SHOT Show 2013

Inside-the-waistband carry, or IWB, is considered one of the most discreet concealed-carry methods, making a T-shirt and shorts possible while carrying in places like my sunny Southern California. Even larger weapons can disappear on your body when quietly tucked into your waistband.

Versa Carry has been coming up with a lot of innovative ideas on ways to secure a handgun inside the waistband, and its latest is a small J-frame revolver setup.

This story came as a tip from our friend Carrie Lightfoot at The Well Armed Woman. There are a ton of “CCW purses ” out there, but most of them were made by men and don’t work at all. We almost covered a company last year that made a purse that worked like a raccoon trap. You could put a woman size hand into the gun pouch on the side, but once you grabbed that shiny gun, you couldn’t get it out. Carrie is working on a series of articles for us here at GunsAmerica, and she will be the first to tell you that carrying a gun in a purse isn’t for everyone. You have to make sure that bag stays with you at all times and is in your complete control, but in some modes of dress, bag carry is one of a short list of options, and possibly the most sensible one. Of all the bag companies that have courted Carrie, to sell them on TWAW, Gun Tote’n Mamas is the one she likes the most. They have a huge assortment of bags for just about every taste and mode of dress, and the gun parts work, which is the most important thing.

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 XD(M) was originally designed as a service handgun, but when it quickly caught on in competitive shooting’s Service Divisions, Springfield Armory decided to make a good thing even better. Small touches like a longer barrel and sight radius, fiber-optic front sight with a color selected to improve contrast with the targets used in competitive shooting and lightening cut atop the slide—just behind the front sight—make the XD(M) Competition Series a whole different gun. XD(M) Competition Series pistols come with a 5.25-inch, match-grade barrel instead of the standard XD(M) barrel lengths of 3.8 and 4.5 inches. For a limited time they are shipping with three magazines, instead of two. All of the Competition Series features a higher-visibility red fiber-optic, but a green pipe is included in case that color works better for the shooter. The rear target sight is fully adjustable and the sight radius has been increased to 7.25 inches. The XD(M) Competition Series is available in 9 mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP. All are 8.3 inches in length, 5.75 inches tall, and the 9 mm tips the scales at 29 ounces, with the .40 S&W and .45 ACP coming in at 32 ounces. Magazine capacity is 19 in 9 mm, 16 in .40 S&W and 13 in .45 ACP. Finishes available are black and bi-tone.

Hornady has introduced an all new line called the American Whitetail. Its red-and-and-blue packaging is easy to spot and the company is loading some of the most proven cartridge/bullet weight combinations for hunters inside. Cartridges include .243 Win. (100-grain bullet), .25-’06 Rem. (117 grain), .270 Win. (130 grain), 7 mm-08 Rem. (139 grain), 7 Rem. Mag. (139 grain), .30-30 Win. (150 grain), .308 Win. (150 grain), .30-’06 Sprg. (150 grain) and .300 Win. Mag. (150 grain). All are loaded with the company’s time-tested InterLock bullets. Those who carry will be glad to know Hornady also introduced Critical Defense loads for new chamberings. Often leave your .32 NAA at home because you’re worried about the bullet’s terminal performance? Hornady now has you covered with an 80-grain FTX bullet that comes from the muzzle at 1,000 fps. Also added to the Critical Defense line was .32 H&R Mag. (80-grain bullet), a special pink-tipped .38 Spl. LITE load (90-grain FTX bullet at 1,200 fps, and part of the proceeds from each sale are being donated to breast cancer research), and my personal favorite, a .410 Critical Defense 2 1/2-inch shotshell. It begins with the proven performance of Hornady’s FTX bullet (.41-caliber), but behind it a pair of .35-caliber, high-antimony lead round balls nearly ensure fight-stopping performance at close range. All loads in the Critical Defense line employ the company’s proven Flex Tip technology.

The Smith & Wesson M&P Pro Series has become extremely popular with competitive shooters, and this year the company has added something new with four CORE (Competition Optics Ready Equipment) versions. The CORE system allows easy mounting of a variety of red-dot optics often seen on the firing line, including the Trijicon RMR, Leupold Delta Point, Jpoint, Docter, C- More, STS and Insight MRDS. Pro Series guns that have received the CORE treatment at the custom shop include M&P9, M&P9L, M&P40L and M&P40. All COREs have an MSRP of $729 and the iron sights are raised to co-witness with the optic, which means if your red-dot goes down, you’re not out of the game. The three provided palmswell grip sizes also have newly enhanced texturing for positive grip during those long stages. For most shooters, though, the biggest news from Smith & Wesson comes in the newly introduced M&P10 rifle. Two versions will be available at first, an all-black model and a camouflage hunting version. Both have an ambidextrous safety, bolt release and magazine release, as well as 18-inch barrels with one-in-ten-inch twist 5R rifling. The tactical version has an overall length of 41 inches with the stock extended and 37.75 inches with it collapsed. It weighs 8.2 pounds and ships with a 20-round magazine. The hunting version ships with a five-round magazine and has a fixed Magpul stock that gives it a 37.5-inch length. Both are chambered in .308 Win. and the camo version has an MSRP of $1,729. Smith & Wesson hasn’t announced the 20-round version’s price yet.

Shotguns can be one of the best home-defense firearms around, but Century International Arms is now importing a whole new level of intruder intimidation. The Catamount Fury shotgun chambers 2 3/4- and 3-inch shotshells, its box magazine has a five-shell capacity, barrel length is 20 1/8 inches, it has fixed rifle sights, and, just in case you need to modify that pattern, it comes with full, modified or cylinder choke tubes. The semi-automatic shotgun runs on a gas-piston system, the top cover comes off easily for maintenance/cleaning and coupled with the a light rail under the barrel, any bad guy you hold at bay with this thing is going to need to change his underwear before he’s booked. The Fury has an overall length of 42.5 inches and the also-new Fury II comes in a bit more nimble at 10.75 inches. In handguns, the company is rolling out the CZ999, chambered in either 9 mm or .40 S&W. Both have four-inch barrels and you can also expect to see a more compact version in .40 S&W. Century International Arms is also offering Zastava M70 and M85 Mauser-style rifles with hinged floorplates, English walnut stocks and adjustable sights in left-handed versions. All come drilled and tapped for scope mounting. If you’ve been yearning for a more classic look, consider the company’s Zastava M70s that are now available with Mannlicher-style stocks.