Table of contents for Gun Digest Presents Concealed Carry 2017 in Gun Digest

Evolution is inevitable, and the gun industry certainly doesn’t escape that reality … which is a huge advantage for the consumer looking to keep up with trends and maintain a defensive edge. During the past decade or so, we’ve seen this take shape in many ways, but one of the most notable has been the development of red-dot sight technology. This category has grown so much that sub-categories have formed, namely with “mini” or “micro” red-dots, often referred to as reflex sights. Red-dots have become smaller, lighter, more durable and more efficient. Battery life has also grown substantially. These sights have come a long way since the early days of bulky, short-lasting, tube-style optics, and thus they’ve become very desirable sighting options. This is clearly evident in their popularity on…

Nearly three-quarters of a century ago, on January 30, 1948, Hindu nationalism advocate Nathuram Godse carried out an assassination. At 5:17 p.m., he used a possibly stolen Beretta M1934 to shoot Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi three times in the chest, point-blank. In doing so, Godse sealed his own fate — he would be hanged in 1949 — and made Gandhi a martyr to his cause. The Beretta used was chambered in 9x17mm Corto, another designation for the cartridge more commonly known stateside as the .380 ACP. Gandhi’s assassination is just one of many instances — famous and otherwise — where the cartridge has been utilized with deadly results. Does this mean the .380 ACP is a powerful round, or is it only fatal in rare instances? When John Moses…

With nearly every major handgun manufacturer now offering a striker-fired polymer pistol, the wait for CZ’s offering has been excruciating. After its reveal in late 2016, fans of the famed Czech manufacturer have been standing idly by to get their hands on the newest addition to not only CZ, but to the world of polymer pistols. Having the advantage of time, CZ put a lot of thought into their design and made sure to include all of the features that have been a hit to the market — in their own style, of course Focused On Feel Maintaining the notorious CZ grip angle, the P-10 C is built with “feel” as its primary attribute. The angle is my personal preference, simply because it’s not too steep and it points naturally.…

If you carry a gun for protection, chances are good you want a knife to go with it. While your everyday carry piece serves to protect you and your loved ones from a potentially lethal threat, a knife is there to handle an assortment of other tasks, and it can also be used defensively if circumstances require. I recently traveled to Atlanta to attend the 2017 Blade Show, an event that’s billed as the largest knife show in the World. Among the vast array of blades, I found eight new knives by some of the top knife manufacturers designed for everyday carry. Some of these blades represent the cutting edge in blade tech. Others are the newest great buys for the money, and good American manufacturing made the rest. Whether…

The “Wiktionary” defines the term “belt and suspenders” as: “Redundant systems, affording mutual backup in the event of one failing. Example: He believes in a belt and suspenders, booking flights from two different airports on different airlines for important trips.” When ifirst saw the Springfield Armory XD-E at the NRA Show this year, my first thought was of Pa Kettle, in one of the old Ma and Pa Kettle movies, being asked why he wore a belt and suspenders. His response was, “A man can never be too careful.” It seems the evolution of firearms has grown faster than ever in the past few years. We now have more choices, in every description of guns, than icould ever have imagined just 20 or so years ago. This has been a…

If there were a book of firearms successes, probably the first chapter would be dedicated to John Browning’s 1911 pistol. Designed in 1908 and adopted by the U.S. Army in 1911, it’s a design that’s stood the test of time for more than 100 years, and it’s still as popular as ever. There are dozens of companies producing 1911s, but only a few of those makers truly approach the undertaking of building the best pistol possible as a serious challenge. Obviously, the pistols Guncrafter Industries — located in Huntsville, Arkansas — makes are built to sell, but they’re built to sell to the most discriminating buyer who’s only satisfied with the best gun money can buy. In my experience as a writer, I’ve tested four Guncrafter guns and never experienced…

Here’s a typical social media conversation these days: Him: “I’m entitled to my own opinion.” Me: “No, you’re not.” In this age of Facebook, Google and YouTube, it seems everyone is an “expert,” whether they have any background in the topic at hand or not. I think we can agree that the use of firearms for self-defense is a technical field. To be entitled to an opinion in a technical field, one should have specialized training, education and experience in that field. Without those, an opinion is absolutely worthless. I have been involved in defensive firearms training for 40 years, and a full-time trainer for the past 20 years. I’m a graduate of the FBI Police Firearms Instructor School, the NRA Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor and Law Enforcement Tactical Shooting…

According to a recent estimate by the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), more than 15 million Americans are now licensed to carry a firearm in the United States. With that many and more legally licensed citizens — including those who keep guns strictly in the home for domestic protection, along with people who open carry or live in one of the dozen states that do not require licenses — the odds are increasing that someone will have to use their firearm to defend against a serious crime Realizing this possibility, at least four organizations have recognized the need for some type of coverage plans for the armed citizen who might someday act in self-defense. Unlike television, stopping a villain with lethal force isn’t the end of the drama — it’s…

While not everyone agrees, a lot of experienced shooters say that John Browning’s 1911 pistol is the greatest fighting handgun ever designed. Many major gun manufacturers offer them, and several smaller manufacturers exist primarily because they specialize in building them. An example is Coonan, Inc. — but there’s a twist. Whereas most 1911s are chambered in .45 ACP or 9mm — yes, there are other chamberings — Coonan wanted more power and decided a 1911 chambered in .357 Magnum was needed. Adopted by many law enforcement agencies since its creation in 1935 and able to cleanly take some game, it developed a great reputation. However, the .357 Magnum is a rimmed cartridge and is longer than the cartridges usually used in 1911s. That meant a redesign Coonan set out to…