Bring the Bling, Baby! This Desert Eagle Mark XIX features a highly polished Gold-Tone Titanium Tiger Stripe finish. Conspicuous Consumption, SHOT Show Style.
There were literally thousands of handguns on display at SHOT Show, most of which you could hold, cycle, and test the trigger pull. Among the hordes of handguns, we found some very eye-catching examples, such as the Gold-tone Titanium plated “Tiger Stripe” Desert Eagle above. Just what a Rap Star or Tin-Pot Dictator needs. Below are some other interesting handguns we saw at SHOT Show 2017
Ed Brown Signature Edition Engraved 1911
This Ed Brown Signature Edition Model 1911 boasts elaborate engraving over the entire slide and frame. The blueing is rich and deep (the photo does not do it justice). This is not an “entry-level” handgun, that’s for sure — the wholesale “dealer price” is a whopping $6,156.00. Expect to pay well over $7000.00 at retail. Beauty ain’t cheap.
Smith & Wesson Performance Center 9mm Revolver with Hogue Mods
This handsome S&W Performance Center 9mm revolver features a beautiful Cocobolo and Walnut grip along with a special speed lever for the cylinder release. That speed lever assists rapid reloading of the pistol with moon clips. This kind of revolver is used in action shooting matches, such as the Bianchi Cup.
Best of the Old West — A Slew of Schofields
At the Taylor & Company booth, there were hundreds of single action revolvers on display. Here is a brace of top-break Schofields. This design features a hinge at the front of the frame which allows rapid unloading. Based on the original S&W Model 3, the “Schofield” model was named after Major George W. Schofield, who modified the original Model 3 to better serve the needs of Cavalrymen. Smith & Wesson incorporated the Major’s mods into an 1875 design that now bears Major Schofield’s name. S&W Model 3 Schofield revolvers saw service in the Indian Wars, and they were popular with legendary lawmen and outlaws in the American West (including Jesse James).
9mm 1911 — Havoc Dan Wesson Elite with Angled Reflex Sight
We like 1911s, and we like the 9mm Luger cartridge for its affordability and low recoil. Put the two together and you have a very accurate, shootable package, with a superb trigger. This bad-ass 9mm 1911 is a Dan Wesson Elite Series Havoc. It caught our eye because it boasts a C-MORE SlideRide red dot Reflex Sight mounted at an angle on the left side of the slide. Clever design — that gives you the advantage of the Red Dot Sight, with a lower profile. The Havoc, which sells for $4,299.00, is also offered in .38 Super.
Taurus Spectrum — A Pastel Pistol Fashion Statement
Apparently small carry guns have become fashion items. Tauras displayed its new .380 ACP Spectrum pistol in a rainbow of frame/grip color combinations. Along with white frame and blue grip, there were gray/tan, gray/green, gray/red, and gray/blue versions. Taurus really does deliver a spectrum of colors…
Double Trouble — Two Super-Sized Revolvers
At the Smith & Wesson booth, one visitor showed off two mega-sized S&W Performance Center hunting revolvers. These jumbo S&W500™ wheelguns, chambered for the mighty 500 S&W Magnum cartridge, feature massive 10.5″ barrels plus muzzle brakes. Overall length is 18″. Size counts right?
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If you are considering acquiring a revolver for fun shooting, self-defense, or competition, you should definitely watch this YouTube video. In this 23-minute presentation, legendary shooter Jerry Miculek puts three .357/.38 SPL wheelguns through their paces. Jerry, one of the greatest revolver shooters in history, hosts a “Revolver Showdown” with three popular wheelguns: 1) S&W L frame (3″ bbl); 2) Colt Python (6″ bbl); and 3) Ruger Speed Six (2.75″ bbl).
Smith & Wesson Model 686 Plus, L-Frame, 7-rd .357 Magnum/38 SPL, 3″ Barrel.
Testing at 10 Yards and 50 Yards
In the video, Jerry shoots all three revolvers rapid-fire, double-action at 10 yards. Then he shoots the three guns single-action, slow-fire at 50 yards (starting at time mark 7:19).
After his range session, Jerry examines nine medium frame revolvers, comparing and contrasting design features. Jerry considers these factors:
1. Accuracy
2. Balance and Handling
3. Speed and Sureness of Trigger Return (watch video at 3:45″ re Colt.)
4. Reliability
5. Barrel Twist Rate
6. Strength of Construction/Durability
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A California company, CaseCruzer, makes the nicest multi-pistol hard cases we’ve ever seen. With capacities from 3 pistols to 6 pistols, these lockable range cases hold handguns securely in angled “quick-draw” slots. In addition to the molded pistol carriers, there are slots for magazines together with a separate compartment for muffs, ammo, and other accessories. Starting at $240.00 MSRP for the Quick Draw 3-Pack, these boxes are expensive, but they offer great protection with great usability. Water-tight and dust-proof, CaseCruzer cases are airline approved (ATA 300).
4-Gun Case
The smart design of the “Quick Draw” CaseCruzer cases lets you keep your pistol locks in place during transport. There is enough clearance to stow the pistols securely even with bulky trigger-guard locks.
We really like rimfire revolvers here at AccurateShooter.com. A good .22 LR wheelgun will be fun, accurate, reliable, and inexpensive to shoot. Rimfire revolvers also offer much less recoil and noise than a centerfire pistol. Your Editor has owned a Smith & Wesson Model 617 for over 15 years. That old S&W has probably fired more rounds than all the other handguns I own, combined — yet it still runs flawlessly and still delivers excellent accuracy.
Ruger recently came out with a new, stainless .22 LR wheelgun to compete with the S&W Model 617. This new rimfire wheelgun is based on Ruger’s trusted GP100 platform. The new Ruger® GP100® chambered in .22 LR looks to be a good firearm — strong, versatile, and intelligently engineered. In the video above, Jeff Quinn of Gunblast.com tests the Ruger revolver and gives it high marks: “It’s a good hefty gun [42.6 oz.], but not overly large or heavy for a good trail gun. It’s just a really nice, well-made revolver from Sturm Ruger.” The gun Jeff tested had a 3.7-lb SA trigger pull and a 9.8-lb DA pull.
The .22 LR GP100 features a windage and elevation adjustable rear sight with a white outline, a light-gathering fiber optic front sight and the original full-size GP100 rubber grips with hardwood inserts. With all stainless-steel construction, the rimfire GP100 is easy to maintain. Just keep the cylinder chambers and barrel clean and this gun should run forever.
The 10-shot Ruger GP100 in .22 LR is a durable, well-engineered wheelgun. Ruger’s engineers optimized the GP100’s innards to deliver a smooth double-action pull: “The new GP100 has an improved fire-control system that uses a lighter mainspring than previous Ruger double-action .22 LR revolvers. A number of changes have been made to the GP100 to handle .22. One of which is we’ve done a lot of development on the firing pin location and geometries so that we’re able to put a lighter trigger pull in this gun than you would find in other .22 LR [handguns]. We’ve got a half-underlug barrel, and it’s a smaller diameter so the gun balances real well. We’ve added a narrow-spur hammer and a smooth trigger for comfortable shooting. This is a really comfortable gun to shoot”.
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Each day, on Facebook, the NRA National Firearms Museum showcases something special from the Museum collections. Recently the Museum displayed a trio of snakes — three very special Colt Pythons. From bottom to top, these three prized wheelguns are: Colt Python serial number 2, number 3, and number 5. And yes, that is the original box for Python #2 (at bottom). The museum says such low serial number guns were typically produced for a company executive or key members of the gun design team.
Loved for their beautiful finish, nice balance, and great trigger, Colt Pythons have proven to be excellent investments. Since the Colt Python was first introduced in 1955, Python prices have gone through the roof. A pristine, LNIB early-era Colt Python can now command $4000.00 or more. The Museum estimates the price of Pythons has risen 14,300% since 1955.
You can see hundreds of other interesting firearms on the National Firearm Museum website, www.NRAMuseums.com. Or, if you’re lucky, you can see the collections in person. The NRA now operates three Museum locations: the NRA National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia; the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum (at BassPro) in Springfield, MO; and the Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest in Raton, NM.
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Here are eleven of the more interesting products (and people) we saw on Day Two of SHOT Show. This is only the tip of the iceberg folks. With 12.5 miles of aisles, and over 1600 Exhibitor booths, we can only show a tiny fraction of the products on display. There are tactical rifles and gear everywhere in sight. We also found some interesting target systems and reloading tools. Stay tuned for more product previews tomorrow from SHOT Show at the Sands Convention Center.
Savage 10/110 BA Stealth
You asked for it — here it is — the new Savage 10/110 BA Stealth. This new rifle features a strong yet light aluminum chassis that accepts AR-compatible rear sections. Savage says the actions have been “factory blueprinted”. Available chamberings are: 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Winchester, .300 Win Magnum, and .338 Lapua Magnum. We shot this rifle, in .308 Win, at Media Day and we liked the ergonomics.
NEW Alliant Reloder 16 Powder
Alliant’s engineers showed us “top-secret” data charts comparing various popular powders. This new Reloder 16 is one of the most temp-stable propellants ever created. Burn rate is slightly faster than H4350. Initial accuracy results have been very promising. AccurateShooter.com will be testing this powder very soon. Stay tuned.
Savage A17 in Laminated Thumbhole Stock
Here is the 17 HMR Savage A17 in new laminated, thumbhole stock. We want one. The wood-stocked A17 balances well and feels good. This is a definite upgrade over the original plastic stock.
Vortex 6-24x50mm FFP Razor HD
Vortex unveiled a very impressive new tactical scope, the 6-24x50mm Razor HD. Vortex says this top-of-line optics was engineered to compete with anything on the market — including the big-name German brands. The glass was excellent, and we loved the fact the elevation turret offers a full 25 MOA of elevation in one rotation. Great feature.
Pardini Competition Air Rifle
Design for Olympics-level competition, this new Pardini is one of the most sophisticated air rifles ever made. It has a very sophisticated loading system that allow you to load pellets without changing your hold on the rifle. It was designed with input from Olympic Champion shooters.
Ken Oehler and the New System 88
Chronograph Guru Ken Oehler explained the capabilities of his “enterprise-grade” System 88. This combines a proof-channel chronograph at the firing line with sonic sensors at 1000 yards (and other distances in between if desired). This allows very precise calculation of true bullet BCs.
$38,000 JANZ Multi-Barrel, Multi-Caliber Revolver
You are looking at the world’s most expensive wheelgun, the JANZ multi-caliber system. Custom-built for each customer, this amazing revolver shoots multiple cartridge types — even rimfire. As far as we know this is the only revolver in the world that shoots .22 LR rimfire as well as centerfire cartridges up to .500 SW. The builder, JANZ-Praszisionstechnik GmbH, will craft the gun with as many barrels and cylinders as the owner wants. As shown in the photo, the price is around $38,000.
New Bullets from Sierra
Sierra Bullets had its new Tipped MatchKings on display, and well as the very impressive new 7mm 183-grain MatchKings, which are “tip-uniformed” at the factory. Lester Bruno shot some of these 183-grainers and said they held amazing waterline at 1000 yards, indicating that the bullet-to-bullet BC is very consistent. Listed G1 BC for the 183gr MK, SKU #1983, is .707.
Jerry Miculek, World’s Fastest Wheelgunner
We met up with the legendary Jerry Miculek at the Hornady Booth. The world’s fastest wheelgunner (and a darned good rifleman too) had fans lined up for autographs. What’s the secret to Jerry’s success? Hard work, hands of steel, and a positive attitude.
New Throat Erosion Gauge from PT&G
Pacific Tool and Gauge had a bunch of new products on display. One item that caught our eye was an interesting Throat Erosion Gauge. Index marks on the main shaft let you determine, with precision, how much your throat has moved. Screw-on, caliber-specific pilots let you gauge all popular calibers.
Sig Sauer 5-25x52mm “Whiskey 5″ SFP Scope
We were very impressed with Sig Sauer’s optics, which offer a lot of capability for the price. The new 5-25x52mm Whiskey 5 optic offers positive controls and a nice illuminated reticle center (good for low light). The “street price” is around $1200.00 – $1300.00. READ Full Review Here.
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C’mon admit it — you’d love to have one of these on your work desk or loading bench. The aluminum cylinder holds six (6) pens in 0.75″-diameter holes. Dirty Harry would be proud.
We think this handsome wheelgun cylinder is a clever desktop organizer, and it’s certainly a “conversation starter”. The wheelgun pen-holder is hefty enough to function as a paperweight as well as a handy storage unit for pens and pencils. The price is $17.06 at Amazon.com. Click this link to order: Revolver Pen Holder.
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Report based on article inNRABlog.com
Today, on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attack, it’s appropriate that we remember the brave public safety personnel who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Officer Walter Weaver of the NYPD, was one of the many police officers and fire fighters who rushed into the Twin Towers to help save lives.
This stainless steel revolver was recovered from the World Trade Center ruins at Ground Zero. It was identified to have been carried by Officer Weaver on September 11, 2001. He was last seen on the 6th floor of the North Tower attempting to free passengers on an elevator. Officer Weaver’s family donated the gun to the NRA National Firearms Museum, where it now holds a place of honor as a reminder of the law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line daily.
Officer Walter Weaver’s revolver can be found in Gallery 13, Firearm Traditions for Today, at the NRA National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia.
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Today is the 179th birthday of the revolver, as invented by Samuel Colt of Hartford, Connecticut. On February 25, 1836, Samuel Colt was granted a United States patent for an “Improvement in Fire-Arms”, specifically the “Revolving Gun”. The rest is history. Colt’s original patent drawings, along with the text of his application, are available online.
Here’s something you don’t see every day — pistol-caliber Lapua brass. We shoot superior Lapua brass in our rifles, and now you can get the “good stuff” for your 9mm pistols too. It’s nice to know that Lapua 9mm brass is available for those guys who accept “nothing but the best”. Grafs.com received a special order of 9mm Luger (aka 9x19mm or 9mm NATO) pistol brass made by Lapua. It is available right now for $19.99 per 100-count bag or $179.99 per 1000-count box. That’s 38% off the regular 1K box price.
When It Pays to Shoot Premium Pistol Brass
Is this Lapua 9mm brass worth the price compared to the cheaper alternatives (such as once-fired police range pickups)? We think the answer depends on your application. If you shoot a 9mm pistol in Bullseye competition, yes it makes sense to get the Lapua. Or, if you have a 9mm revolver that carries the shells in a moon clip, the Lapua brass may be worth getting. With a 9mm revolver, your brass is not marred by an extractor claw and then ejected on to the ground. If we had the impressive new 8-shot, Miculek Edition Smith & Wesson model 929 9mm revolver (below), we’d definitely shoot Lapua brass.
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Meeting old friends, and shooting new guns. That’s what Monday was all about at the annual Industry Day at the Range, a “hands-on” preview the day before SHOT Show opens in Las Vegas. Your editor met with old buddy Jason Baney at the crack of dawn and headed out to the Boulder City (NV) range.
We were not disappointed — there was plenty to see this year. On display were a bunch of new precision rifles, a slew of new handguns, and some very exotic optics. But Jason and I both felt that the star of this 2015 Industry Range Day was a modestly-priced little Savage — the new A17 in 17 HMR. Both of us wanted to own one of these compact new rifles. With a strong steel action, the A17 is accurate, fun, and ultra-reliable.
There were big rifles on display. Here’s the new Barrett 98B Fieldcraft, a lighter-weight version of the 98B. The Fieldcraft weighs just over 9 pounds. This is definitely an accurate rifle — shooting a 7mm magnum version from bench with bipod support, Jason managed 5 straight hits at 960 yards.
Among the many new precision rifles, there was one particularly patriotic model. Dolled up in Stars and Stripes livery is Ashbury Precision Ordnance’s new competition rifle. This is designed for F-TR and PRS competition.
We saw small pistols, big pistols, and pretty pistols. Here’s a fashionable pair of 1911-style semi-autos from Kimber. Jason said he’s bought one of these for Mrs. Baney.
This editor is a fan of big, accurate revolvers, and you won’t find many that are bigger, or more accurate, than the new Korth competition revolver. This prototype features a 4-position quick-adjusting rear sight, plus a slick system that allows the cylinder to be completely removed from the gun in seconds. (Note the little lever to the right of the hammer). The production version of this wheelgun is guaranteed to shoot 1.5″ or better at 50 yards.
Kimber displayed an impressive tactical rifle featuring a folding Manners Composite stock. This was a nice piece of kit. The Kimber action is a Mauser style with controlled feed. The rifle is offered in three chamberings: 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Winchester, and .300 Win Mag.
Last but certainly not least, we got a look at the final production version of the Leupold VX-6, 7-42x56mm scope. This is a winner folks. It has a nice, clear reticle with MOA-type hash marks on both cross-hairs. We zoomed it up to full 42X power and it was bright and sharp (all the way out to the edges). The main tube is 34mm allowing plenty of elevation adjustment. All controls worked smoothly. We think, once the word gets out about this scope (now at dealers), it will be very popular with F-Class shooters and long-range benchrest competitors. Street price is around $1900.00.
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Just when you’ve thought you’ve seen everything… somebody comes up with a see-through revolver. Credit those wacky Brazilians at Taurus for this idea. We’re not sure why anybody needs a see-through side-plate on their carry-gun. Yes, this is innovative, but we suspect the clear-view Lexan® sideplate is more a marketing gimmick than a utilitarian feature.
Taurus Wheelgun Weighs Just Nine Ounces
Once you get over the novelty of the transparent side-plate, the main attraction of this wheelgun is its remarkably light weight. The Taurus 85 View weighs just 9 ounces unloaded. That makes it 40% lighter than a Smith & Wesson Model 642 Airweight Revolver, which weighs 15 ounces unloaded. For comparision, the Ruger LC9 pistol tips the scales at 17.9 ounces empty, while a Glock 19 weighs 23.65 ounces unloaded. So this little double-action-only (DAO) Taurus really is a feather-weight. The Taurus 85 View is offered with a silver finish or (cringe) a Pink Frame, presumably for the ladies.
FREE NRA Membership with purchase
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Testing at 10 Yards and 50 Yards
Meeting old friends, and shooting new guns. That’s what Monday was all about at the annual Industry Day at the Range, a “hands-on” preview the day before SHOT Show opens in Las Vegas. Your editor met with old buddy Jason Baney at the crack of dawn and headed out to the Boulder City (NV) range. 
