Industry Notes

(GunReports.com) —The holidays are here. As hunters, shooters, collectors or just plain plinkers, it's a natural instinct to want to share our enjoyment of firearms with others. What better way to do that than to make a gift of a firearm to a family member, close friend or relative?

The U.S. Army has unleashed a new weapon in Afghanistan — the XM25 Counter Defilade Target Engagement System, a high-tech rifle that can be programmed so that its 25-mm. ammunition detonates either in front of or behind a target.

(GunReports.com) -- For those GR users who also happen to have machine-gun licenses, here's a fun item for your MAC-11 380 ACP open-bolt submachinegun. Tactical Innovations, Inc., of Bonners Ferry, ID, has an AM15 full-auto upper receiver for the M11/9 SMG that allows you to shoot unmodified .22LR American 180 drums, in either 165 round, 220 round or 275 round capacity on your full auto M11/9 machine gun host receiver.

(GunReports.com) -- In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the classic 1911 pistol designed by John M. Browning, Browning has introduced a scaled-down, 22 L.R. version of this firearm for 2011. The new Browning 1911-22 pistol is almost an exact replica of the original 1911, just smaller. The new Browning 1911-22 is 85% the size of the original 1911 John M. Browning design.

(GunReports.com) -- Smith & Wesson Corp. is introducing a limited-edition Model 27 revolver dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of the .357 Magnum. Covered with American style scrollwork, the engraved Model 27 revolver features the hand drawn artwork of Smith & Wesson engraver David Mishichak.

(GunReports.com) -- Smith & Wesson Corp. is shipping the new Bodyguard 38 and Bodyguard 380 First Edition firearm sets. The limited edition sets feature one Bodyguard pistol and one Bodyguard revolver with corresponding serial numbers and laser engraving.

(GunReports.com) -- The Nevada Department of Public Safety DPS has chosen to equip its officers with new patrol rifles from Smith & Wesson, according to the firearms company. The Nevada DPS has received 500 M&P15X tactical rifles to complete the agency’s full conversion to the new Smith & Wesson firearms. Nevada DPS joins a number of law enforcement agencies that have converted to Smith & Wesson tactical rifles, including the Nebraska State Patrol, which also recently selected duty rifles from the company’s M&P Series.

(GunReports.com) -- Friends of NRA has announced its 2011 Gun of the Year: a custom-made Colt 1911 that honors the firearm's 100 years of service in the United States Armed Forces. Offered only at local Friends of NRA events, each pistol has a 5-inch barrel, carbon steel polished blued finish, 7+1 capacity, standard grip safety, spur hammer and custom rosewood grips with an NRA medallion recessed on both panels. Every specially produced Colt commemorative pistol in…

(GunReports.com) -- The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has recommended that ATF impose multiple-sales-reporting requirements for long guns. In a report issued Monday, the OIG made 15 recommendations for changes and improvements to ATF’s Project Gunrunner (PGR) initiative on the “illicit trafficking of guns from the United States to Mexico.” The long gun reporting recommendation echoes a past proposal made by the anti-gun Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) coalition in its ”Blueprint for Federal Action on Guns (2009).”

(GunReports.com) -- O.F. Mossberg & Sons will sponsor Patrick Flanigan, noted for his multiple-target-breaks shotgun records. The eight-time world-record holder recently broke his previous world record, breaking 7 clay targets thrown by hand, shot individually from the hip with a Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun.

(GunReports.com) -- Chiappa Firearms' new .22 LR handgun--which operates like a U.S. Military M-4 Carbine with a 6-inch barrel but without a shoulder stock--will hit the shelves in early 2011. It will be distributed by MKS Supply, Inc., of Dayton, Ohio.

(GunReports.com) -- McMillan is building 20 limited edition M40A1 Commemorative United States Marine Corps sniper rifle packages in honor of the Marine Corps and the legacy of the military sniper. The M40A1 rifles are being built to the exact configuration as those originally issued. McMillan is calling the series Project 8541, the number used to designate Marine Corps snipers.