Garrett Shoulder-Fired Mortar: Nice (But Painful) Idea

“Missed Peleliu because of that damn thing.” The old 1st Marine Division veteran massaged a spot on his upper chest and grimaced. “Told us we could fire that mortar from the prone and get direct fire into Jap bunkers. I was one of the first to give it a whirl. Broke my collar...

By Capt. Dale Dye, USMC (Ret)

Fitting In: Best Holster for Glock 43/43x

The holster is the pivot point of carrying a pistol. Everything rides on your ability to retain your weapon; otherwise, the individual is forced to carry or shove the weapon into less-than-preferred locations on the body. Even when carrying a compact or subcompact pistol, carrying can reveal an u...

By Toby M

[SHOT 2026] TriStar Expands Color Options, Debuts Thumbhole O/U

TriStar Arms brought color expansions for existing products to SHOT Show 2026 alongside one unusual addition: a thumbhole stock over/under shotgun born from a raffle experiment. The company also added ODG/Black and FDE/Black options to their KR.22 rimfire rifle .

By Sam.S

Springfield’s 10-8 Performance Master Class 1911

To readers of The Armory Life and many 1911 afficionados, Hilton Yam is going to be a familiar name. In the company of the many great gunsmiths and competitors who have built their professions around the construction or use of 1911 pistols, Yam offers a very unique perspective...

By Joe Kurtenbach

Heinkel He 111 — Germany’s Jack of All Trades

Editor’s Note: In today’s article, Dr. Will Dabbs examines the versatile Heinkel He 111 in World War II. The German medium bomber became one of the most recognizable Luftwaffe aircraft of the war. Originally designed as a civilian airliner, the He 111 evolved into a versatile combat aircraft ...

By Will Dabbs, MD

First M16 Rifles in the Vietnam War

In the late 1950s, there were basically two camps in the U.S. military on what the next service rifle should be — those who thought a service rifle should be made of wood and blued steel and wanted a modified version of the M1 Garand, and those who thought the future of the modern service ...

By Robert A. Sadowski

Review of the GForce Exodus

GForce Arms located in Reno, Nevada, imports twenty-seven (27) models of shotguns, six (6) handguns and three (3) rifles, all made in Turkey. A couple of the handguns are of particular interest here. After being introduced to the product line, I selected these two pistols for review. Both are 9mm...

Visiting a Collection of 1911s

David Freeman Most, if not all, gunwriters are also collectors. We almost have to be in order to be knowledgeable enough to write intelligently for our target audience. We have the luxury of being able to buy guns at reduced prices, which makes it tempting to acquire and keep guns we really like....