Handguns

SIG just put the P211 on a serious diet. The new P211 Full Size and P211 Carry keep the double-stack capacity, single-action trigger and optic-ready architecture while trading the heavier configuration for an aluminum alloy frame and polymer grip module.

The SIG P226-X Agency takes the familiar P226 and turns up the performance with an integrated compensator, bull barrel, AX3 trigger and enclosed ROMEO-X optic. After shooting it at SIG NEXT 2026, this was the pistol that surprised me most.

SIG claims the P365-MACH3D can cut muzzle rise by up to 30 percent. After shooting its new MACH3D compensator and 3.4-inch bull barrel at SIG NEXT, the difference was immediately noticeable.

The Girsan Witness2311 CMX XXX does something a lot of compact double-stack 1911s do not: it actually shrinks the grip. Add 16+1 rounds, excellent accuracy, an $899 MSRP, and more than 400 rounds without a malfunction, and this little 9mm gets difficult to ignore.

I turned a PTR 9KT into the MP5K I spent years building in video games, then dumped thousands of rounds through it in the real world. The final running total hits $5,008.58, and yes, I would absolutely do it again.

Colt brought the Cobra back as a soft-shooting six-shot .38 Special, then followed it with the harder-hitting .357 Magnum King Cobra. We revisit the original Cobra review and break down which stainless Snake Gun makes the most sense in 2026.

The S&W Spec Series VI M&P 9 M2.0 Metal Compact pairs a ported barrel, Aimpoint ACRO P-2, metal frame, and roughly $985 in included accessories with genuinely fast, controllable performance. After several weeks of shooting and carrying it, the $1,899 package makes a stronger case for itself than the sticker price suggests.

The G43 was the single-stack 9mm Glock shooters begged for, but the G43X and G48 changed the equation with larger grips, optics-ready variants, and dramatically more capacity. In 2026, the smallest Glock is no longer automatically the best Slimline Glock.

The Major Kong Industries MisterSeven gives a non-railed 1911 something classic pistols were never built with: a solid mounting point for a modern weapon light. Better yet, it does it without permanently modifying the pistol.