Hey Shooters: Lots to talk about in this edition of Straight Shooter’s “Gun Report,” your semi-automatic source of gun-culture news, new-product insights, and whatever else we could find when rooting around in the bottom of the metaphorical range bag.
Sooo-eee, CZ-USA: The U.S.-based affiliate of Czech firearms manufacturer Česk zbrojovka a.s. Uhersk Brod (CZUB) will build its North American headquarters and a new manufacturing facility on approximately 73 acres at the Port of Little Rock. CZ-USA plans to implement a two-phase approach with an investment of up to $90 million and create some 565 jobs over a six-year period. Construction will begin immediately, with initial start-up planned for March 2020. Production at the Little Rock facility will commence in two, three-year phases. Click here to apply for a job as a “test firer,” among other roles.
GD2:Speer introduced a new Gold Dot bullet at the 2019 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Indianapolis, Indiana. Previously only offered to law enforcement, the Speer Gold Dot G2 self-defense bullet has a shallow dish filled with a high-performance elastomer. On impact, the material is forced into engineered internal fissures to start the expansion process. The loads are sold in 20-count boxes and available in 147-grain 9mm Luger, 180-grain 40 S&W and 230-grain 45 Auto +P, with MSRPs ranging from $28.95 to $32.95. Speer claims the GD2 will have uniform expansion, better separation of the petals, and more consistent penetration across barrier types through full-size handguns. We will soon find out.
RAM Truck Drivers, Listen Up: Tuffy Security Products has expanded its security-console insert product line with a new model for 2019 Dodge RAM pickup trucks. The new RAM Security Console Insert is concealed under the OEM sliding tray. Constructed of 16-gauge steel with a durable texture powder coat finish, the Model 354 slides directly into the existing OEM console. Comment: If you carry outside the house, you need some sort of secure storage in your vehicle.
Cease and Desist: Trailblazer Firearms, whose folding, single-shot .22 LifeCard pistol is the size of a stack of credit cards, has received a letter from the American Express Company demanding that Trailblazer remove any images or products that feature “the use of American Express’s trademarks including, … the image of American Express’s CENTURION Card and its component elements, as well as of the AMERICAN EXPRESS trademark, and on all websites and social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) where Trailblazer Firearms may be advertising, promoting, and/or offering its products.” Included in the letter dated March 27, 2019 is AMEX’s demand to provide them with the names and addresses of the individuals any products were sold to, plus the address of the individual whose name appears in the image associated with Exhibit 3 of the letter. Aaron Voigt, founder and president of Trailblazer Firearms, said many people don’t believe their marketing efforts that claim the gun is actually the size of a credit card. However, since their receipt of the cease and desist order from American Express, Trailblazer Firearms has agreed not to use the AMEX image in its marketing.
And This, from a Gun Tests Reader: “This is almost unbelievable, considering the ‘ammo panic’ during the last election cycle, but one of my local gun stores has 5000-round cases of 22 LR ammo for $149.95! That’s about 3 cents a round! This particular store stocks ammo by the skid, so volume rules, I guess. Considering that such ammo was sometimes offered at $100/brick at one time, now would be the window for all good men to buy and store!” — Art
Brod (CZUB) will build its North American headquarters and a new manufacturing facility on approximately 73 acres at the Port of Little Rock. CZ-USA plans to implement a two-phase approach with an investment of up to $90 million and create some 565 jobs over a six-year period. Construction will begin immediately, with initial start-up planned for March 2020. Production at the Little Rock facility will commence in two, three-year phases. Click hereto apply for a job as a “test firer,” among other roles.
GD2:Speer introduced a new Gold Dot bullet at the 2019 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in Indianapolis, Indiana. Previously only offered to law enforcement, the Speer Gold Dot G2 self-defense bullet has a shallow dish filled with a high-performance elastomer. On impact, the material is forced into engineered internal fissures to start the expansion process. The loads are sold in 20-count boxes and available in 147-grain 9mm Luger, 180-grain 40 S&W and 230-grain 45 Auto +P, with MSRPs ranging from $28.95 to $32.95. Speer claims the GD2 will have uniform expansion, better separation of the petals, and more consistent penetration across barrier types through full-size handguns. We will soon find out.
RAM Truck Drivers, Listen Up: Tuffy Security Products has expanded its security-console insert product line with a new model for 2019 Dodge RAM pickup trucks. The new RAM Security Console Insert is concealed under the OEM sliding tray. Constructed of 16-gauge steel with a durable texture powder coat finish, the Model 354 slides directly into the existing OEM console. Comment: If you carry outside the house, you need some sort of secure storage in your vehicle.
Cease and Desist: Trailblazer Firearms, whose folding, single-shot .22 LifeCard pistol is the size of a stack of credit cards, has received a letter from the American Express Company demanding that Trailblazer remove any images or products that feature “the use of American Express’s trademarks including, … the image of American Express’s CENTURION Card and its component elements, as well as of the AMERICAN EXPRESS trademark, and on all websites and social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) where Trailblazer Firearms may be advertising, promoting, and/or offering its products.” Included in the letter dated March 27, 2019 is AMEX’s demand to provide them with the names and addresses of the individuals any products were sold to, plus the address of the individual whose name appears in the image associated with Exhibit 3 of the letter. Aaron Voigt, founder and president of Trailblazer Firearms, said many people don’t believe their marketing efforts that claim the gun is actually the size of a credit card. However, since their receipt of the cease and desist order from American Express, Trailblazer Firearms has agreed not to use the AMEX image in its marketing.
And This, from a Gun Tests Reader: “This is almost unbelievable, considering the ‘ammo panic’ during the last election cycle, but one of my local gun stores has 5000-round cases of 22 LR ammo for $149.95! That’s about 3 cents a round! This particular store stocks ammo by the skid, so volume rules, I guess. Considering that such ammo was sometimes offered at $100/brick at one time, now would be the window for all good men to buy and store!” — Art
