best of

The single-best all-around pistol is the Sig Sauer P226-ST (stainless w/rail) 9mm (or .40sw) automatic pistol. It's not ideal for concealed-carry ... but no one can agree on that anyhow. The added heft of the stainless frame ... and the rail, putting more heft towards the muzzle ... makes for much faster follow-up shots ... as there is far less muzzle-flip (this is such an advantage, I believe this pistol is not legal for IDPA SSP use). The rail is critical for a nighstand-gun ... every such pistol should have a light ... whenever possible. For plinking, from both a cost, and minimal-recoil standpoint, 9mm is extremely tough to beat. If you've ever tried to do a reload under the pressure of time, you know ... unless your last name happens to be Miculek ... that a reload of an automatic is not only much faster, but for each such reload, you've got another 15rd on-tap (vs. 6rd - 8rd). Yes, you should only need 1rd - 2rd for most defensive encounters ... so just go ahead and remove 4rd from your revolver on your nightstand.

Revolvers are about style. And few have more style than a Ruger Blackhawk (for less than double the money, anyhow). .45colt is anything any handloader wishes to make of it. But there's just something about a .44 Blackhawk. Of course, many prefer a double-action ... typically a S&W. So long as you limit your shooting to cooler loads, they should be fine. Of course, for defensive purposes, they afford much faster reloads (via speed-loaders or moon-clips). But, again, you should only need 1rd - 2rd for most defensive encounters ... that's what made the choice of revolver over automatic tolerable in the first place ... right? I only have two personal problems with S&W ... 1. the eye-sore just above the thumb-latch on post-2001 revolvers ... 2. the discontinuation of K-frames (what I believe was most desirable of the S&W DA revolvers). In fact, while I continue to build my collection of S&W's, with older, used revolvers ... I have absolutely no use for any new S&W revolvers. Gun-writers have taken to nearly completely dismissing the eye-sore ... and proclaiming any such criticism of same as merely juvenile ... as of yet, I've not seen the audacity of such comments adjacent to a full-page S&W ad.

A fine over/under 12ga is simply something to behold. Ideal for Skeet and Sporting Clays, it's also quite formiddable for Trap ... and pretty much any game you desire. I just read "kicks like a 20ga" as to suggest a particular 12ga had significantly less recoil. I'm sure many believe, as I did, that 20ga, being significantly smaller, recoils significantly less. My experience is that most 20ga shotguns have significantly smaller frames as well as bbl's ... and as a result, are significantly lighter than comparable 12ga guns. It's also been my experience that all factory 20ga ammo available is not loaded particularly soft. The combination of the two, in my experience, makes for, if anything, a harder recoiling gun. I've recently heard a guy say "the nastiest gun I ever shot was a 20ga". Winchester ... and, I believe now, Remington ... offer low-recoil 12ga shotshells (and slugs). Why no one offers such 20ga ammo, I can't fathom. Should your boy be unfortunate enough for you to have chosen an NEF/H&R single-shot 20ga for him, do him the least favor of removing the butt-pad to reveal the 3/4in - 1in hole, cut a lead-pipe to length, and fill it with melted sinkers or wheel-weights, stick the pipe in the hole, and replace the butt-pad (this is about the same as a mercury recoil-reducer for a lot less money).

While not nearly as refined, honorable mention absolutely has to go to the Mossberg 930. Herstal has seemed to have lost its way with what's left of the Winchester line ... otherwise, the Japanese used to make a very nice SX2. And I'm sure the Browning Gold is a fine scattergun as well. But for the price, particularly considering the Made in U.S.A. stamp, the Mossberg deserves serious consideration. As for 3.5in shells ... unless you've got a T-Rex problem, it's not a concern. Also, inertia-driven is actually undesirable for almost every reason.

For a brief time, Herstal made an absolutely exquisite 1892 and 1886 Extra-Lite out of their Miroku, Japan factory. Those two aside, I can think of no better rifle ... for under $10,000 ... than the Browning A-Bolt. In WSM, they'll do just about anything you could possibly want. In 7mm-08, it's quite possibly the best Whitetail rifle in existence. Until Herstal sees fit to produce a Japanese Winchester 1894 in .30-30, that is. Of course, many others believe the Remington 700 is king (I'll bet they drive Chevy's too). Admittedly, I've only owned one 700 ... an LSS ... and was very unimpressed ... and that may not be fair. I've owned a couple Winchester 70's ... one was OK ... the other ... even the manufacturer stated it was unrepairable and offered me a replacement ... I chose another A-bolt ... and was not disappointed. I've never owned a Weatherby or Sako ... not that I'd mind. I suppose I'm guilty of having been fooled once ... a couple times ... and, along the way, figuring out that I have absolutely no desire to fix what ain't broke.


1911's are notorious for being unreliable. The design is nearly 100yr old. Today, by some of the most knowledgeable and lethal people in the world of/with a pistol, the 1911 is held high above all others ... even compared to designs of the 21st century. There is a reason for that. And it's actually relatively simple. Today's firearm manufacturers ... particularly of pistols ... have a tough time turning a profit. And the fact is, most pistol purchasers fire their new prize only on a few occassions ... and then it sits in a closet for years and years. It may not fire straight ... they may not know how to fire it straight. It may not operate correctly ... they may believe it's the pistol ... they may believe it's them. Either way, the pistol rarely makes a trip back to the manufacturer for warranty repairs. Warranty repairs are expensive ... for the manufacturer ... because most barely even charge shipping for such repairs. They save money manufacturing the pistol initially ... with less attention to detail ... and then take a hit when the pistol is shipped back for repairs. The trick is, if 1,000 pistols are initially shipped ... maybe only 100 come back. Compared to manufacturing all 1,000 near perfectly in the first place, the company saves money ... a lot of it. For those lucky enough to get a pistol initially manufactured correctly ... or who have the patience to send it back to the manufacturer for repairs ... they claim their pistol is among the best in the world. For those not quite so lucky ... or knowledgeable ... they claim the pistol is garbage. Having said all that, if you choose to have a beaver-tail grip-safety, longer trigger, and extended thumb-safety put on your 1911 (if it does not already have all those), and if you have the patience to work with the manufacturer to make the pistol right ... you may find yourself among thousands of others who proclaim there is simply nothing finer than a 1911.

I told myself I wasn't gonna do this ... but here it is ... the best carry gun is a Sig Sauer P239 (.40sw or 9mm). Is it the most concealable? No. Is it the lightest? No. Is it the most powerful? No. Is it the most controllable? No. Is it the most accurate? No. However, I guarantee you one of two things ... should you choose a gun which is one of those ... 1. you will either not shoot it enough to become proficient enough with it to stake your's and your family's lives on ... 2. when you actually need it, it will be at home. The P239 has many positive attributes for carry ... not the least of which, it's size/power ratio. So long as you are able to wear the clothes you normally wear, you should be able to conceal the P239 comfortably. If you cannot, you need to seriously consider changing your wardrobe or re-assessing your desire to carry. But the real issue here is the decocker and the first-pull being DA. Many would argue that this is unnecessary with regard to safety ... and I agree. However, saying and doing are two very different things. Call it paranoia if you must ... but I feel much more relaxed with a decocked pistol on my hip ... period. Not for that, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a Colt Defender or Kahr PM9 (both of which I keep in reserve). But let's consider the reverse. Detractors, of the first-pull being DA, claim the inconsistency from the first to the second pull might yield undesirable results during an encounter. First and foremost, I've actually competed with such a pistol ... and beaten Glocks ... period. Secondly, such a pistol is likely available (or can be made so) to function DAO (utterly unnecessary, IMO). If you consider, if only for a moment, that such a pistol has no disadvantage whatsoever ... then who really cares if it's actually more safe ... or only just as safe? Is a DA trigger-pull more difficult to be accurate with? Yes ... at 50yd. Immensely inconsequential compared to how much time is spent becoming proficient with the pistol. I guarantee, the man who's competed in IDPA/USPSA with his DA will have ridiculously better odds of survival than the man who proclaims his 1911 can shoot 2in groups at 50yd ... regardless of whether he can.