Armed Citizen® Today On the morning of April 2 in Puyallup, Wash., a man got into an argument with his two adult stepdaughters. The argument spilled out into the home’s driveway, where the man fired shots at both women. A neighbor heard the commotion and responded to the attack, firing at the stepfather and killing him. One of the women died at the scene but the other was able to be transported to the hospital, though her condition was serious. (foxnews.com, New York, N.Y., 4/9/26) From the Armed Citizen® Archives – August 1976 After asking to see a rifle on…

The considerable accomplishments of the United States Marine Corps in World War II have been the subject of innumerable books, articles, movies and television programs. Anyone with a modicum of knowledge of the Pacific campaigns is well aware of the pivotal and heroic role played by the Corps during the war. What is not as well-known is the interesting story of the Marine Corps Parachute units of World War II. Although the U.S. Army explored the concept of dropping troops by parachute as early as World War I, little real progress was made in the interwar period and the actual…

Dateline: The Swamp. I am writing this in the depths of winter, but I cannot rest from my labors. I must press forward with the ongoing campaign. The objective is to push back the tangled undergrowth threatening to swallow up our property. Only ceaseless effort can prevent the undergrowth from reclaiming our land for The Swamp. Without the protecting cover of leaves, my enemy is more vulnerable to my counter-attacks. I can better see to cut the various tendrils, stems, and saplings. The newest weapon in my arsenal is the Husqvarna 26 Inch Clearing Axe. The clearing axe consists of…

On April 20th, 1653 Oliver Cromwell and 40 musketeers forcibly dissolved the English Rump Parliament, after it failed to establish a caretaker government. In Cromwell’s words “You have sat too long for any good you have been doing lately … In the name of God, go!” — April 20, 2010: An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform, leased by BP, killed 11 workers and began spewing an estimated 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico for nearly three months, creating the worst known offshore oil spill. — April 20th is also the day that we remember…

Thermal riflescopes have quickly moved from specialized military equipment to practical tools for hunters, shooters and landowners. With processing power advancing and manufacturing costs decreasing, thermal technology continues to become more accessible. Armasight’s newest release, the Contractor 320 Lite, reflects this trend. Built on the same foundation as the original Contractor 320, the Lite version retains a durable aluminum housing, sealed compartments and tethered, gasketed caps to prevent loss in the field. The control layout emphasizes simplicity, with tactile knobs and a single selector button for capturing still images or video. A locking power switch requires both depression and rotation…

Ruger has officially launched its 250th Anniversary Series of firearms, commemorating the United States Semiquincentennial and celebrating the company’s deep roots in American manufacturing. Echoing the iconic commemorative line introduced for the nation’s Bicentennial in 1976, each limited production model in this new series is distinctly marked: “Made in the 250th Year of American Liberty.” In honoring this milestone, the series also pays tribute to the freedoms safeguarded by the Second Amendment—protections that have helped shape the American experience for 250 years. Ruger has built rugged, reliable firearms in American factories for more than seven decades. The traditions of craftsmanship,…

April 19th is the original Patriot Day which marks the multiple anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord, known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World”.  Note that due to corporate bureaucracy, the Patriot Day celebration has generally been moved to the third Monday in April to facilitate a postal/banking holiday. April 19th  also marks the anniversary of the blockade of Confederate Ports in 1861, the Warsaw Ghetto uprising against the Nazis in 1943, the BATF’s costly raid on the Branch Davidian Church in Waco, the gun turret explosion on the USS Iowa in 1989, the capture of the…

2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Gunsite, an elite training establishment in Arizona founded by Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper to help train Americans in the pragmatic use of firearms for personal protection. A Gunsite Alumni Shoot planned for Oct. 3 will mark the official milestone. The company is also celebrating with product collaborations, including a Steyr Scout Rifle, an Aero Precision carbine with an Aimpoint Duty RDS optic and a SureFire light and a high-end, Gunsite single-stack 1911 Service Pistol made by the academy’s own gunsmith, Dave Fink. Finally, a collaboration with Davidson’s and Ruger will result in a Gunsite…

In 2018, I bought a used 12-gauge Remington 870 Police Magnum, and recently, I decided to let Vang Comp Systems work its magic on the gun. Until this project, my experience with Vang Comp guns was extremely limited. Other than briefly handling Matt Haught’s worked-over Vang Comp 870 at the first-ever Thunderstick summit, I had no direct experience with such guns, but a review of the company’s background is enough to make any shotgun enthusiast interested in what they can do for a shotgun. Vang Comp was founded in 1990 by gunsmith Hans Vang in California. Vang’s first and major…

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