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...
The Winchester Model 1200 is a bit of a paradox. In my experience, these shotguns generally work pretty well; they’re easy to fix, they’re light, and they are affordable. You’d think they’d be popular, but they aren’t. Not with gun keeners, at least; gun writers and ...
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 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...
This question shows up at gun counters more than just about anything else. Someone grabs a box of ammo, notices it says .223 Remington, but their barrel is marked 5.56 NATO, and suddenly they are wondering if they made a mistake. I have watched this exact scenario play out dozens of times, and ho...
If you have always wanted a 1903A3 rifle to use as a shooter, you may be in luck! The Civilian Marksmanship Program is now selling reclaimed 1903A3 Springfield bolt-action rifles . These guns use receivers salvaged from guns that were, at one time, non-fireable, but now are back in action.
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...
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...