Author: Jack Bogart

I’ve been a “gun nut” as long as I can remember. As a young teenager in the 1980’s, I subscribed to all the gun magazines and would voraciously read them from cover to cover. While I liked practically all firearm types, my true area of interest was surplus guns and civilian-legal versions of military firearms. I love history and I love guns, so these were right up my alley.Needless to say, the 1980’s was a great decade for these types of firearms — unless you were a 15-year-old with no money to spend. I would regularly go to the local…

SIG SAUER P226X Agency When I stepped up to the firing line during last week’s SIG NEXT event at SIG Academy, one of the pistol program managers mentioned that I should take a look at the P226X they had developed in conjunction with Agency Arms. Built around an Agency Arms alloy frame, it’s a great looking gun, but then I heard something that intrigued me, “It shoots itself.” I know the claim sounds silly, but that trigger is amazing and that was out of the box. It’s even more fun to shoot thanks to the compensator keeping the barrel on…

Every mission requires a different setup. Explore six Direct Action® configurations and remember: gear should enhance the operator’s capabilities, not limit them. There is no single plate carrier for every task. Choosing a plate carrier doesn’t start with the product. It starts with the mission. A dynamic CQB environment places different demands on an operator than those faced by a team medic or JTAC, while covert operations come with an entirely different set of requirements. That is why choosing a plate carrier and the rest of the loadout should start with the requirements of a specific mission, not with the…

The Heat Guard Can Case is large enough to handle a full-sized rifle suppressor, like this Banish 30.With Federal’s Heat Guard Can Case, you can handle and stow a hot suppressor without waiting for it to cool off.There you are at the end of a fun day shooting. You need to pack up, but your suppressor is smokin’ hot. If you don’t do something about it, it will burn you or melt your gun case or other gear if you aren’t careful. Who among us, as brand-new suppressor owners, hasn’t gotten a blister or two or have a melted gun…

All-Australian… the SYPAQ Systems CsUAS CORVO interceptor with the NIOA family of payloads.1 OCTOBER 2026 NIOA will use the stage of the Land Forces International Defence Exposition in Perth to unveil for the first time the training and live payload being developed for the SYPAQ Systems CORVO Counter small Uncrewed Aerial System (CsUAS) interceptor platform. The training payload represents a significant milestone in NIOA’s contribution to the sovereign Australian counter-drone capability being developed by SYPAQ for the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator (ASCA) Mission Syracuse. The capability combines NIOA’s expertise in fuzing, warheads and explosive ordnance engineering with the Australian-designed and…

NATIONAL HARBOR, MD. —   Air Force Special Operations Command announced its small cruise missile, the AGM-190A Havoc Spear, has been evaluated in a test configuration and successfully meets requirements to become an available weapons system for broader real-world use across a variety of special operations and conventional aircraft. Havoc Spear is a mission-adaptable, modular-design small cruise missile that can be rapidly produced at relatively low cost. During a combat evaluation in the spring of 2026, the new missile’s capabilities proved to be accurate and effective when employed from an AFSOC platform in a test configuration, meeting AFSOC’s requirement for…

We recently spoke with Breek Arms about the company’s Sledgehammer AR-15 Gas Blocking Charging Handle and its LE Latch counterpart, both designed around a problem that has become increasingly familiar as suppressor use has grown: gas coming back toward the shooter’s face. The Sledgehammer takes an aggressive approach to managing that gas, with some of its features specifically designed around the needs of a right-handed shooter. That raises an obvious question. What about left-handed shooters, or anyone who needs to transition the rifle to the opposite shoulder? Breek Arms’ answer is the Sledgehammer Omni-Buster AR-15 Charging Handle. Rather than intentionally…

New Rabbit Rounds Multi-projectile Ammunition from Franklin Armory Creates More Sporting Fun for America’s Favorite Gun MINDEN, Nev. – September 30, 2026 – Franklin Armory, one of America’s leading manufacturers of innovative firearms, accessories—and now ammunition—today announced Rabbit Rounds™, a new multiple-projectile cartridge designed to more effectively harvest smaller game with the ubiquitous AR-style Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR). Franklin Armory’s patent-pending Rabbit Rounds feature four spin-stabilized projectiles, encased in a multi-piece, self-discarding sabot. Rabbit Rounds are available in 5.56x45mm for use with AR-pattern firearms chambered in .223 Remington, .223 Wylde, and 5.56 NATO. The company plans to bring Rabbit Rounds…

Autonomously emplaced Versatile Networked Obstacle Munitions (VNOM) system restores counter-mobility capability FORT WAYNE, Ind. – General Dynamics Mission Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), has been selected by the U.S. Army Project Manager Close Combat Systems to develop and demonstrate the Versatile Networked Obstacle Munitions (VNOM) System, addressing a critical counter-mobility capability for the Army. As one of three contractors selected for award, General Dynamics Mission Systems self-funded the VNOM development from concept to demonstrated prototype prior to award. The system autonomously emplaces mixed-modal effectors combining air, side and bottom attack modes into a coordinated obstacle, removing…

While it shares a name with a shapeshifting alien race from Doctor Who, the incoming Civivi Zygon seems much more benign – especially if you like fidget folders. This knife comes in some cool material configs and wears its crossbar lock on the spine. A flick of a thumbstud (or wrist in conjunction with the crossbar lock; more below) will send the Zygon’s handsome drop point blade into the open position. It’s broad and flat ground, measuring 3.24 inches and thus fills the all-purpose EDC role with aplomb, including, perhaps, more demanding “EDC+” work. The blade steel is Nitro-V, a…