Full-sized pistols have a distinct advantage for training, particularly for beginning shooters.
The story is common. A new shooter goes to buy his first defensive handgun with a blurry idea of what he wants and needs. A few slick smiles by the salesman and a haul-truck worth of his personal opinions later and the shooter walks out with a firearm they’ll eventually find doesn’t work for them.
A stereotypical example: women getting steered toward lightweight, hammerless double-action revolvers for their first defensive gun. It’s a more than viable self-defense option, no auguring that; but with a long trigger pull and tendency to buck more in the hand, it’s perhaps not the ideal starter gun for an armed citizen.
Michelle Cerino goes out of her way to urge students to find the gun that fits and works for them, whatever that make and model might be. Of course, that means shopping and testing them out. But the shooting instructor at and president of the Chris Cerino Training Group urges her students — particularly beginners — to go big when they come to her class. In short, beg, borrow or buy a full-sized pistol. It might sound counterintuitive, particularly in the day and age when concealed carry reigns supreme, but Cerino is shooting straight.
For the most part, a full-sized pistol is easier to manipulate, given its ample slide real estate. It has a better sight radius, in turn, it’s easier to determine proper sight alignment. And its extra weight tamps down recoil, making a long day running defensive shooting drills a whole bunch more productive for those not use to range time measured in hundreds of rounds.
In the long run, a full-sized pistol might not be the right self-defense option for an individual shooter. But for acquiring the skills of a competent and effective armed citizen, there are few better fits.
For more information on Aguila Ammunition, please check out: www.aguilaammo.com
With six new scopes, Leupold's VX-Freedom series has something for nearly every shooter.
The VX-Freedom series are purpose-built scopes for specific rifle platforms, calibers and applications.
They are moderately priced, the entirety of the line's MSRPs are below $400.
The line extension includes scopes tailored for rimfires, Scout rifles and ARs among other guns.
The scopes are designed, machined and assembled in Leupold's Oregon factory.
Optics winds in recent years have blown decidedly in the direction of long-range glass. Credit the popularity of the ever-expanding family of 6.5 cartridges and other precision calibers for the explosion of scopes engineered to go the distance and then some. While the movement to further and finer shows little sign of abating, one scope manufacturer has turned its attention in 2018 to a more traditional take on optics in its newest line of glass.
Leupold VX-Freedom Extended Focus Range 3-9×33 with Fine Duplex Reticle.
Earlier this month, Leupold further expanded its new VX-Freedom series riflescopes, adding six new optics to the 10 introduced at the beginning of the year. Similar to the earlier VX-Freedom scopes, most of the recent additions are purpose-built for specific rifle platforms, calibers or applications, including ARs, rimfires and Scout rifles. And like the inaugural scopes, the real head-turning aspect of the new optics are their extremely moderate price. The entirety of the line has MSRPs below the $400 mark, many dipping into the $250 range. To boot, they're completely designed, machined and assembled at the company's Oregon factory. A bonus for shooters who make it a point to buy American.
“The VX-Freedom line was designed to deliver the versatility and performance that hunters and shooters expect from the Leupold brand, at a tremendous value,” said Tim Lesser, Vice President of Product Development for Leupold & Stevens, Inc. in a press release. “We knew that, after getting a look at the VX-Freedom series, consumers would demand the same relentless value and performance from AR and Scout specific models, and we are excited that we’re able to deliver what they’ve been asking for.”
The extended lineup features two models ideal for AR/MSR platforms, a 1.5-4×20 with AR-Ballistic reticle, and a 3-9×40 with TMR (Tactical Milling Reticle.) Both feature 0.1 Mil/Click adjustments to match the milliradian increments of the reticles. Also added to the lineup is an Extended Eye Relief 1.5-4×28 Scout scope, and a close focus EFR (Extended Focus Range) 3-9×33 with Fine Duplex reticle, which is perfect for rimfires and airguns. Rounding out the new additions are a 3-9×40 featuring Leupold’s Custom Dial System (CDS) and a 450 Bushmaster model, also in 3-9×40.
Following the early VX-Freedom scopes, the new offerings have a redesigned ergonomic power selector, aggressive knurling on the adjustment knobs, a 1-inch main tube and Leupold's Twilight Light Management System. This last feature should pique shooters interest, given the lens coating and specific design points reduces glare and enhance the scopes' low-light capabilities.
For more information on Leupold's VX-Freedom Series of scopes, please check out: www.leupold.com
The impressive engineering in Winchester's Hex Steel Shot in Blind Side Shotshells delivers superior results on the hunt.
How Winchester is gleaming the cube:
Winchester Blide Side shotshells are filled with coated Hex Steel Shot.
Hex refers to the shot's shape — hexahedron.
The hexahedron delivers energy to a target quicker due to its flat surfaces.
They also pack tighter into a shell allowing more pellets per load.
A specially designed wad allows more powder and thus more velocity.
The extra velocity makes up for the less aerodynamic shape of the Hex shot.
On a Texas teal hunt, I used Winchester Blind Side No. 5s. Jimmy Wilson, product management specialist for Winchester Ammunition, also brought along some 3½-inchers. A couple other hunters talked about grabbing 3½s, but 3-inchers would be plenty for teal.
Blind Side shotshells caught the attention of hunters because they are filled with coated Hex Steel Shot. The “Hex” is trademarked and refers to the shape of the shot, which is not a hexagon, but a hexahedron. It’s cube shaped with rounded corners — kind of like dice — but the edges are also rounded.
The hexahedron shape delivers energy quicker because the flat surface packs more punch, trauma and wound channel than round shot. It’s like the difference between getting hit with a ball or getting thumped with a brick.
The flat surface delivers the punch on impact, acting immediately like lead pellets do, which can cause the softer lead to deform and flatten. And what if a rounded corner or edge hits first? More penetration. Either way, the teal we shot came down like they’d been hit with a ton — well, 1 3⁄8 ounces — of bricks traveling 1,400 feet per second. (The 3½-inch 6-shot shells fire 1 1⁄8 ounces of shot at 1,675 fps, so I did give up velocity with my choice.)
The cube-shaped shot also packs tighter in the hull than round shot, allowing for more pellets in a shorter shot column. The space saved allows for the unique over-powder wad, which consists of two wads connected by a hinged section. Upon firing, the hinged section of the over-power wad collapses, cushioning acceleration of the shot and essentially reducing peak pressure of the load.
“When ignition occurs, the gases start to expand rapidly; they compress that wad, and it acts like a shock absorber,” Wilson said. “We truly get the reduced pressures, which allow us to bring the pressure back up through higher velocity with the addition of more powder.”
If you’re thinking, There’s no way a cube can fly as well as a ball — you’re right — and Winchester thought of that, too. The additional initial velocity makes up for the less aerodynamic shape of the square, compared to round shot, “making up for the aerodynamic flaw of the square,” he said.
Also helping deliver the payload on target is the Diamond-Cut Wad, from which three diamond-shaped petals flap out from the middle of the wad, causing it to drop back without affecting the flight of the shot column.
Blind Side also incorporates Winchester’s Drylok Super Steel System, comprised of a sealed primer and watertight seal between the wad and hull so moisture cannot get to the powder. and spoil the round. Not that I know anyone who’s ever had to fish a shotshell out of the freezing fall slough water.
Editor's Notes: This article originally appeared in the January 2018 issue Gun Digest the Magazine.
Winchester’s new Super X4 takes the manufacturer’s already great SX3 and improves upon it, offering a do-all shotgun fit for a number of shooting endeavors.
How Winchester has advanced its Super X line:
The SX4 is the next generation of Winchester’s popular Super X shotgun line.
The line of semi-automatic shotguns was first introduced in 1974.
The reliable Active Valve Gas System remains the same on the SX4.
The stock was redesigned, making it lighter and thinner.
The balance point was moved forward.
The trigger guard was made bigger as was the bolt-release button.
The gun comes with Invector-Plus in-barrel choke tubes — full, modified and improved cylinder.
Depending on the model, the SX4 costs from $799 to $1,069.
I’ll say this up front: Although I’ve shot the Winchester Super X3 several times, I don’t own one — and have never owned one — so it’s difficult to do a side-by-side comparison with the new Super X4 or to even recall it well enough to note differences in handling and performance.
Building on the success of the earlier SX3, the new SX4 is a great shotgun for any pursuit.
Of course, there are the notable improvements Winchester points out it has made between the SX3 and SX4, and I have not, with rare exceptions, found improved models of shotguns to not actually be improved to some degree in performance or design, if not both performance and design.
Let me say the same thing with different words: Usually the new-and-improved firearms brought out by manufacturers to keep up with improvements in technology (not to mention the competition) are, in fact, both new and improved. Attempts to foist little more than cosmetic changes on the more and more knowledgeable — and more and more vocal (via blogs, customer comments, social media) — shooters are usually quickly brought to light.
Field Ready Function
That said, let’s get on with it. My first experience with the Super X4 was on a duck hunt, a teal hunt near Matagorda, Texas, to be exact, and in the rush and excitement of incoming ducks and a line of hunters all rising in unison to pick out the fleeting targets it’s difficult to remain conscious of a shotgun’s performance.
However, with moderate concentration before, during and after a volley, you can develop an overall judgment of basic shotgun qualities. Namely, does it operate and handle easily and instinctively? Does it naturally and smoothly point, swing, track and follow through? Does it quickly cycle shot after shot? Does the recoil hammer you down into the mud? And, most importantly, does it cause the ducks at which it is pointed to splash into the water?
A strap of ducks hangs with decoys from a Yamaha Viking used to transport hunters and gear to a Ducks Unlimited wetlands project.
Yes on the first. The SX4 handled smoothly and was easy to operate, and it did well cycling shot after shot of Blind Side 3-inch No. 5s without fail (the real test would come later with lighter target loads, which it cycled with equal ease), and it did not pile drive me into the mud fringing the Ducks Unlimited projects we hunted.
As is often the case, recoil goes unnoticed in the heat of shooting, but I’ve had shotguns that made their presence known, particularly after firing that third shot after a rapidly climbing, retreating bird. And most importantly, on our second day’s hunt, we took a heavy toll on blue-winged teal, wrapping up our shoot in 45 minutes.
Sitting on a stick-in-the-mud seat behind a wispy cedar bush, meager cover on the edge of the wetlands, I examined the shotgun and did a few dry-run shoulder mounts to compare how it comes up when I’m not rushing to catch up with feathered rockets. It had a solid, comfortable feel, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on what the improvements could be from the SX3, so I asked Rafe Nielsen, communications manager for Winchester and Browning firearms, who had been just down the shooting line from me on both days.
Turns out, I had been putting my finger on the improvements.
Making Good, Great
The major changes weren’t internal; the Active Valve Gas System remains the central component, as it was (with tweaks and improvements along the way) for the SX2 and SX3. (The Super X’s long history started with the first model of Super X shotguns introduced in 1974. SX2 followed in 1999; SX3 in 2006, and now, the SX4, in 2017.)
The system, Nielsen said, gives you the two things you want out of a gas system: extremely soft shooting and extremely fast cycling. Because gas pressure from the shot activates the action, it takes some of the punch out of the recoil and provides fast cycling from shot to new round. “We can’t say it’s the fastest,” he said, “but it’s the fastest auto-loading gun out there.”
The redesign doesn’t tinker with the mechanics of the Active Valve Gas System, other than minor tweak improvements, Nielsen said. The SX3 “is a great-functioning gun and we didn’t want to mess with what was making it great, but we wanted to do some things to upgrade it, give it a fresh look and feel and make it relevant again to the next group of guys coming up and coming through and wanting an update. Because the operating engine is still working great, we had to look at some other pieces of the pie,” he said.
And one of the things Winchester was able to do, he said, (totally upending my next question: “By ‘updated,’ do you mean more expensive?”) was bring the price down. Taking for example the highest end model, the camouflaged Waterfowl Hunter capable of handling 3½-inch shells, they were able to knock off a couple hundred bucks, getting it under a grand at retail stores. They pulled that off with improvements to manufacturing processes, cutting parts costs — but not cutting corners. The only noticeable change is the trigger guard in that the easy-to-drop-out trigger assembly is now made of polymer, not aluminum, which he called an improvement because it’s lighter, won’t ding like aluminum and better matches the finish, especially on the synthetic-stocked models.
Improved Ergonomics
The stock has been redesigned; it’s lighter, has a thinner and textured pistol grip and forend (which is grooved for comfortable, natural finger placement), and the balance point is more forward than the SX3. It’s more ergonomic, Nielsen said, and is “a little bit more fluid swinging gun.”
With Winchester SX4 shotguns ready, the author and, in the background, Rafe Nielsen, wait for teal on a Ducks Unlimited wetland project near Matagorda, Texas.
Nielsen has been able to do side-by-side shooting comparisons. “From a personal standpoint, the SX3 is a fine gun,” he said. “I shot it OK, but I shoot the SX4 noticeably better. It just fits me better. So, outside of what the specs are, I can tell the difference shooting the two different guns and will gravitate to the SX4 every day, all day long.”
Shooters are becoming more demanding, and manufacturers are becoming more scientific, Nielsen said. Gone are the days of simple buttstock, recoil pad, forend, action and barrel, he said. Now, they are diving into how the shotgun fits and feels. With the SX4, there was a theme to build improvement upon improvement “all the way through to improve the entire gun, from recoil pad to muzzle.”
Three of those improvements I had indeed put my fingers on.
First, the bolt handle has been enlarged to make it easier to grab with cold or gloved hands. The safety, which is reversible, is also larger and, likewise, the bolt-release button has been enlarged and is somewhat recessed into the receiver so it’s easy to press yet not as likely to hit accidentally. The trigger guard is also larger, again for easier use with gloved hands.
The Inflex Technology recoil pad directs recoil down and away from your face, Nielsen said. And it has a larger footprint, so recoil is “spread out across a larger area so it dissipates more and [can] be a softer feeling gun,” he said. Also, synthetic-stock models come with one ¼-inch spacer installed in the stock for a 14¼-inch length of pull and an additional spacer in the box. Wood-stock models come with two spacers in the box.
The guns also come with a selection of Invector-Plus in-barrel choke tubes — full, modified and improved cylinder. When I asked Nielsen about extended-length tubes, he said they have found most shooters interested in switching choke tubes have aftermarket favorites, and there’s no point second-guessing them; therefore, they outfit the shotguns (other than sporting clays models, some of which come with specialty Briley tubes, and turkey models with a specialty turkey tube) with three perfectly functional options.
Currently, the SX4 is available in camo Waterfowl Hunter versions, black synthetic and wood-stocked Field and Field Compact models. In 2018, Winchester is slated to add Universal Hunter, Cantilever Deer and National Wild Turkey Federation Turkey models.
Though Winchester makes all these models, it knows “most people are going to buy one gun,” Nielsen said. “They’re going to use it for the specific purpose they buy it for, so if they’re pheasant hunters, they’re going to buy the wood or synthetic version; if they’re duck hunters, they’ll buy the camo version, and then they’re going to use it for everything from the trap field to everywhere they go. This is going to be their go-to gun.”
Editor's Notes: This article originally appeared in the January 2018 issue Gun Digest the Magazine.
Competitive Shooting definitely can help advance handgun skills for self-defense, within reason.
The pros and cons of competitive shooting:
Plain and simple, shooting is good for the shooter, competitive or not.
Many basic defensive shooting skills can be master with it, such as the draw.
An inability to separate a competitive from defensive mindset can set you up for failure.
For defensive training, it might be advisable to run a match in a more tactical manner.
You won’t win the match, but it will provide better training.
There’s a long-running debate about whether competitive shooting is good for the defensive handgunner. I think this is somewhat of a silly argument: Shooting is good for shooters. Anytime you can get time behind the trigger and have your performance measured it’s a good thing. Of course, the defensive handgun practitioners argue that during combat or IPSC-style pistol matches you’ll do things that would be stupid during a real gunfight. Well, no kidding. When I play laser tag with my kids, I do a lot of stuff that would be stupid to do during a real gunfight.
When I was a police officer, I shot a lot of competition. I did it for two reasons. First, I did it because it helped me become more proficient with a handgun. I got better at drawing it from a holster, better at hitting targets faster, and better at clearing stoppages and reloading it. Secondly, I did it because it was fun. The notion that you cannot have fun when you shoot the pistol you carry to protect yourself with is completely ludicrous.
Granted, if you become so ingrained in the competition mindset that you cannot separate the two, well then you might be setting yourself up for failure. For that very reason, when I shot competition I sometimes ran the course in a more tactical manner. You cannot win when you do this, but you can take advantage of the intricate and cool stage setups, and simply approach the match from a tactical standpoint. In some matches you can shoot stages twice, once for score and once for fun. Sometimes I would also do this by running the stage the first time with my competition setup and then running the stage again with my duty gun and duty gear.
Don’t knock competitive shooters or competitive shooting. Some of them are the best shooters in the world, and you’d be a fool to call one out in the street at high noon. Regardless, if you’re going to play that game to improve your defensive handgun kills, keep the right mindset, and when possible, play the game like you mean it — and like the targets could really shoot back. In the end, that’s the real difference: No matter what color a target is and no matter what you paint on it, it will never be a real threat.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2018 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Charter Arms goes big, introducing the Bulldog XL in .45 Long Colt and a Mag Pug in .41 Rem. Mag.
The word on these new revolvers:
The XL is a new configuration of the Bulldog with a large frame.
Both 5-round revolvers have 2.5-inch barrels.
The Bulldog XL weighs in at 22 ounces, the new Mag Pug 23.
Each is outfitted with full-sized rubber grips, fixed sights and a standard hammer.
The MSRP on the revolvers is $433.
Life in the 40s is difficult if you’re a revolver fan. There are some downright dynamite cartridges when it comes to these big-bore brutes, at the same tick, there are some nasty catches when it comes to gun selection. This is particularly apparent if you want to carry one for self-defense.
Charter Arms Bulldog XL in .45 Long Colt.
Generally, revolvers in this caliber decade are a hefty lot and typically configured for chasing game or banging steel. The ones designed for concealed carry, in recent years at least, are more and more hitched to the .45 ACP. A solid choice, but one with a lot of semi-auto competition.
Charter Arms is the noted exception in this large-caliber muddle. The Connecticut wheelgun maker cut from the herd long ago and made the .44 Special one of its premier chamberings. And after all these years, its very concealable Bulldog continues to catch eyes among those who want a bit more lead to get the job done. Though this year, the faithful old watchdog might get a run for its money, from its own kin nonetheless.
A break from the ordinary, Charter Arms has dusted off a pair classic .40-caliber rounds to expand two of its popular lines of 5-round revolvers. As its name implies, the Bulldog XL is a large-frame version of Charter Arms’ popular wheelgun and comes chambered in .45 Long Colt. And the Mag Pug gets what can only be classified as a red-hot addition with a new .41 Rem. Mag. model. Slinging that kind of lead, there little arguing Charter Arms' latest big-bores have stopping power in spades, but not at the expense of concealability.
With that said, the 22-ounce Bulldog XL and 23-ounce Pug will likely be handfuls, particularly the .41 Mag. with hotter loads. The cartridge is renowned for its snappiness, even out of heavier guns. Charter has taken mercy on shooters in both cases, designing the guns with full rubber combat grips, so there should be plenty to hang on to.
Charter Arms Mag Pug in .41 Rem. Mag.
Self-defense ammunition is potentially also a tricky proposition when it comes to the .41 Mag. There are rounds out there and not hidden on the back shelf, but by no means is there a cornucopia like you’d find for the .357 Mag. or .38 Spc. Given its extensive fan base, he .45 Colt should prove easier to feed. Ammo for it runs the gambit, from mild cowboy loads to hard-hitting defensive rounds.
There aren’t many surprises in either revolver, outside a few minor tweaks to optimize them to their chamberings. Outside of its large frame, the Bulldog XL is configured like its more established predecessor including a 2.5-inch barrel, fixed sights, stainless steel frame and cylinder, and standard spurred hammer. On the .41 Mag Pug the only notable change is a slightly longer barrel, 2.5 inches compared to the 2.2-inch standard .357 Mag. But the lines have proven winners for Charter Arms for some time, so it's logical the company would keep what works. That includes price. Charter remains one of the most affordable American gunmakers and doesn't change course with its recent releases, each with a MSRP of $433.
For more information on the Bulldog XL and the new Mag Pug, please check out: www.charterfirearms.com
Looking to upgrade your Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory’s barrel? Look no further than TacSol’s RIDGE-LITE Barrel. The upgraded barrel kit comes equipped with a fluted barrel, a stainless steel shank, an aluminum picatinny rail and fiber optic sights, which are fully adjustable for windage and elevation at the rear. The new barrel weighs 8 ounces and has a length of 6 inches. The barrel itself is manufactured from 6061-T6 aluminum and features a chomoly steel liner. MSRP: $355
CCI .17 HMR VNT
This new load from CCI is tailor made for taking down varmints at longer ranges. At the center of the .17 HMR VNT is a 17-grain Speer bullet with an extremely thin jacket and precision-built polymer tip. The result is a projectile that offers a very flat trajectory for accuracy as distances stretch and explosive terminal performance on soft tissue. MSRP: $18/ Box of 50
Savage B-Series Hardwood
In 2017 Savage debuted its new B-Series line of bolt-action rimfire rifles with a number of composite-stocked models chambered in .22 LR, .22 WMR and .17 HMR. This year, Savage has expanded the B-Series with three new models featuring a Walnut-stained hardwood stock with unique, modern checkering on the grip and forend. All models feature a 21-inch barrel, a top tang safety and Savage’s renowned adjustable AccuTrigger. MSRP: $439-$459
Ruger 10/22 Target Lite
This new Target Lite version of Ruger’s classic 10/22 features a black laminate thumbhole stock with a rollover comb, a flat forend and swivel studs for mounting a sling if needed. It utilizes a 16.13-inch cold hammer-forged barrel tensioned in a black-anodized aluminum alloy barrel sleeve. The rifle also features Ruger’s BX-Trigger, which offers a crisp pull between 2.5 to 3 pounds, minimal overtravel and a positive reset. MSRP: $649
Tandemkross ‘Cornerstone’ Safety Ledge
Tandemkross makes a number of aftermarket upgrades for popular rimfire platforms, such as Ruger’s Mark IV 22/45. One of the latest is the “Cornerstone” Safety Ledge, which provides shooters with an oversized 1911-style safety ledge that aids in faster shooting and operation of the pistol. This aftermarket safety can be added without making any modifications to the gun’s internal components and requires no tools for installation. MSRP: $60
Steyr Zephyr II
A renewed take on Steyr’s original Zephyr rifle produced from 1955 to 1971, the Zephyr II is classic in appearance and perfectly suited to hunting pursuits. The rifle utilizes an elegant European walnut stock with a Bavarian cheek piece and fish scale checkering. The cold hammer-forged barrel is 19.7 inches in length, and the gun weighs 5.8 pounds total, making it a handy hunting companion. The rifle feeds from a detachable five-round box and is available in .22 LR, .22 WMR and .17 HMR. MSRP: $995
Tactical Solutions PAC-LITE Holster
The TacSol PAC-LITE Holster is engineered to fit the Ruger Mark series of pistols, ranging from the earliest models up to the new Mark IVs, with or without an optic. The holster’s design is ambidextrous, so it is friendly to both left- and right-handed shooters, and it has adjustable retention for improved flexibility. It’s also built to accommodate most suppressors and any length of barrel. The PAC-LITE is designed to fit belts up to 2 inches in width and is available low- or high-ride versions. MSRP: $40
SIG Sauer 1911 We The People BB Pistol
One of SIG’s newest semi-automatic, CO2-powered airguns is the 1911 We The People BB Pistol. Like SIG’s We The Pistol centerfire handguns, this BB Pistol features a distressed finish on the stainless steel slide and frame, along with patriotic engravings. The airgun has a realistic blowback action, with a slide that holds open after the last BB is fired. It also has a 17-round drop magazine that holds 4.5mm steel BBs and a functioning grip safety, and it conveniently fits current 1911 holster systems, which makes it a great training option. MSRP: $120
SIG Sauer ASP20 Break Barrel Air Rifle
The new ASP20 is SIG’s first entry into the break barrel air rifle category. The suppressed, single-shot break barrel rifle is available in .177 and .22 caliber and features the lightest cocking effort in its class (33 pounds) due to its GlideLite cocking mechanism. It also utilizes one of the airgun industry’s most advanced trigger systems with its ASP MatchLite adjustable trigger, which allows users to alter the weight from 2.5 to 4 pounds. The .177-caliber version delivers 20 foot pounds of energy and a muzzle velocity of 1,021 fps with an 8.64-grain pellet, while the .22-caliber version offers 23 foot-pounds of energy and a velocity of 841 fps with a 14.65-grain pellet. MSRP: $360-$490
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the February 2018 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
The unlikely tale of how laminate stocks went from curiosity to commonplace, changing the shooting world along the way — for the better.
How did laminate stock storm the firearms world?:
Prior to 1987, there wasn’t a single American manufacturer that offered a wood laminate stock.
Jack Barrett and his company, Rutland Plywood, changed this in the mid-1980s.
Utilizing special epoxies, the company layered extremely thin veneers of birch to create stock blanks.
In many cases, stock blanks consisted of 30 to 36 1/16” veneers.
The advantage offered by laments are blemish-free material, greater strength and better action fit.
Additionally, they do not swell or warp due to environmental conditions.
For those of you who might be either too young or too new to the world of firearms, the colorful wood laminated stocks you see in the catalogs of literally every rifle manufacturer are a fairly recent development. Prior to 1987, there was not a single wood laminated stock being offered by an American production rifle manufacturer. Today there’s not one that doesn’t offer several among its various sporter and varmint/target models. Seldom can a trend that has become so broad and pervasive be traced to a single company, but in this case it can: the Rutland Plywood Corp. of Rutland, Vermont, and its owner and CEO, Jack Barrett. Unfortunately, RPC burned to the ground in late August of 2014, but that doesn’t change the story.
Humble Beginnings
It was at the 1987 SHOT Show that Winchester, Ruger and Savage all exhibited for the first time examples of their flagship bolt-action rifles wearing laminated stocks machined from blanks furnished by RPC. It created quite a stir! My appreciation for laminates, however, goes back to the early 1960s; by then, I was stocking my own rifles using the shaped and semi-inletted stocks as offered by Reinhart Fajen, E. C. Bishop & Sons, and Herters, which were the largest retail sources at the time.
It didn’t take me long to realize after dealing with a couple of traditional walnut stocks that warped enough between the dry winter and humid summer conditions of Pennsylvania, which had them constantly changing zero, that there had to be a better, more stable stock medium. At that time, what few synthetic stocks that existed were crude at best, in their infancy technology-wise, and pretty much used only by the benchrest crowd.
A few examples of the almost limitless color combinations possible. Some examples have as many as five colors.
Back then the most appealing stock to my eyes was the Regent by Fajen. It was a racy-looking thing with a high, straight comb line that was actually slightly higher at the heel of the butt than it was at the point of the comb. What made this stock look so streamlined was that the upper left quadrant of the pistol grip was not rounded off. In other words, in silhouette, the top line across the grip area was almost a straight line from the receiver tang to the point of the comb (Here is where a picture is worth a thousand words).
Anyway, the Fajen people offered the Regent in an all-walnut laminate of 5⁄16-inch laminations, which they turned from blanks purchases from a furniture manufacturer. That meant there were only six layers of wood in a typical stock, so the multi-layer look we see in today’s laminates was very subdued.
The Birth Of The RPC Laminate
By the time I became a full-time gun writer in 1970, I owned three rifles stocked in Regent laminates and wrote about why I liked them on a regular basis — a fact that did not go unnoticed by Jack Barrett. Jack was a gun enthusiast and hunter who, in the mid-1980s, had begun developing a birch laminate specifically for rifle stock applications. At that time, RPC had been in business for more than 30 years and was one of the largest manufacturers of specialty wood laminates and plywood for industrial use, so the technology and wherewithal were already there.
The author built this rig using a Ruger 10/22 action, an E.R. Shaw spiral-fluted barrel and a Boyds stock. The receiver was colored using an oven-baked spray-on enamel, and the matching scope came out of Leupold’s Custom Shop.
To make a long story short, after seeing several of my articles, Jack got in touch with me and invited me to visit his plant; that was in 1986 when they had just finished more than two years developing the special epoxies and production processes to make an absolutely stable, warp-free gunstock that would never de-laminate. Moreover, it was comprised of the thinnest possible layers of white birch — veneers actually, each only 1/16” thick. The result was a blank consisting of 30 to 36 individual layers of wood, depending on the stock style to be turned from it. Couple that with the ability to dye the veneers any color and assemble them in any combination, and you’ve got what we’ve all come to take for granted as the wood laminated stock.
How The Magic Happens
The actual process to arrive at a blank ready for shipment to firearm and stock manufacturers is a fascinating one. Logs are first debarked and cut to length — about 40 inches. These log sections are then placed in a huge steam room for a couple of days where they soften and become easier to machine.
Next comes the turning process that actually produces the veneers. The logs are placed on a lathe where they are spun at high speed against a huge blade. The logs, of course, are never perfect cylinders at the start, so the first few revolutions against the inward-moving blade come off as irregular sheets.
Remington’s Model 673 Guide Rifle was unlike other laminates in that it consisted of five, 5⁄16-inch layers to emulate the original Model 600 Carbine of the mid-1960s.
Once the log is trued up, however, one continuous veneer comes peeling off at about 15 mph. The spinning log is reduced to the diameter of a broom handle in less than a minute. As the sheet comes peeling off on a large conveyor belt, it passes beneath an optical comparator that triggers a vertical blade, which cuts out any section having knots, voids or other imperfections.
Once the veneers, which at this point are virtually wet to the touch, are cut to size — about 12×35 inches — they go into a huge conveyor oven. Because the sheets are so thin, by the time the veneers come out the other side, their moisture content has been reduced to just 4 to 5 percent, which is lower than a homogeneous stock can be dried.
The processes described thus far afford two more advantages over a single piece of wood. Because the 30-plus veneers that go into each stock are blemish free, that ensures that as the blank is machined into a gunstock, no knots, voids or other flaws will be revealed. With one-piece walnut stocks, the rejection rate for such “surprises” can be as high as 8 to 10 percent.
Seen here is the pressurized autoclave where the veneers are dyed to the desired color, in this case, black.
The next step is the coloring process, which is done by putting stacks of veneers in a huge autoclave where color dye is introduced and the atmosphere is reduced to a vacuum that enables the dye to fully penetrate each sheet. After coloring, all that remains is for the veneers to be run through rollers, which deposit a proprietary epoxy to each side, then stacked by hand in the desired color combination. From there they are placed in a gigantic, multi-layer hydraulic press with heated platens that accommodate 20 blanks at a time. The stacks are compressed under 20 tons of pressure, while the heated platens speed the curing of the epoxy.
The Laminate Advantage
As touched upon earlier, laminated stocks are not only highly distinctive and colorful, but are far stronger and more stable than one-piece stocks. You can, for example, take a wood chisel, orient it parallel with the layering of the veneers, and whack it all you want with a hammer; the stock will not split along a seam. I’ve also seen a laminated stock that was turned and treated by Boyds with its standard stock finish, submerged in a swimming pool for 5 days, after which there was no measurable swelling or warping.
Once the log is trued and the blade is making total contact with the spinning log, the veneer peels off in an unbroken sheet at 15 mph.
Bottom line: A laminate is just flat-out better at being a gunstock than the traditional one-piece chunk of wood. Not only is it much stronger and stable, it has a tactile warmth about it that no synthetic can match. It feels like wood because it is wood. Me, I like them as much as ever.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2018 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Determining your hold point at a sporting clays station gets you in position for success.
Lacking the symmetry of skeet and the orderliness of trap, the ambiguity of sporting clays is among its most daunting aspects. Even on a course where you’re an old hand, you can never quite feel like you have a complete handle on where that blue rock will fly. The real twist to this all, to consistently gun down doubles and regularly mark improvement, you need the ability to anticipate your shot.
Knowing where you’ll initially acquire a clay before smashing into a hundred glorious pieces would make things plenty easier on this front. Luckily, David Miller has a trick up his sleeve that eliminates much of the guesswork in determining where to position yourself for the greatest success. It’s simply a matter of finding the thrower and where you’ll shoot the clay, then dividing up the field to determine your hold point — where you’ll actually start tracking a clay with your gun.
It sounds like a mouthful in digital ink, but the Aguila Ammunition pro-shooter and World Record holder for most clays broken in an hour gives a quick and dirty method for fractionalizing a station in the above video. On the front end, this sort of analysis seems like using a cannon to kill a mosquito. But in action, it simplifies breaking blue rock to the level of near intuition. And that’s what you want.
Sure, it takes time to read a station, order it in your mind’s eye and determine your hold point. But if you do, you’ll be the one dealing chaos, not the station.
For more information on Aguila Ammunition, please check out: www.aguilaammo.com
A thing of beauty, Turnbull's custom ROCS Mark IV is set to turn heads on and off the range.
If rimfires are why you head to the range each week then in all likelihood you have some series of Mark pistol in your gun safe. Ruger’s wickedly simple and frighteningly effective handgun has wowed shooters for more than a half-century now. Rightfully so, what the semi-automatic is capable of is a thing of beauty. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a way to make any Mark pistol more attractive to a true-blue .22 fan. Well, almost.
Leave it to Doug Turnbull to take exceptional and make it exquisite, and he’s done nothing short of that with his latest creation — the Ruger Owners & Collectors Society Mark IV. Gun Digest Editor-in-Chief Luke Hartle caught up with the man behind the legendary Turnbull Restoration and Manufacturing at the NRA 2018 Annual Meeting and Exhibits in Dallas to get a first-hand look at this beauty. And, surprising no one, the limited-release pistol sparkle like the gem it is.
Produced to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the society’s founding, the Mark IV is available in a rich blued finish or Turnbull’s trademark color-case hardening. The pistol boasts a 5-inch flat-side barrel and is marked as factory finished since Ruger gave the small firearms concern its complete blessing to create these masterpieces. Seriously, the only thing potentially better than admiring Turnbull’s functional art is running it at full tilt.
There is, however, a catch. If these unique customized renditions of one of America’s all-time favorite rimfire pistols have captured your eye — there’s no dawdling in getting one. The run for each finish is only 125; so, even at a premium price — $695 for color-case hardened, $595 for blued — the Mark IVs are likely to move faster than they can shoot.
Ruger expands its 10mm revolver selection with the GP100 Match Champion.
What's the story on the new 10mm revolver?
The GP100 Match Champion follows last fall’s release of the Super Redhawk in 10mm.
The gun is the optimized version of the company’s popular double-action line.
The 10mm holds 6 rounds and comes in lighter than other Match Champions, due to larger chambers.
The revolver utilizes moon clips to headspace the semi-automatic cartridges.
The gun has a 4.2-inch barrel, 11-degree target crown and half lug.
Its MSRP is $969.
Had enough 10mm? Ruger thought not. But the New Hampshire gunmaker continues to take a different spin in building an arsenal for the hottest old pistol round on the market today.
It’s another wheelgun! But unlike its first 10mm offering from last fall, the Super Redhawk, it has the potential to appeal to a greater swath of the revolver-shooting public. The GP100 Match Champion is the decked out iteration of the company’s popular double-action revolver line, and should provide a rather versatile platform to launch Col. Jeff Cooper’s snappy and resurgent round. If anything, it gives 10mm pistol fans a carry and competition option if they have a yen for cylinders over magazines.
This isn’t the first semi-automatic pistol cartridge Ruger has moon clipped up (incidentally it ships with three). For the past decade or so, the gunmaker invested big in 9mm revolvers with the caliber making an appearance in a great swath of its wheelgun catalog. The GP100, however, is virgin territory for semi-auto rounds, previously strictly a home for rimmed cartridges. Technically, it’s a twofer for the line, given the 10mm will also safely shoot the .40 S&W.
For those who know the line, there isn’t much surprise in the new 10mm — it’s a GP100 Match Champion through in through. Like its .357 Mag. brethren, the 6-round 10mm has polished and optimized internals, a centering boss on the trigger and centering shims on the hammer. It boasts a 4.2-inch barrel with an 11-degree target crown to improve accuracy and a half-lug. The cylinders and ejector are chamfered for quicker loading and it’s outfitted with attractive Hogue hardwood grips, complete with fine stippling. Topping it off, an adjustable rear sight and quick-change fiber optic front sight.
It might sound like the same old song, but the all stainless-steel revolver does hit a few new notes. The larger chamber of the GP100 Match Champion 10mm makes it lighter — 37 ounces opposed to 38 ounces — than the other revolvers in the line. Though, the lack of material means the triple-locking cylinder has not being radiused. In turn, it might not slide into a holster quite as easily, though the point is debatable. The GP100 Match Champion is priced the same as the rest of the line with an MSRP of $969.
For more information on the 10mm GP100 Match champion, please check out: www.ruger.com
While classic 1873 Colt Single-Action Army revolvers are cost prohibitive, there are a number of modern-day replicas that look great, shoot well and are priced affordably.
Who makes some of the best 1873 Colt Single-Action Army replicas?
The LOOK! Maybe that’s one of the many factors that make the 1873 Colt Single-Action Army (SAA) so enduring. Hardly a gun nut anywhere doesn’t know the LOOK. Such guns can be picked out under the glass at local gun shops — with only the slightest glance. The reason for this article is that so many Peacemaker replicas have sprung up — made both in this country and abroad — and those old-time/new-time guns are selling well. Obviously, we will be covering a lot of them here in solid detail.
The Holy Smoker Cimarron worn by Russel Crowe in “3:10 to Yuma.”
Despite the Colt Single-Action Army being born in 1873, it pays to go back to earlier Colt models, for these were the guns that set the universe in motion to produce one of the most iconic revolvers ever. The Colt Walker model might be the handgun that started the LOOK. At the time of its introduction in 1847, the Colt Walker was the most powerful handgun ever. Each of its six chambers fired a .454-caliber round ball ahead of as much as 60 grains of black powder. Glance at any Colt Walker and you will see a bit of the LOOK.
The Walker weighed all of 4.5 pounds, so this one was not for quick draw work. Not in 1847. In 1851, Colt came out with the Navy model in .36-caliber. This one fired a lead round ball in the .375- to .380-inch diameter range with a much-reduced black powder load compared to the Walker. Obviously, weight compared to the Walker was significantly reduced. With lower weight and smaller size, the Colt Navy of 1851 was ideal for carrying in the holster, or even pocket carrying, though the latter might be a stretch. The .36-caliber ball was still able to go out the muzzle at about 1,000 feet per second (fps).
The next step toward the 1873 SAA was the Colt 1860 Army model. Look at the Walker, the Navy and the Army models, and maybe you, too, can see the emergence of the 1873 coming. The 1860 Army’s receiver was the same size as the 1851 Navy. Due to a different rebated cylinder design, the “Army” was able to fire those .44-caliber round balls.
If you purchased a real Colt 1873 SAA in the late 1950s and/or early 1960s — you did or have done very well financially. However, it’s still possible to own a piece of this Colt history through the many SAA replicas that are available today. Though the following isn’t meant to encompass all the replicas available, we’ll try to cover as many as possible or as many as this writer knows about — which is a good many.
Ruger
In 1953, Ruger introduced its Single-Six model — in .22 rimfire — a small version of the SAA, but which retained the LOOK. Two years later, Bill Ruger introduced his Blackhawk — again, with the LOOK, but with the addition of an adjustable rear sight. No doubt due to the popularity of TV Westerns, Blackhawk sales took off. Years later and they’re still going strong in popularity.
The Single Action Shooting Society (SASS) was formed in 1987 — a sport of fun competition involving shooting with old-time guns — only with firearms of the Old West’s earlier times, and one of the rules was no open sights. Thus, in 1993, Bill Ruger came out with his Vaquero model — perhaps mainly to accommodate those SASS members who didn’t own or couldn’t find original Colt Single-Action Army six-shooters at a reasonable price.
Predating the Ruger Vaqueros were the Ruger Blackhawks, like these with adjustable rear sights.
The first Vaquero had a 7.5-inch barrel, and I had the good sense to buy one. This one has a case-colored receiver, wood grips, blued steel barrel, cylinder and trigger guard. Only offered in .45 Colt originally, this long-barrel rendition was next offered with a 5.5-inch barrel, later still a 4.62-inch barrel. The Vaquero is still available today, though not with the 7.5-inch barrel — only 5.5 and 4.62. However, stainless steel Vaquero versions are available. Recently, I bought a 4.62-inch barrel Vaquero in stainless. It’s one lovely gun to look at, and one great gun to shoot. This one is still available in .45 Colt and .38/.357. Calibers .44/40 and a few others have been discontinued. There’s also a Bisley Vaquero with tighter reverse to the grip and the SASS model — a matched pair of .45 Colt revolvers with a 5.5-inch barrel or a matched pair of .38/.357 4.62-inch barrel revolvers — both in the matched pair series with consecutive serial numbers. Many Cowboy Action Shooters wear and use two SAA types when practicing or competing. Check photos of my 7.5-inch blued and 4.62-inch stainless Vaqueros.
Cimarron
When I saw the Cimarron Teddy Roosevelt Commemorative online, I had to have one. This is a Single-Action Army 1873 replica with 7.5-inch barrel, all metal parts nickel plated, mock ivory grips and deeply etched engraving all over. The “T.R.” initials are engraved on the frame to the left of the hammer. Since this one is a “commemorative,” I shouldn’t have shot it — but I couldn’t resist. The trigger is creep free and goes off at 3 pounds! When I got to the range and started shooting, I discovered this one to be extremely accurate. “Commemorative” or not, I’m going to keep shooting this great-looking replica.
This is a good time to point out that many of these replicas are built with better, more modern steels than the original Colts. Further, sophisticated CNC machines are capable of extreme close milling tolerances — compared to the 1870s, even through into the mid 1970s.
Cimarron Teddy Roosevelt Commemorative model — nickeled, mock ivory grips and deeply etch engraved all over. The “T.R.” initials are clearly seen engraved on this Teddy Roosevelt Commemorative revolver.
Going back to the Cimarron Teddy gun … like the original Colts, you can bring the hammer to half cock so the cylinder can be spun for loading and unloading once the loading gate has been opened. With the Vaquero — just open the loading gate — the cylinder can be spun (turned).
Cimarron’s basic Single-Action Army model is called the Model P (Pre-War 1896–1940). These guns have case-colored receivers with blued barrels and cylinders. The company’s best seller in the P Model wears the 4.75-inch barrel, but 5.5-inch and 7.5-inch barrels are offered. Stocks are walnut with the Cimarron medallion.
Stainless-steel seems appropriately common for Cimarron customers as there’s a Stainless Frontier in .38/.357 with a 4.75-inch barrel, the same with a 5.5-inch barrel — as well as a 7.5-incher. Ditto for all these in .45 Colt. Suggested retail is listed at $740. This is for top steels and guns made to tight tolerances, as well as the LOOK.
The Man with No Name from Cimarron, worn by Clint Eastwood in more than one of his “Spaghetti Westerns.”
At less than $550 suggested retail, in the Cimarron Value series is the El Malo, Big Iron and Pistolero. All these models are available in more than one barrel length, and in most cases .38/.357 and .45 Colt. There’s also the blued version of the stainless Frontier.
A most interesting Cimarron series is the Hollywood line. Start with “The Man with No Name” model. This is a facsimile of the six-shooter Clint Eastwood carried in “A Fistful of Dollars” and “For a Few Dollars More.” A silver snake adorns the right side of the grip. Select from a 4.75- and 5.5-inch barrel — .45 Colt only. There’s also the Holy Smoker model with a gold cross on the grip — this one carried by Russel Crowe in the movie “3:10 to Yuma.” Barrel is 4.75 inches, and chambered for .45 Colt. The Cimarron Wyatt Earp Buntline wears a 10-inch barrel. On the grip is a silver panel with Earp’s name and more — another .45 Colt. The Rooster Shooter was carried by John Wayne who played Rooster Cogburn in “True Grit” — a 4.75-inch barrel in .45 Colt with grips turned yellowish. These Cimarron SAA replicas are imported from Pietta in Italy.
Uberti
Also from Italy comes the SAA replicas from Uberti. These days Uberti — at least the imports — are under the control of the company that owns Benelli, Franchi, Stoeger and perhaps others. My first Uberti is called the Cattleman. The Cattleman is right out of 1873 Single-Action Army history with a case-colored receiver, blued barrel and cylinder with walnut grips — in .45 Colt. Mine wears a 5.5-inch barrel. Like the originals, open the loading gate, and bring the hammer to half cock to turn the cylinder for loading and unloading. The trigger is excellent. It goes off at 3 pounds on my Lyman Digital Trigger Pull Scale. Mike Crevar has done superb triggers on both my Vaqueros and other handguns.
The Uberti Cattleman also comes in stainless — here with a 7.5-inch barrel.
The Cattleman does not have a safety transfer bar, so load it with five cartridges, then let the hammer down on the empty cylinder. Normal procedure is load one, skip a cylinder, and then load the remaining four. Cock the hammer from half cock to the empty chamber. In Cowboy Action Shooting competition, only five cartridges can be loaded — and the hammer must rest on an empty chamber. Recommendation: Load any Single-Action Army with five, whether the gun has a safety transfer bar or not.
If you were ever wondering about the popularity of Single-Action Army replicas, consider that Uberti offers 13 different Cattleman models, ranging from Charcoal Blue, Nickel, Stainless, plus a Chisholm, Cody, Desperado, Matching Pair, Frisco, Old West, Hombre, Callahan, Callahan Target (with adjustable sights) and an engraved Cattleman. Many of these are offered in multiple barrel lengths — all in .45 Colt, a few in other calibers. The number of SKUs in just the Cattlemen Uberti models is thus staggering. In most cases, there are minor changes in these above models, like brass trigger guard, steel back strap, blued frame with casehardened hammer and more.
But the Cattlemen only touches the surface of what’s available in the Uberti SAA line. The .22 rimfire SAA-type six-shooters are not being covered here, but the Stallion is in .22 rimfire but also .38 with 5.5-inch barrel — the same with the Stallion Target, which features adjustable rear sights. The Cattleman II has a retractable firing pin — again — lots of different II models. There are also several different El Patron models from Uberti.
Parting Shots
The author’s own Cimarron Teddy Roosevelt Commemorative model — nickeled, mock ivory grips and deeply etch engraved all over.
But by now you have the picture. An entire gun-making industry has arisen from the death of the old Single-Action Army. As already covered, these replicas can be excellent, in some cases even better than the original 1873 model Colts — due to better steels and tighter machining tolerances. Most of us can’t afford a real 1873 Single-Action Army Colt. Even for those who can, those guns are most often stored and not shot due to their value. The 1873 replicas are not only shooters, they’re top shooters!
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2018 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Springfield introduces its second production 10mm, the TRP 10mm RMR decked out with a Trijicon reflex sight.
The skinny on the new Springfield:
The TRP 10mm RMR is Springfield’s second production 10mm.
It is available with a 5- or 6-inch barrel.
The 1911 comes outfitted with a Trijicon Ruggedized Miniature Reflex sight.
It features tritium rear and front sights that can be utilized through the reflex sight.
It is built on a forged steel National Match frame and has a stainless-steel slide.
The pistol has Springfield's Gen 2 Speed Trigger.
The MSRP on the 5-inch barreled model is $2,507; the 6-inch runs $2,558.
Like the Phoenix from its ashes, the 10mm continues to rise. Springfield is among the latest to further the resurgent round’s cause, announcing Thursday yet another 1911 chambered for Col. Jeff Cooper’s pet.
The company now offers the TRP 10mm RMR, available in two configurations — 5- and 6-inch barrel — and complete with a Trijicon Ruggedized Miniature Reflex sight. The move is not without precedent, but just barely. The new pistol is actually the second production model 10mm the company has offered, following on the heels of last fall’s introduction of the TRP Operator in the caliber. However, the new model is quite a bit more dolled up than Springfield’s attractively Spartan initial offering.
In particular, the company has turned a studied eye to the sight system; it’s not a fly-by-night affair, where a reflex is simply included in the purchase. Milled directly into the slide, the Trijicon RMR is situated to endure the abuse of the high-pressure round’s recoil, as well as provide a seamless backup aiming solution in worst-case scenarios. The gun boasts tritium rear and front sights, designed for use through the reflex sight if the situation ever called for it. The reflex sight itself is optimized for rugged use, fashioned from 7075-T6 aluminum and engineered to absorb impacts and divert stress away from the lens.
Both the 5- and 6-inch barreled TRP 10mm RMR models are built on forged National Match frames and feature precision-fit match-grade slides made of stainless-steel. Springfield has beefed up the operating system in the shorter-barred model with an 18.5-pound recoil spring (16-pounds on the long slide), which goes a ways in taming the kick. Furthermore, the company has given shooters plenty to hang on to, with G10 VZ grips and ample Posi-Lock checkering on the front strap and mainspring housing.
The 1911 is outfitted with Springfield’s Gen 2 Speed Trigger, tuned to break at 4.5- to 5-pounds. It features a TechWell Magwell/Grip System that facilitates rapid and efficient magazine changes. Springfield wraps it all up with its durable Black-T Finish.
The pre-mounted reflex sight system has become more common in recent years, especially with the 10mm. Typically it adds a bit more appeal to handgun hunters, but, in general, it doesn’t come cheap. In the case of the 5-inch barreled TRP 10mm RMR the MSRP is $2,507, the 6-inch is $2,558. That’s plenty of coin, even in the world of 1911s. However, it’s competitive with some other high-end 10mms with pre-mounted optics.
In handgun training, learning to maximize your field of view is as key as proper trigger discipline. After all, you can't hit what you can't see.
Shooting, particularly in a self-defense situation, can sometimes involve all five of the senses. But one reigns supreme — sight. Without it, there’s no identifying the target, proper sight alignment, aiming — there’s no shot.
Given its importance, then why in training is it so common to find shooter’s looking away from a target or have their handgun out of their view? They drop their head, hands and gun to execute a reload. They don’t maneuver the pistol with their head when they scan for another target. And they relax their pistol out of sight after making a shot. They’re taking their eyes off the ball, so to speak.
For Mark Redl, there are few nastier habits to develop in practical pistol shooting then not keeping a field of vision where it will do the most good. Frustrating — and in self-defense, potentially life-threatening — as it is, the pro shooter for Aguila Ammunition promises it’s simple to fix. Like everything in shooting, it requires conscientious consistency when running through drills and that means keeping the gun and eyes in what Redl calls the “headbox.”
What that you ask? Easy as pie, it’s the area roughly around your head with you’re eyes looking straightforward. Learning to manipulate the pistol up high in this zone means a shooter can watch not only what’s happening with his handgun, but beyond to a potential threat or the next target in a competition. Furthermore, the gun should never leave the headbox, even when turning side to side. This keeps it at the ready and provides life-saving movements to get the pistol in a fight once a danger is recognized.
There’s a lot of minutiae that must be considered any time you head to the range. One of the most important is keeping your eyes and your gun where they’ll do the most good.
For more information on Aguila Ammunition, please check out: www.aguilaammo.com
Wonder why red dot optics have stormed the gun world? They just plain work.
There’s always a case for iron sights. They’re simple, effective and, perhaps best of all, tough as whang leather. The buggers can take a beating and still deliver the goods shot after shot.
That said, the dependability and simplicity of the traditional aiming solution is no excuse to wed yourself exclusively to the system. There’s a lot of technological wizardry available to shooters today and, honestly, iron sights are more than happy playing a backup role.
Phil Massaro, a man who fully appreciates classic guns and established methods of getting them on target, even has to admit there’s something to the newfangled optic. The Gun Digest author and custom ammo manufacturer puts a Smith & Wesson M&P15 through its paces in his trip to New York’s Double Eagle Training in this week’s Modern Shooter. And topped off with a SIG ROMEO4H red dot, Massaro pounds a steel plate with the carbine until sings like it’s in a choir.
What particularly wows Massaro about the red do is the speed of its target acquisition. Banging the gong, especially at close quarters, is a point-and-click affair. Additionally, he’s able to keep both eyes open throughout the entirety of the drill, giving him better situational awareness. In real life this would deliver a decisive upper hand, permitting him to identify and neutralize multiple targets with greater ease.
There’s a reason why red dot optics have stormed the shooting world — they just plain work. And if you haven’t tried them, they’re well worth investigating. Don’t worry, your iron sights will always be there if you need them.
Catch the rest of the action of this heart-pounding episode of Modern Shooter 10:00 p.m. EST Friday on the Pursuit Channel. The episode rebroadcasts Monday at 12 p.m. EST and Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. EST.
Holdover, windage, cant… SIG's new SIERRA3BDX scope accounts for everything but how to get your elk out of the backcountry.
Every so often, a product comes down the line so innovative you can actually feel the ground shift under your feet. The automobile certainly shook terra firma in horse-and-buggy days and in the 21st Century there was tectonic movement with the smartphone. Now, if you’re a shooter, you should feel some pretty notable tremors starting up because SIG Sauer is set to do the same to precision optics, perhaps shooting itself.
Unveiled Friday at the NRA 2018 Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Dallas, the SIERRA3BDX is perhaps the most groundbreaking riflescope to come down the pike since Mil Dot met reticle. With the ability to calculate holdover, cant and — with the right equipment — windage the scope all but erases the margin of error from each and every shot.
It's almost unfair to call it an optic, a “smartscope” seems more fitting. Yet it's as unassuming as your run-of-the-mill glass.
SIG’s Peter Howell gets into the brass tacks of the SIERRA3BDX in the above video, explaining the ins and outs of the technology. Essentially, it boils down to the scope chatting up your range finder and smartphone to give you the straight dope.
Bluetootch capable, the scope pairs to iOS and Android smartphones, giving it the ability to download ballistic tables, draw from range-finding data and account for environmental conditions. You simply range with a KILO BDX rangefinder, the SIG BDX app does the thinking and the scope get you on target. All you have to do is hold steady where the illuminated reticle points and your bullet is drops in precisely on target.
The SIERRA3BDX, which goes on sale in July 2018, is innovative not simply for the power it puts in front of shooters’ eyes, but also how it’s constructed. Unlike the big, boxy and heavy rangefinder scopes of the past, SIG's beauty is a lightweight — dang near like any traditional riflescope. Additionally, it’s affordable, Howell pegging it at below $1,200. Plain old first-focal plane scopes can leak into that price range.
Presently, SIG offers the SIERRA3BDX 3.5-10x42mm, 4.5-14x44mm, 4.5-14x50mm, and 6.5-20x52mm. They feature HD glass for superior resolution and optical clarity, 30mm main tubes, side-focus parallax adjustments, and the LevelPlex digital anti-cant system. The BDX-R1 Digital Ballistic Reticle is the evolution of holdover, providing a ballistic solution out to 800 yards with 1 MOA of accuracy
The scope pairs with any of BDX family of rangefinders includes KILO1400BDX, KILO1800BDX, KILO2200BDX, KILO2400BDX, and KILO3000BDX rangefinder binocular. These rangefinders include many of the legacy features that the KILO name was built on Lightwave DSP digital rangefinder engine, Hyperscan with 4 times per second scan rate, RangeLock, and the Lumatic auto-adjusting display.
The SIERRA3BDX should have a lot of appeal to a lot of marksmen — whether hunting or banging distant steel. And like the car change the way we travel and the smartphone the way we communicate, SIG just might have advanced the way we shoot.
For more information on the SIERRA3BDX, please checkout: www.sigsauer.com
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.
