Range Systems is a company that specializes in designing, manufacturing and installing live-fire facilities for a variety of applications. They have worked with public commercial shooting ranges, military and law enforcement organizations, and can even do private in-home ranges for shooters wanting the ultimate personal range access convenience. This Minnesota-based operation has nearly three decades of experience, as they opened for business in 1994. From ballistic and acoustic management solutions, track-mounted target retrieval systems, bullet traps, bulletproof lane dividers, and more, they can customize range areas to fit just about any need. Now they’ve been selected to equip SIG SAUER’s new Experience Center building.

Boyds Gunstocks is the world’s largest manufacturer of aftermarket wooden firearms furniture. They’ve been in business for four decades and grown massively in that time. You can buy stocks they already have in their inventory, from their site’s “Rapid Fire” catalogue, or use their Configurator Tool to custom-build your personal one-off. This hardwood specialist shop’s list of supported firearms makes and models is already impressively long, but they continue to expand it. They’ve just announced the addition of options for the Zastava M70 bolt-action rifle (not to be confused with some of their AK models that also carry an M70 designation).

Polymer cased ammunition specialists True Velocity have announced a couple of new appointments. Firstly, Tom Weichel has been appointed operations chief. Weichel is an industry veteran with 30 years experience, joining True Velocity from Texas Instruments. Additionally, Dr. Bruce Jette, the Former Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology, has joined True Velocity as Advisory Board Chairman.

The Wild West era holds a special place in the hearts of many firearms enthusiasts. Plenty of shooters today grew up with figures of cowboys, sheriffs, and outlaws on horseback with lever-action rifles and classic revolvers. What would American firearms history be without the image of two spur-wearing duelists in a dusty street at high noon, hands hovering nervously over the Colt Peacemakers on their hips? Particularly given Hollywood’s canonization of frontier gunslingers, with iconic portrayals by actors like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, and Robert Duvall, guns of the mid-late 1800s can be exceedingly nostalgic.

SilencerCo has been a recognizable brand in the suppressor industry, and in the larger firearms industry, for more than a decade. Since their founding in 2008, they’ve produced and sold many successful products, and raised more than a few eyebrows with some interesting innovations. From the integrally suppressed Maxim 9 handgun design to the unusually-shaped Osprey to the Salvo 12 shotgun silencer, and more, this Utah-based outfit has not been afraid to step outside the box and innovate in their attempts to be an industry leader.

Botach Tactical is a web-based retailer offering a vast array of products related to the firearms and tactical industry, with hundreds of brands listed in their digital catalog. Headquartered out of Las Vegas, Botach provides some specialty services that are often absent from other businesses. Some of these include a robust initiative in open box and trade-in items, especially law enforcement department trade-in equipment. They are also a licensed firearms dealer, with more than a hundred models of guns listed on their website as of the time of this writing. A small number of these are restricted to LE purchase only, like Heckler and Koch MP5 and MP7 submachine guns, but most are available for public purchase. Now if you’re into cryptocurrency, Botach has announced that they’re now able to take Bitcoin as an accepted form of payment. See more crypto- and Botach-related news items from TFB’s past reporting listed below.

Raven Concealment Systems has been cranking out holsters, magazine carriers, and related products for over a decade. Some of their noted prior offerings include items like Eidolon holsters and the Vanguard series, or their Copia mag pouches. Now they’ve released a new mag carrier, originally designed for low-profile usage to conceal AR/M4 mags under plain clothes. The main use case for the style of Raven’s new Lictor AR Magazine Pouch would be in the context of a personal security detail or armed bodyguard situation, which is where the Latin-origin name “Lictor” comes from. Check out the press release below for product details.

Credit card companies, banks, and just about every other financial institution out there have made it pretty clear that gun companies aren’t their favorite customers. In fact, a lot of gun companies have been outright discriminated against for using their services meaning many have had to find alternate credit card processing services in order to stay in business. Stryk Pay has just announced a partnership with the popular firearms company Polymer80 in order to strengthen the standing of Stryk Pay and by extension Stryk Group USA. This partnership is effective immediately.

Last week, Culper Precision made a big splash in the firearms industry with the introduction of their Block 19 customization of Gen 3 and 4 Glock 19 pistols. That splash also caught the attention of the national news media, as well as the LEGO corporation. LEGO issued a cease and desist letter to Culper Precision regarding the Block 19 customization, the service of which Culper Precision has decided to discontinue. Culper Precision released a statement on their website to respond to the attention and debate brought on by the Block 19 controversy, which you can read in full below.

For the third year running, Anderson Manufacturing has once again claimed the #1 spot in “Miscellaneous Firearms Production.” This unprecedented accomplishment follows on the heels of two previous years where Anderson Manufacturing produced well over 300,000 firearms outranking other firearms giants like Brownells, Ruger, Mossberg, and Palmetto State Armory.

Land Rover vehicles – perfect means of transportation for hunting trips with bespoke British guns! Well, British gunmakers apparently agree with this statement as they introduce custom Land Rovers tailored for this purpose. We’ve previously seen the Holland & Holland Range Rover and today we’ll take a look at another British gun company and Land Rover vehicle symbiosis – the Rigby Land Rover, a Defender 130 customized with  John Rigby & Co features and details. In collaboration with  Traditional English Guncases (TEG) and Kingsmen Editions, Rigby turned this retired work horse into a brave field hunter. Rigby call their creation fit for a king.

Wilson Combat‘s history in the firearms industry stretches back nearly half a century. From his background as a trained watchmaker, company founder Bill Wilson made the jump into guns in 1974 with a retail store, then shifted to manufacturing three years later. From the late 1970s to today, the brand’s principal domain has been in high-end 1911 handguns. However, that isn’t all they do. They have also dabbled in other handgun models as well as some shotgun work, and particularly in recent years, they’ve concentrated ever more heavily in AR offerings. TFB has reported on Wilson’s various products quite a bit over the years, and a sampling of those past articles is listed for you below.

SIG SAUER is one of the biggest names in the world of gun brands. They’ve produced more than a few massively popular firearm models in their nearly half-century history. The recent transition from their German roots to a new US-based operational structure, with SIG Germany having shut down just over a year ago, appears to have done nothing to slow them down. Today the company offers an array of products to include pistols, rifles, optics, suppressors, ammo, and a cavalcade of other parts and accessories. Now their rifle-caliber pistol family has grown by one, with the announcement of the new Switchblade model.

Holosun came on the scene in 2013 with the intent to bring some new product options into the optics and laser/infrared market. Over the course of the last eight years, they have advanced their operations substantially and committed to seek significant improvements in their offerings. As a result of this dedication and growth, today they produce and sell a number of popular optics models, primarily in the red dot/reflex sight space. Their efforts were enough for industry titan Trijicon to take note, as a patent infringement lawsuit between the two optics companies was filed and subsequently settled out of court last year.

Texas-based Radical Firearms has grown over the years, from a hobby to a small retail store to a full-scope Title II NFA Gun Manufacturer. From their humble beginnings handling FFL transfers and assembling a small number of ARs, they now operate a full suite of CNC machines and other manufacturing equipment which allows them to produce all major firearms components in-house except for barrels, BCGs, stocks, and a few small parts like springs and pins. They source these remaining items from trusted partners specializing in those parts. Now Radical is introducing a new product: the Sinter suppressor.

One of the main focuses of Nevada-based Franklin Armory is creativity. One particularly creative product series with which they have made waves, their Binary Triggers, has been previously released for ARs, AKs, 10/22s, MP5 clones, and more. These triggers are unusual in that they not only fire when pulled, like a normal semi-automatic fire control system, but in their third firing position, they also fire another round upon trigger release. This assists in rapid firing but manages not to change the legal semi-auto classification, as would normally be the case with a three-position fire control group. A selection of TFB’s prior coverage of these atypical triggers is listed for you below.

Walther Arms is primarily known for making handguns. This German manufacturer produces a variety of semi-automatic pistols suitable for a range of purposes. Their modern lineup includes models optimized for competition, concealed carry, duty use, and more. Even James Bond is a fan, with the iconic PPK serving as 007’s primary sidearm throughout a great deal of his time on the silver screen and in the pages of many Bond novels. The company recently began offering high-end custom shop versions of some of their pistols, upgraded under their “Meister Manufaktur” program. In addition to guns, this fine gunmaker offers a smattering of accompanying gear items as well. To compliment their EDC-intended handguns, they’ve just announced a new ankle medical kit.

FAB Defense is an Israeli-based company offering a variety of firearms accessories. Their product lines include buttstocks, grips, handgun PDW conversion kits, rails and rail attachments, magazines, and more. Their website asserts that “FAB-Defense® superior ergonomics, functionality and durability, reflects decades of design experience through continuous improvement and successive generations of weapon accessories.“ TFB has covered prior product news from this company quite a bit over the years, and a selection of some of those articles is listed for you below.

Swampfox Optics makes a wide variety of budget-friendly firearms aiming solutions. Their current product lines include both rifle- and pistol-intended red dots, LPVOs, long-range precision riflescopes, two prism scopes, and numerous complementary parts and accessories like scope rings, throw levers, and more. TFB has covered a number of their products since their founding on July 4th three years ago. A list of those prior articles is linked for you below.

Compared with its younger competitors like the P320 series, SIG SAUER‘s P229 handgun is something of an elder statesman. It evolved from the P226, which SIG designed in the early 1980s as their entry into the US Army’s XM9 Service Pistol Trials, under the Joint Service Small Arms Program, in an effort to replace the 1911 as the DoD’s issued sidearm. Although Beretta ultimately got the XM9 competition nod with their 92FS design, which became the M9, SIG’s P226 did gain success and adoption by a variety of worldwide military and law enforcement groups after the fact. This led to the development of a compact variant a few years later, the P228, which was subsequently upgraded in a few key areas and re-introduced in 1992 as the improved P229.

Phoenix-based manufacturer KE Arms makes a variety of firearms-related products, from small parts up to complete firearms. Their most recent claim to fame has been the release of their new KP-15 monolithic polymer AR lower. This receiver was intended to be significantly more durable than other manufacturers’ prior attempts at polymer AR receivers, as durability has been a widely-reported issue or concern for some shooters with non-metallic ARs in the past. TFB has covered a broad spectrum of this manufacturer’s offerings over the years, and a selection of some of those past articles is listed for you below.

TFB recently reporting on the announcement of a safety recall for certain lots of Winchester and Browning 9mm ammunition. The 115-grain rounds in question, manufactured for these brands in East Alton, Illinois by the Olin Corporation, are subject to a factory defect causing the powder to burn improperly. This can cause what is known as a “squib load”, which means that the bullet may not have enough force behind it to exit the firearm’s muzzle. Attempting to fire another round through a barrel obstructed by a squib can cause a catastrophic failure during which the gun could potentially blow up in the shooter’s hand. See below for the previous articles detailing the original Winchester and Browning recall, as well as coverage of squib situations that TFB has published previously.

Although SIG SAUER is best known for their firearms manufacturing, that’s certainly not all they do. They also make optics, suppressors, ammo, airguns, and plenty of other firearms-related parts and gear. In terms of optics, their product catalogue includes options for pistol micro red dot sights, LPVOs, long-range rifle scopes, rifle red dots, magnifiers, thermals, binoculars, rangefinders, and more. Prior to today’s announcement about their new Buckmasters models, TFB has covered SIG’s optics offerings quite a bit in the past, and a sampling of some of those articles is listed for you below.

Idaho-based company OuterImpact is best known for producing optics mounts, particularly their M.R.A., or Modular RedDot Adapter. Typically, in order for a micro red dot sight to be installed on a handgun, the pistol’s slide needs to include an optics cut. Although an increasing number of manufacturers are offering these as either optional or standard from the factory, there are still plenty of handguns on the market without this option. While you can have a qualified gunsmith modify your non-optics-ready slide to accommodate a red dot, some gun owners may not wish to make such a permanent modification or to pay for it. In addition, these styles of modifications may only permit one kind of optic footprint to be used, or they may require the use of an additional mounting plate featuring the proper screw pattern for a given red dot.

Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for the GOA announced via his Twitter yesterday (June 25th, 2021) that the previous judgment regarding Gun Owners of America v. Garland has been vacated via a three-judge panel. This essentially means that the panel ruled that bump stocks are not machine guns. This is a victory for the 2nd Amendment community even if you’re not a fan of the bump stock. The battle determining the legality of bump stocks has been raging on for quite some time and the GOA has been working to restore these firearms accessories back to legal status as non-machineguns since they were first banned on March 26th of 2019.

Shooting requires protective equipment. Proper ear and eye protection are an absolute must anytime you’re going to a range day or other event that’s going to involve live fire. Too many shooters have learned the hard way that your senses are precious and damaging or losing them while enjoying the shooting sports is a tragedy that’s almost always preventable. When it comes to eye pro, there are plenty of quality, ballistic-rated options on the market from companies like Wiley X, Oakley, ESS, Magpul, and many more. Some of TFB’s prior coverage of shooting-related eye pro is listed for you below.

Constitutional Carry is hot right now. The list of states officially supporting the practice has grown to nearly half of the US. Texas recently became the twenty-first such state, and this new legislation will go into effect as of September 1st of this year. Second Amendment advocacy groups are working with legislators in several other states as well, so hopefully, the list will grow beyond twenty-one in the not-too-distant future. According to the National Association for Gun Rights, some of the next Constitutional Carry candidates could potentially include Michigan, Alabama, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and South Carolina. With this, organizations like U.S. LawShield are endeavoring to provide relevant education to firearms owners.

When it comes to handling your firearms in any capacity or context, nothing is more important than safety. Everyone should know the basic firearms safety rules inside and out before they ever get on a live-fire range. Beyond those fundamentals like keeping your gun pointed in a safe direction and keeping your finger off of the trigger until fully ready to fire, there are plenty of additional facets to consider. Owning good quality equipment and taking proper care of it are also key. One element that tends to get less attention is ammo selection. Particularly these days, with high prices and scarce availability, we tend to take what ammo we can get. Unfortunately, especially with the last year’s proliferation of first-time gun owners who may not know any better, this could cause bad rounds to fall into unsuspecting hands, including some subject to recall.

If you read the headline for this article and immediately checked your calendar to discern whether it’s April Fools’ Day, and/or began wondering if you’re losing your mind, neither is the case. There genuinely exists such a thing as the Conway Twitty Tribute Pistol, and it’s presented here for your likely incredulity, amazement, and entertainment (or possibly just your disgust) in all its gold-plated glory. You might think it more appropriate to commemorate a deceased career musician with something… perhaps, musical? Maybe a guitar, a microphone, or a framed record? This would be understandable, but the good folks over at “ America Remembers” are individuals possessive of, shall we say… innovative vision. Their product catalogue spans a staggering amount of commemorative firearms, nearly 150 models deep, and gaudy gilded embellishments adorn almost all of them.

If you’re an experienced shooter, by this juncture you’re painfully aware of how brutal the ammo supply has been over the last year and change. Supply has been down, costs have gone up, numerous price increases have been announced, and there’s been precious little end in sight for months. Starting in early 2020, the industry saw something of a perfect storm of pressure factors squeezing the supply chain and skyrocketing demand. The cascading effects of Covid-related logistical issues, civil unrest, panic buying/hoarding, vast throngs of new first-time gun buyers in record-breaking numbers, and political/governmental concerns wreaked havoc on the balance of supply and demand for virtually every type and size of cartridges and shells, other than a scattering of more niche calibers like SIG’s 300 H’AMR offerings. TFB has covered the ammo shortage and related matters, like new gun owners, and a sampling of some of those articles from the past year are listed for you below.