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 [...]
Twice The Ammo – MAC’s 1911-9-DS
Double-stack 1911s are currently being used by SWAT teams, fugitive task forces, and "gun-savvy" officers nationwide. The first high-profile use of the double-stack 1911 was by the F.B.I.'s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT). For several years, [...]
Not Your Dad’s J Frame — Lipsey’s Ultimate Carry
Smith & Wesson's J frame revolver – if there's a ubiquitous back-up gun for uniformed officers, the J Frame is it. History The first J Frame revolvers - Chief's Specials - were produced in 1950 [...]
H&K’s VP9 Certified Under NIJ’s Semi-Auto Pistol Standard
The past week, Heckler & Koch’s law enforcement division announced that their VP-9 pistol had been certified under the National Institute for Justice’s (NIJ) 0112.03 standard. Good for H&K, but what does that mean, you [...]
Taurus 856 Ultra Lite: Always Bring It
Taurus upgraded its long-serving Model 85 small frame .38 Special revolver in 2018, most notably by expanding the cylinder diameter slightly and increasing its capacity to six rounds. Dubbed the 856, it was a no-frills [...]
MARLIN 1895 .45-70 LEVER-ACTION | Still Viable for Defense or Hunting
The Springfield Trapdoor Cartridge Rifle and Carbine was produced for the military in 1873. It came chambered in an equally new, powerful cartridge. Commonly called .45-70 Government or simply .45-70, the actual nomenclature for the [...]
WMD GUNS .300 BLACKOUT
The inimitable J.D. Jones while working under S.S.K. Industries (a company he started) invented the .300 Whisper caliber in 1992 as a wildcat cartridge. The parent case that J.D. Jones used to make the .300 [...]
DEFESIVE RIFLES LEVER GUN RESURGENCE | What Was Old Is New Again
If I were to pick one class of long guns as my favorite, it would have to be lever-action rifles. They can be chambered in everything from .22 Long Rifle up to Big Horn [...]
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 [...]
Beretta’s A300 Ultima Patrol Shotgun
Oh, my gawd, Becky, look at that gauge! Regardless of some thoughts, the 12ga shotgun still has a definite place in a thinking person’s armory. A shotgun can fill several roles decently if one understands [...]
We Were Slingin’
A long time ago, in what was another country, I heard it said that a sling is to a rifle or shotgun what a holster is to a handgun. The sling fulfills several purposes. It [...]
FIREARMS ACCESSORIES | Good or Bad?
Are some firearms accessories good? Or bad? Can they help you? Or hurt you? What about modifications? And I am only asking in regards to using the firearm in question. Regarding modifications, some will tell [...]
12 Gauge Recoil And (Too Much) Stuff
I spent most of my LE career teaching firearms skills to cops and repairing/maintaining agency guns as an armorer. We issued Remington 870s to every officer during recruit school. The training was intensive; recruits fired [...]