The Armed Citizen® Feb. 28, 2025

by
posted on February 28, 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 24-year-old resident of Juneau, Alaska, shot and killed a teen in self-defense in a road-rage incident during which the teen pulled out what appeared to be a rifle and threatened the 24-year-old with it.

Police say that the situation started when the older driver called police after being followed by a driver in a 2001 Volkswagen Jetta. The two drivers then circled a roundabout before stopping alongside each other. An argument broke out between the two men, and the 24-year-old driver noticed what he thought was a rifle in the hands of the younger driver. The teen then pointed the rifle at the 24-year-old driver, prompting him to draw and fire in self-defense.

The older driver waited at the scene for responding officers, who pronounced the teen driver dead on the scene. An investigation found that the teen driver had actually been armed with a C02-powered pellet/BB gun.

"It looked very realistic, very much like a firearm,” Juneau Police Chief Derek Bos told KTUU News. “Responding officers also held the initial belief that it was an actual firearm. It was determined much later in the investigation that it was not.” (KTUU News; Juneau, Alaska; 2/3/25)

From the Armed Citizen® Archives – January 1971

Mrs. Deloris Ehle of Ft. Wayne, Ind., was suspicious of two men who parked in her driveway. Consequently, she did not respond when they knocked first on her front door, then on her back door. But when they took a ladder from her garage and removed one of her window screens, she grabbed a shotgun. Upon seeing the armed homeowner, the two men fled. (Ft. Wayne, Ind., The News Sentinel)

Latest

firing a musket rifle
firing a musket rifle

Today’s Makers of Yesterday’s Firearms

Original firearms from the American Revolution era are valuable and best preserved for posterity. For those who want to shoot them, several modern makers offer quality reproductions.

Left Turn (Bolt): Tikka's New Left-Handed T3x Ace Rifles

Lefties of the world unite and rejoice, as Tikka has announced left-hand versions of its award-winning T3x Ace chassis rifles.

The Armed Citizen® Sept. 14, 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.

Skills Check: Rifle Standard Delta 2

Carbine performance is all about maintaining control. The Rifle Standard Delta 2 is a drill that pressures recoil control, visual discipline and cadence as distance decreases and time compresses.

Gun Sales Up for the 7th Month in a Row in 2026

The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) estimate of last month’s gun sales was up 2.2 percent compared to August 2025.

Caring For & Feeding Your Cap-and-Ball Revolvers

Compared to pistoleros of the 19th century, today’s handgunners have it easy. It's not enough just to get an old-school, cap-and-ball revolver. You also need to acquire everything to shoot and clean it.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.