SHOT Show '99 writers' picks - Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show

Shooting Industry, April, 1999

Navy Arms Un-holsters .44 Russian, Cimarron Pockets Lightning And Opens Colt's Top

By John Taffin STAFF WRITER

SHOT Show '99 was definitely the show of the decade for handgunners. Never have I seen so many new offerings from all of the major as well as many of the minor players. If the public responds the way the manufacturers are anticipating, it should be a great year for sales.

Cowboy shooting continues to grow and so do the number of sixgun offerings.

The last sixgun chambered in .44 Russian was offered sometime around World War I. Now the Russian is back with brass from Starline, ammunition from Black Hills, and a beautiful new old sixgun from Navy Arms. A classmate of the original Colt Single Action Army of the 1870s, the New Model Russian is now offered as a replica. This break-top revolver features a color case-hardened spur trigger guard, latch and hammer with the balance of the gun blued. It will be offered with the same 6 1/2-inch barrel length as the original. Suggested retail is $745 with a dealer price of $550.

Cimarron is offering two more cowboy shooting sixguns that are from the same time frame as the .44 Russian.

The Single Action Pocket Lightning is a scaled down version of Cimarron's New Thunderer and is offered with a barrel marked ".38 Colt." Actually, the initial chambering is .38 Special with a barrel length of 3 1/2 inches. This little sixgun retails for a suggested $369 with a dealer price of $269.

From the 1871-1872 era, Cimarron brings us the Colt Open Top. The Open Top is a real part of handgun history and will be chambered in .44 caliber like the original, with the difference being that it will handle .44 Russian, .44 Colt and .44 Special ammunition. The first guns will have 7 1/2-inch barrels with 4 3/4- and 5 1/2-inch to follow. This should also be a great seller among cowboy shooters, especially those with a real bent to the authentic style. Suggested retail price is $595 with a dealer tag of $450.

RCBS Hand Primes APS, Redding Seats Competition Bullets

By Charles E. Petty STAFF WRITER

A couple of years ago RCBS introduced theft APS system for priming cases. The primers are pre-loaded in plastic strips of 25, so you never have to handle loose primers. It's an improvement in both convenience and safety. Two versions of the system were offered. One was mounted in the threads of a loading press, the other separately on the bench. But a lot of people like to use hand-held tools. RCBS now has one that uses the APS strips with the convenience of hand priming.

There are three novel features of the new hand-priming tool. Foremost is a "universal" shell holder. One of the possible pitfalls with other APS units is that you have to use a small plastic bushing and standard shell holder. Neither of those are required with the hand unit. Instead, a pair of spring-loaded, wedge-shaped sections serve the shell-holder function. They expand as needed to accommodate cases from .22 centerfires to big magnums.

Redding's Competition dies have brought a new level of precision to reloading rifle cases. Now the same is available for most popular handgun cartridges.