End the War on Freedom

Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Savage has a new, modular, bolt-action sniper rifle, chambered in .308. And boy, can it shoot! Comes as the 10 BAS-K, with an adjustable M4 stock, for $1,852, or the 10 BAT-SK, with a fancy multi-adjustable stock, for $1,991. Both come with the Savage AccuTrigger™ and AccuStock™ a scope and accessory mounting rail, a muzzle break, fluted 24" barrel, and a 10-round removable magazine.

Remington has wrapped an AR body around their Model 597 semi-auto .22 rifle and dubbed it the Model 597 VTR. Price not listed.

They're also chambering their Model R-15 VTR, formerly available only in .223 Rem and .204 Ruger, for a new cartridge, the Remington 30 AR. MSRP $1,225.

Accurate Shooter has a SHOT Show report on the R-15 and the new 30AR ammo. It's short and fat and holds 44 grains of H20, pushing 125 grains at 2800fps. Not quite .308 energy (125/150 = 5/6 = 83%), but close, and plenty powerful enough for deer or other thin-skinned prey.

Ruger has introduced their very own AR. 16" barrel, piston-driven, adjustable gas regulator, telescoping stock, Magpul 30-round magazines, Troy Industries folding sights and quad rail guardrail and covers. Available only in 5.56mm NATO/.223. $1,995. Product page.

Legacy Sports is selling a Puma-labeled short-barreled rifle, made by Chiappa Firearms in Italy. 12" barrel, short stock, loop lever, available in .45 Colt, .44-40 or .44 Magnum. $1,250. It's legally a handgun, so no NFA rules apply. Cool. [shotgunnews]

FullAutoClassics.com is selling a folding, self-concealing 9mm submachine gun. It uses Uzi magazines, fires 650 rounds per minute, and is legally transferrable, since the receivers were manufactured before 1986. Only 65 available. $12,500. Videos at the link. [shotgunnews]

Joel Simon says that dollar-store shaving cream cans make great reactive targets.

Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Jeff got to shoot Ruger's new, black, Mini-14, which I blogged back in January. It shoots 1.5" groups at 100 yards with 75 grain bullets. Not so good with lighter fare. But was rock solid reliable for him. [gunblast]

As I said before, adjustable folding stock. Pistol grip. 20-round magazine. Ghost ring aperture sight. Picatinny rail. 16" barrel. 7.25 lbs. $872.

My CRKT Steve Ryan folder went missing, so I ordered a new pocket knife from KnifeCenter.com. After much investigating, and viewing of photos and videos, I chose the medium-sized Cold Steel Espada. It has a 3.5" blade and Cold Steel's new multi-panted Tri-Ad locking mechanism. It was the sound of the lock engaging in the Cold Steel video that closed the deal for me. Here's the KnifeCenter page. There are a few places on the net that offer the knife for less, but I've had good luck with KnifeCenter, and their 40% discount off of list was good enough. The photos below show it with my Condor Jungle Bowie (10" blade) and by itself. Click on any image for a high-resolution version. The Espada clips nicely into my back pocket, and opens easily with my right thumb. The only way I've found to close it with one hand is to depress the lock release with the thumb and close the blade by pressing against a flat surface. Using my leg as that surface is iffy, however, since the point is very, very sharp. It also has no rough place for the thumb on top, but given how far back the grip is from the blade, I think it won't matter. Time will tell.

Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Savage does it again. They led the world with their AccuTrigger a few years back, and now they've revolutionized the stock with their AccuStock. Jeff got half inch groups at 100 yards with hunting, not match, ammo. Available as the 11FCNS in 22-250 Rem, 243 Win, 7mm-08 Rem, 308 Win, 270 WSM, 300 WSM, 223 Rem, 204 Ruger, or as the 111FCNS in 25-06 Rem, 270 Win, 30-06 Spfld, 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag, 338 Win Mag, and in other models. MSRP of $656 for the 11 & 111 models, or $682 for the WSM calibers. I couldn't find it at GalleryOfGuns.com, so I can't quote a street price, but Savage rifles usually sell for a discount on the MSRP. [gunblast]

I used to have a swinging metal ram target that I shot at in my yard with .22 CB rounds. Hardly louder than a pellet gun out of Henry lever rifle, but loads of fun. It disappeared. Ground ate it, or something. Google to the rescue. Right at the top of the result list for a search for "metal spinning targets" is metaltargets.com. So I bought a three spinning targets set. Shot at them for the first time yesterday. It was a blast. They also make spinning targets out of heavy metal for magnum pistols or full-power rifles. I ordered mine on Tuesday, and they arrived on Thursday. It helps that they're just half-way across New York state from me, but they did their part getting my shipment in the mail.

Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Jeff reviews the third generation of lightweight folding .223-caliber semi-automatic rifles from Kel-Tec CNC in Florida. Kel-Tec lists it at $770.

Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Marlin has a new, short-barreled (18.5") lever rifle chambered in .45-70. Jeff says it works well with a wide variety of ammo. Stainless steel. Comes with a ghost ring rear and front post, and sports a rail for mounting a scope. Has a big loop lever, easily workable with gloved hands. Full-length magazine tube holds six rounds. Nice. Marlin's page. Listed at Gallery of Guns for an MSRP of $978.45. Currently out of stock.

David E. Petzal at Field & Stream - good advice, should you ever find yourself needing to defend yourself from goblins. From Drill Sergeant Joe B. Fricks.

Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - another pocket pistol, this time from Kahr, who list it at $649, or $758 with Tritium night sights. 6+1, DAO.

Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Magnum Research is now shipping the smallest .380 pocket pistol that Mr. Quinn has seen. 3.72" x 4.552" overall, with a 2.3" barrel. $535. Holds six in the mag and one in the pipe. [gunblast]

Dillon Aero makes the M134 Gattling Gun, which can fire 7.62mm NATO at 3,000 rounds per minute, typically fed from a 3,000 or 4,400 round magazine. They are mounted on helicopters, a number of US army vehicles, ships in the US and British fleet, and, according to this YouTube video, embedded below, Dillon Tactical Vehicles are used in the US presidential motorcade. [tmm]

Gunblast has their yearly photo-fest from the SHOT show. "Media Day" (1/14) and Day 1 (1/15) are up. Days 2 and 3 will come tomorrow and Sunday evenings.

Ruger is introducing at the S.H.O.T. show a Mini-14 rifle that looks to me like it could compete with the AR-15. Adjustable folding stock. Pistol grip. 20-round magazine. Ghost ring aperture sight. Picatinny rail. 16" barrel. 7.25 lbs. $872.

Jeff Quinn at Gunblast - Ruger introduces at tht S.H.O.T. Show, which begins tomorrow, a new Lightweight Compact Revolver (LCR) whose frame is half aluminum and half high-tech polymer. Ruger's web site says it goes on sale March 1. 5 rounds. Nice trigger. 13.5 ounces (13.0 with Crimson Trace® Lasergrip®). MSRP $525 ($792 with Crimson Trace® Lasergrip®). Pocket, inside pant, and belt holsters available. [gunblast]

Jeff Quinn at Gunblast gives Armalite's AR-180b a second review. Armalite has improved this semi-auto .223-caliber gas piston rifle since his first review. Armalite lists the AR-180b for $852. The AR-180b has a unique scope mount. If you'd prefer a standard Piccatinny rail, Stormwekz has two options, for $60 & $75. [gunblast]