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.
Taurus is continuing to expand its GX4 line of 9mm handguns, this time with the GX4 Carry.
The design ethos driving carry pistols these days seems to be about squeezing as much firepower into as discreet of a package as possible, and the new Taurus GX4 Carry follows suit. Now boasting a 15-round magazine capacity of 9mm, the new model is larger than its older GX4 or GX4 XL siblings while remaining a concealable size.
The original Taurus GX4, as well as the GX4 XL with its longer barrel, used either flush-fit 11-round or extended 13-round magazines. Now with a larger yet still compact frame size (an overall height of 5.16 inches versus 4.4 inches), the GX4 Carry comes standard with 15-round magazines. It has a 3.7-inch barrel, about the same length as the GX4 XL, but the Carry now also has an accessory rail on its dust cover for mounting a light or laser. Speaking of mounting things, the GX4 Carry is also a T.O.R.O. model (Taurus lingo for optics-ready), and it’s ready to accept any red dot that’s compatible with the Holosun K footprint.
Other features of the GX4 Carry include its three interchangeable backstrap options, its reversible magazine release and its loaded chamber indicator. It also uses industry-standard iron sights, so the included black steel set can be easily replaced if desired. Like other GX4 pistols, it also has a flat-faced, serrated trigger, a satin black DLC barrel coating and a Gas Nitride slide finish.
The Taurus GX4 Carry is available now, has an MSRP of $504.99 and each pistol ships with two magazines.
The author reviews Springfield Armory’s 2011-style handgun line, including both the Springfield Prodigy 4.25-inch and the 5-inch model.
Any double-stack, hammer-fired 1911-style pistol has become known as a “2011.” And Springfield Armory flipped the 2011’s script with the introduction of the 1911 DS Prodigy in a 4.25-inch barrel Commander-size model and a 5-inch barrel full-size variant. Not only is the full-size version ready to rumble through stages at match competitions, but the more compact 4.25-inch Prodigy takes concealed carry to a whole new level of 1911 performance.
Springfield Armory’s DS Prodigy is a 2011-style pistol (double-stack 1911) that is not only fast shooting and accurate but affordable. Here the author reviews two versions, the full-size 5-inch with open sights and the Commander-sized 4.25-inch model with a red-dot sight.
If you compete, you probably already know that STI, which has since morphed into Staccato, coined the 2011 name decades ago, transforming competition shooting and the pistols used. An authentic 2011 is a 1911-style platform with a steel slide and frame, less the grip portion. A polymer grip module bolts onto the steel frame to provide room for the thicker, double-stack magazine. By comparison, the standard 1911 platform uses a single-stack mag, and the grip is integral to the frame.
The sole purpose of double-stack 2011s was and still is to shoot fast and accurately at steel or cardboard targets. They are high-performance, high-end, custom race guns — so expensive you might have to sell an organ. However, with the new Prodigy line, Springfield Armory enables shooters to get into a 9mm double-stack for a lot less, so you can keep your kidney.
Each 1911 DS (DS stands for Double Stack) pistol employs a steel slide and frame comprising the slide rails, the recoil spring inside the dustcover, and the fire-control components. To this, the polymer module is bolted. While that may sound like Springfield Frankenstein-ed the 1911 DS, the polymer grip module blends seamlessly with the steel components. The grip has more girth than a standard 1911 but feels less chubby than some striker-fired double-stack pistol grips. The grip’s texture is like fine sandpaper. I found myself wanting to grip the pistol; it just feels good in the hand. The triggerguard is undercut for a higher grip and less muzzle flip, and the magazine well is flared, so it slurps up the tapered double-stack magazines fast when reloading.
A full-length guide rod ensures the Prodigy runs and cycles smoothly.
The pistols use a bushing-less bull barrel that flares at the muzzle and mates with the inside of the slide. It’s made with an integral feed ramp, so 9mm cartridges feed smoothly and reliably. The case is also fully supported. Like other Springfield Armory models with this barrel setup, it requires a hex wrench for disassembly (Springfield supplies the wrench). The slide has a traditional dome shape, and coarse slide serrations fore and aft, offering plenty of traction to rack the slide and do a press check. The slide-to-frame fit is tight with no wiggle. Racking the slide or doing a press check, I discovered how smooth and slick it was to manipulate. The Prodigy has a two-piece guide rod that acts like a full-length rod. The back half of the rod is like a GI-length rod but threaded on the end to mate with the second piece. It provides smoother recoil.
The sights are another feature where Springfield pushed the pistol squarely into the 21st century. The front sight post is dovetailed to the slide and houses a green fiber tube, so the front sight pops when aiming. The rear sight is flush with the rear of the slide and serrated to cut glare. It has a U-notch groove. OK, that may seem pretty vanilla, so here is the innovative part: Springfield partnered with Agency Arms to develop an interchangeable optics plate system. The rear sight is part of the optics plate. What I like about this setup is that the plate is half-dovetailed into the slide, which takes the shear force during recoil rather than the screws holding the optic to the gun. The pistols have a Trijicon RMR-footprint optics adapter plate, popular with several other red-dot sight manufacturers.
Springfield partnered with Agency Arms to develop an interchangeable optics plate system on the DS pistols, and the rear sight is part of the optics plate.
Controls consist of an extended ambidextrous thumb safety that crisply clicks on and off. The slide stop is inset into the nearly full-length dustcover, yet can be used to rest your support hand thumb. The magazine release button is serrated and slightly extended to make reloads a hair faster than a standard one. The trigger is a three-hole aluminum affair with a curved, serrated face and is adjustable for overtravel. The polymer grip module guides the trigger, making the rearward press smooth. The grip safety has a decent speed bump and an upswept beavertail that keeps beefy hands from being bitten by hammer and slide.
Course slide serrations fore and aft allow effortless slide racking, especially when doing a press check.
The most finicky component in a 2011 platform is the magazine. Springfield uses DuraMag to build the 17-round flush fit and 20-round extended mags. Springfield also offers a 26-rounder. The floor plate is polymer, and the magazine tube is steel. There are three witness holes at 5, 10, and 17 rounds on the flush fit mag and an extra hole at the 20-round mark on the 20-round extended magazine. Springfield Prodigy magazines will function in Staccato P guns and vice versa.
Notice how the magazine tapers to a single stack at the top. That taper makes for a smooth and fast reload.
My function testing included both a Springfield Prodigy 4.25- and 5-inch model. Both guns are available with iron sights and optics ready or with a factory-mounted Springfield Hex Dragonfly red dot. I ran iron sights on the 5-inch Prodigy; on the 4.25-inch model, I mounted a Crimson Trace CTS-1250 compact reflex sight with a round 3.25 MOA red aiming dot. The tall Prodigy sights co-witness with the Crimson Trace, and in the event the battery gives up the ghost, you can still use the irons.
I started with speed shooting some Failure to Stop or Mozambique Drills on plain cardboard IPSC/USPSA targets and immediately noticed how smoothly the pistols cycled. The recoil pulse in the 4.25-inch model was soft, and the pistol’s weight enables you to stay on target. The recoil pulse on the 5-inch gun was not as soft, but it was still easy to control. I found these handguns forgiving, which makes you a better shot. I shoot many compact- and full-size striker-fire pistols, so the transition to the Prodigy’s grip felt familiar. However, the trigger was different — in a good way. There was slight takeup on both models until I hit the wall, and the trigger broke at 5.3 pounds on average. Could the pull weight be better? Sure. I want a clean 3.5 to 4 pounds, but that’s just me being hyper-critical. Trigger reset is fast, enabling quicker follow-up shots.
The 4.25-inch-barreled Prodigy has soft recoil and cycles like butter. With the Crimson Trace red-dot optic, shots can be surgical.
I shouldn’t complain about the trigger pull since I was shooting 5-shot groups at 25 yards that average 1.2 inches with the 4.25-inch red dot-equipped pistol and 2 inches with the 5-inch pistol’s iron sights.
Each Prodigy DS shot accurately; the author’s best group with the Commander-sized 2011 was .7 inch.
Shooting the 4.25-inch gun was an exercise in precision. A red-dot optic provides a distinct advantage in accuracy. The data from Remington HTP and SIG V-Crown defense ammo showed that my best groups were 1.1 and .97 inches, respectively. Sure, that was using a rest, but shooting offhand, I easily clustered holes center of mass. It liked the inexpensive Federal American Eagle ammo. My best group measured .7 inches! Looking at the Springfield Prodigy 4.25-inch through an EDC lens, I could see myself carrying it. It may be a bit heavier than a single stack, but that is manageable with the right holster and belt.
Shooting the 5-inch Prodigy old-school style, meaning iron sights, I didn’t feel disadvantaged. The sights allow fast target acquisition, and the soft recoil ensures faster follow-up shots. The big version also liked the inexpensive 115-grain training ammo from Winchester and Federal, giving me a best group of 1.34 and 1.19 inches, respectively. With the 5-inch model, I almost felt like I was cheating shooting the Mozambique Drill. The heavy pistol chugged through rounds begging me to slap the go switch faster.
Both pistols ran exceptionally well. No issues of any kind were encountered.
The Prodigy is a fast-shooting pistol with an excellent trigger reset and outstanding recoil control. These pistols beg to be run fast and hard. Springfield has a couple of winners here that offer superb value and performance for the price.
Looking to tame the recoil of your rifle or carry pistol? Here are 8 top compensator options to consider.
Once a niche item, compensators have entered the mainstream of muzzle devices. Not only are they available for a variety of rifles, both generically and for specific models, but they are now making their way onto handguns too.
Not just on competition guns either, but on carry pistols as well.
This should come as no surprise, as materials have gotten lighter and ammunition more advanced. The need to control small, lightweight guns has led many to seek out better ways of balancing the power and recoil against the weight.
While not a complete list by any stretch of the imagination, here are some highlights of currently available compensators for some popular rifles and pistols.
8 Top Compensators:
Precision Armament M11 Severe-Duty 6.5mm
Cartridges like the 6.5 Creedmoor have become exceedingly popular in the last decade. While many companies continue to make .30-caliber muzzle devices that work very well with the 6.5 family, others decided to design new, dedicated models for 6.5 Creedmoor.
The M11 Severe-Duty 6.5mm is a combination muzzle brake and compensator that not only reduces recoil, but also eliminates muzzle jump.
This comp can make an excellent addition to not only a bolt-action precision rifle, but also to rifles like the AR10 which may be fired from the shoulder rapidly.
A precision compensator such as this is not a disadvantage on a bolt-action, though if shooting from support the compensator feature is not going to be used to its full effect. MSRP: $109.99-119.99 // precisionarmament.com
Samson Shield Pocket Comp
Small handguns can be snappy and hard to master. If you find that to be the case with your S&W M&P Shield, Samson has you covered.
The Pocket Comp is a small addition to your gun, and it is contoured to blend with the slide and frame.
Like most compensators out there, you’ll need to provide your own threaded barrel, but once you have one the pocket comp installs easily with no gunsmithing.
Unlike single port pistol comps, the Pocket Comp has venting on the top and sides to reduce recoil and prevent muzzle jump. It is a very well-designed and thought-out product that can help tame even the snappiest of carry loads. MSRP: $66.95 // samson-mfg.com
ZEV PRO Compensator V2 For Glocks
Compensators on pistols have become very much a hot ticket item in the last couple of years. There have been many attempts at making these as a general product, but ultimately, they’re better off when specialized for a specific model.
The ZEV V2 for Glock pistols is one such product and could be considered one of the best options for your carry gun. The compensator itself attaches to the threaded barrel of your choice, and if you have a Glock 19, it will make your gun the same footprint as a Glock 34.
It will add length to your barrel and will impact your draw time as well, something to consider if you intend to carry it often.
This is a very popular model and unlike other pistol compensators out there, it requires no thread-locker to time it correctly. Note that in a low light scenario this will not act as a flash hider.
Because it is a single port design, some of the muzzle flash will be vented up which may affect your sight picture. MSRP: $104 // zevtechnologies.com
Tactical Solutions 10/22 X-Ring Performance Comp
The Ruger 10/22 is not exactly known for being a brute on the shoulder. Likewise, the .22 LR cartridge is not known as a caliber that produces significant muzzle rise when shooting.
Nevertheless, some people like to remove any jump at the muzzle, even in something as small as a .22 caliber rifle. In a gun as light as the 10/22, there may be the slightest of muzzle rise, but in general, putting a compensator on a rimfire rifle is mostly a cosmetic addition.
There is nothing wrong with that whatsoever, the vast majority of compensators and muzzle brakes are designed to look cool in addition to functioning as advertised.
If you want to spruce up your backyard plinker while taming the negligible recoil, go ahead and throw on a compensator, it really can only add to the fun. MSRP: $65 // tacticalsol.com
CMMG Zeroed 5.56 Linear Compensator
In terms of the overall design, the CMMG Linear Compensator is as simple as it gets. What is not so simple about it is how it reduces muzzle rise.
Instead of venting the gas upwards to control climb, it redirects the gas directly forward, thus dissipating it in front of the muzzle. Not only is this comp an effective means of controlling muzzle flip, but it also manages to accomplish this task with a very minimal profile.
This is one of the smallest compensators for 5.56mm rifles on the market, being barely larger than a standard A2 flash hider. If you are going for something minimal or want to achieve a more classic look, this is definitely a good choice that won’t interrupt the lines of your build. MSRP: $74.95 // cmmg.com
Strike Industries AR Cookie Cutter Comp
As far as compensators go, the Cookie Cutter Comp is anything but a cookie-cutter design.
Strike industries went outside of the box to make a dedicated short-barreled brake that is not only effective, but also adds minimal length while matching the outside diameter of many types of handguards.
The brake also works as a glass breaker. In terms of recoil control, the Cookie Cutter is well-suited for lightweight and short guns, but it is noted that it is not a flash hider which means that you should expect a large degree of muzzle flash when firing. MSRP: $68.95 // strikeindustries.com
Tandemkross Game Changer PRO Comp For Ruger PC Carbines
Since Ruger introduced the popular PC Carbine, there has been an explosion of accessories made for it.
Chambered for popular pistol cartridges–.40 S&W and 9mm–the lightweight rifle accepts Ruger magazines as well as Glock-pattern ones with the use of an adapter. By far the most popular version of this rifle is the 9mm.
Because it is so light, some shooters find the muzzle rises during strings of rapid-fire. Because of this, the Game Changer Pro compensator was introduced, and it adds a good amount of weight to the muzzle thanks to its all-steel construction and robust size.
The compensator not only helps control muzzle rise during firing by redirecting gasses, but by balancing the overall weight as well. With one of these, your PC Carbine or other compatible 9mm PCC should stay right on target as you plink away. MSRP: $59.99 // tandemkross.com
SureFire PROCOMP
Surefire has been in the muzzle device game for quite some time. They make some of the more effective models out there, and many have been used in combat across the world.
The PROCOMP brakes are excellent for those who want a name-brand product at a reasonable price, but also have no interest in mounting a suppressor.
Unlike Surefire’s other available muzzle devices, the PROCOMP is not compatible with the company’s suppressors. It’s a bit long compared to some other compensators, which is a downside, but if you are looking for excellent recoil control while firing rapidly this is a great option at a great price. MSRP: $99 // surefire.com
A look back at .25-06 Remington, a one-time Goldilocks medium-bore cartridge that could do just about anything.
There was a time when .25-06 Remington was considered one of the best Goldilocks medium-bores. Boasting light recoil, a flat trajectory and enough horsepower to do anything short of hunting grizzly bears, it’s a very versatile cartridge.
Despite this, it's fallen into obscurity and is not likely to re-emerge. Like so many formerly popular cartridges, it has been surpassed by newer ones for several reasons.
However, should you find yourself looking at a vintage rifle chambered for .25-06, here's what you need to know about it.
Hollowpoint .25-06 Remington from PPU.
The .25-06: Mild-Mannered Wildcat
The .25-06 Remington started as a wildcat cartridge created in 1912 by Charles Newton, devised by necking down .30-06 to .257 caliber. While the bullet diameter is 6.5mm in metric measurement, it's not this caliber in the modern sense. The 6.5 family—Creedmoor, Swede, etc.—utilize a .264 caliber or 6.7mm bullet. The 6.5mm measurement in these cases refers to the bore's lands measurement. Anyhow, while the .25 caliber is not a true member of the 6.5 family as we understand it today, it's close enough to refer to it as such, tongue-in-cheek, and use its modern cousins as comparison points.
It was initially marketed as .256 Newton by the Western Cartridge Company, later absorbed by Winchester. Enthusiasts loved it, but the dearth of slow-burning powders led to supply issues and, as a result, it never quite caught on and was out of production by 1938.
It wasn’t until 1969 that Remington would make an honest woman out of it, as it was languishing as an obscure wildcat cartridge in the interim. However, the few shooters who were aware of Newton’s design during this period absolutely fell in love with it.
The .25-caliber family has always been known for being high ballistic coefficient, flat-trajectory projectiles, as it's something of an aerodynamic sweet spot. The .25-06 has traditionally been held to be very accurate, with groups of 1 MOA or better being relatively easy to achieve with factory rifles of the mid-20th century.
Combined with the mild recoil, it was a bullet that needed minimum holdover/holdunder at moderate ranges, printed smaller groups than similar cartridges and punched above its weight at long range thanks to its better energy and velocity retention compared to .30-caliber bullets.
As a result, the .25-06 Remington has classically been regarded as one of the best North American hunting cartridges for game smaller than a grizzly bear or bison. Eventually, that enticed Remington to standardize the cartridge in 1969 and offer it in the Model 700 bolt-action rifle.
.25-06 Ballistics
The ballistics of .25-06 Remington look quite impressive on paper, but that isn't necessarily the whole story.
Common factory loadings for .25-06 include 75- to 120-grain bullets, with 100-, 115-, 117- and 120-grain loads being the most popular. The 115- and 117-grain soft point loads are generally favored for hunting.
Here's a 1,500-yard Shooter’s Calculator ballistic trajectory table for Hornady’s 117-grain InterLock BTSP American Whitetail .25-06 load (advertised G1 BC of 0.391). All tables were calculated presuming a 1.5-inch sight height, a 10 mph 90-degree crosswind, zero corrections for atmosphere and a 100-yard zero unless otherwise specified.
This rather pedestrian loading stays supersonic to 1,000 yards. While not a long-range powerhouse, it still has greater velocity and energy at 700 yards than a .357 Magnum at the muzzle.
Modern, higher-BC projectiles and modern powders do improve it somewhat. Here's the same trajectory table for HSM's Trophy Gold 115-grain load, using a Berger VLD Hunting bullet (G1 BC of 0.483).
That's impressive for a cartridge that produces less than 13 foot-pounds of recoil.
However, there's a little more to the story. In the good old days, people zeroed their rifles for Maximum Point Blank Range (MPBR), extending the maximum distance at which the shooter didn't need to hold over or under.
If you've never heard of it, how it works is setting your zero so the point of impact is within a set distance from the point of aim, typically 2 to 4 inches, out to a known distance.
Ergo, you just put the reticle on any target inside that distance and hit it. Calibrate a rifle for +/- 3 inches to 300 yards, and you'll hit within 3 inches to that distance without having to think about it, and that's where .25-06 has always excelled.
Here's the trajectory table for the HSM load recalculated for its MPBR, assuming +/- 3 inches.
Put the reticle on anything in 300 yards and pull the trigger, and POI is within 3 inches of POA. At 400 yards, you only need to hold over by 12 inches. If you're hunting deer, that means you only have to put the reticle a few inches over its back.
As you can imagine, that does wonders for hit probability.
.25-06 Remington Versus .270 Winchester
The .25-06 Remington had stiff competition from the .270 Winchester, a cartridge that enjoyed factory support far earlier resulting in increased popularity. Though it has slightly more kick (up to 17 foot-pounds), .270 is still arguably the Western hunting cartridge by which others are judged.
Comparison is a little tricky, however, as the .270 Winchester uses a larger diameter (technically 6.8mm) and heavier projectiles. Velocity and energy are broadly comparable, but .270 has a slight edge in velocity.
This is a trajectory table for 140-grain Hornady American Whitetail JSP (G1 BC of 0.486), using a 100-yard zero.
As you can see, it has a slightly longer supersonic range, but only about a 50-yard advantage in terms of energy, and there's barely any advantage in wind deflection or elevation either.
However, a modern high-BC .270 Winchester load can pull away fairly dramatically. Here's a trajectory table for the Winchester 150-grain AccuBond Long Range load, with a G1 BC of 0.591.
Supersonic range is just over 1,500 yards, and the bullet retains 1,000 foot-pounds of energy to about 850 yards.
What Is A .25-06 Rifle Best Used For?
As you can tell from the ballistics tables, .25-06 Remington is a fantastic mid-range medium-game cartridge. It’s been used to down nearly every type of North American game (and even some African game), and it makes it easy for the shooter to place shots out to 400 yards with minimal effort and recoil, a nearly perfect Western game bullet.
However, there are real deficiencies compared to some other calibers.
It's a long-action cartridge, and seating long, high-BC bullets is problematic as it extends the cartridge's overall length (COL) beyond what most bolt-action magazines are compatible with. Semi-autos are a non-starter.
The 6.5mm Creedmoor and .260 Remington don't have those problems, yet they can do everything .25-06 Remington is capable of and then some.
A Savage Axis II XP in .25-06 Remington.
.25-06 Rifles And .25-06 Ammunition
To give you an idea of what’s out there, at the time of this writing, GrabAGun lists 39 rifles chambered in .25-06 Remington from 6 manufacturers. Of those, 16 are made by Savage, of which 10 are the Axis rifle. Of the 39 in total, only 11 are actually in stock.
MidwayUSA lists 23 different .25-06 loads, of which 4 are in stock. The least expensive is Hornady American Whitetail, at $30 per box of 20. Granted, that's not awful by any stretch.
Remington itself only makes two loads, a 100-grain and 120-grain, and only in their CoreLokt series. In other words, they aren't wasting the most modern bullets on it.
In short, there is some support for .25-06, but it's not much. The guns and ammunition are out there, but pickings are slim.
Should You Even Bother With .25-06 Remington Anymore?
There's a certain romance to old hunting cartridges and old hunting rifles, but it takes time and money to indulge it. If you already have or find a vintage rifle that you love in .25-06, there’s nothing wrong with buying it, shooting it, hunting with it and enjoying it. As the above ballistic analyses show, it is still very capable and has a lot to offer.
But, if you're starting at square one and looking to get a rifle for a practical application? At this point, other more widely available cartridges do the same things, do them better and are more versatile.
The 6.5mm Creedmoor has roughly the same recoil (about 12 to 13 foot-pounds) while being ballistically superior to .25-06. Not only that, but 6.5mm Creedmoor is available in semi-autos and bolt-actions alike, enjoys ridiculous commercial support and is cheaper.
The .243 Winchester and 7mm-08 would be more practical choices as well, and arguably .260 Remington, .270 Winchester and 6mm Creedmoor too.
These days, a lot of classic cartridges are unfortunately fading into obscurity. The .25-06 is slowly limping into its sunset and those who have a particular fondness for the cartridge should enjoy it while they can. For everyone else, you’re better off looking at something more modern.
A review of the new .360 Buckhammer chambering and the Henry Model X lever-action rifle.
Lever-action rifles are among the oldest American repeating designs, and they’ve remained both a nostalgic and reliable choice for the past century and a half. Certainly, metallurgy has changed—undoubtedly for the better—and while the craftsmanship of run-of-the-mill guns might not present the artisan touch of the late 19th century, CNC machining and other modern advancements have resulted in a much more consistent product. We still have—in some form or another—those now-ancient names that became household words among hunters, including Winchester, Marlin and Savage, but modern companies such as Henry have also adopted the lever gun.
The Henry Model X in .360 Buckhammer.
In addition to having many of the classic, late-19th and early 20th century rifle designs still with us, a good number of the cartridges of that era remain popular choices. With the .45-70 Government dating back to 1873, the .38-55 WCF dating to 1876, and the .30-30 Winchester coming onboard in 1895, there are a substantial number of venerable rifle cartridges that’ll still get the job done. If you hunt in an area where any rifle cartridge is acceptable, the world is your oyster.
But should you wish to use a centerfire rifle for big game hunting in certain Midwestern states, you’ll encounter a set of very particular game laws that vary from region to region.
Most require a straight-walled cartridge—one with no shoulder—in order to keep velocities on the lower side of the spectrum, and (presumably) prevent a high-velocity rifle bullet from skipping across the flat landscape. Others limit the case length, or specify a minimum bullet diameter. To comply with the rules and offer an advantage over the bigger, and often slower, straight-wall cases—like the .45-70 Government, .444 Marlin, .450 Bushmaster and .38-55 Winchester—ammunition companies have released some new designs. Winchester started with the .350 Legend, which is equally at home in a bolt gun or AR platform, and for 2023, Remington has countered with their own .360 Buckhammer.
A Chip Off The Ol’ Block?
Based on the .30-30 Winchester case (derived from the older .38-55 Winchester) with the case walls straightened out, the .360 Buckhammer is, if you will, a twist in the idea of mating a .30-30 with a .35 Remington. It uses the same .506-inch rim diameter as its sire, but with a case length of 1.80 inches—shorter than both the .35 Remington and .30-30 Winchester. The maximum overall cartridge length is held to 2.5 inches, which is also just a wee bit shorter than the aforementioned pair.
A straight-walled case, adherent to some specific game laws in the Midwest, the .360 Buckhammer meets certain criteria to bring usable performance to hunters in need. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
With projectiles of 0.358-inch diameter, the .360 Buckhammer is offered in both 180- and 200-grain loads, featuring the time-tested Core-Lokt round-nose bullet. A simple cup-and-core bullet with a cannelure, or crimping groove, serves both to allow a good roll crimp to be applied to the case mouth as well as “locking” the core and jacket together. It’s a good deer bullet, especially when used at moderate velocities.
With the 180-grain load leaving the muzzle at 2,400 fps, and the 200-grain load moving at 2,200 fps, the .360 Buckhammer offers an appreciable velocity advantage over the .35 Remington, which usually moves that same pair of projectiles at 2,120 fps and 2,080 fps, respectively. Being round-nosed, these Core-Lokt bullets don’t have the best ballistic coefficient values, but the nose profile allows for safe use in the tubular magazines common to so many lever-action rifles.
Based on the .30-30 Winchester case, the .360 Buckhammer shares many dimensions, and fits a lever-action rifle perfectly. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Using a 1:12 twist, the .360 Buckhammer has the potential to offer the handloader the use of heavier bullets, though velocities will certainly drop off. But for those who enjoy taking a lever-action rifle to the thicker woods in pursuit of whitetails and black bears, the .360 Buckhammer is right at home.
Now, How To Launch It
Any new cartridge can be an exciting prospect, so long as you have a means to fire it. Many times, a cartridge will be introduced at SHOT Show, only to have the rifles for said cartridge be MIA for a year or more.
That’s not the case here with the .360 Buckhammer.
Enter Henry Rifles, who have worked in conjunction with Remington to bring four different models of their excellent rifles to market chambered for the Buckhammer, including their Lever Steel, Side Gate Lever Action, Single Shot Steel and the model I got to review, the Model X.
The Henry Model X has a receiver layout similar to the classic Marlin designs. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
When I reach for a lever gun, I expect to see blued steel and walnut, or at least birch. I might even react calmly to stainless steel or a laminate wood stock, as in a Browning BLR. But a synthetic stock? Prior to holding the Henry Model X, I’d have declared it blasphemy; once I had it in hand, my opinion was swayed. Though the package will cause any lever purist to cock an eyebrow, the Model X is a serious hunting gun, packed with very usable and well-thought-out features.
With a receiver highly reminiscent of the hugely popular Marlin 336, the Henry Model X offers the advantage of a solid-top receiver and side eject, in that an optic can be mounted low to the bore. In lieu of a safety or half-cock, the Model X uses a transfer bar located in the face of the hammer. So long as the shooter keeps rearward pressure on the trigger, the transfer bar will make contact with the firing pin button—but if there’s no trigger pressure, or while the hammer is resting against the face of the receiver, there’s no chance of the rifle going off.
While a polymer-stocked lever gun may be strange to see at first, the Henry Model X is a sound design and performed wonderfully. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Using my Lyman Digital Trigger Scale, I measured the Model X’s trigger break at 3 pounds, 9 ounces, with almost no creep and just a bit of overtravel; for a lever gun, it was nice. Henry has equipped the Model X with a large lever loop, and I found that quite comfortable.
With a muzzle threaded for either brake or suppressor, and a brass-sleeved tube magazine, the Henry Model X gives the shooter all sorts of options in loading and more. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
The 21⅜-inch barrel is topped with a fixed fiber-optic front sight, with a fully adjustable fiber-optic rear sight, and is threaded and capped to allow the user to install a brake or suppressor. The tubular magazine is accessible via the side gate lever on the right side of the receiver—just below the ejection port—or at the muzzle end, via a cutout in the magazine’s bottom that’s capped with an inner brass liner tube. The tube magazine has a five-round capacity.
Once I got past the initial doubts about the stock, it proved to be both comfortable and useful. It’s a two-piece affair, with a curved pistol grip, and textured patches on the pistol grip and forend that give a solid grip, even with wet hands. The buttstock has a solid rubber recoil pad—which I found to be on the harder side of things—and to my elation, it had a 14-inch length of pull. I’ve always appreciated the longer length of most European firearms, and this Henry is one of the first American production rifles I’ve come across with a proper stock length.
The solid rubber buttplate of the Henry Model X lever-action rifle. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Instead of sling-swivel studs, normally screwed into the stock, Henry has opted to mold them into the stock, so there’s nothing to come loose, rust or squeak. The butt is symmetrical, having no cheekpiece, so the left-handed shooters will be equally comfortable with the Model X as the righties. The forend has a squared nose, with a short section of Picatinny rail on the underneath, and each of the sides features a Magpul M-Lok slot, so there are all sorts of options for attaching lights, bipods and other accouterments.
The Henry Model X has both a Picatinny rail and M-Lok options at the forend, so many different attachments can be utilized. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
At Home On The Range
To prepare the Model X for the shooting range, I screwed a Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10x40mm scope—long proved a rugged choice and perfect for deer hunting in first and last light—in Talley detachable rings to the top of the X’s receiver. I chose the detachable Talleys in order to have a means of quickly accessing the iron sights. Should you want to use the Model X in truly thick terrain, yet have the ability of confidently reattaching the scope with a return to point of aim, this is your setup.
At my little 100-yard range behind my office, the Model X in 360 came alive. From the first shot, I noticed that the Henry rifle had very little felt recoil, even from the bench. The trigger broke nicely, allowing the crosshair to stay on target properly, and the minimal muzzle jump aided in reacquiring the target quickly.
Both the 180- and 200-grain load delivered sub-MOA accuracy—much better than I was expecting from a lever gun—with the 200-grain load printing just a bit better. The best of the three-shot groups hovered around the ½-MOA mark, the worst just under an inch, with the average just above ¾-MOA.
The .360 Buckhammer was a champion at the bench, delivering sub-MOA accuracy with both the 180- and 200-grain loads. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
At any rate, the combination of Henry Model X and Remington .360 Buckhammer ammo is very inspiring. And while it might not be as flat shooting as a .308 Winchester or 6.8 Western, it makes a great woods rifle, with velocities slightly better than the comparable .35 Remington. My test rifle stayed very close to the advertised velocities, with the 180-grain load averaging 2,387 fps and the 200-grain load 2,208 fps.
During the bench session, each and every cartridge fed and extracted without issue; in fact, I found the out-of-the-box Henry to be much smoother than the majority of the modern Winchesters and Marlins I’ve spent time with. In spite of my initial apprehensions—solely based on my visual impression—I really enjoyed taking the Henry to the bench and wouldn’t hesitate to spend a season here in my native New York with this combination.
Where Does This Fit In?
Many will repeat the fact that the century-plus-old .35 Remington gives a similar performance, but that’s not entirely reason enough to discount the Buckhammer. Others will say that the venerable .30-30 Winchester is so plentiful and available that it makes no sense to deviate from that platform, or that if you wish to hunt with a cartridge larger than .30-caliber, the next logical step is the original straight-wall lever cartridge: the .38-55 Winchester. I feel slightly different, in that the .360 Buckhammer represents a higher-pressure variant of the classic formula.
The Henry Model X’s flat-top receiver mated perfectly with a Leupold VX-3i 3.5-10x40mm scope, set in Talley detachable rings. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Taking the niche game laws off the table, I think the .360 Buckhammer is a great cartridge for the hunter who stays inside of 150 or 175 yards, in pursuit of whitetail deer and black bears. It’s easy on the shoulder, available in four models of Henry rifles (proudly made in the USA) and hits harder than either the .30-30 or .35 Remington. I hope that the .360 Buckhammer gets the “modern spitzer” treatment that Hornady has given to so many of the classic rimmed cartridges and the same bonded-core treatment Federal applied to their HammerDown series. And, more rifles from various companies are likely on the way.
Long story short: I like the Buckhammer. Is it going to be my personal daily go-to? Probably not, as I’d classify myself as a bolt-action guy more than anything else, and my heart lies there. But for the lever crowd, I think this is a breath of fresh air and an awful lot of fun to shoot and hunt with.
Henry Lever Action X Model .360 Buckhammer Specs:
Chambering: .360 Buckhammer
Barrel: 21.375 Inches, 1:12 Twist
Finish: Blued Steel
Stock: Black Synthetic
Length Of Pull: 14 Inches
Overall Length: 40.375 Inches
Capacity: 5 + 1
Sights: Fiber Optic Front ; Adjustable Fiber Optic Rear
Weight: 8.07 Pounds
MSRP: $1,091
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2023 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Leave that shoulder alone! Here’s how to fit ammo to your rifle using chamber concentricity.
Bottlenecked cartridges have many different means of headspacing, from using a rim—so popular among the lever-action cartridges—to the Holland & Holland belted design, to the true rimless cartridges that use the shoulder for headspacing. And while the goal for creating ammunition is to have the cartridge slip easily into the chamber, sometimes that formula doesn’t give the best possible accuracy.
If you reload your ammunition, you can control some of the dimensions, and you can give yourself an advantage in the accuracy department.
Proper chamber concentricity will enhance accuracy and put a smile on a shooter’s face. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Managing Variables And Expectations
First, to understand things properly, we must realize that not all chambers are cut in the same manner. Yes, our factory guns and even custom jobs do the best to keep things as uniform as possible, but even with the modern level of CNC machining, precision go/no-go gauges and computer designs, our chambers might not be cut in a uniform manner from gun to gun. Couple that idea with the fact that our mass-produced ammunition—while I feel it is the best that is has ever been—will have slight variations from brand to brand … and even from lot to lot.
Now, the differences in accuracy might not mean a whole helluva lot to the deer hunter who reaches for the rifle once a year. He or she will often sight the rifle before the season, taking a few shots to make sure they can effectively hit a paper plate (roughly the size of a deer’s vital organs) or a bit better—and that’s fine, if that’s your hunting style. But for someone preparing for a hunt at longer ranges, or someone who is serious about target shooting or the various rifle competitions, a different mindset and level of precision is needed.
Piece By Piece
Looking at the first and most basic premise of reloading a metallic cartridge, the resizing die is used to reduce the case from its fired dimension back to the SAAMI-specified dimensions. The fired cartridge has expanded to the dimensions of the chamber as a result of the pressures generated from the firing sequence. It’s the difference between the original SAAMI dimensions and fired (chamber) dimensions that allow the cartridge to easily insert into the chamber, but it’s also that difference in dimension that reduces chamber concentricity.
When you measure the amount of expansion on some of the belted cases—famous for stretching just above the belt—you might see as much as 0.020-inch lengthening on the first firing. It’s no small wonder that we see case head separation among the belted cases, especially if we are bringing things back to the SAAMI dimension after each firing. That level of stress is too much for even the finest brass cases.
Belted cases headspace off the belt and will stretch to the point that the case will separate. Leaving the shoulder in same position as the case has when fired will drastically reduce this phenomenon. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
If we’re talking about a rimless case, where the shoulder handles the headspacing, it isn’t difficult to see why accuracy could suffer if the ammo and chamber aren’t quite matching up very well.
The Neck-Sizing Technique
Reloaders have long taken steps to keep cases as close to chamber conformation as possible. Early on, it was the neck sizing technique that was the most popular means. When a cartridge is “neck sized,” only the neck is reduced back to original dimension in order to provide enough tension to hold the projectile; the shoulder position and body diameter of the fired case are left “as is.”
This technique certainly works, though it does have a couple of pitfalls. Generally speaking, the neck-sized ammunition is only suitable for bolt-action rifles, which have the power to close the bolt on the ammunition of larger dimension. Lever guns and auto-loaders can quickly show the shooter the rifle isn’t happy at all with this type of ammunition.
RCBS neck-sizing bushing dies are a solid means of neck sizing cases without overstretching the brass. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Also, the neck-sized brass will usually be reserved for the rifle from which it was fired; the slight variations in chamber dimensions can prevent neck-sized cases from one rifle being used in another, as the bolt might not close at all. Plus, even when done properly in a bolt-action rifle, feeding can be much less smooth than regular ammunition.
For the target shooter, this might not be a huge deal, but for the hunter it could make big difference, especially when in pursuit of dangerous game, where a follow-up shot is imperative. Caveats aside, most manufacturers of reloading dies still offer a neck sizing die as an option. If you want to take the neck-sizing route, I recommend opting for a bushing die to minimize the amount of neck stretch during resizing.
Shoulder Work
The other means of obtaining the best chamber concentricity, yet still offering smooth and rapid feeding, is to measure the amount of shoulder movement from SAAMI spec to your fired cases. Redding’s Instant Indicator and Bullet Comparator is what you want to measure exactly how much your cases are stretching upon firing.
Using a SAAMI-spec dummy case as a reference point, the Comparator will quickly show you how much your fired cases vary from the specified dimensions. When used in conjunction with the Redding Competition Shellholder Set, it’ll allow the reloader to use a resizing die to shrink all the exterior dimensions of the fired case … without moving the shoulder.
It works like this: After using the dial indicator to observe the difference in your fired cases and the SAAMI-spec dimension, you’ll arrive at an average dimensional variance. So, for example, if you were to compare a half-dozen of your fired cases to the SAAMI-spec dummy, seeing a difference of 0.006 inch, you could grab the correlative shellholder and resize your cases. Redding’s Competition set of shellholders offer five different depths—ranging from 0.002 to 0.010 inch—for each family of cases. At worst, you might have to use a shoulder dimension 0.01 inch different from the observed variation, but that’ll still enhance accuracy.
What this does is resize your case—body diameter, neck dimension, etc.—while leaving the shoulder where it was after being fired. Cartridges loaded in this manner will give the benefits of a fully resized case in the feeding department but will best match your rifle’s chamber by keeping the shoulder up against the chamber wall. Yes, these cartridges will also be rifle-specific, in that they are best reserved for the rifle in which they were initially fired, but the chamber concentricity will invariably improve, and with that—at least in my experience—the accuracy, velocity spread and uniformity will also improve.
I’ve used these shellholders to cut the groups size of a .308 Winchester in nearly half, and drastically reduce the velocity spread as well. They surely have extended the life of my .300 Winchester Magnum and .300 H&H Magnum brass. In fact, when I run into a problem rifle, I reach for the silly little shellholder trick if the gun seems to be a bit finicky, and there have been several instances where a seemingly lame load has come to shine once the shoulder has been properly mated to the chamber.
Bottom line: The Comparator will run about $180 street price, and a set of the Competition Shellholders cost another $80 or so. With the two, you can easily customize your ammunition to best match the dimensions of your rifle’s chamber, resulting in an easy-to-feed cartridge that gives the best concentricity available. I feel rather confident saying that you’ll see an improvement in both accuracy and consistent velocity; this is, after all, what we reloaders seek most.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2023 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
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.
Harking back to the early service life of the AR-15, Anderson Manufacturing released its take on what was considered the first carbine version of the rifle. The AM-15 Dissipator replicates the original Vietnam-era Colt 605 Dissipator, or “Dissy,” giving shooters a compact retro option to add to their collection. The original was produced to meet the need for a more compact platform for the close quarters of jungle warfare and was simply produced by lopping off 5 inches of barrel. To avoid NFA regulations, Anderson doesn’t go quite to those extremes, shrinking down the rifle to 16 inches. Keeping true to the original, the AM-15 also boasts a rifle-length gas system, which should make it quite a smooth shooter. Though the design is updated in some respects, the most obvious is the flat-top receiver. MSRP: $600
Beretta A300 Ultima Patrol
Honestly, Beretta sits at the cusp of making most pocketbooks pucker in pain. That’s not quite so with the release of its newest tactically minded smoothbore, which has a price nearly as sweet as its performance. Sure, the A300 Ultima Patrol doesn’t boast the bells and whistles of some of Beretta’s tonier options, but it’s likely most shooters will be satisfied by what the Italian gunmaker has brought to the table. The gas system makes the 3-inch chambered 12-gauge very manageable shot to shot, and its self-cleaning pistol adds a measure of resilience. Not to mention, it’s not a picky eater—pitching everything from slugs to birdshot without batting an eye. Its 7+1 capacity (2¾-inch shells) onboards plenty of firepower, and color options of black, gray and tiger-stripe camo give it a wicked look. MSRP: $1,100
Mission First Tactical Extreme Duty Mag
Like a team, a rifle is only as strong as its weakest link. Mission First makes certain your magazine isn’t what lets you down. Built with long glass fiber, the EXD Magazine uses a 50-percent stronger and three times more impact-resistant design compared to traditional glass-filled nylon. Additionally, Mission First has crafted the mags for easier carry and manipulation. The flared floorplate’s slim bottom design allows for excellent draw protection and ease of handling, while still allowing for fit in double and triple magazine pouches. The raised front and rear ribbed finger impressions make the mags easy to handing, even with gloves on. Plus, tool-free disassembly makes cleaning and maintenance easy. MSRP: $25
Brownells BRN-9 Upper
Looking to go pistol-caliber carbine with your AR? Meet the blowback-operated BRN-9 9mm upper receiver, complete with a 5.5-inch barrel. Making things easy, the Brownells upper drops in seamlessly into any standard AR-15 pattern lower as well as Brownells’ BRN-180 lower receiver. No buffer assembly is required; in turn, folding stocks are a natural for the upper. Finally, the BRN-9 also fits 9mm specific lowers with any type of 9mm magwell—so, it can feed from Colt, Glock, Sig, CZ Scorpion or HK MP5 magazines. As a nice touch, the upper also sports a non-reciprocating charging handle that can be set up on either side of the receiver. MSRP: $550
Vudoo Priest Double Stack 1911
As handgun fans most likely have caught wind, 2011-style pistols have been all the rage as of late. Vudoo Gun Works is among the most recent in this game with a gun that runs as fast as it looks: the 9mm Priest. The double-stack 1911-style pistol follows up on Vudoo’s successful Möbius single-stack 1911 and builds off many of the gun’s strong points. The steel-framed gun boasts an excellent trigger and gives shooters the ability to onboard 17, 19 or 23 rounds, thanks to its compatibility with STI/SVI-pattern magazines Additionally, the Priest is outfitted with a flared magwell, accessories rail, snappy trigger and optics cut on the rail (Trijicon RMR footprint). MSRP: $3,100
Rock River Arms BT3 Predator HP 65C
Gas-gun class of precision competition or just something to take game at a country mile, Rock River Arms has both types of shooters in its sights with one of its new-est releases. The BT3 Predator HP 6.5 Creedmoor Rifle is engineered with the goal of unrivaled out-of-the-box accuracy, extended effective range and outstanding reliability. At the heart of the rifle, billet aluminum upper and lower receivers provide enhanced strength and rigidity, ensuring consistent shot-to-shot performance. Mated to a match-grade 24-inch stainless-steel barrel, it’s long enough to milk the utmost ballistic potential from the long-range cartridge. Rock River finishes the BT3 Predator off with an adjustable two-stage match trigger, six-position Operator CAR stock and M-Lok compatible handguard. MSRP: $2,100
Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite Optic-Ready
As generations have learned, there’s nothing quite as sweet as a Ruger Mark IV—at least when talking .22 LR pistols. How about an optics ready variant of the famed rimfire with co-witnessed sights. This is what Ruger delivered with the introduction of Mark IV 22/45 Lite Optic-Ready. The new pistol features a standard Shield RMS footprint in place of a Picatinny rail, making the addition of a wide swath of available red-dots a snap. And if that poops out, the fiber-optic front and fully adjustable rear sights are ready to jump into action. True to the model, the 4.4-inch barrel iteration marries a lightweight, precision-molded, polymer grip frame with a ported, anodized aluminum receiver … and a threaded barrel. MSRP: $1,100
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2023 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
The author goes over a Glock G43X MOS that’s been setup for concealed carry as well as the Step Back Drill.
My primary carry gun is an old, lightweight Browning Hi Power that was worked by Novak’s and given to me by a good friend. It’s comfortable to carry, and I shoot it very well. However, though the pistol is somewhat rare and moderately valuable in terms of dollars, it’s a gun that cannot be replaced.
I travel by air a good bit, and I never go anywhere unarmed, unless my host at my destination provides me with something to carry. I have no intention of giving a baggage handler at the airport an opportunity to make off with my Hi Power. I needed a moderately affordable, and most importantly—replaceable—carry gun that was dependable. That’s how I ended up with a Glock G43X MOS.
This is a dependable carry gun that has no emotional value and that’s also replaceable.
I’m very familiar with Glock pistols. When I was a police officer, and later a special agent, a Glock of some sort was my issue duty handgun. I also often carried another Glock that would share magazines with my duty gun in an ankle holster. I’m a trained Glock armorer and even won a GSSF—Glock sponsored—shooting match.
But the truth is that I was never enamored with duty-size Glocks or the smaller G26 or G27 pistols I often carried on my ankle when working. Recently, I had the opportunity to handle a G43X MOS and was impressed with its compact size, its 10+1 capacity and the fact that it was optics ready. So, I ordered one with the intention of giving it a chance to become my travel gun.
One thing I’ve never liked about Glock pistols are the standard factory sights. I believe the front sight on a fighting pistol should be a sight that stands out like a pimple on the nose of a porn star—you should see it clearly and not have to look for it. So, I ordered a set of new suppressor height, R3D 2.0 sights from XS Sights.
The suppressor height R3d 2.0 sight from XS Sights is much easier to see than the factory Glock sight in any light.
The next thing I needed was a miniature reflex sight that fit the slide cut on the Glock G43X MOS, because I didn’t want to use an adapter plate, and I wanted to have the XS R3D sights as a redundant/backup sight system. I just happened to have a Crimson Trace CTS-1550 that was compatible with the RMSc footprint on the G43X MOS’s slide, so that’s what I went with.
The Suppressor height R3D 2.0 sights from XS Sights make an excellent redundant sight system for the G43X MOS.
The next thing I needed was holsters, two of them: an IWB holster for concealed carry and a OWB holster for range work. The IWB holster was a no brainer, I went with the Galco Royal Guard holster that I’ve used and trusted for years and a Galco Concealable Magazine Carrier. I tried something new for OWB—the Safariland Solis ALS holster, which is a polymer paddle holster that’s easy on and easy off, and convertible for belt-slot carry. I liked it because of the thumb release retention device and the fact that it could accommodate a miniature rail light. Both features would make the holster also suitable for carry in cooler weather when wearing a coat.
Running the Step Back Drill at 10 yards on an 8-inch steel plate.
The next step was to see how well I could shoot the pistol and to test out all the accessories. In two days, I fired 500 rounds of ammunition that was a mix of practice ammo and Federal’s Law Enforcement 124-grain Tactical Hydra-Shok load, which is a load I trust for carry. I shot the pistol well, the gun ran fine, and the holsters and mag pouches performed. However, I decided I wanted to switch from the Concealable Magazine carrier to the clip-on Galco QMC mag pouch so I could put it on and take it off—just as I could with the Royal Guard holster—without undoing my belt.
Glock’s G43X MOS with Federal’s Law Enforcement 124-grain Tactical Hydra-Shock load.
Pointed Practice: The Step Back Drill
At about this same time, I began working with a new defensive handgun drill I’d devised to test the shootability of similar handguns with different barrel lengths. I’d worked with this drill a lot and had decided it was also great to help establish your shot cadence at various distances, to further develop basic marksmanship skills and as a practical exercise with a defensive handgun. It’s a 10-round drill that starts at 5 yards and ends at 25 yards. It’s easy to set up, and you can run it on just about any range. I call it the “Step Back Drill,” and I’ve been running it almost every day with my G43X MOS for almost a month.
Glock’s G43X MOS is an excellent option for concealed carry.
To conduct the drill, you need an 8-inch target such as the Thompson Target 8-inch Halo target. Alternatively, a standard cardboard IDPA target with its 8-inch center circle or an 8-inch steel plate set at an angle to deflect bullet splatter toward the ground will work too. You also need a shot timer, and of course, your holster, handgun, and eye and ear protection. The drill should be run from an open holster or from concealment, but if you’re on a range where you cannot draw from the holster, just run it from the low ready.
You start at 5 yards, and on signal, draw and fire two shots at the target. Then, step back to 10 yards and repeat. You’ll do the same from 15, 20 and 25 yards. But here’s the important part: You’ll need to write down the time it took you to get your two hits at each distance. If you want to get technical, you can also record the time it took to get the first hit at each distance. This will give your draw speed and how long it took you to get the sights aligned and make the first shot at each distance.
Using a steel plate for the Step Back Drill is the ultimate challenge, because you don’t know where your misses go.
If you want a par time for each distance, 2 seconds at 5 yards, 3 seconds at 10 yards, 4 seconds at 15 yards, 5 seconds at 20 yards and 6 seconds at 25 yards is a good rule of thumb. When you add all your times together from each distance, a reasonable par time is 20 seconds.
To start my day, most every morning I ride the side-by-side over to my pistol range and run this drill twice. The first time I run the drill, I do it with the focus on getting my hits. In other words, I see how long it takes me to run the drill without misses. Then, I run the drill a second time as fast as I think I can get my hits.
The distinction here is important. On the first run, my goal is accuracy, and on the second run, my goal is speed. Right now, my average time for the first run is about 16 seconds for all 10 shots. My current best time for the second run—without a miss—is right at 14 seconds. The goal is to get my first run times much closer to my best time and to continually improve both.
If you want to make the 8-inch circle on an IDPA target stand out, cut a stencil and paint it.
One of the things I really like about the Step Back Drill as opposed to higher round count drills is that you’re drawing your handgun for half the shots you take. The Step Back Drill requires 10 shots. During the drill, you must conduct five handgun presentations—draws. When it comes to a defensive handgun, developing your ability to get your pistol out of the holster and on target is one of the primary and most critical aspects of its employment.
The other thing I like about the Step Back Drill is that, by taking the time to write down your times after every two-shot engagement, you’re letting your body and mind sort of reset. This makes each two-shot string seem like a separate drill as opposed to just small parts of a larger one.
Important Lessons Learned
I’ve learned some things by running this drill with my G43X MOS configured for carry. Initially, I was a bit disappointed in my times at 5 and 10 yards, they seemed slower than what they should be. So, I removed the reflex sight and ran the drill for several days with only the XS Sights. My times at 5 and 10 yards were faster with the sights. This dovetailed with my previous experiences with miniature reflex sights on handguns.
When running at top speed, it’s easier for me to find the sights than it is the dot. At 15 yards, my times with the sights and the red dot were almost identical, but beyond 15 yards the red dot was not only faster to use, with it I had fewer misses. I need to work more with the red dot up close so that I can acquire it faster, and this is a trend I’ve seen with many shooters.
This is the optimum sight setup. An easy-to-see red dot combined with an easy-to-see redundant open sight system.
The other and more critical discovery was that the CTS-1550 reflex sight has a serious flaw. One morning I was a bit late to the range, and the sun was higher than normal. I shoot into the sun on my range, but the trees behind the targets block the sun until about 10:30 a.m. On this morning, the sun was just above the treetops, and it was at an angle where it beamed over the top of the hood of the reflex sight. This resulted in the light reflecting off the base of the sight and back against the rear of the sight’s window. The reflection was so bad that I couldn’t see the dot. I could also not see through the window to identify the target or see the front sight. Clearly, this is bad thing, and it highlights the necessity to test your carry gear in a variety of situations.
The problem with the Crimson Trace CTS-1550 reflex sight was that, when shooting toward the sun at about a 35- to 45-degree angle, the light reflects off the sight base and into the lens.
A Collection Of Kit
I’m very happy with the G43X MOS, the XS R3D sights and with all my carry gear, and I think I’ve found a collection of kit I can rely on for protection when I travel. The G43X MOS isn’t that expensive, and everything about it is easily replaceable. As for the reflex sight, I need to find another option that deals with the reflection of light better. As comforting as the reflex sight is when it comes to getting hits at distance, if there are common and practical situations where it becomes unusable, it’s as worthless as pierced nipples on a coon dog. The experiment continues—I’ll keep you posted.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2023 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Girsan is continuing to modernize the classic BHP design, this time with the High Power MCP35 PI LW.
Girsan of Turkey has been hard at work incorporating modern features into the classic Browning Hi Power design in recent years, but the company isn’t done yet. Imported into the States by EAA, the newest model is an amalgamation of all the various features that Girsan has introduced since its original MC P35 Hi Power clone launched in 2021.
Girsan MCP35 PI LW OPS, Two-Tone.
Called the High Power MCP35 PI LW and available in four configurations, the new pistols feature the 3.88-inch barrel of the MCP35 PI, the accessory rail and flat trigger of the MCP35 OPS/Match and the optics-ready slide of the MCP35 Ops Optic. Combined with the new lightweight aluminum frame, these may very well be the most carry-ready Hi Powers ever made.
The LW in the MCP35 PI LW’s name stands for Light-Weight, as all four models in the series feature an aluminum frame. The new frame material brings the weight down from 1.6 pounds (standard MCP35 PI) to 1.34 pounds. As mentioned, the pistols also feature flat triggers with a lighter pull weight, optics-ready slides with an RMS/RMSc footprint and a 3.88-inch barrel.
Girsan MCP35 PI LW Match, Black.
The OPS configuration of the pistol also features an accessory rail, but the Match version has a smooth dust cover instead. Other features include an ambidextrous safety, an extended beavertail, G10 grips and a fiber optic front sight. As always, they’re chambered for 9mm and come with a 15-round magazine.
Girsan MCP35 PI LW Match, Two-Tone.
The OPS and Match configurations of the pistol are both available with either a black or a two-tone finish. MSRP for the black models is $749 and MSRP for the two-tone models is $772.
While the 8-gauge shotgun is obsolete and illegal for hunting, it still serves a purpose today.
The 8-gauge shotgun was, emphasis on was, a specialized fowling piece dating back to 19th-century waterfowl hunters. At that time, 8-gauge shotguns were loaded with a handful of black powder and threw up to two ounces of lead shot at a time. The barrels on these shotguns were long, often 30 inches or more, and that extra barrel length allowed the black powder to achieve maximum velocity. The 8 gauge could reach out to 80 and even up to 100 yards. I can only imagine that the recoil was incredibly stout.
Barrels on older 8-gauge shotguns made before 1900 were made of Damascus, iron and steel layers that were hammered and twisted into a tube. A typical black powder load with Damascus barrels meant 1.5 to 2 ounces of lead shot. These barrels work as intended with blackpowder loads but will peel back like a banana if smokeless shells are used due to the higher pressure. Early 8-gauge shotguns were flintlock and percussion guns, some with a single barrel and others with double barrels. These shotguns were specialized tools intended for use on waterfowl.
19th Century Heyday
Market hunters, those hunters that harvested birds to sell commercially, used 8-gauge shotguns to kill multiple birds with one shot, similar to a punt gun. Punt guns were too large to shoot from the shoulder and were typically mounted to the bow of a small boat. These were obviously far less maneuverable than an 8-gauge shotgun designed to be fired from the shoulder. This type of hunting pre-dated hunting and fishing regulations and waterfowl like the Labrador duck were hunted to extinction by 1878. Market hunters not only sold the meat but also the feathers of certain birds for use in ladies’ hats which made quite the fashion statement at the time.
The 8-gauge made the transition to cartridge shells, as did 10- and 12-gauge shotguns, but it was never as popular as those two smaller gauges. By the late 19th century, the barrels on 8-gauge shotguns were made of fluid steel and able to take the pressure of smokeless powder. That meant the 8 gauge could deliver a load of lead shot in the range of 2 to 2.5 ounces. These 8-gauge shotguns ranged from inexpensive scatterguns perfect for a family settling in the West to lavishly engraved side-by-sides suited for royalty. European double gun maker Greener was one of the more famous builders of 8-gauge guns.
The largest manufacturer of 8-gauge shotguns in the U.S. was Parker Brothers, though the company only built 246 guns in total. Colt was well known in the late 19th century for the Model 1883 side-by-side shotgun. These doubles were typically only available in 10- and 12-gauge, but Colt did produce one 8-gauge model as a custom build for President Grover Cleveland, an avid hunter and two-term president.
A painting of President Cleveland on the hunt with one of his shotguns. Image: The Saturday Evening Post.
Dangerous Game Loads For 8-Gauge Shotguns
Blackpowder 8-gauge cartridges found another use in Africa when loaded with a large lead bullet like an 862-grain spherical ball or 1,257-grain conical bullet. These loads produced muzzle velocities of 1,645 fps and 1,500 fps, respectively. The 8 gauge was considered the standard caliber on all dangerous game besides elephants (the 4 gauge was reserved for pachyderms). These side-by-side guns typically weighed about 15 pounds, but I am sure the weight was welcomed when touching off a shell.
An illustration comparing a solid 8-bore projectile with others that were common in its day.
Obsolete And Illegal By The 20th Century
By the time 8-gauge cartridges became available, the writing was already on the wall—it was simply too cumbersome compared to 10- and 12-gauge shotguns. Sure, the 8-gauge held more shot than the smaller two did, but that proved to be what market hunters wanted. While 8-gauge shells came in lengths ranging from 3 to 4 inches, the maximum length for 10- and 12-gauge shells was only 3.5 inches.
If user preference for the more manageable sizes wasn’t enough to kill the 8-gauge shotgun, the 1918 ban on using anything larger than 10-gauge for hunting migratory birds was the final nail in the coffin, at least in the U.S.
The 8-Gauge Today: Masterblasters And Ringblasters
While the 8 gauge is as extinct as the Labrador duck in the traditional sense, it is still used for industrial purposes today. From the mid-20th century throughout today, the 8 gauge has found another role, just not in duck blinds or on African plains.
The 8 gauge is used for tough industrial jobs found in power plants, incinerators, kilns, silos and other work environments for certain tasks. In silos, for example, an 8-gauge shell can be used to clear out excess build-up. In places like power plants, these loads are designed to be deployed as part of the maintenance process to prevent excessive ash accumulation while the plant is online.
To fire these shells, massive single-shot industrial 8-gauge shotguns are used. They’re mounted to an assembly with large elevation and traverse wheels for aiming and have a lever or lanyard for the operator to pull as a firing mechanism. There are two major versions of these in use, one from Remington Industrial called the Masterblaster and one from Winchester Industrial Products called the Ringblaster.
Other models are designed for use in smaller spaces that are more portable, but these still require a tripod that suspends the shotgun from a chain. These smaller models are Remington’s Boiler Gun and Winchester’s Western Industrial Tool, and they’re specifically used in large power plant boilers for blasting off gunk that would take too long to remove by hand. While 8 gauge is no longer used in a traditional sense, the existence of these tools is enough to keep it from truly being considered extinct.
Expensive Wall Hangers
If you want an 8-gauge shotgun today, expect to pay a premium. Even the most basic models in less-than-stellar condition typically sell for between $1,000 and $2,500, and guns from desirable manufacturers like Greener can go for over $10,000.
A John Dickson & Son 8-gauge duck gun. This one sold for over $8,000 in 2023. Photo: Rock Island Auction Company.
You’ll find them in many forms, ranging from single-barrel guns with a flint or percussion side lock to double-barrels with or without hammers. The rarity of these guns is what drives their price, and since you can’t find ammo to shoot them with anymore, they’ll be some very expensive wall hangers. Hunting one down definitely isn’t recommended for most people, but if you feel like you must add an 8-gauge shotgun to your collection, best of luck on finding a good deal.
Carry a Glock? Want to upgrade your iron sights? One of XS Sights’ Glock sight tools will help you do it.
Installing aftermarket sights on a pistol can be problematic. Back when I first began working in law enforcement, I ordered a set of night sights for my duty handgun and tried to install them. I ended up breaking the front sight off its base and had to order another one. The funny thing is that I took it to a gunsmith, and he did the same thing I did, but at least he paid for the third front sight. That’s one of the reasons I’ve always suggested enlisting the services of a gunsmith for sight installation.
But now, particularly for Glock pistols, I’ve changed my mind: XS Sights has simplified the process of sight removal and installation with their excellent array of sight installation tools.
XS Sights has revolutionized the removal and installation of sights on Glock pistols.
Several months ago, XS Sights sent me one of their sight installation tools. I wanted a set of the new XS Sights’ suppressor height R3D 2.0 Night sights for my recently acquired Glock G43X MOS. (My G43X MOS project/experiment is detailed in this issue.) These new-and-improved second-generation R3D notch and post tritium sights are engineered to provide a brighter, stronger set of self-defense sights that are even easier to install than the original models, and they’re built to withstand years of EDC use. I liked them so much that I ordered a set for my G17, too, and it was the perfect opportunity to try out this installation tool.
For Your Needs
XS Sights offers six variations of the Glock sight installation tool. The least expensive version is the Inline Sight Pusher Kit ECO Series that retails for $80. It’s a one-time use, frame specific tool. The $150 Inline Sight Pusher Kit DIY Series isn’t frame specific and should be good for 50 to 100 installs. The Gunsmith Series costs another $50, should last for 200 installs, and the front sight tool that comes with this unit has a magnet to hold the front sight screw in place. All three of these units are also available in a bundle that includes a set of R3D Night Sights. If you purchase the bundle, you’ll save around 10 percent on the cost of the sights.
With the XS Sights Glock Sight Tool, sight removal is easy and can be done without damaging your pistol.
A good gunsmith will charge you between $75 and $125 to install a set of sights on your Glock. And more than likely, over the lifetime of your pistol, you’ll either want to try a different type of sights or you’ll need to replace your pistols sights due to tritium depletion and their loss of brightness. So, while you might not think you need a Glock sight installation tool, in the long run you’ll be better off, and you also might even make a few bucks by charging your buddies to install sights on their Glocks.
It’s also important to note that these aren’t just sight installation tools. The rear sight on a Glock pistol is drift adjustable for windage, and you can use these tools to also fine-tune sight adjustment so that your point of impact matches your point of aim. Because these tools are so lightweight and compact, you can keep one in your range bag. This means that if you discover your sights aren’t adjusted perfectly, you can correct—and check—the problem while at the range. This is a much better process than using a hammer and a brass punch.
With this innovative tool from XS Sights, Glock pistol sight installation is just as easy and fast as sight removal.
Of course, to find success, the tool has to work. Based on my experience with the DIY Series, it works exceptionally well. XS Sights has plenty of videos on their website (XSsights.com) to explain how to use these tools, and very wisely, XS Sights has engraved a QR code right on the sight tool that you can scan with your smartphone for instructions.
Less Is Way More
XS Sights took the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) approach. The tool cradles your pistol’s slide and when you get it lined up correctly with the brass pusher, you slide in a polymer wedge that locks the slide in place. Then, all you need to do is use the supplied hex head wrench to tighten the screw that drives the brass pusher. This will easily push your factory sight out of the dovetail. Also, because of the way the tool is designed, you can use it on a slide that already has an optic installed. This is very handy because you don’t have to remove the optic to install new sights, which means the optic doesn’t need to be re-zeroed.
Glock front sights are screwed in place, and XS provides a wrench sized just to fit the screw that holds them in place.
As for the front sight, it’s held in place on the Glock slide by a screw. This makes front sight removal and installation very easy, but only if you have the correct 3/16 socket that fits the screw head. Each XS Sights’ installation tool comes with a front sight tool, and there are three versions depending on which model you select. One is made of aluminum, one is made of steel, and the third version is also made of steel, but it has a magnet to hold the front sight screw in place during installation.
In less than 10 minutes, you can remove your factory Glock sights and install new ones with the XS Sights Sight tool.
Having never used this tool before, it only took me about 10 minutes to remove the factory sights and install the new XS Sights’ FR8 2.0 suppressor height sights on the slide of my G43X MOS. In another 10 minutes, I had a set installed on my G17 as well. Not only has XS Sights made Glock sight removal and installation simple, I’m living proof that a West Virginia hillbilly can also figure it out and manage this machine without too much head scratching.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2023 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
A question that all good Samaritans should consider is whether they would intervene if a threat were to arise.
By now, most people who follow popular news channels have learned about the indictment of 24-year-old Daniel Penny, for second-degree manslaughter by a Manhattan grand jury. The case centers around Penny, who asserts he was coming to the aid of fellow subway passengers when an allegedly homeless man, 30-year-old Jordan Neely, started acting erratically and threatening passengers.
Daniel Penny subduing Jordan Neely. Photo: Juan Alberto Vazquez/Reuters.
Penny determined Neely was indeed a threat to himself and passengers in the car, and as he was not carrying a weapon, tackled and physically restrained him. Unfortunately, in order to restrain Neely, Penny wrapped his left arm around Neely’s chin and neck, while other passengers on the train tried to restrain his legs and arms.
The struggle took several minutes, eventually ending when Neely stopped struggling while being restrained. Neely then stopped breathing and subsequently died. Video clips of the struggle are online, but it’s challenging to find the entire video … most are just a few seconds of Penny with his arm around Neely’s neck and chin.
Mainstream media news outlets all say Neely died from a choke hold, but from what I saw when I watched the video, it looked like neither Neely’s air flow was being cut off nor the blood flow to the brain. The autopsy report hasn’t been released, so we don’t know the medical reason for Neely’s death yet.
Paramount to Penny’s defense will be the training he received in the Marine Corp and any other training he received in hand-to-hand combat. If he can show that he had training in controlling combative subjects by controlling the head, and knew the difference between a nonlethal control hold and a lethal choke hold, then he’ll be well on his way to convincing the jury he didn’t use deadly force.
It’ll also be extremely important to his defense to determine what exactly the mechanism of Neely’s death was. A phenomenon called excited delirium is a medical condition that results in death after an individual fights or struggles for an extended period of time. If drugs are also in the bloodstream, it can result in immediate shutdown of the individual’s life. This could’ve been involved in this event, but we will have to wait to see. I certainly hope the defense researches this issue, and if necessary, hires experts to fully explore the issue and testify in court.
Was Prevention Possible?
How could this situation have been prevented?
First, of course, is if Penny hadn’t involved himself he wouldn’t be in jail awaiting trial. But many witnesses report feeling relieved when Penny acted, and these people should be willing to come to court and testify as to Neely’s actions. They won’t be able to state the acts of Penny were justified, but the jury will be able to connect the dots. On the flip side, Penny was the only one who believed the threat was sufficient enough to act, or had the guts to act, so that fact might work against him.
But, having said all the above, the trial will likely be resolved on the question of whether or not the jury believes Penny only used sufficient force to control Neely, and not excessive force. When I saw the video, I didn’t see that level of force. One cannot usually use deadly force against an unarmed person unless there’s substantial evidence that such a use of deadly force was warranted. But Penny has indicated in pre-indictment comments to the press that he never intended to kill Neely, nor did he think his use of force would do so.
Clouded Circumstances
If you’re thoroughly confused by now, that would be normal. There are many factors to consider, and I will attempt to summarize. Penny used force against Neely in an attempt to subdue him, because Neely was threatening passengers in the subway car. When Penny had Neely on the ground with his arm around the neck and head of Neely, others joined in to try to control his limbs. It was clear that Neely was out of control and struggling until he lost consciousness.
At the time of this writing, no clear indication of the cause of death has been released, only the statement that the cause of death was a “choke hold.” But a choke hold by itself isn’t necessarily fatal—it’s the strength and duration that matters.
Experts in the use of force and the use of the “lateral vascular neck restraint” should, and likely will, be used by the defense to convince the jury that Neely’s death was a tragic accident, perhaps caused by drugs and the phenomenon called excited delirium. It’ll be interesting to watch this one play out.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2023 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 of the best concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
