#ThomasGomez

Walking around the 2017 SHOT Show, I had the pleasure of handling Springfield Armory’s new 1911 EMP-4 Concealed Carry Contour pistol. The EMP-4 Concealed Carry Contour is an evolution of Springfield Armories original 1911 EMP 4” Lightweight Champion. The EMP-4 Concealed Carry Contour is a Commander-sized 1911 that features a match grade 4 inch bull barrel as well as a bevel on the butt of the pistol that mitigates “printing” when carrying concealed. As soon as I got back to New Mexico, I requested and received one for testing.

The last decade has witnessed an industry trend for small, slimline pistols that are easy to conceal, ergonomic, streamlined, but large enough to shoot relatively well. The Firearm Blog was recently provided the Taurus PT709 chambered in 9 millimeter for testing.

I officially started writing for The Firearm Blog in January of 2013, although the first article I wrote was a guest post published on May 2nd of 2011. One of the first items that I requested to test was a chassis stock from Kinetic Research Group. My editor Phil said he would “look into it.” Several years passed, the World turned, armorer certifications appeared on the wall, my knowledge about firearms increased, and I had the pleasure of attending some excellent long range training at Accuracy 1st. Several months ago, Phil sent me an email asking if I was still interested in reviewing a chassis from Kinetic Research Group. I enthusiastically said yes, and a 5th Generation KRG Whiskey-3, short action Remington 700 chassis, arrived in the mail.

I recently had the pleasure of testing out Howa’s new HCR, or Howa Chassis Rifle. The Howa HCR is built using a Howa 1500 Heavy Barreled action and an Accurate Mag aluminum rifle chassis. For testing I received a model chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. Testing the Howa Chassis Rifle consisted of several hours of dry fire and familiarization, as well as 8 hours on the range.