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The Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane has quietly posted one of the more interesting small arms solicitations in recent memory. The Hypervelocity Improved Capability Assault Rifle program, HICAR for short, is USSOCOM's ask for a carbine that can do something current M4-based platforms simply cannot: reach out past 600 meters with a standard 5.56mm package, without making operators carry anything heavier or bulkier than what they're already running.

For our Photo Of The Day, we’re back to Special Forces with their specialized gear. This unit is headquartered at Fort Carson, Colorado, with a forward-deployed battalion at Stuttgart, Germany, under U.S. Special Operations Command Europe, and is among the Army's most versatile special operations forces.

The best way I can think of answering this is by listing the pluses alongside the minuses, and there are quite a few of both.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is funding a   lawsuit filed against the Commonwealth of Virginia over its newly enacted   HB 217 / SB 749, which the group calls an unconstitutional ban on commonly owned firearms. The suit was filed in Fauquier County Circuit Court on May 15.

Shell Shock Technologies has commercially released its .338 Lapua NAS3 cartridge cases, extending the company’s two-piece NAS3 technology into one of the most demanding long-range calibers on the market. The cases are available now direct from the manufacturer in quantities ranging from 250 to 5,000.

Longtime readers here and early GunTube fans have likely followed Dugan Ashley of CarniK Con (Carnivorous Kinetic Concepts) since he burst onto the scene around 2013. Jordan Derrick, who is an OIF Army veteran, brought something fresh with his high-energy humor and unique access to obscure firearms and full autos, at least in the early days of Guntube. Along with a healthy dose of genuine technical firearms knowledge, Dugan also self-produced gun-themed music tracks, and in my opinion, had an unfiltered American spirit, specifically unique to the state of Missouri.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Web Deals 187 and Happy Memorial Day! We’re back with more deals on guns, gear, ammunition, and accessories from some of our most frequented online retailers like 5.11 Tactical, 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.

NIJ threat levels, the three ways armor gets worn on patrol, what each platform does well and where it falls short, and the fit and long-term wear considerations that differ depending on which system you're in.

The AK-100 series was developed during one of the hardest periods in modern Russian history, in the years after the Soviet Union collapsed and the country was dealing with a deep economic crisis. In that environment in the early 1990s, Izhmash made the ambitious decision to create a new family of rifles for a new emerging market. These rifles would share as many parts as possible while still covering different calibers and barrel lengths.

This is a fascinating Photo Of The Day (POTD) set showcasing some of the U.S. Army's current small arms family, with the XM8 Carbine, the M7 rifle, the M250 and the M4A1. It’s not often we get to see studio-quality images, but here’s the new XM8 Carbine in a perfect side-view. Here's what's going on with each weapon pictured.

Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we took a look at carrying with compensators on your carry gun. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to give it a quick read. This week, I think it's important to check your carry gun before the summer hits the northern part of the country in full force in the next few weeks. Florida is already hotter than the surface of the sun, but northern states are starting to feel warmer temperatures, which means you need to check and maintain your carry gun and its equipment. With the rising temperatures, your carry gun will be prone to having more sweat and debris around the handgun, so it's important to inspect and maintain your gear. Let's take a closer look at items to check before summer.

Vlad Onokoy, renowned AK connoisseur and TFB contributor, has a new book on the way. ‘From Balkans to Babylon: Zastava AKs of Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Iraq’ will be published by Safar Publishing and is now available for pre-order. It is the first English-language book on the history, variants, and field use of Zastava AK rifles and the Iraqi-produced Tabuk AK (which is based on the Zastava).

Virginians did not wait to find out whether Governor Abigail Spanberger would sign a ban on the sale of popular semi-automatic rifles before heading to their local gun stores. Newly released industry data shows Virginia ranked fourth among all states for overall firearm sales-related background checks in April, and second for long gun sales, despite being only the twelfth most populous state.

Wilcox Industries has announced the MINI-GL40, a standalone 40mm grenade launcher platform built around the company’s RAAM GSS M fire control system. The system was released on May 14 and is aimed at modern grenadiers who need a day and night capable, modular platform with integrated ballistic computation.

ATN has announced the TICO 6, the newest entry in the company's thermal clip-on lineup and the first built on what ATN calls its 6th Generation thermal engine. Rather than asking hunters to swap out a trusted daytime riflescope for a dedicated thermal unit, the TICO 6 mounts in front of an existing optic and converts it into a thermal-capable system without requiring a re-zero or any change to eye relief, balance, or reticle familiarity.

This week, we’re catching up with some friends of the podcast who are stepping into fresh chapters in the firearms world. This week, Kevin and Bryce from The Carry Handle Podcast talk all about their new beginnings.

A short, low back-pressure 5.56 suppressor purpose-built for duty rifles. Dead Air's CT5P makes a strong case that the best suppressor is the one you barely notice.

Sometimes you just have to grab that one last thing when you’re on the way to the range, and sometimes, at least in my experience, that can even be the targets you forgot at home. While I have yet to see them in my neck of the woods, Re-Nine Safety announced fairly recently that their unique Steel Target Kit has started showing up at their growing network of gun stores across the western United States. I’ve been able to get a sample of this $125 all-inclusive kit, and today we’ll take a closer look at how it withstood a rather abusive weekend at the range.

During Exercise Salaknib at Fort Magsaysay in the Philippines, Pfc. Victor Salazar of the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, was photographed employing a counter-UAS device integrated directly onto his M4 carbine. Fort Magsaysay is the largest military reservation in the Philippines and serves as a key training area for the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Chiappa Firearms has added a new single-action revolver to its lineup for 2026, and this one does not pretend to be a period piece. The S.A. 1873 Black Thunder Hunter takes the silhouette and operating system of the 1873 pattern revolver and layers in a set of practical modern upgrades aimed squarely at hunters and field shooters.

If you’re a firearms owner in New England and you’re concerned with the region’s existing and proposed laws affecting gun owners in individual states, then you have a chance soon to start doing something about it. The first-ever New England Firearms Advocacy Conference runs on Saturday, May 30, and it’s intended to bring firearms owners together to discuss how to handle problems.

Ernest Langdon's fingerprints have been on Beretta 92 pistols in one form or another for years, but the relationship between Langdon Tactical Technology and Beretta USA keeps producing more ambitious factory results. The 92G Elite Combat LTT is the latest expression of that collaboration, and it ships as one of the most comprehensively equipped production pistols in the 9mm full-size category.

Safariland and Haley Strategic Partners have been at this collaboration for a while now, and the Incog X line has earned its reputation in the EDC holster space. The new Incog XS seems like the logical next step, a trimmed-down, single-clip IWB option built specifically around the wave of subcompact and micro-compact pistols that have eaten up the concealed carry market over the past few years.

XS Sights has been around a long time, and so has the Ruger SP101 revolver. That doesn’t mean that the sight manufacturer can’t keep on figuring out new ways to improve this old wheelgun design, though. They continue to innovate with a new pre-drilled front sight system for this revolver.

A recent development unveiled by Kalashnikov.ru was the Kalashnikov Concern's “AK-12 Plus,” a revealing example of how Russian ambitions to increase the effective range of their current assault rifle designs are driven by a realization of the need for improved accuracy and increased range without changing to a larger caliber quite yet. Presented as a “Plus” configuration package, the concept was intended to turn the standard AK-12 into something far more specialized than a conventional infantry rifle. Yuri Trutnev, the deputy prime minister of the russian federation, requested this program.

As with most people’s lives, we don’t get proper machine gun content every day, but when it shows up, it tends to deliver. Here’s to the U.S. Marines from Battalion Landing Team 3/5, part of the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, seen running M240B machine guns during a live-fire exercise at sea.

One of the top manufacturers of rimfire ammunition is having a really big birthday this year. CCI is turning 75, and they’re celebrating that milestone with plenty of throwback posts on their social media.

Davidson's and Bond Arms have teamed up again, this time releasing the second iteration of their "Dead Man's Hand" two-shot derringer as an exclusive through Davidson's Gallery of Guns. The model is chambered for both .45 Colt and 3-inch .410 bore shotshells, and it carries enough Old West personality to back up that name.

PSA's retro brand Harrington & Richardson is now shipping one of the new models we saw at SHOT Show 2026. The Model 606 is a faithful recreation of one of the first M16-based squad automatic weapons. It also seems like an ideal candidate for a forced reset trigger.

I always wanted a good set of binoculars with an integrated camera to share my experiences. It seems Steiner Optics listened, as they just introduced the eDiscovery 10x42, which is built around a fully integrated 4K camera and the company's Steiner Connect 2.0 smartphone app. The combination represents Steiner's first foray into bino-cam integration at this level, pairing analog optical performance with onboard digital capture in a single rubber-armored chassis.