Article first appeared at Ammo Land. For a half century now, it has been a ubiquitous instrument of law and order. Adopted by West Germany’s Bundespolizei and Grenzshchutz in 1966, it has demonstrated itself an effective tool of counterterrorism. From Mogadishu, to Princes Gate in South Kensington—the Heckler & Koch …

Article first appeared at Ammo Land. I’m a relative newcomer to the world of the AR-15-pattern rifle. Until fairly recently, I languished in the People’s Republic of Massachusetts, where such rifles are still subject to the vagaries of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004 in Free America. …

Article first appeared at Ammo Land. Firearms have been a part of American pop culture ever since Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill’s traveling roadshows. From the early days of the western dime-store novel to the earliest silent movies and on through the tough-guy detective stories and the action-adventure movie, guns …

Article first appeared at American Rifleman. Carrying a small pistol or revolver in a front pants pocket is a comfortable and convenient way to go heeled. It’s a carry method that has steadily grown in popularity over the last decade. A wide variety of pocketable pistols in calibers both great …

Article first appeared at American Rifleman. We have had the .40 S&W cartridge since 1990, roughly a quarter century of active service. Much of that service was in law enforcement, but many civilian handgunners have also cheerfully climbed aboard the medium-bore bandwagon. When it’s evaluated on the basis of actual …

Article first appeared at American Rifleman. Experts in the field of personal protection advise their students to arm themselves with the most powerful defensive handguns they can manage. But how much felt recoil any one individual can deal with is governed by a variety of factors. Age, injury, illness or …

Article first appeared at American Rifleman. As one of the most popular pocket-pistol cartridges today, the .380 ACP round is actually quite long in the tooth. Dating back more than a century to its creation by John Moses Browning, the .380 has a long and storied history. However, it was not …

Article first appeared at American Rifleman. It should be obvious that a gun intended for concealed carry on the person should be small, but more importantly, it should be light. Often, however, the small, light handgun delivers ballistic performance on the light side. That forces the defensive handgunner hard up …

Article first appeared at American Rifleman. In pursuing both personal and professional shooting endeavors over the last several years, I’ve prepared a fair number of new and used firearms for first-time trips to the shooting range. Experience has taught me that one can never assume a gun is ready to …

Article first appeared at American Rifleman. When it comes to .223 Rem. semi-automatic rifles, Ruger’s Mini-14 has long been one of the obvious choices. And it’s no wonder, considering it offers nearly the same handiness as the M1 Carbine, the ballistics of the AR15, and the feel of the classic M1 …