This is an age-old argument. And, everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this matter. I’m not a ballistics expert, nor am I a marksman who has some profound insight into which round performs better under stress or in any other particular scenario. But I do have a sneaking suspicion that post HPA (Hearing Protection Act), the venerable 45ACP is going to make a big revival. Why? Because by default it’s subsonic and thereby inherently suppressible. The 9MM on the other hand is by default supersonic and it is this superior speed that equalizes it’s wound-channel capabilities with that of the 45ACP (as outlined by the FBI in their summation of the two rounds). But by being supersonic it offers slim sound advantages when suppressed, so shooters are inclined to pay more for subsonic rounds to maximize on their hard-won silencer advantage. However those subsonic rounds measuring .38” are dramatically less effective than great chunks of lead measuring .45” in diameter, PLUS they cost the same as the average box of 45ACP. You can see where I’m going with this?! I’m predicting that post HPA with the easy procurement of silencers to reduce hearing damage, people will go with the bigger 45ACP round because it will be significantly more effective than a subsonic 9MM - essentially just a 380ACP. In a nutshell, if we have to choose between 45ACP and 380ACP, the majority of us will choose the former…I know I will. So if you’re considering a choice between a threaded 45ACP and a threaded 9MM in anticipation of the Act passing, I say go with the 45 and thank yourself a year’s hence when there’s a shortage on overpriced subsonic 9MM ammo. HH.

​Back in October last year I penned an email to Andy at High Tower Armory trying to get a timeline on their upcoming HTA MBS 95 Hi Point Carbine Bullpup Conversion, and to see if they’d be incorporating some sort of converter to allow for the use of Glock mags in this much-awaited drop-in bullpup stock. His gracious reply explained the MBS 95 would first use only standard Hi-Point mags but in due course they’d be exploring alternatives: though he didn’t state it unequivocally, the implication was that it was in the works. Apologies Andy if I’m putting words in your mouth, but for my part it would be the most exciting aftermarket stock in recent memory considering the limited capacity of standard Hi-Point mags and the fact that the Hi Point offers the best value for money in a PCC. With or without Glock-mag compatibility however, the MBS 95 stock will still be an outstanding development for owners of this much praised (and maligned by gun snobs) carbine and my guess is will spur additional sales for Hi-Point in the same way High Tower’s 90/22 bullpup stock did for Ruger. If you’re a current Hi-Point owner or are looking for a serious PCC then check out Hi-Point and High Tower for what’s sure to be a winning combo. HH http://www.hi-pointfirearms.com http://www.hightowerarmory.com/default.asp  

The annual Shot Show is always exciting for me. I pretty much wait all year to see what new items manufacturers are releasing, and though my expectations almost always exceed ultimate reality, I was pretty psyched this year to see Inter Ordnance’s upcoming Valkyrie mini-revolver. As much as I love NAA products, I do think they need a competitor to spur along advancements and lower prices in this genre. The $260 titanium framed I.O. Valkyrie offers a swing-out cylinder (roughly $200 cheaper than than the NAA Sidewinder), a miniature picatinny rail for an eventual laser sight (or other accessories) and different grip options. Obviously we can’t know at this juncture how functionality will compare to NAA’s excellent wee wheelguns, but I’d be surprised if I.O. released it without first insuring 100% reliability. Now, what I’d like to see I.O. doing is offering an accessory trigger guard that either attaches to their picatinny rail or that is intrinsic part of a slightly larger rubberized aftermarket grip - such an accessory may seem contradictory to it’s diminutive intentions but remember most accessories offer only minor improvements and yet they collectively comprise a dominant percentage of the overall firearm & accessory market. Plus, a trigger guard option would increase the revolvers versatility by giving it a more robust, grip-able feeling thereby inspiring sales to those in the concealed carry market. Currently mini revolvers occupy a mostly “novelty” place on the overall firearm lineup yet they could so easily be a viable option for those looking for an ultra compact revolver (an underserved area). Give the Valkyrie a proper grip and triggerguard and it could break new trails in the mini revolver market. Ed.

GUNBLX.com is a veritable wet dream for firearm enthusiasts, big kids and ideas people! Weirdly, about a year ago, we were talking how great it’d be if someone came up with a Meccano or Lego set for (firearm) innovators providing the skeletal framework or building blocks for fleshing out ergonomic forms that could then be engineered into tangible systems. Then, lo and behold, this week during our daily browse of the internet we can across Gun Blocks - essentially Lego for adults - that’s compatible with standard Lego sets giving us “big” kids almost infinite scope for gratifying our imagination and/or actualizing in 3D those concepts that’d formerly be limited to paper. Not sure why we didn't find this company before now considering they say on their Facebook page that they were launched in 2011, but we are grateful to have discovered them now albeit belated. This from their website: GUNBLX are 1:1 scale 3D gun building blocks sets. Our sets are not sold in stores. GUNBLX represent top firearm brands like: Heckler & Koch, Smith & Wesson, QSZ, Ruger, Striker, CZ-USA, and Magnum Research to name a few. Our high quality ABS plastic self-locking bricks are made from the same material used by LEGO® and are compatible with LEGO® brand building blocks. A must have for kids, gun collectors, patriots, educators, and firearm enthusiasts alike. GUNBLX guns look awesome on display, make a great conversation piece, and are really fun to build. New GUNBLX releases coming soon, so stay tuned. We can’t see how this concept will fail and knowing the astronomical success of the original Swedish company’s little colored bricks I think this is set to have a lasting place on the big boy toy market. Take a moment to visit their website so you can be sure to get your birthday and Christmas wish lists made out for this year: http://www.gunblx.com. Ed 

How will Trump effect guns and ammo sales? Badly, but not intentionally. Obama is considered to be the greatest gun salesman in American history: sales soared during his presidency because gun owners perpetually feared he would impose tough gun restrictions after every significant shooting incident. Now that Trump is in the White House, the anti Second Amendmenters have receded into the shadows (for the time being anyway) and sales of guns and ammo are sagging. Ironically, the presidential choice of many firearm enthusiasts was not necessarily the choice of manufacturers: the entire gun industry was literally banking on a Hillary win but distributors have been canceling orders left and right in the weeks since November 8th 2016. This may come to be known as the dog day afternoon to eight years of beautiful sunrises and sunny lunchtimes for the industry. Since the election Ruger and S&W (now AOBC) have seen declines of more than 20% in their stock values, and NICS background checks dropped by almost 20% this January compared with last year. Demand for guns and ammo was so strong over the Obama years that manufacturers couldn't keep up, resulting in long waits for firearms, backordered items and ammo shortages (we all remember those). Now, sadly, I think the industry as a whole will level off and some companies will even close up shop in the coming months. Donald Trump may be the NRA's golden boy so why are gun sales and stocks falling now that he's president? The answers is simple despite being counterintuitive - without the constant threat to our Second Amendment there is no fear-incentive to buy those firearms we worried we may not be allowed to purchase, and, resultantly gun sales will be flat going forward. The OLN conglomerate which owns Winchester Ammo reported that ammo sales declined 20% in the last quarter of 2016 compared with that quarter in 2015. Some of the big firearm manufacturers recently diversified into ammo production - though ammo sales might also be slowing at least bullets get used up but unfortunately the boom days of recent years generated stockpiles of firearms inventory that first has to be moved by distributors before demand necessitates the manufacture of more. This means manufacturing companies and their engineers may find themselves idle and hurting, and the buyer will over the longterm see less diversity in the market, BUT, I predict this in turn will spur a reinvigoration of the market 18 months hence. My advice to the manufacturers is, hang in there if you can and this slump will come to pass. Ed. 

Whilst updating the AFD’s “SILENCER & BARREL ACCESSORY” page this morning I was struck by the fact that none of the 45 manufacturers listed offers any suppressor under $100. Having some experience with European and British silencer manufacturers, I can tell you the average price for a quality sound suppressor across the pond is around 70 Euros ($90 at the current exchange rate) and they’ve been that affordable for the best part of 3 decades. 

So why are they so expensive here in the US? BATFE restrictions and regulations are undoubtedly a large part of that, but those same limitations (along with Hollywood movies romanticizing this favorite of the hitman’s props) also fuels the mystique that’s surrounded them as being complex mechanical devices that diminish a gunshot to a mere whisper. Not only is this total fiction, but it’s implied by price tag that these brilliantly simple devices possess magical and secret properties reserved for dastardly villains, covert government operatives and those of us who will pay large sums of money to own them. Because legally purchasing a silencer is so involved a process here in America, companies who solely manufacture them need to charge premium prices to make it viable whereas companies who make a range of products can afford to charge a little less. Yet still prices are too high for what they are, i.e. a tube with some heat-dissipating baffles as per Maxim’s original 1909 concept for automobiles and firearms.  

We all know by now that the cheapest automotive or household product can adequately suppress firearm report, so a $99 purpose-made silencer is long overdue. With all the talk of the upcoming HPA (God willing it passes) the rumors online suggest prices will get even higher for a time to meet the sudden jump in demand! That’s ridiculous. And so here lies a tremendous business opportunity for some savvy machine shop: start cranking out the parts for a range of calibered suppressors for various weapons and thread-sizes, and when that Hearing Protection Act bill gets passed, sell them at $99 all day long!  Ed.  
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Our final “hidden in plain sight” recommendation is actually for your vehicle. The Public Safety Source provides console gun safes for LEO and licensed civilians that provide discretion plus locked security for peace of mind when leaving your sidearm in your truck, SUV or car. With more and more of us carrying on a daily basis, there are times and places we cannot or should not go armed (i.e. when entering a post office or other federal building). For those occasions, there's the Console Vault. 

This from their site: "For over eight years Console Vault has created specialized Vehicle Gun Safes for law enforcement officials and others looking to equip their vehicles with the finest in protection and security. Featuring Console Vault's superior five-point locking system and a high-security barrel lock with an optional keyless combination lock, each gun safe receives the finest attention to detail by our expert craftsmen. Made of 12-gauge cold-rolled plate steel and refined with welded tabs and notch seams, the gun vault is the preferred automotive safe for thousands of law enforcement and government officials from around the world. And as with every Console Vault product, each Vehicle Vault is proudly made in the United States. The safe discretely fits inside the existing consoles of most trucks, SUVs and more. With the gun safe installed and the console lid closed, the vault remains completely hidden from view. The safe is only exposed when the console itself is opened, preventing you from attracting attention to your valuables. The Console Vault gun safe requires absolutely no modification to your vehicle's console and assembly takes less than ten minutes. Your original console can open and close just as it normally would, yet with the vehicle safe in place your belongings are now treated with the security and safety they deserve. Console Vault has recently made the best design improvement since the vault was developed, the "Triple Guard Lock System" which incorporates a latch design similar to the pins in bank vault doors which greatly increases overall security. This design also has a front channel which incorporates the lid into the body of the Console Vault, which eliminates all stress off the physical lock itself. This is the greatest, most secure product Console Vault has ever made."

What more can I add? Check them out at http://www.publicsafetysource.com/gun-safes/index.php

​HH

​Today’s shoutout goes to a Utah based company called QuickSafes. These guys make two standout items for hiding your weapon in plain sight: the QuickVent and the QuickShelf safes. The QuickShelf Safe was the first of its kind to use RFID technology: simply touch your RFID Key to the secret access point and your shelf will unlock the hidden compartment below giving you fast access to your sidearm. The QuickVent Safe was awarded #1 Best New Product at the 2015 SHOT Show in Las Vegas: using RFID Technology, it’s easy to access while remaining covert. Both items are priced at the high end of affordability but offer premium concealment from the curious eyes of children, workmen, houseguests and/or potential thieves by camouflaging your pistol (plus a few valuables) as a dull household feature. I really like these items, they’re innovative and simple which are two of the best ingredients for success. They actually remind me of a safe I had years ago whilst waiting tables double-time at 2 New York restaurants. It was exhausting work but I was earning bundles in cash tips and would return home late at night laden with the stuff. My roommate was not entirely trustworthy - a fashion model with a penchant for cocaine - therefore keeping my hard-earned dollars safe was imperative. So, in the bathroom (the first place I hit when arriving home at 3am) I replaced the electrical socket with a safe-box I found at a spy shop: using a dime you could unlock the cover with half a turn and stash your roll inside whilst still allowing the use of appliances like hairdryers and shavers, making her (my roommate) none the wiser. It was a great device and QuickSafes embodies the same spirit of discretion. Check them out at https://quicksafes.com. HH 

Today’s home-concealment shout-out goes to a little company named after it’s primary product, the “Boomdock”. In fact it’s not really a form of concealment though I’m hoping that by giving them this plug they’ll add a plastic encasement feature that disguises your AR as just another household item. As it stands it’s a child-safe, burglar-proof docking station for your favorite black rifle and provides prompt access if and when required. Trouble is it kindof showcases your weapon rather than conceals it so it’d be best placed in your broom-cupboard or behind a curtain or something. However, with a variety of properly designed casings it could be made to resemble an electrical or plumbing box in your utility room, a piece of sculpture in your living room, a vacuum cleaner dock in your kitchen and so on and so forth. Regardless, it’s a cool device and definitely worth checking out at http://www.boomdock.com. HH

The second of our hidden-in-plain-sight shoutouts this week goes to a company out of Missouri called American Furniture Classics. They make a line of concealment furniture at very affordable prices including a grandfather clock, a gun/curio cabinet and a variety of benches and trunks to adorn your hallway or bed-end. The grandfather clock is my favorite except that it could potentially be a target for thieves in of itself, meaning that after they’ve hauled it off they get an added bonus prize of discovering it conceals your treasured armory. Therefore their “gun/curio” cabinet is probably preferable in terms of genuine safe hiding because it offers a lockable sliding panel that’ll house six long guns discreetly at the back of the unit: the panel will slide out to the left or the right, plus there’s a locking storage area behind the lower door for handguns and/or ammo. Only the nosiest houseguest might ponder the contents of locked compartments but the unit itself is sturdy and illuminates the shelved area front and center to divert focus toward your gewgaws, the kid’s awards, family photos, bobbleheads and the wife’s favorite crockery. Check out American Furniture Classics at http://www.americanfurnitureclassics.com, I think you’ll be impressed by their furnishings and prices. HH

This week we want to give a shout-out to five all-American companies who build discreet safes that don’t stand out and holler “Here I am, full of guns and money” but rather blend in with your home furnishings to leave houseguests, workmen, the cable or UPS guy and even other family members none the wiser. Personally I’m not the type who wants a giant steel vault anywhere in the house, not least because it advertises one’s financial status and contradicts the very meaning of “concealed”, but because they’re typically slow to access in the event of urgent need. Also my wooden floors would probably collapse under the weight! So with this in mind the first item I want to bring to your attention is the Sirearms 5-Drawer Vertical Concealment Dresser made by Sirearms in Vermont. It comes with a hefty price tag so it’s not for the budget gunner, but it’s a great bedroom addition that’ll allow you to access your weapon in seconds yet remain hidden should you get burgled, or if the kids are messing around in your room, or when guests are given the home-tour. Made from maple or oak (your call) the top drawer has a hidden lower level that opens when the knobs are twisted, whereas if the knobs are pulled normally those nosey folks will simply get an eyeful of your underwear and socks. Sirearms also makes suppressors (including a $199 rimfire unit called the Whistler), a Shorty 14” 12 gauge shotgun and the Super Charger (a $499 AR platformed Ruger Charger with a Shockwave Blade pistol stabilizer) that’s pretty damned cool. Check ‘em out at https://www.802traders.com/category-s/121.htmor on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Sirearms/. HH

I doubt there’s a single firearms enthusiast who hasn’t heard of Henry repeating rifles out of NJ. Renowned for their customer service and their beneficence towards our veterans, they are also innovators in the field of old-school 22’s. Lever and pump action 22’s have a significant and loyal following and yet it’s a greatly underserved demographic. There are new variants of AR or tactical 22’s almost every week but the old blued steel manual loading rifles are for the most part relegated by the industry’s “If it aint broke don’t fix it” mindset. Except by Henry. Their latest offering is something I’m very excited about because it adds a well-needed modern facility to a 150 year-old gun, thumbing a nose at the purists yet catering to those who love the potential accuracy and reliability of Benjamin Tyler Henry’s venerable 1860 design. Henry - the “Made in America or not made at all” company - did it, and did it right. They’ve used a 24” round barrel configuration with a shortened magazine tube (10 rounds of 22LR) which allows for easy reloading when a suppressor is attached. Typically it would be difficult to remove the plunger tube on a threaded lever gun as it would get hung up on the base of the suppressor but a shortened magazine bypasses this issue and allows for unhindered reloading. The 24” barrel provides accuracy and improved open-sight radius, and the rounded profile is lighter than their usual hexagonal barrel. Now all I’d like to see is the same set up on their pump action 22 rifle: round 24” barrel, shortened mag tube, grooved for optics and threaded for a suppressor….now THAT would be a rifle to covet! ED