Heckler & Koch turned a lot of heads with its polymer-frame, striker-fired VP9 pistol. With an excellent trigger and sound ergonomics—that include “wings” on the back of the slide to make cocking easier—the VP9 took home an American Rifleman“Golden Bullseye” award in 2015. Now, the affordable (well, for H&K, anyway), full-size gun is offered in .40 S&W with a 4.08" barrel and weighs in at 26.5 ozs. Look for more guns in the future based on this platform from H&K. hk-usa.com
Despite the wide acceptance of the .40 Smith & Wesson defensive handgun cartridge in its early years, the round has since faded from armories around the U.S. and replaced by an older, smaller-caliber cartridge.
Zastava USA announced it would be expanding its lineup to include an M72 "RPK" model. Now, in 2025, that model has finally arrived and is shipping to dealers.
A 12-ga. shotgun can be a devastatingly potent defensive platform, but even the tactical models often aren’t configured terribly well for installing accessories.
Available as a TALO distributor exclusive, the Glock 49 Gen5 blends the the longer G17 slide with the comfortably compact frame of the G19, and it also includes Glock's MOS optics-mounting system.