Magpul announced a new addition to their popular MOE line of products – the  MOE Fixed Carbine Stock. Available in both Mil-Spec and Commercial models the Fixed Carbine Stock provides shooters with another option to satisfy their personal preferences, or State-mandated rifle accessories. The new addition is specifically designed for Carbine-length buffer tubes.
The MOE Fixed Carine Stock has many similar features of the popular MOE collapsible stock. Unlike the previous MOE fixed stock option, the MOE Rifle Stock, the new Fixed Carbine Stock has an open frame that closely resembles the look of the collapsible stock version. The open frame is a little longer and larger than the collapsible stock version, and there is a fixed spacer at the front of the stock. That spacer is designed to envelope the bottom half of the castle nut.
Announced at the NRA Annual Meetings and Expo earlier this month, the new Mustang XSP is a polymer-framed version of the single-action .380 ACP pistol. Â Do not think that this is the same pistol just with a plastic frame. Â Colt made a number of changes in the frame that many shooters will like. Â For example, there is a relief cut into the frame, behind the trigger guard, which allows the shooter to get a grip higher up on the gun.
Other enhancements on the new Mustang XSP include an ambidextrous safety, dovetailed front sight and short accessory rail. Â Total weight of the pistol is less than 12 ounces (unloaded) and the MSRP is $649. Â For now the frame is black, but polymer frames allow for relatively easy color additions to the handgun line. Â Don’t be surprised to see an OD green, FDE or even pink Mustang XSP in the future.
The AR-15:Â Practical, Tactical or TACTI-COOL!
The American Gunsmithing Institute released a new gunsmithing DVD on customizing the AR-15 rifle. Â The video course starts with an overview of different customization options that are available for the rifles, and then launches into a number of project builds for different needs. Â The course is taught by a master gunsmith with decades of experience with the AR platform. Â The DVD retails for $79.95.
Sturm, Ruger & Co is in the process of opening a third production plant to expand manufacturing capacity, and company president and CEO Michael O. Fifer wants to do it quickly.
“We’re running out of space,†said Fifer in the company’s annual shareholder meeting on April 30.
According to Fifer, Ruger will use the new facility to build new lines of firearms, not to expand production of current firearms. Fifer stated he expects the new facility would build about ten completely new firearm lines.
To show how much growth Ruger has experienced, consider the number of employees employed at the Prescott, AZ manufacturing facility. On the weekly Gun Talk radio program, Ken Jorgensen, Director of Media Relations for Ruger, told host Tom Gresham that there were about 150 employees at the plant in 2008. Currently, there are about 750.
An existing, high-quality facility is what Ruger would like to find. “I don’t have any desire to build something,†said Fifer. He stated that there is more risk in building something, and he would prefer to get the new plant up and running “very quickly.â€
Ideally, the facility would be of newer construction, about 250,000 square feet in size, and have a “phenomenal electrical [system] in it.â€Â Fifer stated the company would prefer not to be in an industrial park.
When you think of polymer AR-15 magazines, Magpul PMAGs are almost the universal image that comes to mind. Â The company now aims to make you think “Magpul AK-47 magazine” when you need to feed your Eastern Bloc gun.
I recently read an independent test in a tactical magazine that compared 5 different polymer magazines. Though several other brands scored high, the Magpul PMAG was still the reigning champ. From dusty battlegrounds to the mean streets, to home defense and beyond, Magpul has produced a great magazine that is enjoyed by many.
PMAG 30 AK MOE
Until recently Magpul has focused most of the PMAG magazines on the AR rifle market. The most popular mag being for the AR-15, but also offering magazines for the AR-10 in .308 caliber, and two options for the British SA80 and the H&K G36.
For the first time, however, Magpul has entered the increasingly popular AK-47 market with the new PMAG 30 AK MOE. The new PMAG 30 for the AK-47 brings all the experience, expertise, and technical magic that has made the Magpul PMags so popular in the AR market to the Kalashnikov world. Specifically designed to work in the AK-47, AKM, AKS, and similarly patterned rifles chambered for the 7.62×39, the AK MOE is a 30-round lightweight polymer magazine that offers a removable base plate, constant curve, and the highly regarded and dependable Magpul follower.
The new Beretta Pico was announced today at the 2013 National Rifle Association’s Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Houston, TX. Â The new gun is intended for the concealed carry market and comes to the table already looking like a mature platform with multiple options, frame colors and accessories ready to go.
The Pico is being called “ultra-concealable” by the company, and at the widest point, the Beretta Pico is only 18mm. Â For those of us stuck still using the king’s system of measurements, that works out to be less than 0.71″ wide. Â That is pretty darn thin.
Additionally, the pistol has many of the edges rounded to prevent snagging on garments when drawing from concealed locations. Â Additionally, the slide release is flush with the frame, meaning it does not protrude beyond the width of the frame.
One of the distinguishing characteristics of the new handgun is its ability to change between 380 ACP and 32 ACP with a quick barrel swap. Â In less than a minute, the shooter can move between calibers with a single gun.
In both calibers, the barrel only tilts 1.4° during the firing sequence.  According to Beretta, this increases reliability of feeding.  Additionally, by having limited tilt, the company states this dramatically reduces felt recoil.  One Beretta spokesperson stated this gun was unlike other subcompact .380 pistols on the market, because the recoil was so low you would actually enjoy shooting this gun.
The new Pico has the ability to swap frames as the company’s other pistol, the Nano, does. Â The frames are polymer. Â Ready immediately for the new pistol are frames in black, purple, white, pink and flat dark earth. Â The Pico is able to do this by using a chassis system like the Nano.
