Ballisticの April/May 2020 の目次

The Coronavirus epidemic was in full swing as of this writing. All of the close-talking, cheek-kissing Italians in Italy were put on lockdown shortly after wiping out shelves of Barilla pasta. Countless people all over the U.S. were hoarding toilet paper, hand sanitizer and Tito’s while screaming about how horribly the Trump administration was mishandling the crisis. Since we bill Ballistic as “The Premier Firearms & Survival Magazine,” we’ll simply advise that common sense and cooler heads always prevail during a crisis. If you want to come through this no worse for wear, please visit coronavirus.gov as well our network of sites: ballisticmag.com, tactical-life.com, realworldsurvivor.com and personaldefenseworld.com. There’s a treasure trove of solid advice to be found online for this particular health threat as well as those in the future.…

With the success of its first commemorative Donald Trump pistol, it was only logical for Auto-Ordnance to make a limited-edition follow-up, sort of an homage to another four years. Apparently, you “deplorables” appreciated my evaluation of the previous gun in Combat Handguns, a sister publication of Ballistic, so the editors chose me to check out the new one and report back. It seems that good work assured me this assignment nearly as well as Democratic antics have assured President Trump’s reelection. The second commemorative Trump pistol is officially named the “Keep America Great 1911” after his current campaign slogan. Most will find that the new version has a very familiar feel, sort of like an oval office chair that you’ve been sitting in for the last four years. This is…

What’s worse, an idiotic gun law or the politician who voted for it? Though both are deserving of contempt, this article will illuminate some of the worst gun laws throughout the United States. I won’t address laws that gun owners should know are stupid, like microstamping and “gunfree zones.” Rather, I will cover laws that might be off the beaten path but can be very consequential for those who run afoul of them. You need to know them. “Lack of intent” won’t cut you any slack. Just as importantly, gun owners need to stay involved and keep pressing representatives to expand our rights. 1. NEW JERSEY HOLLOW POINTS Idiotic, counterproductive and tyrannical gun laws are ubiquitous in New Jersey. For example, the state has banned hollow-point bullets everywhere except at…

I LOVE ZOMBIES—always have, always will. So, I didn’t hesitate to sign up for the zombie-themed GLRC match held in South Carolina at the Government Training Institute (GTI). This match had some of the most interesting, fun and challenging courses of fire I have ever seen at any event. The GTI is a massive training complex that was once a uranium enrichment facility that was never used. In 2003, it was purchased and transformed to help train some of our most elite warriors as well as civilians. Its buildings offer more than 200,000 square feet of space, and you can shoot from inside and atop of the structures out to 800 yards. One building is even 135 feet tall. So Gary Larson and his team created an insane match utilizing…

Truck guns aren’t just for pickups. Having a weapon in your vehicle to supplement your concealed-carry firearm can make sense whether it’s a ’78 Bronco or a Mercedes G-Class. And don’t forget fellow gun owners who ride instead of drive. A saddlebag on a Harley can also store a compact “truck gun.” A proper truck gun should offer you increased magazine capacity and improved accuracy potential. In addition to fitting the available space, a truck gun should be able to handle the dirty environments found in any trunk or truck cab. So, with all of those requirements laid out, let me introduce the Kalashnikov USA KP-9. Based on the Vityaz-SN submachine gun, this pistol offers enhanced ballistics and significantly better long-range accuracy than your average pocket pistol. The KP-9 has…

I’ll admit that I wasn’t always a shotgun guy. My experience with shotguns was limited to an old Remington 870 pump action from the 1970s that my police department issued me. I think it was older than me by a few years at the time. But I have run an older Beretta semiauto, which is what piqued my interest when that Italian maker unveiled the semi-auto 1301 Tactical 12 gauge back in 2018. It also helps that Beretta has been making quality firearms in some form or fashion since 1526, making it the oldest continuously operated gun manufacturer in the world. With all that experience, the company knows how to get things done. FROM THE FACTORY Beretta designed the 1301 Tactical specifically with law enforcement and personal defense in mind.…

Donald J. Trump separated himself from his Democratic competitor early in the 2016 election cycle by declaring his firm support of the Second Amendment. Of course, his opponent, Hillary Clinton, also said she supported the Second Amendment while at the same time supporting various schemes to gut our rights. After his election, President Trump became the first sitting president since Ronald Reagan to speak to NRA members at the association’s Annual Meetings. “Let me make a simple promise to every one of the freedom-loving Americans in the audience today,” he said at that even in Atlanta. “As your president, I will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” THE GOOD: While certainly a polarizing figure, President Trump has largely kept that promise. Even…

STRAIGHT 8 PHOTOS Traditional handguns are relatively easy to carry and train with, but they’re a bit lacking in terms of accuracy and power if you’re forced to start sending rounds downrange in a hurry. Many self-defense-minded citizens solve this by also keeping a rifle in their home or vehicle in case things get seriously bad. However, I find that while many people claim that they have truck guns, they rarely do. The reason is simple: size. It’s difficult to securely store a full-sized AR-15 in your vehicle and still manage to keep it easily accessible. I find this to be the case with dedicated home-defense rifles as well. The challenge is real. What we need is a compact rifle that is easy to wield, store and shoot. Oh yeah,…

In the late ’90s, the AR-15 market was still in its beginning stages. Free-floating handguards were few and far between, and the aftermarket options were a fraction of what they are today. But you could buy stripped lowers, barrels, parts kits and the furniture to make some pretty cool guns, even back then. I befriended a local machinist who had an FFL, and a group of us federal and local cops stationed on the Mexican border decided to buy all the parts and put together our own custom guns during a “build your own AR” party. We assembled the guns with borrowed tools and internet instructions, and they all worked. Fast-forward 10 years, when I was dating the woman who eventually succumbed to my wily charms and married me. I…

Braced or large-format pistols are becoming more and more prevalent especially among those who would prefer a compact platform without having to go through the paperwork and hassle of registering a short-barreled rifle (SBR) with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). These pistols are viable alternatives for personal and home defense, providing more firepower over traditional handguns with better handling capabilities than shotguns and rifles. Of course, if you choose a pistol-caliber option, you’ll save money by being able to load the same ammo in your handguns, and 9mm rounds are still quite affordable. But what if you wanted to up the ante in terms of power without resorting to a rifle-caliber weapon? CMMG and KRISS USA both have solutions built around the 10mm Auto. THE CONTENDERS…

Sometimes it’s easy to take the small things in our lives for granted. But we might actually be blown away when we see how much work goes into making them. This is how I felt when I toured Remington’s Lonoke, Arkansas, ammunition facility. Previously, I really never gave much thought to what it takes to craft the ammunition I count on every day to protect me and my family. Like everyone else, I just go to the store and buy ammo and never think about what goes into its manufacturing process. Well, that changed when I visited the Lonoke plant, where every Remington round, be it 9mm target ammo or 12-gauge buckshot, is made. When the facility was constructed in 1969 and opened in 1970, it was so far away…

Crude oil is the second most common liquid on earth. While there are lots of theories, nobody is exactly sure where it all came from or how it got so deep in the ground. Regardless, we Americans do love it so. As a nation, we burn a bit less than 400 million gallons of refined gasoline each day. All those long-chain hydrocarbons make for a remarkably efficient way to move energy. However, burning gasoline dumps scads of deleterious carbon compounds into the atmosphere. Perhaps you’ve heard folks talking about this. What if I told you that it was possible to make an efficient and effective fuel for a heavy-duty utility vehicle out of water? All it would take is some specialized equipment and a little electricity. The resulting hydrogen can…

Taking a passion and turning it into a career is an art in itself. Nakia “Nacho” Jackson and his partner in crime, Chip “Cheeto” Pierce, know that struggle all too well. But when that struggle pays off, the rewards make it all worthwhile. The crazy-long hours, blood, sweat and tears show in every functional piece of artwork that these masterminds at Outlaw Ordnance create. That’s why we decided to reach out to Nacho and Cheeto about this epic “Custom Challenge.” We wanted to create a special “Presidential Thompson” in honor of Donald J. Trump for the cover of Ballistic, but Auto-Ordnance and Outlaw Ordnance took it a step further. They said, “Hell, let’s do a limited run of 25 of these guns. Ballistic magazine can give No. 1 away to…

As a gun writer, I’m always hit with cliché jabs about having the best job in the world. What many people don’t see, however, are the hours of hard work, the constant back and forth with companies and—OK, I do have the best job in the world. That fact slapped me in the face when my editor threw an assignment my way that basically said, “Please drive to Las Vegas, fly in a helicopter, fire a machine gun out of that helicopter and then tell us about it.” After taking about 4.3 seconds to mull it over, I said yes. It was time for a road trip. Joining me on this junket would be longtime industry photographer Alex Landeen. The dates were set, the hotel booked and bags packed as…

ASK SHOOTERS why they got into precision rifle shooting and you’ll hear a myriad of answers. Some might point to the challenge that long-range shooting presents, or the exhilaration of hearing the steel targets ring upon impact. While these are all good reasons, if you ask Gary Larson, founder of the Guardian Long Range Competition (GLRC), you’ll get a much different answer—one that is undeniably more compelling. To understand why the GLRC is such an amazing organization, you must first understand Larson’s story. It’s not one you’ll typically hear in the shooting community, but it’s still a horrific reality for many. As a child, he was the victim of neglect and abuse at the hands of his birth mother and, by the age of 12, was placed into the foster…

While you might hear the name Wilson Combat and think of 1911s, you’d be missing the boat by a long shot. Wilson Combat has become a premier firearms manufacturer and continues to produce high-end pistols, rifles and shotguns tailored for real-world use. Bill Wilson and his team don’t make safe queens, although many of their customers might choose such a fate for their purchases. Instead, Wilson brings real shooting experience to the design table, and each endeavor is thoroughly considered. The company currently produces everything from 1911s, ARs and shotguns to knives, accessories and—you guessed it—sound suppressors. Which brings me to Wilson Combat’s brandnew Quell .30-caliber suppressor. TOUGH ENOUGH When I first saw the Quell being described as the “hard-use suppressor solution” by Wilson Combat, I correctly assumed that it…

We’ve all been there: A friend passes around a bag of his best cigars to celebrate a major event, and you feel compelled to grab one. In the bag are sticks of different shades and sizes, maybe even with a little bit of writing that you don’t completely understand. While it seems that your friend has made a sincere gesture of his generosity, he’s harboring a secret: He’s hoping you won’t be a douchebag in your selection. While nothing warms my heart like sharing a good smoke with a group of friends, it’s painful watching a premium cigar get stubbed out less than halfway through because of some rookie mistake. While they appear simple in nature, cigars and the processes involved with enjoying them are rather complex. There are a…

Video game designers naturally tend to think of themselves as artists who are interested in providing fun-filled experiences to players. As artists, they find it acceptable that realism often takes a back seat to gameplay, and for most gamers, that isn’t so much a tradeoff. Games should be fun, after all. For Richard Boyd, CEO of Tanjo Inc., games need not sacrifice realism at the expense of fun. In fact, he has spent much of his career ensuring that gamers are treated to both. But Boyd also isn’t your average video game developer, either. He’s a tech visionary who believes the most valuable currency in the 21st century could be human attention. BOYD’S BIG IDEA Boyd has become a gaming revolutionary in part because of the company he’s kept. He…