WED | MARCH 22, 2023

There has been some big scores and big talk in the compound division ahead of the Indoor Nationals Final in Louisville, KY on Thursday.
Easton is introducing its new line of Match Grade field points, designed for high-level archery practice.Tthe Match Grade points have an oversized profile that improves arrow flight and minimizes arrow wear.
Congratulations to Vihtavuori team member Doug Koenig on winning the 2023 Accuracy International Long Range Classic.

Lapua is supporting the 2023 United States F-Class team as they compete this week at the World Championships in South Africa.
Berger announced their sponsorship of the 2023 United States F-Class Team competing at the 2023 F-Class World Championships in South Africa.
Baschieri & Pellagri USA congratulates B&P Pro Team shooters Karen Shedd Miles and Gebben Miles on their outstanding performances at the Jack Links Cup. The event was held at Quail Creek Sporting Ranch, February 14-19, 2023.

The Civilian Marksmanship Program’sNational Long Range series will be fired July 31 through Aug. 5, 2023, highlighted by a new event. 2023’s schedule will include a Mid-Range 3x600 Match – 20 shots slow prone at 600 yards in 22-minute block times.
Wisconsin S3DA hosted their 7th annual Indoor State Championship in Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. The Wisconsin S3DA Indoor State Championship included 167 archers representing 18 different teams across the state and hundreds of spectators watching and cheering.
Orchid LLC and Williams Mullen’s Firearms Industry Group announce an emphasis on FFL software and technology at the 2023 Firearms Industry Conference, to be held virtually April 27-28 and live in Atlanta, May 1-3, 2023.

Fiocchi congratulated Fiocchi Pro Team member Lena Miculek for taking home the award for Best Shooter at the Gundies event. This awards ceremony was held on February 25th.
Primary Weapons Systems will showcase the BDE (Bravo Delta Echo) line of modular suppressors with caliber-specific options for 22 LR, 9mm Luger, 5.56x45mm and 7.62x51mm at the range in Clinton, South Carolina during Palmetto State Armory's event, The Gathering.
Lone Wolf will join multiple firearms and accessories companies and other shooting industry members at Palmetto State Armory’s The Gathering, March 24-25.
The CZ 75 is renowned for its comfortable grip, smooth factory trigger system, and distinctive slide-in-frame design. The current compact versions of these pistols include the 75 Compact, 75 PCR, and 75 P-01.
The Concealed-Carry Belt Pouch fits compact 22, 25 and .380 caliber pistols such as Ruger LCP, Kel-Tec P32 & P-3AT, and similar small frame autos.
Galco's Parabellum 2.0 shoulder holster system uses hybrid construction that combines Kydex with top grain leather and premium center cut steerhide, along with a refined and updated harness.

High Speed Gear and Comp-Tac Holsters announced the addition of Blackstone and W.L. Carter as sales representatives for Comp-Tac in their respective territories. Syncing commercial sales representation with Blackstone Marketing Group and W.L. Carter across all holster brands enhances the combined companies’ ability to service their commercial customers.
Hunting Wire Editor Jay Pinsky was presented with The Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation inaugural ‘Outdoor Industry Communicator of the Year Award.'
The Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund is proud to award an additional $100,000 grant to the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP®) to support educational programming for more than 1 million students across North America and offset equipment costs for new schools joining the program.

Liberty Ammo recently received coverage from several well-known industry influencers. Among these was Brandon Curtis from Concealed Nation.
SilencerCo announced the promotion of Chase Glenn to Director of Business Development. In his new role, Glenn will be responsible for SilencerCo’s strategic relationships, brand representation, and development of new Licensing and OEM opportunities.
Pure Archery Group has hired industry veteran Jamie Wilson as their Southeast territory manager supporting North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Range Ready, in association with Gun Talk Media, expands class offerings to the public. Southern Louisiana’s premier training facility opens enrollment for numerous classes, including their Semi-Auto Pistol Operator 1 (SAP01) course that is set to begin April 20th – 21st.
NSSF praised the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, Southern Division’s order granting a preliminary injunction for the plaintiffs blocking enforcement of California’s "Unsafe Handgun" Act. The case, Boland v. Bonta, was filed shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bruen decision.
Great American Spring presented by TORO is upon us. Beginning in March in Game & Fish (www.gameandfishmag.com/greatamericanspring), as well as appearing on Outdoor Sportsman Group Networks (Outdoor Channel and Sportsman Channel), Great American Spring presented by TORO provides outdoor enthusiasts with tips, tools and educational advice on how to best prepare to enjoy the start of spring and beyond. Great American Spring will run through June 30.

Legacy Sports International announced the addition of the Pointer Side–By–Side Shotgun lineup for 2023. The line features Turkish Walnut stocks, chrome-lined barrels with 3" chambers and more.
The Nature-Trek spotting scope family offers exceptional optical performance in a lightweight and waterproof modern design. A Fully Multi-Coated optical system combined with BAK-4 Porro prisms produce extremely clear and sharp images.
Taylor’s & Company announced the launch of their new 1875 Outlaw 9mm Revolver to the Lifestyle Series for 2023. Taylor’s & Company partnered with Uberti to create this exclusive iconic reproduction.
Springfield Armory announced the new 10-round Hellcat Pro 9mm pistol. This new offering provides those in locales requiring restricted capacities an opportunity to own a popular EDC pistol that combines the performance of a larger handgun with class-leading concealability.
Arms Preservation Inc. announced the launch of the new website for its line of Firearm Rust Prevention Storage Bags. The product provides gun owners and shooting enthusiasts with long-term firearm storage bags that can prevent rusty guns for five years or more depending on use.
HeadHunters NW announces two new HeadHunters NW Podcast episodes. Hosted by Shaylene Keiner, President of HeadHunters NW, the show explores the joys and challenges of organizations and careers in the sought-after shooting, hunting, and outdoor industry.
Silencer Shop, a long standing gold corporate sponsor of the Second Amendment Foundation, has launched a new program to help support SAF’s ongoing litigation and education efforts by donating a percentage from each Form 1 service to the organization from now through May 31.
CZ announced that the P-10 M price has recently been reduced to $299, the P-10 S, C, and F have been reduced to $399, the P-10 S, C, and F Optics-Ready guns reduced to $449, and the P-10 Optics-Ready Suppressor-Ready C and F models have been reduced to $499.
Three archers repeated as state champions at the National Archery in the Schools Program state tournament March 17-18 in Lincoln. Winning back-to-back titles were Harrison Harvey of Lincoln Southwest in the high school division, Ayla Salistean of Milford in the middle school division and Paul Ng of Omaha Mater Dei Academy in the elementary division.
The Department of Natural Resources Ortonville shooting range in Lapeer County will temporarily close for shooting bench renovations Monday, March 27 through Wednesday, April 12.
Shooting USA provides coverage as the Bianchi Cup competition is back to full strength with new faces claiming the titles in the most prestigious handgun tournament of the year.
 

You like the Smith & Wesson M&P22 Compact? I do. First becoming aware of the great utility of the little pistol from the writings of Claude Werner, I jumped at the chance to get one and start using it. The one I got has the threaded barrel – for which I have no use as I don’t own a suppressor.

Shortly after my purchase and use of the little heater, I became aware that people had trouble removing the barrel nut/thread protectors on these little guns. Stories of factory-supplied wrenches breaking and extreme measures following. Some wouldn’t field strip to clean the gun, just doing as best as they could to get at the grime with the slide locked open.

Surely it couldn’t be that bad, I figured. Then I broke the wrench.

Searching the internet, I found that people were buying a specialty wrench – and, at that, they had to use a ‘cheater’ bar to get the offending part clear – a risky proposition at best. At least one user replaced the factory barrel nut on the barrel and found – surprisingly – he couldn’t get it off again!

I bought the wrench and a replacement thread protector. The wrench and replacement cap came from EWK Arms. Based on the ease of ordering and the quick fulfillment, I’m liking this company.

The company advertises parts, tools and barrel threading services for a number of guns. Check them out.

And no, I still couldn’t get the factory part broken free. Calling on a friend with more experience than I, the components were turned over to him for his tender care.

And no, I won’t tell you what he did to get the offending part removed. Let’s just say that it took some Herculean effort, bad words and soaking in a special potion.

Once the factory barrel nut was removed, it went into a plastic bag. Someone else can muck about it with after I’m through with it.

The replacement was installed making the pistol look like a non-threaded barrel; the new barrel nut doesn’t extend from the face of the slide.

It remained only to check the work and I could best do that by shooting the fine little heater. Except for that barrel contraption, I always found the pistol very pleasant and fun to shoot.

In my estimation, the best way to get any semiauto pistol to choke is to hold it loosely when firing, shooting it one-handed. With a 22 pistol, bulk ammo seems to have the most variation in velocity round-to-round, so I use value priced ammo for this chore. It doesn’t hurt to check for reliability after a pistol has had some work done on it.

There’s also the potential – since we’re messing with the barrel at the muzzle – that accuracy could be affected.

I used Federal AutoMatch for function testing and some Winchester Super-X for accuracy. The function was 100%. From 15 yards, I was easily keeping hits on a half-sheet of copy paper. I finished by closing in to around five yards and put five rounds into the barcode on a bullseye target.

A pint-sized trainer for experienced shooters and newcomers alike, the repaired M&P22 Compact was ready for service. I’d note that there are some folks out there who’ve never had this trouble with the barrel nut on their M&P22 Compact pistols.

It’s just my luck.

-- Rich Grassi

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