Cold War Shadows: The VSS Vintorez and AS Val Silent Weapons

The VSS Vintorez emerged during the late Cold War as part of a highly specialized Soviet effort to develop a quiet, compact rifle capable of delivering accurate fire without revealing the shooter’s position. Designed in the 1980s at the Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering (T...

By Lynndon Schooler

First Look: Echelon COA Pistols

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the new developments in self-defense technology these days. Options that represent cutting-edge features one day quickly become “standard equipment” the next. Take handgun-mounted optics. Not that long ago, having a red dot atop your pistol put you in som...

By Jeremy Tremp

DEFCON Levels – What They Mean

Lately, I’ve been seeing a lot of posts on social media about DEFCON. Some are undoubtedly written as clickbait or perhaps even rage bait. But based on what I’m reading in the posts and comments, an awful lot of people don’t seem to understand what DEFCON is and what these levels mean. What...

By Jim Cobb

Review: CORD Pandora PB-3 Red Dot

In today’s review, Joe Kurtenbach evaluates the CORD Pandora PB-3 red dot sight. Suitable for performance pistols like the Springfield Armory Echelon, the PB-3 is a rugged sight with an IPx8 rating. The sight was loaned to the author for this review. We all know the saying, “if you want somet...

By Joe Kurtenbach

Know Your Blowback? Roller-Delayed vs. Direct

Practically all shooters have experienced blowback. Not the type where something you did or didn’t do caused things to go sideways and have unintended consequences. No, I’m talking about the blowback operating system in rifle or pistol. You’ve fired a semi-automatic .22LR rifle or pistol, r...

By Robert A. Sadowski
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