Tag Archives: shot show

Ballistic Art in a Cerakote Medium

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Some of the coolest guns I saw at SHOT was a wall at the back of the IWI booth of amazing firearm creations from Pro 2 Customs.

Pro 2, of Tempe, Arizona, is a 07 FFL and 02 SOT licensee that crafts some seriously good work in the medium Cerakote. Teaming up with IWI, the shop brought a slew of great guns to the show.

You dig the Flying Tigers? How about this P-40 Warhawk-themed Galil Ace, complete with Vortex LPVO? It even has rivets.

It uses H146 Graphite, H732 Magpul OD Green, M214 Bullshark Grey, H144 Corvette Yellow, H140 Bright White, and H167 USMC Red.

This “Call of Duty MW”-themed Polyatomic camo’ed IWI Carmel rifle uses H146 Graphite Black, custom purples, and Gun Candy Majesty.

And our favorite: a Cel Shade anime IWM Carmel in 5.56, complete with an EoTech XPS3.

It is crafted with H128 Hunter Orange, H144 Corvette Yellow, and H214 Bullshark Grey for the shading.

Just check out that detail. Looks like a celluloid sheet for sure. That’s gun art.

More in my column at Guns.com

 

If an HK MP5 and a Colt SMG had a Turkish Baby

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Tennessee-based SDS Arms, whose brands include Military Armament Corporation, Tisas, Inglis, and others, brought a slew of new guns to SHOT Show.

We’ve been covering the company for a while and SDS always has some interesting stuff that you just don’t see everywhere else. Giving us a sneak peek at the 2025 catalog, Jahred Gamez introduced us to the new MAC IX.

SDS introduced the MAC 5 series last year, an MP5-style roller-locked pistol series sans the MP5 price.

The MAC5, in its two variants, as introduced in 2024

For those who prefer direct blowback rather than roller lock, with a more AR feel, the company will be introducing the MAC IX in March (just in time for the NRA Annual Meetings in Atlanta).

The MAC IX runs an AR-style safety and trigger group. Note the slingshot-style charging T-handle rather than the forward slap-and-go of the MP5. However, it uses MP5 mags, which are increasingly available at better prices than in previous generations.

Note the rear Pic rail for mounting a pistol brace or stock (NFA rules apply).

More in my column at Guns.com.

KRISS Kymera: The Promise of a Fully Modular Handgun

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Virginia-based Kriss USA has a new pistol on deck for 2025 that promises to be one of the most modular on the market.

The company is best known for its line of innovative Vector series of delayed blowback firearms. Still, it has also produced an oft-forgotten series of high-quality Swiss-made Sphinx handguns that use a CZ-75-ish reversed-rail interface.

The Sphinx:

The new Kymera, which borrows its name from the mythical hybrid creature with parts taken from various animals, looks Sphinx-like … until you get a closer look.

The Kymera, like the Sphinx, is a double action/single action hammer-fired pistol with a low bore axis that is a hallmark of the CZ-75 style reversed-rail system. (Photos: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Catching up with KRISS at SHOT Show last week, the secret sauce of the Kymera is its modular grip, offering replaceable modules with different angles and sizes, all compatible with the original double-stack CZ-75 pattern magazines. For instance, the Kymera will be able to have a 21-degree (Glock style), 19.5-degree (SIG/1911), or an 18-degree grip angle (CZ/S&W). This design allows users to choose the configuration that best aligns with their natural point of aim.

A potential Kymera compact model using a 3.75-inch barrel, 18-degree angle with a short beavertail, 15+1 shot magazine capacity, and four-slot rail.

More in my column at Guns.com.

MAC-V-SOG J frames

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One of the best showings in terms of companies, at SHOT last month was by Smith & Wesson. Not only did they bring back a line of classic “no hole” wheelguns in J, K, and L-frames, but they also reintroduced the Mountain Gun series.

Going past that, two guns that I thought were just great are the new Special Edition Undercover sries shrouded hammer snub-nosed revolvers, designed to honor the Army’s MAC-V-SOG group of Vietnam fame.

Lightweight & performance-focused, these defensive revolvers feature OD Green G10 grips, brass bead front sight, and the iconic Special Operations logo. A portion of proceeds supports the Special Operations Association (SOA).

They are offered in .38 (Model 442-UC SOA) and soft recoiling .32 (Model 432-UC SOA)

Further, I think these are very appropriate as my grandfather, who did three tours in Vietnam and had to often go to remote firebases to fix commo gear, said he always carried his personal all-stainless steel S&W Model 60 with him everywhere he went.

And, as told by Major John Plaster, who spent time as an operator in SOG during the conflict, all the Recon Team (RT) and Hatchet Force men typically carried handguns as backups to their primary rifle system:

SOG’s most used handgun certainly was the Browning 9mm Hi-Power. Many recon men packed the 45 U.S. Government model. although just about any handgun might be encountered, from a Walther P-38 to Colt Commando airweight or hammerless Smith & Wesson snub nose.

Smith & Wesson Getting Back to Wheelgun Roots

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Smith & Wesson is playing the classics at SHOT Show when it comes to bringing back popular revolver lines including the Model 629 and 686 Mountain guns.

The company previously announced it is adding a trio of J and K frame “No Hole” classics— sans the oft-detested internal lock system– to its catalog for 2025. Joining these three new variants at SHOT Show will be a pair of great-looking Mountain Guns including an L-frame .357 Magnum and an N-frame .44 Magnum.

The original Mountain Gun series dates back to the late 1980s. Designed with a tapered 4-inch barrel, a large bore caliber (.357 Mag., .41 Mag., .44 Mag., .45 ACP, .45 LC), adjustable rear sighs, and a stainless steel frame, these were intended for use in the field while being capable of defense against a large predator on two or four legs if needed. While the old MGs of the past, such as the Model 625-6 and 625-9, have faded into history, deleted from Smith’s catalog by 2005, that is changing.

Lipsey’s has partnered with S&W to offer two new Mountain Gun models this year, a 686 Plus (7 shot .357) and a 629 (6 shot .44).

True to the old ways, they will have one-piece 4-inch tapered barrels, adjustable rear sights, and stainless steel construction. Standard features will be a partridge-style front sight with a brass bead insert, Tyler Gun Works high-grade walnut Bear Hug grips on a round butt frame, a beveled cylinder front edge, and chambered charge holes. Likewise, there is no detested internal lock.

The new Smith & Wesson Model 686 Plus Mountain Gun. We were able to lay hands on this thumper at an event with S&W on Sunday night just before SHOT Show. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The 686 Plus Mountain Gun weighs 35 ounces. The 4.13-inch barrel yields and a 9.75-inch overall length. It is a 7-shot .357 Magnum that will also accept .38 Special cartridges. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Both of the new Mountain Gun revolvers from Smith have an adjustable rear sight as well as a partridge-style front sight with a brass bead insert.

We also managed to spend some time with two of the gunmaker’s new Classic No Lock series revolvers, which look more akin to wheelguns the company produced in the 1950s than current models.

The S&W Classic Model 36 No Lock. Note this J-frame .38 Special +P 5-shot revolver has the very old-school half-moon sights seen on early Chief’s Specials as well as walnut medallion grips.

The S&W Classic Model 10 No Lock. This 6-shot K frame .38 Special +P revolver has a set of smooth TGW grips that give it the feel of a WWII Victory model.

Nice to see Smith is getting back to its roots.

Stay tuned for more from SHOT Show.

Stop Holding Your Breath on the Palmetto StG 44 Clone

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Palmetto State Armory on Tuesday signaled the end, at least for now, of its love-hate relationship with rebooting the iconic StG 44.

The South Carolina-based gunmaker announced at SHOT ’23 that its clone would be the first in what they dubbed the “Battlefield” series of historic guns. PSA had enlisted Mac Steil, the “M” of the defunct Hill & Mac Gunworks, a small gunmaker that had been working on an updated semi-auto Sturmgewehr clone for the better part of a decade but never made it to market.

The StG reboot is now vapor ware. 

The guns were to be made with modern techniques complete with a threaded barrel, a long stroke piston operating tilting bolt action, an HK style trigger pack, wooden furniture, and the possibility of being chambered in 5.56 NATO, 7.62x39mm, .300 AAC Blackout, or the original 7.92 Kurz– the latter is still in production by Privi Partisan in Europe.

However, that bubble now seems to have popped, as PSA announced this week.

The TL;DR: They couldn’t make it work and the juice apparently wasn’t worth the squeeze.

From the Basement of SHOT Show

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One of the most uncovered things at SHOT Show last month, I thought, was the Rhineland R3000.

The what?

Exactly.

With styling that evokes the classic Walther WA2000 bullpup, the R3000 is constructed using full-size AR10 parts compatible with SR25-pattern magazines.

At its heart is a custom monolith extruded T7075 aluminum receiver married up to a Shilen match grade barrel with a stainless steel barrel nut, a low-profile gas block that fits under a full-length M1913 top Picatinny rail designed for top or side-mount bipods, a CMC match grade trigger pack, HK pattern push pins, and an American walnut thumbhole bullpup stock.

Note the side-charging bolt carrier group.

If you ever thought, hey, I’d love a WA2000 clone in .308 with AR10 compatibility, then the R3000 could be for you

They also have an R2000, which is the same thing but in an AR15 5.56 concept.

Baa, Baa .45

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While on the ground at the SHOT Show in Las Vegas last month, we came across a Government Issue .45 1911 that looked more at home in the South Pacific in 1943. 

As part of its Air Aces Series, Auto-Ordnance had its new Black Sheep 1911 on display. Crafted by the folks over at Outlaw Ordnance, the artists start with an Auto-Ordnance Stainless 1911 and then apply a carefully researched red, white, and blue Cerakote finish that emulates a World War II aircraft associated with famed Marine air ace Major Gregory “Pappy” Boyington. 

A functional work of art, underneath the custom Cerakote finish, the Black Sheep 1911 is still an Auto-Ordnance Stainless 1911 in .45 ACP. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Note the “rivet” pattern, the sheet of Rising sun victory stencils, and the correct “Lucybelle” nose art. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

lso, note the “belly” of the gun is left in the white to emulate the aluminum body of an F4U Corsair. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The aircraft Boyington was photographed with in November 1943, White 86 (BuNo.18086), was an F4U-1A Corsair of the same type he flew with the Black Sheep. Ironically, no records confirm he ever flew it in combat and the bird was made up specifically for the photoshoot. As such, it included 20 Kyokujitsu-ki rising suns, one for each confirmed Japanese aircraft he had shot down by that time, his name, and the nickname (“Lucybelle”) of his then-girlfriend, Lucy Malcomson. He would later fall out with Malcomson, leading to a bitter court case and, when the 1970s TV show “Baa Baa Black Sheep” would recreate this plane, Boyington, then on his fifth wife, advised the producers the plane was named “Lulubelle” instead.

A late model Goodyear FG 1D Corsair (BuNo 92246), one of only about 100 Corsairs left, is painted to emulate White 86 and is on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com) 

It has Boyington’s name stenciled under the cockpit but no “kill” flags or Lulubelle/Lucybelle nose art. I guess NNAM didn’t want to wade into that controversy

x

Smith J-frame for the win

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The odd thing about carry guns, even in a day when the market is awash in micro-compact 9mm pistols like the P365 and Hellcat, is that the snub-nosed revolver still sells and sells very well. I have often carried one over the past 30 years, either as a BUG to my primary or when in a non-permissive environment.

This thing has tagged along with me more than I care to admit

Billed as the ultimate small-frame carry revolver, S&W debuted a new line of SAO aluminum J-frame snub-nosed wheel guns at the SHOT Show this year. 
 
The new Ultimate Carry line is offered in a Model 642UC (stainless) and 442UC (black) Airweight Centennial format in a 5-shot .38 Special as well as a new 632UC and 432UC in 6-shot .32 H&R Magnum. All feature a fresh style of .140-inch XS Tritium front sight with a dovetailed .160-inch black serrated Novak-style U-notch rear sight and flush-cut “High Horn” VZ G10 boot grips. Going past that, the internals have been beefed up with titanium pins (rather than the standard aluminum) as used with the Scandium frame models to add durability over the years and a much-improved trigger pull. 

They both look and feel great.

The weight on the Smith & Wesson Ultimate Carry is right at 16 ounces. Note the enclosed ejector rod shroud, beveled cylinder front edge which aids in carry, and VZ G10 boot grips that have been updated to provide a higher backstrap on the gun.

More in my column at Guns.com.

New CMP 1911s?

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The CMP has been in the Army surplus M1911 business for the past half-decade, drawing up to 10,000 each year since 2018 from a dwindling supply of 100,000 mostly World War II-era guns long-stored at the Anniston Army Depot. However, everyone realizes these guns are in short supply – leading to a lottery system by CMP to sell them to the public with prices starting at $1,050 for even a very well-worn pistol – and eventually, the Depot will run dry. 

With that in mind, in a partnership announced at the SHOT Show, the organization and SDS have teamed up with Tisas to produce a special CMP M1911A1 model for sale to the public to help fund its national youth-focused marksmanship efforts. 

The production of a new-manufactured M1911 for the CMP is big news. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The .45 ACP Government model, according to SDS, will be “a museum-grade reproduction of a mid-war M1911A1 as it was issued during the Second World War.” This will include “United States Property” markings, a Type E hammer, and reproduction WWII-style brown plastic grips – although an extra set of walnut double diamond checkered grips will be included with each gun. 

In a nod to the special status with the marksmanship organization, they will be “CMP” marked. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

The slide, frame, and small parts will be Manganese Phosphate finished, and there will be no MIM parts used in the manufacturing process. Like most Tisas 1911s, it will have Series 70 internals. 

Sure, they are made in Turkey, but Tisas makes a hell of a 1911.

The cost, sold through the CMP, will be $479. 

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