The coveted Golden Bullseye Awards, now in their 22nd year, were created as a way for us to publicly recognize the firearm industry’s best-performing, highest-value and most innovative products from the previous year. Some years there are runaway standouts, but more often than not, there are numerous contenders worthy of accolade within a given category, and the selection process to nail down a slate of recipients can require no small amount of rigorous discussion on the part of the editors. This year we were blessed with a sizable crop of great new guns that could have won an award, but below you will find our consensus winners.
“Last year was one of massive new-product introductions from the recreational shooting sports industry,” said NRA Publications Executive Director Doug Hamlin. “As a result, the editorial staff had some tough decisions to make to identify the best all-new products.”
2024 Tactical Product Of The Year: Trailblazer Pivot
The members of the Golden Bullseye panel place a premium on innovation, so when a 9 mm pistol-caliber carbine was unveiled at SHOT Show with an upper receiver that could be rotated 180 degrees in either direction, allowing it to be stowed in a package as compact as 20.9" long, it got our attention.
Later, when Field Editor B. Gil Horman got a chance to run the gun, the Pivot from Trailblazer Firearms, through its paces and confirm that it was a true performer and more than just a gimmick, it jumped to the front of the short list for this award. As he relayed in his story, “A New Twist On The PCC,” Horman’s testing revealed the blowback-operated and Glock-pattern-magazine-fed Pivot to be ruggedly built, utterly dependable in operation, sufficiently accurate, surprisingly intuitive to use despite its unorthodox manual of arms and quick to deploy from its folded state.
He ultimately concluded, “So, if you’re looking for ‘something completely different,’ then the Pivot is well worth the investment.”
For thinking outside the box to create an eminently portable, lightweight tactical carbine that could be put to a variety of applications from home defense to small-game hunting, we bestow the title of Tactical Product Of The Year upon the Trailblazer Pivot. For more information, visit trailblazerfirearms.com.
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