GunsAmerica Blog SHOT Show 2012

Smith & Wesson re-launched their "E" Series of 1911s this year and they have been very well received in the market. With an MSRP in the $1300 range and street price much less, you get a lot of advanced features in this new 1911 that you would have to pay a gunsmith for with most other guns. These are 100% "nextgen" 1911s, and besides the modern looking fish scale serrations and the accessory rail that many of the guns have, the intereals of the gun appear to have the best of the good of the classic 1911 design, without including some of the bad ideas that have crept into the gun over the years. The Series 80 firing pin safety has been replaced with a titanium firing pin, so rather than block the pin with a problematic safety device, they just made the firing pin too light to set off a primer when the gun is dropped. They have also cleaned up the trigger housing and each of these guns has a hand fit trigger. Is it truly the quality of a $1,000 1911 with $2,000 worth of work as is claimed in the video? Could be, but we hope to see one of these come in the door for some real-world testing. They look to be a really great buy in a 1911, and hey, they say Smith & Wesson on them, so they will retain their value and eventually become collectible. That's a lot of selling points on a gun that has so many variants and options out there. Check out the video, and please don't harp on George in the comments. He's a big, tough, sensitive guy!

This is one of the brands in the Lyman family of products, Pachmayr, perhaps the most recognized name in aftermarket grips. The Pachmayr Grip Glove is an aftermarket grip company's answer to the one piece polymer grip, one that you wouldn't think would be a candidate for aftermarket grips. The plastic on a lot of the new polymer pistols is slippery, and even the ones that are as slippery are going to leave a lot of people wanting for something more substantial to grap onto. The ruberized grip sleeve has been around for a while to fill this purpose, but many of them tend to twist and turn as you shoot the gun. We have not had any of these in for review yet, but in general, if there is going to be one grip sleeve that doesn't do this, it will be a Pachmayr, and we hope to follow up with them and get some review product in soon. Note that the models are gun specific, so they will be much likely to be ergonomically friendly than a "one size fits all" kind of thing. This video introduces three new models into the line, for the Smith & Wesson Bodygaurd, Ruger LC9 and Glock subcompact models.

You couldn't miss Caracal at SHOT Show 2012. They had a big booth at Media Day, and all of the buses to and from the hotels from the show were wrapped in Caracal artwork. Their booth was downstairs with us, but it was very impressive, and this could be a gun that makes it to the US market this year. At $500, however, it will most likely be a non-starter.

We already saw the new Ambush hunting line from Daniel Defense and these are their new tactial guns. The .300 AAC Blackout round is getting widespread attention accross all of the shooting disciplines because it can be shot as a subsonic, meant for work with suppressors, and a supersonic for .30 caliber ballistics from a small package round. There is also a new Daniel Defense in 6.8 SPC, and some lighter options on their existing popular models. This is an end of the day interview and a little subdued, but you can see that it'll be a strong year for Daniel Defense.

Scott Mayer pics up a few more interesting products to close out SHOT Show 2012. McMillan CS5, KleenBore, Cleaning Kits, TUFF1 Grips

During a brief detour at SHOT, I wandered by the booth for MSP, or Mounting Solutions Plus. MSP both distributes and manufactures firearms accessories. While talking there, they showed me some new products for the Mini 14. Ruger’s rifle is a well-loved firearm and enjoys a loyal following for its rugged reliable properties. Many people love the traditional look of a wood stock and blued barrel. It’s also just a light and handy rifle for many as their “truck gun”. And for some, it’s the only legal semi-auto .223 rifle for civilians in states that ban rifles such as the AR-15.

Two videos in this post from Beretta at Media Day at the Range, SHOT Show 2012. One is the .22LR version of the groundbreaking ARX-160 assault rifle from Beretta, and the other is a sneak peak at the Beretta Nano, a thin little semi-auto pistol for concealed carry that should be a big hit in the market. Beretta is full steam ahead for 2012 with great new products and unique innovations.

Finally nobody has to believe GunsAmerica that the Teludyne StraightJacket is nothing short of a miracle for rifle accuracy over sustained fire. If you read our original article, Ultimate Accuracy Makeover, but didn't send your gun to Teludyne, you may want to beat the crowds now because they have enlisted the H.P. White testing organization to certify the results, and you can download the PDF of the report.

The Swarovski EL Binocular is considered the product to beat when it comes to clarity, performance, durability, and value. Now Swarovski has added a rangefinder to this legendary product, and for those of us who carry a separate rangefinder and until now a lesser-quality bino, this could be the thing to get us to finally go out and invest in high quality Swarovski binos. This vidoe doesn't have a lot of information in it so we went fishing around online and found that the 8x42 and 10x42 are 32 oz. and have a 61 degree field of view. The 8x has an MSRP of $3076 and street price just under $2800 and the 10x about $100 more. Investing in a Swarovski Binocular is a big decision for most sportsman, but for an extremely dedicated and loyal customer-base, they are purchase not known for regret. Swarovski optics are truly top of the line. This is a short video and worth watching if you are a serious hunter in the market for a quality binocular. And don't forget that Swarkovski maintains a facility of over 20 people in Rhode Island, and that their customer service is second to none just like their optics.

Viridian has a nifty new product idea this year. They are called Enhanced Combat Readiness(ECR) holsters, and they have some kind of hold button built right into the holster. You set your light, laser, or combo, and when you put the gun in the holster it shuts off. When you then draw the gun it turns back on, in the configuration you chose, strobe, light on, light off, whatever. Also check out the micro light/laser combo in the traditional Viridian green laser. If you have wondered where to find a holster product for your rail pistol that includes a place for your front rail accessory, this complete package from Viridian is very impressive.

Some products just don't deserve to stay in the file and closing our coverage of SHOT Show 2012, it would be a crime to not include mention of these incredible bleeding zombie targets we found at Media Day at the Range. Every shooting station at Media Day pretty much had at least one of these extremely unique targets, and they aren't as cheesy as you may think. Not only do they bleed, they are also designed to "mutilate" with dozens or hundreds of rounds fired into them, so even dumping mags into them is somewhat pleasing as a reactionary target, with ongoing deterioration of the dummy as it slowly gets chewed away.

A first look a the new Rock River 1911 with a polymer frame and machined slide. It feels a little different than a standard steel 1911, but this was just a first look on a prototype gun. At the projected price point of about $800, this new 1911 will be a formidable competitor in the market at that price point, and higher price points. Rock River doesn't mess around with anything they do and this gun is truly impressive.

Awesomeness is not a word you would think could make it through spell check, but it is actually a word. If there was one product at Media Day at the Range, SHOT Show 2012, that excelled at awesomeness, it was the modular rifle chassis system from Ashbury Precision Ordnance, or APO. It is called the Saber-FORRST, for Folding Rifle Stock System Tactical. They all don't seem to fold, going by the catalog, so it is a little confusing. But they sure excel at awesomeness.

This is a very good video on the subject of "what the heck would you want that for" for offset sights on your tactical rifle. At first you might think, like many of us did, that they have become popular just because people like to look like they are going "gangsta" during competitions, by holding their rifles sideways, but that isn't the case. XS Sights has developed these 45 degree offset sights for both tactical and competition shooters who are using optics with magnification, and who may have to switch between very close and very far targets quickly. At magnification it is very hard to "find" close targets in your scope, and your field of view is extremely compromised, as is your periferal vision, because your eye is focussed into the magnification. In such cases, you can leave your scope at magnification and just turn the rifle sideways to use the fixed sights for close shots. This video is worth a watch if you use an optic with magnification on your tactical rifle.

This Escort line of shotguns from Legacy Sports International is made in Turkey by Hatsan. It seems to be modelled after the Remington 1100 and since the brand has been in the market for several years, this appears to be an extremely mature product. The guy in the video is in one of those Sportsman's Channel shows that those of us with Comcast, Direct TV, and most other cable/satelite systems don't get, but he seems to have used the guns in the field quite a lot and believes in the quality of them. Googling around I found no bad reviews of them, and in general all the Turkish guns have been reliable and extremely well received. Hopefully we'll get a review gun over the coming year and test these guns with a variety of hunting loads. They seem to be worth checking out if you are in the market for an auto-shotgun, and they do make tactical as well as hunting models.

You wouldn't think that a gun would be made specifically to bang around behind the seat of your truck, to get banged and bumped on who knows what, and to get dripping wet, dirty, and still work, but that is exactly what Savage has done with the new Hog Hunter line of rifles. They aren't pretty guns, but they aren't for pretty game either.

The TC Arms Venture is one of the best value in American made bolt action rifles, and this year TC answered the call to make a youth sized version. It has an 11.5 length of pull out of the box and it will be available in .223, .243, 7mm-08 and .308 for now. The barrel is only 20 inches for good balance in a small gun, and it comes with a 1 inch spacer for the stock, so the gun can grow with your child. All of the Venture rifles come with an MOA gaurantee, and we proved this out easily with a rifle they sent us for testing. There is also a new winter camo Venture as well. TC makes a lot of "gotta have it" guns and this looks to be another.

Ultrasonic cleaners have come a long way in the last few years and these new Turbosonics are cutting edge. After a 10 minute cycle you can clean 1300 9mm cases, or 4 pistol frames, and the Lyman solutions have a rust inhibitor in them so you can leave them on steel. All of their concentrated formulas are formulated to clean both the insides and outsides of your cases and metal parts. The coolest thing about this big model is that it has a drain, so you don't have to dump it out manually, and that makes for an easy to use machine that will be welcome on your bench.

The AR-10 finally is available with a non-proprietary magazine, it takes Magpul P-Mags now. Also some new uppers from Armalite as they charge ahead with a 7.62x39 and 6.8SPC upper for their iconic rifles.

New from Century Arms this year are two 9mm pistols, one a striker fired gun with a decocker, and the other a CZ75 clone called a Stingray. Also a new line of French Sauvestre lead-free hunting ammo, including shotgun slugs in both lead and lead-free, plus a brand new line of new production Zestava Mausers, including a micro-action in .22 Hornet with a detachable magazine. These are commercial Mausers with the side flip safety and a hinged floorplate, and if you look in the video, really nice dark walnut. Century is an ever-present supplier of cool guns nobody else has and we hope to take a look at a few of these this year.