ROCK ISLAND, Ill – A firearms auction house in Illinois has sold President Theodore Roosevelt’s Colt revolver for $1.4 million. The sale came on the second day of Rock Island Auction Company’s three day December event dubbed “The Sale of the Century.” The Colt Single Action Army revolver was ordered as a gift for Roosevelt’s 54th birthday. Factory engraved and silver plated, it was shipped four days before his birthday, just over a week prior to the election of 1912, and ten days prior to his assassination attempt in Milwaukee, WI. Read more

PRESCOTT, Ariz. – Davidson’s, one of the nation’s top firearms wholesalers, has partnered with Automated Finishing and Colt’s Manufacturing to bring to market this very special edition Colt Python revolver.

The re-introduction of the iconic Colt Python brought a singular focus to Davidson’s purchasing team – make a special edition only available through Davidson’s. Working in conjunction with Automated Finishing, Davidson’s was able to design an exquisite engraved version of the 6” barreled model of the new Python.

The engraving is armory-grade cut engraving and encompasses the barrel, full underlug, frame, and backstrap. The top of the rib is left matte stainless to cut glare while sighting. Read more

Leaders of the Professional Outdoor Media Association, the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, and the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers have partnered to host an industry-exclusive event at the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s Talladega Marksmanship Park in Talladega, AL, on March 8, 2021. The inaugural Shooting Sports Showcase is designed to give firearms industry representatives a day to showcase new products to members of the media, dealers, and wholesalers. Read more

PRESCOTT, Ariz. – A time-tested classic gets a modern treatment with Davidson’s latest Exclusive developed in conjunction with Winchester Repeating Arms.

This Exclusive Model 70 has a FDE Cerakote finish on the barrel, receiver, bolt handle, trigger guard, and floorplate.

The synthetic Monte-Carlo style stock is finished with True Timber Strata camo. Strata incorporates both macro and micro camo schematics. The macro design breaks up the human outline at all distances while the micro design melts into any terrain at close range. Read more

Tampa, FL – B&T, Inc. is proud to announce the United States Air Force has purchased B&T APC9K PRO platforms. These ultra-compact weapon systems are destined for specialized service and close personal protection use within the branch.

“B&T is honored to have our APC9K PRO selected by the United States Air Force. We’re pleased to know that specially trained Airmen will be equipped with the finest equipment available to not only ensure their personal safety during challenging assignments, but contribute to the overall success of their mission,” stated Jon Scott, Vice President of Sales, B&T USA.

The United States Air Force is the second branch of service to purchase APC9K PRO sub compact weapon systems after identifying an operational need for a highly concealable, sub machine gun. At less than 15-inches in length, the APC9K is optimized for low visibility carriage and discreet deployment; use in and around vehicles, and within confined spaces — all while delivering unsurpassed accuracy, controllability and ergonomics. Read more

Dallas, TX – Rival Arms™, manufacturer of precision firearm components for do-it-yourself gun enthusiasts, announces all colors for the R-22 Precision Chassis System for Ruger® 10/22®-style barreled actions are now available. Rival Arms, known for premium handgun components, expands into the world of performance rimfire upgrades beginning with the R-22 chassis.

The Ruger® 10/22® barreled action is known in the rimfire rifle community to be prolific, reliable, and easily upgradable. Rival Arms enhances this platform with the R-22 Precision Chassis System. Designed for use with 10/22®-style barreled actions featuring a 1-inch maximum barrel diameter, the R-22 chassis is CNC-machined from billet aluminum for precise consistency, strength, and rigidity. Weighing in at only one pound, the aluminum maintains the lightweight design of the 10/22 platform. The chassis will soon be available through dealers and distributors in hard black anodized finish as well as a KG GunKote Flat Dark Earth (FDE) and Satin Gray finishes. Like all Rival Arms products, the R-22 Chassis is proudly made in the USA by American workers. Read more

NEWINGTON, N.H. – SIG SAUER, Inc. is pleased to introduce the MOD-X9 Pistol Suppressor. The MOD-X9 is the first release of SIG SAUER’s modular line of pistol suppressors made of titanium baffles for the ultimate in lightweight strength and performance that allows the user to personalize their suppressor for overall length, weight, and sound.

“SIG SAUER was the first to innovate and design the first truly modular pistol with the P320, and we’re now excited to bring new, innovative modularity to our line of suppressors with the MOD-X series of suppressors,” began Tom Taylor, Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Vice President, Commercial Sales, SIG SAUER, Inc. “The MOD-X9 is designed for 9mm pistols and rifles, is easily configurable allowing the user to choose the amount of baffles to optimize sound, length, and weight.”

The SIG SAUER MOD-X9 Suppressor is comprised of seven, 3D-printed titanium baffles and an encapsulator with 21-points of impact adjustment. The length is adjustable from 3.25 inches to 7.5 inches, the weight is adjustable from 5 ounces to 8 ounces, and the sound is adjustable from 127.4dB to 145.3dB. The suppressor is easily, user-configurable and comes with two pistons, disassembly tools, ½ x 28 and 13.1 pistons, and a fixed-barrel spacer and includes the most popular inch and metric position for its given caliber. Read more

The adjusted NICS numbers from the National Shooting Sports Foundation came out yesterday afternoon. As you may have surmised, 2020 -despite being a crazy year- has been a very good one for the firearms industry. It could mean a vote of confidence in shooting sports or a nervous public trying to assuage their nervousness about the future. Your answer, like the mileage in your car, may vary with local conditions.

Looking at the numbers, Black Friday -the day, showed a slight dip in sales. Overall, however, the Black Friday weekend numbers were higher. Hopefully, that’s a reflection of retailers realizing that they’re going to actually have more sales if they space their Black Friday “specials” out over the weekend. A smothered NICS system on Black Friday isn’t helpful for overall results. The NSSF’s been preaching that lesson to member retailers- hopefully, some have started to take the lesson to heart.

Overall, the 4-Day total of adjusted NICS numbers is up 4.2 percent over 2019, with a total of 417,465 checks this year versus 400,681 in 2019.

Cyber Monday produced some eye-popping numbers, with totals up 65.2% over 2019. That’s 123,797 checks versus 74,926 in 2019. Big numbers.

Overall, November 2020’s numbers were another record. The November 2020 NSSF-adjusted NICS figures: 1,949,141- an increase of 45.2 percent over 2019-the previous record year.

Year-to-Date, we’ve seen 19.1 million adjusted NICS checks -a record setting year for firearms sales. According to the NSSF’s Retailer Surveys, nearly 7.7 million people were first-time firearms buyers in 2020.

This from from NSSF’s Director of Public Affairs, Mark Oliva:

“November background checks are in line with what we’ve seen all year long. Americans continue to purchase firearms at record pace for a variety of reasons, including concerns for personal safety, onerous gun control plans by a Biden-Harris administration and for lawful purposes including recreational shooting, hunting and self-defense.

“The fact that the pace of these sales hasn’t slowed since March shows Americans value their Second Amendment freedoms and will exercise the right to keep and bear arms of their choosing.

“Politicians looking for a mandate on firearms should examine the record setting figures Americans are posting every month with firearm sales. Americans have told their elected representatives more than 19 million times exactly where their voters stand when it comes to their rights, more than 7.5 million making that declaration publicly for the first time in their lives.”