Mitchell Graf

The ATN ThOR 6 Elite LRF 640 packs a 15mK sensor, onboard ballistic calculator, and laser rangefinder into a surprisingly light thermal scope. After time on coyotes, cattle, and 627-yard steel, this thing proved it is more than spec-sheet bait.

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 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.

The Arken EP-5 GENII 7-35×56 delivers sharp glass, confident tracking, and competition-ready controls for $749. It is not perfect, but this precision rifle scope performs well above the price printed on the box.

The Streamlight ProTac Rail Mount VIR Pro stuffs a powerful white light and serious 940nm IR illumination into one flexible rifle light for around $248. After testing it from dark barns to targets hundreds of yards away, I found plenty to like and a few limits worth knowing before you mount one.

The Benelli M2-G1 brings a new Rear Piston Operated gas system to a hard-use tactical shotgun. I fed it cheap birdshot, rusty water-damaged shells, suppressed strings, and rapid fire, and several hundred rounds later it still had not malfunctioned.

The DNT ThermNight TNC635R packs 640 thermal, digital day and night vision, a laser rangefinder, IR illuminator, and ballistic calculator into one optic. After extensive range work and several nighttime hunts, the surprise was not how much it does, but how well those systems work together.

The Smith & Wesson Model 1854 drags the classic .44 Magnum lever gun into the modern era with a threaded barrel, optic rail, M-LOK slots, and suppressor-ready performance. It also delivered sub-inch groups, ran without a mechanical failure, and put 10 rounds on steel in 5.5 seconds.

The CANiK PRIME RADIAN packs Radian’s RAMJET and AFTERBURNER recoil-control package into a 17+1 micro-compact 9mm that shoots flatter than its size suggests. It is not cheap, and the trigger on this sample did not quite hit classic CANiK greatness, but the range performance makes a strong case for this carry-ready package.