#ShotShow

Dark Storm Industries (DSI) attended SHOT Show’s “Industry Day at the Range,” and they brought along some new goodies for the shooting world to see! They unveiled 3 new AR patterned rifles and pistols in total covering a pretty wide gamut of the caliber spectrum. Let’s take a quick look at each new offering they have for all of us.

With the Industry Day at the Range underway at SHOT Show 2019, Winchester is one of the 1st companies to pop off something new! They have introduced a NEW straight-wall cartridge to the shooting world dubbed the 350 Legend! This cartridge could be the next “sliced bread” for hunters because it will be legal in 47 of 50 states for hunting purposes. It also is going to boast some pretty impressive ballistics.

According to a Press Release from the NSSF (National Shooting Sports Foundation) and the Sands Expo have come to an agreement that SHOT Show will remain at the Sands until the year 2027.

If you have ever attended SHOT Show recently you know that you better put on your walking shoes. It is huge! Just how huge?… Like, the size of the New Orleans Saints’ Superdome huge! The title sponsor for SHOT Show, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), compiled an impressive list of statistics in an all-encompassing SHOT Show Infographic.

New for this year from Daniel Defense is their DDM4V7P AR-15 pistol, a pistol version of their P7 rifle. The compact DDM4V7P has a 10.3″ chrome-lined heavy phosphate coated Govt. profile barrel and an aluminum Daniel Defense MFR 9.0 M-LOK Rail. As the name suggest, the MFR 9.0 is a 9″ free float rail (actually 9.04″ rail but MFR 9.04 doesn’t sound as cool). It weights in at just 5.4oz and is large enough to use with most of the suppressors and muzzle devices on the market.

At the 2018 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range, Florida gunmaker FightLite Industries, best known for their SCR “ban state” lower receiver that allows “compliant” rifles to be made using AR-15 components. FightLite also is the manufacturer of the MCR upper receiver, a conversion kit that transforms an AR-15 into a belt-fed light machine gun.

In the Legacy Sports International booth at the 2018 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range, Australian company Lithgow Arms brought out their precision rifle series dark horse, the LA105 Woomera. Based on the excellent Lithgow LA102 bolt action rifle platform, the LA105 features a custom American chassis from Kinetic Research Group. With a polymer exterior, the rifle combines the rigidity of an aluminum chassis with the good thermal characteristics of a polymer stock (read: your skin doesn’t stick to it in cold weather).

Kalashnikov USA, orphaned stateside importing partner of Kalashnikov Concern, brought their latest prototype and production guns to the 2018 SHOT Show, and there is good reason to be excited. Chief among them: The KR-9 9mm AK carbine.

Good news for bullpup fanatics: The Lithgow F90, Australia’s improved version of the AUG, is in production in the USA right now under the name “Atrax”. Representatives of Dasan USA, the stateside manufacturer/importer, said that major components of the Atrax, including the barrel, were already being produced in their facilities within the country, to allow production weapons to comply with US import laws. Dasan Representatives said that the technical data package for the US-made components was transferred to the US from Australia, so each component made in the States adheres exactly to Lithgow’s methods and standards for that component.

At the 2018 SHOT Show, Kinetic Research Group – known for their high quality chassis for Remington 700 and Tikka T3 rifles – displayed something totally new: A complete precision bolt action rifle they called the “SOTIC”, after the Special Operations Target Interdiction Course, which is now called the Special Forces Sniper Course. The rifle is based partially on the TRG series, but comes equipped with a KRG stock and forend, and which can be upgraded with a larger forend that sports M-LOK slots and other mounting points.

At the 2018 Industry Day at the Range, innovative premium AR manufacturer Cobalt Kinetics brought out several new rifles which they will be selling for the new year. Chief among these was their new .308 pattern AR, which can be produced in calibers like .308 Winchester and 6.5mm Creedmoor. Called the BAMF-XL, the new weapon is, like its smaller brother, a billet aluminum machined receiver set that uses SR-25 magazines. Like all Cobalt Kinetics weapons, the receivers sports attractive, stylized lines that give the BAMF-XL a unique look while still being identifiably “AR”. In addition to the BAMF-XL, Cobalt Kinetics brought along their new RECON PDW, an ultra-compact AR-15 using an MVB ARC PDW stock, 13.5″ barrel, and a pinned and welded Cobalt Kinetics Pro Muzzle Brake. Thanks to its compact stock and pinned and welded configuration, the RECON PDW is just 29 inches in overall length.

We have earlier reported about the Elevated Technologies sight mount system called The Slide. Initially, this mount was available for the Trijicon MRO and Aimpoint red dot optics. During the SHOT Show 2018, the company introduced new versions of The Slide mount designed for the Trijicon RMR and Leupold DeltaPoint Pro sights.

At the 2018 SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range, Tikka brought out a surprising new product: The company’s first rimfire bolt action rifle. The T1x, as it’s called, is based in part on the successful T3 and T3x centerfire rifles, but with a redesigned action suited for rimfire operation. The result is a svelte little rimfire that was one of the most fun guns to shoot at the 2018 Industry Day.

Everybody had to know that 5.11 Tactical was not going to roll into SHOT Show with celebrity appearances and Black Rifle Coffee Company coffee in their booth without bringing along some dope new gear. We previously covered their new GEO 7 Terrain & Night camouflage patterns, but they also have new, innovative packs to peak your interest. Their Rapid Origin and All Missions Pack (AMP) both offer unique traits that may just suit your needs.

Utah gunmaker Desert Tech was out on the range for the 2018 SHOT Show Industry Day, bringing their brand new MDR bullpup rifles out for attendees to enjoy. The MDR had been in development for about four years until, in August, production MDR rifles began rolling off the line – albeit slowly. Still, this highly anticipated space warfare bullpup is available in the wild finally, which is delightful news for those of us who’ve been rooting it on.