Tom McHale
Tom McHale is an author and Editor of American Handgunner magazine. He’s published seven books to date, most of which focus on Second Amendment-related topics, concealed carry, personal defense, and guns and shooting. During the past 10 years, Tom has published nearly 2,000 articles across a variety of publications.
His civic duty activities include serving as Director of Public Policy and Digital Media for American Constitutional Rights Union and ACRU Action Fund.
Recent Articles
The Art of Reviewing a Semi-Auto Pistol – American Handgunner
Reviewing guns is 38% objective, 54% subjective, and 93% opinion. Those of you who aced Trigonometry might have figured out we blew right past the 100% limit, but that just goes to show that evaluating a gun isn’t an entirely quantifiable exercise. Now that I think about it, there is a word for a perfectly objective gun review. Specifications.
Streamlight TLR-8 sub
The “sub” in this one hints at its small and (extremely) light nature. Designed for compact carry guns like the GLOCK 43X and 48, SA Hellcat, SIG P365 and XL and other common subcompact models. Do check the model numbers carefully; some are gun specific, like the model shown here for GLOCKs with thin rails.
The combo laser and light unit packs a whopping 500 lumens of steady or strobing light (your choice) into the small footprint powered by a CR123A battery. It’ll run for about an hour and a half with light and laser activated.
False Assumptions! You Most Certainly Can Carry a Larger Gun
I’m saying you can carry a larger gun concealed — every day even. To be clear, I’m not talking about one more powerful or in a larger caliber. I’m talking about a handgun physically bigger than the pocket micro mini subatomic ultra-compacts all the rage these days.
A Quick Look at the Bravo Concealment LINKed Holster
Here’s a mea culpa moment: I always feel I “should” carry at least one spare magazine for capacity and failure resistance. Do I follow through? Not nearly often enough.
Stupid Potato Launcher Stunts | Episode 214
Potato Guns! The mere mention brings shudders of fear to the unwashed masses. But fear not, the Gun Cranks demystify the secrets, challenges and those ner-do-wells who populate the potato gun crowd. Did you know potato guns are illegal in some states?! Yikes! Tune in … and wear your seat belt! Warning: We don’t recommend anyone try anything we talk about in this video. We’re “experts,” so got away with it ... mostly.
Machine Guns: Fun or Fearsome? | Episode 213
The Gun Cranks share their varying experiences from the full-auto machinegun world. Fun or fearsome? They are legal — sort of… assuming you’re OK with spending tens of thousands of dollars and a lifetime’s worth of government regulation. We answer the big questions… What’s the best full-auto fun gun? Will these outrageously expensive pieces of hardware become worthless with some bureaucrat’s stroke of the pen? Is there enough ammo on planet earth to feed them, and can you even afford the care and feeding bill?
Introducing The “Hold My Beer” Awards | Episode 212
We've all heard them uttered. Those famous last words right before someone does something dumb or dangerous, or in most cases, both ... "Hold my beer!" This week, the Gun Cranks scoured the internet (and yes, got paid to do so) in order to bring you the first-ever "Hold My Beer" Awards. Do you agree with who won?
