As a kid, I remember hearing the story of a man who hiked a great distance through a remote section of the Canadian wilderness in the early 20th century. The gentleman carried a very minimalist kit of a knife, hatchet, cookpot, wool blanket, and a .22 revolver. Supposedly, he never…

In short, yes. Growing up in southern Michigan, hunting families fell into two camps, Remington users and Mossberg users. There was little crossover within families either. This Ford vs Chevy type debate was the subject of much gun shop talk and back-and-forth jesting, with each camp firmly believing that their…

More and more people are exercising their freedom to carry a handgun these days. For some, this is a trim and very concealable single-stack pistol like the Ruger LCP. For others, the limited capacity of the slim subcompact pistols is not enough assurance if things are headed south. In a…

Since the first settlers arrived from Europe, firearms have been an integral part of life for those trying to make a living from the land. Firearms can defend your livestock and garden and put meat on the table. Purchasing guns for the homestead is as critical a step as buying…

What is the best gun for boat defense? When I was a teenager, a gentleman sold two antique firearms to the owner of the gun shop where I worked. On closer inspection, I recognized one as a WW1 issue Colt 1911. The other was a Remington Model 11 Sportsman shotgun….

For about twenty-years the .40 Smith & Wesson cartridge was the second-most popular pistol round available. Known as the 40, it is an outgrowth of the FBI handgun tests that followed the 1986 Miami shootout. The Bureau contracted with Smith & Wesson to supply a handgun to fire the reduced…

For the briefest of moments in history, a rather strange and futuristic weapon was available to the public. I first saw one in the Cody Museum in Cody, Wyoming when I was sixteen. It looked like a ray gun and was unlike anything I had ever seen before. This novel…

Mention the term EDC firearm, and most people think of a handgun. While sidearms are the most convenient to carry, sometimes you need the increased range of a long gun, or you have to deal with misguided laws. For these situations, a compact (generally folding) rifle or shotgun is a…

Nobody likes to stare at their guns and not use them, and practice is a fundamental part of firearms ownership. But while many have a range in their backyard or at a family member’s or friend’s house, not all of us are so blessed. Growing up, I had the benefit…

When choosing an everyday carry pistol most shooters choose a 9mm handgun. Their reason for this selection is often due to the sheer number of sidearms available in 9×19 (9mm Luger) and its reputation for being an affordable yet effective round. With the hundreds of varied 9mm handguns out there,…

Flashlight The things that we carry on a daily basis are both practical and sometimes deeply personal. The gear carried can also be subject to change based on the situation. There is no best EDC loadout for every situation, but we can at least agree on a basic framework or…

When I started working in the local gun store back in the late 90s, the closest thing to a tactical 20-gauge shotgun was a standard smoothbore slug gun. Every defensive shotgun in the store (or our catalog to order) was a 12-gauge. Today though, almost all manufacturers sell a tactical…