Coverage

   2005

Day 2

Day 1

   2004

   2003

   More

  2005 Shoot-out Day 2

Day 2: Analysis

Pistol makers hold center stage

Watch the videos Click to see new videos of: Door Breach The Shack Remote Firing Station MGL-140 Slow-motion video Blended metal vs. clay block Blended metal vs. meat Polyshok ammo Kriss prototype SIGARMS P226 Videos from Day 1: Introduction Polyshok AA-12 Full Auto Shotgun HK416 Download RealPlayer Supplier Directory   A directory of companies which manufacturer supplies for the military. Click here to view the directory. Submit your listing   If your company manufacturers supplies for the military, then you belong in our directory. Basic listings are free and you can submit your information by clicking here. How we did it   This year's evaluators included 42 special operators, weapons instructors and technicians from the government weapons-development communities supporting them. They were augmented by more than a dozen security specialists from other federal government agencies, including the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the Federal Air Marshal Service; and a founding member of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team.   This report covers the sniper systems, assault weapons, shotguns and ammo (except armor-piercing and low-flash types). Next month's coverage will focus on the armor-piercing and low-flash ammo, along with pistols, 40mm systems, nighttime demos and other items offered up for evaluation.

Along with the sniper rifles, assault weapons and shotguns reported on last month, evaluators at Shoot-out ’05 fired the latest offerings from four pistol manufacturers. These pistol makers are among the companies likely to compete in an Army .45-caliber handgun contract competition expected later this year. The Army wants an off-the-shelf .45 semiautomatic pistol to replace the 180,000 9mm Beretta M9s now in service. And, since U.S. Special Operations Command is also looking for a new .45, there’s a good possibility that the Army and SOCom might hold a joint competition.

The first stop on the pistol range was at the Glock table, where a trio of pistols chambered for the relatively new .45 Glock Automatic Pistol (GAP) cartridge awaited. Introduced in 2003, the .45 GAP is the first commercially available cartridge designed by Glock. As such, it moves the gun-making company into the ranks of “bullet-naming pistol manufacturers,” alongside the likes of Colt (the .45 ACP — Automatic Colt Pistol), Sigarms (the .357 SIG) and Smith & Wesson (the .40 S&W).  Read entire story

Quick look

  It’s called the High-altitude Unit Navigated Tactical Imaging Round (HUNTIR) — a 40mm grenade round outfitted with a camera. Capable of being fired from various types of grenade launchers, the round climbs to about 1,000 feet before an ejection charge releases the round’s cargo: a video camera suspended from a small parachute. Read entire story

More from day 2

Nighttime demos
  For the second consecutive year, the Shoot-out also included nighttime demonstrations. Read more

Seeing is believing
  Nighttime activities at Shoot-out '05 gave two night-vision system manufacturers an opportunity to show what their latest gear can do. Read more

What you see is what you ... see
  The idea was simple enough: In response to two ammo manufacturers' claims that their bullets reduce the amount of flash that's seen when weapons are fired, AFJ invited them to demonstrate their products at night. Read more

Time saver
  The nighttime AFJ Shoot-out demonstrations provided an ideal backdrop for DAS Electronics to demonstrate the advantages of its latest Bullet Sensor. Read more

Ultimate 'video game'
  Along with dozens of rifles, shotguns and pistols, this year’s Shoot-out gave evaluators a chance to show off the skills they’ve acquired playing video games. Read more

What a kick! (not)
  In December, AFJ reported on our test-firing of the Kriss - a .45-caliber, fully automatic prototype weapon designed to eliminate most felt recoil. Read more

The 'BIG' 40's
  Along with evaluating .45- and .40-caliber pistols, our evaluators got to try their hand with some larger 40s - 40mm grenade launchers. Read more

Engel's ammo impresses
  After trying out the grenade launchers, the evaluators had an opportunity to see some specialized 40mm ammo types perform. Read more

Knock knock
  The idea was simple enough: Show how a 40mm door-breaching round stuffed with 000 Buckshot and a 40mm anti-personnel round (No. 4 frangible shot) could make quick work of a forced entry and an engagement against the first of two groups of bad guys on the other side of the door. Read more

Shack takes a lickin'
  When the folks at Kontek Industries were invited to attend Shoot-out ’05, they didn’t hesitate in accepting. Executives at the New Madrid, Mo., company were eager to show off their bulletproof, 37,000-pound guard shack. Read more

  2005 Shoot-out Day 1

Day 1: Analysis

Small arms manufacturers take first shots

  Like its predecessors, the sixth annual Armed Forces Journal Shoot-out at Blackwater drove home a fundamental truth about the small arms industry and related enterprises: It’s a creative sector of the defense industrial base. This is particularly true of programs percolating in some of the smaller companies, especially activities aimed at developing weapons and other items tailored to the needs of U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

  Along with some new, high-powered sniper systems, cutting-edge assault weapons and improved pistol designs from major firearms industries, Shoot-out ’05 gave several of these smaller enterprises an opportunity to highlight their products for an elite group of military evaluators and about a dozen observers from federal agencies.  Read entire story

More from day 1

LeMas ammo: 'The real deal'
  The team from LeMas Ltd. ammo, which manufactures so-called "blended metal" bullets, put in its fifth Shoot-out appearance at this year's gathering. Constantly evolving, LeMas' current ammo line is far more effective than the ammo first demonstrated in 2001.
  What makes LeMas ammo special is its ability to penetrate hard barriers, such as body armor and steel plate, yet not pass through a soft medium, such as a human torso. And its effectiveness against glass gave rise to what had become an annual Shoot-out showdown between ballistic glass manufacturer ADS and LeMas.
Read entire story
Read the evaluators' comments about LeMas ammo

Shoot-out: Ultimate gun show
  Full contact. Third and long, getting dirty. We’ve never met a “do not touch” sign we didn’t ignore. That’s how we roll.
  So the average gun show is not built for people like us.
  Listening to product reps drone on and on, not a target in sight, makes us long for a single bullet to end our own misery. Oh, how we long for the sound of clinking brass.
Read entire story