Archive for blogs

It’s All About the Guns

History Channel’s Top Shot was a breakout hit in 2010, as much for the firearms spotlighted as for the shooters competing.

February 08, 2011

Gun Traveling Laws

Winter isn’t best time for traveling, but since Phil didn’t see his shadow the other day, perhaps spring is right around the corner. And with nicer weather, travelers will soon start hitting the roads.

February 07, 2011

The Rifleman's Reality

With last year's introduction of the History Channel's Top Shot, the firearms world got its first taste of reality TV….and we loved it. The manufactured drama might not be our style, but the historical, competitive and, of course, shooting aspects hooked us from episode one.

February 04, 2011

I Wish I Could Buy Them a Gun

I recently saw a news report out of Minnesota about an elderly couple who overpowered a masked intruder who was trying to rob them in their home. The bad guy quickly found out that he had chosen the wrong house to rob when the couple fought back and sent him packing.

February 04, 2011

How about the CCOs?

Several friends have asked me to find out why Colt no longer makes the CCO, which stands for Concealed Carry Officer's Model. I have to wonder if any readers are also interested. This little 1911 variant is one of the slickest 1911 iterations I have ever seen. Colt made a number of them in the 90s, then followed up with a short run of Gunsite CCOs. They were very popular and are approaching cult favorite status. Basically, this gun was an Officer's ACP frame with a Commander slide fitted thereto. This gave the gun the length of a Commander and the height of a Defender.

February 03, 2011

Police Trade-Ins

There are a lot of cops in this country and every one of them carries a modern handgun of some kind. Most of these guns are seldom fired, but carried habitually, and these guns are updated with new models every few years.

January 26, 2011

Quashing Raging Judge Rumors

The rumor mill has been grinding away since SHOT that the new 28-gauge Taurus Raging Judge has been declared a National Firearms Act item by the ATF and would not be coming out. As is often the case with rumors, this is not true according to American Rifleman Editor-in-Chief Mark Keefe.

January 26, 2011

Trijicon RMR

Tom Kane of Trijicon discusses the advantages of the new RMR site, which features adjustable dot intensity depending on surroundings and a potential battery life of almost 4 years.‬

January 26, 2011

The New Stag Arms Model 3

Stag Arms President Mark Malkowski explains some of the features of the new Model 3 carbine, including a Diamondhead Versarail that's optics- and accessories-ready.

January 26, 2011

A Browning Born To Greatness

Some guns are born to greatness—and the new Browning 1911-22 is one of them. Two years ago at SHOT Show the industry was dazzled with Ruger’s announcement of its .380 LCP pistol. The Insider was among the first to get word in Ruger’s booth that sales of the little compact pistol had exceeded 40,000 units on the first day, blowing Ruger’s most optimistic sales projection out of the water. The show ended with over 70,000 orders in hand.

January 26, 2011

Crosman MAR .177 and Rogue .357

Chip Hunnicutt and Terry Neumaster of Crosman talk about the two newest additions to the airgun product line with the Modular Adaptive Rifle (MAR) 177 and Benjamin Rogue in .357. The MAR is a drop-in upper designed for competition-quality performance with no additional modifications to your existing AR lower, while the Benjamin Rogue is a .357 caliber air gun.

January 25, 2011

Self-Defense Accuracy

Most handguns shooters spend countless hours trying to get the smallest possible group in the 10-ring on a target. Many of us are practically obsessed with accuracy, but accuracy and self-defense accuracy are quite different.

January 25, 2011

M 1911 Series 70

We are now in the centennial year of the magnificent Government Model Colt 1911, arguably the greatest handgun of all time. Just a few months from now, we will reach March 29th, 2011—exactly 100 years from the day that Colonel Thompson wrote the letter that advised Colt Firearms of the official adoption of the M1911 pistol. We are going to be very 1911-oriented this year. Everybody is sure to focus on the gun and the many new variations that are sure to appear. Several makers are advertising a (presumably desirable) return to something called a Series 70 Firing Pin Safety System. This is puzzling, because there is no such thing.

January 24, 2011

Viridian X5L-RS

With the new X5L-RS, Viridian has engineered its X5L green laser to fit a rifle or shotgun.

January 24, 2011