Richard Johnson is a gun writer, amateur historian and - most importantly - a dad. He's done a lot of silly things in his life, but quitting police work to follow his passion of writing about guns was one of the smartest things he ever did. He founded this site and continues to manage its operation.
SIG Sauer announced a new version of the P290 pistol. Â The SIG P290 ORB is functionally identical to the P290 ES I previously reviewed, but it has an oil rubbed bronze coated slide. Â This is the same finish used on the popular SIG 1911 Spartan pistol that we saw at this year’s SHOT Show.
The new pistols also use G-10 grip panels similar to the ones on the ES model. Â However, the new grip panels have a color pattern that matches the bronze color of the slide better than the original ES grips.
Safariland announced the introduction of a new light attachment for pistols called the Rogers’ Rail Lite. Â The system uses a Streamlight Microstream flashlight with the rail, and the total package has a very affordable MSRP of $48. Â There are a number of things that I like, and do not like, about this system.
Here are some of the new product introductions for late 2013, early 2014. Â I expect to see all of these at the SHOT Show, if not before.
Federal Ammunition is now offering Fresh Fire packs of .22 LR ammo. Â These round cans of rimfire ammo are nitrogen-sealed and designed for protecting the ammo from the effects of time and corrosion. Â Right now the only ammo available is a 36 grain copper-platted hollow point, but I could see this expanding into other loads and calibers.
Weatherby will be bringing out a number of new guns in 2014. Â We’ve got a sneak peak into two of the new shotguns today.
The SA-459 is a semi-automatic shotgun designed for home defense or tactical purposes. Â The guns are made in Turkey, which has become a respectable off-shore location for quality shotguns. Â The SA-459 TR has a rubberized pistol grip, a machined receiver and an 18 1/2″ chrome lined barrel with a ported choke tube.
SIG Sauer is now showing two new M400 rifles on their website: the Predator and the Muddy Girl. Â The guns address two distinctly different markets for the AR-15 rifle market.
The new SIG M400 Predator rifle is designed for long range precision: for either hunting or competition. Â Chambered for the 5.56 NATO, the rifle uses a 18″ barrel made of 416 stainless steel. Â The barrel has a 1:8″ twist rate.