From John Farnam: 11 Jan 07 First day of the 2007 SHOT Show in Orlando, FL: I was told that the Orlando version of the SHOT Show (at Orlando, FL's huge Convention Center) was going to be smaller that when it is held in Las Vegas, NV as it was last year. If that is true, it isn't smaller by much! I just finished a exhausting first day, seeing as much as I could and visiting with as many of my friends and colleagues in this business as was humanly possible! Here is what caught my eye: SIG's new 223 fighting rifle, the M556, is about to start shipping. Copies I saw were very nice. Light, short, handy! The 229, 226, 220, and 239 in the manually-decocking (DA/SA) version will soon be available with SIG's new "short reset" trigger. It is a vast improvement over the old system. Second shots are now available via a significantly shortened reset, and the reset itself is distinct and crisp. This represents an important product upgrade! Glock had their new 21SF on display. Upper is the same as a G21, but the grip is significantly smaller and slimmer. Basically, it's a G21 with a ROBAR grip-reduction and ambidextrous magazine release! The G21 has always been too big for my hand. The G21SF fits just fine! G21SF magazines will work in the G21, but not the other way around. In the entire Glock display, I didn't see any pistol with a manual safety. If one exists, they're not showing it! STI had on display their new "Escort," a Detonics-sized, aluminum-framed 1911carry pistol. Short and light, this is a nice piece! Lasermax has a new, clamp-on, extremely compact "Uni-max" laser. Clamps on any rail and switch and power source are all self-contained! When you want to equip nearly any pistol, rifle, or shotgun with a laser, thus unit will go right on, and you'll be up and running in a few seconds! Lasermax's laser is pulsating and not solid. I think this is a significant factor, as it is instantly distinguishable for the solid laser commonly associated with pointers and Tasers. The Taurus 24/7 is basically a Glock with a manual safety, but it is compact, smooth, and light. Nice carry gun. The trigger has a long, mushy take-up, but the reset is short and crisp. Perfectly useable! When I carry it, I just leave the manual safety in the "off" position, essentially pretending it's not there! Taurus is now also making a nice, five-shot (38Spl), J-frame, scandium snubby. They make the same thing in magnesium, but the scandium model is the more carryable. S&W has greatly expanded the M&P pistol line, now including models in 357SIG and 45ACP. The M&P's interchangeable grip panels make this a most adaptable pistol, and the feature is a great boon to law enforcement, because nearly any hand size can be instantly accommodated. The 45ACP model features an optional, manual safety an also optional integral lock. Again, I would have no interest in either option on my copy. The M&P is now clearly S&W's flagship pistol. I love mine! Several Sigma pistols were still on display, but off in a corner. No P99s were to be seen! S&W's new M1000 gas shotgun was on display, but no law-enforcement version has yet been produced. All copies on display were sporting guns. Beretta's rotary-barrel PX4 series has been expanded, now including a compact model that is very compact! Models in 9mm, 40S&W, and 45ACP were on display, all with interchangeable grip panels. Trigger systems available include the "F" (two-stage, manual decocking), "G" (single-stage, manual decocking, "D" (self-decocking, but long and heavy), and "C" (self-decocking, lighter and shorter). The copy that I carry is the "C," system, and that is the one I recommend for serious purposes. The RX4 223 rifle, available later this year, was also on display. Like the CX4 Carbine, it is smooth, short, completely ambidextrous, and extremely user-friendly. Same robust gas system as on the Benelli M4 shotgun. Benelli's Super-nova pump shotgun is now available in a law-enforcement version. Nice gun and legitimate competition for the excellent Remington 870 and Mossberg 590. Benelli's impulse/recoil M2 and gas-operated M4 shotguns, also in law-enforcement versions, were featured prominently. Unless, you're going to hang a lot of accessories off your shotgun, the M2 runs just fine! My friends at Cor-Bon tell me the DPX line, now available in nearly every caliber I've ever heard of, had become their flagship round, eclipsing Power-Ball. Winchester's SXT, Hornady's, Federal's, and Black Hill expanding pistol bullets all work fine, but only DPX goes through car doors and still expands on the other side. That is why I carry it! FN's FNP40/DAO is an acceptable pistol, but it doesn't feature any option like Beretta's "C" trigger. Useable gun, but its long, heavy trigger pull and long reset make it basically a flat revolver. The FNP does feature interchangeable grip panels, but only two options, not three like S&W and Beretta. Action target is making the first genuine improvement in the Pepper Popper since its invention! Their "Fall-Forward Pepper Popper" features a locking gate that holds the leaning-forward Popper upright. A bullet striking the plate pushes it back just enough to release it to fall forward. So, when hit, it falls forward, not backward. Ingenius! Detonics' "Combat Master," a copy of which I personally carry every day in my wonderful Lou Alessi shoulder holster, was on display as well as their 9-11-01, full-sized 1911. EOTech's new 553 model is a good way to go! Compact, rugged, and reliable, the 553 represents the latest product improvement. I prefer mine forward-mounted, as, when fighting, I don't like objects close to my face. Kahr displayed their TP45, P45, and the new PM45, the smallest 45ACP pistol I've ever seen! For 45ACP fans, this is going to be a wonderful carry gun! Their M1 Carbine, now with a flat bolt, is very smooth and nicely finished. DSA's wonderful FALs now feature an M-16, adjustable rear sight! Rugged and well protected, this is a system familiar to all soldiers and Marines. Also now available is Bob Weir's collapsible/extendable stock, which greatly enhances compactness and adaptability to varying body sizes. We saw Kel-Tec's new PF9, a single-column, compact 9mm pistol on the Kel-Tec pattern. Flat and compact for concealed carry. Kel-Tec is also shortly introducing a 308 caliber, bullpup rifle, the RFB. In order to accommodate left-handed shooters, empties eject out the front! The represents an exciting development! Finally, Fobus now makes a locking, paddle holster. It features a button on the inside that is pushed forward to release the pistol. The pistol automatically locks in place as it is holstered, much as is the case with Balckhawk's Serpa holster. I have concerns with Paddle holsters staying in place, but this new Fobus design is interesting. Tomorrow, I'll be exploring for a second day! /John ("Self-decocking" is Farnamese for "double-action-only.") 12 Jan 07 Second Day at the 2007 Shot Show: More things of note: ATS (Advanced Training Systems) is now making a wonderful self-contained shoot-house, using a composite rubber material to absorb bullet spatter. Quite impressive! John Ring at Ring's has the most complete line of prop guns available. He has copies of guns I've never heard of! We use John's simulators all the time. My old friend, Lynn Thompson, at Cold Steel now makes a six-inch Ti-Lite. Fits in the pocket and opens in a flash. The other new product I like is the "Urban Dart," A neck-knife/dagger that is easy to carry and fast into action. Lynn's product line is unequaled in the industry! A company called FlashFog makes a fog generator that can fill an entire room with dense fog within a few seconds. I stepped into their test booth, and the stuff is like pea soup! What a great way to "discourage" people from entering a building! RRA is currently offering a "two-stage" trigger on all their AR-15s. The original, Stoner trigger has no take-up and breaks at six to eight pounds. RRA's two-stage feature simply adds take-up to the trigger, which now breaks a four to five pounds. Target competitors like the feature. I don't! My preference is the standard, plain-vanilla, original Stoner trigger system, for reason discussed at length in previous Quips. Earny Emerson is now making the "Snubby" folder. It has a full-length handle, but only a 2 3/4 inch blade. It is designed for NY City residents who are prohibited from carrying a knife with a blade longer than three inches, yet who want the full control of a handle that completely fits their hands. I never would have thought of it! Friend, Wayne Novak, has added a notch into the face of his famous wedge, rear, pistol sight. It's called the "X-Sight." The purpose is to provide a perch that one may use to cycle the slide on clothing or the heel of a shoe when the support hand is not available. With the standard, wedge sight, successfully performing the maneuver is extremely difficult. Taser featured the new "C2," non-police version of their famous product. The idea is to fire the weapon at an attacker, then pitch the whole thing and run away. The famous "five-second ride," standard in the law-enforcement version, has been expanded to thirty seconds with the C2, to allow plenty of time to disengage completely. The unit costs $350.00, but when it is actually used, all the owner need do is send a copy of the police report to the company, and the entire unit will be replaced at no additional charge! Other new products include a 12-ga shotgun shell that fires a self-contained Taser unit a suspect (out to fifty meters) and then discharges when it strikes. No wires! It is called the "X-Rep." The "T-Rad," a Taser/Claymore mine is also to be marketed shortly. The company is active! Blackhawk is now making their own line of prop guns, gray and bright orange. The SERPA holster is now available in a clever, level III version and a shoulder holster! Blackhawk is also now making their own weapon light, the XIPHOS, which features the same pullulating strobe as the Gladius flashlight. A company called CCF Raceframes is making an all-metal, replacement frame for some models of Glock pistols. The resultant pistol is surely stiff and robust, but heavy! Several companies were on hand displaying gas-piston, conversion kits for the AR-15 rifle, in a perpetual attempt to address the crap-in-the-receiver issue inherent to the Stoner/gas system. The first of these appeared thirty years ago, and it seems new ones come along every SHOT Show. I surely sympathize with the issue, but all of them, including the ones I saw today, are frail, tiny, and insubstantial. It strikes me that the "cure" is worse than the disease! More tomorrow! /John ("RRA" is "Rock River Arms.") Jan 07 Third Day as the 2007 SHOT Show: A number of friends have asked me to find out if SIG's new "short-reset" trigger will be retrofittable on existing SIG pistols. So, I asked my friends at SIG this morning, and the answer is "Yes!" The short-reset trigger can be installed at the factory, by SIG armorers, on existing 226s, 229s. And 220s. $100.00, and turn-around is thirty days. Recommended! SIG is also now producing Airsoft copies of all their pistols. Everything works, including the decocking lever! Remington has on display a copy of their new 870 Riot Shotgun in twenty-gauge! Much better choice for small-statured shooters than any twelve-gauge shotgun, even with wimpy ammunition. Aimpoint introduced their new M4 "Micro." Only two inches long and light! This is a vast improvement over anything they've produced up until now. Same effect, but much less weight and bulk. I'll have a copy on one of my rifles shortly! Friend, John Klein, at Sage is now making a replacement chassis for not only the M-14, but for the Ruger Mini-14 and the M1 Garand as well. Pistol grip, telescoping stock, and rails. Brings both rifles right up to speed! Among the nicest AR-15s on display was Sabre's "Pro." It has everything I want on a serious rifle and nothing I don't. A resurrected Charter Arms has on display a left-handed revolver, called the "Southpaw!" Cylinder release button is actually on the right side of the frame. First of its kind that I know of. Charter Arms revolvers look and feel as they always have. ASP is producing a wonderful line of small flashlights, all employing LEDs. Brightness is unbelievable! They're also producing folding/lockable/hinged handcuffs! All hinged handcuffs keep both cuffs continuously on the same plane, but these can also be locked apart. Quite an innovation! Friend, Alex Robinson, at Robinson Arms tells me the 6.8mm version of his famous XCR will be available toward the end of this year. I'll have one of the first copies! The 6.8mm is a vastly superior round to the 223, in every way. This iteration of the XCR will be a genuine, battle rifle! Steyr's famous AUG may soon be made and marketed in the USA! My friends at Steyr tell me they are currently ready to go with domestic production. Just awaiting a final decision from the head of Steyr-dom. We've been hearing whispers about this for over a year now. Whoever Steyr's president is needs to either paint or get off the ladder! Magpull has on display a wonderful M-16 magazine, best example I've ever seen, and reasonably priced. I'm going to get a supply! I received details today from friends in the ammunition industry on a recent ND that resulted in a serious, self-inflicted injury. A G19, carried loose in a back, pants pocket, discharged when the owner attempted to withdraw a handkerchief from the same pocket! The single round, Cor-Bon DPX, struck the owner in the top of his right foot, and performed as advertised! Not much of the foot was salvageable. The lesson here is: when you carry a concealed pistol, particularly an autoloader, carry it in a high-quality holster, not rattling around at the bottom of a pocket or handbag! When pistols are carried, the trigger and trigger guard need to be covered, and the pistol needs to be held in position rigidly and securely. Exposed triggers and unsecured pistols combine to set one up for disaster, as we see! Tomorrow is the last day of the Show, and there are a few more folks I need to talk with. More then! /John (Evan Marshall reports that S&W was showing "old-style" Centennials with grip safeties and case-hardened frames; I don't believe that case-hardened frames were ever offered on the original M40's and M42's. No mention was made of whether these models are still equipped with integral key locks or whether they are chambered in .38 Special or .357 Magnum. I suspect they may turn out to be a Performance Center model, like the brief re-issue of the single-action, top-break Schofield revolvers, a few years ago. Some shooters with large hands prefer the slight increase in distance from back strap to trigger created by the grip safety. A photo of an original M40, with grip safety and Tyler T-Grip, appears on page 73 of my book.) -- Stephen P. Wenger Firearm safety - It's a matter for education, not legislation. http://www.spw-duf.info .