SHOT SHOW Day Four

bacwoods home ^ | Jan 22, 2010 | Massad Ayoob

[smokingfrog]

It’s the third day of the SHOT Show for the dealers attending, the fourth day for the professionals who got there early for set-up and networking and advanced product testing.

AR15 rifle variants are everywhere. One theme this year of our host, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), is that “AR” stands for “America’s Rifle.” It’s good to see new companies coming in and being innovative. American Spirit Arms introduces an AR15 with a bolt operating lever located on the left side above the magazine, like an FN FAL. This eliminates the one non-ergonomic feature of Gene Stoner’s Armalite design in this writer’s opinion: the awkward T-handle at the rear of the action. The price is competitive, the action is smooth, and the handling IS faster. Heckler & Koch’s take on the American AR, shown as a non-functional prototype last year at SHOT, is shown this time as a functional prototype, and seems to draw much from the company’s 416 rifle.

Chiappa of Italy introduces a reasonably priced .22 Long Rifle version of the AR15, and also their intriguing Rhino revolver, reminiscent of an earlier Italian design, the Mateba. The barrel is parallel to the lower portion of the frame instead of the top, bringing bore axis down and thus reducing muzzle rise. The action of this “upside-down” .357 Magnum feels surprisingly smooth. There are already holsters being made for it, and it will accept a 6-shot speedloader for an L-frame Smith & Wesson. Instead of a round cylinder, this revolver’s is hexagonal: you don’t see hexagonal cylinders every day, at a revolver match OR a geometry class.

[smokingfrog]

The previous 3 days are also reviewed at the same link.

I haven't read all of them yet, so don't know if he has covered the BATF arrests.

[smokingfrog]

The new Chiappa Rhino revolver looks interesting.

[2111USMC]

BATF arrests?

Guess I’ve been outta the loop.

[USNBandit]

FBI set up a sting operation with a person posing as a government official from a west african nation. As part of the business negociations he solicits a bribe from the company official. Evidently that breaks some weapons exportation law.

They arrested 25 people from a number of companies right before the show opened.

[NVDave]

http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=12D60E47A917DA08&p_docnum=2

[NVDave]

I’ve read up on this thing.

It looks uglier than stink. And from the detailed pictures they make available on their web site, I’m not impressed with the finish on their parts.

The only upside of this is that it might tame some of the recoil with heavy loads and a short barrel.

[2111USMC]

Wow. If they snared 25 people, I would have to think it was some kind of entrapment using a regulation/law that nobody knew about.

[Jet Jaguar]

BTTT

[rellimpank]

—more—

—http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2433038/posts

[2111USMC]

Thanks Dave, but I couldn't get your link to work.

I did find this on Outdoor Life:

Syd Weedon of Front Sight, Press writes that the violations took so much work by law enforcement agencies to induce, that the agencies should be "held equally culpable as part of the conspiracy—especially in a case like this, where the violation is highly technical and the targets of the sting might not even realize they were in violation."

[Tijeras_Slim]

That is one butt friggin ugly revolver.

Can it do anything my 1956 Smith pre-27 3.5” can’t?

[eXe]

I was at the show on Monday and got to play with it a bit. Its ugly as sin but felt REALLY comfortable in my hand. Strange as that seems

They are also coming out with some .22LR 1911 clones.. which were very well made

[2111USMC]

Thanks.

This deal really stinks to high heaven. Based on some obscure 1977 foreign trade law. Took them 2-1/2 years to entrap these folks.

[NVDave]

That’s largely my thoughts too, but I wasn’t going to pre-dispose you either way on the charges. Folks have to read the account of what happened and make their own call.

This is another one of those laws in DC written by high-minded liberals and Ivy League pinheads. Let’s say that some clown from Dirka-Dirkastan comes to our arms companies and there’s a big sale possible, but a little bakeesh has to cross palms to get the sale.

So if our companies are banned from doing this business (which is a common business model in offshore countries, including France for cryin’ out loud), other countries are going to get the business.

The Russians, for example, have no such laws and absolutely no objections to doing business in this manner.

[NVDave]

I dunno - the only thing that comes to mind is “make an assailant drop to his knees and weep in despair at your lack of taste?”

[clee1]

If by “interesting” you mean “butt-ugly”, then I agree ;)

[USNBandit]

Not knowing about a law isn't usually a valid legal defense. I would think that if you were in the gun business you would know about the law in this case, but who knows.

I'm not a big believer in sting operations because I think you catch some people who, while obviously not honest, might not have committed the crime unless invited.

It borders on entrapment.

[2111USMC]

I've known some people in the firearms manufacturing business. Filling both U.S. and foreign government contracts.

All of them seem to be real honest people with a constant eye to abiding by the law. They have to be law abiding because they are under constant scrutiny with reporting and accountability processes that are absolutely anal. It sounds like the people caught up in this trap were long time professionals in the industry. This wasn't "Bubba" from the local militia selling Uzi's out of his garage.

[2111USMC]

(Not that there’s anything wrong with militias, by the way.)

[Tainan]

I am glad to see some new thinking coming about in handgun design.