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Plain-English references worth bookmarking — the gear terms behind every review, plus NFA and carry law.
| Term | Category |
|---|---|
| Striker-fired | Action |
| MOA | Optics |
| Twist rate | Ballistics |
30 gun, ammo and optics terms explained in plain English.
Open the glossary → Network| 2026 at a glance | |
|---|---|
| NFA tax stamp | $0 |
| Permitless carry | 29 states |
| Suppressors legal | 42 states |
50+ NFA, carry and gun-law terms, from Freedom's Lodge.
View full chart →Reader Favorites
The perfect is the enemy of the good. In a recent column about how concealed carry saves lives, I related that one of the armed citizens we profiled had his openly carried firearm taken from him by his attacker. In a bit of a throwaway comment, I mentioned that the incident seems to bolster a…
It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine… Here’s a thought experiment. Whether it’s a zombie pandemic, the pouring out of God’s wrath a la Revelation, or my ex-wife’s Spanx developed a rip right as she bent over, but it’s happened–the world is coming to an end. In the…
A gentle reminder on the importance of “bearing” those arms… It’s human nature, and a human failing: Sometimes we just don’t want to be bothered latching our seatbelts (because we’re just going up the driveway to get our mail), and sometimes we don’t feel like strapping on our EDC rig (because we’re just going to…
Is the outdoors woman in your life a Realtree babe, or a Mossy Oak mama? It seems there’s something in the air the last few days, as each of the two most famous names in camouflage–Realtree and Mossy Oak–have just announced a new camo-bedecked gift for the outdoors woman in your life: One’s a bikini,…
From the creepy-but-explainable to the just plain bizarre… Every so often, the mostly-anonymous social-media site Reddit asks itself a question: Hunters of Reddit, what did you see out there that made you never want to go back into the woods? Some of the replies are clearly jokes; some of the replies aren’t especially freaky or…
What’s better than self-defense training videos? Free self-defense training videos! Are you like me? Sometimes I require a bit of convincing before I’ll commit to buying new tech for my CCW rig. It’s not that I’m (necessarily) a Luddite; nor that I’m (always) cheap. It’s that I’m relying as much on training and muscle memory…
A couple of months back, we announced that Federal Ammunition had a new .410 turkey load… When we first heard the news that Federal Premium was coming out with a new .410 shotshell load suitable for hunting turkeys, it came as a relief–after all, is there anything more punishing to the shoulder than trying to…
If you’re one of the millions of Americans who’s taken responsibility for your own safety by carrying a concealed firearm, you’ll be psyched to learn that there’s a consumer trade show out there just for you, and that it’s coming to Pittsburgh, Penn., this May 17 – 19. It’s called the Concealed Carry Expo, and…
What if you love endless ergonomic options and the warmth of hardwood? Ask any 10 shooters what they love about the AR-15 and its variants, and I guarantee that at least seven of them will mention how easy it is to adjust the stock’s length of pull to account for different shooters, clothing, and what-have-you….
Tonight, the anti-gunners are gonna party like it’s 2004. If you just got a flashback to the presidency of George W. Bush, don’t worry: It’s not your music-festival days come back to haunt you, it’s still 2019, and the anti-gunners just decided to try to use the courts to bankrupt gun manufacturers again. The Connecticut…
Even Indiana Jones sighed, “Why did it have to be snakes?” It’s not that I’m disturbed by snakes, of course. I’m a macho man and I definitely never, ever ran away from a water moccasin making loud yet oddly strangled yelps like a Chihuahua choking on a crack rock. Nor did I ever almost step…
Since when does turning 100 return you to your roots? Since January 2019, that’s when. When you hear the name “Mossberg,” no doubt the first thing you think is “shotgun,” and for good reason: The company is best known for high-quality shotguns at affordable prices. But did you know that, way back in 1919, Mossberg’s…
