Innehållsförteckning för September 2017 från Gun Digest

The AR is a great firearm. It can be used for almost anything. There are plenty of aftermarket parts to work with, so you can custom configure it to fit any particular application. One of the first areas you should address is the trigger group. Regardless of the application of your gun, a good trigger will make getting accurate hits easier. The AR’s Mil-Spec trigger is pretty rough. It feels gritty. As you press the trigger, it catches and grabs on the rough areas. However, one of the coolest features of the AR is its modular design. It’s simple to swap out various components, often without any special tools. There is no “fitting” required to swap out the AR trigger. As long as your receiver is within spec — which…

Handgun cases generally aren’t a difficult prospect to load for, but the crimping process might require some additional attention in order to keep things as consistent as possible. There are, generally, two types of crimps: 1. Roll crimp: Where the mouth of the case is physically rolled into the bullet’s cannelure 2. Taper crimp: Where the case mouth is left alone and the sidewalls are squeezed against the bullet to keep things in place Roll With It Revolver loads using a bullet with a cannelure utilize the roll crimp. The true hard-kicking magnum cases, such as the .44 Rem. Mag., the .454 Casull and the .500 S&W, will easily cause a bullet to slip forward out of the case mouth. This bullet slip — also referred to as pulling crimp…

My introduction to the 10mm Auto came in the fall of 2014. I wanted to try some handgun hunting, and I’m a huge fan of 1911-style pistols. But the .45 ACP just didn’t have the punch needed for deer and hog hunting — not at any sort of distance anyway. I kept reading about this 10mm Auto, though, available in 1911-type pistols and with power nearly on par with the .41 Magnum. My first 10mm was a PARA Elite LS Hunter with a 6-inch barrel, and I used it on a couple of deer hunts that fall. Unsuccessfully. Anytime I went afield with the PARA, I either saw no deer or they were 200 yards away. But in the spring of 2015 I took the PARA to Texas in search…

Roughly 16 million Americans have obtained permits to carry concealed firearms, and each year more criminals end up on the wrong side of a law-abiding citizen with a personal defense weapon. With the rising tide of CCW permit holders has come a wave of new products to suit their needs, everything from holsters to cleaning kits to sights, to lasers and ammunition. And, of course, there is a whole new crop of defensive auto-loading pistols, too. One caliber that has gotten a lot of attention in recent years is the .380 ACP. Designed by John Moses Browning and first chambered in the 1908 Colt semiautomatic pocket pistol, the .380 has been cussed and discussed more than just about any other defensive caliber on the market. Fans of the caliber believe…

The CZ 75 is a masterpiece in firearms design. It’s one of the original “wonder-nines,” a term coined in the late 1970s. A wonder-nine is a pistol that is 9mm (of course, hence the “nine”), has a double-stack magazine (read: high capacity of 12 or more rounds), has a double-action trigger and features polymer, stainless or alloy construction for ease of maintenance. Remember, at that time, most police departments still carried .357 revolvers with a six-round capacity. It was a big deal to have a gun that carried, at a minimum, twice that. And with the semi-auto that Americans were most familiar with — the 1911 — you had to have a cocked hammer to fire the first round because it was single-action only. The ability to carry the weapon…

Extreme sports tend to lead to unique innovations that might not otherwise occur. Consider drag racing for example. Nearly 100 years ago, drivers raced each other on a straight quarter-mile raceway. The desire to win led to improvements in engines, tires and transmissions — anything that could make a car go faster. Early advances in drag racing even led to better aircraft engines that helped the United States in World War II. Shooting sports has its share of people who invent things to help with speed and accuracy. Many shooting disciplines, such as 3-gun, employ what’s known as “time-plus” scoring. That is, the winner is the fastest shooter after adding in any penalties for missing targets. A shooter’s need for speed leads tinkerers down the innovation path. Adrian Cobb is…

To celebrate the .45-caliber handgun cartridge, a group of writers recently met at Gunsite Academy to experience shooting semi-automatics, and single-action and double-action revolvers all chambered in .45. Contact range to long-range shooting and training was conducted using a Ruger New Blackhawk single-action revolver, a Smith & Wesson Model 25 Classic double-action revolver with Pachmayr Decelerator Grips — both in .45 Colt — and a Nighthawk Custom 1911 chambered in .45 ACP. Black Hills supplied ammunition, and Galco provided holsters. Everything worked flawlessly, with each gun representing a step in the evolution of the .45. In 1873 the U.S. Government adopted the .45 Colt cartridge for its new standard sidearm, the Single Action Army revolver. It fired a 250-grain lead bullet that left the muzzle at about 900 feet per…

Let’s look at what the facts say about the .380 ACP and its capabilities as a defensive option. Based on ballistic gel data that I gathered from multiple sources, the .380 ACP bullets averaged somewhere between 9 and 18 inches of penetration in ballistic gel at defensive distances under 30 feet (with 12 inches of penetration with proper bullet expansion being considered effective for personal defense). In large part, the deeper penetration results were a result of bullets that did not expand and retained their profile as they passed through the test. Failing to expand is good for producing deep penetration on ballistic gel, but it’s bad news in real-life defensive situations because a bullet that doesn’t open properly doesn’t create as much hydrostatic shock or tissue damage. Only a…

When I was a young man working behind a gun counter, the choices of truly small pistols were severely limited, and none were more than marginally effective. The smallest were the .22 short and .25 ACP semi-autos that offered less muzzle energy than many air rifles currently available. When one was purchased and the buyer was walking out the door, there was always a remark about the value of chocolate grips, or perhaps filing off the front sight in the event someone made the owner eat it or ingest it into some other orifice. There were Remington-pattern two-shot derringers available, but they were single-action, heavy and antiquated. High Standard made a little double-action over/under .22 Magnum, and it was the best tiny gun to be found. The bad news is…

In the past three columns, we’ve dissected how gravity and wind are the two main variables that affect your bullet’s path. Yes, other environmental variables matter, too; however, they only change how much of an effect gravity and wind will have. The reason your bullet falls more by the time it reaches a 900-yard target than it does for a 100-yard target is because it was exposed to gravity longer. Therefore, the longer it takes a bullet to reach the target, the more gravity and wind will move the bullet off of its original flight path. A Bullet’s Speed There are three variables that determine a bullet’s speed on its way to the target: 1. The initial speed of the bullet 2. The efficiency of the bullet 3. The external…

1 MTR Custom Leather A2 Dual Purpose Holster Holster choice, apart from gun choice, is one of the most important decisions you’ll make as an armed citizen who carries. Whether you choose to carry inside (IWB) or outside the waistband (OWB) is another. Luckily, MTR Custom Leather’s A2 Dual Purpose Holster presents the shooter with both those options. The A2 Dual Purpose allows for easy conversion between IWB or OWB carry, making it highly versatile. It also has a number of other great features, including a custom combat cut for each weapon, a durable bull hide construction with heavy-duty industrial-strength nylon thread, a tuckable design and holster clips/belt slots with 1 ½-inch gun belts or 1 ¾-inch traditional belts. 2 Tactical Solutions TSG-22 Glock Conversions Training, while an absolutely essential…

Drills used to improve or test your ability with a defensive handgun are generally universal in nature. Most are structured to apply equally, whether you’re shooting a revolver or semi-auto. Skills such as sight alignment, trigger control, tactics and basic safety practices are, for the most part, general in nature. The big difference with the semi-auto pistol relates to firearms manipulation, or “weapon-craft.” Shooting speed and accuracy are critical, but you must be able to run your gun. Here are a couple drills to help you become faster and more accurate with your semi-auto pistol. “Shooting speed and accuracy are critical, but you must be able to run your gun.” The Reload Drill You’ve probably heard the old gunfighter advice to count your rounds in a gunfight so you know…

The steep, green hill made for a lung-burning climb, but the huge antlers of the red stag we spotted made us march on without complaint. I was hunting with Glen Dene Hunting and Fishing on the South Island of New Zealand, and we had located a spectacular free-range stag. In fact, there were three mature stags hanging out together on the crest of a ridge, where they could watch the world below them. Half an hour later I was belly crawling to the edge of the hill we had ascended, and I laid down my pack and rested my rifle on it. I carefully adjusted the parallax on the riflescope and ranged the bull at just under 250 yards. The stag was lying in his bed and soaking up some…