Gun Reviews

Sometimes you just must stop and go, “Have I seen everything?” As I got a chance to look at Adler Arms at SHOT Show 2017, I realized that they were not another me-too company. They had shotguns for hunting, sporting and tactical purposes. This included various schemes of Cerakote, wood and all manner of bolt-on products and accessories. You could pick any length barrel you wanted from 10 to to 28 inches., Oh, and they are all lever actions.

This past year Century Arms figured out a way to get a classic externally hammered coach sized side by side into the hands of American shooters for under $300. As you can see from the video, the gun has a bunch of ugly markings on it, but it works great.

Savage has now broken into what is currently the largest segment of the rifle market, bringing along their 123 years of rifle-making history into its MSR (modern sporting rifle) line of AR-style rifles. We were understandably eager to see how they could impact this established market in a state of change with our review of the new MSR 15 Recon in .223 Wylde.

Why make a bolt-action handgun? Is it a design built to comply with California’s emerging and increasingly intolerant firearm laws? Of course it is.

Many people simply are unwilling or unable to carry a full-size gun on a daily basis. In fact many people want the smallest frame gun they can get. With that information, we are able to narrow our search. In fact, once we narrow it down that far, there is one gun that seems to fit the bill quite well; the Kimber Micro CDP chambered in .380.

KM Arms has taken the classic Bushmaster M17S design and upgraded it and enhanced it into a totally modern and intriguing offering. Available in both .223- and .308-sized models, the new M17S takes the bullpup design to the next level of performance.

In the United States, Bergara isn’t exactly a household name, but the fact of the matter is that this Spanish-based company is a large OEM provider of barrels to some of the best-known brands in the business. Bergara has started to offer a line of rifles that can be found under their Bergara Premier line, and for review we have their LRP rifle chambered in .308 Winchester in hand for testing.

This week we are reviewing the Baby Desert Eagle III in .45 ACP, a perfect blend of Israeli military design with a good old American man killer in the magazine. The Baby Eagle III is a double action/single action (DA/SA) pistol in .45 ACP (or 9mm) with combat experience in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), and a lineage traceable through Israel and directly back to the renowned CZ-75 pistol. But let’s get to the real question. Is this gun that is made and Israel and imported by Magnum Research a cool gun? Why, yes. Yes, it is.

The Browning Black Label IS a 1911. Replicated in almost every detail, it is a sight to behold. No need to consult the manual on this one. If you have ever been issued a 1911, you already know how to take it apart and make it work. It is absolutely adorable, and if you are a 1911 aficionado, you are going to want one.

“Elite” has become a popular buzzword these days. Everyone either wants to be elite or hate anyone or anything that is elite. But to abide by the dictionary, one of the principle meanings of the word is simply, “the best of a class”. I can’t think of a better description for the SIG Sauer P220 Match Elite in 10mm.

New for 2017 is Kimber’s Subalpine Mountain Rifle, available with a Gore Optifade camo finish. Kimber also teamed up with Leupold to make matching scopes.

The Ruger SR556 Takedown is a removable barrel system on an already great piston driven AR. It’s a bit pricey, but the novelty alone isn’t the full story. It also swaps out for .300BK with just a barrel and mag change, and Ruger sells the kit. Not the most accurate weapon once it heats up, but worth a look.

Talo Distributors is working with top manufacturers, engravers and finishing companies ring in 2017 with a couple of gorgeous new exclusives.

New for 2017, Springfield is introducing the XD Mod.2 in a 4” Service Model. This gun was clearly designed to fit into multiple roles, such as a duty gun, concealed carry or competition.

The Hi Power 9mm from Nighthawk Custom takes a classic John Moses Browning design and upgrades it and enhances it for todays shooters.

The R20FFTM from Windham Weaponry is a top-quality .308 AR at a very reasonable price. Packing in Magpul gear, great performance and a surprisingly reasonable price point, this one is well worth a look if you want a “bigger brother” AR for your collection.

The AR-10 PRC 260 in .260 Remington gives precision rifle shooters a high-end rifle that can accurately deliver this capable cartridge both suppressed and unsuppressed. It is expensive, but for those who want everything this has to give, it is worth the price.

The new B series of rimfire rifles from Savage offers shooters a lot of bang for the buck. These bolt-action rifles have high-quality stocks, AccuTriggers and much more to help you wring out the most performance from the handy little rimfires.

It would be easy to dismiss this gun as novelty. With a standard capacity of 25 rounds — 40+1 with mini-shells — the KSG-25 is a beast.

Based on their advanced T3x action the TAC A1 model is a fully adjustable, modular bolt-action rifle with a sleek rail system, new for 2017.

The new EMP 4” Lightweight Champion Concealed Carry Contour Model from Springfield Armory has taken an approach that improves on the sound (and popular) EMP concept by combining the best of both worlds: A gun that you can love to shoot as much as you enjoy carrying all day.

A great mystery in the world of classic revolvers is the story of the 1860 Army cartridge conversions. Were they made by Colt’s, or were they merely the creations of gunsmiths addressing a demand from consumers? Read on to find out the story behind these and how you can buy one for yourself.

Shooters on tight budgets are always looking for a great deal. So, it was welcome news when Stevens announced the addition of three compact models to expand out their popular value line of 555 shotguns. Already, the flagship 555 in 12-gauge has earned high praise from shooters and outdoor writers alike for its modest beauty, solid performance and ridiculously wallet-friendly price (under $700) for an over/under shotgun. These three new compact models (in 20-gauge, 28-gauge and .410-bore offerings) only build on that reputation and provide a host of options for the sub-gauge fan.

The Taurus Judge was a controversial handgun when it was presented, and remains so today to a degree. But even the most skeptical nay-sayers raised at least one eyebrow and the notion of a fairly small revolver that could fire .45 Colt and .410 shotshells in whatever order or manner the owner saw fit.

While I was testing the Kel-Tec PF-9, everyone I encountered fell into three camps: Those who simply hated the brand, those that felt the gun was such a strong value that perhaps it should replace precious metals as a form of physical currency, and those who had never formed an opinion of the pistol at all. I was a never able to find anyone that had experience with the gun, but was ambivalent about it.

Two weeks ago at the Smith and Wesson factory, I got my hands on something truly exciting, and the day has finally come that we can talk about it. That pistol is the M&P M2.0, a terrific new version of an already great pistol design. It is exceedingly rare that a company listens carefully to all the wants of its consumers, and actually puts those features in its next generation of product. I am very happy to report that S&W is one of those companies.

At the 2016 SHOT Show, Windham Weaponry announced that they would be showing a groundbreaking new rifle that would allow the user to convert between calibers by changing out the barrel, mag well, and bolt carrier group—all while utilizing the same lower and upper receivers. They were going to have three versions available, with up to four caliber options in one AR platform rifle.

The Performance Center Ported Shield in 9mm takes the highly popular Shield CCW pistol and adds numerous upgrades. Read on for the full review.

If you’ve fired different types of shotguns, it’s obvious that recoil can be all over the map. Some load and gun combinations are relative pussycats, allowing one to fire hundreds of rounds per day with no ill effect. Others make you want to start sticking safety pins to your shirt and run for the nearest safe space. With recoil in mind, I got an itch to check out a 20-gauge pump shotgun for home defense. That brought me to the Stevens 320 Pump in 20 gauge.