Guides
The ERG Library
Guides
Everything we teach at the counter, in one place. Colorado hunting and gun law, competition reference data, gear breakdowns, platform histories, and the plain-English answers our customers ask most.
01Colorado Law in 2026
Two things changed for Colorado gun owners this year, and both change what you can buy and how. These are plain-English explainers with the statutes and the state's own guidance linked — not legal advice.
SB25-003 • In Effect Aug 1, 2026
Colorado's New Semi-Auto Law, Explained
What a "specified semiautomatic firearm" actually is, the eligibility card and course, and what it means if you're buying or building. Start here before you shop.
Read the guide
NFA • August 2026 Ruling
The NFA Suppressor Ruling and Colorado
A federal court struck down NFA registration for suppressors. What that did and did not change, and where Colorado buyers actually stand today.
Read the guide02Steel Challenge
We shoot this sport, so we maintain the reference for it — the full peak-time table, the 2026 division list, and a page for every one of the eight official stages with the real dimensions. Everything here is dated and checked against the current rulebook.
Straight from the source
The sport is run by the Steel Challenge Shooting Association, an organization of USPSA. We explain their material and check every page here against it — for anything official, go to them: the rulebook, classification records, the match calendar, find a club, and membership.
Reference • Verified Sep 2026
Peak Times: Every Division, Every Stage
All 16 scoring divisions across all 8 stages, the classification math worked through, and the per-string par time each number comes out to.
See the data
Reference • 2026-03 Rulebook
Divisions in 2026: All Sixteen, Correctly
Eleven equipment divisions, sixteen scoring divisions, the Open-to-Optics rename, and every change the March 1, 2026 rulebook made.
See the list
Rules
Scoring and Penalties: What People Get Wrong
The 30-second ceiling, what a miss really costs, why the timer never backs up, and the appeal window shooters forfeit by accident.
Read the guide
Rules
The Start Position, With the Numbers
Two start positions, not one — and the aiming flag for rimfire and carbine has published dimensions worth knowing. Plus creeping vs. false start.
Read the guide
Local • Steamboat Springs
The Yampa Valley Thursday Series
Steel Challenge at Routt County Rifle Club — what it is, what you need, and how to shoot your first one without embarrassing yourself.
See the detailsAnd a page for each of the eight official stages — our own scale plan, every published dimension, current peak times, and how to shoot it:
03Colorado Hunting
Season dates, license deadlines, unit strategy and gear picks — from a shop that hunts the same units you do.
Big Game • Updated for 2026
Colorado Big Game: Seasons and Deadlines
Verified CPW season dates for archery, muzzleloader, and all four rifle seasons. Plus draw deadlines, what's new this year, and gear picks.
Read the guide
Bear Hunting
Colorado Black Bear: Seasons, Licenses and Gear
The September opener, four rifle seasons, mandatory tooth submission, gear, and the respect a big-bodied bruin deserves.
Read the guide
Fall Turkey
Fall Turkey Hunting in Colorado
The sleeper season — OTC tags, either-sex birds, and a season that closes Oct. 4 west of I-25. Know your dates.
Read the guide
Pre-Season Prep
Cleaning and Maintenance
What to check before opening day — and what a working gun actually needs between seasons.
See the service04Optics and Sights
The glass decides the shot. Buying guides, how-they-work explainers, and the counter answers to what beginners always ask.
Optics • Start Here
Firearm Optics: Scopes, Red Dots and Sights
The foundational guide — irons, red dots, magnified scopes, prisms and LPVOs, and how to match glass to the job.
Read the guide
Dual Optics
Dual Optic Setups: Offset, Piggyback and Magnifier
Offset 45, piggy-back and prism-plus-magnifier — the three ways to cover every distance without swapping guns.
Read the guide
Rifle Setup
Bore Sighting: What It Is and Why It Matters
Ten minutes at the bench that saves you a box of ammo at the range. Bore sighting vs zeroing, tools, and when to do it.
Read the guide05Suppressors
How they actually work, what "hearing safe" really means, and the current paperwork for buying one in Colorado.
Suppressors • Intro
How Suppressors Work, and What "Hearing Safe" Means
What a suppressor actually does (and doesn't). The physics, the real decibel numbers, and why it isn't a substitute for earpro.
Read the guide
Suppressors • Buying
How to Buy a Suppressor in Colorado
The Form 4 eForm process, fingerprints and photos, trust vs individual, and 2026's $0 tax stamp.
Read the guide
Suppressors • Why
How Silencers Make Shooting Safer and Easier
Hearing protection, less recoil, better follow-through — the practical case for a can beyond just being quiet.
Read the guide06Rifle Platforms
America's most popular rifle formats — where they came from, how they work, and what to do with them. Read the whole series.
AR Series • Part 1 of 3
Introduction to AR-Type Rifles
What "AR" actually stands for, where it came from, and why the 1956 design is still the best-selling centerfire rifle in America.
Read Part 1
AR Series • Part 2 of 3
The AR-15: A Modular Marvel
Under the hood on components, calibers, barrel length and gas systems — plus what SB25-003 says about receivers and parts kits.
Read Part 2
AR Series • Part 3 of 3
AR-15 Versatility: Competition, Hunting and Home Defense
Same platform, wildly different jobs. Includes Colorado's six-round limit for big game.
Read Part 3
AK Series • Part 1 of 2
The AK Platform
Eighty years after Kalashnikov drew it up, still the most-produced rifle in human history. The design that just works.
Read Part 1
AK Series • Part 2 of 2
AK Variants and Custom Mods: How to Tell Them Apart
How to spot AK-47 vs AKM vs Zastava M70 vs AK-12. Furniture, triggers, safeties, optics — the modernization playbook.
Read Part 2At the Bench
Gunsmithing and Custom Builds
Triggers, optics mounting, stock fitting and suppressor-ready setups — what our gunsmiths actually do with these platforms.
See the bench07Manufacturer Spotlights
Deep dives on the brands we love on the rack — how they make what they make, and what to look for.
New guides, straight from the counter
Colorado season dates and draw deadlines, what the law actually says when it changes, rebates worth claiming, and the Thursday match schedule when it drops. No spam, and you can leave any time.
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Read the guide, then come by the counter. We'll help you match the right rifle, scope or can to your hunt, your budget, and your season.
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