The Metro Arms line of imported 1911s is making some big promises. How well do these budget conscious single actions compete in an already crowded field? Amazingly well. I’ve shot hundreds of 1911s and very few of them have done what this humble hunk of steel did out of the box.

Smith & Wesson has made a major improvement to what is already a formidable pistol. The Shield is now even better for concealed carry, and may make the .380s out there irrelevant.

Eli Wallach died today at age 98. Some of you are saying, “Wallach? Who’s he?” Most of the rest of you are probably saying, “Wallach was still alive?” For those of us who followed Wallach’s career, today is a sad day. Wallach, best remembered for his bad-guy roles in the classic westerns The Good, the [...]

I’ve had a lifelong fascination with oddball guns. The Marble’s Game Getter Gun, a storied gun with a long and troubled history, speaks to me. By today’s standards, the skeletal over-under is underpowered, and a bit slow. Yet the single-shot Game Getter Gun lives on in the survival-minded offerings of Springfield Armory, and Savage, and even Chiappa.

Most of the work we do when prepping stays at home. But you may not be home when disaster strikes. What then? I carry every day, but there are times that a 9mm in a IWB holster simply isn’t enough. I wanted a rock-solid way to insure that I had everything I need. And here it is, my take on the get-home-gun, and everything that goes with it.

Buying your first AR-15 used to be a lot easier, if only because of the lack of options. A good base model would get you only you needed, and then you could add on extras and swap out parts to make the rifle more functional. The various scarcities (and shifts in political power) meant many bought whatever they could get and at artificially inflated prices. We’re past that now, at least for a while. Deciding which AR to buy is much more complicated now, as there are so many makers making many variations of guns that essentially do the same thing. In this market, you can take your pick of rifles and options. You don’t have to start at the bottom. And some rifles, like the Diamondback DB-15 B, represent a real value. The DB-15 B is an upgraded gun at a base model price, and it is a buyer’s market.

Shot timers aren’t the sexiest addition to your shooting gear. Most are bulky, a bit boxy even. If you’re not a serious competitor, using a timer might even seem a bit pretentious, like you think there is something that needs to be timed. Yet a timer is one piece of gear that marks you as a serious shooter. A good timer implies that you’re serious about competition and serious about improving your speed. And now, thanks to the Shotmaxx from Double-Alpha Academy (DAA), the shot timer has gotten more functional, more stylish and a whole lot smaller.

We’re going to get a bit philosophical with this one. Winchester, one of the nineteenth century’s most iconic rifle makers, a company that revolutionized shotguns at the turn of the twentieth century, is still making guns. It’s alive and well, and making a play for a bigger part of the market. If you are looking for a new scatter-gun, and you’re working on a budget, Winchester has a gun for you.

Kahr’s latest line of pistols is something to see. The company’s taken all of the features of its premium pistols and shaved off the extras to leave behind an exceptionally functional pistol that sells for much less. It’s producing guns that can compete with anything on the market, and at a price point that spanks most of their competition. The CT45 and CT40 should be serious contenders for anyone looking for a concealed carry gun.