We take a quick look at 9.3x62mm Mauser, a powerful, all-around big-game cartridge.
Developed around 1905 by Otto Bock, a well-known Berlin gunmaker, this chambering was introduced to give the farmers and hunters in the German colonies of Africa an adequate cartridge.
When many African countries were in the process of adopting restrictive laws specifying minimum chamberings for dangerous game hunting, most ruled for a minimum bore size of .40 caliber. Almost universally, the 9.3x62mm Mauser was exempted from the banned classification. It was soon used in Europe on wild boar and red deer, and Mauser sporters were sold in the United States in this chambering until 1940.
The 9.3x62mm was listed in late RWS and Norma catalogs. Browning and other rifles are available in Europe for this cartridge, and Steyr-Mannlicher rifles are currently so chambered. Previously listed under “European Sporting Cartridges” in many reference books, American appreciation of the 9.3x62mm cartridge warrants its movement to a more global appreciation.
General Comments
The 9.3x62mm is a powerful big-game cartridge, with a good reputation in Africa and Asia. It’s sufficiently powerful for any North American big game and would be a good number for Alaskan bear. At one time, it was one of the most widely used, general-purpose medium bores in Africa. This was due partly to good performance, and partly to the fine, moderately priced bolt-action rifles that chambered it.
A previous editor of Gun Digest’s Cartridges of the World used the listed 232-grain Norma Oryx load (bonded-core bullet) to dispatch his first moose. Bullet performance was flawless; at the shot, the bull dropped in its tracks and never so much as wiggled. This type of performance is the basis of the superior reputation this cartridge has earned worldwide.
9.3x62mm Mauser Loading Data and Factory Ballistics
Until the world recently started truly going to hell in a handbasket, the .380 ACP pistol was all the rage. Not that it still isn’t. Any gun is better than no gun in the past couple of years. That said, full-sized 9mms with readily available extended-capacity magazines are looking pretty dang good right now. Who cares if it prints? But I digress.
Raising the humble .380 from the dead was one main factor: ammunition. Improvements in bullet design, providing consistent penetration and expansion took what was once a marginal self-defense cartridge and made it, well … marginally better. This is to say, the debate over whether it’s a smart move to carry a .380 ACP as your primary self-defense gun is alive, well and hot as ever.
So, before we ramble on to the top .380 pistol options available today, we should hit some of the pros and cons of the demure 9mm and its handguns.
Why You Want A .380 Pistol
Peruse .380 pistol options and it becomes evident the caliber has a huge advantage over almost every other. They’re small, downright minuscule. Over the years, the ubiquitous 9mm has made up ground. The likes of the Sig Sauer P365’s dimensions encroach on .380 territory. Still, this is the exception, not the rule … yet.
Since the key to concealed carry is concealing your firearms, these pocket pistols have a leg up. If you reside in a shorts and T-shirt climate, a Government Model 1911 is awfully difficult to keep under wraps. A Ruger LCP not so much. In turn, keeping a .380 pistol concealed is a somewhat easy task.
However, the clandestine nature of .380 handguns isn’t the main selling point. Fostering program compliance is. In layman's terms, this means a gun you’ll carry every day. Easier said than done. However, smaller, lighter guns tend to promote diligence.
A big plus for the .380, yet, there are some less-than-desirable facets to the caliber and its guns that deserve thought.
Take Aim On The .380 ACP:
Concealed Carry: Is The .380 ACP Enough For Self-Defense?
The size of .380 pistols is a major advantage, but it isn’t wholly a bed of roses. By and large, small guns are difficult to shoot well. Not impossible mind you, but to become proficient with a micro .380 takes more practice than say with a Glock 17.
There are some blatant reasons for this discrepancy:
Short Sight Radius: Sight radius is the distance between the front and rear sights. The less of it there is, the more difficult it becomes to hold on a target.
Abbreviated Grip: Most .380 pistols have a small grip, both in height and circumference. In turn, the guns prove difficult to keep firm control over, particularly in faster shot sequences.
Lightweight: It sure it is nice to have a featherweight on the hip until the time comes to pull the trigger. The lack of heft in most .380 pistols amplifies recoil. Add in the smaller grips, you’ve created a downright bucky handgun.
Low Capacity: The tradeoff for a highly concealable gun is the lack of rounds on tap. Expect a 6-round magazine to be the norm.
Ammunition is also a concern. While its indisputable .380 ACP has improved over the years, it still suffers from one major fault—middling velocities for the caliber. Worrisome, given velocity is the main variable dictating modern bullets' performance. If not enough of it, the projectile won’t penetrate deep enough nor expand properly, if at all.
Does this mean the .380 isn’t legitimate for self-defense? Far from it. But it does mean doing your homework on the ammunition you’ll use to guard your life. Choose carefully.
How I Picked The Best .380 Pistols
I selected these guns for this list from a number of criteria pertinent to concealed carry. First and foremost for a defensive pistol, in testing the guns had to prove reliable. Next came accuracy, within reasonable defensive parameters—7 and 10 yards. Concealability, how easy the pistol is kept under wraps when on the body through carrying the guns was also considered. As was ergonomics, how well the pistol’s controls were laid out and how comfortable the gun felt in hand, particularly when being shot—not an easy hurdle for borderline mouse guns.
Ticking like a Swiss-made timepiece, the P238 had folks looking .380 ACP long before the cartridge regained popularity. And the carry-tailored SAS model is the cream of the cream.
Of course, Sig invested some sound engineering to conjure up a pocket pistol that runs like a full-size iron.
At its essence, the .380 pistol is a micro 1911 offering all the assets John M. Browning intended in perhaps his most famous design. A good example is a smashing single-action trigger that works overtime to ensure the 3-inch barreled gun’s accuracy.
As far as concealability, few beat the P238 SAS. At 3.9 inches in height and 16 ounces unloaded, it is legitimately a pocket pistol and would do well in this role.
I found the gun excellent in the accuracy department, able to keep on target consistently out to 10 yards. Furthermore, I found it comfortable to shoot–a rarity of small .380 pistols. This facet is aided in large part to the SAS's rubberized and ergonomic grips that do a lot to overcome the short grip.
For some, there are sticky points. The thumb safety is one, the cost is the other. The 6+1 capacity P238 runs on the spendier end of the spectrum. Take solace, few ever feel the pistol is a waste of money.
One last bone to pick with the micro compact, it's not the best-looking gun ever made. Sig tries to hide its blocky lines with flourishes on sub-models–different colors, scrollwork, etc. But lipstick doesn't do much for the pig. If it saves your life, does any of that really matter.
Was the third time the charm? If you’re talking about Ruger’s LCP, then it’s a resounding yes!
The third iteration of the nearly legendary .380 pistol boasts nearly everything fans of the design have begged for. Chief among these is normal dang sights.
I can’t tell you what a difference this upgrade is, given I found the integral sights of the LCP II (now a .22LR) abhorrent. The more prominent and white outlined rear sight in conjunction with the Tridium front makes for a workable aiming system. And the gun response, within workable defensive distances.
I won’t say I found the Max a tack driver, but I was more than capable of connecting consistently at center mass from 10 yards. Essentially, that makes the cut for a .380 defensive pistol.
Almost as good, the gun has nearly a best-in-class capacity carrying 10-1 rounds. Ruger turned to a double-stack magazine to accomplish this, slightly widening the grip of the hammer-fired gun. As a side benefit, I found the Max more comfortable in hand than the previous LCPs.
All this, the gun isn’t one you’ll pick up for pleasure. Like its predecessors it’s a jumpy pistol and feels like shooting exactly what it is, a .380 pocket pistol. But very concealable and accurate as it needs to be, you won’t lose any love for its deficit as a plinker.
Best Easy-To-Use .380 Pistol:Smith & Wesson M&P380 Shield EZ
Everyone knows the skinny on Smith & Wesson’s EZ line—the hammer-fired gun has an extremely easy (get it) slide to manipulate. The idea behind the pistol is to give those who have trouble with heavy slide-rack weight an option in what otherwise might prove a prohibitive class of guns.
Yet, I’d argue the EZ .380 is on target for nearly any shooter in the market for this caliber of pistol. Yeah, you might get razed by your buddies and your manhood questioned—endure this and you have a fine defensive option, one you can trust your life with.
Aside from a slide you can rack with your pinky, the EZs I’ve shot are spot-on accurate and honestly quick to manipulate.
The sights are high, made of metal and very familiar to anyone used to the three-dot system. And in my opinion, Smith & Wesson got grip texturing right on the M&P line—a solid purchase on the pistol and it’s not going anywhere.
As for the bad aspects of the gun, I don’t dig grip safety, namely for aesthetics. In use, I barely noticed it, if you get a solid fundamental grip.
My other point of contention is the front cocking serrations or the very minimal amount of them. They’re there, peppered just around the release cut, but that’s about it. For most, this isn’t an issue, given you can nab slick metal on the slide and its lack of resistance still means you can actuate it.
But it does concern me for those the gun is aimed at—those with poor hand strength.
Best Classic .380 Pistol:Walther PPK/S
Pro
Pristine fit and finish
Extremely accurate
About as classic as it gets
Con
Slide can bite
Heavy double-action trigger pull
Magazine doesn’t play nice with all ammo
Very Expensive
PPK/S Specs Capacity: 7+1 Barrel Length: 3.3 inches Overall Length: 6.1 inches Width: 1 inch Weight: 19 ounces Height: 4.3 inches Safety: Thumb Trigger Pull Weight: DA: 13.4 pounds; SA 6.1 pounds MSRP: $970
As someone who grew up on James Bond flicks, the PPK line has always stirred my imagination. Truly, it's one of the classics. And while the design is long in the tooth, the pistol still holds its own in modern concealed carry. Larger than the original PPK, the PPK/S is easier to shoot and is accurate as the day is long.
At the same tick, the .380 pistol is plum concealable in every sense of the word. More suited to tote around on the hip—19 ounces—the PPK/S can pull pocket-carry duty in a pinch.
As far as accuracy, two words sum up the pistol: dead nuts. Much of this is thanks to a fixed barrel, a feature that eliminates any barrel wiggle and makes the dashing heater a natural pointer.
However, it is a straight blowback action, which means it tends to produce stouter felt recoil. Additionally, the PPK/S has a DA/SA trigger. A good one, mind you. But you must remember that the first trigger pull is a hefty 13 pounds or thereabouts.
I'll point out two other issues I encountered. I got bitten by the slide, which could have been due to larger hands. And the magazines wouldn't play nice with some brands of ammo. Not the gun mind you, but the magazines could load hollow points with large cavities–thing Sig Sauer.
All that said, the pistol remains the cream of .380 and is more than proficient at defending your life. And there's no better time than now to get one, as Walther is once again the exclusive manufacturer, which adds up to excellent fit, finish and quality control.
Among the most highly anticipated guns in the past decade, the G42 didn’t disappoint. Concealable, familiar and, above all, reliable, the .380 pistol ticked all the boxes of a deep-cover concealed carry piece. In short, it’s a Glock.
Admittedly, the G42 has been overshadowed in recent years by Glock’s petite 9mm offerings. But it still has a place in on-person defense. Particularly due to its shootability. Its larger size relative to other .380s is partly to thank for this, with the gun measuring 4.13 inches in height and .98 inches in width.
Like most Glocks, the striker-fired has a decently crisp trigger out of the box and a short reset. In turn, those familiar with the gun can run it fast, and accurately so. However, if it or any other part of the G42 isn’t up to your standards, the Glock aftermarket is huge and the pistol is upgradeable.
I will say, like many, I'm not overly fond of the steep grip rake of the G42 or any Glock for that matter. And the dimensions of the gun are great enough you might as well upgrade to a 9mm micro-compact.
There’s nothing wrong with hunting with an old, classic rifle. Here, we take a closer look at the pre-war Model 70 Winchester.
Sometimes you get lucky. And sometimes not.
Back in the early 1990s, the boss took in a Winchester Model 70 chambered in .30-06, a thoroughly plain and ordinary rifle. Too bad the stock was too long, and it kicked him hard. So, he sold it to me for what he paid: $200. Even in 1992, that was a steal, but hey, that’s what he paid, so not a big deal, right?
The stock fit me, and besides, I had an M70 stock with a rubber recoil pad on it in the shelves, someplace, if I needed to change from the steel buttplate. (I did have it, and I did.)
Checkered steel was the customary buttplate material for the M70. OK, that in a .30-06 could be managed, but anything bigger, ouch.
I looked at the serial number and thought, Hmm, that’s an early one. Yes, it is. In fact, it was made in 1941. It’s in the group known as the “Type I-2,” and it has the stripper clip slot in the receiver bridge, the flag-shaped safety lever that works the wrong way, and the bolt handle has a different contour and angle compared to the postwar rifles.
After doing some research, I found that the hallowed “date stamp” on the underside of barrels was only the date the barrel itself was made. It apparently wasn’t uncommon for a batch of barrels to be made one year and then installed in receivers in subsequent years as that caliber was ordered. But I guess by 1941 they had used up the older barrels, and the barrel-making line was just keeping up with the receiver making line because mine is dated 1941. In fact, it is dated “41” and “1906” because that’s how they denoted date and caliber.
The barrels were marked. This one was made in 1941 and is chambered in .30-06, but then we knew that.
By 1941, Winchester was busy making M1 Garands, having started deliveries in December of 1940. Little did they know what “full production rate” was soon going to entail.
So, mine was assembled halfway through the year of 1941, and it might well have taken some time to get from the Winchester assembly area to shipping, to a distributor and then to a gun shop someplace. It’s entirely possible that it was resting in a rack in a gun store or hardware store on December 7, 1941. Who knows.
Details of a Classic
The Model 70 was the evolution of the Model 54, which was itself essentially an American-made Mauser 98. It did change some things from the Mauser—some good and some kinda meh. One change was the trigger. The Mauser trigger, though a marvel of durability and simplicity, depends on a spring-loaded leverage design to release the sear. While it’s practically indestructible and end-user fool-proof, it’s not easy to adjust. Well, you can’t adjust it, short of doing polishing, cutting, carving … all things off of the DIY list for firearms.
The bolt handle on the 70 was swept back, and this combined with the slick action made it really fast in action. The handle is perfectly positioned to your hand, and the friction is so low in back-and-forth that it almost seems to run itself.
The Model 70 trigger has small nuts on threaded shafts, with lock nuts as matching sets, and you can adjust it to be pretty darned good. Oh, you can over-adjust it, but hey, everything with adjustments can be over-adjusted. Since it was set from the factory to be really nice, most never got adjusted. The few I had to work on as a gunsmith had been over-adjusted by their owners, and all I did to fix the problem was to set them back to factory standard, and life was good again.
The Winchester Model 70 trigger was adjustable, unlike the Mauser, and this was good until it got adjusted out of proper use, and then it had to be adjusted back to factory settings.
The barreled action rides in a one-piece walnut stock with cut checkering, and the bottom metal is held in place by three screws. The magazine plate is hinged and held shut with a spring-loaded button at the rear, so to unload you just press the button, swing the bottom plate down to dump the rounds out of the magazine, and then open the bolt to extract the last round.
Another good thing was the front action screw. It went up through the bottom metal and stock to enter a threaded hole in the center of the generously sized bottom of the action. So when you torque the action screw, there’s a good surface area for the screw to pull the action down onto the stock. This is unlike the Mauser with the front action screw in the front recoil lug. The unfortunate result of that is the tightening of the action screw essentially makes the stock lug a fulcrum, and it needs more fussing in bedding the action.
Also, the Mauser comes with less area for the pulled-down action to rest on in the stock. In the days (decades really) before glass-bedding, this mattered. And when glass-bedding did get invented, the Model 70 had much less need of glass-bedding to keep it from getting twitchy as far as bedding was concerned.
Yes, the M70 came with sling swivels. And the screw you see below that is the barrel-bedding screw to control barrel movement. Not something you see today.
One aspect of bedding that is a real head-scratcher these days is the barrel screw. The what? Yep, it was felt back then that, in order to control barrel movement, it was a good thing to tighten a screw into the barrel, out on the forearm, and keep it from flopping around. This also happened to be, on the 70, the boss where the rear sight was located.
Free-floating barrels? In the era of wood stocks, that wasn’t a thing. Oh, and the front sight? Nothing so déclassé as a ramp bolted on with screws. The front sight ramp is an integral part of the barrel, with a dovetail for a front blade and a front blade hood to protect it.
The front sight ramp is an integral part of the barrel, and they all came with a sight hood.
If you wanted other sighting systems back then, Winchester had you covered. Ever wonder where the mounting of scopes on top of the receiver with four screw holes top dead center came from? Well, if it wasn’t Winchester who invented it, the adoption of that for the classiest American rifle sealed the deal. Right from the beginning, Model 70s were set up for scopes.
And there it is: The reason rifles today come with a set of scope base holes drilled and tapped. Winchester might not have started it, but the Model 70 having them sealed the deal.
She Ain’t Perfect
There was an oddity, and that “meh” I mentioned.
The oddity is the safety. The prewar safety is one I call the “wrong way” safety. The 70 safety is a three-position design. All the way on, it won’t fire, and you can’t work the bolt. In the middle, you still can’t fire, but you can work the bolt, and Fire is, well … Fire.
When it’s on Safe, it’s crossway over the cocking piece, and it blocks your view of the sights. But, to swing it to Fire, you have to reach up with your thumb (right-handed shooters, I have no idea how you southpaws would manage this) and pull the safety lever back toward you and rotate it fully to the right side. With iron sights, it isn’t too fussy … but with a scope on top, it can be a real problem. Fat thumbs, gloves and cold weather—all can conspire to make it a real hassle.
The pre-war Model 70 safety runs to the left when Safe, and to get it to Fire you have to reach up and over with your thumb and pry it back. Not easy with a scope mounted.
The 70 has a controlled-feed extractor, just like the Mauser, which was the standard of the day. It’s a big, stout, spring steel extractor, and it can readily be removed in stripping the 70. In fact, you can remove the bolt and disassemble it with your bare hands, no tools needed, like the Mauser. And that I liked, because I would see rifles in the gun shop every year where the petrified-oil-bound or dust-and-lint-caked striker spring couldn’t muster enough oomph to set off primers. Once I looked, I could promise next-day or even while-you-wait correction to my hunting customers.
Here you can see the controlled-feed extractor, different safeties and bolt handles. On top is the postwar 70, below the pre-war. You can get this far in disassembly with your bare hands.
And the meh? Then, there was the famed “coned breech.” This was adopted because (I guess) it was a feature on the ’03 Springfield, and as a result, the best rifles had to have it.
OK, muster up the 3D modeling software in your head, and imagine the back end of the barrel. On a Mauser, that back end is square to the bore. The extractor has room to work because that gap exists all the way around the barrel. OK, now, on the 70 (and the Springfield) grow that back end of the barrel, like a funnel, except where the extractor has to reach to the chamber. That’s the coned breech. The supposed advantage was that it provided better guidance to the cartridge tip and prevented jams. (All those who have had such a jam with a Mauser, please raise your hand … I thought so.)
While it didn’t increase reliability, it did create a headache for gunsmiths. Fitting a new barrel to a Mauser is simple, if exacting. But once you’ve fit and headspaced a Model 70, you then have to carefully mark the barrel, remove it from the action, mill the extractor clearance slot through the edge of the coned breech and reinstall it.
This is what a high-tech sight system looked like in 1941: open notch for most, with target rifles getting an aperture on the rear receiver.
Lady in Waiting
My intention with this rifle was to get it set up for hunting … and then hunt. Well, in the 30-plus years since I acquired it, I have done that exactly not once. It has had two or three different scope bases and rings on it and a half-dozen scopes, all pulled off for some other project. It once again has the scope and rings on it that it was wearing when it first arrived here. I’ve used it in articles, and chrono’d ammunition in it, but I’ve never had the chance to hunt with it.
And as time goes by, it’s in very nice shape; it might get to be too much of a collectible to hunt with. (Yes, I have the original stock around here … someplace.)
And then, just in time for this article, I scored another Model 70 at a really good price. It needs some scrubbing, and it’s a better candidate as a hunting rifle. It’s a postwar rifle, made in 1952, with a “52” barrel date on it … which I find mildly amusing. Both of my Winchester Model 70s were made at a time when Winchester was distracted by making Garands. The first one for World War II, the second for Korea.
Pre-war, the caliber marking on barrels for the .30-06 was different: 30GOVT06 was what shooters knew it as.
The postwar safety works as we expect, being fully on the right side, and working just fine underneath a scope. The barrel marking is also different. Pre-war, they marked barrels in .30-06 as “30GOVT06”. Postwar Winchester went to “30-06-SPRG.” They also did away with the stripper clip slot, postwar.
By the postwar period, Winchester had abandoned the stripper clip slot on the rear bridge. More shooters wanted scopes than stripper-clip reloads.
We will not speak of the changes made for the post-64 rifles, which is a painful subject to be discussed later. And, that’s assuming I can bring myself to acquire one of those [shudder].
You may be thinking, Well, old rifles may be nice, but so what? They knew how to make rifles back then. In fact, the Model 70 was pretty much a hand-built rifle, which wasn’t unusual in the days (decades, again, really) before CAD-CAM and CNC machining. The bolt is so slick that people who handle a pre-’64 70 think that it has been hand-lapped or something. Nope, just really slick.
And, they’re plenty accurate enough. No, you are not going to post a competitive score in a PRS match with one, since it won’t shoot sub-half-MOA ever, let alone all the time. But can you? And will the deer or elk care that you are using a “merely” MOA rifle?
My pre-war Model 70 is a walnut and steel rifle, from a time when hunting was hunting—not sniping—and the latest thing in synthetic materials were nylon stockings. I’ll admit that at 8 pounds bare, and over 9 pounds once there’s a scope, sling and ammunition onboard, it isn’t a mountain rifle. But that weight comes in handy when you touch off a .30-06.
Put a muzzle brake on it, you say?
Heresy!
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Need a classy leather holster for a 1911 or a pistol with a red dot? Here we check out the Galco Thunderclap and Hawkeye.
September of last year, I was taking a shooting class when my friend, Sheriff Jim Wilson, asked me to stop by his room. When I went in, I noticed a 1911 Colt Commander pistol lying on the table. I sat down and the former West Texas sheriff picked the pistol up and said, have a look at it. It was well-worn; you could tell it had spent a lot of time in a hand and in a holster. It was also a product of Novak’s custom shop out of Parkersburg, West Virginia.
Cycling the action and assessing the trigger, I said, “This is a damn fine pistol, Jim.”
In his matter-of-fact way, the Sheriff said, “I know. That’s one of my raid guns. It’s yours now.”
I didn’t really know what to say, but I knew if a man was giving me a gun this fine, he really wanted me to have it. Arguing would have been useless and disrespectful. I thanked the Sheriff, and I told him I’d been given a lot of gifts in my lifetime, but few could compare to this one.
Over the next 6 months, that Commander and I have gotten to know each other well. Though I don’t carry it that often, it sleeps on my nightstand. What I’d had trouble finding was a holster that seemed fitting for such a fine and storied pistol. For many years, my go-to outside-the-waistband (OWB) holster has been the Galco Avenger. An Avenger for a 1911 will also work for a Browning Hi Power, so that makes the holster a great fit for me. And aside from that, the Avenger is just a great utility and training holster. But, for a gun like the one the Sheriff had given me, the Avenger just seemed a bit too … plain.
I’d contemplated having a custom holster made for the Commander, but I’d been unable to decide. Then, one day I received a package from Galco. Mike Barham at Galco knows how much I like the Avenger, and he’d sent me Galco’s new Thunderclap holster. The Thunderclap is very similar in style to the Avenger, but it’s a bit more elegant. It’s also the first holster in Galco’s new MasterBilt series of best-quality, premium-grade holsters. Galco makes these holsters from the best premium saddle leather available, and these holsters finish drying on a last, so they conform to the pistol perfectly. This is why there’s no need for a tension screw like on the Avenger. It’s also lined with smooth leather like you’ll find only on high-end custom holsters that have been crafted in the best custom shops.
Galco designed the Thunderclap holster so that you can establish a full shooting grip while the handgun is still in it.
The holster also has a neutral—nearly vertical—cant, which allows for a fast, wrist-locked draw stroke, where you can get a full firing grip on the gun while it’s still in the holster. The opening is reinforced to make holstering effortless. There’s also a metal-reinforced tunnel-style belt loop with a support extension behind the belt to help hold the holster in place. I couldn’t imagine a finer holster for such a fine gun.
The problem, however, was that the first Thunderclap holster offered—the one Barnham sent me—was for a 5-inch 1911. Unless you just have no sense of style or are appearing on The Walking Dead, you simply don’t carry a Commander in a full-size 1911 holster. It’s considered insulting to the more compact pistol … and it will cause the ghosts of gunfighters past to haunt you.
But, in February, I was out at Gunsite Academy again and ran into Mike Barham who, like the Sheriff, had brought me a present. (I may have to go there more often—I just keep getting gifts when I’m there.) It was the second holster in the Thunderclap line, and it was for a Commander-sized 1911. I think the good Sheriff would approve; my special legacy pistol now has the perfect place to ride anytime I want it with me.
The Hawkeye Holster
In addition to the Thunderclap, Galco also has a new Hawkeye holster. This is an inside-the-waistband (IWB) holster specifically designed for pistols and revolvers with reflex sights. Though I remain unconvinced that reflex sights are the optimum answer for concealed carry, they’re very popular and the current trend with manufacturers and trainers. Regardless of mine or your opinion on them, what’s been missing is a high-quality IWB holster for pistols, and especially revolvers, equipped with these modern sighting devices.
Galco is offering the new Hawkeye holster for pistols and revolvers with reflex sights. It’s available in black or tan.
The Hawkeye has a slight butt-forward cant and is available in high-quality black or tan leather, and it’s also available for right- or left-hand carry. The smooth leather rides comfortably against your body, and it comes with removable belt loops for 1¼-, 1½- and 1¾-inch wide belts. Though I’m sure there will soon be more handguns the Hawkeye will fit, currently it’s only offered for the Sig Sauer P365 X-Macro, with and without a reflex sight, and for the Taurus 3-inch 856 T.O.R.O.
All three of these new holsters will pair very nicely with Galco’s 1½-inch, SB2 Casual Holster Belt. And, like a wise Sheriff often tells anyone wise enough to listen, if you’re going to carry a handgun in a holster, make sure it’s a good holster and that it’s attached to a damned good belt.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
We take a quick look at the Bodyguard 2.0, Smith & Wesson’s new .380 ACP concealed carry pistol.
Micro 9mm concealed carry pistols are all the rage these days, but some still prefer their small automatics to be chambered for .380 ACP. The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard series has been a popular choice for .380 Auto carry pistols for years, but the company is now majorly updating the design with the release of the Bodyguard 2.0.
Featuring a barrel length of 2.75 inches, a 4-inch height, a width of 0.88 inches and a weight of 9.8 ounces (unloaded), the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 series is available either with or without a thumb safety. Besides the inclusion of a manual safety, the two models are otherwise the same and both ship with one flush-fit 10-round magazine and one 12-round mag. Other features include black U-notch rear sights, tritium front sights and crisp flat-face triggers.
Andrew Gore, Handgun Product Manager at Smith & Wesson, said this about the new pistol:
The Bodyguard 2.0 is a breakthrough new micro-sized striker-fired pistol from Smith & Wesson. Although small in size, the Bodyguard 2.0 has an impressive capacity, crisp trigger-pull, and exceptional controllability. The combination of new aggressive, but not sharp, slide serrations, and strategic texturing over the frame aid in the pistol’s superior performance leading it to the front of the micro category. The Bodyguard 2.0 is the micro pistol you have always wanted, and now can have,
MSRP for the Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 is $449 and it’s available now.
We analyze a road rage incident that lead to attempted murder charges.
In a shocking display of road rage, an Indiana truck driver has been charged with attempted murder and nine additional felony charges after ramming his vehicle into another motorist. The harrowing incident, which took place on April 20, 2024, was captured on home security video, revealing the intense and potentially deadly confrontation.
According to the police report, 35-year-old Dustin L. Roecker is accused of plowing his truck into another driver at high speed while the victim stood outside his car after noticing the truck follow him and his passenger home from a night out. The startling footage shows the red truck accelerating toward the man while the passenger is still in his parked car, slamming into him and nearly pinning him between the two vehicles. If you watch and listen to the video, you can hear the truck accelerate toward the man standing outside his car.
Miraculously, the victim survived the violent impact. The video then shows him leaping onto the crumpled wreck of his car and opening fire on Roecker, who was still inside the truck. With a female passenger still in the victim’s car, the situation escalated to a life-threatening level.
After the shooting began, Roecker can be seen bailing from his truck through the driver-side window to avoid being shot further. However, his escape was short-lived as he was eventually apprehended by law enforcement following a pursuit. Authorities stated that Roecker had managed to steal a car to aid his getaway attempt.
Roecker, a resident of Bloomington, now faces multiple charges, including attempted murder, aggravated battery, battery by means of a deadly weapon, resisting law enforcement and auto theft. The victim sustained leg injuries and was rushed to the hospital, while his female passenger suffered only minor injuries.
According to the initial investigation, there appeared to be no prior relationship between Roecker and the victim. The victim reported noticing the red truck following him but did not know the reason behind it.
Takeaways
This shocking case of road rage escalating to extreme violence serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining composure and safety on the roads. While there might have been nothing that the victim here could’ve done differently, it’s a reminder that we should avoid road rage incidents. The consequences of such actions can be devastating and life-altering for all parties involved.
When faced with a situation where someone is driving a car toward you in an apparent attempt to attack, your primary focus should be on avoiding the threat and protecting your life. In Indiana, based on what’s shown in the video, it appears that the use of deadly force would’ve been justified here. Indiana’s self-defense statute states, in part, that:
A person is justified in using reasonable force, including deadly force, against any other person; and does not have a duty to retreat; if the person reasonably believes that the force is necessary to prevent or terminate the other person’s unlawful entry of or attack on the person’s dwelling, curtilage, or occupied motor vehicle.
An analysis of the victim’s response fits squarely within elements of self-defense in Indiana. Faced with an imminent threat to his life, the victim acted swiftly to protect himself. In situations where individuals are confronted with lethal force, the law often permits the use of reasonable force to defend oneself or others from harm. The victim’s decision to fire upon his attacker can be interpreted as a necessary measure to neutralize the threat and ensure his survival.
As A Last Resort
If unable to get out of the way, you may need to use your lawful right to self-defense by disabling the driver or vehicle as a last resort to prevent being struck. This could potentially involve using a firearm if you are lawfully armed, and it is necessary to protect yourself from grievous bodily harm or death.
Merely damaging the vehicle (e.g., breaking windows) is unlikely to stop the threat and could escalate the situation further. The driver’s intent to cause you harm must be inferred from their actions. Here, the inference is obvious, and you would be justified in using reasonable force, including deadly force, to stop the threat. Just because the vehicle is disabled, it would be reasonable to believe that the person intends to do harm to you. So, using force to stop the threat would be justified. This case also illustrates why you might consider ammunition that is effective through barriers, such as glass.
The use of deadly force in self-defense carries heavy legal risks, so it must be an absolute last resort when confronted with a credible threat of death or grievous bodily harm that cannot be safely evaded. De-escalation and avoidance should always be the top priorities, but when you must use deadly force, be mentally prepared to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Want to buy a thermal scope? Here we discuss important considerations when shopping for one and go over the best models for helping you see what’s hot.
Thermal scopes are getting increasingly popular, so there are quite a few options on the market. How do you know what’s best for you? Which features will match your intended use? What models fall inside your budget?
Here we're going to go over what thermal scopes are, how they differ from night vision optics, what you should look for when choosing one and finally the best examples of thermal scopes you can buy right now.
Thermal Scope Development
A thermal scope is a compact thermographic camera that detects the infrared spectrum (IR) and displays the heat signature of objects.
Heat is a form of energy. Because it radiates outward, it is therefore also radiation! To detect it with the naked eye you need a special device capable of transforming these heat signatures into images, hence the thermographic camera.
The first thermal imaging equipment didn't emerge until the 1950s, and those were very large, very slow and could only generate a single image. Thermal imaging with mass sensor arrays was also developed for line scanning (like for detecting a missile launch) as part of national defense systems, such as the Yellow Duckling system used by the British.
The first portable thermal cameras emerged in the 1970s, initially for industrial uses (linemen, EMTs and firefighters were early adopters and current users) and later were repurposed for military applications. Sensor development began in earnest as solid-state (transistor) components became more common eventually culminating in increasingly useful and compact digital IR detecting devices.
Thermal Vision Vs Night Vision
Now, it’s important to understand that thermal vision differs from night vision.
Night vision devices—NVDs—don't detect heat, they amplify ambient light. NVDs convert photons (light particles) into electrons (electric particles) and create an image. Analog NVDs use cathodes and digital ones use a processor. However, because NVDs rely on some amount of ambient light to function, they also require an IR illuminator to work in total darkness.
Thermal cameras, however, do not require light. They have a far longer useful range (if powerful enough), and are functional in daytime.
The military/defensive applications are obvious. For civilians, one of the most popular uses is for lawful night hunting.
A wild pig as seen through a L3Harris LWTS thermal scope. Photo: Botach.
Night hunting is illegal for most regulated game species. However, unregulated game species, such as feral hogs, are typically fair game (check your local laws first). In turn, thermal scopes are popular in feral hog-infested areas and will only increase in popularity as the problem spreads.
Thermal Vision 101
Light and other forms of electromagnetic (and other) radiation have a wavelength, a frequency. That wavelength determines color and visibility, just like how the frequency of a sound determines its pitch (A, for example, is 440 hertz) in music.
Visible light only makes up about 10 percent of the total electromagnetic spectrum. Ergo, normal cameras can't detect the other 90 percent.
Normal human vision picks up wavelengths between about 380 to 750 nanometers. The ends of the visible spectrum are violet in the 380 nm to 450 nm range and red in the 625 nm to 750 nm range. Light with a shorter wavelength than 380 nm is ultraviolet, and light with a wavelength of more than 750 nm is infrared until you cross into the higher (x-rays, gamma rays, etc.) and lower (microwaves, radio waves, etc.) ends of the spectrum.
Thermal scopes (or any thermal imaging device) detect heat in the form of IR radiation and convert it into an image. The device interprets the wavelengths into into different colors and levels of contrast on the display to visually differentiate between the temperatures and shapes of objects.
There are different types of sensors used for various thermographic imaging purposes, but most thermal scopes (especially on the civilian hunting market) use Long Wave Infrared or LWIR sensors. The other two kinds, Short Wave and Medium Wave, have their uses but mostly outside of small arms optics.
Thermal Scope Features
A thermal scope, then, is simply a compact thermal camera with a reticle that can be mounted on a firearm. That said, the design, features and overall quality of the device all affect what role it will best be suited for.
The heart of the optic is the sensor array and the display. A good sensor array is useless if the display can’t accurately show you what’s been detected, and a good display isn’t worth much if the sensors are underpowered in comparison. Both are required if you want to see an accurate depiction of the IR wavelengths you’re pointing the scope at.
The current industry standard for sensors is 12-micron pixel pitch sensor, but 17-micron pixel pitch sensors are becoming more common. As for the resolution, lower-end scopes tend to have 320×240 displays, 400×300 is mid-grade and 640×480 is what you find at the top of the market. Current U.S. military issue optics include devices like the AN/PAS-13B (by Raytheon) and Leonardo DRS INOD Block III. Both are cooled LWIR devices with clip-on (Picatinny rail) capability, 640×480 resolution and a 12-micron sensor. The L3Harris PAS-13G, a more compact version of the 13B, has a 17-micron sensor.
The point is that the higher the resolution, the sharper the image…but balance that with your use case. The more detail you need to see, the more important the definition quality is and the more you’ll need to pay for it.
Using a thermal scope for finding whitetails or hogs on a high fence hunt? 400×300 or a bit less will do you fine. If you’re an officer at a small department that has to purchase your own equipment? Target detection and discrimination are hugely important. Ergo, get the highest definition you can. Range is also something to consider, as the more magnification or zoom a scope has the better the resolution will need to be to clearly see objects at the higher levels.
Refresh Rate & Display Features
The refresh rate is also something to consider, as the higher the Hertz the faster it will show you what’s actually being detected.
Other important aspects to consider are the display features, but these vary between models and manufacturers.
Some will give you things like picture-in-picture, others won't, and whether that matters depends on how you plan on using it.
Picture-in-picture mode as seen through a Burris thermal scope.
Some have Bluetooth capability, so you can link them to a phone app to capture or even stream footage, and some have the option to save multiple reticle configurations for different rifle/caliber setups.
Different scope models can also come with various color palettes, these give you different visual contrasts in temperature. The two most common types used for thermal scopes are black hot and white hot, but some may prefer more colorful options.
White hot (left) versus blue hot (right) color palette modes as seen through a Burris.
Other Thermal Vision Aspects
Some of the other attributes worth paying attention to are the typical things you should be aware of when it comes to rifle scopes.
Select the magnification range and field of view based on the range of hunting you're going to be doing. Stalking pigs on a Texas ranch? You don't need an 18-power scope or a Christmas tree reticle. Looking for elk on the next ridgeline so you know where to start your hunt tomorrow? Different story. A scope’s detection range and identification range are important to pay attention to here as well, but those are mostly determined by previously mentioned points such as sensor and display quality. If you need to detect or positively identify targets at further ranges, you’re going to need a quality thermal scope.
The final point worth thinking about is the battery life and the type of battery. Longer battery life is always better, but the importance of it depends again on how you’ll be using the scope. Batteries that can be quickly swapped for a fresh one are a great advantage for those who will be spending a long time in the field, but rechargeable batteries can be convenient for those who won’t be away from a power source for too long.
At the end of the day, all thermal scopes are expensive, so you’ll want to weigh your options and consider the level of quality and feature set that you need to do the job. Unfortunately, technology is pricey, so the further you need to see and the crisper you need the displayed image to be the more you’re going to have to pay.
The Light Weapon Thermal Sight by L3Harris is a current military-issue optic. It can be used on its own or as a clip-on (with a QD mount) in front of an ACOG, Aimpoint Comp or Eotech.
When it comes to sensor technology, the LWTS is hard to beat. It features a 640×480 17-micron resolution and the display has a 30 Hz refresh rate. The advertised detection range is 1,800 meters and the unit is capable of 2x digital zoom. The average battery life is an impressive 10 hours powered by four AA batteries that can be easily swapped in the field.
Other features worth mentioning include its four integrated ballistic reticles, its RS-170 Real Time Video In/Out for remote viewing and image/video capture that can be downloaded to a computer.
The biggest downside of the LWTS is the price, as they’re typically listed in the $15,000 to $16,000 range. If you want one, check the used market first as you can sometimes find lightly used units sold for significantly less.
Best Dedicated Night Hunting Scope: Burris BTH35 V2
Good quality thermal imaging and features for price
Can pair with Burris app
Cons
Battery can only be recharged via USB
Can't be used with a day optic
The Burris BTH35 V2 is a good pick for a thermal scope on a dedicated night hunting rifle, as it can’t be clipped on in front of a day optic like some other units on this list.
The BTH35 V2 has a 400×300 12-micron resolution with a refresh rate of 50Hz as well as 1-4x digital zoom and multiple color palette options. It can also pair with the Burris ballistic app to customize the reticle and subtensions to your rifle and load, and it has video streaming and image capture as well. One downside is the battery, as it can only be recharged by USB and the advertised run time is 5 hours at 25 degrees Celsius.
Thumbstick control makes using in dark or with gloves much easier
Cons
Poor battery life
Compact, light, and designed for military use in a multipurpose role. It can be mounted on a rifle as a dedicated scope, a clip-on with a day optic or mounted on a helmet as a monocular.
The IR-Patrol has a 640×480 12-micron pixel sensor array and a 60Hz refresh rate. It also has 1-8x digital zoom, multiple contrast modes and a thumbstick control for easier manipulation in the dark.
The only big downside is the advertised battery life of only 2 hours per battery, but it’s powered by a single CR123 that can be swapped in the field. It’s also expensive and the base model does not include a rifle mount so you will need to purchase that separately. MSRP starts at $6,047.
Best Budget Model: Sightmark Wraith Mini Thermal Riflescope
Sightmark's Wraith Mini packs a lot of features for the price tag in a compact form factor that works well for light modern carbines or hunting rifles with a Picatinny rail.
The Wraith Mini features a 384×288 resolution 17-micron sensor with 2x optical magnification and 1-8x digital zoom. Power comes from two CR123A batteries with an advertised run time of up to 4.4 hours in preview (non-video) mode. Onboard memory allows for multiple presets, which lets you swap the optic across rifles of different calibers, change reticles and contrast modes and even capture video and audio. The housing is aluminum and it’s rated up to .308 Winchester. It also has multiple color palettes and an advertised detection range of 1,280 meters. At under 7 inches long and 1.2 pounds, it doesn't add too much bulk to a rifle, either.
Very limited thermal range in comparison to other models
Not yet available
The DRS-TH is the thermal model of Holosun’s DRS series, and it’s perfect for modern carbines such as those .300 Blackout SBRs that a lot of folks hunt hogs with. The most interesting and novel feature of the DRS-TH is the thermal portion is displayed on an overlay, so it can be flipped down to allow the optic to function as a standard red dot.
The DRS-TH has a 256×192 resolution sensor, but the micron pixel pitch isn’t listed. That’s a bit low compared to most other thermals, but keep in mind that this is designed to be primarily used as a red dot and the 50 Hz refresh rate helps compensate for that. That said, it does feature up to 8x digital zoom as well. The optic includes Holosun's Multiple Reticle System (65 MOA ring, 2 MOA center dot or both) and either a Cross or T-style thermal reticle. Power comes from two 18350 batteries and the advertised battery life is 12 hours. Other features worth mentioning include its multiple color palette options and its on-board image and video recording.
The only hitch is that the optic is pre-order only at the time of this writing, though it’s anticipated to be released soon and the early reviews that have been published make it look quite promising. The DRS-TH will retail for around $1,600, but you're not going to find a similar thermal red dot from a reputable manufacturer for anywhere near that MSRP.
Here we check out the Holosun EPS, one of the many pistol red dot options available at GunMag Warehouse.
Most likely you know GunMag Warehouse has a massive catalog of gun magazines for sale. If you need a spare mag, the site likely has it. But these days most shooters are after a lot more than magazines. Never fear, GunMag Warehouse has you covered. For instance, if you’re in the market for a pistol red dot the company has an impressive offering of those as well. Today we’ll look at one of those optics, the Holosun EPS.
In pistol optics, the latest design trend is the enclosed red dot. For years, the standard for pistol dots has been to have a single lens with the emitter sitting out in the open behind it. Mostly, these work fine, but are prone to one huge problem: debris obscuring the emitter.
It’s probably not something you’d notice at the range, but in any adverse environment an obstruction can happen easier than you realize. Rain, snow, dust or even lint from your shirt can all fall in front of the emitter and cause the red dot to stop functioning. On a concealed carry or personal defense handgun this is less than optimal.
As it turns out, the solution to this issue is simple enough—just make the red dot enclosed like high-powered scopes. Holosun’s take on the concept is the EPS (Enclosed Pistol Sight) series.
Holosun makes quite a few different variants of the EPS, but the two distinct models are the EPS and the EPS Carry. All of the other models differ only in their reticle style or color. As their names imply, the Carry model is slightly smaller and intended for CCW pistols while the standard EPS is for larger handguns. Both feature the Holosun K optics footprint and can be installed on any compatible slide. For increased compatibility, each one ships with an adaptor plate as well. The EPS Carry includes an RMSc-to-K plate while the EPS comes with an RMR-to-K plate.
The exact model we'll focus on is called the EPS Red 6, so named because it features a 6-MOA red dot. Holosun also offers it with green dots, 2-MOA dots and Holosun’s Multi-Reticle System.
And, yes, GunMag Warehouse has every EPS model available.
Setting Up The EPS
Like all Holosun products, the EPS arrives in a slick box reminiscent of smartphone packaging. Inside, it includes everything you need to get the optic mounted and ready to go—a user manual, a lens cloth, an installation/adjustment tool, the aforementioned adaptor plate, a couple of different sizes of mounting screws and the EPS red dot itself.
Installation is easy. First, using one set of the included screws and the tool, the adaptor plate is installed on the pistol’s slide. Next, the other set of screws is used to install the EPS to the adaptor plate on the slide. A torque wrench helps to ensure these are installed to Holosun’s specifications. After allowing enough time for the thread locker to cure it’s ready to be zeroed.
Speaking of zeroing, you’ll only need to do it once. The optic is powered by a 1620 battery (one is included). This power source only needs to be changed after approximately 5 years (advertised battery life is 50,000 hours). Additionally, that job is easy too since the side-mounted compartment means the EPS can stay mounted on the gun. The Shake Awake feature also helps prolong when the battery needs replacing even further.
On The Range
At the end of the day, a red dot is a red dot, and the best feature one can have is reliability. If the dot stays securely attached, retains its zero and doesn’t have any electronic malfunctions, it’s already doing better than a lot of what’s on the market. The Holosun EPS passed these tests handily.
As for actually shooting with it, it performs great there as well. The glass is very clear and the dot is very bright and crisp, and the manual adjustment buttons allow you to easily cycle through the twelve brightness settings (4 for night vision, 8 for daylight) to find what suits the current environment best. The 6-MOA dot model is especially suited to a home defense pistol, a large reticle helping with quick target acquisitions at close ranges.
The fact that the EPS is an enclosed red dot had no negative consequences. Yes, there’s a second lens to look through, but it is incredibly clear and has excellent light transmission through the generously sized windows. All that second lens means is you don’t have to worry about keeping your emitter clean.
With an MSRP of $388.22, the EPS isn’t the most affordable pistol red dot in Holosun’s catalog, but it is significantly less expensive than comparable enclosed models from companies like Aimpoint. Better yet, you won’t have to pay the MSRP, because GunMag Warehouse has them listed for only $329.99.
If you need a seriously rugged and capable red dot for a pistol, browsing the EPS series on GunMag Warehouse is a good place to start.
Looking for a simple yet satisfying upgrade for your 1911 pistol? Here we take a look at Nighthawk's drop-in 1911 trigger.
One of the joys of the 1911 is that it can have an excellent trigger. “Excellent” is not a guarantee, but even an average 1911 trigger pull is lightyears ahead of the standard polymer-framed pistol. (Yes, I’m looking at you, Glock.) Polymer pistols have gotten better, and yes, you can get a much-improved trigger pull in your polymer pistol—but at a cost.
So, you want an even better trigger pull in your 1911? What if I told you that you could get it with a drop-in kit? Yes, drop in and go, and you’re done. No, not a bag full of parts, but a self-contained unit that made your 1911 all it could be.
Call Nighthawk.
Yes, each Nighthawk drop-in trigger has a serial number. And why not? It’s a first-class piece of gear and deserves to be uniquely identified.
The Nighthawk drop-in trigger assembly is a self-contained packet that you simply install as is. No tuning, short of the three-leaf spring (which in the Nighthawk is now a one-leaf spring) to adjust the grip safety tension.
The big deal in regard to tuning a 1911 trigger is that thousandths of an inch matter: The hooks that the sear tip rest in might only be 0.018-inch tall—18 thousandths. So, if the sear or hammer pin holes of your frame are off by a thousandth or two, the hammer and sear need to accommodate that. (And, there are darned few frames where the holes are absolutely dead-on, by the way.) That’s what your pistolsmith sweats when he improves your trigger pull.
The drop-in trigger system eliminates that potential mismatch, and there’s no tuning on your part—Nighthawk already did it.
Here it is: Everything you need for a drop-in trigger job. Disassemble your 1911, give it a good cleaning, install this and you’re done.
When you install the drop-in trigger, the entire packet “floats” on the hammer and sear pins you use in reassembly. The drop-in trigger is set up for a trigger pull between 3¾ and 4 pounds. That might seem like a lot if you think you need an IPSC Grandmaster trigger pull of 2 pounds, but if you’re new to the 1911, that weight will seem like magic coming from your poly-whatever. And even if you are accustomed to nice trigger pulls, the clean and crisp setting Nighthawk builds in will make the drop-in seem a pound lighter than it really is.
And, the beauty of it is you don’t have to send your 1911 off and wait months for a custom trigger job. You can install it yourself. Yes, you could buy custom parts and install them yourself, but if there’s a mismatch—even minor—you’re now deep into fitting, stoning, tuning and timing. Or you could send it off. The cost? Yes, $299 might seem a bit spendy, but have you priced the cost (plus shipping both ways) of a custom trigger job? Yikes.
You might have to fit or refit your thumb safety, depending on what the installer had to do to make it fit, but that’s a lot easier than hammer hooks and sear noses work. Will the Nighthawk work in all 1911s? In my experience, if the frame holes are correct enough that you can fit the pins through the Nighthawk drop-in trigger, yes, it’ll work. If they aren’t, that isn’t Nighthawk’s fault.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
When it comes to choosing the best concealed carry holster, the process has never been more difficult. A particular holster may be perfectly made, designed to mold to every curve and crevice of the human body, light as a feather, and breathable as mountain air. The difficulty is, if it doesn’t feel right when you wear it, it’s not worth a penny.
What attributes make the best concealed carry holster? Like a lot of things in life, that depends – in this case on your clothing choices, CCW handgun and lifestyle.
Luckily, the holster market is nearly limitless. If you can conceive of a potential way to carry a handgun, there’s somebody out there stitching together a CCW holster that'll work. All you need to do is to find it.
Here we’ll look into what makes a good concealed carry holster, what types are available and some recommendations of the top models out there today. From there, you should find yourself armed with enough knowledge to hunt down the best concealed carry holster to fit your needs and enhance your experience.
What Makes A Good Concealment Holster?
Regardless of the style of handgun holster you opt for, it should be capable of a few basic functions. Obviously, if you want the best concealed carry holster, concealability is chief among the attributes you’ll need. Beyond that, there are a number of safety and other considerations you’ll need to take into account. Let’s go through them.
Fit: Holster fits both your gun and your body Retention: Holds gun firmly in place, without any worry about it slipping out. Concealable: Reiterate, it must enhance the ability to conceal a handgun on your person. Protects Handgun: You’ll sweat, so your holster must provide a barrier from moisture. Protects You: Must cover the trigger completely to avoid a negligent discharge while holstered. Enhances Draw: Holster must allow a full combat grip on your draw; cleanly works with the rest of your attire. Enhances Re-holstering: The holster mouth doesn’t collapse after drawing, allowing a clean and quick re-holster. Comfort: Simply, if it doesn’t feel right on your person, you won’t wear it, pretty much blowing the whole carrying thing to hell.
Considerations
Funny as it may sound, it’s not all the holster’s job to get it right. You’ve got to meet the piece of gear halfway in some respects. You need to put some hard and heavy thought into the clothes you wear, whether or not you’ll invest in a new wardrobe, the lifestyle you live, the type of gun you plan to carry and your proficiency with it.
If you do, you’ll go a long way in figuring out what the best concealed carry holster is for your particular circumstances.
An example. Say you drive for a living, an inside-the-waistband holster – particularly those carried past the 3 o’clock position, might prove an uncomfortable choice. Furthermore, it could hinder a draw when on the job. Neither ideal.
Or if you wear shorts and a T-shirt all the time, it all but precludes an out-side-the-waistband holster. Additionally, a full-sized 1911 might not top the list as your preferred defensive handgun choice. Absolutely, you can conceal this style of pistol under this type of garb, but your options are severely limited in how you do so.
Also, your risk profile can play a role in how you carry. By risk profile I mean the likelihood you’ll become involved in a lethal-force event. Certainly, this is not a set-in-stone guideline and depending on how much and where you travel in a day it can change. Evaluating this variable, however, goes a long way in finding the holster best suited for you. A small urban business owner who walks his till daily to deposit has much different needs and concerns from somebody who telecommutes to work every day from the comfort of their own home.
For more information on the best concealed carry holster check out:
The key to all these factors is flexibility, not simply in the holster you choose, but the gun you carry and how you conceal it. This shouldn’t mean you compromise. But something as simple the willingness to add an additional layer of clothing or the position in which you plan to carry your gun can make all the difference.
The Best Concealed Carry Holster Styles
There are a few other specialty holsters out there, but for the most part these are the most popular concealed carry options available:
OWB Holster
IWB Holster
Appendix Carry Holster
Cross Draw Holster
Shoulder Holster
Belly Band Holster
Ankle Holster
Pocket Holster
Certainly, somewhere in this mass, there has to be the perfect one for you.
OWB Holster
Attaching to your gun belt on the outside of the pants, the outside-the-waistband holster is one of the most comfortable ways to carry. Outside perhaps the confines of a car’s bucket seat, an OWB Holster won’t dig into your side. Additionally, when made of good leather or Kydex (a type of plastic) it is among the easiest concealed carry holsters to draw from. The grip is clearly presented allowing you to get your entire hand around it with little or no impediment.
The downside, OWB holsters are more difficult to conceal. If you go this route plan on an additional layer of clothing, such as a jacket or second shirt. Furthermore, make certain the clothing covers the entirety of the gun and holster. You don’t want to “make” yourself (inadvertantly disclose you're armed) by simply bending over to pick something off the floor.
Top OWB Holster: Galco Combat Master Belt Holster
Specs
Material: Premium Steerhide Cant: butt-forward Belt Size: Up to 1.75 inches Red Dot Compatible: No MSRP: $132 Website:galcogunleather.com
Pros
Good concealability
Easy to draw
Classy looks
Cons
Not adjustable for cant
Not compatible with red dots
Galco’s tough to beat, especially the classic pancake design of the Combat Master Belt Holster. It flattens tight against the body, while providing plenty of room to access a handgun. Tough as iron, the steerhide is durable and has a long lifespan. It’s damn good looking to boot.
Material: Kydex Cant: Vertical Belt Size: 1.5 Inches (standard) Red Dot Compatible: Not listed, appears to be compatible MSRP: $59.99 Website: outlawholsters.com
Pros
Huge list of compatible handgun models
Additional belt attachment options
Relatively affordable
Cons
Some users report that the standard belt loops aren't the most comfortable
Hugging the body tightly and cutting down the profile of your pistol, the Kryptek Typhon Kydex OWB holster is tough to beat. Rigid, the holster consistently presents your gun’s butt so drawing is second nature. Options for multiple belt attachments also adds a lot of versatility to the system.
IWB Holster
Kissing cousin to the OWB holster, the inside-the-waistband holster is perhaps the most prolific carry method today. As its name suggests, the holster is carried on the inside of the pants and close to your body. This intimate position reduces printing (when the outline of a gun is visible through clothing), thus is a highly concealable method.
IWB holsters come in many styles and systems, from multi-material hybrid holsters to simple leather models. How particular models attach can also vary, but a majority nowadays utilize clips and loops that attach over the pants to a belt.
Clandestine, the IWB holster has a few wrinkles that you must consider before going this route. Given their position, they tend to be more difficult to draw from and require a fair amount of practice to perfect. They turn up the heat in the hotter months, given they directly contact the skin. And finding a comfortable model takes effort and patience.
Top IWB Holster: Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.5
Specs
Material: Polymer and Neoprene Cant: Adjustable Belt Size: Not listed Red Dot Compatible: No MSRP: $64.88 Website:aliengearholsters.com
Pros
Breathable Neoprene
Cant, ride and retention are adjustable
Cons
Some find that this style of IWB is too wide and less comfortable than pure Kydex designs
The Cloak Tuck is a rarity in IWB Holsters — comfortable. Breathable perforated Neoprene backing keeps the holster cool against your body, which makes it ideal for hot-weather carry. Adjustable cant, ride and retention make it among the most flexible options on the market. Tack on Alien Gear’s excellent customer service and you’ve got a winner.
Runner-Up: We The People Holsters Custom Kydex IWB
Specs
Material: Kydex Cant: Adjustable Belt Size: Up to 1.5 inches Red Dot Compatible: Yes (certain models) MSRP: Starts at $54 Website:wethepeopleholster.com
Pros
Extremely slim and concealable
Good choice of interesting designs
Red dot sight compatible models available
Adjustable cant and ride
Cons
Without the optional foam backing, hard Kydex can be uncomfortable on skin when carrying for prolonged periods
We The People Holsters’ Custom Kydex IWB line has a lot going for it. Besides being about as slim and trim as Kydex IWB holsters come, the models in this line are also very affordable and are available with many more color and pattern options than what most other companies offer. The most basic black models start at $41 but spending a few dollars more can get your holster adorned with camouflage, American flags, the Constitution or even “Let’s Go Brandon” just to name a few. They fit 1.5-inch belts, are available in both right- and left-hand configurations and can be upgraded with a We The People Holster Claw that’s sold separately.
Appendix Carry Holster
Essentially an OWB or IWB holster that is generally slimmer in overall dimensions, making it easier to carry a gun in the front of your person. In recent years, appendix carry has become somewhat controversial. Some instructors refuse to teach the style of carry, due to safety concerns, namely the tendency to contentiously muzzle sweep some part of the body. This is especially true if you happen to be … ahem … a man. Additionally, it’s not generally considered the most comfortable way to carry, particularly among the heftier armed citizens.
Still, an appendix carry holster fills a niche for certain shooters. It facilitates a fast draw for righties and lefties when seated, say driving. It guards against a gun grab executed from the rear. And, at least among the slender, it tends to conceal nicely.
Top Appendix Carry Holster: Concealment Express IWB Kydex
Specs
Material: Kydex Cant: Adjustable Belt Size: Up to 1.5 inches Red Dot Compatible: Yes (certain models) MSRP: Starts at $41.95 Website:roundedgear.com
Pros
Very thin, easy to conceal
Red dot sight compatible models available
Adjustable cant
Cons
Hard Kydex can be uncomfortable on skin when carrying for prolonged periods
Not exclusively for appendix carry—it will perform in nearly any position—the holster is an excellent option up front. It presents plenty of your handgun's grip making a draw intuitive, while still keeping it low enough to conceal. Adjustable cant and retention give you the ability to fine-tune the holster to your preferences.
Runner-Up: L.A.G. MK 2 AIWB
Specs
Material: Kydex Cant: Adjustable Belt Size: Up to 1.75 inches Red Dot Compatible: MSRP: Yes Website:lagtactical.com
Pros
Red dot sight compatible models available
Adjustable cant
Includes two sizes of appendix claws
Cons
Hard Kydex can be uncomfortable on skin when carrying for prolonged periods
Precision designed and pressure formed, L.A.G. MK 2 AIWB holster is purpose made for the task. Two different height wedges allow you to adjust how tightly the rig fits your body and adjustable cant lets you micro tailor the presentation of your gun. It’s also lightning fast on the draw.
Cross-Draw Holster
Again, most IWB and OWB holster can fit the bill. But in recent years outside-the-waistband cross-draw holster models have gained popularity. Typically slim options with a lot of play in the cant (how much the gun is angled) are favored, reducing muzzle sweeps common in appendix holsters. Cross-draw holsters are carried support side (weak side), away from the dominant hand in the 1 or 2 o’clock position. As the name implies, a draw is executed by reaching across the body.
The style of carry proves useful for those seated for long periods, giving unimpeded access for both right and left-handers. However, it suffers the same drawbacks as appendix holsters, in they’re more difficult to conceal. More so, given they’re right up front.
Top Cross Draw Holster: Wright Regulator Cross Draw Holster
Specs
Material: Leather Cant: Angled for cross-draw Belt Size: Up to 1.75 inches Red Dot Compatible: Yes (with upcharge) MSRP: Starts at $135 Website:wrightleatherworks.com
Pros
Huge list of compatible handgun models, including some equipped with lasers
Can be ordered with a red dot cut
Comfortable and attractive leather
Cons
Not adjustable
Lacking some of the adjustment found in other models, the Regulator more than makes up for it in concealability, performance and quality. Holding the handgun high and tight against the body, the holster greatly reduces the likelihood of printing while providing excellent access. Built from rich, fine-grained leather, it also might be among one of the best looking holsters on the list.
Runner-Up: DeSantis Sky Cop
Specs
Material: Premium saddle leather Cant: Angled for cross-draw Belt Size: Up to 1.5 inches Red Dot Compatible: No MSRP: $97.99 Website:desantisholsters.com
Pros
Comfortable and attractive leather
Cons
Relatively limited handgun model options
No options for red dots or accessories
Not adjustable
Situated at an excellent height and designed to carry full-sized pistols, DeSantis’ Sky Cop is a tactically proficient cross draw holster. The nice part about the rig, it’s simple to conceal for an OWB option and comfortable, even in a sitting position. Though, outside of tension, it doesn’t offer much adjustment.
Shoulder Holster
Technically a cross draw method, shoulder holsters are worth a few words on their own. Contrary to every James Bond flick and TV detective show you’ve ever watched, they are not the most popular concealed carry holster. In fact, they’re rare.
Shoulder holster rigs are typically constructed of leather and consist of harness straps that go over the shoulder and support the gun. Generally, they are configured to hold a handgun in a vertical or horizontal position and some are adjustable between the two.
This style of holster can be tricky to conceal, a bulky jacket is advisable to avoid printing. And poorly designed ones are uncomfortable; the key is to find one with wide straps that distribute weight. The great advantage of the shoulder holster, they're a snap to draw from sitting.
Top Shoulder Holster: Alien Gear ShapeShift
Specs
Material: Leather and Neoprene Cant: Horizontal Belt Size: N/A Red Dot Compatible: No MSRP: $243.88 Website:aliengearholsters.com
Pros
Very comfortable
Modular system accommodates a lot of handgun models
Cons
Not compatible with red dots
Padded in all the right places, one of Alien Gear’s newest holsters vies to be among the most comfortable shoulder rigs around. Padded straps are the secret, along with plenty of adjustment to get the perfect fit. Boasting Level III retention with a quick-access strap, the holster removes the concerns of a gun drop. Built with stability in mind, the lightweight system keeps everything in place. It’s also compatible with all the company’s other ShapesShift products–so it’s more than just a shoulder holster.
Runner-Up: Galco’s VHS 4.0 Shoulder System
Specs
Material: Premium steerhide leather Cant: Vertical Belt Size: N/A Red Dot Compatible: Yes MSRP: $336 Website: galcogunleather.com
Pros
Classic leather style
Fits handguns equipped with red dots and lights
Vertical orientation allows for concealing larger guns
Cons
Expensive
Galco’s VHS Shoulder System is an absolute classic. Almost the archetype of a shoulder holster. It should be, considering it’s the company’s improvement on its iconic Miami shoulder holster. The key component of the steerhide rig is its four-point spider harness that pivots independently thanks to the Galco’s Flexalon swivel back plate. Field tested by the military and law enforcement, the system just the ticket for upper-body carry.
Belly Band Holster
A deep concealment method, the belly band holster is an elastic band, usually with holster pockets sewn into it to retain a handgun. Generally speaking, most are dynamite at concealing a gun, given how close it keeps one to the body.
A favored method of carry by women, belly band holsters are also excellent at keeping a gun handy while undertaking an athletic endeavor, such as jogging or biking. In most cases, a belly band eliminates all concerns of a gun drop.
They are also extremely flexible, positioning a gun nearly anywhere on the torso – armpit, waistline, small of the back, etc.
They have their drawbacks, though. Given belly bands hold a gun so close, they are not exactly quick-draw rigs. Getting a gun re-holstered in many can also tend to prove a task. Additionally, small guns are better suited to the system.
Top Belly Band Holster: Crossbreed Belly Band
Specs
Material: Leather and elastic Cant: Vertical Belt Size: N/A Red Dot Compatible: Yes MSRP: $74.95 Website:crossbreedholsters.com
Pros
Large list of compatible handgun models
Certain models can be ordered to be compatible with a weapon light and/or red dot
Extra pockets allow for carrying other items
Cons
Many who have larger builds have trouble wearing or concealing with a belly band
Can be uncomfortable to wear for extended periods, especially if sweating
A Kydex shell integral, Crossbreed’s Belly Band makes holstering as simple as drawing. The modular design has an additional length of band, providing additional support for heavier firearms. Extra pouches allow you further space to carry a flashlight, extra magazines, accessories, even a wallet.
Runner-Up: ComfortTac Belly Band
Specs
Material: Elastic and Neoprene Cant: Vertical Belt Size: N/A Red Dot Compatible: No MSRP: $39.99 Website:comforttac.com
Pros
Non-specific holster design means it's potentially compatible with a very wide array of handguns
Additional pocket and spare mag pouch
Cons
Holster design is not molded to a specific firearm, so gun is held in place by elastic and a retention strap
Many who have larger builds have trouble wearing or concealing with a belly band
Can be uncomfortable to wear for extended periods, especially if sweating
Don’t let the economical price fool you, you’ll get the whole nine yards with the ComfortTac Belly Band Holster. Designed to be worn anywhere on your torso and in any position, it's among the most flexible options on the market. Made from rugged surgical elastic, nylon and neoprene backing, the ComfortTac includes a silent-release retention strap, mag pouch and money pocket.
Ankle Holster
Working best with small semi-auto pistols and snubby revolvers, ankle holsters are a favored method to carry a backup gun. Generally not a first choice for primary carry, they have a big disadvantage requiring you to bend down and pull up your pant leg to access the gun. Still, if it’s the only feasible method to carry your primary defensive handgun, it’s better than not being armed.
Top Ankle Holster: Uncle Mike’s Ankle Holster
Specs
Material: Kodra nylon and fabric Cant: N/A Belt Size: N/A Red Dot Compatible: No MSRP: $41.45 Website:unclemikes.com
Pros
Non-specific holster design means it's potentially compatible with a very wide array of handguns
Removable leg strap allows for heavier handguns
Cons
Holster design is not molded to a specific firearm, so gun is held in place by elastic and a retention strap
While it may cost a little more than most other ankle holsters, Uncle Mike's option has a lot going for it. It has a calf loop for keeping the gun from slipping down your leg, so even carry pistols on the heavier side should be good to go. The real reason Uncle Mike's Ankle Holster is our top pick is the amount of options available. When ordering, you don't just pick whether it's a right- or left-hand model, you can also select between five sizes. These are designed to accommodate nearly any type of handgun you would want to tote on your ankle, so whatever you have, Uncle Mike has you covered.
Runner-Up: Blackhawk Nylon Ankle Holster
Specs
Material: Nylon and fabric Cant: N/A Belt Size: N/A Red Dot Compatible: No MSRP: $42.45 Website:blackhawk.com
Pros
Non-specific holster design means it's potentially compatible with a very wide array of handguns
Leg strap allows for heavier handguns
Padded to protect from moisture
Cons
Holster design is not molded to a specific firearm, so gun is held in place by elastic and a retention strap
Leg strap no removable
Surprisingly comfortable, the Blackhawk Nylon Ankle Holster makes carrying a backup gun a second thought. While it’s designed to tote only small guns (think sub-compacts and the like), it has all the features to keep them at the ready. Chief among these, its calf loop, which plants the gun firmly in place – even if you’re on your feet all day. Closed-cell backing keeps the rig cool and non-stretch retention strap ensures your gun doesn’t hop out of the holster.
Pocket Holster
An update to an age-old method of carrying a gun, the pocket holster is simple and essential to utilizing this facet of your clothing. Concealment-wise, the holster breaks up the outline of a small pistol or revolver, making it appear little more than a wallet. More importantly, it provides a level of safety, keeping the trigger covered. Remember, that’s one of the essential functions of a holster. You should never carry a gun in your pocket without the best concealed carry holster for the application.
Again, gun size is an issue. Pocket holsters are not fit for full-sized pistols. Furthermore, clothing is also a concern. Tight-fitting pants won’t fit the bill, making a timely draw all but impossible.
Pocket Holsters: Crossbreed Pocket Rocket
Specs
Material: Kydex and leather Cant: N/A Belt Size: N/A Red Dot Compatible: No MSRP: $37.95 Website:crossbreedholsters.com
Pros
Certain models can be ordered to be compatible with a weapon light
Kydex holster provides good retention
Cons
Stiff, square leather backer feels uncomfortable in pocket to some
A hybrid design, the Pocket Rocket takes pocket carry to the next level. The sturdy leather paddle reduces a small gun’s outline to little more than a wallet, while rugged Kydex holds it in place until needed. Holstering is a breeze.
Runner-Up: Clinger Holsters Comfort Cling
Specs
Material: Non-slip synthetic Cant: N/A Belt Size: N/A Red Dot Compatible: No MSRP: $24.97 Website:clingerholsters.com
Pros
Grippy material secures holster in pocket
Soft holster comfortable to pocket carry
Non-specific holster design means it's potentially compatible with a very wide array of handguns
Cons
Holster design is not molded to a specific firearm, so exact fitment may vary
For ideal safety, holster should be removed from pocket before inserting a loaded firearm
More than a pocket holster, the Comfort Cling also doubles inside the waistband option. Now that’s handy. The secret is a glue-like outer fabric that facilities an effortless draw from the pocket and keeps the holster in place when tucked into your britches. Best of all, it weighs next to nothing.
Choices Abound for the Best Concealed Carry Holster
Competition among today's CCW holster makers has given armed citizens a plethora of choices for nearly every conceivable handgun, clothing choice and lifestyle. No matter what situation you need to prepare for, the best concealed carry holster is but a mouse click away.
We discuss the recipe for success when using standard deer rifles to hunt the monarch of the West.
Heated debates about cartridges and their killing capabilities, or lack thereof, have been topics of campfire banter for decades. However, one ideology that few will disagree with is that a mature bull elk is a formidable foe that requires precision and ample knockdown power. Certain cartridges are undoubtedly more qualified than others to hunt elk, but that doesn’t mean your trusty deer rifle can’t get the job done. Below is a recipe to successfully hunt the mighty wapiti, regardless of which rifle you take into the woods.
Growing up in the West, I’ve taken the opportunity to hunt elk for granted. I killed my first elk at 12 years old and have punched many tags in the last 21 years. I have also spent the last 11 years as a hunting guide in Northern Utah. These experiences have allowed me to witness over 75 mature bulls—and a couple of hundred cow elk—hit the dirt. My approach to effective elk cartridges has always been “the bigger, the better,” but that doesn’t always hold, and my views have slowly shifted with time. There is much more to killing elk than just “carrying a big stick.”
Lessons Learned
Hunting is a revolving educational experience in which I strive to be an astute student. In late October, I found myself in a remote corner of Colorado preparing for an upcoming mule deer hunt. With camp set up and firewood cut, we set out to verify our rifles’ zeros on the eve of opening day. Two trucks toting Pennsylvania license plates pulled up as we finished shooting, and seven blaze orange-clad hunters piled out. They were friendly folks, and we struck up a conversation while they sighted in their rifles. For five of them, it was their first elk hunting adventure, while the other two, a gentleman in his 70s and his son in his late 40s, had been coming west for years. Three hunters were shooting .30-06s, two the 6.5 PRC and another a .270 Win. When it was the senior group leader’s turn to shoot, he pulled out a well-used but manicured Winchester Pre-64 Model 70 chambered in .257 Roberts.
“A little light for a big bull, isn’t it?” I chuckled. “I’ve killed dozens of elk who would whole-heartedly disagree,” the gentleman piped back. He steadied his rifle and fired two nearly touching shots into the target at 100 yards. “That’ll do. I don’t shoot them much farther than that anyway,” he said. True to his persona, he was shooting 117-grain Remington Core-Lokt ammunition from a weathered box that appeared older than me. While his setup was lighter than I would use, I understood why this rifle had treated him well for so many years.
The snow flurries couldn’t wipe the smile off the author’s face after tagging a mature bull. Many deer rifles can take elk like this with today’s well-constructed bullets and proficiency with your rifle.
Absolute Truths
This experience drove home three absolute truths about the ethics of killing an elk. First and foremost, he was comfortable with his rifle and shot it well. No matter your caliber of choice, if you cannot precisely place a bullet in the kill zone, your lead-slinging elk cannon is nothing but a boat anchor slung over your shoulder. Do whatever it takes to become proficient with the rifle you take into the elk woods and practice often. Take your practice one step further and shoot from various shooting positions using a variety of shooting aids. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the chances of shooting an elk from a bench are slim.
Second, the gentleman was shooting a well-constructed bullet designed to penetrate through muscle and bone. Your bullet selection, especially with smaller cartridges, can mean the difference between the agony of wounding an animal and a punched tag. The market is flooded with an overwhelming number of bullets to choose from, and depending on what caliber you are shooting, some will perform better than others on elk.
His bullet of choice, the Remington Core-Lokt, is a “cup and core” type designed to rapidly expand and penetrate due to its thin copper jacket and dense lead core. Hornady’s ELD-X and Sierra GameKing bullets are similarly designed to expand on impact while retaining a good portion of their weight to drive home through obstructive bone.
Bonded bullets are another highly effective bullet in the elk woods, utilizing an electrochemically fused bond between the bullet jacket and lead core. This bond slows bullet expansion and guarantees maximum penetration via high bullet weight retention. Nosler’s renowned Accubond bullet is a favorite among elk hunters for many reasons, most importantly because it’s proven itself time and time again as extremely capable and efficient on elk. Other popular bonded bullets include the Federal Terminal Ascent and the Swift Scirocco.
Recovered Nosler Accubond, proving its worth in the field. Photo: Dangersoup.
Monometal, or full copper bullets, have been around for decades but have gained steam recently, and for good reason. They provide hunters maximum penetration and often near 100 percent weight retention. Copper bullets will not produce wound channels nearly as large as the previously mentioned, but they will out-penetrate them and still inflict plenty of trauma. I have killed bulls in Colorado and New Mexico with Winchester’s Copper Impact ammo. Both bulls were dead in seconds with a single well-placed shot. I’ve also had great success with Hornady’s recently launched monometal CX bullet and several variations of monometal bullets from Barnes.
Monometal bullets, such as Hornady’s new CX bullet found in the Outfitter ammunition line, are tried and proven in the elk woods.
The last but certainly not least important lesson that we can learn from the veteran elk hunter is to know your rifle’s limitations and stick to them. The generally accepted energy threshold to ethically kill an elk is 1,500 ft-lb. The range at which your bullet drops below this mark will vary drastically depending on your cartridge and bullet selection. For the .257 Roberts that the gentleman was shooting, his bullet drops below this mark at just under 200 yards. Given that he rarely shoots beyond 100 yards, it’s easy to understand why that caliber/load combination has enough knockdown power to quickly and efficiently kill an elk inside 200 yards. On the flip side, a .300 Win. Mag., shooting Nosler’s 180-grain Accubond does not dip below the 1,500 ft-lb benchmark until just beyond 600 yards. I’m not saying that you should or should not shoot at that distance, but the difference in downrange energy between these two is night and day.
Another relevant example that needs to be addressed (due to its healthy dose of hazing within the elk hunting community) is the terminal performance of the 6.5 Creedmoor. The reality is that most problems elk hunters face when using the 6.5 Creedmoor are self-inflicted, lacking an understanding of the cartridge’s capabilities. For example, Hornady’s Precision Hunter ammunition, loaded with a 143-grain ELD-X bullet, drops below that 1,500 ft-lb mark around 400 yards. Inside that range, the cartridge is extremely capable of killing elk; I have seen it many times. Shooting beyond that distance, you are rolling the dice on the terminal performance of a good shot, let alone a less-than-ideal shot placement.
Hornady’s Precision Hunter ammunition line utilizes the company’s ELD-X bullet. This well-constructed cup-and-core projectile has been the demise of many big bulls across the West.
Plain and simple, a mature bull elk is over 700 pounds of raw muscle and sheer determination to survive in some of the most rugged environments in North America. Being proficient with your rifle, using a well-constructed bullet, and knowing your rifle’s limitations will substantially increase your odds of success when you go toe-to-toe with one of these monarchs.
Elk Cartridge Selection For Deer Rifles
All cartridges have pros and cons that must be considered when hunting elk and will differ from hunter to hunter. In true battle satire, I have broken down a list of popular and proven elk hunting cartridges into three weight classes: welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight. The cartridges included are not inclusive but represent various options ranging from vintage classics to the latest and greatest hot rods released in recent years.
Welterweight
Many of the most popular deer hunting cartridges fall into the welterweight category, encompassing all cartridges built on the .243-, .257-, and .264-caliber platforms. The typical welterweights include .243 Winchester, .25-06 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 Weatherby RPM and 6.5 PRC. All can kill an elk, but each requires immense attention to detail, marksmanship and a deep-penetrating bullet. While I would not buy a rifle chambered in one of these cartridges to specifically go elk hunting, they can serve as a dual-purpose deer and elk rifle when needed.
The biggest advantage to using welterweight cartridges is their lack of recoil and ability to rapidly reacquire your target for a follow-up shot. This matters because none of them will immediately knock a bull off its feet, and a second or third shot is often required regardless of what you are shooting. Less recoil also minimizes “flinching” and equates to more precise shots, which is crucial when shooting elk.
I like to shoot elk on the shoulder and break them down. That makes for a quick tracking job. However, when using lighter cartridges, make an adjustment and push your crosshairs back 4 inches behind the crease of the shoulder and squeeze the trigger. That maximizes penetration and steers you away from the dense shoulder bone. Executing this shot with a well-constructed bullet will easily punch through both lungs and put the elk down quickly. Remember that even with a perfect shot, an elk may not react to the shot. I’ve seen many elk get shot with lighter cartridges and not react to the bullet impact. Often, they run out of sight. Upon further inspection to double-check for blood and verify the miss, we find them lying dead less than a hundred yards from the original impact. Always check for blood.
It is also worth noting that, with very few exceptions, most of these cartridges are intended to shoot elk inside 300 yards. The 6.5 Creedmoor can extend to 400 yards and the 6.5 PRC to just over 500 before dipping below 1,500 ft-lb, but always be cognizant of their limitations and do your best to stay well within them. Just because you can regularly ring steel with them at 750 yards does not mean you should be flinging lead at an elk at that distance.
Middleweight
There is a plethora of extremely capable .277- and .284-caliber cartridges in the market. These middleweights offer elk hunters a substantial advantage in knockdown power by jumping dramatically in bullet weight from their welterweight relatives. The most common bullet weights drift between 140 and 175 grains. The heavier bullets and increased speeds also extend these cartridges’ effective range.
Classic middleweight cartridges include the .270 Winchester, 7mm Remington Magnum and .280 Remington. The .270 Win., thanks to legendary gun writer Jack O’Connor’s exploits, is revered as one of the greatest hunting cartridges ever. His “No. 1” rifle was a Winchester custom Model 70 chambered in .270 Win. He openly advocated for the .270 and successfully killed many elk with that rifle. Interestingly enough, in much of O’Connor’s writing, he, too, urged hunters to stay clear of the shoulder and pick shots wisely on elk-sized game.
While the .270 Win. and 7mm Rem. Mag. are still relevant and capable cartridges, the middleweight division has seen several new offerings that outperform these classics. New cartridges always take much flack over their validity, but you can’t argue with the downrange numbers. New rounds—such as the 6.8 Western, 7mm PRC, and the 28 Nosler—outperform their classic counterparts. They separate themselves from the pack the farther you extend your effective range. For example, the .270 Win., shooting a 150-grain Nosler Accubond, drops below 1,500 ft-lb of energy at 500 yards and has 48.4 inches of bullet drop. The 6.8 Western, shooting a 165-grain Nosler Accubond, still packs 1,856 ft-lb at 500 yards and only 36 inches of drop. The same comparison could be made between the 7mm Rem. Mag. and both the 28 Nosler and 7mm PRC.
Another noticeable advantage these middleweight cartridges offer is a wide variety of bullet options. Any bullets above from these cartridges can take a rut-crazed bull cleanly. Middleweight cartridges will have more recoil than the welterweights, but with a good muzzle brake or suppressor, the additional recoil is minimal and well worth the added performance.
Growing up, I had the opportunity to punch many elk tags thanks to my 7mm Remington Mag. shooting 140-grain Barnes TSX bullets. This rifle will always have a special place in my safe, but it rarely sees the light of day anymore. My last two bulls fell to a single shot from the 6.8 Western, shooting 162-grain Winchester Copper Impact ammo. In Africa, I’ve taken the elk-sized kudu with the 7mm PRC, and it performed as expected with another quick one-shot kill. These new cartridges are not the end-all answer to the perfect elk hunting rifle, but they unquestionably give hunters an advantage in terminal performance, especially at extended distances that are very common when hunting the West.
Winchester’s Copper Impact ammunition dispatched this bull in seconds with a single 162-grain projectile through the vitals.
Heavyweight
The heavyweight division is stacked with many .308- and .338-caliber cartridges that have long been touted as the most versatile rifle rounds for elk. Plain and simple, these heavyweights can take any animal in North America, given proper bullet selection. Classic .30-caliber choices include the .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester and .300 Winchester Magnum. There has also been an onslaught of new .30-cal. cartridges launched, the most popular being the .300 PRC and the 30 Nosler. The .338-caliber has also amassed several noteworthy cartridges, including the .338 Ultra Mag., 33 Nosler and .338 Weatherby RPM. If you are looking for the hardest-hitting, most-powerful rifles to take into the elk woods, these heavyweight cartridges are your huckleberry.
The additional downrange energy is impressive. On many occasions, I’ve seen massive bulls knocked clean over without as much as a twitch from the heavyweight rounds. But everything comes at a price. Recoil, especially without a brake or suppressor, can be downright uncomfortable. Additional recoil makes follow-up shots more difficult, as the rifle’s jump will take you off your target. But, if you can manage the recoil and execute a precise shot with a heavyweight cartridge, you will reap the benefits of devastating terminal performance.
The wide variety of cartridges in the heavyweight class gives you an array of bullet options, ranging from 150 to 225 grains or more—plenty to harvest a massive bull. Given a heavier bullet with a high ballistic coefficient, it’s not uncommon for many of these cartridges to produce downrange energy north of 1,500 ft-lb well beyond 800 yards, especially in the newer cartridges. Again, I’m not advocating shooting elk at that distance, but it certainly means that at 300 or 400 yards, your bullet still has the energy of a freight train.
Several years ago, I built a custom 30 Nosler, which, with a 210-grain Accubond, hits animals like the hammer of Thor. I have killed everything from eland in Africa to elk, deer, and antelope in the States using it with zero problems. With a radial muzzle brake, the recoil is manageable enough that even my wife enjoys shooting it.
Heavyweight cartridges might not be for everyone, but they undoubtedly pack the greatest downrange performance of the lot. However, their performance will not trump a marginal shot. Do not sacrifice precision for power when squeezing the trigger on a big bull. And for the love of all that is good, regardless of your rifle, keep shooting until that bull is on the dirt! Do not hesitate to send an insurance shot into the downed bull to ensure it is anchored. I cannot count the number of times that I have seen a bull collapse from the shot, only to jump back up minutes later, never to be seen again. This situation is often the result of a high shot that shocked the spinal column, temporarily paralyzing the bull but not breaking any bone. Such heartbreak is easily avoided with a quick follow-up shot.
The author packed up and headed out with the last load of a hard-earned bull.
Elk do not come easily; each one is earned in its own way. Whether you head into the elk woods with your “old reliable” deer rifle or spend some money and purchase one chambered in a hot new cartridge, do yourself and the elk a favor and heed the absolute truths that the veteran elk hunter in Colorado exemplified. Be confident and proficient with your rifle, know its limitations and stick to them, and shoot a well-constructed bullet. You still have to locate the elk and close the distance, but this is a recipe for success to quickly and ethically kill the elk of your dreams.
Embrace the entire experience and the special places that elk hunting takes you. Few things are more exhilarating than hearing an elk bugle, and few delicacies are better than those from a freezer full of elk meat. With the correct elk cartridge, both can be yours next season!
Aero Precision has just announced a line of bolt-action Solus Pistols available in five different chambering options.
When the ATF’s pistol brace ruling was vacated in June of this year, everyone had their eyes on the return of AR pistols. Aero saw another opportunity, and the result is the Solus Pistol line. At their core, the pistols are the same as the Solus bolt-action rifles but are now available in a compact format that can be easily equipped with a pistol brace.
Solus Pistols are initially being offered in five chambering options, including .300 BLK, .223 Rem./5.56 NATO, .308 Win., 6.5 Creedmoor and 8.6 BLK, and each of those can be ordered in one of eight different finish colors. Barrel lengths vary by caliber, but they all sport the Solus Short Action (Remington 700 short action footprint) and have a 60-degree bolt throw, a 3-lug interchangeable bolt head, dual ejectors and a “cock-on-lift” bolt.
This Solus Pistol is equipped with a proper rifle stock, possible if you register it as an SBR.
The pistols are bedded in a 7.5-inch Solus Competition chassis that features a 1913 rail at the rear for attaching pistol braces as well as Arca and M-LOK compatible forends that have M-LOK slots at 3, 6 and 9 o’clock. The Solus Pistol’s chassis is also compatible with both AICS and AIAIW magazines, features adjustable magazine catches and thumb rests and has eight QD sling sockets throughout to choose from. They’re also compatible with tangless AR pistol grips as well as night vision bridge and bipod spigot accessories. The cherry on top is each Solus Pistol is finished with a Trigger Tech single-stage trigger.
Each Solus Pistol will ship with one 10-round P-MAG and MSRP is $1,899.99. They are available now.
We look at the history of the Carper Rifle, a tale that spans over 200 years and five generations.
If you’re a firearms enthusiast, then this story is for you. The tale spans more than 200 years and five generations. And unlike histories that examine most rifles, the rifles described here are, perhaps, out of your reach. To quote the great gun writer Townsend Whelen, “The placing of the bullet is everything.” Here you’ll see what an early gunmaker did to help shooters “place the bullet,” and how his descendant continues the tradition.
The story starts in Virginia in 1802 when Joseph Carper, the son of German immigrants, was born. In 1848, he acquired a large tract of land in what is now West Virginia. Joseph traded one rifle for all you could see from a high point that overlooked the New River. It’s hard to say exactly how much land this involved and interesting to argue how a century-old transaction of this nature would hold up in court.
But, more important, is the fact that Joseph built the rifle he traded for this land. Legend has it was a stunning piece, decorated with silver and muscle shell from the New River. On that land, Joseph built a gun shop and a home, and today, some of the property is part of what’s now known as the New River Gorge National Park. The whereabouts of the rifle involved in this trade is unknown.
Walker’s rifles are iron furnished and represent rifles built in the 1800s in the Appalachians. His more recent, post-2020 rifles specifically emulate the rifles of East Tennessee.
Early Carper Rifles
Carper Rifles were frequently banned from many pioneer shooting matches, and a Carper Rifle won top prize at Virginia’s State Fair back when a state fair was genuinely important. The excellence of these rifles didn’t go unnoticed by the government. During the Civil War, or the “War of Northern Aggression” as it’s often referred to in the South, Yankee Cavalry descended upon the Carper home. Carper’s brothers were away serving in a Confederate Sharpshooter Battalion, leaving only Joseph, his wife and a small boy on the farm. The northerners burned Carper’s gun shop to the ground.
An original and very ornate Carper Rifle (top) and a Walker Rifle (bottom).
A stroke took Joseph’s life in 1880 while he was working in his shop. His son, Samuel, finished the rifle Joseph was working on and continued to make rifles until 1927. This was well into the age of the smokeless cartridge—the 3,000-fps .250 Savage and the .30-06.
Why would a gunmaker continue to make rifles far eclipsed in technology for that many years? It’s simple: demand. Carper Rifles were marvelously accurate because of the unique procedure used to rifle the barrels by hand.
Barrels, Not Booze
Today, there are only a handful of Carper Rifles in existence. John Walker, a fifth-generation descendant of Joseph, has two of them and he knows where most of the others are. But more importantly, Walker builds his own muzzleloaders the same way his ancestors did.
Here it’s easy to see the relationship of the narrow grooves and wide lands in the barrels of Walker Rifles. This is the same pattern used by his ancestors.
Walker grew up in the shadow of his grandfather, an accomplished outdoorsman, and his father, who was a talented woodworker. These influences, in conjunction with the Carper legacy, steered Walker to develop an interest in hunting, firearms and rifle building. His uncle still had some of the gunmaking tools used by the Carpers, and after intense study and dubious research, Walker put the famous Carper barrel-rifling machine to work.
Walker examining the cuttings on the tool head on his rifling machine.
The process by which these barrels are rifled would make modern barrel manufacturers eye them like a rabid skunk. Nonetheless, the fact remains that Walker managed to duplicate the process that made the Carper Rifle such a tack-driving frontier tool worth vast expanses of terra firma and the intervention of the Union Army.
Walker prepping his rifling machine to start on a barrel.
The rifling machine utilizes a wooden gear about 6 inches in diameter and about 4 feet long. This spiral-fluted fence post corresponds to the rifling grooves it’ll help cut into the barrel. To one end, a handle is attached, and a chuck is fastened to the other. This allows the gear to be pulled through a guide that keeps the mechanism spiraling and straight.
Here you can see the difference in the Carper rifling method (right) and the modern rifling method (left).
A steel rod is attached to the chuck, and on its end is a short length of hickory that’s split, with steel cutting blades pinned in place. A barrel is clamped to the base in front of the chuck, and the rod is inserted through the barrel, leaving the cutter protruding from the end of the barrel. This allows the cutter to be pulled through the barrel and then pushed back, cutting one groove at a time.
This is the cutter that puts the grooves in the barrel. Walker is shimming it to make the cut deeper.
As needed, shims are inserted into the split in the hickory to deepen the groove being cut. The entire process is an event that’s invisible to the builder and requires a talented touch. Walker says it takes about 8 hours to rifle a barrel, and he knows it’s done “when it feels right.”
Patching with Pride
A top-quality muzzleloading rifle barrel of modern manufacture can be had for a couple hundred bucks. So why, you might ask—other than nostalgia—would Walker make his own using this archaic method? Walker used to compete regularly with his rifles, and the Alvin C. York Memorial Shoot held in Pall Mall, Tennessee, was one of his favorite matches; it could be called the Muzzleloading Olympics. Hundreds of contestants flock there every year to prove their muzzleloaders shoot better than any on the planet.
Most of these guns are heavy and designed to be shot over a log—they’re called “chunk guns;” some weigh 20 pounds or more. Open sights and round balls are all that’s permitted. Walker had tried barrels from Green Mountain, Douglas and Getz, but with a patched round ball he found they couldn’t deliver the precision of his original Carper Rifles.
The secret lay in the geometry of the rifling and the slow, tedious process, that in effect, laps the bore as it cuts the groves. With one of his hunting-weight rifles, wearing a barrel of his making, Walker attended this shoot in 1998 and placed in the top 40, or “in the beef,” as it’s called. No trophies are awarded at this shoot; various portions of beef are distributed to the top 40 shooters.
Well over 100 years old, this original Carper Rifle is still a tack driver.
To understand why the Carper technique is so effective at shooting patched round balls, you first must understand what’s wrong with the design of modern muzzleloading barrels. Modern muzzleloading barrels very much resemble barrels for jacketed or cast bullets in modern cartridge guns. They consist of wide grooves and narrow lands. This works perfectly for jacketed bullets that are sized to the “groove to groove” dimension of the barrel. The wide groove offers a large bearing surface, and the narrow lands get the bullet spinning with minimal distortion. A patched round ball needs the same spin, but this type of barrel cannot effectively provide it.
The bearing surface for a patched round ball isn’t found in the groove but in the area between the land and the ball, which is separated by the patch. The weave of the patch grabs the ball, as it’s forced down the barrel during bullet exit, applying pressure to the bearing surface. A ball doesn’t deform down into the entire depth of the groove like a conical bullet. A wide groove needs too much patch, and the ball cuts the patch at the outside corners of the lands. This need for patch means balls end up being well under bore size to allow for a thick patch in hopes of preventing the “pinch cut” at the corner of the land, and the “burn-through” the wide groove will allow.
This is what a fired patch from a properly rifled muzzleloader should look like. Notice there are no tears or burn through.
The Carper method is the opposite. To start, grooves are narrow, allowing only a smidgen of patch to enter the groove when the ball is loaded … just enough to relay the spin of the rifling to the ball. A narrow groove doesn’t allow as much burn through and doesn’t require such a thick patch to fill the gap. The wide lands mean the bearing surface is greater and more of the patch’s weave is impressed into the ball. This all means that a ball closer to the size of the land-to-land diameter or bearing surface can be used.
So, just as with modern bullets in modern barrels, what you have is maximum bearing and minimal distortion—not with the bullet, but with the patch! The patch is the key and that’s what a round-ball rifle must be made to harmonize with. Of course, the smoothness of the bore helps maintain patch integrity during loading and shooting. Walker Rifles have won more West Virginia State Metallic Muzzleloading matches than any other. I used mine to win that match, and Walker has won it several times.
The lock mechanism on an early Walker Rifle, circa 2003.
Up until about 2015, Walker just built his rifles for family and friends. He’s the only rifle maker I know who picked his customer. But that same year Walker stopped making guns, sold his farm and moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to run the Baptist Mission. To survive, the organization needed an organizer and someone with the hillbilly ingenuity like Walker has in spades. Since then, Walker saved the mission and turned it into an educational institution for youths, where they learn how to ride horses, shoot guns, make knives, grow food and, most importantly, tell the truth.
With the gun-building virus still inside him, Walker recently had his son ship his barrel rifling tools to Kodiak. Now, with the help of his daughter, Jenna, who by the way is a very talented knifemaker and engraver, he’s building rifles again. They’re exquisite works of historic art, conjured into existence with hours and hours of handwork.
John Walker and his rifle-building daughter, Jenna, frequently produce Facebook videos showing the rifles they build and offering educational tips about their history and use.
They’re not gaudy, and they’re not fancy. Walker will tell you straight-up, “They’re nothing like you would find in the hands of a Pennsylvania pimp.” The rifles Walker builds now emulate the working, mountain-style rifles made in East Tennessee during the early to late 1800s. But everyone is hand-fitted to perfection and has a barrel that’s been hand-rifled using the original Carper rifling machine.
If you enjoy a challenge, call Walker up and try to persuade him to build you one of his rifles. You’ll have to convince him you deserve it, and that you’ll shoot it. Walker has no interest in building mantle pieces; he wants his rifles to be shot and hunted with. You’ll also have to send him a check for $5,000. Good luck! If you’re fortunate enough to become the recipient of a Walker Rifle—by gift, trade, fortune or money—it’ll carry with it not only the legacy of a family of talented gunmakers, but also a historical link to the past.
Oh, and you can be sure it’ll “place the bullet” better than you can.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the March 2022 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
We hit the range to test out Timney’s AK Drop-In trigger.
The rifle I grew up shooting was an AK, so it’s not all that surprising that I’ve never had any complaints about AK triggers. Sure, I’ve since fired plenty of other guns with objectively much better bang switches, but that never resulted in me feeling the need to run out and replace any of mine. That is no longer true, at least to a degree.
Timney recently sent me their AK Drop-In trigger to test out, and that meant I had the opportunity to fire it side-by-side with a stock AK equipped with the prevalent (and essentially standard) Tapco G2. The difference between the two was night and day, but we’ll talk more about the specifics after going over the installation process.
Installing The Timney
Replacing an AK’s trigger group can seem a bit intimidating at first to those who are mostly familiar with ARs, but it’s not as complicated as it looks. In fact, the two designs are generally similar when it comes to their fire control groups.
As far as the original FCG designs go, both the AK and AR have two main components—a trigger and a hammer—and each of these is held in place by a pin that goes through the receiver. The point is, if you’ve hammered pins while building an AR-15, you should feel at home doing the same on your AK.
Timney provides excellent instructions in the box and has posted a video guide online as well. The employee in the video completes the whole process in about 5 minutes, and it only took me 10 or 15 to do it for the first time.
Here you can see the removed original trigger and hammer at the bottom next to the single cassette-style Timney unit that replaced it. The two pins in the center are reused to install it.
In a nutshell, the process entails using a punch to hammer out your AK’s trigger and hammer pins, removing the old trigger and hammer, dropping in Timney’s cassette-style trigger group and then reinstalling the hammer and trigger pins through the unit. Finally, you tighten it all down with the provided hex wrench, reassemble your rifle and are ready to shoot.
The only extra piece of advice that bears mentioning is to ensure that your hammer and trigger pins are fully reinstalled as far as they can go. Because it was flush with the receiver, I didn’t notice that my trigger pin still had a millimeter left to go when I was installing mine. This resulted in the pin walking out and causing some minor malfunctions during my first range session with it, but once properly installed everything worked as it should.
The Timney trigger installed in the AK's receiver.
The rifle I installed the Timney in is a Romanian WASR SBR in 7.62×39, but according to the company’s list, the trigger should be compatible with most common AK rifle variants owned in the U.S. besides M70-pattern guns from Yugoslavia/Serbia. I specify rifle, because two types of guns that the trigger will not work in are AK shotguns and AK PCCs. That’s sad news for any 3-gunners who may have been looking to upgrade their Vepr-12 or PSA AK-V, but hopefully Timney will eventually accommodate those too.
On The Range
Once I got that initial self-induced hiccup out of the way, the Timney AK trigger was 100 percent reliable. And, as mentioned, it felt and performed amazing next to an AK with a Tapco G2.
The Timney AK Drop-In trigger is a single-stage, non-adjustable trigger with an advertised pull weight of 3.5 pounds. I don’t have a gauge to measure that, but 3.5 pounds seems about right.
While that may sound light in comparison to mil-spec AR triggers, it’s actually in the same ballpark as the Tapco G2. What makes the Timney trigger great isn’t its light weight, it’s that it has basically nonexistent take-up and an incredibly short reset. These qualities can be helpful in two very different areas of shooting: precision and speed.
For precision shooting, the reasoning is the same as why precision rifles often feature a similar trigger, sometimes even made by Timney as well. When you’re trying to hit the bullseye, the less you move the gun when it goes off the better that shot will be. A trigger that requires very little rearward movement to trip simply makes that job easier.
Testing the Timney against the Tapco G2 at 100 yards confirmed this. Only using iron sights and shooting at a quarter-sized silhouette steel target, I made hits much more consistently with the Timney. I attribute this difference mostly to how much take-up the G2 trigger has in comparison, as well as the definitiveness of the Timney’s break.
For testing precision, I had the red dot turned off and used the rear iron sight integrated at the front of the optic mount. This was to make it a more fair comparison against the AK with a Tapco trigger since it did not have an optic.
As far as shooting fast goes, a short take-up is nice, but a short reset is even better. If you aim to dump a magazine as fast as possible the Timney will get you there noticeably quicker. Mag-dumping isn’t very practical, but double-taps and follow-up shots can be, and the Timney’s short reset aids with those as well.
One Quirk
I touched on rifle compatibility earlier, but one part I didn’t mention is that the Timney AK trigger has a “safety screw” that may need to be adjusted to function properly with certain rifles. I read all of Timney’s literature I could find and scoured the internet for an answer, but my trigger still has one minor quirk worth mentioning.
No matter how I adjusted the safety screw, it wouldn't let me activate the safety when the hammer was forward. Ironically, this makes the AK’s safety behave like an AR-15’s.
If that’s a known side effect of the design, Timney doesn’t mention it anywhere, so I have to assume that it just has something to do with the pattern of rifle I installed it in. Thankfully, as far as these things go, this issue is very minor and not one that I’m concerned about. It could be a small annoyance if you shoot at a range that wants safeties engaged whenever a gun isn't being shot, but that just means you may have to charge the rifle again once it’s empty to cock the hammer back. Many already do this as part of the procedure for ensuring that the chamber is clear.
Considering that everything else still functioned as it should and that any time a round is chambered it will be possible to engage the safety, at the end of the day I don’t think it really matters. That said, it would be preferable if it worked as it normally does and allowed the rifle to be put on safe regardless of the condition of the hammer.
Parting Shot
The Timney feels wonderful, and I’m glad to have an AK outfitted with one now. I still may not feel the need to run out and replace the triggers in my other rifles, but I understand the appeal and potential benefits much better. Most American shooters, AK owners or otherwise, keep things pretty casual. There’s nothing wrong with that, and for recreational plinking or even training, the stock triggers that AKs come with are good enough to get the job done. But some people want more than that.
Whether you’re just spoiled by the feel of very nice triggers and want to experience that with your AK too, or you use a Kalashnikov to compete or in some sort of tactical capacity, upgrading the trigger is one of the simplest ways to improve your rifle’s performance. With an MSRP of about $200, Timney’s AK trigger isn’t for everyone, but for how much it improves a rifle’s feel there are shooters out there for whom it will be worth it.
The scout rifle needs to be short, lightweight, handy and chambered in .308 Win./7.62 NATO — a rifle to do just about anything needed from hunting to self-defense.
The concept of the scout rifle was developed by recognized gun expert, the late Lt. Col Jeff Cooper. The rifle needed to be accurate with iron sights to 500 yards and powerful enough to take down large game animals for hunting or self-defense. For this, Cooper selected a bolt-action rifle (as these are far less restricted than semi-auto rifles) less than 40 inches long and weighing under 6.5 pounds.
He also chose the .308/7.62 caliber as an ideal all-purpose round and, as it is common with many militaries around the globe, easy to find.
There are many rifles that fit Cooper’s criteria but then he added one very distinctive feature — a forward-mounted magnified optic with extended eye relief. Extended eye relief scopes are more commonly seen on handguns but there was method to Cooper’s madness.
Speed and reliability were two of his concerns (another reason to opt for a bolt action) and he wanted to keep the area above the action free of any obstruction (like a scope). This allowed for scout rifles to be reloaded faster with stripper clips and ensured that ejection of empty cases was not engendered in any way.
Lastly, Cooper felt that having an extended eye relief scope prevented the development of tunnel vision and allowed the operator full peripheral vision and situational awareness. One drawback of extended eye relief scopes is that they lack the full magnification of larger rearward-mounted optics. Cooper felt that 2-3x magnification was sufficient.
There were some other less distinct features that Cooper insisted on, but they are not necessary to the core concept of the scout rifle. After all, he was building the rifle in his mind from scratch, so anything is possible. Only one company built Cooper his scout rifle while he was alive, the Steyr Scout. Since then, several more companies have come forward with their own Cooper-inspired scout rifles. Here, we're going to go over what we think are the five best scout rifles currently on the market.
Specs Comparison Of The Best Scout Rifles
Make/Model
Caliber
Barrel Length
Overall Length
Weight
Sights
Stock
Action
Finish
Capacity
Price
Steyr Scout
.308 Winchester
19 inches
38.6 inches
6.6 pounds
Iron with Picatinny Rail
Plastic
Bolt
Black, Gray or Green
5+1
$1,889
Ruger Gunsite Scout
.308 Winchester
16.1 inches
38.5 inches
7.1 pounds
Iron with Picatinny Rail
Laminate
Bolt
Black or Gray
10+1
$1,479
Savage 110 Scout
.308 Winchester
16.5 inches
38.5 inches
7.72 pounds
Iron with Picatinny Rail
Synthetic
Bolt
Flat Dark Earth
10+1
$959
Mossberg MVP Scout
.308 Winchester
16.25 inches
37.5 inches
6.75 pounds
Iron with Picatinny Rail
Synthetic
Bolt
Black
10+1
$734
Springfield M1A Scout Squad
.308 Winchester
18 inches
40.33 inches
8.8 pounds
Iron with Picatinny Rail
Synthetic
Semi-Auto
Black
10+1
$1,945
Best Scout Rifles For Survival
Steyr Scout Rifle
The Steyr Scout gives you the option of mounting an extended eye relief scope, and even has a built-in bipod that tucks up into the stock.
Pros:
The most true-to-form scout rifle based on Cooper's concept
Lightweight
Holds spare mag in stock
Integrated bipod
Cons:
Bipod fragile
Non-standard magazines
Expensive
The original Scout Rifle, the Steyr Scout has all the features Cooper wanted. It’s a lightweight rifle with backup ghost ring iron sights mounted on the receiver and not the barrel, a magazine cutoff device to be able to fire one shot only or with a 5-round detachable magazine. The polymer stock has a backup 5-round magazine in the buttstock. The fore-end of the stock sports an integral bipod that folds up completely into the stock, an accessory rail and five sling attachment points, another Cooper notion.
The Steyr Scout has a three-position safety with a fire option and two levels of safety, one locks the bolt and one does not. Of course, the rifle is available in different colors and calibers, as Cooper recognized that in some countries civilians are not allowed to own firearms that can function using military calibers. Extended capacity magazines (up to 20 rounds) are also available.
Steyr Scout Specs:
Caliber: .308 Win.
Barrel: 19 in.
Overall Length: 38.6 in.
Weight: 6.6 lbs. (without magazine)
Sights: Iron with rail
Stock: Plastic
Action: Bolt
Finish: Black, gray or green
Capacity: 5+1 rounds
Price: $1,889
Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle
The Ruger “Gunsite Scout Rifle” was developed in conjunction with the staff at the world famous shooting facility.
Pros:
Durable and attractive wood stock
Compact overall length
AICS-pattern magazines
Included muzzle brake
Cons:
Heavy
Relatively expensive
Ruger developed their own scout concept and dubbed it appropriately the “Gunsite Scout Rifle.” Gunsite is, of course, the training facility established by Jeff Cooper.
These scout rifles feature a forward-mounted Picatinny rail for optics, ghost ring backup iron sights, a detachable 10-round box magazine (5 rounders are available), and a traditional scope mounting option. They are available in several different calibers.
The rifle was developed in conjunction with the Gunsite Academy and features their name engraved on the receiver. Interestingly, this rifle features a grey laminated wood stock that is weather resistant and includes rubber spacers that can be used to adjust the length of pull at the buttpad.
A synthetic stock model is also available, and in both stock types the barrel remains free floated. The barrel, available in two different lengths and in either stainless steel or blued, is cold hammer forged for improved accuracy and longer life. The barrel is topped off with a choice of different muzzle devices, a flash hider being the most common.
Ruger Gunsite Scout Specs:
Caliber: .308 Win.
Barrel: 16.1 in.
Overall Length: 38.5 in.
Weight: 7.1 lbs. (without magazine)
Sights: Iron with rail
Stock: Laminate
Action: Bolt
Finish: Black, gray or black
Capacity: 10+1 rounds
Price: Starts at $1,479
Savage 110 Scout
The Savage Scout rifle is built on Savage’s legendary action and has the company’s excellent AccuTrigger.
Pros:
Proven AccuTrigger
Stock is adjustable for both LOP and comb height
AICS-style magazines
Ships with muzzle brake
Cons:
Iron sights not hot
On the heavier side
Savage is known for making very accurate rifles at reasonable prices, and the Model 110 Scout is no exception.
They key to any modern Savage rifle is the AccuTrigger, which allows you to adjust the trigger pull for increased comfort and accuracy.
The Savage AccuStock provides a rigid interface between stock, action and barrel, and supports parts along the entire length rather than at just two points. This diminishes pressure on the barrel and improves accuracy.
Like other scout rifles, the Savage 110 Scout is a bolt action with a forward-mounted optics rail, backup iron ghost ring sights, and a synthetic stock. It also features a detachable box magazine with 10-round capacity, a muzzle brake and an adjustable stock.
Savage 110 Scout Specs:
Caliber: .308 Win.
Barrel: 16.5 in.
Overall Length: 38.5 in.
Weight: 7.72 lbs. (without magazine)
Sights: Iron with rail
Stock: Synthetic
Action: Bolt
Finish: Flat dark earth
Capacity: 10+1 rounds
Price: $959
Mossberg MVP Scout
The handy little Mossberg MVP Scout can accept both M1A and AR-10 mags.
Pros:
Very affordable
Lightweight and compact
Adjustable trigger
Uses AR-style mags
Cons:
Bolt runs rough
Finish could be better
Mossberg seems to be mostly known for its Model 500 shotgun, but the company makes plenty of popular rifles as well, including the Mossberg MVP Scout. One thing that sets the MVP Scout apart from other scout rifles is that it can accept both M1A and AR-10 magazines.
The longer length top Picatinny rail allows for more expansive options for optics while the backup iron ghost ring sights include a front fiber optic for improved visibility.
The short barrel is threaded so it can accept standard AR muzzle devices (Standard A2 flash hider is included) as well as a suppressor if so desired. The trigger pull is user adjustable from 3 to 7 pounds, the bolt handle is oversized for easier use, and the synthetic stock includes side rails for mounting accessories.
The rifle can be purchased with a Vortex scope and comes with a sling as well. It is only available in one size and caliber.
Mossberg MVP Scout Specs:
Caliber: .308 Win.
Barrel: 16.25 in.
Overall Length: 37.5 in.
Weight: 6.75 lbs. (without magazine)
Sights: Iron with rail
Stock: Synthetic
Action: Bolt
Finish: Black
Capacity: 10+1 rounds
Price: $734
Springfield M1A Scout Squad
The Springfield Armory Scout Squad is a hard-hitting .308 semi-auto that accepts a forward-mounted optic.
Pros:
Semi-auto
Included muzzle brake
Cons:
Heavy
Expensive
Jeff Cooper was asked about the possibility of scout rifles being semi-automatic and he was certainly not opposed but insisted on reliability.
There is hardly a more battle proven and reliable semi-auto rifle than the M1 Garand and the M1A. Springfield Armory has been churning out M1A rifles for some time and has developed a scout version as well.
The Springfield Armory M1A-A1 Scout Squad takes the standard M1A concept and turns it into a much smaller and handier rifle with forward-mounted Picatinny rail, synthetic stock, and a recoil-reducing muzzle brake.
The rifle sports an 18-inch barrel, two-stage trigger, aperture adjustable iron sights, a standard box magazine, and gas piston-operated reliability in 7.62 NATO.
We discuss the history of the AR-15 and look back at just how radically it’s evolved over 60 years later.
New shooters and gun buyers can be forgiven for thinking the AR-15 has always been the way it is. Nope. It’s had more than a half-century of growth, modification and upgrades.
The history of the platform is long and storied. Buckle up.
Tripping Out of The Gate
In the beginning, there was the Colt SP1. This was a rifle with a fixed stock, a triangular handguard around a 20-inch barrel, a carry handle and sights that needed a tool to adjust them. The barrel was skinny, and the twist it had was one turn in 12 inches—suitable only for 55-grain FMJ bullets.
The time? 1967. And the Colt had an MSRP of $195. (In 2022 bucks, that comes to $1,650.) The shooting public wasn’t impressed. The world, hunting and tactical, was still dominated by .30-caliber rifles, such as the M14 or FAL, and hunting done with Winchester (a Model 94 ran $85, a Model 70 cost $150) or Remington (M700, $130) bolt guns in .30-06. The few varmint shooters that existed weren’t at all interested in a self-loading rifle.
The Colt SP1.
The teething problems that happened with any new rifle of the day were worked out, much to the detriment of those involved, in the jungles of Vietnam. This is the origin of many of the myths you’ll read about the “unreliable” AR-15, M16 and M4.
The jungles also called for a variant, the “Commando,” which ended up being a carbine with a barrel of 11.5 inches and a sliding stock that could be made shorter for storage and transport. During this time, and the next decade-plus, you could buy your Colt any way you wanted, provided it was black, an SP1—take it or leave it. Oh, the semi-auto variant of the Commando might be in the catalog, with its 16-inch barrel … but good luck finding one.
Uncle Sam eventually boogied out of Vietnam, and there was a time where nothing happened. Then, in the 1980s, the USMC, tired of a rifle that didn’t do what they needed, designed an improved M16 (and the AR-15 goes with it) to serve their needs. It got a click-adjustable for range and windage rear sight and a marginally heavier barrel. The big change was the twist, jumping to one turn in 7 inches, to stabilize the new, heavier bullet with a steel tip, the SS109, known now as the “green tip” round.
At the start of GWOT, the U.S. Military still hadn’t accepted optics as a standard of use. Now, they’re not doing iron sights at all.
While this was happening, along with 1980s fashion and music, the political world was in upheaval. Many politicos went after “assault weapons,” which were exemplified by the AR-15. Its all-black ensemble made it easy to demonize. There had already been a slow boil of builders, experimenters and competition shooters who were upgrading the AR-15, but politics kicked that into high gear.
Suddenly, where there had been Colt and one or two others, you could buy bare AR-15 lowers and build up what you wanted.
And shooters did.
The Colt Effect
The new sport of 3-gun shooting was getting up and running, and you couldn’t win with a .30 rifle. If everyone else also had an AR-15, then whoever had one built best for competition would win.
So, everyone built.
And while everyone was building, bottlenecks arose, although they weren’t in barrels or other parts: The upper receivers and the handguards were the problem. We were stuck with the fixed-sight uppers, the A1 and A2, and plastic handguards. The fixed-sight uppers made it really difficult to mount optics of any kind.
The triangular handguards, front, were light but fragile. The cylindrical handguards were a lot tougher, but they still put pressure on the barrel.
The only way to get a barrel free-floated was to use an aluminum tube handguard … and they were heavy. They also heated up and, once hot, took a long time to cool. Colt solved the problem of sights and optics when they adopted the “flat-top” receiver in the early 1990s.
The A1 sight needs a tool to adjust. Don’t believe the “tip of a loaded round” suggestion. It doesn’t work.
This was an outgrowth of the ACR (Advanced Combat Rifle) program, and part of the Colt development of the M4. Gunsmiths had been making flat-tops before, but to do it required radical surgery. Someone had to chop off the carry handle, then pin, epoxy or bolt on a Weaver rail and attach a scope to that.
With Colt making uppers, shooters no longer had to do that. But there was a fly in ointment: Colt. Their parts were expensive, and the only way anyone could lay hands on a flat-top upper was—you guessed it—by buying a Colt rifle. Worse yet, the Colt uppers and lowers were made in the Colt “big pin” configuration. The front takedown pin was larger in diameter than the mil-spec parts, and Colt refused to change.
The Colt SP1, with its oversized front takedown pin everyone hated. Still do. You can’t mate up these with any other upper/lower combo unless they’re also Colt big-pin sets.
If You Build It … You Must Accessorize
The makers of the non-Colt lowers looked at this and started making uppers as well, and in the regular takedown pin diameters so they’d work on all other lowers. In short order, it was possible to own an AR-15 where no single part of it had seen the inside of the Colt factory.
While this was going on, the government found out that bolting extra gizmos to a rifle made it more versatile. They needed a way to attach lights, lasers, extra optics and a cup holder to the M4 and M16A2/A3/A4.
With a flat top to work with, optics makers got busy. This is an LWRC rifle with reloaded 55-grain FMJs. It does even better with match ammo.
Next thing you knew, we had “quad rails.” This is a handguard with a slotted rail (the same dimensions as the top rail on the receiver, by the way) at the four cardinal points: top, bottom, left and right. It fits into the regular handguard locking parts and allows adding extra tactical tools. It also makes the handguard fat, edgy and heavy. Oh, and hot … because it’s made of aluminum. (Did the government ask 3-gun shooters about the heat problem? Of course not.)
Competition shooters led the way. From tubular handguards made of carbon fiber (cool in temp, cool in looks and cool in price, but oh-so-light) to free-float handguards with the rails shaved off. The first of those I saw was exactly that: a quad-rail handguard that the shooter had used a milling machine to cut the rails off and make it ergonomic.
The free-float handguard took a long time to work out, but once it was figured out, accuracy improved. Stop things from touching the barrel, and the barrel shoots better.
While the free-float rail revolution was going on, there was another explosion: billets. The original AR is made from forgings. Billet uppers and lowers are made from pre-hardened blocks of aluminum, where, in the words of Michelangelo, “everything but the receiver is cut away.” Before CNC machines, this wasn’t easy. But with a CNC machine, it’s as simple as locking blocks in the fixture and pressing “go.”
The first of the changes from the quad rail were Keymod. Here, you can attach a rail segment to the key-shaped slot.
The problem with doing away with quad rails: How do you attach the desired accessories? The first step was known as a KeyMod. Here, the tube of the handguard has keyhole-shaped slots cut into it, and you attach sections of rail where you need them. This was grand. The next step, known as M-lok, does away with the rail. The M-lok slot accepts the locking points that are built into the accessory itself. This does require that the desired accessory be made with M-lok points on it, but with modern CNC manufacture, this is a small consideration.
The Tactical Times
Before the War on Terror, use and development of the AR-15 was competition-focused to almost exclude defense and military. When I went to Gunsite to take the 223 Class, I had to search my rifle rack to find one that was vanilla-plain enough to use. Designers were intent on ever more obnoxious muzzle brakes to tame the “recoil” of the .223 Remington.
Then, almost overnight, muzzle brakes were secondary, and suppressors moved to the fore. No one wanted a rifle—or even a competition AR—with an 18-inch barrel. Everyone wanted carbines with 16-inch barrels, lights, lasers and a tactical sling. When manufacturers cracked the code of how to make an AR-15 pistol work properly, and arm braces suddenly materialized, AR pistols became the new thing. The percentage of AR pistols to others now is 10 times what it used to be.
This Alexander Arms AR pistol is the epitome of the modern AR-15. Colors, size, caliber, optics—you have the full panoply of choices.
Oh, and as almost an aside, since the top rail of the receiver could easily accept optics, optics makers and mount makers got busy making better and better mounts and scopes for your aiming use. The optics of today are almost the Hubble telescope compared to what was being used in 3-gun in the 1990s. And in the 1990s, only the spec-ops units with unlimited budgets and ability to use what they wanted to were even using red-dot optics.
One thing that the Global War on Terror did do for us, besides greatly jacking up the price of ammo, was to push down the price of exotic optics. Night-vision optics and thermal viewers dropped by an order of magnitude. You can now see in the dark for what a really good just-glass scope used to cost—which came just in time to start whacking feral hogs in the night with great enthusiasm.
The last step on the AR-15’s evolutionary ladder came in calibers. There’s a lot you can do to stretch the capabilities of the .223/5.56, but even it has limits. In the early 2000s, it was rare to find other calibers. Now? All the rimfires, every centerfire from the 5.7FN up to a slew of .50 cartridges, can be found in the AR-15 or the AR-10.
No longer is the .223 the one and only caliber for AR-15s. Here’s just a small selection of a biggie, the .458 SOCOM. That’s right, bullets of 300 to 600 grains, out of your AR-15, with the right barrel, bolt and magazine in it.
Where .223 was once the norm, and the odd shooter had one built in 7.62x39mm, now it seems like half the brass you find at the range is .300 Blackout. And, without looking closely, you can’t be sure that the .223-looking brass you find isn’t .204 Ruger or something else close based on a .223 case.
Onward and Upward
If, in 1967, you had laid this out as the place the AR-15 would be in the 2020s, people would’ve laughed. Heck, I would’ve laughed. Even as late at the Y2K panic (look it up), the AR-15 universe wasn’t so far along that someone who had only seen it at the start could nod and go “OK, I get it.”
We’re now in the Golden Age of the AR-15. You can have it in any color, camo pattern, left-hand as well as right (that change happened back in the early ’00s), barrel length, caliber and put any scope, night-vision, thermals, red-dot, on top.
Oh, and one last thing: volume. In a good year in the past, Colt used to make a couple of hundred thousand AR-15s for the commercial market. Some years, less—a lot less. Now, the AR-15 is the biggest-selling rifle in America, and it isn’t even close. When there hasn’t been some social nonsense that generates a buying frenzy, you have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to buying an AR-15 … or building the one of your dreams.
Colt isn’t the biggest seller anymore, either—not even close. So much for, “Any way you want it, as long as it is an SP1.”
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2022 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
More Retro AR-15 Stuff:
Retro AR-15: The Old Rifles That Inspired The New Ones
Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 excellent concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
