Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Wally F.

……….North Sylva has been in the Canadian firearms scene for over 60 years. It’s said that one in five firearms sold in Canada are imported by them. Being a distributor for Colt Canada, H&K, IWI, FN America, KRISS, and a whole bunch of other manufacturers, I won’t touch on every single new thing coming up, but I’ll hit all the points folks hopefully are looking for. I’m not going to make you read all the way to the end of the article to get the answers to a whole bunch of peoples questions. IWI had a great booth at SHOT Show this year. There was a ton of talk around the TS-12 Semi-auto 15+1 shotgun, the Tavor 7 .308 battle rifle, and the Masada 9mm striker fire pistol (although not on display at SHOT).

……….Folks up here in Canada are also eager to get more information on the status of the M+M M10X DMR. For those not in the know, the M10X was submitted to the RCMP Firearms Labs for testing and classification. In October 2017 the RCMP gave the M10X a non-restricted classification. North Sylva has been courting the manufacturer since 2013 on a process to get the rifle into Canadian shooters hands. At time of writing the M10X DMR is slated to be in Canadian hands approximately by May 2018 at minimum advertised price of $1999 CDN.

……….As for the IWI TS-12 semi-auto shotgun. It is extremely unlikely that it will ever make its way to Canada. As its primary ammunition carriage system is based off of the X-Rail shotgun magazine system which I believe the RCMP already deems as a prohibited item, the chances that the sci-fi looking TS-12 will ever come to Canada are next to none. The Masada striker fire pistol, the first in IWI’s line up is a good looking 9mm service pistol, but at last check the Masada is still having some production delays. Since the Masada’s barrel length is 104mm which is 2mm short of the legal length in Canada this will factor into the wait time. As a result it may be a while before Canadians can get their hands on the Masada, no ETA for export just yet. The Tavor 7 .308 bull-pup battle rifle had a great showing earlier this year in Las Vegas.  If the RCMP gives their stamp of approval, this .308 calibre rifle is going to be coveted in the Canadian market, not only for it’s compact build, which combined with the .308 round will be very useful in the back-country, on hunting excursions, and wilderness protection. The US release has been delayed until May/June and North Sylva is currently waiting for a sample from IWI.

……….While the Type 97 rifle has been in Canada for awhile, the Gen 2 rifle has been in Canada and available for quite some time. I’m surprised more people don’t have this bull-pup in their collection as well. Now with an integrated 1913 picatinny rail, KAC-style flip-up iron sights, and updated design. This rifle looks sexy compared to it’s predecessor. If you don’t have one of these in your collection, you truly are missing out on a gem of a rifle to shoot.

……….North Sylva also carries a full line of Meprolight optics for your firearms. Their line-up of pistol aftermarket sights is pretty awesome, especially the uniquely designed FT Sight system and Micro RDS pistol sight that has QD release with built in iron sights. As always their line-up of award winning electro optical and magnified sights like the battle proven M21 and MOR sights and their Mepro 4x magnified sights are all available now.

……….I wrote earlier this year about the prevalence of first focal length variable magnification scopes being more popular and in more reasonable price ranges. Now EOTech is getting into that game as well with the new Vudu line of scopes. With a crisp wide and zoom-in reticle that is useful at magnification you are getting a feature packed optic for a very competitive price, especially when you compare the Vudu against the Night Forces and Schmidt and Benders of the world.

……….In the next month or so North Sylva will be getting a limited Colt Canada run of three-hundred SA15.7 and two-hundred SA20 rifles. This run of Colts will also have an engraving on the lower receiver that will be exclusive to North Sylva’s run of the SA15.7 and SA20s.

……….While the snow is slow to melt this year in Canada there is plenty of hot new firearms and accessories ready to launch very soon from companies across the country. North Sylva is one of those companies ready to bring Canadian shooters the products they want, and 2018 is starting to shape up to be a very good year.

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

Reporting for TV-PressPass

Wally F.

Words By: Wally F.          Photos By: Various Internet Sources

……….Ahead of SHOT Show IWI has started dropping information on their foray into shotgun territory with the TS12.  And it’s looking like they’re going with a beefy bullpup design bordering on science fiction of the Robert A. Heinlein kind.  You know what, it’s not bad at all.  How else are you going to avenge the destruction of Buenos Aires?

……….IWI has always built weapons with forward thinking in mind.  With the Tavor 7 and the Masada pistol fresh in their line up for this year.  The TS12 is a bullpup, semi-automatic, TWENTY-SIX round shotgun.

TAVOR TS12 BULLPUP SHOTGUN FROM IWI

• Gas regulated
• 15+1 max capacity
• Right or left ejection
• Automatically feed a round into the chamber
• Four sling mounts
• MLOK compatible rail
• Picantinny optics rail
• Benelli/Beretta choke tube compatibility
• 18.5” Barrel
• OAL 28.35”
• 2.5kg (5.5lbs) unloaded
• Cross bolt safety
• “Bullhead” Bolt locking system
• MSRP: $1,399 USD

……….With a 3 rotating magazine tube, the system is gas operated and the ejection port can be setup to go left or right like the Tavor.  Has built in MLOK accessory attachment points,  has a Beretta and Benelli choke tube compatibility, and a 1913 rail for mounting sights and optics.  Depending on the type of shells loaded you can have around 3lbs of ammunition loaded to the 5.5 pound unloaded weight of the TS12, which is hefty but within the similar weight category of the Kel-Tec KSG.

……….I already have an interview lined up with IWI US at SHOT Show.  So rest assured I’ll get more information on the TS12 along with the Tavor 7 and the Masada.

“Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor.” – Robert A. Heinlein

For your regular cravings in the firearms world in Canada and beyond be sure to follow TV-PressPass on Facebook and myself Wally F. on Instagram.

Reporting for TV-PressPass

Wally F.

I was wondering how my shotgun would be affected with the announcement back in December that the Derya Mk10 was non-restricted. The Akdal is almost identical to the Derya, but was listed as an AR variant for the last several years. Here’s my video review after a few seasons of 3-Gun.

Now, when you check the legal notes in the FRT database relating to the Mka 1919 you see the following:

“While the exterior of this model resembles the AR “family,” there is no direct lineage that this is exclusive to the AR15/M16 design. This model design could also easily be linked to the Armalite Division of Fairchild Aircraft AR10 design.”

That little snippet is doubly interesting, because it may have implications for the AR10 platform as a whole. I don’t want to jump the gun here, but I get a sneaking suspicion this is not the only firearm moving towards deregulation. The original AR10 was a very different firearm than the M16 successor, and modern firearms that can draw a linkage back to that original design might be in for some good news.

Until we know more, I’ll be taking my Akdal outdoors for some winter camping and skeet blasting.

A flurry of announcements yesterday solidified for me the idea that’s been floating around for years: all of the coolest shotguns in this country and coming out of Turkey right now. They’re doing things that no one else is, making them at an affordable price, and exporting them.

The big reveal is that the RCMP has ruled several versions of the Uzkon BR99 to be non-restricted. Expect to see guns from Trigger Wholesale, O’Dell Engineering, and Corwin Arms all coming out in 2016.

The BR99 is a piston driven semi-auto 12 gauge shotgun that feeds from a detachable box magazine. The idea is to bring the advantages of rifle controls and manipulations to a shotgun platform. The fact that it’s a non-restricted firearm is just icing on the cake. These guns are excellent options in 3-Gun competitions. The simple reload and semi-auto speed are crucial advantages when the clock is on.

Additionally, Trigger Wholesale has confirmed that their AS46 family of pump guns are good for import too. The AS46 are a series of short barrelled box mag guns, offered with a variety of stocks. The big news is that as a manual action firearm, there’s no restriction on magazine capacity for them. Trigger Wholesale is planning on including 10 round magazines, and I’ll bet even bigger ones are a possibility.

Looking at the wide range of interesting things coming out of Turkey, I’m struck by two major questions: First, are they all using a consistently standard pattern of magazine? And two: my Akdal Mka 1919 appears to use a very similar gas system to these new guns. Is it still restricted as an AR-15 variant? I’ll have to wait to get my hands on a BS99 and see how similar they really are.

But even looking past those new guns, the Turks have been sending us cool stuff for years.

I already own an Akdal Mka 1919, the 12 gauge shotgun that is restricted as an AR-15 variant. I’ve also got a SAP-6 in the safe: a compact, modular shotgun with capacity that far outstrips anything else on the market. Yes, even the Kel Tec. With a magazine coupler and 11 round mags, you can be sitting at a full 23 rounds of 12 gauge on and in the gun.

The former Ottoman Empire is also behind the UTAS dual tube pump-gun. Regardless of whether that unusual critter is your cup of tea or not: you have to admit there’s some serious outside the box thinking coming together to make that gun come together. What’s more, it’s got the high profile looks to make it a popular choice in Hollywood. I was pleased to spot one getting eaten in Jurassic World this summer.

The diverse base of manufacturers in Turkey definitely have a grip on the tactical market. Some of their products (specifically ironsights) are a little rough, or a little over the top, but they’re definitely headed in the right direction. I find it interesting that after years of US companies like Winchester selling us Turkish guns with US names on them, that we’re starting to go direct to the source and tap into the wide range of options.

Owners of expensive Italian shotguns often decry Turkish manufacturers as being “low-grade” and compare them to Chinese guns in terms of fit and finish. But I think that’s a massively unfair characterization, and that the range of options and affordable price vastly outweighs most issues of final polish. If I were suggesting a shotgun to a new shooter, I don’t think the old standard of “Mossberg or Remington” applies anymore. Not when you can get twice the gun for half the price.

I’ve got a few in the safe already. But I’m excited to add a few more and see what these new offerings out of Istanbul are like.

Take a look at the side by side photos. From left to right you’ve got a LAR-15 10 round pistol magazine, a 30-round Magpul M3 Pmag, a 40-rounder Pmag, then the massive 10-round Mka 1919 magazine, and lastly the standard 5-round Mka 1919 magazine.

The 5 rounders fit beautifully into my Tasmanian Tiger single-mag shingles. These soft pouches are made for AR-15 magazines, but I’ve fit all kinds of off-size magazines in there before including Vz58 .223 magazines and now the fat Mka 1919s.

The 10 rounders present a different problem though. Even HGSGI Tacos, the Holy Grail of mag carriers, struggle in the face of a full-size Mka 1919 magazine.

But I’m kind of guy who’s got an overflowing gear closet, and the determination to make something work. My solution?

The Tasmanian Tiger Communication pouches  I originally bought for my  Garmin Rhino GPS set can be retrofit to take the Mka 1919 mags. Tasmanian Tiger designed these to be as adjustable as possible to fit a wide range of radios .

These are quite cleverly made: essentially two strips of material with hook-and-loop panels control the depth and width of the pouch, while a double bungie-snap reaches over, and can be adjusted by length to go over or around different antennas.

After some strategic sizing, and stretching the included bungie retainer to its max, I’ve got a pouch that can keep a Mka 1919 ten rounder in place. I used an extra malice clip in addition to the integral molle mount to make sure nothing is flopping about, and so far things seem good.

This setup has survived stairs, sprints, and burpees, but we will have to see if it continues to hold firm through range trips and the competition itself.

The big 10 rounders I bought actually required a bit of gunsmithing before they’d even lock into the gun properly. So they’ve certainly been an unusual experience. But they’re a huge part of what makes the Mka 1919 such a fun solution.

Astonishingly, some custom shops in the US make 23 round magazines. I can imagine that going prone with one of those behemoth isn’t an easy transition.

Next I have to figure out how I want to tape, label, and separate my magazines into slug and target loads. Stay tuned!

Enter the Akdal MKA 1919: A semi-auto, magazine-fed, 12 gauge shotgun that replicates the controls of an AR-15. These Turkish shotguns have come in as an alternative to the Saiga so popular in 3 gun matches, and with some love and elbow grease can be made into pretty stellar competition guns.

I have to confess: this is a pretty hideous gun out of the box. The carry handle sights are actually a dovetail rather than an AR-15 style ghost-ring sights. The first thing I would encourage any new owner to do is strip these junky plastic sights off and dispose of them. There is a proper flattop rail underneath where your optics can find a home.

I opted for a Vortex Razor red-dot, as its got excellent brightness, weighs essentially nothing, and is tough enough to take slug recoil. It also sits and nice and low on the rail, which pairs well with the Mka 1919’s slightly angled A2 stock. The cheek weld is right where I want it.

That simple thing is enough to drastically change the feel of the gun. But the stock 5 round magazines won’t get you far. I picked up a pair of ten rounders to practice with. These are larger than any AR-15 mag you’ve ever used. The single stack 10 rounders are bricks, that extend well below the gun. I shudder to imagine how the custom 25 round magazines must feel.

I’m looking forward to testing the reliability of this, and was pleased that I received the new XN model which apparently has several minor improvements.

My initial impressions are that I made the right choice with the Mka 1919. It’s the kind of shotgun I can get excited about pouring rounds through.

Jessica, my girlfriend and occasional camera-lady, has decided to take the plunge and submitted her NR and Restricted license application to the Canadian Govt in June. I’m very pleased.

She’s still waiting, but has been doing plenty of research and window-shopping.

I’ve had to come around to a very different buying process when choosing a firearm for Jess. She doesn’t care about history, pedigree, or reliability in the same way that some shooters obsess over them. Upgrades and accessories aren’t currently on her radar either. All the assessment she’s done on various rifles and shotguns seems to boil down to:

1. Is it aesthetically pleasing?

2. How heavy is it?

3. The great intangible: Do I like it?

She saw a Rem 870 Marine magnum, which scored high on numbers 1 and 3. That prompted a drive down to Wholesale Sports for a “test pump” where the surprisingly accommodating salesperson showed her the Mossberg 500 Marine as well.

For her: they’re both nice looking, nice feeling, shotguns. But one is approx. $550 and one is approx $700

For me: the 870 is the platinum standard of pump guns, with lots of easy upgrades, replacement parts, and universal flexibility. While the mossberg feels like a rattly, loose, unoriginal knock off.

The question is:

Do I convince her that the 870 is a better buy? Or am I just being a shotgun snob? I’ve never owned a Mossberg of any kind, so maybe its not my place to judge. Everyone I have ever talked shotguns with has been an 870 owner. And maybe thats made me biased.

I let her shoot my 14.5″ Fabarm on a regular basis, but she’s looking for something that’s exclusively hers.

After some consultation with the kinds of guys who are happily married with spouses who shoot, I decided to follow Jess through the buying process rather than try to lead her. I’m clearly not as knowledgeable as I could be when it comes to these firearms, and she knows her own mind better than I will.

What she settled on was an interesting choice. The Hatsan Marine is an 18.5″ pump action shotgun with a nickel finish. But because its made it Turkey she spent $290 and got an excellent gun as a result.

It’s not the gun I would choose for me. But that’s sort of the point: she found something that she liked, without having to make a huge cash commitment. The Hatsan is something we can afford to try out, and graduate up from if she feels the need later.

We’ll have to try some serious testing, but the few field trips she’s taken with it have been great.

When the weather’s nice enough to go out and play: well I do just that. This footage came from a camping trip I did with a ton of gear and a bivy sack.

Does the helmet strike you as silly? Me too sometimes, but keep in mind that I’m moving like this when I’m out in the bush:

I’m lucky enough to live in a gorgeous place with real wilderness within easy access, but thats tempered with the fact that the wilderness gets awfully cold for several months each year. I try to shoot year round, but I can’t just roll out in an evening like I try to do in summer.

The way I figure it: I’ve put all this money of mine into the equipment, so I’d better make sure it sees some use.

This was something I really wanted to build. Do up my short barreled Fabarm Martial Ultrashort with a full suite of Magpul furniture. I started with a foliage green MIAD grip and CTR stock. The 870-AR adapter I used meant that I had to keep the straight grips rather than a swelled back strap or anything like that.

For a long time I was perfectly happy to shoot this shotgun this way. But these days I’m feeling a little more inclined towards lightweight options.