The Burris Eliminator III scope mounted on a Ruger American Rifle makes a deadly combination.
When it comes to laser rangefinder scopes few others keep accuracy in its crosshairs like the Burris Eliminator III.
Laser rangefinding scopes such as the Burris’s Eliminator III aren’t for everybody.
Eastern hunters in particular will likely find little use for a scope that calculates a target’s distance. Shots in most eastern states tend to be within 100 yards and wind is rarely a factor.
However, anyone who hunts the wide open country of the west or who likes to push the limits on steel or paper will find plenty to like in Burris’s Eliminator III scope. It’s a laser rangefinder, a ballistics calculator, wind calculator and scope all in one.
All you have to do is plug in the ballistic coefficient of your bullet and the bullet drop; both are available through Burris or a number of ballistics calculators.
The 4-16x50mm model is pre-programmed with more than 1,500 factory loads and includes a laser range finder that is accurate to 1,200 yards and offers near-instant readings. Simply hold the crosshairs on the target, press a button and the aim-point for a specific load will appear as a lighted dot. The rangefinder button is located on the side of the scope, offering quick access to an instant reading.
Wind calculations are a little more complex but easy enough to figure when time isn’t a factor. Once you plug in the wind data, the scope will calculate the precise windage combined with the elevation and show you exactly where to hold with a lighted dot.
Thanks in part to those built-in electronics, the Eliminator isn’t a featherweight. The heaviest model is 26 ounces and runs on a CR-2 battery, which lasts up to 5,000 readings. It’s adjustable up to 40 minutes-of-angle and has a click value of ¼ MOA at 100 yards. The Eliminator III also comes in 3.5-10x40mm and 4-12x42mm.
This article appeared in the February 11, 2013 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
A note of encouragement to women who are struggling with how to fit a concealed handgun into their daily wardrobe.
For several days last winter, my photographer and dear friend Bob and I spent a lot of time together photographing a series of illustrations showing the success or failure of various combinations of handgun size, holster type and covering garments for concealed carry.
We were continually surprised at the number of times we put together the “Don't do” illustration only to have Bob ask, “What, exactly, am I supposed to show?” Combinations we were sure could never be worn out in public for fear of revealing a concealed gun were apparently much better at concealment than we thought.
It reminded me of a conversation I'd had with Tom Givens of Rangemaster in Memphis, TN, in which he emphasized that when armed citizens select micro-sized handguns for self defense, they focus too much on ease of carry, not on the firearm's functionality under the duress of a fight to save human life.
That's a mistake, he stressed. We carry guns for defense under terribly stressful circumstances. That means we need to choose guns that are large enough to fire accurately, rapidly and repeatedly, if that becomes necessary.
We are overly-focused on our own uneasiness. We fear being discovered carrying a concealed handgun. Thus we exaggerate how much the gun shows through our clothing, or assume it shows, when indeed it does not.
“The public is not focused on you,” Tom emphasized. “In fact, most people probably don't even see you standing there!” We shared a good laugh, and I learned an important lesson, while we were illustrating my new book Concealed Carry for Women.
Of course, we must take reasonable steps to be sure guns concealed for personal defense remain concealed. But we also need to realize that unless you're wearing very tight or abbreviated garments, most compact sized firearms are surprisingly concealable.
Editor's Note: Concealed Carry for Women, a new book by Gila Hayes, is now available. It takes a comprehensive approach for women who have decided to carry a concealed handgun for self-defense.Click Here to Get Your Copy
Lone Wolf makes barrels. They are not only cool with lead, the threaded ones are ready to go with suppressors.
Have you ever wondered, can I shoot lead in my Glock? Here are the answers and some simple mods to shoot hardcast lead bullets in your Glock.
Glock barrels do not like lead bullets. There are several learned engineering treatises on exactly why, but what it boils down to is that the detailed surface level of steel—steel treated by means of Tenifer is rougher than other treatments.
And Glock barrels are on the small side, to ensure greater accuracy with wartime-dimension bullets. Hey, if there is a war on and your ammunition production has to be upped from a billion a year to a billion a month, dimensions in that ammunition will wander a bit. A tight bore ensures that smaller than usual bullets will shoot reasonably well. The larger ones? Hey, no one reloads ammo, do they? Not in the Army. So no big deal.
But we crazy, non-Army Americans actually reload ammo, expect brass to have a long service life, and desire accuracy, all at less than government-budget ammo prices. Hence the use of cast lead bullets.
The trick, if trick it can be called, is simple. The exterior is of a Glock configuration, while the interior is the same bore and chamber that the barrel maker makes for every other pistol out there. So, no polygonal rifling, just the expected, angular, Enfield rifling. Chambers are a bit tighter than what Glock makes, too, and, often as not, in stainless steel instead of Tenifer-treated carbon steel.
Who? Bar-Sto, Wilson, Lone Wolf, Storm Lake, KKM Precision, and others make replacement Glock barrels, barrels that don’t have a problem with lead bullets. You decide what length you want for your model Glock and whether you want a drop-in or a fitted barrel. My suggestion? If you are acquiring a new barrel for less-expensive practice, a drop-in will work just fine. If, on the other hand, you want to use your new barrel for practice and match/competition, get it fitted by the barrel maker or a gunsmith.
For practice, accuracy as good as the factory barrel is fine. If you’re going to use it in competition (though you should remember some matches might not permit a non-Glock barrel in your Glock), then you might as well spend a few extra bucks and get all the accuracy you can.
The other use for re-barreling is as a place to mount a suppressor. To attach your “can,” you need an extra barrel threaded for the suppressor attachment. That means at least a half-inch of extra length that can be threaded to the thread pitch of whatever suppressor you have.
Now, some shooters are cool with cast lead in suppressors, but me, I’m a lot less forgiving/casual about it. I mean, if I’ve forked over the equivalent of a couple of house payments for my suppressor, I’m going to take care of it. So, jacketed bullets for me. Of course, you can’t get a factory Glock barrel that is threaded for a suppressor, so you go with aftermarket. And guess what? The same people who make the for-lead-bullets barrels also make them for suppressors.
This article is excerpted from the book Glock Deconstructed.
These top laser sights will help you put rounds on target fast.
Crimson Trace Grip LG 617
By attaching over the rear of the Glock grip, this laser did not interfere with holstering. It has a pressure switch centered in the rear of the grip and activates with no other action than just gripping the handgun. The grip is form fitted and pinned in place with the pin in the rear of the Glock’s grip frame. This is a Class 3R red laser that operates at a wavelength of 633nm at 5mW on two CR2032 or DL2032 lithium cell batteries.
Viridian C5L
A light/laser combo unit that will attach directly to a Picatinny rail on a carbine or the under-rail on a handgun. The unit has a multitude of programming features to set laser and light operation to include pulse and constant-on. This 100-lumen LED light/532nm wavelength Class 3A green laser operates at less than 5mW and runs off one CR2 lithium battery. Operation is conducted via a large pressure switch on either side of the unit.
InSight X2L
A light/laser combo unit powered by one CR2 lithium battery. The LED light has a maximum output of 40 lumens and the red laser works at a wavelength of 640 (+/-) 40nm at 5mW. This Class 3A laser will attach to a Picatinny rail or the under-rail of a handgun. It is operated by a toggle switch from either side of the unit.
LaserMax Guide Rod Laser LMS 1141P
This pulsating red laser replaces the factory guide rod inside the handgun. It operates off three alkaline 393 batteries at a wavelength between 600 and 700nm at less than 5mW. A new slide lock is provided with the laser. By pushing this slide lock from left to right or right to left, the laser is activated.
LaserMax Rail Mount LMS-UNI-G
This is a pulsating green Class 3R laser, operating with a 532nm wavelength at less than 5mW. It is powered by two 1/3 N alkaline batteries and can be attached to the under-rail on a handgun or to a Picatinny rail. The activation switch is a sliding pad that can be pushed from left to right or right to left.
LaserLyte Rear Sight Laser RL-1
This red laser replaces the rear sight on the handgun. It has a small recessed button on the left rear of the sight for activation. It can be pushed once for constant-on and twice for pulse. The unit is powered by four 377 alkaline batteries.
When it comes to performance and price, there are few competition handguns that have shot against the CZ Czechmate.
I review a lot of guns and I rarely review a loser. There’s a reason for this; I’ve been shooting for more than 40 years, and I have a pretty good track record for passing by the losers without the trouble of spending time with them. I’m occasionally surprised, but most of the guns I test are pretty good.
On the other side of this are the few guns that are simply surprisingly good. The CZ Czechmate is one of those guns. At SHOT Show, this January, I was looking for the gun I wanted to shoot in the Bianchi Cup this year. I’ve shot the Cup twice, once with a Metallic Class gun and once in Production. Iain Harrison offered me his 1911 race gun to try, just for fun on a plate range. I was amazed at its performance, and I decided then to try the 2013 Bianchi with an Open Class gun. I tried a couple of other guns and I’m committed to shooting the Czechmate.
Affordable Performance
As pistols go, the Czechmate is about as serious as you can go with an out-of-the-box competition gun. There are only a few companies that offer this type of gun, and the CZ is probably the lowest priced for what you get. It’s not as good as the guns the winners use; those guns probably would cost as much as three times the price of the Czechmate, and it’s not an inexpensive gun at just one cent less than $3,000. Having said this, for your $3K you get a lot more than just a gun.
The Czechmate comes in a suitcase box loaded with accessories. There are four magazines, three 20-round and one 27-round. There is an extra barrel and compensator that convert the gun from a standard 9mm pistol to a 9mm that can handle up-loaded ammunition that will meet major caliber requirements. There is a magazine loader, a C-More competition holographic sight and mount, a standard nonadjustable iron rear sight and a charging handle that replaces the rear sight that makes cycling the slide easy with the optic installed. There are also wrenches and spare parts, including a spare extractor.
This isn’t a perfect gun, but it is a very good gun that has qualities that make it a very good competition pistol. The slide runs on rails that are inside the frame, rather than on the inside of the slide. This reduces the mass of the slide, lowers the center of recoil and allows the side of the gun to be against a barricade without affecting the operation of the gun.
The gun is easy to cycle and operate with the optic installed because of the operating handle, which can be mounted for a right- or left-handed shooter. There is an ambidextrous safety and the magazine release can be converted to operate from the right side of the gun. The first reaction when handling this gun is that it’s a big gun. The Czechmate is all steel and, while the grip panels are thin, the grip is wider than any single stack gun I know of.
Additional Features
The grip angle is a departure from the standard 1911 angle, but it is comfortable and ergonomic. The magazine release is large and easy to find and with a large magazine well, inserting a magazine is easy. I would have liked to have seen witness holes to allow a quick check of how many rounds remained. In shooting tactical, 3-gun and action matches like the Bianchi, this is a great convenience factor, and every company who makes competitive, high capacity pistols should provide this useful option.
I like the shape of the Czechmate trigger. It’s a flat-faced trigger with an upturn at the very bottom to help the shooter interface with the same location on the trigger on every draw. The pull isn’t perfect for precision shooting. I’m an old rifle shooter so I’m really trigger sensitive; there’s just a bit of gritty feel in my test gun, not noticeable in fast shooting but there nonetheless. I shot the Czechmate with the drift adjustable metallic rear sight that comes on the gun, and I liked the sight. It’s nonadjustable, but there’s plenty of sight to allow for filing to the proper elevation with a specific load. The sight picture is an unencumbered blocky post and notch, exactly what I would want in a competition pistol.
The C-More sight and mount attaches to the frame with three conical flat head screws and would probably come very close to a complete return to zero if removed and replaced. It does take a little adjustment to handle finding the red dot, but once it’s found, this is a very fast sight and the standard among the guys who compete with optics. Adjustments are quite fine and getting it regulated wasn’t easy for a guy who’s used to clicks, but once it’s there, it’s there.
I didn’t shoot the Czechmate with the extended barrel and compensator. I was told that regular production 9mm ammunition wouldn’t cycle the gun with the compensator because of the additional weight. I did try some reduced loads for shooting plates, and the Czechmate ran them flawlessly.
In prone, the 27 round magazine makes it easier for me to get my eyes on the red dot. Recoil is mild and the gun settles back down for the next shot almost instantly.
Shooting Performance
Shooting the Czechmate goes as one would expect for a premium, top-of-the-line pistol. Recoil is easy to manage in the standard, noncompensated configuration with production 9mm ammunition. I tested it with Zero Bullet 124-grain hollow point loads I used in last year’s Bianchi Cup and, on the other side of the price point, PMCs Bronze 115-grain full metal jacket load. Accuracy was spectacular with both loads though the Zero had the advantage. I’m sure the Zero 124-grain was more accurate.
To generate those groups, I fired at 25 yards, prone, as one would shoot in the Practical and Barricade events at Bianchi. The Zero ammunition produced ragged hole groups with an occasional flyer. With PMC, the groups were more spread out but still impressive, indicating to me that the combination of Zero Bullet and Czechmate is beyond my capability for accuracy. I’d love to test this combination on a Ransom Rest, I’d be willing to bet the Zero/ Czechmate combination would shoot under an inch at 25 yards.
The only issue I had in practicing for Bianchi was that, when shooting prone or against the barricade, the meat of my right hand tended to push the safety on the right side up and into the safe position. I talked to Jason Morton at CZ USA, and they gave me the option of sending the gun back to them to remove it on the right side or giving me instructions on how to do it myself. There has not been a single malfunction or glitch in the operation of the Czechmate other than this peculiarity that relates to my very high grip.
The Czechmate is a specialized pistol, purpose built for the competitive shooter who doesn’t want to build a gun from scratch. It isn’t as good as the best of those guns, but I’m certain that it’s better than many of them right out of the box. It is a great way for a new practical shooter to get started because it includes everything you need and even provides an option for stepping up to 9mm major. It’s an exceptional gun and worth every penny of the $3,000 price tag.
This article appeared in the June 17, 2013 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Light, affordable, and balanced, TriStar’s Hunter EX LT is desirable field gun.
TriStar Hunter EX LT is a light, affordable and functional over-and-under shotgun. The 12 gauge has everything you're looking for in a field gun.
For a number of shooters, to own a shotgun with the balance, clean lines and classic styling of a quality over/under shotgun remains mostly a dream due to their usual high price tag. TriStar’s Hunter EX LT (the LT is for lightweight) may change all of that with an MSRP of under $700.
The imported 12-gauge shotgun is chambered for 3-inch shells and is made of 28-inch steel mono-block chrome-lined barrels set on a stock of Turkish walnut with a soft semi-gloss finish. Stock and barrel come together at an aluminum alloy receiver for reduced weight that is reinforced with steel inserts for added strength.
The action locks up tightly with self-adjusting locking lugs for a sealed effect that keeps dirt and grime out. Selecting which barrel you want to fire first, as well as the safety, are all controlled from a single top tang switch.
Other features include extractors for quick shotshell removal and reloading, a ventilated top and mid rib, a fiber optic front bead sight, a single selective trigger and engraved receiver. The 6.8-pound Hunter model comes with five Beretta/Benelli-modeled choke tubes of Skeet, Improved Cylinder, Modified, Improved Modified and Full. ($659; www.tristararms.com)
This article appeared in the February 11, 2013 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Taurus Judge decked out with the Aimpro Tactical's custom treatment.
Aimpro Tactical makes a unique handgun even more unique, customizing the Taurus Judge to feed smoother and look sharper.
When the Taurus Judge first popped on the scene sometime around 2007, the big bore wheelgun, capable of firing virtually every .45-caliber round ever developed as well as .410 shotgun shells, was regaled for its novelty more so than respected for its true intention: to create one bad ass defensive handgun. But regardless of what drove the initial interest in the Judge, the interest was indeed there, and has continued so that Taurus continues to add configurations to the line (there are now at least a dozen models of the Judge) that continues to garner plenty of fans—no small feat in this age of semi-auto handgunning.
Thus it is no surprise that when Taurus approached Aimpro Tactical’s Mike Shain about teaming up to develop a line of customized Taurus handguns, among the first models worked on was a Judge. For the one pictured here, Shain started with a standard Model 4510TKR-3B Judge with a 3-inch barrel, blued finish and 2 ½-inch chambering for either .410 or .45 Long Colt rounds. The revolver’s overall length is a compact 7 ½ inches for such a big bore gun and tips the scales at a mere 29 ounces. As standard, the model comes with fixed sights, including a fiber optic front sight.
“The Judge is such a cool handgun and has become so popular because shooters can mix and match the ammo. Some manufacturers are even making special rounds just for the Judge,” says Mike Shain, owner of Aimpro Tactical (aimprotactical.com) in Colorado. The company opened in 1995 primarily as a training and consulting business with Shain using his background in law enforcement as the driver. They soon moved into customizing and building special tactical Mossberg shotguns.
“I’ve been wanting to expand into the pistol and revolver area and the planets have finally lined up for us,” says Shain. With the Judge, Aimpro Tactical applied its performance package to the traditional double-action revolver offering.
First, they break the entire gun down and polish up and fine tune the double-action operation to make it as smooth as possible. The forcing cone on the barrel is recut to 11 degrees and the barrel is chamfered to 45 degrees. By chamfering the charging hole or chamber of the cylinder so that it blends better with the ejector star, loads feed much more easily, and quickly, especially when speed loading.
“It’s like reworking the magazine well of a semi-auto gun so it feeds better,” says Shain. The gun is then lubricated and functioned checked. As for the exterior of the Judge, Aimpro Tactical smooths out any hard edges on the gun, improving it for carry purposes and making it easier to draw. Applying a true custom flare, they also polish out the hammer and trigger and jewel them.
Custom Taurus Judge, fine tuned to cycle smoother.
“When I grew up jewelling was the ultimate custom feature you could do to show a gun is high-end,” says Shain. “People just twinkle at the sight at a couple of jeweled parts on their gun.” This Judge is then refinished in Xtreme-Coat, an ultra-thin moly-based coating that resists corrosion and makes the revolver even more durable than in its standard finish. The coat resists wear from use and provides a flat, nonreflective finish favorable among the tactically minded shooters of today. The frame of the gun is finished in mil-spec OD Green, while the cylinder on this model is completed in matte black. The Hogue grips on this initial Judge are black as well, though buyers also have the option of getting Hogue grips in matching OD Green as well.
As for the sights, the gun boasts a fiber optic front sight on it now with the standard red replaced with a green to better match the gun. Shain is currently working on designing a new sight for future models that will include a yellow fiber optic front sight to match flat dark earth finished guns, as well as options of brass, tritium or white.
The Judge isn’t the only Taurus receiving Aimpro Tactical’s custom treatment. Already, Shain has worked on a package gun .357 Model 617, a semi-auto 247 and a .44-caliber Raging Bull among others. Taurus will market the customized handguns as exclusives through select distributors, but Shain says if somebody sees one like this, but can’t find it at their local shop or wants to customize a handgun they already own in a similar fashion, they can contact Aimpro Tactical and request them to work one up for them. The custom Judge here has a suggested retail price of $620, which translates into buyers actually being able to buy them in stores in the low $500s and possibly even around $450.
For shooters looking to have their Taurus’ custom worked, the package price for the performance work, the X-Coat finish and the jeweling runs around $225. Or pick and choose the work you want done at a la carte prices of $125 for the performance work, $125 for the X-Coat or $50 for the jeweling.
This article appeared in the March 11, 2013 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Kenda Lenseigne has gotten western on cowboy shooting competitions becoming the first Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association's female Overall World Champion.
In 2009, Kenda Lenseigne made history in the world of cowboy shooting when she became the first woman in Cowboy Mounted Shooting Association (CMSA) history to win the Overall at a World Championship, beating all male and female competitors to claim the title. Just six months later, Lenseigne did another “first ever,” becoming the first woman to win the Overall at the CMSA National Championship. Combining expert horsemanship with top-notch shooting skills, Cowboy Mounted Shooting is growing in popularity across the country, and Lenseigne is at the forefront of the wave. Not only does she compete in shooting events, Lenseigne, 38, is a widely-regarded horse and rider trainer. When she’s not on the road, she spends her time on her ranch in Arizona preparing for her own events and training other people’s horses for mounted shooting.
For those of us not familiar with cowboy shooting events — like myself — can you describe what Cowboy Mounted Shooting is all about? Each course can vary, but generally you have course set up with 10 targets—small balloons 7 to 9 inches in diameter, set on short poles—and two single-action pistols in your holsters, each with five rounds. You’re scored on time and how many targets you hit. You and your horse cross the line or electric beam, and you have to ride a pre-determined pattern. As you’re riding at full-speed, you shoot your first five targets, holster your pistol and draw out the second one, then fire off your next five shots, and cross the finish line. You’re going 35 miles per hour on your horse, weaving in and out of the pattern, so you have to be a very accurate shot.
What’s your all-time best ride? My fastest time was 9.4 seconds. That was clean—hitting all the targets. I think I had an out-of-body experience on that ride! (laughs) It’s one of those times when your mechanics and training and your horse all just take over kind of automatically.
What are you firing? It’s a blank .45 caliber black powder cartridge. So it’s the burning powder that breaks the targets. It’s kind of like a small shotgun blast, without the spread. You can’t bust a target with the cartridge at more than 20 feet. You’re not allowed to bring your own ammunition to the events. It’s provided. They’re very careful about that, because this is a spectator sport and the people are pretty close to the course.
How long have you been riding? I actually started riding right before I was born.
Ah…what? (Laughs) My mother’s a great horsewoman, and she was riding right up until I was born. I started riding on my own at two years old, and started competing at four. Basically barrel racing and pole bending. Having started so young, riding was just a part of my life. I’ve always done it.
When did guns come into the picture? About 15 years ago. I was working on a different ranch by then, in California, and a friend invited me to go with her to mounted shooting event. It pretty much looked like the most fun you could have on horseback, so I tried it and have been hooked ever since.
Had you shot recreationally or hunted before that? No. That was basically my introduction to firearms.
I see that the Cimarron Firearms Company is one of your sponsors. They’ve been so great to me. Fantastic firearms, and they actually developed a special hammer for the single-action Cimarron Thunderstorm that I use. Most of the single actions out there have a standard Colt hammer spur. It sticks up pretty high. But with mounted shooting, you’re moving around so much, and you can only use one hand. So when I started working with the people at Cimarron, I asked them: can we move the hammer spur down a little? I’d seen some people already doing it on their own.
What sort of money can be made in mounted cowboy shooting competitions? I’ve come away with a check for $10,000. I was at a competition in Tunica, Mississippi, just a week ago and left that with $3,000 in my pocket. But I’ve also come away with 30 dollars. With all the expenses—feed, trailer and truck, gas, lodging, entry fees—if you make $30, you’re looking at a pretty good loss. But I love all of it. I’m really grateful to be a part of this.
What’s your training regimen when you’re getting ready for an event? A lot of riding, setting up targets, riding around them, a lot of dry firing. Lots of long days in the saddle. You really have to be in sync with your horse or none of this works.
What is the harder part of this career? The traveling is probably the most challenging part of my life right now. I have my ranch set up like I want it for training horses and holding my classes. I get home, I get back into the routine, and then it’s like I have to leave again.
And I am self employed, and you never know about the money. When people run out of money, hobbies are the first thing to go, and riding and mounted shooting are hobbies. So when the money’s tight, a lot of people can’t afford the classes I teach. Still, it beats the heck out of sitting in an office!
This may sound kind of silly but, with all the shooting you do from horseback—is there hearing protection for the horses? Actually, that’s a great question. Yes, we use hearing protection for our horses. It’s basically made out of the same squishy orange foam used to make human ear plugs. They’re just four times larger! So you just squeeze the foam down and slip the plugs into your horse’s ears. They’ll shake their head the first few times you use the plug, but the horses get used to them pretty fast.
This article appeared in the June 17, 2013 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
A 16-gauge pump gun is a thing of ergonomic beauty. This one is a Winchester Model 12, from the 1930s.
The 16 is the most logical of all the gauges. Its bore diameter is .662-inch, almost exactly two-thirds of an inch. A 16-gauge lead ball weighs exactly an ounce. An ounce of shot in a true 16-gauge bore creates a shot column of perfect dimensions for a good pattern.
In the United States, in the early years of the twentieth century, the 16 was known as the “gentleman’s gauge.” This differentiated it from the down-market 12, which was used by market gunners, farmers, and deer hunters. The romantic ideal of a 16 was a sleek double—a Parker, perhaps, or an Ansley Fox—intended for hunting upland birds like bobwhite quail and ruffed grouse.
The 16 comes by this patrician image honestly. Its antecedents go back centuries. In the era of blackpowder cartridge shotguns and rifles, 16-bores were made for hunting big game with solid ball, as well as for fowling. As we have already noted, on paper, the 16 is the perfect shotgun, the right size load creating the optimum shot column for delivering the perfect pattern from a gun weighing exactly six pounds.
So What Went Wrong?
In Europe, nothing. There, the 16 is still very popular and was widely used in making combination guns like drillings. In England, the 16 was never as popular as the 12, but there were always a few around, and there still are. In fact, the last year or two has seen a fad for 16s; during a visit to Holland & Holland’s Bruton Street shop, in late 2012, I saw a rack with a half-dozen 16-bore doubles just waiting for new homes.
In the United States, the 16’s loss of popularity is generally blamed on the originators of skeet. When the rules for skeet were drawn up, in 1926, it was decreed that the game would be officially shot with four gauges—12, 20, 28, and .410—and that left the 16 an orphan. You might think this would have had a minimal effect, but the course of events went roughly as follows.
With a widespread decline in game bird numbers and strict bag limits, shooters were left with trap and skeet, if they wanted to do much shooting. Trap, of course, is a 12-gauge game. Skeet spread rapidly, and soon manufacturers were making guns and ammunition tailored to its requirements.
The 16-gauge (center) compared to the 12- (left) and the 20-gauge.
Competition shooting eats up huge amounts of ammunition, and there was intense rivalry among Federal, Winchester, and Remington, and several other companies no longer with us, to produce winning loads. Research money was poured into improving 12, 20, 28, and .410 ammunition, while the 16, which was no longer selling in anywhere near the volumes of the 12 or 20, was left to languish. Even the hulls were not as good; where a 12-gauge man could shoot Federal Gold Medal, Winchester AA, or Remington Premier STS and reload his own, 16-gauge shotshells used old technology and could not be reloaded nearly as well. When it comes to volume shooting, you need to be either independently wealthy or load your own, and successful reloading is dependent on components. Not only were good 16-gauge hulls hard to find, shooters were limited in their choices of plastic wads and shot cups. As well, lacking the volume-production savings of the 12 or 20, 16-gauge components were relatively expensive.
As for factory ammunition, manufacturers seemed determined to make the 16 the ballistic equivalent of the 12, presumably believing no one would shoot a 16 otherwise. Sixteen-gauge “heavy field” loads were hot and threw 11/8 or 1¼ ounces of lead. In a standard-weight 16, they kicked badly, never patterned particularly well, and were expensive. Is it any wonder the 16 went into a steady, sad decline?
Finding 16-Gauge Shells
RST, the boutique ammunition company that supplies lovely, light loads in all different gauges and case lengths to keep old guns shooting and provide comfortable shooting even for new guns, makes 16-gauge ammunition to suit any gun ever made. More components are available today from reloading supply firms like Ballistic Products, and there is an increasing amount of reloading data for everything from low-pressure loads for vintage guns to hefty waterfowl loads using non-lead shot.
Ballistically, the 16 lies between the 20 and 12. It is at its best with shot charges of 7/8-ounce to 11/8 ounces. A 16-gauge double weighing 6¼ pounds, with 30-inch barrels, is the kind of upland gun that grouse and woodcock hunters rhapsodize about (or bobwhite quail and dove hunters, for that matter). You can carry it all day and hardly feel it, then shoot a hundred rounds and be ready for more. Unfortunately, in this era of non-lead shot for migratory birds, the standard 16 really doesn’t have the case capacity to accommodate the bulkier steel-shot charges required, so it is best relegated to upland status.
The aura of the “gentleman’s gauge” has crept into the limelight once again. America’s classic doubles in 16-gauge, such as the Parker, Ithaca, Fox, and L.C. Smith, are in great demand on the used gun market and their prices are high. Still, if there is a bargain to be had in guns, it is in the 16-gauge pumps from years past—the Winchester Model 12, the Remington Model 31, and the Ithaca Model 37. In 16-gauge, these guns are a pleasure to carry and shoot, and they generally sell for considerably less than a 20 or 28 in comparable condition. And, if you can find a Belgian-made Browning in 16, whether it is a Superposed or an Auto-5, grab it. Those don’t sell for peanuts by any means, but think of it as a lifetime investment in pleasant shooting.
Generally speaking, German and Austrian 16s from days past range from technically very fine to rather crude. What most have in common, alas, is that they are really not made for wingshooting as we know it. They are either combined with a rifle barrel or have excessive drop in a rifle-style stock.
I have strayed somewhat from discussion of the gauge itself into the guns that use it, but conversations about the 16 tend to do that. The reason? The 16 can be built into the ideal upland game gun, whether it in a double, pump, or semi-auto. The big ammunition makers are starting—tentatively, hesitantly, seemingly reluctantly—to offer some 16-gauge loads that are civilized in punch and recoil and still suitable for dove shooting or for an informal round of skeet. Magazine articles proclaiming the rebirth of the 16 are almost as numerous as those mourning its death. Here, in this book, we are doing nothing except announcing improving signs of life in a lovely old gauge that deserves to be embraced by all.
Improve your handgun shooting speed and accuracy by focusing on the front sight and mastering the flash sight picture. Peter Lessler explains how.
Incorrect sight focus. Note the blurry front and rear sights versus the sharply focused target. This is a common cause of inaccurate shooting. Click for larger view
The two most important components of sight use are to focus the eyes on the front sight and then verify the alignment between front and rear sights. The eyes can only focus in one distance plane at one point, and the front sight, rear sight, and target will all be at different distances from the eyes. The reason we pick the front sight as our focus object is that this little stub of metal tells us where the gun is aiming.
When we focus on the target, the front and rear sights will both be blurry. In this case, a small misalignment of the gun (which would be visible as sight misalignment) will not be noticed, and the gun will be looking along a different line of sight than our eyes are looking.
Another form of incorrect focus. Note the blurry front sight and target versus the sharply focused rear sight. This also will cause inaccurate shooting. Click for larger view.
It does not take much of an angular misalignment in the gun barrel versus our eyesight line for the shot to miss the target completely, and since this misalignment represents two diverging lines, the amount of error will grow rapidly with increasing distance to the target.
So, again, we focus on our front sight. This puts the target out of focus, just as it does the rear sights, but, in this case, it’s not a drawback, since just about anything we will be shooting at with an iron-sighted pistol will be easy to see in general.
Any error caused by aiming at a slightly blurry target will only be as big as the blurry edge of the target, which is actually a very small amount of space; truly, it is negligible, especially compared to the potential of the misalignment error allowed by not looking at your sights. So, we focus on the front sight and let the target blur slightly.
How to Increase Speed
Speaking of speed, one goal to work towards is to first achieve with the hands a near-perfect sight alignment with the target as quickly as possible, then visually acquire and judge the correctness of your sight picture as rapidly as can be done. At this point the mind says “good to go” to a good sight picture and commences the trigger squeeze, or says “not yet” to a bad sight picture and corrects it to good one before commencing the trigger squeeze.
This is correct focus. Note the sharp front sight and blurry rear sight and target. This is what you must see for accurate shooting. Click for larger view
This combines two notions. The first is the “flash sight picture,” in which we recognize our sight picture and judge it in a bare instant. The second notion is that the sight picture is the boss, not the trigger finger. In other words, our sight picture is the go/no-go determinant of whether we fire the shot.
No trigger pressure should be applied until our eyes have acquired the sight picture and our brain has approved it. This concept should be burned into the circuitry of your brain: The brain controls the trigger finger based on what the eyes see. This is the basic principle of accurate pistol shooting.
As the name suggests, the Colt Competition Pro was designed and built for competition where shooters must engage targets at both short and long ranges.
Get into the game fast with these competition-specific ARs.
Three-gun shooting is the fastest growing competitive shooting sport in the nation. As the name suggests, competitors use three guns; pistol, shotgun and rifle. Of the three, the rifle is called on for the widest range of use. A shooter might engage multiple close range targets very fast, and within seconds transition to precision targets at long range. I have shot at rifle targets from as close as 18 inches to as far away as 800 yards in a single match. The key is to do it with speed and precision, as the guy who hits all the targets the fastest wins the match.
For a long time competitors had to spend time and money to modify their rifles to make them suitable for competition. But rifle makers have noticed the growth in the sport and several are now offering “competition ready” rifles in their catalogs. Here are three that I have been lucky enough to test.
Colt Competition Pro
Colt Competition was started with the concept that 3-gun competitors needed rifles that were ready to shoot. The Pro model is the higher grade of the two Colt Competition .223 Remington rifles offered. It was designed by hardcore shooters and tested extensively at national 3-gun matches.
It has an 18-inch long, match-grade stainless steel barrel. The custom fluting on the barrel is unique and exotic looking with a series of interrupted flutes. The barrel is six-groove button rifled with a 1:8 RH Twist. The 1:8 twist is preferred by most 3-gun shooters as it will stabilize heavy bullets but also handle light bullets, so it provides the widest range of ammo options for shooters.
The gun has a .223 Wylde Match Chamber and uses a rifle-length gas system. This longer system is more reliable and smoother than a short “carbine” length gas system. It has the Colt Competition Fully-Adjustable Gas Block, which allows the shooter to tune the rifle to the specific ammo used. The result is a smoother action cycle, which can aid in speed and accuracy. The smoother the gun runs, the less disturbance on target and the faster the next shot can be taken. Those tenths of a second in split times add up in a game that’s won or lost by seconds.
Mine is an early rifle and came with a Sure-Fire muzzle brake. This is a very effective brake that’s also designed to attach a suppressor. The current rifles are being shipped with the new Colt Competition Triple-Chamber Muzzle Brake while the Sure-Fire is still offered as an option.
The Colt Competition uses a proprietary 15-inch floating handguard, which is the perfect length for the extended arm grip favored by a lot of shooters.
The upper and lower receivers are forged and machined for a precision fit. The upper is a flat-top with a Picatinny rail on top. The lower has the Colt Competition logo laser engraved into the side of the magwell.
The rifle has a proofed and magnetic particle (MP) inspected bolt. The charging handle has an extended latch for fast operation. Meanwhile, the two-stage trigger on my gun breaks at 2 pounds, 12 ounces; lighter than the advertised 3.5-pound trigger and great for precision long-range shooting. It has a short and positive reset for fast work.
The gun has a Magpul CTR 6-Position Adjustable Stock, Magpul arched Trigger Guard and a Magpul Grip. As you might guess, it comes with a Magpul 30-round magazine. The safety is a standard, two position AR-15 safety.
The rifle is extremely accurate and with the light trigger it’s easy to use for precision long-range work. The average for 12, five-shot groups at 100 yards with three different ammo products was just .9-inch. The best groups were .65-inch for five shots.
When shooting speed drills to test my time, my best effort with this rifle was 1.6 seconds, which is the second best I have ever done.
This is a gun that you can take out of the box, add optics and ammo and win matches. I know that to be true, not just hype; because I have several shooting buddies who have done it.
Colt Competition Pro Specs
Caliber: .223 Remington Wylde chamber Action Type: Semi-auto Receiver: Forged, precision-fitted with forging mark Barrel: 18-inch, match grade barrel with a 1:8 twist Magazine: 30-round magazine Trigger: Geissele Two-Stage Match Trigger Sights: Rail for mounting options Stock: Grip, forend and stock are Magpul Weight: 7 lbs. Overall Length: 38.25 in. Accessories: N/A SRP: $2,029 Website: www.coltcompetitionrifle.com
JP Enterprises JP15
I am in the middle of the third shooting season using the JP15 rifle for competition. It’s not very objective for a gun writer to say there is magic in a rifle, but in this one there is.
Let me tell you a couple of reasons why I think this way. We have a speed drill we practice often (mentioned earlier in this article): three targets at 5 yards and spaced three feet apart. The shooter starts with the gun on his shoulder and the barrel pointing at the ground. At the buzzer he fires two shots at each target. My best time is 1.3 seconds with the JP. I do this drill with every rifle I get in here to test, which is a lot of guns. I have never been able to beat that time.
During the 2012 Iron Man 3-Gun Match I engaged three sets of bonus targets at 550, 650 and 799 yards. The shooter was allowed up to five hits on each target. Most competitors brought a long range precision rifle for this stage, but I used the JP and cleaned all 15 bonus targets. I think I am the only competitor to do that with a main-match, competition .223 rifle.
Magic? You bet.
This rifle is extremely accurate and 100 percent dependable; both are qualities needed to help a shooter step up to the winner’s table. I am not anal enough to keep actual records of each round fired in every rifle I have, but I am well north of 15,000 rounds through this rifle without a gun-related hitch. When shooting ammo it likes, it still shoots half-MOA.
The JP15 is the “entry level” rifle from JP Enterprises. But that’s like saying an “entry level” Ferrari, because the JP entry level picks up where a lot of other gun makers end off.
The heart of the system, as it is with any accurate rifle, is the barrel, which in this rifle is the JP Supermatch barrel. This button-rifled barrel is made from 416R stainless steel. This is a pre-hardened chromium stainless steel, which is engineered for use in precision match-grade rifle barrels and designed to work well with button rifling.
The barrel has a 1:8 twist rate and is air-gauged and cryogenically treated. It measures .88-inch at the muzzle where it meets the brake. The barrel has a wasp-waist that is fitted with a set of cooling fins hidden under the handguard to aid in rapid heat dissipation. The JP Thermal Dissipater between the gas block and receiver results in a 700 percent increase in surface area under the handguard. This keeps the accuracy-robbing heat from building up during sustained fire drills. That keeps the shooter’s hand cooler, but more importantly it enhances barrel life, too.
The chamber is .223 Wylde that will accept .223 Remington, as well as 5.56x45mm ammo. The barrel is fitted with a JP Compensator that is timed and blended to the barrel so well you can’t see the panty line.
My rifle has the JP Low Mass Operating System. This system uses a reduced weight bolt carrier and low mass buffer with a matched buffer spring. This speeds up the cycle rate and makes the rifle run smoother, which is an asset when doing rapid, aimed fire, particularly during some of the drills common to many 3-gun matches.
The rifle has the JP single-stage Fire Control trigger system with the low mass speed hammer for a faster lock time.
The receivers are 7075 mil-spec forged. The long, round, vented JP Modular Hand Guard is well suited for competition. It has a rail on top and two swivels. The side swivel is for a sling while the bottom is used for a bi-pod. The buttstock is the ACE ARFX skeletal, which I find perfect for 3-gun competition. There are a lot of reasons why I am not the top Tactical Optics class shooter in the country, but I guarantee my rifle is not one of them!
JP Enterprises JP15 Specs Caliber: 223 (Tested) .204 Ruger, 6.5 Grendel Action Type: Semi-auto Receiver: Mil-spec forged 7075 upper/lower receiver set Barrel: JP Supermatch 416R air-gauged, button-rifled, cryogenically treated barrel, 1:8 twist, button rifled Magazine: detachable Trigger: JP Fire Control Package available in weights of 3.0 – 4.5 lbs. Sights: n/a Stock: A2 or ACE ARFX buttstock, Hogue pistol grip Weight: 7.5 pounds Overall Length: 38-inches Accessories: JP accessory pack including operator’s manual, one magazine, GasGunBasics DVD SRP: $1,999 Website: www.jprifles.com
Although the spent case is being kicked out on the right side of the shooter, like most Stag rifle models, the 3G is also available in a left-handed version as well.
Stag Arms 3G
Stag Arms is well known for producing left handed AR-15 style rifles, as well as the conventional right handed models. They got noticed for the southpaw aspect, but built their name by producing high quality rifles. The 3G is their competition ready rifle and can be ordered in a right or left hand model. I have a couple of southpaw shooting buddies who are very happy about that.
Stag Arms worked with their 3-gun shooting team to develop the new rifle. There are in truth a few things I would change. For example, I would add an extended charging handle latch, a tactical bolt release and possibly an ambi-safety. But these are small things and the truth is, this gun is competition ready out of the box. The one major change is I would also use a different muzzle brake as the one in my rifle over-compensates and drives the muzzle too low. All in all, minor issues on a fine rifle.
The rifle uses an 18-inch stainless-steel semi-heavy barrel that measures .727-inch near the muzzle and uses a 1:8 twist rate. The chamber is 5.56 NATO, so it can fire both 5.56 and .223 Remington ammo. The barrel has six flutes that are interrupted by the gas block for the rifle-length gas system. The last ¾ inch of the barrel is stepped down to .705-inch to the muzzle.
The barrel is fitted with a 21⁄4-inch long compensator installed with a crush washer. The gun is fitted with a Samson Evolution free-floating handguard. This handguard comes with a rail along the top. There are holes along the sides and bottom to add more rails if you want them. The sides are skeletonized with a double row of cuts on each side to shave off weight and aid heat dissipation. The diameter of the handguard is 1.825-inches, which is easy to grip. The 15-inch handguard extends well past the low profile gas block.
Most top 3-gun shooters never hold the gun in front of the magazine well. Instead, they will have the weak hand extended way out on the front of the gun for action shooting. This gives much better control of the rifle for lateral movement during rapid target transition. Try this with a short handguard and all you get is burned fingers. I guess my point is this long handguard proves to me that Stag listened to some real shooters when designing the rifle.
When it comes to triggers, many AR builders are stuck on “Mil Spec Stupid” and forget that shooters need good triggers. It’s not uncommon to have precision targets at 500 or 600 yards or even farther in a 3-gun match. It’s a huge handicap to have a 10 pound “battle trigger” that’s rougher than Rosie O’Donnell’s personality.
Unless you order a better trigger as an option, almost all rifles will need an expensive replacement before using them in competition.
One popular replacement trigger is the Geissele Super 3-Gun trigger. This STAG rifle comes with that trigger as standard equipment. It uses what Geissele calls a ‘hybrid pull.” It’s a longer pull than most match-grade, single-stage triggers, but smooth and clean. On my rifle it breaks at just slightly over 3 pounds.
The buttstock and pistol grip are from Magpul, featuring their collapsible ACS buttstock and their MOE hard plastic pistol grip. Both have storage compartments.
I accuracy tested the rifle by shooting three different factory loads and one handload using bullets ranging from 50-grains to 75-grains. The average for three, 5-shot groups with each of the four loads was 1.23-inches, which is excellent accuracy in any rifle you plan to shoot, particularly right out of the box.
Stag Arms 3G Specs Caliber: 5.56/.223 Action Type: Gas impingement semi-auto Receiver: Right handed and left handed both offered Barrel: 18-inch 1:8 twist Magazine: 30-round removable magazine Trigger: N/A Sights: Rail for mounting optics, Dueck Defense Rapid Transition Sights (RTS) Optional Stock: Magpul ACS buttstock, Magpul MOE hard plastic pistol grip Weight: 7.5 lbs. Overall Length: 39.25 inches Accessories: N/A SRP: $1,459 Website: stagarms.com
I’d spent months looking for an easy-to-conceal, easy-to-draw pocket magazine holster for concealed carry. With the Snagmag the search is over.
Every now and then a product comes along that is so purely original, and so-simple-it’s-stupid, that it leaves you muttering something completely unoriginal like, “Why didn’t I think of that?”
The Snagmag is one of those rare gems. It’s a pocketknife look-alike mag holder. On first blush this thing looked to be the ideal solution to carry more rounds. It was a first impression that proved accurate.
The Snagmag gets its name from the shark fin shaped protrusion that catches, or snags, the corner of your pocket, allowing you to easily extract the mag.
The product achieved the perfect balance between magazine retention and ease of extraction. It conceals—disguises, really—your mag, holding it securely inside of your pocket. The shroud (to which the clip is attached) covers the mag from the outside.
During testing I found that the Snagmag conceals single-stack mags better than doubles, but doubles are still hidden extremely well.
I tested two models, one for the full-sized double-stack Glock 22 mag, and a smaller version for the Sig P232 single-stack mag. Both worked equally well. No problems drawing, and no one looked twice at the pocket clip.
What I liked about the Snagmag Magazine Holster:
Doesn't add bulk or weight to your belt
Instantly accessible
Totally disguised (as a pocket knife)
Holds mag in the best possible position for a draw
Easy to extract mag
Excellent retention in pocket for positive draw
Available for most makes and models of handguns
Was There Anything I Didn’t Like?
Not much. And that’s saying a lot. I did find that the Snagmag didn't work as well with loose work slacks as it did with more rigid pant materials like jeans or “tactical pants”—but it still worked pretty darn good. The slacks tended to have less rigidity to support a full house of 15- or 17 rounds.
Bottom line: I never go anywhere now without a spare magazine, thanks to the Snagmag.
It's affordable, comfy, easily accessible and fast—truly the better mousetrap of concealed carry mag pouches. It works. If you carry concealed, get one.
Looking for a really good feeling sub-compact in the luxury pistol department? The HK P2000 SK may be your next handgun.
Guns have a certain feel about them. And because of that, I have certain feelings about guns. Some guns feel chunky and plasticky and gimmicky. These guns make me feel like trying my hand at plastic surgery in order to trim them up or tone them down. Some guns feel heavy and stiff. These guns make me feel like giving them a massage to help them loosen up a bit. Some guns feel thin—functional but not outright durable. These guns I am afraid to shoot, let alone carry for self-defense. Guns like these I want to wrap in duct tape to help keep them together.
Not all guns have a bad feel. In fact, some feel just right in terms of fit and finish, functionality or how they fire. You can tell much about a gun’s feel just by hefting it in your hand. You can tell much more, however, after a session at the range. Sometimes you’re surprised by how a gun feels after shooting, but most often the range time simply confirms the suspicions you had before shooting it.
No surprise, there’s lots of subjectivity in this matter of determining how a gun feels. It might be impossible to fully quantify, but I’m going to give it a shot.
The Heckler & Koch P2000 SK felt good when I first tried it out. Not in a nonspecific way but truly and functionally. Since HK is one of the premier firearms designers and manufacturers in the world, this came as no surprise. Frankly, with a retail price of $983, we’re in the luxury class of handguns, so it had better be outstanding.
In-the-Hand Performance
The P2000SK (subcompact) is similar to slightly larger P2000 model and combines characteristics of the elements of the HK USP Compact pistol. It is available in 9 mm, .40 S&W, and .357 Sig with an MSRP of $983.
A sub-compact pistol available in 9mm, .40 and .357 SIG, the P2000 SK feels good when I’m just holding it in my hand—remarkably good in fact. I’m not just talking about how I heft the pistol and appreciate the ergonomics or the balance. It’s more than those. For example, the simple action of removing the magazine, a downward push on the ambidextrous magazine release, feels sure and confident. There’s no mush in the controls. You won’t eject the magazine on accident. When you do want the magazine to drop, it springs out perfectly. Put the magazine in and it seats perfectly. No extra push needed. No wondering whether it’s fully seated.
With the magazine out, the simple action of pulling the slide back to check for an empty chamber demonstrates superbly engineered, mechanically perfect motions, noises and feels. Dry-fire it and the trigger stroke, a light double action known as the law enforcement modification (LEM), feels perfect, even as it is a bit longer than most trigger strokes. Yet it is smooth, sure and consistent and one of the best I’ve ever felt.
Besides shooting the P2000 SK, which I will address shortly, the other action worth mentioning is the loading of the magazines. Pushing in nine .40 caliber rounds revealed just the right amount of resistance from the spring under the follower. Loading rounds seven and eight and nine showed no classic signs of fight.
On-the-Range Performance
Shooting the P2000 SK was pure joy because the gun got out of the way of the shooting experience, so to speak. In other words, all the mechanisms worked together so well, so smoothly, that nothing stood out during the range session. I just squeezed the trigger, again and again, and the HK sent every round down range, right on target.
The balance was superb and the sights were easy to acquire, shot after shot. But the best part of shooting the P2000 SK was the LEM trigger. More than just a double action-only trigger, the HK LEM trigger incorporates a 7.3- to 8.5-pound pull in an action that combines a precocked striker with a double action hammer. So it’s double action-only but it’s light and smooth, with just slightly increasing pressure required as it travels back. You’ll see the hammer move back and fall with every stroke. It doesn’t jerk, grab or stutter in its travel. If a round fails to fire, the LEM trigger system allows for second and third strike capability, though I never needed it.
The LEM trigger felt much lighter than the advertised 7.3- to 8.5-pound pull, but I attribute that to the ultra-smooth trigger travel. Even with its gradually increasing resistance, I couldn’t discern by feel if the trigger was nearing its breaking point; when the HK fired it surprised me every time but I was never unprepared for it. Indeed, after a while I could tell when the gun was about fire because it was always when my finger pulled the trigger back to exactly the same point. Shooting quickly—about two rounds per second—was remarkably easy, intuitive and fun.
Notice that I haven’t yet mentioned recoil. That’s because recoil on this handgun, while present, is aptly managed by the mechanical recoil reduction system—a dual captive recoil spring and polymer bushing. The system works so well in absorbing recoil that you have to actively think about the recoil in order to remember it’s there.
The combination of the HK’s balance, ergonomics, LEM trigger and recoil absorption system worked in harmony with the three-dot sights, allowing for easy follow up shots. It was easier to shoot this gun faster and more accurately than most others I have fired.
HK P2000 SK Additional Features
HK includes a modular grip accessory to increase the depth of the stocks. My medium-to-large sized hands enjoyed the P2000 SK’s stock in its standard configuration so much I didn’t bother with the extra piece. Some might prefer flush magazine baseplates, especially for concealed carry, instead of the two included nine-round magazines that feature a baseplate with a pronounced lip. I actually liked how these felt.
All the controls on the HK are ambidextrous. I’m a right-hander so I would right thumb the slide release on the left side of the slide but use my right middle finger to push the magazine release on the right side of the trigger guard. The P2000 SK also featured a tactical rail for lights and lasers. For a carry pistol, I found this to be a bit superfluous and would have preferred a skinnier dust cover and slide.
I have to admit, prior to shooting the HK P2000 SK I was skeptical that the $983 retail price was justified. Sure, I knew of HK’s reputation for excellence, durability, reliability and accuracy. But once I experienced it first hand, the luxury price of this sub-compact pistol seemed more tenable. I just had to feel it for myself.
The Gun Digest 2014 book features an in-depth look at the Winchester 1895s of Teddy Roosevelt. And so much more!
August has always been one of my favorite months. Summer is drawing to a close, baseball pennant races are heating up, football is just around the corner, and, of course, hunting seasons are coming soon. Another thing that has always made August special is that it's the time of year marking the appearance of the new Gun Digest annual book. As a youngster I looked forward to every edition, knowing I would soon learn more about my favorite hobby by reading the stories, looking at the photos and browsing through the catalog section. These days, amazingly, I find myself in the editor's chair of the World's Greatest Gun Book – and it is still an exciting event to look forward to each summer.
Just a few weeks ago, the staff and I put the wraps on the 2014 68th Edition and it's now appearing on bookshelves all over the country and right here in our online store. Here's a quick look at what you'll find inside.
From military guns to the classics, Gun Digest 2014 has something for everybody.
In-Depth Gun Reviews and Stories
Some of the best writers in the field have contributed to this edition, sharing their knowledge, experiences and opinions on the guns of today and yesterday. This edition has several stories on some of the world's most famous and historically significant rifles. Wayne van Zwoll compares Winchester's current Model 70 to the pre-64, Terry Wieland covers the great Mannlicher-Schoenauers of the early 20th century, Phil Schreier of the National Firearms Museum profiles the lever-action Winchesters of Teddy Roosevelt, and Paul Scarlata tells the fascinating story of the controversial Ross rifle of Canada. On the military side, Gary Paul Johnston compares and contrasts the M14 and the FN-FAL, and Corey Graff gives an excellent report on Remington's legendary M24 sniper rifle.
The Latest on Handguns
In the handgun category, if you're into single-action revolvers, I'm sure you know John Taffin. And John knows Ruger sixguns. In this edition he shares his experiences with custom Rugers spanning over half a century. Other handgun topics include retired Texas Sheriff Jim Wilson's views on backup guns, Frank James salutes the first magnum-the .357-, and Steve Gash reviews the Ruger SR40. Steve also gives us a behind-the-scenes look at one of the most respected names in the shooting industry, Hodgdon Power Co.
Plus A Deep Dive Into All Things Guns
We also have some great articles and field reports on shotguns, rimfires, knives, optics, handloading and other gun-related topics. And for eye candy, there are plenty of photos of the state-of-the-art custom guns, as profiled by Tom Turpin.
It's August and time to visit gundigeststore.com, your local book store, a gun shop or the gun counter at your nearest Walmart, to check out the 2014 68th Edition of Gun Digest!
Gun Digestthe Magazine is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. With a subscription toGun Digestthe Magazine, readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews, how-to instructions and Second Amendment issues.
A father pressing the trigger for his daughter to eliminate shooter flinch. He is also able to check for her accuracy of aiming this way.
Trigger control might be the toughest thing to master in handgun shooting, but it’s also one of the most important.
I’ve been reflecting about the flinching problem ever since Gun Digest Books Editor Corrina Peterson and I spent a morning last week shooting handguns.
She was placing shots low and right very consistently. Her grip, stance and form looked excellent, so I next had her close her eyes as I loaded a mag for her. Eyes open, she did not know the mag was empty and her first shot told the whole story: At the dry-fire “click” the muzzle was yanked in a big low-right flinch.
I felt her pain. That's because I struggle with it, too.
That flinch was concealed while she was shooting live rounds. After a brief talk about a smooth “trigger roll” her subsequent shots began tearing out the bullseye.
There’s a place for dry firing. It helps condition your mind and trigger finger to execute the trigger roll with sights on target. It’s a great way to keep your skills sharp through the ammo shortage. And it can betray problems in your form you wouldn’t otherwise notice.
Low shots indicate a flinch. This can show up late in the practice session from shooter fatigue.
But I wanted more tips to solve flinching, so I snagged a copy of Peter Lessler’s new book, Gun Digest Shooter’s Guide to Handgun Marksmanship. One of the best ways to correct the problem is to understand what actually happens. Lessler explains:
“This [flinching] happens when, as soon as we press on the trigger to discharge the shot, our subconscious mind, anticipating the recoil to come, starts our hand dipping downward to counteract it. Our subconscious knows that the recoil impulse arrives pursuant to the press of the finger. The result is that the shot goes low. If the whole hand clenches convulsively at the same time, the shot will often go to the side, as well, usually left for a right-hander.”
Understanding what causes flinch, here are 3 Tips I picked up from the book on how to correct it: 1. Trick the mind by using the “surprise break.” 2. Start with a slow trigger pull, increase speed as flinch becomes less of an issue. 3. Make dry-fire practice a regular habit.
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.
