BORELLI CONSULTING: Tactical Equipment Reviews

SHOT Show 2007!
Firearms

Blackwater 7.62mm X 39mm AR-15
During my stop(s) at the Blackwater booth I had the good fortune to have Gary Jackson, President of Blackwater, show me their new AR-15 chambered in 7.62mm X 39mm. My first thought was, "Oh, cool: an AR that shoots the most common ammo available 'over there'." While we - the gun community - debate caliber effectiveness and loads; while we create new cartridges like the 6.8SPC or the 6.5 Grendel; while we spend research and development dollars, Blackwater took a known and proven rifle system (the AR) and built it to accept a proven 7.62mm cartridge. How smart was that? Pretty smart to me. One of the biggest complaints about the 5.56mm NATO round is that it just doesn't pack enough punch. "I miss my M14," I've heard some vets say. While there's a great deal to be said about the 7.62mm round we enjoy belt-feeding through an M60, it's a heavy round to put through a personal rifle and it's overall size limits capacity. The 7.62mm X 39mm presents a ready compromise between overall size and caliber. I like the idea....

Sabre Defense Industries / Sphinx .45ACP
Last year at SHOT Show I saw the Sphinx pistols that Sabre Defence Industries (SDI) is importing. They are reminiscent of the CZ pistols, but built to much more exacting standards. Just like the SDI rifles, the Sphinx pistols are manufactured to tighter tolerances and show excellent levels of quality control and workmanship. The Sphinx 45 felt good in my hand. It didn't have that "almost too big to feel good" feeling, but instead the grip felt comparible to a polymer frame 9mm / .40S&W size frame. The weight was noticeable and waht you'd expect from a steel pistol. It felt about the same as my 1911, but noticeably heavier than my Glocks - as it should be. One of my goals this year is to get one of these pistols for Test & Evaluation. Look for that at some future point. I should also mention that many of the SDI rifles - all built on the AR platform - are available in 6.55 Grendel. I have no experience with that caliber / cartridge and just recently learned to enjoy the 6.8SPC - so maybe I'll have to try one of those out as well. I will keep the readership informed if I do.

Taurus 24/7 OSS
I mentioned this pistol in my SHOT Show PREview. I like the idea of a polymer frame pistol in .45ACP with a 5" or 5.5" barrel and decent capacity. Enter the Taurus 24/7 OSS. Available in .45ACP (12+1 round capacity), .40S&W (15+1 capacity), or 9mm (17+1 capacity), the OSS has a 5.25" barrel. In a very odd twist, according to the Taurus published information, the .45ACP is lighter than the 9mm, but both weigh in right at about two pounds (32 ounces). Notable features of the Taurus 24/7 pistols are:
- Second strike capability. Unlike other "safe action" weapons that don't have an external hammer and aren't true double action, if your cartridge fails to detonate on the first striker hit, rather than having to immediately run a stoppage drill, you simply pull the trigger again.
- Manual safety. While this may be unnecessarily redundant, there are those who like it and don't want to purcahse a weapon without it. That's there choice. If you like the gun but don't like the manual safety... don't use it. Again, I hope to get my hands on one of these this year. I'm thinking the .45ACP is the way to go...

Kriss Super V
I wrote this weapon briefly in last weeks' quick look at SHOT Show. This patent pending design from Transformational Defense Industries, Inc. (TDII) is a truly new evolution in subgun design. Sporting a 5.5" barrel and using standard Glock .45ACP magazines, the weapon incorporates a unique recoil system that redirects the rear inertia of the bolt DOWN in between the magazine and the trigger. As you can see from the picture to the right, the weapon does vaguely resemble a broomhandle Mauser, but with some Star Wars thrown in.

Grip and trigger to the rear; recoil system immediately in front of that; magazine in front fo that. In comparing the muzzle climb of various caliber weapons, TDII determined that the following weapons have more climb than the .45ACP in the Kriss Super V subgun:
MP5A3: three times more
M9 Pistol: 13 times more
M1911 Pistol: 15 times more
While that might be hard to believe, consider this: the recoil from the fired shot is transfered to the bolt which (usually) travels back in a linear fashion. With the Kriss Super V the rearword inertia is redirected almost 90 degrees so that the recoil energy offsets the muzzle climb. Very cool. I'm not sure I can get my Chief of Police to sign for one of these for T&E - but I'll keep you informed as best I can.

Kimber
Kimber America released a number of new pistol variations at SHOT and some of them look very interesting...
The TLE II is a copy of the gun Kimber makes for the LAPD SWAT team. Now Kimber makes a shortened version of the gun they've dubbed the Pro TLE II. Featuring a 4" barrel and sporting 30LPI frontstrap checkering, this .45ACP is sure to become another LE favorite.

Kimber has also released a line they call "Covert": The Custom Covert II, the Pro Covert II and the Ultra Covert II. In order those pistols are full size, mid-size and compact. The Pro has a 4" barrel while the Ultra has a 3" barrel. All have machined aluminum frames, digital desert Crimson Trace grips, coyote tan (approaching a light shade of OD green) frame and black oxide.

Another Kimber line is the Aegis: Custom, Pro and Ultra Aegis IIs. (Ultra Aegis II shown left) These 9mm pistols are sized like those mentioned above. The full and mid-size Aegis carry nine rounds of 9mm while the Ultra carries 8.

BE SAFE!

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Back to main SHOT Show 2007 page

Don't forget to check out our Recreational Equipment Review with a look at the off-duty and play stuff we saw at SHOT Show.

This week's Training Article, about the lack of value in negotiations and oaths with or from people who justify lying to gain what they want.

For a listing of all reviews in chronological order, GO HERE.

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