The SHOT SHOW is coming up in a few weeks, in mid January and I would really hate to be in the shoes of the people that are having booths at the show. If your business is any type of tactical gear, whether it be the guns, ammo, magazines, or any of the myriad of accessories for these items, what do you do? Do you carry on, display your gear and take orders, knowing that you may well not be able to deliver these orders by law. What a hard decision that is for these people. I talked to a good friend that makes reamers and he will be there but he expects at least one third of the regular companies that display black rifles, hi cap magazines and other such items in their booths to just not show up. If I had a lot of money invested in stock with these items, I would probably be there but making sure I only sold what I had in stock and not take orders for the long haul for items that I may not be able to produce and sell. It is a really hard and confusing time for many companies right now. I truly hope they will be able to make it through this but I seriously doubt it.

 

There are a lot of specialty items that I have seen and handled that I know there are at least serious plans to build and sell. Here are some of them..

Rock Island Armory has a new 10mm 1911 coming out. It is made by the same company that makes the new High Standard, Iver Johnson, American Tactical, Rock Island Armory,  and other such 1911s so it should be a good one. There is a serious void in the line ups of many companies when it comes to 10mm guns.

 

Years ago Charter Arms brought out a revolver called the Pit Bull. It was in 9mm and didn't do very well. Now they are bringing it back  and again it is chambered in 9mm. This time it should do well due to so many people carrying guns these days.

 

Walther has a new double action only (DAO) pistol coming out in 9mm and 40. It is called the PPX. Walther pistols almost always do very well, with few exceptions, so this one should do well also among the concealed weapon permit holders.

 

Colt is producing what they call the CQB 1911, or Close Quarter Combat 1911. It is in a sand colored tan and they already have some orders for a large batch of them that are slated to go to the Marines. It is good to see Colt come back and sell more than just their M-16s to the military. There are a lot of old Colts that it would be nice to see them bring back. They have brought back an older 380 auto in the old Government Model 380 and the Mustang 380. Now if they would just bring back some of the other old classics that would really be nice.

 

Winchester is slowly bringing back some of their old best sellers. This time it is their Super X Defender Marine shotgun with the industrial chrome finish. Now if they would get off this commemorative 1894 kick they are on and just produce some nice 1894s again it would be a wise move on their part.

 

Stevens Shotguns is adding more to their line up with a couple of shotguns. The Model 350 is pretty much a copy of the old Ithaca 37 bottom feed and eject 12 gauge or the rotary bolt model that is very similar to the Benelli, either one are very well made and excellent buys.

 

Weatherby has a couple of new rifles out in their Vanguard series and have added a couple of calibers previously  only available in the MK 5 series. The new Series 2 Back Country rifles now come in 240 Weatherby, 270 Winchester, 257 Weatherby, 30-06, 300 Winchester Magnum and 300 Weatherby Magnum. So those that are partial to either of these Weatherby calibers can now get them in the lower priced Vanguard series 2. This new series also comes with the new Redfield Revenge scope which is an extremely well made scope.

 

CCI has a new 22 ammunition out that they say is extremely quiet called the Quiet 22. CCI says it is 75% quieter than even a standard velocity 22. They also have a segmented bullet included which breaks up into 3 pieces on impact.

 

For those that have wives or daughters that shoot and shoot pink guns, there is now a couple of the LULA magazine loaders in hot pink just for the ladies. They come in 2 sizes for magazines up to 380 and for magazines from 9mm to 45. Lord knows we can't ask the ladies to load the magazines for their pink guns with a standard ugly black LULA loader. They are sold by Butler Creek.

 

On the subject of the LULA magazine loaders, if you haven't tried one, by all means do so when you can. They are great. It is a cap with a toggle on top that fits over the mouth of the magazine. You move the toggle one way, drop in a round, move the toggle the other way, drop in another round and repeat it. You can easily load a 30 round AR magazine in 25 to 30 seconds and no sore thumb. And if you need to unload the magazine you can hold it upside down and move the toggle back and forth and the rounds just fall out. The actual name is Maglula.

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American Tactical has several new guns coming out for 2013. The good thing is one of them is a really nice Over/Under and a couple of new 1911s. The bad things are several new AR-15s and AK-47s. Wrong guns at the wrong time.

 

Sierra has a couple of new hunting bullets coming out in a 130 grain HPBT in 6.5 caliber and a 140 grain HPBT in 7mm caliber, both in their Gameking series. They also have a 350 grain 375 caliber HPBT in their Matchking series. Not really sure the reason behind that heavy a 375 caliber bullet but Sierra has always been one of my favorite bullet companies so there must be a good reason.

 

Remington has revamped their VersaMax shotgun making it even better. It flawlessly feeds and fires any 12 gauge from light 2¾” shell up to 3½” shells.

 

Hornady has added a new horse in their Critical Duty stable. It is a barrier blind bullet. It is a full tactical ammo and is now available in 45 ACP+P. It is designed to defeat urban barriers like heavy clothing, plywood,sheet metal, and even auto glass. It was tested and verified by the FBI Protocol handgun ammunition tests.

 

As I mentioned above Redfield scopes are back and are really nice. For many years the Redfield was the Cadillac of scopes. For several years they were out of business but a short while ago Leupold bought the name and started putting out a top notch scope. I have always been partial to the old Redfield scopes and the new ones are just as good. There are several models to choose from and all are fine scopes and at very reasonable prices.

 

OK, now the guns coming out that may never see the light of day or at best in limited quantities if we have another Crime Bill passed. These are guns just announced that were to be previewed at the SHOT SHOW and may still be. But with the “assault rifle bill” hanging over our heads it doesn't look good for the home team.

 

The first is from a company that I will not buy any product from due to the chip they imbed in all their guns. They say it is so it can be traced if it is stolen. I feel that if one governmental agency can trace it then another one can and that being so there will never be a Chiappa gun in the Reeder hacienda nor in our gun shop.

So, that being said Chiappa has a 3 barreled 12 gauge shotgun coming out. One version is a home defense model with short barrel and pistol grip.

 

Just Right Carbines has 2 short barreled AR-15s, chambered in 9mm and in 45 ACP.

 

Diamondback, the company that makes the little snubbie revolvers and pocket pistols has a new AR-15.

 

Sig has a couple of new versions of their Sig516 AR platform.

 

Rock River Arms has 2 new versions of their AR-15s.

 

Armalite has 2 new ARs slated to be introduced at the show.

 

Colt has at least 2 new versions of their new AR-15A-4MP rifle coming out.

 

Masterpiece Arms, makers of small revolvers and pocket pistols has a new AR called the MPAR 556.

 

A company called Del-Ton has a AR called the DTI Evolution.

 

Black Rain Ordnance, the folks that have made all the accessories for AR-15s for a good while have a new AR-15.

 

Stag Arms has a new model 8T and 8TL, both tactical piston carbines.

 

High Standard has a new AR-15 called the Enforcer.

 

And there are at least 20 more new AR-15s or guns built on the AR platform slated to be previewed at the SHOT SHOW. Also some new ones on the AK-47 and AK-74 platforms to be introduced. All these companies now have some hard decisions to make. I'm glad I don't have to make them.

 

I talked to a friend in the business about how so many people new to guns are buying them,, many that have never owned a gun before. he had an interesting theory. he said with all the cities going bankrupt or on the verge, many are laying off police officers and sheriff's deputies. With less and less cops on the streets the people are realizing that their safety and the safety of their families now depends on themselves. So many are taking safety firearms courses and self defense courses, some are having the whole family taking the courses, from 16 years of age and up. This makes complete sense. I had figured with the economy more people were out of jobs and that was the cause of more home invasions and theft. I think that is still a factor but my friend's thoughts make a lot of sense too. It might be something for you to think about seriously too.

 

So much for the doom & gloom news. This is America and we will carry on, even with a poor excuse for a president in the White House. We will make it thru this, probably not unscathed but alive. Just remember, NEVER GIVE UP.

 

Our next HHC is coming up in just over 2 months. It is scheduled for March 7 thru 10 at the Wilderness hunting lodge in Monterey Tennessee. This is a good chance to get all the bad news out of your head and relax for 3 days with some old friends and some new ones. Join us for this hunt. Call Sherry at 931- 839-2091 and put your deposit down and join us.

 

Til next time, take a youngster or lady shooting. They are our future.

 

God bless,