Gun Reviews

Taurus has come on with a vengeance in revolvers this year. The 692 is a full-sized revolver in .357 Magnum and .38 Special. Big deal, you say! Every .357 revolver also shoots .38 Special. That isn’t what we meant by multiple calibers. With one press of a button, the cylinder is removable, and in its place? Taurus has provided a 9mm cylinder. One wheelgun = three calibers. Now, we’re talking.

Nighthawk is one of my favorite places to stop every year, if for no other reason, the unique twist they put on everything. Nighthawk is by far my favorite of the custom builders, and we are going to make it down to the shop in Arkansas one of these days.

Rock River Arms has teamed with Fred Eichler for new Fred Eichler Signature Series Predator rifles. These guns are designed from the ground up with the hunter in mind, and mostly that means weight savings. The barrels are fluted, and the handguards are carbon fiber. The rifle weighs in at only 6.9 pounds.

Vortex Optics has been growing by leaps and bounds, steadily chipping away at the market by dominating PRS and Hunting. Not so much new this year, but plenty improved.

When we think of the name Mossberg, most of us instantly envision a shotgun. They have been the leader in American shotguns for decades, and recently have been crushing it out of the park with new products like the 590 magazine-fed and the Shockwave. But they are also a powerhouse in rifles. And this year they are stepping into the precision game, with the Mossberg MVP Precision.

Last year, the release of the M&P 2.0 family of pistols was one of the biggest stories fo the year. Unlike other companies, Smith and Wesson seemed to listen to every customer critique over the preceding 10 years and fixed every one of them in the 2.0. Not some, spaced over the next 3 generations. All of them. Right now. Ready go.

SIG Sauer is best known for military-style hardware, ranging from submachine guns and sniper rifles, to the new Army M17 pistol. It is easy to forget they also make 1911 pistols, some of the best around. The first time I shot a Sig 1911 over a decade ago, it was hard to miss the value of the included high-end features. This year, SIG released a special edition “ We the People” model, a sure win for collectors.

SCCY is one of the last of the little guys, a firearms maker that isn’t part of a giant conglomerate. They set out to fill a single niche, and they have done that well. Sitting down with SCCY at SHOT 2018, we learned some of the reasons why.

SAR Arms had a new pistol, but more importantly a new company. The days of multiple importers are over, SAR is now SAR USA. This is a subsidiary of the Turkish firearms maker and will be handling all warranty issues for SAR pistols, regardless of who brought it into the country. This should smooth over any and all issues regarding parts availability, new models, and magazines.

It is not often I see something so cool I have to stop and look, even if in practical use it has to be ridiculous. But the FightLite pistol grabbed my attention. Part pirate gun, part AR, this is one of those products that make even the most cynical ask “ How does it work?” It looks like the Sand People on Tatooine should be carrying it, but I am pretty intrigued.

Mechanical systems evolve over time. The earliest German Messerschmitt Bf 109 A fighter plane first flew in 1937. That remarkable aircraft sported a Jumo 210A 600-horsepower engine driving a fixed-pitch two-bladed propeller. Seven years later the Bf 109 G-6 carried a Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1 powerplant producing 1,455 hp turning a constant-speed variable-pitch paddle-geometry three-bladed prop. The G-6 was easily twice as capable as the earlier A model. The Nazis ultimately produced 33, 984 copies of the plane. Operational pressures exerted by full-bore combat on three fronts drove the Bf 109 to evolve over time.

There’s no real way to know what you or your firearm are capable of without adequate training. As Jim Mora so famously quipped after his football team suffered a blowout loss, “You think you know, but you have no idea.” And that’s exactly what you find as you start to train with others more competent than yourself — you were never aware of just how much you didn’t know.

Remember our coverage of the P210 last year? Me too. Followed immediately by Sig not shipping them. Catching up with SIG this year, they promised me they are both 1) real and 2) shipping right now. The new P210 is 100% American made, and sure to get you hot and bothered if you like target pistols. I still feel about it now exactly like I did at SHOT 2017.

Freedom Munitions has been one of the success stories of the last decade, moving from a tadpole start-up to an industry leader. They are constantly breaking new ground, and always a pleasure to see what they have dreamed up now.

Thompson Center is the brand we think of for muzzleloaders, with a long heritage in the game. For this year, most of the changes are cosmetic. The gets a dress change with the Real Tree Edge pattern of camouflage, with either a black weather shield barrel or a full Real Tree barrel. Also new for [...]

IWI is famous the world over for bullpup designs, and this year stepped out with Tavor 7, a feature-rich addition to the lineup. The Tavor 7 is chambered in 7.62×51, a first for IWI. The gun is obviously larger than the 5.56 Tavor series, going to a big boy caliber requires some additional materials. For the bulk though, you get a lot. The new Tavor 7 is only 3/4ths of an inch longer than the original model.

It is not often we see a caliber that actually changes the way we think about shooting. Wildcats abound, often with marginal improvement over a factory round at best. There are exceptions, though most calibers fail to catch hold. Even those backed by major players. Several new calibers have been tried in AR-15’s over the past few years, none strong enough to give the rifle new legs. Today, hopefully, that changes.

Building off a very successful first year, AMTAC launched 2018 with the MANTIS series of suppressors. The MANTIS series is composed of four suppressors. All of them feature AMTAC’s mono-core system and three feature AMTAC’s signature over-barrel design. MANTIS suppressors directly thread to a barrel and are rated for Magnum calibers. Regarding price, MANTIS suppressors start at $799. Let’s take a quick look at the various models that make up the MANTIS lineup.

At SHOT Show 2018 was not the first time I have seen the M+M industries M10x International Defense Rifle, but it was worth stopping by. The M10x is a completely new design, and it is certainly unique. To my eye, it looks like a SCAR, AK, and AR got tossed in a blender, and the strong points of each survived to make a new beast.

Bond Arms has been making quality products for a very long time, most notably derringers that are standard by which all others are judged. Made in Texas, by Texans. Let us not forget that either. This year, however, they have stepped out into magazine fed arena. And the product should have other CCW specialty companies worried.

Leupold comes out of the gate this year with a new family of scopes, the Mark 5 models. All of these models will feature 5X zoom capability, starting with a 5×25 and 3.16×16. These scopes were designed with shooter optic interaction as the focal point. SPECS:  Weight: 30 oz. Linear FOV (ft/100 yd) Low — 20.5 Linear [...]

Hornady has continued to dominate the market in ammunition this year, always surprising with incredibly accurate factory loadings. I personally have been very impressed with the 6.5 Creedmoor loadings, including the American Gunner line. New for this year, Hornady has several new options.

Building on the success of the Taurus Raging Bull, this year we were treated to a new revolver built for the hunting market. The Raging Hunter, with all the features a handgun hunter needs.

World-famous hunter Fred Eichler was on hand to fill us in on the details. Fitting, since he had a hand in the development. You can also find a video of Fred harvesting an antelope with a Taurus Tracker in 357 Magnum, at 133 yards. It is always nice to have an expert end user involved in the development of a new gun.

SureFire is the industry leader in flashlights, no question about that. New for 2018, an absolute gaggle of changes across the board.

Hornady is best known for ammunition and reloading equipment, but that isn’t all they make. Over the last year or two, they have also become a major player in the small safe market. The Rapid Safe line specializes in securing home defense guns, ready to deploy in seconds. Last year I did a review on the AR wall lock, a fantastic method of keeping a rifle handy. Never content to rest on their laurels, this year Hornady is releasing the Rapid Vehicle Safe.

We got our hands on the SIG M17 at range day, the actual military model. If you are a P320 fan and or a collector, you are going to want one of these. You could buy a gun that was in the MHS trials right now, or you could by the winner in the spring when the M17 is released for public sale.

Down at the Kahr Arms booth, we got hands-on with the new hotness. Most of the changes for 2018 were cosmetic, with a healthy dose of John Tiegen signature series guns. These guns feature laser engraved logo’s for his charity, signature, and a very cool Kryptek pattern hydro dip on the frames. A portion of [...]

Among the unicorns of handguns, perhaps only the Bren Ten surpasses the .44 Auto Mag in the world of “ Guns that should have made it.” The Auto Mag has a long and storied history, with less than 9,000 total guns produced. It could easily be described as a great idea, poorly executed, with some bad business plans tossed in the mix. It is estimated that the original Auto Mag cost the company $1,000 in losses for each gun that went out the door. The last of the original Auto Mag chambered in .44 AMP was assembled in 1982. In 2015, a new company formed the Auto Mag LTD. Corp.purchased all the rights to the bring it back to the market.

One company that I have a lot of respect for is Gunwerks. Every year at SHOT Show I swing by their booth to check out their latest products and chat with their staff. The Gunwerks staff are enthusiastic, friendly, professional and above else, skilled long-range shooters. This year at SHOT Show, Gunwerks introduced three new carbon fiber stocks; the CLYMR, MAGNUS, and VERDICT.