Innehållsförteckning för Everyday Carry 2023 SIP #4 från Gun Digest

Being prepared isn’t an easy decision to make. Well, I suppose making the decision isn’t so hard: It’s the execution of the lifestyle that takes a good bit of conscious effort. Being blissfully ignorant and hoping for the best is certainly the simplest way to walk through life … but I’ve never been much of a gambler. It’s no secret that carrying a firearm every day can be a major pain … in every sense of that phrase. It’s often uncomfortable to secure a concealed handgun, especially when summer hits and I want nothing more than to wear athletic shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops. Oh, it’s very doable, but it certainly takes effort. Even so, with the physical discomfort and extra hassle that can come with carrying a handgun, comes an…

Most who carry a handgun for self-defense have limited access to others who have a lot of experience doing it. You might know a gun guy from the range or the gun store, a buddy who fashions himself an “expert” … or maybe even a cop who can provide some guidance. I don’t believe anyone has all the answers, but I do think there are some folks you can learn from. I’ve carried a handgun for personal protection most of my life, I was a soldier and I worked as a patrol officer and as a special agent. I’ve also had some fantastic firearms training, but more importantly, I’ve met some other folks with lots of experience that I learned from. I asked six veteran practitioners of the defensive handgun…

Back in 1990, NATO wanted a special firearm … a personal defense weapon (PDW). This PDW was to be the modern equivalent of the M1 Carbine. Unlike the carbine, however, they wanted something that’d penetrate the soon-to-be-issued Soviet “superarmor”, something that all Warsaw Pact troops would soon be wearing when they swarmed across the Iron Curtain. The 5.7x28mm came to us in the P90, an SMG-sized firearm familiar to all fans of the Stargate TV show. Its companion, the PS90, came with a 16-inch barrel and no selector switch. In due time, FN offered a 5.7x28mm option in the FiveseveN, a pistol chambered in the cartridge. The ammunition, however, wasn’t the anti-Soviet loading that NATO could get, but various FMJ and polymer-tipped bullets that could be had here. So, the…

HISTORICAL NOTES The 9mm Ultra cartridge was designed for the Walther PP Super semi-auto pistol introduced in 1972. This seven-shot autoloader was designed particularly for the West German police. It was not available to the civilian market until 1975, and then only in small numbers. Quite a few guns in this chambering have shown up in the United States, as the West German police discontinued it. In recent years, the Sig Sauer P230 and the Benelli B76 auto pistols have also been chambered for the 9mm Ultra. The cartridge was actually developed in 1936 for the German Air Force but was never officially adopted. The 9mm Ultra is 1 millimeter longer than the .380 Auto and 1 millimeter shorter than the 9mm Luger, with the same general case dimensions. In…

Back in the old days, I’d buy screwdrivers whenever I found them at garage sales and harden the tips and grind them to fit. Fit what, you ask? Whatever needed fitting. Regular screwdrivers didn’t fit firearms screws and trying usually meant cosmetic damage and heartache. Well, that ended a long time ago when those who make firearms tools started offering properly fitted and hardened screwdrivers. Now, we have a plethora of choices of brands and sizes—and Wheeler is right there in the mix. They offer a wide array of kit sizes. Here, I focus on the sweet spot of kits: the Wheeler 43-Piece Professional Gunsmithing Screwdriver Set. ALL THE THINGS One of the first things you learn when looking into tools is that you can’t have a complete toolkit—unless you’re…

It’s safe to say that we aren’t in much danger of seeing companies like Ruger and Sig begin to introduce cap-and-ball pistols into the carry market (though one could only hope), but we’re seeing something many folks out there consider a regression: the return to metal-framed pistols. Before we begin here, I need to be up front that I no longer own any polymer-framed pistols—nope, not even a Glock 19. I’ve carried polymer-framed pistols for nearly 13 years nonstop, but the recent trend back to metal frames has made me realize just what I was missing. Before you turn your eyes from these pages, understand that I’m not besmirching polymer guns; rather, treat this as an alternative position that you should consider. BARBIE DOLLS AND TALL TALES Before I get…

In 2017, I wrote an article about the then-new Wilson Combat EDC X9 pistol for this magazine. I wrote that I was comfortable proclaiming that pistol as the best ever made. I felt it was akin to a $10 donut that, though you know it’s expensive, you pay the price because of the excessive watering in your mouth. And then, after thousands of rounds, it still tastes just as good as the first bite. I still feel that way, but after a week of testing with the new Kimber KDS9C, I believe it’s something like a $7.50 donut. It might not be everything the EDC X9 is, but it’s damned close. Kimber’s literature states that the KDS9C is the result of a ground-up development to provide a personal protection masterpiece.…

Through Western lore and Hollywood, the quick draw has been promoted as the default approach to gunfighting. There’s no doubt being able to swiftly draw your handgun can be an asset if you have to shoot fast to save your life. But because your trigger finger sometimes decides to operate independently of your brain, and because humans have a propensity for doing stupid sh*t, attempting to draw and shoot a handgun as fast as absolutely possible can lead to a bullet hole in your ass cheek, thigh or foot. If you’re exercising appendix carry, a negligent early] discharge might best be described as a catastrophe. So, this column comes with a warning: Trying to draw and fire a pistol as fast as possible can be dangerous. If you carry a…

If you carry a firearm on a daily basis, odds are good that you load and unload your weapon frequently and have already given serious thought to your choice of ammunition. Bullet weight, construction and conformation all play a role in terminal performance, and while very few will have an opportunity to test their ammunition in a controlled environment, there’s plenty of data available to help make a proper decision. I’m an unabashed bullet hound. I love the old styles, from cast lead to the early jacketed bullets—all the way through the latest and greatest modern developments. And while there are myriad choices available to the handgunner, I have a few favorites that have checked all the boxes for me. Bullets that’ll feed reliably in an autoloader, print consistent groups,…

Imagine you’re new to the world of personal protection and defensive firearms. Or perhaps you actually are new to the world of personal protection and defensive firearms. Either way, you know you want to keep yourself and the people you’re responsible for safe, but you don’t know where to start. You also happen to be under the age of 50. So, what do you do? Chances are high that in today’s world, you’ll resort to social media to do at least some, if not all, of your research. Today, the fishing-vest-wearing, 1911-in-a-strongside-leather-holster-carrying gun writer of the ’80s and ’90s has been supplanted as the primary source of knowledge. In 2023, “influencers” wearing graphic T-shirts, carrying compensated polymer pistols—equipped with slide-mounted optics and weapon-mounted lights—forward of the hips are driving the…