Guns America

MOJO Outdoors has been a leader in the motion hunting decoys for a number of years. This year they have upped the game for the aggressive turkey hunter. The Scoot and Shoot is a full bird decoy that works as a sort of hide or blind for the hunter. It is based on their Boss Gobbler decoy line but incorporates a ground stake and handle. The idea is to be able to creep and crawl up to a Tom or flock and then hide behind this decoy. When a Tom sees another male bird closing in on his lady friends, he will get aggressive. Once the protector of Jenny and the hens closes on the hunter/decoy, it is time for a close-in kill shot. The video below is from MOJO TV and shows the Scoot and Shoot in action. This is aggressive and exciting turkey hunting at its finest.

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One of the biggest hits of the show so far has been the Tac-Con trigger group from Tactical Fire Control. With all of the media and industry insiders blowing through ammo as fast as magazines can be loaded, the range can get a bit loud. Yet above that constant pop-pop-pop would come that signature braaaap of a rifle firing very fast. And it didn’t take long to find it. The booth was full of people trying to get a look at something they couldn’t even see.

There’s a time and a place for small guns. The Beretta Pico is the latest in a long of defensive handguns from the venerable firearms family. The Pico’s lines are reminiscent of the Nano, only the Pico is small enough to drop in your pocket. And Beretta’s putting a fashionable twist on the diminutive .380: it will be available in a traditional two-tone or with a variety of colorful frames.

What does a silenced .50 BMG sound like? I have no idea. I should, but we weren’t allowed to shoot it. The range where we were gathered today for the 2014 SHOT Show media shoot wouldn’t let us shoot it. So we had to sit back and look at it, which was almost as rewarding. The rifle they brought (complete with crates of .50 BMG) is an M107A1 with a QDL suppressor. Part of what makes this ambitious suppressor unique is the two-port brake that is bolted onto its end. This helps reduce the recoil, while still cutting the sound signature, and it can be removed to further reduce the visible signature as well. The QDL slides over the muzzle brake and can be installed or removed in seconds.

Sometimes we know what we’re going to see at the SHOT Show. But there are always surprises. One of the best surprises at the range today was the Escort Gladius 20 Gauge Home Defense Shotgun. Escort Shotguns, a division of Legacy Sports International, does not have the following enjoyed by its domestic competition, but if the Gladius is any indication, these shotguns will be winning people over.

If you are a fan of the old A-Team TV show you would have appreciated a nifty vehicle in the exhibitor area made especially for Hannibal, Face, Murdock and BA. With a .50 cal and bazooka mounted on top, ad twin ARs at the sides, nobody who walked by could resist taking a picture. The ATV was made by Dock Holiday Guns under a new name and brand of custom ARs called A-Team Guns. Take a look at the pictures because they are really nifty. Machined individually from 7075 billet, these guns are not cheap. The barrel is made by Pac Nor, and the owner of the company explained that this the first time that Pac Nor has agreed to make a complete barrel for a manufacturer, rather than just sell them blanks. So far the chamberings for the A-Team guns are 223 Wylde (not to be confused with Zakk Wylde), and 300 Blackout. There is both a 2 and 3 finger front grip design. Hopefully we'll get one of these guns in for review. The prices are in the $2400-$2800 range, so not for the casually minded shooter. Cool gun nerd gun for SHOT 2014!

Media Day at the Range attracts a lot of unique companies that don't necessarily exhibit at SHOT Show. One thing that almost all of the guns at SHOT Show had in common this year was that their chambers were filled with plastic chamber flags made by Manufacturing Services, Inc. They have a minimum order of 100 pieces with your custom logo, and if you want to order 250, there is no setup fee. The flags themselves are 50 cents each. Also check out the personal defense tool, 60 cents each for 250, and a really nifty water bottle holder that slips in your pocket (see the third picture, 50 cents each/250. Cool company obviously a big fan of shooting sports, and MADE IN USA. Give them some business for your next shooting event or trade show giveaway.

Springfield Armory is announcing a new variant of the XD-S for 2014. It is the logical next step in the evolution of the sensationally popular XD-S sub-compact format. No, it’s not a new caliber offering – it is a new barrel length! Springfield has stretched the 3.3” barrel just ever so much to an even 4 inches. Why is this significant? For starters – recoil. I obtained my copy of the XD-S in 2012 in the initial offering of .45 ACP. If you have ever fired that gun, you know that it has some “personality” to it. Simple physics I’m afraid. Less size and weight of the handgun means more felt recoil for the shooter. The 2013 introduction of the 9mm version was welcomed by many because of the reduced pressures of that round, but it still has some snap. A 4” offering of this same gun adds weight where it is needed most – out at the muzzle. This helps reduce felt recoil. The XDS-9 4.0 also has a longer sight radius; adding ¾” to the length of the slide allows Springfield to push the front sight further forward by that same distance. This translates to a more accurate sight picture and better shots. Small errors in aimin

Technology can make your life easier, or create yet a new thing you have to learn for fear of falling behind. The new GunsAmerica Posting Wizard smartphone ap for Android is meant to make your life easier. We hope to follow up within a couple months with an option for Apple products, but it can be very hard to get an ap into their store. The Android ap flows just like the posting page on the main website, and includes all of the options that you will find there. Why didn’t we make an ap for browsign the website and contacting sellers? We may, if people say they want it. The problem with those aps is that you really don’t need them if the website is designed properly for smartphones, and they can be more cumbersome than just using the regular website. For posting, it is really convenient to be able to just pop a few pictures with your phone and post an ad remotely, so we decided that this posting wizard ap was worth the space in your phone if it is something that you think you will find useful. Please give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments, and also please take the time to rate it in the Google

By Paul Helinski American Tactical www.AmericanTactical.us One of the niftiest AR-15 products to come out this year is a hybrid metal/polymer receiver from American Tactical Imports called the Omni Hybrid. Like all of the best polymer firearm technology, the Omni relies on a metal-to-metal fit at the major stress points. The ATI approach is a [...]

It’s Range time – anytime, with the LaserLyte Training Tyme system. Learn shooting fundamentals and firearm safety and handling, and have great fun doing it – all without firing a single shot. What’s more, you not only don’t need ammunition, but you don’t need access to a range. Your game room, basement or garage is a perfectly good place to use LaserLyte products. Having said that, let me also get my “good sense practices” or “nanny” lecture out of the way: Always treat shooting training seriously: choose a proper “safe direction” of fire and follow the golden rules of firearms. Just because we are not using live ammo does not mean we are not creating habits!

One of the biggest stories at SHOT Show for 2014 is a new single-stack .380ACP 6+1 from Glock called the Model 42. We were able to get a first look at the gun, and it is a lot of gun in a very small package. Most important, it is a Glock, and that carries a lot of weight with gun buyers in the market. Known for their ubiquitous “safe action” pistols, Glock is perhaps the biggest name in pistols in the gun world. The G42, at 13.6 ounces, 6 inches long tip to tail, 4 inches high from the top of the sight to the bottom of the magazine, and 13/16ths of an inch thick, is slightly bigger and heavier than the other micro .380s in the market, but small enough to be pocketed comfortably. The barrel is about 3 3/16ths or 3.2 inches long. The G42 handles much better than the tiniest of the pocket .380s, and we were able to shoot it into less than one-inch groups at 10 yards with Winchester range ammo. The only hiccup was that the G42 didn't like Hornady Critical Defense,

The widely acclaimed Ruger LCR (Lightweight Compact Revolver) just got even better. As you know, the LCR is one of Ruger’s best-selling guns. They hit a home run when they introduced the first polymer revolver in January of 2009, and since then they’ve added several new versions to broaden the market for this revolutionary snub nose. The latest is the .38 spcl./.38spcl+P version with an external hammer—the LCRx. Don’t worry, the addition of the hammer hasn’t changed any of the great handling and shooting qualities of the double-action-only (DAO) LCR. It still has the same polymer lower housing that holds the fire control components, the same aluminum alloy upper and the same stainless steel barrel liner and cylinder. However, with this model you have the option of pulling the hammer back and firing in single-action (SA) mode.

The .308 battle rifle is making a comeback. Ruger released their SR762 to high praise. Colt's modular 901 can accept uppers in .308 and .223. The AR10 is still alive and kicking, and rocking throwbacks, like Springfield Armory's MiA line, manage to be both nostalgic and innovative. What is it about the hard-hitting 7.62 x 51 that makes it so appealing? Wasn't the high-pitched crack of the AR-15 sound the death knell of oversized, overweight, overkill? Apparently not. There's more staying power in the old-school battle rifle than the slew of 5.56 rifles would have us believe. None of this is news to the fans of the H&K G3. Yet import restrictions make the G3, and the H&K 91 (the civilian version of the G3) hard to come by stateside. Don't give up hope. At the upcoming SHOT show in January 2014, PTR will launch a new version of the Classic Wood 91, the KR. The K is for Kurz, which refers to the 16-inch barrel. The R denotes a welded rail. With a shorter barrel and a rail, the new iteration will appeal to those who respect the classic look of an old G3. It will also speak to those who want a hard-hitting CQB rifle with manageable length and

Bolt action rifles may not be a subject that keeps you up all night chatting on Facebook, but for gun fanatics, the bolt action rifle is a core product of our sport and our passion. If someone had asked, “Who makes the best entry level bolt action rifle?” five years ago, I don't know anyone who would have answered Ruger. That all changed in 2012, when Ruger introduced the Ruger American Rifle. Made 100% in the USA as its name suggests, the American was a rock star from our very first test on the gun now two years ago. Since then, you can't walk into a stocking gun shop without seeing one on the shelf, in several calibers. The line has expanded to include a new Redfield scope package, as well as some new guns with stainless steel All Weather models. We were able to test the newly available .223 caliber guns in both the full sized and compact, and WOW. If you are looking for world-class accuracy, great handling and an affordable price on a bolt-action .223, look no further than the new Ruger American. MSRP is $449 on the

You can always tell which guns are surprisingly good by how many fans they have. Howa, a Japanese firearm maker that dates back to WWII Arisaka rifles, is one of those companies that if you say a bad word, hundreds of defender fanboys and girls will appear out of the woodwork to explain how you are mistaken. Maybe not the biggest kept secret in the gun world, Howas are great guns, and they are imported exclusively under their own brand through Legacy Sports International. Howa also makes the Weatherby Vangaurd, and the two rifles are for the most part interchangeable. This Howa 1500 Zeiss combo is a new gun for 2014, and we were able to test it before SHOT Show. Our test gun is a .308 Winchester, with a 3-9x power Zeiss sporting optic. The Zeiss is likewise made in Japan, not Germany or America like the flagship Zeiss products, but like most Japanese optics we have tested, it is clear as a bell with great edge clarity. The rifle itself is flawless, and a tack dr

When I heard about the Relia-Bolt, I was skeptical. “Uhh, you angled the bolt lugs and are using different steel to improve reliability? OK, I am going to have to see this thing, because I am not getting it.” In the back of my head I started asking the question: is this a solution looking for a problem or a solution to a real issue? The answer is that is depends on you, your rifle and the environment in which you work. It’s an upgrade that can only improve reliability with the NP3 coating, decrease maintenance and in a worst-case situation still deliver functionality. The bolt is coated with NP3, which for all practical purposes is hardened Teflon. It is essentially self-cleaning and extends the life of the bolt. In addition, the use of S7 steel could prevent bolt breakage and the Relia-Bolt design could prevent the kind of jam an extremely neglected AR could develop, so I term the Relia-Bolt as an “extreme performance/environment upgrade”.

Sometimes the reviews here at GunsAmerica are driven by advertising, but not the way you have come to expect them to be in the print pubs. In the case of the Springfield Armory EMP Micro-Pistol, the first time an ad for it ran alongside one of our Digest emails, over 7,000 of you clicked on the ad, instead of one of the articles (ahem). This seemed to indicate that a lot of people were interested in the gun, so we asked Springfield for a test subject, in .40 S&W. The result was not only getting to shoot a genuinely nifty and useful firearm. It turns out that the gun is not just YA1911. (Yet Another 1911). Unlike all of the other 1911-style pistols in 9mm and .40S&W, the EMP was re-engineered to shoot these cartridges specifically. It is truly a “scaled down” 1911, and the components have been made to function reliably with both a smaller cartridge, and smaller barrel len

Steel targets are the backbone of competitive shooting sports. Once a club invests in a good set of steel targets, it opens up a great deal of income-producing events that you just can't do with paper. The problem with steel is that it is expensive, so buying it right the first time is critical. There are a lot of target companies, and Grizzly Targets, out of Tampa, Florida, contacted us to test one of theirs, a $279 three-paddle auto-reset called the “Trifecta.” Grizzly laser-cuts their targets out of AR500 steel and galvanizes the final product. They claim that the targets “can withstand almost anything,” so we chose the M1C Sniper Garand that we made back in the Garand series from a commercial Springfield Armory gun. The key to this test was to simulate abusive misses. We beat the target up pretty well, but at no time did the target cease to do its job. However, after repeatedly battering of the middle of the posts, the bottom of the posts, and the bolt area, you can see that if you buy a Grizzly target