Few firearms capture the imagination quite like lever-action rifles. A Winchester 94 with a walnut stock and pistol grip was one of the iconic guns that helped win the American West. Over a century since the settling of the frontiers, these guns are still relevant, beautiful, and practical — and as of late, few types… Continue reading Best Lever-Action Rifles: From Classic To Cutting-Edge
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).
New Sig Romeo2 MRD
Sig Sauer has really been pushing out the optics in the past few years, billing their products (looking at you, Bushnell, Vortex, etc.) as being “designed, developed, tested, and assembled in the U.S.A.” Their new Romeo2 is interesting, available in a selectable circle dot reticle available in 3 MOA, 6MOA, or 10MOA, while offering Dark… Continue reading New Sig Romeo2 MRD
On The Sandy Hook Settlement
The basis of the Sandy Hook lawsuit, which drew headlines nationwide as it ended (?) last week with a $73 million settlement, is being misrepresented by about everyone that is reporting on it. While the headlines all say that “Remington” settled the suit, brought about by survivors of the 2013 shooting in which the killer… Continue reading On The Sandy Hook Settlement
Best Extended Magazines for Taurus G2C: Maximize Your Firepower
When you pay to go to the range, you want to spend as much time as possible shooting, not reloading, which an extended magazine can assist with. Or suppose you’re in a situation where you are forced to defend yourself. You can’t afford to waste precious few seconds reloading. Not to mention reloading becomes 1,000… Continue reading Best Extended Magazines for Taurus G2C: Maximize Your Firepower
Short and Mighty: A Bullpup Shotgun Buyers Guide
Bullpup firearms, primarily rifles and shotguns, have emerged as transformative players in the gun industry. Distinct from traditional designs, they position the action, trigger, and chamber assemblies behind the trigger area. This simple reconfiguration leads to a significant reduction in overall size, while ensuring the barrel’s length and resulting velocity are unaltered. Essentially, they offer… Continue reading Short and Mighty: A Bullpup Shotgun Buyers Guide
The Outdoors industry pumps $1.5B into conservation
Back in 1937, the Pittman-Robertson Act saddled the American gun industry with an excise tax on new-made and imported firearms and ammunition. This ranges from 10-to-11 percent and only applies to items for the consumer market (police and government pipeline products don’t have to pay the tax, nor do NFA items like suppressors). The companies… Continue reading The Outdoors industry pumps $1.5B into conservation
California bans the Juggernaut AR
Just in case you missed it, late last year a bunch of California-based GunTubers heralded the brand new Juggernaut rifle series as something that “might completely destroy the California assault weapon laws as they currently exist…” and drooled over them at SHOT Show.
The Best Concealed Carry Vests
Over 2 months, we sent 15 concealed carry vests out with 6 EDC enthusiasts and law enforcement professionals across 3 states to tackle the kinds of tasks you’ll do every day with a vest like these – shopping, hitting a sports bar, going out to dinner, sitting, standing, and general running around – to find… Continue reading The Best Concealed Carry Vests
The Best Revolvers
Revolvers are a staple American firearm and arguably some the best self-defense weapons you can buy. Wheel guns tend to be small, simple to use, easy to conceal and work in any type of holster, either open carry or beneath your shirt. More than that, most of them are chambered for cartridges that are powerful… Continue reading The Best Revolvers
Gun Sales way, way down (kind of)
The unadjusted Jan. 2022 FBI NICS figure of 2,533,096 sounds big, but it is a 40 percent decrease from the same figures for Jan. 2021 (4,288,240). Delving further, the guys over at NSSF adjust the figure to remove background checks not associated with gun sales– lots of law enforcement agencies use NICS for checks on… Continue reading Gun Sales way, way down (kind of)