Home Defense

Marlin .308 MX

(GunReports.com) -- Our Marlin came with mighty nicely figured walnut. The buttstock wood matched the wood of the forend, both having prominent contrasting grain and some fiddleback. The wood appeared to have an epoxy-base finish, it being quite hard and scratch-resistant. The checkering was excellent, with decorative touches. It wrapped the forend and was generous at the grip. The butt had a hard-rubber pad that curved to fit the shoulder, though it did little to cut recoil. There were sling studs, too.

Auction Arms and GunReports.Com Form Gun News Alliance

(GunReports.com) -- Auction Arms, the official auction site of the NRA, and GunReports.Com have announced a letter of intent to establish the Auction Arms News Bureau, a weekly E-Letter that will deliver gun news, pricing trends and other information for the serious shooter.

Gun Tests Magazine Partners with Auction Arms for Current Pricing Cites

(GunReports.com) -- Gun Tests Magazine, the 23-year-old consumer resource for the serious shooter, will partner with Auction Arms to collect and report up-to-the-minute, accurate firearms pricing.

Gun Owners of America issues statement on Arizona shooting

(GunReports.com) -- Gun Owners of America issued an email alert in response to New York Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy's call for magazine and gun show bans in the wake of shooting of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords over the weekend.

Auto-Ordnance to Release 100th Anniversary Edition 1911 in January

(GunReports.com) -– Kahr Arms's 100th Anniversary Edition 1911 from Auto-Ordnance will debut at SHOT Show 2011 in January. The 100th Anniversary Edition is a .45 caliber classic style WWII Parkerized 1911 pistol with a 5” barrel. A special engraving on the slide will read “1911 .45 ACP, 1911-2011, 100 Years”.

Working the Winchester 88

Many of us miss Winchester's Model 88. First revealed in 1955 as "a bolt action rifle with a lever," it shared few features with levered Winchesters made up to that time. It had no external hammer, no side-loading tubular magazine limited to flat-nosed rounds, and no rear breech lock-up. It had a full-length stock to dampen barrel vibrations, a removable box magazine that allowed hunters to take advantage of better ballistics pointed bullets provided, and combined lever/trigger assemblies, which eliminated the pinched fingers and snagged gloves known so well to lever gunners. The 88's biggest departure from Winchester's lever-action tradition, however, was its rotary bolt head incorporating a trio of locking lugs that was very close to Mauser's design of the late 1880s.

Remington 11-87 Sportsman No. 29825 3-inch 20 Gauge

One of the major reasons hunters choose a 20 gauge over a 12 gauge is the former's smaller frame, weight, and recoil. Though they may already own a 12, many field sportsmen wind up reaching for their 20s because the smaller gun is just easier to handle, and there are just a few hunting situations—layback goose hunting and spring turkey hunting, to name two—in which the bigger payload might make a difference.

The Remington Sportsman line has two 12s and three 20s. The 12s come in 26- and 28-inch barrels and weigh 8.1 pounds and 8.25 pounds respectively, compared to the weight of our test 28-inch-barrel gun, about a full pound lighter.

GunReports.com Video: Conquering Low Light with Ken Hackathorn (Crimson Trace)

GunReports.com video from Crimson Trace: Conquering Low Light with Ken Hackathorn. Ken shows how the use of white light and laser sights can make you a better shooter in conditions most common in personal defense situations.

Glock G34 9mm

According to the manufacturer, the Glock pistol was the first "industrially manufactured handgun with high-tech polymer grips." The barrels and slides are coated with what Glock describes as a "high-tech surface refinement" that they call Tenifer. The benefits of this "carbonitriding" coating are not only corrosion resistance and reduced glare but also resistance to abrasion. Tenifer coating is highly rated on the Rockwell Cone hardness scale at 64 HRC.

Some Glock pistols are available with different color frames, but our G34 was basic black. The defining feature of the G34 was its long 5.3-inch barrel with polygonal rifling, covered by a slide that included a gaping hole just to the rear of the front sight. This relief measured approximately 1.75 inches long by 0.75 inches wide. Glock says that this serves to reduce stress on the frame. The dustcover beneath the slide was also longer, making room for a healthy sized accessory rail, which was molded into place. The schematic breakdown of the Glock pistol with magazine lists only 34 separate parts, 36 if you count the magazine insert at the base plate (part 32a), and the front sight blade, part number 16a.

Springfield Armory Milspec PB1132 38 Super, $682

The Mil Spec model is in some ways a commemorative pistol without getting gaudy or expensive. It has classic styling including a basic military style grip safety and solid hammer tang.

Bushmaster Patrolman’s Carbine .223 Rem., $1230

Our Bushmaster Patrolman’s Carbine was yet another interpretation of the flat-top AR. The base price of this model was $1230 including the Fiberite Six Position adjustable stock and A2 front sight. But we picked several options to bring it into spec with our other carbines. A 4 Rail Free-Floater Forend (YHM-9479) was in place plus an Ergo Sure Grip (ARG- KIT). With another Ergo Sure Grip clamped to the bottom forend rail (ARG-FWD), we thought we were seeing double.

The forend grip could be placed anywhere along the bottom rail as long as it was far enough forward to clear the magazine. A large knob with a coin or screwdriver slot and knurled edges held the grip in place. With two pistol style grips in place, our stance took on a narrower profile. This would be especially advantageous when traveling down a hallway or taking cover in a tight space. The forend itself appeared to be fatter. This was because the rails were covered with slip-on Sure Grip rail covers featuring the Bushmaster logo, (SCH-6L). The rail covers created a smooth, rounded feel to the forend and increased its overall width by about 0.3 inches.

GunReports.com Video: Ruger Tactical Tips – 1: Mental Preparation

Before self-defense training can begin, you must mentally prepare yourself for combative situations. This series is a collection of self-defense tips with career law enforcement officer Dave Spaulding designed to help individuals learn proper skills and techniques to defend themselves.

I Knew Joe Biden Was Lying

President Joe Biden announced on December 1, 2024 that he has pardoned his son Hunter Biden for various crimes. If you’ll recall, Hunter was...