Tweet
The show is huge. We only were able to go two days and even rushing it, we could not see everything, maybe 85%.
In no real order . . .
1. It's official, everyone makes AR's and 1911's now.
2. All the 1911's we saw looked like perfectly acceptable shooters. We did not see a bad 1911 in the entire show. I found it interesting how little real difference there was between them. Yeah, a Les Baer is really nice, but you know what? The Dan Wesson, Thompson, S&W, Armscore, Para etc were all just fine. My next 1911 is going to be a more modestly priced one.
3. AR and AK were popping up around us like weeds. AR's being the more dense variety. Every MFG we talked to was interested in how to get their AR/AK into California. We pointed them all to Calguns so if a person from Les Baer or Rock River starts asking questions, please help them out.
4. Got to see and meet some famous people. Talked to some people I never thought I would get to talk to, way off the neato' scale.
5. Bring a back pack to hold all the documents you will get. We came away with over 30lbs of paper. Comfy shoes help too . . .
6. Most impressive thing I saw, the Mauser M03 Bolt Action Rifle. This thing must be seen and held to be believed. You can change between calibers in about 60 seconds, including different rim sizes. It is a work of art, even the plain Jane no frills model is amazing in the craftsmanship that goes into it. The Mauser USA guys are sharing space with Blaser (SP?) and are starting to work on US sales for the first time in a long time. Link to the M03 > http://www.mauserwaffen.de/M-03-Basic.142.0.html?&L=1
7. All those cool ammo loading machines we all dream about that churn out 3000 rounds an hour cost >$50k
8. The Hornady electronic powder dispenser is a tinker toy. As bad or worse than my Lyman DPS 1200. The RCBS, while also made in China is a tank next to the Hornady.
9. VZ-58's are cool and the people at www.czechpoint-usa.com have California modified (reversible) versions available for sale now.
10. Lots of foreign folks buying 20 million of this or that. No kidding.
11. The only rude people we ran into were at the Ruger booth. Everyone else was so nice it actually shocked me. I talked to a second person, he was a jerk too. Way to go Ruger
12. Hornady is coming out with bullet feeder for the LNL AP, looks interesting. It is made to be adaptable to any press. It was a prototype so it looked a little rough in areas. Now I may have to get a LNL, bullet and case feeder!
13. The Dillon booth was mobbed by foreigners, RCBS and Hornady were mobbed by Americans. Not sure how to explain that.
In no real order . . .
1. It's official, everyone makes AR's and 1911's now.
2. All the 1911's we saw looked like perfectly acceptable shooters. We did not see a bad 1911 in the entire show. I found it interesting how little real difference there was between them. Yeah, a Les Baer is really nice, but you know what? The Dan Wesson, Thompson, S&W, Armscore, Para etc were all just fine. My next 1911 is going to be a more modestly priced one.
3. AR and AK were popping up around us like weeds. AR's being the more dense variety. Every MFG we talked to was interested in how to get their AR/AK into California. We pointed them all to Calguns so if a person from Les Baer or Rock River starts asking questions, please help them out.
4. Got to see and meet some famous people. Talked to some people I never thought I would get to talk to, way off the neato' scale.
5. Bring a back pack to hold all the documents you will get. We came away with over 30lbs of paper. Comfy shoes help too . . .
6. Most impressive thing I saw, the Mauser M03 Bolt Action Rifle. This thing must be seen and held to be believed. You can change between calibers in about 60 seconds, including different rim sizes. It is a work of art, even the plain Jane no frills model is amazing in the craftsmanship that goes into it. The Mauser USA guys are sharing space with Blaser (SP?) and are starting to work on US sales for the first time in a long time. Link to the M03 > http://www.mauserwaffen.de/M-03-Basic.142.0.html?&L=1
7. All those cool ammo loading machines we all dream about that churn out 3000 rounds an hour cost >$50k
8. The Hornady electronic powder dispenser is a tinker toy. As bad or worse than my Lyman DPS 1200. The RCBS, while also made in China is a tank next to the Hornady.
9. VZ-58's are cool and the people at www.czechpoint-usa.com have California modified (reversible) versions available for sale now.
10. Lots of foreign folks buying 20 million of this or that. No kidding.
11. The only rude people we ran into were at the Ruger booth. Everyone else was so nice it actually shocked me. I talked to a second person, he was a jerk too. Way to go Ruger
12. Hornady is coming out with bullet feeder for the LNL AP, looks interesting. It is made to be adaptable to any press. It was a prototype so it looked a little rough in areas. Now I may have to get a LNL, bullet and case feeder!
13. The Dillon booth was mobbed by foreigners, RCBS and Hornady were mobbed by Americans. Not sure how to explain that.
I got a picture with Rachel from AAC
Comment