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The threaded-barrel HK VP9 Tactical pistol was announced at the 2017 SHOT Show, and this year, finally available to consumers through Heckler & Koch, are B&T manufactured suppressors, the same battle-proven line of suppressors previously offered only to law enforcement and military. Initially, H&K pistol suppressors are compatible with the threaded VP9 (winner of American Rifleman's 2015 Golden Bullseye for Handgun of the Year), but will fit other 9 mm HK handguns as well. Mounting is via HK's standard 13.5x1 thread pitch. For more, seeAmerican Rifleman's Joe Kurtenbach fire itduring Industry Day at the Range ahead of the 2018 SHOT Show, and visithk-usa.com
In 2024, former owner Gregg Ritz purchased Thompson/Center Arms. Now the company has introduced a modern take on its classic Contender/Encore concept: the ENCORE PROHunter.
While it's certainly a saturated marketplace these days, the AR-15 has never been more popular with American firearm enthusiasts, and many manufacturers are continuing to feed the need with new options loaded with new features.
Like any hobby or pastime that is in any way even vaguely related to machines or technology, firearms attract a (possibly) disproportionate number of “right-brained,” STEM-oriented personalities who like numbers.
Slingshots are fun, but they can also be a legitimate backup defensive tool—in 2023, a 13-year-old Michigan boy saved his 8-year-old sister from being kidnapped by using a $3 slingshot to fire a marble and a rock at the assailant, striking him in the chest and head.