Designers of New Police Gear for Women at SHOT Show
As anyone who has had to wear one probably already knows, uniforms aren’t always, well…uniform. Actually, a better way to put that would be to say that uniforms are too uniform for the diversity of bodies that need to be put inside them. “One size fits all” doesn’t always hold true and “unisex” gear often makes too many compromises on both sides to serve either one very well.
These issues can result in the wearer being uncomfortable, which can often be quite a nuisance. In the case of people who may be wearing their uniforms in life-or-death situations, having to deal with gear fit issues can be much worse than just a nuisance.
Cleveland Ohio business partners Denise Czack and Tanya Sirl recognized this issue with uniforms for female police officers and decided to so something about it by creating the Her BlueWear Uniforms company. Her BlueWear Uniforms takes a big step in helping to provide the right gear for the right job to female officers. Continue reading
Parabellum Armament Shows Off AK Add-ons at SHOT
Parabellum Armament demonstrated several innovative products for the AK-47 platform at the Boulder City Pistol & Rifle Range the day before the 2012 NSSF SHOT Show officially opened and GunLink had an opportunity to try them out.
Both of the AK add-ons were on the same rifle, also equipped with an under-folder stock. The first aftermarket gadget was Parabellum’s AK rail system. We’ve seen rail systems for the AK platform in the fast and they often fall short of the needs of the serious shooter for various reasons. Some rail systems attach via pricey and awkward mounts on the side of the receiver and might even require permanent modification of the firearm. Other rail systems are often either attached by the rear leaf sight mount or the top dust cover, neither of which necessarily results in a rail that stays put. That might be acceptable for mounting flashlights or if you aren’t interested in your optics staying zeroed.
The rail system from Parabellum Armament mounts to Continue reading
Slide Fire Solutions Kicks Bump Firing Up A Notch
GunLink had a chance to stop by the Slide Fire Solutions demonstration booth and check out some of their offerings during the SHOT Show Media Day at the Range, including the original OGR and the updated models of stocks for AR-15 rifles as well as the new SSAK-47 XRS stocks for AK-47 rifles. Slide Fire Solutions declares that they are not the first company to engineer bump fire technology, but they found a way to take it to the next level.
If you have never heard of the technique of “bump firing” a rifle, the basic idea is to allow a semi-automatic firearm to fire multiple shots in rapid succession, often with rates of fire approaching those of automatic rifles. This is achieved when the shooter holds their trigger finger in a stationary position (often by hooking it into their belt loop) and uses their support hand to apply constant forward pressure by pulling the rifle forend away from them. This motion causes the trigger to press forward into the shooter’s stationary trigger finger, thus firing the rifle. After firing, recoil causes the rifle to move rearward before the constant forward pressure brings the trigger back into contact with the trigger finger and starts the process over. Although this procedure allows for fast rates of fire, it does not convert the firearm to automatic operation because each shot is caused by a single trigger pull. Each Slide Fire accessory kit even includes a copy of the BATFE letter certifying that it is not a machine gun.
As they say, Slide Fire Solutions takes this concept to the next level by making the bump firing process much safer and easier and with increased controllability. They achieve this with their Continue reading
MyGunDB Developer To Attend SHOT Show
If you’re reading this blog, chances are that you’re probably at least somewhat interested in firearms. Maybe you’re a gun enthusiast, collector, dealer or otherwise involved with firearms. Either way, you can probably appreciate the situation that many gun owners face in keeping track of their firearms. Many owners and collectors wish to keep track of their collection of firearms and accessories for insurance purposes, to stay current on periodic maintenance and a variety of other reason. Licensed dealers are required by the ATF to keep records detailing all of their firearms acquisitions and dispositions and, if they’ve got any sense, they want to keep a close eye on their inventory.
Enter MyGunDB, a cross-platform software application from Intelligent Firearms Solutions that meets all of the above needs and more. MyGunDB allows users to keep a secure, detailed database of their firearms and accessories that includes prices, actual values, maintenance schedules, rounds fired, purchase and sale details and much more. MyGunDB is such a valuable tool that various entities, including the CMP, have chosen to pair up with the developer to release their own licensed version of MyGunDB. In fact, there is even a MyGunDB GunLink Edition!
We got a chance to catch up with Alan Ellis, developer of the IFS MyGunDB software, and ask him a few questions. If you’d like to learn more, you can find Alan on Twitter and facebook.
GunLink: Hi, Alan. How are you doing today?
Alan Ellis: Excellent! Getting ready for a new release so coding, coding, coding!
GL: So, you’re the man behind the MyGunDB software? Tell us a little about the software.
AE: Yep, MyGunDB is my baby! A user once described MyGunDB as Quickbooks for your firearms. It’ll help you track your firearm stats, accessories, pictures, factory and reloaded ammo, maintenance schedule — pretty much everything a collector needs! It’s the best way to keep your collection organized Continue reading
SHOT Show Media Day
There was a lot going on at 2012 SHOT Show’s Media Day at the Range. 1200 media personnel were expected to show up and, based on the crowd, I’d say that expectation was met. There were a variety of new products on display, both in the shooting areas as well as the non-shooting areas, including newly debuted firearms, gear, off-road vehicles, mobile apps and more. GunLink spoke with numerous exhibitors, shot some guns, tried out some gear and generally had a great time. A big thanks goes out to all of the exhibitors and sponsors who made it all possible, including the range transportation, lunch and everything else.
Some of the new firearms products that we were most impressed with included Springfield Armory’s brand new XDs pistol, some of the new offerings from Slidefire Solutions and Parabellum Armament. We look forward to sharing information about these new products (and many more) over the coming days. Keep an eye right here for updates.
The Countdown to SHOT Show is On
Tick tock tick tock… The countdown to the 2012 NSSF SHOT Show is on and GunLink is headed there!
If you didn’t already know, the SHOT Show is being held Januay 17-20, 2012 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas and it’s the largest and most comprehensive trade show for all professionals involved with the shooting sports, hunting and law enforcement industries. Last year’s show drew a total attendance of close to 60,000 with well over 1,500 exhibitors.
We at GunLink are excited to have the opportunity to cover the show this year. It should be a lot of fun, both for us as well as you, the readers. We’ve already got a list of places to go and people to see but, to make sure that our SHOT Show coverage is tailored to you, we want to hear which exhibitors and other show features YOU want to see covered. Let us know here on the blog, over on the forums or via Twitter what you want to get out of our SHOT coverage.
We’ll be posting show updates and news before, during and after the show through our various channels. We have various opportunities for interested parties to syndicate our SHOT Show content through their own blogs and media as well as opportunities for GunLink SHOT Show coverage sponsorship. If you’d like more information about these opportunities, please let us know as soon as possible and we can send you the details.
