Because I was doing a lot of other things at the show, I missed out on seeing some of the new products at SHOT. I haven’t really been too excited about any of the stuff I didn’t see in person and am now only seeing electronically, but there are a few things worth mentioning.
The Kahr PM9 now has a manual safety (meh) and a lighter trigger with less travel (slightly less meh). Guns.com has a photo.
Benelli is making a nickel plated version of the M4 with a collapsible stock and a full length magazine tube. When I talked to Benelli in March about making stocks and M4 magazine tubes in the US so as to make the M4 more competitive on the market, they didn’t sound too excited. I’m puzzled about the nickel plating. Anodizing is quite adequate for corrosion resistance, and the barrels are chrome lined anyway. The Firearm Blog has beautiful photos.
Ruger is making a .22 pistol that no one but die-hard Ruger fans should care about. It’s not a conversion kit for the SR series, nor is it a reasonable, even scaled down, facsimile of the SR series pistols. Gunblog has some shooting video.
Charles Daly Defense has taken a cue from all the zombie crap at SHOT and risen from the dead. It has also brought forth more promises of the Tavor, as Rob at GearScout reports. I would rather have an AUG, because it is proven, and it exists. But if CDD actually brings the Tavor here, good for them, and good for us.
I saw the Remington VersaMax Tactical at SHOT, but snickered and walked away. Caleb at GunNuts seems to like it, though.
Magpul has furniture for 870s now. I am as puzzled by this (from a practical standpoint – however, they will certainly make much money doing this) as I am by the popularity of the Magpul MOE stock. It does practically nothing that the M4 or CAR stocks don’t do. The CTR is worth considering, but the MOE is a complete waste of money. As, I think, are the Magpul stocks for the 870. The forend, maybe it is worthwhile, but only if you want to mount a light. ITSTactical has video.
In more Magpul news, Gunmart says that Magpul are introducing a fixed AR stock. It is supposed to be “coming spring 2012.” This estimate is probably off by a decade. Lest you think I hate Magpul, I’ll probably buy one of these as long as it’s A1 length and not too heavy.
I use an MOE forend on my Colt because it’s much more solid and comfortable than the standard carbine forends. They’re a relatively effective and inexpensive upgrade.
The stock? I use a Tapco carbine stock on my Colt because I bought the buffer tube for another rifle, and decided that I liked the Tapco slightly better. The MOE does have the advantage of not having a hole on the top of the stock, which has a decent chance to catch your beard if you wear one. Nothing duct tape can’t fix, however.
Andrew,
I’m a big fan of JP triggers, and was recently browsing their site and saw JP’s new Captured Spring system. At $125 it is a little expensive to purchase without any testing information, and it would be really helpful to see a review and your impressive high speed bolt bounce video. I’m sure you would want to fire quite a few rounds, and it may be an item you would have to purchase. So, it is understandable if it’s not high on your priority list. Vuurwapen Blog is always an excellent read. Keep it up.
Joe
It seems focused on noise reduction…which I have never found to be an issue…
I ended up going with an MOE on my lower because I’ve heard from a number of people that it’s tighter than the M4 stock. It does still wobble a bit on a Spike’s extension, but my real-world AR experience is sadly limited, so I can’t compared it with the standard buttstock.
Is the M4 aluminum? I’m guessing it isn’t, anodize would only be an appropriate finish for aluminum. I’m not too familiar with the NP3 finish, maybe it’s tougher than say just a powder coat or paint?
Aluminum receiver and stock. Steel barrel.
Maybe the best way to ensure the colors all match?
I remember seeing a piece of aluminum from a sail boat that was corroded to hell from salt water, maybe this is a marine enviro application from a sales toughness standpoint ?
The AUG is actually no longer being produced since Sabre went belly up. I think the CD/IWI may beat Steyr back to the production lines.
Well, I meant a real Steyr one. The Sabre version was subpar.
This may lead you to the Marine EOD Tech.
http://soldiersystems.net/2012/01/26/shot-2012-followup-forward-solutions-llc/#more-33770
That’s him. Thanks.
Seeing that Magpul probably won’t release their new MOE rifle stock for another year, I might actually try the MAGS EFX-A1 stock. It’s their only product but I might give it a chance.
http://www.magsllc.com/storename/mags/dept/272532/ItemDetail-10721924.aspx
You know who else might like the SR22? People who have been waiting for Walther to fix all the stuff that’s unpleasant about the P22.