(Almost) Zero Bulk Concealed Carry
Tucking your CCW pistol into your waistband is a fast, easy way to conceal your firearm without adding the bulk (or expense) of a holster. However, this style of so-called “Mexican carry” is not without its issues.
The first concern is safety, as it generally leaves the trigger exposed and could spell trouble if your finger or some other object inadvertently gets inside of the trigger guard and onto the bang switch. If you choose to tuck your pistol into your belt, to pocket carry or to use some other method that does not shield the trigger, be aware of this and exercise appropriate caution to prevent a dangerous situation.
The next issue with having a gun just stuffed into the waist of your pants is that it relies on the pressure between your belt or pants and your body to hold the pistol in place. This is all well and good if you’re not being particularly active, but throw some motion into the mix and your carry piece could shift around into an awkward position or even slip down your pant leg (Plaxico Burress, anyone?).
For some time KelTec owners have enjoyed a beautifully simple improvement over simply cramming a loaded firearm into their pants: a small clip that mounts to the frame of the gun to hold it in place. Unfortunately this hasn’t been an option for owners of many other firearms. Until recently. Continue reading
Optimizing the KelTec P-11
Perfecting the Compact Pistol for Carry, Defense and the Range
Kel-Tec pistols are wildly popular for concealed carry and personal/home defense. According to ATF reports, Kel-Tec has produced an average of around 110,000 pistols per year for the past five years year (130,000 in 2009 alone) placing them solidly among the top manufacturers. Their USA-made pistols are available in a variety of calibers, each coming with a lifetime manufacturer’s warranty. A Kel-Tec representative couldn’t give us exact numbers but said that many of their models are “pushing or over a million already.”
However, along with these large numbers there are also a number of common complaints about the pistols. Some of these gripes include Continue reading
Are “Smart Optics” Catching On?
During last year’s SHOT Show, we covered the Tracking Point Xact system, a closed-loop weapon system with “smart optics” that compute ballistic data and make long range shooting so easy a caveman can do it. Although there were skeptics in the GunLink crew at first, they were won over. So, it seems, were others…
Remington recently announced their 2020 smart optic, powered by Tracking Point technology. In addition to a line with more caliber options – .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester and .223 Remington versus Tracking Point’s .338 Lapua and .300 WSM – the price is significantly lower. Where the Tracking Point offerings tip the scales in the $18,00-23,000 range, the Remington packages have a more palatable MSRP well under $6,000. Where the factory rifle offerings from Tracking Point were totally custom numbers, Remington 2020 packages come with familiar Model 700 and Bushmaster rifles underneath their smart optics. Continue reading
NSSF Releases ‘Proud to Be a Firearms Owner’ Pocket Card
With its new “Proud to Be a Firearms Owner” pocket card, the National Shooting Sports Foundation® is arming the nation’s 100 million gun owners with facts they can use to demonstrate they are law-abiding, safe, passionate in their defense of the Second Amendment and major supporters of conservation through their purchases of firearms and ammunition.
“Firearms owners have been misrepresented and even maligned in the ongoing public debate over gun legislation,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti. “Our goal is to remind gun owners they have many reasons to be proud. You should stand tall, and if someone takes an unfriendly shot at you for being a firearm owner, respond with the facts listed in our new pocket card.”
Among the 13 bullet points on the Proud to Be a Firearms Owner card are these:
- I am one of 100 Million firearms owners in the U.S.
- I am one of 35 Million target shooters and hunters.
- I am part of a great American tradition.
- I am a conservationist. Excise taxes on firearms and ammunition purchases combined with purchases of hunting licenses contribute more than $1 billion annually to wildlife conservation and firearm safety education.
We hope that you can state another Continue reading
Firearms Guide Continues to Improve with 4th Edition
The latest installment in the Firearms Guide series released this month by Impressum Media demonstrates the publisher’s continuing efforts to improve the product. Arriving on the scene almost one year after the previous version, the 4th Edition Firearms Guide continues to grow.
More, more, more!
The addition of several thousand entries pushes the total over 57,000 firearms, air gun and ammunition entries from more than 630 manufacturers – more than doubling the 250 manufacturers represented in the 3rd edition of the guide. Among these entries are over 4,300 printable high-resolution firearms schematics, which are great for routine maintenance or for figuring out how to put your firearm back together after a spring lets loose and sends that doohickey flying across the room.
If you prefer to leave the gunsmithing to professionals, don’t worry; there is much more to the Firearms Guide than just schematics. The guide also showcases over 39,000 high-resolution photographs as well as Continue reading
Bullpup .22LR Pistol from ZiPFactory Keeps Plinkers Within Budget
ZiPFactory, an offshoot of US Fire Arms (USFA), was at SHOT 2013 and they brought with them their ZiP .22. This bullpup pistol doesn’t have a slide, an ejector or an extractor. This allows the number of parts in the entire firearm (in the basic configuration) to limited to only 25. It also allows the MSRP to be kept just shy of $200.
The company is marketing the ambidexterous ZiP .22 as being highly modular with the ability to use it as a pistol, an SBR or as an accessory mounted under another firearm. The pistol also makes use of ubiquitous (and supremely reliable) Ruger 10/22 magazines, even offering the 10-round Ruger BX-1 rotary magazine as a factory accessory for an additional $20. The blowback operated ZiP .22 also relies on the feed lips of the magazine to act as an ejector. As such, it may be advisable to Continue reading
