This is the first Gun Notes of the new year and the first few days after the SHOT show 2019. Now you will be hearing and reading about the new products shown at the SHOT show for the next 7 or 8 months and will more than likely be sick of hearing what is new and amazing, and as you probably know much of the “new stuff” will never make it past the SHOT show. If the people that make the new and amazing things don’t get a great response (as in orders) they will quietly drop the whole idea and claim it wasn’t them that had the new whizbang on display. So I will try to tell you about the new things that I have actually seen or know for sure they are soon to be at your local dealer.

I am a big fan of the 22 Magnum, having umpteen rifles and a few handguns chambered in it. Most recently the new Rock Island 1911 style 22 Magnum. It holds 15 rounds and is a great little pistol. As all 22 Magnums are, it is picky about ammo. Colleen bought me one for Christmas and a great little gun it is. Mine loves the Hornady Critical Defense ammo, the others not so much. But as long as I run the ammo it likes thru it, it performs perfectly. If you are looking for a 22 Magnum hunting pistol, check out the Rock Island 22 Magnum. I think you will be pleased.

On the subject of 22 caliber pistols, Kel Tec now has their new CP-33 out. This is a funky looking pistol for sure. It seems Kel Tec has cornered the market in funky looking pistols. I have one of their 22 Magnum semi autos that I got for Christmas a year ago, the CMR-30 that is for sure funky but works first time, every time. Now they have come out with a new 22 pistol in 22 LR that holds 33 rounds of ammo in the staggered magazine. It is the CP-33, the 33 standing for the amount of ammo in the magazine and CP for Competition Pistol. It comes with a full length piccatinny rail for scope or red dot. They also have a 50 round magazine that just barely sticks out of the gripframe. This little 22 is sure to be a winner for Kel Tec and like the CMR-30 will probably be a bit hard to find. But whatever you have to do will be worth it. I was told retail will be around $500 and can probably be found in the low $400s.

Colt is serious about bringing back their popular revolvers. I just wish they would put someone in charge of the publicity that knows what guns Colt has made thru the years. Recently they announced a new and radical revolver in 357 Magnum to their line up, the King Cobra. They never mentioned that the King Cobra was out several years back. They announced that they were re-entering the double action market with their 38 Special Cobra and now they were bringing out a brand new revolver called the Kind Cobra. Huh? I guess since Colt was bought out and brought back on the market they have new folks running things, but you would think they would read up on their product instead of putting their foot in their mouth. Anyway they already have the Cobra out as a “snubbie” 38 special, why put out another snubbie in 357? The little King Cobra will have to work hard to earn the name KING. The gun is plain, and I mean PLAIN. A 3” barrel, slick top, no rear sight, ugly rubber grips. It looks like something Taurus would have put out in their less than lustrous days in the late 70s. I hope it works for them as plain and ugly seem to be the thing these days. Look at the new Kimber revolver. Not to bad mouth the Kimber revolver but again, plain and ugly. But I hope both these guns do well for them. Maybe a lot of folks with no taste in revolvers will come up with $900….maybe.

Besides plain and ugly the trend these days is give a gun a name that nobody can remember. I think the Star Wars movies put some brains into a warp mode and they stayed there. The R2D2 and others with letter and number included names were big in the ‘80s and seem to be the thing these days too. Taurus has a great little 9mm semi auto that sells like the proverbial chocolate covered hotcakes, but the name G2C and the new slim pistol, the G2S are not something that comes to mind easily. But both are excellent pistols and at under $250, you can’t beat them.

Speaking of Taurus pistols (and before you think I am going to bash them, I think highly of Taurus guns, great guns and great prices and the best warranty in the business) they have a new 22 LR pistol out. Striker fired and great feeling in the hand. It is the TX22 and as more and more gun companies are coming out with rimfire pistols, this one is sure to be one of the more sought after and at well under $350 it is bound to be a winner.

ounced a new cartridge that I am sure will be a decent round but they are doing what some other companies are doing, which is calling it “fastest straight walled centerfire rifle cartridge in the world”. It is called the 350 Legend and is basically a 223 case run out straight and shortened a bit and chambered in 357. This will be good for the states that require a straight wall cartridge for deer hunting. Winchester has also announced that they have a new XPR bolt action rifle chambered in the new 350 Legend.

A shotgun that looks like an AR-15 has been the goal of a lot of companies since the early 80s with the Atchisson Arms 12 gauge shotgun. Several companies have come out with a gun similar to that, but none have made a big impression on the gun buying public. Mainly I think this has been due to the expense of the gun. Now Rock Island Armory has done it again. They have a new shotgun that really doesn’t look like an AR-15. It looks more like the original Armalite AR-180, one of the finest semi autos ever. I think they may have had the Armalite AR-180 in mind when they designed this one as they are calling it the VR80. It is a semi auto shotgun chambered in 3” magnum, that comes with 2 five round magazines but mags up to 19 round are available. They mentioned that they tried to stay away from a complete AR-15 look for those states that hate the ARs and anything that resembles them. The gun looks good, sleek and with the features right at hand so anyone that is familiar with the AR-15s will find the working features much the same. And the good part is the gun will sell for under $700.

Remington continues to try it’s hand in handguns. They haven’t had much luck with their R1 1911 or the R51 in 380 in the past, but they are bringing back the re-designed R1. They bought out Para Ordnance, the makers of some of the finest 1911s out there so I would imagine they are making the new R1 on Para frames and slides. If that is so then the guns should be good ones. Remington also has their new RM380 out and hopefully this one will be a good one. Remington and Nosler are both bringing out a new modern space age looking single shot pistols, the new versions of the old XP-100 The Remington is the 700 CP and is built on the 700 action. It will be available in 223 and 308 plus one or two other calibers.

When I see the name Dan Wesson I keep thinking maybe they will be bringing out the old Super Mag series of revolvers. But so far no luck. They do have 2 new 1911s, dubbed the DV-ECP and the DV-ECO (there go all those letters again). The DV-ECP is more of a heavy barreled competition pistol while the DV-ECO is an enhanced commander style pistol. And let’s not forget the DW-TCP, the Tactical Commander pistol meant as the name implies for tactical use.

For the cowboy action shooters out there, Uberti is bringing out 2 new series for you. One is the Bonney, named obviously after Billy Bonney AKA Billy the Kid. It is a 45 Long Colt with a birds head grip. The other is their Wild Bill model, which is a copy of the 1851 Navy revolver with the 38 special conversion.

Thru the years the Remington model 700 has had a black cloud hanging over it’s head in the form of accidental shootings with their model 700 since it’s inception in 1962. It has been the object of more than one law suit. But for some reason Remington has never replaced the trigger with one that had no problems. The man that designed the trigger even told Remington the trigger was prone to go off when it wasn’t supposed to. Anyway, for those that have Remington 700s Timney has a new special drop in trigger called the Elite Hunter for the model 700 rifles. Timney says it is their latest overnight success, 72 years in the making.

Smith & Wesson has improved their great little Shield pistol. The model 2.0 in 9mm, 40 and 45 now comes ported from the Performance Center. The original Shield was offered in a ported model but this new M2-0 is a completely redesigned pistol loaded with special features.

Almost every day someone will come into our gun shop and ask for a 911. We try to slip in that the model is the 1911, but that seems to go right over their heads. Now it seems Springfield has come out with a model 911. It has the features and feel of a 1911. It is chambered in 9mm and is slightly smaller and slimmer than the 1911. It has several special features like an oversized ambi safety and night sights. It is a two toned gun with stainless slide and aluminum alloy frame. For those not enamored with the double action carry guns or the striker style carry guns, this may be the gun for you.

For years the Hi Point pistols have made a name for themselves in the lower priced handgun market. It has always been sort of a heavy cast iron clunker but one that functioned well. Sort of like a small canoe anchor. Now they have redesigned it with sleeker looks and now it looks more like sleek, handy canoe anchor.

Marlin has revamped their lever gun line up with a blonde stocked model 336 in 30-30. The stock is curly maple and the action and barrel are polished for a more classic look. Marlin has finally announced the delivery of their 444 caliber rifles. They talked about it last year but are finally releasing them. Dark walnut stock and polished bluing and a 22” barrel. When the original 444 was out it was listed as made on the 444 Marlin action. Now they say it is incorporated into the model 1895 line up.

Winchester is still stalling on releasing any nice 1894 rifles. A few ease out from time to time and the American gun buyers would love a sleek smooth operation model 94 in 30-30, but it seems Winchester is only wanting to add to their historical lever action rifles. Next to be offered is the 1886 Short Rifle chambered in 45-90. They have also added a few new features to the model 1892 giving it the large loop and special sights.

Glock is now pushing their new 43X and model 45 and model 48 and it gets even more confusing. If they weren’t so dependable it would make me want to forget them, but I have yet to see a Glock that I wouldn’t bet my life on. More on all these new models next time.

There is a LOT MORE to tell you about but we will stretch it out over the next couple of months. In the meantime varmint season is coming shortly. Get ready. And if you go out shooting or hunting, take a lady or youngster with you. They are our future. And when I say that I put my money where my mouth it. By that I mean Colleen is taking a group of 12 hunters to Africa in a couple of months. We just got back from our 2018 Africa hunt in which a lot of monster animals were taken. The new 2019 hunts looks to be just as good. And I am already taking names for the 2020 Africa hunt. More on that later.

Til next time, God bless.

Gary