I am a huge fan of anything .45-caliber, especially single-action revolvers. I have five Ruger Blackhawk revolvers in different barrel lengths, all chambered in .45 Colt, two of which have extra cylinders chambered in .45 ACP. Since .45 ACP ammunition is more plentiful for me, I shoot more of that cartridge than I do of the .45 Colt. I contacted Ruger’s customer-service department to inquire about obtaining .45 ACP cylinders for my three revolvers that only came with the .45 Colt cylinder, but was told in no uncertain terms they didn’t provide that service. The expense of having cylinders made…

At the conclusion of the American Civil War, the U.S. military developed a new kind of rifle that could accept a self-contained metallic cartridge. Eventually, this spawned an entire line of breechloading firearms collectively known as “Trapdoor Springfields” that armed American troops from the 1860s until the turn of the 20th century. Of all the designs, one of the most refined and popular was the Model 1884 Trapdoor Springfield. Watch our “American Rifleman Television: I Have This Old Gun” segment above to see the details of the ’84 Trapdoor. “There were various systems. The British had the Snider conversion for…

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) I decided to try raised garden beds, and I’m three years into it!  When people purchase and store seeds for their apocalypse garden should they need it one day, I laugh.  You could starve before you ever get a good garden going.  Unless, you happen to be sitting on perfect and fertile soil. Raised garden beds    In my case, I had to hire the help to build all the beds, transport barn compost from another area of the farm to the beds, and pay for composted “top soil” to be delivered. …

On April 29, 1990, wrecking cranes began tearing down the Berlin Wall at the Brandenburg Gate. — On April 29, 1992, a jury acquitted Los Angeles Police Department officers on charges of excessive force in the beating of Rodney King.  The verdict sparked massive riots in the city and smaller ones in other U.S. cities. African-Americans in Los Angeles were enraged by the acquittal of the officers. Thousands of people began rioting across the city. For six days, scenes of wanton violence, looting, arson, assault and murder convulsed the city, with incidents like the brutal assault on truck driver Reginald…

Colt’s Manufacturing has been awarded a $40,863,564 firm-fixed-price contract with U.S. Army Contracting Command to produce M4/M4A1 carbines for sale to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Macedonia and Tunisia. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity agreement’s estimated date of completion is March 31, 2031. Volume of guns headed to each country was not disclosed. Bosnia and Herzegovina—a single nation with two regional governments—was established in late 1995 after the war in Bosnia ended. Active personnel in its military number roughly 18,000. Iraq has roughly 190,000, Macedonia 10,000 and Tunisia nearly 90,000.  The U.S. government routinely sells arms to foreign allied nations—along with friendly countries in…

As the new editor in chief of American Rifleman—and former editor in chief of Shooting Illustrated—Ed Friedman has the critical and challenging task of bringing this storied title (it is 103 years old under its current name, though its lineage dates back to 1885) into this digital age. American Rifleman, as well as American Hunter, now print quarterly, but there is an issue published every month—eight issues are now digital only. “There are benefits to this change,” said Friedman. “The biggest one is that now we can deliver content that you can’t have in a paper magazine. You can’t watch…

A mild winter and warm spring across much of the West have contributed to extremely below-average snowpacks and widespread drought conditions, prompting experts to use terms such as “historic” and “abysmal” when describing the current outlook. According to Climate Matters, the western U.S. snowpack was 65% below the 1991-2020 average as of March 30, marking the worst snowpack on record since 1981. Conditions vary depending on the subregion, but as of April 22, every region in the Westwide SNOTEL data provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is below average.The dismal snowpack has worrying implications not just for irrigators and…

A few Novembers ago, I set out for a hang-and-hunt on my favorite piece of public land in North Carolina. After over an hour of wandering, I stumbled across a hot white oak that was surrounded by fresh deer sign. Shortly after I set up, a young buck limped up to the acorns and stood perfectly for a shot.I couldn’t have been more excited as I walked up to that scrappy six-point. But reality started tugging on my sleeve as I field dressed him. My wandering led me nearly two miles from my truck, and I was totally unprepared to…

It takes more than a single bad decision to lose your hunting and fishing privileges for life. For Tennessee resident Jerry “Trey” Truitt III, it came after years of poaching violations across western Montana.Truitt was sentenced to a lifetime hunting and fishing ban in early April in Ravalli County after pleading no contest to five wildlife charges tied to incidents in 2024 and 2025, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.Those charges included two counts of unlawful possession of wildlife (a turkey and a sandhill crane), hunting without a license, criminal trespass, and hunting during a closed season. Investigators say…

Armed Citizen® Today Three men in Tucson, Ariz., allegedly tried to rob a fourth man at gunpoint on the evening of April 20. The intended victim, however, drew his own gun and fired, striking two of the three alleged assailants and causing the third to flee. One of the suspects died of his wounds; the second suspect’s injuries were non-life-threatening; the third suspect remained at large at the time of reporting. (kold.com, Tucson, Ariz., 4/21/26)   From the Armed Citizen® Archives – October 1991 Describing her attacker as a man who had once been “one of the family,” Juliette Blackmon, 81, of…