Guns

General George S. Patton once called the M1 Garand the “best battle implement ever devised.” But was he correct? The run up to World War II saw a giant leap forward in technology for weapons of war. The jet airplane was invented for WWII. Of course the atomic bomb was invented for WWII. But more importantly, the weapons that saw the most combat, the infantry battle rifles of the war, changed considerably as well, worldwide. The SVT-40 never really got out of the gate due to the later popularity of the AK-47, but that doesn’t change the fact that it was an influential rifle on the Eastern front during the war, or the fact that it totally rocks. We got to test an actual 1943 SVT-40 side by side with an M1 Garand, and the results may surprise you.

When Savage called and asked if GunsAmerica would review one of their Youth rifles, I intended to do it right and have an actual kid do the shooting. Then they asked if they could send one in Muddy Girl. While this camo pattern won’t prevent boys from shooting it, I thought I’d try to find a girl who knew her way around guns. After a few phone calls, I lined up an 11 year old. But when the rifle arrived, it was a .308. How well can an 11 year old girl handle a .308?

While there are some 1911s out there that are less expensive, they are coming in from overseas. There’s something very American about the Mil-Spec which is, above all, a nod to a very American pistol. For that, Springfield Armory deserves a special kind of credit. Here’s an affordable American made homage to American history, one that can be both a nostalgic icon and a solid carry gun. Hard to beat that combination.

Gunslingers agree on very few things, but one of them is that bigger, longer guns are easier to shoot, and to shoot well. This is doubly true when you have to do a lot of shooting. Glock owners are a fierce bunch of gunslinging devotees, and now they have a Gen. 4 version of what is essentially a bigger, longer .45ACP Glock 21. This is the last of a competition trio that joins the G34, a long slide 9mm G17, and the G35, a long slide .40 G22. This new G41 has a barrel about .6 inches longer and it has about 3/4 inch more sight radius than the G21, but it actually comes in a couple ounces lighter.

The Mauser M12 is a gun that will help you get the most from your shooting ability. It won’t make you a better shooter than you are, but you’ll still shoot better because the gun is about as accurate as a gun can get. It is a well built rifle that will handle the abuse of the hunt, and one that will hold its value for generations to come.

Can you crack open a 5.56 when you accidentally chamber a 300 Blackout? Yes. Yes you can. With a basic understanding of the cartridge and its personality issues, 300 Blackout is the bomb. For those who are careless, 300 Blackout can be a bomb. What else should look out for? In our ongoing coverage of the 300 Blackout, I offer this in-depth look at some of the personality quirks of the platform.

Smith & Wesson’s M&P line keeps getting bigger. Only this time, the M&P itself is getting smaller. The M&P22 Compact is a well balanced rimfire that is looking to put the fun back in the fun gun. It is brand new, and we have a full review.

The IWI Tavor battle rifle was a great addition to the field of tactical firearms. It is a bullpup design, so you get a really short and handy rifle, without having to register a “Short Barreled Rifle,” or SBR.” Short barreled rifles have their limitations. The barrel being so short, you tend to get a giant muzzle flash, a loud boom, and you lose a substantial amount of velocity because much of the gunpowder burns outside the barrel. Along came the Tavor, which has a full 16″ barrel, doesn’t require an SBR tax stamp, and you don’t have to wait 6 months for it while the BATFE reviews your paperwork. The big problem with the gun is that it has a dreadful trigger. Rather than do yet another review on the basic Tavor, replete with trigger complaints, we found a way to solve the problem with a new sear group from the folks at Timney Trigger. Their $352 completely self contained drop-in sear group solves the problem with the Tavor. Is it worth the investment to improve this otherwise awesome rifle? You be the judge.

When the XD-S was released two years ago, everyone expected that the small .45 ACP would be the first in a long line of sub-compact single stack pistols. Yet there is really very little that can compete with the XD-S. The .45 ACP XD-S has built a solid reputation, broken preconceived notions for the caliber, and set new standards for concealed carry that have yet to be matched. And Springfield is giving them away!