As an assistant mountain goat guide in Southeast Alaska there were two traits I really appreciated about certain hunters, being able to shoot accurately and packing light.  The gear from Spartan Precision Equipment is oriented towards both of those virtues.  To help hunters achieve a more stable shooting platform Spartan has produced quick attach bipods and tripods.  The quick attack function is achieved with a slip collar and rare earth magnets.  This creates a very positive lockup.

It was on Tuesday, January 22nd that  The Firearm Blog broke the news of a NEW Boyds At-One Adjustable Thumbhole stock. The Press Release directly from Boyds clued us all in on the new gun stocks that would be immediately available for 2019, but it is always better to check them out in person… So we did! We headed over to the Boyds booth at SHOT Show and handled some of the At-One stocks for ourselves.

Victor Company has been around since 2010.  In that time they have been big supporters of precision rifle events, sponsoring numerous Snipers Hide Cups and Competition Dynamics events.  The owner, Michael Victor, is himself an avid long-range shooter and competitor.  So it makes sense that the products coming out of Victor Company are designed to meet a need for the end-user not just make a buck.

The Steyr Monobloc was one of the things I was most excited to see at this year’s SHOT.  While I don’t feel that having a monolithic barrel and action will offer any great gains in accuracy, repeatability or reliability I do feel that Steyr is pushing the envelope forward.  JFK’s “We choose to go to the moon” speech comes to mind, “Not because it is easy, but because it is hard.”  And like going to the moon this one rifle will likely not be the pinnacle of this technology, but rather lead to other innovations in the future.  Even putting all that aside it is one elegant looking firearm.

Grovtec, the American manufacturer of firearm accessories, is stepping into 2019 with a host of new products! There is often beauty in simplicity and they have a lot of small accessories that will hopefully make your hunt or day at the range a lot easier. They have 3 headlining products to keep you covered from your traditional rifle to your modern sporting rifle. Let’s take a look!

Lancer’s new L30 AIR (Aerial Interdiction Rifle) was designed for gunners from an aerial platform.  Chambered in both .308 and 6.5 Creedmoor, this rifle was designed with being lightweight for caliber as well as compact.  The upper receiver was developed with weight reduction in mind, and lacks a forward assist and dust cover.  Further weight reduction is achieved with the selection of Rubber City Armory’s Ti Bolt carrier group.  It’s skeletonized rail is compatible with most rail mounted brass catching or deflecting devices, a must when used from most helicopters.

“Necessity is the mother of invention”  This was certainly the case for Daniel Gyurec.  At the show, he told me about the instigating event for the creation of the bipodeXT.  He was out shooting with a friend, and as it often does, it turned into a friendly competition, which he lost.  He said losing wasn’t so bad but it was the fact he just couldn’t get his rifle as stable as he wanted that bugged him.  The epiphany hit a few days later when he was watching an action movie.  The main character was using the edge of a building as a front rest, but with most of the rifle hanging over the edge creating a teeter-totter effect.  Gyurec though to himself how much more stable this position would be if the rifle were rested more towards the muzzle.  Days later he had a “rough”(read pipe and duct tape) proof of concept affixed to his rifle and was seeing improved stability.  A few years later his design has been refined and expanded into the products pictured here.

Thunder Beast has long been a go-to silencer for precision long-range shooters. This is in large part because the engineering that goes into their cans is as focused on things like repeatability and minimal point of impact shift as it is on noise reduction. (I have shot sub-half minute 5 shot groups while removing and replacing the unit after every shot.) This makes even more sense when you get to know the engineers, they are all long-range shooters themselves.  In fact, Zak Smith (the owner) has been in the precision rifle competition field since 2005.  So, when I heard they had a new bipod out I knew it was going to be worth taking a look at.

Radetec ( Rade Technology Corporation) has been covered by TFB before for some pretty incredibly technology. In 2012 they announced a shot counter built into the grips of your pistol that appeared to be technology far ahead of its time. Now fast-forward to SHOT Show 2019 and they have something else to blow your mind: a Smart Glock slide.

When I saw I had received NEMO arms as one of my range day assignments I was both excited and not at the same time.  I was looking forward to shooting their .300 win mag. extra-large frame AR, but at the same time I knew my job here at SHOT with TFB was to report on the new hotness, of which I though NEMO had none.  Once again it goes to show “you don’t know what you don’t know.”

One exciting company to see at SHOT Industry Day at the Range was ST Engineering Land Systems.  Best known for their constant-recoil Ultimax LMGs and their SAR21 bullpup rifles, they had a new rifle and a rarely seen PDW on display this year.

Thanks for reading folks, welcome to the first deals post of 2019! For all twelve of you that read this with any regularity, I missed last week’s post because I was moving into my new apartment. Without any further ado, the deals.

Thanks for tuning in to the last Gun Deals of the year folks, have a Happy New Year!

When it comes to shooting our favorite rifles, shotguns, pistols, or our entire gun safe it can get boring only shooting paper. That is why many of us have transitioned to or mix up our range days with some more interactive and fun shooting at steel targets. Aside from the visual swing of a successful hit and the little bit of sprayed dirt, it is really hard to beat the satisfaction of that iconic “Ping!” every time you connect with a successful shot. It used to be up to the shooter to rig up some hanging metal abomination to shoot at. In the past 10 years though, steel targets have become so popular in recreation and competition we can now buy them from reputable companies like Jumping Targets.

Ultradyne has introduced their Apollo Max Muzzle Brake now in .30 Caliber with some impressive results for shooter’s in need of something to tame their rifles. Ultradyne is claiming class-leading recoil reduction from a CNC machined product. This would should be competition-legal and comes with a shrouded timing nut for easy installation. The rest of the essential specifications for the  Apollo Max .308/7.62mm can be read below as presented by Ultradyne:

In an undisclosed location of Northern Utah lies a fully functional relic of the Cold War.  Featured previously in Recoil Magazine, this OT-90 JPJ owned by Mike Pappas of Dead Air Armament needs no introduction.  Weighing in at around 24,000 lbs, and being powered by a 19L (1,159cu in) V6 diesel, this beast wasn’t missing much when it arrived stateside.   However, there was a lack of firepower on-board that needed to change.

This week’s deals include the Ruger LCR-X, the Testudo plate carrier and plates, Federal Guard Dog 9mm, a whole mess of S&W magazines, and more ammunition than you can shake a stick at.

Silencers can do an excellent job of suppressing flash on a host firearm.  They provide a large expansion chamber for gasses that are rapidly expanding behind the projectile.  Not only are they able to suppress the sound, but a vast majority of the muzzle flash as well.

A new IndieGoGo crowd-funding campaign has been started for a pretty curious product which boasts the ability to easily conceal carry a pistol off-body. The newer company, Midrat Supply Co, touts their product, DeepCover, will change your mind on different ways to carry. The company is seeking an investment or crowd-funding effort of $125,000 for products that… “dramatically increase your bag’s functionality with little to no impact on your daily routine.”

The Ruger Pistol Caliber Carbine (PCC) has garnered some popularity for people who want a take down rifle in something other than .22lr. The Ruger PCC has also found increased popularity in states with restrictive gun laws like California and New York. While the Ruger PCC has a small picatinny rail at the bottom end of the handguard, it is limiting in terms of adding accessories. There are a couple Ruger PCC MLOK options that are out in the market now.

Deals on D&H 5.56 magazines, the C308, Prvi 30-06 ammunition, the Vortex Razor GenII, and 80 Percent build kits.

The most notable characteristic of a Mauser in the minds of many gun folks is the “claw”, the collared, full length extractor that has been ripping cartridge cases out of chambers since the late 1800’s.  While it is a very good system with the added benefit of controlled round feeding, there are other ways of doing things.    The fact is that Mauser with different types of extractors have been around since the late 60’s, with the Model 2000.  The Mauser M18 uses a 3 lug Voere-style 60-degree throw bolt with dual ejectors that locks into a barrel extension up against a breech ring.

One of the most memorable things that has ever been told to me since my romance of firearms began as a child was this… you can’t hit what you can’t see. This can mean a lot of things, but when we are all in pursuit of shrinking our group size or downing an elk across a valley, that old adage carries a lot of weight. This is where High Desert Outdoor Research comes into the picture with a product all too many of us probably need.

The Geneva-based Small Arms Survey have published a free 352 page guide to help with the identification of small arms, light weapons and their ammunition. The new introductory identification guide was written by a raft of subject matter experts and edited by Nic Jenzen-Jones and Matt Schroeder.

Officers from Ohio’s New Philidelphia police department have seized a large number of firearms and a substantial amount of ammunition from a 73-year-old convicted felon and registered sex offender.

It’s almost become commonplace to hear a story about a 300 Blackout round finding its way into a 5.56 AR pattern rifle (or vise versa).  It seems like this stories have become almost routine to hear among AR enthusiasts, a group that often owns both calibers. Now as most of you already know, this is an easy mistake to make.  Both rounds were designed to use the same magazine, making it easy to slip in the wrong round when you’re not looking.

To many people, 45° offset sights might be an old hat. We have all seen them a million times before and not many people necessarily use them, but that raises a good question: What if they were using the wrong ones? Ultradyne has fabricated a set of 45° offset iron sights in their C4 Precision set that actually are quite a bit different in their construction.

Three years ago a batch of Dead Air Sandman silencers arrived at my local gun shop.  It was clear in only a matter of minutes that these would be a game changer for the quick detach silencer market.  Dead Air Sandman silencers have no barrel length restrictions, they are full auto rated, have interchangeable end caps, and are rated up to .300 Win Mag.  There really wasn’t another QD (quick-detach) silencer that had all these features. The QD-Mount is inevitably what sold me on a Sandman. Using a two-stage taper lock the mount is pure engineering genius.

When I first heard of Maven Optics with their direct to consumer approach, the cliche image of a shady character on the street corner selling “Rolex” watches out of his trench coat instantly came to mind.  (Raspy voice) “Psst, hey you. Looking for a scope?”. Upon further reflection, I realized in our current era of globalization and internet sales, the direct to consumer structure can really work. However, I remained skeptical.  I knew with the direct to consumer model the company could provide more scope to the end user for the same amount of money since the price didn’t get marked up each time it changed hands from the manufacturer to the distributor to the retailer.  I knew Maven could do this but would they with their RS1?

Sig Sauer for 2019 is coming out with their own series of stocks and braces for their MPX/MCX line of firearms. This is not to say that Sig Sauer is not satisfied with the SB Tactical braces and stocks they currently utilize. Like much of their burgeoning company, they are likely attempting to keep as many components in-house as possible.