Despite what mainstream news outlets would have us believe, most armed citizens are thoughtful, deliberate, responsible Americans whose foremost concerns are the well-being of themselves and their families. The firearm industry reflects that sense of thoughtfulness, deliberation and responsibility by continually responding to its customers with ever more effective, safe and refined products, whether they be guns, optics, ammunition or accessories. The first example of that in this month is in our October 2025 cover story.
In “Smith & Wesson Unlocks The Future,” contributor and revolver aficionado Kevin McPherson explores the company’s line of “No Internal Lock” revolvers—specifically the Model 19 Carry Comp Moss chambered in .357 Mag. The NIL models not only show S&W’s willingness to heed customer preferences but to work with firearm distributors to develop models with a more traditional exterior appearance and with internal refinements that make them as strong and safe as ever. Such new configurations demonstrate how the industry continues to meet the demands of an ever-growing market of concealed carriers and home defenders—in this case, those looking for more capable wheelguns from the company whose name is virtually synonymous with that platform.
In “Hunting For The Perfect Partner: Ruger/Dead Air’s Centerfire RXD” by Senior Executive Editor Kelly Young, we learn how two major players in their respective fields have approached the challenge of making a hunting rifle quieter on the ears yet just as handy and effective in the field as its unsuppressed counterparts. Young reports on his firsthand experience hunting axis deer in Texas with a Ruger American Rifle Generation II Ranch model chambered in 6 mm ARC, firing Hornady’s 103-grain Precision Hunter ammunition, and accessorized with a Leupold VX-6HD 2-12X 42 mm scope and the Dead Air RXD30Ti suppressor. Not only did he find the package “pleasant to tote” but more than up to the task of efficiently, and quietly, adding to his inventory of meat in the freezer.
Then, in “First Breach Ammunition: Factory Tour” by Field Editor Frank Melloni, we get an inside look at a father-and-son startup devoted to the production of components and cartridges for three of the country’s most popular centerfire pistol and rifle chamberings. It’s all taking place in a refurbished 1940s-era former aviation factory that once produced much larger aerodynamic “projectiles” in the form of A-10 Warthog attack aircraft. Not only are such endeavors rare, they exemplify the American entrepreneurial spirit just as much as they support the preservation of the Second Amendment. And despite the pair’s surname of Low, it’s clear that the standards and expectations they’ve set for their ammunition are top-flight.
Finally, In “Arms Of The Mail Guard Marines” by Field Editor Bruce Canfield, we learn about a tumultuous time in American history when brazen criminals’ attacks on the U.S. Postal Service necessitated calling out the Marine Corps to ensure the mail’s safe passage (via postal rail car in the photo above). And the Marines took their new duties quite seriously judging from the rundown of the firearms they employed—all of which are likely to be familiar to anyone with even a passing knowledge of our country’s most iconic battlefield small arms. Still, it may come as a surprise to today’s consumers of network news that, more than once in our country’s past, military troops have been pressed into service on U.S. soil.
As to that earlier reference to the misrepresentation of armed citizens, the sheer numbers related to firearm ownership—hundreds of millions of people from all walks of life in all 50 states—prove that what the so-called “legacy media” likes to suggest couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the vast majority of Americans who “keep and bear” arms are, in fact, law-abiding patriots who help to preserve the peace all across our land every day.
