvertip boattail),Win. (Winchester)

ACCURACY RESULTS

An extra safety margin is provided by thepivoting hammer spur. Pressing it forwardtakes it out of line with the firing pin to helpprevent firing should the gun be dropped.

Recoil is a bit more brisk with the newlighter version of the BLR than it was withthe old style, but most will find the easiercarrying in the field more than makes up.

The BLR always has been oneof the most accurate lever-actions, giving away little inthat line to bolt-action rifles.