Author: Richard Johnson

Richard Johnson is an American author, editor and entrepreneur.

A former police officer and trainer, he left public service and founded Tac6 Media, LLC.

Richard is a prolific writer with hundreds of articles related to firearms and law enforcement published by Harris Publications, Athlon Outdoors, NRA, Police & Security News, The Firearm Blog, Human Events and more.

He currently consults with clients who need online publication management, editorial services, content production and organic traffic acquisition through search engine optimization.

Flashlights

Surefire Rechargeable 123A Batteries

Post author By Richard Johnson
Post date April 17, 2012
3 Comments on Surefire Rechargeable 123A Batteries

There are a lot of white lights, lasers and illuminated optics on the market that use the small, powerful 123A batteries. These batteries work great, but they tend to be expensive.

Surefire is now offering a rechargeable 123A battery kit. The kit includes two rechargeable batteries, the charging unit and power adapters for both home (110v AC) and the car (12v DC). MSRP on the kit is $29 and additional batteries can be bought for $12/pair.

Rechargeable 123A batteries can be used hundreds of times, offering a significant cost savings over their lifetime. However, the rechargeable batteries do not hold as powerful a charge, meaning that runtime is only about 50% of the normal runtime on typical non-rechargeable 123A batteries.

Tags batteries, flashlight, SureFire

Ammunition

Federal Guard Dog Ammunition Video

Post author By Richard Johnson
Post date April 17, 2012

Federal introduced the Expanding Full Metal Jacket (EFMJ) a few years back, and those rounds have been fairly well received. More recently, the company introduced the Guard Dog line of personal defense ammunition, which uses similar technology.

The design concept is to achieve an expanding bullet without using a traditional hollow point. In some pistols, a hollow point bullet design doesn’t reliably feed. Even more, people run into the problem of hollow-point ammunition not being legal in some places (like the entire state of New Jersey). Another problem with traditional hollow points is that material can plug the hollow point and prevent expansion.

Tags ammo, Ammunition, Federal, Guard Dog

news

News from 2012 NRA Show

Post author By Richard Johnson
Post date April 13, 2012

One of our writers is at the 2012 NRA Show this weekend, so watch this page for news and photos of guns and gear being shown in St. Louis. Please note that the NRA Annual Meetings and Expo is the largest public event in the USA for shooting enthusiasts. For members of the shooting industry, the annual SHOT Show is the big event you will want to attend.

Rock River Arms Varmint Rifle

Rock River Arms (RRA) showed the new Fred Eichler varmint rifle at the show. The guns are based on the company’s LAR-15 platform and have a variety of upgrades designed to enhance accuracy. The MSRP for these guns is $1,510.

Beretta ARX 160 in .22 LR

This is a video of the new Beretta ARX160 chambered in .22 LR. The Beretta team also announced that the ARX160 in 5.56 should be released later this year.

New Products from CrossBreed Holsters

Mark Craighead talks about some of the new rigs the company is now making. Also, they are offering a 15% discount for all NRA show attendees if you are at the show.

Advanced Technology International Halo Heatshield

This is a new free-floating heat shield for shotguns. It includes ghost ring sights and the ability to add Picatinny rails if desired.

New Gear from Fort Knox Gun Safes

Fort Knox has a number of new safes and accessories that they introduced at the show. The corner bolts on the safes look impressive.

Ruger 22/45 Lite Pistol

Ruger showed off the new 22/45 Lite pistol. This is an impressive little rimfire pistol. I would love to get one of these on the range.

Crimson Trace

CT introduced a number of new products at the NRA expo. Included among them were new pistol mountable lights called the RailMaster Light. They throw 100 lumens and have a run time of 120 minutes.

The company also brought out some new green laser aiming devices. Green is all new for the company with red in the name. There will be a number of new products using the green lasers.

Show Photos

While at the show, Aaron grabbed a few photos:

Tags 2012 NRA Show, new guns

Military

Marines: Hey Lets Train with Our Actual Weapons!

Post author By Richard Johnson
Post date April 11, 2012
4 Comments on Marines: Hey Lets Train with Our Actual Weapons!

The US Marine Corps has decided to train as it fights. At weapon qualifications, Marines will be allowed to use the weapons and approved optics they carry into battle.

“The intent is to ensure Marines train with the weapon system with which they will fight,” wrote Lt. Gen. Richard Mills in an administrative message.

Not being a Marine, I didn’t realize this, but it seems that firearms qualification scores are part of how promotions are calculated. Therefore, in an effort to ensure “fairness” in the promotional process, it appears the Marines have not allowed their personnel to qualify with what they carry.

For example, the free-floated barrel on the Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) could provide an accuracy advantage to the shooter as compared to a Marine shooting a standard M16 or M4, and therefore could have been removed from qualifications to promote the concept of fairness.

Tags Marine Corps, military, Training, USMC

Rifles

Ruger 10/22 Takedown Rifle

The Ruger 10/22 Takedown is a new rifle that allows the shooter to break it down for compact storage with a quick twist of the barrel. Take down rifles are simply long guns that are designed to easily come apart and reassemble for compact storage and easy transportation.

Take down .22LR rifles like the AR-7 have been popular with backpackers, outdoorsmen and preppers for a long time. Ruger is now throwing their extremely popular 10/22 into the take down mix.

On the new 10/22, disassembly takes mere moments, and reassembly is even easier. Watch the videos below to see how easy it is in action.

The new 10/22 is weather resistant with a synthetic stock and stainless barrel. It comes with a black backpack (with molle webbing, of course) that can hold the Takedown and extra magazines and accessories. This rifle may wind up being the perfect backpacking gun for many people.

Tags .22 LR, 10/22, Ruger, takedown rifle