Shot Show 2013 Goodness

[Maksim 1,504]

Brrrrrr.... Yes, its freaking freezing.

 

So Day 1 is in the books. Went to Media Day, which is the day before shot show. While it was still good, I can't say it was as good as Media Day 2012. The structure of it was different, people were split into two groups, and by 1pm, quite a few vendors and manufacturers decided to leave. The turn out of people also seemed quite a bit lower from last year to this year. Maybe it was the weather? Unlike last year when it was 60 degrees, it was about 35 degrees and windy and shitty.

 

I am not here so much to do full blown reviews, I feel others will, I am mostly here to develop relationships, and to chat with the manufacturers and vendors to get their story, and not necessarily to shoot as many guns as I could get my hands on. Also, as this year I am once again the sponsor coordinator for USPSA area 8 match, I wanted to catch up with as many of the existing and potential new sponsors, so spent the time mostly with the handguns.

 

So..... in no particular order.

 

Springfield XD-S 9mm

 

Springfield. Their new toy is the XD-S 9mm. Quite honestly, I was underwhelmed. While I love the XD-S 45, the 9 mm just seemed like a different, incomplete gun. Maybe because it was the last gun we shot in the day? Maybe it was just getting dirty?

 

The Good.... It was an XD-S. Size wise, fit in the hand quite well.

 

The Bad & The Horrid.... The trigger was complete junk.... It felt what it was about 15 lbs. Pretravel was quite long, and it did not have a clean break. The XD-S 45 that we shot was far far better. Now... I do like my trigger at 4 lbs or less, but had Anastasia shoot it, and even she was looking back at me to see if the gun was malfunctioning, as she was pulling trigger to what felt like a natural point of break and nothing happened. Took a lot more pull to actually get it to fire. The Ugly.... On an locked back slide, put in a fresh mag.... release the slide... failed to full lock/seat slide. Dirty gun? Bad ammo? Who knows. Based on the experience alone, I would not choose the xds 9.... the 45 was far better though with no issues from what I recall.

 

 

FNH FNS 9mm & FNX 45

 

FNH.... This one I really wanted to see and shoot. I am likely going to be shooting USPSA Production division this year, and looking for a handgun. The FNS was one I really wanted to shoot. Luckily for me, they had the new FNS 9mm, 5" competition derived model.

 

Quite a soft shooting pistol. Quick cycling. The trigger is not bad... while it had a very smooth take up and natural point of break, it did feel a tad spongy as it was breaking..... very similar to an XD, but not as terrible as a stock Glock. The reset on it was a tad long. To the point of while I was shooting it, quite a few times I did not let it out enough to reset the trigger.... especially after shooting the Caracals. Everything else, I liked...except the Heini 8 night sights.

 

FNX 45.... I liked this gun. While I am not a tactitard, or a tactical operator, , my interest in this pistol is mostly for a home defense or SHTF gun. I am a fan of American made FNH products, I like the company and the story, I was not a fan of the FNP 45. The thumb safety stuck out too much, and for people with smaller hands....it sucked. The FNX 45..... fixed all those issues. Fantastic gun. Shot this one out to 50 yards with factory 45 ammo, and was quite impressed. If you cannot afford an HK 45.... this new one would be on my short list.

 

And Dave Sevigny... did not recognize him with his beard.... gasp. =) Thank you FNH for sponsoring the Area 8 Match last year.

 

Shooting the FNS 9 5"

 

Caracal

 

So this was the second time I got a good hands on one of these, and the first time shooting it. I will say, my interest in this was spiked when JJ Racaza starting shooting for Caracal last year. These are cheap and promised alot of things..... for the most part... it delivered.

 

The gun pointed very naturally, the stock sights were fairly sufficient, the recoil was not bad with 9mm, most of all, 100% trouble free. Out of all these plastic fantastic guns... the Caracal F had the best stock trigger... far better than any glock, etc. The take up was short, the break was clean, the reset not too long. While it is ugly, in my opinion, it was a functioning gun, at a good price point, and delivers overall.

 

I will likely pick one up as they get more involved with USPSA...

 

The one I really was impressed with was the compact, with the Quick Sight system. Effectively, the rear sight is moved from the back of the slide, to in front of the ejection port. As such, the sight radius was shorter, and you do have to take more care at longer distances.... on closer targets, I was able to acquire the target far faster, and accurately enough. For a carry application.... absolutely a great choice.

 

The Caracal table,and shooting the Caracal F chatting with JJ.

 

 

 

 

 

H&K

The easy one first, they released a $5k MSRP 7.62x51 rifle.... it was nice.....damn accurate, and it was an H&K.... enough said.

 

The other new gun released as the H&K 45 Tactical. Longer, threaded barrel, different sights, and avail in 3 colors...... I love this gun..... for the SHTF, or Home Defense, and I am sure tactical etc.... this is an awesome gun. As always, uber reliable. Most of all, it does not even feel like shooting a 45. The recoil is soaked up, anyone can shoot it. Trigger is pretty nice too. I shot the SA/DA, but the LEM is out there as well. The only thing.... the reset is long on it., like many HK guns, but.... for this application, it is not bad. Unless you shoot 1911/2011s exclusively.... this will not likely be an issue. Fit and finish is awesome.

 

Btw, thank you H&K for sponsoring the match. =)

 

 

 

Other Stuff

• Suppressors are awesome.
  
• Blackhawk is coming out with new thumb release holsters which are pretty nice.
  
• I NEED to get me a TAVOR.
  

Pics in a second post.

[Maksim 1,504]

Tavor

I need to get me one of these. Shot really well out to 150 yards or so with just a red dot. For a bull pup, the trigger was pretty damn nice. Will be made in Harrisburg, PA with parts from Israel.

 

 

Wifey shooting it

 

 

 

 

Pic of the HK...

 

 

 

Those CAA imported attachments for a handgun, either a Glock or Beretta. Requires NFA tax stamp, not Jersey legal.

 

 

Suppressed 308 Goodness

 

 

Other things... Glock... no plans for a single stack 9mm.

[Maksim 1,504]

Day 1 of the general show......

 

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[notmetoo 41]

Maks, any sign of Caracal's new carbine?

[hd2000fxdl 422]

Cool, keep it coming Maks

 

Only notice you left out J0n's favorite manufacturer.

 

 

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[Maksim 1,504]

Maks, any sign of Caracal's new carbine?

 

Andy, yes, I dis see it but dis not shoot it. At first glance it looked like a hi point. Will get better pics today.

 

Cool, keep it coming Maks

 

Only notice you left out J0n's favorite manufacturer.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Harry, if Glock only had anything come out that was noteworthy. Instead spent time chatting with glock rep about the state of the gun biz and talking with KC Eusibio.

 

As per the rep, they do not see any issues going forward for their business. Their backlog right now is about 300k units iirc, half of what it was last time around.

 

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[notmetoo 41]

Thanks Maks! Appreciate the news and updates.

[Maksim 1,504]

One other fun factoid, I believe 3 new gun ranges opened in Las Vegas since I was here in October for USPSA Nationals.

 

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[Maksim 1,504]

Andy, I did see the caracal carbine but did not play with it. Looked like a hi point from the distance. I will look at it and get pics.

 

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[AS350Driver 56]

Nice Maks, update with more pics when you can.

[jamesbod 0]

http://www.nrablog.com/post/2013/01/14/6-shots-from-the-2013-SHOT-Shows-Media-Day-at-the-Range.aspx

 

what kind of rifle is that in the last photo OD earth color?

[Blueskybob 12]

Thanks for keeping us informed!

 

Pics if you can swing it!

 

Thanks

 

Bob

[MarkWVU02 47]

Damn up until you all the reviews I've seen of the XDs 9 have been very good. Been wanting a small 9 for a while.

[Maksim 1,504]

ok quick update.

 

The XDs 9mm, while I still stand by, I am not impressed, but the trigger on the demo model at the show itself was significantly better.... it still felt worse than the XDs 45 that I have shot. The rep though says that the 45 and the 9mm use the same components.

 

Went to glock, Sig, CZ, a few others. Will update a little later.

 

Quite honestly, this year we do not have that much stuff, and Glock is making me less of a hater.

 

They are building a facility here in the United States, that will allow them to start producing stuff they currently cannot bring in, such as 380 and 22 LR conversion kits.

 

the new 30SF was pretty nice, but not my cup of tea.

 

They are expecting that their backlog will reach over 1 million guns by the end of the week. The rep I spoke with yesterday was not as knowledgeable.

 

Sig had some nice new guns.

New trend... sticking rail mounted gun sights like the Burris Fast Fire on the guns.

 

 

 

 

[Maksim 1,504]

Alright, more goodness. For the past few days I have been really sick, with the cold/flu, so did not spend too much time at the show. Was able to sneak in for a few hours today.

 

Visited Sphinx, EAA and Kahr.

 

Sphinx

 

These guys make really really awesome, high end handguns in Switzerland, however very few have made it to the States. They have partnered with Kriss and KWA and will now manufacture more guns in the states.

 

I have played with their new Standard size Sphix gun. steel frame. awesome gun, more details to come however pricepoint is about $1500. They also had a two tone one for competitions, steel frame, heavy heavy and awesome gun. No price point on it yet.

 

 

 

 

 

Kahr/Magnum Research

 

New Ultra Compact Desert Eagle 1911. 3" barrel, to compete with the Kimber. Really really nice gun, This gun was put together 3 days before shot show, and is made by BUL in Israel, like the other 1911's, the full size and the Commander sized. Awesome fit and finish.

 

Kahr also came out with new guns, in a series, the CM 45 and 380. These are to compliment the P series, although these are a few hundred cheaper. So the "value" line. Essentially, it uses a MIM slide stop instead of machined, the slide is rollmarked, and not etched in. and the slide is machine cut on top instead of the serration. Overall, still very very nice gun, MSRP of $500 or so. Pics comparing the P and CM series below.

 

EAA

 

Polymer 1911.

 

 

Did that sink in yet? While I was at the Sphinx table, I heard a rumor that Tanfoglio overnighted a polymer 1911 frame to EAA. Rushed over again to EAA and saw this bad boy. It is a prototype that has about 5,000 rounds through it. It uses standard 1911 parts, however the grip is not changeable. You can however stipple or redo the grip as you please. It is not painted, so it will obviously not be that color. As per EAA, it will likely be 6 months before it is here. Overall, they are backordered, and have 2 years worth of guns on order. It should take 7 months to build and get here. Otherwise, EAA has zero guns in stock, and as soon as they get any in, they are sent out to distributors.

 

Will update post in a few seconds with pics.

[tuktuk 16]

can you pls ask/see if there are any changes / updates or even completely new design coming up for the cx4 storm ???

also any new pistol caliber carbines?

thank u

[Maksim 1,504]

The Taurus and caracal carbines. Saw the Taurus and was impressed, will be ordering one.

 

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[222 3]

Thanks for the news and the pictures! They look really great.

 

I don't suppose IWI folks gave any juicy details on Tavor availability? Like NJ distributors?

[Turbotezza 1]

That 1911 frame was 3D printed me thinks.

[pbkid6974 1]

That 1911 frame was 3D printed me thinks.

 

yea. i dont like it. it kinda looks... blah...

[Maksim 1,504]

Got quite a few more pics from the last day at the show. Will upload them and post here.