Travis Pike

This custom gun from a Colt employee has spawned an entire genre of revolvers. These guns have become known as detective specials and Chief's specials.

If you're in the gun space, you've probably noticed that NFA items have become increasingly popular in recent years.

Smith & Wesson aren't known for their shotguns. Revolvers, yep. Automatics? Sure. Rifles? Yeah, they're popular for those too. Shotguns? They have one, and it's the rather interesting S&W M&P12. Still, they aren't a shotgun company…but they've tried to be. Their first attempt came in the early 1970s with the Smith & Wesson Model 916, aka the Eastridge 916.

Range Day is now history. A gun writer retires to his room, pours over his or her poorly taken photos and starts to think about headlines. A savvy gun writer spends an hour or so at the Circle Bar first and

It’s tough to get beyond PSA’s concept wall. The new Jakls, shotguns and the massive.50 BMG rifle are all grabbing your attention and pining for stories. They deserve them, but if you can fight your way past the wall, you can see that PSA’s two sub-companies, DPMS and H&R, are doing more than a few interesting things.

Not only did Aimpoint release the new dot, but they designed it with an entirely new optic mount. Yes, like many of you, I also took a deep breath and sighed. We didn't really need a new mount, right? Well, the A-cut isn't like any other optic cut. It's not just a screw moved a millimeter or two over. The COA isn't secured by screws in the traditional way.

This year, Beretta reintroduced the Bobcat as the 20X, and they released a new model of the 80X and two new XI models of the 92 series. As a fan of DA/SA hammer-fired guns, I bounced around Beretta's booth like a kitten on amphetamines.

In 2023, Beretta killed the 3032 and 21A Bobcat, much to my dismay, even though I own multiples of each. I love tip-up guns a lot and thought this was the end. Then, boom, SHOT 2024 gave us the 30X. I was excited to see a modernized Tomcat but was dismayed to see a lack of an updated Bobcat. I considered my dismay dismissed as Beretta had released the 20X.

Life isn't easy for the contrarian. It's also not always logical. Still, I like to think contrarians help the industry discover hidden gems, and hopefully, I've done that for you. Do you have any contrarian choices you swear by?

Harrington and Richardson, now a brand under the PSA/JJE umbrella , are known for creating retro rifles. PSA bought Nodak Spud, and the owner of Nodak Spud is the CEO of H&R.