Innholdsfortegnelse for June - July 2023 i Personal Defense World

ITseems that every time some deranged individual turns to mass murder as an outlet for frustration or mental problems, anti-gun advocates immediately begin calling for more gun restrictions. Such was the case in March after an evil former student killed three children and three adults at a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee. First off, our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims, their families and all affected by this mass murder. It was a terrible tragedy, and we are heartbroken over the loss of life and innocence. Putting an end to such violence should be a goal of all Americans. That said, promoting wrong “solutions” does nothing to solve the problem. In this case, the immediate push for restrictive gun legislation came as soon as news channels reported…

PDW LARGE FORMAT AS far as modern firearms are concerned, one of the biggest, if not the biggest seller, is those chambering the 9mm. As we're continuing a two-year-plus ammunition shortage with no end in sight, the 9mm is one of the few centerfire rounds that is readily available. For that reason, 9mm pistols are flying off dealers’ shelves, and it's a safe bet that if a gun maker produces a new model in 9mm, it has a good chance of being a winner. At last year's (2022) SHOT Show, I saw at least 23 auto-pistols introduced—all but three of them were in 9mm. One of these pistols was from Bersa, and I requested a test model, so let's talk about it. Bersa is an Argentina-based firearms manufacturer that traces…

IN TODAY'S WORLD, you can never be too prepared when it comes to the safety and well-being of both yourself and those you love. Depending on where you reside, there may be certain restrictions on where you can (and cannot) carry a firearm, or other various restrictions such as age and profession. Read on for this year's top picks of less-than-lethal options for including in both your home-defense plan as well as your everyday carry. ALTERNATIVE BALLISTICS The Alternative Affixed to the muzzle end of an officer's duty gun, “The Alternative” is designed to capture the bullet in a way that melds it with the less-lethal device, reducing its velocity down to 20% of what the bullet would normally be traveling. Meant for use by a threat yielding a weapon…

PDW GUN TEST When I lived in New York City, I bought a Rolex watch from a street vendor in Manhattan's Chinatown for $25. I knew it wasn't a real Rolex, but from a distance, you couldn't tell. By the time I took the subway back uptown, the clasp had broken, and the crystal fell out. What's the expression? You get what you pay for. That's why when I heard about the Radikal SAX-2 being a knockoff of the Benelli M4, I thought about my $25 Rolex. Could the Radikal be similar to Benelli, or do you get 90% of the performance at a quarter of the price? GET RADIKAL The patent for the Benelli M4 expired in the past few years, and many Turkish gun manufacturers began building clones…

■ Shooting paper is fine, but you need to work with steel to best appreciate fast-action shooting. To safely hang a piece of steel, one needs a sturdy hanging system that is small and light enough to get to the range and perhaps be movable once it is set up. Caldwell's Portable Range Kit includes a simple, five-piece frame that can be put together or taken apart in seconds, an 8-inch AR-500 gong and a pair of XL Strap Hangers. Using the included hardware, I bolted the gong to the straps and the straps to the frame and enjoyed tool-free deployment from that point forward. I used this setup to test the Ridgeline Scout at 100 and 200 yards and quickly moved it back and forth at will. In addition,…

We all want to feel like we belong. At times, the urge to have fellowship with others means altering the way we think, speak and act to gain a sense of belonging. Maybe if I change this about myself or maybe if I dress this way or hang out with this group of people, I will feel whole. It is human nature to want acceptance, and I think deep down we all secretly fear not being liked. A hard pill to swallow is not everyone will like you, and that is perfectly okay. You cannot force a sense of community, no matter how hard you try. The right community will come around to find you, you just hove to be patient. Life gives us blessings when we least expect them,…

■ I find holster selection is very similar to finding the right carry gun. It's all very personal. What works for one person might not work for others. With that said, here are three holsters from Blackpoint Tactical that work for me. Their Leather WING holster is a solid and really comfortable OWB holster. This, hands down, has become one of my favorite holsters. It is sort of a hybrid holster that features a Kydex body and leather wings. The leather allows the holster to shape around your body, which aids greatly in comfort. It features metal OWB loops, which are traditionally failure points on other OWB holsters. The Leather WING offers a ton of options, one of which is an RDS cut. This is one slimwearing OWB holster. The…

DEFENSIVE CARRY OPTIONS have been the gun du jour for the past few years, and 2023 has proven no different. This year we see countless options being released and with more features than you can shake a stick at. Read on for new releases that topped our list of carry guns to keep an eye out for this season. ANDERSON MANUFACTURING Kiger-9c For those already familiar with the durability and reliability of products created by the fine folks at Anderson Manufacturing, the Kiger-9c brings those familiarities to a small, compact 9mm carry gun. Straight and to the point, this handgun provides everything you need with nothing that you don't. Texturing along the grip provides an extra level of security should your hands become damp to maintain control during the firing…

ALEON Aluminum Gun Cases Aluminum cases are more compact and up to 30% lighter than plastic cases without sacrificing strength. Aleon offers three rifle cases in lengths of 42, 46 and 52 inches with a weight of fewer than 17 pounds. All are equipped with wheels, unbreakable dual carrying handles and a rubber gasket lid that seals closed with four pad-lockable latches for security from theft and the ingress of water or dust. The cases are made of sheet aluminum, ribbed for rigidity, reinforced along the corners and seams, and riveted together like an aircraft fuselage. Internal foam padding is custom-cut to specification. (aleoncase.com) AMERICAN REBEL 2A Steel Gun & Ammo Lockers For times when gun safes aren't practical storage solutions, these heavy-duty, 12-gauge steel, fully welded lockers are an…

■ GHOSTING LOADING SOUNDS LIKE YOU ARE DOING SOME BLACK MAGIC ON A SEMI-AUTOMATIC SHOTGUN, AND IN A SENSE, YOU ARE. What a ghost load means is you can add an extra shell to increase capacity. In the case of the SAX-2, the factory stated capacity is seven in the magazine tube and one in the chamber, or 7+1. With a ghost load, the capacity is 7+1+1 for a total of nine shells loaded. To ghost load the SAX-2, load the SAX-2 as you normally would. Lock back the bolt, drop a shell in the chamber and press the bolt release button to allow the bolt to slam forward. Then stuff seven shells in the magazine tube. To ghost load the clone, partially retract the bolt and place the ejecting…

PDW GUN TEST THE AR-15 is America's rifle, and one of my favorite media events is the Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous. I just love all the new AR-15s that are brought out at the event, and this year did not disappoint at all. I thought I died and went to heaven, which was confusing in itself because I know that's not where I am heading when the good Lord comes calling. But that is how it felt seeing all the guns on the range at the event. I am a sucker for short AR-15s, and there were just so many to play with. I recently got my SOT (Special Occupation Tax) for my home-based FFL that I operate in Michigan. This means I now can deal in NFA items like suppressors…

Before we get into the new Wilson Combat P365, I want to address some comments that post across various sites and social media outlets. The saying, “You get what pay for,” holds true here. A good analogy would be cars. A Honda Civic has four tires, an engine that goes vroom-vroom and will get you from point A to point B. A BMW M3 series also has four tires, an engine that goes vroom-vroom and will get you from point A to point B. The biggest difference between the two is the driver's experience, and you'll probably get to point B faster in the BMW. Same thing here: The Sig Sauer P365 will get shots on target and so will the WCP365, but the shooter's experience will be completely different,…

ASan NRA-certified instructor and a huge advocate of concealed carry for the past 18 years, I have what some would call an obsession with carry guns. I just love the engineering and innovation that we see in these tiny tools now. When I started carrying a pistol at 21 years old, smaller guns meant less magazine capacity and horrible recoil. These smaller pistols were great in concept and served one purpose, as a tool of last resort to help protect yourself, which is fantastic obviously except when it came to trying to train with that pistol. The recoil of these carry-style guns would rattle your fillings out and beat you into submission at the range. Hating to shoot the pistol you are carrying is really not conducive to good training.…

I HAVE TO ADMIT I CRINGED A LITTLE when received the assignment to write up the new Taurus Executive Grade Judge. The Judge has been around for years, and it's a gun that I always regarded as an oddity or novelty—a gun trying to be too many things at once. To my way of thinking, it was a gun that couldn't make up its mind if it was a revolver or shotgun, and it is ugly. Butt ugly! With its elongated cylinder, I couldn't imagine that it would possess any kind of accuracy given the long bullet jump in .45 Colt. It took a celebrity professional shooter and the valued opinion of a respected colleague for me to give the Executive Grade Judge a chance. ATHLON OUTDOORS RENDEZVOUS Taurus’ Judge…

AT long last, you've finally reached the holy grail. You're kneeling in the holy land opening the chest it's held in and start to bask in the bright gold light radiating from it as angels begin to sing….or at least that's how getting your first gun can feel. But before you romanticize it or let your head get full of those action movie scenes, let's go over the basics of safety and handling. Regardless of how long you've been waiting on this gun or how many movies you've watched, it's beyond important to understand the basics because of how much power and responsibility you're now holding in your hands. That concept can be overwhelming if you think too deeply about it. But there's no need to worry, the firearms community…

The SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade) Show is our annual industry convention that allows firearms industry professionals to see what's new from their favorite manufacturers. Held the third week of January in Las Vegas, this year's meeting had more than 52,000 attendees and more than 2,500 exhibitors that covered many miles of floor space. This was the second year that exhibitors expanded over to the Caesars Forum after all of the space at the Venetian Expo had been allocated. Without further ado, here are some of the holster highlights we uncovered. ALIEN GEAR A division of Tedder Industries, Alien Gear is really coming on strong of late. This year they introduced their new Roswell line of Appendix Inside the Waistband (AIWB) and Outside the Waistband (OWB) holsters. Made from…

PDW RIFLE REVIEW IN THE EARLY 1980s, Colonel Jeff Cooper conceived the idea of a short, lightweight rifle that would be accurate and effective within conventional combat distances. Coincidently, this distance range is also where most hunting shots take place, so the idea was not only practical for military use but for hunting as well. Rifles of this stature are easy to shoot offhand, feel great when slung across the back and are inherently easier to handle within the confines of most hunting structures. Col. Cooper's concept was fundamentally sound, but the design had one fatal flaw—a forward-mounted optic. Back in his day, optics were sketchy at best. Therefore, “rifles that mattered” needed to have provisions for backup iron sights. Don't get me wrong; this is always a good idea,…

PDW ON THE EDGE Knives are both indispensable tools and ready-foraction weapons, and that's an absolute fact. What may be in question is that a knife needs to be big and bulky to be effective in either category, but that isn't the case at all. Slim, slender or streamlined knife designs are advantageous for a great number of reasons, including easy concealability on your body, keeping weight and bulkiness low, being able to tackle more precision-based tasks and, if needed, offering a hard-to-notice sting to the “bad guys.” Although slim knives share a common trait, they do differ in design and deployment of the blade. Some knives offer a stiletto-like feel with a quick, push-button action while others utilize a thumb stud that can, in some cases, actually compete with…