North Vietnamese negotiators walked out of peace talks in Paris on Dec. 13, 1972. They had just rejected American proposals and refused to set a date to resume discussions. Five days later, American B-52 bombers struck Hanoi in the most intensive bombing campaign in military history. Eleven days after that, North Vietnam requested new negotiations. Operation Linebacker II brought the communist government back to the negotiation table and led directly to the Paris Peace Accords signed Jan. 27, 1973.The bombing campaign sparked international condemnation and remains controversial five decades later. Critics called it barbaric. Supporters argued it achieved its objective. The historical…

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Hi-Lux Optics may not be the first company that comes to mind when shooters are asked to name a scope or red dot maker. But they have products that those shooters might be interested in once they discover the company’s offerings. Hi-Lux Optics has grown from a Vietnam-era scope designed by Jim Leatherwood into a multifaceted organization that sells a wide range of gun-related products. But… it specializes in optics, such as scopes and red dots. They sent me one of each to review. Before we look at those, let’s look at some of the items they sell. Products Without…

Buck has been a stalwart of the hunting knife world since at least the 1960s. Known for no-nonsense functionality, it has legions of fans. With modern steel and a higher price range, the new Buck 664 Alpha Hunter Elite gives brand loyalists a top-shelf choice that rivals the best. Nick LeFort, one of our regular knife contributors, mailed me the Buck Alpha Hunter Elite ($260) with a note that basically said, “You should be the one to test this.” Turns out, he might have been right. Two days after it arrived, I was kneeling down, bow next to me in…

One thing we definitely need to work on as a community is making it harder for thieves to steal guns out of our vehicles. While some of the problems may stem from gun-free zones–after all, where are you going to put your carry gun when you run into a gun-free building?–the truth is that a lot of people do keep guns in the car, and they don’t do a good enough job securing them. And as per usual, anti-gunners latch onto this to pass laws that seek to punish us for the illegal acts of…

The wait is finally over for Army veteran George Layman. While he doesn’t consider himself a hero, what Layman did during the Vietnam War and the bloody battle of Hamburger Hill should have given him a Bronze Star decades ago. But the Arizona veteran was finally honored with the medal in an event hosted by the organization Honoring/Hiring/Helping our Heroes of Pinal County (HOHP) on Nov. 25 at its headquarters.Jeff Timm, a liaison officer from Congressman Eli Crane’s office, presented Layman with the Bronze Star and additional service medals.  Army veteran George Layman poses with other veterans at the HHOP office…