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Brad Fitzpatrick

Best .22 Pistol Options Available Today (2024)

Updated 1/15/2024

Few guns are more fun to shoot than a .22 pistol. Here are our top rimfire handgun choices that will provide hours of affordable backyard shooting enjoyment.

What are the best .22 pistol options available today:

Like so many shooters, the very first handgun I ever fired was a .22 LR — my father’s Smith & Wesson K-22 Masterpiece. Since that time, I’ve shot a wide variety of pistols chambered for a number of different cartridges, but when I’m looking to have low-cost fun at my backyard shooting range, you can bet a .22 pistol will be there.

Best 22 Pistol Browning Buck Mark 3

Whether I’m shooting a bag of dollar-store balloons, adding vent holes to an empty soda can or pureeing the leftover Halloween pumpkin that’s started leaking internal fluids on my front porch, I find no end of cheap targets to punch with a .22 handgun.

And now that .22 LR ammunition is once again widely available — and sanely priced — I can have all that fun on a shoestring budget.

In addition to being such fun to shoot, there’s also a practical side to .22 handguns: They serve to dispatch vermin, harvest small game … and you can compete in small bore competitions.

I believe that .22s are the ideal training pistols for new and experienced shooters alike. The minimal recoil, muzzle rise and blast allows rookie shooters to control these guns effectively — and even experienced shooters should, from time to time, run through a few boxes of .22 for a low-cost, low-impact tactical tune-up.

The mild .22 offers a great platform for improving trigger control and other important shooting skills.

Here’s a list of eight great .22 pistol options currently on the market. They vary in price, design and function — but they all share one common (and important) trait: They’re loads of fun to shoot.

Ruger Mark IV: The Classic .22 Pistol

Best 22 Pistols Ruger Mark IV

Ruger makes a number of excellent .22 handguns, and the brand has earned multiple mentions on this list. Leading off is the Mark IV. As the name implies, this is the fourth generation of the family of semi-auto pistols that set the standard for blowback-operated .22s.

As you might expect, the Mark IV is extremely reliable and is capable of superb accuracy right out of the box. What you might not expect, however, is how simple this gun is to break down for routine maintenance.

If Ruger’s blowback semi-auto pistols have a blemish, it’s the fact that they’re not easy to field strip — until now. With the push of a button, the Mark IV can be disassembled … and cleaning is a snap.

There are a wide variety of configurations of this pistol, including everything from the classic Standard model to target, hunting and tactical versions. MSRP: $519-$1,039 www.ruger.com/

Read Also: Ruger Mark IV Target: Evolution And History

Smith & Wesson Model 617

Smith Wesson 617

Like Ruger, Smith & Wesson offers several excellent .22 rimfire guns. One of the very best is their Model 617, a 10-shot stainless double-action revolver built on their sturdy K-Frame. The 617 is fine for backyard plinking, but this is a gun that was built for serious accuracy.

It features a full-length underlug, stainless-steel construction with a satin stainless finish and excellent adjustable sights. The polymer grips fit grown-up hands, and at 44 ounces it’s hardly a featherweight. Nevertheless, the Model 617 is an excellent .22 that’s built for competition — yet it’s fun to shoot. MSRP: $959 www.smith-wesson.com

Browning 1911-22

Best 22 Pistol Browning Black Label 1911-22

John Moses Browning invented the 1911 pistol, and now the company that bears his name offers an 85 percent scaled-down version of the original 1911 chambered in .22 LR.

There are several versions of the fun-to-shoot 1911-22, including the Black Label Medallion Full-Size version shown here, which comes with an alloy frame and machined aluminum slide, 4¼-inch barrel, rosewood grips with a gold Buckmark logo, and three-dot sights.

The 16 versions of the Browning 1911-22 currently in production offer a wide variety of optional features, including accessory rails, threaded barrels and a number of finishes. Regardless of which version you choose, these pistols combine the look and feel of a 1911 in a reduced package that’s accurate, reliable and a joy to shoot. MSRP: $749.99-$879.99 www.browning.com

Charter Arms Target Pathfinder

Charter Arms Pathfinder (2)

Charter Arms produces solid guns at reasonable prices, and the Target Pathfinder is no exception.

This double-action .22 revolver comes with a 6-shot cylinder, matte stainless finish and a large, comfortable polymer grip with finger grooves. With a 4.2-inch barrel, these guns weigh just 24 ounces — so they’re a suitable option for teaching a young shooter the ropes … and yet they’re both accurate and durable.

Plus, they offer the reliability of a revolver, which means you’ll spend less time cleaning your gun and more time actually shooting it.

Plan on buying a boatload of .22 ammo (and you can afford to do so since this gun is so inexpensive) and punching tin cans and paper targets in the backyard with this revolver for years to come. MSRP: $425.60 www.charterfirearms.com

Ruger 22 Charger

Best 22 Pistol Ruger Charger

Hardly a conventional .22 pistol, the Charger is a product of Ruger’s 10/22 blowback action.

If you know anything about the 10/22, you’re aware of the gun’s reputation for unfailing reliability, so you can expect this gun to run with a wide variety of ammunition.

The threaded, cold hammer-forged 10-inch barrel is capable of superb accuracy, and the included top rail provides a platform for mounting all sorts of optics.

Other key features borrowed from the larger 10/22 semi-autos include Ruger’s BX-15 15-round magazine and a crisp, smooth trigger. Each Charger includes a bipod to help stabilize the pistol for maximum accuracy, and if you plan on hunting small game with a .22 pistol, this is an excellent choice.

It’s also a great gun for backyard plinking, and it’s extremely affordable. There’s even a breakdown model that disassembles easily for convenient storage and returns to zero when pieced back together. MSRP: $399 www.ruger.com/

More Info: Ruger Reintroduces Two Models of 22 Charger Pistol

Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory

Best 22 Pistols SW Victory

The SW22 Victory is a recent addition to Smith & Wesson’s firearm line — and it’s a welcome addition.

This blowback-operated semi-auto offers a long list of excellent features, including adjustable fiber-optic sights, a Picatinny rail for mounting optics, textured polymer grips and an adjustable trigger stop.

Two 10-round magazines come standard, and takedown is extremely easy, requiring the removal of a single screw.

The match-grade barrel can be easily removed and swapped out as desired. There are models available with Kryptek camo and threaded barrels, and Smith & Wesson’s Performance Center offers a number of high-end models with extra touches, like carbon-fiber barrels and pre-mounted red-dot optics.

Regardless of which version you choose, the SW22 is a superb .22  handgun that’s accurate, budget-friendly and fun to shoot on any occasion. MSRP: $454-$945 www.smith-wesson.com

Find Out More: Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory

Browning Buck Mark

Browning Buck Mark

Another blowback .22 semi-auto, the Buck Mark is available in, ironically, 22 different styles — perfect for everything from backyard shooting to small game hunting and competition.

These guns offer excellent reliability and very high build quality, as well as a number of great optional features, such as optional fluted and threaded barrels, full-length top rails and a choice of walnut or polymer grips.

Alloy receivers keep weight to a minimum, yet these pistols are large enough for adults to comfortably grip and shoot. They come equipped with good triggers, and they cycle reliably with a wide range of ammo — you can expect to spend your time on the range shooting instead of clearing jams.

Buck Mark pistols look and feel like expensive firearms, and yet they’re affordably priced. MSRP: $439.99-$1,079.99 www.browning.com

Learn More: Browning Buck Mark .22 Rimfire

Ruger New Bearcat

Best Pistol Ruger Bearcat

Rounding out our list of top-flight .22 handgun options is Ruger’s sleek New Bearcat revolver, a perfectly-proportioned rimfire revolver that pays homage to Bill Ruger’s love of single-action wheelguns.

With an overall length of 9 inches and a weight of 24 ounces, this is a gun that’s great for young and old shooters alike. Available in both blued and stainless versions, the Bearcat is adorned with hardwood grips and bear and cougar rollmarks on the cylinder.

The capacity is six rounds, and the fixed sights are basic but functional for shooting at close to moderate ranges. The single-action design with Ruger’s patented transfer bar system is very safe, and this is a great gun to introduce new shooters to the sport since the hammer must be cocked between shots.

This is a classic Ruger design that has been a favorite of shooters young and old for generations — isn’t it time you made space in your safe for at least one more .22? MSRP: $819-$919 www.ruger.com/


Find Your Next .22 Pistol


Colt Woodsman .22

Many shooters regard the Colt Woodsman as the classiest of the classic designs. Take one look at this Colt Woodsman Match Target .22, and it’s not hard to see why. Photo by Dataproducts.
Many shooters regard the Colt Woodsman as the classiest of the classic designs. Take one look at this Colt Woodsman Match Target .22, and it’s not hard to see why. Photo by Dataproducts.

When it comes to the .22 pistol for hunting, the classic Colt Woodsman is hard to beat. Designed by John Browning in 1915, it was the first commercially successful semi-auto .22 pistol.

The Woodsman was a handfit .22 pistol, designed to feed cartridges smoothly thanks to slanted magazines. That design solved rimfire cartridge feeding issues that had plagued other designers of the era.

Today, a used Colt Woodsman will fetch north of $4,000 for the Match Target variant in excellent condition. In fact, they are much sought-after collectors’ items. Indeed, many still consider it to be the best .22 target pistol of all time.

First Series and Pre Woodsman Colts are characterized by a 6 5/8-inch barrel in the Target model, or a 4 ½-inch tube in the Sport version. Moreover, Second and Third Series pistols sported 6- and 4 ½-inch barrels in the Target, Targetsman, and Huntsman versions, respectively. MSRP: Discontinued. www.colt.com/

High Standard .22 Pistol

"The

The High Standard .22 — sometimes spelled “Hi-Standard” as engraved on the slides of some early models — is chiefly regarded as a .22 target pistol.

High Standards were produced starting in 1926. For service pistol competition, the High Standard reigned supreme in its role “on the line.” Available in a dizzying array of model designations, High Standards were known for their exceptional barrels and triggers.

Popular models included the High Standard Supermatic and Supermatic Trophy, High Standard Olympic and High Standard Victor. In 2018, the company (then known as the High Standard Manufacturing Company) made its last valiant stand and ceased operations.

In the collectible gun market, a 102 Series Supermatic Trophy will command upwards of $1,350 at auction. And you’ll still see them winning trophies in NRA Bullseye Precision Pistol competition. MSRP: Discontinued.

Smith & Wesson Model 41

The Smith & Wesson Model 41 is a heavy barrel semi-auto .22 for target competition. Since 1957 it has been the top choice among NRA Bullseye competitors.
The Smith & Wesson Model 41 is a heavy barrel semi-auto .22 for target competition. Since 1957 it has been the top choice among NRA Bullseye competitors.

The reigning king of the .22 pistol in NRA Bullseye competition is unquestionably the Smith & Wesson Model 41. With its 105-degree grip angle to mirror the 1911, it was the darling of post-World War II target shooters. In fact, it remains so for precision pistol competition today.

With barrel lengths of 5 1/2, 7 and 10 1/2 inches, weighing around 44 ounces (depending on barrel), and with a honed trigger that breaks like fine china (2.75 to 3.25 lbs), the Model 41 was designed to keep your front sight on the 10 ring.

According to current gunbroker gun auctions, a Model 41 will set you back about $1,200 NIB. Similarly, expect to pay $1,350 or better for the Performance Center and 7-inch barreled versions. Hence, it’s one of the more expensive .22 target pistols you can buy and remains the best .22 pistol in current production for rimfire competition. MSRP: $1,500-$1,763  www.smith-wesson.com

Colt King Cobra Target .22 LR

Colt King Cobra Target 22 LR feature

If you want the classic look and feel of one of Colt’s famous snake guns, but with a bit less bite, the King Cobra Target in .22 LR is the answer. Colt has been hard at work bringing some of its other larger caliber snake guns back, like the Python, but now new-production baby snakes are available as well.

The King Cobra Target .22 LR has a 10-shot cylinder, a polished stainless-steel finish and is available with either a 4- or 6-inch barrel. Both barrel length options feature a 1:16RH twist. They come with adjustable rear target sights and fiber optic front sights, and both versions also ship from the factory adorned with Hogue rubber grips for a more pleasant shooting experience. MSRP: $999  www.colt.com

Walther PPK/s 22

A true-to-scale Walther PPK in .22 LR is an ideal trainer to complement its .380 ACP-chambered big brother. Available in blued or nickel (pictured here), it’s an easily concealable .22 that gushes with class.
A true-to-scale Walther PPK in .22 LR is an ideal trainer to complement its .380 ACP-chambered big brother. Available in blued or nickel (pictured here), it’s an easily concealable .22 that gushes with class.

An elegant .22 LR pistol scaled to the exact dimensions of the popular .380 ACP model, the Walther PPK/s 22 is a plinker’s dream come true.

The upscale .22 pistol sports single action/double action (16.5/6.1 lb. trigger pull) with a safety decocker, and a threaded barrel for suppressor use. The little James Bond .22 spews enough firepower to take on slithery evil-doers (such as rattlesnakes) that endanger the free world.

With its puny 3.3-inch barrel and 10-round capacity, it’s a looker. MSRP: $449 www.waltherarms.com

Kel-Tec PMR-30

Introduced in 2010, the Kel-Tec PMR 30 holds 30 rounds of .22 WMR hell-on-earth firepower. That makes it a formidable rimfire for a variety of uses from target shooting for fun to home defense.
Introduced in 2010, the Kel-Tec PMR 30 holds 30 rounds of .22 WMR hell-on-earth firepower. That makes it a formidable rimfire for a variety of uses from target shooting for fun to home defense.

The only .22 Magnum in our list, the lightweight Kel-Tec PMR-30 packs quite a wallop (in rimfire terms). So it's ideal for those who can’t shoot larger calibers well but still want to pack heat for self-defense.

As its model name suggests, it holds 30 rounds of .22 WMR and has an integral light/laser rail, a reminder of its intended use for some as a home defense handgun. MSRP: $495 Black Finish, $469 Nickel Finish. www.keltecweapons.com

Glock 44

"The

Released during the frenzy leading up to the 2020 SHOT Show, the Glock 44 is the first .22 pistol made by the Austrian manufacturer. It’s size? Identical to the Glock 19 Gen  5. That makes it the perfect trainer for one of Glock’s most popular concealed carry handguns.

The Glock 44 sports a 4.02-inch barrel and tips the scales at just a smidge over 12 ounces. Magazine capacity is 10 rounds. And a threaded barrel for suppressor use is available.

Plus the polymer .22 pistol retains Glock's well-known polygonal rifling. Glock says extensive testing proved reliable with a wide array of .22 LR ammo evaluated. MSRP: $430  us.glock.com

Ruger LCP II .22

Ruger LCP II 22 LR 1

Face it, small concealed carry pistols are oftentimes difficult to shoot. Light and bucky, even in milder calibers such as .380 ACP the easy-to-carry heaters oftentimes prove too much for effective self-defense. Ruger’s answer, create the nearly perfect training pistol.

The LCP II .22 LR is modeled after the company’s extremely popular concealed carry gun, mirroring the .380 in nearly every way. Yeah, its operation has been tweaked—straight blowback—and it features the company’s Lite Rack system, making the rimfire’s slide easier to manipulate. But from there it’s a dead ringer for the original and one heck of a training aid, one that costs pennies on the dollar to perfect. Even if you don’t run a Ruger for self-defense, the 2.75-inch, 10+1 pistol still proves an excellent and affordable option to hone your skills to a razor’s edge.

It’s a shooter too—no surprise from Ruger. The company knows .22 LR, and the micro pistol is as fun as every full-sized plinker they offer and ideal for wreaking havoc on soup cans, though a bit closer in. MSRP: $439  www.ruger.com

Sig Sauer P322

Sig P322 optic and suppressor and light

The Sig Sauer P365 has quickly became one of the country’s favorite concealed carry pistols, and given the similarities, it won’t be surprising to see the Sig P322 become a very popular choice for plinking too. Especially for those who like to accessorize their handguns.

However, the P322 is not exactly just a .22 LR version of the P365. The rimfire is slightly larger and uses an internal single-action-only hammer rather than a striker mechanism. It is about as customizable as the P365 though, as the P322 comes with a 1913 rail, an optics-ready slide (RMSc-pattern footprint) and a threaded barrel. The pistol also takes advantage of .22 LR’s small size by packing 20 rounds into the standard magazine, of which two are included. Sig also has 25-round mags for purchase separately.

Other features that should be appreciated are its integrated, slightly flared magwell for easier loading, its fiber optic front sight and its ability to swap triggers between flat and curved models. The P322 is also a good choice for lefties, as the manual thumb safety and slide stop are both ambidextrous and the mag release is reversible. MSRP: $399  www.sigsauer.com

Corey Graff and Elwood Shelton and Adam Borisenko contributed to this article.

10 Best Single-Stack 9mm Pistol Options For Concealed Carry (2023)

Updated 5/11/2023

The single-stack 9mm pistol has become among the top choice for personal defense. Here’s a look at some of the best offerings in the class.

What Are The Top Single-Stack 9mm Pistols:

The booming concealed carry market has generated tremendous interest in compact carry guns, and there are dozens of options when it comes to selecting a slim 9mm auto for personal protection. And while the single-stack 9mm pistols do have limitations—they lack the added punch of the .40 S&W and the .45 ACP and the high magazine capacities of their double-stack counterparts—these guns have proven to be the right blend of concealable design and threat-stopping power.

The current crop of quality 9mm defensive ammo is better than at any time in history, and new bullets like the Barnes VOR-TX, Federal HST, Hornady Critical Defense, Winchester Defend, Nosler Defense and SIG V-Crown (among others) offer consistent penetration and energy transfer. The 9mm single stacks are so popular because they are the right gun for personal defense. Now, which one is the right gun for you? Here’s a look at ten of our favorite skinny nines.

Savage Stance

Savage Stance

Savage came out of left field when they announced the Stance pistol in late 2021, the company's first handgun in more than 100 years. While other manufacturers have been scrambling to keep up with the double-stack micro-9mm trend, Savage opted to make their micro-9 a little different. Sticking with single-stack mags that are available in 7-, 8- or 10-round capacities, the Stance pistol is noticeably slimmer than its competitors. It may not have the highest capacity on the market, but it's certainly concealable with its 3.2-inch barrel and .96-inch width, and Savage incorporated features to make it a good shooter too. The pistol gets its name from its use of a natural-pointing, 18-degree grip angle, and it has interchangeable backstraps as well. They are available in three different colors either with or without a manual safety, and Savage has package options that also include a laser. ($479; SavageArms.com)

Beretta APX A1 Carry

Beretta APX A1

Another new single-stack option is Beretta's APX A1. While the pistol originally launched a couple years earlier as the APX Carry, the APX A1 brings a lot of desirable concealed carry features to the table. The biggest upgrade is the inclusion of an optics-ready slide. Using an RMSc-pattern footprint that's capable of accepting a wide variety of popular pistol red dots, the APX A1 carry is likely one of the slimmest optics-ready handguns on the market. Thanks in part to its use of single-stack 9mm magazines, it has a width of only about .91-inches, and its barrel is only about 3.1-inches as well. Its flush-fitting magazine holds 6 rounds like the Glock G43, but it includes an extended 8-round mag with a pinky extension as well. While they were at it, Beretta also improved the APX Carry's trigger, added more slide serrations and made the frame available in four different colors. ($399; Beretta.com)

Smith & Wesson M&P 9 Shield M2.0

Smith Shield M2

The Shield is one of the most popular single-stack 9mm pistols, and there’s a reason for that. It’s affordably priced, easy to conceal, and it is loaded with features like white, low profile three-dot sights and a smooth 6.5-pound trigger. This polymer frame striker-fired nine comes with two different magazines: a seven-round version to maximize concealability and an eight-round version to maximize capacity. At .95 inches wide and just 6.1 inches long with a 3.1-inch barrel, the Shield is perfectly proportioned for easy concealment under light clothes. The textured grip offers a secure hold without being overly aggressive and painful for ungloved hands. Metal parts receive a corrosion-resistant finish to protect the gun against the abuses of daily carry. ($505; Smith-Wesson.com)

Walther CCP M2+

Walther CCP M2 plus

I had a chance to see the original CCP at Walther’s factory in Germany before it was announced to the public, and I was excited about this gun from that very moment. The Walther engineers were wrestling with a problem inherent to carry guns; light springs made slides easy to manipulate (a big selling point) but that light spring resulted in heavier abuse when the slide moved rearward while firing, shortening the lifespan of the gun. To remedy this, they developed the SOFTCOIL system for the single-stack 9mm pistol, which uses gases from the fired round to slow rearward slide speed. The result is a light slide spring, reduced recoil, longer gun life and faster follow-ups, selling points which make the CCP one of the best guns in this class. The M2 ups the ante of the design, offering tool-less disassembly, curing one of the few drawbacks of the original CCP. The grip design is near perfect, and the smooth trigger is superb. By the standards of this class, the eight-shot CCP is rather large; it’s 1.18 inches wide and has a 3.54-inch barrel. But the CCP is still easy to hide, and it’s lots of fun to shoot. (MSRP Not Published, average street price is below $500; WaltherArms.com)


Load Up On More 9mm Knowledge:


Glock G43

Single-stack 9mm pistol G43-45-web

Glock’s release of the 43 was big news, not just because the Austrian brand fairly invented the striker-fire polymer semi-auto (or at least made it widely popular in the U.S.) but also because Glockophiles were looking for that just-right carry gun. In fact, Glock even called it the “most highly desired and anticipated release” in the company’s history. The single-stack 9mm pistol is classic Glock, with minimalist sights and controls, a bladed trigger, matte black corrosion-resistant slide. But it’s a very trim gun at 1.2 inches wide, 4.25 inches high and just over 6¼ inches long. Unloaded weight is just less than 18-ounces, and loaded with all six rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, this pistol weighs just over 22-ounces. It’s neither the lightest nor the heaviest on this list, but it’s a Glock, which means it will take considerable abuse without a hiccup. (~$549; US.Glock.com)

Ruger LC9s

Ruger-LC9-web Single-stack 9mm pistol

Ruger has done an excellent job of giving shooters exactly what they need in a personal defense gun while maintaining a trim profile and a low price. This striker-fired pistol has a through-hardened allow steel slide, alloy steel barrel and one-piece glass-filled nylon frame, which means durable construction in a compact package. With a 3.12-inch barrel, this single-stack 9mm pistol weighs just over 17-ounces unloaded and measures four and a half-inches high. The seven-round magazine fits flush with the bottom of the grip, but there is an included finger extension is you want more real estate. Overall length is 6 inches, and width is a scant .9 inches, meaning that this single stack is only slightly larger than the brand’s ultra-compact LCP .380. It’s available with or without a manual safety, and all models come with a bladed safety trigger for extra security. The drift-adjustable sights are dovetailed into the receiver, yet they have a low-profile design that ensures they won’t hang up when you draw. This model is now discontinued by Ruger, but it's still widely available. ($479; Ruger.com)

Kahr PM9

Kahr-PM9-web

Kahr is known for producing durable, purpose-built semi-autos, and the PM9 doesn’t fail to impress. With a 3-inch polygonal-rifled barrel the PM9 weighs just 14-ounces without a magazine and utilizes a trigger-cocking, locked-breech design that has proven reliable and accurate. Overall length is just 5.42 inches and height is 4 inches, so this gun hides easily and is comfortable for all-day carry thanks to its smooth profile and minimized controls. It comes with drift-adjustable combat sights, a stainless slide that will stand up to the moisture associated with daily carry and a polymer frame with textured grips. The Kahr doesn’t come with a manual safety, but it does have a passive striker block, and the takedown lever makes routine breakdown for maintenance and cleaning fast and easy. This single-stack 9mm pistol comes with two six-round magazines that fit flush with the grip and an additional seven-round mag with a finger grip extension. ($795; Kahr.com)

Glock 48

G43X G48 1

As mentioned, the G43 sent shockwaves through the polymer, striker-fire market—one of Glock’s most anticipated releases ever. A testament to the pistol's impact, it spurred an entire line. In addition to the G43, the Austrian gunmaker offers two other single-stack 9mm pistol options in the G43X and G48. The former is simply the original 9mm with 10+1 expended capacity, while the latter offers a bit more gun. With a 4.17-inch barrel, the G48 is a little more challenging to conceal, yet the trade-off is well worth it. In addition to 10+1 capacity, it also boasts a longer sight radius, thus improved overall accuracy potential. Despite this, it’s still a trim gun with a minuscule .87-inch width and very manageable 25-ounce weight, which meshes up nicely with a wide swath of armed citizen’s carry profile. Overall, the G48 offers a bit more than the original slimline Glock and strikes a near-perfect balance between performance and concealability. Oh yeah, if you want a little flash you can get it (and the G43X) in two-tone. (~$500, US.Glock.com)

Kimber Micro 9

The Kimber Micro 9 is a capable and attractive little pistol.
The Kimber Micro 9 is a capable and attractive little pistol.

Almost the ideal pocket pistol, the Kimber Micro 9 brings to the table absolutely rock-solid construction with a dash of class. What makes the single-stack 9mm pistol such a rugged gem is its aluminum frame, which gives it plenty of resiliency while not pushing its weight over the top. In fact, the pistol is a downright featherweight, tipping the scales at a mere 15.6-ounces. This combine with its 1.06-inch width makes the single-action 9mm next to nothing to conceal, no matter what position you carry, even in the lightest of garb. For its size, the 3.15-inch barrel Micro 9 produces surprising accuracy at reasonable self-defense ranges. This is aided by a 4.3-inch sight radius, which is respectable for a gun of its class. But the 7+1 capacity pistol still provides some challenges. In particular, given its weight and size, it can prove quite bucky, an attribute accentuated by its abbreviated grips.

Still, it’s a factor overcome with practice and familiarity. Additionally, the Micro 9 in all its iterations (there are many) is a good looking pistol—a shame it’s meant to go undercover. (Starts At $760, kimberamerica.com)

Sig P938

SIG-P938-9-BG-AMBI

Ticking like a Swiss timepiece, the Sig P938 goes down as one of the most reliable single-stack 9mm pistols on the list. Essentially a micro 1911, the pistol offers all the assets of the classic John M. Browning design excellently executed. Prime to this point, a smashingly light single-action trigger that does a lot to ensure the 3-inch barrel gun’s accuracy. Though, the time-tested design does have its drawbacks. First and foremost, the thumb safety, which adds a layer to its deployment. This is frowned upon by some. As far as concealability, few beat the single-stack. At 3.9-inches in height and 16-ounces unloaded it is legitimately a pocket pistol and would do well in this role. But with a 6+1 capacity with its flush-fit magazine, the gun is more than appropriate as a primary carry piece. Either way, it offers the utmost discreetness. Par typical for Sig pistols, the P938 runs on the spender end of the spectrum. Given few in its class hold a candle to its performance, it’s easy to justify the extra coin. ($717, sigsauer.com)

Editor Note: Elwood Shelton and Adam Borisenko contributed to the update of this post.

Is The Trijicon Huron The Ultimate Whitetail Optic?

The Huron scopes come with a matte-black, nonglare finish on the 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum body. Trijicon exposes its scopes to a litany of abuse tests, so there’s no worry that rough baggage-handlers, bumpy ATV rides, or heavy recoil will ruin your scope.
The Huron scopes come with a matte-black, nonglare finish on the 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum body. Trijicon exposes its scopes to a litany of abuse tests, so there’s no worry that rough baggage-handlers, bumpy ATV rides, or heavy recoil will ruin your scope.

In sub-zero conditions, the Trijicon Huron riflescope still put whitetails on ice.

The big news from Trijicon for 2020 is certainly the release of its groundbreaking Ventus, a portable rangefinder that doubles as a sophisticated wind mapping device. As significant an advancement as the Ventus is, it’s hardly Trijicon’s only new product for 2020: The company is offering a whole host of brand-new scopes for hunters and shooters.

Huron Scopes

One of the new Trijicon releases is the Huron line, a family of optics that’s aimed at (pun intended!) the white-tailed deer hunter. The whitetail is, far and away, the most popular big-game animal in North America, and approximately 80 percent of the hunters who head to the field each year do so in search of whitetails. As a result, it makes sense that Trijicon would make an effort to build the perfect deer scope … if such a thing exists.

If it does, it might be the Huron.

Trijicon optics have a reputation for superb clarity and excellent construction, but optics of that caliber don’t come cheap. In designing the Huron, Trijicon’s engineers set out to provide the same level of optical quality at a price that would be more palatable to the average deer hunter by providing them with every feature they need and nothing they don’t.

Trijicon’s Huron is available in four different magnification ranges: 1-4x, 2.5-10x, 3-9x, and 3-12x. All of these scopes come with Trijicon’s BDC Hunter Holds reticle. The 3-9x40mm (shown here) is also available with Trijicon’s Standard Duplex and German No. 4 reticles.
Trijicon’s Huron is available in four different magnification ranges: 1-4x, 2.5-10x, 3-9x, and 3-12x. All of these scopes come with Trijicon’s BDC Hunter Holds reticle. The 3-9x40mm (shown here) is also available with Trijicon’s Standard Duplex and German No. 4 reticles.

To be clear, the Huron scopes share the same military-grade construction and premium glass you’ll find in the company’s more expensive optics, so the Huron offers the same clarity, contrast and construction quality you’ll find on optics such as the AccuPoint. What the Huron doesn’t offer is Trijicon’s battery-free illumination tritium/fiber-optic lamps that are found in the AccuPoint line. The Huron offers AccuPoint-like clarity and light transmission in a package that costs about $500 less than the company’s flagship hunting optic. There are four Huron models available for 2020: 1-4x24mm, 3-9x40mm, 2.5-10x40mm, and 3-12x40mm. All are available with either 30mm or 1-inch tubes.

Trijicon is bucking the trend toward very large objective bells, but that’s not a bad thing. For starters, the notion that a very large 52mm or 56mm objective lens allows for better light transmission at dawn and dusk simply isn’t true. A 40mm lens with good-quality lenses and coatings will allow the shooter a clear view, even in low light.

The downside of those oversized objective bells is that they demand the rifle be mounted higher above the bore (and this, in turn, demands higher rings), and they weigh more than scopes with smaller objective lenses. Forty-millimeter objective lenses not only cut weight, they also allow the scope to be mounted closer to the rifle’s bore, and this prevents the shooter from having to increase comb height or break their cheek weld on the rifle to clearly see through the scope.

The compact 1-4x24mm scope measures just 10.4 inches long and weighs 15.9 ounces. At 17.8 ounces, the 3-12x40mm is very light for its magnification class, and that makes these optics ideal for sporter-weight rifles.

Weighing in at 18 ounces or less, the Huron line of scopes is ideal for lightweight mountain rifles such as this Christensen Arms Mesa Titanium. With the Huron scope mounted, this rifle—chambered in 6.5 PRC—weighs less than 8 pounds.
Weighing in at 18 ounces or less, the Huron line of scopes is ideal for lightweight mountain rifles such as this Christensen Arms Mesa Titanium. With the Huron scope mounted, this rifle—chambered in 6.5 PRC—weighs less than 8 pounds.

Huron scopes offer a long list of standard features that include MOA adjustments in both the 30mm and 1-inch models. They also come with Trijicon’s Easy-Focus Eyepiece so the diopter can be adjusted to match the shooter’s vision for a clear, consistent sight picture.

The scope body is made from 6061 aircraft-grade aluminum with a black satin finish that’s durable and glare-resistant, and the capped windage and elevation turrets can be adjusted without special tools. The fully multi-coated broadband anti-reflective glass lenses are equipped with an anti-scratch coating, and there are different second focal plane reticle options: Standard Duplex, German No. 4, and BDC Hunter Holds. The BDC Hunter Holds’ crosshair offers quick reference points for windage and elevation adjustments, and these scopes offer extremely wide fields of view (up to 33.8 feet at 100 yards for the 3-9×40; up to 95 feet at 100 yards for the 1-4×24).

Backed by Trijicon’s class-leading warranty, the Huron is a lot of glass for the money. MSRPs range from $650 to $699, and that’s a bargain for optics of this quality from a brand with such an outstanding track record.

Range-Testing the Huron

The Huron model I tested was the 2.5-10x40mm 30mm version with the BDC Hunter Holds reticle, and I tested it on an ER Shaw Mark X bolt-action rifle in 6mm Creedmoor. I knew part of the test would include a hunt in Canada’s far north for November whitetails, and the Mark X was the rifle I intended to take on that hunt—because, like the Huron, it promises excellent performance at an affordable cost.

The Huron’s 40mm objective lens allows it to be mounted lower on the rifle. Yet, the smaller objective doesn’t reduce low-light clarity.
The Huron’s 40mm objective lens allows it to be mounted lower on the rifle. Yet, the smaller objective doesn’t reduce low-light clarity.

Because ER Shaw builds all its rifles to customer specifications, I designed the Mark X rifle myself, mating the Shaw action with a 24-inch, matte-finish sporter target barrel with an 11-degree crown, a 1:8 twist rate, and a Grade 5 walnut stock. Together, the rifle and optic carried an MSRP of less than $2,000, but the performance was equal to guns costing much more.

With the Huron mounted on the rifle, Hornady’s 103-grain ELD-X and 108-grain ELD Match bullets averaged groups between 0.6 and 0.87 inch at the range, and recoil from the 8-pound rifle was essentially nonexistent. The Huron’s reticle is wonderfully free of clutter, offering a wide and unobstructed sight picture.

The BDC Hunter Hold reticle is a great option for hunters, because it offers clear holdover points for fast reference in the field. While hunting, you might not have time to fool with making click adjustments to find the right elevation hold. The BDC reticle is faster—and that can make a huge difference when you’re presented with a narrow window of time to take a shoe.

Unlike other hunting scopes, the Huron’s click adjustments are precise and easy to count. What’s more, resetting the zero on your scope is fast and simple. To do so, you simply zero the scope, lift the dial, turn to the “zero” mark, and drop the dial. It locks into place, and you’re re-zeroed without the need to fiddle with tools. Not only is the design wonderfully simple, it’s also precise.

Trijicon’s Huron 2.5-10x40mm and ER Shaw’s Mark X rifle in 6mm Creedmoor proved to be a deadly combination on Saskatchewan whitetails. This rifle shoots well under an inch with factory loads, produces little recoil, and the optic performed well in dim light.
Trijicon’s Huron 2.5-10x40mm and ER Shaw’s Mark X rifle in 6mm Creedmoor proved to be a deadly combination on Saskatchewan whitetails. This rifle shoots well under an inch with factory loads, produces little recoil, and the optic performed well in dim light.

Into the Great North

Trijicon rates the Huron effective from -20 to +140 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures were at the low end of that range when I arrived in Saskatchewan in November for my whitetail hunt.

On the first morning in the Safari Rivers Outfitters camp, the thermometer read -12 degrees F, making for a bitterly cold ride to the blinds scattered deep within the Northern Provincial Forest. The formula for hunting Saskatchewan’s huge whitetail bucks is relatively simple: Position yourself along a prime travel corridor … and hope that the drive to reproduce compels the bucks to move during daylight hours.

I had complete confidence in my rifle/scope/load combination, and I knew that if a deer showed, the 6mm Creedmoor would do its job. If you believe the stories regarding body size on these big, Canadian bucks, you might be compelled to consider bringing a .30-caliber magnum on such a hunt. But the reality is that while northern-tier whitetails are larger than their southern cousins, they aren’t that much larger.

Nevertheless, like all whitetails, they’re elusive and hard to find, and that’s especially true in the massive forested tracts of northern Saskatchewan. It’s easy to lose heart and hope when the bitter cold seeps in and the woods are still and frozen, but the knowledge that the deer of a lifetime (several lifetimes, maybe) could be just out of sight around the closest stand of pines keeps you going.

The daylight hours are short in these woods, and even in full sun, the forested canopy blocks the light. It’s essential, therefore, to have a scope that offers excellent light transmission.

Canada is tough on hunters and gear, and that’s why it was the perfect proving grounds for both the new Trijicon Huron scope and the ER Shaw rifle. As you can see, both performed well.
Canada is tough on hunters and gear, and that’s why it was the perfect proving grounds for both the new Trijicon Huron scope and the ER Shaw rifle. As you can see, both performed well.

The concept that scopes “gather” light isn’t really true, but clear glass with good coatings goes a long way toward managing available light properly and providing hunters with a clear enough image to see their target.

As the days passed in the cold blind, I had several opportunities to test the Trijicon’s low-light efficiency, and it’s very good—on par with scopes costing much more. There’s very little color distortion, and the optic is clear, edge to edge. By the end of the second day, I’d thoroughly vetted the Huron as an observational tool in low light. Even so, I really needed to test it on game.

The first blind location was on a small ridge looking down into a winding creek that was frozen solid as steel pipe. The open understory was a mass of telephone-pole-straight pine trunks, and often, the only feature that betrayed the presence of an approaching deer was a horizontal, brown backline passing through the wall of vertical pines.

There was no shortage of deer in that pine forest, but the bucks that were hanging out around my quaint outpost in the big pine woods were immature. My guide, Joel, made the decision to move me to another area that was even deeper into the forest—far from anything resembling human habitation.


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When the sun “warmed” (a relative term, I assure you), and chickadees began peeking into the blind windows, I could see a pair of does 100 yards ahead of me. I hoped that they would bring in a buck, but after moiling around for over an hour, they vanished into the trees, and the woods fell silent.

At noon, I pulled my lunch bag from underneath my outer layer of clothing (to keep everything from freezing) and peeled the wrapper off my sandwich with the Shaw rifle across my legs. I’d just finished when I saw movement through the trees.

It was a buck, and although he wasn’t one of the giants that are sometimes found in these woods, he was mature and far better than anything I’d seen. I slipped the rifle into position on the shooting sticks and turned the dial on the 2.5-10x40mm Huron to max power.

The buck turned to the right, quartering slightly away from me. I slid the safety forward and held the crosshairs of the Trijicon at the seam between the buck’s leg and chest a third of the way up his body. When the rifle was steady, I exhaled sharply, settled myself and pressed the trigger.

The afternoon silence was shattered by the sharp crack! of the 6mm Creedmoor, and the buck fell, nose-first, into the snow. He then managed to regain his feet before vanishing out of sight. I listened for any sound: Other than a series of four or five thumps in the snow, there was nothing.

The Hornady bullet had passed through the deer’s lungs and broke the off-side leg, and the deer had barely made it out of sight before expiring. He was a better buck than I thought—fat, healthy, and with very dark main beams that reached around and nearly touched. By the time I reached him and snapped a few pictures, the day’s light was quickly fading, and I radioed that I had a deer on the ground and for someone to come and pick me up.

I came away from that hunt very impressed with the Huron’s performance, and it’s advantage to hunters that Trijicon is offering its high-quality scopes at a price that’s more manageable for the average whitetail hunter. The Huron is marketed as the “ultimate whitetail hunter’s scope,” and it performed exceptionally well in some very challenging conditions.

Trijicon Huron 2.5-10x40mm Specs
Tube diameter: 30mm
Tube material: 6061 aluminum
Eye relief: 2.4-3.3 in.
LengtH: 12.5 in.
Weight: 18.2 oz.
Finish: Satin black
Reticle: Trijicon BDC Hunter Holds
Adjustments: ¼ MOA
Adjustment range: 70 MOA total
Exit pupil: 0.58-0.16 in.
Focal plane: Second
MSRP: $699

For more information on the Trijicon Huron scope, please visit trijicon.com.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2020 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

A Contemporary Classic: The New Savage 110 Classic

Savage Model 110 10

The new Savage 110 Classic brings an elevated level of versatility to the traditional wood-stocked hunting rifle.

How The Savage 110 Classic's Stock Makes It A Modern Classic:

  • Combines the customizability of a polymer stock with the classic look of walnut.
  • Push-button controlled adjustable stock lets you tailor LOP and comb height.
  • Each has 1.5 inches of play.
  • Button tension can be increased or decreased with an Allen key.

When polymer rifle stocks first emerged in the 1980s, they were viewed with skepticism and disdain by many hunters. It was argued that injection-molded plastic would never have the look and feel of traditional walnut. After all, wood-stocked guns have been serving hunters since the dawn of rifledom, and traditionalists saw no reason to change.

Savage Model 110 7
The Savage 110 Classic features an oil-finish walnut stock that easily adjusts for comb height and length of pull, blending the versatility of a polymer stock with the look and feel of wood.

As it turns out, polymer stocks do have some very real advantages over wood stocks: Polymers are tough, inexpensive and, perhaps most importantly, they make it very easy to customize a rifle to fit the shooter.

Customizability + Classic Style

Savage’s new 110 Classic bolt-action rifle manages to combine the customizability of a polymer stock with the classic look of walnut. At first glance, this rifle looks like a traditional wood-stocked rifle; a gun that will appeal to the traditionalist. Closer examination reveals that the walnut stock can be quickly adjusted to perfectly fit any shooter.

Savage Model 110 6
The walnut stock features a comfortable pistol grip with a slight palm swell. The design is comfortable for shooters with various-sized hands, thus adding to the 110 Classic’s versatility.

The principle that Savage uses to accomplish this is similar to what high-end shotgun companies have been doing with competition guns for years: Competitive shotgun shooting demands exact gun fit; and, decades ago, that required shooters to go through the difficult and expensive process of having the stock adjusted.

Many modern competition shotguns have walnut stocks with adjustable comb heights and lengths of pull that allow the gun to be quickly customized to properly fit any shooter. Savage borrowed that technology and transitioned it to the rifle market. The new 110 Classic’s stock has two buttons on the right side of the stock that allow a shooter to adjust both comb height and length of pull by up to 1.5 inches. When the front button is depressed, the comb is released and can be raised, and three steel posts keep the comb secure and properly aligned. The center has cutouts that lock in place, and there are five adjustment points, each of which offers roughly a quarter-inch of adjustment.

Savage Model 110 9
The Savage 110 Classic comes with a drop-out metal box magazine that holds four rounds (three in magnum calibers). The magazine release button is located in front of the magwell.

The rear button controls length of pull in the same manner. Button tension can be adjusted using an Allen key. The adjustment buttons measure almost an inch wide, so they’re easy to locate and operate without taking your eyes off the target. And, the walnut stock has an oil finish that looks good and helps protect the wood.

Features and Details

In addition to its clever stock design, the Savage 110 Classic is a very versatile and well-built hunting rifle. It employs Savage’s proven dual-lug push-feed action with plunger-type ejector, and it also comes with the company’s user-adjustable AccuTrigger, which features a blade design to prevent impact discharges.

Savage Model 110 11
The 110 Classic comes with Savage’s AccuTrigger. The design is exceedingly safe and user-adjustable from 1.5 to 6 pounds.

The carbon-steel action and barrel feature a non-glare matte-black finish, and the sporter-profile barrel comes in lengths of 22 inches for standard calibers and 24 inches for magnums. All 110 Classic rifles come with a 9/16-28 threaded muzzle and include a thread protector. Other key features include a removable metal box magazine that holds four rounds (three in magnum calibers) and sling studs.


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The 110 Classic weighs in at around 8.1 pounds, which is fine for most hunting applications. Overall length for standard calibers ranges from 41.25 to 42.75 inches, depending upon length-of-pull adjustments, and the controls are easy to operate. There’s a three-position, tang-mounted safety that allows you to load and unload the rifle with the safety engaged, and the magazine release button is located at the front of the magazine well. Removing the bolt requires depressing a button on the front of the trigger guard and pulling the trigger.

Savage 110 range test

The 110 Classic is available in eight calibers ranging from .243 Winchester to .300 Win. Mag., all of which carry an MSRP of $999.

Expectations Met… and Exceeded

The 110 Classic I tested was chambered in .243 Winchester. I topped the rifle with a Trijicon AccuPoint 2.5-12.5x42mm scope. Removing the bolt for bore sighting or cleaning requires lowering the comb so the rear portion of the bolt doesn’t strike the stock. Once this was done, I reinserted the bolt and adjusted the comb height so that my eye was naturally aligned with the scope.

Savage Model 110 2
The 110 Classic proved capable of sub-MOA accuracy with the three Federal loads tested. These included (left to right) Barnes 85-grain TSX, Berger 95-grain Hybrid Hunter and Nosler 90-grain AccuBond.

The 110 Classic’s stock allows the shooter to adjust length of pull from roughly 12.5 to 14 inches, and because I have rather long arms, the rifle fit me best with maximum length of pull. Most other walnut stocks are built to fit the “average” shooter, so having the ability to customize the 110’s fit is a worthwhile feature. There’s no need to readjust your shooting position to make up for a stock that’s too short or too long, and the Savage allows the shooter to adopt a more natural shooting position. This increases comfort and also helps mitigate recoil.

Savage has a stellar reputation for accuracy—thanks, in part, to its use of a barrel nut that allows for perfect headspacing.

Savage Model 110 3
The 110 Classic utilizes Savage’s dual-lug push-feed action with a plunger-type ejector. The surface of the bolt has a jeweled finish.

The 110 Classic not only lived up to those high expectations, it exceeded them, producing sub-MOA groups with all three of the .243 Winchester loads tested (Federal’s Barnes TSX 85-grain, Nosler AccuBond 90-grain and the new Berger Hybrid Hunter 95-grain). All three of the loads were extremely consistent, with group sizes ranging from .68 inch to 1.08 inches at 100 yards. Every load tested averaged under an inch, making this the most accurate Savage rifle I’ve tested. Impressive!

Recoil isn’t much of a factor with a .243, but the 8-pound (10.1 pounds loaded and scoped) Savage 110 proved to be very easy to shoot. I have little doubt that the custom-fit stock improved accuracy.

Savage 110 Specs

The 110 Classic features an American-style flat comb. When elevated, the rear portion of the comb rises above the line of the stock. As a result, it’s important to ensure no portion of your face is behind the elevated portion of the stock so the force of the rifle’s recoil doesn’t rake across your cheek (a mistake I made … just once).

The AccuTrigger revolutionized bolt-action rifle production, and because it’s user-adjustable from 1.5 to 6 pounds, you can customize trigger pull weight. The test rifle came set at 2.5 pounds, which is just about perfect for my taste; however, if you want to adjust the trigger pull weight, it’s a simple process: Simply remove the action from the stock, and the trigger weight control screw can be adjusted clockwise or counterclockwise for a lighter or heavier pull.

Savage Model 110 5
Like all 110s, the Classic features a tang-mounted safety that’s easy to reach and manipulate. The three-position design allows the action to operate with the safety engaged in the middle position.

The adjustable stock and comb allow the shooter to get more comfortable when shooting from the bench, but this adjustability also helps when shooting from field positions. Prone shooting is popular because it affords the shooter maximum stability while hunting, but your ability to quickly and efficiently get into a prone position is compromised by the dimensions of your stock: If length of pull is too long, you’ll be reaching too short, and you’ll have to fire from a compacted position, which inhibits a relaxed, comfortable shot. The adjustable comb is also a benefit when shooting prone, because in really awkward positions (steep uphill, steep downhill, uneven terrain), the comb can compensate for unusual head positioning.

Having the proper length of pull allows for faster shooting from kneeling or standing positions, and you can adjust it to compensate for heavy clothing. Normally, I shoot a rifle with a 14-inch length of pull, but in really cold conditions for which I’m wearing bulky clothes, having the option to shorten the rifle’s length to accommodate extra layers is a benefit.

Savage Model 110 8
With 1.5 inches of comb adjustment, the Savage 110 accommodates a wide variety of shooting styles. It’s especially valuable when shooting from field positions.

There’s nothing particularly fancy about the 110 Classic rifle, but it is a good-looking and well-executed gun. The walnut stock is rather plain, but the oil finish adds a touch of class. Wood-to-metal fit is pretty good throughout. The pistol grip is comfortably angled with a palm swell that allows for a firm hold on the gun, and the rounded fore arm is equipped with a finger groove. Both the fore arm and pistol grip feature Savage’s signature checkering with interrupting parallel lines.

The action is fairly smooth, and the magazine fits neatly into the rifle without a lot of fiddling. The lone reliability issue came when a single cartridge popped free of the magazine— the rear portion riding atop the closing bolt, which caused obvious chambering issues. Aside from that, the gun performed well.

Savage is breaking ground with the addition of an adjustable walnut stock, and I like the design. Sure, companies offer plastic spacers that allow you to manipulate length of pull, but the push-button design on the 110 Classic eliminates the need to remove the recoil pad when adjusting length of pull. The design certainly makes perfect sense when two or more hunters share a rifle, because, with just a few simple adjustments, a single gun can fit mom, dad and any kids in your house.

The new 110 Classic offers traditionalists a wood-stocked rifle that doesn’t forfeit the versatility of a polymer stock. At $999, the Classic isn’t exactly a budget rifle, but it does shoot extraordinarily well. And, it’s one of the few guns that can instantly fit anyone who fires it.

The article originally appeared in the September 2019 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

The All-Arounder: Springfield Armory XD(M) 10mm

Springfield Armory XDM 5

Gun-Digest-2020-Cover
Gun Digest 2019 is now available at the Gun Digest Store. Get Your Copy of “The World's Greatest Gun Book.”

From hunting to defense, the Springfield XD(M) 10mm has you covered.

Does The XD(M) 10mm Score A Perfect 10:

  • Available in two versions — 4.5-inch barreled and 5.25-inch.
  • Rear sight is fully adjustable from large screws, front is fiber optic.
  • Match-grade barrel with 1:16 right-hand twist.
  • Slide features a unique cutout on top.
  • Pistol fits perfectly into larger hands, but it's not so great to put those with average hands at a disadvantage.
  • Manageable shooter that's fast and accurate.

Springfield Armory has joined the ranks of striker-fired pistol manufacturers offering a 10mm Auto. The brand’s XD(M) pistols will now be available in two 10mm versions — one with a 4.5-inch barrel, the other with a 5.25-inch barrel. Once exclusive Glock territory (which helped bolster the 10mm’s popularity by offering it in its affordable, polymer-framed G20, G29 and G40), the striker-fired 10mm market is opening up. And if ever there was a striker-fired pistol that was well-suited to be chambered in 10mm it’s the Springfield XD(M).

Rise of the 10mm

Not too long ago while I was visiting my local gun shop, a patron stopped me to tell me that I was mistaken in a recent article. He went on to challenge my assertion that the 10mm Auto caliber was growing in popularity. The 10mm, he told me, had been replaced by the .40 Smith & Wesson and, as a commercial cartridge, it’s life would be short. Soon it would largely be forgotten by the firearms world at large.

Springfield Armory XDM 6
The 10mm is growing in popularity, and the new Springfield is already a standout in the field. It’s accurate, very reliable and offers the durability of a Melonite finish.

If he had made those predictions 25 years ago, he might have been right. After the 10mm was dumped by the FBI in favor of the then-new .40 S&W due to fears about excessive recoil, one could reasonably make the argument that the cartridge was on the way out. Then, after the first Bren Ten pistols — the first commercial 10mm — turned out to be a failure due to issues with magazines, you could almost surely have said that the 10mm was teetering on the brink of obscurity.

The cartridge, however, was too good to go away. Conventional wisdom in the 1990s told us that the 10mm was never going to amount to much. But shooters and hunters began to catch on to the cartridge’s potential and it continued to gain fans. In fact, it’s one of the fastest-growing handgun cartridges in terms of ammunition sold and new firearms offered. The .40 Smith & Wesson, said to be the 10mm’s final coffin nail, has withered in terms of popularity lately.

Springfield XD(M) 10mm

I’m an unabashed 10mm loyalist, but I’m also a Springfield fan. Springfield’s Croatian-made XD pistols are extremely durable and have all the features that I’ve come to expect in the best polymer striker-fired guns, including a crisp, but safe, trigger, a multitude of passive safeties (including a grip safety), adjustable sights, solid finishes and a carrying case that includes lots of extra equipment you’d have to pay extra for from other manufacturers. Plus, these pistols shoot very well and have proven to be reliable. Springfield’s XD line remains quite popular with some of the nation’s best competition shooters.

Springfield Armory XDM 4
The XD(M) comes with a 5.25-inch match-grade barrel. Like the slide, the barrel is treated with Melonite.

The XD(M) that I tested was the 5.25-inch version, which comes with a square-notch rear sight — screw adjustable for both windage and elevation — and a post front sight with red fiber-optic insert that is dovetailed into the slide. The rear sight’s adjustment screws are large enough to be easily altered, and there are indicators on the slide that show direction of travel for up and left adjustments. There are also index lines cut into the slide to help you keep track of left/right adjustments as you fine-tune the pistol to your shooting. Both the front and rear sight are secure and solidly constructed — an important consideration on a cartridge that generates the level of recoil of the 10mm Auto.


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XD pistols operate on a locked-breech, tilt-barrel design and the XD(M) 10mm comes with a match-grade barrel with a 1:16 right-hand twist. The model I tested features an open cutout in the top of the slide over the barrel that adds a touch of unique styling and cuts down on weight a bit. The slide and barrel are both treated with Melonite, a ferritic nitrocarburizing treatment that makes the metal corrosion-resistant. The slide itself is made from forged steel and comes with deep, angular slide cuts fore and aft for better control when operating the pistol. At the rear of the gun a small, silver cocking indicator tab extends through the rear of the slide to offer both a visual and tactile indicator of the XD(M)’s condition.

If you have large hands and constantly struggle to find a semi-auto pistol to accommodate your mitts, the XD(M) will suit you perfectly. The large polymer grip is spacious and offers plenty of purchase thanks to texturing — Springfield calls it Mega-Lock — on the front, rear and sides. Length of pull on this 10mm pistol is long enough to make shooters with large hands comfortable, but not so great that the average shooter will strain to reach the trigger. My wife has relatively small hands, but she was able to firmly grip the gun and access the trigger, and we were both equally comfortable firing the XD(M). It’s rare that a pistol suits us both, but the Springfield does.

Springfield Armory XDM 3
The XD(M)’s bladed trigger offers moderate travel, breaks at around 6 pounds and has a short, positive reset. Also shown is the ambidextrous magazine-release button.

The polymer frame comes with a molded front rail that’s large enough to accommodate lights and lasers, and there are molded depressions behind the trigger that provide a comfortable and stable hand position when holding the gun.

Like all XD(M) pistols, the 10mm utilizes double-stack magazines that hold 15 rounds of 10mm Auto ammunition. Springfield provides three magazines with each gun, which is a welcome addition. All-metal construction makes the mags very durable, and the spring weight is stout enough to properly feed cartridges without being so heavy that you’ll have to grunt and strain to top it off.

Like many polymer-framed, striker-fired guns, the Springfield XD(M) 10mm’s controls are minimalistic. There’s a serrated slide stop that’s triangular in cross-section, and an ambidextrous magazine release and rotating takedown lever on the left side. The trigger has a moderate amount of travel for a striker gun and the test pistol’s trigger broke at 6 pounds as measured with a RCBS gauge. Reset is positive and short, so once you’re familiar with the XD(M) you can fire very fast, controlled follow-ups.

Springfield Armory XDM 1
Springfield calls its wraparound polymer texturing pattern Grip-Lock. It’s not too aggressive, but offers a firm grip on the gun. There’s ample space on the grip for even the largest hands.

Field stripping the handgun for routine maintenance is simple: with the magazine removed and an unloaded chamber, simply pull the slide back until the semicircular cutout on the slide aligns with the rotating takedown lever. The lever is then turned 90 degrees in a clockwise direction (up) and the slide is pushed forward along the rails and removed. The one-piece guide rod, spring, barrel and internal portion of the slide can then be easily accessed for cleaning. Reassembly is a matter of reversing the process, and there’s no need to pull the trigger when breaking down the gun for routine maintenance.

The XD(M) 10mm is a large gun, but that’s not all bad when firing full-power 10mm loads. Unloaded weight is 32.8 ounces, and overall length is 8.3 inches. Height is 5.75 inches, and the Springfield’s grip measures 1.2-inches wide. Big for concealed carry? Yes, this gun wouldn’t be my first choice, and it would be quite difficult to hide under light clothing, but I suspect it could be possible since, after all, there are many shooters who carry full-sized 1911s concealed and the Springfield’s dimensions aren’t that much greater. But this will primarily be an open carry option.

At the Range

Much has been made of the 10mm’s recoil, and if you read enough about the cartridge, you’d assume that it’s nearly unbearable to tame this beast of a round. Not so. The Springfield’s recoil is stiff, but not abusive, and the gun’s weight, long slide and 5.25-inch barrel help reduce muzzle flip. With high-power hunting and defense loads — those approaching light .41 Magnum ballistics — the gun is a handful and generates more setback than most novice shooters would care to contend with. But with milder loads in the 1,000 fps range, such as Speer’s Gold Dot ammo, the pistol is manageable and can be fired quickly and accurately. And while I couldn’t manage the type of splits you would achieve with the same handgun in 9mm, I was able to deliver fast double-taps and three-shot strings in rapid succession and still hit the target.

XD[M] Accuracy Test

I’d also venture to say that, despite its prodigious stopping power, the Springfield 10mm (which weighs in the neighborhood of 40 ounces fully loaded) is more pleasant and manageable to shoot than really short-barreled, ultra-light 9mm carry pistols with hot defensive ammunition. Short-barreled carry pistols often produce so much muzzle flip that aimed follow-ups can be tough. The 10mm generates more energy, but its greater size and added weight make it possible to shoot it accurately and quickly with more sedate defensive loads.

When you step up to hotter ammunition — 1,200 feet per second and up — the Springfield becomes more of a handful. Again, not abusive, and more manageable than the short-barreled .44 Magnums that many carry for backup in bear country. Additionally, that added barrel length allows the Springfield to wring more velocity out of those high-power 10mm loads. With such a wide range of 10mm ammo now being offered, you can load the XD(M) as needed — lower-powered loads for competition, practice and defense against two-legged predators and hotter loads for hunting big game or as defense in bear country.

Accuracy from the bench was quite good, the smallest group coming in at 1.4 inches with Hornady’s Critical Defense ammunition and average group sizes ranging from 2.05 to 2.63 inches at 25 yards. Bench shooting was aided by a predictable and manageable trigger pull and the Springfield’s excellent sights and almost 8-inch sight radius. Recoil was more noticeable from the bench but still wasn’t painful, and the target rear and fiber-optic front sights were easy to see and align. There weren’t any reliability issues to report, the Springfield ran well — feeding, firing, extracting and ejecting every round from five separate manufacturers. That’s especially telling since, as previously stated, 10mm Auto ammo ranges widely in terms of velocity and energy. Springfield claims to have fired the gun to 10,000 rounds without failure, stopping every 2,000 rounds to oil the gun and change recoil springs. I’ve no reason to doubt those claims after what I experienced.

Springfield Armory XDM 13
Breaking down the XD(M) is quite simple, and it doesn’t require pulling the trigger. With an empty chamber and the magazine removed, simply pull the slide back until the notch aligns with the takedown lever, turn the lever clockwise 90 degrees and remove the slide.

If you’re in the market for a backup pistol in bear country, the Springfield’s reliability and accuracy make it a top contender. Many guides in the Great North have traded in their big-bore revolvers in favor of 10mm Auto pistols, and the XD(M) is perfectly suited for the task. It offers a capacity of 15+1 rounds and the bright fiber-optic front sight is ideal for making fast, accurate shots in the most stressful situations. I personally like the grip safety, which acts as one more level of security when carrying a pistol with a round in the chamber (a must in bear country).

The Melonite finish is durable: I’ve carried the XD(M)’s little brother, The XD(S), quite frequently for extended periods and the Melonite finish on that gun handles the rigors of daily carry with aplomb, and the polymer frame is capable of taking a serious beating. I also like that the Springfield’s controls are easy to operate when wearing gloves, and the large magazine well makes reloads fast and easy. For those who hunt hogs or deer at close range with a 10mm the XD(M) is a valid option.

MSRP on this Springfield is $779, less than you’ll pay for most 1911 10mm pistols, and it comes with a hard case with lots of extras, including the trio of magazines and three backstrap inserts that allow you to customize the gun to your hand. As a fan of 10mms in general and Springfield guns in particular, I had high hopes when this gun was announced, and it did not disappoint.

Springfield Armory XDM 2
The XD(M) 10mm comes with double-stack magazines that hold 15 rounds of ammunition. Each purchase includes three magazines, adding to the XD(M)’s value.

The 10mm is not faltering. As long as there are guns like the Springfield XD(M) chambered for it, I suspect its popularity will continue to grow — and deservingly so.

Springfield XD(M) Specs:

Model: Springfield XD(M) 10mm 5.25 in.
Action: Striker-fired semi-auto
Caliber: 10mm Auto
Capacity: 15
Barrel: 5.25 in.
Overall Length: 8.3 in.
Weight: 32.8 oz. (empty magazine)
Grips: Polymer
Finish: Matte black
Trigger Pull: 6.1 lbs.
Sights: Adjustable target rear, fiber-optic front
MSRP: $779

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from Gun Digest 2019, now available at GunDigestStore.com.

Perfect Pairs EDC Knife and Gun Combos

Looking for an EDC knife and handgun combo? More companies than ever offer both in one place.

Who offers the best Knife-Gun combos:

Marketing experts will tell you that many consumers purchase products based solely on brand recognition and loyalty. From breakfast cereal and bread to clothes and cars, we tend to gravitate toward particular companies whose products we feel are inherently superior. Gun owners are particularly loyal, and when a company provides a high-quality product at a fair price, remaining faithful and supporting your favorite brand is a wise decision.

Many gun companies now offer their loyal customers the opportunity to purchase their firearm and all accessories in one place. For concealed carry and personal defense, one of those accessories almost certainly includes an EDC knife. Carrying a sharp knife is a luxury for some, but there are plenty of real-world scenarios where having a sharp blade close at hand is a matter of life and death.

If you’re a true loyalist, here’s a look at six of the best EDC gun and knife combos from some of your favorite brands.

Wilson Combat

Knife: Wilson Combat Les George Eagle 40th Anniversary ($599.95)
Gun: Wilson Combat CQB ($2,865)
WilsonCombat.com

Wilson Combat CQB and Limited Edition Eagle EDC

Wilson Combat makes world-class 1911s, and the company’s CQB is one of their most popular pistols. It isn’t cheap at $2,865, but you’re not going to find a custom 1911 of this build quality for any less. The CQB features a carbon steel slide and frame, a five-inch stainless match barrel and match bushing that are hand-fit, G10 Starburst grips, a light, crisp 3.2-4.5-pound trigger — and much, much more.

The frame-to-slide fit is seamlessly smooth with minimal tolerances, and no detail of this pistol has been overlooked. It’s among the most accurate pistols I’ve ever shot, and the gun I fired has zero issues. No, it isn’t cheap, but it’s one of the most affordable life insurance policies available. Plus, 1911s offer both a grip and manual safety, so you can feel confident carrying this gun cocked and locked. Since this is a Wilson Combat pistol, there are plenty of optional custom touches you can add to make your own gun one-of-a-kind.

A gun like the CQB demands a knife to match, and that’s what you’ll get with the 40th Anniversary Wilson Combat Eagle Framelock Titanium Flipper based in Les George’s famed Eagle model, a standard among carry knives. This knife comes with a Carpenter XHP “Super Steel” stainless 3.6-inch blade equipped with a trigger finger flipper for rapid deployment. The handle features fiber laser engraving with a special 40th anniversary motif, and the weight is minimal — just 4.8 ounces. If you want one of these knives to complement your CQB pistol, don’t wait around, though: Only 40 will ever be made and they’re selling quickly.

Ruger

Knife: Ruger Follow-Through ($41.99 at Gun Digest Store)
Gun: SR1911 Officer-Style .45 ACP ($979)
Ruger.com

Ruger EDC

This Ruger combination isn’t in the same price class as the Wilson Combat combo, but this gun and knife combo actually offer a lot for the money. The new-for-‘18 SR1911 Officer-Style .45 is CNC machined for smooth and reliable operation — and with a 3.6-inch barrel, an overall length of 7.25-inches and a weight of just 31 ounces, this compact .45 carries seven rounds in the magazine and offers the added safety of the Model 1911 design features. The slide and frame come with a low-glare stainless finish, the sights are drift-adjustable Novaks and G10 grips are some of the most stylish and functional you’ll find on any production 1911. The SR1911 Officer-Style offers plenty of stopping power in a conveniently-sized pistol package.


More EDC Articles:


Ruger’s an old name in the gun world, but the company recently began offering an expanded line of knives that includes a number of great EDC options, including the versatile and affordable Follow-Through. The 3.75-inch drop-point, flat-top blade is made from 8Cr13MoV 58-59 HRC stainless-steel, and this Matthew-Lerch designed knife also comes with a locking liner and blade flipper as well as Ruger-inspired diamond-checkering glass-reinforced nylon handles. Even if you aren’t looking for a new carry pistol, the Follow-Through is a heck of a deal with an MSRP less than $80.

Read More: Ruger Adds SR1911 Target Model

Browning

Knife: Browning Vortex Drop Point ($29.99)
Gun: Browning 1911-380 Black Label Pro W/Rail ($829.99)
Browning.com

Browning EDC

If there’s a company that knows about brand loyalty, it’s Browning (have you visited their “Show Us Your Buckmark” page and seen the number of people with the brand’s logo tattooed on their body?). Indeed, Browning has developed something of a cult following, but that didn’t happen by accident. Innumerable companies have cloned the Colt 1911 pistol design over the years, but Browning did something truly bold and ingenious and created an 85 percent scaled version of the world’s most famous single-action semi-auto pistol.

Chambered in .380 ACP and dubbed the 1811-380, these guns come with composite frames with fully machined 7075 sub-frames and rails and a stainless steel slide. It’s plenty powerful to handle the mild .380 ACP round, yet it’s lighter and more compact than competing 1911s with standard-sized component parts.

How portable is it? The Black Label Pro version with a 4.25-inch barrel measures just 7.5-inches long but weighs a scant 18 ounces and holds 8 rounds in the magazine. The 1911-380 Black Label has three-dot sights that are perfect for close-range shooting — even in low light. And, there are plenty of nice additions to this pistol, like G-10 composite grips and an accessory rail for attaching add-on accessories such as lights or lasers.

The Browning Vortex Drop Point is a functional and very affordable EDC knife that features a 440 stainless-steel titanium-coated, 3.4-inch blade with partial serration and a black G-10 scaled handle. The blade has a 56-58 Rockwell rating, and when folded, the knife measures just 4.5-inches long. It’s also an extremely affordable option and remains a good value at under $30.

Learn More: Browning 1911-380 Review

Smith & Wesson Performance Center

Knife: M&P Oasis
Gun: Smith & Wesson Performance Center Ported M&P 9 Shield ($510 for the Combo Kit)
Smith-Wesson.com

Smith and Wesson EDC Combo EDC

Smith & Wesson is another company with a dedicated following, and their new Performance Center Every Day Carry Kit makes buying an EDC pistol and an EDC knife as simple as possible since they both come as part of a single package. Making this offering even more appealing is that fact that Smith & Wesson also throws in a pistol portfolio and an M&P Delta LED flashlight as part of the package price. What’s all this run? Just over $500 MSRP.

The M&P 9 Shield needs no introduction. These pistols are among the most popular carry guns in the country, and more than one million of them have been sold. These striker-fired pistols come with 7- and 8-round magazines, a stainless slide and barrel and HI-VIZ fiber optic sights. The Shield has a 3.1-inch barrel and weighs just 18 ounces. Its narrow design and roughly 6-inch overall length make these guns easy to conceal, and the durable black finish stand up extremely well to the abuses of daily carry. Breakdown and maintenance of these guns is extremely simple, and the Shield has an enviable reputation for durability and reliability. The ones I’ve shot have also been accurate, and the grip design manages recoil effectively.

The Oasis folding knife features a 3.25-inch 7CR17 high-carbon stainless drop-point blade that’s titanium coated. It also features dual thumb studs, a Linerlock locking system and a skeletonized handle that minimizes weight and simplifies cleaning. At just 4.75 ounces, this lightweight knife is easy to tuck inside a pant pocket, and it’s easy to open for rapid deployment. The Performance Center EDC Kit is a superb value from a trusted brand.

Wilson Combat

Knife: Wilson Combat X-TAC OTF Automatic ($384.95)
Gun: Wilson Combat EDC X9 ($2,895)
WilsonCombat.com

WTK-XT-A-CB-B EDC

Wilson Combat gets another mention on this list because they offer so many great carry gun/EDC knife combinations. The EDC X9 pistol is a double-stack 9mm 1911 that offers match-grade accuracy in a portable, lightweight package. The 4-inch stainless cone barrel features a cool flush-cut reverse crown and this gun’s double-stack design holds 15 rounds of 9mm ammo on-tap. The barrel and chamber are both fluted, and carry cuts and ball endmill cuts are standard. The grips are made of G-10 with a Starburst design, and this pistol lacks the traditional grip safety found on most 1911s — but it does have a Bullet Proof thumb safety.

Despite its impressive capacity, this gun measures just 1.4-inches wide and weighs an impressive 29 ounces unloaded, making it an ideal carry pistol. Is it accurate? Very. I tested this gun recently and found that it held its own against other custom 1911s with longer barrels during 25-yard accuracy test protocols.

The EDC X9 comes with X-TAC front and rear cocking serrations that match those found on the X-TAC OTF Automatic Wilson Combat/Hogue knife. Before purchasing, it’s important to check state laws regarding auto-open knives, but this knife is perfect for EDC where legal. The 3.5-inch clip point blade is made from CPM-154 stainless-steel with a black PVD finish, so it can withstand the rigors of hard use and the total weight is just 5 ounces.

Kimber

Knife: Kimber 3.25-Inch Folding Knife by Kershaw ($64.99)
Gun: Kimber K6S DC Revolver ($1,155)
KimberAmerica.com

Kimber K6S and Kershaw EDC

Here’s one for all the revolver fans out there. Kimber is widely-regarded as one of the world’s top production 1911 manufacturers, and they offer many great semi-auto pistols that are ideal for carry. But, the K6S, introduced a few years ago, moved to the head of the class among compact carry revolvers.

The DC (Deep Cover) model features a stainless-steel frame and stainless 2-inch barrel with Black DLC overbrushed finish, which stands up well to abuse. This DAO .357 Magnum comes with a six-round cylinder and weighs just 23 ounces unloaded. Overall length is 6.62 inches, which makes this an easy gun to conceal — and the black and gray G-10 grips are well-designed and offer a secure grip on the pistol, even when firing heavy magnum loads. Night sights come standard, but the feature that really sets this gun apart from competing revolvers is the smooth trigger pull. If you’re a fan of carrying a revolver for personal protection, then the K6S is a superior choice.

The Kimber 3.25-inch Folding Knife is built by Kershaw, a name that’s familiar to even the casual knife enthusiast. The thumb stud and blade flipper make this an easy knife to open and close, and the blade and body are made from high-quality steel with a durable black finish. I’ve had a chance to carry this knife for over a year and it has become my go-to EDC carry blade, perfect for just about any task that you can imagine. It’s lightweight, robust and easy to clean — and the blade holds an edge very well.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2018 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

Why Custom Guns Are Worth The Investments

Custom guns are beautiful to behold, but they might also be one of the best firearm investments. Here’s why.

Why custom guns are worth the money:

  • Create an enhanced firearm potentially more accurate.
  • Added unique embellishments particular to that gun.
  • Enhance the overall aesthetics of a firearm.
  • Potentially create a gun that will increase in value over time.

Italy’s Trompia Valley, also known as the “Valley of the Gun,” has been the heart of European firearm manufacturing since the 16th century. The massive iron forges that once lined this valley have been replaced with modern, high-tech factories, and companies like Rizzini and Beretta rely on precision CNC machining equipment to produce their products. This modern technology allows manufacturers to keep tolerances tight and costs relatively low, a real win for gun buyers.

This Republic Forge 1911 has a distinct look, with its contrasting frame and slide coloration, special VZ grips, rail and Trijicon sights. But these 1911s are true custom guns, built one at a time by a single gunsmith in their Perryton, Texas, facility to customer specs. Carlos
This Republic Forge 1911 has a distinct look, with its contrasting frame and slide coloration, special VZ grips, rail and Trijicon sights. But these 1911s are true custom guns, built one at a time by a single gunsmith in their Perryton, Texas, facility to customer specs.
Carlos

But not every firearm that comes from the Valley of the Gun is strictly a product of high-tech machining. When I visited the Fausti manufacturing facility in the Trompia Valley, I noticed that the factory was divided into two halves. The southern half of the factory was filled with rows and rows of bulky white CNC machines that churned out shotgun parts at a rapid pace. The northern half of the factory, though, is occupied by a group of Italy’s best custom gun makers and engravers. Every Fausti gun begins life in the southern portion of the factory, but the brand’s Boutique guns — which are custom-built to each customer’s specifications — spend a few weeks or even months in the northern half of the factory where each gun is hand-fitted, oil-finished and engraved. The engraving alone can take up to 700 hours per gun, but the finished product is a spectacular firearm that’s built from the ground-up to meet the needs and wants of the customer.

If you appreciate fine guns, it’s hard not to lust after a fine custom firearm. When you combine detailed machine work with hand fitting and the finest materials, the final product is spectacular. But have you ever considered actually purchasing a custom gun? Sure, they’re more expensive than production firearms (all that hand fitting and one-off detail work comes at a price), but the end result is a gun that suits your wants and needs perfectly. And, in some cases, custom guns are actually a very solid investment.

What You’re Getting With A Custom Gun

Custom guns require extra attention and labor for production and, in many cases, the component parts that are used in the assembly of a custom gun are of a higher grade. Those are the primary reasons that custom guns cost more than production guns. It’s important, however, to know what you’re paying for when you purchase a custom gun. If you’re buying a beautiful hunting rifle with express sights, a grade “V” walnut that’s been cut to fit and detailed engraving, that doesn’t mean that it will shoot any more accurately than the stock production rifle upon which it was based. Very accurate rifles might have aftermarket barrels, blueprinted actions, custom trigger jobs and the like, but that doesn’t always mean they’ll be beautiful.

Here’s an example of true custom engraving: a photo of the gun’s owner that has been superimposed on the sidelock of a Fausti shotgun by a master engraver using a hand tool known as a bulin. This kind of work is neither cheap nor quick (engravings like this require up to 700 hours of hand labor), but it’s the highest form of fi rearm art.
Here’s an example of true custom engraving: a photo of the gun’s owner that has been superimposed on the sidelock of a Fausti shotgun by a master engraver using a hand tool known as a bulin. This kind of work is neither cheap nor quick (engravings like this require up to 700 hours of hand labor), but it’s the highest form of firearm art.

Buying a custom gun requires spending some time considering the end use for the firearm and balancing what your wants and needs are with your budget. For instance, custom gun builders have used affordable Remington and Howa actions as the basis for custom guns for years, and the resulting guns that I have encountered have shot well. Saving a few bucks on the action allows them to add upgrades to the rifle. In fact, upgrading your existing hunting rifle can be pretty simple. Sometimes buying an aftermarket stock, having a gunsmith install a better barrel, truing the action or bedding your rifle are all affordable steps that can dramatically improve accuracy.

The market for custom pistols is as large as the one for long guns, and there’s a noticeable difference between the custom guns I’ve tested from Republic Forge, Nighthawk, Ed Brown and others when compared with production guns. For starters, hand-fitting and polishing work means that the gun operates with supreme precision. Custom pistols have slides that move as if they were riding on ball bearings. Everything fits tight. In some cases, you’ll need to spend some time breaking in the gun to loosen it up so that it operates perfectly. The majority of custom guns are based on 1911 designs, but there is a growing contingent of shooters who are customizing their polymer carry guns with special finishes, upgraded sights/barrels/triggers, slide cutouts and so forth. Whether you’re looking for something stunning and exclusive or practical and affordable, you can touch up your sidearm to the degree you see fit.

There’s a very simple axiom when it comes to pricing walnut for stocks: The prettier it is, the more it costs. And the very prettiest walnut stocks can be very, very expensive. In many cases, these stocks will be cut to fit, and there will be a tremendous amount of handwork, including checkering and finishing work, which will increase the price even more. But a beautifully crafted stock with exceptional color is a true treasure, a combination of natural and human handiwork that serves a practical purpose — so long as you’re willing to risk nicks and mars when you take it to the field. If you aren’t willing to pay for wood or want something that’s more durable, then synthetic stocks are on option. And, increasingly, there are more options with custom synthetic-stocked guns than before; Remington’s Custom Shop offers hand-painted stocks to customer specifications.

Engraving adds an unmistakable touch of class to any rifl e. Even the scope rings on this Remington custom rimfi re, which was on display at the SCI convention in Las Vegas, are engraved and feature gold inlays.
Engraving adds an unmistakable touch of class to any rifl e. Even the scope rings on this Remington custom rimfi re, which was on display at the SCI convention in Las Vegas, are engraved and feature gold inlays.

Besides attention to detail and material upgrades, you’re also paying to have exactly the gun you want. Not one that’s close, not one that’s similar; a gun as you would design it. And when you choose a good builder, the care and attention shine through.

The Custom Process

The Safari Club International Convention in Nevada serves as a stage for custom gun builders to show off their products. One of the largest custom gun shops belongs to Remington, which also incorporates Marlin, Dakota Arms, Nesika and other companies.

“Every custom gun starts with a conversation,” says Carlos Martinez of the Remington Custom Shop. “Not all of our customers are gun aficionados. They may not know why we blueprint actions. But we can sit down with them and discuss what they’re looking for in a gun.”

Machines can only do so much. For a truly custom touch, you’ll need to send your gun to a skilled artisan who can add those special touches. This Fausti shotgun features a CNC machined boxlock action that is being custom mated to a custom Turkish walnut stock in the company’s Italian facility.
Machines can only do so much. For a truly custom touch, you’ll need to send your gun to a skilled artisan who can add those special touches. This Fausti shotgun features a CNC machined boxlock action that is being custom mated to a custom Turkish walnut stock in the company’s Italian facility.

Carlos said that a qualified custom builder could also talk a customer out of potential mistakes. If you have your heart set on building a .338 Lapua with an 18-inch barrel, the team from Remington will build that gun for you, but they’ll also tell you why that’s a bad idea. Ultimately, the purpose of a custom gun is to give the buyer exactly what they want within budget constraints. But it can help to have someone to talk to and walk you through the decision.

How long does it take to see a finished gun come down the line? That depends on the builder you choose and how many boxes you check. The Fausti guns described in the opening of the article might take several months or a year depending upon the detail on the engraving. A built-from-scratch custom gun from a very busy builder might take a year or more. In many cases, though, you can have a custom gun built in six months or less. But it’s important to speak with your builder and know exactly when your firearm will be in your hands. If you’re designing a custom rifle in July to use on an elk hunt the following October, you’re on a pretty tight schedule, and you can bet that if I were in that position I’d have a backup rifle zeroed and waiting.

Stock selection often begins by choosing a blank. The stock is then shaped and molded to the rifl e and, in some cases, to fi t the individual shooter. The price of a custom walnut stock correlates to the eye-appeal of the wood.
Stock selection often begins by choosing a blank. The stock is then shaped and molded to the rifl e and, in some cases, to fi t the individual shooter. The price of a custom walnut stock correlates to the eye-appeal of the wood.

Lastly, you need to determine what you are getting and how much you are paying. More than one shooter has agreed to purchase a rifle at a certain price and then, over the course of the build, they have agreed to additional upgrades that end up driving the price higher than expected. Then, you need to find a custom builder with a solid reputation. Hopefully that’s someone who has built a number of guns and can put you into contact with some very satisfied owners — after all, you can buy a well-built, accurate production gun for $1,000, so if you’re paying custom gun prices, you need to be certain of what you’re getting. Probably the single biggest point of contention is group size, and when I talk to those who have experience with custom guns — both as buyers and sellers — they agree that this is a sticking point. Is there an accuracy guarantee, does it cover the caliber you selected (some accuracy promises don’t include big-bore calibers), and is there a certain ammo specification?

Semi-Custom

There are a number of companies that can offer both complete custom guns and semi-custom packages that don’t offer a blank-slate approach to gun building but that provide you with a number of options to build a gun that suits you. Many companies have in-house Cerakote shops, and in some cases, you’ve got the option to add custom touches to a firearm without spending a lot of money. E.R. Shaw in Pennsylvania does just that, offering a number of stock, finish, caliber and barrel length options for their rifles while keeping the price at or just above what you’d pay for some factory guns, and accuracy is superb. Likewise, companies like Weatherby, Nosler, Remington, CZ-USA, Benelli and Montana Rifle Company have in-house custom shops that allow them to make some minor changes to their guns. Many of these aren’t full-out ground-up builds, but if these companies have rifles or shotguns you like and you want to make a few minor touches, that’s not a problem.

Are Custom Guns Really Worth The Money?

Guns are investments, and just like any investment, there are winners and losers. But of the handful of custom guns in my gun safe, I feel my money was well spent. I got the gun I wanted, a firearm perfectly suited to my needs, and even though I paid a bit more for them, I know I can get most of my money back.

You’re only limited by your imagination and the resources and skills of your gun builder when it comes to designing a custom gun. These 1911 R1 pistols came from Remington’s Custom Shop.
You’re only limited by your imagination and the resources and skills of your gun builder when it comes to designing a custom gun. These 1911 R1 pistols came from Remington’s Custom Shop.

If you’re buying one custom gun — your dream gun — you don’t necessarily need to be so concerned with ROI. After all, you’re probably going to keep the gun the rest of your life, and there’s a certain intrinsic value to handing down a one-of-a-kind firearm to the next generation of shooters. If, on the other hand, you’re buying a custom gun that you might well part with, then you’ll need to be certain that the gun is marketable in the future. My Republic Forge 1911 pistol is one that I plan to keep, but because it has widespread appeal — a Commander-length .45 with lots of nice touches that make it fun to shoot and beautiful to behold — I know that it would be attractive to buyers if I ever decided to sell (which I won’t). Generally speaking, the better the work, the more eye-catching the gun and the more widespread appeal it has, the easier it will be to get a solid return on investment.

Ultimately, though, a custom gun is about your appreciation for a firearm maker’s skill and your desire to own your own “perfect gun.” Whether you’re looking for the ultimate mountain rifle, the ultimate competition shotgun or the ultimate conversation piece for your next backyard barbecue, you won’t have to settle for someone else’s idea of the ideal gun.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the April 2018 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

4 Best Hidden Gun Safe Manufacturers

Today's hidden gun safe systems not only keep firearms secure and at hand, but also add a stylish touch to your home.

Who makes the best hidden gun safe systems:

Throughout my career, I’ve interviewed victims of violent crimes. The circumstances leading to each of the attacks varied — some people were assaulted in broad daylight, some in the middle of the night. Quite a few of the individuals I interviewed were attacked by a stranger, but a frightening number were attacked by individuals they knew well and — at least at some point — trusted. These encounters happened in wealthy neighborhoods and poor ones, to both men and women, and with single or multiple assailants. But all these violent attacks share a common and very real feature: They all happened quickly.

Hidden Gun Safe table by Top Secret Furniture.

There’s a widespread notion among gun owners that simply having a firearm in the home is sufficient to stop any attacker. But that’s only true if the attack offers homeowners plenty of time to respond, which is rarely the case. If you ask victims of crime — especially those who were at home when the attack happened — they will tell you that there was little time to react.

It just happened.

Being at home brings a sense of comfort and security. While we’re at the mall or when we cross a poorly lit parking area at night to our vehicle, we’re switched-on, ready for danger. In our homes, however, we are less focused. We aren’t thinking about danger, aren’t constantly checking our surroundings. And the 9mm pistol or AR rifle that’s locked securely in a basement safe isn’t very practical when you’re upstairs watching television and an intruder appears.

American gun owners are starting to realize this, and as a result, they want to keep their firearms close-at-hand. In recent years, there have been a number of companies that have developed innovative and effective hidden gun safe systems for the home — furniture, clocks, pictures and mirrors that serve double duty as functional household items and rapid-access gun vaults.

Here’s a look at the best hidden gun safe systems from four of the leading companies in the industry. All of these brands offer different items that will look natural in a variety of different interiors, but they all share one common and important feature — they’ll help you defend your castle. Quickly.

Tactical Walls

Tactical Walls founder Tim Matter served 4 years of active duty in the United States Air Force and earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from the Art Institute of Philadelphia, so when he couldn’t find a line of products for in-home firearms storage that suited his needs, Matter decided to design his own line of home concealment products.

Tactical Walls drop-down shelf hidden gun safe
The drop-down shelf options from Tactical Walls offer inconspicuous and secure firearms storage. And with a magnetic or RFID locking mechanism, they are also quick to access.

His initial design was a full-length wall mirror, released in 2013, and since then his Virginia-based company has become one of the industry leaders in providing effective personal defense storage solutions and hidden gun safe systems for homeowners that are made in the USA with domestic components when possible.

That full-length mirror — the Tactical Walls model 1450 —and the shorter 1420 wall mirror became instant commercial successes. Both of these concealment mirrors are recessed into the wall between standard 16-inch studs, so the mirror unit sits flush with the wall for a natural look. Homeowners can access the firearms by disengaging the hidden lock with the provided key, and the mirror door can be installed to slide open to the left or right. Buyers can choose between magnetic or RFID locking systems, and there’s ample space inside to hold firearms, ammunition and accessories.

A shatter-resistant coating on the mirror and plywood backing offer an extra level of security, and there are a number of custom accessories available to personalize each security unit to customer specifications. The 1450M unit is 14 inches wide, 3.5 inches deep and has a short (10-inch) upper compartment and a larger (40-inch) lower compartment. The smaller 1420M offers the same width and depth measurements, and it contains a single 20-inch interior compartment. The 1450M starts at $499, and the 1420M costs from $370 and up.

Tactical Walls also offers a number of shelves that look natural in the home but contain drop-down firearm storage for either pistols or rifles. This style of hidden gun safe offers hidden locks that can be quickly accessed with the provided key, and when unlocked, they open to reveal hidden compartments with polyurethane foam inserts that keep your guns both safe and secure.

Each of these units is easy to install, and there are optional LED lights that illuminate the interior compartments for use in total darkness. Prices for pistol-length shelves start at $245, and the cost for rifle-length shelves starts at $399.

Also available from Tactical Walls is the 1410M Tactical Wall Clock, which is a stylish and functional non-locking security option that installs quickly and holds up to 10 pounds of guns and ammunition. The price for the Tactical Wall Clock is $129.

Liberty Home Concealment

Based in southern Missouri, Liberty Home Concealment is a family-owned company that builds a wide variety of stylish in-home security furniture using US-sourced materials when possible. They offer custom touches, and the turnaround time is incredibly fast, with many products available within a week.

Liberty Home Concealment picture frame hidden gun safe.
Liberty Home Concealment has a wide variety of safe, quick-access furniture and décor options. This 8×10 picture frame is just one example.

The brand’s “flagship” piece is, well, a flag — a wall flag, to be more specific — that securely conceals firearms in plain sight. But Liberty also offers a wide array of different hidden gun safe options, including end tables and coffee tables that incorporate sliding tops with foam-lined lockable interior storage space for rapid access to home defense weapons from primary rooms in the house. These items provide a rustic, natural look that is also functional. End tables start at $249, and coffee tables range from the Defender at $399.99 to larger models that cost $600.

Liberty also offers a wide array of home décor items, including the compact Hidden Concealment Lamp, which has a hinged door and 6.5×8-inch interior dimensions to fit most handguns (an additional magnetic lock can also be installed); the pistol-sized Peacemaker Concealment Clock ($119.99) with foam insert; the Freedom Series Coat Rack ($299); and a variety of wall art options.

Liberty Home Concealment clock style hidden gun safe.

The Peacemaker Concealment Clock from Liberty Home Concealment just looks like a stylish piece of home décor to the uninitiated. The interior foam can be customized to fit many different firearms.

The company also offers a sliding wall mirror priced at $366.99, and a series of clever picture frame safes that range in size from 5×7 inches ($49.99) to 11×14 inches ($99.99). With so many hidden gun safe options and more that aren’t listed here, Liberty has a full lineup of home concealment products that keep your guns hidden, secure and quickly accessible from anywhere in the home.

Mirage Tactical

Jason “Lumberjack” Crago started his career building log homes in North Carolina, and when his twins were born he decided he needed to invest his skills in building tactical home furnishings that not only looked good enough to be placed in custom log homes, but also provided rapid access to defensive weapons while keeping those firearms out of the hands of his small children. Jason rapidly added to his line of home defense furniture and decor items, and his company — Mirage Tactical — has grown to become one of the most trusted names in the industry.

Products offered by Mirage Tactical include Personalized Hidden Canvas Picture Frames of various sizes that serve double duty as wall art and hidden gun compartments. There are two construction options available — steel with vinyl or wood with canvas — and you can customize the print as desired. Even the smallest print (19x19x2.5 inches) is large enough to hold multiple handguns and magazines, and there are also larger options available for additional firearms or long guns. The mid-sized (19×28-inch) model costs $249, and the largest canvas, which measures 28×28 inches, is suitable for longer firearms at $399.

Mirage Tactical flag picture hidden gun safe.
Mirage Tactical offers concealed canvas frames that provide discreet firearm storage. It also has a number of other furniture and décor options available.

All of these prints come with rubber-coated barrel mounts and felt backing with magnets that securely hold your guns without the risk of damage. Plus, each hidden gun safe is available with the upgraded security of a wireless locking mechanism as an option.

Also available from Mirage Tactical is the Whiskey Barrel Coffee Table, a stylish and functional centerpiece for your living area complete with a flat-top design that lifts up for storage. Available material options include oak, maple or cherry, and buyers can select from a variety of colors. There’s a hidden compartment in the barrel that holds a small pistol, and if you’d like you can even have a custom humidor added with purchase. MSRPs for the Whiskey Barrel Coffee Table starts at $699.

Mirage Tactical Secret Shelves are also a great option for in-home concealment, and these solid-wood shelves are easy to install, feature reinforced steel compartments and have magnetic interiors with felt to protect your firearms. Available lengths include 12, 18 or 24 inches, and a wireless locking mechanism is available on the 18- and 24-inch models. Mirage also offers a full-line of end tables, nightstands, headboards, credenzas and a variety of other items with storage options, and many of these products can be customized to your preferences.

Top Secret Furniture

Prior to founding Top Secret Furniture, Bill Meginnis served as a police officer in Chicago. In that line of work, Meginnis responded to robberies often, and in each case, he noted that the items victims were most traumatized to lose were family heirlooms that couldn’t be replaced. In addition to his law enforcement career, Meginnis was also a woodworker, and when a client asked him to build a piece of custom furniture with hidden compartments to combine safe storage and rapid access, Meginnis began the process of developing a line of custom furniture that was both beautiful and functional. That passion led to the founding of Top Secret Furniture based in Arizona.

Top Secret Furniture end table hidden gun safe.
Founded by Bill Meginnis, who served as a police offi cer in Chicago prior to starting the company, Top Secret Furniture produces an assortment of home concealment options. And, unlike manufacturers that only offer production models, Top Secret can create something according to unique specs a buyer provides.

The company’s product line is extensive and includes the Bella ($895), Big Daddy ($1,277) and Hideout ($1,049) end tables; the impressive Chicago Lockdown Media Center ($3,974); and the Top Gun Night Stand ($1,377), just to name a few. Top Secret Furniture also offers a line of wall art that serves to conceal firearms in plain sight, including the Top Secret Wall Shelf ($147) and Wall Clock ($595) as well as a variety of other items that are easy to mount and access. One of the reasons that Top Secret has met with such success is that all of their hidden gun safe systems are built with solid wood, and no detail is overlooked. Drawers have dovetail joints front and rear, and every detail is examined repeatedly during construction.

Unlike companies that offer only production items, Top Secret features full customization of their furniture products. Each purchase, then, generally begins with a discussion with the customer regarding their exact wants and needs. Want to buy an end table but need it to be a few inches higher than standard specifications? That’s not a problem. Have a photo of an item that you’d like the Top Secret team to build? A consultation with Meginnis will help you start on the road toward designing your one-of-a-kind heirloom piece that’s as functional as it is good looking.

As you might expect, options abound, including both RFID and magnetic locks and custom finishes, so if you have an idea for a piece, Top Secret can help walk you through the building process.

For more information on these hidden gun safe manufacturers, please visit:
Tactical Walls: www.tacticalwalls.com
Liberty Home Concealment: www.libertyhomeconcealment.com
Mirage Tactical: www.miragetactical.com
Top Secret Furniture: www.topsecretfurniture.com

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the March 2018 edition of Gun Digest the Magazine.

7 Salty Takedown Rifles For Any Survival Situation

These seven takedown rifles will have you prepared to tackle any situation, survival or otherwise.

The top portable gems:

Takedown rifles appeal to a variety of hunters and shooters because of their unmatched portability, and they’re a favorite firearm of campers, hikers and survivalists because they fit neatly into tight spaces where a full-length rifle simply can’t be stored.

But there are other advantages to owning takedown rifles as well, primarily that these guns don’t immediately look like a firearm (so they’re less likely to draw attention from thieves) and, in many cases, they are so compact and well thought-out that you can neatly fit them in a backpack or bugout bag. These guns piece together in a hurry and their design allows for repeatable accuracy after each reassembly.

Here’s a look at seven of the best takedown rifles available today, perfect for everything from high-mountain hunts to serious survival situations.

Ruger SR-556 Takedown

Ruger SR-556 Takedown Rifle
Ruger SR-556 Takedown

I suppose you could argue that any AR-15 rifle is a takedown rifle. However, Ruger took that one step further with its SR-556 Takedown model. Instead of breaking down into just upper and lower components, the SR-556 Takedown allows you to remove the barrel, too, and doing so requires nothing more than moving a slider bar back toward the breech of the rifle, twisting and removing the barrel. This piston-operated AR features a multi-stage regulator and you can perfectly match the rifle to your load, making this a durable, versatile AR that will work properly in even the worst conditions on the planet.

Ruger offers a .300 Blackout barrel as well for the SR-556, so you can modify this rifle as needed. Magpul furniture is also included, as is Ruger’s 452 AR two-stage trigger.

This gun comes with a convenient nylon carry case that allows you to transport the broken-down rifle, magazines and ammo easily and efficiently, even when you’re walking over rough ground.

With the SR-556 Takedown, you get the capabilities of an AR rifle combined with the reliability of a piston action in one of the most portable, easy-to-transport models ever developed. Even shooters who believe an AR is an AR is an AR can appreciate the design features on this ultimate survival tool. MSRP: $2,199

Browning BLR Lightweight ’81 Stainless Takedown

Browning BLR Lightweight ’81 Stainless Takedown Rifle
Browning BLR Lightweight ’81 Stainless Takedown

Browning’s BLR rifles combine the time-tested reliability of a lever-action rifle with the convenience of a takedown gun. BLRs use detachable box magazines so they can be chambered for modern cartridges loaded with spitzer-type bullets, and there are 13 caliber options ranging from .223 Rem. to .450 Bushmaster.

Browning has modernized the lever gun action by including a rack-and-pinion system and a rotating bolt head positioned inside an aircraft-grade alloy receiver so these rifles can handle magnum cartridges, such as the .270 WSM and .300 Win. Mag., without problems. The side-ejection design makes it easy to mount an optic on these rifles, but if you prefer iron sights, they come standard on the BLR so there’s no need to worry about optics breaking, fogging or coming loose. The heat-treated chromoly steel barrel is precision button rifled, and accuracy potential with these guns is truly excellent — even at extended ranges.

To assemble the rifle, simply slip the two component parts into place and a lever on the underside of the gun locks the receiver to the barrel via a locking lug that engages with the bottom of the receiver. Breakdown is also simple: Unlock the lever, twist 90 degrees and the two halves separate for transport.

The laminate stock and durable matte nickel receiver finish will stand up to the worst elements, too, so this is a durable centerfire that’s easy to carry and store anywhere. Weights range from 6 pounds, 8 ounces to 7 pounds, 12 ounces, depending upon caliber. MSRP: $1,229.99-$1,299.99

Marlin 70PSS

Marlin 70PSS Takedown Rifle
Marlin 70PSS

The 70PSS is the modern version of the classic Papoose rifle that has been among the most popular takedown rifles for years. This lightweight, blowback-operated .22 LR repeater is a natural choice for camping, hiking and survival bags because it breaks down easily and is durable enough to withstand some rough handling.

To further reduce bulk and weight, the black polymer stock cuts off at the confluence of the barrel and the action, and there are two sling studs in case you prefer on-shoulder carry of the assembled rifle. The 16¼-inch stainless-steel barrel features Micro-Groove rifling and is topped with an adjustable rear sight and hooded front sight with a high-visibility orange post. The receiver is also grooved for adding a scope or other optic, and the rifle can be taken apart in seconds by simply loosening the barrel nut.

Each 70PSS comes with a seven-shot nickel-plated magazine, and the crossbolt safety is easy to use and intuitive. The assembled rifle measures less than 3 feet long and weighs a scant 3¼ pounds, so it’s among the lightest and most portable survival guns on the market. Plus, the combination of a fiberglass-filled synthetic stock and stainless-steel metalwork makes this one tough survival gun.

The 70PSS even comes with a padded case with built-in flotation, and it’s one of the most affordable survival guns on the market. MSRP: $345

Savage Model 42 Takedown

Savage Model 42 Takedown Rifle
Savage Model 42 Takedown

Based on the venerable Model 24, Savage’s Model 42 is simply one of the best survival guns available. It offers break-action simplicity and reliability and fires either a .22 LR or .22 Mag in the top barrel and a .410 shotgun shell from the bottom pipe. A barrel selector is located on the large hammer, and the adjustable rifle sights can be removed if you want to add an optic.

But the trim, 6-pound Model 42 is primarily a camp, survival and close-range hunting weapon, and in that capacity it shines. It breaks apart with the touch of a button and can fit into just about any pack or bugout bag. The 20-inch barrels offer a long enough sight plane to shoot vermin at a distance, but they’re still compact enough to carry in heavy cover. The stock is made of durable polymer, which helps keep weight down and stands up well to the elements. The .410 barrel has a 3-inch chamber, adding to the versatility of this little gun, and the 42 is as well-suited for lazy autumn days in the field hunting squirrels and rabbits as it is for survival situations.

Campers love the gun because it’s ideal for popping small game or shooting grouse or other birds for the pot, and it also serves as effective backup in the wilderness when you’re faced with dangerous two- or four-legged predators. MSRP: $499

Henry Arms AR-7

Henry-AR-7 Takedown Rifle
Henry Arms AR-7

The AR-7 was originally designed by Eugene Stoner, who also invented the AR-15 rifle. Built as a survival rifle for troops, the AR-7 design has long been a favorite of anyone who needed a lightweight, compact semi-auto rimfire for the direst circumstances, and around the turn of the 21st century, Henry Rifles tweaked the design to make this perhaps the most appealing civilian survival gun on the market.

For starters, all of the AR-7 components can be broken down and stored within the rifle’s waterproof polymer stock, which measures just 16½ inches. The blowback action is rugged and reliable, and each of these guns ships with two, eight-round .22 magazines. The rifle is quickly assembled by piecing together the receiver with the 16½-inch barrel (via a barrel nut), and these guns weigh just 3½ pounds, ideal for carrying in a backpack or bugout bag.

This is also among the most popular takedown rifles for campers because it’s so compact and lightweight that the entire rifle — plus ammunition — will fit easily into a standard day pack and there’s no need to worry that precipitation or spills during creek crossings will impede the rifle’s function. These takedown rifles also come with iron sights and a top rail if you want to mount an optic.

There are three color options: black, and True Timber Viper Western and Kanati camo patterns. MSRPs are $305 for the black version and $368 for the camo models. If you’re serious about survival, you can purchase the Henry Survival Pack that includes an AR-7 rifle and various other items you may need in an emergency, such as a Buck Rival knife, fire steel, paracord, emergency food, a water purification straw and much more. MSRP for Henry Survival Pack: $550

Browning SA-22 Grade I

Browning SA-22 Grade I Takedown Rifle
Browning SA-22 Grade I

This could be the classiest of the takedown rifles. The SA-22 is one of John Moses Browning’s last designs, a semiautomatic .22 rifle that ejects spent shells from the bottom of the receiver, which is loaded using a port in the stock. The Grade I version comes with a glossy walnut stock and a blued steel receiver with scroll engraving. The trim SA-22 weighs in at just 5 pounds, 3 ounces, and measures 37 inches with its 193/8-inch barrel.

There’s a nut on the barrel that allows the buttstock and receiver to be easily separated from the barrel and forearm, and since the scope mounts and iron sights on the SA-22 are affixed to the barrel and not the receiver, there’s no issue with return to zero after reassembly. These takedown rifles are loaded by turning a lever and drawing the follower from the stock, then loading through the port on the right side of the gun. When the tubular magazine is full, the follower is pushed back into place and locked, one of John Browning’s sleekest designs.

But don’t let the SA-22’s beauty fool you: This gun has what it takes to be a survival rifle. Its adjustable iron sights (folding rear, gold-bead front) and easy-to-use crossbolt safety make it as functional as it is handsome. The svelte little SA-22 is a beautiful gun that’s pretty enough to display in the home and functional enough to serve as a life-saving tool. MSRP: $699.99 (Grade I)

Ruger 10/22 Takedown Lite

Ruger 10/22 Takedown Lite
Ruger 10/22 Takedown Lite

The Ruger 10/22 has been one of the top-selling rimfire autoloaders for decades, and that’s thanks in large part to its reliable blowback action that cycles a wide range of .22 LR ammo. The Takedown Lite version is perhaps the most versatile of all the 10/22 models and a top pick among takedown rifles. It features a 16.12-inch cold hammer-forged barrel that’s tensioned inside a lightweight, ported aluminum alloy sleeve.

The rifle comes equipped with Ruger’s lightweight polymer stock with replaceable stock modules. Two modules are included when purchasing the rifle (standard length, low and high-comb versions) and these modules can be quickly swapped out as needed for proper eye alignment with the optic.

The 10/22 Takedown Lite comes without iron sights, but a base is included that accepts both Weaver and tip-off style rings, so mounting an optic is fast and easy. The muzzle comes with a 1/2×28 thread pattern for mounting suppressors or other barrel devices, and the reliable rotary-design Ruger 10/22 magazine is held in place by a quick-release extended lever.

The takedown process is very simple: Lock the bolt in the rearward position and ensure the gun is unloaded, push the recessed lever on the underside of the gun and twist the subassemblies 90 degrees to separate. These rifles weigh just 4.5 pounds, so they’re very light and easy to carry in the provided zippered case. MSRP: $659

Did we hit a bullseye with this list or miss the mark? What's your favorite from the list? Or is there one missing? Tell us about it in the comments.

Editor's Note: The article originally appeared in the May 2018 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

Gun Review: Ruger’s Updated Precision Rifle In 6mm Creedmoor

Ruger’s newly updated Precision Rifle has the goods to go the distance.

Some basics on the Ruger Precision Rifle, available in the exciting new 6mm Creedmoor:

  • Ruger’s Precision Rifle was purpose-built for long-range shooting.
  • It's offered in .308 Winchester, 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem., and 6 and 6.5 Creedmoor.
  • The rifle is outfitted with the Precision MSR Stock.
  • The stock folds to the left and features adjustable comb height and length of pull.
  • At 100 yards, the smallest group went .42 inches with Hornady ELD-X Match ammo.
  • The MSRP of Ruger’s Precision Rifle is $1,599.

I was not a great physics student in either high school or college, but I do remember one key fact from those classes (probably because the lesson was taught on the first day): precision and accuracy are different. Accuracy describes measurement to a standard or true value. Precision is a measure of the proximity of values to one another. In shooting terms, tight groups are a result of precise shooting. Accuracy has to do with how close those bullets are landing to your intended target.

Ruger- Precision Rifle -First
The 6mm Creedmoor is a sweet shooter, offering plenty of long-range capability without beating up the person behind the trigger.

Serious long-range accuracy demands both accuracy and precision. When you’re asking a rifle to reach beyond the limits of average sporting firearms — let’s say 400 yards or more — you need a gun up to the task. And while there are many rifles that serve well for close to mid-range shots, once you move targets to a quarter mile or more, the pool of rifles capable of consistently printing tight groups — say MOA or better — starts to thin. Push that to a half-mile and you’re talking about a small class of weapons indeed.

Find Out More About Ruger Firearms

Ruger’s Precision Rifle was purpose-built for long-range shooting, and it has the features to compete in the rarified world of half-mile-plus target guns. For years, precision rifles were primarily produced by custom riflemakers who specialized in this class of weapons, but with the growing popularity of long-range shooting (both recreational and competition), more and more shooters want to push their limits. Ruger decided to build a factory rifle with all of the features and capabilities normally found on more expensive competition guns without the high price tag, and the Precision Rifle does just that.

Ruger- Precision Rifle -Second
The Precision Rifle proved highly accurate, printing sub-MOA groups on average.

For starters, Ruger began with an “upper” and a bolt made from pre-hardened 4140 chrome-moly steel. That helps minimize distortion, and CNC machining keeps tolerances tight. The lower magazine well halves are machined from 7075-T6 aluminum and are type III hard-coat anodized for durability. The Precision Rifle’s one-piece bolt has three locking lugs, which allow for a fast and smooth 70-degree bolt lift. It also features a long billet aluminum bolt shroud, and there’s a bolt disassembly tool stored in the shroud for quick disassembly and cleaning as well as a wrench to adjust the Marksman bladed trigger. The Precision Rifle’s upper has a minimized ejection port that improves rigidity, which, in turn, aids in accuracy, and the 20 MOA Picatinny rail is held in place with four #8-40 screws, so there’s plenty of room for mounting large scopes.

The heart of any real long-range rifle is its barrel, and the Ruger’s cold hammer-forged 4140 chrome-moly steel pipe features 5R rifling. Traditional rifling uses four or six lands (smallest bore diameter) and grooves (widest bore diameter) that have 90-degree edges. The lands and grooves are positioned opposite one another, and the lands contact the projectile and force it to spin. 5R rifling, by contrast, uses five lands and grooves with sloping edges on the lands. This accomplishes several things. First, the opposite lands/grooves reduce bullet deformation, and that leads to improved accuracy (er, precision), especially at long ranges.

Second, the sloped land design doesn’t trap fouling like traditional rifling, so it’s easier to keep the bore clean and uniform. The barrel has minimal headspace measurements and a centralized bore. All Ruger Precision Rifles come with medium-contour barrels topped with the company’s Hybrid Muzzle Brake that reduces recoil without the excessive noise and muzzle blast that accompany the use of other brakes. The brake can be removed and replaced with an included thread protector. The barrel’s design, which is completely free floating and attaches directly to the receiver, eliminates bedding, and recoil force moves rearward in a straight line, further enhancing accuracy potential. The Precision Rifle is offered in .308 Winchester and 5.56 NATO/.223 Rem. with a 20-inch barrel and 6 and 6.5 Creedmoor with a 24-inch barrel.

Taking Stock

Ruger outfitted this rifle with the Precision MSR Stock, which folds to the left at the touch of a button, and comb height and length of pull are adjustable by flipping latches on the stock’s right side. One latch releases the comb so it can be raised or lowered; the other moves the stock fore and aft for perfect alignment. Many competition rifles have adjustable stocks, but Ruger’s setup is robust, simple and requires no tools. That’s an important consideration for long-range rifles; time-consuming stock adjustments don’t permit quick changes afield. This system is much simpler. The folding stock hinge is mated with an AR-style buffer, so you can swap stocks if you desire, and there are QD sling attachments and a short accessory rail on the bottom of the stock. The top of the comb is nicely rounded and comfortable, with light texturing for a comfortable cheek weld.

Ruger- Precision Rifle -Third
Ruger’s highly adjustable Precision MSR stock.

The texturing is about all that’s light on this rifle, though. The rifle that I tested weighed 10.8 pounds and measured 43.25 to 46.75 inches overall, making this a gun that you won’t want to carry when still-hunting whitetails. For a dedicated target rifle, though, the Precision Rifle’s weight and length aren’t a hindrance. The four cartridges this rifle is chambered in are all relatively light kickers, and this in a gun that will weigh over 12 pounds scoped with a loaded magazine. With a built-in brake, the 6mm Creedmoor hardly stirred the rifle when firing. This helps prevent flinching and allows shooters to keep the target within the field of view when firing. The Precision Rifle’s straight-line recoil lifts the muzzle slightly, but there’s very little movement on the bags, so you can deliver follow-ups in a hurry. That’s not usually necessary when target shooting, but it’s one advantage of the Ruger’s design that’s good for Precision Rifle Series shooters who are timed.

The Precision Rifle’s controls and grip design mimic an AR to some degree. There’s a safety selector that is reversible that looks much like what you’ll find on most ARs, but where this gun differs from black guns is that the selector moves just 45 degrees from safe to fire. The pistol grip design is similar to an AR, and the aluminum Short Action handguard has a low-profile design that allows you to mount long-range scopes with large objectives without worrying about clearance issues. Ruger designed this rifle to be compatible with AICS and M110/SR-25/DPMS/Magpul mags as well as some M14 magazines, so there are lots of options available. The gun that I tested came with a 10-round PMAG that fit securely in the magwell, and the release lever rides just behind the magazine. The front of the magwell is also contoured to allow it to act as a brace when firing or to comfortably accommodate your non-shooting hand.

Six Appeal

It was impossible to attend this year’s annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas without appreciating the impact the 6.5 Creedmoor has had on the shooting industry. Originally conceived Hornady as a low-recoiling, highly accurate target round, the 6.5 has permeated every facet of the rifle-shooting world. It is now chambered in ARs, serious long-range tactical bolt guns as well as light mountain rifles for big-game hunting. And it didn’t take long for the 6.5 to produce an attention-grabbing offspring, the 6mm Creedmoor.

Ruger was one of the first companies to start churning out production rifles in 6mm Creedmoor, and the Precision Rifle was the first gun I fired chambered for the necked-down cousin of the 6.5 Creedmoor. Traditionally, 6mm/.243 bullets have run from about 55 to 100 grains, but with longer, heavier bullets with higher ballistic coefficients, the 6mm Creedmoor is a dedicated long-range cartridge also quite capable of taking a variety of game. The ammo I tested — the very first 6mm load to come to market — was Hornady’s 108-grain ELD Match load. There’s little question that Precision Rifle Series competition helped bolster interest in the cartridge. That event requires shooting from 100 to 1,300 yards, so the rifle must be accurate to long range yet must not beat the shooter up too badly (and there are velocity limitations).

Ruger-Precision-Rifle-Seventh

The Ruger Precision Rifle is a serious competition and long-range rifle, and the 6mm Creedmoor is a perfect match. The 108-grain ELD Match bullet from Hornady has a ballistic coefficient of .536 — a natural choice for long shots. For comparison to something more familiar, let’s look at Hornady’s 117-grain interlock .25-06 load. That .25-06 bullet has a muzzle velocity of 2,990 feet per second (fps), which is close to the 6mm Creedmoor’s 2,960 fps figure from the same length barrel. At the muzzle, the .25-06 load has about 200 foot-pounds (ft.-lbs.) more energy, but at 500 yards, the 6mm, with its higher BC, is traveling 250 fps faster than the .25-06 load and carrying more than 150 ft.-lbs. more energy. The telling figure, though, is bullet drop. At 500 yards, the .25-06 bullet has dropped 4.5 inches farther than the smaller 6mm bullet. The 6mm Creedmoor is plainly a long-range cartridge, and it’s one that won’t abuse the shooter.

On the Range

The Ruger Precision is a dedicated long-range rifle and has all the features serious competition shooters demand, but how does it perform? At 100 yards — a virtual chip shot for this rig — the smallest group went .42 inch with the Hornady factory ammo, so small in fact that I had to check the backing board to be sure I was indeed looking at a pattern printed from three bullets and not two. But it was legitimate. In fact, the largest three-shot group of the five groups I shot with this ammo went .925 inch, and the average was .65 inch — well below MOA. Average velocity was 2,970 fps, besting Hornady’s promised velocity figure by 10 fps.

Ruger-Precion-Rifle-Fifth

All those features Ruger packed into this rifle make it a very user-friendly long-range gun. For starters, as mentioned earlier, it’s easy to adjust the stock’s fit. Second, the Ruger Marksman Adjustable trigger makes producing tight groups easy. It’s adjustable from 2.25 to 5 pounds, and the one I tested came set at 2.6 pounds according to my Wheeler gauge. It’s a bladed trigger, and you quickly learn that once the blade is depressed, you’re within a hair’s breadth of the trigger breaking. Other features also aid in bench shooting, including the contoured magazine well that offers a solid rest for the hand and the oversized bolt handle. There were no feeding, extraction or ejection issues.

With a bit of dialing on the Trijicon scope, I was producing groups that were precise and accurate — tight clusters in the center of the bullseye. Shooting this rifle well is easy, and Ruger has succeeded in doing what they claimed: building a factory rifle with the kind of features that make it a worthy competitor against many custom guns. With an MSRP of $1,599, this isn’t a budget rifle to be sure, but when you consider all of the Ruger Precision Rifle’s capabilities, this gun is actually something of a bargain. So, if you want a rifle that can go the distance and don’t have the money or time to invest in a custom build, this is a legitimate factory alternative. If you do your part, the Ruger will perform, and it performs splendidly.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2017 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.


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How To: The Basics Of Riflescopes

What are AR lens coatings, why are red dots parallax-free, and is a $2,000 scope really better than a $200 scope? Here’s a rundown of why some riflescopes and reflex optics work better — and cost more — than others.

What are some things to know about riflescopes and other optics?

  • The basic construction is a main body tube, objective bell, ocular bell and lenses.
  • The reticle can be placed forward (first focal plane) or rearward (second focal plane).
  • There are a variety of different lens coatings available that do different things.
  • Scopes that cost more generally do for a good reason.
  • There are three different types of non-magnified dot sights; know their differences.

The first primitive riflescopes were constructed in the mid-19th century and found their way onto sniper rifles during the American Civil War, but it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that optics became commonplace on civilian hunting firearms.

By the 1970s scopes started outnumbering iron sights on hunting rifles, and by the 1990s most rifle makers produced only a handful of rifle models that even wore iron sights — usually brush guns or big-bore dangerous game rifles. Today, it’s rare to even see a new bolt gun that bears irons, but I can’t name one production rifle that doesn’t come with a receiver that is drilled and tapped, or machined with integral scope bases.

Not only have riflescopes become more popular, they’ve also become better. Far better. Optics technology has increased at a frenetic pace, and modern red-dots, reflex sights and scopes are significantly improved over models that were being released just a few decades ago.

But what, exactly, has gotten better with riflescopes?

Riflescopes -8Riflescopes 101
To understand how scopes have improved, you must first understand how they are constructed. Riflescopes utilize a main body tube that’s invariably constructed from anodized aircraft-grade aluminum, which is lighter that the steel previously used. There’s an objective bell located at the bow of the scope, an ocular bell at the stern, and inside each of those bells is a lens of the same name.

Within the main body tube are additional lenses and prisms, and a reticle that can be adjusted for windage (to impact farther left or farther right) and elevation (up-and-down impact adjustments). Light enters the objective lens, travels through the main body tube and the network of lenses and prisms held within, and reaches your eye with an image of the reticle superimposed on the aiming point to give you some notion of where your bullet is going to go.

Riflescopes -4Reticle Location
The reticle can be located on the front of the erector tube — also known as front focal plane — or the rear/second focal plane. Until very recently, rear focal plane scopes were the standard, but long-range shooting has prompted more companies to add a front focal plane reticle.

What’s the advantage? In first focal plane scopes, the size of the reticle changes with magnification. Zoom to 10x and the size of the reticle increases. Zoom to 3x and the reticle seems to shrink. This offers two advantages: First, you can accurately range objects using a known standard at any range and magnification, and secondly, elevation and windage adjustments remain consistent across the magnification range. If you stopped reading mid-sentence on the last part, then a second focal plane is probably what you’re looking for. Unless you’re planning to do some very dedicated long-range shooting, a second focal plane scope works just fine.

Riflescopes -7
Modern riflescopes utilize multiple lenses to ensure a crisp image. One-inch tubes were once standard, but 30mm and 34mm tubes offer more adjustment range for longer shots.

Main Tube Diameters
Scope tubes have traditionally been 1 inch in this country, although European scope makers favored a larger 30mm tube. Now, 30mm scopes are trending on this side of the Atlantic, and they do offer a greater adjustment range for long-distance shooting and, perhaps, transmit a bit more light. Speaking of light transmission, it’s important to answer a few questions about the topic and clear up some “dark” areas.

Light Transmission
For starters, there’s no such thing as 100 percent light transmission unless you use an ice pick to clear out the guts of your scope. Light traveling through the various lenses in your scope is absorbed or reflected and — at least a small portion — is lost at each lens. Light that’s reflected does not reach the eye, bouncing around in the main tube. Under low-light conditions, you might not be able to see an animal or target if your scope is reflecting too much light.

Aside from light transmission, many scope companies use lenses that manage light (Leupold’s Twilight Max Light Management System is one example). This technology not only allows for maximum light transmission, but it also manages light so that images are crisp and clear.

Riflescopes -1Lens Coatings
The primary way that scope makers accomplish maximum light transmission is via the use of lens coatings that reduce reflection. This technology has improved, become more commonplace and more widely available — meaning that affordable scopes now transmit more light than more expensive models did a few decades ago thanks in part to AR (anti-reflective) coatings that transmit more light to the shooter.

Lens coating serve a variety of functions besides their anti-reflective duties; they protect against lens abrasions from grit and debris, and some hydrophobic lenses cause water droplets to bead so that they don’t affect the image, an obvious advantage in wet weather. The number and quality of lens coatings affects overall performance — and scope price. Additionally, most modern scopes are filled with inert gases like nitrogen that prevent moisture from entering the scope and fogging the optic.

Riflescopes -5
Tactical scopes have turrets that can be quickly adjusted for windage and elevation. This Leupold VX-5 features 0.1 Mil adjustments and a zero-stop for quick, accurate returns to zero.

Adjustability
Adjusting the erector tube allows the shooter to adjust for elevation and windage, and this is done via the turrets on the top and side of the scope. The turrets act like screws and move the erector tube up, down, left and right. Each “click” of the turret moves the point of impact about one-quarter of an inch (1/4 MOA) for most riflescopes — at least in theory.
In truth, the complex inner workings of the scopes and all the “geegaws” that go into proper adjustment don’t always give the end result desired. Some scopes have turrets that move more than a quarter-inch per click, some less. Proper adjustments are beneficial when sighting in a scope, but they’re absolutely essential when adjusting an elevation turret to strike an object that’s a half-mile or more away.

Why Some Scopes Cost More Than Others
If the internal structures of most scopes are similar in overall construction, then why do some scopes cost $150 and others cost $3,000? Fair question.

For starters, more expensive scopes tend to have more robust hardware with more precise adjustments and better lens coatings, though I’ve witnessed expensive scopes fail and I’ve seen cheap scopes withstand terrible abuse and still function flawlessly. The real difference, though, is the quality of the glass. Better glass is clearer, ground more precisely, and it offers a better view in low-light conditions because more light travels through the glass and reaches the eye.

Riflescopes -9I got a very clear demonstration of this on my first trip to Africa a decade ago. At night the pans (ponds or lakes) near camping areas in Etosha Park in Namibia are illuminated with floodlights so that visitors can witness lions, cheetahs, rhinos, elephants and a variety of other game coming to drink. It was just before midnight and I was at the pan watching a pair of jackals wrestling at the water’s edge when a group of Austrian tourists came and sat a few feet away. All week I’d been watching game through the $200 binoculars I brought along, and one of the Austrians lent me his Swarovskis. The difference in the images was astounding. The Swarovskis provided a very clear, crisp image — so much so that I remember seeing individual hairs on one of the jackals’ raised hackles.

Would you be willing to pay an extra $1,000 for that kind of clarity? That’s up to you. But expensive scopes use expensive glass, and that extra detail can make a difference. It might help you identify an errant branch that would deflect your bullet or take the shot of a lifetime on the edge of darkness — a shot you might not get with cheaper optics with lesser glass.

Riflescopes -10
Reflex sights like the Trijicon RMR are popular on handguns because they are light and durable while offering a bright, illuminated aiming point for rapid target acquisition.

Non-Magnified Dot Sights
The rise in popularity of modern sporting rifles has no doubt led to an increase in the popularity of non-magnified optics, so let’s examine their effectiveness and purpose.
For starters, we’ll need a classification system for these optics because the traditional term “red-dot” can be confusing (especially since there are now multiple aiming point colors from which to choose).

The most common type of “red-dot” is a reflex sight, which uses a projected image (usually via LED) on a piece of glass to serve as an aiming point.

Prismatic optics offer a similar sight layout with a slightly different design; the reticle is etched on the glass itself and the prism acts as a lens in a scope to flip the image so that it appears right-side-up to the shooter.

Holographic sights use an image of the reticle captured within layers of glass.

Riflescopes -2Which style you choose is largely a matter of personal taste. If you want the option of magnification, a holographic sight is best, but other than that, all three of these sights will serve you well. They’re great for defensive work, but they’re also effective for hunting game, especially in low-light conditions. Non-magnified red-dots make it easy to keep both eyes open for increased awareness, and they’re surprisingly accurate out to several hundred yards.

Additionally, these sights are light and rugged because they don’t require the number of lenses found on a traditional magnified optic. And non-magnified dots appear on the same focal plane as the target does, so there’s no worrying about parallax error. For close-range shooting, especially at fast-moving targets, these types of optics are ideal. They also work well for most hunting situations, too; I used an EOTech 512 holographic sight on a Mossberg rifle for an elk hunt in Montana and it proved to be an effective combination, especially when paired with a magnifier that allowed for improved versatility.

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from the Winter 2017 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

Handgun Snapshot: Getting A Grip With Walther’s PK380

Rightsized, the Walther PK380 is small enough to slip into a pocket, but has the performance of a much larger self-defense handgun.

What does the PK380 have to offer those who carry?

  • The Walther PK380 hits a sweet spot when it comes to carry.
  • It's smaller than a subcompact for easy concealment.
  • But it's also large enough to offer a longer sight radius and more capacity.
  • The gun is well balanced in hand, has a good fit and feel and is a comfortable shooter.
  • Given its ease of use and ergonomic design, the Walther PK380 is a great choice.

Walther-lead PK380

Walther’s PK380 is a ‘tweener of a carry gun — not as small as the subcompact .380s that slip in your pocket but not quite as large as most 9mms. That just-right size means you get a light, portable gun with a longer sight radius and more capacity.

One thing that Walther has figured out is how to make guns that are well balanced and comfortable to shoot, and the company takes pride in building guns that fit well and feel good.

“Like all Walther pistols, the PK380 features an extremely comfortable ergonomic grip,” says Vice President of Marketing for Walther Luke Thorkildsen. “Walther has become synonymous with grip and trigger because we have found that there is confidence in comfort.”

When faced with a life-and-death situation, you need to have complete faith in your gun, and that faith is developed by long sessions on the range. You’re far less likely to spend time shooting a gun that hurts your hand or leaves you cringing with every trigger pull, so finding a pistol with a good grip is more critical than it might initially seem. Walther’s PK380 has an ergonomic design that’s slightly larger than some of the other guns in this article, yet it’s still easy to conceal. In addition, having those extra .380 ACP rounds on tap offers a level of comfort all its own.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2017 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

.380 Ammo For Defensive Use

Let’s look at what the facts say about the .380 ACP and its capabilities as a defensive option.

  • .380 ACP bullets averaged 9 to 18 inches of penetration at distances less than 30 feet.
  • This is according to data the author gathered.
  • Some deep penetrations were due to bullets not expanding upon reaching their target.
  • The author advises care in choosing the proper .380 defensive round
  • But he states there are many solid options that will perform, even at lower velocities.

Based on ballistic gel data that I gathered from multiple sources, the .380 ACP bullets averaged somewhere between 9 and 18 inches of penetration in ballistic gel at defensive distances under 30 feet (with 12 inches of penetration with proper bullet expansion being considered effective for personal defense).

380-self-defense-sixth

In large part, the deeper penetration results were a result of bullets that did not expand and retained their profile as they passed through the test. Failing to expand is good for producing deep penetration on ballistic gel, but it’s bad news in real-life defensive situations because a bullet that doesn’t open properly doesn’t create as much hydrostatic shock or tissue damage. Only a portion of a bullet’s kinetic energy is transferred to the target if the bullet passes through, and unless that bullet strikes a bone or nervous tissue, it might not stop the attacker immediately, which can be disastrous.

Bullet expansion results from a combination of factors. First, the bullet’s construction plays an important role. Second, the velocity at which the bullet is traveling is critical. Lastly, any barriers to the target will affect performance. You can’t choose the wardrobe your attacker will be wearing, but you can choose your bullet and gun.


More information on the .380 ACP:

  • Concealed Carry: .380 Pistol Options For Self Defense
  • Concealed Carry: Is The .380 ACP Enough For Self-Defense?

There are a number of great personal defense .380 loads, and they vary in construction. Some expand reliably at lower velocities, while others require a stronger push to initiate expansion. Based on my personal tests, both Federal’s HST and Hornady’s Critical Defense will expand when fired from light, compact pistols at close range into bare gel, and I’m sure that there are several other loads that will do the same. Pistols with longer barrels have an edge in terms of velocity, and that ups the odds of expansion.

Editor's Note: This article excerpt originally appeared in the September 2017 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

Concealed Carry: The .380 Pistol For Self Defense

The .380 ACP is little in a lot of ways. But is it big enough where it counts?

Does the .380 ACP stack up?

  • There are plenty of fans and detractors of the .380 ACP as a defensive caliber.
  • Its capabilities lie somewhere in the middle of these two opinions.
  • Much of getting the most out of the .380 depends on finding the right pistol.
  • Optimal barrel length, weight, capacity, price and fit and feel should be considered.
  • Ease of carry make the .380 pistol appeal to many who carry concealed.

Roughly 16 million Americans have obtained permits to carry concealed firearms, and each year more criminals end up on the wrong side of a law-abiding citizen with a personal defense weapon. With the rising tide of CCW permit holders has come a wave of new products to suit their needs, everything from holsters to cleaning kits to sights, to lasers and ammunition. And, of course, there is a whole new crop of defensive auto-loading pistols, too.

380-self-defense-third

One caliber that has gotten a lot of attention in recent years is the .380 ACP. Designed by John Moses Browning and first chambered in the 1908 Colt semi-automatic pocket pistol, the .380 has been cussed and discussed more than just about any other defensive caliber on the market. Fans of the caliber believe that it’s the ultimate concealed carry caliber because it’s small enough to be chambered in ultra-compact pistols and generates moderate recoil while offering plenty of energy to drop an attacker at close range. There’s another camp, though, that believes the .380 is underpowered and overrated.

So, where does the truth lie?


More information on the .380 ACP:


Probably somewhere in the middle, and that’s due to a number of factors. First, not all .380 pistol options are created equal. Some have better triggers than others. Some are striker-fired, while others are double-actions … and barrel lengths vary. Likewise, not all ammo is created equal. The shooting public is learning that bullet performance (or lack thereof) is critical in a personal defense situation. Lastly, many shooters simply decide on whether a cartridge is effective or not based on personal tastes, and they don’t have any real evidence to back their claims.

The Right .380 For You

With the right ammunition, a .380 can produce effective results based on objective test data. Is it as versatile as a double-stack 9mm? No, but it’s also easier to carry, and that’s the limiting factor for many shooters.

So, how do you choose the right .380 for you and your needs?

Who says compact .380s aren’t accurate? This is a 25-yard group fired through Browning’s 1911-380 using Federal HST ammo. This level of accuracy isn’t absolutely necessary for personal defense, but it definitely offers peace of mind.
Who says compact .380s aren’t accurate? This is a 25-yard group fired through Browning’s 1911-380 using Federal HST ammo. This level of accuracy isn’t absolutely necessary for personal defense, but it definitely offers peace of mind.

There are a number of different .380 semi-autos available today, including Kahr’s CT380, Ruger’s LCP, Remington’s RM380, Glock’s 42, Smith & Wesson’s Bodyguard 380, SCCY’s CPX-3, Colt’s Mustang, Kimber’s Micro, SIG’s P238, Browning’s 1911-380, Walther’s PK380 and several others. The rise in CCW permits has created a great demand for small .380s, and gun manufacturers roll out new .380 models each year.

Barrel Length

Choosing the one that works for you is largely a matter of personal taste, but there are some important differences among the guns listed above. Barrel length was already mentioned; the LCP, RM380 and Bodyguard all have barrels that are relatively short and make them easy to conceal. At 4.25 and 3.66 inches respectively, the barrels of the Browning (full-size version) and Walther guns offer a longer sight radius. I’ve never found that an extra half-inch of barrel length negatively affects concealability (grip design is more important when choosing a gun that won’t print), but it does help with accuracy.

The Angle On Actions

Gun design and action operation are also important considerations. The guns listed above are double-action, double-action-only (DAO), single-action and striker-fired pistols. And while all of these will work, you’ll need to examine the pros and cons of each when selecting the gun for you.

Striker-fired guns, for instance, offer a consistent trigger pull. Double-actions, though, offer more assurance against hard primers; if a round fails to fire because of a hard primer, you can simply pull the trigger once more, and the hammer will strike again. That’s not an option with striker-fired guns, but, thankfully, hard primers are quite rare. Single-action guns require the shooter to operate the safety before firing, but with some practice that becomes intuitive, especially if you only carry one firearm.

Packing Extra Pounds

No .380 semi-auto is heavy by pistol standards, but there are some real lightweights in this group. Ruger’s diminutive LCP weighs in at a scant 9.6 ounces without an empty mag, and the Remington, Smith & Wesson and Kahr all weigh around 12 ounces. The “heaviest” guns mentioned are the Walther PK380 and Browning 1911-380 (full size), both of which tip the scales at just 18 ounces.

Kimber’s Micro CDP is a lightweight single-action .380 that’s very light and is tough enough to withstand the rigors of daily carry. It isn’t the cheapest gun on the list, but it’s built to Kimber’s high standards.
Kimber’s Micro CDP is a lightweight single-action .380 that’s very light and is tough enough to withstand the rigors of daily carry. It isn’t the cheapest gun on the list, but it’s built to Kimber’s high standards.

In short, you can rest assured that none of the guns listed here will be too heavy for daily carry. But a little extra heft isn’t always a bad thing; some people, especially new shooters, are recoil sensitive and don’t like the muzzle flip inherent with short-barreled lightweight guns. The .380 doesn’t produce the kick of larger calibers, but in general terms, the lighter the gun, the less effective it is at handling recoil. The guns on the list measure from 5.1 inches to 7.5 inches long and vary from just under to just over an inch wide. Concealment with any of these firearms is only an issue under the lightest, tightest clothing.

Capacity Considerations

Magazine capacity on these firearms runs from six to eight. Again, larger guns such as the Walther and Browning have higher capacities, and that’s important in personal defense. Having two extra rounds offers more time between reloads, which is a serious consideration in a self-defense situation.

Of the many .380 fans I’ve met, only one said they carry a spare magazine, so those two extra shots suddenly become even more significant. One great feature of most .380s is easy slide operation, something not always true of larger-caliber firearms. In fact, I know of at least one individual who has suffered nerve damage, resulting in limited hand strength, and the only semi-auto he can comfortably manipulate is a .380.

The Fit, Feel And Finances

It’s no secret many new CCW permit holders select their new carry gun based on two factors: how the gun feels and the price. You can discuss nuanced features separating one pistol from another, but ultimately a gun that sits well in the buyer’s hand is the one they’ll choose — so long as it is in their budget.

In terms of cost, the guns listed here have MSRPs that range from $229 to $800. Street prices are likely a bit lower, so odds are there’s a pistol in your price range.

The great advantage of carrying a .380 is that these guns are so light and so compact that you can hide them under virtually any clothing. Many .380s weigh 12 ounces or less and are under an inch wide, meaning you can conceal them under the lightest warm-weather shirt and pants.
The great advantage of carrying a .380 is that these guns are so light and so compact that you can hide them under virtually any clothing. Many .380s weigh 12 ounces or less and are under an inch wide, meaning you can conceal them under the lightest warm-weather shirt and pants.

Deciding which of these is comfortable is largely personal, but because most of the guns listed include a magazine with a finger extension (or offer these mags as an optional accessory), then only shooters with the largest hands will find they don’t have enough grip space. Shooters with really long hands and fingers might find that it’s difficult to keep from “wrapping” the trigger, so it’s best to spend time at the local gun shop handling each of these guns. Better yet, head to an event like the NRA Annual Meetings where you can examine every gun and get expert advice without the pressure to buy.

Is the .380 an effective self-defense cartridge? Evidence says it can be if the distance is close and you choose the right bullet. Compact, lightweight .380s have the advantage of portability and convenience … and any gun that you have with you in a deadly encounter is far better than one that you’ve left at home.

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the September 2017 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

Five Top Big-Bore ARs and Cartridges

Think the AR platform is only good for target shooting, defense and predator and varmint hunting? Think again. Check out these five great big-bore ARs and cartridges geared toward bigger tasks and larger game.

This likely won’t shock you, but the sales of AR rifles and accessories have skyrocketed in the past five years. In the early 2000s, there were only a handful of companies that built and sold ARs, but this year there were more than a hundred companies displaying new AR rifles, parts and accessories at the annual SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

Big-Bore ARs - Defense Shooting
Learn to Run Your AR Like a Pro with AR-15 Skills & Drills.

This comes despite the anti-gun media’s seek-and-destroy mission aimed at vilifying all things AR. These guns have survived the onslaught of attacks because the AR platform itself is so versatile, so functional and so much fun to shoot.

Besides being a great gun for casual shooting, competitive shooting and defensive applications, the AR makes a fantastic hunting rifle. ARs are the fastest-growing subset of hunting rifles, and many companies are now building ARs designed specifically for the game field. These rifles are accurate, customizable and allow for very fast-follow-up shots, but until recently, their use has been largely limited to predators and varmints.

That, too, is changing. More and more deer hunters are carrying AR rifles, and the platform has become one of the top choices for hog hunters.

But what about larger stuff? What about pursuing creatures that can turn the tables and can – in an instant – turn the hunter into the hunted? Is there a place in the realm of dangerous game hunting for big-bore ARs?

One of the most common charges levied against AR rifles by the sensational anti-gun media is that these rifles shoot flatter and hit harder than traditional hunting designs like bolt actions, the mythic higher-powered, high-power rifle.

In truth, the most common AR chambering, the 5.56/.223, is somewhat anemic compared to popular hunting calibers like the .30-06 and .300 Winchester Magnum, and it is a far less potent cartridge than the old elephant slayers like the .458 Winchester Magnum, .416 Rigby, and the like.

The anti-gun media never lets ballistics get in the way of a good story, but hunters and shooters obsess over energy and trajectory charts. You don’t have to spend much time researching to realize that the standard 5.56/.223 isn’t considered much of a deer round (although there are some hunters who swear by its effectiveness and have seen a lot of deer harvested with that cartridge), and it isn’t even legal in many states.

But the AR-10 platform chambered in .308/7.62×51 offers considerably more knockdown power, and other cartridges like the 6.8 SPC and .260 Remington are versatile hunting rounds that can be chambered in AR rifles.

But again, what about even larger game such as bears, bison and other large, heavy, potentially dangerous animals? Is there an AR suitable for that class of game?

In truth, there are many. There are several options for hunters looking to pursue the largest game with their AR and plenty of effective cartridges.

The good news is that many of these cartridges are sufficient on a wide variety of game, so whether you’re tackling big hogs or brown bears, one rifle will do it all. Versatility is, after all, one of the hallmarks of the AR platform.

Here’s a selection of five of the best big-bore ARs and cartridges for hunting the largest, toughest and potentially dangerous animals.

Big-Bore ARs - RRA BeastRock River Arms LAR-458 Beast in .458 SOCOM
The Beast is chambered in .458 SOCOM, a cartridge that was designed in the early 2000s to provide more energy and more lethality for Special Forces teams using AR rifles. Capable of firing bullets weighing up to 600 grains, the more popular weights for hunting are in the 250- to 325-grain range because they shoot flatter and carry higher energy along their trajectory curve.

Additionally, the .458 SOCOM ammunition fits in standard metal GI 5.56 magazines because the two cartridges are the same length. They are not, however, the same diameter.

You can fit seven .458 SOCOM cartridges in a 20-round GI magazine, 10 in a 30 round magazine. That’s a lot of firepower available in a hurry. Most hunting loads generate energy levels north of 2,200 foot-pounds, making this an excellent choice for bear defense.

The Beast is aptly named, with its heavy 14.5-inch barrel crowned with an aggressive Beast Brake. It comes with an RRA Delta CAR adjustable stock that can be customized to fit the shooter and the situation, and the full-length RRA TRO-STD handguard offers plenty of real estate for a sufficient hold on the rifle.

The flat-top receiver is great for mounting optics (a red dot like the new Trijicon MRO would be the perfect choice), and the rifle comes with two short and one standard-length accessory rails. The Beast weighs just 7.6 pounds, fairly light for a dangerous game rifle, but recoil is manageable considering the knockdown power of this rifle.

One note: All .458 SOCOM ammunition should be loaded from the magazine and not directly into the chamber for safety reasons. ($1,540; RockRiverArms.com)

50 Beowulf Hunter - Big Bore ARsAlexander Arms Hunter in .50 Beowulf
The .50 Beowulf is Alexander Arms’ own design. Based on the .50 Action Express and modified to function in AR rifles, the Beowulf ups the AR ante when it comes to power.

Like the SOCOM, it began life as a cartridge designed to offer a horsepower upgrade over the standard 5.56×45 cartridge, and it does so stunningly. The cartridge found favor with military and law enforcement agencies because it wouldn’t bounce off window glass in vehicles, but it certainly has applications for hunting large, dangerous game as well.

For starters, the cartridge generates between 2,200 and 2,800 foot-pounds of energy and places a half-inch hole in whatever it strikes. Alexander Arms offers a variety of loads for the Beowulf, including 350-grain brass spitzer and XTP loads that will work for hunters. The cartridge has plenty of power for short- to moderate-range hunting of species like bear, elk, moose, large feral hogs and even bison, and it serves as a functional backup gun in bear country.

Alexander Arms offers a selection of uppers and lowers, but the company also sells complete Beowulf rifles. The Hunter Complete Rifle is the variant designed specifically for sport hunting, and it comes with a rifle-length, composite, free-floating handguard; flat-top receiver; a 16.5-inch button-rifled chrome moly barrel; 49/64-20 barrel thread; and Kryptek Highlander camo.

Like the Beast, the Alexander Arms’ flattop design makes it easy for mounting optics, and the rounded handguard is comfortable and offers a stable grip. The stock is a B5 Systems SOPMOD Bravo, which is collapsible, and the gun comes with the company’s Tactical Blade Trigger. It’s a serious dangerous game AR designed for the largest, heaviest game. ($1,750; AlexanderArms.com)

Big-Bore ARs - DPMS Lite HunterDPMS Lite Hunter in .338 Federal
The sleek Lite Hunter from DPMS is a featherweight by AR standards, weighing in at less than 8 pounds. This reduced weight is achieved with the help of a lightweight barrel profile as well as a carbon fiber free-float handguard.

The Lite Hunter is devoid of all unneeded features and comes with an A2 stock, a flat-top extruded 7029 T6 upper and a two-stage match trigger. It’s a sleek, impressive design that works very well in the field.

The Lite Hunter is chambered in a number of standard AR-10 class cartridges: .243 Winchester, .260 Remington and .308. But it’s also available in the often overlooked and extremely versatile .338 Federal, which is based on a standard .308 Winchester cartridge necked up to use available .338-inch bullets.

The caliber is capable of producing better than 3,000 foot-pounds of energy and, since it is based on the .308, brass is widely available. The .338 Federal is an effective and efficient deer and hog cartridge and a very good elk and moose cartridge.

It provides plenty of power for defense against large bears, and it has a trajectory curve that is relatively flat. It’s certainly one of the most versatile cartridges on this list.

Plus, if you switch between a bolt gun and an AR, it’s a great choice because Savage and other companies make bolt-action rifles in the same caliber. It’s a cartridge that’s capable of taking anything on the American continent. ($1,499; DPMSInc.com)  

Big-Bore ARs NEMO WatchmanNEMO Arms Watchman & Omen in .338 Winchester Magnum
NEMO has challenged the notion of conventional AR designs and caliber offerings with the introduction of powerful new rifles chambered in .300 Winchester Magnum and, recently, the .338 Winchester Magnum. These cartridges are better than five decades old, but they have proven themselves as two of the best all-around cartridges for large, dangerous game like bears. Both the .300 and .338 are capable of delivering more than 4,000 foot-pounds of energy, and both have earned enviable reputations for long-range work.

Just how widely accepted are they? In a survey I did of Alaskan brown bear guides, the .338 Winchester Magnum was recommended more than any other cartridge, and there are actually more animals in the Boone & Crockett record book that have been harvested with the .300 Winchester Magnum than the .30-06. Ammo is widely available, and there’s a huge selection of tough hunting bullets for both cartridges.

The NEMO line has expanded greatly over the last few years. Some of its most popular offerings are the OMEN ASP, a lightweight MSR that is chambered in .300 Win. Mag.

It has a hard-anodized finish 7075 billet receiver, a 16-inch barrel, nickel boron bolt release, enhanced magnum buffer, Geissele two-stage trigger and much more. Best of all, it weighs just 9.4 pounds and is extremely accurate.

The larger Watchman 2.0 features a long 24-inch barrel for maximum velocity and flat trajectory. If you’re serious about hunting big game like elk and moose at extended range with a precision built AR, the offerings from NEMO are a good place to start looking. ($5,000- ; NEMOArms.com)

Big-Bore ARs - Bushmaster 450Bushmaster 450 in .450 Bushmaster
What if you could simply swap your AR upper to go from a varmint/predator/target rifle to a serious big-bore, bear-stopping defensive round? That’s the beauty of the .450 Bushmaster – like the .458 SOCOM, you can buy an extra upper for your AR rifle and you’ve got a big bore in tow. 

The .450 Bushmaster cartridge is capable of attaining 2,200 feet per second from a 20-inch barrel and generating almost 2,700 foot-pounds of energy, a substantial blow from an AR-15-based rifle. That’s on par with the .308 Winchester, and the Bushmaster delivers a much larger diameter bullet.

The .450, when sighted in 2.5 inches high at 100 yards with a Hornady 250-grain FTX, is 3.4 inches low at 200 yards, a respectable trajectory curve. The big .452-inch bullets are capable of delivering serious big-game stopping power at close range, and there’s no doubt that this rifle would work well on the largest deer.

But if you have an AR-15 and are looking for bear medicine, then the .450 might be just the ticket. It’s relatively light (especially with a 16-inch upper), and so long as Hornady is supplying ammo, it won’t be hard to get your hands on factory loads.

Of course, you can buy complete rifles from Bushmaster, but the company’s prime seller has been the upper, which is far cheaper for the current AR owner than buying a brand-new gun.

This is certainly a great caliber for backup in bear country, and you could pack your 5.56 upper in your gear bag on a western hunt so you could chase elk or bears and, when you are tagged out, swap uppers and spend a few days shooting rock chucks. ($600- ; Bushmaster.com)

Editor's Note: This article is an excerpt from the April 2016 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

Gun Review: HK Hammering P30SK

P30SK

Heckler & Koch didn't shoot from the hip with the HK P30SK, producing a well-balanced, high-performing subcompact, engineered to deliver when it matters most.

In the late 2000s, Heckler & Koch of Germany introduced the U.S. to its P30 semi-automatic pistol, a double-action, polymer-framed pistol with a high-capacity magazine and a revolutionary polygonal barrel. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and the P30 became a hit with American shooters who appreciated its high level of engineering and fastidious attention to detail. After all, HK’s catchphrase is Keine Kompromisse!, or “No Compromise!” for those not fluent in German.

Because the slick German semi-auto was so successful stateside, it seemed only natural that HK would target the burgeoning American concealed carry market. And it did, just not right away.

The HK P30SK (SubKompact) is a scaled-down 9mm version of the popular P30 semi-auto. Even though the P30SK simply looks like a shrunken P30, it took HK three full years of engineering and development to translate the full-sized semi-auto into a compact carry version.

The mechanics remain much the same between the two guns, but the ergonomics of the P30SK were redesigned to make this a stand-alone handgun instead of a cropped-and-chopped version of another model. The SK shares the same basic DNA as its alterer bruder, including a single-action/double-action design with large ambidextrous slide stop levers, luminescent three-dot sights and a polymer frame with a nitro-carburized steel slide with a corrosion-resistant blued finish, but with a much more compact design that makes it a great choice for concealed carry.

While striker-fired guns are all the rage, including HK’s own VP9 and VP40, double-action semi-autos such as the P30SK still have a loyal following and still make perfect sense as a concealed carry gun. The double-action trigger pull is heavy — about 12 pounds — but it’s smooth, and it’s easy to pull this gun from a concealed holster and fire the first shot quickly and accurately. Subsequent shots feature a much lighter 5.5-pound single-action trigger pull with modest take-up and a crisp, clean break.

Most shooters don’t really appreciate how good or bad a trigger pull really is until they begin firing shots from a sandbag on the range. Bad triggers make this a real chore because they are heavy and creepy, never offering a clean snap. The team at HK did a great job on the trigger with this gun, and after a few shots off the bags I could predictably take up the slack in the trigger, press evenly and count on being surprised at the shot. The trigger pad is also very wide and comfortable.

P30SK

The P30SK grip geometry is excellent. It features a textured side and rear panels that are neither slick nor so aggressive they hurt the shooter’s hand. The cross-directional texturing keeps the gun firmly planted in your paw, and the P30SK, like the P30 before it, features interchangeable rear and side panels.

Each new gun comes with three different backstraps and three different sets of side panels, so when HK claims this gun offers a perfect fit, it means it. Removing the rear and side inserts requires the use of a punch and a hammer, but once the pin is free you can mix and match component parts until you find the perfect combination.

The P30SK is available with or without a manual safety, which is understandable. Some shooters vehemently support carrying guns with no manual safety, while the other camp is equally dedicated to manual-safety-only guns.

No matter which doctrine you follow, there’s a P30SK for you. Both versions come with hammer and firing pin safeties but no magazine disconnect, so you can fire the gun without the mag in place. There’s also a special Law Enforcement Modification (LEM) model that comes with a bobbed hammer and a double-action-only (DAO) trigger with a crisp 5.4-pound pull.

P30SK

If you haven’t shot the HK P30 line of pistols, you will have to familiarize yourself with the location of some of the controls. The extended ambidextrous slide release is mounted along the top of the frame just below the chamber.

Notably absent is the standard magazine release button that is traditionally situated just behind the trigger guard. Like other German guns, including the first-generation Walther PPQ, the HK P30 line has a paddle-style magazine release lever located on either side of the trigger guard.

It’s not a traditional American styling, but it serves a very important function — when the gun is holstered, it’s impossible for an assailant to drop the magazine from your firearm. And once you become familiar and comfortable with the system, you’re probably going to like it. When the mag runs dry, simply press down on the paddle with your trigger finger, drop the magazine and reload. The system is fast and intuitive.

The P30SK has a decocker, but just like the magazine release, it isn’t in the traditional position. Instead, it is located just to the left of the hammer. This too serves a very important function.

When you are clearing the gun in the middle of a gunfight, you won’t accidentally hit the decocker since it’s tucked out of the way. Simply press the button and the hammer drops, and, as with the magazine release lever, it becomes second nature once you do it a few times.

Some pistols look and feel cheap. Others feel like they are well-built and robust, and there are a handful of pistols that feel like they are so solidly constructed you could wither away on the range trying to get them to fail. The P30SK is that third kind of pistol. It is made of quality parts that are well machined and so tightly fitted that it feels like a custom gun. The interior parts are polished free from machine marks. The slide is tight and smooth, and the slide/frame fit is precise.

On the range, the P30SK performed very well. This is likely due in part to the barrel’s polygonal rifling, which substitutes the standard lands and grooves for a bore that has been octagonally reamed for a better gas seal. The P30SK comes with front and rear adjustable three-dot luminescent sights that are dovetailed into the slide, ideal for close-range work.

P30SK

For the 15-yard accuracy test, I mounted a Crimson Trace Rail Master green laser on the P30SK accessory rail. The green laser offers a more precise aiming point, giving a clear picture of a handgun’s overall accuracy potential without variations due to sight design. With the laser in place, the P30SK was extremely accurate. At 15 yards, groups hovered just above an inch.

Normally, during these range tests you have one brand of ammo that is a clear favorite, but after testing three different loads — Hornady’s 100-grain Critical Defense Lite, SIG Sauer’s 124-grain Performance Elite and Nosler’s new 124-grain Defense — I realized I would have to measure the groups to have an idea which ammo was the most accurate in the P30SK. As it turned out, the SIG won the day, but both the Nosler and Hornady ammunition were nipping right at its heels.

The oversized extractor worked perfectly, and the only ammunition with which the P30SK took issue was the light Hornady load, which resulted in a couple stovepipe jams. This is likely due to the fact that the Hornady ammo is loaded to produce less recoil, and the P30SK hadn’t been properly broken in.

I set the Hornady ammo aside, test-fired the heavier stuff, and then went back to the Hornady ammo. After that, there was only one stovepipe, which seems to be a sign that once the HK is broken in it will work with lighter loads.

The accuracy results from the test can be found above, showing the outcomes of the test with all three ammo types. As you can see, the accuracy was very good, especially for a gun with a 3.27-inch barrel. Chances are you’ll never need to shoot a 1-inch group at 15 yards with your P30SK, but if the need arises, this gun will do it.

HK P30SK - specs

The P30SK performs as well on the line as it does on the bench. It is balanced well and comfortable to shoot, and with an overall length of just 6.42 inches and a height of 4.57 inches, it is indeed compact.

It’s a bit wider than many competing carry 9mms at 1.37 inches, but that third of an inch of width helps keep this gun planted during shooting, and it’s still an easy gun to conceal. The abbreviated grip leaves the average shooter’s last finger without a home, but the P30SK is still manageable.

Semi-autos have gotten easier to disassemble for routine maintenance and cleaning, and HK is not the type of company to allow itself to be out-engineered. As a result, takedown of the P30SK is extremely simple.

You drop the magazine and clear the gun, pull the slide back far enough that the rectangular cutout in the metal slide is aligned with a matching piece on the slide stop, press a pin from the opposite side until the rectangular metal piece slips through the gap in the slide and then turn the gun upside down and pull the slide forward. With the slide removed, the guide spring and barrel simply fall into your hand.

It’s about as simple a takedown regiment as you’ll find on a compact semi-auto, and once you’ve practiced, it will take you far less time to actually break down your gun than it has taken me to explain the process. There goes your last excuse for having a dirty pistol.

HK resisted the urge to cut down their P30 pistol to grab a share of the compact pistol market because that meant cutting corners. Instead, the company has taken the time to produce a well-engineered, well-designed carry gun that is built to last.

Will the newer VP9 and VP40 spawn similar compact carry variations? (Editor's Note: Indeed they have, as is evident with HK's recent introduction of the new VP9SK). I’d venture to say it’s likely, but it’s not absolutely necessary, because the P30SK is a fine carry gun that lives up to the HK name and commitment: Never compromise.

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the August 2015 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.

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