Gun Digest June 2020

Passion fuels division. And gun guys … well, gun owners are a very passionate lot. Glock guys nag on the “anti-Glockers,” lead bullet die-hards shun the copper trends, and the list goes on. And, if I were a wagering man, I’d bet that you’ve occupied a chair at more than one bonfire where good friends got hotter than the flames as they argued about which cartridge is “better” for this task or that. While I disapprove of quarreling among ourselves, I do understand the premise of taking an unwavering stand on something and defending it to the grave. Hell, I’ve started more than a few passion-fueled, gun-related conversations myself! Outside the eternal struggle to label the .30-06 as either the absolute best or absolute worst cartridge of all time, ARs seem next…

HISTORICAL NOTES The .450 Bushmaster’s parent cartridge is the .45 Professional, a rifle/ cartridge conversion developed by Tim LeGendre of LeMag Firearms LLC and licensed to Bushmaster Firearms International for production and distribution. LeGendre still retains ownership. The .450 Bushmaster is designed to be used in the standard M-16/AR-15 platform using five-round magazines. Bushmaster asked Hornady to produce the .45 Professional ammunition for this project, and it agreed. Hornady wanted the .45 Professional shortened to accommodate its 250-grain, pointed SST bullet. Hornady asked Bushmaster for the change (from 1.771 inches to the now-standard 1.7 inches), and Bushmaster asked LeGendre to sign off on that change, which he did. Bushmaster eventually wanted a name change, and LeGendre also agreed to that. Thus, the popular .450 Bushmaster. Based on a concept by Colonel Jeff “Thumper”…

The Mosin-Nagant is a Russian-made, five-shot, bolt-action rifle developed in the late 1880s. It was used by the Russian and Soviet Union armed forces until 1991, and more than 37 million have been made. At times, decommissioned military versions were sold in the United States for as little as $50 apiece. Although ruggedly constructed and suitable for big-game hunting, these rifles are utilitarian at best. To the shock of almost everyone, in 2010, Timney Triggers began offering a drop-in trigger for the Mosin-Nagant. Why would the world’s leading trigger manufacturer offer a trigger costing as much—or more than—the rifle it was designed for? It’s simple: because that’s what its customers asked for. THE TIMNEY COMMITMENT A lot of manufacturers in the firearms industry claim to be customer-responsive, but none has demonstrated that commitment…

At the beginning of 2020, the gun world was in the process of going bonkers due to Glock’s introduction of the 44 in .22 LR and Colt’s re-introduction of the Python, all while ignoring what is, in my opinion, the most notable new handgun on the market: the Ruger-57. To an extent, I get it; there are lots of fanboys out there begging for a reason to buy a new Glock. And, at the same time, there are a lot of old-timers who’ve been butt-hurt since 2005 (when Colt stopped building Pythons). But, here’s the thing: Another new Glock is ... just another new Glock. If Glock had introduced a new pistol chambered for the 5.7x28mm FN, it would’ve still been just another Glock. As for the Python, while it might be…

Some people fuss—even obsess—over AR-15 brass ejection direction and distance. I’m pretty easygoing about which way it goes and how far. Except. Except when I have to pick it up. My gun club has a “you-shot-it-you-pick-it-up” policy. I know; I wrote the club’s rule book. Literally. So, there’s your AR brass, strewn all over the range, even when you were standing in one spot. What to do? Well, there’s the military or CMP gizmo, which is a plastic deflector that clips into the carry handle of your AR. Oh, wait! No carry handle? And no desire to simply change the direction? And the CMP device is just there to keep from tossing brass on the guy next to you. KINETIC ENERGY TOOLS TO THE RESCUE The Kinetic Energy Tools (KET) brass deflector is simplicity itself. You…

The coronavirus event of 2020 has had many different effects on our lives. We, in the shooting world, have found that ammo shelves are (once again) empty. Whereas at the beginning of the year an excess of ammunition existed—to the point at which ammunition companies were laying off employees and cutting production—the sheer scope of the global pandemic caused the public to grab nearly anything and everything they could get their hands on. Just when I’d thought that reloading had become a specialty pastime that was relegated to the precision shooters and to the dangerous-game hunters looking to make their ammunition more affordable, this “little episode” comes along, putting shooters into a panic and turning eyes toward reloading again in order to feed the common guns. While I’m in no way pleased…