SHOT Show 2013

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.