Gun Reviews

The Springfield Prodigy COA pairs double-stack 1911 performance with an Aimpoint optic that sits remarkably low and stayed locked on zero. After several hundred rounds, +P loads, mag dumps, quick-draw drills, and hits at 100 yards, the pistol finished with zero malfunctions.

Born from Cold War military requirements and carried into the civilian mainstream by the AR-15, the .223 Remington became America’s most popular centerfire cartridge for a reason. From low recoil and staggering rifle variety to its complicated relationship with 5.56 NATO, this little cartridge still has plenty to say.

The Chiappa Rhino 60 DS 10mm looks like a sci-fi prop, fires from the bottom chamber, and somehow makes full-power 10mm Auto feel far more civilized than it should. I ran it with defensive, hunting, and range ammo to see if the weird design is real engineering or just revolver theater.

The FN Reflex combines a surprisingly good trigger, .85-inch best-group accuracy, and flawless reliability in a palm-sized carry gun. This little 9mm ran clean, dirty, and gritty without giving us the first problem.

Five shots, one old-school cylinder, and 30+ years of carry experience make the CCW revolver harder to dismiss than the high-capacity crowd wants to admit. The J-Frame is not for everyone, but in the right role, this little wheel gun still has teeth.

The Browning X-Bolt 2 Special Max LR SPR blends hunting-rifle practicality with enough long-range muscle to make steel ring past 600 yards. With a suppressor-ready 18-inch barrel, adjustable MAX stock, crisp DLX trigger, and consistent one-MOA performance, this 6.5 Creedmoor makes a strong case for the do-it-all rifle slot.

The revived S&W 396 Night Guard in .44 Special promises the perfect middle ground between snubnose carry and full-size shootability. It starts strong, shoots well, and then delivers the kind of reliability failure that turns nostalgia into frustration fast.

The best micro compact pistols cram serious capacity, real shootability, and everyday carry comfort into guns that almost disappear under a shirt. From the SIG P365X to the Wilson Combat SFX9, these five tiny carry pistols prove small does not have to mean helpless.

The Mossberg 590 Bliksem is not just a camo-coated conversation piece. It is a compact, optic-ready 12-gauge firearm with real defensive utility, slick factory upgrades, and enough personality to make a plain black shotgun feel downright boring.

The S&W 617 Mountain Gun looks like the .22 LR K-frame woods revolver a lot of shooters have been waiting for. It shoots well, carries the right Mountain Gun attitude, and then trips over the kind of quality-control problem that makes a man shake his head twice.

I always get excited about testing Daniel Defense rifles. They built the upper for the SOPMOD kits we had back in the day (and still do for all I know), and it was a huge leap forward over the old busted M4s we had prior to that. Black Creek, GA, has always turned out tough, high-quality products, and the M4V7 Pro is no exception.

The Taurus RPC brings roller-delayed 9mm softness, full ambi controls, suppressor-ready hardware, and PDW-style swagger to a price point that should make MP5 fans uncomfortable. We ran 300 rounds through it to see what this little blaster is, what it is not, and whether you should grab one before they vanish.

The Cimarron U.S.V. Artillery brings the Colt SAA Artillery legend back with .45 Long Colt punch, Rough Riders history, and old-school sixgun swagger. It is part history lesson, part range toy, and part reminder that sometimes the old ways still hit hardest.

The Stealth Arms Platypus already brings 2011-style performance with Glock magazine practicality, but this custom build takes the platform into dream-gun territory. With Impact Machine Flatty Platy porting, Rising Creek Customs Cerakote, a Vortex Defender-ST Enclosed, and the exact options I wanted, this pistol turned into the flat-shooting, hard-running custom handgun I had been chasing.

The Smith and Wesson M&P 2.0 10mm brings serious thumper energy without feeling cartoonishly huge. With optics-ready capability, stout woods-load performance, and M&P ergonomics, this 10mm makes a strong case as a backcountry pistol that still behaves like a modern fighting gun.

A .22 LR handgun is easy to dismiss until you carry one all day, shoot it well, and watch it punch deeper than expected. For hunters, trappers, and everyday carriers in the woods, the humble rimfire sidearm still has teeth.

The Winchester Model 70 Featherweight brings wood, blued steel, controlled round feed, and old-school hunting rifle swagger into a world obsessed with carbon fiber and plastic. We tested this 6.5 Creedmoor classic to see if the Rifleman’s Rifle still deserves a spot in the deer stand.

The plain SIG P365 still earns its place as a daily carry pistol because it balances concealability, capacity, shootability, and trust better than almost anything in the micro-compact 9mm world.

Geissele’s King Hunter is a heavy, expensive, superbly accurate bolt gun built around Federal’s hot new 7mm Backcountry cartridge. It is not trying to be a featherweight mountain rifle, but from the bench and the field rest, this thing shoots like it knows it wears a crown.

The Tokarev TT 12 Pro is an AR-style 12-gauge shotgun that showed up cheap, ran clean, and refused to choke on low-velocity shells, buckshot, or slugs. For about $365, this box-magazine-fed semi-auto came to fight.

The 1858 Remington revolver brought solid-frame confidence, serious accuracy, and black powder attitude to the handgun world. More than a century later, its smoke, steel, and cartridge-conversion potential still make it one of the most appealing replica revolvers you can shoot.

The Smith & Wesson M&P Shield X is not just a stretched Shield with a fresh label slapped on the box. It shoots flatter, carries easier than a thicker compact, and makes a very strong case for being the smarter slimline 9mm for everyday carry.

The Ruger Mini-14 Ranch is the old-school 5.56 NATO rifle that refused to disappear. After decades of love, hate, and accurate jokes, the newer Ranch Rifle showed up ready to rewrite some history.

The Henry .45-70 is an heirloom-grade lever action with brass-frame swagger, side-gate loading, and enough thump to make bear country feel a little more negotiable. It is cowboy nostalgia with modern teeth, and yes, wagon train is still not included.

The HK VP9CC brings the VP9 bloodline into a true micro-compact 9mm carry pistol, complete with German engineering, an ultra-low optic cut, and the kind of price tag that makes expectations very serious. After 800 trouble-free rounds, this little HK has plenty to brag about, even if a few sharp edges bite back.

The Springfield Armory SA-16A2 is not just another retro AR15 trying to cash in on nostalgia. It is a smooth, iron-sighted 5.56 NATO rifle that reminds you why the M16A2 still deserves respect, range time, and a spot on your bucket list.

The Rock Island Armory GI Standard 1911 looks like a no-frills throwback, but this budget .45 turned out to be far more shootable and drama-free than its price tag suggests. After 300 rounds and zero malfunctions, the question is not whether it is cheap. It is whether this plain GI-style pistol might be the smartest low-dollar entry into the 1911 platform.

The Benelli Lupo Alpha looks like an Italian design team got loose with a CAD file and a bottle of Pinot Grigio, but this 5.73-pound hunting rifle flat-out performs. It is light, slick, weatherproof, and with the right load, it shoots tiny groups that make the futuristic stock a lot easier to love.

Ten handgun hunters, black bears inside 25 to 50 yards, fading light, and a week full of lessons. This Maine black bear handgun hunt delivered close calls, hard-earned misses, standout revolver performance, and enough honest takeaways to make us want another crack at it.