Guns & Gear

In 2024, Remington (now part of “The Kinetic Group”) introduced a whole bunch of new ammunition lines, including several different variants of .22LR ammunition. One of those was their new Remington “Ranch Hand” ammunition, which we’ll be looking at today. Ranch Hand is an almost perfect name for the ammo if you’re trying to get people to think of it as workhorse pest-control ammunition, and today we’ll largely be judging it with that kind of performance in mind. Over the last 6 months or so, I’ve shot a collective 300 rounds of this stuff, and I have a few thoughts on what I think might be the best I’ve seen yet from Remington’s growing arsenal of .22 LR ammunition.

Rock Island Auction Company has set a world record for the most expensive AK-47 pattern rifle ever sold at an auction. Of course, it’s not just any AK; it’s a milled receiver Chinese Type 56 fully transferable machine gun, a Vietnam War bringback by USMC Lt. Col. Frank Wolcott. This rifle was sold during the December 2025 Rock Island Premier Firearms Auction for a whopping $246,750, way exceeding the estimated price range of $80,000-$130,000 that the lot was initially expected to be sold for.

Zastava unveiled a new machine gun chambered in the increasingly popular .338 Norma Magnum prototype at the Partner 2025 arms expo in Belgrade. Partner 2025 (held September 23-26, 2025) was officially opened by the Serbian Ministry of Defense and showcased the country’s latest military technology. As a machine gun guy, observing Partner 2025, I took note of the Zastava .338 NM MG, and in my opinion, it is one of the exhibition’s most innovative infantry weapons. Overall, the system represents both a technical and strategic milestone: for the first time, Serbia joins the cadre of nations fielding next-generation medium machine guns in the .338 Norma Magnum caliber. With this entry, Zastava joins a small, select group of manufacturers and nations investigating or adopting the .338 Norma Magnum for medium/heavy machine guns, pushing the boundaries of automatic fire while keeping the company’s trademark emphasis on durability and battlefield practicality.

NEXTORCH North America has announced the release of the WL25, a rail-mounted tactical weapon light that combines a high-output white light with an integrated green laser. The unit is designed to support rapid target identification and aiming in low-light conditions. Output is rated at up to 1,200 lumens and 44,100 candela, with a beam distance of approximately 459 yards.

Tippmann Arms has announced the ELITE ISS Rifle and the ELITE Bug Out ISS Pistol, two new integrally suppressed .22LR firearms. The introduction comes ahead of the upcoming federal change that removes the long-standing $200 suppressor tax under the National Firearms Act, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026.

I’ve been taught that the off‑season is where most hunts or shooting competitions are actually won. Once your tags for the season are filled or the ranges start slowing down for winter, and the big rifles are back in the safe, most hunters and competitors suddenly have more free mornings and time to get set up for the next season. But burning centerfire ammo, barrels, and components at winter prices feels like lighting money on fire, almost just for the entertainment. I’m a huge believer, however, that a properly set‑up .22 LR trainer lets you rehearse every part of your hunting (or general marksman) process without beating up your shoulder, your barrel, or your wallet. Today, we’ll go over what I think that looks like.

The market gets bombarded with all sorts of odd products, but every now and then, there’s that product that gets it just right. I think we have a great example here. The VX7 Snus Holster is designed to keep your snus ( snuff) secure and easy to reach throughout the day, whether you’re working, training on the range, or on the move. It offers a durable, adjustable carry solution made with the same Swedish craftsmanship found across the VX7 product line. You could say this is an open carry of your snus.

Daniel Defense @ TFB:

I’m a huge fan of .22LR and .22 WMR pocket pistols. While their efficacy in defensive situations is probably suspect, to me, they’re collectively some of the best firearm curios out there. The AMT backup fits perfectly into that niche and actually even shares a lot of the same features and aesthetic choices of that era when these types of guns ran rampant on both local gun shop shelves as well as pawn shop display cases. I’ve yet to add one to my own collection just yet, but as I was browsing through listings on GunBroker.com this last Black Friday, I couldn’t help but look, and that little browsing session helped inspire this week’s Rimfire Report subject. So let's check out and see what the .22LR version of the AMT Backup had to offer.

The Texas Typewriter is the latest and greatest from the boys over at Black Collar Arms. The new Texas Typewriter is a modular, semi-automatic, 22LR platform meant to give you the ability to endlessly customize the platform by giving you complete compatibility with aftermarket and OEM 10/22 parts and accessories. What makes the Texas Typewriter really special is its monolithic receiver, which is supposed to give it extreme rigidity, as well as lighten the whole load (receiver, barrel, forend, and stock) down to a little less than 4 lbs total. On top of that, the gun can be ordered as a kit, pistol, or SBR, and even features ambidextrous bolt knobs for all of you southpaw rimfire junkies out there.

The requirements are specific and clearly written by people who actually use rifles. The Secret Service wants a rifle that's no taller than 8 inches without accessories, weighs no more than 8 pounds including suppressor, and measures no longer than 29 inches with the stock folded and suppressor attached. Barrel length must fall between 12.25 and 14 inches.

It wasn’t until my mid-to-late 20s that I began to take my hearing protection seriously. I ran heavy equipment for a living and loved shooting and hunting, so my ears were often under fire from dangerously loud noises. I began to notice a slight hearing decline, so I started wearing foam earplugs at work and ear pro while shooting and hunting. However, I found that shouldering my rifle and shotgun while wearing my old earmuffs didn’t allow me to get a good cheek weld on the stock. So, I began the search for the best shooting earbuds. Below are my top picks for 2025.

Lost? Today’s Photo of the Day highlights a new variant of the M&P 15-22 Sport finished in a Cerakote ODG Topographic pattern. Perhaps it will help you find your way home? The rifle is a familiar entry in the rimfire training category, but this version stands out with its polymer receivers, handguard, stock, and grip all coated in the same topo-style finish. The photos show how the pattern flows across the surfaces, giving the lightweight platform a distinctive look.

According to WOOX, the components are engineered with attention to ergonomics and durability. The parts are said to offer precision machining and are intended to provide a premium fit and feel for AK-pattern rifles.

The Russian VSS “Vintorez” has to be one of the coolest and most impossible-to-get guns out there. Pressed into service back in ‘87 when the USSR was on its last leg, VSS’s claim to fame largely lies in its design. The rifle featured an integral suppressor, special rounds built for punching through armor, and a closely related assault rifle variant dubbed the AS Val. Chances are, none of us will ever actually lay hands on a real Vintorez, but that’s where Raiders Arms comes in. “Penny,” the creator of the VSS-22 Chassis System, has whipped up a pretty awesome kit that lets you build your own lookalike version on any regular 10/22—no need to hunt down rare ammo. The kit’s up for pre-order, so in today’s edition of The Rimfire Report, we’ll take a closer look at this neat aftermarket body kit.

The Strike X-Logic Warpath compensator has two ports on each side and a single top port. This model also features a pin and weld hole at the bottom to allow increasing the legal barrel length to 16 inches when installed on 14.5-inch barrels. The thread pitch is 1/2x28. The overall length of this muzzle device is 2.06” and it weighs 2.5oz.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program has a large batch of surplus .22LR target rifles available for purchase now. Classic models like the Winchester 52 and Remington 40X are in stock for what may be the last time. Keep reading for all the details.

NEXTORCH North America has announced the WL15 Tactical Weapon Light, a rail-mounted illumination tool developed in Germany and built for law enforcement, military, and security applications. The light delivers a stated output of 1,200 lumens and 44,100 candela, producing a concentrated beam that the company claims reaches up to 459 yards (420 meters). Its purpose is to support quick identification of targets and surroundings in low-light or time-critical situations.

Volquartsen Firearms has partnered with Davidson’s to release an exclusive FDE Mini Mamba-TF, a lightweight .22 LR pistol built around the company’s compact Mamba platform. Designed as a purpose-ready suppressor host, the Mini Mamba-TF measures just over 8 inches overall and weighs approximately 1 pound 12 ounces. The result is a strange-looking pistol, but my urge to get one and suppress it isn’t small.

The Out-The-Front (OTF) knife category continues to expand, and Backup Tactical is back for round two with the new Fat Butcher. After the success of the Stinger OTF, company owner and OG Florida-Man Jayson Bayne has once again teamed up with South African knifemaking legend Andre De Villiers (ADV Tactical) for an all-new design—the Fat Butcher OTF. This latest release brings a beefier, more aggressive take on their relatively new American-made automatic knife lineup while retaining all the precision machining, materials, and reliability that made the Stinger a standout, and also the addition of a few novel features that set it apart from every other OTF currently out there.

Suppressors on most handguns are pretty silly for most people and most applications. One of the rare exceptions to this is suppressors on .22LR handguns. The MK IV, although not specifically designed as such, has evolved into one of the best suppressor hosts over the years. With a fixed, often very accurate, pre-threaded barrel, the ability to mount optics, it's often the first choice of many for a first pistol suppressor host. However, one drawback of putting a suppressor on any pistol you plan to use at the range is that there’s typically no good place to put a hot suppressor-equipped pistol when you’re not using it. Today on The Rimfire Report, we’re checking out a great addition to the HUSH Holster lineup - their MK IV adapter, which solves this problem.

The old-school DShK and Type 54 heavy machine guns, supplied by the Soviet Union and China, were once the backbone of Vietnam’s heavy machine gun inventory. Rugged, reliable, and brutally effective, they earned their reputation across countless battlefields during the wars against the French, South Vietnam, and the United States. Their 12.7mm projectiles can defeat light armor and low-flying aircraft, while their long range and sheer volume of fire make them invaluable in both offense and defense. Over time, these weapons became legends, remembered as symbols of Vietnam’s anti-aircraft capability.

According to the video, yes. The presenter put rounds downrange at 50 yards with both barrels and achieved touching groups—half an inch apart or less. That's impressive for any pistol, let alone one this unconventional. With the .17 caliber cartridges, there's minimal recoil, and the red dot sight reportedly stayed on target throughout.

Couple A Buds is a new company (established in 2023) that has developed a training product called the True Weight Mag Insert. These machined brass magazine inserts are designed to replicate the weight of a fully loaded magazine for training purposes. Additionally, these inserts deactivate the bolt hold open activation mechanism of the magazine to allow cycling the BCG without having it locked back and use dry fire lasers.

Vietnam’s defense industry has steadily grown in capability over the past decades, and one of the more interesting developments is the DL7N machine gun, a Vietnamese-produced version of the world-famous   Russian PKM general-purpose machine gun. This weapon, designated DL7N (ĐL-7N), is chambered in the traditional 7.62x54mm cartridge and serves as the standard-issue machine gun for Vietnamese motorized infantry at the platoon or company level.

Photo Of The Day, and we’re looking at a Ruger 10/22 Charger Rimfire pistol built by Sharp Shot Studios. Did you ever have a project that “snowballed”? Well, this one did and what was initially an 8" Ruger 10/22 Charger with the intent to put a simple optic on it and suppress it, kind of continued.

Tick-tock - it’s time to Pew Pew! Heckler & Koch has partnered with MTM Watch to produce a limited run of HK Hypertec watches, available exclusively through the HK Webshop. Each timepiece is built with a solid 316L stainless-steel case, Swiss quartz movement, and scratch-resistant glass crystal.

Angstadt Arms has been one of the few companies that has made the investment into really fine-tuning rimfire suppression technology. Rich and his team over at Angstadt Arms are excited to announce their next move with the launch of the Vanquish 22 suppressed barrel, this time made specifically for the Ruger Precision Rimfire platform (one of my favorite bolt-action 22s). This new system promises a combination of whisper-quiet suppression and match-grade accuracy, all with near-zero maintenance demands, and down the road in a future Rimfire Report article, I hope to cover and capture exactly what is being offered here. For now, here’s the official press release from Angstadt Arms.

Hello and welcome back to another edition of The Rimfire Report. In this series, we cover a lot of rimfire guns that are trying to be the jack of all trades. 22LR in particular as a cartridge lends itself well to this kind of job, as it's just lethal enough to be useful for small game hunting, while also being an affordable target practice, training, and plinking round for most people. 22 Magnum, on the other hand, is much more purpose-built, ideally finding itself in the hands of a skilled varmint hunter or land owner looking to remove a few pests from their property. Likewise, the Henry Lever Action .22 Magnum Express is a purpose-built firearm - meant to be a precise, quick, and lightweight 22 Magnum platform with small game hunting as its goal. Today, we’ll look at this great offering in the Henry Rimfire Lever Action to see where the value in this $600 magnum rimfire lies.