Author: Aaron

Aaron is a sergeant with a midwestern police department, where he serves as a trainer, supervisor and SWAT sniper. In addition to his broad tactical knowledge, Aaron is an experienced hunter using bow and both modern and blackpowder firearms.

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Rifles

CZ550 Urban Counter Sniper Rifle

CZ 550 Sniper Rifle

There are many names in quality sniper rifles, and CZ now appears ready to add their name to the contenders. CZ was showing off their CZ 550 Urban Counter Sniper rifle at the 2012 SHOT Show. The rifle design showed a lot of promise, and the materials addressed many needs of tactical operators. If the CZ 550 is made with the same care and craftsmanship of the famous CZ-75 or the new CZ P-07 Duty pistols, this rifle should begin making a name for itself in short order.

CZ 550 Sniper Rifle

This area of firearms is not one to be entered lightly, as the competition is fierce. There are heavy hitters in the form of Remington, Savage, Accuracy International, H-S Precision, and G&A Precision. In the European market, and a lessor influence in America, there is Steyr. The Remington 700 is perhaps the cornerstone of all American sniper rifles dating back to the 1960s, and still holds a commanding influence and market share.

CZ 550 Urban Counter Sniper Rifle

Chambered in .308 Winchester, perhaps the most widely used police sniper caliber in America, the CZ 550 looks to offer a few features to set it apart from some of the big names in this arena. At first glance the viewer immediately recognizes that this rifle is designed for compact carry and maneuvers. There seems to be a definite acknowledgment of Col. Jeff Cooper’s ideas and requirements for a scout rifle. This rifle is compact, . 30 caliber, and has a 10-round detachable magazine. The rifle comes with a olive green coated barrel, and a black stock with green paint looking splashes.

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Rifles

S&W M&P 15 VTAC II

S&W M&P15 VTAC Rifle

Smith & Wesson has been busy retaking the law enforcement and personal defense world with their M&P series that there weren’t too many new things to view at their booth this year. However, I did find the VTAC II M&P 15 and I thought I’d share it with you. Nothing earth shattering in design, but a nice combination.

S&W M&P15 VTAC Rifle

This is a standard semi-auto M&P15 .556 mm AR-15 style rifle with Viking Tactical (VTAC) furniture, which compliments the M&P 15 nicely. S&W made this a mid- length platform and claims that this will lower recoil and increase accuracy, along with higher 2nd shot hit probability.

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Rifles

Olympic Arms K16 300 SST IN .300 BLK

Olympic Arms 300 BLK

[Aaron caught up with Olympic Arms at the 2012 SHOT Show and took a look at their new K16 300 SST chambered for the 300 BLK cartridge.]

By now most readers will realize that there has been an explosion in rifle offerings in .300 Blackout (BLK). The .300 Blackout cartridge came about to fulfill the desires of shooters who wanted to shoot .30 caliber bullets, but didn’t want to lose the capacity and weight advantages of shooting traditional 5.56mm AR-15 rifles.

Olympic Arms 300 BLK

The .300 BLK is a very unique .30 caliber cartridge. Instead of bulking up the casing and powder weights to accommodate the .30 caliber bullet, the .300 BLK starts with the same 5.56mm casing that is the standard for AR-15 platforms. From there the casing is necked up, or expanded out at the neck, to accept the .30 caliber bullet. The rest of the casing is the same as the 5.56mm casing along with powder weights. The end result is a .30 caliber bullet fired from basically the same casing as the traditional 5.56mm cartridge.

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Rifles

New Stag Arms 3G

Stag 3G rifle

Stag Arms had their new 3G model displayed at the 2012 SHOT Show. Available since October of last year, Stag specifically designed the 3G to excel at 3-gun competitions that require a variety of long range and short range shots.

Stag 3G rifle

THE NEW MODEL 3

Last year Stag introduced the New Model 3, which upgraded the first Model 3 from a simple “optics ready” (top rail) carbine, to an optics ready and accessory ready carbine. Stag included a Diamondhead V-RS modular rail system handguard to accomplish that improvement, but what surprised many was that Stag did not increase the price of the carbine with the upgraded handguard (a $109 value). The new model 3 remained available for only $895. Those versions were gas-impingement rifles, but with the upgraded handguard and inexpensive price, the new Model 3 remains a popular option with AR shooters.

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Rifles

Rock River LAR-47

Rock River LAR-47

Aaron got a close look at the Rock River LAR-47 at the 2012 SHOT Show.  Here are his thoughts on the rifle.

Rock River Arms (RRA) has become one of the hottest AR-15 rifle manufactures in the country. Brothers Mark and Chuck Larson founded the company in 1996, after spending about 15 years as armorers with Springfield Armory, Les Baer Custom, and Eagle Arms – where they worked on AR platforms.

The RRA LAR-15 rifles and 2-stage triggers have become synonymous with quality craftsmanship. It was that quality that led the DEA to award RRA a contract for patrol rifles back in 2003, beating out several of the majors rifles for the bid. That bid alone may have propelled RRA into the AR market spotlight at an early age when most weapon manufacturers are still trying to work out the bugs of their brand name. RRA has excelled at making excellent rifles, and the number of agencies and personal owners has increased accordingly.

Rock River LAR-47

Though they have experience building 1911 pistols, RRA has for years focused their attention solely on AR-15 rifle platforms.

That is until now!

At the 2012 SHOT SHOW Rock River Arms announced that in 2012 they will begin distribution of the RRA LAR-47 CAR A4 – a sweet combination of the AR-15 and AK-47 platforms that RRA calls a match made in heaven. I talked with RRA representative, Steve Mayer about this truly unique innovation in the rifle market.

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