Tabla de contenidos para July/August 2024 #73 en Recoil

As this issue hits the newsstands, CANCON Arizona will be in the rearview mirror and our foot will be mashing the throttle, propelling this rickety land barge to the next live event in Georgia this fall. If you’ve never been to one of our fully suppressed range days, you owe it to yourself to make an appearance — it’s the most civilized way to meet with fellow shooters and sample the wares of just about every major suppressor manufacturer and gun company in the USA. Best of all, for just 50 bucks, you can shoot all day, or until your trigger finger is worn out, whichever comes first. If you can’t make it, look for ongoing content from the range on RECOILweb, RECOILTV, and the socials, assuming of course we…

“Why would someone like you ever need body armor?” This was a question my soon-to-be-ex-wife asked me around Christmas 2023. (And, no, that question alone isn’t the reason we’re getting divorced.) At the time, us both knowing the sh*t we were going through, I joked, “Sometimes I just want a tight, heavy embrace.” I referenced her weighted blanket and inserted my own standard of sarcasm — a fine mix of truth and snide humor. But her question did get me thinking: Why, indeed? I am 100 percent civilian. And in the context of armor-manufacturer brand speak — where it’s important to further classify context — I’m a “law-abiding” and/or “concerned” citizen. My training background is mostly competition-focused, with a small degree of personal defense as it relates EDC and home…

The AK-47 is inarguably Mikhail Kalashnikov’s magnum opus, but it’s not the 1940s anymore, and despite countless memes, rifle is not fine. Don’t get me wrong, I love every iteration of the AK and own the majority of them. But I’m not so enamored with the avtomat that I can’t see its flaws. Indeed, when I first got into firearms back around 2000, I was obsessed with the AKM — it was the go-to rifle of the so-called bad guys. From those evil Soviets I saw on the news as a kid, to Vietcong fighters in Southeast Asia, to various terror groups waving beat-to-hell guns above their heads defiantly, the AK was the forbidden gun. I remember reading in countless magazines how the gun was unstoppable, reliable, and rugged but…

Cory Grant served in the Navy, as a Petty Officer Second Class Electronics Technician. He was stationed in multiple countries across Western Europe, operating and maintaining microwave and cryptography equipment during the height of the Cold War. He served from 1977 to 1981, after which he was medically discharged. Now, he continues to serve his fellow veterans through his brand DD-214 coffee. (For the uninitiated, a DD-214 is the Report of Separation that military members are issued when they leave service and return to civilian life.) When asked what prompted him to get into the coffee business, Grant says: “I wanted to create a sustainable business that could provide jobs for disabled veterans and Gold Star family members, while also supporting homeless veterans. As I reached out to other business…

01 HALFBREED BLADES CFK-02 MSRP: $195 URL: halfbreedblades.com.au As part of the outstanding Compact Field Knife series, the badass CFK-02 features a skeletonized yet sturdy handle that’s not only slim and lightweight but also ergonomic. Of course, you can also wrap it with paracord for a customized grip. However, the key feature of this model is its blade profile: the cutting edge might seem like it’s on the wrong side, but that’s because it’s p’kal style — it’s meant to be held in reverse (icepick) grip with the cutting edge toward its user. Fans of certain knife-fighting styles will love this. For everyone else, the CFK also comes in drop-point, tanto, or Wharncliffe blade profiles for more standard use. It comes with an excellent sheath and both a UltiClip and…

If you’re looking for a custom bolt action rifle, now is a good time to be alive. There are more manufacturers than ever, quality and repeatability is at an all-time high, and consumer choice has never been better. One of the newer players in this field is Pure Precision, and we got hands on with one of their offerings in 7mm PRC. BUILD SHEET Once you start piling on the horsepower, there’s a delicate dance when it comes to selecting components for a rifle build. 7mm PRC skews toward the higher end of the spectrum for muzzle energy and while it’s possible to build a 5-pound gun, you aren’t going to enjoy shooting it for very long. Accuracy suffers too, as light rifles lack the mass needed to damp out…

Founded in 1526, Beretta is the oldest firearms manufacturer in the world. That’s nearly 500 years of making boomsticks. Americans might know Beretta best for the M9 pistol, adopted by the U.S. military in 1985. But you might not realize that Beretta Holding now includes not just the original Beretta but also such brands as Benelli, Chapuis, Franchi, Norma, Sako, Steiner, Stoeger, and Tikka, among others. However, if you can believe it, we’ve never been able to get a Beretta rifle before. That’s finally been remedied, with the introduction of the brand-new BRX1 rifle. BRX1 Beretta set a goal for itself to develop a hunting rifle that would be high-performing, mid-priced, safe, reliable, innovative, and distinctive. It had to appeal to and sell in not just the U.S. but across…

Great guns on a budget are few and far between. Often, they only seem like good deals just to disappoint you when they spontaneously self-dissemble after 500 rounds. While an ultra-budget 2011-style pistol didn’t seem likely just a few years ago, the market for double-stack 1911s at an entry-level price points is growing exponentially. Turkish gunmaker Tisas is responsible for two such product lines: the B9R DS, sold under their own banner, and the 1911 DS sold by Military Armament Corp, or MAC. MAC 1911 DS 9MM We had high hopes for the MAC 1911 DS and, as such, did our best to treat it like a rented pack mule at an estate sale. From being beaten up at 2-Gun matches and getting dragged through the dirt, to firing hundreds…

For most Americans, the security of the southern border is a subject to debate from afar. While the ripple effects of drug smuggling and human trafficking reach throughout our nation, reading news articles and studying statistics doesn’t yield the same perspective as witnessing the problem firsthand. Since his election in 2017, Sheriff Mark Lamb has been serving at the forefront of this complex situation. His jurisdiction — Pinal County, Arizona, which covers a large area between Tucson and Phoenix — is smack dab in the middle of one of America’s most active trafficking corridors, and the problem is only getting worse. In February of 2023, Lamb testified at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing that human trafficking incidents in Pinal County had quadrupled during the previous two years, and that…

PRESENTED BY While folding knives may dominate urban EDC, there’s quite often a case to be made for a sturdy and solid fixed blade knife. They tend to be stronger, quicker to deploy, and much easier to maintain than their folding counterparts. As one old-time knifemaker once said, “There are no moving parts. No buttons to push. Just draw and cut or stab as needed and of course repeat if necessary.” To say nothing of international regulations, in the United States, knife laws vary from state to state and at times even from county to county and city to city within the same state. Specifically, many of these laws go beyond blade length or overall length. Where you wear the knife will be dictated by your own personal needs and…

In 2020, Colt released their second generation of the famed Python revolver in stainless steel. They could be had in 3-inch, 4-inch, and 6-inch barrel lengths. The biggest complaint was that they were not available in the original royal blue finish that shined like it was black chrome. If that was the reason that gave you pause about owning one, then fret no more. Colt has heard you and is now releasing the classic Python in Royal Blue with 4.25-inch and 6-inch barrel lengths. As a long-time Colt Collector and chronicler, Colt asked if I wanted a sample to test in advance of the official release on January 24, 2024, at the annual Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show held in Las Vegas, Nevada, and I answered with a…

Then years ago, Rugged Suppressors released their first silencer, the Surge762. Notably, you could adjust its length. It performed well and was a durable — but rather heavy — suppressor. In the years since, Rugged has built out its portfolio of products to cover a wide range of applications for rifles, pistols, and rimfire. However, Rugged returned to its roots this year, refining and modernizing its original can, resulting in the new SurgeX, a versatile multi-use 30-caliber suppressor. The original Surge762 had a removable module, which Rugged calls the ADAPT Module, that reduced its length from 9 to 7.5 inches, essentially long and less-long. The SurgeX lengthens the removable portion by an inch. Including Rugged’s mount, this results in a length of 6.5 inches in the short configuration and 9…

Unreliable, Underpowered, Unergonomic, but Highly Collectable The Type 14 Nambu Pistol got its name from the first year it was made — the 14th year of the Taishõ era, or 1926. The Nambu was produced in four variants, starting with Type A, which came in two versions. The first was nicknamed the “Grandpa,” and the second was the “Papa.” They were followed by Type B, also known as the “Baby Nambu,” the Type 14 was next, and finally, the Type 94. The Type A, B, and 94 Nambu pistols were smaller, and the Type B fired a 7x20mm Nambu cartridge instead of the 8mm. Of all the Nambu pistol models, the Type 14 was the most prolific, with approximately 400,000 produced. Exact production numbers are unknown, as are the number…