The 2025 Guns & Ammo of the Year Awards represent the culmination of a year in testing and evaluating new product introductions in the following categories: Handgun, Rifle, Shotgun, Ammo, Optic, Technology, Holster, Suppressor, Innovation and Red Dot. Winners were considered for their engineering, durability, intuitive operation, contribution to the masses, availability at retail and value. To read the entire article, pick up a copy of the December 2025 issue of Guns & Ammo. Don't miss a single issue and subscribe today!

Few shooters have accomplished as much as Julie Golob, who has dominated IPSC and USPSA competition since 1999. Golob reflects on her upbringing practicing with her father in upstate New York, her enlistment in the U.S. Army, and time shooting with the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Action Shooting Team, leading her to Smith & Wesson in 2006. She describes the circumstances and explains why she joined Team Springfield Armory in 2025 and reveals her favorite new guns.

This episode of Guns & Ammo Buzz Podcast was hosted by Editor-in-Chief Eric R. Poole and Handgun Editor James Tarr.

Jarrod Grove, the senior brand manager of Caldwell, joins the Guns & Ammo Buzz podcast to talk development of the Caldwell Claycopter. Winner of the 2025 G&A Innovation of the Year, the Claycopter is a hand-portable disc thrower for the sporting shotgun. Already popular within the civilian market, law enforcement and some military have approached Caldwell for the Claycopter's potential in practice for shooting down drones. Additionally, Grove introduces new extensions of the Claycopter product lineup. It's an exciting time for shotgun shooting again!

Five years after Richard Dyke sold Bushmaster, Freedom Group moved the company out of Maine and left behind most of its employees.

Founder Richard Dyke then hired the former Bushmaster workers and established Windham Weaponry in 2011.

Dyke passed away in March 2023, leading to the sale of Windham Weaponry to new owners in 2024.

Known for its AR-15-style rifles, Windham Weaponry has reopened under new leadership. Still operating in Maine, several former Windham Weaponry and Bushmaster employees were brought back to help the brand's revival. While still offering AR-pattern rifles, the company has expanded its catalog to include Turkish shotguns and ammunition. Suppressors are coming soon. Windham Weaponry's Rick Gibbs discusses these developments with Guns & Ammo Editor-in-Chief Eric R. Poole.

Gil Ash of the Optimum Shotgun Performance shooting school has been teaching sporting clays for more than 35 years. Managing Editor Jack Oller joined Ash at an OSP travel clinic hosted at the Rock Ridge Sportsmens Club in Illinois. In this episode, Oller, Ash and Editor-in-Chief Eric R. Poole discuss the lessons from the clinic and how far sporting clays has evolved.

Additionally, our hosts review the Guns & Ammo needed for a successful sporting clays travel clinic. Oller used two new-for-2025 products: Browning's Citori 825 Sporting and Federal's Masterclass shotshells. Both are uniquely optimized for sporting clays and make an excellent pair on any course.

https://ospschool.com/

Don't call it a "shotgun" — or a "pistol!" The Mossberg 990 Aftershock is a compact, hand-held semiautomatic firearm with a 5+1 capacity for 12-gauge loads. Inspired by the success of the new-for-2017 pump-action 590 Shockwave, Mossberg engineers went to work on developing a gas system unique to the short-barreled, gas-operated system required for the 990 Aftershock. It is certainly portable but is it simply a trend or a useful self-defense tool in close-quarter environments?

James Tarr reviewed the Mossberg 990 Aftershock for Guns & Ammo's October 2025 issue. Tarr was joined by Mossberg's Senior Director of Marketing Richard Kirk, Guns & Ammo's Managing Editor Jack Oller, and Editor-in-Chief Eric R. Poole, to report on his range experience and to seek more information about the evolution leading to one of the most versatile firearms on the market.

For nearly 25 years, the Outdoor Sportsman Group's (OSG) Roundtable has hosted the preeminent industry gathering of professional outdoor media and firearm industry leaders. After four days of morning presentations on the latest firearms, optics, suppressors, ammunition and accessories, attendees were transported to the Cameo Shooting and Education Complex, Colorado's premier shooting destination. Among the highlights revealed was the Banish 12 shotgun suppressors; new Smith & Wesson handguns and rifles such as the M&P9 Shield X, 617 .22 LR/610 10mm Mountain Guns, and FPC in .22. Kimber expanded it's popular 2K11 lineup, while Aimpoint provided a shooting experience with its COA red-dot sight and revolutionary A-Cut mounting footprint. Savage 110 expands to include the 7mm Backcountry to produce a fine-handling, short-barrel, sporting rifle; and Savage AC30 Back Over Barrel (B.O.B.) suppressor. Suppressors also underscored 3D-printing technology's advancement of fluid-dynamic engineering with suppressors, resulting in a collaborative effort for Ruger's RXD30Ti suppressors developed with Dead Air Silencers. Benelli's AI shotgun barrel technology, Hornady ammunition and Security products; and Canik TTI pistols; these are just a few things to look forward to until the next OSG Roundtable. Join the conversation with Editor-in-Chief Eric R. Poole and Managing Editor Jack Oller.

Garry James answers readers' letters concerning firearms and accoutrements in "Gun Room," a long-standing column that you'll find towards the front of each issue of Guns & Ammo magazine. In this episode of Guns & Ammo's "The Buzz" podcast, Editor-in-Chief Eric Poole and Field Editor Keith Wood interview Mr. James to learn the influences on his life, including his Hollywood-actor parents and his service in the U.S. Army as an Ordnance officer stationed in England. Mr. James is the longest serving contributor to Guns & Ammo, first being published in 1972. He was also the 9th editor-in-chief of Guns & Ammo, a position he held from September 1997 to August 2001. In his 53rd year of contributing to the pages of G&A, James still replies to letters, researches and writes compelling features on pre-World War II arms and ammunition. To send a question and photos about a firearm-related subject for his consideration, email [email protected].

Guns & Ammo's Eric Poole and Patrick Sweeney are joined by Federal Premium's Christopher Laack to discuss the .32 Harrington & Richardson (H&R) Magnum and the .327 Federal Magnum. Sweeney tested and compared modern loads for these cartridges in Ruger and Smith & Wesson revolvers in "More Than Retro," an exclusive feature in the October 2025 issue of Guns & Ammo. These .32s are enjoying a resurgence in the concealed carry revolver segment with introductions in 2025, including S&W's Model 642 "The Ultimate Carry Revolver." Laack discusses the engineering that led to the .327 Federal introduction to advance bullet performance and increase capacity potential in small-frame revolvers, while Sweeney recounts his experience and test results.

The .32s are based on a .312-diameter bullet. When compared to .32 S&W and .32 S&W Long, the .32 H&R was considered a "magnum" when introduced in 1984, but the .327 Federal was a leap forward when it was introduced with modern bullets in 2008 for the Ruger SP101 and LCR. A joint venture between Federal Premium and Sturm, Ruger, & Co., Guns & Ammo re-evaluated the .327 Federal with the original SP101 prototype in .32 H&R Mag., which was re-chambered and marked ".327" over the ".32 H&R" stamping. With the new Federal Hyra-Shok Deep, engineers have renewed the .32 H&R Magnum's credentials as a viable self-defense cartridge for the modern era. Learn more about the development, details, and ballistic potential of each cartridge in this episode of Guns & Ammo's "The Buzz Podcast."

Guns & Ammo Rifle and Optics Editor and former Special Forces sniper Tom Beckstrand discusses the 25 Creedmoor rifle setup that he used to shoot the 2025 Hornady Precision Rifle Challenge match in Utah. Beckstrand highlights his military career as well as his history with the Precision Rifle Series. Beckstrand is joined by Guns & Ammo Field Editor Keith Wood.

www.precisionrifleseries.com