Feature Articles

Heckler & Koch is about to begin shipping the VP9, its latest striker fired pistol, and the reports coming in could not be any more positive. From the adjustable grip panels to the trigger, the VP9 is taking a familiar platform and making some serious improvements and doing it at a competitive price.

The primary design idea behind the Browning Citori 725 Feather is, you guessed it, light weight. My evaluation sample was a 12-gauge Feather model with 28-inch barrels. It weighs in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces. If you compare to the equivalent Field (non-Feather) model, the 28-inch barrel model weighs just about a full pound more at 7 pounds, 8 ounces. That adds up over a day in the field. Imagine taping a can of lima beans to the Citori 725 Feather, and now you’re carrying a standard weight over-and-under.

We’re going to get a bit philosophical with this one. Winchester, one of the nineteenth century’s most iconic rifle makers, a company that revolutionized shotguns at the turn of the twentieth century, is still making guns. It’s alive and well, and making a play for a bigger part of the market. If you are looking for a new scatter-gun, and you’re working on a budget, Winchester has a gun for you.

This story is best told as a story. I didn’t believe at first that this oven would really work. Anyone can game Youtube videos to make a product look good, and I just assumed that the All American Sun Oven was just another gimmick being sold to preppers. First of all, I live in South Florida. If a sun oven is going to work anywhere, it is going to work here. But I had never heard that such a thing was possible. I could see a huge dish, focusing the sun’s rays on an egg or something. But to get enough consistent heat to cook a chicken, or even a loaf of bread? Not so much. Not a reality. Boy was I wrong. I don’t know how the All American Sun Oven works up in snow country, but there is no reason to think that a sunny day anywhere can’t cook food just like a regular oven. You do have to move the oven around some, but at $399 for a complete survival kit, nobody who has stored freeze dried foods and pantry staples should be without one. No fuel, no problem. The All American Sun Oven works.

The SIG SAUER P556 is a popular choice for people who want to register a short-barreled rifle. If you buy the pistol version and then begin the paper work, you can keep the P556 and shoot it, too, while you wait for the NFA stamp to come in. Now, thanks to SIG’s SB15 Pistol Stabilizing Arm Brace, the P556 has a much more promising life of its own. If you want a combat-capable compact rifle, this strange pistol has a lot to offer, right out of the box.

Enter the EAA Witness Pavona, built in Italy by Tangfolio. Designed by and for women, this pistol is more than just a pretty face. The creative team included Sharon Lacy, who did extensive research on the needs of women shooters, including gathering direct feedback from women gun owners of all ages and experience levels. The Pavona semi-automatic pistol is specifically engineered with their issues in mind, and addresses many of the common problems women have with guns.

The concept of “match ammo” surprises some people. Guns go bang and the bullet makes a hole in whatever the gun is pointed at, right? Yes, and while almost all ammo will function and do some damage downrange, there is a huge variation to how precisely the ammo is manufactured. You can set the automated ammo machines for 5 rounds a minute or 500 rounds per minute. But at 500 rounds per minute, the precision of the ammo sharply declines. It takes time to make sure that powder is measured precisely, that primers are seated corrected, and that bullets are inserted and secured evenly. Handloaders know this, because they do all of these steps one at a time, when making “match quality” ammo, but with the high price of ammo these days, it has become profitable for more and more new manufacturers to get into the game of match ammo and produce some really amazing results.

Oddly, I find myself back where I originally started my AR platform adventure—back with a 308 DPMS. However, this DPMS rifle has changed drastically. My first AR-format rifle was not an AR15 but a DPMS 308B with an 18-inch bull barrel. My theory was that I could have my cake and eat it too with a little lighter weight and accuracy of a bull barrel in a defense to large game hunting caliber.

When MMC Armory approached me to review its brand new Recon 16.1 and Tactical C16.1 AR15s, I could feel my eyes roll into the back of my head, thinking “ohh great, yet another new company that wants to gang pile on the AR15 demand.” Actually, MMC Armory is a division of Mennie Machine, which has been around for a number of years as an OEM AR15, heavy arms, DOD, and military parts manufacture. The company is unable to disclose its specific clients or projects because of legal restrictions, but it has impressive experience, and their expertise is visible in their new line of rifles.