GARY'S GUN NOTES

 Before getting into the new gear recently introduced, let me mention this. The situation in Ukraine effects all of us whether or not you realize it. People in my gun shop talk about Ukraine and say it has nothing to do with us, but they are wrong. Russia is easing into the countries bordering Ukraine and these countries are NATO countries. So if Russia decides to try to take over those countries the U.S. as a member of NATO will have to help out in some form.

This will mean higher gas prices and higher prices on everyday products that are already higher than normal. Just like Ukraine is begging for guns and ammo , the NATO countries will do the same if Russia begins to invade it’s border. Our gun and ammo situation is slim already and if Biden decides to get off his ass and help out Ukraine, as we should have done weeks ago, then things will get really tight over here. Russia will (if they are smart) destroy Ukraine’s oil reserves and that means NATO countries will have to chip in and deliver some of our oil reserves. That means our gas prices that are already high will go up even higher.

Boots on the ground is a possibility also and if the NATO countries ask for help, we, as a NATO country will have to help. A rumor this morning that American nationals were asked to leave Russia. What that means I don’t know but it doesn’t sound good.

All this is conjecture but which ever way it goes it will effect us in many ways.

The Ukraine situation is causing a lot of folks to buy guns and ammo. Apparently Putin made a threat to the U.S. a few days ago and although I didn’t hear it myself I had several folks come into our gun shop talking about it. It went something like “If the U.S. helps Ukraine they will regret it in ways they have never felt before”. What that means I have no idea, but people are taking it seriously. We sold several AR-15s yesterday and a lot of ammo. Saturdays are normally pretty quiet but yesterday was wall to wall people and Ukraine was on many lips.

OK, let’s get to the new gun stuff. Recently we were shipped one of the new S&W CSX pistols and I really like it. It is heading in a new direction for S&W. The gun is all metal. Steel slide and a steel alloy frame. That is different. It has an exposed hammer. That is unusual. It has an ambi slide release and safety. It has a small beavertail to keep the commander style hammer from biting the web of your hand. It is a small 9mm but due to a thicker gripframe it fits even the larger hands. The action is smooth and the trigger feels as if an action job was done to it. It comes with 2 mags, one a 10 shot and the other a 12 shot mag. One thing that was pleasing is it didn’t come with a spot for a big red dot sitting on top of the slide like a dead frog. It seems today that nobody knows how to shoot with iron sights. They have to have that big red dot sitting on their pistols. Then if the chit hits the fan and they find their battery dead, what then. With the new CSX there are bright 3 white dot sights that even I can see and use to hit what needs hitting. Personal opinion here but we just seem to rely more and more on electronics these days and in my very biased opinion that is not good. All in all I was pleasantly impressed with the new S&W CSX and I give it a big thumbs up, and I am not getting paid to say this.

Colt has released their new 3” Python in 357, as usual. For the wheel gun fans this should be a pleasant addition to the 6” Python released last year. Expect the first few 3” Pythons to be at scalper’s prices but hopefully will ease down to normal pricing as more get out to the public.

The Benelli 12 gauge shotgun has been the shotgun of choice for our special forces for years and they have also been some of the finest hunting shotguns around. Now they have done something that is a pleasant surprise. They have released the newest edition, the Super Black Eagle 3 in 28 gauge. I am looking forward to trying one out.

We got one of the new Kel Tec P-15 pistols in recently. A 15 shot 9mm pistol that is Kel Tecs first striker fired pistol. It feels good in the hand and with 15 rounds of 9mm and a decent price it should do very well for Kel Tec. The Kel Tec guns are ugly, and have no character or class but they work everytime and that is the main thing.

Heritage Guns are the choice of folks that want a good shooting 22 LR revolver without breaking the bank. They were bought out by Taurus a good while back and their quality has hit a high point ever since. Now they have released a couple of new and unusual revolvers. One is a pure snubbie. It is the Barkeep Boot revolver and has a 1” barrel with no front sight. Not sure exactly what this one is for but some folks will find it irresistible. The other is the Rough Rider Tactical Cowboy or the TC model. It comes in 22 LR and 22 Mag convertible. It has a threaded barrel. It has a Picatinny rail for special features. It is good to see companies willing to try something new these days.

A few years back Glock came out with a hybrid 9mm pistol called the 43X. Now Taurus has followed them up with their G3X. It also is a hybrid with the full size gripframe but with a snubbie slide. It is for serious carry situations and has no manual safety. It has a 3” barrel and a 15 round magazine. It also comes with 2 magazines. Taurus has long been known for giving the customer 2 or even 3 extra magazines and not jacking the price up sky high. This new G3X will be a good one for those that carry in bad situations and need a gun that they can depend upon.

On the ammo scene, the 44 Special has been around for 100 years or more and finally a company has decided to put out a defense load in 44 Special. Federal has announced the 44 Special Punch bullet. It is a 180 grain JHP bullet designed for self defense and for shooting thru heavy clothing. They already have the Punch load in 380, 38 special +P, 9mm, 40 cal and 45 ACP. It is good to see a company develop a round especially for self defense. The only thing that bothers me about this is Kelye Schlep developed a special bullet several years ago that he called the Punch Bullet and now that name has been “borrowed”. Having had several our series names “borrowed” by some of the big companies it sorta rubs me the wrong way. Like our Hellcat, one that we had out for 4 years before it was “borrowed”. But I guess that is the way things are these days.

One other instance of name “borrowing” is the name Creedmoor. Besides the cartridges with that name, there are all kinds of products with the Creedmoor name attached to it to grab a shooter’s attention. Just the way of the world I guess.

Winchester has acquired a contract to build the equipment to load 7.62 ammo (308) for the government and also got a $20 million contract to develop the equipment to load the new 6.8 military cartridge. These buildings will be built at the government’s Lake City Ammunition plant in Missouri.

Rock Island Armory, the makers of some of the finest 1911s has a new plant in the U.S. They plan to build several of their line up at the new plant. The first being a short 12 gauge “firearm”, the VRF14 with a 14” barrel. Not a shotgun nor is it a handgun. It is listed with the Feds as a “firearm” so it bypasses all the “short barreled shotgun” licensing and fees. It comes with a 9 and 19 round magazines. It is good to see more home defense short barreled firearms being offered and this one is the perfect home defense 12 gauge.

That’s it for this week. If you get a chance to get out and burn some powder, keep in mind that you will need to replace that ammo and that is hard these days. But if you do get out, take a lady or youngster with you. Now, more than ever they are our future.

God bless,

Gary