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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONTENTS
CONCEALED CARRY 2021 | VOLUME 38 ISSUE 03

DEPARTMENTS
p. 28
6 First Shot
8 Know Your Cartridge

COLUMNS
10 Defensive Handgunning RICHARD MANN

12 Hardware Talk PATRICK SWEENEY

14 Modern Gunnery JOSH WAYNER

20 Drawing Conclusions MARTY HAYES, J.D.

22 Reloading Bench PHIL MASSARO

24 Guns & Gear STAFF REPORT

98 Testfire DAVE CAMPBELL

FEATURES
28 CCW Any Way You Like It: Sig’s
Completely Customizable P320 Platform.
RICHARD MANN
p. 36 p. 46
36 Couples Counseling for Concealed
Carriers: Tag-Teaming Tactics.
PATRICK ROBERTS p. 60
46 Legal Thoughts on Rimfires for
Self-Defense: You Need a Plan.
MARTY HAYES, J. D.

60 Carry Guns for the Modern Era: Picks

for Your First, or Fifth, CCW Gun.
PATRICK SWEENEY
p. 68
68 The Secret to Shooting a Handgun
Accurately: How to Master Trigger Control.
RICHARD MANN

74 Never Too Big to Carry: Solutions

for Concealing a Full-Framed Handgun.
JOSH WAYNER

80 Why You Should Carry a Concealed

Weapon: Your Responsibility, Your Right.
TOM GIVENS
p. 74 p. 80
86 Covert Rifle Carry: Pray for the Best,
Prepare for the Worst. p. 86
PATRICK ROBERTS

92 Unsung Heroes: Less Popular but

Excellent CCW Guns.
DAVE MERRILL & TOM MARSHALL

THE BEST GUN LIST IN PRINT

p. 92
51 Show & Auction Listings

Gun Digest the Magazine (ISSN 1938-5943) is published monthly by Caribou Media dba Gun Digest Media, LLC. Corporate Headquarters is
5600 W. Grande Market Dr., Suite 100, Appleton, WI 54913. Periodicals postage paid at Appleton, WI 54913 and at additional mailing offi ces.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gun Digest the Magazine, P.O. Box 460220, Escondido, CA 92046. Copyright © 2021 Gun Digest
Media. GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE and its logo are registered trademarks. Other names and logos referred to or displayed in editorial or
advertising content may be trademarked or copyrighted. The publisher and advertisers are not liable for typographical errors that may appear
in prices or descriptions in advertisements.

4|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

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 FIRST SHOT // BY LUKE HARTLE

5600 W. Grande Market Drive, Suite 100

Appleton, WI 54913
Phone: (920) 471-4522 • FAX: (920) 471-0031

GunDigest.com
E-mail us: info@gundigest.com
CARIBOU MEDIA GROUP PUBLISHER
JIM SCHLENDER
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
LUKE HARTLE
MANAGING EDITOR
LAURA PELTAKIAN

MAKING IT WORK
ONLINE EDITOR
ELWOOD SHELTON

T
SR. ART DIRECTOR
GENE COO
hings are weird right now. In this issue, you’ll find a starter guide ART DIRECTOR
I seem to be saying that a on basic reloading equipment to learn to KATIA SVERDLOVA
lot recently, and I read it other build the ammunition you can’t find in the COLUMNISTS
FRANK GALLI, RICHARD MANN,
places even more often … but stores. And, if you’re lucky enough to find PHIL MASSARO, PATRICK SWEENEY,
is it really true? a handgun on the shelf, chances are high MARTY HAYES
If you spend too much time on Face- that it’s a full-framed pistol. There are a ADVERTISING SALES
book, or dive too deep into your phone’s couple articles within these covers to help ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
newsfeed, the ominous cloud of shallow you conceal that bigger gun comfortably RYAN FARNER
journalism and misconstrued information as well. Remember, a gun doesn’t have to (760) 809-8729
rfarner@recoilweb.com
looms dark and close. But on the other be marketed as “concealed carry” in order
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
hand, if you take a minute to look down for it to be effectively carried concealed. ALEX OSTROWSKI
your street and actually converse with the The piece I found most thought- (920) 341-6203
neighbors, things don’t really seem all that provoking in this issue was Marty Hayes’ alex@gundigest.com
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
bad, do they? “Defensive Handgunning” column, which
DAVID FIGG
So, which is it? digs very deep into how you share your (813) 418-1060
Top-level firearms instructors often gun lifestyle on social media … and how dfigg@recoilweb.com

educate their students about the differ- that can potentially come around to hurt SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
LORI MCDANIEL
ences—and similarities—between un- you. It’s a must-read. (715) 498-3768
derstanding “perceived threat level” and And, as I do with every issue, I’ve lori@gundigest.com

“actual threat levels.” Sometimes, those worked in expert tips and product pics: ADVERTISING ASSISTANTS
AMBER DEVALK
two are worlds apart … but sometimes from CCW guns to holsters to ammo to CHING CORNFORTH
they’re not. you-name-it. Every byline in every Gun
Most of the time, we just don’t know Digest magazine has made a life of serving GUN DIGEST MEDIA, LLC
how weird things around us actually are. with a firearm at their side (law enforce- GM/PUBLISHER
GLEN CASTLE
So, we stay prepared. ment, the military, firearms training …
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
With buzzwords like “cancel culture,” usually all three) and teaching others how JENNIFER SEXSTONE
“civil unrest” and “ammo shortages” lin- to safely do the same. Take their words to NETWORK MANAGER
gering on the lips of nearly every Ameri- heart. JOHN SCHWARTZE
can these days, this special concealed I’ve said (and written) this hundreds of E-COMMERCE MANAGER
BEN SOBIECK
carry issue couldn’t be more timely. times before, but it’s always worth repeat-
But unlike CCW issues of the past, I’ve ing: Carrying a concealed gun doesn’t NEWSSTAND SALES
NPS MEDIA GROUP
tweaked this one to address those buzz- make you paranoid. It makes you pre- flama@npsmediagroup.com
words of the times. For example, gun and pared to defend yourself.
Subscription Services
ammo shortages are a real thing right now. Keep your eyes open out there. U.S. and Canada: 1 (800) 829-9127
I’ve seen firsthand all the 9mm and .223 Outside the U.S.: (760) 407-2297
P.O. Box 460220
Remington ammo Federal is making on a Escondido, CA 92046
daily basis—and the other manufacturers E-mail: GunDigest@EmailCustomerService.com

are doing the same—but they simply can’t

keep up with demand. Same holds true for
the gun builders.

6|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

 RAPID FIRE//KNOW YOUR CARTRIDGE FROM GUN DIGEST’S CARTRIDGES OF THE WORLD. ORDER AT GUNDIGESTSTORE.COM.

The world’s most widely used

military handgun cartridge.
HISTORICAL NOTES Luger is the most widely used cartridge cartridge to actually “stop” a bad guy have
The 9mm Luger, or 9mm Parabellum, in the United States. For hunting use, the learned a great deal.
was introduced in 1902 with the Luger 9mm Luger is adequate for most small Additionally, modern bullet engineer-
automatic pistol. It was adopted first by game, if hollow-point bullets are used. ing, combined with the moderately high
the German Navy in 1904 and then by Modern, premium jacketed hollow- velocities obtainable with a 9mm Luger,
the German Army in 1908. Since that point loads can dramatically improve 9mm Luger +P and 9mm Luger +P+
time, it has been adopted by the military performance. loads has changed not only the outlook
of practically every non-Communist A variety of 9mm loadings are offered on, but the performance of, the 9mm
power. It has become the world’s most by every major U.S. ammunition maker. Luger. Extensive tests in 10 percent
popular and widely used military hand- The term “stopping power” is really ordnance gelatin have shown that many
gun and submachine gun cartridge. nothing more than words used to de- defensive loads for the 9mm expand to a
In the United States, Colt, Smith & scribe something that gun writers have wider diameter and penetrate as deeply
Wesson, Ruger and many others cham- never been able to quantify like they do as many .45 Auto loads—and they do
ber the 9mm, as do many foreign-made with velocity and group size. Since the so with a higher impact velocity, which
pistols. In 1985, the 9mm Luger was 1980s, when the 9mm became a very translates to more tissue destruction.
adopted as the official military cartridge popular cartridge for use by law enforce- Anyone armed with a 9mm and good
by U.S. Armed Forces, along with the ment officers, those who have conducted defensive ammo should feel just as safe as
Beretta Model 92-F (M-9) 15-shot semi- research into the ability of a handgun if they were carrying a .45 Auto.
auto pistol.
LOADING DATA AND FACTORY BALLISTICS
GENERAL COMMENTS BULLET POWDER GRAINS VELOCITY ENERGY SOURCE
Although the 9mm Luger delivers good 100 Unique 5.1 1,150 294 Hornady
performance for police, military or sport-
115 Herco 6.0 1,200 368 Speer
ing use, it wasn’t popular in the United
115 Bullseye 4.8 1,250 399 Speer, Hornady, Sierra
States until fairly recently. The principal
115 231 5.2 1,150 338 Speer, Hornady, Sierra
reason was that no American-made arms
124/125 Unique 5.5 1,150 364 Speer, Sierra
were chambered for it initially. In 1954,
124/125 700X 4.3 1,150 364 Speer, Sierra
Smith & Wesson brought out its Model
39 semi-automatic in this chamber- 80 TAC-XP JHP FL FL 1,560 433 DoubleTap Factory Load

ing, and Colt chambered its lightweight 115 FMJ FL FL 1,160 345 Factory load

Commander for the 9mm Luger in 1951. 124 JHP FL FL 1,300 465
Buffalo Bore Factory
Load
This, plus the influx of military pistols
124 FMJ ML ML 1,299 465 Military load, U.S.
chambered for the 9mm, greatly in-
124 FMJ FL FL 1,120 345 Factory load
creased both popularity and acceptance
147 JHP FL FL 975 310 Factory load
in this country. Currently, the 9mm

8|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

 DEFENSIVE HANDGUNNING // RICHARD MANN

Recommendations
on what (and how)
to comfortably
carry.

OWN MULTIPLE HOLSTERS

One serious consideration with re-
gard to holster selection is how easy
the holster is to put on or take off.
To the novice concealed carrier, this
might not seem important, but it
won’t be long until you realize there
are times you need to take your gun
off for a short time, and having to
undo your belt to make that happen
isn’t ideal.
I’ve been working with a Glock 43
a bit, and two holsters I’ve been using
make this process seamless. The first
is the Galco Royal Guard, an inside
the waistband (IWB) holster. The two
exterior straps are easy to undo, and
the holster can simply be pulled out
of the pants. It’s just as easy to put
back on as well—and you never have
to unfasten your belt. Well … you
might need to tighten or loosen it for
comfort.
The other is the Galco paddle hol-
ster. Paddle holsters sandwich the
belt and pants between the holster
and a paddle that fits on the inside
of the pants. They’re incredibly
comfortable—maybe the most com-
fortable way to carry OWB of any
A high-quality paddle holster, such as this Galco
holster. A hook on the paddle helps Speed Paddle, might be the easiest to put on
hold the holster in place and keeps or take off. It may not be the holster you wear CCW CLOTHING
the most, but it should probably be one of the
it from slipping out of your pants. It holsters you have on hand.
I’ve mentioned the Barranti Leather
takes both hands to put this holster Swift Cover Vest here before, but I
on or take it off, but you can do so be concealed by an untucked shirt think it, along with some thoughts
without undoing your belt, and you makes good sense. In colder months, about clothing for concealed carry,
won’t have to readjust your belt with when you’re wearing a jacket, a pad- deserve revisiting. Most of the discus-
or without the holster. dle holster positions the gun just un- sions about concealed carry revolve
Multiple holsters are something to der the jacket for easy access. I always around the holster and carry location;
consider when it comes to concealed keep an IWB and an OWB holster for what we often neglect is that it’s the
carry. In the summer, when you’re the gun I’m carrying in my truck, so clothing you wear that actually con-
not wearing a long cover garment, a that I can adjust my carry method for ceals the handgun.
holster like the Royal Guard that can the situation and the weather. Jackets are a great way to hide a

10|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

 A lightweight vest,
like the Barranti Swift
Cover Vest, that’ll
conceal your handgun
during normal activi-
ties without restricting
your movements or
being too warm for
indoor wear, is a good
and stylish idea.
handgun regardless of where you
carry it, but what happens when you
get to where you’re going and have
to remove your jacket? A vest—one
that’s not heavy or too hot to wear—is
a great solution.
That Barranti Swift Cover Vest is
constructed of sturdy, lightweight
canvas and is available in two colors:
nutmeg or stone. Designed by a man
who makes holsters—some of the best
holsters in the world—for a living, it’s
cut at just the right length to hide a
handgun carried IWB and even OWB,
depending on the holster and size
of the gun. It also has small weights
perfectly positioned to keep the vest
in place and help with sweeping it out
of the way when you’re drawing your
gun. And, just as importantly, this vest
looks pretty damned classy. It retails
The Galco Royal Guard is a very well-constructed IWB holster that
can easily be removed or put on with the two external snap straps.
GUNDIGEST.COM
for $125 and is available with or with-
out a lapel.
The point of mentioning this vest
is twofold. For starters, if it’s some-
thing that fits your lifestyle (and likely
your taste), I’d suggest ordering one.
Secondly, all of this should make you
think about the clothing you wear
when you’re carrying concealed. Pay
attention to how long a coat or vest
you might be considering is when you
purchase it. Think about its material.
Is it something that’ll hang up on your
gun when you’re attempting to draw?
Is it of a material that’ll stand up to
the constant contact and rubbing of
the grip of your handgun?
A comfortable holster is a damned
important consideration for the con-
cealed carrier. But the clothing you
wear to hide your gun is just as im-
portant. Coats do a great job of hid-
ing guns in cold weather, but what’ll
you wear in the spring and summer?
None of us want to dress like a tac-
tard; we want to fit in and appear,
well, normal.
EXTRA AMMUNITION
Another thing to consider when car-
rying concealed is if you’re going
to carry extra ammunition … and
where. There are lots of magazine and
speed loader pouches on the market,
and most will carry them on their off-
side. But you’ll need to conceal your
reload, too.
I wore a duty belt for 13 years, and
it provided me with a means to carry
all of my essential gear. I don’t do
that anymore; now I work to find the
best balance of comfort and security.
Sometimes I’ll wear a pouch on my
belt, but most often the reload goes in
the pocket of my cover garment. This
is another reason a lightweight vest
makes sense.
Of course, you can get down a rab-
bit hole really quick here. Some will
argue that, in addition to a reload,
you need to carry a second reload, a
second gun, a reload for the second
gun, a less than lethal option (like
pepper spray) and maybe even an
impact weapon as well. In addition to
that, they’ll suggest a pocketknife and
a fighting knife. And let’s not forget,
you’ll have a cell phone and a wallet
that goes with you everywhere, every
day, as well.
Somewhere within all this security,
you must find some comfort and com-
mon sense. But maybe that’s best left
as a topic for another time.
HILLBILLY
WISDOM
Instead of spending all
your time planning how to
survive a gunfight, it might be a
good idea to also understand how
you can avoid one.
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |11
 HARDWARE TALK// PATRICK SWEENEY

SMACK
ME A
GOOD
ONE
Tools every gun
owner should
have.
The really neat thing, in a box of neat
things, is the pin clamp that lets you hold a
pin for driving, without getting your fingers
in the way.

12|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM


W
e’ve all heard the
saying: If your only
tool is a hammer,
you treat everything
like a nail. Well, sometimes what you
need is a hammer. And some punches.
So, Real Avid makes a set packaged in
the usual Real Avid way, in a compact
unit. The Real Avid Accu-Punch offers
a hammer with four faces, an array of
punches, plus a clever set of pin hold-
ers so you can hold the pin, hit it and
not hit your fingers. All firearms parts
are small enough to run that risk. Well,
no more.
The hammer heads are steel, rubber,
plastic and brass. There are 10 punch
sizes, ranging from a 1/16 inch up to
9/32 inch, which covers pretty much
all of the usual suspects in the firearms
world. There’s also a solid polymer drift
punch that offers a means of moving
things without the risk of marring them,
and this all comes in the usual snazzy
GUNDIGEST.COM
Real Avid carrying case. You can keep
your tools together and readily accessed
in the case—not jumbled around in the
bottom of your range bag.
Now, you’re not going to be ham-
mering target stand sticks into the
ground with this set, nor loosening
stuck lug nuts on your vehicle. But
if you need to encourage a pin in a
firearm, take it apart for cleaning, or
smack a recalcitrant part in an assem-
bly (carefully, please), then this is just
the ticket. You can—if you’re careful
and have a solid way of holding the
slide—adjust sights with this set, using
the non-marring punch.
Taking out trigger assemblies in
shotguns or tapping open the take-
down pins on an AR-15, where the fit
of upper to lower is really tight, is a
snap with the Accu-Punch.
And getting things back together,
using the hammer and the pin-
holding clamp? That’s even easier. The
The Real Avid Accu-Punch,
with most, if not all, of the
tools you need for this sort
of application.
holder closes and latches shut. There’s
even a slot through the case, so you
can use a length of 550 cord to secure
your case to your range bag and not
have it walk off.
The best part? As if you had to ask.
Real Avid makes cool gear, but they
don’t ask cool prices. The MSRP on
this is $39.99, and I’m not sure you can
even go to the local hardware store and
buy the individual parts for less than
that. Think about it, 10 punches at two
bucks each (good luck finding them
at that price)—a hammer, a small set
of pliers, and you’re up past a pair of
Lincolns. And your hammer doesn’t
have four faces you can swap back
and forth, plus there’s the matter of
something besides a paper bag to carry
them in.
No, admit it, you need this, you want
this, and Real Avid makes it easy to
give in to your desires. So, give in, ad-
mit the need and order this one.
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |13
 MODERN GUNNERY // JOSH WAYNER

OPINION:
A MEDICAL
PERSPECTIVE Correlations between bullet caliber,
weight, velocity … and lethality.

“K
ids in school are “They act like we live in a world ible experience and equal amounts
learning boater without two, maybe three guns per of sharp wit; the combination of
safety and not individual. Violence rarely waits for those qualities makes her one of the
bleeding control.” politics, and the fact is education is world’s leading experts and educa-
I chuckled a bit as I listened to politicizing the need for emergency tors on traumatic injury care. She’s
Lindsay Gietzen explain the absur- care by way of denying reality. Peo- seen thousands of gunshot injuries
dity of today’s education system that ple get shot, and wishful thinking in the worst part of Michigan and
often emphasizes denial and shame- won’t stitch up those wounds.” is now doing her best to get tourni-
less propaganda. Gietzen is a person of incred- quets and bleeding control kits right

Bullet construction has improved in recent years, and small-

caliber rounds, like the 147-grain 9mm above, are tough and offer
great expansion ... but they’re still prone to failure and clogging.
This bullet was fired into gel.

14|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

next to AED machines on the wall of
every building.
The revelations here may surprise
you, and perhaps you’ll buy your
own bleeding control kit after read-
ing this.
HOW BULLETS KILL
A gun needs to be two simple things:
reliable and reliable again—every-
thing else coming in order of person-
al preference. Accuracy comes with
practice and cosmetic choices are
largely irrelevant, so as a baseline,
the gun must function. Now what
about bullets?
A good question to ask is, why
there isn’t as much of an emphasis
on reliable bullets? After all, the bul-
let is what matters most. There’s a
tremendous amount of science that
goes into creating more advance
projectiles that guarantee superior
performance.
“What causes death isn’t really
kinetic force or expansion,” said
Gietzen. “What causes death is rapid
exsanguination (blood loss). A hit to
the central nervous system or head
does not guarantee an instantaneous
kill. Despite what you see in the
movies, the survival rate for wounds
to extremities is very high, and
death becomes more likely the closer
you get to the heart of major arter-
ies. The most deadly places to hit are
the groin, armpits or a major artery
in the torso.”
So, what then constitutes an effec-
tive bullet?
“There’s nothing that says that
a bullet that passes through-and-
through is more deadly,” added Gi-
etzen. “It’s also untrue that it causes
more bleeding, because it’s all one
wound. As for bullets that remain in
the body, we end up leaving them in
many cases.”
Gietzen continued: “When it
comes to multiple injuries, there’s no
real case that says more bullet holes
in more places cause more bleeding.
In fact, even a person shot once may
not bleed externally. Almost all the
GUNDIGEST.COM
blood in the body can be held in the
pelvis, and it’s not uncommon for a
gunshot victim to bleed externally in
a way that does not appear to be life
threatening.”
A healthy person can lose up to 40
percent of their blood and survive.
There’s no set method to deprive a
person of 41 percent, nor is there
a means to predict what’ll happen
when larger or smaller individuals
are shot. In humans, damage a bullet
does is often less related to velocity
or mass, but rather the immediate
aftermath and medical treatment
given.
In a mass causality event, shooters
often use rifles. It should be noted
that at Columbine there wasn’t an
AR-15 or AK-47 used: It was pistol-
caliber guns and a shotgun. The
This beautiful expanded
all-copper .45 ACP bullet
was fired into gel. In real
life, it’s rare to get a perfect
and symmetrical expan-
sion like this, which makes
it difficult to establish a
true gauge of effective-
ness when even a T-shirt
can impede it. The .45
ACP has never struggled,
even in hardball form, and
complexity isn’t always
warranted when a simple
230-grain FMJ will get the
job done just as well now
as 100 years ago.
Virginia Tech shooting was carried
out with two pistols, a .22 LR and
a 9mm. That shooting left 32 dead
and 17 injured by shooting. In these
mass casualty events, it’s not neces-
sarily the initial injury that kills on
contact, but the response time to
care and neutralizing the threat so
help can arrive.
“When we have a victim brought
in, we often don’t immediately know
what they’ve been shot with … or
even how many times they’ve been
shot,” said Gietzen. “We find the
most severe injures and begin treat-
ing those first. And not every hospi-
tal is equipped to deal with gunshot
injuries. Bleeding control is being
heavily pushed in the medical com-
munity, this being tourniquet appli-
cation and wound packing. Stop that
The Black Hills HoneyBad-
ger line features monolithic
bullets with flutes to create
tissue disturbances (tearing
and penetration injuries)
as a function of rotation
alone. This means there’s
no mechanical expansion to
get results and no clogged
hollow points. These bullets
can reach just about any
vital area from any angle and
have a weight retention, even
through glass and barriers,
usually at 100 percent.
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |15
 MODERN GUNNERY // JOSH WAYNER
bleeding and the survival rate goes
way up.”
How important is knowing bleed-
ing control skills in these situations?
Gietzen sent me documentation
from the Berkley et al Journal of
Trauma, 2008, which stated that in
modern combat in Iraq, four out
of seven deaths might have been
prevented with early tourniquet
use. It also stated that 57 percent of
deaths in general would be prevent-
able with early bleeding control and
tourniquet use.
CALIBERS AND EFFECTIVENESS
So, why does all this matter to the
average CCW citizen, and how
should it affect their decisions on
Knives and bullets do very
different things to the body,
but the end result is the same.
Blood loss from gunshots or
stabs are treated the same way
for the most part. The bullet is
a fully expanded all-copper .45
ACP Barnes and the knife is an
AMTAC Northman.
16|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
which bullets to load … and what
trauma gear to have close at hand?
In the weeks leading up to the
writing of this article, I spoke to sev-
eral medical staff who worked post-
mortem. Those individuals chose to
remain anonymous, but their infor-
mation was somewhat inconclusive
in terms of what calibers were more
effective. It should be noted that not
all bullets are recovered, and aside
from law enforcement, where the
number and location of shots fired
is recorded in reference to a duty
weapon, there isn’t a tremendously
detailed picture of the answer.
The general (and predictable) con-
sensus was that the most common
CCW calibers see the most action.
They all agreed that, from a medical
perspective, there was no noticeable
or real-world difference between
.380 ACP, .38 Special, .357 Magnum
and 40-caliber.
The only major standout was
.45 ACP, where it resulted in about
twice the fatality rate as the others,
even to extremities.
Very little relevant information
was available on .22 LR, .25 ACP or
larger rounds like the .44 Magnum,
simply because these are rarer selec-
tions for concealed carry.
There was no positive correla-
tion with death based on bullet type
used. Said another way, again from
this medical perspective, hollow-
points aren’t any more effective in
GUNDIGEST.COM
 MODERN GUNNERY // JOSH WAYNER

Rifle bullets, in this case a Sig Sauer Elite Hunter .300 Blackout,
“The only major have come a long ways as far as delivering consistent performance.
Maintaining accuracy while offering a mechanically complex ex-

standout was panding bullet is no easy task, especially at the slower speeds of the
.300 BLK. Is it more lethal than a FMJ? Hard to say since the use of
expanding bullets in warfare isn’t widespread.
the .45 ACP,
where it re-
sulted in about
twice the fatal-
ity rate as the
others, even to
extremities.”

practical applications than a FMJ. bullet at 850 fps and a 7.62 is a

EXPERT PROFILE:
LINDSAY GIETZEN
Lindsay Gietzen is a professor and pro-
gram director at one of the top research
universities in the world, where she
specializes in simulation and educational
evaluation. She’s also the co-director of
the AVERT program for the Health and
Safety Institute.
As a physician’s assistant, she practiced
in emergency/trauma medicine in Detroit,
Michigan, and then specialized in neuro-
logical surgery, leading a team that devel-
oped and performed many procedures for
the first time in the United States.
She’s a member of the Michigan Academy
of Physician Assistants, American Acad-
emy of Physician Assistants, Physician
Assistant Education Association, and
Director at Large of the Association of
Neurosurgical Physician Assistants.
Gietzen is currently serving an appoint-
ment to the American Council on Educa-
tion, where she’s an expert faculty evalua-
tor for military medical programs.
Of note is the Black Hills Honey-
Badger line, which features solid,
non-expanding bullets designed to
cause more tissue damage (bleeding)
by means of fluid dynamics due to
bullet rotation, thus making them
barrier-blind as long as the bullet is
spinning.
These numbers were quite simi-
lar to the 2018 study exhaustively
titled, “The Association of Firearm
Caliber With Likelihood of Death
From Gunshot Injury in Criminal
Assaults,” which determined that
larger caliber guns were more likely
to inflict death.
Overall, this study, while includ-
ing a large sample group, was real-
istically and fundamentally flawed
in that it grouped a wide number
of calibers into seemingly random
clusters, even grouping .45 ACP
with 7.62x39mm! It rated large bul-
lets (irrespective of speed or weight,
a .45 ACP is typically a 230-grain
123-grain bullet at 2,400 fps) as 4.5
times more likely to kill than with
smaller calibers.
But again, the conclusion is note-
worthy in that larger caliber guns
were more likely to inflict death.
DO BULLET TYPES
EVEN MATTER?
It’s my belief, based on my experi-
ence and that of professionals far
smarter than me, that most bullet
designs have less bearing on lethal-
ity than where that bullet goes. Shot
placement, not caliber used or bul-
let type used, is the major deciding
factor in lethality. This might be a
no-brainer, but there is no doubt
that the merits of bullet type will be
debated for years to come.
In the meantime, take a bleeding
control class. Should the worst hap-
pen, it will likely be far more useful
than deciding between 9mm and .45
ACP.

18|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

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 DR AW I NG CONCLUSIONS // MARTY HAYES, J.D.

What you post can and will be used against

you in the court of law.

O
n April 22, 2020, LAPD
officer Toni McBride ar-
rived on the scene of a
motor vehicle accident
and confronted Daniel Hernandez,
who was armed with a box cutter and
cutting himself with it, and who was
refusing to follow her lawful com-
mands. After several seconds of him
refusing to drop the box cutter, and
walking toward her, she fired her
duty weapon, a Glock 17, killing Her-
nandez. Recently, a civilian review
commission determined that the last
two of the six shots she fired weren’t
necessary. Although she has been
cleared by her department and is back
on duty, she and the LAPD are being
sued by the family of Hernandez.
While the shooting can be viewed
by doing an internet search, this isn’t
about the shooting itself and the
question of justifiability—but instead
what has become the media story, that

“If you do shoot in competitions, have you ever missed

a target and struck a no-shoot target? I bet you have. If
that particular video clip was shown in court, how would
that look to a jury in a manslaughter prosecution?”
20|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM
being Toni McBride herself. In ad-
dition to being an LAPD officer, she
also competes regularly in practical
shooting competitions and has posted
video clips of her shooting on several
social media outlets. These social me-
dia posts have become a major part of
the plaintiff ’s case against her.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTS
Do you post videos on social media
of your shooting practice and/or
shooting in competition? I hate to
be the killjoy, but understand that
everything you post on social media
can become fodder for a prosecutor
or plaintiff ’s attorney.
If you do shoot in competitions,
have you ever missed a target and
struck a no-shoot target? I bet you
have. If that particular video clip was
shown in court, how would that look
to a jury in a manslaughter prosecu-
tion? Were you reckless or negligent
in your shooting? After all, you rou-
tinely practice taking shots that re-
quire precision marksmanship, with
the only penalty being a five-point
deduction from your score. Elements
of manslaughter (and here it depends
on the jurisdiction) include “negli-
gence” or “recklessness.”
In any given shooting competition,
you’ll likely have several opportuni-
ties to practice hostage rescue shots,
with little consequence for hitting
the wrong target. If I were king of
shooting competitions, I’d make the
penalty for hitting a non-threat dis-
qualification from the match. When
I shoot a match (rarely, but I still do
compete), I’ll take sufficient time to
GUNDIGEST.COM
make sure I don’t hit any good-guy
targets. That goes the same for when
I’m training. Continue to compete—
but be circumspect when posting
videos.
Let’s say you don’t post videos
shooting competition, but instead
routinely engage in internet discus-
sions regarding events in the news,
either on one of the popular social
media sites or in an internet-based
forum. Understand that everything
you say on the internet is discover-
able.
How is that, you ask?
For one thing, it’s routine for a de-
tective to get a search warrant for your
computer or computers, looking for
evidence that’d establish the elements
of the crime of murder or manslaugh-
ter. Likely the police will serve the war-
rant while you’re still in jail awaiting
your first bail hearing. When you get
home, your computers will be gone
and in the process of being scrutinized
by the local computer expert of the po-
lice agency who arrested you.
I’m not savvy regarding how ex-
actly it works, but I understand that
even if you deleted stuff from your
computer, it can still be discovered.
Your search and browsing history
will show the forums you visit on a
regular basis, and they can then track
what you’ve been saying. This is even
true for private emails. I have a rule
that I live by: Never say anything in
any electronic format that I wouldn’t
mind being played in a court of law
at my trial. This includes email.
In addition to any repercussions
involving a criminal trial, there’s the
possibility of a civil trial, where the
standards of proof and issues will be
substantially different. It’s much eas-
ier to prove culpability in a civil trial
because the standard of proof is only
a preponderance of the evidence.
The Toni McBride shooting was
ruled justified by the Los Angeles
County District Attorney, but she and
her department are being sued civilly.
I fear that will not go well for her and
the LAPD—not because she wasn’t
justified in shooting Hernandez, but
instead for the social media content.
It’ll likely be perceived as a negative.
Shooting someone in self-defense
is bad enough, but don’t shoot your-
self in the foot, too.
Marty Hayes is president and founder of
the Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Net-
work Inc. Possessing a Juris Doctor degree
(although not a practicing attorney), he
has over 30 years of experience teaching
the law of self-defense through his own
training school, The Firearms Academy of
Seattle, and for the world-renown Massad
Ayoob Group. He routinely works as an
expert witness in self-defense cases.
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |21
 RELOADING BENCH // PHIL MASSARO

PISTOL
CARTRIDGES
ON A BUDGET
If ya can’t buy ’em, then build ’em.

T
his ammunition crunch is, The first tool is a reloading press, and Reloading dies serve several func-
quite possibly, the worst while I most definitely prefer the ad- tions, including reducing a spent case
in living memory—surely ditional strength of an “O” frame press back to the original dimensions (be-
worse than that of 2013. I for rifle cartridges, a “C” frame press fore expansion), knocking out a spent
receive numerous inquiries each week will suffice for the straight-walled pistol primer, flaring the case mouth for bullet
from folks who’ve become accustomed cases. The Lee Breech Lock Reloader seating, pressing a new bullet into the
to sending a healthy amount of pistol Single Stage press can be yours for un- case and crimping that bullet in place.
bullets downrange, regarding how they der $40, and the Lyman Brass Smith C Lee offers dies that are a great value for
can get into reloading in an affordable Frame—a bit more rugged and made of the beginner, and I recommend them
yet effective manner. Let’s take a look at cast-iron—is just shy of $90. Both are for this application.
a minimalist setup for someone looking sound choices, though I’d choose the In addition to the proper dies, Lee
to make their own pistol ammo, keeping beefier Lyman model. includes a shell holder (which works
costs as low as possible.
Reloading
ONE PIECE AT A TIME tools don’t
You’ll need projectiles, powder and need to break
the bank.
primers, but you can reuse spent cases.
While many of the bullet and powder
companies publish their data online,
I still love the reloading manuals. The
manual will indicate the specific powder
and its charge weight range, as well as
the type and brand of primer used in
the data published.
You’ll need a specific set of tools to get
rolling, and while entry-level tools will
suffice, I’ll wager you’ll upgrade once the
reloading bug bites you. I’m outlining
the simplest way to get going, simply to
feed your handgun. And I’m concen-
trating on the most popular handgun
cartridges, such as the 9mm Luger, .40
S&W, .45 ACP, .38 Special, .357 Mag-
num, etc.

22|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

with any press) and a polymer scoop for
measuring powder volumetrically. They
even include load data based on their
scoop volumes. So, while there might
be fancier dies available, the Lee set will
get the job done, at usually less than $50.
And I definitely prefer the carbide dies—
they won’t require any case lubricant.
You’ll need a reloading scale, and for
the beginner, the balance-beam is the
only way to go. There are many models
at varying price points, but don’t go with
the lowest bidder here. I like the RCBS
M500 at around $75, and the Redding
Model No. 2 for just under $100. This is
an important piece of gear, as an incor-
rectly weighed powder charge could be
catastrophic.
For trimming your cases, look to the
Lee Case Length Gauge and Trimmer
(about $8) of trimming cases to the ap-
propriate length, though it might cost
you some elbow grease. Trimming cases
is especially important for the rimmed
revolver cartridges because the roll-
crimp needed to keep the bullets in
place will be directly dependent on the
case length.
You’ll need a pocket cleaner to scrape
the residue out of the primer pock-
ets, and for that I like the Lee Primer
Pocket Cleaner. It’s two tools in one,
The affordability of
some reloading tools
is offset by the need
for good old-fash-
ioned elbow grease.
Lee reloading dies are
a great entry-level
choice, as they come
with load data, ap-
propriate volumetric
powder scoop and
shell holder.
GUNDIGEST.COM
with a scraper on either side to handle
both large and small primer pockets.
At a street price of about $6, you can’t
go wrong. I’d also grab a Lee chamfer/
deburring tool for $5 to take any sharp
edges off the inside and outside of case
mouths after trimming. It’ll result in
ammunition that feeds better in semi-
auto handguns.
A means of measuring cases, as-
sembled cartridges and other associated
items is necessary, look to a dial caliper
or digital caliper. Frankford Arsenal
makes a digital caliper that runs about
$20, Hornady makes a dial caliper at
around $40, and there are others. I have
an RCBS digital caliper (about $80),
which has been reliable for years, and
there are much more expensive (and
precise) models, but the inexpensive
models will suffice if you handle them
with care.
To seat new primers in your cases,
you can use the priming arm and cup on
your press—if it’s equipped with one—or
you can use a hand primer. I like the
RCBS Hand Priming Tool (about $40)
or Lyman E-Zee Prime Universal Hand
Priming Tool ($35 or so) to handle the
priming of my cases, as they’re easy to
use, give a great, consistent primer seat-
ing depth.
Dispensing powder can be done
by hand with the Lee scoop, or even a
simple spoon, directly into the pan of
the balance beam scale, and I definitely
recommend weighing each powder
charge. If you so choose, you can spend
the money on one of the mechanical
powder throwers—the Lyman Brass
Smith Powder Measure can be had for
about $45—though for years I used a
Lee scoop and an RCBS Powder Trickler
(about $20) to fine-tune the charge.
To hold your cases while loading
them, you can use a drill and a bit of
appropriate diameter to drill holes in
a block of wood, like a scrap of 2x4 or
something similar, to create homemade
loading blocks.
FEEL THE POWDER
Powder choices for pistol cartridges are
rather wide, as there are many ways to
get the job done. Hodgdon’s Titegroup
and Alliant’s Unique are but a couple of
powders that’ll go a long way. There are
7,000 grains to the pound, and many
pistol loads run on less than five grains
of powder; this equates to around 1,400
shots to the pound of powder. Let’s say
the average price of a pound of powder,
before shipping and the HazMat fee,
is $25, so you’ll pay less than $0.02 per
shot. Primers will cost about 3 or 4 cents
apiece, and bullet costs can vary widely.
The huge obstacle, at least at the time
of this writing, is that the components
and tools are selling like hotcakes as
well, with many places out of stock.
However, this dissertation sheds some
light on what the minimum invest-
ment is to get up and running, and at
the least, you can begin to collect the
necessary tools for reloading ammuni-
tion—and hopefully, none of us will
be caught in this predicament again.
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |23
 GUNS & GEA R // STAFF REPORT
01 Hornady One-Gun
Keypad Vault
You need more than a holster to keep a
personal-defense gun in check. There are
also times when the gun isn’t on person;
there needs to be a level of security
then as well. Hornady has you covered.
A simple and quick system to stow your
sidearm, the One-Gun Keypad Vault is
ideal for keeping your gun secure and at
hand. Constructed from thick 16-gauge
steel, the lockbox is tamper resistant and
mountable, so it stays firmly in place.
However, if something goes bump in the
night, the programmable four- to six-
digit keypad drops the front of the vault
to allow for lightning-fast retrieval. Help-
ing matters, the unit has interior lighting
that automatically comes on when open.
Also, a backup key system makes certain
you can still get to your firearm, even if
the vault’s AAA batteries go dead.
MSRP: $130.19
01
02
24|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
02 Winchester USA
Ready Defense
Uncharted territory? Naw. Winchester
is an old hand at defensive ammuni-
tion. But the newest addition to its
life-saving stock is a 360-degree twist
from what the company has done
previously. USA Ready Defense isn’t a
typical hollow point, boasting a vented
polymer insert in the cavity that Win-
chester calls a “Hex Vent.” Its purpose
is twofold: resist clogging by clothing
and barrier material, and force fluid to
the rear of the hollow point. Both en-
sure the projectile does what it’s sup-
posed to—expand to its full potential
to ensure threat neutralization. As far
as calibers are concerned, Winchester
offers the loads for the big three: 9mm
(124-grain +P), .40 S&W (170 grain)
and .45 ACP (200 grain).
MSRP: $17.99-$27.99
03 FN 509 LS Edge
The ultimate tactical pistol—that’s
FN America’s boast for the newest
member of the 509 family, the LS
Edge. Building on the proven plat-
form, the gunmaker has cobbled
together a pistol that gives shooters
an advantage in every possible way
in any environment it finds itself in.
In addition to coming optics ready,
the 9mm long slide boasts full-height
stippling on the grip for maximum
control, a flat-faced trigger for an
exceptionally light break and a flared
magwell to facilitate lightning-fast
reloads. Oh yeah, there are slide cuts,
too—better balancing the behemoth
in the hand and making it cat-pounce
quick on target transitions. Certainty,
at 31 ounces and sporting a 5-inch
barrel, the 17+1 pistol isn’t the first
choice for deep carry. For everything
else, it’s ahead of the class.
MSRP: $1,499
03
04
04 Sig Sauer MODX-
9 Pistol Suppressor
Options—shooters expect them and
should have them. Sig is here to oblige.
The first in its line of modular titanium
cans, the MODX-9 always ensures a pis-
tol has enough suppressor for the job
at hand. Configurable to run with one
or seven baffles, the device can either
hush up a 9mm to the tune of 127.4 dB
or simply knock off the muzzle blast
and recoil. Run at full-size, the MODX-9
comes in at a very manageable 8 ounc-
es and 7.25 inches, but at its smallest
configuration is a mere 5 ounces and
3.25 inches. Built for rough handling,
Sig finishes the suppressor with a Dia-
mond Like Coating and is compatible
with nearly every threaded 9mm on the
market, with a ½x28 pattern.
MSRP: $925
GUNDIGEST.COM
05 Springfield Armory
XD-S Mod.2 OSP 9mm
Slim and trim rules the roost for 9mm nowa-
days. But that doesn’t mean standbys have
lost their legs. For Springfield Armory that
would be the XD-S Mod.2, and for fans of the
double-stack striker-fired, the pistol has only
gotten better. Case in point, the new OSP
model. If the “O” designation didn’t tip its
hand already, the pistol is optics ready. Yup,
slide-cut and all, keeping a micro red dot’s
profile sleek, while protecting the device from
punishment. A footprint compatible with
most of today’s smallest sites, the XD-S OSP
is versatile as the day is long. At the same
time, it offers all the assets that made the
pistol Springfield’s most popular in the first
place—slim profile, snappy trigger and all
the rest.
MSRP: $425
05
06
GUNDIGEST.COM
06 Leupold DeltaPoint
Micro Red-Dot Sight
In the past, guns have adapted to red-dots.
Now, red dots are adapting to guns. Shake
hands with the DeltaPoint Micro. Breaking from
convention, the famed optics maker rethought
the sighting system. In doing so, it aimed at
creating the most carry compatible option
available. At least when it comes to size—1.25
inches tall. Reducing size and snags is only half
the story. Compatible with Glock and Sig rear
sight dovetails, the optic doesn’t require special
plates to mount. Additionally, if the power
poops out, the tube doubles as a rear ghost
ring, eliminating the need for special sights to
co-witness.
MSRP: $519
07 Tasmanian Tiger TT Modular
Range Bag
As important as getting trained up to carry safely and ef-
fectively is staying tuned up. That means range time, in turn
toting your gun and gear from point A to point B on a regular
basis. Tasmanian Tiger goes a long way in making the travel
segment of this ritual less painful with its TT Modular Range
Bag. Serving up 2,197 cubic inches of organized opportunity,
the stylish firearms luggage has more than enough room for
your guns, ammo, tools and other range essentials. Better yet,
it keeps everything in order. Detachable inner compartment,
magazine holders, dividers and holster expand the bag’s con-
figuration options to the limit.
MSRP: $349
07
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |25
 GUNS & GEA R // STAFF REPORT
08 S&W M&P9 M2.0
Compact 4-Inch OR
Red dots, they’re here to stay. Thank-
fully, the rigmarole surrounding
shoehorning the accuracy-enhancing
aiming solution on a handgun has
greatly subsided. Thank the gunmak-
ers and look to Smith & Wesson’s
expansion of its popular M&P9 line
for an example. Keeping up with the
times, the gunmaker recently released
an optics-ready model of its 4-inch
barreled Compact model. Translate
this to the pistol, it has a slide cut,
giving a stable platform for the optic
to resist recoil, not to mention regular
user abuse. Pretty slick system on a
right-sized carry pistol. Seven mount-
ing plates included; the heater plays
nice with a great swath of red-dots on
the market.
MSRP: $616
08
26|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
09 Primary Arms SLx MD-
20 Micro Red-Dot Sight
The MD-ADS is dead! Long live the MD-20!
While tears were shed when Primary Arms
retired the former optic, rejoice over its
replacement by the latter. The clear and
unobtrusive 1x sight is a vast improvement,
particularly for those yearning for a faster,
definitive aiming point. This is thanks to Pri-
mary Arms including an enhanced emitter,
providing an ultra-bright reticle that makes
target acquisition and transition lightning
fast. Plus, it has some desirable upgrades,
such as AutoLive motion-controlled power
system, zero-parallax lens and night-vision
compatibility. Shooters hard on gear also
have a friend in the sight, rigorously field-
tested to stand up to the hardest mistreat-
ment.
MSRP: $149
10
09
10 CZ Tactical Sport 2
Speed, precision and dynamic perfor-
mance … that sums up a slew of CZ’s
guns. But perhaps no more so than
the TS2. Geeked out and perfected
for dead-serious competition, the
single-action 9mm has one job—gun-
ning down gold. It’s evident, from
the oversized flared magwell to the
extremely low-bore axis and responsive
grip texturing, the steel-framed heater
looks born to run. And it has a stellar
pedigree—the Shadow 2. This is evident
with one in hand and the pistol’s slide
profile mimicking its predecessor’s
low reciprocating weight for smoother
operation. Less muzzle flip and faster
follow-up shots come standard. The
thoroughbred ships with two 20-round
magazines and a load of other features.
MSRP: $1,699
GUNDIGEST.COM
11 EAA MC9 Pistol
with FAR-DOT Optic
EAAs FAR-DOT optic system is now
standard on the Girsan MC9 Standard
and MC9 Match pistols. Designed for
one of the industry’s fastest target
acquisitions, the gun-sight combo
gets you drawing, aiming and shooting
in record time. Much of this is thanks
to the FAR-DOT’s crystal-clear sight
picture and highly visible dot that
takes the guesswork out of getting
on target. Additionally, not requiring
mounting plates to incorporate into
the gun, the system eliminates the
shaking common in other red-dot
systems. As to the pistol itself, the
polymer-framed 9mm is sized right
for nearly any task—from self-defense
to competition. Boasting a 4.2-inch
barrel and weighing in at a tick over
1 pound, the pistol proves extremely
balanced and ready to run.
MSRP: Starting at $56
11
12
GUNDIGEST.COM
12 Cutting Edge CuRx
Monolithic .22 LR
Bullets
Cutting Edge is marketing CuRx bullets as
the cure to “Projectile dysfunction.” Get
it? Pretty flaccid humor. Nonetheless, the
monolithic copper bullets are intriguing
enough to excite precision rimfire shoot-
ers of all stripes. Reloaders who’ve yet
to sample lathe-turned bullets need to
give them a go. Given the spun copper is
machined, weight consistency and unifor-
mity are unparalleled, which adds up to
a more reliable downrange performance.
In the case of CuRx (pronounced “Cure
Ex,” the bullets are 32-grain, making them
compatible with all standard .22 LR twist
rates and offer up an impressive ballistic
coefficient for the caliber—.111. Definitely
an edge for the next NRL22 match or for
earning shooting range bragging rights
with buddies.
MSRP: $70, box of 200
13
13 Federal Premium
Hydra-Shok Deep in
.38 Special
Despite what you might’ve heard,
the .38 Special is still a viable self-
defense option. That said, special
consideration should be taken when
selecting ammunition to ensure the
age-old cartridge saves your bacon.
This is where Federal’s Hydra-Shok
Deep comes in. A rarity for the .38, the
specially engineered +P self-defense
ammo constantly penetrates beyond
the FBI-recommended 12 inches in
bare ballistic gel and heavy clothing.
Sporting Hydra-Shok’s iconic center
post, its bullets also expand like the
dickens. A deadly combo. Perhaps
best of all, Federal tuned the stuff for
optimal performance out of any barrel
length—a good thing, given most toted
.38s are of the snubbie variety.
MSRP: $31.99, box of 20
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |27
14 Galco Scout 3.0
IWB Holster
Convenience should never replace a
solid system, but it shouldn’t be dis-
counted, either. Make something too
complex, and chances are users will jet-
tison it. Galco had its mind right when
it came to this point when it designed
the Scout 3.0. Simple as simple can
be, the inside-the-waistband holster
is among the most expedient and
versatile strong-side hangers out there.
Clip—anywhere from 5 to 10 o’clock—
tuck and you’re on the go … protected.
At the same tick, it offers the retention,
cant adjustment and comfort required
to make it a functional and high-
performance option. Constructed from
rough-side leather, the Scout provided
extra stability in the waistband, as well
as the grit to take EDC abuse.
MSRP: $92
14
 CCW IT AN Y WAY YOU LI KE IT // RICHARD MANN
CCW IT
ANY WAY
YOU LIKE IT Sig Sauer’s completely customizable
P320 pistol platform.
I
’m not a fan of hammerless
handguns, and I’m not a plastic
pistol guy. I’m not suggest-
ing plastic pistols are junk or
that you shouldn’t own or like them;
they’re just not for me. However, I’m a
red-blooded American, meaning that
I, as many other patriots do, like to
have the same handgun our military
trusts. I grew up with a 1911, and it
was my standard issue as an M1 tank
commander. I also won the West Vir-
ginia National Guard Pistol Match
with a Beretta. So, in 2017, when the
United States Army adopted the Sig
Sauer P320 as their new handgun,
well, I had to have one. Ironically, I
was in the Sig Sauer booth at SHOT
Show when the news was announced.
When my P320 showed up, I duti-
fully took it to the range and shot it
quite a bit. I was impressed by the trig-
28|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
ger, the way the gun fit my hand and
how well I was able to shoot it. How-
ever, I cleaned it, boxed it, put it in
the safe and continued to carry one of
my Browning HiPowers or my Wilson
Combat EDC X9. Sure, on occasion,
I’ll pull the P320 out for some range
time or to work with it for an article,
but beyond that it was a safe queen.
Things change.
Last year, Wilson Combat intro-
duced a fully customized Sig Sauer
P320. After receiving the pistol, the
first thing I did was call Bill Wilson—
Wilson Combat’s founder—and ask
him why Wilson Combat, which was
founded on the steel-framed 1911, de-
cided to offer a custom P320. Bill’s re-
sponse was, “Let’s face it, like the 1911
and the M9 [Beretta] being adopted
by the military, the P320 is here to stay
for a while. Also, we immediately saw
ways we could improve on the basic
gun.”
And improve on the gun they did.
The pistol worked, fit my hand well,
had an excellent trigger, was control-
lable, easy to reload, reliable, and most
importantly, I shot it well—better than
I did the factory stock version. Almost
reluctantly, I had to admit I liked it.
This was due in no small part to the
Wilson Combat grip module, which is
a large portion of the customization.
Wilson combat offers 14 different af-
termarket grip modules for the P320
in various configurations and in either
black or tan. They all retail for $64.95.
SMALL CHANGE, BIG CHANGE
What makes these grip modules so
special? The grip size is minutely
larger than the Sig Sauer “small”
module, but they feature a higher and
GUNDIGEST.COM
GUNDIGEST.COM CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |29
 CCW IT AN Y WAY YOU LI KE IT// RICHARD MANN

Here you can see the differences between a

factory Sig Sauer P320 Compact grip module
(right) and a Wilson Combat P320 grip module
(far right). Notice the Wilson Combat grip mod-
ule has the optional cut-out for the manual
thumb safety.

This is the original fire control unit for the P320. Note the thick
trigger and lack of a disconnector.

“This accomplished two things that were very

important to me. First, the original P320 RXP
Compact didn’t have a manual thumb safety. The
M17 fire control unit fixed that. Second, the conver-
sion essentially turned my full-size M17 into a more
compact, easier to carry and conceal, handgun.”
deeper cut at the tang. They also have
deeply dished cuts for the thumb on
the sides near the magazine release,
and a deeper undercut at the trigger
guard. The sides of the grip feature the
Wilson Combat starburst pattern, and
the frontstrap and backstrap have a
sandpaper-like texture. The magazine
well also has a generous bevel, an ac-
cessory rail is standard and steel rods
can even be added to the module to
increase weight.
I felt the Wilson Combat grip mod-
ule was more comfortable and stuck to
my hand better. At the same time I was
working with this pistol, I was also
helping Benghazi hero David “Boon”
Benton train some local patrol and
SWAT officers. Benton, a man with se-
rious combat handgun experience that
matters, told me he’s been using a Wil-
son Combat P320 grip module since it
was introduced. He said, “That Wilson
Combat frame makes [the P320] feel
more 1911-ish, it points better for me
as well, so I get a better natural point
of aim … and it helps me get higher
underneath the trigger guard.”
I mention all this so that you under-
stand how my relationship with the
Sig Sauer P320 went from an obliga-
tory patriotic admiration to more
of an awakened appreciation of the
platform’s versatility. I say platform,
because that’s what the P320 really is.
I know the gun’s modularity has been
hashed out in these and others, but
I’m not convinced the average shooter
truly realizes what’s possible with
it. Though it’s my job to know these
things and share them with other
shooters, I believe I’ve somewhat ig-

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This is the post-update version of the P320 fire
control unit. Note the thinner trigger and addition
of a disconnector.
To remove the P320s fire control unit, you must
first remove the takedown lever. After the fire
control unit is installed in a grip module, the next
step is the installation of the takedown lever.
GUNDIGEST.COM
nored this aspect of the P320 as well. I
must thank Wilson Combat for help-
ing me get my shit together as far as
the P320 is concerned.
A PLATFORM DISSECTED
So, just so you understand the par-
ticulars of this pistol—platform—let’s
start with the actual portion of the
pistol that’s considered a firearm. It’s
not the grip frame, slide or barrel. The
serialized portion of the Sig Sauer
P320 is what is called the fire control
unit. This is a metal assembly of parts
that include a frame, slide catch, dis-
connector trigger bar, trigger, sear and
springs. It’s also where you’ll find the
serial number.
This means that the grip module,
slide and barrel are not controlled
parts. So, technically speaking, you
could have one fire control unit and
multiple grip modules, slides and bar-
rels. To put it another way, you can
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |31
 CCW IT AN Y WAY YOU LI KE IT// RICHARD MANN
have one fire control unit and several
pistols, even for different cartridges.
Essentially, you can get it any way
you like it.
The configuration of these pistols
around the fire control unit is much
easier than you might expect. To re-
move the fire control unit, you lock
the pistol’s slide to the rear, move the
takedown lever—clockwise—to about
the 7 o’clock position and remove the
slide and barrel.
The next step is to fully remove the
takedown lever. To do this, you pull on
it and continue to rotate. The fire control
unit can now be removed by lifting up
and pulling forward on the two slide
rails at the front. This will extract the T-
shaped flange at the rear of the fire con-
trol unit from the tang of the grip mod-
ule. Once completed, you can then begin
to reconfigure the platform in whatever
version makes you the happiest.
As an example, my M17 P320, which
is the civilian version of the military’s
pistol, has a 4.7-inch barrel and an am-
bidextrous manual thumb safety. Being
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a 1911/HiPower guy, I really like the
thumb safety, but the 4.7 barrel and slide
makes for a big pistol that’s a bit difficult
to conceal. I also much prefer the Wil-
son Combat compact grip module.
CCW-ING THE P320
So, what did I do?
I inserted the M17’s fire control unit
into a Wilson Combat compact grip
module. Then, I took a slide and 3.9-
inch barrel from a P320 RXP Compact,
which comes out of the box with a Sig
Sauer Romeo1 reflex sight and high-
profile three-dot night sights that can be
co-witnessed and installed them on the
Wilson Compact grip module.
This accomplished two things that
were very important to me. First, the
original P320 RXP Compact didn’t
have a manual thumb safety. The M17
fire control unit fixed that. Second, the
conversion essentially turned my full-
size M17 into a more compact, easier to
carry and conceal, handgun.
But just like on those late-night info-
mercials, there’s more.
I then took the fire control unit from
the P320 RXP Compact and installed
it in another Wilson Combat compact
grip module—one without a cutout for
a manual safety—and then took the
4.7-inch barrel and slide from the M17
and installed it on that grip frame. I also
installed a Crimson Trace CMR-208
Rail Master Universal Tactical Light on
the rail.
I still have two pistols, but one is
configured for concealed carry and
the other for home defense. Both have
the same size grip module, both have
reflex sights and both feel identical in
my hand. The home-defense version is
longer and heavier and doesn’t have the
manual safety.
Now, I could’ve accomplished this
switch without the Wilson Combat
grip modules, except the P320 RXP
After a new fire control unit is
installed in a grip module, and
the takedown lever has been
fully inserted, you can then in-
stall the barrel/slide assembly
of your choice.
GUNDIGEST.COM
 CCW IT AN Y WAY YOU LI KE IT// BY RICHARD MANN
This author’s reconfigured P320 for home defense. It has a Wilson Combat grip
module, the fire control unit from a P320 RXP Compact and an M17 slide and bar-
rel, with a Sig Sauer Romeo1 reflex sight and a protective shroud.
Compact grip module didn’t have a cut-
out for the manual thumb safety of the
M17’s fire control unit; Wilson Combat
offers compact and full-size grip mod-
ules with and without a manual safety
cutout. And, given that I much prefer
the Wilson Combat grip modules to the
Sig Sauer factory grip modules, that was
an easy $64.95 answer.
TWO FIRE CONTROL VARIATIONS
There’s one important point that needs
to be discussed. In 2016, it was discov-
34|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
ered that the P320 could possibly fire if
dropped. Sig didn’t issue a recall but did
offer a voluntary upgrade. Due to this
upgrade, there are two variations of the
fire control unit. If your P320 has a thick
trigger, it’s the pre-upgrade version. If it
has a thin trigger, it’s the post-upgrade
version.
The trigger shape isn’t the only differ-
ence; the post-upgrade unit has a dis-
connector. A pre-upgrade slide will not
work with a post-upgrade fire control
unit, but a post-upgrade slide will work
Out of the box and
unaltered, Sig P320 with a pre-upgrade fire control unit.
pistols are great
handguns. Howev- Keep this in mind when assembling a
er, their modularity P320 in a configuration other than in its
combined with the
grip module op- factory form.
tions from Wilson The point of all of this is that the Sig
Combat, make
them the most Sauer P320 is much more than just a pis-
versatile defensive tol. It’s a highly modular handgun system
handguns you can
own. that has almost endless possibilities. I’m
strongly drawn to the potentials of this
platform, much in the same way I appre-
ciate the AR-15’s modularity. I wouldn’t
say I’ve become a striker-fired/plastic pis-
tol guy, but I’ll say that you shouldn’t be
surprised if you see a Sig Sauer P320—in
some form or another—on my side.
Like me, maybe you should give the
P320 another—keener—look.
GUNDIGEST.COM
 C O U P L E S C O U N S E L I N G F O R C O N C E A L E D C A R R I E R S // PATRICK ROBERTS

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 COUPLES
COUNSELING
FOR CONCEALED
CARRIERS
B
eing an effective defender
takes more than putting a
gun on every day and regular
range time. Yes, physical fit-
ness, incorporating less-lethal tools or
learning hand-to-hand techniques can
be part of the formula.
Still, there’s one aspect to being a good
defender that’s missing: communication.
Communication is hard; anyone in a
relationship will know that all too well.
GUNDIGEST.COM
When a threat comes knocking,
tag-team that threat.
If you’re not great at talking about your
thoughts, feelings or your day at work,
that’s OK—that isn’t the kind of commu-
nication we’re talking about here.
Effective communication between a
defender and the ones you care about is
essential to surviving a violent encounter.
While that might seem obvious, it
isn’t as easy to do when the stakes are
high. Simple things like who enters a
room first or a code for “we need to go
right now” should be established before
things get weird.
HOW TO PRACTICE
COMMUNICATING
There are hundreds of drills to help
you become a more proficient shooter,
but drills to improve effective commu-
nication are far less common. About
as close as you’ll get is having a partner
call out colors, shapes or numbers on
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |37
 C O U P L E S C O U N S E L I N G F O R C O N C E A L E D C A R R I E R S // PATRICK ROBERTS
a target array, but that doesn’t work on
the hard stuff.
A far more effective means of
honing your communication skills is
establishing a plan for scenarios such
as a home invasion, an active shooter
and others you identify as essential to
discuss. Keeping those most precious to
you should be the goal when planning;
you aren’t Jack Bauer clearing a structure
by yourself.
Example: Someone breaks into your
home at night; you and your family
have planned this out. Your spouse calls
911 and tells the police what they need
to know while retrieving your pistol
from the bedside safe. As your spouse
is talking to the police, they move to
an easy-to-defend room, like a walk-in
38|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
closet, and you get to the children and
get them into that defendable room.
Consolidating your family and taking a
defensive position means that you likely
will be able to hold out until help arrives
safely. Things are replaceable; your fam-
ily isn’t.
Talk to the ones you love and estab-
lish a plan; when it counts, you’ll have a
fighting chance to keep everyone safe.
CODE WORDS
Part of having a plan is establishing a
handful of phrases that no one out-
side your trusted circle understands.
A phrase that means “get out now” or
“take cover” is a simple and effective
means of communicating something
urgent. Word to the wise: Don’t use your
(Left) Gunsite CEO Ken Camp-
bell shows a student how to
refine her trigger press to wring
the most out of her Mossberg
MC2C pistol.
(Bottom left) Tasks as simple
as moving with a partner and
maintaining a stable shooting
platform are learned skills.
get-out-now code to leave your spouse’s
work party early; they won’t believe you
when you’re faced with something more
dangerous than a coworker who has had
too many.
I recently got a chance to see precisely
how useful code words can be during a
shoot-house training session. Another
class member was taken hostage and
his partner, Gunsite Instructor Mario
Marchman, had already drawn his blue
gun. As everyone was shouting at each
other, Mario said, “We are gonna figure
this out, Mario.” On cue, the hostage
dropped like a sack of bricks.
You see, the pair had worked out be-
fore that if they used their name to refer
to the other, that was the signal to en-
gage the wet-noodle defense. That slick
little maneuver would’ve likely saved the
hostage’s life.
SITUATION 1
What Would You Do: Holiday Invader
It’s the holidays, and your sister-in-
law flew in to spend Christmas with
your family. You, your spouse, and your
two kids leave to finish some last-min-
ute shopping, but Auntie J needs a bit of
rest after a 12-hour flight from Ireland.
The shopping is finished and you
drive the clan home to collect Auntie J
for a dinner downtown. As you pull up,
you notice the front door is wide open
and you don’t see anyone, but you hear
yelling inside.
What do you do?
MY TAKE
Calling 911 and waiting on police might
be a bad call with someone yelling
inside. You and your spouse are both
carrying; she calls 911 before you enter,
making sure to give the dispatcher cru-
cial information, such as the address
GUNDIGEST.COM
 C O U P L E S C O U N S E L I N G F O R C O N C E A L E D C A R R I E R S // PATRICK ROBERTS
(Above) If you have to clear a structure as a
civilian, slow and methodical is ideal. It’s doors
and corners, kid. If you don’t come in slow, that
room will eat ya.
(Below) A Gunsite Instructor shows students
from the Mossberg Team Tactics for Two how to
split a room into two distinct areas of responsibil-
ity—and clear that room safely.
40|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
and that you’re both legally armed.
Your oldest stays on the phone with
police and takes the youngest to the
neighbor’s.
Sticking to your plan, you both enter
the house and clear your way toward
the yelling. You reach the yelling and
your spouse turns the doorknob, fling-
ing the door open. Auntie has been
backed into a corner by a strange man
holding a knife who turns toward you
as the door hits the wall.
The intruder looks down and sees
the gun pointed at his chest, his eyes
widen and he drops the knife as his
hands fly up in surrender.
EQUIP YOURSELF FOR SUCCESS
If you’re new to firearms training, tak-
ing some local classes is a great start
and will help you get the most out of the
block of instruction. The next step is to
step up the quality of firearm instruc-
tion by either seeking out a traveling
instruction passing through your area or
making the trek to an established train-
ing facility.
Even if you have to take a team-based
course by your lonesome, you get some
really great information that you can
bring back home and share with those
you love. Most of the tasks covered
might seem simple on the surface, but
learning how to move together when
getting clear of a threat is far more dif-
ficult than you might imagine.
Even if you and your family have
a good grasp on the basics, there’s no
shortage of good info to be had; you
might even discover a new technique
that’s more efficient or tactically sound
than what you’re currently doing.
SITUATION 2
What Would You Do: Meal and a
Murder
You’re out to lunch with a gun-lov-
ing coworker at a little place near the
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 C O U P L E S C O U N S E L I N G F O R C O N C E A L E D C A R R I E R S // PATRICK ROBERTS

How fast you enter a

room, demonstrated
that there isn’t any way to get out of
by Gunsite Instructor the building and to safety without
Il Ling New, shouldn’t
be a surprise to your
being seen. You discretely draw your
partner. Practice until firearm and wait for the right mo-
it becomes second
nature.
ment—if the shooter doesn’t leave on
his own, you might have to defend
yourself in the blink of an eye.
A few tense seconds pass and you
see the shooter start to swing the gun
toward the rest of the patrons, and
then directly at you. There’s no choice
now; you place your sights a few
inches below the base of his neck and
pull the trigger once … twice … the
shooter releases his grasp on the pistol
and clutches his chest. He collapses
to the floor, making no movement
toward his pistol. As soon as you feel
it’s safe, you and your coworker get out
and call 911.

SIMUNITIONS TEACH
HARD LESSONS
The flat range can only teach you so
much. When you start incorporating
things like blue guns and Simunitions,
you add a while new dimension to your
training experience. Blue guns have
While these little blue
bullets might not look their place when doing dry runs, but
like much, they let you there’s something unforgettable about
know when there was
a lesson to be learned. running a scenario with Sim guns.

office. You’re both enjoying your meals

while talking about what you each have
planned for the weekend. He’s planning
on taking his son out to the lease for the
first time, and you tell him about the
USPSA match you’re registered in. You
notice that the host is talking to a very
angry man; they seem to know each
other so you aren’t too alarmed.
Assuming that his reservation must’ve
been lost, you go back to your conversa-
tion until you hear the man yell, “You
knew she was married!” Both you and
your coworker turn your attention to
the angry man just in time to see him
level a pistol at the host. You hear a gun-
shot; the host slumps to the floor.
What do you do?

MY TAKE
A quick look around the restaurant
makes your heart sink as you notice

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 C O U P L E S C O U N S E L I N G F O R C O N C E A L E D C A R R I E R S // PATRICK ROBERTS

PLAN
CHECKLIST
01. Make sure everyone
has a role.
02. Involve your loved ones
in planning; don’t just tell them.
03. Don’t go check the noise you
heard; keep your family safe.
04. Your plan should be designed
to keep you safe, not engage
the threat.
05. If you’re separated, where do
you meet?

EXAMPLE
IN-HOME PLAN
01. Identify where someone is
trying to break in.
02. Spouse goes to designated
stronghold in your home and
calls 911, gives pertinent in
formation (address,
description of situation).
Attending formalized
training can expose
you to new techniques.
You might not leave
a better shooter right
away, but you do get
the tools to hone your
performance over
time.

03. You retrieve kid(s) and all

other loved ones.
04. Get them to the designated
safe spot in the home with your
spouse who is still on 911.
05. Wait for police to arrive.

EXAMPLE
IN-TOWN PLAN Another benefit to
formalized training is
the sense of family.
01. Identify the whereabouts of
Here, Kin Campbell
the threat. leads a pack of recent
Gunsite graduates to
02. Gather family and call police
Jeff Cooper’s home,
as you move away from the “The Sconce.”
threat.
03. Slowly move to an exit, care
fully avoiding immediate
Beyond the obvious benefit of be- Make a plan, stick to it and do dry runs
danger.
ing able to safely pull the trigger with often. The better you and those you
04. Head to the agreed upon
another human being in your sights; surround yourself are equipped to deal
meeting place in case
getting hit with one of those plastic bul- with the unthinkable, the more likely
someone becomes separated.
lets ensures that you don’t forget what you are to come out of your worst day
05. Do not go looking for a missing
you could’ve done better. Adding in the with everyone you love intact.
family member. Inform police
stress of a force-on-force component Most importantly, sign up for some
that you’re missing a family
is an effective way to pressure test what training; every gun owner should
member; LE may know
you learned in a class. make the pilgrimage to Jeff Cooper’s
where they are.
stomping grounds at least once in their
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT lifetime. I bet that when you take that
The phrase, “Communication is the key first class, you’ll be looking for what
to a happy and long life,” means a lot to take next before the course is even
more than just talking to your spouse. over.

44|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

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 LEGAL THOUGHTS ON RIMFIRES FOR SELF-DEFENSE // MARTY HAYES, J.D.
Defensive rimfires can work, but have a plan.
I
started teaching armed citizens
how and when to use firearms for
self-defense back in 1988. One of
my first students, Patricia New-
man (not her actual name), was one of
my first to use a gun to save her life. She
had been singled out for a brutal rape,
with her rapist (in her apartment) raping
and sodomizing her over the course of
several hours. He didn’t need a weapon
to threaten her; he used his hands to
choke her repeatedly.
At one point in the evening, she was
able to convince him that she needed
to use the bathroom, which had two
doors, one to the living room (where
the attacks occurred) and one to the
bedroom, where she kept her Smith &
Wesson Kit Gun (.22 rimfire Mod. 34).
46|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
She was able to get her gun, and when
her rapist realized that she had gone
into the bedroom, he followed her, and
met her in the bathroom, where she
shot him repeatedly with the kit gun.
He then left the apartment, stumbled
down the hallway, knocking on doors
and yelling for assistance, at which
time he then passed out and died. She
had shot him five times in the chest
with .22 hollow points.
LEARNING FROM TRAGEDY
A lot can be learned from this incident.
First, why was she using a .22 LR? For a
couple of reasons. One was that she was
initially trained as a new shooter with
a .22 LR revolver. She was comfortable
with the gun and, being petite, could
handle the .22 LR recoil very easily.
Secondly, she wasn’t wealthy, so she had
that one gun for both practice and home
defense.
Another lesson has to do with the af-
termath issues. She told the police when
they were investigating, “He raped me
five times, so I shot him five times.” That
quote made it into the story the newspa-
per ran a few days later. As it turned out,
she didn’t face any criminal or civil legal
repercussions, but you’d be advised to
choose your words carefully, if you talk
to the police after an incident.
Because of the injuries she suffered
during the attack, she spent several
days in the hospital. She called me from
the hospital one evening (my business
phone was also my personal phone)
GUNDIGEST.COM

and related the story. She asked if she
could borrow a gun, as the police had
confiscated hers while the investigation
was being conducted. I told her to come
visit me when she was released from the
hospital. When she did, I loaned her a
Smith & Wesson .38 Special.
She kept the gun for several weeks,
as she had repeatedly called the police
to ascertain the status of the investiga-
tion and to get her own gun back, but
the detective wasn’t returning her calls.
She eventually called me again because
she had convinced herself that she was
going to be arrested since the detective
wouldn’t call her back when she left
messages.
So, I did what every well-meaning
firearms instructor would do—I got an
attorney involved. Another student of
mine was an attorney, and I called him
and asked if he’d intercede on her behalf.
He agreed. One phone call from the at-
torney and the detective called her back,
apologizing for not returning her calls
and letting her know that there were no
charges to be brought, and she could
come pick up her gun. It turns out he
had been on vacation for a while, and
that was his excuse. OK, I guess.
GUNDIGEST.COM
KEY TAKEAWAYS
This story illustrates the primary legal
issue in using rimfires for self-defense,
that being lack of instant stopping pow-
er and the likely need to shoot multiple
times, if at all.
No one wants to get shot, even with
a .22 LR. That being said, if a person
chooses to employ a .22 LR, they need
to work out some issues ahead of time.
First, they need to develop command
presence, so they can effectively com-
municate with the criminal suspect that
if they’re going to continue their crimi-
nal activity, they’re likely to be shot.
Most reputable schools can teach you
this, and before you sign up for a class,
you need to make sure the curriculum
covers taking criminal suspects at gun-
point. And once you learn how, you
need to practice.
Second, you should use a “serious”
handgun. Handguns that come to mind
are Ruger and Smith & Wesson revolv-
ers, and medium-sized semi-automatics,
like the Ruger series of semi-autos. The
reason for this recommendation is two-
fold. First, for the most part, doctrine
across the United States amongst the
instructor cadre is that if you use a .22
LR, shoot for the head. And, you must
hit the soft parts of the head (eyes and
temple area). You need to get that small
bullet inside the cranium where it can
do its job disrupting the central nervous
system. Having to wait for the person
to collapse from internal bleeding isn’t
likely a successful strategy, if he’s bent
on killing you. Patricia was lucky.
Also important is the psychological
factor when facing a criminal suspect.
If the person cannot even see the gun
in your hand, they’ll likely not be im-
pressed. But a stainless or blued gun,
which looks like a .357 Mag. or 9mm,
might just stop them dead in their
tracks without a shot being fired. If I
were to recommend one .22 for self-
defense, above all others, it’d be the
Glock 48. A .22 rimfire that’s the size of
a Glock 9mm. And it’s superbly easy to
shoot. It has replaced our Ruger Mark
2’s in our training for new gun owners.
Also, look into the .22 Magnum, if
you want a gun that doesn’t recoil much
but still has a large bark. Rock Island
Armory has recently come out with a
.22 magnum 1911-style pistol, which
should be good for 1911 aficionados
(like me). I was a big fan of the AMT .22
Mag., which while not currently made,
suitable used ones are around for good
prices. And, they fit nicely in Browning
Hi-Power holsters. There are also .22
Mag. revolvers. Do your homework.
With the likelihood of needing to
shoot for the head, if you use a .22 for
self-defense, you’ll need to be able to ar-
ticulate exactly why you took what most
would call “a killing shot.” You had bet-
ter be able to explain why you targeted
the head (not difficult, but you better
think it through ahead of time).
That’s it for the legalities of using a .22
for self-defense. While certainly justifi-
able, it comes with limitations.
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |47
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 DUE TO THE CANCELLING COLORADO

*WARNING* AND REBOOKING OF

CALL BEFORE YOU
DRIVE TO ANY SHOW
PROMOTERS CANCEL SHOWS
AND FREQUENTLY CHANGE
DATESAND LOCATIONS
SHOWS THAT HAS TAKEN
May 15-16 CO, Denver. Colorado Gun
Collectors Association Annual Show.
Denver Mart, 401 East 58th Avenue.
PLACE BECAUSE OF
COVID -19 PLEASE CALL
KANSAS
Mar 12-13 KS, park city. Chisholm Trail
OR CHECK THE WEBSITE Antique Gun Assoc. Gun Show. Hartman
OF THE SHOW PRIOR TO Arena, 8151 N Hartman Arena Dr, Park
TRAVELING TO THE SHOW. City, KS.

CONFIRM Mar 12-13 KS, park city. Chisholm Trail

BEFORE YOU TRAVEL

Antique Gun Assoc. Gun Show. Hartman
Arena, 8151 N Hartman Arena Dr, Park
City, KS.

SHOWDEX
LOUISIANA
Mar 6-7 LA, Gonzales. Gonzales Gun Show.
Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039 S. St.
Landry Ave.
May 15-16 LA, Gonzales. Gonzales Gun
Show. Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039 S.
Listings are grouped according to state. Bold headlines St. Landry Ave.
show the name of all states in which gun shows have
Jul 10-11 LA, Gonzales. Gonzales Gun Show.
been reported to us. These headlines are arranged Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039 S. St.
according to the full spelling of state names. Under each Landry Ave.
headline, shows scheduled for a particular state are listed
MICHIGAN
by date, postal abbreviation, city, and site. For more
Mar 27-28 MI, Kalkaska. Kalkaska Gun and
information, see our regular SHOW LISTINGS section. Knife Show. Kaliseum Rec Center, 1900
Fairgrounds Rd.

GUNDIGEST.COM CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |51

 PENNSYLVANIA
Mar 6-7 PA, St Thomas . St Thomas Gun
Show. St Thomas Fire Hall, 34 School
House Rd.
May 7-9 PA, Long Pond. The Great Pocono
Arms and Military Show. Pocono Raceway,
1234 Long Pond Rd.
TENNESSEE
Jul 17-18 TN, Knoxville. Knoxville TN
: Smoky Mountain Gun Collectors
Association Gun Show. Kerbela Shrine
Temple, 315 Mimosa Ave.
Aug 7-8 TN, Crossville. Cumberland
County Gun and Knife Show. Community
Complex, 1398 Livingston Road.
TEXAS
Mar 20-21 TX, Longview. Longview Gun
Show. Maude Cobb Convention Center,
100 Grand Blvd.
May 15-16 TX, Amarillo. The Original
Amarillo Gun Show. Amarillo Civic
Center, 401 S, Buchanan.
Jul 17-18 TX, Longview. Longview Gun
Show. Maude Cobb Convention Center,
100 Grand Blvd.
52|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
UTAH
Mar 12-13 UT, Vernal. Vernal Gun and
Knife Show. Uintah Conference Center, 313
East 200 South.
WISCONSIN
Mar 13 WI, Hartford. Sports & Gun Show.
Hartford Town Hall, 3360 County Road K.
WYOMING
May 29-30 WY, Riverton. Wyoming
Weapons Collectors 32nd Annual
Memorial Weekend Gun Show. Fremont
County Fairgrounds, 1010 Fairgrounds
Road.
MARCH
Mar 6-7 LA, Gonzales. Gonzales Gun Show.
Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039 S. St.
Landry Ave. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 10am-
4pm. A: $10. F: . Classic Arms Productions.
427 N. Theard St Suite 357, Covington, LA
70433. PH: 985-624-8577. www.capgun-
shows.com.
Mar 6-7 PA, St Thomas . St Thomas
Gun Show. St Thomas Fire Hall, 34
School House Rd. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm,
Sun. 9am-3pm. A: 5.oo. T: 60. F: 15.00.
Frontier County Gun Club. Jack Mill Rd,
Chambersburg, PA 17202. PH: 717-263-
3715. www.fcgunclub.org.
Mar 12-13 KS, park city. Chisholm Trail
Antique Gun Assoc. Gun Show. Hartman
Arena, 8151 N Hartman Arena Dr,
Park City, KS. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm; Sun.
9am-4pm. A: $10 both days. F: 60. PO Box
837, Derby, KS 67037. PH: 888-851-0888.
www.ctaga.net.
Mar 12-13 KS, park city. Chisholm Trail
Antique Gun Assoc. Gun Show. Hartman
Arena, 8151 N Hartman Arena Dr,
Park City, KS. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm; Sun.
9am-4pm. A: $10 both days. F: 60. PO Box
837, Derby, KS 67037. PH: 888-851-0888.
www.ctaga.net.
Mar 12-13 UT, Vernal. Vernal Gun and
Knife Show. Uintah Conference Center,
313 East 200 South. SH: Fri. 12pm-7pm,
Sat. 9am-6pm. A: $5.00 Daily. T: 125.
F: $50.00. Friends of Buckskin Hills
Shooting Complex. P.O.Box 790028,
Vernal, UT 84079. PH: 438-247-2254.
vknifeshow@gmail.com.
Mar 13 WI, Hartford. Sports & Gun Show.
Hartford Town Hall, 3360 County Road
K. SH: Sat. 8am-3pm. A: $3., under 12
free with adult. F: $20. United Vietnam
Veterans. 113 S. Depot Street, Juneau, WI
53039. PH: 920-386-2134.
Mar 20-21 TX, Longview. Longview Gun
Show. Maude Cobb Convention Center,
100 Grand Blvd. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm,
Sun. 10am-4pm. A: $9. F: . Classic Arms
Productions. 427 N. Theard St Suite 357,
Covington, LA 70433. PH: 985-624-8577.
www.capgunshows.com.
Mar 27-28 MI, Kalkaska. Kalkaska Gun and
Knife Show. Kaliseum Rec Center, 1900
Fairgrounds Rd. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun.
9am-3pm. A: 6. T: 215. F: 50 /wknd 35/day.
J&J Sport Shows. 18134 Meadow Ln, BIG
RAPIDS, MI 49307. PH: 180-096-8501.
www.jjsportshows.com.
MAY
May 7-9 PA, Long Pond. The Great Pocono
Arms and Military Show. Pocono Raceway,
1234 Long Pond Rd. SH: Fri. 12pm-6pm,
Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-3pm. A: $10 -
RSVP on the website for a chance to win
special door prizes. T: 550. F: $75. Tall
Timber Tactical. P.o. box 491, CRESCO,
PA 18326. PH: 570-202-6016. greatpocono-
armsandmilitaryshow.com.
May 15-16 CO, Denver. Colorado Gun
Collectors Association Annual Show.
Denver Mart, 401 East 58th Avenue. SH:
Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-3pm. A: $10. T:
1100. F: 8’ Display tables $130, Trade tables
GUNDIGEST.COM
 $150. PO Box C, Fort Collins, CO 80522.
PH: 720-482-0167. www.cgca.com.
May 15-16 LA, Gonzales. Gonzales Gun
Show. Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039
S. St. Landry Ave. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm,
Sun. 10am-4pm. A: $10. F: . Classic Arms
Productions. 427 N. Theard St Suite 357,
Covington, LA 70433. PH: 985-624-8577.
www.capgunshows.com.
May 15-16 TX, Amarillo. The Original
Amarillo Gun Show. Amarillo Civic
Center, 401 S, Buchanan. SH: Sat.
9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-5pm. A: General
Admission – $7 per day – $10 for both
days. Free Admission to Children Under
13. T: 300. F: 50. Pioneer Gun Collectors.
PO Box 20806, Amarillo, TX 79114. PH:
806-567-8700. www.pioneergun.com.
May 29-30 WY, Riverton. Wyoming
Weapons Collectors 32nd Annual
Memorial Weekend Gun Show. Fremont
County Fairgrounds, 1010 Fairgrounds
Road. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-3pm.
A: $6.00, children 12 and under free
with an adult. T: 200. F: $50.00 members,
$65.00 non-members. Wyoming Weapons
Collectors. P.O. Box 1784, Laramie, WY
82073. PH: 307-742-4630.

JULY
Jul 10-11 LA, Gonzales. Gonzales Gun
Show. Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, 9039
S. St. Landry Ave. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm,
Sun. 10am-4pm. A: $10. F: . Classic Arms
Productions. 427 N. Theard St Suite 357,
Covington, LA 70433. PH: 985-624-8577.
www.capgunshows.com.
Jul 17-18 TN, Knoxville. Knoxville TN
: Smoky Mountain Gun Collectors
Association Gun Show. Kerbela Shrine
Temple, 315 Mimosa Ave. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm,
Sun. 9am-3pm. A: $8.00 each day. T: 120. F:
$50.00. Smoky Mountain Gun Collectors
Association,Inc. . P.O.Box 9251, Knoxville,
TN 37940. PH: 865-333-4970. www.smoky-
mountainguncollectorsassociation.org.
Jul 17-18 TX, Longview. Longview Gun
Show. Maude Cobb Convention Center,
100 Grand Blvd. SH: Sat. 9am-5pm,
Sun. 10am-4pm. A: $9. F: . Classic Arms
Productions. 427 N. Theard St Suite 357,
Covington, LA 70433. PH: 985-624-8577.
www.capgunshows.com.
Aug 7-8 TN, Crossville. Cumberland
County Gun and Knife Show. Community
Complex, 1398 Livingston Road. SH: Sat.
9am-5pm, Sun. 9am-4pm. A: Saturday
admission: $5.00, Sunday admission is
FREE. T: 200. F: $40. Cumberland County.
1398 Livingdston Road, Crossville, TN
38571. PH: 931-484-5028. www.gkshow.org.

GUNDIGEST.COM CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |53

 FULL LINE COLLECTOR’S
LARGEST FIREARM SHOP IN THE MIDWEST
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54|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

 DOUGLAS R. C ARLSON
Antique American Firearms
P.O. Box 71035-GD
Des Moines, Iowa 50325
Telephone: 515-224-6552
FULL COLOR
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 MULTI CALIBER
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22LR/ 22MAG, 22 JET OR 22 H-TC
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32 ACP OR 32 H+R MAG/ 30-30, 308, OR 30-06
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56|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

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58|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

 Take a Behind-The-Scenes Tour
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 CA R RY GUNS FOR THE MODE RN E R A// BY PATRICK SWEENEY

The Springfield Armory

Hellcat is plenty accurate,
for being a compact pistol
that holds lots of rounds. The
Shield RMSc red-dot optic
on top doesn’t hurt, that’s
for sure.

60|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

 CARRY
GUNS
FOR THE
MODERN
ERA
Top picks for
your first, or
fifth, carry gun.
I
can hardly recognize the modern
world. All of a sudden, everyone
wants a gun, everyone wants to
carry and everyone wants to buy
ammo. It’s hard to remember when we
were all loners—the odd ducks even at
our own gun clubs.
With that in mind, here’s a few carry
guns that you might want to consider,
assuming you can find anything to
buy. Despite the slim selection at
times, the important things to remem-
ber are: it fits your hand, it’s common
enough that you can find a holster
and it’s common enough that there are
magazines for it.
GUNDIGEST.COM
MAX CAPACITY:
Springfield Armory
Hellcat
The Hellcat is the current high-water
mark of daily carry technology. You’ve
got 11+1 or 13+1 rounds, depending
on using the flush or the extended
magazine. You can have a red-dot sight
on top if you wish, or you can stick
with regular iron sights, if you’re a
retro kind of shooter.
It’s chambered in 9mm, which right
now is both good and bad. Good, in
that there’s usually a wide, almost ex-
pansive selection of ammunition and
loadings for it. However, since that’s
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |61
 CARRY GUNS FOR THE MODERN ERA// PATRICK SWEENEY

the first thing everyone wants to buy,
when 9mm ammo shows up at the lo-
cal gun shop, it gets swarmed, bought
and taken home.
The Hellcat doesn’t use a magazine
found in any other pistol, but Spring-
field is quite aggressive in making sure
there’s a sufficient supply. And because
it’s a Springfield product, every holster
maker offers something for it.
MSRP: $569
THE SLIM OPTION:
Walther CCP
Not everyone wants a 9mm pistol that
holds half a box of ammunition. So, for
those who want something a bit slimmer,
Walther makes the CCP M2. (The M2
means a regular magazine release button,
not the europaddle release on the first
models Walther USA brought in.)
The CCP also has another trick up
its sleeve: their Softcoil recoil system.
This is a gas-delayed piston system
that buffers the slide in recoil. That
makes the slide easier to retract and
the recoil softer. The first time I fired
one, I had to stop and inspect the CCP,

Walther knows how to

make accurate, reliable
pistols. And the CCP is
a soft-shooting one as well.

62|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM


certain that it failed to cycle. Nope, it
had. Plus, it has a thumb safety as well.
So, if you want a soft-shooting and
easy-racking 9mm, here you go. If
you don’t want a thumb safety, then
the quality and utility of the Walther
might not be enough to overcome that
prejudice.
Magazines might be a bit pricey (and
maybe not), but one thing is for sure:
They’re durable enough to last the rest
of your life.
MSRP: $469
GUNDIGEST.COM
THE CCW REVOLVER:
Kimber K6s
Not everyone worships at the altar of
the 9mm. And, some people want a bit
of versatility in their carry gun. The
latest K6s is the 3-inch version of the
Kimber revolver, and it’s really sweet.
The FBI, back when they were in the
headlines for catching bank robbers
and such, decided the best carry gun
was a .357 Magnum with a 3-inch bar-
rel. The .357 chambering means you
have the choice you desire in power,
from .38 wadcutter target ammo on
the bottom, to the stoutest .357 Mag-
num loading you can stand to shoot.
For precision, thumb-cock the
hammer. For fast shooting, it’s hard
to beat double-action (DA). And no,
you don’t have to give up accuracy for
double-action shooting, you just have
Kimber went from bolt-action rifles to 1911s, to
double-action revolvers. And each step of the
way, they outdid themselves. If revolvers are
your carry “thing,” then you’ll like the K6s. And
the 3-inch-barrel model is even easier to shoot
than the 2-inch one.
to practice.
Revolvers don’t need no stinking
magazines. For fast reloads, you use
speedloaders, and Kimber makes them
for the K6s, of course. And holsters?
Holster makers have been making hol-
sters for six-shot DA revolvers since
before Teddy Roosevelt charged up
San Juan Hill.
MSRP: $938
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |63
 CARRY GUNS FOR THE MODERN ERA// PATRICK SWEENEY
THE UNDERRATED:
Canik TP9
When it comes to hi-cap 9mm pistols,
you have plenty of choices. One that
you might pass over, if you haven’t got-
ten the word, is the Canik TP9.
Made in Turkey, the Canik, has got-
ten quite some traction on the compe-
tition circuit (well, the bigger models,
the one here is definitely a carry gun)
for their excellent triggers. That and
reliability, which is always foremost
in the practical competition shooter’s
mind. No matter how accurate, how
fast-shooting, how good a trigger it is,
if it isn’t reliable, it won’t get a second
look from the competition crowd.
The Sub Elite here has a 12-round
capacity magazine, but all the Canik
TP 9mm magazines will work in it,
so you have your choices of 12-, 15-,
18- and 20-round magazines. And
that’s even before you use a capacity-
extending basepad.
The Sub Elite also has a top plate
you can remove and install a red-dot
sight in its place. Now, magazines are
Canik-specific, but a quick look at the
Canik web page shows a wide selec-
tion at competitive prices. So, you
can readily add to the ones that arrive
with your pistol. And holsters? When I
64|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
The Canik TP9 Elite SC, with a name
almost as big as the pistol, is a first-class
choice in your daily carry ensemble.
Twelve shots for the flush-mount mag, 15
here and 18 or 20 shots as options on the
reload. What’s not to like?
went to look for holsters, my computer
practically exploded with choices.
Don’t have any fears there.
MSRP: $439
FN509C
The Compact model of the FN509
comes to us courtesy of the U.S. Army.
They decided they wanted a new pis-
tol, but they also decided that they
could only pick one. So, when some
other company won the military con-
tract, FN got busy making pistols for
the rest of us.
The compact version is a lot smaller
than the full-sized duty pistol that FN
submitted to the Army, but it has many
of the same features. There’s the cold-
hammer-forged barrel, the replaceable
backstraps, the frame-mounted acces-
sory rail, the ambidextrous slide stop
and magazine release. Not swappable,
as some are, but a button that works
to release the magazine, regardless of
which side you push on.
The swappable backstraps mean the
FN509C actually comes in two sizes,
so try both for feel.
Since it’s the compact version of
their full-line 509 series, you can use
any of the magazines they make for the
509, from 10 shots per, up to 21 shots
in a magazine. Yes, a magazine bigger
than the pistol you can use it in. And
just to be different, FN offers the 509
Compact in black of FDE, also known
as Flat Dark Earth. The rest of us call
it tan.
As far as ruggedness and reliability
go, FN makes belt-fed machine guns
GUNDIGEST.COM
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 CARRY GUNS FOR THE MODERN ERA// PATRICK SWEENEY
The FN509 series have change-
able backstraps, so you can
adjust the frame to fit your hand
more readily. If you’re fondling
one, try it with each size.
for our armed forces. They’d be embar-
rassed to offer a pistol that wasn’t as
tough as that, so they make sure their
pistols measure up.
MSRP: $585
MUST DO: TEST DRIVES
The important thing to keep in mind,
when you’re looking to invest in a daily
carry sidearm (pistol or revolver), is
that it fits your hand. You really should
spend some time at the gun counter,
handling pistols (don’t be surprised if
they only let you have two at a time out
of the counter, the authorities frown
on losing track of pistols) and seeing
how they fit in your hands.
In this, a gun shop with a range and
rental guns to try is invaluable. “But
it costs a lot of money to rent several
pistols and buy range ammo to see
what fits,” you say. Yes, it does. Look at
it this way: You buy a pistol on the rec-
ommendation of a friend and find out
66|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
that it doesn’t agree with your hands.
It isn’t comfortable, it points wrong
and it pinches you. Even setting aside
the paperwork hassle of buying, then
selling and buying again (and in some
jurisdictions, the paperwork hassle is
monumental), the financial hit can be
painful.
Let’s say you bought your 9mm
pistol for $600. Now that you’ve shot
it and find you don’t like it, what will
the gun shop buy it back for? Or give
credit on a trade for something else?
You could end up with a $100 to $200
loss. That’s a lot of range time, pistol
rental and range ammo, to find the one
you won’t take a loss on.
Rental guns are good things. And
there’s another thing: durability. If you
walk into a range with rentals, you can
count on what you see in the counter
being there for one of two reasons:
They’re unbreakable, or they’re so
movieland bling-worthy that they’re
in the counter even though they aren’t
reliable or durable. If you’re interested,
ask. “Oh, that one? We have it here
because everyone wants to shoot a few
rounds out of it. If you want a daily
carry gun, try this one over here.”
The guys and gals who run the rent-
al counter know what works and what
doesn’t. The ones I’ve listed here all
work, so you can be safe starting with
these. Check them for fit. But if they
don’t fit you, they don’t fit you; move
on and try something else.
GUNDIGEST.COM
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 THE SECRET TO SHOOTING A HANDGUN ACCURATELY // RICHARD MANN
THE SECRET
TO SHOOTING
A HANDGUN
ACCURATELY
Understanding the intangible
concept of trigger control.
W
hen it comes to effec-
tively and accurately
shooting a handgun,
there are a lot of ele-
ments that must be addressed, such as
stance, grip, breathing, sight alignment
and trigger press.
Of all of these, the trigger press is the
most important.
Why? It should be obvious. You can
get a good hit with a bad stance, bad
grip and even when not properly man-
aging your breathing. As for sight align-
ment, at common defensive handgun
distances, as long as the front sight is
in the rear notch and covering the spot
you want to hit, the bullet should land in
the vital zone.
68|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
But if you screw up the trigger press,
you’ll miss.
The problem the instructor has is
teaching a student what a proper trig-
ger press feels like. Demonstrating a
good stance and grip is easy. Discussing
how to press a trigger during a natural
respiratory pause is easy. And so too is
describing or illustrating what a proper
sight picture and sight alignment look
like. Explaining how a trigger should be
pulled isn’t. Neither is pulling a trigger
correctly. If it was, none of us would
ever miss.
I stand as solid proof. I’ve been shoot-
ing handguns for half a century. I’ve won
lots of local handgun shooting matches
and some big ones too. I also won the
man-on-man shoot-off at the end of my
first Gunsite Academy 250 pistol class.
But guess what? At least 1 out of 100
times—and very likely more often than
that—I make a bad trigger press. I know
how it’s supposed to be done, I know
how it’s supposed to feel, but I some-
times still do it wrong.
As an analogy, let’s look at Stephen
Curry, currently the highest-ranked
free-throw shooter in the NBA. He
makes 90 percent of the free throws he
GUNDIGEST.COM
attempts. This guy is a professional; he
plays basketball for a living, and when
he’s taking a free throw, he can apply all
of his concentration to the task at hand.
Still, sometimes, he misses. Why?
Because making your body do a certain
thing perfectly is very difficult, and that’s
what pulling a trigger is. You’re trying to
make your body parts move in a certain
way where there’s no room for error.
Just like with teaching an athlete to
shoot a free throw, throw a pass, kick a

GUNDIGEST.COM CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |69

 THE SECRET TO SHOOTING A HANDGUN ACCURATELY // RICHARD MANN
When combined with a smartphone, the
ELMS laser system can add some enjoy-
ment to dry-fire practice.
ball or jump over a bar, demonstrating
the proper form can be difficult. But
the really hard part is for the athlete to
make their body move in a perfect, er-
ror-free manner, every time. In order to
make free throws on a consistent basis,
70|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
Consider using dummy rounds when
conducting dry-fire practice; they
add an element of safety.
the shooter must learn what it feels like
when they do everything right.
It’s no different when shooting a
handgun. The shooter must learn what
it feels like when they do everything
Smart laser training right. To learn that, everything has to be
tools, like the ELMS
from G-Sight, can done right. There’s only one way to do
make dry practice this, and that’s to practice shooting free
more enjoyable.
throws or pulling triggers a lot! The sad
truth is that you can never do it enough
to be skilled enough to never make a
mistake. Just ask Steph Curry.
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?
So, how do you learn to shoot a hand-
gun well? Of course, you start with your
stance. It needs to be sturdy and bal-
anced, but beyond that not much else
matters. Your grip needs to be high on
the handgun and firm. Your breathing
By inserting a pencil in needs to be controlled, and the sight
the barrel of a pistol,
you can heighten your
picture must be correct. But remember:
dry practice sessions. In a real fight, you might have to shoot
If you use a revolver,
you’ll have to insert
from some weird and uncomfortable
the pencil after cock- position, with a poor grip, while nearly
ing; it’ll only work
in the single-action
hyperventilating and the sights aren’t
mode. exactly how you want them. There’s no
room for error with the trigger press.
This means that pressing the trigger is
what you should practice the most.
Fortunately, this is something that
can be practiced without ammunition
or without being on the range. Pulling a
handgun’s trigger feels exactly the same
regardless of whether there’s any am-
GUNDIGEST.COM
 Notice how the trigger finger is positioned perpendic-
ular to the muzzle of the handgun. This is the correct
munition in the handgun or not. This
exercise is called dry fire or dry practice,
and while it might very well be one
of the least enjoyable gun exercises to
do—I think I’d rather clean a gun than
conduct dry practice—it might very well
be the most important thing you can do
to learn to shoot a handgun effectively.
Granted, one of the major problems
with trigger pull is recoil anticipation.
The first female police officer I trained
had never fired a handgun. We worked
for a week on presenting the handgun
and dry firing. When we finally got to
the range and stood in front of a target,
her handgun’s first trip out of the holster
resulted in a swiftly obtained dead cen-
ter hit. The next shot struck the target
about 8 inches below the first.
Why? She anticipated the recoil and
yanked on the trigger at the last mo-
ment. It took a while to get her past that
anxiety. But just like with everyone else,
she never did—and you never will—
overcome it completely; it still bites me
at least 1 out of 100 times.
EMBRACE DRY PRACTICE
Dry practice will never allow you to
totally overcome recoil anticipation, but
GUNDIGEST.COM
trigger finger position.
When the trigger finger
is correctly positioned
on the trigger, that last
section—the fingernail
section—will be perpen-
dicular to the barrel of
the handgun.
it’ll for sure help you learn what a good
trigger press feels like. There are ways
you can enhance the enjoyment of dry
practice.
Something like the Expert Laser
Marksman System (ELMS) from G-
Sight is a laser module that fits inside the
chamber of your pistol. When you press
the trigger, the device emits a laser flash
that you can see on the target. One of
the things that makes the ELMS system
so revolutionary is that, when combined
with their G-Sight LTP APP, the camera
on your smartphone records these laser
flashes on the target. After firing a 10-
shot group, you can review those imagi-
nary impacts—laser flashes—on your
smartphone. A complete ELMS system
retails for about $110.
There are other less expensive op-
tions, too. If your handgun’s slide isn’t
flat on top, you can rest a dime there
and attempt to pull the trigger without
the dime falling off. You can also insert
a sharpened pencil down the barrel
and, with the muzzle just an inch or so
from the wall, when the trigger allows
the hammer to fall it’ll force the pencil
out the barrel and make a mark on a
target you’ve taped to the wall. Honestly
though, if you can bear the boredom,
just aligning the sights on a target and
pressing the trigger, without allowing
the sight picture and sight alignment to
alter, is just as effective.
Of course, a critical aspect of dry
practice is safety. No matter where you
are, when you’re conducting dry practice
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |71
 THE SECRET TO SHOOTING A HANDGUN ACCURATELY // RICHARD MANN

These three photos il-

EXERCISING lustrate too much finger on
YOUR TRIGGER the trigger (01), not enough
FINGER finger on the trigger (02)
and the right amount of
finger on the trigger (03).
New shooters often
struggle learning how to properly
place their finger on the trigger. It
won’t be exactly the same for ev-
eryone, because everyone’s fingers
and hands are different.
However, in general, the face
of the trigger should contact the
trigger finger on the finger pad, just 01
past the last joint, and then press
should occur straight back. The
shooter must learn to do this by
increasing the tension of the finger
on the trigger, without increasing
the tension of other fingers or their
hand on the rest of the pistol.
Often a poor trigger pull can be
traced to a finger that’s not placed
properly. If you have too much
finger on the trigger and you’re a
right-handed shooter, it’ll likely
pull the gun to the right. (If you’re 02
left-handed, it’ll pull the gun to the
left.) If you don’t have enough finger
on the trigger, it’ll tend to push the
gun to the left, and, of course, the
opposite for left-handed shooters.
You can easily see if you have too
much or too little finger on the trig-
ger when dry practicing. Watch the
sights as you very slowly start to
apply pressure to the trigger.
Maybe the most important
consideration here is that you have
03
a handgun that fits your hand size.
If the handgun is too small, you’ll
probably struggle with too much make sure all ammunition has been re- 02. Never let the muzzle cover anything
finger on the trigger. If your handgun moved from the area, even if you’re on you aren’t willing to destroy.
is too large, your struggle will be a range. The human mind sometimes 03. Keep your finger off the trigger until
getting enough finger on the trigger. works against us as much as it works for your sights are on the target.
When a finger is properly placed us, and the notion that your handgun is 04. Always be sure of your target.
on a trigger of a handgun that fits unloaded can carry over to a time when
the shooter correctly, the last joint it’s not. Never, and I repeat—NEVER— COMMITMENT SHRINKS GROUPS
section of the trigger finger should conduct dry practice in the presence With a commitment to safety and to
be perpendicular to the barrel of of ammunition. Highly visible dummy not doing anything stupid, spend about
the handgun. If it’s not, you need a rounds can help with safety during dry 5 minutes dry practicing every day;
different gun, or you’ll never learn practice, but nothing can guarantee learn what that correct trigger pull feels
what a correct trigger pull feels like. safety as well as always observing the like. Commit it to memory so that it
four firearms safety rules: seems not like something you must do
01. All guns are always loaded. to make the gun go bang, but more like

72|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

 The most critical aspect of shooting a handgun accurately is the
management of the trigger. Everything else is secondary.

something that instinctively happens

when the proper sight alignment and
sight picture are obtained. The cor-
rect trigger pull shouldn’t have to be
thought through; it should just occur.
How might the correct trigger pull
be described? You could correlate it
to attempting to scrape excess peanut
butter from the trigger of a mouse trap
that has been set. You could compare
it to trying to remove a splinter with
a needle, or maybe gently inserting a
contact lens. Or, you could just say that
a trigger should be pressed in a manner
that won’t cause the handgun to move.
It’s very easy to explain how to pull a
trigger; it’s not so easy for the student
to understand it. Particularly to under-
stand what it feels like, or how to ignore
the inevitable flash and boom that’s
going to occur about 2 feet in front of
their face.
You’ll never be perfect, but one mis-
take out of 100 pulls is pretty damned
good. With a lot of practice, maybe it
won’t take you 50 years to get there.

GUNDIGEST.COM
 NEVE R TOO BIG TO CA R RY// BY JOSH WAYNER
Polymer guns can weigh
far less than their steel
counterparts. The Sig M17
is a light pistol, even with
18 rounds onboard. It is
a large gun, but it’s not
at all as heavy as a fully
kitted-out 1911. Both can
be carried effortlessly with
planning.
74|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
W
e all remember how toi-
let paper and hand sani-
tizer flew off the shelves
a year ago. Akin to the
aforementioned commodities, the surge
in carry pistol purchases has created an
artificial scarcity that has left the shelves
stocked with less-than-ideal options for
self-defense, especially outside the home.
For the latecomers to the game, full-
size guns are sometimes all that’s avail-
able. Luckily, carrying a big gun isn’t dif-
ficult; it just takes a bit more planning to
make it feasible.
Handguns aren’t something that oc-
GUNDIGEST.COM

cupy a one-size-fits-all mentality. A
Glock 19 is a small gun to some people,
and it’s a large gun for others. It’s generally
considered a happy medium, and many
others have spawned in the same size
and capacity range. As a result, it can be
thought of as probably the most generic
and “normal” handgun out there.
For our purposes here, we’re consider-
ing the Glock 19 and other in-class pis-
tols as the cutoff for a full-size category.
While some will, of course, disagree, a
4-inch 9mm with a 15-round magazine
is a large gun for a person standing at
GUNDIGEST.COM
With new guns hard to find,
you might have to make do
with what you have … or what
you can find.
5-foot-1 and weighing 100 pounds.
It’s all relative to the individual, but the
principles remain the same even if you’re
6-foot-4 and 300 pounds with hands
large enough to palm a beach ball.
HOLSTERS
FOR LARGE HANDGUNS
The first thing to consider about carry-
ing a full-size pistol is the type of hol-
ster that you should look at. The most
reasonable option is to carry outside
the waistband (OWB). This, of course,
varies from the more popular inside the
waistband (IWB) method, wherein the
pistol is more easily concealed under
clothing. An OWB holster is universally
a better method for carrying a large gun
for several reasons.
Weight distribution is a major factor
in carrying a full-size pistol. Some larger
guns are indeed much lighter than oth-
ers, but the same applies to all in that the
mass of any large gun is typically spread
out across a larger area in the barrel and
grip. This means that you’ll want to rock
’n’ roll with a holster that helps distribute
that weight across a larger area on the
belt. If you do this properly, you won’t
even notice the weight of the gun on
your hip.
A second thing to consider is overall
comfort in relation to other methods of
carry. IWB holsters typically address two
areas of the body, those being strong side
and near the appendix. Appendix holsters
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |75
 NEVE R TOO BIG TO CA R RY// BY JOSH WAYNER

Belts can be very thick and heavy. This steel-cored Bigfoot belt is al-
most as thick as a 9mm cartridge! Plan ahead and try several options
if you’re able to in order to ensure you’ll be comfortable.

mount the gun in the front of the pelvis,

making for a fast draw, but if you have a long
barrel and grip, it’ll make sitting uncomfort-
able and very difficult to conceal in the front
of the shirt. Strong-side carry IWB is feasible,
but again—sitting can be uncomfortable due
to the barrel extending further down, thus
creating something of a lever against the seat,
which can put pressure on the sciatic nerve
in the pelvis and cause numbness.
The most uncomfortable thing about IWB
carry with a full-size pistol is the bulge the

The best OWB gun creates against the body when the
holsters use steel
loops. Thicker belts belt is tightened. Wearing a good belt
demand wider is critical here, and because of added
loops, so keep in
mind how thick and weight, the belt needs to be rigid and
wide your choice of capable of bearing the extra mass without
gun belt is as you
order a holster. sagging. For this reason, OWB is clearly
superior in that the belt can be worn as
normal with no pressure points along its
length. It can be snugged up like usual
and you won’t experience the sliding or
eventual numbness that can occur with a
heavy gun stuffed down your pants.
Materials vary with individual prefer-
ence, but today’s modern materials are
much lighter than leather, which itself
can add weight to an already heavy
gun. The holsters featured here are from
BlackPoint Tactical, and they’re experts
in making products that blend materials
like leather and polymer. These holsters
take advantage of all their materials;
the rigidity of steel belt loops, the flex-
ibility and comfort of leather, and the
weight savings of polymer. These holsters
represent the best of what’s available for

76|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM

blended materials and have virtually no
downsides for carry.
Leather holsters for full-size guns are
definitely viable; however, most require
break-in periods and don’t have the same
resistance to sweat and abrasion as a
polymer holster. Leather traps moisture
and is slow to dry out when it gets wet. It
should be noted that you’ll certainly need
a holster to carry a large handgun, and if
you only have access to a leather rig, you
should certainly buy it even if it’s just a
stopgap. Order times can be weeks—and
even months—for a polymer holster
these days.
If you have an obscure gun due to lack
of availability of popular models, you
Custom holsters are available
for virtually every gun and light
combination out there.
GUNDIGEST.COM
might find that there are few holsters out
there for your actual model. Luckily, es-
pecially when it comes to leather, you can
find something that’s a near approxima-
tion. For many large pistols, the dimen-
sions aren’t all that far off.
For instance, if you can’t find a holster
for your used AREX at the pawn shop,
oftentimes holsters for the Sig P226 will
fit. You might have to do some playing
around or buy a subpar option to start,
but you should always do your best to at
least get a proper one ordered; it’ll make a
difference in comfort.
BELTS ARE LIFE
Know this: The standard $10 belt at
the local grocery superstore won’t cut
it here. A great number of people just
stick a 1911 on their regular belt and are
stunned by how terrible it is to carry. A
proper belt for a full-size pistol isn’t hard
to find, and many are old news today. I’ve
favored the same Galco belt for almost 10
years. It has a rigid liner in it that prevents
the belt from bending or flexing under
weight, thus allowing it to take the weight
of a large handgun without collapsing.
If a nylon belt is a bit too “military” for
you, there are many companies that make
very rigid and strong traditionally styled
belts as well. Bigfoot Gunbelts makes a
steel-lined belt that’s probably the most
rigid on the market today. This isn’t a cinch-
style belt like the Galco, and it has regular
belt holes in it to tighten it. VersaCarry also
makes a fantastic gun belt.
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |77
 NEVE R TOO BIG TO CA R RY// BY JOSH WAYNER

Some people like the hole-style belts,
but I’ve found that set holes can some-
times be too tight or too loose for carry
with a heavy gun. The cinch style is much
better for comfort, as it can be adjusted
exactly without being too tight or too
loose. It’s equally uncomfortable to have a
large gun moving around loose as it is to
have it too tight. Fit should be snug and
not painful.
FULL-SIZE OR SUPER SIZE?
For a long time, people have broken de-
fensive pistols into two general categories:
the carry gun and the “nightstand gun.”
A full-size military pistol
isn’t difficult to carry, even
with a light attached.
The carry gun is a class we’re all familiar
with, and it used to mean relatively small,
somewhat featureless guns … sometimes
sacrificing power for size.
The nightstand gun is a category
that usually contained the larger, more
feature-rich handguns that could mount
lights and larger magazine capacities.
These were usually the 5-inch service
pistols, such as the 1911 or Beretta M9,
or even 6-inch .357 Mag. revolvers. The
guns here were easier to shoot, but as this
concept reached greater popularity, were
rarely carried as a result of widely avail-
able compact pistols and a lack of holsters
capable of allowing comfortable carry.
TIMES HAVE
CHANGED FOR THE BETTER
Besides being easier to shoot accu-
rately, the major advantage to a larger
pistol is greater opportunity to install
accessories. This seems counterin-
tuitive, but since a large gun already
requires a bit of planning to carry,
you had best take advantage of all the
available real estate. A good thing is
that most full-size guns today have ac-

An eight-round .45
ACP or 18 rounds of
9mm? How about 13
rounds of .40? A full-
size pistol can vary
widely in terms of
capacity, and there’s
no true right answer
on what to get, other
than to buy what you
can find.

78|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY GUNDIGEST.COM


cessory rails. Some do not, like classic
1911s, M9s and older models like the
Sig M11A1 and original P220. The op-
tion to mount optics and red-dots also
exists in these cases.
An interesting point to make is that
the most common accessory for larger
handguns, the weapon-mounted flash-
light, can often make a compact pistol
as large as a full-size. For instance,
the Glock 19 with a SureFire X300U
mounted is as long as a 1911. You’ll
need to get appropriate holsters for
this, and it’s rare to find IWB holsters
that support large, bright flashlights
like the SureFire.
Optics are a fairly new category, but
it’s now common to find factory guns
with cuts for a variety of slide-mounted
dot sights. The Trijicon RMR is the
most well-known, but others exist
that are more appropriate for a budget
or used gun on the rack at your local
store. These sights usually don’t add
much weight at all, but they definitely
add functionality.
Overall, a light and a red dot can
make your full-size pistol only a few
ounces heavier, but far more capable for
more bad situations.
LAST PICKED
The most common full-size guns on
the shelf these days are the ones that
people don’t usually want if they have
the choice. These picked-over guns gen-
erally drop into two types: the used .40
S&W and the expensive 1911.
Guns chambered for .40 S&W aren’t
too popular these days, and more manu-
facturers are dropping .40-cal offerings
from their rosters. It was supposed to be
a do-all cartridge, but it ended up be-
ing something of a redheaded stepchild
instead. It replaced neither the 9mm
nor the .45 ACP, both of which are more
popular now than they ever were for
their respective qualities.
The reason you find a number of used
.40s on the shelf is because they’re just
generally obsolete. Law enforcement
agencies were the primary users of the
GUNDIGEST.COM
cartridge, and then they began dropping
it for 9mm as more advanced bullets
became widely accepted and available.
Surplus pistols are often cheap and
badly beaten up, but they do work well
in most cases.
If you buy a .40-cal., such as a Glock
22 or a Sig P320, you can easily get a
second barrel in .357 Sig and 9mm, the
latter of which will require new maga-
zines. One gun can be easily swapped
between these three calibers should
availability be an issue.
The 1911 pistols are often priced
above the comfort level of the average
buyer. As a result, they’re probably the
most common sight in the gun bread
line at Cabela’s. These are heavy guns,
but they certainly aren’t impossible to
carry. The 1911 was the standard for
about a century, and there’s a myriad of
good holster options for them out there.
Remember: A good belt makes the 1911
quite easy to tote around.
TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET
A nice thing about larger guns is that
they’re almost always available in one
form or another. Hard times cause inno-
vation, and it’s likely with more and more
people owning guns these days, there’ll
be a corresponding increase in demand
for options to make them suitable for
carry and everyday use.
Don’t be discouraged if a full-size
pistol is all you can get—just make
sure to take the steps to ensure it
ends up on your belt and not
just the nightstand.
A cinch-style belt like the
Galco is the author’s choice,
as it allows universal ad-
justment. Traditional belts
are, of course, feasible but
are limited to their adjust-
ment holes, resulting in a
situation where it can be
either too tight or too loose,
both of which are bad.
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |79
LADIES NIGHT OUT
Purse carry is a form of off-body
carry that’s very popular with the
ladies. While there are arguments
against off-body carry, carrying
in a purse specially designed for
the purpose ensures that there’s
a gun present, even if it’s difficult
to access.
The main complaint about
purse carry is that it keeps the gun
in a place where it can be easily
snatched or hard to get to. Having
a gun in the first place is 90 per-
cent of the battle, with the last 10
percent being how you carry it.
MIAMI CLASSIC
What about shoulder holsters?
The 1970s detective ethos lives in
many products available today,
and it’s a viable method of carry
for many people, especially with a
large handgun. There are unfortu-
nately not that many high-quality
options out there, and those that
do exist in factory from are some-
times poorly constructed and
expensive.
Advice: If you do this, make
sure you get wide shoulder straps
for weight distribution. Nothing
makes a neck as sore as a heavy
gun dangling from it. Look
to Galco as a repu-
table source.
 WHY YOU SHOULD CA R RY A CONCEALE D WEAPON// TOM GIVENS

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 WHY YOU
SHOULD CARRY
A CONCEALED
WEAPON
It’s your responsibility, and
your right, to protect yourself.
F
or many of us, the question of
“why you should carry a gun”
seems silly, given the current
state of affairs in the United
States early in the 21st century. Carry-
ing a concealed weapon allows one, re-
gardless of gender, age or physical abil-
ity, to control his or her own immediate
environment and thereby have options
in various emergencies that unarmed
people simply do not enjoy.
Carrying a gun is simply part of rec-
ognizing and accepting responsibility
for one’s own actions, one’s own safety
and the security of one’s own family.
Indeed, with the level of lawlessness
GUNDIGEST.COM
evident in today’s society, it might be the
social duty of decent, intelligent people
to arm themselves.
A cursory review of recent statistics is
all the justification we need:
01. The No. 1 cause of on-the-job deaths
in the United States is homicide.
02. One of every six on-the-job deaths
is a homicide.
03. Each year in the U.S., there are
about 15,000 reported murders. This
figure does not include homicides not
reported, including persons who just
vanished without a trace. The true fig-
ure is thought to be closer to 30,000 to
40,000 persons.
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 WHY YOU SHOULD CA R RY A CONCEALE D WEAPON// TOM GIVENS
As of 2014, all 50 states in the U.S.
have at least a theoretical system for
private citizens to acquire a permit
or license to carry a handgun on their
person for self-defense.
The author sees nothing wrong
with wearing his concealed pistol to
church. Anywhere there are people
gathered, there’s a potential for
lethal violence.
04. Advances in trauma care mean
fewer than one in 10 people who
are shot with a firearm actually dies
from that injury. In 2017, there were
almost 1 million people shot, stabbed
or bludgeoned seriously in the U.S.
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Although these did not become ho-
micide statistics, thousands of them
were left blind, paralyzed or otherwise
crippled for life.
05. In Memphis, Tennessee, for
instance, in 2013, there were 154 ho-
micides. There were, however, 9,165
incidences in which someone tried to
kill someone else; they just were not
successful. The main trauma center
there, for instance, which is only one
hospital out of 20 in the metropolitan
area, treated 3,100 people for gunshot
wounds that year alone.
06. According to the U.S. Department
of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics
(BJS), almost 6 million people a year
in the U.S. are victims of some violent
crime each year. Therefore, this is not
some arcane, esoteric threat that occa-
sionally happens. Violence and violent
crime are an everyday fact of life in
modern U.S. cities.
07. The annual BJS report for 2017
showed the following numbers, for
just that one year: total violent crimes,
5,612,670; rapes, female victim,
393,980; robbery, 613,840; aggravated
assault, 993,170; serious violent crime
involving injury to the victim, 643,760;
stranger violence (victim and offender
unknown to each other), 2,034,100.
DAILY THREATS
According to the BJS, you have a 1-in-
49 chance of being the victim of a
violent crime in a single year, not your
lifetime. So, the odds are not “one in a
million,” they are “one in a few dozen.”
GUNDIGEST.COM
 Throughout most
of this past century,
as the population
became more
urbanized and
government began
playing a larger
role in everyone’s
daily life, more and
more cities/states
adopted laws
against the carry-
ing of weapons in a
misguided attempt
to prevent violence.
It hasn’t worked
very well, has it? In
Chicago (pictured)
alone, more than
530 people were
murdered in 2018.

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 WHY YOU SHOULD CARRY A CONCEALE D WEAPON// TOM GIVENS
If we only consider aggravated as-
sault and no other violent crimes,
there were an average of 2,721 ag-
gravated assaults per day in 2017. The
FBI’s definition of aggravated assault is
“an unlawful attack involving serious
bodily injury to the victim, or the use
of a deadly weapon or other means
likely to cause death or serious injury.”
In other words, that’s almost 3,000
times each day someone tries to injure
someone else in the United States.
Taking sensible precautions against
something that common is not being
paranoid, it’s being smart.
Each year, fewer than a dozen peo-
ple die from snake bites in the United
States, and around 50 are killed by
lightning. Almost everyone takes
EVERYTHING
YOU EVER
WANTED TO
KNOW
This article is an excerpt from Tom
Givens’ Concealed Carry Class: The ABCs
of Self-Defense Tools and Tactics, which
is specifically designed to arm the 21st
Century armed citizen with the required
knowledge to carry safely and legally.
Need a copy? Visit GunDigestStore.com
and search “Concealed Carry Class.”
84|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
precautions against snake bites and
lightning strikes, although statistically
the threat is insignificant. Criminal
violence, on the other hand, takes
place every day, in every sort of place,
all over the nation, and effects one in
every 50 people every year.
Why then doesn’t everyone carry a
gun? Everyone likes to think, “Violent
crime only happens to someone else.”
Well, to everyone else on the planet,
you are someone else!
Consider this data from the FBI
uniform crime report for 2017, a sadly
typical year. In that one year, there
were 1,247,321 violent, interpersonal
crimes reported by police agencies
to the FBI. These are murder, forc-
ible rape, robbery, aggravated assault
and assault. Please note that this is a
voluntary reporting system, and many
police agencies do not report totals
to the FBI, so this number is actually
much lower than the true total. Ac-
cording to the FBI, aggravated assault
accounted for 65 percent of these vio-
lent crimes, while robbery accounted
for 25.6 percent.
These are the crimes that require us
to go armed.
Many people are what I call “will-
fully ignorant.” Not only do they not
know the actual level of crime indicat- the fact to make a report. Your per-
ed by these statistics, they don’t want sonal safety is, as it always has been,
to know. If they knew, they might ac- your responsibility.
tually have to do something about it.
Throughout most of this past cen- YOU’RE NOT HELPLESS
tury, as the population became more Over the past decade or so, a number
urbanized and government began of states have recognized that a dis-
playing a larger role in everyone’s armed citizenry is at the nonexistent
daily life, more and more cities/states mercy of sociopathic criminals who
adopted laws against the carrying of often engage in mindless violence
weapons in a misguided attempt to even after the victims have submit-
prevent violence. It hasn’t worked very ted. The proliferation of drugs, youth
well, has it? gangs and highly disturbed persons
In addition, the populace has been has created a call from citizens that they
taught for several generations now be allowed the means to protect them-
to depend on the government for selves and their families; and this call
everything, including education, so- has been answered in every state.
cial mores and personal security. The As of 2014, all 50 states in the U.S.
problem is, the government cannot have at least a theoretical system for
and will not guarantee your personal private citizens to acquire a permit or
safety. The police, except in extremely license to carry a handgun on their
rare cases, will only come along after person for self-defense. Illinois, the last
GUNDIGEST.COM

holdout, was forced to come online in
2014. In fact, states that have enacted
reasonable carry permit laws have since
seen a decline in the rate of homicide
and other violent crimes. It should be
obvious that citizens who go to consid-
erable time, paperwork, and expense
to legally carry a firearm will not be a
problem. The problem is the population
of thugs who ignore laws against mur-
der, rape, robbery, drug peddling, etc.,
and who should not then be expected to
obey laws against carrying guns.
One thing I would like you to consider:
In our culture, there is always a lot of
media-generated noise about civil rights
and human rights. What do you suppose
the most basic human right or civil right
is? It is the right to self-defense. Without
the right to self-preservation all of the
other rights are meaningless.
You have a right to be alive, and to
GUNDIGEST.COM
WORKPLACE
VIOLENCE
Violence in America is an everyday issue, and
no one is immune. According to the National As-
sociation of Security Professionals (NASP), the
total number of reported homicides in the U.S. is
about 15,500 per year, but adjusted for unreport-
ed cases, the total is thought to be about double
that figure. The same goes for other crimes,
which are often grossly under-reported for a
number of reasons.
Violence in the workplace mirrors the situ-
ation in the country as a whole. The Occupa-
tional Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
reports 1,000 workplace homicides per year, but
that does not include a huge number committed
at businesses too small to come under OSHA
reporting guidelines. OSHA reports 51,000 sexual
assaults in the workplace per year, but again
those not coming under OSHA are thought to
number as high as 500,000 incidents per year.
More Americans are murdered at work than die
from any other on-the-job cause.
Some of the factors that increase the risk of
violence in the workplace include: exchang-
ing money with the public; working alone or in
isolated areas; providing services and care; and
working in retail sales. That pretty well sums up
darn near everyone’s job.
WHAT CAN YOU DO
TO REDUCE YOUR RISKS?
1. Accept that violence can occur anywhere, any-
The Occupational
time there are people present. You are not “safe”
Safety and Health
Administration just because you’re at work.
(OSHA) reports 1,000
workplace homicides
per year, but that does
2. Take outbursts, erratic behavior or threats
not include a huge by coworkers seriously. Report such activity to
number committed at
businesses too small
security or HR and insist on follow-up.
to come under OSHA
reporting guidelines. 3. Where allowed, wear your gear. When some-
More Americans are
one is shooting up your office, the sidearm at
murdered at work than
die from any other on- home in the sock drawer will not be of much use
the-job cause.
to you.
live without being killed, crippled or crous. It is just like telling you that you
raped in an unlawful, immoral attack have the right to a free press, but that
by a sociopath. Telling you that you you may not possess ink or paper.
have the right to self-defense, but that If you have the right to self-defense,
you may not possess a weapon is ludi- you have the right to be armed.
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 COVE RT R IFLE CA R RY // PATRICK ROBERTS
Pray for the best,
prepare for the worst.
A
ll it takes to be reminded
of the rapid cultural
changes in America is to
flip on a TV. Not long ago,
the only place that you’d hear about
protests and riots was in a history
book; now they’ve become common-
place with politically driven tensions
at an all-time high. Maybe it was time
to rethink my approach to defending
my family.
It seems the days of a five-shot .38
Special tucked in a pocket holster
might be coming to an end; after all,
those are at best case a two-bad-guy
gun with great shot placement. Many
concealed carriers move to a 15-round
86|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
polymer pistol like the FN 509 Mid-
size MRD or Glock 19; now we’ve a
five- or six-bad-guy gun, if your shot
placement is damn near perfect.
But what if you find yourself in the
middle of a “peaceful” protest? Even
that six-bad-guy gun isn’t going to
stop dozens, potentially even more
than that.
It seems that the concept of a mod-
ern “truck gun” has more relevancy
than ever before. In years past that
might’ve referred to a beater ranch rifle
used to dispatch the odd coyote or
other rural pest; but the last decade has
seen a shift from those old bolt actions
to modern semi-auto rifles.
OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND
Not long ago, it wasn’t uncommon to
see a rifle rack in the back window of
a pickup. Concerns of theft have made
that a thing of the past, but that doesn’t
mean that folks don’t have a rifle
tucked away in their vehicle. Keeping a
rifle hidden from view has a downside,
though: You probably can’t access it
quickly and, if you can, it probably isn’t
hidden all that well.
That’s where a discrete rifle bag
comes into play. Clever designs like the
Tuff Products Sentinel Concepts Elite
Revelation II backpack, Elite Survival
Systems Stealth backpack and Vertx’s
Gamut series of backpacks bring new
GUNDIGEST.COM
options to the table when trying to
keep a rifle from prying eyes. While
they look like a standard backpack,
they’ve been designed to look like a
run-of-the-mill bag and not raise any
eyebrows.
If you aren’t interested in a back-
pack design, there are plenty of other
bags on the market that no one would
suspect carried a long-gun. Your bag
choice will ultimately be driven by
your rifle and how you wish to conceal
that bag in your car.

YOUR CAR ISN’T A GUN SAFE

Do you need a high-speed bag to hide

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 COVE RT R IFLE CA R RY // PATRICK ROBERTS

“While many ‘truck guns’ only leave

the truck when the rifle is being
used or cleaned, that’s a terrible
idea—your door locks don’t make
your vehicle a gun safe.”
a rifle in your vehicle? No, but it isn’t (Far right) Open the CARB Bag and you find
a 14.5-inch AR-15 fitted with a LAW Tactical
until you get out of the car that the Folder, electronic muffs and eye protection.
covert bag really shines. While many
“truck guns” only leave the truck when
the rifle is being used or cleaned, the
reality is that’s a terrible idea—your
door locks don’t make your vehicle a
gun safe. The new Sentinel Concepts Elite Board Bag
from Tuff Products is large enough to hide
The ability to discretely take my rifle just about any long-gun … in plain sight.
inside at night without the thought of The Alamo Precision Rifles .308 Win preci-
sion rifle tucks neatly into the bag while the
“gun” entering an onlooker’s mind has other pocket holds needed to take a long-
been the single biggest benefit to the range training course.

covert bags I own. It wasn’t until I went

on a nine-day road trip with my 14.5-
inch do-all AR-15 that I truly appreci-
ated the ability to take my overnight
bag and the Tuff Products Sentinel
Concepts CARB bag into a hotel with-
out anyone even raising an eyebrow.
In fact, on more than one occasion I
was asked if I played keyboard due to
the CARB bag’s resemblance to a nylon
keyboard case.

IT ISN’T JUST FOR ‘TRUCK GUNS’

A discrete rifle bag isn’t just limited for
transport to and from your vehicle: It
also makes a ton of sense if you’re at a
training class or live in an area that isn’t
overly fond of guns. The last thing you
want to happen while armed with some-
thing that a news reporter would un-
doubtedly label as “fully semi-automatic
assault clipazine-fed soul snatcher” is an
uncomfortable conversation with some-
one who realizes you have a rifle.
It’s far better to play it cool as though
you tickle the ivories in the church
band, are headed off for a hike or any
number of other things that don’t in-
clude the .308 Winchester bolt-action
that’s actually in your bag.
NOT ALL COVERT
BAGS ARE EQUAL
Be prepared to spend a few dollars
on a high-quality bag; you don’t want
to deal with a torn bag when you’re
checking out of that swanky hotel.
When it comes to backpacks and bags,
quality costs a few bucks.
Sure, you could maybe get away
with any number of bags and cases de-
signed for other things but those might
not protect your firearm like you hope.
Depending on your rifle, you might
want to take care when putting a mag-
nified optic-equipped rifle into a bag.
It wouldn’t be the first
time that a quality optic
met its demise in a bag that
someone thought would pro-
tect their several-thousand-dollar
scope.
Your bag choice needs to be cen-
tered around the rifle or AR pistol you
intend on carrying. You aren’t going to
be able to shoehorn that 16-inch Smith

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 & Wesson M&P15 that you’ve had for
years into a backpack that looks like a
regular backpack.
My personal go-to bags are all from
Tuff Products because they’re well
thought out, built well and blend in
extraordinarily well. The fact that
the brains behind all three of my Tuff
Products bags happens to be a great
friend, who spends more time behind
a windshield than anyone else I know,
is a side benefit.

SETTING A RIFLE UP
FOR COVERT BAGS
Once you’ve identified your base rifle
and made the decision as to what bag

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 COVE RT R IFLE CA R RY // PATRICK ROBERTS

This 8-inch .300 Blackout SBR with a

LAW folder is compact to stow in just
about any discrete rifle bag on the
market.

you want to use, get your rifle setup

for stowing in the bag. That means
figuring out how to hold mags, mag
pouches and slings in the bag—with-
out making the rifle impossible to get
out of the bag quickly. Figuring out a
place to stow some eye and ear protec-
tion is also a great idea.
As far as the rifle itself is concerned,
the first thing I recommend looking at
is a LAW Tactical folder … if your cho-
sen rifle is an AR-15. Bolt-actions can
use any number of folding stock chas-
sis, and if you have something like an
under-folder AK, your work is pretty
much already done for you. Double-
check that your optic and lights are
securely mounted to the rifle or AR
pistol, and strap that bad boy into your
bag. Tuck the rest of your kit (mags,
pouches, etc.) in the bag as you can,
but don’t over stuff the thing. The goal
is to blend in while carrying enough
gun to get you out of nearly every situ-
ation, not invade a small country.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Now that you have the bag and it’s all
setup, practice with it. Spend some
time doing dry runs getting the gun
out of the bag to have an idea of how
long it’ll take you to go from identify-
ing a threat to getting that long-gun
into the fight. While a rifle is a su-
perior defensive tool, you might not
have the time to get to it—and your
concealed-carry pistol might be a far
better option.
Practicing how to efficiently em-
ploy the gun will not only give you
a realistic expectation of how long it
takes, but you’ll also likely find differ-
ent ways to stage your kit in the bag to
make it a touch easier to get the rifle
out of the bag and on target.
IT’S NOT FOR EVERYONE
Don’t think that I’m saying everyone
should carry a long-gun everywhere
they go. The truth is, 99 percent of
Americans will never need a setup like
this and would be best served with a
concealed-carry pistol.
That said, no one should chas-
tise someone for deciding to keep a
long-gun close at hand. The Second
Amendment gives me the freedom to
toss a rifle on my back, should I feel a
justification to do so. I just prefer to do
it in a way that doesn’t result in a photo
of me, holding the world’s cringiest
SKS in a Chipotle, going viral.
Chastising gun owners with poor
taste, like Chipotle SKS guy Flakoo
Decampo, is perfectly acceptable
though.

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 Checking into a hotel with
Tuff’s Revelation II has never
once raised an eyebrow.
Open the Sentinel Concepts
Elite Revelation II and pull
the concealment panel away
for easy access to an AR with
up to a 10.5-inch barrel and a
LAW folder.

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 UNSUNG HE ROE S// DAVE MERRILL AND TOM MARSHALL

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W
e’re a long way from
1980. Our manufactur-
ing capabilities have
seen light-years of
advancement, not only in the past 40
years but also in the last five. Computer-
controlled manufacturing and new
software tools no longer solely serve the
realm of Big Auto with billions backing
them. Thanks to the inevitability of econ-
omies of scale and price reductions from
competition, ever-smaller companies can
afford access to tools once relegated to
only the largest. And still more can stand
on the shoulders of giants. As soon as one
GUNDIGEST.COM
company figures out a complex problem,
others will follow.
This is happening in every industry,
COVID-cutbacks notwithstanding, and
firearms are no different. The cheapest
and most inexpensive guns produced
in 2020 are more reliable than nearly
everything else produced 30 years ago.
The quality gap is rapidly shrinking.
One of the side effects is that we sim-
ply break fewer guns, and heaven only
knows we try to do this in every issue.
This increase in reliability is directly
passed onto consumers.
Partially due to the rush to fulfill the
or CCW.
U.S. Military’s Modular Handgun System
(MHS) competition, and a big chunk
due to these new capabilities, American
consumers have access to higher quality,
more robust handguns than any other
time in human history—by an extremely
wide margin.
The Gen 3 Glock is now a completely
plug-and-play pistol, with endless parts
and pieces available. And Sig Sauer has
taken the chassis-system crown with
their P320. But that doesn’t mean other
pistols aren’t just as capable. There was
a time when simply running for over
1,000 rounds sans malfunctions would
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 UNSUNG HE ROE S// DAVE MERRILL AND TOM MARSHALL
essentially guarantee the success of
any given handgun. But now the bar
has been raised. Even with a bevy of
modern options, such as OEM optic-
cut slides, ambidextrous controls,
and standardized accessory rails, the
timing of a product release is still
everything.
With empty shelves at your local
gun store, you’re more likely to come
across one of these less-popular pistols.
Sure, you might not find a drop-in
trigger for them on Amazon and your
holster selection may be more limited,
especially if you aren’t carrying with a
weapon-mounted light, but many can
and will do the work.
Over the next few pages, we high-
light some standouts that didn’t make
it “big” for one reason or another.
We’ve found all of them to be more
accurate and reliable than their circu-
lation numbers would otherwise im-
ply, with advanced features like such
as optics-cut slides. We’d gladly carry
any of them on our hips.
94|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
CZ
P10C
CALIBER: 9mm
BARREL LENGTH: 4.02 inches
OAL: 7.3 inches
WEIGHT (UNLOADED): 26 ounces
CAPACITY: 15
MSRP: $499 ($577 for optics-ready version)
URL: cz-usa.com
The CZ P10C is, in our opinion, a tragically under-
rated carry pistol. It’s almost the least expensive
pistol on this list, with a suite of well-thought-out
features that outrun some of its competitors
who’ve had generations of pistols to fix their
oversights—and still haven’t. For example, the
P10C comes out-of-the-box with steel sights
featuring a tritium front dot and plain serrated
rear unit, equipped with a hard ledge suitable for
one-handed slide racking.
This pistol also has one of the best (if not
the best) striker triggers from the factory that
we’ve ever tested. Our sample gun consistently
broke between 4 and 4.5 pounds with absolutely
no modification whatsoever. It was designed
from the outset to be compatible with Glock 19
holsters, though we experienced hit-and-miss
results with this feature. Some brands of G19
sheaths fit the P10C like a glove. Others … not so
much. This was a handy work-around at launch,
but the P10C has been around long enough that
at least a handful of holster makers now produce
models specifically for this pistol. The stock
frame texture is effective, the ergonomics a
noticeable step up from other guns in this class,
and the second-generation P10C introduced a
swappable magazine release.
To be honest, we’re not really sure why the
P10C isn’t more popular, especially now that
there’s an optics-ready model. It checks all the
major boxes for a modern CCW pistol, from a
Picatinny rail frame to interchangeable back-
straps, on up to ambi/swappable controls and
an impressively refined stock trigger. For shoot-
ers looking to purchase a carry or bedside pistol
that’s ready to go from the register, who have
little or no aspirations of playing around in the
aftermarket, the P10C is often our first or second
recommendation.
CZ pistols have long carried a sort of gun-
hipster reputation. They’re the sidearm you carry
when you want a thoroughly modern, high-per-
forming handgun but also want to buck the trend
in a sea of boxy black pistols. Well-appointed
and competitively priced, the P10C unfortunately
remains a second-class citizen in a world of ever-
more-widespread concealed carry.
GUNDIGEST.COM
 This article was originally published in Gun Digest’s sister publication, CONCEALMENT, Issue 20.

IWI
Masada
CALIBER: 9mm
nounced in 2017, the red-dot-ready 509 Tactical Sauer Romeo1 and Vortex Venom, as well as a
BARREL LENGTH: 4.1 inches wasn’t released until 2018; the main difference blank plate if you don’t want to run an MRDS.
OAL: 7.4 inches was that the 509T was optics-ready and came As for plussing up on spare mags, it looks
with a threaded barrel. As for Sig, one of the cool- like your only option is to pick up factory IWI
WEIGHT (UNLOADED): 23 ounces est features of the P320 is the serialized chassis, mags at $30 each. There’s no aftermarket or
CAPACITY: 10, 17 which can be removed from one frame and common-design mag out there that fits the
popped into another without any special tools. Masada.
MSRP: $480
The Masada has all of that too, though you’ll The Masada has many of the features of
URL: iwi.us have to shell out a few more bucks for the better-known, field-proven pistols, and it
threaded barrel. It’s truly ambidextrous with performs just as well. With so much potential
IWI combined some of the best features of its
magazine release buttons and slide stops on for growth amid the hopeful release of different
competitors, intentionally or not, and incorpo-
each side—no need to disassemble the pistol to frames, the Masada could give the Sig P320 a
rated them into the Masada. It’s the mating of the
swap the mag release to the other side. Inter- run for its money.
Sig Sauer P320, FN 509 Tactical and Glock 19X.
changeable backstraps accommodate small, And with the Masada’s $480 price tag—lower
All these guns have something in common—ver-
medium or large hands. than any of the other pistols mentioned—we
sions of each were submitted for the U.S. Army’s
The Masada ships with mounting plates for think the new offering from IWI is surely worth it.
2015 XM17 Modular Handgun System solicitation.
the Trijicon RMR, Leupold DeltaPoint Pro, Sig
While the truly ambidextrous FN 509 was an-

GUNDIGEST.COM CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |95

 UNSUNG HE ROE S// DAVE MERRILL AND TOM MARSHALL
Beretta
APX RDO
CALIBER: 9mm
BARREL LENGTH: 4.25 inches
OAL: 7.5 inches
WEIGH (UNLOADED): 33.3 ounces
CAPACITY: 15, 21
MSRP: $549
URL: beretta.com
The Beretta APX was designed and built as a
contender for the Army MHS program, taking
a bit longer to come to the civilian market than
the other competitors. This was likely the fatal
flaw for it. Though the first variant offered to
civilians didn’t include an optics-ready slide or
a threaded barrel, they’re now available.
For a striker-fired plastic fantastic, the APX’s
trigger is pretty good. For 1911 fans, that falls
somewhere between a custom-fit light trigger
and an old-school USGI trigger that actually
works. Call it better than a stock Gen3 Glock
and a hair behind the new Gen5. That is to say,
totally acceptable. The reduced-power spring
drops the trigger weight to just over 4 pounds.
One wart to the slightly smaller Centurion
and Compact models relative to the full-size is
that the most popular WMLs simply won’t fit.
No double CR-123 SureFire or Streamlight here,
96|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
unless you want to rely solely on tension be-
cause none can reach the front lug. The Insight
APS-C works out of the box though.
The APX has a striker release so the pistol
can be taken down without pulling the trigger.
Undoubtedly, this is in reaction to some law en-
forcement agency concerns about the need to
pull the trigger on Glocks for a basic takedown.
In practice, using this feature is cumbersome;
you must hold the slide back slightly out of
battery while simultaneously using a tool to
depress the plunger. Better yet, just ensure it’s
clear and pull the trigger in a safe direction.
Another nuance of taking down the APX
that may seem unconventional to those ac-
customed to some other plastic fantastics is
that you don’t lock the slide back to engage the
takedown lever. However, if you’re familiar with
the Beretta M9/92, you’ll be right at home. You
simply release the striker, push in the takedown
lever from the left, and rotate it down on the
right. The slide comes right off. Once again,
we’re seeing some of those Italian genetics.
GUNDIGEST.COM
 This article was originally published in Gun Digest’s sister publication, CONCEALMENT, Issue 20.
Canik
TP9 Elite
Combat
CALIBER: 9mm
BARREL LENGTH: 4.73 inches
OAL: 7.88 inches
WEIGHT (UNLOADED): 25.8 ounces
CAPACITY: 15, 18
MSRP: $850
URL: canikarms.com
We first got our hands on a Canik TP9SA at the
end of 2014. At the time, it set the new standard
for a budget-friendly pistol, but we still had some
complaints, namely a quasi-decocker button
built into the top of the slide—exactly where you’d
want to mount a red dot. With the next revision,
the TP9SF remedied that issue, along with sev-
eral other ergonomic upgrades such as extending
the ambidextrous slide stop and enlarging the
magazine release.
Though Canik had an optics-ready pistol with
the longer-slide TP9SFX and an OEM threaded-
barrel variant in the TP9SF, it wasn’t until 2017
that they released what we’d consider their pin-
nacle pistol: the TP9 Elite Combat.
To make and design the Elite Combat, Canik
teamed up with Salient Arms International. Start-
GUNDIGEST.COM
ing with a TP9SFX, SAI contributed a nitrided,
fluted barrel, a carry-conscious magwell, and
fiber-optic sights. Canik also added a new alu-
minum flat-faced trigger with zero creep which
cleanly breaks at 5 pounds, new +3 magazine
extensions, and either nitride or nickel-coating on
all internal components and small parts.
Unlike the other pistols mentioned here, Canik
was thoughtful enough to include an OWB reten-
tion holster as part of the package deal—but we
recommend skipping it as it features a trigger-
finger-to-release system à la Blackhawk’s Serpa.
A minor complaint we have is that the barrel
is threaded in metric 13.5x1LH as opposed to
1/2x28mm. Sure, it’s a pistol from overseas, but
even Glock and CZ now have ’Merica options from
the factory.
The TP9 Elite Combat ships with four different
adapter plates that easily accommodate most
MRDS on the market, sans the Aimpoint Acro or
brand-new Trijicon RMRcc. A standout feature of
the Canik plates is that a small charging handle
can be attached to either side; while normally
we’d relegate that for gaming, it’s pretty handy.
However, the plate doesn’t allow for iron sights of
any kind, likely one reason it didn’t hit the market
as hot as it deserved.
CONCEALED CARRY|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE |97
 TESTFIRE // GUN DIGEST EDITORS
HERITAGE’S
BARKEEP
RIMFIRE
REVOLVER
,WpVDoSLQWVL]HGpEODVW
T
here are those things that no
matter how archaic they be-
come never lose their allure,
like fireplaces, antique cars
and single-action revolvers. Handgun
technology has made the style of wheel-
gun a living fossil of sorts, with—outside
hunting—few practical purposes. Yet,
there’s always a special feeling fanning
back the hammer and tripping the hair-
trigger on one of these beauties.
Heritage Manufacturing hit all these
right notes in the most recent addition
to its stable in its rimfire rendition of
the storied Colt “Storekeeper” revolver.
98|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|CONCEALED CARRY
Dubbed the Barkeep, the .22 LR/.22
WMR six-shooter offers the same Old
West style as the original double-action,
but at a price most shooters can afford.
From the manufacturer: This pint-
sized revolver has an Old West flair and
was inspired by the 19th Century Colt
“Storekeeper” model. The single-action
Barkeep comes chambered and ships
with the affordable .22 LR six-shot
rimfire cylinder and 2-inch barrel. This
revolver is also compatible and designed
to work with an interchangeable .22
WMR six-shot cylinder option.
Built for optimal concealability in a
HERITAGE
BARKEEP
CALIBER: .22 LR Cylinder
OVERALL LENGTH: 7.95 Inches
CAPACITY: 6 Rounds
CYLINDERS INCLUDED: 1
TWIST RATE: 1:10 RH
FIRING SYSTEM: Hammer
FRAME FINISH: Black Oxide or
Simulated Case Hardened
ACTION TYPE: SAO
SAFETY: Manual
FRONT SIGHTS: Fixed, 4.86 Inches
REAR SIGHT: Notch at Rear
GRIP: Custom Scroll Wood or Gray Pearl
MSRP: $180
light and portable package, the Barkeep
boasts fixed open sights for fast action
and a clean sight picture. Several grip
options deliver classic Western styling
to complement the standard black oxide
or case-hardened frame finish. With a
2-inch barrel configuration, this com-
pact carry revolver also includes a stylish
ejector pin with a turned wood handle
with an “H” logo on top to give it the full
days-of-yore feel. The Barkeep checks all
the boxes for form and function.
Look for a full review of the Barkeep
by Patrick Sweeney in an upcoming is-
sue of Gun Digest.
GUNDIGEST.COM
 NO MATTER WHAT YOU CARRY,
DESANTIS HAS YOU COVERED

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