I often joke that I’m a tactical hipster. Sadly, someone else has already grabbed that moniker, but I consider myself the first one. I like flannel, craft beer, movies directed by Robert Eggers, and unusual guns. I can be a something of a contrarian at times and that extends to the guns I own. So for you who are still aspiring, I figured a list of the best modern hipster guns might be helpful.

I consider a hipster gun as somewhat odd but it still has to be efficient and effective. It might have an odd configuration, an unusual caliber, or a weird action, but it’s reliable, accurate, easy to shoot, and often underrated. The purpose of this list is to have some fun, but also to point out some firearms you may not have considered.

Taurus 327 Defender TORO

The Taurus 327 Defender TORO hits quite a few hipster high points. For one, it’s a revolver and lots of people think of wheel guns as “vintage” in the age of the P365. Carry revolvers tend to have 2-inch or shorter barrels, but this model features a 3-incher. It’s also has the advantage of being optics-ready, which is odd for revolvers, but Taurus is leaning heavily into optics-ready revolvers.

The Taurus 327 Defender TORO uses a hipster caliber, combines old with new tech, and has a 3-inch barrel. (Taurus USA)

The 327 is also in a hipster caliber. In fact, it can rguably fire three hipster calibers. We can shoot the .327 Federal Magnum, the .32 H&R Magnum, and the .32 S&W. All three of these various .32 caliber rounds are odd these days, but they’re capable cartridges. The Taurus 327 Defender TORO holds six rounds of your .32 caliber cartridge of choice.

Another slight oddity comes from the fact it’s a hammerless design. That’s typically associated with snub nose guns, but it’s not al that uncommon with 3-inch revolvers. The Taurus 327 is a slick and modern design that embraces some contrarian calibers.

Beretta 30X Tomcat

Anything chambered in .32 ACP is on its way to qualifying as a hipster gun (see above), but the Beretta 30X Tomcat takes the cake. The 30X series features a DA/SA design, which is increasingly becoming an oddity in a world dominated by striker-fired pistols. The 30X Tomcat is the most recent .32 ACP release, and I knew when I saw it at SHOT that I had to have one. Beretta makes three different configurations, and my favorite is the suppressor-ready model.

The 30X is certainly stylish. (Travis pike for SNW)

Something about a threaded barrel and suppressor height sights just tickles my fancy. Th 30X’s barrel also tips up. That means with the press of a button, it springs upward, allowing the user to access the chamber instantly, making it easy to load and clear without racking the slide. The gun also has wide wood grips for no reason other than vanity.

Beretta constantly shows the gun with an optics plate mounted and I really, really want an optics plate on mine. Beretta revamped the 30X to make it a bit more durable, improved the trigger, and they’ve really delivered an overall better gun.

CZ P-09 C Nocturne

You can’t compile a hipster gun list without including something from CZ. The Czech company makes the ultimate hipster guns and you could put almost any model on this list. I went with the CZ P-09 C Nocturne because it is a hipster version of a hipster gun. It’s hipster inception. The P09 Nocturne is a polymer frame DA/SA gun and again, tht’s something we don’t see as often anymore.

They finally added optics to one of my favorite handguns. (CZ USA)

Of note: it’s optics-ready, something CZ has been slow to adopt on their hammer-fired, duty-type guns. It’s a 9mm, which is far from contrarian, but my preferred caliber for larger semi-automatics. The gun comes in both compact and full-sized variants. CZ used to call the compact the P-07, but now it’s P-09.

The Nocturne series is truly optics-ready with suppressor height sights. It’s also equipped with a new grip texture and some heavy-duty slide serrations. The trigger system keeps to the simplified Omega design, and it’s easy to upgrade it if you see fit.

Benelli M3

I need to get off handguns and get to my favorite subject, shotguns. Specifically hipster shotguns (yes, there are such things). I don’t think there’s a more under-appreciated shotgun than the Benelli M3. I feel like I hear people talk a lot about the M2 and the M4 — both great guns – while I’m over here waving my hands back and forth, trying to show the brilliance of this scattergun.

Would you like your shotgun pump or semi-auto? Yes. (Benelli)

The M3 isn’t the first shotgun to feature a convertible action that transforms the gun from a semi-auto to a pump action, but it’s the first to do it right. The Benelli M3 should be considered a semi-auto with an extra pump feature. The pump allows you to cycle rounds that aren’t powerful enough to operate a semi-auto-only design.

Like every Benelli inertia gun, it’s very reliable and fairly light. The M3 may not have the same pedigree and following as the M4 or M2, but I think it’s an awesome design. It’s fun to shoot, has fairly light recoil, and swapping from semi to pump is a ton of fun.

Zenith ZF-56

I had to include one the list. I wanted something that’s a little odd and out there that would appeal to the hipsters out there. ARs don’t really fit. Neither do the AR-180-inspired systems. What’s left, then? AKs? Nah.

How about a roller-delayed rifle? Now we’re talking. The ZF-56 owes its existence to the various HK-designed roller-delayed rifles, but it isn’t exactly a clone.

A roller delayed blowback system on an AR lower with HK controls…that’s pretty hipster. (Zenith)

The ZF-56 offers a 5.56 rifle with a roller-delayed design that’s built on an AR lower. We get the familiar ergonomics of the AR blended with the HK-style thumb selector. It uses AR magazines and features an M-LOK handguard and flat top upper. It’s got a good mix of AR and HK controls and is a fun series of rifles and pistols.

The ZF-56 is the flagship in 5.56, but there are several variants, including a 7.62×39, a .350 Legend, and .300 Blackout. The gun is available in numerous formats including both rifles and large format pistols.

Staying Hip

So there they are…my favorite hipster guns from a tactical hipster perspective. Make fun of me and my choices if you want, but I still enjoy craft beer, a good weird movie, and a gun that does things just a little differently than the competition.

– Travis Pike, Shooting News Weekly