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SIG 365 cartridge with an upset bullet

Ammunition

Review: SIG Sauer’s New “SIG 365 Ammunition”

Personal defense ammunition doesn’t always have a valid understudy for training. A high velocity loading may strike to a different point of impact in relation to the point of aim compared to a standard velocity, training load. SIG Sauer has developed a line of ammunition that is well suited to personal defense and training. The line is called 365 after its successful compact 9mm handgun.

Hornady American Gunner shotgun load through a cardboard target

Ammunition

Four Hornady Shotgun Loads, No Bad Choices

You may choose a rifle, shotgun, or handgun, but the shotgun offers the greatest wound potential and the greatest versatility, but the gun alone is not enough. For maximum effectiveness, you’ll want to match the right ammunition for the situation, but here are four choices from Hornady that you cannot go wrong with.

Angled pistol grip of the Magpul SGA stock

General

Review: Magpul SGA Stock — A Shotgun’s Best Upgrade

There are three firearms used for personal defense—the pistol, rifle, and shotgun. The shotgun is sometimes shied away from due to its recoil. The proper technique, leaning into the shotgun and controlling recoil, goes a long way, and so does extensive practice with light recoiling birdshot loads. When that isn’t enough, turn to Magpul’s SGA stock for a custom recoil taming fit.

Measuring a 1911 pistol with an electronic caliper

General

1911 Handguns: How to Fit a Barrel

The 1911 is easily our most popular handgun, and without a doubt, the most modified. Everyone wants a good trigger, but an accomplished shooter wants a better barrel too. The right barrel, with a custom-grade fitting, ensures the pistol returns to battery in exactly the same place—time after time. After the trigger, this is likely the biggest handgun accuracy enhancer.

Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite pistol right profile

Firearms

Range Report: Mark IV 22/45 LITE

Ruger’s first departure from steel and aluminum construction was the Mark IV 22/45 Lite pistol. This is a polymer frame .22 caliber handgun meant to conform closely to 1911 .45 dimensions in order for the pistol to provide a good training understudy for the 1911-type handgun. It has done so, but also offers an excellent platform for anyone desiring a .22 caliber self-loading handgun.

Double Tap 180-grain Bonded Core

Ammunition

DoubleTap Ammunition: Great Performance, Excellent Reliability

Double Tap has earned a well-deserved reputation for quality control and maximizing the individual calibers it loads. From .38 Special to .45 ACP, a number of our author’s tests have found Double Tap’s offerings to be well thought out and ballistically impressive. One load gave almost a full inch of expansion. Read the article to learn which one.

This shooter is at a steep angle as far as the cover goes but the shoulder and muzzle are in line.

Safety and Training

Long Gun Accuracy — Stop the Wobble

When it comes to rifle shooting, fast hits are what counts in hunting and personal defense scenarios. When sighting in the rifle from the benchrest, we have all of the time in the world. In the field, the action is fast and the stakes are at their highest. by taking advantage of cover and terrain, you can increase stability and accuracy.

semiautomatic pistol with wood Crimson Trace lasergrips

General

Crimson Trace: Closing the Accuracy Gap

The primary requisite to hitting the target is being able to identify the target, acquire the target with the sights, and hit the target after getting a good sight picture and properly pressing the trigger. It is simple, but it isn’t easy. Crimson Trace Lasergrips go a long way toward closing the accuracy gap.

Snubnose revolver with pocket knife, and speedloaders

General

Smith and Wesson Bodyguard .38 — Not Another J Frame

The Bodyguard is a concealed-hammer double-action-only .38 Special snubnose, which is obvious. However, the Bodyguard differs from other J frames in that the cylinder rotates in a different direction—to the right. This is the same as the now defunct Colt Detective Special. Further, if you open the cylinder by pressing the lever on the top of the backstrap, you are enjoying a different manual of arms.