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!
RL
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