Indholdsfortegnelse for June 2023 i Gun Digest

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…

AR pistols have been around for at least four decades, but about a decade ago they took off in popularity due to the introduction of the pistol brace. The brace was designed to allow disabled veterans the ability to fire an AR pistol with the pistol strapped to their arm. The ATF approved the design, saying it was fine and not subject to the National Firearms Act (NFA). Within a few years, the agency changed their mind and put out a memo informing people that if they shouldered them, the braced pistol would now be considered an SBR (short barreled rifle) and fall under the purview of the NFA Branch. A few years later, they walked that back, saying it was fine to occasionally shoulder a braced pistol. In a…

Whether you build your own ARs or buy them off the rack, there’s one part that’s almost always upgraded … or at least one part that almost always should be: the trigger. It has gotten to the point that many lower receiver parts kits are not even shipping with the fire control group anymore because they know people will upgrade them. Mil-spec triggers are fine for new or casual shooters who probably shoot their rifle once every few years. If you’re a true shooter who appreciates accuracy, wants to shoot faster or simply enjoys shooting ARs on a regular basis, the factory trigger might be good, but it easily can be better. To clarify, we’re really talking about more parts than the trigger. We’re looking at the whole fire control…

There are a lot of drills out there designed to help you learn to shoot your AR-15 carbine better. However, sometimes, the drills we need to work with should focus more on gun handling than precision shooting. Simply put, the secret to shooting is to keep the sights on the target while you press the trigger. That makes shooting pretty simple. However, learning to properly handle your gun is just as important and a bit more complicated because it varies with the situation. It requires drills designed to allow you to focus on gun handling. Here are three drills that focus on several specific areas of gun handling as they relate to the AR carbine. Yes, these drills require shooting—that’s part of gun handling, too. However, the shooting required isn’t…

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…

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…

01 Smith & Wesson M&P FPC Like lemmings to a cliff face, gunmakers are scrambling to pistol-caliber carbines. The latest to make the plunge is Smith & Wesson, and the results aren’t half-shabby. The 9mm M&P FPC is a grip-loaded affair with trappings of the company’s heralded striker-fired pistol line … and some features certain to endear it to shooters who appreciate convenience. Chief among these is the gun’s horizontal folding mechanism, cutting its overall length from about 30 inches down to about 16 inches. Because optics are mounted to a Picatinny rail on top of the M-Lok handguard, optics retain their zero after folding. Additionally, the charging handle doubles as a locking latch for lightning-fast intuitive deployment. Threaded muzzle, interchangeable backstraps and a load of M-Lok slots round out…

Is there a perfect AR-15 barrel? Well, there are many factors to consider, but let’s look and see. We’ve chosen three main factors (there are perhaps a dozen) to look at: length, twist and gas system. THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT Length is pretty easy to get a handle on. You want one as long as possible, to wring as much velocity out of the .223/5.56 cartridge as is possible. Since the .223/5.56 does its work due to velocity, the best is a 20-inch barrel, right? Ever try to wrestle a full-sized rifle out of a patrol car? It ain’t pretty. Try going down a hallway, through doors or up a stairwell, with a full-sized AR. You’ll think you’re maneuvering an oar. Well, then we need to go…

Over time, we’ve seen some truly interesting cartridges emerge that are dedicated to the AR-15 platform. The main issue with virtually all AR cartridges is that they’re limited by two deciding factors: the dimensions of the AR magazine and direct competition with 5.56x45mm/.223 Rem. Baseline: If it can’t do better than 5.56mm in the same confines, well, it rarely lives a production life longer than an election cycle. The .224 Valkyrie is arguably the best of all non-5.56 NATO AR rounds, but that alone may not save it from the cartridge graveyard in the long run. THE DEATH OF A CARTRIDGE What we see in the industry these days is the feigned image of innovation. Every time something new is released, or some out-of-the-box cartridge concept comes out, it often…

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…

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…

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In 2022, Federal Ammunition announced .30 Super Carry, also known as .30 SC. In a nutshell, the new cartridge was designed to offer similar ballistics to 9mm—but in an overall smaller package, therefore allowing for larger magazine capacities in compact, concealed carry handguns. Despite this design goal, Hi-Point Fire-arms recently dropped the Model 995 .30 Super Carry carbine, the first commercially available rifle to be chambered for the cartridge. Besides the new chambering, the Model 995 .30 SC is identical to existing models in other calibers. It features a 16.5-inch barrel with a ½×28 threaded muzzle, an adjustable rear sight and a manual safety. It also has a skeletonized polymer stock, as well as a Picatinny rail on top of the receiver and beneath its handguard for attaching accessories. The…