The truck gun can be virtually any firearm, but to truly assess the multitude of modern applicable firearms as an effective defensive platform, a required evaluation necessitates the most offensive, the AK. The AK has earned two reputations in the 21st Century; the first is a reputation for simplicity and reliability, but this gives way to a platform noted as long outdated and besieged, attempting to maintain pace with other firearms of the late 20th and early 21st Century. The AK family of weapons is lifted by legend and quagmired by age; the AK is a weapon of love and hate. 

Over the last couple of years the guys at MK Machining have been working up their MK2.6 bullpup rifle chassis series. This year at SHOT Show they had some brand new prototypes of a new type of bullpup - a straight-pull.

American-made AKs definitely saw a resurgence at this years SHOT Show with strong offerings from companies like Stenzel Industries and Black Rain Ordnance. Black Rain introduced the Freedom Fighter which they describe as ‘a modern American-made evolution of a proven fighting rifle’.

Century Arms announced an exclusive distribution partnership with Live Free Armory at SHOT Show 2026, bringing the Apollo 11 V2 budget 2011 pistol to their booth alongside the company's existing product lines. The partnership addresses supply constraints and lead times that have limited availability of Live Free Armory's affordable double-stack 1911 platform.

Berry's Bullets came to SHOT Show 2026 with a product refresh that addresses real needs handloaders have been dealing with. Three new bullet profiles and storage solutions that look like they'll actually hold up.

The AKS-74UB is one of the rarer Kalashnikov variants, a suppressed short carbine designed for missions requiring minimal noise and visual signature. Derived from the AKS-74U developed by Mikhail T. Kalashnikov in the 1970s, the AKS-74UB was created by a team of engineers at the Research Institute-61 (NII-61, now TsNIITOCHMASH Central Research Institute of Precision Engineering) using the AKS-74U as the base, a mass-produced weapon adapted into a small-production-run specialist tool for clandestine and close-quarters use. The AK-74UB was designed as a dedicated suppressed version of the AKS-74U; as such, it was assigned the GRAU index 6P27.

Photo of the Day: Let’s highlight the Taran Tactical Innovations x V7 Harbinger rifle package fitted with a HUXWRX FLOW 762 Ti suppressor, as seen in the movie The Ballerina. The Harbinger platform combines a lightweight match-grade .308 barrel with a precision-oriented stainless fluted profile and ultra-light 2099 lithium-aluminum M-LOK handguard.

Welcome back to TFB's Small Business Spotlight! Each week, we feature small firearms-related businesses and give them a chance to introduce themselves. This week: The Armed Papist, a Catholic-focused firearms training operation out of Texas.

All Weatherby RPM cartridges have a rebated rim of .473" diameter with a .500” case body. These are basically the .284 Winchester case head and base dimensions. This case design allows using standard 30-06 Springfield/308 Winchester bolts but have a larger case capacity at a given case length. With an overall length of 3.34", the 25 Weatherby RPM is a standard/long action length cartridge that, according to Weatherby, provides magnum performance. The new 25 Weatherby RPM is designed with a focus on shooting heavier, high-BC bullets: the recommended twist rate is 1:7.5" and the case length of 2.4” results in ample room over the case (.94”) for those long ogive bullets. To download the full SAAMI cartridge and chamber drawings document for the 25 WBY RPM, click here.

This year’s broad pushback against firearms rights at the state level continues, with California now gearing up with a lawsuit against big names in the 3D firearm print world. On Friday, February 6, the State of California announced it was suing Gatalog and CTRLPew LLC over files they distribute online.

Canik displayed ten new optics at SHOT Show 2026, expanding from pistol red dots into rifle scopes and rifle-mounted optics. The lineup includes low-power variables, a 4-40x precision scope called the KNIGHT, and enclosed-emitter rifle red dots including the Obsidian LITE.

RCBS brought their revitalized Weaver brand to SHOT Show 2026 with a line of Precision and Precision Tactical rings that mark a significant departure from what Weaver used to be. After securing the Weaver license from Revelyst in late 2024, RCBS is taking the 90-year-old brand upmarket with rings priced from $109.99 to $325.99; a far cry from the $30-60 budget hardware Weaver was known for.

Today’s Photo of the Day features the DS Arms SA58 FAL equipped with a 21-inch standard-profile barrel chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO. This configuration uses Mil-Spec barrel steel, a chrome-lined chamber and bore, a 1:10 twist rate and a bipod-cut profile with a front sling swivel. The barrel is threaded 9/16×24 right-hand and fitted with a long, slotted flash hider that also serves as a bayonet mount.

I’ve spent the last couple of months toying around with Smith & Wesson's odd little folding 22 caliber carbine - the FPC 22. While I’m still a die-hard 10/22 fan, and my 11/22 Takedown is still probably my favorite 22LR plinker, the FPC 22 has started to grow on me over the thousand-plus rounds I’ve been putting through it. Today, roughly two or three boxes of bulk Federal 22LR ammunition down the pipe, we’ll talk about everything I’ve learned about the FPC 22 and why I think it makes for a compelling addition to any rimfire junkie’s collection.

Despite some major wins by the 2A crowd in the past few years (including constitutional carry across a broadening swath of the U.S.A.), anti-firearm activists are not giving up easily. The new battleground appears to be the state of New Mexico, where lawmakers are considering a wide range of firearms bans.

Lancer Systems brought purpose-built .300 Blackout configurations to SHOT Show 2026, marking their first complete firearms chambered in anything other than 5.56. The company known for magazines and carbon fiber handguards built two L15 variants specifically for running .300 BLK with suppressors.