FRI | JULY 12, 2024

SilencerCo announced its pending acquisition of certain business operations of Zev Technologies, a firearm and firearm parts manufacturer. The transaction is expected to close during the second half of July.

Nosler, Inc. announces that sponsored shooter Nick Gadarzi has become the first competitor to win four consecutive 2-day national matches in the Precision Rifle Series (PRS). Nick Gadarzi's impressive streak includes victories at the 2024 Snake River Standoff, the 2024 Short Action Customs Steel Challenge, the 2024 Parma Precision Rifle Rumble VI, and the 2024 MDT Barrel Burner.

Over 700 shooters competed in the 4-H Shooting Sports National Championships on June 23-28, 2024, in Grand Island, NE. The nine competitive disciplines included recurve and compound archery, small bore rifle and pistol, hunting skills, muzzleloading, rifle and pistol airgun, and shotgun.

Remington Ammunition will be hosting its 3rd Annual Shoot to Cure sporting clays fundraiser on September 20, 2024. This exciting event brings together the outdoor industry, local Arkansas businesses and professional shooters from Team Remington to support the Arkansas Children's Foundation as well as children’s hospitals and disease research nationwide.

Streamlight® has introduced new colors for its popular Wedge® EDC slim pocket flashlight. In addition to black and coyote, the high-performance light now is available in blue, purple and red.

Federal Ammunition is proud to continue supporting the Boone and Crockett Club through its Trailblazer in Conservation sponsorship as an Industry Sponsor. Trailblazers in Conservation represents a commitment from industry partners and others that support the mutual interests of science-supported wildlife management and conservation, as well as hunter ethics and advocacy.

Winchester has donated more than 120,000 rounds of rimfire ammunition to the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s First Shots program, a commitment to the mission of introducing more people to the shooting sports.

Winchester Ammunition has committed its support to the 2024 National African American Gun Association Summit in Dallas, Texas, July 25 – 28. NAAGA will use Winchester ammunition for its instructor certification courses and range days taking place throughout the event.

The second installment of the NRA’s “I Defend the 2nd” campaign features Ronnie Barrett, founder of Barrett Firearms and designer of the Barrett M107 .50-cal sniper rifle. The full video with Mr. Barrett can be viewed here. The first video of this series from new NRA Executive Vice President and CEO Doug Hamlin introduced Doug to the Association’s members.

Reaffirming their commitment to leadership excellence, Legacy1846 Outdoor Group is proud to announce the appointment of industry veteran Andrew Sibble as the company's Chief Executive Officer.

Liberty Ammunition is collaborating with Hillsdale College to host the inaugural USPSA Collegiate Championship. It will be held at the Hillsdale College John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center on September 28-29.

NSSF® tracks and reports monthly U.S. import units for several sporting arms, ammunition, and optics categories from the US International Trade Commission. here are the results for April 2024 compared to April 2023.

As part of the firearm industry’s ongoing national effort to help prevent illegal “straw” purchases of firearms, NSSF® has purchased billboard, radio and streaming radio service and online digital advertisements for the “Don't Lie for the Other Guy” program in key locations throughout the Tucson area.

NSSF tracks and reports monthly U.S. export units for several sporting arms, ammunition, and optics categories from the US International Trade Commission. Here are the results for April 2024 compared to April 2023.

TAG Precision has announced the addition of Ian Paul as Sales Manager, bringing over 12 years of experience in sales, inside sales, customer service, and ecommerce.

Walther Arms, Inc. announces the new Walther Magnum Pistol (WMP) SD, which now comes with a threaded barrel (1/2x28) for suppressor use. Crafted to the high-quality Walther standards, the WMP SD offers unmatched ergonomics for every type of shooter and adventure.

DeSantis offers the #220 Mean Streak kydex IWB holster for the SIG P365-XMACRO. Made with pewter colored material, it’s user adjustable for height and cant.

Henry Repeating Arms announces a new collection of tribute edition rifles to support The American Legion. The rifles are now available to American Legion members at discounted factory-direct pricing. Henry Repeating Arms donates a portion of every sale back to The American Legion.

“Gun is only one letter away from fun,” GUNS Editor Brent T. Wheat is known to say at times. To illustrate this concept, FMG Special Projects Editor Roy Huntington showcases an “arguably over the top” Springfield Armory Range Officer Target Model enhanced by master craftsman Ken Kelly of Mag-na-port in the August issue of GUNS.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) Division is in the process of adding a state-of-the-art shooting facility in Shelby County to complement the 12 existing shooting ranges they operate.

In honor of the Outdoor Channel's 30th anniversary, two of the outdoor industry's most iconic figures, Bill Jordan and David Blanton of Realtree Outdoors, congratulate the outdoor television network.

 

FEATURE

If you want to know the best handguns and gear for women, look to see what women are choosing to train with and carry. A Girl & A Gun (AG & AG) hosted its 12th Annual National Conference, SHINE 2024.

Participants included 706 members representing 135 AG & AG chapters from 45 different states. All participants were required to go through a ‘Gear Check’ process where their handguns, belts, holsters, and mag pouches were all reviewed and function checked. In total, the women brought 976 handguns for training.

GLOCK was the Title Sponsor of the National Conference, and GLOCK was the most popular choice among the participants: 22.7% of all handguns used were GLOCK models.

The following lists the Top 10 brands of handguns that the women brought to training:

Popular Brands / Percentage

GLOCK / 22.75%

Sig Sauer / 20.29%

Walther / 17.01%

Smith & Wesson / 9.63%

HK / 5.94%

CZ / 5.33%

Springfield / 4.51%

Canik / 4.41%

Staccato / 3.48%

Ruger / 0.82%

See the complete list and additional details: https://www.agirlandagun.org/womens-favorite-handgun-brands-in-2024/

Depending on the topic of their training courses, e.g., concealed carry vs. 3-gun, women would bring different models that were most appropriate to the skills learned. Some pistols were very topic-specific, and some were used for general skillbuilder sessions with training that can be applied to both defense and competition. The following lists the most popular models of handguns that the women brought to training:

Popular Models / Percentage

Walther PDP-F / 17.23%

GLOCK 19 / 11.56%

Sig Sauer P365XL / 5.44%

GLOCK 34 / 4.54%

GLOCK 43X / 4.31%

HK VP9 / 4.31%

Sig Sauer P320 / 4.31%

Sig Sauer P365 / 3.85%

GLOCK 17 / 3.40%

Walther PDP / 3.40%

GLOCK 48 / 2.49%

GLOCK 45 / 2.27%

Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ / 2.27%

Smith & Wesson M&P 2.0 / 1.81%

Popular Sighting Systems and Triggers

While there are more pistol-mounted optics each year, they still have not yet surpassed iron sights among women.

Sighting Systems / Percentage

Iron Sights / 54.41%

Red Dots / 45.59%

Iron Sights / Percentage

Stock / 91.91%

Upgraded / 8.09%

Popular Upgraded Irons / Percentage

Trijicon / 24.05%

Dawson Precision / 20.25%

TruGlo / 7.59%

Ameriglo / 3.80%

Popular Red Dot Brands / Percentage

Holosun / 67.64%

Sig Sauer / 11.91%

Trijicon / 5.17%

Leupold / 4.72%

Vortex / 2.92%

Preferred Reticle Colors / Percentage

Red / 59.73%

Green / 40.05%

Black / 0.23%

Most women used stock triggers in their handguns, but approximately 7% of them had upgraded triggers. The GLOCK Performance trigger was the most popular, followed by Apex and Timney.

Triggers / Percentage

Stock / 92.62%

Upgraded / 7.38%

Upgraded Triggers / Percentage

GLOCK Performance / 31.94%

Apex / 13.89%

Timney Triggers / 6.94%

Powder River / 5.56%

Cajun Gunworks / 4.17%

Note: SHINE Gear Check Logs listed brands and models of handguns, belts, holsters, and mag pouches. No serial numbers or personally identifiable data was collected. No information on rifles or shotguns was collected during gear check.

Popular Gear, Equipment, and Shooting Apparel

Here are some of the other popular brands that women brought for training to SHINE 2024. From eye/ear pro to holsters, belts, and apparel, here are the popular brands that were logged at Gear Check.

Eye Protection / Percentage

SSP / 16.23%

Oakley / 9.69%

Hunter’s HD Gold / 7.07%

WileyX / 6.02%

Ray-Ban / 3.14%

Hearing Protection / Percentage

Walker / 36.09%

Howard Leight / 13.00%

Axil / 11.62%

AKT1 Sport / 5.96%

Peltor / 4.28%

Belts / Percentage

Nexbelt / 30.35%

Kore / 7.74%

5.11 / 6.83%

Black Scorpion / 4.86%

Safariland / 4.25%

CR Speed / 3.19%

Tuff / 2.73%

We the People / 2.28%

Krydex / 2.12%

Blade Tech / 1.67%

Holsters / Percentage

Comp Tac / 17.16%

Haven Defense / 7.59%

BladeTech / 6.27%

We The People / 5.83%

Black Scorpion / 5.72%

Safariland / 4.40%

PHLster / 3.52%

Dara / 3.19%

Alien Gear / 2.42%

Blackhawk / 1.98%

Apparel / Percentage

5.11 / 38.59%

Duluth / 11.92%

Wrangler / 3.64%

Columbia / 3.43%

Levi / 2.83%

LAPG / 2.02%

Vakandi / 2.02%

Magellan / 1.41%

Tru Spec / 1.41%

Merrell / 1.41%

For more information about A Girl & A Gun Women’s Shooting League, or to learn how to join, please visit AGirlandAGun.org. Follow AG & AG on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest for social media and corporate news.
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