The Loadout Room
Professional Gear Reviews
Every rifle makes a snap when fired, but some rifles make history with the same action. The M24 does both, but mostly the latter. In a world gone mad with high-rate-of-fire platforms and tactical gear that looks better on Instagram than it performs in the field, the M24 bolt-action rifle remains a stoic monument to […]
The Škorpion freakin’ ROCKS (and rolls)!!!Those of y’all dear readers who remember 5 May 2025 article titled “Firing the Full-Auto Steyr AUG” will recall that I kvetched about that rifle having “that frickin’ progressive trigger made the Steyr *THE* most difficult of the bunch to keep my shots on target, even at a measly 7 […]
Friday is for fun, and what more fun could we have than discussing one of the most fun firearms in modern pop-culture. So when it comes to firearms with an attitude problem, few can hold a candle to the MAC-10. It’s loud, boxy, unapologetically ugly, and about as subtle as a trenchcoat full of bears. […]
Let’s discuss the Browning Automatic Rifle, the mighty BAR. The gun that showed up to war, kicked the damn door in, lit a cigar, and told the rest of the squad, “Follow me, boys, I’ll lead you to Berlin.” Invented by the patron saint of American firearms, John Moses Browning, the BAR (specifically the M1918) […]
First Shot Let me tell you, few things in life hit harder than a .45 ACP from a slab-sided chunk of American steel. And while this one technically hails from Turkey, the Tisas 1911A1 is like that smiling immigrant in basic training who shows up, shakes your hand firm, and immediately volunteers for airborne school. […]
In the past year, the gun writer community has been hit by a double-whammy of the untimely passings of two all-time great firearms scribes, Mike “Duke” Venturino and John Taffin. “Duke” passed back on June 9, 2024 following a brief illness related due to complications from heart disease. (I haven’t been able to ascertain Mike’s […]
Besides being my all-time personal sentimental favorite pistol, the Beretta 92FS, aka M9, is a truly iconic combat handgun. Believe it or not, the Beretta 92/M9 pistol series is celebrating its 50th birthday this year, which by happy happenstance (alliterative wordplay intended) falls the year before the 500th anniversary of its manufacturer, which just so […]
Built Like a Spartan, Worn Like a Ghost There’s a scene in Halo: Reach, right before everything goes completely sideways, where Noble Team gets ready to make their last stand. Armor scarred. Visors cracked. Ready to die on their feet rather than live on their knees. That’s the kind of energy the Vakarian Plate Carrier […]
Some rifles fade into obscurity. Others refuse to go quietly. Then there’s the M14…the Cold War warhorse that refused retirement, kept punching past its prime, and earned a cult following among shooters, soldiers, and salty old marksmen alike. Born in the shadow of the M1 Garand and overshadowed by the M16, the M14 is that […]
“The WeekenD’orr” Beretta vs. Makarov: Who’s The Big Winner? Okay, mea culpa: as my shooting buddies know, I’m a big-time Beretta fanboy. The 9mm Beretta 92FS AKA the M9 is U.S. military circles, is my sentimental favorite semiautomatic pistol, and indeed the very first pistol I truly fell in love with. (Strictly platonically speaking, of […]
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