SWAGING SATISFACTION | DIY .22 to .223
I have been reloading for over 45 years and casting my own bullets for almost as long. The main reason I got into loading and casting, like many others, was to make my shooting [...]
Speer Gold Dot CarryGun
Founded in 1943, Vernon Speer provided rifle bullets, and later, handgun bullets to reloaders from his small ammunition company. In the 1960s he began loading those bullets for what would become the famous Speer Lawman [...]
Norma MHP Ammunition – Most Expandable?
The folks at Norma have been busy in the secret ammo lab. I’ve always admired their rifle and rimfire offerings, but haven’t followed developments in the handgun area as closely. A new for 2020 self-defense [...]
Practice & Defend With Federal
As a cast-bullet shooter for more than 30 years, I’ve found myself shooting nothing but powder coated loads in recent years. A baked-on polymer coating, powder coating acts as lubricant for the projectile, allowing softer [...]
BUILDING A MISSION-BASED FIREARMS SYSTEM:
Part 2 – Your Personal Firearms System
In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the Primary Firearms System. The selection was based on applicability to being a firearms instructor, private security contractor, and living in a metropolitan area with a [...]
Springfield Armory’s FIRST LINE Program
Early this week, Springfield Armory announced their new FIRST LINE sales program focused on supporting America's First Responders and others who serve the public. Springfield's VP of Sales, Phil Rawlings, said, "We recognize the sacrifices [...]
Building A Mission-Based Firearms System: Part 1-Your Primary Firearm System
Throughout my adult life, I have been in various armed professions. Often, a couple at the same time. I put significant thought and effort into building specific mission-based systems. I am creating a new plan [...]
FIVE OR SIX FOR SURE
Kimber’s .357 K6 and Ruger’s .327 LCR give you another round and weigh more than the alloy guns- not a bad thing if you shoot them a lot. Cameras are everywhere in [...]
FIGHTING RIFLES | Ruger PC Carbine
Carbines that use the same ammunition as a pistol are nothing new, even semiautomatic carbines. The Marline Camp Carbine was introduced in 1985 and had a fair amount of success until in was discontinued [...]
PUTTING LEARNED SKILLS TO USE | Gunsight And Dunton Ranch
Back in the early 1970s Colonel Jeff Cooper started the American Pistol Institute, now known as Gunsite Academy. Today Gunsite is known worldwide for firearms training, from a quality facility with top notch instructors [...]
AR MAGAZINES | The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
No matter how much money you spend on an AR, the fact is that if you want it to run reliably you must use quality magazines. Now this would seem common sense, but more [...]
EIGHTY PERCENT LOWERS | Are They Worth The Trouble?
With all the media about the government trying to take out Second Amendment Rights away there has been increased interest in the eighty percent lower (EPL) receivers. The common thought behind the idea is [...]
BROWNING’S THIRD ITERATION | The Auto-5
In my last two shotgun columns I wrote about John Browning’s first two shotgun designs: the lever-action Winchester 1887 and the Winchester pump-action 1897. This month we’ll take a look at his third—the world’s [...]
POTENT PERFORMERS | 20-Gauge Combat Shotguns
I’ve written before about the advantages of a 20-gauge combat shotgun, but I decided it was time to revisit the issue in this column. Up front, I’ll admit that the #3 Buckshot load normally [...]
SHOTGUNS | Mossberg 590A1 Retrograde
Back before the colors of Flat Dark Earth, Ranger Green, Coyote, camouflage du jour, etc., all the cool kids used Scorched Earth, commonly called black. I was as cool (guilty?) as everyone else and [...]
GUNS ACROSS THE BORDER | What Border Lawmen Used a Century Ago
Twice a year gun writer Dick Williams organizes a three-day theme shoot. Recently I attended one of these events at Gunsite. The theme was what handguns peace officers working on the Southern border used [...]