Ballistic October/November 2022

→ Ah, the sizzling hot and “dry as a popcorn fart” summer of ’22 is finally in the rearview. Now we can set our sights on the upcoming fall hunting, shooting and backwoods adventures. As you’ll see, much of the firearms content ahead dovetails greatly with deer and big-game seasons on the horizon. We’ve showcased guns from companies like Weatherby, Sabatti, Traditions and CVA that will get your blood pumping for the action of the hunt. But editor-in-chief Linas Cernauskas and I are not one-trick ponies over here at Ballistic—we cover a helluva lot more than just hunting guns. As editors with Athlon Outdoors, our work revolves around assigning articles (and ultimately reading them five or six times) that fill periodicals including Ballistic, Tactical Life, Combat Handguns, American Frontiersman, Personal Defense World…

WOULD YOU RATHER… The days of simply putting a light on your AR have come and gone. Enter the days of the ultimate accoutrements. Would you rather attach a flamethrower or a chainsaw to your Stoner rifle? Easy pick for me. I equate chainsaws with work, which is something to avoid. At the same time, I often think, “I wish [blank] was on fire and I’m too lazy to walk over there…” Turns out, I’m not alone. The online vote overwhelmingly went for the flamethrower. Per Travis Younce, “Both have the Space Marine Warhammer 30/40K feel to it. The question is are you looking at close combat or at a distance? Close-combat chainsaw all the way. At a distance—fry them before they get closer.” Chris Kuehn said, “Gotta go with the flame-thrower, everyone…

→ On the first day of September 2022, Springfield released their new Prodigy pistols with 4.25- and 5-inch barrels built on a 2011 platform. What really grabbed me about these pistols was the MSRP of $1,500 and $1,700 with a HEX Dragonfly red-dot. Then what made me do a double take was the MSRP of $60 for the mags—a 17-, 20-or 26-rounder. The mags are cross-compatible with 2011 platforms. The pricing alone is going to make some big waves in the 2011 market. As editor-in-chief of sister publication Combat Handguns, I was lucky enough to get my hands on the Prodigy 4.25 for coverage in our recently released Nov./Dec. 2022 issue. Let me tell you, this gun shoots. It stays on target, shoots flat and is super quick. Overall, the Springfield…

→ The firearms industry has experienced unprecedented growth in the last decade. There has been a sizeable increase in not only the number and types of guns being made but also in the number of new companies. One area that has caught the attention of many people is the growth in the suppressor industry. Once, it was the realm of only a few big players, and the pricing reflected it. Then for some reason, one company after another started entering the suppressor market with new products—some good and some less than stellar. It was a boom of great cans at better prices. One of the companies that rose to the top during this growth is Dead Air Suppressors. Founded in 2014 by Mike Pappas and Todd Magee, it quickly became…

What exactly draws us to this curiously quirky hobby anyway? At its heart, shooting is simply the practical manifestation of physics. It’s not fundamentally dissimilar to throwing a rock. You launch a projectile of a certain weight and geometry at a certain velocity. Wind resistance and gravity do their thing, resulting in a most satisfying downrange clang…or not. Repeat as necessary. I could do that until I starved to death. The many-splendored tools we use to undertake this odd mission drive the superlative periodical you currently appear to be clutching. On one end, you find the massive Barrett M82A1 anti-materiel rifle and the M-134 Minigun—rarefied iron that will set you back more than a decent car or is simply unobtainable. Ammo for these weapons costs so much that you won’t be…

[Adapted from the new foreword to the Chris Pratt hardcover edition of The Terminal List] “How did you do this?” That’s a question I get quite often and one I am getting more and more as new readers discover The Terminal List and become part of my protagonist’s journey, and in a sense, a part of my journey as well. How did your debut novel, The Terminal List, become an Amazon Prime Video series starring Chris Pratt, directed by Antoine Fuqua? A more detailed answer to this question can be found in the new foreword to the Chris Pratt hardcover edition of The Terminal List. For purposes of this article, I’ll stick to the highlights. ORIGIN STORY When I returned from my final Iraq deployment as a Task Unit Commander in Basra, I knew it would…