Smith & Wesson opened its Performance Center in 1989 in order to create custom race guns, eventually expanding to a variety of guns ranging from hunting rifles to carry guns. What makes S&W Performance Center firearms unique is that although many of the firearms might contain special features that are typically found only in "one off" custom guns, the manufacturer produces them in large enough quantities to keep them affordable and available to everyone. Many Performance Center guns—like thePorted M&P Shield—originate from standard designs and are then customized and tuned for precision, while others are created from the ground up to include hand cutting and fitting. Overall, Smith & Wesson prides itself not only on its products but also its employees, with some of its workers being the third generation of their family to work for the company. Check out this segmentfrom a recent episode ofAmerican Rifleman TV to learn more about Smith & Wesson's Performance Center.
April 2025 marks 250 years since the momentous events at Lexington and Concord—the opening salvos of the American Revolution. Today, exhaustive research of primary accounts and surviving firearms and artifacts give us a clearer picture of what really happened.
On April 19, 1775, simmering tensions between Great Britain and her colonists erupted into warfare with the engagements at the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord.
Watchtower Firearms, a veteran-owned firm based in Texas filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in late February 2025 to restructure and re-organize its financial structure.
The militiamen who stood in defiance on Lexington Green are the first who fired upon the British regulars, but the road to revolution was paved long before gunfire erupted on that cold April morning in Massachusetts.