Federal has just released two new pocket pistol defensive loads, .25 Auto Punch and .32 Auto Hydra-Shok Deep.
Pocket pistols, mouse guns, whatever you want to call them, aren’t as popular as they once were. But despite the world of micro 9mms we live in today, extremely little handguns still have their place and plenty of people are still carrying them, even if only as backup pieces. Small defensive guns need small defensive bullets, and Federal has just released two new loads in the form of .32 Auto Hydra-Shok Deep and .25 Auto Punch
.32 ACP Hydra-Shok Deep.
Starting with the .32 ACP load, it features a 68-grain Hydra-Shok Deep Jacketed Hollow Point bullet with an advertised muzzle velocity of 1,000 fps. The projectile also utilizes an improved center post design for more reliable expansion and optimal penetration depth through common barriers. It’s available in 20-round boxes and MSRP is $35.99.
Unlike the defensive load of .32 Auto, .25 ACP is too small for bullets to consistently expand, so Federal instead opted to give the .25 Auto Punch a 45-grain jacketed solid projectile. Muzzle velocity is advertised as 825 fps and Federal says it balanced the performance to provide maximum penetration depth out of a variety of firearms and in the face of various common barriers. It’s also sold in 20-round boxes and MSRP is $23.99.
Neither load is a game-changer by any means, but if you ever carry a .25 or a .32 for self-defense, these can make your little friend a bit more formidable.
Just because snub-nosed revolvers are small does not make them less than.
I learned a lot from shooting snub-nosed revolvers. And from carrying them. The packability of a short-barreled revolver is not something you should overlook. Yes, the cylinder does add some bulk, but the real problem with comfortable carry is the barrel, the part that acts as a lever against your hip, waist or some other body part. With the right holster (and every handgun you carry should be in the correct holster, no “pocket carry” in the 21st century), it stays secure, rides comfortably and is easy to draw.
What, then, are the complaints that people have with the snubby? Capacity, trigger pull and accuracy.
No Hurdles Too High
Capacity is easy: You’ve got five or six rounds. Unless you opt for a big-frame snubby, then you can get seven—in some, anyway. Go down in caliber and you can stay compact and get seven, but now we’re talking .32s of one stripe or another.
The S&W M-442 has always been a popular carry gun—so much so that when the IDPA had their tenth championship, S&W came out with this commemorative. Yes, the author was there. Yes, this is his. And, yes, it is unfired.
OK, six rounds it is. Compare that to a subcompact 9mm, with (single stack) six or seven rounds or (double-stack) 10 rounds. I’ll admit that 10 is more than six (I don’t work for the government, after all), but how many times will you or anyone need more than six? And speedloaders make that less of an issue. The compact 9mm brings problems of its own, which we’ll discuss in a bit.
Speaking of capacity, speedloading a snubby can be a very fast thing. Back in the 1980s, I was shooting in an indoor league and entering the Revolver Division. The course was the same for both revolvers and pistols, and with speedloaders I had no problem making the times with the 2-inch S&W M-10 I was using, compared to others shooting pistols.
Practice matters here, more than starting capacity. If you practice with speedloaders you’ll be faster on the reload than the pistol guy who didn’t practice.
The round-nose .45s, on the reload, almost seek the chamber centers and fall right in. That’s why it’s so fast.
The trigger pull on a revolver can be a task to handle, but it need not be if you have yours slicked up by a pistolsmith who knows the task. Or you can dry-fire it a lot.
I met Guy Hogue of Hogue Grips fame at the old Second Chance pin shoot. One of the revolvers on his table, with his grips on it, was a S&W M-58. The fixed-sight N-frame in .41 Magnum. I picked it up, flipped open and closed the cylinder, and then dry-fired it. At the look on my face, with a smile and yet a bit tired, Guy said, “No, not for sale.” He had been using that revolver as a demo for years, it had been dry-fired a bazillion times, and it was smooth. And he would get the question every time he set up his table.
If you think a clean double-action (DA) trigger on a S&W revolver is bad, you really haven’t spent a lot of time with various plastic-framed striker guns, or with various “crunchen-tickers.” Not to pick on them in particular, but Glock has said from day one that their trigger is 5 pounds. I have yet to meet a box-stock Glock that even came close to that.
And the traditional double-action/single-action pistols aren’t better in many instances. A first shot DA of 12-plus pounds, followed by a mushy 6-pound single is not conducive to accurate shooting. A smooth all-the-way-through 10-pound trigger (easy on an S&W K-frame for example) makes shooting a lot more fun.
If you really need a single-action trigger pull, then thumb-cocking the hammer gets you a clean trigger pull that weighs under 4 pounds. But if you stick with practicing your DA trigger stroke, you won’t need the single action. Well, not much.
The author’s two snubby K-Frames. Top, the M-15 he used to go six-for-six on a 100-yard steel silhouette. And below is the M-65 that was a daily carry gun back in the day.
Accuracy: This isn’t due to any inherent lack of accuracy in the snubby. In fact, it’s as accurate as any other revolver, since the barrel is tightly screwed into the frame. The problem is you and the short sight radius.
Simply put, your eye can more readily discern (actually your brain does the work, but we speak of it as if the eye does the work) a misalignment when the two parts being compared are further apart. A small variation on a revolver with an 8-inch barrel is a lot easier to see than it is when the barrel is only 2 inches long.
That said, does it matter? Well, if you were to attempt to use a snubby in a Bullseye match, yes. But shooting at typical defensive and practical competition distances, not much, if at all. I was discussing that with the camera crew when I was doing a TV segment, and remarked, “Oh, I can hit that target out there with a snubby” (pointing at the steel silhouette at the back of the range).
“How far could you do that?”
“Oh, I could probably do alright out to 100 yards.” Before I could realize the impact of that, the producer said, “Set it up. Get the camera in position.”
There I was—in front of the camera—telling the viewers that snubbies could hit a target at rifle distances, and then while the cameras rolled, proceeded to single-action six shots for six hits out of my S&W M-15. Clean on the first take, and that was it because I wasn’t going to try it again for the camera.
Advantages Aplenty
Compactness, hand fit, weight and simplicity of use.
A snubby with a round butt, or even just partly rounded, is as compact as you’re going to get for five or six rounds. It will disappear into a pocket of a winter coat (in a pocket holster, of course), and it can even disappear into a pocket of your trousers. In fact, I know of at least one state trooper agency that had trousers tailored for, and revolvers issued to, troopers to carry in their off-hand trouser pocket. In the winter, the snubby went into a holster built into the winter jacket off-hand pocket.
While the round butt (left) is easier to conceal, it’s only a bit easier. Both are comfortable in the hand; you’ll have to try one of each to see if one is better for you than the other.
That round butt also makes it very comfortable in your hands. Guy Hogue was one of the first to make rubber grips—to fit your hand, to be softer in recoil and to stay concealed—for the then-standard snubby for the carry gun crowd. Unlike a subcompact 9mm pistol, which sacrifices grip for concealability, the snubby is what it is. Making the barrel shorter doesn’t change the grip (a plus and a minus, I’ll admit), and so you can always get a good grip on the draw. That ultra-compact 9mm? Not always so easy, since all you can do is get one finger below your trigger finger onto the frame.
Just under 17 ounces and packing six rounds of .38 Special, the Agent was easy to carry and forget about until it was needed.
Weight is good and bad, and bad and good. Good in that it dampens recoil, but bad in that you have to pack it. If you want light weight, then you’re in luck. Colt offered the Detective Special with an aluminum frame and called it the Agent. S&W offered the M-12 and the M-37, a K-frame and J-frame revolver respectively. That 37 later became the 38, with a shrouded frame to keep the hammer from getting hooked on clothing, not to be confused with the M-442, a fully concealed hammer snubby.
The M-442 is even lighter than the author’s agent, but it does that by giving up a cartridge. Still, the 442 can be serviced, but the Agent can’t, so that’s the one you need today.
Less Is More
As for simplicity, that’s easy. As in, snatch the revolver from wherever you’re packing it, point and stroke through the trigger. No thumb safeties, no grip safeties (well, there was the S&W Centennial, with a grip safety, but it’s a collectible now)—just point and click.
And calibers? The latest is the special model, the M-432, S&W has just offered, done in .32 H&R and for six shots worth. The standard snubby caliber is .38 Special, but if you feel that isn’t sufficient then you can have a short-barreled wheelgun in .357 if you wish.
I have a S&W M65 (all steel) with 3-inch barrel, and it was one of my daily carry guns back in the day. (It was a backup to an LWC 1911 in .45.) It was tolerable to shoot in .357. The classic here is the 2.5-inch M-19, something I lusted after for many a year. If you opt for an airweight in .357, well … you’re on your own. Those are pro-level guns and can be painful to shoot more than a few rounds through.
You can get snubbies in .357 Magnum. You can even get airweight ones. Shooting them and enjoying the experience is another matter.
One specialty snubby is a big-bore wheelgun, where you are stuck with the N-frame-sized package. That’s a 10mm, .41 Magnum, .44 Special or .44 Magnum, with sensible loads, or in .45 Colt, and it can be quite the tool. But the best one here is a snubby N-frame in.45 ACP.
Why?
When it comes to reloading a wheelgun, moon clips are king, and full moon clips are the best.
Because all the top-end .45 ACP loads max out at the top of the recoil level you’d want to be shooting out of a snubby anyway, and when it comes to quick reloads, a .45 ACP revolver with full-moon clips is king of the hill. Don’t believe me? At the annual king of bowling pin shoots, The Pin Shoot, up in Central Lake Michigan, you’ll only ever see .45 ACP wheelguns in the Revolver Event. You face eight pins, you’re required to reload, and everyone uses full moon clips and .45 ACP. The winning time last year was 7.7 seconds, start beep to last pin on the ground.
Yea, sure, revolvers are obsolete and snubbies are no use at all (insert sarcastic tone here).
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
We check out Meprolight’s new MPO family of micro pistol optics.
Meprolight has just released the MPO (Micro Pistol Optics) family of handgun red dot sights. The lineup includes a total of six models, with three featuring an RMR mounting footprint and three featuring that of the RMSc/JPoint. Models with an RMR footprint are designated by an “F” at the end of their name and with an “S” for an RMSc/JPoint footprint. Naturally, the RMR models have slightly larger dimensions including their window sizes. All six models also feature shake-awake and a power-saving sleep mode.
MPO-F (left) and MPO-S (right).
Starting off we have the MPO-F and the MPO-S. These open-emitter red dots feature both automatic and manual brightness control over the 10 daylight and 2 night vision settings. The reticle has three modes to choose between, including a 3-MOA dot, a 33-MOA ring or bullseye-style with both the ring and the dot. They run off of a single CR1632 battery and Meprolight says they can last for over 20,000 hours of use.
MPO-DF (left) and MPO-DS (right).
Next up are the MPO-DF and the MPO-DS. These are also open-emitter red dots, but they have a simple 3.5-MOA dot for a reticle and their brightness is only adjusted automatically. The DF model runs off of a single CR1632 battery with an advertised battery life of 15,000+ hours and the DS models has an advertised 20,000+ hour battery life using a CR2032 battery.
MPO PRO-F (left) and MPO PRO-S (right).
Finally, there are the MPO PRO-F and the MPO PRO-S. These are closed-emitter optics so they offer better protection against the elements, and they’re IP67 waterproof and dust rated as well. These have the same dot/ring/bullseye reticle options as the S and F models as well as the same manual and automatic brightness adjustment settings (10 daylight levels, 2 night vision). As for batteries, they use a single CR1632 and have an advertised battery life of 20,000+ hours.
All 6 MPO optics are available now. Meprolight did not publish the official MSRPs, but popular online retailers currently have them listed between about $190 and $360 depending on the model.
While the ammo used by pistols and revolvers can certainly pack a punch, it’s important to understand the realities of handgun power and its limitations compared to rifles.
As a lifelong student of Elmer Keith, the father of what we could consider the modern hunting handgun and its theory of use, I have come to appreciate the old man and his teachings far more now than I have in the past. And, wouldn’t you know it: Most of what was known 100 years ago is still just as relevant today—and perhaps we need a gut-check on what “handgun power” really means.
Studying and participating in all facets of hunting/field revolver cartridge reloading, as well as their history and associated stories and legends, I’ve come to the understanding that many shooters today don’t understand what these rounds are actually capable of—ignoring data and instead taking information from anecdotal evidence, often from tall tales and word-of-mouth. In my experience with these cartridges and their associated firearms, I’ve arrived at the conclusion that the revolver cartridge “question” was solved a century ago.
The .45 Colt is a storied cartridge and offers deep, straight penetration in hardcast form either with Keith-style bullets or traditional flat-points.
In a manner of speaking, Keith’s word has stood the test of time. The understanding of what he accomplished, however, has largely been lost, as we’ve moved on in technology and abilities.
Let me explain.
The Author’s Conundrum
For me, a .45 Colt or .44 Magnum with a 260- to 300-grain hardcast Keith bullet, exiting the muzzle at around 1,000 to 1,200 fps from a 5-inch gun, will kill virtually anything inside 100 yards with a center-mass hit.
The .44 Special (center) is a direct copy of Keith’s own “perfect” load, and it’s still a thumper that can take game. However, Keith did later move to .44 Magnum (right), a longer .44 Special. The .45 Colt (left) was largely dismissed for the better part of a half-century until heavy-frame revolvers began to take over and people began to see that it could, in fact, roll with the big boys. The .45 Colt amped up is no joke, and it exceeds .44 Magnum in many cases. It since spawned the .454 Casull and .460 S&W.
Simple enough, right? What in the world are we doing with everything else then?
Well, the gunwriter in me knows that this is how I get work: talking about the next thing that you need. The honest man in me—who has messed up more times than I have succeeded—will tell you that most of the rest is simply marketing, and the guns and cartridges above a certain power level rapidly lose their benefits. There are recoil junkies of course, and I respect those guys, though I need my delicate wrists for typing.
From a technical standpoint, the energy and penetration delivered with the above-mentioned loads is perfect considering that the associated recoil and training curve are respectively mild and short. You might think that 1,000 fps is slow, but it isn’t. And in my time with hardcast .45 Colt in the Colt SAA and Ruger revolvers, I’ve shot clean through full-grown whitetail inside 75 yards using 0.452-inch Rim Rock bullets in Keith style.
Many companies make Keith-style bullets, and loading them can be easily learned. A .45 Colt Single Action Army revolver with 260- to 270-grain bullets at 1,000 fps is a healthy, powerful load that can easily take game and serve for field and recreational use.
Going up in power to 300-grain bullets moving at the same speed produces serious recoil, especially with jacketed bullets like the Hornady XTP. Increasing to 1,200 fps in heavy-frame revolvers gets a bit stout, and I find myself anticipating the shot, even with plenty of practice. It’s easy to be a pro at the range, but I’ve missed game due to flinching. For a long time, I worried about not having enough power, where in reality, I had plenty to begin with and simply thought I should have more because I believed it would kill better.
I won’t say that you need more than what was discovered by Keith. It took me the better part of a decade to understand what was already written, and now I tend to go a bit less instead of more. You’ll be remiss if you think that you need more power when you may not even understand how good your loads actually are. There is a big difference between felt recoil, which in large part has to do with the shape of the grip, and the killing ability of the bullet. To my own experience, there’s little difference between hardcast loads in .44 and .45 bores, in that sweet-spot of 240 to 300 grains, being pushed at 1,000 to 1,200 fps.
Modern alloy bullets in .45 and .44 calibers are bone-crushing machines that offer deep penetration without all the cleanup of lead bullets of similar shape.
Unfortunately, shooters often feel like they need more recoil to believe they have more power.
I’ve let plenty of people shoot my amped-up handloads in real-world game-killing power levels, and they, more often than I want to believe, state that they thought it would be worse … or more “snappy.” A handful have even stated that they thought it didn’t hit the plates hard enough to make them think it was enough to kill a deer. The ideal field revolver is hardly a mule; instead, it should be packable and not obnoxious. What bullets do when they hit steel, especially lead bullets, is no indicator of what they do on game.
Lead bullets don’t deform much in gel, making them give less than interesting visual results. However, penetration is deep, with .45 Colt loads able to pass through several blocks of ballistic gel depending on bullet type.
What Is Too Powerful?
The big thing to consider when looking at the various levels of power inherent to revolvers is that they are, as a group, widely inferior to rifles. You enter what I like to refer to as the “death spiral” when you try to make it do something it’s not intended to do, in this case making a revolver into something of a rifle by means of increasing its power level to a point of non-function. Some manufacturers try to make a revolver somehow more powerful to negate the handicaps of a handgun … but end up making them worse. “Handheld, heavy, less powerful, stockless rifle with high recoil and limited range that is hard to carry” isn’t much of a selling point, but some revolvers have arrived at this place.
The upper end of revolver power is occupied by the colossal .500 S&W, a round that’s so large that it’s really in a class of its own, not dissimilar in size to the old .50-70 Government. There’s so much recoil energy, and the guns designed for it are so heavy that it’s made impractical by its size alone. Considering that .500 Linebaugh is made for standard, packable Blackhawk frames, the .500 S&W is just too much.
There’s a massive difference in power in all but the most powerful revolvers—and the most handicapped rifles. Yes, it is, in theory, true that .460 S&W out of a big X-Frame with a 10-inch barrel is nearly equivalent in total power to a .450 Bushmaster of the same 250-grain weight, both firing 0.451 or 0.452 diameter bullets. But projectile energy alone isn’t the only factor to consider: The revolver is substantially harder to become proficient with and limits effective range due to physical restrictions on optics and the lack of a stock.
Examples of rifle cartridges, .45-70 and .450 Bushmaster, flanking the revolver cartridge .460 S&W. Few rifles have been made in .460, while there are almost countless versions in .45-70 and .450 BM. Despite impressive ballistics from a revolver, the learning curve is far steeper with the .460, and the author gave up on it after one season. It was a revolver trying to play in rifle territory.
However, the thought process that landed us at these massive handgun cartridges began with enough good intention to forgive it. And, more power shouldn’t be the main consideration when looking at revolver rounds.
For instance, the .45 ACP is a fine field pistol cartridge and is in no way a magnum class revolver load. I’ve killed plenty of large-bodied whitetails with 230-grain Black Hills JHP and Hornady 220-grain +P Critical Duty in a 1911. Both of these loads are absolutely suitable for realistic field use, and I’ve had pass-through shots broadside with the Hornady load. I do not expect the .45 ACP cartridge to exit; in fact, I don’t need it to because I’m hunting under with a bullet traveling less than 1,000 fps suppressed inside 40 yards. I feel that it is superior in noise control and shot placement over 10mm Auto, an opinion that many would disagree with, but I’m not seeing any evidence in practice from active pistol hunters to prove me wrong.
That said, I’d not shoot at game with this setup nearly as far as I would a revolver; in fact, the 1911 has half (or less) of the range of a .45 Colt 300-grain Keith bullet moving at 1,100 fps. These small incremental differences matter: While both are .45 caliber and traveling nearly the same speed, the difference in bullet construction and penetration ability is paramount. This is a nuanced game when it comes to pistol and revolver hunting, and going hog wild in power is never the answer.
Meplat differences have a great deal to do with a bullet’s on-game performance. The .45 ACP 230-grain FMJ is a known fighting bullet that has given great results—however, most shooters consider it less than ideal for large game. Simply switching to a heavier bullet with a flat point at the same speed will not tremendously increase recoil, but it will dramatically change how the bullet interacts with flesh and bone.
Bullets truly designed for killing in the field are made to penetrate, and the introduction of mechanical action (expansion) introduces variables to that equation … which can be easily controlled in gel/advertising. The explosive effects of some of these bullet designs is enough to lure consumers into thinking that they need this for success, but this is just not true. Again, simple reliability in revolver loads is what you truly need.
The most effective wound channels are not so dramatic. Instead, they’re deep-penetrating and as blind to bone as possible. Shooting through something at any angle is what we’re asking of a field gun, a notable difference as compared to defense ammunition where immediate expansion is desired.
Reinventing the Wheel
Continuing improvement in design is what we strive for, but that continuing improvement in revolver cartridge design is a bit of a misnomer, as it is more of a continued branching off of a proven, rooted trunk than anything else. The main design elements are already decided in most cases: Most designs out there are just longer versions of existing cases. Simply lengthening cases is a sure way to increase bullet weight and powder capacity, though the purpose here lies largely in tinkering than true utility.
What’s known to work hasn’t changed. Notice that, aside from reduced-power specialty competition cases (think .45 Cowboy Special), nobody is making any “less” powerful revolver cartridges. Instead, they keep getting bigger. I wonder who is truly asking for these.
The .500 S&W next to .45 Colt and .44 Magnum. The comically large size of this cartridge is immediately apparent: The loads shown here in .44 and .45 are both hardcast Keith style and fly at around 1,200 fps, enough to take most game animals in the country at 75 yards or so with manageable recoil.
So, is it true that we’ve hit peak revolver performance more than a century ago? Well, it could be argued that we arrived with Keith and his .44 Special testing in the ’20s and ’30s, but it wasn’t until he had the commercial support to deliver the .44 Magnum later that I feel we truly hit the pinnacle. The .44 Magnum is, in many ways, the perfect revolver cartridge, and when loaded with Keith’s own bullet designs, it’s arguably the most balanced performer from a 4- to 6-inch barrel under field conditions in terms of ballistic abilities, effect on game and ability to be carried.
It seems that we keep coming back to this every decade or so, and then promptly forget it when it’s not used in the field but instead as a range toy that needs more “boom.”
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
We dive into the history and ballistics of the .280 Remington cartridge and try to figure out if the cartridge remains relevant today.
The .280 Remington is limping along to extinction, which is both understandable (for reasons we'll get into) and also quite a shame.
It came along too early or too late depending on one's view, got sandbagged by poor marketing and, in general, never caught on enough to enshrine itself as one of the All-Time Greats.
As a result, in my opinion, .280 Remington is asymptotically winding down to oblivion. The dying cartridge has positives, but there's nothing it does so well that you can't find equal performance in what are more popular and in many cases more desirable cartridges.
Where Did .280 Remington Come From?
As the Remington cartridge division has been apt to do throughout its history, it devised the .280 by adopting a 7mm-06 wildcat that many basement ballisticians were mucking around with. First commercially released in 1957, Remington declined to offer the cartridge in the 720 series initially, instead opting to only (at first) chamber the 740 semi-auto and the 760 pump-action rifles in the new caliber. It wouldn’t be offered in any of the company’s bolt-actions until three years after its introduction.
To give you an idea of how fruitful of a venture this was, Remington sold far more 740 and 742 rifles in .30-06 than they ever sold in .280, and when it came time to update the model again in the ‘80s (as the 7400), they also offered it chambered for .270 Winchester.
The recipe for .280 was the same as for .270 Winchester, its main competitor, as both cartridges start with a .30-06 as the parent case and neck it down for a smaller bullet, specifically .284 inches for the .280 Rem.
The classic .280 Remington loadings are a 140-grain bullet at 3,000 feet per second and a 150-grain bullet at about 2,900 feet per second. Typical recoil energy is around 17 foot-pounds, about on par with a .308 Winchester or a 150-grain load of .30-06.
However, since the .280 is classically loaded with the middle range of grain weights in .284 caliber, it didn't benefit hugely from the higher sectional densities and ballistic coefficients of the heavier (160-grain and above) projectiles in factory loads.
Hence it acquired a reputation as a handloader's darling, as premium high-BC bullets and judicious powder selection gave it stunning effective range with mild recoil, but it just never quite captured serious mainstream appeal.
The rifle and ammo-buying public said to themselves, “Why would I buy that when I can just get a .270 or a 7mm Remington Magnum (when it made its appearance 5 years later)?” and that's what most of them did.
Midway through its life, Remington rebranded the .280 Remington as the 7mm-06, then the 7mm Express in 1978. All this did was confuse the hell out of the shooting public, who mixed the cartridge up with 7mm Remington Mag. How they expressed this bafflement was by buying different rifles.
The rebranding was over by 1981, and factory ammunition now bears the legendary “Safe For Use With 7mm Remington Express” label to this day. Around the same time, Remington introduced the 7mm-08, which was vastly more successful as a hunting cartridge and in competitive shooting.
In its day, the .280 Remington was known for being a mild-ish hunting cartridge with long legs, perfect for North American game short of the great bears and most African plains game besides the really big ones. It had a reputation of primarily being useful for hunting light to medium game from pronghorn and deer to elk, moose and caribou.
Despite its problems, the cartridge still had some fans. Jack O'Connor's last rifle was a Ruger 77 action in an Al Biesen stock in .280 Remington.
Jack O'Connor's Custom Ruger M77 in .280 Remington.
However, by the 1990s, the damage was done. Long-action cartridges have been falling out of favor since then, and realistically there's nothing that .280 Rem. does that a .270 doesn't do equally well in the real world.
.280 Remington Ballistics: Does It Do Anything Better Than .270?
The .280 Remington has an edge over .270 on paper, but it rarely (if ever) materializes in the real world.
Let's start by looking at some classic loadings to see how closely they compare using Shooter's Calculator. All tables were calculated presuming a 1.5-inch sight height, a 10 mph 90-degree crosswind, zero corrections for atmosphere and a 100-yard zero. We'll begin with 130-grain CoreLokt (G1 BC of .336) in .270 Winchester:
The 130-grain load in .270 is supersonic to over 900 yards and could easily have an effective range on deer to 500 yards. Now let’s look at the 140-grain CoreLokt (G1 BC of .390) load for .280 Remington:
The .280 Remington's 140-grain bullet is still supersonic at 1,000 yards (though only just) and is well within effective range on light-skinned game up to 650 yards and heavier medium game out to 500 yards.
However, both cartridges benefit hugely from modern high-BC bullets. For instance, here's a trajectory table for .270 Winchester with Hornady's 145-grain ELD-X (G1 BC of .536) load:
And here’s Hornady’s .280 Remington ELD-X load featuring a 150-grain bullet with a G1 BC of .574:
With modern ammunition, both are excellent at long-range, and both stay supersonic beyond 1,400 yards. The .280 has slightly higher velocity and energy, but at 1,000 yards it only drops 2 inches less than the equivalent .270 load. Not a huge difference practically speaking.
To give you an idea of why .280 Remington is a handloader's darling, here's a trajectory table based on Nosler's load data using a 175-grain AccuBond LR bullet (G1 BC of .648) at 2,700 fps:
As you can see, it’s still supersonic at 1,500 yards, and that’s a feat that even many loads of 6.5mm Creedmoor can’t achieve. Scrupulously handloaded, it's a long-range hunter's dream…but few people have the time, money or patience to work up a load like that.
As far as factory ammunition goes there's a difference between .270 Winchester and .280 Remington, but there’s more to cartridge selection than what ballistic data can tell you.
The reality is that a deer or elk can't tell what velocity the bullet is traveling at when it hits them. No animal anywhere has decided “If it had been 100 fps faster, I'd actually die!” With the CoreLokt loads, there's only a 100-fps difference at 500 yards (a discrepancy of less than 10 percent) and the .270's bullet has only dropped an additional 1.3 inches. At the ranges you’d likely use either of these cartridges at, the differences are too small to matter, essentially making them identical in the field.
An attempt was made to better the .280 when P.O. Ackley created .280 Ackley Improved, but it was so close to 7mm Remington Magnum in every respect (including recoil) that it never really caught on either.
The .280 Remington (left) vs. .280 Ackley Improved (right). Photo: Massaro Media Group.
.280 Remington Vs. .270 Winchester In The Real World
So, ballistic differences aside, let's discuss other aspects of the .280 Remington versus .270 Winchester debate.
At the time of this writing, on GrabAGun, there are 146 rifles chambered in .270 Winchester, over 100 of which are in stock. Meanwhile, there are 3 in .280 Remington, none of which are in stock.
As for ammo, GrabAGun lists 11 loadings in .280 Remington, 3 of which are in stock, compared to 70 listings of .270 Winchester of which 43 are available. Savage Arms, oddly enough, makes 10 in .280 Ackley, but none in the original recipe. Further, the prices are just as bad as the availability of .280 Rem., as Ammoseek currently lists the cheapest .270 Winchester at about 75 cents per round while the cheapest .280 is almost $1.50 per round.
Is .280 Remington Even Worth Fooling With Anymore?
For the new shooter looking to get into a serious hunting rifle, you’re better off staying away from .280 Remington.
Not because there’s anything inherently wrong with it, of course, and as mentioned it can have excellent performance with handloads. But when you consider the price and availability of .280 rifles and ammo alongside the fact that there are much more accessible cartridges with equal or better performance, the choice becomes obvious.
Outside of inheriting a .280 Remington rifle or finding a cool one for sale at a price you can’t refuse, there’s no real reason to get into the cartridge today. If you do happen to have one and are looking to use it, I’d recommend the 140-grain CoreLokt or Federal Fusion loads for hunting deer-sized game in the western states and the Hornady Precision Hunter 150-grain ELD-X for larger game or hunting at longer ranges.
Though often overlooked in today’s world of CCW semi-autos, there are some excellent carry revolver options out there.
In today’s world of self-defense handguns, if it’s not itty-bitty, plastic and outfitted with a dot sight, it doesn’t get talked about very much. This means revolvers get overlooked, but it doesn’t mean there aren’t some good carry revolvers out there—your options are just limited. The limitations start with revolver cartridges because there are only a few that are really suitable for personal protection.
Though it hasn’t had a lot of manufacturer support over the years, the .327 Federal Magnum is a viable option in a sub-compact revolver that allows for six shots, as opposed to five like you’d get with a .38 Special or a .357 Magnum. Just because the .38 Special has been around for more than 125 years doesn’t mean it’s outdated. Ammunition used in early .38 Special revolvers was a bit anemic compared to what’s available today. With modern +P ammo options, the .38 Special way outperforms its relic-like reputation. The .357 Magnum is the only other revolver cartridge seriously worth considering—its downside is recoil that can be offensive in concealable revolvers.
The .327 Federal Magnum (left), .38 Special (center) and .357 Magnum (right) are the best of the self-defense revolver cartridges.
Of course, others will point out that there are 9mm Luger revolvers. I know; I have a Korth revolver, and I can switch cylinders from .357 Magnum to 9mm. If you can find one you like and can afford, it can be a practical choice. And of course, there’s the .44 Special, which is an outstanding self-defense cartridge with modern ammunition. The problem is that .44 Special revolvers can be large, and good ammo options are sparse. Some might also suggest the .44 Magnum, but if you’ve ever shot one in a little revolver you know this is mostly optimistic, testosterone-infused conjecture.
A revolver like the Korth 2.5-inch Carry Special isn’t outlandishly large, but it’s still heavy, weighing in at 33 ounces. However, with its interchangeable cylinders, it will fire 9mm, .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammo.
Wheels Aplenty
I like the .327 Federal Magnum cartridge and think it a better ballistic option than the .38 Special and the .357 Magnum. Better than the .38 Special, partly because of capacity, but also partly because from a terminal performance standpoint it’s just as good. Where it has an advantage over the .357 Magnum is in recoil. To make the .357 Magnum recoil compatible to the .327 Federal, you give up the ballistic advantage the .357 Magnum has. But there aren’t a lot of .327 revolvers to choose from. One of the best—and lightest—is Ruger’s LCR.
The wise concealed carrier will load their .357 revolvers, especially the little ones, with a good quality .38 Special +P load like this one from Buffalo Bore.
If I went with a .357 Magnum, I’d load it with .38 Special +P ammo. I’d do this for two reasons. The first is that good .38 Special +P ammo will not have seriously unpleasant recoil and will allow you to deliver follow-up shots on target faster. The second and just as important reason is that, out of little revolvers, the ejection rod might not be long enough to reliably eject the longer .357 Magnum cases … well, unless you slap it like you’d slap a man for disrespecting your wife, and then they might still stick in the cylinder. The shorter .38 Special cases generally pop right out of their chambers.
That mostly leaves us with the .38 Special, but because the .357 Magnum can reliably chamber and fire .38 Special and .38 Special +P ammo, a .357—if you can find one in the right-sized revolver—might be the best way for you to go. No, you might not be able to comfortably control .357 Magnum recoil out of a 17-ounce Ruger LCR, but other than saving a few ounces, there’s not much reason to go for the .38 Special. With a .357 Magnum revolver, you have the option for that extra power if you need and can manage it.
The other revolver limitation is size. You can circumvent some of the .357 Magnum’s recoil intensity by going with a larger—duty size—revolver like the Colt Python. I’ve a good bit of experience working with the Python, and it’s a fine revolver. Its 42-ounce heft helps tame .357 recoil, but it also makes the handgun tug quite heavily on your belt. You can opt for the 3- or 2.5-inch Python, but you’ll only save a few ounces. Another advantage of carrying a larger revolver in .357 Magnum is the more than five-shot capacity they offer. A full-size duty gun will hold one extra round, and Ruger even offers a few seven-shot .357 Magnum revolvers.
The Colt 4-inch Python is a fantastic magnum revolver. But it’s big, especially on your belt where it can tug heavily.
Not Too Big, not too Small
There are some revolvers that are not so itty bitty that they’re hard to shoot and not so big that they’re hard to carry. Taurus makes a six-shot, 25-ounce Defender Model 856 in .38 Special +P with a 3-inch barrel. They also make a six-shot, 3-inch Defender T.O.R.O. revolver chambered for the .327 Federal Magnum. It weighs 23 ounces, but it is—surprisingly—optics ready. And they have an optics-ready T.O.R.O. Model 856 revolver in .38 Special +P.
The Taurus 327 T.O.R.O. Defender in .327 Federal Magnum (left), the Smith & Wesson Model 60 in .357 Magnum from the Performance Center (top) and the Taurus 25-ounce Defender Model 856 in .38 Special +P with a 3-inch barrel (right)
Though a bit pricier, another revolver worth considering is from Smith & Wesson. They have a Model 60 in .357 Magnum from their Performance Center. It has a 3-inch barrel, holds five rounds and only weighs 23 ounces.
To me, these midsize or compact—depending on how you want to classify them—revolvers that weigh between 20 and 25 ounces are what I consider true carry revolvers. For the three revolver cartridges most suitable for carry, these wheelguns offer the best balance of shootability, concealability and power that’s available.
The Taurus revolvers retail for around $450 to $550, but the Smith & Wesson will set you back about $900. From a quality standpoint, the Smith is probably worth the extra jingle. Either way, if you’re considering a revolver for carry, consider one of the not so big, and not so little, ones.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
We take a peek at the Savage Arms 110 Trail Hunter Lite, a new lighter weight version of the proven bolt-action rifle.
The Savage Arms 110 Trail Hunter is a well-proven, no-frills bolt-action rifle. That said, many hunters have been interested in lighter options lately to help reduce the burden of packing in and out of the bush. Savage’s answer is the 110 Trail Hunter Lite, a rifle that takes all the loved features of the standard model and shaves about a pound off of the package’s total weight.
Savage primarily achieved the lower weight by giving the 110 Trail Hunter Lite a fluted, shorter, barrel than what the original models had. That means a 20-inch barrel for all 15 of the available chambering options except for the .350 Legend model which sports an 18-inch barrel. Overall weight varies depending on the caliber, but all are around 7 pounds. Besides that, most of the features are what you’d expect. That includes a Hogue Overmolded rubber stock, a Tungsten Cerakoted barreled action, a threaded barrel and an adjustable AccuTrigger.
Beth Shimanski, Director of Marketing at Savage Arms, said this about the new rifle:
We are very excited to introduce the next evolution of the 110 Trail Hunter as Savage continues to bolster its lineup of firearms designed for hunters … The 110 Trail Hunter Lite is another great partnership with Hogue and brings all of the toughness of the original 110 Trail Hunter, with decreased weight to ensure it’s easier to carry afield.
Available chambering options for the 110 Trail Hunter Lite include .243 Win., .270 Win., .30-06 Spring., .300 Win. Mag., .300 WSM, .308 Win., .350 Legend, .400 Legend, .450 Bushmaster, 5.56 NATO, 6.5 Creedmoor, 6.5 PRC, 7mm PRC, 7mm Rem. Mag. and 7mm-08 Rem. MSRP for all models is $669 and they are available now.
The U.S. Supreme Court has overturned the Trump-era bumpstock ban.
In a 6-3 ruling along ideological lines, the SCOTUS struck down the ban on bump stocks in the case of Cargill Vs. Garland. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the opinion and went into detail about the case.
In case you missed it, bump stocks are plastic stocks made for popular firearms like the AK-47 and AR-15 that help the shooter to “bump” the trigger. A combination of pulling on the forend of the firearm and the recoil of the gun bumps the gun back and forth into your trigger finger, thus producing a high rate of fire.
It is important to note that each shot fired requires one trigger action. But instead of the shooter’s finger doing all the work, a bump stock bumps the gun forward bringing the trigger to the shooter’s finger.
Bump stocks are essentially a range toy. They have no practical purpose in competition and their tactical use would be highly debatable at best. But for turning money into noise, they can’t be beat.
Why Is This A Big Win?
When Trump ordered the ATF to ban bump stocks, the ATF reclassified them as “machine guns” thus subject to the NFA. Congress didn't pass a law banning them and there was no vote, no review and no oversight. The ATF simply decided that bump stocks were machine guns and thus were banned.
This was a gross and horrific overstep from the ATF and blatantly outside the law. Machine guns, as defined by US law, are:
“[A]ny weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any part designed and intended solely and exclusively, or a combination of parts designed and intended, for use in converting a weapon into a machinegun, and any combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.” 26 USC 5845 (b)
Critically, machine guns require automatic fire with “a single function of the trigger.” Bump stocks by their design actuate the trigger with each shot. 10 rounds require 10 pulls of the trigger. Because of this, they are not machine guns.
This was the crux of the case and is the focus of the judgment overturning the ban. Machine guns are well-defined under federal law. Bump stocks do not meet that definition. The ATF had no authority to reclassify them. Thus, the ban was overturned.
Not only is this a major win for gun owners desiring bump stocks, but it also speaks to a larger trend that the court has followed. Namely, the sharp rebuke of federal agencies being allowed to invent laws and regulations outside the letter of the law.
Hopefully, this will continue with other 2A cases before the court.
We discuss the limits of self-defense in the face of mob violence and when overwhelming numbers of unarmed threats turn deadly.
In recent times, the landscape of civil unrest has evolved and, with it, armed citizens have been forced to consider how they might respond if they find themselves amidst the unrest.
Consider the following tragic example of mob violence.
On November 1, 2023, 17-year-old Jonathan Edward Lewis Jr., a student at Rancho High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, was the victim of a violent attack by a mob of his fellow students. Lewis had been standing up for a friend who was being bullied by the other students. Tragically, Lewis succumbed to the injuries sustained during the assault on November 7, 2023.
The tragic beating death of Lewis raises important questions about the legal limits of self-defense. In this case, Lewis was reportedly attacked by a mob of 10 to 15 assailants, leaving him defenseless on the ground which ultimately resulted in his death.
From a use-of-force legal analysis perspective, the key question is: What actions would Lewis have been legally justified in taking to defend himself against such an overwhelming attack? Even if the attackers had no access to weapons, could Lewis have used deadly force to protect himself?
The Elements of Self-Defense
There are five key elements that determine whether a use of force is legally justified as self-defense:
1. Innocence: Was the person claiming self-defense the initial unlawful aggressor? In this case, the evidence suggests the mob attacking Lewis was the initial aggressor, making Lewis the innocent party.
2. Imminence: Was the threat of harm immediate and about to occur? The ongoing beating of the defenseless Lewis clearly meets this criterion.
3. Proportionality: Was the defensive force used proportional to the threat faced? This is the most complex element in this scenario.
4. Avoidance: Did the person claiming self-defense have a reasonable opportunity to safely retreat? In a “stand your ground” state like Nevada where this occurred, there is no duty to retreat when facing such an attack.
5. Reasonableness: Was the person’s belief that deadly force was necessary or reasonable given the circumstances? With 10 to 15 assailants surrounding and beating an unarmed, defenseless victim, this standard appears to be met.
Disparity of Numbers as Deadly Force
The key issue here is the element of proportionality: When does the sheer number of attackers constitute a deadly force threat, justifying the use of deadly defensive force?
The general rule is that you can only use deadly force to defend against a deadly force threat—one likely to cause death or serious bodily injury. A single unarmed attacker of similar size and ability typically does not meet this threshold, even if they throw a punch.
However, the courts have recognized that a large disparity in numbers can transform an otherwise non-deadly attack into a deadly force situation. As the number of assailants grows, even if they are unarmed, the threat of death or serious harm increases exponentially.
Applying the Law to the Situation
In the case of Lewis, he was facing a mob of 10 to 15 attackers. Given his defenseless position on the ground, completely surrounded, this disparity of numbers would likely be considered a deadly force threat under the law.
The courts have consistently held that an individual is not required to wait to be killed or suffer serious injury before using deadly defensive force. When confronted with the threat of death or grave harm from a large group of assailants, the law allows the use of force reasonably necessary to prevent that outcome—even if it means using lethal force against unarmed attackers.
Tragically, it appears Lewis was unable to mount any meaningful defense against the onslaught. But had he been armed and able to fight back, the law may have justified the use of deadly force to protect his life against this deadly mob attack.
Conclusion
While the loss of Lewis is heartbreaking, examining the legal principles around self-defense in such situations might help prevent similar tragedies. The law recognizes that when faced with the threat of death or grave harm from a large group of assailants, an individual has the right to use the force necessary to save their own life—even if that means using lethal force against unarmed attackers.
This is a difficult and nuanced area of the law, but understanding these principles can empower people to defend themselves when confronted with such overwhelming violence. Hopefully, the lessons from this tragic case can help protect the innocent and save lives down the road.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
We all have our dream guns, but these are the ones no self-respecting gun owner should ever be without.
This scene has played out innumerable times. A new shooter or hunter is at a campfire or gun counter, going down the rabbit hole we all know well. A question arises, which gun should I get next?
My answer is the list below, 10 guns everyone should experience at some point. However, before you get your pitchforks sharpened and torches lit, this isn’t a list of firearms you need for the rest of your life (though you would be well-armed). Think of this as 10 guns you need to get your hands on at some point simply because they are timeless classics.
1. A Well-Built AR-15
Eugene Stoner blessed us with an absolute classic when he designed the M16/AR-15 platform many years ago. While hundreds of manufacturers have produced the AR in many different iterations, the spectrum is broad and varied. It has been chambered in many different calibers, so I’m referring to a good-quality carbine or rifle variant in .223/5.56 NATO chambering.
What makes the AR-15 so handy? It’s lightweight, easy to operate and maintain, and it shoots cheap ammo. From a self-defense standpoint, my AR-15 is the first gun I grab when things go bump in the night. With a standard-capacity magazine of 30 cartridges, it’s serious firepower and relatively low recoil for faster follow-up shots. If you told me I could only have one rifle, it would likely be a well-built AR-15 in .223/5.56. Is it the perfect cartridge for taking big game in North America? Absolutely not. Much has been written about shot placement and bullet construction, but I can say that I have taken many whitetails in America and springboks in Africa with this chambering.
Note that I said good quality. There are a lot of great manufacturers, such as FN, Colt, Cobalt Kinetics, Knights Armament Corp., Barrett and Noveske. You can’t go wrong with any of these.
The popularity of the AR-15 in America is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the platform is so modular that most people can build one in the garage. This is fantastic from a modularity standpoint because a rifle that is perfectly set up for me might be the complete opposite of what might work for you regarding trigger, barrel, stock, gas system, etc. On the other hand, this ease of building leads to some manufacturers putting together the cheapest parts they can source to sell to the consumer.
You want a name brand with a reputation for reliability, accuracy, and quality fit and finish. You don’t want a random, cobbled-together rifle you bought at a gun show the morning after a few dudes with a garage FFL slapped it together after polishing off a six-pack. It seems like every election cycle many new AR-15 manufacturers appear out of nowhere. Some are good; others are not so great.
Backup/alternate: Ruger Mini-14—If you live in one of the “ban” states, get a standard Ruger Mini-14 in 5.56/223. While some question this rifle’s accuracy, the current production will hang with any off-the-shelf AR-15 variants at the same price point. How accurate? You will still hit a man-sized torso steel target out to 400 yards all day and will certainly maintain 2 MOA with good ammo. Accuracy like that is more than acceptable for anything I will ask of such a rifle.
2. 1911 Handgun
Few pistols feel better in hand than a well-built 1911.
Over a hundred years ago, the legendary John Moses Browning—a genius in business and firearms design—began the development of a semi-automatic handgun for military trials that resulted in several successful designs. Still, the one that the U.S. military would adopt would be the model of 1911 produced by Colt.
It should come as no surprise that a significant contributing factor to the gun’s popularity was that multiple generations of service members came home and bought what they were familiar with, leading to the 1911’s widespread use.
A well-built 1911 truly is a shooting experience to behold. But, like the AR-15, popularity leads to a wide range of offerings. It can’t be stressed enough: Buy quality 1911s. While this may seem snobbish, remember that the 1911 design does not lend itself well to cheap mass production. Because a gun is technically a 1911 design, it is not inherently great.
Start with quality. It will save you time and money in the long run. Where is the line of quality? The baseline offerings from Springfield Armory and Colt are an excellent starting point.
As a good friend of mine (ironically, he’s in the UK gun industry) once said, the 1911 is the embodiment of America’s pistol. I couldn’t agree more with this statement; it’s a gun every red-blooded American should own and enjoy.
Backup/alternate: Browning Hi-Power—The Hi-Power is undoubtedly one of my favorite semi-auto handguns. Some would even argue that it was the natural progression of the 1911 design. You can never go wrong with this classy 9mm semi-auto.
3. Smith & Wesson Model 29 Revolver
Elmer Keith was right. The ultimate packing and do-all field revolver is a 4-inch Model 29 .44 magnum.
In 1955, a match made in heaven was brokered by the god of wheel guns himself, Elmer Keith. Keith was an Idaho big-game hunter and guide and one of our most influential gun writers. He used his pull to bring about a new cartridge designed around what he believed the current .44 Special should have been performance-wise; enter the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge paired with the new Smith & Wesson Model 29 revolver on the N-frame.
It’s a big gun, easy to control and versatile. Keith was an avid handgun hunter and rancher. The .44 Mag. was designed with his needs in mind. You can do it all with the classic 4-inch barrel configuration (my preferred variant).
While the .44 Magnum cartridge is a reloader’s dream, if you don’t handload, there is a wide assortment of .44 Magnum and .44 Special factory loads commercially available to cover everything from hunting to self-defense. If I’m in the woods or on the water, my Model 29 is on my hip. I wear mine in a Simply Rugged pancake-style holster called the Sourdough. The holster distributes the weight of this massive boat anchor of a handgun. But once you get used to the weight, you will find it a benefit regarding recoil control.
If given the restriction of only being able to own one handgun, a 4-inch blued finish Model 29 would be my choice.
Backup/alternate: Ruger Redhawk—If the Model 29 isn’t your speed and you want to be slightly different, go with the Ruger Redhawk. The Redhawk is beefier, heavier and a bit less refined in the trigger department when compared to a pre-lock S&W. The Redhawk is more robust, though, and its weight can be helpful when shooting heavy loads.
4. Ruger MKIV .22 Pistol
After WWII, prolific firearm designer Bill Ruger entered the American gun scene. He was a fan of the Japanese Nambu pistol and its bolt design. In 1949, he introduced the gun known as the Ruger Standard Auto in .22 LR. The Standard Auto was the first generation in a series of pistols currently in the fourth iteration (Mark IV).
So what sets the MKIV apart from the others? The takedown system. Anyone who has owned a Ruger Standard Auto in the first three generations will tell you it’s an amazing gun with one major drawback: disassembling it requires black magic, luck and a rubber mallet. It isn’t that bad once you learn a few tricks and get used to it, but it certainly was a significant drawback. The latest generation has a button on the back of the frame you push, and the gun hinges open for easy field stripping and cleaning.
The MKIV also has one of the cleanest triggers of any commercially available rimfire pistol today. I love guns that are good to go right out of the box. After properly sighting in an Aimpoint Micro T2 on top of mine, we frequently made hits on a 6-inch gong at 100 yards.
If you live in a freedom-loving state, buy the threaded model and get a suppressor (I highly recommend the Q Erector).
Backup/alternate: Taurus TX22 Competition—The Competition variant is my top pick of the TX22 line as it comes threaded with an optics mounting plate. I will be the first to admit I was not a fan of Taurus for many years, but this is one of the guns that made me a believer that the Taurus of today is an entirely different company putting out high-quality products. I’ll purchase one next for backpacking, as it’s a bit lighter than the Ruger.
5. The Ruger No. 1 Single-Shot Rifle
You won’t find an American-made rifle with more class and style than the Ruger No. 1. Get your pith helmets and tweed field coat ready. The brainchild of Bill Ruger and Leonard Brownell, the No. 1 gave Americans a single-shot rifle that is a mashup between classical British and American gun-making styles. Through the years, it has come in many configurations in stainless and blued finishes and everything from varmint rifles to true big-bore safari guns—all built on the same indestructible falling block action.
I like the No. 1A configuration best, a blued half-stock sporter variant with a beautiful Alexander Henry-style forend and banded front sight. The barrel is of light contour, and it makes for a lovely stalking rifle that makes you want to glass red stags in the Scottish highlands or kudu through the mopane brush.
They aren’t winning any awards in the accuracy department, but some of my Ruger No. 1s are the most accurate rifles I have ever owned. That said, others needed a little love and were picky on ammo. My current No. 1A in .275 Rigby (7×57 Mauser) will shoot an honest 3/4-inch three-shot group all day long from a cold bore with 140-grain Nosler Accubonds. With most other factory ammo, it’s a 1.5 MOA gun. Is it going to beat any accuracy records? Absolutely not! Am I pleased with it, and will it suit my needs? Absolutely yes! What level of accuracy do you expect and need? My No. 1A in .275 Rigby is a stalking rifle for medium-sized game, and I am taking shots 250 yards and closer. For my needs, the rifle works perfectly fine.
Backup/alternate: Browning 1885—The Browning 1885 is equally classic; if having an exposed hammer is more your speed, this is the route you want to go. It’s also one of John Browning’s masterpieces.
6. The Remington 870 Pump Shotgun
If you ever want to experience a pump-action shotgun, buy a Remington 870. With production numbers in the millions, if you ask most people about their first pump-action shotgun, it was likely an 870.
The 870 is the literal definition of a workhorse; it’s so reliable that it’s boring. But this rugged pedestrian reliability has a charm all of its own. I am constantly adding guns to my collection, but one thing has stayed constant throughout my years of wheeling and dealing: I have always owned at least one 12-gauge Remington 870. An 18-inch cylinder bore barrel is an excellent home defense option to complement my defensive carbine and handguns. With a regular 28-inch hunting barrel installed, I give it to every new shooter and hunter who joins me in the field. If a buddy shows up to a hunt without a gun, I hand them an 870.
My advice when looking for one: if you are OK with only shooting 23/4-inch shells, find an older Wingmaster model. The 870 Wingmaster has a lighter receiver and generally a better fit and finish than the Express line of guns. The best part? A used Remington 870 of any variety is generally one of the best values on the market. And if you don’t like buying used, they are back in production. Given its popularity over the years, parts are everywhere and not going anywhere anytime soon. Servicing or swapping out 870 parts will be affordable and accessible for generations.
The Winchester Model 12 epitomizes the gentleman’s pump gun.
Backup/alternate: Winchester Model 12—While it doesn’t have the aftermarket support of the Remington 870 and hasn’t been in production for decades, the Winchester Model 12 pump action is for those who love the classics. No pump action has a tactile lockup as satisfactory as a well-worn Winchester model 12.
7. Winchester Model 70 Bolt-Action Rifle
If you are interested in hunting big game anywhere in the world, get a Winchester Model 70. It’s the gold standard to which other bolt-action hunting rifles are held.
In 1936, Winchester did something extraordinary: It listened to seasoned gun writers and the American shooting community and gave us the best bolt-action American sporting rifle ever produced, the Model 70.
American soldiers returning from WWI got a taste for bolt-action rifles, and Winchester responded in 1925 with the Model 54. While the Model 54 was terrific by the standards of its day, it could use a few tweaks. The main issue was that it was introduced when most American shooters were still shooting iron sights, and the bolt handle’s shape and flag safety did not lend themselves well to optics.
Fast-forward 11 years to 1936, when Winchester introduced the model 70, a very refined Model 54. This time, Winchester hit the nail on the head. The Model 70 was named the “Rifleman’s Rifle” for good reason.
There are three main categories of Winchester Model 70. (Collectors, you can put your pitchforks away as I’m giving the CliffsNotes version of the generations.) The most desirable from a collectible standpoint is the pre-64 series. This is a 1936-1964 production. These rifles had controlled-round feed bolts and are considered the gold standard among American-made bolt guns. Then you have post-’64 push-feed rifles. These went through multiple generations but are generally characterized by the lack of a Mauser-type claw extractor. Next came the post-’64 controlled-round feeds. These are produced today and are called such because though production is post-’64, they have a Mauser-type claw extractor found on the pre-’64 guns.
Literal volumes have been written over the years, arguing the merits and benefits of each series. I will let you in on a secret, though: They’re all great. Even the post-’64 push-feed Model 70s, which don’t hold the serious collector value of the earlier guns, are amazing deals and generally very accurate rifles. The pre-’64 models are a throwback to the best in American gun making, but they aren’t any more accurate than later generations. A current production Winchester Model 70, produced by FN, is on my short list of firearms I can’t wait to snag next.
The Mauser 98 and its many iterations is the original controlled-round feed system for those who appreciate the classics.
Backup/alternate: Mauser 98—This one deserves an article all of its own, but rest assured, anything pre-war commercial Mauser or postwar FN on a commercial Mauser action is generally a great gun.
The Browning A5 was in production for almost a century. What’s funny about this shotgun is that it’s the model that put FN on the map. When John Browning offered the design to Winchester, his long-time partner, it declined to buy it, stating that the automatic shotgun would not sell. So, he brought the design to a little-known, small Belgian firearms manufacturer, FN (Fabrique Nationale), and the rest is history.
The A5 is highly recognizable from its “humpback” design, housing a long recoil operating system that oozes classic cool and makes you want to wear waxed canvas in a duck blind. Like many popular shotgun designs, it has gone through multiple iterations and has been produced in 12-, 20- and 16-gauge.
The Browning A5 variant that makes me smile the most is the Sweet 16. If there ever was a true classic American autoloader that defined wingshooting upland birds, this was it. It’s the one I pick for most of my wingshooting, from doves to Canada geese and everything in between. The Sweet 16 sports an actual 16-gauge-sized frame. Sometimes, when a gun company wants to introduce a 16-gauge, it puts a 16-gauge barrel and parts on a 12-gage receiver. That takes away the advantage of running a 16-gauge which, to me, is lighter weight.
Like the Winchester post- and pre-’64 Model 70s, the Browning A5 has two main series—Belgian-made and later Japanese-made. The Belgian ones bring more money and have a higher collector value, but the Japanese-produced A5s are every bit as good, if not better, mechanically. Buy the one you can strike a deal on and take it in the field; they are all great.
Backup/alternate: Remington Model 11—While it was not in production for as many years, Remington had a license to produce the Browning design. These Model 11s do not have interchangeable parts with the Browning A5 but look similar and are rock solid. The 12-gauge models can generally be had for a steal.
I can remember this moment as clearly as day. I was maybe 11, and my mom brought us into town. Naturally, I found my way to the gun magazines and started reading. I can’t remember the publication or author, but there it was, the Marlin 39 in a featured piece. The photo had a Marlin 39 .22 rifle set against some barnboard with a red plaid hunting jacket, a Case trapper pocket knife, a brass compass, a few traps, and a fox tail. I was immediately taken in by what I read about this classic American rimfire rifle. I had to have one.
Unfortunately, I soon found out that the Marlin 39s have quite the following, but I would not end up with my first one until I was a freshman in college. I then proceeded to hunt small game every weekend I legally could, and it was a constant companion on the trapline and on summer camping trips.
What made this rifle so handy with such appeal? For starters, it was a shooter. I only have a peep sight on mine, but putting 10 shots into a quarter-sized group at 50 yards is easily achievable. The Marlin 39 is not a “youth”-sized rifle. It is a full-sized gun that happens to be chambered in .22 LR. These guns are not lightweight in the standard configuration by any means, but if you are Sasquatch-sized like me, you will appreciate the full size. Working the action feels like you are winding the finest precision pocket watch.
Here’s the best part, it’s a takedown. Remove one captive screw in the receiver, and the rifle breaks in half for easy transport or cleaning. I carry mine in a Skinner takedown rifle bag, and away it goes into the field.
Marlin produced this rifle for over a century before the company’s recent sale to Ruger. I hope Ruger brings it back, as it is my favorite lever-action rimfire ever produced.
Backup/alternate: Winchester 9422—While not a takedown, this alternate gets an honorable mention as it’s a great rifle to add to the collection. The Winchester 9422 is a classic and came in a .22 WMR variant.
10. Winchester 94 Lever-Action Rifle
The end of the 19th century was a wild time for gun design. John Browning wanted to make a lever-action rifle chambered in the then-new smokeless rifle cartridges. He used the locking system that was already a success from the 1886 and 1892 models and adapted it into what we now have as the Model 94.
The Model 94 is the quintessential brush gun. The standard 20-inch barrel carbine configuration, chambered in .30-30 Win., has put deer in the cooler for over a century. There is no other rifle I can think of that is as comfortable to carry. If you want to experience a fantastic brush gun that is relatively low recoil, lightweight, handy and quick to shoulder, the Winchester 94 should be the first gun you try.
The 94 was in production until 2006, when Winchester closed its New Haven plant. Luckily for us, Browning, which now owns Winchester, is producing them again at the Miroku plant in Japan, and they are as good as the older ones.
Backup/alternate: Marlin 336—While the Marlin 336 does not have the longevity and Old West mystique of the Winchester 94, it is arguably a better rifle in some regards. That’s especially true if you wish to mount a magnified optic. The Winchester 94 is not forgiving regarding optics mounting options due to the top eject receiver, unless you get the angled eject variant, whereas the Marlin 336 has a side ejection port and a solid top receiver. The deciding factor between these two should be whether you wish to mount an optic.
Conclusion
While you should never restrict yourself to 10 guns, these are the ones you should consider owning and shooting at some point. Remember, they’re best experienced in the field and range. A gun in a safe doesn’t build nearly as many memories as one that gets shot and carried.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
More Classic Guns:
Why The Mauser C96 “Broomhandle” Still Looms Large
Taurus has just released the Expedition hunting rifle in .308 Winchester, the company’s first bolt-action.
Taurus of Brazil is well known for its affordable revolvers and semi-auto pistols, but the company has just made a surprising move with the release of its first-ever bolt-action rifle. Called the Expedition, it’s chambered for .308 Winchester and was designed with hunters in mind.
The Expedition’s action is based on the ubiquitous Remington 700 pattern, good news for anyone planning on swapping out parts. As for the barrel, it’s 18 inches long, made of stainless steel and Taurus says that it’s capable of delivering sub-MOA accuracy.
Other features of the Expedition worth mentioning include its threaded barrel and its use of AICS-pattern magazines (one 5-round mag included). The stock has a few tricks up its sleeve too, as it features an M-LOK attachment point at the bottom of the stock, an integrated Spartan Precision attachment point and a scallop cut for resting in a gun saddle. The receiver is obviously drilled and tapped for a scope as well (6-48) and the rifle weighs just over 7 pounds unloaded.
The Taurus Expedition is available now and MSRP is $984.99.
We hit the range to test out Ruger’s new Super Redhawk Hornet revolver in .22 Hornet.
The .22 Hornet is a rifle cartridge you don’t hear much about anymore, but when it was introduced in 1930, it became very popular, very quickly. Understand, this was about 30 years before we had the .22 Magnum. A lot of hunters liked the .22 Hornet for varmint shooting and—where legal—for turkey hunting. But it was the slower velocity and less expensive to shoot .22 Magnum (1959) that eventually led to the decline in the Hornet’s popularity.
Ruger has been a supporter of the .22 Hornet for a long time, and the cartridge has been moderately popular in their .77/22 bolt-action rifle that’s still available. But, in 2023, Ruger surprised everyone with the introduction of a Super Redhawk chambered for the .22 Hornet.
I’ve had this revolver on hand for a while, but I’ve held off reporting on it because of a couple hurdles:
I have a very difficult time sourcing .22 Hornet ammunition. The revolver’s barrel accepts Ruger scope rings, but I did not have—and apparently no one else does either—a pistol scope that was suitable for mounting on this hefty revolver. Today, it’s all about reflex sights on handguns, which was also an option. However, every source I tried was sold out of mounts for the Super Redhawk. Finally, after Hornady managed to get me some ammunition, I gave up on the optics and tested the revolver with the open sights that came on it.
Ruger’s new Super Redhawk in .22 Hornet comes with Ruger scope rings.
Hatching and Early Life
Ruger introduced the Super Redhawk in 1987. Initially, it was chambered for the .44 Magnum, but the platform has also been offered in .454 Casull, .480 Ruger and even 10mm. All these cartridges are handgun cartridges that operate at pressures between 40,000 and 70,000 psi, so there’s no surprise the Super Redhawk can handle the .22 Hornet, which is loaded to around 52,000 psi. The big difference between Super Redhawks chambered for handgun cartridges and the Super Redhawk chambered for the .22 Hornet is capacity. The .22 Hornet Super Redhawk holds eight as opposed to six cartridges.
The cylinder of the .22 Hornet Super Redhawk holds eight rounds and is easy to load.
Like all Super Redhawks, the No. 5526 version in .22 Hornet is 100-percent stainless-steel. The finish is satin but a bit on the shiny side. The .22 Hornet Super Redhawk is also fitted with the same soft and comfortable, finger-grooved Hogue Tamer Monogrip that’s commonly found on other Super Redhawk handguns. The big cylinder, which is 1.75 inches in diameter, locks into the frame at the front, rear and bottom, and like other Ruger double-action revolvers, it has a transfer bar mechanism to protect against accidental discharge.
The Ruger Super Redhawk .22 Hornet has a fiber-optic front sight that’s easy to see in bright and dim conditions.
All the other Super Redhawks from Ruger—except for distributor exclusive models—are fitted with a ramped front sight that’s either all black or has a red insert. The .22 Hornet version has a replaceable HiViz fiber-optic front sight fitted to the end of its 9.5-inch cold hammer forged barrel, which has a five-groove, 1-9 right-hand twist. The rear sight is the common Ruger, white outlined square notched leaf, and it’s fully adjustable for windage and elevation. Also, like all other Super Redhawks—except for the Alaskan versions—this revolver’s top strap has been machined to accept Ruger scope rings, and a set of rings comes with the revolver.
Performance
At 15 inches long and 66 ounces in weight, this is a big and heavy revolver. However, because it balances so well, it’s not too big or heavy for off-hand shooting—at least for a grown man. I had no functioning issues with the revolver and fired a total of 200 rounds. My only complaint was that the trigger had a bit of creep and seemed to feel minutely inconsistent at times.
According to my Timney Trigger pull gauge, the single-action trigger pull broke at between 3.75 and 4.25 pounds. The double-action pull was off the scale at more than 10 pounds, but I don’t know why anyone would shoot this revolver in the double-action mode … unless you’re maybe fighting off a platoon of charging groundhogs.
The revolver was very easy to load; the .22 Hornet cases with their long and gentle taper dropped right in the cylinder chambers. Initially, ejection was smooth, but after three cylinders full, the ejection rod needed a bit of a slap to get some of the empties out. But when they did eject, they ejected fully, and there was no need to pluck them out of their chambers.
The Ruger Super Redhawk in .22 Hornet comes with a fiber-optic front sight, a fully adjustable rear sight and integrated scope bases.
The integral Ruger scope bases are for sure a nice touch, but if you’re thinking about getting this revolver and pairing it with an optic, you might want to shop for the scope first. Right now, they seem to be as rare as unicorn poop. Though reflex sights do not offer any magnification advantage, which could be appreciated with the flat-shooting .22 Hornet cartridge, there’s no shortage of miniature reflex sights to choose from. Maybe Ruger should’ve considered offering a reflex sight mount or an optics-ready top strap with this revolver.
What really surprises me is that Ruger didn’t introduce the .22 Hornet in their Super Blackhawk single-action revolver—especially the Bisley version with its ribbed barrel. That would have appealed to me more. Maybe, if the Redhawk in .22 Hornet sells well enough, we’ll see that become available down the road. Maybe, too, if the revolver sells well enough, .22 Hornet ammunition will not be as hard to find as someone who actually voted for Biden.
For varmint shooting or even for turkey hunting—where legal—Ruger’s new Super Redhawk in .22 Hornet should be more than capable.
Shooting Results
When it comes to shooting handguns at distance using open sights, the results are largely dependent on the target you’re shooting at. If it’s one that allows a good sight picture, you’ll shoot much better. I found the sights reasonably regulated out of the box at 50 yards, but I did have to fine tune them a bit at 100 yards, where I zeroed—as best I could—for a point of impact that was about 3 inches high.
At 50 and 100 yards, I used an 8-inch black bull and held at 6 o’clock. Most of my 50-yard, five-shot groups measured between 2 and 4 inches. At 100 yards, five-shot groups ran between 4 and 6 inches, but there were occasional flyers that I’m sure were my fault.
The surprise came at 200 yards while shooting at a white, 16-inch steel plate. Holding as best as I could on the top edge of the plate, I fired five shots that printed a brag-worthy 4-inch group just right of center. I figured that was a good place to stop, because I wasn’t going to shoot any better than that with an open sighted handgun at a target two football fields away. Using a red-dot with a small dot, I’d expect groups to be slightly smaller, and with a magnified pistol optic, I’d not be surprised if 2-inch or smaller groups at 100 yards would be the rule as opposed to the exception.
It’s a bit unusual to see a revolver chambered for a rifle cartridge, especially the .22 Hornet.
What’s It For?
For starters I can tell you that this revolver was a blast to shoot. It wasn’t offensively loud, and the recoil was pleasant. I really enjoyed shooting it at 100 yards with the open sights, and I think it would be a hoot in a prairie dog town or for slipping around pastures or agricultural fields looking for groundhogs. Ideally, to take advantage of the trajectory and reach the .22 Hornet cartridge offers, I think a low-power pistol scope would be the right call.
I’m not a turkey hunter by any measure, but occasionally I’ll go with my son because a man should never turn down an opportunity to hunt with his son. When I do go turkey hunting, I take a rifle, which is legal in West Virginia. By the time I got the ammo for the Super Redhawk, turkey season was just wrapping up. Had it not been, I would have for sure taken this revolver to the field and let my son try to call me up a turkey bird.
Would you have thought you’d ever see “22 HORNET” engraved on a revolver’s frame under “RUGER SUPER REDHAWK?”
One thing I would have needed would have been a good holster. GunfightersInc and Triple K Brand show holsters for a 9.5-inch Super Redhawk, but I’m sure Rob Leahy at Simply Rugged Holsters could put something together as well.
For me, as fun as this handgun was to shoot, I think it’s a bit pricey for just recreational plinking at $1,500. This is a special-purpose handgun for a specific pursuit. If I was in the market for a good varmint revolver or something to spice up my turkey hunting adventures, I’d probably start my search with the Ruger Super Redhawk Hornet.
Ruger Super Redhawk Hornet Specs:
Manufacturer: Sturm, Ruger & Co. Inc. Model: Super Redhawk #5526 Action: Double-action revolver Chambering: .22 Hornet Frame: Satin stainless-steel Barrel: 9.5-inch satin stainless-steel with a 1:9.5-inch 5-groove twist Grip: Hogue Tamer Monogrip Capacity: 8 Length: 15 inches Front Sight: HiViz green fiber optic Rear Sight: Adjustable, square notch Weight: 66 ounces Suggested Retail: $1,499 Website:ruger.com
Pros
Excellent shooter, very accurate with pleasant recoil
Perfect fit for certain niche applications
Cons
Given its niche application, not the revolver for most people, especially with its high price
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Looking to re-blue or touch-up your firearm’s finish at home? Here we check out the Shooter’s Choice Gun Blue Kit.
Sometimes a bit of wear isn’t a problem: It shows you actually use your firearm. Other times, you want to undo the loss of finish—like the sights I just put onto a 1911 slide. I had to file the sight dovetail flat to make it fit, and the edges show white. To pull the sight out, send it to the bluer (along with a bunch of other parts), wait and then reinstall is just too much. (This is my own pistol of course; a customer’s gun would get the full treatment.)
Shooter’s Choice has a solution. Actually, several of them.
The Shooter’s Choice Gun Blue kit has everything you need … except the firearm and the time.
The Gun Blue Kit has a cleaner, two-part blueing agent, curing agent and the needed applicators, swabs and even a bench cloth to have handy, so you don’t put the parts down onto a surface that might interfere with the process.
There’s enough of the solutions to completely re-blue three firearms, or to do dozens of touch-ups like the one facing me after I finish typing this. And if you still have solutions left after using all the swabs and steel wool and scouring pads, you can order up a resupply bundle of just the tools you need.
The task is easy. But like all tasks, the real work is in the prep.
Wipe the surface clean of debris, powder residue and the like. Use the included cleaner to clean and degrease the surface. Once clean and dry, apply the gun blue. When you have a smooth and even application, use the curing agent. And once that has done its work, you’re ready to use the included lubricant and wipe the surface clean and smooth with the included microfiber cloth.
The hardest part is getting the surface clean. Do not skimp on cleaning, scrubbing, degreasing or making the surface dry. And then, do not touch it.
Once you’ve used the application tools, Shooter’s Choice has the resupply you’ll need.
Back when I was doing this regularly, using a hair dryer or heat gun to make sure the surface was truly dry wasn’t uncommon. In that, it wasn’t unlike soldering, where an errant fingertip could deposit enough skin oil to spoil a soldering job. No kidding.
So, do you have a few firearms in the rack or gun safe that need a bit of touching up? Shooter’s Choice has just the thing for you.
Oh, and an extra tip: If you really want a “more-than-touch-up” blueing to look good and proper, disassemble those parts as needed.
At the gun shop we could spot touched-up firearms that were being brought in for sale by the lack of blueing in the places that couldn’t be reached short of disassembly. The little nooks and crannies—gaps like between the barrel and magazine tube on a lever-action rifle—that the solution couldn’t quite get into, or got into more so than the rest, and the blueing looked different as a result.
As I was reminding myself when I was setting up to paint the kitchen ceiling recently: “All the hard work is in the prep.” Shooter’s Choice makes the blueing part easy. The prep is up to you.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Looking for a mag-fed semi-auto 12-gauge shotgun that’s not an AK?
The AR-12 is a loosely defined family of semi-auto shotguns with designs and features inspired by the AR-15. Why? Because jamming in a new box magazine will always be faster than stuffing shells in your tube.
Not to mention, having the same manual of arms as America’s favorite carbine is pretty darn convenient.
That said, there are a lot of very different AR-12s on the market, so which one should you get? I'll list the top models to consider purchasing, then go over what's awesome about AR-12 shotguns and some pitfalls to avoid.
Best features, including Hiperfire trigger, adjustable stock and M-LOK rail
Lower can be paired with a DPMS .308 AR upper
Ships with hard case and one 5-round mag
Cons
Most expensive AR-12 by far
Proprietary magazines
Probably the closest thing to an actual AR is the Genesis Arms Gen-12. It's built on a DPMS Gen 1 .308 AR-10 lower, and you can drop a compatible upper onto the gun and have a rifle instead. If you like the arms-room concept, this is your shotgun.
Instead of DI, the gun uses a recoil-operated system with a reciprocating barrel like the Browning Auto-5. The barrel (the standard model is 18 inches, but 7- and 10-inch models are also available) has external threads, with the same pitch (M22x0.75in) as the Saiga 12, so Saiga external chokes are compatible.
The lower uses a .308 carbine-length buffer assembly, and the upper, which is side charging, comes with a railed M-LOK forend. I don't dig the proprietary magazines. On the upside, Genesis Arms has both 5- and 10-round units as well as a +2 extension.
I've found these smoothbores to be rugged and reliable with everything besides light birdshot.
Features a flat trigger, rubber grip and M-LOK on bottom of handguard
Uses common MKA 1919-pattern mags
Ships with three 5-round mags, flip-up sights and a sling
Cons
Fixed stock (collapsible can be purchased separately)
Better QC than the cheaper Turkish imports, but some owners still report reliability/durability problems
Typhoon Defense imports guns from Turkey, but does QA/QC stateside. Manufacturer support includes spare parts, magazines and a lifetime warranty.
The F12 is their gamer shotgun, with a monolithic upper/lower receiver, fixed LOP stock (adjustable stocks can be purchased from Typhoon) and an 1100-style gas system. The standard barrel is 18.5 inches, with a 3-inch chamber and a threaded muzzle for Benelli chokes. The receiver is a flat-top, joined by a split-top handguard with M-LOK slots along the bottom and a skeletonized and flared magwell for faster reloads.
The upper is side-charging, with ambidextrous controls and a flat blade trigger. Flip-up iron sights are included as well as a bungee sling and three 5-round magazines (2-, 10- and 20-round magazines are also available from Typhoon).
If you're aiming at 3-Gun Open, this is an option I've found a lot of people start at.
Ships with flip-up sights, two 5-round mags and a cleaning kit
Cons
Monolithic stock/grip assembly means you can't swap those parts
Limited rail space for accessories
The Panzer Arms AR-12 features a monolithic polymer lower and a railed flat-top upper. It also uses incredibly common MKA 1919-pattern magazines.
What I don't like is handguard has what appears to be M-LOK slots, but they are just lightening cuts. However, there are Picatinny rail sections in case you want to mount accessories. I've found the Panzer does not run as well on light target loads, so bear that in mind.
The standard barrel length is 20 inches (18.5-inch models are available as well) with a 3-inch chamber. Each AR-12 ships with flip-up plastic sights and two 5-round magazines.
Includes flip-up sights and M-LOK and Picatinny rails on handguard
Cons
Substantial break-in before the gun will run light loads
The VR80 is made in Turkey but imported by Rock Island Armory for sale in the U.S. While a cost-effective import AR-12, I find it's a slightly smarter buy among the many guns in this class.
The VR80 has a 20-inch barrel with a 3-inch chamber and is compatible with Beretta chokes. There are no actual AR parts save the buffer tube, but it has AR-style controls. The upper is side-charging and the charging handle can be swapped to either side. The receiver and handguard are fully railed as well and come with flip-up iron sights.
The handguard has M-LOK and QD slots for mounting accessories and the thumbhole-style pistol grip and stock can be swapped for any AR-15 stock. It ships with a 5-round magazine, but RIA also makes 9- and 19-round stick mags for them that are available separately (as well as any other MKA 1919-pattern mags of course).
After a break-in period, the VR80 is pretty rock solid. Not to mention, I find the ample spare parts that are available pretty reassuring.
Monolithic stock/grip assembly means you can't swap those parts
Limited rail space for accessories
If all you want an AR-12 for is blasting pumpkins, there’s no need to go broke doing it. That makes the TAR 12P an excellent option.
As for features, it has a threaded muzzle for Beretta/Mobile chokes (3 are included), a flat-top receiver and some Picatinny rail on the handguard for accessories. It also ships with flip-up iron sights.
Besides the attractive price point, another draw of the TAR 12 is it’s available with several different finishes. The most basic and affordable black/grey model is shown here, but you can order them in various other colors, camo patterns and paint schemes.
Model
Chamber
Barrel Length
Overall Length
Weight
MSRP
Genesis Arms Gen-12
3 Inches
18.75 Inches
N/A
N/A
$2,889.99
Typhoon F12
3 Inches
18.5 Inches
38 Inches
8.6 lbs.
$999
Panzer Arms AR-12
3 Inches
20 Inches
40.5 Inches
6.5 lbs.
~$350
Rock Island Armory VR80
3 Inches
20 Inches
39 Inches
7.39 lbs.
$699
Tokarev TAR 12P
3 Inches
18.5 Inches
37.75 Inches
7.5 lbs.
$319.99
Buyer's Guide
Advantages
Shotguns, even those of the tactical variety, have traditionally utilized tube magazines. While tube mags have certain advantages in their own right, namely allowing for a very sleek overall package, they also have obvious drawbacks. When it comes to fast reloads, the potential for increasing a shotgun’s total capacity and quickly switching one’s ammunition type, box mags are the clear winner. Result? The development of box magazine-fed shotguns.
A Kalashnikov USA KS-12, an American-made clone of the Russian Saiga-12 AK shotgun.
The most successful of course are those that are based on the Kalashnikov. The Saiga-12 is the original, the VEPR-12 is a beefed-up version of the same, and today Chinese and American clones of these AK shotguns are widely available as an alternative given the importation ban on Russian firearms. AK shotguns have seen enormous success not just on the international commercial market, but on the international military and police market as well.
The AR-12 is an attempt to do the same thing with the AR-15. At least, kind of. While AK shotguns use a traditional Kalashnikov operating system, AR-12 shotguns rarely function the same way as true AR-style rifles. Instead, AR-12s typically only imitate the aesthetics and control layout of ARs to make them more familiar to the American shooter.
The first shotgun that could really be considered an AR-12 is the Daewoo USAS-12. While it doesn’t look quite as “AR” as some of the newer commercial models, it is a semi-auto 12-gauge that’s fed by box (and drum) magazines. Its lower receiver, controls and grip are also directly based on the AR-15, and it even has carry handle iron sights. While the USAS-12 was successful in the military/police market, its commercial sales were very limited.
You could ostensibly hunt using an AR-12 with a 2- or 3-round magazine…but traditional semi-auto hunting shotguns are lighter and handier in the field, and they work so well that there's no advantage to using anything else.
As for home defense or any other more tactical purpose, again, an AR-12 could work fine, but there are reasons why armed professionals are still choosing more traditional tactical shotguns like Benellis to do their jobs.
Benefits And Drawbacks
AR-12 shotguns bring two main advantages to the table.
First, thanks to the detachable magazine, it's faster to reload and allows for easy switching between ammunition types. Both details are advantageous to 3-Gun shooters and are why AR-12s are popular in Open classes.
Capacity is less of an advantage than you'd think. While 19- to 21-round magazines and drums exist, 5- and 10-round sticks are more common given the bulk of 12-gauge shells. Most tube mag shotguns have somewhere between a 5+1 and 8+1 capacity, so it's not that big of a difference.
Second, the ergonomics and manual of arms of an AR-15 have always been among the best of all fighting rifles. If you already have some training or familiarity, less time will be required to learn to run an AR-12 efficiently.
And now, time for the “but.”
The magazines have long been the Achilles' heel of mag-fed shotguns. Rimmed cartridges/shells and box magazines don't always get along.
The Saiga and VEPR shotgun mags are generally regarded as the best, but even those sometimes require tuning to get and stay reliable. You may have to do likewise with certain AR-12 mags.
Second, AR-12 shotguns come in two flavors. Expensive but generally reliable with care, and Turkish imports. The latter are more common.
This isn't to say that good firearms cannot be manufactured in Turkey, Stoeger and Canik come to mind, but it is to say cheap imported guns are usually that way for a reason. In the case of Turkish-made AR-12s, that means general QC and reliability can both be hit-or-miss. Some owners report great reliability with a given model while others' turn out to be lemons.
AR-12s aren't 50-state legal either, whereas some of the more traditional semi-auto shotguns can be.
Many don't have an adjustable length of pull and accessories can be anywhere from common to vaporware. Magazines and spare parts can also be difficult to source depending on the model.
What To Look For In An AR-12
Firstly, if there are any accessories you plan on attaching to your AR-12, you should first ensure that there are compatible options available.
Also, if you're serious about using the gun for something other than just blasting stuff in the back 40, look for a gun that has factory support and good parts availability.
The most common magazine pattern is MKA 1919 magazines, so it helps if your gun accepts them.
Finally, semi-auto shotguns of all kinds have been plagued with issues cycling light target loads since time immemorial, so a model with an adjustable gas system is a big plus.
We look at the top multitasking handgun powders that are ideally suited for fueling revolvers and pistols.
Reloading handgun cartridges has long been an economical means of creating both practice ammunition and hunting loads. Yes, our component prices have skyrocketed, but so has the price of loaded ammunition. There are still some ways to save money, primarily by casting your own bullets … and choosing a universal handgun powder that can serve several different handgun cartridges.
I’d feel pretty comfortable saying that the .38 S&W Special, .357 Remington Magnum, 9mm Luger, .44 Remington Magnum and .45 ACP head the list of most popular centerfire handgun cartridges, and these vary quite differently in case capacity, bullet weight and velocities. Despite their differences, just a couple of powders can handle the lot of them, and a few are very economical, giving good performance with a light charge weight.
Alliant Unique
Alliant’s Unique has been around since the late 19th century, and it’s been a stellar performer in both shotshells and handgun cartridges alike. Unique is a double-based flake powder, which remains a staple on the bench of anyone reloading pistol cartridges. I’ve long loved this powder in low-velocity loads in my .45 Colt, and it has worked well with both practice loads and higher velocity loads with lighter bullets in my .38 Special.
Alliant’s Unique is more than suitable for standard pistol cartridges, and it can fuel many of the cowboy action loads in larger cases.
The thing about Unique is that, despite its reputation for burning a bit on the dirty side, and though it might not generate top velocities in the magnum cartridges, it sure is handy for practice loads and cast bullet loads. For example, 8.0 grains of Unique under a 255-grain lead bullet in the .45 Colt gives 800 fps from my gun, making a fun load for the range. If you haven’t tried Unique, it’s high time you do so—it will quickly become a good friend.
Hodgdon Titegroup
Hodgdon’s Titegroup has a catchphrase printed right on the label: A little goes a long way. The very name alludes to consistent accuracy and precision, and the spherical grain structure allows it to work well in a powder measure. It burns clean, and charge weights are definitely on the lower side.
Titegroup’s claim to fame is that “a little goes a long way,” and that is absolutely true. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Titegroup is suitable for all but the largest cases, and it has worked well for me over the years in my .38 Special snubby, and in my .45 ACP. Titegroup is a name that you will see on many load data sheets, for cartridges ranging from .25 ACP to .38 Special, to .44 Special to .45 ACP. While it’s not a powder well-suited to magnum handgun cartridges, Titegroup has such a wide variety of applications that it’s safe to say it’ll find a place in your reloading room.
Hodgdon H110
Hodgdon’s H110 is the darling of the magnum handgun cartridge world. Whether .41 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .357 Magnum, .454 Casull or .475 Linebaugh, Hodgdon’s H110 will get the job done … and it will do that job well. Looking across the various loading manuals, you’ll find a suitable load for H110 for any of the speedy cases, including the .460 S&W and .500 S&W. It’s often responsible for the highest velocities in any given data set among the magnum cases, and I’ve found it to deliver uniform velocities and excellent accuracy. It’s also a great choice when loading these cartridges in a rifle or carbine.
Ramshot ZIP
Ramshot’s ZIP is another do-all pistol powder, which generates good velocities and accuracy from low charge weights. Burning a bit too fast for the magnum-class cartridges, it’s a sound choice for the 9mm Luger with all bullet weights, and my Sig Sauer 1911 .45 ACP simply loves 5.6 grains of this powder with a good 230-grain projectile. A double-based flake powder, ZIP meters very well and it’s easy on the wallet. I find myself reaching for this powder quite often.
Ramshot’s ZIP deserves to be more popular than it is. The propellant gives great results and is suitable for many different cartridges. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Accurate 5744
Accurate 5744 is sure to please those who enjoy the big-bore handgun cartridges, and it also doubles as a great choice for very light loads in the big-bore rifle cartridges. In fact, if you want to introduce a recoil-sensitive shooter to the .375 H&H or .416 Rigby without causing a flinch, look no further than 5744. It also does very well in the larger Sharps-style cartridges, like the .45-70, .45-90, .45-110 and .50-90. In the pistol cartridges, it attains good velocities in the .44 Remington Magnum, .45 Colt, .454 Casull and .460 S&W Magnum, as well as the big .500 Linebaugh and .500 S&W Magnum. If you enjoy big “buffalo cartridges” to pair with your magnum handguns, Accurate’s 5744 might be the best way to cover both bases.
Accurate’s 5744 is great for larger pistol cases, as well as big-bore rifle cartridges, such as the .45-70 Government. Photo: Massaro Media Group.
Alliant Bullseye
Alliant’s Bullseye is another of those universally accepted pistol powders; in fact, all of the reloaders older than me, who imparted their wisdom upon me at a young age, had a few pounds of Bullseye hanging around. Like Unique and ZIP, Bullseye is a perfect choice for almost all standard-class cartridges, from .25 Auto, up through the .38 Special and .44 Special, to the “cowboy loads” for the .45 Colt.
Note that Bullseye can be a bit “clingy” in a powder thrower, as the grain structure tends to adhere to the sides of plastic powder hoppers, but I've always had very uniform results when loading Bullseye for target loads in the .38 Special, .45 ACP or .44-40 Winchester. Bullseye seems to like to work with cast bullets. It’s been around since 1913, and though it does tend to burn dirty, I don’t see it going away anytime soon.
Alliant 2400
Good old 2400 powder from Alliant has a wide number of applications among the magnum pistol cartridges; if you shoot .357 Magnum and/or .44 Magnum, you’d be doing yourself a favor by grabbing a bunch of 2400. It’s capable of delivering lower velocity loads without becoming erratic, yet it will come close to the velocities attained by Hodgdon’s H110. If you reload for your .410-bore, 2400 powder is the go-to choice, and it works very well in the .22 Hornet and .218 Bee also.
In these days of product unavailability, it’s good to have a powder supply that has several applications within your list of cartridges. There are other powders that fit this bill—Winchester 231, Accurate’s No. 5 and No. 9, and more—so it makes perfect sense to take a look at your lineup and find a powder or two that has universal appeal.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the August 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
If you’re ever involved in a self-defense shooting, your training courses can become relevant in court. Here’s why it’s a good idea to keep a training resume.
Recently, I took a seven-day precision rifle course, where we shot camouflaged steel targets out to 1,000 yards. That course will now be another line item on my shooting resume. I mention this because, as president of the Armed Citizen’s Legal Defense Network, I get questions all the time from members regarding how particular firearms training courses they’ve either attended or contemplated attending would look in court.
The short answer is that it shouldn’t matter.
The Considerations of a Criminal Court
First off, there are two courts to worry about: criminal and civil. Let’s first discuss criminal court, and for simplicity’s sake, I’ll use my precision rifle course as an example.
For the fact that I took this class to make it into court, it’d have to have some bearing on whether it’d make any difference as to my guilt or innocence. If I was accused of shooting someone at 500 yards (an assassination), then obviously it’d be relevant to show that I possessed the skills to make that shot.
Even more, this fact could be used to show that I took the course to prepare for this act of murder. On the flip side, if my act of homicide was performed with my daily concealed-carry gun at a range of 5 yards, then the fact of my participation in the rifle class should be non-admissible due to that fact not being relevant.
Federal Rule of Evidence 401 states: “Evidence is relevant if: (a) it has any tendency to make a fact more or less probable than it would be without the evidence; and (b) the fact is of consequence in determining the action.”
Any decent defense attorney should be able to win a “motion in limine” (a request for the court to disallow that evidence) due to it’s not being relevant.
The greater question, though is this: How would the prosecutor ever know a person took a precision rifle course? Did you discuss the event on social media? Did you supply the prosecutor with a list of courses you’ve taken in an effort to convince them you’re a well-trained good guy? (I’d recommend not doing this; it seldom does any good and oftentimes does harm.)
Your training resume should only be used to educate your defense attorney as to the extent of your training. If you and your defense attorney want to bring into the trial the fact you took a particular training course, then the certificate of training should be used as proof of attendance, along with a copy of the course material and your notes.
The other time it might be found out by the prosecution is if you’re a firearms instructor, and as an inducement for people to come train with you, you post your training resume online. One of the first things detectives do when they get a new case is to search the internet for the defendant’s name and anything that might be used against him or her.
The Considerations of a Civil Court
A civil action against you is a different situation. In a civil case, each side has the right to “discovery,” where a plaintiff’s attorney could subpoena all your training records and, only after reviewing the records, they decide what’s relevant or not. Of course, your side would try to limit the introduction of the precision rifle course, and it’d be up to the judge to decide if it comes in or not.
So, it could come up in court, and because the defendant in a use-of-force case most likely will need to take the stand to explain to the jury why you had a reasonable belief your life or the life of another innocent was in danger, you might be questioned as to why you took a particular class. And despite what I’ve written here, expect the question to come up, especially in a civil trial. You’d better have a good answer.
You’ve Got Your Reasons
This brings me to the last issue: What could possibly justify me taking a training course where I learned to shoot man-sized targets out to 1,000 yards? For me, there are three possible answers. First, I’m a firearms instructor and teach military personnel, law enforcement personnel and private citizens how to use their rifles accurately. To be able to teach, I need to also be able to perform.
The second reason is I’m considered an expert in the courts on ballistics, and one of the aspects of ballistics is external ballistics. I’ve testified several times about external ballistics. And although I’ve never testified about long-range ballistics, if asked, I feel capable of that too, having both theoretical knowledge and now experiential knowledge.
Lastly, being a hunter, I occasionally must make a decision as to whether a shot on game is ethical. I have a much better appreciation of my own skills now and am much less likely to take an unethical shot. For me, that alone is enough to justify the training.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the 2022 Made In The USA special issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
Looking to go armed, but are stuck in the weeds as to what to arm yourself with? Here are 20 excellent concealed carry gun options that will keep you on the defensive.
