With the SHOT show only a bit over a month away every gun
and accessory maker is rushing out info on their product so you will be excited
and will stagger into their booth drooling to see their new offerings. So to
continue with this line of product excitement, we will go over some of the new
goodies that you will have to have.
Ruger is probably at the top of the heap
in releasing new products every week. Back in the late 80s Smith & Wesson had a
gun of the week for a good while. They were literally releasing a new gun just
about every week. It got so even the dealers couldn’t keep up with all the new
model numbers. Ruger isn’t that bad but they are sure doing their best to
interest you to the point of laying out some of your cold hard cash. So here we
go…
They are slowly bring back the Ruger #1 rifle, although in some
unusual calibers. The newest one is the 450 Marlin. It is one of the Alex Henry
models with the schnable forend. I like that model over all the other #1s. The
new 450 marlin has a 20” barrel and weighs a bit over 7 lbs and so far only is
offered in blue. One thing that might put a damper of the sales of this beauty
is the price tag at $1500 retail.
Ruger has several new SP-101s and
GP-100s coming out. The SP-101s have a 3” barrel and comes chambered in 327
Federal. It is offered right now in a fixed sight model but if it is popular
hopefully an adjustable sighted model will follow.
Next is several new
GP-100s. They are chambered in 357 Magnum and I realize that is nothing new but
the new feature is they come with a 7 shot cylinder and will be available in
2½,4, and 6” barrels.
It seems every revolver maker is turning to a
sleeved barrel these days, much like Dan Wesson had years ago. A sleeved barrel
with an outer shroud is claimed to be much more accurate than a standard solid
one piece barrel. Smith & Wesson has been using this idea for a couple of years
now and Ruger is using this feature in several new Redhawks. These new revolvers
are chambered in 357 Magnum and come with 8 shot cylinders. Ruger tried the
Redhawk in 357 Magnum back in the mid 80s and it didn’t go over very well and
was dropped. This time with the 8 shot cylinder and better sights the gun should
do well.
Ruger is offering a new 10-22 rifle with a 3X9 Weaver scope on
it and in a hard plastic case. The gun comes only in blue for now. Normally when
a company offers a package deal like this it usually goes to one of the big box
stores. But that is not written in stone.
There are a couple more new
things coming from Ruger but they are being hush hush on them. They will
probably premiere them at the show.
The Ruger precision Rifle has been
such a big seller for them that other companies are rushing to copy it. The
newest is Kimber with their Advanced Tactical rifle. It comes in 2 models and
suggested retail is $2500.
Barrett is coming out with a new hunting
rifle, called the Fieldcraft Rifle. The gun is offered in stainless and in
several calibers. The amazing thing is it weighs 5 lbs. That in itself will
interest a lot of hunters. It has a carbon fiber stock and if it is anything
like the other Barretts it will be a great seller for them. Suggested retail is
$1800.
For about a year I have been mentioning the new Canik pistols.
They keep producing a very well made and feeling pistol in 9mm. It is a military
grade striker fired 9mm that comes in several models including a long slide
model that can be used for home defense or competition. Prices start at a great
$499 suggested retail.
Israeli Weapon Industries, IWI, has a new line of
pistols called the MASADA. IWI Is the company that produces a lot of classic
military weapons, such as the UZI, the Galil rifle, the Tavor, the DAN sniper
rifle and the Jericho pistol. Now they have added their first striker fired
pistol in the MASADA. The gun is fully ambidextrous with Tritium sights and a
lot more. If it half as good and dependable as their other guns it will be a
real winner for military, law enforcement and civilian use.
Speaking of
winners, Walther has one with their PPQ and now they have updated it with the
new Q4 TAC. This one has all the necessary bells & whistles without being bulky.
This one should be another good seller for Walther.
Another new AR-15
maker will premier at the show. It is the new one from Rise Armament. If they
shoot as good as they look, this will be another fine AR-15.
I mentioned
a while back that Beretta is finally getting smart and easing away from the
model 92 in all it’s variations and going to a more modern pistol. This one is
the APX and although from a glance it looks like all the other striker fired
black pistols, it has quite a few special features. I haven’t had a chance to
actually play with this one yet so I will hold off on commenting until I do.
A company called SRM Arms has a new 16 shot shotgun built on the bullpup
design. It has a rotary magazine, is a semi auto, and has a quick change rotary
magazine. It looks like several of the other bullpup shotguns but is getting
good reviews from folks I trust.
Over the past year EOTech has been
expanding their optics line moving into rifle scopes. They are under the Vudu
name and they look good. If you have a chance to try one out, do so. The EOTech
name speaks for itself.
The Mossberg Shockwave 6 shot 12 gauge is another
interesting 12 gauge. We sell them as quick as we can get them. Mossberg has
been a leader in law enforcement and hunting shotguns for many years and this
new one is another special gun. Now I can’t call it a shotgun, although it
shoots shotshells. It is registered with the Feds as a FIREARM. It has a 14”
barrel on it and uses the all steel model 590 action, but it didn’t start out as
a shotgun and that is how they get away with a 14” barrel and it not be a SBS
(Short Barreled Shotgun) and require a class 3 registration. The gun has a
rounded pistol grip and a forearm strap to put your hand thru. All in all it is
a great little firearm. It is also now available in 20 gauge.
Starline
just keeps on getting better and keeps on expanding their line up. They have
added quite a few rifle calibers of brass in the last few months. The most
recent are the 6.8 SPC and the 7-08. Bobby Hayden, the head honcho of Starline
has been a good friend for years. We had 50,000 rounds of 510 GNR made by them a
few years back and they gave great service.
IMR has introduced another
line of gun powder. It is the Enduron 8133. It is actually a Hodgdon powder but
sold thru IMR. It is a specialty powder designed for large capacity magnum
cartridges like the 300 Ultra magnum, 300 Winchester magnum, 7mm Magnum and so
on. It will be available shortly after the first of the year.
Ruger
recently released their new Super Redhawk in 10mm. This is an unusual chambering
for such a big heavy revolver. But I like it due to the possibilities it offers.
It can be rechambered into the 10mm Magnum or one I like even more, our 401 GNR.
If fact there is one right now on my bench being fully customized into the 401
GNR. The 401 GNR is a very powerful round. It is a simple one to load, being a
44 Magnum case necked down to 40 caliber. It is slightly more powerful than my
favorite, the 41 GNR. I am anxious to do a full test on the new Super Redhawk in
401 GNR in the coming days. More on that later.
Our next Africa hunt is
slightly over 3½ months away and the guys are getting antsy. I have 11 friends
going on this hunt in South Africa in the middle of March. It is on a completely
new area, consisting of 130,000 acres. We will be the first hunting party to
ever hunt this hew concession and the game is wild and plentiful. Of the 12
going 9 of them are new to Africa and I am anxious to see their reaction to the
dark continent.
That is going to do it for this month. More next month on
other new offerings in the hunting and shooting field.
In the meantime, go
hunting and shooting, and take a youngster or lady with you. They are our
future.
God bless,
Gary