Tom

About Tom McHale

Tom is the Editor of American Handgunner Magazine and has published numerous books on shooting, concealed carry, reloading, and the United States Constitution. You can find print and ebook versions of his books at Amazon. Find Tom online at Parler, MeWe, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Double Dogs: Two Cylinders, One Wheelgun | When the Navy Tried to Torpedo the President | Build a Budget Battle Shotgun

By |2025-02-20T09:27:17-05:00February 20th, 2025|

Tom McHale My Gun Culture Guns, Gear, Ammo, Concealed Carry and 2nd Amendment News Fun stuff this week... If you really want to know the ins and outs of revolvers and why a 9mm cylinder in a .38/.357 wheelgun makes so much sense, tune in to my talk with all-around interesting guy Frank Jardim. You won't regret watching or listening to this one. If you want to create your own home-defense shotgun, Trent has some good ideas below on how to build a solid one on a reasonable budget. Check out his...

Real-Life Defensive Scenarios | Berettas Through the Ages | Slo-Mo 1911 Shots

By |2025-02-20T09:26:49-05:00February 11th, 2025|

Tom McHale My Gun Culture Guns, Gear, Ammo, Concealed Carry and 2nd Amendment News I had a great talk with Philip Toppino of WOFT about the importance of scenario-based training. Far too many gun owners don't plan for what's really likely to happen in the real world. Fortunately, mindset, learning, and ideally, live training overcomes this limitation. In fact, my new book, The Practical Guide to Concealed Carry is largely geared toward this very topic. While we're on the topic, part of...

Warning Shots: Worst Idea Ever? | Origin Story of the .357 Magnum

By |2025-02-05T13:59:46-05:00February 5th, 2025|

Tom McHale | My Gun Culture Guns, Gear, Ammo, Concealed Carry and 2nd Amendment News mygunculture.com You may notice things look a little different this week. Lighter, fresher, perhaps a bit more airy. Time for a change, I guess. I'm also making some changes to the content and the way it's chosen and presented. With the new email system I should have more room for commentary and such right in the email itself. So if you want more detail, click away to the source as always. If you don't need...

A Look at Ruger’s New RXM Pistol

By |2025-01-31T16:50:16-05:00January 31st, 2025|

Recently I got my hands on the new Ruger RXM Pistol. A collaborative effort with the team at Magpul, the RXM uses a swappable Magpul frame, Glock-compatible magazines and maintains compatibility throughout with the Glock Gen 3 platform. That means you can choose from the vast array of aftermarket sights, stops, barrels, slides, and more. 
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You Can Be Right—And Still Lose

By |2025-01-18T11:19:53-05:00January 18th, 2025|

If you carry a gun for self-defense, you can do (almost) everything right… and still lose. Some good advice here from Ken Hackathon. What’s the missing piece? Read on. I also talk about these scenarios quite a bit in my new book, The Practical Guide to Concealed Carry.

Organize Your Butt Off with this Vanquest Gear

By |2025-01-16T09:16:40-05:00January 16th, 2025|

I organize each of my hundreds of albums and CDs in alphabetical order by artist. If i don’t delete them, I folder each and every one of the hundreds of emails I receive daily by topic. You get the idea. Maybe that’s why I love Vanquest gear, especially this nifty little organizer. It’s designed to operate both standalone or as an add on. (or add in) to a larger pack or bag. Check out the details...

The Unrepentant Sixgun

By |2025-01-16T09:09:20-05:00January 16th, 2025|

I appreciate fine craftsmanship. I appreciate art, well, maybe not the “banana taped to a wall” sort, but that which displays masterful talent. And if you’ve been reading this stuff before, I also appreciate a laugh or two. Sometimes, all of these fuse together. 

New XRB Solid Copper Defensive Ammo from Sellier & Bellot

By |2025-01-09T09:16:00-05:00January 9th, 2025|

Sellier and Bellot has some new(ish) defensive ammo. It’s an all-copper projectile design that’ll stay together when passing through challenging barriers like glass. I tested it with a couple of pistols with known accuracy and was able to print sub-two-inch groups from 25 yards, so it can shoot more accurately than most humans. 

How to Become a Better Shooter This Year, and Have Fun Doing It

By |2025-01-09T09:06:43-05:00January 9th, 2025|

While many law enforcement officers dread annual qualifications, some of the courses, especially the “old school” ones are a lot of fun. Better yet, they’re guaranteed to make you a better shooter. For example, the old Air Marshal qualification is tough to complete if you follow the rules, but if you do, you’ll be among the very best of gun owners out there. 
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