SHOT Show: Digging Into the Really New RIA 5.0 9mm Pistol

Truly new guns are few and far between. Virtually everything we have now is basically a clone of something else. Sometimes the size is changed, and sometimes the shape or magazine is altered, but most new guns really aren’t so new. On the flip side, the Rock Island Armory 5.0 is something new. Like…really new, … Read more

New-ish From Rock Island Armory: XT 22 Magnum 1911

The world of semi-automatic .22 Magnum pistols has been pretty darn small. In fact, the release of this XT 22 Magnum from RIA effectively doubles one’s realistic options. In the Rock Island’s case, it’s a real steel, 1911-style pistol with a delayed blowback action and a 14+1 capacity . . . Chris and I were … Read more

Vedder Holsters Daily Digest: Racist Roots, Protecting the Thugs and Turnabout is Fair Play

Anyone else surprised thehill.com ran this op-ed? . . . The racist origin of gun control laws Kansas Senator Samuel Pomeroy extolled the three “indispensable” “safeguards of liberty under our form of government,” the sanctity of the home, the right to vote, and “the right to bear arms.” So “if the cabin door of the freedman … Read more

Gun Review: Rock Island Armory PRO Match Ultra .40 & 10mm 1911s

After nearly a year of playing with these two pistols, it’s fair to say this review is way overdue. On the plus side, I’ve managed to put a lot of rounds through both of these double-stack 1911s (a.k.a., 2011s) from Rock Island Armory and have shot them in the heat of summer, in deep snow … Read more