Ballisticの April/May 2022 の目次

If you’re plugged into mainstream TV news outlets and the censorship tyrants of social media (for your general health and wellbeing, we do not recommend this), then you know the world’s pretty much FUBAR on all fronts. My favorite T-shirt (and morale patch)—one that always invokes thumbs-up comments from passersby around town—is from the patriots over at standstrongart.com. Said swag seem to say it best: “They Are Lying To You.” Point is, if you want to get facts, not propaganda and narratives fed (and paid for) by statists and the global elites, then you ought to start plugging into independent media programming (as well as everything you read on ballisticmag.com). Currently, both Rumble and Bitchute have yet to be infiltrated by the highly sinister and divisive overlords. GETTR seems to…

James Cameron’s Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) had a huge impact on me growing up, and I credit the film franchise with first instilling me with a fascination for firearms, future-tech and filmmaking. These movies expanded my mind when it came to considering the realms of possibility, both creatively on-screen and regarding what the future of technology may hold for mankind. Thankfully we haven’t found ourselves being hunted down by muscle clad cybernetic organisms with Austrian accents in the post-apocalyptic wasteland of Los Angeles 2029. But now, in an era were AI drives our cars, runs most of our infrastructure, guides much of our military hardware, and autonomous robots are doing parkour all over Boston Dynamics laboratories, I have to wonder if the machines haven’t already taken over…

There’s a saying that floats through our ranks that goes something to the tune of, “What kills on Sunday sells on Monday.” Although it sounds grim, it simply implies that whatever gets adopted by the military will invariably become popular in the civilian market as well. This becomes plain to see once we consider how many of our friends own items like EOtech holo sights, M9 pistols and Humvees. The reason behind this phenomenon is pretty obvious as well—the equipment simply works. While my examples reference modern-day gear, this trend had been prevalent for more than 100 years. To prove my point, I shall direct your attention to the .45-70 Govt cartridge. Adopted back in 1873, this cartridge served soldiers through such conflicts as the Spanish-American War and almost immediately…

If you’re like most Ballistic magazine readers, you → probably talk about firearms in the context of freedom quite often. But do you ever really stop and put serious thought into how critical firearms really are to a free people? That’s the gist behind a new film from award-winning British television and film producer Martin Durkin, who set out to look at firearms’ critical role in American freedom. And in Firepower To The People, a new offering from Durkin’s Fast Car Films, he does just that—and in an interesting, inspiring manner. CONTROL IS POWER Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, Beto O’Rourke and others say their plans to limit the ownership and use of guns are about “safety.” It’s about protecting people from themselves since, they maintain, widespread gun ownership leads to gun…

When we talk about guns, the conversation can run anywhere depending on who is in the discussion and what kind of gun is the focus. When you talk about art-quality 1911s, however, one name always comes up—Cabot Guns. The folks at Cabot have made a name for themselves by creating 1911s that are as at home on the range as they are in a high-end art gallery. Their newest offerings follow that same modus operandi and together offer some yin and yang in their lineup. Say hello to the Apocalypse and Serenity. THE APOCALYPSE The Apocalypse is a beautiful gun. In fact, the original order for the Apocalypse sold out within 48 hours of its initial release. They are obviously back at making more now. It is built around a…

Stanley Kubrick said, “No” The famed director told me he would not give me an audition for the role of Drill Instructor Hartman in Full Metal Jacket. He already had his Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. Test-filmed, contract signed, set to go. Stanley Kubrick had hired me to come to England to act as Technical Advisor on the film, and that was it. We were in his office on the set of Full Metal Jacket at Pinewood Studios outside London. I had joined the film company only a short time before, but I fully expected my bid to audition to be met with success. I had put myself into position for acting roles in my three previous movies—Apocalypse Now, The Boys in Company C and Purple Hearts—and I thought I could do…

WOULD YOU RATHER… The best defense is a good offense…or is it the other way around? Would you rather be 100-percent bulletproof or be 100-percent accurate (never miss what you are aiming at)? I thought this installment’s question was really a test of aggressiveness vs. risk aversion. But I was wrong. The majority picked Bulletproof. Cuz’ if you’re bulletproof, you can get real close and take your time killing them. Makes sense. Best quotes: “Can’t hit the 10 ring if your smoked.”—Andrew Bowen “I absolutely would rather be a dead shot. I prefer to be on the trigger side of a gun, not the barrel end. Being bulletproof seems very narrow focused, a chicken bone could still kill me. I could hear them now, ’He was bulletproof but never saw…

The suppressor market has exploded over the last decade with everybody and their uncle joining the business. Some are good, some are not so good and many are sold purely on price. In a market so diverse and ever changing, it is important to stick with names that have built a reputation on performance. Dead Air Silencers is one such company. While they have a large lineup, one of their newest cans—the Wolfman—caught my eye at the recent Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous in Idaho. This is one of my favorite events of the year as we gather a large number of companies to join the editorial team for some range and relaxation time. It gives us a chance to really visit with the companies and get serious time on their products.…

It’s a lot easier to say CZ instead of Ceska Zbrojovka so that’s what we Americans do when referring to this major arms manufacturer based in the Czech Republic. If you’re not familiar with CZ, they are the largest small arms manufacturing facility in the world, occupying some 16 acres in the Moravian city of Uhersky Brod. The factory was started in 1936 with production beginning a year later, making machine guns for aircraft in preparation for war with Nazi Germany. The company grew by leaps and bounds over the coming decades, producing all types of military and sporting arms. But prior to 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, then Czechoslovakia was an Iron Curtain country and, therefore, its products could not be imported into the United States.…

The truck market has never been more intense than in the past decade with each manufacturer releasing a bigger, more powerful version of their flagship rig, all the while trying to stick it to the competition. Ford should probably get the credit for starting the high-performance truck trend by introducing the Raptor, then later upping the ante with a Shelby version. This didn’t go over well with the guys over at Dodge. No way were they going to sit by idly and not conjure up some dark magic of their very own. They did so in the form of the Ram TRX. With tips and tricks carried over from the muscle car side of the house, these MOPAR guys know all about stuffing lots of crazy horsepower underneath a vehicle’s…

Talk to anyone at the gun shop or the shooting range and get ready to listen to all the things they “know.” Of all the opinionated, self-righteous, pretentious gun guys (and yeah, I’m one of them), no two are as high and mighty as the self-proclaimed “1911 Guy” and the “Glock Guy.” One has been overbearingly mocking all other firearms since Jeff Cooper declared the 1911 the “service pistol of choice.” The other believes that 2/3 of all law enforcement and the winner of the most stringent reliability testing in history can’t be beat. Both hold their convictions with equal fervor and despise anyone who views things differently. I decided a face-to-face, moderated debate would be the easiest way to settle this once and for all. I cast a wide…

The Laugo Alien Pistol is anything but ho-hum, yada-yada, same old, same old. I think the two-year wait to get my hands on the Alien definitely added to my excitement when I found out I was finally going to get one. I was like a kid on Christmas morning when I opened it. All the wait and anticipation were definitely worth it when I saw the out-of-this-world pistol, which I can really only describe as the Bugatti of guns sitting in the case in my office. The excitement grew as I uncased it and got to finally handle it. SCORPION LINEAGE The Alien is like nothing else we have seen in a pistol. It is a gas piston blowback pistol. It features a 4.8-inch fixed barrel with the lowest bore…

My agency only authorizes duty weapons for off-duty carry. If I want to carry another pistol, I am supposed to get a CCW. There are a lot of times I don’t want to carry my full-size handgun off duty, so about a year ago, I started a personal project to decide the perfect off-duty handgun for me. Over several weeks, I listed the details on a sticky note at my desk as I thought about them. Apparently, Springfield has been snooping around my desk because when I went to the Athlon Outdoors Annual Rendezvous in Driggs, Idaho, they handed me a gun that looked exactly like what I had envisioned. “This Hellcat RDP has exactly the features I have been looking for: a red-dot dot sight, threaded barrel, high capacity,…

Most shooters have felt the impact of ammo shortages and supply chain issues when looking for a new firearm over the past couple of years, but the gun industry still managed to squeeze out a few new rifles for 2022. And, because there was not a SHOT Show in 2021, a few more rifles launched last year got a nod at this year’s SHOT Show. This rundown highlights new, non-AR hunting guns from 15 top makers seen at this year’s show. Browning Browning’s X-Bolt introduces two new versions for 2022. The X-Bolt Mountain Pro sports a carbon-fiber barrel that lightens the package. The barrel includes a muzzle brake and thread protector. A stainless steel receiver and Cerakote finish raises its weather resistance. It also features a Picatinny rail for bipod…

It’s pretty amazing how fast the firearms market keeps moving with the introduction of new models and designs, and how current lines are being improved almost constantly. It was just a couple of months ago that Wilson Combat’s SFX9 HC 3.25 took the crown for Ballistic’s Best of 2021 for compact pistols. As good as that pistol is or was, depending on your perspective, they’re already back with a new model that makes the SFX9 series of pistols even better. SFX9 4-INCH The SFX9 HC 3.25 we reviewed for Ballistic’s Best had a taller, high-capacity frame that was able to natively host 15-round magazines. If there was one issue I had with the SFX9 3.25, it was the barrel length. I’m not opposed to sub-compact pistols with shorter barrels and…

Long Island, New York, is a unique place, and growing up here is unlike anywhere else in the county. Suburban at heart, this thin sliver of land leaves its inhabitants just minutes away from the water (pronounced “warta”) no matter where they rest their heads at night. Therefore, it’s uncommon to meet somebody from here who doesn’t know their way around a fishing pole. Several species of fish can be caught right off the beach including striped bass, bluefish, fluke, flounder (same fish, different season) and even a few different species of shark. I liken the pursuit of these fish to deer hunting. Hooking a 48-inch striper or an 18-inch fluke takes patience and the understanding that you are going to have more trips where you return emptyhanded than you…