Events

Top 10 Shooting Products from NSSF SHOT Show 2013

January 19, 2013 By Tom 6 Comments

Doing a Top 10 list for SHOT Show is ridiculous. Kind of like trying to fit all the amazing things that have spilled out of Joe Biden’s mouth into a single leather-bound book. It simply can’t be done.

But as you probably already know, we’re kind of ridiculous around here, so we’re going to highlight our Top 10 shooting gear finds of SHOT Show 2013.

Here goes:

	Trijicon 300 AAC Blackout ACOG Optic. This is cool, cool, cool. We’ve a got a 300 Blackout rifle coming in for testing and can’t wait to spend more time with this optic. We shot it at the Media Day event and loved our first experience. The neat thing about this optic is the graduated reticle. It’s got normal elevation hashmarks calibrated for supersonic 300 AAC Blackout loads out to 600 yards. It also has indicators for subsonic rounds. Just zero the optic with supersonic ammo and everything falls into place. You’ll also notice the scope is slimmer than standard ACOG’s.
	Kestrel Meter with Horus ATRAG Ballistics Software. This is one cool device. You may be familiar with Kestrel’s pocket weather meters that provide instant data on humidity, temperature, wind, etc. This one adds a full ballistic computer to the mix. You can store multiple gun and load configurations with bullet type, ballistic coefficient, weight, and velocity. This information is combined with automatically collected atmospheric data to calculate a perfect long-range shooting solution. A new model is coming out soon with even more advanced ballistic software and load storage capabilities. Technology is cool.
	Black Rain Ordnance AK-47. What’s the big deal about another AK-47? Look closely at the photo. This baby is a MILLED receiver, not a piece of metal stamped out like a Yugo fender. If memory serves, it’s going to be called the Freedom Fighter when it’s available in a couple of months. Oh, and we found out that one of Black Rain’s Pro Shooters, Sandra Orvig, lives virtually across the street from us. You’ll know a couple of other Black Rain Pro Shooters from Top Shot – the always energetic Gabby Franco and really huge guy Greg Littlejohn. This gun shot like a dream. Solid, heavy, and gentle. Fun!
	Tracking Point Networked Tracking Scope. Why yes, that is a laser targeting system on my .338 Lapua Magnum! I have no long-range shooting skill. Mainly because there’s no place nearby with a long-range facility. So when that crazy guy from Tracking Point asked me if I wanted to shoot a .338 Lapua Magnum at a steel gong 967 yards away in a freezing, howling wind, I thought he was a little nuts. With the Tracking Point, you simply lase the target with a red dot on the reticle using a button near the trigger. The system already knows your load ballistics and gathers atmospheric conditions for trajectory calculation. Once the target is lased, you can move the rifle around in an moderate-sized zone around the target center. Just press and hold the trigger and try to cover the laser indicator again. When your scope passes over the exact spot, the rifle fires automatically – you don’t have to hold on the target, just pass over it. A secondary benefit is there is no trigger flinch. You don’t know exactly when the gun will fire. And yes, I did hit the steel gong ⅔ of a mile out there on the first try. Through no fault of my own.
	Crazy Fun People. Ok, so this isn’t actually a product, but most of our shooting industry friends are more or less products of insanity. That’s what makes the people so great and all of this so much fun. Here’s a photo from the First Shots reception, run by the NSSF’s always entertaining Tisma Juett. She’s coordinating First Shots events all across the country and getting thousands and thousands of people introduced to the shooting sports. You might recognize some of those wild and crazy huntresses from The Women’s Outdoor News, Stephanie from XS Sights, Kelle – the better half of Hot Caliber Jewelry, Team Archangel – tactical trainers extraordinaire, and @GlamGunGirl.
	Flashbang Eva Women’s Holster. A number of companies that are more dude-oriented are making hybrid holsters like the Galco King Tuk and CrossBreed. Lisa and Bart Looper have some up with a model just for the female form. The Eva has an exceptionally well made leather backing, gun-specific kydex shell, and best of all, a colorful suede backing. Fun and functional!
	Blackhawk! Rail Mount Thumb Rest. Sometimes the simplest products are the most valuable. This is a nifty accessory for virtually any rifle with a forward side rail. The thumb shelf helps you achieve a perfectly consistent and firm grip with your support hand every time. Reversing it creates two different thumb shelf heights. A lower position is great for rifles with a vertical fore grip. The upper position is better if you don’t use one. You have to try it to believe the difference it makes.
	U.S. Optics SR8. This is one gorgeous optic. It’s obviously built like a tank. It offers 1-8x zoom with a true 1X so at closer ranges it works like a red dot. It features two different ranging reticle options which are in the first focal plane so ranging is not affected by zoom level. It also offers a red dot in the second focal plane which can be turned on or off. The red dot features variable intensity controls. Or you can get a not-red dot as the optic is orderable with your choice of red, green or blue illumination. Can’t wait to spend some quality time with this one.
	SilencerCo 5.56mm Saker. This dedicated 5.56 / .223 silencer was just downright fun to shoot. Less blast, less noise, accurate, and light. What’s not to love? The neatest part of the Saker design is the MAAD, or Multiple Accessory Attachment Device. This simply means that the attachment mechanism is not proprietary. Which means you can mount this over other vendors flash hiders. The end cap is removable, so if you manage to blow the end off, you can simply replace the end cap and there is far less risk of damage to your suppressor.
	Slidefire .22LR Stock System. Here’s a great way to clean out your local Wal-Mart’s supply of bulk .22LR ammunition. Last year, SlideFire introduced bump-fire stocks for AR-15 and AK-47 semi-automatic rifles. This year, they’ve managed to get the system to work on certain .22 rifles. Available soonish is a trigger set for the Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22. The stock is the basic AR-15 stock. The lighter trigger set is required to make the SlideFire system work with the reduced recoil impulse of .22 ammunition. Soon, SlideFire will introduce a solution for the Ruger 10/22 platform. We shot the M&P 15-22 system at Media Day and it was a hoot! And affordable Get one.

Filed Under: Business, Events, Life, SHOT Show Tagged With: .22 Long Rifle, .338 Lapua Magnum, Ak-47, blackhawk, flashbang, Guns and Gear, holsters, kestrel, lasers, new products, NSSF, optics, Reticle, rifle scopes, scopes, Shooting, shooting accessories, Shooting Gear, Shooting Products, SHOT, SHOT Show, siencerco, silencers, slide fire, suppressors, Top 10 List, trijicon, us optics, women

A Weekend of Firsts at the Shooting Industry Masters

July 24, 2012 By Tom 2 Comments

There’s a first time for everything.

Last weekend was a first time for a lot of things – for me anyway. Hosted by FMG Publications, publishers of American Handgunner, Guns Magazine, American Cop, and Shooting Industry, the Shooting Industry Masters event benefits the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s First Shots program.

Organized as a friendly shooting competition for industry insiders, the Masters event has raised nearly $100,000 over the past three years. This year’s event at the world-class Rockcastle Shooting Center promises to be a record breaker when all the donations are tallied. Money is raised through sponsors, team entry fees, raffles, auctions, and the world-renowned side matches.

Over two full days, teams compete in three event categories: handgun, rifle, and shotgun. With the exception of the shotgun event which is a sporting clays format, the stages are almost all multiple-gun shoot-and-move scenarios. And the side matches? Let your imagination run wild with things you can do with guns, night vision, lasers, and zombies and you’ll get the idea.

The really fun part of the Shooting Industry Masters is the opportunity to do a lot of things not normally accessible at the neighborhood range. In fact, with all the shooting in which I’ve been fortunate enough to participate, I still racked up a large list of ‘firsts’ at this year’s events. With that said, here are some of the highlights:

I shot an FN M249 Mk 46 machine gun.

The FN M249 Mk 46 is an assaulters gun

A new model designed as an ‘assaulters gun’, the Mk46 has been simplified, and lightened, to allow a professional door kicker to handle it more adeptly. The carry handle is gone, as is the ability to insert standard AR magazines, so it’s belt fed only. A new stock design with hints of M240 appearance rounds out the package. At this side match, hosted by FNH, you plunk yourself down on the ground, jam the bipod into the dirt, and engage three steel targets about 150 yards downrange. Attendees were given two competition options: fire a 20 round belt to knock down all three targets in the fastest time or use a 10 round belt to knock down all three with no time limit. The 10 round option required serious trigger control to limit yourself to two round bursts. This provided four or five bursts to cover all the targets.

I’m trying to convince my wife that the Mk 46 will make an excellent home defense gun.

I got smoked in the Colt 1911 side match by American Handgunner Editor Roy Huntington.

Roy Huntington American Handgunner Magazine shooting Colt 1911 Shooting Industry Masters

Don’t let Roy fool ya. The boy can shoot!

Don’t let the humble and nice guy image fool ya. The boy can shoot! Colt set up a course of fire consisting of two 1911’s on a table – a .45 ACP and a 10mm. The idea was to pick up one, your choice, then engage 3 steel plates with double taps. Then pick up the other gun and knock down a series of six bowling pins with one shot each. Each gun was loaded with only six rounds so there was no room for misses. Oh yeah, and the whole scenario was timed.

Lesson learned: don’t bet with Editor Roy. Even if he does claim that he hardly ever gets the chance to shoot.

I got a chance to try Cowboy Action Shooting

Shooting Industry Masters 2012 Benelli cowboy action shooting

Cowboy Action shooting can be fast and fun

I’ve always had an itch to try a Cowboy Action event. I’ve just had a thing for lever action rifles, six guns, and last but not least, coach shotguns. And cowboy boots. At the Benelli side match event, I got to try all three in a single string of fire – plus a Uberti rifle in .45-70. I had to push the limit of my already questionable powers of concentration to even complete this string of fire. Start from a sitting position, leap to a window and pick up a single action sixgun to engage a series of height-challenged steel Evil Roy’s downrange. Next, run, don’t walk to another window and pick up a lever action rifle to engage some slightly chubbier steel cowboy bandits. At the next window awaits a coach shotgun. Whack a steel target with the first shot. If and when it falls, a clay bird is launched in to the air. Nail that and you’re off to the final stage where you pick up a .45-70 to hit a steel plate way, way, way out in the woods.

Hat’s (cowboy style of course) off to Benelli for creating a great side match stage to introduce folks to the fun of cowboy action shooting!

I re-killed a horde of undead in a cave.

Surefire cave match - Shooting Industry Masters

Can’t see anything? That’s exactly the point!

Surefireset up their phenomenally popular cave match. We’re not talking virtual cave or simulated cave. We’re talking the kind of cave you access by finding a hole in the middle of the woods. Climb down a rotting ladder into the hole, then squeeze your slightly-out-of-shape butt through a rocky entrance that’s about three feet tall. Crab crawl for a bit, then navigate 20 yards or so of 18 inch wide winding crevasses. Now you can mostly walk. Proceed another 100 feet or so into the cave and you find a couple of Surefire folks waiting with a Glock 17 equipped with a tactical light / laser combo unit and a couple of loaded magazines. Your instructions are simple. Keep going into the cave and shoot anything you see. It turns out you’ll see a series of 3 dimensional zombie targets. Hint: You might even encounter Zombie Adolf Hitler and of course Zombie Osama bin Laden.

Navigating a cave in complete absence of light, equipped with a gun, tactical light, and laser is one of the most exciting shooting experiences I’ve had.

I cleared a shoot house with night vision goggles and an infrared laser equipped H&K 416.

Shooting Industry Masters - night vision shoot house

Geared up with night vision.

I think this stage motivated me to acquire the ultimate rodent hunting setup. Pick a fun gun, appropriate to the mission, like an Umarex H&K 416 full auto airsoft in this case. Add a night vision monocle to the tactical helmet of your choice. Mount a Crimson Trace infrared laser vertical grip, and launch into the depths of a blacked out building. Being that zombies were an unofficial theme, you could expect to find them throughout the darkened house.

I was impressed by the usability of the system. I set up the night vision scope over my right (dominant) eye and proceeded into the house with both eyes open. The gun, sights, and targets were perfectly clear. Of course, the way to go on this one was to use that infrared laser dot. Fun.

I tried the same target scoring system used in Olympic shooting competitions.

The Shot Response electronic scoring system

Shot Response created the Guns and Golf Zombie Challenge match. This was a wildy popular shoot and move stage that showcased the Shot Response electronic scoring system. This is no gimmick. You shoot real guns, with real ammo, at real targets. The Shot Response target frame contains microphone / pressure sensors which triangulate the location of the hit. Results are processed by computer and displayed on screen at the shooting line. Distance from center, group size, and other feedback metrics are displayed and stored for analysis and printing. In this event, the Shot Response folks created a zombie golfer target, decked out in rotting lime green golf attire. Start the stage from a golf cart with a double tap from an FN SCAR, then run across the street to a kneeling position and launch another double tap. Now run to a sandtrap and engage the still-undead plaid pants corpse from a standing position. Next, drop the SCAR in a golf bag and run to the green. Grab an FN pistol from the hole and engage with another double tap. This is one persistent zombie. To finish, dash to the 19th hole, plant your fanny on a bar stool, and nail the zombie two more times. All of this is electronically recorded. And timed.

This system will absolutely show you how much you suck. No more excuses. I loved it.

Look for the Shot Response system at the upcoming Olympic games.

I finally got to shoot an FN SCAR.

FN SCAR - Shooting Industry Masters 2012

Hot Caliber teammate Douglas unloads a SCAR – the fun and easy way!

The Shot Response Golf Zombie Challenge match featured an FN SCAR 16Sfor the first three shooting positions. Built as a contender for the next generation assault rifle, the SCAR can be configured in 5.56mm or 7.62mm. It’s a short stroke piston design which allows the system to run cooler and cleaner. Add user swappable barrels and lots of rail options and you have a very customizable platform. I found the SCAR to have a soft and controllable feel – OK, that’s kind of expected with a 5.56mm rifle – with no “twang” as with many AR platform rifles.

One tip – be sure to keep your forward hand out of the way of the reciprocating charging handle.

I found out that it takes 1 driver, 1 ballast guy, and 3 pushers to move a golf cart up a muddy hill.

Shooting Industry Masters 2012 muddin with golf carts

This cart was not equipped with muddin’ tires…

Day 1, Friday, started on the heels of a torrential thunderstorm the previous night. Add some morning showers, and the woodsy Rockcastle shooting center was buried in about six inches of mud. The size of the facility mandated the use of gas powered golf carts to get from one event to the next. With each golf cart being loaded with four people, conditions were ripe for lots of mud-bound vehicles. We learned the hard way that steep hills require a coordinated team effort to move the cart. A driver, a lard guy, and three pushers just might get you moving.

Dirt. Mud. Water. Guns. Yes, it was as fun as it looks.

Filed Under: Events, Life Tagged With: crimson trace, first shots, Masters, NSSF, Shooting Competition, shooting industry

Signs, Mom Counting to 3, and Caning by Celery at the NRA Annual Meeting

April 17, 2012 By Tom 1 Comment

“Oh, signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs

Blocking up the scenery, breaking my mind

Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign?”

While the 5 Man Electrical Band was nowhere to be found, the city of St. Louis took the message to heart – and even hired James Earl Jones to make new audio signs in case people were too busy talking about guns to pay attention to the printed signs. Well, the James Earl Jones part is not entirely confirmed – yet. We’re working on that.

We lost count of the number of “NO CONCEALED WEAPONS” signs after 14,328. And that was just on the MetroLink train. Can’t read? Not to worry – the MetroLink stations broadcast an audio message loop, part of which reminds riders that no weapons are allowed at any time. And that gum chewing get’s you caned by unripe celery. That’s where James Earl Jones comes in.

Yeah, but what if you are texting, therefore not looking at signs, while listening to Justin Bieber and his Orchestra with your earbuds? Not to worry! The MetroLink folks thoughtfully placed a 2 foot by 4 foot sign at the top of station escalators so you run right smack into it – knees first. If you read the fine print, you’ll find that reconstructive knee surgery is not covered by the city. Bummer, that hurt.

Although it may seem silly to have all those signs, there’s a good reason. Your mother can’t always be around to threaten counting to three if you don’t stop whatever it is you’re doing. Hence the signs. Given that signs are not quite as intimidating as an angry mother, it usually takes 20 or 30 of them to make you feel guilty enough to stop. Thinking about carrying your concealed gun on the MetroLink regardless? Not after you pass the 23rd sign telling you not to.

Some people think that signs are a waste of time, because people no longer read anything except text messages and Kardashian Kapers Weekly. That and the fact that bad guys will ignore the signs anyway. While there is some truth to that, scientists have discovered that inherently bad people just require more signs. Most people who turn out bad do so because their mothers would allow their bad behavior to continue all the way to the count of 4 or even 5, hence the need for more signs in their adult years. Are you beginning to see the logic? By the time the good guys get to the MetroLink ticket machine, the signs have guilted them into melting their guns to make Shake Weights. Bad guys are more stubborn, but even the worst of them can’t make it to the train platform without tearfully donating their illegal guns to Jerry’s Kids.

Taking an example from the MetroLink’s sign program effectiveness, the Americas Center also prohibits weapons through the use of signs. While these rules seemed effective on the NRA Annual Meeting attendees, as there were hardly any mass shootings at the fresh lemonade stands, gun industry employees are clearly very, very bad people. Signs or no signs, they brought tens of thousands of their guns into the show. So signs only work most of the time, not all the time – hence the need for more aggressive tactics like window stickers.

Can you even imagine how high Gun Salesmen’s moms had to count?

Filed Under: Crime, Events, Life, Life, NRA Annual Meeting, Politics, Viewpoint Tagged With: anti-gun, Gun Laws, gun signs, nra, nra annual meeting, politics, silliness

Top 5 Niftiest Thing Seen at the NRA Annual Meeting Day 3

April 16, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

Final day of the NRA National Meeting checklist:

Bottoms of feet on fire. Check.
Knees swollen to the size of basketballs. Check.
3 days. 3 hours of sleep. 3 gallons of Mountain Dew. Check.

With that said, here are the top 5 niftiest things we saw on Day 3 of the NRA Annual Meeting 2012.

	The American Dream was pervasive at the NRA Annual Meeting. Everywhere we looked we saw entrepreneurs and innovators showing their new wares. This photo is representative of the phenomenal interest that Looper Brand has generated with their new line of made-for-women-by-women holsters – The Pin-Up Collection. Getting an interview with husband and wife team Bart and Lisa was near impossible through the crowds. But don’t worry, we persevered.
	Interview with Team Glock member Tori Nanaka. We had a really great discussion with Tori and very proud dad Aaron. Don’t worry, even though Toris is a Junior, we asked her all sorts of goofy questions like we always do. Some of her answers even caught us off guard – and we’re highly paid professional smart-alecs. Smart lady that one… Stay tuned for the full interview.
	CorBon Rifle Action? Peter Pi – founder and CEO of CorBon Ammunition is a big game hunter and entrepreneur extraordinaire. Why not invent a new long cycle rifle action that uses a Pre-64 Model 70 style trigger? This one was sent to HP White Labs to see if they could blow it up. They couldn’t. It looked pristine to us.
	Blackhawk Gear for the Ladies! We were invited to a luncheon briefing with the Blackhawk folks and got a close-up look at the new stuff – most notable of which was new pants, shirts, compression shorts, and under-gear made specifically for the ladies. Some is tactical, some is tough and functional everyday wear. Our X-Chromosome editors will be featuring this soon.
	Tactical Art from Technoframes – Yes, we’ve seen these before, but this one sporting a pair of 1911’s just caught our eye and we had to stop for a brief discussion about mixing guns and art with Jimmy Moreland, US Distribution Manager. We’re always amazed at the creative ideas people come up with. Technoframes makes some really, really cool stuff. Check them out. They will customize to your hearts content. We’re thinking about getting one made for our pristine 1936 Colt Woodsman Series 1. That should be displayed, not locked away in the safe.

Filed Under: Events, Life, NRA Annual Meeting, Viewpoint Tagged With: concealed carry, glock, holsters, interviews, nra, nra national meeting, nraam, team glock

Top 5 Most Interesting Products from the NRA Annual Meeting Day 2

April 15, 2012 By Tom 2 Comments

We had more time to wander the floor today, and here are some of the more interesting things we stumbled across:

	Crimson Trace Zombie Lasers – Well, not really, but they are green. A lot of new engineering is going on to fit power-sucking green lasers into the same form factors for which Crimson Trace is famous. We tried pre-product models for 1911 Lasergrips and a new model packed into the Lightguard frame. First out will be green lasers mounted inside Lightguard frames for all current guns where there is a compatible Lightguard.Later, we’ll see green in familiar grip form factors.
	Is it ethical to take gun bling manufacturers out for drinks and then, while they’re slugging down a Captain Morgan’s or Pinot Grigio, take a secret photo of a yet-to-be-released product and publish it on the internet? We think so. It’s good business right?The latest (forthcoming) creation from the folks at Hot Caliber is a man’s ring, hand fashioned from silver, that features a lost-wax casting of a bullet-shot-at-a-big-steel-plate. Yes, it’s elegant. And manly. People will ask about it, thereby giving the wearer a great excuse to talk about guns.What’s not to like?
	We love our GunVault.It sits under the nightstand, gun and extra magazines inside, patiently awaiting the correct finger press sequence to open it in case of emergency. For example, if the cast of Jersey Shore and their one-night guests come pounding on the door after a late night at Karma.The new SpeedVaultoffers classic GunVault features – either a biometric fingerprint scanner or 4 button touchpad – that secure your gun.The neat thing about this one is that it is designed to mount under a desk or table. The support bracket can be attached to the side or top of a piece of furniture.
	We have a 22-250 fetish. It’s a fun round – both to reload and to shoot.Imagine our surprise and outright glee when we stumbled across the Olympic Arms booth and found the UMAR, an AR platform rifle chambered in– you guessed it – .22-250.It features a custom made magazine which is purpose built.And it’s just plain cool. Why? Because we can.
	Wow. We’ve been asleep at the wheel since we did not know this one was coming.Arriving at the Beretta booth for a scheduled meeting, we saw this hanging on the wall – the ARX-160 .22LR rifle.Not even on Beretta’s web siteyet, the ARX-160 is an operational equivalent to the forthcoming Beretta combat rifle.Not only does it look “beast” – it’s got fully ambidextrous operation all the way around – charging handle, mag release, and safety. It looks like a whole lot of fun – we can’t wait to shoot one.

Filed Under: Events, Life, NRA Annual Meeting, Viewpoint Tagged With: Beretta, crimson trace, gunvault, hot caliber, nra, nra annual meeting, olympic arms

Top 5 Coolest Things from NRA Annual Meeting Day 1

April 13, 2012 By Tom 2 Comments

Even with a busy meeting and interview schedule, we managed to spot some pretty nifty things during day 1 of the NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis. So far, we’ve only covered about 30% of the exhibits, so look for more over the next two days.

Here are some of the standouts from Day 1:

	Smith & Wesson M&P Shield – The much anticipated Shield is out and available for purchase. It’s a compact, yet comfortable little single stack pistol. It sports a brand new trigger design which is, well, fantastic.
	Aimpoint Pro – Previously for LE and Military only, a civvie version is ready. 2 MOA red dot, flip up lens covers, a torque limiting rail mount and typical Aimpoint quality. We’ll be doing a full review shortly.
	Bore Tips and Swab Its – We first saw these at SHOT Show 2012, but they still make the NRA AM Day 1 cool list. Bore-Tips are foam based cleaning swabs get complete contact with the barrel – and they are washable for reuse. Swab Its are the 21st century equivalent of Q-Tips that don’t leave cottony junk in your gun. And they come in different sizes to do things like reach into those impossible spaces in AR chambers.
	Handgun Hangers – From Store More Guns, these simple but amazingly useful hangers mount above and/or below safe shelfs to hang pistols by the barrel. This keeps your pistols organized on any size of shelf. And you can store magazines underneath. They also have some nifty solutions that allow storage or more rifles in the same amount of gun safe space.
	Ruger 22/45 LITE Rimfire Pistol – This fun little .22LR pistol is shockingly light. No really, shockingly light. Oh, and phenomenally cool. The gold receiver and barrel shroud is tastefully colored and the contour cuts are just plain sporty. Look for this in different colors something in the future.

We’ll be back tomorrow with more cool things from the NRA Annual Convention. Stay tuned…

Filed Under: Events, Life, NRA Annual Meeting, Viewpoint Tagged With: aimpoint, gun cleaning, gun storage, M&P, nra, optics, pistols, Ruger, shield

Coming Soon! Colt M2012 CR

April 13, 2012 By Tom 5 Comments

Colt is showing a couple of prototypes of a very impressive bolt action rifle. The M2012 CR is a 13 pound, decked to the nines tactical and/or fun long range rifle.

The first versions should be out in a couple of months in .308. Short term plans include .223 and .22-250 chamberings – among others yet to be determined.

With 13 pounds of beef, this rifle should have virtually no recoil. Adjustable comb, 60 degree bolt, and a spiral-fluted barrel make it beastly looking and functional.

Estimated retail is about $3,700 give or take.

Can’t wait to shoot one…

Filed Under: Events, Life, News, NRA Annual Meeting Tagged With: colt, long range shooting, new products, rifles, sniper

New Smith & Wesson Shield – It’s Finger Candy

April 13, 2012 By Tom 5 Comments

We’re here at the NRA Annual Meeting in St. Louis fighting the crowds and shoppers – all 80,000 of them.

The folks at GunUp.com just arranged a private tour of some of the newest offerings from Smith & Wesson – the highlight of which was the new M&P Shield.

Initially offered in both 9mm and .40 Smith & Wesson, the shield is similar in appearance to it sibling M&P line. Polymer frame, comfortable grip contour and no-trigger-pull takedown. While offered in two calibers, the Shield frames are the same in both offerings.

Where it differs, in addition to its slim and very concealable size, is the trigger. It’s a whole new design. Weighing in at 6.5 pounds, we found it to be exceptionally crisp with no detectable take-up and minimal overtravel. It feels a whole lot lighter than the measured 6.5 pounds. The other noticeable difference is in the trigger reset. While we weren’t able to measure the distance here on the show floor, we felt a crisp and distinct reset at what seemed to be about an eighth of an inch. The trigger on this gun is simply sporty. That’s one of our code words for “superlative.”

Also unlike the larger M&P models, the Shield does not feature an adjustable backstrap. Mainly because that would be kind of silly on a pocket sized gun. In our opinion anyway.

Another difference is the additional of a positive safety. It’s unobtrusive and machined to be embedded mostly into the slide so there is not much to catch. Smith & Wesson explained that this was added not so much for those who choose to carry in a belt holster, but to allow more flexibility for purse, pocket, and other types of carry methods.

The M&P Shield ships with two magazines – one with a flat base for maximum concealability and the other with an extension to allow better third finger grip.

This gun has a really great feel to it – we can’t wait to test one at the range.

Stay tuned!

Filed Under: Events, Life, News, NRA Annual Meeting Tagged With: guns, nra, nra annual meeting, shield, smith & wesson

The New SOG Light Saber? It’s ‘Glinty’

January 26, 2012 By Tom Leave a Comment

SHOT Show 2012 had more new things than we can ever cover, but this one stood out as awfully handy. And even more Star-Wars-y.

New this year from SOG are two new Blade Lights – offered in folding and fixed versions.

Pictured here is the folding version. It’s one of those oh-duh type devices offering a flashlight that works when the blade is open or closed, thereby letting one hand do the work of two. We can think of lot’s of practical uses:

Cleaning your fingernails in the middle of the night – without waking your significant other
Opening boxes in the dark
Checking to see if that London Broil on the grill is really done without admitting your lack of grill confidence to guests
And most importantly, making your fearsome knife blade actually ‘glint’ like they say in classic murder mysteries

The light is about 35 lumens and runs for nearly four and a half hours on AAA batteries.

Usually we might blow this off as a cheap gimmick. But coming from SOG, we’re confident that it’s built for punishment. And impressing your Navy Seal friends.

Filed Under: SHOT Show Tagged With: Knives, new products, SHOT Show, SOG

An American Guns Story

January 24, 2012 By Tom 4 Comments

SHOT Show is an experience. You get to meet lot’s of interesting people. And get mugged by them.

Tuesday evening, I was strolling through the Sands expo complex with the rest of the My Gun Culture literary assault team, minding our own business, when suddenly I found myself in a choke hold. OK, so I was in condition white. It was SHOT Show and I was arguably on the safest real estate on the planet at the time. Gimme a break. Anyway, a voice whispered in my ear “Give me all your money!”

If it wasn’t for the fact that I was surrounded by 61,000 gun totin’ folks I could have been the next story on CSI Las Vegas. That and the fact that the mugger was none other than Rich Wyatt of Discovery Channel’s American Guns.

You see, we had the opportunity to interview 3/4 of the Wyatt family earlier in the day. Apparently, Renee Wyatt had to stay home and mind the business so Rich, Kurt, and Paige could go to Vegas and blow the family nest egg at the craps table. And I must have offended Rich in the process, hence the threats on my life. But all ended well.

Let’s review our discussion earlier in the day:

My Gun Culture: Rich, Can you tell our readers how on earth you ended up owning a gun business? Did you start from scratch or buy an existing business?

Rich: In eighth grade in English class in Connecticut I wrote a report about this gun shop I got right here, right now. And then I followed my dream and went out and went to gunsmith school, and became a gunsmith. My Dad told me not to do it. Then I realized I couldn’t make enough money being a gunsmith. And then they wouldn’t let me play with machine guns, so I went to the police department. Then all these things kept happening in my life and next thing you know now I got the gun shop. I couldn’t make enough being a one gunsmith, one shop so I got 7 full time guys fixing guns. I’ve got lots of guys doing wild things – sales, training, buying / selling, and building guns. Now we have something that’s producing the income that my family needs for us to get by.

My Gun Culture: So just to clarify, did you start Gunsmoke or buy an existing business?

Rich: I started Gunsmoke. I’d worked with other shops and I had done different things. I worked with Colonel Jeff Cooper you know. Colonel Cooper was my mentor and I couldn’t believe I got a chance to meet him. I couldn’t believe I got a chance to teach with him. And so Gunsmoke was started originally to teach classes with Colonel Cooper when he left the facility he was at in Arizona. But anyway, we needed to set up a corporation to do that, so that’s how Gunsmoke got its legs. Colonel Cooper and I traveled, we hunted in Africa, and our families were great friends. You know Gunsmoke started basically in the back of a Suburban loaded up with Galco holsters and books. Finally, I was like we need a building to put all this junk in, so we went out and got one. And it just kept growing from there. And then I was like, wow we got all this stuff, we need a TV show! So we got a TV show. And now we’re just rockin’ it and having a good time!

My Gun Culture: So your business Gunsmoke is famous for being able to build a gun from a block of raw metal. If we walked in with a 20 pound block of cheese, could you fabricate a fully automatic Cheese Wiz dispenser?

Rich: We will make you the finest sandwich you’ve ever had! It will be the best grilled cheese you have ever, ever eaten. And besides that, it will be an artistic feat beyond anything any chef has ever prepared.

My Gun Culture: So Paige, I’ve got something in common with your dad. We both have beautiful daughters and that is a big , big problem for a dad to have right? It’s kind of thing when a prospective date comes over to the house that most dads make it a point to be cleaning the shotgun on the kitchen table or whatever. Given that your dad is, umm, a bit more tactical than average, and builds barrage weapons and cannons and the like, how does he kick it up a notch?

Paige: Just having the TV show already gives guys a little bit of fear because it’s not mysterious. They don’t wonder…”Does your dad have guns?” It’s more like, “Oh crap, your dad has guns!” There’s no question about the fact that he’s fully loaded. Guys do get nervous and I have to explain to them that it’s OK and he’s a normal guy besides the fact that we own a gun shop. Guys get scared, but he’s pretty nice if they pass they test. I don’t really know what the test is as I have to leave the room! There’s little things that guys have to do to pass…

Kurt: Yeah, like be a guy!

My Gun Culture: Who’s worse when it comes to grilling your dates? Your dad or your brother?

Rich: Paige is very lucky because Kurt’s bought his own place and lives on his own. And so he’s not there, but he does make celebrity appearances in case I’m having a little trouble with one of these guys and then he handles the heavy lifting.

Kurt: I’m the cleanup crew.

My Gun Culture: Kurt, I went to high school. I definitely did not have a single engraving class in high school. Ever. I had English, Geometry, and classes like that. So tell us how you learned to engrave guns.

Kurt: I had always doodled on paper and messed around with that kind of stuff. I never actually thought that I would come up with a career out of it. I did plenty of art classes in school, but obviously nothing geared toward engraving. It was actually dad’s idea. He asked if I had ever seen any engraving and would I be interested in it? I said sure – absolutely! He packed me up and shipped me off to school for it. The rest was history. I fell in love with it as soon as I actually started engraving. I took a basic engraving class out in Kansas. It was a great, great experience for me, and I love doing it.

Paige: There is one thing about engraving. I did try to engrave my name once. I couldn’t even do a straight line. It is extremely difficult and he does a great job.

My Gun Culture: Ok so we need a secret scoop for our readers. Judging from my own experience, I’ve run tools right through my hand. Have you ever done that?

Kurt: I’ve not yet put an engraving tool through my hand but I’ve definitely screwed up!

Rich: And he’s messed up some engraving too!

My Gun Culture: The SHOT Show is all about business – everybody’s doing deals. We happen to have at our house – hold on to your shorts here – we have an extremely rare and valuable Mosin Nagant. It’s got to be worth 90 bucks at least. It’s my son’s, but he’s away at college, so I’m thinking about maybe offering you a trade. I saw you build that custom sniper rifle that was over the top with the flames. I’m kind of thinking I want one with a World War II Midway battle scene on it with Zero’s and Corsairs in a dogfight over the Pacific. So what do you think? Even trade?

Rich: Even trade? Yeah, we’ll do it.

Kurt: In dad’s famous words, so how do you want to take care of the balance?

My Gun Culture: So while we’re on the topic of barters and trades, what’s the craziest trade deal you ever did?

Rich: I traded a guy for a live rattlesnake one time, which could be illegal in some states so I won’t say where I did it. Then I shot it and made it into a belt. That was a weird trade. But my best trade is going to be my next one.

My Gun Culture: We’ve got an ongoing debate going on in our office and maybe you guys can help settle it.We’ve had all sorts of industry figures weigh in on this. Is the MK19 Automatic Grenade launcher appropriate for home defense? My wife worries about the blast radius but I like the horsepower. Thoughts?

Rich: Here’s the problem. The only reason I wouldn’t use it for home defense is that it’s too difficult to move around in the night. I want to be able to get that gun on somebody so my home defense gun would be an 870 shotgun. Because everybody ‘comprendes’ a 12 gauge!

My Gun Culture: We don’t want to make you feel bad, but Top Shot Champion Iain Harrison recommends a 105mm Light Gun, which the British army uses.

Rich: Well I’ll tell ya what, while Iain’s whipping that thing around I’ll have 5 or 6 shots off with my 870. It’s not he who has the best guns that wins, it’s he who hits the first that wins! And that’s gonna be me! The best gun is the gun you’ve got with you.

Kurt: Anytime anybody comes into the store and asks about a home defense gun we whip that pump action shotgun out and rack the slide and they say ‘All right, I understand!”

Paige: If it’s for your wife, at least make it pink!

My Gun Culture: It looks like everyone in the family carries a 1911 from the pictures I see. Can you each tell us about yours and what makes it special?

Rich: Of course! First of all, I carry the coolest 1911 on the planet. It’s got flames on it, it’s got skull and crossbones that Kurt engraved, ivory stocks, Jeff Cooper slim line pistol, dehorned, Novak sights, you know – everything. It’s a great gun. And I also carry a 5 shot Smith & Wesson revolver just in case I need to fill my other hand.

Kurt: 1911 full size 5 inch with a Galco holster and also a 5 shot .38 with a Galco holster. Mine’s tricked out just like dad’s but a little bit different and that’s the great thing about a 1911 is that you can customize the heck out of them. Mine’s got all the same stuff that you need to make it a fine fighting firearm, but I did the custom engraved grips and I’ve got the two tone going with high polish so it’s nice and bright and it looks cool too. Same deal with the secondary firearm. Of course we customized that too – lighter trigger, bob the hammer, all that good stuff.

Paige: I have a little different 1911. Mine is a Colt Defender. It’s a 3 inch barrel instead of the full size. I had to prove to my dad that I could carry the gun. It took a while – I had to pass tests again, so I haven’t been able to really do anything to it yet. I’ve got new stocks, safety, dehorn. Mine is a bit smaller for me as its easier to carry on my hip.

Rich: One last thing. A lot of people ask and see us and say “Hey, your gun’s cocked…” Duh! That’s how it’s meant to be carried. And then a lot of people ask “How is Paige allowed to carry guns?” What do you live in a communist state? This is America we live in! She’s our daughter, on our property – it’s legal for her to carry guns. And if you can’t figure that stuff out man, grow up. Let’s not let people think that it’s OK not to carry guns. It is the best to carry guns. If you’re not carrying a gun right now, it’s a tremendous mistake!

We would like to thank the Wyatt family – all four of them – for tolerating our invasive and rigorous questioning. They were good sports – and quite entertaining!

Filed Under: Events, People, SHOT Show Tagged With: American Guns, interviews, SHOT Show, Television