Armed and Female

By Massad Ayoob Issue #63 • May/June, 2000 I didn't come up with the term "Armed and Female." Paxton Quigley did. She's a neat lady. I know her, trained her, taught with her, and have the...

The subtleties of safe firearms handling

By Massad Ayoob Issue #103 • January/February, 2007 There are so many makes and models of firearms in existence that no one has ever counted them all. Each variation may have subtly different handling requirements. It's...

Marlin 336 — The Other Classic Backwoods Home Deer Rifle

By Massad Ayoob Issue #95 • September/October, 2005 In the March/April 2005 issue of Backwoods Home Magazine, this space was devoted to the "Winchester '94: the Classic Backwoods Home Deer Rifle." And you know, even when...

The time for modern; the time for traditional

By Massad Ayoob Issue #137 • September/October, 2012 Traditional "old skool" guns, or the most modern and efficient ballistic hardware that money can buy? I asked that question recently on my corner of the Backwoods Home...

Choose your ammo… police style

By Massad Ayoob Issue #93 • May/June, 2005 One of our greatest modern gun experts, Lt. Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, Ret., once made the observation that the bullet is more important than the gun. The gun,...

Armed citizens: the deterrent factor

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • January/February, 2001 Does an armed citizenry deter tyranny and invasion? History and logic both answer emphatically, "Yes!" Some months ago, in an article in this publication titled The Rationale of the...

Big boomer guns

By Massad Ayoob Issue #125 • September/October, 2010 For you long time readers, I know what you're thinkin'—"Hey, isn't this the guy who within the last two years wrote the article about moderation, where he said...

Terrorism in America — The armed citizen’s view

By Massad Ayoob Issue #150 • November/December, 2014 The warnings come in non-stop... FoxNews: "A new English-language Al Qaeda magazine features a how-to article on making car bombs and suggests terror targets in the United States, including...

Of kids and guns

By Massad Ayoob Issue #68 • March/April, 2001 In the almost two years since the Columbine tragedy, American police have coined the term "active shooter." It means, in essence, a crazed gunman who is at the...

Cheap guns are good enough

By Massad Ayoob Issue #62 • March/April, 2000 More than 10 years ago, my friend Mark Seiden called me in on a murder case in Miami that Janet Reno, then State's Attorney for the county in...

BHM hosts Appleseed marksmanship event

By Massad Ayoob Issue #139 • January/February, 2013 Long a supporter of the Appleseed concept, Backwoods Home Magazine hosted one in Gold Beach, Oregon, in second quarter 2012. Naturally, a good time was had by all....

Firearms handling refresher Part I: Handguns

By Massad Ayoob Website Exclusive • December, 2003 One of our readers e-mailed John Silveira to tell him that taking a handgun afield after a long layoff had resulted in some scary moments. While gun handling...

An economical battery of guns for the backwoods home

By Massad Ayoob Issue #114 • November/December, 2008 Everything's getting more expensive. Food. Gasoline. Guns and ammunition. Not everyone who appreciates the rural lifestyle was "born with a gun in their hand" the way some of...

Preparing for Hunting Season

By Massad Ayoob Issue #119 • September/October, 2009 For a great many rural folk, big game hunting season is a high point—often the annual high point—of their involvement with firearms. In some locales, the big game...