It’s tough to get beyond PSA’s concept wall. The new Jakls, shotguns and the massive .50 BMG rifle are all grabbing your attention and pining for stories. They deserve them, but if you can fight your way past the wall, you can see that PSA’s two sub-companies, DPMS and H&R, are doing more than a few interesting things. 

The H&R T48 FAL 

Several decades ago, the United States military tested the FAL. They called it the T48 and subjected it to a number of tests against the M14. It appears that the FAL had a 24-karat run of bad luck. You see, the game was rigged from the start. The M14 received preferential treatment, and the United States adopted one of the worst service rifles of the era and rejected the right arm of the free world. 

The T48 would have bene the better battle rifle (Travis Pike for TTAG)

Luckily, you don’t have to reject the FAL, and H&R is producing a T48 clone. This FAL clone will come with factory-correct markings for the T48, as well as the slick and sweet wood furniture from yesteryear. H&R teamed up with DSA to make sure things are done right. DSA are the FAL guys and make some wonderful products. 

I’m digging the H&R lineup a lot and love that they are getting into guns I’d never be able to own elsewhere. 

The DPMS Kitty Kat 

A long time ago, when people took DPMS as a serious company and Freedom Group hadn’t absolutely destroyed the company’s reputation, they created a gun known as the Kitty Kat. The Kitty Kat was the first time a major company produced an obnoxiously short AR with a 7-inch barrel. The gun was intended for entry teams, but I’m not sure if it was ever used as such. 

The Kitty Kat is back, and in .300 Blackout (Travis Pike for TTAG)

PSA now owns the DPMS brand, and they’ve created the Kitty Kat V2. This time, the ultra-short barrel fires a caliber more appropriate for the short barrel length, the .300 Blackout. It’s keeping the same old-school layout with a HAR-15 brace, a carry handle and a short tubular handguard. It’s sweet and has been wanting to dress in all-black nylon and clear my house when the wife and kids leave. 

An Appeal: Hey, if you folks have anything specific you’d like to see covered, let us know below. 

27 COMMENTS

  1. Word is a Smith rep went on record to say the Hillary hole is being phased out. That, to me, seems like the biggest story of the show if true. Some confirmation would be nice.

  2. PSA has been on a roll recently. I’m eyeing the 300 blackout Krinkov they have. It can handle subsonic and supersonic loads without a suppressor, and 300 BLK was designed to be optimized from a short barrel already.

  3. That T-48 FAL looks interesting. I like a FAL. If I remember correctly the M-14 was selected for reasons to do with cold weather testing that was biased. Ironically, I have a nice old M1-A, no FAL. What I do have is 5″ of snow in my yard and ice sickles hanging from the eaves of the roof. In Florida. They just shut down 200 miles of I-10. Come on down! Take a dip in the Gulf of America!

    • Wild you have more snow than I do but did get to -8 today so always something. FAL always looked like a fun rifle so good to see it will continue to be a option for new shooters. Will have to see what PSA has in the display case next time I go through SC.

    • pellet gun for the icicles, good target and productive winwin. before the thaw (or just as it starts) make sure you haven’t sustained an ice dam, best to clear that and prevent internal water damage.
      and don’t make snow angels in the dog park.

    • Gadsden Flag,

      What I do have is 5″ of snow in my yard and ice sickles hanging from the eaves of the roof. In Florida.

      (snicker)

      Pretty much every state gets a bad stretch of weather in the winter. If you live in the Northern U.S., you get extreme cold and/or a heavy snowfall. If you live in the Southern U.S., you get extreme cold (for that part of the country) and any amount of snow.

      Pick your poison.

  4. A little more info on the H&R t48 would be nice. It’s a rifle I wouldn’t mind having.
    .
    What I’d like to see advertised, a drone signal disruptor.
    Sux when wifey poo and daughter can’t suntan without some asshole flying his drone over.

    • they make nice quiet ones here and abroad in a number of calibers.
      i’d like to see the t48 weight so i can stop wanting one.

  5. Gotta say that little AR looks cool. Does the hand guard let you pop the barrel off? I have one that looks like that which does. Neat gun, dig the carry handle and 300BO is the right choice.

  6. if you stumble on:
    i’m .327 curious (despite adding caliber).
    cz/ dan wesson.
    daewoo and whatever the u.s. made stuff is being called.
    thanks.

  7. A sure-fire way to tell if someone doesn’t know what the hell they’re talking about is when they start bad-mouthing the M14. Those that actually KNOW love the M14- and still do. Haters hate because they don’t know any better…

    • Shame there aren’t any week long shooting matches that require lengthy hikes and camping in a tropical rain forest so you can put your money where your mouth is about your M14, so to speak.

      It was the shortest lived service rifle for a reason. The FAL wouldn’t have faired any better in the same conditions, so there is that.

    • infantry Marines who used the M14 in combat in Vietnam were surveyed after six months of their deployment and a vast majority wanted the M16 or a different rifle in general. seems like those guys know a thing or two.

  8. RE: “You see, the game was rigged from the start. The M14 received preferential treatment, and the United States adopted one of the worst service rifles of the era and rejected the right arm of the free world.”

    Should have “rigged” it for the Fal to win.

  9. #1 any new SAO pistols ?
    #2 embarrass the guys at HMG booth with their Stg-44?
    #3 big caliber news? 500 s&w, 450, 458 SOCOM?
    #4 suppressors for 300BO?

    So far from reading the news looks like a pretty lame year at shot show.

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