For the average shooter, when and where is a suppressed pistol practical?
Movies directly influence the firearms market. In 1971, the movie Dirty Harry made the .44 Magnum revolver famous. The mention of the Glock pistol in Die Hard 2 in 1990 helped popularize those pistols. In 2014, American Sniper made everyone want a long-range rifle. And, the 1895 Marlin became famous in the 2017 Wind River film. I could go on, but I think you get the point.
Another gun-related movie influence is the suppressed pistol. Countless scenes depict assassins, special agents or tactical operatives screwing a suppressor on a pistol, giving the impression that all the cool kids use suppressed pistols.
I’m a fan of suppressed shooting, especially when it comes to hunting … and when the firearm used is properly configured for suppressed fire. With rifles, the current trend is shorter barrels to make them more suppressor friendly. The problem with pistols is that we can hardly shorten the barrels any more than they already are. This means that, for some applications, a suppressed pistol doesn’t make a lot of sense. This is especially true when it comes to concealed carry; turning a 7-inch handgun into a 13-inch handgun makes it nearly impossible to conceal or carry comfortably.
Through not practical for concealed carry, a suppressed pistol can be a lot of fun on the range.
I know that it seems like all high speed, low drag, special operations units run suppressed pistols as do a lot of SWAT teams. For these operators, suppressors provide the advantage of reduced noise in confined spaces, reduced recoil permitting faster follow-up shots and a reduced muzzle signature to help limit detection and flash blindness. These are all good things, but keep in mind these soldiers and cops aren’t trying to conceal their suppressed handguns while ordering up a happy meal at a fast food restaurant.
So, for the average shooter, when and where is a suppressed pistol practical?
Facts First
Pistols—even rimfire pistols—are loud. It’s not a good idea to shoot any pistol without hearing protection. A 9mm pistol will generate about 160 decibels, and a .22 rimfire pistol will generate about 150. Anything beyond 140 decibels is dangerous to your hearing, and ideally you do not want to expose your unprotected ears to decibel levels above 120.
A good handgun suppressor can reduce decibel exposure by as much as 36 decibels, which is in the marginally safe range with both rimfire and centerfire supersonic ammunition. However, when you use subsonic centerfire and rimfire ammunition with a good suppressor, both become hearing safe and what I’d call “comfortable” to the unprotected ear.
However, there’s something other than sound that needs to be considered when it comes to suppressing a pistol, and that deals with your pistol’s sights. When you screw a suppressor on the barrel of your handgun, it’ll most likely prevent you from seeing your sights on the target. You can overcome this problem with the installation of what are known as suppressor-height sights, or a reflex sight.
Suppressed Pistol Practical Applications
We’ve already established that a suppressed pistol isn’t suited for concealed carry, but that doesn’t mean it has no place in the personal protection arena. If you keep a specific pistol just for home defense, outfitting it with a suppressor might be a good idea. It’s not a pistol you’ll need to conceal, and it’s not a pistol you’ll need to holster. Most likely, it’s a pistol you’ll keep in your bedside drawer or gun safe. In a home-defense situation, a suppressor can benefit you in the same ways it benefits military operators and SWAT teams.
For the obvious reason, a suppressed pistol can also be a lot of fun for recreational and some competitive shooting. And in most cases, it’s a great idea for a pistol used for hunting. A suppressor reduces noise and cuts down on recoil, which are two things that can make shooting a pistol—especially for new shooters—uncomfortable.
I don’t shoot suppressed pistols that often, but my wife and daughters prefer it. I do, however, keep a suppressed pistol in my side-by-side that I run the ranch with. It’s a Sig Sauer P322 that rides in a homemade holster just in front of the seat. I routinely run across vermin that need to be dealt with, and often these encounters don’t allow the time required to put on hearing protection. Having a suppressed .22 pistol handy is nice for those instances, and sometimes—just because I get the urge—I’ll stop at my range and plink off a full magazine just for fun.
Silencer Central’s Banish 45
I currently own nine suppressors, but only one is designed for pistols. It’s the Silencer Central Banish 45, and it will work with any pistol from rimfire up to .45 Auto. This is a titanium modular suppressor that’s user serviceable, and it can be shortened from 8.6 inches (11 ounces) to 6.7 inches (9.6 ounces). Shortening the suppressor reduces the decibel reduction it offers, but it allows you to tune the suppressor to the size and to the amount of sound reduction you need.
The Banish 45 is also compatible with pistol-caliber carbines, and because it uses a unique swappable piston, you can pair it with any thread pattern. Silencer Central also offers a fixed-barrel spacer for the Banish 45 that lets you use it with fixed—nonmoving—barrel firearms.
The Banish 45 suppressor utilizes different pistons so it can pair with most any thread pattern and they’re easy to swap out. If you use a Banish 45 on several pistols with different thread patterns, you’ll need several pistons.
Because of the compact nature of pistols, they’re not as suitable for suppression as rifles—but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a viable reason to suppress a pistol. Clearly, if you’re working as an assassin or for some clandestine spy organization as a hitman, they make perfect sense. And, they can add enjoyment to recreational and competitive range sessions and hunting. Suppressors are also beneficial in comforting new shooters.
However, from a personal protection standpoint, a suppressed pistol is pretty much limited to home defense duty, or for use as a truck or ATV gun for the outdoorsman. Regardless of how you might like to use a suppressor for a pistol, I suggest you start your search with the Banish 45. I got no complaints with mine.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
More On Suppressors:
The Suppressor: How They're Made, How They Work, And How To Buy One
Looking to easily swap your suppressor between multiple firearms? Here we take a look at Gemtech’s direct-thread rear caps.
A lot of suppressor users are not going to swap their silencer across a whole rack of rifles. Not the first suppressor, anyway. It will spend its range time on one or two—maybe three rifles—ever.
If that’s the case, there’s no reason to invest in a QD mount system. Oh, they are cool, but they cost and add weight. A typical rear cap for a quick-attach system, and the muzzle brake it fits on to, can run up to 7 ounces.
Especially on a rifle meant for hunting, 7 ounces can matter. The old hiking adage, “Look after the ounces, and the pounds will look after themselves,” comes to mind. So, Gemtech has now made available direct-thread rear caps for their new Abyss and Neutron suppressors.
They screw into the rear HUB threads on those suppressors. The HUB thread pattern is the new universal rear design, and if you have some other brand of suppressor that uses HUB, the Gemtech caps will also work.
The best part? If you have a 5.56 rifle, and the Gemtech Abyss 7.62, the 1/2-28 rear cap puts your .30 silencer onto your 5.56 rifle. Two rifles, two calibers, for one extra $52 part.
Will a .30 suppressor on a 5.56 rifle be as quiet as a dedicated 5.56 suppressor? You’d be surprised. Plus, the Abyss is going to shrug off pretty much anything your 5.56 rifle can give it.
At the price, you would be crazy not to be able to swap your silencer around. Oh, your barrels have to be threaded, but that’s common now, and they’d have to be threaded anyway.
The big deal is cost: Compared to the $52 of one cap to fit them all, each quick-attach sept requires a muzzle device. Depending on the brand, that can be $70 to $150 for each rifle. And we’ve been over the weight, which each rifle in turn is stuck with.
Now, you have to be careful. You must check alignment each time you install, because it’s prudent. And this mistake can be expensive.
Plus, there’s one more detail you have to keep in mind. Since the rear of the suppressor is the HUB thread, if you owned them you could inadvertently install the 5/8-28 rear cap on your HUB 5.56 suppressor. That would be bad. So don’t do that.
One way to avoid that is to use a paint pen, and discreetly mark your .30 and 5.56 suppressors and caps, front and rear. Say, blue for 5.56 and red for .30. The ease and versatility of the HUB design makes things simpler … but you have to be thinking.
And this isn’t just Gemtech: All suppressors using the HUB have this. So, pay attention.
But get the caps, they’re too good to pass up.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
More On Suppressors:
The Suppressor: How They're Made, How They Work, And How To Buy One
Our current list of the best concealed carry revolvers that are more than ready to cover your six.
Semi-automatic pistols have ruled the roost when it comes to self-defense guns in recent years, but I'm a firm believer that concealed carry revolvers still hold their own when push comes to shove. The time-tested design is offered in some excellent self-defense calibers, is straightforward in operation and is as dependable as the next day’s dawn. And there are some top-notch and well-thought-out options in the revolver market tailor-made to hang ever-ready on your gun belt and deliver when called upon.
How We Chose The Best Concealed Carry Revolvers
We're fans of wheelguns at Gun Digest, and we still believe that they have a place in the concealed carry world despite the current domination of semi-autos. Between the other Gun Digest editors, our most trusted freelancers and myself, we have quite a bit of trigger time behind a variety of different carry revolvers, sending thousands of rounds down range and testing a wide swath of what the market has to offer in self-defense wheelguns. On each make/model we looked for the quality of the build, features, dependability, accuracy, concealability and price. When the dust settled these were our picks for the best concealed carry revolvers.
Caliber: .327 Federal Magnum, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .22LR, 9mm
Capacity: 5 to 8 depending on caliber
Action: DAO
Barrel Length: 1.87 Inches
Overall Length: 6.5 Inches
Overall Height: 4.5 Inches
Overall Width: 1.28 Inches
Weight: 13.8 to 17.1 Ounces depending on caliber
MSRP: $739 to $859 depending on caliber
Outside of the cylinder, revolutionary hasn’t been applied much to the revolver since the 1830s. But there’s a whole bunch of it in the Ruger LCR (Lightweight Compact Revolver).
The diminutive five-round handgun is absolutely cutting edge when it comes to material use. Not only has Ruger turned to aircraft-grade aluminum for the gun’s frame, but also polymers for its fire-control housing. Combined with a highly fluted stainless-steel cylinder, the LCR is among the lightest guns available today—a whopping 13.5 ounces. On top of that, I find that Ruger’s friction-reducing cam system makes the LCR among the easiest double-actions to shoot well.
Per Ruger’s MO, the revolver is highly modifiable, boasting an easily replaceable pinned ramp front sight and grips. But outfitted at the factory with a Hogue Tamer Monogrip, there might not be much reason to go shopping in the latter department.
The revolver is available in five calibers, but for carry the .327 Federal Magnum would be my pick. While the ammo is a bit pricey and probably isn't stocked in most brick-and-mortar gun shops, the round punches above its weight all while fitting a sixth round in the cylinder (the .38 SPL +P, .357 Mag. and 9mm versions only hold 5). As a bonus, you can even shoot .32 S&W Long out of it for some inexpensive training or plinking fun.
Read our complete Ruger LCR review and see why it tops our list… particularly in .327 Federal Magnum.
Ruger LCR .327 Fed. Mag. Deals
Guns.com
$655.99
Cabela's
$679.99
Buds Gun Shop
$662.28
Best High-End Concealed Carry Revolver: Smith & Wesson Performance Center 442
Pros
Incredibly Lightweight
Easy To Carry
Shrouded Hammer For Snag-Free Draw
Comes With A Crimson Trace Lasergrip
Cons
Plenty Of Recoil
Expensive
S&W PC 442 Specs
Caliber: .38 Special
Capacity: 5
Action: DAO
Barrel Length: 1.88 Inches
Overall Length: 6.31 Inches
Overall Height: 4.3 Inches
Overall Width: 1.3 Inches
Weight: 15 Ounces
MSRP: $849
There are those, foolish as it may be, who think a J-frame is just a J-frame. To them, It doesn’t matter what model number Smith & Wesson slaps on one, they’re all the same. Boy howdy, what a mistaken frame of mind.
The S&W Performance Center 442 is more than proof.
Hand-assembled and tuned to perfection, the .38 Special is the epitome of a serious concealed carry revolver, a cut above most everything on the market today. Smith & Wesson has trimmed down the weight of the 442 to a scant 15 ounces unloaded, mainly thanks to an aluminum alloy frame. Yet, boasting a polished five-chamber stainless-steel cylinder, the +P-rated .38 is more than up for rough EDC treatment.
But is it on target? At 15-yards in—where it would most likely be employed—I found it absolutely accurate! Though, I'd venture this is it's limits in the hands of most shooters.
Expediting the 1.875-inch barreled gun’s target acquisition is a factory-installed Crimson Trace Lasergrip, which activates when you grip the revolver’s rounded butt. Of course, there’s a ramp front and integral rear sights for backup.
By the way, the DAO (double-action only) PC 442 comes sans an internal locking mechanism, always a plus when talking S&W.
Best .357 Magnum Concealed Carry Revolver: Ruger LCRx 3”
Pros
Better Ballistics
Bigger Grip
SA/DA
Cons
Harder To Conceal
Exposed Hammer Can Snag
Expensive
Ruger LCRx Specs(.357 Mag. 3″ Model)
Caliber: .357 Magnum
Capacity: 5
Action: DA/SA
Barrel Length: 3 Inches
Overall Length: 7.5 Inches
Overall Height: 5.8 Inches
Overall Width: 1.28 Inches
Weight: 21.3 Ounces
MSRP: $859
I hate to break it to you, but size matters.
Too short in the barrel department and the better part of that powder you're burning deflagrates in thin air. All you’re left with is a heap of muzzle flash and limp ballistic performance—particularly from a big dog, such as a .357 Magnum. Hence, why Ruger’s addition of a 3-inch barreled .357 Magnum LCRx is so welcome.
Certainly, the lightweight magnum falls short of producing the velocities found out of a 6-inch revolver—but by my chronograph, not by much. Which is to say, with this LCRx you’re well-armed.
As to its extra size, especially compared to many of the other options on this list, yes, it’s larger. However, not prohibitively so. I found the stainless-steel Ruger is still extremely concealable and at 21.3 ounces unloaded is no burden at all.
True enough, it’s not as streamlined as other concealed carry revolver options. It boasts adjustable rear target sights and an exposed spur. Yet, Ruger manages to keep this all fairly unobtrusive, keeping the LCRx snag-free once you’re used to the system.
Find out why this concealed carry revolver exerts magnum force in our Ruger LCRx review.
Ruger LCRx 3-in. .357 Mag. Deals
Sportsman's Warehouse
$649.97
Buds Gun Shop
$662.28
Cabela's
$689.99
Best Value Concealed Carry Revolver: Rock Island Armory M206 Spurless
Pros
6-Round Capacity
Snag Free
Affordable
Cons
Not +P rated
Large For Its Class
Heavy For Its Class
RIA M206 Spurless Specs
Caliber: .38 Special
Capacity: 6
Action: DAO
Barrel Length: 2 Inches
Overall Length: 6.75 Inches
Overall Height: 4.67 Inches
Overall Width: 1.5 Inches
Weight: 24 Ounces
MSRP: $279 (black) ; $369 (nickel)
Not a new concealed carry revolver by any stretch of the imagination, but well worth adding to the list. The M206 Spurless is a real workingman’s .38 Special, short on glitz and glamor and long on performance. And, above all, affordable!
That’s a rarity nowadays, but highly welcome.
How Rock Island pulls this off is jettisoning aesthetics on the steel-framed revolver and purely focusing on performance. And the plucky 6-round, 2-inch barreled double-action performs.
I found the trigger surprisingly smooth for an entry-level revolver, its timing is impeccable and ramp front and fixed back sights plenty accurate at 15-yards in.
Plus it comes with some desirable features, such as checkered wood grips, ejector-rod shroud and a Colt-like cylinder release. Furthermore, there’s the choice of Parkerized and matte nickel finishes.
The issue the M206 presents, at least for me, is Rock Island does not list it as +P rated. While generations of law enforcement more than accomplished their mission with run-of-the-mill .38 Special, the velocity at which it operates doesn’t always play nice with modern expanding bullets.
To some extent, +P mitigates this issue – not always, but more so. Good defensive ammo is available for standard .38 Spc., but–especially out of a snubbie–requires savvy shopping.
Best .44 Concealed Carry Revolver: Charter Arms Bulldog DAO
Pros
Easy To Shoot
Concealable
Snag-Free
Comfortable Grips
Cons
Defensive Ammo Expensive
Large
Charter Arms Bulldog DAO Specs
Caliber: .44 Special
Capacity: 5
Action: DAO
Barrel Length: 2.5 Inches
Overall Length: 7.38 Inches
Overall Height: 5.13 Inches
Overall Width: N/A
Weight: 21 Ounces
MSRP: $453.60
A surefire way of stopping a threat is to poke big holes into it. Charter Arms gives you the ability to do exactly this with its legendary .44 Special Bulldog.
The 2.5-inch barreled revolver has been around for a spell, first introduced in the early 1970s, and has only gotten better with time. This includes what I believe are some much-needed tweaks to the original design, such as making the front sight integral to the barrel and expanding the selection of models to keep up with prevailing concealed-carry trends.
The DAO is one such example.
A clipped spur isn’t absolutely essential for concealed carry revolvers, but it does up the odds of a clean draw each time the gun is unholstered. Not to mention, it makes the revolver more comfortable to carry.
The five-round revolver is very controllable, especially for weighing 21 ounces and pitching bullets up to 300 grains in weight. Much of this is due to the low pressure at which the .44 Special operates, and it is further helped down this road with generous grips, complete with finger grooves.
Being chambered for .44 Special, however, does pose a bit of a challenge.
Ammo is not as abundant as it is for the .38 Special or .357 Magnum. I was willing to shop around and found defensive loads, solid and hard-hitting options, but it does take some digging.
The reward for doing so, plenty peace of mind in holstering a dog that definitely has bite.
Charter Arms Bulldog DAO Deals
Sportsman's Warehouse
$469.99
Sportsman's Guide
$397.99
Best .38 Concealed Carry Revolver: Smith & Wesson Model 642
Pros
Lightweight
Very Comfortable To Carry
Snag Free
Cons
Plenty Of Recoil
S&W Model 642 Specs
Caliber: .38 Special
Capacity: 5
Action: DAO
Barrel Length: 1.88 Inches
Overall Length: 6.31 Inches
Overall Height: 4.3 Inches
Overall Width: 1.3 Inches
Weight: 14.6 Ounces
MSRP: $539
For many, this Smith & Wesson J-Frame is what comes to mind when they think about concealed carry revolvers. The double-action only .38 Special (+P rated) is one of the easiest revolvers to carry, given it is among the lightest options available today.
The Model 642 weighs in at less than a pound unloaded—a scant 14.6 ounces—thanks largely to its aluminum-alloy frame. And with a shrouded hammer, well, there’s no worry about the revolver digging into your side when driving or snagging on your shirt when you need it most.
Granted, the 1.8-inch barreled snubby takes some practice to become fully proficient with it (what gun doesn’t?). But the .38 Special is a notoriously forgiving round to shoot—I'd even say pleasant. Chuck five rounds of +P ammo in its stainless-steel cylinder when it's time to head out the door, and you’ll know you're covered for anything short of World War III.
S&W Model 642 Deals
Cabela's
$559.99
Guns.com
$534.99
Choosing A Concealed Carry Revolver
If you're seriously considering getting a concealed carry revolver, we should take a minute to talk about the option for self-defense. It’s not the ideal choice for everyone, particularly entry-level shooters. Yes, the guy behind the gun counter might have sworn up and down otherwise, but guess what—he was selling you something, he might not have had your best intentions at heart.
As it goes, three areas make the concealed carry revolver tricky for beginners:
Barrel Length: Concealed carry revolvers are among the most compact handguns around, mainly due to an abbreviated barrel. We’re talking 3 inches or less. That’s short. While highly concealable, these ‘snubbies’ have exceedingly short sight radii—the distance between the front and rear sights. This is a concern, given the shorter the radius the less noticeable issues with your sight picture become, thus are more difficult to correct. Not the formula for success when you’re just starting.
Trigger: By and large, the concealed carry revolver has a double-action (DA) trigger, meaning each pull cocks the gun and releases the hammer. Indeed, many models can be shot in single-action, an impractical side-benefit for self-defense—unless you happen to be John Wesley Hardin. You’re not, by the way.
DA triggers are bears given most have a rather hefty pull weight, the amount of weight your finger must apply to depress the trigger and break a shot. Whereas most striker-fired pistols have a break somewhere around the 4- to 7-pound range, most DA revolvers' triggers trip in the 10-pound neighborhood. This makes trigger control much more difficult—i.e. the ability to break a shot while holding the gun on target.
Reloads: Reloading a revolver isn’t only a challenge for new shooters, but masters as well. Speed and tactical reloads especially. The issue at hand, quickly reloading a revolver is not a push-button affair like a pistol—a magazine doesn’t drop free and 15 rounds don’t load in with the slap of a palm. The process isn’t intuitive and requires many more steps than a pistol. Can it be done quickly? You bet your life, but expect a steeper learning curve and much more practice to reach proficiency.
Now, we're not mentioning these points to scare anyone off from a concealed carry revolver. Simply to enlighten you about some of the challenges inherent in the system, particularly those new to the gun game.
As a new shooter, perhaps you have the time and patients to learn a revolver’s manual of arms and perfect them to the point you can save your life with one. But if the process sounds daunting and more to tackle while taking the first steps as a gun owner, then perhaps a concealed carry revolver is something to consider down the road when you’ve built your skill base.
We take a quick look at the new Kimber 2K11, a high-capacity 1911 modernized for the 21st century.
The 2011 craze continues to boom, and the latest company to take a shot at the growing market is Kimber with the new 2K11. A high-capacity, modernized 1911, the Kimber 2K11 is available in both 9mm and .45 ACP in standard and target configurations.
Sporting 5-inch barrels, both versions of the Kimber 2K11 ship with three magazines. The 9mm variants come with one 17-round and two 20-round mags, and the .45 ACP versions come with three 13-round mags. All models are also optics-ready and ship with a C&H optic plate for the RMR mounting footprint (three other footprint plates are available separately). The 2K11 Target in 9mm is also available to purchase as a package with a Trijicon SRO. Features that separate the Target model from the standard 2K11 include its ported slide, adjustable rear target sight and Stan Chen Customs magwell. It also sports a coyote finish instead of black.
Other noteworthy features found on all Kimber 2K11s include external extractors for better reliability, aluminum grip modules, excellent GT Triggers and improved internal geometry for feeding from high-capacity mags. The guide rod design even allows for easy, tool-less disassembly.
Everett Deger, Director of Marketing and Communications at Kimber, said this about the new pistols:
We were determined to produce the very best high capacity 1911 and deliver a superior value. The 2K11 has several unique features that come standard that you have to have customized in the aftermarket to achieve what you get out of the box with Kimber.
The standard Kimber 2K11 has an MSRP of $1,995 in 9mm and $2,125 in .45 ACP. The 2K11 Target has an MSRP of $2,495 in 9mm and $2,595 in .45 ACP.
We take a closer look at the Winchester 94 lever-action, the most iconic American hunting rifle ever made.
In some hunting circles, it was once considered a rite of passage to be able to silently cock back the hammer of a lever-action rifle. More often than not, it was the hammer of a Winchester Model 1894, more commonly known as the Winchester 94.
With over 7.5 million made since the model’s introduction in 1894 the Winchester 94 is easily the most popular deer rifle ever produced, and there was a time when almost every American hunter had one in his gun rack, safe or hanging from the window of his truck. Compared to shotguns and bolt-actions, lever-action rifles aren’t as popular with hunters as they once were, but the Winchester Model 94 remains in production to this day and still holds the title of the single most iconic American hunting rifle of all time.
Cartridge: .30-30 Winchester Action: Lever-action Capacity: 7+1 Barrel Length: 20 inches Weight: 6.8 pounds Overall Length: 37.8 inches Sights: Rear notch and front post
John Browning Perfects The Lever Action
Like so many other historically significant firearms from the period, the story of the Winchester Model 94 starts with John Browning.
The original Winchester 94, chambered for .32-40 Winchester and .38-55 Winchester, was designed to handle the pressures generated by these black powder cartridges. Following the recent introduction of smokeless powder, Winchester wanted to offer the rifle in a smokeless cartridge. In turn, .30-30 Winchester (aka .30 Winchester Center Fire. or 30 WCF) cartridge was developed alongside a new beefed-up Winchester 94 to shoot it in 1895.
The advantages of smokeless powder cartridges range from improved ballistics to less fouling, but it also means higher pressures, so a stronger type of steel was required for the rifle to handle the .30-30 cartridge.
Before Browning’s 1886 and 1892 designs, lever-action rifles had not evolved that much from the Henry Model 1860, the first commercially successful lever-action rifle. The Henry, as well as the Winchester Model 1866 and Model 1873, used a double toggle system that was smooth to operate but not strong enough to handle large, powerful black powder cartridges.
Browning fixed that with the Winchester Model 1886, chambered for some of the most powerful black powder cartridges of its time. In the early 1890s, Browning developed the Winchester Model 1892, a smaller-scale rifle that fired pistol cartridges. Cowboys and other shooters of the day liked the idea that their rifles and pistols could share ammunition.
A cutaway Winchester Model 94.
Besides stronger steel, it was one of Browning’s innovations that set the new Model 1894 apart from these previous lever-action designs. The Winchester 94 used a single locking bar rather than two locking lugs like the Model 1886 and Model 1892.
The single lug of the 94 locks the bolt in place on both sides of the receiver, so it was not only strong enough for large black powder cartridges but for new smokeless powder cartridges as well. The locking bar also housed the transfer bar for the firing pin which simplified the safety system in the bolt compared to previous models.
The Model ’94 also incorporated a new safety in the form of a pin that protruded from the bottom receiver tang. This pin blocks the trigger as the lever is cycled, meaning that the lever needs to be fully closed against the pin for the rifle to be fired.
Winchester Model 94 In .30-30
What truly cinched the Winchester 94’s place in history was the version chambered for .30-30 Winchester. As the first successful smokeless powder cartridge on the U.S. hunting market, .30-30 offered an excellent balance of power and mild recoil in a lightweight, easily maneuverable rifle.
It proved the perfect companion for hunters—ideally suited for deer and medium-sized game but versatile enough to take smaller and larger animals. I suspect nearly every North American game species has been hunted with a Model 94 in .30-30 at some point, including elk, caribou, and bear. This is why the .30-30 Winchester 94 became the most iconic variant of the rifle and why the vast majority sold over the years were chambered for this cartridge. It was an unbeatable combination.
Evolution Of The Winchester 94
There were some major design changes made to the Model 94 over the years, and Winchester collectors today generally divide the rifle’s production into three main eras.
The first spans from the introduction of the 94 through 1963, and rifles built during this period are the most valuable to collectors. The second era goes from 1964 through 2006. Rifles manufactured during this period use sintered steel for the receiver and stamped steel rather than machined parts for certain components. This reduced manufacturing costs, but many Winchester fans felt that these updates eroded the quality of the rifles. Understandable, but the reality is that none of these changes negatively impacted performance, although the new receiver material did result in some very ugly bluing.
A Winchester 94 AE Big Bore in .307 Winchester with a scope mounted.
Another change that Winchester made during this time frame was to the ejection system, altering it to toss empty brass out at an angle instead of straight out of the top of the receiver. This change in 1982 was an effort to make the Winchester 94 more functional for hunters who were now regularly using scopes.
As optics came into wider use for hunting after WWII, the Model 94 was hamstrung. Since cartridge cases ejected out of the top of the receiver, the only options for mounting a scope were on the side of the receiver or further forward scout rifle style. Neither method was ideal, but the angle-eject (AE) Model 94s resolved the issue.
This period also saw the introduction of the Model 94 Big Bore series, variants that upped the power with chambering options like .307 Win., .356 Win., .375 Win., .444 Marlin and .450 Marlin. However, these large-bore calibers did not have the long-range capabilities that hunters desired and most weren’t available for very long.
This Big Bore Model 94 in .307 Winchester also features the dreaded cross-bolt safety.
The final era of the Winchester 94 began around 1992 following the bankruptcy of the U.S. Repeating Arms Company (the then-current iteration of Winchester) and its acquisition by FN Herstal. One positive of this was that FN modernized production of the rifle through the use of CNC machines, but one change that was widely viewed as negative was the addition of a cross-bolt safety which was deemed ugly and unnecessary by shooters.
Thankfully, the new safety was eventually moved to the tang to not disrupt the lines of the gun. New-production Winchester 94 rifles all still feature the tang safety, but the guns haven’t been produced in the United States since 2006. Following their reintroduction in 2010, all Model 94s have been made by Miroku in Japan.
Legacy Of The Winchester 94
While the Winchester Model 1894 may have arrived too late to play as major of a role in the Old West as other Winchester lever-action rifles did, it made up for it by establishing a reputation in hunting camps as a deer-getter. The Winchester allowed generations of hunters to hang meat on the game pole and fill freezers from Alaska to New England and everywhere in between.
Outside of hunting, the Winchester 94 also saw some limited military use in both WWI and WWII. The Americans, British, Canadians and French all issued the rifle in some capacity during these conflicts, but mostly to rear-echelon troops such as ship guards, couriers and coastal defense militias. If one was ever fired in anger during these wars is hard to say, but they surely didn’t see enough action to be remembered as military rifles.
Robert Duvall in True Grit (1969) holding a Winchester 94. The film is set in 1880, so its inclusion is an anachronism. Photo: IMFDB.
It's also worth mentioning that while the Model 1894 didn’t see much actual use by Old West gunslingers in the real world, it did see its fair share of action on the silver screen. Its inclusion is often an anachronism, but plenty of old cowboy movies and shows feature the Winchester 94 even if the plot is set before the gun’s advent in 1894.
Owning A Winchester 94 Today
Even if they’re no longer made in the U.S., it’s nice that you can still buy new-production, Winchester-marked Model 1894 rifles today. Currently available models include the Model 94 Carbine and Model 94 Short Rifle (both with 20-inch barrels but different styles of buttstock), the Model 94 Sporter and Model 94 Deluxe Sporting (both with 24-inch barrels) and the Model 94 Trails End Takedown model (also with a 20-inch barrel). All five variants are available in either the classic .30-30 Winchester chambering or in .38-55 Winchester, but the Short Rifle and Takedown models are offered in .450 Marlin as well.
A new-production Japanese-made Winchester Model 94 Short Rifle.
MSRPs for the new production Winchesters start at just over $1,300 for the most basic configuration but go up to over $2,200 for the Deluxe Sporting model that has features like a case-hardened receiver.
With so many millions of Model 94s made over the years, if you want an original American-made gun, you shouldn’t have too much trouble tracking a used one down either. Examples made before 1964 are the most highly sought after by collectors and will demand the highest price, but you can still find shooters in decent shape for around the same price (or even less) as a new-production Winchester 94 Carbine.
If you’re able to inspect a used rifle before putting money down (and you know what you’re doing), you might get a good deal this way, but if not you’re probably better off getting a new production gun. If you’re willing to settle for one made after 1964, prices also become even more reasonable.
An Uberti 1894 Carbine Model 94 clone.
You’re even more in luck if you don’t care about who made the gun, as companies like Uberti in Italy produce some great Winchester 94 clones as well. While the clones are nice, they unfortunately cost about the same as a new Winchester, so the choice really comes down to details and your preference. Historical purists will likely lean toward the Italian-made ones (or first-generation used Winchesters) since they lack the updated features like the manual safety or angle-eject.
Parting Shot
Any way you slice it, the Winchester Model 1894 is one of the most iconic American firearms ever produced. It has an earned reputation of being an extremely effective hunting rifle, the same timeless good looks as the Old West lever-actions that came before it and they’re still making them today. Not even including clones from other companies, over 7.5 million ‘94s have been made and that number only keeps rising.
Like the 1911 or the AK, the Model ‘94 seems to be a gun that’s just not going to go away any time soon, and one that will likely continue to see some degree of use as long as humans are around and have things to shoot at. Whether you’re looking for a functional, versatile lever gun for hunting or just appreciate the history, few other guns deserve a spot in your gun safe more than a Winchester 94.
If you’re ever involved in a self-defense shooting, who calls 911? The decision isn’t as straightforward as it might seem.
In the aftermath of a self-defense shooting, countless considerations can impact your immediate safety and legal standing. One of the most crucial decisions is determining who should make the 911 call. Should it be you, or should the responsibility be delegated to a friend or family member who might be with you?
This decision isn’t as straightforward as it might seem, and understanding the nuances can make a significant difference in both the short and long term.
Why the 911 Call Matters
The importance of the 911 call cannot be overstated. This call is not just a request for help; it’s the first official account of the incident, and it will play a significant role in how law enforcement views you and the situation. In many cases, the first person to contact 911 is assumed to be the victim, and this call can change the trajectory—not only the response by first responders, but also the ensuing investigation.
Therefore, it’s crucial to make that call as soon as it is safe to do so, provided that you or your designee remain at the scene unless safety concerns dictate otherwise.
Who Should Make the Call?
Whether you should make the 911 call yourself or have an associate do so depends on several factors, starting with your immediate physical and situational condition. If you’re injured or still dealing with a threat, making the call might not be feasible, in which case it would be necessary for someone else to step in. The primary focus should always be on surviving the encounter before worrying about the legal aftermath.
Assuming you’re able to make the call, it’s essential to consider the capability and composure of your associate. In a high-stress situation, the person making the 911 call needs to be clear, concise and able to provide accurate information. The call will be recorded, and what is said—or not said—could be critical in any subsequent legal proceedings. The recording may be played in court, possibly in front of a jury, and it could shape the narrative of what happened during the incident.
Given the potential ramifications, you should think carefully before delegating this responsibility. Personally, I’d be hesitant to allow anyone else to make that call unless it were someone I trust implicitly, such as my wife or a close trusted friend, who has undergone substantial training. The reality is that very few people you interact with regularly will have the composure and clarity needed to handle this kind of pressure.
What Information to Provide
Whether you or an associate makes the 911 call, the information provided to the dispatcher should be clear and focused. Start with the basics: your name, location and a brief statement requesting both emergency medical services and police. It’s crucial to identify yourself as the victim early in the conversation. A simple, direct statement, such as “I was attacked and had to use my firearm to defend myself,” can establish this crucial fact and the active dynamic at the scene.
Additionally, you should specify your exact location within the area, such as “I will be standing by a white Ford truck.” This helps responding officers quickly and accurately identify you. For your safety, provide a physical description of yourself, including clothing, height, weight and any other distinguishing features. This ensures that the officers arriving on the scene can identify you as the “good guy or gal,” reducing the likelihood of a tragic misunderstanding.
Equally important is what not to say during the 911 call. Avoid providing unnecessary details or making statements that could be misinterpreted or used against you later. Stick to the essential information outlined above and leave further explanations for when you have legal counsel present.
Preparing for the Aftermath
The 911 call is just the first step in what can become a long and complex legal journey. Once the police arrive, there will be additional safety and legal considerations to address. It’s essential to be familiar with how to interact with law enforcement following a defensive shooting. Resources like the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network and the concept of the “three rings of safety” advocated by experts like Massad Ayoob can provide valuable guidance on what to do after the call is made.
Conclusion
While there are situations where it might be necessary for someone else to make the 911 call, if you are able, it’s generally advisable to handle it yourself. The call is your first opportunity to establish the context of the incident, identify yourself as the victim, and provide vital information that can influence both the immediate response and any future legal proceedings. Knowing in advance who among your friends or family is capable of handling this responsibility under extreme pressure is also critical.
By planning ahead and understanding the importance of the 911 call, you can better protect yourself both during and after a defensive shooting.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Every state has its own gun laws, and it’s recommended that you consult with an attorney to understand the specific legalities around gun storage and parental responsibility in your jurisdiction.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2025 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
A quick look at the new Taurus 650, a snub-nosed .357 Magnum CCW revolver with a shrouded hammer.
Taurus has just announced the reintroduction of the Taurus 650, a no-frills concealed carry revolver with a shrouded hammer. Chambered for .357 Magnum/.38 SPL +P and sporting a 5-shot cylinder, this small-frame wheelgun was designed with concealability and reliability in mind.
Due to its shrouded hammer, the Taurus 650 has a DAO (Double-Action Only) trigger, but that also means it should have a snag-free draw and can be fired from a pocket without jamming. It’s available with either a 2- or 3-inch barrel and with a stainless steel or matte black finish. The 650 also features rubber grips and a removable/replaceable serrated front sight, and Taurus says that the guns will work with existing 5-shot speedloaders and holsters for similar revolvers.
Caleb Giddings, Manager of Marketing at Taurus USA, said this about the new revolvers:
This is the ultimate expression of what my friend Darryl Bolke refers to as ‘the snubby lifestyle … Some people want a simple, reliable DAO revolver they can carry every day, and this gun answers that need perfectly.
Both the 2-inch and 3-inch versions of the Taurus 650 with a black finish have an MSRP of $454.99, and both stainless versions have an MSRP of $469.99.
Maxim Defense has just announced a slick new quick-detach flash hider suppressor mount system.
Maxim Defense’s MSX line of suppressors just got even better thanks to the recent launch of new quick-detach variants. These QD suppressor models, available for the DS, DSX and DS-K, are available now and can be purchased as a package with the proprietary flash hider QD mount.
The QD flash hider mount allows for quick attachment and detachment of the suppressor without the use of tools, and they’re also multi-caliber compatible and available with either a 1/2×28 or 5/8×24 thread pitch. Further, the three suppressors are available in both 7.62 and 5.56 and with either a black or FDE finish. The QD mount that Maxim Defense ships with the suppressors (when purchased as a package) is an A2-style flash hider that doesn’t require timing. It also features 1-16th ACME threading externally, and the company says that the QD suppressors are compatible with other brands of muzzle devices such as those from CGS.
David Farrell, Vice President of Commercial Sales at Maxim Defense, said this about the new QD system:
We couldn’t be more excited about this new suppressor and flash hider system … The QD is the only quick detachable suppressor system on the market that’s fully serviceable and maintainable, giving it a longer lifespan and better performance.
The QD versions of the DS, DSX and DS-K suppressors are all available now, and when purchased as a package with the QD flash hider mount, MSRPs range from $1,150 to $1,550.
When it comes to rimfire chores, is .22 Mag overrated? Or does its extra punch make it more versatile than old reliable .22 LR?
In each annual edition of this Gun Digest, you are regaled by tales of exotic places full of stories about trophy bull elk or dangerous African game. You read about rifles that, if they’re not modern and sexy, are at least classic and classy. And then there are my assignments, which are here to keep you grounded.
With that in mind, let me tell you about a skunk I killed the other day on a muddy trail in Kentucky with a .22 Magnum. It wasn’t the first skunk I’ve taken with the legendary rimfire cartridge. In fact, I killed a different skunk only the day before. And if history is any indicator, I’ll shoot another one or two before the year is out—and I’ll use the heralded .22 Magnum to handle all the heavy lifting.
This skunk was dispatched from 120 yards—guessed but not confirmed with a rangefinder—with the rifle rested across the handlebars of a Honda four-wheeler. Only a single bullet was required, and the results were swift and, as skunk killings go, mostly odor-free.
What brought me into the situation was that from late December through February each year, I run a line of about two dozen predator traps. My primary targets are coyotes, bobcats, raccoons, and foxes. To dispatch them in a trap and preserve their furs, I mostly use a .22 Long Rifle handgun loaded with standard-velocity 40-grain bullets.
But now and then, a striped polecat (that’s Southern for skunk; I realize true polecats are living elsewhere) finds its way into one of my Bridger footholds. I trap partly for the fun of it but primarily for predator control. I’ve learned that removing some predators in the late winter equates to more turkey poults and deer fawns in the spring and summer. As skunks are documented nest predators, they get no quarter from me on the trapline.
Not that I’d be brave enough to approach and release one. Being caught in a foothold trap seems to activate a hair trigger for the skunk’s primary defense, which is quite noxious and something you’ll learn all about if you get too close. That is one reason why, in addition to my .22 LR handgun, I never check a trapline without a scoped and highly accurate .22 WMR rifle close by with which I can kill skunks instantly and from well out of reach of their spray.
Another reason for the rifle? Not every shot you get at a predator while running a trapline happens because you’ve caught one. Every season, I get chance opportunities at critters, from coyotes and bobcats to armadillos. The .22 WMR is the perfect cartridge for incidental varmint work because it offers more effective range and power than the .22 LR without the ear-ringing report and fur-wrecking properties of a .22 centerfire.
My go-to rifle on the line is a Bergara Micro Rimfire Carbon with a threaded, 20-inch carbon-fiber barrel and match-grade chamber. Mine’s fitted with a SilencerCo Sparrow suppressor, and I have it topped with a 30mm Hawke Vantage 3-9×42 IR scope. The illuminated reticle really shines, pun intended, for low-light shooting at slinky predators. The rifle weighs just 5 pounds, and with the scope and suppressor added, the finished weight can’t be much more than 7 pounds. It’s impervious to the weather and grime that guns are exposed to on a trapline, and it shoots lights out.
Yet, that rifle is far from the only .22 Magnum I own and shoot regularly. There’s the worn Marlin bolt gun I still use for killing groundhogs at my folks’ cabin, the new Ruger Precision Rimfire that has become a go-to squirrel sniper, and the scratched-and-battered Ruger Single Six revolver that’s my companion for summer frog hunting.
Since my teenage years, the .22 WMR has been a favorite cartridge for hunting and varmint shooting. Given its utility in rifles and handguns, I think it’s one of the best cartridges a serious outdoorsperson can own. Better factory ammunition, premium bullets, and outstanding new rifles and handguns have also given the .22 WMR a resurgence in popularity.
Origins and Reputation
The .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire—.22 WMR or .22 Magnum for short—was introduced in 1959. It is an elongated version of the .22 Winchester Rimfire (WRF), introduced in 1890 and still factory-loaded by Winchester and CCI today. Though the .22 WRF offered ballistic advantages over the .22 LR loads of the day, it had little advantage over today’s high-velocity Long Rifle ammunition and is basically obscure.
But the .22 Magnum is another matter. Though it uses bullets of the same diameter, WMR cases are longer in length and larger in diameter than .22 LR. From a rifle barrel, published ballistics show a 40-grain CCI Gamepoint .22 WMR leaves the muzzle at 1,875 feet per second, 615 fps faster than a 36-grain CCI Mini-Mag .22 LR. The magnum rimfire also carries almost twice the muzzle energy at 312 foot-pounds. For perspective, that’s more energy than a 130-grain .38 Special +P fired from a handgun.
Though public opinion seems more favorable now, the .22 Magnum suffered a mixed reputation for decades, particularly among some gun writers. Field & Stream Rifles Editor David Petzal included it in his 10 Most Overrated Cartridges Ever Made roundup. He summarized the .22 WMR by saying:
“It’s been around since 1959, and is by any account a commercially successful cartridge, but I’m damned if I can see why. On the one hand, it’s more powerful than the .22 LR, but on the other, it gives you only 25 yards (or so) more effective range. It has neither the low cost of the .22 LR or its accuracy.”
Now, to give credit where due, Petzal is one of history’s great gun writers who knows more about rifles than I do. As a hunting editor of Field & Stream myself, I know him personally. He’s a nice guy (despite the gruff persona) who happens to be wrong about the .22 Magnum.
Of course, if you compare the merits of the .22 WMR to the .22 LR, the cost is a natural consideration, and the magnum cartridge is indeed more expensive. CCI Maxi-Mags are about 25 cents per shot in 2024, compared to 8 cents for Mini-Mag .22 LR. Yet, compared to cheap centerfire rifle ammunition, the .22 WMR remains economical to shoot. For perspective, .223 Remington American Eagle 55-grain FMJ is about 62 cents per round.
If your idea of a rimfire’s role is primarily burning up ammunition by the brick at targets and maybe shooting a squirrel on occasion, then sure, the cost savings of the .22 LR is a big consideration. But the .22 Magnum is not a plinking or training round; it’s a hunting cartridge.
The flatter trajectory from the added velocity is a decisive advantage. Sighted in at 50 yards, the .22 WMR hits a half-inch low at 75 yards and 8 inches low at 150 yards. The .22 LR, sighted in at the same distance, drops 1.8 inches at 75 yards and 20 inches at 150. For perspective, a squirrel’s head is about 2 inches in diameter, and a coyote’s vitals are about 6 inches in diameter. So, with the .22 WMR, you can hold dead-on and clip a squirrel’s noggin out to 75+ yards or dump a coyote at 150 yards without holding off fur. You simply cannot do the same with a .22 LR.
Besides that, the .22 WMR carries more energy at 100 yards than the .22 LR does at the muzzle—and that creates a dramatic difference in the terminal effect on critters and is the primary reason behind the .22 WMR’s fanbase. Those who regularly use this cartridge know it punches above its fighting weight.
The .22 WMR is an incredibly versatile hunting cartridge, and the author much prefers it over the standard .22 Long Rifle.
My buddy Ryan usually keeps a Ruger American Rimfire in .22 WMR in his truck. It’s not only his go-to squirrel gun but also his pick for coyotes, opossums, and any other critters he comes upon in a day of countryside turd-kicking. Ryan’s also a part-time cattle farmer, which isn’t always a pleasant business. Sick and injured cattle frequently have to be put down, and he makes no bones about what works best to do the job humanely. “I’ve tried to put cows down with pistols, like 9mms and .380s, and it’s not good,” he says. “Those pistol bullets will not always penetrate a cow’s skull. But the .22 Magnum between the eyes is a different story. It’s one and done about every time.”
I’ve shot hundreds of predators, both called and trapped, with the .22 LR, .17 HMR and .22 WMR. I’ve also hunted squirrels extensively with each of the cartridges. There is no question in my mind that the .22 Mag is the most decisive killer of the bunch. The .17 has the edge in velocity, but the .22 Mag’s bullets weigh about twice as much. They penetrate deeper and do a better job of anchoring tough coyotes quickly—though they’re not always as friendly on fur. I like the .17 HMR slightly better for squirrel hunting because, with the right bullet, it’s less destructive on meat. But the .22 WMR works excellently if you take headshots.
If I had to choose just one all-purpose rimfire rifle for everything from small game hunting to 100-yard coyote calling, it would unquestionably be a .22 Magnum. Fortunately, I’m not in such dire straits, and I have great rifles chambered for all three cartridges.
Accuracy
All that power is great, but it doesn’t do a squirrel hunter any good if the guns don’t shoot. For a time, the .22 WMR’s reputation for inaccuracy may have been warranted. My dad has an old bolt-action Marlin with a tubular magazine, perhaps a 783, that I used when I was a kid for shooting groundhogs in the neighbor’s pasture. It worked well enough, but good 50-yard groups for that gun were around an inch. I need a squirrel rifle to shoot better. (To be fair to the old Marlin, it wore a cheap 4x scope, and the bolt handle had been broken off and welded back on.)
I’ve shot several new .22 Mags from various manufacturers over the past decade, and I rarely find one now that doesn’t shoot very well. Take my Ruger Precision Rimfire, for example. Topped with a Leupold VX Freedom 4-12×40, it will put five CCI Gamepoints into a tiny, ragged hole at 50 yards. That’s not just headshooting accuracy for squirrel hunting; it’s eyeball accuracy. My “skunk rifle,” the Bergara BMR, doesn’t shoot quite that well, but it nonetheless groups well under an inch at 50 yards with CCI Maxi-Mag hollowpoints.
Rifle manufacturing processes have improved (not just for rimfires but also for rifles). Factory triggers are much improved and often adjustable. As I understand from folks in the know, chamber tolerances have improved for the .22 WMR. That .22 Mag rifles aren’t capable of outstanding accuracy is not true anymore. Many of them will shoot just as well as .22 LR guns.
Besides that, factory ammunition is far better. I was limited to a few 40-grain jacketed hollowpoint options when I was a teenager, hunting groundhogs. Today, manufacturers are loading .22 WMR with a variety of premium bullets. CCI offers the polymer-tipped 30-grain V-Max and VNT, the 40-grain Maxi-Mag Jacketed Hollowpoint, the 40-grain Gamepoint Jacketed Soft Point (my personal favorite), and the 46-grain Polymer-Coated Segmented Hollowpoint. Winchester has 10 .22 WMR options, including a 30-grain Varmint High-Velocity JHP, a 30-grain V-Max, and a pair of defensive offerings, including a 40-grain Silvertip and 40-grain Defender JHP. Hornady has a load with its signature 30-grain V-Max and a defensive option with the 45-grain FTX (Flex Tip).
The lighter-weight bullets tend to bump velocities up by 200 fps and provide a more explosive effect on smaller critters. For my use, I usually lean toward 40-grain bullets with more controlled expansion. They don’t always “blow up” when they contact a squirrel, meaning better weight retention and deeper penetration on predators. They exit coyotes more often than not.
A Few Favorite .22 Mag Rifles
Plenty of excellent .22 Magnum rifles are on the market now, but I have firsthand experience with all these or guns very close to them. None are cheap, but they won’t break your budget.
Ruger Precision Rimfire
I was skeptical of this “chassis rifle” when I first carried it into the squirrel woods, but I quickly came around. With a Quick-Fit precision adjustable stock, free-floating handguard, threaded target barrel and adjustable trigger, it’s built for competitive shooters. Still, it is also right at home in the oaks and hickories. The rifle uses Ruger’s dead-nuts-reliable rotary mag (like the 10/22), which is the best rimfire rifle magazine made if you ask me. Mine is the most accurate .22 WMR I’ve ever shot, too.
The Ruger Precision Rimfire in .22 WMR has become one of the author’s go-to squirrel guns.
Bergara BMR
The Bergara is the .22 Mag I reach for, if not daily, at least weekly during the fall and winter. It’s my truck gun, ATV gun, and out-the-back-window-of-the-house gun. As mentioned, it won’t quite shoot with my Ruger Precision, but it is still more than capable of headshooting accuracy in the squirrel woods. With a traditionally styled stock and No. 6 carbon-fiber barrel, it’s also ultra-lightweight and impervious to the weather.
My only critique of it is the magazine system. It feeds well enough, but the mag release lever is large and obnoxious, and the mags (both five- and 10-rounders are supplied) require some finagling to seat properly into the rifle.
The Bergara BMR Carbon is lightweight, and shoots lights out. It could be the perfect truck gun.
Savage A22 Magnum
Over the years, semi-automatic .22 Magnums have come and gone, but few of them have worked reliably. Savage figured it out with the A22 Magnum, which uses a delayed-blowback action to cycle the magnum cartridges reliably without splitting cases. The rifle works exceptionally well with CCI’s complementary A22 Magnum ammunition, which uses a 35-grain version of my favorite Gamepoint bullet.
The A22 Magnums I’ve shot, and there have been several, wouldn’t quite group with the Ruger or Bergara listed above, but they were ahead of my dad’s old Marlin, and reliability was excellent. If I were looking for a dedicated predator hunting rifle where report and over-penetration were concerns, this would be tops.
Henry Lever-Action .22 Magnum Express
Once upon a time, Winchester and Marlin ruled the lever-gun roost, but not anymore. Henry Repeating Arms has more top-shelf lever guns in its lineup than anyone else. The rifles are made in America with classic bluing and walnut furniture, and I’ve yet to shoot one that I didn’t want to keep and hand down to my son one day.
I have two Henry Single-Shots and a Big Boy in my centerfire collection, but the Lever-Action .22 Magnum Express would be next on my wishlist. It has the lines of a classic lever gun with an 11-round tubular magazine but with a Picatinny optics rail pre-installed and a Monte Carlo buttstock with a raised comb. There’s no sense in having a quality .22 Magnum rifle without a solid scope on top.
.22 Mag Handguns
The .22 Magnum is a rifle cartridge that shines in handguns, too. It’s outstanding for the trail and campsite. It also offers potential for defensive use, particularly with new ammunition like Speer Gold Dot, optimized for performance in shorter handgun barrels. Expect a louder report than a .22 LR handgun but identical recoil (none) and far better terminal performance.
Ruger New Model Single Six
The Ruger New Model Single Six single-action revolver was originally meant to capitalize on the popularity of the Colt Single Action Army. Still, it’s become a classic in its own right. It has interchangeable cylinders, one for shooting .22 Long Rifle (or .22 Shorts or Longs), and the other for .22 Magnum. My first handgun was a Single Six with a 5.5-inch barrel that my dad bought used, and it only came with the magnum cylinder. That’s all I’ve ever needed. There’s no telling how many critters have been befallen by that gun, and it still rides on my hip on many an excursion to this day.
The .22 WMR is a fine revolver cartridge. The author has carried this worn Super Single Six for decades.
Smith & Wesson Model 48
I like single-action revolvers, but I love a classic double-action, and Smith & Wesson in particular. The K-frame Model 48 is available in S&W’s Classic series. It’s a steel beauty with wood grips and Patridge sights but with modern enhancements like a transfer bar safety. If I wanted a top-of-the-line .22 Magnum double-action as an all-purpose handgun for hunting, target shooting, and defense in a pinch, this would be it.
Kel-Tec PMR 30
I love revolvers but won’t go full Fudd on you in the handgun section. A few other companies now offer high-capacity .22 WMR semi-autos, but the Kel-Tec PMR 30 was among the first that worked. My buddy Ryan (mentioned earlier) has one, and he says that any problem that can’t be solved with 30 rounds of .22 Magnum is a real problem indeed. The gun is a bit finicky if magazines are not loaded correctly, but when they are, it’s a reliable little blaster that’s easy to hit with, a ball to shoot, and not terribly expensive.
Conclusion
The .22 WMR is many things, but overrated ain’t one of them. That it is capable of pinpoint accuracy worthy of precision small game hunting, has the punch to anchor coyotes, and works nearly as well in revolvers as it does in rifles makes it a cartridge worth keeping around, perhaps in a few different guns.
There’s maybe no finer round for dispatching those striped polecats, either.
A quick look at ZeroTech Optics' Vengeance line of feature-rich, affordably priced riflescopes.
Hunters, competitive shooters and anyone else looking to buy an optic without breaking the bank have some new riflescopes to consider before their next purchase from ZeroTech Optics. Packed with features typically found on more expensive optics, the new ZeroTech Vengeance riflescope line aims to deliver excellent performance at a more affordable price.
There are currently a total of 12 models featured in the Vengeance line, 7 unique scopes plus an additional 5 variants with different reticles (some of which are illuminated). The unique models include a 1-6x24mm, a 3-12x40mm, a 4.5-18x40mm, a 4-16x44mm, a 6-24x50mm, a 4-20x50mm and a 5-25x56mm. Regardless of the exact model or variant in question, all ZeroTech Vengeance scopes feature coated, high-quality glass lenses that provide excellent clarity and light transmission. They also all feature locking turrets with crisp, tactile adjustments, zero stop technology for quick returns to zero and a durable construction that can stand up against shock, water and fog.
MSRPs for the optics in the ZeroTech Vengeance line range from $279 to $799, and each scope will ship with a microfiber lens cloth and either a stretch-fit or Neoprene scope cover depending on the model.
Savage Arms has just announced the Revel series of rimfire lever-action rifles, featuring two models and three chambering options.
The lever-action rifle trend we’re currently living through is still going strong, and Savage Arms has just added fuel to the fire with its new Revel series of rimfire rifles. The two models, the Revel Classic and the Revel DLX, will each be available in three different chambering options (.22 LR, .22 WMR and .17 HMR), but only the Revel Classic in .22 LR is currently available. Savage says that the other five variants will begin shipping in the Spring of 2025.
Both The Revel Classic and the Revel DLX have a 12-round magazine capacity in .22 LR and a 9-round capacity in .17 HMR and .22 WMR. Both models also feature 18-inch barrels, crossbolt safeties, drilled and tapped receivers and adjustable iron sights. Both rifles are also described as sporting oversized lever loops, but according to Savage Arms’ photos, only the Revel Classic features one. The DLX model’s loop looks to be the normal size by comparison.
Savage Revel DLX.
Another aspect the Revel Classic and Revel DLX have in common is their ability to be taken down quickly. Pressing out two push pins will allow the stock and lever-action/trigger assembly to be separated from the receiver and barrel. This makes the Revel a great backpack gun option, but the feature is also handy for transport, storage and maintenance. The only things that set the DLX apart from the Revel Classic are its threaded barrel (1/2×28), its rubber butt pad, hooded front sight and its different style of Walnut stock with stippling on the grip.
All chambering options for the Revel Classic have an MSRP of $439 while all DLX models have an MSRP of $539.
It’s a question hunters should pose to themselves, now more than ever. And in so many words, it was the first question the instructors asked when I attended Outdoor Solutions’ level 1 long-range shooting school, at the Guitar Ranch in West Texas.
Great leaps in firearms designs and manufacturing, plus next-level bullet engineering have extended hunters’ ranges further than ever before. Yet, have the men and women behind the trigger kept up? Or are 1,000-yard rifles shouldered by 100-yard shooters?
Outdoor Solutions founder Greg Ray knows the answer—hence the reason his company’s shooting school was created.
Long-Range Shooting School’s Founding
Outdoor Solutions founder and owner Greg Ray (above) is among the instruction staff and very hands on in getting shooters on target.
If you’re not familiar with the Oklahoma-based hunting empire of Outdoor Solutions, it essentially helps dreams come true.
Born out of a side hustle, Ray has grown the company into a premier outfitter, primarily focused on what are for many once-in-a-lifetime hunting and fishing expeditions. However, he noticed an issue for many who planned to shell out thousands of dollars for big-time Western hunts.
Faced with an arena where 400- or even 500-yard shots are called for, many potential hunters were cowed by the prospect. In turn, they looked for other, to their minds, safer alternatives.
The school was founded in 2011 to remedy this major hurdle and in nearly a decade and a half has honed its curriculum into an efficient and practical shooting course. In addition to Texas, the company also runs schools in Utah and Michigan.
The big claim to fame Ray and his crew of instructors love to ballyhoo is they’ll get you to hit at 1,000 yards in the two-day course. We must have been advanced, because a mixture of gun writers, and beginner and intermediate hunters were banging steel at that distance by the end of day one.
Go back a little more than a decade or so, this feat—even among advanced marksmen—would have seemed inconceivable. The fact that in less than six hours a random cross-section of shooters was hitting at this range is a testament to what Outdoor Solutions offers.
Ballistic Basics
Steve Aryan (above) oversees the classroom instruction, which was short but intensive, grounding students in the technical foundation of long-range marksmanship.
Upon arriving in West Texas and getting settled into my very comfortable cabin at the ranch, the first order of business was delving into the academic aspects of long-range shooting. This is a vast topic of which volumes can and have been written on (a side note we have an excellent book on the topic, The Ballistics Handbook).
Much of the evening was spent learning to read mirage and environmental features for wind speed and direction, learning the particulars of our scope reticles and, of course, understanding bullet drop.
Additionally, there was a heathy dose of spotter training. The course is designed around two-man shooter-spotter teams, similar to the military. Spotters were given the basics of how to track shots off the bullets trace or glint, evaluate impacts and quickly communicate adjustments.
Having solo hunted much of my life, I gained a new appreciation of having a partner in the field. If there was any one area I walked away improved in after the course, it was in the role of a spotter.
We also got downloaded, set up and got into the finer points of the GeoBallistics app, which would provide us with our shooting solutions for the class.
While this might sound like a load of info, it was compressed into a mere 2 hours. The long-range shooting school isn’t focused on on-paper ballistics, but in-field shooting.
As Steve Aryan, Outdoor Solution’s Director of Instruction, pointed out in his conclusion of the classroom work, “Repetition is the best teacher.” You only get that behind the trigger.
Gearing Up
Outdoor Solutions had an incredible selection of rifles, all of them suppressed and all of them sporting Zeiss optic. My selection was the lightweight GunWerks Clymr (above) in 6.5 Creedmoor.
The next day was the start of the live-fire section of the course, but the first order of the day was getting equipped.
Outdoor Solutions urges shooters to bring their own equipment, after all, that’s the rifle and scope they’ll head out in the field with. However, the school has an incredible selection of precision hunting rifles to choose from if you don’t want the hassle. Benelli, Christensen Arms, AllTerra and GunWerks lined the absolutely gorgeous range’s racks.
I went with the GunWerks ClymR 6.5 Creedmoor rifle, topped with a Zeiss Conquest V4 6-24X 50mm scope and outfitted with a SilencerCo. Omega suppressor. It turned out a solid choice when slinging 140-grain Barnes Precision Match—Outdoor Solutions ammunition of choice for the class.
Guns situated, it was on to bench shooting.
Bench Shooting
Every long-range shooting school needs a first-rate range. Outdoor Solution's did not disappoint, reaching out to 1-mile.
While anyone who’s done any amount of hunting will attest, this is the least realistic style of shooting. Yet, there are solid reasons behind this crawling-before-learning-to-walk approach.
First off, it gave shooters the opportunity to become comfortable with their hardware and get to know their rifle and scope. It also offered the instructors time to evaluate and address any gaping holes in the shooters’ mechanics. Finally, it was an opportunity to learn to adjust for range and wind in a controlled environment, unencumbered by the slew of variables encountered in the field.
To the point of the wind adjustments, West Texas didn’t disappoint offering up a constant 5 to 10 mile per hour blow that challenged shooters, but didn’t make connecting with a target impossible.
In addition to shooting, the long-range shooting class also involved a good dose of proper spotting. This is one skill the author walked away feeling much improved.
The course of fire started at a 100-yard sight in and progressed in 100-yard increments out to 1,000 yards. The impressive part was the entire class was banging away at 3 MOA steel targets at the furthest range by day's end.
This included a father-son team that not only were taking their first steps into long-range shooting, but—for the most part—rifle shooting in general. That’s a big leap for a tandem who said their effective range was 100 yards at the start of the school.
Field Shooting Scenarios
This is where the rubber meets the road at Outdoor Solutions—the cap-rock canyons of West Texas.
The Guitar Ranch backs up onto the rimrock canyons of West Texas. Besides providing a starkly beautiful backdrop, the terrain also makes an excellent arena for the long-range shooting school’s field shooting course. On the final day we headed out to these wilds to put what we learned in a controlled environment to the test.
Three-dimensional animal targets were our quarry, placed strategically around the canyon where you’d likely find them on a hunt. This meant not simply applying the shooting smarts we sharpened thus far, but also putting our spotting skills to the test.
The mule deer at 300 yards in rushes along a creek bed and an elk at 400 or so yards in pine shadows below a ridge were particularly difficult to get eyes on. Yet, diligence in spotting and proper aim on the shot rewarded you with the very satisfying sound of a steel gong ringing—strategically placed behind the animals’ sweet spot.
Overall, engagement ranges varied from a 100-yard chip-shot coyote to a black bear just shy of 600. The latter was particularly tricky, given there was a hillock to the right of the shooting lane that played havoc with your wind call. Gusts on one side were certainly not like the ones on the other.
The genius of the canyon course is forcing students to shoot in field conditions with equipment they'd have on the hunt.
As instructed—and the norm for most long-range shooting—we dialed our drops on these targets but held for wind. Moreover, the shots were taken from several different positions and utilizing different pieces of gear common to modern hunters—shooting sticks, tripods and backpacks.
I must confess, I walked away from this section of the course a little wiser. One particular method that’s going into my bag of tricks is a system of using a shooting bag—a coat or pack will do in the field—tucked under your strong-hand arm, as a rear rest when shooting off sticks or a tripod.
Long-Range School’s Practical Application
The overall comfort of Outdoor Solutions' school should be overlooked. Private cabins and all meals included. It proved a first-rate experience.
For the record, at the start of the course I pegged my ethical range—where I was confident of hitting the vitals on game—at 400 yards. I’ve taken deer just under that range. After the course and all the instruction, I pegged my ethical range at… 400 yards.
All in all, this fits right in line with what the long-range shooting school was aiming at. Outdoor Solutions hasn’t set its sights on making every hunter into a precision sniper, able to pick an elk off at 1,000 yards. In fact, the instructors discourage this kind of hunting. But going this distance in a controlled and simulated environment is important.
The father-son duo I referred to earlier—dedicated dove hunters—planned on bagging their first deer together. Chances are when they hit the field they’ll take it between 100 and 150 yards—statistics back up my assertion. An even greater likelihood, neither will have any hesitation in pulling the trigger if they put their crosshairs on the critter at this range. After all, they’ve hit targets at 10-times that distance.
Therein lies the benefit of what Outdoor Solutions is attempting to accomplish.
The goal of the course isn’t country-mile kills, but instead more confident hunters. In some cases, that’s pushing a whitetail hunter out his comfort zone to 200 to 400 yards in preparation for a Western hunt. In other cases, it’s simply taking the uncertainty of pulling the trigger 200 yards in and trusting yourself and your equipment to do the rest.
For either scenario, hitting—consistently so—at 1,000 yards makes both less daunting and a heck of a lot more doable. And it makes Outdoor Solutions’ course well worth the money for anyone truly aiming to improve their shooting in the field.
EAACorp has just announced the Witness2311 Brat, a compact 2011-style pistol for concealed carry.
2011-style pistols are continuing to grow in popularity, and that means new models are continuing to hit the market. The latest is from Girsan in Turkey, imported by EAA, called the Witness2311 Brat.
The Witness2311 Brat is the first compact version of the pistol to be released and was designed with concealed carry in mind. Previously, the shortest barrel length the standard Witness2311 was available with was 4.25 inches, but the Brat features an officer-size 3.4-inch barrel. That said, the rest of the Brat is identical to its larger counterparts, including the accessory rail, extended beavertail and flared magwell that’s removable for a slimmer profile.
The Brat also has the same full-size grip and therefore the same magazine capacity of 17 rounds in 9mm and 11 rounds in .45 ACP. Unlike the standard version, the Witness2311 Brat is not currently available in 10mm Auto. Other features include Novak-style 3-dot sights, a skeletonized hammer and an ambidextrous thumb safety. Each pistol will also ship with a hard travel case.
Both the 9mm and the .45 ACP versions of the Witness2311 Brat have an MSRP of $679 and are available now.
Daniel Defense has just announced the relaunch of the Daniel H9.
We covered the pistol when it was announced under its original Hudson H9 name, as well as when it was released as the Daniel H9 by Daniel Defense at the beginning of this year, but the handgun’s story doesn’t end there. The highly anticipated Daniel H9 experienced a rocky launch with a small number of users reporting keyholing on targets. The company offered to fix affected pistols free of charge for any owners experiencing that, but it also led the company to take another look at the design.
The new, upgraded Daniel H9 pistols now feature an enhanced barrel and recoil spring assembly that should ameliorate the issue. If it somehow doesn’t, the guns still include Daniel Defense’s Lifetime Guarantee, and it still applies to any owners of the first-generation version regardless of whether they experienced the issue themselves or if they installed the enhanced parts designed to fix it.
Rod Reasen, CEO of Daniel Defense, said this about the H9’s relaunch:
Our customers are at the heart of everything we do … Their trust and input drive us to continuously improve. We don’t just build firearms; we create lifelong relationships with our customers by listening to their needs and standing behind our products 100%. With this relaunch, we’re proud to offer a handgun that reflects Daniel Defense’s unwavering commitment to quality and the highest standards of firearm manufacturing.
If you weren’t able to come out to CANCON South Carolina this year, this recap video will give you a small peek at what you missed. Hosted at the expansive Clinton House range, attendees got to spend the weekend shooting everything from tiny .22 pistols to full-auto AR-15s to massive .50 BMG rifles, all equipped with suppressors from some of the biggest names in the industry.
CANCON South Carolina will be returning to the Clinton House in 2025, we hope to see you there!
For more information on future CANCON events, please visit canconevent.com.
Savage Arms has just announced the Stance XR, an increased-capacity and enhanced version of the Stance micro-compact 9mm carry pistol.
Savage Arms announced the original Stance micro-compact 9mm concealed carry pistol in late 2021, but the company has seemingly just replaced it with the new Stance XR. The big new features of the Stance XR include increased magazine capacities and quick-detach optics plates, and the pistols will be available with or without manual safeties and night sights.
Stance XR pistols now feature a capacity of 13+1 rounds when using extended magazines and 10+1 rounds with flush-fit mags. One of each is included. The original Stance models, which are now discontinued, had a maximum capacity of only 10+1 rounds when using their extended magazines. The other big change on the XR is not only the introduction of optics-ready slides, but slides that feature a quick-release optics (QRO) plate. This system allows users to quickly add, remove or swap which red dot is mounted to the pistol.
Most other features of the Stance XR are the same as the original, including ambidextrous magazine and slide release buttons, interchangeable backstraps (two included) and a serialized internal chassis. They also still feature 3.2-inch barrels. There are five different variants of the XR available, a version with no manual safety, a version with a manual safety, a version with night sights and a version with a manual safety and night sights. The final and most expensive variant features a manual safety and ships with a Crimson Trace CTS-1500 red dot sight. Each version is available with either a black, FDE or gray frame as well.
Beth Shimanski, Director of Marketing at Savage Arms, said this about the new pistols:
The Stance XR adds another reliable and versatile everyday carry pistol to our lineup … With its increased capacity and the ability to easily attach different optics, the Stance XR offers enhanced functionality and customization options to meet the needs of our customers.
MSRPs for the Stance XR range from $469 to $659 and each pistol comes with a hard case, two magazines and two sizes of backstrap.
Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 excellent concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
