Looking for a new iron or piece of kit to enhance the one you already own? Check out these 7 new bits of guns and gear to grow your firearms wish list.
The New Guns And Gear:
Alpha Titan Suppressor Line
Unless you’re still packing a flintlock as your main shooting iron, the rise of suppressors in recent years most likely hasn’t escaped your notice. While a difficult niche to truly innovate in, Alpha Silencers has done a pretty solid job. The Titan series combines two of the most demanded features—aside from sound and recoil suppression—shooters have sought: weight savings and reduced back pressure. To the former, the user-serviceable cans are constructed with rugged titanium, considerably cutting down on overall mass. The latter is hastened on by Alpha’s flow-through baffle design, pushing the expanding gases forward, thus mitigating undesirable gases in a shooter’s face. The line is composed of five suppressors—A22 (rimfire), Titan 223, Titan 30, Titan 9 and Titan 45.
MSRP: Starting at $500
Armasight Sidekick 320 Thermal Monocular
Generally, owning the night involves a hefty investment coupled with relatively bulky gear. Armasight, however, may have hit the sweet spot with its Sidekick 320 Thermal Monocular. The smallest fully multi-functional 12-micron 320 thermal imaging monocular on the market, the optic opens the dark to scouting, shooting and recon—all at a relatively competitive price. Boasting a 60Hz frame rate delivered to a high-definition 1024×768 OLED display, the unit provides a seamless and crisp image. Furthermore, weighing in a tick under 7.5 ounces, the headset/helmet mountable optic doesn’t add much to an overall loadout. And, it comes with some nice bells and whistles, such as a simplified three-button control system and one-touch video recording.
MSRP: $2,300
FN 5.7x28mm DFNS Ammunition
After wandering the wilderness for the better part of three decades, the FN 5.7x28mm has received some much-needed support as of late. Chief among its patrons has been the company that developed the red-hot mite. Perhaps one of the more intriguing developments is FN’s self-defense line of 5.7 ammunition: FN DFNS. Sport-ing a unique frangible copper jacketed, copper-tin metal core bullet, the 30-grain projectile offers devastating terminal ballistics, without pass-through concerns common to the cartridge. Additionally, FN has tuned the ammo’s load for top performance both out of pistols and carbines—with around 1,900 fps velocity reported out of the former and 2,200 fps out of the latter. This is an intriguing option for the fireball, one certainly upping its self-defense resume.
MSRP: $40 per box of 50
Weatherby High Country Rifle
Push a few ridges back during hunting season, and you become cognizant of the importance of weight management. This is where Weatherby’s newest mountain rifle proves a valuable asset. Starting at just 5.7 pounds, the Mark V High Country offers an ultra-light hunting rifle that’s easy to carry and deadly accurate. Much of the rifle’s svelteness is thanks to its Peak 44 Bastion stock, a carbon-fiber stick that tips the scales at an incredible 24 ounces. Additionally, the stock’s profile features a more vertical grip, dual front swivel studs and a 3D HEX recoil pad—helping the featherweight not prove too much of a thumper. To the final point, Weatherby also includes an Accubrake on the High Country to tame the gun’s kick even more. Available in a host of popular hunting calibers, the rifle should prove a boon to backcountry hunters.
MSRP: Starting at $2,700
Hornady ELD-VT Bullets
Varmint and long-range bullets, for the most part, have resided at opposite ends of the spectrum. Until now. Hornady has combined the best of both worlds in a unique line of projectiles meant to deliver devastating terminal performance at extremely long distances—the ELD-VT. Conceived as a dual-purpose varmint/target bullet, the offering is meant to strike a balance between the disparate disciplines. It does so by employing the long, sleek and ballistically talented Extremely Low Drag bullet profile, to extend the projectile’s range. Then, it maintains the explosive terminal ballistics at the target with a unique internal design, where the lead core is moved rearward, leaving a cavity that ensures rapid fragmentation and energy transfer.
MSRP: Starting at $33
Girsan MC14T Lady Pistol
Inspired by the classic Beretta Model 86 Cheetah, the Girsan MC14T Lady offers a self-defense option to women with some unique twists. Like the Cheetah, the Turkish-made .380 ACP offers a tip-up barrel, which allows a round to be loaded without having to manipulate the slide. Not a bad system, especially for those without the hand strength to rack a slide under pressure. Additionally, the hammer-fired pistol comes with an attractive glossy black finish, wooden grip panels and gold-colored accent parts to give it a classy and timeless look. The pistol is also outfitted with a Picatinny-based railed dust cover and ported barrel, the latter mitigating a ton of barrel rise.
MSRP: $682
Smith & Wesson Response Carbine
The issue with many pistol-caliber carbines (PCC) is non-compatibility with guns in their own class. That is to say, many of the designs are proprietary. Not so with the Smith & Wesson Response Carbine, which is based on the nearly ubiquitous AR-15 chassis. This makes the 9mm play nice with a great swath of existing parts and accessories, allowing you to tailor the carbine to your needs and wants. Making it even better, the Response boasts what S&W calls its Flexmag System, which makes it compatible with both M&P and Glock-style magazines. As to the carbine itself, it’s outfitted with a 16.5-inch threaded barrel surrounded by a polymer handguard with a Picatinny-style rail on top and M-Lok slots on the sides and bottom. It also comes with a Magpul MOE SL adjustable stock, a flat face trigger and an M&P grip with four interchangeable palm swell adapters.
MSRP: $800
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in the February 2024 issue of Gun Digest the Magazine.
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