SHOT Show Archives

Fausti has been a staple of Italian shotguns since 1948. In 2009, the company established Fausti USA to better service the American market. It makes both over-and-under and side-by-side shotguns in a variety of decorative styles. These are some absolutely beautiful shotguns. They are the type of firearm that is so well-made, engraved and inlayed that they become works of art . Most models come in 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauges and .410 as well. The USA line features laser engraving on coin or case-hardened finished actions. The Caledon model is the introductory gun and starts around $2,000. There is also the Fausti Boutique line of custom shotguns. These offer hand engraving and are made to fit the buyer. These shotguns are classy yet incredibly functional. They are made to look beautiful and to bust clays or knock birds from the sky.

Palmetto State Armory has two new exciting products at this year’s SHOT show. First is their take on the AR-10 platform. Details are still a little vague on the exact configuration for the rifle at this time, but we know it’s in .308. The demonstration model at SHOT is a pretty straight-forward AR-style rifle. The company is also planning to release a 1911 or two this quarter as well. The two examples they have here at SHOT are very impressive. The fit and finish is superb.

MOJO Outdoors has been a leader in the motion hunting decoys for a number of years. This year they have upped the game for the aggressive turkey hunter. The Scoot and Shoot is a full bird decoy that works as a sort of hide or blind for the hunter. It is based on their Boss Gobbler decoy line but incorporates a ground stake and handle. The idea is to be able to creep and crawl up to a Tom or flock and then hide behind this decoy. When a Tom sees another male bird closing in on his lady friends, he will get aggressive. Once the protector of Jenny and the hens closes on the hunter/decoy, it is time for a close-in kill shot. The video below is from MOJO TV and shows the Scoot and Shoot in action. This is aggressive and exciting turkey hunting at its finest.

One of the biggest hits of the show so far has been the Tac-Con trigger group from Tactical Fire Control. With all of the media and industry insiders blowing through ammo as fast as magazines can be loaded, the range can get a bit loud. Yet above that constant pop-pop-pop would come that signature braaaap of a rifle firing very fast. And it didn’t take long to find it. The booth was full of people trying to get a look at something they couldn’t even see.

There’s a time and a place for small guns. The Beretta Pico is the latest in a long of defensive handguns from the venerable firearms family. The Pico’s lines are reminiscent of the Nano, only the Pico is small enough to drop in your pocket. And Beretta’s putting a fashionable twist on the diminutive .380: it will be available in a traditional two-tone or with a variety of colorful frames.

What does a silenced .50 BMG sound like? I have no idea. I should, but we weren’t allowed to shoot it. The range where we were gathered today for the 2014 SHOT Show media shoot wouldn’t let us shoot it. So we had to sit back and look at it, which was almost as rewarding. The rifle they brought (complete with crates of .50 BMG) is an M107A1 with a QDL suppressor. Part of what makes this ambitious suppressor unique is the two-port brake that is bolted onto its end. This helps reduce the recoil, while still cutting the sound signature, and it can be removed to further reduce the visible signature as well. The QDL slides over the muzzle brake and can be installed or removed in seconds.

Sometimes we know what we’re going to see at the SHOT Show. But there are always surprises. One of the best surprises at the range today was the Escort Gladius 20 Gauge Home Defense Shotgun. Escort Shotguns, a division of Legacy Sports International, does not have the following enjoyed by its domestic competition, but if the Gladius is any indication, these shotguns will be winning people over.

If you are a fan of the old A-Team TV show you would have appreciated a nifty vehicle in the exhibitor area made especially for Hannibal, Face, Murdock and BA. With a .50 cal and bazooka mounted on top, ad twin ARs at the sides, nobody who walked by could resist taking a picture. The ATV was made by Dock Holiday Guns under a new name and brand of custom ARs called A-Team Guns. Take a look at the pictures because they are really nifty. Machined individually from 7075 billet, these guns are not cheap. The barrel is made by Pac Nor, and the owner of the company explained that this the first time that Pac Nor has agreed to make a complete barrel for a manufacturer, rather than just sell them blanks. So far the chamberings for the A-Team guns are 223 Wylde (not to be confused with Zakk Wylde), and 300 Blackout. There is both a 2 and 3 finger front grip design. Hopefully we’ll get one of these guns in for review. The prices are in the $2400-$2800 range, so not for the casually minded shooter. Cool gun nerd gun for SHOT 2014!

Media Day at the Range attracts a lot of unique companies that don’t necessarily exhibit at SHOT Show. One thing that almost all of the guns at SHOT Show had in common this year was that their chambers were filled with plastic chamber flags made by Manufacturing Services, Inc. They have a minimum order of 100 pieces with your custom logo, and if you want to order 250, there is no setup fee. The flags themselves are 50 cents each. Also check out the personal defense tool, 60 cents each for 250, and a really nifty water bottle holder that slips in your pocket (see the third picture, 50 cents each/250. Cool company obviously a big fan of shooting sports, and MADE IN USA. Give them some business for your next shooting event or trade show giveaway.

Springfield Armory is announcing a new variant of the XD-S for 2014. It is the logical next step in the evolution of the sensationally popular XD-S sub-compact format. No, it’s not a new caliber offering – it is a new barrel length! Springfield has stretched the 3.3” barrel just ever so much to an even 4 inches. Why is this significant? For starters – recoil. I obtained my copy of the XD-S in 2012 in the initial offering of .45 ACP. If you have ever fired that gun, you know that it has some “personality” to it. Simple physics I’m afraid. Less size and weight of the handgun means more felt recoil for the shooter. The 2013 introduction of the 9mm version was welcomed by many because of the reduced pressures of that round, but it still has some snap. A 4” offering of this same gun adds weight where it is needed most – out at the muzzle. This helps reduce felt recoil. The XDS-9 4.0 also has a longer sight radius; adding ¾” to the length of the slide allows Springfield to push the front sight further forward by that same distance. This translates to a more accurate sight picture and better shots. Small errors in aiming are more noticeable, and therefore easier to correct with a longer sight radius.

Technology can make your life easier, or create yet a new thing you have to learn for fear of falling behind. The new GunsAmerica Posting Wizard smartphone ap for Android is meant to make your life easier. We hope to follow up within a couple months with an option for Apple products, but it can be very hard to get an ap into their store. The Android ap flows just like the posting page on the main website, and includes all of the options that you will find there. Why didn’t we make an ap for browsign the website and contacting sellers? We may, if people say they want it. The problem with those aps is that you really don’t need them if the website is designed properly for smartphones, and they can be more cumbersome than just using the regular website. For posting, it is really convenient to be able to just pop a few pictures with your phone and post an ad remotely, so we decided that this posting wizard ap was worth the space in your phone if it is something that you think you will find useful. Please give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments, and also please take the time to rate it in the Google Play store. Maybe we’ll be “trending” !!

This year’s SHOT Show was overshadowed by an unprecedented attack on our 2nd Amendment rights by shameless politicians trying to pay back political favors from the 2012 election. Unfortunately a lot of the American public are actually buying the lies and the false hopes offered by the carpetbagging charlatans. Prosperity is what America needs to reduce the violence in our inner cities, and SHOT Show 2013 was a stunning banner of American ingenuity, creativity, and the seeds of prosperity. Firearms have always meant freedom, and we will lose our freedom in America if we don’t stand up for our firearms now. Thanks to Julie Mac, Mark Bealo and Eric Beels for great work on this year’s videos. Hopefully next year Julie will remember for once that shotguns are actually a part of the firearms world, but for now let’s all just keep it a secret. We’ll see you for next year’s SHOT Show, back in Las Vegas, for 2014.

The name Weatherby alone is enough to pique the interest of most gun enthusiasts. The company’s attention to detail and renowned reputation for long-range performance in the hunting fields is unsurpassed.

But the company launched a shotgun lineup a few years ago and heads really turned when it rolled out a synthetic-stocked, pump-action shotgun in 12 gauge for self-defense. This year the company has extended its scattergun lineup with three 20-gauge offerings—one for bird hunting, while the new pair of TRs (Threat Response) are tailored for self-defense.

The PA-08 Synthetic in 20-gauge is available with either 26- or 28-inch chrome-lined barrels, comes with a black synthetic stock and to reduce glare afield the gun is finished in matte black. Lengthened forcing cones help reduce perceived recoil, making it an easy-to-use workhorse on opening day, regardless of the weather. It’s sure to offer the same kind of performance as its 12-gauge bigger brother.

The military contractor game has dried up some since the wars have slowed down so a lot of products that hoped for military trials are now trying to make it in the consumer world of guns and gun toys. Perhaps the most advanced at this year’s SHOT Show was TrackingPoint, a monstrous looking rifle and scope combination that is being marketed as fighter plane lock and launch technology for your deer rifle. Tag, Track, Fire.

The TrackingPoint system looks like a big huge rangefinder scope but it is actually an entire weapon system. You buy the rifle and electromechanical optics computer as a package, tuned to the ammo that comes with the gun. At first blush it felt more like the stuff of science fiction than that destined for the hunting camp, but TrackingPoint was the talk of SHOT Show 2013 for sure. The concept of this device is simple. Rifle accuracy and rifle ballistics have outpaced shooter ability for decades now, and most cartridges are generally not able to be shot at their effective distances because of potential shooter error. First shot hits at ranges of further than 600-800 yards are in the single digits for success percentages in human trials, even with ballistic computers, and if you think about it, there should be a technology that can make this better. From idea to finished working product, TrackingPoint is this technology.

Any fan of Mossberg pump guns will tell you, they are the greatest guns on the planet, except that they kick like a mule. When you try the 3″ and 3 1/2″ guns, meant for turkey and waterfowl, the effects can be downright punishing, and I have seen even 2 3/4″ buckshot send a 6 foot 3 inch grown man stumbling backwards. Granted, you can wield a Mossberg 500/590, or even the 835 effectively in both hunting and tactical situations, but you are going to know that you shot the gun. When someone says “eh, that .50 cal. doesn’t kick anymore than a 12 gauge,” keep in mind they are probably talking about a Mossberg pump gun. But hold the bus, Mossberg has a new product line they seem to be testing in the market that is a “harmonic damper,” built right into the stock of their iconic working man’s shotguns.

The system is made by a company called Mathews, which specializes in bows, as in bow and arrows. Somehow this company developed a “push back” technology that seems to work on something of a gyroscope methodology, turning the recoil on itself to push backwards. We are eager to get one of these guns to try, so for now all we can tell you is that there are going to be 7 introductory models, and all of them, including the tactical, will have a special stock with the recoil whosawhatsit and a special adjustable comb. The firearms community doesn’t take easily to new concepts, but it looks like Mossberg has a lot of hope for this new system, and it could revolutionize what we think of as a fixed amount of recoil in fixed breech (ie. pump and over/under and sxs) shotguns. They have a new recoil pad with this system as well, so it will be interesting to see the end result, which is hopefully the opposite of a purple and yellow shoulder after a day of shooting. Everyone’s favorite shotgun is learning some new tricks this year, comfortable ones, 100% made in the USA.

I saw something incredible today when I met Cabot Guns CEO Robert A. Bianchin. His company may not be a household name among gun enthusiasts, yet, but this niche manufacturer builds some of the finest 1911s I have ever held.

These are not old-school 1911s you shoot every weekend, or toss into the back of your trunk irreverently. They’d handle it and be utterly reliable, but you just wouldn’t do that to these handguns.

These are, as Bianchin put it, a functioning piece of precision art. These 1911s are developed and made by engineers, to critical tolerances, using standards typically reserved for the aerospace industry or in a nuclear lab…I’m not kidding. They are also utterly reliable.

If you remember back several months ago we did a photo essay on the “no drill” scope mount from Kwik-Site for the 1903 Springfield. Well they happened to be exhibiting right around the corner from us in the dungeon at SHOT Show this year and wouldn’t you know it, they made a freakishly large rotating auto-pistol to demonstrate their new scope mount. It is a pistol mount that attaches to that front rail on our autopistols that very few of us actually use for anything (but that looks cool so we all want one).
The mount is meant to hold what most people call a “scout” scope, otherwise known as a “long eye relief” scope, which just means you don’t have to put your eye close to see a usable sight picture. Long eye relief scopes are used in the scout rifle setup, like that Ruger Scout Rifle, or the Springfield M1A Socom, or you can use them on a pistol. Some pistols, like .22 caliber target pistols, actually have a scope rail, as does the Desert Eagle and many hunting revolvers. But if you want to try to shoot your semi-auto pistol at distance, and you’d like to be able to use a scope, this unique mount is a really unique answer. Nobody downstairs could have missed it, so it is strange that you don’t see them as the front page story on SHOT 2013 coverage. The heck with that Colt USMC pistol. This is the big story! Just look at the size of that gun in the booth!

Eotech, the world leader in holographic sights, this year has a new sight made for the elusive 300 Blackout, also known as the 300 Whisper. This caliber is interesting because it has two loadings. One is subsonic, slower than the speed of sound, for use with suppressors, and one is supersonic, so there is a [...]

Last year we saw Colt regain its status as the king of the AR-15/M-16 type rifle. Our Colt articles on both the 6920/6940 Patrol rifles, and the .308/7.62 Colt 901-16S were among 2012′s most popular here at GunsAmerica Magazine & Blog. The nice thing was that you could actually get the guns, and tens of thousands of you did. We have some good news for the 901 purchasers out there. According to “inside information” at the Colt Defense booth at SHOT Show, those proprietary swapper parts should be out this year, and they will finally come with the gun. Everyone who already has a 901 will be able to get them either free or cheap directly from Colt, hopefully by March is what we were told. If you have not yet read the 901 article and watched the video, it is a really cool gun that could transform your perspective of the AR-15 platform.

So what’s new for Colt this year? Mostly they are coming out with a bunch of specialized configurations and colors in the same rock solid 6920/6940 guns, and some of them are going to be only available from specific Colt distributors.

A lot of you guys were in disbelief that the new .17 Winchester rimfire from our Savage article early in this year’s SHOT Show coverage is all that it claims, so we got a little bit more information from Winchester. Seems that we have a whole new era of rimfire that will begin with the .17WSM. At 200 yards it barely moves at all in a 10mph wind, and they are marketing it for…coyote hunting. So stay tuned on this one kiddies. We hope to get a rifle from Savage and a box or two from Winchester Ammunition and get out coyote killing on the ranch soon. This is exciting stuff.

With ammunition prices through the roof and manufacturers unable to keep up with current demand, why would a company roll out an all new rimfire cartridge at the SHOT Show? In Winchester Ammunition’s case, probably because it has completed three years of development, and now is a great time to unveil low-cost fodder with performance that rivals some centerfire cartridges. Enter the world’s fastest rimfire, the .17 Winchester Super Magnum.

We first reported more than three years ago that deer rifles had vastly improved from what they were even five years before. We measured several inexpensive factory rifles at better than MOA, or Minute of Angle accuracy, and even those rifles have gotten even better since our original installment. Better stocks, better construction, and better overall workmanship have put legacy stalwart rifles like the Remington 700 at a disadvantage. You can get much cheaper guns with the same or better performance, out of the box. Remington entered the race for the least expensive great rifle last year with the 770, and this year they have added the 783. We hope to get both of these guns in for some actual hands on testing this year. It is amazing how much gun you can get for cheap these days, and this new Remington 783 looks very promising.

Live birds ahoy! If you went stumbling around the corners of the basement at SHOT Show 2013 you may have come across a trailer mounted giant clay pigeon machine Lazy Susan. There is almost no other way to describe this monstrosity called the Crazy Quail. Made of solid galvanized steel, it comes in sizes that hold from one to four bird throwing machines. The machines you see mounted on this demo unit at the show are made by Apex, but it accommodates just about any thrower. The machines rotate on a spinning plate, so you can throw several presentations at one time, and the whole system is portable, so one unit can be used for several locations at the same club.

The premise of the Crazy Quail is to get more birds in the air for clubs trying to make money. More birds equals more rounds equals more ammo, equals a profitable club. If you run a sporting clays club, the Crazy Quail is affordable, and throws up to 160 birds per minute. The quad configuration holds 1632 clays at one time. That is about 65 rounds, on one loading.

Inside-the-waistband carry, or IWB, is considered one of the most discreet concealed-carry methods, making a T-shirt and shorts possible while carrying in places like my sunny Southern California. Even larger weapons can disappear on your body when quietly tucked into your waistband.

Versa Carry has been coming up with a lot of innovative ideas on ways to secure a handgun inside the waistband, and its latest is a small J-frame revolver setup.

This story came as a tip from our friend Carrie Lightfoot at The Well Armed Woman. There are a ton of “CCW purses ” out there, but most of them were made by men and don’t work at all. We almost covered a company last year that made a purse that worked like a raccoon trap. You could put a woman size hand into the gun pouch on the side, but once you grabbed that shiny gun, you couldn’t get it out. Carrie is working on a series of articles for us here at GunsAmerica, and she will be the first to tell you that carrying a gun in a purse isn’t for everyone. You have to make sure that bag stays with you at all times and is in your complete control, but in some modes of dress, bag carry is one of a short list of options, and possibly the most sensible one. Of all the bag companies that have courted Carrie, to sell them on TWAW, Gun Tote’n Mamas is the one she likes the most. They have a huge assortment of bags for just about every taste and mode of dress, and the gun parts work, which is the most important thing.

In the midst of the gun grabber legislative chaos, ATI Gunstocks had some pretty neat stuff for this year’s SHOT Show 2103. Their big new product is set to ship in April and they are taking pre-orders now. It is a complete replacement stock system for the Benelli M4 called the Raven. Like all ATI stocks, it is modular and you can buy one piece or the whole system. All ATI stocks are what is known as “992R” compliant as well. On foreign made high capacity weapons, you must have at least 5 parts that are made in the USA if you want to use a pistol grip, and they have to be one of a core list of parts on the gun. For the Benelli, there are 14 parts, and ATI makes the five that you need for compliance. The kit retails for $374 on their website (again, currently in pre-order). The extra part you see here in the pictures is that front rail system, which they call the “magazine tube shroud,” and that isn’t available yet on the website.

One of the stories you didn’t see at GunsAmerica last year at SHOT Show was the “DoubleTap” pocket pistol. We elected to not cover it because though it seemed a good idea, it was clear from speaking with the management at the show that it was not going to be available in the market anytime soon. Several lawsuits later, the inventors of the DoubleTap have changed manufacturing facilities and it looks like the gun is actually going to be available in a couple months. This is a really neat double derringer style pocket pistol that comes in both .45ACP and 9mm, and it is available in both aluminum, at 12 ounces empty, for $499, or titanium at 14 ounces, for $729. At present all of the major distributors have placed orders for the guns, in the tens of thousands, and within a couple months the factory, located in Naples, Florida, should be able to produce over 5,000 guns per month. A full line of holsters and accessories are already available for the DoubleTap, and the barrels and calibers are interchangeable, with .40S&W hopefully available by summer.

New for 2013 from Mojo Outdoors is the Shake’n Jake. We got to play with his highness at SHOT Show and it is going to be a turkey killer this spring. Legal in all but 6 states, you have to check with your local regulations before you buy it. Even if your state does not prohibit turkey decoys, they prohibit motorized ones, and/or remote control ones. the Shake’n Jake is remote controlled, on or off. We were told at the booth that his majesty would be under $100, available in a couple weeks, but so far he has only popped up at Cabelas for $149.

Also check out the fan tail that you stick on your shotgun. It is called the Tail Chaser, $24.99 at Cabelas, and the word at the Mojo booth is that it works great. In cover, the turkeys see the tail and come walking right in. These will probably be at your local big box stores soon, but remember that they only get so many in so you may want to grab one online now before the turkey fever starts to really set in during late February.

The XD(M) was originally designed as a service handgun, but when it quickly caught on in competitive shooting’s Service Divisions, Springfield Armory decided to make a good thing even better. Small touches like a longer barrel and sight radius, fiber-optic front sight with a color selected to improve contrast with the targets used in competitive shooting and lightening cut atop the slide—just behind the front sight—make the XD(M) Competition Series a whole different gun. XD(M) Competition Series pistols come with a 5.25-inch, match-grade barrel instead of the standard XD(M) barrel lengths of 3.8 and 4.5 inches. For a limited time they are shipping with three magazines, instead of two. All of the Competition Series features a higher-visibility red fiber-optic, but a green pipe is included in case that color works better for the shooter. The rear target sight is fully adjustable and the sight radius has been increased to 7.25 inches. The XD(M) Competition Series is available in 9 mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. All are 8.3 inches in length, 5.75 inches tall, and the 9 mm tips the scales at 29 ounces, with the .40 S&W and .45 ACP coming in at 32 ounces. Magazine capacity is 19 in 9 mm, 16 in .40 S&W and 13 in .45 ACP. Finishes available are black and bi-tone.