The Springfield Armory 1911 DS Prodigy 9mm Gets WILEY with Coyote Brown Cerakotes

The seemingly endless expansion of the Czech Republic’s arms and ammo manufacturing continues, with news of the country expanding production inside the borders of Ukraine.

Mesa Tactical has two new mounts for RMR-pattern reflex sights. These mounts place the RMR low enough to co-witness with the factory iron sights. Mesa Tactical already made a similar mount for the Beretta A300/1301 family of shotguns, but now Benelli M4 and M2 owners can outfit their guns as well.

FAB Defense have launched an all polymer version of their Gradus pistol grip. The Gradus-X is an ergonomic grip designed for rifles that use AR pattern pistol grips. It has a palm swell and a 15 degree grip angle which FAB Defense say reduces hand and wrist strain. It is available in three colors: black, olive drab green and flat dark earth. Perhaps the main draw of the Gradus-X over the original, rubberised Gradus, is that the Gradus-X retails at $11.99 MSRP, while the Gradus comes in at $25.99. So if you're in the market for an economical, slightly different, ergonomic grip for your AR, the Gradus-X may fit the bill.

Today’s podcast we’re bringing on a new friend of mine Roy Hill, to talk about a very honorable organization called SOWW. The Special Operations Wounded Warriors is a charity that specifically focuses on members of the armed services who are active with or have served with the special operations community. Roy Hill has had a lot of experience within the firearms world and while he now sits on the board of SOWW, at one point in time he worked for Brownells, which is where I happened to meet him. After hearing about what he does with SOWW today, I thought it was important we had him on to talk about what exactly SOWW does with the charitable donations that it receives.

Big Horn Armory has released a takedown version of their Model 89 lever action rifle. The takedown mechanism of this rifle was designed by none other than John Moses Browning himself. By the way, Model 89 lever guns are also basically Browning designs as they have Winchester Model 1886/1892 pattern actions. In fact, 89 in the model name of BHA’s lever gun is the arithmetic mean of 86 and 92, because size-wise the Big Horn Armory Model 89 is right between the Winchester Model 1886 and 1892. Let’s take a look at the specs and features of the Big Horn Armory Model 89 Take Down lever action rifle.

Colt CZ Group’s expansion continues at pace with the announcement that their factory in Hungary will increase its production capacity to help serve the export market. The factory was initially established, following an agreement with the Hungarian government, in 2018 to produce CZ Bren 2 rifles for the Hungarian armed forces but Colt CZ Group now plans to export Hungarian made firearms as part of external procurements and sales.

The quest for treasure has consumed human imagination for centuries, whether buried pirate gold or submerged, shipwrecked Spanish doubloons. But what about finding long-lost firepower? Florida-based Bowman Arms says it’s bringing a load of surplus Thompson submachine guns to the market after they spent decades “submerged” in a secret location.

SilencerCo have acquired Zev Technologies with the aim of supporting Zev’s shift away from OEM manufacturing to reinforcing their brand as a developer of innovative products like the OZ9 Pistol and the Folding Defensive Pistol (FDP-9) and the Folding Defensive Carbine (FDC-9).

Smith & Wesson have expanded their compact carry pistol range with the new Bodyguard 2.0, a micro compact pistol chambered on .380 Auto.

Well known for their special edition rifles Henry have introduced a new series of rifles celebrating The American Legion. The series includes three rifles, a .22 Golden Boy, a .44 Big Boy and a .357 Mag/.38 Spl Big Boy X. The first two rifles feature engravings with the American Legion’s four pillars: Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation, National Security, Americanism, and Youth. Henry say they will be donating a portion of every sale of the rifles to The American Legion. The Big Boy X has ‘American Legion’ embossed on its stock.

You can get holsters that fit specific pistols, or you can get generic holsters that fit a wide variety of pistols. But when you add in a weapon-mounted light? That’s when things get even more complicated. Crucial Concealment says they can change that though, with the new Universal Light Holster.

MDT Sporting Goods is announcing the expansion of its Field Stock Chassis System line to include the CZ 455, Savage MKII, and Tikka T1X rimfire rifles. These additions aim to enhance the performance and ergonomics of these popular rifles, providing shooters with a tailored and customizable shooting experience.

Smith & Wesson has just announced a new series within the M&P line of pistols, the M&P Carry Comp series. For anyone not in the know as to what a Carry Comp is, it involves compensating the muzzle rise during recoil by venting gas upward against the impulse through a compensator cut into the pistol’s slide and barrel near the muzzle. Compensators have been rising in popularity with the handgun market for some time and S&W has included them as add-on features for their M&P 2023 Spec series. However, the new S&W M&P Carry Comp series comes with the compensator cut directly from the slide and barrel.

2024 marks the 135th anniversary of the founding of the FN factory in Herstal, Belgium. No Herstal Group, FN’s parent company, will be changing its name to FN Browning Group. This encapsulates the company’s two major brands - both of which have a lot of history behind them.

Vang Comp Systems, a noted customizer of scatterguns, has a new model that’s not a shotgun. The new TAC-14 Deluxe is an “other firearm” according to the ATF instead of a “shotgun” even though it fires 12-gauge shotgun shells. Let’s take a look at why that matters.

2024 marks Ruger’s 75th anniversary as an American firearms manufacturer. Whether you learnt to shoot with a Ruger 10-22, carry a Ruger American or enjoy plinking at the range with anything from a Mk IV to a Super Blackhawk many of us have enjoyed Ruger’s firearms over the years. Now to celebrate their 75th anniversary Ruger have announced a limited run of 75 special edition engraved Ruger No.1s, the company’s classic falling block single shot rifle which was first introduced back in 1967.

The board at Vista Outdoors is unanimously behind a restructuring plan that will see the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) buying its ammo-related business, with the rest of the company restructuring after the sale.

Back in the heady days of the Roman Empire, a centurion commanded 100 soldiers. Today, for only four hundred bucks, you, too, can become a commander of sorts with the Century Arms Centurion 11, a 1911-style pistol chambered in the classic .45 ACP.

In our continuing coverage of Lynx Brutality 2024, we’re bringing back Les Winner of Polaris Logistics. Les, as many of you know, does a lot of work behind the scenes at each Brutality match, often helping competitors transport their firearms across the globe in the most hassle-free way possible. In addition to trafficking arms, Les also spends a lot of time on his own YouTube channel -  Pegasus Tests - testing out tons of different styles of modern and retro military gear. Today Les and I discuss some of his favorite firearms from Lynx Brutality 2024, as well as some of his other observations about this match, and others like it after having been through the Lynx gauntlet himself a couple of times now. Please welcome back Les Winner to the show!

Last year at TriggerCon, VKTR Industries introduced their new piston-driven VK1 AR-15 in rifle and pistol configurations. At this year’s GunCon 2024 at Brownells, they introduced their brand new VKTR Industries DI Bolt Carrier Group for Direct-Impingement AR-15 rifles and pistols. This new DI BCG features the same precision cam geometry as the VK-1 piston rifle’s BCG, the goal of which is to have a smoother operation and less contact inside the receiver during lockup and unlock of the bolt.

Ed Brown is well-known in the world of 1911 handguns, and the Kobra Carry model has long been a staple in their lineup. For the 25th anniversary of the Kobra Carry, Ed Brown is releasing a dual-caliber kit. Let’s take a look at the features.

1791 Gunleather has introduced two new holsters comprising the Military Classic series. Both models are leather and revivals of classic US military designs. If you have either a 1911 or Hi-Power clone (or would like to) keep reading to check them out.

ZeroTech Optics has a new red dot sight. The HALO (Heavy-duty Aspherical Lens Optics) fits an RMSc footprint and includes an adapter to mount on standard pic rails. It also boasts a 50,000-hour battery life on a single CR2032 cell.

HUXWRX has a new blast deflector compatible with their muzzle devices. The Kaibosh redirects sound away from the shooter but does not act as a suppressor. This device is mounted on standard HUXWRX muzzle devices so it can fit easily on any gun with the appropriate flash hider or brake,

Say you want a handgun cartridge that hits hard and carries small. You might end up buying a pistol chambered in 30 Super Carry and then you might be looking for practice ammunition. Federal says it’s got what you want, with a new loading in its Champion Training series.

MDT has a new, innovative product to help track time during shooting competitions. The Crush It stage timer is customizable and mounts to standard rails. Let’s take a look at all of its features.

Springfield Armory turned a lot of heads with the announcement of their Prodigy handgun 2 years ago, and they have been looking to create new iterations ever since with the aim to make it truly available for everyone. Their latest installment is a 10-Round 1911 DS Prodigy™ 9mm for those who might live in restrictive states, cities, and/or locales limiting your magazine capacity.

While at GunCon 2024 at the Brownells headquarters, I stopped in at the Victor Company booth and found some brand new chassis with two handguard options for the Ruger 10/22 rifle. The Victor Company RPG Chassis for the Ruger 10/22 platform are designed with precision shooting and competition in mind but are light enough to fit other roles as well. The Victor Company’s “RPG” designation stands for “Rapid Precision Gun.”

While attending GunCon 2024 at Brownells’ facility, Brownells was displaying their brand new, purpose-built Gunsmith Vise and additional accessories to fit your bench and convenience. The new Brownells Gunsmith Vise is made by Heuer in Germany but designed with Brownells’ specifications. Staff said that they opted to have their Gunsmith Vise painted in Brownells Green to get back to their roots and stick with the brand color. He quickly pointed to the cans of Brownells Aluma-Hyde spray in case customers would like to change up the color of their new vise. Let’s take a closer look.