PMCI - February 2017

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SHOT SHOW 2017
First up was firearms, and you really can’t see everything.
One of the trends that caught my eye very quickly was the
move even further towards even lighter carbines and rifles,
with many manufacturers going for skeletonised rails and
stocks; there was also a lot of carbon fibre in evidence and the
race is obviously on to bring in the lightest carbine to date!
With all the big names in play, firearm models that stood
out for me where the Remington Defense R4 carbon line, the
updated FN 15” family with M-LOK, the ADCOR Elite with a
unique forward charging handle, the Barrett REC7 Gen II, the
WARSPORT LVOA and GPR-C, and the WARZ M4 Series from DSA.
Bullpups seem to be on the rise as well, which was very
interesting to see; although I personally missed the range
session it was excellent to hear that Desert Tech have finally
ironed out the gremlins in their long-awaited MDR. Kel-Tec put
in a very strong showing with their RDB and RFB models and
the ATRAX system from Lithgow Arms certainly seems very
interesting. It was also interesting to note that the AR/AK story
also seems to be moving on, as the updated models of the
CMMG Mutant got A LOT of attention!
Handguns next and there were a lot of new models to check
out! Big news during the show was that the US Army is retiring
the standard-issue Beretta M9 in favour of a more modern
pistol. The pistol, called the P320, was originally designed by
the German firm Sig Sauer for civilians in 2014, and it can be
easily reconfigured to suit a variety of needs. The Army plans
to purchase more than 280,000 of the handguns initially, with
more to come, and Sig Sauer says it will manufacture all of
them at its factory in New Hampshire; of course this meant that
the SIG stand saw a LOT of traffic!
New for the show though were the CZ P10 and the Remington
RP9; these are noteworthy as both models are striker fired. Also
outstanding for me personally were the Colt Delta Elite Rail Gun
chambered in 10mm and the Walther CREED.
Obviously I’ve already mentioned the Hudson HP9, the
Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 pistol, and the DVC Carry and Tactical
models from STI International.
All the big names for optics were at SHOT 2017 but it was
absolutely fabulous, as a Brit, to see the lads from SHIELD
SIGHT plying their trade up there with the very best. I’ve had a
great relationship with SHIELD for a number of years now, and
after a 20 year journey themselves the guys are taking great
pleasure in showing off their family of mini-sights, including
the new RMS, to the world.
Our good friends at VORTEX also had some big news for the
show with the launch of their VENOM red dot and a first for
them, the new RAZOR AMG UH-1 holosight; test models have
already been booked so expect to see the lowdown on these in
a future issue of PMCI.
ACCESSORIES & TECH
When it comes to firearms accessories you can’t not mention
MAGPUL, and once again they had lots of goodies on offer
including some great new furniture for the venerable Ruger
10/22. It was also the 10th anniversary of the P-MAG so they
had a lot to smile about.
The UTG/Leapers stand is always and impressive affair, but
this year seemed bigger and bolder than ever before; if you
need an accessory for your firearm then they will undoubtedly
have it! Last year at IWA they were at the very forefront of the
whole “KeyMod” rail drive, and whilst adding further to this
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