#9mm

Almost exactly twenty years ago to the day, I stepped into Springfield Armory headquarters for the first time for a behind-the-scenes look at the custom shop and the master gunsmiths that hand fit parts for their high-end 1911s. Of course, a must see on the tour was anything marked with TRP, Operator or Professional – if it made the cut for the FBI’s SWAT and HRT teams, I needed to see the magic that goes into the gunsmithing process. Two decades later, Springfield is releasing two new versions of their popular custom 1911 – a 9mm Operator and a 9mm Professional.

A European company called Armanov makes different firearm parts and accessories as well as reloading equipment. In this article, we’ll take a look at a case gauge box made by this company which makes the headspace checking of loaded ammunition a much faster process.

The Sig Sauer P365 was one of the most talked about semi auto pistols to SHOT Show this year. TFB sat down with Sig’s media team and got the low-down on the newest member of the Sig Sauer family.

Federal Premium recently went back to the drawing board to see if they could improve upon a time-tested standard for handgun defense loads. After extensive testing and some minor, meaningful changes they have developed the Hydra-Shok Deep defense load; an improved variant of the staple Hydra-Shok round.

Speer has always been highly regarded for the hollow-point (HP) ammunition they are able to produce for law enforcement and civilian use. Similarly, the French National Police force is well respected throughout the world for their training and capabilities.

A popular YouTube channel called The Slow Mo Guys makes a variety of cool videos filmed with high-end slow motion cameras. Among their videos, there is a fair amount of gun-related ones too. Arguably one of the most interesting slow motion footages is to see the bullet in flight or hitting various objects. Who doesn’t like to watch these mesmerizing videos?

SHOT show always boasts a wide assortment of new gear, with 2018 being no exception.  Visiting the Nighthawk booth a particular pistol stood out with its new collaboration between Nighthawk, Hillbilly 223, and Agency Arms. These companies came together to produce the Agent 2. The Agent 1 was Agency’s first collaboration with Nighthawk Custom Firearms announced last year at the NRA Annual Meeting in 2017. A conservative amount of only 50 units were made as they were a limited edition production. The Agent 1 is a 1911 in a Commander size frame and chambered in 9mm.

In an age where everything has to be “Tactical”, GPS gets to the point (although the company does have some “tactical” themed lines”). The company was founded by a Trap and Skeet shooter who simply needed a better way to carry range equipment back and forth. What I’ve always liked about the company is their vision to make a shooting bag tailored for a shooters needs. Different pockets purely made for magazines, cleaning rod holders, separate ammunition storage compartments, etc… A range bag really needs this sort of design input because of the peculiar things needed during a training session. Such as the fact that the bag needs to support a large amount of weight (such as firearms and ammunition). But at the same time, you’re not going to be running through an obstacle course with the equipment.

The sanctions on Russian companies have hit the American AK enthusiast hard – no longer can we import inexpensive Izhevsk Kalashnikovs to feed the beast. Yet, there is a silver lining: Domestic AK production is on the rise to meet the demand, and one company in particular is staking its name – the biggest name in the business – on American-made AKs done right. That name being, of course, Kalashnikov USA.

In today’s episode, we follow Miles to Shot Show 2018 Media Day at the Range and visit Caracal USA.

Ops-Core is releasing a new line of Fast Helmets in both ballistic and carbon fiber. The ballistic version will first be released with an MSRP of $1700 and weighs lighter than its predecessor. A sales rep at the Ops-Core booth said the SF was 6% lighter when compared to the Maritime helmet.

Cool Fire Trainers is a handgun training product company that emerged out of training for competitive handgun shooting. They have rifle training system (more geared to LE carbine use), but it belongs to a separate company and isn’t apart from Cool Fire Trainer line of products. The Cool Fire Trainer works by removing the barrel in your handgun, and switching it out with one of theirs. Their barrel is essentially a compact C02 tank in the proper dimensions of a barrel. You use your own magazines with dummy round contoured at an angle that lets the slide operate without the slide catch being engaged. There is a laser within the system that is engaged when the handgun is dry fired so shooters can see the impact of their “round” on a target. At the same time, the C02 is cycling the handgun, replicating the recoil, and also cycling the action. The idea is to have the ability to dry fire with similar recoil impulse to train for competition with your own firearm and your own magazines. A neat point about the laser is that it can be calibrated to the impact of the round, unlike many other dry fire laser barrels that simply have a laser in the center of the barrel and cannot be calibrated.

Girsan has added an optic mounted to the companies 9x19mm MC 28 T, making it the countries first production handgun to roll off the line with a handgun optic mounted to the slide. It appears that the optic mounted is a brightness adjustable that can be turned on and off with the adjustment buttons on the left and right side of the device. Unlike the rest of the MC 28 line from Girsan, the MC 28 T has diagonal cuts in the slide, revealing what appears to be a fluted barrel underneath, and an extended barrel with what appears to be an octagonal muzzle crown. The crown doesn’t appear to be threaded for a suppressor or other muzzle device. Another difference is that this handgun lacks the manual safety present

The Jard J68 is a bullpup carbine developed by Jard Inc. Jard operates out of Sheldon, Iowa, and is known for the aftermarket triggers they offer for a variety of firearms. However, they also have some innovative firearm designs of their own, and one of them is the J68.

In today’s episode, we follow Miles to Shot Show 2018 to the High Threat Concealment booth.