Author: Michael Crites

Michael Crites has served as executive editor of AmericanFirearms.org since 2016 and previously held positions as associate editor and range correspondent dating back to 2000. He discovered his passion for precision shooting at age 12 during his first visit to his grandfather's shooting range, eventually earning an Expert classification in three different shooting disciplines before age 18.

During his studies at University of Wyoming, he earned four varsity letters on the collegiate rifle and pistol teams, serving as team captain for three consecutive years. He became the first UW student to complete the NRA Range Safety Officer certification while maintaining full-time student status. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Communications.

His diverse career has included roles as Range Safety Coordinator for the National Rifle Championships in Camp Perry 2001; editor-in-chief, Precision Shooter Quarterly; series editor, Modern Firearms Handbook collection; managing editor, National Shooting Sports Foundation Newsletter; editor, Competitive Shooter Magazine; operations director for Western Arms & Ammunition Co.; senior editor for the Shooter's Reference Annual (Cheyenne); content director for The Firearms Report, published by the American Shooting Coalition in Billings, MT; firearms correspondent for Hunting & Shooting, produced by Outdoor Sports Media Group in Jackson, WY; and publisher for Wyoming Shooting Sports Journal in Casper. He has contributed as a regular columnist for American Rifleman (NRA Publications), technical editor for Precision, a publication of the National Bench Rest Shooters Association (Phoenix, AZ); and as firearms specialist for the Gun Owner's Annual.

As a digital content creator, he has written more than 400 articles on AmericanFirearms.org, developed shooting technique coverage for the Brownells Shooting Blog (Montezuma, IA) and Federal Premium "Range Notes" platform (Anoka, MN), and served as lead content strategist for International Defensive Pistol Association (Berryville, AR). Beyond Tactical Firearms, his current endeavors include content development for the Wyoming State Rifle Association (Cheyenne, WY) and technical manual production for High Plains Publishing of Laramie, WY.

He has contributed to the 12th, 13th, and 14th editions of Modern Sporting Rifles Guide and edited The Complete Guide to Tactical Shooting and Competitive Shooter's Reference Manual (Gun Digest Books).

Taurus (Gently) Stretches the GX4 to Make the GX4xl

Taurus G4XL

Taurus is getting to be about as bad as Sig Sauer when it comes to making very incremental changes to an existing model (look! it’s brown now!). Not content to let its excellent little sleeper micro 9mm GX4 pistol just continue finding its way into people’s hands, the company just released a new and improved… Continue reading Taurus (Gently) Stretches the GX4 to Make the GX4xl

Springfield Armory 1911 Doublestack: Meet the Prodigy

Single-action 1911-format pistols with a double-stack (rather than single-stack) magazine are not a new thing. Heck, it could be argued that’s all the Browning Hi-Power is, just with a few tweaks. Para-Ordnance back in the 1980s and 1990s made a name in the above format long before STI International’s VIP and 5.0 series race guns… Continue reading Springfield Armory 1911 Doublestack: Meet the Prodigy

Holding class on AK Accuracy

With Kalashnikovs now more popular than ever in the U.S., Rob Ski over at the AK Operators Union sat down recently and held a class on the platform covering basic accuracy troubleshooting from iron sights to optics. Stuff like this is gold and the guys over at AKOU probably know more about how Kalash work… Continue reading Holding class on AK Accuracy

B&T USA APC9 Gets some LE Love

While the market for sub-guns with law enforcement died out alongside Rainbow Six sales, they have seen a resurgence as pistol caliber carbines have proved their worth in making accurate engagements in the gap between 15 and 100 yards. Tampa, Florida’s B&T USA— the American branch of Switzerland’s Brugger & Thomet AG — has had… Continue reading B&T USA APC9 Gets some LE Love

Volquartsen ENV, now in .17HMR

Iowa’s Volquartsen, known for their rimfire race gun line and accessory business, has been marketing a neat small game/varmint style backpack gun for the past couple of years– the ENV .22. Expanding that concept, the company has just introduced the ENV-HMR. Featuring Volquartsen’s in-house aluminum 17 HMR receiver with an integral 0 MOA Picatinny rail… Continue reading Volquartsen ENV, now in .17HMR

Remington promises a New(er) Rifle

Back in 2020, the lumbering jumbo jet that was Remington Outdoors burned in hard after running out of gas, and, following a federal bankruptcy hearing, the highest bidders salvaged its singed remains. While Federal got its ammo business, Ruger came away with Marlin, Franklin Armory (for some reason) bought Bushmaster, and Palmetto took several lesser-known… Continue reading Remington promises a New(er) Rifle

Magpul DAKA Review

Magpul has made a serious name amongst firearms fans due to the quality of its products and the innovative ways they solve everyday challenges. Their series of buttstocks are standard on hundreds if not thousands of AR builds, and their M-Lok rail system is an industry-standard. Magpul doesn’t stand still, and their DAKA gear is… Continue reading Magpul DAKA Review