Category Archives: new gun

A New Carry 10mm?

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Earlier this year SIG Sauer followed up on its first striker-fired 10mm handgun with something a bit more compact – and I’ve have all the details and some insights after kicking one around for a couple of months.

In early 2022, SIG debuted the new caliber option for its hugely successful P320 platform of pistols: the 15+1 capacity 10mm XTen. I extensively evaluated one with box after box of punishing 10mm loads and was impressed with it, the biggest complaint being that its size limited carry options.

Well, the company has an answer to that with the new XTen Comp.

Still chambered in potent 10mm Auto and using the same 15-round flush-fit magazine as the full-sized XTen, the (gently) smaller XTen boasts a 3.8-inch bull barrel instead of the standard 5-incher as seen on its big brother. This also shortens the slide and takes some weight (a quarter pound) off the scales.

Compare in size the XTen Comp, left, with the full-sized XTen. Note they have the same height and width but a shorter frame and top half in terms of length.

Plus, it has an open-top “integrated expansion chamber” that runs past the muzzle of the 3.8-inch barrel, a design that turns it into a ported compensator that cannot come loose with firing. SIG uses this on lots of its Comp model pistols, including 9mm P320s and the P365, and the company says it drops felt recoil by as much as 20 percent.

In initial testing, I found the compensated slide on the XTen Comp to have a better recoil impulse than either the full-sized XTen or the FN 510 Tactical which I tested recently.

More in my column at Guns.com.

FN downshifting features for discounts

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In the past couple of years, I’ve been reviewing a lot of FN handguns. Like, a lot.

Some of the cooler ones have been a series of “Tactical” big bores, specifically the 10mm FN 510 and .45 ACP FN 545. Introduced earlier this year, sports 4.71-inch extended threaded barrels, protective “dog ear” housings around the rear sights, and ships with extended magazines, capable of holding as many as 22+1 rounds.

510 and 545 Tactical models seen here (Photo: Chris Eger)

Well, FN just this week introduced a more carry-friendly take on the 510 and 545, with new MRD models that run more standard-length 4.1-inch barrels, have 15+1 round magazines, and drop the “ears” for an easier tuck. Plus, they are like $120 cheaper.

Like the FN 510 and FN 545 Tactical, the compact introduced a sub-caliber .22LR rimfire trainer with the same feature set: the FN 502 Tactical.

FN 502 Tactical (Photo: Chris Eger)

Similarly, FN just debuted a less “tacti-cool” model of the FN 502 this week as well.

The new FN 502 MRD drops the extended barrel and magazine but still has all the other features– and about a $90 drop in price.

19 Rounds of Good to Go: The FN 545 Tactical .45 ACP

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Announced just before this year’s SHOT Show alongside the new FN 510 in 10mm Auto, the FN 545 Tactical is essentially an upsized FN 509 Tactical chambered in .45 ACP. A round that will not die and today is seemingly even more popular than ever, the .45 ACP has been around for well over a century and the FN 545 Tactical stands ready to carry it deep, shipping complete with two magazines, including a flush 15+1 rounder and an extended 18+1 round mag.

The FN 545 Tactical scratches a lot of itches for a lot of folks. Those who love FN’s 509 series but wanted something in a .45 are in luck. Those who were interested in the hammer-fired FNX-45 Tactical but would prefer it in a striker-fired action are in luck. Those who want a suppressor/optic-ready .45 ACP with lots of extra capacity right out of the box are in luck.

Compared to guns like the Glock G21 Gen 5, it has better ergos, features, and capacity.

Plus, it is accurate and reliable in testing.

The full 500-round review is over in my column at Guns.com.

500 Rounds with the Reflex (x2)

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FN over the past few years has been trying to shrink down its 9mm carry offerings as an answer to market demands sparked by guns like the SIG P365 and Springfield Armory Hellcat. While the 6+1-shot FN 503 was small and dependable, people seem to have that double-stack micro 9 itch and, to scratch it, FN has debuted the Reflex.

With a 3.3-inch barrel that gives it a 6.2-inch overall length, the FN Reflex falls into the increasingly familiar micro 9 subcompact category blazed by some rivals in the past few years. (All Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Hitting the scales at just 18.4 ounces right out of the box, it runs a flush-fit 11+1 round mag with a pinky extension for better grip support and ships with an extended 15+1 round mag.

FN sent me a pair of the guns– one a plain black standard model, the second an optics-ready MRD in FDE– and I’ve put 500 rounds through each.

More in my column at Guns.com.

14 Shot Tip Up .380: Meet the EAA Girsan MC 14T

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At first look, the EAA-imported Girsan MC 14T appears to be a clone of the original circa 1970s Beretta Cheetah series, now a classic.

However, you will note that the EAA carries an M1913 Picatinny accessory rail on the dust cover for mounting lights and lasers– a feature never cataloged on any old-school Cheetah variant.

Using a simple straight blowback action, it is chambered in .380 ACP and uses a double-action/single-action trigger with a manual frame-mounted safety lever.

The EAA Girsan MC 14T, left, compared to a Beretta Cheetah. Note the Girsan is slightly longer, and we’ll get into that. Of note, it uses the same magazine as the double-stack 13+1 round magazine of the Beretta 84.

This extended barrel length is to allow a “tip up” barrel easily actuated by a one-push lever on the right-hand side of the frame. For the gun nerds out there, Beretta briefly made a tip-up .380 Cheetah, the Model 86, but it was a single stack, and collectors, due to its rarity, tend to drive prices on those into the $1,500 region.

This is comparable to Beretta’s pipsqueak mouse guns such as the Model 21A Bobcat shown here in .22 LR.

More on the MC 14T in my column at Guns.com.

19 Shot .45 ACP: More on the New FN 545

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In what is a logical next step from the company that brought the world the FNX-45 and FN 509, the FN 545 Tactical is loaded with extras– and is chambered in “God’s caliber.”

Debuted just prior to this year’s SHOT Show alongside the new FN 510 in 10mm Auto, the 545 is essentially an enlarged FN 509 Tactical chambered in .45 ACP. While John Browning’s venerable 118-year-old chunky monkey of a caliber is best known in single-stack 1911s, the popular round keeps on ticking with a new generation of double-stack 2011s and guns like the Gen 5 Glock 21.

At first look, the FN 545 Tactical gets its name honestly, being optics ready, with an extended threaded barrel, and shipping complete with two magazines including a flush 15+1 rounder and an extended 18+1 round mag.

The overall length of the FN 545 Tactical is 8.3 inches, which is about as long as a Government profile 1911, while the weight is a lighter 31 ounces.

The 4.71-inch cold hammer-forged, target-crowned barrel on the FN 545 is threaded .578x28TPI to mount compensators and suppressors. Seen here with a SilencerCo Omega installed. A great thing about the .45 ACP round is that it is inherently subsonic in velocity, which makes it natural for use with suppressors.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Springfield Armory Operator in 9mm

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The Operator series has been a bedrock item in Springfield Armory’s lineup for more than 20 years and once upon a time, these 1911 “rail gun” .45s were about the most popular thing for SWAT-style units in the country to include the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Teams. Lots were also bought with Marine Corps unit funds for MEUSOC 1911 program before the adoption of the Colt M45 CQBP, which was basically just an Operator that said “Colt” on it.

Well, now Springfield has introduced the Operator in a 9+1 round 9mm variant, and it still looks sweet.

Will it be sweet enough that the 2011 crowd will want it at half the capacity while still having an MSRP of $1,184? That’s the question.

On FN’s new 510 10mm…

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I was on hand in 2017 when FN debuted the new FN 509 pistol, the product of more than 1 million rounds of testing and an offshoot of the gunmaker’s submission to the Army’s Modular Handgun System competition.

Based on its much-liked FNS Compact platform, that 9mm 17+1 capacity handgun was significantly beefed up to meet rigorous military requirements. Note the 24+1 round extendo

Then a year later came the announcement of the FN 509 Tactical, which was both suppressor and optics-ready with suppressor-height iron sights that co-witness with several MRDs on the market and was augmented with an extended 24-round magazine, as seen above.

Now, FN 509 Tactical has essentially grown to a full centimeter, so to speak, and has hit the market in the form of the 10mm FN 510, with all the same features but in the more commanding caliber.

Besides being suppressor and optics-ready, when it comes to the mags themselves, the FN 510 Tactical ships to most states with a standard flush-fit 15+1 round magazine and an extended 22+1 round mag. Those living in restricted areas have to make do with 10+1 round compliant capacity mags until they can repeal local prohibitions.

I’ve been kicking one around for the past couple of months and have a report in my column at Guns.com.

A North Star AR?

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When I do a gun review, I typically only have a chance to kick it around my local climes– the swampy Gulf South, where humidity is as thick as the gumbo and sand is only something you find on the riverbank or the beach.

Well, I had a special chance recently to hammer away on a test carbine in a class at Gunsite in the high mountains in Northern Arizona during monsoon season, where the moon dust turns a unique bubblegum consistency and sticks to everything.

Then, switching gears, I was able to bring said carbine back home and continue the T&E period with another 700 rounds in between Sazeracs and crawfish boils.

The gun was a Northstar NS-15.

This thing…

You may not have heard of them, but North Star has some pretty interesting sister companies.

An offshoot of RSW Aviation, North Star Arms is the second and more commercial firearms endeavor that has sprouted from the Arizona company. The elder RSW-related gun company is the better-known Profense, a maker of improved M134 Mini Guns in 7.62 and its downsized 5.56 little brother that started when RWS was looking for gun pods for its aircraft.

And I have to admit, the NS-15 proved super accurate and durable for a mid-length carbine with a 16-inch barrel.

North Star uses Ballistics Advantage barrels and ships with a sub-MOA guarantee

More in my column at Guns.com.

Swimming with the Manta

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Many feel that hammer-fired metal-framed pistols are better in every way when stacked against polymer-framed striker-fired guns. It can be argued that they have a smoother trigger, better aesthetics, and better build quality in addition to faster lock times and less felt recoil. It is no surprise that the trend lately has been for a slew of hybrid steel-framed and tungsten-infused striker-fired guns have hit the market to mimic that old-school feel.

Speaking of which, Tisas quietly added a bobtailed update to the company’s Duty B45B series this year, which in itself is interesting.

When it comes to the signature Ed Brown Bobtail treatment, with the heel of the frame cut to minimize printing– and maximize comfort– when carrying concealed, most 1911 models on the market that utilize it are of the more compact Commander-sized length, using 4.5-inch barrels. Well, Tisas already has that in the form of the 9mm Stingray Carry and Yukon Carry in 10mm.

What the Manta Ray brings is a blend of the Bobcat frame in a full-sized Government length format.

Tisas swam one of the new Mantas my way to check out and I got to admit, it feels and looks great– especially at the price (retails for $550 ish).

Keep in mind you get a forged steel frame and slide, cold-hammer-forged stainless steel barrel, Novak sights, skeletonized hammer and trigger, an ambi safety, and G10 grips for that price.

And I like the fact that they have kept the rollmarks low-key and minimalistic.

More in my column at Guns.com.

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