Category Archives: new guns

H&R is delivering when it comes to throwback ARs

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The reformed Harrington & Richardson Arms, now with a very NoDakSpud flavor, is chugging right along to bring black rifle collectors all the things.

As I covered last year from SHOT ’23, the modern H&R with NoDakSpud founder Mike Wetteland as CEO is back and ready to make some extremely sweet guns that just ooze old-school cool.

Growing from three throwback models last year– a basic M16A1 clone, the H&R 635 9mm, and H&R 723 carbine– the company has in the meantime added a gray or black XM16E1 complete with triangular handguards and 3-prong flash hider with options for either a trap or no-trap stock, an A2 rifle with a 20-inch barrel and round handguards, an A2 pencil profile carbine with a CAR stock, an XM177E2 clone, and an Air Force 604 model with a 1:12 twist barrel– and they are only getting warmed up.

I stopped by the booth at SHOT ’24 last week and spent some quality time with Wetteland where he gave us the rundown on the entire current and planned (possible) future H&R collection.

It includes:

An “Aberdeen Brown” maple wood stock A1 variant, which is man cave-worthy. These will be available within the next month both as complete rifles and furniture sets. There will also be a distressed walnut version.

Reminiscent of the early 1980s DMRs, check out this resto-mod flat top. Wetteland says this is inbound shortly, scope not included, and advised to ignore the RRA mount.

An early 1990s Delta-style JSOC tube gun, Wetteland said this is a throwback to the days before the arrival of the quad rail mafia and was an armorer-level hack that high-speed guys did to allow them to mount lights and lasers. He stressed that, while H&R may not make this as an all-up gun, uppers, and parts are likely to be made to allow home builders and collectors to steal this look.

And this…

More in my column including a 10-minute interview with Mike, over at Guns.com.

A Rost What?

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If you have followed this blog for more than five minutes, you’ll get that I like new guns, which come around almost every day.

Something rarer are new gun companies, and I always take an interest in those and they can sometimes prove a bigger and more complex story.

The first new gun company of the year this year appears to be Texas-based Rost Martin, who has what at first appears to be a G19-sized vanilla striker-fired polymer-framed 9mm pistol, but at closer look seems to be a little better (and for a better price).

Their flagship RM1C pistol is a compact-sized double-stack 9mm, that sports a 4-inch hammer-forged barrel, 7.1-inch overall length, and a 21.1-ounce unloaded weight with a 15+1 round magazine. This puts it a hair smaller than the Glock 19 Gen 5. It is optics-ready on all models, shipping with an RMR footprint, while plates for “all other popular optic footprints” will be available.

Other features include aggressive front and rear slide serrations, ambidextrous surface controls including slide catch and mag release, and what is described as “a smooth, light 5-pound trigger pull with a clean break and a short reset.” Added to this are non-glare top slide serrations similar to what is seen on S&W and Walther pistols, an inherent low bore axis, and a Tenifer-treated nitrocarburized slide. It has interchangeable rear grip inserts.

The Texas-made RM1C will be offered in black, gray, and FDE, and has a very AREX Delta Gen 2 vibe.

Don’t worry about support, as it uses CZ P10 pattern mags that are free, and accept XD pattern sights.

Of note, it has a Glock-style takedown albeit with arguably better ergos.

All right, so enough of the windup – how about the pitch? The MSRP on the new Rost Martin RM1C is set at $459 across all models, a price that will probably be a little lower at retail. That puts it on par price-wise with an optics-ready Turkish-made Stoeger STR-9C or Canik TP9SF but about a hundo more than a PSA Dagger, but then again it has a feature set better than the basic Dagger.

The folks at Rost Martin are sending me one to test and I am meeting with them at SHOT next week to get some more background info, so watch this space.

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.

Marines Show off Shorty HK416s, M18s in Underway Small Arms Drills

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Marines getting in some live-fire training, while embarked on a Navy amphibious warfare ship, were recently spotted with some interesting new gear. 

The Marines, part of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable)’s Maritime Special Purpose Force, are currently deployed aboard the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bataan (LHD-5). An elite unit within an elite unit, the MSPF typically includes a SEAL Strike Platoon, a Force Recon Direct Action Platoon, and a platoon from the MEU(SOC)’s boat company, among others. That would explain the extensive use of M27s— itself a version of the well-liked Heckler & Koch HK 416 rifle– modified with HK’s Reconnaissance Weapon Kit. 

The recent photos of the 26th MEU(SOC)’s MSPF show Recon-kitted M27s complete with EoTech holographic sights and PEQ-16 flashlight/laser aiming devices. (Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

First spotted in use in 2021, the kit includes a 416A5 upper with an adjustable gas system and 11-inch barrel, allowing for a more compact and suppressor-friendly close-quarters weapon rather than the 16-inch barrel on the standard M27. 

For longer-range work, they have been seen with EoTech magnifiers as well. (Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

The SIG Sauer M18, recently adopted as standard across the Marine Corps, is also present on each of the MSPF members, complete with Surefire X300 lights, and lanyards.

(Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

(Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

(Photo: Cpl. Kyle Jia/U.S. Marine Corps)

As I previously reported, the Marines sought 35,000 of the smaller SIG Modular Handgun System variants to replace Beretta M9 pistols, Colt M45A1 CQB .45ACP railguns, and the M007 Glock.

The 26th MEU(SOC), embarked with the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group, has been deployed in European waters conducting exercises with NATO allies in the Mediterranean, but this week arrived in the Middle East to support deterrence efforts in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been harassing oil tankers as of late

A Closer look at the FN 15 Guardian

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For the past couple of months, I’ve been working with FN’s most entry-level AR-15, the Guardian.

It shares a lot of FN’s M4 DNA and has a great barrel– I’m talking a 16-inch nitride-coated specimen made of 4150 chrome-moly-vanadium (CMV) steel. FN tells us it is MIL-B-11595 high-pressure tested and subjected to magnetic particle inspection after proof firing. It runs a 1:7 twist rate, which is one of the most common twists on AR-15s today and great for stabilizing heavier bullets, which have become more popular.

Now, it uses a slick-sided NBS-made billet upper, which does away with the jam enhancer (forward assist), on a forged lower, and carries the same general furniture as seen on the company’s TAC3 series which costs twice as much. Everything else (trigger, charging handle, etc) is mil-spec.

At a $999 asking price – typically much lower with retailers – the FN 15 Guardian delivers a lot of performance for half the price of the company’s $1,889 TAC 3 and likewise comes in at a fraction of the cost of the $2,439 DMR3. In fact, the Guardian is the most affordable FN 15 in the company’s catalog, coming in at a price point lower than the $1,359 Patrol Carbine, its former “budget” offering.

I’ve only got a few hundred rounds through it thus far, but it is holding up well and I haven’t had a single jam even with mixing 14 wildly different loads across four different style mags.

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.

Welcome back, Marlin 1894

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Marlin first introduced the now classic revolver-caliber lever gun back in 1894, hence the name, originally chambered in then-contemporary cartridges such as .25-20, .32-20, .38-40, and .44-40. With a straight grip, rectangular lever, 24-inch octagonal barrel, and a healthy 10-shot tubular magazine, the “solid top” Model 1894 was popular enough to remain in production well into the 1930s.

The original Marlin 1894 was a product of the company’s LL Hepburn era and drew heavily from preceding designs such as the very similar Model 1893, shown here in the Cody exhibit at SHOT Show 2019, with the big difference being that the 1894 was the company’s first “solid top” rifle. (Photo: Chris Eger)

Marlin restored the M1894 to its catalog in 1969– when Old Western TV shows like “Gunsmoke” and “Bonanza” were must-watch prime-time family programming– and updated the caliber to the more readily-available .44 Special/Magnum. At the same time, the company shortened the rifle a bit via an easier-to-shoulder 20-inch round profile barrel but otherwise kept the same general layout as the original.

Marlin kept the Vietnam-era M1894 reboot in and out of production, including shorter carbine options and variants chambered in .357 Mag, .41 Mag, and .45 Colt, until the model finally vanished altogether in 2020 with the bankruptcy of Remington Outdoors, which had acquired the Marlin brand a decade prior.

In its final days before going out of production in 2020, the Marlin 1894 was seen as an ideal suppressor host, seen with an AAC Illusion fitted. Note the solid top design allowed easy fitment of optics. (Photo: Chris Eger)

Fast forward to this week and, with Ruger now firmly in the driver’s seat of the rebooted brand, the Marlin 1894 is back.

Chambered in .44 Rem Mag/Special, the new Ruger-made Marlin Model 1894 Classic sports an American black walnut straight stock and forend with pressed in checkering and, much like the circa 1969 2nd generation gun, has a 20-inch round-profile barrel and 10-shot mag.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Swimming with the Manta

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This understated Tisas 1911, which sports an Ed Brown Bobtail to minimize printing – and maximize comfort – when carrying concealed, has proved smooth and dependable in testing.

We’re talking about the Manta.

I’ve been kicking around one for the past couple of months, wearing it both IWB and OWB, and putting well over 500 rounds through one.

One favorite minimalist OWB carry was the always popular Galco Yaqui Slide, paired with a bamboo Boker Burnley Kwaiken. When carried with a spare mag in N8 Tactical’s new Magna-Clip carrier, you had 17 rounds of Speer Gold Dot at the ready.

A more deep carry concealment setup was a Bianchi Leather Model 100 Professional IWB holster with a high back. An extra mag in a Crossbreed Confidant, which can be carried IWB as well, makes a good companion as does a fixed blade.

Does the cut make a difference when it comes to carry? The smoothed extended beavertail grip safety, coupled with the rounded hammer, keeps from digging into the side while sitting and moving, as does the Bobtail.

As someone who has carried lots of standard Government profile 1911s over the years, I can vouch that it is more comfortable. Plus, with the trailing edge of the rear grip effectively rounded off, you print less with a cover garment.

The full review in my column at Guns.com.

SIG Keeps Cranking the 210 Machine

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SIG has added a new Custom Works P210 model to its catalog this month. With the Germans and Swiss no longer making the vaunted classic, it has been left to the American branch to keep the flame going on these single-action single-stack 9mm handguns.

The newest model takes the rather plain P210 Carry and dresses it up quite a bit, adding a fully DLC-coated slide with factory engravings, an E-nickel trigger, and a set of Rosewood grips.

Like the standard P210 Carry, it uses 8-round mags and includes a set of SIG night sights rather than the sweet target sights seen on other models.

The cost is likely to be around $2K.

However, lots of folks feel SIG missed the mark and should have made a double stack akin to a Swiss 2011, which would have turned a lot of heads.

Of course, I love the standard P210 Carry, and it handles great

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