At one point, I didn’t know the difference between the two and ran into trouble trying to put a scope on my rifle. I’ll help you understand the differences. Picatinny accessories generally don’t fit on a Weaver rail, but Weaver accessories do fit on Picatinny rails. The civilian design of a Weaver rail has .18-inch…
The M16 is a well-known rifle because of its mentions in movies referring to the military, so it has become a much-desired gun for individuals to own. Owning a fully automatic M16 is legal for civilians, but the government paperwork required to acquire one takes more than a year, and the purchased M16 must have…
The AR-15 was designed by Eugene Stoner while he was working for ArmaLite Rifles in the 1950s. It was a downsized version of the AR-10 and used plastic and aluminum for key parts to reduce its overall weight. It was meant to be a light and handy rifle. But is it a carbine? The AR-15…
Here at Backfire, we bought seven different rifles and spent over 100 man-hours testings them in seven different categories. After way too much time in the sun, the results are in on these various rifle models. While no rifle was best at everything, we were still able to pick two winners. The best overall rifles…
If there has been one constant in the gun world, it’s Americans’ love for .30 caliber. This relationship even predates smokeless powder with the 30-40 Krag first being produced way back in 1892! While the Krag cartridge had a short service life, Americans saw the potential for this caliber and continued developing better cartridges around…
Like many gun owners, I have an interest in precision shooting. However, the entry costs for centerfire competitions are often prohibitive. The cheap alternative is rimfire, specifically the National Rifle League’s 22LR competition series. For a basic overview of what NRL22 is, please take a look at beginner’s primer article written back in June. NRL…
I Love the Mosin Nagant. It’s my favorite military surplus rifle. My favorite model is the classic 91/30. In high school, I convinced my friends to buy Mosins when they were still pretty cheap. The Mosin Nagant is known for a hard recoil, but the recoil differs on some designs. The perception of harsh recoil…
Lead bullets are the original bullet. Cast bullets come from molten lead that is poured into a mold and then allowed to cool. This soft metal has always been a desirable material for projectiles, being dense, abundant, and easy to work with. Even in modern times, cast lead bullets have certain advantages. A cast bullet…
The .22LR is one of the most popular cartridges on the market today. It is also by far the most popular of the rimfire cartridges. While technically a ‘rifle’ cartridge, many handguns have been chambered in 22LR over the years. Given their immense popularity, I decided to test eight of the most popular rimfire handguns…
I’ve killed more coyotes with my old 12-gauge than any other gun. Sure, my 223 will do, but there’s something to be said about the raw functionality and versatility of a shotgun. I’ve hunted mainly with my shotgun for everything since I was 14 years old. All you need is the right ammo. Hornady Varmint…