Moderate power firearms
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #110 • March/April, 2008
Robert Ruark, the great American writer of the mid-Twentieth Century, was also a big game hunter. One of his most popular books, written on the latter topic, was...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
How long should your gun’s barrel length be?
By Massad Ayoob
Issue #136 • July/August, 2012
The person new to guns is like the person new to timepieces. "How many of these things are there?" "In how many configurations?" "And they've been around for...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
