Gun Digest Everyday Carry 2022 SIP #4

The majority of my inner circle, both personally and professionally, is comprised largely of gun guys: law enforcement, former operators, veterans, firearms instructors and the like. Birds of a feather, I suppose. All these men and women have an advanced level of firearms and survival training that most civilians don’t, which is a direct result of their chosen lives of servitude in those various roles. But… of all these people, there’s only one I know of who carries a true bug-out bag with them at all times (in addition to a CCW gun, of course): passport, cash, small first-aid kit. Always. Everywhere. When he steps out of the vehicle to pump gas, it’s on. If the sh*t were to really hit the fan, he and his wife are more immediately prepared…

HISTORICAL NOTES The .30 U.S. Army, or .30-40 Krag—the first United States small-bore military cartridge—was adopted in 1892. The Winchester high-wall single-shot was the first commercial rifle in the United States produced for a small-bore smokeless-powder cartridge. This happened when the .30-40 Krag was added to the available chamberings in 1893. The Remington-Lee bolt action, Remington rolling block, and Winchester Model 95 lever action and high-wall single-shot were the first commercial sporting rifles to offer this chambering. No commercial rifles used the cartridge from 1936 to 1973. From 1973 until 1977, the Ruger No. 3 single-shot was chambered for the .30-40 Krag, thus stimulating a renewed interest in the cartridge. GENERAL COMMENTS The .30-40 Krag—.30-caliber/40 grains of the original smokeless-powder load—has retained its popularity, primarily because large numbers of fine sporting conversions of the…

I was once asked if I could only hunt with one bullet, what bullet would it be? Of all the gun-related questions I often get, this is the easiest to answer. It would unquestionably be the Nosler AccuBond. The reason it would be the AccuBond is because I’ve seen it work so well, so many times, that I trust it explicitly. In fact, Nosler makes the three hunting bullets I most often recommend: the AccuBond, the Partition and the Ballistic Tip. However, when asked about a good bullet for a defensive handgun, I’ve never recommended one from Nosler. This isn’t because I think Nosler makes bad handgun bullets; it’s because that up until now I’ve always felt there were better options. For 2022, Nosler has added a new line of ammunition for…

I know it might seem trite, but it bears repeating: Half the time, it’s dark out there. And unless you have a forward observer, you can’t hit what you can’t see … at least not without a lot of luck and a lot of legal exposure as well. So, lights on firearms are the new normal. The SureFire name should be familiar to everyone who has ever walked into a gun shop. If not, this is your cue. The SureFire X300 Turbo throws an impressive 650 lumens out of a light you can attach to your handgun. You’ll need an accessory rail to clamp the X300 to, but that’s not much of a problem these days. It seems that every pistol made, with the exception of some subcompact ones, has an accessory…

What you carry everyday can affect the outcome of your self-defense trial. You might even be found guilty of murder because of the gun you chose. How could that be so, you ask? The jury. The jury will be either 6 or 12 citizens from your home county, all of which have clean criminal histories, and typically middle aged or older. Occasionally, younger folks get on, but not often. And, when deciding your guilt or innocence, they’ll take into account all the facts presented at trial, including the type of gun you used. “When a person uses a gun in self-defense, the gun will be confiscated by police as evidence in the shooting, and if you’re prosecuted, it’ll become a lead witness in your case.” Case in point: I worked as an expert…

We’ve all heard the rule from on high: Th o u shalt not carry handloads in thine everyday carry weapon, lest thou be deemed guilty immediately for saving thine bacon. The concept and reason, loosely stated, is that a prosecuting attorney could possibly convince a jury that you intentionally made “hot loads” (I break out in hives just typing that), or that the threat—which you interpreted to put your life in danger—was farther away than you stated, based upon the penetration of the bullet and/or expansion. Those handloads could indicate—to the uneducated—that you were looking for a gunfight. Just as I handload almost all of my dangerous game ammunition, on the basis of the idea that I can pay attention to each and every component and aspect of the loading process,…