The lore surrounding the brute force of the Smith & Wesson S&W500 is legion. There have been plenty of tales about what this gun is capable of doing, both to the lackadaisical shooter and the intended target. I decided I needed to sort through some and separate fact from fiction and test one for myself.

Shotguns have always suffered one common weakness: Capacity. Although substantial when measured by either weight or diameter, the amount of ammunition that can be loaded into the gun is limited. Right? Wrong. SRM Arms has stepped up to the plate to take a swing at solving the capacity and reloading problems inherent in a 12-gauge shotgun with its 16-shot, semi-automatic Model 1216.

While it seems like just about everybody is making the AR, the name Colt still carries a lot of weight when it comes to this design. They were the “first” in the minds of many civilian shooters, and the company has a long history of producing the design’s martial sibling for the U.S. military. And now, with the M4 Expanse, Colt is offering a great gun at a great price.

If you already own a safe, almost everything I describe in this article can be done for free; but there’s no free lunch, and every choice has its pros and cons. You will have to weigh your options when deciding the placement of your safe and how to anchor it.

The 805 Bren S1 Carbine from CZ-USA delivers a civilian-legal, semi-automatic variant of a Czech battle-ready 5.56mm to U.S. consumers. Read on for the full test.

the new SUB-2000 Gen II from Kel-Tec gives users a 9mm carbine that feeds from pistol magazines and can fold down to around 16 inches.

The FN M4 Carbine in the Military Collector Series line brings you the closest thing a civilian can own to a true military 5.56mm M4 Carbine.

A dangerous terrorist lives right here in our land. Folks, if you don’t know it, our electrical grid is under attack.

The Bond Arms Backup packs a lot of power into a small package. It has twin barrels and can be switched between 9mm and .45.