Given that gun stores are located so far away from downtown Toronto, I typically like to go on “tours” to multiple locations at a time. Today TheShmoo and I hit Urban Tactical, Triggers and Bows, Bulls Eye London, and Select Shooting! We snapped a few pics on the way and hopefully this post can be helpful to those of you considering the guns that we will cover and if you are thinking of buying from these stores.
URBAN TACTICAL
I have been to Urban Tactical several times but never to one of their events until today’s 5.11 / Glock Day! This annual event is usually held on or as close to possible May 11, or 5.11 and features sales on both product lines as well as the chance to shoot the Glock lineup. Staff from Glock Canada were also on hand to answer questions and work on your Glock.
Lots of Glock swag around
Including a chance to win from the prize table
Ok on to the range…I believe there were 6 different models on the line, including the 17, 19, 22 and 34 (forgot the others).
I was hoping for a 17C, 17L or 26 but no luck so I decided not to shoot (as I already tried all the ones on the line)…. it was still great to see new and experienced shooters having fun. Shooters getting pointers from the ROs before firing away…
All done on the range, TheShmoo and I hit the store to check out some guns.
Again, no luck on the Glocks I want (especially the G26 ☹ ) so I took another look at the G34…quite different in feel compared to my Taran Tactical John Wick 2 gun.
I love shopping with TheShmoo because he always spots those rare/unique guns so quickly…this time a Colt Anaconda in .44magnum.
It was really packed and we didn’t want to take too much time photographing guns so on to the rest of the store….besides, i came with a mission of getting some new mid-length boots
I liked the Salomon XD Forces GTX Mid and will come back to try them on when it is less crowded.
I wasn’t too familiar with Snugpak bags before today
But this shiny one looked great..i have since done some research and found out that they have a great reputation..i will have to take a closer look next time
Lots of tactical gloves from 5.11, TurtleSkins, Mecanix, and Oakley
In terms of their knives, I liked that mini-Kukhri and the trainer on the left
Big selection of Yeti coolers
In terms of clothing, the tactical shirts were really nice
As were some of the funny Tshirts
Last stop before hitting the barbeque was the Garage Sale where theShmoo picked up the last Blackhawk Nomex Balaclava for $10! (damn his eagle eye, I would have snagged that) and a drum mag conversion for his shotgun for $20!
So all in all a great event and now that I know it is an annual one, I will definitely be back next year.
TRIGGERS AND BOWS
I had never been to Triggers and Bows before (just a 15 min drive from Urban) so was a bit shy about taking pics with my DSLR but I could not resist the urge to snap at least a few phone pics.
This was my first time actually seeing a Hi-Point in person and it was even bigger/heavier than I imagined! Think Motorola Brick phone.
I was also surprised to see the new ZEV O.Z-9, their first fully in-house gun. All internals are made by Zev but are compatible with Glocks. The frame is different and angled more like a 1911. I was surprised at the length of the handle and I cant imagine a human with hands that are too large for this grip.
And check this out, a real Red Ryder!!! I didn’t know they were still making these
Remember to wear eyepro so you don’t shoot your eye out
I would totally rock this gun sock if only it fit a real full size rifle
It was great to find out T&B also offers range rental and I will check out their range next time.
BULLS EYE LONDON
My main reason for visiting Bulls Eye today was to check out the new Cadex Sheepdog. This “vaporware” gun has been talked about for years and has finally hit our market. The idea is to put a Cadex action in a more conventional stock as opposed to the full chassis we are used to seeing. This is very appealing to me as I am looking for something lighter like a Remington M-24. Don’t get me wrong, I like the Cadex chassis and I get the advantages of having a stable platform etc, I just want something lighter.
From that perspective, I was shocked at the beefiness of the Sheepdog. While it may be lighter than the chassis guns on paper, to me it felt the same. Sure, the action is super smooth and the ergonomics are good but if I were to get something that heavy, I would just get one of their standard models. For size comparison.
Score they had the ZEV O.Z-9 as well so I could take a closer look. This time I tried the trigger and it was great! I really want to shoot this.
I bought my MR223 through Bulls Eye, a black one with 14.5” barrel and I have been meaning to check out the 11” variant in RAL2000..in addition to the smaller size, this one had m-loc instead of a quad rail and conventional sights instead of the adjustable diopter one on mine…still a beauty of a gun.
Perhaps my favourite gun of the day was the Sig CSOR commemorative edition….the grip feels different than a conventional P226 and I actually like all the markings.
We also looked at the HK Mark 23 SOCOM and GSG MP-40, which was surprisingly beefy for a .22lr (sorry no pics).
As always, great to catch up with the crew at Bulls Eye and I will be back soon when my order comes in.
We stopped off at Select Shooting on the way home in the hopes of checking in on Dean but alas he was not at the store. We did not stay long enough to take pics but had a nice chat.
Always fun to spend the day doing gun related things…cant wait till GAT show next month.
RL
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