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Sorry it wasn't clear, but on the threaded-barrel 45s, we did shoot the Carter with the suppressor and the gun's open sights, and the results were listed in the table. But the experience showed us the existing sights weren't really usable outside perfect conditions. Because the sight picture in the photo was so thin, that's why we felt compelled to add the Crimson Trace green laser.

Manufacturers have easily transformed the AR-15 platform to be compatible with 9mm ammo, and we have tested a few of these carbines back in 2015. Since then, there has been an uptick in new 9mm carbine models, so we decided to take a look at these short semi-autos that share ammo with your pistol. What separates these newer 9mm carbines from some AR-15 carbines is their ability to use handgun magazines. Not only do these carbines share the same ammunition, they also share the same magazine in your pistol. That's versatility in our book.

The three rifles we procured were the Beretta CX4 Storm, Just Right Carbines' Takedown Model, and Ruger's PC Carbine. These carbines offer mild recoil, good accuracy, fast follow-up shots, light weight, and maneuverability. Some, like the Ruger, offer all the bells and whistles and propel the 9mm carbine category from a pipsqueak pistol-caliber carbine to a versatile home defense and survival tool. In the past five or six years, 9mm ammunition has also evolved, and there are a slew of viable loads that make these carbines more versatile than 9mm carbines years ago.

Less recoil means better accuracy and faster follow-up shots, and we all know bullet placement is very important in disabling a bad actor. We'll take making the first well-placed shot any day. In our opinion, any of these carbines would made a good choice for home defense, for transport in a vehicle, as survival/prepper choice, small game hunting, and an all-round fun plinker. These also make a great transitional gun for shooters graduating from a rimfire round to a centerfire round. All of these carbines also offered an adjustable length of pull so smaller-stature shooters are not at a disadvantage.

All three of these carbines feed from handgun magazines and use a simple blowback mechanism. You can feel the bolt sliding back and forth in the receiver as the carbine cycles and that adds to the perceived recoil. These carbines are also light and perceived recoil is always higher in a lightweight rifle. In our opinion, the Beretta does the best job of making the mechanism feel smooth, and that's because the CX4 is more like and oversized pistol than it is a carbine chambered in a pistol caliber. The Ruger and JRC have added flexibility since they are takedown models. Plus the Ruger does a whole lot more. The Ruger PC Carbine is packed with features that actually make the carbine more flexible, adaptable, and useful. Some of our more jaded testers kept going back to the PC Carbine for another try, which says a lot.

In January, Democrats who control both houses of the state Legislature passed a big gun-control package that Tom King, executive director of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association and a board member of the National Rifle Association called "very egregious" moves against gun rights or "just plain stupid." He is right on the money.

Given the massive U.S. and international media attention Lankford's work has received, and given the considerable impact his research has had on the debate, his unwillingness to provide even the most basic information to other researchers raises real concerns about Lankford's motives, in my estimation.

Brownells is offering a unique DIY project that beats putting shelves in the garage. The HK 416 Project is a parts kit offered by the Iowa-based retailer that allows a shooter to build an HK 416 — the type of rifle used by U.S. Navy SEALs in the 2011 raid against Osama Bin Laden. Disassembled from German military machine guns, the parts kits were available to all Brownells customers in November.

On March 29, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who sits on the Senate Banking Committee, issued a stern warning to Citigroup CEO Michael L. Corbat. Sen. Kennedy urged Citigroup to refrain from "penalizing Americans who choose to exercise their 2nd Amendment rights," and instead to focus on the company's many shortcomings. Sen. Kennedy also reminded Corbat that "The very fact that Citi remains operational is due entirely to the generosity of the American taxpayers." That makes this gun owner wonder if all of Citi's bailout funds have been repaid.

If you are a longtime subscriber to Gun Tests, then you'll remember when reliability was our main concern, and we often found function problems in various firearms. Now, thanks to modern manufacturing methods, today's firearms are so consistent we rarely have to say anything about how well a particular gun functions. But with these guns, we felt like we were turning back the clock. Reliability and function were once again our main concern as we collected accuracy data from the 100-yard benches at American Shooting Centers in Houston. Did we have three rifles displaying worthwhile innovation, or would the demands of creating a rifle to satisfy the demands of lawmakers spoil the progress of a proven design?

We wanted to test three threaded-muzzle bolt actions in a reference chambering well known to hunters and shooters, the 308 Winchester, along with a less-common bolt-action choice, the 300 AAC Blackout, which is more often chambered in AR-15 uppers because it has the same overall length, base diameter, and rim diameter as the 5.56 NATO round, so it will feed from an unmodified magwell in an AR-15 lower. The 300 Blackout can be loaded with lighter bullets, where it compares favorably to the 7.6239mm Soviet round, or loaded with heavier bullets that travel below subsonic speeds for suppressor use. At sea level, the speed of sound is roughly 1125 fps, with the "roughly" changing based on air temperature and other conditions.

As knowledgeable gun owners, Gun Tests readers know that paying lip service to restrictions and limitations isn't the answer. Guns aren't going to magically disappear. But gun owners, in particular, do have a responsibility to report erratic and potentially dangerous behavior in their communities. Because we have access to guns, it's up to gun owners to be the front line of responsible gun ownership and report when we see behavior like what Nikolas Cruz exhibited. We can't stand on the sidelines and say, "It's not my business" and move on. The trouble is, will we get law enforcement to follow up effectively? That clearly did not happen in the Parkland event.

In Virginia, the House Militia, Police and Public Safety Subcommittee has considered a number of anti-gun measures. Very worrisome is House Bill 597/House Bill 819, which makes it a crime to knowingly possess a device that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semi-automatic firearm.

Where is the reclassification of suppressors out of Class 3, so those of us already hard of hearing can easily buy them before we go completely deaf? Yes, I remember why it stalled — bad optics. Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) was shot on the same day a hearing was scheduled in June to make it easier for Americans to buy suppressors. I'm not sure why those two things became linked, because no suppressors were used in the Congressional baseball park attack or in the Las Vegas shooting. Aaagh! Why are Republicans so scared of the minority whining about "what ifs?"

States must improve the NICS database by submitting any and all records establishing an individual is a prohibited person, such as mental health records showing someone is an "adjudicated mental defective" or involuntarily committed to a mental institute, as well as official government records showing someone is the subject of a domestic violence protective order, a drug addict, or subject to another prohibited category. The existing background check system must be fixed, otherwise we'll just have more incomplete and inaccurate checks.