2016 SHOT Show

[BluntForceTrauma]

Good reports, Rust, thanks!

[Klem]

Does this mean an old 19 can get the new slide?

Looks like it is available in Gen 4 slides only.

[bwaites]

Does this mean an old 19 can get the new slide?

Probably not, Glock is somewhat famous for not being backwards compatible, but Lone Wolf makes a slide with the requisite parts.

https://www.lonewolfdist.com/Products.aspx?CAT=4877

I own multiple conversions, and they are great parts! My long slide G20 10mm is rapidly becoming my favorite pistol. I have a .40 conversion barrel for it, and it shoots like butter!

[motoxxx_ryder]

http://www.scout.com/military/snipers-hide/forums/5510-s4-equipment/14495217-6-5-guys-2016-shot-show-video-thread

some good videos done by the 6.5 guys for those interested.

[Rust]

Been a few days of madness at work since we got back.
I did stop by the Glock booth Friday and took a look at the guns with optics. Nothing new really other than factory option aspect. Pretty much the same thing competition shooters have been doing for years with them.

Core rifles is doing a Grendel. Nothing ground breaking, but I do like the design of their billet receiver sets.

Morakniv is releasing a full tang knife. Moras are cheap, plain plastic, or simple wood handled working knives, but they have an excellent reputation for being just that- working knives. Especially if you're willing do a little work cleaning up the edge. I do a little bit of knife making as a hobby, and I'm seriously considering buying a couple of them to strip, reprofile, and make some nice scales for just for grins. Or hopefully they'll release just the blades for knifemakers like they do with their other blade designs.

9mm carbines were all over the place this year, both in rifle and pistol set ups. From the looks of things they're almost all being cut under variance by one manufacturer (this is nothing new in the AR world) with some minor cosmetic differences. I've shot a couple of them in the past, and while they're amusing, and mag interchangeability from Glock pistol to a carbine is usefull, they just don't do much for me overall.

DLC (diamond like coating) bolt carrier groups. This may be a solution looking for a problem, as wearing out a phosphated bolt carrier takes some serious work. I stopped by a both where a guy was demoing how hard the the DLC coating was by scrubbing a screw driver on the carrier. Then just wiping the mark of with his finger. He probably did this hundreds of times over the course of the week, and there wasn't a mark on the carrier. I don't know that there is any advantage to speak of in this application, but as hard and smooth as the stuff seamed to be I'm sure there's something I should be putting it on.

The Howa mini action! I played with a couple of them, and they seem decent for a production level action. Pretty smooth, and fairly tight (for a production gun) bolt fit. I was not blown away by the stocks, but again they seemed perfectly adequate for an off the shelf rifle in the price range they're in. I have one of the Hogue stocks similar to what they're using on my 10-22 which I like just fine, but for some reason it felt flimsy on the Howa. The Hogue's are supposedly not good for bedding as well due to it being hard to get compound to adhere to the plastic inserts. The polymer magazines also felt very light weight, but they're not holding in a ton of spring pressure so its probably a not issue. Mag release was smooth and easy to actuate.
I did try to make a point of looking at chassis rifle stocks that might fit the Howa mini since you guys mentioned it earlier. I don't think I saw any that were ready to go right now, but I'm sure someone will do it soon. I don't know, it's something I want to like, but I just feel kind of "meh" about them in general. I shoot a Savage with a McMillan A3 so the layout with a vertical grip is similar, but there's just something about most of them that just doesn't seem right to me.

Polymer80 has a DIY Glock frame. I don't really like the company following the BS they put their customers through when they launched their AR receivers, but I have wanted to do the same thing with pistol receivers for a while so I'm intrigued.

If there's anything else you guys heard about ask away, if I happen to have seen it I'll let you know what I though if i have an opinion on it.

[rabiddawg]

Thanks rust!

[Rainman]

Rust, while you were at the EOTech booth did you ask or hear anything about when the new 5X G55 magnifyer will be available for retail sale?

[Rust]

I did not. I probably tried it out, but I personally am not a fan EOTechs, so I likely didn't pay any attention. For the majority of shooting I do I'm better served by a 1x(whatever) scope than a (rifle sized) holosight. I love the miniature holo's on pistols but not on a rifle.
One of the sales reps who works their booth also reps our products. We always stop by to say hi to him and see whats new but honestly I don't have a need for most of their product line.

On that note I did check out the new Hartman holosight over at the CAA/Kalishnakov USA booth. Lots of features, but the thing is HUGE. Also the sample I was looking at had a cover for the micro usb slot that was loose and kept popping out. Which would probably lead to it frying in short order in the rain, let alone if got dropped in standing water. Hopefully they'll address that (If they have not already). The designer, Mikey Hartman, is a living legend in the IDF and a very personable guy, but the sight should be half the size it is. Then again, he's probably a heck of a lot better shooter than I'll ever be, so I could be wrong.