Feature Articles

Herschel Grynszpan was seventeen when he walked into the German embassy in Paris with a tiny handgun. Five shots later, the Nazis had the excuse they wanted to unleash Kristallnacht.

The Zero Compromise Optic ZC210 is expensive, heavy enough to notice, and missing true 1x. After shooting it to 1,000 yards, into darkness, and behind a thermal clip-on, I also found it frustratingly hard not to like.

The Streamlight ProTac Rail Mount VIR Pro stuffs a powerful white light and serious 940nm IR illumination into one flexible rifle light for around $248. After testing it from dark barns to targets hundreds of yards away, I found plenty to like and a few limits worth knowing before you mount one.

The H&K VP9B backs German engineering with exceptional ergonomics, an optics-ready slide, and a factory trigger that only gets better as the rounds pile up. I started as a skeptic and ended up questioning my usual plastic fantastic.

Major General Smedley Butler collected two Medals of Honor, fought across the globe, battled corruption at home, and later claimed powerful businessmen wanted him at the center of an American coup.

The Springfield Prodigy 3.5 AOS packs 18 rounds into a compact double-stack 1911 built for concealed carry, then backs it up with approximately 500 rounds of malfunction-free testing and a best 15-yard group of just 0.61 inches.

The Benelli M2-G1 brings a new Rear Piston Operated gas system to a hard-use tactical shotgun. I fed it cheap birdshot, rusty water-damaged shells, suppressed strings, and rapid fire, and several hundred rounds later it still had not malfunctioned.

The Lipsey’s S&W 632 puts six rounds of .32 H&R Magnum into a 13-ounce J-frame that nearly disappears in a pocket. It shoots accurately, carries easily, and delivers more authority than its small caliber reputation suggests.

Everyone has that one gun with absolutely zero practical purpose. This working A280-CFE Blaster in 22LR turns an AR-15-based build into a Cassian Andor-inspired space gun that keeps finding its way back into the range bag.