At Shot Show 2017, Mitusa Manufacturing showed off the Mag-Pump. It is a hopper fed magazine loader for AR-15 style magazines. While there are plenty of mag loaders on the market, the Mag-Pump is unique in that it does not matter which direction the bullet is oriented.

Mitusa advertises that this is the only magazine loader that does not require the user to handle each round. In the case of benchloaders you typically have to handle each round one at a time to load them correctly into the bench loader. Same with the Maglula AR loaders. Each round is manually inserted. There are some loaders that you dump a box of ammo into it but the bullets must be oriented properly.

Mag-Pump doesnt care which diretion the bullets are loaded and it works with with .223, 5.56 and .300 Blk ammunition. It is designed to work with mil-spec magazines.

The Mag-Pump can be quickly dissassembled and fits into a .50cal ammo can for storage. It retails for $389 if you want the billet aluminum version. It weighst 3.75 lbs. Mitusa also makes an Ultralight version that weighs 2 lbs and is made of polymer.

Go to Mag-Pump.com for more info.

When it comes to selecting gear for your personal protection it makes sense to select the best gear that you can get your hands on and afford.  I know it can be tempting to safe a few dollars on your handgun and accessories, but at the same time, if those savings come at a performance cost, I avoid it.  Magazines are one of those places where you can save a few bucks, but when you do, one of the things you might discover is that your bargain magazines don’t drop free from your gun.  On the range it can be annoying.  In a match it can mean the difference between winning and losing.  In a violent encounter it can mean you face the worst consequences.

It is for this reason that I recommend to my students that they make sure to select magazines that drop free from their defensive handgun.  Let’s begin our discussion with some thoughts on what “drop free” actually means when we are talking about defensive guns.

What Drop Free Actually Means

When it comes to defensive magazines being drop free is important.  I’m going to outline three reasons why drop free magazines matter.  Before we head down that road, it makes sense to make sure we are on the same page with terminology.

First off, It is important to know that I think mags having the tendency to drop free is important in DEFENSIVE GUNS.  That is any gun that you plan on using for the defense of your life or the lives of those that you love.  Dropping free can be a great quality for a competition gun, or for a plinking gun.  When it comes to defensive guns, I consider it virtually a requirement.

Next lets examine what it means to actually drop free.  It’s actually pretty simple.  When your magazine is empty and you press the magazine release button, the magazine should drop free to the ground.  You shouldn’t have to help it out of the gun with your support hand, or even contort your primary hand drastically to allow the mag to drop.  This is tougher with smaller guns and why I developed the Plan B for the S&W M&P Shield.  When you run dry and the button is pressed, the mag needs to be on its way out all by itself.

Now, let’s take a look at why this is important.

#1  Your mags need to drop free because your support hand has a job.

When you are forced to reload in a defensive situation your support hand has a job.  It doesn’t have time to try and fish your empty mag out of the gun because it’s job is the retrieve a fully loaded magazine to reload your gun with.  It isn’t an impossible task for your support hand to help the mag out, it is simply inefficient.  When fractions of a second can be the difference between safety and the severe consequences of violence, I want to take the streamlined route.  As the gun is coming back toward the chest the support hand comes off the gun to retrieve that fresh mag.  That means your empty needs to drop free.

#2 Your defensive mags need to drop free because your support hand could be occupied.

Let’s face it, humans use their hands to do stuff.  In cooperation with our brain the dexterity of our hands is how we have survived.  When we face life threatening stress our hands work like vises, firmly grasping anything that we are holding on to.  It might be your weapon, it could be our child, the blade that you are being attacked with, or even something silly like a shopping bag.  Depending on what you are holding and it’s value to you, you may not be able to, or even want to let go of it when you face a life threatening attack.  If you find yourself in the dire circumstances where you need to reload, you may need to do it one handed and having a mag that reliably drops free makes that process faster, easier and more efficient.

#3 Your defensive mags need to drop free because your support hand could be injured.

When we talked about the fact that your support hand could be busy doing something else I mentioned that it could be holding onto the bad that you are being attacked with.  In that case you hand won’t just be busy, it could also be injured.  Never forget the idea that when you are talking about self defense you need to consider the actual circumstances you could face which include injury when you are attacked.  Your support hand could easily be injured in a potentially lethal encounter.  If you find yourself with an injured hand and the need to reload, that drop free magazine will make the process of reloading the gun more simple.

The solutions is simple.  Make sure that you purchase high quality defensive tools.  You are almost always safe if you purchase factor mags for your defensive guns.  Both factory GLOCK mags and M&P magazines are designed to drop free.  So it doesn’t matter if you buy new or used mags, you should be good to go.

When it comes to other aftermarket magazines, stick to the reputable companies to increase the likelihood that your mags will drop free.  Magpul magazines are a great bet for GLOCKS or AR-15s.  Finally, make sure you test.  Get out to the range, and make sure that when your mag is empty and you press the button your mag drops free.

I don’t think that most people need to spend a ton of time training for these worst can scenarios that we have examined here today.  They are certainly rare situations.  It is incredibly uncommon to need to reload in a defensive gun use in the first place and to experience an injury or the inability to use your support hand would be even more uncommon.  The facts are simple however, if your mags don’t drop free, your training is going to be less efficient and should you find yourself in a situation where you do need to reload “in da streetz” having inadequate gear just made your job more difficult.

By definition, pistol caliber carbines are a compromise; they sacrifice terminal ballistics/stopping power for reduced recoil, cost of ammo and magazine interchangeability with handguns. But that doesn’t mean engineers should hit the drawing table with compromise on their mind.

Sadly, the reputation of pistol caliber carbines as plinking fun guns, has led many pistol caliber carbine designers to build their creations like range toys. In doing so, foregoing some key design pillars that could otherwise elevate their ballistic brainchild from weekend warrior to door-kicking bad-ass.

Thankfully for the good of both them, and their would-be customers, I’ve boiled down the most crucial design elements into the five commandments of pistol caliber carbine design.

Thou shalt feed from an affordable, standardized magazine.

Most pistol caliber carbines designed for civilians don’t suffer from this issue - they tend to utilize an existing design’s magazine. This means increased availability, proven reliability and standardized design that shouldn’t change. Even if it does, provided the original design has been around for more than a few years, available won’t dry up overnight.

This was originally my concern with the CZ scorpion – while the magazines are very affordable, if the design itself didn’t do well commercially, magazines would be next to impossible to purchase in the future.

The standardization concern relates directly, to the SIG MPX – it’s the reason companies haven’t been offering as many aftermarket parts for the gun. Why would a company invest the enormous amount of money necessary for tooling, research and development if there was even a remote chance the design would be tweaked to no longer accept their product?

Thy action shalt be simple and reliable

Don’t get me wrong, the MP5’s roller-delayed action and the SIG MPX’s locked-breech, piston-driven setup both have distinct advantages over direct blowback firearms – but reliability isn’t one of them. A properly designed MP5 will outlast the user, but by its very nature, is more ammunition-sensitive than something like a Kel-Tec Sub2000 or a HighPoint carbine.

Still, this innate advantage only applies if the company developing the design has solid quality control, and balances the action to function with the lowest-powered SAAMI-spec cartridges on the market.

If a company insists on running something more complex than direct blowback – an action that literally consist of a only a stout recoil spring and a heavy bolt/carrier – then that action needs to be both easily maintained by the end user and adjustable to permit the gun to run positively when dirty, or running sub-par ammo. Remember when the MPX had an adjustable gas system? Yeah, that was part of the original design, a holdover of which was integrated into the MCX.

Thou Shalt Reliably Feed Defensive Ammunition

This may seem like common sense, but for a good while, MP5 pistols and carbines only liked one type of ammo – ball. Hell, this issue still pops up with some earlier versions of the CZ Scorpion!

The biggest issue with these guns not feeding ammo designed for serious use, is that it shoehorns them back into the role of, ‘plinker’. It’s hard to justify using cartridge with inferior ballistics, when what little energy its round projects can’t be effectively dissipated into the target.

Furthermore, without expanding defensive rounds, pistol caliber carbines and SMGs by extension loose one of their chief selling points – lack of overpenetration.

Thy receiver must be railed

Pistol caliber carbines have very little felt recoil due to both the heft of the platform firing the round, and the combination of a limited powder charge and the light weight of the bullet being fired. Because of this, it’s very easy to fire them quickly, and get back on target just as quickly. But this is made exponentially more difficult with iron sights.

These guns need to be easily equipped with optics of some sort – ideally reflex sights given their limited effective range – to maximize this speed. Plus, this rail should be made of either aluminum, steel, or metal-reinforced durable polymer.

Ideally, this rail should be both be numbered for ease of repeatability when mounting, and shouldn’t need to be removed to service or clean the firearm.

Thy Barrel Must Be Threaded

Arguably one of the two largest advantages of running a pistol caliber carbine, is its ability to accept and excel when suppressed. This is because while most common combat-grade pistol calibers are supersonic, most of these also have easy-to-find subsonic loadings too.

Since subsonic ammo tends to be vastly more quiet than the supersonic variety, this makes any firearm capable of cycling subsonic loads a suppressor’s best friend. Look at 300 Blackout, if it wasn’t subsonic, it would just be a more expensive version of 7.62x39mm.

Ideally, the thread pitch employed should be a common one, and not an oddball European pitch like the MPX and P226’s 13.5x1LH. Still, better to have a threaded barrel with a weird pitch, than a featureless one.

While these commandments aren’t the end-all, be-all of pistol caliber carbine design, any design that ignores these tenants is as a distinct disadvantage.

Following the leaked ATF whitepaper suggesting suppressors be deregulated, gun enthusiasts have created a petition on petitions.whitehouse.gov and just surpassed the require 100k signatures

The NFA or National Firearms Act, is a regulation passed by the 73^rd Congress under suspicious conditions that imposes an excise tax on the manufacture and transfer of specific types of firearms and accessories. This act arbitrary restricts the purchase and manufacture of machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, handguns with vertical foregrips and other nebulous types of firearms.

For the manufacture or transfer of most of the items, the tax is $200 every time the item changes hands with exceptions dealing with inheritance and transfers within a trust or organization.

The National Firearms Act is the reason ‘transferable’ machineguns or those registered before the amnesty, fetch prices upwards of ten times their true value.

Gun owners for years have lamented the NFA’s existence, but popular opinion, politicians in fear of losing their position and general ignorance have prevented them from having a real chance of repealing the act. But, with the election of President Trump, and both the House and Senate enjoying Republican majorities, there is a very real, albeit small chance.

With this in mind, an individual listed on the Repeal the NFA petition page on the Government’s petition page listed only as ‘A.Z.’ created a petition to repeal the NFA on January 20^th. In order for the petition to be seen by the President, it requires at least 100k signatures. A few days ago, the petition surpassed that metric, and now rests at 138,000 signatures.

https:///petition/repeal-nfa

Countless blogs and Youtube pages have reposted links to the petition, while offering their own thoughts on the matter. There’s even a Facebook page dedicated to the topic - https://www.facebook.com/Repeal-the-National-Firearms-Act-258249720877394/

Iraq Veteran

While the result of all this attention is yet to be determined, it will be interesting to see how President Trump handles his first firearms issue after pledging support to the NFA during his campaign.

A few days ago, Nikon Sports Optics unveiled the newest addition to their product lineup – the Black Series.

In the past, Nikon has placed all its focus on their hunting line of rifle scopes and binoculars, but in recent years has begun to shift their products towards tactical and three-gun sports. The new Black series of optics marks the first purpose-built reticle for such shooting in a Nikon scope

 Nikon doubles down on its commitment to American shooters with the introduction of the new BLACK riflescope series-a new category of dedicated optics with models engineered for both precision long-range rifle and action-shooting AR enthusiasts.

 For the precision rifle shooter, Nikon's BLACK X1000 is offered in a range of 4-16x50 and 6-24x50 models with X-MRAD or X-MOA tactical-style reticles synchronized to elevated windage and elevation turrets. Accurate and repeatable, the adjustments enable precise dialing of elevation come ups and wind compensation, while each of the new reticle designs present the shooter with a visually clean, yet highly functional and advanced tool for estimating range or maintaining holdovers.

From the press release, it sounds like Nikon is trying to offer an appropriate optic system for both 3-gunners running 5.56 rifles with their ‘Black Force’ and competitive shooters pushing the limits of their .308 cartridges with the new, ‘Black X1000’.

 The new BLACK series reticles can be applied to virtually any shooting application, regardless of caliber or ballistic performance and can be further optimized for specific shooting situations utilizing Nikon's Spot On Ballistic Match Technology.

 BLACK series riflescopes all feature a 30mm main body tube built with aircraft-grade aluminum alloy and Type 3 hard anodizing, providing exceptional ruggedness and optimum strength-to-weight ratios. Each riflescope has an optical system built from Nikon's lead- and arsenic-free glass Eco-Glass, which is optimized with the company's full multilayer coating on all air-to-glass lens surfaces.  Spring-loaded instant zero-reset turrets provide precise, repeatable corrections on all BLACK riflescope models.  And like all Nikon riflescopes, the new BLACK series is backed by the company's No Fault policy for repair or replacement.

Nikon states the new optics will be available Spring of 2017, stay tuned for more info and reviews.

Most of us know tha California has some silly laws and regardless of how we feel about them, do not forget that there are people who live there and are desperately trying to stay legal while still enjoying their limited 2nd Amendment rights. Politics aside, they do not have the means to change the laws nor leave so they are stuck where they are.

So in Califonia, to remain legal with an AR-15 they have to eliminate features that would categorize their rifles as "assault weapons". This means silly things like pistol grip removal or using aftermarket parts to so you cannot wrap your thumb around the pistol grip. Another way to make your scary black gun not so scary is if your magazine is fixed.

Now there way this works is that the 10 round magazine cannot be removed from the gun without tools. That is where the bullet button came into being. It solved that issue since using an object to remove the magazine constitutes using a tool. Well California is banning that as well, for now. So in a typical banned fashion, your AR has a fixed 10 rd magazine. In order to reload the magazine, you would have to basically disassemble your rifle. This means popping the rear take down pin and opeing the upper receiver like the hood of a car. Now the top of the magazine is exposed and you can reload the magazine. Close the hood, pop the pin back in and you are good to go. That is a lot of work to reload the magazine. Some companies have come up with bandaid solutions to make that process faster but Lantac has a better solution.

They are coming up with a reloading device that will allow you to load 10 rounds into the fixed magazine with their reloading tool.

As you can see from the video above, it is a simple single stack device that allows you to push rounds into the gun via the ejection port. No word yet on price or availability.

Beta Company is known for their iconic dual drum design. Their Beta Mag has been seen in movies and video games. They were one of the original companies to market a high capacity 100 rd drum magazine for cilvilian use.

The dual drum design splits the 100 rounds on either side of the gun helping to balance the weapon and keeping the magazine height short. This helps for using it on an AR-15 and utilizing a bipod. Not something that can be done with the SureFire 100 rd quad stack magazine.

Beta Company came out with a 9mm version of their twin-drum design. It started with the UZI and MP5 variants. Then with the popularity of the Glock and Glock fed carbines, they made a new magazine tower to fit Glocks. Well now they have turned their attention to the surging popularity of the CZ Scorpion Evo3.

According to Beta Company's teaser picture, they will be released next month, March 2017. No mention of price yet. But if you look at their other 9mm Beta Mags, you can expect a price tag around $300.

 That’s a strange title for an article, isn’t it?

Odd as it may sound, if it weren’t for the prolific use of rifle grenades in the Second World War, the virtues of adjustable gas systems likely wouldn’t be realized.

If your reaction to the above statement is bewilderment, stay with me, I’ll explain.

Sound suppressors function like a muffler for guns. They do this by slowing the expansion of hot gasses escaping from the muzzle of a freshly-fired firearm. But, there’s no free lunch, and suppressors are no exception.

By delaying the escape of hot gasses, suppressors force these excess hot gasses back inside the firearm itself. This has two negative side effects.

First, it increases the speed with which the gun becomes fouled, because the hot carbon-filled gasses that normally fly out the muzzle instead are pushed back inside the gun.

Secondly, the deceleration of these gasses, drastically increases the backpressure of the internal gasses, thus operating the gun as much higher velocity than intended. This both wears the components of the gun extra quickly, and in many cases, operates the action too quickly for the magazine spring to keep up. This causes a failure to feed in over-gassed guns.

OK, but what do rifle grenades have to do with any of this?

Rifle grenades are explosives (or sometimes less-lethal options like flares or tear gas) that are fixed to the muzzle of a rifle, and use the pressure of a blank round to propel them roughly a hundred yards or so.

They first found widespread use during the Great War, where their indirect fire capabilities made them invaluable at routed entrenched infantry. More modern versions were developed for use as anti-vehicle or light armor weapons.

These medium-range explosives were a tremendous improvement over hand-thrown bombs, but they put undue wear on the rifle used to launch them. Now, they worked great on manually-operated firearms, but with the introduction of semi-automatic firearms, some countries needed to adjust the pressure levels of their self-loading guns to maximize the effective range of these rifle-launched grenades.

While no firearms historian (that I could find during my research) has directly linked the development of adjustable gas systems to the widespread use of rifle grenades, it does stand to reason, since every automatic military rifle from around the end of World War 2 with and adjustable gas system has a rifle grenade setting.

If that’s the case, then suppressor fans should thank their lucky stars for rifle grenades. Imagine having to get special buffer springs, bolt carriers or ammunition to properly run your favorite suppressor host with a can. Sure, direct blowback guns would be largely unaffected, but that means larger-caliber rifles and carbines wouldn’t be able to function as reliability with suppressors. Now, if we could only get the military to integrate an adjustable gas system into the M4…. 

Browning announced a new rifle at the recent SHOT Show. Called the X-Bolt Pro, this gun is part of the impressive X-Bolt line of long guns. It gets the Pro designation from the fact that it is a semi-custom gun with top quality construction and features that round out the package.

Calibers

The X-Bolt Pro is available in four different calibers. The calibers are 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win, .30-06 Springfield and 300 Win Mag. Depending on how well these models sell, the company may introduce additional calibers in the future. Standard models have a four round detachable magazine. The magnum gun uses a three round magazine.

Stock

The X-Bolt Pro uses a second generation, true carbon fiber stock with a compressed foam core to keep things both light and rigid. At the back of the stock is a soft Influx recoil pad to cushion the shoulder from recoil. The stock is textured at common grip points and has a Cerakote Burnt Bronze finish. Swivel studs are located in the typical places.

Action

This is the same basic action as the one used in the company’s other X-Bolt rifles. On this model, the action has spiral fluting on the bolt while the bolt handle has a large knob. The bolt and handle are both finished in Cerakote Burnt Bronze. Combined with the stainless steel used in the bolt’s construction, this should be a very corrosion resistant combination.

Barrel

On this model, Browning chose a lightweight sporter profile for the barrel. It is made of stainless steel and has full length fluting. The brake is threaded on, so it is possible to remove the brake and mount a suppressor or other muzzle device. A thread protector ships with the rifle.

Internally, Browning spent some additional time with these barrels. The company employs a proprietary lapping process to improve accuracy out of the box and take it to a “near broken in” state. Externally, the barrel gets the same Cerakote Burnt Bronze finish the other parts have.

Standard calibers have a 22” barrel. The 300 Win Mag has a longer 26” barrel.

Pricing

Suggested retail pricing is $1,999.99 for the standard models with the single magnum caliber commanding a little more: $2,039.99.

Wilson Combat is well known for building top tier guns with quality that is rarely surpassed without buying a completely custom firearm. The company builds everything from 1911 style pistols to AR style guns. With its Scattergun Technologies brand, the company also makes a range of tactical shotguns.

New in 2017, Wilson Combat is now making a number of guns in 6.5 Creedmoor. One of those new rifles is the Recon Tactical.

The Recon Tactical is an existing rifle that is made for the .380 Win and the .338 Federal cartridges. The Creedmoor cartridge is considered to be a very flat shooting round that can reach out and deliver accurate hits beyond 500 yards. Wilson Combat recognized the rising popularity of the cartridge and expanded the rifle line to include it.

Wilson Combat describes this rifle as a “practical, all-around” rifle that is also suited for tactical training and hunting. 

Both the upper and lower of this AR-10 style rifle are machined from a solid billet of aluminum. With the Creedmoor round, Wilson Combat is offering one of three barrel lengths: 16”, 18” and 20”. The match grade barrels are threaded and come equipped with a Q-Comp flash hider. If you elect to add a suppressor, the threaded barrel make this easy.

Wilson Combat equips this rifle with a number of nice features. These include:

• 14” T.R.I.M. Rail - a free floating hand guard
• Rogers Super-Stoc – an adjustable length buttstock with QD sockets
• Wilson Combat Tactical Trigger Unit – this is a drop-in style, single stage trigger that is set at four pound
• premium bolt carrier – the BCG is MP inspected and NP3 coated to ensure durability and reliability

As with many of the other Wilson Combat firearms, the company’s Armor-Tuff finish is used. The finish is available in a range of colors and is applied over the milspec hard coat anodizing on the upper and lower receivers.

Without an optic, the unloaded gun weighs just under 8 pounds. For an AR-10 style rifle, that isn’t bad. With a standard medium weight barrel, the suggested retail price on this rifle is $2,995. Adding a fluted barrel ups the base price to $3,045.

Roller-delayed guns were born from the frantic last moments of the Third Reich during the Second World War. At the time, the Wehrmacht was in desperate need of automatic weapons to arm the remnants of their once-vast military, in a last-ditch attempt to stop the flood of Soviet forces.

Bolt-action firearms and traditional locked-breech designs were considered far too expensive, as they used much more raw material and required longer to manufacture. Thus, German engineers attempted to find new, cheaper, faster methods of delaying the action on an automatic weapon. One of these prototypes was the MKb 42 Gerät 06. It utilized a modified version of the infamous MG-42’s short-recoil operation alongside a roller-delayed bolt carrier.

While this design was never produced in appreciable numbers, it lived on in the CETME program, and later in the HK G3 and MP5 designs we know today. But, given that the design was originally championed as an inexpensive alternative to traditional locked-breech designs, why then do these guns demand the premium they do today?

Well, unfortunately, only one company in America is dedicated to solely building roller-delayed firearms – Industries. Their firearms are pretty reasonably priced, with base models retailing around $1,000.

The reason those aren’t any cheaper, is that they don’t enjoy the same economy of scale as the AR-15. Simply put, the demand isn’t high enough for the PTR, to reduce its cost below the $1k mark. Fair enough, but then why do companies like Zenith and H&K charge huge premiums for guns utilizing the same internal operating method?

For H&K, their guns demand a premium because of both brand recognition, and because they are imported from Germany. Yes, their quality control is excellent, and the guns are very well made, but whether they are actually worth double or triple that of a PTR, is yet to be seen.

Zenith Firearms, appears to split the price difference between surplus and new production, presumably because they use a labor force that doesn’t demand the same premium as those found in Germany or America. Heck, Zenith even uses HK-licensed machines to build their HK-pattern firearms.

I also believe one reason that they demand such a premium, is that the methods that were once inexpensive to employ around the middle of the 20^th century, are no longer so.

One thing is for certain, roller-delayed have a certain allure to them that makes them feel futuristic and exotic, some six decades after their invention. Plus, their reputation for reliability ensures that shooters will pay these prices happily, knowing they’re getting quality, reliable firearms.

For many years, the .30-30 Win cartridge has been considered a top deer round. However, many modern hunters have moved from traditional bolt and lever guns to semi-automatic firearms like the AR-15. In these guns, the .30-30 is no longer an option. The cartridge is simply too long, and its rimed case would be a bear to work with in an AR. But is the 7.62x39 a cartridge that can replicate the performance of the classic .30-30?

Let me say that the two rounds do not offer identical performance. Each cartridge has its own performance advantages and drawbacks. It is quite possible that hunters used to shooting the .30-30 may not care for the performance of the 7.62x39. On the other hand, many other shooters will prefer the 7.62x39. Let’s take a quick look at the suitability of the 7.62x39 for hunting.

Enough Energy?

While a good hunting load is much more than a measurement of its energy, foot-pounds are used as an estimate of effectiveness by many hunters. Does the 7.62x39 have enough energy to get the job done? Yes. In general, expect about 1,450 – 1,550 ft-lbs of energy from most 7.62x39 loads. This is well below 2,800 ft-lbs (+/-) from a .308 Win, but much closer to the 1,800 – 1,900 ft-lbs seen with the .30-30 Win.

Of course, each load, especially if you work up your own, is different. However, in very general terms, the .30-30 has more muzzle energy that the 7.62x39. However, the 7.62x39 tends to retain more downrange velocity and energy. This is partially because the .30-30 is typically loaded with flat or round point bullets that are not ballistically ideal. For shots at about 80 yards and out, I would expect the 7.62x39 to hold an advantage. Some modern loads, like the Hornady Superformance line, can shift the comparison making the .30-30 more attractive.

Ammo Choices

For the 7.62x39, there are more hunting ammo loads on the market than you might realize. Both Winchester and Federal (Fusion) make 123 grain soft point ammo for hunting, and many people report good results with these. Corbon loads the all-copper 123 grain DPX bullet in a 7.62x39 load that is also reported to perform well on deer-sized game.

One of my favorites for the 7.62x39 is made by Hornady. Hornady loads a polymer-tipped 123 grain SST bullet into a steel case (sorry - no easy reloading of these.) They have a rated muzzle velocity of 2,350 fps with a 20” test barrel. Out of a CMMG Mk47 Mutant rifle, I chronographed these rounds at 2,242 fps. Not bad for a 16” barrel.

I’ve been told by a friend that does quite a bit of hunting that the DoubleTap Ammunition load with the 123 grain Barnes TSX bullet is quite good in the field. He said the round performs well on white tail and pigs alike. Accordint to DoubleTap, the load makes for 2,400 fps from an SKS (20” barrel) and 2,280 fps from an AK-47.

Guns

Ok, you like the caliber, but don’t know what gun to pick for hunting? Well, there are a few bolt-action rifles chambered for the caliber including the recently introduced MiniAction rifle from Howa. These rifles are an amazing value, especially the scoped packages that include a Nikko Stirling Panamax 3-9x40 optic. With a 20” lightweight barrel, these guns are quite handy in the field. Should you prefer a longer barrel, a 22” standard profile barrel is available. Also, a 20” heavy barrel version is offered by Howa.

Even though I really like the Howas, most people will be using a modern sporting rifle for this caliber. I understand – I own several long guns in the caliber.

The SKS is a popular deer gun, though with fewer of the rifles being offered for sale, and at higher prices than in the past, this rifle is starting to wane in popularity. Unless you put a sporter stock on the gun, the SKS is a bit heavy with the wood furniture. That may be a factor for you.

An AK-pattern gun can make sense, though equipping it with an optic can be a pain. Also, like the SKS, they tend to be heavy. While some people suggest the AK-pattern rifle is not accurate enough for hunting, I beg to differ. At 100 yards, most of these guns are more than accurate enough. In my area of the world, a 100-yard shot on a deer or hog is pretty rare. Most of the time, I’m look at 50-60 yards.

Just keep in mind that hunting regulations probably prohibit you from taking to the woods with 30-round magazines. So, be sure to get some low-capacity mags like these Bulgarian 5-round magazines.

Although it may seem a bit odd, I think that the 7.62x39 makes the most sense for hunting when shot from an AR-pattern gun. While slightly more difficult to initially set up than some other calibers, I think it is worth the effort. 

To convert a standard .223/5.56 AR, you will need a new upper, bolt and magazine. Fortunately, all of these are plentiful. I recommend getting a bolt that includes an extended firing pin. These will help ensure reliable ignition of hard military primers. Additionally, going with a heavier hammer spring will help.

Although there are other options, I like the 7.62x39 ASC 5-round magazines. I’ve got five of these and have found them to be very reliable.

Some of you might suggest that the 300 BLK cartridge will offer similar hunting characteristics without the need for a special bolt, magazine or hammer spring. You would be absolutely correct. However, 300 BLK ammo is also very expensive when compared to a lot of 7.62x39 ammo. While hunting rounds are going to be close in price, practice ammunition for the 7.62x39 is a fraction of the price of 300 BLK. I guess it is just a matter of going with what you like.

For me, I built an AR in 7.62x39 for hunting. With a Leupold 1.5-4x 20 scope, the gun has been a great performer out to 100 yards. Recoil is a little more than a 5.56 NATO rifle, but noticeably less than a bolt gun. Even though I keep 5-round magazines with it for hunting, I also have standard capacity 30-round magazines for use in a home defense situation.

So, have you hunted with the 7.62x39 cartridge? What kind of results have you had? Any suggestions for anyone trying out the caliber? Leave a comment below!

Ruger doesn’t wait for big gun shows to announce new guns. Take the latest example: the Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Tactical. This new .22 LR semi-automatic pistol offers rimfire fun but may also have a much more practical use: training.

Ruger calls this pistol the “perfect tactical rimfire trainer.” While I think perfect is a bit of a stretch, I can see how this would be a good training tool for people who shoot 1911-style pistols. The 22/45 pistols have grips that hand the same look, feel and angle as the classic 1911 handguns. Training with these .22 LR guns should carry over to the larger bore handguns well.

Of course, there is a lot more to these guns than just a 1911-style grip. These are all built on Ruger’s new Mark IV platform. Among other things, these guns are an improvement over older designs because of its single button takedown. The guns also have a fixed barrel and receiver instead of a reciprocating slide. This allows for better potential accuracy.

The 22/45 Tactical uses a polymer grip frame to help keep the weight reasonable – just 33.3 ounces. It has a threaded 4.4” barrel. The thread pattern is ½”-28, and it comes with a thread protecting cap. If you like to use a sound suppressor, this gun is a good choice.

On top of the gun is a set of adjustable sights and a Picatinny rail. The rail allows you to add an optic. Since the barrel and receiver are fixed, the sights and optic do not move. Under the barrel is a second Picatinny rail. This one is designed for mounting a laser or white light. Although the guns is relatively small, I imagine you could also attach a bipod and use the gun much like the Charger pistols the company sells.

The new guns are available only in black at this time. I would expect the company to expand the color palate if they prove to be good sellers. Ruger includes two 10-round magazines with each gun. The suggested retail price on these pistols is $529.