Gear Reviews

Looking for an inexpensive way to top off a Remington 870? Firefield has a versatile option. The Agility 1X30 Dot Sight for 870 shotguns is a straightforward design that works exactly as advertised and comes in way below the price point of some dedicated shotgun optics.

I started with it in a Remington 870 tactical in 12-gauge, a short shotgun that I use the most on the range and for home defense. The Firefield is perfect for both. It comes with a built-in saddle mount, so all you can place it on is the Remington 870, which it was designed to fit. I did not like the limitation imposed by that design, but it does make for a simple and straightforward mounting solution.

It boggles my mind when someone proudly exclaims that they are free from worry should a disaster strike, because “I’ve got a generator!” That’s great for a hurricane or a blizzard, but what are you going to do if there is a real collapse and your fuel runs out? Did you, in fact, just waste [...]

A few weeks back, I walked into my gunsmith’s shop to have him do some work on a rifle. I knew he was partial to his Springfield XDS, and I’ve never seen him without a gun on him, ever, but I didn’t expect to see the pistol just stuck in his waistband. In all fairness, his shop is in his basement, and he was practicing home carry, which we highly endorse, but the pistol tucked into his waistband—without a holster—that just seemed so…relaxed.

I’m a holster snob. I’ve got my favorite makers, favorite styles, preferred materials. I’ll try anything out, but when it comes down to concealed carry, I’m not going to do experiments on behalf of any product review. So know that I take this seriously. When I first saw a Sticky Holster, I wasn’t terribly enthusiastic. It seemed too relaxed for my taste. I’m not one to tuck a pistol in my waistband, even at home, and that’s what the Sticky Holster is—a holster you tuck into your waistband.

Silencerco If you haven’t experienced the joy of shooting a Silencerco suppressor, you’re missing out. They’re setting the bar pretty high for the quiet side of tactical and sport shooting. And now they’re taking it farther with muzzle brakes. This one, the MAAD Brake, is 50-state legal and will light up a dark range like [...]

The concept of “match ammo” surprises some people. Guns go bang and the bullet makes a hole in whatever the gun is pointed at, right? Yes, and while almost all ammo will function and do some damage downrange, there is a huge variation to how precisely the ammo is manufactured. You can set the automated ammo machines for 5 rounds a minute or 500 rounds per minute. But at 500 rounds per minute, the precision of the ammo sharply declines. It takes time to make sure that powder is measured precisely, that primers are seated corrected, and that bullets are inserted and secured evenly. Handloaders know this, because they do all of these steps one at a time, when making “match quality” ammo, but with the high price of ammo these days, it has become profitable for more and more new manufacturers to get into the game of match ammo and produce some really amazing results.

KAK Super Sig Buffer Tube, the Perfect Fit for Improvised SBRs

In early 2010, Florida-based Diamondback Firearms released its first pistol to the US market. That pistol was the Diamondback DB380 micro-compact 380 Auto. Over the last four years, there have been many additional variations of the DB380 released. Most of the variations featured colored grip frames, different sighting systems or additional finish treatments on the slide. The latest model, the DB380SL, can be considered the second generation of the DB380 and includes several functional and aesthetic improvements to the original design.

If you’ve ever done any traveling with guns, even if it is just to the local range, I’m sure you’ve had to deal with storing them. It isn’t always graceful. The deeper I get in the firearms world, the more I travel long distances with guns. And I’m way past the days of wrapping them in old t-shirts and stuffing them in a backpack. A good gun case will make all the difference, but many come with lousy interiors that do a mediocre job of protecting guns. Some cases come with sliced and diced foam that you can pick into an approximate shape, but they get ugly, fast. So where do you go for good, 100% customized foam? MyCaseBuilder.com.

If you like to shoot like I do, you’re faced with limited supplies of ammo and high costs (when you can find it). You can’t always reload either, because the most common powders are just not available. I’ve been looking for reloading powder online and at the local sporting goods stores for more than a month. Got everything else, but no powder to send the bullet on its way.

However, there is one rifle cartridge that’s in plentiful supply at very reasonable prices—7.62×39. Developed by the Soviets during WW II, it later became the cartridge of the battle rifle developed by Makhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov. Introduced as the Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947, better known as AK-47, the gun was adopted by the Soviet Armed Forces in 1949 and has since proven itself in 65 years of continuous service in militaries around the world.