Guy Sagi

The .40 S&W is not just a flash in the pan as some writers called it when it first came out in the late ’80’s. It is the mainstay of American law enforcement, and may even see some favor in our Spec Ops community. In both the law enforcement and civilian market, the Glock is king of the .40 heap. There is not an agency in my county, and likely my state, that doesn’t at least allow for the Glock. Moreover, the gun that seems to go the fastest right now in the gun stores is, you guessed it, the Glock. Is it any wonder why Glock is backordered around one million guns.

Not a lot of people would argue that the .223/5.56 is an extremely versatile and useful cartridge. The problem is that not everyone wants to shoot an AR-15 platform for every task, and let’s face it, AR-15s aren’t cheap. Mossberg came up with an idea to make a .223 bolt gun that uses AR-15 mags and for SHOT Show of this year, they released the MVP series. A lot of us are jumping up and down yelling YES YES YES. The MVPs come in several different configurations, from a 24″ barrel and target stock, down to a 16″ stubby patrol rifle that takes a suppressor. All of the guns have a 1:9 twist rate, so they will handle the same range of bullets as most AR-15s, and from what we found with our test gun, an 18″ laminate stock Predator model, these new Mossberg bolt guns are tack drivers. Our primary concern testing the gun was whether the reverse engineering for AR-15 mags worked as hoped, because nobody has really done this before and you have to wonder why. But our little MVP had zero problems digesting from its own 10 round mag and even the long 30 round P-Mags, never failing to pick up the next round, and you could jiggle the magazine back and forth with no hitching of the bolt whatsoever. It works because Mossberg put a little tab sticking out of the bottom of the bolt to pick up the shells. The MSRP for our MVP Predator is $729, and the series tops out at the Flex Patrol version at $928. The street prices will be well under that when the market comes back to normal, and your local stocking dealer most likely has them well below MSRP right now, but call before you go. The MVP seems like an idea whose time has come, and these guns are 100% Made in USA.

Walk down the ammunition aisle in any sporting goods store and sticker shock will set in, if the shelves aren’t totally bare, that is. With prices continuing to soar and meager supplies being gobbled up faster than drumsticks on Thanksgiving, how can shooters stay on top of their game? LaserLyte has come up with an answer in its LTS ReactionTyme targets, and unlike many other systems, it employs your personal-defense firearm so you can train from the comfort of home—where you may actually need to use that gun.

The cargo hijacked from tractor trailers each year in the U.S. is valued at more than ½ billion dollars, and the encounters are often violent. Some in the industry, including a few at CVA, suspect more and more semi drivers are purchasing easy-to-load, .50-caliber muzzleloading pistols like the Optima V2 in response.

At first blush you might think you have to shell out big bucks for a long-range rifle, but the Remington Model 700 SPS Tactical AAC-SD with a suggested retail of only $833 will hold its own against rifles costing much more. Features like a 1-in-10-inch twist, 20-inch heavy barrel with a threaded muzzle, a Hogue OverMolded Ghillie Green Pillar Bedded Stock and Remington’s externally adjustable X-Mark Pro trigger make this .308 Win. a bargain when it comes to precision rifles.

SureFire has a hard-earned reputation for innovation and producing quality gear that is duty tough and functional, but last year the company introduced something that left more than a few scratching their heads. It took a while to arrive, but the company’s new $495 WristLight is finally available. It comes with a built-in, rechargeable Li-ion battery, produces a maximum output of 180 lumens, weighs a stout 3.62 ounces and is rugged enough to put a bad guy in a world of hurt if you hit him with that arm. It serves as a backup light for law enforcement and can complement handgun use in low- or no-light situations, but the return on investment for civilians escaped us during testing.

With a noise-reduction rating of 24 dB, 50 dB of power to amplify range commands up to nine times their original level and compression circuitry, at $300 the Walker’s Game Ear Elite Power Muffs Digital Quads seem to have everything it takes to be the last hearing protection you’ll ever purchase. But will its polymer frames hold up rugged use?

When GunsAmerica ran a review of the readily available (but discontinued) Blackhawk Xiphos NT Night-Ops weaponlight, the company sent an e-mail indicating an all-new version was going to be available soon, and offered to provide one of the first for testing. The earlier model works extremely well, but several retailers carrying it still claim the rail-mounted light is waterproof to 10 meters, despite the fact it quit working after 60 minutes in a glass of water during our testing. The new Xiphos NTX Night-Ops, however, survived the same “water torture” test when it arrived, despite its billing as only water resistant to 10 meters.

In a 1911 market that really should be saturated by now and an economy that’s arguably still struggling, Ruger is adding a Commander-size SR1911CMD for the concealed-carry gun owner who wants a quality, American-made 1911 for only $829. It used to be that if you wanted a reliable and accurate 1911, you bought a Colt and then spent more than the cost of the gun on custom gunsmithing. Depending on what you wanted, the sky was the limit. I credit Kimber with changing that in the mid-1990s when it aggressively entered the 1911 market with factory-made guns flush with all the bells and whistles and set off a race to the top that seems to still be going.