Gun Digest

I’ve got a neighbor who’s been shopping for a new truck for at least 6 months. Yes, a NEW truck: I’m not talking about trying to find leather seats with new tires and less than 36,000 miles in a silver metallic with tinted windows … for a ridiculously low price. I’m talking about going to the lot, finding what you want and spending the money after some awkward negations (I actually really enjoy that part). For my neighbor, manufacturer sales have come and gone. Promotions have come and gone. In fact, this guy found a truck he really liked, and then test-drove it in three different colors to see which one “felt right.” And yet he still has not bought a truck. When it comes to buying a new handgun, I recommend…

BROUGHT TO YOU BY WEATHERBY SELECT AMMUNITION HISTORICAL NOTES The .356 TSW centerfire pistol cartridge was designed by Smith & Wesson in 1994 as an IPSC round. The .356 TSW fit into a 9mm magazine, and Smith & Wesson convinced Federal to load it and submit it for SAAMI-spec approval, where it saw promise as a Limited-class competition round. However, because of a rules change, USPSA didn’t approve it for that class, and there were other rounds that were better choices for Open guns. Smith & Wesson scrapped the project, effectively killing the .356 TSW. Federal case heads and the box were marked “356 TSW.” The load was a 147-grain FMJ Match product number GM356SW. GENERAL COMMENTS The TSW is simply a slightly longer 9mm case (9x21.5mm), and it uses ordinary 9mm bullets for reloading…

The struggle is real: Comfortable everyday carry of a completely concealed handgun can be difficult. It’s not so difficult in the cooler months, when a vest or jacket makes sense, but it’s sure a pain during the summer when temperatures pass the 90-degree mark. I’ve always been an inside the pants (IWB) kind of guy, but during a recent hot weather vacation, I decided to give the fanny pack a try. Some consider carrying a handgun in a fanny pack as off-body carry, but I think that description better applies to a purse or handbag. With the fanny pack, you’re essentially just strapping on a holster just as you would with a gun belt. The main difference is that you’re carrying in the open but doing so incognito. It’s a very…

The 21-Foot Principle, often mistakenly referred to as the “21-Foot Rule,” gained prominence through the work of Dennis Tueller, a police officer with the Salt Lake City Police Department. This principle emerged from Tueller’s informal studies on the potential threat posed by an attacker armed with a knife. His findings suggested that an able-bodied male could cover approximately 21 feet in a second and a half, which is roughly the same amount of time it takes for a reasonably trained police officer to draw their firearm and discharge a shot. This concept has since become widely known and applied, even within legal circles, despite the misnomer “21-Foot Rule.” THE ORIGIN AND MISINTERPRETATION OF THE 21-FOOT PRINCIPLE The term “21-Foot Rule” is a bit of a misnomer because it suggests a hard-and-fast rule when,…

Firearms are dangerous … and that’s why we have them. But we also have “blow-out” kits, right? Right? A blow-out kit is a first-aid package meant not to deal with sunburn and insect bites, but gunshot wounds and other serious injuries. A specific one I have strapped to my range bag comes from RTS, called the IFAK. It’s meant to be attached to a soldier’s load-bearing or plate carrier, but it also attaches to a range bag by its MOLLE straps. Inside is a tourniquet (you get to choose from three brands), an Israeli trauma bandage that applies pressure to a wound, hemostatic gauze, more gauze, a chest seal, medical tape, CPR mask, gloves, shears and nasal airway. And this all comes in the pouch, which strips open one-handed. A long time ago,…

Suppressors are amazing and something every shooter loves, but one of the inherent short-comings of a suppressor is that they make your gun longer … and they can be kind of awkward. K cans are shorter than most others, but they come in lacking some performances because of that reduced length. What if we can have the best of both worlds? Short, good suppression and make it lightweight? Enter the Silencer Central Banish Speed K Ti. At only 4 inches long, it’s about half the weight of most suppressors and has top-tier performance. THE SHORT VERSION Silencer Central’s original Banish Speed K came about as a collaboration between Silencer Central and Federal Ammunition, and it was designed for law enforcement. In fact, for a while, the Banish Speed K was only available to LEO.…