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This article originally appeared in the January 28, 2013 issue of the newly-redesigned Gun Digest the Magazine. Click here for more information and to subscribe!
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The Gun Digest Book of Shotgunning
Gunsmithing Shotguns: PDF Download
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Name the wild game that can meet these requirements:
* Is found abundantly throughout North America
* Has generous hunting seasons
* Is able to sustain high levels of hunting without a population collapse
* Can be hunted using inexpensive rimfire ammunition
* Is high in protein
* Lives in urban, suburban and rural areas
* Has a mild taste that isn't “gamey”
* Eats only plant matter
* Is easy to hunt compared to most other game
* Requires minimal processing to eat
No, this isn't the legendary snipe hunt to nowhere. I'm talking about squirrels. It's time to rethink squirrel hunting.
I know, I know, you're already cuing the theme song to “Deliverance” in your head. There are plenty of stereotypes about eating squirrel. Throw them away. Look at this small game animal from a self-sufficiency standpoint.
Squirrels are the ideal survival food. They're everywhere, and it doesn't take a ton of effort to hunt them. You can use that emergency .22 rifle or handgun. They only need a couple months to reproduce. And unlike rabbits, they'll sit on a branch and ask you to shoot them.
Cast aside any delusions about relying only on big game during an extended crisis. Any deer hunter knows how perceptive these animals are to human pressure. Now imagine everyone and their brother heading to the woods for dinner. Your odds are better to take the “low-hanging fruit” in your backyard and go squirrel hunting.
I recently went squirrel hunting in Minnesota to experience this for myself. The photos chronicle some of the highlights.
The hunt was also a reminder of my roots, as I'm sure it is for many hunters. Only a few generations ago, my immigrant relatives were dirt poor and eating whatever they could find. It's no coincidence that my family has a catalog of squirrel recipes. The self-sufficiency they practiced to survive in a new country offers plenty of lessons for today.
To rural folks, squirrel hunting is nothing new. But if you're living in urban or suburban areas, take note. This is 100 percent organic, free-range, sustainable protein that will get you to the clear side of a disaster. And you're living in squirrel central.
Trust me, squeamish urbanites, it's what you'll be eating anyway if the SHTF. Better to prepare now. Get your hands on a .17 or .22 rifle and get to squirrel hunting.
Squirrel tastes mild and mellow, without a hint of gaminess. I won't say it tastes like chicken, but it is pretty close to grouse. The meat is clean on the tongue and finishes smooth. No need to chug a beverage to keep it down.
Preparing the meat is simple. Make a vertical cut down the sides. Pull half the skin off and over the head. Then pull the other half down toward the tail. Chop off the four legs.
It is possible with larger squirrels to cook the whole body. But in most cases, the legs (especially the rear pair) are where the meat is concentrated.
Dredge the legs in seasoned flour, then fry in oil. Eat them just like chicken wings. It doesn't get any simpler than that.
It's time to rethink squirrel hunting. Give it a try and discover why it's the ideal survival food.
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When you’re cold, wet, tired and in the elements, hot water for tea, coffee or cooking is good. But hot water quickly is much, much better. And there’s not much out there that boils water in the field more quickly or efficiently than
the Kelly Kettle.
So what exactly is a Kelly Kettle? This clever little bit of camping/preparedness kit is an import from Ireland that was originally used to heat water for Irish boatmen and fishing guides.
It’s simply a double-walled kettle with a big hole in the middle of it. That’s it. You fill the kettle with water, place it on its base, place a few twigs (or anything, really) in the base, light it, feed it a few more twigs, and in just a few
minutes you have boiling water.
It’s that simple.
The Kelly Kettle is what’s known in bushcraft/preparedness circles as a “volcano” kettle, which doesn’t mean it spews hot magma, rather the name come from the basic design of its center fire hole. Due to the kettle’s extremely large surface area, when a fire is lit in its center, the water heats up very quickly.
What’s more, the Kelly Kettle is very effective in windy conditions, as the fire is protected from the wind. In fact, the fire burns hotter as it gets windier because the kettle’s stand acts like a bellows that draws air into the fire chamber. The final effect, with flames shooting out from the top of the kettle’s chimney and hot steam piping into the air, is, well, volcano-like.
I first discovered the Kelly Kettle while researching alternatives to propane stoves. Like many outdoorsmen, when I’m on hunting or fishing trip I usually take a little one-burner propane stove for heating up water for tea, coffee, etc. It works well enough when the wind’s calm, but not so much when the wind blows.
Since I live in Oklahoma, where the wind blows pretty much non-stop, I had been looking for a wind-proof alternative to my propane stove, something I can take on a fishing or hunting trip and use to boil water quickly and easily right on the tailgate or ground.
But the Kelly Kettle is equally useful as an emergency/backup source of hot water for homeowners, campers, picnickers or anyone who needs hot water quickly, reliably, and with minimal fuel.
Thinking the Kelly Kettle might be the ticket, I ordered one. And on first use, I was, quite frankly, shocked at how quickly this thing boils water with such little fuel.
Soon after receiving mine, I decided to test it in a cold, wet and howling mid-winter wind. With just a little grass tinder and twigs scrounged from my yard and placed in the stainless steel base, it took less than four minutes from striking a ferro rod to the grass and feeding twigs into the fire, to boiling water ready for the French press.
The Kelly Kettle has since become a permanent and valued part of my camping/preparedness kit. It’s rugged, simple, efficient, and works well with virtually any combustible material you feed it.
With a price range from $59.95 for the aluminum “Trekker” model that holds 17 ounces of water all the way, to $84.99 for the stainless steel base camp model that holds 50 ounces of water, the Kelly Kettle is not inexpensive. But then, good gear rarely is.
Hosted by K&M Precision Rifle Training and GA Precision, the 2012 GAP Grind was held October 26-28, 2012. Watch this video to get a look inside this demanding long-range shooting competition. Do you think you have what it takes?
Recommendations: Best Sniper Rifle Stuff
The Ultimate Sniper: An Advanced Training Manual for Military and Police Snipers
Power juicers aren't the first gadget that come to mind when considering the Living Ready lifestyle. Here are some juicing tips for anyone interested in self-sufficiency.
Last year, our small vegetable plot cranked out more zucchini squash than we could eat in a year. No, three years. These things just about grew legs and got a job. I thought the neighbors were going to call the police, these zucchini were so intimidating and numerous.
We were excited at first. How many ways could we make these zucchini? After burning through a few cookbooks and bags of charcoal, the thrill wore off. But the zucchini didn't. They just kept coming.
Back in the day, such a surplus was a good problem to have. The excess would be canned for later. Being someone who cringes when perfectly good food is thrown away, this is something we should've done.
But like many modern folks, we didn't go the canning route. Not that it's a bad idea. We're just not there yet with our self-sufficiency.
What zucchini that didn't make it past the “no, really, we're OK”s from family and friends wound up returning to the earth from whence it came. That's a nicer way of saying, “it went in the trash.”
That still bugs me. I place a lot of value in “waste not, want not.” The zucchini incident did not live up to my own standards.
I don't want a repeat this coming season. If we get a bumper crop with any of our vegetables, I want to use everything. So I went out and found a solution.
I bought a juicer. Specifically, a Jack LaLanne Power Juicer.
Yes, this staple of late-night programming is gimmicky. But for $100, it's not like juicing tips us into bankruptcy. It actually turned out to be a smart investment. Instead of letting surpluses go to waste, I could juice produce that would've turned south.
Here are some pros and cons, as well as some juicing tips, I learned along the way.
Turn the machine on, then drop fruits and veggies down the chute. Bam. You've got juice.
Compared to canning, this is lightning speed. Food grown outside could go from the ground to my glass in just a few minutes.
The Jack LaLanne Power Juicer is an indiscriminate produce killing machine. It does not care what is tossed into it. It could find the juice in a boot. It is to juicing what Liam Neeson's character is in Taken.
Broccoli stems are a good example. We normally buy a head of broccoli and eat the tops, discarding the rest. This is wasteful. The solution is to juice the stems. The results are actually sweet, which was a surprise. It got me thinking about how other scraps could be put to use.
Potato peels? Juice 'em. Asparagus stems? Juice 'em. More heads of lettuce than you can eat? Juice 'em. Apple peels? Juice 'em. The leafy parts of a celery stalk? Juice 'em. Grapes on a vine past their due date? Juice 'em. All those leafy veggies your doctor says to eat but you never do? Juice 'em.
As the machine separates juice from everything else, the latter winds up in a container. This pulpy mix would make perfect compost.
It's supercharged because it's making the job of hungry bacteria easier. The total surface area of those shredded bits is greater than if you tossed in a whole vegetable or fruit. This allows for more bacteria to get in and do their job. Although I've yet to prove it, it is my theory that the pulp will break down faster.
The pulp can be used for a variety of culinary purposes, too. Carrot shreds would go perfectly in baked goods, for example. You could eat fruit pulp outright. Or you could throw veggie pulp into an omelet. There are scores of juicing tips out there on what to do with the stuff.
Whatever you do with the pulp, just don't let it go to waste.
We're talking about 100% juice with no preservatives, no dyes and nothing you can't pronounce (although zucchini is hard to spell). Tell me that's not a good thing.
You're also getting a vitamin bomb, depending on what you put in it (i.e not cupcakes). Some juicing tips out there talk about natural remedies for this and that. I don't buy into many of those claims, but I'll stand by this most inarguable of juicing tips: There are a lot worse things you could drink.
If you're a picky drinker, a power juicer is not for you. The taste usually falls somewhere between “pretty good” and “I have to take the rest of the day off.”
I worked long and hard to earn the nickname of “the human trash can” around the house, so taste doesn't bother me. That's not why I bought this juicer.
The trick is to find the right combination of fruits and vegetables. Most of the juicing tips I've read say an apple will make anything palatable.
It's best to drink the juice right away. Remember, there aren't any preservatives and nothing has been homogenized. The longer the juice sits, the worse it's going to look and taste.
I suppose you could can the juice, but that's not the point of this machine. Juicing is supposed to save time.
This is the case with most juicer models. There are several parts to the machine, and they all need to be cleaned immediately after use. That's is the best of all the juicing tips I could offer.
Waiting even an hour guarantees all that pulp will magically transform into veggie glue. At that point, you may as well have canned, because you'll spend just as much time scrubbing.
Overall, I'm happy with my purchase and am looking forward to finding ways to use the machine. It's an unlikely choice for self-sufficient folks, but one definitely worth a look.
Gun Digest the Magazine is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. With a subscription to Gun Digest the Magazine, readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews, how-to instructions and Second Amendment issues.
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A co-worker sought my advice about choosing a concealed carry gun. It was time to get armed.
There’s a running joke around the office, in which my co-workers engage in silly name calling, leveling monikers like “Glock Snob” at me (a name I’ve worn as a badge of honor, by the way). If you ask me what gun you should buy, you’ll usually get the same answer: “Glock.”
Well, Glock Snob has noticed a few patterns that tend to surface when it comes to folks contemplating starting to carry a concealed handgun.
As I wrote recently in this primer on buying your first concealed carry handgun, newbies tend to overlook the price of ammo.
Stop fretting about stopping power and think what it will actually cost you to shoot your handgun. To be sufficiently prepared, you’ll need to practice frequently. Training is key.
I almost always recommend a semi-automatic handgun as the primary CCW gun, and it doesn’t take long to blow through 500 rounds (expert tip: buy a Glock, and you won't get any jams). You can drop a couple hundred bucks in an afternoon at the range very quickly.
Consider that .45ACP ammo can be as much as 150% to (in some cases) almost twice the cost of similar types and quantities of 9mm ammo.
And when you actually study self-defense uses of guns, you see that the mere presence of a gun by an armed citizen is often enough to immediately deter the threat — it changes the cost/benefit analysis for the would-be criminal before terminal ballistics ever become an issue.
Don’t choose a tiny CCW gun just because you think it’ll be easier to hide under a t-shirt. There are many ways, and many special clothes for CCW that can conceal full size pistols.
Big guns can be shot more accurately and are more forgiving on recoil. The worst — and perhaps most common — mistake made is by well-meaning boyfriends or husbands recommending a small snub nose .38 special revolver to their lady.
These little pipsqueaks are cute, but they bark and buck like mad. Your woman won’t feel comfortable carrying a gun like this, so get her a full-sized handgun — something she can shoot comfortably.
I’ve noticed more commonalities, but the main thing to remember when buying your first concealed carry handgun — the most important thing in the whole world — is that you make sure, darn sure, that you always, always, always be sure that you buy a Glock.
The rest is up to you.
Need more advice on buying your first CCW gun? Read my primer, How to Choose the Best Concealed Carry Gun
My recommended resources for concealed carry:
The Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry, 2nd Edition
The Gun Digest Book of Combat Handgunnery
Armed: The Essential Guide to Concealed Carry
Find more resources at gundigeststore.com/tactical
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This Photo Galley is an excerpt from the Gun Digest Book of the Remington 870.
You have to hand it to Congresswoman Dianne Feinstein. She’s etched out a 20-plus year career, paid for by taxpayers, in which she gets to act out what appears to be a delusional fantasy.
Her latest hallucinations were manifested during a sensational press conference on January 24, 2013. She called for a ban of 157 specifically-named “assault weapons,” which includes of all things a squirrel hunting gun.
Feinstein knows she can bamboozle most Americans. People not acquainted with firearms will read her list and not spend one iota of effort to think critically about them.
If a gun’s on the list, it must be evil. No one “needs” it.
Now, I don’t buy into the notion that the guns of law-abiding citizens should be banned because one happened to be used in the commission of a crime. Even so, what no rational person can explain is why Feinstein is targeting guns like the Smith & Wesson M&P 15 22LR — which if you’re a tree-dwelling rodent with a bushy tail is one very scary gun.
Gun Digest readers know the .22LR rimfire is an effective small game cartridge. It’s designed for shooting rabbits or for target practice — and the competitive shooting sports.
I’m not suggesting guns chambered in .22LR don’t need to be treated with the same level of respect as other guns — they most certainly do. But I don’t recollect anyone claiming they were designed “for nothin' but shooting people.” After all, was that not the purported purpose of this proposed gun ban?
Of course, the Smith & Wesson .22’s real problem is that it’s condemned right out of the box simply because it looks like an AR-15. It’s a scary-looking gun just asking to be banned.
It is semi-automatic (don’t tell Feinstein about all the tubular-magazine fed semi-auto .22s out there) and it has a “clip” (ignoramus speak for “mag.”). Abandoning even pretended pretexts about keeping kids safe, the inclusion of this very effective squirrel rifle in Feinstein’s list proves beyond a shadow of a doubt for the watching world the blatant intellectual dishonesty of this cosmetic gun ban — a ban built upon manipulation and exploitation of tragedy for political gain.
Not only that, but the fact that the AR-15s on her list (those commonly chambered in .223 Rem. or 5.56 NATO) are quite literally the most popular predator hunting rifles in use today — for varmint hunting of coyotes, fox and other furbearers — flies in the face of the Congresswoman’s claim to be protecting hunting rifles.
It should come as no surprise, then, that Feinstein chose to smear the Barrett M107A1 and M82A1 .50 caliber rifles as well, which weigh about as much as an outboard motor and are just about the most impractical guns any would-be criminal could ever choose. Imagine someone trying to lug around a five-foot long, 30-pound rifle that costs between $5-10 per round to shoot.
Politicians have been looking for excuses to go after .50 caliber rifles for years and, since they can’t find them used in any crimes, the new tactic is to simply make an assertion that they are “assault rifles” by virtue of their being semi-automatic and thus need to be banned.
It’s the same thing with the third exhibit on Feinstein’s list. The Ruger Mini-14 Tactical M-14/20CF, which is only differentiated from Ruger’s Mini-14 Tactical M-14/20GBCP model in that it sports a scary-looking (her opinion, apparently) collapsible stock. In every other respect it functions in exactly the same manner. It shoots the same round. At the same rate of fire.
The only thing upstaging this level of deceit and absurdity — not to mention gargantuan waste of taxpayer funds at a time when the country can’t afford it — is the widespread ignorance about firearms underpinning all this that allows these fabrications to be taken seriously in public policy making. It is truly obscene.
Clear-thinking people can conclude only one thing. Even a cursory examination of the guns being targeted by congress shows Feinstein got tripped up in her own subterfuge. It reveals to everyone that her stated justification for the proposed gun ban is phony.
Make no mistake. This is about pushing an agenda, pure and simple. Hell, even a blind squirrel can see that much.
Gun Digest the Magazine is the source for firearms news, pricing and guns for sale. With a subscription to Gun Digest the Magazine, readers benefit from in-depth editorial expert advice, show reviews, how-to instructions and Second Amendment issues.
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There are those who spend an inordinate amount of time producing lists that rank items. The top ten this, the bottom ten that, the “good” the “bad” and the “ugly.” Okay, that last one is a movie, but even movies get ranked. In the AR-verse, those who rank go to a lot of trouble to rank rifles and producers. Woe to the manufacturer who does not make the top of such lists.
Well, there are makers of ARs you should avoid. But a lot of the talk is based on assumptions, small sample sizes and just plain “I had a bad rifle, so they are all bad” reasoning.
I’ve wanted to investigate the Del-Ton rifle line, but I never managed to get around to it, until now. And in case you haven’t made the connection, Del-Ton is one of the companies that some list makers love to hate. The Del-Ton carbine sent to me is a collaboration between Del-Ton and Tapco.
Located in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, Del-Ton offers a huge array of rifles and carbines, as well as parts for them, accessories and all the mouth-watering goodies you could ever wish to bolt to your AR. Many of the items they list are made by manufacturers who are on the tops of lists of “good” ARs, so it is kind of hard to square that with “Del-Ton isn’t good” venom.
Tapco comes in for its share (fair or not) of dislike, and again, I can’t see it. Sure, they may use different polymers, formulations that won’t stand up well to NATO-spec chemical, biological and radiation warfare decontamination. Do you really need that? And if you do, let me know where you live, so I can stay the heck away.
Marked with the Del-Ton logo, a stylized DTI, and with the flat-top rail slots numbered and filled, the carbine is smoothly finished and deep black. No purple or gray here.
The rifle itself is your basic stoner-style carbine, direct gas impingement with a 16” barrel complete with M4/203 barrel cut, and a fixed front sight base. The important parts are all in the details. Not that the details themselves are always critical, but attention to detail tells us a lot about those who make an item.
The front sight is fixed, but it is “F” marked and the correct height for an M4 carbine. While the rifle as-sent did not come with a rear sight, any you would wish to bolt to it will line up correctly with the front sight. Some makers overlook this and ship a flat-top upper with a non-F height front sight, presenting problems in getting the thing to sight in. Not so with Del-Ton.
It is also held on with taper pins, another good sign. The barrel has a 1/9 twist, which isn’t mil-spec, but common, and has a 5.56 chamber. And yes, that is a detail that is critical, as I mentioned in the chapter on the differences between this and the .223. I used my Michigun chamber gauge to check, and while I can feel a little bit of rubbing at the rifling leade, the neck and throat are 5.56 length and diameter. Well done, Del-Ton.
The stock is standard M4, but with a twist: it is sand/desert color (aka flat dark earth), made by Tapco and so-marked. (And just as a small departure from my usual dispassionate, reasoned and detached observation, who the heck named this? I mean, “dark” earth? Where would this color be dark? Some place with white sand beaches? Okay then, in the Caribbean it is dark. The rest of the world calls it tan, beige, sand or worse.) The stock slides on a commercial-diameter buffer tube, while inside of it is an “H” buffer. While military-diameter buffer tubes are theoretically better, I’ve given up caring about which is which. Does it fit? Yes, this one does fit well. Then we’re fine. The buffer tube castle nut is staked, heavily, and in two places.
Inside, the hammer is a modified (the top, autosear lug is ground off) M16 hammer, the carrier is a shrouded (M16) carrier with the auto-sear shoulder ground back. The trigger pull is proper mil-spec, in that you can feel the over-travel when you dry-fire, but when shooting you don’t.
The carrier key is properly (read: heavily) staked, and the interior of the gas tube and the carrier are both properly hard-chromed. While the carrier and bolt are not marked as to the manufacturer, they have the typical machining marks that you’d see on carriers by any of the top-quality makers. That is, none, as the surface is properly bead-blasted before being parkerized. Obvious care has gone into these parts. If Del-Ton doesn’t make them themselves, they take care in obtaining them from someone who knows how to tend to details. The extractor spring is correctly installed and has the black insert in it.
The feed ramps are M4, lowered down into the receiver cross-section ramps, and the machining was done before the upper was anodized.
The handguard is the Tapco Intrafuse handguard. It is a rigid but not free-float handguard, with a rail the full length on top and bottom, and half-length side rails. The bottom and side rails have covers, while the top rail is left alone. You can leave it as-is, or take the cover or covers off and mount gear there. With the covers on, the handguard is a bit portly. But some like that, and if you find it is just a bit biggish, you can take the covers off. Me, I like to run handguards as small and trim as I can, so leaving them off would be my choice.
However, I left them on for testing simply because it makes it easier to keep everything together when it comes time to send stuff back. (Yes, I send stuff back. Manufacturers are not commonly in the habit of sending out expensive freebies, and in the early years I would get requests for the missing bits and parts, if I wasn’t careful to keep things all together.)
The pistol grip is one of those things that just puzzle the heck out of me. The Tapco pistol grip on this rifle is their take on the SAW/M249 grip. The angle is different from the original AR, and the grip itself is wider, with a taper out towards the bottom. Those that love the SAW will love this one. Me, I am not a fan of the M249 grip.
To be fair, while every time I handled the Del-Ton carbine while not on the range, I curled my lip a bit whenever I had to hold the pistol grip, when I was shooting it I never noticed what kind of grip is on it. Always go by what improves your score or performance and not what feels or looks good at the moment. And especially don’t go with what is “tactical” cool, or mil-spec. If it improves your score, it is good. If it doesn’t, it isn’t. And if it hurts your performance…..well, ditch it.
Along with the rifle, in a Del-Ton marked hard case, came a pair of Tapco Intrafuse Gen II magazines, also in flat dark earth. Tapco has continued to compete in the magazine arena, and the Gen II magazines feature anti-tilt followers, with generous gunk clearance to allow unwanted debris to pass, a 17-7 stainless spring, and improved feedlip dimensions that make the Gen II a drop-free magazine even when loaded. I was not to the stage of AR abuse that I later began, so I didn’t have a chance to abuse either the Del-Ton or the Tapco magazines.
Since the rifle arrived lacking a BUIS, and I needed something with which to aim, I simply bolted on an EOTech sight to do drills and added an Insight ATPIAL to check sight tower clearance and function. The EOTech bolted right on (no surprise there) and the ATPIAL cleared the sight tower, so I was good to go. In blasting a bunch of ammo through the Del-Ton carbine, I found only one problem: one of the magazines was not happy with a match 52 grain hollowpoint load I find to be quite accurate.
To be fair, this is a varmint load, designed to be a prairie dog tactical nuke and not what you’d use in a defensive carbine. It is also far too expensive to be used simply blasting in a defensive carbine class. Plus, only one of the magazines had problems, and then only occasionally. Everything else fed flawlessly. A definite case of “if it hurts, don’t do it.”
If I were to use the Del-Ton carbine as a defensive rifle, I’d certainly make sure it worked 100% with whatever defensive load I was using. If I really had to use the 52 grain varmint load, say on varmints, I wouldn’t worry about occasional malfunctions. I have never read yet of a shooter being charged by varmints.
For formal accuracy testing I clamped a 30mm Famous Maker 4-12X scope in a LaRue mount on top of the receiver. What I found was that this particular rifle loves, to an excessive degree, Hornady TAP 55 grain ammo. I would have to seriously over-indulge in coffee to give myself the shakes sufficient to shoot a group over 1.5 inches in size. Most hovered right under one inch.
The rest of the ammo I tried shot equally gratifying groups. One detail I wanted to check was the accuracy with one of the new heavy bullet loads. Some 1/9 barrels shoot the 75 and 77 grain loads fine, others aren’t so happy with them. The Del-Ton carbine showed a bit of accuracy drop-off, but still shot well. I would have to spend some time with it to see if the accuracy improves as the barrel breaks in, or not.
I didn’t have a chance to go out to the National Guard base and thrash the little plastic “ivans” on the computer pop-up course, but I have no doubts that with it I could easily post more clean scores. Del-Ton, I should have looked at your rifles earlier, but I’m glad I finally did.
Now, if someone tells you that Del-Ton isn’t as good as something from the ABC tier, well, maybe, maybe not. The real questions are these: Does theirs work better? Does theirs shoot more accurately? Can they shoot theirs faster and more accurately than you can shoot yours? Unless the answers to all of these is an unequivocal “yes” then pay no attention and keep on shooting.
This article is an excerpt from the Gun Digest Book of the AR-15, Vol. 4.
If you spend any time at all in a competitive endeavor, you’ll quickly realize that skill at any given contest does not necessarily carry over to another. The list of professional ballplayers (football, baseball, whatever) who were good on the field, and then good as a coach, is small. The list of professional sports figures who go on to open successful businesses is small, indeed.
Skill in any endeavor is a rare thing. We should expect, therefore, that skill in two would be rarer still. Which is one of the things that makes Bill Wilson rare. Were I given to the usual sloppy hyperbole that modern writing schools seem to encourage so much, I’d call him unique. He isn’t. As good as he is, he isn’t the only one to be successful as a businessman in the field in which he saw such fame as a competitor. And make no mistake, he was a heavyweight back in the early days of IPSC, and he’s a heavyweight now in the field of custom guns.
Starting with 1911s, Bill has expanded to the modern triumvirate of defensive artillery: the 1911, the 870, and the AR. Wilson ARs are built on 7075-T6 forgings, precision machined (and in this day and age that means CNC multi-axis machines) and hard-coat anodized. The receivers are then given a Wilson Armor-Tuff baked-on epoxy finish, in your choice of green, black, tan, gray or stainless, depending on the model. They all have Wilson match-grade barrels, 16, 18 or 20 inches, depending on what model you choose. The smallbores have 5.56 chambers for reliable chambering and to avoid the problems that .223 chambers can bring when fed a diet of 5.56-spec ammo.
As with his 1911s, you can get a standard, Wilson-spec rifle: just pick the catalog number, phone or email your order, and your FFL will be receiving it in short order. Or you can custom-build the AR of your heart’s desire by starting with a Wilson model and substituting items such as flash hiders (Vortex, A2 or Wilson Tactical Muzzle brake?), stocks (Magpul or M4?), folding sights (Wilson makes a handful, front and rear), and your choice of railed handguard – and do you want low-profile rail ladders, or full-profile rail covers?
Scope mounts, optics, pistol grips, charging handles, bolt releases, foregrips, all can be spec’d and either left as-is or Armor-Tuff® coated to match.
But you knew all that, right? I mean, you’re an AR fan who stays in the know, so none of that is news to you. Well, guess again; Wilson is now making rifles in 6.8.
Developed to provide a significant increase in terminal effectiveness without making recoil onerous, the 6.8 Remington SPC is a big step up. If you want a rifle chambered in a cartridge a lot more suited to hunting (and it will pass muster even in States where the DNR does not allow .223/5.56 for deer hunting) while being the modern, reliable, and accurate rifle of the 21st century, the 6.8 is a good choice. The Wilson 6.8 project simply takes the already-excellent Wilson AR and replaces the 5.56 parts with 6.8.
The barrel is a stainless medium weight match grade barrel with a 1:11 twist and an SPC II chamber. That means you have the pressure-lowering benefits of the new throat and leade and the accuracy of a match barrel but the relatively slow twist to increase bullet instability on impact. The gas system is mid-length, for a lower port pressure and less abrupt gas flow, while still maintaining a length-enough gas dwell time for reliable function. You have a choice of 16- or 18-inch barrels, and the railed forearm is appropriately proportioned for each. The match barrel is guaranteed to deliver MOA accuracy with match-grade ammo.
The new Wilson Combat Quadrail is interesting. It is fully-railed on top, but on the side the rails are carved off just forward of the midpoint. That gives you a slimmer, more oval shape, and one that doesn’t have rails to gnaw at your hands. But the forward sections of rail provide plenty of space to mount lights, lasers, and other tactical goodies.
The trigger is the Wilson single stage TTU for a clean and crisp letoff, but one that feels like any other AR trigger, just a lot nicer. If you opt for a complete rifle, you get Magpul stock and pistol grip. If , however, you already have an AR (let us hope it is a Wilson, so the upper won’t feel lonely) then you can simply acquire a Wilson 6.8 upper to put on your existing lower.
Now, if you want to shave half a pound off your full-up weight, then the Wilson Tactical Hunter Lightweight 6.8 SPC will do that. With a 16-inch barrel of a slightly slimmer profile, the Tactical Hunter becomes a very light, handy, mid-power hunting rifle, and one with guaranteed MOA accuracy.
But wait, we’re not done yet. Options! You get options.
You can replace the single-stage TTU with the two-stage TTU and get a target/competition trigger pull in your rifle. The single stage is 3.5 pounds, the double is 3, but the difference is greater than that. on a single-stage trigger, you press on the trigger, and when you reach the break point, 3.5 pounds, the trigger moves and the hammer falls. On a two-stage trigger, you take up a pound and a half of slack, and then another pound and a half releases the hammer. If you decide not to shoot, letting go of the trigger relaxes that pound and a half of take-up you started.
You can also opt for a Wilson oversized bolt stop, if you’re using it in competition. You have your choice of a fixed or folding front sight, and two different folding rear sights, as well as an A2 detachable carry handle rear.
Scope rings: you get a choice of one-inch or 30mm, and they fit over the folding Wilson rear sights.
Or you can simply build your Wilson 6.8 as an M4 clone.
If you want to do the work yourself, Bill is more than happy to accommodate you. You can order up a 6.8 barrel, in one of six length/profile/fluted or unfluted combinations, and a bolt and carrier combo made for Wilson by LMT, complete with NP3 plating. Magazines, ammo, flash hiders, and case gauges for the reloaders are all available from Bill. As I said, he’s a really good businessman.
The two things that jumped out at me when I had a chance to handle and shoot the Wilson 6.8 were the handguards and the front sight. The new FUFS is a sleek and clean folded sight that locks in either the up or down position. When it is folded, it is not just unobtrusive, it is almost hidden. And when it is up, it is locked there. The button to unlock it is guarded, so it is highly unlikely that you will accidentally brush the button and partially fold your front sight.
If you are wedded to sights on the rail, Wilson also offers a folding front sight that fits there, too.
The Combat Quadrail has full-length top and bottom rails, but the side rails are sculpted on the rear two-thirds or so. This gives you a firm hold without the “bite” of rails on the sides. It also give you a better index on the front hand, so you know if the rifle is vertical as it comes up, and you don’t have to hunt for the sights once you’ve shouldered it. As a bonus, there are eight threaded holes (1/4″X20) where you can bolt on something that needs more than just a rail or that can be bolted on and take up less space than a quick detach system requires.
Made from 6065 T5 and hard anodized, you’re going to have to work to wear this one out.
How did they shoot? Do you really have to ask that? With a Trijicon 3-9 on one Tactical Custom and an Aimpoint M4 on the other, the results were as expected: lots of easy fast, close-range hosing on drills, and nice, even, small clusters on the 100-yard targets. The Wilson triggers made shooting a breeze, and the rifles ran flawlessly.
You really do owe it to yourself to shoot a Wilson. You won’t be disappointed.
This article is an excerpt from the The Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Vol. III.
Very few guns have a century-long legacy like the 1911. It has served U.S. Armed Forces for decades and been labeled as one of the finest fighting handguns in the world. Whereas dozens of manufacturers have taken on John Moses Browning’s design and continue to produce more 1911s than ever, arguably the 1911 design most often referred to is a variant of the original by Colt.
Firearms enthusiasts of every stripe have written and read thousands of articles about the Colt 1911. For most, it’s a love/hate thing with passionate rhetoric usually reserved for discussions on religion and politics. Moreover, gun reviews by their very nature can be quite subjective: after all, what you shoot best may not be what another person shoots best.
This is true of the Colt 1911 and every other handgun ever tested and written up in a gun magazine.
In my handgun review of a modern Colt Lightweight Commander I want first to admit – gladly – biases and subjectivity. I am one reviewer with one opinion. Second, in the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit that I like the 1911 platform—there is sheer genius in some of the design elements. But I also like snub-nosed revolvers. Few handguns fit my hand better than a CZ. And I like Glocks. Biases accounted for, let’s get down to business.
The bottom line on the Colt Lightweight Commander is that the gun is all business and that can be both a strength and a weakness. Suitable for plinking on the range, racing in competition, and carrying concealed in daily life, the Lightweight Commander aptly does all these things – that’s its strength. Its weakness is that it functions well but not with the finesse of other pistols.
I can already hear the objections: finesse, you say, is for ballerinas or cake decorators. The Colt 1911 is a last-ditch defensive tool, a combat handgun that fires the burly .45 ACP cartridge. It’s what my Grandpa carried in World War II. Agreed. While few other handguns share the legacy of service of the Colt 1911, other handguns outshine the Colt Lightweight Commander in terms of weight (lighter), feel (smoother), or deployment (simpler).
Other factors such as magazine capacity and price are also important but I’m not going to factor those in here. Where the Colt shines, however, is in its overall execution. In other words, being “all business” means it is extremely effective at doing what it is designed to do: accurately discharging .45 ACP bullets at a target.
1911 aficionados, me included, can and will argue the many merits of the platform: legacy, ballistics, specific design features, and more. Some may even argue that the notion of finesse does not belong in the matter of defensive arms. That’s a discussion for another day. For now, I’m going to try to capture the four main reasons the 1911 is best described as “all business.”
Classic begins with an overall appearance that is professional but functional. The Colt Lightweight Commander’s rich, reddish-brown rosewood stocks offset it’s otherwise understated gunmetal gray coloring. An upswept beavertail grip safety and slide cocking serration along with low profile Novak sights present a familiar and trusted look. Yet every good-looking feature is entirely functional. The brushed aluminum alloy frame yields a lighter overall weight.
The stocks provide excellent purchase and, in their 118-degree angle, offer natural pointability. The grip safety allows a shooter to safely hold the Colt in the web of the hand, maintain a solid grip, and in conjunction with the stocks, quickly bring the muzzle back on target when shooting. Other pistols offer better ergonomics or stocks with greater purchase. Other pistols allow a barrel to sit lower in the hand. Very few pistols; however, combine all of these functional elements like a 1911. These elements have changed very little.
CapableGenerally firearms only become classics if they prove themselves to be capable. The Colt Lightweight Commander is indeed a capable shooter, meaning it is easy and intuitive to aim and squeeze the trigger. It accurately delivers .45 ACP bullets to point of aim, without fuss. Yes, with a 1911 you have to master squeezing a grip safety, disengaging a manual safety, and squeezing a single-action trigger. Mastery of these and other elements demands practice, practice, practice.
Of course, safe, regular, consistent practice provides the means to mastering any handgun, not just 1911’s. But once a 1911 shooter masters these movements, the act of safely aiming and accurately firing becomes second nature. Some firearms experts recommend double-action revolvers or double-action-only semiautomatic pistols for new shooters or for those who cannot put in the practice required to master the more complex action of a 1911.
“Simpler” handguns may indeed be “easier” to fire as they may have no manual safety and may offer a long, smooth trigger stroke. All firearm safety and engagement rules accounted for, if a shooter is at the point of squeezing a trigger to fire a handgun, it is hard to beat the easy, short, glass rod snap of a 1911 trigger.
The Colt Lightweight Commander, even with its 4.25-inch barrel, is easy to conceal with the right holsters. Much credit goes the thin slide – well under one inch in most variations. Eminently concealable in an inside-the-waistband holster, the Colt Lightweight Commander can disappear under just a T-shirt and shorts.
That’s because thin and flat is actually easier to hide than small and chunky. Granted, other handguns exist that are thinner and flatter than the 1911. At some point, however, too much reduction in size negatively affects a pistol’s capability. In other words, if you can’t shoot a small pistol well, then what’s the point of carrying it concealed for self-protection? The Colt Lightweight Commander weighs in at 27 ounces (unloaded) but its excellent concealability is more a function of its thin and flat design.
This Colt Lightweight Commander bears the Colt logo: a young horse rearing. It’s a fitting image as this 1911 is indeed powerful and sometimes tough to control. Even with all its excellent design features working in conjunction, this pony still gives a healthy kick in the form of recoil.
It’s not outrageous or obnoxious, but it is commanding in two respects: First, you’re firing the mighty .45 ACP cartridge, one of the most effective defensive rounds in handgun history that delivers a wallop of energy to a target. Second, you’re firing the mighty .45 ACP cartridge, a round that packs a wallop of recoil for the shooter. With the Colt Lightweight Commander, one of the lightest in Colt’s 1911 lineup, whatever recoil the gun cannot absorb will be transferred to the shooter.
Add the loud report, muzzle rise, and the psychological effects of firing this gun and you’ll see why regular practice is a must. Other handguns, due to their designs, are downright easy to shoot. Or at least they are less punishing than this 1911. As such, you won’t be breaking in the Colt; the Colt will be breaking you in.
■ Model 04860XS
■ Ambidextrous Safety Lock
■ Novak Low Mount Carry Sights with Dots
■ Enhanced Hammer
■ Extended Ambidextrous Safety Lock
■ Colt Upswept Beavertail Grip Safety
■ 3-Hole Aluminum Trigger
■ Lowered and Flared Ejection Port
■ Full Length Guide Rod
■ Front and Rear Slide Serrations
■ 4.25-inch barrel
■.45 ACP
■ 8-round capacity
■ Aluminum alloy frame
■ Cerakote stainless receiver
■ Stainless steel slide
■ www.coltsmfg.com
This article appeared in the December 3, 2012 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
On Jan. 16, President Barack Obama unveiled 23 executive orders and a four-point legislative plan as part of a package of gun control measures. They reflected the results of firearms discussions led by the White House after the Sandy Hook mass murders. The firearms community hasn't stopped talking since, and neither have many people normally unfamiliar with guns. It seems everyone has an opinion. Living Ready wants to help sort fact from fiction.
Living Ready, which originally was a special edition of Gun Digest, doesn't deal much with opinions. It deals in hard information. Unfortunately, inarguable information is lacking in this gun law discussion.
Muddying the waters are terms like “assault weapon” and “high-capacity magazine,” which lack consistent definitions and leave much up to interpretation or manipulation. These words are bantered about by politicians, advocacy groups, everyday folks and, yes, even firearms enthusiasts. That these opaque terms are woven into laws should disturb anyone desiring government transparency.
Living Ready was founded on a mission of clear-cut education. From bug-out bags and home survival kits to backup generators and growing food, there is no room for obscurity when lives are on the line. Only rock-solid information matters. The rest is just noise.
The same goes with the firearms discussion. Gun owners, Second Amendment advocates, gun control groups, lawmakers, law enforcement, firearm collectors, dealers, retailers and people who have never even touched a gun all owe it to themselves to be informed before drawing any conclusions. Living Ready recommends these books for the best information anywhere on these topics.
* Gun Digest Book of the AR-15 Series Set – Fact or fiction: “AR stands for assault rifle.” Answer: Fiction. It actually stands for “Armalite.” That's just one of the many misconceptions about the AR-15, the much-maligned “assault weapon” referenced by politicians and pundits. Is it a killing machine or a rifle with practical applications? Expert Patrick Sweeney dives into AR-15s like no one else in this four-book set.
* Gun Digest Book of Concealed Carry, 2nd Edition – Fact or fiction: “There are people walking around armed every day and you'd never know it.” Answer: Fact. Massad Ayoob, arguably the world's foremost firearms instructor, makes the case for why concealed carry is not nearly as scary as knee-jerk reactions would have you believe. There are sound reasons why an everyday person would carry a concealed firearm. Ayoob explains them with a clarity only his decades of experience can provide.
* Glock Deconstructed – Fact or fiction: “Glock is another term for handgun.” Answer: Fiction. It is not a substitute for any handgun. It's a brand, and an important one at that. Author Patrick Sweeney takes a look at this influential handgun company and its renowned products.
* Self-Defense Bundle (Armed for Personal Defense, Personal Defense for Women, Gun Digest Book of Personal Protection & Home Defense) – Fact or fiction: “The police will always be there when you need them.” Answer: Fiction. This three-book bundle explores that answer with a slate face. No macho stuff here. This is practical, pertinent information for protecting life and limb.
* The Cartridge Comparison Guide – Fact or fiction: “No one needs more than one bullet in their clip.” Answer: Fiction. Also, they're called cartridges, and they usually go in magazines. There are many characteristics to ammunition. Understanding these traits will provide a better view on how to legislate magazine capacities. Even the United States Fish & Wildlife Service agrees that author Andrew Chamberlain offers a “gold mine of information” in this book.
Has talk of new gun regulations changed the way you look at preparedness? Living Ready wants to hear your views. Leave a comment below.
Intelligent discussion only. That means if you make a statement, provide evidence for it. Be polite ladies and gentlemen about it. Personal attacks only encourage opposing opinions to yell louder. These issues are too important to get lost in inflammatory rhetoric.
The discussion continues on Living Ready‘s Facebook page. Be sure to stop by and “Like” the page.
Glock calls the new model a “hybrid,” because it marries the Glock 36 slide (the .45 ACP SlimLine, with a width of 1.13 in.) to the Glock 30SF frame — making it essentially an even slimmer 30SF. It holds 10 rounds of .45 ACP.
“The G30S platform has been more than a year in the making,” explained Josh Dorsey, GLOCK Vice President. “Our original request from the field – particularly from law enforcement – was to have a more concealable .45 that still carries 10 rounds, so we utilized the G30 SF frame after it was thoroughly tested, presented and accepted as the desired frame for the G30S.”
SPECS
**depending on ammunition used
Glock also added to its 2013 offerings with four new Gen4 models – the G20, G29, G30 and G33. The G20 is the massive 10mm gun favored by big game hunters, while the G29 is the compact 10mm.
The G30 Gen4 is the standard .45 ACP, also 10 rounds, and the G33 the hot little .357 SIG gun.
