Best Guns & Gear of the Year

Which pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, accessories, and ammunition were our picks in the past year? We look back at the previous 12 months to highlight the various winners.

Published: December 2, 2025

shooting Smith & Wesson Model 686 Plus 164300 357 Mag — In 1997, the 686 was S&W’s answer to Colt’s Python. With the full underlug barrel and medium-sized frame, it looked and performed similarly to the Colt.

Toward the end of each year, I survey the work R.K. Campbell, Robert Sadowski, Tracey Taylor, and Joe Woolley have done in Gun Tests, with an eye toward selecting guns, accessories, and ammunition the magazine’s testers have endorsed. From these evaluations, I pick the best from a full year’s worth of tests and distill recommendations for readers, who often use them as shopping guides. These choices are a mixture of our original tests and other information I’ve compiled during the year. After we roll high-rated test products into long-term testing, I keep tabs on how those guns do, and if the firearms and accessories continue performing well, then I have confidence including these firearms in this wrap-up. — Todd Woodard