If you are looking for a high quality,less expensive, concealed carry gun look no further than the Kahr cw series. The cw9 and cw40 and small light and powerfull. Weighing in at 20 oz and being a nice,slim single stack design they are very easy to conceal and carry all day. They are also easy on the pocket book with most street prices around $400.

I have tested both the 40 and 9mm version and am currently using the cw9 for my main carry gun. The cw series have stainless slides with poly frames. They are very impervious to the elements and have showed not even a hint of discoloration or rust when using the mexican carry in the hot summer and getting a lot of sweat on them. The trigger is nice,wide and smooth and is double action only.I do  not have a trigger gauge at the time, but even though I know it breaks at around 9-10pds it doesn’t feel near that heavy due to the smoothness. The guns have shot to point of aim with 115gr and 180gr ammo out of the box. That is great for most fixed sight defensive guns have a tendency to shoot other than to the sights. The little guns are very controllable in recoil and fun and easy to shoot. I choose to keep the cw9 due to cheaper ammo and the ability to shoot it more. The guns fed and funtioned flawlessly on a wide variety of ammo and havent once balked, even straight out of the box. No break in was needed, though you should shoot at least 200rds of the ammo you are using through a auto before using for defense. These are slim,single stack guns and hold  7 +1 rounds. The grip is nice and thin and very easy to conceal. It is much thinner than even a 1911. The springs are very stiff compared to a 1911, though not as stiff as the K9 that I had tried before. It may be a litte hard to get into battery for the weak handed women and elderly. Being double action only, there is no safety, only the mag and slide release. You just point and shoot like a good revolver. The only down side to me was the gun was only supplied with one magazine and extras are a little costly. This is a very high quality well fitted pistol that should give years of reliable service.

Savage bolt actions have become the most recommended varmint and target rifles to our readers who write and ask my opinion. I am often asked to recommend handguns, shotguns, and rifles to shooters who are looking to buy a firearm and want to know what I would choose. Sometimes, I have wished that I did not recommend a certain gun when someone buys it, and then it doesn’t work as it should. I have been burned that way a couple of times, so I am very choosy about what I recommend. Whenever I have recommended a Savage, I have never been bitten.  The dern things are accurate, and that ain’t just my opinion. Lots of competitive shooters are discovering that a Savage will shoot right along with rifles costing several times the price. Savage has many variations of their heavy-barreled bolt guns, to serve as dedicated bench guns, tactical rifles for police, and heavy varminters for setting up near a prairie dog town.

A little over a month ago, I received here the new Savage Predator Hunter. It is a fully camouflaged medium-heavy barreled .22-250. It is of a size and weight that can serve well from a fixed shooting position for a day on a dog town, and also serve as a walking varminter, being moved from field to field in pursuit of groundhogs or coyotes.  With the full camo treatment and lightweight stock, Savage is marketing it towards the coyote hunter, hence the name “Predator Hunter”.  Besides the .22-250 chambering, the Predator Hunter is also offered chambered for the .223 or .204 Ruger. The free-floated barrel is twenty-two inches in length, and has a diameter of 1.045 inches at the receiver and tapers to .738 inch at the muzzle. The Predator has the large bolt knob that works very well with a gloved hand. The internal box magazine holds four cartridges in .22-250 chambering, and probably one more in the other two chamberings, but I had none here to verify that.  It of course has Savage’s excellent AccuTrigger that is adjustable from about 1.5 to 6 pounds.  At its lowest setting, mine measured one pound and ten ounces.  In my opinion, the AccuTrigger is the best trigger available on a production rifle today. Because of the AccuTrigger, other manufacturers are making their triggers better than they used to be as well, but I still haven’t seen any that I like better yet. The stock is synthetic, and the action is pillar bedded into it. The stock has molded checkering on the pistol grip and forend, and has a sling swivel stud attached underneath the forend, with another near the toe of the stock.  The action comes with two Weaver style scope bases attached, and the sample that I received has a 4 to 12 power Simmons scope mounted that matches the finish of the Mossy Oak camo rifle. It seems to be a pretty decent scope, and has an adjustable objective and one-quarter minute click adjustments. I believe that Savage offers the Predator with or without a scope attached.  Without scope, the Predator weighed in at seven pounds, fourteen ounces. That is a pretty handy carry weight. My Savage VSS Varminter .22-250 weighs more than eleven pounds without scope. It is great for a fixed position, but can be a burden to carry all day long. The Predator Hunter is the ideal weight for a walking varminter.

Shooting the Predator proved even better accuracy than I expected. I wanted to try out some of the new Varmint Grenade bullets from Barnes. These little thirty-six grain pills are a hollowpoint design, and have a core made of a copper and tin mixture. They are explosive upon contact with just about anything, especially when pushed to over 4000 feet-per-second from a .22-250. Jessica Brooks at Barnes Bullets suggested that I try Ramshot TAC powder, but I could not find any, so I used one of my favorite .22-250 powders, AA2460. Using the Accurate Arms 2460 powder, I pushed these little jewels 4315 feet-per-second at ten feet from the muzzle of the Predator. For accuracy testing, I mounted a Leupold 6.5 to 20 power target scope. The Simmons that came atop the rifle would probably serve well, but the optics are just nothing like as clear as the Leupold, and I wanted to see how good this rifle could shoot. This rifle with those little Barnes bullets would group better than I can hold, I do surely believe! If I could shoot well enough, I think that they would all go into the same dern hole at 100 yards out of the Predator.  Even with me doing the shooting,  every group went into under one-half inch at 100 yards. I was very pleased with the performance of the rifle and ammunition. As expected, this is one accurate rifle! I have come to expect no less from Savage.

If you are in the market for a varmint rig that will really perform, I highly recommend the Predator. It is not too light, not too heavy. Just right. The camo finish is a nice touch for setting up calling in coyotes. The .22-250 chambering is great for just about all varmint and predator hunting. With the right bullet, like a Barnes X or Nosler Partition, it is even well-suited for whitetail deer hunting, where legal. A neck shot with the right bullet is easy to make with the Predator Hunter, and ruins very little meat that way.  While the camo scope looks good on the Predator Hunter, I recommend that you buy the rifle without the scope, and bolt on a good Leupold. It costs more, but an accurate rifle deserves a quality scope., and you will never shoot to the rifle’s potential without good optics.

Check out the Predator Hunter online at:  www.savagearms.com.

You can buy the Barnes Varmint Grenade bullets at any good gun shop, or order from:  www.barnesbullets.com

Hodgdon powder company has introduced a new Triple 7 magnum muzzle loading powder. This powder is meant for inline muzzleloaders using 209 primer systems. With just 2 pellets of this new powder using a 209 primer and 250gr bullet can produce velocities of 2000fps and more energy than a 30-06 with 200gr bullets. It will match the performance of the 460 S&W Magnum.  Like all Triple 7 products there is no sulphur smell and you can easily clean up with just water.

Winchester is now offering another choice of ammo for the increasingly popular 17hmr round. This round was a runaway from the start and is the perfect round for small varmints out to 20oyds, and is a blast to shoot with little muzzle blast and no recoil.

The new winchester load features a heavier 20gr Game Point bullets at a claimed 2,350fps. This new load will be in the Super X line, complementing the existing 17hmr load in the Supreme line. The ammo will be sold in 50-round plastic packs.

For more information go to

www.winchester.com

The various 22 caliber centerfire rifles are normally condsidered marginal for deer size game. I tend to agree with this, though on our smaller TX deer I make exceptions as I have had and seen to much sucess with them.

The key to being succesfull with 22’s on deer besides carefull bullet placement and not stretching the range are in the bullets that you use. There are several excellent bullets out there that act all out of proportion to their small size.

The first is also the cheapest, the 64gr winchester powerpoint. I have extensively used the powerpoint on deer,hogs, and varmints and have been really impressed. The little bullet usually expands to around 40 caliber and is hardly ever recovered. When they are recovered they reveal a perfect mushroom and about 65% retained weight. The only ones I have recovered were on large hogs and quartering away deer. This bullet is available in factory ammo in several of the 22 centerfires and also as a reloading component. I have had excellent results on 20+ head of deer and hogs with no losses and the furtherest running no more than 50yds when used in the 223. I rate this as an excellent bullet in the 223 and it has stabilized fine in my 22-250 although it may not in others.

Next in line is the 60gr Nosler partition, and what can you say it is the grand partition by which all premium bullets are judged. The partition is known for expansion with great weight retention and their is nothing new here. This is a great bullet in the 22-250,220 swift, and a laser beam killer in the 224tth. I havent shot as much game with this bullet as the powerpoint but it is no less effective and stands up to the higher velocities of the 224 where the winchester bullet seems to fragment more. I have not recovered a single 60gr partition in my use of the bullet. It is a accurate bullet that will stabilize in most any twist rate. This bullet is available in factory ammo in the federal premium line.

Federal cartridge company also loads the 55gr trophy bonded bear claw. I have not personally used this bullet, but have heard great things and seen several head of game that was shot with it. It also is hard to recover with its great penatrating abilities, along with good expansion to destroy the vitals while it passes through. I plan on using this bullet in the 22-250 and the 223 this fall and also on some hogs in the spring.

 The 53gr Barnes tsx an all copper hollowpoint bullet that acts like no other hollowpoint out there. The tsx bullet is long for its weight and has a longer bearing surface which requires less powder for the same pressure. Before loading this bullet I suggest getting a barnes reloading manual as it has lots of good, safe loads with their bullets. Dont use max loads meant to be used with other manufactures bullets with the tsx as very dangerous pressures can occur. On game this little bullet is great and has punched through everything I have shot with it dropping most within a few feet if not in their tracks on game up to 250lb hogs. I have also double shoulder shot 175lb deer with this bullet and folded them on the spot. Some guns like this bullet, some dont. These dont foul as bad as the older x bullet did but will still fould some barrels, especially if they are rough.

Hornady’s 55gr softpoint both with and without cannular are not thought of as premium bullets or to be used on heavier game. But when used in the 223 or in the 22-250 at lower velocities it works just fine. My wife and I have used this bullet on about 10 head of deer before the premium bullets came out. The bullet does expand alot and not retain much weight, but it will pass through on broadside shots and break the onside shoulder and destroy the lungs when shot that way. I have shot the 55gr hornady with cannular on lots of hogs in the 223 since then and have shot through most all of them, but they have been less than 150lbs with most in the 65-125lb range. I have never lost one with chest shots even out to 250yds which is really stretching the range on this size game with the 223. I like this bullet because you can buy them cheap in bulk and use them in everything. I will not use them on anything other than varmints and predators when pushed fast in the big 22’s.

 That is a small look at some of the 22 cal bullets that I have had good luck with on TX big game, I can not speak on the bigger deer of the midwest and canada or with muledeer, though they work great on the small pronghorn antelope. Give them a try and see for yourself that they can and will do the job. Just remember to use precise bullet placement and dont push the range to far.

There is a large debate in hunting and shooting circles as to the effectivness of the 357 on deer size game. There are many on both sides of the table, but I have come to believe that in a rifle that the 357 is a fine 100yd deer gun.

As Paco says so well, when you begin using the .357 Magnum in a rifle you enter a whole new world.  Careful handloading can get near the level of .30-30 Winchester power in appropriate firearms.  It is possible to run handgun bullets beyond their design capabilities in the rifle.  While these make good varmint loads they would not be the choice for deer and other large game.  Please choose your loads and bullets wisely.

Years ago the only way a person could get a .357 rifle was to have one custom-made.  Winchester Model 92’s in .25-20 and .32-20 were the best choices for leverguns at the time.

Today Winchester, Marlin, Rossi, Uberti, and H&R make rifles in the .357 caliber.  You can get on in the Marlin Model 1894, a copy of the Winchester Model 92 or 73 or a neat single-shot. 

The old toggle-joint action of the Model 1873 is a weak design and should never fired with heavy loads.  Don’t beat a fine old gun to death.  If you want to hot-rod the cartridge be sure you have a firearm that is designed to take it.

A VARIETY OF USES

The .357 levergun is a great Urban Stop-Assault Rifle.  It is not as threatening in appearance as some of the black rifles would-be ninja types seem to love, yet it can be just as effective.  For pest control, whether two-legged or four-legged, fanged or armed, the lever action carbine can be very useful.

Very light quiet loads can be constructed to rid your homestead of small pests without disturbing the neighbors.  Factory +P loads can be had in bullets weights from 110 gr. up to 180 gr. in a wonderful variety of velocities.

For those who do not handload there is a most wonderful array of .38 Special loads available.  This makes practicing with the firearm practical and affordable.  Many of the Cowboy loads now on the market are just plain fun. And if you have never used black powder there are now factory loads that can introduce you to the fun and excitement of yesteryear.  (and you will learn why smokeless powder was invented when it comes cleaning time <smile inserted here>)

HANDLOADING

Please do not just jump in and start handloading with the heaviest load you can find. If you don’t know how to determine a STARTING LOAD - DON’T START LOADING!

Remember - each firearm is a law unto itself and what may be safe in yours may not be in mine … and vice-versa.    WORK UP CAREFULLY.

You can have a lot of fun with the 357 in a rifle.  Let’s keep it fun

 I have used several of the little marlins with a 158gr remington softpoint or hornady xtp hollowpoint fueled by Lil gun to take  many hogs and deer. The 357 in a rifle gets near 30/30 performance with lots less recoil and muzzle blast. My daughter loves the little rifles and has taken numerous head of deer and hog as well as small game using 38 special ammo. Used within 125yds with the bullet placed in the heart and lungs you will not have to look far to find game shot with the mild manered 357. The 357 is also a very accurate round in the little carbines, with my marlin’s shooting 1-11/4″ 5 shot groups at 100yds with their favorite loads. amd burning very little powder to boot.  Using the lighter 125gr bullets you can get velocities in the 22oo fps range and they make great varmint loads as they will expand fast. I would because of the fast expansion never use the lighter bullets on deer size game as you can get splash wounds. Loasded light with 38 specials or cast bullets in 357 cases you can use the same gun on small game and fur bearers with very little damage. You can literally eat up to the hole on rabbits shot with cast 38 loads.

If I am going to go walkabout or off on a atv or in the jeep, the little marlin is the gun I usually grab, it is light,quiet and up to the task at hand. Try one and you might find a favorite as well.