Faux Automatic: Rapid Fire Without a Machine Gun
Before heading to SHOT Show this year, I consulted with a few other female shooters that I know to ask what they were hoping to see new this year. In general, I was surprised to find that they were actually in the same KISS school of thought that I am: something that works well, works consistently, and is not difficult to understand how it works. One thing that did surprise me was more interest in fully automatic firearms than I had expected. I have been fortunate in that I have had the opportunity, on more than one occasion, to shoot automatic weapons. If you have not experienced full-auto mag dumps yourself, to be completely honest, it is even more fun than it looks.
Fully-automatic weapons, or machine guns, are regulated under the National Firearms Act (NFA). The law basically says that the only legal machine guns for civilians are the ones that were lawfully possessed prior to May 19, 1986 and those require payment of a $200 transfer tax, lengthy approval process, and federal registration in the NFRTR. This makes for a very limited supply of weapons that are in circulation, which – as we learned about supply and demand in Economics 101 – drives the price sky high – often into the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Unless you either join the military or have some pretty cool friends, you may not get the opportunity to shoot a machine gun.
However, a shooter and their ammo (ergo, their money) are easily parted and the firearms industry has come up with some innovative ways to turn a pocket full of money into a hot, smoking pile of spent brass. Thanks to that innovation, there are some legal ways to simulate full-auto firing power. Continue reading
NSSF Partners with Foundation to Reduce Suicide Risks
During SHOT Show this year, the NSSF announced a partnership with American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) that will launch a nationwide program to help prevent suicide by firearm. To achieve this goal, the joint-operation will educate people in the firearms business, such as firearm retailers and range owners, about the warning signs and risk factors that can lead to suicide. For AFSP, this a part of their Project 2025, which aims to reduce the annual suicide rate 20% by the year 2025.
During the election, many politicians campaigned on the gun issue and one of their statistics to reference is that there were around 33,000 firearm-related deaths in 2015. One problem with that stat is that only ~11,000 of those deaths were homicide; the rest were suicide. AFSP’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Christine Moutier, stated during a press conference at SHOT show, “Of all suicide deaths in our nation, nearly 50 percent are by firearm. By increasing public education of firearms and suicide prevention, and by encouraging the use of safe storage options and thus reducing access to lethal means, we give suicidal individuals something they desperately need: time. Time for the intense suicidal risk to diminish and time for someone to intervene with mental health support and resources. Research has shown that separating suicidal individuals from a variety of lethal means can prevent suicide.”
Steve Sanetti, NSSF’s President and CEO, added that this partnership expands their efforts to promote firearms safety. The national program will be an expansion of a pilot program that was implemented in four states last August. In those states, local AFSP chapters and range owners, firearm retail store owners, and some gun show vendors were able to share resources, including:
- Talk Saves Lives: Firearms and Suicide Prevention, a community-based presentation that provides an overview of mental health and suicide and why we should help
- Firearms and Suicide Prevention, a brochure that can be handed out that includes information on safe storage of firearms, statistics about suicide, the warning signs and risk factors for suicide, how to talk to someone that may be suicidal, and where to find more help.
- Facilitator’s Guide, for volunteers involved in the program on how to lead these community-based programs.
- A webpage dedicated to the overview of firearms and suicide prevention.
Trump Inauguration Garners Enthusiastic Response from SHOT Show Attendees
After spending eight unsure years years of worrying about forthcoming gun control laws that would further infringe upon rights ostensibly protected by the US Constitution, firearms enthusiasts and industry members breathed a sigh of relief as the 45th President was sworn in on the last day of the 2017 SHOT Show.
Team GunLink members who stuck around through the end of the show were in the press room during the official swearing in ceremony – as were many other members of the media. There, the transition from President-Elect to President Donald Trump elicited a boisterous round of applause and a standing ovation from many, and cheers were heard from exhibitors and attendees alike who filled the hallways and downstairs show floor areas.
The reaction was no surprise, given the political environment and near constant threats against Second Amendment rights over the past decade and the perceived sea change in that environment.
The perception is not only reinforced by President Trumps loud proclamation of support for Second Amendment rights during his campaign, but also his creation of a “Second Amendment Coalition” that is populated by half a dozen political representatives and big-name industry players like Ronnie Barrett, Marty Daniel, Alan Cors, Kim Rhode, and Josh Waldron – true supporters of the Right to Keep and Bear arms, to be sure. Continue reading
2017 SHOT Show Boasts Big Attendance and Positive Outlook for the Firearms Industry
Four-day show draws nearly 65,000 industry professionals
LAS VEGAS – The 39th Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, owned and operated by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), signaled a positive year ahead for the firearms industry. Strong attendance, upbeat buyers and sellers, and a series of packed special events that collectively made up “SHOT Week” resulted in one of the top-rated SHOT Shows.
The show spanned January 17-20 at the Sands Expo. Industry professionals packed the aisles from the opening bell, and attendance totaled nearly 65,000, surpassing last year’s turnout to make it the second most attended SHOT Show ever.
At one of the show’s biggest events, the NSSF State of the Industry Dinner on the first day, NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti, in a speech titled “A New Hope,” listed a series of priorities that industry will focus on to help protect its future and that of its customers. “Our overriding hope is that when it comes to helping stop the misuse of firearms by criminals, and preventing access to them by legally prohibited felons, the violently mentally ill, and the drug gangs who terrorize disarmed inhabitants of our cities, the American public will realize we are all on the same side.”
There were thousands of products for buyers to see on the show floor, encompassing firearms, ammunition, accessories, optics, knives, gun safes, apparel and law enforcement equipment, among other categories. More than 500 new products from 338 companies were on display in the show’s New Product Center, sponsored by U.S. Concealed Carry Association. In addition to the more than 1,600 exhibiting companies on the main show floors, the NEXT 2.0 Pavilion provided first-time vendors from the show’s extensive waiting list with welcome visibility and potential new customers. Continue reading
GunLink SHOT Show 2017 Photo Gallery
We are blazing our collective trails through the 13 acres (630,000 square feet!) of SHOT Show 2017, through the 12.5 miles of aisles (many of them multiple times over) to visit with as many of the 1,600 exhibitors as we can squeeze into the short time that we have here this week. Don’t forget that you can help us shape our coverage by posting in the GunLink Forums SHOT Show thread.
While the days, weeks, and months ahead will bring more in depth reviews and news about what is being unveiled at the enormous industry event, we will take you inside the halls of the SHOT Show to get a glimpse of what attendees saw through the following photos. Comment below or in the show thread if you have any questions or want more details about particular photos or products before we have a chance to post more details about them.
And, of course, a big shout out to our partners who help make our coverage possible, including Brownells, Gunz Incorporated, Shot Force Pro targets, Northwood Components, BulletSafe, and Safariland Group! Continue reading
First Look: KelTec RDB Survival Bullpup Rifle
Sorry about your luck, everyone who left SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range any time throughout the day up until about 25 minutes before all of the action wrapped up. Because that is around when the folks at KelTec remembered that they had forgotten to uncase their latest contribution to to the firearms market: the RDB Survival Edition bullpup rifle.
We had just finally made our way to the the KelTec booth and finished being confused by why the KSG bullpup shotgun on the bench was obscenely long (it is because of the Germans, in case you were wondering, and it is called the KSG 25) when we heard the company reps start expressing concern over some piece of missing equipment. That missing piece of equipment happened to be a literal one-of-a-kind on earth prototype firearm that relatively few other humans have laid eyes on or had the opportunity to fire – including everyone else at the range day until Chad Enos and crew happened to locate it in a case under one of their shooting tables and pulled it out with minutes to spare during shooting hours, providing Team GunLink the opportunity to be the first to snap some photos and send some rounds downrange with it. Continue reading
