Reviews

The Walther PDP has quickly become a pistol of choice for all manner of applications: defense, recreation, and competition. Like many stock handguns though, it can leave much to be desired in the way of iron sights and even the adaptation of optics. So, in this TFB Review, we are going to take a look at the XS Sights Walther PDP Tritium Sight Set and RMR Optic Plate Bundle to see how much of an upgrade it actually is for a factory Walther PDP. Let’s dive in!

The replacement of the G36 has been a long time coming for the Bundeswehr, and at Exercise Reliable Lion on the ranges at Grafenwöhr, Panzergrenadiere of Panzerbrigade 12 "Oberpfalz" are now putting rounds downrange with the rifle that finally closes that chapter: the G95KA1. Or how many optics can you stack on top of each other?

This week for Fudd Friday, I need your help. I drew a deer tag for Utah’s “restricted rifle” hunt. The rules are simple: the rifle must be manually operated and only equipped with iron sights. If you were going on a mule deer hunt out west and had to take an irons-only setup, what would you pick? Let’s discuss.

Switzerland’s B&T has regained full control of the B&T brand in the US. Legal disputes between B&T AG in Switzerland and its US subsidiary, B&T USA, emerged in 2025, with $15 million in B&T AG products reportedly unpaid for by B&T USA. The B&T AG has now revealed that they have regained control of their US trademarks and will be launching a wholly Swiss-owned U.S. operation later this year.

Luke C sits down with Jeremy Deadman, President of @Xtechtactical at GunCon to talk through what's new at the company — a fresh line of magazine wells, an expanded SKU list for Glock and Smith & Wesson magazines, and the LDR-2000, a speed loader designed to work across nearly every pistol magazine body size on the market.

Luke C talks with Earle Pope, owner of Chestnut Mountain Manufacturing, at GunCon 2026 about the company's OKP-7 reproduction optic — a faithful recreation of the classic Russian-pattern reflex sight right down to the real Russian manual (obviously translated into English, too). Built for real AK-platform rifles and pistols, not airsoft replicas, the OKP-7 will also be getting an upgrade in the form of a more common battery type and other improved features over the original to make it that much better.

Luke C speaks with Josh at GunCon 2026 — a former suppressor engineer from Advanced Armament Corp (AAC) who's now putting that legacy industry experience to work at LayerX Suppression, a newer company out of Livonia, Michigan, building suppressors with aerospace-grade manufacturing techniques. Josh walks Luke through how the LayerX manufacturing background translates into modern suppressor design and what separates LayerX's approach from the legacy designs around which a lot of the suppressor market is still built.

The gap between classroom de-escalation performance and street application, what the research shows about verbal technique under stress, and what distinguishes training that transfers from training that produces a certificate.

Meprolight is a name that most shooters have heard of, whether for tritium night sights or reflex sights like the venerable M21. But over the last few years, they have been expanding their product lineup to include magnified optics as well. The newly released MVO 6-36x56 is the highest magnification model yet, lining up against some heavy hitters in the long-range scope world. Let’s see how it stacks up.

Tampa Bay turned into a live battlespace on May 20, 2026, as U.S. Special Operations Forces and personnel from 10 partner nations executed the annual "Battle in the Bay" capability demonstration along the downtown waterfront. The scenario centered on a simulated kidnapping and rescue operation, with helicopters, rigid-hull inflatable boats, drones, ATVs, and combat divers all converging in a compressed one-hour window that gave both conference attendees and members of the public a rare look at how modern SOF elements operate in coordination. Above a P320 with a FLUX Defence chassis can be seen.

Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we discussed the benefits and potential issues of carrying customized pistols. If you happened to miss that article, be sure to click the link here to check it out. A common consensus in the comment section is buying higher factory options of carry guns, so everything is sorted from the factory. While I completely agree with that train of thought, it's important to understand the realities of carrying concealed and what those potential drawbacks are in the world today.

The state government in New York continues to find new ways to complicate the lives of gun owners and residents in general. Their latest attack on 3D printers will make at least some of these modern tools effectively impossible to buy legally in the state.

Luke C. catches up with Dave Kiwaka from Inland Mfg at GunCon 2026 to talk about the new Model 1910 suppressor, a faithful homage to Hiram Percy Maxim's original 1910 offset-bore design built to keep the can out of your sight picture. Inland's version, available in .30 caliber and .357/9mm, uses a modern monoblock build that makes it easy to run and even easier to service. Once it's on the barrel, it never has to come off, even for cleaning.

In case you haven’t noticed, the United States of America has a very big birthday coming up—a 250th birthday, on July 4, 2026. Magnum Research reckons this is a birthday worth celebrating, and they’re putting out a special-edition Desert Eagle to honor the country hitting the two-and-a-half century mark!

I recently had the opportunity to participate in the Skills division at the  NRL Hunter Leupold Relentless Rifleman match, and I’m already sold on this new sport. On this episode of TFB Behind the Gun podcast, I’m proud to welcome the founder and president of the NRL Hunter series, Travis Ishida. A longtime National Rifle League participant, Travis is spearheading one of the fastest-growing practical precision shooting disciplines in the country. As he explains, the NRL Hunter series is about far more than fancy gear. It focuses instead on perfecting the shooter’s performance, no matter what the environment throws at them in the field and on perfecting them as not just a marksman but a hunter as well. If you have been looking for a competition that emphasizes precise shot placement and real-world hunting skills over pure speed and the latest boutique PRS cartridges, this may be exactly what you need.

Red dots - and green ones, too - have been the future of many firearm platforms in recent years; especially handguns. One of the most clever innovations that I have witnessed from an optics company in recent years is the shotgun dot. The Vortex Optics Viper Shotgun Enclosed Dot has such a clever mounting design that you can fit it on hundreds of shotgun models without the need for gunsmithing. We previously reviewed the red dot on our sister site of AllOutdoor.com. Today, we are going to review the Vortex Optics Viper Shotgun Enclosed Multi-Reticle Micro Green Dot to see how it performs. Let’s dive in!

Few firearms carry as much mystique as the AKS-74U. Fielded by Soviet forces in Afghanistan starting in the early 1980s, the stubby little Krinkov bridged the gap between a submachine gun and a full-length rifle, and it became one of the most iconic compact firearms of the Cold War era. Palmetto State Armory has been building American-made versions of that concept under their Soviet Arms banner, and the lineup has grown to cover four calibers on the same stamped-steel platform.

There's a pretty common misconception floating around gun circles that Samuel Colt had some hand in the Single Action Army. Maybe he designed it, maybe he approved it, maybe he at least lived to see it. The reality is that Colt died in January 1862, more than a decade before the SAA ever existed. The gun that actually closes the chapter on his life's work isn't the one nestled in a holster in every western movie. It's a small, refined, five-shot .36 caliber pocket revolver that most people couldn't pick out of a lineup. The Colt 1862 Police.

The American gun industry continues to move out of New England and into the southern U.S., with Ruger quietly moving its headquarters out of Connecticut earlier this year.

WOOX has a new series of traditional wood sporter stocks. The Elegante family includes several different models for popular firearms. It also combines an aluminum mini chassis with a wood outer body for a traditional feel without compromising accuracy.

Germany's military is doubling down on its investment in small arms targeting capability. Rheinmetall has announced a second major call-off under its existing framework contract with the Bundeswehr for the LLM-VarioRay Laser-Light-Module, with deliveries running from 2026 through 2032. The contract, worth several hundred million euros, follows budget approval from the German Bundestag's Budget Committee in December 2025 and covers a six-figure quantity of units.

Warne Scope Mounts is adding quick-detach capability to one of its most trusted ring lines. The new Maxima Horizontal QD Rings bring the company's indexable lever system to the Maxima Horizontal platform, giving hunters and field shooters tool-free optic removal without trading away the return-to-zero guarantee the original rings are known for.

One of the dominating trends in the firearms industry for the last decade has been red dots on handguns. If we narrow our focus to trends in 2026, then we absolutely need to mention the growing adoption of the Aimpoint COA, an enclosed emitter red dot built for harsh duty use. What does “COA” stand for? Nobody knows… internet lore says possibly Closed Optic Assembly while others argue Combo A-Cut (referring to the slide cut required to mount this optic).

The Interservice Rifle Competition has been sorting out the best rifle shots in the U.S. military for 65 years, and the 65th edition at Weapons Training Battalion, Marine Corps Base Quantico, showed the standard is still climbing. TFB’s Photo Of The Day gives you some of the best images from the event.

Florida's ban on concealed carry for adults aged 18 to 20 is gone. On June 17, 2026, the state's Fourth District Court of Appeal ruled in Eubanks v. State that section 790.06(2)(b), Florida Statutes, is facially unconstitutional as to young adults ages 18 to 20. That's the provision in the licensing law that set the floor at 21. A unanimous three-judge panel said the age cutoff can't be squared with the Second Amendment, and the state's own Attorney General agreed.

A good bipod isn't just about keeping the muzzle off the ground. It's a stability system that lets a shooter manage recoil, control follow-through, and call shots with confidence. In prone, a bipod replaces the shooter's supporting arm, freeing it for trigger control and loading. In field positions, a bipod can anchor the front of the rifle against a pack, a log, or uneven terrain where a sling or hand position won't cut it. For hunters glassing and then transitioning to a shot, fast deployment and a wide footprint are what close the gap between a spotted animal and a clean hit.

SK Guns has created another highly-customized and attractive firearm on the 1911 platform, and this time they are honoring and remembering 9/11 as we approach the 25th Anniversary of that iconic day. The Limited-Edition and Custom Commander 1911 9mm will show a depiction of the Twin Towers, an engraving of “25 Years of Remembrance,” and a lot more inscriptions to commemorate that day.

Cadre Holdings subsidiary Safariland has been chosen as the ballistic panel provider for a major FBI Armor Contract with their relatively new, SX HP Level IIIA Ballistic Panel, being the product that was selected. This ballistic panel was only introduced last year in 2025, and is already receiving recognition and demand from government entities.

Shellshock Protection is slowly making a name for themselves in the eye and ear pro sector of the firearm industry. We reported on one of their first product releases ever in 2024, and now they have something new for us in the EXO Pro Elite Electronic Hearing Protection: an over-ear muff touting excellent noise mitigation at an accessible price-point.

The Supreme Court handed down its decision in United States v. Hemani this week, and the headline writes itself: Marijuana users can own guns. The Court ruled that the government can't prosecute Ali Danial Hemani under the federal law that bars drug users from possessing firearms, at least not the way it tried to do it here.