Gun Digest February 2022

So, John Doe walks into a gun shop in search of 9mm practice rounds. He doesn’t care if they have 115-or 124-grainers, and he doesn’t care if it comes in an American Eagle, MagTech or Winchester box. All he wants is some practice ammo to run a couple mags through his CCW pistol. Ol’ John has been making this same trek to the gun store at least once a week for the past year, with his wallet in one hand and crossed fingers on the other, hoping that one day—maybe today—he’ll find what he’s looking for. And one of these days, John is going to have perfect timing, and there will be a fresh shipment of 9mm ammo, glowing on the shelf like the Star of Bethlehem itself is marking the momentous…

HISTORICAL NOTES In 1940, the U.S. Ordnance Department concluded that a light carbine might have certain advantages over the .45-caliber semi-auto pistol in many combat situations. Various designs were submitted by a number of private manufacturers, and, in the end, Winchester’s offering was selected. The semi-auto .30 M-1 Carbine was officially adopted in 1941. This cartridge, a modification of the .32 Winchester self-loading round of 1906, was hardly a revolutionary design, but it served the purpose. About the same time, the Germans developed their assault rifle and the 7.92mm Kurz (short) cartridge. The M-1 Carbine isn’t an assault rifle, and the military insists it was designed to fulfill a different purpose. A few sporting rifles and handguns have chambered the .30 Carbine. GENERAL COMMENTS In mid 1963, the government released .30 M-1 Carbines for…

Roy Weatherby started his company’s namesake in 1945. Now, three generations of Weatherby leadership later, there are no signs of Roy’s vision slowing down—just like the cartridges he designed more than 75 years ago. Much has been written about the gregarious Roy E. Weatherby, and how one of the most prolific and innovative firearms manufacturers of all time began. Fans and competitors alike know well the story of how Roy started his sporting goods company right after World War II, building one rifle at a time. Some may even know that Roy’s inspiration for his need for ballistic speed was a less-than-stellar Utah hunting experience he had early (1942) in his career. He wanted a better cartridge for the hunter to be successful—and the game hunted to suffer less. So, Roy tinkered.…

Many shooters probably think the last thing we need is another polymer-framed, high-capacity, striker-fired pistol that emulates the Glock. It seems like, for the past decade or so, that description fits about every new handgun introduced. As unexciting as new Tupperware guns might be, this is how innovation works; evolution allows for the concept to be maximized. Admittedly, I’m not a plastic pistol kind of guy. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with them—they’re just not my thing. Still, when I see any handgun that impresses me, I want to share and that’s why the SDS Imports’ PX-9 is being presented here. Let me first say that the PX-9 is less expensive than most other polymer-frame pistols because it’s manufactured by Tisas in Turkey … where labor and operational costs are less,…

I still remember my late father teaching me about engine work: rebuilding carburetors, the proper sequence of tightening lug nuts or the intricacies of various engine parts. And the mysterious tool known as a torque wrench. Firearms threaded fasteners didn’t receive such care back in the 1960s. Back then, tight was tight. Now, we know better. There’s a proper torque level for screws on your firearms, be they action screws or optics screws. And those numbers aren’t arbitrary. They matter. Real Avid, as we all fully expect, has an answer. Their Smart Torq wrench isn’t sturdy enough to reassemble a Ford Windsor 351, but I haven’t had to do that since 1983. However, what it offers are useful things to tinkering gunners. First, it’s calibrated in inch-pounds, so you can tighten all the various…

I’ve worked as a court-recognized expert in shooting cases, (murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault cases) for close to 30 years, and in this time, I have observed a pattern that prosecutors generally stick with when prosecuting and trying to gain a conviction. Let’s discuss some of these. THE UNARMED ‘VICTIM’ First, seldom do prosecutors fail to prosecute if the defendant shot and killed someone and the deceased was unarmed. It doesn’t matter to them if a large disparity of force was involved, (like three to four people against one lone defender), or where a person was physically overwhelmed and could only stop the assault by shooting. “It has been my experience in working on cases that juries hate drunks. Same for liars. If you lie when talking to the police after the incident, those…