As 2017 draws to a close, we here at TFB wanted to take a look at ten of the most popular articles posted in the past year. Our dedicated staff of writers does a great job of tracking breaking news, product releases and industry events before other outlets. And it’s been a busy year – from the Sig Sauer P320 MHS award, CMP 1911s, Gen 5 GLOCKs and ATF Rulemaking Proposals – the last 12 months have kept us busy. And who knows, there’s still a few days left to squeeze in a BREAKING headline or two.

Christensen Arms has had The Mesa rifle on the market for approximately one year. To commemorate this simple milestone, they are adding a splash of color to it by the way of a Burnt Bronze Cerakote. All of the original specifications remain the same, but now you have the ever-popular choice of a Cerakote finish in the tactically-attractive Burnt Bronze.

Nighthawk Custom, the quality custom shop from Arkansas, is used to having one gunsmith labor to build one gun at a time. With their new Boardroom Series of pistols, this should be pretty evident. To the tune of $4,195 (not legal for our California friends), you can get a subtly high-class 1911 that will be a gem to shoot as well.

Many AR-15 enthusiasts and hunters have a strong appreciation for .300 AAC Blackout because of its versatility and available grain weight range. It has very similar ballistics to a traditional AK-47 chambered for 7.62x39mm ( .300 AAC Blackout is 7.62x35mm metrically), but you have the popular American platform of an AR-15.

We all know that Glocks are the glorified tinkerer-toy of the handgun world. With decades of reliability, law enforcement backing and an abundance of aftermarket parts, many manufacturers want to get in on the game.

James D. Julia Auction has become a division of another auction house called Morphy Auctions effective of December 14th, 2017. The merger was announced on December 21st by Dan Morphy, the president and founder of Morphy Auction Company.

At long last, we have reached the last day in TFB’s 12 Days of Christmas – long guns. Originally, I had marked today as being dedicated to rifles. However, after compiling my list, I decided that I needed to open the category up to include firearms that are legally defined as pistols, but with a pistol stabilizing brace act more like rifles. ‘Tis the season for outdated laws and regulations!

Shooters looking for a capable, feature-rich polymer pistol with a value price point could be in luck. Ruger just announced the release of the Security-9 – an internal hammer-fired pistol with a manual safety and a fire control system with roots back to the LCP line of pistols. But, with only a cursory glance available to us at the moment, the most striking feature appears to be the price. With an MSRP of $379, we have a realistic chance at seeing the Security-9 break the $300 mark when it finally lands on local store shelves.

Air Force testing crews from Eglin AFB in Florida were recently in the news as testing the Army’s newly adopted Sig Sauer 9x19mm MHS handgun for pilots being ejected out of their aircraft. Actual testing was conducted at Wright-Patterson AFB in Ohio at the vertical deceleration tower as a part of the 711th Human Performance Wing. Two MHS’s were attached to both sides of a dummy pilots survival vest to test for both right-handed and left-handed carry. One MHS had an extended 21 round magazine while the other had a flush fit 17 round version. It would appear that the more compact M18 would be a better fit for the Air Force, but at this point, it is hard to tell if the version in the testing is an M17 or M18.

What’s the old saying? ‘A handgun’s only use is to fight your way back to your rifle.’ Obviously an over simplification – today’s modern handguns are perfectly capable of handling the majority of common defensive situations. Still, having a proper long gun available is always a good idea.