October's 1.4M Checks Mask a 2027 Cost Shift

October's adjusted NICS checks rose 7.9 percent while the raw FBI count fell 8.1 percent. The election did not change this quarter's demand, but it changed the state map that sets your 2027 compliance costs and product mix.

By Mark Edwards •

How Tank Armor Really Works

There is a comfortable lie sold by war movies and video games that a tank survives incoming fire simply by being an absurdly thick wall of solid steel. You take a hit, the hull rings like a church bell, sparks fly into the dirt, and the crew rolls forward without spilling their coffee. Anyone who...

By Mason Berryman •

The Rulebook Changed Hands: An FFL Week in Review

One demand signal, four compliance signals: what the midterms, the ATF vacancy, Colorado's permit-to-purchase ruling, and the closed restoration portal actually mean for a licensed dealer.

By Fred Thompson •

TFB Review: Schmidt & Bender 3-18x42 META FFP SBX Reticle

The Schmidt & Bender 3-18x42 Meta FFP with the SBX reticle is a compact first focal plane riflescope for hunters and practical precision shooters. After about a year of testing, training and timed DMR-style matches, my verdict is simple: it handles like a small scope, performs optically like ...

By Eric B •

POTD: Four Eyes and a Red Window

Four glass eyes, a crimson visor and a hose snaking back to the pack. Whatever this operator is hunting probably should not exist. The kit comes from Shaw Concepts , the Alabama gear maker a Force Recon Marine started in 2019 after learning that a sewing machine cost about the same as one custom ...

By Eric B •

Copper & Blue PVD Slides For The Ruger RXM

Ruger has worked through the grip colours on the RXM. Black, Stealth Gray, Flat Dark Earth, OD Green. When you run out of frame colours, there is only one place left to go, and Ruger has gone there: six new RXM models with PVD-coated slides in copper and blue are here.

By Eric B •

First Shots With The New CZ DUTY Pistol

The CZ DUTY 9mm has one of the best factory striker triggers I have pressed, and it let me shoot accurately from the first magazine. The grip, as tested, did not fit my hand perfectly, so practical shooters, duty users and serious carriers should hold one before buying one.

By Eric B •
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