Ballistic April/May 2020

The Coronavirus epidemic was in full swing as of this writing. All of the close-talking, cheek-kissing Italians in Italy were put on lockdown shortly after wiping out shelves of Barilla pasta. Countless people all over the U.S. were hoarding toilet paper, hand sanitizer and Tito’s while screaming about how horribly the Trump administration was mishandling the crisis. Since we bill Ballistic as “The Premier Firearms & Survival Magazine,” we’ll simply advise that common sense and cooler heads always prevail during a crisis. If you want to come through this no worse for wear, please visit coronavirus.gov as well our network of sites: ballisticmag.com, tactical-life.com, realworldsurvivor.com and personaldefenseworld.com. There’s a treasure trove of solid advice to be found online for this particular health threat as well as those in the future. That…

WORTH THE PRICE William Henry’s award-winning folding knives integrate state-of-the-art craftsmanship with natural and synthetic materials, including exotic woods, Koftgari and even mammoth ivory. The Damascus blades are hand-forged in the U.S., then shipped to Japan for grinding. They come back stateside for finishing, polishing and sharpening. William Henry scours the planet for rare and exotic materials for its handles and works with several of the world’s most celebrated engravers to create its most exclusive editions. Every knife is created in small, limited editions—never more than 250 and often as small as five pieces or one of a kind. Once the edition is complete, that knife is never built again. (williamhenry.com) CRAFTY BREWS It’s a great time to head to Sin City and bask in an early summer. If it still feels a…

Taking a passion and turning it into a career is an art in itself. Nakia “Nacho” Jackson and his partner in crime, Chip “Cheeto” Pierce, know that struggle all too well. But when that struggle pays off, the rewards make it all worthwhile. The crazy-long hours, blood, sweat and tears show in every functional piece of artwork that these masterminds at Outlaw Ordnance create. That’s why we decided to reach out to Nacho and Cheeto about this epic “Custom Challenge.” We wanted to create a special “Presidential Thompson” in honor of Donald J. Trump for the cover of Ballistic, but Auto-Ordnance and Outlaw Ordnance took it a step further. They said, “Hell, let’s do a limited run of 25 of these guns. Ballistic magazine can give No. 1 away to one…

With the success of its first commemorative Donald Trump pistol, it was only logical for Auto-Ordnance to make a limited-edition follow-up, sort of an homage to another four years. Apparently, you “deplorables” appreciated my evaluation of the previous gun in Combat Handguns, a sister publication of Ballistic, so the editors chose me to check out the new one and report back. It seems that good work assured me this assignment nearly as well as Democratic antics have assured President Trump’s reelection. The second commemorative Trump pistol is officially named the “Keep America Great 1911” after his current campaign slogan. Most will find that the new version has a very familiar feel, sort of like an oval office chair that you’ve been sitting in for the last four years. This is because,…

Donald J. Trump separated himself from his Democratic competitor early in the 2016 election cycle by declaring his firm support of the Second Amendment. Of course, his opponent, Hillary Clinton, also said she supported the Second Amendment while at the same time supporting various schemes to gut our rights. After his election, President Trump became the first sitting president since Ronald Reagan to speak to NRA members at the association’s Annual Meetings. “Let me make a simple promise to every one of the freedom-loving Americans in the audience today,” he said at that even in Atlanta. “As your president, I will never, ever infringe on the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” THE GOOD: While certainly a polarizing figure, President Trump has largely kept that promise. Even after horrendous…

WITH THE NOVEMBER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION QUICKLY APPROACHING, America’s law-abiding gun owners face the dire possibility of being further maligned, alienated and having their Second-Amendment-protected rights trampled into oblivion should a Democrat become the next occupant of the White House. “Hold on,” you might say. “Not all Democrats are anti-gun.” And you’d be right. But all of the Democratic presidential candidates—those still running and those who dropped out—are demonstrably anti-Second-Amendment, and they’re proud to let you know. Even NBC News recently told the truth for a change concerning the Democratic candidates, although the network tried to make it sound like a good thing: “The entire 2020 Democratic presidential field now supports basic gun safety policies such as universal background checks, ‘red flag’ laws that allow law enforcement to temporarily confiscate guns from…