Taurus’ TX line has just gone 9mm, with three sizes of TX9 to choose from.
Based on the DNA of the TX22, Taurus has just announced the TX9 family of pistols in 9mm. Available in three sizes, Taurus is calling the TX9 the company’s “first purpose-built, duty-grade pistol platform.”
The TX9 is a polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol family that uses a serialized steel chassis called the Taurus Modular System. That means that future upgrades like grip modifications will be able to be utilized without any additional transfers. All three TX9 models are also optics-ready thanks to their T.O.R.O. (Taurus Optic Ready Option) slides. They also all share the same ergonomics, triggers and control layouts, as well as modular grips with interchangeable backstraps.
Depending on your needs, the TX9 is available as a full size, a compact and a subcompact. The full size features a 4.5-inch barrel and a 17-round capacity, the compact features a 4-inch barrel and a 15-round capacity and the subcompact has a 3.4-inch barrel and a 13-round capacity. Of course, each of those is also available with a 10-round mag for ban states.
Bret Vorhees, CEO of Taurus Holdings, Inc., said this about the new pistols:
The TX9 represents a defining moment for Taurus … It is our first dedicated duty pistol platform, built on the TX™ foundation shooters already trust and engineered from the ground up for professional-grade performance. By bringing that DNA into a 9mm duty system—and building it here in the USA—we've delivered a platform designed to perform across every role and every size.
All three models of the Taurus TX9 have an MSRP of $500.
We go hands-on with the latest generation of FN SCAR to see what's new in the iconic system.
In October 2025, FN announced they would be discontinuing commercial production of the SCAR after nearly two decades. But like the death of Superman in 1992, these proclamations to the end of an icon were premature. Just a few short months later we’re here to show you the newest generation of SCAR rifle — and the most significant changes FN has ever given to the system.
Ever since the advent of the SCAR in 2008 there have been plenty of fans but no small number of detractors. Though it never replaced the M4 in U.S. Army inventories, it found a home with Special Forces and is now an issued rifle for SOF units in two dozen nations. Though initially launched in two variants (a 5.56mm “light” and 7.62mm “heavy”), it would be the heavy SCAR 17S (also called the SCAR-H) that captured the most imaginations and garnered the most fans.
In 2018, FN would bring the Mk20 precision model, first chambered in 7.62mm followed by a 6.5 Creedmoor variant in 2020. In late 2022, the tiny 7.5-inch barreled 5.56mm SCAR 15P personal defense weapon (PDW) would be released, with a .300BLK model coming in 2024.
There were always downsides to SCARs, many which existed due to the combination of the timeframe of initial design and FN’s plodding response to demand. Paired with an enthusiastic user base, this led to both a dedicated aftermarket and countless competitors looking for market share (we even ran a whole article about so-called “SCAR-Killers”).
You can see how much shorter the handguard is on the Legacy SCAR (top) versus the Gen 3 (bottom). Also note the muzzle device swap. Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
Because FN isn’t a company that moves fast (those that deal with generational government contracts around the world rarely are), it took them some time for this new batch — all told they’ve been working on them for five years. After taking an insights-driven approach to development, they put it all together to upgrade and improve the entire SCAR family of arms. Let’s check out what they did.
Furniture & Controls
This is the easiest one to see outside. Gone are the Picatinny rails widening the profile and reminding you this is a rifle designed not just when quad rails were ironically cool — but nearly new. The forend is now longer for more space for both accessories and your hand, and features M-LOK slots across five angles. Speaking of longer, the top Picatinny rail now encloses the gas regulator, the old folding front sight shunned for a low-profile Magpul. The rear sight is also replaced (a shame, because the OG SCAR rear is the best iron sight ever made).
The handguard can be taken off by removing a few screws, which is good because attaching M-LOK can be a pain when more than one fastener is involved. Check out the removable cover for the gas regulator. Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
The gas regulator comes with a removable cover, the better to keep your hand from overheating, especially when shooting suppressed. And we do mean suppressed; this has been a sore point with SCARs (though we’ve never had a problem popping a can on them) — FN redesigned the barrel with more shoulder for increased muzzle device compatibility, specifically for silencers (both competitors and their own new line).
Legacy SCAR (top) versus Gen 3 (bottom): The already-good ambi selector is now even better due to modularity. Ergonomics of the magazine release have increased with the surface area, and the right-side bolt lock/release is well placed. The insides look much the same, but you can see the difference in the triggers by examining the hammer spring. Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
The buttstock of the SCAR is an oft-replaced item. A lot of people like to stick an ACR stock on there (the only part of that failed rifle that remains), but FN has stuck to the “Ugg” stock so long that the fuzzy footwear it was named after actually came back into style for a while. It’s been upgraded with the addition of a QD cup on the rear, and FN also has OEM options for AR-style stocks and Picatinny-railed rears.
QD cups are also now found on either side of the rear receiver plate, and each rifle comes with an additional M-LOK QD mount.
Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
Gone is the A2 grip, FN instead opting for a more-upright model. The new trigger module is designed to be compatible with aftermarket grips without modification. Speaking of the trigger module, it features a new set of controls.
The selector levers are more readily swappable (each gun comes with extras of different sizes and lengths), the magazine releases are more ergonomic, and there’s an excellent ambi bolt lock/release on the right side that’s easy to use.
The trigger itself has changed, for the better. It used to be a crapshoot what kind of trigger you’d get, but now FN tells us each rifle will be more refined right from the factory — precision rifle or not.
In terms of colorways, you still have the traditional unmatching FDE, lame black, and a great-looking gray.
Bolt Carriers
The heart and soul of the FN SCAR lie in the bolt carrier and wheelbase barrel cradle, and you can track generational changes by examining these parts. FN didn’t change anything about their barrel attachments with this latest, but they made significant shifts with the bolt carrier.
Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
The SCAR was originally designed with a reciprocating charging handle, one which moves back and forth with every shot, explicitly because U.S. Special Operations Command demanded one.
Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
The initial requirements for the SCAR were outlined way back in 2004, back when the Global War on Terror was new and modern warfighting was first getting figured out. The thinking at the time was that a reciprocating charging handle meant there would be no need for a forward assist, and that the potential downsides would be minimal.
USSOCOM requirement or not, that moving charging handle remained the most major complaint people had about the SCAR for many years. Some subpar non-reciprocating aftermarket options were offered, but most simply managed it with technique.
Then, in 2021, FN released the Gen 2 NRCH (Non-Reciprocating Charging Handle). The NRCH was accomplished with an internal sled that detached the charging handle from the bolt carrier. This also added the ability to run dual charging handles and to be truly ambidextrous. The bolts and small parts remained the same. Importantly, this was also a backward-compatible conversion; older SCARs would just need a new (or modified) receiver front plate to work with the internal sled.
The Gen 3 changes are even more significant. It shares the same internal sled and charging handles as the NRCH, but the carrier body is lightened, multi-piece, modular, and even has a hydraulic buffer pinned inside. The top arm of the carrier, called the bolt carrier front rail, keys in place so the same bolt carrier can be used across different systems and calibers. The hydraulic buffer arrests the movement of the carrier right at the peak of rearward recoil, making for a more-gentle curve despite the lighter weight of the unit and is designed to prevent damage to optics.
Like the SCAR you already know, but improved right out of the box. Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
Though the bolt itself is slightly shorter than the previous generations, the other small parts remain the same. And like the Gen 2, the Gen 3 is also backward compatible — you can drop a complete unit into a SCAR from 2007 if you change that front receiver plate.
Small Parts & Extras
The looks are the easiest to see, but outside the BCG what really got me going was seeing that all the small fasteners are now Torx. This makes maintenance ten times easier, because small hex screws are just so damned easy to strip out.
You’re still going to want to use heat to remove them (thread locker being what it is) but you’ll find that you’ll have a much better time.
The Mk20 shares the same improvements as the rest of the line. Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
In addition to the extra selectors and charging handle, FN ships the SCAR with an M-LOK vertical grip. Each SCAR now comes with a nice padded soft case you’ll actually use for the range, too. Sized just right to tuck into a Pelican for air travel.
You can really compare FN’s [lack of] color-matching skills here with the Legacy SCAR (top) versus the Gen 3 (bottom). Note the QD sockets and sights. Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
On The Range
Hydraulic buffers stuffed into rifles often have the scent of snake oil, largely because they’ve previously been sold by the unscrupulous as add-on solutions for problems that don’t exist. That said, we’ve seen them used to good effect by OEMs before (here’s looking at you, B+T), and this is FN, after all. So, when it came time to hit the range, we were cautiously optimistic. SCARs are already light shooters for their weight class, so even if they were exactly the same there wouldn’t be any complaints. [Cue drumroll] … And?
Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
The SCAR-H feels like a SCAR-H, but a touch lighter. We’re still talking about a 16-inch barreled 7.62 with polymer furniture here, but things get a bit more obvious when you shoot a Gen 3 and a Legacy side-by-side. Even when both guns are rocking longer handguards for more leverage, you can tell the Gen3 SCAR-H is better.
It’s a similar story for the Mk20. This is a very capable rifle, and we’ve previously shown you an example in 6.5 Creedmoor that printed .597 MOA groups. Hitting beyond 1,200 yards was more about reading wind and a ballistic calculator than improvements to the system itself. No one is crying about less recoil and a reticle that settles faster, however.
While the SCAR-L was the dark horse, there’s a reason why the Heavy is the one that captures imaginations and sees the most use. Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
The dark horse here is the SCAR-L. This is the one the U.S. Military liked the least, but still finds a fan with at least one RECOIL editor (and the editor of RECOIL OFFGRID, too). And, out of the box, the new Gen 3 SCAR 16S shoots like a custom tuned gun. Extremely pleasant shooting gun with fast follow-ups.
Nightforce Optics NX6 2-12
Gracing the top of the SCAR on the cover of this issue is the new Nightforce Optics NX6 2-12. As the name implies, each scope in the NX6 line has a 6x power factor covering the whole gamut (1-6, 2-12, 3-18, 4-24, 5-30, and 6-36). Many are available in both first and second focal plane, MOA and MRAD. The one you see here is first focal plane with MRAD adjustment — perfect for a 16-inch 7.62mm gun.
Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
The reticle is an FC-MRx, which is based on Nightforce’s FC-DMx LPVO reticle but with 20 MILS of holdover instead of 10. The center is illuminated in both red and green, and you cycle through illumination levels by pressing the button on the left side of the optic. There’s a parallax adjustment, but as it’s unmarked, you’ll have to check it for yourself when you get behind the rifle (which you should be doing anyway, because those markers are just a guideline anyhow).
Photos: Dave Merrill & Steven Kuo.
The new Fieldset turret system allows you to easily float your turrets after zeroing without requiring a special tool (though it does come with one). Simply twist the mechanism on the top of the to turret to unlock, pop it off to reposition, replace, and twist back to lock. It’s not like messing with small screws was especially difficult or anything, but this is easy.
Loose Rounds
It’s clear that FN took a lot of time with this generation. They addressed the furniture, suppressors, controls, and small parts while maintaining their advances with the non-reciprocating system and keeping everything backward compatible. The fact they added extras and did all this without increasing the MSRP is saying something — oh yeah, they didn’t increase the price; Gen 3 is priced the same as the last. Which ain’t cheap, of course, but we’re talking about FN, not the race to the bottom.
FN has just announced the 309 MRD, a 9mm FN pistol that’s more accessible than ever before.
It’s well known that FN makes some great firearms, but let’s be honest, most of them are priced above what many Americans can afford. With the goal of making an excellent 9mm pistol that’s more accessible to shooters on a budget, FN has just announced the 309 MRD.
The FN 309 MRD has everything one looks for in a defensive pistol—it’s lightweight, optics-ready, easy-to-use and comes with high-capacity magazines. For flush-fit mags, the 309 holds 16 rounds, and extended mags hold 20. However, 10-round mags are available as well for ban states. It has a crisp, 5-round single-action trigger, a neutral grip angle for a natural point of aim, a rounded rear U-notch sight and a green fiber-optic front sight. As for mounting optics, it will take any red dot with a Shield RMSc or Leupold DeltaPoint Pro footprint.
Besides being more affordably priced, the FN 309 MRD is more accessible to shooters thanks to its slide that’s easier to rack, its magazines that are easier to load and a disassembly procedure that doesn’t require pulling the trigger.
Chris Johnson, Senior Product Manager for Pistols for FN America, said this about the new handgun:
Many gun buyers don’t see FN as an option, and we wanted to change that perception by making the brand accessible to people looking to spend $500 on a 9mm pistol … With the FN 309 MRD we now have a trustworthy, easy-to-use pistol perfect both for new gun buyers and those looking to purchase their first FN. For us, it’s not just a new product, it’s FN’s commitment to offering the everyday user peace of mind and FN performance.
Bergara just joined the suppressor game with the announcement of its titanium .30-caliber BTi30.
Bergara, like just about every firearms manufacturer right now, has just joined the suppressor game. Naturally, however, the company has tailored its cans for precision to be a perfect match for its rifles.
Bergara said this about the BTi30:
The precision-optimized design is engineered to minimize point-of-impact shift and tighten groupings up to 25% versus traditional suppressors or bare muzzles, providing repeatable and consistent results for precision hunters and shooters.
The BTi30 is a vented suppressor, meaning less peak pressure in the blast chamber and less blowback to the face of the bolt and the face of the shooter. The end caps are swappable as well, so you can further optimize the can for your rifle or task. Using just a 5/8-inch socket, you can install either a sealed end cap for maximum noise reduction or a vented end cap for less blowback and faster recovery. Another nice extra feature is its external fluting to help it cool off faster.
As for mounting the BTi30 on a rifle, it’s HUB-compatible and ships with a 5/8×24 direct-thread mount that self-indexes against the crown of the muzzle to ensure proper alignment. As for the tale of the tape, Bergara’s suppressor is 6.5 inches long, 1.75 inches in diameter and weighs just 12.9 ounces thanks to its Grade 5 titanium construction. It’s rated up to 300 RUM with a 16-inch barrel as well.
MSRP for the Bergara BTi30 is $1,100 and it’s available with a black, grey or FDE Cerakote finish.
Want a little scope with big capabilities? EOTECH has just expanded its super short riflescope line with the 4-12×36 Vudu.
Who says small guns can’t have awesome magnified optics? EOTECH brought a lot to the table last year with its Vudu 3-9×32 SFP, and now the company is expanding its line of super short scopes with the 4-12×36 Vudu.
The new 4-12×36 Vudu has a lot in common with its predecessor, but now features an FFP (first focal plane) reticle, greater magnification and a slightly larger objective lens. While it is a bit bigger, it’s still an incredibly compact optic with a total length of just 7.1 inches. Of course, it’s built tough, too, while the aluminum construction helps keep it lightweight at just 16.9 ounces.
Other features of the 4-12×36 Vudu are its illuminated reticle (10 settings), its wide power band on the eyepiece for rapid magnification adjustment and its adjustable diopter for precise focus control. The capped turrets offer .1-MRAD adjustments, and its mounting solution allows for directly attaching the scope to Picatinny rail using either the included EOTECH mount or an aftermarket mini-ACOG mount. Compatible micro red dots can also be attached to the Vudu itself, either at 12 o’clock or at a 45-degree offset.
EOTECH said this about the Vudu’s FFP reticle:
The first focal plane is preferred by more tactical users because the design allows quick range estimation and trajectory compensation at any magnification. In this design, the reticle and its sub-tensions, maintains its size relative to the target image.
MSRP for the 4-12×36 Vudu is $1,220 and it will begin shipping in Q1 of this year.
A quick look at EchoCore Suppressors, a new can company that’s already making big waves in the silencer industry.
With the silencer tax stamp fee’s recent reduction from $200 to $0, a ton of companies, both new and old, are joining the suppressor game. Why not? The demand is certainly increasing, so the supply has to as well. One of the newest companies is EchoCore Suppressors, but unlike a lot of other new cans on the market, EchoCore’s have already proved to be more than just background noise.
Officially debuted and tested at the 2025 Silencer Summit, known in the industry as the gold standard test for suppressor performance, EchoCore took both first and second place in the 5.56 category with its Sector 5.56 Full Size and Sector 5.56 Compact. That’s a very impressive feat, especially for a brand-new company facing off against much more experienced manufacturers. How’d they pull it off? The company chalks it up to precision engineering, advanced additive manufacturing techniques and its XCR (Cross Chamber Regulation) technology that keeps backpressure low without compromising sound and flash reduction. All of EchoCore's cans are 3D-printed, feature a completely weldless design and are HUB Compatible, though materials vary between models. Most ship with a low-flash vented endcap as well.
Chris Mudgett, Founder of EchoCore Suppressors, had this to say about his company’s recent victory at Silencer Summit:
Earning first and second place in our debut year validates everything we’ve worked toward … EchoCore was built on the belief that true innovation is alive and well in this industry. Our team’s expertise, discipline, and relentless pursuit of performance are what make these results possible — and this is just the beginning.
Exclusively available through Silencer Shop, EchoCore already has more to offer than the 5.56 Sector line, as the company’s catalog features the Traverse 30, LaTitude 30 and Radius 360 Multi-Cal as well.
This is one silencer company that’s definitely worth keeping an eye on, so much so that I’ve already lined up a hands-on review of the Sector 5.56 Full Size. I’ll be excited to hit the range with it as soon as the transfer goes through to see (or hear) what it can do for an AR in person.
Griffin & Howe is rekindling and reinventing a storied flame.
Pulling up to the spacious Hudson Farm facility in northern New Jersey to celebrate the Griffin & Howe Centennial, I was immediately impressed with the sheer scope of the operation. In addition to the huge showroom, there were meeting halls, what amounts to a small hotel, a full farming operation and—most intriguing—the Griffin & Howe Gunsmithing Shop.
While most rifle historians will be immediately familiar with the Griffin & Howe name—as their famous sidemount and customized rifles have received accolades for decades—many of the younger generation are likely unfamiliar. But what impressed me most while we hobnobbed under the huge tent erected for the 100th anniversary celebration was how a couple of relative youngsters have brought the brand seamlessly into the 21st century.
And, catching my eye immediately, was a unique rifle—the Highlander—blending a walnut stock with classic lines and a carbon-fiber barrel, but with steel sections to accommodate traditional iron sights.
That rifle at the Centennial celebration was—appropriately—chambered for .35 Whelen, but little did I know that just a couple years later we’d be putting a similar model in .375 H&H Magnum to the test in Zimbabwe.
High Class, High Expectations
The Highlander Safari is the larger-bore variant of the G&H Highlander, being offered in both .375 H&H Magnum and .375 Ruger. Like most rifles available from Griffin & Howe, plenty of options are available to the customer, as their gunsmithing shop is capable of just about anything your checkbook and imagination could handle.
The Griffin & Howe Highlander Safari melds traditional lines with modern construction materials and techniques. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
At the rifle’s heart is the Defiance Rebel CRF action, attached to a Proof Research Sendero carbon-fiber-wrapped barrel and housed in either a premium walnut or synthetic stock. Dan Rossiter, stockmaker of excellence and manager of the Griffin & Howe Gunsmithing Shop, would bring along a beautiful, figured walnut stock variant on our safari to the Sango concession of the Savé Valley Conservancy, for both backup on the dangerous game species and to handle any plains game species.
Griffin & Howe have cleverly mated a Proof Research carbon-fiber-wrapped barrel with metal inserts to facilitate the front and rear iron sights. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Topped with a Swarovski Z8i 1-8×24 in G&H quick detachable top-mount rings, this rifle exhibited true versatility, performing wonderfully in a number of situations.
With the scope removed through the use of the G&H quick-detach top mounts, the Highlander Safari becomes svelte and a dream to carry in the field. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
I readily admit having a strong preference for a controlled-round-feed (CRF) action in a repeater for use on dangerous game, and though the Mauser 98 and its innumerable clones are probably what come to mind when discussing CRF actions, there are other options. The Defiance Rebel is one, and I quickly came to like this action.
Using a “modern claw style” extractor to handle the cartridge without question, the Rebel allows the user to insert a cartridge into the chamber and close the bolt over it without running the risk of breaking the extractor. It acts like a push-feed when loading directly into the chamber, and as a CRF when loading from the magazine. This will turn a “three-down” rifle into a four-shot gun, and when the game is large and close at hand, that extra shot will be much appreciated.
Constructed of aircraft-certified 416 stainless-steel, the Rebel will surely handle the pressures generated by the pair of 375s, and the one-piece steel bolt cycles as smoothly as you could ask for. That bolt face handled the feeding and extraction without a single issue; during the course of our safari, we’d load, empty and reload the rifles several times a day, not to mention running the bolt during the course of taking an animal. I had complete confidence in that Rebel action.
The bolt face—and beefy extractor—of the Defiance Rebel action. Operating as both push-feed and controlled-round feed, the Rebel is a smart, modern design. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
A three-position Winchester 70-style safety allows the shooter to safely unload the firearm, and a hinged floorplate allows for quick emptying of the magazine; the Highlander Safari in .375 H&H held three cartridges in the magazine. A spring-loaded bolt release located at the left rear of the receiver allows the bolt to be removed for cleaning. The action also features a TriggerTech trigger timed to the action, and that trigger broke cleanly at about 2½ pounds, with almost no creep or overtravel.
The Proof Research Sendero carbon-fiber barrel certainly has a larger diameter than what any of us are used to seeing on a dangerous game gun, and being a .375-inch bore, it’s bigger than most. With a metal insert on the outside of the barrel for the island rear sight and at the muzzle for the hooded front sight, the Highlander Safari definitely has a unique barrel look.
Employing a 1:12 twist, the 24-inch barrel will take full advantage of the velocity potential of the .375 H&H Magnum, without being unwieldy in the thick bush. Accuracy was excellent, and this rifle showed sub-MOA groups with both soft-points and solids. Rossiter and I tried a few ammo brands, but we decided to listen to the rifle: It liked the Barnes factory ammo best, using 300-grain TSX expanding bullets and the 300-grain Barnes Banded solids.
The stock on the Highlander Safari is a thing of beauty, balancing wonderfully in all carrying positions, and coming to the shoulder almost effortlessly. I met Rossiter years ago, as a member of the American Custom Gunmaker’s Guild, and his stock design—in both walnut and synthetic—makes all sorts of sense for a do-all rifle like this.
A Silver’s recoil pad takes the sting out of the .375 H&H Magnum, while still maintaining a proper look. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
The comb is a subdued Monte Carlo design, being carved for use with a riflescope, but the shooter can still make good use of the iron sights by driving the cheek down onto the comb. A proper Silver’s recoil pad takes the sting out of the .375 H&H—of which there isn’t much with this stock design—and there is proper hand-cut checkering on pistol grip and forend. I liked the balance of the rifle with the Swarovski scope onboard and loved the feel and balance with the scope removed. I could easily wrap my hand around the receiver and carry the iron-sighted gun for miles on the trail.
For the customer, plenty of bespoke options are available from Griffin & Howe, ranging from length of pull (their fitting service is nothing shy of excellent), to engraving and metal finishing choices (Rossiter’s brother, Chris, is the house engraver—and his work is stunning). If the metalwork of your rifle is to be engraved, the receiver and barrel shanks must be left in the white and clear-coated.
Color case hardening is available for the bottom metal, iron sights and bases, scope rings and bases, and pistol grip cap if so desired. The walnut-stocked variant tips the scales right around the 9-pound mark (sans scope or ammo), and you can shave off a half-pound by going with the synthetic stock, and both models offer the option of elite blackout Cerakote finish. The synthetic model comes stock with a Spartan magnetic bipod socket; that’s an option for the wood stocked model.
At the Range and in the Field
Griffin & Howe at Hudson Farm offers a full-service training facility, with classes for shotguns, handguns and rifles, and for the latter you can take your hunting or target rifle out to a considerable distance. Rossiter had the rifle trued out to 500 yards, with a ballistic turret so marked atop the Swarovski scope. The rifle showed sub-MOA accuracy out to that mark, and we felt we had things nailed down pretty well.
In Zimbabwe, with PH Mark Jansen on the Sango concession of the Savé Valley Conservancy, we each had a management bull and cow buffalo available, plus a small assortment of plains game. We had another G&H rifle—the Criterion in .404 Jeffery—on hand for the primary duty on the big stuff, with the Highlander Safari coming in as a backup for the buffalo.
The author used the G&H Highlander Safari (right) to backup Dan Rossiter on his buffalo bull. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
When Rossiter’s bull didn’t exactly read the script and decided he’d take over a half-dozen shots, Jansen asked me to help put the bull down. Rossiter and I fired almost simultaneously, and the bull’s nose was soon in the dirt, with the death bellow following closely. That Highlander Safari performed perfectly, putting a bullet on the point of the shoulder from about 60 yards. We’d later recover that 300-grain Barnes TSX, well expanded and retaining 92 percent of its original weight.
A few days later, Rossiter would find himself 284 yards from the largest slab of eland bull I’ve ever seen in my life, and laying prone across his pack, put a TSX through the huge bull’s lungs. The ballistic turret made his life easy, and walking up to that bull reinforced the fact that a truly big eland bull is bigger than any Cape buffalo that ever walked. Our cameraman, Michael “Heffalump” Heffernan, was offered the opportunity to take a pair of impala rams with the Highlander Safari, making a pair of one-shot kills at 168 and 209 yards, respectively, once again proving the flexibility of the venerable .375 H&H Magnum.
To top it off, I was invited to participate in a management elephant bull hunt at the end of the safari, using the Highlander Safari for backup duties. The rifle had no issue putting a 300-grain Barnes Banded Solid into the bull’s brain at 15 paces. Death was instantaneous, with all of the meat neatly weighed and donated to the villages.
The Highlander Safari handled it all, from the small to the tall, the near to the far, with grace.
The Cost of Bespoke
The rifle we brought to Zimbabwe had a Grade 5 Turkish Walnut stock, handworked by the Griffin & Howe team. Time is money, as the saying goes, and the hours put into a custom piece need to be paid for. Without the walnut being upgraded, the Highlander Safari starts at $28,400. Our rifle had a 14-inch length of pull—to accommodate my longer arms—and that feature can easily be adapted to the customer, though other upgrades are obviously going to raise the price.
Griffin & Howe is working toward offering an “off-the-rack” stocked version, with a length of pull suited to the customer that will reduce costs. There is always the synthetic version—with stocks finished in Gore’s Sub Alpine, Open Country or Cover camo patterns—which sports a price tag of $11,750, again reflecting the amount of handwork that goes into a Griffin & Howe stock and metalwork.
I’ll be the first to admit that the carbon-fiber barrel is a non-traditional look on a bespoke rifle, but I will also testify that, after carrying that rifle through the ins and outs of a week on safari, I truly enjoyed the experience. I’ve been blessed to have used a number of custom/bespoke rifles over the years, and the G&H Highlander Safari sits among some of the best, especially in the stock design department. The action is slick, the trigger is sweet, and the G&H quick-detach mounts allow the optic to be removed and reinstalled without fear of losing zero.
If you’re interested in the custom rifle experience, contact Rossiter at Griffin & Howe, or stop by their booth at one of the outdoor shows and hold the Highlander Safari for yourself—I’ll wager you’ll be impressed. Rossiter has indicated that in addition to the .375 H&H Magnum and .375 Ruger offerings, they are offering the .35 Whelen chambering so long as the barrel blanks hold out.
Background: A Very Brief History of Griffin & Howe
Seymour Griffin—a New York City cabinet maker—was inspired by President Teddy Roosevelt’s book African Game Trails and wanted to use a .30-06 rifle like his hero. He liked the action of the 1903 Springfield, but the military stock left much to be desired, so he restocked it himself using a French walnut blank. In the 1920s, Col. Townsend Whelen heard of Griffin’s talents and introduced him to the foreman of the Frankford Arsenal, James Howe.
Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Howe collaborated with Whelen to develop the .35 Whelen, and that cartridge remains inexorably tied to the Griffin & Howe name. Griffin & Howe opened their doors in June of 1923, but Howe would leave by the year’s end. By the 1930s, the quickly famous G&H detachable scope side-mount was on the market, and G&H was selling not just fine rifles, but all sorts of outdoor gear.
The firm would make their most famous connection when they outfitted Ernest Hemingway with the .30-06 Springfield rifle made famous in Green Hills of Africa, and which inspired the fictional works Snows of Kilimanjaro and The Short Happy Life of Frances Macomber. Griffin & Howe would also provide rifles to the likes of Clark Gable, President Dwight Eisenhower and author Robert Ruark. After Griffin’s retirement in the late 1950s, the company declined until gunsmith Bill Ward acquired the assets, keeping the name alive through the 1970s and ’80s.
By 2015, Steven Polanish would assume CEO duties, and today, he has brought the G&H name onto the 4,000-plus-acre Hudson Farm complex, with G&H issuing new rifle designs in 2017. The complex offers training for handgunners, shotgunners and riflemen alike, as well as an enormous showroom full of premium firearms and gear.
Having celebrated their 100th anniversary, Griffin & Howe is most definitely back, delivering all the classic products as well as new, cutting-edge rifle designs. Brothers Dan and Chris Rossiter are among a crack team in the gunsmithing department, which is turning out some head-turning products.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Pietta has just announced a new .357 Magnum double-action revolver with a design inspired by the classic Colt Python.
We don’t know much about it yet, but Pietta of Italy is making a clone of the iconic Colt Python .357 Magnum DA/SA revolver. We’re not even sure what it will be officially called yet, as one graphic released by Pietta refers to it as the PDA .357 Magnum and another calls it the Blacktooth. Regardless, the graphic bearing the Blacktooth moniker became the cover photo for Pietta’s Facebook account last month along with the text “Coming 2026.” It’s safe to assume that we’ll be learning more about it at SHOT Show in a couple of weeks.
Much of what we know about Pietta’s Python clone comes from the Italian firearms publication Armi e Tiro’s video on it. The big takeaways are that the revolver is practically identical to the original Colt design and that the initial model offered will feature a 6-inch barrel, a blued finish, adjustable sights and walnut grips. It appears to be already available in Italy, so its production status isn’t in question, but its availability and price in the U.S. are.
In Italy, Pietta’s Python clone is carrying a price tag of 1,200 euros, which is about 1,400 USD at the current exchange rate. The street price for an equivalent model of new production Colt Python is also about $1,400, so it will be interesting to see whether Pietta can price it on the American market low enough to be competitive.
Either way, we’ll be keeping an eye out at SHOT for one. We’ll report back once we know more.
VKTR Industries has just announced the VKP Pro, a new double-stack 1911 9mm pistol.
It seems that every week these days a new company comes out with a 2011-style pistol, but that’s a good thing given the massive demand. The more options that exist, the more features and price points shooters have to choose from, and the latest to be announced is VKTR Industries’ VKP Pro.
Made entirely in the U.S. using American-made parts, the VKP Pro is designed for personal defense, duty use and even competition shooting. It features a 4.4-inch bull barrel, a DLC ArmorLube coating and a hefty weight of 3.5 pounds thanks to the durable 416 stainless steel frame. Chambered for 9mm, it has a capacity of 16 rounds with flush-fit mags and 20 rounds with extended mags, and two of each are included with each pistol. Also included with each purchase is a set of 3 adaptor plates (Aimpoint Acro, Trijicon RMR and Leupold DPP) as the VKP Pro is optics-ready as well. It ships with XS Sights iron sights installed, and other features include a Combat Match Trigger with a ~3.5-pound break, fully machined steel controls and a reinforced polymer grip.
Dave Rybacki, owner of VKTR Industries, said this about his company’s new 2011-style pistol:
We are extremely excited for this new lineup … The VKP Pro is our flagship model, and we are working to expand the line. End users can be sure that this handgun will be manufactured to the highest standards and tolerances.
MSRP for the VKP Pro is $4,000 and they’re shipping to dealers now.
Palmetto State Armory has just released the Jakl-9 SD, a suppressor-ready version of the 9mm Jakl pistol.
The PSA Jakl family of guns started as a 5.56mm long-stroke piston rifle, but it’s expanded quite a bit since then. The family now includes, besides the original Jakl-15 rifles and pistols in 5.56 and .300 BLK, a bullpup conversion variant called the Olcan, a scaled-up version in .308 Winchester called the Jakl-10 and a 9mm PCC version called the Jakl-9. Now, PSA is introducing a suppressor-ready Jakl-9 called the Jakl-9 SD.
Technically speaking, standard 9mm Jakls are suppressor-ready too, due to their threaded muzzles, but not to the same degree as the Jakl-9 SD. While it sports the same 6.5-inch barrel as the original, the SD’s handguard has been extended to a few inches beyond the muzzle. To allow it to safely be fired out of the box, Jakl-9 SDs ship with an extended flash can installed, but those are truly meant to be a placeholder until the owner can replace it with a real suppressor. This design provides a lot more real estate for gripping and accessories compared to a standard suppressed PCC setup, not to mention it looks sleeker and cooler, too. The handguard has an internal diameter of 1.8 inches, so keep that in mind while shopping for a can.
The rest of the SD’s details are the same as standard Jakl-9s. It uses a direct blowback operating system, a 1:10 twist rate barrel with a 1/2×28 threaded muzzle, and it feeds from PSA AK-V 35-round mags or other CZ Scorpion-pattern mags. PSA is also selling the uppers as a standalone option since they’re designed to be compatible with any standard AR-V lower receiver.
The PSA Jakl-9 SD is available either with a black finish and triangle folding brace for $1,050 or with an FDE finish and F5 folding brace for $1,100.
Looking for a new iron or piece of kit to enhance the one you already own? Check out these 7 new bits of guns and gear to grow your firearms wish list.
Henry’s Mini Bolt Youth G2 upgrades the classic single-shot .22 bolt-action for young shooters. The main improvement is an integrated feed ramp for smoother, easier loading. Weighing just 3.25 pounds, it features a stainless-steel barrel and receiver, both built for durability in camp and youth programs. The fiber-optic sights encourage confident shooting, while dual safeties—manual thumb safety and exposed cock-ing knob—aid in teaching responsible handling. The G2 is available in black or Muddy Girl camo, making it a strong choice for a first rifle. MSRP: $335
Beretta AX800 Suprema
When the air gets crisp and quacky, Beretta has just the tool. The Italian firearms juggernaut recently released its AX800 Suprema, a 12-gauge that is certain to become an icon among waterfowlers. Top to bottom, the scattergun is designed to survive and thrive in the rough conditions common to knocking ducks and geese from the sky. But perhaps the most notable aspect of the gun is its B-Link Pro Gas System, which Beretta touts as its fastest and cleanest running design to date. Of course, the gun comes with Beretta Steelium barrels and a host of other bells and whistles—stock adjustment, recoil pad, polymer stock. It’s just the medicine your blind needs. MSRP: Starting at $2,600
MDT CKYE-POD GEN3
CKYE-PODs are absolute legends in the competitive shooting world, offering more utility than you can shake a precision rifle at. And MDT has only made them better with the introduction of the third generation of the bipods. MDT has enlarged the knobs to make deployment much faster. It’s ARCA and Picatinny ready and compatible with A.R.M.S #17 heads. And the leg-lock system offers more control over the bipods, so they don’t accidentally deploy on the move. Best of all, MDT is offering them in three heights, Single-Pull, Double-Pull and Triple Pull, so you have the option of up to 2 feet of elevation. MSRP: Starting at $600
Winchester Safes VaultLite
Sometimes you simply need a place to secure your guns. It doesn’t need to be fancy or protect them from a meteor impact—just keep them under lock and key. Winchester addresses this exact need with its drop of the VaultLite safe. The non-fire-rated safe is light, attachable to a building’s fabric and secure. Constructed from 14-gauge steel, 14- and 18-gun capacity options and accessible by both keypad and key, it’s just the ticket for temporary or small locations—looking at you, apartment renters. MSRP: Starting at $300
Smith & Wesson Shield X Carry Comp Model
Smith & Wesson’s new PC Shield X Carry Comp takes the Shield X platform up a notch, adding a PowerPort-equipped 3.6-inch fluted barrel to cut muzzle rise and soften recoil. Chambered in 9mm with capacities up to 15+1, it pairs sub-compact size with serious shootability. The extended grip improves control and capacity, while aggressive slide serrations and a reversible mag catch keep handling intuitive. An accessory rail and squared trigger guard support lights or lasers. Sights include an Ameriglo LumiGreen front and serrated U-notch rear for fast pickup in any light. It’s also RMSc/K-footprint optics-ready, with a ClearSight Cut to keep gas off your glass. MSRP: $699
TriStar Arms APOC
Best known for its affordable shotguns, TriStar ventured into new territory recently—striker-fired pistols. Yeah, everyone and their brother seems to have a striker-fired on the roster nowadays, but the Kansas City-based brand’s APOC is worth giving a look. If for any reason, the price of the 9mm puts it well into the budget category, while offering plenty in return. Especially nice, the 4-inch barreled pistol boasts a 15-round capacity and is outfitted with a molded accessories rail. Other notables include fiber-optics front and rear sights, front and rear cock-ing serrations and an optional mag well. It’s a tidy package for the price. MSRP: $359
Rossi RS22 Pistol
Rossi cooked up something more fun than should be legal. Meet the .22-caliber RS22 Pistol. The latest expansion of the company’s RS22 platform has been shortened and braced (Strike Industries FSA) to deliver countless hours of plinking fun. Best of all, the semi-automatic platform is tailored for suppression with a 6-inch barrel and ½x28 TPI threaded muzzle. The pistol ships with a 10-round magazine but accepts the larger RS22 magazines. It’s outfitted with a Picatinny rail for the easy addition of optics. And it has an accessory rail, so adding a light or laser is a snap. MSRP: $390
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the January 2026 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
If a lethal threat ever forces you to draw your gun, you need to focus on hitting center mass of the available target.
As it has been wisely pointed out by numerous firearms instructors, the purpose of shooting is hitting. However, hitting is not just about directing your bullet so it impacts the target—it’s about placing your bullet on the correct spot on the target.
For example, if you’re shooting at a bull’s-eye target, the goal is not to just hit the bull, it’s to hit the center of the bull’s-eye. But, in a real-world scenario where you would need to shoot a human attacker with your defensive handgun, there will not be a bull’s-eye to aim at.
So, what should you do?
Shoot to Stop
Hunters shoot to kill. Their goal is to place a bullet in the most lethal spot they can. Most often this is in the heart and lung area of the target. This area—like with a deer—is about the size of a paper plate like you would use at a picnic. If a hunter can place a rifle bullet in this area, there is a high probability he can achieve a fast and humane kill.
It’s different when you’re shooting in a self-defense situation. With a self-defense handgun, your goal is not to kill, but to stop; you’re simply trying to use the bullets fired by your defensive handgun to make the bad guy stop doing bad things.
Any attempt to kill on your part would represent lethal intent or malice, neither of which are agreeable with a justifiable self-defense shooting. When you engage a human threat with a defensive handgun, you are hoping that, through either pain or fear, you will convince your attacker to cease and desist. The pain you’re hoping for is the pain that a bullet can cause.
Unlike animals that have no concept of injury or death, you’re also hoping that the fear of the effects of the shot—or even a miss—you have made will stop the fight. To successfully inflict that pain and/or fear on an attacker, ideally, you must hit your target, and the highest probability for that is to aim center mass.
If you must shoot in self-defense, initially and most often, aiming center mass gives you the highest probability for a hit.
Center Mass
By aiming center mass, you’re simply giving your bullets the best chance to contact the target. It’s no different than when you’re shooting at a steel plate. You know that, under the stress of time, enhanced with a fear for your life, you will most likely not shoot your best. Also, the target—the bad guy—might be moving, which complicates getting a hit at all.
Though it’s possible that unleashing a hail of bullets in the direction of your attacker might cause them to give up and/or flee, it’s not something to be counted on. And you must remember that you own every bullet you fire. This is particularly important with the ones that miss.
Yeah, you fired three shots in the direction of the fiend that was trying to kill you, and he ran off, unharmed. You win! But what about those shots that missed and hit an innocent bystander? You cannot blame them on the bad guy; you are responsible for those shots.
Aiming/shooting center mass sounds easy, but “center mass of what?” is the real question.
Available Target
On a human who’s standing facing you, center mass—center of the available target—is generally at the celiac plexus, or solar plexus. The celiac plexus is a complex network of nerves located in the abdomen, near where the celiac trunk, superior mesenteric artery and renal arteries branch from the abdominal aorta.
“Center mass of the available target” changes based on how much and what part of the target you can see.
Of course, you cannot see any of this … but if you have ever had the wind knocked out of you, you know exactly where the solar plexus is located.
As for aiming at the solar plexus, it’s located about midway between a horizontal line drawn between the nipples and the belly button. Of course, unless your attacker is naked you cannot see this, either. And this “center of the available target” will vary depending on what parts of your target/attacker you can see.
If a bad guy is shooting at you from behind a car, your available target does not include the solar plexus; you’ll most likely only be able to see his arms, shoulders and head. In a self-defense situation, your available target is the totality of all your attacker that you can see, and the center of that is where you aim.
Exceptions to the Rule
There are several reasons shots to the center mass of your available target—your attacker—might not be sufficient.
Your attacker could be holding something blocking his center mass, such as a rifle, or he could be wearing body armor and/or be under the influence of narcotics. In these cases, hits in and around the solar plexus might not be possible … or might not have the immediate effect you’re hoping for.
In this instance, with the attacker’s rifle covering center mass, you should aim elsewhere—a little below or above center mass.
If you have fired multiple shots at the center mass of your attacker, and believe you’ve been getting hits but are not seeing results—and, if you are still being attacked—then it might be a good idea to aim/shoot at something else.
In this instance, you need to direct your shots at a specific body part that can have a more profound effect. The two primary options are the pelvic girdle and the head.
With a shot to the pelvic girdle, your bullet can break the support structure and potentially cause collapse.
Also, if you’re holding a dangerous suspect at gun point, you might/should be aiming at his pelvic girdle area so you can see his hands. If he moves for a weapon or attacks, you simply pull the trigger and then transition to center mass shots.
Holding a suspect at gunpoint is only justifiable if they are a threat, and by aiming at their pelvic area you can see their hands and instantly shoot if necessary.
And finally, a shot to the head can damage the central nervous system of your attacker and cause immediate collapse.
Now, you might be thinking, if a shot to the head is so much more effective, why would I not try that first?
There are two reasons.
First, the head is a small target that is most often moving. This makes it harder to hit and increases the opportunity for an errant bullet to hit something or someone else. Secondly, an initial shot to the head does not convey the justifiable—shoot to stop—purpose of shooting another human.
Big targets are easier to hit than small targets, so aim at the center of the big target and pray that a hit there will be enough.
Then, if it fails to stop your attacker, you have options.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
In an active shooter situation, waiting gets people killed. Here we discuss the importance of acting in the first 30 seconds.
There’s a dangerous lie baked into how Americans talk about mass violence.
We’re told that if there is an active shooter in a school, church, or grocery store, the solution will arrive in flashing lights and sirens. We are told to hide, lock doors, wait quietly and trust the system.
We are told that help is coming.
What we are not told—what many people desperately want to avoid confronting—is that the outcome of an active shooter attack is usually decided long before help arrives.
Ed Monk, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and the author of First 30 Seconds: The Active Shooter Problem, is one of the most serious thinkers on the active shooter issue. His conclusion is blunt: If a killer is not stopped within the first 30 seconds of an attack, the victim count almost always climbs into the double digits.
This isn’t ideology. It’s math.
Time, Math and the Myth of Rescue
Monk’s research shows that most active shooters fire a new shot every 3 to 5 seconds during the opening moments of an attack. By the 30‑second mark, the tenth victim is often already down. By the third minute, victim counts in the twenties and thirties are common.
Now, contrast that with reality. Even in cities with excellent police coverage, law enforcement response times typically fall in the 4‑ to 8‑minute range. That’s not incompetence. It’s physics, traffic, dispatch lag and geography. Police cannot teleport.
Even when officers perform heroically, they are almost always arriving after the decisive damage is done. That uncomfortable truth is not an indictment of law enforcement; it’s a recognition of the limits of our limited physical nature as humans.
Waiting for help is not a plan. It is a gamble … and the odds are terrible.
Lockdown Theater and the Illusion of Safety
Schools and institutions love lockdown drills because they are easy to implement, politically safe and emotionally comforting. They give administrators something to point to when asked, “What are you doing about safety?”
But lockdowns were never designed for internal threats. They were developed decades ago to deal with dangers outside a building, such as civil unrest, nearby crime and drive‑by shootings. Applying them to active killers already inside the structure is like using a fire drill to deal with a gas leak.
History has shown the flaw repeatedly. Locked doors and darkened rooms do not stop bullets. In some cases, they simply turn classrooms and offices into target‑rich environments for an attacker who has time and freedom of movement.
Lockdown drills work perfectly … right up until the day they don’t.
The Problem with ‘Run, Hide, Fight’
Much of modern active‑shooter training is built around the familiar mantra: Run, Hide, Fight. Monk’s criticism of this framework is not subtle.
His objection is not that fight is included, but rather that fight is placed last and treated as a shameful or reckless option to be used only when all else has failed.
From Monk’s perspective, this ordering is backward and deadly.
“Run, Hide, Fight” teaches people implicitly to delay resistance for as long as possible. Run if you can. Hide if you can’t run. Fight only when discovered. That approach might feel humane and non‑confrontational, but mathematically it guarantees higher victim counts.
Active shooters want people to run and hide. Those behaviors create chaos, isolate victims and allow the attacker to operate unopposed. Teaching people to fight only as a last resort amounts to telling them to let the shooter work freely until he reaches them.
Monk’s assessment is blunt: That is not a survival strategy—it’s surrender with extra steps.
Fight First: Not Everyone, but Someone
This is where Monk’s argument is often misunderstood.
He does not say that everyone should fight. He does not expect universal heroism. Instead, he points out a simple reality: In almost any crowd, there are usually one or two people who are mentally prepared, physically capable and morally willing to act decisively.
Those people should not be trained to hesitate or to run and hide.
The goal is not universal resistance, but rather early resistance. One person acting in the first moments of an attack does more to save lives than dozens of people running or hiding later. Think, for example, of Eli Dicken at Greenwood Park Mall; Jack Wilson at West Freeway Church of Christ; Stephen Willeford in Sutherland Springs; Greg Stevens in Colorado Springs; or Pastor David George in White Settlement.
That’s why Monk often reframes the model as Fight, Flee, Barricade with the understanding that everyone makes their own decision based on location and capability, but that fighting early is morally legitimate and strategically decisive.
Violence Is Not the Problem, Delay Is
One of the reasons Monk’s work unsettles people is that he refuses to sanitize language. He uses words like violence, counterattack and killing the attacker because euphemisms obscure reality.
An active shooter problem is not solved by policies, slogans or technology. It’s solved when someone physically stops the person pulling the trigger.
Firearms are the most efficient tool for that job, which is why police reach for them first.
But Monk is equally clear that guns are not the only means of resistance. Fire extinguishers, physical attacks, improvised weapons and coordinated action have all stopped killers in real‑world cases.
What matters is speed, disruption and commitment. A shooter who is being attacked cannot calmly aim and execute. Momentum breaks. Accuracy collapses. Lives are spared.
Responsibility Cannot Be Outsourced
The deeper issue underlying all of this is cultural. Americans have grown accustomed to outsourcing responsibility—to the police, to the government and to institutions.
But violence does not wait for systems to mobilize.
Responsible gun ownership has always meant more than marksmanship or equipment. It means accepting the moral weight of action when others cannot or will not act. It means understanding that being present, willing and capable matters far more than perfect plans written on paper.
Even law enforcement officers increasingly acknowledge this reality. They know they will do their best when they arrive, but they also know they cannot undo what happens in the first minutes.
The Conclusion We Avoid
The most disturbing conclusion of First 30 Seconds is not tactical. It is ethical.
If we know that early resistance saves lives, and we deliberately structure policies to prevent it, then we are choosing higher body counts in exchange for emotional comfort.
That is not safety—it’s negligence dressed up as compassion.
The first 30 seconds belong to the people already there. Whether they’re prepared to use them is a choice—one we make long before the first shot is fired.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the February 2026 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
The Kifaru Rogan pack system is yet another essential organizational piece from our top backpack maker.
Back in my early 20s, when the fog of youth rendered every far-fetched idea plausible and possibly even worth pursuing, I hatched a plan for a DIY backcountry mule deer rifle hunt in Wyoming. Before long, the Bighorn Mountains, just west of Sheridan, loomed large over the truck’s hood as we careened westward. The miles clicked away on I-90 through blinding wind-driven snow, which swirled and obscured the 18-wheel tractor-trailer of death barreling past right next to us in the fast lane.
That hunt would prove to be much tougher than we thought it would be.
Much tougher.
And even though the Bighorns left tags unfilled and provided only lessons in humility, I returned with a new respect for the pack system and the company that made it all possible.
Before the misadventure, I’d interviewed Kifaru’s founder, Patrick Smith, about all things backpacking and backcountry hunting. I came away with a newfound appreciation for the seriousness of such a crazy undertaking as backcountry hunting. Smith, a dyed-in-the-wool elk hunter who insisted on carrying the elk back out on his back, had developed Kifaru backpacks into true hunting-specific systems. They were made in the USA. And they were built to last. Even the military wanted them, with Kifaru supplying tactical pack systems to overseas operations.
The Kifaru Rogan lumbar pack (some call it a “fanny pack”) is quick to put on and take off in the field. Its massive 5-inch-tall Battle Belt foundation includes a plastic insert to give the system its rigidity.
Fast forward to today, and while Smith says he’s still designing packs for the concern in semi-retirement, Kifaru is now under the new management of Aron Snyder, and he and his staff are some of the most hardcore backcountry elk and mule deer hunters you’ll ever meet. They do scary things. Things I wouldn’t dare.
Kifaru now resides in Riverton, Wyoming.
On a recent Montana hunt, I needed packs for my wife, Michelle, and me, and quickly visited Kifaru. For myself, I chose the 44 Mag pack; Michelle got the 22 Mag pack. Those packs hauled a mulie buck back out of the badlands, and effortlessly bore weights in excess of 100 pounds, allowing us to get everything—all the meat, the cape, and the antlers—out in one trip. The reason I went straight to Kifaru is simple: I don’t like mass-produced junk. We bought those packs with our own money because I know they will last a lifetime.
Expanded Line
Best known for its rugged, handmade backpack and shelter systems for hunters, Kifaru now also makes more niche gear for archery, fly fishing, and small-plot deer and turkey hunters.
While I never became much of a backcountry hunter, I still appreciate deer hunting in my home state of Wisconsin, and that’s where the Kifaru Rogan enters the story.
While preparing for a handgun hunt during our state’s nine-day gun deer season, I quickly realized that, since I’d have my Glock 40 10mm in a chest rig, I’d need a system other than a bino harness/backpack to tote things like field-dressing kits and water. A small lumbar pack would be ideal, but I’ve been less than impressed by most commercial models, which use flimsy, single nylon straps to support the packs. Those nylon straps are hell to pay if you load the pack with any weight.
I immediately turned to Kifaru.
One of the things that I learned from talking to Patrick Smith all those years ago was that the pack’s belt had to function first and foremost as a load-bearing system—and it’ll make or break the human bearing the load. It’s the difference between a ruined trip cut short by pain, or one that continues and possibly leads to a filled tag. Smith would spend weeks in the backcountry living out of his packs (which he’d stuff with over 100 pounds of gear and supplies), and the belt he built was sturdy enough to keep all of the pack’s weight on your hip platform, not on your shoulders. That was the only way to overcome the human biped’s physiological limits—the weight must be on the hip platform. Kifaru packs use belts that set the industry standard for hauling out heavy elk parts. That says just about all you need to know about it.
So, when I learned that Kifaru was now making a lumbar pack called the Rogan, which pairs with its massively sturdy Battle Belt, I knew it would be solid. And it was.
The Kifaru Rogan Run-N-Gun Belt’s main pack has three compartments, affording you plenty of volume to carry the essentials for a day hunt. Using Molle webbing on the outside means you can swap out packs and pouches to customize it further.
The Battle Belt is a massive 5-inch-tall weight-suspension system with two rows and four columns of Molle webbing for total customization. It includes a plastic insert for rigidity, using the same principle as the popular Wilderness belts and other gun belts, which are standard for concealed carry. You could probably suspend a dump truck from the thing, which is really what sets Kifaru stuff apart. It makes heavy loads feel like they’re not even there.
According to Kifaru, “A removable plastic stiffener creates structure around your hips that will keep the weight of the rig from torquing away from your body and keeps the load stable.”
Affixed to the Battle Belt is the Rogan lumbar pack, which has two main compartments and several smaller gear-organization pockets. I was able to fit my field-dressing kit, an Adventure Medical Kits first-aid kit, a Suunto compass, extra gloves, Safariland earplugs and case, a Havalon replaceable-blade razor knife, a deer-dragging harness, a fire-starting kit, Clif bars, and toilet paper. There is also a third, smaller compartment on the front with a key lanyard, the perfect spot to tuck your wallet and affix your truck keys so they don’t get lost.
Attached via mil-spec webbing on the right side is a Mini Belt Pouch that holds my quick-access essentials—a Cat-5 Tourniquet and a Streamlight headlamp. On the opposite side (left hip) is a large water bottle pouch that fits the Nalgene bottle perfectly.
Of course, that Molle webbing throughout means the Kifaru Rogan Run-N-Gun Belt is completely modular: Need more space? Swap one of the many accessory pouches or packs from the Kifaru ecosystem.
One final note about the Rogan’s construction. Between the 500D Cordura, YKK zippers, and Duraflex buckles, Kifaru leaves nothing to chance. These packs aren’t cheap. But they are lifetime accessories, and Kifaru’s staff and the guides and outfitters who depend on them need serious gear and cannot afford to take chances in the backcountry. The Rogan Run-N-Gun Belt benefits from that same military-grade ruggedness. That’s no BS. When you leave the trailhead and head into the wilderness, something as simple as a broken zipper can cause essential survival or emergency communications gear to fall out, leaving you in a serious pickle. The numerous tragic cases of missing hunters are a testament to that fact.
In the Field
After arriving up north for my hunt, the first thing I noticed about the Kifaru Rogan was how easy it was to snap on and off, and how sturdy it was. The wide, insert-reinforced Battle Belt locks around you, and the load does not shift. It doesn’t flop like cheap so-called fanny packs. Since I would be walking several miles tracking bucks in the snow, the outfit needed to be rock-solid.
Another thing I noticed on that deer hunt was that the Rogan was silent. The packs and pouches attached to the Battle Belt don’t shift around—and the 500D Cordura material has sufficient stiffness to stay put when you move. When you’re trying to get within shot distance of a bedded buck, you can’t afford the swish-swish-swish sound of cheap nylon flopping around and rubbing on itself. For that reason, I think Kifaru packs in general, and especially the Rogan, are ideal for big woods buck tracking.
The only complaint I had about the Rogan was the elastic cordage that tightens the mouth of the water bottle pouch, which formed a loop and kept snagging on brush during the still hunt. However, while moseying through a cedar swamp, a limb snagged the loop, pulling it free, leaving two tag ends. After that, it was no longer an issue. I left it like that, and all is right with the world.
Conclusion
Some pieces of gear enhance the quality of your hunts, and the Rogan Run-N-Gun Belt is a prime example. The older I’ve gotten, the more I've come to value organization. I’m more focused on the mission running smoothly than punching a tag. The experience matters. Of course, I could lie and claim that I no longer get excited jumping a big buck, but let’s face it, we all turn into emotional basketcases when we spot antlers. And I hope I always do. The critical thing is to be organized, prepared, and ultimately safe out there. For that, the Kifaru Rogan gets the nod.
Kifaru Rogan Run-N-Gun Belt Specs
Small (32″-42″) / Large (38″-52″) 500D Cordura 4-way stretch Tweave in high-stress areas for flexibility and resilience YKK zippers for long-term reliability and smooth operation Duraflex buckles for a secure fit Mil-spec webbing used throughout for structural reinforcement Water bottle pocket for easy access to hydration Mini Belt Pouch for quick-access essentials Lightweight, low-profile fit for unrestricted movement Made in the USA Website:Kifaru.net
Kifaru’s Duffel Bags Take Organization Up a Notch
There’s nothing worse than trying to find stuff and dragging arms full of hunting gear to the truck in the bleary-eyed, early morning mad dash to your hunting spot. But now, thanks to Kifaru’s rugged, well-thought-out duffel system, what used to take me several exhausting trips from the house to the truck requires just one.
And the probability of dropping something essential between here and there (only to discover it missing sometime later in the day, when it’s critically needed) has gone from probable to impossible.
Before the Kifaru Kenosha, the author had four or five trips from his home to his truck. In the wee hours of the morning and the rush to get to his stand, that chaos invited disaster.A picture’s worth a thousand words. After the Kifaru Kenosha, one trip to the truck, and zero chance of misplacing or dropping critical gear.
Kifaru makes duffel bags in three sizes—the Rampart (2,000 cu-in), the Kenosha (2,850 cu-in), and the gigantic Rondy (7,850 cu-in). I used two Kenosha duffels to organize all my hunting gear, reducing what would have been four or five cumbersome trips from the house to the truck down to just one. It eliminated the risk of forgetting gear or dropping stuff. And it keeps your truck organized.
The Kifaru Kenosha is a duffel built as only Kifaru could: It’s made of the same quality materials and components as its weight-bearing and mountaineer-grade packs, but its real story is the thoughtful design. Like all Kifaru stuff, a scary amount of brain energy was expended in redesigning the duffel for the needs of hunters. For example, rather than a single zipper down the middle, the Kenosha uses a smart full-panel U-shaped zipper that opens wide, making it easy to fit more stuff in there and keep it tidy. The interior of that panel has three mini-zipper compartments to stow small accessories, and there are two retention straps on the bottom to secure everything inside—just like high-end luggage. The bottom is reinforced and has a thick foam pad.
A quick look at 6.5x52mm Italian, aka 6.5x52mm Carcano, the cartridge infamous for allegedly killing President Kennedy.
The 6.5x52mm Italian was the official Italian military cartridge adopted in 1891 for the bolt-action Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. This rifle was a Mannlicher-inspired design in every respect except the bolt, which is a Mauser-type with double-locking lugs at the front. It’s also the only military rifle of smokeless powder design to use gain-twist rifling.
This Italian 6.5mm cartridge is very similar to the 6.5mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer in size, shape and performance. Both unprimed cases and loaded ammunition have been made by Norma.
General Comments
The Italian 6.5mm military cartridge was unfamiliar to American shooters until after World War II. Large quantities of Italian Model 91 rifles and carbines have been sold at very low prices, and because we are a great nation of bargain hunters, this is now a fairly widely used cartridge. Many surplus arms dealers furnished hunting ammunition that consisted of the military round with the full-jacketed bullet replaced by a soft-point. Reloadable cases can be made very easily from 6.5x54mm Mannlicher cases.
This is a good deer, antelope or black bear cartridge, but the low working pressure limit of the Carcano rifle prevents loading it as heavily as similar military 6.5mms.
Throwing a can on your .308 AR may be easy, but getting it to run reliably isn't always. Here we show you how to troubleshoot your suppressed AR-10.
Building a basic AR-15 isn’t much more difficult than assembling IKEA furniture. You’ll need some hand tools, patience, and will have to refer to instructions the first few times, but it’s relatively tough to screw up if you’re mechanically proficient. Most parts fit together interchangeably, and if you run into a problem, it’s easy to find recommended solutions. The AR-10, however, is a different beast.
Unlike Eugene Stoner’s 5.56x45mm golden child, the AR-10 wasn’t widely adopted for military service and therefore wasn’t standardized to the same extent as the AR-15 and M16. As a result, attempting to build — or even modify — an AR-10 sometimes feels like navigating a minefield of branching paths and incompatibilities. Do you have an Armalite AR-10 or DPMS (a.k.a. LR-308) style receiver set? If you have a DPMS, is it Gen 1 or Gen 2? Are your BCG and barrel extension Armalite style, DPMS style, or an oddball like the Rock River Arms LAR-8? Even factors such as Picatinny rail height and barrel nut thread pitch aren’t consistent across all AR-10s.
Due to the more complex nature of assembling an AR-10 from assorted parts, many of us start our large-frame AR projects with a complete rifle or builder’s kit. This ensures that core components like the receivers, handguard, barrel, and BCG will work together, but even then, simply adding a suppressor can be enough to throw a wrench into the system. I learned this firsthand with my Stag Arms Pursuit AR-10, an 18-inch rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor.
Armalite, DPMS, or Something in Between?
At first glance, you might think the Stag 10 Pursuit is an Armalite-pattern rifle inside and out, since its receivers have the characteristic angular cut behind the rear takedown pin. However, like its sibling the Aero M5 — which has a rounded receiver cut — it uses all DPMS Gen 1 style components. While certainly confusing, this is actually beneficial, since most aftermarket AR10 parts are designed for DPMS specs.
Going Suppressed
After running a few hundred rounds of Norma Golden Target 143gr 6.5 Creedmoor through the rifle in unmodified form, I decided to swap out the original VG6 Gamma muzzle brake for a Daniel Defense DDWave direct-thread 3D-printed suppressor. This is where the trouble started.
The increase in gas pressure caused frequent failures to feed with the bolt overriding rounds and smashing the brass. Even when the rifle fed correctly, chambered rounds showed substantial tip deformation from impacting the feed ramps at high speed. On a precision-oriented rifle, this can lead to unacceptable deviations in accuracy. The recoil impulse of each shot felt harsher, and spent brass was violently hurled out of the ejection port.
I reached out to Stag Arms customer support about this issue, and they agreed with my conclusion that the rifle was likely overgassed. While adding an adjustable gas block might’ve been the quick fix (or not — more on that later) I decided to start with another one of the Stag rep’s recommendations: change the buffer system.
Buffer Swap
.308 short buffer vs. standard buffer (courtesy of Phase 5 Weapon Systems)
The Stag Pursuit rifle came with an AR-15 carbine length buffer system, as opposed to the longer “intermediate length” system used on some AR-10s (as well as AR-15s using VLTOR’s A5 system or BCM’s MK2 system). If you’re not sure which you have, check the internal depth of the tube — AR-15 carbine is roughly 7 inches deep, while intermediate is 7.75 inches deep.
If you have an AR-15 carbine tube on your AR-10, it must be used with a 2.5-inch shorty .308 buffer, since an AR-10 bolt carrier is longer than an AR-15 carrier. If you have an intermediate or A5 length tube, you can use a standard 3.25-inch-long AR-15 carbine buffer.
AR-10 BCG (top) vs. AR-15 BCG (bottom) — the longer AR-10 carrier requires either a shorter buffer or longer receiver extension
Some users claim that a longer buffer system softens recoil slightly, while others perceive no difference. One notable advantage to an AR-10 with an intermediate length tube is the aforementioned compatibility with regular AR-15 style buffers that can be found in any local gun store, not the harder-to-find .308 shorty buffers. This makes it easier to fine-tune buffer weights, especially if you already have some spare AR-15 buffers in your parts bin.
On the recommendation of the Stag rep, I installed an A5-length adjustable buffer tube as well as a Spike’s T2 buffer and Sprinco Orange spring. The slightly heavier buffer (4.0oz compared to 3.8) and much stiffer spring helped to tame the harsh recoil and improve feeding reliability somewhat — if a rifle is right on the edge of functioning reliably, this might be enough. In my case, it only reduced misfeeds from every 5-10 rounds to every 20-30, and the tip deformation issue was still present.
Studying the Gas System
During the troubleshooting process, I realized something about this rifle. Although it has an 18-inch barrel — which would typically be matched with a rifle-length gas system — the gas system is actually mid-length! This is the case for all Stag 10 rifles, both 16-inch and 18-inch.
After removing the gas block, I checked the gas port size on Stag’s factory 18-inch Ballistic Advantage barrel, and it measured approximately 0.060 inches. That’s surprisingly small, and it seems to be an attempt to mitigate the overgassed nature of this configuration. Given the combo of a short gas system, relatively high-pressure 6.5 Creedmoor round, and a suppressor, it’s no surprise this rifle ended up overgassed.
New rifle-length gas system (top) vs. Stag's original mid-length system (bottom)
Would an adjustable gas block fix this? Maybe, but I believe a mid-length 18-inch 6.5 Creedmoor rifle is inherently harsher and more prone to malfunctions than a rifle-length setup with the same barrel length. So, I decided to simply upgrade to a new barrel and gas system.
Barrel Upgrade
After doing some research, I selected an 18-inch, Nitride-finished 6.5 Creedmoor Hybrid profile barrel from Criterion. I’ve had great experiences with Criterion barrels on other ARs, including a 13.9-inch CORE setup that’s an absolute tack driver, so I knew this one would offer the precision I was looking for. It features a rifle-length gas system and gas port that’s “tuned for proper function both with and without a suppressor.” It’s also a DPMS-style design, which matches my Stag receiver’s compatibility. I measured the gas port and found it to be approximately 0.081 inches, which seems fairly typical for 6.5 Creedmoor barrels with rifle length gas systems.
New headspaced bolt and enhanced firing pin from JP Enterprises
Criterion also offers a JP Enterprises headspaced bolt option, which matches this barrel’s JP barrel extension. I selected this option, as well as the Badger Ordnance TDX non-adjustable gas block and a BCM rifle-length gas tube.
Stag 10 upper with new Criterion barrel installed
Removing the old barrel was simple enough. I used a Midwest Industries .308 Upper Receiver Rod and bench vise to securely support the upper and barrel, then loosened the barrel nut using an armorer’s wrench and long breaker bar. Applying a little heat with a propane torch is also helpful if the barrel nut won’t budge. Once the new barrel, bolt, and gas system were installed, I headed to the range to test my AR-10 again.
Rounds Downrange & Final Thoughts
I began testing the new setup with the same Norma 143gr 6.5 Creedmoor ammo I had been using previously. It immediately ran better. Not only were there no more failures to feed, the rifle’s recoil impulse felt noticeably softer, and brass ejection was gentler too. I also tested some Hornady American Gunner 140gr ammo, which functioned properly and grouped slightly better than the Norma.
However, the rifle was still ejecting forward more than I’d like, with brass landing at 1:00 from the muzzle direction. This is an indicator that even with the new barrel, it was still somewhat overgassed, likely due to the increased backpressure from the older 3D-printed Daniel Defense suppressor.
For the last bit of fine-tuning, I finally relented and installed a Superlative Arms adjustable gas block, which can be set to either restrictive mode (like a traditional AGB) or bleed-off mode (venting excess gas out a port on the front of the block).
Diagram showing the bleed-off port on the Superlative Arms gas block
I turned the adjustment screw a few clicks in the bleed-off direction until the brass was landing at roughly 3:30. In comparison to a traditional restrictive AGB, the bleed-off function produced less gas to the face and will reduce the amount of carbon fouling to keep the rifle cleaner. It also allowed me to swap the extra-stiff Sprinco Orange spring back to a factory .308 buffer spring for a little less felt recoil. While I didn't initially want to install an AGB on this rifle, I'm glad to only use it as a finishing touch rather than a hasty fix for a much larger reliability issue.
Although the AR-10 (and its derivatives, like the DPMS LR-308) can be tricky to get running right, especially suppressed, a little research and troubleshooting will take you a long way. Don’t just slap an adjustable gas block on your rifle and assume it’ll solve all your problems. Sometimes that’s all it takes, but an adjustable block can’t make an undersized gas port any larger or completely negate all the effects of a short gas system. Do your homework, test modifications one at a time, and stay consistent with variables like ammo and magazines. The result will be a rifle you understand better and can rely on with confidence.
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.
