As the popularity of semi-automatic rifles for hunting and competition increases, many makers tend to overlook the importance of left-handed bolt-action rifles for southpaw operators. Ruger has not ignored 10 percent of the population, with left-handed versions of its Hawkeye and American Gen I bolt-action rifles. Now, the company is bringing out left-handed versions of the American Gen II rifles, starting with its Ranch lineup. Introduced with the Gen I American, Ranch models are compact rifles with a 16-inch barrel that are chambered in common Modern Sporting Rifle cartridges and feed from AR-pattern magazines (or Mini-30 magazines in the case…

For a good part of the 20th century, when militaries and law enforcement agencies needed something that could provide greater effective range, accuracy and capacity than a handgun, but in a package smaller than a rifle, submachine guns and pistol-caliber carbines did most of the heavy lifting. Likewise, when a similar need for some form of personal defense weapon (PDW) arises for everyday citizens today, it’s often fulfilled by some variation of a medium-size, pistol-caliber firearm. The reductions in weight, length, muzzle flash, blast and recoil, as compared to centerfire rifles, drive the continued popularity of this approach. However, there…

Without a doubt, the Smith & Wesson Model 29 is one of the 20th century’s most shootable, collectible “superstar” revolvers. But there is much about this universally-admired .44 magnum that is not known. For example, the serial numbers of the first guns, which officially started at S131700, were not assembled in numerical order, with some of the first Model 29s having serial numbers as high as S167124. The reason for this, according to Smith & Wesson historian Roy Jinks, “…was that the factory was using frames that had already been built, but were for the .45 Target model of 1955.…

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As a public service, I’d like to share my ham radio antenna designs with SurvivalBlog readers. We handed out these antenna-building diagrams, free of charge, at Hamfests.  We sell laminated copies of wall charts and pocket band charts. Below, I am including drawings for Fan Dipoles and OMTA Verticals. (The original idea was Robert Wilson, a nice guy, we shared several ideas, but, after improving on his “math-inspired idea”, we designed and built many iterations of a more practical design.)  For the Fan Dipoles we sell a kit without wire, or a complete build.  Please note that the Fan Dipole…

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On April 25, 1644, the last Ming Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself from a tree on Jing Mountain, Beijing, rather than be captured by the forces of Li Zicheng, the Chinese peasant rebellions leader — who soon after ruled over northern China briefly as the Yongchang Emperor. Thus ended the Ming Dynasty. — Today is the birthday of physicist, inventor, and entrepreneur Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937). He was known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission as well as for the development of Marconi’s law and a radio telegraph system. He is often considered the inventor of radio. — Just a…

In this episode of the Guns Podcast US, hosts Brent Wheat and Roy Huntington dive deep into the highly debated topic of staging firearms for home defense. The post The Truth About Hiding Guns at Home (Most People Get This Wrong) appeared first on GUNS Magazine. Read the full article here

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