My first shotgun was a Remington Model 870 pump-action with a black synthetic stock and forearm. I used and abused that pump action shotgun for 15 years. It was dropped in lakes, tossed (unloaded) in the back of trucks, dropped, and rarely cleaned. ...
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Precision Rifle Series Shooting: 6 Keys for Beginner Success
Watching a skilled precision shooter get down to business is a real treat. Repeatedly hitting 10-inch targets from 400 yards in standing and kneeling positions doesn’t seem like it should be possible, but it’s actually a common tiebreaker at ...
Bowhunting for Beginners: Fred Eichler’s Gear Breakdown
So you want to try bowhunting but have no idea where to start? Being interested means you’re already on the right track — keep in mind, I may be a bit biased since I think archery is the best sport on earth. Whether you’re a bowhunter putting food on ...
FNX 45 Tactical: A Gift From the Joint Combat Pistol Competition
In considering the FNX 45 pistol made by the storied Belgian firearms company FN Herstal, I discovered two remarkable things — more good pistols came out of the U.S. Army’s Joint Combat Pistol Program than I thought, and combat-oriented .45 ACP ...
Mad Pig Customs: Dragging Lever Guns Into the Modern Age
If you’ve been hiding under a rock somewhere, you might think Mad Pig Customs is just a small Connecticut-based gunsmithing and Cerakote shop. But these guys crank out some super-cool, cowboy-tactical lever action rifles with a dystopian vibe you ...
Will the 20 Gauge Shotgun Ever Replace the 12 Gauge?
You hear it all the time these days from waterfowlers and turkey hunters: “I don’t need a 12-gauge anymore.” “I’ve switched to a 20. It’s all anyone needs,” they’ll tell you. They are almost right. With the introduction of TSS turkey loads, improved ...
Exclusive BTS Look: Super-Rare Buffalo Bill Cody Bullard Rifle
To say that guns once owned by the legendary Buffalo Bill Cody are hot commodities is an understatement. We live in a culture still captivated by the wild freedom of the once-untamed American West, and firearms from that period fetch top dollar from ...
The 12 Gauge Shotgun: Do You Really Need Anything Else?
There isn't much one can be sure of in this world, but you can be certain that, at close range, there is no better gun than a 12 gauge shotgun for wolverines (see below). Also, for wombats, wigeons, wapiti, wobble trap, or woodcock — and that goes ...
28 Gauge: Why a Few Still Believe in Its ‘Magic’
Within the limitations of its light payload, the 28 gauge shotshell drops small game birds and crushes clay targets with authority and a soft kick. You can shoot the 28 gauge out of lightweight, scaled-down guns that are easy to carry anywhere. ...
Long Range Shooting Gear: Quality Kit for Beginners
When the first shot was fired from a bamboo tube in China sometime in the 10th century, it’s safe to assume that someone watching thought, “Look at that boot. I can shoot farther than him.” And thus, long-range shooting was born. That’s how I imagine ...
Carcano Rifle: The Most Infamous Bolt Gun in U.S. History
Outside of gun collectors and history nerds, few people could positively identify the make and model of a random 130-year-old gun from just one photo. That’s not the case with the M91/38 Carcano rifle. Hundreds of thousands of people who ...
The Bolt Action Shotgun: An American Classic That’s Almost Dead
Double-barrel. Pump. Autoloader. Reading those words likely conjures specific images in your mind, all shotguns. Maybe you see the Remington 870 your dad bought you for your 12th birthday. Or your grandpa’s A5 leaning in a mudroom corner after a cold ...
Springfield Model 2020 Redline Comes With Free Tax Stamp
Jeff Cooper’s exact conception of the scout rifle may be a bit outdated in many people’s minds, but some attributes are more than relevant for modern hunters. Springfield Armory has attempted to update the scout rifle concept with its new Model 2020 ...
The Black Powder Rifle: The Story of the First Precision Firearms
The genesis of the modern rifle lies with the humble and practically ancient black powder rifle. In the 21st century, we take for granted the basic design and function of rifles and the cartridges they fire. While advances in materials and ...
S&W Releases M&P22 Magnum in .22 WMR With a 30-Round Mag
Smith & Wesson is becoming a gun company of surprises and odd left turns. When you expect a new wheelgun line, the company drops a bullpup high-capacity pump shotgun. S&W adds to the M&P line, which is expected, but the additions have ...
The 350 Legend: The Best Straight-Wall Hunter Ever?
I'm the kind of hunter who gets jacked when a new Wildcat cartridge is released, and with the 350 Legend, it was the name that got me. I hear "legend" and think of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Mike Tyson, and so on, and I was in from the ...
Glock 26: Pocket-Sized Perfection for Three Decades
Ever since Glock kicked in the door to the U.S. pistol market, recommending pistols has been simple in the minds of a lot of shooters. Want a pistol? Get a Glock 17. Don’t want to carry a full-size pistol? Get a do-it-all Glock 19. But sometimes a ...
Beretta 1301 Tactical: The Must-Have Semi-Auto Shotty
In the five centuries that Beretta has been in existence, the Italian gunmaker has dabbled in just about every type of shooting platform there is. But the shotgun is where Beretta has carved out its largest niche, and the semi-automatic Beretta 1301 ...
Glock 21: Did This Up-Sized Wonder Nine Keep the .45 Alive?
In the 1980s and 1990s, it looked like the .45 ACP’s days might be numbered. Everyone from the U.S. military to local police departments was jumping ship in favor of cartridges like the .40 S&W, .357 SIG, and 9mm. While die-hard 1911 fans and a ...
The Sh*tbox Winchester Shotgun Folks Called ‘The Widowmaker’
Today, shooters take for granted the ease with which a semi-automatic shotgun operates. The concept has been around since the tail end of the 1800s, and it’s been nearly perfected as we approach the end of the first quarter of the 21st century. With ...
The Bolt Action Rifle: A Massive and Enduring Leap for Gun Tech
The bolt action rifle is a citizen of the world. Militaries worldwide have used and still use them. Hunters from Scandinavia to Hawaii use bolt action rifles to pursue both big and small game. Americans love our bolt actions so much that we’ve ...
A Welcome Return: Ruger Releases New Marlin 1894 Classic
This week, Ruger released a reboot of the legendary Marlin Model 1894 as the new Model 1894 Classic. Ruger’s resurrection of an old fave is a welcome addition to Marlin’s gradually returning lever action line-up that retains all the traditional Wild ...
Dream Guns: How We Would Spend $6,000 on One Firearm
Does anyone else have a folder of bookmarks for guns that you’ll never be able to afford but that you like to visit every once in a while, if only to live in the fantasy of owning, say, a Korth revolver or a high-end Benelli shotgun just for a few ...
The Break Action Shotgun: Why It Will Never Die
Compared to a modern semi-auto shotgun, with all its firepower, a break action gun looks archaic — obsolete, even. And it’s true; break actions have changed very little in the past 100 years. But 100 years from now, they will still be here. Break ...
The Bullpup Doesn’t Deserve to Be in the Dog House
The firearms world is full of opposing fandoms: Glock fanboys versus the 1911 crowd, the 9mm fans facing off against the .45 ACP lovers, and — one of the largest gulfs to cross — the AR lovers versus the people obsessed with the AKs. The feuds, ...
17 HMR: The Ultimate Rimfire Cartridge?
Prepare yourself — I'm about to make a case for the 17 HMR, and .22 loyalists may not like it. Like many reading this, the first rifle round I ever sent downrange came out of the barrel of a .22 lever action. That Winchester rifle was a single-shot, ...
Glock 17: Respect the OG Wonder-Nine
There are popular firearms, there are iconic firearms, there are famous firearms — and then there are guns that become a new benchmark, that set a new bar for its class of firearms, like the Glock 17. Glock entered the firearm market in the ...
The Automatic Shotgun, or Autoloader, and How It Evolved
John Moses Browning is a name that most gun enthusiasts know well. He had such an impact on the firearms designs of yesteryear that many of them are still serving sportsmen and militaries around the globe. One of Browning’s biggest claims to fame is ...
Dragunov Sniper Rifle: The Soviet Semi-Auto Scalpel
The Dragunov sniper rifle — the famous AK sniper that isn’t actually an AK or a sniper rifle — has a lot of mystique surrounding it. People love it because of its looks because Hollywood loves it, and because gun people love to argue about what the ...
Sharps Rifle: The Original Long-Range Hunting Gun
Big bores, breech-loading, single-shot rifles that were powerful and accurate — that was the reputation of Sharps rifles in the mid-19th century as the United States pushed its way ever farther West. One could argue the Sharps is the first rifle that ...
