I look forward to the internet coverage of the Shot Shows, and like many of my friends will be surfing various sites with Day 1, Day 2, etc information regarding new products, companies and the general business of firearms and associated products. So much better than back in the pre-internet days when you'd have to wait months for the gun media to get coverage published of the Shot Show.
I still read the magazine coverage months later, as it seems no one presents a real comprehensive coverage of what's shown there. I realize there are thousands of products but I'm always surprised later in the year when some cool item becomes available for sale and they say "it came out at the Shot Show this year" but I know darn well the several websites I saw coverage on didn't mention it."
Again, let me make this clear. I have no insider, or even current information about the firearms industry. These are just a wish list of mine of things I'd like to see. Past wish lists have included products that ultimately appeared like the Mare's Leg pistols. So obviously lots of people are thinking the same things I am about products they'd like to see.
WALTHER PPK/s in .22 LR
The Walther PPK/s in .22 has lots of folks curious in gun forums. It's a beloved pistol that hasn't been available in .22 LR caliber in America for decades, although Smith and Wesson has been producing or selling it in America for Walther for over 20 years now in .32 ACP and .380 calibers.
Unfortunately, all evidence including the suggested MSRP indicate this might be a "Walther by Umarex". Now, that could be cool or it could be a big let down. I own an Umarex .22 rifle that is a great gun, no problems, thousands of rounds over the years. But I've seen Umarex products that were, well, lacking in some quality metals.
Nonetheless, hope springs eternal for me since I really can't afford a REAL German made Walther PPK/s or PPK in .22 LR, one of the ones imported by Interarms pre-sometime in the 1980's. They go for a grand in just very good condition, easy, and sell so fast when the rare one appears on the used market for a reasonable price like they're giving them away.
So hope springs eternal that if it is an Umarex, that it's a good and solid Umarex and not just a sad replica or worse, a tribute to such a fine handgun. I've shot very nice Umarex guns, both handguns and rifles, and I know they are capable of making a great product. Let's hope this one is.
OTHER REPLICA HANDGUNS
I'm not interested in a Beretta M92 in .22 caliber, and I'm only interested in a few of the .22 1911's out there. I do enjoy the Browning 1911-22 handgun and it's a hard gun to beat. Too bad more of the full size 1911's in .22 are not made to the same quality as the Browning version.
I WOULD, however, PAY REAL U.S. DOLLARS for a quality .22 LR or even 9mm version of the classic Mauser Bolo pistol or...wait for it...a Luger P-08 in .22 LR.
I'm not sure I can proffer any reason I need a Bolo, other than they are a great handgun and a part of history. One in an affordable caliber to shoot like .22 would be very fun indeed.
Stoeger made an attempt to make a great and cheap copy of the Luger. For whatever reason, I shot several that belonged to friends and they were pretty much all jam-o-matic. So I never bought one, although they show up in excellent condition on the used market all the time at fairly reasonable prices.
But I know folks who claim nothing but good luck with the Stoeger Luger .22's, and they're reputable reporters. Seems like with all the new metals and plastics that whatever problems the Stoeger might have had could be remedied with some new design. I don't recall the Stoeger being made of top quality metal to begin with. It'd be cool to see a polymer framed Luger and I wonder if anyone is working on doing anything with any of these old guns in terms of replicas?
The Luger would be a great replica pistol to buy in .22 L.R. and for sure if you had a good weapon you could sell as many as you could make.
I'd like to see a a Umarex made version of the venerable Heckler and Koch P7K3 in .22.
HEY H-K R and D Department:
I think consumers would buy a .22 only version of the P7. For one, it's a fine quality and highly accurate and reliable handgun to shoot. Two, it's one of the safest guns ever made, in the opinion of me and many others. Three, most of us guys who admire and own P7's can't afford the .22 version even if we could find one. Fourth, it's a great self defense weapon and lots of folks do opt for a .22 LR for self defense, whether the gun experts like it or not. Finally, as a gun safety freak, I think there is a market for this gun as a safer home defense and CHL weapon, again for those already choosing a .22 for self defense, and in more than 30 years of carry of various P7's I've always felt more comfortable with the P7 operating safety system than that of any other semi-auto.
Lots of folks more knowledgeable about handguns agree with me on the safety aspect of the P7.
The H-K P7K3 was a very excellent .22 LR gun. It didn't use the same gas system to operate as the 9mm and .40 caliber versions did, instead, it used a blowback action, and I'd assume this was because of the lesser energy provided by the .22 LR. The gun was also unique in that it had a replaceable barrel and mag assembly to allow the gun to be changed to .32 ACP and .380.
I don't need these centerfire cartridge conversions in a replica or remake of the P7K3. I just want a pistol as pictured above that is a squeeze cocker and has a lanyard ring in 22 Caliber L.R.
It would be too cool for a replica/remake to offer a caliber conversion from .22 LR to 5.7 x 28mm, and to have a threaded barrel on each.
The P7K3, either individually or in the kits of multi-caliber, were always more expensive than the regular P7 PSP and M8 versions.
Of course, I'd gladly pay the extra hundreds of dollars for a REAL HK German made version of the P7K3 in .22 LR only, it's far more likely someone like Umarex might license it out and make it their way.
COMBINATION GUNS, DRILLINGS AND DOUBLE RIFLES-AFFORDABLE AND VERSATILE
I've been surprised that foreign gun makers like Yildiz, who make a pretty decent Turkish made shotgun through the Academy Sporting Goods chain, are not making some double rifles like the Russian gun maker Baikal.
Baikal has long made cool combination guns in various centerfire and shotgun combos. Some have been marketed by Remington. Likewise, they make a double rifle in either .30-06 or .45-70, and on their Russian language website they offer it in .308 as well.
The Baikal double rifles go for anywhere from $850 to a grand retail in Texas. Their combo guns go for a similar range but a couple of hundred dollars less. The Baikal shotguns I've seen, although a bit on the heavy side, are built like tanks and have good fit and finish. The woodwork is great but finishing lacks.
A few years ago, when the Baikal double and combos were selling either under the EAA or USSG or Remington brand, they were going for much less than they are now. Most other guns, particularly Russian guns, have not had such a steep price hike in the same years.
Apparently, the Turkish maker of the Yildiz shotguns is quite competent. I've watched their quality improve drastically over the past 2 years, to the point where I'd really like to buy one of their 4.4 pound sxs .410 shotguns.
But I'd really like to have a Yildiz double rifle, and in 7.62 x 39mm caliber. That would be a light recoiling and fun and cheap gun to shoot. It'd be just a cool and even cheaper to have one chambered in 7.62 x 54r, and although far more powerful than the 7.62 x 39 round, there is much more recoil as a result. Much like a .30-06 in recoil.
How much would it take to make a double rifle when you are already making SXS shotguns? Make the barrel and receiver a bit beefier, but using roughly the same firing mechanism and such, and it seems like a very feasible task.
Not to mention all the other companies that could be selling a nice double rifle. Ruger. Remington. Mossberg. Marlin. The list goes on and on.
I hope the eons of hog hunting that generations of folks will be doing to try to control the hog population spawn some sort of interest in using cheap doubles as hog guns. Besides, some of the huge feral hogs in Texas could survive and hold their own in deepest, darkest Africa and India where most of the real Most Dangerous Game live. A nice double in the right caliber is good hog medicine.
Or for that matter, a drilling. I'm fascinated with drillings as hog hunting weapons, although I'd probably be more likely to buy and carry a double rifle than a drilling due to the weight of the latter, but I wonder why they are not more popular in America.
I think a drilling in some kind of popular caliber like .223 or .30-30 along with a one shotgun barrel would be a great gun. Likewise, if it sold for a reasonable price, what about a .22/.410 drilling? I'm undecided whether I'd want two rifle barrels or two shotgun barrels in any of the drillings. Good arguments can be made for each arrangement.
Chiappa is one maker that is making some guns I like. They've got a nice looking folding combo .22/.410 (and maybe .22 WMR) rifle, as well as a single shot .22, called the Double and Single Badger respectively, and they're priced right as far as I've heard and look to be nicely made guns, especially the Double Badger.
I hope Chiappa looks into the double rifle business. I think there are hunters and sportsman and target shooters worldwide who will never make it to Africa on safari using a double or who could even afford an "inexpensive" quality double (me on both counts) who would like to have a reasonably priced double. About $500 is reasonable for the fit and finish I'm going to expect on the product.
I know Chiappa is coming out with a "triple threat" 3 barreled shotgun, and I'd be standing in line for one if it were not so overpriced, at least as far as they are saying what it will sell for now.
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