SHOT Show 2013

Several years ago Remington returned to its handgun-producing roots with the introduction of
the R1. This year the company continues to evolve the lineup, adding the R1 Carry to an already
proven stable of .45 ACP-chambered 1911s. Subtle changes, built upon the reliability of a five-
inch barrel, make this handgun more carry friendly than the R1 or R1 enhanced. Bad guys don’t
knock off at dusk, so the R1 Carry remedies target acquisition in poor lighting conditions by
using Novak sights with a tritium Night Sight up front. Speed of presentation is critical, but a
handgun’s sharp edges love to hang up on covering garments at the worst possible moment. With
a de-horned frame and slide, the R-1 Carry minimizes that concern. Purchase in the worst of
environmental conditions is enhanced with 25-lpi checkering on the beavertail backstrap safety
(with memory bump), frontstrap and mainspring housing. Cocobolo grip panels and skeletonized
adjustable trigger provide the kind of look it’s a shame to keep concealed, but the lowered and
flared ejection port and target crown speak volumes about Remington’s dedication to reliability,
regardless of “fashion.” Overall length is 8.5 inches, rate of twist is 1 in 16 inches and it ships
with a pair of magazines–one seven-rounder and a bumper-padded eight-round version. I’ve
never considered an ambidextrous safety ideal for 1911 carry, but it’s there for southpaws.
MSRP is $1,299.

AK fans concerned Mikhail Kalashnikov’s 90th birthday was going relatively
unnoticed got a special surprise from Arsenal at this year’s SHOT Show. Only
500 rifles in the MTK90 Jubilee Series are going to be produced and they are
selling fast, despite a $3,500 price tag for the Silver Edition and $5,000 for the
Gold. Built on hand-selected rifles, the right side of the Silver version’s receiver
has engravings with a silver-colored filling that highlight Kalashnikov’s birthday,
35 years of the AK-74 and even include Kalashnikov’s signature. The trigger,
bolt carrier and several other components of the rifle are also polished to a silver
finish. The Gold Version is virtually identical, except gold coloration is substituted
for silver in the embellishments. Four hundred Silvers will be produced and 100
Golds. With its presentation box, certificate of authenticity and more, it’s a great
way to celebrate this special anniversary. If you’re more interested in an everyday
shooter, the company’s new SAM7R1 is chambered in 7.62×39 mm, comes with
a cold-hammer-forged barrel and a hot-hammer-forged receiver that makes it
stronger and longer-lasting than many of the other AK variants available today.
Prices are running around $1,350. And if you’re ready for an AK pistol, Arsenal
rolled one out at SHOT in the SAM7K. It’s also chambered in 7.62×39 mm, has
a 10.5-inch barrel, hard-chrome-plated bore and chamber and is only 20 inches
long. It tips the scales at eight pounds (without a magazine), but with an MSRP of
$1,199 it’s much lighter on the pocketbook, anyway.

If you’re looking for a tank-tough optic for your AR that’s ideal for 3-Gun or CQB work,
you need to take a look at the new Razor HD Gen II 1-6×24 mm from Vortex. At 10.1 inches
in length, weighing 25.2 ounces, the riflescope uses a 30 mm tube and employs extra-low-
dispersion glass to improve resolution and color clarity. At one power, the field of view at 100
yards is 115.2 feet and at six power it narrows to 20.5 feet. Maximum windage and elevation
adjustments are 110 MOA and the illuminated red dot subtends .5 MOA. Adjustment is .5 MOA
per click. There are 11 different reticle-brightness settings, with off positions between each and
the second-focal-plane reticle uses a single CR 2032 battery for illumination. The company lists
the MSRP at $1,899, but you’ll notice in the video the street price may be less. If you love long-
range work, but realize over-magnification isn’t necessarily an advantage, you’ll appreciate the
new Viper PST 2.5-10×32 mm FFP. With the EBR-1 MRAD reticle in the first focal plane, your
range-estimation problems are solved. Built on a 30 mm tube from aircraft grade aluminum, this
riflescope is also battle tough. This one, however, has a parallax adjustment knob, target-style
turrets for quickly dialing in your dope and features 10 brightness settings for the illuminated
reticle (which also runs on a CR 2032 battery). It weighs 18.8 ounces, is 12 inches long and has a
pretty awesome MSRP of $899. Field of view at 100 yards is 47 feet and 10.9 feet at 2.5 and 10
powers, respectively. Adjustments are .1 mil per click.

Some things are too awesome for words. Thankfully we have a video so you can hear how
quiet the CondorSS really is. OK, I know it’s pneumatic, but this new model from Airforce
Airguns delivers the kind of punch that Lewis & Clark relied upon during its Corps of Discovery
Expedition for food from its air guns. Despite the lack of report, it delivers a .177-, .20-, .22-
or .25-caliber pellet at velocities that range from 600 to 1,300 fps. To put things into perspective,
that 1,300 fps mark exceeds many velocities delivered by .22 Long Rifle cartridges. With the
CondorSS, a variable-power setting allows the shooter to dial up or down as needed and speed
produced will naturally vary by caliber and projectile weight. Power for this single shot rifle
is provided by a rechargeable tank in the buttstock. It comes with an 18-inch Lothar Walther
barrel to ensure accuracy and if you want to really reach out, a bipod can be mounted. With a
two-stage trigger adjustable for position, a rail for mounting iron sights or a magnified optic
and color choices in racy red, blue and black, this non-noise polluting gem is one of the SHOT
Show’s real sleepers. Add the fact that you can come home from work and let some steam off
while punching paper at BB-gun defying distances or neutralize those annoying pests without
your neighbors “discovering,” and I can’t wait to bring one of these babies home. MSRP is $717
to $737, depending on tank-attachment system requested (QD or spin).

The one creature we haven’t seen on HBO’s “True Blood” is the now ubiquitous Zombie, but if they show up this year you’ll have everything you need with this silver bullet and wooden stake kit from Coonan Arms. You probably already know Coonan from their fabulous .357 Magnum semi-auto handgun, but that begs the question, “where do you go from a highly successful .357 Magnum pistol?” Apparently the answer is, hijack the zombie craze at the height of vampire and werewolf fame and fortune, and produce a very clever and extremely silly silver bullet kit, replete with its own wooden stake. Vampire Diaries just started back up, and it won’t be long before True Blood is back, but its a good thing Twilight is over because this would be too much for those sparkly sissies. The silver bullet pack includes real silver plated bullets, not solid silver, which makes the pack only $39.95, and the bullets really do shoot. They are moderately hot .357 Magnums. Look on the accessory page on the Coonan website.

Also check out new finishes from Coonan in Cerakote, as well as a new ported model. This is a great gun that we reviewed some time ago. If you have been thinking of getting one, there are a lot more options these days, and this is a gun that is always the center of attention everywhere you bring it anyways. Check out Coonan Arms for 2013.

This is a groundbreaking new rifle from Savage made for the new .17 Super Magnum **RIMFIRE**. You may not have heard of this cartridge yet, but it shoots a 20 grain bullet at about 3,000 feet per second, at .17 caliber of course. This means fairly flat shooting at devastating velocities out to 300 yards and beyond. What makes this particular gun special is that it is from Savage, the leader in out of the box accuracy in bolt guns. They have incorporated several centerfire bolt gun features into this rimfire rifle, at a rimfire price of $349. As ammunition gets more and more expensive, that you can go shoot prairie dogs, crows or even tin cans all day at 300 yards on the cheap may make this the biggest story of SHOT Show 2013. Bill is correct here in the video when he says that Savage won’t be able to make enough of these guns. If you are a new gun owner and you bought a pistol or an AR first, this would be your ideal second gun that you will never outgrow and that you will still enjoy shooting in 30 years, with your grandchildren. Another great rifle idea from Savage. Get yourself on the list with your local dealer, because supply may not catch up with the demand in 2013.

Glock has the luxury of being able to sell pretty much as many guns as they can make, but they still have a finely tuned ear to consumers and LE in order to figure out exactly what is the next Glock that will make you happy. This G30s is a compact .45ACP with a 10 round magazine and slightly thinner grip, and the unique feature is that they have put a G36 slide on it, making it thinner and easier to conceal. They can use the thinner slide because the .45ACP is not a particularly high pressure cartridge. It was designed just after the turn of the last century and is known as the ultimate manstopper in a handgun. A lot of us prefer to carry it, but the guns can be bulky. This new G30s reduces the footprint of Glock’s 10 round 45ACP gun, making it a great choice for concealed carry. Glock also has a few new Gen 4 guns this year, and they hope to release this 30s in Gen 4 as well as the G36.

Flashlights may be one of the less exciting products to talk about, but if you have ever used a 500 lumen SureFire, there is plenty to be exciting about. THEY ARE LIKE LIGHT SABERS. And now SureFire has upgraded their Defender, X400GN, and X400V flashlights from 200 lumens to 500 lumens with no loss in runtime. Also check out the video for their new “teal green” lasers, which is a pretty gutsy color to advertise in a male dominated market, specifically because according to their own SureFire research, teal green is what the human eye works best with. SureFire products aren’t cheap. These lights will be in the $500+ range, but our experience has been that when you compare relative costs to the Chinese copies, SureFire is 5 times brighter, 5 times more durable, and give you 5 times less problems, at roughly 3 times the cost. And here is an extra tip. Those red SureFire batteries that you can buy from SureFire or even on Amazon in 12 packs last twice as long as Energizers. We use them exclusively on all of our 123A devices.

For several years Federal Premium has been making a personal defense handgun round exclusively available to the LE market called HST. There is of course no law prohibiting civilians from owning this ammo, so a lot of us have been trying to get it through private LE contacts. Hearing the demand from consumers, ATK, the parent company of Federal, has decided to make the same ammo in a consumer product, available at your local gunshop. They also have developed a round in their Fusion line specifically for hunting with the velocities of an M4 length rifle, which are generally 200 feet per second or so less. This is important because expanding bullets are all optimized for specific velocities, and very few if any are optimized for the reduced velocity of the 16″ barrel that you find on an M4. A ton of us are out using M4 rifles to hunt with, and this ammo is specifically made for this, as well as for hunting with a suppressor. Suppressors are dirty, so cleaner ammo is a huge score if you are a suppressor hunter. The new MSR bullet and the cleaner powder sound like a great combination from Federal this year.