Tactical Life January/February 2022

Welcome to our first 2022 issue of Tactical Life. For those readers who found us on the newsstand, the fantastic Barrett MK22 is likely to have turned your head the minute you caught a first glance. If you’re a subscriber, you’ve no doubt admired the three great concealed carry handgun options on the cover—the Springfield XD-Mod.2 OSP, Kimber Mako and Taurus GX4 T.O.R.O. Fact is, that Barrett is one of the best-shooting rifles money can buy—that’s why SOCOM selected it for their Advanced Sniper Rifle. After some testing, author Robert Jordan discovered the rifle lived up to all the hype, and more. With the U.S. Supreme Court set to rule soon on a case about whether law-abiding Americans have a right to carry a firearm outside the home (of course…

This past October saw Athlon Outdoors host its fifth annual Rendezvous in Victor, Idaho, near the Grand Tetons. For three days, dozens of gun manufacturers unveiled their latest and greatest wares—many still under wraps—to Athlon editors and content creators, giving us plenty of trigger time to create more content for our various print magazines and websites in the coming months. But this amazing event wouldn’t have been possible without several key sponsors donating goods for every participant. Here we’d like to show our support and fill you in on the great gear that made for another awesome Rendezvous. 5.11 TACTICAL 1. LEGEND LONG SLEEVE SHIRT Here’s a classic go-to button-up shirt for the range, office or anywhere in between. It’s made of soft, enzyme-washed cotton with a touch of elastane,…

RDS or Red-Dot Sights have started to become a default item on most handguns today. The primary benefits of the RDS are a large field of view downrange and quick target acquisition. Yes, it does take some repetitions to get your presentation aligned, but after that, it is a very fast system. As with anything that is popular in the firearms world, there is a spectrum of companies producing products to meet demand. Some of those are spectacular and some not so much. While there seems to be a new optic every week, I was very interested when I heard that a longtime sight company would be producing their own optic. Ameriglo has been making tritium, painted-dot, fiber-rod and custom OEM iron sights for the firearms industry for decades. They…

It is claimed that the AR-15 can be chambered to fire more than 90 different cartridges with 7.62x39mm sitting at the top of the list. We love this round because it is almost exclusively made with inexpensive steel cases, and mother Russia just loves flooding our shores with it during times like these. Of course, picking up a $200 upper chambered in this short .30 caliber doesn’t end your ammo woes instantly. You’ll need some glass too. The Texas-based manufacturer Primary Arms hit it out of the park years ago with its 5.56mm-based GLx 2x Prism Scope, and, as if they knew what was coming, created a nearly identical option that tracks 7.62x39mm or 300 Blackout out to 500 yards. At the 2020 Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous, I got to lay…

You would think that the most popular rifle in the world would have companies lining up to make optics mounts for it, right? Sadly not many folks gravitate to Kalashnikov’s design, but those who do, understand it well. RS Regulate makes top-quality mounts from premium materials like titanium to deliver precise-fitting QD mounts that are apparently drop-proof too. For our test, we used a two-piece system that consisted of the RS Regulate AK-302M lower and AKOG upper, which left us with a perfect optic height and some very comfortable shooting. If you like AKs but hate iron sights, give these folks a look. For more information, visit rsregulate.com.…

In the world of self-defense cartridges, there is a notion that we must stick to 9mm or better. While I’m not going to argue that the larger the round the more potential it has, the smaller cartridges do have their place and shouldn’t be discounted completely. .22 LR comes to mind as one of these cartridges. While it’s often regarded as anemic, it does fit the bill for a lot of special scenarios. These scenarios include use in a backup gun or as a viable option for those with diseases that affect grip strength. I once had a client who suffered from rheumatoid arthritis; as such her hands were so weak, she could not rack any pistol we gave other than a few select .22 LR pistols. You might say,…