Sam Trisler

I have had the TNW ARS in for a couple of months during this review process. I carried it in a backpack in my Jeep as a survival rifle. Thankfully I never needed it to be that but I am confident it would have filled the roll nicely. I live in a big town, but travel into rural areas a couple of times a week. A breakdown type carbine is a great choice for my situation. Pack a bag with the Areo, 4-5 loaded magazine, 2 boxes of ammo, a first aid kit, water and a bit of food and I have a great little survival kit.

1873 was a big year in the firearms world. Colt’s new single action was adopted by the Army and Winchester came out with their best lever action to date. Originally chambered in .44 W.C.F., aka 44-40, the 1873 Winchester was the most powerful of the lever guns when it was introduced. This was a huge step forward from the rimfire .44 caliber used in the Henry and earlier Winchester rifles.

There is something to say about the fancy pants custom and semi-custom steel frames. But there is also something to say about the other end of the spectrum, the el cheapo 1911s. Love or hate the John Browning design, you can not dismiss its history and longevity. Ones that are made right just flat out work and you don’t have to spend $2,000 plus to get one that is made right.

If you are a competitive shooter and have not checked out the SASS, or Cowboy Action, matches you owe it to yourself to do so. Think of it as 3 gun with revolvers, lever actions and double barreled shotguns. I have shot a number of “friendly” cowboy matches and will attest to how much fun can be had while testing your skills. All of the shooters in this sport I have met have been friendly and more than willing to share knowledge and tips to improve your shooting. But you will need a revolver. Here are 5 that will do the trick.

The final design of the 1911 really came about from a series of trials that the US Government put it and other pistols through. These tests let Colt and John Browning see how the pistol held up. There were also requirements that the design had to meet. A lot of the credit for how the 1911 came out can be attributed to the trials and specifications required for the new pistol.

When we, and I mean we as I include myself in this statement, think of US Military small arms it does not usually include a shotgun. When we think of the great American fighting arms of the past we have visions of the 1911, M1 Garand, M-16, 1903 Springfield and probably even a Bazooka before we picture the lowly scatter gun. So lets take a quick look through history and into the present at the shotguns that have served our men and women in uniform.

The folks at Winchester have a pretty cool new “app” for showing shot patterns for turkey loads. These are not computer modeled guesstimates of what the pattern should look like in an ideal world. Winchester took the time to shoot all of the different shells and shot weights through a variety of different chokes to give an idea of how they should perform. This is a Winchester app so all of the shells are theirs.

Legend has it that John Moses made the first prototype of the Vest Pocket to carry in his, you guested it, vest pocket while walking around on this land in Utah. He supposedly wanted a tiny pistol for defense against coyotes. True or not, Browning did design a great little pistol that will fit in a vest pocket.

Turkey season is right around the corner. Although you don’t have to have a shotgun that is dedicated to turkey hunting there are a few options that will help. Turkeys have great eyesight, they see a lot better than we can. Cammo for the hunter is a must for hunting turkeys. I don’t think it is a must for your shotgun, but it can’t hurt. At the very least you want one that is not going to shine and sparkle in the sun like vampires in tween movies. I prefer an optic or rifle sights on a turkey shotgun. These guns with the proper chokes are capable of taking a turkey out to 40 yards or a bit more. The head on a turkey is small and the bead found on typical shotguns really doesn’t cut it. We want a bit more precision here.