|
|
December 24th, 2009
From Ivy League to smaller schools, the National Shooting Sports Foundation has provided 16 colleges and universities with early Christmas presents — grants to help more students get involved in the shooting sports. Among the grant recipients are Harvard University, Clemson University, the University of Vermont, and Hillsdale College. “NSSF is making these grants available in response to a growing interest in the shooting sports on campuses across the country,” said Zach Snow, NSSF’s senior shooting promotions coordinator. “Graduates of scholastic shooting programs like the NSSF-developed Scholastic Clay Target Program want to continue participating in their favorite sport when they go off to college, and once there, they’re eager to introduce new friends, classmates and faculty to this lifetime activity. At the same time, collegiate shooting programs help create a positive image for the shooting sports and firearms ownership.”
A total of $109,500 in grant money was awarded for new and existing shooting programs at the schools. Harvard University, for example, will use its grant to revive the Harvard Shooting Club, founded in 1883, and which has been dormant since 2003; raise awareness of the shooting sports within Harvard community and general public; and host firearms education events on campus. READ MORE about the 16 schools and their plans for their grant awards. Find more information on NSSF’s College Shooting Sports Initiative at www.nssf.org/college.
December 24th, 2009
Ed’s Public Safety, a gunshop in Georgia, has published photos of the New “Gen 4″ Glock handguns. The much-ballyhooed design changes for the Gen 4 Glocks are interesting, but hardly revolutionary. As expected, the new Glocks will have interchangeable backstraps. That’s probably a good thing.
CLICK HERE for more Gen 4 Glock photos
Other noteworthy changes in the Gen 4 Glocks are a dual recoil spring, and an interchangeable magazine release that can be moved from right to left. The dual spring is a more modern design that may reduce perceived recoil somewhat. The mag release change is smart and makes the gun more user-friendly for southpaws. Glock is making new magazines for the Gen 4 Glocks that work with the interchangeable mag release. Older magazines can still be used with the new Gen 4 Glocks, but only when the mag release button is positioned on the left.
Design Change — Too Little, Too Late?
Unfortunately, with either of the two provided backstraps, Glock’s Gen 4 grip is still fat and blocky compared to many other pistols. Also the Gen 4 Glocks retain the prominent “backstrap bulge” or flare in the bottom 1/3 of the grip’s back edge. For many shooters this “Glock bulge” causes the gun to point poorly, and for this Editor, that bulge also causes the gun to twist more on recoil (since it pushes against one side of the base of the shooting hand). The first thing done by companies that modify Glock grips is to reduce the flare or bulge in the bottom of the grip. That makes the grip much more user-friendly for smaller hands. In this Editor’s opinion the bottom rear section of the Glock grip was an ergonomic mistake when it came out in 1982 and the Gen 4 redesign really does nothing to correct the flaw. The interchangeable backstraps are just a poor “band-aid fix” when a more fundamental redesign was needed.
Overall, we think that most of the Gen 4 design changes are positive, or at worst “neutral”, but this may be a case of “too little, too late”. We doubt if the redesigned Glock is sufficiently improved to grab much market share back from the Smith & Wesson M&P series and other handguns whose sales have cut into Glock’s lucrative police contracts and civilian sales. The Gen 4 Glocks offer a modest ergonomic improvement over previous models, but they still not as well-designed ergonomically as Smith’s M&P. We doubt that police agencies which have switched to M&Ps will find reason to go back to Glocks anytime soon — unless, of course, Glock radically drops its prices, which is unlikely.
December 23rd, 2009
 At the current Biathlon World Cup event in Slovenia, American Tim Burke earned the yellow bib signifying that he is the current leader in the Biathlon World Cup. This is the first time an American has EVER been the overall leader in this prestigious Biathlon series. Tim now ranks among the elite biathletes who could win Gold at the upcoming Vanouver Olympic games. Tim Burke is a remarkable athlete who has overcome serious medical issues: “It wasn’t at all an easy way for me. But I think those down times were important as well for taking step by step forward to where I am now. I had a major hip surgery in 2002 and I wasn’t sure if I would continue to be a biathlete after that and [mononucleosis] took me out the whole 2004 season.”
CLICK HERE to learn more about the U.S. Biathlon team at biathlon.teamusa.org
Before Slovenia, Tim Burke made history twice at the previous World Cup event in Ostersund, Sweden. His silver medal performance in the 20km Individual competition tied the best World Cup finish ever for a U.S. Biathlete and Tim followed that performance by capturing the bronze medal in the Men’s 10km sprint event. Burke’s bronze medal marked the first time a U.S. Biathlete has ever reached the podium in the sprint competition — and the first time that Americans have won silver and bronze medals in the same competition.
In the major World Cup competition leading up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Team USA has gained world attention. The U.S. Biathlon team has been called the most improved team in the world by Olympic and Biathlon experts. Michael Dixon, Eurosport TV Biathlon Commentator, reports: “The United States Biathlon Team is the most improved in the world. It won’t be long before a moment of brilliance brings them to the podium for their first Olympic medal.” The YouTube slideshow below shows the USA Biathlon Team in action. NOTE: If you’re at work, you may want to turn down the speaker volume before playback.
“Biathlon is a sport that captivates and fascinates nearly all who see it”, commented Max Cobb, Executive Director of the U.S. Biathlon Association. “The world-class Biathlete attempts to combine the physically demanding sport of cross-country skiing with the intense precision of rifle marksmanship. The opposing disciplines collide with unique drama at the shooting range. With hearts pounding nearly three times a second, athletes struggle to control their breathing as they attempt to hold their rifles steady and squeeze off a successful shot, knowing that each shot, and the number of seconds it takes to make it, will determine who stands on the podium.”
December 23rd, 2009
 A new digital powder dispenser just hit the market. Priced at just $205.99 (at Grafs.com), the new Smartreloader iSD Digital Powder Scale & Dispenser, is about $100.00 less expensive than RCBS’s popular ChargeMaster. Designed in Italy, the Smartreloader iSD dispenser has the ability to work with either 110 volt (American) or 220 volt (European) power supplies.
The new Smartreloader iSD has some impressive features, such as fast calibration and a selectable trickle function. We hope to get our hands on one soon so we can comparison-test it against an RCBS Chargemaster. You can learn more about this new powder dispenser at Smartreloadermfg.com. General specs are very similar to the Chargemaster: the iSD scale has a maximum capacity of 1,500 grains and has claimed accuracy of ±0.1 grains. You can store up to 50 loads in internal memory, and users can select four (4) different measurement units: grams, grains, carats, or ounces.
Where can you find this new powder dispenser? Supplies are very limited right now, but in the USA, Smartreloader-branded products will be carried by Cabelas.com, Grafs.com, Midsouth Shooters Supply, and Cabelas.com. The worldwide distributor of Smartreloader products is H.T. Helvetica Trading, a Swiss-based company. CLICK HERE for a list of Smartreloader vendors in other countries.
December 22nd, 2009
 The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) has issued an interesting report charting gun sales by region. Southerners like handguns, and those in the Great Lakes states purchase the most shotguns by far. In 2008, southern Atlantic states led per capita in handgun purchases and also accounted for 31.4 % of all handguns bought in the United States. East north central states led per capita in shotgun purchases and accounted for 33.4 % of shotguns sold.
The Mountain states led per capita in rifle purchases and accounted for 10.7 percent of rifles sold. But the South Atlantic states’ residents buy the most rifles overall — 22% of the nationwide total. It is interesting that the Pacific states (California, Oregon, Washington) encompass 14.7% of the U.S. population, but that region accounts for only 10% of rifles and shotguns sold. On the other hand, Pacific states’ residents buy 14.2% of all handguns, the second highest figure among regions. Maybe all those crazy gun control laws in California haven’t made things any safer, and people feel the need to arm themselves.
Download Full Report on Firearm Sales by Region (PDF File)
December 21st, 2009
 |
This is potentially big news for short-range Benchresters and for varminters who shoot PPC variants. Norma has resumed production of 6PPC brass — at least on a prototype basis. NOTE: We don’t have many specifics. Norma has not firmly committed to exporting production 6PPC brass to the USA, nor has Norma announced a product release date. However, we received the following email today:
“After some work Norma has just started production of 6 PPC cases again. A new double-press has been installed which allows us to work-harden the case better. Internal tests are promising and we wonder if you would be interested to test a bunch.”
That’s it… we’ve shared all that we know for now. |
December 21st, 2009
 As many of you know, there is a concerted effort in the United Nations to adopt an international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) regulating civilian small arms. The Treaty would extend, and make binding, the restrictions of the U.N. Firearms Protocol adopted in 2004. This effort has been lead by the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), funded by billionaire George Soros. IANSA’s director is Rebecca Peters, a radical anti-gunner from Australia. Under Peters’ leadership, anti-gun coalitions convinced Australian politicians to ban semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, as well as confiscate and destroy nearly 700,000 weapons.
The proposed international small arms treaty has been pushed by representatives of many foreign nations. Related efforts to restrict civilian arms have been supported by European countries, such as Great Britain, which donated $2,000,000 to IANSA in 2001.
The details of this story are revealed in the video below, produced by NRANews. The video is an advocacy piece opposing interference by the United Nations and other countries in U.S. firearms policies. Keep in mind that this NRA video is deliberately alarmist — it intends to make the situation appear more dire than it may truly be… for now. Blue-helmeted storm troopers are not going to break down your door tomorrow.
Nonetheless, the video reveals many important facts which American gun owners should understand. This video includes interviews with leaders of gun rights groups in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. Their experiences are very telling… they have seen the effect of sweeping gun confiscations. The producers of this video believe that an international treaty could defeat Second Amendment rights in the United States. That may be an extremist view — the Constitution would still remain the law of the land. But the video is worth watching.
December 20th, 2009
The CMP has made a special purchase of a limited number of KOWA TS-501 20X spotting scopes, specifically designed for Rimfire and Air Rifle usage. These 20-power scopes are available for $280.00 plus S&H (or $250.00 for CMP-Affiliated clubs) through the CMP online E-Store. See item 832 under the “Equipment & Accessories” tab. You can also purchase the Kowas at the CMP’s two “brick and mortar” stores.
Kowa 20×50 Spotting Scope – Item ID: 832
TS-501 Offset 45 Degree, gray body
50mm objective lens and a built-in 20X eyepiece.
Focusing Range: 19.68 to Infinity
Scope Length: 9.6 inches
Scope Weight: 14.8 oz
Specifically designed for Rimfire and Air Rifle usage.
December 19th, 2009
Two S&W Performance Center revolvers have been recalled by Smith & Wesson due to potentially dangerous manufacturing defects. The model 460PC is being recalled due to potential barrel failure, while the Model 329PC has been recalled due to possible frame damage during manufacturing.
Performance Center Model 460 Revolver Recall
Smith & Wesson has received four (4) reports of barrel failures involving its Performance Center Model 460 revolvers. These barrels were manufactured by an outside supplier. S&W found that the quality of steel in some of these barrels was sub-standard and may have contributed to failure of the barrel. Model 460PC owners should stop using the revolvers and return them immediately to Smith & Wesson.
This recall applies to Performance Center Model 460 revolvers shipped by the Smith & Wesson Performance Center prior to September 18, 2006. This recall does NOT apply to Smith & Wesson standard production Model 460 revolvers. The affected revolvers can be identified by the following Serial Number Range: EBD0001 – EBD0524, EBF0002 – EBF0251, LHZ0000 – LHZ0511, LLL0000 – LLL0702, LRR0001 – LRR0552, MMM0001 – MMM1809, XMC0001 – XMC0109
Performance Center Model 329 Revolver Recall
Smith & Wesson has issued a recall for the limited edition model 329 revolver. This safety recall notice applies to 270 revolvers manufactured at the Performance Center bearing serial numbers ranging from BVA0004 to BVA0210 and DEW0001 to DEW0099.
S&W states: “It has been determined that damage to the frame may have occurred during assembly of the single-piece barrel. As a result, there exists the possibility that the revolver may rupture during firing, causing a failure of the firearm and creating a risk of personal injury.” NOTE: This safety recall notice does not apply to the model 329 PD. The model 329 PD is designed with a two-piece barrel.
December 18th, 2009
What may be the very first production, civilian Bushmaster Adaptive Combat Rifle (ACR) was presented to Florida shooter J. James, who was the winner of an Advanced Armament Corp. (AAC) silent auction for the rifle (with AAC silencer). AAC was recently acquired by Remington Arms Co. as a Cerberus Freedom group company, along with Bushmaster. That’s how AAC got its hands on the first civilian ACR. The upper receiver is stamped S/N GR00100 and “MODEL – BACR”. Interestingly, the rifle is also stamped “CALIBER – MULTI”. Everybody has been clamoring for photos of the actual production version of the ACR. Well, here they are.
James had the weapon professionally photographed, and posted the images on Photobucket.com and AR15.com.
Links to other photos:
Left Side | Right Side | Grip | Stocks | Gas Block | Lower with Fixed Stock | Lower and Fire Control Group | Barrel with Piston Kit
The new ACR features a 16″ barrel with m4 profile. A 4th Generation rail system offers removable Picatinny rails. James’ gun came with two (2) stocks, both the new-style, spring-lock folder and the fixed stock. The charging handle is ambi-dextrous and can be flipped left or right, as well as up and down. James reports that the ACR exhibits good fit and function. He says the trigger is “100% better than the SCAR” and is very crisp.
|
