Competition

Last year, the release of the M&P 2.0 family of pistols was one of the biggest stories fo the year. Unlike other companies, Smith and Wesson seemed to listen to every customer critique over the preceding 10 years and fixed every one of them in the 2.0. Not some, spaced over the next 3 generations. All of them. Right now. Ready go.

There’s no real way to know what you or your firearm are capable of without adequate training. As Jim Mora so famously quipped after his football team suffered a blowout loss, “You think you know, but you have no idea.” And that’s exactly what you find as you start to train with others more competent than yourself — you were never aware of just how much you didn’t know.

Freedom Munitions has been one of the success stories of the last decade, moving from a tadpole start-up to an industry leader. They are constantly breaking new ground, and always a pleasure to see what they have dreamed up now.

Blackhawk has been making tactical nylon for many years now, so you might think they have done it all. But this year, they still managed to squeak out some new designs, at a price that is right.

There were enough new ammo introductions at the 2018 SHOT Show in Las Vegas to cover ever shooter’s palate, from the long-range warrior to the competitive pistol champion. Several manufacturers introduced brand-spanking new offerings for newly developed cartridges, like Hornady’s Precision Hunter in 6.5 PRC and Federal Premium with the 224 Valkyrie. There’s been quite a few exciting additions for competition shooters, too, with range-friendly loads from Federal and Inceptor that are capable of knocking down steel targets while reducing splash back from projectiles. There was even quite an assortment of new shotgun loads for wingshooters and turkey hunters.

Down at the Kahr Arms booth, we got hands-on with the new hotness. Most of the changes for 2018 were cosmetic, with a healthy dose of John Tiegen signature series guns. These guns feature laser engraved logo’s for his charity, signature, and a very cool Kryptek pattern hydro dip on the frames. A portion of [...]

Syntech Ammunition was launched a few years back, specially designed as a high-quality training round. It keeps a lead core, but the jacket is polymer. The bullet is encased to keep any lead on steel contact from inside the gun, eliminating aerosolized lead and overall making a cleaner to shoot round. The construction also reduces splash back from steel targets.

Daniel Defense is no stranger to the AR platforms, they are among the leaders in the field. Arguably, they make the best rifles on the market today. From competition grade 7.62 all the way to the 5.56 upper of choice for SOCOM, they do AR’s right. But what about the pistol market?

Naming your latest handgun “The American Pistol” makes a pretty clear statement. Add to that the timing of the launch of this product line amidst the backdrop of a highly contentious Presidential campaign and a continuingly more divided American narrative, and it makes a loud and clear statement. Ruger is an American company that is dedicated to American values and to its American customers.