Gun Digest Made in the USA 2022 SIP #2

In your hands right now is what I consider to be one of the crown jewels of the 2022 Gun Digest editorial calendar. Sure, the upcoming revolver issue and recently released concealed carry special issue take honorable mention awards, but I love this “Made in the USA” theme. Interestingly enough, the phrase “Made in the USA” isn’t as black and white as you might think. For example, from a manufacturing perspective, the FTC mandates that “all, or virtually all” significant parts and processes be made and assembled within our shores to allow manufacturers to wear the Made in the USA sticker on their packaging. Our trusty federal government, on the other hand, follows the parameters set by the Buy American Act, which requires the U.S. Government to buy only American-made goods “whenever…

HISTORICAL NOTES Most shooting enthusiasts think that the .270 Weatherby was developed to satisfy a demand for this caliber after the popularity of the .300 Weatherby Magnum had been established. As a matter of fact, the .270 was the first of the line developed by Roy Weatherby on the necked-down .300 H&H case. This was in 1943, after experiments with an improved .220 Swift that Weatherby called the .220 Rocket. It was largely actual hunting experience with the .270 WM that started Weatherby on the high-velocity trail. This culminated in his starting a commercial gun business in September of 1945. GENERAL COMMENTS The popularity of the .270 Winchester made it almost mandatory for Roy Weatherby to include this cartridge in his line of commercial magnum rifles. The .270 Weatherby Magnum has been used extensively,…

Honestly, you don’t need a trigger job on your pistol, or break out your wood-burning kit to stipple its grips, to upgrade your carry rig. There are plenty of down-to-earth, sober options that’ll make you a more efficient armed citizen—and the whole process a load easier. To boot, most of them fall within any shooter’s price range and will end up being money well spent. GRIP UPGRADES A proper grip is a cornerstone to accurately delivering defensive fire from a handgun. In addition to mitigating recoil, thus making the handgun more comfortable and controllable, the correct grip also ensures you’ll hit what you’re aiming at. Grips are a design aspect gunmakers have turned their eyes to in recent years, offering much more aggressive texturing to facilitate a more positive purchase. If you aren’t…

The most effective use of a defensive handgun is obtained by the proper application of tactics and skill. Though they’re often confused by trainers and trainees, and even though you can be tactically skilled, skills and tactics are no the same thing. WHAT IS SKILL? A skill is the learned ability to perform an action well with determined results, often in a given amount of time. A perfect example of a skill would be the presentation of a handgun from the holster followed by a shot that strikes to the center mass of a perceived threat. Depending on distance, we could argue about how much time this should take before proficiency is achieved. But the point is that defensive handgun skills involve the physical manipulation of the handgun. Believe it or not, there…

While other shotguns might get all the love when it comes to gushing over, we sold a lot more Mossberg 500s than any other shotgun when I was working in a gun shop. So how do you upgrade your Mossberg to get a light on it? Simple: Adaptive Tactical. Their replacement forearm for the handguard on your Mossberg (fits the 500, 590 and the Maverick 88) is a simple off/on proposition. The EX comes with the handguard, light and even a replacement filler plate, if you want to take the light off to run it during the day. There are two filler sleeves, so you can make sure you fit to either length of handguard tube and a wrench, plus batteries. Yes, batteries, so you don’t have to make yet another…

Recently, I took a seven-day precision rifle course, where we shot camouflaged steel targets out to 1,000 yards. That course will now be another line item on my shooting resume. I mention this because, as president of the Armed Citizen’s Legal Defense Network, I get questions all the time from members regarding how particular firearms training courses they’ve either attended or contemplated attending would look in court. The short answer is that it shouldn’t matter. THE CONSIDERATIONS OF A CRIMINAL COURT First off, there are two courts to worry about: criminal and civil. Let’s first discuss criminal court, and for simplicity’s sake, I’ll use my precision rifle course as an example. For the fact that I took this class to make it into court, it’d have to have some bearing on whether it’d make…