Author: Braxton Taylor
On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that changes would be coming to the department’s inspector general office. Just hours earlier, the Office of Management and Budget effectively defunded an office that supports and trains oversight employees who root out waste, fraud, and abuse governmentwide. Both moves raised red flags among bipartisan members of Congress and governmental oversight organizations who have been critical of President Donald Trump’s actions against inspectors general since he fired 17 of them during the first days of his second term. “This is not the final step, but we’re getting close to the final steps of undoing the entire system…
The most hated article I’ve ever published is, without question, this one from 2023: “5 Common Cartridges I’ll Never Hunt Deer With.” The blowback was swift and severe, and some of it was even fair. But I wonder if what I’m about to say will generate an even larger monsoon of vitriol–and that is, I think the .30-06 Springfield is an overrated deer cartridge.Listen, I get it, ok? Calling the aught-six overrated is like calling Michael Jordan overrated. It’s the kind of hot take that seems like it’s meant to make people mad without offering anything helpful or useful. But…
Smith & Wesson is expanding the Model 1854 Series lever action rifles and carbines by offering its customers a diverse array of caliber choices for their lever guns. One of Smith & Wesson’s latest moves is to offer the Model 1854 Series in the classic .30-30 Win. caliber, which has been considered a classic lever-gun rifle cartridge for over a century. The Smith & Wesson Model 1854 lever action carbine series consists of a modern style lever action design built around a stainless-steel receiver that comes with either a silver finish and synthetic furniture or a black finish with walnut…
Vast and global “black markets”—what national-security practitioners call shadow economies—are no longer peripheral nuisances but core strategic terrain. Trade executed outside regulatory, taxation, and enforcement frameworks prolongs wars, defangs sanctions, frays alliances, and helps rogue governments and groups survive and thrive. These flows have long been treated as problems for law enforcement, but military and defense policymakers and planners must increase their efforts to account for and stem them.Shadow trade enables regimes and insurgent groups to survive extreme pressure. Iran’s illicit oil exports help sustain the regime amid punishing sanctions. North Korea endures through complex illicit portfolios: counterfeit currency, arms smuggling,…
Reptilia Corp, best known for its high-end, single-piece, tactical-riflescope mounts, has recently released a modern and sleek AR-15 pattern handguard. Simply called the Reptilia Handguard, Reptilia manufactures these M-Lok-based handguards and offers them in black or flat dark earth anodizing from 6061 extruded aluminum, built in four different lengths to suit a wide range of AR-15 carbine, large-format pistol and SBR configurations. These lengths include 9.4 inches, 10.5 inches, 13 inches and 15 inches. Like most contemporary tactical M-Lok based handguards, the Reptilia Handguard is full of M-Lok slots and includes the customary full-length span of Picatinny rail on top…
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.Elon Musk’s SpaceX has taken money directly from Chinese investors, according to previously sealed testimony, raising new questions about foreign ownership interests in one of the United States’ most important military contractors.The recent testimony, coming from a SpaceX insider during a court case, marks the first time direct Chinese investment in the privately held company has been disclosed. While there is no prohibition on Chinese ownership in U.S. military contractors, such investment is heavily regulated and the issue is treated by the…
Hegseth expands war on leaks. Washington Post: “The Pentagon plans to impose strict nondisclosure agreements and random polygraph testing for scores of people in its headquarters, including many top officials, according to two people familiar with the proposal and documents obtained by The Washington Post, escalating Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s war on leakers and internal dissent.” A draft memo from Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg says that all troops, civilian employees, and contract workers within the Office of the Defense Secretary and the Joint Staff—likely more than 5,000 people—would be required to sign a nondisclosure agreement that “prohibits the release of…
FN, the defense division of FN Browning Group, has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Ambrose Award, presented by the Armaments Division Small Arms Committee of the National Defense Industrial Association. The Ambrose Award is periodically awarded to a company that has made outstanding contributions to the field of small arms systems. It recognizes exemplary commitment to the U.S. Armed Forces by delivering superior materiel that meets operational requirements and supports force readiness. “We remain committed to investing, innovating and working side-by-side with the U.S. Armed Forces to deliver the most dependable defense and security solutions for the…
I’ll admit that at first glance, the question of what is concealed carry seems a bit silly. It’s having a discreet defensive firearm on you in public where allowed by law. Duh. How that process of carrying concealed is accomplished, though, is a bit tricky, as it means making significant alterations in what you wear and how you act. Even something simple, like having a small pocket gun or off-body carry means changes to your wardrobe, such as making sure you are wearing clothing that permits easy access to your pistol or using a bag with a dedicated gun-storage area.…
00:00:01 Speaker 1: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast, your guide to the whitetail woods, presented by First Light, creating proven versatile hunting apparel for the stand, saddle or blind. First Light Go Farther, stay Longer, and now your host, Mark Kenyon. 00:00:19 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Wired to Hunt podcast. This week, on the show, I am conducting a comprehensive review of the many different tactics for killing mature bucks in October that have been shared with me over the course of Wired to Hunt’s seventeen year history. Really all right, welcome back to the Wired to…