Innholdsfortegnelse for April - May 2023 i Personal Defense World

PDW GUEST EDITORIAL THE ANNUAL SHOOTING, HUNTING AND OUTDOOR TRADE (SHOT) SHOW is again in the books, and by all accounts it was another raging success. The fourday show boasted pre-pandemic level attendance, with more than 52,000 firearms industry professionals packing the nearly 14 miles of aisles to view new, innovative products used for self-defense, target shooting, hunting, competition and other outdoor recreational pursuits. THE GOOD As Chris Dolnack, senior vice president and chief customer officer of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which sponsors the show, put it: “I always say the SHOT Show is like Christmas morning and the Super Bowl all in one, and this year it was that and more. We are thrilled at the positive response from our attendees and optimistic for a strong year of…

My journey with balisong, or “butterfly,” knives began in the early 1990s with a purchase of a Benchmade Balisong Model #259 from a kiosk in a Charleston, South Corolino, mall. At that time, I had no experience with the twin-handle whirling dervish blade. It just caught my eye, aided by the young salesperson manipulating it closed and open almost as an afterthought while he talked with me. I was clueless that butterfly knives had the same legal status as switchblades and how many times I would cut myself practicing various opening techniques. I should have also invested in the trainer sitting next to Benchmade I bought. The hubris of youth. Over the years, my attraction to and appreciation of butterfly knives have grown. I have added several more butterfly knives…

Shodow Systems has emerged as a leader in the polymer-framed, striker-fired handgun field. While examples of striker-fired handguns predate 1982, this date is critical. Though this is an article on the Shadow Systems CR920 Elite, there can be little debate that current semi-automatic handguns were redefined by the 9mm Glock 17 in terms of capacity, operation and polymer construction. Shadow Systems, based in Plano, Texas, arrived on the handgun scene in 2016. Shadow Systems quickly gained a reputation as a solid upgrade over other polymerframed, striker-fired weapons on the market. I'm not only talking about the Austrian variation but all offerings. This stems from Shadow Systems’ inhouse manufacturing of slides, barrels, triggers and internals. Shadow Systems also employs patented MIM and injectionmolding tooling for frames and small parts. An example…

THE firearms market is notorious for being demanding and sometimes irrational. Gun companies war to de velop a new product to meet consumer demands only umately hope it is a hit. When the product is released, there is the inevitable wave of social media commentaries from people that have never even seen the new gun in person. This has been the way of things for a very long time, yet serious companies are unphased by it. In fact, some companies have the courage to develop products that others would not simply because they get stuck in the status quo mindset. A company that breaks this mold is Patriot Ordnance Factory USA. Over the years, POF has brought us some really innovative designs and recently novative decided to even push its…

Guns have this magical power to never stop being exciting to shoot. It has to be magic; I do not have any other reason for my excitement to practice shooting than that. Truthfully, I have never shot a gun and said, “This is boring,” and I do not think I ever will. Maybe you have a different relationship with firearms and think the opposite of what I have (and that is okay), but I think we can all agree that firearms do help release a lot of stress and create excitement. Yet, with the excitement firearms bring, they also bring the urgency to stay safe while shooting and handling them. Safety is never something to joke about. Since dabbling in the gun world, I always held onto the fear in…

■ I prefer softer-shooting, semi-auto, gas-operated shotguns and asked Mossberg to send their new and highly reliable, opticready 940 Pro Tactical 12 gauge. In addition, Viridian agreed to send their new RFX15 Green Dot Reflex Sight, which is designed to mount on specific handgun platforms. Gunsmiths at the Florida Gun Exchange mounted the RFX 15 on an M1913 rail. The 940's highly refined and fast-operating gas system and the RFX 15's bright green 3-MOA dot made for a state-of-the-art combination for personal/home defense. The Pro Tactical's 18.5-inch barrel and adjustable length of pull along with the RFX15's wide field of view made this outfit get on target fast and swing quickly between targets, producing well-centered hits. Past experience with tactical shotguns has taught me that some loads shoot best In…

PWD CCW REBORN Each year before SHOT Show, I get behind-the-scenes updates on new guns that are going to hit the market. Some are interesting and some are less so. What catches my eye in most cases, however, is who is releasing a new gun. When I got a notice that Beretta was adding to their handgun lineup, they had my attention. Beretta is not a company that randomly releases a gun. When I say that Beretta always catches my eye, it is because they have been making guns for almost 500 years. In fact, they are the oldest manufacturer in the world. They were in business before Shakespeare and before Michelangelo painted St. Peter's Basilica. The Beretta family has been in the ironworking business since the 1400s and made…

One of my favorite knife resources is Bear & Son Cutlery based in Alabama. The Bear OPS division was launched in 2011 to focus on tactical and survival knives made here in the U.S. Their entire manufacturing operation is self-contained in terms of both material and personnel. While some companies only assemble parts accessed from various suppliers and put their names on the product, Bear OPS does everything in-house from building their own blanking dies to heat treating, grinding, assembly and hand-finishing products. Bear OPS makes sure the extra steps of hand refinements and inspections are performed before a knife ships out. This gives Bear OPS ultimate quality control aver its U.S.-made products. These steps ensure that Bear & Son Cutlery is of excellent quality and a real value for…

MY INTRODUCTION TO NORMA AMMUNITION came AO-plus years ago. I was holding a .358 Norma Mag cartridge for a custom rifle my father and grandfather had just received. They both explained to me Norma was the gold standard for ammunition manufacturers. For goodness’ sake, Norma was also loading Weatherby ammunition. What else could have higher validation back in 1980-something? Over the years, this impression made when I was a babe has only been validated. Those crazy Swedes can really make and innovate ammunition and have been doing it for 120-plus years. For me, Norma Ammunition is associated with some of Europe's other finer offerings-Premier League soccer, double rifles and Formula 1 racing. All are truly world-class. The quest for the holy grail with personaldefense ammunition is never-ending. Norma's lead-from-the-front approach…

IN 2021, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) disclosed that at least 5,4 million people purchased a firearm for the first time. Nearly 30% of those firearm purchases went to new gun owners, based on retailer surveys and adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) background checks. That figure was down 10% from the banner year of 2020 when an estimated 8.4 million people purchased a firearm for the first time. That's a whole lot of guns being bought by neophytes. Most of those sales were driven by the current political climate in the United States, the huge increase in crime, a decrease in law enforcement presence and effectiveness, and a faltering economy. “Joe and Josephine” Public have realized that, in these troubled times, the best and most dependable…

PDW GUN TEST Have a tight budget but don't want to compromise on reliability, accuracy and consistency? Me neither, so I was happy to discover the Girsan MC28 SA was not just another 9mm striker-fired pistol. Girsan doesn't quite have the name recognition in the U.S., but I'm sure it will soon. This inexpensive, full-size 9mm pistol is made in Turkey, and it performs close to the level of more expensive U.S.- and European-mode, striker-fired guns. The MC28 SA may be a basic polymer-frame striker fire, but don't let that fool you. This 9mm can work with a tight budget and with no compromises. GUN DETAILS European American Armory Corp, or EAA Corp for short, imports the MC28 SA from Girsan in Turkey. A quick glance at the MC28 SA, and…

PDW SCATTERGUN REPORT TO say that 2020 was a year of new experiences would be the understatement of the century. As many of us telecommuted for the first time or homesohooled our children, the Massachusetts-based “rifle” maker Savage also charted unfamiliar territory as it developed and eventually released a new semi-automatic shotgun, the Renegauge. This new shotgun was geared toward hunters and quickly gained a reputation for being soft shooting and fast cycling. While these attributes are revered in the field, they pay even greater dividends in a home-defense application. So, as the world fell to pieces and people were literally killing each other over groceries and toilet paper, Savage got to work on a shorter package to better serve the homeowner. Billed as the Renegauge Security, it came to fruition…

PDW FIGHT TO LIVE WHEN faced with a threatening or possibly deadly situation, the human body releases a hormone through the adrenal gland that can literally and instantly transform a calm person into a highly reactive, supercharged individual and allow them to overcome their possibly deadly scenario. This hormone is, of course, adrenaline. Being “adrenalized” is a slang term used by many people when they are pumped up or, more specifically, energized by stimulants like caffeine, sugar or even when feeling excited by something that has happened positively in their life. However, real adrenaline (as in the hormone in the body) is much more complex in definition. This “natural wonder” hormone prepares the human body for fight or flight, meaning if a person is faced with a dangerous situation, they…

PWD GUN TEST “Again, it felt like I just couldn't miss.” MY FIRST TIME SHOOTING the Beretta 92X Performance was an eye-opening experience, it was at Athlon Outdoors’ Rendezvous event a couple of years ago in Idaho. The all-steel 92X sat great in my hand and it had a frame-mounted safety, which is good for me because I'm no fan of slidemounted safeties. I simply couldn't miss with that gun. I was knocking down plates with speed and ease, in fact, it was shocking how quickly I was doing it. I was in love. But unfortunately, it was only a short-lived relationship. I couldn't justify bringing her back home. It has been years since my brief but memorable encounter with the 92X Performance. Then I heard some great news: Beretta…

IT'S not all that often that we hear revolvers being discussed these days. Given advances in semi-auto pistols and ballistics technology, many consider old-school wheelguns to be obsolete. Personally, revolvers have always had a special place in my heart. They do serve a purpose, and if you follow along with me here, I'll try to touch on just how relevant the old wheelguns still are, mainly the “Combat Magnum.” FIRST TASTE When I was in the Army, we only touched on pistols (semi-auto) very briefly. After all, I was in a Parachute Infantry Regiment, so our rifles were our main battle weapons. Not long after getting out of the Armg, I was hired into a large Mid-Western sheriff's office. They issued me an old S&W Model 66 revolver, chambered in…

For those who choose to exercise their Second Amendment rights and own firearms, proper storage is a point to consider. Be it for protection from young curious hands to those who may attempt to steal a firearm, gun safes are a must in this world. Unfortunately, many people fall into what I will call “old think.” They believe in almost a drone fashion that you buy a big gun safe, put all your guns in it and look it up. The challenge we face with that is what if you need one of those guns right now? What if your beautiful sticker-covered safe is in the far back of the house, and you are face to face with an intruder in your living room? A majority of people keep firearms…

AS the first notable repeating handgun design, revolvers have served self-defense needs for more than 150 gears. Over time, we have learned ways to make them smaller and more concealable, but that comes with a price. Tiny guns are hard to shoot well, and the resulting recoil makes them less than fun for practice. For these reasons, Federal invented the .327 Magnum, a higher pressure .32-caliber cartridge that hits harder than .38 Special while maintaining similarly felt recoil. It's a terrific round indeed; there simply aren't enough guns chambered in it. In early 2022, Taurus released a new six-shot, small-frame revolver aptly named the 327, and after much anticipation, I finally had the opportunity to run some rounds through one. VERSATILITY Taurus’ 327 is similar in stature to its hit…

The sixth annual Athlon Outdoors Rendezvous brought together the Athlon Outdoors editorial team, contributors and some of the best firearm and accessory manufacturers in the business. The event offers the opportunity to mingle and get to know some of the latest products from approximately 30 companies. Thousands of rounds were sent downrange, and we came away with an informative sneak peek and will share some of the highlighted products here. A few products have yet to be released, but Athlon Outdoors will showcase these in future magazine issues and online. The pages to follow contain a mix of soon-to-be-released items as well as snippets of recently posted articles on our family of websites, including tactical-life.com, personaldefenseworld.com and ballisticmag.com. –AO Staff 5.11 TACTICAL 511tactical.com Just about everyone needs a pack when…

Before hunting with Pulsar's Thermion 2 LRF, I had nearly two hunts under my belt. I was a total novice but with a serious possion for learning. My fiancé, on the other hand, grew up on the Big Island of Hawaii, where it's truly one of the last places in the U.S. you can hunt enough year-round to have fresh meat every meal and live off the land. The fruits and vegetables to pair grow like weeds in the backyards or on most public roads. The protein varieties, from red meat to game birds, are wide and delicious. So even though I am a novice, I had a wonderful introduction to hunting with the best guides and, from my personal opinion and an expert opinion, one of the best thermal…

■ Tom Boyls Jr. was just sitting in his car in a supermarket's parking lot when he witnessed a horrible accident. A Camaro collided with a bicycle and trapped it and the rider underneath. The victim and mangled bike were then dragged down the roadway. Upon seeing this, he jumped out of his own car and ran after the Camaro. Tom not only reached the car on foot but then reached under the vehicle's frame and lifted it off the ground and off the trapped victim. He actually held the car up for nearly 45 seconds while the victim was pulled to safety. A teenager loves his car. But when his car jack broke and caused his 3,000-pound Chevy Impala to fall and pin him to the ground, his mother…