If Variety is the Spice of Life then Palmetto State Armory (PSA) is the howling Ghost Pepper of AKs. PSA used to be known as a retailer of budget AR components and AK kit guns build by small regional manufacturers but in the last few years, PSA has branched out into becoming its own legitimate gun brand. This year they’re debuting not just one or two new AK models, but a half dozen.
These new AK’s under their Soviet Arms brand span a range of historical AK like the Norinco Type 56 Chinese AK to to modern variants of AKMs and Kinkovs used by Russian special forces. PSA has long been known for making military and historical clone guns including Vietnam era AK’s and M-16’s and this year a new 5.56 chambered clone Stg 44!
If PSA is releasing a half-dozen different new AK variants wasn’t impressive enough, this same year they’re also releasing a similar number of new AR rifles under their Sabre brand. These AR’s will retail for under $1000 but come pre-installed with premium components like an ambi charging handle, 3.5lb trigger, and a low-profile hand guard. It’s going to be a busy year for PSA.
I end with this paradox: Is an AK clone of an AK clone still a clone?
Hawke Optics is the UK’s biggest maker of airgun and hunting scopes. With the popularity of LPVO (Low Power Variable Optics) in the AR and sporting rifle market, Hawke has expanded their scope lineup with 3 new LPVOs. You have 4 different reticle options, including their new Fiberdot LPVO utilizes a fiber optic illuminator. It claims to be truly daylight bright with a super fine pinpoint for precision shooters. The Vantage Fiberdot scopes are due to be available in Q2 or Q3.
UK based Hawke Optics is the worlds largest maker of airgun rifle scopes and offers a broad line of hunting scopes and field optics. They’ve applied this expertise in designing a new line of Prism sights. Utilizing a similar optical prism used in binoculars and spotting scopes, prism sights offer the simplicity, illumination, and fast target engagement of a red dot but with the fine etched reticle that can never fail due to a dead battery. For those of us with astigmatism the etched sight on a prism dot doesn’t distort or bloom like a red dot.
Prism scopes can also come fixed magnifications for longer range shooting (or old eyes). The USMC’s ACOG is a famous example of this a 4x combat prism sight. Hawke offers 3 new models in 1x, 4x, and 6x magnification respectively. The magnified prisms are ideal for action shooters or small game or fowl hunters.
Riton is an Arizona based optics company founded by an Army veteran and Law Enforcement Officer. In honor of their 10th Anniversary, they debuted a revamp of the design of all of their rifle scopes at SHOT Show 2023. I met with Jerimiah Alexander their head of Product Design who walked me through his work.
While a product “facelift” may sound superficial, I thought they were smart design choices which improved usability and ergonomics. I was one of those guys who at first blush thought Riton scopes didn’t have an ocular fast focus because it was completely smooth and flush to the tube; so the knurling is a 100% improvement.
They also introduced a refined Christmas Tree reticle to their 5 and 7 series. The thicker line weight and distance the T-cross makes it more usable at low magnifications to for hunters wanting to get a snap shot. Also notable is the switch to Warne, who make excellent QD mounts.
Last year, Riton dropped the ball in sending me scopes to review. But Jerimiah assures me they won’t make the same mistake this year. I hope he’s right.
SHOT Show is a great opportunity to meet the people at a brand face to face. But it’s not often that you get to meet a company’s CEO and have him personally walk you through their new products. At SHOT Show 2023 at the Lucid Optics booth, I did just that. Lucid’s CEO, Jason Wilson, showed me their newest Prism scope, red dot, monocular, and spotting scope.
Their products appear to be well made and have impressive specs (and impressive premium prices). I hope to test their products later this year to see if they live up to it.
At an undecorated, non-descript booth in the lower level of the Venetian Expo Hall, my crew called my attention to what is possibly the most interesting new pistol at SHOT show. At the Third Bay booth, they were displaying the OUNCE, the most compact and lightest 10+1rnd semi-auto pistol I’d ever seen. I got a chance to talk with its inventor and company owner, Bill Osborne.
The story of the OUNCE’s invention is tragic. After the inventors relative was raped at home was inspired to create this pistol. Bill set about using his experience as a mechanical engineer to create a solution to the common issues with CCW pistols: reliability, safety, weight, and printing (showing the shape of a gun on your clothing). Bill designed a pistol that could fold into a wallet sized profile that could easily be carried and deployed without the need of a specialized carry holster.
In its folded state, the OUNCE is 4.75″ x 3.85″ and about an inch thick, which is about the size of a Beretta Bobcat. But unlike that classic pocket gun, the OUNCE is a 1/4lb lighter, holds 3 more rounds, and has a normal length grip. In addition, in its folded state the OUNCE presents a silhouette that looks nothing like a gun.
A folding self-defense pistol isn’t new. The LIFECARD 22LR folding pistol is about the same size as the OUNCE but the LIFECARD is a single-shot .22LR weapon that requires a manual reload. Unless you’re 100% sure of your aim, using a one-shot gun is problematic. The OUNCE carries 10+1 rounds of 22LR is a quantum leap in terms of firepower and assurance when used for self-defense.
Like many, I was a bit dubious of this pistol’s reliability due to the OUNCE’s unconventional design. It’s mostly polymer body seemed almost toy-like. The action and internal magazine are unique with an almost vertical loading of the cartridges.
Because it is chambered for .22LR, I asked about the manual of arms for emergency clearing of a dud round. Folding and unfolding the handle manually clears any cartridge in the chamber and loads the next round in the magazine. With a bit of practice, this can accomplished in about the same time as racking and clearing a slide; which isn’t all that easy either given the size of conventional micro-compact pistols. As with all CCW firearms, practice and familiarity and vital for reliable use.
Legal restrictions on CCW sized pistols varies widely by municipality, so be sure to check all of your local laws before ordering. The pistol is not cheap at around $900. It’s not a Glock being churned out by the thousands in a factory. All the guns are made by the inventor in his workshop and so are essentially, a made-to-order custom gun. Currently this pistol is available directly from Third Bay https://ounceoz.com/
Pardini is famous for making some of the most unique Olympic competition pistols and rifles. These pistols start at around $3000 and go up from there and their rifles start at over $10,000. In the atmospheric world of Olympic firearms these prices are unremarkable. But unlike other Olympic guns, Pardini ooze a signature high-design aesthetic of late 1980’s futurism.
New for this year, Pardini is offering extended magazines for Precision Bullseye and competitors. And a brand new laser gun. Seriously. A laser gun for Modern Pentathlon. https://www.pardiniguns.com/
At the Aguila booth at Shot Show 2023, they were excited to show me their newest pistol cartridge offering, a 124gr. 9mm jacketed hollow point round designed to offer greater energy on target than the usual 119gr. bullet. While the term “stopping power” is widely regarded as a marketing term, no one can argue with basic physics; the heavier the projectile, the greater the force imparted on the target. And that’s a good thing.
Fenix flashlights is known by first responders for offering duty quality EDC flashlights at a reasonable price. At their booth at Shot Show, they walked me through their new products for 2023. They offered incremental improvements on already solid products. They listened to complaints and critiques from their customers and addressed them which says a lot about the company.
They’ve already sent me a new flashlight to review, so they follow through with their promises and the want to get input on their products.
I’ve used various laser bore sighter devices to help me zero out a new scope but they can be a bit finicky and more than once, the battery died. Xaegis Tactical sent me a an traditional non-electronic bore sighter to test. These optical bore sighters sits on the end of your barrel and provide an alignment grid on visible when looking through your scope.
The kit comes with a 12 different caliber adapters, from .17 cal to .50 cal and a 20 ga-12ga shotgun bore adapter. These adapter arbor stems screw into the optical lens unit and are then fitted into your bore. Looking through your scope, you are presented with a 20×20 grid to help you align the reticle of your scope.
In my testing, using the kit on a Ruger 10/22 firing Aguila Super Extra High Velocity 40gr CPRN, was able to get on paper (30″x36″ paper target) at 100yrds. The impacts were low and to the left of bullseye by 15″-20″. This is not unexpected as target distance, barrel type, and bullet ballistics will alter the impact point from dead center of your bore. But being able to get on paper with my first shot meant I could easily make fine adjustments to zero out the scope.
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