shooter521
Certified Glock Nut
Hey, INGOers! I am currently in Ft. Worth, TX, attending the 2013 AcuSport Business Conference, a trade show put on by on of our major distributors. My trip last year was chronicled here: https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/general_firearms_discussion/191683-messin_with_texas.html
Today was the New Product Shoot, where select manufacturers made some of their new and not-so-new products available for attendees to try.
One notable thing was that there were very few truly NEW items on hand. Many mfrs are simply introducing variations on existing products, or brought models introduced mid or late 2012.
I shot the following:
Armalite M15 .300BLK w/ Hornady's new 208-gr. A-MAX subsonic ammo - VERY smooth shooting with almost no recoil and a performance bullet. I like!
Beretta 92FS Compact INOX - compact 13-shot 9mm that borrows some features from the M9A1.
Beretta ARX-160 .22LR - same size and features as Beretta's groundbreaking 5.56 rifle, but much lighter and in .22. I found it to be a bit unwieldy and didn't care for the supplied iron sights at all. I did not ask and do not know if Beretta is making this gun in-house or subbing it out, but it felt very Umarex-ish.
Colt Competition CCR Pro .308 AR - good shooter with a very effective muzzle brake, but ridiculously heavy for any kind of dynamic application (run and gun).
FNH USA FNX .45 Tactical - big gun but accurate and controllable. FN rep didn't know which mini-RDS the slide was machined to accept. -1 FN
Glock 30S .45 - essentially a G36 slide on a 30SF frame, although it didn't seem appreciably slimmer or lighter than a straight 30SF. It won't be enough to get me back into .45s.
HK P30S 9mm w/ LEM trigger - great grip, smooth and light DAO, accurate, but like most HKs, sits tall in the hand. Oh, and
LSI Citadel 1911 9mm - attractive, accurate, mild recoil and reasonably priced. Like!
Mossberg MVP Varmint .223 bolt action - nice Savage-style adjustable trigger, feeds from AR mags. I'm stoked about the forthcoming Patrol model, w/ synthetic stock and short threaded barrel. I hope it works with PMAGs!
Parabellum Armament AK-ARS top cover rail w/ EOTech on WASR-10 - neat concept and well-executed. Their gas tube "ratchet charging system" I wasn't a fan of.
Rock Island 1911A2 .22TCM - very blasty, but no recoil to speak of. Not especially accurate. Not sure what niche this proprietary caliber is supposed to fill?
Ruger LCR .22Mag, 22/45 LITE, SR1911 Commander, SR45 and LC380 - once again Ruger had the best setup at the range; you entered at one end and made your way down the product line, shooting any or all of the guns, then exited the other end. Good folks, and probably the most new stuff this year. Did not see the new BX-25 "X2" magazine.
Slide Fire stock for S&W M&P-15/22 - requires an extremely light touch to operate. As with other stocks of this type, you focus so hard on getting the technique right that little things like "aiming" go out the window. Not impressed at all.
S&W M&P CORE 9mm w/ Leupold Deltapoint - the Leupold sight sits low enough to allow co-witnessing, and features a HUGE if somewhat dim orange triangle for aiming. Use the whole reticle for fast and close, or just the tip for precision. Liked this better than the FNX45 Tac.
Springfield XDS 9mm - very shootable, but had 2 malfunctions in 5 rounds (failures to fire)
Taurus Mil Pro G2 9mm - basically ported the 709 takedown system, trigger and sights onto a redesigned Mil Pro frame. Takes existing Mil Pro mags, which was a smart move. Also at the Taurus booth was the Diamondback .380 (Taurus acqsuired DB late last year), which wasn't particularly comfortable and had a couple failures to fire. I also got to try Hornady's new Triple Defense .410 load through a Taurus Judge. Features a ballistic-tipped slug backed by (2) .35cal balls. Recoil was mild, and the slug shot to POA.
Walther PPX M1 - light, smooth DAO trigger, nice grip and standard (American-style) mag release, but a very tall profile like the HK P30.
Walther PPQ M2 - the PPQ we all know and love, but with a standard mag release! If I wasn't such a hardcore Glock guy, I'd give this one a HARD look.
Walther PPK/S .22 - Umarex's take on the PPK/S. Reliable and accurate, but slide-bit me just like the older .32 and .380 Walthers do. Why didn't they incorporate a S&W-style beaver tail?
ZEV Technologies Tier3 custom Glock - neat-looking gun with flared mag well, lightened slide w/ Leupold Deltapoint, custom metal trigger w/o safety, and grip/barrel work. Failed to return to battery on EVERY shot.
That's it! Tomorrow begins the actual trade show; will post product pics when I get back later this week.
STAY TUNED!
Today was the New Product Shoot, where select manufacturers made some of their new and not-so-new products available for attendees to try.
One notable thing was that there were very few truly NEW items on hand. Many mfrs are simply introducing variations on existing products, or brought models introduced mid or late 2012.
I shot the following:
Armalite M15 .300BLK w/ Hornady's new 208-gr. A-MAX subsonic ammo - VERY smooth shooting with almost no recoil and a performance bullet. I like!
Beretta 92FS Compact INOX - compact 13-shot 9mm that borrows some features from the M9A1.
Beretta ARX-160 .22LR - same size and features as Beretta's groundbreaking 5.56 rifle, but much lighter and in .22. I found it to be a bit unwieldy and didn't care for the supplied iron sights at all. I did not ask and do not know if Beretta is making this gun in-house or subbing it out, but it felt very Umarex-ish.
Colt Competition CCR Pro .308 AR - good shooter with a very effective muzzle brake, but ridiculously heavy for any kind of dynamic application (run and gun).
FNH USA FNX .45 Tactical - big gun but accurate and controllable. FN rep didn't know which mini-RDS the slide was machined to accept. -1 FN
Glock 30S .45 - essentially a G36 slide on a 30SF frame, although it didn't seem appreciably slimmer or lighter than a straight 30SF. It won't be enough to get me back into .45s.
HK P30S 9mm w/ LEM trigger - great grip, smooth and light DAO, accurate, but like most HKs, sits tall in the hand. Oh, and
LSI Citadel 1911 9mm - attractive, accurate, mild recoil and reasonably priced. Like!
Mossberg MVP Varmint .223 bolt action - nice Savage-style adjustable trigger, feeds from AR mags. I'm stoked about the forthcoming Patrol model, w/ synthetic stock and short threaded barrel. I hope it works with PMAGs!
Parabellum Armament AK-ARS top cover rail w/ EOTech on WASR-10 - neat concept and well-executed. Their gas tube "ratchet charging system" I wasn't a fan of.
Rock Island 1911A2 .22TCM - very blasty, but no recoil to speak of. Not especially accurate. Not sure what niche this proprietary caliber is supposed to fill?
Ruger LCR .22Mag, 22/45 LITE, SR1911 Commander, SR45 and LC380 - once again Ruger had the best setup at the range; you entered at one end and made your way down the product line, shooting any or all of the guns, then exited the other end. Good folks, and probably the most new stuff this year. Did not see the new BX-25 "X2" magazine.
Slide Fire stock for S&W M&P-15/22 - requires an extremely light touch to operate. As with other stocks of this type, you focus so hard on getting the technique right that little things like "aiming" go out the window. Not impressed at all.
S&W M&P CORE 9mm w/ Leupold Deltapoint - the Leupold sight sits low enough to allow co-witnessing, and features a HUGE if somewhat dim orange triangle for aiming. Use the whole reticle for fast and close, or just the tip for precision. Liked this better than the FNX45 Tac.
Springfield XDS 9mm - very shootable, but had 2 malfunctions in 5 rounds (failures to fire)
Taurus Mil Pro G2 9mm - basically ported the 709 takedown system, trigger and sights onto a redesigned Mil Pro frame. Takes existing Mil Pro mags, which was a smart move. Also at the Taurus booth was the Diamondback .380 (Taurus acqsuired DB late last year), which wasn't particularly comfortable and had a couple failures to fire. I also got to try Hornady's new Triple Defense .410 load through a Taurus Judge. Features a ballistic-tipped slug backed by (2) .35cal balls. Recoil was mild, and the slug shot to POA.
Walther PPX M1 - light, smooth DAO trigger, nice grip and standard (American-style) mag release, but a very tall profile like the HK P30.
Walther PPQ M2 - the PPQ we all know and love, but with a standard mag release! If I wasn't such a hardcore Glock guy, I'd give this one a HARD look.
Walther PPK/S .22 - Umarex's take on the PPK/S. Reliable and accurate, but slide-bit me just like the older .32 and .380 Walthers do. Why didn't they incorporate a S&W-style beaver tail?
ZEV Technologies Tier3 custom Glock - neat-looking gun with flared mag well, lightened slide w/ Leupold Deltapoint, custom metal trigger w/o safety, and grip/barrel work. Failed to return to battery on EVERY shot.
That's it! Tomorrow begins the actual trade show; will post product pics when I get back later this week.
STAY TUNED!
