Kel-Tec Adds New Bullpups to Kennel with RDB and M43
SHOT Show 2014 saw Kel-Tec add two new bullpups to their lineup that already includes the KSG shotgun and RFB in 7.62 NATO. Their latest offerings, the RDB and M43, bring the 5.56 caliber into the mix with standard AR-15 magazine compatibility. Built around the same steel frame and downward-ejecting, rotating bolt, piston operated bullpup action, the two are essentially the same firearm – albeit dressed in radically different furniture.
The RDB (for Rifle, Downward-ejecting, Bullpup) looks like something you would expect to come out of the Kel-Tec labs, wit its polymer furniture and familiar styling. This is the tactical model, featuring a picatinny rail for mounting your favorite optics and/or irons. The lightweight tactical RDB, with its aluminum and polymer parts, tips the scales at just 7 pounds.
The sheet metal and wood of the M43 adds a Continue reading
Device Makes it Easier to Rack Your Semi-Auto Pistol
Ever grabbed your semi-automatic pistol to rack the slide and had trouble overcoming the stiff recoil spring (or springs, since many of today’s pistols have dual recoil springs)? Have your shooting buddies or gun shop salesmen recommended revolvers to make things easier? Whether you struggle with slides due to injury, arthritis or just insufficient grip strength, a gunsmith in Iowa has come up with a brilliantly simple solution to help you enjoy your semi-autos again.
Chris McAninch was approached by a customer requesting modifications to his firearm to make it easier to use. Rather than permanently modifiying the pistol, Chris invented the Handi-Racker. The device works by gripping your pistol’s slide with enough clearance in front of the barrel to allow charging the pistol by placing the device against a table, wall or other flat surface and pushing the firearm frame forward. It is similar in principle to the old “rear sight on the booth heel” tactical one-handed reload method but with more predictable results and less chance of damaging your firearm. Continue reading
Elzetta Lights Up Your Life with New Offerings at SHOT
Elzetta, the Kentucky-based manufacturer of tactical lights and mounts, famously made waves by demonstrating the toughness of their lights by hammering hundreds of nails with them. That toughness is made possible by starting off with mil-spec type III hard anodized 6061-T6 aluminum bodies and filling them with fully potted electronics, 7/8″ thick acrylic lenses instead of reflectors and a variety of beefy tail cap options. At SHOT Show 2014, Elzetta showcased some of their latest wares which, as with all of their modular flashlights and mounts are made in the USA using American materials, American tooling and American labor. Continue reading
Trigger Time Behind Long Range Smart Optics
One of the most exciting things we got to see at range day was a pair of siblings from the smart optics family: the Tracking Point Xact system and its little brother, the new Remington 2020 system. Despite getting behind the Tracking Point for some simulation last year, this was my first time sending live rounds downrange with it. Way downrange. We punished the nearly 1000 yard target with the .300 Win Mag version and, since misery loves company, we put a hurting on the 350+ yard target with the .30-06 Remington 700 with the 2020 on top.
The new Remington system uses the same optic/ballistics calculator/range finder/wi-fi server/magic box as the Tracking Point, although not so tightly integrated with the firearm. Despite the device handling the measurements and ballistic computations for the user, it doesn’t have any mechanism for Continue reading
Remington’s New R51 and John Pedersen’s Legacy
It would be tough to find someone who doesn’t know, if not own, John Moses Browning’s seminal pistol, the M1911. Not surprising, given that nearly 3 million have been procured for military service in the US alone, dozens of other countries use them for military service and untold numbers of the prolific pistols and its derivatives are in the civilian market. Less well known is the Remington Model 51 designed by his contemporary, John Pedersen, who Browning described to US Chief of Ordnance Field Service Julian Hatcher as “the greatest gun designer in the world.” Also not surprising, since only 65,000 were produced and only through the late 1920s.
The original Model 51, marketed as a pocket pistol and available in .380 and .32 ACP, never enjoyed widespread commercial success despite many considering the locking mechanism to be superior to Browning’s design and describing it as ahead of its time. Pedersen’s legacy, and that of the Model 51, lives on with Remington’s introduction of the R51 pistol at SHOT Show 2014. Continue reading
Sticky Holsters for IWB-Tuck Get a Welcome Update
Following last year’s SHOT Show we did a review of Sticky Holsters, a relatively new holster that offers a big improvement over standard no-holster IWB or pocket carry. It was tough to find fault with the well-performing affordable holster. It does exactly what it says it will do: place your pistol into the Sticky Holster, tuck the whole contraption into your waistband in your favorite position and at your favorite angle and it stays put and stays comfortable. It does SOB, AIWB or just about anything else you ask of it.
Despite it’s nearly flawless operation, we did have a couple of small gripes with certain pistols. Given the relatively generic nature of the holsters (17 models that fit almost all pistols), the fact that they hiccup on some models isn’t the end of the world. The latest update to Sticky Holsters should alleviate the issues we noted in the standard version. Continue reading
