Media Day at the Range is everything people said it was and more. All I can say is wow. I got to shoot everything from the full auto CMMG Mk 47 to a .416 Rigby elephant gun.
I’ll have a lot more to post later but I have to get off to the show floor for Day 1 of the SHOT Show.
We recorded our regular Sunday episode of The Polite Society Podcast yesterday. It was our SHOT Show Pre-Show.
Usually these podcasts are done with the host and co-hosts participating from all over the country: Paul in South Dakota (or the road), Rob in California, Gary D in Illinois, Rachel in Texas, and me in North Carolina. This was the first time I got to do it face to face with Paul and Susan. It was kinda cool. I just hope the mikes didn’t pick up my coughs, throat clearings, and snorts.
We will be doing micro-casts every night of SHOT. So plan to listen.
You can hear Episode 302 here or download it from the usual suspects (iTunes, etc.)
LAST CALL
The SHOT Show begins in Las Vegas in less than a month 3 days and I will be there!
Normally, SHOT is scheduled when I would be teaching. I usually teach my class on Monday nights. However this year, it is the week that includes Martin Luther King Day which means no class for me. I am really excited to be able to go as this will be the first SHOT Show I’ve attended in 19 years. The last one I attended was in Dallas and was a fraction of what it has since become.
To say that the SHOT Show is huge is to understate it. The show will utilize 630,000 net square feet of display space within the Sands Expo Center. There will be 1,676 vendors displaying their wares. And you have only four days to see it all. If I went non-stop from the moment the doors opened until they closed and visited each and every booth, I would have barely one minute to devote to each booth.
That just isn’t going to make it.
Thus, I’m asking you to make suggestions about what you’d like me to cover. Are there certain vendors that you’d like me to make sure that I don’t miss? Are there product areas that you’d like to see covered? Moreover, are there questions that you’d like me to ask? For example, I could ask Remington just when they expect to have the R-51 pistol fix available. Another example is that I could ask Glock when we can expect a single stack 9mm now that the Glock 42 seems to be a success. You get the idea.
You can make suggestions in the comments below. You can also email me directly at jpr9 AT earthlink DOT net.
I really do want to hear from you. I think it will take a good deal of advance planning to make my trek to the SHOT Show a success. Your suggestions will make this more doable. The SHOT Show website is here and the list of vendors is here.
One final thing – if you are going to be attending the SHOT Show, let me know by email and we may be able to meet in person.
UPDATE: This is a last call for items you want me to check out. Email is above. I have a short list and will do my best to check everything out.
Extreme Gear Labs, a manufacturer of professional grade tactical rigs, is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They have just come out with a new pouch that will hold two of the Magpul D60 drum magazines. There was a sneak peak on this new pouch at Soldier Systems Daily this morning.
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| From Soldier Systems Daily |
The name for this new pouch?
The EGL HickenLoop Pouch.
Gov. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) signed the bill that essentially drove Magpul and their jobs out of Colorado. As the people at Extreme Gear Labs said on Instagram, their disdain for the man knows no limits.
If 15-round magazines upset the gun prohibitionists and 30-round magazines are doubly upsetting, the new Magpul D60 rotary magazine should really throw them into a tizzy. And if Gov. John Hickenlooper hadn’t kowtowed to Michael Bloomberg in exchange for vague promises of support of a presidential run, it would be made in Colorado.
According to their Facebook page, MSRP on this jewel is $129.95 and will begin shipping to the rest of free America in Spring/Summer 2015. They note it will be available for testing at Media Day at the Range. And to quote the Jackson 5, I’ll be there.
The production D60 will be black with a round indicator window. The transparent and cut-away versions shown in the video were pre-production test models.
In the run-up to the SHOT Show, a lot of new products are officially announced. There are also some products that slip out when a distributor prematurely posts pictures of a new product before the manufacturer has announced it.
Such is the case of the optics-ready longslide Glock 34, 35, 41, and the Glock 40 Hunter. Kiesler Police Supply posted these pictures on their Facebook page about 10 days ago. As Soldiersystems.net says, the SHOT Show leak award goes to them.
However, it isn’t official until the company itself makes an announcement or at least gives some indication that the rumors are true. Below is a picture from Glock’s official Instagram page showing pistols that they are packing for the SHOT Show. I count six Glocks with optics in that picture including the one on top in the upper right corner. I’d say that was proof enough that it is official.
Emerson Knives will be releasing the Combat Systems Fighter in black and stonewash at the SHOT Show. It will be part of the Signature Series collection and retails for $263.95 directly from Emerson.
More details on the knife below:
- Overall Length: 8.9 in.
- Blade Length: 3.8 in.
- Blade Thickness: .125 in.
- Hardness: RC 57-59
- Handle: G-10
- Blade: 154 CM
- Finish: Stone Washed or Black Coating
Let’s face it, the triggers on your average AK were made by comrades who couldn’t wait to get their next bottle of vodka. They work when they need to but they tend to be heavy and gritty like the comrades that made them.
The people at Geissele Automatics’ sister company ALG Defense may have a solution to fix those triggers. According to their Instagram post, it is called the Lightning Bow and it will be released at SHOT Show. Geissele is going to be one of the participants at Media Day at the Range so I may have a chance to try it out.
If it is anywhere as good as their ALG MilSpec trigger for the AR, I think they may have something here.
UPDATE: ALG Defense has posted the details and the MSRP of their AK triggers on their Facebook page this afternoon.
New Product Announcement – The ALG AK Trigger
The ALG AK Trigger (AKT) is a single stage trigger machined from S7 tool steel for the AK47 and AK74 variant platform. The AKT features a smoother and shorter trigger pull than the stock trigger, and is ideal for combat and home defense use. It has a Manganese Phosphated finish for corrosion resistance.
In addition to the standard model, the Enhanced model has a pull that is even lighter and has a much crisper break which is ideal for precision and target shooting. The Enhanced trigger is hard lubed which creates a permanent self-lubricating surface which will enhance the smoothness of the trigger’s pull, and the hammer is Black Nitride processed for maximum abrasion and corrosion resistance.
Both models feature a unique trigger bow known as the Lightning Bow, which is a hybrid between a flat and a curved trigger bow that produces a very comfortable feel for the user over the stock trigger. For OEM’s and builders, the AKT will also lend three parts towards 922(r) Compliance.
MSRP: ALG AK Trigger: $49
ALG AK Trigger Enhanced: $75***Please note: The straw coloring of the trigger is due to heat treatment on a prototype trigger.
Remington is set to release a new semi-automatic shotgun. The V3 continues on the advances made by the Versa Max and expands the number of gas ports to eight. According to the video review of the V3 by John Snow of Outdoor Life, the price point of the V3 will be in the $700-900 range. This puts it significantly lower than the Versa Max which comes in at $1,045 MSRP for the Sportsman Model and $1,427 for the Synthetic Model.
More details on the V3 can be found in this review by Phil White at The Firearm Blog.
With the start of the SHOT Show being less than two weeks away, a number of new products are being released to the public. As these releases become public, I’ll be doing a series of pre-release posts on these new products. I should point out that I haven’t been made privy to any of the new products by their manufacturers before their release and have signed no non-disclosure agreement. So if someone slips up and the word gets out early, I’ll try to report it.
In that vein, Ruger will be releasing a new version of their SR1911 pistol. It will be a Lightweight Commander that will feature an aluminum alloy frame. According to the post on it by Richard Johnson at Guns, Holsters, and Gear, the pistol will weigh a mere 29.3 ounces. This is a reduction of over 6 ounces from the original steel-framed SR1911 Commander.
The MSRP for the new pistol is $899. This should mean the street price could be as much as $100 less. More details on the features can be found at the link above.
Ruger, itself, has not posted anything about the pistol on its website. Given they are a public company, announcements on new products are usually made there as it would be material information. I’m guessing this is one that slipped out a little early.
Ruger will be one of the exhibitors at Media Day at the Range so hopefully I’ll get a chance to shoot this one.
UPDATE: Ruger has now officially released the SR1911 Lightweight Commander. A list of its features is below: The titanium feed ramp mentioned below is to facilitate feeding of hollow-point bullets.
Features:
- Classic, original 1911 Series 70 design.
- Lightweight, anodized aluminum frame.
- Polished titanium feed ramp.
- Precision CNC-controlled machining process results in a superior slide-to-frame fit and smooth slide travel.
- The stainless steel barrel and bushing are produced from the same bar stock, on the same machine, for improved accuracy.
- Positive barrel lock-up allows for superior accuracy out of the box.
- Oversized ejection port and extended magazine release enhance competition performance.
- Thin hardwood grip panels, checkered backstrap and front strap serrations.
- Lightweight, aluminum, skeletonized trigger features an adjustable over-travel stop and provides a very crisp, no creep, light trigger pull with a quick, positive reset.
- Skeletonized hammer is lightweight and provides faster cycling.
- Dovetailed, high-visibility 3-dot sight system features a Novak® LoMount Carry, windage adjustable rear and standard front sights that combine optimal target acquisition and an ideal carry configuration.
- Oversized beavertail grip safety provides positive function and reliability.
- Extended thumb safety and slide stop lever for improved, positive manipulation.
- Integral plunger tube for slide stop and thumb safety is not staked and will never come loose.
- Features a standard recoil guide system and flat mainspring housing.
- Visual inspection port allows for visual confirmation of a loaded or empty chamber.
- Rear slide serrations allow for positive grip.
- Accepts all standard, aftermarket 1911 parts and accessories.
- Also Includes: swaged link pin; titanium firing pin; two stainless steel magazines; bushing wrench; soft case.
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