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Trends in today’s firearms market can sometimes be recognized early in competitive shooting sports. If you want the fastest and most durable add-ons for your rig, watch what the top competitors use. It costs a lot of money to attend matches, buy bullets, and keep up with equipment, so more often than not the professionals will use quality gear that runs reliably and holds up to the abuse of matches and travel. Although the XRAIL Mono tube has only been widely available for a year, you will find that most professionals shooting competitively are outfitted with a mono tube from Roth Concept Innovations that increases the shell capacity of their shotguns. The factory magazine tube found on most shotguns is typically one piece that goes from the receiver to the end of the forend. To add shell capacity, an extension must be placed on top of the factory tube. This design works, but XRAIL has a better solution that was made to win.

Meopta’s sight called the M-RAD, or Meopta Rapid Acquisition Dot, reflex sight looks similar to many high-end reflex optics, but what stands out is that it is quite a bit smaller. At first glance, I thought it was a pistol sight but then realized it is a combat rifle setup. The M-RAD weighs 3.07 ounces (or 105 grams), compared to an EoTech XPS that weighs 8 ounces, but it is solidly made of aluminum. The unit is strong, and the reticle itself is surrounded by an aluminum frame for protection from being banged around. Weight is important because after hours or days of carrying a rifle around, you will find that trimming off every ounce you can is a huge benefit. It comes equipped with a picatinny mount that quickly attached with a lever/cam-style mount that was very effective and kept it on tight. It released easily, and seemed to keep zero well. The M-RAD is easy to operate with one simple button, and the system is waterproof and compatible with night vision technology. The extremely useful support package supplied with the sight holds everything, including tools, spare batteries and cleaning supplies for the optic. There are additional spacers to raise the sight higher for a proper sight picture, tools to adjust the sight and even a specially designed screwdriver for opening the battery compartment. Overall, this is a smaller unit that is both rugged and lightweight, and it performs well.

In 2008, the DEA, ATF made plans to track and monitor gun show attendees, according to a recent letter obtained by the ACLU.

In this short-action version of the AR, Armalite shortened the receiver and has changed the forestock to get a shorter bolt action. The rifle has a 24-inch barrel and uses AR 10B magazines.

Leupold has long been associated with quality scopes at reasonable price points. In the words of their founder, Fred Leupold, “the customer is entitled to a square deal.” That remains a guiding principal as Leupold continues to develop and improve their line of scopes. They had an improved Delta Point 2 reflex sight for handguns and shotguns at their show booth, but their biggest news this year was the brand new VX-6 7-42x56mm rifle scope. It is so new, in fact, that the design hasn’t been completely finalized. Here’s what we know: it’s the highest variable power scope they’ve ever made, it has their Extended Twilight lens system for increased light transmission, the MSRP will be in the $2,200 range, and they expect to start shipping scopes in 4-6 weeks.

Tapco makes low-priced aftermarket parts for a lot of different guns. They define the value-oriented end of the customization market. And the R&D teams can turn around products fast. The latest offering, and one that will fly off the shelves, is a tactical stock set for Ruger’s 10/22 Takedown, one of the most versatile configurations of the venerable rimfire ever made.

3D printing is definitely the wave of the future in manufacturing. However, for the most part, what we’ve seen is novelty items or non-serviceable experiments exploring the limits of the process. As far as I know, TacStar, one of the Lyman family of brands specializing in tactical accessories, is the first company in our industry to bring a 3D printed item to market. The newest product is an AR-15 Adjustable Match Rifle Stock. This is not a toy. It’s a well engineered stock that allows you to customize the length of pull and comb height to ensure that your AR fits you perfectly. A properly fitting gun, of course, allows you to shoot your best.

Chiappa Firearms https://www.chiappafirearms.com/ Chiappa Firearms, best known for their quasi steampunk looking Rhino revolvers, had a shotgun/rifle combo at SHOT this year that the survivalists out among us will surely take note of. The X-Caliber is a folding stock, over-under, shotgun rifle. The basic form of the long gun is a 12 gauge shotgun barrel [...]

The SHOT Show is literally acres and acres of guns. The physical space is comparable to a suburban mall made up of gun stores. With so much to see, so many triggers to fiddle with, some of the real innovation can be hard to see. I first ran into the geniuses behind MyCaseBuilder.com at last year’s NRA convention. I found them again at SHOT, and they’re showing off something truly revolutionary. You can now take a picture of your gun (or whatever you’d like) and their software will convert that photo into a 3D pattern that can be cut in foam.