I remember buying my first trench shotgun, a Winchester Model 97. A local gun shop specializing in collectible and antique firearms had one showing some battle wear but in sound operable condition. A friend of mine who was an FBI agent and I stopped by the shop. One aspect of the visit that has stayed
When I first became interested in firearms over half a century ago, there weren’t as many gun magazines or gun books as there are now. As a result, I read every article in the American Rifleman and other magazines. I checked out the few books in my local library on guns multiple times. I must
For many who weren’t buying semi-auto rifles 35 years ago, it’s hard to imagine that the ubiquitous AK-47 was virtually unobtainable then. For those of us who wanted an AK-type rifle, the earliest choice was the Finnish Valmet M62, a fine AK-based rifle but not really that similar to a Cold War AK-47. For that
I took the vow not to buy any more AR-15s a couple of years ago. I had enough variants to fit any normal shooting/self-defense needs, plus a couple of extras as test beds for optics, illuminators, etc because I write a lot of tactical articles. However, that was all before I received the FN 15
Last month in this space, I wrote about the trend of using rifle-caliber pistols with arm braces. I pointed out their advantages and tactical uses. In this column, I want to discuss the same type of pistol but without the arm brace. I’ve tested a half dozen of these rifle-caliber pistols, shooting them as if
I’m fortunate to live in a state where citizens can carry a loaded handgun, rifle, or shotgun in their vehicle. By far the most commonly carried weapon is a handgun. This often means an everyday carry handgun, but many people, including me, carry a larger, more powerful handgun in their vehicle when they carry a
It took a while, but I have become a convert to the rifle-caliber semi-auto pistol with arm brace. In a coming column, I’ll discuss what I see as their tactical pros and cons, the niches I feel they can fill and those for which I do not think they are well suited. But in this
In the 20 or so years I’ve been writing this column, this will be the fourth one I’ve done about a Scout Rifle. That should indicate that I like the Scout Rifle concept. If I had to explain that appreciation in one word, it would be “versatility.” When Jeff Cooper developed the Scout Rifle concept,
I’ve tried quite a few optical sights available for the AR-15 platform, and found many of them durable and effective. In fact, I have one AR-15 with a top rail that I use just to test optical sights. I have two other AR-15s for which I have optical sights that stay mounted and zeroed because
I became a fan of the Steyr SSG rifle almost 40 years ago when I got my SSG 69 rifle. At the time, it was generally rated the best sniping rifle in the world, though soon Accuracy International would challenge Steyr for that honor. U.S. Remington and Winchester sniping rifles tuned by military armorers were
