Sam Trisler

Ho, ho, ho. It is that time of year. Santa’s gearing up for a massive expedition. No telling what he might encounter. He’s a bit of a traditionalist, and anything but high-speed, so I’ve compiled a list of five handguns he might consider taking with him on the trip.

Ruger has been announcing news about their new guns on the same day they hit stores. This means you can read this review and be on the range with their new rifle this afternoon–if you’re that motivated. And you might be after you read this review. I’ve shot a lot of rifles this year, and this is one of the best.

Cowboy action shooting is growing in popularity. The guns are kind of like NASCAR race cars–stock, sort of. They begin as stock guns, but get all tricked out on their way to SASS competition. Now Ruger is making matched sets of SASS ready Vaqueros that are already tricked out and ready to rock the steel bad guys. So pistoleros–strap on your chaps and dust off your Stetsons. We’re getting all cowboy in this Vaquero review.

It would be absurd for me to review the Savage Rascal. My daughter Emma, though, is just learning to shoot. She’s the ideal test subject. So I passed on this review to her. Want to know what an 11 year old novice shooter thinks of the tiny .22? Read on…

Henry makes guns that keep up the values established by the company’s namesake—traditional pistol caliber lever actions, mostly. These guns make versatile ranch guns, and are cowboy competitions. They’re adding to their catalog in a big way. If you are looking for an American made .30-30, or a hard hitting favorite .45-70, check out the new guns from Henry. These are hard-working lever actions, but miles away from the pistol calibers you might associate with the brand.

I believe a new shooter should start with a fully functional gun and not some bargain basement piece of crap. Youth shooters would do well to check out a TriStar. These inexpensive shotguns work incredibly well, and don’t break the bank. Some of them are even pink–which got me some strange looks at the range.

Tired of wrecking your thumbs loading AR mags? Maglula has the answer. Their new Benchloader is less expensive, more versatile, and damn fast.

The BAR, and its derivatives, never really caught on with civilian shooters. Maybe .30-06 was too expensive. Or maybe the guns were just too big. There’s more steel in a BAR than there is in an F-150. But there are still shooters, like me, who want a BAR, and Ohio Ordnance Works is filling that demand.

Edge Arms’ Reliant is a 4 barreled badass. The Reliant will be chambered in .32 HR Mag, .32 ACP, .380 ACP and .38 Special +P. How will it change the concealed carry debate?