Earlier this year, we attended Range Ready’s “Plinkapalooza,” a celebration of all things rimfire. There were head-to-head shoot offs, challenges and incredible feats of marksmanship on display, with most firearms chambered in .22 LR, but also some .17 HMR and .22 Mag. represented. Firearms, in semi-automatic pistol, revolver and rifle, were plentiful, as well as various ammunition offerings, sound suppressors. We even saw a few brand-new products unveiled. One of the more intriguing firearms present was the new .22 LR Mountain Gun, a Smith & Wesson Model 617 presented through Lipseys with some special touches. Several of the notable changes…

On July 24, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) opened up a two-week-long public comment period as a request for information on the implementation of drain tile setbacks. Before I lose you with that very exciting opener, know that this is a crucial time for hunters and conservationists to raise our voices for waterfowl and more in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR).The PPR, affectionately known by hunters as “The Duck Factory,” spans North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Montana (it also reaches far into Canada). It’s critical breeding and nesting habitat for migrating waterfowl, but the wetlands also…

The VX-5HD Gen 2 is an updated and improved version of one of the most versatile lines of hunting scopes on the market. Built with an array of features, the line delivers everything required to fill tags and freezers during the magical hours of first and last light. While I chose the 3-15×44 mm option in the new lineup, there are a variety of others that are quite tempting, including a 4-20×52 mm, a 1-5×44 mm, a 2-10×42 mm and a 3-15×56 mm, just to name a few, most offered with a variety of reticle options. My test sample boasted…

Changes recently posted on the Federal Register by the Commerce Department and State Department on July 23 signal a major change for a growing segment of the firearm industry. The rules transfer export licensing of firearm suppressors from the State Department to the Commerce Department. They finish a U.S. Munitions List to Commerce Control List (USML to CCL) transition process launched by the Trump Administration in 2020. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) issued the coordinated rules. They remove suppressors from the USML and place them on the CCL. “Eight years…

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00:00:01 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundations podcast, your guide to the fundamentals of better deer hunting, presented by first Light, creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. First Light, Go Farther, Stay Longer, and now your host, Tony Peterson. 00:00:20 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, welcome to the Wired to Hunt Foundation’s podcast was brought to you by first Light. I’m heros Tony Peterson, and today’s episode is all about how we think about big deer and why that often doesn’t do us a whole lot of good. Metacognitive thinking is a way…

Armed Citizen® Today A bleeding man abandoned a vehicle at a busy shopping center in Cerritos, Calif., on July 19, and then ran through the kitchen of a nearby BBQ restaurant waving a knife. A concealed carrier confronted the man and told him to drop the knife, but the man reportedly charged toward him instead. The armed citizen fired at the assailant, killing him. The investigation revealed that the vehicle the man abandoned had been stolen and that the man had stabbed himself in the neck with the knife before entering the restaurant. An off-duty officer was apparently present and…

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…

There is a particular jolt of joy when a shooter nestles behind a perfectly stable rifle and puts the ideal bullet exactly where intended. The dopamine dose is often correlated with the difficulty of the shot. Thus, we riflemen spend a lot of time seeking the best possible support to steady the rifle and guarantee a hit. As the makers have given us ever-improving rifles, optics and loads capable of precision deep within fish-story territory a generation ago, there has been a parallel development in bipods, tripods and rests. With these, a shooter can lock the rifle into position to…

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