New and/or Improved gun stuff for 2016

As usual, Springfield Armory had their most-awesome M-1A rifles on display. Here are just two of them many, a Super Match (top) and an M-21 (below).

Someday, all .308 AR platforms will still be nowhere nearly as good as these M-1As.

Uberti has these two Model 1893 .45 Long Colt rifles ready to go, and they were so smooth that I'd have bought one or the other on the spot if I could have.

Henry has these two beautiful big-bore lever guns out this year. The top one is chambered for .45-70 Government, and the lower one is a .45 Long Colt.

They are slick-smooth, and backed by Henry's fantastic customer service policy that fixes anything on any Henry product, no questions asked.

Also competing in the big-bore lever gun field is Marlin, with these two 1893s, both chambered in .45-70 Government.

And that caliber is getting to be so popular with the serious hunters again that even Gibbs Rifle Company is re-working old .303 Enfield No 4 rifles into new .45-70s.

These rifles feature new wood, new barrels and a three-round magazine.

As can be expected with that cartridge, a butt pad is a necessity. Here they use the old ones from the #5 Enfields.

Just look at that bore.

They still ovver rebuilt 1903A3 and A4 Springfields as well, each built on a reactivated drill rifle receiver with a new barrel and stock. Yowsers!

Oh, look what Remington has back, re-worked for 2016: It's that R-51 again.

Last year, pretty much everyone who saw one even from a distance agreed that it wasn't ready for prime time, but Remington listened and they corrected the problems. This year, the slide and trigger feel pretty good and I suspect that people who buy them (Yeah, Bruce, I mean you.) will not be disappointed.

I'm still pretty conservative on new stuff though. Come see me when you've got a design that's been thoroughly time-tested. And of course Remington's got a few of those, too.

These R1 1911's in .45ACP were all tight and had incredible triggers on them. If Remington sends every production gun out with triggers like the ones on these show models, I'm buying one ASAP.

On the large end of the spectrum, Barrett was here with their semi-auto .50BMG rifles, including this M-107A1 suppressed version.

And wheile Barrett definitely sets the standard for .50BMG rifes, this bolt-action .50 offered by Bushmaster is a quality rifle in it's own right and perfect for those who don't have the cash for that spendy Barrett semi.

And for the tactical crowd who wants to shoot something in a more conventional caliber, Daniels Defense And Rock River Arms had something for everyone again this year.

Still too big? Well then maybe North American Arms has a derringer that's more your style.

Lots of quality optics were on display.

And suppressors, for those who want to be considerate shooters ad not annoy the neighbors.

Speaking of suppressors, I got a chance to see Advanced Armaments Corporation's new 5.56 SD suppressor that's going to replace their M4-2000 can.

Shorter, lighter and quieter. What's not to like?

As for Aaron, I practically needed a crowbar to pry him away from the Walter display.

Three days of this stuff. I'm still buzzing like a little kid who got locked in a candy store for a long week-end.