Earlier this year I had the chance to take Mossberg’s Patriot LR Tactical (LRT) out for a spin at Gunsite Academy. The new rifle, chambered in 6.5 PRC in my case, is Mossberg’s adaptation of their previously successful Patriot line of bolt action rifles, which are now being adapted into this new long-range capable rifle. The Patriot action was intended to be Mossberg’s “budget” line of bolt actions and can typically be found starting around $550 MSRP. The Patriot LRT is simultaneously an extension of the Patriot line, being a budget-oriented rifle, but is now a whole different animal with its new long-range chamberings in 6.5 PRC, .308 Winchester, and 6.5 Creedmoor, as well as a brand new MDT stock. Today I’ll share my experiences with the rifle over the last couple of months which should hopefully give you some insight as to whether or not you’d like to pick one of these up for yourself.

Last week was a holiday so we skipped a week of Friday Night Lights. Need your fix of night vision and thermal content? Well, today is a big one. I went to the ECNS 4 (East Coast Night Shoot 4) in Ohio. It was bigger and longer than before. Two days and nights of firearms and night vision related goodies with more vendors and attendees than ever before. So let’s see what the hubbub was all about.

As the world has become less stable, many people have made the decision to learn how to protect themselves. First-time firearm owners number in the millions. These millions include legions of women, who through their interest in defense, have also found a love of shooting as a sport. Thankfully, the industry is catching up, creating products specifically designed for women. Long gone are the days of coloring a man’s product with pink camouflage. Beretta, who currently employs six women on their pro team, is doing its part to make sure that our female shooters are comfortable and confident in their threads. Beretta recently sent me a box of gear, all from their Ladies Gear Collection. I don’t have the required figure to fill out the clothes, so I’ve called on my wife to give us her thoughts.

Few firearms are as iconic and legendary as the sturdy, heavy, and reliable AK platform. First developed in the Soviet Union beginning in 1946, the AK has come to be a world-dominating workhorse for virtually every rifleman on the planet. However, not all AKs are created equally, and not all of them necessarily have to be Russian-made in order to be quality – this especially applies to AKs chambered in 5.56 NATO. Rotating Bolt Industries (RBI) is a boutique gun shop specializing in built-to-order 5.56 AKs that incorporate modern features and a handful of options that can be selected by the customer to make it more suitable for them. Rotating Bolt Industries and American Steppe have partnered up to make the first run of these rifles and I’ve been fortunate enough to receive the very first copy of the RB-01, rifle serial number 001 to test out. Today we’ll go over my experiences and see how well this American-made 5.56 AK rifle held up.

This past August I was lucky enough to be invited out to Beaverton OR to take a tour of the Leupold factory with a number of other outdoor journalists. After the tour, we were all taken to the Leupold Optics Academy to test out some of the scopes we just witnessed being constructed. We got to play around with many different scopes from different manufacturers in early lighting situations. The two scopes we primarily used for the three days at the Academy were the MARK 5HD 7-35X56 and the subject of this review, the MARK 5HD 2-10X30 M1C3 FFP PR1-MOA.

TYPE-A is a premium/high-end AR-15 manufacturer based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They offer a variety of rifles and a few different calibers. The rifle I am reviewing here is a 14.5″ Pro Carbine with a pinned and welded Warcomp wrapped in 50 shades of FDE. This is Part 2 of this review. Part 1 is located here. 

TYPE-A is a premium/high-end AR-15 manufacturer based out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. The company was started back in 2013 by Chris and Brandon, both men with wildly different backgrounds. Brandon was a businessman climbing the corporate ladder who wanted to start selling rifles and outdoor gear. Chris was a massage therapist in Florida who decided to join the Marines and at one point had a side business running guns from Jordan to Iraq. Brandon would meet Chris through one of these gun runs and the two became best friends. Later on, these two men would decide to start their own firearms manufacturing business and that brings us to their company TYPE-A. You can read more about these two here on their website as there are a few interesting notes I have omitted.  

This is a review of the Pulsar Talion XQ35 Pro Thermal Imaging Riflescope. This is a compact, lightweight thermal imaging hunting riflescope available at a reasonable price. Its fairly small size in combination with various possible mounting solutions makes it suitable for a large number of platforms, like ARs, semi-autos and bolt-action rifles.

More Lasers @ TFB:

Primary Arms recently added the Classic RD-25 Red Dot Sight that features push button operation to their lineup, which contrasts the knob-operated PA MD-25 in the SLx series. The new 25mm push button red dot sight harkens back to the style of early reflex sights like the Bushnell TRS-25, Aimpoints, hence its position in Primary Arms’ Classic Series of optics. This affordable 1x optic packs some surprising features for $129.99, so let’s dive in.

One of the firearms I have been wanting to own is an affordable belt-fed. Unfortunately, the Fightlite MCR and the FN M249S are out of my price range. However, a Ciener Belt-Fed AR went up for sale last November by Sven of Manticore Arms so I bought it. In this article we will take a close look at Ciener’s Belt-Fed AR and of course, some modifications and upgrades I made to the system.

I was assured when I started carrying my guns in an appendix inside the waistband (AIWB) holster, that I would promptly shoot myself in a very important area. Four years later, I am happy to report that I remain completely intact and a moderate proponent of AIWB carry. My current AIWB holster for my GLOCK 45 MOS with RMR and a full-size SureFire X300 Ultra weapon light has been my favorite for more than a year. But today we are going to take a look at the new Safariland INCOGX IWB holster system, a collaboration with Haley Strategic Partners. How does the new Safariland INCOGX stack up? Let’s take a look.

We are back to continue this deep dive into the Steyr Scout rifle. Part 1 of this review looked at the features of the rifle and some accuracy testing. It also looked at some general features of the rifle and how it differs from a run-of-the-mill bolt gun. For Part 2, we will primarily look at optic selection. 

Back in May of this year, Hop and I were invited down to Georgia to take a look at a few new products from Lone Wolf.  The star of the show for Lone Wolf was their Dusk 19 pistol. Lone Wolf Arms has been known for a long time for creating aftermarket parts for Glocks, and until I was invited to this event, that’s all I thought they did. The Dusk 19 is their new Glock pattern pistol, and their aim is to solve some of the out-of-the-box issues that most people have with the Glocks and deliver it at a reasonable price point with a broad feature set.

This is the second part of the SureFire M640DFT-PRO weapon light review so if you have not read part 1 click here. 

SureFire is a renowned name in the world of tactical lighting and firearms accessories, with a history that dates back to the late 1970s. The company was founded by Dr. John Matthews, a visionary engineer and entrepreneur with a passion for innovation in lighting technology and firearms equipment. SureFire’s journey began with a groundbreaking invention: a laser sight for firearms, designed to improve accuracy and target acquisition for law enforcement and military personnel. This pioneering product set the stage for SureFire’s future success and established the company as a trailblazer in the industry. As the years went by, SureFire expanded its product line to include weapon lights, flashlights, suppressors, and various other tactical tools and accessories. Their weapon lights, in particular, became highly sought-after by professionals and enthusiasts alike. Around six months ago Surefire sent me their new M640DFT-PRO Weapon Light to test and evaluate.

Welcome back to another Friday Night Lights where I review night vision, thermal and related accessories. Last week we took a look at one of the latest digital night vision devices coming out of the commercial market from DuskEagle. Well, today we take a look at a thermal monocular that was seen used in the movie Sicario. Alejandro dons a FLIR RECON M24 thermal monocular near the end of the movie when they go into the tunnels. I got my hands on one so we can take a closer look at it.

Thanks to a friend who clued me into the Lingle Industries SCAR AR 17 caliber conversion. If you have a SCAR 17S, well, Lingle Industries makes a caliber conversion so you can use mini action calibers like 5.56, .300 BLK, 6.5 Grendel and even 7.62×39! Lingle Industries was kind enough to let me borrow one of the conversion kits for this review so let’s take a closer look.

The 1911 double-stack pistols have grown in popularity in recent years. Companies like Staccato, Wilson Combat, and Nighthawk all make options. Dan Wesson has recently jumped into the mix with their DWX Compact pistol. I was curious about the use of preexisting magazines and the overall construction of their new compact handgun. Let’s take a closer look at the new Dan Wesson DWX Compact.

Welcome back to Friday Night Lights. Last week I wrote about the AGM TB75, a thermal biocular with digital night vision fusion. Well, digital night vision seems to be getting better and tonight I will show you something new from DuskEagle. The DE916 is a digital night vision scope that is lightweight and can see in the dark better than expected.

If you have been following along with some of the articles and reviews I have written about Imperial Arms Co., then you know they have been making receivers and components for the SCAR 17S platform. Nate at Imperial Arms Co. was kind enough to send out his new BBC (Buffered Bolt Carrier) for the SCAR 17S for this review. Why would you want a BBC for your SCAR 17S platform? Well, read and find out.

Caldwell produces a wide range of shooting gear. From targets to rests to chronographs, they are a brand found in most sporting goods stores. One of their key product areas is shooting rests and sandbags. They also make the Precision Turret Rest, which is a hybrid between a machine gun tripod and a clamp-type rest typically used on tall tripods. I bought one to see how it works and thought that would be worth sharing with you all.

Glock is a pretty big name in the game of handguns. That is a given. I personally am not the biggest fan of the platform from the outside-looking-in perspective. In short, I’m not much of a Glock guy. It has nothing to do with me trying to be different. They have just never been my speed. That does not mean I do not have the utmost admiration and appreciation for the design. The handful of people who know me know there is only one Glock I have said that I would be tempted to purchase. The Glock 34. Well, Glock was kind enough to send along the latest and greatest Gen 5 Glock 34 MOS for me to try out. Did it make me a Glock guy? Let’s dive into the review!

Do you hunt? Are you looking for that all-in-one device that doesn’t suck? Well, on tonight’s Friday Night Lights, the AGM Voyage LRF TB75-640 may be the device you are looking for. It is a thermal biocular with a built-in laser rangefinder and a digital night vision channel that can be fused with the thermal for thermal fusion! To my surprise, this device works better than expected. Let’s take a closer look.

At the beginning of the year, Magpul announced their DAKA Rifle Case R44. I was already impressed with their DAKA Grid Organizer for Pelican Cases but I am a Magpul fan so I had to have the R44 Rifle Case. So when it came out in July, I immediately ordered one online. I have used it for the range and on a recent hunting trip which required checking it in on an airplane. So here is my review of the R44.

The name FN can spark either controversy or praise depending on who you ask about them, and more importantly, what exact product you’re talking about. A little while back I had the rare opportunity to run an FN SCAR 17 absolutely ragged for about three days in the desert – something that I think not a lot of civilian rifles ever get to experience. While the SCAR 17 nearly killed the Trijicon VCOG that was attached to it, the rifle itself managed to keep running, without any malfunctions for the entire week in which about 500+ rounds of .308 ball ammo were shot through it. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has had extensive experience with FN’s vast product line as they carry a reputation for having some of the best “combat-proven” equipment in the industry. However, the big downside to all that is that most of their highly sought-after AR-15 rifles and barrels are somewhat overpriced according to some. One prime example of this is FN’s 15 DRM3 and TAC 3 rifles which both cost nearly $2000 but are known for being some of the best “duty grade” off-the-shelf AR-15s available. This is simply not the case with the new FN Guardian, which comes in at an MSRP of $999 and can now be found for a street price of around $875. But does the FN Guardian still maintain the legendary reliability and accuracy that FN’s AR-15s are known for? We’ll find out in today’s review!

I love my Hellcat Pro. The pistol has accompanied me almost every day since it was released. There is, however, always room for improvement. Adding accessories to your carry gun can enhance your ability to be effective if the need arises. There are also accessories that are purely cosmetic and add only to the carrier’s pride of ownership. I was getting the itch and it wasn’t the pollen in the air. It was time to customize my Hellcat Pro, and my eye was caught by the Tyrant CNC upgrades for the Hellcat and Hellcat Pro.

One of the most critical components when it comes to carrying a firearm is your belt. Without a stable platform to hold the weight of your pistol, holster, magazines, and IFAK, you’re in for a frustrating and embarrassing afternoon at the range. Of course, there are different considerations for concealed and overt carry, so let’s focus on the latter today. My wife recently attended the A Girl and A Gun National Conference and has since been in the market for a new battle belt. Due to the consistency of 5.11 Tactical’s gear, we thought the Maverick Battle Belt would be a great place to start. This is my…well, our review.

Do you want to get more out of shooting? Have you considered getting a chronograph? Measuring the muzzle velocity of your projectiles is helpful, especially for load development and calculating bullet drop at distance. Well, I bought the Bulletseeker Mach4 chronograph and have been using it this past year so I will share my experience with you.

Is it Friday Night Lights already? Lucky you! Last week we took a look at my Frankensteined hacked JIM LR which allows me to see farther than ever before with cooled thermal. We switch gears today and take a look at a Chinese copy of a PVS-14 by Lindu Optics. Their LD-NVM1440 has some unique features both good and bad so let’s take a closer look.