Find a Local Gun Shop

Trying to find a local gun shop? GunShopFinder is a great source! GunShopFinder is also a great source for finding information on current production guns, gun-related articles and more.

- Greg

Blue Shotguns and Rifles

Gander Mountain, the nation's largest retail network of stores for all things outdoors, will begin selling firearms this July in a surprising new hue - blue. The new blue laminate shotgun and rifle - exclusively available at Gander Mountain - is coming to the sales floor after overwhelming interest from parents and youth across the country. The blue addition complements Gander Mountain's highly successful pink firearms launch in the fall of 2007.

"Our pink firearms designed for girls and women are so popular, we've had a hard time keeping them in stock," said Gary Buescher, Vice President for Hunting and Firearms. "After the pink shotguns came out, we heard from parents and their sons requesting a unique firearm made just for boys."

While boys have traditionally had an interest in the shooting sports, Buescher notes they are seeing more and more boys, in addition to girls, attending Gander Mountain's hunter safety courses with their parents.

"Boys and girls are actively participating in family hunting traditions, but they want their own firearm that is distinct from their parents," said Buescher. The Remington 870 Express Junior shotgun offered exclusively at Gander Mountain is made specifically for the young beginner.

Building on the success of pink firearms for women, Gander Mountain is also enhancing their pink firearm line offerings with a full size stock Remington 870 pump shotgun and a full size Remington 11-87 semi-automatic shotgun, currently available in stores. Both of these shotguns are available exclusively at Gander Mountain.

"Remington has worked closely with us to design the firearms in the colors our customers want. We appreciate their support for our initiative," said Buescher.

With 115 stores in 23 states, Gander Mountain is the number one retailer providing firearm safety courses and the leader in educating youth in hunter safety. To find out more about classes offered at your local store, see www.gandermountain.com

For those looking for their own new blue firearm, Gander Mountain exclusively offers:

Remington Model 870 Jr. 20Ga Pump Shotgun

Remington Model 597 22LR Semi-Auto Rifle

The new blue firearms will be available in all Gander Mountain stores in July.

- Greg

Happy 4th of July

We wish you and your family a happy and safe 4th of July!

- Greg

Heckler & Koch Parts and Accessories

Ordnance Direct is now offering Heckler & Koch parts and accessories. In addition to Heckler & Koch parts, they also offer a nice selection of surplus military magazines. For more information, visit the Ordnance Direct site.

- Greg

Concealed Carry Information

If you are looking for concealed carry information, the United States Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) is a great place to start! The following video gives a brief overview of what the United States Concealed Carry Association has to offer.

For more concealed carry information, visit the United States Concealed Carry Association.

- Greg

Happy Father's Day

We would like to wish all fathers a very happy Father's Day!

- Greg

Shooting Supplies

Looking for shooting supplies and gun accessories? Be sure to check out SmokeWagonGear.

SmokeWagonGear offers a large selection of the following shooting supplies:

- Ammunition
- Gun Parts
- Shooting Glasses
- Hearing Protection
- Holsters
- Magazines
- Reloading Supplies
- and more...

For more information on their selection of shooting supplies, visit the SmokeWagonGear site.

- Greg

Cryogenic Treatment of Gun Barrels

Every gun barrel produced today is bored and machined which causes stress in the microstructure of the metal. Guns are created from forgings and castings that cool at different rates, inducing residual stress. Your gun may shoot well, but it is not shooting to its potential.

If you cryogenically treat your gun barrel, you will see several immediate results. Cryogenic treatment utilizes liquid nitrogen to bring the temperature of your gun barrel down to -300°F. The gun is then kept at this level for 24 hours, which relieves the residual stresses. When fired, a gun barrel heats up and distorts or warps every time you pull the trigger. This results in lost accuracy. Once a gun barrel is cryogenically treated, you will see improved shot groupings. This improvement will last the life of the gun as cryogenic treatment is a one time permanent process.

Several shotgun manufacturers have incorporated cryogenic treatment in their manufacturing processes. They found that shotgun the shot groupings of non-treated guns shifted as much as 10" to 12". After the same gun was cryogenically treated, the groupings shifted less than 1" (.075") . Therefore, accuracy is always dramatically improved after cryogenic treatment.

Benefits of cryogenic treatment of your gun barrel:

- Increased wear resistance for easier cleaning
- Reduced friction, heat, and wear for an improved barrel life
- Improved shot groupings resulting in improved accuracy
- Increased velocity of about 50-60 feet per second

Recently the Cryogenic Institute of New England, Inc. cryogenically treated 19 Remington 700 Light Tactical Rifles for Sgt. William Keith of the Maine State Police. The Maine State Police had these sniper rifles processed for improved accuracy in hostage situations.

For more information on the cryogenic treatment of gun barrels, visit the Cryogenic Institute of New England site.

- Greg

Armed Forces Day

ArmsVault would like to thank the men and women of the Armed Forces. We are very thankful for all that you do.

- Greg

Scholastic Shooting Trust

I have just been made aware of some exciting news from the newly-created MidwayUSA Foundation. They have just announced the official launch of the Scholastic Shooting Trust Fund. The Scholastic Shooting Trust (SST) Fund is a web-based fundraising program designed to help support shooting education at nearly every high school, college, and university in America.

To learn more about the Scholastic Shooting Trust Fund and how you can help change the future, visit: http://www.scholasticshootingtrust.org/

- Greg

Shooting Supplies

We would like to welcome our newest affiliate, SmokeWagonGear. They have a large selection of shooting supplies, including: Ammunition, AR-15 parts, gun cleaning supplies, grips, gun parts and much more.

Click here for great deals on gun supplies and accessories at SmokeWagonGear.com!

- Greg

AK Forum

For those of you who are AK enthusiasts, you are probably familiar with The AK Forum. This is a great place to get AK information. In case you aren't aware, their domain name has recently changed. They can now be found at: http://www.theakforum.net

For additional AK information, be sure to check our The AK-47 Rifle Vault.


- ArmsVault

Bass Pro Shops

We would like to welcome our newest affiliate, Bass Pro Shops!

Bass Pro Shops is a great source for outdoor gear. Plus, every purchase you make from Bass Pro Shops helps us to continue bringing you great firearm information!

To visit Bass Pro Shops, click their logo:

- ArmsVault

Tactical Gear, Combat Boots, Military Clothing

We would like to welcome our new affiliate, Armed Forces Merchandise Outlet. They offer a large selection of tactical gear, combat boots, military clothing and more. Be sure to check out their site.

- ArmsVault

U.S. Concealed Carry

We would like to welcome our newest affiliate, U.S. Concealed Carry. This is a great resource for anyone interested in concealed carry! Be sure to visit their site to see everything they have to offer.

- ArmsVault

Survival Gear and Survival Supplies

We are pleased to announce our newest affiliate, Nitro-Pak. Nitro-Pak offers a large selection of survival gear and survival supplies. To see all their survival gear, visit the Nitro-Pak site.

- ArmsVault

Tactical Equipment & Self Defense Gear

We are happy to announce the addition of our newest affiliate, Cactus Tactical. Cactus Tactical offers a large selection of tactical equipment, self defense gear, AR-15 accessories and shooting supplies. For more information, visit the Cactus Tactical site.

- ArmsVault

Tactical Gear

We are happy to announce the addition of our newest affiliate, U.S. Cavalry. U.S. Cavalry offers a large selection of tactical gear from manufacturers such as 5.11 Tactical Gear and BlackHawk Tactical Gear. To see their entire listing of tactical gear, be sure to visit the U.S. Cavalry site.

- ArmsVault

The Trigger Control Fallacy

Below is an article written by Michael T. Rayburn, a 29-year veteran of Law Enforcement and an adjunct instructor at the Smith & Wesson Academy. He discusses the impact that recoil anticipation can have on handgun accuracy. As I read this article, I could definitely see how this issue plays a role in my accuracy. Thank you to Mike for allowing ArmsVault to post this article!

The Trigger Control Fallacy

Thousands of articles and reams of paper have been wasted on the fallacy of trigger control and how allegedly important it is to shooting skills. Numerous “shooting gurus” have gone on record as stating that trigger control is the number one problem when it comes to shooting a handgun.

That’s a bunch of hogwash! Trigger control may be important to target shooting skills, but not to the type of shooting we do as law enforcement officers. As police officers we are combat shooters, or at least we better be. If your department is still one, of unfortunately many, that still practices target shooting skills for combat on the street, then maybe trigger control is a concern of yours. But even then, it’s not the number one problem when it comes to shooting a handgun.

The leading problem is anticipating the recoil of the firearm, resulting in a pre-ignition push, or PIP. Just before the ignition of the powder in the bullet, you push the gun with your hand. The most common of these is to push the front of the gun downward. Your brain is saying, “OK, here it comes, get ready for that loud bang,” and you push the gun downward at the same time you pull the trigger rearward.

A number of firearms instructors have misdiagnosed this problem as poor trigger control, stating that the shooter “is not properly controlling the even, smooth pull of the trigger”. So, what usually follows is command to, “Place the middle of the first pad of your index finger on the trigger and slowly squeeze the trigger rearward until the round goes off. When it does, it should be a surprise to you.”

First off, you are sending lethal projectiles down range. Your gun should never go off as a “surprise to you.” Each and every shot should be controlled and expected.

Secondly, do you really think that during an all-out fight for your life, you’re going to be concerned with how much finger, first pad or not, is going to be on that trigger? Of course not! You’re going to stick your finger in the trigger guard and pull that trigger as fast and as hard as you can to get some lead on this bad guy who’s trying to take your life. It’s as simple as that.

Another PIP problem that is often misdiagnosed as a trigger control issue is what is commonly called “heeling the firearm.” Instead of pushing the nose of the gun downward, you push it upward. Basically, you’re pushing with the heel of your hand and the front of the handgun gets pushed up. Once again, your brain is subconsciously saying; “OK get ready for that big bang”, and you heel the gun, anticipating recoil.

The last PIP problem is to push the gun to one side or the other. Most shooters will push the gun to their off side. This is because that’s where the least amount of energy is being exerted on the gun during the gripping process. Most right-handed shooters will push the gun to their left and most left-handed shooters will push the gun to their right.

So, if it’s not trigger control, and we’re not going to give stupid commands like “slowly squeeze your trigger until the round goes off and it’s a surprise to you,” how do we correct this PIP problem?

First, you have to recognize that the PIP problem is all in your head, nowhere else. You’ve subconsciously developed this “flinch” which results in the gun being pushed off target. You have to tell yourself, and be convinced, that you’re not going to do it. If you have to, just before you pull the trigger, tell yourself repeatedly that you’re not going to anticipate the recoil of the firearm: “I’m not going to do it, I’m not going to do it.” You have to believe that as long as you’re holding the gun properly and pointing it in the right direction, you’re not going to get hurt by the recoil, no matter how big of a bang the gun makes.

Convincing yourself mentally is one thing, but having it transferred to your hand is another. To reinforce what’s going on in your brain, you should perform what’s called the “ball & dummy drill.” Take three or four magazines and stagger live rounds with plastic dummy rounds. Mix them up, placing one live, one dummy, two live, one dummy, and so forth. Now mix the magazines up so you don’t know which ones are loaded which way.

Once you’ve done this, head out to the range and place a magazine in your gun. Begin firing one round at a time. When you get to the dummy round, if you have a PIP problem, you’ll see the gun dip, or heeled up, or pushed off to one side or the other. If this occurs, practice that mental rehearsal of telling yourself that you’re not going to anticipate the recoil. Continue the ball and dummy drill until you’ve conquered your PIP problem.

Stay away from all the hype from these so-called “shooting gurus” and stick with the facts, which show that the number one problem with most shooters is anticipating the recoil of the firearm, not trigger control. Understand that during a gunfight, you’ll just stick your finger in the trigger guard and pull that trigger as fast and as hard as you can until you’ve eliminated the threat.

Stop worrying about the recoil of the firearm and you’ll be a great shooter.


About the author:
Michael T. Rayburn is a 29-year veteran of Law Enforcement and is currently an adjunct instructor at the Smith & Wesson Academy. He is the author of three books, Advanced Vehicle Stop Tactics, Advanced Patrol Tactics, and Basic Gunfighting 101. His video, "Instinctive Point Shooting with Mike Rayburn" is a top seller in the law enforcement and combat shooting communities. Mike can be reached at http://www.pointshooting.org/.

- ArmsVault