Part 6 of my 2020 SHOT Show After Action Report covered products from a variety of segments in the industry and this last part in my SHOT 2020 AAR series of articles will do the same.
This past Christmas, I received a Vortex Optics Viper HD 10×42 binocular from a friend of mine as a gift.
I bought the Vortex Optics binocular tripod adapter, but it’s cumbersome in that you have to remove a protective cap from the front of the binocular to thread the adapter on. With the adapter, the binocular won’t fit back into the carrying case. So you have to take it off to put it back in the case. Then you have to keep track of the little protective cap when the adapter is on.
Rather than do that, I just resorted to resting the binocular on a bag when I wanted it to be stable.
That long story leads into a cool product that I saw a the Really Right Stuff (RRS) Sport Optics and Rifle (SOAR) booth.
What you see in the above photos is prototype of an Arca-Swiss compatible binocular adapter mount. It is a machine mount with a nylon strap and clamp that will go around one of the tubes on the binocular. It was designed based on a survey of the top binoculars being used in the field and the diameter of the mount will accommodate a small range of different diameters.
It appears to have a relatively low profile and the binocular should fit back into it’s respective carrying case with the RRS SOAR binocular adapter. One other cool feature is that the mount will allow the binocular to be set into multiple angles.
This gives flexibility to use it as a quasi-spotting scope or mount it on various rails or scenarios were orientation and space are factored in.
I do not recall the official price, but it should make an appearance on the RRS SOAR website later this year.
Holosun released revisions to their popular 507C and 508C micro red dot sights and the major change is that the battery is now replaceable without unmounting the sight.
The Holosun 507C v2 and Holosun 508C v2 should be making their way to retailers soon, but given Holosun’s track record and the high demand for the 507/508 series of red dot sights, consumers may have difficulty acquiring one for the first several months.
I didn’t get the official MSRP, but based on the advertised retailer pricing, the price increase from the original 507/508 sights is very small ($10-$20 USD). Not to mention, many retailers are selling original / v1 507C/508C for a discount.
Holosun also released what I would call an Aimpoint ACRO clone in the form of the 509T.
The 509T is an enclosed micro red dot sight with similar features to the 507/508 series:
- 2MOA dot or 32MOA ring
- Solar Power
- Shake Awake
Note that the ‘T’ does indicate the housing is made of titanium. The 509T will run off of a CR1632 battery for 50,000 hours (on 2MOA dot) and has an IP67 submersion rating.
The 509T is currently going to ship to fit on a Glock MOS plate, so this does limit mounting options for those like myself with RMR-cut slides.
The MSRP for the Holosun 509T is $509, but the retailer pricing seen on the web shows the 509T at around $430.
A few years ago someone told me about Holosun’s products, specifically the 507C RMR-cut compatible sight. With the issues I had with the Trijicon RMR, I was very skeptical that a company selling lower cost MRDS units could make a sight that could come close to what the RMR should be performing at. I was proven wrong when I acquired a 507C and tried it myself. I think Holosun is becoming a significant player in the firearms optics industry. As long as they can continue to make reliable products at a lower price point to the big names like Aimpoint and Trijicon, Holosun will be a go-to brand for many sport shooters.
The one company well known for their rimfire rifle lineage brought out a new centerfire offering. Anschutz was showing off the new 1782 D.
This is a hunting rifle that will be available in the following cartridges:
- .243 Winchester
- 6.5 Creedmoor
- .308 Winchester
- .30-06 Springfield
- 8×57 Mauser
- 9.3×62 Mauser
The 1782 D receiver has an integrated Picatinny rail, which is not full length to give better access to the ejection port. The bolt is a 60-degree throw and has 6 total locking lugs (3 lugs front, 3 lugs rear).
The adjustable match single stage gold trigger 5082 has an adjustment range of 400g – 1,550g and can be changed between single-stage and two-stage.
As with all the Anshchutz rifles which are renowned for their engineering and craftsmanship, the action on the 1782 D is smooth and the trigger breaks superbly.
There will be a few different barrel length and stock style options. The one photographed above has a 20.5″ barrel with M15x1 threads and a Walnut German stock.
The MSRP of the Anschutz 1782 D is $2895 USD.
When I was walking through the SHOT Show floor, the new DuraCoat in a can caught my eye.
DuraCoat is a finish that has been in the industry for a long time, but has fallen out of favor for Cerakote. But DuraCoat is more of a DIY solution which has been typically applied with a spray gun. But for many, this is still not as DIY-friendly because some don’t own compressors and spray guns.
Thus, the new DuraCoat in a spray can offers a more DIY-friendly solution for those that want something better than generic spray paints found at the local home improvement store. DuraCoat is generally a two-step process, but the new spray can form reduces it to one step.
There was a new .22LR rimfire rifle announced by Christensen Arms dubbed the Ranger 22.
On paper the Christensen Arms Ranger 22 looks impressive. The barrel is a 18″ carbon fiber tension barrel with a Bentz chamber. The receiver is black anodized aluminum with a threaded bolt handle and does have a side bolt release.
The Ranger 22 utilizes a Remington 700-style trigger and is built with a TriggerTech OEM trigger. I cannot recall, but I do not think his is a TriggerTech Primary. I believe the trigger is made by TriggerTech specifically for firearms manufacturers.
The rifle utilizes Ruger 10/22 magazines and the MSRP is $795 USD.
That being said, when I handled the Ranger 22, the trigger was really rough. Assuming the display model had a TriggerTech in it as the Christensen Arms representative stated to me, either the TriggerTech is bad (which is unlikely) or the sear engagement on the Ranger 22 is affected the quality of the trigger pull. But based on what I saw in the display model, the Ranger 22 trigger is not good (worse than a factory Remington 700).
I will say that the Ranger 22 was disappointing to handle. It is definitely lightweight at 5.1 pounds and Christensen Arms claims a sub-MOA 50 yard guarantee. So if the trigger issues that I experienced with the display models are merely pre-production, demo related issues, then maybe this rifle will be good to go.
Even if retailer pricing drops down to $700, I think this rifle might be a hard sell since most people will gravitate towards CZ. The one benefit with the Ranger 22 is the Remington 700-style trigger. I assume the user can swap triggers, in which case the user could swap out for a TriggerTech Diamond. The use of 10/22 magazines is interesting since magazines are relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain, and could entice Ruger 10/22 owners to get one since they can just adapt their existing magazines.
One item that goes in the “Sorry, not for CA” department is the KelTec SUB2000 SQB carbine.
This carbine is a foldable rifle with an integrated suppressor that will be available in 9mm and .40S&W. The folded length is 17 inches with a deployed length of 30 inches and the rifle comes in under 5lbs.
The SUB2000 CQB will be Glock magazine compatible, but with possible multi-magazine (e.g. Beretta, SIG) in a future variant. The MSRP will be $995.
One thing that I took advantage of while at SHOT was to get my Chris Reeve Knives Sebenza 25 sharpened by the folks at Wicked Edge.
The Wicked Edge team has several Wicked Edge sharpeners setup to show off the results of the Wicked Edge products on attendee knives.
On the subject of Chris Reeve Knives, I did check out the Sebenza 31 since I had you to see one in person.
I like the new iteration of the Sebenza. The full slab of inlay looks great for Box Elder Burl. I’m still debating what variant to get first. I might actually get a Micarta inlay first. We’ll see. The Sebenza 21 production is supposed to end very soon which means Sebenza 31 production will be in full swing and we should start seeing more 31s in the wild.
That rounds out my 2020 SHOT Show After Action Report. My After Action Reports are not meant to be an all encompassing recap of SHOT Show. It is just a summary of what I saw at SHOT 2020. There are plenty of other media who attended SHOT and I am sure that one of them covered something that I missed.
SHOT Show 2021 is already scheduled for January 19 through January 22. It appears NSSF/SHOT will be expanding the show even further to include spaces in the new Caesars Forum Conference Center.
There will be a soon to be built pedestrian bridge that connects the Sands and the Caesars Forum. 2021 should be another interesting year.
For those that reached the end of Part 7, the final part of my 2020 SHOT Show After Action Report series, I leave the following codes for you:
- 30% off geissele.com code – 2913092
- 35% off SSA and SSA-E triggers on geissele.com – 0GOE7K
- 30% off algdefense.com – SS033U1C
The above codes are one-time use, expire on 02/29/2020, and are not valid on SSF, armorer’s kits, or Magpul products sold on geissele.com (as indicated on the coupon). If none of the codes work, you were too late to redeem.
Thank you for reading my 2020 SHOT Show AAR series of articles. I will end this with a gallery of other photos that were taken during SHOT 2020.
2020 SHOT Show After Action Report – Part 0 – ocabj.net
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Really Right Stuff RRS Cinch-LR BA Binocular Adapter Review – ocabj.net
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