But I believe real-life owners of guns — purchasers — usually tell more truth about product performance in the comments sections of various retailers. I assiduously read such comments, looking for online complaints that are worth checking out when I buy our guns and shoot them head to head. If we can’t duplicate an issue that has come up, we don’t report it — it’s just gossip if we can’t document it ourselves. But, occasionally, a nugget will drop out of the online compost, making the experience worthwhile More...
Reader field-tests the Rescue Essentials kit on the job for years and has some thoughts on its usefulness and drawbacks. Reader GW points out that some states have outlawed self-defense coverage. More...
Despite a noticeable drop in popularity and sales, the 40 S&W handgun is far from being a dead issue. Quite a few shooters realize that the 40 is just the bridge between the 45 and 9mm that it was meant to be. The 40 hits hard and enjoys an excellent reputation in police service. Wound ballistics are excellent. The 40 may be shoehorned into a 9mm-size frame. The single downside seems to be increased recoil over the 9mm and a loss in capacity that amounts to a cartridge or two compared to the 9mm. Let’s look at some of the options in a carry gun in this caliber. We chose subcompact handguns for review, with an emphasis on concealed carry, which would emphasize both the recoil and capacity drawbacks. After a thorough test, we found five good handguns, including one we like the best. More...
Subscribers Only — No, you don’t ‘need’ the copperhead scales of the Iver Johnson, the lustrous finish of the Mossberg Retrograde, or the minimalist stainless-and-black appearance of the RIA M5. But they are fun. More...
We test units from Hunter Co., Quest, Uncle Mike’s, Swap Rig Holsters, Jason Winnie, Barber Leather Works, Blackhawk, 1791 Gun Leather, and Jeffrey Custom Leather. More...
Subscribers Only — GUN NAME
ISSUE
GRADE
COMMENTS
Mossberg 590 Shockwave Model 50657 20 Gauge, $455
Mar. 2019
A
The Shockwave in 20 gauge substantially reduces felt recoil. We liked the strapped forend.
Mossberg 590 Shockwave Model 50649 .410 Bore, $455
Mar. 2019
A
Loaded with one of the specialty 410 defense loads, this would make a good home-defense choice.
Remington Model 870 TAC-14 81145 20 Gauge, $464 … More...
As you know, Gun Tests is different from other firearms-aficionado magazines because we test and recommend products that sometimes don’t do so well. It is rare to see other gun magazines show stoppages, misplaced groups, faulty manufacturing, and other quality aspects that turn those writers off enough to say, “Don’t buy this one.” Read More
I want to thank you for publishing the article on automatic powder dispensers. Although I think you may catch some flack for those who think Gun Tests should just test guns, and maybe ammo, I find that articles such as these are very helpful and informative for those of us who pursue reloading, gunsmithing or other peripheral “hobbies.” Read More
Firearms Prices
Gun Tests has been independently reviewing firearms since 1989. This website contains many older reviews. Unless otherwise noted, these reviews carry the guns' prices at the time of the original review
Viridian Weapon Technologies announces that the West Hennepin Public Safety Department located just outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota has deployed the FACT Duty Weapon-Mounted Camera (WMC) to all of its officers.More
Sergeant Parkerson posted on the Nextdoor.com app, "Burglary of Motor Vehicle suspects were recently caught breaking into vehicles in what they considered to be an upper-scale apartment complex. Their objective was to locate and steal guns from vehicles they identified on the property. Their method for choosing which vehicles they would break into was to simply locate any vehicle on the property that had some form of Law Enforcement, Fire Department, or Military-style decal on it. From their experience, they [the suspects] have learned that these vehicles would have a higher probability of having a weapon in it that they could then steal." More
From the standpoint of gunowners' rights, will Judge Kavanaugh be "fer us or agin’ us" if he's elevated to the Supreme Court? Or, said another way, will he be a "good guy on guns” or just a so-so one? "Right now, nobody knows for sure how a 'Justice Kavanaugh' might rule on gunowner rights at the SCOTUS level," said Gun Tests Editor Todd Woodard. "But the tea leaves, the entrails, the penumbras suggest he strongly leans our way." More
In response to social media rumors questioning the safety of the P320 pistol, a variant of which was selected by the U.S. government as the U.S. Army’s Modular Handgun System (MHS), SIG SAUER, Inc. has full confidence in the reliability, durability and safety of its striker-fired handgun platform. There have been zero (0) reported drop-related P320 incidents in the U.S. commercial market, with hundreds of thousands of guns delivered to date. More
