I have been looking forward to the Select Shooting Supplies second annual range day for several weeks now and needless to say, it did not disappoint! I had a great time shooting things on my “list” and visiting their store afterwards.

Guests were greeted by the Canadian Historical Arms Museum’s awesome display of military hardware

Stinger

M16A1

M60

Vickers water cooled heavy machine gun

MG42

Didn’t get the name of this very long gun

AK-74, Sterling L34A1, Thompson M1A1

The French Famas…I asked and it does NOT come equipped with a white flag

Cape gun

Ahhh I managed to find a knife on display, and a beefy one at that, shown with my RJ Martin kwaiken for size comparo

For a small donation to the Museum you could take a pic with one of the guns…this was a no brainer for me as I am happy to help the shooting community and I always wanted a pic with the M60. I shot one in Vegas but it was mounted on a tripod so I could not do a Rambo hip pic that time…I was amazed at how light it was!

Both the CCFR and CSSA were on hand to provide info and promote our sport (sadly I did not get a pic of the CSSA booth). It was nice to meet Tracey Wilson

Ok, on to the shooting! I have been to many range days but I think this was the largest selection of guns I have seen….I believe there were nearly 50 guns on the line including…precision rifles from Savage and Tikka

AR15s from F1, Daniel Defense, and S&W

Some sporting Vortex optics like the new Razor AMG..i tried to get pics of the red dot but it is challeging

BCM 102

Girsan MC28, Walther Q5, and IWI X95 9mm from North Sylva

CZ Shadows

Beretta APX and M9A3

Smith & Wesson 686 and M&Ps

Sig MPX and lots of P320s

I was most anxious to shoot the CZ Skorpion Evo…however I don’t think it is for me based on my body and experience with other platforms. Yes, the controls are ambidextrous but I did not find them intuitive as say the MPX which is the same as an AR.

The RO was kind enough to shoot it so that I could get an ejected casing pic lol

Fortunately they had the Sig MPX so I could shoot it side by side with the EVO and my conclusion about the MPX was the same as the last time that I shot it, I love it! I love the AR feel with zero recoil.

It has been a long time since I shot a Beretta and since I have been to a few Beretta events lately I wanted to give them another try. I chose the M9A3 and it was great! I preferred it over the Sig P226 Navy that I shot recently.

Last time I shot the Sig P320 with red dot I did quite well so I wanted to give that one another try as well. To my eye the red dot was not aligned with the iron sights but using it with both eyes open I was hitting the steel gong. I really think my next handgun should have a red dot sight.

Finally, I have always loved revolvers, especially .357s so I used my last ticket on the S&W 686…you really feel the power over 9mm lol.

Tons of people

Thanks to all the RSOs, Select Shooting Supplies, and to the Galt Sportsmens Club for putting on a great event.

All done shooting I headed down to Select Shooting Supplies store

As I have noticed with many Canadian gun stores that I have visited, their retail footprint is not huge but they manage to have a great selection.

I am a big fan of Benelli shotguns and have found them to be the most accurate. The SuperNova tactical is no exception and it was great to see a 14” variant, shown here with a Canuck Regulator, another shotgun that I really like.

Robinson Armament might be best known for their non-restricted XCR-L but they do make a restricted version, the Micro shown here with the Beretta Storm

My favourite handgun in the store was the S&W Performance Centre 1911…what a beauty!

Look at those details like the scales and big extractor

Slide cutouts

Grips

I also liked the custom battle worn coating on this Canuck 1911

For those who saw that recent video of a S&W 500 kaboom, here is the aftermath of one on a .357…legend has it that S&W honoured the warranty with a replacement gun even though this was caused by an out of spec reload.

More shots of the store, Bladetech

Magpul

And other gear

I got a Benelli LE patch to accompany my M4 LE.

All done shooting and shopping I headed out for lunch. As I have said in the past, wings tend to taste better with gunpowder so I stopped by WingsUp!

They were kind enough to let me try their two hottest sauces, Jamakan Hot and Sweat’N Bullets before dropping my wings. I prefer red sauces so I went with Sweat’n Bullets (an appropriate name as well!)

Very unique plating lol

The wings were great! I love the fact that you can request no breading, all flats and extra saucy (or as they call it Slightly Sloppy)

I also had the Stuffed Spuds, which are essentially breaded mashed potatoes

Definitely worth a repeat visit!

RL

Another great Industry Spotlight Day at FOC, this time Meprolight, EOtech, and Trijicon! For those unaware, Industry Spotlight Days feature the latest and greatest from host manufacturers with reps on hand to answer questions along with hands-on experience via simulator and in this case Airsoft!

Safety disclaimer: No guns shown were produced by 3D printers and no straws were used at any point in the making of this review.

For those of you who doubt the reliability of EOTech, this one had its glass blown out and you can still see the holographic reticle perfectly..incredible!

A newer XPS2 in a rare FDE

With the accompanying magnifier

The more typical black version of the kit

One of my favourite optics, the Mepro MOR…what I like best about it is that the passive/active reticle system is always visible, even when facing bright light, more so than others I have tried.

I also like the built in green laser (check the maple leaf below), which is much more visible than red.

Here is what it looks like mounted on a gun.

And the battle proven M21 reflex sight upon which the MOR was based, provides instant, all-light aiming capability, without batteries

For those who prefer electro optical red dots to holographics, the new Mepro M5 / RDS has an LED bullseye reticle and can go thousands of hours on a single AA battery.

Perhaps one of the coolest optics of the day, the new Meprolight FT..notice how there is no need for a front sight with this circle/dot design! My camera did not do it justice…believe me, it is BRIGHT! So hard to believe there is no battery or anything powering it just the fiber optic tubes.

As you may know, I am a big fan of Trijicon…I have always liked the ACOG

And here is the new 1-6×24 VCOG..it is indeed an FFP

Note the quick throw lever

And its bigger brother, the 1-8×28 Accupower

The 4th Mounted Rifles Association was on scene in support of the RED FRIDAY INITIATE, supporting individuals deployed at home and overseas…they had some nice pieces on display, including this M60 (airsoft I believe)

All done with displays, I headed to the soon to be opening range space to try some of the optics on the Chimera Simulator and airsoft guns.

I have seen the Chimera before but hadn’t tried it yet and now having done so, find it even more impressive! The guns simulate 60% felt recoil and you have to change mags and drop the slide just like a live gun. In case you want one in your basement, it’s about $100,000 for the system and $15,000 per extra gun.

I tried shooting with and without the red dot and I really like how the system allows for an “instant zero” when you put the red dot back on.

My grouping wasn’t too bad for a first time.

Last but not least, Airsoft…an impressive array of guns

Nice touch on the Noveske lol

I opted for this one..

All in all a great day..thanks again to FOC, North Sylva, and Chimera…cant wait for the next one.

RL