Gun Digest - June 2022

106 Pages·2022·70.2 MB·English

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CONTENTS
JUNE 2022 | VOLUME 39 ISSUE 07
DEPARTMENTS
6 First Shot
8 Know Your Cartridge
COLUMNS
10 Behind the Brand JAY PINSKY
16 Defensive Handgunning RICHARD MANN p. 24
18 Drawing Conclusions MARTY HAYES, J.D.
20 Modern Gunnery DAVE MERRILL p. 34
22 Guns & Gear GD EDITORS
98 First Look GD EDITORS
FEATURES
24 9mm Magic: Why your next gun
needs to be a pistol-caliber carbine.
JOSH WAYNER
34 America’s Sweetheart: The radical
60-year evolution of the AR-15.
PATRICK SWEENEY
44 The Journey to a Short Barrel: How to get
started with the NFA.
ADAM BORISENKO
76 How to Build ‘The One’: Custom rifl e p. 44
platforms all start with your dreams …
and the action.
PHIL MASSARO
84 Golfi ng and Guns: Specifi c golf clubs
are designed for specifi c distances.
So are rifl es.
JOSH WAYNER
92 Light Bullets, Longer Ranges: Here’s how
speed can improve your long-range game. p. 76
FRANK GALLI
p. 84
THE BEST GUN LIST IN PRINT
51 Show & Auction Listings
62 The Gun Digest
Marketplace
p. 92
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FIRST SHOT // LUKE HARTLE
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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
LUKE HARTLE
MANAGING EDITOR
LAURA PELTAKIAN
ONLINE EDITOR
ELWOOD SHELTON
BLURRED
SR. ART DIRECTOR
GENE COO
ART DIRECTOR
KATIA SVERDLOVA
COLUMNISTS
LINES FRANK GALLI, RICHARD MANN,
PHIL MASSARO, PATRICK SWEENEY,
MARTY HAYES
ADVERTISING SALES
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
W RYAN FARNER
[phone]
[email protected]
hen I fi rst started attend- their own thing as well.
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
ing SHOT Show (as a re- Today, this canvas has been completely
ALEX OSTROWSKI
minder, that’s the shoot- repainted. Th at “little” black-gun section [phone]
ing industry’s annual that was once tucked neatly into the back [email protected]
SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
trade show—and no, I’m not going to age corner, like where they keep the milk
DAVID FIGG
myself by doing the math and admitting at a grocery store, now touches nearly [phone]
how many years ago this actually was), every single booth in that gigantic room. dfi [email protected]
the manufacturers within the walls of It would be like moving the milk right SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE
LORI MCDANIEL
that exhibit hall were largely segregated. up front to the checkout lanes, where it [phone]
Th e hunting-focused companies were belongs. [email protected]
all clumped together, as were the big bolt- Man, how things have changed: Th ose ADVERTISING ASSISTANTS
BROOKE CASTLE
action rifl e manufacturers and ammo lines are now, and forever will be, blurred.
CHING CORNFORTH
producers. Th e handgun-focused booths And that’s a great thing, because it per-
GUN DIGEST MEDIA, LLC
had their section, too, and so did all the fectly illustrates a thriving and evolving
glass specialists … from rifl escopes to gun culture. GM/PUBLISHER
GLEN CASTLE
binoculars and everything in between. Th is issue is dedicated to the tactical
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE
And then there was the “black and blue guns designed not for law enforcement
JENNIFER SEXSTONE
section,” which consisted mainly of blue or military use, but for the fi rearms en-
NETWORK MANAGER
law enforcement offi cers who carried the thusiast who loves to shoot guns that are JOHN SCHWARTZE
guns that were all black. Th ey were stuck tactical, practical and fun—regardless of
NEWSSTAND SALES
in the way back corner. how aggressively they’re bastardized my NPS MEDIA GROUP
[email protected]
Keep in mind that all this was in mainstream media.
one enormous exhibit hall. Th ere were From pistol-caliber carbines to the sur- Subscription Services
no walls or doors between the various prisingly interesting history of the AR, it’s U.S. and Canada: 1 [phone]
Outside the U.S.: [phone]
delegations, but there may as well have all within these pages for you. P.O. Box 460220
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E-mail: [email protected]
However, there was no animosity be- downrange that your fi ngers ache from
tween any of these sections—they were all loading magazines.
simply worlds apart, in every sense of that
phrase. For the most part, the sportsmen
did their thing and the tactical guys did
6|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|JUNE 2022 GUNDIGEST.COM

RAPID FIRE // KNOW YOUR CARTRIDGE FROM GUN DIGEST’S CARTRIDGES OF THE WORLD. ORDER AT GUNDIGESTSTORE.COM.
Because the
5.56 NATO
needed a
younger,
but bigger,
brother.
HISTORICAL NOTES selected the .30 Remington as a parent accuracy and terminal performance.
Anecdotal reports from U.S. forces case for two reasons. Hornady, Federal, Sellier & Bellot
involved in combat in Iraq and Af- First, bolts for the M16 family of ri- and Remington offer loaded 6.8 SPC
ghanistan in recent years indicate the fles and carbines can readily be manu- ammunition. The cartridge is cham-
six-decade-old 7.62x39mm cartridge factured to accept the .30 Remington’s bered by Barrett, LWRC, DPMS, Stag,
and AK-47 rifle may be more effective case head diameter (.420). Second, Daniel Defense, SSK and Precision
in combat than the U.S. M4 carbines standard 20- and 30-round M16 mag- Reflex Inc. in AR-15 rifles; by both
firing the 5.56x45 cartridge. azines can accept the 6.8 SPC without SSK Industries and Thompson/Center
In 2003, Steve Holland and Cris change. After extensive test firings into in Contender, G2 and Encore single-
Murray, individuals associated with ordnance gel blocks, and on military shot actions; by Remington and Ruger
special forces and marksmanship firing ranges with the .30 Remington in bolt-action rifles; and by custom
units, developed a special-purpose cases sized for .30, 7mm, .270, 6.5mm gunsmiths on CZ-527 bolt actions.
cartridge to improve combat effective- and 6mm bullets, .270-caliber bullets It’s also a good whitetail deer car-
ness in short-barreled (16.5-inch) M4 delivered the best balance of velocity, tridge.
carbines used for special operations.
The resulting 6.8 SPC (Special Purpose
6.8MM SPECIAL PURPOSE CARTRIDGE (6.8 SPC) LOADING
Cartridge) achieved favorable results
DATA AND FACTORY BALLISTICS
in actual usage, but hasn’t been offi-
BULLET POWDER GRAINS VELOCITY ENERGY SOURCE
cially adopted by the U.S. Army.
110 V-Max FL - 2,550 1,588 Hornady
GENERAL COMMENTS 115 MC FL - 2,800 2,002 Remington
Intended to launch heavier bullets 90 SPR HP H4198 28.6C 3,012 1,812 Hodgdon
than the standard U.S. 5.56 round, 110 V-Max Benchmark 27.0 2,518 1,548 Hodgdon
the 6.8 SPC uses the 1906-vintage .30 115 Sierra HPBT H322 28.2C 2,608 1,736 Hodgdon
Remington cartridge shortened and 85 E-TIP FL - 2,950 1,642 SSA 75015
necked down to accept a .270-caliber
100 GMX FL - 2,550 1,444 Hornady 8348
(6.8mm) bullet. Holland and Murray
115 FMJ FL - 2,625 1,759 Remington L68R2
8|GUN DIGEST THE MAGAZINE|JUNE 2022 GUNDIGEST.COM