SELF-DEFENSE

GUNS, AMMUNITION, GEAR AND TACTICAL ADVICE

SIG Sauer 365 SAS

How many times have I heard this statement in my 72 years of shooting handguns? It certainly did not begin with me as I recall reading older books as a teenager that emphasized the same thing.

Taurus Model 856 Defender...

The Taurus 856 line is derived from the venerable Taurus Model 85, one of the Brazil-based gun company’s most popular revolvers.

The .22 LR

The argument is background noise anyplace two or more gun guys are gathered. Could you, should you ever, use a .22LR as a defensive weapon?

The .356 TSW

A victim of poor timing and marketing, the promising .356 TSW (Tactical Smith & Wesson) cartridge may be on the verge of a comeback.

Make Every Shot Count

GUNS Magazine editor Brent Wheat looks at the data-driven approach to
improving your shooting as he reviews the MantisX.

The Colt Police Positive...

Ask Colt revolver fans to list as many D-Frame models as they can and chances are the results will include fairly well-known names — many decidedly snaky.

Cheap pistols

Gun writers collectively tend to forget something — we all want to carry a $5,000 custom defensive pistol but sometimes a large soft drink at the local...

Springfield Armory Hellcat...

The world shifted just a bit on September 25, 2019. Did you feel it? It wasn’t one of those silly Instagram events like Kim Kardashian brushing her teeth...

KelTec KSG Bullpup

In 2011 KelTec introduced the KSG — a pump-action bullpup shotgun holding 14 rounds via two tubular magazines.

Urban Survival

When the subject of survival comes up, people often spend their time discussing how to survive huge natural disasters or long periods alone in the wilderness.

CrossBreed SuperTuck Holster

I wasn’t prepared to like the CrossBreed SuperTuck Holster. From the start it looks stiff, ungainly and is — frankly — a huge piece of leather

Prepping For Apartment...

Thanks to some of the sensationalistic “reality” shows aired in recent years, the word “prepper” often conjures up visions of eccentric...

You've Stored The Grain

You will not rise to the occasion — you will default to the highest level of training you have mastered. Skills are needed in a survival situation.

Good Eatin’ In Bad Times

The tactics and gear needed from one survival situation to another may vary greatly. After all, a long-term, widespread power outage in suburbia calls for...

Real-World Home Defense

Because we live in the age of the internet and a 24-hour news cycle, local news can go national quickly. Police shootings, home invasion robberies and...

Disaster Preparedness

Tornados, wildfires, chemical spills, floods, blizzards, hurricanes, ice storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, civil unrest, flu pandemic; the list goes on.

6 Titles to Read During...

As COVID-19 forces people inside and the world enters quarantine, we have the content to keep you entertained with Special Edition issues from GUNS Magazine...

It's Your Castle, Prepare...

You and your family’s security is not something to take lightly. It seems our world is getting more violent by the day.

The Timberwolf Subcompact 10mm

Lone Wolf Distributors cut their teeth designing and producing top-quality aftermarket accessories for GLOCK pistols.

Rimfire Self-Defense | GMP #17

Everyone's had or heard the "9mm Versus .45 ACP" debate, but consider the other side of the caliber spectrum. Are rimfire handguns viable options for...

Rimfire Memories

The year was 1962. My friend Bobby Norman got a Remington Nylon 66 for his birthday. We rode our motorcycles out to Hurricane Creek Bottom to shoot it.

Identical Shooting Twins

The lady was being stalked. Encouraged by her husband, she made an appointment with me to learn how to shoot a gun.

The Wedge Hold

In 47 years as a handgun instructor, I’ve noticed more bad shots go low and to the shooter’s “weak hand” side than anywhere else. It’s often due...

How to keep shootin’...

We live in an ever-changing world. Everything around us is always changing and we ourselves are always changing.

Taurus G3

On the day Taurus officially announced their new G3 pistol, one of my grandsons was turning 16 and put together a shooting adventure with some of his...

Springfield Armory M1A Tanker

Springfield Armory is a powerhouse in the contemporary American gun world. Resurrected in 1974 from the ashes of the venerable 200-year-old government armory,

Mossberg 590A1 Retrograde

Back before the colors of Flat Dark Earth, Ranger Green, Coyote, camouflage du jour, etc., all the cool kids used Scorched Earth, also commonly called Black.

XS Sights DXT Night Sights

The day I realized my aging eyes couldn’t clearly see the front sight on a pistol was eye-opening (pun intended).

TPM Outfitters H&K MP5SD Clone

In 1990 I was a hard-charging young Army Aviator suffering from a toxic overdose of both testosterone and patriotism.

In Defense of the Elderly

The scientific term is entropy. This is a quantifiable measure of the amount of disorder in a system. Everything naturally descends into a greater state of...

TMT Tactical Glock Makeover

It’s been said — and even sung — “Everything old is new again.” In this issue we’re taking the sentiment to a new level with an old gun given a...

Smith & Wesson 686 Revolver

In 1981 a real workhorse galloped out of the Smith and Wesson stable in the form of the company’s model 686 — a stainless version of their model 586.

Make Mine A Shotgun

In the last decade or so, the shotgun has been largely eclipsed by semiautomatic carbines — especially the AR-15/M4 — for use by law enforcement and...

Smith & Wesson .45 ACP Shield

Back in 2016 Smith & Wesson introduced the .45 ACP Shield and I tested it for a feature article in this magazine. I already owned the 9mm and .40 S&W...

Streamlight Protac HL-X ...

Don’t look this one in the eyes! Boasting 1,000 lumens plus an integrated red aiming laser, the Protac HL-X light performs near the top of its class at a...

Kahr Arms K9 25th Anniversary

For the anniversary model, Kahr took 500 of their iconic K9s and tricked them out with (amongst other things) an engraved,

Lumbago and the Armed American

I hurt my back when I was 27 years old and a soldier. I wish I could tell you it was fast roping into some evil despot’s lair to rescue the Dallas Cowboys...

SIG SAUER SIG716 Patrol

When the term “AR-15” comes up, most folks tend to think of the 5.56mm/.223 Remington cartridge. Fact is the first rifle of this genre invented by...

The Non-Slip Grip

Every year I compete in Richard Davis’ seminal bowling pin shoot at Central Lake, Michigan (pinshoot.com). This year I saw some things to inspire this...

Mossberg MC1SC 9mm

Slim, subcompact 9mm concealed carry pistols are one of the hottest things on the firearms market today and Mossberg, most famous for its functional,...

EDC: Striking a Balance

There’s a cliche on the gun-related internet and “around the cracker barrel at the gun shop” which, in effect, says, “Anyone who carries more...

Saint Victor .308

Back in the old days if you wanted an American-made .308 battle rifle, you could opt for a Springfield Armory M1A or just go without. M1A acolytes will tell...

The .44 Magnum Opus

The .44 Magnum has now been around for well over 60 years and it seems like a good time to look back at this excellent — perhaps even all around —...

The Nighthawk Custom Agent 2

Fifteen years ago, Mark Stone bumped into a couple of guys at church who built 1911 pistols. They were firearms artisans struggling to find their niche and...

Ruger PC Carbine Tactical...

When I was growing up, Ruger’s first entry into the long gun market was their unique .44 Magnum Carbine introduced in 1960. It was a head-turner.

CPX-3 .380 ACP

SCCY is a remarkable gun company with a strange name. Their defensive handguns are pacesetters in the modern firearms market and the newest SCCY CPX-3 .380...

Glock G48

The 2019 introduction of the G48 9mm finally answers the yearning of three decades of GLOCK users. Introduced in the late 1980s, the very popular G19...

AR-Alternate Calibers

Sometimes it seems nobody really likes the .223 Remington. Ever since the inception of the AR15 60 years ago, this little round has been under a magnifying...

Rangemaster Tactical...

For a score of years now, master instructor Tom Givens and his wife Lynn have hosted the annual Rangemaster Tactical Conference. The program is a 3-day...

Black Rain's Ion 9

Its sexy-looking, ventilated fore grip has Picatinny bases for front and rear sight mounting. It also has Picatinny bases on the fore grip’s left and...

Colt King Cobra .357

Last January Colt announced the new King Cobra, not their first revolver to bear the name, so a brief history is in order.

Springfield Armory 911

Springfield Armory has been a significant player in the concealable handgun arena and the 911 is their first .380 — and smallest handgun — in the...

Why Not Pack A Pair?

I’ve always carried two flashlights, knives and two pistols — one on my side and the second in a pocket or ankle holster. For the past few months,...

Understudy Guns

My predecessor as Handgun Editor here at GUNS was Jan Stevenson, who the late George Nonte called the most articulate of gun writers. I think George was...

Streamlight ’em Up

On pretty much any outdoor excursion I generally have enough lights available to equip not only myself but also my hunting partner, with a spare or two...

Behind the Shirts

I can't say what the best gun and holster for concealed carry is for you. It depends on a lot of factors. But I will offer you this:

Survival Scatterguns

There is a timeless axiom in the annals of gun fighting. Most any rifle is preferable to most any pistol. At appropriate ranges, most any shotgun is...

Carry that J-Frame Inside...

For decades, Smith & Wesson’s ubiquitous J-frame revolver has served law enforcement and civilians as a backup gun or primary concealed carry gun.

Taurus Curve

Back in 2014 the Taurus Curve was introduced. At the time it was at the forefront of what could easily be described as a “New Wave” of .380 ACP pocket...

Fluted Ammo: Great Or Gimmik?

I first became acquainted with the new fluted bullet designs for defensive ammo in the latter part of 2015 with the introduction of ARX ammunition,

Springfield Armory XD(M) 10mm

If we ignore the constraints of the physical universe, what might be the particular attributes of the ideal defensive handgun?

Hold Tight To The Past

In any discipline we revere the old masters because we learned from them. “Old” does not equal “obsolete,” not for firearms and not for shooting...

Magnetic Gun Mount by Allen

Working from my home office, my desk is midway between two exterior doors, each about five yards away. I’m not anticipating a break-in but I would be...

Why the Flex is Best

Tim Smith, editor of Airgun Hobbyist, was devoting a whole issue to safety and asked me why I teach a flexed trigger finger position up on the frame at low...

What I Carry (And How And Why)

Regular readers of GUNS know my first concealed carry sixgun in 1956 was a then-brand new 2nd Generation 7-1/2" Colt Single Action .45. It was chosen very...

Hot Concealment Trends

Concealed carry trends change over the years. Back in the 19th century it was common for men to stuff a small pistol into a boot top. Fortunately, such a...

Just Enough Gun

I grew up shooting “the carbine.” Back then the term meant the military M1 .30 caliber version, just like saying “forty-five” meant the 1911. The M1...

Tactical Travel Tips

It’s easy to get complacent when travelling, but you need to remember it’s an often ugly world out there, and predators — of the worst variety — are...

.22 Caliber Cross-Training

When the Summer Olympics took place in Rio de Janeiro the entire world focused on the myriad of sporting events on display. One of the techniques many of...

The Home-Carry Handgun

These days, burglars seem to be less concerned about breaking into an occupied dwelling than they did in the past. Doesn’t sound very smart, does it? With...

Fluted Ammo: Great Or Gimmik?

I first became acquainted with the new fluted bullet designs for defensive ammo in the latter part of 2015 with the introduction of ARX ammunition,

Affordable Icon: PTR’s 9CT

At one point available in 120 different variations, the roller-lock MP5 is the universal subgun, much as the Porsche 911 is often considered the universal...

Why the Flex is Best

Tim Smith, editor of Airgun Hobbyist, was devoting a whole issue to safety and asked me why I teach a flexed trigger finger position up on the frame at low...

The .357 Magnum Part 2

In the 1950s when the sixgun was still supreme among peace officers, there were many who asked for a less expensive .357 Magnum. The 1954 result was the...

Ruger Doubles Down

Two on two: OK. Here’s the deal: We turned two of our sneakiest shootists — Mike Humphries and Roy Huntington — loose on two new Ruger handguns. These...

The Single-Six

After I got the Marlin 39A Mountie I talked about last month, I soon wanted to add an appropriated companion piece — a really good .22 sixgun. A young...

Gabe White Pistol ...

When Gabe White first trained with me in the early 2000s, he was already well along the way to mastering the handgun. Gathering much training in a broad...

Black Hills HoneyBadger Ammo

Along with the vast array of handgun models available for personal protection, there’s also been a flood of self-defense ammunition. One of the best...

Lipsey’s Lightweight...

In 2014 Lipsey’s released the all-stainless steel, Ruger-made Single-Seven revolver. Chambered in the mightiest .32 caliber round — the powerful .327...

Ruger’s .450 Bushmaster AR

Ruger is proving to be a great proponent of the .450 Bushmaster cartridge — and why not? It’s a great tactical and hunting cartridge wrapped in a...

The .357 Magnum: Part 1

Since the .357 Magnum arrived in 1935 — heralded as the most powerful sixgun in the world — it has been followed by plenty of other hard-hitting cartridges.

Dan Wesson ECP

Dan Wesson continues a history of innovation with the 1911 and their latest offering — the 9mm Enhanced Commander Pistol — is no exception.

Rock Your Roller Lock!

Few guns have had the near-universal acceptance enjoyed by HK’s roller-lock family of weapons. From the iconic 9mm MP5 SMG to the .308 G3 battle rifle,...

Remington 870 Tactical DM

“BANG! Ouch! BANG! Wow-owwww! BANG! Jeez oh Pete …” This real-life quote from the shooting range highlights my recent willful violation of the first...

Comfort & Concealment

Let’s face it, carrying a concealed handgun can be inconvenient. Maybe it requires one more garment than you want on a hot day.

Glocked-In Solid

Okay. I admit to being a hidebound dinosaur, especially when it comes to handguns (and pickup trucks). I prefer those with a real soul, which mainly equates...

Here’s A Keeper: FN 509...

When the National Rifle Association (NRA) met earlier this month for its annual meeting in Dallas, the timing for FN could not have been better. Days...

Springfield Armory's New...

When Springfield Armory introduced the SAINT Series of 5.56mm AR-15 firearms, some said they were too late to the game. Everybody and their uncle was...