Kraken Ballistics is a relatively new company on the bullet market. They make bullets quite literally by hand with a +/- 0.0001″ variance. Yes, you read that right. They currently offer rebated boat tail bullets in .308 and 6.5mm and are 100% veteran owned and operated.
Kraken Ballistics brings a craft level of production quality to the bullet business. Their research and dedication to producing the best bullets possible was immediately evident upon handling a few.
The rebated boat tail is a feature sadly lacking in virtually all modern bullets and it offers the benefit of distributing propellent gases in a ring around the bullet base instead of flowing around the projectile as with standard boat tail designs.
SilencerCo showed me their new nameless suppressor that was rifle rated, but also suitable for pistols. There isn’t much information about out there yet aside from this somewhat poor quality photo, so enjoy this all you can until the company releases more information.
As always, SilencerCo had a number of cool items in their booth including some guns you don’t usually see suppressed including an M1 Garand and some lever actions.
I got to put my hands on the new Franklin Armory Providence. This is a brand new type of non-semi-automatic gun that has an action similar to both an AR and a double action revolver. It’s not technically a semi-automatic, as the gun doesn’t rely on the force of the cartridge to operate and instead is fired through digital pressure.
The take-up is long and somewhat mushy, but in pulling the trigger you’re also moving the bolt assembly to the rear. When the trigger reaches the end of the pull, it releases the bolt forward.
It doesn’t slam fire as there is mechanical locking taking place before a separate action strikes the primer. So no, it is not a machinegun in waiting. We can’t wait to get a production model to test.
Passing by the TOPS Knives booth, they had a number of new products out for display that are both stylish and functional. While many of these are prototypes, the stand-out examples include the straight razor-style folding comb and a Japanese style gardening knife.
Everything made by TOPS is, well, top quality and heavily built. They boast dozens and dozens of models that suit any taste. Knives aren’t the focus of TTAG, but gun guys are frequently knife guys and these were just so damn cool that I had to include them here.
