Editorial

Good afternoon everyone and welcome back to TFB’s Silencer Saturday brought to you by Yankee Hill Machine, manufacturers of the new YHM R45 Multi-Host Suppressor. This week we are taking a look at a very unique and controversial clone. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have been pictured using integrally-suppressed Ruger 10/22 rifles in the past, and what exactly they are used for has been of some debate. But if you want your own clone of this unique suppressor setup there is a turn-key way to get one!

We’re back again with another roundup of fresh firearms-focused podcasts in TFB Podcast Roundup 162. Each week we’re bringing you a new set of podcasts from across the web that cover a wide variety of topics including gunsmithing, hunting, precision shooting, war stories, competition shooting, gun industry news, and much more. In addition, we’re also featuring the most recent episode of TFB’s own Behind The Gun Podcast which airs every week on Thursday mornings. If you’d like to check out the full episode list for TFB’s Behind The Gun Podcast, you can find it here on the TFB website or on your favorite podcast app. Sit back, relax, and enjoy listening to this week’s selection of gun podcasts.

My first encounter with the Stoner 63 was at the Infantry Museum in Fort Benning, Georgia, after completing Infantry One Station Unit Training. The exhibit showcased the system's unique and versatile configurations, with the carbine and belt-fed machine gun standing out. This was a testament to the Stoner 63's innovative and adaptable design, making it a fascinating modular weapon system.

Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner Last week, we took a look at some of the best items to grab after Christmas if Santa didn't bring you exactly what you wanted. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here. This week, I want to talk about some of the best things you can practice and work on at the beginning of the year. Having a way to plan your training in advance with a set goal can significantly raise the chances of you being successful in your goals throughout the year. Let's take a closer look at planning for success while carrying.

Rosco Manufacturing, established in 2017 and based in Rhode Island, is a firearms company specializing in producing barrels and firearm components. The company focuses on creating reliable and precise products designed to meet the needs of both civilian firearms enthusiasts and professionals in law enforcement and the military. Drawing on industry experience, Rosco has developed a reputation for balancing craftsmanship while not leaving a massive hole in your wallet. By employing modern manufacturing techniques and maintaining strict quality standards, the company offers a range of barrels in various calibers and profiles, and now upper receiver groups too!

Welcome everyone to TFB Armorer’s Bench! As mentioned in the little blurb below, this series focuses on a lot of home armorer and gunsmith activities. In this article, I am looking at a straightforward but often questioned process - mounting an optic on Smith & Wesson's X-Frame revolvers. Using the new Model 350 as our example, we'll walk through the steps of mounting a red dot using the Weigand mount system. While it might seem intimidating to modify such a substantial revolver, the process is surprisingly straightforward with the right tools and attention to detail.

In the late 1990s, TsNIITochMash developed the PKP machine gun, a unique weapon designed to reduce dispersion and increase cooling for rapid, sustained fire. This weapon system was called the PKP, Pulemyot Kalashnikova Pekhotniy, meaning Infantry Kalashnikov Machine Gun. The Pecheneg is named after the Pecheneg people, a Turkic tribe known for their warrior culture in southern Russia and Ukraine.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Web Deals 120! 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.

Welcome back to another edition of Silencer Saturday. Last week we looked at suppressing the Beretta Cheetah. This week we’re jumping from little subsonic pistol calibers up to hunting rifles. Last month, TFB writer and OutdoorHub editor Rusty wrote a great piece about why he loves hunting with silencers. That inspired me to share some of my own thoughts on the topic.

Welcome back to Guns of the Decades. Here, we’ll pick a firearm from a decade, and briefly talk about where it was at the time. It’s not meant to be an all-encompassing detailed record of the firearm or a claim that it was the best firearm of the decade. It's a fun read with a different take on a gun at a specific time. In this week’s article, the decade will be the 1970s, and the firearm will be the Smith & Wesson Model 29. The Model 29 is a .44 caliber handgun, made incredibly popular by the films of the time. The most notable film the Model 29 appeared in was the Dirty Harry series of films, but it also appeared in several other movies including Taxi Driver.

We’re back again with another roundup of fresh firearms-focused podcasts in TFB Podcast Roundup 161. Each week we’re bringing you a new set of podcasts from across the web that cover a wide variety of topics including gunsmithing, hunting, precision shooting, war stories, competition shooting, gun industry news, and much more. In addition, we’re also featuring the most recent episode of TFB’s own Behind The Gun Podcast which airs every week on Thursday mornings. If you’d like to check out the full episode list for TFB’s Behind The Gun Podcast, you can find it here on the TFB website or on your favorite podcast app. Sit back, relax, and enjoy listening to this week’s selection of gun podcasts.

The QJY-201, a machine gun with unique features, was publicly unveiled at the Zhuhai Airshow in September 2021. It is chambered in 7.62x51 and bears the ammunition type designation DJP-201 which suggests it’s more than an export machine gun. Over the past few years, China has been transitioning from 7.62x54R to 7.62x51 sniper rifles and machine guns.

Welcome back to another episode of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we took a look at some of the benefits when it comes to winter carry. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to give it a look. This week, I wanted to talk about some of the options you can pick up with your Christmas time gift card or extra money you may have gotten. Obviously, this will be dependent on how much your gift card is, but there are several options no matter what your budget is. Let’s take a closer look at some of the best carry items to buy after Christmas.

Today’s Top 10 addresses a commonly asked question in the firearms community. What handgun should I buy for home defense? Certainly a loaded question, pun intended, there are many reliable and solid-performing handguns on the market to suit every type of shooter. From those with more experience who have earned their parking spot at the range to casual plinkers who understand their duty to themselves and their families, it is a good time to be alive and take advantage of all the advancements in firearms technology and design.

The QJB-201 is a significant addition to the new series of small arms designed to modernize the Chinese PLA ground forces. It is intended to replace the QJB-95 and QJY-88 light machine guns and is China's response to the US SAW. This new weapon and the QZB-191 family of firearms marks a shift in the PLA infantry structure, a clear sign of the modernization of the PLA forces.

One of the most anticipated new releases from Palmetto State Armory was the “Krink” AK when it was announced at SHOT Show 2023. The AKS-74U is a grail gun for many shooters, but it is a hard one to find, and expensive if one can be located. A PSA Krink would make that gun both affordable and available. I asked PSA to send me one to review, and it is time to talk about how it performed.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Web Deals 119! This series is brought to you by KYGUNCO, your one-stop online shop for all things firearms.

Welcome back to another edition of Silencer Saturday. Last week we talked about subsonic ammunition, and some myths and misconceptions about it. One point that was discussed briefly was using fixed-barrel pistols in .380 ACP and .32 ACP. Well, this week we are looking at some suppressed Beretta Cheetahs matching that description.

We’re back again with another roundup of fresh firearms-focused podcasts in TFB Podcast Roundup 160. Each week we’re bringing you a new set of podcasts from across the web that cover a wide variety of topics including gunsmithing, hunting, precision shooting, war stories, competition shooting, gun industry news, and much more. In addition, we’re also featuring the most recent episode of TFB’s own Behind The Gun Podcast which airs every week on Thursday mornings. If you’d like to check out the full episode list for TFB’s Behind The Gun Podcast, you can find it here on the TFB website or on your favorite podcast app. Sit back, relax, and enjoy listening to this week’s selection of gun podcasts.

In the modern sporting rifle world we are in a bit of a crossroads; a midlife crisis, if you will. We, as the gun community, are blessed to have hundreds of options when it comes to purchasing an AR-15 platform rifle. Some poor, some OK, and quite a few are good. To differentiate yourself from the pack, you either need to be a stalwart name that has been around for decades or deliver something authentically unique and inspiring to the table. A new, up-and-coming company in X2 Dev Group is positioning themselves to do the latter. They have a highly customized upper and lower receiver set as well as other proprietary features blended into their build that will hopefully have you reaching for your checkbook. So, today we are going to take a look at the X2 Dev Group AR-X LightFighter .223 Wylde rifle to see if its premium price tag also delivers premier performance. Let’s dive in!

The QJZ-171 large-caliber machine gun is a marvel of engineering, offering a 12.7x108 weapon that bridges the weight gap between medium and heavy machine guns. Surprisingly, it provides a larger caliber in a weapon that weighs as much as a typical general-purpose or medium-machine gun. The QJZ-171, also known as the mountain large-caliber heavy machine gun, is perhaps the lightest .50 caliber machine gun available, weighing only 26.4 lbs (11.9 kg). This weight is nearly the same as the M240 or MAG58, yet it provides a significantly increased range, surpassing the .338 Norma Magnum in range and kinetic energy.

Welcome back to another episode of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about some of the hard truths when it comes to carrying various handguns and accessories. If you missed that article, click the link here to check it out. This week, I want to talk about some of the major benefits of carrying in the winter and how things can change when the surroundings become colder. Although it may be more difficult to draw from concealment and present the pistol, there are a number of benefits that people can have once winter rolls around. Let’s take a closer look at some of the benefits of winter carry.

Welcome to the Guns of the Decades. In this article series, we’ll pick a firearm from a decade, and briefly talk about where it was at the time. It’s not meant to be an all-encompassing detailed record of the firearm or a claim that it was the best firearm of the decade. It's a fun read about a gun that you may have forgotten about or one that may have been lost in time.

This week on Wheelgun Wednesday, we're tracing the fascinating journey of magnum revolvers, from the groundbreaking .357 Magnum of 1935 to Smith & Wesson's latest innovation - the Model 350. While most are familiar with the progression of traditional magnum cartridges, the story takes an interesting turn when we look at how rifle cartridges found their way into revolver frames.

The battlefield on the Eastern Front of World War II illustrated a horrific lesson—that victory can be won with tragic heroism and noble sacrifice. Still, ultimately, without technical and tactical innovation, it is a cruel waste of life. The Soviet Union learned quickly, changing tactics and developing vast small arms to combat the next war. With lessons fresh in their memories, new concepts were developed and evolved to change the world.

The PK and PKM can be traced back to the Goryunov SG-43 medium machine gun, a testament to the unwavering perseverance of Kalashnikov's design team. Their dedication and hard work in refining the machine gun are genuinely inspiring. This historical evolution, from the SG-43 to the PK series, carries significant weight in the field of military technology.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report! We’ve been talking a lot about firearms and trends from the past lately and today I thought it might be fun to talk about something a bit more modern and a bit more fun in my opinion - precision rimfire competitions. The National Rimfire League or NRL22 is one of the fastest-growing competitions out there. I recently had a chance to chat with a few friends who’ve been competing in NRL22, and after listening to their stories, I thought it might be good to condense and break down some of that info with you here in the hopes that some of you might take up the sport yourself. Whether you’re looking to take the leap from casual backyard plinking or just want a fresh challenge that won’t blow through your wallet, NRL22 might be exactly what you’re looking for.

I love to shoot. Especially when I don’t have to pay for the ammo. And thankfully, life gave me plenty of opportunities to do that when I did trials and weapon testing in different countries. I wore out gloves in 7 days just from constant magazine loading, more than once my shoulder looked like one giant bruise with skin peeling off, and a couple of guns exploded in my hands, but that never once stopped me from shooting more. Until one day in 2018, when we went to the indoor range to test a newer version of the 9 mm SMG “Vityaz” (КR-9). It had a conventional suppressor, what was unconventional was the insane amount of backpressure - gas that was coming back into the action and hitting the shooter in the face.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Web Deals 118! This series is brought to you by KYGUNCO, your one-stop online shop for all things firearms.

Recently, the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has absolutely dominated the news cycle. A silencer featured prominently in that assassination and led to all sorts of wild conjecture about what exactly was used. Another related topic was subsonic ammunition, both whether it was used and whether it would have accounted for the malfunctions seen with the suspect’s gun. This article is going to break down subsonic ammunition, what it is and what it isn’t, and why many of the popular assumptions from video games and the media are not very accurate.