Mr. B asked me to check on the Remington/Para situation- The answer is that Para parts/warranty repairs will be done by Remington ONLY for guns purchased after Remington’s 2011 acquisition.
Finally got to put my paws on the new Glock 43.
Hearing and reading all the negatives about Glock being late, it’s going to take sales away from the G42, G26 and G19, it’s ugly Tupperwear. In other words the normal meme…
It’s on the left, next to the G42. It’s a half inch longer.
It is as thin as the G42, and ‘feels’ about like my Kahr. I like the lengthened backstrap, seen above, that allows you to get a high grip on the pistol and not get bit by the slide. 
I don’t have a overly large hand but even with the ‘short’ magazine, it still feels like it would be as controllable as a G26.
In other news, Charter Arms ENTIRE shipment of 60 guns has gone missing… Seems that Yellow Freight has ‘misplaced’ them.
I finally got a chance to coon finger the new Walther CCP, this is an unusual pistol in that the slide is actually VERY easy to rack. They’ve done a rather interesting design, and the recoil spring is lighter than normal. This would be a great pistol for those who don’t have the hand/arm strength to rack a slide in the usual way. Might be a player for smaller women and elderly/disabled shooters. MSRP is about $489.
And it’s BACCKKK… Remington R51s will start shipping in Jun. Redesigned from a cam ejection lever (which was getting peened and caused the gun to FTE) to a lever ejector. The rep fully admitted they’d screwed up, and they listened to the customers.
This is the little RM380. It’s small and would work for a pocket pistol. Trigger is supposedto be 10 lbs, and it stacks at the very end of the pull, but breaks clean. The reset is a bit long (for me), but it seems to be pretty consistent.
Got me to thinking about the whole gun culture response and in the bigger picture the response of John Q. Public to anything ‘new’ like the G43 and some of the other things we’ve seen today…
What if we compared guns to cars? This is just ‘my’ little analogy…
Who is the Ford of the gun world? Colt- Been doing the same thing for years. The 1911 is the Ford Pickup. It works. Maybe a little finicky, but if you like ’em, you keep em. The T-Bird was the Python. Gone now but a collector’s item.
Who is the Chevy of the gun world? S&W- Old reliable. Comfortable like a family sedan. Innovating when they have to, but mainly staid and conservative. A law enforcement favorite. Their Corvette is the J frame Snubbie. Still improving it today.
Chrysler? I’d say Ruger- The mechanical underpinnings are good, fit and finish leaves a bit to be desired sometimes. A bit complicated, but the simple pieces run forever if you maintain them. Like the 10-22 and the MK 1-3s
Mercedes? Probably H&K- Heavy, expensive, Teutonic efficiency. Pretty close to bullet proof, minor improvements year after year…
Porsche? I’d say Sig- ‘Sporty’ with multiple sizes but the same basic foundation. I bit complicated, and not for the average users.
VW? I’d give that one to Glock- Boxy, ugly, but reliable as the day is long. You either love them or hate them. If you love them, you probably have two or three. Kinda like the VW bug.
Fiat? That’s a tough one maybe Beretta- Been around forever. Some real home runs, some that fizzled. Not necessarily the most stylish at times, but pretty reliable if you keep the maintenance up.
Lamborghini? This one I’d have to lump a few folks into- Ed Brown, Les Baer, Billy Laughridge, Bill Wilson, Richard Heinie, Luke Volkmann, Jim Garthwaite, Ted Yost, and others. Excellent customs, built to order. You’re going to pay a pretty penny, and probably wait a while, but you get a masterpiece when it’s done. Built to your specifications.
The analogy may not be true to the actual form, but ‘I’ do see a lot of parallels… I’ve been in both worlds, and the same attitudes on both sides. Some historical precedents, some fairy tales, and a whole bunch of misinformation, legends, and flat out BS…
I look at SHOT and the NRA AM as comparable to SEMA. Big shows, lots of ‘new’ things being put out there, never enough time to see it all, and when it’s all said and done, maybe one ‘nugget’ you actually remember and come back home and put your hard earned dollars down on.
Anybody think of any better ones? Or maybe other viable comparisons?
