Personal Defense World April/May 2021

There is a study by the nonprofit Institute of Medicine that shows 44,000 to 98,000 Americans die annually due to medical errors. However, there are other studies that place that number as high as a 250,000 deaths per year, which would make it the third leading cause of death, behind cancer and cardiovascular disease. I know how to save all of these people from these unnecessary deaths, and it is plain and simple for everyone to see. We’ll just outlaw medicine and doctors, and we’ll no longer have any Americans dying from medical malpractice deaths. It’s that easy! If you believe my solution is a great idea, then please put this magazine down and go sign up for your local anti-gun group. Yes, roughly 40,000 Americans die yearly from gunshots, but let’s…

LESS THAN A YEAR AND A HALF AGO SPRINGFIELD ARMORY INTRODUCED THE HELLCAT, the world’s highest capacity, 9mm micro-compact pistol. Just 6 inches in length and only 4 inches tall the little gun is effortless to conceal. With the flush-fit magazine it yields an 11+ 1 capacity and an amazing 13 + 1 with its extended magazine. That’s a lot of bullets for a gun with a grip width of just an inch. Weighing just a couple ounces more than a pound, the Hellcat puts tiger-size bite in a kitten-size package. After running about 400 rounds through the gun without a burp, I made it part of my every day carry (EDC). It is accurate beyond reasonable expectations and just feels “right” in my hand. With a suggested retail price of…

n SUREFIRE HAS JUST INTRODUCED THE XSC MICRO COMPACT HANDGUN LIGHT DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE HELLCAT’S RAIL. It features a 350-lumen light and 30 minutes of run time. The light’s lithium battery can be recharged without removing it from the gun. I had a chance to run through Gunsite’s shoot house with a prototype of the XSC mounted on the Hellcat and found it to be every bit as size efficient as the gun. Those of you using the Hellcat for home defense will find the Surefire XSC a worthwhile addition. Check it out at surefire.com. —Mike Detty…

No sector of the firearms industry has seen as much growth as the AR-15 market. The AR-15 is truly America's rifle. Easy to run, soft-shooting and accurate, it is as enjoyable to shoot as it is effective. Over the last 10 years or so the AR-15 market has exploded, with the largest growth happening during the Obama administration. It seemed that every day a new company showed up to make AR-15s. The upside to that was that this became an extremely competitive realm, with many new companies bringing great guns to market. There were obviously some stinkers, but overall the situation made for a great buyers’ market. The world has changed quite a bit since then, and a new AR-15 arriving on the market is becoming a rarer event. While this still…

It is undeniable that the semi-auto dominates the self-defense market today, and justifiably so. Technological and tactical improvements have produced a product that is well suited to serving its owner as a primary reactive tool to save his or her hide. But there remain literally millions of revolvers—double-action (DA) and single-action (SA)—in the homes of gun owners today. Are these guns mere paperweights? The single-action revolver has been around for 140 years. Its popularity among gun owners continues to be very strong. Colt has tried many times to retire its iconic Single Action Army, yet the demand for these old “thumb-busters” keeps prodding the company to continue manufacturing them. And once Ruger introduced its Blackhawk single-action, it has never looked back. When choosing a self-defense pistol, should the SA be…

An additional benefit of the single-action (SA) revolver is that it is available in many calibers and chamberings—from rimfire to as hot and heavy as you can handle. You can’t go wrong with a .357 Magnum. Its capability of shooting light .38 Special loads for practice and magnum loads for serious work, along with the widespread availability of ammunition, makes it a top choice for many. I have three Rugers chambered in .357 Mag, and they all see regular use. ▶ .44 SPECIAL: My favorite cartridge for any revolver is the .44 S&W Special. It is very accurate, and it can be loaded over a wide range of power needs—from powder-puff target loads to practice with near-magnum loads for those times I tread in country shared with grizzly bears. I almost…