Feature Articles

Was there a more contentious firearms decision than the one that awarded Beretta the contract to replace the venerable 1911? I don’t think so. And now the Army is at it again. They want to replace the M9 with a Modular Handgun. Who will compete? Here are my picks for the top 5 entries into the circus.

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?

The SIG P226 has been around for 30 years now, and its reputation continues to grow. And SIG continues to make upgrades to the platform. The P226 Tactical Operations takes what is already a fine fighting sidearm and refines it, adding features that make it faster, more responsive, and easier to feed. The result, the TacOps, is now my go-to gun for when things get really bad.

As much as I might judge a company by its product and initial quality, I give equal (if not more) consideration to how they handle problems. You can fix a gun–you can’t fix a bad customer experience. In the video I’ll show you and tell you everything that was wrong with the SR45 I purchased, and then I’ll show you how Ruger’s customer service team handled it. Get a fresh cup of Joe and watch the saga!

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.

Looking for a shotgun with a short barrel? Want to avoid the hassle of tax stamps and paperwork? Check out this beauty from Black Aces Tactical. An 8.5″ 12 gauge with a SIG brace–no extra paperwork, and no waiting period.

I almost didn’t write this review because there have already been two reviews of the Colt Mustang here on GunsAmerica already. But this gun is very different from the others because for one, it is the shortest barrel that Colt makes for this gun, at 2 3/4″. But more importantly, this gun came with a factory Colt branded LaserMAX mounted on the gun. There were very few of these put out, but currently there are a few for sale on GunsAmerica right now, though I don’t know if they still will be by the time you read this. More importantly though, this LaserMAX accessory is being sold separately, by Colt, Midway and others, so if you have a Mustang Pocketlite, you can put this Colt branded nifty laser on your stocking stuffer list for Santa.

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…