The Armed Citizen® Dec. 15, 2025

by
posted on December 15, 2025
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
The Armed Citizen

Armed Citizen® Today

A 23-year-old college student heard a knock on his door in Tucson, Ariz., after midnight on Oct. 16, 2025. The student answered, and a man asked for someone who didn’t live there.

As they spoke, however, the student noticed another man behind the one he was speaking with, who had his face covered and was armed with a gun. He immediately retrieved his own gun and fired as the men advanced into his home, striking and killing both intruders.

Police noted that there was no indication the student had been involved in any criminal activities. (tucson.com, Tucson, Ariz., 10/16/25)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives – January 1977

When a late-night intruder broke into the rural Fowler, Calif., home of Forest H. Smith, 81, neighbors alerted his son-in-law, Roy Garrett. Garrett and his two teenage sons rushed to the old man's home, where they found the thug holding a knife to Smith's throat.

After the man swung at him several times with the knife, Garrett shot him in the shoulder with a rifle, but the powerful crook kept coming. Garrett's younger son then broke a shotgun over the criminal's head, sending him fleeing outside. There, the other son bashed him with a baseball bat, then held the unconscious burglar for sheriff's deputies. (The Bee, Fresno, Calif.)

Latest

Fiocchi’s new Hyperformance SBR Enhanced line of ammunition
Fiocchi’s new Hyperformance SBR Enhanced line of ammunition

Selling Short: Fiocchi's Hyperformance SBR Enhanced Ammunition

Fiocchi’s new Hyperformance SBR Enhanced line of ammunition isn’t a mere marketing gimmick. It’s designed for top performance out of short-barreled rifles, and it delivers.

New For 2026: Yankee Hill Machine Victra-20 Shotgun Suppressor

Yankee Hill Machine introduced its VICTRA-12, a modular 12-ga. shotgun suppressor, last year. This year, the company is bringing out a 20-ga. version with the VICTRA-20.

The Armed Citizen® June 22, 2026

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Important Notice To Members: Exercise Your Rights. Assist In The Nomination Of Directors.

The NRA Bylaws provide for the election of one-third of the members of the Board of Directors each year. Those terms of office will expire at the 2027 Annual Meeting of Members in Atlanta, Georgia, on April 24, 2027.

Skills Check: Pistol Standard Xray 2 Drill

Examine and strengthen each part of your presentation and shot in this revealing drill.

Gunsite at 50: Celebrating a Golden Anniversary

It’s no secret Gunsite Academy is celebrating its Golden Anniversary this year. In August, it’s holding a 50th Anniversary Alumni Shoot to celebrate five decades of training excellence, tradition and community.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.