The Firearm Blog

The new Glock 41 was on the range at Media Day.  The gun is a long-slide version of a Glock 21 pistol, and outfitted with a slide that is roughly the same width as the slide on a model 35.

Without a doubt, the gun feels much larger in the hand than the standard Glock pistols.  If the 20 or 21 fits your hand well, you will like this pistol.  If you find those guns too large, you will probably find this gun too large also.

The recoil was easy, without a lot of flip, and bringing the gun on target for a quick second shot was not a problem.  I experienced no malfunctions, and neither did any of the other shooters I observed.

The introduction of the 41 may not be a revolutionary step for the company, but I think Glock has a winner on their hands with this gun.

I was able to test a new target viewer at the annual SHOT Show Media Day at the range today, and one that looks to answer a lot of the nagging problem that long distance shooters face.  In the past there have always been three options.  Shoot and walk down to the target after several strings, shoot steel which provides feedback that can be seen or heard from the line, or build your own remote system. Building your own long range video system are nothing new, but can be costly and require a lot of equipment to bring out to the range and set up.

TargetViewer is a WiFi enabled camera system that connects back to a base unit, then creates a Wifi hotspot to connect to and view the video feed, which can be viewed on any android or or iOS device. The resolution is high enough that you can zoom into the target, and see the impacts on your tablet sitting right beside your rifle.  This system comes self contained in its own pelican case, with everything in the case needed to make the unit function, just supply your own viewing device.

This unit is not bullet resistant, so you may not want to take it to a b

The SAR Arms ST9 is a polymer-framed, striker-fired pistol that is made in Turkey.  While at Media Day, I had a chance to shoot one for the first time.  The pistol I shot was chambered in 9mm, but I was told by a company rep that the company also makes the gun in .45 ACP.

The gun felt a little large in my hands, perhaps a little larger than a Glock 17 grip, but not as large as a Glock 21.  Recoil was quite mild – a combination of a large frame gun with the relatively tame 9mm.

Trigger pull was smooth, with a clean break and a very positive reset.  The reset distance was short and there was a distinctive feel when it reset.

Due to the time restrictions on the range, I was only allowed to shoot one magazine.   I did not experience any malfunctions with the gun.  I watched two other people shoot the same gun, and none of them had any failures either.

New for 2014, Kimber is now making sound suppressor ready versions of the Custom TLE II and Custom TLE/RL II pistols.  The new guns are available in both 9mm and .45 ACP, and they share many of the same features as the original, non-suppressor ready versions.

Both new guns come with a 5.75″ threaded barrel.  A threaded endcap is provided to protect the threads when a suppressor is not attached.

MSRP on the TLE II is $1,153.00.  The suggested retail on the TLE/RL II is  $1,251.00.

Steyr is celebrating their 150th anniversary, having first established 1864 in Austria. They have also recently moved into a new facility. Thirdly, they offering a new AUG A3 receiver design, currently titled the “M1″.

This version is already sold internationally, in select-fire, as the Steyr AUG A3 SF (top photo).

Working with VLTOR, Steyr Arms is offering a fixed-mount optic receiver. Although it looks like a single machined part, the optic mounts with a fixed pin, which can be seen inserted in the front of the mount. The new version will be offered in tan and “mud” as well as the standard black and olive drab stocks. There is no current MSRP.

FLIR, the largest manufacturer of thermal technologies, and the original inventor of Forward Looking Infra-Red, surprised everyone at CES this year by announcing a compact and affordable thermal imager that fits on an iPhone.

This thermal unit acts as a case for the iPhone, and works with an additional daylight camera to produce the hybrid MSX images that FLIR has patented in their industrial cameras.

The whole thing retails for $350 and has a vague Q1 release date.

The secret to the FLIR ONE’s size is it’s new Lepton core. While previous Tau Core units like the FLIR TS32 or the LS64 were similar size and dimensions to a camera lens, the Lepton is a fraction of that. It’s possibly the smallest and most cost effective thermal core ever invented.

Andy Teich, President and CEO of FLIR told the Wall Street Journal that “Lepton represents our latest, most dramatic step toward our vision of becoming ‘the world’s sixth sense.’ Not only will Lepton support an array of new imaging applications, but its revolutionary price, size, and low pow

If you live in a jurisdiction that allows the use of a night vision device for hunting or predator control, the Pulsar Sentinel GS 2X50 Night Vision Riflescope would be an excellent choice.  Since I am constantly trying to get ahead of the coyote problem on our ranch I was excited to test a night vision rifle scope to see if it would be a good tool for managing coyotes…especially since we are several weeks away from calving.

S&W M&P 15 with Pulsar Sentinel GS 2×50 Night Vision Rifle Scope. *Click on picture for high resolution photo.

Indian Ordnance Factories, a government owned arms manufacturer, is marketing a new revolver called The Nirbheek and named after a rape victim. The revolver is based on the Webley design (along with all IOF’s revolvers) and is chambered in .32 S&W. The frame is made from titanium and it weighs 500 grams.

The price: about $2000! That is about twice the average per capita income of India.

Thanks to Mark and WhaeOil for the tip.

New from Beretta/Sako is the Tikka T3 Youth rifle. The rifle has a much shorter length of pull and it can be adjusted using spacers, so as the child grows, so can the rifle’s length of pull. It will be available in “suitable calibers” (which I interpret to mean .223 Rem. and .243 Win.).

The Tikka T3 rifles do not get the love they deserve stateside, but are very popular internationally.

The MPA300 Guardian is my pick for best rifle at Media Day (the range day that proceeds SHOT Show). The elegant looking is approximately the same size and weight of the Army’s .308 Win. M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System but being chambered in .300 Win. Magnum it has up to twice the range and packs a much greater punch.

Sitting down to shoot the MPA300, and having shot many hunting and tactical bolt action rifles in my time, I braced myself for the recoil. I was very pleasantly s

Can good gear turn even the novice shooter into a long distance sniper? TrackingPoint’s “Precision Guided Firearms” appears to be up to the task. There’s been a fair amount of marketing and hype around this product, and of course, you should never believe something until you see it in person.

I sat down behind a TrackingPoint XS4 .338 Lapua Magnum rifle, which has a Surgeon rifle XL action and a McMillan A5 stock. I received some basic instruction that lasted all of 15-20 seconds. Right in front of the trigger is a button that you use to “tag” your target. Once the target is tagged, the reticle drops down and you realign the reticle with your tagged point. You must squeeze and hold the trigger during this alignment phase, and keep holding it once the reticle changes to indicate that you are aligned.

The next thing I knew, the rifle fired and a second or two later I heard the gong out at 958 yards. Well, it does what it says it’s supposed. That was by far the easiest long distance shot I’ve eve

TFB covered Tac-Con’s 3MR “Full-auto” trigger back in December when it was just an announcement. Now, here at SHOT Show Media Day I put 40 rounds through an AR-15 with the 3MR, and my first impressions are….. not good.

Before shooting, I asked for a tip on how to shoot it well and I was told to not press too hard on the trigger. The 3MR concept is that the trigger gets pushed forward and reset with each shot, so if you are squeezing too tightly then you don’t get the reset. I saw a Tac-Con get demo it right before I went up to the line, and he made it look easy. Then, I watched the guy in front of me shoot and he wasn’t very successful, accomplishing at best one 3-round burst.

I had two magazines with 20 rounds each, and I fired two single shots just to get used to the trigger. Then, I kept firing while feeling for the positive reset. It just wasn’t happening for me and I could not get into any sort of rhythm.

As with mo

As a Marlin 795 fan I’m always on the hunt for new accessories for it. I recently stumbled on this bullpup kit called the Badger M22 stock for the Marlin 795, Model 60 and Model 70 Papoose. Available in black, green camo and pink camo, the M22 is made of ABS plastic in the USA. The stock features a Picatinny rail on the side for accessories such as lasers or lights as well as a storage compartment in the buttstock. You can also store a spare 795 mag in the handle grip. They retail for $99.99 for the black stock, and $115 for the pink and green camo stocks. They also sell a scope mount for $20 that moves the scope position forward of the receiver. Check them out at Badgerm22.com. Below is an installation instructional video that shows the features of the M22 stock.

It looks like Turkish firearms maker Safir Arms is working on their own AR-57 rifle and upper kits that they’re calling the T-57. What’s a AR-57 upper? It’s pretty much an AR-15 upper chambered in the FN 5.7x28mm round and that uses the FN P90 magazine on top of the rifle just like how the P90 does.

Safir seems to also be working on their own bullpup rifle that they’re calling the T-14 rifle. Not much is known yet about their new T-57 upper/rifle or T-14 bullpup rifle other than what was posted on their website.

From the Safir website, translated from Russian via Google Translate.

Company Safir – a dynamic company, we try to introduce fresh ideas and ar

SilencerCo announced the launch of their new Saker 762 suppressor for 7.62/.308 caliber rifles. It’s less than an inch longer than their 5.56 model, the Saker 556, and weights in at 20.7oz. Sound reduction was at 126 dB with 300BLK subsonic ammo and 139 dB with .308. It includes a lifetime warranty and retails at $1300. They’re currently in production and should be available in Q1 of 2014. Check them out at Silencerco.com.

CALIBER: 7.62 / Multi Caliber
WEIGHT: 20.7 OZ
DIAMETER: 1.5”
LENGTH: 7.5”
SOUND REDUCTION:
139 dB (tested with .308)
134 dB (tested with 5.56)
126 dB (tested with 300 B

Accessory and gear maker Tapcogear debuted their new product line at the 2014 SHOT Show. Called Tapcogear Black, their new line is all American made and “mission specific”. Their new site doesn’t go live until tomorrow, but so far it looks like their new lineup includes a few different ballistic helmets, tactical vest and plate carriers and level III and IV plates. Stay tuned for more info after the site launches.

For a good number of years readers have been asking why FN won’t sell their AR platform to the public. Well the wait is over FN is now selling the FN-15 to the public. This is our first new product announcement for SHOT show 2014.

I was invited to a product meeting with FN this evening at the 702 Range here in Las Vegas. New products were shown to our small group and demonstrated on the indoor range as well as a question and answer session with the head of each department.

Vera Koo is a 67 year old Chinese American world champion shooter. She is an eight-time Bianchi Cup women’s champion, and also holds two World Woman Championship titles – one at the Bianchi Cup and one at the World American Handgunner’s Man-on-Man Shoot Off. Vera hails from the Bay Area in California, and started shooting at the age of 45.

Welcome to The Firearm Blog, we are delighted to have you. So let me start off by saying that I think it’s fantastic that you started shooting at a later age in life. I think it inspires people to know that you are never too old to start new adventures in life. 

One of the problems I see in our sport is getting new people involved. Tell us how you got involved in shooting, and if you have any advice on how we can continue to get new gun owners?

I was extremely afraid of guns. So I decided to take a handgun safety class at a community college. I ended up taking the beginner’s class, the intermediate class, and the advance class. I had gotten the instructor’s permission to repeat some of the classes. Therefore, I was at

After years of obsessing over cool flashlights – both custom and production – surprises rarely come my way, especially as related to production lights.  Such a surprise recently came my way however, when 2 ArmyTek flashlights arrived for review.

First a bit about ArmyTek:  a Canadian company with global operations, ArmyTek has a business model based on designing and producing high quality lighting tools focused on hunting and military, search and rescue, and ‘outdoor’ activities.

The focus on quality construction is evident in the two samples that they sent.  Both were  manufactured in China and the quality of manufacturing is, in my opinion, top notch.

I chose these two particular flashlights for simple reasons: as with firearms, it’s difficult to pick just ONE… rarely can one serve every need.  Most occupational or recreational users of lights such as these need lights that provide high levels of brightness, the ability to project the beams a decent distance as well as provide near field or flood lighting,  good battery run times, multiple levels, ease of use, rugged constru

Magpul just announced their new MIAD (MIssion ADaptable) GEN 1.1 Grip. Available for both 5.56×45 (Type 1 kit) and 7.62×51 (Type 2 kit) rifles, it features both front ahd back interchangeable straps and is compatible with all Magpul storage grip cores. It’s made in the USA and retails for $35.95, it’s expected to be available right after SHOT Show 2014.

The MIAD (MIssion ADaptable) GEN 1.1 Grip is a drop-in replacement for the standard AR15/AR10 grip, now available in dedicated 5.56×45 and 7.62×51 configurations. It is designed to improve ergonomics with interchangeable front and rear straps for personalized hand fit, an aggressive texture for positive weapon control, and is compatible with