The cover on the April issue is unlike any S.W.A.T. cover in the past. Instead of depicting a tactical situation, the cover shows a Russian Spetsnaz (Russian Special Forces) soldier cradling an infant in his arms during the aftermath of the terrorist massacre at School #1 in Beslan, Russia. From a marketing perspective, it was a real gamble to deviate from our usual cover format. When all was said and done, however, we decided that the Beslan story and the possibility that, God forbid, a similar incident could happen on our soil was simply too important not to put it on the cover. The article goes into depth about how we can prevent such a tragedy from happening here.

One of the cover lines in this same issue is on the Marine MEU(SOC) pistol. There has been much misinformation on this particular pistol used by our Marine warriors. While some of the misinformation has been created out of pure speculation, some has caused by other publications in a rush to get the story out first. As publisher Rich Lucibella put it, "I'll settle for first to get it right"–and that's exactly what we did.

Among other articles, this issue includes features on the controversial Center Axis Relock shooting technique, one-handed shooting techniques, a "how-to" article on firearm refinishing and much, much more.

If you've been looking for a magazine that tells it like it is, and puts honesty and credibility before advertising dollars, your search is over.