The Dueling Roots of the Old West Gunfighter

The lone gunman squaring off in a dusty street, hand hovering over a low-slung holster, is one of the most durable images in American gear culture. Its origin lies not on the frontier but in the East, in a formal ritual imported from Europe and practiced for decades by prominent men in the young ...

By James Chen •

AFSOC Proves HAVOC SPEAR Precise and Effective

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. —   Air Force Special Operations Command announced its small cruise missile, the AGM-190A Havoc Spear, has been evaluated in a test configuration and successfully meets requirements to become an available weapons system for broader real-world use across a variety o...

By Eric G •

Wheelgun Wednesday: New NAA Second Mate Is A Tiny Backup Gun

North American Arms’ revolvers are very well-known for their ability to offer self-defense in a micro package. Not everyone wants to stake their life on a rimfire round, but sometimes you’ve got no other choice. I remember reading about one undercover narcotics cop who hauled an NAA r...

By Zac K •

FFL Direct: ATF Built a Real-Time Tap on Gun-Buyer Records

ATF calls FFL Direct a convenience for gun dealers. The program automates serial-number trace responses that can send purchaser information to Washington while the bound book stays with the dealer. Congress must confront the backdoor registry infrastructure before an anti-gun administration explo...

By John Crump •

SIG SAUER – LTAW

During last week’s SIG NEXT event in New Hampshire they announced the launch of the LTAW, a modernized version of the famous Low Visibility Assault Weapon first introduced well over a decade ago for use by Special Operations Forces. LTAW is a bit of a play on the original name, but also den...

By Eric G •

Maintaining The AK Series Of Rifles: From The User To The Maintainer

First, before buying and using the weapon, visually inspect the rifle for damage to better assess its condition. Begin with an overall examination of the rifle. Inspect for obvious damage, corrosion, contamination, missing components, and other visible deficiencies. During this inspection, you al...

By Lynndon Schooler •

One Handgun Present for All Known Fatal Bear Attacks in North America

Handguns have a strong record in documented bear-defense encounters. Dean Weingarten’s review of 204 fatal bear attacks found just one case with a handgun present—and the victim could not reach it. The lesson for armed Americans: a defensive handgun needs to be accessible when danger arrives.

By Dean Weingarten •

Wilcox Introduces VIPR Sight With Programmable Reticles

Wilcox has a new, programmable sighting system. The VIPR  (Visually Integrated Precision Reticle) optic has a range of digital reticles that can switch on the fly to accommodate different ammunition types or use cases. Those options allow the user to switch to counter UAS ammo and reticles s...

By Daniel Y •

Ayoob: The Guns of Cormac McCarthy

When I plucked the September-October issue of Smithsonian magazine out of my P.O. Box, the first article I turned to was “The Secret Life of Cormac McCarthy” by Richard Grant. As I skimmed it, a pull-quote leaped out at me: “He never left the house without a book. He never left the house wi...

By Massad Ayoob •
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