Cartridge reloading is a fast-changing world, with new rounds on the market every year—these days, straight-wall rounds, long-range precision ammunition and variations on the 5.56 NATO case are the main arenas of development for the consumer market, it seems. And the 12th Edition Hornady Handbook of Cartridge Reloading is here to guide you through the latest rounds and components used to make those rounds.

Caldwell used SHOT Show 2026 to roll out updates across their range gear lineup, and the Rock 2 rear rest series is the anchor of it. The Rock 2 is a redesign of one of the most popular benchtop rear rests in the shooting sports category, and it's coming in three flavors this year to cover everything from casual bench shooting to dedicated benchrest competition.

Retay USA came to SHOT Show 2026 with a full spread of new guns, expanding their shotgun lineup with four specialized ACE variants, a tactical 12-gauge inertia gun, a budget single-shot, and two .22LR rifles. Here's everything they announced.

Stoeger rolled out two new STR-series pistols at SHOT Show 2026, and both are refinements of existing platforms rather than ground-up redesigns. The STR9 Thinline+ takes the slim concealment pistol and pushes capacity up to 19+1 with a ported barrel, while the STR-45 Combat brings .45 ACP authority to the Combat platform with a 5.18-inch threaded barrel and 16-round magazines.

In the years after World War II, the Soviet military asked a simple question: how could an infantry squad bring a higher volume of automatic fire without surrendering mobility? A lesson they learned from the Eastern Front, where volume of fire was king. The answer, in part, was the RPD; this lightweight, belt-fed machine gun became the first Soviet weapon explicitly designed to serve as a squad automatic weapon (SAW) firing the new intermediate 7.62x39 cartridge.

At first, it might not be clear, but the FS-PRO is a modern semi-automatic tactical shotgun. It’s described as being built around versatility, compact handling, and thoughtful ergonomics. Its defining feature is a folding design that dramatically shortens overall length for transport and storage, making it well-suited for tight spaces without sacrificing shootability when deployed.

Welcome back to TFB's   Small Business Spotlight! In this weekly column, we take a look at small firearm-related businesses. Today, we're featuring REPACKBOX, LLC, an Alaska-based manufacturer that's been solving one of reloading's most annoying little problems for over a decade: What do you do with all that loose ammo?

Vortex is no stranger to budget red dots, but for each year they release a new one, the tech and the presentation seem to get better and better without the price climbing too much. This year’s example is the new 2 MOA Triumph red dot. This new budget-friendly series is meant to appeal to newer shooters or those just looking for an inexpensive red dot to throw on a spare gun. Even though it is in the budget category, the red dot still comes standard with a lot of neat luxury features like a motion-activated auto-off that saves battery, 9 daylight and 2 night vision brightness settings, and a standard Aimpoint micro footprint.

It is shaping up to be a battleground year between firearms-restricting legislators and shooters who just want to do their thing without being hassled by The Man. Already, we’ve seen restrictive laws passed against semi-auto firearms in New Mexico, and similar laws in Virginia as well. But it’s not all doom-and-gloom for the 2A believers: Virginia has just backed off from a potentially crippling tax on suppressors.

Just after SHOT Show, Aimpoint announced the new COA R, a rifle-focused red dot sight built specifically for hunters who prioritize speed, durability, and a streamlined setup. The COA R carries over the ultra-compact, enclosed design of the original COA, tipping the scales at just 48 grams. It features a 3.5 MOA dot and an optical profile tuned for fast target acquisition at close range while still supporting precise holds at extended distances.

Loading double-stack single-feed pistol magazines by hand can be difficult, tedious, time-consuming and even painful depending on the number and/or capacity of magazines you load. Thankfully, there are multiple different speed loaders available on the market that make the loading process of the aforementioned magazines easier. Most of these devices are manual, though. Last time I checked, we are a quarter of the way through the 21st century, cars are self-driving, mail is delivered by drones, so maybe it’s time to have power tools for loading pistol magazines. The question is, does anyone make one? Well, there is at least one option - the Magpie handheld electric speed loader by Kinetic Blossom. In fact, the company claims that this is the world's first automatic handheld 9mm magazine loader.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Web Deals 173! We’re back with more deals on guns, gear, ammunition, and accessories from some of our most frequented online retailers like Primary Arms, Natchez Shooters Supply, Palmetto State Armory, Brownells, and more. Whether you’re looking for deals on new or used guns, ammo to add to your reserves, or specific accessories like flashlights, range bags, optics, bipods, and magazines, each week we’ll have new sets of deals that might fulfill one of those needs and save you a few dollars.

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday, brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the new Victra 20-gauge shotgun suppressor. This week, what's old is new again. Reflex suppressors are making a comeback. Let's take a look back and take a survey of the new things coming in this space.

If you’ve watched an action movie within the last 40 years, you’ve likely seen the Desert Eagle in the hands of one of the actors. The large-caliber, gas-operated pistol is iconic and conveys “I mean business,” which is why it appears in Deadpool & Wolverine, The Matrix, Snatch, Eraser, Commando, RoboCop, Boondock Saints, Austin Powers, Terminator, and many, many more. The video game industry also loves this pistol, but is this admiration purely fictional, or is it rooted in practicality?

This Photo Of The Day is just for fun, but there’s a serious question behind it, asked by many. Should I buy a clip-on thermal or a dedicated thermal rifle scope? Hang on and get some advice, while you admire some cool, suppressed firearms in 300 Blackout and 9mm.

What if you want a classic wood-and-steel hunting rifle with generations of history behind it … but you also want to take advantage of the improvements in firearms technology over the past few decades? The new Mauser M98 Das Original allows you to have your cake and eat it too, and it even offers the classic bolt-action rifle in a never-before-available magnum chambering.

At SHOT Show 2026’s Industry Day at the Range TFB had the privilege of getting early access to the range to cover the ceremonial First Shot of SHOT. One of the benefits of this was we were able to get hands on as soon as the range went hot and I was able to put a couple of magazines through Steyr’s new AT family of 9x19mm pistols.

An integrally suppressed bullpup precision rifle - now doesn’t that sound like a cool package? Well that’s what Desert Tech have put together, a new handguard for an integrally suppressed version of their SRS series of rifles. The SRS SD kit is a carbon fiber handguard an and a full length Picatinny top rail which can be mounted on late model SRS A2s and SRS M2s.

Caldwell dropped the biggest piece of the ClayCopter puzzle at SHOT Show 2026 with the Surface-to-Air launcher. If you caught the  original ClayCopter handheld unit last year, this is the next step up. It’s a ground-based, hands-free launcher that turns your backyard into a sporting clays course. It's not a traditional clay thrower. The ClayCopter targets are biodegradable spinning disc-style targets that fly differently than standard clays, and they only break when you hit them, not when they drop.

Hearing, comms, performance, and downstream liability all get better when the rifle is less abusive to everyone standing near it.

The AR-15 has become the most prolific modern rifle in America—and for good reason. Its modularity, accuracy, ergonomics, and proven track record make it a top choice for self-defense, competition, and professional use. But among all the possible configurations, there’s endless debate over which build is truly “best.” There is personal conjecture from both professionals and content ninjas alike. Today is an examination on the original modern-day patrol carbine, the MK12 SPR; more than a precision weapon, the SPR is the do-all shooter; the SPR is the multi-tool of ARs.

Today’s POTD features the PTR GIR 100, a faithful U.S.-made interpretation of the Heckler & Koch G3, then rebuilt to copy the Swedish Ak4 battle rifle. Built around the classic roller‑delayed blowback system, the GIR 100 leans heavily into its Cold War roots with a parkerized finish and period-correct green furniture that immediately sets the tone. An 18-inch tapered barrel keeps the profile balanced, while the traditional steel SEF lower preserves the original manual-of-arms familiar to G3 users worldwide.

Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about some of the biggest problems when it comes to carrying a concealed firearm. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to take a look at some ways to keep sharp when it's brutally cold out. Going to the range when it's well below zero is one of the toughest ways to train and if we are being honest, it can be counterproductive when you're wearing a ton of layers and heavy gloves. A few weeks ago, we talked about how carrying in extremely cold weather can make things tricky and going to the range in these conditions can be equally tricky.

Last year at SHOT Show 2025, I was stoked to run into the guys from Ally & Kaufman who were offering a cool lower receiver kit that pairs with a Brownells BRN-180 18.5" upper receiver to create the ‘SA80 at home’. This set up, the AKB-23 got a lot of attention and had developed further with an SA80-style pistol grip, a ‘Carbine’ handguard, L85 flash hiders and a range of SA80-style carry handles with sight mounts for ACROs and Micros.

Just because we’re used to doing something a certain way doesn’t mean it can’t be done better. That’s how just about every advancement, ever, in firearms design came about—someone rethinking the normal. And that is spreading over to the world of optics these days, with green visual elements replacing red-colored elements. That’s the key feature behind MCG Tactical’s new Boar boresighter; it takes the normal red dot used for such equipment and replaces it with green.

Rost Martin RM1F pistols are polymer-framed striker-fired handguns chambered in 9x19mm. The grips of these pistols feature the company’s signature Responsive Grip Texture and interchangeable backstraps. The magazine release buttons and the slide release levers are ambidextrous. The capacity of the flush-fit magazine is 17 rounds. With the flush-fit magazine inserted, the RM1F pistol has a height of 5.1” and weighs 23 oz.

Have you ever wondered what the SHOT Show is like through fresh eyes? Return guests Kevin and Bryce from The Carry Handle Podcast just made their debut on the show floor, and they’ve got stories to tell. Tune in this week as these SHOT Show virgins unpack their first-time experience, the standout gear that caught their eye, the places they went, the good and bad that they saw, as well as the hard-earned lessons from diving headfirst into the firearms industry's biggest event of the year. Please give a warm welcome back to returning guests Kevin and Bryce!

We are only a few weeks into 2026, and it looks like this year might see quite a few battles between pro-firearms activists and anti-gun legislators across the U.S.; we’ve already seen several states introduce highly restrictive legislation, and there might be more to come. Below, see a list of states that are either working on significant new firearms restrictions this year, or see similar restrictions from previous years’ legislative sessions coming into effect. This list is not comprehensive; research your own state’s laws if you are concerned. But it hits the highest points.

Photo Of The Day, and we go full Special Forces. The story takes us underground, where the 22nd Assault Company of Belgium’s 3 Para transformed Brussels–Schuman metro station into a Close Quarters Battle training environment. Far removed from open terrain, this setting emphasizes confined spaces, limited sightlines, constant civilian infrastructure, and the need for rapid decision-making under pressure.

James Earl Jones is known for lots of things—he played famous roles like Darth Vader’s voice in Star Wars and not-so-famous roles like General Solomon in the Command & Conquer video games. But he was also (perhaps to the surprise of those who only know him for his thespian work) a former military officer, earning his Ranger tab in the 1950s, and he had a very respectable firearms collection that is now up for sale at Checkpoint Charlie’s. It’s a wide collection, with interesting semi-auto handguns, single-shot target pistols and a few classic Wild West revolvers—like this Colt 1877 Lightning.