I have reached the halfway point of this thing called life, and it has been a grand ride indeed. I think of myself as a high-mileage athlete. I have lived a lifestyle of pushing myself hard for as long as I can remember. Health and fitness are important subjects to …

Bill Jordan told the story about a fight that some Border Patrolmen were involved in down on the Rio Grande. It seems that it was a hot little fight that went on for quite some time and a number of officers were involved. When the fight was finally over, someone …

While it may seem to save you money, utilizing a sub-par or cheap belt for your everyday carry needs is hardly an ideal choice. Instead, a quality carry belt may run a bit more than you’re used to spending, but is well worth the investment. What should you be looking …

A good spotting scope is a “must-have” for hunters, even though many have not discovered that yet. It’s a great tool for scouting, even in the East where I live. You can watch from a distance with a good scope to judge deer without them knowing you are around. For hunting open …

Q. I recently bought a U.S. M1903 rifle through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. The rifle has a hinged lever on the receiver’s left side with “ON” and “OFF” stamped on opposite sides. I was able to learn that this is a “magazine cut-off” but am unfamiliar with the purpose of the …

Nighthawk Custom is a well-known entity in the 1911 world, having produced truly exquisite 1911s. The company’s TRS (Tactical Ready Series) Commander will raise some eyebrows, since it combines a 2011 frame with a 9 mm chambering. The 2011 frame design arrived in 1994 via STI (now called Staccato). The 2011 offers …

Insanity is repeating the same failing action but expecting success. Chicago Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot is facing a perpetual crime problem and she continues to eliminate law enforcement positions and blame others. The mayor is in a war of words with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx about Chicago criminals …

They fall in the mud, bounce off the floor, spend years under pressure and, through it all, rarely require maintenance. Quality magazines deliver, despite abuse and neglect. Shooting Illustrated—your information-packed, high-performance version—asked the experts how they design and test the critical firearm component too often taken for granted. Magazines may not …

There is no denying the effectiveness of muzzle brakes on rifles. Properly designed, they mitigate felt recoil by redirecting a select amount of the fired round’s gasses backward, upward and/or to the sides, thereby canceling some of the recoil force that would otherwise be sent back to the shooter. Newton’s …

Some efforts to update classic firearm features to better suit the tastes of modern-day shooting sports enthusiasts have proven to be less than aesthetically successful. Take the venerable lever-action rifle, for example. In an effort to make this platform more tactical or handy for self defense, it has at times …