The National Shooting Sports Foundation recently announced it has dumped Reed Exhibitions as the official manager of SHOT Show.
The move is in response to Reed Exhibitions’ decision to restrict AR15-style “modern sporting rifles” from the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show early this year following the December 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 young children and seven others.
The restriction sparked a good bit of outrage from the shooting-community and ultimately resulted in the show being canceled.
The Sandy Hook tragedy divided the country and touched off a fierce battle between pro- and anti-gun communities. Attempts to pass new legislation to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines failed as did a call for more stringent background checks on all firearms purchases.
Armor Works will soon offer a new line of ballistic knee pads designed to shield soldier’s and Marine’s knee caps from enemy AK-47 fire.
The Arizona-based armor firm showed off a Level 3A version of the new ballistic knee pads on the Shot Show floor. Level 3A protects against 9mm rounds and shrapnel. A more protective version capable of stopping 7.62 x 39mm will be available soon, said William Perciballi, president and founder of Armor Works.
The new knee protection is the result of an 18-month effort with PEO Soldier to continue developing “extremity protection” options for soldiers in combat.
“For law enforcement, we are offering a level 3a, and for the military we are offering an assault-rifle version that is being tested right now,” Perciballi said. “It’s a good application for composite armor because composites have very good shaping capabilities. … We are adapting our military composite armor technology to this product where we mold the product to shape and come up with a ballistic component that hopefully people think is comfortable.”
Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal joined the growing ranks of talking heads speaking out on the current gun-control debate on MSNBC. McChrystal appeared on the show to talk about his new memoir ”My Share of the Task” but was quite clear about his position on the private ownership of weapons such as M4-style carbines. McChrystal was the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan before he resigned in the wake of a scandalous Rolling Stones article in 2010. I’m surprised he didn’t side-step the issue.
This is the standard version of AAI Corp.'s Lightweight Small Arms Technology LMG. The latest version features a much shorter barrel and folding stock.
AAI Corp., displayed the latest version of its Lightweight Small Arms Technology at Modern Day Marine 2012. Program officials cut four inches off LSAT’s 16.5 inch barrel and added a folding, telescoping stock.
The Army program is intended to cut the weight of its light machine gun by as much as 50 percent. The weapon itself weighs about nine pounds compared to a 17-pound M249 squad automatic weapon.
LSAT’s cased-telescoped 5.56mm ammunition that relies on a plastic case rather than a brass one to hold the propellant and the projectile, like a conventional shotgun shell. It weighs about 37 percent less than standard belted 5.56mm.
The Army continues to show interest in the program, but it will be interesting if weapons officials can convince the top brass to move away from traditional brass-cased ammunition.
Here’s a video showing AAI officials showing off the new version of LSAT.
The market survey is intended to identify potential sources for manufacturing a complete system or reconfiguring some or all of the existing 7.62 x 51mm M110 systems currently available in Army inventory.
Gun makers have until August 14 to respond with their initial ideas for producing the new CSASS.
Here’s a list of the initial 15 requirements industry would have to meet:
1. Operation: Semi-automatic 2. Caliber: Compatible with 7.62x51mm NATO cartridges 3. Accuracy: Capable of 0.60″ AMR at 100m or better with match ammunition. 4. Size: Overall length shall be reduced using a shorter barrel and/or collapsible buttstock. Maximum overall assembled length of the rifle shall be not greater than 36 inches with the stock at its shortest position and no sound suppressor mounted. [click to continue…]
I posted a story on Military.com this morning with details on why the Marine Corps chose Colt to make its new Close Quarter Battle Pistol. Colt beat out Smith & Wesson and Springfield Armory, securing a $22.5 million contract to make up to 12,000 souped-up .45 1911s.
Seems … reeeaaly expensive. Please read the story, and tell me what you think.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation recently announced it has dumped Reed Exhibitions as the official manager of SHOT Show.
