SHOT Show Day 4

Day 4 of SHOT Show started out with a great surprise...we were able to meet Olympian Kim Rhode.  She is an absolute sweetheart!  She even let me wear her medals.  How cool is that? She was there supporting Truck Vault.  They make vehicle equipment storage solutions for trucks, cars and SUVs.  It is a fabulous way to store our most valuable items...our guns.

Next, we came across Prois. They make hunting and field apparel for women.  I know from personal experience that it is difficult to find shooting and outdoor clothing made for women.  There are very limited options.  I have had to resort to wearing men's pants more times than I would like to mention and I know that I am not the only one.  All of their clothes are tailored to fit women.  Prois makes everything from clothing to gear and accessories all for women.



Voodoo Tactical has a line called Lady Voodoo which I love.  They have rifle bags, range bags, pistol cases, and backpacks that come in purple and pink.  My AR15 is dressed up in pink, but I really do like all of their purple gear.  I think I should get one of each.




We had the privilege of speaking with Rob Pincus and Michael Janich.  In addition to many other accomplishments they have both instructed on the tv show Best Defense. We originally met Rob Pincus at the 2013 NRA Annual Meeting in Houston where we were able to attend some of his seminars and purchase his book Counter Ambush.  On day 4 of SHOT Rob had his AR that he is in the process of finishing.  I can easily say that it is the lightest AR that I have ever had the pleasure of holding.

Springfield announced their new XDs 4.0 this year.  I was very intrigued since I had made an XDs 3.3 my newest conceal carry handgun last year.  The are identical except for the barrel length.  We might just have to add a 4.0 to our collection.



Since you are reading this shooting blog I am confident that you already know who Jim and John Scoutten are but in case for some crazy reason that you don't they are both producers and hosts of the tv show Shooting USA.  It was a pleasure meeting them, being able to tell them how much we love their show, and talking with them about how we share our love of shooting together.

Another great find today was the new bolt action rifle made by Drake Associates.  They will be releasing it within the next couple of months.  It will be a lighter more compact rifle that is suitable for law enforcement as well as civilian use for both long range competition and hunting applications.  Some of you already know that we have a Remington 700 in an XLR Evolution chassis.  This rifle really interests us because we have been on the lookout for another long range rifle.

I am always extra excited to meet a female competitive shooter so I was psyched when we ran into Melissa Gilliland.  She is also certified firearms instructor, co-host of Trigger Time TV, and co-owner of Shadow 6 Consulting with her husband Jim.  Not only does she share her love of shooting with her husband as I do with mine, but she and I share the love of our Hello Kitty Punisher patch! Coincidence? I don't think so.  I got a real kick out of the fact that we both had one on us.  If you look really hard at our picture you can see them.

There are a few others we met but were not able to get a picture with such as Will Hayden, Kris Ford, and Stephanie Hayden Ford of Red Jacket.  We also saw Larry Vickers, Ted Nugent, Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell, Lena Miculek Afentul, and Jerry and Kay Miculek but we did not get the opportunity to meet them.  I was simply amazed at all of the fabulous people at the show.

Day 4 of SHOT Show was a very busy day and we were sad when it came to an end.  We saw a lot of great things, met a lot of awesome people, and of course enjoyed the time that we had together.

SHOT Show Day 3

Day three of SHOT Show was another amazing day.  We did our best to make a dent in what there was left to see.  Our favorite gun of the day was this 1911 from Cabot Guns.  The slide is made of damascus steel and the grips are made from mammoth tooth.  This is one beautiful handgun.

We were able to meet Brian Zins and William Bethards from Top Shot.  We are both huge fans of the show and were super excited to meet them and really enjoyed talking to them.  They are both former Marines and are competitive shooters.  Brian is a 12 time national pistol champion.  William has won national and state 3-gun championships.  He also won the Gold Lauchheimer trophy which is awarded each year to the top rifle and pistol shooter in the Marine Corps. 

As we made our way through the show we began to notice a theme...very large and very cool trucks.  They are completely decked out with huge tires, gadgets, and amazing paint jobs.  Now, if only we could pack a few guns from the show and drive one of them home.

At the end of the day, we were fortunate to run into actor Michael Rooker and competitive shooters Taran Butler and Julie Golob.  Taran Butler and Julie Golob are world champion shooters and I am sure you have seen at least a few movies or tv shows such as The Walking Dead with Michael Rooker.  All I can say is WOW!  I was really starstruck and Gene practically had to pick my jaw up off the floor. I was like a giddy little girl, but then it is appropriate since I am one. Not only are all the people we met extremely talented but they are super nice too. 

We topped off the day by going to dinner with friends at Hash House A Go Go.  We have never seen such large servings of food and it was fantastic.  Without a doubt we ate way too much but with all of the walking we did we earned it.

SHOT Show Days 1 and 2

The first two days of SHOT have flown by.  We spent most of our first day traveling and getting settled at our hotel, but we did manage to spend a few hours at the show.  After taking the "scenic" route to the show, we spent the few hours we had just mapping out the show since it is on different floors and in multiple rooms at the Sands Convention Center.

We met up with our friends, Vic and Julie, of Diversified Defense [Cedar Park, TX]. After a brief stop at the hotel for a fresh change of clothes and a quick bite of NY style pizza, we all headed to the Cosmopolitan Hotel for ITS Tactical's Meet and Greet. It was held at the hotels really cool bar [cool lights, good music and dancing girls] and the drinks were strong but EXPENSIVE! After that we headed back to the hotel for much needed rest. 

On day two we were able to catch up with some friends we know in the shooting industry and snag some cool gear and swag. We also made some great contacts that we will definitely be putting to use in the future. We picked Gene up a really cool Multi-cam jacket from Otte Gear that we will be doing a review on soon. It fits me really well too and I sure enjoyed wearing it during the walk back to the hotel. I think I am going to claim this one and make Gene get his own....again! haha  

We got to check out a Tavor at TangoDown and some amazing products by Crye Precision and Drifire.  I am really looking forward to getting a Drifire shirt in purple. A company after my own heart. Love!!  At the end of the day, we strolled through the Venetian on the way back to the hotel and enjoyed the fabulous view.  We had dinner with friends at KGB where I had my first Lamb Burger. Wow! It was awesome! I might have to have one more before we leave.

We are looking forward to another fun filled day today and wonder what new things we will get to see and share with you.

Vegas Baby, Yeah!

Well, here we are just a few days before we leave for SHOT Show and it doesn't feel like we have anything done! Christy starts her first day of vacation today but I am stuck working on Monday [long story]! At least we have this weekend together to try to get prepared for the trip. This trip to Vegas will be a combination of work and a whole lot of pleasure [not EVERYTHING that happens in Vegas will be posted here! lol] . We are looking forward to hanging out with friends, making some new ones and also making some new business contacts. Overall, this will be a great break for us since we have been working a lot of hours, and combined with creating this blog, we haven't had a whole lot of time together since the start of the Holidays. We will definitely blog about each day of the SHOT Show so everyone who didn't get to go can share in the experience with us! Of course, we will bring everyone back a t-shirt! Hahaha

The only drawback to this trip will be that I have to wear a finger brace on my trigger finger the entire time and I only have four weeks to go! I hope it doesn't get in the way of me playing the slots! Overall, the thing that I am most excited about is that I get to spend some quality time with my best friend, my wife!

Springfield XDs

I got one! I got one! I finally got an XDs.  I have been wanting one since the 9mm version was first announced in January of last year.  I love shooting my XD9, XDm 3.8, and XDm 5.25 Competition so it was only natural for me to want an XDs.  I love the design of the entire XD line such as the grip safety, how easily it is to break down and clean, and of course how well they all fit in my hand.

My new baby

The first time I actually shot an XDs 9mm was after an IDPA match last summer.  A friend of mine had just gotten her's and she let me give it a try.  There were some steel plates set up in one of the bays, but I didn't expect to hit them right off the bat because they were about 15 yards out.  I loaded the gun, racked the slide, secured my grip, exhaled, and...ping, ping, ping... I couldn't believe it.  My first time firing this little gun and I was actually knocking down those steel plates.  The recoil wasn't bad and the trigger was smooth.  It felt great in my hand too.  There was no pain like I have felt with other compact guns.  I got so excited I even jumped up and down like a little kid.  I may have looked silly, but I didn't care.  All I knew was that I finally found the perfect compact handgun for me.

I couldn't wait to get one of these little gems.  Well, less than a week later I made the plunge.  I am always excited to buy a new gun, but this one was special.  I couldn't wait to take my new XDs out to the range.  It sure wasn't long before I was there putting rounds down range and loving every minute of it.  I can say without a doubt that I absolutely love this gun.

That being said, I was heartbroken when I first heard the news of the recall.  I had my XDs less than two months.  I went onto Springfield's website that night and checked my serial number and sure enough it was part of the recall.  My heart sank.  I immediately registered my XDs for the recall, printed the shipping label from Springfield, and sent it in.  Knowing how many would need to be fixed, I figured the sooner I sent it in the better.

My XDs and XDm 3.8

After a long wait I finally got my baby back. I was a little worried about the trigger pull since I had heard that some people weren't happy about it.  I was a little anxious when I took it to the range the first time.  The trigger pull is a little heavier, but it really doesn't bother me.  After a few rounds, I didn't even notice it anymore.

I can honestly say that this is still my favorite handgun and I carry it every day.