By Larry S. Sterett | Contributing Editor
Arms manufactured in Israel have been available to American shooters for a few decades, with the best known being the UZI carbine, Galil rifle, and the Jericho 941 pistol imported by Action Arms. More recently IWI (Israel Weapons Industry) introduced the Tavor line of bullpup rifles and now a shotgun.
Left to right from Starline: 458 SOCOM, .41 AE, and .50-70 on the right for blackpowder shooters.
Prior to World War II sporting arms imported into the US were often manufactured in Germany or Austria. Imported ammunition usually originated in Germany (RWS or DWM) or England (Kynoch). Following WWII, sporting arms, especially shotguns, began pouring in from Italy (Beretta) and Japan (SKB) and ammunition eventually from Russia. Some arms and ammunition arrived from other countries, such as France, Czechoslovakia, Israel, Brazil, the Philippines, and Argentina, but in much smaller lots. Almost no ammunition is imported from China or Japan or firms in the Pacific region, although some European firms, such as Fiocchi, have built factories here in the US.
Today, some excellent sporting arms, especially shotguns, are being manufactured in and imported from Turkey. (The first modern Turkish small arm this shooter remembers seeing was a copy of the Walther PP pistol with MKE on the plastic stocks; this was at least a score or more years ago.) Today, the MKE (Makina veKimya Eudustrisi Kurumu) logo appears on such small arms as the JMK Bora-12 Sniper Rifle and the MPT-76 Infantry Rifle, both chambered for the 7.62mm NATO cartridge. The MPT-76 bears a slight resemblance to an improved AR-15/M4 design with a short-stroke gas-piston operating system, 4-quadrant rail handguard, folding front and rear sights, 12-point-lock retractable buttstock, and magazine latch, safety, and cocking handle designed for both right and left-handed use.
50 caliber shooters can purchase ammo from dealers stocking Hornady or Double Tap ammunition. Both firms pack 10 rounds per carton.
One unusual knife at the Show was the GripKnife (info@gripknife.com). Designed as the forward hand or vertical grip for use on the tactical rail of any so-equipped rifle or shotgun, it can be rapidly detached and the 4-inch out-the-front spear-point blade released. Weight of the GripKnife, including the rail mounting sheath, is just 10½ ounces for the extra protection.
Oak Island Ammunition (www.OakIslandAmmunition.com) produces a line of factory re-manufactured and new handgun and currently one rifle caliber—223 Remington. The seven handgun loads include the 9mm Luger, 38 Special, 357 Magnum, 40 S&W and the 45 ACP. All are available as PRO rounds loaded with full metal jacket bullets of standard weight, (230-grain round nose for the 45 ACP, and 158-grain flat nose in the 38 Special and 357 Magnum.) One exception is the 9mm Luger. The Pro round for this cartridge is available with a choice of 115, 124, or 147-grain FMJ round nose bullets.
The Shell Shock round in 9mm Luger features an aircraft-grade aluminum base with a nickel alloy stainless cylinder. This construction is said to be self-lubricating and less abrasive then brass, stronger and more elastic with a 65,000 psi pressure spring-back rating to original shape when fired. Loaded with a 124-grain FMJ bullet, this round moves out at 1,050 feet/second, the same as the other OIA 9mm round with a 124-grain bullet, or 100 feet/seconds more than the 40 S&W Pro round with a 180-grain FMJ projectile.
Dupleks USA produces some unconventional loads for shotguns, such as the encapsulated lead shot Kaviar and the expanding Broadhead.
HSM Ammunition, Inc. (www.HSMammunition.com) may not be a name all shooters recognize, but this Montana firm has been in the business since 1968. With 50 years of experience they have to have been turning out a quality line of ammo. New is the Low Recoil line of hunting ammunition, available in seven cartridges from the 243 Winchester to the 300 Winchester Magnum. Bullet weights—(Sierra brand) range from 85 grains to 150 grains, depending on the cartridge. (Recoil reduction depends on the cartridge but the Low Recoil loads produce around one-third the recoil of a regular load in the same cartridge. For peak performance HSM recommends a shooter not attempt shots beyond 250 yards with these loads.)
The HSM Game King line features more than 80 loads for some four dozen different cartridges from the 243 Winchester to the 375 RUM. New is the 6.5 Creedmoor, loaded with 120-grain Sierra Pro-Hunter bullet. This line contains some older cartridges not always available in many sporting goods stores. Noted were the 250 Savage, 250 Roberts, 30 Remington, 300 Savage, 303 Savage (That’s 303 Savage, not 303 British, which is also available. The Savage was one of the originals in the Savage M99 lever action rifle; this writer’s late uncle-in-law swore it was deadly on mule deer in Utah.) A number of Weatherby cartridges are available, but not the end calibers—224, 240, 378 and 460. Maybe the 240 later?
The Trophy line features 35 calibers, all loaded with Berger bullets, including the 240 Weatherby. The cartridges range from the 6mm BR to the 338 NORMA, and include the newest 6.5 Creedmoor.
The HSM Dangerous Game line includes only four cartridges—375 H&H, 416 Remington, 416 Rigby, and 458 Winchester Magnum. The loads for these cartridges have been carefully developed and refined to provide maximum performance.
Other HSM rifle cartridge lines include the Varmint Blue in 66 loads covering 25 rifle calibers, the Lead Free line for 17 calibers from the 223 Remington to the 350 Remington Magnum loaded with Barnes bullets. Then we have the Classics—23 calibers from the 45 ACP to the 50 BMG, and including the 22 PPC, 6.8mm SPC, .375 CheyTec and 408 CheyTec,
HSM also has at least three lines ofhandgun loads. The Bear Load is available for eight cartridges from the 357 Magnum to the 45-70 Government, while the Pro-Hunter line features ten loads for eight cartridges from the 357 Magnum to the 500 S&W Magnum. The Cowboy Action line features sixteen popular calibers used in this sport. Ranging from the 32-20 Winchester to the 45-70 Government round, these cartridges are loaded with appropriate round or flat nose lead bullets. At least three of the calibers –38-40 Winchester, 44 Russian, and 45 Schofield—are not always readily available from other ammunition manufacturers.
PerFecta (maxxtechammo.com) has a line of six—from 380 ACP to 45 ACP–popular handgun cartridges and five popular rifle cartridges, from 223 Remington to 30-06 Spfld.–all with brass cases and non-corrosive primers. The handgun line includes three 9mm loads with bullet weights from 115 grains to 147 grains, while the rifle line features two 308 Winchester loads. All handgun cartridges are packaged 50 per box, as is the 223 Remington rifle load; other rifle loads are packaged 20 per box.
Federal Premium ammunition has many new loads in addition to the 224 Valkyrie rifle round, both in the metallic cartridge line and their shot shells. For the shot shells there are seven Gold Medal Grand Paper loads utilizing SoftCell wad technology, the Grand Slam line of turkey loads featuring copper-plated lead shot with Flitecontrol Flex wads, plus the Black Cloud line using the same wad types in 12 or 20 gauge with No. 1 or No. 3 shot, plus six Hi-Bird 12 gauge loaded with No. 4, 5, or 8 shot. There are also three 12 gauge 3RD DEGREE turkey loads with Flitecontrol wads and choice of No. 5, 6, or 7 Heavyweight TSS shot. (Seven extreme range turkey loads featuring the Tungsten Super Shot (TSS) are available with an option of No. 9 shot and .410 possible.)
Under the CCI and Speer umbrella there are some new additions—the CCI VNT 17 HMR varmint load featuring a 17-grain polymer-tip bullet, the 22 LR SHP—a Mini-Mag round with a 40 grain hollow point bullet that separates into three segments on impact, and the Speer Gold Dot Personal Protection round in 10mm. This new 10mm self-defense round is loaded with a 200 round bullet. In addition, Speer has added 13 eight and caliber Gold Dot bullets to their component rifle bullet line, plus three Grand Slam bullets—6.5mm, 243, and 257—and two Total Metal Jacket (TMJ) bullets in 224 and 308 sizes for reloaders. Not a component, but a necessity for handloaders is the Speer Handloading Manual No. 15. (Watch for a review of this manual later.)
American Tactical (www.AmericanTactical.us) has been an up-and-coming firm the past few years with a number of new products for shooters, including the P4 Pistol and the AR .410 Shotgun. The P4 features an Omni Hybrid Polymer upper and lower receiver units with metal inserts, polymer parts kit—trigger, hammer, mag release, disconnector, etc., a 7.5-inch barrel in choice of 300 Blackout or 5.6mm/223 chambering, and a 30-rd magazine.
The AR .410 Shotgun weighs 6.5 pounds, empty, and features a M4 stock assembly, an 18½-inch barrel chambered for 2½-inch .410-bore shells, and a 5-round polymer magazine. (A 15-round magazine is available separately, as are choke tubes.) A ventilated muzzle brake is standard. This shotgun is gas-operated on a short-stroke balanced piston system, and lower receiver unit is the Omni Hybrid version, meaning the shotgun can be converted to a rifle by replacing the upper receiver unit with an ATI upper chambered for the 5.56/223 or 300 Blackout cartridge.
Two other new ATI products include the steel Ultra Slim Muzzle Brake designed to reduce muzzle climb as much as 95 percent during rapid firing, and an Extreme Drop-in Trigger assembly with a 3.5-pound let-off. It will operate on any MIL-SPEC AR-15/M16 lower assembly.
The increase in the durability/strength/flexibility, etc. of synthetics (polymers) in the past decades has permitted all sorts of new ideas to flourish in the arms industry, military and sporting. Among the first items introduced just prior to World War II was the Tenite—produced by Eastman—line of stocks available on Savage/Stevens rimfire rifles—Model 87, Model 24 O/U, etc., and some shotguns—M124, M311, M94, etc. They were beautiful stocks—dark brown with molded-in grain. However, they did have a slight problem; when the weather reached the zero and sub-zero range, firing an arm so stocked often resulted in a crack or fracture. World War II a couple of years later put an end to further development, although some military arms did have a few Tenite parts.
Today, Savage has a new line of synthetic stocks—the AccuFit. It permits a perfect rifle to shooter fit of the Model 110 centerfire rifle. Dull black in color with molded-in checkering, it may not be as pretty in appearance as the glossy brown Tenite of 75-plus years ago, but it is tough. The 110 rifle with the new AccuFit stock comes with four length-of-pull inserts to allow the shooter to have butt stock of just the correct length, and five comb risers. The comb risers, which include some Monte Carlo types, permit the perfect eye-to-sight alignment, whether using iron sights, reflector, red dot, or rifle scope. (Trapshooters have been using buttstock adjustments for decades, but it is usually a wooden Monte Carlo added, or wood removed, a metal stock with adjustments, but not like the new Savage with a choice.
Berry’s (Berrybullets.com) has been turning our tons of copper-plated bullets in most popular handgun calibers, and some long arms, for handloading use for years. The Utah firm has also produced a number of other useful items including plastic boxes to house the loaded, or reloaded, cartridges. In 2018 the firm introduced the Versacradle. The Versacradle, which can be free-standing or clamped to a bench edge, swivels 360 degrees, and can be used to hold a rifle or shotgun for cleaning, bore-sighting, minor maintenance, etc. (It is not designed as a shooting sled.) It should be GREAT when you need four hands and only have two.
As mentioned previously the SHOT-Show seems to have become a new ammunition/M1911 variations/AR-15 variations show, or so it seemed to appear. There are still outdoor clothing, accessory, sights (red dot, telescopic, iron or open, etc.), archery, and other assorted outdoor equipment vendors attempting to interest dealers into stocking there merchandise, but…
The author at the annual SHOT Show Media Day range trying out a new 12-gauge autoloading shotgun with great open sights. (A scope or red dot could easily be mounted on the receiver rib.)
The Fort Wayne, IN, firm of Tippmann Arms is best known for the firm’s small scale, belt-fed M1918/19 semi-auto Browning MG chambered for the 22 Long Rifle rimfire cartridge. Now the firm has a couple of new semi-autos chambered for the same cartridge—the M4-22 and the M4-22 Pistol. The Pistol weighs just over 3-1/2 pounds, empty, with 11-inch barrel, while the rifle tips the scales at about 5-3/4 pounds with a 16-inch barrel. Both models feature flip-up sights, aluminum receivers, 20-round magazines, matte black finishes, Picatinny rails, and all the basic features of an actual M4. (Overall length of the Pistol is just under 26 inches, while the Rifle version at its shortest measures 31-1/4 inches.)
Underwood Ammo (www.underwoodammo.com) was exhibiting their line of High Performance ammunition. Packaged in distinctive silver/gray colored boxes with a large white U on a red-colored background, the ammunition is available in most popular handgun and some rifle calibers suitable for home defense, hunting, and target practice. (If you shoot, you need to practice.)
Kahr Arms entered the firearms field more than a decade ago with a handy pocket-size auto-loading pistol chambered for the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. Today, Kahr is part of the Kahr Firearms Group (www.kahr.com) headquartered in Greeley, PA, with factories in Minnesota and Massachusetts. In addition to the Kahr pistols, the others are those of Auto Ordnance—the Tommy Gun people—and Magnum Research of Desert Eagle and BFR handgun fame.
Remington has had their Golden Sabre load on the market for several years, but new is the Black Belt Bullet. Think of it as a driving band, or constriction to prevent jacket shedding.
Kahr still produces the ultra-compact double-action, snag-resistant pistol in three grades—Premium, S, and Value. The Premium pistols come in lockable hard plastic cases with three magazines, and a stainless steel or polymer frame, depending on the specific model. Magazine capacity depends on the model, and varies from five (MK40, PM40, and PM45) to eight (T9). The S series features only two models—S9 and ST9—with black polymer frames and stainless steel slides. The S series pistols are provided with two magazines and shipped in cardboard boxes, as are the Value pistols which come with a single magazine. There are nine pistols in the Value line–CT380, CT9, CT45, CW380, CW9, CW45, CM9 and CM45—and the magazine capacity depends on the specific pistol but ranges from five rounds—CM45–to eight for the 9mm CT9. (Empty, the CT45, with its black polymer frame and stainless steel slide weighs just over 1-1/2 pounds, while the lightweight is the CW380 at less than 12 ounce with an empty magazine.
New in the AO line are Titanium Gold and Hard Chrome finishes with Tiger Stripes on the Thompson 1927A-1 models. Each of these new Thompsons come with one 20-round stick (or box) magazine and one 50-round drum magazine. There is also a new 9mm 1927A-1 model and a new 9mm M1 (TM1C-9L20) Thompson which comes with a 20-round stick magazine—no drums on the M1. Aluminum or steel receiver choice and walnut stock and forearm are standard. All semi-auto Thompsons fire from the closed bolt position. (Also new is a Special Edition JOHN ‘TIG’ TIEGEN Model 1927A-1 Semper Fi version.)
Two new AO Model 1911A1 pistols in 9mm have been added to the “Value Models” line. The regular model is the 1911BKO9, with the ‘Commander’ version designated the 1911BKOC.
Rock Island Armory introduced their .22 TCM cartridge in a M1911-style pistol several years back. Now there’s a conversion unit available to permit switching to 9mm Luger, if you feel the need.
The Magnum Research line has a few new editions. Counting different calibers, finishes, and metal-type (stainless steel, aluminum, polished chrome, tungsten, brushed chrome, burnt bronze, and black) there are now 44 possible Desert Eagle pistol variations. The calibers range from 357 Magnum to 50 Action Express, and the latest additions include the Black Aluminum (DE50L51MB) in 50 AE, the Case Hardened DE357CH in 357 Magnum, and the Tungsten DE44CATU in 44 Magnum. (Not new, but interesting is the DE Kit of one frame and one slide combined with three different caliber barrels and suitable magazines. Three new 9mm DE 1911 autoloaders have been added—the DE1911G9, DE1911C9, and the DE1911U9—the bobbed version with 3-inch barrel and one less round in the magazine (some of the DE1911 pistols are available with sheathed knife having paracord wrapped handles).
Nothing new noted in the BFR revolver line, but three new variations in the MLR rimfire rifle family. The most interesting of these is a NFA item with a 20-1/2 inches integrally suppressed barrel and black thumbhole stock. Except for the action and barrel material, etc., the basic idea is reminiscent of the H&A rifle of a century ago. They should love this in the UK where potting pigeons with suppressed rimfires is fairly popular.
Only a few of the many new products exhibited at SHOT Show 2018 have been discussed here. Nothing in the clothing lines, related shooting items, such as riflescopes, the dozen of different knives, law enforcement/military, slings, etc. has been covered in any detail. Maybe later additional products can be featured in one form or another.
