As adrenaline pumped into my bloodstream, I felt the beginning of tremors in my hands. Cold sweat appeared on my brow, and my breathing became shallow. Then, I heard the voice: 911. What’s your emergency? As a teenager scooping ice cream after school at the local Baskin Robbins, I wasn’t prep...
In October 1962, the C.I.A. and the U.S.A.F. requested that Lockheed study a high-speed, high-altitude drone concept for reconnaissance flights over particularly hostile territories to avoid endangering aircrews. Created during the height of the Cold War and following the shootdown of a U-2 spy p...
I love to tinker. You can give me a completely sound gun that doesn’t need anything else, and I’ll still want to swap out some parts “just to see.” You know the type. Heck, I bet most of you are the same way. I recently swapped a Midwest Industries Combat Rail HD, in the 13.5-inch Read Mo...
The NRA’s 155th Annual Meeting in Houston showed real signs of progress, with strong attendance, leadership continuity, and Board action on governance reforms. But rebuilding member trust will take more than one good weekend.
The 1911 has now been with us for a century and a decade. Throughout that lifespan, there’s been no point at which it was not beloved by huge numbers of soldiers, law enforcement agents, and civilian shooters. Astonishingly, perhaps implausibly, the 1911 remains a darling of serious pistol...
Another step, and two deer scooted from a foggy clearing. But their dash into the alders suggested they’d not go far. Circling downwind, I drifted onto a deer trail, pausing at each step, glassing not yards ahead but feet. Then: a glint from the shadows. Stay still! Presently, beside ...
The USS Hornet (CV-12) stands as one of the most storied aircraft carriers in United States naval history, playing a decisive role in World War II as part of the Essex-class fleet. From its origins as a replacement for the lost USS Hornet (CV-8) to its participa...
My very first handgun was a Springfield Armory XD in 9mm. It was around 2007, I was shopping for a home-defense solution and I’d read positive reviews about the XD line in American Rifleman and Guns & Ammo magazines. At decision time, it wasn’t much of a competiti...
Athlon Optics is adding the Ares HLR to their lineup, and the pitch is simple: a precision riflescope built for hunters who move a lot and count ounces. The lighter of the two available configurations comes in at 18.9 ounces, which puts it firmly in backcountry-viable territory without asking you...
Handgun-mounted red dot sights have been around for a long time. I was first exposed to them in the late ’90s mounted on USPSA Open guns. These flat-shooting, compensated, red dot-adorned pistols ran fast when they were running, and Open shooters were most often at the top of the list at the en...