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The year of our Lord 2024 has been interesting for firearms. The industry has peaked, and it seems like it’s nothing but Glock clones and SIG P365 clones. Luckily, there have been some highlights and some fantastic firearms that have crawled out from between the heaps of ARs, 1911s, and Glock wannabes. This year, we saw retro releases, improved designs, and completely new firearms. I’ve gathered what I feel are the six best guns of 2024.
Table of contents
The Best Guns of 2024 – The Rules
The rules are simple: the gun has to have been primarily released in 2024. Admittedly some announcements and releases might have been made in 2023, right before SHOT Show, but the weapons were likely not available until 2024. Second, you have to be able to purchase these firearms. They have to be on the market. A lot of guns have been announced and promised to be released in 2024, but they didn’t hit the market in 2024. The guns I’ve chosen should be in user’s hands by now.
S&W 432 UC
The Ultimate Carry lineup somehow snuck right past me at SHOT 2024, but a month later, I saw S&W and Lipseys was releasing the UC lineup, and the 432 stuck out to me. I’m a big fan of .32 caliber carry pistols, and the 432 caught my eye. The S&W 432 UC chambers the .32 H&R Magnum, which caught my attention. The Ultimate Carry features captured its spot on this list.
The S&W 432 UC features an XS front sight and a dove-tailed rear sight. A real rear sight. I hate trench sights, and the rear sight was a game-changer to me. S&W cleaned up the trigger and added the fantastic VZ High Horn grips. Those grips provide a fantastic hold on the gun and are even relieved for speed loaders.
The S&W 432 UC provides a lightweight, six-shot J-frame revolver with minimal recoil. It launches a capable cartridge with much muzzle blast or rise. The grips and sights make it easy to shoot, and it’s changed my mind about the capability of a defensive revolver and has earned a top spot on the best guns of 2024.
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CZ P09 Nocturne
I’m a big CZ fan. I love DA/SA guns, and CZ is one of the last holdouts in an era of striker-fired polymer-frame handguns. The CZ P09 (and P07) series mixed old with new. They blended the low bore axis and hammer-fired DA/SA design of a CZ with the polymer frame of a more modern pistol. These guns faded a bit in the face of the CZ P10 series, but this CZ has introduced the Nocturne model.
The Nocturne eliminated the P07 designation and now produces a P09 full-size and compact. It features a new grip texture, deeper and redesigned slide serrations, and a redesigned slide lock. Shooters can still easily swap between a safety and a decocker. The redesigned slide cuts are nice to have due to how small the slide is on the CZ series due to its reverse rails.
The biggest draw to me is the fact the gun is finally optics-ready! Yep, optics ready! It’s designed to accommodate the Holosun K-cut and Shield RMSc optics. No plates, just a simple direct attach optic, and it’s begging for an EPS Carry. This might become my new carry gun.
Harrington and Richardson 733 – Best Guns
PSA purchased both Harrington and Richardson and NoDak Spud, and combining the two was the best thing they ever did. The CEO of H&R is the owner of NoDak, and he’s brought his eye for detail and love of retro rifles to the mass market. This has culminated in a ton of retro rifles and large-format pistols, and they could all be on this list of best new guns of 2024. My favorite is the H&R 733.
The H&R 733 is a clone of the Colt 733, aka the Commando. The Colt 733 was famously used in the film Heat and Black Hawk Down. Outside of some expensive replicas, the gun was as rare as a hen’s teeth. Now, PSA is pushing them out the door in large-format pistol configurations with the new HAR-15 brace designed to resemble a CAR-15 stock.
Like the original Colt 733, it has an 11.5-inch barrel. The gun comes with A1 style sights, the A2 style grip, and those old polymer handguards we all love. The H&R 733 is super slick and the only chance I’ve ever had to own something close to a Colt 733. (Fun fact: the old H&R produced an uber-cheap revolver called the 733, so search carefully.)
Cimarron Terminator
There aren’t many shotguns this year. Much like the 733, one of the best isn’t an original design but a retro reissue. Cimmaron, the number one company for Old West reboots and revolvers, has brought us a Winchester 1887 clone. It’s not a true clone because it’s a 12-gauge designed for smokeless powder rather than black powder like the original 1887.
The Terminator is a fully stocked shotgun and not a replica of the model carried by Arnold in T2. It’s a little more faithful to the old design and comes with a 20-inch barrel. However, 22- and 28-inch versions seem to be coming soon. The Terminator chambers 2.75-inch rounds only, and you get five in the tube.
The gun’s lever action feels chunky but fun. It’s a solid shooter with surprising reliability. It might not be all that useful, but it’s fun and perfect for SASS. Additionally, it’s affordable. With a street price of around 500 dollars, it’s a lot cheaper than other replicas of the lever action shotgun. I’m aware of the fact that one of the best new guns of 2024 is from 1887, but I accept that.
Primary Weapons Systems UXR
The Primary Weapons Systems UXR was one of those guns I saw at SHOT. I thought it was neat, but I never thought it’d hit the market. However, I can browse and select from various models in .308, 5.56, and .300 Blackout right now. Color me shocked. The PWS UXR uses the long-stroke gas piston system that PWS uses in their ARs, but that’s about all it has in common with the AR.
The PWS UXR uses a completely different layout and doesn’t resemble any other rifle on the market. The gun features a folding, collapsing stock, a monolithic upper rail, an M-LOK handguard, an AR-style pistol grip, safety, and a magazine release. It looks slick, but what’s the point?
Modularity is the point. PWS designed the UXR to be a multicaliber system. Users can swap the barrel, bolt, gas system, and even the magazine well. Users can easily change calibers and even move from intermediate cartridges like the 5.56 to full-powered rifle rounds like 6.5 Creedmoor. I hope it succeeds massively.
KelTec KSG .410 – Best Guns
The KelTec KSG series is known as a bullpup, dual-tube pump-action shotgun. The 12 gauge KSG carries 14 rounds but isn’t much larger than a Mossberg Shockwave. This year, KelTec shrunk the design. It reduced the bulk, cut weight, and cut the caliber from 12 gauge to the meek .410. The .410 KSG looks more like the KS7.
The KSG .410 features the big carry handle that’s present on the KS7. It features the gun’s sighting system and M-LOK slots for lights and other fun stuff. The little gun still holds 14 rounds of ammo in a light 5.4-pound package. The KelTec KSG .410 offers a lightweight, low-recoiling shotgun that could be a fairly capable defensive option.
It’s absurdly small and light, making it easy to wield. With the right rounds, the .410 load can be a capable fight-stopper. The bullpup format makes it stand out from other .410 defensive shotguns, and the capacity aids in its argument for relevance. The KSG .410 also benefits from all of the experience KelTec has with the KS7 and KSG. This helps produce a capable, reliable, albeit somewhat odd, firearm.
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The Best Guns of 2024
2024 is over, and SHOT 2025 is just ahead. Who knows what 2025 will hold? Maybe we’ll see something new and revolutionary. Regardless of what we see, you can be sure Guns America Digest will be here to preview, review, and provide the best analysis we can. What do you think is the best gun of 2024? Let us know below!
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Whom ever thought those are the best 6 guns of 2024 needs their head space and timing checked…………………..
The PWS long-stroke piston design is excellent and the UXR is an interesting design. However, PWS will be competing against more established platforms here (like Sig MPX/MCX and CMMG Dissent) so they will likely need to expand their offering to include both rifle and pistol/brace options and become more cost competitive for this product line to become truly successful. Personally, I’ve been watching the bufferless rifle/pistol market for some time and would love to the UXR in an 8-10 inch pistol configuration. A 9mm pistol option would be great as well.
I’ve long been a fan of CZ designs with the reverse slide rails, DA/SA trigger systems and decockers. However, the discontinued RAMI model remains my favorite subcompact and I cannot understand why CZ discontinued that without a direct replacement in either alloy or polymer frame designs. Why has CZ left the sub/micro compact market for others?
Any list of “best guns” that has a Kel-Tec on it is fatally flawed.