Gun Reviews

Any new gun in the market should face extreme scrutiny. This is particularly true of a new design, and even more so of a new concept, engineered into a new design. Back in 2011 we got our first look at a bullpup 15 round pump shotgun in the form of the Kel-Tec KSG. At the time, most gunwriters who got one were elated with the gun, including us. But part of that elation was that this entirely new concept had come from Kel-Tec, an American company that had already pulled off groundbreaking products like the PMR-30 and another bullpup, the .308 caliber RFB rifle. Nothing about the KSG was a disappointment. The engineering made sense, and the gun worked fabulously. This year a new 15 round bullpup came into the market called the UTS-15 from UTAS-USA. It has the magazine tubes on the top instead of the bottom like the KSG. It has a built in flashlight/laser combo, and it is made in Turkey. We were finally able to get our hands on one this week, and like any other newly designed mechanical device, there are positives and negatives to the gun. Overall it worked well, but we did have some light strikes and mis-feeds. Understanding the differences between the UTS-15 and the KSG will be a big part of deciding which gun to try to buy. The KSG is still extremely backordered, selling for up to twice MRSP, while the UTS-15, MSRP $1200, is currently available in the market at close to that price. The UTS-15 is a lot of gun for the money, and if a 15 round shotgun is in your future, this may be the superior gun. Is it a KSG killer? No. But is it a viable option? Possibly yes.

What is the best 22LR rifle? Every gun nut gets that question several times a year, and the answer always is a question. “Do you want a semi-auto or a bolt action?” If the answer is semi-auto, most people will suggest the Ruger 10/22. But until now, if they answered a bolt action, very few if any people would suggest a Ruger. Their 77/22 is a little known rifle and carries a price of about $700. Today Ruger changed that by releasing what is arguably the coolest and most investment worthy rimfire bolt action in the world. It is called the Ruger American Rimfire, and we got to shoot and test it extensively over the last couple weeks. It features a unique system to change the comb height and length of pull on the gun, and the receiver has both a machined rail for 3/8” rimfire rings as well as being drilled and tapped for regular rings. All this rides on Ruger’s patent pending Power Bedding (R) system, where the polymer stock has metal fittings embedded in it, just like a polymer pistol. This makes the rifle as solid as a rock for accuracy, and our testing of the .22LR model showed that the rifle has great potential to be a tack driver. It takes 10/22 mags, and the suggested retail price all four of the 4 models coming out now in both .22LR and .22WMR are $329. Your local gunshop will either have them on the shelf this week, or can order them through their distributors.

The amazing new rimfire we have all been gushing about since January’s SHOT Show has finally come to fruition. Winchester Ammunition, teamed up with Savage Arms, has introduced a new .17 caliber cartridge called the .17 Winchester Super Magnum that is capable of firing a 20 grain bullet at just better than 3,000 feet per second. That makes it the fastest rimfire ever created, and puts it in a class pretty much by itself for long range rimfire competition and varmint hunting. The problem until now has been that the only reviews out there were from print writers who all shot the exact same prototype rifle that was made for a print writers roundup, so it had very little relationship to the actual gun that you would later find in a store. Add to that the fact that the ammo was simply not available, period. Savage sent us this test rifle over two months ago, but we had no ammo, so like everyone else, we waited. Finally, as you can see from these tests, the ammo has started to trickle out. Several of our dealers have reported that they have gotten 40 box orders in (and quickly out) the door, and this ammo you see here was purchased retail at Bass Pro in Hollywood, Florida. We were only able to get the 2600fps. 25 grain load, but it is still a rip roaring monster for a rimfire, and the accuracy is acceptable, (though not fabulous for a Savage). The Savage “B-Mag” rifle is currently the only gun for the cartridge, and it carries an MSRP of $349. As a first effort on a new and revolutionary rimfire, the B-Mag performed well, and the cartridge looks to have great potential.

For years there has been something of a Glock Unicorn. It’s been called a hybrid Glock .45 ACP pistol made from the thin slide of a Glock 36 and the wide body frame of a Glock 30. According to the Internet forum mavens, you end up with a high capacity Glock (10 rounds) with the thinner slide of a the subcompact (and only 6 round) G36, making it lighter and easier to carry. But unlike Unicorns, this wasn’t a myth. People actually did it. They bought two guns and cobbled them together since, just because they could. Glock fanatics have wailed and begged for such a gun to be made in production, but Glock seemed to not hear the call.

Then, at the 2013 SHOT Show, I saw a Unicorn, uh, I mean a Glock 30S – the very gun that consumers wanted. I wanted to know the “why” behind this, and after talking to LAPD Staff, Glock Representatives, and people in the industry I found out how an internet forum phenomenon became a regular production pistol.

Convertible guns have never been that popular in the US. Putting the top up and down is such a pain, and… just kidding. This type of convertible gun allows you to change calibers, shooting two or more types of ammo through the same gun. Europeans, and especially European hunters have always loved convertible guns, but they never really caught on here for some reason. It could be our obsession with rifle accuracy. Even though the average hunter can’t shoot within two minutes of basketball (according to famed hunter writer Ross Seyfried), Americans really love the idea of an accurate firearm, one that can, if shot by the right person with the right rest, shoot into the width of a quarter or less at 100 yards, or 1 MOA, for “Minute of Angle.” That was the challenge when CZ-USA decided to introduce a rimfire combo gun to the US market. It is called the Model 455 American Combo, and the retail prices start just north of $400. In the box, the gun comes with both .22LR and .17HMR barrels, and changing them out takes only two Allen wrenches, included with the gun. We shot our pictures of the test gun in the field, so you can see how easy it swaps, and the accuracy on both barrels is closer to 1/2MOA than 1MOA. The CZ 455 comes in a polymer stock configuration, a competition stock, even a Mannlicher style stock with hi-lux wood, in addition to the basic Walnut you see here. If you have longed for an old world style bolt rimfire, this CZ 455 offers you both the classic look and feel of the 50s and 60s, with the ability to convert from a .22LR plinker to a .17HMR hunting rifle, and you can get a .22WMR barrel as well.

Not all gun enthusiasts are gun nuts, so when the firearms industry comes out with a new “official” caliber, a lot of us just shake our heads and ask “why?” The .17 Hornet is the latest caliber to come into primetime. It was designed by Hornady after more than five decades of the cartridge living in the “wildcat” world of those who design their own calibers. The Hornady version of the .17 Hornet is slightly different than the original .17 Hornet designed by P.O. Ackley which was a necked down .22 Hornet. This .17 Hornet pushes a 20 grain bullet at over 3600 feet per second, and early tests showed great potential for the round not only in downrange performance, but also in extreme accuracy. Savage Arms, the company known more than anything for affordable out of the box accuracy, has teamed up with Hornady to introduce the round with 4 models in their Model 25 line. We were able to test the $635 MSRP camo version of the Savage “Walking Varminter” Model 25 in .17 Hornet and it is an insanely accurate tack driver, as well as being deadly on game. The interesting thing about the .17 Hornet is that it has nearly the same trajectory as the 55 grain .223 Remington, so you can use caliber specific reticle scopes meant for the .223, for the .17 Hornet. This isn’t a rimfire like the .17HMR. You can reload the .17 Hornet and handload it to tune the round to your rifle. Good luck trying to find the rounds or brass right now, but by mid-summer we’ll probably be able to get it, and the rifles are out and available.

One of the bi-products of the artificial gun shortage we just experienced is that a lot of guns that otherwise wouldn’t have made it to dealer shelves not only made it, but sold out. One of those was a new line of shotguns from an old brand called Webley & Scott. Don’t be fooled. This is a purchased name that is being put on guns that are made by modern manufacturers in Turkey and Italy. The old Webley & Scott, originally from Birmingham, England, is long dead and buried, and with them went their production of some of the finest shotguns and rifles in history. Still, these new guns coming out under the W&S name are very interesting. We haven’t gotten a look at the Italian SxS and O/U guns, but in the home defense realm, they have a new “slingshot action” that is somewhat unique. It isn’t a true pump and it isn’t a true autoloader, but rather something in between. We bought one, just to see if it works, and to see if this type of action could be the next revolution in home defense shotguns. The street price is around $300 for our tested model, and for the most part it worked great. The slingshot action is something that you would have to get used to, but for a new fangled gimmick, at least it mostly works. The only problem is that new shooters might see the Webley & Scott moniker and buy this gun thinking that it is tried and true design from a trusted name. It isn’t, and they aren’t. The original Webley & Scott engineers are most likely wretching in their graves knowing that someone is pawning off Turkish junk under the auspices of their good names, but the guns do work, and they are inexpensive.

Great guns are always the most difficult to review. After all, a gun is just a fairly simple mechanical device that is made to withstand a bunch of force and direct its energy in a particular direction, one that you are aiming at. What made the original XD-S such an amazing great gun when it was first introduced was that it did this in a big caliber, without a lot of wear and tear on the shooter. Shooting.the tiny, pocketable XD-S 45ACP without a disabling recoil or muzzle flip is pretty amazing when you try it in person. You won’t believe how different the gun shoots unless you try it. The newest XD-S, in 9mm, is the same size as the original 45, brought to market this year in response to overwhelming demand for the smaller caliber. It shoots even lighter than the original, holds two more rounds, and side by side with every other “micro-9” in the market, flips a lot less. The XD-S is a full featured pistol, with a loaded round indicator, last round hold open, and the new 9mm comes with two 7 round magazines, an outside the waistband holster, and a dual magazine holster. It it also has an grip insert for smaller hands and extra fiber optic sight inserts in two colors. The street price of the XD-S 9mm should be around $550-$600. Nobody was surprised that Springfield came out with a 9mm XD-S, and we await the .40S&W version, but until you shoot the gun it is difficult to understand just how much the XD-S, in both the original .45ACP and now 9mm, outclasses the competition. If you remember our original review of the XD-S .45ACP back in June of last year, we correctly predicted that this gun would be a game changer for the market. The 9mm version is more of the same, for those who want a couple more rounds in the mag and an even lighter shooting pocket pistol. They should be at your local gun dealers this week.

It used to be that a hunting rifle was something you took out of the gun cabinet once a year, usually around the first week in November. Whitetail used to be synonymous with hunting, but that is no longer the case. Nuisance animals, with no natural predators who hunt them, have reached an epic proportion in America, and a lot of people hunt them for sport, while serving a useful cause for weary landowners. Hogs, coyotes, prairie dogs and even alligators have turned “hunting season” into a year round experience, one that is entirely different than whitetail hunting. Ambush Rifles is a project of Daniel Defense, makers of high end customizable AR-15 platform rifles. The Ambush rifle is an AR-15, and all of the parts are interchangeable with a normal AR, but that is where the similarity ends. Anyone can dip an AR-15 in camo and cal it a hunting rifle, but Daniel Defense has taken the Ambush a step higher, by fitting it with not only premium components and a hammer forged barrel, but also a shotgun like fore-grip and monolithic upper for sturdy performance from your optics. Most importantly, the Ambush isn’t only available in in 5.56 NATO. We have used a version in the devastating 6.8 SPC, and the hottest caliber out these days is the .300 Blackout. All three calibers carry an MSRP of $1749. Our experience with the first version of the Ambush for over a year now has been incredible. Take a look at the pictures. This is only a fraction of the game that has fallen to our 6.8 Ambush. The second version of these guns is now shipping, and they are even better than the originals.

It was by complete surprise that the Beretta Nano became one of my favorite carry guns. I reluctantly took an assignment to review the Nano even though I had never had much affection for Beretta firearms, and I had already reviewed a number of similar 9mm pistols. I could never have expected the Nano to become my favorite gun to carry among the micro-9s. In fact, the Nano sits comfortably in my pocket as I write this review. Despite my initial hesitation, I found the Nano to be a nearly perfect deep concealment pistol.

In many ways, the Beretta Nano is a typical micro-sized 9mm with a 3-inch barrel. It is a double-action striker-fired semi-auto with a capacity of 6+1 rounds. The pistol measures only 5.6 inches long and 4.2 inches high. The width is an impressive .9 inches, making pocket carry a realistic option. The gun tips the scale at nearly 20 ounces unloaded, which is certainly not a featherweight in this class of pistols, but is still manageable for deep concealment.

The .40 S&W is not just a flash in the pan as some writers called it when it first came out in the late ’80’s. It is the mainstay of American law enforcement, and may even see some favor in our Spec Ops community. In both the law enforcement and civilian market, the Glock is king of the .40 heap. There is not an agency in my county, and likely my state, that doesn’t at least allow for the Glock. Moreover, the gun that seems to go the fastest right now in the gun stores is, you guessed it, the Glock. Is it any wonder why Glock is backordered around one million guns.

Not a lot of people would argue that the .223/5.56 is an extremely versatile and useful cartridge. The problem is that not everyone wants to shoot an AR-15 platform for every task, and let’s face it, AR-15s aren’t cheap. Mossberg came up with an idea to make a .223 bolt gun that uses AR-15 mags and for SHOT Show of this year, they released the MVP series. A lot of us are jumping up and down yelling YES YES YES. The MVPs come in several different configurations, from a 24″ barrel and target stock, down to a 16″ stubby patrol rifle that takes a suppressor. All of the guns have a 1:9 twist rate, so they will handle the same range of bullets as most AR-15s, and from what we found with our test gun, an 18″ laminate stock Predator model, these new Mossberg bolt guns are tack drivers. Our primary concern testing the gun was whether the reverse engineering for AR-15 mags worked as hoped, because nobody has really done this before and you have to wonder why. But our little MVP had zero problems digesting from its own 10 round mag and even the long 30 round P-Mags, never failing to pick up the next round, and you could jiggle the magazine back and forth with no hitching of the bolt whatsoever. It works because Mossberg put a little tab sticking out of the bottom of the bolt to pick up the shells. The MSRP for our MVP Predator is $729, and the series tops out at the Flex Patrol version at $928. The street prices will be well under that when the market comes back to normal, and your local stocking dealer most likely has them well below MSRP right now, but call before you go. The MVP seems like an idea whose time has come, and these guns are 100% Made in USA.

The cargo hijacked from tractor trailers each year in the U.S. is valued at more than ½ billion dollars, and the encounters are often violent. Some in the industry, including a few at CVA, suspect more and more semi drivers are purchasing easy-to-load, .50-caliber muzzleloading pistols like the Optima V2 in response.

At first blush you might think you have to shell out big bucks for a long-range rifle, but the Remington Model 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD with a suggested retail of only $833 will hold its own against rifles costing much more. Features like a 1-in-10-inch twist, 20-inch heavy barrel with a threaded muzzle, a Hogue OverMolded Ghillie Green Pillar Bedded Stock and Remington’s externally adjustable X-Mark Pro trigger make this .308 Win. a bargain when it comes to precision rifles.

In a 1911 market that really should be saturated by now and an economy that’s arguably still struggling, Ruger is adding a Commander-size SR1911CMD for the concealed-carry gun owner who wants a quality, American-made 1911 for only $829. It used to be that if you wanted a reliable and accurate 1911, you bought a Colt and then spent more than the cost of the gun on custom gunsmithing. Depending on what you wanted, the sky was the limit. I credit Kimber with changing that in the mid-1990s when it aggressively entered the 1911 market with factory-made guns flush with all the bells and whistles and set off a race to the top that seems to still be going.

Smith & Wesson’s 2012 arrival to the micro-sized 9 mm-pistol market was fashionably late, about a year after just about every pistol company in the gun industry put out a pocketable 9mm. But while most of the competitors pared down their 9mm pocket gun, Smith & Wesson managed to keep most of the features of the full sized M&P, and this proved to be an instant hit with the army of M&P enthusiasts out there. It made perfect sense to retain as much of the M&P design as a micro-sized pistol would permit, but that took more time, and it was a tough judgement call for Smith & Wesson to debut the Shield at SHOT Show 2012 instead of 2011 when so many pocket 9mm pistols were released. A year later, just coming out of SHOT Show 2013, it seems to have paid off for Smith & Wesson. The Shield has been for the most part sold out since its introduction a year ago, and now with some serious range time on the guns, the Shield has shown to be very accurate and reliable. It is one of the few striker pistols on the market with a manual thumb safety, which almost puts the gun in a category by itself.

I’ve been carrying the Wilson Combat CQB Elite for more than three years and its only hiccup came a few weeks ago, oddly in the hands of my eldest grandson about to deploy. For some rarely used self-defense handguns that would be a serious indictment, but this 1911 has sent thousands of rounds downrange, it’s been carried nearly every day and I’m not known for being particularly “gentle” to anything I own. Add the fact that field stripping and cleaning duties have been surrendered to my teen grandsons—eager for takedown practice, but not always thorough in cleaning and proper lubrication—and this handgun is lifesaving reliable.

Then there’s its eagerness to digest anything and everything I feed it. I think I’ve loaded and tested this gun with nearly every modern .45 ACP load on the planet. If I wipe it down after a full day of carry I feel guilty because I have too much time on my hands, and despite the bangs and bumps of a one-hour commute to work, each way, it still commands reverence at the range. It is, after all, a Wilson.

Mossberg’s Silver Reserve is a line of entry-level, break-open shotguns that cover an array of sporting shotgun activities. Models include basic field over-unders for hunting, sporting guns with competition-specific features for competitive shooting, and nostalgic side-by-sides for those who pine for simpler times.

The newest generation of Silver Reserve shotguns—the Silver Reserve II—is still modestly priced, but also has some of the special touches hunters and shooters expect on higher-quality double guns. Those features include black walnut stocks with fine-line checkering and blued barrels complemented by silver-finished receivers sporting wraparound classic scroll engraving. Functionally, the Silver Reserve II line offers chrome-plated chambers and bores, dual-locking lugs and tang-mounted safety/barrel selectors as standard features. A variety of barrel lengths and stock options are also available.

For those of you who have been following our Garands from the Government series, you probably remember back in the first article that we ordered two M1 Garand snipers rifles. They are called the M1C and the M1D, and as guns go, they are very different from each other. Both models are much more expensive than the other rifles available from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), and for the collector and military enthusiast they are far more exciting than run of the mill Garands. Sniper Garands were not a big factor in World War II, but they were the dominant sniper rifle in the Korean conflict, and many soldiered well on into the 1970s, serving in Vietnam and around the world. These CMP guns were mostly made during Korea, where both the M1C and M1D were used extensively. The condition on the guns is excellent and though both of the famous Garand Snipers have been extremely rare through the years, a recent re-importation of rifles from Greece that had been on loan has provided a entirely new wave of extremely collectible and shootable guns that will be the stars of any Garand collection. This article outlines what makes the two models different and what you can expect if you decide to buy one from CMP, as well as how to make your own versions of the M1C and M1D from an M1 Garand that you already own. We also cover the optics that were used on the guns back in the day, as well as some new replicas from Gun Parts Corp.

You may remember from our SHOT Show 2012 coverage that a new copy of the famous World War II “assault rifle” the Stg-44 was supposed to come out this summer. It is out, and it is called the GSG Schmeisser STG-44, available in .22LR. Made in modern day Germany, the gun is imported into the US exclusively by American Tactical Imports (ATI) with an MSRP of $599.95. Like the other German Sports Guns (GSG) replicas we have seen, the similarity to the original is uncanny, and the gun is nice and solid and feels “right.” Even though this rimfire version of the Stg-44 carries a collector premium price tag, this is the one gun that most World War II buffs assume they can never own. Original Stg-44s are prohibitively expensive, and this gun looks great, feels right, and shoots well enough for plinking. What do you get the old fart for Christmas who has everything and loves World War II junk? I’ll give you a hint. It is about the same weight as a big coffee table book, but it would look a lot better on your coffee table when guests come over than any tired old coffee table book I have ever seen. You guessed it. It’s a .22LR version of the infamous Stg-44!

All other things being equal, the AK-47 nearly always wins on price. Therefore most of us end up with at least one AK in our gun accumulation. The problem is, all things are not equal with the AK. They are known for reliability that exceeds ridiculous, but they are also known to be horribly inaccurate. If you follow our exploits here at GunsAmerica, you probably read our recent underwater, in the mud test of a high end AK from Century Arms called the PAP, but most of us out here have the inexpensive, garden variety Romanian AK-47 that generally retails for well under $500. These guns are the poster children for no matter what reliability, but they also are known as “spray and pray” guns, though the parameters of spray and pray would vary depending upon who you ask. We have tried to scope the AK-47 with one of many not ready for primetime scope mounting systems over the years, and they are always a disaster. But times have changed. You aren’t going to get anything like good accuracy out of an AK-4, but with the right mount and the right scope you can get accuracy good enough for just about any self defense situation, and even 3-Gun and other tactical rifle competitions, provided the targets aren’t too far away. For this article we review the highly rated rail/scope mounting system from Texas Weapons Systems, $139.99, and the Hi-Lux CMR scope with a new AK762 reticle, $436, which is special made for the ballistics of the 7.62×39 AK-47 cartridge. This combination delivered acceptable accuracy for an AK-47, and is a platform that is as hardcore as the AK-47 itself.

Disney just bought the Star Wars franchise for the exact same reason that Savage has finally re-created the Model 24 combination gun, CONSUMER DEMAND. Even though the generations may change dramatically, a great idea never stops being a great idea, and the idea of a rifle/shotgun combination was always a great idea. The new Savage is called the Model 42 and for now it comes in either .22LR or.22WMR over .410 shotgun. Comparing the engineers at Savage, circa 1939, to George Lucas, isn’t a big stretch surprisingly enough. The American public bought over a million Model 24s between its introduction in ’39 and sunset in the 1980s, and over the last several years the Model 24 has become extremely collectible. Everyone seems to want one, hence, the birth of the Model 42, which has an MSRP of $480, and street price substantially less. The original Model 24 was what many considered the ultimate “utility gun” back in the day. This Model 42 is still kind of the same gun, retaining the utility value, while taking advantage of modern materials and firearm design. We found the gun to be accurate, versatile, and downright attractive for a low priced utility gun. If you have been “watching” all the Model 24s that have come on to GunsAmerica, wishing you had bought them before they became collectible, the Model 42 is every bit as much gun as the Model 24, and it won’t kill you to throw it behind the seat of your truck.

When it comes to handguns, I’ve encountered some folks who have all but declared revolvers extinct. They’re wrong, but their attitude is completely understandable considering the many autopistol introductions there have been in the past few years for defense or concealed carry and all the hype that always surrounds them. But there’s more to the handgun market than protecting yourself, and revolvers aren’t giving up much, if any, ground when it comes to other pastimes such as hunting and plinking.

One of the more recent introductions in the hunting and plinking category is Ruger’s new 9-shot single-action revolver chambered in .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (22 WMR). It is stainless steel, carries and MSRP of $629, and is called the Single-Nine. The gun follows on last year’s introduction of the similar 10-shot single-action revolver chambered in .22 Long Rifle (22 LR) called the Single-Ten. The .22WMR cartridge has more pressure, so the walls of the cylinder need to be a little thicker, yielding one less round per loading. You may already be asking, “can you get it with interchangeable cylinders?”, and the answer is no, but we’ll get to that.

We always get the question on AR-15 articles, “do they make one that is California legal?” The answer is yes, many companies do make California legal guns, and Armalite, the original “AR” in AR-15, is the latest to offer a series of guns specifically addressing statutory requirements in The People’s Republic of California. It is a Cali-legal version of their very popular Special Purpose Rifle (SPR), Mod-1, and despite the limitations built into the gun because of the California statutes, it is a beast of an AR with all the key features you would want in a high quality M4 sized carbine for tactical work, personal defense and3-Gun competition. The monolithic upper is unique in that the bottom three Picatinny rails on the quad are all replaceable for flat or half flat sections, and it comes with the extra sections so you can choose your configuration. Armalite has carved a niche for themselves in the new AR-15 market by offering only guns with high end features, and this gun is the flagship of their line, now Cali legal. The SPR Mod-1 carries an MSRP of $1,554, and comes standard with a chrome lined barrel, two stage trigger and hard coat matching finish, as well as the patented hardened Armalite bolt. Now Californians can buy the same gun as the rest of us, made legal for the arcane laws of their state, and the mods are easily reversible if those laws are ever changed. The SPR Mod-1 from Armalite is all you could want in an AR, made legal for California.

Muzzleloaders are very different from every other type of hunting rifle. Most hunters consider them ancillary, because the extra two weeks of muzzleloader season are meant to put you at a disadvantage. You get one shot at the deer, and you are forced to use what is considered by many to be a substandard weapon. Some states even have laws that you cannot use optics, putting older hunters and an even further disadvantage, and many states have quirky little laws to exclude certain advanced features that have crept into the modern muzzleloader market. Couple all of that with the fact that you can have a muzzleloader shipped to your door from online in most states, and you get a muzzleloader market that is something of a mess. Many small gunshops don’t even stock new muzzleloaders, so a lot of hunters end up settling for what’s on the shelf at Walmart. Fortunately we found that this isn’t such a bad thing. We bought two muzzleloaders and all of the stuff to shoot them in one trip to our local Walmart in Okeechobee, Florida, and the results were surprising. For about $350, with the scopes, both of these guns rivaled centerfire rifle accuracy, and proved that even the most inexpensive modern muzzleloaders aren’t substandard at all. If you are thinking of buying a muzzleloader at Walmart this week for your states special early season, have no fear. Walmart muzzleloaders totally rock!

Somehow, in preparation for the first article in this series on ordering M1 Garand rifles from the Civilian Marksmanship Program, we missed the least expensive of the bunch. They are called “Field Grade” Garands, and at $525 (plus $24.95 S&H), they seem to be a great buy. We ordered both the Springfield Armory and Harrington & Richardson (HRA) versions of these guns, and the Winchester is no longer available. Of all the Garands we have ordered from CMP so far, if you are looking for a Garand to just shoot and enjoy, you can’t do any better for the money than these field grade guns. Look around in gunshops and online and you will be hard pressed to find a nice looking and shooting Garand for under $600. Even at live auctions these days more Garands go for upwards of a thousand bucks. These “cheapest Garands” are a real find, and you order them directly from the CMP, just as we described in the first installment of this series. Our guns came in less than three weeks, each with its own hard plastic CMP case, and certification paperwork. Who knows when these guns will dry up, so if you are thinking long, heavy boxes under your Christmas tree this year, now would be the time to order.

It seems that the never ending demand for Kel-Tec guns isn’t ever actually going to end. The Cocoa, Florida company that was once known only for affordable, plain Jane pocket pistols has completely come of age. We were able to get our hands on one of the early Kel-Tec breakout products, the 5.56/.223 PLR-16 pistol, MSRP $665, and from a couple afternoons at the range it is clear why everyone seems to want a Kel-Tec. Never short on genius and guts the innovative line of quality Kel-Tec products are so different from everything else that they are beyond “game changers. ” They exist in their own world. At first this uniqueness was a challenge I’m sure. In the early days of the PLR-16 and it’s rifle version, the SU-16, I walked past them in gunshops and gunshows for many years with nary a second glance. They look funny, and they are, after all, plastic. But as an ever increasing army of Kel-Tec shooters will tell you, there are few flaws in any of these guns. Unfortunately, like most Kel-Tec guns right now, the PLR-16 is difficult to find for sale. But if you can find one, or if you can get yourself on the list to order, this is yet another superior product from Kel-Tec that simply has no equal.

When you already make the biggest and baddest sniper rifles in the world it would be easy to just rest on what you have already accomplished. My thinking, and probably most people’s thinking, would ask, “why mess with the good thing.” But that is exactly what Barrett has done by completely redesigning the M107A1, and introducing an entirely new rifle. the MRAD, to the shooting public.

We got a chance to actually go shoot these guns for a day with Ben Becker, our resident US Army Sniper. Ben has shot the original Model 82A1/M107 in combat on many occasions, but the updated, lighter version was a treat in civilian life, and the MRAD is just one of those rifles that you want to shoot as soon as you see it, and shoot them both we did.
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For many police officers and most security guards, the choice of what pistol to carry is left up to you. There is generally an approved list and it is up to you to pick your duty pistol, holster, and on-duty gear. There are a number of issues to consider, but often it comes back to what you like, what you shoot well and of course, what you can afford.

The CZ-75, which is the steel or alloy gun on which this polymer framed P-07 model is based, is one of those “preference” guns that people just like and naturally shoot very well. It is by far the most popular pistol internationally among police and military, and many people refer to it as “the perfect pistol.” It has also become one of the most copied pistols in history, second perhaps only to the Colt 1911.
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