Articles by Paul Helinski

In the midst of the gun grabber legislative chaos, ATI Gunstocks had some pretty neat stuff for this year’s SHOT Show 2103. Their big new product is set to ship in April and they are taking pre-orders now. It is a complete replacement stock system for the Benelli M4 called the Raven. Like all ATI stocks, it is modular and you can buy one piece or the whole system. All ATI stocks are what is known as “992R” compliant as well. On foreign made high capacity weapons, you must have at least 5 parts that are made in the USA if you want to use a pistol grip, and they have to be one of a core list of parts on the gun. For the Benelli, there are 14 parts, and ATI makes the five that you need for compliance. The kit retails for $374 on their website (again, currently in pre-order). The extra part you see here in the pictures is that front rail system, which they call the “magazine tube shroud,” and that isn’t available yet on the website.

One of the stories you didn’t see at GunsAmerica last year at SHOT Show was the “DoubleTap” pocket pistol. We elected to not cover it because though it seemed a good idea, it was clear from speaking with the management at the show that it was not going to be available in the market anytime soon. Several lawsuits later, the inventors of the DoubleTap have changed manufacturing facilities and it looks like the gun is actually going to be available in a couple months. This is a really neat double derringer style pocket pistol that comes in both .45ACP and 9mm, and it is available in both aluminum, at 12 ounces empty, for $499, or titanium at 14 ounces, for $729. At present all of the major distributors have placed orders for the guns, in the tens of thousands, and within a couple months the factory, located in Naples, Florida, should be able to produce over 5,000 guns per month. A full line of holsters and accessories are already available for the DoubleTap, and the barrels and calibers are interchangeable, with .40S&W hopefully available by summer.

New for 2013 from Mojo Outdoors is the Shake’n Jake. We got to play with his highness at SHOT Show and it is going to be a turkey killer this spring. Legal in all but 6 states, you have to check with your local regulations before you buy it. Even if your state does not prohibit turkey decoys, they prohibit motorized ones, and/or remote control ones. the Shake’n Jake is remote controlled, on or off. We were told at the booth that his majesty would be under $100, available in a couple weeks, but so far he has only popped up at Cabelas for $149.

Also check out the fan tail that you stick on your shotgun. It is called the Tail Chaser, $24.99 at Cabelas, and the word at the Mojo booth is that it works great. In cover, the turkeys see the tail and come walking right in. These will probably be at your local big box stores soon, but remember that they only get so many in so you may want to grab one online now before the turkey fever starts to really set in during late February.

The American gun owning public is being duped again, just like we were duped the two weeks before the election when we were convinced that Romney was ahead by several percentage points. The media, including our “friends” at Fox, Drudge, and other “conservative” outlets, are attempting to sell us the concept that the “assault weapon ban” legislation can’t pass, and this is a lie. We are told that Bill Clinton sternly warned his party that they will be punished in the mid-terms, and that the NRA is “too powerful” for any real legislation to make it through congress. This is also a lie. Behind our backs, the political machine is crafting public opinion in what have become the majority voting blocks to convince national and state legislators that they are safe for the next election… and they are safe. American gun owners didn’t show up in force for the last election, and we are not feared as a voting block any longer. Don’t be a fool and believe it when they tell us we can’t lose. We are going to get beaten again if we don’t act. And this time it isn’t a slippery slope. This time they are going to outlaw an entire class of guns with no loopholes.

If you are on the GunsAmerica email list, or you are clicking in from the website, you are probably a gun owner of some type (or you are desperately trying to buy your first gun before they ban them), and you may feel that we are “preaching to the choir.” But there is also a 90% chance that YOU HAVE NOT CONTACTED YOUR LEGISLATORS to let them know that you are strongly against any kind of weapon ban, or any increase in our national or state gun laws whatsoever.

In a field full of great striker fired polymer pistol it is very hard to stand out. Walther’s top of the line take on this type of duty gun is the PPS, and we thought it was a fantastic gun last year when we reviewed the first version. This year Walther is no longer under the wing of Smith & Wesson and the PPS will still be their flagship pistol, but they got rid of that trigger guard safety and installed an ambidextrous button. H&K is the only other company with the trigger guard design and American’s haven’t taken to it the way the German’s thought they would. Truth is, the thing was hard to use without tilting the gun to the side. This new standard usability safety should make the PPQ more palatable, and hopefully it will get the recognition it deserves in the market.

Even bigger news is the PPX, a Walther under $500. We haven’t gotten a good look at it yet, but it appears to be an external hammer version of the PPS, with most of the same features. At first glance, at the booth, it appears that the PPX is going to be double action only, similar to a striker gun, with about a 6 pound trigger and no decocker or manual safety. At a street price probably well under $500 it should be extremely competitive in the market. Can’t wait to try one!

And last but surely not least is the famous PPK-S, in .22 LR. Ammo being as expensive as it is these days, everyone wants .22 LR version of their favorite guns, and Walther has answered the call with what is its most iconic gun, and one that continued into the wildly recent James Bond movie. Julie Mac, our host, is an avid handgun shooter and loved the feel of this gun. Walther is flying on their own again and it looks to be an exciting first year.

The Aimpoint Patrol Optic was designed for the US Military and carries a street price of $453. They can’t make enough of them because of the worldwide reputation for Aimpoint quality and durability. This year Aimpoint has opened up the sale of this high demand sight to all of its dealers, not just Law Enforcement (known as LE) dealers. If you are looking for an up-head read dot sight for your AR-15, the Aimpoint Patrol Optic is going to be the one you want to shop last. Be careful online buying Aimpoint. There are cheap copies out there that are not Aimpoints and they are absolute junk. Nobody is selling real Aimpoints at less than retail prices, because the demand is so high that they had to re-purpose an entire factory just to make more of this one Patrol Optic, and it is still backordered. Only a real Aimpoint is a real Aimpoint, so beware and don’t be tricked by non-Aimpoint dealers selling fakes. Also check out the new Blaser mount for the Aimpoint hunting sight. We haven’t actually tested it in hand, but it is said to return to zero when you remove and re-attach the mount. No word on the price yet, but if you shoot a Blaser this is an exciting development. That hunting sight is great choice for North American game. There are a lot of red dots on the market, but there is only one Aimpoint, and they are the world leader.

Maturing your gun tastes doesn’t necessarily mean that you go more expensive and more advanced. Cool guns date back to the 1700s, and though you may think that the AR-15 is the ultimate in firepower, in 1836 the five shot Colt Patterson was all the rage. The history of guns is the history of America itself, and thanks to several firearm manufacturers in Italy, we can all visit what it meant to fire a gun from the American Revolution through the Wild West just the way they did, with full power combat loads.

F. LLI Pietta is celebrating your 50th Anniversary making mostly percussion guns from the Civil War era. A few years back they started making cartridge guns as well, in the pattern of the 1873 Colt Peacemaker, and they are heavily involved in Cowboy Action Shooting in Italy as well as here in the US. Several of the guns in our article “A Handgun When you Can’t Buy a Handgun” were made by Pietta (including the engraved Pattersons), and in all the years that those guns have been shot, in and out of SASS competition, not one of them has failed. The finishes have never flaked and the engraving is as sharp and crisp as they day they were made.

This year Pietta has introduced a new enameling in their popular Lemat revolver, which they have made since 1985. If you have never seen a Lemat, it is quite a dandy. Nine .36 caliber barrels surround a roughly 16 gauge shotgun barrel, and the entire thing is the size of a hand cannon. Invented in New Orleans in 1856, the Lemat was carried by several famous Civil War generals, and it has been featured in several movies. Watch the videos we have posted here to see how the artists at Pietta are actually making these works of art.

Also appearing in the Pietta catalog this year is one of their ’73 cartridge guns set up on a “Bridgeport Rig.” This is a belt clip system made for gunslingers in the old west that both secured the firearm and held it ready for quick firing from the belt, no holster required. Don’t know if these are legal for SASS so you’ll have to contact the powers that be first if you intend to use them.

The biggest secret in rifleslings is the Kodiak Sling from Limbsaver. You probably know this company for their damping technology and sights in the archery business, but they have secretely created the best riflesling ever made as well. You have seen our Kodiak sling on the Ambush Rifle we use all the time in our hunting articles with our guide Dwayne Powell at Kissimee River Hunt & Fish, and now they have come out with a lighter version that uses nylon instead of rubber for much of the non-bearing surfaces. Something as simple as a riflesling isn’t usually a big story, but these slings have a handle on them, made of rubber, so you have a firm place to hold the weight of your arm up as you walk along with your rifle. They sell these at most big box stores and a lot of stocking gun dealers, so stop and try one. Also check out the new AR accessories. They have a front grip with a riflestock profile. Neat stuff from Limbsaver for 2013. Note that if you order the Kodiak online, the “crossbow” sling is the same as the rifle sling and is easier to find.

In a gunfight microseconds count. Turning on a laser can cost you a bunch of time, so several of the laser companies have come up with different ways to turn on the laser instinctively, without a separate thought operation required. Viridian’s take on it is the Tac-Loc holster, which they call an Enhanced Combat Readiness technology. Marketing terminology aside, the holster actual turns on the laser as you draw it, so you don’t have to put your finger in a certain place and press, and you don’t have to hold the gun in any particular way for the laser to go on. We have not tested this in house, so this Media Day at the range outing was the first we got at it in actual use. If you have been wondering how it actually works, it works great, but be aware that not all of their units fit all of the holsters. If you already have a Viridian green laser, make sure it actually fits the Tac-Loc holster before you buy one. We should have more stuff from Viridian this week. This is kind of a follow up to the introduction at last year’s SHOT Show because we haven’t actually gotten our hands on one over the course of the year.