Author: Braxton Taylor

00:00:08 Speaker 1: This is the me Eater podcast coming at you shirtless, severely, bug bitten, and in my case, underwear. Listening past, you can’t predict anything brought to you by first Light. When I’m hunting, I need gear that won’t quit. First Light builds, no compromise, gear that keeps me in the field longer, no shortcuts, just gear that works. Check it out at first light dot com. That’s f I R S T L I t E dot com. A lot of talk these days about the death of late night television. Oh yeah, you probably don’t know…

Sometimes, we have to get back to the basics. When we compartmentalize and scrutinize every aspect of our defensive gear, sometimes we lose sight of the big picture. Here are some tips to help you re-focus your shotgun-shooting skills. The best shotgun on paper isn’t always the best in your palm. It’s easy to find shotguns that have superior specs beyond your old Mossberg 500—on paper at least. These new-age scatterguns often feel good and imbue a sense of superiority when you shoulder them. However, because of the shotgun’s tremendous recoil and inherent difficulties with feeding large, square-end shells, many…

Exceeding $50 billion and arriving amid a unique federal budget cycle, this year’s unfunded priority lists from uniformed military leaders offer a lot to consider.Let us summarize the environment in which they were submitted. In a historic first, Congress failed to pass an appropriations bill for the Defense Department for the current fiscal year. Lawmakers then passed a reconciliation bill, which gives DOD more than $150 billion in FY 2025 funding, spendable over several years. (Interestingly, the White House Office of Management and Budget characterizes most of the reconciliation funding as part of the President’s budget request for FY 2026.)…

SDS Arms has just launched the new Tisas PX-9 2.0 Comp 9mm pistol. Originally known as the Zigana and now on its third generation, the PX-9 series is Tisas’ 9mm workhorse. Current models are built around polymer frames, and in the case of the latest PX-9 2.0 Duty Comp model, include an integrated ported and compensated barrel. Like all other PX-9 variants the new PX-9 Duty 2.0 Comp feeds from SIG Sauer P226-pattern double-stack 9mm magazines. The new Tisas PX-9 Duty 2.0 Comp is a performance-oriented handgun. Besides its factory-default, ported, match-grade barrel, this pistol also includes an optics-ready slide…

Mission First Tactical’s series of Guardian holsters have one of the most distinctive methods of handgun-holster retention. Whereas most holsters grip the gun’s frame, trigger guard or even the attached tactical light (if applicable) via friction, the Mission First Tactical Guardian series uses the force of rare-earth neodymium magnets to secure a pistol. Also called “neo magnets”, neodymium magnets are the amongst the strongest commercially available permanent magnets. They’re used in various technical and industrial capacities, but when it comes to firearms, neo magnets have a very high affinity for the steel in a handgun barrel or slide.  Mission First…

Nextorch North America is introducing the new TA30C Tactical Flashlight Green Edition. This updated signed for tactical professionals and personal defense users alike, this updated model delivers instant strobe activation and rugged reliability, with a new finish. In high-pressure situations, speed and simplicity can save lives, so the TA30C features Nextorch’s patented one-step strobe activation. This is a dedicated tail-cap switch that instantly engages variable-frequency strobe with a single press, helping disorient threats when every second counts. A half-press activates a 1600-lumen beam for rapid threat identification or area search, while a full press unleashes the disorienting strobe. With a…

As a young police officer, I adhered to the policy of being armed all the time. I don’t recall that our department required it, but they certainly encouraged it. The only trouble was, in our warm climate, I was generally dressed in Wranglers, a western shirt, and boots; finding a way to conceal an off-duty gun was challenging. Finally, I came upon the idea of rigging an in-the-pants holster so that it would fit into the top of one of my boots, under my starched Wranglers. My Smith & Wesson Model 60, with the bobbed hammer spur, hid away quite…

The entire Air Force is doing a service-wide inspection of the M18 handgun after a Security Forces airman suddenly died last month, adding more scrutiny to Sig Sauer’s controversial product.Airman Brayden Lovan, 21, was killed by a firearm discharge on July 20 at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. Following the incident, Air Force Global Strike Command announced an immediate pause and subsequent investigation of the use of 9mm Sig Sauer M18 handguns. Now, an additional inspection across the entire service has been ordered as well.”The Air Force directed a service-wide supplemental inspection of the M18 out of caution…

President Donald Trump ordered the firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner Friday following a weak jobs report showing that hiring was stalling nationwide, with the exception of the nation’s veterans.In a Truth Social post, Trump accused BLS Commissioner Dr. Erika McEntarfer, a Biden administration appointee, of fudging the numbers in the jobs reports last year to aid then-Vice President Kamala Harris in her unsuccessful campaign against him.”We need accurate Jobs Numbers. I have directed my Team to fire this Biden Political Appointee, IMMEDIATELY. She will be replaced with someone much more competent and qualified,” Trump said in his…

The Army collapsed 75 data and software contracts into one deal potentially worth $10 billion—a deal won by Palantir—and it’s just the beginning of how the service wants to buy software.“This is going to be one of many enterprise licensing agreements that we’re looking at entering into,” Army CIO Leonel Garciga told reporters. The goal is to reduce costs, while making it easier to buy software and getting the functions the service needs “on demand.”“We have a lot of big software packages that are out there. They’ve been bought over several years, several program offices, several commands [and] not getting a…