The average reader of this magazine owns more than one gun (we ran a survey to find out) but he's always on the lookout for new and better arms. He's more than a reader of outdoor articles; he's a real hunter and shooter, eager to improve his sport. Well, if you're that kind of sportsman we're here to help you. You've probably given a lot of Christmas-season thought to the guns in your rack, but it's not easy to decide on a new one. You still have time to drop a few hints about the gifts you'd appreciate most; the time to decide on them is now. As a Christmas service, I've taken a close look at this year's crop of new models. Here they are, with my comments and judgments. Read on, take your pick -- and start dropping those hints. First on my own list would be two arms -- a rifle and a handgun -- that qualify as new in the strictest sense. For me, a changed barrel length or an improved stock doesn't constitute a truly new design. Such modifications are all for the best but it takes something as different as a Deerstalker or a Jet to change arms-making concepts. Bill Ruger's long-awaited Deerstalker (under $110) is a new rifle action in a caliber that upsets all the modern theory of high-velocity fans; it's a short, light, quick-handling, fast-firing little timber gun designed to push a heavy slug at modest velocity but with lots of killing power and ample range for our most popular big game -- whitetail. Ruger reports that on his recent African safari the little Magnum cartridge was a real work horse. Small antelope were generally grassed with one shot, and the Magnum carbine also bagged reedbuck, kob and wart hog with deadly efficiency; these are fairly large, tough animals. The deadliness of the Magnum in a rifle comes as no surprise to me. At least five years ago, Tom Robinson of Marlin made up an over/under double rifle for me in this caliber, using the now defunct Model 90 action in 20-gauge size. After figuring out how to regulate the barrels so that they shot to the same point of impact, we fired this little 20-inch-barrel job on my home range and in Marlin's underground test gallery. We quickly ran into the same trouble that plagued Bill Ruger in his first experiments: Three or four bullets would be placed well in a six-inch bull at 100 yards and then, unaccountably, one could stray far out of the group. Ruger learned that this was because the higher velocity achieved in a long barrel was upsetting the shape of the unjacketed revolver bullet. The new, jacketed slug in Magnum corrected this. But even without jacketed bullets, I had enough faith in my double to take it on an opening-day deer hunt that first year. Within half an hour I jumped a six-point buck that hop-skipped through a rhododendron thicket, and I caught him just behind the left foreleg at 60 yards. He moved only about 30 feet after the 240-grain slug hit him -- and this was after the bullet had passed through a sapling. Three more deer have fallen to this same gun, and all were one-shot kills. My double was made with standard-weight revolver barrels (before cutting to revolver length), and although it compares well in other respects, it's considerably heavier than the Deerstalker, which only scales about 6-1/2 pounds. If ever a rifle met the needs of the whitetail hunter, this is it. The Deerstalker points with the ease, speed and precision of a fine imported double shotgun, and its trigger pull is light and sharp. The 240-grain bullet leaves the muzzle at 1,850 fps, which gives it all the smash needed at woods ranges. With five shots at the immediate command of the hunter's trigger finger, the gun and load are a deadly combination. The second really new development this year was a revolver handling a different sort of varmint load -- the Remington Jet Magnum Center Fire. At present it's available in one model, the fine and familiar Smith & Wesson Magnum revolver (about $110), long a top-quality handgun among target arms. The velocity of this , 40-grain bullet is rated at a very hot 2,460 fps, and it's the flattest shooting of any revolver cartridge, with a mid-range rise of about an inch over a 100-yard range. This is a varmint load, pure and simple; it's much too explosive for small edible game. It can cut a red squirrel neatly in two or burst a crow into a flurry of feathers. The most intriguing aspect of the S & W Magnum chambered for the new Jet is that it can also fire standard rim-fires by means of adapter sleeves in the chambers. You may therefore convert the gun into a small-game and plinking arm, although the difference in the point of impact (Jet vs. rim-fire) can be somewhat disconcerting. The accuracy of the Jet cartridge is fine; I tested it in my scoped S & W and it was good enough to allow me to hit a chuck with every shot at 100 yards if I did my part by holding the handgun steadily. Hunting rifles, '61 The fact that the Deerstalker and the Jet were the only completely new designs this year doesn't mean that 1961 didn't see changes in models, actions and calibers. Aside from the Ruger carbine, a number of hunting rifles have been introduced for the first time. Here are the brands (in alphabetical order) and the new models. Newcomers to the American hunter are the Browning group of bolt-action, high-power rifles. They have fine FN actions and a better-than-average finish on both the metal and the stock wood. Barrel weights vary sensibly with the various calibers available, and these include the standard bores (about $165) plus the Magnums (around $170); the latter include the , S & H,, and. Shotgun-type rubber recoil pads are standard on all of the Magnums except the . Stock designs are excellent for use with scopes. Colt's center-fire 1961 rifles are all made with Sako actions, regardless of caliber. The have the short action; the and, the medium action, and the , Af and the Magnums, the long action (about $135 for the Standard Coltsman and $200 for the Custom version). Previously, FN actions were used for the larger cartridges. High Standard has introduced a auto, the Sport-King, in two grades -- field and special (less than $45 and just over $45, respectively). It's a streamlined rifle, fast and well-made. Among Magnum Rim-Fire rifles, 1961's lone newcomer was the Kodiak Model 260 autoloader (around $60). Previously known as Jefferson Arms, Kodiak has given this 11-shot hammerless job an exceptionally fine stock design, and the 260 is the first autoloader to handle Magnum rim-fires. Marlin has made two contributions to the harvest of new offerings. The Model 99 (under $45) is a light-weight, streamlined rim-fire auto with a tubular magazine that holds 18 Long Rifles. It's extremely accurate for an auto, and the test rifle I tried was completely trouble-free in functioning. The 989 (about $40) is an even newer auto, this one with a seven- or 12-shot clip. Once again the Mossberg Targo outfit has appeared, but this time as a bolt-action rifle-shotgun combination. The bore is unrifled but is provided with an insert tube which is rifled and which, surprisingly, gives pretty fair accuracy even though it's only 3-1/2 inches long. You can unscrew this tube and replace it with a smoothbore insert for use with shotshells -- to break the little Targo clay targets. A trap for throwing these miniature clays fastens to the barrel so that the shooter can throw his own targets. A spring trap for solid mounting and a regular hand trap are also available. You can have your choice of a seven-shot repeater, the 340TR (about $40) or a single-shot, the 320TR ($10 less). The Targo is a good outfit for fun shooting or for economic wing-shooting practice, but it's tougher than it looks to run up a score on the clay birds. They'll travel 50 feet or more when thrown from the spring trap but it's almost impossible to break one after it passes the 35-foot mark. The combination of thin pattern and very tiny pellets makes it necessary to get on the birds, right now! Big Magnum calibers appeared in the Remington line for 1961, with the addition of the and to the list of Model 725's. These are made on special order only, in Kodiak grade (about $310), with integral muzzle brakes and heavy rubber recoil pads; they weigh around nine pounds. A shortened version of the highly regarded Remington 742 autoloader also appeared in 1961. This carbine (under $140, about $15 more for a deluxe grade) has an 18-1/2-inch barrel and was obviously inspired by the popularity of last year's Model 760 pump with a short-barrel. This design is hard to beat for timber hunting or for packing in a saddle scabbard. Presently, the 742C is available in Af. The latest versions of the famous Savage Model 99 are the 99 Featherweight (about $125) and the 99 Deluxe (under $135), which have a top-tang safety and improved trigger design. The replacement of the slide-lock side safety catch will make this lever-action favorite more appealing than ever since the new safety is easier and faster to operate. Beginners' guns, '61 A fresh crop of beginners' guns showed up in 1961, and they're good bets for your Christmas gift list if you're wondering what to get for a youngster. The most unusual of them is the Ithaca 49 (about $20, $5 for a saddle scabbard) -- a lever-action single-shot patterned after the famous Winchester lever-action and featuring the Western look. Because of its traditional lines, it probably has more kid appeal than any other model. The action is a drop-block, handling all the standard rim-fires. Marlin's latest is also designed for the beginning shooter, although it's a full-sized rifle with plenty of barrel weight and ample stock. This is the Model 122 (about $20); it's a single-shot bolt-action with an automatic safety -- i.e., the safety goes on every time the bolt is lifted and the gun cocked for the next shot. Stock design is excellent, and this model is a good first gun. Another boy's model is the single-shot Remington 514C (around $20), which comes with a 21-inch barrel and a short -- 12-1/2-inch -- stock; it's just right for a boy of 12-1/2. A beginner's shotgun has also been introduced this year. The single-barrel Stevens 940Y (under $35) is made with a side lever rather than a top-tang lever because many youngsters aren't strong enough to operate a top tang to open a gun -- and the side lever does indeed open very easily. This gun has a 12-1/2-inch stock and is available in either 20 or gauge. There's another addition to the Stevens line, the pump-action Model 77 in (under $75), which you may or may not consider a kid's gun; many experienced hunters like this gauge and type of scattergun too. Shotguns, '61 Although there were no startling developments in shotgun design this year, a number of new models and variations of existing models did hit the market. For example, a Browning trap version of the Superposed over/under, the Broadway (from $350 up, depending on grade), differs from standard models in that it is equipped with a full beavertail fore end, a cushion recoil pad and a barrel-wide ventilated rib for fast sighting. The Colt line now includes a new scattergun, the Standard or Custom Pump Model (about $90 and $150, respectively) in 12, 16 and 20. Firearms International has introduced another import, this one from Finland. It's the Valmet (about $170), a 12-gauge over/under very much like the old Remington 32 -- which was so fine a gun that today a used one still brings high prices. High Standard has also added two models to its line. The Supermatic Trophy (prices begin at less than $135 and depend on grade and optional features) is a 12-gauge auto. The Flite-King Trophy (beginning at just over $85) is a pump gun in 12 or 16. Either model is a very good dollar value. Mossberg's latest contribution to the field is the Model 500 (from $73.50); this is an improved version of the old Model 200, a pump-action 12-gauge shotgun. See page 24 for a complete report on it. Handguns, '61 Aside from the Jet -- which I coupled with the Deerstalker carbine as one of the year's two biggest developments -- few significant innovations appeared among 1961's handguns.