Feature Articles

There are revolvers and then there are Smith & Wesson Performance Center Revolvers. This snub-nosed 686 has a lot of features that make the other Smith wheel guns jealous. It looks good, but it is also ideal for those who are looking for hard hitting firepower and unfailing reliability from their concealed carry gun.

First off, I wouldn’t expect many people to click on this article because who the heck doesn’t know what a rechargeable battery is. So for that reason I added to the title “Where There’s Smoke…,” implying that there is fire somewhere. I am not referring to literal fire, though some rechargeables have been known to cause them. What I mean by that is where you see a name brand on a rechargeable battery, be careful to not pay too much for the name, instead of getting the most milliamps-hours for your buck.

When Savage set out to make a semi-auto 17 HMR, there weren’t many who thought the wicked rimfire cartridge would ever be tamed. Yet Savage has done it. The new A17 is a rimfire for those who are ready to move past the .22 LRs and into a gun with more range, and more velocity. And that’s not all Savage has brought to SHOT Show.

It is getting much easier to find an AK-47 that is made in the United States, but few of them will offer the value and durability of a Century. Their two new offerings are traditional AKs, but come in at a price point that is going blow your mind. Milled or stamped, these guns should be selling for under $700. And they’re robust guns.

Taurus has some new products at SHOT Show 2015. The Curve will be shipping soon, the 85 revolver turns convertible and the TCP gets its wings. These are not just new guns, but some fascinating new designs that blend form and ergonomic function in unexpected ways.

Riflescopes have come a long way in the last ten years. It used to be that only elite hunters paid big money for high quality scopes, and those scopes mostly came from Germany. I don’t know if patents ran out on manufacturing methods, or manufacturing just got that much better overseas, but these days there are a lot of great scopes that are crystal clear even in low light conditions, and they don’t cost big money. You can still spend over $5,000 on a riflescope, but for $1,000 to $2,000 you can get what I’ve found to be as good a scope for a lot less (and sometimes even less than $1,000). This Burris XTR II 4x-20x is made in Malaysia, and I would put it against scopes many times its cost.

Very few shooting experiences make me smile from ear to ear, so I feel it necessary to share this very unique “full auto” fun surprise. The Gletcher M712 is an “adult” airgun that looks, feels and works just like an original Mauser “Broomhandle,” which is the American name for the C96, called that because of the wooden rounded grip.

How to use or not to use, that is the question. The Sig Sauer SB-15 stabilizing brace for AR-type pistols has exposed some sticky legal questions. Does the use of a product define its purpose? For example, if one uses a hammer to remove a corroded battery terminal from a 1970 Gremlin, does the use [...]

Navy Arms, Winchester and Turnbull team up to produce some of the nicest 1873 Winchesters ever made. Gibbs Rifle AK magazines.