Guns

These handguns aren’t just “lefty-friendly”; they’re designed to let you run the gun efficiently, confidently, and without compromise.

AR-15s in calibers other than 5.56 are nothing new. Yet one big trend recently is the attempt to perfect the 7.62×39 in AR form. Is that the answer? Or can the AK be refined? That’s the question that these 5 guns from SHOT Show 2015 try to answer.

The Zero Compromise Optic ZC210 is expensive, heavy enough to notice, and missing true 1x. After shooting it to 1,000 yards, into darkness, and behind a thermal clip-on, I also found it frustratingly hard not to like.

The H&K VP9B backs German engineering with exceptional ergonomics, an optics-ready slide, and a factory trigger that only gets better as the rounds pile up. I started as a skeptic and ended up questioning my usual plastic fantastic.

The Springfield Prodigy 3.5 AOS packs 18 rounds into a compact double-stack 1911 built for concealed carry, then backs it up with approximately 500 rounds of malfunction-free testing and a best 15-yard group of just 0.61 inches.

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 Lipsey’s S&W 632 puts six rounds of .32 H&R Magnum into a 13-ounce J-frame that nearly disappears in a pocket. It shoots accurately, carries easily, and delivers more authority than its small caliber reputation suggests.

Everyone has that one gun with absolutely zero practical purpose. This working A280-CFE Blaster in 22LR turns an AR-15-based build into a Cassian Andor-inspired space gun that keeps finding its way back into the range bag.

Lightweight, compact, AR-mag compatible, and wearing a 16” threaded barrel, the Ruger American Ranch 300 BLK checks nearly every box for a suppressor host. Add a 0.8″ best group and whisper-quiet subsonic potential, and this little bolt gun starts making a lot of sense.