James Burton

ARBuildJunkie Editor in Chief, James Burton is a writer and shooter, immersed in gun culture since before he could walk. His earliest memories were smells of musty military surplus stores, his father’s large collection of H&K rifles and stacks of Soldier of Fortune magazine. Throughout his impressionable youth, family vacations were wandering the grounds twice a year at the Knob Creek County Machine Gun Shoot. Please feel free to reach out to James for story ideas and more at [email protected]

Buying your First AR-15 & Why Quality Matters with Neil Batelli

Buying your first AR-15 can be confusing, and the temptation to settle for “good enough” can be high. So we recently reached out to Neil Batelli to discuss valuable lessons from his decades of retail experience and how new buyers can avoid expensive and unreliable mistakes.  

Tactical Shotgun Basics with Cougar Mountain Solutions

We’ve been getting a renewed appreciation for the tactical shotgun as a home defense tool in recent months, and as such reached out to one of the best shotgun instructors in the country today, Erick Gelhaus of Cougar Mountain Solutions. We discuss his long career with the shotgun, his advice for setting up and staging a shotgun, ammo selection and more.

Hodge Defense Systems – A 2023-24 Update with Jim Hodge

We recently sat down with Jim Hodge of Hodge Defense Systems to disuss what he and his company have been up to since we last spoke. We learn about new partnerships, his approach to the commercial and non-commercial market, the ‘why’ behind his company’s approach, and his outlook on the firearms industry as we approach the new year.

Garand Thumb on General Purpose ARs and More – An ARBuildJunkie Q&A

We sat down with Michael Jones, AKA Garand Thumb to discuss the tremendous success of Garand Thumb, goals for the future, his experiences with the AR platform, what he looks for in a hard-use rifle, the importance of training, and more.  Q: Michael, did your professional background as a survival instructor lead you to the … Read more

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