2nd Amendment Media Launches Shotgun Value Guide
2nd Amendment Media is further bolstering their lineup of firearms-related publications – which already includes a number of concealed carry guides and the Carry Gun Companion. This latest addition is A Guide Book of Shotgun Values, an addition which supplements the existing Carry Gun Values and Rifle Values guide books.
This first edition covers a wide variety or shotguns. Full color and fully illustrated, this book offers accurate pricing estimates along with shotgun specifications, production history, and other valuable information. Also introduced in A Guide Book of Shotgun Values is the original Redbook Code, a universal system of organizing firearms on the secondary market. Along with the Redbook Code, the book also establishes a consumer-friendly pricing model. The editors offer values for multiple buying and selling scenarios, making it easy for both consumers and dealers to access accurate pricing. Our model includes pricing for the following:
- Dealer-to-Consumer (D2C)
- Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
- Consumer-to-Dealer (C2D)
- Last Manufacturer’s Price (LMP)
Additionally, since wear is a huge factor in determining a firearm’s value, A Guide Book of Shotgun Values offers a firearm condition grading scale, rating guns at NIB (New in Box), Mint, Excellent, VG+ (Very Good Plus), Good, Fair, and Poor. With all of these elements to offer, this book will quickly become your go-to reference guide for shotgun pricing.
In addition to these existing firearm value guides, 2nd Amendment Media has plans to expand the lineup even further with a comprehensive guide of pistol, rifle, and shotgun values which will be released this summer and is currently available for pre-order.
Official Announcement: GLOCK Releases Single Stack 9mm Concealed Carry – The New G43
After some media outlets jumped the gun (no pun intended) on today’s announcement of the G43 – Glock Inc. has issued their official announcement:
Today GLOCK, Inc. announced the release of the new GLOCK single stack slimline 9mm pistol, the GLOCK 43. The G43 is the most highly desired and anticipated pistol release in GLOCKs history. Designed to be the answer to everyday concealed carry needs, the G43 is ultra-concealable, accurate, and comfortable for all shooters, regardless of hand size.
“The G43 is the most exciting product release to date because it addresses a variety of issues that many shooters face with pistols in the concealed carry category,” stated GLOCK, Inc., VP Josh Dorsey. “It will be the pistol of choice for law enforcement and civilians. The G43 sets a new standard for concealed carry pistols.”
A true slimline pistol, the frame width of the G43 is just over one inch and the slide width measures only 0.87 inch. The overall length is 6.26 inches. For those who have smaller hands, the trigger distance is only 2.6 inches, making it ideal for functionality. Continue reading
Buzz: Glock 43 Single Stack 9x19mm
Years of waiting, conjecture and, ultimately, disappointment for Glock fanboys and fangirls as SHOT Show after SHOT Show rolled by without an announcement of a single-stack 9mm pistol are apparently over. The current industry buzz is that the G43 has arrived – and just in time for the NRAAM in Nashville where consumers may or may not have a chance to get their hands on it (Glock booth: 633).
Concealed carriers looking for a pocket-carry piece can probably keep on looking. Glock fans trying to complete their collection with a pistol that is ever-so-slightly smaller than a G26 (but with four fewer rounds) and more powerful than the .380 G42 can rejoice with the new offering.
“Leaked” specs indicate that the G43 will be 6.26″ long with a 3.4″ barrel, 4.25″ tall, 0.87″ wide at the slide and 1.02″ wide at the grip. 
Unburdened by its 6-round magazine, the single-stack 9mm will weigh just shy of 17 oz. Compared to the 10-round G26 or the 6-round .380 G42, the gains (or losses) in size are small, but present.
As the intended launch date for the G43 arrives and beyond, more details and hands-on reviews will undoubtedly come out and we will see if the new pistol scratches the itch that some have had for a more powerful US-made single stack from the Austria-based firearm maker. Stay tuned to the GunLink Blog and forums for more details as they become available. In the mean time, feel free to share your initial thoughts in the comments section below.
2nd Amendment Media’s Carry Gun Companion
Whitman Publishing’s 2nd Amendment Media has added another title to their bookshelf of CCW resources. Their trio of Legally Armed, Armed & Smart, and Armed & Smarter provide concise state-by-state summaries of gun laws and discussion of basic and advanced CCW topics, respectively. Their Red Book of Carry Gun Values lets owners and prospective buyers find out what a carry gun is worth in various conditions. The latest edition that we had a chance to take a look at, the Carry Gun Companion, takes things in a little bit of a different direction.
The Carry Gun Companion is a deceptively-thin 190 page compilation of discussion of concealed carry topics followed by over a hundred pages of carry gun porn – something most firearms enthusiasts can appreciate. You won’t have to lie about “just reading the articles,” though; each photo of the almost five dozen popular carry guns (complete with stats including size, weight, capacity, MSRP and street price, trigger pull, and turn-ons. Ok, we made up that last one) is accompanied by a write-up detailing the firearm’s features and available options that make it a desirable carry piece. The publishers know what you’re after, though – what else would explain why the page number in the index points to the photo for each firearm rather than the write-up on the preceding page.
Although the Carry Gun Companion is, of course, by no means an exhaustive list of carry guns, it does contain all but one of the CCW pistols (or a comparable model) that I have carried and many that I have only drooled over. The accompanying article with each firearm is descriptive and gives the type of general information that “gun guys and gals” will like without geeking out so much that the casual firearm enthusiast’s eyes will gloss over.
The 60-odd pages that make up “The Archive” portion of the book include a history of US gun laws – including the origins of the Second Amendment and its current status – as well as devoting a few pages each to a number of topics of interest to gun owners, including politics, types of firearms and ammunition and basic firearm maintenance and safety.
In the introduction, the editors say that their mission was to “produce a collection of information related to all aspects of the concealed carry world, including close looks at specific popular handguns but also exploring the ideological terrain surrounding the guns themselves.” It seems like they met that goal with the Carry Gun Companion. Whether you are going to use it as a coffee table book to pick up and read when there is nothing on television, a bathroom reader, or a basic guide on what your next carry gun will be, this is a fun little book.
Pro-Defense Tactical Fast Pull Pro Review
Optics blocking the controls on a firearm isn’t a new problem. Shooters who have spent time behind a scoped lever- or break-action rifle are probably familiar with hammer extensions that let them manipulate the hammer when it is blocked by the scope. As the popularity of flattop AR-platform rifles has grown over the past decade or so, allowing optics and accessories to be mounted, this problem has manifested there as well.
A good, by-the-book overhand grip on the charging handle can easily be impeded by rail-mounted optics. Getting an index finger on the latch and pulling from one side might work if you can get to it, but it can also apply undue lateral stress on a stock charging handle designed for the overhand grip. If you are using your scoped AR for hunting in cooler weather, wearing gloves can add additional complications into the mix.
There are charging handles with extended latches, but they are often quite expensive and are overbuilt to solve problems that many users just don’t need to solve. That is why the Tactical Fast Pull from Pro-Defense caught our eye at SHOT Show 2015. The company founder was at the booth to show us the Tactical Fast Pull (shown above) and Tactical Fast Pull Pro. Following the show, he sent us the Pro kit to try it out for ourselves. Continue reading
More Lighting Solutions from Elzetta Unveiled at SHOT Show
As in past years, Elzetta brought some new lighting solutions with them to SHOT Show this year. While stopped at one flashlight vendor’s booth as we roamed the halls of this year’s show, the booth staff asked me if I liked flashlights. Before I could answer, he immediately answered his own question: “of course you do, you’re a guy.” He was probably right, judging from the quantity of lights around here – tucked in drawers, stuck on metal surfaces, hanging from hooks, mounted on firearms, and in pockets or bags for EDC.
Last year Elzetta introduced their 1-cell Alpha model, a prototype belt clip that would facilitate carrying their indestructible torches, as well as new heads with changeable lenses and automatic voltage sensing heads.
This year they didn’t let down lighting enthusiasts. In collaboration with Impact Weapons Components, they have developed a new integrated weapon-mounted light: the Mini-CQB Modular Weaponlight. Based on an Alpha body, the new Mini-CQB weighs in under 5 ounces. Despite the 1-cell’s dimminutive size, it delivers 315 lumens in a pattern optimized for close quarter engagements.
And since it is based on existing Elzetta lights, the Mini-CQB is compatible with any of six tailcaps to give it rotary, click, high/low, high/strobe, or tape switch functionality. The Mini-CQB is available with multiple ambidextrous attachment mechanisms to suit most users’ needs, including the A1 model for M-1913 Picatinny rails or the A2 model that is compatible with keymod systems as well as Magpul’s M-LOK system.
Elzetta plans to begin shipping the Mini-CQB in April and is currently accepting pre-orders with prices starting at $210 for the A1 model with rotary tailcap.
