The Browning X-Bolt rifle is now available in the .375 H&H Magnum big game cartridge. Â Browning in chambering the X-Bolt Hunter and X-Bolt Medallion in the powerful cartridge, offering shooters a choice in the quality of finishing details.
The Hunter has a “low-luster” blued finish. Â The checkered walnut stock has a satin finish. Â The Medallion series X-Bolt rifle has an engraved receiver with a blued finish and a free floated barrel. Â The checkered walnut stock has a glossy finish and a rosewood fore-end cap.
I don’t much care for pink guns. Â Too many of them are simply the standard model firearm, dipped in pink and marketed as a “gun for girls.” Â However, I do like pink guns with attitude. Â That is exactly what Smith & Wesson is selling through Talo Distributors.
S&W is making two custom versions of the company’s M&P15-22 rifle. Â Both are in “pink platinum” finish. Â Pink platinum is the same finish that the custom Walther P22 pistols were made in last year. Â I liked the paint scheme on the Walther, and I like it even more on the M&P15-22.
The “standard” pink platinum M&P has an M4-type adjustable stock, quad rail handguard, 16″ threaded barrel, A1-type flash hider and a 25-round magazine. Â The receiver has a full length Picatinny rail, which allows the easy installation of optics if the standard iron sights aren’t your cup of tea.
Another “New to the NRA†item that caught my eye is the .300 Win Mag AR platform rifle by NEMO. In recent months the AR-platform has seen an explosion of offerings in the .30 caliber area, especially in the hot new .300 AAC BLK cartridge. NEMO is making a bold step into the arena and going for gold with the extremely powerful .300 Win Mag chambering found in their Omen rifle.
NEMO is a relative newcomer to the AR arena, but in looking this rifle over it appears that the designers and engineers are serious about quality firearms. NEMO stands for New Evolution Military Ordinance. The Omen, or Magnum Assault Rifle has taken several years in research and development to produce, but the wait sure seems to be worth it. The rifle was designed as an “advanced weapon solution†for military special operations, and federal law enforcement.
NEMO Arms was co-founded by retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, Clint Walker and Kirk Leopold in a partnership with Sonju Industrial. Not only that, the NEMO squad includes Spec Ops operators and engineers as a part of their development team.
In keeping with the 2012 SHOT Show trend, I’ll be looking at ArmaLite’s offering in the newer .300 BLK chambering. I got a chance to handle their new rifle at their booth, and I learned a few things along the way. Before getting into the details of the ArmaLite .300 BLK rifle, I thought it would be interesting to share a little history on the AR rifle platform that has become so popular.
AR-15 History
ArmaLite was a subdivision of the Fairchild Engine & Airplane Corporation back in the 1950’s. The founder was Lockheed corporate counsel George Sullivan, and the company’s first rifle designs were meant to be “light†survival rifles for downed pilots.
SIG SAUER, Inc. combines the ingenuity of SIG SAUER GmbH in Germany and Swiss Arms AG in Switzerland. Long known for producing superior firearms, SIG SAUER has announced that it will begin production of the SIG SAUER 551-A1 as the civilian version of the SG 551 that is currently being used by the Swiss Army.
SIG SAUER 551A1 – Short Barrel Rifle version
The SIG551-A1 is a semi-auto version of the SG 551 that is American-built. The rifle uses an adjustable gas piston to operate a rotating bolt. The 2-point gas piston system allows for a cleaner, cooler shooting rifle, and promises long service life with reliable operation.
