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]

M16 in Vietnam – An Interview with Chris Bartocci

To learn “what happened to the M16 in Vietnam,” it’s hard to think of someone better to ask than Chris Bartocci at Small Arms Solutions. Frankly, there are few active in the industry that know more about the M16 and its history than Chris, who has been intimately involved with the platform for almost his entire life.

State of the AR – A Q&A with Duane Liptak of Magpul

With Magpul celebrating its 20th anniversary, it’s a great time to touch base with Duane Liptak, Executive Vice President of Magpul. We discuss how the company has helped push the AR forward, Duane’s background, his role at the NRA, and his favorite AR builds.

Hard-Use AR-15 Buyer’s Guide with Ridgeline

We recently reached out to Alex Hartmann at Ridgeline to talk about the basics of the SPR or Special Purpose Rifle…however we also wanted him to help us create a “hard-use AR-15 buyer’s guide.” Let’s say you’re building or buying a reliable carbine to attend multiple day training courses, or a rifle you might need to bet your life on in a home defense situation. What basic factors should you consider on that rifle?

Fortis Manufacturing Q&A with Paul Hwang, CEO

From time to time, we like to reach out to different firearms manufacturers like Fortis Manufacturing to hear first hand what they’re all about, as well as perhaps get their advice on builds. When it comes to building an AR, we find manufacturers always have some interesting perspectives. Most recently, we reached out to Fortis CEO, Paul Hwang. The interview below is a result of that conversation.

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