Israel Weapon Industries has issued a safety recall notice for IWI Carmel rifles within a certain serial number range.
Isreal Weapon Industries has issued a safety recall notice for the Carmel rifle. All Carmel owners should ensure that their rifle’s serial number doesn’t fall within the range specified by IWI as having firing pin blocker issues. If it does fall within that range, it should be sent to IWI where it will be fixed and returned for free.
The full recall notice from IWI can be read here:
OCTOBER 30, 2023
IWI US, Inc. (“IWI”) has determined that the Carmel Rifle has a safety issue with the firing pin blocker and is thereby subject to a Safety Warning and Recall Notice. IWI is issuing this mandatory recall to repair the safety issue in the specific Carmel rifles listed below. IWI will correct these recalled firearms at no cost to the customer, and this recall does not affect any other IWI products.
This safety recall notice affects 1,094 Carmel rifles shipped within the following serial number range. All Carmel rifle serial numbers within the below range are affected.
• Option 2: Call IWI US, Inc. Customer Service at (717) 695-2081 and have the rifle’s 8-digit serial number available.
2. Whether you choose option 1 or 2, IWI US, Inc. Customer Service will send you shipping instructions that include a pre-addressed shipping label.
3. Upon receipt of the shipping instructions, follow instructions found in the Owner’s Manual.
• Remove the magazine from the rifle.
• Clear the firearm of all ammunition.
4. Using the pre-addressed shipping label that was sent to you, ship the rifle to IWI US, Inc.
Once received by IWI US, Inc. the rifle will be repaired and returned to you within 4-6 weeks.
IWI US, Inc. apologizes for any inconvenience this has caused and will service any affected rifle in the most expedited manner possible.
If you have any questions about this recall, the rifle, or its disassembly or reassembly, please contact IWI US, Inc. Customer Service at (717) 695-2081.
Six experts share their advice regarding the everyday carry self-defense handgun.
Most who carry a handgun for self-defense have limited access to others who have a lot of experience doing it. You might know a gun guy from the range or the gun store, a buddy who fashions himself an “expert” … or maybe even a cop who can provide some guidance.
I don’t believe anyone has all the answers, but I do think there are some folks you can learn from.
Competence with a defensive handgun is a perishable skill. Staying tuned for conflict requires constant practice.
I’ve carried a handgun for personal protection most of my life, I was a soldier and I worked as a patrol officer and as a special agent. I’ve also had some fantastic firearms training, but more importantly, I’ve met some other folks with lots of experience that I learned from.
I asked six veteran practitioners of the defensive handgun for the three points of advice they’d give to someone looking for guidance for the everyday carry of a concealed handgun. Here’s what they had to offer.
Bill Wilson: Custom Firearms Manufacturer
Bill Wilson founded Wilson Combat, which has become the premier source for high-quality defensive handguns, and it’s also the largest custom firearms manufacturer in the world. Bill won fame as a gunsmith and as a competitive shooter, and he carries a handgun every day … and twice on Sunday.
His first piece of advice was to, simply enough, have a gun.
“If you are going to carry, you must carry every day. It’s not always comfortable or convenient, but if you are going to carry, you must always carry. I have my gun in my holster every morning before I put my socks and shoes on, and it doesn’t come out of the holster until I undress for bed at night.”
Bill also suggests that you carry a gun of sufficient power to stop the threat—which he believes starts at 9mm—and that you’re proficient with.
Bill Wilson believes the 9mm Luger cartridge is the minimum power level that should be considered for everyday carry self-defense handguns.
“I know small, lightweight guns are much easier to carry and conceal, but if you can’t make multiple well-placed hits at 10 yards within a reasonable time frame, you’re just creating a false sense of security,” he added.
Finally, Bill suggested this: “Train frequently with your chosen carry gun. If you can’t draw from concealment and place a hit into an 8-inch area, from 10 yards, within 2.5 seconds, shooting full-charge ammo, you probably shouldn’t carry a gun for self-protection.”
I for sure agree with the need for frequent training and for the continued increase in proficiency, but maybe not so much with Bill’s benchmark of performance. As a minimum, you must be safe, but as a cop I responded to more calls where just the presentation of a handgun made a bad guy stop doing bad things than I did to a scene where the bad guy was shot.
Jerry Dove: Gunsmith, Firearms Instructor
Jerry Dove is my personal gunsmith, and for a time was a top level IPSC competitor. He builds very nice guns, is a very good shot and, in addition to establishing and monitoring the defense plan for his church, Jerry regularly teaches permit qualifying concealed carry classes. Jerry is very practical when it comes to self-defense, and he likes to keep things simple.
His everyday carry advice is to get a top-quality gun, a good and comfortable holster and to train with your equipment consistently. Jerry also suggested—and this is very important—that you should know and understand the laws of the jurisdiction you’re carrying in. If you get sideways of the law, even if it’s unintentional, at best you might lose your right to carry concealed legally, and at worst you might start receiving your mail addressed to a certain prison cell.
Ken Campbell: Former LE, CEO of Gunsite Academy
Ken Campbell is a former street cop and sheriff, and he currently works as the chief executive officer at Gunsite Academy, the oldest and largest civilian firearms training academy in the world.
Ken suggests you keep your gun concealed: He told me he appreciates open carry, but he appreciates the element of surprise even more. He also believes you should have a good belt and holster. If your carry gear is not comfortable, you’ll be tugging and adjusting constantly, which makes concealment problematic.
Though open carry may be legal and have its place, Ken Campbell prefers concealed carry and the element of surprise that comes with it.
Ken thinks that you should practice with the gun, carry method and the ammunition you’ll actually carry on a daily basis.
When the chips are down, Ken does not believe you’ll rise to the occasion—he believes you’ll default to your level of training. That’s sounds like standard advice from someone who runs a firearms training school, but it’s a concept that also has merit with any physical activity: Your worst shot during practice might very well be your best shot during a gunfight.
Ken Hackathorn: Pro Firearms Trainer
As a professional firearms trainer, Ken Hackathorn has probably trained more shooters than you’ve fired rounds downrange. Because of that, he offers a unique perspective on the defensive handgun, a perspective based on his observation of thousands of people using one.
“Carrying a sidearm is like wearing a seatbelt; if you don’t have it on, it won’t be any help when you need it,” insists Ken. He also said you should, “Pick a sidearm that you shoot well. Don’t select your sidearm on the basis of what the ‘cool kids’ use.” And finally, he echoed the consistent advice of practicing, but added that you should, “Always shoot for a specific point on the target, not at the whole target.”
I find no fault with Ken’s advice, especially the part about choosing a gun you shoot well. Sometimes, the “cool kids” get it right, and sometimes the cool kids are paid to preach the virtues of certain guns. Regardless of the accolades they may spew, you’re the one who must pay for the gun and carry the gun … and you’re the one who must shoot it to save your life.
Will McGuire: SWAT, Conservation Officer
I met Will McGuire several years ago while helping my local sheriff’s department with some tactical training. Will stood out because he was not only an excellent shot, but he was also tactically proficient. Will was a street cop and, until he switched over to service with the State’s Department of Natural Resources, a SWAT officer. His advice is worth heeding and his first suggestion was that when it comes to a carry gun, smaller is not always better, saying, “If you can hide it really well but shoot it poorly, it’s worth nothing.”
Will is also very fond of a weapon-mounted light. “A gun without a light is useless 50 percent of the time. If you can’t see and identify the target, you can’t engage it.” I think there’s some truth to that, especially in a home-defense setting, but I also think a weapon-mounted light extremely complicates carry. If you can pull it off comfortably, by all means do it. Otherwise, carry a high-intensity compact flashlight. Yeah, half of every day is dark, but it’s rarely a coal mine—got to have a light in the dark—and avoiding those type situations is not a bad idea.
Will’s last bit of advice was to consider a holster that keeps your weapon on your person, as opposed to in a glovebox or in a purse. He says, “The fight will rarely hold for you to find your gun.” This, too, is good advice but sometimes becomes problematic for those who will not alter their dress or their image in order to carry. As they say, life is always about choices, and ultimately you must live with the ones you make.
Sheriff Jim Wilson: West Texas Sheriff, Firearms Instructor
I’ve spent a lot of time with all these folks, I’ve trained with them, and I put a lot of stock in their opinions, but none more so than former West Texas Sheriff Jim Wilson. Jim has decades of experience, a tremendous amount of training and is an excellent firearms instructor himself. If the Sheriff is talking about handguns and personal protection, you should be listening.
Jim suggests you carry a gun that allows you to make head shots out to 25 yards, and vital-zone shots out to 50 yards. That might seem a bit excessive, but if you prepare for the worst, everything else is easy. He also believes you should carry a quality holster and carry it in a location that permits your draw with the support hand if necessary. This is wise as well because it’s foolish to think you may not be injured at the time you need to shoot to save your life.
And, lastly, Jim believes you should avoid the foolish carry rotation, suggesting you carry one gun, and carry it in one carry location, as much as possible. I think this is also sound advice that should only be disregarded when your situation requires ultra-deep concealment, or if there are some other extenuating circumstances.
Effective and undetectable everyday concealed carry requires a good holster and belt.
Final Thoughts
Relationships with guns are like relationships with women: They’re complicated and require constant tending. There’s a reason it’s unwise to have more than one woman, and the same applies to carry guns.
And always remember, as Ken suggested: You’ll not rise to the occasion, you’ll default to your training.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the 2023 EDC special issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
If you keep these four handgun loads stocked for your self-defense pistol, your sidearm can be a much more versatile tool.
When it comes to ammunition for defensive handguns, self-defense ammo is the most talked about. While the primary purpose of self-defense handguns is for protection against humans doing bad things, it’s not their only viable use.
There are actually four types of ammunition you should consider for a defensive handgun, and while all four might not be practical for you—today, based on your lifestyle and geographic location—at some point they might be. I’m a practical/general-purpose kind of guy, and I’m not interested in any handgun unless all four of these loads are available for it across the counter … or can at least be loaded by hand.
Every defensive handgun deserves a supply of these four loads to make it most suitable for general-purpose self-protection
Practice/Training Ammunition
If you’re serious about your defensive handgun, you’ll shoot more practice/training ammunition than any other type. The good news is that there’s a lot of good training ammunition to choose from. The mistake some folks make is trying to save too much money.
When I became the firearms instructor at my department, we were using re-manufactured ammunition for training. We saved some money, but we also blew up two pistols in the process. If you handload your own ammo, that’s great—as long as you do a good job. If you don’t handload, do yourself a favor and spend a few dollars extra for quality, factory-loaded ammunition.
The round-nose or truncated cone FMJ bullet is the standard for training and practice, but a relatively new offering from Federal, where the lead bullet is coated with a synthetic jacket, is a better option. Federal’s Syntech ammunition eliminates copper and lead fouling, increases barrel life and drastically reduces splash-back when shooting steel targets. I use a lot—and I mean a lot—of this stuff.
Federal Syntech ammunition is some of the best practice ammo available, especially if you routinely shoot steel targets.
Self-Defense Ammunition
There’s a litany of self-defense loads for every suitable self-defense handgun cartridge. Picking the right one might seem harder than finding a life partner, but the truth is that there are more good self-defense loads out there than there are bad. Also, many of these loads perform very similarly because most ammunition manufacturers are building their self-defense ammunition to conform to the FBI’s 12 to 18 inches of penetration requirements, with bullet upset of about 1.5 times the original bullet diameter.
Most Speer’s Gold Dot loads, Hornady Critical Duty loads, Remington’ Golden Saber loads, Winchester’s USA Defense loads, as well as a wide variety of ammunition loaded with Barnes XPB bullets, generally deliver FBI-level performance. I’d not feel under-gunned with any of these, but I am partial to Federal’s Personal Defense or Tactical HST loads. Regardless of the cartridge, these loads penetrate to between 12 and 16 inches, and the bullets will generally upset between 1.5 and 1.8 times the original diameter. This ammunition is also extremely reliable, and reliability is a primary concern with self-defense ammunition.
Predator Defense Ammunition
Some of us live or frequent locations where predatory animals can be found. I’m not talking about coyotes or badgers; I’m talking about larger critters that can present a serious threat to humans … like mountain lions and bears. You could potentially kill either with a good self-defense load, but your goal is not to kill but to stop them as fast as possible. This calls for a bullet that’ll penetrate very deep, no matter if big or heavy bone is encountered. You might have to shoot a bad bear in the head, and you want the bullet to penetrate the skull and keep going.
This calls for a heavy-for-caliber bullet driven hard and fast, and one that’ll hold together and bust through anything encountered. The best bullet for this job is a hardcast bullet. Though they look like lead bullets, they’re only partially lead. They’ve been substantially strengthened with antimony and/or tin and can be seven times as hard has pure lead. A good hardcast bullet from most self-defense capable cartridges will penetrate as deep as 3 feet in 10 percent ordnance gelatin.
There are four good sources for hardcast handgun ammunition: Buffalo Bore’s Outdoorsman loads, DoubleTap’s Hardcast loads, Federal’s Solid Core loads and Underwood Ammunition’s Black Cherry Coated Hardcast. Pick the one that shoots the best and that’s the most reliable in your handgun.
Snake Defense Ammunition
I don’t go hunting snakes, nor do I have a desire to rid the world of them. But, if I find one near my home or writhing the curtilage of my house, garage, barn or outbuildings, I kill it. Not because I hate them, but because they’re dangerous to my family and our dogs. There’s definitely a place in this world for venomous snakes—that place is just not close to me. I have no interest in a centerfire handgun if I cannot load it with shotshells. They’re not commercially available for the .327 Federal Magnum, which is one of my favorite handgun cartridges, so I make my own.
Earlier this year I was hunting at a farm right along the Limpopo River in Africa. The farmer had a wife and two young boys, and just as we were heading out for the evening hunt, his wife alerted him that there was a snake in the tree beside the house. We discovered it was a boomslang, and the tree was in the yard right where his boys played. The farmer grabbed his 9mm pistol, shoved in a magazine loaded with CCI shotshells in it and handed it to me. One bang later and the incredibly deadly snake was dead.
CCI offers shotshells for most popular self-defense handgun cartridges. They actually offer two varieties. One is loaded with No. 4 shot and is called “Big 4.” It’ll work on snakes but it isn’t ideal. The other is loaded with smaller shot—a lot of it—and is simply listed as “SHOTSHELL.” If you have or expect to have snake issues, get a box and keep a magazine loaded with them handy. Best results are at between 4 and 10 yards, and this ammunition will not reliably cycle some pistols—you may have to manually rack the slide after each shot.
Four Loads
Regardless of the quantities you might need, any serious defensive handgunner will have these four loads at their disposal. You’re going to need a lot of practice/training ammunition; buy it by the case to save money. Unless you live in Tijuana or Chicago, for true self-defense ammunition you’ll probably only need about one box per year. A box of good hardcast ammo might last you a lifetime, but like with self-defense ammunition, I’d suggest routinely rotating it out; this gives you a chance to practice with it.
Remember, both of these loads are what you’ll be trusting to save your life. Unless you live along the Limpopo River in Africa, one box of shotshells should last a long time too, but at close range they also work well on rats and other vermin, so you might as well pick up a box or two each year as well.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2023 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Taurus has just released the Judge T.O.R.O., an optics-ready variant of the company’s .410/.45 LC revolver.
Taurus was the first kid on the block to offer factory optics-ready revolvers when it released the 605 and Defender 856 T.O.R.O. revolvers earlier this year, but the company has just announced four more to choose from. Called the Judge T.O.R.O., the four guns are all variants of Taurus’ line of Judge revolvers chambered for .410 bore/.45 Long Colt.
The four new Judge T.O.R.O. models are really just two, but each is offered with either a matte black or a stainless steel finish. The only other distinction between them is that the standard Judge T.O.R.O. accepts 2.5-inch .410 shotshells while the Judge T.O.R.O. Magnum can accept 3-inch shells. As T.O.R.O. models, all four variants are optics-ready and can mount red dots that feature a Holosun K-series or Shield RMSc footprint.
Caleb Giddings, General Manager of Marketing for Taurus USA said this about the new guns:
What’s better than a Judge? A Judge with a dot on it … The Judge is without a doubt our most popular revolver, and adding a red dot to it just enhances its capabilities.
The rest of the revolvers’ features are identical to those of their non-optics-ready counterparts. MSRP is $615.99 for the two black models and $679.99 for the stainless versions. They are available now.
We hit the range with a customized full-size PSA Dagger to see how it fares as a home defense pistol.
Glock’s motto may be “Glock Perfection”, but the extensive aftermarket of parts available reveals not everyone agrees. As good as the genuine Austrian-made guns may be in most respects, many shooters clearly have a personal preference for features that differ from the original design.
This is why when the patent expired on the Gen 3 Glock 17, it was a very good day for just about everyone besides Gaston Glock's wallet. Today, the market is teeming with handguns based on this design, and thanks to the excellence of the original, most of the clones are fundamentally good guns too. The only question then is which to choose based on respective features and prices.
When it finally came time to consider this myself (after years of being stuck in the metal-frame DA/SA camp), a genuine Glock was out of the question. Having shot more of them in recent years, the pistol had grown on me, but I just couldn’t get over the grip angle or the trigger shoe (a feature that just feels wrong on my finger). When browsing the various clones currently available, most featured a trigger shoe as well. One notable exception was the PSA Dagger.
Featuring a gradual, more traditional grip angle and a curved trigger, Palmetto State Armory’s take on the concept was appealing to me. With the goal in mind of upgrading my nightstand gun to something made in the 21st century, I asked them to send one over.
Solid, reliable and affordable polymer striker-fired pistol
PSA has several model variants and sizes available
Compatible with many OEM and aftermarket Glock components and accessories
Cons
Some users with very high round counts report some parts breakage earlier than what's seen on factory Glocks
While the author prefers the angle of the Dagger grip, he did not like how thin the rear end was
First Impressions
I should start by specifying the exact model of PSA Dagger I opted to review, as the company offers many different variations. As mentioned, the pistol's intended role was for home defense. In turn, I selected the PSA Dagger Full Size-S with an RMR optics-ready slide, Ameriglo lower-third co-witness iron sights and a threaded barrel. When concealability doesn’t matter, why not go bigger?
The standard PSA Dagger is actually considered a compact model as it’s based on the Glock 19. The Dagger Full Size-S is closer to a G19X or G45 given it retains its Glock 19-sized barrel and slide but has a Glock 17-sized frame.
In the Dagger catalog, the Full Size-S is somewhere in the middle of the road of available options. Some fancier models feature window cuts on the slide, repositioned rear sights and different colors of barrels, slides and frames. Additionally, there are also plain models that don’t even have an optics cut.
The customized pistol still fits in the case with a total of four magazines (including one in the gun), but the muzzle can't fit in its dedicated pouch with a light installed.
PSA ships the Dagger in a soft carrying case, an addition I always appreciate. It has room to fit the gun, two spare 17-round mags and a pouch for a suppressor, an extended mag or anything else you can fit inside. My only minor complaint with the case is the pistol can’t be strapped in as intended after mounting a flashlight or optic, but it still works for transporting the gun.
First Stab At The PSA Dagger
I decided to leave the Dagger completely stock for my first range session, and I didn’t clean or lube it out of the box, just to see how it would perform.
The pistol ate through its first 100 rounds without any real issues, and I was already impressed with how it shot. The slide release was a bit stiff and the slide didn’t lock back a couple of times, but besides that, it performed flawlessly.
This gave me the confidence to keep going to see just how dry the PSA Dagger could really be run, but I decided to install some accessories before taking it back to the range.
Customizing The Dagger
Part of the appeal of Glock-like pistols and modern plastic fantastics, given the breadth of the aftermarket parts, is the ability to customize the guns. As someone who previously only owned handguns manufactured when accessory rails were not yet standard, this alone was an exciting prospect.
I used PSA’s included Allen wrench to remove the slide’s optic cover plate and replaced it with a Holosun EPS. The EPS comes with an RMR adaptor plate, making it possible to use it on PSA Daggers with an RMR cut slide. Next, I mounted a Holosun P.I.D. light on the Dagger’s rail.
All went on without a hitch.
Grip tape is often an easy solution when a gun's ergonomics don't quite mix with your own physiology.
The final modification before heading back to the range pertained to my first real complaint with the PSA Dagger—albeit a subjective one. While I enjoy the Dagger’s grip angle much more than that of the Glock, the profile of the back of the grip was too sharp for my taste. Thankfully, all it took to remedy this was a few wraps of grip tape to pad it up. After this, I found the pistol's handle much more comfortable.
The Second Stab
After tricking the Dagger out, I headed back to the range to keep shooting.
Keep in mind that I still hadn’t lubricated the pistol at this point, and I managed to put another 200 rounds through it at a pretty rapid pace before problems started to arise. My best guess is that the gun heated up enough to finally cook off whatever grease or lube was on it from the factory, so cycling began to grow sluggish and unreliable.
After a quick cleaning and lubing, the Dagger was back on the range and did another 200 rounds essentially flawlessly. Besides one double-feed with a hollow point, it was completely reliable.
I kept an eye on the trigger pin over the course of testing (something that early Daggers had a problem with), but it stayed put throughout 600 or so rounds.
That all said, the PSA Dagger has proven itself reliable. Like any gun, it just obviously appreciates a bit of lube now and then.
Ammo types used included CCI Blazer 115gr FMJ, Federal Train and Protect 115gr hollow points, Federal 115gr Syntech, Federal 124gr American Eagle FMJ, Federal 135gr Hydra Shok and Remington UMC 115gr FMJ. Shout out to Federal for providing most of the pistol's fodder. Magazines used included two Magpul 17-round mags (one came with the pistol), a Magpul 21-round mag and a Glock 17-round mag.
Most, but not all, of the ammo that was put through this Dagger.
When it comes to actual shootability, the PSA Dagger left me very impressed. To my chagrin, I shot it better and faster than the metal-framed DA/SA guns I usually train with. Combined with the good reliability and the ability to mount a light and optic, it’s a no-brainer the Dagger will become my new nightstand gun. I plan on offering to purchase it from PSA after this is published.
The ergonomics lend themselves very well to a modern, two-handed shooting grip. The large grip offers plenty of real estate for your fingers, the grip angle facilitates a very natural presentation and the scallop cut forward of the takedown lever is the perfect spot for your thumb for increased control. Hitting steel with the pistol was fast, easy and accurate.
The scallop cut was perfectly positioned for where the author places his thumb.
As for the trigger, I’m generally not too picky besides the shape. The curved and hinged design of the Dagger’s trigger is already a massive upgrade in my book over anything with a trigger shoe, even one that provides a lighter break. Other than that, the trigger felt adequate and typical of a striker-fired gun. It has a bit of travel before the wall, a relatively crisp break and a short reset. That’s all I need in a defensive pistol.
Combined, these features make for a very good shooter, and the MSRP of $370 makes that all the more impressive.
Some other good features worth mentioning are the gun’s aggressive forward and rear slide serrations that made racking a breeze, the cutout at the bottom of the frame that made stripping magazines easier and the included Ameriglo iron sights that cowitnessed perfectly with my optic.
It's hard to see since the front sight is covered by the dot, but the raised Ameriglo iron sights cowitness with the Holosun EPS.
The Dagger’s takedown lever and slide release lever felt about on par with a real Glock, but the magazine release felt worse. This is the only feature on the Dagger I like better on the Glock. The Dagger’s mag release isn’t horrible, but it was a bit too stiff for its small size. I think it would have been easier to manipulate with just a little more surface area.
Parting Shot
Given the PSA Dagger’s reliability, performance, features and price point, it’s hard to find anything to complain about that doesn’t boil down to subjective nitpicking. The reality is if you’re budget-minded but want a good, modern pistol, you can’t go wrong with the PSA Dagger.
There are similar Glock clones that would likely perform just as well, not to mention real Glocks, but you’ll almost certainly pay more if you want features like an optics-ready slide. With so many minor model variations to choose from, with choices of frame size, optics cut pattern, color and more, chances are high PSA has a Dagger that will appeal to you.
The .243 Winchester is an extremely versatile and capable hunting cartridge, so here are the six best .243 Winchester rifles to shoot it with.
Some believe that a .243 Winchester rifle is a mere youth hunting gun for whitetails and woodchucks, but as guns and ammunition have advanced over time, the setup has become a pretty decent do-everything gun. Today's .243 Winchester ammo is capable of so much more than just taking whitetails across a beanfield, although it remains a great choice for that too.
So, let’s talk about what the best .243 Winchester rifles are and what to look for when selecting one for your own hunting needs.
What’s The Best Use For A .243 Winchester Rifle?
The first and best use-case for .243 Winchester is a hunting cartridge for light-skinned game. It has long been prized as a youth cartridge given the gentle recoil which is typically less than 10 foot-pounds with most loads and rifles.
.243 Winchester has its roots in a number of wildcats, including Fred Huntington's .243 Rockchucker and Field and Stream shooting editor Warren Page's .240 Page Pouper and .240 Super Pouper. All seat a .243 (6mm) caliber projectile on a larger case, with the result being a light bullet at a warm velocity (100-grain bullets at about 3,000 feet per second are typical) with gentle recoil. Winchester used .308 Winchester as the parent case when it cooked up its spin on the concept.
From its inception, the .243 Winchester was hailed as an excellent varmint and light-skinned game cartridge, though it was also found to be exceptionally accurate and as such found a niche in benchrest shooting.
It's worth noting that Page was a major influence on benchrest shooting as a sport, and High Power national championships have been won as recently as 2017 with a .243 Winchester rifle.
Early factory loads were 80- and 100-grain soft points, but now can be as light as 55 grains or as heavy as 105 grains. The old soft point bullets are fine for light-skinned game at moderate ranges, but modern monometal high-BC bullets are fully capable of taking larger game including elk, moose, caribou and black bear.
With modern bullet technology, bullet weight is not as important any more. This massive gemsbok was taken with a single shot from a .243 Winchester using an 85-grain Nosler Partition.
You would be forgiven for thinking that .243 Winchester was best reserved for modest distances for hunting, but modern high-BC loads are a lot more capable than you'd think. Here's a ballistic trajectory table for Federal's 95-grain Berger Hybrid load (G1 BC of .434). The table was built using Shooter's Calculator with a 1.5-inch sight height, a 10 mph 90-degree crosswind, zero corrections for atmosphere and a 100-yard zero.
As you can see, it's still supersonic at 1,000 yards and still has more energy at 500 yards than a .357 Magnum does at the muzzle. Ergo, it's safe to say that it would be effective on whitetails to at least that distance if not beyond, as well as on sheep, mountain goats and similar game.
So, while the classic .243 Winchester is still great for prairie dogs and whitetails, it's capable of a lot more than that with the correct ammo and in the hands of a practiced marksman.
.243 Winchester Rifle Barrels
The most typical configuration of a .243 Winchester rifle is probably a 22-inch barrel with a 1:10 twist, although a 1:12 twist is not unheard of. Some are offered with a 1:9 or 1:9.25 twist, and match rifle barrels can be found with a 1:8 5C (1-in-8 twist with canted lands) as well.
The most common barrel lengths are 20, 22, and 24 inches, though some opine that .243 rifles should have 26-inch barrels to achieve optimal velocities. Some NRA High Power shooters are known to use barrels as long as 32 inches.
You can find data online that shows the velocity loss per inch of barrel for .243 Winchester, and it suggests that the sweet spot is between 20 and 24 inches. The decrease in velocity only starts to become significant when going below 20 inches of barrel length.
Since velocity matters when it comes to terminal performance and trajectory, the optimal barrel length would be 22 to 24 inches for most shooters’ needs, but 20 inches still delivers acceptable performance if you need your rifle to be more compact.
As for the rifle’s twist rate, a 1:10 twist is the most common; it's just fast enough to stabilize heavy-for-caliber projectiles but just slow enough for lighter ones too. If you intend to shoot heavier, higher-BC projectiles (such as the 105 grain) look for a barrel with a faster twist such as 1:9 or 1:9.25.
Other Considerations For A .243 Winchester Rifle
Depending on what you plan on using it for, there are other features to pay attention to when selecting a rifle chambered for .243 Winchester. There are scads of generic bolt-action rifles in this caliber given its popularity, but there are a great deal of more specialized rifles too.
Nearly any aesthetic you desire can be obtained. Rugged, utilitarian rifles made of synthetic and stainless steel to rifles with modern carbon fiber-wrapped barrels in camo patterns to classics in walnut and blued steel.
If you want peak modularity, look at either an AR-10 or a common bolt-action platform. That gives you the ability to customize the stock and/or furniture, swap components, and so on. If you know you plan on using a suppressor with the setup, be sure to purchase a model with a threaded barrel too.
Obviously, lightweight and compact rifles make the best field rifles. Compact models in this caliber are plentiful, perfect for younger shooters or backcountry hunters looking for a light, handy hunting rifle.
The 6 Best .243 Winchester Rifles:
The Classic: Winchester Model 70 Featherweight
In a lot of ways, Winchester got it right the first time. The Model 70 Featherweight is still light by today's standard at 6.75 pounds. If you want a functional classic, the Rifleman's Rifle is about as good as it gets.
Today's Model 70 uses the same controlled-round feed Mauser-style action, just made with modern CNC machines and bedded in a walnut stock with fleur-de-lis checkering and Winchester's adjustable Marksman trigger. The barrel length is 22 inches with a 1:10 twist.
MSRP is $1,279, but street prices are closer to $1,100.
The Compact: Browning X-Bolt Micro Midas
There are several compact and youth rifles in .243 Winchester, but the Browning X-Bolt Micro Midas is the sleeper among them and well worth looking at.
The Midas Micro has a wood stock and features a 20-inch barrel with a 1:10 twist, but the stunning part is that it only weighs 6 pounds, 1 ounce for a walnut and steel rifle. Add Browning's Feather trigger and 60-degree bolt…that's a lot of bang for the buck given its $999 MSRP.
Best Value: Savage AXIS II
The Savage AXIS II is a fantastic point of entry for this cartridge, sporting outstanding features for a low price point. It has an AXIS II adjustable stock, Savage’s excellent AccuTrigger and a 22-inch barrel with a 1:9.25 twist.
Unloaded and sans optic, the AXIS II Compact weighs under 7 pounds, making it a good choice for a lightweight rifle as well. With an MSRP of $479, it's very attainable, and for only $50 more you can get one that ships with a Bushnell Banner 3-9x40mm scope.
The AR: Rock River Arms Predator HP BT-3
While it would seem an AR-10/308 rifle in .243 Winchester is a slam dunk, there are few factory AR-style rifles chambered for the cartridge. One of the few is the Rock River Arms Predator HP. While a .243 AR it is, a field rifle it is not given its weight of 9.2 pounds.
The rifle’s 20-inch barrel is made of stainless steel, fluted, features a 1:10 twist and has a rifle-length gas system. The receiver set is RRA’s BT-3 billet lower and flat-top upper, and the package ships with a fully-railed M-LOK handguard. The rifle is available with or without a muzzle brake and it utilizes SR25/DPMS-pattern magazines. MSRP starts at $2,070.
The Modern Hunter: Christensen Arms Ridgeline FFT
Christensen Arms makes some of the finest, most technologically advanced hunting rifles available. The Ridgeline FFT has the company’s carbon fiber stock and carbon fiber-wrapped barrel, resulting in a lightweight, accurate rifle for the demanding backcountry hunter.
It features a sporter style stock with multiple camo pattern options available, with a CF-wrapped hand-lapped 20-inch 1:10 twist barrel and a removable muzzle brake. Christensen's action is based on the Remington 700, so scope mounting is no sweat.
The Ridgeline FFT weighs in at 5.3 pounds and comes with Christensen Arms' sub-MOA guarantee. MSRP is $2,399.
Tactical Bolt-Action: Tikka T3x Super Varmint
One of the most forward-looking .243 Winchester rifles that's worth considering is the Tikka T3x Super Varmint.
It features a stock with an adjustable cheekpiece, a two-stage trigger and a box magazine with a 5+1 capacity. You have your choice of a 20-inch compact model or one with a 23.7-inch barrel, but both have a 1:8 twist. This makes the Tikka an excellent choice for a hunting rifle with heavy-for-caliber high-BC bullets or for an entry-level competition rifle.
Street prices are in the $1,600 to $1,700 range, but the feature list helps justify the price tag.
Why old-school projectiles remain a valuable resource to reloaders in the 21st century.
I truly enjoy shooting and hunting with the latest bullet technology, and I’ve written many times that we’re in the Golden Age of projectile development. Monometal copper bullets, hybrid ogive designs and bonded cores are all great … but they aren’t always necessary. Sometimes, an older, classic design fits the bill perfectly—and might even be desirable.
The classics are “classics” for a reason. They’ve proven themselves for generations, and so long as the application is suitable, they function just fine. Of course, some of the simpler designs showed their limits and resulted in the recommended cartridge and caliber minimums we’ve all become familiar with. However, when you stay within the parameters of the projectile’s design, you can see the merits of that particular bullet.
“If it’s good enough for the military, it’s good enough for me.” The classic FMJ handgun bullet is a great choice for affordable, high-volume shooting. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
The Ol’ Cup-And-Core
The cup-and-core bullet design—for both rifles and handguns—hearkens back to the 1880s yet remains a perfectly viable choice for both hunting and defensive work. It’s a simple concept, with a lead core wrapped in a copper jacket, usually with a bit of exposed lead at the meplat to initiate expansion for the hunting bullets, or perhaps completely encapsulated in the case of the full metal jacket, military-style rifle.
In the rifle world, the Remington Core-Lokt is a great example of a bullet still in use today, and it still works great when used at reasonable velocities on suitable game species. In cartridges like the .30-30 Winchester, .257 Roberts, 7mm Mauser and .30-06 Springfield—where velocities are reasonable—a cup-and-core design will suit just fine, especially if of proper sectional density. The light-for-caliber rifle bullets tend to be frangible, especially if pushed too fast.
From the reloading perspective, I like this bullet style for cartridges that have minimal case capacity. The lead core keeps the bullet length down, and many of the older designs have a shorter ogive; this combination allows for more room in the case, and less bullet outside the case mouth. The .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum (I do prefer bullets with thicker jackets for this application), .350 Remington Magnum, and .260 Remington will all be easier to load with the shorter cup-and-core projectiles. The Sierra GameKing and ProHunter, Speer Hot-Cor, Hornady InterLock and aforementioned Core-Lokt are all hell on deer and similarly sized game … and wonderfully affordable.
I also like the cup-and-core bullet design for fueling obscure cartridges. As just one example, to feed my .318 Westley Richards—which uses a .330-inch-diameter bullet—I bought a Lee Classic Bullet Sizing Kit, sized for .329-inch-diameter bullets. With a liberal application of Imperial Sizing Die Wax and some heaving and shoving on the Redding Ultra Mag reloading press, I can swage Hornady’s .338-inch-diameter 250-grain Interlock cup and core bullets down to 0.330 inch. There seems to be 0.001 inch of spring-back, as the resultant bullets measure 0.330 inch on two different sets of calipers. All this lets me keep the old cartridge alive.
One of the biggest complaints about cup-and-core rifle bullets is jacket/core separation. Upon impact, the jacket peels away from the core, resulting in poor penetration. This is a common phenomenon among boat-tail bullets, especially at higher velocities. This condition is also what prompted John Nosler to build a better mousetrap; his .300 H&H Magnum was a bit too fast for the bullets of the 1940s, and blew up on a moose’s shoulder. If you run a magnum cartridge, I suggest a thick jacket and plenty of bullet weight.
While there have been numerous technological advances in bullet technology, a good flat base cup-and-core bullet—like the Sierra ProHunter shown here—can certainly get the job done. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Jacketed Hollow-Points
On the handgun front, the old-school bullets can be an effective, highly affordable and clean choice. The jacketed hollow-point has long been relied upon for defensive work and will give great penetration without breaking the bank. Hornady’s XTP and XTP Mag and Sierra’s Sportsmaster are still great choices and can serve for target work, defensive needs and as a hunting bullet. They have a good cannelure, or crimping groove, and they’ll withstand magnum velocities.
For those who prefer to avoid lead vapors, the tried-and-true FMJ, TMJ or encapsulated bullet makes a great choice. You'll need to be a bit more careful with the crimp—I prefer a good taper crimp for the autoloading cartridges—as you can bulge the case or damage the bullet when using a roll crimp without a cannelure.
Another point to keep in mind when it comes to handgun bullets: some are plated instead of jacketed. Make sure you use the proper load data for the specific type of bullet you’re loading, as confusing the two can lead to pressure issues, and no one needs that.
The author used a Lee Classic Bullet Sizing Die to swage Hornady 250-grain .338-inch-diameter bullets down to .330 inch for use in the .318 Westley Richards. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Lead Is Timeless
Lead projectiles are as old as cartridges themselves and can make a great option for the reloader to create cheap and effective ammunition, in both rifle and handgun cartridges. You can buy cast lead bullets or grab a mold and cast your own; I like a bit of antimony to keep things a bit cleaner in the barrel. Some of the lead projectiles are wrapped in a polymer coating—like Federal’s Syntech—to minimize fouling as well as lead vapor in an enclosed environment.
Using a cast lead bullet for practice is perfect means for becoming proficient with your handgun. If you want to put time in with your .454 Casull, without the associated pounding, load up some 255-grain cast lead loads at .45 Colt specs and head to the range. Cheap wadcutters are great for the EDC wheelguns; my S&W Model 36 happily digests all the cast wadcutters I can feed it, making practice much less expensive. If you want to try to minimize lead fouling, and even out velocities a bit, a gas check is a great idea.
While there are plenty of applications for a premium bullet—from thick-skinned animals to targets measured in miles—there’s still plenty of space for a classic design. With the price of ammunition and components constantly on the rise, perhaps it’s high time to take another look at the more affordable choices for our reloading.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2023 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Sig Sauer is expanding the CROSS bolt-action rifle line with the CROSS Magnum, initially available in .300 Win. Mag.
The CROSS bolt-action rifle family from Sig Sauer was previously only available chambered for .308 Winchester, 6.5mm Creedmoor and .277 Fury, but the company is now adding .300 Winchester Magnum to the mix with the announcement of the CROSS Magnum. While the new magnum rifle is initially launching with only the .300 Win. Mag. chambering, more caliber options are expected to be introduced soon.
The Cross Magnum features a 24-inch 5R barrel that’s stainless steel, has a medium contour and is user-changeable. Covering the barrel is a free-floated, full-length ARCA rail with M-LOK slots for attaching accessories. Other notable details include the rifle’s two-stage match trigger, its PRS-style pistol grip and its precision stock which is both foldable and adjustable. The rifle ships with one 6-round AICS-pattern magazine and has an anodized coyote finish.
Tom Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President of Commercial Sales at Sig Sauer said this about the new bolt-action rifle:
The development of the CROSS Magnum pushes the boundaries of innovation for a bolt-action platform and delivers on precision, power, and performance … Starting with the receiver design, the CROSS Magnum allows for easy barrel changes while keeping your scope and pic-rail mounted, adds a new folding hinge for easier, intuitive folding, better stock-retention and a stronger lock-up, includes a full-length ARCA and M-LOK rail for maximum tripod and bipod usability and adjustment in the field, while the integrated radial compensator design reduces the felt recoil of the magnum caliber by forty-five percent. The CROSS Magnum is feature-rich, performance built, and ready for the hunt.
Neither an MSRP nor a release date for the CROSS Magnum have been announced as of this writing.
When it comes to your rifle’s optic, how do you determine the right level of scope magnification for your needs?
There has been a longstanding discussion regarding which optics are best for certain tasks. You hear it all the time in colorful anecdotes such as “one power for every hundred yards is all you need,” “4X is plenty for deer,” “that’s too much scope for that caliber,” “my grandpa did that with iron sights” … and the list runs on.
These days, we’re pairing guns and scopes that traditionally haven’t held hands (like a magnified riflescope on a lever gun). How is one to decide what constitutes the right scope for the job considering that, by technological merit, all the old arguments are largely bunk?
The .45 Colt is a short-range cartridge in a rifle. The custom Henry here has a 1-4X Leupold scout scope, which is more than enough for this cartridge and gun combination.
Optic Advances
Much of the gun world is based on individual need. As a result, we see a wide and diverse range of options that fit virtually any range of budget or desired criteria. The nature of optics is rapidly changing, and what we consider to be state-of-the-art today will likely be a bargain-bin special 20 years from now.
The development of firearms has peaked in all critical ways, despite some manufacturers trying to reinvent the wheel at every possible turn. This isn’t to say we can’t still make excellent things out of interesting materials, but the base concept of virtually all firearms we know today comes from the era around the Industrial Revolution.
Yes, fully automatic firearms were around concurrent to the Wild West and the basis for modern cartridges and firearms was firmly established by 1900, and it could be said that we essentially arrived as early as the 1880s. Cartridges like the 7.62x54R were designed in the late 1880s and are still being used heavily around the world today, including by both sides in the current Russo-Ukrainian War.
My point: The guns we use now are established concepts—even “new” designs are usually variants of something that has already been around for some time.
Optics, on the other hand, have had a much longer road and have been on a trajectory similar to that of electronics, and they’re so good today that it’s truly mind-blowing.
A Brownells BRN180 with 1.5X ACOG. While it might seem like this is red-dot territory, the little ACOG actually has a functional bullet drop compensator and is just as rugged as its 4X big brother. It’s a very fast, light setup.
The Perfect Match Or Overkill?
Yet, for as advanced as these optics are, no doubt they’ll be exceeded in just a couple years’ time by the same companies that make them. The thing about many of these scopes is that they’re big … and big is a problem if you’re trying to do any type of shooting that’s non-stationary. Weight is a consideration here, not just physical size. We have the notion that big scopes are for long range, but I want to challenge that.
The Leupold Mark 5, 5-25X, is a large but light scope, and I love it atop a .450 Bushmaster. You may be wondering why I would have a huge, 35mm long-range scope on top of a short-range, suppressed bolt action, but the answer is simple. I hunt agricultural areas, and I need a rifle that could fire both supersonic and subsonic ammo, while addressing the legal need for a straight wall case.
For this, I needed a scope I could quickly and easily dial in my subsonic zeros off my supersonic main zero, which wasn’t a task for just any scope. I also needed a large tube and objective for the best possible light collection in the shadowy areas I hunt. This rifle was built for a purpose, and it did what I asked of it. Had it not been for that scope with its fast return to zero abilities, I would’ve been holding out in space hoping for the best with subsonic loads.
Two shorty hunters, one in 6.5 Creedmoor and the other in .450 Bushmaster. Each of these guns has a scope in the 3-15X power range, and each will bring home the bacon.
I’ve been directly mocked for placing a “scope that belongs on a .300 Win. Mag.” on a .450 Bushmaster. Who says a 200-yard cartridge needs only 4X? Where is that law of the field written? I don’t agree that a 5-25X is overkill.
To date, I’ve recorded that I made 90 percent of my deer kills with a rifle with the scope set between 6X and 10X, of course 8X being the operative average. I surveyed as many hunters as I could in preparation for this article, and I was not surprised to find most people consider 4X the bare minimum … and about 10X as all that’s truly useful.
So, you could say that I have a great deal of unused magnification in that scope, but I don’t see it that way: Unused capability is still capability, and I don’t see a reason to deliberately handicap myself on the idea that I could be using that extra magnification somewhere else.
That said, last year I did find a single problem involving magnification, but it wasn’t what I’d call a “failure” by end result. Using the described .450 Bushmaster, a hunting buddy and I stalked a herd to within 200 yards over rolling terrain. I set up prone, found a choice big-bodied deer but had to use my magnification to determine if it was a legal shot based on antlers.
The deer’s head was just inside the tree line, body in the field. Satisfied that it was a good shooter, I turned to the other hunter, and he took that as me being ready. He fired and got his. After an explicit utterance, I found “my” deer again but was still at 25X. It stood long enough for me to get lined up, but I lost my chance. I redeemed myself only 20 minutes later, but on 8X. It goes to show that, while beneficial for making a legally required identification of a deer, too much magnification can be a liability in the moment—but not an overall a problem.
A Brownell’s 1-6X LPVO on a subsonic .450 Bushmaster build. This is a great combo for subsonic hunting, but a 10x isn’t out of the question at 100 yards.
Is There A Right Answer?
Playing devil’s advocate, I’d have probably been fine with scope magnification up to 10X for making shots in the field. For decades, the old 3-9X range was standard, with the fixed 10X being something of a military guy thing—also where we get the old “one power for every hundred yards” saying on 10X military scopes at a thousand yards. The classic 3-9X range was considerably good for what it offered for much of shooting history—until the bigger scopes with more features started to come around. Separation on power, range, magnification and scope size began to emerge.
The idea that you need to match the capabilities of a scope to a rifle is largely based on your intended situation, and there’s no true right answer. For much of recent history, deer hunting was accomplished by simple 3X or 4X optics, yet there are few hunters who use the most successful 4X optic in history: the ACOG.
Two very accurate 16-inch 5.56 AR builds. The top has a 4X ACOG. The rifle below has a 1-8X Trijicon CREDO. These guns both shoot ½-inch MOA with Black Hills 77-grain match ammo, but the latter rifle is able to more precisely use its accuracy. The ACOG carbine is much faster to deploy and offers speed as well as lighter weight.
In the current day and age of the AR, and the rise of the platform for small and large game hunting, you’d think the venerable ACOG would be the choice. It never really took off as a hunting optic and is now a second choice to the current generation of variable power optics in the 1-6X, 1-8X and 2-10X range of magnification. Yet, in this same time period where modern semi-auto rifles are equipped with scopes that mirror the old 3-9X classic magnification range, we see bolt actions being fitted with large and larger optics.
What’s even more interesting is that these new-generation optics tend to be somewhat large and heavy for how light the AR and other semi-auto platforms are. I like my AR as light as possible while still being effective. I’ve built some heavy guns to support their intended roles as long-range rifles, such as the .224 Valkyrie build in the June issue of GDTM. That rifle was about as heavy as I like for a medium range rifle. Much of that bulk was evenly distributed, but it was just plain burdensome to lug around.
The original intent Stoner had when he made these guns in the 1950s was to make them light … as in the “lite” in ArmaLite. I have a classic Brownells Retro build, and it’s such an impressively light gun that it has become my favorite AR of all time. Yes, it’s a 20-inch pencil barrel. Yes, it has a carry handle and, yes, it has plain iron sights—but man it’s nice to carry, and it’s incredibly fast on target to 400 yards.
LBS And LPVOs
The AR rifles of today are seemingly getting heavier. I try to keep my builds light, but plenty of guys I know are lugging 10-pound carbines around at classes and competitions. Weight adds up fast when you start adding accessories, and as the old adage goes, pounds are pain.
LPVO optics are all the rage today. They’re great scopes but can be heavy and can make a light gun unwieldy.
These modern optics in the LPVO (low power variable optic—I have no idea who decides on these senseless abbreviations) class are getting bulkier and heavier as time has passed, and the mounts they use are getting more and more elaborate. I was extremely excited to get a loaner Trijicon VCOG, but I have to say that it was clunky and heavy compared to my TA31 ACOG. The center of gravity was so high that I couldn’t get used to it. I really like the Trijicon Credo 1-8X, which isn’t that much smaller, but it feels much lighter by comparison. I have that scope on my subsonic-only suppressed .450 Bushmaster AR carbine for the 2023 deer season, and I’m eager to put it to use.
The LPVO situation is a trend that exists almost exclusively in carbine territory. I get why people like them, but so few of the people adding them to their guns are actually using them in field conditions … and I think much of that has to do with perception. Case in point: I do 99 percent of my rifle shooting off of a tripod, and the weight of the gun only matters so long as I am carrying it. Once in position, I clip it in and just sit back and relax.
Q’s The Fix in 6.5 Creedmoor is a light rifle for packing that offers decent accuracy. Being a bolt action makes it legal for hunting in many areas that the equally compact and accurate Brownells BRN180 isn’t. Given the choice of the two, I’d skip The Fix because it’s just not a comfortable gun to shoot and is awkwardly laid out for the powerful 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge.
Wrapping Up
Don’t be fooled by the idea you need more or less scope magnification than you can realistically use. If you’re hunting pigs at 100 yards, you shouldn’t be fooled into doing so with a big scope just because you’re using a .300 Win. Mag. Put a red dot on there and utilize the power of the cartridge and speed of the dot in tandem. Put yourself at an advantage and the bullets will do the rest. There is no right answer—just your circumstances and how you choose to address them.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2023 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
The author hits the range with the Kimber KDS9C, a modern take on the classic 1911.
In 2017, I wrote an article about the then-new Wilson Combat EDC X9 pistol for this magazine. I wrote that I was comfortable proclaiming that pistol as the best ever made. I felt it was akin to a $10 donut that, though you know it’s expensive, you pay the price because of the excessive watering in your mouth. And then, after thousands of rounds, it still tastes just as good as the first bite.
I still feel that way, but after a week of testing with the new Kimber KDS9C, I believe it’s something like a $7.50 donut. It might not be everything the EDC X9 is, but it’s damned close.
The Kimber KDS9C uses a proprietary 15-round magazine, and each pistol is shipped with two.
Kimber’s literature states that the KDS9C is the result of a ground-up development to provide a personal protection masterpiece. It’s clear, however, that Wilson Combat’s EDC X9 provided some inspiration. I don’t think that’s a bad thing: If you want to build the best pistol you can, it’s a good idea to emulate what’s arguably the best pistol ever made, and firearms designers have been doing this since firearms have been being designed. Most importantly, what Kimber has been able to do is provide a pistol that’s very similar to the EDC X9 at less than half the price.
The Details That Really Matter
The KDS9C has the 1911 look and utilizes the same linked-barrel, single-action operating system controlled by a manual thumb safety. But the KDS9C’s barrel is ramped, and the pistol doesn’t have a barrel bushing. Instead, the heavily fluted, 4.09-inch stainless-steel barrel, with its 20-degree crown, is perfectly fitted to the inside of the slide. And, the recoil spring plug is reversed so that it caps the 16.9-pound spring, but it inserts from the rear of the slide.
The KDS9C’s barrel is heavily fluted and has the common 1911 link. However, it’s flared at the muzzle to fit the slide, eliminating the 1911 barrel bushing.
You don’t need a bushing wrench to field-strip this pistol; you simply retract the slide so that the notch is aligned with the slide stop and pull the slide stop out just as you do with a traditional 1911. Once the slide and frame are separated, you remove the recoil spring and spring plug, and then slide the barrel out the front of the slide.
Field-stripped, the Kimber KDS9C breaks down into eight parts: frame, slide, barrel, guide rod, recoil spring, recoil spring plug, slide stop and magazine.
The slide is what’s known as a tri-top. Forward of the ejection port, it’s grooved up to the rear of the dovetailed fiber-optic front sight. Behind the ejection port, there’s an optics plate that extends all the way to the rear sight, which actually holds it in place. Both the rear sight and the optics plate are a bit different from what is commonly seen on modern pistols: The rear sight is rather tall so that it can co-witness with a miniature red-dot, and it’s adjustable for elevation. (For windage adjustment, you’ll need to drift the front sight with a sight pusher.) But instead of the sight being dovetailed into the slide, it’s held in place by two screws that come up from the bottom of the slide. Once the rear sight has been removed, the optics plate comes off.
To fit a miniature reflex sight to the KDS9C, you’ll need a base plate that’s available from Kimber and comes with the RMSC/Holosun-K footprint. After installation, you’ll also need a new and taller front sight. You can return your slide to Kimber for the installation of the taller front sight, or you can order the front sight and attempt it yourself. However, the KDS9C owner’s manual states, “Please do not attempt to drift the front sight with a punch and hammer, as damage may occur, which will not be covered under warranty.”
The optics compatibility of the KDS9C is innovative and well-engineered; however, simply providing the pistol with a front sight of the proper height might have made more sense—tall front sights are not a bad thing, even without a miniature reflex sight installed.
The slide also has deep and wide grasping grooves, and it’s fitted with an external extractor. Also, the bottom of the nose/front of the slide is cut at an angle and gives the pistol a rakish appearance. The profile reminds me of the old 1968-era Steyr GB pistol, and of a 2009-era custom 1911 called the Gaboon that was offered for a short time by LST, a custom maker out of West Virginia. The Gaboon also utilized a reverse recoil spring plug.
Like A 1911, But Different
The KDS9C’s frame is where you see the real departure from a conventional 1911. This is a wide-body frame that feeds from proprietary Kimber magazines that hold 15 rounds. It has a reversible—oval instead of round—magazine release button, large crosshatch grooving on the front strap and an undercut trigger guard. The most notable departure is the lack of a grip safety. However, there’s still a mainspring housing, and there’s a deep beavertail tang in place of the grip safety.
The butt of the grip is radiused at the rear and has a bit of flare at the bottom front. It’s also cut out to accept the baseplate of the magazine. The grip is capped off with attractive gray G10 panels, and it feels very good in-hand. It’s also shaped to prevent your little finger, or the fatty bottom part of your hand, from being pinched when a magazine is inserted. All the sharp edges on this pistol seem to have been radiused, emulating what some custom makers call a “carry bevel package,” to keep from chewing away at the hide on your hands.
During testing, 700 rounds were fired through the KDS9C, and the only stoppage occurred on round nine. After that, the pistol ran flawlessly.
However, one of my two nitpicking complaints was the thumb safety. Though it was sized right, positioned perfectly and operated with the ideal amount of on and off force, the very tip of the thumb safety stands a bit proud, just enough to spike into the pad of your thumb, especially if you like to keep downward pressure on the thumb safety when you shoot.
My other bit of nitpicking was with the trigger. The trigger pull was smooth and consistent, releasing the sear at about 3.5 pounds. However, unlike most 1911 triggers, the serrated and ventilated trigger on the KDS9C doesn’t extend to the very bottom of the trigger guard—there’s a minute gap at the bottom and I could feel the bottom tip of the curved trigger face gouging into my trigger finger. Not so much that you’d notice it after firing several magazines, but after about 300 rounds there was a bit of tenderness to the pad of my trigger finger. This may or not be an issue for you, but when I’m hammering a target, my trigger finger sometimes glides along the bottom inside face of the trigger guard.
In The Holster
The KDS9C pistol fit perfectly in Galco’s Yaqui Slide, Avenger and Royal Guard 2.0 holsters. Unloaded, the pistol weighs 28.2 ounces, 1.4 ounces less than the Wilson Combat EDC X9, and with a magazine full of 15 rounds of 115-grain 9mm ammunition, the pistol weighs 34.6 ounces, which is only about 4.5 ounces more than a fully loaded Glock 19. The thick grip makes the pistol a tad more difficult to conceal than a standard 1911, but with a high-quality holster like the Galco Royal Guard 2.0, the pistol disappears under an untucked shirt.
The Kimber KDS9C is a tasteful-looking pistol and rode well in Galco’s Yaqui Slide holster.
On The Range
Over the span of three days, I fired 700 rounds out of the KDS9C pistol using a variety of different loads. I only experienced one stoppage, which was the ninth round fired. That round got cattywonkus in the magazine and failed to feed. After that, the pistol ran superbly, and I didn’t field-strip it or provide any lubrication until after 400 rounds.
Kimber’s new KDS9C is a modernized version of the Commander-sized 1911 pistol.
I ran this pistol through a variety of defensive handgun drills, and I shot it very well. I had no trouble hitting an 8-inch steel plate at 25 yards; from the holster, I could generally get two hits in about 3.5 to 4 seconds. On a torso-sized target at 50 yards, I could routinely get two hits in about the same amount of time.
During testing the KDS9C pistol was put through a variety of self-defense drills. It was repeatedly run hard and fast.
Out of the box, the pistol shot to point-of-aim and had plenty of precision to deal with any sort of self-defense situation you might encounter. You can see the precision results in the supplied chart, but I don’t obsess over groups with defensive handguns. I figure if I can consistently make head shots at 25 yards while shooting off-hand, the gun will shoot better than I can.
Notes: Reported average muzzle velocity (VEL), standard velocity deviation (SD) and muzzle energy (ENG) were established by shooting 10 rounds over a Caldwell G2 chronograph with the screens positioned 10 feet from the muzzle. The reported average group size (AVG) is the average of three, five-shot groups with each listed load, fired from a sandbag rest at 10 yards. Temperature: 72 degrees F, pressure: 30.04 in-Hg, humidity: 85 percent and elevation: 2,200 feet.
The Last Word
This pistol comes with a very nice, canvas-style gray, zippered pistol rug with multiple compartments and a section to hold extra magazines. Also included was a cable-style gun lock, extra and different-colored fiber-optic rods for the front sight, two hex wrenches for the rear sight, a Kimber sticker and a safety or “warning” manual. What was missing was a gun specific owner’s manual, but I did manage to find one online on the Kimber website with a bit of searching.
If I didn’t already own a Wilson Combat EDC X9, I’d immediately buy the Kimber KDS9C. I’d then get my gunsmith to radius the tip of the thumb safety and do the same to the bottom tip of the trigger. That would cost me about $150, but I would’ve still spent less than half what you would for the EDC X9. The Kimber KDS9C carries just as easy and shoots just as well as my Wilson Combat EDC X9. Will it hold up as well and last as long? There’s only one way to find out … and I plan to do just that. In the meantime, I’m not worried at all about trusting this pistol for everyday carry.
Kimber deserves a lot of credit for stepping out of the traditional box and modernizing the 1911. Yeah, they might’ve gotten some of their inspiration from Wilson Combat, but if you’re going to get some inspiration on pistol design, you’ll have a hard time finding a better source.
Kimber KDS9C Specs:
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the 2023 EDC Special issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
A look at the Badlands Rifle Company, a group that offers custom rifles, training, education, hunts and more.
The hardest part of building a dream gun is never the rifle—it’s always the dream.
Not anymore, thanks to Jeff Sipe, Badlands Rifle Company’s new president and CEO. Badlands Rifle Company has partnered with Rolling Bones Outdoors to give hunters more than just a custom-built rifle; they supply the dream, too.
“We don’t just build rifles; we train, we educate, we sell hunts, we do applications services, we provide the highest-quality gear and we train you how to use it,” Sipe said. “We build the adventures our clients desire.”
Sipe then explained the industry-unique structure of Rolling Bones Outdoors and Badlands Rifle Company. Brian and Lynley Mehman, and Brad Dana, own Rolling Bones Outdoors, parent company to Badlands Rifle Company, and handle the outfitter/guide booking agency, applications service, full concierge service and complete gear sales.
Rolling Bones Outdoors’ main headquarters is in Spearfish, South Dakota, and they’re franchising their services to its largest advisers. What are advisers? They’re a national network of experts selling hunts, gear and concierge services. According to Sipe, there are plans for 50 franchise stores to open, with another 50 possible.
“Badlands Rifle Company, while headquartered in Spearfish, will operate in Boise, Idaho,” said Sipe. “Badlands Precision University is a division of Badlands Rifle Company. We currently have one facility in southeast Montana with plans to open one this year in Idaho. By next spring, we plan to have another in central Montana, one in Salt Lake City, Utah, New Mexico … and possibly Wyoming and Arizona.”
Rolling Bones executives Brain Mehman, Brad Dana, Jonathon Angner and Al Jones, along with Badlands President and CEO Jeff Sipe, at the end of a three-day Argali Club Shooting academy in southeast Montana.
A New Trek Upward
So, what is Badlands Rifle Company?
“At this new company, Badlands Rifle Company, our goal is to build products to fit the adventure needs of our clients,” said Sipe, who said their mission is building the highest-quality products for customer adventures while providing the education, training and concierge service they deserve.
The company’s mission is rooted in a lifetime of experience from its CEO.
“First and foremost, I am a hunter,” added Sipe. “I did not grow up hunting worldwide or with the funds for private-land hunts with guides and outfitters. I learned to hunt on my own. While my father was a large influence on this passion, nobody taught me how to hunt, shoot and do all the aspects of being a successful hunter. It became my passion, and because of the number of years spent in the field and on the manufacturing floor, I not only wanted to build the best products for our customers but also to teach and train them how to use our products to their fullest potential.”
By the end of Level 1 Shooting academy, students learn to work in pairs and shooting off “shooting sticks” at a 700-yard target.
Badlands Rifle Company is betting its future on the concept of the complete turn-key hunting experience needs of future hunters.
“There are millions of people who want to hunt, learn about the products they use and learn how to be a better shooter, hunter and conservationist,” said Sipe. “We will be marketing to those groups of people. I believe it will prove to be successful.”
Why isn’t Sipe, who has always built world-class rifles—and only rifles—staying in his comfort zone? Because he believes the industry can do better, and customers deserve that.
“We know we can build an exceptional rifle; we know we sell quality products, but what our customers want and need most is to be educated about everything and how everything works, trained for the experiences,” said Sipe. “And, for the money they spend, they deserve to have the concierge services we provide to give them the memories and adventure they desire, which is why our slogan for Badlands Rifle company is simple: Built for Adventure.”
Delayed Dreams
Speaking of adventures, the story of how Badlands Rifle Company started is one for the ages. One of life’s biggest lessons about dreams is that they tend to come true when you least expect them and often when you’re ready to give up.
“Since this isn’t my first rodeo, to be honest, I wanted out,” admitted Sipe. “Seriously, I put my heart and soul into Montana Rifle Company (MRC). I helped build a brand from nothing and created relationships in the industry that still follow me today. After the company was sold, I went on to Nosler for the next five years, running the Redmond plant that consisted of the rifle division, CNC division, brass manufacturing division and ammunition manufacturing. John Nosler and the whole Nosler family still mean a lot to me. I have lifetime friends there, and that will not go away, but I was done when my time ended there.”
Then, SHOT Show 2023 happened.
“I told my wife I wanted to do something different. I had always thought our section of the industry was missing something, not just an element of customer service, but more training and a full concierge-type service,” said Sipe. “So, I began exploring other ideas but decided to make one last trip to SHOT Show to see ‘what if.’”
Asking “what if” at a place like SHOT Show can be the best or worst thing you’ll ever say or hear in the firearms industry, as Sipe was about to find out.
“It was toward the end of the show after meeting with countless manufacturers. I was tired and wanted to return to my room and let it all go,” admitted Sipe. “While walking through the crowded hallway, a huge man came out of nowhere and grabbed me in a huge bear hug. It scared me at first. And when I realized who it was, I smiled and hugged back. Brian Mehman is a big man and looks like a middle linebacker.”
RBO President and Founder Brian Mehman instructing students at the Badlands Precision University Shooting Academy Level 1 course.
Mehman knew Sipe and his reputation as a gifted gun builder.
“While at MRC, I built their line of rifles for them,” said Sipe. “And after I left, they had been looking to partner with or buy a rifle company with no luck, and they were exhausted with it. It hit me after they told me their ideas; they were looking to do the same thing I wanted to do.”
Then, it happened. Sipe’s dream became a reality. “After many nights discussing with my wife, we decided to start a new firearms company with the backing of and partnership with my friends at Rolling Bones.”
The Winding Road
Whether dreams come true or not, the road to success will always be filled with challenges. According to Sipe, many of the challenges in our industry over the past few years impacted him and Badlands Rifle Company’s eventual creation.
“Politics obviously has had a lot to do with successes and failures in the firearms industry,” said Sipe. “Labor costs will continue to cause prices to go up, and technology is always advancing, which is consistently increasing manufacturing costs. COVID-19 was the absolute dumbest thing that ever happened to our country, not just our industry. But it’s the manufacturing skillsets that had the most impact. Machinists are hard to find, hard to recruit and hard to place. Programming machinists are even harder to place. And don’t get me started on gunsmiths … that is another level of personality.”
How Sipe, Badlands Rifle Company and Rolling Bones Outdoors handle the world’s day-to-day business challenges within the firearms industry also helps separate them from some of their competitors—or so Sipe hopes.
RBO co-founder Dr. Brad Dana instructing students on the firing line of a Badlands Precision University Shooting Academy Level 1 course.
“There will always be disagreements about manufacturing practices and sales techniques,” Sipe continued. “But here’s my response to that: It’s OK. My business partner, Brian Mehman, has a great saying, ‘I’m not going to cut someone else’s tree down just to plant mine.’ And that’s something we could all learn. There’s just been too many cutthroat business practices in our industry, and I understand that’s how some people become successful—but that’s not how we are going to operate.”
Loyalty is a foundational value for Badlands Rifle Company. They want to earn it from their customers and give it to their industry partners. “Every part of every rifle has been carefully and thoroughly checked to ensure they perform. And each portion of these rifles is built by people I trust and have a relationship with, and I stand behind their products. This is the reason they were chosen.”
Right-sized and loaded with features, the C1 Pro looks to give the chrono market a run for its money.
Is it time to jettison your bulky chronographs and doppler radars? If Garmin has anything to say about it, then yes.
Perhaps a game-changing addition to the company’s catalog, the C1 Pro Chronograph puts the power of radar into a package small enough to fit into a jacket pocket. Shooters who clock their rounds on the regular understand potentially how big a deal this could prove.
No more dictionary-sized radars requiring a separate case or measuring out how far from the muzzle a traditional chrono is set up to garner an accurate calculation. Instead, it’s simply a unit that takes up minimal space in a range bag with set up that involves roughly placing it a few inches from the muzzle.
The twitter about the C1 Pro—even though it was officially released today (Oct. 19)—already speaks volumes about the potential of the product. Garmin gave a sneak peek of the device at Gap Grind where a handful of shooters got a look at it and forums have been chewing on the subject since.
So, what exactly do we have our hands on in the petite radar system?
C1 Pro Size
As mentioned, the aspect to crow about is the C1 Pro’s size, which for anyone who’s used an existing system is comparably convenient. Garmin bills it as, “Smaller than a deck of cards,” which is difficult to argue with since the chronograph measures in at 3” x 2.8” x 1.4” and weighs in at a very svelte 3.5 ounces.
Given the device is wireless—it runs off a rechargeable lithium ion battery, good for 2,000 shots per charge—that’s all there really is to the C1 Pro. Well, there is the included tripod, which in the scheme of things doesn’t add much to the package.
Radar's Performance
Interestingly, Garmin has created a fairly versatile system with the C1 Pro, not only suitable for firearms, but nearly anything in which you need a velocity reading. At the upper end, the radar’s velocity ceiling is 5,000 fps—overkill by the vast majority of shooters' needs, but it’s nice to have a few feet per second buffer. At the basement, the unit reads down to 100 fps.
That’s intriguing, given it opens the door to building ballistic tables for archers—not a bad deal and certain to aid in more hits in the field as bowhunters develop a clearer picture of their bow’s potential—heck, even paintball and airsoft are fair game.
To this end, the C1 Pro has archer, air gun and other functions tuned for the lower velocity measurements. But there’s more to the radar than simply velocity measurements and their accompanying ballistic tables. The unit has several other useful functions, such as kinetic energy and power factor—with bullet weight entered at your disposal. Furthermore, the wide display screen of the C1 Pro is customizable to bring up the data you need during your shooting session.
Away From The Range
Aside from size, perhaps the most attractive feature of the C1 Pro is the smartphone app Garmin developed side-by-side with its radar. Dubbed the ShotView App, the program automatically syncs with the radar, importing all your shooting info giving you an easy system to interpret your data. Some of the obvious metrics are available, including speed, deviation, extreme spread and kinetic energy. However, a shooter can also mark their data for a number of variables—say a clean or cold bore—as well as exclude outliers from session calculations.
In addition, users can create custom names for each session and add detailed notes for both specific shots and the entire session. And, of course, they can develop profiles specific to their firearms. Overall, it sounds promising and pretty slick.
Parting Shot
For the most part, the C1 Pro seems to have plenty of upside for any shooter—be it a novice who simply wants to get a handle on his hunting rifle's potential or a diehard reloader who pores over ballistic data like it’s gospel.
Perhaps the most heartening aspect of Garmin’s radar is its price, which isn’t bargain basement, but does fall into the obtainable category for most shooters. At launch, the company puts the MSRP at $600, which is below many existing options in the same class. This is certainly an interesting development and Gun Digest will have a full hands-on review on the C1 Pro soon to see if it actually cuts muster.
For more information on the Garmin C1 Pro please go HERE.
Rock Island Armory has just announced the RIA 5.0E, sporting new features and enhancements over the original model.
Earlier this year, Rock Island Armory released the RIA 5.0, a sporting and personal defense pistol featuring the interesting RVS recoil system, a low bore axis and an aluminum frame. Now, the company is updating the design with the announcement of the enhanced RIA 5.0E.
While the original model was optics-ready as well, the RIA 5.0E is compatible with a wider variety of red dot sights thanks to a new footprint cut and new optics plates. The slide now features more aggressive serrations for easier manipulation, and the redesigned barrel is match grade and made of higher quality materials. The final update to the pistol is the Armor Series finish which provides a diamond-like carbon coating that looks more appealing as well.
Lisa Tuason, President of RIA-USA, said this about the RIA 5.0E:
The RIA5.0E is a groundbreaking product that represents the culmination of our team's relentless dedication and passion for cutting-edge technology. RIA5.0E is a game-changer, packing revolutionary features and stellar performance … The RIA5.0E is set to redefine industry standards and empower our customers like never before because it’s going to blow them away.
MSRP for Rock Island Armory’s new pistol is $1,988, but a release date has not been announced as of this writing.
For those reading my byline for the very first time, allow me to introduce myself. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool handgun hunter—actually, more narrowly, a revolver hunter—who really enjoys getting up close and personal with the game being pursued. I’m also a bit of a big-bore junky who’s somewhat impervious to heavy recoil. My wife explains this as a numbness between my ears … and she might be right.
When given this assignment, I balked at narrowing my collection of hunting revolvers down to 10 favorites. It took some real soul-searching and deliberation to slice these 10 out of the pile and really justify my choices.
You’ll notice that in some cases, I’ve included multiple revolvers of the same caliber, but the differences between/among the platforms is considerable enough to include them. I‘ve listed them here, and with each selection comes my rationalization for including said choice (I don’t let emotion cloud my judgment on this topic).
That said, here it goes in ascending order.
11. The Starter Pistol: Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum
I know this one isn’t technically (or literally, for that matter) a big-bore revolver, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t include what I consider to be a first-class starter pistol for game in the whitetail-sized range. Everyone needs to start somewhere, and this is a really fine way to go, particularly with a 6-inch barrel.
The double-action GP is built on a medium-sized stainless or carbon-steel frame that’s easy and light enough to carry but heavy enough to absorb recoil—a real consideration when introducing the neophyte to hunting revolvers (let’s not scare them off before they get hooked). I run this one with open sights, because I consciously limit the ranges I hunt when pressing a .357 Magnum into action.
I’ve always considered the .357 Magnum as butting up to the marginal line, but placement is everything, no matter what your hunting implement is; and, loaded correctly, the .357 Magnum provides enough “oomph” (that is a technical term!) for any deer-sized animal. This is inevitably the revolver I start beginners on. My only suggestion is that the shooter (and anyone accompanying the shooter) wear hearing protection, because the .357 enjoys a well-earned reputation for ear-splitting noise.
10. Mild to Wild: BFR .44 Magnum
Your options aren’t limited when seeking a .44 Magnum for hunting. This choice, Magnum Research’s BFR, is perhaps the most versatile. Simply put, every BFR revolver is equipped with an oversized five-shot cylinder. In the case of the .44 Magnum, there’s a lot of meat between the chambers, allowing for illegal levels of overboard fun if you so desire.
While I’m not suggesting over-pressure loads, this revolver will digest top-end, bona fide magnum loads that will shake lesser revolvers loose without noticing. This particular BFR is built on the short frame and has an all-stainless steel (17-4PH) construction. The five-shot cylinder is unfluted and counterbored and features a freewheeling pawl (for easy loading and unloading).
I had this one equipped with a short (4 5/8-inch) barrel and have topped it with an Ultradot L/T reflexive red-dot sight. It’s also fitted with Magnum Research’s excellent Bisley grip frame—a must when recoil levels start to soar. Don’t let the short barrel fool you into thinking this one spends more time riding in a holster as backup. I regularly use this one as a primary while hunting—such is its accuracy; and it’s really fast to press into action and good for quick follow-up shooting.
I consider the .44 Magnum a threshold cartridge, in that the recoil is heavy enough to keep a large portion of the population from laying hands upon one, but I also feel it’s a bare minimum when animals start tipping the scales in the four-figure range.
9. The Best of the X-Frames: Smith & Wesson Model S&W 500
This is one of the aforementioned emotional choices. Yet, there’s no denying its lethal functionality. Of all of the available oversized X-frames from Smith & Wesson, in my humble opinion, this one sticks out as the best-looking and the best-handling hunting revolver.
The combination of the 6½-inch barrel and the half-underlug makes this one pleasing to the eye. It handles well and actually carries well too. The barrel is ported to aid in controlling muzzle flip, but all .500 S&W Magnums loaded to spec are afflicted with muzzle flip.
Even when loaded to proper .500 Smith levels, this one doesn’t abuse the shooter…much. If you really want a double-action .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum, I recommend this configuration.
This revolver really talks to me. It helps that Doug Turnbull performed his magic on the exterior with his legendary color case-hardening. Even so, everything about this revolver is right—from the unfluted cylinder to the rosewood Bisley grips and the 5½-inch barrel to the caliber (an old favorite: the .45 Colt). Because it’s a full-sized, single-action Ruger, you can dabble in the “Ruger-only” .45 Colt zone that hovers in the 30,000 psi range.
This is one of the few hunting revolvers in the group that’s not equipped with an optic, because I feel it will just upset the look. To me, this is the perfect configuration for a Ruger single-action revolver. While this was part of an exclusive small run of revolvers from Lipsey’s, Ruger tends to repeat these dealer-exclusive runs—particularly if they prove popular. The .45 Colt on this level is serious big-game medicine.
7. The Genius of Dick Casull: Freedom Arms Model 83 .454 Casull
This one’s a no-brainer. This is Dick Casull’s revolver design, chambered in the high-pressure wonder cartridge bearing his name: the .454 Casull. If ever the term, “premium,” applied to an out-of-the-box revolver, the FA83 is the one. This field-grade model is equipped with a 6-inch barrel and a counterbored five-shot cylinder.
Much as with Colt’s legendary Single Action Army, the FA’s hammer must be put into half-cock position for you to spin the cylinder for loading and unloading. Almost always “boringly” accurate, the FA83 is tank-like in its ability to absorb the abuse a .454 Casull can surely dish out. While the grip frame is very good for controlling the sizable recoil, it’s a significant step up and over the .44 Magnum.
When it comes to the .454 Casull, the sky’s the limit, as far as big-game capability is concerned. It has comfortably taken virtually every game animal known to man—with aplomb.
6. The Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World: BFR .500 S&W Magnum
I believe that single-action revolvers are better configured for handling cartridges that develop an abundance of pressure, recoil and power. The .500 Smith & Wesson Magnum is, by a margin, at the top of the power-production heap.
This one’s built on the stretched-frame BFR platform, and while a bit ungainly looking, it handles and balances extremely well when equipped with a 7½-inch barrel. A cartridge such as the .500 S&W necessitates a large, well-built revolver to safely handle it, and the BFR is no exception. The extra bulk is your friend when top-end loads are being used, and the Bisley grip frame helps mitigate abusive recoil.
Despite its proportions, I’ve found this one (with a bit of practice) easy to shoot offhand. In handgun terms: This one has an abundance of horsepower—a necessity when your game’s weight is measured in tons. If pachyderm is in your sights, this is your huckleberry.
5. Ergonomic Perfection: Smith & Wesson Model 29 Classic
This is both a nostalgic and a practical choice for me. I’ve had a number of Model 29s and 629s (stainless steel versions) throughout the course of my adult life, and I will likely always own at least one. Not only does it look right, its proportions are perfect, it feels good in the hand, and it’s generally accurate.
In addition, the factory trigger is among the best. I must reiterate here that it look great. Ergonomically, this is one of the hardest revolvers to beat—period. I wanted a currently produced revolver, which precluded buying one on the used market. So, I turned to the actual manufacturer and ordered one of its throwback “Classic” models with a 4-inch barrel.
In order to preserve my Model 29s/629s, I don’t load any of them too hot. But with midrange loads, the 29 makes for a great deer gun.
4. Speed King: BFR Precision Center .460 S&W Magnum
This is the most versatile revolver/cartridge combination on my list. It’s the one revolver that can literally take on any handgun hunting role you can cook up. Folks often cite the ability to shoot .45 Colt and .454 Casull from the .460 as contributing to the gun’s versatility, but I don’t really see it that way.
While it’s possible to shoot these other rounds through your .460, the real justification for having a .460 is, well, having a .460. It has the ballistic potential to actually shoot flat (in revolver terms, that’s a bit of a misnomer), and it will unequivocally put the smack-down on whatever you shoot it with—as long as you use the right bullets. The high-velocity impact capability of the .460 absolutely necessitates tough bullets.
I went a step further with mine by ordering it from Magnum Research’s Precision Center exactly the way I wanted it: with black Micarta Bisley grips, a 7½-inch barrel, silky-smooth trigger and—the most obvious difference from a standard catalog gun—a black-nitride finish. Whether you’re hunting deer at 200 yards or closing in on a grizzly at 50 yards, this is the do-it-all hunting revolver combination—accurate and lethal.
3. Optic Options: Ruger Super Redhawk .480 Ruger
This revolver is either loved or hated by the community, with seemingly very little middle ground. For the life of me, I don’t understand. The love-it/hate-it styling is pure function, and that, in and of itself, is very attractive.
Despite looking larger than the Redhawk, it shares many dimensions with its Redhawk sibling. The most notable differences are the frame extension to the front of the cylinder and the grip frame that’s pilfered from the GP100. The aesthetically questionable frame extension is where the beauty actually lies. Ruger felt the frame made for a better optic-mounting point than the barrel, so it developed a slick system of scallops in the frame and the corresponding scope rings, making the mount tough, stable and easy to work with.
But the real beauty is that if you utilize the factory mounts and rings, you don’t have to touch your iron sights. If your scope or red-dot goes belly up in the field, loosening two screws gets you back in the game. Pure function. My own relationship with the Super Redhawk began a couple of decades ago, and I have owned a number of them.
Chambered in .480 Ruger, this one’s my favorite. It’s the perfect combination of power, accuracy and user-friendliness, and it’s configured for real field use. This is the revolver I used to kill one very large water buffalo in Argentina. ¡Muy bueno!
2. Buffalo Gun: BFR .500 JRH
This was an emotional, as well as functional, choice for me. Built on BFR’s short-framed revolver platform, this one’s equipped with a 5½-inch barrel. My buffalo gun (I call it that because I used it on a Cape buffalo in South Africa last year) is chambered in .500 JRH—the brainchild of gunsmith/builder/designer Jack Huntington.
In essence, it’s a shortened .500 S&W (from a 1.6- to a 1.4-inch case), utilizing the same bullet diameter as the parent case. This is a revolver that kills at both ends, delivers outstanding accuracy and terminal potency, and I’m able to point and hit moving targets with it without really trying.
If there’s a hunting revolver in my battery that I’m “one with,” this is it. So, if heavy lifting is on the itinerary and you don’t want to suffer the effects of carrying a really large revolver, this is the one.
1. The New Kid: S&W Model 350
Only announced in August of 2022, the Smith & Wesson Model 350 is still very new at the time of this writing, so not much is known beyond what was provided by the company. The primary draw of this gun, if you couldn't guess from its name, is its .350 Legend chambering. The straight-walled cartridge was introduced in 2019, primarily for deer hunters in states that prohibit the use of bottle-necked cartridges. Since then, it has grown substantially in popularity, but until now it was primarily used in rifles. Now with Smith & Wesson's release of the Model 350, handgun hunters have the opportunity to use .350 Legend as well.
The revolver is built on S&W's large X-Frame, and it's a seven-shot DA/SA that's fed using moon clips. It has a 7.5-inch barrel, a satin stainless steel finish and comes with a Hogue rubber grip. Time will tell just how popular this pistol will truly be, but it's at least an interesting addition to Smith's catalog.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2019 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Guns were once exclusively made of metal and wood, then came plastic. Which should your handgun’s frame be made out of?
It’s safe to say that we aren’t in much danger of seeing companies like Ruger and Sig begin to introduce cap-and-ball pistols into the carry market (though one could only hope), but we’re seeing something many folks out there consider a regression: the return to metal-framed pistols.
Before we begin here, I need to be up front that I no longer own any polymer-framed pistols—nope, not even a Glock 19. I’ve carried polymer-framed pistols for nearly 13 years nonstop, but the recent trend back to metal frames has made me realize just what I was missing.
Before you turn your eyes from these pages, understand that I’m not besmirching polymer guns; rather, treat this as an alternative position that you should consider.
The P320 breaks down easily into just a few major components, all of which can be swapped out on the chassis (as Sig calls it, the Fire Control Unit, or FCU). Knife is the excellent AMTAC Magnus.
Barbie Dolls And Tall Tales
Before I get into how much I’ve come to appreciate metal frames on modern carry guns, I need to address the incredible uphill battle polymers have faced when talking guns in general. Plastic, polymer, synthetic—or really whatever you want to call the materials that assume the mantle of being anything but good ol’ wood and steel—have been universally disparaged for decades.
Students of history know that mankind has literally never stopped seeking a competitive edge against each other and large predators. Men have invested more into weapons than almost anything else, and no doubt there was some early man debating his brother and father about the possibility of using a different type of alder for his spear when trying to kill a sabertooth.
Glock pistols have always had a rivalry with the 1911, and both have survived to swap roles. You can find polymer-framed 1911s and metal-framed Glock derivative guns these days.
In Homer’s The Iliad, incredibly complicated weapons are described, including composite bows. If you travel to armory museums in Europe, you’ll be treated to examples of just how advanced weapons and armor were hundreds, and even thousands, of years ago. The point is that people have always been trying new ways to create arms and armor, so when plastic became common and affordable, why would it not be used in weapons?
Regression is a mindset, not a true theory of use. When conquering Central America, the Spanish still used steel armor, but it was padded fabric outfits that were enough to stop native atlatl bolts and stone-tipped arrows. European guns, bows and steel crossbows had long since made simple padded armor out of date, but it was great for the Spanish in this exact situation.
Was that a regression? No. It was an adaptation to the environment. The same goes for polymers in this context: Guns didn’t get “cheaper” with the addition of polymers; in fact, they became better in many ways, including applying benefits to metal-framed guns.
The Beretta 92 family is well known for accuracy and reliability in the field. These guns have always had metal frames, and they’re an example of a successful design that uses aluminum alloy instead of steel. Yes, there was a time when there was a debate about whether alloy frames could compete with steel frames.
I think it’s safe to say that mass-issue introduction of polymers and polymer derivatives in the American military went … poorly. The M16 service rifle was considered space-age, needed no real cleaning and was so lethal that it could simply blow enemy soldiers to pieces. Early reports in Vietnam came back as overwhelmingly positive, with real reports saying that the enemy had literally been dismembered by the light, zippy rounds.
Whatever happened there is up for debate, but what followed certainly wasn’t: The M16’s introduction was a disaster, and it shook the frail faith of the entire country. The gun was primarily constructed of aluminum and had no wood furniture that had, up to that point, been an iconic standard. It was rumored that the gun was, in fact, made by Mattel (yes, Barbie).
This idea that somehow the materials were at fault (ignoring the at-fault engineers and bureaucrats) carried over into the modern age with the introduction of Glock pistols in the 1980s. Bear in mind that even the Colt Single Action Army had, at this point, been supplied with hard rubber or plastic grips for the better part of 100 years, and likewise plenty of foreign countries used non-traditional materials in their guns, such as Bakelite or laminated wood. Glock pistols were extremely confusing to many people at the time—despite them being something of a commonplace item today. Guns simply had to be made of steel. This notion that plastics could compete was silly to many … but they weren’t laughing for long.
The Rise Of Plastics And Modules
Glock pistols use a “plastic” frame that includes molded-in metal components and easily manufactured, simple internals. The main area where the Glock differed from legacy systems, such as the venerated 1911, was in its means of lockup and where the gun distributed pressure during cycling. A massively critical piece on the 1911 is, in fact, the slide stop. On the other hand, Glock pistols simply have a different way of working that removes most of the cycling pressure from the frame. This is oversimplified, but if you imagine it in the same way you imagine the AR rifle, it’ll make sense. The upper and lower can be made of most anything, including plastic, so long as the internal locking components are steel and able to bear pressure.
The M1911 and the M17 are both excellent guns. The former is a precision machine that can be very finicky about its ammo and cleanliness. The M17 is much more modern and is just as accurate, with the added benefit of being easily fitted and repaired with no hand-fitting.
By removing the frame from the equation, the use of polymer became feasible. However, the jury remained out for decades, as gun writers, instructors and the general public came to either love or hate polymer-framed pistols. There was a nagging thought that these plastic guns just wouldn’t stand the test of time. Will they objectively last as long as a steel-framed pistol? Well, I really don’t know. Polymers do become brittle with age, and I’ve known a handful of individuals who used their Glock pistols regularly for decades and eventually had a frame crack. In all cases, Glock repaired the guns. Will we see 100-year-old Glocks on the market in the 2080s?
So now we’ve moved into what amounts to a “third” generation of pistol design: the firing control components that interact with the slide are separated from the frame itself, as is done with the Sig P365, P320 and many other new guns that have adopted this model of construction. While many companies have what could be called a “chassis” pistol, Sig was the leader in promoting the concept.
The P365 and P320 are very popular guns across the world, and we’re seeing a wide range of aftermarket support arise. The “firearm,” as defined by the ATF in this case, is the serialized internal chassis that the remaining parts are attached to. In the case of Glock pistols, the plastic frame itself is the serialized part, making for white-knuckle customization if you decide to modify the plastic. On guns like the P365 and P320, the polymer grip module is cheap and easily replaced.
Installing the FCU into a grip module is extremely easy and can be accomplished in a couple seconds.
The modularity of modern pistols, especially the Sig models, has encouraged people to build up guns that suit them individually, not simply what the manufacture decides you need. Well, it didn’t take long for entrepreneurs to start making metal grip modules. Remarkably, people initially saw this as a regression: “Hey, I thought we were doing plastic, but now we’re back to metal? Won’t it be heavier and stuff? Why put a metal frame on a P320 when you already make a P226?”
The Sig team has made what I believe to be the best choice of all: They supported the aftermarket. Many companies don’t like it when you start changing out factory parts, but what Sig has done is fully encourage this type of behavior … so far as to include third-party accessories in their custom shop options. Metal grip modules for the P365 and P320 are now widely available, including on factory guns as featured in this article.
If you think about it, the “return” to metal frames/grips on what originally began as polymer-framed guns is no real surprise. But, in adding more rigid frames to these otherwise plastic guns, we find that we now have all the benefits of all worlds in one place. The internal-chassis, modular pistol came out of a need to innovate in that polymer world. We needed plastics in that case to create that system. Once that system was established, putting a metal shell on it was a logical next step, in that the flexibility of a chassis system now allows the shooter to add weight in desired places and adapt the gun for greater rigidity and fit.
What started as polymer-framed chassis pistols has come full circle back to full metal. The P320 Legion and the author’s custom carry P365 are both fitted with metal grip modules and have the most modern features available today. Knives by AMTAC Blades.
In addition, accuracy is, at least in my hands, dramatically increased in metal-grip chassis pistols. My groups shrank noticeably when I swapped my Sig OEM plastic grip modules for metal versions made by Mischief Machine.
Metal is, of course, heavier than polymer. A great benefit to using a polymer-framed pistol is weight savings. However, for people like me, I prefer the added weight in the lower portion of the gun, and a firmer material to hold onto during strings of fire. Either way, things can happen to all guns, regardless of their construction: Just because it’s plastic doesn’t mean it won’t last you a long time. And, likewise, just because it’s metal doesn’t mean it won’t have issues.
Notes On Modular Accessories
As mentioned, I’m a big fan of the Mischief Machine product line. I’m a big believer in these products and carry them daily. What I love most is that they allow me, a person with large hands, to be able to reliably train with and use small pistols. Tiny guns are very difficult for a person like me to become proficient with, and the stock P365 was a pain to shoot, despite the benefits of accuracy and reliability. The little gun would torque in my mitts as I fired, and I wanted to change this.
The Mischief Machine products are a bit thicker and feature interchangeable grip panels that you can use to customize your gun. My friends still give me the side-eye when they see me with my wood-gripped, optically equipped pocket pistol. It’s a clash of sorts, but man does it fit me so well. The ability to have a tiny gun with full-size accuracy and features is awesome; it makes a small gun feel bigger in the hands … but not in terms of how it carries.
Another benefit of metal frames is being able to rigidly mount accessories. I always prefer to have a light on my daily use guns, and it irritated me to have to deal with mounting aluminum flashlights on plastic rails. I like being able to solidly mount lights on pistols without having them be some kind of liability. This is a personal complaint; many people are fine with plastic rails, but I always prefer a metal-to-metal interface.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the 2023 EDC Special issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
It may seem obvious, but when carrying a concealed firearm it’s even more important to avoid stupid places, stupid people and doing stupid things.
One of the most well-respected firearms instructors still active is my dear friend John Farnam, who teaches occasionally around the United States. As he’s in his 70s, a serious student of the gun would be well served to attend a class from him before he retires. His business name is Defensive Training International, and it can be easily found on the internet. John has a famous saying, or perhaps a code of conduct: “Don’t go to stupid places with stupid people and do stupid things.”
My professional life sees me occasionally serving as an expert in court cases, where some aspect of the case needs testimony in court to explain to the jury a possibly confusing issue. For this month’s column, I will relate some violations of John’s code of conduct I’ve seen in these court cases.
Stop Playing With It
The first case I worked on back in the ’90s involved a teen who was playing with a Smith & Wesson Model 37 revolver when he involuntarily discharged it and killed his sister. He was untrained, curious about guns and sitting in his living room cocking a loaded revolver and de-cocking the gun with his thumb while pressing the trigger. He was also distracted by the TV. When his sister walked between him and the TV, the hammer slipped, discharging the gun. A case of doing stupid things.
The judge found the teen not guilty of manslaughter, primarily based on my testimony of showing how this could have and likely did occur. I didn’t agree with the verdict; in the jurisdiction it occurred, “negligence” was an element of the crime of manslaughter. The attorney must have made a heck of an argument. I wasn’t hired to prove the defendant’s guilt or innocence, but instead simply to explain the mechanics of how this could’ve occurred. I hope the young man went on to become a useful member of society.
Choose Your Friends Wisely
Another early case saw me working on placing blame on who fired the fatal bullet in a drive-by shooting between rival gang members. This was a murder case, where the deceased died as a result of being shot in the back with a 9mm bullet. The defendant wasn’t the shooter, but the driver of the car. Under the “felony murder rule,” he could be charged with, and tried for, murder.
It seemed like a slam-dunk for the prosecution, as the weapon used in the shooting was a 9mm Beretta. But wait … the crime lab report regarding the 9mm bullet indicated it was a full-metal jacket 9mm, weighing 90 grains. Experienced reloaders reading this will now understand why the “slam-dunk” case was dropped by the prosecution after reading my report, explaining the bullet was very likely fired from a .380 handgun from someone on the street.
When the prosecutor read my report, he tasked the detectives to do a larger crime scene search. Lo and behold, a Walther PPK in 9mm Kurz (.380 auto) was found hidden under some bushes near the scene. It turned out to be the murder weapon and wasn’t fired from the car but instead from a buddy on the street. Case dismissed. This was a case of violating all three: stupid places, stupid people and stupid things.
Skip The Sauce
A third case I worked on saw a victim of a robbery using his firearm to shoot and wound the robber (a gold chain had been forcefully removed from the neck of the defendant). Despite the felony committed against the defendant by the shooting victim, a conviction resulted for first degree assault. My role was to do a shooting incident reconstruction, as several rounds had been fired, resulting in bullet strikes to the ground, cars in the area and the robber.
In this case, the defendant also violated all three parts of the code. He sought out the other party who was at a bar and called him out the parking lot. The stupid thing part of the equation wasn’t his gunfire, but his level of sobriety, as in he was sh*t-faced drunk. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years of doing these cases, it’s that juries hate drunks with guns.
Skeletons Rarely Stay Buried
Lastly, I worked on a case where the defendant did everything right, but he still ended up being prosecuted because he lied to the police. This case was one where an individual was involved in the killing of one of four individuals, all four of whom were attacking the defendant with fists and shoes. At the time of the shooting, the defendant had been down on his knees and was being beaten and kicked (even in the head).
So, you might ask, why did he get prosecuted? Because he sat down with investigators and wanted to cooperate with the police, but did so without an attorney. During this interview, the police asked him if he had been taking any drugs (a routine question). He answered no. But because he had gone to the hospital to get checked out from the beating and there was blood drawn, the lab report showed a small amount of cocaine in his system. The police rolled the dice to see if they could get “another gun off the street” by convicting the defendant. The lie he told the police was the key piece of evidence that spurred the prosecution. After all, if you lie about one thing, what else are you lying about?
The advice from this corner of the world is never submit to conducting an interview with investigating officers without an attorney by your side. After one full trial that resulted in a hung jury and a second prosecution, the defendant eventually pleaded guilty to a low-level felony and got on with his life.
Don’t go to stupid places with stupid people and do stupid things. Those are words to live by.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the 2023 EDC Special issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
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.
