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CONTENTS
Volume 20 • Number 6 June/July 2021
COVER: PETER FOUNTAIN
18
52
Features
18 So Much for Moderation: Biden’s Gun Grab
is Officially Underway
The newly installed President wasted no time trying to void the
Constitution he’s sworn to defend.
62
By Jason Ouimet
52 Nifty Fifty
Kel-Tec does it again, upping the game for the formerly niche
5.7x28 mm cartridge by creating a pistol cleverly designed
around a 50-round magazine. Introducing the P50.
By Patrick Sweeney
62 Changing Handgun Sights The Right Way

Upgrading pistol sights might be the most common DIY
gunsmithing task there is. Here’s how to do it without compro-
mising your sanity.
70
By Bryce M. Towsley
70 Two for Defending Our Hearths and Homes

There is no orator better known for his words about defending
hearth and home than Sir Winston Churchill. His namesake
shotguns can help you accomplish that task.
By Jay Grazio
Handbook
80 Learning Something New
You can teach an old dog new tricks and, when it comes to
personal protection, it behooves you to learn.
By Jeff Gonzales
80
86 The Fix: Making Contact
It doesn’t take much pressure on the muzzle of a semi-auto
pistol to make the gun malfunction. As usual, distance is your
friend in a fight.
By George Harris
Official Journal of the National Rifle Association of America

The NRA, the foremost guardian of the traditional American right to “keep and bear arms,” believes every law-abiding citizen is
entitled to the ownership and legal use of firearms, and that every reputable gun owner should be an NRA member.
2 JUNE/JULY 2021 SHOOTINGILLUSTRATED.COM

CONTENTS
Publishing
Doug Hamlin
Executive Director
Evelyn Q. Kessler
36 Deputy Executive Director
Departments
Marshall J. Flemion
Managing Director, Integrated Marketing
Terri A. Wolfe
Senior Executive Assistant
Rachel Carr
8 Letters Publications Administrator
Larry Quandahl
24 Shots Fired Senior Firearms Inventory Manager
How Holsters Happen Editorial

A Booming Economy John Zent
Editorial Director
Matter of Import
Ed Friedman
Editor in Chief
28 Skills Check Daniel T. McElrath
Affordable Affirmation 46 Senior Executive Editor
Jay Grazio
30 Pro Shop Executive Editor

Eric Conn
EDC Made Easy Managing Editor, Digital
Official Journal Bob Boyd

32 Tech Wisdom Senior Associate Editor
Setting Your Sights 10 Armed Citizen Sheriff Jim Wilson

Senior Field Editor
34 Rifles 12 Standing Guard Steve Adelmann

Rifle Editor
Upper Hand Richard Mann
14 President’s Column Ammo Editor
36 Handguns Tamara Keel
A Genuine Imitation 16 Political Report Handgun Editor

Jeff Johnston
Shotgun Editor
38 Shotguns 94 ILA Report Wiley Clapp, George Harris,
Hunting Up a Home-Defense Gun Ed Head, Guy J. Sagi, Philip Schreier,
96 Regional Report Bryce M. Towsley, Dick Williams
Field Editors
42 Ammo Member Info & Benefits
Be Progressive Art
97 Programs & Services Mark Weaver
46 Straight Talk Creative Director

John T. Claman
Stay On Your Toes Art Director
Peter Fountain
88 The Classics Photography Director
Forrest MacCormack
The Cop’s Wheelgun
Senior Photographer
90 Gun Locker Shooting Illustrated (ISSN1544-3000 Vol. 20 No. 6) is published

monthly except combined in June/July by the National Rifle
Association of America, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA
Iver Johnson Eagle LR Special 22030-9400, (703) 267-1000, for the benefit of its members.
Membership dues (U.S. and possessions) $45 a year, $100 for 3
Ruger Custom Shop Precision Rifle years, $150 for 5 years. $3.75 per year is designated for a
magazine subscription. For foreign postage add $5 a year in
Canada and $10 elsewhere. For membership inquiries only, call
104 Fightin’ Iron (877) 672-2000. Copyright 2021, the National Rifle Association
of America. All rights reserved except where expressly waived.
A Commanding Presence Periodicals Postage paid at Fairfax, VA, and at additional
88 mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Shooting
Illustrated, c/o National Rifle Association, P.O. Box 420648, Palm
Coast, FL 32142-0648.
On The Horizon TO CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS or to report a damaged or

undelivered magazine, write: Shooting Illustrated, c/o National
Rifle Association, P.O. Box 420648, Palm Coast, FL 32142-0648.
Or to make changes to your account online go to:
EDC Firepower: 2021 New Optics Low-Round-Count NRAmemberservices.org. Do not return damaged copies.
Change of address should include both new address and a
Ruger’s Max-9 Guide Training mailing label bearing the old one. In case of duplication send
both labels.
4
ShootingIllustrated.com
Publishing Operations
Michael J. Sanford
10 Great Defense Loads for
RICHARD MANN
Managing Director
the 9 mm Michelle E. Kuntz
Director, Production
Choosing a great defensive round can be
James C. Handlon
tough. There are many outstanding 9 mm Director, Marketing & Advertising
loads on the market, with more being intro- Debra Oliveri
duced each year. We identified some of the Senior Production Coordinator
most popular and a few of the ones less likely Adam Wilson
Production Coordinator
to be found at your local gun or sporting-
Cheryl Doden
goods store to deliver 10 options that make Accounts Receivable Staff Accountant
the best impact out of your 9 mm handgun. Sarah Cote
Coordinator, Advertising Operations
MEMBERSHIP INQUIRIES (877) 672-2000
6 Best Micro Nines on the Advertising Sales

Market Today Tony Morrison (860) 767-9801
Director, Eastern Sales
Remember when a concealed-carry 9 mm Stan Yates (850) 619-8148
pistol meant a single stack with anywhere Southeast Sales Executive
from a six- to a seven-round magazine? Rachelle Trout (910) 262-0913

Eastern Sales Executive
Today, manufacturers have doubled down on Ken Glowacki (703) 267-1300
subcompact 9 mm pistols, offering enhanced Detroit Advertising Sales
magazine capacity without the bulky girth. Courtney Olson (303) 520-4025
The latest generation of micro nines also Director, Western Sales
features user-friendly, minimalist controls. James O’Neill (530) 401-8607
Western Sales Executive
Tim Hamill (231) 360-6434
Midwest Sales Executive
Can the Colt Python Pass the
CALEB GIDDINGS
Debbie O’Connell (805) 501-9138

2,000-Round Challenge? Western Direct Sales Executive
ADVERTISING INQUIRIES: (703) 267-1300
In this two-part series, Caleb Giddings puts www.nramediakit.com
the Colt Python to the ultimate torture test: Digital Operations
2,000 grueling rounds to see if the revolver Michael Pedersen
can take the beating and keep repeating. Managing Director
While we’ve reviewed the Python before, this Troy Kelly
Art Director
test seeks to dispel the myth that the new
Tom Rickwalder
snake gun from Colt isn’t built to last. Senior Digital Producer
Steve Dulco
Digital Producer
Some of the photographs in this magazine illustrate specific

shooting stances or positions in which it was occasionally
necessary to position the camera in front of the muzzle for
News Guns Gear instructional purposes. At no time was a loaded, functioning
firearm used in these photographs; special, deactivated guns or
Lonestar Future Weapons solid plastic gun simulators were employed. In some cases the
Allies with True Velocity image was taken using a remotely triggered camera.
for NGSW WARNING: All technical data in this publication, especially for
handloading, reflect the limited experience of individuals using
specific tools, products, equipment and components under
Magpul BSL & BTR AR Pistol specific conditions and circumstances not necessarily reported
Leupold Sells Redfield Arm Braces in the article and over which the National Rifle Association
Springfield Armory (NRA) has no control. The data have not otherwise been tested
Brand to Academy
XD-M Elite 3.8-Inch Apex Tactical
or verified by the NRA. The NRA, its agents, officers and
Sports + Outdoors employees accept no responsibility for the results obtained by
Compact OSP Action Enhance- persons using such data and disclaim all liability for any
consequential injuries or damages. See asterisked (*).
ment Kit for
* NO ADVERTISED ITEM IS INTENDED FOR SALE IN THOSE STATES,
Glock Pistols OR IN THOSE AREAS WHERE LOCAL RESTRICTIONS MAY LIMIT OR
PROHIBIT THE PURCHASE, CARRYING OR USE OF CERTAIN ITEMS.
CHECK LOCAL LAWS BEFORE PURCHASING. MENTION OF A
PRODUCT OR SERVICE IN ADVERTISEMENTS OR TEXT DOES NOT
NECESSARILY MEAN THAT IT HAS BEEN TESTED OR APPROVED BY
New DeSantis THE NRA.
SIG Sauer M400 Holster Models for OFFICIAL NRA POSITIONS ARE EXPRESSED ONLY IN STATEMENTS
Predator Rifle the Ruger Max-9 BYLINED BY NRA OFFICERS OR IN ARTICLES IDENTIFIED AS SUCH.
THE EDITORS ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR UNSOLICITED
MANUSCRIPTS OR PHOTOGRAPHS.
Connect with Us Printed in the United States of America.
6
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S AVA G E A R M S . C O M / P R E C I S I O N
LETTERS Readers Forum
Reloading Ruckus
own bullets. This basic system would allow someone to
reload a single load for less than $100 (based on prices
at MidwayUSA in April). If you scrounge your lead and
shoot target loads, that could turn into a lot of cheap
ammo. I’ve loaded several thousand rounds with such a
setup. It’s slow, but it is easy and straightforward. I still
have my Lee loader from 45 years ago and it still works
great. Much of what you’d need to get started in this
fashion can be found used at a local gun show.
Steve Gouse
Hinsdale, MT
The article on “Reloading for Beginners” by Richard

Mann was well written, but gives the wrong message to
readers looking to try reloading. The opening photo of a
I really enjoyed Richard Mann’s article, “Reloading for progressive press is the wrong thing to illustrate
Beginners,” in the April issue. I’ve been reloading for a beginning reloading. This is especially inappropriate
while, but it was still a good refresher. when reloading supplies and equipment are nearly
A friend of mine told me tactfully that some people unavailable. The products, when available, are being
tumble clean their brass as part of their reloading process. sold at prices that make them not worthwhile. So, a
I replied that I didn’t want to make ammo that’s too pretty better approach would be to demonstrate the bare
to shoot. bones basics. The article made reloading look more
Beginning reloaders always need to be reminded that complex than it really is.
the people who write the reloading manuals have a ton Richard Mickinak
of experience behind them and millions of dollars of via e-mail
technical testing equipment. So, when the manual says
5.4 grains of Wonder powder is the maximum, believe it. Many readers pointed out that the “Reloading for
I like the Speer manual the best, because it often includes Beginners” article in the April issue was cut off mid-word,
reduced loads for some of the most popular calibers. with no directions as to where the article continued. A
Donald R. Short fluke change between the editors and the printer resulted
Peoria, IL in the last sentence being cutoff. It should have read:
“Taking up reloading during an ammunition shortage is
Richard Mann’s article on reloading in the April issue probably not the best time to realize its benefits, but it
was good, but I take issue with a couple of his omissions might be the best time to start, because you have the
when it comes to reloading being hard and expensive. No motivation to learn.” We apologize for the error.
mention was made of the Lee Basic Loader or casting your —Ed Friedman
Mixed Mixologist
Patrick Sweeney’s review of the Heritage Barkeep in The review of the Heritage Barkeep looked interesting at
the April issue was great! I opted to order an engraved first, until I noted the very low price. That led me straight
cylinder for mine, to give it even more of an “Old West” to the material it is made from: “Frame: Zamak 5 zinc alloy.”
look and feel. Everyone I’ve handed this to so they For me, I would never buy a firearm made from the same
could put a few rounds down range? Their first basic material that my Matchbox toys were made from
comment is “I love this! I have to get one!” It’s currently back in my childhood. For some, it may be an attractive,
my favorite revolver. affordable gun, but not for me.
Jimmy Anderson Jeffrey Brooks
via ShootingIllustrated.com Vienna, VA
Correspondence is welcomed and encouraged

Write to: Shooting Illustrated I NRA I 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030-9400
e-mail: [email protected]

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ARMED CITIZEN
I
n Pearland, Texas, on the night of April 17, a couple had just gone to bed when
they heard a loud noise coming from downstairs. The husband grabbed his pistol
and investigated. He was startled to find that an unknown man had thrown a cinder
block through a window and was hitting the walls with a hammer. When the suspect
saw the homeowner, he charged him, and a struggle ensued. During the struggle, the
wife came downstairs and stepped between her husband and the attacker. She was hit
in the head twice with the hammer before her husband was able to shoot the suspect
three times. The couple spent several days in the hospital recovering. The suspect was
charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count
of burglary. (khou.com, and foxnews.com, Pearland, Tx., 4/17/21)
IF YOU HAVE
A FIRSTHAND
L aw enforcement was called out to a home
during the early morning hours of March 21,
after a homeowner fired shots at two intruders.
A 42-year-old man was shot after allegedly
breaking into an apartment in Lexington,
Ky., around 3:30 a.m. on April 6. When police
“ARMED CITIZEN” The homeowner told the responding officers arrived, the victim told them that she was
EXPERIENCE, that he was inside when two men, one of them home when an unknown man broke into her
armed, forced their way in. When the man apartment, threatening her. She fired at the
EMAIL NRA PUBLIC
realized what was happening, he ran to his intruder, causing him to run off. During the
AFFAIRS TEAM AT bedroom and armed himself with his rifle. He investigation, the police were notified of a man
[email protected]. fired several shots at the intruders, causing them who had walked into the hospital with a gunshot
Studies indicate that firearms to flee. A local hospital soon notified police that wound. It was determined that this was the
are used more than 2 million a man had arrived with a gunshot wound in his same man involved in the attempted burglary.
times a year for personal thigh. This patient was verified to be one of Once released, he was charged with burglary
protection, and that the the alleged intruders and was to face a charge and terroristic threatening. (wkyt.com, and
presence of a firearm, without of first-degree burglary when discharged. The concealednation.org, Lexington, Ky., 4/6/21)
a shot being fired, prevents second suspect was also identified and arrested
crime in many instances.
Shooting usually can be
on the same charge. No charges were expected
to be filed against the homeowner. (wbtv.com,
Monroe, N.C., 3/21/21)
A concealed-carry licensee was forced to
defend himself in his own home from a
presumed friend on the night of April 11. The
justified only where crime
constitutes an immediate, homeowner reportedly had invited the friend
imminent threat to life, limb,
or, in some cases, property. A home-security camera caught dramatic
footage of a rabid bobcat attacking
a woman on the morning of April 9. A
over, not realizing the man was intoxicated.
During the visit, an argument occurred and the
visitor was asked to leave. Instead, he pulled a
Anyone is free to quote or
reproduce these accounts. couple was leaving home when the wife knife and charged the homeowner, who drew
was attacked from behind by the bobcat. his gun and fired a single shot, striking the
Send clippings via email to It scratched and bit her several times. attacker. Both men called 911 to report the
[email protected], Her husband was able to grab the animal incident, and the wounded man was taken to a
or by mail to “The Armed and throw it into the front yard, but was nearby hospital for his injuries. When the officers
Citizen,” 11250 Waples Mill bitten three times in the process. During checked records, the knife-wielding man turned
Road, Fairfax, VA 22030- the incident, the man was able to warn a out to have outstanding warrants for his arrest in
9400. For bonus features, neighbor who was jogging by of the threat another jurisdiction and was turned over there.
visit “The Armed Citizen Blog” before she could be attacked. Knowing (theoaklandpress.com, Holly, Mich., 4/11/21)
at americanrifleman.org. the animal was acting very strangely and
A
Share this column online at could attack again, the man shot it. It was 69-year-old veteran of the U.S. Army
nrapublications.org. confirmed that the bobcat did have rabies, Special Forces stopped a home intruder
and both bite victims have undergone with the help of his dog and his firearm on
treatment. (wdbj7.com, Burgaw, N.C., 4/9/21) April 1 near Los Angeles, Calif. The dog alerted
the homeowner of the intruder around 5 a.m.
A round 9 a.m. on the morning of April

16, a woman in Lucerne Valley, Calif.,
was sitting in her home when a 27-year-old
by jumping on his chest and growling. An
intruder was standing in the bedroom doorway
when the homeowner fully awoke. However,
man armed with a hammer forced his way the trespasser just went into the bathroom,
through a back door. The man was yelling apparently believing the householders were
and threatening to kill her. The resident was still asleep. The veteran retrieved his firearm,
armed and feared for her life, so she shot the pushed open the bathroom door, and said,
assailant, stopping the attack. The suspect “Do not move. I will blow you away.” The man
left the home and was found lying on the claimed to be a friend of the homeowner’s
side of the road with a gunshot wound. He son, but the veteran still held him at gunpoint
was airlifted to a trauma center. (vvng.com, until police arrived. (KCAL9, Los Angeles,
Lucerne Valley, Calif., 4/16/21) Calif., 4/1/2021)

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STANDING GUARD
President Biden Would Rather

Kill Freedom Than Save Lives
Y
ou and I are now in the battle of our deserve to be stripped of our guns and of
lives. Two of the most extreme, gun- the freedom and security that the Second
hating politicians in America—Nancy Amendment guarantees.
Pelosi and Charles Schumer—control the Last year, we were forced to bear witness
U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. to the full impact of their failed vision in
Senate. Anti-gun legislation is on the move cities and towns across this country.
in Washington, D.C., like we haven’t seen in In Los Angeles, murders were up by 30%.
a generation. In New York, 40%. In Chicago, 50%.
For his part, President Joe Biden (D) In New Orleans, murders increased by
has told gun owners point-blank that he 61%. In Seattle, 74%. And, in Milwaukee,
doesn’t want to wait “another minute, the murder rate increased by 94% in one
let alone an hour” to begin full-blown year alone.
By Wayne LaPierre confiscation of tens of millions of Tragically, thousands of men, women
lawfully owned firearms. As a precursor and children across this country are dead
Executive Vice President
to his ultimate goal, Biden has penned because of the policies that Biden and his
numerous anti-gun executive orders, and political allies have forced on the American
he nominated gun-ban lobbyist David people—policies that protect criminals and
Chipman to head up the Bureau of Alcohol, punish law-abiding citizens.
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The truth is, Joe Biden knows he could
Chipman is an anti-gun extremist save thousands of lives by simply enforcing
to his core. Under his leadership, there gun laws that are already on the books—
THE POLICIES is no question that the ATF would be and by putting violent criminals in jail where
transformed from an agency charged they belong.
THAT BIDEN AND with cracking down on criminals, to an But Joe Biden would rather kill freedom
HIS POLITICAL agency that cracks down on law-abiding than save lives.
gun owners. And now, you and I are in a fight like
ALLIES HAVE Of course, this is all in keeping with the we’ve never faced before.
Biden agenda: Ignore the criminals and The battle lines are drawn. It’s hard-
FORCED ON persecute the law abiding. working Americans versus privileged elites.
THE AMERICAN We saw it last March, when a madman in You and I and the NRA versus the gun-
Colorado murdered 10 innocent citizens in a control zealots who stand behind armed
PEOPLE...PROTECT supermarket. Biden didn’t put the blame on guards while proclaiming that the U.S.
CRIMINALS AND the killer. He claimed he didn’t have enough Constitution doesn’t apply to us.
“information” to condemn this heinous This is the battle we hoped we’d never
PUNISH LAW- criminal for taking 10 precious lives. have to face. But I know it’s a battle we can
ABIDING CITIZENS. Instead, Biden pointed his finger straight win if we stand and fight together under the
at law-abiding gun owners and told America NRA banner.
that we were to blame—you, me and our On that note, I’m proud to announce that
Second Amendment freedom. tens of thousands of new NRA members
The fact is, we are now living in a twisted continue to join our family each month.
political nightmare where our nation’s Our sustained growth in membership is
president and congressional leaders are a loud-and-clear message that patriotic
shielding violent criminals while waging Americans will never give up their right to
open war on the freedoms that make this arm themselves against the violent criminals
country the greatest nation on earth. being turned loose on our streets.
In their world, law-enforcement officers This shows every politician in America
are thugs to be defunded and disbanded, that we’ll never compromise when it comes
while those who murder and terrorize to protecting our lives, our homes and our
innocent citizens are somehow “victims.” loved ones.
In their world, murderers and gun Make no mistake, as the NRA continues
criminals should be let out of prison to to grow stronger each day, Biden, Pelosi and
“protect” them from COVID-19, and honest Schumer are forced to confront this reality:
people should be forced to live with these If they want our guns, they can take them—
violent felons in their neighborhoods and as our friend Charlton Heston used to say—
Like us on Facebook at the communities. from our cold, dead hands.
National Rifle Association. In their world, wealthy and powerful
For related articles, go to people have an ironclad right to 24/7
nrapublications.org. armed protection, while regular citizens

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
One Hundred Days Of Biden

A
pril 29 marked 100 days of Joe Biden gun-control measures—even though many
as president of the United States. That’s studies, even ones funded by the Obama/Biden
not very long, but he’s done a lot of administration, show just the opposite.
damage in that short time. Biden also acts as if taking certain kinds
Biden has already established a pattern of of “scary-looking” firearms from law-abiding
attacks on the protections afforded law-abiding gun owners would make this country safer,
citizens in this country. And he’s been particularly but in reality, the criminal use of these rifles is
focused on eroding the Second Amendment. extremely rare. Plus, these guns operate exactly
Attempting directly to repeal the amendment the same as any other legal gun and are very
wouldn’t work, but he will engage in any other commonly owned. Once again, we can see that
measures designed to hollow out our natural decreasing crime is not the real focus—if it were,
right to defend ourselves and our families. Biden’s administration would work on improving
He pushes his gun-control agenda constantly, the dangerous situations in big cities that
including during his recent joint address to the consistently account for the bulk of murders.
U.S. Congress. One of his primary tactics is to Let’s also not forget his falsehoods on the
By Carolyn D. Meadows cloud the issue with lies and character attacks. Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act
President He claims, for example, that most gun owners (PLCAA). Biden may not understand guns very
support further restrictions on gun rights; he well, but he certainly should understand the
pretends that gun manufacturers are free of PLCAA, given that he was a senator when it was
liability suits, and he acts as if responsible gun debated and passed. The PLCAA shields gun
owners are the cause of crimes. manufacturers and related businesses only from
His staff provides him with talking points frivolous lawsuits, but Biden claims that it shields
that include inflated numbers of firearms-related them from all liability for their products. He
NRA OFFICERS homicides from highly suspect sources. He also wants the PLCAA reversed so gun-grabbers can
Carolyn D. Meadows has a habit of conflating homicide statistics with sue manufacturers out of existence, effectively
President suicides to significantly beef up the numbers of eradicating Second Amendment rights without
Charles L. Cotton firearms-related deaths. If you object to what he the messy legal process of actually amending
First Vice President mislabels as “common sense”—if you stand up the U.S. Constitution. In fact, Biden wants the
for the U.S. Constitution—Biden and the entire PLCAA upended so badly, he said if he could ask
Willes K. Lee radical-left machinery behind him behave as if God for one thing, that would be it. That fervent
Second Vice President you’re some sort of rabid fascist. wish makes sense only in the context of disman-
Wayne LaPierre Biden’s lying is so bad that even left-leaning tling the Second Amendment.
Executive Vice President media outlets finally decided to call him out Biden’s not all talk, either. He has issued
on some of the claims he’s made; for example, executive orders for further gun control,
John Frazer
Biden claimed that at gun shows “you can buy targeting so-called “ghost guns” and stabilizing
Secretary
whatever you want and no background check.” braces, and suggesting a model for “red-flag”
Sonya Rowling He wants people to believe that gun shows are laws, which turn due process on its head and
Treasurer-Elect somehow free of the regulations that apply at leave dangerous people free to harm others.
Jason Ouimet gun stores, but this is simply not true. Regardless Biden’s nominee for the head of the ATF is
Executive Director, of venue, all licensed firearms dealers are gun-control advocate David Chipman, who
NRA-ILA required by law to run background checks. And has a long, controversial history that should
anyone regularly engaging in firearms sales is give anyone pause. Biden’s administration is
Joseph P. DeBergalis, Jr. required to become a licensed dealer, and thus also applying significant pressure on Congress
Executive Director, to run background checks, even at gun shows. and the U.S. Supreme Court, threatening to
General Operations Targeting this aspect of the firearm market is remove the filibuster and to pack the court
certainly not going to decrease crime in any with left-leaning, anti-gun justices.
meaningful way. But it does help further consoli- So, what can we conclude from Biden’s first
date power in the federal government. 100 days in office? Well, he is working hard to
Biden calls gun violence “a public-health keep his campaign promises and appease the rad-
crisis.” One mainstream-media fact-checker ical element of his party. Unfortunately, it seems
suggested that he might be trying to correlate that he wants his legacy to be undoing the protec-
violence from armed criminals with the coro- tions our Founders put into the U.S. Constitution
navirus pandemic. Certainly, if he could sell to protect us from tyranny and democide.
that correlation, government authorities could There is only one group that has the strength
possibly gain broad powers around firearms in numbers to stand up to this assault on freedom.
they wouldn’t otherwise have, making it one That is, of course, your NRA. Be sure that you are
For news about your NRA, of the most dangerous of Biden’s claims. At staying engaged and active in the public policy
visit: nra.org and nraila.org. the least, claiming violence related to guns is a arena. Why? Because we have a country to save!
Share this column online at public-health crisis could allow him to weaponize
nrapublications.org. the CDC to claim that science supports further

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POLITICAL REPORT
NRA-Backed Case Brings The

Second Amendment Back To SCOTUS
I
n April, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to definition be denied. Licenses are reserved
hear the NRA-backed case of New York for extraordinary cases. In practice, this has
State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. meant that the rich, the famous and the well-
This case presents the court with an historic connected might get one, but the ordinary
opportunity to affirm the right to bear arms in citizen is out of luck. The NYPD Licensing
public for self-defense. Division has also been known to effectively
There’s a saying in sports that game day sell licenses to the highest bidders, while
is merely when you show up to execute and leaving most New Yorkers defenseless.
collect the trophy. The real work that went This presumption of denial flies in the face
into winning occurred unseen in the countless of the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of
hours of practice, conditioning, coaching and the Second Amendment as “the individual
preparation that preceded the event. right to possess and carry weapons in case
The same applies to headline-grabbing of confrontation” (emphasis added). It’s like
By Jason Ouimet victories that occur in Second Amendment saying you’d have to show an extraordinary
Executive Director, advocacy, such as getting the chance at a need to go to church, to write a newspaper
NRA-ILA favorable U.S. Supreme Court ruling. It took editorial or to have a lawyer defend you
vision, dedication, sophistication, expertise against criminal charges.
and countless hours of work by NRA members Indeed, New York is an outlier, one of only
and staff to make it happen. eight states that subject the right to bear arms
That effort goes on day in and day out, to bureaucratic discretion.
YOUR MEMBERSHIP even when it’s not in the news. We are at The lower federal courts have been divided
DUES ARE NOT work in the legislatures, the courts, the over this issue. The First, Second, Third and
ENOUGH. academy, the media and wherever law- Fourth Circuits have upheld regimes similar
If you want to DEFEND your abiding Americans go to educate themselves to New York’s. The D.C. and Seventh Circuits
right to own and carry a about firearms and to exercise their Second have declared them unconstitutional. And an
firearm … Amendment rights. en banc panel of the Ninth Circuit even went
That’s the value the NRA brings to those so far as to assert there is no right to bear
If your FREEDOM to hunt and who cherish the Second Amendment— arms outside the home for self-defense at all.
shoot is important to you … everyone who supports the NRA with their Clearly, the issue is ripe for an authoritative
Then you need to SUPPORT memberships, their contributions, their opinion by the nation’s highest court.
the NRA Institute for volunteerism and their participation in its The 2016 election may seem like a distant
Legislative Action. programs owns a piece of these victories. memory, but candidate Donald Trump
We function as a team, and we win as a team. helped make it a referendum on who would
We are the only arm of
As a native New Yorker, I’m especially replace the author of the Supreme Court’s
NRA specifically charged
pleased that this case arose in the Empire landmark Heller decision on the Second
with defending your
State. New York has some of the country’s Amendment. The NRA went all-in to support
Second Amendment
most oppressive firearms laws, and its his candidacy, and President Donald Trump
freedoms on Capitol Hill,
politicians have recently abused their authority (R) would go on to nominate, and a Mitch
and in state legislatures and
to try to abolish the NRA altogether. This is McConnell-led Senate to confirm, three U.S.
courtrooms across America.
our chance to confront anti-gun ideologues Supreme Court justices.
Visit nraila.org to support like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and Meanwhile, the NRA’s legal team
NRA-ILA today! New York State Attorney General Letitia was painstakingly shepherding Second
James (D) outside of their home turf and in an Amendment cases through the lower courts,
arena where we stand a fighting chance. intent on restoring the rights recognized in the
New York law generally prohibits the Heller and McDonald decisions.
possession of a loaded firearm outside Now, the high court is poised to resolve a
the home. The only way for New Yorkers pivotal Second Amendment question. That’s
to lawfully exercise the right to bear arms no coincidence.
in public for self-defense is to obtain a We can never guarantee what any court
concealed-handgun license. But state will do. But there’s never been a better
law requires license applicants to show time for the issue of bearing arms to
“proper cause,” which in turn requires them reach the justices, with a majority having
to “demonstrate a special need for self- demonstrated a willingness to take the
protection distinguishable from that of the Second Amendment seriously.
NRA-ILA: (800) 392-8683 general community … .” The NRA has long been
NRA-ILA website: nraila.org In other words, the average, law-abiding preparing for this showdown,
For related articles, go to applicant who wants to exercise the and we are executing with
nrapublications.org. right to bear arms for self-defense will by our A game.

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Biden’s
nomination of
former ATF agent
and anti-gun
activist David
Chipman to head
the ATF sends a
clear message.

ILA STORY
By Jason Ouimet
Executive Director,
NRA-ILA
SO MUCH FOR
MODERATION:
J
Biden’s Gun Grab Is Officially Underway
oe Biden was sworn in as president including for Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for
of the United States on Jan. 20, Gun Safety and for the Giffords gun-control group.
2021. Seventy-seven days later, Chipman was a “policy advisor” for both
on April 7, he announced a series organizations, meaning that he counseled
of executive actions that would them on which gun-control schemes to pursue.
criminalize formerly lawful behavior His government experience was supposed
and invest a rank gun-control to provide the technical and subject matter
advocate with the power to target expertise and credibility to back up the
gun owners as criminals. organizations’ public bluster.
Biden likes to portray himself as America’s One would think a career law-enforcement
best hope for unity, moderation and normalcy. agent would want to focus on violent crime
With these actions, however, he has made it and criminals in formulating policy supposedly
unmistakably clear that millions of law-abiding to make America safer. Yet, Chipman has
gun owners do not deserve the consideration and emphasized expanding the reach of the law to
respect of other Americans. envelop people who unwittingly violate arbitrary
Instead, we are his scapegoats for social ills bureaucratic line-drawing, rather than using
we didn’t cause and for criminal acts we didn’t criminal statutes to crack down on violent and
commit. Worse, the price we are expected to unrepentant predators. His instincts are those
pay will not even meaningfully improve public of the opportunistic D.C. swamp creature rather
safety. Joe Biden has, for all practical purposes, than the traditional American lawman.
removed gun owners from the privileges and This is evident in the policies pushed by
immunities of U.S. citizenship and from the Chipman’s gun-control paymasters. Everytown,
benefits of the rule of law. for example, has long preached that so-called
The NRA has long warned this day was “universal background checks” are key to its
coming. But, as the White House emphasized in “plan to end gun violence.”
its official announcement, these orders are merely Yet, Chipman knows as well as anyone that
“initial actions” that are sure to continue and to serious criminals who are prohibited from
escalate as long as Biden and the extremists who firearm possession—the people who pose the
surround him remain in power. biggest public safety threats with guns—don’t
Biden’s determination to push activism submit to background checks. They obtain their
over professionalism and unity was most guns through criminal networks, theft, straw
exemplified by his choice to nominate David purchases and other channels that purposely
Chipman as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, and systematically defy the law. The full weight
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Biden of this policy will instead fall on the people
emphasized Chipman’s time as an ATF agent, as who seek to obey the law, placing more fees,
AP photo by Andrew Harnik
if he were merely a dedicated police professional more bureaucracy and more government
who would put politics aside to protect the intrusion between them and the exercise of their
American people. constitutional rights.
In fact, Chipman’s post-ATF career has been The real value of this policy for gun-banners
one of overt gun control and political advocacy, is the creation of a government-accessible and
19
taxpayer-funded paper (or digital) trail has been considered none of the outrage that it withdrew the proposal
to every lawfully transferred firearm. government’s business until the firearms before the end of its comment period.
Those records form the framework for entered the stream of commerce. This effort has always been a
a national gun registry, which would Current ATF policy does not solution in search of a problem. Braced
facilitate any future attempt to seize consider what are known as 80% pistols are used extremely rarely in
lawfully held guns. receivers as subject to the same crime, and are also more expensive
Even if this happens in incremental types of regulations as finished than typical handguns. Braced
steps, the final outcome is preordained. receivers that are ready to be built pistols obviously do not feature the
Two of Biden’s other executive into functional firearms. These 80% concealment, portability and relative
actions, as I’ll explain, would upset receivers, typically made of metal affordability as standard handguns.
what was considered settled law. or polymers, are shaped to facilitate As with unfinished receivers, they
But, the law is never truly settled for their transition into firearm frames or are being singled out merely as a target
gun-banners as long as law-abiding receivers, but still require relatively of opportunity, not because doing so
Americans still have guns. precise drilling and machining to be actually solves any pressing problem.
Giffords’ gun-control agenda is more usable for that purpose. Biden’s executive actions also
expansive, encompassing virtually every The 80% threshold is partly a order the DOJ to publish “model ‘red-
scheme that has been proposed in the matter of practicality. If everything flag’ legislation” for states that wish
last 50 years to make lawful firearm that could, with sufficient effort and to empower courts to issue surrender
ownership more difficult, expensive, know-how, be fashioned into a firearm or seizure orders for firearms whose
legally perilous and impractical. Giffords was itself a firearm, then ATF would lawful owners are determined to be a
filed a brief in the landmark Second be overseeing the extraction of iron danger to self or others. While largely
Amendment case, District of Columbia or bauxite ore from the ground. Lines symbolic and duplicative of the various
v. Heller. The brief argued that, “The have to be drawn. such laws and proposals already in
Second Amendment does not limit the existence, this move demonstrates
options available to cities to address that the administration is happy to use
the problem of gun violence.” Notably, BUT, THE LAW IS NEVER any pretext to encourage seizure of
Giffords argued that the District’s TRULY SETTLED FOR GUN- lawfully possessed guns.
complete ban on the possession of It takes a gun-control advocate
handguns by law-abiding Americans was BANNERS AS LONG AS to argue a person is just dangerous
constitutional. Such an interpretation LAW-ABIDING AMERICANS enough to be ineligible to possess
would have completely eviscerated the guns, but not for any other kind of
Second Amendment. STILL HAVE GUNS. intervention to address the true
This extremist view put Giffords underlying cause of dangerousness.
sharply out of touch with the American Biden obviously wants to move Seizing a person’s lawful property
people. For those who might think those lines back to a more primitive could indeed make a volatile situation
that Giffords has moved on from such stage of manufacture. If history is even worse; at least one gun owner has
extreme views, their law center’s any guide, the ATF will want to set already been killed from an attempt to
website still proudly notes that they an arbitrary standard that will be execute an order of this type.
filed the brief arguing “that the right changed again in the future when Thanks to your support, NRA has
to possess a firearm is not based on it suits their preference. And how already started a more than two-
an individual right of self-defense, but detached will the policy eventually million-dollar campaign to counter
rather related to service in a militia become from the legal standards this gun-control push. We’ve invested
based on the prefatory language in actually present in the statutes in television and digital ads, mailed
the Amendment.” To the degree it enacted by Congress? postcards, sent thousands of text
reflects Chipman’s view of the Second This proposal will therefore cause messages and engaged in town halls
Amendment, it indicates he is more logistical headaches and legal jeopardy in targeted states to ensure that the
activist than lawman and would for legitimate firearm manufacturers United States Senate rejects Biden’s
enthusiastically embrace the most- and private makers, but it cannot stop gun-control agenda.
far-reaching gun control, including those determined to evade the law to Official proposed language for
expansive gun bans. make and sell guns for nefarious ends. the rules and model legislation was
Biden also ordered the Department If people are willing to possess and use unavailable as this article went to
of Justice (DOJ) to promulgate a a gun in violation of the law, why would press. Exact numbers are difficult
new rule that would turn unfinished they have any qualms about violating to quantify, but clearly millions of
metal and plastic templates favored the law to make it? Americans already lawfully own
by hobbyists and do-it-yourselfers Biden also ordered the DOJ to personally made firearms and braced
into regulated firearm receivers and promulgate a rule to “make clear when pistols. Will they retroactively be
stabilizing brace-equipped pistols a device marketed as a stabilizing declared criminals if they do not
into “short-barreled rifles” subject to brace effectively turns a pistol into surrender, modify, destroy, register or
special taxation and registration. a short-barreled rifle subject to the pay new taxes on them? Time will tell.
Since the founding of the Republic, requirements of the National Firearms But the time has passed when
Americans have always been able to Act.” You may remember that ATF Joe Biden can claim to be a unifying
make their own firearms for lawful already tried to do this last December, moderate. His gun grab has officially
personal uses. Traditionally, that sparking so much opposition and begun.

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SHOTS FIRED News I Notes I Miscellaneous
Art Meets Science our attempt to be the first in the market with
a holster.”
In Holsters DeSantis Holsters has a similar relationship.

“We work with most of the leading firearm
manufacturers, and they will send us either
the firearm itself or a proxy of it to work off
Many options exist for carrying your pre- and get started making holsters in advance,”
ferred firearm—but how do those holsters said Chad DeSantis, warehouse manager for
get to market? the company.
Gun companies reap benefits when
working in concert with holster manufactur-
ers, according to Nathan Engelking, executive
vice president of Marketing at CrossBreed
Holsters. “This helps them sell pistols as their
customers know holsters are available, and it
also helps get the word out about the newly
launched firearms,” he said.
Tom (last name withheld by request),
owner of Dark Star Gear, confirmed that
advantage “[W]e’ve just seen a great product
launch a few weeks ago where a company
recognized the value for the consumer, and
on day one there were loads of options to
alleviate any aftermarket concerns,” he said.
He noted, however, not all firearm firms
harness that synergy.
Design Time
Holster makers don’t cut corners when it
comes to the design and function of their
A holster’s primary function is handgun potentially lifesaving equipment, even when
PHOTOS COURTESY GALCO
retention at a level commensurate with modifications are relatively simple. “Most

exertion and mission, while providing efficient holsters generally can take anywhere from a
presentation under duress. The best versions few days, but it could take up to a couple of
add day-long comfort. Shooting Illustrated weeks depending on the complexity of the
asked the experts how they address that holster itself,” DeSantis said.
seemingly impossible juggling act and what The time frame at CrossBreed also depends
goes into the process of creating new models. on design complexity. “If it is brand new it
New handguns require hundreds of hours could take years, whereas if it’s just a modifi-
of design, testing and engineering work. The cation or new fit we might have it done in
speed at which matching holsters appear— 10 minutes,” according to Engelking.
There’s more to often simultaneously—can be astonishing, “Generally speaking, our products are
making holsters than sometimes even fueling a mistaken belief that principle based, so once we have a base
simply stitching manufacturers don’t invest heavily in their model, adding the features each different
leather or bending design. The truth is gun manufacturers model requires is a day or two worth of
Kydex; having provide holster makers a preview and design work,” according to Tom. “We’ll then
dummy guns samples long before the firearm ships to have molds cut on a mill, test press a few
available and keeping stores, and for good reasons. holster shells, and refine as needed. Typically,
non-disclosure “They will include us in their plans to we can hit the mark on the second mold.”
agreements sacro- introduce new firearms so we can have
sanct is all part of the holsters available for sale at the time of Beta Testing
overall process. launch,” Trent Cooper, brand manager at Physique, activity and daily schedule vary
N8 Tactical, explained. “There are times that widely among gun owners, which presents
this does not happen, but even then, we work an added challenge when it comes to testing
diligently at obtaining a firearm or mold in prototypes. “We test a lot of our own gear in

house by wearing it throughout the day. We
try and simulate the average person and their Economic Boost Quick Shots
day-to-day activities,” DeSantis said. For The “Firearm and Silencer Central
NSSF
additional input, though, “We have also given Ammunition has acquired a new
out samples to trusted friends in the firearm Industry Economic 35,000-square-foot
community to try and find faults.” Impact Report building on 11.5 acres
CrossBreed tests its holsters extensively 2021”—released in Sioux Falls, SD, to
prior to launching production, according to by the National centralize operations
Engelking. “We will test as much as needed Shooting Sports and serve as its new
until everyone on the product-development Foundation in headquarters. The
team is in agreement that the holster is ready March—indicates company currently
for launch,” Cooper said, emphasizing staff the gun industry has more than 125
consensus was a critical requirement leading grew by $3.5 billion and added 10,000 jobs employees across the
to a successful launch. during 2020. The findings are in stark contrast country, but to meet
to the overall increase in unemployment the increased demand
Materials during the pandemic. for its services and
Modern polymers have invaded the holster States with the top number of jobs directly suppressors, 100
arena once considered a leather monopoly. related to the industry, in descending order, more staff members
They offer a variety of advantages, whether were: Texas, California, Florida, Illinois, will be added by the
used in combination with the traditional Pennsylvania, Minnesota, North Carolina, end of the year.
material or exclusively. The challenges are Ohio, Missouri and Georgia.
different though, according to Tom. He said The Delaware State
his holsters are “Largely a mix of Kydex and Shooting Off Police has adopted
Boltaron, based on color and texture,” and SIG Sauer P320RXP
“As for QC issues, any time we have someone “Typically, bad guys don’t look for pistols, which come
new assembling or pressing, there are a few fights…They look for victims. And equipped with a
things to watch out for. Texture orientation is if a bad guy understands that his factory-installed
critical, overheating creates issues and there potential victim is armed as well SIG Sauer Electro-
are some other cosmetic things that can lead as or better than him, typically Optics Romeo1Pro
to issues…” red-dot sight. The
As for what you should watch for when
he will rule that individual out as agency employs more
purchasing your next holster, Engelking his target.” than 700 troopers.
offered this advice: “Don’t get overly caught —David Hayes, a member of the 761st Gun Club
up in trends and looks, focus on comfort and of Illinois, told the Chicago Tribune in Desert Tech has
function first.” early March. issued an immediate
recall on its SRS
strikers. The units
By the Numbers I Top Imports by Country of Manufacture affected were heat
treated beyond
Figures released by Small Turkey . . . . . . . . . . . 1,478,464 standard certifica-
Arms Analytics & tion, which makes
Forecasting show a Austria. . . . . . . . . . . 1,284,785 them more brittle and
60-percent Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,016,630
possibly subject to
increase in the breaking. Enthusiasts
number of Croatia. . . . . . . . . . . . . 521,932 who received or
firearms purchased an SRS
imported into Italy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .360,557 rifle, conversion kit
the United Germany . . . . . . . . . .350,291 or bolt between
States during Dec. 8, 2020, and
2020. Here’s a Czech Republic. . . .265,740 today, should contact
look at the the company’s war-
top-10 countries Canada . . . . . . . . . . . .233,397 ranty department at
of origin, in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217,462 [email protected]
descending order of immediately for
unit volume. The Philippines . . . 117,217 a replacement.
SHOOTINGILLUSTRATED.COM JUNE/JULY 2021 25

SHOTS FIRED News I Notes I Miscellaneous
Lifestyle I Chucking Wood

Quick Shots
Smith & Wesson’s lat-
est quarterly report
reflects an increase
of 102.2 percent—
With enough daylight, opposable thumbs and a Berserker from Columbia River more than double the
Knife and Tool, an industrious woodchuck would clear the entire back 40, stack same period in 2020.
kindling and still find time to stop for tea at 10 and 2. Failure to do so is
uncivilized, even for a hardworking rodent. Sako sold its one-
The Viking-style axe profile on the Berserker is guaranteed to scare millionth Tikka T3
curious bears back into the forest, but the utilitarian, bearded edge is bolt-action rifle last
built for tackling those too-close-to-home saplings that serve as cover for year and, coinciden-
curious bruins. Weighing in at slightly more than 2 pounds—the axe, not tally, the company is
ambushing wildlife—with 4.65 inches of blade, it also makes short work of fireplace fodder. It’s celebrating its 100th
constructed from 1055 carbon steel to minimize resharpening chores with a manganese anniversary in 2021.
phosphate coating for a weather-defying finish. The Riihimäki, Finland-
The handle is double-burned, genuine Tennessee hickory and spares are available from the based manufacturer
company. The Berserker, after all, looks good enough to spend time lounging proudly on a wall, has been part of
but the no-nonsense design won’t let it stay there long. MSRP is $75. Visit crkt.com to order. Beretta Holding
Group for the past
21 years.
Shooter’s Bookshelf
Blue Book of Gun Values, 42nd Edition Barrett Firearms
By Zachary Fjestad & Lisa Beuning by action type Manufacturing, Inc.
Blue Book Publishing (semi-auto, bolt- was recently awarded
$59.95 plus S&H action, etc.), with the U.S. Army’s
each entry listing Precision Sniper Rifle
Sure, recently, trying to figure out caliber/gauge, contract. This five-
what a firearm is worth has been barrel length, year, $49.9 million
made more difficult, with record- capacity, frame/slide contract involves the
setting sales and millions of new material and a company’s MRAD
gun owners frantically searching for whole host of other Mk22 Mod 0 rifle
any firearm they can acquire. In the relevant options. paired with a Leupold
long term, though, values are stable Values are given Mark 5 HD scope.
and can be tracked. The “Blue Book based on percent of
of Gun Values” is in its 42nd year of the Blue Book’s Winchester has been
rating and valuing pistols, rifles and proprietary Photo selected by the
shotguns in an extremely thorough collection Percentage Grading System (PPGS), which U.S. Army as a
and presentation of firearm worth. takes into account numerous factors for second-source pro-
In the 42nd edition are all the new makes grading such as frame condition, deluxe vider for 5.56 NATO,
and models released in 2021, of course. finishes such as color-case-hardening and 7.62 NATO and
Pricing updates for current models, as well as many other factors. .50 BMG ammo with
models that have been discontinued, is also There are any number of reasons you might an initial order worth
updated. More than 2,500 pages cover want to research a firearm’s value. When $37 million. This is
hundreds of manufacturers—current as well doing so, referencing a source that’s got the third consecu-
as those that have closed up shop—and decades of experience at ranking and rating tive second-source
nearly 30,000 models are included. Serial firearms is critical. “The Blue Book of Gun contract Winchester
number charts have been updated and Values” offers comprehensive information for has received.
expanded to include more serial-number tens of thousands of models. Whether you
information than prior editions. want to know what to expect when listing a The FBI has selected
Arranged alphabetically by manufacturer, firearm or want a price-check on that the ASP Agent Baton
each section starts with a brief description of too-good-to-be-true pistol at the local gun as its issued less-
the firearm company. Models are listed by store, the “The Blue Book of Gun Values” can lethal impact weapon
classification (rifle/pistol/shotgun/etc.) then help you make the right decisions. for Special Agents.

SKILLS CHECK Ed Head
Ten-Shot Trainer
The following drill will help maintain essential marksmanship skills
while keeping the round count low.
into a head-shot zone about the size of a
3x5-inch card being the starting point.
We shoot the School Drill from the holster,
but if you are not confident in quickly drawing
the pistol or you’re shooting on a range where
it isn’t allowed, it can be run from a low-ready,
muzzle-depressed starting position.
You’ll need an Option or silhouette target,
10 rounds of ammunition and a shooting
partner to time you.
Here’s the drill:

3 yards One round to the head-scoring
zone in 1.5 seconds. Repeat.
Total: two rounds
3 yards Two rounds to the center-

scoring zone in 1.5 seconds.
Total: two rounds
W
With an appropri- ith ammunition expensive and 7 yards Two rounds to the center-
ate target, a shot hard to come by, making every scoring zone in 1.5 seconds.
timer, your EDC shot count has never been more Total: two rounds
handgun and a important. When I began writing this column,
mere 10 rounds
the emphasis was on drills using less than 10 yards Two rounds to the center-
a box of ammunition; now I think it prudent scoring zone in 2 seconds.
of ammunition,
to suggest drills requiring an even smaller Total: two rounds
you can regularly number of rounds.
practice and hone While I described the Gunsite School Drill in 15 yards Two rounds to the center-scoring
your shooting a column several years ago, I think now is a zone, fired from kneeling, starting
skills to maintain good time to look at it again. Why? Because it from standing, in 3.5 seconds.
readiness, even in is an excellent Skills Check and only requires Total: two rounds
the midst of an 10 rounds of ammunition. It’s the sort of drill
ammo shortage. you can run from time to time to check your If you score the head- and center-scoring
skill level and with ammunition prices and rings as five points, the possible score is 50.
scarcity being what they are, it’s an economi- Hits on the silhouette but outside the scoring
cal drill. I often use it when testing new zones are good for two points. Shots off the
pistols to find out if the sights, trigger and target or not within the time limits are
gun, in general, are working for me. awarded zero points. Perfect scores are, well,
The School Drill, while seemingly simple, perfect. Scores in the 40s are very good.
involves complex skills performed in short Want to attend the Gunsite Defensive Pistol
time periods. Drawing from the holster, 250 class and hope to receive an Expert
aligning the sights, focusing on the front rating? If you’re in one of my classes you need
sight and pressing the trigger without to shoot a perfect School Drill, among other
disturbing the sights are some of them— things. You can practice this five times with
and all necessary—if you’re to be successful. one box of ammunition. I assure you, it’s a
Speed is of the essence with 1.5-second shots good investment.

PRO SHOP Products I Gear I Accessories
When Discretion is Key

The following pieces of equipment The LA Police Gear Atlas Flannel features breakaway
snaps to provide instant access to your pocket(s) or
help carry your essential EDC gear waistband. The fabric weight and pattern help minimize
while providing the greatest level printing. Two chest pockets feature a pen pass-through
of concealment. along the top seam. A hidden zipper in the right pocket
offers a handy location for small items, and hook-and-loop
closures along the top of each pocket conceal secondary
pockets. Multiple colors are available.
MSRP: $24.99; lapolicegear.com
A smaller, more compact size and narrow profile make the

Buck Budgie Knife an ideal addition to your EDC comple-
ment. A large thumb hole allows hassle-free, ambidex-
trous, one-handed opening, while its 2-inch, S35VN steel,
drop-point blade ensures long-term edge retention during
extended use. A contoured and textured G10 scale spans
the left side of the handle, while a stainless pocket clip and
a lanyard loop allow for multiple carry options.
MSRP: $85; buckknives.com
Constructed from Biothane Super-Flex webbing, Henry

Holsters’ Flint Compact IWB/AIWB Holster features a
fold-over style that combines a minimalist design with
practical features. A concealment kick along the rear of the
holster tips the gun’s muzzle outward while rotating the
grip in toward your hip, enhancing concealment.
Adjustable for cant and ride height, the Flint Compact is
available for select Glock and SIG Sauer pistols.
MSRP: $75 to $95; henryholsters.com
Constructed of a high-density, closed-cell foam, the

Blackhawk Tecgrip Magazine Holster holds tight against
most fabrics, eliminating the need for traditional belt clips.
Its outer layer is designed to hold the pouch securely
against any material, keeping your spare magazine
securely anchored in place, whether in a pocket or tucked
in a waistband. It is available for single-stack magazines.
MSRP: $18.95; blackhawk.com
Designed to treat life-threatening injuries in a small,

compact, easily identifiable/transportable package, the
Dark Angel Medical Every Day Carry (EDC) Trauma Kit
ships with one CAT Gen 7 or SOFFT-W tourniquet, one
package of hemostatic gauze, one pair of Nitrile gloves,
one mini compression bandage and one pair of Hyfin Vent
compact chest seals.
MSRP: $138.98; darkangelmedical.com

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TECH WISDOM George Harris
Sight Height front and 5 through 10 for the rear sights. The
higher the numerical value of the number, the
Done Right higher the impact of the bullet on the target.

According to SIG Sauer, each front-sight
increment will move the impact of the bullet
In the past few months, I have had the good fortune to acquire two approximately 1 inch vertically at 25 yards.
new Mossberg pistols. One is an MC1sc to carry in my pocket and Each rear-sight increment moves the strike of
the other is an MC2c I carry concealed in a belt holster. Both are as the round approximately 2 inches vertically at
accurate and reliable as any handgun I’ve shot. I have put several 25 yards.
hundred rounds of different types and weights of 9 mm ammuni- Mossberg chose the number 8 front and
tion through each pistol trying to find something that hits where I number 8 rear sights as standard fare for its
want it to. So far, both guns shoot a few inches low for me, using pistols, much like the numbered sights found
the sight picture that I like to use. Both guns hit dead-on with on SIG Sauer products. To raise the strike of
Speer 124-grain hollowpoints, which may be fine for some people, the bullet on your target, depending on how
but I like to see my target above the front sight so I’m sure of where far you need to go, replace the number 8
my bullets are going to go. Aside from trying to convince me of sights you have with higher-numbered sights
changing my sight picture, which will not happen, what kind of that will give you the additional elevation to
sights can I change to in order to make both guns shoot where I meet your criterion.
want them to? As another option, there are many after-
Roy D. market sight makers that manufacture their
Remlap, AL products with the SIG Sauer dovetail. The
downside, unfortunately, is few use the
incremental-numbering system.
In all fairness, the There is a method other than trial and error
Mossberg people to get the appropriate sight heights for your
canvassed a number of pistols to achieve the desired hits on target
experienced experts with your sight picture, however. The first
to get their opinion step is to shoot a group or two using your
on where a pistol for preferred sight picture. Then measure the
personal defense distance on the target from where you were
Getting a should be regulated to hit with typical, aiming to the center of the group in inches.
Mossberg pistol everyday-carry ammunition. The overwhelm- The second step is to measure the sight radius
to shoot on target ing response turned out to be point-of-aim, of your pistol in inches. Multiply step one by
while using a point-of-impact. That is to say, with proper step two and then divide the result by the
6-o’clock hold can
sight alignment, the bullet would impact distance to the target in inches—remember
where the top of the front sight was located to use inches, not feet or yards—and you will
be accomplished
on the target when the bullet left the muzzle. have the figure necessary to increase or
by replacing the It stands to reason that the pistols shoot a bit decrease the existing sight height to make
original sights low for you with your preferred sight picture the change in bullet impact on the target.
with another set of since the pistols were engineered to shoot Do keep in mind that the rear-sight height
SIG Sauer-type point-of-aim, point-of-impact. (value) is increased to cause the bullet to
sights that have a Mossberg engineers hedged their bets, strike higher on the target. Adjusting the
higher number however, by utilizing a previously proven front sight is just the opposite. Decreasing the
designation. sight system employed by SIG Sauer. The height (value) of the front sight will raise the
sights are dovetailed in the slide and may be strike of the bullet on the target.
drifted left or right to change windage. As long as the sights you use have a
Elevation adjustments are made by changing SIG Sauer-style dovetail, you can interchange
the front or rear sight—or both—to get the with the factory sights to your heart’s content
point-of-impact desired by the shooter using and to please your eye with the sight picture
their preferred shooting technique. The best-suited for you to hit where you want on
sights are numbered 5 through 9 for the the target.
Correspondence is welcomed and encouraged

Write to: Shooting Illustrated I NRA I 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030-9400
e-mail: [email protected]

THE
H BITE IS
WORSE THAN
THE BARK
Fire the PMR30™ once and you’ll take notice. But there’s more to this .22 magnum
pistol than its light weight and easy handling. With its unique KelTec® hybrid
blow-back system and 30-round magazine, there’s plenty of bite to back up its bark.
Innovation. Performance. KelTec. See more at KelTecWeapons.com.
RIFLES Steve Adelmann
Upper Management
AR-15s use a front pivot pin that is approxi-
mately .065-inch larger in diameter than most
other upper receiver brands’ pivot-pin bores.
Several companies sell two-piece, threaded
One of the biggest advantages of the adapter pins that allow those large-pin Colt
AR-style rifle is the ability to change lowers to work with now-standard uppers. I
have used these adapters many times when
calibers quite quickly. pairing new uppers with older Colt lowers and
they work great.
C
hances are pretty good that unless you own an ammunition Some amount of play between upper and
company or have really deep pockets, your range time has lower receivers is common, but it can get
tapered off over the past year. People with rifles chambered in excessive when they come from different
the few available ammo types may still be training, but what do you makers. While this “slop” has no effect on a
do when your rifle is not compatible with any of those calibers? One rifle’s mechanical accuracy, it can make
option is to change your gun’s chambering, if possible. Modular rifle holding a consistent body position more
designs that allow temporary caliber conversions are an excellent difficult due to the upper shifting during
alternative to not shooting at all, so long as all components play recoil. I have only seen two cases where
well together. receiver slop caused functional problems. If
Many old and new rifle designs allow caliber changes, and when the your lower has a tensioning screw directly
retrofit components come from the firearm’s manufacturer, it is usually under the rear takedown pin, eliminating this
a straightforward process. Aftermarket parts are where things can get play is easy. If no screw is present, a gunsmith
tricky, and AR rifles and carbines lead the pack in this arena. Although can retrofit the lower receiver with a tensioner
quickly swapping AR upper receivers is the simplest way to change or you can drop in a rubber “Accu-Wedge” to
calibers, the availability of so many aftermarket and non-standardized tighten things up.
components can present compatibility issues. These problems show up Although forged lower receivers tend to be
in both small- and large-receiver sizes, and are most often encountered fairly uniform, one potential for variation is in
when using uppers and lowers from different makers. the front pivot-pin housing’s external
geometry. Manufacturers use different wall
Petite Packages thickness in this area, causing some freefloat
The majority of ARs in circulation are built on the small-frame, fore-end designs to bind when an upper is
AR-15-size pattern. Fortunately, the presence of an actual “mil-spec” has “shotgunned” for cleaning (removing the rear
kept small receiver manufacturers singing the same tune, even if they pin and separating the upper and lower
are not exactly on the same sheet of music. For example, older Colt receivers, but leaving them joined at the front
pin). A few minutes with a needle or rat-tail
file on the fore-end’s impact points will
relieve the contact. Take it slow, removing a
little at a time and testing the fit frequently.
The final issue I encounter when adding
uppers to small-frame-AR lowers is that some

keep them fed,
trigger groups do not work well with
pistol-caliber carbine (PCC) uppers.
Even though most PCC bolt carriers
receiver’s rear takedown pin tab in
the same manner. I used a piece of
earplug this way in my Army-issued
clean, and
are now made to work with both
Colt- and Glock-pattern magazines,
their undersides differ from maker to
sniper rifle for several years before
commercial solutions became
readily available.
protected
maker. This problem can pop up with Differences in bolt-stop recesses
either match or mil-spec trigger between large-upper-receiver makers
groups, depending on the brands can cause problems, too. If you are
used. Anytime you add a new upper trying to seat your new upper and
to your lower, be sure to do a proper find that something is stopping it
function check to ensure that the from fully closing on the lower, check
safety and the trigger group’s primary to see if the bolt stop is the issue.
sear, disconnector and hammer Press the bottom of the bolt stop so
operate correctly. If they do not, a that the top edge tips out, and then
different bolt carrier or trigger group try to fully seat the upper again. If it
will likely be required. seats correctly, the top/inside edge of
the bolt stop will need to be filed
Big Boys down until there’s no interference.
Large-frame AR receivers have more This part is supposed to be hardened,
cross-compatibility issues when so filing should be slow. I remove the
adding a new upper to an existing bolt stop and then use a low-rpm
lower. The first task is to make sure rotary tool with a mildly abrasive
your new upper matches your lower’s polishing drum, taking care not to
pattern: ArmaLite AR-10 cut, DPMS overheat the part. With SENTRY’s innovative line of
LR 308 cut or the less common DPMS When mating uppers and lowers
Hexmag AR-15 magazines and
Gen II short receiver. Beyond that from different large-frame manufac-
SENTRY’s evolutionary Tuf-Cloth
starting point, there are slight turers, contours are often mismatched
that’s pre-saturated with our proven
takedown- and pivot-pin-size differ- where the upper meets the bridge
formula to Clean, Protect, and leave
ences between receiver manufactur- section of the lower receiver, just
a Dry, Fully-lubricated surface. All
ers, even though most makers below the charging handle. Although
100% made in the USA by SENTRY
theoretically use the same sizes. A tiny the difference is usually just cosmetic,
difference in diameter is more than I encounter charging handle interfer-
enough to make seating the pins ence in this area from time to time.
difficult or even impossible. Some The best way to alleviate this prob-
receiver manufacturers list compatible lem—and all of the others listed
products from other companies on above for both large and small frame
their websites, but if you are unsure, sizes—is to use receivers from the
contact both companies to ensure same manufacturer.
their receivers will work together I do not mean to imply that adding
before purchasing. new uppers to AR lowers is always
If you need an Accu-Wedge to problematic—that is the exception,
remove large-frame receiver slop, the rather than the rule. These are simply
circular bottom of the wedge will the main issues I have dealt with over
probably need to be thinned. A razor the course of adding several hundred
blade works well to cut one thin slice uppers to existing lowers. While the
at a time until the fit is just right. In a days of 25 cents-per-round may be
pinch, a third to half of a foam earplug a distant memory, some popular
can be compressed under the upper centerfire rifle cartridges can still (as
of this writing) be had for significantly
less than a dollar apiece. If your rifle
has the modularity to switch to one
of these calibers, taking advantage of find these Sentry Products and more at
that capability will help to keep your
skills sharp.
sentrytactical.com
HANDGUNS Tamara Keel
Welcome to But these days, Glocks have joined the Colt

Government Model and a handful of rifles in
the Party, Pal

that you can buy a turnkey, ready-to-fire,
new-in-box gun that is literally part-for-part
100-percent compatible with a factory Glock,
yet is not actually made by Glock.
Glock’s remarkable popularity has led This raises a question that used to arise in
heated debates on the internet back in the
to an aftermarket where non-Glock, days of people arguing Glock versus 1911 over
Glock-based pistols are now a thing. dialup modems: When will “Glock,” like “1911,”
become just a generic name for a
kind of gun?
People call a paper facial tissue
a “Kleenex” or a disposable
bandage a “Band-Aid” without
regard for whether or not it was
actually made by Kimberly-Clark
or Johnson & Johnson. Similarly,
John Moses Browning’s .45 ACP
M1911 Government Model gets
the bad rap for every malfunction
suffered by every subcompact,
alloy-framed, 3-inch, 9 mm
single- or double-stack, polymer-
frame 1911-pattern pistol made
by any third-party manufacturer.
“What’d you expect?” snort the
detractors, “It’s a 1911.”
It will probably be a while
before third-generation Glock
clones have this sort of effect on
internet gun lore, but it’s not
T
Exotic slides, he number of firearms that you can impossible to imagine in future debates.
stylish barrels assemble yourself from scratch, from Another result of a firearm making the
and elaborately the frame/receiver up, without using a effective jump to “open source” like this is that
enhanced frames single part made by the original manufacturer it opens the door for experimentation and
are all available
makes for a pretty small club. And if that club marketing to niches that might not attract the
is small, then the exclusive party room in the eye of a larger company. Like the aforemen-
from a variety of
back is populated by designs where you can tioned variants based on the 1911 architecture
manufacturers buy completely assembled derivatives from that vary greatly in size, caliber, capacity or
to make your third parties. This usually happens when a construction materials from the original, the
Glock-based pistol popular firearm becomes old enough that any basic Gen3 Glock architecture is essentially
truly “yours.” patents have expired, although sometimes now just a jumping-off point for an increasing
clone makers do jump the gun and matters number of creative manufacturers.
get settled in court. Alpha Foxtrot has a forged-aluminum frame
Glock pistols, at least of the first three which offers a host of refined ergonomic
generations, have been in the first club for a details. Zev Technologies offers its OZ-9 which,
while. Off the top of my head, I can’t recollect like a 2011-type racegun, mates a metal
when the first turnkey, aftermarket Glock receiver/chassis with a swappable polymer
frames became available, but it has to be grip-frame module.
getting close to 20 years. CCF Race Frames One of the more radical riffs on the concept
were certainly available in the early Aughties, is ZRO Delta’s Modulus concept, which is
and (as this is written, anyway) you’ve been essentially a metal-frame Gen3 Glock G19
able to buy stripped grip frames to get your
DIY gun-building kicks for a while now. Continued on page 102

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SHOTGUNS Jeff Johnston
Hunting Shotguns
For Home Defense? Winchester Model 12
Back before the Great War, if your granddaddy was
a duck hunter he likely either shot an American-made
double barrel or a Winchester Model 12. A hammerless
If all you have for home defense update to the 1897, for half a century it was the fastest,
is a hunting-oriented scattergun, most reliable repeater going, and that’s why it was
there are modifications you can modified by the military and employed as a fearsome
“trench gun” in World War II. Today in its 28-inch-barreled
easily make to improve its defen- hunting configuration, it’s still a quality firearm, although it
sive capabilities. was usurped by the more advanced Remington 870 in
1964. Even so, if this is the gun you’ve got, rest assured it’ll
I
f you’re like me—which I suspect you are or else you work wonders for warding off evil. Hopefully, it has an
wouldn’t be reading Shooting Illustrated—you own a improved-cylinder choke and you can figure out how to
dedicated home-defense shotgun (or two) tailor-made remove its magazine plug.
for the job. But, we are the minority. Many more Americans
don’t have an IWI US Tavor TS12 or a Mossberg 590A1
Tactical in a biometric rack above the headboard. Rather,
they keep a wood-stocked Winchester Model 12, an old Winchester SXP
Ithaca double, a Browning A5, a Mossberg 500 All Purpose, Winchester’s current-production update to the
a Remington 1100 or the like stashed behind the clothes in Model 12 is its Super X Pump. Although this foreign-made
the closet or in a safe. While these fowling pieces may not model comes in myriad configurations—some more
have been specifically made for defending castles, they can naturally suited for home defense than others—the most
do it. Here are a half-dozen of the most popular hunting common is a 26-inch-barreled, camouflage, hunting
shotguns that can serve double-duty as home defenders, version. If you have one, it’ll work like gangbusters. It’s
along with some tips for employing them as such. likely the fastest and easiest-to-operate pump on the
market due to its spring-loaded, rotary-bolt system that
initiates the ejection stroke as the trigger is pulled. Just
install the cylinder-choke tube and remove the plug so you
can feed it with five 00-buck rounds. If you want to soup it
Remington 870 up, order a flashlight mount and a sidesaddle for it.
For the last 30 years, Remington’s
venerable 870 Express has been offered for around $250 at
major discount stores. That’s because this 12-gauge pump
just works every time, clean or dirty, in foul weather or Mossberg 500
air-conditioning. In its typical hunting configuration, it If you don’t have an 870, odds are good you’ve
comes with three choke tubes and a 26- or 28-inch barrel. got a Mossberg 500 somewhere in the house. After all,
If you don’t feel like spending any money making it the 11 million Americans think the 500 is swell for everything
best home defender it can be, that’s your call, but at least from downing ducks in a salty marsh to rooting out
make sure the plug (mandated for use when hunting terrorists in some less-appealing locations overseas. While
migratory birds) is removed so it’ll hold four rounds in its I’d never recommend neglecting any gun, the 500 is one
tubular magazine. Then screw in its cylinder-choke tube that needs next-to-no coddling to trust it. Mossberg 500s
and you’re good to go. I’d rather have this hunting 870 in built in the last 30 years feature screw-in choke tubes, sling
my hands than any handgun on the planet when a bad studs, an easy-to-see white bead, an ambidextrous tang
actor comes through my window. safety and a 26-inch barrel. With its plug removed to
If you wish to modify your 870 but still use it for hunting liberate its five-round magazine (six rounds total), it’s a
in the fall, buy a simple sling for it, a Plus-2 round maga- great defensive option. Like the other popular shotguns on
zine extension from XS Sights for $82, a hook-and-loop this list, there’s no shortage of aftermarket parts for it, so
mounted shell carrier to keep reloads handy and a simple with a few hundred bucks you can easily morph yours into
flashlight mount like the Ultimate Arms Gear Flashlight Kit the ultimate home defender. Most of the cash ($187) would
for $30. The 870’s only downside? While there are more be spent on a factory 18.5-inch “Security” barrel and the
than 11 million currently in circulation, finding a used one rest on a four-round mag-tube extension, a flashlight
isn’t hard, but at the time of this writing Remington’s Ilion, mount, sidesaddle and sling. When duck season comes
NY, plant is not yet up and running under its new owners. back around, have Batman change back into Bruce Wayne.

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SHOTGUNS Hunting Shotguns for Home Defense?
Any Old Double Remington 1100/11-87

Perhaps the most common firearm found in any Throughout rural America, where bird hunters
home is a hand-me-down from when Grandpa used to abound, Remington’s 1100 and 11-87 models are prolific.
hunt rabbits, squirrels and quail for supper with a double- While I’m not saying these are perfect guns for home
barrel shotgun. Most often these scatterguns—usually defense (both are known to jam like rush-hour traffic
made in the early- to mid-1900s—are inexpensive guns when dirty) they can certainly be used to great effect in
that were sold by Sears & Roebuck or Stevens. the home—especially if this is the gun you’ve been
First, check that it is modern enough and in proper dropping birds with since you were 10. If so, it means
condition to safely fire high-energy 00 buck loads. If you’re you’re able to load it blindfolded and hit moving targets
not sure, take it to a gunsmith. Second, is it choked with it almost subconsciously, and there’s a lot to be said
Modified or more open? Some of these old guns were for that when it comes to home defense. Just make sure
choked very tight. Third, does it have ejectors, or just it’s well broken-in, clean, well-lubed and stoked with
extractors? If extractors only, you should know that full-power loads. If it’s more than about 35 years old, it
removing the shells to reload can take valuable time; if probably won’t accept choke tubes, so you might think
ejectors, know to roll the gun to the side when opening the about buying a short, C or IC barrel if it’s choked any
action so the shells won’t strike you in the face. Next, find tighter than Modified. Then just remove its plug, if it has
out if the gun has an automatic safety. If so, practice one, so it’ll hold five rounds. If you can spend $100 more
reloading and firing under pressure and working the safety on it, buy an extended mag tube, a light mount and a
each time after reloading so it becomes ingrained into sidesaddle. If you wish to trick out your home-defense
muscle memory. Finally, realize that a double-barrel’s double, consider a dab of white nail polish for its front
splinter-style fore-end is mainly for show; to fire, wrap the bead and a slip-on shell carrier for its stock.
fingers of the support hand firmly around the barrels ahead Whatever shotgun you settle on, remember: It is
of the fore-end to help keep the barrels down. ultimately your skill in using it that wins gunfights.
WORLD FAMOUS
CHIP M C CORMICK

It all starts with
It was the first gun you ever shot. The only gun you ever wanted.
And the last gun you’d ever part with. Generations of American shooters
have grown up with Daisy. Rest assured we’ll be here for generations to come.
Daisy.com
AMMO Richard Mann
Tips for you’re creating delivers the performance you

want. You want to make sure you’ve reached
Volume Loading
the target velocity and that the precision on
target is at the level you demand. You also
want to ensure reliability with the guns out of
which you will be shooting the ammo. You
While it might be tempting to start hand- can do this load workup on a progressive
loading to beef up inventory, keep some press, but I’ve found it much easier to do on a
single-stage unit.
basics in mind. Before you can even begin to work up a
load on a progressive press, you must set up
the machine. Setting up a single-stage press is
much easier and so, too, is making slight
adjustments in seating depth, powder charge,
primer choice and expander- and sizing-die
adjustments. I’ll determine all these settings
on a single-stage press while I’m also estab-
lishing the load recipe for whatever cartridge
I’m loading. Once I’m getting the performance
I want, I’ll transfer my dies to the progressive
press and begin setting up the machine.
Machine Setup
It takes some time to set up a progressive
press. For example, if you’re loading a pistol
cartridge like .357 Mag., you must adjust the
sizing die correctly, adjust the neck-expander
die correctly, fill up your auto-priming system
and make sure it’s working, adjust the
R
Setting up a ight now, ammo is as hard to find as auto-powder dispenser and then adjust the
progressive press unicorn poop. When will the ammuni- seating and crimp. Each of these steps should
to run properly tion craze end? If it happens in less be done singularly, because it allows you to
takes time, effort than two years, I’ll be astonished, and if it do two things: First, focus on one adjustment
and quite a bit
happens in less than four, I’ll be surprised. at a time and second, use the least amount of
This has a lot of shooters—new and old— brass possible.
of brass.
interested in loading their own ammunition I always start with the sizing die and then
PHOTO: RICHARD MANN
in bulk. Of course, components are hard to adjust the neck-expander die so I can easily
find, too, but you might be able to wheel and place a bullet on the case mouth, so that it
deal and trade for the primers, powder, will not fall off during press operation. Next, I
bullets and brass you need. move to the powder dispenser and confirm
Whether you’re a seasoned handloader or with five measured charges that I’m getting
are just learning the skill, the best source for the charge weight I need. The bullet seating
information on “how to” is one of the quality and crimp functions are next, followed by
loading manuals available from companies coordinating the auto-primer feed. Once I feel
like Hornady, Nosler, Sierra and Speer. Still, I have everything adjusted properly, I’ll load
there are some things you learn from actually five or six rounds and test fire them to make
loading ammunition that the manuals may sure I’ve recreated the load exactly like I
not mention. After years of loading lots of developed it on the single-stage press.
ammunition, I’ve learned a thing or two,
and here are some of things you might not Brass Allotment
have considered. Once you have a progressive press set up
for a particular load, you can expect about
Load Development one in 100 mistakes in the loading process.
Before you embark on any volume-loading These are mostly human error and include
project, you want to make sure that the load things like forgetting to press the lever down

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AMMO Tips for Volume Loading
to prime a case, or maybe inserting a Safety you loaded? Will you remember the
bullet upside down. The point is, if I always wear safety glasses when exact recipe? Write it down as you go.
you want to load 500 rounds, make loading ammunition. I’ve never had an Also, don’t leave powder and
sure you have enough brass on hand incident, but I see the potential for it primers in your machine. If you finish a
to compensate for mistakes you all the time. Sometimes primers get loading session, empty the primer and
might make. loose and can fall into the mechanics powder supply to circumvent potential
Additionally, anytime you’re setting of the machine, offering the opportu- disaster. If you know you’re coming
up a progressive press, you’ll need nity for detonation. I’ve also heard of back shortly, at least label the powder
some brass to run through the setup primers detonating in primer tubes. in the dispenser and the primers in the
procedure to make sure all of your die These occurrences are obviously rare, feed so you know for sure what you’re
and press adjustments are correct. I but so, too, are incidents when guns working with. When you’re finished,
typically set aside 20 cases for this blow up. I’ve had several guns blow always clean up completely.
process. It may not take that many, up due to ammunition issues, so I’m Volume loading is not that compli-
but I’ve found that it usually takes at thinking it’s only a matter of time until cated and is quite safe. The key to
least half that many to get everything I have an incident on a loading bench. success is to do the preparation
just right. So, for example, if I want to Humans have the ability to screw up beforehand and to observe safety
load 500 rounds that involve a new just about anything. protocols. Both will save you time and
setup on a progressive press, I’ll need I also learned early on to box and components in the long run. Our
at least 525 cases to get there. Also, label my handloads as soon as I’m current ammunition situation is
before even starting on the progres- through, and sometimes even during frustrating, but so, too, is running out
sive press, you’ll need at least another the process. You might think you’re of brass when you still have 25 bullets
25 cases to work with on the single- going to come back tomorrow or next to load, or having to dump a hopper
stage press while you’re refining your week and load more of the same, and of powder or a tube of primers
load and checking it for velocity, you might actually show up much later because you didn’t label them and
accuracy and reliability. to do that. Will you remember what don’t know what they are.
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STRAIGHT TALK Sheriff Jim Wilson
Complacency for the first time ever, and I’m sure that the
local gun shop had a high-revenue day.
Can get you Killed Everywhere you went, you heard, “This is
unbelievable! It just can’t be happening in
our little town!”
Well, of course it can. Crime happens
There is no such thing as being too everywhere—in seedy neighborhoods and
prepared for the worst. even in upscale zip codes. Everywhere. In
some places it occurs less frequently,
however, and that can cause some people to
become complacent.
We even see complacency among police
officers. The cops who are working armed-
robbery details, narcotics raids and felony
apprehensions stay pretty well-tuned-up
and alert. But, the officer who is assigned to
daytime traffic patrol may be a whole other
story. He or she doesn’t see the fights and the
shootouts on such a regular basis and may
tend to not spend too much time thinking
about it. They may be the type who leaves
their ballistic vest at home because it is just
too hot today. Complacency.
And we certainly see complacency among
armed citizens. These are the folks who have
a defensive handgun, but only carry when
they think they might need it. Or they leave it
in their car to keep it handy—which assumes
they will be anywhere near their car when
the balloon goes up, or that they will have
time to get to the gun.
Then there are the armed citizens who
don’t seek out professional training because
they got it in military service, however long
ago that might have been. They think they
can rely on a few days of training, from
some 20 to 30 years ago, knowing full well
that shooting skills are quickly diminishing
skills. Complacency.
Back in the early part of the summer, we
had a film crew out here to shoot a TV show.
A
Just as an few years ago, a murder occurred in Since they weren’t from around here, I gave
unlocked foot- our little town. It happened in a them a little talk about rattlesnakes and how
locker is an private residence as the result of to avoid them. The first few days, I could tell
invitation to an argument, and the killer got away. It was that they were being careful, but by the end
thievery, being
24 hours before he was found in a nearby of the week, they were stomping around
vacant lot where he had committed suicide, without a care in the world. They hadn’t seen
complacent in your
probably within minutes after committing his a snake, so they forgot about it.
daily life can result heinous crime. But then I, too, live in a small town that
in you becoming a But, in those 24 hours following the has little violence. So, what do I do about it?
victim of crime. shooting, our little town went into panic My solution is found in being a full-time
mode over the fact that a killer was on the defensive writer and teacher. As I remind
loose. Doors were getting locked that you of these things, I consciously remind
probably hadn’t been locked in the past myself of the need to be vigilant, to train
10 years. Keys were taken out of some cars and to practice.

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STRAIGHT TALK Complacency
It is that reminder we need. Folks

living in or near high-crime areas get
that reminder every time they hear
the sirens, watch the local news or
see the results as they drive down
their streets. Nothing reminds you to
FORGE drive carefully like driving past the
scene of a major accident. And,
PATH
YOUR
OWN
nothing reminds you to stay defen-
sively alert like driving by the scene
of a violent crime.
Those of us who live in more
peaceful climes can avoid compla-
cency by daily giving some thought
to our personal-defense plan. We
need to deliberately set aside that
time each day. It is even better if we
have regular discussions with other
family members or friends.
Some female friends of mine
More than just
have a local chapter of The Well
another striker-fired
pistol, the P-10 is Armed Woman that meets once a
decidedly CZ, from the month. Since ammunition has been
way it feels to the way it so hard to get of late, they have
shoots. Industry-leading
features, legendary build
turned those monthly meetings from
quality and superior range sessions into a lecture series.
shootability make the P-10 In a much more relaxed atmosphere
stand out from the crowd.
than is found at the shooting range,
The world is full of followers –
take your own path.
they can sit around and discuss
tactics, ask questions and share ideas.
Experience CZ.
I would suggest local discussion
groups with qualified guest speakers
for anyone who is serious about their
own safety.
The simple fact is no one can afford
CZ P-10 to be complacent, because anyone
and everyone can be the victim of
violent crime. Living in a small town
will not stop it. Living in an upscale
neighborhood won’t stop it. Having
the most professional police depart-
ment in the whole country won’t stop
it, either.
We can’t eliminate violent crime,
but we can prepare to deal with it.
That’s why we get good training and
practice what we’ve been taught. It
is why we research and purchase
quality equipment and then take the
time to really learn how to use it. It’s
why we spend time developing a
defense plan and continually modify
and improve it. It is why we get
serious about our own safety and
avoid complacency.

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FEATURE
Nifty Fifty
Once again,
T
he days of blue steel and walnut as the
defining style of firearms are long behind
Kel-Tec has us. One company leading that charge was
designed a truly Kel-Tec. Its embrace of polymer and black-oxidized

steel with almost industrial looks is the new base-
innovative gun line for firearms. And, the latest in its line of “why
didn’t I think of that” firearms is the P50.
that promises To start, the P50 is chambered in 5.7x28 mm.
The 5.7 is not new. It has now been around for
more perfor- 30 years, and was just formally adopted by NATO.
What made it not commonly seen on ranges was
mance for the dearth of options to use it. For most of its exis-
your money. tence, only two firearms—both pretty pricey—
were chambered for the round. With recent
introductions from Ruger, CMMG, Diamondback
and now Kel-Tec, however, there’s a lot of new life
for this little speed demon. Not only is the P50
priced noticeably less than the original FN options,
it also makes use of the most generous-capacity
magazines to be had for the 5.7x28 mm.
By Patrick Sweeney
Photos by Peter Fountain
53
FEATURE
Inside the top rail, a post-style front sight peeks

out for use without an optic • Though small, the
notch rear sight aligns well with the front post •
A QD socket at the rear of the P50 lets the user
attach a sling for added stability • Beneath the
“dustcover” lies an accessory-rail section.
The P50 is a semi-automatic, delayed-

KEL-TEC I P50
blowback pistol that uses the 50-round
magazines of the FN PS90 carbine. The P50
appears bulky, but the size is belied by its
relatively light weight of 51 ounces empty. I
have used heavier pistols in competitions,
and none of them had a 50-round magazine.
On top, the P50 has a full-length Picatinny
rail with plenty of room to mount whatever
optic you choose. Matching it on the bottom
of the receiver is a shorter rail for a light or
laser. The groove down the center of the top
rail is also where the iron sights are
mounted, which is useful, but I imagine
most users will quickly mount the most
compact red-dot sight they can find to make
the P50 even more handy.
Behind that lower rail, Kel-Tec has placed a
SHOOTING RESULTS
curved hand-grip for your off hand, directly
below the center of balance. The trigger Load Velocity Group Size
Smallest Largest Average
guard and the pistol grip are just behind FN SS195LF 28-grain JHP 2,179 1.8 2.7 2.3
that hump. The Kel-Tec idea of a pistol grip FN SS197SR 40-grain V-Max 2,007 1.3 1.9 1.7
in proportion and shape is exactly to my Federal 40-grain FMJ 1,893 1.6 2.1 1.9
taste. It is relatively slim, with definite flat Velocity measured in fps 15 feet from the muzzle for 10 consecutive shots with a LabRadar
sides, so it indexes well. It is covered with chronograph. Temperature: 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Accuracy measured in inches for four
consecutive, five-shot groups at 25 yards from a sandbag rest.
large, rectangular, non-slip gripping blocks
and the surface has a fine-grain texture to
add to the secure grip. SPECIFICATIONS
Kel-Tec has positioned all the controls you Manufacturer: Kel-Tec CNC Industries; Trigger Pull Weight: 4 pounds, 12 ounces
(321) 631-0068, keltecweapons.com Sights: Front blade, rear notch;
need above and behind the pistol grip.
Action Type: Delayed-blowback- full-length optics rail
Directly above the pistol grip is the safety, operated, semi-automatic Overall Length: 15 inches
which is ambidextrous. With the lever point- Caliber: 5.7x28 mm Width: 2 inches
ing back, the P50 is on “safe,” with it pivoted Capacity: 50 rounds Height: 6.7 inches
to point down, it is on “fire.” Just above Frame: Polymer Weight: 51 ounces
where you grip, Kel-Tec has located the Finish: Black oxide Accessories: Hard case, two 50-round
receiver latch. Press this latch down, and the Barrel Length: 9.6 inches magazines, QD sling, lock, manual
P50 unlocks with a click. To load, unload or Rifling: 6 grooves; 1:7-inch RH twist MSRP: $995

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FEATURE
With a nearly 10-inch barrel, the P50
offers a significant boost in velocity
over the much shorter barrel of other
5.7x28 mm pistols. The muzzle is
threaded for a suppressor, and comes
with a thread protector installed.
reload, you push the selector to safe, then

press the latch down. Hinge the upper-
receiver assembly (the pivot point is below
the muzzle) and you can access the maga-
zine. Above that, Kel-Tec has provided a
QD sling socket, which offers interesting
possibilities for shooting. The charging
handle is above the QD socket, and it, too,
is ambidextrous, with two tabs you can
grasp. While not an AR-15-compatible part,
it functions in much the same way in terms
of user interface.
Loading is simple. Put the P50 on safe,
unlock the receiver assembly and hinge the
upper receiver up. Hold the upper with your
off hand and grab your magazine with your
firing hand. Place the front end of the maga-
zine in the gap in the upper created by a pair
of sheet-metal fingers and hinge the maga-
zine up toward the upper receiver. Press the
magazine (with the cartridge ready to feed
up, toward the upper) into the upper
receiver until it clicks into place. Now reach
down, grab the lower and hinge it up to the
upper. The first few times you do this, it will
seem counterintuitive. Every shooter I’ve
handed the P50 to without telling them how
to load tries to put the magazine in the
While substantially the chamber located lower and then close the upper down onto
different from that of inside what amounts it. When you do this, the magazine will
an AR-15, the P50’s to an upper receiver • invariably shift, and the receivers won’t
charging handle is To open the pistol for close. Once they are closed, you grasp the
ergonomically similar magazine changes, a charging handle, pull back, let go and you
and just as easy to thumb-lever at the are ready—just like on an AR, which this is
use • The pistol’s rear (where one decidedly not. To shoot, aim, press the selec-
outstanding trigger might find a beaver- tor to fire, then press the trigger.
broke cleanly at less tail on a conventional The ejection port on the P50 is on the top
than 5 pounds of handgun) must be of the upper receiver and empties are
pressure • An pressed down to ejected up and somewhat to the right. Keep
unconventional unlock the P50’s the ejection port location in mind when you
design, the P50 splits upper and lower are mounting optics, as you do not want to
open to allow halves • In addition to block the path of the empty brass.
insertion of its an optics rail, the top The QD sling socket is both a way to carry
50-round magazine. of the P50 includes its the P50 and a useful support for aiming. If
Rounds feed up into ejection port. you use a bungee-type sling locked into the

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On top, the P50 has a full-length
Picatinny rail with plenty of room
to mount whatever optic you
choose. Matching it on the bot-
tom of the receiver is a shorter
rail for a light or laser.
socket and adjust the sling so it tensions

when you press your hands forward while
holding the P50, the sling provides some
added stability. Yes, this is the technique the
Special Air Service (SAS) developed for use
with the H&K MP5, half a century ago.
I did not perform accuracy testing this way,
but rather tested the P50 while sitting at a
shooting bench and resting it on sandbags.
For that, I mounted an Aimpoint Micro T1,
which, while not the most compact red-dot
optic to be found (although it’s close to it for
a non-slide-mounted sight) it was handy,
worked like a charm and it allowed me to
wring out more accuracy from the P50.
The P50 came with two 50-round maga-
Chamber, barrel and comfortable and zines, and loading them is another learning
recoil springs are ergonomic • experience. The magazine holds the rounds
located in the upper Conveniently located horizontally, and at a right angle to the axis
receiver. Spent cases above the grip on of the bore. The feed ramp built into the
are ejected upward either side of the magazine (in the circular boss on one end)
out of the top of the pistol, the safety spirals each cartridge up and into line with
gun • Threaded to selector proved easy the chamber. To load, the first round is done
accept sound to operate • Dual normally: press it down into the feed lips and
suppressors, the recoil springs help push it back until it stops. Just remember the
muzzle comes with a ensure reliability • The correct orientation: bullet tip pointed down
thread protector P50 was basically the length of the magazine. The second
installed • Sporting built around the round won’t be as easy, and the third will
Kel-Tec’s recognizable FN PS90 50-round seem impossible—if you follow the same
square checkering, magazine, which is a pattern. Instead, take every round after the
the pistol grip is proven commodity. first one and press the base of that cartridge

FEATURE THE FASTEST-GROWING
straight down onto the cartridge in
the feed lips, on the neck. When you
press, you’ll see the already-loaded
round snap over to half the rotation
point. You can now, while maintain-
TRIGGER
BRAND
ing pressure, tilt the round you are
loading down into line with the feed
lips and press it back. Repeat until the
magazine is full. The normal method
of loading a pistol magazine does not
offer the leverage the P50 magazine
requires to press rounds down the (for a number of reasons) RA-535
spiral ramp inside the magazine, so Advanced-
Performance
you have to learn new skills. Trigger
With a nearly 10-inch barrel, the 1 | PERFORMANCE
P50 offers a significant boost in ¸4VYLOP[ZVU[OLÄYZ[ZOV[PU.\U[OHU^P[O[OLMHJ[VY`[YPNNLY¹
velocity over the much shorter barrel ¸5VTVYL[YPNNLYMYLLaLÔLU0ÄYLVYTVYLYV\UKZVUHZPUNSL[HYNL[¹
of other 5.7x28 mm pistols. The muz- ¸5VJYLLW0TLHUaLYVJYLLW¹
zle is threaded for a suppressor, and
comes with a thread protector
2 | EASY MAINTENANCE
¸(YLHSS`ZPTWSL[YPNNLYJHZZL[[L0Q\Z[ISV^P[V\[L]LY`ML^
installed. As the 5.7 round depends [OV\ZHUKYV\UKZHUKW\[NYLHZLIHJRVU[OLMYPJ[PVUZ\YMHJLZ¹
on velocity for its effectiveness, this ¸,HZ`[VHJJLZZTHPU[LUHUJLWVPU[Z¹
is a good thing. With a boost of some
250 to 325 fps, depending on the 3 | DURABILITY
ammunition used, the P50 delivers ¸>LSSKLZPNULKHUKZVSPKSÌ\PS[¹
more energy than smaller pistols. ¸47?YPÅLZHYLOHYKVUOHTTLYZ(M[LYHIV\[YV\UKZ
`V\YOHTTLYZHYLOVSKPUN\W^LSS¹
And there’s the crux of the P50:
size. Yes, it is not overly heavy for its
size, but it is rather bulky for a hand-
4 | EASY INSTALLATION
¸=LY`X\PJRHUKZPTWSLPUZ[HSS¹
gun. However, that bulk gains you ¸0[PUZ[HSSLKQ\Z[HZLHZPS`HZ`V\Y]PKLVZZHPKP[^V\SK¹
two advantages: added velocity and ¸1\Z[IV\NO[HUKPUZ[HSSLK[^V90:,[YPNNLYZ0^HZISVÛH^H`¹
extra capacity. Besides being grand
fun on the range (and a magnet to 5 | ACCURACY
other shooters on the line) what is ¸9LK\JLKT``HYKNYV\WZI` ¹
the P50 for? I can see it as a cracking- ¸5V[HRL\WNYLH[YLZL[,_[YLTLS`HJJ\YH[L
good home-defense tool. With the T\JOTVYL[OHU0HT¹
¸(OPNOX\HSP[`WYLJPZPVUWHY[[OH[^PSSTHRL
bungee sling and a light/laser
TLHT\JOIL[[LYZOVV[LY¹
combo mounted on the lower rail, it
offers a light, relatively compact
(much more so than a rifle or shot- 6 | MORE TRIGGER
gun) defensive firearm, with plenty FOR THE MONEY
of capacity and light recoil. Even with ¸0»]LHTHaLKZL]LYHS[YPNNLYZUVIZ^P[O[OL
JHUK`JHULIYLHRHUKSPNO[UPUNMHZ[YLZL[
a 40-grain bullet exiting the muzzle ;OL`»YLJY\ZOLKÔLU0[LSS[OLT[OLJVZ[¹
at speeds in excess of 2,000 fps, ¸/HUKZKVÛ[OLILZ[[YPNNLYZVU[OLTHYRL[
recoil is no big deal. H[[OLILZ[WYPJL¹
At $200 or $800 less than either of

the original FN 5.7s, and not quite
$200 more than the Ruger-57 (which
offers a “mere” 20-round magazine),
the Kel-Tec P50 is perfectly posi- RISETRIGGERS.com
Made in the USA
tioned to be a serious competitor
to both lines. Once ammunition is
actually available again, we can all
get back to practice. And with the
P50, practice will be fun.
SHOOTINGILLUSTRATED.COM JUNE/JULY 2021 NO GRAVEL. LESS TRAVEL.

Changing Handgun Sights
The Right Way
Swapping the sights
F
or do-it-yourself types, swapping handguns sights is a good
project. However, a few things have changed since your
on your handgun is grandpa smacked the back sight out of his pistol with a ball-
peen hammer and a scrap piece of brass.
often the first modifi- First, why change the sights at all? There are plenty of answers to
that question. A fair number of the sights that ship on new handguns
cation you’ll want to are not all that great, as high-quality alternatives are expensive and
make. Here’s how to selling handguns is a competitive field. One extremely popular brand
ships their pistols with notoriously poor sights. Also, the ubiquitous
change them without three-white-dot variants found across the spectrum of handgun
makers are disdained by many knowledgeable defensive-handgun
driving yourself mad. experts—they can be very confusing in a tense situation.
Black-on-black models are fine for shooting targets, but not for
much else. With everything the same color, they can be difficult to
Story and Photos by see, particularly in poor light and/or against a dark-colored target.
I once waded into a roaring fight between a large, angry black bear
Bryce M. Towsley and a bunch of walker hounds. There was not a lot of light deep in
that swamp, and when I tried to shoot the black bear with a revolver
fitted with black-on-black sights I could not tell where the sights left
off and the bear began.
I am a big advocate of adjustable sights on handguns for competi-
tion, target shooting or for outdoor use. I even have them on several
carry guns. I want the ability to fine-tune the gun to any ammo I
choose. So, I add adjustable sights to a lot of handguns shipped
with fixed sights.
Furthermore, I insist on using night sights on my defensive hand-
guns. In fact, adding night sights is the single biggest reason people
bring handguns to my shop. They come both fixed and adjustable.
Also, tritium night sights have a shelf-life (actually, a half-life) and
should be replaced every 10 to 15 years.
Changing sights may look like an easy, do-it-yourself project, and
for many years it usually was, but often now it is not. The trend today
with some handgun makers is to use rear sights with “crush-pads” on
the bottom of the dovetail. This may make the manufacturing pro-
cess a bit easier, but it often causes problems for the end user, as the
sights can stick quite tightly in the dovetail. Removing most sights
installed with crush pads will require a top-end sight pusher. I have
bent the frame on a very good (and expensive) sight-pushing tool to
the point where it is currently unusable. I did this while trying to
remove the sights from a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield chambered in
.45 ACP. Any attempt to drive out sights that tight with a hammer
and punch will cause damage to the gun, the sight, the punch and
your mental health.
62
FEATURE
FEATURE
Also, anytime you are working with night but it will cover most of them. My current
sights you should use a sight pusher. The sight pusher is the B&J Machine P500 Pro
glass vials that contain the glow-in-the-dark Universal Sight Tool that I got from Brownells.
tritium are subject to breakage if you use a High-quality sight pushers come with a
hammer and punch to move the sight. The premium price, but a good approach is to
small amount of tritium in the vials won’t share the cost. If you have a group of shoot-
hurt you, but you don’t want to get any on ing buddies or a gun club, why not have
One old gun-
you all the same. everybody chip in a fraction of the cost and
smith’s trick for a I know that we have all heard some loud- buy one collectively? Then, leave it in a place
loose dovetail sight mouth at the gun club spouting, “That’s just where you all have access to use it. That
[bovine excrement]! I have installed hundreds makes a lot of sense, since it’s unlikely any
is to take a prick of night sights with a hammer and punch.” single person will be changing handgun
punch and stipple First, no, he has not. Secondly, these sights sights all that often, but as a group, you
the bottom of the are expensive and it’s not worth the risk. might end up saving money on the pusher
There are a lot of sight pushers on the mar- rather than going to a gunsmith.
dovetail. This ket. Some of them are considered “universal,” You may also need a sight pusher to adjust
raises the metal while many others are dedicated to a single fixed sights for windage. Those handguns
around the stip- manufacturer of handguns. They are all using crush-fit rear sights claim to be drift
costly. If you are like me and work on a wide adjustable, but doing it in the field is impos-
pling and will range of handguns, a universal unit is the sible on many of them. The traditional way is
tighten up the fit. best option. It may not work on every gun, to tap the sight using a small hammer and a
brass or nylon punch, but I have encountered
several new handguns from multiple manu-
facturers on which this is impossible. I had a
Remington RP9 on which I think you could
beat the sights with a carpenter’s framing
hammer and a crowbar and they would not
move. In fact, I am not sure a jackhammer
could have moved that one.
It takes a bit longer, but pull the slide
off the gun and use the sight pusher to
make the adjustments with these sticky
sights. It’s much more precise and it can
move these new-generation sights when
nothing else will. (Besides, I suspect jackham-
mers void the warranty.)
For installing non-tritium sights, you can
most likely use conventional methods. That is
to hold the slide in a padded vise and gently
drive the sight in the dovetail using a small
hammer and a brass or nylon punch. The
important thing is knowing when to stop. If
the sight is not moving, don’t get a bigger
hammer, get a sight pusher.
A brass punch will often leave “tracks” on
the sight where the brass smears on the
steel. These are easy to remove with a cop-
per-removing solvent made to clean rifle
Using a sight pusher makes removing and replacing pistol sights bores. Just wet a patch and rub the brass
in a dovetail markedly easier • Polymer-frame, striker-fired pistols mark until it’s gone. Then dry and coat with
are extremely popular, but many come from the factory with oil to prevent rust.
less-than-excellent iron sights. Replacing them with a good set of night If it’s a new replacement sight, it might be
sights will enhance the performance of the pistol • When installing made oversize. In that case, you must fit the
sights with a brass punch, it will often leave tracks on the sight. Wipe sight to the handgun. When fitting new
the brass marks away with a powerful copper-removing bore solvent. sights to a dovetail, I like to break the sharp

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leading edges on the sight and the hand-
gun’s dovetail using a fine-cut, dovetail file.
This will remove the finish though, so be
careful on the slide. I only do enough to
remove the sharp edge, like dulling a knife
blade. This allows the sight to start and press
into the dovetail without shaving material.
Usually, a little cold blue will touch up if any-
thing shows, but if the gun has a Cerakote or
similar finish, it’s best not to remove any
material that will show.
The old tried-and-true way of Some dovetails are tapered. Install
drifting a sight in a dovetail can the sight from right to left with the muzzle
use a brass, nylon or aluminum facing away. (Left to right to remove.) This
punch. The large nylon punch was the standard for years and still is on
sometimes can get a bit more some firearms.
purchase on the sight. • A “safe” The sight should start into the dovetail
60-degree parallel-side dovetail with hard finger pressure. However, because
file can be used to carefully adjust standardized dimensions are a bit sketchy on
a sight’s dovetail • If you are going dovetails, many sights come slightly oversize
to drift a sight out of a pistol with and are designed to be modified to fit. If the
a hammer and punch, put the fit is too tight, you can use a dovetail file that
slide in a soft-jaw vise to avoid is “safe,” or non-cutting on two sides, so only
damaging your pistol, the sights one side has teeth. Make sure the angle is
or both. correct; a 60-degree compounded angle is
FEATURE
most common, but some dovetails may be different. For example,
some handguns are made with a 65-degree angle dovetail, so make
sure your file matches the angle on the handgun as well as the new
sight you are installing. Use a parallel sides file, not a tapered triangle
file. Brownells is the best source I know for these dovetail files.
I much prefer the concept of cutting on the cheapest part, so mod-
ify the dovetail on the sight, rather than on the handgun. Be careful,
because these sights rely on a tight, press fit. If you remove too much
metal, the fit might become loose or sloppy.
If the fit is too tight, use the file to reduce the width of the sight’s
dovetail very slightly. Take perhaps .005 inch off the sharp edge on
both sides on the sight. If the sight still does not fit, work on the slope
of the dovetail while making light passes with the file. Add a very
slight taper and break the leading edge with a slight radius so it won’t
shave metal. Take very light cuts and try the sight in the dovetail often.
If it starts well into the dovetail under stiff finger pressure, it should be
fine to install. I know at least one sight maker that says that the sight
should go a quarter to a third of the way into the dovetail under finger
pressure. Again, and I can’t say this enough, be extremely careful and
use light cuts—you can’t replace the metal once it’s gone. Some factory sights are in a format with which
One old gunsmith’s trick for a loose dovetail sight is to take a prick you may not be familiar. If they are fitted into
punch and stipple the bottom of the dovetail. This raises the metal dovetails and don’t match your fancy, they are
around the stippling and will tighten up the fit. I have used this trick easy to change • The Wyoming Sight Drifter is a
on old rifles where the dovetail is worn and on a few newer handguns useful tool for adjusting rear sights, although in
where somebody (not me) got overzealous with a file. this case the sight itself is adjustable.
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Center the sight in the slide. This is easy to
judge with your eye in bright, even light. The
rear sight on a handgun with fixed sights
needs to be a bit easier to move than the
front sight. This is because with fixed sights,
the rear sight will be drifted in the dovetail to
adjust point-of-impact for windage. If the
sight is easier to move, it can be done with a
punch in the field, where the shooter prob-
ably will not have a sight pusher. If the rear
sight is not an extra-tight fit, a plastic or brass
punch with gentle hammer taps will move
the sight. It should not be loose enough to
push with your fingers or so tight you need a
sight pusher. It’s a fine line to get it right.
With so many aftermarket sight Or, use a tool called The Wyoming Sight
options, choosing the exact best Drifter which uses spring energy to move the
fit for you and your handgun is not sights, sort of like a slide hammer in reverse.
a problem • Don’t forget to back After using it to adjust several dovetail sights
off the setscrew before attempting I can say with all confidence that it works very
to move the sight • The author well and moves a properly installed sight in a
prefers night sights on his predictable manner, making fine tuning
handguns, and this rear-sight point-of-impact much easier. I believe one
unit from Trijicon includes belongs in every shooting bag. You can find
self-illuminating tritium ampules. it at skinnersights.com.
FEATURE
Many new sights come with a small setscrew to lock the rear sight in
place once the adjustment is made, so keep that in mind when fitting
a rear sight. Always back the screw out so it’s clear before installation.
Also, remember, that the setscrew is often tiny and will strip rather eas-
ily, so be firm, but gentle, when tightening. Although some sight mak-
ers disagree, I like a to put little blue #242 Loctite on the screw threads.
Of course, not all sights—particularly regarding front sights—are in
dovetails. So, you may need the help of a gunsmith if the sight is
pinned or welded in place. They can remove the sight and cut a proper
dovetail for the new sight. Note also that some dovetail sights are
locked in place with a pin through the sight and into the slide of the
gun. Always remove that pin before trying to move the sight.
Sometimes they are hiding under the fiber optic, so remove the slide
and look from underneath. Adjustable sights
One more note, changing the front sight on a Glock requires a little are normally
wrench to remove the screw that holds the sight onto the frame. There considered a
really is no viable substitute. They are not expensive, so take a little competition-only
unsolicited advice: Next time you place an order, get the wrench. luxury, but they can
There is nothing worse than being in stalemate for a week while you be useful for
wait for a wrench to be shipped. If you spend a few bucks now and defensive purposes,
have it in your tool box well in advance, people will think you are a too • Make sure that
genius. In fact, order two; one for the shop and one for your range bag factory sights can be removed before trying to
for sights that become loose while shooting. do so yourself. Some individual units may have
Me? I ordered three, because I am going to lose one of them right been installed with greater zeal than others and
off the start. It’s just the way it is. will require the services of a gunsmith to replace.
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FEATURE
Two for
Defending Our
Hearths and Homes
Looking for a
W
e’ve got a history in my family with shotguns in
less-than-12-gauge. The first firearm I ever shot was
home-defense a Stevens 311 side-by-side in .410-bore. My grand-
father, not the largest guy on the planet, was an absolute
shotgun that sucker for the 16 gauge. I’ve got a safe full of shotguns in that
now-rare gauge, from a genuine Winchester 1897 pump-
everyone can use? action to a Remington Model 11 and others. Today, it seems
as though 20 gauge has usurped the 16 in the “not quite
EAA’s Churchill 12 gauge, but nearly as powerful” category, and for good
line just added two reason—it has 66 to 75 percent of the muzzle energy of the
12 gauge, but with significantly less felt recoil.
models that are So, that’s how we came to have a pair of new 20-gauge
shotguns in EAA’s Churchill line to review. New for 2021, these
worth a look. defense-oriented scatterguns are offered in a semi-automatic
version and a pump-action model. Both offer a pistol-grip
stock, “breacher” muzzle device and an EAA house-brand
red-dot sight. Maneuverable 18.5-inch barrels grace both
shotguns, as does five-round capacity, and each also has a
red fiber-optic front sight and a short section of Picatinny
rail for mounting the red dot. How the guns operate is the
only significant difference between the two.
By Jay Grazio
Executive Editor
Photos by Peter Fountain
71
EAA I Churchill Shotguns
We’ll start with the obvious: Yes, these are Turkish shotguns. EAA
makes no secret of the origin; if you visit the Turkish website for Akkar,
you see the same shotguns; in fact, the Akkar website is printed on the
SPECIFICATIONS 220 OPTICS TACTICAL
box in which the guns are shipped. With Remington’s (likely tempo-
Manufacturer: Akkar rary) egress from the marketplace, there’s a rather serious shortage in
Importer: EAA; (321) 639-4842, eaacorp.com available, American-made, shot-delivery-device options. While I under-
Action Type: Gas-operated, semi-automatic stand and endorse buying American goods whenever possible, cir-
Gauge: 20; 3-inch chamber cumstances may dictate other options. In the case of the EAA Churchill
Capacity: 5 rounds line, these tactical models have two salient features in the current
Finish: Matte blued market: they’re affordable and available.
Barrel Length: 18.5 inches How affordable, you ask? The semi-automatic 220 model has an
Choke: Breacher style, cylinder-bore;
Beretta/Benelli style MSRP of $561, which includes the red-dot sight. The 620 pump-action
Trigger Pull Weight: 7 pounds, 2 ounces comes with the same red dot at a price of $427. For a gun that’s ready
Sights: 5-MOA red-dot sight; red fiber-optic for defensive-duty right out of the box, that’s a great price for a truly
front sight convenient package. While there are a fair number of folks who enjoy
Length: 37.5 inches tinkering, customizing and changing components on their firearms,
Weight: 5 pounds there are plenty of people who just want something that works that
Accessories: Red-dot sight, lock, manual they don’t have to think about. It’s analogous to factory-available
MSRP: $561 pickup trucks that come with big tires and beefed-up suspensions.
FEATURE
While some motorheads prefer to spec out their own off-roaders,

there’s a definite market for turnkey variants. Think of EAA’s Churchill
Optics Tactical line of shotguns as turnkey defensive scatterguns.
SPECIFICATIONS 620 OPTICS TACTICAL
Let’s also not lose sight of the 20-gauge advantage here, either. With
Manufacturer: Akkar a significant reduction in felt recoil thanks to the milder 20 gauge, this
Importer: EAA; (321) 639-4842, eaacorp.com line is friendlier to new shooters, smaller-stature folks and anyone who
Action Type: Pump-action isn’t a big fan of massive recoil. While the 12 gauge might be the king in
Gauge: 20; 3-inch chamber the realm of fight-stopping and overwhelming muzzle energy, it’s less-
Capacity: 5 rounds than-ideal for someone starting out their shotgun experience. For a
Finish: Matte blued modest investment, one might choose to add a Churchill 220 or 620 to
Barrel Length: 18.5 inches their defensive armory to expand the circle of potential allied defend-
Choke: Breacher style, cylinder-bore;
Beretta/Benelli style ers in their home, for example, while at the same time having a lower-
Trigger Pull Weight: 5 pounds, 12 ounces recoiling option for spreading the “gospel of the gauge” to the large
Sights: 5-MOA red-dot sight; red fiber-optic number of folks new to shooting.
front sight Looking at the Churchill Tactical line, there’s a word for both guns,
Length: 37.5 inches and that word is “utilitarian.” Furniture is nondescript polymer; not
Weight: 5 pounds good or bad, just, well, plastic. It’s good for weight reduction and
Accessories: Red-dot sight, lock, manual helps keep costs down, but isn’t going to grab your attention like
MSRP: $427 polished hardwood. This is hardly a knock on the line, mind you; it’s a
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testament to the task for which these guns
were designed. The receiver sports a matte-
black finish while the barrels wear bluing, and
the match between the two finishes is even
and congruent. There’s no significant change
from the receiver to the barrel to jar one’s
aesthetic senses—if one were to concern
oneself with the aesthetics of tactical shot-
guns, that is.
Differences between the pump-action 620
and semi-automatic 220 are limited mainly to
the function of the shotgun. Areas where the
function is identical, such as the buttstock
and pistol grip, barrel, top rail, etc. are essen-
tially indistinguishable. Minor differences,
such as the bolt handle on the 220 or the
slide-release lever on the 620 are certainly
present for obvious reasons, but for the most
part, the two shotguns could pass for twins.
Slight differences between the semi-automatic 220 and the pump-action Fraternal twins, obviously, as the open sec-
620 are evident in the receiver, where the 220 has the requisite bolt handle tion of tubular magazine that shows on the
and bolt-release button featuring prominently as distinguishing factors • pump does make it easy to tell the two apart,
Also differentiating the two models is the trigger guard, where the slide- but you might not immediately recognize
release lever on the pump-action 620 sits forward of the guard itself; which is which on a crowded gun rack.
however both shotguns share the same crossbolt safety mechanism. Granted, most people are going to buy one
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pushbutton safety at the rear of the
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speaks to the simplicity—and
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with which many are familiar, the red
dot allows both-eyes-open for
increased visual information. In a
Cool.
home-defense situation, getting as
much information to the brain as
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quickly as possible is an exceedingly
good thing. Now, granted, the house-
Committed.
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FEATURE
Slightly sleeker, the
220 semi-auto variant
features a trim
fore-end, while the
620 pump’s is more
utilitarian, with
plenty of space to
grip • Offering six
brightness levels and
night-vision compat-
ibility, the 5-MOA,
house-brand red-
dot sight also has a
quick-release mount.
shouldn’t expect it to be (and, all of those optics cost more than the Semi-autos are obviously more complicated
620 shotgun). However, both dots on both shotguns held up in our and sensitive to ammunition variation, so we
testing, and while it wasn’t as exhaustive as some would like, if the felt the focus should center on running a
optic was going to exhibit problems, we’d have had a chance to notice. wider range of projectiles through the 220.
Speaking of testing, that’s the real proof. With recent events, finding Initial results were, well, there’s no way to
a wide selection of ammo—especially in 20 gauge—was a little more put this differently—discouraging. Both mod-
challenging than in years past, but we managed to pull together a els exhibited a glitch where two shells would
decent assortment of birdshot, buckshot and even slugs. Testing was exit the tubular magazine at the same time,
weighted a little more heavily on the semi-automatic 220 Tactical, fully jamming the lifter in the down (empty)
because with the pump-action 620, it was either going to work or not. position. This meant the action could not be

closed until the two shells were pried apart, a complicated task given
the tight confines of the receiver. It happened repeatedly, enough to
give pause that this was a significant problem and not just a slight
glitch to work out. A call to EAA and replacements were on the way.
This does drive home two salient points: One, that you should abso-
lutely test any new firearm for function. I don’t care how reliable the
action is supposed to be. I don’t care how flawlessly it ran in an online
review, test it yourself. Two, even the vaunted pump-action shotgun
can malfunction. Where EAA’s Churchill Tactical line is set up as a turn-
key defensive arm, one may be tempted to forgo some of the necessary
testing. Again, don’t. For those of us steeped in the firearm culture this
is second-nature. However, with literally millions of new gun owners
joining our ranks lately, it’s good to repeat this advice. Generous and
EAA’s replacement shotguns worked near-perfectly, and more forgiving, the rubber
meaningful data was achieved. With the “breacher” choke tube buttpad soaked up
installed, the pattern of No. 3 buck at 10 yards stayed entirely on an recoil, even from
11x17-inch sheet of paper, a quick-and-dirty test for maximum-spread 3-inch shells • Cylinder
distance. Assuming that target is representative of center-of-mass on a bore and tactical in
standard-issue bad guy, find the farthest distance at which all pellets appearance, the
remain on paper—any pellet or pellets that fall outside that area are breacher choke is the
potential hazards to innocents. As the pump-action 620 and semi-auto same on both models
220 have the same barrel length and choke pattern, it was not surpris- • Protected by stout
ing to find the two shotguns had the same 10-yard maximum. Slightly ears, the red fiber-
surprising, in a good way, was both red-dot sights being darn close optic pipe offers a
right out of the box. At the 10-yard distance, one was spot on, and the backup-sight option.
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Both loading gates
are slightly enlarged
to facilitate faster
reloading, but can
still pinch your
thumb. With practice,
loading either
shotgun was simple.
other needed only a slight elevation adjustment. This surprised me, first two magazines). Semi-automatic shot-
because it’s good luck, something of which I have little. guns, even high-end models, are notoriously
With the ammunition situation the way it is, we had to take what we finicky with some loads, particularly lighter-
could get for 20-gauge shells. Most of the rounds fired in testing opera- weight ones. This is not a problem for those
tion were birdshot, with Winchester, Rio and Remington Nos. 7½ and 8 using buckshot for home-defense.
loads with velocities from 1,200 to 1,300 fps. Only Remington No. 3 Bottom line, EAA’s Churchill Optics Tactical
buckshot was tested, simply because that’s all the 20-gauge buck we line of shotguns represents an affordable,
had. Winchester PDX1 Defender slugs were available, but in such small out-of-the-box offering with lower recoil for
quantity that we could only verify that they would work in the Churchill any shooter. As with any new firearm, test
shotguns and were accurate out to 20 yards. Overall, nearly 200 rounds thoroughly to ensure proper operation, find a
of various-weight birdshot, 50 rounds of buckshot and 20 slugs were defensive load it likes and keep it clean and
fired through both guns, with no problems other than the initial jam- well-lubricated. A red-dot sight gives rapid
ming experienced in the first pair. We did note that the semi-auto 220 target acquisition, ideal for defensive scenar-
preferred the lighter, faster No. 7½ shot at 1,250 to 1,300 fps rather than ios, while the 20-gauge chambering offers
the heavier No. 8 at 1,200, although it would run them under protest reduced recoil. Check out these Churchills to
(hand-cycling the second round in the magazine was necessary for the defend hearth and home.
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HANDBOOK
Learning
Something New
Become your own I
love the idea of tackling something new. I haven’t always. There
was a time when I let my ego limit my life experiences. It’s shame-
best teacher.
ful now when I look back at those times, but it is also human
nature. The best thing that could have happened to me was failing;
realizing there is really nothing shameful in not knowing. Not want-
ing to learn was the greater travesty. Even in my current position,
NRA PHOTO
with the experience I have accumulated, I am still learning. I have

come to enjoy failure at times, because it communicates to me an
area I can improve. When it comes to shooting, over the years I have
found lots of areas in which I can improve. Here are three of the most
valuable lessons I have so far learned regarding accuracy, consistency
and novelty.
I really love pushing my limits on all fronts. As I get older, I find
myself facing new limitations. I may not be able to apply the same
pounds-per-square-inch in my crushing grip I could 10 years ago. I’m
OK with that, because now I’m more aware of the shortcoming. I can
look at my shot group and see where my grip faltered. It means I will
have to adjust my expectations as I get older. It also means I’m
excited to see what these new norms
will be, granted with a tinge of disap-
pointment. I try not to get hung up on
the disappointment, to be honest.
Instead, I focus on what I can do well.
One area where I can continue to make
gains is my accuracy. I’m constantly
looking to shoot more accurately.
While shooting fast is important, I
will reach a point where I will see my
times getting slower. There is nothing I
can do about that. I don’t have to like
it, but there is still nothing I can do
about getting older and the mechani-
cal decay my body will undergo. I have
accepted it as fate and the result of a
Accurate shooting for effective, rapid incapacita- life well lived. I will continue to push my limits for speed, but not at
tion is the goal for self-defense. The precepts are the expense of accuracy. I have established for myself a baseline of
studied in the classroom (top) and put into accuracy, and I aim to make improvements each time I handle my
practice on the range. Shotgun technique firearms. Sometimes the improvements are subtle and other times
(opposite) hasn’t changed much, though the they are more pronounced. An example of a subtle improvement is
guns certainly have, with semi-automatics and when I hyper-focus on my front sight. Depending on the shot
red-dot sights becoming prevalent (above). required and the time, distance and exposure I have to deal with, I try
By Jeff Gonzales

HANDBOOK
to make it a point to see my front-sight post chance of literally seeing the front-sight post
the moment the shot is fired. lift out of the rear notch and climb upward.
An example of a more pronounced It allows the shooter to see the final point-
improvement is sight tracking. This happens of-aim before the shot is fired. This, in turn,
when I’m firing a string of shots and I can will provide important feedback to the
see the front sight lift out of the rear notch, shooter as they develop.
climb to the top of my sight box then return One of the best things I learned as a
to the rear notch. I’m not going to lie; it is so sniper was how accuracy was nothing more
cool when I can see this same thing happen than being consistent. This sentiment really
over and over. hit home; it made sense at a cerebral level. If
Here are a couple of drills to practice the I wanted to excel at long-range shooting,
accuracy traits mentioned above. The first then everything I did had to be done the
question you have to ask is: Can you see the same way each and every time, from how I
front sight the moment the round is fired? If interfaced with the rifle, to how I breathed;
not, this is your starting point. How do we even to how I loaded the ammunition. I
promote this type of front-sight focus? My didn’t fully appreciate this until much later
suggestion is to slow things down. Give in life. It’s where I had to step outside of my
A lot of times we yourself time to really see the sight, but, comfort zone when learning new things. If I
put up our own more importantly, to smoothly pull the trig- made it a point to be consistent, I could feel
ger. We use the term surprise break, which a deeper sense of learning taking place. I
barriers to learn-
means you apply steady pressure on the applied this method to anything at which I
ing. Instead, I try trigger straight back with no lateral pressure. wanted to excel. I would not only practice
to open my senses The surprise comes because the shooter the activity in a consistent manner, but my
cannot predict the break, and subsequently practice sessions would be consistent. This
to everything. I does not impart negative forces that disturb ensured I would provide myself with the
may only pick up the sight picture. While I know it may seem opportunity to see the improvements. They
little nuggets of counter-intuitive, trust me when I tell you it don’t happen overnight; you have to put in
is a great skill to learn. As I slowly pull the the work. When I did, I could see the fruits of
knowledge, but if I trigger to the rear I am intently focused on my labor.
would not have the very tip of the front-sight post. As long The challenge is trying to determine what
learned it other- as you are smoothly pulling the trigger, the consistency looks like for you. Is it every day,
ability to see the front sight post is there. every week, every month? That is the ques-
wise, it was totally With this intensive focus, coupled with the tion you have to ask yourself. For me, I
worth the effort. steady trigger pull, you create the best would ask myself how important was this
NRA
One-handed point shooting where the handgun’s sights are pretty much superfluous
fortunately gave way to two handed-shooting focusing on the front sight. Now, that,
too, is changing, thanks to red-dot optical sights purpose-built for pistols.

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HANDBOOK
how to dance with a beautiful partner? I
became insatiable not only to learn a new
skill, but to learn how other professionals in
different fields taught, how they connected
with their students or athletes.
The value I took away was hard to
describe, but suffice it to say I wish I had
started this sooner. When I set out to learn
something new, it can be a little scary. I try
to find a degree of fun in these new activi-
ties, because having fun encourages growth
and learning. If we think back to our child-
hood days, we learned a lot when we were
having fun on the playground. Explore the
possibility of learning something new. If it is
Long-range rifle shooting has evolved in the past few years. Shooters how to shoot a firearm, then great. My
now evenly splay their legs with their insteps flat on the ground. The model of learning a new skill is pretty sim-
buttstock is more centered on the chest and the strong-side thumb is ple, I listen, read, watch and ask questions.
often left alongside (rather than around) the pistol grip. I’m the kind of learner who has to do it man-
ually to really learn, but I don’t want to close
If I wanted to excel skill I was trying to learn. Was it a hobby for off other learning methods. A lot of times we
entertainment or was it a skill for my profes- put up our own barriers to learning. Instead,
at long-range sion? Since there are only so many hours in I try to open my senses to everything. I may
shooting, then the day, this level of review allowed me to only pick up little nuggets of knowledge,
everything I did evaluate the draw on my existing resources. but if I would not have learned it otherwise,
A lot of times I found something would have it was totally worth the effort. When I put
had to be done the to give in order to make this work, so it was myself in charge of my own learning, it really
same way each all about balance. Where could I find the makes a difference and activities I learned
and every time, right balance of duration and frequency? years ago are better retained. While I have
My suggestion is to value the benefit of terrible rhythm, I have an ability to remem-
from how I inter- being consistent, then to determine what ber movement patterns no matter the sub-
faced with the that will look like for yourself. When it comes ject. I may not be the best dancer, but it
to shooting, you have to add in additional doesn’t take me long to get back into the
rifle, to how I
variables such as ammunition availability swing of things.
breathed—even to and range usage. How much ammunition do Life is full of challenges—more so these
how I loaded the you have or are willing to expend in the pur- days, it seems. Learning is a treasure and
suit of this goal? If range availability is hard failure is the chest that holds your treasure.
ammunition. to come by, you need to consider the value No matter your goals, being able to pre-
of adding dry-fire to your practice. I promise cisely place a projectile where you want is
you, though, within all of this there is an an amazing feat. Accuracy should be more
achievable balance. important than speed regardless of your skill
As an adult, I’m pretty set in my ways. I level. Doing something over and over until it
find most of the time these patterns are becomes automatic is another way of
beneficial even if they drive other people describing consistency, but that is not all. It
crazy. The problem is, I stopped exploring. I also means being consistent in your pursuit
stopped looking to learn new things for of knowledge or your new skill. You will have
whatever reason. Maybe it was time, maybe to put in the work to learn. Curiosity is the
it was other life events, but I know some of it key to learning. Motivation to learn is impor-
had to do with ego. This was the life lesson tant, but if the motivation is not internal, it
that had the biggest impact on me and my may not have the same impact. However,
shooting: Learning how to learn again. I took doing something new challenges you to
up several new activities over the last perfect how you learn. You will need to
decade. Some more as a bucket-list check become your own learning advocate. There
off, others because I wanted to see my life is much this life has to offer; have fun and
enriched. I mean, who doesn’t want to learn learn something new.

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THE FIX Problems Solved
Making Contact The Solution

It sounds like your instructor was suggest-
By George Harris ing that making a contact shot in a gunfight
was a concept that one should avoid without
getting into the detail of why that might be
The Problem the case. There are a multitude of reasons a
In your extreme-close-quarters-encounter class, statement like that could be made, ranging
you were cautioned that contact shots could cause from time constraints of the class curriculum
a handgun to malfunction, and possibly not fire at to the infinite possibilities of the conditions
surrounding a gunfight at bad-breath
all, leading to an even graver situation. You do not
distance, where most occur.
understand why either condition might happen, From a purely mechanical standpoint, the
much less the possible benefit or detriment of type of handgun can determine whether it
shooting an assailant with the muzzle in contact may fire or not when the muzzle is in contact
with their person. What are the effective advan- with the adversary. If a revolver is the hand-
tages and disadvantages of making a contact shot gun of choice, as long as the trigger can be
fully pulled and the hammer can fall cleanly,
when involved in a lethal-force encounter? the gun will fire whether the muzzle is in hard
or light contact with the target.
Holding an opponent at bay with your off-hand Semi-automatic pistols that have a fixed
forearm (while keeping it barrel, which does not move with the
from slipping in front of slide when the gun is fired, will
your muzzle) can usually work when only light
prevent contact contact is applied (by light
between the contact, think about pressing
pistol’s muzzle and the button on an elevator to
your adversary, change floors). Exceeding that
which could degree of pressure may cause
possibly cause a the slide to move rearward
malfunction. sufficiently to actuate the
disconnector, rendering
the gun unable to fire.
Semi-automatic pistols
where the barrel and
slide initially
reciprocate as a
unit when fired
are more
susceptible to
failure to fire and
function when
firmly pushed into
contact with the
target. It only takes
approximately one-
eighth of an inch of
rearward movement of
the slide, in relation to
the frame, for the
disconnector to operate
and disengage the
trigger from the fire-
control mechanism,
suddenly and
JUNE/JULY 2021 SHOOTINGILLUSTRATED.COM

unexpectedly changing the handgun
into a makeshift impact weapon.
In either case regarding semi-auto
pistols, the slide must be allowed to
cycle fully in order to fire more than
one shot. This means that clothing,
body parts or other obstructions
cannot be allowed to hinder the
movement of the slide for multiple
CLASSIC
THE MMAKING
IN
shots. During a struggle with one or
multiple aggressors in close contact,
the likelihood of the slide operating
properly decreases, as it is possible to
encounter some restriction.
Without going into great detail, the
gases from the propellant powering
the projectile down the barrel require
a degree of consideration in conjunc-
tion with the bullet’s penetration into
the target. When the muzzle is in
contact with the target as the gun
fires, the bullet makes the initial
penetration followed by a significant The Dan Wesson
amount of high-pressure gases that Heritage embodies
the bold characteristics
create additional tissue damage. In and classic designs
some cases, depending on the that made the line famous
among 1911 enthusiasts.
cartridge fired in a contact wound, the The Heritage sports a
gas-pressure damage to the target fiber optic front sight

that glows bright in the
equals or exceeds that which was daylight and a 5” match
barrel that makes it a joy
caused by the projectile itself. This is to shoot at the range.
beneficial in stopping the unwanted With the Heritage, shooters
can experience Dan Wesson
action of the opponent in a gunfight. quality at the most
Revolvers pose a separate issue in affordable price.
that gas will escape at the barrel/

cylinder gap, which could be detri-
mental in close proximity to the
shooter as well as to the one being HERITAGE
shot. In a close-quarter engagement
with so many moving parts, it would @DANWESSONFIRE ARMS
be difficult to fully control the
direction of the gasses escaping from
that area of the revolver.
From a tactical perspective, your
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THE CLASSICS Philip Schreier
round that had trouble penetrating the

shields of the Moro rebels and was found to
have insufficient “knock-down” power.
The Smith & Wesson Smith & Wesson’s new Military & Police
revolver in .38 Spl., with a .357-inch-diameter
Military & Police bullet, performed with stellar results and was
quickly adopted by the U.S. Military and
stayed in service through the Vietnam War.
Revolver As things go, what works for the military

will also work for law enforcement, and at the
turn of the century, as metropolitan police
Smith & Wesson’s iconic revolver is one forces were growing exponentially, the new
M&P revolver found instant favor with
of the few things with stronger ties to patrolmen who needed more than a night-
law enforcement than the NRA. stick to subdue bad guys. It soon became the
standard arm of most law enforcement
“1 Adam-12, Handle Code 3” officers in this country.
As a young child growing up in the late 1960s and early ’70s, hearing As the popularity of the M&P grew, the
those words blast over the TV on a Saturday evening meant that the NRA, simultaneously, began an association
next 30 minutes were going to be thrilling. Watching “Adam-12” on NBC with law enforcement organizations that
was something I really looked forward to and I was enthralled with how continues more than a century later. In 1916,
officers Malloy and Reed handled street crime in Los Angeles. It gave me Frank J. Kahrs, writing for Arms and the Man
an early respect for police officers, especially the firearms they carried. magazine, the predecessor to the NRA’s
It wasn’t until much later that I appreciated that their revolvers were American Rifleman, stated that extensive
Smith & Wesson Model 14s chambered in .38 Spl. Built on the company’s training was necessary in teaching officers
famous K-Frame, the Model 14 was basically a Military & Police (M&P) to shoot. Kahrs’ article proposed “that a
with adjustable target sights. Introduced in 1899, the Smith & Wesson systematic program of instruction be made
M&P, catalogued as the Model 10 since 1957, is perhaps the most prolific part of the original training of every police-
revolver of the 20th century, with more than 6 million manufactured. man. Regular practice at standard paper
Aptly named the Military & Police model, it was designed to take the targets should be held at least once a month.”
new .38 Spl. cartridge developed by Smith & Wesson to replace the To quote the NRA website: “In 1960 the
.38 Colt. The Colt cartridge was receiving bad reviews while in use with NRA Law Enforcement Division was formed
the Army trying to put down the Philippine Insurrection following the to provide the law enforcement community
Spanish-American War of 1898. The old .38 Colt was a blackpowder with a means of certifying firearm instructors.
The NRA Law Enforcement Division offers a
complete police shooting program to police
departments and law enforcement agencies
Law enforcement and to encourage patrol officers to gain more
NRA training have been experience, training and time on the range
partnered for more using their duty firearms. To further encour-
than a century, with age law-enforcement officers to gain more
both training styles and experience, training and time on the range
hardware evolving with using their duty firearms, the NRA created
the times. the Police Pistol Combat (PPC) competitions,
NRA
Tactical Police competitions and the National

Police Shooting Championships
in 1962.”
Shortly before World War II began
in 1939, Smith & Wesson found
itself in dire straits financially. A
contract from the British Purchasing
Commission for a light machine gun
resulted in an influx of $1 million
into its coffers at an incredibly
important time. However, when the
Smith & Wesson Light Machine gun
proved unacceptable to the British,
the company was on the brink of
financial ruin.
Faced with having to pay back the
advanced money, a compromise was
reached whereby Smith & Wesson
provided the British with tens of
thousands of M&P revolvers cham-
bered in .38/200, with a phosphate
military finish and wood grips. When
the U.S. entered the war in 1941,
Smith & Wesson chambered the gun
in .38 Spl. and supplied the govern-
ment with thousands of them;
renaming them the Victory Model,
with serial numbers starting with “V.”
The M&P was purchased and used
by military and police units of more
than 30 countries. It remained
popular with police officers well into
the 1980s, when double-stack,
semi-automatic handguns rapidly
replaced revolvers in the law enforce-
ment community. The revolver is still
produced by Smith & Wesson as part
of its Classics line. Models are still in
use in France, Peru and a handful of
other countries.
Every gun has a story. The story of The safe of your dreams is
the Smith & Wesson M&P revolver is as closer than you think.
colorful as any ever manufactured. With the Browning Safe Builder app,
From arming law-enforcement officers you can virtually build the safe you
for more than 80 years and seeing want, put it where you want, and
service on the front lines in World War have the order sent to your
II, this gun helped save its manufac- nearest qualifying dealer.
turer from ruin, paving the way for it
to become the most produced BROWNING.COM
revolver of the 20th century.
MG Julian S. Hatcher was Chief of
Ordnance for the Army and Technical
Editor of American Rifleman. He
BUILD, THEN PLACE YOUR
donated his Smith & Wesson Victory
Model, serial number 3 (seen here), to
VIRTUAL SAFE ANYWHERE.
the National Firearms Museum. Experience Browning’s augmented reality app.

GUN LOCKER Daniel T. McElrath
Iver Johnson is no exception. I’m not usually a fan of

two-tone pistols, but here the matte-blue
Eagle LR Special (black) slide and Midnight Bronze Cerakoted

frame complement each other, rather than
contrast. The black controls accent the
chromatic pairing, as do the deeply figured
Iver Johnson’s new pistol embodies the Dymondwood laminated stocks that exhibit
21st century 1911. streaks of everything from black to tan.
Present are all of the refinements that are
T
he Eagle LR Special, from Iver Johnson, is one substantial piece now so de rigueur on modern 1911s, we
of gear. All-steel pistols seem almost anachronistic in the age of scarcely note them anymore. For the record,
polymer or aluminum-alloy frames, yet the Eagle is as modern they include a high-sweep beavertail grip
as any 1911 out there, essential material notwithstanding. safety with memory pad, extended thumb
Iver Johnson has of late been creating some striking pistols with a safety and slide release, lowered and flared
high-end appearance despite competitive pricing. The Eagle LR Special ejection port, three-hole trigger and skeleton-
ized hammer.
What is new and distinctive that the
Eagle LR Special brings to the table are a
threaded barrel with included thread protec-
tor; suppressor-height, tritium night sights
and a Picatinny rail integrated into the dust-
cover. It’s a sturdy 1911 ready to embrace the
modern world.
Picking up the Eagle, its heft seems consi-
derable, even for an all-steel gun. That’s
because it is. With a barrel .75-inch longer
than a standard 5-inch 1911, plus a thread
protector, as well as the added mass of the
rail, the Eagle tips the scales at 43 ounces,
some 4 ounces heavier than a standard
all-steel, full-size 1911.
The pistol feels nicely smooth in the hand;
slick, but not quite slippery. On the other
SPECIFICATIONS hand, there is a lack of available purchase. The
Manufacturer: Iver Johnson Arms; Sights: Suppressor-height XS Sight frontstrap is not textured; it contains no
(321) 636-3377, iverjohnsonarms.com Systems Express Tritium Dot post front; checkering, stippling or serrations. Moreover,
Action Type: Recoil-operated, tritium-enhanced “V” rear
the aforementioned stylized grips, which
semi-automatic Trigger Pull Weight: 4 pounds, 13 ounces
Caliber: .45 ACP Length: 9.5 inches
incorporate both a smooth area and a “gator
Capacity: 8+1 rounds Width: 1.33 inches skin” area, don’t offer a lot of “grab.” There
Frame: 1045 steel Height: 5.5 inches are, of course, a number of fixes for this, from
Slide: 4140 steel Weight: 43 ounces having a gunsmith checker the frontstrap to
Barrel Length: 5.75 inches Accessories: Lock, hard case applying skateboard tape to swapping out
MSRP: $1,078 the grips for rubber units from Pachmayr or
Hogue, among others.
SHOOTING RESULTS The sights are XS Sight Systems Express
Group Size Tritium Dot combination. The front is a post
Load Velocity Smallest Largest Average
containing a green tritium dot surrounded by
Hornady 185-grain Critical Defense FTX 1,022 2.2 2.9 2.6
SIG Sauer Elite 200-grain V-Crown JHP 891 1.4 3.6 2.7
a white ring. The rear is an extremely shallow
Remington 230-grain Black Belt BJHP 843 1.7 2.6 2.3 “V” with a vertical window of tritium. Using
Velocity measured in fps 5 feet from the muzzle for 10 consecutive shots with a Oehler Model 36 the front sight, dot the “I” of the vertical line
chronograph. Temperature: 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Accuracy measured in inches for five consecutive, in the rear sight or simply place the front dot
five-shot groups fired at 25 yards from a rest. in the deepest part of the rear’s “V.” Though
they may be the fastest iron sights out there,
ON TARGET OFF TARGET be aware that within 15 yards they require a
Easily accessorized Absence of texturing limits purchase dead-on hold rather than a 6-o’clock one.

TRAVELER’S
The rail is a three-slot design, We did experience a problem with GUIDE TO THE
allowing you to best position your the thread protector coming loose
accessory for comfortable manipula- every few shots, necessitating
FIREARM LAWS
tion. You can mount a light, a laser or unloading the pistol to safely OF THE
a light/laser combo. You can also retighten it. We corrected this with
mount a light there and Crimson Trace some removable, medium-strength FIFTY STATES
PLUS Canada and Mexico
LaserGrips on the grip frame. The threadlocker (don’t use the permanent
Eagle gives you a lot of options. stuff, since you do want to be able to
Fit and finish were both good; no remove it). Also, during testing there
tooling marks were visible inside the were five failures to go into battery,
slide. Controls were comfortable to with the extractor hook missing the
access and actuate with moderate case rim.
pressure and functioned with a The addition of a suppressor A state-by-state guide to the gun
snappy sureness. The trigger was (simplified by the threaded barrel and laws most useful to the traveler
particularly good, exhibiting some high sights) would make shooting the WRITTEN BY AN ATTORNEY
take-up and virtually no creep before Eagle quieter, more convenient and
cleanly breaking. You’d be hard- more practical for those shooting on
pressed to find a better trigger, stock private property where noise can be
or custom. an issue. However, it’s also a fine pistol
Though we can’t see the Eagle without a suppressor, one that just
being worn regularly for concealed expands your options. Firing the
carry, its weight pays off pleasantly at vaunted .45 ACP round, equipped 2021 researched and written by
the range, where felt recoil is notice- with night sights and mounting a
J. Scott Kappas, Esq.
ably reduced. Furthermore, because light, laser or both, the Eagle should
that weight is at the muzzle and the make a formidable home-defense • Concealed carry reciprocity
dustcover, muzzle rise is attenuated. I tool. Overall, the Eagle LR Special is a • Vehicle carry (loaded gun O.K.?)
imagined this would really help with versatile, easy-shooting pistol that • Carry in state & national parks
hot loads, but Iver Johnson forbids evinces the best characteristics of the • Carry in restaurants & hotels
both +P and reloads in this pistol. 1911 while also being nice to look at. • Prohibited areas- gun-free zones
• Open carry on your person
• Self-defense rules for travelers
• How to handle a traffic stop
• RV and motorcycle carry
(859) 491-6400
10am-5pm ET M-F
GUNLAWGUIDE.COM
Includes online updates!
ONLY $14.95
Includes Bulk Mail S&H
Add $4 for 1st class mail
Send check or credit card payment to:

Traveler’s Guide
P.O. Box 2156
Covington, KY 41012
The front and rear Express sights are enhanced with self-luminous tritium capsules • A
low-mass trigger contributes to an excellent trigger pull, which feels lighter than it
measured • Accessorization is simplified by the muzzle being threaded .578x28 tpi for
commonality • An integrated rail provides flexibility in positioning accessories for best
accessibility • By coordinating the colors of the slide, frame, controls and laminated grips,
Iver Johnson has made the Eagle LR Special a particularly handsome pistol. Exp. date

GUN LOCKER Richard Mann
Ruger Custom Shop receiver, with a freefloated barrel and an

in-line positioned, fully adjustable, folding
Precision Rifle AR-style stock. It is a rifle that’s quite well

adapted to long-range shooting for pleasure
or for PRS (Precision Rifle Series) Competition.
With a suggested retail of $1,599, it’s priced
Custom refinements and a new cham- right for the hobbyist. At $800 more, the
bering make Ruger’s latest RPR capable Custom Shop version is intended for the
of even greater tack-driving accuracy. serious competitor.
What does this additional $800 get you? For
T
he goal for most American-made firearms is to provide good starters, you get an adjustable TriggerTech
performance at a great price. This is the reason you can purchase trigger with frictionless-release technology; it
a bolt-action rifle like the Ruger American for less than $500 and broke crisply at 2.5 pounds right out of the
still shoot brag-worthy groups. With its Custom Shop Precision Rifle, box. You get a Magpul MOE K2+ grip and an
Ruger’s goal was to provide stellar performance. This rifle is not for APA muzzle brake screwed on the end of a
everyone, because not everyone can afford it, and/or not everyone 5⁄8x24 threaded, 26-inch barrel, that’s almost
possesses the skill to let it perform to its maximum capabilities. It is four-times caliber diameter at the muzzle.
designed to shoot as well at 1,000 yards as most rifles do at 200. There’s also the addition of Cerakote to select
Starting with its standard Precision Rifle, Ruger made some critical parts, a red-anodized barrier stop and an
enhancements to this just-released Custom Shop version. But, before ambidextrous safety. The freefloat handguard
we get into the particulars of this new rifle, it’s important you under- is M-Lok compatible, and there are also M-Lok
stand what the standard Ruger Precision Rifle is. Simply put, it is a attachment slots machined into the sides of
modular, magazine-fed rifle built on a two-piece—upper and lower— the magazine well for MatchSaver-style
SPECIFICATIONS
Manufacturer: Ruger; (336) 949-5200, Stock: Ruger Precision MSR
ruger.com Length: 42.25 to 48.75 inches
Action Type: Bolt-action Weight: 12 pounds, 13 ounces
Caliber: 6 mm Creedmoor Accessories: Custom Shop certificate, cloth,
Capacity: 10 rounds challenge coin, sticker, two 5-round
Barrel Length: 26 inches PMags, M-Lok 3.75-inch rail section and
QD sling attachment, sling swivel stud
Rifling: 5 grooves; 1:7-inch RH twist and hex-wrench, stick-on Sorbothane
Sights: None; Picatinny rail for optics cheek pad, barrier stop
Trigger Pull Weight: 2 pounds, 8 ounces MSRP: $2,399
SHOOTING RESULTS
Group Size In addition to shipping controls are finished in
Load Velocity Smallest Largest Average
with two magazines, the red Cerakote to provide
Hornady 108-grain ELD Match 2,797 .53 .95 .66
RPR is designed to be eye-catching contrast •
Velocity measured in fps at the muzzle for 10 consecutive shots with a Caldwell G2 chronograph.
Temperature: 86 degrees Fahrenheit. Accuracy measured in inches for five consecutive, five-shot compatible with AICS An APA muzzle brake
groups at 100 yards from a benchrest. and M110, SR-25, DPMS, contributed to virtually
Magpul and even some no felt recoil • MSR
ON TARGET OFF TARGET M1A magazines • The enthusiasts will
Impressive accuracy Nontraditional appearance rifle’s ambidextrous fire appreciate the presence

cartridge holders and other accesso- For testing, a Crimson Trace grip adjustment, but this is mostly of
ries compatible with the M-Lok HardLine Pro 6-24x50 mm riflescope no consequence; many right-handed
system for attachments. Like the was attached to the 19-slot, 20-MOA precision shooters do not wrap their
standard model, the rifle features the Picatinny rail that comes on the rifle thumb around the grip, electing to
same 70-degree throw and a three- with Wheeler two-piece Picatinny leave it straight along the right side of
lug bolt with dual-cocking cams and Scope Rings. Mounting and zeroing a the receiver. When this was done—
nitride-coated body. riflescope is always a good indication and it can be done from either
Though the red-accented trigger, of precision assembly. With the scope side—the safety lever was even easier
safety and barrier stop add some reticle centered, and keeping in mind to operate. Similarly, the magazine-
colorful flare, this is not what tradi- the 20-MOA offset, the initial bore release lever was quick and easy to
tionalists would call an attractive rifle. sight found the reticle out of align- manipulate with just a forward poke
It does, however, carry an air of ment by only about 1 MOA horizon- of the trigger finger.
earnestness and the two-tone black tally and 18 MOA vertically. That’s The flat-bottomed handguard was
and gray finish—a combination of near-perfect bore sight and is a good much appreciated on the bench where
Cerakote and Type III hardcoat indication the rifle was assembled on it could be well settled into a sandbag.
anodizing—is easier on the eye than the centerline. But, perhaps the most appreciated
the basic black of the standard Owing both to the few current ergonomic feature of this rifle was the
model. If you show up for a match options for 6 mm Creedmoor in fully adjustable buttstock. It’s the
with this rifle, other shooters will normal times and the ammo crisis same stock you’ll find on the non-
know it is different. But looks, as they further limiting those options, the only custom version of Ruger’s Precision
say, are only skin deep; what matters load tested was the 108-grain, Rifle and it can be easily field-adjusted
is what is on the inside or more ELD-Match load from Hornady. Five, to your exact length-of-pull and
specifically, performance. five-shot groups were fired, and each preferred comb height. Serious
group was fired in less than 3 minutes precision practitioners know these
with the barrel being allowed to fully adjustments are not a one-and-done
cool between groups. Not a single proposition; they often need tweaking
group measured over 1 inch and the depending on shooter/target position.
average for all five groups was The quick-release levers make this easy
.667-inch. The worst group fired, and there was even a neat little
which measured .95-inch, was the stick-on pad, for soft cheek-weld
result of a single wide flyer induced by contact, that’s included.
shooter error. An additional rapid-fire In the most skilled of hands, this is
10-shot group was fired at 200 yards in probably a quarter-MOA rifle. Most of
less than 2 minutes. It measured the groups fired were one-hole with a
.872-inch. This rifle will cut a dime at single outlier. The rifle performed
well beyond the distance you can see flawlessly and is extremely well
one and the bolt almost effortlessly configured to punch bug-hole groups
cycles with just a flick of the wrist. or ring steel at stupid-long distances,
Because of the rifle’s weight, its APA even when shooting in field condi-
muzzle brake, the relatively light tions. It flawlessly digested 100 rounds
recoil of the 6 mm Creedmoor and the of ammo and seemed to shoot better
fact that the stock is in-line with the the more it was fired. In the world of
of the Magpul MOE K2 pistol grip • The barrel, recoil was nearly nonexistent. precision shooting, you could easily
adjustable TriggerTech trigger features You could shoot hundreds of rounds a spend two to three times what the
Frictionless Release Technology for an day from this rifle with no shoulder Ruger Custom Shop Precision Rifle
ultra-crisp break with minimal overtravel fatigue. The Custom Shop RPR’s action costs and possibly end up with a rifle
and an extremely short reset • Not only is was comfortable to work with from that will not shoot this well, and most
the Ruger adjustable for length-of-pull the bench, from the prone position assuredly not be this ergonomically
and comb height, its buttstock can also and that red-anodized barrier stop adaptive. Unlike most modern,
fold to the side for convenient storage and mounted just forward of the maga- American-made, precision bolt-action
transport • An oversize bolt knob aids in zine well was quite handy when rifles, this one does not represent
fumble-free operation • The bolt-on working from behind a stable support good performance at a great price,
barrier stop can provide added stability where you could lean into it. With a but rather exceptional performance at
when shooting from cover or making use common hold on the grip, the safety a good price—what we’ve come to
of field-expedient rests. lever could be manipulated without expect from Ruger’s Precision rifles.

INSIDE NRA ILA REPORT
iStock photo by rommma

States Keep Advancing The Second Amendment
W RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE
e are all painfully aware of the
LATEST deluge of anti-Second Amendment
LEGISLATIVE messaging emanating from the EXPANDS IN OTHER WAYS
folks in charge in our nation’s capital. In spite New permitless-carry states are not the
NEWS FROM of this, many states have been countering only way that the Second Amendment is
INSIDE THE NRA the attempts to push unconstitutional being expanded. In North Dakota, where
restrictions on law-abiding gun owners by permitless carry has been on the books
INSTITUTE FOR the Biden-Schumer-Pelosi regime by enacting since 2017, Gov. Doug Burgum (R) signed
laws that move the needle on the gauge of a number of bills in April that enhanced
LEGISLATIVE freedom ever closer to where our Founders the right to self-defense. Included
ACTION intended. Here is a run-down of just some of were an expansion of what firearms
the pro-gun reforms NRA-ILA has helped to can be carried in a vehicle for personal
introduce and get signed into law. protection, an increase in the number of
places where law-abiding residents may
PERMITLESS CARRY carry firearms, a reduction in permitless-
carry residency requirements and the
CONTINUES TO SPREAD removal of certain minor violations
In our last issue, we told you that Utah and that would disqualify individuals from
Montana became the 17th and 18th states, carrying firearms.
respectively, to enact permitless carry laws. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R)
Such laws allow law-abiding citizens to signed a bill into law that will now allow
lawfully carry concealed firearms for personal nonresidents to take advantage of that
protection without first seeking permission state’s comprehensive agreements to
from the government. carry handguns for self-defense in other
The permitless-carry club has now states. This will help residents of other
expanded to 20 members with the addition of states that do not have good reciprocity
Iowa and Tennessee. For more details on the laws for their permits, so that those law-
passage of these two laws, go to A1F.com. abiding citizens will have more states in
In addition, Texas made history when it which they may lawfully carry firearms for
passed an NRA-supported permitless-carry bill personal protection when they travel to
(H.B. 1927) out of its House of Representatives them. Those who wish to take advantage
and Senate for the first time. This is the first time of this option will pay application fees
a permitless-carry bill has been debated by, and to West Virginia and seek training from
passed out of, any chamber of the Texas legis- West Virginian instructors.
lature. As we go to press, differences between Wyoming also improved its existing
the House and Senate versions needed to be permitless-carry law in April, when Gov.
ILA Grassroots: worked out, but Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has Mark Gordon (R) signed legislation that
(800) 392-8683 expressed his support. It seems the Lone Star extended the law to include all law-
State could be number 21 by the time you read abiding adults. The old law applied only
NRA-ILA: (703) 267-1170
this. Clearly, this expansion of the right to self- to residents of Wyoming who had lived
NRA-ILA website: nraila.org defense is building up momentum nationwide. in the state for at least six months.

PROTECTING THE 2A DURING
STATES OF EMERGENCY
One of the many things we have learned during the last year-plus
under the specter of COVID-19 and general unrest in some parts
of America is that Americans will not sit idly by and presume the
government will be their only line of defense if they feel their
safety is in jeopardy. It seems like every month has seen a new
record for the sale of firearms since the start of 2020, and last
year’s totals absolutely decimated the old record for annual sales.
This all happened in spite of some states with anti-gun governors
moving to try to shut down gun stores as “non-essential,” or when
those states that mandate their own intrusion into firearm transactions
slowed down the processing of required paperwork due to self-
Ray Stevens
imposed staff shortages or closed offices.
Several states responded to these problems by passing legislation
Photo by Angela Talley

Is
that ensured the Second Amendment would not fall victim to similar
emergencies in the future.
Montana, North Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming all passed
bills that seek to ensure that the Second Amendment is not sus-
pended during a declared state of emergency. These states enacted
protections for law-abiding gun owners during such times, as well as
N
for gun stores, ranges and other entities that engage in the lawful
selling or servicing of firearms, components or accessories. RA Country is always excited to
Governors Burgum, Gordon, Justice and Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.) all introduce our members to new
deserve the thanks of the pro-2A community for signing all of these country artists, but we also have a great apprecia-
bills, as do those legislators who supported their passage. tion and the utmost respect for classic country. When we
There are still opportunities remaining for states to continue the had the opportunity to interview an icon who has won mul-
push to advance our rights protected under the Second Amendment, tiple Grammy Awards and been inducted into the Nashville
as several states remain in session as we go to print. Stay tuned. Songwriters Hall of Fame and Country Music Hall of Fame,
we immediately jumped at it. This month’s featured artist
is unlike any other, in part because of his varied talents.
Ray Stevens is a singer-songwriter, comedian, solo artist,
producer, music arranger and even television host. NRA
Country’s Vanessa Shahidi was honored to recently ask the
multi-platinum-selling artist a few questions.
VS: Mr. Stevens, where did you get your appreciation

for the great outdoors?
RS: I joined the Boy Scouts and loved camping and all that
it entailed.
iStock photo by shaunl
VS: Who taught you how to shoot?

RS: I taught myself and have learned from friends who are
marksmen.
VS: What is your favorite firearm?

RS: I have several, but I especially like a .22 Colt revolver
with an interchangeable magnum cylinder.
VS: What are you currently working on?

IN MEMORY NRA-ILA CONTRIBUTIONS
March 1-31 2021 RS: I recently built and perform in a dinner/showroom
in Nashville called CabaRay. I have a new recording
Lewis Tucker, Sr., Oxford, CT (from: Shirley Tucker); Lana J. Johnson, Tell City, IN (from: Ronald
Johnson); Carl Moore, Billings, MT (from: Theodore Moore); Donna Hill, Springwater, NY (from: studio and just finished a four-CD set of songs. I’m also
Springwater Rod & Gun Club); Bob Moore, Wayland, NY (from: Springwater Rod & Gun Club); redesigning and remodeling a great house, and at 82 years
Chet Pierce, Geneseo, NY (from: Springwater Rod & Gun Club); Hellen Christensen, Strathmore, CA old, that’s about all I have time for!
(from: Five Dogs Creek Cowboy Family); Duane J. La Fortune, Mound, MN (from: Nancy La Fortune).
Be sure to catch all the news and announcements about
April 1-30 2021 Ray Stevens on Facebook and raystevens.com.
Greg Garner, Fredericksburg, VA (from: Elaine A. Garner); Herbert A. Stockschlaeder, Eden, NY NRA Country is a lifestyle and a bond between the
(from: Diana & George Graovac); Michael J. Morin, Mission, TX (from: Carol S. Morin);
Gerardo Pareja, Hialeah, FL (from: Migdalia Pareja); Paul Morris, Fremont, NE (from: Elkhorn country music community and hard-working Americans
Valley Rifle Club), Matt Rosson, Attalla, AL (from: Barbara Bice), Ed Schneider (from: Springwater everywhere. It’s powered by pride, freedom, love of
Rod & Gun Club); Lana Johnson, Tell City, IN (from: Ronald Johnson); Danny Roth, St. Mary, country, respect for the military, and the responsibilities of
MO (from: Carl & Linda Jokerst); Karen Snowman, Cohocton, NY (from: Springwater Rod & Gun protecting the great American life. Visit nracountry.com
Club); Brett Chapin, Midland, MI (from: C. J. Hartung); Myron E. Kelsey (from: Howard Kelsey). and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Online Regional Report
nrapublications.org/regional-report
To search for
events in your Member Information & Benefits
area, go to
Visit the links below to find gun shows, programs, clubs,

events and training in your area.
NRA.ORG
MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT
INFORMATION: (877) 672-2000
NRA Headquarters: (703) 267-1000
MEMBER SERVICE (800) 672-3888
NRASTORE.COM (888) 607-6007
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NRA Travel Center NRA.HotelPlanner.com
Public and private officers interested in Friends of NRA events celebrate American
becoming law enforcement firearm instructors values with fun, fellowship and fundraising for INSTITUTE FOR LEGISLATIVE ACTION
should attend one of NRA’s Law Enforcement The NRA Foundation. To learn more about Grassroots/Legislative Hotline (800) 392-8683
Firearms Instructor Development Schools. events in your area, visit friendsofnra.org, OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT/
NRA Police Pistol Combat competition is contact your local field representative or send GIFT PLANNING (877) NRA-GIVE
intended to be used as an extension of an email to [email protected]. THE NRA FOUNDATION (800) 423-6894
an officer’s training. NRA INSTRUCTOR/
COACH FIREARM TRAINING (703) 267-1500
EDDIE EAGLE GUNSAFE PROGRAM (800) 231-0752
REFUSE TO BE A VICTIM (800) 861-1166
RECREATIONAL SHOOTING (800) 672-7435
NRA AFFILIATED CLUBS (800) 672-2582
RANGE SERVICES (877) 672-7264
COMPETITIVE SHOOTING (877) 672-6282
LAW ENFORCEMENT (703) 267-1640
FRIENDS OF NRA (703) 267-1342
NRA MUSEUMS/
GUN SHOWS TRAINING GUN COLLECTOR PROGRAMS (703) 267-1600
SHOWS & EXHIBITS
gunshows.nra.org refuse.nra.org | nrainstructors.org (877) 672-7632
MEDIA RELATIONS (703) 267-1595
Dates and locations of gun shows are subject The NRA’s Refuse To Be A Victim® program
HUNTER SERVICES (844) 672-6883
to change. Please contact the show before provides information on crime prevention
The “NRA Regional Report,” a service for NRA members,
traveling. Discounted NRA memberships and personal safety. To learn more about is an up-to-date listing of NRA conducted and/or sponsored
are sold through NRA recruiters. Some shows the program, visit refuse.nra.org. The most events scheduled in your region for the current month.
Call to verify event dates and locations before traveling.
may offer free admission to people who sign up-to-date seminar and instructor training
up for new memberships or renewals. schedule is available on the Internet by visiting
To become an NRA Recruiter contact NRA nrainstructors.org, or online training is available
Recruiting Programs at [email protected]. at nraonlinetraining.org. Questions? Email to
[email protected] or by calling (800) 861-1166.
AREA SHOOTS STATE ASSOCIATIONS 2021 NRA ANNUAL MEETINGS

ssusa.org/coming-events stateassociations.nra.org SEPT. 3 -5 • HOUSTON, TX
For more information, send an email to Joining NRA-affiliated state associations
Shelly Kramer at [email protected] supports NRA’s mission in your state. For hotel accommodations at the
or call (703) 267-1459. See clubs.nra.org for more information.
NRA Annual Meetings, visit nraam.org

PROGRAMS & SERVICES
2021 NRA National Championships

S
ince its inception 150 years ago, the These championships, and all NRA sanctioned
National Rifle Association has supported competitions, would not be possible without the
and organized competitions in pursuit of unwavering support of the members of our NRA
its goal to increase marksmanship skills. The Board who lead the committees responsible for
cherished tradition of competition will continue the oversight of the shooting sports, and the
this summer at the world-class ranges of Camp many dedicated volunteers, including my good
Atterbury, where the NRA has partnered with the friend and distinguished rifleman Hap Rocketto.
State of Indiana to conduct the 2021 National You will be proud to know that the hardworking
Championships. Here, I would like to focus on employees at our headquarters in Fairfax in the
this important event that is part of the NRA’s Competitive Shooting & Law Enforcement divi-
history of leadership in competitive shooting. sions are operating across department lines to
The NRA High Power Rifle Nationals ensure another year of successful comradery and
have been held annually since 2017 at Camp competition at the firing line.
Atterbury, an active Indiana National Guard base For the 2021 NRA National Championships,
about 45 minutes south of Indianapolis. Last shooting will commence with the NRA
By Joseph P. year, the Smallbore and Precision Pistol Nationals Smallbore Rifle Championships at Camp
DeBergalis, Jr. were set to join High Power Rifle there, re-uniting Atterbury starting July 6 through July 18. The
Executive Director, the NRA National Championships at a single Championship will include 3-Position, Metric
venue, but this was delayed due to COVID-19. Position, Conventional Position, Prone and
General Operations
I’m looking forward to the matches this summer F-Class, and Metric Prone and F-Class.
at Camp Atterbury, where the Indiana National After Smallbore Rifle, the NRA Precision
Guard and NRA match officials have been work- Pistol Nationals at Camp Atterbury will
ing tirelessly to prepare the facility for the debut begin July 20 and end July 25. The schedule
of Smallbore Rifle and Precision Pistol. NRA includes the .22 LR Championship, Centerfire
members and competitors can be proud of the Championship and .45 ACP Championship,
partnership between our association, the State of along with the Team Matches.
Indiana, and Camp Atterbury. As for High Power Rifle, the 2021 NRA
The NRA is no stranger to hard work in Mid-Range, Long-Range, F-Class Long-Range,
keeping the National Matches afloat, especially F-Class Mid-Range and International Fullbore
during the early years. In 1912, when the Championships will also be conducted at Camp
National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Atterbury. The matches will begin July 23 and
Practice concluded that Army maneuvers run through Aug. 29. In addition, the Extreme
Joining NRA-affiliated state conflicted with the proposed National Matches Long-Range (ELR) Championship is slated to
associations supports NRA’s schedule that year, the NRA held firm and return on Aug. 20, prior to the High Power
mission in your state. conducted its own championships at Sea Girt, Across-the-Course matches. This popular ELR
independent of the War Department. By doing event that debuted in 2017 at Camp Atterbury
GET INVOLVED TODAY! this, the NRA ensured the continuity of the is a must for shooters looking to engage targets
GO VISIT trophies and maintained the National Matches at one mile and beyond.
stateassociations.nra.org legacy. And, in 1914, another year when it faced I wish all competitors well as they compete
a lack of military support to conduct a combined and put their skills to the
National Match, the NRA conducted its own test this summer! For more
National Divisional Matches with events held information about the 2021
across the country. Nearly a century later, the NRA National Championships
NRA continues to anchor summer competitions at Camp Atterbury, please
with its National Championships. visit competitions.nra.org.
Photo by John Parker

PROGRAMS & SERVICES
2021 DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS

T
he nominees for election to the NRA Board in 2021 six Directors and three Lifetime members who are not
have been selected by the Nominating Committee. Directors. The Committee met and gave consideration to
The Board consists of 76 Directors. The terms 71 names recommended by the membership. Each person
of office of one-third of the 75 Directors expire at each was given serious, deliberate and careful consideration.
Annual Meeting of Members. One Director will be Thirty candidates were selected.
elected for a one-year term at each Annual Meeting of Nominations by Petition of the Membership.
Members. That Director shall be selected from only those There are no candidates that qualified by petition of
candidates who were not elected by the mail ballot. the membership. Each petition sponsored by an NRA
The 2021 election will fill the 25 three-year terms that member or member organization required the signatures
expire in 2024. Voting members will vote for a total of of not less than 551 voting members.
25 candidates. The 25 candidates receiving the highest Prior to the ballots being printed, two of the
number of votes will be elected to three-year terms. Nominating Committee candidates withdrew their name
Nominations by the Nominating Committee. The from consideration. Therefore, a total of 28 candidates
Committee, elected by the Board of Directors, includes will appear on the ballot.
1. Scott L. Bach 12. Maria Heil 23. Wayne Anthony Ross

Newfoundland, New Jersey New Freedom, Pennsylvania Anchorage, Alaska
2. William A. Bachenberg 13. Antonio Hernández-Almodóvar 24. Don Saba

Allentown, Pennsylvania San Juan, Puerto Rico Tucson, Arizona
3. Ronnie G. Barrett 14. Niger Innis 25. William H. Satterfield

Murfreesboro, Tennessee North Las Vegas, Nevada Birmingham, Alabama
4. Donald J. Bradway 15. David A. Keene 26. John C. Sigler

Hayden, Idaho Ft. Washington, Maryland Dover, Delaware
5. Dean Cain 16. Carrie Lightfoot 27. Craig Swartz

Malibu, California Scottsdale, Arizona Adel, Iowa
6. James Chapman 17. Duane Liptak, Jr.* 28. James Tomes

Live Oak, California Austin, Texas Wadesville, Indiana
7. Anthony P. Colandro 18. Carolyn D. Meadows 29. James L. Wallace

Woodland Park, New Jersey Marietta, Georgia Newburyport, Massachusetts
8. David G. Coy 19. Bill Miller 30. Robert J. Wos

Adrian, Michigan Beckley, West Virginia Sarasota, Florida
9. John L. Cushman 20. Owen Buz Mills *Mr. Liptak and Mr. Satterfield
Patchogue, New York Paulden, Arizona withdrew their names from
consideration after being
10. Edie P. Fleeman 21. Janet D. Nyce nominated.
Durham, North Carolina Elliottsburg, Pennsylvania
11. Joel Friedman 22. Kim Rhode

Henderson, Nevada Big Bear Lake, California

Board Backs NRA’s Texas Reorganization Filing
T
he following action and roll call vote are published in accordance with Article IV, Section 3(d) of the NRA Bylaws. During
the March 28, 2021, special meeting of the NRA Board of Directors in Dallas, Texas, the Board took action regarding a
resolution authorizing and ratifying Chapter 11 reorganization. A roll call vote was taken on the following motion:
WHEREAS, on January 14, 2021, and others as to the authorization to file the Chapter 11 Case; and be it further
pursuant to the power authorized by the Chapter 11 Case and desire to affirm RESOLVED that, to the extent
the Board of Directors of the National that the Board of Director approves and the pending Chapter 11 Case is
Rifle Association (the “NRA”) and the ratifies the filing of the Chapter 11 Case dismissed, the Board of Directors
Employment Agreement between the and the retention of counsel; hereby authorizes and directs the
NRA and Wayne LaPierre, its Executive WHEREAS, the Board of Directors commencement of a Chapter 11
Vice President, in consultation with has determined that a Chapter 11 reorganization proceeding in the
the Special Litigation Committee, reorganization of the NRA, along United States District Court for the
determined that a Chapter 11 with its wholly owned single member- Northern District of Texas on behalf of
reorganization of the NRA would managed Texas subsidiary, Sea Girt, will the NRA and Sea Girt; and be it further.
advance the best interests of the NRA, advance the best interests of the NRA, RESOLVED that, to the extent
its members, and its mission; its members, and its mission, as well as the pending Chapter 11 Case is
WHEREAS, on January 15, 2021, the interests of Sea Girt; it is therefore dismissed and subsequently refiled,
the NRA and its wholly owned single RESOLVED that the commencement the NRA and Sea Girt shall retain, as
member-managed Texas subsidiary, of a Chapter 11 reorganization debtors’ counsel in connection with
Sea Girt, LLC (“Sea Girt”), filed Chapter proceeding in the United States District such reorganization proceeding, the
11 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas firms of Neligan LLP and Garman
Court for the Northern District of on behalf of the NRA and its wholly Turner Gordon LLP to serve as general
Texas, thereby commencing the cases owned, single member-managed bankruptcy counsel and Brewer
being jointly administered as Case limited liability company, Sea Girt, was, Attorney & Counselors (“BAC”) as
No. 21-30085-hdh11 (together, the and hereby is, authorized directed and special counsel to prosecute and
“Chapter 11 Case”); ratified; and be it further defend certain litigation matters
WHEREAS, the Board of Directors RESOLVED that, to the extent neces- during the course of such Chapter 11
understands that questions have been sary, the Board of Directors hereby rati- proceeding, including the prepetition
raised by the New York Attorney General fies and confirms the commencement of matters presently handled by BAC.
VOTING IN FAVOR David G. Coy Willes K. Lee Linda L. Walker

OF THE MOTION: Larry E. Craig Carrie Lightfoot James L. Wallace
Joe M. Allbaugh Richard S. Figueroa Robert E. Mansell Howard J. Walter
Thomas P. Arvas Edie P. Fleeman Bill Miller Judi White
Scott L. Bach Joel Friedman James W. Porter II
Bob Barr Sandra S. Froman Jay Printz VOTING AGAINST
Ronnie G. Barrett Mark Geist Todd J. Rathner THE MOTION:
J. Kenneth Blackwell Marion P. Hammer Mark Robinson Rocky Marshall, Jr.
Dean Cain Maria Heil Barbara Rumpel
J. William Carter Graham Hill Don Saba PRESENT, NOT VOTING:
Ted W. Carter Niger Innis Ronald L. Schmeits Phillip B. Journey
Patricia A. Clark Curtis S. Jenkins Steven C. Schreiner Owen Buz Mills
Anthony P. Colandro David A. Keene John C. Sigler Bart Skelton
Charles L. Cotton Tom King Mark E. Vaughan
NRA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Joe M. Allbaugh, Oklahoma; Thomas P. Arvas, New Mexico; Paul D. Babaz, Georgia; Scott L. Bach, New Jersey; William A. Bachenberg, Pennsylvania; Bob Barr, Georgia;
Ronnie G. Barrett, Tennessee; Clel Baudler, Iowa; J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio; Matt Blunt, Virginia; Robert K. Brown, Colorado; Dave Butz, Illinois; Dean Cain, California;
J. William Carter, Kentucky; Ted W. Carter, Florida; Patricia A. Clark, Connecticut; Anthony P. Colandro, New Jersey; Allan D. Cors, Florida; Charles L. Cotton, Texas; David G. Coy,
Michigan; Larry E. Craig, Idaho; Todd R. Ellis, Pennsylvania; Richard S. Figueroa, Texas; Edie P. Fleeman, North Carolina; Carol Frampton, South Carolina; Joel Friedman,
Nevada; Sandra S. Froman, Arizona; Mark Geist, Colorado; Marion P. Hammer, Florida; Maria Heil, Pennsylvania; Graham Hill, Virginia; Susan Howard, Texas; Niger Innis,
Nevada; Curtis S. Jenkins, Georgia; Phillip B. Journey, Kansas; David A. Keene, Maryland; Tom King, New York; Herbert A. Lanford, Jr., South Carolina; Willes K. Lee, Virginia;
Carrie Lightfoot, Arizona; Karl A. Malone, Louisiana; Robert E. Mansell, Arizona; R.B. “Rocky” Marshall, Jr., Texas; Carolyn D. Meadows, Georgia; Bill Miller, West Virginia;
Owen Buz Mills, Arizona; Il Ling New, Idaho; Oliver L. North, Virginia; Robert A. Nosler, Oregon; Johnny Nugent, Indiana; Ted Nugent, Texas; James W. Porter II, Alabama;
Jay Printz, Montana; Todd J. Rathner, Arizona; Kim Rhode, California; Mark Robinson, North Carolina; Wayne Anthony Ross, Alaska; Carl T. Rowan, Jr., Washington, D.C.;
Barbara Rumpel, Florida; Don Saba, Arizona; William H. Satterfield, Alabama; Ronald L. Schmeits, New Mexico; Steven C. Schreiner, Colorado; John C. Sigler, Delaware;
Leroy Sisco, Texas; Bart Skelton, New Mexico; Kristy Titus, Oregon; Dwight D. Van Horn, Idaho; Mark E. Vaughan, Oklahoma; Blaine Wade, Tennessee; Linda L. Walker, Ohio;
James L. Wallace, Massachusetts; Howard J. Walter, North Carolina; Allen B. West, Texas; Judi White, Arizona; Donald E. Young, Alaska.
Communications intended for any member of the NRA Board of Directors should be addressed to: (Name of Board member), NRA Office of the Secretary,
11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030; or [email protected]; or (703) 267-1021. Please include your name, contact information and NRA membership
I.D. number, as only communications from NRA members will be forwarded.

PROGRAMS & SERVICES
Whittington Center Announces New Dates For

Founder’s/Donor Appreciation Weekend
D
ue to the rescheduling of the in 1821, the route served as a vital
NRA Annual Meetings and commercial artery until 1880, when
Exhibits, now taking place the railroad arrived and took its place.
September 3-5 in Houston, Texas, As part of the Founder’s/Donor
the Whittington Center has moved Appreciation event, the Whittington
its Founder’s/Donor Appreciation Center will even feature several
Weekend to September 16-19, wagons that traveled the Santa
2021. This annual meeting of NRA Fe Trail. These will be on display
Whittington Center members, donors adjacent to the trail where it crosses
and supporters promises to provide Whittington Center property.
a weekend that is both entertaining Saturday night’s entertainment
and educational. will be handled by Michael Martin
Among other things, this year’s Murphey. An artist of 50 years’
celebration will honor the 200th experience with a wide-ranging
anniversary of the Santa Fe trail. background, Murphey has topped the
Vastly important to the history of the Pop, Country, Western and Bluegrass
region, the trail was a 19th century charts throughout various eras. A
route through the old West, actually Texas native, Murphey is best known The event is dedicated to Robbie Roberts,
connecting Santa Fe, N.M., with for his hits “Wildfire,” “Carolina In the late curator of collections at Whittington.
far-off Franklin, Missouri. Initially the Pines,” “What’s Forever For,” The entire celebration is dedicated
pioneered by one William Becknell, “Long Line of Love,” and many more to Robbie Roberts, the late curator
across 35 existing albums. Beyond of collections. Mr. Roberts spent 20
his own career as a performing artist, years at Whittington and previously
Murphey has found success further held the positions of program
afield, having his songs recorded by director and deputy executive
The Monkees, Kenny Rogers, The director, among many others, before
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, John Denver, his passing in March.
Johnny Cash, Tracy Byrd, Dolly Parton Whether one’s taste is history,
and many others. music, firearm knowledge and good
Sunday evening will wrap up with food, or all of the above, this is a
a Patriot member dinner featuring weekend no one will want to miss.
guest speaker Phil Schreier, the For more information, visit the events
senior curator of NRA Museums. page at nrawc.org, or call
A 32-year veteran of the museum, (575) 445-3615.
with an absolute wealth of historical
and firearm knowledge, Mr. Schreier
regularly presents the museum’s
programs and exhibits to a national
Photo by Ken Scar
audience, both in person and on

the air. Attendees can be sure of an
enthralling address to accompany
Photo by NRA Staff
their table fare.

Country music star Michael Martin Murphey
will provide Saturday night’s entertainment.

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HANDGUNS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36
clone that is almost entirely plug-and-

play. Like Legos, nearly everything
about the pistol can be swapped
around to tailor it to the needs of the
shooter: backstraps, mag wells,
different-length dustcovers to match
up with different-length slides. The
whole kit can be had in a foam-fitted
case. It’s quite James Bond.
Experience Hearing Perfection …Third Gen Glock archi-

tecture is effectively now just
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TK^TZWKF[TWNYJUZWXZNYXHZXYTRN_JIYT^TZWXUJHNHMJFWNSLSJJIX
Building one to your personal tastes
With no other product like this on the market, TETRA is changing the has never been easier. A site like
industry, two ears at a time. Brownells or Lone Wolf Distributors is
practically a wish book of wild after-
market parts to mate with a frame of
your choice. If you don’t want to try
your hand at building a your own
TETRAHEARING.COM/SHOOTING lower from Polymer 80, but like the
way they handle, the company will sell
you one already assembled in its
PF-series of pistols (following a
standard transfer procedure via an
NEWS • FEATURES • REVIEWS • VIDEOS & MORE FFL). If that’s too vanilla, Faxon uses
the P80 frame as the basis for its
FX-19 Hellfire.
With this bewildering variety of
boutique and custom options, you can
get just about any configuration of
“Glock” you’d like: Beavertail? Finger
grooves? Mag well? Long slide and
short grip, or short slide combined
with a full-length grip? Someone offers
it, and if they don’t, you can likely
build it yourself.
There’s something to lament, I
suppose, about the good ol’ days
when a Glock was a specific model of
pistol that came in any color you
wanted as long as it was black, came in
a plastic tub that looked suspiciously
like a Tupperware sandwich box and
just plain worked with no tinkering or
worrying about recoil-spring weights.
On the other hand, choice is good.
Variety is the spice of life. Getting a
handgun that is specifically tailored
Follow Us Online to your hand and your own personal
needs is great.
Just ask any custom 1911 owner.
The Definitive Source for the Modern Shooter

FIGHTIN’ IRON CONTINUED FROM PAGE 104
Make Yard Cleanup EASY with
.45 ACPs or 9 mms, there have also DR Chipper®
MARKETPLACE
been some .38 Supers and even a few Shredders!
.30 Lugers (for export). Over the years,
the details of sights, finish and grips
have varied with the times and
customer preference. Like all per- Follow Us Online
sonal-defense firearms, Commanders
are carried a lot more than they are
fired. They are a good choice in the
sense that the power-to-weight ratio
The Definitive Source for the Modern Shooter
is excellent. However, the recoil of a
26-ounce .45 ACP is snappy, particu-
larly when the shooter has made a
debatable choice in +P ammunition.
The Commander began to be the
go-to gun for the combat shooters of
the Southwest Pistol League2018_SI
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When people began to buy original volume
Commander slides and barrels to
install on steel frames, Colt saw the DRchipper.com
light and offered the same thing itself. !
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The Combat Commander was a FREE Call Toll-Free
commercial success—an all-steel SHIPPING
888-213-0229
1911-style pistol, with the 4.25-inch Limitations apply.
barrel and slide. While I had fired the

early light Commanders off and on
TO ADVERTISE IN THIS SECTION CALL 703-267-1300

since the 1960s, I had never owned
one. The Combat version caught my
fancy and I bought one in the
mid-’70s. I still have and often fire this
aging veteran. It has a Bar-Sto barrel
(fitted by “Stoney” himself) and
one-of-a-kind Novak sights. Com-
manders don’t usually carry a reputa-
tion for match accuracy, but this one
will put a magazine into a sub-1-inch
group on command.
The light .45 ACP by Colt has been
part of the warrior culture since the
Korean War. In those days, Marine
lieutenants stopped by Evaluators
Limited in Quantico, VA, to buy one
(OK, sometimes it was a Model 15
Smith & Wesson). I can also remember
the lieutenant in my outfit in Vietnam
who wanted one. The post office at
SUPPORT MORE
Chu Lai was a tent, but they issued
money orders. He got one for the
VICTORIES FOR VETERANS.

proper amount, mailed it off to Gil
Hebard in Illinois and, in a few weeks,
got his pistol.
From its earliest days, we knew the
Colt Commander was fightin’ iron.
DAV.org

FIGHTIN’ IRON Wiley Clapp
The Commander before “Johnny Doughboy” was issued one of

the new semi-autos. It hit hard, it hit often
and was hugely reliable in trained hands.
There were a few little glitches in the
Even great military service pistols go management of the original 1911 pistol, and
though a form of evolution. they got official attention in the 1920s. The
result was the M1911A1 version of the
Government Model. With changes to certain
contours of the pistol, it was a better gun—
enough as to be made in great quantity for
service in World War II. The M1911A1 came out
of the war with an even greater level of
respect than when it entered it. Still, it was a
rather large pistol with a 5-inch barrel and
overall weight of 39 ounces—empty. It was
difficult to carry concealed. And rumors
began to circulate about the government
going to a new service sidearm. When Army
Ordnance officials began to talk to Colt about
a new variation of the 1911, the die was cast.
Colt, in the early 1950s, was a forward-
thinking company willing to experiment
deeply. It offered a range of revolvers, as well
as new semi-autos for target work. One of its
best ideas involved the use of lightweight
alloys for major components of handguns.
Colt’s Cobra revolver was an instant hit with
W
The satin-nickel- e are now well into the second plainclothes police officers, and it didn’t take
finished, steel- century of the 1911 service pistol long before the company was looking at the
frame Combat and its legendary cartridge. Few 1911 and reflecting on the twin problems of
Commander firearms enjoy such a long period of solid size and weight. Enter the Commander.
shown above
service. Ten years ago, the centennial of this Since there was considerable interest in the
warrior’s tool was celebrated widely, and 9 mm cartridge, the first Commanders were
serves as a
rightly so. But, as we move toward its sesqui- chambered for that round. But, the obvious
testament to the centennial, it is almost as though shooting commercial possibilities of a smaller, lighter
many changes the folks in general have finally just accepted the .45 ACP were massive and Colt started making
1911-based pistol full utility of the big cartridge and the Colt them. The Commander is functionally the
has endured over pistol that fires it. We know that with patents same as the full-size Government Model.
the last 110 years. long expired, every major U.S. handgun There are two major differences: The slide is
maker catalogs its version of the grand-old three-quarters of an inch shorter and houses
service pistol. Every ammunition manufac- a barrel similarly shortened. On the first
turer offers at least a couple of loads of that Commanders, the grip tang was bit shorter
stubby cartridge. and so was the distinctively different rowel
The gun was first used by Soldiers of the hammer. The second difference was more
U.S. Army in the defense of American lives significant. A shortened gun is a lighter gun,
and property along our Southern border. This but when the frame of that pistol is made of
was in the 19-teens, just before the nation aluminum, it is significantly lighter. The first
went to war in Europe. Initially made at the Commander weighed 26 ounces, compared
Colt plant in Connecticut and the Springfield to 39 for a standard 5-inch M1911A1.
Armory in Massachusetts, the pistol was in The idea caught on, and Colt never looked
such demand as to warrant other gunmakers back. The company has made these handy,
getting into the act. It was popular with those easy-to-carry .45s for 70 years. There have
who used the gun to the point that a high been a few modifications. While most are
percentage of those issued were never
recovered. America was sixgun country Continued on page 103

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