As we celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, what better way to showcase it than with an example of America’s Rifle, the AR-15? While, certainly, semi-automatic rifles are available worldwide, the United States was the first nation to mass-issue semi-automatic rifles in wartime, namely the esteemed M1 Garand. Post World War II development brought us the M16, which has been in service since Vietnam, and has always been available in semi-automatic guise as the AR-15. The rifle we have today is an homage to specialized versions of the M16 used in Vietnam, like the Colt 607 or Commando XM177. I opted…

00:00:04 Speaker 1: Welcome to Backwoods University, a place where we focus on wildlife, wild places and the people who dedicate their lives to conserving both. Big shout out to onex Hunt for their support of this podcast. I’m your host, Lake Pickle. Last week we dug into the topic of crayfish, crawfish and crawdads. I purposely inserted the crawdad terminology in there because some of y’all let me know loud and clear last time that I left that name out the first time around. Anyway, we found out a good bit. But like I said, and like we saw,…

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00:00:08 Speaker 1: If this is the me Eater podcast coming at you shirtless, severely bug bitten. 00:00:14 Speaker 2: And in my case, underwear. Listening toast, you can’t predict anything. 00:00:20 Speaker 3: Brought to you by First Light. When I’m hunting, I need gear that won’t quit. First light build, no compromise, gear that keeps me in the field longer, no shortcuts, just gear that works. Check it out at first light dot com. That’s f I R S T l I t E dot com. 00:00:43 Speaker 1: You’re joining us from the Walleye grounds of Lake…

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There are few things more American than heading out to the back 40 or your nearest range with a rimfire rifle and a brick of .22 ammunition to just have fun. Really, there’s not much more that you need than that, though there are a whole bunch of products available that will turn your plinking experience up a notch or two. Here are five we really loved: 1. Dead Air/Ruger RXD22Ti .22 LR Suppressor The Dead Air RXD22Ti, made in collaboration with Ruger, is easier to use and to clean than many other .22 LR suppressors on the market. Rated…

The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) estimate of firearm sales nationwide for June 2026 was 1,123,006. The number reflects an increase of 11.7 percent compared to the organization’s June 2025 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,004,986. The improvement is welcome news for the industry. A significant portion of the double-digit growth was fueled by Virginia enthusiasts buying before July 1, when the state’s restrictive “assault weapons” and magazine-ban legislation was scheduled to become law and enforcement would begin.  Last month, 123,699 firearm purchases in Virginia resulted in a NICS background check, according to NSSF estimates. One year before, in June 2025,…

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NRA EVP and CEO Doug Hamlin, Douglas County, Colo., sheriff’s deputies and Under Sheriff Jason Kennedy Earlier this week, National Rifle Association Executive Vice President and CEO Doug Hamlin and NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) Executive Director John Commerford traveled to Denver, Colo. The visit focused on showing support for local law enforcement and discussing the vital importance of the upcoming November 2026 midterm elections. Colorado has emerged as a focal point in the ongoing battle over Second Amendment rights. Despite a significant portion of its citizens—close to half—being law-abiding gun owners, restrictive policies continue to limit their constitutional…