

I am happy to report that I inspected all of the Zenith Firearms on display and they all looked straight, which I then verified by putting rounds down range from their 5.56 and 9mm builds… all good to go. This is a particularly frustrating problem because the triple frame is pressed on, drilled into the barrel, pinned, and then welded, so it’s not an easy fix to straighten them up. I have a tendency to wind up with examples featuring canted triple frames (front sight towers), which seems to be a common theme with HK clones. Even though I have some horror stories with HK clone builds, they are a guilty pleasure of mine. 224 Valkyrie.Īlthough not precision-rifle related, I checked out a number of delayed roller-locking firearms. The shiny new caliber on the range this year was, of course, the. It was very mild to shoot and based on the various products already being made to support this cartridge, from barrels to bolt heads, I suspect that the. 224 Valkyrie cartridge, which I have been anxious to try out. They have made some improvements to their already excellent triggers that will improve reliability, service life, and ease of installation. HIPERFIRE Triggers had a great range setup complete with their various trigger models and new accessories like their ambi charging handle. The author checking out the ambi charging handle on one of Hiperfire’s demo rifles at SHOT 2018 It’s something to keep in mind before you zero in on this cartridge for a recoil-sensitive shooter. This round reportedly bests the Creedmoor by about 300 FPS, but that extra velocity comes with a recoil penalty. I also had a chance to fire Hornady’s new 6.5 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge).

Freedom Munitions 6.5 Creedmoor ammo is good to go. An inspection of the fired brass showed nice round primers and no pressure signs such as brass extrusion. Loaded with Nosler’s 140gr RDF projectile, these should offer affordable accuracy. Speaking of 6.5mm cartridges, Freedom Munitions had their new ProMatch ammo available to try out. With one of the M21 or M25 style actions available that integrate scope mount rails into the receiver, the 6.5 should give the M1A some added precision and a few hundred more yards accurate range. To get the most out of the 6.5 Creedmoor cartridge, optics are going to be a must, and scoping the M1A can present issues. Springfield Armory’s6.5 Creedmoor M1A: It shoots like your typical M1A, reliability was perfect, recoil was maybe a little lighter than the standard 7.62 NATO version.

Some items of special note this year: Springfield Armory’s 6.5 Creedmoor M1A I shot plenty of handguns and carbines, but I primarily focused mostly on precision rifles and accessories. As always, there were plenty of new handgun makes and models, an assortment of AR-15 type rifles in every conceivable configuration, bolt guns to demonstrate ammo, optics, stocks, and triggers, and an assortment of other guns.

It’s been a few years since my last visit to SHOT, and I wasn’t actually planning on going this year, but the opportunity to go to media day on the range was an enticement I couldn’t pass up. A fundamental part of intelligent behavior is planning. Planning is thinking about a goal and then organizing the activities to achieve the goal. With a plan, you can see how much you have progressed towards your goal and how far on your map to the next destination.
