ScopedIn

A highly placed source at the Shilen factory in Ennis, TX, has hinted that they may be making a very exciting announcement, regarding the introduction of a complete line of custom rifles for sporter and bench applications. These new bolt-action rifles will be based upon the actions from Stiller Precision Firearms (featuring a Remington 700 footprint), and will be stainless steel. The barrels will be of the quality one has come to expect from Shilen, and the stocks will be made to customer order. The rifles will be offered in a wide variety of calibers, and various barrel lengths profiles. Oh: and left handed models will be available as well.

These guns won’t come cheap, and they won’t come quickly: the factory suggests that buyers will be looking at a six month wait after they place their order. If these rifles are anything like the other fine products for which Shilen has become legendary, however, the money and wait will be well worth it.

Look for a formal announcement in March 2010.

Hi, all –

This is a belated happy new years, and a very brief message about what 2010 holds in store for scopedin.com’s readers.

There’s no way around it: 2009 was, for most shooters, a really lousy year. Apart from the dismal economy, the election in November 2008 stimulated a buying frenzy in the firearms industry that bordered on panic. Though the crunch on gun supplies eventually eased, we’re still in the throes of the greatest ammunition and reloading component shortage since WWII. Additionally, those of use in California face an additional obstacle in the recent passage of AB 962, which banned mail-order and internet ammunition sales. Other states and localities have their own crosses to bear.

We at scopedin.com weren’t immune to the ammunition shortage; it stalled or delayed several projects that were slated for 2009. Even the ammunition test for the Ruger LCR is still quite incomplete.

Hopefully, 2010 will treat us all better and we can look forward to enjoying our pastime with relatively little hassle. On scopedin, we hope to feature the following topics this year:

• AR-15 builds in unconventional cartridges
• continued ammunition testing for personal defense handguns
• advanced reloading subjects and equipment reviews

Another change for this year is that we’re going to try to kick-start the user forums. Getting forums going is always a matter of critical mass, and we may not yet have that, but we’re going to try. I will encourage people to post questions and comments in the forums instead of on the site itself.

That’s all for now…let’s all look forward to a better 2010!