TTAG’s Top 25 Posts of 2017 Countdown: #10 – #6

Now we’re down the the top ten of our list of the 25 most read stories in 2017. Here are numbers ten through six which, as you’re about to see, is heavy on gun reviews. And what guns seem to attract the most eyeballs ’round these parts? Polymer-framed striker-fired 9mm handguns. Well, mostly. Anyway, here you go . . .

No. 10 – Gun Review: SCCY CPX-2

The growth segment in the firearms market now is concealed carry handguns. That’s the #1 purchase for new gun owners, a handgun for home defense and concealed carry. And while buying a good gun seems to be foremost in their mind, plenty of buyers are happy with going for a lesser known brand if the price is right. That’s exactly where the market segment the SCCY CPX-2 handgun has staked out . . .

SCCY (originally Skyy, not to be confused with the vodka) has only been producing firearms in the state of Florida since 2003, but they can be found at just about every gun show these days. Their raison d’etre is producing handguns that are big on quality but low on cost, and they seem to have hit that mark with their flagship pistol.

No. 9 – Want a Short Barreled Rifle? Here’s How

An SBR, or short barrel rifle is a category of firearm that is regulated by the National Firearms Act or NFA. Basically speaking it’s a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16″ or smaller than 26″ overall length. Another type of firearm that is similar is the Short Barrel Shotgun, or SBS, but we’ll focus on the SBR for now . . .

In order to legally own an SBR, one must first identify what the specifications of what the SBR will be. Specifically, you will need to actually identify what firearm you will turn into an SBR in order to register the serial number and the actual overall length of the firearm, make, model, caliber, etc. As an example, if you own an AR rifle (a rifle with a barrel 16″ or greater) and you want to shorten the barrel, you will need to have a serial number and decide how short you want the barrel.

No. 8 – Gun Review: Ruger Precision Rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor

Ruger’s new Precision Rifle created quite the buzz when it was announced. As a tech guy by day, I shudder every time I hear phrases like “paradigm shift”, but to look at Ruger’s newest rifle, you’d be hard pressed to find a different phrase to describe what they’ve done. On paper, you have a very modular platform chambered in three very competent, long range, short action cases that makes great use of an already thriving aftermarket for the AR-15. The RPR, no matter the flavor, is adjustable, modular, and functional. And let’s not dance around the subject…it’s affordable, too. So when I got the nod to have one shipped to me, I knew I was either going to be very happy or very disappointed . . .

My expectations were, frankly, very high. Over the last year, I’ve had the opportunity to shoot some fine rifles at targets that were very far away. Relative to the guys on this list, I’m still learning to crawl, but I know enough to know what’s good. And on that note, it might be worthwhile to spend a bit of time discussing the topic of what makes a good precision rifle.

No. 7 – Gun Review: CZ P-10 C

“Improving on Perfection” CZ-USA boldly proclaims, promoting their new P-10 C. I’m sure CZ’s lawyers would swear that the slogan is all about making their guns better. Clearly, it’s a shot over GLOCK’s bow. A claim that begs us to nitpick the heck out of this gun. Game on!

Nestled in the CZ’s lockable plastic box: small, medium, and large backstraps, two 15-round magazines, a cleaning brush and rod, a factory test target, a cable gun lock, the owner’s manual, and . . . a boring-looking gun. Gone are most of the P-07/09 series’ aggressive styling cues; the hard lines, angles, tails, rails, swoops, and loops.

I think Jon of The Gun Collective was right: if you want to take a chunk of the Civic’s market, you create a Corolla. (Well, he was mostly right; the Corolla predates the Civic by six years.) The CZ P-10 C may not be exciting, but neither is Gaston’s gat. A little less polarizing and a little more pedestrian can have mass appeal, or at least mass acceptance.

No. 6 – Gun Review: SIG SAUER P320

Polymer framed striker fired handguns are all the rage at the moment, but there’s always something that bugged me about them. The basis of the guns are a metal chassis, but in order to make the frame they mold the chassis into the frame itself. That always struck me as a lazy solution to the problem of integrating metal and plastic to form the firearm, and apparently the guys at SIG SAUER thought so too. Building on the earlier P250 platform, they’ve created a truly modular striker fired handgun in the P320 . . .

While I touched briefly on the impetus for the modular design in my first impressions article, there’s another facet to the need for a modular handgun: the military. Tired of needing to buy multiple handguns to suit different roles (carry guns for military police, combat firearms for soldiers, concealable compact guns for investigators) the military has been wanting to replace their existing hodgepodge collection with a single model that can be configured on the fly to meet any mission requirement.