Innehållsförteckning för Everyday Carry SIP #4 från Gun Digest

Very few things in this life come easily, especially those things that are truly worth it. I’m not saying that all the good stuff has to come hard, but those things that really matter are always worth working for. I’ll argue through my last breath that protecting myself and those I love is one of those things that truly matters. With the same intensity, I’ll also argue that the responsibility is mine alone for doing so. It should go without saying that I’m a steadfast supporter of our law enforcement community, but when a threat comes calling and my family doesn’t have that kind of time—they have me. That said, I admit that a lifestyle of everyday preparedness was a challenge at first. Carrying no gun is always more comfortable…

There’s a great scene in Major League when the team finds out their pitcher with the rocket launcher for an arm is almost blind. They fit him with a pair of glasses, and the coach comments, “Seeing’s the most important thing.” Looking at the hideous frames he’s wearing, one of the other players replies, “It’s not that important.” We used to peer down bores and as long as we saw day light from the other end and a shiny surface, we called it good. Little did we know. Now, perhaps, we can know too much. A rifle that otherwise shoots excellent groups might show up at the gunsmith with a request to re-barrel it, saying, “The bore is too rough.” The important thing to remember is actual performance. If your…

In 2018, Smith & Wesson released the Shield M&P EZ in .380 ACP to specifically address complaints that some shooters had problems racking the slide or manipulating a defensive semi-automatic handgun. Most manufacturers would’ve called it a day and raked in the money for a concealed-carry piece that checks all the boxes. However, Smith & Wesson has never been known to rest on their laurels. They had the right dimensions, safety features and mode of operation. They addressed complaints from shooters who had special needs regarding shooting, manipulation and maintenance. Yet, the caliber was an issue. Most firearms instructors recommend .380 ACP as the bare minimum caliber for self-defense. Yet, those same professionals will say they carry a 9mm. Smith & Wesson followed up with a M&P Shield EZ in…

Call it gun fever, pistol pandemic or what have you. Folks procure a heater and act as if they’re ready to tackle all the world has to throw at them right then and there. It’s almost enough to laugh at. Aside from solid training and inside-out knowledge of the particular firearm destined for their hip, there’s a load of additional kit required to do things right. Holster selection alone is a dynamic nearly lifelong process—few hangers are ever defined as perfect. Additionally, there are tons of little things that, along the way, you learn enhance your ability to handle everyday emergencies. A lethal-force encounter isn’t the only thing that can do you in. So, without further ado, here are some pieces of kit that either enhance carrying every day or…

Scott Reidy, director of training at Sig Sauer Academy, spent 21 years as a police officer in Nashua, New Hampshire, where winters are cold and clothing is heavy. He’s spent most of the last 10 years as a full-time firearms instructor. “Last year, we had 14,000 students through our concealed carry program,” he said. “We teach heavily on acceptable caliber and recommend no lower than a .380, but there are some big caveats there. Can you safely manipulate the gun? Manage the recoil? How small does the gun need to be to conceal?” In other words, there are scenarios where rimfires for self-defense make sense, rare as they might be. Older arthritic hands that can’t handle the snap of a micro .380 or 9mm might be OK with a low-recoil…

I’ve known a few cowboys in my time. These guys are not the pressed shirt and starched jeans over ostrich-skin boots types. No, I’m referring to the man who wears a wrinkled chambray shirt, torn jeans that have patches on top of older patches with run-over boots and a sweat-stained hat. His tools are as roughshod as he is. He rides a saddle with fenders so badly scratched from barbwire that it looks like hieroglyphics. The metal parts of his guns are gray with rust pits, and the stocks are smooth from wear, perhaps with a few chips. Cowboys like this don’t give a damn what a gun looks like. All they care is that it doesn’t cost them an arm and a leg to buy or shoot. Ruger’s Wrangler…

You’ve saved 20 percent by bundling a holster with the Sport Tuck Belly Band! Get your belly band holster set in one fell swoop with the Sport Tuck Belly Band Holster from Alien Gear Holsters! This product bundle gets you the Active Sport band plus the IWB of your choice, equipping you to carry with this set the second you open the box. Alien Gear Holsters can equip you to carry, and at a savings when you bundle. The Sport Tuck Belly Band Holster bundle nets you discount on the belly band when you add the IWB holster of your choice. The Sport Tuck belly band holster is an innovative belly band for concealed carry. It features industrial strength hook and loop fabric for a secure closure. The belly band…

Finding the perfect belly band holster online can be challenging. You might feel frustrated because you’ve wasted time and money on holsters that aren’t comfortable, safe, or concealable. We understand that the quality of your holster makes a difference in the quality of your personal protection. Every woman should own a holster that allows her to conceal carry every day. That’s why Tactica has designed the ultimate belly band holster to meet all of your concealed carry needs. Secure Belly Band Carry, Perfected Most belly band holsters feature neoprene or elastic holster pockets. These materials don’t give you the best trigger guard protection. When you buy a belly band, you shouldn’t have to sacrifice safety for comfort. Our hybrid design combines the best of both worlds. A breathable neoprene backing…

HISTORICAL NOTES The .221 Remington Fireball cartridge was introduced early in 1963 for the Remington XP-100 bolt-action, a single-shot pistol based on a shortened, lightened 700 series rifle action. The pistol had a streamlined nylon-plastic stock, ventilated barrel rib and adjustable sights. This was the first handgun made by Remington since its pocket automatics were discontinued back in 1935. The Thompson/Center Contender was also available in .221 Remington for a time, but no longer. Remington was the only source for .221 Fireball ammunition, and it’s still available. GENERAL COMMENTS The .221 Fireball follows the modern design in .22-caliber high-velocity pistol cartridges for small game and varmint hunting at long range. The rimless case is a shortened version of the .222 Remington. The cartridge is well adapted to rifles, as well…

That handgun you have for personal protection is worthless if it’s not on your person. In order to use it to save your life you have to have it with you. Unfortunately, there’s no good way to carry a handgun; the best and most comfortable way is in your hand, but we cannot walk around with a gun in our hand all the time. So, we look to various carry methods and holster styles to help us “pack iron,” as they used to say. Though, in today’s world, that saying might need to be altered to “packing plastic.” There are essentially five techniques for carrying a defensive handgun in a holster, and there’s a specific holster style best suited to each technique. As a concealed carrier, you must decide which…

“A light will give away my position.” Have you ever heard a fellow gun owner utter these words? There are more than a handful of myths about lights and guns, rooted in a poor understanding of using them effectively together. The reason most gun owners don’t understand how a light works when paired with a firearm is simple: It’s difficult to practice in low-light conditions. But, it’s very important that every gun owner shoot in low-light conditions at least once … if, for no other reason, than to experience the challenges first hand. Ideally, you should seek out a reputable trainer with a low-light course. There just isn’t a good reason to not join the 21st century and embrace high-performing lights, regardless of the myths. Bad things happen all the…

Imagine buying one holster that can quickly and easily transform into a variety of carry positions. This is now a reality with the all-new ShapeShift Modular Holster System. The ShapeShift Core Carry Pack is the foundation of the ShapeShift Modular Holster System and includes everything you need to carry in four distinct ways. In just a few quick steps, quickly transform the Shape-Shift into an IWB holster, appendix carry holster, OWB belt slide, and OWB paddle holster. The Core Carry Pack also includes a bonus Holster Mount, so you can attach your ShapeShift to a variety of surfaces in seconds. This Modular Holster System went through two years of development, and each holster method is unsurpassed in comfort and concealability. For those looking to carry concealed, the ShapeShift IWB Holster…

The original! A perennial favorite at Dawson Knives, the Handyman Pocket Knife offers the easy, clip-inside-the-pocket carry of a folding knife with the strength and safety of a fixed blade. This handy little drop point is a great everyday-carry blade, with plenty of razor-sharp edge and fine point to tackle nearly every job. Also features a flat head screwdriver built into the pommel for quick field adjustments. The Handyman is designed to be worn in a special Kydex sheath tucked inside the pants pocket, out of the way and ready to go! Handyman SPECS: • 100-percent designed and handcrafted in the USA • 0.140 CPM-3V American-made powder steel • Next evolution in blade steel — edge wear 3x longer than D2 • 100-percent American-made materials • 3 1/8-inch blade, 7…

Some people who carry prefer leather because of the comfort and protection it can offer to both the user and firearm. Others choose a Kydex option due to its strength and rigidity. The Comfort Flex Deluxe by Versacarry was engineered to give its user the best of both worlds. This Inside the Waistband (IWB) holster is crafted from our signature water buffalo leather with an embedded polymer layer, sewn in-between two pieces of leather for strength and rigidity. This design ensures that the firearm will never come in contact with the hard polymer material, potentially causing unwanted damage. The back side of the holster is made from a combination of leather and closed-cell foam padding. These materials provide outstanding comfort and act as a sweat barrier between your body and…

Most of the really good defensive handgun loads on the market have one thing in common—they were designed to perform well in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s testing protocol. This test assesses a bullet’s ability to inflict an effective wound after defeating various intervening obstacles commonly present in law enforcement shootings, like steel, plywood, wallboard and automotive safety glass. The best performing bullets in this test tend to expand to 1.5 times their original diameter and penetrate to between 12 and 18 inches, regardless of the intermediate barrier. This testing protocol has driven the manufacture of defensive handgun ammunition for the last 30 years, and manufacturers have become really good at building bullets to meet the FBI standard. And, as law enforcement agencies adopt loads based on their performance in…

01 The Ed Brown FX2 An expansion of the manufacturer’s dashing FX Series, the pistol is tailored for concealed carry and incorporates one of the hottest technologies of the day. Look closely: It’s hard to miss the slide cut and red-dot perched atop the metal beast. It being Ed Brown, it’s not just any reflex married to the FX2, but Trijicon’s fairly new and ultra-slim RMRcc. At 0.9 inch in width, the micro red-dot is almost tailor-made for 1911s and other slender concealed-carry handguns. The FX2 seamlessly fits the slide and is so low profile (0.9 inch) it’s as unobtrusive as red-dots come. Incidentally, the pistol is available in both .45 ACP and 9mm. MSRP: Starting at $4,295 02 Trijicon RMRcc Since we touched upon it with the…

Competency with a defensive handgun is a perishable skill. You need to practice on a regular basis to improve or just remain proficient. That takes time and money, and time and money are the two things most of us have the least. For many, a trip to the range can consume a half or full day, and with range fees and ammunition, it can cost a hundred bucks or more. What might surprise you, especially if you’re a new shooter, is that you can practice the most important of those perishable skills at home, without ammunition. Typically, this type of practice is called dry practice or dry-fire practice, meaning, it’s practice without ammunition. Too often shooters don’t give dry practice the credit it deserves. This is probably partly because dry…

ALABAMA Nov 28-29 AL, Birmingham. Gun & Knife Show. Civic Center, 2100 Richard Arrington, Jr Blvd. ARKANSAS Dec 12-13 AR, Conway. Gun Show. Expo Center, 2505 East Oak St. CALIFORNIA Nov 21-22 CA, Lodi. Lodi Gun Show. Lodi Grape Festival Grounds, 413 E. Lockeford Street. FLORIDA Nov 21-22 FL, Ft. Myers. Civil War, Gun, Knife, Military Show. Araba Shrine Temple, 2010 Hanson St at Rt. 41. ILLINOIS Nov 15-Dec 20 IL, woodstock. mc henry county gun show.mc henry county fairgrounds, 11900 country club rd. INDIANA Nov 14-15 IN, Kokomo. Gun & Knife Show. Kokomo Event Center, 1500 N Reed Road. Nov 21-22 IN, Evansville. Gun & Knife Show. 4-H Center, Vanderburg Cty. Fairgrounds, 201 E. Boonville New Harmony Rd. Nov 28-29 IN, Muncie. Gun & Knife Show. Delaware Co. Fairgrounds,…

It seems that ammo shortages are now the new thing. Every few years, kind of like the plagues of Egypt, we find ourselves scrambling to find ammo. (Those of you who hadn’t stocked up in one of the in-between periods, that is.) One way to deal with this is to have backups (or main guns) chambered in calibers that aren’t so popular. I know, I know—you don’t want to be subject to the scorn of your fellow gun club members when they catch you packing something chambered in a “mouse gun” caliber, but when it’s that or harsh words, which is better? The choice of an alternative ammo source depends on a few things. One, it has to be popular enough that gun shops and other retailers will actually stock…

When setting up our own training and practice program, we’re all faced with trying to determine how to prioritize the various skills we could work to improve. Which skills should have priority? Which skills are more secondary? In this country, law-enforcement officers are involved in a lot of shooting incidents, which are well-documented. The FBI has been gathering and collating information on these incidents since the 1930s, and each year it puts out a report referred to as Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted Summary (LEOKA). Each year in the United States, typically somewhere between 75 and 100 police officers are killed feloniously in the line of duty. The LEOKA report has a brief, several-paragraph summary of each incident in which a police officer was killed in the previous year.…

This is the all-new ELMS Expert Laser Marksman System in the 9mm format and guaranteed to fit all 9mm caliber handguns. Patent-pending design and enhanced manufacturing improve laser group size by up to 80 percent, reduce laser drift by up to 75 percent, and extend longevity (min. shot-count before service) by up to 60 percent over the Gen 2 model. Unlike anything else available on the market today in its class, the ELMS 9mm dry-fire training system is spot-on accurate. ELMS 9mm kit includes: • 1 ELMS 9mm Laser Training Cartridge • 1 Extra set of batteries • 1 Extra set of perfect fit O-rings • 1 Hard clamshell storage case • 1 Instruction manual • 1 ELMS mobile app download PROPACK Take your training to the next level with…

Trying to find the perfect corset holster can be difficult when you’re looking for a corset holster that deeply conceals your firearm, but also properly protects your trigger guard. At Tactica, we understand that you have high standards for your safety, and that’s why we design concealed carry holsters of the finest quality. You deserve to wear a corset holster that’ll safely protect and conceal your firearm, while also complementing your curves. After all, it is a corset holster! Breaking Away From the Pack: a New Kind of Safety At Tactica, your safety is our number-one priority. That’s why we’ve designed a corset that has a strong layer of TPE polymer sewn in. We’re proud to announce that our corset is the only holster on the market that includes this…

The common refrain about “gun-free zones” is “I simply won’t go.” It’s a noble sentiment, steeped in the righteous intentions and completely incompatible with real life. It stings like salt in a wound, but a visit to these less-then-enlightened venues end up on a to-do list more often than you’d figure — be it jury duty, parent-teacher conferences, or even work. The obvious solution to this unpalatable situation, given our highly mobile society, is to simply stow your gun in your car. Of course, doing so is easier said than done. It’s impracticable to downright loony to think you can just toss you 9mm or .45 somewhere sight-unseen and call it secure. Always a consideration, firearms’ security is especially imperative on the road. Tempered glass and anemic locks hardly inspire…