Guns and Ammo

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Dick Anthony Heller is still fighting for his Second Amendment rights. In a case known as “Heller II,” he is one of five plaintiffs who want a court to ultimately declare Washington D.C.’s gun registry and other gun-control regulations unconstitutional.

In 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court heard District of Columbia v. Heller and ruled 5-to-4 that the Second Amendment is indeed an individual right. This decision struck down D.C.’s outright ban on handguns as well as regulations requiring all firearms be kept “unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock.”

These laws made it impossible for a homeowner to use a firearm in defense of their life. They also put Dick Anthony Heller in a twisted dilemma. As a special police officer in D.C., he carried a handgun in federal office buildings to protect government personnel, but he was not allowed to have a handgun or a viable long-gun for his own protection in his D.C. home.

When the U.S. military first adopted the M16 rifle in the 1960s, the M193 cartridge and its 55-grain bullet was standard. The earliest issued variations of Eugene Stoner’s “Black Rifle” came with relatively slow rifling twist rates of 1-in-14 inches. Shortly thereafter, nearly all M16s and M16A1s were being issued with faster 1-in-12-inch twist barrels.

In more modern times, bullets for military and civilian use have migrated to longer, heavier designs and twist rates have been altered to stay in-sync with this progression. With so many bullets and twist rates available these days, keeping track of which ammunition is compatible with your barrel can be overwhelming.

Before we get into the weeds on individual twist rates, let’s take a minute to discuss rifling in general. “Rifling” are the lands and grooves impregnated into the barrel’s interior that impart spin on a pro

Before every waterfowl season—which I anticipate like a kid on Christmas—I like to ceremoniously inventory my ammunition supply. Do I have enough goose loads? How am I doing on No. 2s? Could I use a few more No. 4s?

This year turned up an unexpected relic: Two dusty boxes of Federal Tungsten duck loads purchased approximately the year I graduated high school. Due to China’s fluctuating exports of Tungsten, Federal quit making them, but I now held my once-favorite shells. However, when I opened the box, disaster—the brass shell heads were green with corrosion. After spending years in storage and enduring some uneventful trips to the duck blind, the shells accumulated enough moisture to render them useless.

Their loss equated to no small financial blow, which is why I’m not normally in the business of allowing ammo to

When laser sights became widely available to consumers more than a decade ago, I didn’t pay them much attention. They appealed to Hollywood because of their aesthetics—but most folks thought they were kind of a joke.

The first time I used a quality laser sight in a low-light situation, I realized lasers were real tools with real-world applications. When I attended a Crimson Trace sponsored event at Gunsite a few years ago, I used their laser in conjunction with a white light to “fight” my way though a shoot house in the pitched-black desert night, I was sold.

Despite the fact that most of us conduct our firearms training during daylight hours, bad things usually happen at night. Realistic home defense scenarios involve low light, movement, difficult angles, crucial target identification, unorthodox shooting positions and the panic of a life or death encounter—one of these are conducive to precision shooting.

A laser—preferably in combination with a white light—allows the homeowner to identify a threat, acquire a sight picture (the image of the laser on the target), and stop the threat without changing one’s focus from the target back

It appears 2014 is shaping up to be an exciting year for several Remington product lines.

Their new offerings include specialized extensions of their Versa Max and 870 shotgun platforms, as well as their 700- and 783-series of rifles. A handful of new R1 pistols also join their lineup of 1911s.

Remington’s Ultimate Defense handgun ammunition will expand to include more calibers, and become split into two distinct performance categories—Full-Size Handgun and Compact Handgun. The Compact Handgun cartridges will be designed and loaded for optimal performance in popular concealed carry pistols.

Other new ammo includes Remington’s Golden Saber Black Belt, which we expect will replace standard non-bonded Golden Saber ammo, once it reaches the consumer market in Q3 of 2014. Initial offerings for Black Belt include 124-grain 9mm Luger, 124-grain+P 9mm Luger, 165- and 180-grain .40 S&W, and 230-grain .45 ACP.

For more information, check out the photos and specs below, and stay tuned for G&A’s additional coverage durin

The Springfield Armory 1911 Range Officer 9mm is the newest extension to Springfield’s line of 1911 pistols. Built from the 1911 foundation, the 9mm Luger version offers reduced recoil compared to the standard .45 ACP Range Officer, while also feeding from nine-round magazines.

The 9mm Range Officer features an adjustable rear target sight, which rides atop a forged steel slide with a standard length guide rod and 5-inch match grade barrel. Its forged steel frame houses a 4.5- to 5-pound trigger, an ambidextrous safety, checkered mainspring housing and Cocobolo wood grips.

A paddle holster, double mag pouch, two steel magazines and cleaning brush are also included with the pistol in a plastic carrying case.

The 9mm Range Officer will be available in January 2014 for $977.

Watch the video below for an exclusive look at Springfield’s new 1911 at the range. For the full review, be sure to check out an upcoming Complete Book of the 1911, available on newsstands Mar. 11, 2014.

These days there are many choices in the gas-operated 7.62mm sniper system world, which sometimes makes it confusing as you begin your quest for the perfect setup. I have spent plenty of my own money for lessons learned, so hopefully you won’t have to.

There are a few tricky parts and accessories that attract attention, but my intention is to always have a rifle that is reliable, accurate, simple and lightweight. “Simple” is a relative term. To me it’s a system that translates nicely from the M4-type carbine to the sniper system. Not only are the controls similar, but my accessories will be identical or extremely close. In the past these systems were available, but weight and reliability left us wanting. Thankfully, we now have a few choices that can cut the mustard in the lightweight sniping world. My lightweight choice is the <

John M. Browning’s portfolio includes several pistols, rifles and shotguns–but his machine gun designs are credited with unparalleled effectiveness throughout several major conflicts around the world.

On this segment of Guns & Ammo TV, Craig Boddington examines some of John M. Browning’s best machine guns.

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In Aug. 2013, Springfield Armory issued a voluntary safety recall for their .45 ACP and 9mm XD-S pistols.

Springfield Armory has since developed a solution to the potential problem, which includes a free upgrade service for every XD-S affected.

The upgrade includes a new grip safety and other internal components, which have been reported to make the action smoother than its original form.

To distinguish whether an XD-S has received the upgrade, simply inspect the outside of the grip safety without disassembling the gun. Pistols that have received the upgrade have a visible roll pin on the left and right side of the grip safety.

Hornady has recently announced a handful of new ammunition offerings for 2014.

A completely new line of ammunition, known as Custom Lite, delivers the performance folks have come to expect from Hornady, but with reduced recoil and muzzle blast. The Custom Lite line of ammo includes several rifle calibers, as well as 12 and 20 gauge shotgun slugs.

Hornady’s American Whitetail line of hunting ammo has expanded to include 12 gauge, 325-grain shotgun slugs.

Their Critical Duty line now includes .357 Sig with a 135-grain FlexLock bullet.

Hornady has also added a 20 gauge load to their Heavy Magnum Turkey line.

Check out the photos below, and look for these new offerings to be available in the first quarter of 2014.

If worst comes to worst and you ever have to pick up your trusty M4 clone and go to protecting hearth and home, which carbine cartridge is most likely to save your life?

While this debate has raged through the decades, flaring with every significant improvement and/or change in firearms design and ricocheting off of every military contract and police department purchase—the subject has grown even more complex of late, due to the introduction of dedicated M4/AR-15 cartridges such as the 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel and .300 Blackout.

Yes, I know: Many deserving carbine cartridges such as the 7.62x39mm want in. And sure, some of them will leave size-14 combat boot-prints all over the cartridges just listed. But much as I deplore the neces

The Dec. 7, 1941 Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor remain among the most significant turning points in world history.

In less than two hours, surprise raids claimed over 2,000 lives and injured more than one thousand. Combined loss and damage to the U.S. Military fleet included 21 ships and 347 aircraft.

To their sacrifice, we are eternally grateful.

Let us also remember the astonishing American perseverance and innovation that followed in the aftermath of the attacks. Despite the wounds at Pearl Harbor, the United States immediately mobilized its resources to defend freedom.

On Dec. 8, 1941, the U.S. declared war with Japan at the call of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s

Legislation proposed under ATF 41P would to further regulate how NFA items such as suppressors are transferred and owned in legal trusts.

The proposal makes it even more difficult for individuals to join NFA trusts. Among other burdens, the legislation would require each individual to go through a registration process, including permission from the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in your area.

Make your voice heard and stop this legislation by submitting a template letter from the American Silencer Association to the Federal Register by the deadline at 11:59 PM EST on Mon., Dec. 9, 2013.

That the Pacific Theatre of World War II was a harsh testing ground for both men and materiel is certainly an understatement. The United States and Imperial Japanese forces both fielded a variety of large weapons, but in many cases the outcome of a particular action would simply come down to the arms toted by the average foot soldier.

Though of short duration, Tarawa was the first battle in America’s Central Pacific campaign. Waged on the ground primarily by Japanese infantry and U.S. Marines, the battle rifles carried by the opposing forces couldn’t have been more different. On the U.S. side the main longarm was the semiautomatic M1 Garand, and on the Japanese, turnbolts whose basic t

The Browning Hi Power is a staple of John M. Browning’s achievements in firearm design. In production since the early 20th century, the Hi Power’s legacy is deeply rooted in military, law enforcement and civilian history around the globe.

However, many don’t realize the Hi Power went through several design changes to become the pistol we recognize today. On this segment of Guns & Ammo TV, Craig Boddington examines the evolution of the Browning Hi Power.

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Daniel Defense recently submitted a commercial to FOX to be played during the 2014 NFL Super Bowl XLVIII. Though the video doesn’t showcase one of the company’s popular DDM4 rifles, this paid advertisement spot was rejected by the NFL.

The commercial, which focuses on themes of personal protection and fundamental rights, was originally created by Daniel Defense to run in any network TV station at any time.

According to a statement from FOX to Daniel Defense, “Unfortunately, we cannot accept your commercial in football/Super Bowl spots due to the rules the NFL itself has set into place for your company’s category.”

The NFL’s Advertising Policy addresses several Prohibited Advertising Categories, including guidelines for ads featuring alcohol, video games, movies, prescription drugs, and, of course, firearms.

The firearms portion of the NFL’s Prohibited Advertising Categories

Our trigger fingers have been busy again this year to bring you exclusive gun reviews on an arsenal of firearms.

We’ve reviewed quite a collection of firearms since January, but a few select pieces stick out as some of our favorite reviews from the past 11 months. Whether you prefer rifles, pistols, shotguns or all of the above, odds are the guns on this list would look great in any collection.

Check out our picks for the best gun reviews of 2013, and be sure to read the full reviews of each.

Let’s get serious. For the vast majority of American hunters, “big game” means deer. And that includes me. Nothing gets me more excited than a nice buck. Thanks to a century of great conservation work, our North American deer are the most populous large game animals in the world — more than 30 million whitetails alone. This fall they will be pursued by more than 10 million hunters, by far the largest hunting culture in the world.

Some of those hunters will be successful; others will not. Many of them will gather with their buddies in deer camp or a local diner. They’ll talk about the current season and seasons past, and they’ll argue the merits of their favorite cartridges. This is part of the fun, but the truth is that there are dozens of

Anyone who’s cracked a gun or huntng magazine in the past few years has seen the huge explosion in all things related to hog hunting — guns, ammo, even TV shows. This is due in no small part to the explosion in the feral hog population (currently estimated between 4 and 5 million), but there’s more to it than that.

Personally, I didn’t understand it … until I did it. The simplest way to explain the popularity of hog hunting is that it has all the draw that prairie dog shooting does (usually, multiple animals to shoot at and limited or no restrictions on hunting), only the targets are bigger, closer and tougher, which means you get to use “real” guns, guns that are designed for shooting game animals, not varmints.

Also, any style of hunting you like, you can probably do while going after hogs — day hunting, night hunting

Those of us who own AR-15s understand the sense of pride we take in accessorizing our modern sporting rifles. There’s always a new piece of gear out there to make rifles more personalized and enjoyable.

Whether you’re creating your own wish list or shopping for someone else, G&A has you covered. Check out our holiday gift guide for modern sporting rifles, and come range time you’ll be singing yuletide carols to the tune of your favorite rifle.