Innehållsförteckning för December 2017 från Guns & Ammo

“Every month, I always learn something new myself when researching these interesting firearms.” WORLD WAR II BRING-BACK FLINTLOCK Q: My husband and I have a unique gun. The pictures attached are of a flintlock my husband received from his father’s gun collection. It was brought back from Germany during his service in World War II. C.G. Email A: From your extensive photo package, I can determine that your husband’s dad brought back a French-style flintlock holster pistol circa 1770 to 1780 vintage. The lock plate is engraved “N. Duponceau.” Records indicate a “L. Duponceau” was operating circa 1740 to 1750 in either France or Belgium. As the style of the pistol is later than that, I think we can safely surmise that “N. Duponceau”…

DOVETAIL PLATES that allow a user to mount a miniature red dot sight to a pistol’s slide have been around for a while. Traditionally, these plates have been a flat adapter for a particular optic, but they were inherently difficult to use due to the lack of an iron-sight reference to help locate the dot during presentations and nonstatic shooting. Barry Dueck, former U.S. Marine-turned-competitive shooter is also the head of SureFire’s Suppressor Division. He created an advanced mounting plate called the Red Dot Back Up (RBU). What’s unique about the RBU is that it integrates fixed iron sights into the base plate that replaces the rear sight. There are specific RBUs available for most Glock and Smith & Wesson M&P pistols. Different models are available including a multiple-fit version…

BY NOW YOU UNDERSTAND suppressors do not make the host firearms silent, but they do reduce noise levels significantly. How much noise reduction depends on the design of the can and the pressures of the cartridge. To reduce noise levels further, Inland Manufacturing has developed a clever (and effective) spray-in foam. Ron Norton, a former soldier and retired police officer, knew from his experience serving in Panama 30 years ago that shaving cream was effective at suppressing the first-shot crack. But it had drawbacks. “Unfortunately, shaving cream is water based, so we would have backwash come back into the action,” Norton said. “Combined with heat and humidity, we’d soon discover rust in our actions. I experimented with oils and CLP to juice up our suppressors, but that was just a…

XP STANDS FOR “Extreme Point” and Winchester’s latest bullet is developed specifically for deer. After briefly considering inventing a new caliber, Winchester discovered a thoroughgoing solution for quickly harvesting whitetails, blacktails and mule deer. If you think about it, most bullets have to be a compromise of penetration and expansion to work in the widest variety of animals ranging from small predators to big game including elk. But deer are thin skinned, and it is rare for hunting bullets to dump energy as efficiently as Winchester’s new projectile — the Deer Season XP. Not since the mechanically bonded, jacket-core bullet revolution started in the late-1930s have deer hunters benefited this much from a leap in technology. The Tip Deer Season XP features a larger-than-normal polymer tip that sports an oversized…

THE PHILOSOPHER ERASMUS was considered by some to have been the last man who could have, and did, know everything that could be known. Of course, being born a few decades before Columbus sailed helped him there, as the pace of “new” was not what it later became. Today, just trying to keep up can become exhausting. Consider NovX ammunition. A short while back I received a box of new cases except they weren’t made of brass. The cases were from Shell Shock Technologies (SST), named NAS3 , a hybrid mix of stainless steel and aluminum. I thought, Okay, this is new. Days later, a carton of loaded ammo arrived. Fast-forward several weeks and G&A’s editor sent me a few boxes of NovX ammunition. It obviously featured the 65-grain Poly-Case…

ONE OF THESE DAYS, I’ll be semiretired living in the West and I’m going to make shooting prairie dogs a priority. I don’t know if the desire stems from my formative years in ranching country where prairie dogs and coyotes were always a popular topic or if it’s a love of rifle shooting. No matter, I still love pursuing both and the little rodents are in deep trouble when I get out West on a more permanent basis. Until then, I hunt when I can. Earlier this year I spent a couple days sitting comfortably pulling overwatch on prairie dog towns out in Wyoming. I had a nice rifle, a nice scope and the most comfortable, portable shooting bench I’ve yet encountered. “Portable” is a relative term. There’s stuff-in-your-pocket civilian…

GUNS & AMMO EDITORS, contributors and staff present 2017’s pre-eminent firearms, optic, ammunition, suppressor and innovation awards. Only products made available to consumers this last year qualify for consideration. Candidates that were introduced but experienced delays in shipping to retailers were excluded from voting. During our roundtable discussions, more weight towards the outcome was given to products engineered from the ground up and to those that potentially impact the greatest number of readers. Therefore, when faced with deciding between two otherwise equally important new products, the more affordable choice broke ties in our voting. G&A acquired several samples of each candidate throughout 2017 for thorough evaluation. Products that produced doubt in reliability and consistent manufacturing standards were removed from the list of contenders. G&A determined the winner for each category…

BEFORE SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL was Britain’s inspiring prime minister, his ambitious and privileged youth was spent as an army officer, historian and journalist. In an effort to earn medals and public recognition, he volunteered for service in India, Sudan and South Africa. It is written that Churchill saw combat nearly 50 times in his life. The first action was on his 21st birthday in 1895 where he’d traveled to report on Cuba’s War of Independence. There, he also gleaned a taste for Havana’s cigars. In 1896, Churchill was assigned to Bombay, India, and later served as a cavalry officer in the Mohmand Campaign in 1897. Carrying a “Broomhandle” C.96 Mauser in 7.63mm, his reconnaisance unit was ambushed and he used the pistol to fight off several Pashtun tribesmen. The following…

A FORCED ENTRY into my home would only give me about 3 seconds to get to a gun while sitting in my living room. With the help of a collegue, we timed different assaults with me positioned in different rooms. If I was in a common area, I would be sitting on a recliner or couch. If I were in a bedroom, I practiced from under the covers in my bed. Each time we ran the drill, the outcome looked grim. Shortly after that epiphany, I learned about hiding guns in sliding wall frames made by a company called Tactical Walls. That was 2014. Spending $500 on a 1450M Bundle to keep a carbine secure and within reach of my bed and $200 for a 812 pistol-length shelf to store…

HAILING FROM CENTRAL FLORIDA, Vedder Holsters is a family-owned company that handcrafts all its products in the U.S. Those products include inside-the-waistband (IWB), outside-the-waistband (OWB) and pocket-carry holsters, as well as an IWB spare magazine pouches made of Kydex. Completing the carry rig ensemble, Vedder also offers stiff, 1½-inch, dual-layered nylon belts with Cobra buckles for $60. Vedder’s LightTuck Kydex IWB is the brand’s most popular holster, and it has received more than 2,100 positive online reviews from customers who don’t typically take the time to write reviews. The reason for this is its design and construction. In most cases, I’ve found that an IWB holster is either great for carry behind-the-hip or for the appendix position (AIWB). Largely due to a lack of adjustability in cant and ride height,…

YOU HEAR THE SICKENING POP as your passenger side window is smashed by a hoodlum using a small piece of porcelain that he has broken from a spark plug. You know there is trouble. You see the bandana covering the identity of the “military-aged male,” as we’d call them in the U. S. Army, and you feel the dump of adrenaline as he brings his nickel plated revolver into view. He cusses at you to get out of the vehicle as his pistol is moving in your direction. What should you do? You can calmly place the vehicle in park, undo your seat belt, open the door and calmly walk away. But as you see the pistol beginning to point in your direction, you see the bad…

Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 Compact An M&P M2.0 that’s the size of a G19. SMITH & WESSON’S Military & Police (M&P) line of pistols were fresh air when they debuted in 2007 with a full-size alternative to the Glock. Since then, S&W hasn’t stopped improving this lineup, albiet subtly. With this year’s introduction of the M&P9 and M&P40 M2.0 models, S&W made changes that were beyond subtle. The M2.0 line maintains the familiarity of the original M&P, and are complete with hardened stainless-steel slides and barrels. Each component was given S&W’s Armornite corrosion-resistant finish. The M2.0 retained the high grip on the frame, which reduced the grip-to-bore axis and minimized muzzle rise during recoil. More leverage in recoil means less lift. The grip on the M2.0 remains at…