DSG Outerwear, founded by Wendy Gavinski, has launched the Ridge & Vale collection featuring women's apparel with faded Realtree Original and Advantage Classic camo patterns. The collection includes vintage-inspired pieces like hoodies, overalls, sweatpants, tees, and muscle tanks designed to blend outdoor heritage with everyday style and comfort.
Team Mathews dominated the 2026 ASA Classic in Sparta, Wisconsin, winning five of six Pro classes and claiming nine podiums overall. Team Shooters Kyle Douglas, Brady Myers, Jack Wallace, and Randy Morocco each earned 2026 ASA Shooter of the Year honors, representing the highest level of consistency across the season.
Dead Air Silencers' Nomad Ti OTB suppressor has been selected as a 2026 Petersen's Hunting Editor's Choice Award recipient. The over-the-barrel design, made from 3D-printed Grade 9 titanium, offers premium suppression in a compact package weighing only 10.5 ounces.
Pyramyd AIR announced the Pyramyd Cup is on track for record attendance with 240 competitors scheduled for August 5–8, 2026, at Cardinal Shooting Center in Marengo, Ohio. Hatsan USA serves as Platinum Sponsor for the premier airgun event featuring multiple disciplines including 100-Yard Benchrest, AAFTA-sanctioned Field Target, and Gunslynger speed competition.
The Umarex Airguns shooting team will compete at the Pyramyd Cup held August 5-8 in Margeno, Ohio, featuring top airgunners in Gunslynger, Field Target, and Benchrest disciplines. Justin Biddle, Umarex Vice President of Marketing and Product Development, emphasized the company's commitment to connecting with shooters and spectators across all experience levels.
Sturm, Ruger & Company congratulates Team Ruger's Steve Foster on his outstanding performance at the 2026 Tennessee State Steel Challenge, where he earned multiple division titles competing with his Ruger 10/22 Carbon Fiber rifle and Mark IV pistol at Camp Davy Crockett in Whitesburg, Tennessee.
Team Ruger's Randi Rogers and Gordon Carrell competed at the 2026 NRA Faces of Freedom ARC Regional Championship in Rapid City, South Dakota, using Ruger Harrier rifles. Rogers finished second in the open division with a score of 525.30, while Carrell secured a match win, demonstrating the reliability and accuracy of Ruger firearms in competitive shooting sports.
Beretta USA will participate in the REEDS Fall Classic & Range Days on August 7-8 in Walker, MN, hosted by REEDS Family Outdoor Outfitters. Attendees can experience Beretta's latest shotguns and tactical firearms, including the new A400 Solo, with product experts providing hands-on demonstrations and guidance.
Hook & Barrel Magazine is partnering with Beretta to give away a Beretta M9A4 Overlanding 9mm pistol in Clay finish. The sweepstakes runs through September 3, 2026, with readers able to enter via the Hook & Barrel website.
Friends of NRA has opened grant applications for organizations supporting youth education, shooting sports, hunter education, and firearms training. Grants fund safety programs, marksmanship enhancement, and facility improvements, with application deadlines varying by state and at least two months provided for completion.
Traditions Performance Firearms appointed Jason Evans as Vice President of Sales. Evans brings extensive leadership experience from executive positions at Benelli, Weatherby, and Blaser, and will oversee all sales operations and manage the company's nationwide network of independent sales representatives.
The NSSF-adjusted NICS figure for July 2026 reached 1,061,883, an 8.5 percent increase from July 2025's 978,731. NFA checks surged 108.8 percent to 130,013, with Texas, Florida, and Virginia leading in NFA activity. Texas topped adjusted NICS checks among all states.
The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) submitted formal comment letters to the ATF on multiple proposed rules, with Executive Director Adam Kraut and Director of Legal Research Kostas Moros urging modernization of regulations to better respect Second Amendment rights, gun-owner privacy, and interstate firearm travel.
Kinsey's Distribution has been appointed as a Beretta USA Law Enforcement Distributor, expanding its firearms portfolio to include Beretta's tactical handguns and shotguns. The partnership provides eligible dealers nationwide access to popular Beretta platforms including the 1301 Tactical, A300 Ultima Patrol, 92 Series, PX4 Storm, and APX models.
Galco unveils the Combat Master 2.0, a modernized pancake holster for Beretta M9A4 pistols with or without carry optics. The professional-grade belt holster features hand-molded construction, optic cutaway capability, raised sweat guard, and premium steerhide with double-stitched seams for durability and concealment.
Derya Arms announced the official U.S. launch of the Derya MAX, a new proprietary magazine-fed 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun manufactured at its Jacksonville, Florida facility. The shotgun, developed with competitive shooters and engineers, features advanced gas-operated systems and proprietary magazines designed for USPSA, IPSC, and 3-Gun competitions, with availability beginning in September.
Sticky Holsters released a limited-edition Blue Holster in August, with proceeds supporting Concerns of Police Survivors, an organization aiding families of fallen law enforcement officers. The holster features Sticky Holsters' signature clip-less concealed carry technology.
Streamlight, Inc. announced the limited-edition ProTac 2.0 Ducks Unlimited headlamp, a rechargeable co-branded headlamp featuring 2,000 lumens on high, Desert Tan finish, and custom Ducks Unlimited branding. A portion of sales benefits Ducks Unlimited's wetlands conservation efforts.
Avian-X announced its new lineup of waterfowl hunting packs and bags, including the BA Backpack, Floating Duffel Decoy Backpack, Floating Lumbar Blind Bag, and Shell Bags. These purpose-built products feature rugged storage, flotation capabilities, and weather-resistant designs to help hunters organize and protect gear in the field.
Q is offering complimentary Porq Chop or Short Chop suppressors with purchases of new 8.6 BLK firearms from August 6-10. The promotion rewards the community that supported the 8.6 BLK cartridge's development, including The Fix and Boombox rifle variants.
The National Rifle Association of America will host its 2026 Range Development & Operations Conference on September 24-25 in Fairfax, Virginia. The conference educates range owners and operators on business planning, EPA lead standards, construction, sound abatement, insurance, ventilation, and funding. Registration is $525 with space limited to 70 attendees.
Range USA, the nation's largest indoor gun range and firearm retailer, completed a comprehensive redesign across all locations featuring interactive gun displays, expanded optics cases, and streamlined range check-ins. The enhancements showcase deactivated handguns from Smith & Wesson, Ruger, Springfield Armory, Canik, and Taurus, along with new long gun display towers and doubled optics inventory.
Liberty Ammunition, a leading self-defense ammunition manufacturer, will exhibit at the Sports Inc Show in Nashville, TN at Booth #962. CEO Gary Ramey highlighted the company's new Liberty SPIKE 2.0 ammunition in .380 and 9mm calibers, emphasizing superior stopping power and performance compared to competitors.
Chiappa USA will participate in the Bill Hicks E-Show from August 7-21, 2026, showcasing new Chiappa Firearms and Charles Daly products including Rhino revolvers, LA322 and Little Badger configurations, and tactical firearms. The exclusive online event offers dealers special pricing and merchandising programs for the fall and holiday season.
Check-Mate, a leading American firearm magazine manufacturer, announced its sponsorship of World Champion pistol shooter Jessie Harrison. Harrison, the first woman to earn Grand Master status in USPSA, will compete using Check-Mate magazines while representing the company's commitment to quality and reliability.
"The MeatEater Channel" returns to MyOutdoorTV throughout August, featuring Steven Rinella's extensive library of hunting and outdoor content including MeatEater, MeatEater Hunts, MeatEater Limited Series, and new productions like Our Way of Life and MeatEater Roasts, all available for streaming.
Ralph, Vicki, RJ, and Aubrey Cianciarulo's 26th season of The Choice premieres Monday, August 3rd at 11:30PM EST on Pursuit Channel. The family heads south to the Kempfer's with Traditions Nitro Bolts for a competition between the OG's and young-in's.
Pursuit Channel announced new seasons of flagship programs including Dean Partridge's Canadian Whitetail, Red Arrow with Kip Campbell, Game On with Blaine Anthony, The High Road with Keith Warren, and Ted Nugent Spirit of the Wild. Episodes will air on Pursuit Channel and stream via Pursuit UP across multiple platforms.
Sportsman Channel launches "Full Draw Friday" programming block featuring bowhunting shows including Tim Wells' Relentless Pursuit, Stompin' Groundz TV, Haymaker Hunting with King Pedford, HARDCORE Pursuit with Mike Pelletier, Ranch America, Jay Gregory's The Wild Outdoors, and Steven Rinella's MeatEater, airing Fridays 8:00-11:30 p.m. ET.
Product names with decimals became popular in the ’90s with software, where a major upgrade would get a whole number and a minor update would receive a decimal. Other industries soon followed suit to describe improvements to existing products. The gun industry is no different.
Why the history lesson? Because Steiner just released a significant upgrade to its MPS ACRO-footprint red dot sight: the MPS 2.0.
Why the upgrade? There was certainly nothing wrong with the original Steiner MPS, one of the best enclosed red dots on the market. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be improved.
Upgrades
Up to 90,000 Hours of Battery Life Steiner now uses a CR2032 battery. The redesigned electronics deliver nearly 90,000 hours at brightness level 4 and 27,000 hours at level 5.
For me, the CR2032 is much easier to find than the previous CR1632, and the dramatically longer battery life is a very welcome improvement.
Waterproof to 35 Meters This one’s pretty cool, especially if you hunt in adverse weather. You want your electronics to stand up to the elements. But 35 meters? I can’t swim, so I guarantee you I won’t be voluntarily taking my optic to those depths.
Still, that level of waterproofing also means it’ll do an excellent job keeping out all the dust we have here in the Arizona desert.
Oversized Adjustment Buttons Honestly, I never had an issue with the button size on the previous model. But after seeing the new buttons, I have to admit I like them. This is definitely a worthwhile upgrade.
MPS 2.0 (left) and the original MPS
Reinforced All-Metal Housing
I’m not in the habit of banging my firearms around and I don’t normally parachute into enemy territory with Force Recon Rangers from SEAL Team Delta.
Still, I welcome the added protection in case I clumsily drop my pistol.
New Magnetic Battery Cover
Now this is one improvement I really like. The moment I place the replacement battery on the cap, the magnet grabs it, and all I have to do is screw the cap back onto the optic.
One improvement Steiner doesn’t mention in its literature is that you no longer need a special tool to tighten the battery cap. A simple coin works perfectly.
You change the battery on the MPS 2.0 with any coin.
Feature
Original MPS
MPS 2.0
Battery
CR1632
CR2032
Battery Life @ Level 4
13,000 hrs
90,000 hrs
Button Size
Standard
Large
Battery Cover
Standard screw cap
Magnetic
Footprint
ACRO
ACRO
Waterproof
10 m
35 m
My Take
I’ve been using the original Steiner MPS for a couple of years now. I’ve installed it on several pistols for testing and I’ve been very satisfied with its performance. The original model retained zero, is ultra-reliable, and very easy to use.
The only issue I encountered wasn’t really with the battery cap itself—it was the sealing O-ring.
Let me explain.
The battery life was so good that I never had to replace the battery after I first installed it. When I wanted to do a side-by-side comparison between the two sights, removing the original battery cap was difficult, even with the supplied tool.
When I got it open, I found that the O-ring was dry and had stretched enough that I couldn’t reinstall it on the battery cap. I guess I lost that 10-meter waterproof rating on my original MPS. I’ll need a replacement O-ring so I can restore full waterproof capability.
The New MPS 2.0
I mounted the MPS 2.0 on a Springfield Armory Custom 10-8 Performance full-size 1911 and took it to the range. But I’ll admit it—I cheated a little.
Before heading out, I bore-sighted the pistol with a LaserLyte Laser Bore Sighter against a far wall, exactly 10.2 yards away. Perfect.
When I got to the range, it was 113 degrees. Arizona. Summer. Even with a 64-ounce tumbler full of QuikTrip iced tea, it wasn’t exactly comfortable.
I fired a five-shot group at 10 yards from my Ransom Rest and the group landed less than 1/4 inch to the right of center. I call that good enough for government work. I was happy and ready for a full training session.
Parting Shots
Every one of the upgrades Steiner has made to the MPS 2.0 is a welcome improvement. And Steiner has kept the prices the same (MSRP is still $631). I like all the improvements, but what I’m geeking out over the most is the magnetic battery cap and larger battery.
Even though I never had to change the battery in my original MPS for the two years I’ve owned it, the added battery life is outstanding. The larger buttons are a very nice touch as well.
The 3.3 MOA dot is bright and very crisp. I’ll be looking for ACRO plates for a couple of my favorite pistols so I can install the new Steiner MPS 2.0 on them. It’s that good.
