Smith & Wesson opened its Performance Center in 1989 in order to create custom race guns, eventually expanding to a variety of guns ranging from hunting rifles to carry guns. What makes S&W Performance Center firearms unique is that although many of the firearms might contain special features that are typically found only in "one off" custom guns, the manufacturer produces them in large enough quantities to keep them affordable and available to everyone. Many Performance Center guns—like thePorted M&P Shield—originate from standard designs and are then customized and tuned for precision, while others are created from the ground up to include hand cutting and fitting. Overall, Smith & Wesson prides itself not only on its products but also its employees, with some of its workers being the third generation of their family to work for the company. Check out this segmentfrom a recent episode ofAmerican Rifleman TV to learn more about Smith & Wesson's Performance Center.
Springfield Armory's Hellcat Pro is taller, longer and heavier than the company's original Hellcat, but these dimensional increases actually do a lot to benefit the armed citizen.
Ruger may be celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2024, but the first firearm designed and built by William Batterman Ruger, the semi-automatic Savage Model 99 conversion seen to the left, came some 10 years before the Standard Model debuted in 1949.
While sport shooting and hunting are still undertaken in many countries around the world, our staffers don’t often have the opportunity to test new guns in places as far away and mystical as Australia, but that’s exactly where Executive Editor Evan Brune went with the new rifle that is the subject of this month’s cover story.
Harnessing the power of the 10 mm Auto in a compact format with generous capacity, EAA’s Witness2311 is an affordable and shootable way to ride the current 10 mm wave.