I ordered a set of Cocobolo grips for my Browning Hi-Power from Hogue. They aren’t terribly expensive and look nice: I handled a set of walnut grips (I believe) at the show and was favorably impressed. They should make that old gun look a little better.
Hogue is offering a discount code that’s good through May 26th: NRAAM24HOGUE.
Lyman also sent over a discount code for their sites: NRAENTRY for the Lyman website (20% off), and NRAENTRY (15% off) for their Mark 7 reloading website. Valid through June 3rd.
The Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network is offering $100 one year memberships through May 31st with code 2024NRA. I have heard nothing but good things about ACLDN: FotB (and official trainer to WCD) Karl is a board member. I plan to take advantage of this offer before the 31st.
XS Sights also has a promo code good through May 31st: NRA24 gets you 24% off. Which is great, because I plan to order a set of ghost ring sights from them for my social shotgun.
I picked up some chamber flags at various points during the meeting. I bring this up because: have you ever seen folks giving out chamber flags and wondered about them? Who do you order them from, and how much? There were at least two vendors at the show who would sell you custom chamber flags. The one I have in front of me right now, Manufacturing Services, will sell them to you with your custom (black and white) art for 60 to 85 cents each (the more expensive option has printing on both sides) with a minimum order of 100. That seems to me to be very reasonable, if you’re doing something like a Boy Scout Scouting USA firearms exercise and want to have something to give to the kids.
If you’re interested in what I’d call more “conventional” NRAAM coverage, The Firearm Blog has that. I haven’t watched it yet, but they have an interview up with Jerry Miculek about the new Smith and Wesson Model 327 WR. S&W was running a contest at the show: I figure my odds of winning one are somewhere between “slim” and “out of town”, but you never know.
One thing I did buy from S&W was one of their snazzy limited edition NRAAM 2024 hats:
This should be fun to put on my display table at the symposium.
When I say “conventional” above, I’m not sneering at TFB or anybody else. For me, when I go to cover these things, I like to highlight the more obscure vendors who don’t attract the same press attention as Colt or S&W, and the people who are nice to me. Like the guys at the Ruger booth, or the Hornady podcast folks, or Marissa Brinkman who edits the Texas State Rifle Association magazine. That’s where I get my joy. Well, that, and winning stuff in drawings.
Speaking of which, unless there are two “Dwight B.”s who live in Austin and went to the NRAAM, I apparently won one of those TagMe by Ocufil systems. I plan a report once it arrives and I go through the setup and testing process.
Fun story: there was a guy at the show (and I wish I could remember his, or the company’s name: maybe one of my friends will fill this in for me) who was giving away his product in return for reviews. The product was a Glock 17/19 magazine with a key lock at the bottom. Once you inserted the mag and locked it, the gun was secured: you couldn’t remove the mog, you couldn’t fire the gun, you could work the slide and eject rounds, but that was it. Unlock it, and you had a fully functional Glock. You don’t even have to remove the locking magazine, it feeds normally with the mag unlocked.
Edited to add 5/27: Thanks to FotB John for providing the name of the company: GoSafe. I’m pretty sure this is a different company than the one that sells industrial safety equipment, so I’d recommend using the embedded link. GoSafe does say they are working on equivalent products for the Smith and Wesson M&P and Sig Sauer, but as far as I can tell, those are not ready yet. Also, it does look like they make a version for .40 S&W Glocks, which I do not recall them mentioning (or having) at the show.
The hilarious thing about this was: none of the four of us currently own a Glock 17 or 19. I own two Glocks, but neither one is a 17 or 19. Probably the single most popular gun in the world, and zero out of four of us own one. (I overheard an interesting conversation on the bus between another gentleman of the press and a couple of attendees. The member of the fourth estate was opining that, in the event of a zombie apocalypse, his gun of choice would be a Glock 19. 9mm ammo should be readily available, the gun is so popular that you should be able to find spare mags and even entire guns easily, you can stockpile parts kits to keep it running, and it is simple enough to work on that even I could probably fix one.)
I don’t think I’m going to be commissioning one right away, as I have another holster priority ahead of it, and I’m saving money for the Smith and Wesson Collectors Association symposium in a few weeks. But there was a company called Palmetto Leather Works that had a nice looking holster for a Browning Buck Mark, complete with magazine pocket. It reminded me of a vintage George Lawrence holster that I bought Mike the Nusicologist for Christmas one year, and I could easily see this being modified for a Model 41.
Speaking of holsters, it amused me greatly that Galco is rocking the 40th anniversary of the Miami Classic, aka the “Sonny Crockett“. $440 is a little rich for my blood, but the thought of carrying a Commander length 1911 in a shoulder holster tickles my fancy. (I’m pretty sure Galco still catalogs an updated non-custom shop version of the Miami Classic.)
Shoutout to the Ranch Products people, who are always nice. Shoutout too to Wolfe Publishing, who saved me $10 and a trip to Barnes and Noble by giving me a copy of the latest Handloader.
I made it by the U.S. Armament Manufacturing booth, and did get to briefly handle their reproduction DeLisle carbine. TFB has coverage of this as well, but not tied to their NRAAM coverage. I think it’s an interesting gun, but for me, not $5,999 interesting (plus $200 for the tax stamp, since it is a Class III weapon). At least, not unless I win the lottery, and I’d buy a BAR reproduction from Ohio Ordnance Works (or even a real BAR) first. I can see the DeLisle being a fun toy…if you’ve got used car money to spend. Those reproduction Colt 1903 and 1908 pistols look nice and expensive too.
I picked up a card for Rugged Rare. They make some nice looking concealed carry bags (which I don’t need) and belts (which I do need). They are producing Smith and Wesson licensed leather belts and wallets. I actually thought their belts were very reasonably priced, and I wish I had bought one: I just couldn’t fit it in with all my stuff. And unfortunately, it looks like their website caters more to retailers than individual purchasers. I can’t even see the prices without setting up an account, and I can’t set up an account without uploading a business license.
We went by the Precision Small Arms booth, too. They make really nice looking reproductions of the “Baby Browning“, which I’ve always thought was a neat little gun. I’ve heard all the .25 ACP jokes, but the gun you have on you is better than the one in a safe at home, and these are a very discreet option. We also handled some guns at the Seecamp booth. I’ve always heard good things about Seecamp guns: yes, they’re more expensive than a LCP, but they’re also (I hear) extremely well made and reliable, and are often carried by people who need a backup gun that 100% works.
I have a card for Powder River Precision, but I don’t know why. It may have been for their 10/22 stuff. I also have a card for Shilen, but I know why: if I ever need a new barrel on one of my guns, I’m going to them.
Pigpen51, we went by the Tisas booth. I still haven’t shot one, but I did get to handle a few of them. Yes, these were show guns, but I was fairly impressed. They seemed like solidly made 1911 clones, and I’d really like a chance to run one for a bit. They are also importing clones of the Inglis Hi-Power, which seem like nice guns. Maybe not as nice as the new FN guns, but the Tisas Inglis is also about 1/3rd the price. I’m not sure about parts compatibility: I wish I had thought to ask while i was there.
Oehler, who is here in Austin and makes chronographs, told me they’re looking for somebody. It sounds like they want a sort of jack-of-all-trades. That is, some one who can do tech support, assist in set up and testing, read a schematic and identify components, and generally do what’s needed. I don’t imagine this is a huge company, and I have no idea what they are paying. But if you’re recently retired, healthy, and looking for a job to supplement your retirement pay, this might be a good opportunity.
That’s all the business cards I had stuck in my badge holder for later reference. I still haven’t gone through the big bag o’ stuff that I set aside to go through when I got back. I want to try to do that this weekend. I also want to get another gun book post up, and maybe even a gun post. And I have some non gun-related work to do for some of the other organizations I’m involved with.
For a three-day weekend, it feels like it is going to be full.
And Marissa Brinkman is probably saying to herself, “This guy really needs an editor.”
