At SHOT Show I found out that Hazard 4 recently signed a licensing agreement with Frazetta Jr. Enterprise to produce products based on Frank Frazetta’s legendary art. Their first product is a 3D morale patch depicting the iconic Death Dealer which has long been the symbol of the US Army’s III Corps.
Available now in Black, Coyote and OD Green.
600 years after the events of the original Mass Effect trilogy, play as not-Sheppard as he/she explores a new galaxy with virtually the same collection of alien species in the last game, while befriending a new alien species and fighting another alien species.
Andromeda drops March 21st.
I find replicas and props of movie firearms that end up costing more than quite a few guns to be interesting. Perhaps it’s the often times painstaking detail and quality put into something that ultimately can only put on display. Such is the case with the Hollywood Collectables Group exclusive M56 Smartgun. The M56 was first introduced in the movie ‘Aliens’, a 10mm automatic squad support weapon with an effective range of 1500 yards, and a motion-sensitive infrared tracking system. This particular model is 48″ in length, weights 15 lbs., and comes with a 24″ x 16″ print of the Smartgun blueprints and spec sheet. Only 150 of these are slated to be released, so if you don’t mind spending $1200 on a high-quality Smartgun replica, then this is your chance.
www.hollywood-collectibles.com/store/product.php?productid=16582
In the far-future world of Mass Effect, technology is advanced enough that hard light constructs exist, and that includes hard light being used as a quick-deployable ‘Omni-Blade’ for close quarters combat. ThinkGeek has released a cosplay version of the Omni-Blade made of transparent orange resin, with a switch on the wearable disk letting the wearer swing the blade out or sheath it along their arm.
Erebus LLC has set up a Kickstarter campaign for a video game adaption of Apocalypse Now. The dev team, which is composed of industry veterans who have developed for titles such as Fallout: New Vegas, Wasteland 2, and Far Cry will be lending their talents towards adapting Apocalypse Now into a psychological horror game with RPG elements, encouraging stealth and resource management over run-and-gun gameplay, and allowing the player to develop Captain Willard to suit their playstyle.
While it can certainly be a daunting task to try and adapt Apocalypse Now into a functioning, and more importantly enjoyable, video game, on paper, at least, it seems the dev team is taking a pretty decent attempt at adapting the property into an interactive media.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/fringerider/apocalypse-now-the-game
Unfortunate that the actual T-800 series wasn’t constructed of cardboard, since a light rain or some tactical application of fire would have greatly hastened the eventual human resistance victory.
The original Vickers Guide: 1911 proved to be popular enough that it went out of print in 5 months, which prompted Mott Lake Publishing to produce a reprint, which is expected to start shipping May 15th, 2017.
They’re not just reprinting the book as an exact copy, however, as they’re giving fans the opportunity to pick the new cover of the book from one of the three 1911 models below (write ins are also an option on the survey page):
Survey ends January 27th, 2017.
So, Resident Evil 7: Biohazard was released today. It’s different than the recent games, but pretty darn good.
From the same company that brought us ‘Tactical Bacon’, comes the Tac Snac. The Tac Snac is high in protein, low in fat, and made of beef and pork. According to CMMG, the Tac Snac is “Perfect for camping, hunting, zombie standoffs, and end of the world scenarios”.
Aside from Original flavor, which is pretty tasty, CMMG is also offering the Tac Snac in Habanero, Peppered, and Bacon.
This is the SERBU GB-22, a single shot, open bolt .22 pistol designed to be extremely simple to build, even with basic handtools, as necessity or availability of materials and tools dictates. Because it’s so basic, it also lends itself to as much modification as the builder deems appropriate. For example, the GB-22 doesn’t have sights as part of its standard design, but a creative sort can include irons in the design, or as is the case in the model above, create a mounting platform for an electro-optic. In case you were wondering, the ‘GB’ in GB-22 stands for ‘Gun Buyback’, as creator Mark Serbu has pretty much stated that because of the simple design the GB-22 can be built up quick and cheap and used to game a gun buyback program.
The plans are available right now on SERBU’s site for a paltry $12 (link here). If you feel you’re not mechanically-inclined enough to take advantage of the plans, then you’ll have to wait until SERBU receives BAFTE approval for a built kit.
In a world with very few mutants left, Old Man Logan and Older Man Prof. X must escort X-23, a female clone of Wolvie and who’s creation was totally hinted at in the post-credits scene from X-Men: Apocalypse, to safety from very bad men.
Oh, and it’s R-rated.
The new Baton multi-tool series from SOG consists of 4 minimalist profile multi-tools, about as thick as a marker and as long as a pencil for easy stowage into a pocket, pouch, or other container. Each tool in the series is named ‘Baton Q’, followed by a number (Q1 – Q4). The Q tools consist of handles made of aluminum (Q1 – 1060, Q2-4 – 6061-T6) and tools made of 5Cr15MoV steel, and depending on the model are designed for applications including office & personal, urban emergency, and basic and advanced wilderness.
This is a list of the tools included in each model Baton:
Baton Q1 – Spring assist scissors, pressurized ballpoint pen, bottle opener, medium flathead driver
Baton Q2 – Straight edge blade, LED flashlight, bottle opener, medium flathead driver
Baton Q3 – Pliers, gripper, soft wire cutter, straight blade, 3-sided file, Phillips driver, awl, chisel, can opener, small flathead driver, bottle opener, medium flathead driver, jewelry driver
Baton Q4 – Pliers, gripper, soft wire cutter, straight blade, 3-sided file, can opener, small flathead driver, bottle opener, medium flathead driver, magnetic ratchet driver, magnetic 12-piece hex bit kit
The Rapid Dominance Tactical Koozie is a more tacticool approach to the traditional beverage koozie. Made of 1000D polyester, the Tactical Koozie features an adjustable hook and loop cummerbund, loop panel on the front and rear, and even functional 1/2 size PALS webbing. Accommodates beverages up to 40oz.
MKT USA, a division of Medford Knife & Tool, has a display of some wicked looking knives made of heavy-duty materials at their SHOT booth.
This is the On Belay. It features a titanium handle and D2 tool steel blade coming in at just over 3″, with an overall length of 8.5″. The back strap is also made of D2 tool steel.
The Maurader features a titanium grip, and stainless hardware, with a 3V steel Tanto-style blade. The grip has been custom sculpted to improve grip surface and visual appeal.
At the Six12 booth, this wood furniture variant of the futuristic bullpup rotary drum shotgun was on display. It would be pretty cool to see this variant make production when the Six12 releases.
This can be considered a bit of a ‘non-story’ since there’s not a lot of ‘new’ info, but it’s worth bringing up all the same.
For a bit of background, at last year’s SHOT, EOTech focused exclusively on their line of magnified Vudu scopes, and didn’t feature a single one of their HWS (Holographic Weapon Sights) at their booth. This was likely in response to the US Government’s lawsuit against L3 Communications regarding performance issues experienced by the EOTech HWS optics in temperature extremes and high moisture environments, and more importantly L3’s failure to disclose they had prior knowledge of these performance issues to the US Government.
As a result, L3 settled with the Government for about $26 million, and even went so far as to offer refunds to virtually any customers who purchased an EOTech sight. After that, the issue was more or less dealt with, although it did leave a bad taste in many people’s mouths.
This year, EOTech came out with new branding for the line of HWS optics, including a new logo, and has started reproducing their most popular HWS models: XPS2, 512, 552, etc., in both black and FDE. My immediate question to the rep who talked to me was if there were any changes to the internals of the optics. The answer was somewhat vague, but I was told that the engineers at the company spent the past year or so retooling the optics, with the thermal drift issue being corrected.
So, the TL;DR of the situation is this: EOTech claims they fixed the issues with their HWS that caused them to get sued by the Government, and now they’re reintroducing their products to the market with new branding.
We’ll have to wait and see if they hold up this time.
SIG is currently displaying two new additions to the ASP airgun line, the P320 ASP pistols in Black and FDE. Chambered for .177 pellets, the ASP P320 series features an all-metal slide, rifled steel barrel, and polymer grip. The rearward section of the grip breaks away to reveal the CO2 canister housing which powers the action, and the P320 ASP comes complete with an impressive 30-round rotary magazine.
Umarex’s ‘Legends’ consists of full-auto blowback action bb guns patterned after iconic weapons, or as Umarex’s marketing puts it, “Designs that changed history”. Two of the guns in this line caught my eye, the M712, and the MP, which is also new for 2017.
M712
The M712 is patterned after the M712 “Schnellfeuer” or “Fast Fire” C96 Mauser, which was capable of full-auto fire and sported a detachable magazine. Umarex’s bb version follows suit, featuring full metal construction, full-auto or semi-auto fire, and an 18-round detachable magazine, which also houses the CO2 cartridge needed to power the gun’s action.
MP
The MP is patterned after the iconic MP40, and like the M712 above, features full metal construction and select fire. The MP’s action is powered by two 12g CO2 capsules which are housed in the 60-round detachable magazine. The MP comes complete with a folding stock and adjustable rear sight with fixed front post.
I always like to visit the Kel-Tec booth early because they always have something new (and because they release a new deck of playing cards every year which tend to run out fast).
For this year, Kel-Tec has two new models of their RDB, and one new model of the KSG.
KSG-25
Forgive the image orientation, but the KSG–25 is long, 38 inches long to be exact. The KSG-25 Sports a 30.5 inch barrel, with a standard capacity of 24+1 2.75 inch shells, hence the name. It weighs a hefty 9.25 lbs. unloaded, and roughly 11.5 lbs. when loaded. This particular model will come complete with Magpul MBUS front and rear sites, and a Magpul RVG vertical grip, along with a heat shield to cover the extended barrel. Kel-Tec states The KSG–25 will see a limited release third quarter of this year, provided demand is high enough.
RDB Tactical
The RDB Tactical is a variation of the RDB, featuring a two position collapsible stock, as well as an M-LOK forend designed specifically for the rifle. The rep told me the rifle was so new, they didn’t have time to print out a sales card for it.
RDB Survival
The RDB Survival is a minimalist profile variant of the RDB designed for field carry. Like the tactical, it features a 16 inch barrel, although this one is pencil profile to keep the weight down. The Survival model has an overall length of 26.1 inches, with a weight of 5 pounds, and comes with integrated iron sites, and can except any standard AR magazines. The survival also features the same two positions stock as the tactical model, providing an additional 1.5 inches of stock length for the shooter.
It’s that time of year again! SHOT show 2017 at the Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Look forward for some great coverage on guns, here, knives, and whatever else I can dig up.
YouTube channel Rulof Maker made a working air rifle inspired by the ‘Tihar’ from the Metro series of video games.
FORT SMITH, Ark. (January 15, 2017)—Umarex USA expands their Axeon Optic Solutions™ product line with a revolutionary new way for shooters to hit their long distance targets. Axeon’s new, patented Second Zero™ optical device will change the way hunters and AR shooters think about taking that 300+ yard shot.
Available in both rail-mounted versions for the MSR market and scope-mounted versions for the traditional hunting market, the Second Zero system allows any scope or optic to have two functional zeros with no manual manipulation of the reticle or red-dot. Utilizing a patented custom prism system, a rifle that is zeroed in at 100 yards can be on target at a second distance when the Second Zero system is engaged—without the need to compensate for bullet drop.
TACOMHQ and its president, longtime and highly respected optic developer, John Baker, have partnered with Umarex USA to bring the Second Zero to hunters and shooters worldwide. In addition to the stock Second Zero product line, TACOMHQ will continue to offer custom versions of the product to meet individual shooters’ needs through the TACOMHQ custom shop.
“We are excited about our partnership with Umarex USA. They have the strength to bring in sales and they’re well equipped in the areas of marketing, consumer understanding and distribution. Their new Axeon product line will debut at SHOT Show 2017 (Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show) with the Second Zero system, an affordable and extremely usable tool for all hunters and tactical shooters,” said TACOMHQ President, John Baker.
“Our acquisition of these and other assets assures that Umarex USA’s Axeon Optics brand will be a market leader through innovation,” said Richard Turner III, Umarex USA’s VP of Sales & Marketing. “We have tremendous respect for the innovation and commitment to performance that John and his TACOMHQ team have in developing optical products and we share these same approaches within Umarex.”
Holy marketing cross-overs, Batman!
This commercial from Chevy depicts LEGO Batman’s Batmobile as a vehicle under their lineup, a parody of their recent string of (annoying) focus group commercials.
If I had $48 million lying around, and this was real, I’d buy one.
Solon, Ohio (Jan. 12, 2016) – Air Venturi, an exclusive airgun, airsoft and ammunition importer of leading international airgun brands, today introduced the Air Venturi Electric 4500 psi Air Compressor. This release marks a welcome addition to the PCP airgunners’ toolkit . Currently, PCP owners have to rely on local fire departments and SCUBA shops to refill their air tanks and hand pumps to fill their guns. The new Air Venturi Air Compressor allows users to refill their air tanks in the convenience of their own home in as little as 10 minutes.
“The Air Venturi Air Compressor makes PCP airgunning much more user-friendly,” said Air Venturi Marketing Manager Kristen Coss. “PCP Airguns generally represent the best airguns for power and accuracy, but until now their biggest drawback has been finding a way to fill your air tank without a drive into town. This compressor makes the middleman completely unnecessary, because you can now fill your airgun at home.”
According to Paul Milkovich, Air Venturi’s Director of Business Development, the Air Venturi Electric Air Compressor marks a turning point in PCP airgunning and may turn more users onto PCP airguns. “Typically compressors of this build and quality can be priced as high as $3,000. We really wanted to develop an affordable option for PCP airgunners. With an MSRP of $1,499, our compressor puts fast refills within reach,” he said. “PCPs are the future of airgunning, and with the Air Venturi Compressor you cannot make refilling these guns easier or more convenient.”
Air Venturi’s compressor plugs into a standard 110V outlet and refills air tanks up to 4500 psi. The kit includes a hose with female quick disconnect fitting, extra seals and O-rings, male-to-male fitting and replacement filter. The compressor is perfect for Air Venturi carbon fiber and aluminum tanks currently available at AirVenturi.com.
Approximate fill times:
Please visit us at the Air Venturi Booth #2007 at the 2017 SHOT Show for a first-hand look at the Air Venturi Electric Air Compressor as well as our selection of new air rifles, air pistols, and accessories. View AirVenturi.com for more information on the Electric Air Compressor.
