Gun Digest June 2023

The coolest aspect of the AR platform is its ability to be simply modified and customized—it was designed to be that way. Now, you can get some outstanding rifles and carbines straight from the factory from a plethora of different brands (big and small), and there are some in-factory “custom shops” and “performance centers” that are doing some outstanding work … right down to the trigger. So, for as little as about $500, you can get yourself a reliable—completely stock—AR and enjoy it for the rest of your days … but, oh, would you be missing out. It should come as no surprise that many shooters, regardless of how many rounds they send downrange every month, are intimidated by doing any of their own modifications. Hell, I hunt with guys…

HISTORICAL NOTES The .222 Remington was introduced by Remington in 1950 for the Model 722 bolt-action rifle, which was later superseded by the current Model 700 series. For a short time, the Remington Model 760 pump-action repeater was also available in this cartridge. Much of the credit for the .222 is due to Mike Walker, a longtime Remington employee. The cartridge became very popular with benchrest competitors in the 1970s, and varmint hunters also found its performance excellent. But, by the early 1990s, the .222 Remington had lost much of its popularity to the .223 Remington. GENERAL COMMENTS The .222 Remington is in about the same class as the older .219 Zipper, but it’s rimless and adapted to modern bolt-action rifles. It’s not based on any older case necked down…

When other shooters discover my occupation, their most frequent questions are either, “What’s the best cartridge for concealed carry?” or “What’s the best self-defense load for a particular cartridge?” When it comes to cartridges for pistols, there’s not a lot of options … but as for load selection, the options are seemingly endless. I honestly believe there isn’t a “best” answer to either question, so my usual response is a firm: “It depends.” However, based on all the testing and research I’ve done over the years, I do have opinions. For most, I think the 9mm Luger is the best self-defense cartridge because it offers the best balance of terminal performance, handgun size/capacity and shootability. These are, of course, the reasons the FBI has returned to it. When it comes…

In my home county, there’s currently a homicide investigation that has all the signs of being incompetently conducted, resulting in a problem with a correct legal resolution. Because of this, I am reminded that when an honest, law-abiding armed citizen is forced into killing in self-defense, they run the risk of not having the incident professionally investigated. This can result in the armed citizen being prosecuted for what was, in reality, a justifiable homicide. I’ve been hired to consult as an expert in many of such cases, and I want to share some of what I’ve seen. SWING … AND A MISS The very first case was a manslaughter case, where a juvenile was prosecuted after an accidental shooting of his sister. The whole scenario was tragic, but without my…

There used to be a lot of urban myths about the AR-15, and there still are in some circles. One that has been erased is short-stroking due to improper gas port size. As it turns out, it was leakage from the gas key pretty much all along. The next step was sealing the key and keeping it tight. To solve that problem, Ned Christiansen of M-Guns designed and built MOACKS, the “mother of all carrier key stakers.” What it does is consistently and reliably crush the side of the key over the top of the screws, and it does so without hammers and chisels. (No kidding, we used to do it that way in the Dark Ages.) Mine is the deluxe version (now the MOACKS II), with staking screws for…

The reloading component market has been highly volatile over the past three years, following the time-of-plenty that defined the late ’teens. The COVID-19 shutdown had a drastic effect on our supplies as many manufacturers ceased production, and the political scene of 2020 brought millions of new shooters to the market, greatly increasing demand on an already compromised supply. Many of my favorite powders were simply unavailable, and I was forced to make changes—some for better, some for worse. EASY COME, EASY GO As I've written in this column before, we’ve lost some good powders, but we’ve gained a few more. IMR4320 is no more, and that was a great choice for a wide range of cartridges, including the .22-250 Remington, .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield … and even the .375…