Glock introduced two exciting, and well designed, pistols at the 2019 Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show. Glock, as much or more than any manufacturer, understands that concealed carry is a very important part of the market. history has show that Glock’s service pistols are renowned worldwide for reliability and combat ability. The Glock 17, Glock 19 and other models are widely respected. In concealed carry, the search was on for a viable improvement over both the Glock 19 and the Glock 43.

Henry has supplied us with excellent quality .22 rifles at a fair price for some time. These lever action rifles are made in America and priced so working folks can afford them. While Henry offers a diverse number of rifles, it is best known for lever action rifles. Henry offers distinctively-styled rifles in calibers from .22 to .45 Colt. Offerings include stainless steel, blue, case-hardened and brass-frame rifles. One of my favorites is a .30-30 version.

During war, one of the most common tactics used to fight the enemy is to disrupt their supply lines. During the Vietnam War, U.S. soldiers did this in a different way than just simply stopping supplies from getting to the enemy. This specific operation, code named “Project Eldest Son,” was carried out by U.S. Green-Beret patrols, who captured enemy ammunition stashes—typically 7.62x39mm ammo cartridges—which were used in the AK-47s regularly carried by Communist forces.

Handguns are reactive instruments. They are carried on the person to answer a threat. They may be kept at home ready to address a threat in the home. If we have warning, then we are most often better advised to deploy a rifle or shotgun.

Recently, Springfield introduced the iconic M1A rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor. This got my attention. The AR rifle has sucked the life from most other self-loading rifles but not the M1A. This is a big step. Perhaps, I should look harder at the two cartridges—6.5 and .308 for brevity.

The trend in handguns has been toward increased capacity. Many revolver designs have even gained a cartridge or two. However, high capacity doesn’t always mean greater efficiency. A smaller grip than is possible with high capacity handguns may make for more comfortable shooting and less stress in trigger reach. There are jurisdictions that limit magazine capacity. While we do not agree with this law and find the restriction onerous and un-American, the law must be respected until we can change it. I am not going to be a test case, and if your head is screwed on correctly, you will not either.

The buying public is voting for revolvers and buying them in great numbers. Fueling the new trend, Ruger offers a seven-shot version of its popular GP100. Ruger offers longer barrel versions, but the 2.5-inch version is, in the author’s opinion, among the finest combat revolvers ever manufactured. There are many who appreciate tradition, and others, who simply trust revolvers. There are many good points considering revolvers.

Despite all of the recent attention given to the 6.5 Creedmoor, the cartridge has been around for more than a dozen years. There are many specialized benchrest cartridges, and like many of them, the 6.5 Creedmoor didn’t get much attention.

During a recent range session, I brought along two of my favorite handguns. The six-inch barrel Colt .357 and SIG Sauer 1911 each feature fully adjustable rear sights. These sights allow the shooter to account for windage and elevation, and to fine tune the sights to the individual loading. There are many different bullet weights in each caliber, and they do not fire to the same point of aim.

I am certain that I will never be accused of failing to make an honest comment when needed. As an example, some years ago a friend owned an Uzi carbine and thought it was the best thing in the world for home defense. I disagreed completely. The trigger action was too heavy to allow good hits, and it was difficult to get hits with on the combat range.

When Dr. Dave Dolbee and I discussed this article, the wheels in my mind were whirling. I have used each platform, find both to be great guns, and think everyone should own more than one of each. However, the how and why I came to this conclusion need to be explained.

When I was challenged to come up with the best, concealed carry handguns of the past 20 years, I set down with a pencil and tablet and began making a list. This seems like an easy task, but there are many good handguns.

The .41 Magnum is a useful, powerful, accurate, and well-balanced cartridge. Perhaps, it is one of the best revolver cartridges ever designed. Yet, it seems to be almost on its last leg, and far down the list in popularity compared to the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum. This is understandable in some ways, but the cartridge is just too good to die.

Purchasing an AR-15 rifle was far simpler when the only choice was Colt. Later, we had Armalite and a few others. Today, I cannot count the makers. Some are genuine manufacturers and others are small operators putting together rifles from outsourced parts. As long as the parts are high quality, that is fine. There is a lot of talent in the business. Diamondback’s DB15 exemplifies such talent.

I have used most of the popular old west calibers at one time or another, including the .32-20 and .41 Colt. Some have more merit than others. My favorite, hands down, is the .45 Colt. I began shooting long before Cowboy Action Shooting became popular. Most of us loaded for economy and with a certain number of loads put up for performance.

There are many firearm choices for home defense. The choice hinges on recoil tolerance, weight, bulk, expense, locale, and the shooters ability. You may choose a rifle, shotgun, or handgun, but the shotgun offers the greatest wound potential and the greatest versatility.

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.

I seem to be one of the few writers to extensively use handloads in testing. I have always done so, and will continue to do so. That’s mainly because handloads offer real economy, custom grade performance, and excellent accuracy potential. Best of all, getting started in handloading isn’t difficult.