Tag Archives: new gun

A Rost What?

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If you have followed this blog for more than five minutes, you’ll get that I like new guns, which come around almost every day.

Something rarer are new gun companies, and I always take an interest in those and they can sometimes prove a bigger and more complex story.

The first new gun company of the year this year appears to be Texas-based Rost Martin, who has what at first appears to be a G19-sized vanilla striker-fired polymer-framed 9mm pistol, but at closer look seems to be a little better (and for a better price).

Their flagship RM1C pistol is a compact-sized double-stack 9mm, that sports a 4-inch hammer-forged barrel, 7.1-inch overall length, and a 21.1-ounce unloaded weight with a 15+1 round magazine. This puts it a hair smaller than the Glock 19 Gen 5. It is optics-ready on all models, shipping with an RMR footprint, while plates for “all other popular optic footprints” will be available.

Other features include aggressive front and rear slide serrations, ambidextrous surface controls including slide catch and mag release, and what is described as “a smooth, light 5-pound trigger pull with a clean break and a short reset.” Added to this are non-glare top slide serrations similar to what is seen on S&W and Walther pistols, an inherent low bore axis, and a Tenifer-treated nitrocarburized slide. It has interchangeable rear grip inserts.

The Texas-made RM1C will be offered in black, gray, and FDE, and has a very AREX Delta Gen 2 vibe.

Don’t worry about support, as it uses CZ P10 pattern mags that are free, and accept XD pattern sights.

Of note, it has a Glock-style takedown albeit with arguably better ergos.

All right, so enough of the windup – how about the pitch? The MSRP on the new Rost Martin RM1C is set at $459 across all models, a price that will probably be a little lower at retail. That puts it on par price-wise with an optics-ready Turkish-made Stoeger STR-9C or Canik TP9SF but about a hundo more than a PSA Dagger, but then again it has a feature set better than the basic Dagger.

The folks at Rost Martin are sending me one to test and I am meeting with them at SHOT next week to get some more background info, so watch this space.

Back Again: Inglis Hi-Powers

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The original John Inglis and Company dated to 1937 (and even further back to the 1850s as the Mair, Inglis, and Evatt concern) and was based in Toronto.

Primarily a maker of home appliances – the firm was bought in 1987 by Whirlpool, Canada, and still operates there under the old banner – during World War II they did their part to help win the war and produced Bren light machine guns and Hi-Power pistols, making over 100,000 of each for the Allied cause, largely for KMT China and the Commonwealth. 

The Canadian Browning-Inglis production was aided during WWII by FN’s exiled staff, with the BHP’s co-designer, Dieudonné Saive, helping with the technical package, making these guns unofficial clones. Ultimately, an agreement was reached to pay FN a royalty of 25 cents after the war for each gun produced. (Photos: Library and Archives Canada/City of Toronto Archives/Canadian Forces)

A WWII-era Canadian-made Browning-Inglis No. 2 Mk1* Hi-Power, as found in the Guns.com Vault. Note the internal extractor and “thumbprint” slide, hallmarks of 1940s BHPs. These were imported in the 1980s by Navy Arms for like $300

Browning-Inglis No. 2 Mk1* Hi-Powers that had been produced in Toronto during the conflict remain in service with the Canadian military and are set to be retired shortly by a variant of the SIG Sauer P320, which will be type classified as the C22 in Canadian service.    

Other Inglis Hi-Powers went to the British military, who liked the pistol so much that it went on to adopt a slightly improved Belgian-made model in 1963, type classified as the L9A1, to finally kick the wheel gun habit the Brits had picked up back in the Crimean War with the Adams revolver. These Hi-Powers remained in service with the Brits until very recently when they were replaced by the Glock 17 while the Australians opted to go with a SIG-based replacement in 2022. 

The British (and Australian) L9A1 Hi-Power was generally more along the lines of the post-WWII Browning “T” series Hi-Power, typically with an external extractor and plastic grips. (Photos: Imperial War Museum/Australian War Memorial)

Now, SDS Imports, the Tennessee-based firm that includes the brands Tisas USA, Tokarev USA, Spandau, and Military Armament Corporation (MAC), has rebooted Inglis and intends to bring some period-correct Hi-Powers to the American consumer market.

The new company plans an L9A1-ish clone to include a black Chromate finish and plastic grips as well as three more commercial models: a black Inglis P-35B with walnut grips, the satin nickel Inglis P-35N with black G10 grips, and a color-case hardened Inglis GP-35. 

The planned Inglis L9A1 clone. Likely made by Tisas in Turkey but, if their past work is anything to judge, it is probably well-done

“The market demand has not been met for historically accurate Hi-Powers,” said Military Armament Corporation/SDS CEO Tim Mulverhill. “We’re planning for the L9A1 to influence the Hi-Power market the way the Tisas U.S. Army did in the 1911 market.”

Prices will range from $489 for the L9A1 to $649 for the GP-35. 

I’ll have the full details from SHOT Show later this month.

Ruger and Rabbits from Hats…

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You may not remember this, but FN coughed up the 5.7x28mm round in 1990 after nearly a decade of R&D. The Belgian gunmaker had a wrap on the cartridge and the guns– the Five-Seven pistol and P90 PDW– that used it for decades. This made it very niche and, by 2019, was close to falling out of production.

Then swooped in Ruger with their 57 pistol and it became a hit.

Soon, everyone was talking about 5.7 again.

In the past few years since, CMMG, Diamondback, KelTec, PSA, and S&W entered the 5.7 game while Ruger expanded their offerings to include carbines, forcing FN to release an updated Mk3 variant of the Five-Seven pistol. In the same period, ammo makers saw the writing on the wall and started making the rounds in quantity and variants never seen in the caliber, both increasing supply and halving the cost.

Amazing what can happen when someone takes an almost forgotten round and, through the introduction of a new gun, breathes life back into it.

Well, Ruger may be trying to do a repeat with a new chambering for an old revolver. Last week they announced a new variant of the vaunted double-action Ruger Super Redhawk in .22 Hornet.

I did not see this coming, at all

That’s an odd move for a wheel gun that was typically chambered in big hunting grade/counter bear calibers such as .44 Rem Mag and .454 Casull. Heck, Ruger created the .480 Ruger in 2003– then the largest-diameter production revolver cartridge– just for the Super Redhawk.

Further, it is the only new .22 Hornet handgun on the market anywhere. The last was the old bolt-action Savage Arms Striker bench gun that went out of production in 2005.

What’s so special about the .22 Hornet?

Developed by Townsend Whelen a full century ago, the .22 Hornet is not rimfire like the .22 Magnum and .22 LR but is instead a centerfire round that is about a half-inch shorter than a .223/5.56. The longer 35mm case of the .22 Hornet (the .22 Mag has a case length of 26mm) allows it to carry a heavier bullet at a faster speed, typically twice the velocity of a .22 Mag, while generating almost three times the energy downrange. In short, the .22 Hornet is a blistering fast little round (Hornady’s 35-grain VMax load has a released spec of 3,060 feet per second) and is ideal for use by varmint hunters and in survival guns– a use the military had for it for years.

The old M6 Aircrew survival weapon, which was a .22 Hornet over a 410 shotgun

However, today, the .22 Hornet is still around but should be listed as being on life support.

As far as I can tell, the only production guns in the .22 Hornet these days are bolt action rifles: the Savage 25 in several different finishes and barrel lengths, and the Ruger 77/22. Browning-owned Winchester still markets a Japanese-made Model 1885 Low Wall Hunter in the caliber, but production can’t be very brisk, and odds are they just pulling from a batch made years ago that is sitting in a warehouse somewhere.

Keeping these new guns and legacy models fed is likewise slim-picking but not impossible. The round is still in commercial production both in the U.S. by Federal, Hornady, and Winchester, and overseas by PPU and Sellier & Bellot.

Has Ruger been reading the tea leaves on this one and seen an opportunity to pull another rabbit out of the hat, caliber speaking, when it comes to the fading .22 Hornet? We’ll see.

Selectable Binary Glock: The G-S173

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Two years ago, Nevada-based Franklin Armory broke SHOT Show by appearing at the event with the first commercial selector-switch-equipped slide with a companion two-position binary trigger for a 9mm striker-fired pistol. Set up especially for the Gen 3 Glock 17, it had all the G18-style aesthetic (while being NFA compliant) and a crowd-pleasing ability for binary fire – which allows the user to fire a round both on the pull of the trigger and the release.

The two-position selector. To cancel the release round on G-S173, simply move the selector lever located on the slide from binary to the “semi” position before releasing the trigger.

With some practice, 17-round mags ran dry in right around two seconds at SHOT Show 2022.

Rather than just “spray and pray” giggle time kinda fun on the range, such triggers have a very valid application. When used properly and with sufficient training, users will see much-reduced split times and produce tighter groupings, especially when running controlled pairs.

Fast forward to this week and Franklin Armory has released the G-S173 to the public– and I got one.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Everything old is new again, DW 1911 edition

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If you have followed this blog for more than a week or so, you’d know that I have a soft spot for 1911s. Well, at Indy last week, it was obvious that Dan Wesson is keeping a foot in both the vintage and contemporary 1911 market.

The newest version of the DW Specialist debuted at the 152nd NRA Annual Meetings in Indianapolis over the weekend, adding an optics-ready slide to the .45 ACP rail gun. The factory cut has three optic plate options while a front fixed Novak-style fiber optic night sight and a tactical rear sight are also mounted.

Dan Wesson 1911 Specialist Optics-Ready includes a tactical hammer and a long solid trigger in addition to an ambi safety.

Note the Picatinny accessory rail, G10 VZ Operator II grips, and 25 LPI front strap checkering. The forged stainless steel frame and slide has a matte black duty finish.

Then there is the Heirloom.

The company’s Heirloom 1911 series are typically only offered in limited runs each year, usually just in .45 ACP. Now, for the first time, Dan Wesson is rolling with a .38 Super chambering for this top-shelf Government Issue-sized pistol. Made with premium parts while remaining eminently shootable, the pistol uses hand-fit 70 Series frames and slides paired with a match-grade barrel.

One of the big selling points is that these are rock-solid guns and that DW refuses to use any MIM small parts in the construction of an Heirloom. The idea is that it is built to withstand the test of time and is made to be handed down from one generation to the next– still as accurate and dependable as it was on day one.

Note the Black DLC high-polished finish, scrollwork, brass front sight, and Ivory-colored G10 grips.

The Heirloom ships with a solid medium-length trigger, undercut trigger guards, hand-polished flats, a beveled magazine well, and an overall carry bevel treatment.

I wouldn’t toss either one out of my safe. 

Smith expands the EZ to become the ‘Equalizer’

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On a visit to Smith & Wesson late last month, I got a sneak peek at a new pistol that became public knowledge this week– the Equalizer. While the name of the gun may sound a bit intimidating, it’s designed to be anything but. The newest member of an ever-growing concealed carry lineup, it sports a 15+1 capacity, but it comes with a 13 and 10-round magazine option as well, both of which are also included with purchase.

S&W Equalizer, photos by me

S&W combined the Shield Plus grip width and magazine footprint with the popular EZ technology up top. They switched up the grip texture a bit but still kept the same width as the Shield Plus, thus allowing it to use the same mags. On the grip, it keeps the same grip safety as the EZ series, though you can also purchase options with an additional thumb safety if you’re into manual safeties.

Anywhoo, we shall see how the market takes to the newest entry in the big capacity/small frame “micro 9” race.

Turkish Tactical

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I’ve been looking at the new Tisas PX-9 Gen3 Tactical for a few months now and have found a lot to like about it. The third generation of the Tisas-made polymer-framed striker-fired pistol includes a 5.1-inch extended threaded barrel, accepts easy-to-find SIG P226 pattern double-stack mags, is offered in three finishes (black Tenifer, OD green, or FDE Cerakote), has a decent 4.5-pound flat-faced trigger, comes with steel suppressor-height Glock-pattern sights with a front fiber-optic, and has a factory micro red-dot slide cut in a Trijicon RMR/SRO pattern.

Proving reliable across the first 1,000 rounds of Barnaul import, CCI Blazer Brass, and Federal American Eagle 115-grain FMJ, I recently quieted down a bit and tested it with a suppressor.

A big one.

For reference, the overall length in this format was 16 inches and it balanced well between the full mag and the can. Keep in mind you could always shrink that down, for instance, the SilencerCo Omega 36M shown can be dropped to its short format, or you could use a lighter can such as an 8-ounce Osprey 9 2.0, but we are getting too much in the weeds here. You get the idea.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Beretta drops a new APX pistol (yaay)

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Beretta has a lot of cool products that they just carry overseas or sell to LE/Mil channels including the AR-70/90 and the PM-12 SMG. So when they have a big push to release a new gun and an updated edition of their Tactical Toblerone APX pistol rolls out, it is a kinda whomp whomp kinda moment.

Meet the NEW! Beretta APX A1 FS.

On the upside, the company seems to be making a special effort to put red dots on everything in the catalog, with optics-ready models of the M9A4 Centurion, 92X Performance Defensive, and 92X RDO Compact all arriving with the feature. Beretta’s budget line, Stoeger, is seeing similar expansions. 

Getting Some Sun in the Sonoran Desert

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So I spent most of last week hanging out in Phoenix with some friends, covering Sig’s Freedom Days event. Tons of fun, even if I had to set up the Guns.com booth with my buddy, Ben.

Of course, I am the Jerry Garcia-looking character in the above. 

Check out some of these highlights: 

Anywho, got to hang out and detail the action, so expect lots of neat stuff next week about what I saw, heard, and found out.

Now to nurse that sunburn…

Tisas PX-9 Gen 3. Say what?

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Tennessee-based SDS Imports is bringing in an affordable 9mm double stack with a ton of features, the Tisas PX-9 Gen 3.

SDS specializes in importing quality pistols, shotguns, and accessories. In the past few years, they have partnered with Tisas (pronounced “Tis-ash”) in Turkey to supply well-made M1911-style handguns to the U.S. market that have built a following through a combination of good reviews and affordable pricing. Newer and more modern is the PX-9 series of polymer-framed striker-fired pistols, with the third generation guns being the most feature-rich.

This brings me to the Tisas PX-9 Gen 3 Tactical I currently have under evaluation.

Gotta say, I don’t hate it as it has a lot of good things going for it including an RMR direct-mount optics cut, an extended threaded barrel, Glock pattern sights, P226 pattern magazines, a decent trigger, modular grip ergos, a ton of accessories, and the ability to use XD-M holsters– all for about $500.

It looks like a mix of every modern combat pistol– and for good reason

More in my column at Guns.com.

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