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New Gun Reviews & More

New Gun Reviews on GunsHolstersAndGear

In recent weeks, I’ve written a number of new reviews and resource lists. All of my reviews can be accessed from that tab at the top of the page.

Here are the links to the most recent articles.

Gun Reviews

  • Smith & Wesson Model 610 – A revolver chambered in 10mm, this fighting handgun turned out to be one of the better wheelguns I’ve shot in recent months. And contrary to popular myths, the recoil is quite tame.
  • Diamondback DB9 Gen 4 – The original Diamondback DB9 was met with some resistance by the shooting public and many of the criticisms were fair. However, the latest generation of the DB9 is quite good. I found it to be reliable and significantly more comfortable to shoot that the original. I tested it with HST, Critical Defense, Gold Dot and more.
  • IWI Galil ACE Pistol – I took the arm brace version of this pistol for a spin. It proved to be accurate and reliable. Even more, the gun was just plain fun to shoot. Yes, it is heavier than an AR pistol, but it is well balanced and has minimal recoil.
  • Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P380 EZ Shield – Without a doubt, the M&P 380EZ is a very popular handgun. It’s not hard to understand why – it fills the hand, is easy shooting, has good sights and is easy to manipulate even if you have diminished hand and arm strength. I took the new Performance Center version of the pistol for a spin, and it proved to be everything I hoped it would be.
  • Diamondback AM2 – This pistol was a pleasant surprise to me. Although I had good experiences with Diamondback in the past, internet naysayers suggested the company would not be able to make a solid, combat-capable pistol. The gun I tested proved that the company can make a reliable pistol – and offer features that some of the big boys don’t.  I was impressed by this pistol.

Other Shooting Product Reviews

  • Mantis X2 Review – Mantis is making big moves in the firearms training niche, and the new X2 offers a very affordable system for you to dry fire train at home. I’m a proponent of dry firing to improve your shooting fundamentals and ultimately your accuracy. The X2 brings the ability to run different skill drills and give you actionable feedback on how to improve your technique.
  • SureFire G2X Flashlight – After reviewing this flashlight, it became my preferred daily carry and bedside flashlight. It proved to be tough with good light output and a reasonable runtime on CR123A batteries.
  • Elite Survival Systems Stealth SBR Backpack – I love my Maxpedition and 5.11 bags, but for the discreet carry of a large pistol or SBR-style weapon this is the best I’ve found. It is a high-quality bag that blends very easily into the scenery. It attracts no attention but is extremely functional.
  • Streamlight ProTac HL Flashlight – This has been a long time favorite of mine. I’ve used it on duty as a police officer and for years since as a regular good guy. It proved itself time and time again. I updated my original review of this light to include runtime and output data with my current measurement tools. I still recommend this light.
  • Phalanx Stealth Holster – In this case, one size fits all doesn’t really. The Stealth Operator holster from Phalanx proved to be acceptable with a few of my handguns, but it failed to live up to my expectations on others. Read the review for a better understanding, but I do not recommend this holster unless you try it out prior to purchase and understand its limitations.
  • Wowtac A7 Flashlight – This inexpensive flashlight bills itself as being suitable for tactical use. But, I don’t recommend it for that. In fact, I don’t recommend it for anything other than hobbyists. And even then, you need to be careful as I found something that makes this light potentially dangerous.

New Resource Pages

Finding a holster or other accessory for a particular handgun or rifle can be a pain. Google only gives you a limited number of selections based on which companies have better search optimization skills – not the best product. Likewise, places like Amazon give preference to products with the deep pockets to advertise.

My intent is to bring many of the options together into a single article so you can compare them and make an informed decision.

Also, I updated the Flashlight Reviews page with additional testing information and a large comparison chart to help you navigate all of the testing I’ve been doing.

By Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson is a gun writer, amateur historian and - most importantly - a dad. He's done a lot of silly things in his life, but quitting police work to follow his passion of writing about guns was one of the smartest things he ever did. He founded this site and continues to manage its operation.

3 replies on “New Gun Reviews & More”

That’s a really good photo. I wish I had the talent to shoot them like that. Also, that IWI Galil pistol is a lot of fun to shoot. I bought one last year.

Thanks fr the review on the Mantis X2. I just ordered one and look forward to practicign with it while isolating due to coronavirus.

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