SHOT Show 2018: Day 2 Recap
January 25, 2018Following up on yesterday’s SHOT Show 2018: Day 1 Recap, these are some of the highlights from my second and final full day on the show floor.
2A Armament
2A Armament makes some very cool, very lightweight, and very expensive stuff. Their new .22 LR AR-15 style rifle and conversion kits are no exception. The AR 22LR rifle retails for $1,399, but at under 4 pounds, it is crazy light. The gun features a lightened 7075 T6 aluminum upper and lower with a 6061 aluminum rail and an aluminum barrel that has a steel insert for the bore/chamber. The moving parts inside are titanium. I’ve honestly never handled a full-size rifle that even comes close to the AR 22LR in the weight category. 2A also sells conversion kits for $272 or $439, depending on whether or not you purchase the barrel.
Armaspec
Armaspec has a whole lot of new products on the way. First, there’s the Sound Mitigation Buffer. An even more affordable take on the self-contained AR-15 buffer than Armaspec’s existing Stealth Recoil Spring, the SMB comes in at just $45. It foregoes the two-stage design of the SRS, but keeps most of the other features. I don’t think you’ll find a cheaper way to cut down on action noise.
Other new releases from Armaspec include the B2 skeletonized and non-skeletonized extended magazine releases, the Victory charging handle, and a field-serviceable grip screw that can be tightened with a standard slotted screwdriver, rather than requiring a long Allen key. The Victory is designed for ambidextrous use and also features ports to release gas blowback. Armaspec has said that Modern Rifleman can expect to receive some of these new products for review, so watch for that in the coming months.
Brugger & Thomet
B&T has a few new guns on the way. The single-shot, suppressed VP9 pistol is coming at some point, but what’s really exciting is their APC223/APC300 line. As you’d expect, the two are chambered for .223 (actually 5.56mm) and .300 Blackout. B&T plans to bring the carbine versions of the rifles, which will join the APC223 pistol that is already imported. Of course, they won’t be cheap as the APC223 pistol sells for around $3,000 itself. I will say, these rifles feel really, really nice and they have excellent triggers for factory guns.
Elsewhere in the line, an integrally suppressed APC9, the APC9-SD is on the way. B&T suppressors aren’t common here in the US, but the company is looking to change that. In Europe, B&T is one of the top players in the game. In addition to bringing some of their designs for US production, the APC9-SD will help to further establish that foothold stateside.
Dead Air Armament
Dead Air released two new suppressors late last year, so they didn’t have anything new in the way of cans. That said, they are closely involved with a couple of projects from KNS, including an adjustable gas piston for AKs and folding pistol sights for suppressed and/or optics-equipped handguns. They’re actually the ones who came up with the idea for the latter. I’ll talk about those in a bit.
On the suppressor side, Dead Air has a new flash hider end cap for their Sandman series. It’s not like flash hiding end caps are new, but there’s a compelling reason behind Dead Air’s announcement. The Sandman K is so short that it isn’t quite able to knock down all of the flash with most ammo. The end cap is supposed to help with that.
EFK Firedragon
My friend, Jeremy from Silencer Shop, recently got an awesome new threaded barrel for his SIG P320 X-Five from EFK Firedragon. Apparently SIG had no intention of producing a threaded barrel for that gun, so EFK stepped in and filled the gap. That’s their thing, though. They had a lot of fantastic looking barrels in their booth and there’s a very good chance that you’ll see their barrels here on the site at some point in the near future
KNS Precision
I saved the folding Glock sights for this section instead of Dead Air’s, mainly because KNS is responsible for producing the parts. In short, it is an awesome concept that’ll have a lot of people wondering why they didn’t come up with it themselves. When folded, the sights are standard height. Low enough not to snag on things, but large enough to be effective. Flipping up both the rear and the front converts them to suppressor-height sights, allowing shooters to aim over the top of a can or through the window of a low-profile red dot, like the Trijicon RMR shown below. KNS plans to release the sights for Glocks first, but other handgun models are sure to follow.
The other interesting product from KNS, and maybe one of the best of the show, is their new adjustable AK piston. For years, companies have produced adjustable gas keys for AR-15s. This takes that general concept and applies it to AKs. Essentially, the piston has a hole drilled into it to allow gas to flow in. Behind the piston head sits a small port that can be size-adjusted by twisting a small collar. The larger the port, the more gas is vented. Because the venting occurs behind the piston head, those particles that escape can no longer apply force to the carrier assembly. This allows shooters to tune their AKs for specific loads and suppressed use.
Rugged Suppressors
Like Dead Air, Rugged doesn’t have any new cans on the way. They, too, covered that base late last year with the Obsidian 9 and the Micro30. The 9mm version of the Obsidian is an adaptable suppressor that’s a little smaller and a little lighter than the .45 caliber version. In the short configuration, it is extremely handy on pistol caliber carbines and subguns.
The Micro30 is also modular. In the full configuration, it is very similar to Rugged’s Razor762. Both are similar in length, weight, and performance. However, unlike the Razor, the Micro30 can be shortened even more – to the point that it adds just 2″ to the overall length of the firearm. Rugged’s goal was for the short Micro30 to be hearing-safe at the shooter’s ear on a .308 rifle. It just hits that mark, but at-ear performance will depend on your host firearm.
Walther
I always like to check out new sub-compact pistols at shows like this. It’s a great chance to see how the diminutive guns feel and handle. Walther’s new PPQ SC is maybe the best feeling pistol I’ve handled, at least in that category. It still sports the same great trigger from the original PPQ, and when you add the grip extension and 15-round magazines, it feels like a full-size, but with a shorter barrel. Even with the standard 10-rounders, it’s pretty comfy.
An information security professional by day and gun blogger by night, Nathan started his firearms journey at 16 years old as a collector of C&R rifles. These days, you’re likely to find him shooting something a bit more modern – and usually equipped with a suppressor – but his passion for firearms with military heritage has never waned. Over the last five years, Nathan has written about a variety of firearms topics, including Second Amendment politics and gun and gear reviews. When he isn’t shooting or writing, Nathan nerds out over computers, 3D printing, and Star Wars.