Welcome everyone to the 170th edition of ‘Hot Gat or Fudd Crap?’, one of our many series here on TFB. If you’re new to the series, this is where we look at the most obscure firearms that are actually for sale and ask the question – is this Gat a sweet deal or only has a Fudd appeal? Each week the TFB staff weighs in with their thoughts, but readers get the final say in the poll at the bottom of each article. In our last edition, our poll showed that you, the readers, deemed the modified 1917 American Enfield was a hot gat.…
Author: Samuel Griffin
HK’s XM8 popped up in movies, TV shows, and video games and was often seen as the elite super-soldier’s rifle…so what happened to it?
Who doesn’t love a good autoloading shotgun? Unsurprisingly, the first commercially successful type of this weapon came from the mind of the one and only John Moses Browning. Winchester Model 1911 SL (Photo: Gunmagwarehouse) As is the case with many of Browning’s designs, there was a spark of genius that led to a wildly successful weapon, only this time, Winchester completely fumbled everything and ended up with a shotgun known as the “widowmaker.” Today we will look at how and why the Winchester 1911 shotgun rose to infamy and faded into obscurity. The Browning-Winchester Affair John Browning had a long-running relationship with…
HM Defense have released a new .50BMG bolt action rifle called HM50B. This rifle is marketed as being a higher precision weapon than a typical anti-materiel rifle thanks to features like the free-floated match-grade button-rifled and honed barrel, target trigger and unique lock-up system. The HM50B is also designed to allow working its action while staying on the rifle which is achieved thanks to its ejection port and bolt handle layout – it has a right-side ejection port but a left-side bolt handle attached to the front portion of the bolt. HM Defense HM50B rifle features CNC machined billet aluminum upper and lower receivers…
Stranger Things has been one of the few shows that’s consistently been great and simultaneously not gotten axed by Netflix. This behemoth of a show takes on the 1980s with a mix of Goonies, classic horror, and a little bit of Cold War ruckus. It isn’t necessarily a gun-filled action adventure, but it’s got its fair share of firearms. Nancy with her brand new sawed-off shotgun. In Season 4, Nancy is a total badass who appreciates a good gun, but today we are going to be looking at David Harbour’s Hopper and his choice of sidearms as the Chief of Police…
The 90s were a wild time. Companies named their guns like they were in a video game. Well, one specific company did, Cobray. Cobray would be a great Twitter troll. In the 1980s and 1990s, they were a thorn in the side of gun controllers. At one point, they named their revolving shotguns Street Sweepers. The Street Sweeper is not a very good firearm by any metric, but it’s legacy is what we are talking about today. The Street Sweeper revolving shotguns were quite controversial in their day. They were cheap and poorly made clones of the South African Armsel Striker shotguns.…
The M-11/9 in an interesting weapon with an equally interesting history. It is actually fairly reliable! It is everything else that is wrong with it.
Teaching our kids about firearms and gun safety is about more than self-defense or hunting, it’s about raising the next generation of gun owners. Of course, some platforms can seem more daunting than others to introduce. Handguns, specifically, might appear to be a greater challenge when it comes to teaching kids to use them properly and safely. That’s why it’s so important to select the right guns. To learn more, check out our list of five handguns that are solid choices for kids learning to shoot. 1. Walther PPQ 22 M2 5 The Walther PPQ 22 M2 5 is chambered…
The Smith and Wesson Model 14 revolver is one of the true classic members of the .38 Special K-frame family. These were known back in the day for their target match shooting performance out of the box. Typically, a Model 14 revolver has adjustable Patridge target sights and a six inch barrel. First unveiled in 1947, these guns quickly became a favorite of serious shooters during the golden age of the double action revolver, for both competitors and police officers. Besides the generous sight radius and crisp sight picture afforded by this revolver’s sights, it also balances quite nicely. Ever…
When you think of prohibition gangsters and their weapons, you likely get visions of 1911s, Thompsons, and various double-action revolvers. What about Lugers? Likely not, but ye olde Luger was a somewhat popular weapon with bootleggers and gangsters of the era. It doesn’t show up as much because they weren’t as common or as affordable. They tended to be more popular with bootleggers who had plenty of money to spare. Lugers and their popularity in the United States are often overshadowed by other American-made firearms. While they may have never been as common as the American-made 1911, they had their…