The Benelli M2-G1 Tactical shotgun earned a 4.54 overall score in the National Tactical Officers Association's Member Tested and Recommended Program. Five NTOA members evaluated the tactical shotgun across multiple categories, praising its Rear Piston Operated gas system, reliability through 500+ rounds, and combat-ready features.
Beretta USA celebrated its 500-year milestone by honoring long-tenured employees in Italy, recognizing staff with 20 to 46 years of service. General Manager Cristian Capelli praised employees for their decades of dedication in building Beretta's U.S. manufacturing operations and shaping the company's evolution.
Staccato 2011 announced that elite SWAT teams from more than a dozen U.S. states have registered for the 2026 Staccato National SWAT Championship, presented by Trijicon, taking place Sept. 25–27 at Staccato Ranch Vegas in Pahrump, Nevada. The event will feature up to 60 law enforcement teams competing for a $150,000 prize pool, with the championship team earning $50,000.
NSSF filed a lawsuit challenging Connecticut's H.B. 5043, which bans cruciform-trigger handguns effective October 1, 2026. NSSF Senior Vice President Lawrence G. Keane argues the law unconstitutionally infringes Second Amendment rights by targeting law-abiding citizens instead of criminals who illegally modify firearms with machinegun conversion devices.
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Beckwith v. Frey, challenging Maine's firearm waiting period law. SAF argues the First Circuit's decision improperly revives interest-balancing rejected by Heller and Bruen, contending that waiting periods burden constitutional rights and require historical justification.
NASGW announces Electronic Transfer, Inc. as its newest affiliate partner, a payment processing provider serving the firearms industry for over 35 years. NASGW members receive exclusive benefits including free payment terminals, competitive rates, and cost comparisons.
Lawrence G. Keane, Senior Vice President & General Counsel of NSSF, has been appointed to the Hunting and Shooting Sports Conservation and Access Council to advise the U.S. Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture on wildlife conservation and hunting policy.
Davidson's, a 90+ year old firearms distributor, is hiring Assistant Buyers for its Merchandising Department in Greensboro, NC and Prescott, AZ. The role involves product procurement, vendor relations, market analysis, and inventory management, with a starting salary of $25/hour plus comprehensive benefits including medical, dental, vision, and 401(k) matching.
The U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) has joined the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) as a Diamond-level corporate partner. The partnership combines SAF's legal action protecting Second Amendment rights with USCCA's education, training, and legal defense services for its 860,000 members nationwide.
VIKTOS, a 2A-forward performance apparel company, has partnered with Walk the Talk America to promote mental wellness and suicide prevention awareness within the firearms community during September. The collaboration aims to normalize conversations around mental health and encourage people to support one another.
Nick Mundt, co-host of Bone Collector, joins Michael Waddell on The Michael Waddell Podcast to discuss hunting experiences, the value of wild game, and camaraderie in hunting camps. Mundt emphasizes that memorable experiences and friendships outweigh trophy size, while reflecting on his 20-year journey with Bone Collector and partnerships with hunting camps including Vatos, Milk River, Blake's place, and Ike Rainey's Giles Island.
Galco unveils the Combat Master 2.0 belt holster for Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro, featuring modern optic accommodation, premium steerhide construction, and a traditional pancake design that enhances concealment and draw speed for EDC users.
CIVIVI, a sub-brand of WE Knife, announced the global launch of the Zygon folding knife series on September 28, 2026, featuring an innovative Top Crossbar Lock mechanism, high-performance Nitro-V or Damascus blades, and a glow-in-the-dark G10 handle option.
Barnes Bullets launches two new 8.6 BLK factory ammunition offerings: a 200-grain TAC-TX in VOR-TX for supersonic hunting and a 300-grain Sierra MatchKing in Suppressor Series for subsonic use. The expansion follows SAAMI's formal acceptance of 8.6 BLK and collaboration with Q, LLC, the cartridge's developer.
WE Knife announces the NexoMorph, an innovative EDC knife featuring a patented 3-in-1 transforming design that transitions between traditional folding knife, push-dagger, and compact carry modes. Constructed with Böhler M390 blade steel and 6AL4V titanium handles, the NexoMorph combines premium materials with refined multi-pivot engineering for versatile everyday carry.
Real Avid introduces the Bore-Max® Master Cleaning Kit and Mobile Workstation, a portable firearm maintenance system featuring professional-grade cleaning tools, Gun Gripper™ yokes, Smart Mat®, and integrated Smart Assist™ lighting designed for shooters to maintain rifles anywhere.
MDT is expanding its ORYX Chassis System to three long action platforms: Ruger American LA, Remington 700 LA CIP, and Savage LA CIP. The aluminum chassis features V-block bedding, free-floated barrel, adjustable buttstock, AICS magazine compatibility, and M-LOK slots. Available September 22, 2026 through MDT dealers and mdttac.com.
CIVIVI announced the global release of the CIVIVI Elite Tessera folder on September 28, 2026, expanding its premium tier following the Brova debut. The knife features CPM S35VN blade steel, aluminum handles with geometric diamond patterns, and a Crossbar Lock mechanism, bridging classic CIVIVI value with ultra-premium materials from parent company WE Knife Co.
Derya Arms USA announced that its Derya MAX 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun is the firearm used on Drone Kalkanı, a Turkish counter-unmanned aircraft system. Two Derya MAX shotguns mounted on a pan-tilt turret fire together to neutralize mini and micro drones, including fiber-optic-controlled aircraft that electronic jamming cannot stop.
Orion Wholesale is offering Walther Focus Week from September 21-25, providing dealers with special pricing on in-stock Walther firearms including PDP, F-Series, Pro, and Steel Frame pistols, plus Hämmerli firearms and magazines across multiple price points.
Petersen's HUNTING released its October 2026 Big-Game Issue, an 88-page expanded edition featuring reviews from Andrew McKean on budget-friendly optics from Leupold, Vortex, Burris, Trijicon, and Zeiss, plus articles by Joseph von Benedikt, Scott Ergas, Mark Kayser, Will Brantley, and Craig Boddington. The issue is available at newsstands and retailers for $12 annually.
The Double D Foundation has launched the Manley Trailers "Road to Freedom" Sweepstakes, offering participants a chance to win an 18-foot Manley trailer valued at $17,000. Entry proceeds support the Foundation's mission to advance Second Amendment protections through shooting sports participation. The sweepstakes runs through October 9 at 11:59 p.m. ET with no purchase necessary.
Outdoor Channel launches Premiere Week September 28-October 4 featuring 16 episodes and 4 special presentations across shows like Farming the Wild with Mike Robinson, United Plates with Mario Kalpou, Cast Iron Cowboy with Kent and Shannon Rollins, and Jason the Butcher with Jason Nauert, plus new series American Archer and Airgunner Challenge.
Outdoor Sportsman Group's GAME & FISH TV surpassed 75 million minutes watched in August, marking five consecutive months of growth since launching on Amazon Prime and Roku in March. The FAST channel, featuring content from Outdoor Channel, Sportsman Channel, World Fishing Network, and MyOutdoorTV, continues experiencing explosive viewership across multiple platforms.
For a variety of reasons, I couldn’t use the club range, outdoors, and needed to get some trigger time in. This involved trips to the indoor range I prefer to use. The list of things that make operators of indoor ranges nervous include some things we should practice: drawing from a holster among them. But I can do a lot of that work in dry practice.
Besides, as I’m moving to precision work, finally, after a career of sustained fire on comparatively large targets at short distances, I did this practice on bullseyes with 22 rimfire pistols.
The idea is to make a hole in the paper 25 yards away. Having the hold, the visual aspect and a disciplined trigger press are relevant. Just making noise isn’t.
Bullseye distills pistol shooting down to fundamentals. I’ve seen a champion-class shooter describe it as three elements, but each of those elements are made up of discrete tasks, each of which have to be in place to make a hit in a 3.36” circle at 75 feet (the indoor range I use doesn’t have a fifty-yard bay).
I’m in no risk of keeping the lion’s share of my hits in that circle, but I insist on keeping them on a repair center. At my age, that takes some effort.
The first trip saw use of the Ruger Mark IV Target; 5.5” bull barrel, metallic sights, the rear adjustable for elevation and windage. The gun has Hogue, Inc. “G-Mascus Green” G10 stocks in place of the factory stocks. Otherwise, there are no modifications.
The ammunition I selected, based on concerns about indoor ranges and lead ammunition, was CCI CLEAN-22. While it’s geared more to prevent barrel fouling and making a suppressor easier to clean, I reasoned that it could be a bit more healthy than uncoated lead projectiles.
I’m still careful to make use of hand cleaning wipes that are made to remove contamination of this sort.
Using a B-8 repair center for each segment, I’d shoot a pair of stages right-handed, replace the target and shoot a pair left-handed.
When trying to learn a physical skill like shooting, it’s good to work “mirror image” to get back to being a complete duffer and to iron out bad habits.
Each stage had two five-shot strings. The first effort saw a result of two rounds out of the black, a 7 and an 8. It ended with a score of 93-3x. This isn’t medal winning, but it gave me some false confidence. The second string had five out of the bull, with a mere 85-2x result.
Left-handed shooting followed my sad second stage performance with a product of an 87-1x and 86-2X. I saw I was tending right with the left hand, indicating I didn’t have the gun properly centered.
There were 20 hits on each repair center; that duffer’s goal was met.
A few days later, I got back and decided I’d see what an optics equipped pistol could do. The gun was the Smith & Wesson SW22 Victory, this one with a Volquartsen barrel and a C-More RTS2 red dot optic.
The trigger is a target trigger; the barrel is superb. The reticle has the round about .75” below the point of aim at five yards; my hold with an optic that high is vastly different than the Ruger with metallic sights.
Shooting on a B6 repair center – instead of the B16 center I’d intended – made scoring irrelevant. I followed with ten rounds right-handed and ten left-handed using Remington Golden Bullet 40 grain ammo on the proper B8 repair center. The extreme spread on the B6 was right at 6-inches.
The 8-ring (bull) measures 8-inches. On the B8, I shot 184/200-7x. That group was 7 1/8”.
With the iron-sighted Ruger, my groups were 8” right-handed and 6 ¼” left-handed.
My left-handed effort on irons closely approximated my best effort with the optics-equipped match pistol.
My hold is going to have to be a lot better – and trigger control too – to get those groups down and scores up.
That said, there’s something therapeutic about bullseye. It’s immersion in the essentials of pistol shooting and requires focus that prevents the wandering mind, particularly in this digital age.
