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Browning has added a long-barrel variant to its Buck Mark line of semi-automatic pistols specifically intended for critter hunting—the Buck Mark Varmint. The new model features a 9 7/8”-long bull barrel for increased ballistic performance, a swivel stud on the bottom of its fore-end for the installation of a bipod and a full-length Picatinny rail atop the receiver for the mounting of an optic. Chambered in .22 Long Rifle and feeding from 10-round detachable box magazines, the Buck Mark Varmint measures 14” in total length and weighs in at 53 ozs. For more on Browning’s new Buck Marr Varmint, visit browning.com.
In 2024, former owner Gregg Ritz purchased Thompson/Center Arms. Now the company has introduced a modern take on its classic Contender/Encore concept: the ENCORE PROHunter.
While it's certainly a saturated marketplace these days, the AR-15 has never been more popular with American firearm enthusiasts, and many manufacturers are continuing to feed the need with new options loaded with new features.
Like any hobby or pastime that is in any way even vaguely related to machines or technology, firearms attract a (possibly) disproportionate number of “right-brained,” STEM-oriented personalities who like numbers.
Slingshots are fun, but they can also be a legitimate backup defensive tool—in 2023, a 13-year-old Michigan boy saved his 8-year-old sister from being kidnapped by using a $3 slingshot to fire a marble and a rock at the assailant, striking him in the chest and head.