Rock River Arms LAR-15 223 Rem.

The Rock River was a well-made, shorty version of the AR-15. Some slight feature differences would make the ultimate choice up to you. In both cases, we think the shorty AR-style rifles are better choices than the similar Ruger Mini-14.

Smith & Wesson M&P Pistol Authorized By DEA

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has approved select models from Smith & Wesson Corp.'s Military & Police (M&P) Pistol Series as authorized firearms.

Glock Introduces Three New Pistols

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Glock introduced three new pistols at the 2009 SHOT Show in Orlando--the G22 RTF2 with slide serration pattern as well as the G20 SF and G29 SF.

SIG Sauer P220 .45 ACP

The P220 is available with options that can put the MSRP upwards of $958, but our P220 was the blued base model. Available options include night sights and a nickel-coated slide. The special K-Kote finish is no longer available.

The combination of the white dot on the front sight and the white vertical line inside the rear notch offers fast sight acquisition. If you feel more comfortable with tritium sights, a set of Siglite night sights will cost an extra $100 if sold as original equipment. Send your slide to Sigarms and the factory will install a set of Siglites for $195.

Smith & Wesson to Equip South Australia Police Force

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Smith & Wesson Corp. will arm the South Australia Police Force's (SAPOL) 4,000-officer front-line force with the company’s M&P 40 pistols.

LE and Military Listen Up: New Agenda Six Suppressor Is Lighter, Smaller

PHOENIX – AWC Systems Technology's redesigned Agenda Six suppressor is a lighter, smaller-diameter unit than the previous Agenda Six suppressor.

Fulton Armory Peerless NM M14 Rifle .308

To the basic rifle price ($2,500) must be added the prices for the gorgeous McMillan M3A stock ($600), the ARMS steel scope mount ($150), extended rail ($100), bipod ($70), swivel package ($100), and a leather sling ($50). There was also a Krieger barrel ($200). The total package, less scope but with mount and rings, came to $3,770. With the Leupold scope, the tag would be about $4,620 as tested. We got our prices out of the maker’s catalog and may have missed a few things, so it’s best to contact Fulton for an exact quote on your needs. We had the loan of some scopes with state-of-art add-ons set up specifically for the M14 that bear close scrutiny.Fulton’s Peerless rifle was easily the most impressive-looking of this test trio. When we pulled it out of its box, we were struck by its purposeful beauty. Everything about the rifle was flat black except for the exposed Krieger stainless barrel, which was in the white, with a decent but not glaring polish. The McMillan M3A stock felt just great. Its pistol grip was acutely angled to give near-perfect trigger control.

Number of Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the United States Falls Sharply in 2008

WASHINGTON -- 2008 is ending as one of the safest years for U.S. law enforcement in decades. The number of officers killed in the line of duty fell sharply this year when compared with 2007, and officers killed by gunfire reached a 50-year low.

California’s Bad Santa Exposes Failure Of Gun Control Laws

News of a man dressing up in a Santa suit and murdering nine people in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve dominated cable news headlines for days after the event. News reports suggest Bruce Pardo took as many as four handguns and a homemade flame-thrower to the home of his ex-wife's parents, where at least 25 people were enjoying a Christmas Eve party. Pardo shot at partygoers and burned down the house, murdering at least nine people before committing suicide hours later.

Mossberg 590A1 Tactical Shotguns Now Available

North Haven, CT, Dec. 22, 2008—Mossberg is the manufacturer of the only 12 gauge pump action shotgun ever to pass the stringent U.S. Military Mil-Spec 3443 standard. For 2009 Mossberg will make available select 590A1 models to the general public. All models will come standard with heavy-walled barrels, metal trigger guards and safety buttons in a Parkerized finish. A full range of sighting options will be available in front bead, ghost ring rear or 3-dot configurations.…

Vector Arms V-53 .223 Rem.

This roller-locked HK variant was Vector’s V-53, chambered for the .223 cartridge. This well-made rifle had a composite trigger-assembly housing, incorporating the pistol grip as well as holding all the parts normally contained in a sheet-metal housing.Takedown was much the same as for the .308 version, except the V-53 had only one pin holding the all-composite buttstock to the receiver. The recoil spring was not captive within the butt cover, as it was on the JLD rifle.

Robinson Armament M96 Expeditionary Rifle .223 Rem.

Our initial evaluation showed us a very well made rifle with a lot of aura and some mystery to its makeup. The rifle came with two barrels, the mounted one of 20.25 inch length for the Expeditionary Rifle, and one of 16.2-inch length that let us convert this rifle into the Recon Carbine.There was no magazine, and the operator’s manual even stated that it didn’t come with a magazine. But any AR-15/M16 mag would do, the manual told us, so we used the Bushmaster’s 10-shot one. It worked perfectly throughout our testing.

Gun News

In the September 2022 issue, I mentioned in Downrange that “Fifteen Republican senators rolled over earlier in the year to pass a bill negotiated...