Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Gun Digest

The products and techniques we use to aim firearms and send bullets exactly where we want them to go are, quite possibly, the most overlooked and under-appreciated aspects of what we do as shooters. Think about it. Guns are interesting, and more often than not they’re attractive. Plus, they’re fun. Guns are the workhorse of the entire system because they send the bullets. They create the action. And bullets are, though to a lesser degree, just as fascinating. I’ll argue that they’re just as attractive as guns and no less fascinating. What a bullet does upon entering a specific medium—we’re talking terminal ballistics here—is often nothing short of magical. Yes, it’s design and science, but it’s still magical. And then we have the tie that binds … the aiming solutions—the…

01 Barnes Bullets Reserve Ammo Barnes Bullets just dropped Barnes Reserve, a premium, handloaded ammo line built for hunters chasing accuracy in niche calibers. Exclusively available through the Barnes website, each cartridge is assembled in-house to match-grade tolerances, using top-tier components and rigorous QC for ultra-consistent performance. Designed for hard-to-find chamberings like .257 Weatherby Mag, 6.8 Western and 7mm SAUM, Barnes Reserve fills a void serious hunters have long dealt with. Every round features Barnes’ renowned LRX or Bore Rider bullets for maximum downrange effect. This isn’t just boutique ammo—it’s precision built for the field. MSRP: Starting at $99 per box 02 Hornady Precision Lab Digital Gun Room Scale Hornady’s Precision Lab Scale brings lab-grade accuracy straight to your reloading bench. With a 3,000-grain capacity and ultra-precise 0.01-grain readout, it’s…

Holosun has been in the red dot game for a spell now and more than understands the needs of shooters. Hence, the HS407K sight. The small and unassuming addition to a pistol—in my case, a shotgun—vastly enhances your ability not only to acquire targets, but also to hit them. Down to basics, the HS407K is a micro-red dot primarily designed for pistols, in particular one aimed at concealed carry. Coming in at 0.95 inch in height and 1 ounce in weight, even on this demure class of handguns, the optic doesn’t take up much room. Even better, it is small enough that it won’t throw the balance of a gun off either. Given its size, the red dot’s window is on the small side; however, crystal-clear glass and a very…

HISTORICAL NOTES The .219 Zipper was brought out in 1937 by Winchester for its Model 64 lever-action rifle, which was a modernization of the Model 94. This combination (as with the .218 Bee in the Model 65) did not prove suffciently accurate for long-range shooting on small targets and, in addition, did not allow the proper mounting of telescopic sights. Winchester discontinued the Model 64 after World War II. The last commercial rifle chambered for the cartridge was Marlin’s Model 336 lever action, discontinued in this chambering in 1961. A number of custom-made single-shot and Krag-Jorgensen rifles have been made for the .219 Zipper. It’s not and never has been very popular, and it’s based on the necked-down .25-35 WCF case. Winchester dropped the .219 Zipper in 1962, and Remington…

It’s in the nature of how our eyes work that you need light. While some of us can see better in “the dark” than others, even then there is some light. So, more light is better. But some lights are better than others, and the SureFire XC3 is one such light. Starting out, it offers 550 lumens for a runtime of 1.75 hours. It has a center beam of 7,500 candelas. Lumens is total output. Candelas is how much the center actually puts on target. You get a bright center, but with enough “spill” that you can see outside the center, which is useful. The body is made of aluminum and given the expected SureFire Type III hard anodizing. SureFire makes lights and other products not to meet some idea…

The idea of putting reflex or red-dot-style sights on pistols has been around for a while longer than you might imagine. What we call “modern optics cuts” also aren’t exactly new, but they are somewhat modern regarding the fact that miniature optics are a somewhat recent invention. Today, we have a tremendous number of options when it comes to applying a mini optic to your pistol and, well, there’s also a tremendous amount of confusion when it comes to what works with what. AN ABRIDGED (RECENT) HISTORY OF DOTS ON PISTOLS The old days of mounting optical sights to pistols revolved around the technology of the time, and the first red-dot sights to be brought to market were quite large and meant for mounting on rifles and shotguns. The mounts…

Until we learn to use sonar, or genetic manipulation gives us the means of thermal ID, we need light. But because this is America and there are lots of options … well, that doesn’t mean they are all correct. You have to choose—and you have to choose wisely. Here are a few things to keep in mind. 1. ENOUGH BUT NOT TOO MUCH The idea of a megawatt light source makes some of us a bit giddy. I mean, who doesn’t want to be wielding 2,500 lumens of tactical light or even more? Well, try doing anything indoors with that light. Room-clearing would be an awful experience, yes, but just plain searching for the blasted blankety-blank thing you need when the power is out would be a chore. In truth,…

Revolvers do not get a lot of interest these days. We could argue the reasons for this, but I think it’s apparent that modern shooters are more interested in compact 9mm handguns, which are lighter, easier to shoot and hold more ammunition. But this world has not changed that much, and a good revolver is just as viable of a tool as it was back during Prohibition when my grandfather was packing a Smith & Wesson Model 10. A new revolver that caught my eye is the S&W Model 686 Plus Mountain Gun from Lipsey’s. CALLED TO DUTY When I became a police officer in 1992, I was issued a Smith & Wesson Model 686 with a 4-inch barrel. Oddly, everyone else in my department was armed with a Glock…

Hornady has been on a roll the past few years with its line of ARC car-tridges. The 6mm ARC, .22 ARC and now .338 ARC are all impressive new cartridges that don’t disappoint. But there’s a burning question most of us have: Do they work as advertised? The .338 ARC intrigues me, and I want to know a lot more about it. What can it do? What can it not do? Why does it matter? For that to happen, I built what I’m calling “The Tester.” This “pistol” isn’t optimized for anything special, but rather it’s a jack-of-all-trades I’ll use to play around with .338 ARC to find its limits. .338 ARC vs. .300 BLK vs. 8.6 BLK Before we get in deep, it might help to clear up exactly…

Up until the introduction of the 8.6 Blackout cartridge I never had much interest in subsonic centerfire rifle cartridges. This was mostly because of the lackluster supersonic capabilities of the .300 Blackout and even the much newer .338 ARC. Once either cartridge is combined with a compact short-barreled-rifle (SBR) all you really have is a subsonic platform with limited application. The 8.6 Blackout is different, mostly because of its incredibly fast twist rate of 1 turn in 3 inches. From a terminal performance perspective this radically fast rotational velocity not only lets it outperform all other subsonic cartridges, but it also substantially increases its supersonic capabilities. That high performance dual use intrigues me. The 8.6 Blackout is a brainchild of Q, a firearms company in New Hampshire that’s probably best…

From never-fail striker-fired pistols to potent AR platforms, suppressible and manageable at the shoulder, home defense options are legion. Even with these choices, the 12-gauge shotgun still has a certain daunting mystique when manning the ramparts of your property line and addressing bumps in the night. Nothing quite says, “Get off my lawn!” more convincingly. And few companies have perfected the defensive scattergun like Mossberg. Like a dark and avenging spirit, the company’s 500 and 590 series pump guns strike fear into the black hearts of the felonious. However, there’s a fair case to be made that Mossberg’s newest semi-auto smoothbore has the chops to hold its own versus the company’s legends. Smooth shooting, easy to manipulate and fast as AC down copper wire, the newly minted 940 Pro Tactical…

Ruger started its Collector’s Series in 2014 for the 10/22’s 50th anniversary, but the company has continued to release new, unique, limited-run models for collectors. This year’s additions to the series include three new models: a 10/22 Sporter, a Mark IV 22/45 and a Super Wrangler revolver. This year’s Collector’s Series theme is an oak leaf and basket weave design. In the case of the 10/22 Sporter, it’s featured on the stock. In the case of the handguns, the same handsome pattern is on the grips. As a bonus, each Ruger Collector’s Series gun will ship with a metal license plate, a decal and a lapel pin. The Ruger Collector’s Series 10/22 and Mark IV 22/45 share an MSRP of $600, and the Super Wrangler has an MSRP of $370.…