rlauferblog

SHOT Show 2020 – Industry Day at the Range

Posted by rlaufer2013 on January 25, 2020

Posted in: Guns and Knives. 3 Comments

Ahhhh it is so great to be back in Vegas…and even greater to be back at SHOT Show!!! I had such an amazing time at SHOT Show 2018 that it will be hard to beat but I am confident that I can do it!

As in the case of 2018, I have done an enormous amount of planning, even though I am more familiar with the layout. Why all the planning? Well, the main show is 690,000 square feet or 12 squares miles (the same as the base of the Grand Pyramid in Giza). It now extends to secondary venues and includes over 1,600 exhibitors on the show floor but that increases to over 2,400 if you include the Supplier Showcase and Pop-Up Preview. Access to SHOT is limited to 65,000 industry folk and 2,500 media members.

To put the size in perspective, consider that if you spend just 10 minutes at a booth (to take pics, handle guns, wait for your turn to handle them, talk to reps, get swag etc.), you could cover 6 per hour or 48 per 8 hour shift. That means in three days you would cover roughly 150 booths. But of course, you have to factor in walking time, breaks etc. so maybe 75 is more realistic. Per SHOT Show’s fact sheet, if you wanted to visit all booths, you could only spend 22 seconds at each!

Thankfully I have a co-author this year and collectively Tom and I plan to cover at least 100 booths. If we post just 10 pics per booth, that would result in a review with 1000 pics (our goal) that covers only 100/2400 or 4% of the show!!!! SHOT is BIG!

In preparation for SHOT, I picked up some cool gear such as this Otte Patrol Parka…thanks to Chris Costa for providing feedback on jacket options and to Parabellum Prime for the super speedy delivery!

I got some shirts made too…gotta look professional!

Along with a few other things that may show up during my review.

Monday Industry Day at the Range

Apart from being able to take pics, one of the greatest benefits of a Media Pass is that you get to attend Industry Day at the Range and shoot everything from super compacts to full auto to suppressed with no limits on ammo.

And the amount of ammo consumed is staggering! Consider that there are 2,500 media folks and if each one shoots 20 guns with 10 rounds each, that would be half a million rounds! I can’t remember the exact round count but from what I recall, it was even higher than that.

Here is an aerial view of the incredibly beautiful range, courtesy of SHOT. I will have more of my own range shots below.

Industry day was awesome! We shot a ton of guns and many exceeded our expectations. Tom and I took about 400 pics and shot lots of vids. I suspect you are anxious to see them so I will start with some of my pics and let Tom chime in with his.

We started at the Geissele booth expecting to see some AR15s fitted with their legendary triggers…we were half right! I was not aware that Geissele soft launched their own in-house made AR15 last year and is fully launching the lineup at this year’s SHOT show. Needless to say, the triggers on them were great.

Next, OSS suppressors…I opted for one mounted on an AK and it was one of my favourite guns of the day.

It was great to get an explanation of the internals of the OSS suppressors. I dare say that I enjoy shooting suppressed firearms more than full auto!

My absolute favourite of the day though was the B&T USW-A1 with its collapsible stock and platform specific Aimpoint site. It made such a difference to shoot it with the stock extended! I will definitely get one of these!

The Alien was certainly the most unique gun of the day…it has the lowest bore axis on the market with the fixed barrel and the interchangeable slide top allows you to swap optics in a breeze (with 90% zeroing)…it can also reliably fire any load of 9mm with its piston system. It is an expensive gun for sure but a lot of thought went into the unique features.

I was quite anxious to try the re-introduced Colt Python…it was available with 4” and 6” barrels and I opted for the longer while Tom shot both. It was nice but not something I would buy.

Another re-release high on our “must try” list was the HK SP5…available in several configurations, Tom and I opted for the traditional profile with iron sights….so satisfying to do that HK slap lol…and it shot great!

No surprise that the Glock booth was all about the new 44 in .22lr…now I have shot Glocks with .22 conversion kits so I kind of had an idea of what it would be like but I have to say the 44 exceeded my expectations! It was lighter than I expected while the trigger was better…I would not hesitate to buy one.

We also ran into Glock shooter Michelle Viscusi

I have read a lot of good things about the sub-compact Springfield Hellcat…it offers the largest mag capacity (13+1) in the smallest package. I tried variations with red-dot and iron sights and I actually shot better with the irons. I really like micro-compacts like the Glock 26 and the Hellcat felt just as good.

It was great to meet Rob Leatham at the Springfield booth

During the course of my research for SHOT, I came across the Rock Island Armory TCM22…a very intriguing round! It is essentially a .22 that moves at 2000 fps!

Here are some 1911s chambered in this round

It creates quite the fireball with no felt recoil!

Next we visited the long range section where I was happy to meet Rob Furlong, who has EXCELLENT taste in jackets lol

He must have given me some good luck as I hit both of my shots on target at 1090 yards out of a Cadex in 300 Norma Magnum…three times longer than I have ever shot before! That Cadex is quite something…and thanks to the Cadex team.

Tom and I were both impressed with Ruger’s latest offerings. First, the 5.7…it is much thinner and easier to hold / control than the FN

Next the Wrangler revolver…an aluminum (very light) frame .22 single action at a very affordable price (under $300 I believe)

Speaking of .22s, how about those long barrels!

More nice Rugers

By now you must have heard of the new Kriss Vector in .22LR…it does not use the Vector recoil mitigating system, rather a more conventional design. However, with a .22 you really don’t need it as there is no recoil anyway. Also, the quad rail allows a light to be mounted on top without obstructing the sight. It costs about a 1/3rd of a centre-fire Kriss.

Vs. the centre-fires in 9mm, 10mm, and 45acp

Just next to Kriss at Maxim Defense I ran into Kris “Tanto” Paronto

Pics of the spectacular range

SHOT Show 2020 – Industry Day at the Range
https://rlauferblog.com/2020/01/25/shot-show-2020/
SHOT Show 2020 – Day 1 Coverage
https://rlauferblog.com/2021/07/20/shot-show-2020-day-1-coverage/
SHOT Show 2020 – Day 2 Coverage
https://rlauferblog.com/2021/07/20/shot-show-2020-day-2-coverage/
SHOT Show 2020 – Day 3 Coverage
https://rlauferblog.com/2021/07/20/shot-show-2020-day-3-coverage/

The Toronto Sportsmen’s Show 2023 – part 2

Posted by rlaufer2013 on March 18, 2023

Posted in: Guns and Knives. 1 Comment

One of my biggest surprises at last year’s show was the SHERP…so great to see it again!

Extreme off-grid appeared to be a theme with vehicles at the show

Love the old-school KC lights

But the heating system housed in a Pelican case was even more impressive

Now that’s old school

More trucks

For the ultimate protection

If you need to load-out your truck, Tasmanian Tiger has just the thing

The OPP had a Zodiac boat at the Toronto Boat Show…this time a Boston Whaler

Or if you prefer to travel under your own power, lots of SUP and paddleboards at the show

And now a special shout-out to some of the organizations that promote our sport/lifestyle.

Just Hunt promoting the sport to women

I love balaclavas

Thanks to Amanda Lynn Mayhew for autographing a hat for my Mother’s partner. They watch her show all the time.

And last but certainly not least the CCFR, thanks to Rod and Tracey for all you do.

I picked up a nice new shirt

Morgy and Rod

Morgy and Tracey

And with the rest of the crew

My haul from the show

Once again, a fantastic show! I spoke with a few of the exhibitors and the consensus was that the show was very well organized (better than past shows in fact). It was also bigger than last year’s show with nearly 300 exhibitors covering a larger space.

I was super happy to see the increased presence of firearms, notably O’Dell and Wolverine, as well as in TSS communications/social media posts. Also good to see more “tactical” gear, e.g. Hudson and Army Issue Surplus. I found that the previous management focused too much on fishing, kids, and dogs and I really like the new direction.

Now I wonder if I could fire those B&Ts while wearing those giant fur gloves…

LINK TO PART 1 https://rlauferblog.com/2023/03/18/the-toronto-sportsmens-show-part-1/

The Toronto Sportsmen’s Show 2023 – Part 1

Posted by rlaufer2013 on March 18, 2023

Posted in: Guns and Knives. 1 Comment

NOTE: I CAN ONLY POST 200 PICS AT A TIME. PLEASE SEE THE LINK TO PART 2 AT THE BOTTOM

Last year I broke from my tradition of covering all things firearms related first but with the entrance of O’Dell Engineering and Wolverine Supplies, guns are back in the limelight at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show!

The O’Dell Engineering booth had the best spot in the show, meeting show-goers right at the entrance.

The booth was divided into Bergara precision rifles and Canuck shotguns.

I headed straight for Bergara to check out the Premier line, including the MgLite, Competition, and Divide

Other fine Bergaras

Canuck shotguns including the Engage, Operator, Sentry

The extremely popular FD12

And new Freedom Enforcer

There were multiple chances for show-goers to win a Canuck shotgun by tagging pics at the booth (although as media I did not enter)

Morgy and Phil O’Dell

Morgy and Tom

Ian from O’Dell, Dave from NAS Outdoors and Tyson from Wolverine Supplies

Speaking of Wolverine, I was sooo excited for them to be at the show!

I LOVE B&T! The newly approved non-restricted SPC9 has not arrived yet, but that’s okay, I would gladly take an APC or GHM9 (or anything else they offer lol)

Accuracy International is not too shabby either

The GHM9 with a Freedom Ordnance FX9

Closeup of the GHM9

And FX9

Non-restricted variant of the FX9

Andrea and Tyson of Wolverine’s The Breakfast Club podcast

Me with the B&T APC

More great firearms on display at Stoeger Canada, Benelli shotguns including the Super Black Eagle, Nova, M2 etc.

Big selection at Shooters Choice

High Falls Outfitters

Wing’s Live Bait and Tackle

Ok on to knives!

PUMA was the star of last year’s show. I covered them quite comprehensively so I won’t go into the details again but just to recap their three main product lines are Hand Made in Germany, PUMA IP, and PUMA TEC.

PUMA Defender Elforyn Damasteel Superclean, a limited edition of 50 pieces

PUMA Knife of the Year 2022 carbon Superclean Damascus, also limited to 50 pieces

PUMA IP Longhorn Stag

PUMA also has some unique knives. Last year I was smitten with the Fishing knife (ended up buying one), while this year I liked the PUMA IP mushroom knife with brush, tweezers, carabiner, and walnut wood scales

Finally the El Hacha

Happy to see Svord from New Zealand back at the show

My favourites were the Giant Peasant

And Von Tempsky Golok

Also nice to see Skip’s Customs back at the show. As I mentioned last year, this Canadian knifemaker has been making custom knives for over 30 years.

and from the other side

HUGE selection of knives at Blades4You, including brands such as Spyderco, CRKT, SOG, United Cutlery, Ka-Bar etc. etc.

The Rambo knives were my personal favourites lol

More custom knives from Ash Gears, MAB Impex, and The Pocket Blade

I must confess that I don’t know much about game calls but fortunately there were three great custom makers at the show to teach me all about them. First up, some pot calls from TS Custom Calls

Beautiful hand-made duck and goose calls

Next, some beautiful wood and acrylic duck and goose calls from Knotty Beaver

My favourites were this white acrylic duck call

And this buck call

Although their pot calls were pretty stunning

It was great to meet Claude Piette of Conception CP

I liked these acrylic predator calls so much…

that I picked up a couple

Later on in the show, Claude was to provide a demo of how he makes the calls by hand (using this machine)

Claude was sharing his booth with Samuel Côté-Sculpture sur panache & Antler carving. His carvings are absolutely incredible!

In past shows I have kind of breezed by the fur and pelts but this year I wanted to take a closer look, particularly because I have some old fur pieces that are shedding and need replacement.

The great selection of pelts at Ontario Fur Managers Federation provided a great opportunity to see what I like

And the answer is wow, this wolf pelt would make such a great stole lol. It felt so bada$$, I wanted to walk around the show like this.

More incredible fur pieces at Fur the North.

These coyote mitts are even bigger than my rabbit ones and I absolutely love them..definite show favourites.

Morgy liked them too!

On a related note, taxidermy…I know lots of people like Owls so I tried to capture all of the ones on display

Though personally I liked the beaver the best

Looks angry

Beautiful colours

I got a much greater appreciation for taxidermy at this show

I guess this show was all about learning for me, or at least exploring things that I have glossed over in the past like game calls, fur/taxidermy, and archery/crossbows. I spent some time at Excalibur’s booth and it was quite educational.

I took a close look at their top-of-the-line Assassin 400TD, which has a lot of great features such as take-down with a simple push of a button and without affecting accuracy, a dead-silent integrated crank, tool-less fully adjustable stock, sound deadening system, and match-grade trigger

In terms of optics for your crossbow, the Garmin XERO X1i was one of the coolest optics I have ever seen! It has a built in laser rangefinder and allows you to use digital aim points automatically calibrated to your crossbow setup. Check out their website for descriptions of the Steady Aim and other features, truly impressive!

They also have a red-dot for bows but it is much simpler than the crossbow optic

Speaking of red-dots, the new Defender ultra low profile CCW sight from Vortex. While small in size, this thing is tough! The ShockShield polymer insert absorbs shock to the 7075 aluminum body protecting it from everyday abuse. In fact, it is shockproof, waterproof, and fogproof. It has motion activation with 14 hour shutoff and battery life of over 9000 hours.

More great optics from Vortex

And Steiner

The rumours that Yeti coolers are addictive are completely true! I don’t know anyone (including myself) who has just one lol. While most people like all of Yeti’s crazy colour releases, such as Canopy and High Desert Clay shown here

I prefer the ones with laser engraving, like the Ducks Unlimited on the re-designed stackable lowball

In addition to Yeti, there were other cooler brands at the show, like Chilly Moose with their cool wood-grain print

And Calcutta

Great gear selection from Hudson, including Tasmanian Tiger, Nanuk, and Bridgford MRE

Glad to see Radioworld back at the show, I love this store! While they offer a huge array of electronics, they mostly concentrate on their marine line and metal detection for the Sportsmen’s Show

It was great to run into Muskyhunter, a fellow gunnut who now works at Radioworld!

Another welcome returnee, Army Issue Surplus recently moved into a bigger retail space

Some massive ropes at Afraid Knot

Survival gear at Offgridtrailers

LINK TO PART 2: https://rlauferblog.com/2023/03/18/the-toronto-sportsmens-show-2023-part-2/

The Toronto Motorcycle Show 2023

Posted by rlaufer2013 on February 19, 2023

Posted in: Motorcycle Shows, Uncategorized. Leave a comment

Like many other trade shows that I have attended recently, The Toronto Motorcycle Show 2023 has not returned to pre-Covid size with many notable absences like BMW, Ducati, Kawasaki, and Indian. That having been said, there were still plenty of amazing bikes to see!

A couple of trends that I noticed were lots of “adventure” type bikes (think BMW R1250GS) and mini-bikes (especially from Honda, as you will see in a minute).

I’ll start with Harley Davidson, I know, I know, Harleys aren’t for everyone but I find them quite visually stunning and of course the sound!

I believe there are 7 bikes in the 120 Anniversary series and Harley had 4 of them at the show including the $65,000 CVO Road Glide Limited

My personal favourite, the Fatboy

Street Glide Special

Heritage Classic

Lots of stunners outside of the Anniversary models too like the Breakout 117 in all its chrome glory

Love the paintjob on this Street Glide Special

Road Glide ST

Fat Bob 114

Sportster S

And of course, an adventure bike, the Pan America

I didn’t get pics of all the bikes at their booth but that should give you an idea.

Some nice custom Harleys at the show too

The Honda booth was quite unique with lots of “minimoto” bikes, such as the Navi

and Monkey

and the HIGHLY anticipated re-release of the Trail 125 (huge online buzz around this one)

Perhaps the perfect bike for me, the CRF50F!

Of course, they also had full size bikes, such as the CBR 1000RR-R Fireblade

Oh, and again an adventure bike, the Africa Twin

I forgot to check out the new GSX-8X and the latest Gixxers at Suzuki as I am always distracted by the Hayabusa (even all these years later)

The newest V-Strom

If you like carbon fiber, you will love the Yamaha R1M

The new R7

MT03

Lots of dirtbikes on display

I liked this cutaway

XSR700 from their Sport Heritage line

Super Tenere

As I mentioned, Kawasaki was not here this year…so on to the Italians, or specifically Aprilia (since Ducati wasn’t here either)

RSV4

Tuono V4

Tuono 660 Factory

Last but not least, you guessed it, an adventure bike, the Tuareg

vs. Moto Guzzi’s offering the V85TT

Moto Guzzi V9

Oh I did manage to find a Ducati at GP Bikes booth

I only took this one pic of the Tiger at Triumph’s booth although they did have about 10 bikes on display (mostly Speed and Street Triples)

KTM also had 10 or so bikes on display including the RC890

Super Duke R Evo

890 Duke R

Super Adventure R

I didn’t spend much time at the Can-Am booth although it looked like they had some new models

including two wheelers

Finally, some oddities…love the seal skin seat cover lol

So just to recap, I have seen a lot of negative posts about the missing manufacturers but I like to focus on what IS there rather than what ISN’T and from that perspective, it was still a great show and I am happy to have it back.

Faraday Defense

Posted by rlaufer2013 on January 27, 2023

Posted in: Gear. Leave a comment

Oooooo these are so bada$$! I have been wanting to get RFID blockers for a while and I finally took the plunge with the real deal from Faraday Defense.

I got the JACKET Faraday key fob bag and Cordura Berry Compliant JACKET Faraday Bag

For the key fob bag, you simply open the flap and drop in your key

For the Berry bag, you insert you items and then roll the top over twice until the hook and loop meet

There is quite a difference in price between the two and the Berry bag definitely feels more robust but both feel rock solid! I will definitely pick up some more from their Berry Compliant lineup.

Antler Kitchen & Bar

Posted by rlaufer2013 on December 9, 2022

Posted in: Travel. Leave a comment

I have wanted to eat at Antler ever since the “controversy” of the chef butchering and eating game meat in front of vegan protestors. I also appreciated his recent posts against bill C-21 and was hoping to meet him in person. Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to do so as he was at a private event. Still, the food was amazing!

We opted to sit at the counter where the infamous vegan show took place.

We started with the venison tartare, which definitely had a game meat flavour.

As main dishes, we had the venison loin…I could have eaten two of these lol (Strider AR for size comparison)

And bison rib eye.

Hard to pick between the two though I would give a slight edge to the venison but the bison was a bigger meal and the side dishes (mushrooms, potatoes, garlic rapini etc.) were also great

For dessert we had the smoked chocolate mousse

And egg nog flan

As in the case of our main dishes, both were excellent, but I did have a preference for one of them, in this case the chocolate mousse.

Antler was also kind enough to give me a “birthday cake” lol…quite different than my John Wick gun cake for my 50th last year.

I capped it off with their Duck a L’Orange cocktail

Full description of our meals

Controversy aside, does Antler live up to its reputation for food? You bet! If you are into game meat like bison, wild boar, venison, foie gras, etc. Antler is definitely worth a visit.

NAS Customer Appreciation Day 2022

Posted by rlaufer2013 on October 2, 2022

Posted in: Guns and Knives. Leave a comment

It was great to be back at NAS Outdoors for their Customer Appreciation Day! The event features contests, door prizes, sales, deals, and a chance to meet industry reps.

Great selection of long-guns

Vortex Optics

SOG edgewear

They also had blades from CRKT and Spyderco, my favourite of which was this Dragonfly with Emerson Wave opener (shown next to my re-release sprint run Ayoob)

Warrior Assault Systems (looks like that universal pistol holster I wanted sold by the time I got there)

I arrived just in time to watch two of the Cornhub draws, one for a shotgun and the other for a Hi-Point 995 PCC

For those of you asking when the Crusader Templar will be available for sale, here is your answer! And there are more on the way (should arrive next week)

I posted a pic of the TROY PAR at TACCOM but not an in-hand one for size comparison so here we go (I really like the feel of it)

Woah HK SL8!

Dirty Harry gun

you’ve gotta ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?”

Or if that is too small, a Desert Eagle

The very innovative Alien

Or if you prefer old school, the Skorpion (I have always loved this one)

Or perhaps a Blunderbuss

A very happy new owner with his June 6th transfer of a Sig P320 finally coming through

Great to see Gilles from Mossberg again…that shockwave feels so great in the hand

Restricted version of M+M Industries M10X with 12” barrel

At this point I was as hungry as a bear

Fortunately NAS catered the event with some great Greek food!

Pretty accurate considering there are normally 55,000 handgun sales in Canada annually vs. 178,000 over the last three months!!!

I have heard about Barefoot Bushcraft but never realized they are right next to NAS! They offer courses/events in bushcraft, archery, and axe throwing.

And now for a wardrobe change in anticipation of the awesome wings at Iggy’s

The wings here are sooooo good! Good level of heat and super crispy

Nice of Dave to join us and bring his Mossberg edition CRKT

Great to hang out with old friends

After dinner I headed over to Chris’s place to see his awesome collection…including Randall Knives

I have met Michael Janich but Chris is sooo lucky to have done one of his MBC seminars…and get a nice Matriarch to boot!

Compared to my Ayoob

And the Yojumbo

Love the old-school Kirby Lambert

Hamilton Ventura you may have seen in Men-in-Black

Thanks again for all the hospitality from NAS, Iggy’s and Chris….i had a fantastic day!

TACCOM 2022 – Part 3

Posted by rlaufer2013 on September 12, 2022

Posted in: Guns and Knives. 2 Comments

DAY 3

When it comes to customized shotguns, Tactical Ordnance is pretty much at the top.

Lately TacOrd has been doing lots of builds on the 1301

They use Aridus parts …

As well as their in-house designed flat mount to replace the pic rail…this brings the red-dot lower to better co-witness with the front sight

More builds

The pink camo Versamax caught my eye

While AmChar didn’t have any Glocks, there was certainly a lot to see at their booth.

I especially liked the Troy PAR (pump action rifle), shown next to the Troy straight pull

Ah, I found a gun to match that giant sword

Gravel Agency showcasing Hatsan shotguns

My favourites of which were this one with the shockwave style grip

and the marine semi-auto (don’t see too many of those)

great to catch up with farmboy as well!

Magpul on display at Gravel’s booth

Chiappa, in all the way from Italy

CCFR Gunnie Girl and Browning pro-staff, Amanda got to see her dream gun (I will let her tell the story)

Always good to see my friends at Mossberg

This is what I love about the gun industry…we are all just gun guys so no problem for Mossberg and Canuck to hang out

JR with the Sterling Arms R18 MK2 of his design

It is available in several finishes…the top one is clear-coated raw steel (not sure if that one is for sale or just a display piece but it is the one I would go with lol…or the red)

Once again, someone beats me at the shoe game lol…my pic did not even capture how bright these were

Steve from TSE will be doing a review of the new Derya

I haven’t really talked about optics yet but believe me, there were A LOT at the show!

First stop Stoeger to check out the latest from Steiner, my favourite brand of binoculars.

The Predator AF 10×42 uses Steiner’s C.A.T. technology, which stands for Color Adjusted Transmission and it is supposed to make it easy to identify animals in any environment (e.g. in foliage and shade). BTW, I mistakenly referred to the outer shell as “camo” in a recent review but it is actually their Laser Texture designed to provide a good grip.

The Predator LRF’s electronics components are completely integrated into the binocular housing providing and features angle compensation and various measuring modes

The Commander 7x50C has a fluid damped, HD stabilized illuminated compass with ranging reticle

The newest scope from the Predator 8 series

Next stop, Leupold in the hopes of checking out the Mark 4 spotting scope…always wanted to try one out.

And we are in luck as they had two of them!

Incredible to get such a view from such a compact package.

Leupold shooting glasses

One of the founders of Apex spoke in the “women of the shooting industry” panel that I attended yesterday. In fact, the Canadian company was founded “by shooters, for shooters”.

My favourite was the Summit Pro with reticle. I really like the way you can rotate the reticle with a control ring around the left eye-cup

Like Apex, Tract also sells directly to consumers. However, their founders are formerly of Nikon. They use SCHOTT glass from Germany, the same glass used by other brands that typically sell at a much higher price point.

Vortex…always one of the busiest booths

Glad to see Nightforce back at TACCOM.

The ATACR range is my favourite.

The NX range

Featuring the most compact FFP 1-8 on the market

I first met True North Tradecraft at the Toronto Sportsmen’s Show although I had been following them online well before then. Also, I enjoyed their seminar on Friday so a visit to their booth was definitely warranted.

Demonstrating how to get out of cuffs (in a hostage situation)

Tactikey

TNT was sharing a table with Delta2Alpha who make the feature-laden Straight Shooter jeans. These have 11 pockets, tango eyes/stays to attach accessories, and are designed for freedom of movement, among other features.

Enola Gaye might be another good option for escape and evasion.

The Twin Vent puts out huge amounts of smoke out of both ends

And they were on show special 😊

Body armor from AI Tactical Solutions

I like that visor

Plate carriers from Condor

Tasmanian Tiger

Canadian company, Confections Carcajou

And to carry your guns, awesome holsters from Gray Fox Strategic

Unique pieces for the show…sadly I missed the orange/black one

Ammo can cigar humidor

Always great to see Dean and team from Select Shooting Supplies

Select was running a sticker draw for a deactivated FNC1, complete with bayonet and full kit

SFRC

Who were also running a raffle

And brought some military vehicles to display

TriggerTech, legendary triggers. Best to read up on their many many innovations such as “frictionless release technology” “TKR” “CLKR” “FLTWR Spring” etc…a bit too technical to get into here

For bolt guns

AR15

AR10

Closeup of the Diamond for RPR

Internals

I just went back to the Tactical Innovations Canada booth in time to watch another customer buy the last Klarus with 360 tail switch. Oh well, at least I got to try out the display model. The ring access to the strobe function from any angle is awesome.

Nice megaphones

Last but certainly not least, personal gear and apparel.

Urban Tactical is one of my favourite gun stores. In addition to firearms and having a range (with shooting packages for the public) attached to their retail store, they certainly have the best selection of personal gear and apparel. Whether it be footwear (e.g. Danner, Salomon, Altama, Haix, Lowa, Original Swat etc), gloves (Mechanix, TurtleSkins, Hatch) eyewear (Oakley, SMITH, Revision) or clothing (5.11, UF Pro, Viktos) their selection is staggering. On top of that, the crew are super nice!

Great to see Dave back in Toronto

I liked these Viktos shirts

I didn’t get many pics of their expansive booth (mainly because it was full all the time) but in addition to the clothing you see in my pics, they had a large selection of Nextorch lights and YETI products.

It was also great to see Amy again! Formerly of Stoeger, now with 911Supply. I was pleased to learn that 911Supply has expanded into Ontario by taking over Parabellum Prime in Ottawa. I have shopped at both of their stores and look forward to visiting the newly branded Ottawa store.

Some booth pics

Otte Patrol Pants in Wolf Grey to match my Patrol Jacket

Otte loft jackets

Mannequin in Crye Precision

Tactical Supplies Canada

Tom manning the Code of Arms booth

Here I am with my new t-shirt and the man himself

MadHatter Industries, a veteran-owned apparel company with a global mission to raise mental health awareness and prevent suicides

C4L, also veteran owned and operated

Army Issue Surplus

Did I mention that I am obsessed with gas masks? Lol

Organizations fighting for our rights…CSAAA (representing dealers)

CSSA

NFA

And of course the CCFR

Who were raffling off a Crusader Arms

Silvercore, who promote safety and provide training for all things firearms related

Canadian Sportswoman Society

And now to recognize those who contribute to the atmosphere and ambiance of TACCOM…

Code of Arms ran the stage like clockwork, not an easy task with approximately 20 presentations over the 3 days. Code of Arms also brought in International Recoding artist and the official FREEDOM DJ Desi Ranks who did a great job keeping us upbeat.

Also, MGear deserves special mention. They were not just selling EDC wallets, they were integral to the TACCOM experience. MGear brought in Datu Shishir Inocalla, aka Michaelangelo, put on demonstrations of Filipino Martial Arts, provided training and a tournament in FMA for attendees, and set-up their HOLOD3CK to create personal 3D action figures. All of this drew a lot of people, especially families, which is integral to passing on our sport to future generations.

Again, as a knife guy, I thoroughly enjoyed their FMA presentations and the personal demonstrations and tips I got in the off hours were definitely show highlights for me.

I also want to thank all exhibitors for being so kind and accommodating. I know I can be a Prima Donna at times asking you to move things around for my pics…so I appreciate it! Thanks for all the kind words!

And of course Fred, who did such an amazing job organizing this incredible event. THANK YOU for all you do to put the “TACCOM” into TACCOM!

LINKS TO ALL PARTS BELOW

TACCOM 2022 – Part 1

TACCOM 2022 – Part 1

TACCOM 2022 – Part 2

TACCOM 2022 – Part 2

TACCOM 2022 – Part 3

TACCOM 2022 – Part 3

TACCOM 2022 – Part 2

Posted by rlaufer2013 on September 11, 2022

Posted in: Guns and Knives. 2 Comments

DAY 2

I started the day by heading back to Wolverine to have a closer look at the B&T APC and GMH9. I have heard some suggest the APC is too heavy but I did not find that to be the case

That having been said, I did prefer the feel of the GMH9 and I do like the FDE and this was one of my show favourites

As was this BlackBox custom S&W M&P! I love the rough texture and it pointed so well (super easy to find the red dot).

Lots of nice customized Glocks

I also went back to Tamgha to check out the Wolverine-M folding shotgun. I have seen a folding AR and folding Glock at SHOT Show but never a folding shotgun. Perhaps I should go back and take a video because the way it flicks or snaps open in one motion is so cool!

In anticipation of several knife-related seminars today, I will cover some knife booths. First, MAP Impex with Damascus hand-made in Pakistan. My favourite was the karambit with camel bone scales.

Next the Pocket Blade, where I think I found their namesake and my new EDC

My friends at Rangeview Sports brought a great assortment of knives

And now for the first seminar on Filipino martial arts. This was one of the highlights of TACCOM 2019 but this time there was an added bonus, the man behind the shell of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Michaelangelo, Datu Shishir Inocalla!

Some warm up drills

Datu Shishir addresses the crowd and does some solo work…cowabunga

and is then joined by his training partner, who happens to be the owner of MGear

after beating on him for a bit, we switch to another partner, an incredibly skilled one at that (he also showed me some moves before the show..again, incredible!)

He gives a quick lesson in FMA to Jeff

Yes, today I met Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Michaelangelo

Alright back to some browsing before the next seminar.

As you probably know from my past reviews, I LOVE Surefire!

This time I was looking for some specific things when I visited their booth. James Yaeger passed away last week so I wanted to cover the Tactician, designed with his input. This 800 Lumen light has a somewhat unique combination of features. For example, the tailcap button is for “temporary on” only and you have to twist the tailcap for “constant on.” Meanwhile, twisting the front bezel switches from low output to high output with Maxvision (designed to fill your peripheral vision).

I also wanted to look at the X400U and new X300turbo from Surefire’s weaponlight series.

The X400U is a laser/light combo

while the X300turbo is the longest throw pistol light on the market (over 500 meters!)

Of course, I could always use a Dominator

Next a visit to CRAFM, Montreal’s premier gunstore. CRAFM is a very strong supporter of IPSC, as you can tell by the very high end firearms they sell (e.g. SVI Infinity) and the fact they sponsor IPSC Champion shooter Alex Berdat.

Alex competes with the Alien

The Anaconda is more my style/speed lol

Alex with CRAFM’s proprietor Frank, again a strong supporter of the shooting community.

Ok, time for the next seminar! Tracey Wilson introduced a panel of women involved in the shooting industry. Each gave their background on how they got into shooting and shared strategies for getting more women involved.

Tracey then introduced Rod Giltaca,

To a big crowd

Rod spoke about the CCFR’s approach and what we can do in the current political climate.

Next Steve from Crusader Arms gave us a background on the company and introduced the new Templar in technical detail.

With some swag for the highly inquisitive audience

And now for my most anticipated presentation, Master Ken, who arrived with police escorts, presumably to protect everyone else!

Master Ken shares his philosophy

And then gets a volunteer to demonstrate knife defense…yes! More knife fighting!

Master Ken assures us that the training knife is as dull as Canadians

As this was only my second seminar in Ameri-Dote, I don’t feel qualified to share the secrets of the art…so you can just enjoy the pics of his knife defense.

Next his knife knot defense technique

Single gun disarm

His “John Wick” defense against a dual pistol wielding attacker

Finally his “Backstreet Boys” defense against a gun held to the back of your head…co-demonstrated with none other than Canuck pro-staff shooter and CCFR Gunnie Girl, Lynn!

After the demonstration we had the opportunity to buy some swag.

I had bigger plans though…my favourite Master Ken video of all time is his “Twisted Tea” defense breakdown after that incident in the convenience store where a guy knocked someone out with a can of the famous drink. I brought a can for Master Ken to sign and he graciously did so.

Even better, he personally demonstrated his “Boston Tea Party” technique!

But it didn’t end there and what happened next could only happen at a show like TACCOM!

So after Master Ken’s demo, I finally had the chance to visit Premier Body Armor. I was especially interested in their Everyday Armor T-Shirt. It was just as great as I expected (and exactly what I am looking for) but they did not have it in my size so I will have to order one.

I also looked at their conventional vests

with available Eclipsys cooling system (so thin that my camera had trouble focusing on it)

Backpack inserts

Then while looking at the armor plates on their table, I noticed something interesting…what could it be?

A bulletproof can cooler!

Now I have a Twisted Tea assault can infused with Master Ken’s awesomeness and bulletproof protection! This must be on the level of Thor’s Hammer!

As I ponder what I can accomplish with my Mjolnir, Jerrika brings us back to reality with her informative presentation on hunting culture in Aboriginal communities and some of the special challenges they face.

Then yet another knife defense seminar! Of course, this is highly interesting to me as a “knife guy” who has taken a few of these seminars, it is also highly topical given the rise in knife crime such as that very recent mass stabbing.

Tirsia Tactical demonstrating the core principal of their TRICOM system of getting to the outside line. The instructors were using the Aku Strike T-16 Mimic training knife that “beeps” to simulate a stab/slash (these are great, I have one as well from a seminar I did with Doug Marcaida)

I capped off the evening with the CCFR party at Arizona Grill

Master Ken even showed up! And he shaved his moustache in disguise

More coverage tomorrow.

LINKS TO ALL PARTS BELOW

TACCOM 2022 – Part 1

TACCOM 2022 – Part 1

TACCOM 2022 – Part 2

TACCOM 2022 – Part 2

TACCOM 2022 – Part 3

TACCOM 2022 – Part 3

TACCOM 2022 – Part 1

Posted by rlaufer2013 on September 8, 2022

Posted in: Uncategorized. 2 Comments

NOTE: DUE TO NEW POSTING LIMITATIONS I HAD TO SPLIT THIS REVIEW INTO 3 PARTS…LINKS TO PARTS 2 AND 3 ARE AT THE BOTTOM

The three year wait for TACCOM is finally over! This year’s Tactical and Competitive Shooting Sports Show is slated to be just as big, bold, and quite honestly, awesome as the last one! The show covers 100,000 square feet, features close to 100 exhibitors, has tons of seminars, industry personalities, parties…you name it!

I will be covering as much of the show as I can over the next four days, starting with today’s set-up. So let’s get right to it…

I parked in the wrong lot and as I was walking Ian from O’Dell Engineering spotted me and graciously gave me a ride….

To the Hall 2 Entrance.

First stop was to pick up my media pass before going through the magic doors

I headed straight for the TACCOM swag booth in the hopes of snagging a shirt in 3XL but no luck. For those of you XXL and smaller, everything is $10.

My first observation is that to those of you cynics who predicted there wont be a lot of guns, or at least cool guns, at TACCOM, I got news for you…because there were guns arriving by the boatload.

A batch of Cadex arriving

Some of FOC’s booth (so far)

With some gorgeous B&T

And Glocks, yes GLOCKS! Sixty of them available for sale (limit of ONE per customer)

I didn’t check all models but for sure they had G19 and G19x

More beautiful B&T at Wolverine’s booth including GHM9 and APC9K in multiple configurations. For
sure I will be checking these out more closely during the show.

FX-9 in various configurations as well

I’ll be looking at those Schmidt & Bender scopes too

Wolverine’s raffle gun, a Tikka T3x CTR in an AI AT-X chassis with a S&B PMII 5-25×56

Some of North Sylva’s display

Stoeger

Tamgha, including the folding Wolverine shotgun, now available in 5 colours. The new mini version (Wolverine-M) was not on display yet so I will definitely go back to their booth for that one tomorrow.

And to feed your guns, three rows deep of Magpul P-Mag D-50 at FOC

more great gear at FOC (I am obsessed with gas masks lol)

SFRC’s beautiful setup

Great to see the team at Korth Group, showcasing the whole Leupold lineup…and such a nice, friendly crew!

I have lots of tactical lights but have never handled a Klarus so really looking forward to visiting Tactical Innovations Canada when they finish setting up.

Enola Gaye Canada

Great to see old friends arriving, like IPSC Champion Alex Berdat

Tracey Wilson and the CCFR crew

The stage…so far there are 17 seminars listed with more to come

I’ll stop here but hopefully that gives you an idea of what is coming at the show. Keep in mind that set-up day is from 8am this morning till midnight and I was only there for 2-3 hours. My pics are just a small portion of what you will see at the show. Don’t worry, I plan to post hundreds more of them over the weekend lol.

DAY 1

Let’s start the day with a little throwback to 2019…

The calm before the storm at FOC’s booth

In anticipation of the rush for Glocks

And other handguns

And the show is off!!

Big crowds throughout the day

Luckily I had early access to capture the booths.

I was very anxious to see the Pilla booth as I am a bit obsessed with eyewear and Pilla is the top of the game. They are the only manufacturer officially fitted with Zeiss lenses (lenses are actually marked as Zeiss). More importantly, they offer a dazzling array (no pun intended) of lens coatings for every shooting sport scenario including shooting at clays, paper targets, indoors, outdoors, good weather, overcast etc. etc. For whatever your shooting discipline, they have a lens that will give you a visual advantage.

The flagship range features interchangeable lenses

Next are fixed lens

and finally the lifestyle range, which uses the same lens technology except a more fashion oriented styling with frames vs. the wraparound style of the shooting glasses.

I tried the Outlaw first with a red lens designed to make clays pop…wow those are red

I actually preferred the purple lens, which I tried in both progressive and non-progressive formats

Easy interchange, just snap in and out…they also have a version with magnets

The arms are made of carbon fiber and are fully adjustable

The nose piece is removable too in case you want to mount a prescription lens

I also liked the injected series, especially the P91 with lens designed for piloting remote control aircraft or drones

Although I have seen Cadex at SHOT Show and CSAAA, this was their first time exhibiting at a consumer show and they sure brought the heat!

I ran into pro-shooter Jamie who showed me his personal rig

emblazoned with his call sign, Big Wheels

here he is showing it to another customer

How about this .50BMG with 20” barrel

Or a suppressed .338?

Too small? No problem…suppressed .50BMG

The venerable Kraken

COPS

New PRS competition gun

Next to .50BMG, this is the biggest (I believe 416)

Cadex also does custom parts for your shotgun

Next I visited North Sylva to check out the CZ Bren II and new Spuhr Ideal Chassis System

They had the Bren IIs in restricted and non-restricted

I looked at the non-restricted. It was nice but I have to shoot one before making a final call

But wow that Spuhr!

It was actually lighter than I thought it would be…but still solid as a tank

Ok I know you want to see the latest and greatest…so off to Crusader Arms to see the new Templar. I had seen a prototype at Big Bang but now the production version is ready.

Some of you asked to see the internals

He did a better job showcasing it than I could

Crusaders first design, the Sentinel

Black Creek Labs also had a couple of introductions

The shortest non-restricted rifle on the market….a notch in the folding stock blocks the safety so that the gun cannot be fired when folded

And the new SVR2 non-restricted

Considering that I saw them laying the floor last night, the finished state of the Canuck booth was astonishing!

Tactical shotguns in semi and pump, with some lever action too

The new competition over-under (recently released at O’Dell Range Day)

Bergara precision rifles

I try not to post duplicates but for Canuck pro-staffer Morgy, I will make an exception

One of the great experiences at the show was trying out the Mantis training system. The small unit rail mounts to your gun (with no internal modifications) and tracks movement before firing, during trigger pull, and during recoil.

I scored an 81.5 on my first try with their compressed gun (that simulates some recoil)…yeah, I purposely shot badly to test the system, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I did much better with the dry fire lol

But the system is a lot more complex than that…it can simulate lots of drills like the classic “hostage” or dropped keys.

It also works on any gun (pistol, shotgun, or long-gun)

Although there is a version for AR-15s that also simulates trigger pull.

This is what comes in the kit.

And for holster drills where the mounted unit may not fit, they have a relay you can stick on the end of your magazine…they think of everything!

This was one of the best booths at TACCOM and certainly worth visiting!

After browsing the booths, I attended the first of many seminars, a presentation by True North Tradecraft, experts in disaster preparedness, personal security, covert entry

Next Tracey Wilson spoke about National Range Day

And then there was a meet and greet with CCFR Gunnie Girls

To cap off the evening, there was a party for exhibitors.

LINKS TO ALL PARTS BELOW

TACCOM 2022 – Part 1

TACCOM 2022 – Part 1

TACCOM 2022 – Part 2

TACCOM 2022 – Part 2

TACCOM 2022 – Part 3

TACCOM 2022 – Part 3

Great Lakes Custom Knife Show 2022

Posted by rlaufer2013 on August 21, 2022

Posted in: Guns and Knives. Leave a comment

It has been seven years since I last attended a knifeshow on Canadian soil so to say that I was excited about the Great Lakes Custom Knife Show 2022 would be an understatement!

Of course, it is not just about seeing great Canadian made knives, it is also about re-connecting with the knifemakers I used to see at the now defunct Canadian Knifemakers Guild shows…and of course catching up with my fellow collectors!

As usual, I made a trip out of it, and this time it was somewhat special as I had never been to Bayfield before. I stopped at Select Shooting Supplies during the three-hour drive and I will post pics of my whole trip at the end as I am sure you are anxious to get to the knives.

Per tradition, I met with some knifemakers the evening prior to the show, specifically my good friends Paul Savage and James Emmons and their lovely spouses

After our awesome meal at Black Dog Pub (again I will post the food pics at the end), we headed back to the hotel for some knife show and tell. I was REALLY looking forward to seeing Paul’s FSSF V-42 daggers!
His take on this classic design is forged and hollow ground on a 1 1/2” wheel. The blade and guard are satin finished and hot blued and the pommel is polished and hot blued. The handle is stacked leather with a leather guard cushion. Needless to say, the pair were stunning!

with a modern classic, the Strider AR

Meanwhile James brought this beautiful big d-guard bowie in ladder pattern damascus

As well as this dagger in tear-drop Damascus

The pattern’s name comes from the details in the fuller

James checking out my Strider

Now on to show day! The quaint venue was also the location for the old “Bayfield” show and I think it works well.

You have been warned!

I got there super early and watched the setup as knifemakers started arriving

And it’s showtime!

My first stop was to check in with the event’s host/organizer, Chris Hamelin. Chris, a local resident of Bayfield, was inspired to get into knifemaking by another Bayfield resident and legendary knifemaker Wolfgang Loerchner. Chris does stock removal and is currently focused on outdoor/hunting knives.

Speaking of Wolf, he was my next stop as I heard he was bringing something “special.”

Wolf’s display included the “Christmas” knives he made annually for his wife

If you didn’t think the world has turned upside down over the past couple of years, imagine my shock at seeing tactical flippers on Wolf’s table!

These were prototypes for a custom collaboration and this one in particular was made completely by hand, the same way as Wolf’s art knives!!! It could possibly be the smoothest flipper I have ever handled!

Seriously, could you ever fathom a Wolf tactical flipper being held in reverse grip?

Here it is again in better lighting in case you didn’t believe it!

German engineering (yes, I know my car needs a wash!)

Vs. American Muscle

In anticipation of the show, I was watching social media closely in the hopes of getting some sneak peeks. Based on that, I was really looking forward to checking out Buffalo Bones leatherwork.

My pic does not do justice to the blue ostrich billfold

Love the huge zipper on this one

Gotta represent

Gauntlet check…Buffalo Bones vs. Doug Marcaida

I was most interested in Buffalo Bones’ Book Murks with Wally Hayes kiradashis!

Although I did not purchase one, I very much like the design and plan to get one in exotic skin in the future.

Also on my list, a Bali slip with ULTICLIP for my Benchmade trainer…and in matching red ostrich skin of course (coordination is key)

And now for a big surprise, a leather “handguard”! I love it!

Thanks Buffalo Bones

And look who I ran into, Big Jay, with his awesome new axe.

Next, a visit to Paul Savage’s table to have another look at those incredible V-42 daggers and to see what else he brought to the show. As one of the few ABS JS in Canada, Paul’s work is always top notch.

I liked these forged chive choppers…kind of like a mini ulu

Also interesting for a chilly head like me, a leather hot sauce holster

James Emmons is also an ABS JS and as you saw in my pre-show pics, does stunning Damascus bowies

While his d-guard bowie is very much my style, my favourite knife of his was actually this stag lock-back folder. The Damascus extends beyond the blade to the lock-bar and internals.

DC Tip helping me showcase the two

ABS MasterSmith Wally Hayes is a man of many talents and is now making custom guitars. His knives for the show included a rifle stock and forged bladed folder.

custom guitars

Continuing our tradition

It’s not everyday someone beats me at the shoe game but it is pretty hard to compete with wooden clogs

Even more impressive though were Jacco Van de Bruinhorst’s forged blades

Especially this Persian with a 14” Turkish twist Damascus double hollow ground blade and fittings and a caramelized maple burl handle. As a nice detail, the pommel bars are forged to match the pommel curve.

Many of his knives are full take-downs…here he is demonstrating how they work to Russ as I watch from above

That’s all it took to convince Russ to buy that Persian…the happy new owner with JVB

More great forged knives at the show…from Todd Bolce

The pair of tantos in forged ball bearing steel were among my favourites of the show

A Grohman-esque utility blade

If I could summarize Matt Bedlington’s knives in two words I would say “great packages”…the blades are well matched with the sheaths, many of which were leather incorporating ULTICLIPS.

As an example of what I mean, check out this fixed blade with kydex/leather sheath set up for scout carry

The black G10 on this pocket scalpel looked so good…such a deep black, I thought he covered it with Vanta spray lol…I don’t think my pic does it justice

Ultimately my favourite knife from Matt, and actually one of my show favourites was this friction folder

Elizabeth Loerchner hand files her blades in the same tradition as her dad, Wolf…and they are equally stunning

I was not familiar with Brad Milman before this show but I will certainly keep an eye out for his blades as there were many impressive knives on his table.

I especially liked this ladder-pattern Damascus bowie with multi-colour Micarta scales

Another one with interesting handle scale material…it glows under strong light (as provided by my Surefire G2Z Maxvision)

This mini-Khopesh was also right up my alley…and like the one on Forged in Fire, it will cut!

The show had a good mix of new and established makers and it was great to see Murray St. Amour again.

I especially liked his sheaths with inlays in cobra, python, and white snake

Can’t be a Canadian show without Mike Mossington!

Mike often brings knife supplies but this time he was mainly showing knives. Fortunately, Muskoka Turner had an incredible selection of handle materials, including some with wood sourced from Australia.

For those looking for kitchen knives, there were lots of great options at the show, such as Cameron Lymburner. Cameron mainly uses stock removal with flat grinds, tapered tangs and other tricks to keep his stainless steel knives incredibly light weight.

While his kitchen knives are most popular, of course he makes other styles as well

More great option for kitchen knives, Gabriel Tetreault and Noah Vachon both from Quebec.

I didn’t have a chance to talk a lot with Justin Dale but the beauty/quality of his knives speak for themselves

Brent Sunday knives, as his motto says, to fish, hunt, cook

Lots of colourful offerings from Spencer Azzopardi

The grip on this one was comfortable from any position

Steve Vanderkolff’s daughters are learning the trade, doing some scrimshaw on his knives

Bloodhound Ironworks

Collector Rod Cooke

Steady crowds during the day

So to recap, my favourite knives of the show:
1 Wolf tactical flipper / Savage V-42 daggers (tie)
2 Emmons stag / Damascus lock-back folder
3 Todd Bolce Damascus tanto
4 Matt Bedlington friction folder
…and pretty much everything Buffalo Bones lol

All in all a fantastic show! Great job by Chris Hamelin for organizing. Although this was his first show, you would never know it as it had the same feel as established shows like the old Canadian Knifemaker Guild shows. I look forward to the next one!

And now for those of you who always ask me about the food pics….

My first taste of Bayfield cuisine was Willy’s Burger Bar