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...
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...
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...
The Appleseed Project
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #123 • May/June, 2010
There is nothing else in the shooting world quite like the Appleseed Project, which combines American Revolutionary War history with rifle marksmanship and firearms safety, and in so...
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....
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...
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...
Air power superiority
When a well-placed shot is required,
when stealth and quiet are called for,
an air rifle may be the best option.
By Gary Lewis
Issue #151 • January/February, 2015
The peacock. Here in the states, he is a designer...
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...
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...
Of guns and snakes
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #151 • January/February, 2015
Mas safely kills a rattlesnake in a populated area. (Note angle of gun and trajectory.) Pistol is a Springfield EMP loaded with 9mm 127 grain +P+ Winchester Ranger-T...
Firearms handling refresher Part III: Rifles
By Massad Ayoob
Website Exclusive • January, 2004
Our three part series on firearms handling ends with this installment. In Part I, we covered handguns and in Part II, we followed with shotguns.
The rifle is a...
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...
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...
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...
