SHOT Show

Tactical Solutions Introduces the All-New Pac-Lite TSS at SHOT Shot 2019

TacSol, the rimfire firearm, rimfire conversion, and rimfire accessory market leader in versatility, dependability, and accuracy is excited to introduce their all-new Pac-Lite TSS this year at SHOT show. This new, .22 long rifle integrally suppressed upper is designed to fit the Ruger Mark I, Mark II, Mark III and the 22/45 series pistols.

TacSol has built a reputation for lightweight firearms and accessories that consistently deliver accuracy and precision. The Pac-Lite TSS is no exception, with its internal suppressor, it’s the only fully serviceable integrally suppressed upper on the market built with Tacsol’s patented split tube design. Coupled with its ultra-lightweight (11 ounces) barrel designed with aluminum upper, interlocking titanium baffles for ease of disassembly, quieter, lighter and less expensive than a Tacsol Pac-Lite with an Axiom Suppressor. TacSol calls the Pac-Lite TSS “the most innovative and durable integrally suppressed barrel upgrade on the market today.”

We at TacSol are very proud of this engineering feat and are very anxious to release the Pac-Lite TSS out into the marketplace,” said Dan Person, Vice President of Production at TacSol. “I firmly believe our customers will be very pleased with the functionality and performance of this suppressed barrel ugrapde.”

The barrels are in production now and are anticipated to ship in the very near future to all TacSol distributors and dealers nationwide.

SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range 2019

In the desert nearly an hour outside of Las Vegas, the cool air is filled with the smell of diesel exhaust and the sound of gunfire. Lots of gunfire. Like, really… a LOT of gunfire.

It isn’t some wild west shootout and, although there will be pistols at noon, they’ll be rattling off shots all day – along with rifles, shotguns, machine guns, and a whole lot more. Welcome to the 2019 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range.

As they do every year on the day before the NSSF Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trades Show – the industry’s annual B2B expo – oficially opens its doors, nearly 200 vendors and exhibitors meet at shooting range in Boulder City to host invited media and industry buyers.  Those in attendance braved the biting wind, easily 15mph all day long, to see industry leaders showcase the latest and greatest hardware that their companies have to offer.  Not just to see new guns – but also to shoot them.

Given the political climate several years ago, it seemed as if a lot of firearms R&D had slowed down – perhaps for fear of increased regulation. The relentless attack on 2A rights has not let up in the latest election cycles and, when we saw that a couple familiar names were absent at Range Day, we worried that, instead of innovation, we might just find new lipstick on old pigs. While there was some of that – the same firearm lines with addition of new calibers or colors – we were treated to a few interesting items.

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I.O. Inc. Mini Revolver Makes Progress for 2018

At last year’s SHOT Show 2017, we were excited to see Inter Ordnance venture into different territory than what they are known. In their booth, they had micro revolvers similar to what you have probably seen from the likes of North American Arms.

Until recently, I.O. Inc. was largely known (for better or for worse) for the AK platform rifles which they began producing in the mid-2000s – and which gained a less than stellar reputation for quality and reliability; something with which the GunLink team has had first hand experience as owners of one of their duds. A few years later, I.O. shut down their AK production, moved to a re-tooled production facility, and began cranking out higher quality AKs (and, later, ARs) and started work on rebuilding their sullied name.

So when we saw the diminutive .22LR revolvers, dubbed the Valkyrie, in their booth last year, our interest was piqued, despite the fact that they were, at that point, nothing more than rapid-prototyped titanium samples with 3D printed grips with an MSRP of $260 and an expected ship date of last spring. And then… crickets.

This year in the I.O. Inc. booth, they had what appeared to be (nearly) production models of the minuscule SAO revolver, now apparently named the Escort.   Continue reading

Is the New Sig P365 the Perfect Carry Gun?

It is a reasonable question to ask. The latest pistol offered by Sig Sauer is small, light, compact, and has a respectable round count for a pistol this size. While it may not be a hand-filling, full-on combat pistol, it does look like it will mark many of the boxes on any CCW checklist; and it might just be THE new concealed pistol.

While some folks will always want to carry something more along the lines of that combat pistol, many just want something that works, is effective, and is easy to carry. Obvious comparisons that come to mind are the Glock 43 and Smith & Wesson Shield – both fine pistols in that role, and quite popular.  But then Sig did this.

The Sig P365 maintains approximately the same one inch width that it shares with both the G43 and the Shield and, at 4.25 tall, is about the same height as the 43 while about half an inch shorter than the Smith. The new Sig, however, gains a big advantage for those hoping to pocket carry it: with a 5.9″ OAL, it is a quarter- to half-inch shorter than the S&W and Glock, respectively. While that reduction in length won’t matter much for carrying it on your belt, this smaller size will likely be quite noticeable in the pocket.    Continue reading

Mossberg and Remington Unleash Double-Barreled Blast of Mag Fed Shotguns at SHOT Show 2018

Mag Fed Shotgun Showdown

A few weeks ago, Big Green made a lot of noise with their launch of the new Remington 870DM that involved a bunch of marketing-department-generated secrecy and rumors and buzz that culminated in a live online product unveiling of what turned out to be (much to nobody’s surprise) a detachable magazine fed model of their popular pump action 870 shotgun.

Then, last week at SHOT Show 2018, Mossberg introduced a competing detachable box magazine fed version of their popular pump action 590 shotgun called the 590M.

Nothing ground breaking, earth shattering, or game changing, but pretty cool products from the two main sport and defense shotgun manufacturers in the US. But the big question on our minds around here is “why did it take so long?” Or maybe it’s “which one is better?” We’ll try to answer at least one of those below.

Of course, box magazine fed shotguns are nothing especially new. Semi-auto box-fed shotguns have been around for a while. Black Aces Tactical does it with their Mossberg 500-based shotguns. And what about Hurricane Butterfly’s Typhoon 12, based on Hawk’s Chinese Remington 870 clone? Adaptive Tactical has been offering their Venom conversion kits for Mossberg/Maverick shotguns for a number of years, although they kind of cheat by feeding into the magazine tube and/or using a rotary magazine.

So, while feeding fat, blunt, sometimes ribbed, plastic, rimmed cartridges with varying lengths and weights from a magazine may be a challenge, it is not impossible. So, other than being difficult, why did it take so long for the major players to make their own? Our guess is that they were just taking a wait-and-see track and finally noticed the interest in this market segment based on the other third-party offerings.

As for which one of the new offerings from the big manufacturers is better, we’ll give you some info about them and let you decide.   Continue reading

Pistol Sights of SHOT Show 2018

Rear SightsFace it, pistol sights are kind of a boring topic. There is not a lot of real estate for mounting fancy optics, pistols are not typically used for long distance shots that necessitate heavy duty upgrades, and, often, it can be a difficult or impossible task depending on the pistol. Many concealed carry guns have integrated sights machined into the slide, proprietary dovetail mounts that make it hard to find sights for, or simply require a pricey tool to do (unless you’re not afraid of whacking on them with a punch and hammer or if you use this one weird old trick).

And pistol sight upgrades are usually just not sexy unless you have a tricked out race gun topped off with the latest, greatest, highest speed, lowest drag optic, which seems to be the latest trend for “carry” guns. You will certainly find more “2-pound trigger of the week,” “custom Louis Vitton laser stipling,” “unicorn horn speckled platinum infused Cerakote,” and “slide cut” talk at the gun counter and on Instagram than you will “I put new sights on my self defense handgun” talk.

But, alas – we did manage to find some interesting new products on the show floor that fall into this obscure category. Despite all of the above, upgrading the sights on your defensive handgun is often one of the most practical and affordable ways to make it better and more useful.

Below are the top three most interesting new (new to us, at least) pistol sight upgrades we found on the SHOT Show 18 show floor, and an honorable mention that will help you with the others.   Continue reading

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