Thoughts on ammunition
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #108 • November/December, 2007
Ammunition is to firearms as gasoline is to automobiles. However, with guns and ammo, the fit isn't quite so generic as just getting the right octane rating. Recent...
Just because
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #144 • November/December, 2013
I generally recommend that people buy guns the way they'd buy power tools, or automobiles, or homes. Assess your needs, analyze your budget, correlate it all with your...
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...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
Frontier style handguns for the modern backwoods home
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #101 • September/October, 2006
The year was 1873. Samuel Colt had invented the revolveror at least introduced it to Americain 1836. The Colt Navy .36 and Army .44 cap-n'-ball revolvers had been...
Affordable firearms
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #134 • March/April, 2012
Knowing that frugality is one of the cornerstones of rural living, Editor Annie Tuttle suggested that I tackle the topic of buying an adequate gun (and ammo, and...
Cold weather shooting considerations
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #126 • November/December, 2010
Winter will soon be upon us. Cold weather makes a lot of things more difficult. Running. Walking. Navigating through the woods. And, of course, safely manipulating and shooting...
Teaching a 10-year-old to shoot
By John Moody
Issue #174 • November/December, 2018
In my youth, I remember my dad dragging my brother and me out of bed in the middle of the night, tossing our tired bodies in the back...
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...
Women and guns
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #121 • January/February, 2010
In a time when what used to be called "the women's liberation movement" has achieved many of its goals in terms of equality and empowerment, the concept that...
Inexpensive retired Russian military rifles can be the ideal backwoods meat guns
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #47 • September/October, 1997
Like many another rural person, I've often found a firearm to be my most important tool. No, we don't have much crime in our area; in fact...
Building the coyote rifle
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #107 • September/October, 2007
Feral dogs, coyotes, and those odd-looking "coy dogs" like to feed on my neighbors' livestock on occasion here around Kendallville, Indiana, and for years the neighbors looked...
