Smith & Wesson charged boldly into the AR-15 market with its introduction of the M&P15 series in the early 2000s, and these rifles quickly became some of the best sellers on the market. Smith & Wesson continues to introduce new and innovative models, and its latest is the M&P15 AXE pistol and short-barreled rifle chambered in .300 Blackout. The new M&P AXE pistols (pictured) and SBRs mark the first Smith & Wesson firearm to be offered in .300 Blackout. In 2025, Smith & Wesson introduced its AXE series. The new model’s key feature was the Gemtech GVAC system, which uses…

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One of Garmin’s notable new products for 2026 is the new Garmin Xero C2 chronograph. The company showcased its next-generation design right before SHOT 2026 started, and I saw it at Beretta’s customary pre-show range event. Of course, that day, I was expecting to see new handguns and shotguns. And I sure did, but I wasn’t expecting running into Garmin’s staff, which had a brand-new chronograph to show off. You’ll recall that the original Garmin Xero C1 launched at the end of 2023, which wasn’t too long ago.  Before shifting the discussion to the new Garmin Xero C2, it’s important…

The reduction of the National Firearms Act (NFA) tax on short-barreled rifles (SBR) this January from $200 to $0 made compact rifles more accessible to a larger swath of the public, and manufacturers responded by adding SBR options to many of their popular models. While many of these were the latest and greatest high-tech firearms, a few classics snuck in as well, such as Auto-Ordnance’s M1 Carbine SBR. Auto-Ordnance’s M1 Carbine SBR reduces the carbine’s traditional 18-inch barrel to 12 inches. While the Auto-Ordnance name is synonymous with the Thompson submachine gun, which the company makes semi-automatic civilian-legal versions of,…

One of the dominant brands within the marketplace of 2011 handguns is European American Armory Corp., and the company has expanded its 2011-style Witness 2311 line of handguns produced by Turkish manufacturer Girsan to encompass a number of different variants and chamberings. One of the latest options is the Witness2311 CMXX, which incorporates a large, single-port compensator at the muzzle end. Watch our latest “Gun of the Week” episode above to see the details. “EAA has really done a lot of work in making a ton of different versions of the 2011-style handgun available over the past few years,” American…

Four forgotten rifle cartridges. Three American families. One international nightmare.When American hunters are arrested in Turks and Caicos after airport security discovers forgotten ammunition in their luggage, they expect a fine and a missed flight home. Instead, they find themselves facing up to 12 years in prison, trapped inside a foreign legal system that seems determined to make an example of them.But this isn’t just a story about a harsh law.In this three-part miniseries from Blood Trails, you’ll hear firsthand accounts from the Americans who lived it—their time in overcrowded jails, the psychological toll of waiting to learn their fate,…

Image stabilizing binoculars have been around for a long time. In January of 2009, the Department of Homeland Security published what amounts to a taxpayer-funded review of some of the most popular stabilizing binos. Some, like the Fujinon Techno-Stabi, the Nikon StabiliEyes, and the Canon L IS WP, are still around today.And why not? The concept is attractive, and its usefulness is intuitive. We’ve all struggled to see something in the field as we shake and wobble holding an unsupported set of binoculars. Image stabilizing binos correct that problem by automatically adjusting for the movement of the user, making the…

In less than two weeks the Department of the Interior (DOI) made three significant changes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The first alters the definition of harm. A week later, the second and third changes were announced, which removes blanket protections from threatened species and determines how critical habitat is designated.The Definition of ‘Harm’On July 10, the DOI announced that they finalized a rule rescinding the regulatory definition of “harm” under the ESA by removing “”habitat modification or degradation” from the definition.The ESA functions by prohibiting the “take” of endangered species. According to the act, “the term `take’ means…