Gun Digest

This issue marks Gun Digest’s annual nod to anything and everything related to defending your home. From incredibly innovative solutions for hiding and securing your firearms throughout your home, to expert tips for setting up your handgun (or shotgun or rifle) for home defense, this issue has something for everyone. But my favorite article in this issue comes in the form of a bonus chapter from Massad Ayoob’s recently revised book, Deadly Force: Understand Your Right to Self Defense. From time to time, I’ll pull top-notch bonus chapters from Gun Digest’s extensive book library as an added value to magazine readers … simply as a means of saying “thank you” for being a steadfast member of the Gun Digest family. Authored by Ayoob (who obviously needs no introduction as a timeless subject…

HISTORICAL NOTES In January 2022, Federal Premium announced its .30 Super Carry (.30 SC) cartridge, which Federal said provides the power of the 9mm Luger with a .312-inch-diameter projectile. The goal was to create a cartridge that carries like a .380 and hits like a 9mm. The .30 SC was fully developed from the ground up with no parent cartridge. “The self-defense market is a driving force behind new gun ownership. When considering what the market is looking for when it comes to selfdefense, they have told us that concealability, comfort in carrying and ability to shoot, 9mm performance and the ability to carry more rounds” are the most important factors, said Federal’s Handgun Ammunition Product Director Mike Holm. “That is what drove the development of .30 Super Carry.” “We were trying to…

The carry of a concealed handgun for personal protection is now legal in more jurisdictions, and it’s more popular than it’s ever been. The most popular handgun for concealed carry is the ultra-compact 9mm. However, the 1911 pistol—a design that’s now 112 years old—is more popular than it has ever been. Everybody is making and selling them as fast as they can. In just the past few years, Tisas USA has imported several thousand 1911s from Turkey, and they’ve sold them all. Finks Custom Guns, which also serves as the gunsmithy at Gunsite Academy, was so impressed with the Tisas 1911s that they’ve created a standard custom offering based on the Tisas 1911 A1 Government Model that they’re calling the Finks Service Pistol. FOREVER CLOSE BY Before I delve into the particulars of…

What would a “get out of jail free” card be worth to you, the armed citizen who carries a gun for self-defense? A card that, once played, either the prosecutor would drop all charges or the jury would acquit. That would be a pretty powerful card. If I could actually invent such a card and market it successfully, I’d be a rich man—such a card would be priceless under the correct circumstances. But, alas, that’s not possible. There is, however, a close second: The knowledge that an armed citizen can use to educate the prosecutor or jury that your actions were reasonable under the circumstances, and that your use of force against another person or persons is excused by the law. Consider the following quote from Washington State Supreme Court, State v.…

My friend, Mas Ayoob, a long time ago, strongly suggested your home defense equipment list should include electronic hearing. He offered two reasons: protection for your own hearing and enhanced capability. Protection should be obvious. But what about the enhancement? As an example, I was at Bill Wilson’s ranch, hunting hogs, when we were sneaking through the woods to get a better shooting position, and the leaves crunching underfoot were loud. I thought to myself I must be getting old, I used to be able to ghost through the woods. Then, I realized I had my electronic muffs on. I stopped and slipped one off an ear and kept going. Yep, I was quiet … quieter than Bill was (the hogs didn’t notice, and the stalk was successful). Another reason? Bluetooth. If you…

“I can’t find primers.” “I can’t get the powder I need.” “There are no bullets available for my gun.” Over the past three years, I've heard these statements—or something very similar—more times than I can count. It has been so difficult in some instances that several folks I know have given up on reloading altogether. We’re still facing a component crunch—although the supplies of factory ammunition seem to be slightly more plentiful—and reloaders certainly aren’t happy about this fact. Handloading has long been a solid means of fueling those firearms chambered for the oddballs, or has served as a means of making high-volume shooting much more affordable. Those facts might have changed over the past couple of years, with the cost of reloading components radically increasing (if you can get them at all). When the…