Review of Nighthawk Nitride Vs Wilson Armor Tuff
Lots of neophytes and even tactical gurus proclaim the shotgun as the best abode-defense weapon. Shotguns are certainly lethal at close range, but they kick hard, making them uncomfortable to shoot. This is not then with AR platforms for home defence force, like the Wilson Gainsay Protector serial.
Wilson Combat Home Defense force
I ain a few shotguns because I like to chase crows and sometimes shoot things out of the sky. Just when it comes to personal protection at dwelling house, I prefer an AR-fashion carbine. Sure, I accept a handgun inside reach at all times. Just as the saying goes, the purpose of a handgun is to get to your burglarize.
Non long ago, I had an opportunity to comport some all-encompassing testing of the new .300 HAM'R cartridge from Wilson Combat. Because information technology duplicates the external ballistics of the .30-30 Winchester, and since Wilson Gainsay offers a broad array of loads for it—suitable for everything from coyotes to elk and even bad guys—I got to thinking that an AR chambered for this cartridge would be an platonic abode-defense weapon. So Wilson Combat released its new Protector series carbines and pistols. So, I thought I'd see if either or both would fit my needs.
The Protectors
The new Wilson Combat Protector serial includes a carbine with a xvi-inch barrel and a pistol with an 11.3-inch barrel. Both are built on mil-spec forged receivers and retail for quite a bit less than the barracks ARs for which Wilson Combat has become so famous. This does not mean that these guns play second fiddle to anything.
Both feature friction match-grade stainless barrels, low-profile gas blocks, Q-Comp wink suppressors/muzzle brakes, M-LOK handguards, nitride-coated commodities carrier groups, two-stage M2 Tactical Trigger Units (TTUs) and oversized triggerguards. They are too available with either a blackness or coyote tan Armor-Tuff finish.
The Protector Carbines are available in 5.56mm NATO with a 1-in-8-inch twist charge per unit, in 300 Coma with a 1-in-7-inch twist rate and in .300 HAM'R with a ane-in-15-inch twist rate. They're all directly-impingement builds with mid-length gas systems for the 5.56mm and .300 HAM'R models, and a pistol-length system on the 300 Blackout. The average weight—unloaded and without an optic—is simply over 6 pounds. Also, Wilson includes a collapsible Rogers Super-Stoc besides as a BCM Gunfighter pistol grip.
The Protector Pistols are bachelor in the same chamberings with the aforementioned twist rates. The 5.56mm and .300 HAM'R model rely on the carbine-length gas systems while the 300 Blackout version uses a pistol-length gas organisation.
Unloaded and without eyes, the Protector Pistol weighs about 5.63 pounds and comes standard with an adaptable Gear Head Works Tailhook Mod 2 brace as well equally a BCM pistol grip. Then, information technology's essentially the same gun equally the Protector Carbine, just configured as a pistol with a shorter barrel.
From The Bench
I feel that testing firearms of this nature from a benchrest is generally pointless. If they're used every bit intended for personal protection, date distances will be short. And only well-nigh any AR-15 carbine or pistol will print sub-two-MOA groups at rock-throwing distances.
However, these aren't only whatsoever carbines or pistols—both have retail prices of around $ii,000. If yous're going to spend that much money on any gun, you should expect it to shoot well. To that end, both of my test .300 HAM'R guns shot just fine.
I mounted a Meopta i-6x24mm MeoStar R2 riflescope with an illuminated 4C reticle on the carbine and tested it at 100 yards from sandbags. Wilson Combat'due south 110-grain Lehigh Defense force Controlled Anarchy and 150-grain Hornady SST loads averaged merely a chip over 1 MOA for five v-shot groups, which is definitely better than boilerplate for an AR.
The Protector Pistol was fitted with a Meopta MeoSight 3 and tested from sandbags at l yards. (I merely don't have the eyes to button a red-dot sight to 100 yards.) Over again, I fired five v-shot groups with the aforementioned loads, and the average for all 10 groups was one.44 inches.
With either load, both guns are capable of headshots in whatever defensive situation. For those who might want to go double duty from their home-defense force weapon, the Protector Carbine is capable of fine precision out to the ballistic limits of the .300 HAM'R.
As a side annotation, Wilson Gainsay also supplied me with a carbine upper in .223 Remington. I mounted a 4-12X riflescope and fired some phenomenal sub-MOA groups with 55-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets. Don't forget the modularity and versatility of the AR platform. Yes, you lot might be buying a gun for home defence, simply it can be employed in other ways.
On The Clock
One thing yous have to remember when it comes to these compact firearms is that they were not chambered for the .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO. With the Meopta 1-6x24mm MeoStar R2 scope attached, the Protector Carbine weighed 8 pounds. The Protector Pistol weighed simply a shade short of six pounds with the miniature MeoSight 3.
In the carbine and pistol, the .300 HAM'R generates about half-dozen.3 and 7.6 human foot-pounds of recoil, respectively. By any measure, this isn't much recoil. However, when y'all consider that a comparable 5.56mm AR will produce about 37-percentage less recoil, this bears mentioning.
If you lot're trying to hammer a target hard and fast, you'll have to shoot more slowly with the .300 HAM'R. Granted, not much more slowly, merely if you want to go hits, your rate of fire volition be reduced—based on my shooting and testing—by about 25 per centum. Though this is noteworthy, I'm not sure how much it really matters. With the Protector Pistol, I was yet able to pound five shots into an IPSC target at 25 yards in less than iii seconds.
When yous consider that y'all're depositing over 25-percentage more energy with each hit than you would with a .223 Remington, I'd say that the reduced charge per unit of authentic fire is inconsequential in the overall scheme of things. Yes, you can feel the .300 HAM'R a bit more than than the 5.56mm NATO, merely it's nonetheless very comfortable to shoot.
Overall Dual Operation
I ran both guns through a diverseness of tactical-fashion drills and fired almost 250 rounds of ammunition. There were no stoppages with either gun, and they both handled smoothly. With the MeoStar scope on the Protector Carbine, snap shots at spitting altitude and even out to 100 yards on torso-sized targets were crisp and quick. The Protector Pistol performed identically with the little MeoSight III but was noticeably nimbler and is improve suited to indoor use, where space is express.
Doubling Downward
If I were looking for a straight-up dwelling house-defense gun, I'd lean toward the Wilson Combat Protector Pistol. Information technology is ultra-compact, accurate and comfortable to shoot. Chambered for the .300 HAM'R, it'll too put the smackdown on bad guys.
Of course, 1 thing you'd need to keep in mind is noise. Inside a habitation, the blast from the 11.3-inch barrel volition exist ear-splitting. Fortunately, you could adhere a sound suppressor without giving up the pistol's compactness. For what it'southward worth, I showed this gun to a buddy works in law enforcement, and I could immediately see his mind figuring out how he was going to get a suppressed version in his patrol car.
Given my lifestyle and the fact that I live out in the land, the Protector Carbine would probably exist the ameliorate choice for my purposes. I accept a fenced yard with a dog that'll brand you retrieve twice well-nigh coming through the gate. I'd hedge my bets that if I demand personal protection at dwelling, it'll near likely occur outside, instead of inside.
Also, with the Protector Carbine, I'd take a gun that could serve a multitude of uses during hunting season. The .300 HAM'R is every bit as capable as the .30-30 Winchester , and in West Virginia, the .30-thirty Winchester will do anything I might need it to practice. As a side annotation, I'd hold onto the .223 upper likewise. At that place's no substitute for versatility.
Throughout the House
Your needs may vary, and I tin fifty-fifty run into an statement for having both. You lot could continue the Protector Pistol beside the bed and the Protector Carbine behind the kitchen door. Both could be accessible, depending on the pressing need, and you lot and your wife could both be well armed at the same time. She knows to handle an AR, right?
For more information, visit WilsonCombat.com.
Wilson Combat Protector Carbine Specs
Caliber: .300 HAM'R
Butt: 16.25 inches
OA Length: 33.25-36.5 inches
Weight: 6.06 pounds (empty)
Stock: Wilson/Rogers Super-Stoc
Sights: None
Activity: Direct impingement semi-auto
End: Armor-Tuff
Capacity: 30+i
MSRP: N/A
Wilson Gainsay Protector Pistol Specs
Caliber: .300 HAM'R
Barrel: 11.three inches
OA Length: 27.v-30 inches
Weight: five.63 pounds (empty)
Caryatid: Gear Head Works Tailhook Mod 2
Sights: None
Action: Direct impingement semi-auto
End: Armor-Tuff
Capacity: twenty+1
MSRP: N/A
This article was originally published in the Personal Defense World April/May 2020 issue. Subscription is available in print and digital editions atOutdoorGroupStore.com . Or phone call 1-800-284-5668, or electronic mail [e-mail protected]
Source: https://www.personaldefenseworld.com/2021/09/wilson-combat-home-defense/
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