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Monthly Archives: January 2015
Galco QCL Quad Magazine Carrier!
Galco International had this beast on a display mannequin at SHOT Show 2015! I thought it might be one of those joke products designed to draw you into their booth, but, no, this thing has a purpose (other than stressing your rotator cuff). The QCL Quad Magazine Carrier was made at the request of soldiers heading overseas. In 1969, Galco made the “Original Jackass Rig,” which was a modular shoulder holster design with the intent to have components which could be swapped out. The QCL will hang on today’s Miami Classic opposite your full-sized roscoe. Brother, this will hold a lot of bullets. At 15 bullets in a standard M9 … Continue reading
Kimber Micro Raptor at SHOT Show 2015
Got a minute? Randall
New Ruger Handguns at SHOT Show 2015 Industry Day
Sturm, Ruger & Co. had a few changes to existing platforms at SHOT this year. Their LCR was chambered in 9mm for some increased potency while retaining its mainstream shootability. To bolster accuracy, the LCP was granted front and rear sights. To show off this model, one of the Ruger reps said they intentionally made the skeletonized aluminum trigger in anodized “Ruger red.” I found the 9mm LCR to be very controllable. As always, it is pleasant to fire. Since it is not nearly as hammering to the hand as its .357 counterpart, I think this 9mm ballistics upgrade from .38 Spl. will be popular. I thought the 9mm felt … Continue reading
German Sport Guns Will Make an MP40 in 9mm!
German Sport Guns GmbH proudly announced at SHOT Show 2015 that they will manufacture a 9 x 19mm version of their MP40 Schmeisser steel replica. The MP40 is the infamous World War II German submachine gun that GSG currently sells in .22 LR. Chambered for 9mm, the sub gun will return to its roots. I appreciate German engineering and I am as fond of my little BMW 3 series as I was my Heckler & Koch MP-5. The closest I have come to shooting a Schmeisser is in the Call of Duty video game series. I would love to have one of these subs in 9mm. The rep at SHOT … Continue reading
Shooting a Korth Sky Marshal at SHOT Show
The first booth for which I stood in line at SHOT Show’s 2015 Industry Day at the Range was Korth GmbH. You know that I love revolvers and I just had to bust some Teutonic caps in the Korth Sky Marshal in 9mm that we heard about a few weeks back. In the video above, I shot my first six shots. I did get to shoot more; they were just not on “tape.” My impressions of the gun were that it was a very easy shooting, comfortable handgun. At 19.75 ounces, the Sky Marshal is two ounces lighter than a Glock 26, but the revolver feels a little more stable … Continue reading
Standard Manufacturing Company’s DP-12 Pump Shotgun at SHOT Show 2015
At SHOT Show 2015’s Industry Day at the Range, I wandered over to the far south end of the festivities, as I usually do, to start a methodical perusal northward. The first booth on the right was that of the Standard Manufacturing Company, a branch of the Connecticut Shotgun Manufacturing Company. Their DP-12 was garnering much attention. The DP-12 is a double-barreled, pump-action bullpup 12 gauge shotgun. Since it is akin to marrying two pumps side-by-side, the gun was built to be completely ambidextrous. There are thumb safeties on both sides. Loading in done through a bay behind the handgrip. The receiver is made from a solid block of forged … Continue reading
More Photos from Industry Day at the Range 2015
I thought you might enjoy some random photographs from Industry Day at the Range. Standard Manufacturing’s DP-12 double-barreled pump action shotguns lined up. Michael Bane films a segment for Shooting Gallery at the Korth display.
Posted in Firearms, SHOT Show
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SHOT Show Industry Day at the Range 2015
SHOT Show has renamed Media Day to Industry Day at the Range. Invited media (yes, I was) are allowed into the Boulder City Rifle and Pistol Club at 8:30 a.m. Other invited industry members (buyers, dealers, distributors, and retailers) are welcomed at noon. Media are allowed to stay until the event’s closing at 4:30. I was told that of the 2,500 media members granted press passes, only 1,000 were allowed into Industry Day. It certainly seemed less crowded this morning. Unlike past years, remembering the 2013 battle with frostbite, this year’s weather was very mild, indeed. It was in the low 50’s when I arrived then warmed up to nearly … Continue reading
ThinBlueFlorida on Facebook
I finally decided to join the last decade and start a Facebook page for ThinBlueFlorida.com. I am doing this in hopes of providing some quick photos and show floor updates for you during SHOT Show 2015. The Facebook page will have a bit of its own original content. I will also be putting up links to some of my more popular or personal favorite archived articles from ThinBlueFlorida, in case you missed them or have just joined us here. If you are at SHOT Show this year, send me a Facebook message or an email and we can find time to say hello. My flight to McCarran leaves early tomorrow. … Continue reading
Posted in Media, SHOT Show
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SHOT Show 2015 Coming Up!
It is that time of year again to pack up the camera, notepad, and pen to head out for SHOT Show. Plane, hotel, and vacation time are booked. Someone else can do my job while I play media member for most of a week. There is not quite the same buzz about new handguns as there was last year. That said, a rumor is clandestinely swirling about that Glock will announce a single stack 9mm pistol this year which will be similar in size to last year’s runaway G42. I will be scampering down to the Glock area on Monday’s Media (now Industry) Day to see if the new model … Continue reading
Korth 9mm Sky Marshal Revolver is Moon-Clipless
Korth of Germany is introducing a 9mm revolver at SHOT Show 2015 that will not use clips to hold the bullets. It will be called the Sky Marshal. I copied the specs off of the Korth website for you. They are in German, which I took in college but can’t really remember that well, but I typed in some gram and millimeter translations which appear in red at the right. Spezifikation: Sky Marshal Kaliber: 9mm Luger (NATO Standard), 6 Schuss (schuss=shot) Gewicht: 560 g (19.75 ounces weight) Höhe: 157 mm (6.18 inches high) Länge: 130 mm (5.12 inches long) Breite: 39mm (1.54 inches width) Lauflänge: 50,8mm (2 Zoll) (barrel length … Continue reading
DNA Produces Facial Images
I found this equal parts cool and creepy. Parabon NanoLabs has developed a process called Snapshot that takes a DNA sample and extrapolates it into physical traits of the contributor. The traits include sex, genetic ancestry, skin color, hair color, eye color, freckling, and–gulp–facial morphology. A dab of blood or strand of hair can lead to a virtual mugshot of the person. Yikes. Parabon, based in Reston, VA, uses DNA phenotyping to read biomarkers and make predictions about physical appearance. This process involves DNA data mining and data modeling to compare the genetic variants of the unknown subject against known DNA patterns. With funding from the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction … Continue reading
Posted in Detectives, Technology
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Police Excitement Has Its Price
Yesterday, I had a nice young man over to the house to fix my range. He has a start-up appliance business that he is working very hard to grow. While he was installing some new potentiometers and circuit boards, we made casual conversation. He knows what I do for a living and at one point he said, “Sometimes I wish I had done something exciting with my life–like you did.” I wasn’t quite sure what to say. Jamie, as I’ll call him, is newly and happily married. He has a baby girl at home. For all his elbow grease, Jamie has finally purchased a commercial van with logos and a … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Misc., Off Duty
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Police Officers Say, “Walk a Mile in Our Shoes.”
Phoenix civil rights activist Rev. Jarrett Maupin and a Fox news reporter go through some standard police use of force scenarios and learn some things about what we as cops face everyday. It strongly affected their preconceptions. “We want his badge, we want his gun, we want his job!” Rev. Maupin had chanted earlier at a protest for a police shooting in Phoenix. After this training session with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office, Rev. Maupin said, “I didn’t understand how important compliance was, but after going through this, yeah, my attitude has changed.” During the Simunition training, both Maupin and the reporter shot an aggressive unarmed man approaching them in … Continue reading
Posted in Officer Safety, Politics, Street
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