Safariland won the Gold Award for favorite holsters in Shooting Sports Retailer's Reader's Choice Awards for the second consecutive year. The brand's Incog X was recognized in 2025, with the upcoming Incog XS launching in collaboration with Haley Strategic Partners.
Dead Air Silencers received the 2025 Shooting Sports Retailer Gold Award in the suppressor category, recognized by readers and retailers nationwide. CEO Ernie Beckwith credited the team's innovation, retail partner support, and customer trust for the honor.
Registration is now open for the 41st Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC), scheduled for September 25-27 in Dallas and co-hosted by the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Confirmed speakers include Jared Yanis, Joseph Greenlee, Kenyon Gleason, Shermichael Singleton, Jeff Folloder, Chris Boeck, and Fernando Nava.
The Second Amendment Foundation, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Baird v. Bonta, urging the court to strike down California's ban on open carry of firearms.
Mike Stock, President and CEO of Hodgdon Powder Company, has been appointed to the NSSF Board of Governors. Stock brings over two decades of firearm industry leadership, including previous roles at Winchester Ammunition and service on the SAAMI Board of Directors.
VKTR Industries has acquired U.S. Patent No. 7,735,410 for the Combat Match Bolt from inventor Robert Clark. The company plans to bring the product to market in 2026, leveraging enhanced durability characteristics and improved reliability compared to standard bolt designs.
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) launched a new 60-second national television ad campaign airing on 26 cable networks, calling Americans to pledge support for Second Amendment rights. SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb stated the campaign warns against anti-gun extremists pushing bans on common firearms and restrictive carry laws.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is hiring a Field Representative to cover Idaho, Utah, and Washington, managing Friends of NRA fundraising events, volunteer committees, and grant promotions across the three-state region.
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) will review 21 final and proposed ATF rules announced by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and ATF Director Robert Cekada, including updates to "engaged in the business" definitions and Federal Firearms Licensee record keeping requirements. SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut and founder Alan M. Gottlieb expressed encouragement with the regulatory changes and commitment to participate in the notice and comment process.
Safariland and Haley Strategic Partners unveiled the Incog XS, a minimalist inside-the-waistband holster designed for subcompact and micro-compact platforms. The new holster features microfiber suede-wrapped construction, passive retention, and adaptable carry positions for everyday concealed carry users.
Q announced the release of the Tall Boy, a .30 caliber silencer designed for maximum suppression of subsonic .300 Blackout ammunition. The all-steel suppressor features extended internal architecture and refined baffle structure to maximize dwell time and reduce exit pressure, delivering exceptional quiet performance while maintaining reliability across various cartridges.
DeSantis Gunhide® introduces the Infiltrator® Air, a breathable hybrid IWB holster designed for the Springfield Hellcat Pro with red dot sight compatibility. Featuring tuckable clips, adjustable cant, and precision-molded Kydex® construction, it offers all-day comfort and security at $113.99.
Arsenal Inc., a premier American importer and manufacturer of semi-automatic Kalashnikov pattern firearms, is commemorating the United States' 250th anniversary with special $500 savings on four popular models through K-VAR, with only 250 units available at each commemorative price point.
Winchester Ammunition introduces AutoBuck™, a new 12-gauge buckshot shotshell engineered for semi-automatic shotguns. Featuring #1 buckshot with 12 pellets, the load is designed for hunting, defense, and target shooting with reliable functioning across multiple shotgun types.
Bond Arms showcases the Snake Slayer, a compact double-barrel derringer made in Texas and available in .45 Colt/.410 shotshell and .357 Mag/.38 Special. The 22-ounce pistol features stainless steel construction, interchangeable barrels, and advanced safety features designed for outdoor enthusiasts and backup carry.
Wilson Combat unveiled the BULWARK, a midsize 9mm service pistol featuring an enclosed internal hammer-fired operating system, 1911-style trigger, and optics-ready design. The pistol offers 15+1 capacity, four independent safety mechanisms, and compatibility with Glock 19-pattern holsters for concealed carry and duty use.
XTech Tactical announced the LDR2000 B1, a magazine speed loader designed for Smith & Wesson Bodyguard 2.0 .380 ACP pistols. Made in the USA with a lifetime warranty, the loader addresses the pain point of stiff single-stack magazines and is available at $15.95 MSRP.
Streamlight Inc. announced its TLR-7 X weapon light was selected for a $39 million CAD contract awarded to Rampart Corporation to supply the Royal Canadian Mounted Police with a new duty pistol system including the Glock 45 MOS 7, red dot sight, and holster.
Sarsilmaz will showcase its latest firearms, including the SAR9 SOCOM Family, SAR 7/24 Series, and Bronze Star at CanCon East 2026 on May 8-9 in Clinton, South Carolina. The event features the world's largest fully-suppressed range day with competitions and giveaways.
Staccato 2011 returned as Patriot Sponsor of Second Bend Labs' Guns, Golf & Gills charity event, which raised $200,000 for the Combat Control Foundation. IPSC World Champion Max Michel provided elite shooting instruction at the event, deepening Staccato's commitment to the warfighter community.
Hornady Manufacturing Company announced partnerships with Scouting America, serving as ammunition sponsor for Camp Cedars Rifle and Shotgun programs and the Mid-America Council's annual Sporting Clays Event. The initiative supports youth development in shooting sports through safe, supervised instruction emphasizing discipline, responsibility, and outdoor engagement.
CZ announced the addition of competitive shooter Deshaun Jenkins to its professional shooting team. Jenkins, a Grand Master in USPSA, has won multiple championships including the 2023 Atlanta Practical Shooting Championship and 2025 Alabama State Championship, and will compete with the CZ Shadow 2 platform.
Beretta and premium dealer Gray Rose announced their Silver Star sponsorship of Concert for the Heroes 2026, taking place May 8–9 in Bluffton, SC. The event features a private sporting clays range day and headline concert with Lee Brice to support veterans and first responders through OPFOB's mission.
Lots of water passed under that old bridge. Looking bad and blowing the dust off, it’s interesting to see how things have changed.
I’d not say progressed; like any other period in human existence, we’ve moved a ways forward and slid some back.
In going through old files, I found a clipping from a newspaper – a real, dead-tree, paper-printed document that let people know a little about events in their localities before the advent of digital media. The pre-GWOT coppers (by around 20 years and change) weren’t wearing external vest carriers, electronic-discharge restraint devices, nor a box+ of ammo between the cargo hold in the gun plus spares.
It’s a clean look, less junk. Looking carefully at the non-digital image I have of this shot, I can see the Condition-1 Colt Government Model, customized by Bud Price of the Western Gun Exchange, in Miami, OK. The gun has a BOMAR rear sight, ramped front sight, blue slide over a hand checkered, hard-chromed frame. I believe he inscribed “PRICE” on the bottom rear of the slide on the inside.
There’s also the loop of a sap visible, carried “AIWB,” if you don’t mind.
That seems like such a short leap to a double-stack 1911-ish 9mm single-action hammer-fired pistol, as seems so popular today.
Along with the passage of time is the passage of friends. The image above is one of Marty Hayes at the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers event in Mobile Alabama. He did a set on their master-level standards and people got to try their hand at it – individually.
If you want to know what pressure is, that’s it.
A way of looking back and making sense of the past is from artifacts. This is a second-gen GLOCK 17, marked for the Kansas Bureau of Alcohol Beverage Control. Having been retired, the gun was purchased by a then-employee who went on to carry it during a stint working narcotics in a sheriff’s department.
When fired on the range one qualification, it seemed a bit sluggish and my friend Mike Rafferty opened it up. It appeared that it hadn’t had an annual inspection in a decade or so and that it lacked “updated” parts. Mike fixed that, cleaned it and the gun continued on.
When gun companies re-use names of classic products they made before, it gets confusing. At the top of the image is a Chief’s Special – a “real” one, Model 36, square-butt 38 Special. That was the kind of Chief’s Special I’d been used to – so named because IACP was asked to name the new five-shot 38 back in the 1950s.
The gun below it in that image is the CS45 “Chief’s Special.” A low-capacity, lightweight pistol that came out late in the Third Generation of S&W DA autos, we looked at it as a compact form of our issued S&W M4506-1 pistols carried in uniform. It appeared close to the end of our time with the S&W autos and was never adopted.
A Combat Magnum is still being made, this one a 3" M19 Performance Center Carry Comp. Some ideas are just too good to pass away.
Finally, back to my first cop job, a press clipping from when I was caught assisting the ambulance – the city police ran the ambulance in those days - by a local reporter.
Looking at the photo, I see a six-inch revolver in that holster – a Smith & Wesson Combat Magnum. The holster, a Bianchi high-ride, left the trigger exposed.
We didn’t know any better.
The gun, I well recall, was loaded with Winchester 125gr. JHP 357 Magnum ammo. It was backed up by a pair of speed loaders and a pocketed Bianchi Speed Strip with six rounds of 357 Magnum KTW ammo. That was before CBS decided they were “cop killers.”
No optics, no patrol rifles. There was a Remington 870 shotgun with 00Buck in the car. It was in a locking rack overhead on front of the barrier between front seat and back.
I’m not saying they were the good old days – it wasn’t the land of milk and honey - but those days are a part of history. And what you have now is built on it.
