The Firearm Blog is at IWA OutdoorClassics, the world’s leading trade fair for hunting, shooting sports, outdoor activities and security from 2 – 5 March 2023 in Nuremberg, Germany. InfiRay Outdoor brings a lot of products, and three new ones for the 2023 lineup, the ZH50V2, Tube SE and Thermal+ Dual.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Web Deals 40! We’re nearing the end of the first quarter of this year and I’ve got about 5 different unfinished project guns I’m working on right now. I suppose you could say that my new year’s resolution is to finish at least one of them before I start another one – we’ll see how that pans out. This week we’ll be featuring some of the deals I’ve come across on parts, tools, complete and stripped uppers, lowers, and other parts that you might want to throw on a build for yourself, a friend, or a loved one just getting into firearms.

High Speed Gear makes some of my favorite load-bearing equipment, particularly their single TACO mag pouches. Today HSG is proud to introduce to us their latest mag-carrying solution, the new Double Decker TACO. This new magazine pouch features double rifle pouches with double pistol pouches attached in front that can double as storage for just about any other small piece of equipment.

With the new Burris SpeedBead Vent Rib Mount, you can turn your shotgun into a dynamic hunting tool without any drilling or tapping. According to Burris, their new mount makes it easy to attach and secure any FastFire Series Red Dots, to let you shoot clays, waterfowl, upland birds, and turkeys faster and more accurately. According to the list of features, the red dot will always be centered on the rib and gun when mounted, with no play left or right. There are rib adapters included in the package, to fit multiple rib widths. The MSRP for the new mount is $60.

If you’re looking for a premium rangefinding binocular, the new Leica Geovid Pro 42 may be the answer. Many years ago I bought myself one of the earlier models of the Leica Geovid 8×42, and it’s been a great companion with excellent optical performance – the quality still amazes me. My model was bought long before companies started to incorporate any electronics more advanced than just the laser range finder, but the new Geovid Pro series is of course built from the ground up with all this integrated. Now you get anything from Bluetooth connectivity with the new Leica Ballistics App, to onboard atmospheric sensors and advanced apps like Applied Ballistics, with GPS mapping integration through BaseMap and Google Maps. The Geovid Pro 8×42 sells for $3,299, and the slightly larger Geovid Pro 10×42 for $3,299.

Do you know any birders? Or maybe you are a birder? Either way, if you make the mistake of referring to an avid birder as a “birdwatcher” you are definitely going to hear about it – probably in the form of high-pitch whistles or chirps. Speaking of watching things, Primary Arms has just released two new 10x binoculars. The Primary Arms SLx and GLx binoculars are $129 and $259 respectively and represent a solid value in the midrange optics world. The GLx binoculars include premium materials in exchange for a bit more weight.

ARCA Swiss rails are the epitome of stabilization attachment methods for a number of reasons. Precision target shooters and hunters often use them for high-stress situations where quick readjustments are needed. This quickness of adjustment largely comes from the design of the rail which allows the user to simply slide the rail of the firearm through the adapter and then quickly adjust it for tightness. Strike Industries has just announced the introduction of their new 6.8″ Strike M-LOK ARCA rail adapter which fits most handguards and M-LOK-equipped rifle chassis on the market.

ZEISS is adding a new product line for their riflescopes for 2023 with the introduction of new Flip-Up and Fold-Flat Pro Lens Covers. These new proprietary lens covers will retail for about $90 per set and should start showing up online and in stores sometime in Q2 of 2023. Some cool features ZEISS will be adding to their lens covers to set them apart from other manufacturers is the inclusion of an integrated spare battery containment system, and an on-board Torx wrench containment system which should prove to be invaluable at the range for minor adjustments or when that illumination battery inevitably dies just after you’ve set off on a range trip.

Welcome back to another edition of Concealed Carry Corner. Last week, we talked about the variety of ammo choices available when it comes to self-defense. If you missed that article, I will leave a quick link to that article right here for you guys. This week’s topic is a bit different since it’s fairly easy to get distracted and sucked into distractions that ultimately could allow you to be put into difficult situations. With everything available at our fingertips in society, it can be easy to get distracted on your phone rather than paying attention to your surroundings. Let’s take a closer look at dangerous distractions in our world.

Bobro Engineering has released a new offset red dot sight mount called  A-BOM (Adjustable BOre axis Mount) that allows adjusting the reflex sight’s angle to align its axis with the bore axis of the host firearm. The adjustments are possible thanks to a center link between the Picatinny rail mount and the red dot mount which can also be removed converting the A-BOM to a conventional red dot mount.

Welcome to TFB Weekly Web Deals 38. Range bags come in all shapes, sizes, and configurations. Whether you’re headed out for a hunting trip or just taking one of your weekly trips to the pistol range to get some practice in, transporting your firearms, ammunition, and accessories is actually a pretty important step in the process, especially if you want to stay safe, prepared, and organized. Today we’ll be going over some of the best range bags I’ve come across and used over the years, some of which I use together for specific types of shooting or shooting events.

I recently acquired a unique H&K accessory. It is a PSG1 trigger but more than that it has an interesting feature that other PSG1s do not. It has a small port on the right side of the trigger housing. It is a PSG1 Kill Cam trigger.

Safariland holsters are some of the best duty-grade holsters on the market. Their holster environment allows for a lot of adaptability, modularity, and customization but you’re often left with the high upfront cost of not only the equipment but various adapters and mounting solutions that very few companies other than Safariland offer. True North Concepts announced the introduction of their new MHA Universal Mount for Safariland holsters, allowing users to adapt their holster to different types of quick detach systems already found in the market.

Some of you are very good at keeping track of your things. I am not. If an object isn’t in my hand, I have no idea where it is. If it is in my hand, I’ve still only got a 50/50 shot. The role of tracking technology in the commercial world has matured from only helping you find Rover, to being able to track a package throughout the world. Lots of things get “lost” while traveling. Or, as they did to me, the TSA might destroy your mouse and monitor on your way to SHOT. Either way, having a way of locating an important item (mayhaps a rifle?) can be crucial. Introducing the Strike AirTag Holder From Strike Industries.

FN Herstal have announced that snipers of the French Army will be using the FN Elity ballistic calculator operationally. The Elity is FN’s all-in-one system incorporating a laser range finder, laser designator, illuminator and a calculator to “increase hit probability and situational awareness”. The Elity will be used in conjunction with the SCAR-H PR which the French Army selected as their new Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle in 2020 and their PGM .50 caliber anti-materiel rifle. FN say that the French Army’s Ground Forces Battle Lab found during testing that the Elity improves shooting accuracy by 25% and also lightens the equipment carried by snipers by 6kg/13.2 lbs by replacing other gear.

Thanks to my friend Vic M. for sharing this. The photo above is his as well. Vic is one of my fellow tricked-out spotting scope enthusiast friends. You have seen his spotting scope in some of my Friday Night Lights articles. Recently he acquired a folding Kestrel mount from Crown Innovations.

If you have been following along in the various MP5 groups on social media, Marcus of Gibbous Outfitters is developing accessories for the MP5. Marcus sent his Gibbous Outfitters MP5K furniture for me to test on my HK SP5K PDW SBR which I now dub the MP5K-SD (Super Deformed).

Technical data:

TFB Visits Varusteleka Finland – Europe’s Largest Army, Surplus & Outdoor Shop (according to them). Go to Suomi (Finland) they said. It will be fun, they said. Well, there I was in the middle of the Winter. Of course, it snowed, and it was freezing cold. Luckily I got a ride from a local friend in a posh car, with four-wheel drive and heated seats.

Thyrm is known for their battery holders as well as their flashlight rings and pocket clips. They made an ARC rail-compatible VariArc for mounting lights on your helmet. Well, now they have a new version called the VariArc-VS which allows you to attach a light to Velcro on your helmet.

There was a time, more than two decades ago, when 5.11 gear was only associated with “fishing” vests and baggy BDU pants. Back then I was both the giver and the recipient of tactical fashion shaming. Thankfully, those days are but tiny specks in the rearview mirror of life. 5.11 Tactical has developed tasteful, fashion-forward designs that blend utility with style for everyone from urban NOLA James Reeves to Northwest rainforest Hop. Some of the TFB and TFBTV crew were outfitted with new 5.11 boots – the A/T Mid Waterproof Boot  to be specific – for two industry range events and a week on the SHOT Show floor. How did the boots and other 5.11 gear perform? Let’s ask the team.

At this year’s SHOT Show, Cool Fire brought along their newest models of their CO2-powered training system. The system will soon be available for the Springfield Hellcat and Hellcat Pro, SIG Sauer P365 and P365XL, the Glock 43 and Glock 43X.

SHOT Show 2023 could be called the year of the Turbo for SureFire. SureFire has been a juggernaut in the handheld and weapon light market. With various companies making weapon lights for intensity over distance, it’s good to see the new Surefire Turbo weapon lights.

Accurate Mag is one of the leading manufacturers of AICS-pattern magazines, but they also produce actions and complete rifles.

At the MDT booth in SHOT Show 2023, they had something truly interesting – the Zero Stage electronic trigger. Yes, the trigger is electronic but what does that mean? Keith Baker walked us through the Zero Stage trigger and even went into detail about its potential.

Rhineland Arms had some very unique guns on display at their SHOT Show booth. They had two replicas of legendary designs (WA 2000 And FG-42) that are far more accessible than the originals.

In this episode of TFBTV, JamesReeves talks with BFG Director of Training and former Army Ranger, Chris Sizelove, about the new Blue Force Gear Ten-Speed Split Chest Rig. A pricey but well-thought-out and extremely well-constructed piece of gear, the Ten-Speed Split Rig is a great minimalist option when a plate carrier might be unnecessary or unavailable.

If you have been tracking some of the things I have been dabbling with, you might notice I have gone down the rabbit hole a bit with ATAK. Well, I came across VK Integrated Systems, Aries Defense and Legionarius all at the same booth at SHOT Show 2023 and they have some interesting ATAK integration.

At this year’s SHOT Show EOTECH, in addition to their promising ‘On Gun Laser’, showcased their new flat dark earth colour range. The new FDE range includes G43 and G45 magnifiers and their EFLX pistol red dots.

Mantis are set to expand their range of training systems with new Blackbeard X models. The system is already available for pistols and AR-15 pattern rifles and in a number of configurations and price points but 2023 will see the range expand to AK pattern rifles, AR-10s, CMMG’s Banshees and SIG Sauer’s MCX line later this year.