By Derrick R. Stallings - HuntingOfficer If you’ve spent any time navigating the labyrinth of federal land regulations, you know the drill: usually, you have to find out where you can hunt or fish. But as of this week, the script just got flipped. ​On January 13, 2026, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed Secretarial Order 3447. It’s a move that’s sending ripples through the outdoor community, and the gist is simple: public lands are now "open unless closed."

By Derrick R. Stallings - HuntingOfficer.com FN America has introduced the new FN 309 MRD 9mm pistol as a more affordable, consumer-focused option designed for reliable everyday personal defense. This optics-ready, internal hammer-fired handgun is part of a strategic move to make the FN brand more accessible to a wider market of gun buyers. Key Features and Specifications The FN 309 MRD is an internal hammer-fired, single-action-only pistol with several design choices aimed at ease of use for new or general consumers.

By Derrick R. Stallings - Huntingofficer.com In a major legal shift, a federal appeals panel recently ruled that California’s long-standing ban on "open carry"—the practice of visibly carrying a firearm in public—is unconstitutional in the state's most populated areas. ​The decision, handed down on January 2, 2026, by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, has sparked a heated debate between gun rights advocates and public safety supporters.

Check on YouTube

Check on YouTube

Check on YouTube

As the sun sets on 2025 and we sit around the final few campfires of the year, I wanted to take a second to step away from the gear reviews and how-to guides to say something important: Thank you. When I started HuntingOfficer.com, the goal was simple—to create a digital home for those of us who live for the smell of spent brass, the tug of a line in the water, and the quiet stillness of a morning in the treestand.