Innehållsförteckning för Concealed Carry 2020 SIP #1 från Gun Digest

Everything about carrying a concealed gun is a compromise. From a straight-up “protect my tail from any threat” perspective, I’d personally go with a slug gun every time … but comfortably concealing one of those thunder sticks at the beach would be nothing short of a nightmare. On the other hand, there’s not much that’s easier to conceal than a little micro poly .22 LR pistol. But the threat-stopping power of an itty-bitty .22 LR falls a good bit short of a 300-grain 12-gauge slug. So, we compromise, staking our preferred claim somewhere in the middle. In all honesty, you—and only you—get to decide exactly where those two lines intersect. Hell, my daily carry is a Ruger LCR in .327 Federal Mag. I have my reasons, but I also realize…

The story of the .38 Super starts in 1900, when Colt introduced the John Browning-designed M1900 .38 Automatic pistol. Interestingly, this was two years prior to the introduction of the 9mm Luger. The 9mm Luger was almost immediately adopted by the German military, but the .38 Automatic (ACP) was rejected by the U.S. military, which ultimately adopted the .45 ACP and the Colt Government Model in 1911. Now, ironically, our troops are carrying 9mm pistols. In 1929, Colt tried again with an improved version of the .38 ACP. This modernized cartridge had a new name—.38 Super—and the only improvement amounted to nothing more than the cartridge being loaded to a higher pressure: 36,500 psi, as compared to 26,500 psi. This resulted in a velocity increase of about 200 fps. THE…

There was a time when blued steel and walnut ruled the planet; when “plastic” meant crappy things made in Japan; and when the FBI actually trusted its agents to carry personally owned firearms. A TALE OF ‘DISAPPOINTMENT’ I was at work one day at The Gun Room in the very early 1980s, a storefront gun shop on Telegraph Road just a major league ball throw from the Detroit border. A woman walked in, looked around and marched up to the counter. “I went next door, and no one was there. I heard a man’s voice in the back room.” Next door was a florist’s shop, run by women, most or all of whom had experienced messy separations from their ex-spouses. This was not good. Mike, another Gun Room employee, got…

When choosing a handgun for concealed carry, concealability must be considered (for obvious reasons). I consider a Model 29, even one with such a short barrel, to be on the upper end of “size.” It’s a full-sized revolver, but it conceals well with the right holster. The holster I chose about a dozen years ago is Simply Rugged’s Sourdough Pancake holster. It’s constructed of leather (yup—not Kydex), and although it looks a bit ungainly, it holds the revolver high and close to my body. I wear it regularly while dressed in a suit, and it isn’t visible. The key to comfortable carry isn’t just the holster, but a good-quality belt made to hold the weight of a firearm. Bull Hide belts supplied my belt, and it never bows under the…

HISTORICAL NOTES The .357 Sig cartridge is based on the .40 S&W case; it’s simply necked down, with a short neck and a sharp shoulder. The design’s purpose was to achieve .357 Magnum revolver ballistics from typical semi-automatic pistols. This cartridge design offers several advantages. First, its compact nature allows use of a smaller (shorter) grip frame in pistols so chambered. For shooters with smaller hands, this is significant: Many find guns chambered for the .45 Automatic and 10mm cartridges entirely too big for proper handling and accurate shooting. Second, compared to its parent cartridge, the .357 Sig can effectively launch lighter bullets at greater velocity to achieve similar muzzle energy with less recoil. All these considerations figured into the development of the cartridge. GENERAL COMMENTS The .357 Sig is…

My grandfather would’ve liked Tim Sundles, partly because of his strong back, but mostly because of his character. Tim is serious about his word: If he tells you there’s a dinosaur on Main Street, you’d best get your gun—your really big gun—and get ready for a gunfight. Tim is “politically incorrect” and a little rough around the edges. He’s also a gentleman who expects the same from those he meets. I’d advise against knocking off his hat, insulting his lady or spilling your martini on his fl annel shirt. Tim grew up on the wild side of Idaho and Oregon. His stepfather taught him to handload when he was only 12 years old. That same year, Tim shot his first deer and had a run-in with a game warden, who…

Dry practice involves working with a firearm that’s unloaded. Admittedly, messing with unloaded guns has limited appeal; it’s like playing with a motorcycle with an empty gas tank. However, the goal with dry practice is to become more familiar with the gun and develop a relationship with its trigger, sights, controls, operation and presentation. Dry practice can cover several aspects of gun handling; it’s not just about pulling the trigger. Even if you consider yourself an average shooter, I’d urge you to become devoted to dry practice. I’ve been shooting most of my life, and hardly a day goes by that I don’t dry practice in some manner. Presented here are several dry practice drills, along with dos and don’ts. The number-one most important aspect of dry practice is to…

Let me say this up front: Concealed-carry guns are personal choices that should be based on what works for the individual—not on popular opinion, gun writer declarations or anonymous voices on Internet sites. This choice is strictly mine, and mine alone and is one I recommend only for those recoil-insensitive individuals among us. I can only provide you with my reasons (or rationalizations for the cynical among us) for my choice. There; that’s my disclaimer. When Gun Digest Editor Luke Hartle contacted me to ask what I carry on a daily basis, I have to say that he was actually expecting something along these lines. My carry piece and I have a long history together that dates back to college and the first earnings I made as a prizefighter. It’s…

The single most important element in your survival is a cultivation of your awareness skills. Many people don’t realize their awareness skills are more important than their marksmanship skills. Well, you can’t shoot something you don’t know is there or don’t know it needs to be shot. Awareness and alertness are not, for most people, innate behavior traits. This is a learned behavior pattern and, like most skills, it is best learned through repetition. Make a conscious effort at first to be more aware and see the details around you. After a few weeks of effort, it will become second nature. You should have been taught this as a child, but unfortunately, most children now are not taught this or other vital social skills. One thousand years ago, all children…

CCI Shot Loads vs. Ported Barrels I was reading Frank Melloni’s article on the Taurus Raging Bull .44 Magnum. My question comes from the last segment of his article, “The Takeaway.” In it, Mr. Melloni mentions the two CCI Shot loads available in .44-caliber for pest/ small-game hunting. I have a Taurus M-445 Tracker chambered in .45 ACP that I bought for the express purpose of carrying while fishing and shooting snakes in Alabama. The 445 is ported like the Raging Bull. A CCI rep warned me about not shooting CCI shotshells in ported pistols. He explained there was a danger of pellets coming out of the ports. I’ve used the CCI shotshells in .22, .22 Mag and .38/357 and handloaded the Speer capsules with three #1 buckshot in the…

01 Smith & Wesson M&P9 Shield EZ Smith & Wesson struck a nerve in its first go-around with the Shield EZ, given that the company recently followed up with a “big brother” version. The M&P9 Shield EZ has the same easy-to-manipulate features as the original .380 ACP, but it’s chambered for the more powerful 9mm cartridge. Much of the M&P9 Shield EZ’s magic is thanks to S&W breaking from market logic. Opting for an internal hammer, as opposed to the dominant striker-fired, the company was able to incorporate lighter springs into the gun. Additionally, the 3.675-inch-barreled pistol features aggressive fore and aft cocking serrations, a flared section of the slide at the very rear for a better grip and a magazine with slide-assist loading. MSRP: $479 02 Naroh…

I carry concealed everywhere, and that’s why I’m always testing every new compact and sub-compact pistol that’s been released. I look for comfort, ergonomics, reliability and accuracy. Early in 2019, Mossberg shocked us all with its first pistol (well, its first pistol in 100 years): the Mossberg MC-1sc, a sub-compact, 9mm, single-stack pistol. The MC-1sc gave us a series of features that made the pistol a desirable choice for both concealed carry and EDC. Now, a year after the introduction of the MC-1sc, Mossberg has introduced a slightly bigger sibling to the MC-1sc: the MC2c, the new entry from Mossberg for its pistol series. COMPARING THE SIBLINGS The new MC2c is a compact-sized pistol with almost identical features and ergonomics as the MC-1sc. They both share a black glass-reinforced polymer…

When the topic of appendix carry comes up, some of the oft-used responses are along the lines of, “Appendix doesn’t work for me”; “AIWB isn’t comfortable for me”; or (my personal favorite): “I don’t want to shoot my @#$% off.” These complaints are almost always rooted in a poor understanding of how to make appendix carry work, assuming that a shorter pistol slide is better or allowing an opinion to be formed while using a $25 eBay holster that “works for them.” Once you’ve understood the elements of a good appendix holster and how it should fit onto your body, nearly every concern critics make is almost always addressed with proper equipment selection. If your holster, gun or gun belt isn’t well-suited for appendix, you’re going to have a bad…