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 [...]
Norma Hexagon Match Ammo – Aerodynamically Sound
If it looks like a hollow-point, is shaped like a hollow-point, and has a hole in the front end, is it always a hollow-point? Not necessarily. You might know Norma from their long-standing reputation in [...]
Black Hills Honeybadger Ammunition
Like the famous internet meme, Black Hills HoneyBadger ammo don’t care about expansion-limiting tough barriers. This self-defense load is topped with a solid copper projectile — with a twist. Literally. The deep flutes act like [...]
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 [...]
Ed Brown’s Fueled M&Ps — Part 1
Custom pistols aren’t new. Factory custom pistols, while newer, are not either. Think about the number of 1911s out there that came from nationally known or local gunsmiths – one at a time. Add to [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Is Your Shotgun Ready?
Low, High, Indoor, and CQB – just the different ready positions commonly employed by those who may have a shotgun in their hands. Which one is most likely as driven by one's surroundings as by [...]