As you’ve probably noticed, since 2017 the giveaway list for the Athlon Outdoors network (Tactical-Life.com, BallisticMag.com, and PersonalDefenseWorld.com) has gotten pretty big. Since we get so many questions about who wins, we decided to finally put everything in one place.
The Athlon Outdoors Giveaway List
The most common giveaways we run are “Free Gun Friday” on Tactical-Life.com, the “Custom Challenge” on BallisticMag.com, and “Fully Loaded” on PersonalDefenseWorld. There are some one-off giveaways that we run here and there, but for the most part, those are the “big three.”
Also, in case you didn’t know, we write about our “Custom Challenge” in every issue of Ballistic Magazine and our “Fully Loaded’ package in most issues of Combat Handguns. Make sure you subscribe to each magazine at OutdoorGroupStore.com.
So why did we make this list? For starters, we get asked about 100 times each week who won the last giveaway. Having everything in one place makes it easier on all of us. Then we also have the conspiracy theorists who call our giveaways “scams” because they don’t win. Apparently they’re not familiar with the way “odds” work. It’d be like us yelling that “Mega Millions” is a scam because we didn’t win despite buying 10 tickets.
Choosing Winners
Anyway, we’ve listed a bunch of winners below starting in July 2019 and onward. They’ve already been contacted and know they’ve won. We won’t list anyone here until they’ve been contacted and accepted the winnings, so no need to check here the second a giveaway ends — it takes a lot of time. Why does it take so long? Firstly, people need to respond to the email declaring them the winner. You’d be surprised at how many people don’t respond to our initial and miss out on winning a gun. Secondly, once confirmed, we have to collect FFL information and get the necessary paperwork, which we all know can take a while.
We’ll try to update this list as frequently as possible. We can’t post full names for legal reasons. We’d also love to post photos of the winners with their new guns, but not everyone sends photos back to us. However, a couple of people did. Here’s Ryan. W from Missouri, who won a DoubleStar ARP7 Pistol topped with an Axeon 3XRDS RGB Dot Sight as part of our July 2019 Free Gun Friday.
And then there’s Lindsey G. from South Carolina below. Lindsey won one of two custom Magnum Research Desert Eagles as a part of the “Custom Challenge” in the February/March 2020 issue of Ballistic Magazine.
There’s plenty more on the way, and we’ve got some new giveaways that are going to blow you away. Stay tuned! In the meantime, see our previous winners below. If you’re on your phone, you’ll have to scroll a little to the right to see the complete table, including the winner’s name and state.
Free Gun Friday
“Free Gun Friday” started in April 2018 and it’s our most popular giveaway. It’s very simple: We wanted to make Fridays better, so each month we give you the chance to win a new gun and gear. You can enter any day of the month, we just thought “Free Gun Friday” had a nice ring to it.
| Giveaway | Month | Prizes | Winner Name | Winner State |
| DoubleStar ARP7 Pistol | July 2019 | One (1) DoubleStar ARP7 Pistol; One (1) Axeon 3XRDS RGB Dot Sight; Five hundred (500) rounds of Black Hills 5.56 .69GR OTM Ammo. | Ryan W. | Missouri |
| Polymer80 Dual Pistols | August 2019 | One (1) Polymer80 PFC9 Compact Complete Pistol; One (1) Polymer80 PFS9 Full Size Complete Pistol; Five hundred (500) rounds of Black Hills HoneyBadger 9mm Ammo. | Craig D. | Florida |
| Rock River BT-9 AR Pistol | September 2019 | One (1) Rock River BT-9 AR Pistol; One (1) Mini Shot M-Spec LQD; Five hundred (500) rounds of Black Hills HoneyBadger 9mm Ammo. | Matthew B. | Tenneessee |
| SIG TREAD AR Pistol; SIG P226 Legion; Sportsman’s Warehouse Package | October 2019 | One (1) $1,000 Sportsman’s Warehouse Gift Card; One (1) SIG Sauer M400 TREAD AR Pistol; One (1) SIG Sauer 226 Legion Pistol; One (1) Sightmark Core Shot A-Spec LQD; Two hundred fifty (250) rounds of Black Hills HoneyBadger 9mm Ammo; Two hundred fifty (250) rounds of Black Hills .223 Ammo. | Richard H. | North Carolina |
| Smith & Wesson M&P M2.0 Compact FDE | November 2019 | One (1) Smith & Wesson M&P M2.0 Compact FDE Pistol; One (1) Sightmark Mini Shot M-Spec FMS – Dark Earth; Five hundred (500) rounds of Black Hills HoneyBadger 9mm Ammo. | Clark W. | Kentucky |
| Barrett MRAD | December 2019 | One (1) Barrett MRAD 6.5 Creedmoor Rifle; One (1) Sightmark Pinnacle 5-30×50 TMD Riflescope; One (1) SilencerCo Omega 36m Suppressor; One (1) Tax Stamp; Five hundred (500) rounds of Black Hills 6.5 CM – 147 Gr. Hornady ELD-M. | Robert A. | Indiana |
| Smith & Wesson M&P9 EZ | January 2020 | One (1) Smith & Wesson M&P9 Shield EZ Pistol; One (1) Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.5 IWB Holster; One (1) Alien Gear Cloak Mod OWB Paddle Holster; One (1) Alien Gear OWB Belt Slide Holster; Five hundred (500) rounds of Black Hills HoneyBadger 9mm Ammo. | Mike W. | Michigan |
| Auto-Ordnance M1 Carbine | February 2020 | One (1) Auto-Ordnance M1 Carbine, Matte Black Finish with 15-round Magazine. | TBD | TBD |
| North American Arms Pistol Trio | March 2020 | One (1) North American Arms Pug Pistol; One (1) North American Arms Black Widow Pistol; One (1) North American Arms Mini-Master Pistol. | Jim D. | Florida |
| Christensen Arms Ridgeline | April 2020 | One (1) Christensen Arms Ridgeline 6.5 Creedmoor Rifle; One (1) Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x44mm CDS-ZL2 Options; Five Hundred (500) Rounds of Black Hills 6.5 Creedmoor 120gr Hornady GMX | Zach S. | Oregon |
| SIG Cross | May 2020 | One (1) SIG CROSS 6.5 Creedmoor Rifle; One (1) SIG BDX Combo Kit, KILO1000 and SIERRA3 4.5-14X44MM; Five Hundred (500) Rounds of SIG 6.5 Creedmoor, 130GR, Elite Hunter Tipped | Arthur G. | Alabama |
| Glock 44 | June 2020 | One (1) Glock 44 Pistol; One (1) LaserMax Lightning with Grip sense; One (1) Alien Gear ShapeShift 4.0 IWB Holster; One (1) Elite Survival Systems, Elite Range Bag | Brad F. | Texas |
| Magnum Research BFR | July 2020 | One (1) Magnum Research BFR Revolver; Two Hundred (200) Rounds of Black Hills Ammunition .45/70 HoneyBadger Ammo; One (1) Elite Survival Systems, Elite Range Bag | Andrew C. | Nevada |
| Christensen Arms Modern Precision Rifle | August 2020 | One (1) Christensen Arms Modern Precision; One (1) Primary Arms SLx 3-18x50mm FFP Rifle Scope; Five Hundred (500) Rounds of Black Hills .308 Winchester Match 152 Gr. Ammo; One (1) Elite Survival Systems Covert Operations Discreet Carry Case | TBD | TBD |
| Beretta 92X GR Centurion | September 2020 | One (1) 92X GR Centurion Pistol; Five Hundred (500) Rounds of Black Hills 9mm 115gr. FMJ ammo; One (1) Elite Survival Systems Elite Range Bag | TBD | TBD |
| Weatherby Vanguard | October 2020 | One (1) Weatherby Vanguard High Country Rifle; One (1) Vortex Razor HD LHT 3-15×42 scope; Five Hundred (500) Rounds of Black Hills Gold 6.5 Creedmoor 120 Grain GMX ammo; One (1) Elite Survival Systems Elite Range Bag | TBD | TBD |
Ballistic Magazine’s Sweepstakes
Our Ballistic sweepstakes center on the “Custom Challenge.” In each issue we give the same gun to two different custom specialists, give them a theme, and then have them come up with their own version. Then, we give both guns away to two lucky winner on BallisticMag.com. We’ve also done a couple of other giveaways over the years, like our POF-USA torture test that included a gun and 3,800 rounds of Hornady ammo. See below.
| Giveaway | Issue | Prizes | Winner Name | Winner State |
| Torture Proven POF | June/July 2019 | (1) One POF-USA P415; (3,800) Thirty-eight hundred rounds of Hornady Frontier ammo; (1) One Magpul PMAG D-60; (1) One MagPump AR-15 Mag Loader; (5) Five 30-round Mission First Tactical mags | Robert S. | Texas |
| Custom Precision Rifle | Precision 2019 | One (1) Alamo Precision Rifles, Custom 6.5 Creedmoor; One (1) Nightforce ATACR 4-16×42 F1; Altus Shooting Solutions 2-Day Precision Rifle Training Class Certificate; 200 rounds of Federal Premium Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing 6.5 Creedmoor Ammo | John H. | Ohio |
| Custom Challenge Springfield XD-M OSP | Oct/Nov 2019 | One (1) Custom Springfield Armory XD-M by Blowndeadline. | Shawn S. | Wyoming |
| Custom Challenge Springfield XD-M OSP | Oct/Nov 2019 | One (1) Custom Springfield Armory XD-M by Odin’s Workshop. | TBD | TBD |
| Ballistic’s Best Survey | Ballistic’s Best | One (1) Zev AR-15 Billet Rifle, .223 Wylde 16 Inch Carbon Fiber Barrel. | Michael M. | Georgia |
| Custom Magnum Research Desert Eagle | Feb/March 2020 | One (1) Custom .50 AE Desert Eagle by Outlaw Ordnance. | Lindsey G. | South Carolina |
| Custom Magnum Research Desert Eagle | Feb/March 2020 | One (1) Custom .50 AE Desert Eagle by Dark Alliance Customs. | Jared R. | Colorado |
| Custom Auto-Ordnance Trump Tommy Gun | April/May 2020 | One (1) Custom Auto-Ordnance Trump Tommy Gun in .45 ACP. | Michael R. | Texas |
| Custom LeMat Revolver | June/July 2020 | One (1) Custom LeMat Revolver by Outlaw Ordnance. | Hyler S. | Wisconsin |
| Custom LeMat Revolver | June/July 2020 | One (1) Custom LeMat Revolver by Odin’s Workshop. | Nicholas J. | North Carolina |
Personal Defense World “Fully Loaded”
Last on the list is our “Fully Loaded” sweepstakes, which can be found in Combat Handguns Magazine and on PersonalDefenseWorld.com. We’re big proponents of self-defense, so our “Fully Loaded” package usually involves a pistol, ammo, holster, and more!
| Giveaway | Issue | Prizes | Winner Name | Winner State |
| SIG P320 X-Carry | May/June 2019 | One (1) SIG Sauer P320 X-Carry Pistol; One (1) SIG Sauer ROMEO1; One (1) BlackPoint Tactical 320C/CA OWB Holster; Two Hundred (200) rounds of SIG Sauer Elite Performance FMJs ammo | Ron R. | Texas |
| Taurus TX22 | July/Aug 2019 | One (1) Taurus TX22 Pistol; One (1) Bear Swipe IV knife; One (1) Crossbreed Carry Kit Holster; One (1) Real Avid Handgun Smart Mat; One (1) Reald Avid handgun Master Cleaning Station; One (1) Real Avid Pistol Tool One (1); Real Avid Smart Brush; One (1) Truglo Tru-See Target; One (1) Walker’s Razor Slim Electronic Muffs | Jeffrey A. | Pennsylvania |
| Remington Custom R1 Commander | Sept/Oct 2019 | One (1) Custom Remington R1 Pistol; One (1) VersaCarry Handcrafted Compound Series Holster; One (1) Remington Squeeg-e handgun cleaning system; One (1) box of Remington’s Gold Saber Black Belt ammo; One (1) box of Barnes TAC-XPD ammo | Justin C. | Texas |
| Canik TP9 Elite SC | Nov/Dec 2019 | One (1) Canik TP9 Elite SC; One (1) Shield Relfex Mini Sight; One (1) Olight PL-Mini 2 Valkyrie; One (1) bullpack (300-rounds) of Aguila 9mm FMJ | Kevin C. | Iowa |
| SCCY CPX-3 | Jan/Feb 2020 | One (1) SCCY CPX-3 Pistol; One-hundred (100) rounds of Black Hills 100-Grain FMJs; One (1) Elite Survival Systems Four Gun Pistol Pack; One (1) Elite Survival Systems Hide-Away Security Wallet With Holster; One (1) Elite Survival Systems Large Marathon Gun Pack | Eugene O. | Missouri |
| Daniel Defense DDM4V7 Pistol | March/April 2020 | One (1) Daniel Defense DDM4V7 AR Pistol; One hundred (100) rounds of Federal Premium Fusion MSR Ammo; One (1) Riton RT-S Mod 3 optic; One (1) Blackhawk 30-inch Foundation Rifle Case; Three (3) Daniel Defense 32-round magazines | Michael B. | Texas |
| North American Arms Pistol Trio | May/June 2020 | One (1) North American Arms Ranger II pistol in .22 WMR; One (1) NAA Pug pistol in .22 WMR; One (1) NAA Guardian pistol in .380 ACP; Two (2) boxes of Federal Premium Personal Defense Punch .380 ACP ammo; Two (2) boxes of CCI .22 WMR Maxi-Mag; One (1) CCI Ammo Pour Pack of .22 WMR ammo | Gregory W. | Michigan |
| SAR USA K12 Sport | July/August 2020 | One (1) SAR USA K-12 Sport Pistol; One (1) Safariland Model 577 GLS Holster; One (1) Elite Survival Range bag; One (1) box of SIG Sauer Elite V-Crown ammo | TBD | TBD |
