Gun Reviews

This is the start of a new series I have been thinking about called “Cheap Guns.” I don’t know if cheap is the right word, but it’s the word people use when they encounter a $200 firearm of just about any type. “That’s cheap!” But the next words are something like “I wonder if it is any good.” My goal is to go out and buy some of these guns, some of the more common ones, and go shoot them.

For me, a pistol without a rail is more or less a novelty. I shoot them at the range, but leave it at that. I won’t carry a full-size pistol if I can’t attach some implement of illumination to its frame. I’m not knocking range guns or older designs for their defects, but I carry guns I can use in low light situations. That’s where ReCover comes in.

Some high-end 1911s are exceptionally well-built works of art that don’t seem to be designed for daily carry. They’re pretty. Not this one. The Christensen 1911 Commander is one of the most complex versions of the old Browning single-action I’ve ever seen. This titanium framed .45 ACP is built for several lifetimes of daily carry.

Fans of the Ruger 10/22, listen up. The Charger, Ruger’s big .22 pistol based on the 10/22, is back. There are two new versions, and both come packed with features that I hope will be standard on every new Ruger. These fun guns look good, too–read our review.

Fans of the venerable 10/22 typically have only one gripe with the gun: the trigger. Even so, the stock triggers on 10/22s are better than much of the competition. But Ruger now offers an improved trigger for the 10/22 and Charger. The BX-Trigger is a vast improvement over the stock Ruger triggers and is incredibly easy and quick to install.

The Magnum Research Desert Eagle is a big gun. It is Hollywood large. The pistol is so big that it isn’t practical for much of what we use pistols for. Yet the beast of a gun is a heavy hitting .50 AE with a lot of personality. And now, in the all stainless version, the Desert Eagle looks even better. And the built in compensator makes it even more practical. A practical Desert Eagle? Yes. Read on.

Just in time for SHOT 2015, FN America has released a compact version of their FNS. The new FNS-9C is a solid pistol–it shoots well, has great controls, and is ideal for concealed carry. And the best part may be the price tag.

Urban gun enthusiast Mr. Colion Noir gives us his thoughts on a Mossberg 500 decked out with Magpul furniture.

A .308 pistol? I can guess what you’re thinking. But we’re using the term pistol quite technically in this review. The PTR 51P is a .308 pistol. It is also a devastating personal defense weapon capable of dominating close quarters work. With the addition of an arm brace, this pistol comes to life.

Smith & Wesson has a new line of factory ported M&P pistols. These flat shooting powerhouses are fast and even easier to handle. We got our hands on one and have our first impressions.

Ruger has been announcing news about their new guns on the same day they hit stores. This means you can read this review and be on the range with their new rifle this afternoon–if you’re that motivated. And you might be after you read this review. I’ve shot a lot of rifles this year, and this is one of the best.

Sometimes mouse guns are too damn small. Not the Kahr CT 380. This pocket .380 is incredibly easy to conceal, but makes none of the compromises some guns make on the race to the bottom. If you are looking for a solid .380 for a back-up gun, the CT 380 may be it. And the price tag makes it look even better.

Daniel Shaw, head of firearms instruction at Thunerbird Tactical, is such a badass that PWS has built a limited number of rifles with his name on them. These MK114s with a personal touch. Check them out here, first.

Cowboy action shooting is growing in popularity. The guns are kind of like NASCAR race cars–stock, sort of. They begin as stock guns, but get all tricked out on their way to SASS competition. Now Ruger is making matched sets of SASS ready Vaqueros that are already tricked out and ready to rock the steel bad guys. So pistoleros–strap on your chaps and dust off your Stetsons. We’re getting all cowboy in this Vaquero review.

With Christmas approaching, it is a great time to think about all of those upgrades to your guns you have been thinking about. One I have been considering for some time is putting a scope mount on my M1A, but my assumptions were that it was both expensive and difficult, requiring a gunsmith. Turns out I was wrong on both counts. There are expensive options and inexpensive options for installing a rear scope mount on the M1A, and they work equally as well. I tried both the official Springfield Armory mount, as well as a couple exact copies, as well as a new design from UTG. They all worked, and some better than others.

The H&K P2000sk is the smallest pistol H&K makes. With its 10 rounds of 9mm, the gun offers better than average sub compact capacity and excellent ergonomics. This is easily one of the most robust pistols in its class, and one of the easiest to shoot. So why isn’t it more popular?

This Beretta 692 Sporting model shown here is the first one of its type to hit US shores. It’s got the B-Fast comb system for near-infinite adjustment and extra long barrels (32-inch) preferred by many trap shooters. Just to be clear, this is not a dedicated trap gun – it’s well suited for skeet and sporting clays. It just offers features that make it suitable for trap as well. Let’s take a closer look.

It would be absurd for me to review the Savage Rascal. My daughter Emma, though, is just learning to shoot. She’s the ideal test subject. So I passed on this review to her. Want to know what an 11 year old novice shooter thinks of the tiny .22? Read on…

I started thinking about my ideal qualities of an SHTF shotgun. You know, when the masses become all cranky and protesty because the Kardashians stopped doing reality TV. While pondering all the ways civilization could end, I came up with a list of ten things I really care about in a save-my-bacon and shoot-my-bacon shotgun.

In the American Revolution, the principle battle longarm was the Brown Bess musket. A musket is different from a rifle because it has no rifling, so the bullet doesn’t spin. The Brown Bess is .75 caliber, which is essentially an 11 gauge smoothbore shotgun, used to fire, historically, a cast .69 caliber lead ball weighing just over once ounce. The range on a Brown Bess is a couple hundred yards, but because the ball isn’t spinning, the musket wasn’t used as an aimed weapon past 20 yards or so. Companies of men fired batteries of musketfire to rain lead balls down upon the opposing force, hoping that someone would hit something. This would be followed by a charge with bayonets, because after a couple shots with traditional black powder (smokeless wasn’t invented until 125 years later), shooting a musket more than a couple times without cleaning can be difficult. This mode of war made for bloody battlefields, and a lot of hand to hand, in your face combat.

There’s a reason why so many people have gravitated toward polymer pocket pistols for concealed carry. 1911s, though beautiful, tend to be a bit bulky and temperamental. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve seen them fail. But what if you could have a single action custom built for your specific concealed carry wish-list, and one that would never fail? How much would that be worth? Today we’re looking at just such a gun, a 9mm CCO from Guncrafter Industries–and we’ve spent some time in their shop to see how this level of perfection is possible.

Henry makes guns that keep up the values established by the company’s namesake—traditional pistol caliber lever actions, mostly. These guns make versatile ranch guns, and are cowboy competitions. They’re adding to their catalog in a big way. If you are looking for an American made .30-30, or a hard hitting favorite .45-70, check out the new guns from Henry. These are hard-working lever actions, but miles away from the pistol calibers you might associate with the brand.

FNH makes a competition shotgun? Indeed. The FNH SC-1 Over/Under is, you guessed it, a double-barrel beauty. It’s designed expressly for clays competition, although there is nothing about it that would discourage other uses. Personally, I wouldn’t hesitate to hunt ducks or geese with it. This is a versatile gun that can be tweaked for an exacting fit, and it is priced competitively, too.

When you think about it, we wear our guns a lot more than we shoot them, yet they are designed primarily for shooting. The new Taurus Curve fixes that. The grip on the gun is curved, so that when you were it on your hip or carry it in your pocket, the guns hugs the contour of your body. It is a 6+1 .380 ACP semi-automatic pistol with a consistent trigger pull for each shot. The MSRP for the introductory model is $392, and it will come with an integral LaserLyte light and laser combo built in. The Curve also comes with a Kydex pull-off trigger guard holster, and screwed onto the side of the gun is a steel clip for inside the waistband or inside a purse pocket carry.

Bigger is sometimes better. That’s the philosphy behind the fixation with the AR-10. For a marginal increase in size and weight, you have a lot more punch on the terminal end of ballistic trajectory. CMMG’s Mk 3 .308 is a beast of a gun, and offers AR speed and ergonomics for those who want more than the 5.56 can provide.

I believe a new shooter should start with a fully functional gun and not some bargain basement piece of crap. Youth shooters would do well to check out a TriStar. These inexpensive shotguns work incredibly well, and don’t break the bank. Some of them are even pink–which got me some strange looks at the range.

Springfield Armory has overhauled the XD, and the new gun is worth a look. Start with the grip. Their new Grip Zone design is like Velcro for you hands. It is sticky in all of the right places. But that’s not all they’ve done. They’ve taken a good pistol and made it much more ergonomic and effective. And we have one to give away. Want the details? Read on….

The Troy Pump Action Rifle may look like an AR-15, but it isn’t. While Troy’s Sporting Rifle shares many of the same characteristics and parts, the basic operational mechanisms are unique, and built with compliance in mind. The Troy PAR is 50 state legal, and ideal for hunting, and capable of extraordinary accuracy. If you think this is nothing but an attempt to appease politicians, you need to think again. The PAR is fast and accurate.

There is a distinct appeal to a big bore wheel-guns. The .44 Magnum produces impressive terminal ballistics. Yet carrying a heavy revolver presents some practical challenges, and the recoil can be punishing. Gemini Customs has some solutions–their custom modifications make a good gun better, faster, and more reliable. Check out what they’ve done to this Ruger Alaskan.