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,...
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...
1911: The classic homeland security pistol
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #83 • September/October, 2003
If you've read American firearms history at all, you know the lore of the .45 automatic. How during the Philippine insurrection, the newly issued .38 revolver failed miserably...
Hunting, processing, and serving black bear
By Linda Gabris
Issue #162 • November/December, 2016
Bear was a popular meat in our house when I was growing up in the rural woods. Black bear was Grandpa's favorite big game animal to hunt and...
A used shotgun bargain: The Browning Auto-5
By Brad Rohdenburg
Website Exclusive • September, 2014
A 1958 "Light Twelve" Browning Auto-5, with a 28" Improved Cylinder barrel and 'Speedfeed' loading. It weighs less than 7½ pounds, balances nicely, and the stock dimensions suit...
Bury a gun and ammo for 15 years
(and be assured everything still
works when you dig it up)
By Charles Wood
Issue #115 • January/February, 2009
Back in the early 1990s the outlook for the nation in general and gun owners in particular seemed rather...
Use the right ammunition!
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #130 • July/August, 2011
The purpose of the gun is to fire ammunition. It follows that the ammunition should be the correct ammunition.
This is simple. It is not hard to understand. But...
Consider the 20-gauge shotgun
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #120 • November/December, 2009
A year or more ago in these pages, I made the suggestion that sometimes less is more, and usually shooters with less powerful guns with which they are...
Understanding the gun debate, part 3
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #163 • January/February, 2017
Click Here to read Part 1
Click Here to read Part 2
As noted in the two previous parts of this discussion, one reason it's hard to maintain honest dialogue...
Centennial of the All-American .30-06
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #100 • July/August, 2006
In the long love affair between America and the rifle, there has never been an interlude quite as intensive as the epoch of the .30-06. This cartridge celebrated...
Picking a holster
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #69 • May/June, 2001
One good thing about being out in the boonies by yourself is that you can carry a gun on your own property. It's a fundamental right that, for...
Savage Model 110 — A proven economical backwoods rifle
By Massad Ayoob
Website Exclusive • July, 2008
Fifty years ago, Savage Arms introduced a new bolt-action sporting rifle. In the gun world, this was news. Savage was most famous for its sleek lever action Model...
Reload your own brass
By Dale Petry
Issue #132 • November/December, 2011
Not long ago a friend called to say he had seen an unusual rifle at the local gun shop. Shortly after that call I found myself in possession...
Answering some well asked questions about personal defense
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #97 • January/February, 2006
Jeff Yago, Backwoods Home's energy writer, recently completed a couple of concealed carry handgun courses. The classes apparently left some questions hanging in the air, and Jeff passed...
How big a gun do you need?
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #99 • May/June, 2006
We Americans like to do things in a big way. Big houses. Big cars. Big boats. And, yes, big guns.
There are good arguments for all this, of course....
Military surplus and military “clone” rifles
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #116 • March/April, 2009
One reader writes to ask if military surplus rifles are still a good idea for hunting, recreational shooting, and all around backwoods use.
The answer is more complicated than...
