Columns

I was initially enamored with the RAAC MKA-1919, otherwise known as the AR-15 looking shotgun. It was the star of our 2012 SHOT Show coverage, registering over 80,000 readers within the first few days after release. Then I got a review gun, and in August of that year everyone got to read that the gun had some quirks. My review was one of the few that put the gun through its paces, and demonstrated that it failed more than it fired. But at the time, I was excited about a modification company that had exhibited with RAAC at SHOT. Guns can get expensive and the base price of the 1919 wasn’t that high. A couple hundred in mods I felt was reasonable for a niche specialty gun like this, assuming that it works well. That company never got back to me.

As you probably have surmised by now, this column is really about taking a global collapse seriously. Radio communication is one subject that I find taken for granted in most of the internet press and supermarket survival magazines, but if you don’t understand the basics of what radios can be used for what types of communications, and go out and actually buy them, you will truly leave yourself in the dark when all of the standard communications go down.

Mossberg’s MVP Patrol in 5.56 is a surprising rifle. The basic nature of this gun’s design makes it easy to use, and the two chamberings (5.56, and .308) make it a logical choice for preppers. If you’re looking for a compact rifle that shoots inexpensive ammo, and one that is imminently capable, check out the Mossbergs.

Today’s spotlight is on a very special set from Barnes Precision Machine–an AR-15 with uppers in both 5.56 and .300 AAC Blackout. Why two upper receivers? That is the brilliance of the Blackout. 300 AAC was designed from the ground up to work with all existing AR-15 components except the barrel. Magazines, bolt, and all the internal parts are identical. But the real benefit comes from active training.

[one_half padding=”0 0 0 0px”] Springfield Duel Contest [/one_half] [one_half_last padding=”0 0 0 0px”] [/one_half_last] Springfield Armory is winding down their August Duel promotion, but there are still ways to win. This week it is the XD(M) Full Size 9mm. Contestants can submit entries once an hour, every hour. And even if you don’t win [...]

I make a habit of checking assumptions when I believe something that a lot of other people believe. When I am online these days, all of the ad tracking systems have me pegged as a “prepper,” and I get ads for everything from freeze dried food to gold bullion. I have become a commodity, and it has made me feel like perhaps I should do a little research into just how imminent this global collapse is likely to be.

General George S. Patton once called the M1 Garand the “best battle implement ever devised.” But was he correct? The run up to World War II saw a giant leap forward in technology for weapons of war. The jet airplane was invented for WWII. Of course the atomic bomb was invented for WWII. But more importantly, the weapons that saw the most combat, the infantry battle rifles of the war, changed considerably as well, worldwide. The SVT-40 never really got out of the gate due to the later popularity of the AK-47, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was an influential rifle on the Eastern front during the war, or the fact that it totally rocks. We got to test an actual 1943 SVT-40 side by side with an M1 Garand, and the results may surprise you.

When Savage called and asked if GunsAmerica would review one of their Youth rifles, I intended to do it right and have an actual kid do the shooting. Then they asked if they could send one in Muddy Girl. While this camo pattern won’t prevent boys from shooting it, I thought I’d try to find a girl who knew her way around guns. After a few phone calls, I lined up an 11 year old. But when the rifle arrived, it was a .308. How well can an 11 year old girl handle a .308?

Gunslingers agree on very few things, but one of them is that bigger, longer guns are easier to shoot, and to shoot well. This is doubly true when you have to do a lot of shooting. Glock owners are a fierce bunch of gunslinging devotees, and now they have a Gen. 4 version of what is essentially a bigger, longer .45ACP Glock 21. This is the last of a competition trio that joins the G34, a long slide 9mm G17, and the G35, a long slide .40 G22. This new G41 has a barrel about .6 inches longer and it has about 3/4 inch more sight radius than the G21, but it actually comes in a couple ounces lighter.