Online Is a Blessing
Dear Mr. Woodard, even two years ago, if you had said you were putting more material online than in the paper magazine, I would have been very mad. I am 62, 63 next month, and very old school. But now I think the online material will be a huge blessing to all of us. Thanks for doing that. I hope to be set up by the end of next month.
I bought a Galco shoulder holster following your recommendation. I read all your shoulder holster reviews six or eight times or more, scouring and pondering all comments, and decided the Galco might be the best for me. I love it. Most comfortable holster I have ever worn. It works in many instances for me, for what I need. The ambidextrous ability to switch from right to left shoulder is genius and much needed. I had surgery on my right shoulder, not serious but still surgery. I can draw with my left hand much easier, and while not ambidextrous, I can shoot equally poorly with either hand, so drawing left handed really is not a problem for me. Thanks so much for all of those reviews and the detail on each one. Never thought I would buy one, but I will never be without one again. We all need more options to carry than we think.
Also, thanks for telling us where you get stuff. The Galco shoulder holster was much cheaper at Optics Planet than anywhere else I looked. I really appreciate all this information in the reviews.
The reviews are good on all you are doing, even though I am not really interested in buying anything, but we never know when that will change. The review detail and introductory material to the reviews is just marvelous and well done, I thought.
I am still anxiously waiting to see a review on optics, especially for longer-range shooting. One thing I am noticing more as I look through more optics is that some appear to be whitewashed out a little on color. Some let the color through very well, and others seem whitewashed. Also, the older I get, the more I need optics that are very clear and that do not force my eyes to focus more and more to see clearly. When I was young, I did not know scopes could focus. I knew binoculars could, but not scopes. Now I cannot use one that I cannot focus by hand.
I would like to see a review on night-vision scopes. I am very interested in the one from Burris that you can use as a monocular or clip onto any existing rifle scope, I assume as long as the bell on the front is the same size. I think the BTC 50 is what I need to clip onto a 50mm bell on my other scopes. How do other scopes compare to this one? This clip-on and monocular combo scope is best for me — if it works. That is where we all depend on you folks.
Any chance you can now add an entire section of reloading reviews for the online material? I would love to see reviews on all reloading bullets, powder, primers, presses, powder throwers, and so on. I have an idea to keep my powder thrower from bouncing powder out all over. If it works, I will send photos. We are still finishing our house, so it will take me a bit to get this set up and running.
I can’t thank you enough for all the information you publish and share. As I have said before, Gun Tests is education, not just a list of what to buy. Thank you, thank you, and thank you. — Don
Hey Don: You’re welcome. The space we have online will allow us to do more tests of optics and reloading gear. Look forward to seeing you. — Todd Woodard
Re: “Downrange,” June 2023
I read your editorial on the Biofire “Smart Gun” and smiled. Not so fast, Biofire.
My wife has been a registered nurse for more than 40 years. Due to her job, which requires endless hand washing, she has literally scrubbed off her fingerprints. She proved this several years back.
While at the NRA convention, we were looking at gun safes. One representative was quite proud of his safe that used digital fingerprint technology to unlock it. When my wife said her fingerprints were gone, he said, “I have been doing this for 10 years. I have never seen one person whose fingerprints wouldn’t unlock the safe.” Well, now he has to say in 10 years he has only seen one person whose fingerprints wouldn’t open the safe. Someone should point out to Biofire that this fingerprint technology is not totally reliable. In my wife’s case, the “smart gun” would be better named BioFailedToFire. — John
Re: “22 Autoloader Shoot-out: Rossi, Ruger, & Winchester Compete,” September 2022
Todd, great magazine. After re-reading your article on 22 rimfire rifles, I have to ask: Did the Winchester lead the accuracy test because of its longer sight radius? Looking at the photos, it is obvious that it has a much longer sight radius than the Ruger or the Rossi. As close as the Ruger and the Winchester were, I think that if you re-test the same rifles with optics the Ruger will come out on top.
Also, when I was playing around on YouTube, I saw some really scary videos. Please remind your readers to take whatever they find there with a good big dose of skepticism. — Dave
Hey Dave: Hard to say that the accuracy margin was due to sight radius. That probably contributed to the advantage the Winchester had, but trigger pull quality, sight visibility, and even the ammo selection could add up to smaller groups. — tw
Eyes and Ears
Wondering if you’ve ever done or plan to do a review of eyes and ears? Was in the market for hearing protection recently and bought a pair of those electronics from a well-known brand. Awful. Uncomfortable and amplified everything, including the decibels it was supposed to block. I returned those. Finally went with old-school passive pair from Amazon, 3M Peltor. Made in Poland, which is fine by me, part of my heritage. Comfortable, and they do the job. A thorough review would have been nice. — John
Hey John: Yeah, it’s hard to beat proven technology that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Plugs on a string, then passive muffs over that, still does a good job for me. But there are many other choices available to protect hearing now, and they’re worth a look. I’ll float the idea to the staff and see who wants to undertake this. Thanks for letting me know. — tw
More 380 Reviews?
As interest in 380 ACP-caliber pistols continues to grow, new models are being introduced. For some time, the Bersa Thunder Plus was the only option for a new mid-sized high-capacity pistol in 380 Auto. Some older types are available on the used market, but these are not easily obtained and require evaluation as to fitness before use. New models have been introduced by Ruger (Security 380), Beretta (80X Cheetah) and EAA/Girsan (MC14 T). Please consider a comparative evaluation of these new options against the Bersa Thunder Plus. Thanks for a fine publication. — Peter
Hey Peter: I’ve assigned the topic to a writer. — tw
We welcome mail from our readers. To send us comments or questions about previous articles in the magazine, e-mail us: GunTestsEditor@icloud.com
If you include the month and year of the article you’re writing about, it’s a big help.
Also, please include your name, address, and phone number. We won’t publish your personal information other than your first name, but we may need to contact you about your letter. We appreciate the quality and depth of thought our readers generate.
