Innehållsförteckning för July 2020 från Gun Digest

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it at least a hundred times: When it comes to a firearm’s true value, the scuffs in the bluing and the dings in the stock mean more than the stamp on the barrel or the receiver ever will. Read that statement again if you must, but it’s a given for a lot of firearms owners. If you’re a collector, I suppose the opposite is true: The right stamp with a lack of blemishes will fetch more at resale. But does a monetary figure truly represent a gun’s overall worth? What about the emotional value to which no price tag can be affixed? Nearly a decade ago, my father-in-law began showing interest in hunting turkeys. He grew up on a very small family farm,…

In the old days, we knew nothing about AR-15 magazines. They were mysteries. You kept the ones that worked and ditched/sold/ traded the ones that didn’t. No one knew why this particular mag worked in my rifle and not yours, and vice-versa. Life is so much better now, because we have magazines that work in all rifles ... or do they? One way to learn more is to measure things. However, measuring AR-15 magazines is diffi cult, because those who make them won’t tell us what they should and shouldn’t be. Good luck prying that information out of them; some might be helpful, and some might not. HERE’S THE SKINNY: • Minimum gap between the feed lips: .445 inch • Maximum allowed: .480 inch Hmmm. That really isn’t as helpful…

01 Galco Ruger Wrangler Holster Like a thundering stampede, the Ruger Wrangler has run roughshod through the gun world. Galco has gotten into the action of the slick and affordable .22 single-action Army revolver with a classy option to hang the heater. Distinctively Western in appearance, the tanned steer-hide rig is designed to ride high and keep your Wrangler ready for any varmints that get in your path. Boasting an open top, it draws easily but keeps your gun in place the rest of the time—thanks to a sturdy hammer thong retention feature. And, if you want to piece together a complete rig, Galco offers a specially made matching cartridge belt for the holster. MSRP: $79 (holster); $109 (belt) 02 Shooters Choice Bullseye Box Whether your guns are…

For the past 20 years or so, almost every one of my defensive handguns has had its sights replaced with XS Sights. So, when XS introduced its RAM sights, I thought for a moment the company had named them after me—after all, my initials are “RAM.” Unfortunately, that was not the case. As far as XS Sights are concerned, RAM stands for “Radio Active Material.” The RAM sights are the first 3-dot sights the company has offered. I’ve never been a huge fan of 3-dot sights. The front sight is the one that deserves your focus; and, with many 3-dot sight systems, all three dots are the same size. This could—at least theoretically—lead to confusion. To test these new sights, I installed them on my son’s Gen-4 Glock 19, which…

Ah, the little primer—that tiny, metal cup that’s the spark plug for our center-fire cartridges and shot-shells. It’s often overlooked; yet, without it, we’d still be sending showers of sparks with flint and steel. Unless you handload your ammunition or frequently use an inline muzzle-loading rifle, the primer might not matter all that much to you, but it can make or break the accuracy of your ammo. Primers can be finicky little buggers, changing the performance of your handloadseven though the powder type and charge weight are identical—because no two brands or types of primers produce the same results. BOXER PRIMER The primer is the first stage in the chain of events leading to the bullet or shot being sent down the barrel. Modern, non-corrosive primers are made of a…

The Remington 870 is one of the most widely recognized firearms in all history. Designed in the early 1950s, the 870 is a bottom-loading, side-ejecting, pump-action shotgun with a tubular magazine underneath the barrel. There are hundreds of variants of the 870 shotgun in 12-, 16-, 20- and 28-gauges and .410 bore. After its release, the 870 became an essential tool in hunting, as well as for police, military and home-defense use, with millions of them sold to date. MY GUN In the early 1990s, I was told that a local gun store in Mesa, Arizona, had received a large shipment of trade-in law enforcement Remington 870s, so I immediately paid it a visit. When I entered the store, I was greeted by a wall full of Remington 870s with…

In his thick Scottish accent, Ronnie Hepburn asked me a simple question: “Can you shoot with all these midgies!?” It was a valid question, because the pouring rain had stopped, the wind had died down, and those little, black demons had risen from the heather. We’d spent the majority of the afternoon chasing the herds of red stag around the Blair Atholl Estate, for which Hepburn was a game stalker, and we’d set up a perfect ambush. With the old stag, which had been rolling in the peat while tending his hinds, facing head on at 245 yards, I leaned the forend of the graceful Rigby Highland Stalker on Hepburn’s pack, let my breath halfway out, gave the stag 6 inches of elevation and squeezed the trigger. The sound of…

Best CCW Handguns for Women I just finished reading “The Best Concealed Carry Handguns for Women” article online. Good article! It’s important to remember that tiny guns kick hard, so people don’t practice with them and gain confidence—male or female. Everyone should carry what they’re comfortable and confident with, regardless of its size. Mikial, online comment Little guns are built for concealability, not shootability. Period. A small firearm is more comfortable to carry and easier to hide, but that comes at the cost of a belittled sight radius with mitigated grip and frame structure upon which to get a solid purchase. Carrying comfortably is important, but carrying confidently is paramount. Gun Digest editors Testing Bullets in Feral Beef? I just read your online article about Buffalo Bore ammunition (“Buffalo Bore…

In terms of training, we talk about “legacy skills” all the time. To me, legacy skills are the tools that enhance the shooter’s overall proficiency while not being dependent on gear. In other words: You’re solving your precision rifle problem without having to dip into your wallet. It boils down to training and mindset. Do you invest in a ballistic calculator for your latest smartphone, or will a data book work? RETICLE RANGING One example from a sniper’s standpoint is reticle ranging. Reticle ranging is a legacy skill because it’s: » Slow in a game where speed wins » Limited in its maximum effective range » Subjective in execution » Results will vary with conditions » It’s a perishable skill set Today, the military uses tools to help when reticle…

Working in gun shops around Detroit, we used to have regular visitors of types you rarely see any more. Once a week, a month or even a few days in a row, someone would walk in, holding a box or a case. They’d inevitably start with, “I bought a house in Detroit, and … ” or “My grandparents moved to Florida, and I found … ,” and then open the box or case to reveal a firearm. Given the age of the homeowners (the old homeowners, not the new ones), along with the fact that many of them were veterans, the iron in question was often something back from a war. The shops I worked in were not alone in this, and it was common to walk into another gun…