A look at the new Bear Creek Arsenal Grizzly pistol, the company’s first polymer handgun.
Bear Creek Arsenal is mostly known for its AR-15s and AR components, but the company broke into the handgun market a couple of years back with its Genes1s and Genes1s II pistols. Both of those are full-size 9mm Glock-style handguns, but their frames were entirely made of metal. Now Bear Creek Arsenal has announced the Grizzly pistol, a full-size 9mm with a traditional polymer frame. The company is advertising it as a handgun with out-of-the-box upgrades at an unbeatable price.
The Bear Creek Arsenal Grizzly is described as a full-size duty pistol, meaning it will feature the same 4.49-inch barrel length as the Glock 17. For the barrel, customers will have a choice between 416R Stainless Steel or 4150 Chrome Moly with a black nitride finish. The pistols will also feature a 20-degree grip angle, a textured thumb rest and plenty of grip stippling with a texture inspired by bear fur.
Other out-of-the-box upgrades include an RMR-cut slide for optics, photo-luminescent night sights and a window cut in the slide. Naturally, it features a Picatinny rail for a light or laser as well. As for upgrading the Grizzly pistol further, they will be compatible with Gen 3 Glock components and accessories, including many made by Bear Creek itself.
Bear Creek Arsenal Grizzly pistols will become available on April 10th, and each handgun will ship with two 17-round magazines. MSRP is not yet available.
The author hits the range with a Ruger New Model Super Blackhawk Bisley, a .44 Magnum revolver with some serious heft.
Back in the early ’80s, a friend showed up at the farm with a .44 Magnum revolver. I think he’d traded a set of chrome wheels off his Chevy Nova for it. Like most used .44 Magnums, this one came with a half-box of ammo, and we did our best to try and shoot it all up. I think we gave up after we’d both fired about two cylinders full. If my memory serves, he soon traded it for some other now forgotten gun. That was my first introduction to the .44 Magnum, and though I’ve messed with several since, I’ve never had an inkling to own one. Until now.
I was recently browsing the Lipsey’s website to see what was new. Lipsey’s is a Louisiana-based firearms dealer known for offering unique limited edition guns, especially from Ruger. For example, they’re currently offering a Ruger 77/22 chambered for the .22 Hornet, but it’s configured like an Africa Express rifle. The gun that really caught my attention, however, was a Ruger Super Blackhawk in all stainless-steel with a Bisley grip and a 4.625-inch barrel. It was a .44 Magnum, but inexplicably it seemed to scratch an inch I didn’t know I had.
Even though the barrel is short and the recoil intense, hits on a 10-inch 50-yard steel plate were possible while shooting off-hand. The revolver’s good trigger helped immensely.
It Keeps On Giving
This is a beautiful revolver. The brushed stainless finish contrasts nicely with the dark laminated wood stocks. And while I’ve never really liked the Bisley grip, it seems to fit this revolver—both esthetically and ergonomically—perfectly. More importantly, with the Bisley grip it seems to balance in hand better than a Super Blackhawk with the standard grip.
The Bisley hammer on this compact big-bore revolver is easier to manipulate than the standard hammer.
Also, the Bisley grip is known for being much more comfortable on a revolver that has stiff recoil—but more on that in a moment. The revolver’s 4.625-inch barrel keeps it compact and not too heavy. It’s only slightly heavier than a 5-inch 1911. The shorter barrel also makes it easier to wear in a hip holster. The adjustable rear sight and black, ramped front are standard for a Ruger Blackhawk, and the trigger was light to the touch and exceptionally crisp.
I needed serious ammo for a serious handgun, so I turned to Buffalo Bore because they make the most serious .44 Special and .44 Magnum ammunition you can buy. And if you’re gonna shoot a .44 Magnum, you might as well get serious about it. I chose four loads. The first was their .44 Special Anti-Personnel load intended for self-defense. It uses a 200-grain hardcast wadcutter bullet at an advertised 1,000 fps.
The rear sight on the Lipsey’s Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum is the standard sight Ruger uses on their single-action revolvers.
The second was their .44 Special Outdoorsman load, which I think might be the best all-round load for this revolver. It pushes a 255-grain hardcast SWC Keith bullet to an advertised 1,000 fps. The other loads were heavy-hitting .44 Magnum loads. One pushes a 300-grain jacketed flat nose to 1,300 fps, and the other a 305-grain hard cast SWC Keith bullet at 1,325 fps.
The front sight on the Lipsey’s Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum is the standard sight Ruger uses on their single-action revolvers.
From the bench, both the .44 Special loads were pleasurable to shoot, and out of the 4.625-inch barrel, they both delivered better than advertised velocity. The two .44 Magnum loads were a handful and maybe more, and they too exceeded advertised velocities. I had no trouble shooting sub-inch three-shot groups with the .44 Special loads from the bench at 15 yards, but due to recoil, I really had to concentrate and grit my teeth with the .44 Magnum loads. When it was all said and done, after firing three, three-shot groups with each load, the overall average group size was only 0.97 inch.
Though this Heavy .44 Magnum load for Buffalo Bore is a handful, it shot very well out of the Lipsey’s Super Blackhawk, delivering more than 1,200 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.
Almost All Roses
If there’s a downside to this hand cannon, it’s that the ejector rod is a bit short to fully push fired cases from the cylinder. You can pop the rod and usually force them out, but with some of the hotter loads this will not work. While this might seem like a major detractor, in reality it’s not. This isn’t a revolver designed for house clearing or another application like mass zombie eradication, where you’ll need to shoot a lot a reload in a hurry. If a couple shots from this thing does not solve the problem, your problem is unimaginably bad or you just can’t shoot.
I do not need a .44 Magnum revolver. There’s nothing big and bad enough in West Virginia that requires that much nastiness to stop it. But there’s something about this hand cannon that I can’t shake. Johnny Walker, my best friend who lives in Kodiak, Alaska, has been begging me to come up and visit. If I go, I can think of no better revolver to have on my side; Walker has already had to shoot one Kodiak bear who thought he looked like an appetizer. The thing is, my friend frequently comes back home to West Virginia to visit, and other than him, there’s nothing on that bear-infested rock of an island I care about.
Lipsey’s Ruger Super Blackhawk in all stainless-steel with a Bisley grip and a 4.625-inch barrel.
Nope, I just don’t need a lightweight, compact, easy to carry .44 Magnum revolver. But then again, my house and gun safe are full of guns I don’t really need. The thing is, sometimes—when it comes to guns—“need” has absolutely nothing to do with it. I like this gun, and I get a feeling it likes me. And who knows, with all the talk about aliens, this might be just exactly the gun we’ll all need one day. We just don’t have enough information right now to know for sure, and I like being prepared.
Epilogue: Recoil
So, let’s talk a bit about the .44 Magnum. In general, it kicks—everybody knows that.
Federal lists a 280-grain Swift A-Frame load at 1,170 fps. If you plug that into a recoil calculator with a 46-ounce handgun like this one, it’ll tell you you’re going to experience about 16 foot-pounds of recoil energy. That’ll get your attention. To put it in perspective, Federal’s 230-grain HST load for the .45 Auto will recoil with about 8.5 foot-pounds of kinetic energy out of a 5-inch 1911, and a very hot 10mm load will generate about 13 foot-pounds.
While shoving a Buffalo Bore heavy loaded .44 Magnum cartridge in the cylinder of the Lipsey’s Super Blackhawk, you feel there’s nothing you can’t take on, and you’d be right.
Out of the Ruger, the Buffalo Bore 305-grain Heavy load for the .44 Magnum recoils with 25 wrist-twisting foot-pounds! It doesn’t feel anything like a hot 10mm load. In fact, it doesn’t feel like you’re shooting a handgun. It feels more like you’re trying to hold on to a mule’s leg to try to keep the mule’s leg from kicking you in the face. I might’ve peed myself a little the first time I fired one of those 305-grain loads. It’s not that it was painful—it was a bit painful—it was just, well, a bit scary.
NOTES: Reported average muzzle velocity (VEL), standard velocity deviation (SD) and average muzzle energy (ENG) were established by firing 10 rounds over a Caldwell G2 chronograph with the screens positioned 10 feet from the muzzle. The precision (PRC) of each load represents the average of three, three-shot groups fired from a sandbag rest at 15 yards. Recoil (REC) was calculated using an online recoil calculation source. Temperature: 58 degrees, Humidity: 48 percent, Pressure: 29.90 in-Hg, Elevation: 2,200 feet.
I shared my impression with Tim Sundles who owns Buffalo Bore. He said—in a nonchalant, matter of fact way—and I quote, “Yeah, it’s hard to write a letter after shooting the hard kickers.” Ya think?! Hell, it’s hard to pick your nose or scratch your ass with any efficiency after a cylinder full of these dinosaur killers.
I know this is a review about a revolver and not intended to be a dissertation on the .44 Magnum, but give me some leeway, precision testing those heavy .44 Magnum loads from the bench while trying to shoot the best groups I could was daunting. This would have been quite different with Ruger’s 7.5-inch Super Redhawk Bisley Hunter at 52 ounces, which would recoil about 14 percent less and have a lot less muzzle flip. You’re more than welcome to call me a wuss. I could care less. I think with this revolver reminded me of the lesson I learned on the farm about 40 years ago, and that’s that I’m pretty much a .44 Special kind of guy.
The 4.625-inch barreled Super Blackhawk from Lipsey’s fit perfectly and carried comfortably in Galco’s SAO holster.
Two Final Comments And I’ll Let It Go
First, after all the shooting, I sat down at the computer to draft this report. I couldn’t. My fingers didn’t want to respond efficiently to what my brain was trying to tell them to do. And finally, if you own a .44 Magnum, you owe it to yourself to get at least one box of Buffalo Bore’s 305-grain Heavy load. It’s expensive; Buffalo Bore is proud of this stuff, and they should be because it’s near the pinnacle of practical handgun power. A box of 20 retails for $53.68. But it’s worth the price to at least, just once, feel all that power in one hand.
I let my 24-year-old son, who’s a Gunsite graduate, shoot it. I cannot write what he said. Just don’t shoot this stuff in a revolver with a scandium or aluminum frame, or any revolver of questionable strength. If you do, you might experience something worse than a little bit of metacarpal numbness.
Sturm, Ruger & Co. New Model Super Blackhawk Bisley SPECS:
Catalog No.: 0876
Action: Single
Trigger Pull: 2.75 Pounds
Chambering: .44 Special/.44 Magnum
Frame: Stainless-steel
Barrel: Stainless-steel, 4.625 Inches, 1:20 RH twist with 6 grooves
Looking for a new iron or piece of kit to enhance the one you already own? Check out these 7 new bits of guns and gear to grow your firearms wish list.
Tailored for all-purpose use, the Staccato C strikes a balance between carry convenience and duty/home defense effectiveness. The slim and short design of the pistol offers a confident grip across various hand sizes. Whereas its wide frame, flush with the slide, enhances durability and reduces felt recoil, delivering a more controllable shooting experience. Being a Staccato, the C is a 2011, giving shooters ample firepower in a 1911-style gun—in this case, 16 rounds of 9mm. As expected, the company has outfitted the gun with a lights-out trigger, breaking at right around 4 pounds. MSRP: $2,600
Walther Arms PDP Compact Steel Frame
Kicking 2024 off in style, Walther Arms upped the level of its popular PDP line of pistols with the release of a Compact Steel Frame model. As its name suggests, the 9mm boasts an all-steel frame, prioritizing both durability and performance in the 4-inch barreled gun. The nice part is that the added weight considerably enhances recoil absorption, making the PDP much quicker and more accurate shot-to-shot. As a bonus, Walther maintains its hallmark ergonomic design in the grip frame, ensuring a comfortable yet robust feel. MSRP: $1,700
Taurus TH10 10mm
In the market for a robust full-sized DA/SA handgun chambered in potent 10mm Auto? Taurus has you covered with the TH10. Boasting a 4.25-inch stainless-steel barrel and a 15-round magazine capacity, the pistol doesn’t want for firepower. And, the TH10’s 28.5 ounces weight strikes a nice balance—light enough to carry, but hefty enough to soak up the 10mm stout recoil. Notable attributes include drift-adjustable front and rear sights, an accessory rail and an ambidextrous safety/de-cocker—making it righty and lefty friendly. MSRP: $530
CCI Uppercut Defense .22 LR
The gun industry has gotten more serious about the .22 LR as a self-defense caliber. Case in point: CCI Uppercut Defense. This purpose-driven round is tailored for small handguns and topped with a 32-grain hollow-point designed for appropriate penetration and consistent expansion in its terminal destination. The bullet, for the most part, resembles the iconic Stinger line and boasts a thicker copper jacket, similar to those found on .22 WMR. What you end up with is a round that ups the defensive potential of .22 handguns. MSRP: $13, box of 50
Daniel Defense Daniel H9
Daniel Defense has resurrected the innovative Hudson H9, unveiling the Daniel H9 at SHOT Show 2024. Acquiring Hudson’s patents after the company’s unfortunate closure, Daniel Defense meticulously redesigned the 9mm handgun. While externally similar, the Daniel H9 only shares one component with its predecessor due to Daniel Defense’s commitment to elevated manufacturing standards. Retaining the 1911’s beloved features but incorporating modern elements like a striker-fire mechanism and an optics-ready slide, the Daniel H9 boasts the lowest bore axis in its class. MSRP: $1,300
Ruger PC Carbine in .45 ACP
The PC Carbine has proven it’s a viable and potent option in PCCs. Now, Ruger is kicking the little fireball’s game up a notch with the introduction of the gun in .45 ACP. With a 16-inch threaded barrel, the carbine utilizes a blowback operating system and features an AR-style folding buttstock for enhanced portability. Adding utility to the platform, the company outfits the gun with an M-Lok handguard allowing for accessory attachments. And perhaps best of all, the design is Glock magazine compatible. In turn, magazine options are highly available and very economical. Overall, it’s not a bad package for those who prefer to shoot fat and slow. MSRP: $1,010
Diamondback SDR (Self-Defense Revolver)
Diamondback Firearms unveiled its Self-Defense Revolver (SDR) at the 2024 SHOT Show, marking its entry into centerfire wheel guns. Chambered in .357 Magnum, the SDR has the chops for both home and personal defense, and at a mere 21 ounces, it makes for a more than acceptable CCW option. A good looker, the 2-inch barreled revolver is machined from premium stainless steel and has six rounds on board. Furthermore, its low-profile fiber-optic sights, concealed hardware and rounded edges prevent snags and optimizes the gun for carry. And, the DA/SA pistol has a top-notch trigger, making for a smooth, non-stacking break in double action and a very sensitive trip in single. MSRP: $777
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
The author takes a look at the ultra-powerful .408 CheyTac and compares it against other anti-materiel cartridges like .50 BMG.
The .408 CheyTac is an odd cartridge, in that it has almost no practical civilian use and doesn't fit any military need well enough to result in widespread adoption.
Like many niche calibers, there's a certain mystique that the .408 has attained thanks to firearms culture and, of course, the movie Shooter. Almost everyone who longs to own a CheyTac M200 Intervention rifle in this caliber does so because it was prominently featured in that film.
Pop-culture references aside, let's take a peek behind the curtain and discuss what the cartridge was made to do, what it does and what anyone would stand to gain from using it.
What's An Anti-Materiel Rifle?
Anti-materiel rifles are specialized firearms designed to destroy or otherwise disable equipment, hardware, vehicles and similar targets that are resistant to conventional small arms fire.
The concept was born out of the anti-tank rifles of WWI. These were used even more widely in the Second World War, but as tank armor grew more effective the job of the rifles gradually shifted to be more anti-materiel in nature. By the end of the war, tanks had generally become robust enough to render the anti-tank rifle obsolete, despite this they stayed relevant thanks to their continued effectiveness against other, lighter targets. Some WWII anti-tank rifles like the Soviet PTRS-41 are still actively used in an anti-materiel role around the world today.
Rifles of this description are traditionally chambered for very large centerfire cartridges, typically .50-caliber or bigger. Some popular anti-materiel rifle cartridges over the years include .50 BMG, 14.5×114mm Russian, 12.7x108mm Russian and 20mm.
The .408 CheyTac cartridge, however, was built differently. It was devised to deliver .50 BMG-like terminal performance or better with a smaller-diameter projectile, giving it a lower total weight and enabling soldiers in the field to either lighten their pack or carry more ammo without making other concessions to their loadout. Equal performance at a lower weight certainly sounds promising.
What Is .408 CheyTac?
The .408 CheyTac, or more accurately .408 Cheyenne Tactical, started as a wildcat cartridge combining a dangerous game case with a high-BC bullet to achieve maximum effective range and multi-role capability.
The inventors are Dr. John Taylor and William Wordman. The latter was a machinist who was seeking to improve on Taylor's earlier wildcat, the .400 Taylor Magnum. The .400 Taylor is more or less a .505 Gibbs (a dangerous game cartridge) necked down to 0.375 inches.
To create the .408 CheyTac, the case is trimmed to 3.04 inches in length from 3.15 inches and necked down to .408 inches. To solve the issue of case pressures, some different metallurgy had to be used to create stronger brass capable of handling the nearly 64,000 psi of chamber pressure that the .408 produces.
The result is a cartridge that will propel a 419-grain solid projectile at 3,000 feet per second with 8,373 foot-pounds of energy.
To stabilize the bullet, solid projectiles must be used rather than jacketed. This gives the bullet more stable flight, which is partly why (along with the bullet’s aerodynamic profile) it has such a ridiculously high ballistic coefficient. Various ammunition manufacturers have claimed that their .408 CheyTac projectiles have BCs of 0.949 and higher. While these figures have been disputed, it seems apparent that the bullets perform very efficiently in flight regardless of what the exact numbers are.
But what does this all actually mean?
The .408 CheyTac puts a lot of powder behind a large, heavy and very aerodynamic bullet. As a result, it stays supersonic a lot longer (potentially to over 2,300 yards) and can penetrate things better at greater distances. It does so more efficiently than .50 BMG and with a longer effective range than .338 Lapua Magnum.
Ergo, it has the capabilities of a long-range sniper rifle round and an anti-materiel rifle round all rolled into one.
.408 CheyTac Ballistics
The .408 CheyTac is incredibly impressive.
The original load is a 419-grain solid projectile, such as CheyTac Ammo's load with the company’s patented Balanced Flight Projectile. This has an advertised G1 ballistic coefficient of 0.949, which is astounding. Here's a 3,000-yard trajectory table for that load using Shooter's Calculator. All tables were calculated presuming a 1.5-inch sight height, a 10 mph 90-degree crosswind, zero corrections for atmosphere and a 100-yard zero.
As you can see, it stays supersonic past 2,500 yards. At 3,000 yards, it still has more velocity (and almost double the energy) of a .357 Magnum at the muzzle.
Another “common” commercial load is a 400-grain solid projectile by SBR Ammo, with an advertised 0.983 G1 ballistic coefficient.
The table shows that it doesn't go transonic until more than 2,700 yards. At 3,000 yards, it still has more energy than a .44 Magnum at the muzzle!
.408 CheyTac Vs .50 BMG
This is the same trajectory table for Hornady's A-Max Match .50 BMG load, with a 750-grain bullet and a G1 BC of 1.05.
Comparing the results with those of .408 CheyTac shows that .408 is every bit .50 BMG's equal in terms of velocity and range, only trailing behind in terms of energy.
This is incredibly impressive, given that .408 CheyTac is half the size of .50 BMG.
The .50 BMG is an enormous cartridge. The case length is 3.91 inches, with a COL of 5.45 inches, a capacity of 292.8 grains of water and a base diameter of 0.8 inches. One loaded cartridge weighs just over 4 ounces.
By contrast, .408 CheyTac has a case length of 3.028 inches, a COL of 4.465 inches and a capacity of 159 grains of water. It weighs nearly half that of .50 BMG.
But what you have to remember about ballistic tables is that they only give you a very dry, on-paper sense of what a bullet does. How the bullet actually performs in the real world is something entirely different. What is .50 BMG known to do that the .408 CheyTac doesn't?
Well, at this point…almost everything. The .50 BMG has proven itself as an anti-materiel, anti-aircraft and anti-…basically everything short of tanks cartridge. The armor-piercing ammunition works. The incendiary and standard tracers work too.
We know they work because they’ve been heavily used to great effect in two-way firing ranges all over the world since the .50 BMG was invented. If .408 CheyTac has been used in a theater of war, knowledge of it is either hidden or so small in scale that it's never been disclosed.
And that is ultimately why it hasn't caught on to the extent that it would seem it should. It doesn't do anything so much better than .50 BMG that it justifies the expense of replacing it with new rifles and ammunition.
You can get a basic .50 BMG rifle for around $1,500. A Barrett M99, the company’s single-shot bolt-action, will run you about $5,000, and that's for an actual Barrett rifle. Feeding a .50 BMG is also insanely expensive, but cheap ammo is at least somewhat attainable.
In contrast, getting into the .408 CheyTac is a much taller order. About the “cheapest” rifle you're likely to find is the DesertTech HTI which has an MSRP of $7,600 for the basic model. Most others will run you well north of $10,000.
Then you have the cost of feeding it. You can get .50 BMG ammo for less than $40 for 10 rounds, which is stupidly expensive for 10 rounds but not awful when accounting for the size and specialty of the ammo. You can find it in some stores, and it's certainly available online.
While .408 CheyTac ammo theoretically exists…it’s like hen's teeth to find. AmmoSeek has over 5 pages of .50 BMG ammo, but only a single result for .408 CheyTac at the time of writing. That listing was from Optics Planet…for about $15 per round. That said, if you can afford a .408 rifle, you can probably afford the ammo too. Your bigger problem will likely be just finding any for sale. It’s also worth mentioning that .408 projectiles and reloading tools are available, so loading your own is theoretically possible too.
Does The Military Use .408 CheyTac? What Could I Use One For?
There are some reports of the M200 Intervention and the .408 CheyTac cartridge being purchased by various militaries, but nothing on a serious scale.
Look up the list of the world's longest sniper shots, and you'll notice it is not on it. A .408 CheyTac was used to set a world record long-distance rifle shot…in 2018. It's since been not only broken, but shattered with a .416 Barrett.
In other words, while you technically can do things with it, mass adoption has not occurred.
Why not?
Mostly because whatever increase in capability the cartridge gives you isn't so much of an improvement that it justifies the monetary and logistical cost of a caliber change.
You Really Just Want A CheyTac M200 Intervention, Don’t You?
If you look at what the on-paper benefits are compared to the cost and availability of ammunition, the only reason to even consider this cartridge is because you want an M200 Intervention rifle from the movie Shooter.
Marky Mark firing his M200 Intervention in Shooter (2007). Image: IMFDB.
It's an amazing rifle, and Shooter is a darn good flick. Like so many other boutique guns, the movies make us want stuff that is insanely expensive and desperately impractical. Smith & Wesson could barely give Model 29 revolvers away before Dirty Harry, and Wind River sold a lot of guide guns.
There's nothing wrong with that, but it is what it is.
The reality is that there are plenty of other long-range cartridges that can do everything you'd want to use .408 CheyTac for, but for a lot less money. It's an amazing cartridge with a lot of potential. Maybe someday it will be worth getting into…but it is not this day.
A quick look at the .30-378 Weatherby Magnum, a lightweight long-ranger.
The .30-378 Weatherby Magnum is the .378 Weatherby Magnum case necked to .30 caliber. It was created by Roy Weatherby in the 1950s, upon request by the U.S. government, which wanted to determine how well various types of armor plating stood up to penetration by high-speed projectiles.
Using special lightweight bullets made by Speer Bullet Company, Weatherby managed to exceed a muzzle velocity of 6,000 fps during his tests. Years later, while still a wildcat, the .30-378 became popular among members of the Original 1,000-Yard Rifle Club in Pennsylvania, where it was used to shoot the world record group at that distance. After several years of coaxing by firearms writer Layne Simpson, Roy’s son, Ed Weatherby, decided to add the cartridge to the Weatherby lineup in 1996.
During that year, Norma started loading the ammunition for Weatherby, and Weatherby began to offer its Mark V rifle in that chambering. The first rifle was auctioned off with the proceeds going to Ed Weatherby’s favorite charity. The .30-378 went on to become the best-selling cartridge in the Mark V rifle for several years and continues to sell at a steady pace.
General Comments
The .30-378 case can hold more than 120 grains of powder, compared to about 90 grains for the .300 Weatherby. With the advent of slower-burning powders, increased capacity promises a useful advantage to the handloader. Availability of 250-grain match-grade bullets served to increase potential benefit and demand for a chambering with increased powder capacity. The .30-378 Weatherby certainly delivers on this promise.
It’s a simple matter to load 250-grain Sierra MatchKing bullets to produce almost 3,000-fps muzzle velocity, without exceeding .30-06 pressure level—from a 26-inch barrel. Lighter bullets can be driven faster, but with those this chambering offers less advantage over standard .300 Magnum chamberings. When bullets lighter than 200 grains are fired from a 26-inch barrel, this cartridge is only marginally superior to the .300 Weatherby.
Tests have demonstrated that 150- to 180-grain bullet ballistics are markedly improved by use of slower rifling twist (1:13 to 1:15 works well), compared to the factory 1:10 twist. However, with 30-inch barrels installed, ballistic difference is significant with all bullet weights.
Those looking for the ultimate long-range hunting rifle for smaller species might give this chambering a hard look. A single-shot rifle equipped with a 30-inch tube offers reasonable handling ease and, if chambered for this cartridge, would deliver huge doses of energy to a distant target with the flattest trajectory available. Accurate Arms data shows the 250-grain MatchKing generating the same muzzle energy as the .458 Winchester Magnum, when loaded to about the same pressure! So long as a good barrel is properly cleaned and not subjected to excessive rapid-fire shooting, its accuracy can remain good enough up to 2,000 rounds for long-range target shooting, and perhaps 2,500 to 3,000 rounds for big-game hunting.
A look at the Doubletap Ammunition Mann load, an excellent defensive .45 Auto load bearing the author’s name.
On a typically beautiful high desert morning in October of 2010, I was riding from Prescott, Arizona, to Gunsite Academy with Mike McNett of Doubletap Ammunition. We were discussing the terminal performance of defensive handgun ammunition. I was telling McNett about a test I’d conducted with the Barnes TAC-XP 160-grain bullet in 0.45-caliber. The conversation resulted in McNett offering a new load for the .45 auto that he calls the Mann Load.
What I explained to McNett during that drive was that I’d evaluated nine 160-grain TAC-XP bullets using a 5-inch 1911 in .45 Auto by shooting them into 10 percent ordnance gelatin. By handloading, I’d varied the impact velocities from as slow as 809 fps to as fast as 1,263 fps. What I found was quite amazing in a number of ways.
Regardless of the impact velocity, that bullet would upset consistently and always penetrate more than 12 inches. If you know anything about the FBI’s bullet testing protocol and scoring procedure, this is what they’re looking for. The thing to remember is that these results were for a single bullet with an impact velocity variation of 454 fps, or 56 percent.
This is typical performance for the Doubletap Mann Load for the .45 Auto.
McNett told me he currently offered this bullet in a +P loading, which should reach 1,200 fps out of a 5-inch barrel. What I explained to McNett was that, as consistent as this bullet is at almost any velocity, the added recoil from the +P load is unnecessary. In fact, you could argue that at that velocity the bullet might over-penetrate. I suggested he offer the load in a non +P version at about 1,050 fps from a 5-inch barrel or around 1,000 fps from a 4.25-inch 1911 Commander-length barrel.
As a comparison, Doubletap’s +P load will generate about 7.5 foot-pounds of recoil from a 30-ounce handgun. My suggested load, at around 1,000 fps from a 4.25-inch barrel, would generate only about 5.5 foot-pounds of recoil. That’s 25 percent less. However, from a terminal performance standpoint, at the slower velocity the 160-grain TAC-XP bullet actually creates a larger crush cavity.
Here you can see the bullet upset consistency of the 160-grain Barnes TAC-XP bullet at impact velocities from 809 to 1,263 fps.
At the +P velocity, the bullet will penetrate around 17 inches and have a recovered diameter of around 0.62 inch. This works out to a crush cavity of about 6.2 cubic inches. But at the slower velocity the bullet’s petals don’t peel back as far, so it has a larger recovered diameter. This combined with the slower velocity limits penetration to around 15.25 inches, but the crush cavity increases by about 8 percent.
You could argue this isn’t enough difference in terminal performance to matter, and you might be right. But if that’s the case, then the slower moving bullet is clearly as good as—if not a better—because it recoils so much less. McNett agreed this was a very valid load for self-defense, especially when fired from lightweight .45 Auto pistols. We spent the day at Gunsite Academy training and conducting terminal performance testing on several other Doubletap handgun loads.
Intermediate barriers, like clothing or denim, have no negative effect on the Mann Load’s 160-grain Barnes TAC-XP bullet’s ability to deform and penetrate as designed.
On the way back to the hotel in Prescott, McNett said he’d decided to offer the standard velocity 160-grain TAC-XP bullet load for the .45 Auto. I was excited because, at that time, the only similar offerings were from Wilson Combat and Buffalo Bore.
The Wilson Combat load was close to the velocity I wanted but about 50- to 75-fps faster. The Buffalo Bore load was a screamer; I’ve seen it reach 1,275 fps from a 5-inch barrel. If using a full-size duty pistol and maximum penetration is desired, the Buffalo Bore makes sense. But for everyday carry where human adversaries are your worst worry, I feel the 160-grain bullet at about 1,000 fps from a 4.25-inch barrel made more sense.
A few weeks after we got home from the Gunsite event, McNett called and told me he had the load ready and was going to send me a few boxes. He added that, instead of calling it a standard pressure load —which sounds weak and uninviting to the average shooter—he was going to call it the MANN Load, and that’s the way it’s been listed on the Doubletap website, along their +P version and the other eleven .45 Auto loads they offer, ever since.
With the +P 160-grain Barnes TAC-XP .45 Auto load from Doubletap, the bullet deforms a bit more, but still offers a wide frontal diameter and deep penetration.
I’m not so sure I deserve any recognition for convincing an ammo maker to slightly slow down a load they were currently offering. But I appreciated McNett’s gesture, and when I carry a .45 Auto, the Mann Load is what I most often have in the chamber and magazine.
Wilson Combat recently discontinued their 160-grain Barnes TAC-XP load for the .45 Auto. Bill Wilson prefers a new load from Lehigh Defense that launches a non-deforming 135-grain XD bullet at about 1,250 fps. We’ll look at that load in depth in a later column. Buffalo Bore still catalogs their +P load, and if recoil does not bother you, just like the +P offering from Doubletap, it’s a great option.
One of the struggles bullet engineers have with low velocity handgun self-defense ammunition is creating a bullet that is—for lack of a better term—velocity blind. A bullet that works out of handguns regardless of barrel length and out to any reasonable shot distance you might take—that’s what you can expect from the 160-grain Barnes TAC-XP bullet. It’ll work whether you’re shooting a handgun with a 3- or 5-inch barrel, and it’ll work out to at least 50 yards. Regardless of the 160-grain TAC-XP load you choose, I cannot think of a better option for a .45 Auto carry gun.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
The author analyzes the thin line between justified self-defense and criminal recklessness.
On April 21, 2014, 32-year-old David McLaughlin, a dedicated letter carrier for the United States Postal Service in Indiana, found himself in a harrowing situation. McLaughlin discovered a man attempting to burglarize his home. Acting out of fear and a primal instinct to protect his home and loved ones, McLaughlin discharged his firearm, firing three shots and injuring the burglar in the process.
What initially seemed like a justifiable act of self-defense soon escalated into a legal quagmire, as McLaughlin found himself facing charges of criminal recklessness resulting in serious bodily injury. How could McLaughlin, initially the victim, be charged as a criminal?
In Indiana, the “Castle Doctrine” is codified by statute in Indiana Code 35-41-3-2(d) as follows:
A person is justified in using reasonable force, including deadly force, against any other person; and does not have a duty to retreat; if the person reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent or terminate the other person’s unlawful entry of or attack on the person’s dwelling, curtilage, or occupied motor vehicle.
As you can see, Indiana’s castle doctrine, eliminates the duty to retreat inside of one’s home and provides for the use of force to terminate the unlawful entry of or attack on one’s dwelling, curtilage or occupied motor vehicle. So far, so good for McLaughlin. So, where did McLaughlin go wrong?
McLaughlin’s case took a dark turn as it became apparent that his use of force extended beyond the immediate threat and beyond the scope of the castle doctrine protection. While his actions might have been initially justified, the investigation revealed that McLaughlin fired three shots. The first shot was apparently justified, but the next two were fired as the burglar fled down an alley, with the third shot hitting the burglar in the arm.
Even so, Indiana’s castle doctrine is not limited to the dwelling itself; it also extends to curtilage, which includes land, not necessarily fenced or enclosed, adjoining the dwelling house including buildings used in the conduct of family affairs and domestic purposes. As you can see, this is not a precise term and not one you want to rely on when you are facing the possibility of time in prison. The problem is that the alley would almost certainly not be included in the definition of curtilage because it would have been a public place and not a place for “family affairs and domestic purposes.”
Details Matter
Even though we all have the right to self-defense, the line between justifiable action and criminal behavior became blurred in the chaos of the moment. McLaughlin’s decision to continue shooting as the burglar fled from his property crossed a critical threshold, transforming what could have been a legitimate act of self-defense into a criminal act of recklessness, with the possibility of years in prison. The pivotal moments between the first shot and the second and third shot in the confrontation served as the catalyst for legal proceedings that ultimately held McLaughlin criminally liable for his actions, highlighting the fine line between lawful self-defense and unlawful use of force.
In the trial, McLaughlin maintained his innocence, asserting that he acted solely out of fear for his safety and that of his family. His defense argued that McLaughlin’s actions were a natural response to the perceived threat posed by the burglar. However, the prosecution painted a different picture, emphasizing the reckless nature of McLaughlin’s actions and the harm inflicted on the burglar and the danger posed to the community at large.
Despite McLaughlin’s spotless record and testimonials to his character, the jury returned a guilty verdict, and McLaughlin was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 4 months of home detention, and a year of probation. The burglar ultimately plead guilty and received a 6-year sentence, all suspended to probation.
McLaughlin’s story serves as a cautionary tale of the delicate balance between justifiable self-defense and criminal recklessness, or worse. McLaughlin’s case serves as an example to us all that even though you are initially the victim, you can face legal jeopardy if you do not defend yourself within the bounds of justifiable use of force, and his case underscores the importance of understanding self-defense laws and the legal implications of using firearms in self-defense.
As debates continue around the rights of individuals to defend themselves, it remains crucial for gun owners to be aware of their rights and responsibilities when faced with potential threats. If we aren’t responsible with our rights, everyone loses.
To pour salt on the wound, the burglar later sued McLaughlin civilly for monetary damages, a topic I’ll save for a later column—civil liability after self-defense. Luckily, the case was dismissed because the burglar failed to prosecute the case. Nevertheless, this situation demonstrates how a good guy with a gun can become a criminal defendant if there is any defect in his self-defense claim.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
The author takes a look at a serious waterproof rifle case from Alps OutdoorZ.
We’ve all got gun cases. Some of us have plenty: the tacti-cool one with 17 pockets and Molle straps all over, one black, one green, one tan, one camo (heck, five camo), the hard one with wheels for flying—I’ve got five or six of those in various sizes—the Cordura one just to go to the range, and I’ve got a whole closet full of those, too, for some reason.
But what do you do when it’s wet? Raining? Pouring? None of those help much, and some are worse than help.
The solution: get Alps. The Alps OutdoorZ Waterproof rifle case, that is. It’s not just some tough cloth, but a 500D PVC shell, with welded seams and inside padding. The opening is a folding roll-top closure like that found on drybags. I’ve used drybags to keep my camera gear dry when wading ashore on beaches a thousand miles from human habitation. The Alps OutdoorZ can handle a rifle or shotgun up to 53 inches long and not quite 11 inches tall, so that means pretty much any hunting rifle.
The end folds before being strapped shut, and that provides enough of a watertight seal that it will float—not forever, but long enough.
Even a bunch of MSRs will fit.
It seals well enough to float … well, float if it doesn’t have 10 pounds of rifle and however much you weigh dragging it down. By my rough calculations, it will provide 50 pounds of buoyancy or so—more than enough to keep your rifle on the surface while you solve your personal flotation problem. It will, like the Volkswagen, definitely float … but not float indefinitely.
There’s a carry handle on top, so you can transport it like luggage.
There are three compression straps on the side: a shoulder strap on the top, a carry handle and a D-ring on one end—plus an over-strap on the other. This allows you to compress the contents or strap it to a conveyance. You can even secure it to something that floats even better, if you’re on board a boat or ship and want to make sure it doesn’t sink if there’s a problem.
If that’s not your worry, use the D-ring to hang it up to dry out after all the wetness has subsided, or you’ve found a dry place to stay.
You’re probably thinking, “All this goodness is going to cost me, right?”
Yes, if you consider a hundred bucks to be costly. I had the occasion to have duck and goose hunters as customers who would have gladly spent a hundred bucks back when that was a lot more money to protect their shotguns … or offer them a way to keep from drowning, should the duck boat have capsized.
The D-ring on the end lets you hang it up to dry or attach more flotation to it just in case.
Yep, puff it up once the shotgun is out, seal it closed, and it’s a flotation device, and probably a better one than the airline seat they encourage you to consider, should your plane go down over water. (Wow, that took a weird turn, didn’t it?)
So far, your choices are limited—one size, one color, one cost—but then again, how many cases like this does one shooter need?
No, it isn’t Molle-strap covered. So, not tacti-cool. No, it’s not airline approved, so you can’t use it on a big hunt, unless it goes into the airline-approved case. But if you have to make sure your rifle, shotgun, whatever, gets where you are going and stays dry in the transit, this is the bag for you.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Some shooters love lots of recoil and big slugs, if that’s you, it may be time to get a .50-caliber rifle.
Big-bore hunting rifles have a unique allure, as more often than not they’re associated with hunting dangerous game, especially African dangerous game. And where I’ve been quoted as saying—from the perspective of the visiting client—that I prefer my cartridges to start with a “4,” a good number of African Professional Hunters cock an eyebrow at me, and tell me they want their cartridges to start with a “5.”
Those rifle cartridges in the .50-caliber range are serious stopping cartridges, launching heavy bullets and generating heavy recoil. For ending a conflict with the largest animals on Earth, the .500s are great tools … if the shooter can handle the bone-crushing recoil.
Now, not all .50-caliber rifles are created equal—technically a .50-caliber Hawken muzzleloader fits the bill—and there are some of the smaller rifle cases that do launch .50-caliber projectiles, but are light-for-caliber. The .500 Linebaugh is available in the Big Horn Armory Model 89 lever-action, and the .50 Beowulf surely shines in the AR-platform, but both of these use lighter bullets than are needed for truly dangerous game. I feel that for this caliber of cartridge, a bullet of 500 grains minimum is needed to provide the proper Sectional Density for deep penetration on an animal that can stomp you into jelly.
The .500 Nitro Express
Starting with the oldest of the lot, the .500 Nitro Express dates back to the late 19th century. Based on the .500 Blackpowder Express, the British firm of Westley Richards was responsible for converting the cartridge to smokeless powder in 1890. The .500 Nitro Express is a rimmed cartridge, designed for use in the single-shot and double rifles, using a bullet of 0.510-inch diameter, in a straight-walled case measuring exactly 3 inches, with an overall length of 3.75 inches.
Among African Professional Hunters, the .500 Nitro Express 3-inch remains a favorite choice for a stopping cartridge in a double rifle. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
The large rim of the .500 Nitro Express—measuring 0.655 inch—allows for proper headspacing and positive extraction, even in the heat of the tropics. This was a very important design feature when the .500 Nitro Express made the transition from blackpowder to smokeless powder, as the vast majority of the rifles of this caliber were destined for India and Tropical Africa, and the Cordite used to fuel the cartridge was very sensitive to temperature fluctuations. A voluminous cartridge with a good, strong rim made a world of difference in the late 1800s.
The .500 Nitro Express is offered with one bullet weight—570 grains—as that’s the weight used to regulate the double rifles. At the standard muzzle velocity of 2,150 fps, that bullet will generate 5,850 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle; couple that with the frontal diameter of the .500 NE and you’ve got a great stopping rifle. In a double rifle weighing between 11 and 12 pounds, the recoil of the .500 Nitro Express is surprisingly manageable.
This author had an opportunity to touch history and shoot John A. Hunter’s Boswell .500 NE at the Dallas Safari Club’s Historic Rifle Society Event. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
In fact, owning and hunting with a .470 NE, I actually find the recoil speed and overall level of the .500 NE to be more pleasant than my .470. Where the .470 generated just over 69 foot-pounds of recoil energy, the .500 generates 75½ foot-pounds, but I’ve always found the speed of the .500s recoil to be slower, and therefore the perceived recoil to be less. While the .470 Nitro Express remains the most popular choice, with the widest variety of factory ammunition, many professional hunters still prefer the .500 NE for its heavier bullet weight and stopping power.
Historically, folks like John A. Hunter, Sten Cedergren, Gordon Cundill and Glen Cottar put the .500 NE to good use. (Hunter’s .500 Boswell rifle did serious work along the Lunatic Line, taking a huge number of rhino for the Uganda Railway Company—I’ve had the privilege of shooting this rifle.) In modern times, Professional Hunters (and personal friends) Brian van Blerk, Peter Dafner and Jofie Lamprecht all rely on a .500 Nitro Express in a Heym double rifle. Good ammunition is available from Hornady, Federal and Norma, and component bullets are readily available to those who handload their ammunition.
J.A. Hunter used a Boswell double rifle chambered in .500 Nitro Express for animal control along the Uganda Railway in Kenya, better known as the Lunatic Line. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
The .505 Gibbs
“Macomber did not know how the lion had felt before he started his rush, nor during it when the unbelievable smash of the .505 had hit him.” -Ernest Hemingway, The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.
The .505 Gibbs Magnum, shown here with Swift A-Frame softpoints and Swift Breakaway solids. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
George Gibbs of Bristol designed the .505 Gibbs in 1911, using a bullet of nominal diameter, housed in a case measuring 3.150 inches long, with an overall cartridge length of 3.850 inches. The .505 is a rimless design, using a 37-degree, 40-minute shoulder for headspacing purposes, making the cartridge a perfect candidate for the bolt-action repeating rifles. Where the double rifles of the era were certainly very fast for a second shot, a bolt-action repeater is faster for the third shot. The .505 was released among some of our most revered safari cartridges, what with the .416 Rigby coming on the scene the same year, and the .375 H&H Magnum just a year later, and made a serious choice for those pursuing the big game species of Africa and India.
The initial load for the .505 Gibbs used a 525-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2,300 fps, generating over 6,100 foot-pounds of energy at the business end of the barrel. Again, we have a cartridge originally fueled by the rather-volatile Cordite, and the sheer size of the Gibbs case shows the efforts to keep pressures low, in order to guarantee extraction in the heat of the tropics. Recoil isn’t for the faint of heart, as the .505 Gibbs will generate over 85 foot-pounds of recoil energy, depending upon the weight of the rifle. Projectiles as heavy as 600 grains are loaded in factory ammunition for the .505 Gibbs, and while these big slugs are quite effective on buffalo, elephant, hippo and the like, they do require both training and practice to shoot effectively.
Nosler offers their excellent monometal solids in factory-loaded ammunition for the .505 Gibbs. While the recoil level is certainly not for the faint of heart, the cartridge is well suited for any game on earth. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
My good friend and hunting partner Mike McNulty has the first of the new Heym Express rifles in .505 Gibbs to roll out of the shop, and we’ve done some extensive load development for it. Using Reloder 15 (which develops the same velocities with a lighter powder charge) and a Kynoch foam wad to keep the powder column in place, we can mitigate some of that recoil without losing performance. McNulty has taken buffalo and elephant, plus a number of plains game species, in Zimbabwe over the course of a few safaris, and that rifle is as sound a choice for dangerous game as you could make, providing you can handle that level of recoil.
The author’s hunting partner, Dr. Michael McNulty, with the first modern Heym Express by Martini rifle chambered in .505 Gibbs. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Historically, the .505 Gibbs has seen considerable field action in the hands of PHs Barry Duckworth, Kevin “Doctari” Robertson and John Oosthuizen, as well as serving as the fictional Robert Wilson in Hemingway’s Macomber. Ammunition is available from Norma (though some sites indicate it has been discontinued) and from Nosler, though if you are serious about a Gibbs, I highly recommend you learn to handload your ammunition.
The Woodleigh Hydro Solid in the .505 Gibbs makes one of the most potent combinations for dangerous game there is. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
The .500 Jeffery
Here’s the youngest of the half-bores designed for safari work, born in Germany around 1920, and originally known as the 12.7×70 Schuler, or in some instances, the .500 Schuler. It was picked up—and anglicized—by the prestigious firm of W. J. Jeffery and offered as a true big bore cartridge designed to fit in a standard 98 Mauser action.
To do this, the .500 Jeffery has a rebated rim, measuring 0.575 inch in diameter and a case measuring 2.75 inches long; the cartridge overall length measures 3.46 inches. The slight 12-degree, 37-minute shoulder handles the headspacing duties and is a big factor in the way a .500 Jeffery feeds, but more about that in just a second. The .500 Jeffery uses the same .510-inch diameter projectiles as the .500 Nitro Express, with the original load using a 535-grain bullet at a muzzle velocity of 2,400 fps, to give 6,800 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle. This was the most powerful shoulder-fired cartridge until the .460 Weatherby Magnum came along to take that title.
The .500 Jeffery may look like a fire hydrant, but it sure packs a wallop. Just beware of that rebated rim! Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Using well over 100 grains of powder, the .500 Jeffery is assuredly a dangerous game cartridge if ever there was one. And as modern loads exceed those of the .505 Gibbs, in a 10- to 11-pound rifle, the recoil energy can approach or exceed 90 to 100 foot-pounds, so you’re really going to want to make sure the stock fits you well. Though the 535-grain bullets were originally loaded, many companies have offered the 570-grain bullets usually produced for the .500 NE at a muzzle velocity of 2,150 fps, the same as the .500 Nitro Express. For the handloader, component bullets are available from Barnes, Cutting Edge Bullets, Swift and Hornady.
Though discontinued, a number of CZ550 rifles are still on the market, chambered in .500 Jeffery. Factory loaded ammunition is becoming a problem though, as Norma has apparently discontinued both ammunition and component brass, and they were a big supplier. Buffalo Bore lists loaded ammunition, loaded with solid (non-expanding) projectiles.
Oh, that feeding issue I alluded to earlier? A common issue with many .500 Jeffery bolt-action rifles is a magazine follower that doesn’t stay parallel with the barrel, as cartridges are loaded into the chamber. If that follower develops a nose-up attitude, the bottom edge of the bolt can ride over the cartridge’s rebated rim, causing a failure-to-feed situation, resulting in a hairy predicament if a wounded or charging game animal is on the other end of the line.
If you plan on taking your .500 Jeffery in pursuit of dangerous game, I highly recommend you spend considerable time making sure your rifle will reliably feed in all sorts of situations; it’s often the last cartridge in the magazine that shows the most potential for this phenomenon.
John “Pondoro” Taylor wrote of his friend C. Fletcher Jamison in African Rifle and Cartridges. Jamison owned one of very few original Jeffery rifles in .500 Jeffery, and this author had the opportunity to shoot that famous rifle. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
In the heyday of safari, the most popular user of the .500 Jeffery was Crawford Fletcher Jamison, who had one of only 23 Jeffery’s rifles. Equipped with a 26-inch barrel and a very long length of pull, I had the honor of shooting that rifle, which seems to deliver less perceived recoil than do modern rifles. In modern times, my friends Jay Leyendecker, Mike Fell and the late Dudley Rogers have all relied on the .500 Jeffery to keep their clients on one piece while on safari.
The .50 BMG
I’m often asked by prospective hunters of dangerous game exactly why, if these beasts are so tough, hunters don’t ever use the .50 BMG for that purpose. The short answer is that the rifles chambered for the Big .50 simply aren’t designed for stalking, and that’s the preferred method of hunting Cape buffalo, elephant and the few rhino that are still sport hunted each year.
Toting a 30-pound rifle in the African bushveld simply isn’t practical—I know just carrying my 12-pound .470 NE Heym double or 10-pound .404 Jeffery bolt gun on a sweltering day under the African sun is tough enough, let alone almost three times that weight. The ballistics are certainly sound, with the Browning design launching a 650- to 750-grain bullet of 0.510-inch diameter to a muzzle velocity of somewhere between 2,800 to 3,000 fps, generating over 13,000 foot-pounds of energy.
However, I think that no matter how many gunbearers one employed, carrying a .50 BMG on safari just doesn’t make practical sense.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Moisture is your enemy, but these gun safe dehumidifiers will help keep your firearms happy, dry and rust-free.
Having a gun safe dehumidifier is a good idea in general for any gun owner, but it’s a downright necessity if you live in an extremely humid environment or if your firearm collection includes items of significant value or importance.
So, let's talk about what they do, what kinds there are and what features you should look for when choosing the best gun safe dehumidifier for your needs.
Why A Gun Safe Should Be Dry
Generally speaking, it’s a good idea to have some form of humidity control in a gun safe, regardless of whether you live in a swamp or a desert. Of course, the importance varies between environments, but there's moisture in the air, there's air in your gun safe, so therefore you will have moisture in your gun safe. Always.
Water, after all, is two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen, and oxygen is the great hook-up artist of the elements. It bonds with everything.
When oxygen penetrates the molecular bonds of ferrous materials (or oxidizes), it creates a ferrous oxide, otherwise known as rust. Ergo, you want to keep moisture away from iron and its cousin steel.
A rusty Winchester 94. With all its bluing worn off, there's nothing left to protect the metal from moisture.
Unless you have an airlock gun safe with a vacuum pump or can eject your firearm collection into the great black void of outer space, the best way to keep them from rusting is with humidity control.
Dehumidification draws moisture out of the air, reducing the amount of moisture that the guns come into contact with. Do youneed a dehumidifier? Well, that kind of depends on where you live and what guns you have.
Some areas are more humid than others. A gun owner in, say, Tucson, Ariz., probably won’t need a dehumidifier quite as much as one in, say, Mobile, Ala. or any other region that has high humidity.
Further, the finish on your guns matters as well. Chrome resists rust better than most finishes (that's why marine models of shotguns are chromed) and so does stainless steel. These aren’t impervious to moisture either, but they do better than most.
A Winchester SXP Marine Defender with chrome-plated parts.
Broadly speaking, bluing is not the best firearms finish for preventing rust. The efficacy can vary depending on the exact bluing process in question, but even the best methods are susceptible to rust when not periodically treated with a protective lubricant. Parkerizing and nitride finishes do a bit better than bluing, but likewise will benefit from occasional oiling.
Cerakote and modern finishes like DLC are very good at keeping rust at bay so long as the finish remains intact, but the problem is the more you shoot, carry and generally use a gun the more the finish will wear away. While these are still excellent finishes, this means that even modern guns will eventually become vulnerable to rust after enough use.
Severe holster wear on a Glock 19. Anywhere that shows bare metal is susceptible to rust. Photo: user 117legend on Reddit.
This is especially true if your ‘Kote job was done by a spray can in your backyard instead of professionally.
Ergo, it's never a bad idea to have a gun safe dehumidifier, but whether you absolutely need one depends on your local climate, the finish on your guns and the value of your collection (either monetary or sentimental). If you only collect marine shotguns and live near Death Valley, you’ll be alright without one, but for the rest of us it’s probably a worthy investment.
How Can I Tell If My Gun Safe Is Too Humid? What Humidity Should I Store Them At?
The standard for long-term gun storage and preservation is a relative humidity of 30 to 50 percent at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. You don’t want it to be too low either, as a humidity of 20 percent or less can dry out wood stocks and lead to warpage. That's the standard that's used by museums for firearm preservation, so that's what you should use too.
To get started, you need to know what the ambient temperature and humidity of your gun safe is.
There are a lot of different ways to test humidity, but the easiest—and frankly all most people need to do—is pick up a battery-powered hygrometer/thermometer device from a hardware store (they even have 'em at Walmart) for about $10. Put it in the safe, leave it for a day, open it up then have a look.
If you feel the need, put at least three in your safe—or take several days' worth of readings—and find the average.
Once you have an initial reading, you know where you stand and can plan accordingly. A little warmer than 70 degrees is not a big deal, but frequent humidity above or below 30 to 50 percent means that you’re going to need to do something to control the humidity. If it’s too high, a gun safe dehumidifier is the obvious solution. If it’s too low, however, you’ll need a different solution. Adding humidity is a whole other ball game, so we’ll save that conversation for another day.
Types Of Gun Safe Dehumidifiers
There are two main kinds of dehumidifiers, air heaters and desiccant.
Air heaters basically add a little heat to the equation, preventing the air inside the gun safe from cooling and the moisture in the air condensing, thus controlling humidity.
Desiccant dehumidifiers subject the air to a hydrophilic material, usually silica gel like what you find in packets in bags of beef jerky. The silica absorbs moisture out of the air until the desiccant is saturated.
Which is best? That depends on the amount of humidity you need to control and how big your safe is.
Desiccant dehumidifiers for gun safes are usually canisters, boxes, or little bags or pillows of desiccant that are placed in the safe. Most are rechargeable, meaning that you can dry out the desiccant material (usually in the oven) and use it again.
You should check the humidity every so often and recharge/replace the dehumidifiers as needed. Canister-style desiccant dehumidifiers are fine for rifle safes, but bags or pillows are best suited for compact or pistol safes.
Most people get a month or two of use before having to dry out the desiccant in reusable models, but your mileage can vary depending on the humidity of your environment.
Heated air dehumidifiers such as the box or rod type require a power source, so you'll either need to stay on top of the batteries or have a plug available. However, you also need to be aware of the square footage of your safe and the capacity of the dehumidifier. For example, if you have a 200 cubic-foot safe, you’ll need a device capable of at least 200 cubic feet of dehumidification.
The rod style of gun safe dehumidifier is the most convenient as it takes up the least amount of space, though an outlet is required which can be inconvenient if your safe doesn't have an outlet or the means to run a cable into it. Additionally, you'll want to ensure the rod doesn't make any contact with the safe lining or any gun powder or powder residue.
Franky, what matters most is capacity and dimensions. Does it fit in your safe, and does it have a cubic-foot capacity allowing it to efficiently warm the air inside it?
That said, very few gun safes have a volume over 60 cubic feet, but not all have an interior width of 12 inches which is how long many small rod-style dehumidifiers are. So, make sure to know your measurements before purchasing.
The Best Gun Safe Dehumidifiers
Lockdown Golden Rod Dehumidifier
The Golden Rod gun safe dehumidifier from Lockdown is a rod-style air warmer dehumidifier available in 12-, 18-, 24- and 36-inch lengths, and they can dehumidify 100 to 500 cubic feet based on the length. The 12-inch model should be sufficient for most gun safes, though the 18-inch model may be better for warmer climates.
It requires an outlet to use and comes with stands to place on the floor of the gun safe. Prices start at $49 and go up depending on the size of the rod.
Hornady Rechargeable Gun Safe Dehumidifier
The Hornady Rechargeable Gun Safe Dehumidifier is a compact wall-mounted desiccant dehumidifier with moisture-control crystals. It dehumidifies up to 333 cubic feet, sufficient for most gun safes in most environments. The unit is very compact as well, making it a viable option for even small safes.
You’ll need to mount a bracket inside your safe in order to attach the unit. Once the desiccant crystals turn pink, you take it out of the safe and plug it into a wall socket until the crystals turn blue, at which point they have dried and the unit can be reused. MSRP is only $27.
PEET Dryer SafeKeeping Dehumidifier & Dryer
PEET Dryer specializes in boot dryers, but the company decided to make a gun safe dehumidifier as well since it’s essentially the same technology. Their model is a single vertical rod that will heat up to 300 cubic feet, and at only 8.5 inches tall it doesn't take up too much space and is perfect for most gun safes. However, it does require a power outlet. MSRP is $40.
SnapSafe Canister Dehumidifier
The SnapSafe Canister Dehumidifier is a desiccant dehumidifier that should be able to control most sizes of gun safe It’s best feature is its rechargeability, as the crystals are blue and turn pink after they absorb enough moisture. You put them in the oven at 325 degrees until they turn blue again and then put them back in the canister after they've cooled. SnapSafe says you can do this an unlimited number of times, so it should last a lifetime.
It's about the size of a coffee can and MSRP is $33.
Chrome-lined barrels may glitter, but are they gold? The author weighs their pros and cons to measure their utility.
In my time as a gun writer, I’ve come in contact with just about every corner of the shooting public and their unique cultures. Just like anything we obsess over, barrels are one of those topics that can polarize people. For every 10 shooters, you’ll find 10 different schools of thought on what barrels to buy, what length, what contour, carbon or steel, favored twist rates and so on.
One of the more controversial barrel configurations of our day is chrome lining. This feature has passionate proponents—and decided detractors. Let’s look at just what chrome lining is and why it has generated so much divisiveness in the shooting community.
An Unpolished Past
Before we dive into the technical merits of chrome-lined barrels, we should first look at them from the point of view of the American consumer and how our experience with them has shaped our current opinions.
Two decades ago, this rifle would have been considered a hyperbole. It bears a 16-inch chrome-lined, hammer-forged Geissele barrel, is chambered in 5.56mm and is an accuracy machine with virtually no recoil, accurate on plates to 800 yards and beyond. The build is carbine size yet is able to deliver long-range performance on par with many dedicated match rifles, while also being easy to keep clean and consistent for long periods of time. Today’s AR builds can deliver incredible performance. Optics are by US Optics and Armasight.
Much of the shooting public doesn’t consider chromed barrels to be accurate. A large reason why is due to the plethora of cheap, Eastern Bloc guns that were imported here for decades during the Golden Era of military surplus in the 2000s. Yes, these were those halcyon days of $60 Mosin Nagants and $40 cases of 440 rounds in sealed tins. As a result, a significant number of these guns arriving stateside from Soviet-sphere countries had chrome-lined bores and weren’t of the quality that we’ve come to expect from Western guns.
This, combined with the relatively low quality of Eastern Bloc ammo, bad triggers and unaligned sights on many types of rifles, led the American gun buyer to eventually associate the often-advertised “comes with chrome-lined barrel” feature with low accuracy and poor quality.
Another angle to consider was the American military misadventure with the M16 rifle in Vietnam, which was given a chrome-lined barrel and chamber well after corrosion problems caused malfunctions and likely preventable soldier deaths. This situation, dating back to the 1960s, caused the public to see the process as remedial and a bandage for keeping unreliable guns running for cheap. The M16 and later variants struggled for years to repair this early series of reputation-killing failures. Chrome lining, as a result of all these things, was generally looked down upon by serious shooters as an accuracy-robbing tactic to ensnare naive buyers.
An original WWII M1 Garand barrel. These old barrels were good for their time, but without lining and firing corrosive ammunition, they had to be kept clean all the time. Note the erosion at the muzzle, which largely would arise from aggressive cleaning.
Today, we see that accurate rifles are the boring norm, indeed the old myths and miracles worked by yesteryear’s gunsmiths are really a thing of the past. Chassis rifles with even medium-quality barrels will shoot very well in many cases using mass-manufactured, button-rifled barrels. Our cumulative understanding of accuracy has come to near completeness within the past 20 years, and the average shooter has rifles that are so much better than what existed before that he or she might not even realize it. But, for all that, chrome lining hasn’t been killed off, and instead is making a dramatic comeback—and giving other barrel types a run for their money.
Barrel Business
I recently spoke to several companies that all manufacture both standard and chrome-lined barrels. I’ll admit that I was a bit surprised to see how things have changed in this world, and how my own perceptions of chrome-lined barrels have changed. What needs to be generally understood is that the early opinions about these types of barrels were, in large part, correct: It was hard to find rifles with lined barrels that were really as accurate as those without.
A large reason for this is that chrome lining is an additive process, meaning it’s a material that’s applied to the surface and adding a layer of thickness. Other processes, such as the well-known salt bath nitride method is, without going into an incredibly long description, a hardening and finishing technique, related in a roundabout way to case hardening. The dimensions of the metal don’t change; the tolerances are held very tightly, and the chemical reaction of the heated bath actually penetrates the metal surface and gives it color and hardness. This is a faster process than chrome lining and offers a wide range of benefits, not a small one being reduced cost with no accuracy loss.
A Faxon Firearms barrel showing salt bath nitride finish. This is a surface-hardening process, not an additive process like chrome lining.
Homogeneous metal barrels are commonly those we associate with being “match” quality. You see this in stainless-steel barrels that are commonly used by precision rifle shops. These blanks can be turned, threaded and finished by either simple polish or bead blast, sometimes non-penetrating surface finishes like Cerakote.
The steel for these barrels is somewhat naturally corrosion resistant, but is limited in total finish options and has, in theory, less barrel life than lined or finished barrels. This is entirely subjective, as barrel life, wear and accuracy are all based on intended end use. Are stainless barrels completely inferior to lined or finished barrels? Absolutely not. But your choice of barrel should be determined by how you’ll actually use your rifle and intend to modify or alter it in the future.
A Single Action Army revolver demonstrating a case-hardened finish. This is an old technique that’s still used today to create a hardened surface on steel. The core remains softer, and similar techniques are used today but with vastly different chemicals and added benefits. Similar Old West guns are often nickel plated—an additive process known for its ease of cleaning up with black powder. Notice a trend here?
The basis here is that, in general, some sort of finish or lining will extend the functional life of your barrel, but each of these techniques has a different set of benefits that apply directly to each barrel. For instance, if you have a stainless-steel barrel, you’re basically free to cut it down to whatever length you like and you’ll suffer no problems in that modification, and you can also have it easily rechambered or otherwise changed. This is a very flexible material to use, and this is why it’s very common in the precision community. You cannot do this on chrome-lined or finished barrels without destroying the benefits they offer.
Stainless barrels like this one aren’t impervious to rust or wear, but they’re the easiest type of barrel to work with material-wise.
Chrome-lined barrels are the least flexible when it comes to modification. The chrome lining itself is a physical plating that can be chipped and cracked if you attempt to cut the barrel shorter. The length you purchase is the length you get. Attempting to re-chamber a chrome-lined barrel will also destroy it—you’d remove and ruin the plating. Likewise, there’s no re-crowning of these barrels; the plating extends to the muzzle.
This brings an interesting challenge to gunsmiths and hobbyists. You cannot control the headspace on a chrome-lined barrel; instead, you must install the barrel and then headspace the bolt and even receiver to the barrel, such as is the case with both the Fulton Armory M14 and M1 Garand featured here in this article. Each of these guns uses a Criterion chrome-lined barrel and has to be painstakingly hand-fit to ensure headspace.
But, after all that, the accuracy is superb.
Fulton Armory’s M14 rifle is available with a chrome-lined barrel as well as several other options, including length and material. These classic rifles were some of the first American military rifles to be chrome lined and were often seen as ideal for use in the wet jungle environment of Vietnam, though they were large and somewhat heavy. It would be only later on that the M16 would receive chrome lining, after corrosion had caused many stuck cases and preventable deaths due to jammed rifles.
Accuracy in Question
The idea that chrome-lined barrels are less accurate than their counterparts is true in some cases … and false in others. What it comes down to is that you must start with a high-quality barrel if you want high-quality results.
In decades prior, it’s true that the guns being brought in with chrome-lined barrels weren’t very accurate, and many had lots of issues with their bores: There was little attention paid to the uniformity of the plating, and even worse, many importers reassembled rifles on a whim from parts kits and various other means as they bought surplus from other parts of the world. Headspacing on these guns varies widely, and when using less- than-optimum ammunition, the results were not stellar. So, in a way, there’s a kernel of truth in the commercial history of chrome-lined barrels in that they were at times not very good.
Today, at least in American manufacturing, this has dramatically changed. Criterion told me that chrome-lined barrels account for as much as 30 percent of their total manufacturing output. That’s how much shooters have come to understand the benefits of such a process. Other companies I spoke to, such as Faxon Firearms, do produce OEM chrome-lined barrels but only sell salt bath nitride to the public. As the surplus market has dried up (both a good thing and a bad one), today’s shooters are only being introduced to these high-end barrels, and the response has been extremely positive.
Accuracy isn’t a question anymore with chrome-lined barrels. The three featured in this article, one by Geissele and two by Criterion (gunsmithed by Fulton Armory), are all tack drivers. To the point that my day/night 5.56mm AR build with Armasight clip-on is capable of 1/4 MOA at 100 meters using 77-grain Black Hills MK262 loads. I primarily fire this rifle suppressed, and the chromed bore makes cleaning up after shooting extremely easy. The rest of the gun … well, let’s say I’m not above getting out the hose.
The chromed chamber of the FA M1 is clearly visible here. It has seen a touch over 3,000 rounds and has only been wiped down as needed, a testament to the high quality of Criterion barrels.
The Fulton Armory M14 and M1 Garand are both very solid shooters, enjoy incredible accuracy and also run very clean. These rifles are meant for heavy use in the field or the competition line and are expected to see a relatively high round count. The .30-06 and .308 Win. aren’t known to be barrel burners in the slightest. I have a few thousand rounds of .30-06 on the M1 from last year’s competition season, and it has performed extremely well with minimal maintenance.
My average with this rifle and the M14 is hovering at 1.5 MOA from the bench with irons, a bit wider when I’m slung up. Factory Hornady 168-grain Garand Match runs great in .30-06, as does Hornady and BHA match loads in .308 Win. Firing hunting loads, such as the Remington Tipped Core-Lokt in .308 Win. generates accuracy approaching an inch at 100 yards from the M14 when equipped with a UltiMak rail and Trijicon MRO. These barrels are accurate, plain and simple, even in classic military rifles.
Realistic Expectations
Where we see the greatest benefits from chrome lining are in firing durability and corrosion resistance. This isn’t to say that a stainless or salt bath nitride barrel will be completely useless by comparison; it’s again about what you want out of your barrel. If you’re a comp guy and routinely change barrels at 7,000 rounds, buy cheaper barrels you plan to get hot.
I don’t think anyone will debate you, but there will be that one guy who says to buy a chrome-lined barrel because it should last to 14,000 rounds. Heat is the true killer of barrels, and the hotter you get your barrels for longer, the sooner you’ll cause them damage. Where chrome lining stands out is in providing an extremely hard, wear-resistant surface that’s easy to keep clean and accurate. If you abuse it, you lose it.
Of interest is that there’s no actual metric to determine what barrel life is. In my experience with all barrel types, I find that there’s little to no difference in accuracy: I have some chrome-lined AR carbine barrels that shoot as well as hand-fitted carbon-fiber match barrels on bolt actions, so what it does come down to is what you want and how you plan to get there. Plating is a common and popular practice.
Today, it stands largely on its tradition as much as it does its functionality, and it could be argued it’s an inferior process to start that adds cost for a subjective amount of benefit. For instance, I can plan on an accurate (under 1 MOA) life for my Geissele 5.56 barrel of somewhere around 10,000 rounds, but I can’t imagine getting there. I’d also expect it to last, in terms of functional accuracy, far beyond that point. I’ve put about 3,000 through this barrel, and it has had no accuracy issues. I don’t expect that to change in the next several years with how slowly I fire this rifle in practice. Likewise, I’ve put thousands through nitrided Faxon barrels with no accuracy degradation, but with more cleaning.
An original M1 Garand barrel showing lack of chrome lining.
Anyone who says you absolutely will get double the barrel life with chrome over a nitride or other barrel is lying to you; there has been no widespread study to prove this claim. In practice, it’s generally considered to be true that chrome-lined barrels do have longer lives, but this again is down to the individual user, not to a whole product category. If I keep my rifle cool and fire 10,000 rounds equally timed in a year at constant temperature, I’ll experience less wear in general than if I fired 10,000 rounds in 10 hours. Heat, again, is the killer here, and it accelerates erosion of the interior of the barrel.
What about 10,000 rounds in 6 months? Well, again, I don’t quite know; there hasn’t been a large-sample study done to evaluate this subject. We know, in general, that chromed barrels hold up better longitudinally, but that gap is getting smaller every passing year as new finishing processes become available.
The muzzle of a 1903 Springfield showing no chrome lining. Note that there’s some visible buildup of carbon and a little blue fuzz from jacket metal left in the rifling. Chrome-lined barrels don’t really suffer from this type of buildup and are very easy to keep clean.
While I could go into a number of anecdotes about what I’ve personally experienced, I’ve simply come to understand that all but a select few people never truly need to change out a barrel due to shooting wear. It does happen, but cleaning is a far more dangerous process to a barrel than shooting is—and in this aspect, chrome-lined versions have a distinct advantage.
There’s seldom any copper or other fouling to remove because it rarely collects on the hard, smooth surface like it does in other barrel types, which need a degree of fouling to be truly consistent. I find that I don’t even need to break in a chromed barrel, and I can just start shooting with no bad results. It’s my firsthand opinion that these barrels ultimately have the ability to last longer because they require less hands-on maintenance.
The general rule of thumb you should be looking at is this: If you’re going to experience harsh, extreme environments, going from cold to hot, wet to dry, and want to reduce cleaning and having to foul your barrel every few thousand rounds, go with a chrome-lined barrel—you won’t be sorry you did.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
A deep dive into the Italian Franchi SPAS-12, a classic combat shotgun that left a big impression.
The SPAS-12 has that it factor, a mix of menacing good looks, high-tech functionality and firepower. It’s not like any pump-action or semi-automatic shotgun you’ve ever seen—it’s actually both.
A ridiculous number of action movies made since the 1980s have featured the SPAS-12, pitting it against formidable foes from cyborgs to velociraptors. Today, video games still frequently include the SPAS-12 as a choice weapon offering plenty of firepower even though the design is more than 40 years old and better options are widely available.
It’s not that the SPAS-12 is just a make-believe Hollywood prop, it was designed for real-world use for law enforcement and the military. That said, it wasn’t the real-world use that made the SPAS-12 so famous, Hollywood did.
SPAS originally stood for “Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun”, but that changed in the late 1990s, which I’ll get into later. The SPAS-12 has a high-tech, modern look to it due to the folding metal stock with a strange hook at the end of it, complemented by a rectangular metal heat shield over the barrel, a pistol grip and a polymer forend. Simply put, it looks badass.
The most unique feature of the SPAS-12 is that it is capable of shooting in either semi-automatic mode or in manual pump-action mode with a simple press of a large button under the forend. Press the button and retract the forend slightly to lock it into manual mode. Press the button again and slide the forend fully forward until it locks to put it into semi-auto mode. It’s that easy to switch and can be quickly done on the fly.
In semi-auto mode, the SPAS-12 uses a short-stroke gas piston system similar to many gas-operated shotguns. Gas is diverted from ports in the barrel to operate two recoil rods that push on the bolt. Also like similar gas-operated shotguns, the SPAS-12 features a tubular magazine under the barrel. It easily functions in semi-auto when feeding off high-power shells, but like many semi-auto guns, it can be finicky about cycling low-velocity loads.
Switching to manual mode allows the user to manually pump the forend to cycle low-power loads. It also gives the SPAS-12 the ability to run non-lethal rounds like beanbags, plastic pellets, rubber slugs and tear gas which do not cycle in semi-auto guns. The ability to change from semi-auto to manual pump-action makes the SPAS-12 very versatile. Some may call the feature a gimmick, but for law enforcement groups who use a variety of ammo types, it could potentially make a lot of sense.
There is also a magazine cut-off feature that allows the user to close off the magazine and feed single shells in the chamber. This is helpful in the event the user wants to quickly shoot non-lethal rounds when the magazine is loaded with buckshot.
Specs
Since the SPAS-12 was designed for military and law enforcement use, it was available in a variety of barrel lengths including 18, 19.875, 21.5, and 24 inches, as well as magazine capacities of 5+1, 6+1, 7+1 and 8+1. The weapon is heavy as well, weighing in at over 9.5 pounds. With the stock folded, the SPAS-12 is a fairly compact package at 32.5 inches with the short barrel, but the most common version in the U.S. was the 21.5-inch barrel model.
The SPAS-12 with its stock folded and the hook attached. The hook can also be removed to make a more streamlined, compact package. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.
The heat shield is a rectangular box of stamped steel with oblong cooling slots covering both the barrel and magazine tube. Dual push rods attached to the forend are located inside the heat shield and manipulate the bolt when the SPAS-12 is in pump-action mode. The polymer forend also slides in shallow channels on the outside of the heat shield. Combined, these features make for one boxy-looking gun.
Sights
As for its irons, the SPAS-12 features something similar to today's ghost ring sights. It consists of a large rear aperture and a front blade, neither of which are adjustable. Seemingly simple, the system has a trick up its sleeve, as well. The rear aperture has a notch in the bottom that’s meant to be aligned with the front sight when shooting slugs for increased precision. For all other loads, one aims normally with the front sight centered in the ring.
Notice the rear sight, not as big as a modern ghost ring but still closer to it in concept than typical shotgun sights. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.
Stock
The hook on the end of the folding stock is another unique feature of the SPAS-12. The hook can be rotated 90 degrees to make it easier for the user to fire the SPAS-12 one-handed. At nearly 10 pounds, the SPAS-12 is difficult to wield with a single arm, but the hook helps to support the weight and allows the user to aim it at least somewhat effectively for close-range engagements. In this way, it’s somewhat similar to the braces used on modern AR pistols and the like. However, the hook can easily be attached and reattached without tools to make the package more compact.
SPAS-12 Variants
In the years between the importation restrictions enacted in 1989 and the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban, Franchi imported the SPAS-12 configured in different ways to circumvent the new rules. This is why the fixed-stock models are more common in the U.S. compared to the more iconic folding stock models. In addition to the SPAS-12, Franchi produced the LAW-12, a semi-auto-only version aimed at the American law enforcement market as well as the SAS-12, a pump-action-only variant.
Franchi even changed what SPAS stood for by repurposing the acronym as “Sporting Purpose Automatic Shotgun” instead of the original “Special Purpose Automatic Shotgun” with the hope that the ATF would allow the gun to be sold on the U.S. commercial market as a sporting gun. The SPAS-12 was produced from 1979 to 2000 and imported into the U.S. until 1994 when the Federal Assault Weapons Ban went into effect and ended the importation of all variants for good. Of course, the ban expired in 2004, but by that time the shotgun was out of production.
Was the SPAS-12 a Good Combat Shotgun?
Even when compared to other semi-automatics of its time like the Benelli Super 90, the SPAS-12 was heavy and awkward. Sure, it looked menacing, but it was a clunky chunk of steel to handle and it weighed about 2 pounds more than a Benelli with the same barrel length. There’s a reason the Super 90 eventually evolved into the Benelli M4 and the SPAS-12 went extinct. Franchi tried to keep the SPAS name alive with the magazine-fed SPAS-15 in the mid-1980s, but it proved to be even less successful than its predecessor.
Some U.S. SWAT teams armed themselves with the SPAS-12 back in the day, but its use in the States was limited. Other tactical law enforcement teams like EKO Cobra in Austria and GIGN in France equipped themselves with the tactical Franchi, as well as many smaller military and police groups around the world.
French GIGN operators training with a SPAS-12 in the 1990s. Notice the laser device mounted on its top.
The SPAS-12 Legacy
The real legacy of the SPAS-12 comes from movies, television shows, and video games. We all know the “clever girl” scene in the original Jurassic Park movie when the big game hunter slowly unfolds the metal stock of his SPAS-12 before he is quickly outwitted by a pair of velociraptors. Or the very first time that the shotgun graced the silver screen in The Terminator in 1984. Name an action movie or show that came out since the 1980s and there is a good chance the SPAS-12 is used by either a hero or villain, and the same goes for video games as well. While the other fads of its era have long gone out of style, the SPAS-12 remains a fashionable choice even today. Whether it still is or ever was a practical weapon is different question.
Owning A SPAS-12 Today
While there are better, more modern combat shotguns available, you can still buy an original SPAS-12 if its retro style is too much for you to resist. There are, however, a handful of states where the SPAS-12 is still banned by name. It’s the usual suspects: California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and the District of Columbia.
Depending on the importer and the year it was brought in, both pre- and post-ban SPAS-12s are available on the used market. Regardless of the exact model in question, it’s going to be very expensive. At the time of this writing, buy-now prices on online auction sites start at about $4,000 and go up from there.
Frankly, the Franchi isn’t worth dropping that kind of cash on if all you want is a tactical 12-gauge shotgun. But if there’s a SPAS-12-shaped hole in your heart left behind by your love for a certain piece of media, nobody would blame you for adding one of these iconic beasts to your collection.
Even if it wasn’t the greatest gun ever made from a practical point of view, the SPAS-12 will live on in the collective conscience for a very long time, and that’s worth something too.
The author checks out the Maxim Defense DSX-D, a monocore suppressor specializing in short barrels.
With geometry relatively figured out and materials fairly rote, there generally isn’t much to get whomped up about when it comes to suppressors. Don’t get me wrong: There are plenty of reasons to get geeked about adding a can to a platform, but as far as leaps-and-bounds improvements on the nearly century-old device, these come along about as often as logical ATF rule changes.
That said, Maxim Defense and its DSX-D suppressor proved a breath of fresh air at CANCON Georgia last fall. Far from reinventing the wheel, the Minnesota-based manufacturer has taken a proven monocore design and enhanced it in a number of nuanced ways that allow it to stick out heads and shoulders above much of its class.
Not to mention: It’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot.
A must for shorty barrels, Maxim Defense's DSX-D suppressor does a number on minimizing report, backpressure and recoil.
Getting to the Core of the DSX-D
If you come looking for some radically new monocore engineering guaranteed to make your carbine, pistol or SBR quiet as a mouse fart, I’m sorry to disappoint. Overall, the DSX-D’s design is fairly traditional in its main components. That doesn’t mean the 7.9-inch-long and 1.75-inch diameter suppressor doesn’t work: The 17-4 core and titanium tube bring most 5.56 NATO carbines down to a manageable 134 dBs. But Maxim Defense achieves this through a fairly conventional core design.
Eyebrows start to rise with the ingenious tweaks the company has incorporated to make the can easier to maintain, service … and even potentially upgrade. This all starts with how the three-piece suppressor is serialized: the mount.
If you aren’t deep into these muzzle devices, this aspect might get lost on you. However, once you realize the serialized part of the suppressor is considered the suppressor itself, then Maxim Defense’s angle becomes apparent. Suffer a baffle strike? Send the core alone back to the company. Banged the heck out of the tube? Procure a new one from Maxim Defense. The company cooks up a new and improved core? Just buy it.
And mind you, all of this without the fuss and muss of NFT regulation and tax stamps. Now that’s convenient and goes a long way in making the DSX-D about as hassle-free as suppressors come—obviously after jumping the hoops in initially buying one.
While its monocore isn’t radical in design—at least in its expansion chambers—it does have some excellent tweaks: The Carbon Cutters—ridges at the top and bottom of the core—help clean the suppressor just by disassembling it.
Clean As a Whistle
Regardless of whether you’ve considered it, when you buy a suppressor, you take on the obligation of cleaning another piece of kit. For all the device’s positives, that’s one big bummer about suppressors (aside from price and regulations). But life is made a bit easier with DSX-D and how the user-serviceable can is designed, which is to make cleaning as pain-free as possible.
When it comes to monocore suppressors, the core itself isn’t generally the dirty part—the interior of the tube is the offender. Carbon builds up on the walls, requiring a good bit of elbow grease to dislodge it after disassembly. A genius move with the DSX-D is Maxim Defense has engineered a cleaning system that works by simply taking the suppressor apart.
Called carbon cutters by Maxim, the top and bottom of the core have a sharp ridgeline running the length of the component. As its name suggests, the rather eloquent addition to the internals cuts the carbon off the interior of the tube simply through the act of unscrewing the core. To that end, Maxim Defense has put a lot of thread on the tube and mount, ensuring a thorough scraping of the built-up gunk.
Another interesting twist—threading, and plenty of it. This ensures the Carbon Cutters do their job before the can is taken apart. Note, too, that the direct-thread mount can be pinned and welded, thus making a two-stamp gun a one-stamp affair.
Sized Right
Truth be told, the DSX-D is a bit on the chunky side in its diameter. But, the can is sized right for length, particularly when it comes to abbreviated barrel guns. A little elementary school math and it’s easy to deduce that, when added to a 10.3-inch barreled gun, it brings the length to a flat 16 inches. It’s almost like Maxim Defense planned it that way.
Indeed, the company did, making the directly threaded suppressor capable of being pinned and welded. Doing so takes a two-stamp gun and makes it a one-stamp affair before purchase, which for anyone who’s gone through the paperwork rigmarole, makes for a lot less hassle. Not to mention, $200 extra in your pocket.
Shooting The DSX-D
Honestly, this can feels and sounds phenomenal. I tested the DSX-D on a 10.3-inch barreled, full-auto Maxim carbine at CANCON, and not only did it mute the 5.56 NATO to a near whisper, but it had next to nothing for backpressure. For short guns, this is a distinctive advantage in terms of maintaining situational awareness, but also a lot healthier in the long run.
Better yet, the suppressor made the SBR a snap to keep on target. Three-round bursts stacked shots practically on top of each other, while mag dumps were incredibly controllable—center mass all day long.
As a full-auto-rated, short-barrel-rated suppressor, it’s tough to beat what the DSX-D brings to the table. All the added extras make dang near a must-have for serious suppressed shooters.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Suppressor Special 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
More On Suppressors:
The Suppressor: How They're Made, How They Work, And How To Buy One
The cost of reloading components just took a significant uptick, is bullet building still worth it?
I was checking the availability of a particular powder that my .300 Winchester Magnum enjoys very much, when I did a double take. While available, the price was $69.99 per pound. Reeling from the dramatic price increase, I turned to my wife, opened my mouth and heard my father’s voice come as I gave an uncontrollable dissertation on the cost of ammunition and components. Why in the world would there be such a drastic increase in the cost of powder, and why does it seem that the amounts of available powder is diminishing just as quickly?
Vista Outdoor announced a price increase just before the 2023 holiday season, indicating that not only would loaded ammunition of all sorts—from rimfire to centerfire to shotshell—see an increase in price, but the components would be going up commensurately. Now, I don’t pretend to be an economist of any sort, but a simple trip to the grocery store will show you exactly how far our dollar doesn’t go anymore, and it seems that this has translated to the shooting world as well.
Some cartridges, like the .338-06 A-Square, need to be handloaded to be kept alive. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Once upon a time in the not-so-distant past, a guy could use the same components as the premium ammunition brands, and handload his own ammunition far cheaper than it would be to purchase it. Slowly but surely, that price gap has shrunk to the point where it may not even exist any longer.
The Cost of Reloading Components
Using the popular .300 Winchester Magnum as an example, you will find that purchasing new brass cases will cost anywhere from $1 to $2.25 per piece, and, yes, I am aware that these are the one part of the equation that can be reused, so I’ll adjust costs at the end for that factor. A 180-grain Nosler Partition, a very popular choice for the .300 Winchester, will cost $87 for a box of 50, or $1.75 a bullet.
Large rifle magnum primers are running between 10 and 12 cents per piece, and powder—depending on what you choose—is now priced somewhere between 0.6 and 1 cent per grain. With a powder charge of 70 grains, we’re looking at a cost of between $0.42 and $0.70 per cartridge. If I were to ignore the cost of dies, presses, scales, trimmers and the like, and I were to average the component costs—I figured the cases would cost $0.25 per loading based upon reloading them six times or so—I get a component cost of $2.67 per cartridge, not factoring in your time and labor.
Primer prices have gone up commensurately, now ranging from $0.10 to $0.15 each. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Looking at the price of a box of Federal Premium 180-grain Nosler Partition ammo for the .300 Winchester, I’m seeing a street price of $65.99, or $3.30 a round, and if you were to purchase the same load from Nosler, you’ll pay $119.95 a box or $6 a round, so there’s a definite savings in comparison to that.
If a guy wanted to shave prices further, a more economical projectile could be chosen, but when you add in the cost of equipment, even averaged over time, the cost of reloading has probably risen to the point of the more affordable premium factory-loaded offerings. Certainly, precision shooters will still opt for the control that reloading offers, allowing them to customize their ammunition to their rifle.
However, considering the improvement in performance of factory ammunition in the past 2 decades, a big-game hunter who shoots less than one box of cartridges per year might not need the handloaded ammunition. But even then, there’s the question of availability.
The author’s .318 Westley Richards loves Alliant’s Reloder 16, but a 1-pound canister now costs $70 before tax … or shipping. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Despite the return of most components after the huge crunch of 2020 to 2021, where COVID-19 and millions of first-time gun owners combined to both reduce supply and radically increase demand, I’m seeing an awful lot of “out of stock” on various supply houses. Whether this is attributed to the multiple military conflicts around the world, our own governmental agencies buying large amounts of both loaded ammunition and components, or other factors like the explosion at the Minden, Louisiana, blackpowder factory (which had more ramifications than even I realized), the bottom line is that our supplies are once again dwindling.
Fewer available products plus a dramatic increase in the costs of what components are available equals a terrible time for reloaders. The bottom line, at least for me, is that I’m actually shooting less as a result of this situation, and I’m considering the amount of product I’m running through for certain projects. It means that I buy in bulk when I find those components I know I am going to need going forward, especially for those cartridges which aren’t currently loaded in factory ammunition.
Primers are once again drying up, powder is either expensive or unavailable, and projectile prices are climbing as well. Without getting into conspiracy theories or delving into a political debate about the cause of the component/ammunition shortage, it seems to be a real thing … once again. But what the current situation means to me is that I am, once again, actively concerned about the amount of the components I will need for my own shooting regimens.
Marked at $17.95 and $39.99 respectively, these prices may never be seen again. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
What’s the End Game?
I’m often asked by prospective reloaders, who have neither experience nor gear, if delving into reloading is worthwhile. Twenty years ago, I would’ve unabashedly answered in the affirmative. Today, I would have to ask about their goals. If they were the 2-weeks-a-year deer hunter, I might point out the possibility that it might not be fiscally wise.
But, if the inquisitor wanted to participate in competitive shooting, be that precision rifle or a timed handgun competition, reloading still maintains a definite value. If you like shooting and hunting with big-bore rifles, reloading is definitely a value. Factory ammunition for my .470 Nitro Express costs between $12 and $16 per cartridge, and I can easily cut that in half by hand-loading. But for the .308 Winchester, .30-’06 Springfield, 6.5 Creedmoor and other common cartridges, the margin is much slimmer.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the May 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
A closer look at Silencer Central, a company that has proven efficient for the arduous endeavor of hushing up a firearm.
When Brandon Maddox passed me his card, one part of the text jumped out at me immediately—pharmacist. At this point, it’s been a cup of coffee since the founder and chief muckety-muck of Silencer Central plied this trade. But forgive him: He’s been too busy reinventing the retail suppressor market, building one of the premier purveyors of the ever-so-popular muzzle device. Yet, it struck me that he continues to keep this moniker from a past life alive—along with his license in a handful of states.
Brandon Maddox puts a premium on direct selling of suppressors, ensuring customers get exactly the option they require.
Sure enough, he invested blood, sweat and likely caffeinated nights to earn the professional degree at University of North Carolina and Duke. In turn, hard work, pride and a little family honor are wrapped up in the title. But scratch the surface of Silencer Central and the company’s success is wrapped up—in part—in pharmacy. Well, that, and bad consumer experiences, the great state of South Dakota and prairie dog hunting.
Confused yet? Here, I’ll explain …
The Need to Hush Up
The easiest place to start is South Dakota—Sioux Falls, to be exact. Prompted by his wife, Maddox left the East Coast for his wife's hometown in the southeast corner of The Rushmore State. As it does so many folks, the ample sportsman opportunities of the more tropical of the Dakotas enraptured Maddox. In particular, the state’s ample prairie dog population.
Honestly, Silencer Central offers a can for every occasion.
As anyone who’s dusted off the plains varmints knows, the draw of the sport is high-volume shooting. Few other styles of hunting outside of doves and snow geese offer the opportunity of as many trigger pulls. But unlike the wingshooting disciplines, Maddox was quick to observe one of the paradoxes of the endeavor: Send your first varmint to Valhalla, and the rest of the town tends to keep their heads low for a long time.
Sigh. A half a day’s drive to a shoot for a fraction of expected trigger pulls is not exactly the recipe for excitement. Maddox, however, had a plan to improve his chances in the field. All it would take was a modest investment in what was then a somewhat rare device—a suppressor.
Maddox (front) has used a load of personal experience—from his career in the pharmaceuticals industry to bad experiences buying suppressors—to build Silencer Central into a success.
Problem solved, right?
Blasted by the Suppressor Market
We’ll get into buying a suppressor in a bit and how Silencer Central has streamlined the process. Suffice to say, this was not the environment Maddox operated in during the early 2000s when he set out to buy his first device. Sure, the NFA paperwork, the $200 tax stamp and waiting (and waiting and waiting) were all the same. Where you did business was different.
Then, the nation had yet to embrace the wonders and conveniences of the internet, so your one choice to buy a suppressor was through your local gun store. Maddox came to find out it was subprime.
The company’s HQ is also its warehouse, with all suppressors passing through it before being shipped around the nation.
First off, you were dealing with a retailer not exactly enthralled with the prospect of exercising their Class 3 license. Why would they be? Brick-and-mortar operations are set up for a sell-and-shake transaction: You pick a gun, they collect the cash and both of you are on your merry way. Suppressors are a longer-term commitment in the sales process, with money up front and hand wringing on both ends.
Additionally, back then, most mom-and-pop operations had a passing knowledge of the rarely sold devices. They knew suppressors suppressed the report of the gun; if they were experienced, they might be cognizant a can would reduce recoil. Gaining in-depth insight into the nuances of suppressors, which make up a slew of the reasons why one is preferable to another, was lost on most of this era’s retailers. Hence the reason why Maddox’s first can was akin to threading a car muffler on his rifle. Worse yet, when he attempted to rectify his mistake with a new model, he was back to square one in the process and came out with one equally unsatisfying, albeit for other reasons.
It seemed if Maddox was going to rectify the issue of hit-and-miss—mostly miss at this point—suppressor purchases, he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. Luckily, he had a few things going for him.
Prescription for the Suppressor Market
The first ace Maddox played was his father-in-law, who was an FFL. Through his tutelage, the then pharmacist in charge of a mail-delivery national pharmacy gained his licensure to sell firearms and, more importantly, suppressors. This kicked off his basement business, South Dakota Silencers, which sold at state-wide gun shows.
Maddox’s next ace was his pharmacy background, particularly the business end of the industry. With his keen eye, he was quickly aware of how many folks from neighboring states were beating a path to his business at the shows. This was money left on the table—given he couldn’t sell out of state—which led him to look to expand. From his company, he evolved into Dakota Suppressors, first to North Dakota, then Nebraska and continuing growing from there.
And for the next aspect pharmaceuticals play in building a suppressor empire: Maddox was also uniquely qualified to navigate the highly regulated world of national NFA device sales. Let’s just say that he knew his way around the block.
Suffer a baffle strike? No worries. Silencer Central’s shop has the parts to get your suppressor back up in running order.
“At GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), I worked on the first pharmaceutical product to do direct-to-consumer advertising in the industry,” Maddox said. “All direct-to-consumer advertising had to be pre-approved by the FDA before we could use it commercially with consumers. Watching our team at GSK work directly with the federal regulatory branch, the FDA was instrumental in navigating the federal regulations in firearms with the ATF.”
Finally, Maddox knew the biggest barrier for the consumer was the process itself. Much like the nationwide mail pharmacy he worked for when he started what would become Silencer Central, Maddox knew the red tape had to be cut—or at least alleviated—to build a successful business in the niche.
This all leads us to …
The Rise of Silencer Central
Modestly tidy and residing at the edge of an industrial park in northwest Sioux Falls, Silencer Central’s HQ represents the axis mundi of American suppressor sales. At present, nearly 200 employees buzz around this hive, marketing, taking orders, filling orders and helping potential customers route a course to suppressor ownership. This doesn’t count its off-site employees, with FFLs on the payroll in the 42 states where suppressors sales are legal … and their partners who manufacture Silencer Central’s Banish line of cans. And this success all comes from demystifying and de-fanging one of the most unnecessarily arduous processes in all consumerism.
Silencer Central sells suppressors in all 42 states where the device is legal.
Overall, this was Maddox’s main aim: simplification. And he’s achieved it in spades.
Silencer Central experts assist customers in selecting a suppressor and take care of paperwork submission after a brief phone consultation. Customers only need to answer questions and provide necessary information. Silencer Central offers a free trust service, allowing the easy addition of members post-purchase.
The paperwork end of things takes a mere 15- to 20-minute chat, and the hands-on aspects—passport-style photos and fingerprints—are flawlessly facilitated with clear instructions and tutorial videos. Heck, Silencer Central even provides flexible payment options, including a four-installment plan and personalized schedules.
Approval typically takes 8 to 10 months, during which Silencer Central maintains communication with monthly check-ins. Once approved, customers digitally complete Form 4473, and the suppressor is shipped to their door after passing through the company’s South Dakota facility. Ongoing customer support is available 6 days a week during business hours.
Don’t have a gun with a threaded muzzle? No sweat, Silencer Central’s shop will thread your barrel for you.
Not that these completely within-the-bounds innovations still didn’t turn heads, but when Silencer Central officially lifted off the ground in 2019 as a national company, Maddox was politely invited to meet with the ATF in Washington, D.C. Far from a one-on-one inquiry of his business, he walked into a room brimming with more than 4 dozen federal agents and officials.
Honestly, it sounds more ominous than it turned out. The officials were mainly interested in his business model—given nothing like it existed previously. Bureaucrats are going to bureaucrat, so in return for the info, they offered guidelines for running his business. These have been implemented to keep the powers that be at bay, and they haven’t made Silencer Central miss a step in delivering what they promise—a painless process from picking a can to picking it up.
Proof in the Pudding
So, have Maddox’s efforts been worth it? On my trip to Sioux Falls, I went through the process of filing the paperwork for a suppressor and creating a trust. Honestly, I would have put it at a 10-minute ordeal. Then, we took the time to sample the company’s wares at the range, including Silencer Central’s brand-spanking-new BUCK 30 and Banish Speed K, along with its classics. Top to bottom—from .22 LR to .338 Lapua—the suppressors performed.
The company continues to innovate suppressors, such as its shorty and tactically minded Banish Speed K.
Maddox is fond of saying, “If you shoot suppressed, you’ll never want to shoot unsuppressed again.” He’s right. And with the streamlined process he’s concocted at Silencer Central, he’s given you every reason to put the assertion to the test.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the Suppressor Special 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
More On Suppressors:
The Suppressor: How They're Made, How They Work, And How To Buy One
Springfield Armory has just announced the Emissary Black line of 1911 pistols, available in both 9mm and .45 ACP and with two barrel length options.
Described as guns that bridge the best features of defensive and custom pistols, Springfield Armory’s line of Emissary 1911s has been popular since their release. While they’ve been available in both 9mm and .45 ACP chamberings and with 5- and 4.25-inch barrels from the beginning, the only finish option until now has been two-tone. For those who like their 1911s a little bit darker, Springfield has just announced the Emissary Black series.
Springfield Armory Emissary Black 1911, .45 ACP 5-inch model.
Besides the new finish color, the four Emissary Black pistols are otherwise nearly identical to their two-tone counterparts, including their MSRPs ($1,378). Some of the carried-over features include a luminescent tritium front sight/Tactical Rack U-notch rear sight, Thin-Line G10 VZ Grips and distinctive “Tri-Top” cut slides. The full-size models also have one-piece, full-length guide rods while the 4.25-inch models have commander-length recoil systems. Also, regardless of the model selected, each pistol will ship with two magazines (8-round mags for .45 ACP, 9-round mags for 9mm) and a soft handgun case.
Springfield Armory Emissary Black 1911, 9mm 4.25-inch model.
One area of difference between the original and new models pertains to accessory rails. The full-size two-tone models feature one while the 4.25-inch versions do not. However, all four models of Emissary Black 1911s do include a rail. For those who like to carry with a weapon light or a laser equipped, the new series provides better options to do it with.
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.
