Tag Archives: shot show 2022

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.

Verdict on the New (and Improved) FN High Power

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FN one-upped the now resurgent Browning Hi-Power race by distancing itself from the clone wars to deliver an improved and modern take on the pistol, the High Power (note the difference in spelling).

I’ve been looking at this new generation of the pistol over the past few months and, with 500 rounds and lots of careful evaluation and testing, have a lot to talk about.

Stoked with 17+1 rounds of Federal Hydra Shok Deep 135-grain JHPs in condition one, the High Power hit the scales at 43.5 ounces. While a hefty carry, for those who are fine with a full-sized pistol, you could do much worse than the High Power.

More in my column at Guns.com.

FDE Times Two

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So on my plate in the next few weeks are these beauties by way of Fabrique Nationale’s hipper new American subsidiary, FN USA. I met both of these hoglegs in prototype/first run format at SHOT Show/NRAAM earlier this year and finally got hooked up with production versions of them for T&E purposes. 

The guns are the FN Five-seveN Mk3 MRD, the company’s third generation take on the 20+1 capacity 5.7x28mm pistol, and the new 17+1 9mm FN High Power, which looks a lot like Mr. Browning’s/M. Saive’s Hi-Power of old (notice the difference in spelling) but only looks that way.

Expect more on both very soon.

Maxim Getting in the Long Game

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Maxim Defense arrived at SHOT Show last week in Nevada with its new SR-25 style rifle, the MD:11, complete with options for a PROOF Research carbon fiber barrel.

The new MD:11 is a direct impingement AR-10 style rifle offered in 6.5 Creedmoor or .308 Winchester, with all models using either an 18-inch PROOF Research carbon-fiber or stainless-steel barrel set in billet 7075-T6 receivers with a floating 15.5-inch M-LOK slotted handguard. The lightweight barrel helps keep weight down to the 9-pound range.

Other standard features are a carbine buffer system, B5 SOPMOD stock, ambi surface controls, and Gisselle SSA-E trigger. I found it to be a laser on the range (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Maxim says the MD:11 was initially designed for USSOCOM requirements. However, once the decision was made to commercialize the SOCOM requirement (within limits), 6.5 Creedmoor and .308 Winchester were deemed the best calibers.

More in my column at Guns.com.

The Coolest Thing I saw at SHOT Show, by far

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Harnessing the power of the sun, Holosun had its new SCS – Solar Charging Sight – leading a pack of new items on display at SHOT Show.

The Holosun SCS uses a Grade 5 titanium housing that’s lighter and stronger than aluminum and features a reticle that offers a 2-MOA dot and 32-MOA circle available in either red or green. Oh yeah, and its Solar Failsafe system sucks in ambient light to charge an internal battery. Holosun tells us it can charge rapidly during regular range time and maintenance sessions with the internal battery, which is able to store a 20,000-hour (2.28 year) charge in the total absence of light.

Oh yeah…

More in my column at Guns.com.

SHOT Hints the 5.7mm Trend may de here to Stay

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Building on a spate of recent new firearm releases chambered for the once-exotic FN 5.7 round, the aisles at SHOT Show this month seemed to reinforce that the caliber is here to stay.

While the 5.7×28 was originally just designed for FN’s PDW program– which led to the P90/PS90 and the Five-seveN series pistol– the now-NATO standardized cartridge caught a boost from Ruger in late 2019 with the Ruger 57 pistol followed soon after at SHOT Show 2020 by the prototype Diamondback DBX large-format pistol. Since then, KelTec has brought its P50 pistol to market, the CMMG Mk57 has appeared, and the DBX has started to appear on dealer’s shelves. In the meantime, FN updated the Five-seveN with new features and colors.

With Vista’s ammo brands (Federal, Speer, etc.) pumping out new 5.7 rounds as fast as they can to keep up with the trend, even more 5.7-chambered guns are inbound.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Is EAA closer to what the Hi-Power folks want?

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As I previously passed on, FN pulled a Kevorkian on the elderly Browning Hi-Power in 2017 then last week announced a “we have the technology” FN High Power (note the extended spelling) that kinda uses some BHP DNA but is a totally new gun with a lot of the same styling but none of the reverse compatibility and support.

As a counter, EAA is working with Girsan in Turkey to produce the P35– a play on the fact that the original BHP was the Grande Puissance 35 when introduced just prior to WWII. Taking the MK II/MK III model of the Hi-Power as a starting point, they met with success last year with EAA telling me at SHOT last week that they have seen remarkable interest in the new, $500ish BHP clone.

Speaking of EAA at SHOT, they also had some modernized prototypes on hand that include an extended beavertail grip on the frame, a straight trigger, adjustable fiber optic sights, G10 grips, a built-in flared mag well, and an option for an accessory rail. 

More in my column at Guns.com.

The 411 on the new FN High Power (not the Browning Hi-Power)

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I dropped by FN’s booth at SHOT Show in Las Vegas this week to get the scoop on the new FN High Power pistol line.

Not just a restart of the old FN/Browning Hi-Power, the new 9mm guns have a 21st-century flair to them, with a 17+1 magazine capacity, ambi controls, texturing on the frame, better ergonomics, and FN 509-pattern dovetail sights. They will be available in three variants including the standard black model, one in FDE– sure to be a hit with modern FN owners who collect that genre– and a true stainless steel model. 

Each will ship with two sets of grips.

More in my column at Guns.com.

Meet .30 Federal Super Carry

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There have been a few .30-caliber rimless handgun rounds over the years that met with mixed success, for instance, the .30 Mauser– the round that most C96 Broomhandles and a fair amount of early Lugers were chambered in– as well as the .30 French Long (7.65x20mm Longue) of MAS 38/Mle. 35 and Pedersen Device fame. However, their days have come and gone.

With that being said, meet a new take on an old idea: Federal on Wednesday announced a new caliber that is more compact than 9mm NATO and more effective than .380 ACP– the .30 Super Carry. 

Calling it, “the most revolutionary advancement in self-defense history,” the Federal Premium .30 Super Carry at introduction runs a 100-grain .312 caliber bullet. When loaded in Federal’s HST profile self-defense line– with the 100-grain JHP reaching a velocity of 1,250 fps to pull down an energy load of 347 ft./lbs.– the company says it has a .530-inch expansion and 15.5-inches of penetration in ballistics gel. 

Federal 30 Super Carry sandwiched by 9mm and .380 HST loads (Photo: Federal)

The key takeaway from the specs is that the .30SC is slimmer overall than the 9mm, allowing more cartridges to be loaded per magazine, typically two more in the same length stick. For instance, in a Smith & Wesson Shield EZ that would normally have a 9mm capacity of 8+1, when available in .30SC that capacity would grow to 10+1 rounds.

Federal’s parent company, Vista Outdoors, is set to deliver loads from its Remington and Speer subsidiaries, while both Smith & Wesson and Nighthawk Customs reportedly have pistols inbound.

More in my column at Guns.com.