Gary's Gun Notes #160

This last couple of months have been hectic to say the least. The political climate is frustrating with Hillary Clinton bragging that she will attack the gun industry and the NRA on her first day in office. Some Republicans are actually agreeing with her, which is frustrating to say the least. We have numerous “conservatives” that are not conservatives in any sense of the word and would like nothing better than to see a liberal in the White House...again. We have presidential candidates that seem to blow in the wind, swinging first left, then right and back left again. We have politicians that we thought we could trust stabbing us in the back. All in all, confusion reigns. And I don’t know the answer. All I can suggest is to stay with our beliefs and feelings and not be swayed by false promises and quick remedies to this country’s many problems. 2016 is going to be a “make or break” year for this country. If Clinton gets in office, this country is finished as we know it. The freedoms we have and cherish will be gone. Our Constitution will be shredded. Every day I hear people say if Trump gets the nomination, I will refuse to vote, or if Cruz gets the nomination I will refuse to vote. Actions like that will kill this country. Whomever gets the nomination, we have to support him. We have to vote to keep Clinton out. Not voting is what cost us Obama’s first term, when people refused to vote for the Republican candidate for one silly reason or another. As the old saying goes, “if we don’t hang together on this, we will surely hang separately”. That may not be the exact quote but is true in this case. There is so much negative news in this country with all but Fox News kissing the liberals asses. As the old hippie saying goes..”Keep the faith baby”.

At first I thought about not doing a Gun Notes this month but decided not to let all the negative news stop what I enjoy doing. So it may be a bit short this month but here goes.

One bit of good news is Stag Arms is back, under new ownership and management. The ATF had shut them down for negligence in their bookkeeping. The ATF, in most cases, will bend over backwards to help a dealer or manufacturer get his act together but the head honchos of Stag Arms simply didn’t take their advice and continued their sloppy bookkeeping and being a class 3 manufacturer (machine guns and suppressors), you just can’t do that. But the new owners have taken over and they are back rolling again.

Speaking of AR-15 manufacturers, one of the companies that sends me info on new products that are coming out sent me a list today of 21 new rifles for 2016. And 17 of that 21 were new AR-15 or AR-15 type rifles. One wonders who they think are going to buy them. And about half of them were in the $2000 to $8000 range. I may be a bit negative myself on this but we have a glut on the market of AR-15 type rifles right now. Where are these 17 new models going to fit in? Now before you begin to think I don’t like AR-15s, forget that. I own several and recently bought an Armalite AR-15, not the AR-180 but an actual AR-15 and it is rapidly becoming my favorite. At our shop we still sell a couple of ARs a week and about that many uppers and lowers for the guys to build their own, but the rush is long over. I hope the companies that are releasing these 17 new models are successful, but...

OK, back to the basics. If you had a chance, would you like to hunt an alligator? Of course you would. Who wouldn’t. Mississippi’s alligator season runs August 26 thru September 5th. There will be 920 permits given out and for several areas across the state. They will be given out on a first come first served basis. Permits will be available electronically thru the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and parks dept. beginning July 19 at 9AM. You can find out more at www.mdwfp.com/alligator or call 601-432-2199. There will also be a fair amount of permits for hunting gators on private land. That season is August 26 thru September 19 and the permits will be available to the landowners. Applications for the private land hunts will be available online and must be submitted by July 1st. If you like an unusual hunt, this one is for you.

Some bad news for those that read a lot of gun magazines. Harris Publishing announced today that they are shutting down and closing the doors immediately. This will affect a lot of magazines, including Survivalist’s Edge, Weapons & Ballistics, Combat Handguns, Guns & Weapons, Tactical Weapons, Special Weapons, Guns of the Old West and about 20 more non gun related magazines. In a way this was a surprise. We used to do a lot of advertising with Combat Handguns and Guns of the Old West. They said the digital formats were killing them. I guess I can understand that as why buy a $10 magazine when you can read it online for little or nothing. Also as I mentioned above, AR-15s are a glut on the market. The newness and excitement of owning an AR-15 has long faded away and each of these magazines except Guns of the Old West featured article after article about the AR-15. I guess Harris Publishing found out the hard way that enough is enough.

Colt is back in business with new owners. They are producing a new 1911 they call the Colt Combat Unit Pistol that they say was designed by former operators. That sort of surprises me a bit as their last special model they made for the U.S. Special Forces flopped badly. After only a few months the SF boys turned them back in and asked for their Glocks back. They claimed less weight, more rounds, less jamming in nasty, dirty conditions. Surprisingly they wanted their Glock 19s back. I would have thought they would have been using the Glock 17. I assume the smaller frame was easier to carry and conceal and still have an ample amount of rounds.

Speaking of the 9mm guns and ammunition the SF guys are carrying, if you have been debating whether to carry a 9mm, 40 caliber, or 45 ACP, check out the various 9mms. The 9mm has come a long way in the last few years. Many of the 9mm rounds these days are considerably hotter and have a lot more punch than just 8 or 10 years ago. The 9mm was considered pretty much the absolute minimum round for personal defense, up until just a couple of years ago. Now there are some 9mms that come very close to the 40 caliber punch without the harsh recoil the 40 S&W is known for. Now by the word “harsh”, I don’t mean like the 454 Casull. But compared to the 9mm, it is a quicker less controllable recoil. I find the 45 ACP to be more controllable in rapid fire than the 40. Could be just me.

Our new longslides are doing very well. They are the Ultimate 10 and the Enforcer. The Ultimate 10 is obviously 10mm with a 6” slide and you can have it with or without our own comp. The new Enforcer comes in 10mm or 45 and again is a 6” slide with or without the comp. We build the comps completely in our shop and it can be a 1”, 2” or 3” comp, according to how much recoil reduction you want. This week we introduced 2 new long slides, both for the hunting fields. The first is the new LONGSLIDE HUNTER and is available in 10mm or 45. It is full custom all the way with Caspian slides and our own frames and all the bells and whistles. It comes with a comp and is set up with adjustable Novak sights and all the other special features. This one is build from the ground up. The second new hunting longslide is our new 10mm HOG HUNTER. This beauty comes in either the deluxe Black Chromex or a satin no shine Black Chromex. This one like the other hunting longslide is built from the ground up with every special feature a hunter needs. With the weight of the long slide plus the built in comp, the recoil is less than that if a 9mm. I don’t recommend hunting large game with either of these pistols but for hogs or deer at close to medium range, they would be hard to beat. Both of these pistols will be priced at $2495 but for the month of May they are priced at a special introductory price of $1995 and that is with us furnishing the base gun and everything.

Speaking of long slide pistols, our new ULTIMATE HI POWER is doing well. This is a Belgium Hi Power in full custom mode. It is a long slide with full comp, full engraved, all the special features available on a Hi Power, with a full super slick action job. It has the deluxe Black Chromex finish with fire blue small parts. It has Mongolian Stag grips perfectly fit to the gun. This one is also at an introductory price of $2295 for the month of May. After that, it goes up to the normal price of $2500. With some of the extreme 9mm ammo that is hitting the market these days this one would be good for hunters of medium size deer and wild hogs with the right shot placement.

The 22 magnum is a favorite of many small game hunters, myself included. It was pleasing to hear that Savage is coming out with a 22 magnum semi auto rifle It is the A22 model and comes with a 10 round rotary magazine. The first reviews I read were very good. I am looking forward to seeing this one in the flesh. The second 22 magnum is a 1911 style pistol by Rock Island Armory. They announced it late last year but I am just now hearing they actually are releasing a few. It is the XT 22 Magnum. It is a 14 round pistol and has all the features to make a very special 22 magnum.

Star Line is now making 41 Special brass for the many lovers of this fine cartridge. We have 4 or 5 of our series available in 41 Special and this is some welcome news. The 41 Special can be used in any 41 Magnum firearm.

EAA, European American Armory, has a new AR-15 style firearm out, but this one is different in every way, except looks. It is chambered in 12 gauge and is called the MKA 1919 Match and despite the name it is intended for hunting and home defense too. It has extended magazines and looks like a high dollar AR-15, until one looks a bit closer. Many years ago, in the mid ‘70s there was the Atchisson Shotgun that was very similar to the AR-15. Developed by a fellow named Max Atchisson, it was a full auto shotgun. The patent was sold somewhere along the line and not really sure what happened to it. It was used in several movies and then just sort of faded away. This one looks much like the old Atchisson shotgun but is a semi auto shotgun.

Something unusual for those that like to keep a gun handy but not in plain sight. A company named Quicksafe has a new safe they dubbed the Quickvent safe. It looks just like a heater or air conditioning vent on the wall but but at the push of a hidden button or with the use of a special RFID card (radio frequency ID card), it opens and stores a couple of handguns and ammo. It looks exactly like a heater vent and could be placed high enough to keep out of reach of small kids. I think this is a great idea and plan to check up on it. You can find out more at www.quicksafes.com.

Our next Handgun Hunter’s Challenge (HHC) is still months away but is already filling up. Last word I had was almost 20 people have already signed up. The hunt is scheduled for September 29 thru October 3rd at the Wilderness Hunting Lodge in Monterey Tennessee. The October hunt is always extremely popular (we had 47 hunters at last years hunt), and this next one promises to be another great hunt. If you have never made one of our HHCs, look on the opening page of this web site for all the details, and consider this my personal invitation to you to join us. I guarantee you, you will enjoy it.

Have you noticed how many gun, ammunition and accessory companies are promoting women in hunting lately? I think this is the best thing to happen in years and highly recommend it. If your wife or girlfriend doesn’t shoot or hunt, now is the time. There are guns, and gear especially designed for them. Teach them to shoot and hunt and you will have a hunting partner for life. Remember, they are our future.

More gun and shooting info for you is coming but until next time, God bless.
Gary

E-Mail: gary@reedercustomguns.com

Reeder Custom Guns 2601 E. 7th Ave. Flagstaff, AZ 86004	Phone: 928-527-4100 928-526-3313 Fax: 928-527-0840 928-526-1287
The names Ruger, Blackhawk, Super Blackhawk, Bisley and Vaquero are trademarks of the Sturm, Ruger Firearms Co. Inc.