TACCOM 2023 – Part 1

SET UP DAY

It’s TACCOM time! My favourite time of the year lol. As usual, I will be covering the show from set-up to closing on Sunday. If history repeats itself, I will post over 500 pics in the next few days lol.

I arrived to set-up quite early so exhibitors were still in early stages.

the big stage

It is very interesting to watch the booths getting set up

So great to see Nightforce back again

As well as Chiappa, in all the way from Italy.

CroMag

I like the way this is shaping up

Well that didn’t take long for me to do some shopping lol. I heard Premier Body Armor was bringing their new Home Shield…I loved it so much that I ordered one on the spot!

Meanwhile, guns were coming in by the truckload! I am looking forward to seeing Stoeger’s new straight pull rifle.

Cadex…I had visions of a T-Rex storming out of that crate

FOC already had some of their guns out

I will definitely take a close look at that 870 with 14” barrel and rifle sights!

Mossberg was also quite set up with a few variants of the 930JM

Nice HK at North Sylva

It was great to see my friends from MGear and AmChar again

I cant wait for the party atmosphere of the show tomorrow!

And now for the first meal of TACCOM, chicken souvlaki at Zet’s!

DAY 1

I arrived super early to try to get pics of the booths before the crowds showed up.

My first stop was Premier Body Armor, in part to take another look at the Home Shield that I just ordered and in part to pick up my past order 😊 But first, a glimpse of their expansive lineup

So this is what the front and back of the Home Shield looks like. It’s Level IIIA and weighs 3.5 pounds. There is another version that also stops rifle rounds and that one weighs 8 pounds (and costs twice as much). I opted for the lighter model.

Thanks to SFRC for providing an ASP training gun to allow me to demonstrate how the cutouts on the corners work (yes, I did end up buying that training gun too…sigh)

I ordered an Everyday Armor t-shirt in 3XL at TACCOM 2022 and I was thrilled to pick it up at this show! It took so long in part because 3XL is not easy to come by but also because they released a version 2.0 with improved placement of the plates and I wanted to wait for this new version.

So happy it fits! Lol

And it doesn’t print at all (well it did a bit in the first pic but after we re-set the plate it didn’t show at all)

Such a great product!

Next a check in with show host, Firearms Outlet Canada

Lot’s of great guns to see here, such as these shotguns done up by Tactical Ordnance (I will cover their booth shortly)

I like that “lego” Kriss Vector in hidden camo

The Fix by Q

Again, I wanted to take a closer look at that 870 Police with factory 14” barrel and rifle sights

It was nice but I think I prefer Ghost ring sights

Some nice Winkler axes on display

the new TACCOM patch

As I mentioned, I liked the TacOrd shotguns at FOC so figured now would be a good time to visit Casey and crew. As I am sure you know, they are among the best in the business when it comes to modifying shotguns.

Their Nova Speed caught my eye (I’ll show you a stock one later). TacOrd flared, cleaned up and polished the loading port

Father and son

If you were looking for a tactical shotgun that doesn’t cost quite as much as a custom TacOrd, fear not as there were tactical shotguns of all ranges at the show. In fact, my next visit was to Stoeger to look at some of the Benelli and Beretta shotguns that TacOrd uses as a platform.

For example, here is a stock Nova Speed

While there, I also discovered the new Beretta BRX1 straight pull rifle. What a fast action!

My picture doesn’t do this Burris Veracity PH scope justice but it was hella cool! It features the Burris Connect App and has a head up display that shows elevation turret position in yards, meters or MOA, as well as rifle cant, rifle angle, distance-accurate wind holdover and battery level!

More high tech optics from the Burris and Steiner lines

including binoculars with laser range finders

If you know about my love of sunglasses (safety/shooting glasses in particular) another great surprise at the Stoeger booth were these Beretta collaborations with Rudy Project

Next I visited Mossberg to see the 940 Pro that finally hit our shores as well as the arctic white variant of the 930JM.

First off, I REALLY liked the 940 Pro! So far it is one of my favourite guns of the show. I like the feel of it and the way the red-dot is mounted in the cutout made it super easy to find.

I also liked the texture of the white coating on the 930

After seeing Solely Outdoors post about the “official shotgun of the Chinese police” I was anxious to check out the Termnion International booth. Their shotguns are compatible with Remington 870s and are actually made in a factory in China that used to make parts for Remington.

Considering that the base model starts at $399, it is amazing how much gun you get for such a low price.

Even with a bunch of accessories, it is still below $500 I believe

Of course, O’Dell Engineering’s Canuck line is also a super popular option for tactical shotguns

And don’t forget they are the distributors for Bergara precision rifles

Also don’t forget to pick up some swag when you visit their booth!

Speaking of high end precision rifles, how about Cadex eh?

Don’t forget, they make shotgun parts too!

Alright, moving on to black guns, like Crusader Arms

or should I say shiny guns because this sure caught my eye!

It was also great to run into Lovie!

Lots of WK180C variants at Kodiak

The top one here was part of their giveaway

I especially liked the one with folding stock

Or if you prefer competition bolt action

Sadly this one is not available

Next over to AmChar for yet another look at the TROY PAR and SPR. I swear I have looked at these so many times and STILL never shot either! I am sooooo anxious to test fire them!