In response to numerous inquiries from local law enforcement departments, the FBI undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the sidearms available in 1987 (most of which are still made today) to determine which pistol was the best. Thirteen of the most talented instructors that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had to offer all met at a range to throw down with handguns from Glock, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, SIG Sauer, and Beretta. Even a CZ-75 clone was included for good measure. So which handgun did the FBI select as the best and how did they make this determination? And why does James completely disagree with the methodology and the results of the test? Watch today’s video to find out.

This week on TFB’s Wheelgun Wednesday, we’ll be taking a look at the concept of the revolver reloading aid, Speed Strips, and the Pros & Cons thereof. When we talk about carrying a revolver for our protection, we really can’t leave out the topic of reloading since most concealable wheelguns only carry five or six rounds. Lord willing, five or fewer rounds will be all that one needs to solve a deadly force encounter, but if not, you’re probably going to have to reload. Enter the concept of the Speed Strip, which is a flexible strip of plastic or rubber (or a substance in between) that holds extra cartridges to reload your cylinder from. Since the speed strip holds the rims of the cartridges, two cartridges can be loaded bullet first into two chambers of the cylinder and peeled off from the Speed Strip at a time. Let’s peel this onion.

A while back we featured the Australian-based Virtual-Shot training system which uses the existing technology in your cell phone to provide you with a simple and fun training environment right in your own home. Now, Virtual-Shot/Simulation Training Group has updated the Virtual-Shot app with a new five-course Pistol Basics training tutorial instructed by a former Australian Special Forces Commando who teaches advanced pistol and urban combat skills.

Polymer80 has announced the option to purchase their complete PFC9 and PFS9 pistols with an optics-ready slide straight from the factory. What’s great about this announcement is that P80 is also announcing that the optics-ready slide option will not come with an increase in price for the option. Polymer80 pistols are popular options on the market for those who want a slightly more affordable option, or who just want to start off with an affordable and reliable pistol they can customize on their own.

Welcome everyone to the 149th edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only has a Fudd appeal?  Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article.

Comp-Tac has just announced their latest product offering to shooters with their three-magazine pouch holder. The new Comp-Tac Tri-Mag is a trio of double-stack magazine holders that is more efficient with space on your gun belt and adds a bit of customization depending on your preferences. This first double-stack version of the Tri-Mag is available now with Comp-Tac also teasing that there will be a single-stack version of the Tri-Mag coming soon!

Our Photo Of The Day article series brings together some of the most eye-catching and visually appealing images. You won’t find a lot of pictures of sunsets, flowers or touristic landmarks here, instead we focus on masterpieces like this DS9 Open Competition Pistol. It was designed with a lot of influence from well-known competition shooters like David Lyell and Travis Tomasie.

In this episode of TFBTV, Hop reviews the Adams Arms AA-19, a factory custom Glock 19 clone that retails for a solid thousand bucks. The AA-19 is based on a custom-stippled Polymer 80 style frame and has a lot of the features you expect on a high-end Glock clone like a threaded barrel, optics cut, and upgraded trigger. But it’s also lacking a few things you might expect.

Welcome everyone to the TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb, this series will focus on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article sponsored by  Wheeler,  Tipton,  Caldwell, and  Frankford Arsenal, I had a chance to take some time with a customer firearm and I figured it would make a fun sort of diagnostic article. The last time we did an article like this was with light strikes on a Chiappa 1887 lever-action shotgun and also investigating the lockup on a reproduction Remington 1858 revolver. Most of the time I don’t have a chance to stop and take pictures for articles when working on stuff for customers or friends. I am not the type of person to stop in the middle of a project for fear of forgetting something. It is always better to give the workpiece my full attention. In this situation, however, it was a simple fix paired with a mystery of sorts. Let’s dive into diagnosing a Smith & Wesson Airweight and its disappearing cylinder!

Starting today, anyone who purchases a Springfield Armory striker-fired pistol is eligible to receive three free magazines and a pistol bag as a part of the Gear Up promotion. This includes the entire striker-fired lineup, including the newest Hellcat variants. Check out the information and links below for all the needed details.

One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is constantly talking with like-minded individuals about carrying concealed. You wouldn’t believe some of the crazy things that get brought up when it comes to carrying a firearm in public. Whether it’s figuring out the perfect gun and holster combination for a situation or just talking about your favorite carry positions, it’s never a bad day talking about guns. When it comes to new people carrying, I’ve had some crazy questions for certain situations but I think they can apply to a wide variety of tough situations. Let’s take a deeper dive into some tips for carrying in tough situations.

Tisas USA has just introduced their new D10 1911 pistol, which, as the name suggests, is chambered in 10mm Auto. Tisas’ D10 brings their 1911 line up to 13 different models, with the D10 as their only two-toned finish and fully adjustable rear sight model. The Tisas D10 1911 pistol has Series 70 internals according to their website, and also features a flat mainspring housing, a flared and lowered ejection port, as well as fore and aft slide serrations. The full press release from Tisas USA follows.

There’s a whole class of revolvers out there that are, in their smaller caliber forms, derided for their poor build quality and questionable ergonomics, yet in their largest forms, revered as some of the most combat-proven multi-shot destructive devices available.  Add to that the dubious honor of being a named firearm on many of the “Assault Weapons” bans of the 1990’s and you have an interesting facet of firearms history.  Today on Wheelgun Wednesday, we will be looking at the revolving shotguns, pistols, rifles, and grenade launchers that have pre-wound spring-driven cylinders.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves gets his hands on the BUL Armory Axe Cleaver, a higher-end Glock clone pistol. There are a number of clones on the market including higher-end guns like the ZEV OZ-9 and the Shadow Systems pistols, and budget options like clones from Palmetto State Armory (the PSA Dagger) and Stoeger. Where does the BUL Axe Cleaver fall in the Glock clone hierarchy, what makes it different, and is it worth the money? Today on TFBTV, James gets to the bottom of it.

The current trend in every day carry (EDC) pistols is definitely leaning towards the ‘smaller is better’ philosophy. Every major manufacturer has spent the last five years designing small, thin, and lightweight pistols that have all of the features of their full-size counterparts. Wilson Combat is continuing this industry march towards a small footprint with the addition of the subcompact EDC X9 9mm pistol. Retaining a 15-round magazine capacity while reducing the barrel length to 3.25” will definitely attract the concealed carry crowd. Bring your checkbook – pricing starts at $3,145.

The Rock Island Auction Company is well known in gun circles for interesting old, unique, and rare firearms that are auctioned off to private collectors. Established in 1933 by Pat Hogan, RIAC sought to specialize in collectors’ firearms, and militaria, and pairing that auction with its associated pedigree so that its new owner can appreciate it as much as the original if not more. Since its opening in 1933, RIAC has showcased some of the most expensive firearms to ever be auctioned off in the United States and they are still going strong in 2022 with several auctions each year and three different types of auctions that cater to different types of collectors at different levels. Suffice it to say, the Rock Island Auction Company has been insanely successful and they are not showing any time of stopping. Rock Island Auction Company recently shared with us 15 of the most expensive guns that they’ve ever sold, and today we’ll be going over the top 4 most expensive firearms the Rock Island Auction Company has ever sold.

Holosun have introduced their new SCS-MOS solar charging pistol reflex sight. We first reported on the SCS-MOS back at SHOT Show 2022, with Nick C. taking a look at the new sights. In April, Holosun announced that the SCS-MOS was coming soon in Green only due to “the red LED does not meet the battery life performance standards we have set with the SCS green.” The SCS-MOS has a 20,000-hour power reserve, weighs in at 1.3oz and is available with an MSRP of $435.28.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! This ongoing series is all about the rimfire firearm world and its various firearms, ammunition, and sports! Last week, we talked about the reliability or unreliability of rimfire cartridges. While there was a lot of disagreement over just how reliable .22LR was on its own, most of you agreed that more premium ammo tended to be more reliable including hotter offerings like .17HMR, .17HM2, and of course, .22WMR. Walther recently released the new WMP (Walther Magnum Pistol) chambered in .22WMR and today on The Rimfire Report we’ll be taking a closer look at it to assess how this newest addition to the rimfire market functions and feels.

Introduced at the beginning of the year, the AMP (Aluminum Match-grade Pistol) is a new handgun by Live Free Armory (LFA). In a nutshell, it is a Gen 3 Glock parts compatible 9mm pistol with an aluminum frame and serialized fire control unit. Let’s see what features Live Free Armory AMP pistol packs.

Each day a different image from the world of firearms. We call this POTD, short for Photo Of The Day, and it is our daily article series where we go to great lengths trying to find the most interesting pictures for you out there. Here we have some .45 Auto for you, in a world where everything seems to circle around the 9x19mm nowadays. The Heckler & Koch Mark 23 had to pass several tests to get the final approvals from the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, including for instance a 30,000 round endurance firing test, extreme temperatures, a 96-hour salt spray test plus various sand, dust and mud tests.

Every week I sit down and look at the number of topics I have written down for the Concealed Carry Corner articles. One thing that blows me away is seeing the vast differences between people willing to upgrade every aspect of their carry pistol on one end, and on the other people not spending money and continuing to use the same gear they have for years. These are two very different ways to look at carrying a concealed firearm but each attitude has its merits. Whatever side you agree with, it’s always interesting to look at what is considered good enough gear.

Bubix GmbH is an Austrian firearms manufacturer whose first product, a subcompact pistol called Bubix Bro, was launched at the end of the past year. While having a lot of features common for a modern pistol such as a short barrel recoil action with a tilting barrel lockup, the Bubix Bro also features some rather unusual design solutions like the grip safety on the front strap of the grip or the takedown button inside the trigger guard. Let’s take a closer look.

Welcome to TFB’s 136th edition of Wheelgun Wednesday, where we explore all things related to revolvers. Last year, I began to explore which pistols police are currently issued around the world, a series I need to get back to. However, during that research for the first article in that series, I learned of the Carabineros of Chile who are issued Taurus Model 82 revolvers in .38 Special, and if there’s one country, perhaps there’s more. The South Korean National Police Agency (KNPA or KNP) is probably one of the most well-known countries to currently issue revolvers, albeit in smaller numbers than some would expect. Let’s take a look at police-issued revolvers in South Korea, and potential changes for the future.

Back in March of this year, we brought you the news that Meta Tactical would be producing a brand new 50-state legal carbine conversion kit. We recently ran into the folks from Meta Tactical at NRAAM 2022 and spoke with them briefly about the official launch of the Apex-Series bullpup style pistol to carbine conversion kit. The new Apex-Series conversion kit is available now from Meta Tactical and is shipping right to your door in a wide variety of colors and compatibility configurations.

In firearms competitions like USPSA and IDPA, even a slight increase in capacity can save your bacon on a course of fire you’ve missed a few shots on. Strike Industries is proud to introduce their latest offering for Glock pistols, the EMP or Extended Magazine Plate for the Glock 17 and Glock 22 pistols. The Strike Industries EMP will be compatible with Glock Factory OEM double stack magazines and will fit within the USPSA 140mm Race division limit for magazine length.

With the increase in ownership of NFA items like suppressors and the increase in red dot-equipped pistols, suppressor height and co-witness height sights have become a much more popular option for pistol iron sights. The new Tyrant Designs Suppressor Height + Co-Witness sights have just been released for those who field a pistol suppressor or red dot-equipped Glock pistol.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Web Deals 13. Yesterday was Father’s Day, a time when we take a moment to acknowledge the men in our lives who arguably have had the greatest influence on our lives over the years spending time with us, teaching us, and shaping us into the men we are today. It’s also a great day to show your dad just how much you love him by taking him to the range and spending a few hours blasting soda cans, steel plates, or other fun targets just for the fun of it. If you missed the opportunity this year to spend some time with your dad on Father’s day, and need a solid gift for after the fact, then we’ll help you with a number of deals we’ve gathered for today. Happy Father’s Day everyone, hope you had a good one!

In this episode of TFBTV, Hop takes a look at the new optics-ready version of the Stoeger STR-9C. This pistol is mechanically very similar to a Glock, and like most imported Turkish pistols, it’s very well made despite the low price. The new optics-ready version uses a set of included adapter plates to mount most models of red dot sights on the market.

With summertime hitting the Northeast and Midwest states full force this week, there’s no better time to look at carrying smaller guns. Individuals who live in the great north have lost their security blanket of layered clothing and heavy coats with the rush of hot summer weather. For most, the general trend is to carry the smallest handgun possible in an effort to make carrying more comfortable. There’s no denying that carrying a smaller pistol does make life easier in the hot summer months, but there are also disadvantages to really small carry guns. Let’s take a closer look at why smaller isn’t always better when it comes to carrying a concealed firearm.

You asked and SIG has listened. SIG Sauer has just announced the standalone availability of the SIG P365XL Spectre Comp slide. Along with the P365X Empire Katana Mag Funnel, the Spectre Comp Slide assemblies can now be purchased by themselves and added to your own P365XL grip module and FCU without needing to purchase the full P365 XL Spectre Comp pistol.